Chapter 107: Get Rid of Problems by Drinking Them Away

I needed to return to Lynas once to give my mom and the others the ID passes I’d received and explain everything.

I spent one night in the forest of Korche, then headed for Lynas and got home before sunset—but no one was there.

I had a key, so I let myself in, set two bottles of wine that our runaway lord had left behind on the table, and waited.

Now that I think about it, I never got a reply about the conditions for accepting that request… but with the capital so far from Blange, things were resolved before any message could arrive, so I guess it doesn’t matter.
Besides, seeing Klein’s stupid face again would just irritate me, so I’ll ignore it.

＊ ＊ ＊ ＊ ＊ ＊ ＊

I heard my sister’s footsteps and hid the bottles.

“Back already?”

“Yeah. It ended faster than I expected. But now I need to go to Rosenne and Kreis.”

“Hmmm…”

Uh oh. That tone—she’s annoyed.

“Sis… want a drink?”

“Of course. But I know about the weird rumors in Rosenne, you know.”

“Weird rumors…?”

I quickly filled a glass with ice, made her drink a slightly strong mix, and poured myself one too so my tongue would loosen up.

“They say you joined the monster hunt. And that you even fought a dragon.”

“Well, I am registered as an adventurer. When the guild sends a direct request, I can’t refuse. I just use whirlwind magic to spin beasts around. I don’t do anything dangerous.”

“Then what about you taking down those huge bulls and big-fanged tigers all at once?”

“I told you—I stay safely inside a dome and just spin them around. My party handles the finishing blow.”

“I mean, I didn’t think a little guy like you could defeat monsters, but it’s weird that such rumors are spreading.”

“Ah—mom and dad are back. What’s for dinner?”

“Don’t dodge the question!”

“We’re hooome—oh! Leon!”

“You’re back?”

Mom’s eyes were sharp, and Dad saw the drink in my hand and bonked me—like an opening attack.

“Ow!! Dad, what was that for?!”

“Dear! Don’t hit him, poor thing!”

“You made your mother worry! We’ve been worried ever since we heard the rumors about you!”

After saying that much, Dad grabbed my glass and chugged the whole thing.
And now my head hurts… That’s definitely going to become a bump—No! Don’t come out! Hide!

Everyone was staring at the top of my head, eyes wide and speechless.

“What was that just now?”

“Hey… that was…”

“Don’t tell me—you’ve got a spirit attached to you?”

Ah. Right. Mom grew up in an elf village…

“Well… I was going to tell you eventually…”

I only planned to talk about the ID passes, but now I had to explain everything.
It healed the bump instantly, so that was probably a healing spirit.

“What color did you see?”

“Explain! Why did it appear and vanish like that?!”

“Can’t believe… you’re connected to spirits…”

“You’ve completely changed since leaving town. Having so many spirits is no normal thing. Explain.”

There was no way out.
Since it looked like a long night, I took food out of my magic bag and put the wine bottles on the table to get them drunk faster.

Before they got too smashed, I lined up five ID passes from the Duke on the table.

“What’s this?”

“Where’d you get these?”

“Something wrong?”

“I did help with the dragon subjugation, so I guess rumors spread. But all I did was protect the others with wind magic and spin the dragon around.”

“Your wind magic is really that powerful…?”

“Dad, since you were an adventurer, you’ve seen Golden Bears before, right?”

“Well, I was in a gold-ranked party. I was silver-rank 1, doing scouting and archery, so I didn’t fight much up front. Speaking of ranks—what rank are you? Show me.”

Ah. I messed up the flow.

He wouldn’t pull back his hand, so I reluctantly put my guild card on his palm.

“You’re B-rank?! Gold rank, class 1?!”

“We’ll talk about that later. Let me explain the ID passes. These are from Duke Berlant, lord of Constance territory.”

“Hmm… these are authentic. How did you get them?”

“He liked me for contributing during the dragon fight and trusted me with some tasks.
You used to be an adventurer—you know how big parties get patrons. I got close to the Rosenne party Mighty Strength, and during the forced deployment, I was assigned as their defense support. So—”

I explained the whole dragon incident and the part about flying for the search operation.
The conversation derailed again, so I promised to show them I could fly tomorrow and tried to get back to explaining the ID passes.

I registered the three of them, gave my parents the ID passes for my two brothers, and told them that Count Arclight already knew about me carrying Duke Berlant’s passes.

That made the conversation drag on even longer.

By the time both bottles were empty, all three of them were drunk, and I skipped the spirit explanation entirely.
I claimed I had to wake up early and escaped to bed.

＊ ＊ ＊ ＊ ＊ ＊ ＊

“You’re really going?”

“I have to deliver the Duke’s message to the parties I mentioned yesterday. Feels like they’re using me a bit too conveniently just because I can fly, but apparently having the Duke’s ID works as a good repellent against trouble.”

“It’s true. Carrying a high noble’s pass keeps merchants and nobles from messing with you.
More importantly—show me this ‘dome.’”

We were outside the house, but neither he nor Mom would be convinced unless I showed them. I created a lightly dust-filled Shelter.

“Ohh, so that’s the dome.”

“This one’s for protection—more like a shield. The real dome is for camping; you can sleep ten people in it easily.”

Dad kicked it hard, but it didn’t budge.
His foot looked like it hurt, which was kind of funny.

Neighbors were starting to gather, so I dispelled it and made a run for it.

“I need to hurry. I’ll come back when I’m done.”

“Wait! You said you can fly—show us here!”

Dad’s adventurer blood must have been boiling; his eyes were shining, and he wouldn’t let go of my collar.

So I made him step back, created a Holed Balloon and lifted myself with a light Updraft.
Then I got an idea and decided to head toward the Arclight estate.

＊ ＊ ＊ ＊ ＊ ＊ ＊

“He really flew.”

“He really can… unbelievable.”

“That direction is toward the Count’s mansion, not Rosenne. Don’t tell me he’s bringing trouble there…”

“Um, Betti-san, why can Leon fly?!”

“Do adventurers normally fly?!”

“He was wearing pretty nice clothes too… does he earn that much?”

The neighbors surrounded my family, and they struggled to explain, finally understanding why I avoided talking too much.

＊ ＊ ＊ ＊ ＊ ＊ ＊

I landed in front of the manor’s side gate.

“Who goes there?! Suspicious!”

I immediately showed my Duke-issued pass.

“My name is Leon. I wish to meet Steward Eugene.”

He checked the pass and me very carefully before letting me in.

Eugene arrived quickly and handed me a letter.
I skimmed it—it was exactly the reply I’d hoped for.
But the request was already finished, and he clearly didn’t know that.
I didn’t bother to explain; instead I warned him about what was happening outside.

“Steward Eugene, I’ve read the contents, so I’ll take my leave. I currently carry Duke Berlant’s ID and am moving secretly. Someone flying over town probably caused a commotion, so please instruct the guards not to make a fuss.”

“Someone… flying?”

“Yes. That was the purpose of the previous request. I’ve completed the Duke’s task and received another, so I flew from town to here. Now that I’ve received the letter, I’m leaving.
Please calm the guards as I mentioned.”

He still looked doubtful, so we stepped outside together.
I made another Holed Balloon, applied Updraft, and slowly ascended.

“Steward Eugene! Please contact the guards immediately!”

I shouted at the stunned steward and soldiers, then flew toward Rosenne.

＊ ＊ ＊ ＊ ＊ ＊ ＊

The distance from Lynas to Rosenne takes two and a half days by wagon; I arrived easily before noon.
I was used to flying now.

Since it wasn’t an emergency, I landed near the gate and walked toward it—but someone was glaring at me.

I showed my guild card, and the guard made a weird face.
Then yelling came from behind.

“You’re Leon, right?! You blasted us away last time!”

“Uh… last time? What are you talking about?”

“Don’t play dumb! You used magic on us and forced your way through!”

“Ah. You mean when I was responding to the dragon subjugation request and you blocked the road?”

“You damn adventurer! You attacked us with magic—we’ll toss you in the underground cells and squeeze the truth out of you!”

What an idiot.

“Sure, go ahead—but I doubt your magistrate will approve.”

About five or six guards surrounded me with batons.
I calmly made a Shelter, and since adventurers were gathering as spectators, I asked one to contact the submaster.

I promised him a silver coin, and he ran happily toward the guild.

This issue should’ve been resolved already, though…