Urusphier (2)
Following Lebuje’s lead, we arrived at her office.
It wasn’t a particularly large room. Bookshelves stood packed tight against every wall, and the desk was buried under stacks of documents of every kind.
She works in a place this stifling…?
While I looked around and clicked my tongue, Lebuje and Rubia were already bowing deeply to each other, apologizing in earnest.
“I apologize for the inadequate measures taken. I am truly sorry.”
“Not at all. I was the one who charged out so recklessly… it was only natural. I am sorry as well.”
After a moment of hesitation, I finally lowered my head too.
“This is only an excuse, but… Shure… I failed to educate that child properly…”
“I thought she was spirited and wonderful, actually… pfft…”
Rubia and Lebuje lifted their heads at the same time and began a light, faintly artificial conversation, smiling all the while.
This was adult talk.
It sounded empty—no real content, no meaning at all.
But in truth it was packed with enormous significance… the kind of conversation only nobles could have…!
I absolutely cannot join in.
Just listening makes my head hurt…
Still, I wanted to understand, so I clutched my head and tried for a long while.
It was impossible.
I couldn’t even grasp the flow of the conversation…
In the end I gave up and started imagining what raspberry jelly might taste like, when—
“That aside… Lady Noah, you are quite different from the rumors I have heard.”
Finally, attention turned to me!
“Uwah… uh, um…”
But I wasn’t ready, so the words wouldn’t come out…
“Th-those are all… empty rumors.”
“I am glad to hear it. According to the stories… you were a demon who drank the blood of humans and magic beasts alike without distinction.”
“Pfft—”
…What…?
“Th-that’s… what do you…”
“Well… rumors are like that. The farther they spread, the more exaggerated they become.”
Even so.
I-I don’t drink human blood…
Magic-beast blood… when you’re hunting it just ends up in your mouth sometimes… and you have no choice but to gulp it down…
It wasn’t on purpose!
“Well then, now that the small talk is finished, allow me to introduce myself properly once more. I am Lebuje, head of the Urusphier Adventurer Guild.”
She bowed with a posture far more refined than before, dignity radiating from every line of her body.
“Yes. A pleasure to meet you, Lady Lebuje.”
Beside me, Rubia slipped off her robe and let her hair tumble free.
“I am Rubia, Priestess of Erden.”
Unlike Lebuje, she did not bow.
She must have decided this was a place that required a certain degree of authority…
Smart Rubia!
And so dignified… so cool… so charismatic.
Then I should too!
“I-I’m… N-Noah… Shin Noah…!”
I ruined it.
Everything’s ruined.
Voice, tone, mannerisms.
Every single one of them… pure loser energy.
I look pathetic next to Rubia…
I should have introduced myself first…
“Yes. A pleasure. Well… even as guildmaster I am still an adventurer like yourself, Lady Noah, so please feel free to treat me casually.”
Lebuje’s expression flickered as though she were holding back a laugh, but she quickly recovered her composure and spoke again.
“Ah… y-yes, yes…”
So embarrassing…
“Now that introductions are finished, I believe we should begin with the matter of the bounties…”
Rubia nodded and straightened her back.
“Yes. Please do.”
“You have already been informed, but I will restate it once more. First, Lord Heinzel’s bounty was donated in full to Roholan.”
Rubia nodded.
“And… Lord Luci’s bounty was donated to the residents who will settle in the ruins… no, in Habron.”
“That is correct.”
“After that… various smaller bounties went to other adventurers… and the amount due to Lady Noah and Lady Rubia is… this much.”
She slid a thick sheaf of papers toward us.
Rubia tapped my shoulder lightly and picked up the documents.
“Yes. It matches what we were told.”
After flipping through the pages for a long while, Rubia nodded and set them down.
Then she leaned in and whispered the total into my ear—adding a soft warning not to be shocked.
“Uh, eh… uwaah…?”
It’s way more than what Auntie Jure told us in Roholan…?
What on earth did we do to make the money double…?
“Yes. Once you have confirmed it, I will need your signatures here.”
“Is a proxy signature acceptable?”
“Of course.”
Whether I was flustered or not, Rubia kept the process moving smoothly.
After signing several sheets, she set the pen down and smiled sweetly.
No matter how I looked at it, that was a swindler’s smile.
“Mm, yes. Confirmed. Then, regarding the next matter—”
“Shouldn’t we discuss the disposition of Carpeng’s materials?”
“Pardon…?”
Lebuje and I tilted our heads at the same time.
“M-materials…?”
“Yes. Carpeng’s materials are… top-grade materials, after all. We need to talk about how they will be distributed.”
That’s true, but…
Didn’t the Central Guild already collect them?
“But… uh, those were already…”
“It’s fine. Just trust me, Noah. I’ll wring every last bit out of them. Do you know who I am?”
Cutting me off, Rubia thrust out her chest and made a bold declaration.
The buttons of her robe strained dangerously, on the verge of popping.
Dangerous…!
“Ah, ahh… P-Priestess…”
“Yes. So sit tight and watch carefully.”
Rubia smiled and whispered against my ear.
“What I’m capable of.”
My face burned instantly.
“Wh-wha… what…”
Back in Roholan…
In that ridiculously emotional moment…
I-I blurted out something so cringey without thinking…
Ugh… she’s teasing me right now!
“D-don’t tease me…!”
“I’m not teasing. That was such a cool line. I almost fell for you. No—maybe I already have…?”
Rubia’s finger poked my cheek.
“Anyway, you can look forward to it. I’m going to squeeze them dry.”
“Ahem… I can hear everything, you know…”
Lebuje cut in with an utterly dumbfounded expression.
Now I’m even more embarrassed…
“Ah, perfect then. In that case, shall we try a ‘consultation’ rather than a mere ‘agreement’?”
“No matter what the Priestess says to me… what authority do I even have…?”
“No. You can do it, Miss Lebuje. All you need to do is stamp the seal.”
The sweet smile on Rubia’s face reeked of pure con artistry.
“First, let’s begin with the Habron tragedy of the past. You know the truth, don’t you, Miss Lebuje?”
“That is… yes. I do.”
Lebuje’s face went pale with shock.
Is that secret something Rubia isn’t supposed to know?
“Then this will go much faster. Now then… after Habron fell, Carpeng and thousands of magic beasts occupied the region.”
“Th-that is correct.”
“For nearly thirty years. Because of that, even nearby Roholan had to live in constant fear.”
“…”
“And beyond that lay the Halbion Plains. Do you understand what that means?”
“Roholan’s… isolation. And… the cutting of the trade routes.”
Rubia hummed with satisfaction and continued.
Something something…
From there the conversation spun into topics I could no longer follow at all.
And so… the conclusion was:
“Who was the greatest contributor?”
“…L-Lady Noah…”
“And where are the materials right now?”
“The Central… Guild.”
“Exactly. It is truly lamentable. Haa… that the greatest contributor who opened such an enormous trade route should be satisfied with mere fragments and a handful of gold coins—this Adventurer Guild policy is something I, as a Priestess, simply cannot—”
“They are not ‘mere’ fragments… and it is a vast sum of gold, but… I understand… I will take responsibility… and retrieve them…”
It ended in Rubia’s overwhelming victory.
The main points had been something about economics… trade routes… whatever.
Umm… I have no idea.
“Yes. Lady Lebuje, please don’t overdo it… just enough material for one greatsword and some light armor will be fine. Thank you.”
“…Yes.”
Lebuje’s shoulders slumped heavily.
I feel a little bad…
But still… well.
Carpeng’s materials… they do sound tempting…
If I made a greatsword out of them it would be incredible…
My lips twitched upward.
“How was that, Noah?”
“Ru-Rubia… that was seriously so cool…”
I threw my arms around her and hugged her tight.
A greatsword forged from Carpeng’s materials.
I’d only ever heard the name in the game.
I can’t remember what it was called, but anyway!
An incredible item is going to end up in my hands!!
“I really fell for you… Rubia’s the best…! Hehehe…”
“U-uh…”
The body I was holding suddenly grew scorching hot.
Her pulse pounded against me—thump-thump-thump—racing wildly.
“Ru-Rubia… are you hurt…?”
Did she overwork her brain just now…?
“N-no… it’s just… uh, there are eyes watching, so…”
Rubia turned her head and gently pushed me away.
Ah.
She just overwhelmed Lebuje so coolly.
Maybe she’s worried that looking like this will ruin her image?
Yeah… that could be it.
To protect Rubia’s dignity, I scooted a good distance away and sat down.
“Haa… then… may I speak now?”
“Yes. I have finished.”
Rubia wore a triumphant smile.
Light seemed to radiate from behind her.
I take back calling her a swindler!
Rubia is the greatest businesswoman ever!
“Then… the most important matter remains.”
Lebuje composed her expression and drew a single envelope from the towering stack of documents behind her.
She slid it toward me and continued.
“Congratulations on rising to Gold rank, Lady Noah.”
“Y-yes…? Gold…?”
I was utterly stunned, but Rubia simply nodded as though she had known all along.
“Please read… ah, forgive me. Would it be all right if I read it for you…?”
Lebuje had started to tell me to read it myself, then looked at me carefully with a flustered expression.
There’s nothing to apologize for…
I nodded readily.
“Ahem. First, I will read the record of your achievements.”
Lebuje carefully withdrew the letter and began reciting, one by one, every commission I had accepted since Alrba.
I had taken at least three a day, so…
She went through more than a hundred and eighty commissions, listing each in turn.
“Huu… that covers Alrba… you… certainly did a great many. Next is Roholan. The complete extermination of every magic beast inhabiting the plains and the ruins. The number is… haa…”
Lebuje drew a long breath and continued slowly.
“Approximately fourteen thousand…”
That was a lot, huh.
But that…
“I-I didn’t defeat all of them myself…”
“That is true, but… the testimonies of the Roholan residents and Lord Heinzel carried great weight, so you were recognized as the greatest contributor, Lady Noah.”
“Eh…?”
“And… an achievement that far surpasses every prior merit… no, this should properly be called a legendary feat.”
Lebuje folded the letter with care.
“The nightmare of the east. The crimson wolf, Carpeng—subjugated.”
Her expression was distant, filled with reverence.
“You avenged my dear friend Luci. Truly… truly.”
She dropped to one knee, bowed her head toward me, and spoke.
“Thank you. For protecting Roholan. For reclaiming Habron… for giving hope to humanity… I thank you from the bottom of my heart.”
You are a hero.
“Ah… uh…”
Lines I had only ever seen as text on a screen.
Only ever heard as sound from speakers.
Only ever felt inside a game.
Hearing them spoken to me in person felt… strange.
My heart went soft and melting…
“Hic… hu…”
“Noah…? Why… why are you crying?”
“Haa… you really are the complete opposite of the rumors. Haha…”
Rubia’s hand brushed my eyes.
Warm liquid was wiped away.
I lifted my hands and rubbed my eyelids.
They came away soaked with tears.
I… why am I crying?
“Hic… Ru-Rubia… why… why am I crying…?”
Rubia looked at me with a pained expression for a moment, then raised her arms and pulled me into a tight embrace.
“Uweh…?”
“You worked so hard, Noah. Truly…”
And slowly, carefully, she stroked my hair, strand by strand.
“Huu… hic… kuh— u-uh… it feels… strange… uuu… sob…”
The moment I was held in Rubia’s arms, the tears poured out without end.
No matter how tightly I squeezed my eyes shut, the tears forced their way through the cracks, and I resented them for it.
And yet, at the same time, a warmth was spreading somewhere inside me—
so welcome, so longed-for—
that I did not try to stop them.
I lifted my eyelids and welcomed every tear that fell.