Cooperation
Cooperation
A proper rest was sweet enough in its own right.
The deep sleep I finally got at the inn after nearly a week fit that description perfectly, and thanks to it I was able to rise from my bed savoring a clear head and a refreshed body. The chill of the dawn air and the dark outside the window seemed to say morning was still far off, but my internal clock informed me that the sun would soon be up.
Which meant I was hungry.
"A strong, vigorous morning, just right for doing laundry."
I turned my head to look at the next bed and saw Asilie still wrapped tight in her blankets, sleeping soundly as though fatigue still lingered. Moving as carefully as I could so as not to wake her, I pulled our tent and blankets from the travel bag and made for the well behind the inn.
No matter how good your traveling gear is, it falls apart without proper maintenance. I planned to finish washing the tent and blankets before breakfast, so I headed down the stairs with care.
Both of them would take an age to dry anyway, so better to wash them before the clothes even if it felt a little off. If you had to get down to it, clothes could dry in the room if you washed them a bit late. If the spirits helped me, the laundry would finish far faster and easier, but when conditions allowed I preferred to do it myself.
If they got sulky later when I really needed help and refused, I would be the one suffering for it.
"Oh? You're up early, Mr. Ega."
When I reached the well, Rellie and Yekaterina were just setting down their own armfuls of tent and blankets and greeted me.
"Good morning, Rellie, Yekaterina. You're both up early as well."
"If we don't get up early, we often get crowded out by other adventurers and can't get the laundry done in time. It's a habit we just kept, but after we woke up we remembered what the situation in this city is like."
They'd moved on habit and apparently forgot that in this city right now, our party was about the only ones with dirty travel gear. Unlike Rellie, who seemed fully awake, Yekaterina couldn't even keep her eyes open properly. She practically collapsed onto the blanket she had thrown to the ground, grumbling.
"And thanks to that I got dragged out too. I told her to take it easy..."
"I said I'd handle it myself, didn't I?"
"If you tried to carry it all by yourself you would've tumbled down the stairs. Or dragged it down behind you."
Come to think of it, Rellie was especially frail at physical tasks. There were times when I had the thought that if I handed that young lady a cola can, she wouldn't be able to pop the tab. Watching her put everything she had into scooping and carrying just one bucket of water, that seemed entirely possible.
"How about you get up before I pour water on you?"
"She hates lying and she hates the truth too. Mages, honestly."
I was so genuinely impressed by the civilization warrior Yekaterina's biting comment that I started clapping without thinking, which led to a small incident of Rellie getting suddenly pissed and trying to pour water on me. But one way or another we wrapped up the laundry without further trouble.
By the time Yekaterina and I had wrung out the thoroughly soaked tent and blankets together, carried them back to the room, and finished hanging them on the drying rack, Asilie was beginning to stir from her sleep—my bustling around had apparently roused her—and she started yawning long and slow through half-open eyes.
"You're already done with laundry? Did you get up early?"
"I ran into Rellie and Yekaterina and we knocked it out fast, helping each other."
We opened the window to air the room, I helped Asilie with her stretches, and we passed the time for a bit when at some point the delicious scent of soup began to drift in. I didn't know how many adventurers would be moving this early, but we wanted to take our meal at a leisurely pace, so we headed for the first-floor hall without a moment's hesitation.
We settled into the hall and placed our breakfast order, and though we hadn't arranged anything, our party members began coming down one by one until eventually everyone was gathered around the table waiting for food.
"It really is impressive once you get past ten."
The single remark Gaendal, his throat still sleepy, delivered was more than enough for everyone to agree with. Even when we camped outside, it was rare enough that I could count the times we all gathered like this on one hand, so it hadn't quite sunk in. But seated around one table for a meal, it just felt solid. No matter who showed up, it was clear they'd take one look at this party and decide to steer clear rather than pick a fight.
"It really does feel that way, doesn't it. And every one of our company is diligent without exception, which makes it feel even more so."
"Heh heh. True words. Cases like this are hardly common, after all."
And amid all that, I found myself smiling at the harmonious talk going back and forth. They only couldn't handle me—Sen's party was skillfully carrying on conversations with the others, and Seneran was chatting about this and that with Rellie.
It was, in a word, the picture of an ideal adventurer party. Gazing at the scene, I began to feel as if something good was bound to happen today.
Perhaps that was the source of the confidence that made thieves think the world had nothing to fear and act so recklessly. Just as I was musing on that, the inn door suddenly burst open.
"El, Eldmia! Adventurer Eldmia Ega! Are you here!"
"...Mr. Kunz?"
I turned my head and there stood Kunz, soaked in sweat despite the cold winter wind, panting for breath.
"El, Eldmia!"
His expression, anything but good, and his shaking pupils informed me that the thought I had held just moments ago was nothing but a vain hope.
"Th, they raided the guild and looted the goods!"
And at last, from Kunz's open mouth, came news that shattered my good mood in an instant.
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"I am truly ashamed. To think that even the adventurers we hired as guards would go over to them..."
Unlike Kunz, who wore a devastated expression and apologized despite none of it being his fault, the other guild staff simply greeted us with sour faces that said 'Well, we're fucked.'
The stable he led us into was a wreck. Every other horse had vanished without a trace, and the warhorses of House Ogatorf that Asilie and I had ridden lay dead on the floor, their bodies cold.
And the spoils that had clearly been loaded on the horses had been completely looted.
"Does this make any fucking sense?! If you're going to handle things like this shit, why the hell do you collect stable fees in the first place!!"
Sen was raging like she was the mouthpiece for my fury. But this time neither Kals nor Baije, the party's master of silent meditation, moved to stop her. Merdela was, on the contrary, leaping mad right alongside her, and Rellie even joined in, so the stable rang painfully with a trio of angry female voices.
"By the time the night watch shift arrived, the incident had already occurred. There were signs the other horses were led away, but these ones may have resisted too fiercely..."
Me? I wasn't so much angry as dumbfounded.
I was dumbfounded once because what this situation implied was so blatant, and dumbfounded again because Kunz was the only one here showing a genuinely sorry attitude.
Did they actually think I would believe that these bastards, who were isolated inside the city with even their escape route cut off, had attempted to loot food or miscellaneous spoils? If I hadn't known how things were unfolding from our conversation last night, I might have half-believed it and at least checked. But now the situation was different.
In a situation like this, the first person who should have shown his face was the guild leader. Yet the fact that he hadn't shown so much as his face meant he was either aiming for a dramatic entrance to exploit the situation, or he didn't know the law. One or the other.
Of course, the latter was impossible. Going by the looks of it, he probably had a scheme in mind—punch a hole in my coin purse to force me into taking a request I had refused by using compensation as an excuse, then shoving the request itself onto me. As if that would ever work.
I raised a hand, quieted the women, and spoke briefly.
"Enough. Get the guild leader."
At that, a female receptionist who until now had stood still while Kunz apologized fervently strode forward, blocking Kunz who tried to say something to me.
"Excuse me, adventurer. This incident is deeply regrettable, but at present the guild leader is..."
"I'll let it slide just once. I know the rules, so get the guild leader. If you don't want to fucking die."
She might be a higher rank than Kunz or whatever, but I had no reason to tolerate her trying to obstruct me from exercising my legitimate rights. But despite my kind warning, the other side hardened her expression and insisted on opening her mouth.
"Acts of violence within the city..."
That wasn't a thing I needed to hear either, so I didn't listen. I simply slapped her hard across the side of the face.
-SMAACK!!
"Ghk?!"
Even without using Magic Power, a single powerful strike snapped the receptionist's head around, scattering blood and teeth.
"Wh, what is the meaning of this!"
"Guards! Call the guards...!"
-Fweee!
I whistled and moved my needle, blocking the other receptionists whose eyes flew wide open as they tried to step in while she tumbled across the floor. They at least possessed some common sense—the moment something that obviously looked like a weapon started moving on its own and aimed at them, every last one of them stopped in their tracks and started rolling their eyes.
"Cut the fucking shit. You think I'm a blue-rank adventurer, so you can treat me like a goddamn idiot?"
The sight was so absurd it left me dumbfounded yet again, but it seemed my sudden action had startled not only them but my traveling companions as well.
"Within the Adventurer's Guild, in the event that unforeseen damage or loss occurs to goods and means of transport explicitly designated and protected under due process, the negotiation for compensation and payment must be verbally explained directly by the guild leader and guaranteed under their own authority. Any guild losses arising from failure to comply shall not be legally recognized under the unanimous consent of the Kingdom Alliance Council."
Before any pointless misunderstandings could arise, I recited the Adventurer Protection Law from memory, and only then did exclamations of admiration murmur from behind me. Despite not living off nothing but dreams and romance, adventurers had so little interest in the law. Even Gaendal and Mr. Gin were exclaiming in admiration, which said it all.
And that law only offered minimum protection, so there weren't many provisions, yet they still didn't read it. How did they plan to handle situations like this?
"I'll say it again. Get the guild leader."
Of course, I was the exception.
I didn't know what kind of gall had driven this guild leader bastard to pull this shit, but today the fucker was going to pay the price for eating up not just my spoils but two warhorses of House Ogatorf—each worth nearly thirty Itisel gold coins a head.