Chapter 27
Chapter 27
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 27
Chapter Title: The Road to the Tower
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The Bronze Class waiting room beneath the arena.
Rox downed the orange juice in his glass in one gulp.
Kyah!
"Okay, so to get to the tower, we need to reach Gold Class here, right?"
"That's right."
"And to get to Gold Class, we just need to win two matches?"
"Exactly. One match in Bronze Class. One in Silver Class."
"Not bad. Isn't there a way to just go straight there? Like talking to that guy Debby at your mansion or something."
I tore off a well-roasted chicken leg and placed it on his plate.
Thud.
"Debby can't solve this either. Legion is a neutral zone, and this arena is under the direct management of the Imperial Army."
"Complicated."
"Don't overthink it. This is the fastest way."
"Hmm..."
"Normally, to get to Gold Class, you need over a year of arena experience and at least a hundred wins. I was able to get those conditions waived by using the Strange Family name."
Even just going from Bronze to Silver takes ordinary adventurers over a year.
The path from Silver to Gold requires even more matches, and even after defeating countless competitors and racking up wins, you might not make it depending on your status.
The privileges we were enjoying were incomparable to those of other adventurers.
Rox picked up the chicken leg and bit into it heartily.
Crunch.
"Well, I guess I'll just do whatever you say."
"The opponents won't be any stronger than the guards at Strange Castle anyway. So no mana, no Guardian Spirits."
"No Guardian Spirits either?"
I shook my head firmly.
"Don't use them. If word gets out that you have a Guardian Spirit, they'll peg us as key figures from the Strange Family and come at us with unconditional assassination attempts."
"Who are 'they'?"
"Guys from families hostile to the Strange Family."
"I, I see."
"Don't worry, I'm not telling you to fight barehanded. Let's go get some weapons after this match."
I pointed toward the arena visible through the window outside the waiting room.
Adventurers had begun their fight amid the crowd's roaring cheers.
-Uwoooooh!
A knight in iron helmet and armor swung his two-handed sword swiftly, while the leather-armored fighter opposite him swung a massive hammer to block it.
Clang!
The two glared at each other. It didn't take long to gauge each other's skills.
After exchanging a few more blows, the match ended.
The man in full plate armor, realizing he couldn't win, declared forfeit.
-Uwaaaah!
The cheers erupted once more.
I watched their reactions and tossed the words at Rox casually.
"What do you think?"
"About what."
"Those guys just now were Silver Class. We'll be facing guys like them or weaker."
"......"
"I don't think you'll lose to trash like that."
Rox shrugged.
"That much is nothing."
"Good. Lose and I'll kick your ass."
Of course, Gold Class and above might have opponents on my level, but those guys don't show up in Bronze or Silver, so no worries.
I stood up as soon as the Silver Class match ended.
"Let's go get those weapons."
There are five markets within Legion Castle.
Merchants representing the north, south, west, east, and central regions set up shops with their countries' specialties.
Most of the merchants gather here to make money, but some have other purposes.
Like the owner of this weapon shop I was browsing now.
"We're closed for the day. Not selling anything, so get lost."
The shaggy man with brown hair and a long beard waved his hand tiredly.
"Then we'll just look around and come back tomorrow to buy."
I slipped between the weapons he had on display and examined them closely.
"I said not selling. Not tomorrow either. Nor the day after. Or the day after that. Just go, Young Master."
He squinted and wiggled his eyebrows.
"Then I can buy something in four days."
"...No, I said I'm not selling. Why do you keep pushing?"
"Really? A weapon dealer not selling weapons. How strange."
"That's my business. You go your own way, Young Master. There are plenty of other weapon shops."
"Maybe. But I want something from here."
"Ha! Jeez..."
The weapon shop owner turned his chair away from me in annoyance and sat down.
Thump.
"Do whatever. Look or don't. Anyway, I'm not selling any of this stuff."
"My way?"
"Yes, yes. I don't know whose young master you are, but to keep my head on my shoulders, do as you please."
Step, step, step.
I approached the weapon dealer, picked a sword from the basket, and drew the blade.
Shing.
"You really mean I can do whatever I want?"
"...W-Wait a second. Hold on, Young Master. When I said do whatever, I meant look at the weapons. Not kill me."
"When did I say I was going to kill you?"
"You didn't, but..."
The dealer glanced at the blade and swallowed hard.
"Never mind. I must have misunderstood."
"I'm just here to make a polite request. I want to buy a weapon from you."
"...May I ask why you'd buy from me specifically? Legion is full of weapon dealers."
'Because you have the best weapons here!' I wanted to shout, but I could only smile.
This scruffy guy's name is 'Holland'.
He's not a blacksmith who forges weapons—he's a scavenger who roams battlefields picking up the dead's gear or ambushing stragglers to steal their arms.
That's why he's wary of me.
A prominent family's young master finding out he's a scavenger would spell trouble.
But this guy has one hell of a sword.
"Just because."
"Just because?"
"Yeah. Your stuff looks good."
Holland stared into my eyes, pondered for a moment, scratched the back of his head, and extended his hand.
"...Fine. I'll sell you that one, so leave now."
"No. I'm not here for that sword. I want to browse a bit more until I find what I need."
"What are you looking for?"
"A sword for me. And a blunt weapon for this guy."
"Sword and blunt weapon, huh."
He picked up a mace from nearby with an annoyed look.
"How about this? Got it from some Viking up north recently. It's small enough for a young master like you."
"Pretty small for a mace."
"Yeah, they say it was made for rituals. Small, but tougher than a regular mace."
"Ritual use?"
"That's right."
Brunhilt, who had been dozing on my shoulder, snapped her eyes open. She examined the mace closely and scratched her cheek with her front paw lightly.
'Got it.'
I held up the mace and asked the merchant.
"How much?"
"Five bronze coins. No less."
"Five bronze?"
"Yes, it's small, but look closely—the amount of iron alone is quite a lot—"
Thud.
I placed a silver coin in his hand. His eyes widened as he scrutinized the emblem on the silver, then he bowed deeply.
"Y-Young Master! Forgive my rudeness! St, Stra—"
"Enough. The mace is settled. Can I buy one more sword?"
"Of course! Take as many as you need. No more payment required."
"No. What would that make me, a thief? It's a transaction—fair price."
The merchant fell into deep thought. The man before him was from the Strange Family.
One mistake and he's dead.
Every word must be chosen carefully.
'......Fuck.'
Why does a Strange come to a market like this?
'The warehouse must be full of rare treasures.'
The merchant suddenly changed his attitude, rubbing his hands obsequiously and sidling up to me.
"What kind of sword? Just say the word, and I'll fetch it."
I crossed my arms and gazed into the distance.
Siegfried was there, beaming and pointing at a sword in a basket.
'There it is.'
A longsword with the blade exposed but the hilt rusted beyond use.
Including the hilt, it was nearly as long as I was tall.
"How much for this?"
I lifted the rusted sword, and Holland waved his hands in distress.
"Young Master, sorry, but I can't sell that. Selling busted junk like that for money would get me called a scammer."
"So, how much?"
"Well... It's scrap metal since it's unusable. Young Master, let me show you something else? I got some swords from the south—"
I pulled a gold coin from my pocket and tossed it at him.
Clink, clink, clink.
Thud.
Holland stared at the gold coin on the ground in disbelief, rubbing his eyes.
"That's what I think this sword is worth."
"N-No, Young Master! Really, no! If word gets out I took gold for that sword, I'm dead."
Thump.
Holland slammed his forehead into the ground.
I smiled brightly, grabbed his shoulder, and pulled him up.
"Don't worry. I won't tell a soul I came here."
I picked up the gold coin and placed it in his hand.
"In exchange, you keep quiet that I bought this sword, got it?"
Holland swallowed hard, took the gold, and replied.
"...Yes, Young Master."