I gave instructions to Walter. He had come here hurriedly so he only had his rough, normal clothes on. Like this, he won’t be able to fight properly if there was a battle.
「Got it. But what do you intend to do?」
「I’ve got a good idea. It’s fine so go get your weapons and armor」
When I urged him again to go, Walter left my room with a dissatisfied expression.
I had to get ready for battle as well. I quickly pulled on a shirt and strapped on the holster holding Silver-chan. The bullets hadn’t been replenished yet but I could use it as a bluff.
Following that was my knife and other throwing items, then a medical pouch secured to my waist and thigh each. Throwing on my long coat on top of all that and this was my basic gear setup.
With all my equipment settled, I went downstairs.
The 2nd floor of the Stardrop inn were the lodgings and the 1st floor was a restaurant. At the tables on the first floor, many customers had enjoyed their meals since morning.
「Boss, thick steak sandwiches for five. Charge it to my lodgings fee as usual」
Gaston, the strict, bald owner who was also Mary’s father, showed his surprise at my order from behind the counter.
「It’s still early in the day. Isn’t that too much for a snack?」
「I’ve got an errand that’ll send me on a long trip. That’s why I’m stocking up on food」
「Do you need lunchboxes?」
「It’s fine, there’s no need to prepare that much」
「Got it. I’ll make it right away, so just wait there. By the way, have you seen my daughter?」
「She’s having one of her usual fits」
「Again!?」
Gaston sighed as he patted his bald head.
「Even though we’re the busiest in the morning, that idiot daughter!」
「That’s because, as a single father, you pamper her too much」
「Shut up! It’s my cute little girl, so I can’t help it!」
Ever since Gaston’s wife passed away from illness two years ago, the Stardrop Inn had been basically run by just Gaston and Mary.
They had employees, but they were only hired to work during lunch and dinner times when it got really hectic.
A while after I sat down and waited on a counter seat, the steak sandwiches for five that I ordered finally came. On the platter were the neatly cut sandwiches and a side of fries.
When I picked one sandwich up in my hand and bit into it, the juices, which was packed with the meat’s deliciousness, overflowed.
The steak was medium rare. A special mustard sauce had been spread over the bread, which was toasted to a beautiful golden brown.
It was so flavorful that you could tell that it was made thoughtfully.
Also, it wasn’t just very delicious. Food made by Gaston, who held the Cook Job, had an ability raising effect as well. It wasn’t a dramatic change, but I could feel energy well up with every bite I swallowed.
The Stardrop was a good inn. The boss was a hard worker, so the food was delicious and the service was excellent. That’s why I chose it as my lodgings.
In exchange, its rates were expensive, but for a Seeker whose body was his biggest asset, a hygienic and healthy life was very important. That was because once your body broke down, it was the end.
When about three people’s servings of the steak sandwiches were already in my stomach, Walter came back with his equipment on. He wore sturdy armor and carried on his shoulder a battle axe big enough to cut off the neck of a horse.
Although it was damaged in the other day’s battle, it should still be usable for today.
「Even though you ask others to hurry, here you are eating nonchalantly…」
「I didn’t say anything about hurrying. Thinking about what might happen later, it’s better to eat now while we have the chance. Here, you eat too」
Looking confused, Walter ate a steak sandwich when I proffered the platter to him.
「…Delicious」
「Right?!」
Gaston flashed an amicable smile from behind the counter. Walter was probably hungry as he emptied the platter of the remaining steak sandwiches and fries.
「Phew, that’s a good meal! What should we do now? Are we going to find the gate officials?」
It was just before 11 am. Perfect timing.
「Nope, the place that we’re going to now is the Orc’s Club」
†
†
Both of us walked through the town as we headed to the Orc’s Club.
The streets, which were overflowing with people, were bustling and noisy, and filled with life as usual. There were diverse races, people who had varying hair and skin color, walking together.
In a big city like the imperial capital, it wasn’t rare to see those races that typically formed their own homogeneous communities, like Elves, Dwarfs, Gnomes, Halflings, and even Beastfolk and Demi-Humans.
The sight of us walking unhurriedly on the paved road stood out from the mix of various people and wagons loaded full of goods.
「Why, something like a bar… I don’t understand the reason…」
Walter, who was following behind me, kept muttering his complaints.
It would be easy to explain my reasons, but I purposely didn’t. That was because the quarreling that would inevitably arise would be a waste of time.
But if I ordered him to shut up, then there would be an awkward silence.
「Walter」
Turning back, I faced Walter.
「You may be an idiot, but you aren’t incompetent. You’re an excellent Warrior」
「……What are you saying?」
「Just like how you have your role, I have my own role as well. In other words, what I'm saying is to leave the thinking to me. In this past year, have I ever made a mistake in judgment as the control tower of our party? Have a little faith in me」
「……Tch, all right, I get it!」
After being somewhat forced to accept it, Walter clicked his tongue and started to walk faster. This time, I was the one who had to follow behind him.
Before long, we saw the familiar signboard of the Orc’s Club from across the street.
†
†
To cater to the Seekers that had just returned from their expeditions via stagecoaches, Seeker-exclusive bars were also open certain hours of the day. Their opening hours were usually from 10 am to 1 pm, and then they would take a break and reopen again from 7 pm till midnight.
Although it was just before noon, a lot of Seekers were already hanging out at the bar. They had all just returned from their expeditions and were drinking to the successful completion of their work.
「……So, what are we going to do?」
Walter asked me in a whisper. Ignoring him, I raised my voice.
「I want to issue a request to all who are present! Lloyd and Tania, who were members of Blue Beyond, have embezzled party funds and skipped town! I want them found and captured alive! I offer 2 million Fil as the reward!」
It went quiet instantly in the bar, followed by an uproar of voices.
There were those who didn’t understand the situation and were discussing with their party, and those that did understand and were making fun of us.
Eventually, the voices mocking us increased, but that didn’t matter. The cat would have been out of the bag sooner or later. The only difference would have been whether we were ridiculed now or later. In that case, there was no need to care about appearances.
But Walter was clearly panicking.
「Noel! What do you intend to do by revealing such things to these guys!?」
That was the reaction I had expected. Walter, who valued pride and appearances, couldn’t stand the current situation. He was furious, with veins popping out on his forehead.
「My intentions are as I said. I’m issuing these guys a request to get them to capture Lloyd and Tania. Because we can’t do anything with just the two of us」
「Even so, you didn’t have to request it publicly like this, right!?」
「If I don't request it publicly, I won’t know who the person I’m looking for is」
「What do you mean!? Explain clearly!」
「I’ll do that later so keep quiet」
I turned back to the Seekers and raised my voice again.
「How about it, is there anyone who’d like to accept this request?」
At that, one Swordsman raised his hand.
It was a young man with brown hair and a fearless look on his face. His armor was a mix of leather and metal and he wore a direwolf skin cloak across his shoulders. There were two swords sheathed on his back, indicating that he used the dual-sword style.
It was Wolf, the leader of the party, Lightning Bite.
The number and turnover of C Ranks was the highest, so even within the bar, there was rarely any point in learning anyone’s name. But among them, the Lightning Bite led by Wolf was famous for being a promising rookie party, just like our Blue Beyond.
「We’ll really get 2 million Fil just for capturing Lloyd and Tania alive?」
「I assure you that I'll pay on the spot」
「In that case, we accept the request. Those two are outstanding, but without Noel’s backup, it’ll be a piece of cake. Do you know where they may be headed?」
「No, I have no idea. But they left the imperial capital just before the city gates closed」
「Which means that they’ll be on foot… I got it, we’ll leave immediately」
His party members followed Wolf as he stood up. He was probably thinking of checking with last night’s gate officials, same as I did.
「Are there any more takers? The early bird catches the worm!」
This time, two hands shot up.
「I’ll do it」「Us too」
The two new parties that had accepted my request started to make their way out too. For fear of being left behind, the three parties started to race for the exit.
Those three parties had accounted for almost half the people here. There were no more raised hands from those remaining.
All the parties that had accepted my request were the young and promising ones. But they didn’t have who I was looking for among them.
Just when I thought that I had come up empty, a Scout approached me.
「……Hey, there’s something that I’d like to discuss with you about that request」
The Scout was a thin, unshaven man, about thirty years old. His name was…… I couldn’t remember. He had on a sneaky smile and muttered in a soft voice.
I couldn’t feel any strength or glamour from the unshaven man at all. As far as I could tell, he was the type of loser who liked to pull others down rather than work hard himself.
Normally, he was the type of Seeker that I despised, but things were different just for today. In all likelihood, I had hit the jackpot with this drab old man.
「Is it something that you can’t discuss right here?」
「Hehehe, just a little. Could you come to the back of the bar? I’ll make it worth your while」
I shot the annoyed Walter a look and we walked to the back with the unshaven man. I kept an eye out in case there was an ambush, but it seemed to be an unfounded worry.
Once we reached the back of the bar, the unshaven man gave a smug expression.
「I know the whereabouts of Lloyd and Tania. On the way back from our job, we passed by two travelers that looked a lot like them. After hearing what Noel said, I’m sure that it was them. There’s no mistaking it」
「Really!? Where was it!? Tell us now!」
Walter approached the unshaven man with a penetrating look.
As expected, we had hit the jackpot with this unshaven man.
During the time when the city gates were open, many Seekers went in and out. Those that were leaving on an expedition or those that had just returned from one. And I predicted that among the returning ones, there would likely be someone who had seen the two of them on the road.
As long as their location was known, I could do anything I wanted afterwards. Lloyd and Tania were no more than fish on a chopping board. They had no escape.
「Don’t get impatient. I’m not going to talk for free」
The unshaven man agilely took his distance from Walter.
「It’s two million Fil for capturing them alive, right?」
「That’s right. If what you say is true, just go ahead and catch them with your allies. I’ve already said I’ll guarantee the reward」
When I pointed that out in a strong tone, the unshaven man shrugged his shoulders.
「Hey, don’t be so prickly. I also want to go catch them as soon as possible too. However, However, there are reasons for why I can’t do that, you see……」
「Shall I take a guess? Your party can’t win against Lloyd and Tania. Even if you can locate them, it’s meaningless if you can’t defeat them. For that reason, you want the two of us to help, is that about right?」
A look of confusion flashed across the unshaven man’s face, but the smug smile swiftly returned.
「That’s how it is. The two of them are strong, after all」
「What’s your party composition?」
「One Swordsman, one Mage, one Healer and me, a Scout. We don’t belong to a clan, so that’s all of us」
I gave the unshaven man another look and tried to gauge his ability from what I could see.
He was older, and ability-wise, he was probably on the low side of the clientele of the Orc’s Club. Certainly, it would be impossible to defeat Lloyd and Tania even if there were four people of this level.
「Am I wrong to take it that the other three are around the same level as you?」
「Yeah, that’s right. So, what do you think? Shall we work together? Of course, since we're working together, I don’t mind if you reduce the reward for that. So how about 1.6 million Fil–」
「One million Fil. You need our help so you get half of the 2 million Fil reward」
「On, one million!? Hey, hey, no matter how you cut it, half is too unreasonable!」
The unshaven man hurriedly protested, but I had no intention of giving him an inch.
「One million」
「1.5 million!」
「One million」
「1.4 million!」
「One million」
「Hey, stop kidding around! You need our strength, don’t you!?」
I snorted at the now red-faced unshaven man.
「I do need it. But not absolutely. The other parties that have accepted the request are very capable after all. If I wait patiently, someone will catch them alive eventually」
「Bu, but they ran away with the money right? In that case, you must want to catch them immediately! No matter how capable those guys are, without any information, they’ll take a long time!」
「You’re probably right. But, so what? I won’t give any concessions no matter what. It’s as simple as that. If you don’t like it, we can pretend this conversation never happened. What will you do? If you refuse, we’ll leave. Is that okay?」
The unshaven man gnashed his teeth in frustration, but eventually shook his head.
「……Understood. One million Fil is fine」
Negotiations completed. I knew from the start that as long as I held firm, a broke, loser Seeker like him would fold.
This kind of negotiation was overwhelmingly advantageous to the paying side rather than the receiving side. Besides, I had no obligation to teach this man the negotiation techniques for getting your conditions accepted.
「So, where are the two of them?」
「We passed by them on Burley road, in front of the south gate. Considering where we saw them and the time passed since then, the two of them should be in either Carnot village or Eulen village」
「Got it. Go gather the rest of your allies and wait for me at the south gate first. Walter, go with them. I have another errand to run, so I’ll be a little late」
「What kind of errand is it?」
To Walter, who had tilted his head, I did my best to put a refreshing smile on my face.
「I’ll tell you later」
I think most readers have realized that the author is slowly introducing Noel to us. He’s shown us that Noel has a childish side, is money-minded and has composure and patience. And I bet everyone is dying to see how far he will go for revenge. That errand at the end… There’s only a few characters so far but I personally love how the author builds them by showing how they react to different situations.
Also, the number of times Noel ignored or blew off Walter’s questions this chapter: 5
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