15 – 1. Mule’s Footsteps (15)

15.

After leaving the guild, I went straight to the ‘Siren’s Song’. I was worried about what to do if I wasn’t at the inn, but sure enough, I looked around the nearby table without checking the list of guests, and I could easily find Gerald flirting with a waitress. Janice was resting in her room, only Hilda and the monk were with him.

“Really? The other day, I pierced the chest of a gargoyle harder than a rock with this sword. However, the brilliant green jewel in the middle was broken…….”

It’s a start again. I’ve still watched him perform saga against women even when he was beaten by goblins and kicked out of the cave, but it’s the first time I’ve felt the urge to hit him like today. Someone who is not an adventurer is running like a fire trying to save someone’s life, but an adventurer doesn’t go to dungeons and is flirting with women on fictitious days? More than that, it annoys me that I’m still staying here. Why do you keep raising the sales of other people’s stores? Are we guys?

“Ah, hahahaha, yes. Customer, then I’m off to serve—”

“Uh-huh, wait a minute. There are still some fun parts left. So I…….”

Anyway, women usually like adventure stories and handsome men, so apart from what I didn’t like, most of them would fall for Gerald easily, but that lady rarely passed over. It can be seen from the expression that the guard is very solid. Could it be that even such an attitude comes from the education of the employees? It’s frustrating, but there was a reason the business was doing well. Is not it? Our Celine is the best when it comes to having a solid guard.

Anyway, I can’t just stare at you stupidly, so I approach Gerald’s table, halfway between a smile and contempt. Isn’t that

“Welcome!”

Why are you so nervous? Aha, come to think of it, the ‘misunderstanding’ has not been resolved yet. I sent her off with an order for a bottle of her soft cider.

“I’ll bring it to you right away!”

Meanwhile, Gerald looked at her sunken back and let out a hint of regret about her, but she felt a belated presence and looked back and lowered her voice.

“Oh, who is it… ….”

“It’s me, bastard.”

“…… Uh, Jin, that, you’re back.”

What come back? Am i a terminator? You seem to know that it’s embarrassing that you’re still staying here. Especially since I saw him flirting with a female employee just before.

I looked towards Hilda and Uncle Monk. Hilda saw how much food was crammed into that little boat, her plates stacked in front of her and one of her belts unfastened, and Mr. Monk’s face reddened as well, as he liked the protein-rich dinner. Well, a dinner made with fresh ingredients can’t be a sin. Out of mercy, I pointed towards the stairs leading to the inn.

“The rest is out.”

“… ….”

“Thank you.”

“Thank you.”

Hilda and Monk say hello and leave. No Mister, I often hear strange voices these days. Gerald, who was left alone with me, said with a grim expression as if he had decided on something.

“Wait. I have to say this.”

“Try it.”

“First of all, I am not at fault. You’re my friend, and it’s a pity that your inn is out of business, but isn’t that a reason to reject a better place?”

“That’s right.”

“Isn’t it? And, as you may have seen, the s*xism of the staff here is no joke. Especially when it comes to that red-haired sister, just being next to me makes something inside me rise up. You’re already half twisted.”

I couldn’t take it anymore, so I stabbed Gerald’s head with a fork. It’s a stone head, so there won’t be blood fountains, but at least I can make it. Aww! Gerald’s screams were sweet today.

If you think about it, it’s all because of this guy. The fact that I’m making big bets on myself from now on, the fact that I can’t build a mansion in another territory with gold coins obtained by selling items, and the fact that I can’t see Celine in her maid outfit every morning are all bad with this guy. I don’t want even this prostitute to die, I want you guys to be as safe as you are.

I don’t know anything else, but if you guys had stayed at our inn all along, I wouldn’t have bothered to deal with Dylan’s wild boar alone. I wouldn’t have used the flask, which would have never been ten days, so vainly. I couldn’t stop even though I knew it was repressive.

“Did you have to have all of that to feel refreshed?”

“What are you talking about!? What did I take!?”

“The world says that if a person commits a crime, he should be punished.”

Anyway, after pampering Gerald, who was feeling unfair, I pulled the chair Hilda was sitting on, sat face to face with her, and poured fruit wine into an empty glass and handed it to her. Then he crossed his arms and said.

“Let’s work together with you.”

“??”

I wanted to try this line at least once.

Gerald, who heard my story, asked softly while fiddling with the handle of the bastard sword.

“Jin, are you crazy?”

Yes, that reaction is normal. Some of the things that happened in the guild were omitted and conveyed, but I expected this kind of reaction to come out nonetheless.

“First of all, you are that pale…… It’s surprising that he and Boone are acquainted, but if all of that is true, it’s not something a mere adventurer like us can get involved in.”

“When are you confident that you will be called ‘Artifact Holder’? Was it all a bluff?”

“You sleep on your bluff, I don’t know what your ‘secret plan’ is, but if we go there again by ourselves and succeed in the raid, there is no guarantee that the spoils we got there will be completely mine. It’s obviously a dangerous item, so I’m sure they’ll steal it while investigating. It’s not okay to get involved in a fight between aristocrats because you force yourself to covet it and end up showing dislike for it.”

Gerald said as if he had completely washed his hands. However, if he carefully chewed his words, he said that he had already calculated his profit and loss. If I hadn’t really coveted loot, I wouldn’t have gone to the dungeon twice in the first place.

As expected, I liked that part of him. If Gerald had been a man full of bravado and adventurous spirit, he would not have made this proposal in the first place. So, it is enough to present the truth here.

“Yeah, but can we think of it this way? Anyway, the guild has to announce that the dungeon has been conquered. And since we went as part of the investigation team, it wasn’t really against the law. Those of you who conquered dungeons that even the greatest adventurers couldn’t penetrate will be known at once. Will the rating go up?”

Adventurers have no choice but to cling to fame. And sorry, I decided to take advantage of that.

“…… It’s easy to say, there’s a reason no one has penetrated it, including us. That I don’t remember at all. I can’t even set up a strategy in the first place, so there’s no way. Even though Janice was there, it was the same.”

“Don’t worry, even if you can’t remember, you can attack.”

“What?”

“Listen carefully. The point at which you lose your memories is not ‘as soon as you enter the dungeon’. After losing, frying, and even fighting in the dungeon, loss begins ‘from the moment you exit the dungeon’. I must have overlooked it, but it’s not impossible to clear a dungeon simply because of memory magic or a curse. Rather, it means that while it is safe enough that no one escaped unscathed, there are other factors preventing an attack.”

Gerald put on an expression that he had taken a hit at my words. I was not the person involved in the article, so I was able to collect the story more objectively.

“So, you mean you know what the other factor is?”

“Perhaps. And, I promise you that you will never get seriously hurt.”

Guess there are two possibilities. If it’s the former, it’s okay to solve it, but if it’s the latter…….

“…… Alright, let’s talk about that later when we’re all together. What about loot? Even if I succeed in clearing the dungeon, am I still obliged to give it up? To be honest, I know it’s impossible, but there’s an unwritten rule.”

“I know. That’s why.”

An artifact or treasure that an adventurer directly obtains in a dungeon belongs to the person himself. This was an unchanging truth that had been kept sacred since the advent of adventurers. However, for adventurers, most of whom are commoners or lesser origins, nobles are not an existence that can be ignored. Even if the rules are respected between guilds and adventurers, ordinary adventurers won’t have much to do if they threaten them with their status.

“As you know, this dungeon has become too famous. It’s so widespread that it’s not just adventurers, but ordinary people know about it.”

“Why is that?”

“If it is announced that it has been captured, everyone will pay attention to what kind of treasure it was. Everyone would think that there should be at least something equivalent to an artifact, right?”

“… ….”

“Think about it, what if rumors spread all over the place that your party had raided a dungeon, but on the surface nothing has changed and it doesn’t seem like you’ve become rich? Then who will be the first to be suspected?”

“It must be a guild. And…… Ah!”

“So, who cares about reputation as much as nobles? I don’t know if it’s an individual, but I can’t buy the antipathy of the whole adventurer’s guild. At that point, even if you take the treasure, it’s strange that no reward is given. I will definitely pay for it in kind.”

I added, shrugging at Gerald, who listened to me with his ears fully open.

“And just in case, even if the treasure in that dungeon isn’t a big deal to you, it’s probably not so to the nobles. So you won’t have to worry about the value.”

“…… Are you a genius?”

“Not really. And, didn’t you say it with your own mouth? Now I have to go make my dream a reality.”

I put my mouth to Gerald’s ear and stimulated him with an encouraging voice.

“Now, tell me. Who are you?”

“…… Ah.”

“Oh?”

“Artifact holder Gerald.”

It’s easy.

I jumped up from my seat and waited for Gerald to return, who had gone to call the other party members.

Today, the alcohol tasted very sweet.

We headed to the dungeon the next day.

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