Chapter 135
Chapter 135
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: penny
Chapter: 135
Chapter Title: Hassan The Returnee
-----------------------------------------------------------------
“In a place this vast, with so many people gathered, surely there’s at least one man suited to me if I look around.”
It was a party full of nobles and high-ranking adventurers, just as Hippolyte said. There couldn’t be better conditions for finding a marriage prospect.
High-tier adventurers around Gold rank often married into nobility to solidify their status, or so I’d heard. Of course, it was just hearsay to me.
Hippolyte marrying a noble...
I tried picturing it, but my imagination was too poor to conjure up anything convincing. Hippolyte as a knight captain felt more fitting, though.
Heh, kill them all—.
Something like that, probably. Or not.
As I was lost in that brief fantasy about Hippolyte’s wedding, Luna’s hand, which had been gripping my side, started tugging at me.
“Then look around from afar, Hippolyte! I’m sure you’ll find someone great! We’re starving, so we’ll head out first.”
“Do that. For the second part of the event, we’ll share a table. I reserved seats in a quiet corner in my name. It can accommodate you two easily.”
The ceremony for Sodomora’s commendations was structured in two parts.
The first segment was a standing buffet with various banquets, so Luna and I helped ourselves to the food spread out on the tables without a care for prying eyes.
“Hassan, look at this! What kind of fruit is this!?”
Luna held out a long, banana-like fruit in both hands. It looked like a banana, but the inside was dark, unlike the ones I knew.
“No idea.”
“Shh... It’s so good. Do nobles eat stuff like this every day? I’m jealous.”
I’d been tense because it was a gathering of nobles and high officials.
But they were all clumped together chatting among themselves, and no one paid us any mind, which was a relief.
“Hassan, should we pocket some to take with us?”
Luna glanced around as if checking if anyone was watching.
Servants from the count’s household were bustling about refilling dishes and keeping an eye on us, so sneaking fruit seemed tricky.
“Hmm... Hassan, keep watch for me. I’ve gotta snag at least one.”
Luna wouldn’t give up, even asking me to stand lookout. Maybe because she’d gone hungry for so long, her obsession with food exceeded my expectations.
“Grab two, one for me too.”
“Got it!”
She untied the pouch at her waist. As she hesitantly reached in to stuff a fruit inside,
Rustle.
While scanning the area as lookout, I noticed someone who’d locked eyes with me heading our way.
“Lu, Luna! Someone’s coming!”
“D-done!”
Rustle, rustle.
Luna retied the pouch.
“You there.”
Luna and I tensed up as the white-haired, bun-topped old man approached, wondering what he’d say.
Caught stealing?
With so much food around, one fruit shouldn’t be a big deal. Probably no punishment. Maybe just a fine.
My mind raced with chaotic thoughts when the man finally spoke.
“Excuse me, Lord Samaritan.”
“W-what? I didn’t do anything.”
“I haven’t said anything yet. Allow me to introduce myself first. I’m with this establishment.”
He held out a metal plate toward me. An emblem? A badge? It was an accessory that clipped onto clothing.
Was he saying he was the emblem guy? Luna and I stared intently at the small bird with spread wings etched on it.
No matter how hard we looked, it didn’t ring any bells. Some kind of bird person?
“Ahem, perhaps I botched the introduction. That’s the crest of the Blue Feather Merchant Company. I’m Bartholomeu, someone in a fairly high position there. If you’re at all interested in trade, you’ve probably heard my name.”
Luna and I weren’t big on business, apparently, because we just furrowed our brows like it was all new to us.
Bartholomeu cleared his throat awkwardly.
“Well, you might not have. Anyway, one of the vanguard officers in this war was my cousin. Bayona, was it? I heard he was by your side.”
“Ah.”
I remembered Bayona too. The guy who’d torn his hair out in awe at the young lady’s gale tactics.
His face was a blur now, but I vaguely recalled his impression as a loud, acrobatic type.
“I hear you displayed some extraordinary feats, Lord Samaritan. How about it? Care to work as an escort for our company? We’ll pay handsomely.”
Now I understood why Bartholomeu had approached me. A headhunter? Me getting scouted!
“One gold per month. And an extra twenty silver for months when escort duties conclude successfully.”
One gold per month?
The massive sum hit me like a lightning bolt. Twelve gold a year. Twelve gold coins.
Back in my slave days, scraping by, I’d saved just thirty silver in two years. How many of me could twelve gold buy?
The number was too huge to compute!
As I mentally counted coins, Luna, still clinging to my side, answered for me.
“No way!”
“I... see. And who might this young lady be?”
“...Dunno!”
Luna promptly hid her face behind my back. Snapping out of it, I agreed—it was a shame, but as Luna said, we had to decline.
“Really sorry, but I’ll have to pass.”
“No, twelve gold a year, plus performance bonuses—that’s knight-level pay for an escort. You’re turning this down?”
Bartholomeu sounded incredulous, firing back at me. But there was no helping it. I was living for something other than money now.
“Truly regrettable, but I can’t quit being an adventurer.”
“Hah, a wildlander through and through. Turning down safety and wealth for hardship—I can’t fathom it.”
“Hassan’s gonna be a Gold Tier adventurer soon!”
Luna piped up again from my side. Bartholomeu’s brow furrowed deeply.
“What? Gold Tier adventurer?”
Onlookers nearby started turning our way, murmuring things like, “What’d he say?” “Gold Tier adventurer?”
Murmur, murmur.
The sudden attention left me dazed. Luna felt it too and buried her head in my side, hiding completely.
“Ugh, stealth voodoo...”
Did she think hiding her face made her invisible? Like pheasants burying their heads at gunshots. Luna was a pheasant.
Anyway, handling this commotion fell to me.
As my face burned and I fidgeted awkwardly, Bartholomeu burst out laughing.
“Gold Tier adventurer, eh? Quite the grand dream. A Samaritan aspiring to heroism—fascinating. So, what kind of hero do you aim to be, my lord?”
“What kind... of hero?”
“You know, any heroes you admire? Achilles? Theseus? Or perhaps—”
“Yi Sun-sin.”
His name slipped out reflexively at the mention of admired heroes. Yi Sun-sin was a truly powerful, cool hero. It was etched in my DNA.
The murmurs around us intensified.
“Who’s Yi Sun-sin?”
“Did I hear that wrong?”
Amid the stirring, only Bartholomeu kept a straight face, asking back.
“Who’s that? A great man? Never heard of that hero.”
Ahh—they don’t know.
Everyone in this world was half-baked.
“A man who once... saved his nation.”
“Oh... I see. A hero of the Samaritans...”
He nodded like he got it, but his face said otherwise.
Probably hard for him to grasp.
He was from another world, after all.
Bartholomeu eyed me like he’d seen it all. Then he grinned, lifting his cheeks.
“Gold Tier, anyway. Ambitious dream. A man needs big ones. But outshining all these invited Silver Tier adventurers to claim that glorious gold necklace won’t be easy.”
I glanced around at his words. Among the tuxedoed and gowned partygoers, plenty of Silver Tier adventurers wore silver dog tags around their necks.
Faces I didn’t recognize—probably from the Minerva Guild. Their stares at me weren’t friendly, though.
Stuff like, ‘Well, look at this guy—.’ Even an idiot could tell.
Had I unwittingly aggroed the whole area?
No need to make enemies. Now I was in deep shit.
Ding-ding-ding—.
Right then, a sharp, high-pitched clang like striking metal echoed through the banquet hall.
Looking over, a neatly bearded middle-aged man with a white cloth wrapped around his hand was striking a small gong overhead with both hands.
“Now, on to the next segment!”
* * *
As Hippolyte had said, a round table for four sat in the corner of the banquet hall.
“Finally, I can breathe.”
Luna slumped over the table upon sitting. Her legs must’ve ached from all the standing and wandering.
“The table’s cool—feels so good~. Shhh—. Melting awaaay.”
Soon, she was snoring softly, asleep face-down on the table. Able to nod off anywhere, anytime.
On one hand, what a blessed talent. Plenty of people struggled with insomnia.
Without Hippolyte, illiterate Luna and I couldn’t have reserved a table—we’d have stood till the end.
Legs would’ve swollen, and swelling could lead to whole-body issues.
Good to have connections.
Dropped into this world naked with no one, now borrowing a table at a noble party.
Hassan, you’ve made it.
A fox on a tiger’s back—that’s success. Braggable for generations back home.
So, to flatter the tiger and butter her up, I spoke. Hippolyte seemed weak to praise. Sweet talk might delight her.
“Lady Hippolyte, sitting here feels amazing. You saved us.”
“I... suppose.”
Her brow twitched oddly at my words, then she gave a small snort.
“Hmph, it’s nothing. Embarrassing to say myself, but I’m a renowned adventurer. Gold Tier will bring even more rights and perks.”
“But didn’t you refuse promotion to Gold Tier? Mind if I ask what changed?”
“It came out of guild and Sodomora internal meetings. To wash away the stigma of the shattered guild and broken city from the cultist raid, they want a strong figurehead.”
“I see.”
I didn’t quite get it but nodded along. Hippolyte added a bit more.
“Well, not just that—I’ve decided to give it a shot myself. It’s uncharted territory for me, so I’m a tad nervous.”
“Switching classes or something?”
“Not switching—paralleling. Balancing warrior and woman. Those two attributes.”
Warrior and woman in parallel? Sounded like putting more weight on her life as a woman from now on.
She’d talked marriage earlier. People get urgent about it with age, huh? Maybe Hippolyte was that type.
How old was she anyway?
I almost asked but held back. The second part was about to start.
“It’s the count.”
“The count himself, as expected.”
Murmurs swelled around the approaching group. Some stood to applaud.
The musicians shifted to a rousing march.
Woo—!
Responding to the cheers, the man ascended the high dais and raised his palms.
“Please, sit comfortably. If you all stand, I’ll look even shorter. Greetings to all esteemed guests. I am Hawkins Sardici, entrusted by the glorious royal family with Sodomora’s regional security.”
He stood high on that dais. Otherwise, no one could’ve seen his face.
The border count was a dwarf. Short and bearded.
A bearded dwarf noble—what a novel sight. His daughter the young lady was tall, though. Matrilineal genes?
The dwarf with splendid golden beard spoke.
“Today, we honor five teams. Four aren’t nobles. Times are changing—amusing. But no one likes dull speeches, past or present, so let’s get to it.”
Thud-thud-thud-thud—.
The musicians rapidly tapped drums and percussion. My tension spiked; heart pounding like it’d burst.
“First up: the adventurer team White Silver’s Rose from the city of Calcuta. They captured the cultist leader Anxius himself, ending the war.”
Silver Tier team?
Calcuta—I knew it. Where Elfriede held her grudge, and where I’d slaved before coming to Sodomora.
Heart racing, wondering if I’d spot a familiar face.
“They’re all busy, so team leader Delphina of the Swift Sword represents them today. Come receive your honors!”