Chapter 114
Two days after the attack on the city of Lomarn, Mea and I were in the break room of the Adventurer’s Support Center, spreading out a newspaper .
Most of the articles, of course, were about that sorcerer Margus, and then our hero, Gaston-sama .
Margus Margnor .
It seems to be the real name of the sorcerer who used Zolomonian’s staff to attack the peaceful city of Lomarn .
Through the investigation of the lord, I learned that he had a history of serving as an executive of the extremist Kuudrulian witchcraft society “Amor”, which was full of criminals .
It is rumored that “Amor” brings its own bizarre interpretation of the Kudor Scripture and plans to invoke the Kudor God to rule the world, and it is an organization that is seen as dangerous by several countries .
This has revealed that Margus is a much more dangerous sorcerer than originally thought, and due to the difficulty of determining the amount of money to be paid for defeating Margus and the generosity of the subjugator, Gaston, the delivery of the reward has been postponed for some time .
The details of Zolomonia’s staff are often intentionally kept under wraps, making it difficult to hand over the reward until the message sent to King’s capital is returned .
As for Margus, he will be escorted to another city or country, and at that time the reward money will probably be generated again .
Furthermore, it seems that Margus had been using the petrification curse on various places, from small villages to large cities, in addition to Lomarn .
On the same day of the attack on Lomarn, a pogue (a bird trained to carry a message) arrived in the city of Lomarn, and a letter of warning was reportedly delivered to the city .
Since the petrification curse was a simple one, the damage done to the body by Margus, the sorcerer, would also break the curse of what had been petrified in the other villages and towns that had been affected .
If he was treated as having saved them, Gaston’s name as a hero would spread by leaps and bounds in the near future .
Accompanying that, gratuities were likely to be generated from other cities as well .
Perhaps because the lord was aware of his influence, Gaston was promoted at an unusual rate and achieved a great promotion to a semi-A-class adventurer .
It is said that there are only so many A-class and semi-A-class adventurers in the country that you can count on two hands .
Furthermore, it was written that if he continued to make achievements at this rate, it would be only a matter of time before he was recognized as a legendary adventurer, one of the only three adventurers in the history of the Adventurers’ Support Center .
…… But from my point of view, it’s good that the reward amount is going to jump up, but I’d like to see them pay a portion of it as soon as possible .
I just feel like it’s only going to go up and pop off at some point .
I folded the newspaper and put it in Mea’s bag .
“Time to get out . If we run into Gaston who came to redeem the money, we’ll be stuck in a crowd of people for a while……”
“Right……”
I just finished off a suitable magical beast in the morning and gathered it in a blind spot in the forest, and then had the Gordon brothers guide Gaston to hand it over .
Today’s quota is already done .
To tell the truth, the reward money from the staff incident of the previous day should be coming in a heap in the near future, so I want to take a break from making money and focus on researching magic for a while .
I want to find an artisan who can process the remnants of Zeshum’s floating fortress, start developing the theory of Magiphone (provisionally) in earnest, shop around for homunculus materials, and prepare to move to the countryside where there are fewer ordinance restrictions on magic .
However, Gaston wouldn’t allow me to do that .
He wants me to get my exploits from the sorcerer, and it’s time to bring him and me together, sometimes in a blackmailing tone, sometimes in a pleading tone .
When I handed over the grand boar via the Gordon brothers yesterday, they came all the way to me later and shouted at me saying, “Tell the sorcerer that I don’t deserve a big pig boa like that!” .
It’s starting to get a pain in the ass .
“…… I think it’s time for me to sneak off in the night . ”
When I said it, Mea chuckled, as if she thought I was joking .
To be honest, I was half-serious .
As I got up from my seat, Mea turned her attention to the back of the rest stop .
“Ah! Abel, there’s Maizen . ”
“Since we’re here, I’ll just say hi and we’ll get going . ”
“…… But somehow, there’s a strange vibe in the air . ”
When Mea told me to turn around, I saw Maizen sitting at the four-person desk .
In addition to the usual sloppy couple, Lisha and Tida, there was one short-haired man .
He said he was going to have an upcoming face-to-face meeting to welcome a man he had recently hit it off with to the party .
Perhaps that man was the newcomer to the party and they were all discussing and deciding whether or not to really let him join today .
“It sounds like they’re having a serious conversation, so let’s stop now…… Mm?”
That newcomer’s face, I remember seeing it somewhere before .
A few days ago, I’m sure, he was walking around the Adventurer’s Support Center with his girlfriend, flirting with her… When I thought that far, a memory flashed back in my brain .
The scene of the short-haired man and one half of that couple, Lisha, kissing in the morning inside the facility .
“…………”
…… isn’t that the guy you were talking about?
The three of them, except for Maizen, looked down in silence and had a somber expression on their faces .
Maizen, as expected, seems to have noticed, and his face is pale and disconcerted .
Maizen is opening and closing his mouth irregularly like a fry seeking food, but he doesn’t say any words . He seemed to be in a complete panic .
You should at least let him know your name beforehand, Maizen ……
He stepped through a miraculous mine with miraculous odds .
“Ma-, Maizen, you set us up!”
Lisha slams the desk and stands up .
At first, there was an air of “what the hell is this guy talking about?” in the air, but the current situation is unbearable, and Tida wanted to direct the stress of the situation to someone else .
“Thi-, this! You don’t have to do this kind of guesswork! What, are you making me an idiot, hey, Maizen! Are you listening!”
“N, no, I’m not…… I’m not……”
“Hey, what did you want!? What did you really want to do!? Depending on your answer, I’ll be really pissed!?”
“That’s not……!”
“Let’s pause for a moment . It was really a coincidence that I met Maizen-san…… so the one at fault is me…… if you have something to say about it, you can say it to me…… . ”
“‘You’re not even in a position to say that! I’m going to slay you right now!”
As Tida reaches for his scabbard, Maizen hurriedly pounces on him and stops his hand .
Lisha elbows relentlessly at his back, and Maisen grunts . The interloper steps in to help and holds Lisha’s hand .
“Calm down! Everyone, calm down for a moment!”
“You make it even more annoying being said by you! You’re the one who takes other people’s women, but what are you telling others to calm down! You’re acting like you’re out of the loop! You’re the one who caused this!”
“I’m, I’m sorry, but Leesha-san told me…… because I didn’t think you had a girlfriend!”
“I don’t get it! Why are you trying to blame me for this? I really don’t know what that means! That sucks!”
An ugly fight began .
The other adventurers who were taking a break heard the commotion and began to watch and cheer from afar .
“Good, good! Get them, get them!”
“Draw your sword, you’re a man! Don’t you regret being looked down!”
For a moment, I locked eyes with Meisen .
I contemplated whether I should go in to help or not, having come to the conclusion that there was nothing I could do, I decided to leave .
“…… Let’s go, Mea . ”
“B-, but, but Maizen……”
“I don’t think he’d want us to see him like this . Next time you see him, don’t ask him anything . And if his party breaks up because of an unfortunate misunderstanding, and Maizen seems to be in trouble, then we’ll invite him to our party . ”
“Yes . ”
As Mea and I left the break area of the Adventurer’s Support Center and headed for the doorway…… we heard a high pitched cheer .
It’s too late . Gaston seemed to have arrived .
If this happens, I won’t be able to use the doorway for a while .
I weighed the question of whether to wait in the middle of a lover’s quarrel or in front of the reception desk full of cheering Gaston devotees, and I decided to choose the latter .
Stay strong, Maizen .