Chapter 222
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 222
Chapter Title: Outside the Capital
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I stuffed the last bite of my sandwich into my mouth and chewed as I walked through the capital at dawn.
The capital, known as the heart of the Empire, was quiet enough, but with all the recent incidents, it wasn't exactly peaceful.
The guards patrolling with torches had stiff, rigid expressions.
Unlike before, there were no signs of them subtly killing time at taverns.
'First things first... the Guild.'
At this hour before sunrise, the Adventurer's Guild was far noisier.
And the Church was even more solemn now, when people believed the goddess had closed her eyes.
Before leaving the mansion, I'd stocked up on most of my consumables in case something happened while I was gone.
I needed to replenish things like holy water, potions, and bandages.
'Push through until the next academy class?'
From the moment I'd stepped out of the mansion, I had no plans to sleep until I got back.
Lately, I'd been staying in the capital almost full-time, so there wasn't much experience to draw on anyway.
Back when I'd spent far more time outside the capital before meeting Rike...
During those grueling forced marches on requests, skimping on sleep as fatigue piled up and my nerves grew hypersensitive and razor-sharp.
Those were the moments when tracking and hunting monsters or fugitives felt like peak condition.
If I could boost my physical abilities even more this time, that'd be great, of course.
But my top priority for this trip was something else: pulling out the "inner self" inside me for a closer look.
'What was it he said before...?'
Rak had listened to my story with a serious face and given an example like this.
-Monsters or beasts trapped in pitfalls or starved with no food around start drooling, eyes gleaming. Huh? That's when you really gotta watch out.
The feral wildness born from hunger and desperation... It sounded plausible.
But in the end, wasn't he basically comparing me to instinct-driven monsters or beasts?
'Come to think of it, that's pretty damn cheeky.'
If he was at the tavern, I'd smack the back of his head and let off some steam.
Even at this hour, the Adventurer's Guild spilled light and lively chatter through its windows and half-open door.
Thud!
I kicked the door open and stepped inside, hit by a familiar smell that stung my nose.
Loud laughter still drifted up from the tavern below the stairs.
A face I hadn't seen in a while sat at the reception desk.
The man locked eyes with me, shot to his feet so fast his glasses slipped, and bowed deeply.
"Roman! It's been too long."
I didn't know the receptionists' schedules, but guys like him were on duty at odd hours like this sometimes.
I flicked my hand in a brief greeting and cut straight to business.
"Any packages for me?"
I'd originally planned to hit only the Church and bounce.
But I remembered what the saintess's guard had said that day the young nun came all the way to the tavern after quitting adventuring: he'd send over consumables.
"Let me check right now."
Without hesitation, he pulled out one of the many file folders, flipped through the pages swiftly, stopped on one, adjusted his glasses with one hand, scanned it quickly, and replied in a businesslike tone.
"Items sent from the Church for you are currently being stored separately here at the Guild."
"Bring 'em out."
"I'll have them up in a flash."
I liked his dry, no-nonsense efficiency—no need for extra chit-chat.
As I waited for him to haul over the boxes one by one, I perked up my ears.
No voices from Rak's party amid the noise rising from the tavern below.
Liliane was quiet anyway, so her voice rarely carried, but Rak was a loudmouth with no other redeeming qualities.
"Where's Rak?"
He glanced around at my question, then lowered his voice to a whisper.
"...Right now, most Gold-rank adventurers are out on requests."
Just telling me that much was special treatment for a Platinum adventurer.
A polite but firm answer.
Unless it was a missing adventurer or rescue mission, they wouldn't spill details on the request even if I asked.
'Lucky break.'
If he'd been at the tavern today, I would've given him a real hard time. What a shame.
"This is the last box."
"Good work."
I stamped the receipt to confirm receipt and sent him off.
The moment I tore into the sturdy box, an exclamation slipped out.
"Whoa-!"
That holy knight who'd been with the saintess had sent a heap of luxury consumables that exceeded expectations.
But the downside? I'd still have to swing by the Church for the simplest, most versatile stuff like bandages.
Other shops sold the basics, but I needed top-quality.
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Before leaving the capital, my final stop: the Church.
The capital still shrouded in twilight gloom.
Guards had doubled up from usual, making entry procedures a hassle.
Which ironically made it the easiest time to buy stuff.
I flashed my adventurer pass, answered a few simple questions to verify my purpose and identity, and headed inside.
Far fewer people on duty inside compared to daytime—about half.
I nodded briefly to the priests and nuns I passed as I made my way to my destination.
'Quiet.'
They all kept silent until the sun fully rose.
No one greeting me with "Brother~" every few steps—nice.
Step. Step.
My boots thudded against the polished corridor floor.
The opposite direction from the prayer room I'd gone to with Chloe.
Not all the way to the building where I'd been hospitalized after that demon brawl, but that wing had the shop for minor consumables.
As I neared the hospital block where rooms clustered...
Groans of patients stifling their pain drifted down the straight corridors.
'...?'
The instant I rounded the corner and spotted the counter, I blinked.
This spot usually rotated through priests and nuns I didn't recognize.
First time seeing a familiar one whose name I even remembered.
"Hmmm..."
Round, chubby face nodding off over an open book.
Just looking at her brought a sense of calm—exactly the kind of presence this harsh era needed.
'Name's Suelle.'
The saintess had personally brought her all the way to the Guild, so her name stuck vividly.
I had no idea why someone with big connections was adventuring back then.
I crept up quietly on tiptoe.
Apparently pulling double duty studying on night shift.
Pen still clutched, but unfocused eyes, mouth slightly agape.
Her handwriting trailed off at the end—crystal clear without a word of explanation.
"Long time no see, Sister."
She slowly lifted her dazed head at my voice.
The moment awareness hit, her eyes lit up with a pop!
"Eh...? A-Adventurer!!"
She yelped in surprise, then clapped a small hand over her mouth.
"Here for bandages and clean cloth."
"Are you hurt?!"
She jumped up, stood on tiptoes, and fussed over me, peering this way and that.
"Not at all. Heading out of the capital, so stocking up."
Normally, I'd have grabbed my stuff and bolted.
But even after getting everything, the conversation flowed naturally.
I listened for a few minutes as Suelle showed off her study books, talking about how hard she'd been hitting the books since quitting adventuring.
And I picked up one piece of news everyone else seemed to know but me.
'Saintess doesn't need to stick around the capital now that the Fourth Knight issue is settled.'
She'd already dragged that frail body out of the city.
Holding a prayer meeting right before setting off on pilgrimage? Impressive spirit.
'Guess I won't be seeing her anymore.'
I didn't even know her destination, and no reason to meet anyway.
I'd never run into her during my adventuring pokings around everywhere...
I asked Suelle to pass on my thanks for the items someday and left the Church.
In small territories, most top adventurers were Gold rank.
So a request demanding a "minimum" Gold-rank adventurer was a trial in itself.
The local Guild branch and territory could only feel desperate and helpless in the face of disaster.
That's why, when posting requests at the territory's Adventurer's Guild...
They usually filed simultaneous requests to the capital's Guild branch for backup.
It wasn't free—gate costs and miscellaneous support added up.
But smaller, weaker territories and villages preferred to preserve their available forces for true emergencies.
This one was no different.
The gate only went as far as a mid-sized territory; the rest meant riding a carriage.
A sigh-inducing schedule, but what could you do?
Alice's party had arrived at this unfamiliar scrap of land—first time ever— in the dead of night after taking the capital request.
They'd holed up for the day before moving out, and she woke early in the unfamiliar, uncomfortable bed, stretching.
"Uwaaah~!!!"
At Alice's voice, Tero poked its head out from the flowerpot filled with damp soil.
-Hiss.
"Tero. Sleep well?"
She scooped it up from the pot as it crawled onto her body and set it on her head, feeling that familiar calm settle in.
She finished prepping quickly, headed down for the inn's breakfast, and waited.
One by one, her party members came down.