Chapter 37: Guild (2)

Translator: RaidenTL

Chapter 37: Guild (2)

I was sitting in a chair. Strangely, the iron restraints on the arms and legs seemed like an added feature, and they were secured to the ground with nails.

Can't I catch a break?

To summarize the situation, I was currently in an interrogation room located in the basement of the Adventurers' Guild.

Across from me was my interrogator. He was somewhere in his mid-thirties, and his defining trait was that he was a highly obese man who had a high-and-mighty way of speaking.

"I am Koldo Biermann, and I am in charge of the investigation of this case. I am going to ask you some questions now, so I hope you cooperate with my inquiry."

"Investigation? Shouldn't you tell me why I've been arrested first?" I asked, not backing down. I didn't even bother hoping for an 'innocent until proven guilty' approach to be used here, but this was a reasonable right for a defendant to have even in this era—

Smack!

The investigator cunt kicked me in the shin. When I looked up at him, he smirked as if to ask what was wrong.

"Rule number one, you only talk when you are answering my questions. Got it?"

"...Fine."

"Follow the rules, and you won't get hurt. You can be assured of that."

Hurt, my ass.

After what I had gone through in the labyrinth, getting kicked in the shin was like getting tickled. This bastard must have some delusions about his job.

"Anyway, to answer your question... Bjorn Yandel, you have been arrested on the charge of plundering inside the labyrinth."

"...Plundering charges?"

What kind of dumb nonsense is this?

The investigator picked my backpack up upside down and spilled the contents on the floor. He whistled sarcastically.

"That's a lot of stuff."

Adventuring supplies such as torches and a sleeping bag, and one of the special items I obtained in the Bloody Citadel, could be seen in the pile. Sorting through the food and other miscellaneous items, the investigator took out the pieces of equipment and placed them on the table. It was mostly stuff from the party of four that had stabbed us in the back in the Land of the Dead.

"If you didn't loot anyone, where did these come from? A barbarian wouldn't use a bow."

"That... belonged to a group who tried to kill me first."

"And your evidence?"

Evidence? I had no such thing, but I had no reason to be cowed by that.

"Then do you have any proof that what I'm saying isn't true?" I fired back.

"Well, I'll have to investigate that going forward."

"You're going to arrest and investigate someone for this one thing?"

That was the part I really didn't understand.

This was different from the Adventurers' Guild's usual process. There was an unwritten rule in the city to not question adventurers without evidence, no matter what they brought out of the labyrinth. For that reason, the guild never took the initiative to search for looters themselves until reports or testimonies came in.

However...

"The guild's internal rules changed a few days ago."

Well, that left me at a loss for words. I was again reminded that this wasn't just a game, but a world in which many people lived.

"The official guidelines have instructed us to first enforce the rules on rank nine explorers to deter acts of plundering."

In a nutshell, it meant that the small fry were going to be the test rats. Didn't matter where you went, being the lowest rung on the ladder meant you were going to suffer. I could roughly guess how they picked who they were going to target with these investigations as well. Either someone who had collected a lot of mana stones, or someone with equipment that appeared to belong to someone else in their backpack. Something like that.

So I already had two strikes against me.

"Well then, tell me. Where did you get this thing?"

Anyway, his initial attitude must've just been to kill my spirit, because after that, the bastard carried on a normal investigation. So I explained what happened during my time in the labyrinth as cooperatively as possible. While leaving out the psychopathic bitch, of course.

To tell him about that, I would also have to tell him about the oath, and a barbarian who broke an oath was going to look weird. It was far more dangerous to be charged as an evil spirit than to be charged with murder. Especially because I'd have no chance to explain myself.

Plus, reporting that woman could get me assassinated in the middle of the night.

Therefore, I just briefly recounted meeting a group of four looters, being restrained, and then miraculously killing them. However, the investigator fucker was blasé about it all.

"What? You survived being stabbed in the neck? You tell lies that even a child wouldn't believe."

"I only speak the truth."

"Then where is the scar on your neck? If your words are true, it should have left a mark, right?"

I subconsciously touched my neck. It was smooth with no defects. And there was a clear reason for that.

By consuming the vampire's essence, my healing factor had increased so much that even the scar on my neck had healed.

...Why are things getting so complicated?

Reluctantly, I explained about the rift as well. The only problem was that the asshole investigator didn't listen to a word I said.

"Hahaha! A rift? A vampire? There's no logic to your barbaric words!"

"I swear, everything I say is true."

Perhaps he had hardened himself against me even more because the oath of a warrior, which usually always worked for me, proved useless this time.

"What honor is there to a looter?"

At this point, I was pissed too.

"Then call a wizard! You can verify my words with magic!"

In fact, there was never any need for such a long conversation in the first place. Just one spell would reveal the truth. However, Detective Asshole just smiled like I wasn't worth the effort.

"Only adventurers who are rank seven or higher can make a formal verification request to the guild."

Damn, and when had this changed? Rank nine adventurers weren't even being treated like human beings.

"Even if I pay the fee?"

"That's money that will be turned over to the state when you die. We can't let you waste it on something useless."

Bull. I knew it was only because they'd have less money to steal from me.

"Now, just admit to the crime."

"The official guidelines have instructed us to first enforce the rules on rank nine explorers to deter acts of plundering."

In a nutshell, it meant that the small fry were going to be the test rats. Didn't matter where you went, being the lowest rung on the ladder meant you were going to suffer. I could roughly guess how they picked who they were going to target with these investigations as well. Either someone who had collected a lot of mana stones, or someone with equipment that appeared to belong to someone else in their backpack. Something like that.

So I already had two strikes against me.

"Well then, tell me. Where did you get this thing?"

Anyway, his initial attitude must've just been to kill my spirit, because after that, the bastard carried on a normal investigation. So I explained what happened during my time in the labyrinth as cooperatively as possible. While leaving out the psychopathic bitch, of course.

To tell him about that, I would also have to tell him about the oath, and a barbarian who broke an oath was going to look weird. It was far more dangerous to be charged as an evil spirit than to be charged with murder. Especially because I'd have no chance to explain myself.

Plus, reporting that woman could get me assassinated in the middle of the night.

Therefore, I just briefly recounted meeting a group of four looters, being restrained, and then miraculously killing them. However, the investigator fucker was blasé about it all.

"What? You survived being stabbed in the neck? You tell lies that even a child wouldn't believe."

"I only speak the truth."

"Then where is the scar on your neck? If your words are true, it should have left a mark, right?"

I subconsciously touched my neck. It was smooth with no defects. And there was a clear reason for that.

By consuming the vampire's essence, my healing factor had increased so much that even the scar on my neck had healed.

...Why are things getting so complicated?

Reluctantly, I explained about the rift as well. The only problem was that the asshole investigator didn't listen to a word I said.

"Hahaha! A rift? A vampire? There's no logic to your barbaric words!"

"I swear, everything I say is true."

Perhaps he had hardened himself against me even more because the oath of a warrior, which usually always worked for me, proved useless this time.

"What honor is there to a looter?"

At this point, I was pissed too.

"Then call a wizard! You can verify my words with magic!"

In fact, there was never any need for such a long conversation in the first place. Just one spell would reveal the truth. However, Detective Asshole just smiled like I wasn't worth the effort.

"Only adventurers who are rank seven or higher can make a formal verification request to the guild."

Damn, and when had this changed? Rank nine adventurers weren't even being treated like human beings.

"Even if I pay the fee?"

"That's money that will be turned over to the state when you die. We can't let you waste it on something useless."

Bull. I knew it was only because they'd have less money to steal from me.

"Now, just admit to the crime."

It seemed that it would take some time to prove my innocence.

***

As if in celebration of the end of her fifteen-day stint in the labyrinth, the dazzling noon sunlight wrapped around her body like a cloak. Erwen stood there for a moment to enjoy the warmth. Snippets of memories filled her head, perhaps because of the stark contrast between her surroundings and the environment she had just been in.

I didn't know the third floor would be so hard...

Erwen had gone up to the third floor with her sister. There, she had experienced the strength of rank-seven monsters for the first time. Even though her sister had pretty much fought them on her own, even the rank six monsters they had met by chance at the end... Truly, it had been the first expedition she'd been on that felt like a real adventure. Her trip to the labyrinth with Mr. Barbarian hadn't been bad either... But at the time, she had been so focused on getting out alive that she hadn't been paying attention to anything else.

He's going to be so surprised when I tell him about this.

She wanted to find him right away so she could tell him about what she had experienced in the labyrinth and ask him about his experience too. Just thinking about it reinvigorated her tired body.

If I tell him that I obtained a new essence, will it be like last time...?

The thought was a bit troubling... But for some reason, her steps were lighter than usual as she quickly headed over to the currency exchange for rank nine adventurers.

Maybe we missed each other this time. I don't see him over here...

"That's 184,100 stones."

"Woah..."

"That's quite a lot of money for a rank nine adventurer."

"Because I went with my sister!"

"What is her name?"

"Daria Whitember di Tersia."

"All right, that checks out. You may go."

After exchanging her mana stones, meeting her sister outside, unpacking at the inn, bathing for three hours, and changing into new clothes, she headed straight to Bjorn's inn.

But how did things end up like this?

"You're that elf girl who comes by every day. But, uh-oh. Room 302 hasn't come back yet."

"Oh, really?"

Bjorn was not at the inn. What could have happened? His room had already been paid in advance, and there was other luggage left in it as well...

"Are you going to keep waiting?"

"Yes! I'm sure he'll be back soon!"

"Tut."

The owner of the inn, who was usually kind, had clicked his tongue in a show of displeasure. How long had it been since then?

The sun had gone down by now. And a few hours ago, at that.

"Excuse me, why are you taking Mr. Barbarian's things out of his room?"

"Hey, move it. Wait, Miss, do you have any papers?"

"P-Papers?"

"You know. A certificate stating that you are acquainted with that barbarian, or that he has agreed to hand over his keepsakes to you, or something like that."

"I don't, but—wait! What do you mean by 'hand over his keepsakes?'"

"The labyrinth has been closed for a long while but he hasn't returned. Why else would he not be here? He clearly died in the labyrinth!"

It seemed that it would take some time to prove my innocence.

***

As if in celebration of the end of her fifteen-day stint in the labyrinth, the dazzling noon sunlight wrapped around her body like a cloak. Erwen stood there for a moment to enjoy the warmth. Snippets of memories filled her head, perhaps because of the stark contrast between her surroundings and the environment she had just been in.

I didn't know the third floor would be so hard...

Erwen had gone up to the third floor with her sister. There, she had experienced the strength of rank-seven monsters for the first time. Even though her sister had pretty much fought them on her own, even the rank six monsters they had met by chance at the end... Truly, it had been the first expedition she'd been on that felt like a real adventure. Her trip to the labyrinth with Mr. Barbarian hadn't been bad either... But at the time, she had been so focused on getting out alive that she hadn't been paying attention to anything else.

He's going to be so surprised when I tell him about this.

She wanted to find him right away so she could tell him about what she had experienced in the labyrinth and ask him about his experience too. Just thinking about it reinvigorated her tired body.

If I tell him that I obtained a new essence, will it be like last time...?

The thought was a bit troubling... But for some reason, her steps were lighter than usual as she quickly headed over to the currency exchange for rank nine adventurers.

Maybe we missed each other this time. I don't see him over here...

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

"That's 184,100 stones."

"Woah..."

"That's quite a lot of money for a rank nine adventurer."

"Because I went with my sister!"

"What is her name?"

"Daria Whitember di Tersia."

"All right, that checks out. You may go."

After exchanging her mana stones, meeting her sister outside, unpacking at the inn, bathing for three hours, and changing into new clothes, she headed straight to Bjorn's inn.

But how did things end up like this?

"You're that elf girl who comes by every day. But, uh-oh. Room 302 hasn't come back yet."

"Oh, really?"

Bjorn was not at the inn. What could have happened? His room had already been paid in advance, and there was other luggage left in it as well...

"Are you going to keep waiting?"

"Yes! I'm sure he'll be back soon!"

"Tut."

The owner of the inn, who was usually kind, had clicked his tongue in a show of displeasure. How long had it been since then?

The sun had gone down by now. And a few hours ago, at that.

"Excuse me, why are you taking Mr. Barbarian's things out of his room?"

"Hey, move it. Wait, Miss, do you have any papers?"

"P-Papers?"

"You know. A certificate stating that you are acquainted with that barbarian, or that he has agreed to hand over his keepsakes to you, or something like that."

"I don't, but—wait! What do you mean by 'hand over his keepsakes?'"

"The labyrinth has been closed for a long while but he hasn't returned. Why else would he not be here? He clearly died in the labyrinth!"

Finally, the innkeeper kicked her out semi-forcibly. Erwen squatted down in front of the inn.

Dead? That's not possible...

That was nonsense. No matter how common it was for adventurers to die in the labyrinth, she couldn't imagine him dying.

So she sat there and waited until morning came, then night, and then morning again.

"I've been looking for you."

Her sister came looking for her. She didn't scold her about not coming home for two days, nor did she ask any other questions. She just held out her hand.

"...Let's go get some food."

Erwen took her hand and stood up. Then, she had a thought.

She didn't know the exact reason, and she knew it had nothing to do with this, but...

"I want to be strong."

For some reason, that was what she was thinking at that moment. More intensely than ever.

***

I was trapped in a thick iron cage. All my stuff had been taken away, and I was wearing just one scrap of cloth rolled up and tied below my waist. I was currently standing slumped against the wall for the second day in a row.

Fuck my life...

After the first day, the situation had just gone from bad to worse. In response to my repeated denial and requests for magical verification, the investigator had no choice but to summon a wizard, but...

[Your Spirit stat is higher than 90.]

[You have a resistance to spirit magic due to your increased mana resistance.]

The magic of the rank-nine wizard working at the guild did

not work on me.

"His barriers are too thick. It appears we need to call a wizard from the Magic Tower."

The situation was turning into even more of a headache. Even from the guild's point of view, the help of a high-rank wizard would inevitably be needed to close my case.

"It doesn't make sense to call someone here for a case about a rank-nine adventurer."

Ever since then, the investigator had thrown all kinds of bullshit my way to get a confession out of me. He probably thought this was the easy route. But there was no way I was going to make a false confession just because this bastard was trying to intimidate me.

I even name-dropped the rank-six wizard, Arua Raven, and the dwarf, but the frustrating asshole hadn't even listened.

The case was starting to drag on when—

"Hahaha! Bjorn Yandel, apparently, this isn't the first time you've committed an act of plundering."

A totally new charge was pressed against me, unrelated to anything in the previous investigation.

"What are you talking about?"

"We discovered this while investigating your case."

"This" was none other than a familiar message stone that the investigator was holding up with a triumphant look in his eyes.

"Message stones have a unique serial number, so each owner is on file. So I looked up the number of the stone in your backpack, and lo and behold, it belongs to a dead adventurer."

By the way, the owner's name was apparently Artoa Serdin.

"Since they were registered under a union, I made some inquiries, and they told me about everything you did. It wasn't enough to just run away after injuring Harts Young—you also killed the person that was pursuing you, right?"

This asshole seemed to think he was the main character of a crime novel, so his explanations were unnecessarily long.

I cut him off and got to the point. "So what is going to happen to me?"

No matter what I said here, this dickhead was desperate to wrap up my case and wouldn't bother listening.

"Since we now have context, testimony, and evidence, the guild has decided to reject your request for verification and execute a sentence."

The guild? Yeah, right.

He had probably just turned down my request himself.

"...So how long will I get?"

"What strange words you speak. Rafdonia's law has never been tolerant of plunderers. Oh, is that too difficult for a barbarian to understand?"

The bastard had smiled and continued.

"That means you're getting the death penalty."

And that was what had transpired last night. Then, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠this morning, the jailer came by to tell me the date of my execution and asked if there was anything I wanted to eat. It was at that moment that I finally realized the mess I was in.

If I didn't do anything, I was really going to bite the dust. So, I needed to do something.

Unfortunately, the time to resolve the issue with words had already passed. But if I broke out of the cell and left, I'd just become a plunderer who'd broken out of jail.

I may be able to escape to the city, but I will quickly become a wanted criminal.

I thought about it for a while, but in the end, there was only one way for me to survive this. I had to prove my innocence somehow.

It wouldn't be easy, of course. You could in fact judge a forest by its trees. If a mere investigator was this uncommunicative, how could I expect the rest of the guild to be different?

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

Whether I'm guilty or not, the Adventurers' Guild will decide that it is easier and quieter for me to just disappear.

With that thought in mind, I made a plan, and something of a path forward began to appear in front of me.

First of all, the key was to create a situation where the Adventurers' Guild could not silence me. And in terms of a method for doing that, I had an idea.

Of course, I would have to go through a lot of trouble in return...

Crunch!

I pictured the look on the investigator's face to further motivate myself. From a young age, I had been a precocious child who knew how to take revenge with my words.

No matter how I look at the situation, just saving my ass won't cut it.

I was going to make them pay for this...

[You have cast Flesh Burst.]

The full price!

Finally, the innkeeper kicked her out semi-forcibly. Erwen squatted down in front of the inn.

Dead? That's not possible...

That was nonsense. No matter how common it was for adventurers to die in the labyrinth, she couldn't imagine him dying.

So she sat there and waited until morning came, then night, and then morning again.

"I've been looking for you."

Her sister came looking for her. She didn't scold her about not coming home for two days, nor did she ask any other questions. She just held out her hand.

"...Let's go get some food."

Erwen took her hand and stood up. Then, she had a thought.

She didn't know the exact reason, and she knew it had nothing to do with this, but...

"I want to be strong."

For some reason, that was what she was thinking at that moment. More intensely than ever.

***

I was trapped in a thick iron cage. All my stuff had been taken away, and I was wearing just one scrap of cloth rolled up and tied below my waist. I was currently standing slumped against the wall for the second day in a row.

Fuck my life...

After the first day, the situation had just gone from bad to worse. In response to my repeated denial and requests for magical verification, the investigator had no choice but to summon a wizard, but...

[Your Spirit stat is higher than 90.]

[You have a resistance to spirit magic due to your increased mana resistance.]

The magic of the rank-nine wizard working at the guild did

not work on me.

"His barriers are too thick. It appears we need to call a wizard from the Magic Tower."

The situation was turning into even more of a headache. Even from the guild's point of view, the help of a high-rank wizard would inevitably be needed to close my case.

"It doesn't make sense to call someone here for a case about a rank-nine adventurer."

Ever since then, the investigator had thrown all kinds of bullshit my way to get a confession out of me. He probably thought this was the easy route. But there was no way I was going to make a false confession just because this bastard was trying to intimidate me.

I even name-dropped the rank-six wizard, Arua Raven, and the dwarf, but the frustrating asshole hadn't even listened.

The case was starting to drag on when—

"Hahaha! Bjorn Yandel, apparently, this isn't the first time you've committed an act of plundering."

A totally new charge was pressed against me, unrelated to anything in the previous investigation.

"What are you talking about?"

"We discovered this while investigating your case."

"This" was none other than a familiar message stone that the investigator was holding up with a triumphant look in his eyes.

"Message stones have a unique serial number, so each owner is on file. So I looked up the number of the stone in your backpack, and lo and behold, it belongs to a dead adventurer."

By the way, the owner's name was apparently Artoa Serdin.

"Since they were registered under a union, I made some inquiries, and they told me about everything you did. It wasn't enough to just run away after injuring Harts Young—you also killed the person that was pursuing you, right?"

This asshole seemed to think he was the main character of a crime novel, so his explanations were unnecessarily long.

I cut him off and got to the point. "So what is going to happen to me?"

No matter what I said here, this dickhead was desperate to wrap up my case and wouldn't bother listening.

"Since we now have context, testimony, and evidence, the guild has decided to reject your request for verification and execute a sentence."

The guild? Yeah, right.

He had probably just turned down my request himself.

"...So how long will I get?"

"What strange words you speak. Rafdonia's law has never been tolerant of plunderers. Oh, is that too difficult for a barbarian to understand?"

The bastard had smiled and continued.

"That means you're getting the death penalty."

And that was what had transpired last night. Then, this morning, the jailer came by to tell me the date of my execution and asked if there was anything I wanted to eat. It was at that moment that I finally realized the mess I was in.

If I didn't do anything, I was really going to bite the dust. So, I needed to do something.

Unfortunately, the time to resolve the issue with words had already passed. But if I broke out of the cell and left, I'd just become a plunderer who'd broken out of jail.

I may be able to escape to the city, but I will quickly become a wanted criminal.

I thought about it for a while, but in the end, there was only one way for me to survive this. I had to prove my innocence somehow.

It wouldn't be easy, of course. You could in fact judge a forest by its trees. If a mere investigator was this uncommunicative, how could I expect the rest of the guild to be different?

Whether I'm guilty or not, the Adventurers' Guild will decide that it is easier and quieter for me to just disappear.

With that thought in mind, I made a plan, and something of a path forward began to appear in front of me.

First of all, the key was to create a situation where the Adventurers' Guild could not silence me. And in terms of a method for doing that, I had an idea.

Of course, I would have to go through a lot of trouble in return...

Crunch!

I pictured the look on the investigator's face to further motivate myself. From a young age, I had been a precocious child who knew how to take revenge with my words.

No matter how I look at the situation, just saving my ass won't cut it.

I was going to make them pay for this...

[You have cast Flesh Burst.]

The full ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠price!