Chapter 97: Everyone Knows About It
When the guild master disappeared, a huge collective sigh rose from the men around me.
“Man—how can you stay calm even after being hit by the guild master’s killing intent?”
“I was right next to you and almost pissed myself, but you were talking like nothing was happening. What was that all about?”
“They call you ‘Gentle Breeze,’ but I heard you blew away a whole bunch of monsters at once.”
“More importantly, how the hell can you fly?”
“And then there’s the Warren Trading Company incident too… you’re seriously unbelievable.”
They were so noisy I didn’t even feel like replying, so I downed the rest of my ale in one gulp… awful.
＊ ＊ ＊ ＊ ＊ ＊ ＊
“Your Majesty, we’ve received news from Rosenne and Korche regarding the beast incident. Three dragons have been slain!”
“Is that true!? Was it the magic corps’ achievement?”
“No. We kept them on standby since we couldn’t read the western movements, so they didn’t make it in time. Only part of the knight order was sent to support the adventurers to secure the highway.”
“So all of them were slain by adventurers?”
“Yes. According to reports, an Armored Dragon was defeated between Rosenne and Korche. Around the same time, a Spike Dragon was slain north of Rosenne. Then, four days later, another Spike Dragon was defeated east of Korche.”
“Dragon slayings are good news, but it reflects poorly that the noble armies and the kingdom’s magic corps did nothing.”
“We can hardly announce that we were unable to act because the movements of the Holtland Kingdom were suspicious.”
“Still… they really went and did it.”
“Thanks to that, the kingdom’s prestige has been completely crushed.”
“What should we do about this?”
“On that matter—apparently so many beasts were captured that they’re being distributed cheaply to various cities, and large quantities are being brought into the capital as well. How about stuffing magic bags full of Armor Buffalo, Golden Bears, Fang Tigers, and the like, and presenting them to the Holtland Kingdom?”
“Even though they’re trying to check our movements?”
“Yes. We could frame it as a celebration gift, saying that excellent adventurers defeated three dragons without even needing our magic corps to move. Of course, we won’t be sharing any dragon meat.”
“Then make sure people from that country are prevented from participating in the auction—don’t give them a single scrap of meat. If possible, negotiate with the guild and buy everything up. We can’t just back down after being made fools of. Also, advance the troops that are on standby up to the border.”
“That much…?”
“It’s fine. We must make it clear that even the slightest sign of them laying a hand on our country will not be tolerated. Order the nobles in each region to mobilize as well!”
＊ ＊ ＊ ＊ ＊ ＊ ＊
I submitted my prey and received appraisal slips, but they only listed the names, quantities, and condition of the beasts. I had to hand them back to the appraisers later to have the unit prices filled in.
Not feeling like waiting around in the packed dismantling yard, I spent a relaxed time in the dining hall with Olga’s group and Jake’s group, who had just returned.
Lindy had become a celebrity overnight thanks to the dragon slaying, and she was clearly embarrassed by all the attention.
On the other hand, the Mighty Strength crew and Bold were in a bad mood because I’d refused to be listed as a dragon-slaying member, and they gave me a thorough scolding.
I didn’t want to stand out with a dragon kill, and Linus is five towns away.
If my name appeared among the dragon slayers, it would definitely reach my mother’s and sister’s ears.
That would be terrifying when I went back to town, and I already had more money than I could ever use—just the bounty was more than enough.
I’d strayed pretty far from my original goal of quietly making easy money hunting birds, but I didn’t want to stand out any more than this.
I emphasized that point and forcibly convinced them that I was just trying to escape pushy patron offers.
In exchange, they shoved more than half of Mighty Strength’s appraisal slips onto me. I couldn’t exactly refuse, so I thanked them, took them, stuffed them into my magic pouch, and left them to sit for a while.
By the third day, the congestion had eased, and from the complaints of those who had gotten their slips filled in, it turned out the appraisals were only about one-third of the usual value.
The deducted portion was being used to compensate those injured or killed during the forced mobilization, so while people complained, no one pushed it further.
I didn’t even feel like looking at the prices written on my slips, so I submitted them all at the settlement counter, told them to deposit everything with the guild, and just got a signature.
“Leon, what are you going to do now? You’ve got a reputation for being able to fly, so things around you are going to get noisy.”
“If it’s a hassle, just register your name with our party. We don’t plan on serving under anyone, so we’ll turn everything down for you.”
“It’s been exactly two years since the Linus sub-master told me to disappear from town for a while. I also told my parents I’d be back in two years, so I’m going to return to Linus and earn money at a relaxed pace.”
“Linus, huh… Can you make money there? Thanks to you, things have gotten noisy here, and it’s annoying. I kind of want to escape Roxanne for a while.”
“Before I became an adventurer, I helped out a party that taught me the ropes. We only went as far as the forest boundary, but there’s apparently a decent amount of prey. That area is a count’s domain—the count himself seems reasonable, but his second son is said to be a troublesome type who’s obsessed with appearances. I also felt like I’d caught the attention of the magic corps, so I followed the sub-master’s advice.”
“Ah… then even Lynas sounds like it could be a pain.”
“Lindy, there aren’t many nobles who’ll try to strong-arm a Gold-rank adventurer—or so I’d like to say, but the town feels strange right now. And there are also magistrates eyeing the dragons.”
“Olga, have you heard the rumor? That we might be heading into war with the western Holtland Kingdom.”
“I’ve heard that noble armies and magic corps are heading west, skirting around towns.”
“And because of that, there’s also talk that the noble magic corps didn’t move.”
“Before patron offers, we might see recruitment for the magic corps first.”
“That’s easy enough to refuse. Forcing adventurers into the military would violate the agreement with the kingdom. If something like this happens, the kingdom can’t properly deal with it, so they won’t interfere.”
“Instead, they’ll try to lure people with money—but only low-rank, starving adventurers will take the bait.”
＊ ＊ ＊ ＊ ＊ ＊ ＊
“Your Excellency the Chancellor, we’ve received a noteworthy report amid the dragon incident. It concerns an adventurer named Leon, whose name previously came up in the matter involving Count Fleming.”
“Count Fleming, you say? And what about this adventurer?”
“He’s the man who was believed to have died after being caught in a tornado at the count’s estate in Berna. Moreover, he played a role in the dragon slayings—apparently using a tornado to wipe out herds of Armor Buffalo and contribute to defeating dragons. Most intriguing is the report that before and after the dragon hunts, he has been rumored to fly through the air, and many claim to have actually seen it. Similar reports have also come from the magistrate governing Korche.”
The chief aide’s words halted Chancellor Brighton’s movements.
“Has this been confirmed?”
“We only have eyewitness accounts, but he’s apparently flown to the Rosenne guild several times, so it’s likely true. However, since the end of the guild’s forced mobilization, he hasn’t flown even once. If he can create tornadoes powerful enough to aid in dragon slaying, then the Berna tornado may also have been—”
“Perhaps. Or perhaps not. Either way, it doesn’t matter. Bring that man into the kingdom—no, first, make sure he doesn’t fall into anyone else’s hands. Whether he can truly fly, and how well, can be investigated later. Dig up everything you can about him and report back.”
The chief aide, Marginas, instructed the deputy aide to use their agents planted in Roxanne to investigate Leon in detail.
As he listened, the chancellor turned his thoughts to the pressing issue at the Holtland Kingdom border.
If someone could fly, they could see all enemy military movements—meaning that if it came to battle, victory would be assured from the start.
As he hurried toward the king, he pondered how best to bring the adventurer named Leon into their fold.
＊ ＊ ＊ ＊ ＊ ＊ ＊
After changing into town clothes, I went to Rosenne’s commercial guild, presented my member card, and asked to check my balance.
The slip I was handed showed 105,860,000 Dara, with around six transfers of roughly 3,000,000 Dara each from the adventurers’ guild.
I understood that the appraisal values for the beasts were low, but even so—bringing in that many big targets and getting only 18,372,000 Dara was painful. Still, my objective lay elsewhere.
I placed about five leather bags I’d bought at an adventurer shop on the counter and told them I wanted to deposit the contents.
It included the 20,000,000 Dara gift from that eccentric count, plus some money I’d thrown in from my own funds.
Since I didn’t know the exact amount, I had them count it: 31,817,000 Dara. That brought my total deposit to 137,677,000 Dara.
I decided to check house prices after returning to Linus and then left town.
＊ ＊ ＊ ＊ ＊ ＊ ＊
My ability to fly had been exposed, but I figured that if I flew back to Lynas before the rumors reached there, it would just cause another uproar. So at night, I hovered near the west gate, rose about fifty meters, and searched the area.
Based on what they’d told me before, the two of them should be camping nearby. Looking west with the west gate at my back, I spotted a faintly glowing dome.
I landed a short distance away so as not to startle them, created a dome next to where Steve and the others were sleeping peacefully, and got some shut-eye myself.
＊ ＊ ＊ ＊ ＊ ＊ ＊
“That dome… that’s Leon’s, right?”
“I’m sure it is. Steve, try calling out to him.”
I’d made an invisible dome mixed with dirt dust since I couldn’t put up a hut, so I hadn’t noticed morning had come—but from the voices I could hear, it seemed the neighbors were awake too.
When I made an entrance and stepped outside, the four of them were lined up, staring at the dome.
“Good morning, Leon.”
“You don’t have to be so formal. How’s everything going?”
“It’s been going well. We make sure to run out of mana every day, and I feel like I can cast one or two more times now.”
Gale reported happily, but the way everyone was looking at me felt different somehow.
“Hm? Is there something on my face?”
“Leon, I hear you played a part in the dragon slayings in Rosenne.”
“The guy doing guild-to-guild messages won’t shut up about Rosenne’s rumors in the dining hall.”
“And even the Silver-class adventurers from Lynas who went to help know about you, so they said it’s definitely true.”
Ah—damn it. I’d forgotten that forced mobilization meant reinforcements came from neighboring guilds too.