Chapter 81: The Second Son of the Impoverished Viscount Household Searches for Eyes 3
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Early morning Hecate is a town of adventurers and merchants.
In Hecate, where the export of Magic Stones is the largest industry, it’s safe to say that nearly every carriage is loaded with Magic Stones.
The main street leading to the highway was crowded with adventurers hired to guard them and merchants busy with pre-departure preparations.
To avoid this, vegetables and the like from nearby villages are usually brought in starting around noon, so if you want fresh vegetables, it’s recommended to visit the eateries a little past lunchtime.
Incidentally, most vegetables grown in Hecate are monopolized by expensive shops, so you can enjoy them deliciously anytime thanks to frighteningly expensive Refrigeration Magic Tools.
And so, I approached a rather impressive group of carriages preparing for departure at the very edge of the Double Barrier, inside the first Barrier.
Clearly, these weren’t ordinary carriages, nor were they passenger carriages.
Meaning, these carriages were equipped with those frighteningly expensive Refrigeration Magic Tools.
Since I was aware that I was wearing a Mask and all, I wasn’t bothered by the adventurers, likely guards, taking defensive stances.
Incidentally, if I were in their position, I think I would have punched the approaching masked man first and asked questions later.
Wearing a Mask in the middle of town… that’s crazy, right? Oh wait, that’s me.
Only the man with the magnificent beard, who seemed to be the adventurers’ leader, watched me intently without taking a stance.
Among the other adventurers, who were around Rank 3 or 4—about the level where they wouldn’t accidentally kill themselves with their own Physical Enhancement—he was clearly strong.
He looked like a pure combat type, probably around Rank 6.
Meaning, their employer was someone capable of hiring the likes of Merseja.
“Yo, Senpai-dono.”
I raised a hand in greeting.
“How about some additional guards?”
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What an unpleasant way of walking.
John Parkour thought as he watched the approaching masked man.
Since John was an adventurer who worked with merchant caravans crossing national borders, he was registered with Adventurers Guilds in various countries and didn’t have a fixed Rank, but…
…he primarily identified himself as Rank 5 in Faltar for the sake of “prestige.”
The gait of a southern warrior.
Damn it! Reminds me of someone unpleasant.
John was a man who chose the stable income of guarding merchants over earning money by slashing his way through Monsters.
In terms of simple profit, hunting strong Monsters was better, but John’s conclusion was that stuff like that was best left to the crazy ones.
The masked man inevitably reminded John of the foremost among those crazy ones.
It happened when he had taken on a job guarding a carriage going from Faltar to another country.
Unfortunately, his party at the time encountered Monsters that would have required them to resign themselves to several deaths.
Facing six Golden Ogres, John had even been considering which of his comrades to sacrifice.
That’s when she appeared.
“Kind Barbara,” the strongest adventurer John knew.
Effortless defeat, a clean sweep, utter annihilation—call it what you will.
She had said something like, “It’s only human nature to want to help those in trouble. I shall help you. What, no need for thanks,” and then proceeded to do just that.
The pinnacle of violence was like a storm, like a natural disaster in human form.
Even with his Physical Enhancement boosted by a desperate resolve that accounted for his own death, he barely understood what had happened.
All he knew was that the six Golden Ogres had vanished without leaving even their Magic Stones behind.
“Kind Barbara,” true to her word, didn’t even ask for Words of Gratitude—to put it more bluntly, she left without giving John and the others a second glance.
Left behind were John and the other adventurers who had narrowly escaped death, and the merchant caravan stranded on a road riddled with so many holes that no amount of exaggeration could describe it.
John and his group were Delayed, having to explain the situation to some patrolling Knights who had conveniently shown up later for some reason.
The caravan suffered significant losses due to the circumstances of the cargo they were transporting, and due to the contract with the merchant house that had hired them at the time, John and his team ended up receiving no payment.
Their lives were saved, but their wallets took a heavy blow.
“Yo, Senpai-dono.”
The masked man spoke in a young voice that didn’t match his atmosphere.
“How about some additional guards?”
This guy’s probably one of those crazy types.
John thought.
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It’s common for adventurers to guard a merchant’s carriage in exchange for transportation.
You might think adding a complete stranger to the guard detail is far too careless for a merchant, but a Guild Certificate guarantees that level of trust.
So, I expected things to go smoothly this time as well.
I’d even nailed the greeting according to the adventurer customs (vibe) I’d recently forgotten all about.
All that was left was the kind of exchange I often saw outside Faltar’s town gate, where adventurers would bump fists and say something like, “Counting on you, bro,” and that would be that.
Or so I thought, but the leader of the adventurer party handling the guard duty, John, showed reluctance.
Is it the Mask?
Well, it probably is.
But then, a helping hand reached out.
“Shin-san? Is that you?”
Noooope, you’ve got the wrong guy. Total stranger.
Making that face under my Mask, I turned around to see the face of the young adventurer I had saved yesterday.