Chapter 119 - Dark Clouds (3)

In the end, our expedition came to a complete halt after the troll fight. Dwalki's condition simply wasn't improving.

["More potions won't help him recover. Not everyone's body is as sturdy as yours."]

Without a boost to natural regeneration, even after all the wounds close, it takes time for the muscles and bones to settle into place. So as soon as we returned to the city, we had to head straight past the checkpoint to a temple. Unlike Rotmiller's injuries, Dwalki's weren't something time alone could fix.

"Whew, I finally feel alive again..."

After an entire week of being unable to stand, Dwalki finally managed to get to his feet unaided after receiving Greater Healing.

"Any lingering effects? I was worried because we took so long to get you treated..."

"Haha, don't worry. I feel well enough to head right back into the Labyrinth."

"That's a relief."

Perhaps because the Top-tier potion had brought his injuries under control early on, a single dose of Divine Power had Dwalki as lively as ever. That was one worry off my mind. Any lasting damage would have affected our next expedition.

"Let's meet again in two days, then. For now, go home and rest."

We'd earned very few magic crystals after the whole team assembled, so we disbanded, putting off dividing the earnings until we'd collected the commission payment.

'Hmm, maybe around four hundred thousand Stones each?'

We wouldn't know for sure until we divided it up, but selling all the Frogman Shaman's materials and splitting the proceeds five ways should leave us with about that much. We'd agreed to chip in two hundred thousand Stones apiece for the potion.

'Ugh, that fucking troll.'

That bastard had cost us a ridiculous amount of gold. Straightening all our bent equipment would surely run up quite a repair bill, too. After putting us through all that, it could at least have coughed up an Essence. Good thing we'd earned so much beforehand. Otherwise, we might have actually come back at a loss.

"Bjorn, what are you going to do now, nyah?"

"First, I'll wash up at my lodgings, then go sell off our things. With you, of course."

"Huh? Me too, nyah...?"

"You had plenty of rest in the Labyrinth. Don't think you can slip away."

"I wasn't thinking that, nyah! Anyway, I don't feel like going all the way to my lodgings, so can I just wash up at yours, nyah?"

"Of course."

There was no need to waste time going back and forth, so Misha and I headed to my lodgings together. I washed up first and got out quickly. We needed to hurry if we wanted to visit the commercial district before the carriages stopped running.

"What? You're already done, nyah?"

"You can take your time. It'll take me a while to sort through everything anyway."

"Oh, really, nyah?"

After sending Misha into the bathroom, I spread out the loot we'd acquired this time and began sorting it alone: equipment and consumables from defeating Jenssia and the trio who'd targeted the baby barbarian.

'Sell this, and keep this for us to use later...'

I was organizing everything, even writing out a list, when someone knocked on my door.

"Excuse me, are you in?"

It was an unfamiliar male voice. Wondering what was going on, I opened the door to find a man wearing an Explorer Guild employee badge.

"Are you Mr. Bjorn Jandel?"

"... Yes."

"Could you accompany me to the guild?"

Fuck, out of nowhere? Being asked something similar and ending up in jail flashed through my mind, souring my mood something fierce... But judging by the employee's tone and expression, this seemed distinctly different. There weren't any of those guard bastards around, either. I decided to stay calm and find out what was going on first.

"Tell me what this is about first. I'll decide whether to go after that."

"Ah, I should have explained that first."

Realizing his mistake, the employee cautiously explained the situation.

"... A witness?"

"Yes. He said you would prove he wasn't a plunderer, Mr. Jandel..."

The baby barbarian was in trouble.

* * *

"Normally, we wouldn't accommodate such a request, but as you know, all the relevant regulations have become stricter since 'that incident'... I realize this is an imposition, but I came to confirm. If you have no connection to him, you're quite free to refuse—"

"I'll go."

"Pardon?"

"Wait here while I change."

I closed the door and threw on a coat. Then I told Misha, who was in the shower, that I was going out.

"Misha, today's plans are canceled."

"What? Why all of a sudden, nyah?"

"Karon seems to be in some sort of trouble. I'm heading to the Explorer Guild for a bit, so you can go home or something once you're done washing."

"What? What do you mean, nyah...! No, explain a little more—!"

"Sorry to keep you waiting. Let's go."

"Is explaining really that much trouble, you barbarian jerk, nyah?!"

Ignoring Misha's shout, which hit a little too close to home, I headed to the guild with the employee waiting outside. As luck would have it, we arrived at the very branch I'd broken out of.

"It's been a while."

"Pardon? Ah, yes... Please come in. The branch manager is waiting."

"The branch manager...?"

After briefly taking in the surroundings and reminiscing, I followed the employee up to the third floor, where I found Karon dozing on a sofa. The mustached branch manager sat opposite him, looking thoroughly displeased.

"Oh, have you been well?"

"... Thanks to you."

Well, someone was grumpy. Still, this didn't seem as troublesome as I'd expected. If Karon were really being accused of plundering, he'd be in the dungeon, not dozing here.

SNORRRR!

First, I woke Karon up. Though, was "woke him up" really the right way to put it?

"Karon, stop pretending to sleep and get up. There's no need to do that here."

The branch manager and employee both tilted their heads at my words. Then Karon slowly opened his eyes.

"... How did you know?"

What did he mean, how? He'd said something so ominous before leaving.

"Somehow... it seemed like something you'd do."

"Does that mean you acknowledge me as a warrior in my own right?"

"Yes, that's it."

At my perfunctory nod, Karon smiled with genuine delight and gave me a shoulder greeting.

"Anyway, thank you for coming, Bjorn, son of Jandel."

"Of course. They haven't mistreated you, have they?"

"Rest assured, nothing of the sort happened. Would he be here if it had?"

Well, fair point. But I wasn't asking you.

"Karon, answer me."

"Nothing like that happened."

"I see."

I nodded with a smirk. This was why precedent mattered. Would they have treated him this well if I hadn't raised all that hell?

With that in mind, I plopped down comfortably on the sofa without bothering to ask permission. The branch manager might have forgotten what sort of person I was, after all.

"I'll have rum."

"You're not discriminating against me because I'm a barbarian, are you?"

The branch manager heaved a long sigh.

"Whew... We have no liquor. I could offer you tea—"

"Cold water. With ice floating in it."

"Very well..."

Humans really were creatures that learned, weren't they? Rather than criticize my outrageous tone or behavior, the branch manager meekly gave me what I wanted. He'd learned the hard way how to deal with a brainless barbarian.

'Barbarians really are overpowered.'

While I was at it, I propped my dusty feet up on the expensive-looking table. Karon gazed at me with shining eyes.

"You really are... an incredible warrior..."

Apparently, my acting so high-handed in front of someone as important as an Explorer Guild branch manager had made quite an impression. Well, it seemed to have made an impression on the branch manager, too, judging by the way his mustache quivered in disbelief.

"You people really..."

"What? Got something to say?"

"... No."

The moment I growled the question back, the branch manager backed down, as if afraid I'd seize on anything he said. I smirked. I'd more or less expected that reaction. A lot had changed since we'd last met. I wasn't that rank-9 savage with nothing to his name anymore.

"I've heard about you. They call you Little Valcan, I believe?"

In a matter of months, I'd become a rank-6 explorer—and a promising one who'd even earned an epithet. I was acquainted with Baron Martoin, and there were even rumors that a Count was keeping a close eye on me. If he'd been watching me, he'd also know I'd visited the Magic Tower every week for Raven's research. Of course, the real point was something else.

"Here's your ice water..."

I'd grown stronger. Strong enough to turn this branch manager's head into a splattered tomato in a single second. Sure, we were in the middle of a city where the law took precedence over violence, but who cared? At the very least, the branch manager wouldn't think I was the sort of bastard to worry about that.

"Enough small talk. Let's get to the point. What do you intend to do with Karon?"

I pushed aside the ice water I'd gone to the trouble of ordering as I asked. The branch manager shrugged.

"... Nothing. He's free to leave whenever he wishes. A mage has already confirmed that it was self-defense."

"... What?"

His unexpectedly nonchalant answer left me blank for a moment.

'A mage already checked?'

It certainly wasn't strange. Karon didn't have high Mana resistance like me. A single spell would have told them whether he was telling the truth, without any need to call me in. But that meant...

'It wasn't Karon you wanted. It was me.'

I quickly put it together. Right, now this was more like the Explorer Guild. My heart was finally starting to tighten with tension.

"Karon, you can go now."

"Can I? I was getting hungry..."

"You won't grow tall if you skip meals. Off you go."

"All right! See you next time, Bjorn, son of Jandel!"

I sent Karon out first. Whatever this was about, the branch manager seemed to want fewer people listening, too.

"Good work, Odrian. You can head downstairs as well."

"Yes, sir."

The employee who'd guided me here and even brought me ice water left, leaving just the two of us in the branch manager's office.

"..."

Neither of us spoke, and the silence stretched on naturally. I didn't rush him, waiting for him to speak first.

"Why?"

"Lady Urbans wishes to meet you."

"Lady Urbans? Who's that?"

When I stared at him, waiting for a more detailed explanation, the branch manager asked in disbelief,

"Are you serious? You really don't remember the lady you took hostage?"

Oh, the district manager's daughter. Fuck, he should have just said so.

"... I see you haven't forgotten entirely."

"Ahem. Anyway, why does she want to meet me?"

"Well, you'll find out when you meet—"

What the hell? Why was he dangling bait in front of me?

"Then I refuse."

"What?"

"I'm hungry every day. Where would I find time to waste?"

I stood as if to signal the conversation was over, and the branch manager hastily continued.

"... I can't go into detail, but it certainly won't harm you. If anything, it will benefit you."

Hmm, if he was going this far, pressing him probably wouldn't get me any more information.

'The woman I took hostage wants to meet me...'

There was nothing to think about.

"Tell her no!"

I was already busy as hell. I'd pass on any extra hassle.

* * *

In the middle of a crowded street in broad daylight, Erwin ran, pushing through the throng.

"Hah, hah, hah..."

Sweat was already soaking her freshly washed body and even the skirt she'd put on for the first time in ages...

'Um... I don't smell, do I?'

Well, it would be all right. Hadn't they seen each other in far worse states? Seeing him again was more important to her right now.

'... He really was alive!'

That fact filled her with boundless joy, but also self-reproach. Bjorn, son of Jandel. Her very first companion, the barbarian who'd saved her when she was wandering the Labyrinth alone. The very man who'd vanished before her eyes before she could repay his kindness, the man she'd thought dead all this time. She felt like a fool for jumping to conclusions and shutting herself in her room.

'Who would have thought he'd become so famous...?'

She hadn't even needed to conduct a search. She'd only asked a few people after returning to the city, and most of them knew his name. One had even known where he was staying.

'Oh, wait... Then why didn't my sister tell me anything?'

The thought suddenly occurred to Erwin, but she didn't dwell on it. Her sister probably hadn't heard. She would never have deliberately hidden it. Besides, it wasn't important right now.

'Ugh, what should I say when I see him? Come to think of it, I'm the one who suddenly disappeared.'

Her heart wouldn't stop fluttering. It had been so long since she'd felt this pleasant throbbing. She'd kept the curtains drawn because she couldn't bear to watch the sun rise and set, yet today the sunlight on her skin felt especially warm and comforting.

'I'll apologize first. Mister must have searched for me, too. He probably couldn't find me because he didn't remember where we were staying.'

At last, Erwin reached her destination and gathered her thoughts one last time in preparation for their reunion. Then she straightened her disheveled clothes and knocked on the door.

Footsteps sounded from inside, rapidly drawing closer.

Her heart pounded, threatening to burst. She couldn't wait to see Mister and talk like they used to. Just like those days when they'd laughed and chatted, sharing stories about their daily lives.

'He'll be surprised when he finds out I can command all four great elementals, won't he? Oh, no... Mister's gotten so much stronger than me. Maybe that's nothing to brag about?'

She was a little worried, but he'd praise her in the end. Tell her she'd done well, that she'd worked hard. This was Mister, not anyone else. Of course he would.

"Hehe..."

Just as the thought brought a smile to her lips, the door finally swung open. But what was this?

"Huh? Who are you, nyah?"

An unfamiliar Therianthrope had opened the door—a catfolk woman with triangular ears atop her head. Erwin checked the number on the door. Room 201. She hadn't come to the wrong room.

She'd asked several times to make sure, so she couldn't have misheard. Had the person who'd told her been mistaken? Hmm, that seemed likely. Still, he might be in the next room, so she might as well ask. Mister was so famous now that anyone staying at the same lodgings would surely know him.

"Excuse me, do you happen to know which room Mister... I mean, Bjorn Jandel is staying in?"

"Oh? You're here to see Bjorn, nyah?"

"Pardon? What do you mean...?"

"Bjorn washed up and went out a little while ago. Want to come in and wait, nyah?"

He'd washed up and gone out a little while ago...? No, wait, before that... Didn't this woman mean that this really was Mister's room? She was confused. What was going on?

"Or you can tell me who you are, nyah. I'll let Bjorn know someone came by when he gets back, nyah."

Didn't that make it sound as though they were living together? Erwin raised her head in a daze and looked at the Therianthrope's face again. She was beautiful. So beautiful that even Erwin, a fairy herself, couldn't deny it. And...

Water dripped steadily from her red hair. As though she'd just finished washing.

"You said Mister washed up and went out a little while ago, right?"

"Yes, why, nyah?"

At the reply, delivered as if there were nothing wrong, the corners of Erwin's mouth twisted upward. But only for a moment.

"No reason. May I come in and wait?"

"Uh, sure, nyah...?"

Erwin stepped into the room. Loot lay strewn across the floor, making a mess.

"It's a little messy, nyah...? It isn't usually like this, nyah..."

"I know what this is. I've done it with Mister, too."

"Huh? You've done it? Oh... You're an explorer too, nyah?"

"Yes."

"B-but don't get the wrong idea, nyah. We got all this from plunderers—"

"Don't worry. I haven't misunderstood."

Erwin cut the Therianthrope off and focused on the throbbing in her chest. Then she continued with a bright smile.

"If they coveted what belonged to someone else, wouldn't you agree they deserved to be punished?"

The heart that had been beating so warmly just moments ago had, before she knew it, turned cold.