A Rampage in Oricil
Once Arin started going berserk, no one could stop her. Someone like that probably existed somewhere if you looked hard enough, but at least not in Oricil’s market square.
“How dare they! The city guards are spouting such nonsense!”
“P-please… calm down…”
“I said shut up! What? Property damage? Who was it that showed up late and stood around with their hands behind their backs, and who was it that actually fought the orcs? You couldn’t even arrive on time to fight, and now you’re complaining? That’s it. I’m going to the guard post myself.”
The crowd murmured. Arin’s fiery shouting drew spectators like clouds gathering. The soldiers scrambled to control the citizens, but Arin’s aggro was already too massive.
“What’s going on?”
“The guards tried to pin the blame on the explorers…”
“Those salary thieves. They always pick on outsiders, don’t they?”
Public opinion favored the explorers. These were the same people who had watched Roa and me slaughter the orcs. No one was going to look kindly on guards who arrived late and then tried to throw their weight around.
“Lady Maya!”
“Jerome.”
Misfortune kept piling up for the guards. It was just past lunchtime, we happened to be near the Alchemist Guild, and alchemists apparently had the habit of eating late. Hearing Arin’s voice, the alchemists who had come to the market for lunch rushed over in a crowd.
“What’s the matter?”
“Well…”
The alchemists slowly surrounded the guards. The guard captain’s face turned ashen.
I quickly whispered to Roa.
“Roa. Lie down.”
“…Yes?”
“Let’s give those guard bastards a hard time.”
I was still drenched in orc blood. Using my saw blade as a cane, I staggered and shouted.
“Ugh… The wound from the orc…”
The spectators turned to look.
“Over there! The explorer!”
“He pushed himself too hard fighting the orcs! Quick, to the hospital!”
Roa shot me a sideways glare and let out a heavy sigh. What? Self-inflicted blackmail works in times like this. She squeezed her eyes shut, clutched her forehead, and collapsed to the ground.
Thud!
“Kyaa! The explorer fainted!”
“Guards, clear the way!”
“Are you trying to kill the explorers?!”
Opinion against the guards hit rock bottom. They were already terrified by the alchemists’ glares alone, and now with an angry mob surrounding them and hurling accusations, their faces looked half-dead.
“Lady Arin.”
“Perfect timing. Balak, go find out who owns these orcs and tell Father I’ll be stopping by the guard post for a bit.”
“As you command.”
Arin headed toward the guards, her red hair whipping behind her. Two alchemists flanked her like escorts. The guard captain followed with the expression of a pig being led to slaughter, all hope lost.
“We’re going to the hospital.”
“Yes, my lady.”
Maya took charge and cleared the scene. A stretcher was brought for the “unconscious” Roa, and kind-hearted residents rushed over to support me. When I came to my senses, I was lying in a clean bed wearing fresh clothes.
Getting hospitalized after taking down a few orcs. This was pure profit.
“Was it really necessary to go this far?”
Roa sat on the edge of the bed, chin resting on her hand. She looked doubtful about the whole affair.
“Come on. Those guys deserved it.”
“Haneul’s right. Think about it the other way. What if the person we saved wasn’t Arin, but some powerless girl? Things wouldn’t have gone this smoothly, would they? Because she’s the Alchemist Guild Master’s daughter, we could chase the guards off.”
Roa still looked displeased, but she didn’t voice it. She picked an apple from the fruit basket and polished it on her sleeve until it shone.
“Want an apple?”
Crunch.
Just then, Maya entered the room.
“Father and Arin are on their way.”
We immediately scrambled back to our beds and started acting sick. We didn’t really need to, but who knows? Maybe they’d feel sorry and give us money. Making money as an explorer was this hard.
As Maya said, Master Igon and Arin arrived at the room.
“Are you all right?”
“You’ve come.”
In the short time since we last saw him, Igon looked like he’d aged half a year. I couldn’t even imagine what had happened at the guard post. As if reading my curiosity, Igon spoke.
“The guards. It seems they’ve been taking massive bribes from the Merchant Guild. The orc slaves you killed were captured in Eluk Forest by slave traders from the Merchant Guild.”
“Then…”
“I’ve made it very clear to the guards. They won’t cause you any trouble.”
As expected of the Alchemist Guild Master. There might still be headaches ahead, but having Igon as a shield was reassuring.
“It seems I keep owing you favors. Thank you for saving Arin in time.”
I caught Roa giving a small smile. It was a quiet laugh only I could notice, but I understood. Roa had rushed out purely to help a citizen in danger, without any complicated thoughts. For her sake, I had to say this.
“I only did what needed to be done.”
Master Igon burst into a hearty laugh.
“Haha. I thought explorers only cared about money. But there are righteous ones like you too.”
“Thank you.”
“Still, you wouldn’t hate money, would you?”
Igon snapped his fingers.
…Was he giving us money again?
A servant appeared and distributed coins to the party members. A thousand ron each. It wasn’t a huge amount, but the fact that we received it mattered.
“I’d like to ask you to settle down in Oricil, but without an explorer’s guild here, that’s impossible.”
Igon said he’d treat us to dinner sometime and left the room, considerate enough to let the injured rest. Left alone, Arin stood with her arms crossed, staring at the explorers. Her gaze was complicated. She was clearly grateful, yet she couldn’t bring herself to simply praise us.
Arin slowly opened her mouth.
“Thank you for helping. I survived because of you.”
I cut in.
“You should thank Maya for that.”
Arin’s face flushed red. Even her ears turned crimson—she was definitely embarrassed. And why wouldn’t she be? When Maya had been stranded, Arin had sat in Oricil doing nothing, and at the guild she’d even voiced criticism against her. She’d spoken as if her explorer sister was some strange person. Yet not even half a day later, she’d been saved by that very “explorer,” Maya. If she didn’t feel ashamed, she’d have no sense of shame at all.
“Ugh…”
Arin couldn’t easily say thank you. She’d spoken so well in front of the guard captain, yet now, facing the person who truly mattered, she went mute.
Maya looked at her sister’s face, chuckled, and said to me,
“You didn’t fight to hear thanks, did you? I’m fine.”
“Still, it was Maya who saved Arin…”
I couldn’t just stay quiet. I threw in a few words from the side.
“Hmm. That’s strange. If you’re grateful, shouldn’t you say thank you? Or am I wrong?”
“…Damn it. I’ll say it! I just have to say it, right?!”
Arin stormed over to Maya, still fuming. Her face remained red, but she no longer looked as embarrassed as before. She seemed the type who responded better to provocation than encouragement.
“Sister.”
Just as Arin was about to speak, a servant burst in and shouted.
“Lady Maya! Lady Arin! You need to come down right away!”
“…What’s going on?”
“Jerome and Balak…”
Maya and Arin stared at each other for a moment before bolting out of the room almost simultaneously.
“Let’s go too.”
“More money?”
“Doesn’t seem like we’ll make money this time.”
Money wouldn’t come this easily. Maya and Arin’s expressions as they left the room were grim. As someone who wasn’t an alchemist, I couldn’t understand the situation, but I knew something had happened. I hoped it wasn’t serious.
We headed to the Alchemist Guild.
Every guild had its own open grounds. Even the gloomy Necromancer Guild had a lawn for lunch. The Alchemist Guild’s grounds were quite large—it took about ten minutes to walk from the entrance to the guild building.
The guild’s backyard. In that rarely visited place, a group of alchemists had gathered. Maya and Arin arrived. The alchemists all bowed their heads toward them.
“What are you all doing here?”
Arin stepped forward and spoke. The alchemists avoided her gaze and stayed silent. It seemed like a difficult conversation had taken place.
Then a young alchemist boy stepped forward. He looked even younger than Roa. About Haneul’s age?
“Lady Maya. I have a question.”
Maya paused, looking startled, but soon replied calmly.
“Go ahead.”
“I heard you’re not returning to the guild. Is that true?”
Maya’s expression darkened.
“It is.”
“I’d like to know the reason. Why won’t you return to the guild?”
“…I want to focus on my explorer activities.”
“Then you’ll be leaving Oricil again.”
“That’s right.”
Arin’s face wasn’t bright either. She glared at the boy alchemist with a stiff expression.
“You there. Why do you care?”
The murmuring among the alchemists grew louder. This time, Jerome stepped forward.
“Since Lady Maya returned to Oricil, many alchemists have been expecting her return. That’s why there was some commotion…”
Next came an alchemist with a stern face—Balak, the one who had carried out Arin’s orders earlier.
“Now that everything’s clear, there won’t be any more commotion. I apologize to both of you.”
Balak walked steadily toward the boy alchemist. With an eerily calm face and not a hint of hesitation, he swung his hand.
Smack!
The boy alchemist’s face shook pitifully. A vivid red handprint stood out on his cheek.
Neither Maya nor Arin could react to Balak’s sudden action. Then Maya moved.
“What are you doing right now…”
Jerome blocked Maya’s path.
“Lady Maya, please come this way for a moment…”
“Jerome, move. That’s too much!”
Balak spoke to the boy alchemist in an icy voice.
“How dare you speak to Lady Maya first so presumptuously. Do you think the guild is a joke?”
“…I’m sorry.”
Surprisingly, the boy alchemist couldn’t protest at all despite being slapped.