Chapter 58
Chapter 58
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 58
Chapter Title: Suspicious Guide
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"Jackpot! We've already earned toll fees for six people, and there's still more left!"
Emily exclaimed excitedly as she tallied up our earnings so far in a nice restaurant we'd ducked into for a celebratory afterparty after wrapping up our last sale.
Everyone except me seemed to have expected this, so the atmosphere wasn't all that surprised.
I never imagined crafting work would bring in this much income.
If it had just been me alone, it probably would've been tough to achieve these results in such a short time.
Advertising really is the foundation of business, after all.
The companions I'd traveled with had been a huge help.
'But the biggest gain is the new skill.'
The corners of my mouth were twitching upward without me even realizing it.
[Swift Production], a skill born from repeating repairs and crafting dozens, maybe hundreds of times.
True to its name, it was a skill that let me finish crafting in an instant.
If the materials were ready, it consumed them to produce the equipment.
If materials were lacking, it linked with my mana conversion skill to fill in the gaps and create it.
And the benefits from running this street stall went beyond that.
I'd discovered something while perfectly repairing Aspetra earlier.
Equipment I'd fully understood the structure of and repaired, I could recreate myself.
Given the border region's nature, all sorts of adventurers gathered here.
And among them, a few had entrusted me with special gear.
For those pieces, I'd put in extra care during the repairs.
Because they were the customer's precious equipment?
No, because they'd become my precious equipment.
'Thanks, I'll put it to good use.'
I closed my eyes and sent a silent thank-you to the adventurers out there hunting away somewhere.
"Ah, Ken's smiling."
"Of course. He probably never expected to rake in this much."
"I thought Ken could pull it off."
Apparently, my grinning was obvious.
Well, Swift Production wasn't without its limitations.
For instance, weapons above a certain level like Aspetra came with a one-use restriction.
Probably because I couldn't replicate the original itself perfectly, so it got tagged as a copy.
Take the [Poison Hydra Throwing Knife] with its extreme rigidity effect, shortened to Hydra Knife.
Once thrown, it vanished.
To use it again, I'd have to spend mana.
It felt like the equipment itself had become a skill, but hey, beggars can't be choosers.
With such stellar results, we laughed and chatted as we savored the delicious afterparty food.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ With plenty of coin for the tolls, we paid up and headed straight for our next destination.
Just one more village to pass, and we'd reach the city with Tarros's Tower.
"This place looks smaller than Dramon?"
As Rafne said, this transit village was smaller than a city but big for a village—stuck in that awkward middle ground.
The previous spot, Dramon, had high walls encircling it, and its streets were properly paved.
But Parion, this village, mostly had flimsier buildings by comparison.
Still, the population was decent-sized, so it wasn't tiny.
"It's outside the kingdom, after all. From here, it's about two weeks more."
"Eeeh~ That long again?"
Emily, who seemed more daunted by camping than traveling, made a pouty face.
No helping it—the route on the map was the best option.
I consoled her to hang in there just a bit longer.
"Then let's register as adventurers here."
I turned to the group and announced it.
Only adventurers registered with the guild could enter Tarros's Tower, so we needed to do it ahead of time.
Sure, we could've done it at the guild in Dramon or the academy city.
But registering inside Lillias Kingdom felt dicey.
Just look at the toll hike at the border—I was right not to rush it.
They might've tried some interference.
That would've just slowed us down again.
"Ken, what rank do you think I'll get?"
On the way to the guild, Emily asked with the excited look of a kid heading to a candy store.
She really seemed to have a thing for this stuff.
She got the most hyped during our travels.
"Hmm, B-rank maybe?"
"...That's so realistic. Tch, you could've hyped me up with S-rank for once!"
She laughed playfully and lightly punched my shoulder.
Her adventurer rank was so familiar from all the times I'd seen it that I'd answered on reflex.
Speaking of adventurer ranks...
Everyone except Emily was surely A-rank or higher.
Rafne, who'd recently punched out an A-rank adventurer, went without saying.
So naturally, I was curious about mine.
'...Wonder what it'll be.'
Honestly, my heart was pounding a little.
I'd trained under Siegfried, and the monsters I'd taken down were high-grade.
Of course, those kills came from cheat-level skills, but still.
'If I use Calorie Burn during the ranking exam...'
Nah, forget it.
I only needed adventurer status to enter Tarros's Tower—no need for a high rank.
A sudden high rank might even cause a fuss.
Some adventurer might protest, refusing to believe someone with my looks deserved it.
'Just let pure skill decide it.'
And so, upon entering the village, we headed straight for the adventurer guild.
"Ooh! Isn't that Ken? Fancy seeing you here!"
"Wahaha! Boss Ken! The weapon you fixed is serving me well!"
As we opened the guild doors, a few adventurers who'd been boozing since midday recognized us and called out.
They must've been from Dramon, the ones who'd commissioned repairs or crafting.
I couldn't remember who was who amid the flood of requests, though.
"Ah! Uncle! You're here too?"
But Emily remembered their faces as her customers and greeted them warmly.
"Yaa, the young ladies look as lovely as ever. Haha! Boss Ken's got it good, traveling with such pretty companions!"
"Ken's an adventurer now? Here for a quest? Not doing crafting anymore?"
"We stopped by to register. Crafting was just a temporary gig... haha."
"Kuh! A master craftsman who's bound to make a name in the kingdom—what a shame!"
These uncle-types approached with oddly friendly vibes.
Maybe the booze helped, but it reminded me of the local pub regulars from my pre-possession days.
We were just client and crafter, nothing more.
"Uhaha! Anyway, good luck! A craftsman like you, Boss Ken? B-rank for sure—no, I'll vouch for A-rank!"
"Damn right. Gotta treat talent like that properly!"
Their cheerful, tipsy faces had them slapping my back with extra service.
Huh. Me too, B-rank? Maybe even A.
A strange anticipation made my shoulders lift.
Just in case.
With that, we headed up to the second floor to start registering.
And the results came quick.
"Ta-da! B-rank! Ken nailed it. Hehe."
Emily proudly held up her license—B-rank.
"I got A-rank."
"Me too."
"Same here, A-rank."
Mary, Adrian, and Siegfried all got A-rank as expected.
Emily, who'd held hers up confidently, quietly pocketed it.
"R-Rafne's?"
She shot an awkward smile at Rafne, who hadn't revealed hers yet.
Rafne grinned and held up her license.
It was a whopping S-rank.
"S-rank?! ...Well, it's Rafne, so I get it. Ugh! I'm the lowest!"
"Hehe, Emily. Time to call me 'big sis' with respect."
They had this subtle rivalry going—Emily stomped her feet in frustration.
Then she turned to me, the last one, with a glum look.
"What about Ken? ...You're A-rank at least, right? You're so strong..."
"Nah, D-rank."
"Huh?"
The group gawked at my raised license.
Why the shock?
Did they all expect A-rank from me? Haha, no way I'd get that.
...Not that I'd expected much either.
My mana was way up, crafting skills highly proficient, but combat ability was judged low.
Makes sense—no one hands A-rank quests to a weak fighter.
I hadn't used Calorie Burn anyway, so it was a fair result.
Problem was, I was the only one convinced.
"Whaaat?! Hey, receptionist lady! This has to be a mistake! D-rank for Boss Ken? That make any sense?!"
"No way! You seen the weapons this guy's made? Even pro crafting parties shouldn't get this! I even bet money!"
The uncles who'd been hyping me up moments ago were now raging at the counter.
Hey, betting money was on you guys.
Drunk rank-wagering, huh?
The guild buzzed with the boozy adventurers' uproar.
'I half-expected the opposite of what I hoped.'
Should've just used Calorie Burn for a higher rank.
"Let's get out quick. Lingering won't help."
"Y-Yeah."
I hurriedly led the group out.
Other adventurers stared curiously at us, the cause of the commotion.
Why was the embarrassment all mine?
I covered my burning face with one hand, head down, and slipped out the door.
"I-It’s fine, Ken. Don’t look so down."
"Huh?"
Rafne sidled up beside me with some comfort.
"D-rank’s no biggie! Ung, it’s even good! I’ll protect you. ...Hehe, I’m S-rank."
She shyly flashed her license.
"W-Wait! If that’s it, I can too! I’m B-rank-ish!"
"No, Emily. Gotta be A-rank or higher to protect anyone."
"Ugh! Should’ve trained more attack spells!"
Leaving grumpy Emily behind, Mary stepped up beside me.
"I’ve always wanted to protect you, Ken. So don’t be too disappointed about D-rank. I’ll always watch over you."
"Yeah, you’ve got me too—no worries."
Siegfried followed, clapping my shoulder.
I stared blankly at my cheering, consoling companions.
...Did I look that depressed?
Nah, I just couldn’t lift my head from the shame.
Adrian, watching it all, snickered like he got it.
As we headed to the inn in this weird mood,
"Hey~! You lot over there!"
A shout from behind grew closer—we realized it was calling us.
Turning, I saw a lean, sharp-eyed man with a distinctive mustache under his nose.
"You kids the ones who just registered?"
He flashed a friendly smile and approached casually.
"Yes... What’s up?"
"Heading out of the village somewhere?"
"...We’re en route to Tarros’s Tower, for now."
I answered warily.
Sudden approach. Common knowledge: some adventurers were bandits.
Our party’s strength made robbery suicide, though—no issue there.
"Ooh! Challenging that tower! Perfect timing! Need a guide? We know shortcuts!"
"Shortcuts?"
"Yup! Don’t let the looks fool ya—I’m a vet who’s done adventurer work around here forever. Know these paths better than any map. But..."
He cautiously formed a circle with thumb and forefinger.
The money gesture.
"A little reward expected, of course. Heard you made bank—what d’ya say? No monsters, quick trip—nice, right?"
Seemed like a guide-for-hire hustler.
In games, hiring these NPCs skipped the getting-lost-in-new-city bits.
And if it was just for cash, not suspicious...
"Mind if I check with my companions?"
"Sure, sure. Take your time."
I stepped away, gathered the group, and asked their thoughts.
"What do you think?"
"Hmm, feels a bit shady..."
Emily chimed in first.
"But Emily, aren’t you tired from travel? Shortcuts’d get us to the city fast."
Mary, confident in her skills, was pro.
Probably figuring she could counter any funny business.
Her point about saving time swayed me.
Fun vibes aside, constant travel and awkward camps wore on us.
Cutting that sounded good.
Rafne nodded along with Mary.
"I’m fine. Kill ’em if they try anything."
"No, Rafne. Ask for the route first, then kill."
"Ah! Right! Ken’s so smart!"
"Y-You two say creepy stuff so casually."
Emily shuddered at Rafne’s bold words.
I glanced at Adrian and Siegfried for input.
"Doesn’t matter to me. Shortcuts or not."
"They don’t look that strong. You could take ’em solo, Ken."
They weren’t worried either.
Decision made.
"Group agrees, so we’ll take the guide."
"Yesss! Smart choice, bro! We’ll getcha there safe!"
Accepting, he rubbed his hands gleefully.
FYI, I’d tipped him off about our ranks.
Meaning: don’t try crap unless you wanna die.
"Those your crew?"
"Yeah, longtime party members."
"Ufufu, pleased to meetcha. Name’s Babbidi."
"I’m Lion."
The first guy, Eric, was an archer missing one finger.
Babbidi was a chubby priest, heavier than me—probably the healer.
Lion, the most capable-looking of the trio, was a swordsman.
"Thanks for guiding us, then."
I shook Lion’s offered hand with a smile.
Eric felt flighty, but Lion seemed trustworthy enough.
We left the village under their lead shortly after.
And predictably, they betrayed us.
Not with the banditry I’d half-expected, though.
"Yo, bros! Us guys gotta hit a spot real quick!"
Eric, leading the way, shouted to kick it off.
"What’s the matter?"
"Pesky monster nearby. Looks like we’ll need your help, bros."
Eric grinned like it was no big deal and continued.
"We guys can handle it quick. Ladies rest up—we’ll mop it and be back."
At that, me, Adrian, and Siegfried followed the three guides into the woods.
With Rafne and Mary there, even Emily wasn’t helpless. The pair together meant safety.
Their real aim? Separate us from the girls.
"Kuhahaha! Dumbasses! Fell for it hook, line, and sinker!"
"Grk...!"
My body was stiffening.
Deep in the woods, Eric suddenly pulled something that spewed light.
A magic tool that petrified people.