Chapter 46 - Beg and Beg Again (4)

Windhand's lips trembled slightly. A silence carrying the salty scent of the sea briefly washed over us and faded.

"... Hey, look. Do you really think you can kill a dragon?"

That was a rather meaningless question.

If we couldn't kill the dragon, we'd be ruined anyway, so was there any need to imagine failure?

Besides, strictly speaking, we were a party gathered to hunt Satan.

Could a dragon really be stronger than Satan? If we couldn't even hunt a dragon, it was right to just disband this party. Just as you wouldn't challenge the final raid boss with stats that couldn't even beat the first raid boss.

Even so, was it possible to just quit by saying 'I won't run it' like in a normal game? Not at all.

I had no options, neither as a player nor as someone obsessed with a concept. The former because quests couldn't be canceled, and the latter because this persona absolutely wouldn't back down.

"If you guide the way."

In other words, there was only one answer. I just had to push forward and insist it was absolutely possible. *Mwahaha. *

"... Right. Maybe you can. But you know it too. I'm the only one taking a loss in this deal."

Of course, did I think this would work? Absolutely not.

Windhand wasn't an idiot, so why would he accept this? Even logical arguments and emotional appeals hadn't worked just now on the grounds that human lives were at stake.

"There's no reason for me to take that loss and gamble."

Honestly, I was almost amazed that Windhand was acting so calmly. Strictly speaking, wasn't what I said nothing more than stubborn nonsense?

It was hard to respond so rationally to such whining; I suppose Windhand was a surprisingly calm person.

"Your question is wrong."

Even so, I didn't stop talking.

"If you can hire a dragon slayer at the cost of a single day, it should be a profitable deal for you."

To repeat myself, my concept was not the type to back down...

"... This is driving me crazy."

"There are no further offers. My time to waste on you is over."

And it doesn't act pathetically clingy, either.

I decided to cut it off right here.

"... Captain."

"I know. Don't worry."

Windhand whispered with his companion, but I didn't get my hopes up.

The raid? It'll work out somehow. It wasn't like I trolled the negotiation, so I figured I could be a bit brazen and just say 'screw it' for this part.

Even if this failed, the Archmage had no right to say anything to me.

"Phew, your confidence... normally I would have believed it, but... as expected, I can't gamble with my brothers' lives—"

RING, RING.

But just as I expected, the bell inside the reception room rang the moment Windhand tried to reject my offer.

What happened three seconds later was the reception room door creaking open.

Windhand hurriedly threw on his robe.

"Um, someone is here looking for the client."

"Captain!"

"We're in trouble!"

The clerk poked his head through the cracked door, followed by a succession of voices that seemed to be calling for Windhand.

"You guys!?"

They were indeed people Windhand knew. Windhand and his companion were startled.

The area outside the reception room grew noisy for a moment before quieting down, and someone entered as their representative. As if they couldn't even afford a proper robe, they wore a ragged piece of cloth draped over them with a connecting string tied across their chest.

Underneath, a chest guard and bandages faintly stained with red could be seen.

"Captain, I'm sorry."

"Itkam?"

Perhaps because the clerk stepped back the moment the representative entered. The one called Itkam didn't hesitate to take off the robe and kneel right there.

Black hair braided into dozens of strands swayed shortly, revealing a body covered in injuries.

"We lost the ship."

"What?!"

Windhand, who had been rushing to tend to Itkam, was horrified by those words.

"At sea, beasts I've never seen before in my life appeared. They looked just like sea crocodiles, and those things tore through the bottom of the ship..."

"Sea crocodiles?"

"Wait, could you tell us more about that?"

Sea crocodiles...? Wait, could they be Dragon Tooth Warriors?

"...?"

"By any chance... were they beasts with a bone-like texture?"

"H-How did you..."

Itkam's eyes widened at the Archmage's question. It seemed Dragon Tooth Warriors really had sunk their ship. The question was where exactly that had happened.

"Did you go near the Dragon's Cry Gate? Were you attacked there?"

"That's..."

Itkam looked back at Windhand as if asking for permission, and Windhand also stared at us with burning eyes.

"Hey, it seems you know what those things are."

At the same time, his face was pale. His bloodless complexion looked as though it were made of blank paper.

"Didn't I tell you? The Sea Dragon has been corrupted."

"What? Wait, the Sea Dragon is corrupted?"

"What does that have to do with the beasts that sank my ship?"

"Those things are the transformed fangs and scales of the Sea Dragon. Usually, the Sea Dragon creates them to protect itself... but it seems their purpose has changed as the Sea Dragon became corrupted. We were also attacked once during our investigation."

At that point, my mind wandered for a moment. *'If the Inquisitor hadn't created that barrier back then, the boat we were on would have been punctured just like theirs.' *

It was in the past, but I felt a slight sense of relief.

"What the..."

"Then answer me this. Where did you encounter them? I'm asking because if they've expanded their active radius, the situation has become serious."

"... Gamak Bay."

Windhand, who had deeply scrunched his face while clutching his forehead at the Archmage's urging, finally gave an answer. It was a heavily subdued voice.

"We anchored at Gamak Bay just in case Bipurit's subordinates were waiting in this city."

Gamak Bay was the place where we were planning to lure the dragon. It was also located exactly halfway between the Dragon's Cry Gate and Gruh Telz.

"... It seems the situation has indeed grown more serious."

The Inquisitor opened his mouth for the first time in a while, spat out that single sentence, and firmly shut it again. His attitude bothered me a bit, but I agreed with the words themselves.

At this rate, it wouldn't be long before Dragon Tooth Warriors appeared in the waters right in front of the port.

"... Captain."

"... First, get up, Itkam. This isn't your fault. I couldn't have predicted this either. Even if I had been there, things wouldn't have been much different."

"I'm sorry."

"I told you not to apologize. More importantly, the boys—are they badly hurt?"

"Wayan died... and Teman and Ketut were injured. Thankfully, the rest are fine."

"I see..."

Upon hearing the news of the casualty, I first silently paid my respects. At the same time, I calculated what exactly would happen next. Even if it seemed cold-hearted, it couldn't be helped. We had a lot of lives on the line here too.

"Are the injuries severe? If it's alright, we can help treat them."

"..."

"Don't worry. I won't use this to hold a debt over you. I am merely trying to do my duty as a human being."

"... I'll leave it to you."

At this rate, their problem wasn't just saving people, but figuring out how to get back in the first place. Even if they tried to get a ship, ships weren't cheap. They wouldn't be able to get one easily.

Even if they did get a ship, they'd lack the money to hire people to take with them. From their perspective, this was the absolute worst.

"I'll..."

"Please wait a moment."

Meanwhile, the injured were moved deeper into the reception room, and the Archmage stopped the Inquisitor from stepping forward. I wasn't sure yet if it was because of the hostility they had shown toward the Temple earlier.

"I will do it."

"I leave it to you."

Instead, DeB stepped up. I wondered if he could treat them well since he wasn't a doctor, but surprisingly, DeB's medical skills were incredibly good.

Added to that was the Archmage's magic, and the two men's wounds were quickly treated. It was slower than healing performed with divine power, but it at least looked like they wouldn't get worse.

"..."

Windhand's face darkened as he watched his subordinates being treated.

"I was absolutely dead set against gambling with my brothers' lives, but..."

And when the treatment was finished, he stood in front of me.

"Hey. I'll ask you again, seriously. Can you really... really hunt a dragon?"

Suddenly, I wondered if this was also some kind of correction for the sake of story progression.

"If I cooperate, will you hunt the Sea Dragon and come help Zakrati?"

If so, I felt it was a bit cruel. Guiding a person's impulses was vastly different from creating a situation where they had absolutely no choice but to do so.

"I believe I told you."

But I couldn't just not answer.

"A single day will be enough."

I spat out the answer nonchalantly.

"Right, you did. Haha."

Windhand laughed while gripping his forehead. It was a hollow laugh. A laugh that drained the energy of anyone listening, one with a somewhat sorrowful edge.

The Archmage, having finished treating the men, just stood up and looked our way.

"Don't tell me you'll just snatch up the reward and wash your hands of it..."

"Do not insult me."

"An insult, huh. Fine. Then... could you at least show me something so I can have a final bit of certainty? I'm telling you to prove this nonsense that you can hunt a dragon."

That was a rather fair demand. Even when soliciting an investment, you'd at least present some plausible graphs and a forecast.

It's just that I didn't have anything to offer as proof right away. Would he believe me if I split a building in half?

"If he single-handedly slaughtered hundreds of demons and butchered dozens of Demon Contractors, wouldn't that be believable enough?"

Suddenly, DeB smoothly slipped a word in. Windhand's eyes narrowed.

"That's... incredible. Still, it's a bit ambiguous."

"For the record, that's not his overall track record—it's what he did in a single day."

"What? Who in the world could pull that off?"

"He's right here, isn't he."

I felt a bit awkward. Wasn't that... a different sort of case?

"He also beat a house-sized dragon to death in two strikes."

'When did I... ah, the Nucker. That guy went down so pitifully fast that he really didn't feel like a dragon.'

"He even got a guild medal of honor just for that. Sir, why don't you bring it out for a look."

Much like when the official had asked for it last time, I searched my inventory with a face like I was chewing on bugs. It seemed the medal of honor I had considered a waste of inventory space was surprisingly coming in handy.

"It's real..."

Windhand rolled the medal around in his hand for a moment before handing it back. Half believing and half doubting. That ambivalent state of mind floated visibly across his face.

"If you're doubtful, you're free to ask others. If you mention it's what happened in Tatara, there should be at least one or two people talking about it."

"Hah, so you're that confident... Fine. Then I suppose I'll trust you for once."

But he didn't have many options to begin with. It seemed he had made his decision.

"Captain..."

His companion, who had been with him from the start and understood this entire situation, didn't try to stop him in the end. They merely gave him a pitying look.

"Hah, I never thought I'd end up putting my life and my subordinates on the line as stakes in a gamble like this. Even Zakrati on top of that..."

At that point, Windhand seemed to glare at me. I didn't bother avoiding his gaze. I felt no shame or anxiety over the empty promises I had been throwing around.

"You'll have to keep your word, absolutely."

Well, it wasn't like I had absolutely none, but neither of us had any other options right now. Showing it would only drop our morale further anyway.

My future self, who would have to deal with the aftermath, would suffer immensely... but that was already a predetermined future from the moment I got locked into this concept.

So it was straight ahead! Straight ahead, no matter what! Don't look back! There's nothing back there anyway!

"Hey, Sage!"

"Speak."

"Earlier, you said my accompaniment would serve as an advance payment, right? Let's add some conditions to that! You said it out of your own mouth before, that you would do your best to send aid to Zakrati in advance. You have to dispatch at least one Great Sage. That's my first condition."

"Naturally, I shall do so."

"And leave the Temple out of it. We won't accept their help."

"... I understand that as well."

"Second is protection for us. I'm not saying don't report us. I'm telling you to protect us from Bipurit. We barely shook off their encirclement to arrive here, so if we participate in a massive event like this, my location will definitely reach their ears, won't it?"

"I understand."

"Third, a ship and provisions for us to use when we return to Zakrati."

"Is there more?"

"Finally... if I happen to die, you have to bring my subordinates back to Zakrati."

"Worry not. I swear to it. Even by obtaining the notarization of the Adventurer's Guild, if you wish."

Unlike before, they were in a much more disadvantageous position now... but aside from the first condition, none of the terms were all that difficult. Plus, the first condition was something the Archmage would handle on her own anyway.

From our perspective, there was no loss. Ah, well, maybe not entirely zero. Since I would be forced to go all the way to the Yabad Region once this was over.

... They'll follow along, right? *Tsk. * No, wait, would it actually be better if they didn't follow? Then I could finally stop roleplaying this concept.

Well, there was no way they wouldn't follow me.

"Alright, since it's decided, I should hear how this Sea Dragon hunt is going to go. But before that, I'd like to explain the situation to my crew."

"By all means. Let us move somewhere else while we are at it. They also need to get some rest, do they not?"

"I'd appreciate that."

Anyway, with this, we had secured our captain. It was the end of our fierce negotiations to acquire a captain.

「❖ The Fang Aimed at Zakrati

∎ Move to Zakrati」

The fact that I got a new quest in exchange was, well, unavoidable.

"Then to save time, I'll listen to a rough outline of the situation while we walk. You at least have a plan, right?"

... But so what if I got a quest? The crisis wasn't over yet.

We hadn't even formulated a plan yet. We were screwed. *Hehe. *