Cooperation

Still, having someone come out to personally escort us felt excessively elaborate—though judging by the strange looks pouring in from all around, I wasn't the only one who thought so.

"I'd been worrying ever since that investigation request I asked you to take last time, since I hadn't heard a word afterward. It's a relief to see everyone looks unharmed."

But personal discomfort aside, Kunz was a remarkably decent man. Sen had tangled up with those cultist bastards and suffered her way here at my hands weeks ago, and here he was remembering every detail of it. He was clearly the kind of talent the guild would classify as a capable operator.

"Don't even say it. I seriously almost died. Without this one, I'd be dead for ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠sure."

Since we'd have to file a formal report with the guild anyway, Kunz kept the small talk brief. He turned back to me and offered another greeting.

"Forgive the interruption, Eldmia. My name is Kunz, a receptionist with the Englem Adventurer's Guild. The matter you requested has been approved, so I came out to meet you and guide you to the guild."

He was quick on the uptake in more ways than one. Unlike the rigid tension he'd arrived with at first, Kunz radiated relief after finishing his exchange with Sen. Whatever response had come back from the capital guild, the news he'd heard on his way here had apparently been striking enough to give him a strong preconception about me.

"Good to meet you, Kunz. I had my doubts, so it's a relief things seem to be moving along. Still, I wasn't expecting an escort out to meet us, so I'm a little caught off guard."

Sensing something else had to be tangled up in this, I broached it obliquely. Kunz answered with a mildly embarrassed air.

"At present, the way adventurers are viewed inside the city is... less than kind. Without a guild employee alongside you, it would get... well, very bothersome."

Hoo boy. A shitshow, then. Had I clawed my way in insisting on going here for nothing?

Still, considering the fatigue of horses hauling heavy loads, this had seemed the best option.

"There's no need to worry too much. Put differently, merely having an employee with you means you can sidestep that kind of trouble. Let's head in."

Well, he was confident enough that sending a single staff member out to guide us was the plan. Compared to not even being able to enter, it was a vastly better situation, so I was about to follow without complaint, foot lifting for the step forward, when—

"Hey. You havin' a laugh? We can't go in, but that lot gets to?"

We hadn't even been talking that loudly, but maybe he'd sniffed something out. A man in what looked to be adventurer's garb approached with a face full of spite. The instant he started moving, about four others who appeared to be his party rose in a mob behind him.

"We're the same adventurers, and even if that halfling's the same red-rank as us, just how great do you have to be to rate this kind of special treatment?"

All five of them, red-rank adventurers? Their gear certainly looked good. But the way they moved, as if they'd been lying in wait for exactly this situation, didn't sit right at all. The man who'd been out front voicing the grievances hunched over as he closed in on me, raising his voice bit by bit.

"Care to share a word with lowly folk like us? Or are you some kind of noble lord?"

He wasn't bitching at the guild staff—he was ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠running his mouth at me. And the way he closed in fast, not giving Kunz a chance to step between us to stop him, suggested he was plenty practiced at this kind of thing. The sheer ridiculousness of that grievance-stuffed mug, like he was about to throw a punch any second, was so funny I found myself answering with a snort.

"Lover to the Imperial Princess."

"Pffft!"

"Ahahahaha!"

Asilie choked on her spit. Sen, taking it as a simple joke, burst out laughing. But the dramatic reactions from my party stopped right about there. Judging by Sen's voice muttering, 'Haha, huh? What's with you all? Was it only funny to me?'—Gaendal's party, who'd caught a glimpse of Esmue's letters, couldn't take it as purely a joke.

"Huh? What?"

"You're so jealous, try getting a good lover yourself."

Under normal circumstances, these bastards would've been working the mood to mock me while laughing amongst themselves. Their faces curdled rapidly because of Sen's reaction instead. That the meaning of a situation could flip based on who laughed first—communication really was a marvel.

"You son of a bitch!"

But even more fascinating was their response. Whatever their objective was, the man reached out as if to grab me by the scruff right then and there. Did they take the guard force lightly? Maybe even this reaction was connected to whatever incident was unfolding inside the city.

That was its own matter. Right as I was about to start by snapping his wrist, a cold voice from beside me and a lunging spear halted his movement.

"That's quite enough. Trying to start a brawl right in front of the Royal Guard and guild personnel? You want into a jail cell instead of the city?"

Just as expected. The guard was faithful to his duty. Just the sight of that spear—the symbol of state authority—moving was enough to make even wholly uninvolved people pull back and keep their distance to avoid getting tangled up. The bastard who'd reached for my scruff glanced once at the guard, then spat, "Tch," and withdrew his hand.

No, more accurately, he pretended to withdraw it. He made like he was pulling his hand back, then snatched the guard's spear in a lightning move!

"What the fuck?!"

So fucking startled, I spat the curses reflexively and slammed a fist straight into his face. I hadn't raised my Magic Power, so no tragedy of his jaw flying off his skull occurred, but it was more than enough punch to send his consciousness flying.

"Whoa, fuck, this bastard's a completely unhinged lunatic!"

"Huh...? What?"

The bastard who, the moment he'd snatched the spear, had been aiming not to swing it but to hurl it to the ground, was now flat on his back with his eyes rolled up in a faint—so that voice wasn't his. It came from the ones who'd been about to charge in as if they'd been waiting for him to grab the spear, only to stagger back at the sight of the lunatic on the ground.

Thanks to that, I could be sure of one thing: whatever these bastards were, this hadn't been a heat-of-the-moment provocation. They'd deliberately set out to cause a disturbance.

The guard himself, though, seemed to consider the fact his spear had been taken far more important than that fact.

"You sons of bitches! You think the law's a goddamn joke?!"

Shaking with fury, the guard yanked a whistle from inside his coat, sucked in a deep breath, and jammed it against his lips.

-FWEEEEET!

Responding to the whistle of rage, a dozen-odd guards clutching spears burst out from inside the gate.

"Left side, four adventurers! Brown hair, blond, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠big one, buckteeth! Bust 'em!"

And following the guard's rapid-fire relay of the situation, they swapped to the clubs at their waists and started beating them like dogs, literally. Resistance was a goddamn pipe dream. The bastards who'd been trying to ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠start a barehanded brawl couldn't even muster a proper counter against the guards' lightning-fast club work and found themselves flat on their faces.

Looking at it now... the way they moved, it felt almost like the moment things went sideways, they'd quickly chosen the option with the lightest punishment.

"Exemplary suppression. Here, your spear, take it."

Thanks to that, my thoughts were starting to churn messily, but first I addressed the guard who'd responded so cleanly he deserved an Outstanding Guard of the Year Award. I picked up the fallen spear and handed it back. Still seething, he took it after steadying his breathing.

"Phew, thanks. That was embarrassing. Anyway, you're pretty handy with your fists, aren't you?"

"Got to protect yourself even when you can't draw a weapon. Does this kind of thing happen often?"

At the lightly tossed question, the guard pulled a sour face but nodded.

"Lately, those sorts have been suddenly multiplying, and now this mess happened. They called themselves red-rank, but could be fakes. I heard there were cases among the adventurers who got in bed with bandits too."

"...Not good, any way you look at it."

"Tell me about it. Anyway, thanks to you, this one wrapped up easy. You planning to stay overnight?"

"We've got a lot of goods to dispose of, so most likely. Is there anything separate we need to report?"

"Nah. Got help from you, so I was just going to point you toward a decent inn."

"Huh? I'm a local here, you shithead!"

The guard broke into a grin, looking at Sen, who'd been gleefully mocking the bastards getting pounded only to suddenly jump in. Though maybe he was grinning because of Kals stopping Sen, who'd been genuinely trying to launch a pointless kick at them.

"Ah, right, that's right. Fuckin' sorry about that. We don't remember all your faces like the guild folk do. Anyway, all of you folks are cleared through. Kunz! Escort them safely in!"

Was he thick-skinned or just good-natured? Watching him smile back at Sen even as she openly spewed curses at him, he might've been a man of truly sterling character.

"Th-this is mortifying. I came along to prevent this kind of ugly incident, and instead I've only caused one."

"How could anyone have predicted such a thing? Don't trouble yourself over it."

No fallback to rely on, and still running wild like that—how do you predict a lunatic?

I turned to my party with a smiling face, comforting Kunz and looking for their agreement.

For some reason, my companions' gazes seemed to say, 'You're the one saying that?'