Volume 2 Chapter 95 Emergency Quest
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
”…Kian?”
”What is it?”
”You know, I was thinking, your familiar seems clearly stronger than when I saw it at the castle gate, right?”
Just as Serena, who had been fidgeting behind, tossed the last person into the cart, she said that.
(It’s stronger and smarter now. Actually, it has taken the place of the two Azrael apostles, Natra and Rufna, but how do I explain this?)
Kian turned to the two familiars standing nearby.
”I managed to strengthen it through various means.”
”Isn’t it… stronger? More than you, Kian.”
”If I stripped all the gear and fought with a wooden sword in an open area, I’d probably get beaten up by both of them. So what?”
”So what do you mean…”
Serena shot a wary glance at Natra.
He understood what Serena was trying to say.
Both Natra and Rufna looked completely like eastern monstrosities from their attire.
They probably thought there was no way such beings would continue to obey a human like Kian.
In fact, the potential for a rebellion from the familiars was something Kian also worried about.
He had temporarily stopped giving humans as vessels to the Night Wraiths because if he increased any further, it would be unmanageable.
Natra probably wouldn’t betray him due to her nature, but Rufna had some unpredictable aspects.
If the next human they absorbed turned out to be a problem child like the head magician Natasha, he would definitely end up focusing on that one, neglecting Rufna.
In that case, there was a significant possibility of being backstabbed.
”────”
It seemed Natra was trying not to speak more than necessary in front of Serena.
She simply vanished into spirit form as if her purpose was fulfilled.
In contrast, Rufna showed no signs of disappearing anytime soon.
”Rufna, you’re not going to dig up the body later, are you?”
”It’s fine. I buried it quite deep, and the ground is hard. If they try to dig, it’ll definitely take them until daytime.”
”In the end, you guys took them out in a flash, but they had surprisingly good gear for a bunch of common bandits. This covered wagon is brand new too.”
He placed his hand on the wooden pillar supporting the frame.
The texture was smooth and moist, lacking the roughness or unevenness typical of aged wood.
Serena came over and placed her hand on it in the same way.
”Maybe they just attacked some caravan.”
”But there are too few items for that. Is there really a fool who would only steal swords and food after attacking a caravan? Wouldn’t they take the goods loaded for sale too?”
”They probably sold them at the street market in East End.”
”Wasn’t the street market in East End shut down by Baron Waterman before? Can they still do business there?”
”Last I saw, it seemed like only those with permits could operate. They had to hang a red cloth like this in front of their shops as proof.”
”Hah, so that’s how it is now.”
”──Master, they called themselves the ‘Azraelian People’s Army,’ and Natra said they might be the armed group we were training.”
”You guys? Training? …??”
(Come to think of it, Natra and the others had been teaching weapons, money, and combat skills to the local anti-government organization.)
Kian shifted his gaze to where Natra was in spirit form.
”Is that ‘Scorpion’ the leader, Almeisa?”
There was no reply, but he sensed a slight nod from her.
(So this is the lingering scent of the Nakash family’s guerrilla tactics. If other organizations start causing trouble, there will likely be some penalties against the Azraelian. If it disrupts my adventurer life, that would be a real hassle.)
Maybe Maribel gave him the pass anticipating this.
So he could move to another land and continue his adventures if East End became unlivable──.
Either way, for a mere adventurer like Kian, it was a situation where he could only observe for now.
They’re staying at ‘The Boar’s Trot Inn,’ and there’s no change in their plan to live in the East End for a while.
”Serena, I’m sorry. I ended up talking about something confusing. I said that the ones we just defeated might have been the former disciples of Kitsune’s Night Wraith.”
”Ah, I see. Come to think of it, their skin color was the same.”
Serena is good at seeing through lies, but she can easily be swayed by the use of truth.
This time, since it was said by Kian, a trusted party member, she seemed to accept it without doubt.
”If we get tangled up with those weirdos any longer, we’ll be home late again. We need to hurry.”
”Yeah, you’re right.”
”Rufna, thank you. You really helped. You can turn into spirit form now.”
”If anything comes up again, rely on your big sister, okay?♡”
The Tengu blew a quick kiss from the mouth of her mask.
Compared to the more vague Tengu from before, her personality had clearly become stronger, but Serena didn’t seem to mind it.
While she thought it was a bit too easygoing, she decided to keep quiet since it was convenient right now.
”Let’s go.”
”Okay.”
After that, they were able to proceed without being attacked.
Coming out onto the familiar western road of East End felt like returning to the starting town after a long time.
It seemed like ages since they had gone out with Robert and the others to gather rare ingredients.
Moving forward.
They reached the western gate of East End about 3 hours later.
When they laid eyes on the wooden outer wall and the raised drawbridge, small compared to Izerland fortress, a sigh escaped her lips.
Until now, they had been moving with Christy’s or Aisha’s teleportation, which added to the mysterious emotion.
Just as the eastern sky began to lighten, the drawbridge creaked and was lowered almost simultaneously with their arrival.
Ultimately, they returned without any breaks, making for an early arrival.
”Is Serena going back to the inn for a bit?”
”Yeah, that’s the plan. Kian should go back and get some rest too. We’ll regroup at the Adventurers’ Guild around evening.”
”Ah, I have no objections.”
He thought Esther and Robert should be awake by now, so it seemed like he could greet them and give them some souvenirs.
He planned to head to the monastery right after that.
If they were sorting through quests at the Adventurers’ Guild in the evening, it looked like his visit would be pushed to the next day.
”Hey, I thought I hadn’t seen you lately. Out hunting dead souls, huh? You’re really putting in the effort, huh… yawn…”
Crossing the drawbridge with Serena, one of the guards operating the chains looked at them with a sleepy face.
He said that to Serena and tried to look away──only to do a double take at Kian.
”Huh!? You, garbage scavenger?”
”──Stop, Natra.”
The guard blinked. “Huh? Natra?”
”No, this is our conversation, guard. Sorry about that.”
”Oh, I see.”
The guard scratched his cheek lazily.
”You need to show your Adventurer’s ID, right? Come on, Kian.”
”Yeah, here.”
”Alright… Still, it’s been a while, garbage scavenger.”
The other guard chuckled. “Right, right. You get younger while I wasn’t looking? You seem bigger too. And that armor… Looks like you’ve done well for yourself.”
”I’ve started to earn a bit of money. Must be thanks to leveling up to Lower-rank Adventurer.”
Kian said that with a smile, but the guard was looking at him like he was suspicious.
”You’re not getting mixed up in anything shady, are you?”
”Shady?”
”You know, drugs, illegal deals… stuff like that.”
”Nah.” He shook his head. “If anything, I’ve been working harder. Not like I have much choice—my only selling point is taking things seriously. Otherwise, I’d end up like those poor bastards who got kicked out, wandering the wilderness.”
Kian let the remark slide and changed the subject.
”Speaking of which, I heard Baron Waterman came through recently, cracking down on foreigners.”
”You know a lot. We chased off all those illegal stayers. I’m not a fan of that baldy noble, but honestly, we were tired of the street vendors too. I’m glad they’re gone, I was thinking they should leave already.”
The other guard snorted. “Now, only those who pay taxes and have permits to do business are left. The security is much better than before.”
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
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