Volume 3 Chapter 13 The Message
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
Leaving the renovation of the cave and the care of the Sword Cain to Natra and Rufna, Kian headed back to East End alone.
His plan was to borrow a horse at the Guild and ride to Izerland Fortress.
He had handed Natra seven gold coins—plus one extra—for Sword Cain’s maintenance and the supplies needed for the cave renovation. That left him with twenty-three gold coins and some silver in reserve.
(I told Natra to sell the iron sword and armor Maribel sent if funds run low. I feel bad for Maribel and the others, but it’s better than letting them gather dust in a room at The Boar’s Trot Inn.)
The main goal of this trip was to somehow persuade Renaud to repair the Windsong Blade for those remaining twenty-three gold coins.
On his way to the Guild, Kian hesitated for a moment, considering dropping by The Boar’s Trot Inn. But it was a busy morning, and he decided against it.
Even though he had returned to East End earlier than expected, there wasn’t much reason to report in yet.
When he returned from Izerland Fortress, he planned to resume Serena’s training. After that, he would go back to earning adventurer points around East End for the promotion exam.
There was no problem delaying his report until after the trip.
(—Serena, huh…)
Kian suddenly pictured the face of the young Wolfkin girl from earlier—Serena—who had been raped just a few hours ago.
As he passed by the Pumpkin Pie Inn, he glanced up at a window on the second floor.
Serena’s room was tightly shut.
He could faintly sense her gentle magical presence from within. It seemed like she was asleep.
(I thought I was going too far… but I’ve already crossed the line.)
’What? Are you crying over raping her now?’
(No… that desire was mine. No doubt about it. The next time we meet, I’ll probably use ‘discipline’ as an excuse to violate Serena again… No—I’ll give her strength. That’s convenient enough.)
’Hmm?’
Serena is a rare Wolfwoman.
Now that Natra and Rufna were in hand, he didn’t really need her anymore for magic power.
But, rationally speaking, the more good pieces he had, the better.
Emotionally, he wanted to look after her until she could either return to her pack or embrace her pride and integrity.
The reason?
He didn’t want to see Serena, like he once was, poisoned by the Adventurer’s lifestyle—throwing away her pride and rotting away.
(I understand she was desperate. But, the plea for her life she made after yesterday’s duel was one of the last things I wanted to hear. Honestly… I was stunned.)
’Ah…. Indeed, after being knocked down 3 times, saying “I wasn’t feeling well, give me another chance” was a laughable line to hear,”
(I know I’m being selfish, but I can’t stand the thought of *that* Serena, the one who dismissed me as ‘weak’ when we first met, changing. If she’s going to change, I’ll fix her myself. ‘Glasses’, do you understand how I feel?)
’I do. But it’s twisted…. That girl is pitiful to be hounded by such a persistent man.’
(I’ve said it before. If she truly hates it, I’ll Stop. But until then, I’m going to indulge my preferences.)
Adventurers, who were just passing by, stopped dead in their tracks and turned to stare.
Ignoring them, he went down the central street, their suspicious gazes following him.
He cut across the main street and entered the Adventurer’s Guild in the central district.
Walking from the entrance to the white hall with the reception window, he noticed a gap in the flow of crowded Adventurers.
It was the space with tables for conversation to the left of the hall.
There, the skeleton-faced Guild Master──Friedrich──and a tired-looking, flaxen-haired woman──Lyritisse──were talking.
Behind Friedrich, three combat-oriented Guild staff members stood at the ready.
He was only supposed to apply to borrow a horse at the window, but Friedrich noticed him and raised his hand.
”Kian! Rank 8 Adventurer Kian! Come over here!”
The booming voice of the elderly Guild Master drew the attention of the Adventurers who had been chatting in the hall.
Every gaze was unfriendly.
”What the hell?”
”Did that ‘garbage scavenger’ do something again?”
”You idiot, that ‘garbage scavenger’ is the Knight of the fortress’s princess. Watch your words.”
”Hah, just a bottom-feeder. Lucky to have crawled up… I don’t like it.”
”That sneaky garbage bastard. Die.”
He felt the weight of their hostile stares, but he was already used to he.
As long as no knives was flying his way, he had no intention of raising his hackles.
Kian pushed through the crowd of Adventurers and approached the two of them.
”You called for me, Guild Master?”
”Yeah.”
Friedrich seemed to be pretending not to hear the insults whispered from all around.
Beside him, Lyritisse pursed her lips tightly, wearing a stern expression, but she only greeted Kian, reading the room.
”Good morning, Kian.”
”Good morning, Ms. Lyritisse. And good morning to you too, Guild Master.”
”Yeah, good morning.”
Friedrich nodded with eyes like a dead fish.
”Is this about the Bloodsucking Kind Quest in the mountain village yesterday?”
”That’s right. It turned out it wasn’t actually the Bloodsucking Kind, but rather the work of Wolfmen warriors mutated into werewolves. We’re currently dispatching a Guild exploration team based on your eyewitness report to investigate the area near the lake in the forest. ──Do you have any plans after this?”
”I plan to head to Izerland fortress. I’ve saved up enough gold coins to repair my broken weapons, so I was thinking of asking Lord Renaud to fix them. I also intended to pay my respects to Her Excellency and the others.”
”I see. I just need a little bit of your time to hear a few stories. In return, I’ll lend you the fastest horse. You came to borrow a ride to the fortress, didn’t you?”
”Yes.”
Kian nodded, and Friedrich immediately got to the point.
”First, according to what I’ve heard from Lyritisse, it seems you encountered a group called ‘Storm Herd’ at the lake in the forest last night?”
”Yes. It seemed to be a group led by a rough-looking man named Yelmar. Here’s the business card I was handed.”
”Can I borrow it? ──Thank you. It’s a card with a magic circle drawn on it. If you spill blood or channel magic power, it connects to them… Yelmar Branch Family. I see, it indeed says that.”
Friedrich murmured this while showing it to the magician who stood behind him.
Kian stretched out his right hand.
”I apologize, but I’d appreciate it if you could return that.”
”Oh, of course.” Friedrich handed it back without protest.
”I have no intention of aligning myself with Yelmar,” Kian added, his tone firm. “But—”
”Ah, I understand. I get it. No matter what it is, connections are crucial for an Adventurer.”
The magician leaned closer and whispered something to Friedrich.
”Guild Master. We need to ask Serena Silverwooloo about this.”
Friedrich nodded silently.
(If I remember correctly, Serena is the daughter of the leader of ‘Storm Herd’──Glen Silverwooloo.)
Considering the timing of her being left behind and the possibility of some kind of family turmoil happening behind the scenes, the matter that seemed like disconnected dots began to feel like it could be linked into a single line.
Perhaps the direct cause of the turmoil was the murder of Serena’s brother by the ‘Azrael’s Death Sword User.’
As a result, chaos ensued within the family, and Glen must have tried to at least let Serena escape by leaving her behind at the camp while he vanished somewhere.
After that, Yelmar, freed from Glen’s control, went independent and started conducting business using the family’s name without permission──something like that seemed to pop into his mind easily.
Friedrich frowned in silence, and Lyritisse, who had been quiet until then, spoke up.
”Regarding the lake, I conducted an investigation this morning. I plan to dive in after I’ve rested, but after a cursory examination of the surrounding forest, I found several powerful barriers, just as Kian reported. I’m certain something unsavory was happening there.”
”To house a large number of people in those mountains, they would have needed to procure food and other daily necessities from afar. However, if they had a magician capable of teleportation, it wouldn’t have been a problem. Even the ripples of magic power emitted by a teleportation gate wouldn’t reach this East End. It wouldn’t even be detected by a specialist magician.”
”You encountered the former Her Excellency Maribel’s Head Magician at the lake, didn’t you?”
”Yes, it was definitely Ms. Natasha.”
Kian affirmed, and Friedrich and Lyritisse nodded at each other.
The eyes of the combat-oriented staff members behind Friedrich grew sharp.
A combat-oriented staff member with a greatsword on his back spoke.
”If that’s the case, this is serious. Former Head Magician Natasha is currently a top priority wanted witch. Her personality aside, her skill as a magician is too high. She’s a very dangerous opponent to leave at large.”
”Just as Ruth says. We must urgently request her handover to Lord Yelmar. We must also immediately contact Princess Maribel. I was thinking of sending a bird, but Kian, if you’re going to the fortress, would you mind taking this letter with you?”
”I don’t mind, but it will arrive later than the bird.”
”In this case, I want to prioritize the safe and certain delivery of the letter. Birds sometimes fail.”
”Guildmaster, I will open a gate and send Kian to the hills,”
Lyritisse said with a determined expression.
Her white forehead peeked through her bangs, slightly shining with oil.
It was a clear sign of fatigue.
She had already been staggering before we reached the mountain village, and now, was it really okay to make her use such powerful magic to open the gate again?
Friedrich seemed to think the same thing, shaking his head.
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
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