Chapter 11
Chapter 11
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 11
Chapter Title: Kanp, Regen (1)
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After our first cleanup mission ended, we first reported our situation.
"Oh, Fey? Where are the guild members?"
"They were here, but then they vanished."
"Pardon?"
On paper, the station chief who had connected us with Golden Duck Guild got the full rundown.
The chief scratched his head, then had a clerk relay the details to someone. Soon after, an association fair trade officer showed up and asked us a few questions.
"Will, was that Rack guy a blond like this?"
"That's him! Squinty eyes!"
"He recognized that doodle of a circle with two lines... impressive."
Rack's identity came to light quickly.
"He's a famous con artist. Specializes in scamming rookie adventurers. We thought he'd died in some dungeon since he vanished a few months back, but he's still kicking."
One of the guild members who'd been stabbed in the leg by Rack spilled all the dirt on his misdeeds with a heavy sigh.
She must have been pretty bitter about the betrayal.
"Alright, per association rules, we'll distribute the rewards only to those who made it back. Any objections?"
"Ooh."
The association staff handled it smoothly.
We handed over the Can Mandrake to the apothecary Golden Duck had originally planned to sell it to,
and they exchanged our unneeded gear for cash on the spot.
I couldn't help but marvel at the razor-sharp efficiency, like a big corp's payroll.
"Wow, this is so convenient."
If it were that shitty office job I had before, it'd take a week.
Guns in a medieval era aren't the real out-of-place artifact. This is.
Such conveniences were probably remnants of this world being a game.
'With all there is to explore in the dungeons, who has time for settlements and sales... Waste it on trivia, and all the players bail.'
In a world without YouTube, you couldn't even monetize the travel vlogs.
Still, there were odds and ends to tie up.
As a newbie adventurer, I hustled nonstop following the veterans' and Fey's advice—depositing money, filing paperwork for official explorer registration, and more.
"Ugh, exhausting."
Only as dusk fell did I escape the endless forms.
"By the way, Fey, did you tip the staff or something? Everything sped up tenfold when you showed up."
I benefited too, tagging along.
"Oh... that? Hehe, my sister's actually a pretty famous explorer around here! I get some perks from that. My sister, she's really..."
Blah blah blah—
Off she went, chattering proudly about herself again.
Fey must be cursed to lose HP if she doesn't brag.
"Fascinating story. Truly moving."
"...You're not listening, are you?"
Yet her situational awareness was spot-on.
"Nope. Hunger makes people's words go in one ear and out the other for me."
"Sigh, fine. Let's eat. There's that place from before anyway."
The restaurant Fey pointed to was Adrian's Hideout.
Good food, and after admitting I was loaded, the service got generous.
Even Fey, who'd gotten smacked upside the head before, started going back.
It qualified as a solid eats spot.
Perfectly grilled skewers, a mug of beer, salty salami...
My mouth was watering already.
"Excuse us—"
I threw open the door with gusto to please my stomach,
-Crash!
"Die, you fucking Kanp elf bastards."
An unexpected slur hit us square on.
*
'...What the?'
I rolled my eyes to size up the scene.
'Fight? Elves?'
Three elves stood fuming. The other two groaned on the floor.
'Elves! And their opponent is—'
The one who'd floored them was
'Regen?'
The elf we'd briefly shared a table with here last time, Regen.
"Ptoo, Kanp brats have no manners."
An elf trash-talking elves?
Was this hate speech?
Tough call.
"What happened?"
More importantly, what was going on?
I quietly asked a bystander for the rundown.
"Those elves started beef with the owner over no vegan menu despite the 'Adrian' name. They argued forever, then that guy in the corner, just nursing his drink, smashed a fist into one's face!"
"Adrian?"
"Famous elf explorer. Went missing in a dungeon years ago."
"They're fighting over that? Meat on the menu at a restaurant?"
"Believe it or not."
It was like rioting at 'Yi Sun-sin Diner' for selling pork cutlets, calling them Japanese collaborators.
These guys were the real Kanps.
"You have no idea who you're messing with!"
One Kanp spat the classic line.
"If I knew, I wouldn't have hit you. Shoulda tattooed your mama's name on your forehead."
Regen shot back snidely.
"Lowlife. Ugh, fine. Brace yourself."
The Kanp played it perfectly classic.
"You've made an enemy of Blade of the World Tree!"
-Dudung!
The Kanp declared proudly.
The crowd buzzed in shock. Must be a big-name guild.
But
"Ha, no wonder the attitude. You tree-stump bastards?"
"Wh-what?!"
Regen didn't bat an eye, dropping the tree-stump burn.
Tree stump 'cause World Tree? That okay?
"Fey, isn't that blasphemy?"
"Y-yeah..."
Could elves say that?
What even were elves in this world?
Swearing, fighting... like Detroit gangbangers?
"You rotten-fish-stinking vermin..."
The apparent Kanp leader drew his sword in rage. Blue aura flared along the blade.
"Atone in death!"
-Boom!
The blue sword slash hurtled at Regen.
But
"Bullshit."
-Crash!
Regen's flung bottle shattered into the Kanp leader's forehead first.
"Gaaah!!!"
The bottle-smacked leader toppled, his sword embedding in the tavern corner.
Now three Kanps rolled on the floor.
-Gulp.
Honestly, riveting.
"Wanna charge? Bring it. Trash like you, I don't even need mana..."
Regen's taunt cut off.
-Wobble,
She staggered like dizzy,
"Urp."
Clutched her throat like a fishbone,
"Kehk, cough, cough...! Ugh... fuck...!"
Black blood gushed from her mouth.
"...Tch!"
The two standing elves lunged and struck her.
Viet Cong-level ambush skills.
Forest living, maybe.
-Thwack!
"Fuckers, that all you got...? Cough, kehk...!"
Regen blocked somehow, but coughing blood had drained her.
Not enough to fend off two young elves.
'Oh dear.'
Someone's gonna die.
'Gotta stop this.'
As I stepped forward—
"Stop! Enough!!!"
The lizardman owner burst out in front of us.
"What the hell in my place?! And Regen! You again?! Cut it out!"
"Cough, so what? Ignore these punks picking fights here?"
"Ignore and nothing hurts! Not like old times! That's why you're bleeding out like this!"
Regen's face twisted fiercely.
Frustration and injustice burned in her eyes.
"...Even weakened, punks like these are nothing. I'm... cough, kehk...!"
"No bluster. You're just a body-snatcher selling adventurer corpses to families."
The owner's cold words, reptilian as his blood, cooled Regen's boiling rage.
In the heavy silence, only her dry coughs echoed.
"Hah, hah... Fine, have your fun..."
Then the recovered Kanps glared at the owner.
"Good luck with business. We'll show you the price of crossing Blade of the World Tree. Looking forward to it."
We'll see.
With that, the Kanp pack spat, kicked chairs, and stormed out.
-Bang.
Even pettily flipped the sign to 'Closed'.
The fight's heat faded, leaving a wrecked shop.
No eating in that mess. Remaining patrons trickled out.
Finally, just Regen, the owner, and our group of four.
"Great job. Now a major guild's got it out for us."
"Don't worry. If the guild pulls shit, I'll bash those tree-stump heads myself..."
Bang!
The enraged owner kicked a nearby chair.
"That's how you solve things and look where it got you!! How many times?! Can't you just drink quietly and leave?! "
"But they were causing a scene in our shop..."
"Our shop?! Our shop?!"
The owner bellowed in fury.
"This ain't your hideout anymore! That damn name's the problem?! If not for my dead wife's dying wish, I'd have changed it ages ago! You think you're still an explorer?! Hell no! You're a day-labor body-snatcher living hand-to-mouth!!! Get your head straight!!!"
His shouting gut-wrenching, like exorcism.
Almost rude to linger.
"...No, I... I'm..."
"Face reality for once. Quit clinging to glory days in that state."
"..."
After long silence, Regen spoke.
"Sorry about today. Repairs on this..."
Head bowed in apology, she dug out her coin pouch,
"Shove your money... Can't even afford painkillers. Just get out today."
"...Yeah."
With that, Regen left too.
The midnight ruckus ended.
With silence darker than night,
-Grrrowl.
And my timid gut clock revving up again.