Chapter 84: Warning Notice

I returned to Rosenne from Faranka in just half a month, so I headed straight for the Adventurers’ Guild.

At the reception desk, I showed them the letter and told them it was an urgent message addressed to the Guild Master from Selfanka, the village chief of the elf settlement.

“You’re an idiot. Stop spouting nonsense you don’t even understand and go cool your head with some ale.”

“This is my first time seeing you at the counter, but when I say it’s a letter addressed to the Guild Master, you take it to him immediately!”

“Hey, what’s wrong, Breeze?”

“Oh, old man. I’ve brought an urgent message from the elf village chief to the Guild Master. Could you please make sure it’s delivered quickly?”

“Who’s making all that noise—…oh, it’s you.”

“Sub-Master, this seems to be an urgent message from the village chief Selfanka to the Guild Master.”

I thrust the letter I’d handed to the purchasing clerk toward the Sub-Master.

“They’re saying that dragons and wild beasts are coming up near the village of Faranka, and I was asked to deliver this to the Guild Master.”

“A dragon?!”

The moment he heard the word “dragon,” the Sub-Master’s expression changed. He snatched the letter and ran up the stairs.

Good grief—just delivering a single letter was such a hassle. As I was thinking that, the purchasing clerk started yelling at the receptionist.

“Anyone who asks to see the Guild Master has either urgent business or something extremely important! How dare you laugh it off and make fun of it!”

At the thunderous shout echoing through the guild, men began pouring out of the dining hall, watching the receptionist being scolded.

“So what, you think sitting at the reception desk makes you higher-ranked than us?”

“Maybe getting yelled at will make them behave.”

“More importantly, I heard something about a dragon…”

“That guy’s the one they call Gentle Breeze, right?”

“What about the dragon?”

Maybe mentioning a dragon wasn’t such a good idea.

“I just brought a message addressed to the Guild Master. If there’s anything important, he’ll explain it himself.”

“So you don’t even know anything, yet you go around saying ‘dragon,’ huh?”

“Young guys always exaggerate. Probably just got chased by a lizard or something.”

“Don’t you know who that guy is?”

I was thinking of grabbing an ale before things got any noisier, when heavy footsteps came pounding down the stairs. The Sub-Master and a burly man who looked like the Guild Master approached me.

Even though I don’t like rough-looking old men, he shouted at me anyway, “When did you receive this?!”

“When? About half a month ago. Faranka village is pretty far, you know.”

“And on your way back here, did anything unusual happen?”

“You’re asking me that here?”

I glanced toward the dining hall and saw the onlookers straining to listen, which made the Sub-Master hesitate.

“Let’s hear it in my office.”

“Before that, there’s something I’d like to show you, so please have the dismantling area cleared.”

“That won’t be possible immediately. I’ll tell them to wrap up the current appraisals, so in the meantime, tell us about Faranka.”

Talking about everything I’d seen would be troublesome, so I figured I’d just relay what I’d heard from the elders and the village chief.

Following the Guild Master upstairs, I entered his office. He tossed the letter onto his desk and said arrogantly.

“Tell me what you saw and heard in Faranka.”

Well, I suppose he is the Guild Master.

I told them that I’d overheard the elders and the village chief from a distance, and that there was an uproar because a dragon was chasing wild beasts and coming up into the forest above areas called the Valley and Third Ravine.

“Was that on the north side of the valley?”

“I heard ‘the northern forest,’ but I didn’t see it myself. I just happened to stumble upon the elf village.”

“Stumble upon it?”

“If you wander around an unfamiliar forest, you’ll get lost, so I decided to head straight north. After walking for nearly two weeks, I came out to a place where a huge boulder stood in the middle of the grasslands. That’s where I met the elves, and they invited me to their village.”

The Sub-Master returned from the dismantling area, looking exasperated. “You’re even more reckless than I thought.”

I just had something I wanted to check out in Faranka, that’s all.

“You said there was something you wanted to show us.”

“Monkeys. About my size, with huge tusks.”

The Guild Master and Sub-Master groaned and glared at me.

“Were you attacked by them?”

“They were in the middle of eating what they’d hunted. I was watching from hiding, and then one attacked me from the trees.”

“And you came back without a scratch?”

“You don’t look injured, so I take it you killed a few of them?”

“I brought back three.”

“Show us everything you have.”

We went back downstairs with the Guild Master. At the entrance to the dismantling area, guild staff were blocking the way.

The prey had been lined up inside, but there were no adventurers around—it seemed they’d all been kicked out.

“Start by laying out the monkeys. Put the rest beside them.”

Thinking this felt like an interrogation, I lined up the three monkeys. Even the dismantling staff let out groans.

When I placed a brown bear, a red bear, high orcs, and orcs beside them, I heard comments like, “These ones are big too.”

Next came forest wolves and fang wolves, and finally I laid out a fang tiger.

“You said the fang monkeys were about a week from the city, but where did you get the fang tiger?”

“Two days out from Faranka village.”

“What should we do?”

“We’ll send a report on the current situation along with this letter to the royal capital’s headquarters. We also need to issue warnings to the surrounding guilds. And prepare for a mandatory summons for Silver-rank and above… There’s a lot to do. Pick five or six people who are good with horses.”

“You’re Leon, right? Show me your guild card.”

Good grief—this is getting bad, even if it’s just how things turned out.

I couldn’t refuse, so I reluctantly handed over my guild card.

“From today on, you’re Silver Rank, second class. As you heard, there may be a mandatory summons, so stay in this city!”

He said that and handed my card to the Sub-Master.

“If the mandatory summons hasn’t been issued yet, I’m carrying a delivery from Faranka to the Apothecaries’ Guild in Korche. May I go deliver it?”

“Make sure you come back. If you don’t…”

I thought he might threaten to revoke my adventurer status, but he didn’t say anything further, so it seemed going to Korche would be fine.

When I went to the dining hall, a crowd of curious onlookers gathered around me. I told them, “I’ve been ordered to keep quiet, so if you want to know anything, ask the Sub-Master or the Guild Master,” and once I ordered an ale, they fell silent.

Before long, word about the fang monkeys would spread anyway, so rumors were bound to fly.

Since Korche is the neighboring town, it’s not like I can disappear for long. What should I do…?

The old man in charge of dismantling brought me the appraisal sheet, and when I saw that a single fang monkey was valued at 150,000 dara, my eyes went wide.

“The meat’s awful and it can’t be sold, but that price includes hazard pay.” 

He said kindly.

If the meat tastes that bad and looks like that, it’s only natural that no one would want to eat it.

The fang tiger was listed at 620,000 dara, and the brown bear at 55,000 dara.

The total came to 4,237,000 dara. I hadn’t even turned in the bird, but it was still a decent sum.

If I’d included the bird, it probably would’ve doubled.

Once I agreed, they handed back my guild card. There was one more line on it now—I’d been promoted to Silver Rank, Second Class.

Promoted to second class in just half a year… Are they running a clearance sale on rank-ups or something?

I decided to deposit the entire amount with the guild. After downing an ale, I headed for Korche.

I seem to have some kind of connection to Korche, since I’ve been here countless times, yet it still doesn’t feel settled somehow.

For now, I went to the Apothecaries’ Guild to hand over the items I was entrusted with to Claudine and ask for a bit of advice.

When the burly man saw my face, he retreated to the back, and the elf Claudine came out instead.

“I arrived safely at the village and learned what I needed. I’ve brought back medicinal herbs and magical water, but I’d like to hand them over somewhere out of sight, if possible.”

At my last words, his eyebrows lifted slightly. He invited me inside and led me to a room in the back.

There was a plaque that read Guild Master…

“You find it strange that there aren’t many people around?”

“I never imagined you were the Guild Master.”

“I let them become independent once they’re fully trained.”

“Doesn’t that mean your earnings go down?”

“I still have a fair number of regular high-value clients, and those who’ve gone independent remain members.”

I see—if he’s supported by loyal clients and former apprentices who’ve become members, then his skills as an apothecary must be top-notch.

When I lined up five bottles of magical water and bundles of various herbs, he gave them a quick check and then packed them away into his magic bag one after another.

They were all herbs I’d never seen before—probably ones that grow around the Faranka area.

“I’ve done herb gathering myself, but these are all unfamiliar to me.”

“They’re ingredients for mid- to high-grade potions. We extract the essence using magical water, so they’re rarely found around here. If you can travel to Faranka safely, I might ask you to gather some special herbs someday.”

“My sister is also an apothecary, and in a little over two years she plans to go independent. Would it be all right if she went to gather those herbs then?”

“Herb gathering is free. But the area around Faranka is fairly dangerous. By the way, what did you mean about wanting a place with no one around?”

“I was told by the elders, but I can see spirits—so please don’t speak out loud.”

Claudins nodded in puzzlement, but the moment I asked, ‘Please show yourselves,’ his eyes went wide and he froze in place.

I took out a cup and some liquor from my magic pouch, poured it, and handed it to him. Without saying a word, he took it and drank it all in one go.

He started coughing, but seemed to come back to his senses.

“That’s some incredible liquor.”

That’s what surprised you?

“So that’s the form spirits take?”

“I was told that each color corresponds to the spirits attached to magic and skills.”

He tilted his head at my words, then seemed to grasp their meaning and froze again—which was only natural.