After Reneom and Hamill met their unfortunate end in the bandit attack, Ben, left alone, became extremely timid, changing into something like a castrated rooster.
He constantly watched our expressions and was extremely careful with every word he spoke, afraid he might offend us.
He had become such a polite person that watching him made me certain that fear, not consideration, might be the method for instilling manners in adventurers.
We continued on like that for a few more days.
Fending off occasional attacks from bandit groups, wild animals, and wandering monsters that had lost their lairs.
It was an exhausting journey.
“…About this wagon, isn’t it going to collapse at this rate?”
“Well… let’s just hope it doesn’t.”
The cargo wagon, which had been fine at the start of the journey, had now turned into such a miserable sight that it looked like it had been picked up from a junkyard.
Perhaps it was because our numbers had drastically decreased compared to when we were on the trade route.
While dealing with the attackers themselves wasn’t too difficult, simultaneously protecting the wagon proved to be surprisingly tricky.
It wasn’t a lack of strength, but rather a lack of personnel to cover the wagon?
Although Kikel, Ben, and Amy did their best to protect the horses, it wasn’t easy for just the three of them to block all the arrows and javelins aimed at the wagon.
But if we sent Bardu to the rear to take charge of wagon protection, some enemies that Friede and I missed would burrow right up to the wagon and run wild there.
They were chopping at the side of the wagon with axes, not just shooting arrows. Wouldn’t it be much better to just take some arrows or javelins rather than endure that situation?
For that reason, as we continued on while taking fire aimed at the wagon, our wagon had become tattered like a beggar’s wrappings in just a few days.
From a distance, it was hard to tell if it was a wagon made of wood or sponge.
The wheel had been broken once and roughly patched up, so it rattled terribly every time it rolled, and the waterproof canvas covering the top of the wagon like a roof was now beyond even being used as a rag.
So instead of continuing to ride the wagon and at least resting our legs on the way back, we had to quietly get off and trudge along on foot again like we did on the outward journey.
“Why can’t we ever travel comfortably…”
“Kachak! Life always like that!”
Kikel, with his body temperature raised by Amy’s magic and heating stones, burst into laughter and patted my pauldron. Saying that’s just how life is.
* * *
Several days later.
Immediately after finally returning to Vespian, we went straight to the request office to report the details of this mission.
“A disguised request…? The Rivilla merchant group?”
“That’s right. It was absurd.”
Bardu, who had taken the lead and stepped forward, shook his head with an exaggerated attitude and openly let out a deep sigh.
“Isn’t verifying the client’s identity a basic duty of the guild? It’s the most fundamental of basics. Isn’t that so? Tell me. Is there anything wrong with what I’m saying?”
“Well… we apologize. Given the situation…”
“No matter how unsettled things are inside and out these days, that’s no excuse. If you’re going to neglect even such basics, what’s the point of having a guild?”
The reception staff member couldn’t offer a proper rebuttal and bowed his head, flustering.
If an iron token adventurer had complained like this, they probably wouldn’t have given a damn, but since a veteran copper token adventurer with considerable credibility and experience was protesting, the guild couldn’t ignore it.
The number of copper token adventurers had already drastically decreased due to the previous disaster, so what would happen if the few remaining copper tokens turned their backs as well?
In the worst case, they might have to close the guild doors due to lack of manpower.
So, the guild had to treat the remaining copper token adventurers with the utmost sincerity to prevent further loss of strength.
Besides, in this case, it was clearly the guild’s mistake by anyone’s standards.
“Do you know who we met because of that disguised request? Belita Ladros! ‘Head-Ripping’ Belita!”
“Wait, Belita? You don’t mean that wanted criminal?”
“Yes! The serious offender who killed several knights! We almost all died! Because you were careless in verifying the request!”
Seeing the receptionist’s submissive attitude, Bardu raised his voice even more and openly pressured him.
It was a natural attitude.
Like the old saying that if you’re going to steal, rob a burning house, the current chaotic situation of the guild was nothing short of a golden opportunity for individual adventurers.
Now, when the value of copper token adventurers was higher than ever, it was time to reap every possible benefit.
* * *
Bardu’s protest brought us all the maximum results.
Not only the immediate payment of the deposited success reward, but also a written promise from the guild to protest to the Rivilla merchant group and obtain an apology and appropriate compensation for this incident.
It seemed to prove that he wasn’t just an old hand for nothing, as he skillfully walked the line while getting everything he could.
“Well, we should be going now. If you ever need extra hands, feel free to contact us. If our schedule is open, we’ll gladly participate.”
“You saved us. Thanks. Let’s have a drink together sometime later. We’ll treat.”
After finishing all the talk, Bardu and Jane shook hands with us, expressing their gratitude, and said goodbye.
Saying they would help anytime if there was a need for additional copper-level strength.
“Yes, sure. See you next time.”
After seeing off the two who left closely together with a faint smile, we also headed to our lodgings, pulling the wagon.
Oh, what about Ben?
That guy also bowed his head to us and then hurriedly turned his back and left far away.
He said he was going to quit being an adventurer and return to his hometown to help his younger sibling. Apparently, his nephew was born recently, so they would be very busy now and would welcome him warmly.
I’m not sure if things will work out that well for him… but as long as he doesn’t die, he’ll manage somehow. It wasn’t even worth worrying about.
We walked for about thirty minutes like that.
“Kachak! I go too! Remember, no choosing jobs!”
Kikel, who was staying at a different inn from us, said goodbye and turned towards a side street.
Along with the advice we had discussed earlier, that from now on I shouldn’t choose requests directly but let other party members have the choice.
He had a face that was certain that jobs I chose would get messy 100% of the time.
Well… since that was actually the case, I couldn’t argue.
I could only nod with an awkward smile.
“Come to think of it, Amy, don’t you need to return to the Magic Tower?”
Unlike Kikel who returned to his own lodgings, Amy didn’t go back to the Magic Tower but followed me and Friede to our inn.
Is she suggesting we have another dinner party? I’m not in the mood for that.
Having repeated marching, fighting, and camping for over two weeks, I was honestly in a terribly unsettled and tired state.
Forget alcohol or whatever, right now all I wanted was to soak in a bathtub to clean my whole body thoroughly, then lie down on a bed and sleep soundly.
“I’m tired. I’m planning to rest here for today and go back tomorrow.”
Fortunately, Amy wasn’t expecting a drinking party or anything like that either.
She just found it bothersome to return all the way to the Magic Tower and wanted to rest well at the inn for a day.
“Oh, is that so? Well, if that’s the case. But I wonder if there are any rooms left…?”
“If there are no empty rooms, I can just stay in your room, Hilde. That’s okay, right?”
It was like the tone of a college friend trying to use someone else’s apartment as free lodging.
Well, I had no particular reason to refuse. After all, we had slept in the same space just last night.
For adventurers who often have to camp out, sleeping together with party members was a very common thing.
“Do as you like.”
So I nodded willingly.
In the past, I had stubbornly slept separately because it would have been troublesome if my face was discovered… but Amy and Friede were exceptions.
Either they didn’t know anything about Brunhilde, or they hadn’t realized this body’s identity even after seeing my bare face.
“No, you can’t!”
The one who actually objected was not me but Friede.
“Friede? Why so suddenly?”
“No, um, well, uh, that is, Hilde is tall, right? The bed will be too small and uncomfortable!”
“Is that so…?”
Well, since it’s a single room, the bed is a bit small for two adults to sleep together.
If we slept really close together it wouldn’t be a problem, but if we lie side by side, one person’s arm would stick out over the edge of the bed.
It might be a bit difficult to get a comfortable sleep, I guess.
“If, if there’s no room, I’ll lend you my room and you can sleep there! That should work!”
It’s a fair point, but wouldn’t that just lead to them fighting all night…?
You two don’t get along very well. You might work well together in battle, but when it comes to casual conversation, you’re always at odds.
“Hmm… well, I guess it can’t be helped. Let’s do that then.”
While I was hesitating to answer, wondering if it would be okay to leave the two of them together, Amy nodded readily and agreed to Friede’s suggestion.
It was quite unexpected. I thought she would definitely refuse.
“…Huh?”
Even Friede, who had made the suggestion, seemed not to have expected her to agree, as she took a short breath and looked at Amy with a slightly surprised face.
“Why are you so surprised? Like you said, we should rest properly when we rest, right?”
Amy chuckled with a face that said it was only natural. Apparently, she too had been exhausted from all the camping.
To the extent that she would accept sleeping with an uncomfortable companion without hesitation if it meant she could sleep more comfortably.
* * *
“You’re back earlier than expected? I guess things went very well?”
As I opened the inn door and stepped inside, the innkeeper, who was wiping glasses with a cloth, glanced at me and greeted me.
“It’s the opposite. Things got terribly messed up, so we came back midway.”
“Oh dear. So that’s how it was.”
The innkeeper let out a hollow laugh at my answer, which I delivered with a sigh.
I asked him to store the two wagons we had brought, and then asked if there were any rooms left.
“You’re asking if there are empty rooms? It’s my wish to be able to say there aren’t any.”
Making our earlier discussion seem pointless, the innkeeper burst into a hollow laugh, saying there were more than enough empty rooms.
Though his expression was far from a genuine laugh.
Well, from the innkeeper’s perspective, it’s not something to laugh about. Having too many empty rooms in an inn is tantamount to saying it’s half going out of business.
I suppose it’s only natural.
The only advantages of this inn were the lack of low-quality ruffians, guaranteed safety, and the convenience for bathing… but compared to that, the inn fees and food prices were blatantly overpriced.
Most adventurers would just frequent inns with cheaper room rates and alcohol prices, rather than paying extra to stay at this inn.
While those advantages were somewhat of a merit for female adventurers, so the number of guests wasn’t completely zero, but still.