Chapter 129
Translator: Vine
Chapter: 129
Chapter Title: Return
We woke up in the morning, had a simple breakfast, and left the inn. It was about time for us to head back.
"Liche. Are you alright?"
"Ah, yes. Why do you ask all of a sudden?"
"You don't look very alright."
Luna asked Liche, who was trailing behind, in a worried tone. Liche replied as if she had no idea what she was talking about.
She might be trying to act like nothing's wrong, but she probably didn't realize her ridiculous walk gave it all away.
Luna and Yui were helping Liche as we made our way to the audience chamber.
"Ah. Luke. Perfect timing. I was thinking of looking for you before you left."
Just then, Gideon spotted us and approached, saying he had been searching for us.
"For me?"
The raid was over, so I didn't think we had much to talk about. Maybe he just wanted to shake hands before we left.
"I have something to give you."
With those words, Gideon took a letter from his coat and handed it to me. The letter was crumpled, as if it had been carelessly stuffed in his pocket.
"Ahem… It's a bit wrinkled, but it's important, so keep it safe."
"A bit?"
It looked like someone had clenched it in their fist. How was this "a bit"? It would be hard to make it look like this even on purpose.
"So, what is this?"
"You can open it if you're curious, but give it to Argo when you get back to the guild."
"Then I'd rather not."
If he had told me not to open it under any circumstances, my rebellious streak might have kicked in and I'd have opened it right away. But since he said it was fine, I didn't feel the urge.
"But are you using me as a delivery boy?"
The thought just occurred to me since he handed it over so naturally. This guy was sneakily making me his errand boy, wasn't he? Should I just rip it up now?
"What's inside is good news for you, Luke."
"Geez, you should've said so sooner. I'll have it delivered at rocket speed!"
I didn't know what it contained, but hey, it was good for me, right? And it was free. There was no reason to refuse.
"Haha! I like that your personality is so consistent! Well, I've given you what I needed to, so I'll be on my way."
As if his business was done, Gideon left immediately. He was probably planning to wander the continent again.
"Let's get going, too."
I carefully stored the letter in my inventory, and we headed to the World Tree to leave Alfheim. When we arrived at the audience chamber, we were greeted by the same World Tree as yesterday.
[Welcome.]
"We're thinking of heading back now."
[I thought you might say that, so I've made preparations in advance.]
Had it seen the future? A magic circle, one I had seen a few times before, was drawn in the center of the audience chamber. The elves had handled it on our way here, but it seemed the World Tree itself would send us back.
[By the way, Sir Arthur left early this morning with his party.]
"He ran away."
I was sure I had tied him up again before bed last night, but when I woke up this morning, there wasn't even a trace of warmth left on the floor.
He seemed to have managed to get out on his own, which was surprising in itself. Knowing his personality, I'd have expected him to at least try to abduct Liche, but perhaps my trampling him yesterday had an effect, as he just left by himself.
[Would you please step onto this magic circle?]
At the World Tree's signal that everything was ready, we stepped onto the large magic circle. I squeezed my eyes shut and covered them with my hands, preparing for the blinding flash. Just closing my eyes wasn't enough, as the light would pierce right through. As expected, a brilliant light began to radiate from the magic circle once again.
[May your path ahead be safe.]
And so, with the World Tree's blessing, we returned to the empire.
***
When I opened my eyes, we were in front of the empire's walls, right where we had departed.
"No matter how many times I see it, teleportation is so convenient."
A journey that would have taken over a week by carriage, even without rest, was completed in the blink of an eye just by standing on a magic circle.
"The problem is that only a handful of people in the world can use it."
"The elves used it. Don't you think the three of you could do it if you pooled your mana?"
Back then, the elves had to huddle together and pour in all their mana to barely make it work. Couldn't the three of them, now stronger, manage it somehow if they drained all their mana?
"That's… something we'd have to try to know. But one of us would collapse from mana exhaustion, so you'd have to carry them."
"We'll experiment with that later. For now, let's go to the Adventurer's Guild."
My last memory of the Adventurer's Guild was brawling with the elves. We left for Alfheim right after that and hadn't been back for a week. We had to report the Volcanic Horned Dragon kill, and since we had nothing else to do, we headed straight for the guild.
Arriving at the Adventurer's Guild, I took a deep breath.
"Haaaah… The air of the Adventurer's Guild. It's been a while."
Nothing here had changed while I was off suffering. Not that anything would change in just a week. Anyway, the first place I headed was Adela's reception desk. She seemed to be having her usual busy day, but she looked a little surprised when she saw us.
"Where on earth have you all been…?"
"Is that the first thing you say when you see us?"
"Well, you've never been gone this long without a word before."
We hadn't left on a quest; we'd received the request from the World Tree upon arrival, so of course, no one else would know.
So much had happened in the short span of a week. The elves showed up and we had a fight, we teleported to Alfheim, and there we took down the unsealed Volcanic Horned Dragon and some demons.
"Haha. A lot has happened."
"…I'm sure it has, seeing as you were gone for a week. So, what brings you here today?"
"Ah. I actually have a monster I hunted recently, and I'd like to sell some of its materials. I guarantee you'll be shocked when you see it."
"Riiight… Well, shall we have a look?"
Adela's expression seemed to say, *What strange thing did he bring this time?* But I could say with absolute certainty that what I had brought this time was a legendary-grade material that would make one's jaw drop, something you couldn't get even if you wanted to.
When I took a black, stone-like object out of my inventory and placed it on the counter, Adela tilted her head.
"What is this?"
"You don't know?"
"Umm… I've never seen it before."
Even Adela, a receptionist, didn't know. Well, it was sealed long ago and had been in the same place ever since.
People of this generation would only know its name, not its appearance. And they would have only seen the name in some history book.
"This is a piece of the S-rank monster, the Volcanic Horned Dragon."
"Pardon…?"
"This is a piece of the S-rank monster, the Volcanic Horned—"
"What?!"
Adela's rare display of shock drew the attention of the adventurers and other receptionists around us. Ignoring the stares, Adela examined the black object in front of her.
She must be wondering if such a black rock could really be a material from an S-rank monster. To be honest, if I didn't know the context, I'd think it was just a lump of coal. But what could I do? What I said was the truth.
"Th-th-this is… from an S-rank monster…?"
"Yep."
"You're… you're kidding, right? This joke is a bit much…"
An S-rank monster, for which information was scarce. And the name of a monster that was said to have been sealed long ago had just been dropped. Not that they had seen it, but that they had *hunted* it. Anyone, not just Adela, would find it hard to believe.
'So how am I supposed to prove this?'
Should I have brought the Volcanic Horned Dragon's severed head as proof? I brought it here to sell, but if the appraiser doesn't know the item's value, isn't it just a black rock rolling on the ground? I was pondering a good solution when…
"Oh, right. Would you take a look at this?"
I took the letter I had received from Gideon this morning from my inventory and handed it to Adela.
"What's this now…?"
"It's a letter from Gideon. He told me to give it to Argo."
"Gideon… as in Weapon Master Gideon?"
"Yep."
"…"
Adela stood there in a daze for a while before snapping out of it.
"P-please wait a moment."
She took the material, left the reception desk, and scurried up the stairs, likely heading for the Guild Master's office. I was supposed to go to his office anyway to deliver the letter to Argo, but she was doing it for me. It saved me a trip.
Three minutes after Adela went up, she came back down and relayed a single piece of information to me.
"Luke. The Guild Master would like you to come up to his office."
"Now?"
"Yes."
"Why?"
"I believe you know the reason quite well, Luke…"
Did selling materials warrant a meeting with the Guild Master? I just wanted to show off the material, see his surprised face, and then sell it. Why did things have to get so complicated?
Could it be that the letter was the problem, not the material? In any case, since I was summoned, I headed straight for the Guild Master's office.
*Knock, knock.*
I knocked and entered as if it were my own living room. This time, instead of his usual spot, Argo was sitting in a chair in front of the reception table.
On the table lay the Volcanic Horned Dragon material I'd given Adela, along with the letter Gideon had asked me to deliver.
"Ah… you're here?"
"Yep."
"Have a seat."
The sofa in front of Argo. It used to be a perfect three-seater, but now with Liche, we were one seat short. So, I had Yui sit on my lap, gave her a snack, and used her as a chin rest.
"Why did you call for me?"
"Where in the world did you go to bring back something this big…?"
I knew the material was a big deal, but the way he had the letter laid out too, it seemed he was including it in his question.
"I went to Alfheim. The World Tree asked for help, so I did a little Volcanic Horned Dragon raid."
"I see… You must have been through a lot yourself."
"I've been through a tremendous amount. I even hunted an S-rank monster on the way back. Isn't that enough to become S-rank?"
"…As it happens, I have something to say about that. Do you know what's in this letter?"
"No clue."
He asked me to deliver it, that's all. How would I know?
"It seems you met Sir Gideon in Alfheim?"
"I did."
"Looks like you got quite close while you were there. Sir Gideon seems to have taken a liking to you."
"Unfortunately, I'm into women."
"…Is that so. Then listen carefully, I'll tell you what's in the letter."