Chapter 161: Negotiation (3)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 161: Negotiation (3)
I walked through the city at a fast clip, wearing light armor and with a shield and mace in hand.
"No, wait! Just wait a second!" Behind me was the young lady Urbans, practically running after me to try to stop me. "I know what you're trying to do, but doing that won't help you right now. I-I'll resolve it. Of course, I'll need your help, but... You can lend me your strength, and I'll use my brain. What do you think? Won't we make a pretty good team?"
What was this kid talking about? Ignoring her chatter, I continued walking. Miss Urbans, whom I was treating like she was invisible, kept trying to stand in my way and grab my arm. Did she really think that was going to work?
"Ugh!"
Dragged along without any resistance, Miss Urbans threw the parasol she was carrying on the floor, vexed. But the momentary show of anger didn't last long. Within three seconds, she picked up her parasol and started following me again. "I, um... s-sorry. It might be because of me that you got involved in this. If I hadn't approached you, Father might have left you alone."
"At least you're not unrepentant." I spoke up for the first time to respond to her honest apology, though I of course didn't stop walking. This and that were two different things. Plus, her words didn't seem that sincere to begin with.
"I even apologized!"
When I just increased my speed, Miss Urbans, who clearly grew up an indoor girl, did her best to follow me while wiping her sweat with her handkerchief. I guess she thought there was still room for persuasion.
"Hoo, hoo, hoo..." Even while letting out rough exhales, Miss Urbans chattered incessantly. "Give me a chance to make things right. I know it's a brazen request. B-But once I inherit my father's position, I'll repay you many times over!"
She was slowly reaching her physical limit. Miss Urbans' voice started to grow distant. After some consideration, I slowed down a bit. Of course, I hadn't changed my mind on helping her.
But it might be better for her to be by my side while I meet with the district chief.
Now that I thought about it, her reactions would make it easy for me to prove my innocence. However, if I walked too slowly, she was bound to talk my ear off, so I adjusted my speed to keep her at a certain distance. About thirty minutes passed like that, and we finally arrived at our destination.
[Adventurers' Guild District 7 Central Branch.]
There was a headquarters located in each district of the city. I'd seen this one a few times in passing, but it was much bigger than the other branches. Since there were matters that could only be settled at headquarters, there were a lot of adventurers inside too. I stood in front of the doors to think for a moment.
Do I break this or not?
Did I seem like I was hesitating? Miss Urbans, who looked like she had bathed in sweat, quickly spoke up. "Yes. It's not too late—"
You wish.
"Okay, I've decided."
"Sorry?"
"I'm going to break it."
Yes, that was more to my liking.
Crashhh!
I kicked the door with all my might. I needed to show them that I was a crude barbarian so that they thought, Oh, this guy will fuck me up if I mess with him, and think twice about doing so.
If this negotiation goes well, he won't be able to ask me for the money to repair it anyway.
And besides that, he had enough money for repairs. Though, did they use good quality wood at headquarters or something? It didn't break as dramatically as I thought.
"Kyaaa! W-What are you doing—!"
Ignoring Miss Urbans, I pulled out the leg that was penetrating the door, calmly gripped my mace, and just smashed the door straight-forwardly.
Crunch! Crunch! Crunch!
The door transformed into an open doorframe that let the breeze in to improve air circulation. Beyond it, I could see staff and adventurers.
"...A robber?"
"Shouldn't a robber be at the bank...?"
There were those with reasonable concerns, those who looked dazed, others who looked like they had just seen a lunatic, and lastly, those who, like real adventurers, saw this situation as an opportunity.
A bald man who was standing next to a female employee stretched his arms as a warm-up as he approached me. "Miss, if I handle this, do I get some accomplishment points?"
"Pardon? Yes! As I remember it, that by-law was made half a year ago!"
"Good."
Come to think of it, there was a guy like this last time too, six months ago when I became a free barbarian.
I didn't think a rank-five adventurer would step forward first. Are the adventurers at headquarters higher-ranking?
The ID badge Mr. Baldy was wearing proudly on his hip told me he was a rank-five adventurer. Still, there was no reason for me to back down. Instead, I thought he would be the perfect opponent to assess my combat strength.
"I am not here to fight you. Move." However, as a modern man who had arrived in this world not too long ago, I tried using words first. I judged that there wasn't necessarily a reason to fight an adventurer here.
Mr. Baldy didn't seem to want to pass up the opportunity to gain accomplishment points, though. "Hey, barbarian. It looks like you have some complaints to make with the guild. If that's the case, you should have gone through the process of lodging a formal complaint, eh?"
"Complaint?"
"Ah, you don't know what the procedure is, huh? Makes sense for a savage."
A sharp smile appeared on my face. A savage, huh? He certainly wasn't wrong. Even barbarians considered themselves savages, but only we could call ourselves that. How could he not know something that simple?
"...There's something wrong with your head. Perhaps that's why you went bald."
"What? You son of a—!" As expected, he must have shaved his head because of hair loss since he rushed toward me indignantly. Or at least, he was about to.
"E-Everyone stop!" Miss Urbans shouted, stepping between me and Baldy.
Unable to injure a civilian, Baldy stopped right away. "Get out of the way. That man is a criminal who just caused a commotion at the guild. I don't know who you are, but if you do something as careless as to side with him—"
"...Miss Urbans?" While Baldy was steaming through his nose intimidatingly, another employee recognized her status and the situation took a new turn.
"What? Urbans? The daughter of the district chief?"
"Why is a woman like that defending a barbarian...?"
Realizing how important she was and that something had gone wrong, Mr. Baldy took a step back. Maybe it was because he was a rank five, but he was definitely quick on the uptake.
"Is my father upstairs?"
"Pardon? Yes! That's right..."
"Then we'll go up together. Is that all right? As for what happened here... Please take care of it."
"Kyaaa! W-What are you doing—!"
Ignoring Miss Urbans, I pulled out the leg that was penetrating the door, calmly gripped my mace, and just smashed the door straight-forwardly.
Crunch! Crunch! Crunch!
The door transformed into an open doorframe that let the breeze in to improve air circulation. Beyond it, I could see staff and adventurers.
"...A robber?"
"Shouldn't a robber be at the bank...?"
There were those with reasonable concerns, those who looked dazed, others who looked like they had just seen a lunatic, and lastly, those who, like real adventurers, saw this situation as an opportunity.
A bald man who was standing next to a female employee stretched his arms as a warm-up as he approached me. "Miss, if I handle this, do I get some accomplishment points?"
"Pardon? Yes! As I remember it, that by-law was made half a year ago!"
"Good."
Come to think of it, there was a guy like this last time too, six months ago when I became a free barbarian.
I didn't think a rank-five adventurer would step forward first. Are the adventurers at headquarters higher-ranking?
The ID badge Mr. Baldy was wearing proudly on his hip told me he was a rank-five adventurer. Still, there was no reason for me to back down. Instead, I thought he would be the perfect opponent to assess my combat strength.
"I am not here to fight you. Move." However, as a modern man who had arrived in this world not too long ago, I tried using words first. I judged that there wasn't necessarily a reason to fight an adventurer here.
Mr. Baldy didn't seem to want to pass up the opportunity to gain accomplishment points, though. "Hey, barbarian. It looks like you have some complaints to make with the guild. If that's the case, you should have gone through the process of lodging a formal complaint, eh?"
"Complaint?"
"Ah, you don't know what the procedure is, huh? Makes sense for a savage."
A sharp smile appeared on my face. A savage, huh? He certainly wasn't wrong. Even barbarians considered themselves savages, but only we could call ourselves that. How could he not know something that simple?
"...There's something wrong with your head. Perhaps that's why you went bald."
"What? You son of a—!" As expected, he must have shaved his head because of hair loss since he rushed toward me indignantly. Or at least, he was about to.
"E-Everyone stop!" Miss Urbans shouted, stepping between me and Baldy.
Unable to injure a civilian, Baldy stopped right away. "Get out of the way. That man is a criminal who just caused a commotion at the guild. I don't know who you are, but if you do something as careless as to side with him—"
"...Miss Urbans?" While Baldy was steaming through his nose intimidatingly, another employee recognized her status and the situation took a new turn.
"What? Urbans? The daughter of the district chief?"
"Why is a woman like that defending a barbarian...?"
Realizing how important she was and that something had gone wrong, Mr. Baldy took a step back. Maybe it was because he was a rank five, but he was definitely quick on the uptake.
"Is my father upstairs?"
"Pardon? Yes! That's right..."
"Then we'll go up together. Is that all right? As for what happened here... Please take care of it."
"Yes! Of course!"
Thanks to Miss Urbans' status, the ruckus on the first floor was smoothly dealt with, and I was able to go up.
Creak, creak.
The wooden staircase was not able to handle the weight of a barbarian wearing heavy equipment without creaking. I stopped for a moment to ask, "Why did you help me just now?"
"Because you're not going to change your mind anyway."
Well, yeah, but... That makes it even harder to understand.
If she had figured out that I was impossible to recruit as an ally, why did she help me?
"I thought that a side effect of my offer would be that it would help you as well, Mr. Yandel. But since you don't want it, it's only right to do this. I'm sorry you've had to suffer because of my family's affairs. Once we get inside, I'll make sure to properly explain the situation to my father."
Hmm, I did sense more sincerity than earlier. "I see." I nodded nonchalantly and kept moving.
"Eh? That's it?"
What, did you think I would change my mind?
"Fulfill your ambition with your own hands."
I refused to get involved in something troublesome. To be honest, I didn't sympathize with the position of a daughter deprived of freedom by her father, either. If she truly wanted independence, she would have given everything up: the perks that came with the status of being the district chief's daughter, the responsibilities, all of it.
"Miss?" When we arrived at the district chief's office, we saw a guard blocking the way. "Who is the man next to you?" the guard asked professionally.
Miss Urbans brushed the question off. "He is a guest of my father's."
When the guard knocked on the door and notified the district chief of the situation, permission soon filtered through the wood. "Tell them to come in."
"You cannot bring any weapons inside. Please hand that to me."
I raised my mace as if to follow the guard's instructions, then entered the office with brute force.
Crunch!
The door to the office also transformed as I introduced an open floor plan. When I stepped beyond it, the district chief was sitting at his desk, frozen in place with a pen in hand. He glanced between his daughter and me, back and forth. "What is this?!" After a moment of silence, the guard sprang into action. "Stop, you can step out," said Urbans.
"But..."
"There is nothing to worry about. He is not that reckless."
"All right, then." The guard seemed well-trained because he left without another word. Of course, there was no need to shut the door, because it was gone now.
Sigh...
In a daze, he watched the guard pace the hallway, and then go downstairs. The district chief got up from his desk and sat on the sofa, so I also seated myself in front of him.
Squelch.
The sofa collapsed, unable to bear the weight of a heavily armored barbarian. But like any barbarian, I did not apologize. "This sofa is old."
A blue vein pulsed on the district chief's forehead, but I guess he decided that the sofa wasn't important. "...Tell me why you're here. There must be a reason why you've come here holding my daughter's hand and done this."
"Yes! Of course!"
Thanks to Miss Urbans' status, the ruckus on the first floor was smoothly dealt with, and I was able to go up.
Creak, creak.
The wooden staircase was not able to handle the weight of a barbarian wearing heavy equipment without creaking. I stopped for a moment to ask, "Why did you help me just now?"
"Because you're not going to change your mind anyway."
Well, yeah, but... That makes it even harder to understand.
If she had figured out that I was impossible to recruit as an ally, why did she help me?
"I thought that a side effect of my offer would be that it would help you as well, Mr. Yandel. But since you don't want it, it's only right to do this. I'm sorry you've had to suffer because of my family's affairs. Once we get inside, I'll make sure to properly explain the situation to my father."
Hmm, I did sense more sincerity than earlier. "I see." I nodded nonchalantly and kept moving.
"Eh? That's it?"
What, did you think I would change my mind?
"Fulfill your ambition with your own hands."
I refused to get involved in something troublesome. To be honest, I didn't sympathize with the position of a daughter deprived of freedom by her father, either. If she truly wanted independence, she would have given everything up: the perks that came with the status of being the district chief's daughter, the responsibilities, all of it.
"Miss?" When we arrived at the district chief's office, we saw a guard blocking the way. "Who is the man next to you?" the guard asked professionally.
Miss Urbans brushed the question off. "He is a guest of my father's."
When the guard knocked on the door and notified the district chief of the situation, permission soon filtered through the wood. "Tell them to come in."
"You cannot bring any weapons inside. Please hand that to me."
I raised my mace as if to follow the guard's instructions, then entered the office with brute force.
Crunch!
The door to the office also transformed as I introduced an open floor plan. When I stepped beyond it, the district chief was sitting at his desk, frozen in place with a pen in hand. He glanced between his daughter and me, back and forth. "What is this?!" After a moment of silence, the guard sprang into action. "Stop, you can step out," said Urbans.
"But..."
"There is nothing to worry about. He is not that reckless."
"All right, then." The guard seemed well-trained because he left without another word. Of course, there was no need to shut the door, because it was gone now.
Sigh...
In a daze, he watched the guard pace the hallway, and then go downstairs. The district chief got up from his desk and sat on the sofa, so I also seated myself in front of him.
Squelch.
The sofa collapsed, unable to bear the weight of a heavily armored barbarian. But like any barbarian, I did not apologize. "This sofa is old."
A blue vein pulsed on the district chief's forehead, but I guess he decided that the sofa wasn't important. "...Tell me why you're here. There must be a reason why you've come here holding my daughter's hand and done this."
"Um, Father, that's—"
"I didn't ask you."
At those words, Miss Urbans went as still as stone. Although she had bold plans to go against her father, I guess she was still scared of him.
"Figure out family affairs amongst yourselves," I said bluntly. That was the first reason I was here today.
"Does that mean you're betraying my daughter?"
"There's nothing to betray because we were never working together. And we never will."
The district chief looked at me with an unreadable expression on his face, clearly trying to discern my true intentions. I didn't offer any explanations. It was up to him to decide whether he believed me. "Then why did you come with my daughter?"
"She kept bothering me, so I decided it would be better to say it to you directly. But she kept following me, like a goblin."
"Th-that was so I could stop you before you caused any trouble!" Julian got riled up at the word "goblin" and, as I expected, her reaction was helpful.
"I see. I will believe you." That checked off my first goal of clearing up that particular misunderstanding. "But if that is your purpose here, why are you acting so rude?" the district chief asked after a moment as he looked at the smashed door. "That had nothing to do with my feelings toward you. What will people think of me when they see that broken door?"
I don't know, that you're a righteous chief who values communication with his employees and has nothing to hide?
At the thought, I smiled. I could see what he was really trying to say. He was saying I'd ruined his reputation by causing a scene.
"No one would be able to object if I were to arrest and detain you right away."
He wasn't wrong, but I wasn't scared. I knew he couldn't do it, which was also why I was behaving like this. "Arrest me. Then everything you did to me will also be revealed."
"...You trust that scout?"
"No way." I firmly shook my head. I had no intention of getting Rotmiller involved in this incident. I had a better card to play than that in the first place. "I have a video copy of you trying to win over the wizard after my prison break."
"Then the lady of Altemion lied to me."
"She said she wouldn't show it to anyone; she didn't say there wouldn't be copies." I cocked my head indifferently and added, "I don't know if you know this, but she became our team's wizard not long ago."
To put it simply, that meant, "Forget about trying to win over Raven." The district chief's eyes darkened.
Still don't get it? I'm not the same rookie barbarian I was when we first met.
"A district chief who tried to frame and kill the heir to the barbarian tribe. I heard there's going to be an election next year. Sounds like the perfect gossip for people to chew on."
"...Heir?"
"Your information channels are slow. It happened not long ago."
The district chief pursed his lips for a moment. "What do you want?" he finally asked.
A complete declaration of surrender. It was time to move on to my second reason for coming here. The district chief had tried to use Rotmiller to hurt me. Normally, this was a serious crime deserving of three skull smashes. Of course, in order to punish him for his sins, I had also had to go through numerous obstacles. We would end up becoming arch-nemeses at this rate, which was why I left off with a warning today. The Dragon Slayer alone was a headache enough.
"Whether there is another misunderstanding or if you just hate me, it doesn't matter. If you pull something like this one more time... I won't talk anymore." I glared at him while releasing murderous intent, and he stiffened. It wasn't as dramatic a reaction as at Ghost Busters, but that should be warning enough.
When I was done with my business, I got up from the sofa right away. The district chief blurted out a question. "Aren't you going to wait to hear my answer?"
I don't know, is that necessary?
I chuckled.
Snap!
I grabbed the table between us with both hands and folded it with brute force alone. "This table is also old."
That ended today's negotiations.
"Then I'll go now. I'm hungry."
If I had to come back here one day, it wouldn't be something like a door or a table he'd lose.
"Um, Father, that's—"
"I didn't ask you."
At those words, Miss Urbans went as still as stone. Although she had bold plans to go against her father, I guess she was still scared of him.
"Figure out family affairs amongst yourselves," I said bluntly. That was the first reason I was here today.
"Does that mean you're betraying my daughter?"
"There's nothing to betray because we were never working together. And we never will."
The district chief looked at me with an unreadable expression on his face, clearly trying to discern my true intentions. I didn't offer any explanations. It was up to him to decide whether he believed me. "Then why did you come with my daughter?"
"She kept bothering me, so I decided it would be better to say it to you directly. But she kept following me, like a goblin."
"Th-that was so I could stop you before you caused any trouble!" Julian got riled up at the word "goblin" and, as I expected, her reaction was helpful.
"I see. I will believe you." That checked off my first goal of clearing up that particular misunderstanding. "But if that is your purpose here, why are you acting so rude?" the district chief asked after a moment as he looked at the smashed door. "That had nothing to do with my feelings toward you. What will people think of me when they see that broken door?"
I don't know, that you're a righteous chief who values communication with his employees and has nothing to hide?
At the thought, I smiled. I could see what he was really trying to say. He was saying I'd ruined his reputation by causing a scene.
"No one would be able to object if I were to arrest and detain you right away."
He wasn't wrong, but I wasn't scared. I knew he couldn't do it, which was also why I was behaving like this. "Arrest me. Then everything you did to me will also be revealed."
"...You trust that scout?"
"No way." I firmly shook my head. I had no intention of getting Rotmiller involved in this incident. I had a better card to play than that in the first place. "I have a video copy of you trying to win over the wizard after my prison break."
"Then the lady of Altemion lied to me."
"She said she wouldn't show it to anyone; she didn't say there wouldn't be copies." I cocked my head indifferently and added, "I don't know if you know this, but she became our team's wizard not long ago."
To put it simply, that meant, "Forget about trying to win over Raven." The district chief's eyes darkened.
Still don't get it? I'm not the same rookie barbarian I was when we first met.
"A district chief who tried to frame and kill the heir to the barbarian tribe. I heard there's going to be an election next year. Sounds like the perfect gossip for people to chew on."
"...Heir?"
"Your information channels are slow. It happened not long ago."
The district chief pursed his lips for a moment. "What do you want?" he finally asked.
A complete declaration of surrender. It was time to move on to my second reason for coming here. The district chief had tried to use Rotmiller to hurt me. Normally, this was a serious crime deserving of three skull smashes. Of course, in order to punish him for his sins, I had also had to go through numerous obstacles. We would end up becoming arch-nemeses at this rate, which was why I left off with a warning today. The Dragon Slayer alone was a headache enough.
"Whether there is another misunderstanding or if you just hate me, it doesn't matter. If you pull something like this one more time... I won't talk anymore." I glared at him while releasing murderous intent, and he stiffened. It wasn't as dramatic a reaction as at Ghost Busters, but that should be warning enough.
When I was done with my business, I got up from the sofa right away. The district chief blurted out a question. "Aren't you going to wait to hear my answer?"
I don't know, is that necessary?
I chuckled.
Snap!
I grabbed the table between us with both hands and folded it with brute force alone. "This table is also old."
That ended today's negotiations.
"Then I'll go now. I'm hungry."
If I had to come back here one day, it wouldn't be something like a door or a table he'd lose.