Chapter 158
Chapter 158
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 158
Chapter Title: Bounty (2)
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4.
"Money is important."
The adventurers said.
"But it can't be an adventurer's goal."
And whenever those words came up, one adventurer would say,
"...or maybe that's what you think when you're short on cash."
Of course, it was just a joke.
"Right? What if they offered a billion mesos? Even adventurers who claim they don't care about money would lose their minds."
A joke tossed around by adventurers gathered over drinks.
"But no one's ever gonna put up a billion mesos."
Above all, it was a joke with zero chance of ever coming true.
That was the scale of a billion mesos.
An amount even the most grizzled adventurers could only joke about.
An amount beyond common sense.
That was why.
"The El Pam Party has a billion-meso bounty on their heads!"
The moment those words echoed in the back market of Elnas Market, every adventurer's eyes went wide.
"Insane—a billion mesos?!"
Among them were El Pam's companions, including Dibo.
Of course, it wasn't greed that made their eyes spin.
Quite the opposite.
"This is dangerous."
"Dangerous? Now nine out of every ten people on the street will want us dead."
It was just that dangerous.
So dangerous their eyes spun from the sheer peril.
"But."
One person was the exception.
"Ralph."
"What's up?"
"Why aren't you reacting?"
Unlike the others' shock, Ralph showed no real emotion at the news.
"Aren't you the suspicious one for not reacting?"
Ralph, who would do anything for money, not batting an eye at a billion mesos?
It was too suspicious to ignore.
"A billion mesos is tempting, sure. I'd kill anyone for that much."
Ralph answered calmly.
"But sticking with the boss lets me earn more than that. So killing the boss for a billion? That's just stupid."
Showing interest in this bounty would be idiotic.
Dibo and the others stared at him in disbelief.
Who knew he'd react like that?
At the same time, they were amazed.
'Sticking with the boss is worth more than a billion mesos?'
That was Ralph's evaluation of El Pam.
"Yeah, Ralph's right."
Thanks to Ralph, Dibo and the rest snapped out of their shock. Their heads cooled.
"Wait, Boss."
And with cooler heads came questions.
"Think about it—this doesn't add up. Who'd believe they're offering a billion mesos?"
They'd been shocked at the 100 million meso bounty on El Pam's head before, but that had seemed plausible.
Rare, but bounties of 100 million mesos had happened for items or Mystic Gates.
In adventurers' common sense, 100 million was the max for valuing something in money.
But a billion? No.
"Even the top ten merchant groups in Lith Harbor couldn't scrape that together easily."
Money even massive merchant groups couldn't touch lightly.
"Only someone like Goldrich could swing it."
It would take Maple World's richest tycoon to make it believable.
So Dibo and the others were certain no one would buy this bounty.
"No need to worry for nothing."
El Pam spoke up.
"That's not true."
"Huh?"
"Back market bounties are always paid out."
No need to doubt.
"The Collector Vibre guarantees them."
"The Collector?"
That was the backing behind El Pam's confident words: a woman called Collector Vibre.
As her nickname suggested, she had a hobby of collecting items.
"Who's that?"
"Some crazy bitch."
"Golden Eye, you know her?"
"Not famous."
She wasn't well-known to regular adventurers.
"She hunts for items so special and rare that normal adventurers have never even heard of them. Minimum Legendary grade."
Virtually no overlap with regular adventurers.
"But you can't just buy those with money, right?"
The biggest reason she stayed under the radar from normal adventurers was that.
"That's why they call her crazy. She doesn't just buy collections with cash."
She used every dirty trick in the book to get what she wanted.
"But the Collector always honors her deals, no matter what."
Her credit was ironclad.
"That's why the back market's booming more than ever. She guarantees payouts."
"But what makes her vouch for it?"
"She sees the bounty money upfront from whoever posts it. No checks or promissory notes—just hard mesos."
Dibo looked dumbfounded at the explanation.
"So they showed her a billion mesos? That'd take a wagon train!"
"There's an exception. If you bring her an item she's after, she pays instead. That's the main reason she guarantees them."
"Ah!"
Dibo got it from the follow-up.
The bounty was real.
"Damn it."
The moment it sank in, Dibo's face crumpled.
El Pam said to him,
"You'll hear another rumor soon."
"Huh? Another one?"
"That the El Pam Party headed to the Abandoned Mine."
Right then.
"Hey, keep this quiet—just between us."
"What?"
A voice came from a corner of the tavern.
"The El Pam Party went to the Abandoned Mine."
"The Abandoned Mine? El Pam's party?"
Loud enough for everyone in the tavern to hear.
"Hey! Quiet!"
"Ah!"
The conversing pair jumped and bolted from their seats.
That was it.
The tavern's atmosphere didn't shift much.
But everyone knew.
'El Pam Party at the Abandoned Mine.'
'Worth checking out.'
What everyone was thinking.
El Pam's companions thought the same.
So they concluded:
'Going to the Abandoned Mine now is pure suicide.'
Surely even El Pam would give up on it.
To them, El Pam said,
"For now, we'll scrap the Abandoned Mine plan."
"Figured as much?"
Of course, his companions didn't know.
'They're moving this hard—they're fully prepped to catch me. No need to rush, then.'
El Pam wasn't giving up.
He never even considered it.
No reason to.
'We'll get fully prepped too.'
He had a way.
'Time to meet him.'
5.
The back market of Elnas Market had one rule.
"Don't spread bounty talk outside."
The outlaws followed it surprisingly well.
Not because they were model citizens who always obeyed rules.
"Don't create extra competition."
The more people who knew about a juicy bounty, the more hunters it drew.
That was one reason.
"And don't draw attention."
Back market dealings were the kind of thing Maple World condemned.
No good if it got out.
Anyway, that was the deal.
"A billion gold? On El Pam's party? Who?"
"Dunno."
"You sure?"
"Not really. It's a rumor, but something's up."
But talk of the El Pam Party was spreading beyond the back market into Elnas Market proper.
It was that big a deal.
"Does that even make sense?"
Unlike the back market outlaws, many adventurers in Elnas Market didn't buy it.
Normally, it'd be dismissed as nonsense.
"But didn't El Pam's party snag Aran's item?"
"That's a rumor too."
"But if it's true? Then a billion-gold bounty makes perfect sense."
The El Pam Party rumors made it more believable than ever.
All eyes were on El Pam's party.
"Whatever—let's go hunt them down."
Most of that attention was predatory.
But they were the exception.
"Master, about this..."
"El Pam thing? Heard it ages ago."
Lightning Knight Captain Hawk Eye and his disciple Viola couldn't help but stiffen at the news.
"Ears everywhere in the back market."
Hawk Eye already knew the situation.
The Cygnus Knights kept close tabs on the back market.
Not surprising.
"You knew about that place?"
"For now."
It'd be weirder if the Cygnus Knights ignored a den of outlaws and criminals.
"This is my first time hearing. Why leave it alone?"
Normally, the Cygnus Knights would've razed it by now.
"Because it's in the Elnas Mountains."
"Huh?"
"Taking down the back market takes a full Knight Order. And the second they move, it's war with the Lion King."
"War?"
"Yeah. I'll explain later. Not the time yet."
But the Cygnus Knights and the Lion King wouldn't allow it easily.
So for now, the Cygnus Knights were just watching the back market.
That was why.
"That's why we hired El Pam instead of moving ourselves."
Now the problem had blown up.
"El Pam's in deep now."
Better if the Cygnus Knights had handled it themselves.
It was that bad.
"Well, we don't even know their status now."
The Cygnus Knights couldn't even track El Pam's party anymore.
"Won't anytime soon, either."
Contact was likely impossible from here on.
Who'd keep adventuring in this mess?
Hiding or vanishing was the smart play if you valued your life.
"What can we do?"
That's why Lightning Knight Captain Hawk Eye had already given up.
"Job's a job. Tough or not."
Time to fall back on Cygnus Knights' power for the mission.
"So El Pam's party..."
"We ditch them. Might as well be dead."
"You never know."
"Doubt it. My eye for people is spot-on, and El Pam coming back? About as likely as me dining with Captain Kairin."
That's when it happened.
Knock knock!
A knock at the door. Hawk Eye tapped the table in front.
Knock knock!
The door opened, revealing a man.
Viola gasped at the sight. A smile crept onto Hawk Eye's lips.
"El Pam."
El Pam it was.
No disguise.
His usual self.
"Impressive. Didn't think you'd show."
Hawk Eye looked genuinely shocked.
Then he asked,
"I get it's urgent. But we need details. Aran's item?"
Harsh, but necessary.
Aran's item was priority one.
El Pam answered,
"Got it."
"Really?"
"Yes."
"Impressive!"
Hawk Eye marveled.
"But Phantom Thief stole it."
"What?"
"What'd you say?"
Hawk Eye and even his disciple Viola yelped in shock.
Amazing he'd gotten it—then Phantom took it?
Instead of explaining, El Pam pulled out a letter.
It read:
[I take my comrade's belonging. - Phantom Thief -]
Phantom's letter.
"Sorry. Couldn't stop him from taking it."
Hawk Eye had no retort to El Pam's apology.
Who could blame him when it was Phantom Thief?
Of course, the doubt lingered.
Chance El Pam was lying.
But Hawk Eye didn't dwell.
Why go through all this just to lie and hide it?
It'd come out anyway.
"Verify the letter's real."
Phantom's letters always hid his unique code.
Take it to Cygnus Knights—they'd confirm.
"Fine."
Not here to lie.
"And you're not just here to report that."
Meant there was more.
"So what's the real reason?"
El Pam answered,
"Shamos, him..."
Hawk Eye cut in the instant the name dropped.
"Viola, out."
With the coldest expression yet.