Abel's Raw Encounter with the Adventure Guild
The guild member who had been carrying me here bowed his head slightly and stepped back.
“Please enter through here, customer.”
“Got it.”
I looked around the area, but there was no obvious entrance in sight. The words “just climb over the wall” hadn’t been spoken, after all.
“...No way.”
I thought back to the typical traps and key mechanisms found in fantasy novels. I casually pushed the wall with my hand, and it began to rotate like a revolving door.
“Who’s there?”
A thin, emaciated man sitting in front of the door looked up at me and asked.
“I’m here to complete a transaction. Where exactly is the item?”
“...The person who usually comes every day—where did he go?”
“He had business elsewhere, so I came in his place. I’ve brought the payment, so there’s no need to worry.”
I waved the money pouch in front of him. He nodded in agreement. It was fortunate that he had received money from the saint.
“Please step inside. Once I inform the boss, he’ll hand over the item.”
“Alright, got it.”
...I found it hard to act natural. Such stiff, formal speech didn’t suit me at all.
I noticed the same symbol tattooed on the back of the man’s hand. What kind of emblem was this? I’d have to remember it and investigate later.
Following the man’s instructions, we entered the inner room, where several men with the same symbol on their hands were waiting. Among them, a particularly large-built man spotted me and stood up.
“The errand boy has changed?”
“The usual person had business and had to step aside for a while. I’ll be coming from now on—please remember that.”
“...I see. As long as the money is provided, who the errand boy is doesn’t matter.”
“First, let me see the item.”
“This errand boy is rather cautious.”
The big man gestured for one of the men nearby to fetch something. The man rummaged through a stack of barley sacks and pulled out a red, hard-looking stone, placing it on the table.
...Definitely a Mutation Stone.
“Then the payment—”
“Just a moment.”
“Is there another problem?”
There was no problem. The Mutation Stone was clearly authentic. What I wanted to know was something else.
The people here probably conducted regular transactions with a specific individual. The fact that they kept mentioning the errand boy changing confirmed it.
Then why hadn’t they been caught yet? Even the distribution information from the temple didn’t show that the barley here had been sold only to a specific person.
That meant... the ledgers were being tampered with. There was no other explanation.
The organization supplying the Mutation Stone was probably building trust with this person, conducting transactions without leaving a paper trail.
So why did this matter? Of course it did. I was here to peek at the ledgers.
“Our master instructed me to confirm whether the transaction records have been properly erased.”
“...You don’t trust us?”
“Of course not. We simply want to verify things safely. Our master is quite cautious, after all.”
The reason he called him “master” was simple. Anyone who conducted steady transactions with an organization of this scale was most likely a noble. The fact that the man didn’t seem weirded out by the term told me my guess was correct.
“...Hah, you’re causing trouble again today. Hey, bring the ledger!”
“You’re handing it over so readily?”
“Trust with our clients is important. If your master said so, we must show it.”
...These people must be dealing with a major player.
The big man received the ledger from a subordinate and handed it to me.
“Thank you.”
I took the ledger and immediately opened it. There were indeed no records of steady transactions with any single group. I’d have liked to drag the noble I’d been dealing with into this, but what could I do?
So why look at the ledger? I had my own reason for it.
Since the transaction records were erased, I had no way to find out who regularly traded Mutation Stones. Then why bother? To find another person.
...There it was.
The name “Anais Cesar” was clearly written in the ledger. Probably because Anais hadn’t been a regular trader, her name had ended up on the records.
“Has it been checked?”
“Yes, the records have been well erased.”
A bit less erasing than I’d hoped. Otherwise I could have tied them together too.
“We eat and live by trust. We always keep our word.”
Criminals had such smooth tongues. I closed the ledger, stuffed it and the Mutation Stone into my pocket, and turned to leave.
“...What are you doing?”
What was I doing? Seizing evidence.
“In the name of the hero, I am seizing this.”
“...What?”
I unwrapped the Saint’s cloth.
#
Abel’s words stunned everyone in the room. A hero. An overpowered being who fought monsters. The appearance of such a person clearly signaled danger.
Still, retreat was impossible. If the hero took the ledger, their organization would collapse, and they’d suffer massive losses. On top of that, they’d hit their clients too.
“Hand over the ledger right now. Since you’re the hero, hand over the item and the ledger and leave alive.”
“...Alive? You people?”
Abel was stunned. Although he was weaker than the other heroes, he was still a hero. With blessings, he could cut down even high-rank monsters. Without them, he could easily handle two orcs.
The crime scene had already been crossed. Objectively, an adventurer who could defeat two orcs unscathed was at least A-rank. B-rank adventurers might win against two orcs but would be badly injured.
The big man in front seemed somewhat strong, but the others were just small fry. Then who were they planning to kill?
“Your words are smooth, aren’t they.”
“Take it now!”
The big man shouted, and the men in the room rushed at Abel. Abel was about to swing his sword like he would against monsters, then realized they were human and stopped himself.
I need to restrain them.
Compared to monster attacks, the men’s movements were painfully slow. Dodging several attacks aimed at his vital points, Abel held the Saint’s sword handle downward.
And then—
THUD!
“Ugh...”
He drove the pommel straight into the man’s stomach. The force was calibrated so he wouldn’t die—just fall. The hit man staggered and collapsed to the floor.
Seven men left?
The ones I could see right now were seven. Hoping no more would appear, Abel moved his body.
Every time he heard loud THUD, THUD sounds, more men fell. The big man watching frowned and reached for his waist.
“...Damn.”
He pulled out two hand axes—sharp, well-maintained blades.
When Abel finally dropped the sixth man, the big man hurled one hand axe at him. Abel ducked his head to dodge, then blocked the next descending axe with the Saint’s sword.
...This guy is strong?
Abel sensed the killing intent and overwhelming power. He judged the room fight would be disadvantageous and kicked the door-like wall with his foot.
The door spun open, and Abel emerged. The big man threw the second hand axe again. Abel deflected it with the Saint’s sword.
CLANG!
The hand axe flew out, and the man picked up the one he’d thrown earlier and charged. Abel blocked the attack while looking for an opening.
Anyway, he had to restrain this man too. But the opponent was different from the earlier small fry. The moment the axe met the sword, he kicked Abel’s abdomen hard.
“Gah!”
Abel doubled over from the pain and looked up at the man. He had snatched the hand axe Abel had thrown earlier and was advancing again with both axes.
“A hero is strong, I see. But I know something. Heroes can’t kill humans, right? Then the story changes. The difference between someone who uses poison and someone who doesn’t is enormous.”
If Abel had decided to kill the man, the fight would already be over. But he had to restrain him, not kill. That was why he was struggling.
The man swung the double axes again. CLANG! Metal clashed and echoed through the back alley. The man was definitely skilled—fast, unpredictable attacks came in relentless waves. Abel was forced to block them all.
The battle that should have ended with a single swing was dragging on. Abel grew impatient. He pushed the man’s hand axe away with force and struck the man’s abdomen with the flat of his sword.
“Ugh!”
It landed. But the man was far tougher than expected.
CRASH!
“...Gah, damn...”
A curse slipped from Abel’s lips. The man had taken the abdominal hit yet still swung his axe, which pierced Abel’s right shoulder.
Severe pain flooded his body. For a right-handed swordsman, a right-shoulder injury was fatal. The saint wasn’t nearby, and there was no one to treat him.
“Haa... A hero isn’t that impressive after all...”
The man clutched his stomach and sneered. Abel realized he couldn’t wield the sword with his right hand and switched to his left.
...This is my first time using a sword with my left hand.
The feel was unfamiliar. Worse, blood kept pouring from his right shoulder, sending waves of heat through his whole body from blood loss.
“Haaaa...”
His abdominal pain easing, the man raised his axe straight again.
Abel thought: If I cut him down now, I could win. But the saint’s words from before stopped him.
...A hero is someone who saves people. Not someone who harms them.
Using the left hand wasn’t familiar, and he couldn’t kill the opponent. Abel began carefully searching for a path to victory.
“Killing a hero for the first time... I wonder what it feels like!”
The man charged, throwing one hand axe. Abel preferred to dodge rather than block—it would make the next attack harder.
The axe flew fast, but far slower than a chimera’s paw. Abel twisted his body and dodged at the last second. He didn’t block the incoming axe with the sword.
“!”
Instead, Abel used his injured right shoulder one final time. The sudden movement sent fresh pain, but he managed to break the axe’s haft by grabbing the man’s wrist.
He held the Saint’s sword—handle down—with his left hand and brought it down straight. THUD! A crisp sound rang out, and the man collapsed backward with a silent scream.
Abel confirmed the man had fallen and sat down heavily on the ground. He left the sword behind and clutched his right arm while moaning.
“A... a... it hurts... damn...”
Blood kept flowing. Heat surged through his body. His head spun from blood loss, and his vision blurred.
If he could have killed the man, he wouldn’t have been injured like this. Why were heroes so unreasonable? Abel writhed in pain, muttering to himself.
“Ghh... gah...”
...Am I really going to die?
Just as that anxious thought crossed his mind, a voice sweeter and more hopeful than anything else reached him.
“Hero-nim~♡ Where are you~?”
Abel’s eyes snapped open. Even without the will to live, he squeezed out a shout.
“...Saint-nim, I’m dying!!!!!!!!!!”
#
“...You’ve really gotten hurt. You’re too reckless, even for you.”
It wasn’t the saint’s scolding. It was Cloe’s voice. The saint looked completely serious, with no trace of playfulness. She was treating Abel’s shoulder with a grave expression.
“...I’m sorry. I was worried what would happen if you disappeared while I was gone.”
“Haa, still, it’s good we found you quickly.”
“...Yeah.”
His body, which had been boiling with heat moments ago, was now normal again, and the shoulder wound was already healing. Holy power was definitely better than pus.
A single drop of sweat trickled down the saint’s forehead as she poured divine power. The treatment took longer than expected, probably because he had lost too much blood.
“Saint-nim, why don’t you take a break...”
“Shhh.”
“...Yes.”
Abel clamped his mouth shut at the saint’s firm words. Okay, I’ll shut up now.
...But this situation felt strangely good. Two beautiful girls were genuinely worried about him. He was injured, yet somehow happy.
“...Are you insane?”
“Huh?”
“Oh, no. I was just thinking to myself.”
Cloe said, looking at the men bound by magic.
“...By the way, these people are involved in trafficking Mutation Stones?”
“Yes. I secured the ledger and the Mutation Stone too. It’s in my inner pocket...”
He had put it in the left pocket by accident, making it hard to reach with his left hand.
“...It’s on the left.”
“I’ll take it out for you.”
Cloe cautiously reached out. Her hand slipped into his pocket.
...The situation was a bit embarrassing. Cloe’s cheeks turned slightly pink too. As if chased, she quickly pulled her hand back.
“...This is it, right?”
“Yes.”
She took out the ledger and Mutation Stone. Cloe opened the ledger, her eyes widening when she spotted the familiar name.
Surprised? That’s the thing I was after. I went all out to get this.
“Saint-nim, this—”
Cloe showed the saint the ledger. The saint glanced at it with only her eyes and then turned to Abel with a smug smile.
“What’s this~♡ I didn’t know a useless hero like you could pull this off♡”
She spoke as cockily as ever, but Abel couldn’t feel bad seeing the sweat dripping from her cheeks.
Instead, he playfully countered.
“The useless hero Abel pulled it off!”