Chapter 81
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 81
Chapter Title: Sweet Words
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The journey to the Magic Capital was more arduous than expected.
The frequency of bandit encounters was strangely high.
In just one week, we'd run into them a whopping four times. Facing them every other day made it feel like poor public safety wasn't the only issue at play.
"Two women traveling alone must look like easy pickings. Can't be helped."
As I wiped the blood from my sword and muttered complaints to myself, Helen patted my back with a bright voice that didn't match the situation at all, brushing it off as inevitable.
"It's unfair."
"What can we do? We're not burly muscleheads with massive builds—we just look like pretty young ladies on the surface. Idiots always miss the important stuff and fall for appearances."
"Haa..."
"And more than that, I at least look neat and dress properly, but you... you're kind of a mess, aren't you? I'd say you're at least thirty percent—no, fifty percent—responsible for all these bandits coming at us."
"Why me...?"
"A 130, 140cm-tall kid dressed like that, carrying two swords for no good reason, and those inexplicable sunglasses."
"Huh?"
"You look like a flashy little show-off with every easy-target checkbox ticked."
"......This wasn't by choice."
I hadn't asked for this appearance.
It was purely the result of Rie's perverse tastes. Excluding the swords and sunglasses that were mine, everything about my looks and clothes had been crafted by Rie. Talk about unfair.
"I wouldn't ask for much else—just ten more centimeters of height would be perfect..."
What a shame.
Training with Helen in swordsmanship had made me keenly feel the disadvantages of my small stature.
I was short.
Naturally, that meant short arms and short legs too.
My sword reach was limited, and even with the same footwork, my movements were smaller.
Every single one of those factors worked against me. There was no countering it.
If only this little body had some solid muscle packed on it, at least my stamina might have held up.
But no such luck.
"Watching you, I was amazed. How does she roll around like that without building any muscle?"
"Just how I was born, I guess."
"Anyway, everyone rested up? Time to hit the road again."
"How much farther is it?"
At my question, Helen paused as if calculating the distance in her head before giving her answer.
"Ten days? Maybe a bit less."
"This is gonna be rough..."
A long trip alone would be fine, but with bandits rampant, dealing with them one by one would make it exhausting.
Their bodies could just be tossed into the brush for the beasts to handle—no need for cleanup. Grumbling all the while, we set off again.
"By the way, why are you going to see that witch lady?"
"Didn't I mention it?"
"You said at the start we were heading to see the witch, but you never explained why. I figured you'd tell me eventually, so I didn't ask. But now it feels like you won't, so here I am."
"Oh..."
To my curt words, Helen let out an awkward "haha" laugh, shrugged, and explained the purpose of our trip.
"It's because of that doll we saw in the capital."
"Huh?"
"That thing creeped me out big time. Not sure if it didn't intend to attack or if it got careless, but it got smashed by me. Still, if we'd really clashed, I think it would've been dangerous."
"That serious?"
I knew it too.
The dice roll back then hadn't come from the demon protecting the doll, but from the doll itself.
And since the doll's main body hadn't died, no reward had come through.
That much I was sure of.
But while I knew it was no ordinary thing, I wasn't sure if it matched the level of threat Helen perceived.
"Even if it's declining, does it make sense for something like that to be wandering the capital?"
"Well..."
"There are only five Gold-rank adventurers active in the capital. Sure, they leave often for commissions, so really only one or two are there at any time, but they never completely abandon it. So why was that thing just strolling around?"
It was a fair point, but...
"By that logic, weren't demon worshippers running around just fine too?"
"That's different."
Different?
I tilted my head, staring at Helen in confusion, and she continued to clear it up.
"Gold-ranks don't step in for minor stuff. They only move when Silver-ranks can't handle it. The issue isn't that. If Silvers can band together and resolve it, it's just treated as an 'accident'."
Helen took a breath and furrowed her brow.
"Gold-ranks only act openly in crises. But if a Gold-rank has to step in in the capital, people interpret it as the capital being in crisis. How do you think they'd react? 'The capital's in chaos this time!' If Gold-ranks got involved, the panic would've been even worse."
"So, even if Gold-ranks want to fix things, there are situations they can't because it'd make it worse."
Thinking back, the previous commission had been like that too.
They'd wanted to wrap it up sloppily and quickly.
They absolutely didn't want word getting out that the capital was in danger.
It made sense as an extension of that.
"Yeah, but this time was different. Silvers couldn't have handled it. I got demoted and lost my official Gold status, so I cleaned it up nicely. Put another way, no one short of my level could have."
Helen was crystal clear.
Incidents could happen in the capital.
But they didn't sweat the small stuff.
Silver-level problems could be written off as unforeseen accidents.
But if it went beyond that, things changed drastically.
Problems requiring Gold-ranks were seen as crises.
Their prestige became a burden.
Thus, the kingdom and Adventurer's Guild avoided Gold-rank interventions in cities as much as possible, quietly intercepting issues before ordinary citizens noticed.
"But you saw it—that doll was moving openly. Not hiding in some hard-to-find spot. Just lurking in the sewers."
"Yeah."
Yet a threat that even Gold-rank Helen felt wary of had paraded around so boldly.
It was too much to chalk up to failed interception forcing it into hiding—especially since it took so long for the commission to reach her.
"It felt more like they knew about its activity in the capital and let it slide."
"On purpose...?"
"The rushed commission to me fits too. If they were ignoring it, they should've kept pretending all the way. But then some noble's escort gets targeted, things start blowing up, and suddenly they come to me asking to handle it fast."
"Quick cleanup to bury the truth, huh."
At this point, even I couldn't shake the unease.
Letting something fester until it nearly surfaced, then scrambling to fix it?
Highly suspicious.
Of course, this was just inference from Helen's words—biased due to limited info—but the way incidents were handled in the capital had all felt off somehow.
"It's definitely weird, but what does that have to do with visiting the witch?"
"That old hag's an active Gold-rank. Unlike me, she has decent ties with the others—gets along fine."
"You don't?"
"Right after I hit Gold, I picked fights to test their skills. Didn't go over well."
"...What, like a fighting dog?"
"Couldn't help it. I'm a genius."
"What."
"Youngest Gold ever, overwhelming talent. Of course I had confidence. Figured I could take the others, and winning would've bumped my rank right up. No reason not to try."
"Don't need to ask how that turned out, huh?"
"Nope."
Before her Gold-rank was revoked, Helen had been at the bottom of the list.
Whether the Gold-ranks ignored her challenges or she lost, that was her place.
"Anyway, even if I dig up info myself, I'm a stripped Gold-rank—clear limits. And I don't have many Gold friends. Only person worth asking is that old hag in the Magic Capital."
"You get along with her, then."
"We handled the commission that got me demoted together. Got on decent terms then."
Fair enough.
Surprising, though.
"Why the shocked look?"
"Thought you just lived without a care, but you actually think things through."
"What."
I hadn't expected her to see the situation so seriously—or to embark on a long journey to uncover it.
Deeper consideration for those around her than I'd thought.
"What do you take me for...?"
"Not bad, anyway."
Not entirely good either—right in the middle, if anything.
"...Whatever. Point is, I need to look into it, and I promised to make you stronger. Going to the Magic Capital is essential."
"How's making me stronger connected to the Magic Capital?"
Just live in a dangerous place and toughen up, or something?
I could, but it'd be hell. I sighed, and Helen chuckled mischievously, looking down at me.
"You don't just want to get strong—you want to get strong fast, right?"
"......Yeah?"
"Time flows slower in the Magic Capital. Subjective time, specifically. Not some insane gap, but perfect for quick results."
I stared in surprise, and Helen poked my chest with her finger.
"Having talent means less time needed. No talent means more time required."
But, she continued.
"Even without talent, give enough time, and you can close that gap."
Shorten talent gaps with time investment.
Easy to say, but since talented people experience the same time flow, it seemed pointless.
Unless I could have more time than them.
Then maybe I really could narrow it.
"Most Silvers would die horribly there, so it's not practical usually. But you've got me, right?"
Helen flashed a seductive smile.
"I told you. I'll make you strong."
Those words felt so sweet.