Chapter 114
Chapter 114
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 114
Chapter Title: No, I Don't Have One.
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No, I don't have one.
[Academy Student Arrested on Charges of Theft and Terrorism.]
When I woke up this morning and unfolded the newspaper, that was the first sentence that caught my eye. It was written in such huge letters that I couldn't help but see it, even if I didn't want to.
The article stated that an academy student had been arrested by the Imperial Knights at dawn on charges of theft and terrorism, but there were no details about who stole what or where the terror attack occurred.
Of course, who would admit that the shady auction house they'd kept so carefully hidden had been robbed? They'd have to reveal its secret location.
"Sigh. What is the world coming to? A student, of all people, committing theft and terrorism instead of studying like he's supposed to."
As I folded the newspaper and tossed it aside, Luna and Liche approached me.
"Didn't you make him do that, Luke...?"
"That's right."
"Blaming others for everything is a bad habit."
Of course, I won't deny that I made him do it. Why? Because that was the plan. It's about time he suffered a little. I've had to clean up his messes every time he did something stupid at a critical moment. He can clean up my mess for once, right? That's what protagonists are for.
"More importantly, he was taken to the imperial palace. Isn't it possible he won't be able to get out?"
"What kind of protagonist would that be?"
Well, getting thrown in jail for the sake of the story is possible. But if you're asking if it'll be for life, I can say with certainty that it won't be.
"Tia will sort it out somehow."
I don't know how, but Tia and Stella have already built up a ton of affection for him. Tia, in particular, is the daughter of a marquis. Unlike Liche's situation, the head of House Roseberry is a doting father, so if Tia asks, he'll gladly help get Arthur out. Stella, being a commoner, can probably only help by providing an alibi for him.
Besides, the empire isn't stupid. A little investigation will show that Arthur isn't the culprit. I used a greatsword, while he just uses a longsword. Our weapons are different, and the Human-faced Mask is an artifact that only changes your face, so our body types are different too.
"He'll be released soon enough anyway."
The empire only arrested Arthur to put on a show for the auction house organizers—to prove that they're trying to find the culprit.
"So protagonists always manage to get by somehow..."
Liche muttered the word 'protagonist' as if it were some kind of panacea.
"That's why he's the protagonist, isn't it?"
Villains have it tougher these days. Just when you think you've finally killed the hero, he resurrects from somewhere and starts pestering you again. Honestly, at that point, the protagonist is a bigger pest than a cockroach.
"I wonder what the 'me' in the novel saw in a guy like that to hang around with him."
"The Arthur from the novel was frustrating, but he was better than the Arthur we have now."
If the novel's Arthur had the tags 'sense of justice,' 'frustratingly slow-burn,' and 'harem,' the current Arthur would definitely have 'simp,' 'frustratingly dense,' and 'clueless.'
"Anyway, let's get moving."
We got up from our seats. We needed to eat breakfast, and from today, we were back to being adventurers.
***
After finishing breakfast, our first stop wasn't the Adventurer's Guild, but the blacksmith. We needed to identify the ore Luna had acquired yesterday, and she needed a new weapon. She couldn't keep using a simple iron sword forever, not when we'd soon be hunting A-rank monsters at the very least.
-Cling.
As I opened the door, the familiar chime of a bell I hadn't heard in a while greeted me. Inside, the old man was reading a newspaper, swatting at flies as usual. I'm not gay, but it was still nice to see the old guy after all this time. I was a regular here, after all.
"What the—? It's you, kid?"
That was the first thing the old man said as he neatly folded his newspaper, set it aside, and met my gaze.
"Looks like you were reading about it too, old man."
"Ah... you mean this."
"What do you think?"
"The academy's reputation has really taken a nosedive lately. Demonic humans, theft, terrorism... Back in my day, people like us couldn't even dream of getting into the academy."
The old man's 'back in my day' speech. But seeing him hammering away in here, I had to admit it had a ring of truth to it.
"More importantly, you haven't been around for a while. I thought you'd finally gotten yourself killed. Where the hell have you been?"
"I was working as a temporary instructor at the academy. A dispatch, you could say. When you're this competent, you get asked to do all sorts of things."
"You?"
The old man laughed heartily, as if he thought I was lying. Well, he could afford to laugh since he didn't know why I'd do something so bothersome. I took out something that would easily prove my skills. The old man's smile vanished in an instant.
"Th-that's...?"
"You know what this is, right?"
I showed him my silver adventurer's tag. It was the official proof of a B-rank adventurer. Having seen plenty of adventurers, there was no way the old man wouldn't recognize it.
"No way... You're really B-rank? Already...?"
"If it weren't for that academy dispatch, I'd be A-rank by now."
"But you said you went to the academy to work, and you came back with another girlfriend?"
The old man said, looking at Liche, who had been standing blankly behind me during our conversation. Heh, look at this guy. Anyone overhearing this would think I became an adventurer just to pick up girls.
"Hello. I'm Liche Winchester, Luke's girlfriend."
"Why are you my girlfriend?"
"I'm not?"
Thanks to you, Liche, I've become the 'other man' in someone's eyes. Though the guy deserved it. In any case, I felt the need to refute the old man's implication that I went to the academy to find a girlfriend.
"Old man, have you ever heard the saying that bees are drawn to beautiful flowers?"
I'm a real man, so 'beautiful' doesn't quite fit, but bees are also drawn to handsome or rich men. I didn't hit on them; they were drawn to me. In fact, starting with Luna who followed me on her own, I tried to kill Yui, and I tried to kick Liche out.
"Hoo... Alright. Let's just say you're right. So, what brings you here today? If it's you, I doubt it's for anything ordinary."
He's the one who asked, so why is he acting like he's reluctantly believing me?
"I don't know if it's ordinary or not, so I brought it just in case."
I took a green, iron-like object I'd gotten from the auction house yesterday out of my inventory. The old man's eyes went wide when he saw it.
"This is...?!"
"You recognize it?"
"No."
What the hell? He reacted like I'd brought something incredible. Has the old man lost his mind from not working for a while? Poor guy, I guess I'll have to give him plenty of business.
"I need you to make a weapon with this. Think you can handle it?"
"Of course."
"But you said you didn't know what it was."
"How many materials in this world do you think I don't know? If I couldn't make something every time I saw an unfamiliar material, how would I stay in business?"
He had a point. If blacksmiths couldn't work with unknown materials, there wouldn't be any blacksmiths left in the world. A blacksmith's job is to research and create, even if they don't know the material.
"So, what do you want me to make with this?"
"How long would it take to make two daggers?"
"Hmm... It's a new material, so if the forging is easy, two days. If it's difficult, three."
"Can't you do the rocket-crafting method and get it done in a day?"
"...There's no such thing."
The service here sucks. In my past life, we had services that could deliver packages in a single day. People here are so laid-back. Then again, that's probably why they'd be doomed without help from someone like Arthur.
"Tch. Fine. I'll be back in two days then."
***
After leaving the request with the old man, we left the blacksmith and headed to our next destination: the Adventurer's Guild.
"It feels weird seeing the Adventurer's Guild building after looking at academy buildings every day."
"Get used to it. This is your workplace now."
As an academy student, Liche rarely had a reason to come to the Adventurer's Guild. In the novel, she only came occasionally when following Arthur around. Other than that, you could count the number of times on one hand. But now that she's dropped out of the academy to join me, she'll have to get used to coming and going from the guild as if it were her own home.
I led Liche, who was still looking around the bustling guild, straight to the reception desk to announce our return.
"Adela. We're back."
"Ah... Was today the day you were scheduled to return?"
It had been a while since I'd seen Adela, too. She looked well, as if the number of troublemakers had decreased lately. Much better than before.
"Looks like you've had fewer troublemakers lately?"
"Pardon?"
"Your complexion is much better."
At my words, Adela touched her cheek as if she hadn't noticed. Then, her expression quickly soured.
"...The biggest troublemaker hasn't been around lately, it's true."
If even Adela calls him a troublemaker, I wonder what kind of nuisance he must be. I'm curious to see his face.
"By the way, you have one more person in your party than before you left for the academy, don't you?"
"It just sort of happened."
"Well... it's not my place to interfere, but men with a history of womanizing have always met unfortunate ends, so I'd recommend you don't add any more."
The old man, and now Adela. Everyone seems so interested in the women around me. But why do they all talk as if I'm some kind of playboy?
"More importantly, can I get the payment for the academy dispatch? I heard it was left here for me."
"Yes. One moment."
From under the counter, I heard the clinking of coins, and Adela emerged with a decently sized pouch in her hand. I didn't know how much was in it, but there was no way the Headmaster would have filled it with silver coins. The sound alone made my mouth water.
"Hehe... Yui. Let's go eat something delicious for dinner tonight."
"Yes? How delicious?!"
"The most expensive and delicious thing we can find."
I could almost see a non-existent tail wagging on Yui. Maybe she's a Beastkin too.
"Did you only come to collect your payment today?"
"No. We need to find something to do now. By the way, how much more do we need to do to get to A-rank?"
"It depends on the request, but if you complete one big one, you should be able to advance right away."
I see. Then I'll have to take on the biggest one. I took the pouch of money from Adela and headed toward the request board, when suddenly the guild's atmosphere grew restless. I had a bad feeling about it. This had happened a few times before, and I always got caught up in it.
'Nah. If I get involved this time too, it's just bad luck.'
I decided to ignore it. I turned my attention to the board, looking for an interesting request.
"Is there a man named Luke here?"