2
It wasn’t difficult for the two guild staff members to find the rumored trio.
After greeting Goz, Kuraia, and Klimt, Liddell immediately voiced the request entrusted to her by Guild Master Elgart.
She asked the three, who had achieved great results in the current magical beast rampage, to come under the guild’s command. Of course, this came with exceptional conditions.
This was the scouting of new fighting power that Parfait had mentioned earlier, but it wasn’t solely the Adventurers’ Guild’s decision. It was an action agreed upon with the Ishka government.
The situation was as follows:
A trio of unknown identity suddenly appeared in the face of the magical beast rampage crisis. Each of them was worth a thousand soldiers.
Hearing this, the upper echelons of Ishka felt suspicion before joy. It was clear from their clothing and equipment that the three were from the east. There had already been an incident in the royal capital of Horus. They naturally became concerned that soldiers from the neighboring eastern country of Ad Astra might be trying to infiltrate the Kingdom of Canaria under the cover of the magical beast rampage.
The invitation from the Adventurers’ Guild was like bait. The Ishka leadership thought they could gauge the trio’s intentions by how they responded to the guild’s offer.
Goz-Shima accurately understood these underlying motives of Ishka.
For Goz, this assistance wasn’t driven by any ulterior motive, but aimed to atone for the misdeeds of Jijinbo, his fellow disciple.
Logically speaking, he should first apologize for Jijinbo’s incident, and then offer his help anew.
However, this matter involved imperial national policy. As long as the Emperor still desired the marriage between Crown Prince Azael and Princess Sakuya, Goz couldn’t reveal the truth based on his personal judgment.
If that was the case, all he could do was make amends by devoting himself to defending against the magical beast rampage.
Of course, he wanted to say he’d do it for free – but if he were to state that he didn’t need compensation here, Ishka’s suspicions would only solidify rather than dissolve. Throughout history, nothing has been more expensive than ‘free’.
So, Goz decided to simply accept the exceptional reward from the guild. He could distribute the received compensation to the victims in the royal capital and their families.
With this in mind, Goz told the braided receptionist that “This is an unexpected honor” and broke into a smile.
Later, when the woman who introduced herself as Parfait praised his achievement in defeating the Sword Beast with coy manners, he responded with an attitude that wasn’t entirely displeased.
He could feel the siblings’ gazes piercing his back, but if one couldn’t perform this level of political maneuvering, they couldn’t serve as the strategist of the Mitsurugi family. Even to Liddell’s eyes, Goz’s behavior seemed natural.
On the other hand, the attitude of the two behind him, especially the younger brother Klimt, caught Liddell’s eye. His attitude, with his right eye full of dissatisfaction and his left eye brimming with contempt, could hardly be called friendly.
Seeing this, Liddell decided that if she was going to probe, it should be here.
Certainly, there was nothing unnatural about Goz’s attitude, but the fundamental unnaturalness of such powerful individuals who could effortlessly dispatch monsters from a magical beast rampage traveling without belonging to any country or organization couldn’t be erased.
While it’s an unspoken rule in the guild not to delve into adventurers’ pasts, given the suspicion of them being spies from a neighboring country, it was also the duty of staff to gather what information they could.
“While Goz-dono’s defeat of the Sword Beast was impressive, I hear that Kuraia-dono and Klimt-dono each defeated a Manticore single-handedly. This too is a splendid military achievement, and Guild Master Elgart was full of admiration.”
When Liddell praised them, Klimt responded as if spitting out his words.
“Hmph, taking down one or two Manticores is nothing to boast about. The adventurers of Ishka must be quite low-level.”
“Klimt, that’s rude.”
“It’s just a fact, sis. The Guild Master is all impressed? Defeating small fry like Sword Beasts and Manticores, what’s the big deal?”
Hearing Klimt’s words, Liddell’s eyes narrowed slightly. While maintaining a pleasant expression, Liddell continued:
“Those are harsh words. In Ishka, Sword Beasts and Manticores are considered highly dangerous magical beasts, and forming parties is recommended when subjugating them. From the perspective of those who have successfully defeated them alone, our level is indeed low, I must admit.”
“Hmph, at least you know your place. It’s Sir Shiba’s decision, so I’ll cooperate. But don’t you dare try to order us around. Make sure you tell that Elgard person too.”
“Understood.”
As Liddell nodded without resistance, Klimt snorted and closed his mouth.
His behavior was rough, but there was no lingering resentment. The way he seemed satisfied after saying what he wanted to say was typical of young adventurers confident in their abilities.
His sister Kuraia conveyed an apologetic look. While responding with a smile, Liddell assessed the relationships and personalities of the three.
Klimt was too impulsive to serve as a spy. Goz and Kuraia showed depth in their personalities, but their behavior and characters were positive, seemingly unrelated to covert work like espionage.
However, judging from the three’s abilities, they undoubtedly harbored some secrets. To bring back reliable information to Elgard, it might be worth pushing a little further.
As if reading Liddell’s thoughts, Parfait tugged gently at Liddell’s sleeve.
“Senior, senior! There are people in Ishka who’ve defeated magical beasts alone too, right? Like Griffons and Scyllas!”
Parfait spoke in a lowered voice—though still audible to everyone present.
Noticing Klimt’s cheek twitch, Parfait continued speaking to Goz, pretending not to notice:
“Ishka’s adventurers aren’t to be underestimated. You might have heard of this, but do you know about the ‘Blue Dragon Knight’? It’s about an adventurer who tamed a ferocious blue winged beast.”
“No, I don’t know about that. I might have heard something about a dragon knight, but… From what you’re saying, is this knight the one who defeated magical beasts alone? Even with the help of a winged beast, taking down a Griffon is quite impressive.”
Goz nodded, seemingly impressed, but in reality, he wasn’t particularly interested.
People in this country make a fuss about dragons and dragon knights, but winged beasts aren’t even dragons to begin with. And to borrow Klimt’s words, winged beasts are small fry to the Illusory Sword Style.
Consequently, there was no need to fear winged beasts, nor any reason to be impressed by those who control them. This opinion was shared not only by Goz but also by Klimt and even Kuraia.
Noticing their lack of reaction, Parfait realized she had chosen the wrong topic. However, thinking it would be unnatural to end the conversation here, she continued casually:
“That dragon knight, named Sora, is probably the most famous person in Ishka right now—”
Parfait was about to finish her sentence
when Goz interrupted her with a sharp voice.
“Wait!”
“Wha-? What is it?”
“…Did you just say Sora?”
“Huh? Oh, yes. The dragon knight’s name is Sora, but…”
“Sora… Sora? How old? What’s that person’s age?”
“Well, probably around the same age as Klimt and Kuraia here.”
As Parfait responded, a growl escaped from Goz’s mouth.
“Hair color? Is it black?”
“Yes. Um, do you perhaps know them?”
“…Maybe. I’m sorry, but could you tell me more about this person? About how they became a dragon knight, and about defeating Scyllas and Griffons alone.”
Goz leaned forward intently as he asked.
His eyes were fixed on Parfait’s face with piercing intensity, unwavering.
READ THE ORIGINAL TRANSLATION AT GADGETIZEDPANDA.COM
The Adventurers’ Guild possesses a wealth of information about its affiliated adventurers.
What level are they? What are their preferred weapons and armor? What materials are they made of? Which schools of magic have they mastered? And so on.
All of this information is vital to an adventurer’s livelihood, and thus guild staff are required to have a high level of ethics and a sense of responsibility when it comes to handling confidential information.
Of course, Parfait was well aware of this. Despite her youth, she had been working at the demanding guild reception for over a year. She knew the difference between information that could be shared and information that should be kept secret.
In response to Goz’s inquiry, Parfait spoke about Sora’s information, but she didn’t utter a word about what she had learned from Sora during his time at the guild. The same applied to various events that occurred after Sora’s expulsion from the guild.
So what did she talk about? It was Sora’s heroic tales. She shared with Goz and the others the achievements Sora had publicized to promote his clan, [Bloody Sword].
Parfait prefaced her story by saying that this information had little value since anyone could obtain it within a day of arriving in Ishka and investigating Sora. However, Goz latched onto this seemingly worthless information with surprising enthusiasm.
Parfait was inwardly taken aback by the unexpected reaction from Goz, who had the appearance of a stoic warrior.
Looking around, she could see that the other two, while not as blatant as Goz, were also showing interest in their own ways. Kuraia was listening intently with a dead-serious expression, while Klimt, despite his scowling face turned away, was clearly pricking up his ears.
Parfait thought to herself:
It was certain that the three had some connection to Sora. If she could figure out what that connection was, she might uncover the secret behind their extraordinary abilities. And that would likely coincide with the reason why Sora, who had long been at Level [1], had grown so rapidly in such a short time.
Liddell, who was quietly observing, seemed to be thinking along the same lines. The two receptionists exchanged glances and gave each other a small nod.
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