Chapter 583 Garm Zekt
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
(Garm’s POV)
My name is Garm Zekt.
I’m a rank C Fighter.
I am the top junior apprentice of Bro Ares, who leads the young adventurers of Raetia’s adventurer guild.
I used to do all sorts of things to survive in the slums of Royal Capital Beluga.
Both of my parents were no-good people.
They stole all the money I earned scavenging all day and beat me up every day.
I couldn’t take it anymore, so I ran away from home.
I lived on my own for a while, but one day, when I went back to check on my parents, they were gone.
They probably got taken by debt collectors.
They only depended on my earnings, you know.
I was left to fend for myself.
My scavenging income was getting worse, so I started doing things like thievery, burglary, and breaking and entering to make ends meet.
I was especially good at thievery because I was dexterous and quick.
That’s where I earned the most money.
My main targets were “drunk adventurers.”
Those guys, when they get paid, always go to the taverns and drink themselves silly.
Their pockets are always full of cash.
I used the money I made this way not to spend it all myself, but to feed the “younger kids” in the slums who were even worse off than me.
I still had a decent amount of money left over, so I told them to hide it for me.
* * *
That’s when I was feeling the most cocky.
That’s when I met Ares’ older brother and Liz.
In a back alley a little way from the tavern, I was trying to pickpocket the two of them, who were leaning against the wall, completely drunk, when Ares’ brother grabbed my arm.
He twisted my arm, and the two of them glared at me with fierce expressions… But when they saw my dirty, ragged appearance, they gave me a look of pity.
”Don’t look at me like that! Let go! Let me go!”
”…Your parents…?”
”They’re dead to me! I didn’t steal anything, so let me go!”
As I glared back, Ares’ older brother, with a sad look on his face, let go of my arm.
I tried to run away quickly, but Liz called out to me from behind.
”Hey…do you have any friends?”
I wanted to just ignore him and run, but I couldn’t help but look back.
Liz and Ares’s older brother looked really sad.
”Ugh…there are still 4 kids, maybe 5 or 6 years old. ──But they wouldn’t do something like this! Only I’m doing this dirty work…”
When I said that to them, Liz just left on her own.
Ares’s older brother,
”Take us to your hideout…I’ll buy you dinner.”
He said.
I still remember Ares’s older brother’s face from that day.
It was such a cool smile.
* * *
In the end, I ended up guiding Ares’s older brother and Liz, who was carrying her luggage, back to the shack where the kids were living.
Liz’s luggage was full of meat and bread.
Me and the kids had a feast after a long time.
Apparently, Ares’s older brother and Liz had been taking on jobs one after another and making a good amount of money.
They played around with the kids a lot and spent the night in the dirty shack.
And…morning.
When I woke up…they were gone.
I woke up the kids and told them I was going to be an adventurer.
They all looked sad, but remembering how cool the two of them looked last night, they happily waved goodbye.
Their life is going to be okay, with the money they saved up.
They won’t go hungry for a year.
Besides, we’ll all work hard at scavenging.
That’s what I boasted about.
”I’ll go adventuring and make some money and come back.”
Patting the head of the youngest girl, I ran towards the guild headquarters in Royal Capital to find the two of them.
* * *
I found them right away.
The moment I entered the guild headquarters, I was caught by the tough adventurers and almost kicked out.
Ares’s older brother and Liz saved me.
”They’re friends of ours,” they said, and took me to a corner of the guild lobby.
When I sat down at the table, I bowed to them and begged.
──I want to be an adventurer.
and.
Naturally, the two looked gruesome.
Of course.
I wonder what a skinny kid could do.
But it was different.
The two were worried about the little ones left behind.
I desperately conveyed the message.
That there was some money saved up.
That I could get by for a year.
That there was a little income from picking up trash.
And then──
”I’m going to become a fully-fledged adventurer and go fetch them.”
Hearing that resolve, the two smiled warmly, and Liz stood up and walked to the guild’s counter.
”You mentioned you were skilled enough to pickpocket. How about becoming a Thief?”
I shook my head vigorously at Ares’ brother, who was speaking to me.
──I want to become a Fighter like my brother.
Listening to my selfishness, Ares’ brother murmured, “Can’t be helped,” scratching his head and laughing.
* * *
For a while, I followed them around as their pack mule.
…I had nothing in terms of equipment.
They made sure to share proper earnings with me, and after a while, I was able to gather some gear.
The little ones seemed to have asked a guild staff member, whom Liz was friendly with, for help.
…Though that was just checking in once a week.
Still, they reliably brought the small amount of money I contributed to the little ones.
I heard later that Ares’ brother and Liz had also entrusted some money to that staff member for the little ones.
And when I had become capable enough in battle… we decided to head to Raetia together.
What happened to the little ones afterward?
You ask?
They…
Came to Raetia after a year, using the money we saved up to follow me.
Now, they go to school while working as helpers in inns, dining halls, farms, and ranches.
They no longer need my support and are doing well.
* * *
(For someone like me, who had been committing crimes in a slum, being tied with a rope is meaningless.)
With my hands bound behind my back, Ares’ brother and I were sitting on the floor, but for me, who has multiple knives hidden on me, getting free is a piece of cake.
I signaled to Ares’ brother to grab the knife I always stashed in my sleeve.
He cut the ropes binding my hands, and I returned the favor by cutting his ropes.
Luckily, they were busy talking to Olga.
Their guard was down.
Still, I’ve got to quickly take these guys out so I can help everyone else.
I was surprised to find out that Willem and Geoff were women, but Ema, Olga, and the rest, we’ve got to protect the men.
My brother Ares always says… Kazumie has told me the same.
”You all must become Liz’s shield.”
That’s it.
Liz is already a top-tier adventurer and even became the leader of Clan ‘Famière’, but those words, swapping ‘Liz’ with ‘woman’, are still engraved in my heart.
Nodding lightly with Ares’s brother, who pretends to be tied up while holding a knife in his back hand, I pull out the knife from my boot and together we leap at the men.
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
Thanks for reading.
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