Episode 9: Summons
It was at dusk, seven days after the first summons, that Zebrun was able to meet Cokes again.
Every day, Zebrun waited at the Adventurer’s Guild at dusk, shrinking under the scornful gazes of the other adventurers.
“Cokes! Why don’t you answer the summons!”
“Oh, it’s you. Why don’t I answer the summons? I told you, I’m not your subordinate.”
“This is a request from Honings Baron-sama!”
“Then tell the Guild the details of the request. There’s no way I’d go just because I was summoned. I went all the way there, and you arrogantly told me, ‘You can go home,’ and didn’t even try to pay me. When I complained, you threw a single silver coin at me. Since when did you become a noble?”
“Are you defying the Baron-sama?”
“Don’t you know that adventurers are vagrants? That means we’re not the Baron-sama’s subjects or servants. If you want to request a job, decide on the details and the reward properly! Don’t you understand that we’re already annoyed enough by having Fernan foisted on us! If it’s a request, put it on the bulletin board!”
As they watched Zebrun leave, trembling with anger, they went to the cafeteria to consult with their comrades.
“It’s turning out just like that kid said, isn’t it?”
“What should we do? At this rate, they’ll take some kind of action in the next two or three days.”
“Is it about time?”
“Yeah.”
“We’ll go according to plan, right?”
Everyone nodded, so they all went to the counter, announced the dissolution of the Bums of Hunza party, and divided the party funds equally.
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The next day, Honings Baron himself went to the Adventurer’s Guild and caused a ruckus, demanding that the Bums of Hunza be summoned.
“My Lord, adventurers aren’t your pawns. Consider the trouble you’re causing those guys by foisting a thirteen-year-old brat on them. What you’re doing violates the laws of the kingdom, and isn’t it a problem as a noble? Your reputation in this town is quite bad, you know.”
In front of the Adventurer’s Guild counter, with many adventurers watching, Honings Baron was flatly refused by the Guild Master. Shoulders shaking with rage, he left with a bright red face.
As soon as he returned, he summoned Zebrun and screamed at him to bring the Bums of Hunza for disrespecting their lord.
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At the same time as the gates opened early in the morning, Cokes and the others left the town with expressions as if they were going hunting, heading for the grasslands to shake off any pursuers, just like Fernan.
They walked along the Zudarin Road, aiming for Vollen Town in the Vorgul Territory, careful to walk through the roadside thickets and avoid meeting anyone.
As the sun began to set and the color of the sky began to change, they found the landmark pillar.
Beyond the line connecting the large and small pillars, away from the road, a slightly larger rock caught their eye.
When they tapped the rock with the back of a knife, with intervals of 3-1-2, one corner of the rock opened, and Fernan came out from inside.
“So, you did get summoned after all.”
“Yeah, things have turned out just as you said, so we dissolved the party and ran away from town.”
“Your dome looks pretty sturdy, too.”
“Ah, come on in. I’ve at least made a place to sleep.”
Descending the stairs from the narrow entrance, they found themselves in a space about one tsubo (3.3 square meters) in size, with holes radiating out to form beds.
He explained that each bed had an air hole disguised as a rock at the back, which made them look dumbfounded.
He had also made a toilet, but it became difficult to bring up.
“So then, what is that Baron bastard plotting?”
“I’d like to know that.”
“Yeah, I’m prepared to leave town since I became an adventurer, but running away without knowing why is bad news.”
“Before that, could you tell me what you know about Norka Honings Marquis and Vollen Town?”
“It’s rumored to be a relatively safe town…”
“But sometimes rumors of merchants’ stores being attacked reach Hunza.”
“And the Marquis-sama is having a hard time because the culprits are hardly ever caught.”
“Just like in Hunza, I hear that people with bad reputations are going in and out of the Marquis’s residence.”
“Frankly speaking, there are rumors that he’s keeping underworld types under his thumb.”
“Also, the Zudarin Road in the Vorgul Territory is relatively safe, but there are quite a few bandits from around the border with the neighboring territory.”
“Yeah, it seems that neither lord can easily crack down on the border.”
“But… the lord doesn’t do anything outrageous on the surface, but the reputation of the people is not good. Is that right?”
“Yeah, it’s similar to Hunza. Like parent, like child.”
“There’s no problem even if the royal family finds out on the surface… huh. There’s a continuation to that story from back then. There seems to be a Kokkola Company in the capital city of Vollen.”
“I’m starting to see the picture.”
“The Kokkola Company used to be in Hunza too. They handled all kinds of grains, salt, and sugar.”
“Now that the Trigan Company has come to town, the prices of grains, salt, and sugar have gone up.”
“Are they planning to drive the Kokkola Company out of Vollen Town this time?”
“If that’s the case, there’s no need for Fernan to run away from Hunza.”
“It’s a bit more ominous than that. I’m supposed to be sent to the Honings Marquis’s residence in Vollen, delivered by the Bums of Hunza. When I arrive, I’ll be made to wait in the waiting room until evening, and then the Butler will order Cokes and the others to take me to the Kokkola Company as an apprentice. It seems I’m supposed to arrive at the Kokkola Company after closing time. Of course, the doors are locked, but I’m the Marquis-sama’s messenger.”
“I’m starting to get it. If you’re the Marquis-sama’s messenger, the owner himself will come out to greet you.”
“At that time, the coachman and the messenger will break in, and they’ll join up with their comrades in front of the store. At that time, they said they’d injure Cokes and the others’ hands and feet so they couldn’t resist.”
“Oh, great, so we’re going to be framed as thieves.”
“Will things really go that smoothly?”
“I don’t know how the comrades who are joining up will gather, but we’ll be found by the city guards and rounded up.”
“There’s no doubt that the Marquis-sama’s trusted subordinate will show up. We’ll be beaten to a pulp with our hands and feet injured, and then thrown into prison without being able to say a word.”
“You knew all that, so why didn’t you say anything back then?”
“You wouldn’t have believed me if I had told you. If Cokes and the others had disappeared from Hunza too soon, it would have been difficult for me to escape.”
“I can’t believe it, you used us to escape.”
“Either way, the Bums of Hunza were going to be used. As scapegoats for thieves who can’t be caught. Besides, I doubt you would have seriously run away even if I had told you everything.”
“That’s true, we would have leisurely walked along the road towards the royal capital.”
“And then we would have been caught in Vollen Town on false charges.”
“No way! If the Kokkola Company is attacked, we’ll be framed as the culprits!”
“They need to catch thieves once in a while. But they can’t execute their comrades for being thieves, so they need a scapegoat. Cokes and the others aren’t familiar in Vollen, so they can do whatever they want with them, whether it’s executing them or making them criminal slaves.”
“But, how did you figure that out?”
“On the night of the Bestowal Ceremony, the Baron’s son, who came to make sarcastic remarks, blurted out, ‘He must really want to become a slave.’ Eleanor, his sister, hurriedly stopped him, so I suspected something and investigated them ever since.”
“Fernan, what are you planning to do from now on?”
“If Honings Marquis says that we’re the ones who attacked the Kokkola Company, we’ll naturally be wanted and have to run and hide. So, I’m going to go to the Kokkola Company, tell them about the attack plan, and have them prepare to fight back.”
“Can you do that? More importantly, you don’t know Vollen Town, do you? Even if you know where the Kokkola Company is, they won’t listen to you.”
“If I’m going to be framed as a thief and run away without doing anything, I’ll try what I can. If I just know where the Kokkola Company is, I think I can sneak in.”
“How are you going to sneak in?”
“Stealth.”
“Your Stealth is certainly excellent, but it’s impossible to sneak into a large store in the middle of town, isn’t it?”
There were two adventurers in the Hunza Adventurer’s Guild who had been granted the Stealth Skill.
I had them memorize it thoroughly, and I pasted it on myself. I’ve memorized 13 of them.
The granted skills can be read and memorized, and they can be used by channeling Magical Power.
“Watch.”
Saying only that, he uses Stealth with Magical Power.
“Hey!”
“No way!”
“Seriously?”
“Can you do that much with Stealth?”
He stands still, moves silently, and then cancels Stealth on the other side to reveal himself.
“How about it? If I make any clumsy movements, I’ll probably be seen through, but if it’s just moving quietly, I don’t think they’ll notice.”
“You’ve improved again. I couldn’t see you at all.”
I already possess the Stealth Skill, and now I’m layering someone else’s bestowed Stealth on top of it, amplifying it with Magical Power.
Since I can use Stealth to its fullest without needing to practice, it naturally surpasses ordinary Stealth.
I’m truly grateful to the gods for making the magic in Japanese so stylish.
If this goes well, I’ll be sure to donate generously, Asshira-sama.
“Even if you can sneak in, do you think they’ll believe your story?”
“Impossible. But I can at least give a warning. I’ll go to the master of the Kokkola Company and just give a warning. If they receive a warning from someone who snuck into a place that should be safe, they’ll at least be cautious.”
“Even so, they’ll still be attacked. What do you plan to do?”
“I don’t know. I’ll think about it as I go to Vollen.”