《Going to Another World on Your Own! ～a Story That Begins With a Not-so-sweet Upbringing》 CH 1 My name is Taro Sato, I¡¯m 21 years old and I¡¯m in my fourth year of college. I¡¯ve been fascinated by otherworldly fantasy since I was a child, and in elementary school I formed a black magic club and immersed myself in research, causing such a commotion that I was in the news for sacrificing the school¡¯s chickens in an experiment. Because of this, my parents received a lot of criticism. After that, I devoted myself to my studies and sports and went on to attend a prestigious middle and high school, ostensibly for the purpose of joining the school¡¯s Black Magic Club. For university, I went on to attend Imperial University, which is said to be first-class in the world, and of course, my purpose was to join the prestigious black magic circle which had a century of experience in black magic research. In this way, I have poured my youth into black magic research and tomorrow is the first day of the school festival where I will announce my ¡°Research and practice of magic circles¡± for the purpose of transferring to another world. I looked at my watch and saw that it was already midnight. ¡°It¡¯s not like I really have to wait until tomorrow right?¡± I had just finished drawing the magic circle as I muttered to myself in the dimly lit club room. ¡°I¡¯ve been studying the data left behind by the alumni of this club over the past 100 years and the results of my research so far are finally here.¡± My fists tightened. ¡°For the time being, let me do a test run to see if it actually works?¡± After saying that, I started to cast a spell in front of the magic circle I had just drawn. ¡°There¡¯s no reaction.¡± I recited the incantation again. ¡°There is no reaction after all.¡± Feeling as if all my efforts had been unrewarded, I felt as if I was going to cry. ¡°No, maybe I should put something in the middle of the magic circle¡­¡± I took a stuffed bear from the club room and tried to approach the circle suddenly. ¡°Oops, that was dangerous. That was a flag wasn¡¯t it? In a case like this, if you go inside carelessly, you¡¯ll end up getting transferred! That¡¯s not going to happen, hahaha!¡± I got excited all by myself and the midnight tension was very scary. I carried a large backpack that was placed by the side of the club room. ¡°With this, even if I suddenly transfer, I can live in a different world with modern high-tech goods!¡± Staggering under the weight of the backpack, I moved to the center of the magic circle with the stuffed animal in my hands. Then¡­ the magic circle started to glow! ¡°I¡¯ve succeeded! I¡¯ve made a successful transfer circle to another world!¡± I said out loud while rejoicing. But at the same time, my consciousness started to fade away. ¡°Oh¡­ This is the pattern of waking up in a different world¡­¡± I lost consciousness with a smile on my face. ¡°Hey! Please wake up.¡± Who¡¯s shaking me? ¡°Hmm¡­¡± I was immediately convinced of success as I regained consciousness. (The person who wakes me up has a female voice. First contact is the heroine¡¯s pattern!) My white blurred vision became clearer, but my field of view was still white all over. ¡°Kami-sama(God), I think he¡¯s awake.¡± The woman who had been trying to wake me reported to God? ¡°Kami¡­?¡± It¡¯s a word that¡¯s indispensable in otherworldly stories. I reacted immediately. ¡°Oh, is this the part where I get a cheat skill?¡± Is it a God who looks like an old man with grey hair? I began to imagine. ¡°You¡¯ve made a fool of yourself.¡± ¡°Eh?¡± I got shocked because I was expecting to hear something like, ¡°You¡¯ve come a long way,¡± ¡°You¡¯re from Earth, aren¡¯t you? I¡¯m sure the god in charge didn¡¯t teach mankind about magic there. I didn¡¯t expect you to discover it on your own.¡± ¡°Hmm (Is that so), then did I transfer here?¡± I looked around and saw a space with almost completely white walls and floor. There was nothing there except a woman in white garments who seems to be God¡¯s assistant, standing beside him. ¡°Transfer? Oh yes, you figured that out on your own¡­¡± God seemed to be looking at something while moving his finger. ¡°The magic circle you drew is not a transfer circle, but a reincarnation magic circle. It is a half-finished work because the destination was not drawn. The reason why you were lucky to be reincarnated here was because it was right after the Soul Recycling Law decided by the divine council came into effect.¡± ¡°Reincarnation magic circle? Huh? Eh?¡± ¡°In a transfer spell, you move to another world in your original body and form, but in reincarnation, you die and get reborn.¡± So¡­ ¡°You¡¯re dead in that world, and all hell is breaking loose. This will be treated as a strange death.¡± Garh!!! I died when I tried to transfer! CH 2 ¡°Strange death?¡± Sato was shocked to hear the news from God. In other words, at this point, he was a dead man. ¡°Then the Warrior¡¯s backpack and its contents¡­¡± ¡°Oh? Is that the backpack you were carrying? It seems that the contents of the backpack played a role in the mystery of your strange death.¡± The whole situation seemed like fun to God because it wasn¡¯t his business. ¡°Um¡­ can I call you ¡®God¡¯ (kami)?¡± Sato was shocked, but there was no turning back now. There was something he wanted to confirm. ¡°Well, I¡¯m the god of this region, not of Earth, but since you¡¯re here by mistake, I¡¯m in charge of you now.¡± God answered after some thought. ¡°So, does that mean I¡¯ll be reincarnated now?¡± For Sato, he had no choice but to stay here. I¡¯ve always wanted to be a part of an alternate world, so I can¡¯t let this opportunity pass me by. ¡°In the first place, reincarnation itself has been abolished for a long time.¡± ¡°Eh?¡± ¡°As I said earlier, you were able to reincarnate because the Soul Recycling Law was enacted. But reincarnation using the magic circle by yourself is considered suicide because you die at once.¡± God looked at Sato with sympathy, and he also seemed to have a hard time saying it. ¡°Suicide?¡± Sato, who was aware of the disturbing flow, asked. ¡°Suicide is an act that kills you, so it has a negative effect on reincarnation. Some people even try to take the abilities of their previous lives with them, so at best they¡¯re reincarnated as babies under very poor conditions, and later as beasts, demons, or insects.¡± ¡°(Beasts, demons, insects?) Well then, how bad are the conditions?¡± His transition to another world turned out to be reincarnation and now, it was heading in the worst direction. At least he wanted to have hope of being reincarnated as a human being. ¡°Yes, the conditions are terrible, with people dying soon after birth, or being born with bad luck, or having parents who sell them to slave traders. Most of them are probably lucky to be alive at all.¡± God replied, wrinkling his brow. ¡°Then, what about cheat skills¡­?¡± Although the situation seemed hopeless, with God in front of him, he thought this was his first and last chance to make a difference, so he went ahead with negotiations. ¡°Cheat skills? Oh, you mean the special skills that give you an advantage when living in the lower world? You know a lot about things that don¡¯t exist on Earth. In my world, they do exist, but there are no such things as cheats.¡± ¡°Can I have that special skill when I reincarnate?¡± ¡°Hmm¡­ special skills are very useful if they are effective, but it takes time and effort to exert them and many of them have strict activation conditions. It has been decided that anyone who reincarnates will do so with a handicap. Because of that, unlike ordinary skills, special skills can be life-threatening.¡± This is a gamble. If he was going to start from scratch, it may be difficult to break through with ordinary skills. Sato thought to himself. ¡°Can you give me your best special skill?¡± ¡°Hoho¡­ You¡¯re still asking for it? Well, it¡¯s the first time the ban on reincarnation has been lifted after a long period of prohibition, but I can¡¯t play favorites. Also be careful, without effort for special skills, they won¡¯t activate. Many of them have special conditions for activation. You¡¯re in for a rough ride from the start. You¡¯ll have a hard time finding a way out of this, and you¡¯ll probably die right after you reincarnate. Knowing this, you still want to go through with it?¡± Since God confirmed it once again, it must be very difficult. ¡°Yes please!¡± Sato replied quickly showing that he wasn¡¯t afraid. ¡°Then you¡¯ll be reincarnated, but just so there¡¯s no misunderstanding¡­ you do know your memory of the previous life will disappear, right?¡± ¡°Eh? I didn¡¯t hear that! No, I heard but¡­¡± ¡°Well of course, I said no favoritism.¡± ¡°And this exchange?¡± ¡°Of course. I¡¯m going to erase everything and then reincarnate you. You can¡¯t reincarnate with previous memories. Such a cheat would not be allowed.¡± Gah! ¡°I¡¯ll just take normal skills after all ¨C¡± Taro Sato got reincarnated without saying what he had in mind. CH 3 The cultural setting of the city is somewhat like the Middle Ages. It was a back street alley at the edge of the city of Saisi, deep in a cesspool of criminals. A scrawny, battered child lay there bleeding to death. He had been caught stealing to survive and had been beaten so badly that he had fallen unconscious. One of the adults approached him. He looked at the child. ¡°What the hell, there¡¯s not a single thing of value in there!¡± He spat and kicked the unconscious child away from him. This seems to be an everyday occurrence here. The child¡¯s fingers moved faintly as if the kicking had brought him back to consciousness. He heard a mechanical voice in his brain. ¡°Confirmed one of the conditions for activating the special skill [&%$#] You have obtained [Memory of previous life].¡± He felt a severe pain in his head, and his consciousness gradually returns. As he felt the coldness of the cobblestones on his body, his memories become clearer. My name is Tauro Satou and I¡¯m eight years old. In my previous life, I was Taro Sato, 21. And now, my soul has come back from my body being in the brink of death. ¡°That was Dangerous!¡± Tauro Satou, aka Taro Sato, muttered as he collapsed. This Tauro was baptized when he was six years old, and it was discovered that he had a ¡°Garbled Skill¡±, a scum skill that has never blossomed into any useful ability. His father, who was originally a drunkard, told him that after checking his skills in the baptism ritual, he would decide whether or not to dump him in the dangerous, demon-infested disaster forest, so he fled to the relatively large city of Saisi, which was only a few days away from the village where he lived. For the next two years, he spent his days gathering nuts from the forest and scavenging for leftovers. He was living on the edge, only able to eat once every few days. He got so hungry that he tried to steal something from a store whose owner was famous for being scary and almost got killed. He was lucky to return to life, but even Taro Sato, who had regained his memories of his previous life, knew that his body would not last long. ¡°Oh no, I¡¯m almost on the brink of death.¡± His body was in a state of weakness that made it difficult to even get up. ¡°I can¡¯t die now that my memory has come back.¡± Tauro¡¯s dying eyes were gleaming as he was so eager to live ¡°What should I do now¡­¡± Taro Sato, a.k.a. Tauro Satou, eight years old, was running his mind at full speed. His body was screaming at him that he only had a few days left to live. If he doesn¡¯t get food somehow, he¡¯ll be in danger of starvation. But if he stole, got caught again and beaten up, he would die this time. He doesn¡¯t have the money, he¡¯s still a child and helpless, and there are no adults who will sympathize with him. ¡°Sp¡­ speaking of other worlds.¡± Tauro walked to the main street of the city. ¡°So this is the Adventurers¡¯ Guild¡­¡± If it were another time, I would be impressed, but right now I¡¯m struggling to survive. He dragged his skinny and battered body to open the door. The moment he entered, he was met by the stares of the adventurers inside. Some of them said, ¡°Hey, hey¡­¡±. ¡°Hey, kid, this is an adventurer¡¯s guild! Get out of here!¡± A man who looked like a veteran adventurer shouted at him. Tauro ignored him and started making his way to the reception desk. Anyway, now he had to register at the reception desk cause if he doesn¡¯t earn money by doing anything, even if it was a difficult job, he¡¯ll really die. That was the only way out for Tauro now. ¡°Don¡¯t ignore me, kid.¡± The veteran adventurer grabbed Tauro by the scruff of the neck and lifted him up. Then the woman at the reception desk said. ¡°Hey, Mr. Mauve, don¡¯t be violent!¡± She waved her hand hurriedly. Mauve grabbed Tauro by the scruff of the neck and carried him to the reception desk, where he slowly lowered him. The receptionist whispered to Tauro, ¡°Mr. Mauve intentionally approached you first so that you wouldn¡¯t get tangled up with the other adventurers.¡± It seems that he grabbed him because he was worried about his ability to walk to the reception desk, so he lifted him up, calculating that the receptionist would call out to him. ¡°¡­ (This is the first good person I¡¯ve met in this world!)¡± Tauro was inwardly touched. ¡°Thank you, Uncle.¡± Tauro said. ¡°Shut up you little brat, don¡¯t get me wrong!¡± He yelled and walked away. Tauro bowed to him and turned to the receptionist. ¡°I¡¯d like to register, please.¡± He bowed again. ¡°I hate to tell you this, but there¡¯s a fee to register¡­¡± Gah! ¡°Really?¡± I¡¯ve never heard of this! No, I¡¯m just hearing it now! ¡­Huh? I think I¡¯ve seen this somewhere before¡­ CH 4 ¡°The registration fee? How much does it cost?¡± As a penniless person, He was almost at a loss, but he still asked her. The lady at the reception desk said apologetically. ¡°It¡¯s only ten silver coins¡­¡± I¡¯m stuck! Tauro was crying in his heart. Ten silver coins is equal to 10,000 yen in his previous life. If Tauro had ten silver coins, he would have been beaten up and robbed by adult vagrants in the back alley. Ten silver coins is an unreasonable amount of money when you don¡¯t even have enough to eat in a day. In the two years he has been in this town, he¡¯s never gotten anything but copper coins. He¡¯d like to register even if he had to borrow money, but Tauro¡¯s position right now is even more precarious. Since he fled from the village, he has no guarantee of his identity. So he has no credibility. ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll help him out.¡± Suddenly, a voice came from behind Tauro. It was Mauve, the veteran adventurer. ¡°Hey, hey, Mauve. If you get him that adventurer¡¯s tag, he¡¯ll just run away without paying you.¡± The other adventurers around him chided him. ¡°So¡­!¡± Mauve retorted. ¡°So what?¡± The adventurers around him were puzzled. ¡°All right, let¡¯s start the betting! Let¡¯s see if this kid can work hard enough to pay back the ten silver coins I lend him!¡± ¡°Hahaha! So that¡¯s what you¡¯re saying! But that¡¯s not a bet!¡± ¡°That¡¯s right! Who would bet on a kid?¡± ¡°Besides, he¡¯s about to die!¡± The adventurers¡¯ merciless words flew back and forth. ¡°I¡¯ll bet on the kid!¡± Mauve smiled fearlessly. ¡°Oh! This is a chance for Mauve to get rid of all that money he¡¯s been saving up!¡± ¡°Yes! I¡¯ll take that bet! Fifteen pieces of silver that he¡¯ll run away! ¡°I¡¯ll bet twenty pieces that he dies before paying you back!¡± ¡°I¡¯ll bet five silvers he runs the hell out of here!¡± While the adventurers were betting that Tauro would lose one after another, the receptionist whispered to Tauro. ¡°You know, Mauve was originally an orphan who struggled to make it as an adventurer. Maybe he saw you and remembered himself.¡± He¡¯s a very good man, despite his mob-like name, Mr. Mauve! Tauro was moved and cried inwardly. ¡°I¡¯m going to go through the registration process now. My name is Nei, nice to meet you. What¡¯s your name?¡± ¡°Tauro Sauto.¡± Nei, the receptionist, took out a box of magic tools from the shelf behind her. The box had a crystal ball embedded in it. ¡°Please touch this.¡± Tauro obediently did as he was told. It looked similar to the one used in the baptismal ceremony. The crystal ball glowed and a piece of paper came out of the bottom of the box. ¡°Tauro Satou, you are eight years old. Your skills are¡­¡± Nei, the receptionist looked surprised. ¡°It¡¯s a garbled skill, isn¡¯t it? And from the looks of it, it¡¯s only one. Usually a skill has a name, and people use that name as a hint for their efforts.¡± Nei¡¯s explanation continued. ¡°For example, if you are a ¡®spearman¡¯ and a ¡®seamstress¡¯, you can continue to work on your spear-related martial arts and sewing skills to improve your status and acquire abilities in the process. The ¡®voice of the world¡¯ will tell you how to acquire abilities.¡± ¡°The Voice of the World?¡± ¡°Yes. The Voice of the World is said to be the voice of the gods in the heavens and it will tell you when you acquire an ability.¡± ¡°I see. (Is that what I heard when I was dying and the memories of my previous life came back?)¡± ¡°Tauro, since you have garbled skills, you may not know what area you should work on, but if you do a lot of work, you should be able to figure something out. Let¡¯s work hard!¡± ¡°Yes! Thank you very much!¡± ¡°Then, wait a minute.¡± Nei, the receptionist, took the paper from the magic tool to another large box of magic tools. At first glance, it seems to resemble a photocopier¡­ When the paper was placed between the box and the board, it glowed for a moment. It really looks like a copier¡­ Something came out from underneath. Nei brought it to him. This is the tag that will prove your identity as a member of the Adventurer¡¯s Guild. A small wooden board was presented to Tauro. ¡°Thank you very much.¡± ¡°Yes. You can put it on a string and wear it around your neck.¡± Nei answered with a smile. ¡°I¡¯ll explain about the Adventurer¡¯s Guild. The Adventurer¡¯s Guild has a rank system. Beginners start with the rank of G-.¡± ¡°G-?¡± ¡°Yes, G-, G, G+, and then F-.¡± The more he heard about this system, the more it seemed like it would take a long time for him to get promoted. CH 5 ¡°There are ranks up to S+, and if you reach B rank or higher, you¡¯re considered a top-rank adventurer. Tauro-kun, please aim for the top rank.¡± After that, the rules of the Adventurer¡¯s Guild were explained. The basic ones were all over the place. The point of interest was that if you committed a crime, it would be recorded in your tag. In other words, if you commit a crime, you will be expelled from the guild at once and of course, you will be turned in to the guards, no matter how big or small the crime. Fortunately, Tauro¡¯s theft was not recorded because it ended in an attempt. ¡°There are a lot of rough adventurers, but most of them follow the rules and complete their quests, so don¡¯t worry.¡± As Tauro looked around at the adventurers in the facility, they all looked healthy and strong. He was impressed. ¡°I¡¯d like to do a quest right away, but¡­¡± (I just want to earn some money and get some food.) ¡°Well calm down, It¡¯s already noon, so let¡¯s eat. I¡¯ll buy you a drink to celebrate you becoming an adventurer.¡± ¡°Are you sure?¡± Tauro hadn¡¯t eaten in a few days, so he had no intention of refusing this kind offer. Nei warned me to start slowly with soup. I soaked the bread in the soup to soften it before eating it. ¡°Tauro-kun, I¡¯ve been thinking, did you come from a good background? You¡¯re polite, you have good manners, you eat well¡­ Oh, you don¡¯t have to answer me if you can¡¯t, okay?¡± He was only eight years old, orphaned, skinny and ragged, but in contrast, he was polite. ¡°No, my Dad is just a poor farmer. My mother died soon after I was born, and at the age of six I was about to be abandoned in the Forest of Misfortune because I was deemed useless, so I ran away.¡± ¡°So you¡¯re saying you¡¯re a runaway?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. I was beaten and kicked on a regular basis, so I have no regrets.¡± This is a fact. Before he regained the memories of his previous life, Tauro was in a miserable situation. He ran away from home when he was only six years old because he knew he would die if he was abandoned in the evil forest. The only thing he could think of was the existence of the city of Saishi, which he had heard about from the adults in the village. Even though it was relatively close to the village, it was still a few days¡¯ walk away, which was a big adventure for a six-year old. He kept walking during the day, trying to resist the urge to cry out in anxiety and at night he hid his breath quietly while being frightened by the noise and waited for dawn. After sleeping a little until noon, he continued his journey again. After a few days of walking, he arrived at the city of Sa?shi. However, the town of Sa?shi was not kind to the weak. There were many children in the same situation as him. Scavenging for leftover food was even a territorial competition. It was a tough world for a newcomer, a stranger, and a child of only six years old. For the past two years, Tauro had been living on the edge. It was truly a blessing that he was able to regain his memories of his previous life, albeit by accident. It¡¯s hard for a child without a good education to make a breakthrough in this life. He would not have dared to go to the adventurer¡¯s guild. It was his desire for survival that somehow kept him alive. And thanks to this meal, he could live for a few more days. Tauro Satou¡¯s eyes were not dead yet. After returning to the guild, Tauro immediately took on a quest. There were not many quests left in the afternoon. So he chose one of the so-called ¡°errand quests¡± that are given to beginners and adventurers who break the rules. If he could get paid for it, he was all for it, even if it¡¯s dirty and hard. He might even be able to eat at night now. The only thing he was worried about was where he would sleep tonight. It was obvious that even if he made money, if the elder vagrants targeted him, they would take all the money. First of all, he had to eat a lot to get his body back and become stronger. The Adventurer¡¯s Guild also offers training, and he heard that they have a full-time martial arts instructor who can teach them. They say it¡¯s part of their efforts to increase the survival rate of adventurers. He had to participate in this! He needs strength to protect himself. ** ¡°Nei-san, the ditch-cleaning quest is over.¡± Tauro appeared at the reception desk. ¡°You¡¯re dirty kid. Go round back, go round back!¡± One of the adventurers said with a frown. Then Nei said ¡°Tauro, there¡¯s a well in the back, so go take a bath. There is also a change of clothes, it may be big but I¡¯ll put them out so you can wear them.¡± ¡°Okay. Thank you very much.¡± He thanked her and quickly ran to the back. There was a man at the well in the back. The man who had preceded me smelled bad, as if he had been covered in sludge. He smelled just as bad as Tauro. ¡°Boy, you stink!¡± Garh! No, you stink too! Tauro felt disgusted and sick to his stomach. CH 6 The man who had engaged me in conversation was a man with a vertical scar over his left eye that gave him the look of an old-timer. His sharp eyes and the fact that he had one eye made him intimidating. Against such a person¡­ ¡°I know, but you smell pretty bad too.¡± Tauro said clearly. ¡°What the hell? You haven¡¯t bathed in a long time, kid, and your clothes, which look like rags, are now the same color as dirt.¡± Tauro pinched his nose to show the man that he smelled worse than him. ¡°It can¡¯t be helped, I¡¯ll boil some water for you.¡± Hot water baths are a luxury, and even the innkeepers charge money just to have a tub filled with hot water. The one-eyed old man brought out a large tub and began to fill it with water from the well. Then, he held his hand over the basin and said. ¡°Heat sphere.¡± As he mumbled, and a red spherical mass was sucked into the water, heating it up. ¡°Magic!¡± It was the first time that the present Tauro Satou, not to mention the former Taro Sato, had ever seen this. Naturally, he was awe-struck. ¡°Get your ass in here!¡± He slapped Tauro lightly on the head. It¡¯s been a long time since he took a bath. It¡¯s the first time in eight years since his previous life. Tauro had bathed in the creek outside the town a week ago, but this was his first experience with a bath. The combination of Taro Sato¡¯s and Tauro¡¯s memories was overwhelming. The one-eyed man lifted Tauro and placed him in the tub. Soaking in water up to his waist was a dream come true. The one-eyed uncle draws hot water and pours it over Tauro. Tauro took out the soap and scrubbed his head, but there was no lather at all. Although the soap was of poor quality, Tauro¡¯s hair was too dirty. The one-eyed man continuously poured hot water on him over and over as he rubbed it with soap and after a few times, something like bubbles began to come out. The man washed his body in the same way. The grime from his body was a lot. It must have been hard for the one-eyed uncle. ¡°Move your hands kid!¡± And then he started scrubbing Tauro¡¯s body with the soap. The contents of the tub had turned black. Instead, Tauro was cleaned up of the dirt of the past two years and although he was still skinny, he looked like a different person when he thought of his previous dirty and battered appearance. Then he heard that voice in his mind. ¡°Confirmed condition for skill acquisition . Magic [Purification] has been acquired.¡± ¡°Eh?¡± ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°I think I just heard the voice of the world and learned the purification spell.¡± ¡°Oh, so the condition for your purification spell is based on this bathtub.¡± ¡°Does it vary from person to person?¡± ¡°Yes, the same skill has different requirements for each individual. It seems to depend on your talent, but if you want to learn fire magic, you have to try lighting fires and experimenting with different possibilities. Even so, Purification is a rare magic to gain under these conditions.¡± He looked amazed, but Tauro was still naked, so he handed him the children¡¯s clothes that had been prepared for him. When he was given the clothes, Tauro thanked him. ¡°Thank you, One-eyed uncle.¡± A good deed requires proper gratitude. ¡°I¡¯m going to wash myself, so get out of my way, kid.¡± Tauro was pushed to the side and the man began to wash himself. * ¡°Tauro-kun, the head of the adventurer¡¯s guild here wants to talk to you.¡± Nei, the receptionist, approached Tauro, who was looking for his next quest. ¡°(The head of the guild? Why would such a person want to meet me?). He decided to follow Nei¡¯s lead. ¡°Excuse me.¡± Nei knocked on the door of the branch manager¡¯s room and called out to him. She got a reply and they both entered the room. ¡°One-eyed uncle!?¡± It was the man who had given him a bath. ¡°Hey hey, Tauro-kun, this is the branch manager, Leo-san.¡± ¡°Thank you very much for your help earlier.¡± Tauro thanked him again. ¡°Just sit down there.¡± Leo, the branch manager pointed to the sofa. He sat down on the sofa and Nei stood beside him. ¡°I¡¯ve heard from Nei, it seems you have no money, neither do you have a place to live.¡± ¡°Y¡­yes¡± ¡°I¡¯ve got a suggestion for you: there¡¯s a spare room in the guild with a bed in it. You can use it for a while.¡± ¡°Eh!?¡± ¡°In exchange, you¡¯ll clean the guild and help Nei and the other guild staff. Of course, we¡¯ll pay you.¡± ¡°Is that okay?¡± It was an excellent offer. ¡°Nei was persistent. You may have borrowed money from Mauve, but you¡¯re still an adventurer.¡± ¡°Yes, sir!¡± ¡°If you run away without paying back the money, it will damage your career, but it will also damage the reputation of the Adventurer¡¯s Guild. As an adventurer, you must behave with moderation.¡± ¡°Yes, sir!¡± ¡°Also, kid¡­no, Tauro, you have a head injury. You can go to the healing room later and have some healing magic cast on you, that¡¯s all.¡± He waved his hand as if to say get out of here. Tauro thanked him again and left the room. ¡°Thank you, Branch Chief.¡± Nei, who remained in the room, thanked him. ¡°It¡¯s true that his eyes are not dead like you and Mauve say. It¡¯s promising. I¡¯m sure he¡¯ll be able to get by even with his garbled skills.¡± Tauro didn¡¯t know that he had the endorsement of the branch manager Leo. CH 7 ¨CA room in the guild¨C This was the room that Tauro had been assigned. Even though it was only a simple one, he was happy to the point of tears because he had a bed for the first time since his previous life and was reflecting on the events of the day. From the depths of despair where he had almost died in the alleyway this morning, he was now on a bed in a room with a roof. This turn of events was deeply moving. ¡°Let¡¯s do our best from tomorrow¡­¡± It was a tough day, even someone who was older would¡¯ve found it difficult. Tiredness washed over him as he fell asleep and drifted into a dream. When was the last time he had slept so peacefully? Tauro thought as he basked in the afterglow of his good sleep. ¡°Oh, it¡¯s almost noon!¡± Finally realizing that he had unintentionally slept in, Tauro hurriedly got up and headed for the reception desk. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Nei-san, I overslept!¡± Being late on your first day is not good. ¡°Good morning, Tauro-kun. It¡¯s okay, I just didn¡¯t wake you up on purpose because yesterday was a tough day for you.¡± Nei answered with a smile. * Tauro had been busy since noon. The Adventurer¡¯s Guild has a basement, a second floor, and a courtyard and while it faces the main street of Saisi, it is quite large. The cleaning alone was quite a task. As he was cleaning left and right, Tauro passed by the reception desk in the evening and saw that it was full of adventurers. Adventurers were rushing in to report on their quests. It seemed to be an everyday scene in the guild, and the staff was working quickly and without panic. Tauro thought it might be a good idea to help, so he asked a nearby staff member. ¡°Is there anything I can help you with?¡± He asked. ¡°Well, I¡¯d love for you to help, but you can¡¯t read, can you?¡± The staff replied. ¡°No, I can read and write. I can do math, so I might be able to do some paperwork as well.¡± The adventurers around the reception desk and the busy staff all froze. This world is not very literate, and that¡¯s understating it. People aren¡¯t usually well educated so to say. Some of the staff could not even read or write well enough. Not to mention the adventurers. So the fact that an eight-year old child, who until yesterday was a vagrant, can read, write and do math is extraordinary. ¡°Eh?¡± Tauro noticed that the noise from earlier had stopped and everyone was looking at him. Nei, who was working at the reception desk, said, ¡°Tauro-kun, you can read, write and do math?¡± She asked with a surprised expression. ¡°¡­Yes.¡± As soon as my memories of my previous life returned, I could read, write and calculate. The ability to read and write had been overwritten as a ¡°normal ability¡± since it had been done in a previous life. It might be a part of the ability of ¡®memory of the previous life. ¡°Whoa, whoa, whoa¡­really¡­?¡± ¡°I can¡¯t read or write anything but my own name¡­¡± ¡°You can write your name? I can¡¯t spell my name!¡± ¡°I can only do math up to ten!¡± ¡°Mine is addition and subtraction with both hands.¡± Tauro had done some damage to the adventurers. ¡°Then, help me!¡± After receiving a brief explanation from Nei, the staff members and Tauro went on to do their work. ¡°Thank you, Tauro! Thanks to you, I was able to get my work done!¡± Nei thanked him on behalf of the staff and the other staff members said thank you. ¡°I¡¯m glad I could help.¡± Tauro replied with a smile. ¡°But still¡­¡± Nei¡¯s doubts about Tauro deepened. But there was one word that could solve this problem. It was the ¡°garbled skill¡±. Since she didn¡¯t know what it was, she could only accept it as a benefit of the garbled skill. Tauro himself didn¡¯t know what the ¡°garbled skill¡± was, but since he didn¡¯t know, it was easy to explain. And even though it was an acquired ability, he couldn¡¯t say that he had any memories of his previous life. ¡°You never cease to amaze me, Tauro-kun.¡± Nei was full of admiration. ¡°Oh! I didn¡¯t complete any quests today, so my income is ¡®0¡¯!¡± Tauro was shocked to realize this. CH 8 It¡¯s been busy days since he started sleeping at the guild. In the morning, he would help the staff and when he was done, he would take the errand quests for beginners and complete them during the day, and in the evening, he would help with the guild work again, cleaning in between. He was able to eat every day, and he felt that his thin body was gradually gaining flesh and strength. He was also able to do physical labor, which used to tire him out quickly, in a reasonable amount of time. After half a month, he was able to pay back his debt to Mauve with the money he had saved from quests, minus living expenses. Then, on the contrary, the money was doubled and returned. Mauve said. ¡°you¡¯ve earned it, so it¡¯s your share.¡± He said¡­ Mauve-san, you¡¯re too cool. (Tears of joy) And today is the guild¡¯s payday. He wasn¡¯t an official employee of the guild, and he does quests during the day, so he doesn¡¯t get paid as much as others, but he¡¯s still happy to be receiving payment. ¡°I¡¯ve been thinking, why don¡¯t you use the money to go shopping and get things for yourself?¡± Nei, the receptionist, suggested. It was true that he had very few things around him. He¡¯s been wearing the same clothes that were given to him after his bath. He has also been using the purification spell on himself once a day since he learned it, so he was clean, but he still needed a change of clothes. And his rank had gone up from G- to G. He¡¯d like to get at least one knife while he could, because when his rank goes up from G+ to F-, he¡¯ll be able to do quests such as gathering medicinal herbs in the forest and killing unicorn rabbits. ¡°All right, let¡¯s go shopping today!¡± Tauro was very excited. Shopping is fun. This was Tauro¡¯s honest feeling. In his previous life, he had never enjoyed shopping, but now he felt grateful for having money and enjoyed it. After stopping by a grocery store to buy some personal items, he bought some clothes at a second-hand clothing store that Nei had told him about. The clothes were modestly designed, but considering that they were originally made of tattered burlap, they were quite luxurious. He bought a hood for rain because he realized during his quest that he would be in trouble if it rained. The hood was a bit pricey. It was made of demon skin. Also, Nei had told him to buy a larger size. The reason being that children grow quickly. He was able to get a little discount when he mentioned that Nei was the one who introduced him. ¡°You have a lot of contacts, Nei-san.¡± Tauro was impressed. ¡°Now all I need is an arms dealer!¡± He took a deep breath. This was the main event of the day. Nei had introduced him to a store owned by Dwarves. Sub-humans other than humans are rare in this city and he¡¯d seen beastmen in the adventurer¡¯s guild, but never dwarves. He imagined what kind of dwarves they might be, and as he turned a corner on the street, he heard the sound of metal hammering and saw a store with a sign for swords and hammers. It seemed to be a weapon and blacksmith shop. When he opened the door, he saw all kinds of swords, axes, spears, and weapons he had never seen before. ¡°Is there a shopkeeper?¡± There seemed to be no one in the store. The sound of metal hammering could be heard from the back room. ¡°Oh? A customer? Please wait a moment and take a look at the merchandise.¡± A loud voice came from the back of the store, perhaps sensing the arrival of a customer? He¡¯d been waiting for quite a while, so he decided to take a peek in the back room. There, in the back, was the very image of a fantasy dwarf. He was wide with short legs and thick arms, and although he looked short, he was probably taller than Tauro. ¡°Yes?¡± The dwarf stopped and turned around, ¡°Oh, yes, you¡¯re a customer¡± The dwarf stood up. He looked at Tauro and saw that he was smaller than him. ¡°A child, perhaps?¡± He said. Apparently, all humans look the same to them. He didn¡¯t know Tauro¡¯s age, so he was judging him by his height. ¡°A parent¡¯s errand boy?¡± ¡°No, I¡¯m not. Why don¡¯t you temper it?¡± Iron is hammered while it¡¯s still hot, and then put in water to temper it, that was a familiar sight on TV. ¡°Tempering? What¡¯s that?¡± Tauro didn¡¯t know much about it, but he explained briefly. ¡°Hmmm¡­I¡¯ve never heard of it, but it seems logical to me¡­ but it would bend the steel, wouldn¡¯t it? No, it could be adjusted.¡± Tauro guessed he wanted to try it out since he was glancing at the furnace. ¡°So what do you want?¡± He asked. Tauro explained to the blacksmith that he wanted a multipurpose knife that could also be used for self-defense. ¡°Well, there are some small ones for small mages on the shelf over there. If you¡¯re not satisfied, come back next time.¡± As soon as the blacksmith said that, he went back to work. He couldn¡¯t take it anymore. At any rate, he was able to get the knife for free. ¡°Then I¡¯ll gratefully accept your words.¡± Tauro called out to him on his way out, but he just answered briefly. ¡°¡­Oh.¡± The biggest main event of the day was a lackluster one¡­ ¡°It¡¯s different from what I imagined.¡± Tauro was disappointed, even though he got what he wanted. CH 9 When he came back to his room from shopping, he had to show off the things he had bought. ¡°Tauro, you¡¯re just a kid, it¡¯s okay to be a little fancy.¡± Nei was a little unhappy with the simplicity of the clothes. ¡°It¡¯s a lot more comfortable than my old clothes.¡± Tauro compared it to his old clothes, which looked like a sack. That made Nei feel like she couldn¡¯t say anything else. Then she pulled herself together. ¡°It¡¯s a good raincoat and it¡¯s cheap because the material is a bit damaged. Even if I try to appraise it, there¡¯s nothing wrong with the quality. It¡¯s a good bargain!¡± Nei checked it as she unfolded it. ¡°Appraisal?¡± ¡°Yes, It¡¯s one of my skills that I didn¡¯t tell you about, Tauro-kun. I can use it on objects.¡± ¡°Can¡¯t you appraise people?¡± ¡°I can¡¯t because only some of my abilities have been acquired so far. I¡¯m trying everything to clear the conditions.¡± She looked disappointed. ¡°I¡¯m still trying to figure out what I can do. I can appraise the loot brought in by the adventurers from their quests and I don¡¯t get cheated by merchants. In addition, in the beginning, it only displayed your name, so it¡¯s much more useful than it was then.¡± She seemed proud of herself. ¡°I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll be able to do it once you¡¯ve cleared the requirements!¡± ¡°The basics are the same, but it also depends on whether or not you have talent. For example¡­ In the case of appraisal, If you have a talent with an appraisal rank of S, you will be able to appraise anything if you meet the conditions, but if you only have a talent with an appraisal rank of G, you won¡¯t get the ability even if you work hard and meet the conditions. However, the rank is not known by the individual, so whether the talent will blossom or not depends on your daily effort and talent. I¡¯ve read that an appraisal rank of S can detect all kinds of individual talents.¡± ¡°Then you might be able to figure out what my garbled skills are, too.¡± ¡°That¡¯s a possibility.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve learnt ¡°Purification¡±, but can I learn abilities other than my personal skills if I meet the requirements?¡± It was a casual question for Tauro, but Nei¡¯s reaction was huge. ¡°Eh! Tauro-kun, you¡¯ve learnt ¡°Purification¡±?. It¡¯s a rare magic that healers learn!¡± ¡°It seems so¡­¡± ¡°Then your garbled skill should be a kind of healer skill isn¡¯t it?.¡± ¡°Is that the case?¡± ¡°You only have one garbled skill and if you were able to learn a rare skill like ¡°purification¡±, you must be a healer!¡± Nei said excitedly. ¡°Ah,¡± he muttered. ¡°Tauro, you¡¯ve learned the spell ¡®Cleanse¡¯, didn¡¯t you?¡± Nei asked. ¡°No, just Purification.¡± ¡°Eh!?¡± Again, Nei was surprised. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°Purification is one of the high-rank spells that healers can use. But, you have to learn the lower level ¡®cleanse¡¯ and then the middle level ¡®cleanse¡¯ in order to be able to learn the higher level ¡®purification¡¯.¡± ¡°What does that mean?¡± Tauro was a bit confused about all these, but If that¡¯s the case, then he skipped over the order and learned Purification. ¡°At least it means that your garbled skill is not that of a healer. Hmm¡­ I¡¯ve never heard of another skill that uses Purification.¡± Nei pondered. Tauro thought for a moment that his garbled skill had been clarified, but he was back to square one. He asked Nei to appraise the knife, which she did and said it was pretty good and he told her it was given to him for free. ¡°Eh!!?¡± Mr. Angus gave it to you for free?¡± She was really surprised. He explained the situation to her while keeping in mind that the dwarf was called Angus. She laughed and said, ¡°Well, that¡¯s just like Angus.¡± ¡°Angus is a craftsman and when it comes to blacksmithing, he¡¯s very enthusiastic. When he found out that I can appraise things, he had me appraise every single one of his pieces.¡± Nei looked exhausted as she remembered that moment. ¡°Maybe you should go and thank him again some other time.¡± ¡°Yes, I understand.¡± Tauro nodded. CH 10 It had been a month since his first shopping trip and today was his second payday. Tauro was excited because although he had been earning his daily living expenses through errand quests, this was the only day he would receive a large sum of money from working in the guild. There were so many things he wanted. Of course, he couldn¡¯t buy everything, but he planned to prioritize and buy what he needed first. ¡°Oh, that¡¯s right. I have to go thank Angus-san!¡± The knife was working fine, so he hadn¡¯t had a chance to go there. So he decided to go to Angus first, and then do some shopping. When he arrived at the storefront, he could hear the sound of hammering, but the store was closed. Apparently, it was not open today. He didn¡¯t know what to do for a moment, but since he wasn¡¯t a customer today, he went around to the back and called out to him. ¡°Angus-san, are you there?¡± The blacksmith¡¯s door opened and out stepped a slender Angus with a hammer in his hand. ¡°Who are you? A human child? Could it be the one from that time?¡± ¡°Thank you for the knife¡­¡± ¡°Nevermind that! The hardening process has made the iron hard, but it¡¯s prone to breaking! What should I do?¡± Angus approached Tauro and grabs him tightly on the shoulder. ¡°Angus-san! Calm down It hurts!¡± The hands that were grabbing Tauro¡¯s shoulders were unbelievably strong and the momentum seemed to be crushing him. ¡°Oh, I¡¯m sorry!¡± Angus hurriedly pulled his hands away. Angus explained again as he guided Tauro inside. ¡°I¡¯ve tried everything since then, but it¡¯s hard and breaks easily¡­¡± For the past month, he had been experimenting with the tempering that Tauro had told him about. ¡°There¡¯s something called tempering¡­¡± Tauro shared what he knew with Angus as best he could. ¡°Oh! I didn¡¯t know there was such a technology! Thank you, I think I¡¯ve seen the light. Let me call you Master!¡± Angus¡¯ joy was so great that he almost worshipped him. ¡°Calling me master is an exaggeration. It was just something I knew.¡± At that moment, the voice of the world echoed in his mind. ¡°Condition for activation of special skill confirmed The special skill [True Eye] is obtained.¡± He was surprised to get an ability in an unexpected place. ¡°True Eyes¡± Is it an appraisal type of ability? He had to stop his thoughts once Angus took his hand and was still rejoicing. Angus asked Tauro to come back in a month so that he could make something better using the techniques he had taught him and Tauro left the store. Tauro canceled his shopping plans temporarily and tried out the True Eye. When he was conscious of the word ¡°True Eye¡± in his mind, the object he saw was given a name. If he tried to look at it in detail, he also got an evaluation. It seems to specialize in seeing ¡°things¡± similar to Nei¡¯s appraisal ability. It appears it can¡¯t be used on people, but it¡¯s certainly quite useful. ¡°Nei-san, did you see things like this?¡± Tauro thought that this was an ability that he wanted to show off. The rest of the shopping trip was a pleasure. If he hadn¡¯t had these eyes, he would have been fooled by the products he bought, but instead, he bought only the good stuff. It was especially great to be able to choose the best deals, but it was hard to restrain himself from buying too much because he knew he was getting a good deal. ¡°This is a dangerous ability.¡± Tauro smiled wryly. CH 11 It had been nearly two months since Tauro had become an adventurer and he was beginning to feel comfortable among the adventurers when he walked around the guild. However, he was still an eight-year old. Most of the adventurers didn¡¯t think of him as an adventurer, but just a kid who liked to help out at the guild, do odd jobs, and occasionally do punitive errand quests for beginners and rule breakers. The guild only offers errand quests to Tauro. His rank is G+. The reason was because, if he is raised to F-, he will have to go on quests outside the city. The guild¡¯s assessment was that although he could read, write, and do math, he was still not physically strong enough. ¡°Tauro Satou, come to the courtyard.¡± Daz, the guild¡¯s martial arts instructor, called out to Tauro, who was looking at the quests posted on the wall. ¡°Eh!?¡± Tauro was a little surprised as he had never been taken seriously before. He went to the courtyard. ¡°Take off your jacket and spin around.¡± He took off his jacket just as Daz instructed and spun around. ¡°You¡¯re still a little bit thin, but compared to how you were two months ago, you seem to have added a bit of flesh. Okay, you can join the training.¡± Tauro thought Daz hated him because he hadn¡¯t been allowed to participate in the martial arts training for beginner adventurers for the past two months, but it seems he was waiting for him to get stronger. ¡°Yes! Please!¡± Tauro replied while smiling happily. After that, Tauro became even busier. Cleaning the guild, helping out, completing errand quests and martial arts training. ¡°I¡¯m having fun, but I wonder if I can reduce the time I use in doing chores¡­¡± Then it occurred to him. He uses purification on himself once a day before he goes to bed to clean up and he wondered if it could be used to clean up the guild. Then other questions came to mind. He wondered how much magic power he had. He usually uses purification once, so he didn¡¯t know the limit. ¡°First, I¡¯ll expand the range and purify this room¡­¡± Imagining the size of the room, he tried to use the purification spell. ¡°Purification!¡± The dull gray ceiling and walls of his room, which he usually thought were clean and neat, became completely white. ¡°Oh! It worked! I mean, the walls here used to be white?¡± He smiled happily, but he felt that his magic power was completely fine. ¡°Then, let¡¯s try to expand the range. This time, imagine covering the entire guild building¡­¡± ¡°Purification!!!¡± Scene. ¡°Oh, there is no way to check without looking around.¡± He tried to open the door, but his legs gave out and he stumbled. ¡°Eh!? I can¡¯t get up! I feel exhausted. Is this the effect of using the spell on a wide range?¡± As he tried to stand up again, he heard footsteps coming down the hallway. ¡°Tauro! Did you do this!?¡± The one who stormed into the room and asked was Leo, the branch manager. ¡°I¡¯m sorry¡­ It was probably me.¡± The guild was in a bit of an uproar. Suddenly, the walls, ceilings, exterior walls, and roof of the Adventurer¡¯s Guild were cleaned of years of dirt and grime, and the bodies of the adventurers in the guild were cleaned of dirt and sweat. The change was so obvious that most people noticed. When Leo, the branch manager, saw Tauro sitting on the ground, he said ¡°You¡¯re out of magic! Idiot! Don¡¯t use your purification spell for something so trivial. That magic is usually used to break the curse of undead or cursed objects. Cleaning is something that can be done with the magic Cleanse. He picked Tauro up and laid him on the bed. ¡°You should go to sleep now. You¡¯ll recover your magic while you sleep.¡± After saying that, the branch manager left the room. It seems that the commotion had stopped when the branch manager explained that it was the result of one of the staff members using cleanse magic on a large scale. Tauro decided not to use it on anyone but himself. CH 12 The previous day¡¯s commotion had resulted in a cleanup of the guild, and as a result, Tauro¡¯s cleaning time was shortened. Thanks to that, he was able to spend more time practicing with his sword. The sword practice was different from what he had imagined. Most of the practice consisted of wooden swords and repeated fx swinging. According to Instructor Daz¡­ ¡°You have to get your body accustomed to it so that you can move unconsciously. That¡¯s what mock fights are for!¡± So he says. The other participants were naturally older and bigger than Tauro and some of them had learned to wield swords on their own in order to become adventurers. Tauro was an amateur who had never even held a sword before, so he had no choice but to practice differently than the others. Besides, the one closest to Tauro¡¯s age was fifteen years old. That was almost double the age difference. It was unusual for Tauro to become an adventurer at the age of eight. ¡°The reason why the processing fee is so high is because the adventurer tag is a convenient way to prove one¡¯s identity, so it is not something that can be given casually. It¡¯s also a way to keep the quality of adventurers up. You can¡¯t take it lightly, since you might die.¡± When he heard this from Nei, the receptionist, he knew once again how lucky he was. And he wanted to be strong enough to contribute to the guild. The strength in his arm to swing the wooden sword also increased. * One day off¡­ Angus, the weaponsmith, had sent a message to the Adventurers¡¯ Guild for Tauro to come to his store, so he went there. ¡°Tauro, you¡¯re here!¡± Angus grabbed him by both shoulders as if he had been waiting for him. He was as strong as ever. ¡°It hurts! Angus-san, it hurts!¡± ¡°Oh, I¡¯m sorry!¡± He hurriedly pulled his hands away, but this time he grabbed them again. ¡°Thanks to Tauro-kun, I can make swords better than ever, thank you!¡± He said with sincere gratitude. ¡°So, I¡¯m giving you a small sword, will you take it?¡± He grabbed the sword that was standing next to him and offered it to Tauro. ¡°Of course, it¡¯s free. A thank-you gift.¡± Angus looked at him seriously and naturally held out his hand. ¡°Thank you very much.¡± Tauro took it and pulled it from its sheath. It¡¯s a good thing that the weight was made lightly for his small frame. Though it¡¯s still a hefty weight for Tauro, but it felt good in his hand. ¡°I¡¯m proud to say it¡¯s my best work yet.¡± Angus¡¯s confident words were met with a stealthy appraisal by the true eye, which revealed its value to be fifteen gold coins. ¡°(That¡¯s about 100,000 yen per gold coin)¡­1.5 million yen!¡± ¡°One and a half million yen?.¡± Angus repeated Tauro¡¯s words that came out unexpectedly. Because the sheath and handle are plain without any decoration, that would purely be the worth of the blade. He looked more closely with his ¡®true eye¡¯, he saw that it said, ¡°Gives +5 Agility¡± and ¡°Gives +2 Swordsmanship¡±. . Is this given something?¡± ¡°Hmm¡­ I don¡¯t have any appraisal skill, so I can¡¯t say anything about it, but the ability I have is ¡°very rare¡± and I¡¯ve experienced it sensually several times in the past. There was a response this time. Did you feel something when you held the sword in your hand?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know, but I had a hunch.¡± Tauro lied to him. He wasn¡¯t sure how to explain true eye He also remembered that Nei had been forced to do a lot of appraising. ¡°Well, why don¡¯t you ask Nei to appraise it for you when you get back. The sword that I made before accidentally added +1 to swordsmanship and it caused quite a stir among the adventurers. Gahahahaha!¡± Angus¡¯ boastful laugh echoed through the room. If +1 caused a big fuss, then what will happen to the multiple grant of agility and swordsmanship. Tauro was worried. CH 13 Six months have passed since his memories of his previous life returned. The memories of his previous life were only in the form of knowledge that he had acquired and Tauro was nothing more than an eight-year-old kid with a big head. However, it was also clear that his knowledge was significant. It would be possible for him to become an unrivaled warrior with modern knowledge, as is often the case in otherworldly fantasy stories. However, after a little research, he learnt that this knowledge was a double-edged sword. As he heard it, a smart vagrant brought his idea to a commercial guild and tried to make money out of it. He tried to get a patent. In this world, in order to protect an individual¡¯s money-making idea, it is registered with a commercial guild to protect it and prevent it from being plagiarized. But this was a creation of the state, the nobility, and the merchants. The vagrant¡¯s idea was registered as belonging to a certain nobleman and the vagrant himself was found dead the next day in the woods outside the city. Apparently, he was attacked by a monster. Tauro didn¡¯t know the authenticity of this story, but he was horrified to think that it could have been him. He was a former vagrant and an eight-year-old kid, so he was in no position to do anything about it. No, it would be easy for a nobleman or a merchant to dismiss him as non-existent. Tauro was glad that the first place he ran to was the Adventurer¡¯s Guild. He was thinking of using his modern knowledge when he got settled, but now he couldn¡¯t do it carelessly. Tauro pondered. ¡°Okay, seems like I will go with something that will technically be difficult for people to imitate.¡± Tauro had an idea of how he could use his current strength, purification. It was yeast fermentation. In order to ferment yeast, you need to get rid of the germs. That¡¯s where purification comes in. In the first place, this world was extremely unsanitary. There was no water or sewage system, so faeces and urine were collected and disposed of on the outskirts of the city by contractors who traveled from place to place. Even then, the disposal location seems to be random. The custom of washing hands is almost non-existent and making bread with yeast is also very difficult. But if he succeeds, he could make fluffy bread. Or rather, it could be eaten. Tauro was dissatisfied with the fact that black bread made from rye, which is the mainstream in this world, was unusually hard. It was common knowledge that black bread should be eaten after being softened by dipping it in soup, but it was really too hard to be eaten by itself. Tauro, who had been a bread lover in his previous life and had knowledge of soft bread, longed for the bread in his memory. So¡­ ¡°I spent a week sterilizing the fruit with purification and making yeast!¡± Tauro rented a corner of the kitchen in the adventurer¡¯s guild and got excited by himself. Nei, the receptionist, peeked at him curiously. ¡°What are you going to do with all these Rigaud fruit soaked in sugar water?¡± She asked, intrigued by the precious sugar fruit. ¡°I¡¯m going to make bread!¡± ¡°Bread? Not dessert?¡± ¡°Yes! We¡¯ll use it to make soft white bread from wheat.¡± ¡°White bread is the stuff that rich people eat!¡± Nei was a little disappointed when she realized it was not a dessert, but her eyes started to light up, though she was a little surprised by his interest. ¡°I¡¯m going to make a new kind of bread.¡± Tauro said and continued to knead the dough. ¡°Then I¡¯ll bake the dough that I let rise.¡± Since they didn¡¯t have a bread oven, he used a frying pan to bake the dough. ¡°The dough puffed up and smelled faintly of Rigaud fruit!¡± Nei¡¯s appetite was overwhelming. ¡°It¡¯s not a bread oven, so it didn¡¯t turn out very fluffy, but it¡¯s done.¡± Tauro cut the bread with a knife. Nei was ready to eat. Leo, the head of the guild, came into the kitchen as if he had smelled the aroma. ¡°What¡¯s that great smell? Huh? Bread?¡± Tauro offered to cut up a loaf of bread for Leo, knowing that he was in good hands with both of them. ¡°It¡¯s soft and fluffy white bread, please enjoy.¡± Nei touched the dough and was impressed, ¡°The surface is crunchy, but the inside is so soft!¡± Leo exclaimed, ¡°What the heck is this?¡± He was amazed. They both finished it immediately. ¡°I¡¯ve never had such soft white bread before¡­¡± ¡°This is better than the stuff I ate at a nobleman¡¯s house!¡± They were so impressed with the bread that the idea of selling it in the store run by the Adventurer¡¯s Guild was immediately put forward. CH 14 The store right next to the Adventurer¡¯s Guild is run by the Adventurer¡¯s Guild as a diner and tavern. It was usually a hangout place for adventurers and other related people. There, they began to serve a certain amount of white bread, but when they added sandwiches with meat and vegetables using white bread to the menu, within a week the sandwiches became a specialty, and the number of customers other than adventurers increased. Of course, the idea came from Tauro, but on the condition that he would receive a margin. The Adventurer¡¯s Guild Sa?si branch made it their exclusive patent. Leo, the head of the branch, would have loved to give him credit, but Tauro didn¡¯t want to stand out and be noticed. Leo understood that, too. It was a win-win situation for both of them. They got to eat good food and benefit from it. Tauro liked bread as much as he liked rice, but in this world, people don¡¯t eat rice! The rice, which was mainly rice plant, was used to feed livestock. ¡°Please tell me that¡¯s not true¡­¡± Tauro felt like crying. The basic cooking methods in this world are baking, boiling, and simmering. There is almost no cooking, steaming, frying, or deep-frying. Therefore, rice was perceived as a weed eaten by livestock. As a former Japanese, he had a duty to promote rice. There was no such obligation, but Tauro wanted to eat it himself, so he started to cook rice. ¡°Rice? I¡¯ve never heard of it.¡± He talked to Leo about it, but he didn¡¯t look too happy to hear that it was livestock food. So Tauro made some rice flour and tried to feed him some bread made with it, which he loved. ¡°It¡¯s different from white bread made of wheat, but the chewy texture is delicious!¡± It was an instant hit. In addition to the rice flour bread, Tauro tried to come up with a bowl of rice that was easy to eat. Since there was no culture of chopsticks, he cut the monster meat into small dice so that it could be eaten with a spoon, placed it on top of the cooked rice, and poured the sauce made from the meat juice over it. It¡¯s easy to make, easy to eat, easy on the stomach, and above all, inexpensive. Those who didn¡¯t have much money jumped at the chance to try it and word soon spread. Thus, another popular dish was added to the menu of the adventurer¡¯s guild restaurant. One day, as Tauro was eating a ¡°meat bowl¡± with soup in it in the style of tea, the voice of the world echoed in his mind. ¡°One of the conditions for unlocking special skill confirmed Special skill acquired [Knowledge of Plants].¡± ¡°This might be a subtle ability¡­¡± Actually, there is a reading room in the guild, and there are books related to plants there. He thought that if he read and learned them, then the skill would be meaningless. ¡°Hm? I¡¯ve got more abilities, but nothing seems to have changed in my head¡­¡± When the memories of his previous life came back, he experienced a severe headache, but nothing changed since then. ¡°For now, let¡¯s look at the plants and see if there are any changes.¡± He looked at the weeds in the courtyard. ¡­Nothing happened, nothing came to mind. ¡°This might really be a useless ability¡­¡± It suddenly occurred to Tauro to use his true eye, which can appraise things. Then, a weed showed up! ¡°Zaso grass: A common grass, a weed that grows everywhere.¡± ¡°It¡¯s a weed, so it¡¯s just a weed¡­¡± While making a comment¡­ He found out that plant identification had been added to the true eye. ¡°I take back what I said before, this is useful.¡± Tauro felt the response. * As usual, he completed his errand quest and returned to the guild to collect the reward. ¡°Congratulations, Tauro, you¡¯ve been promoted to F-rank.¡± Nei congratulated him. ¡°You¡¯ll be able to do F-rank quests from now on. This is your F-rank tag.¡± Nei handed him an iron tag to prove his new rank. At last, Tauro had been given a rank that would allow him to defeat monsters. CH 15 The day after his promotion to F rank, Tauro decided to accept an F-rank quest. ¡°You¡¯re taking on an F-rank quest, aren¡¯t you?¡± Nei received the quest paper with a smile and checked the contents. ¡°I¡¯m surprised. Is this what you want?¡± Tauro had chosen to collect medicinal herbs instead of trying to defeat the unicorn hare, one of the monster exterminations available at F rank. Nei had thought that Tauro who trains his sword skills on a regular basis would have loved to subdue monsters as soon as he knew the value of the sword on his waist. ¡°Yes, there are things I want to try, so I chose this.¡± Nei was surprised that he wasn¡¯t feeling boastful about the promotion, but she was impressed that it was just like Tauro to be cool-headed. He heard from the guild that there is a place in the forest near the city where medicinal plants grow naturally. The guild had also given him a piece of paper with its characteristics. But he decided not to rely on them because he wanted to try something. Yes, he wanted to try out his new ability linked to the true eye, ¡°plant identification¡±. Tauro arrived at the forest, carrying a basket loaned to him by the guild. ¡°Plant appraisal¡­!¡± As soon as he arrived, he tried to see if he could find only the medicinal herb Heera, which was specified in the quest. Heera grass showed up not only in the grass nearby but also from a short distance away. ¡°Great, it¡¯s as I thought. This will make it easier to find and collect them!¡± Tauro went about collecting herbs from all over the place. In just a couple of hours, he had collected a lot of healers¡¯ herbs, far more than he had planned. Since he was quite deep in the forest, it was likely that there were other medicinal herbs as well, so he searched even harder, focusing on the most valuable ones. Then he saw a lot of indications. ¡°Poisonous herbs for detoxification¡­yes?¡± The bushes at the back shook. It was a monster, a goblin about the same height as Tauro, with green skin, sharp eyes, fangs peeking out of its mouth, and an overall appearance clearly different from that of a human being. It was holding a stone axe in its hand. Tauro hid himself in the bushes as quickly as he could. It was just one monster, if he succeeded in getting one hit, he could win. If this were a fantasy, he would have defeated the monster here and made his debut. ¡°I also want to test the power of this sword¡± The hand that grasps the sword is also getting stronger. ¡°Take advantage of my +5 agility and run!¡± Tauro ran away like a rabbit. The goblin was startled by the sudden appearance of the child from the bushes, but was stunned to see him fleeing at such a rapid pace. The power of +5 agility was more than he had imagined, his body felt lighter and he felt like he was running faster than usual. On the contrary, he could move so fast that he felt confused. If he could move this fast, maybe he should have taken on the E rank goblin? No, it¡¯s not good to be too proud. If he died, it would be all over for him, so it¡¯s best to be cautious. Tauro said to himself and returned to the city. ¡°Oh? You¡¯re early, Tauro-kun. You¡¯re done collecting the herbs¡­ Eh! What¡¯s with that amount?¡± Nei, the receptionist, couldn¡¯t help but be surprised when she saw the amount of herbs in the basket that Tauro was carrying. The guild gives you baskets so that you can collect as much as you can if you happen to find a cluster of plants, but most of the time it takes half a day to find the quota of three bunches of 30 plants. Few adventurers can collect as many as to fill their baskets. ¡°Did you find a colony?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± Tauro thought that explaining it would be troublesome, so he just decided to play along. ¡°That¡¯s good to know. We¡¯ve been running out of herbs lately, so everyone will be happy.¡± ¡°By the way, there was one goblin, but I escaped from it.¡± Adventurers are obligated to report the discovery of monsters, so Tauro told Nei straightforwardly. ¡°What? There are goblins in that forest? I¡¯m glad you escaped. Goblins usually act in groups, so there must have been more than one. Thanks for the report.¡± After hearing what Nei had to say, Tauro was glad he escaped. CH 16 Since his first F-rank quest, Tauro had been on a constant quest to collect medicinal herbs. This was because it was quick and efficient. In his spare time, he trained with his sword and more recently, he started training with bow and arrow. He also went to see Angus, the blacksmith, and started to do things like blacksmith training. He also began to mimic the preparation of medicines from a book. There was a reason why Tauro started to do all these things. It was because the conditions for activating his garbled skill were too special. to get [Memory of Previous Life]. ¡ûHe was brought back to life accidentally by being kicked. . ¡ûRinsed off two years of dirt from myself in the bath. Normally he wouldn¡¯t let dirt accumulate for two years, and people in that situation wouldn¡¯t have the opportunity to take a bath. and has acquired [True Eye]. ¡ûIt¡¯s usually impossible unless you have years of knowledge, wisdom, and charisma. obtained [Knowledge of Plants]. ¡û He was able to do this because of the knowledge from his previous life. As he could recall, all of these conditions were too special to be attained overnight in a normal life. So, not knowing where he could clear the conditions, he started doing various things. Anyway, he wanted to accumulate every knowledge he could and get as close as possible to clearing the conditions for acquiring other abilities. He¡¯d always been a person who doesn¡¯t mind doing things the hard way. In his previous life, he even devoted his youth to transferring to another world. As a result, he was reincarnated. Tauro did not spare any effort. * So, a year and a half has passed since he started all this. Tauro was now 10 years old. Two years had passed since he had gained the memories of his previous life. His adventurer rank was F+. During that time, he hadn¡¯t acquired any new abilities¡­ ¡°Hmm¡­ I really didn¡¯t learn anything for the past year and a half.¡± He also came up with a new menu for the Adventurer¡¯s Guild restaurant which was a great success and even taught Angus how to make a new weapon called a sword. He had also been training with various weapons. Just the other day, he finally defeated the unicorn hare and achieved his first monster hunt. ¡°I knew it but it¡¯s really not so easy.¡± Tauro blurted out. But there was a reward too. As a result of various tests, Tauro seemed to be able to learn everything quickly and dexterously. It feels like there are people like that in the previous life but in this world, things are a little different. That¡¯s because of the existence of skills. Most of the skills you don¡¯t have, end up with you having no talent for it at all, so it¡¯s impossible to be good at them. Tauro, however, was able to do just fine. It had only been two years, so he would have to work at it until he mastered it, but Tauro thought that perhaps the secret of his garbled skill lay in that area. He had come to the northeast of the city to do his usual daily quest of gathering medicinal herbs. He knew he would run out of herbs if he kept going to the same forest. Tauro knew the forests around the city very well and he rotated between several different locations on a daily basis. As with any forest, the deeper you go into the forest, the more valuable medicinal herbs there are. As he was quickly gathering herbs as usual, he felt the presence of monsters as usual. The deeper into the forest you go, the higher the encounter rate. Tauro encountered mostly goblins, but in some places, he encountered orcs as well. Today, too, it seemed to be goblins. The other side hadn¡¯t noticed yet. As usual, he erased any sign of his presence and began to flee. Then. ¡°One of the conditions for activating the special skill [&%$#] is . You¡¯ve obtained [Detect Signs] and [Block Signs].¡± He heard the nostalgic ¡°voice of the world¡±. ¡° I¡¯m running away though¡­!¡± Tauro escaped from the area while leaving a tsukomi for the ¡°Voice of the World¡±. CH 17 The new ability was quite useful. It was on a different level from his usual ability to hide or sense a presence. First of all, he could conceal his presence. It was a level of cognitive distraction that made it difficult for people to notice him even though he was right in front of them. And then there was also the ability to detect presence. This was also linked to the true eye. If he felt a presence within range, his senses would be stimulated, and he would see the silhouette of the presence in his true eyes. It also reacts to murderous and harmful intent. Both of these abilities are essential to protect yourself as an adventurer. Aside from being able to conceal his presence, he also used the ability to detect signs on a regular basis as part of his training. He noticed many things that he hadn¡¯t noticed before. In the city, he could sense malice from the back alleys. The people he turned to see were older vagrants who had intercepted food from him in the past. There was a blatant feeling of jealousy coming from them. Within the Adventurer¡¯s Guild, surprisingly, there were no malicious feelings directed at him. Maybe it¡¯s because he helps the staff in the guild, or maybe it¡¯s because he¡¯s too young for the people around him, or maybe it¡¯s because they don¡¯t want to compete with him. Recently, he had been approached occasionally by older, more experienced adventurers, and their relationship has been good. From this experience, he¡¯d decided to use ¡®block signs¡¯ to blend in with the crowds in town and to always be on the lookout for signs. Incidentally, when he was using it in the guild, Leo, the branch manager, noticed him. ¡°Think about where you¡¯re supposed to use it! This is not the place.¡± Leo poked him in the head and he stopped immediately. It seems that there¡¯s a difference between blocking and detecting a presence. He¡¯ll have to work on both of them from now on. After that, thanks to his new abilities, quests became even more efficient. While gathering herbs, he can detect the location of monsters and change location. Being able to avoid the encounter itself is very useful as it keeps you safe at all times. In the quest to defeat monsters, the unicorn rabbit is very cautious and runs away quickly, so traps were the main way to defeat it, but now it¡¯s possible to approach it from behind and finish it off with a small sword. However, there are many times when he is noticed as if he¡¯s still inexperienced in concealing his presence. He guessed it was because his opponent¡¯s presence detection sense was still superior to his. Tauro thought that he would like to develop his skills to the level where he would be completely unnoticeable. At that moment, a person came into his sense range. One person was heading his way. Checking the silhouette, it seemed to be an adventurer. Through the bushes, an adventurer came running out. He was one of the members of the ¡°Five Arrows¡±, a D-ranked adventuring team from the Adventurers¡¯ Guild of Sa?si.{TN: Previously translated as Saishi} ¡°Satou? Is that you? Contact the guild. Our team has encountered a group of goblins and is engaging them. We need backup. Approximately 80 hostiles!¡± ¡°Yes, sir!¡± When Tauro heard the report, he immediately started running. The man who gave the message turned and headed back in the direction he came from. He was probably going to help his friends. Tauro rushed to the city. As soon as he arrived at the guild with his +5 agility, Leo immediately decided on an emergency quest. A team was formed with members who happened to be available, and they set out immediately. Leo, the branch manager, said ¡°Tauro, you¡¯ll guide this hastily formed team to the D-ranked group, then you¡¯ll be the liaison.¡± Tauro was to run with his +5 agility while using his presence detection and presence blocking to keep in close contact with the rest of the team. It was the best choice. It was as if Leo had some inkling of Tauro¡¯s abilities. When the D-rank rapid-response team rushed to the scene under Tauro¡¯s guidance, the D-rank team ¡°5 Arrows¡±, which had encountered the goblins, was fighting a tedious retreating battle. A man acting as a shield protects his friends from the goblins while preventing them from attacking and a wizard woman controls them with fire magic. The swordsman seemed to have been injured and was backing away, borrowing a shoulder from a man who seemed to be a healer. The archer was keeping an eye on his surroundings, threatening the goblins that were aiming for the wounded man. ¡°Satou, inform and guide the rest of the team about the situation. We¡¯re going in.¡± ¡°Okay, uh, take this!¡± Tauro handed the potion to the swordsman, the leader of the hastily constructed team. ¡°This is valuable isn¡¯t it?¡± The leader hesitated to take it, as it belonged to an F-ranked kid who should not be earning much. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, it¡¯s homemade and my own work, but it works well.¡± The leader looked surprised at the word ¡°homemade¡±. ¡°Okay.¡± The leader nodded and took it, leading the hastily made team into the goblin pack. After seeing them off, Tauro ran again to inform the rest of the follow-up team. CH 18 Tauro spotted the follow-up team and rushed over to inform them of the situation. The leader of the follow-up team was Leo, the branch chief, carrying a battle axe. The team consisted of Mauve, a sword wielder who had recently been promoted to C+ rank and ¡°Silver Sword¡±, a team that consisted of a shield wielder, a thief, and a healer. ¡°Very well. You can go back to the guild and report to the others, then get some rest.¡± With that, Leo and the others quickly ran off to the battlefield. When Tauro returned to the guild, he reported the situation breathlessly and collapsed on the spot. After all, he had made the distance from the depths of the forest to the guild in the city and back, from forest to guild to forest to guild, at full speed. Even with the +5 agility of Angus¡¯s small sword, his speed increased, but his strength remained the same. He was already at his limit. He saw Nei panicking, but he lost consciousness and didn¡¯t remember the rest. When Tauro woke up, the guild was noisy, even though it was the middle of the night. Apparently, although some people had been injured, the D rank team ¡°5 Arrows¡± had been rescued safely and the goblins had been wiped out. Everyone had come back. He overheard the adventurers talking, and they said that the hastily built team had fought hard to turn the tide of the rescue and that the arrival of Leo and his team had completely wiped out the goblins. ¡°I¡¯m glad everyone is okay.¡± Tauro was relieved, but then the leader of the hastily formed team arrived. ¡°Thank you, Satou, for the potion. Thanks to that, we were able to fight without worrying about some injuries. The guild will take care of the cost.¡± ¡°No, I¡¯m glad you¡¯re all okay, because all I could do was run.¡± ¡°No, the Five Arrows didn¡¯t get wiped out because you reported it earlier. You¡¯ve done your job well.¡± With a pat on Tauro¡¯s shoulder, the leader walked away. That said, Tauro felt he was rewarded for being useful even if he had no combat skills.. ¡°Hmm¡­ I¡¯m glad I was useful, but I¡¯m still worried about my lack of combat skills.¡± When Tauro returned to his room, he felt that this incident had once again hit him with what he lacked as an adventurer. The martial art instructor Daz evaluated his weapon handling ability positively, but he still lacked the essential combat skills. If it was just to protect himself there wasn¡¯t much to think about, but if he had to save someone else, like what happened the last time, he was worried. I also had a question. The sword skill +2 that is given to the small sword¡¯s wielder. He wondered if it was effective on someone who has no sword-wielding skills as he wasn¡¯t sure if you could just add +2 to nothing. Somehow, he felt that he will be using a sword more than other weapons such as spears, bows and arrows, shields, maces, sticks and martial arts. But that wasn¡¯t all. ¡°I¡¯m not sure if I¡¯ll be able to confirm this until I¡¯m up against a goblin, but goblins are almost always in groups, so being alone would be dangerous.¡± So it would be nice if he could get a temporary team to fight with him, but there was no way they would let a 10 years old kid in on a temporary basis, so he didn¡¯t have a chance to try it out. ¡°So in the end, I¡¯m still going to be doing the same thing¡­¡± He sighed. ¡°I guess I¡¯ll just have to train again tomorrow¡­¡± As soon as he lay down on the bed, he fell asleep. CH 19 A few days have passed since the emergency quest to defeat the goblins. Tauro chose his quest as usual and took it to the receptionist. He found a different male employee at the reception desk where Nei was usually stationed. ¡°Eh?¡± ¡°Oh, thank you for your hard work, Tauro-kun. Nei-san left the desk earlier for an emergency.¡± ¡°An emergency?¡± ¡°Between you and me, I heard that her parents came in unexpectedly. They said it was an arranged marriage.¡± The receptionist murmured close to Tauro¡¯s ear. ¡°It¡¯s a big deal, isn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. There are many adventurers who want Nei-san.¡± Yes, Nei is very popular among adventurers, partly because she is beautiful, but also because she has a cheerful personality and always has a smile on her face. Nei has been very kind to Tauro, but the other adventurers weren¡¯t jealous and look upon her favorably. She was seen as a kind woman who saved a child from starving to death and has been taking care of him ever since. Tauro, who was saved by her, is still small and doesn¡¯t pretend to be smart. A nearby adventurer overheard the exchange between the male staff member and Tauro. ¡°Wait a minute! Is what you just said true?¡± A loud voice echoed in the guild. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± Buzzing The guild became noisy. ¡°Listen up everyone, I heard that Nei-san has received a proposal for a blind date. ¡° ¡°What?¡± The guild was in an uproar. ¡°My Nei-san!¡± ¡°She¡¯s not for you! She¡¯s everyone¡¯s! ¡°Damn it! I¡¯m retiring as an adventurer, you bastard!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t be hasty! Let¡¯s hope this blind date doesn¡¯t work out!¡± The adults began to cry. To be honest, Tauro was surprised to see this scene, but he guessed that¡¯s how much people liked Nei. He decided to watch them warmly. ¡°Satou, have you heard anything?¡± A young adventurer turned to Tauro, drawing the attention of the other adventurers. ¡°No, I haven¡¯t heard anything¡­¡± Huuh. The sighs of the adventurers echoed in the guild. ¡°Huh¡­ What are you being treated like that by Nei-san for. You¡¯re useless.¡± It¡¯s a terrible oversight. It seemed that he couldn¡¯t keep a warm eye over this. ¡°Okay, Satou. You¡¯re going to follow Nei-san today and report back to us.¡± ¡°No, I can¡¯t do that, I¡¯ve already applied for a quest.¡± Tauro looked at the male officer as if to ask for help. When the man noticed his gaze. ¡°I haven¡¯t finished the paperwork for this quest yet, so it¡¯s okay.¡± With a big smile on his face, he gave him a good sign. Do your job, Marco-san! While still questioning Marco¡¯s ability to do his job, Tauro was asked by the adventurers to follow Nei. However, if he did that, Nei would definitely be angry with him when she found out. Tauro felt that way, so he decided to ask Nei directly, who was having dinner with her parents at a restaurant run by the Adventurer¡¯s Guild next door. ¡°What¡¯s wrong, Tauro-kun? A blind date? Oh, mother, you said something strange and it got misunderstood.¡± Nei said to her mother with a laugh. ¡°Tauro, my parents came out from the countryside to see me and do some sightseeing. I was surprised that they didn¡¯t tell me, but then my mom joked that if I didn¡¯t have a boyfriend, I should go on an arranged marriage. Someone must have misunderstood that.¡± Marco¡¯s quick thinking! Again Tauro questioned the competence of Marco, the guild employee. ¡°I¡¯m sorry about that, but I just couldn¡¯t help but notice that she¡¯s never had a boy story to tell so I¡¯m just anxious.¡± Nei¡¯s mother said with a laugh. ¡°If you¡¯re worried about her, kid. When you grow up, will you take my daughter as your wife?¡± Her father laughed and joked at this exchange. ¡°Now, father, don¡¯t embarrass Tauro-kun.¡± This is a family with a lot of smiles on their faces, and it shows that they have a good relationship. Speaking of which, Tauro wondered how his parents were doing in his previous life. He wondered if they were still shocked by his unexplained death at the top-notch university he had the chance to attend¡­. Looking back, he felt envious of the smiling parents and their child in front of him, thinking of all the trouble he had caused his own parents. After greeting Nei and her parents, Tauro left the store, feeling a bit sad. CH 20 A few days have passed since Nei¡¯s matchmaking fiasco. The fact that Marco had tried to make Tauro follow Nei, was a big problem. ¡°It seems that everyone used Tauro to follow Nei, but I wonder how it turned out?¡± The branch manager Leo and Nei were angry at the adult adventurers when they found out about it. Now, everyone is sitting on the floor in front of the guild¡¯s reception desk. ¡°We all have quests to do, so isn¡¯t this enough¡­¡± Tauro tried to speak up. ¡°You¡¯re a victim of exploitation, you should be angry too.¡± The branch manager, Leo, scowled at the seated adventurers. The adult adventurers shuddered at the piercing glare of his one eye. ¡°It¡¯s a disgrace for adventurers to use a child to spy on the private lives of guild officials.¡± Leo, the branch manager, had a point. ¡°I don¡¯t mind, Branch Manager, so you¡¯ll have to forgive them.¡± Nei spoke on their behalf. ¡°So sweet¡­ an angel.¡± I heard a voice from the adventurers seated in front of her whispering praises of her. ¡°If she says so, then fine. It¡¯s good timing. You¡¯ll be doing errand quests for the next month.¡± Gah! It was humble, hard and dirty, but worst of all, the reward was small It was literally a punishment for any adventurer. For Tauro, who had been a G-ranked adventurer for quite a while, most of the quests they had to do were ones he was used to and didn¡¯t bother him, but from now on, there would be some incredibly tough quests. For example the quest to repair the walls of the castle, which Tauro was too weak to take on at G rank. It was one of the less popular quests because it involved a lot of hard work, from quarrying, transporting, and stacking stones, and the reward wasn¡¯t very large. ¡°This time, they¡¯re short on manpower, so they¡¯re giving us a bigger budget. The rewards aren¡¯t bad.¡± The branch manager, Leo, smiled wryly. * For some reason, Tauro was now at the quarry, the site where the stone was cut. The foreman was showing him the ropes of quarrying. ¡°Do you understand? If it gets too small, it¡¯s useless, so be careful. Also, sometimes minerals are found in addition to the stone, so if you see anything that looks like it, let us, the field workers, know. If it¡¯s worth something, we¡¯ll pay you in addition to the usual fee. Although it¡¯s not very common to find them on the surface.¡± So it seems. Tauro had taken this tough job as a normal quest. He told Nei. ¡°Tauro, you don¡¯t have to feel responsible for this you know?¡± Nei was worried, but he was just curious. He wasn¡¯t interested in hauling and stacking at all, but for the quarrying and mining, he figured his eyes would come in handy. He was also interested in minerals since he had started to learn blacksmithing at Angus¡¯ place. ¡°All right, boys, time to get to work!¡± The foreman ordered, and everyone dispersed to the surroundings. Tauro quickly looked at the quarry with his ¡°true eyes¡±. There was almost no reaction. It seemed that the upper layers of weren¡¯t much of a big deal. However, there was one strong reaction on a pile of stones. It was a pile of scrap stones that had been quarried, but the reaction was coming from inside a slightly larger stone. Tauro ran over and swung his ice axe at the stone ¡°That pile of stone is trash, so it doesn¡¯t matter.¡± The foreman called out to him as he saw Tauro run up to the rubble. Tauro swung down with his ice axe and a shiny ore came out from inside the broken stone. In his ¡°true eyes¡±, it was labeled mithril ore. Then, the voice of the world echoed in my brain. ¡°Confirmed one of the activation conditions for the special skill [&%$#] . The skill [Precise] is obtained.¡± ¡±Boy, that¡¯s a pile of scrap stone after quarrying, there won¡¯t be anything there.¡± The foreman approached. There, Tauro showed him the mithril ore¡­ ¡°That¡¯s mithril ore! I didn¡¯t expect to find mithril in this quarry¡­! This is a big deal. Everyone stop working for a moment!¡± The quarry was mainly used for quarrying stone and when it did yield, it was only a little iron. If Mithril which is a special ore in this world is discovered, then their method of working will have to be adjusted. ¡°I¡¯ve only wielded the ice axe once¡­¡± Tauro forgot about getting a new ability in his excitement. CH 21 To be honest, the new ¡°Precision¡± ability was unclear. Since it was called ¡°precision,¡± Tauro thought it would be useful for detailed work, but since he rarely did any detailed work, he couldn¡¯t think of how to go about it and several days passed. In the meantime, he tried to train with his bow and arrow as usual in the guild¡¯s courtyard and he was able to hit the target at his usual distance with a hundred shots. He was showing signs of improvement. ¡°I wonder if the ¡°precision¡± skill has anything to do with this kind of thing! I think there was a term called ¡°precision shooting¡±.¡± Looking back at his previous memories, it occurred to him that he was still very weak and his power was literally that of a child. ¡°I¡¯ve got a vague idea of what ¡°precision¡± skill is, but I¡¯m more interested in the mithril ore.¡± Tauro was worried that he might get a lot of attention as the boy who ¡°accidentally¡± discovered the mithril ore, but he didn¡¯t need to worry about that. The fact that a considerable amount of mithril ore was discovered in a quarry owned by the city of Sa?si was in itself important. The city of Sa?si¡¯s finances could change at a stroke and not just for the better. Moreover, if the fact of this mithril mining spread throughout the country, there was a great possibility that many strangers who dreamed of getting rich would come to the city. The more people there were, the more chaos there would be in the city and that would affect public safety. Tauro didn¡¯t want to be the center of such a commotion, so he decided to sell the mithril through the guild as soon as possible and went on with the procedure. For Tauro, there was a possibility that he would be targeted if he got his hands on a huge amount of money. In fact, the quarry was supposed to buy it on the spot, but things went differently. So, they decided to ask the guild to intervene and find a buyer. As soon as the item was sold, Tauro planned to rent out the guild¡¯s store and invite all the Sa?si branch staff, officials, people from the town, and adventurers to a party. Even so, there was a great chance that he wouldn¡¯t be able to use all of the money, but in that case, he would donate all the rest to the orphanage. According to Taro Sato¡¯s experience in his previous life ¡°You can learn to spend money by throwing it away.¡± That was his theory. It would be better to spend it all on good things. It would be good for his safety. The next day, the mithril ore was purchased by a Viscount of Saisi, the lord of the estate. It was the first mithril to be quarried in his domain and he thought it would be a good omen to keep it with him and in that sense, he added some color to the purchase price. ¡°So, after deducting the guild¡¯s brokerage fee, you¡¯ll be getting 105 gold coins.¡± The amount far exceeded Tauro¡¯s expectations. ¡°Mithril is so rare.¡± He was simply amazed. Tauro confirmed this with his ¡°True Eye¡±. The sale price of the mithril was 1.5 million Japanese yen, which is too much for a ten-year-old kid to have in his possession. At the branch manager¡¯s office, Tauro was handed a bag of gold coins and when Leo, the branch manager, asked him what he was going to do with it, Tauro told him his exact thoughts. ¡°Hmm. You want to use up everything? you¡¯ve already started making that kind of decision at your age huh?. Well, okay. Let¡¯s make a splash!¡± The branch manager Leo laughed loudly and took Tauro to the lobby in front of the reception desk on the first floor of the guild. ¡°Everyone listen up! As we all know, Tauro Satou found mithril, but he wants to buy everyone a drink with the money from the sale. In a few days, we¡¯re going to rent out the whole neighborhood for a party!¡± He announced. Oh!!! At these words, the staff, adventurers, and others in the guild erupted in excitement and the next moment, the guild was in a festive mood. ¡°Yay! We can eat a lot of burgers!¡± ¡°Baka! You¡¯re supposed to drink alcohol at times like this!¡± ¡°We¡¯ll both be eating and drinking!¡± ¡°Satou, Thank you!¡± Tauro was showered with words of gratitude. CH 22 A few days later, Tauro¡¯s big party and the full donation to the orphanage were well received by all concerned parties. However, the fact that it was the act of a 10-year-old adventurer caused a lot of concern in the city, and Tauro quickly became a household name. However, not many people knew Tauro himself, except for those involved with him. This was because when he walked around the city, he used his presence blocker, so people rarely noticed him. Therefore, Tauro¡¯s name spread throughout the city and his image was tangled up in the imaginations of the few people who didn¡¯t know him personally. ¡°Satou, they say you spend your nights punishing the bad guys.¡± ¡°I heard you brought an old man back from the dead.¡± The adult adventurers were amused by the rumors in the city and teased Tauro. ¡°Of course not!¡± Tauro was troubled. The adventurers laughed and said, ¡°That¡¯s what I thought, so I dismissed it.¡± As guildmates, it seems they were correcting the rumors about him. ¡°Thank you, everyone.¡± Tauro thanked them. ¡°I owe you a drink and of course we¡¯d stick up for you. You¡¯re a member of the guild after all.¡± A voice came from among the other adventurers. It was Mauve, a veteran adventurer, who spoke up. ¡°You¡¯ve done a fine thing, so you should be proud of yourself. The rumors will die down in a little while.¡± ¡°Yes!¡± The reason why Tauro donated to the orphanage was partly because of his original situation, but also because of Mauve, who had been of great help to him in many ways. According to Nei, the receptionist, he heard that Mauve was an orphan when he first came to the guild and that he often donates a portion of his earnings as an adventurer to the orphanage. This is probably the reason why he has not left the city, even though his rank is now C+ and he is close to being ranked B, the standard for a top-notch adventurer. Mauve-san, you¡¯re still so cool! Tauro thanked Mauve once again. A few days after this incident, Tauro was walking around town for shopping, using his presence blocker as usual when he saw a couple of puppet shows on the street. There seemed to be a lot more of them than before. The fact that there were more puppet shows didn¡¯t matter to him, but he noticed that he was the main character in the puppet show. In this city, there is usually not much to talk about. For a puppeteer, a story with Tauro as the main character was the most popular and lucrative topic in town right now. It didn¡¯t matter if the rumor was true or not, as long as it was interesting, the puppeteer exaggerated the story in a funny, yet heroic way. ¡°This ¡­ Before the rumors fade away, the puppet shows could make them spread even more¡± Puppetry is one of the tools used to pass on local lore and stories to future generations. If you go back in time, it may have had a magical meaning, but now it¡¯s more like entertainment. Tauro¡¯s gossip was becoming a part of the local entertainment. In his previous life, there was a saying that you can¡¯t put a door in a person¡¯s mouth, and that¡¯s exactly the case. ¡°It can¡¯t be helped. It¡¯s a risky gamble and I know it¡¯s forbidden, but I¡¯ll have to play my cards right.¡± Tauro seemed to have a trump card. ¡°Sorry puppeteers, but an eye for an eye. I¡¯ll create a new form of entertainment that will be more fun and irresistible!¡± With the odds stacked against him, Tauro hurried back to the guild knowing he had a chance at victory. CH 23 Nei tilted her head when Tauro came back with as much wood as he could carry. ¡°Is everything okay? Why are carrying so much wood? You must have stood out.¡± She knew that Tauro didn¡¯t like standing out, so she could only wonder. ¡°I thought I¡¯d make a game for my peaceful life in the future.¡± ¡°A game for your peaceful life?¡± Nei had no idea what he was talking about. ¡°Yes, there¡¯s too much noise in the city about me, so I thought I¡¯d make a game to get people excited about it and forget about me in the process.¡± ¡°Oh, you mean to divert their attention the other way. But wouldn¡¯t it be hard to suddenly create something that everyone will be crazy about?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I have a forbidden hand to play.¡± (smiles) ¡°Forbidden hand? Tauro-kun, you¡¯re making a mischievous face.¡± ¡°Oh, don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m not going to commit a crime. It¡¯s just¡­¡± Tauro couldn¡¯t say that he wanted to try otherworldly things because he was bored by fantasy stuff. But here, he had to rely on that which has been run out of the royal road. ¡° Ote- not, It¡¯s called ¡°Reversi¡± {TN: Othello} He was about to use a name that would not only alienate readers, but could also be discontinued due to adult reasons, but he held his ground. ¡°Reversi?¡± ¡°Yes. First, cut out a board into a square¡­¡± Draw lines on it to make an 8¡Á8 board, and then make a flat disc-shaped stone with the front and back painted in black and white. ¡°That¡¯s it. All done.¡± ¡°How do we play?¡± Tauro explained the rules as they played. ¡°Oh, I see. It¡¯s easy and fun!¡± Nei was motivated to play, so he gave her a few tries. ¡°Oh, it¡¯s so frustrating. It¡¯s so simple and yet so profound. I¡¯ve never beaten you, Tauro-kun. But this is fun. I¡¯m sure everyone will be happy to play this!¡± With Nei¡¯s praise, Tauro¡¯s confidence grew. But there was one important thing. The question was, ¡°Who¡± would be the creator and ¡°register¡± with the commercial guild? So far, the menu he thought of from his previous life had not been registered because it was food. There were some who secretly tried to imitate it, but the guild store, which prepared the original, was the most delicious and combined with the absolute fame of the adventurer¡¯s guild, there were no stores that blatantly tried to copy it. Tauro thought that Reversi could also use the guild¡¯s name, but if it was to be registered with a commercial guild, the personal name of the creator would be required. Leo, the branch manager, would be fine, but wouldn¡¯t he be suspected since his personality was well known? If possible, he required someone who¡¯s tight-lipped, not greedy for money, trustworthy in character, and above all, has the backing to get out of trouble. He decided to ask Nei. ¡°Yes, there is one person I can think of, Tauro-kun, you¡¯re close to him.¡± The hint came to him immediately. ¡°Eh?¡± ¡°An honest man who donates to an orphanage, belongs to a guild and is one of the best adventurers in Sa?si.¡± ¡°Oh! Mauve-san!¡± ¡°Right? He¡¯ll surely be happy if he can donate a portion of his income to the orphanage for years to come and I¡¯m sure he¡¯ll be happy to accept it because he¡¯ll be able to go on a quest away from the city for an extended period of time to further his career as the ¡°Silver Sword¡±.¡± Tauro immediately rented the branch manager¡¯s office and with Leo¡¯s mediation, he explained his reasons to Mauve. ¡°Okay. More income will help the orphanage. Besides, I¡¯ve been wanting to get out there with my team members to work my way up.¡± He readily agreed. ¡°But are you sure, Tauro-kun? Won¡¯t you regret it later when this Reversi thing becomes famous?¡± Mauve had a valid point. ¡°Yes. Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m okay with just getting a part of the profit and not getting involved in any trouble.¡± Tauro replied with a smile. ¡°Haha. That¡¯s true. It is a mutually beneficial negotiation.¡± Mauve and Tauro shook hands firmly and the negotiation was concluded. CH 24 Once the contract with Mauve was signed, Tauro began to differentiate his products. From simple, inexpensive boards for the general public, to elaborately designed boards for the rich and even limited edition, luxurious boards with feet like a Shogi board. Here, the ability of ¡°precision¡±, which had been dormant, came in handy. The limited edition product was made with such precision that it could not be ordered from any woodworking shop. ¡°Tauro-kun, this is a work of art.¡± That was Nei¡¯s impression after using the appraisal. They submitted the three pieces to the Commercial Guild and had them registered under the name of Mauve. The registration went smoothly. The commercial guild was still unsure of the future of this Reversi, but they were certainly taken aback by the artistry of the limited edition board. ¨CA few days later¨C ¡°A good product doesn¡¯t always sell immediately. Publicity is the key.¡± Tauro was talking inside the guild-run store, ¡°Yasuragi-tei¡±. ¡°Fortunately, this store is the most popular tourist spot in town. All you have to do is join the customers here, play this game and occasionally tell them how much fun it is.¡± Yes, Tauro¡¯s idea was to use cherry blossoms. They prepared people who would play the game with the customers and people who would advertise the product by creating a crowd around it. Incidentally, Tauro negotiated with the store to free up a few seats for this purpose. He also made sure to have a sales corner next to the checkout counter so that interested customers could buy the products right away. The merchants who do business with the Adventurer¡¯s Guild were also given the right to sell the products and place them in the store. Leo, the head of the branch, had already delivered a limited edition copy to the lord as a gift. Leo advised him not to let it go viral without the lord¡¯s knowledge and have him complain about it later. In the city of Saisi, where entertainment is scarce, young people immediately jumped at the chance to play a game that was popular in a popular spot. And since the rules were easy to understand, both children and the elderly could play it. Reversi began to be played in every corner of the city. When people started to play it around a table in the eaves of their houses, galleries began to gather and some of them began to comment on the players¡¯ gameplay. When they found out that they could buy it at a low price for the general public, they lined up in front of the merchants who sold it. ¡°Mauve-san, it¡¯s selling! The cheap ones are selling, but the expensive ones are selling like hotcakes too!¡± A merchant who frequented the Adventurer¡¯s Guild approached Mauve, who was just checking on his quest. ¡°Oh yeah? I¡¯m glad to hear that. But I¡¯ll leave the business to the guild, so you can talk to them.¡± ¡°Haha! That¡¯s right. Anyway, this Reversi is sure to sell well not only in this town but also outside! I¡¯ll go talk to them about increasing production.¡± The beaming merchant walked up to the branch manager¡¯s room. ¡°Is that alright. Tauro-kun?¡± Mauve turned to Tauro, who was sitting next to him looking for an F-rank quest. ¡°I¡¯ve already talked to the branch manager about expanding the production base.¡± ¡°I see. I¡¯ll be able to compete in the big city with my friends, thanks.¡± Mauve thrusts his fist out lightly and Tauro clasps his small fist together, fist bumping him. * Half a month later, after completing a series of high-ranked quests in the city of Saisi, Team Silver Sword was promoted to B-rank and set off for the big city with a letter of introduction from Leo, the head of the guild. CH 25 Recently, the city of Saisi had begun to overflow with activity. Word of the mithril ore being produced in the territory had spread throughout the country, and people had begun to flock to the city. More and more people began to do business with it. And when that happens, things move. And since all of this was subject to tax, a lot of money came to the lord. For the city of Sa?si and the Viscount in charge, it was truly the spring of their lives. While the lord had a big smile on his face, Leo, the head of the Sa?si branch of the Adventurers¡¯ Guild, had a very stern look on his face. ¡°It¡¯s good to have adventurers from other places, but the quality is low. They cause trouble with the locals and the guild¡¯s reputation suffers. Our current top adventurers are the C-ranked ¡®Five Arrows¡¯ and a hastily created C-ranked ¡®Blue Guardian¡¯, but they¡¯re not nearly as good as Mauve¡¯s ¡®Silver Sword¡¯.¡± Earlier, Tauro had been listening to Leo¡¯s complaints. He was supposed to be discussing a plan to expand Reversi¡¯s production, but when Leo issued a complaint, it couldn¡¯t be ignored. ¡°The security in the territory is getting worse. We¡¯ve been asking the lord to increase the number of soldiers in the territory, but it¡¯s not going well and on the contrary, we¡¯ve been lending our strengths to take down bandits and brigands and crackdown on crime.¡± Leo¡¯s complaining didn¡¯t stop. ¡°Well, sales at Yasuragi-tei are as good as ever and we¡¯re getting commissions from the Reversi sales, but¡­¡± It looks like they were finally getting back on track. ¡°I heard from a merchant that a large order is about to come in from King¡¯s Landing.¡± ¡°Oh, that¡¯s right. They also want ten of Tauro¡¯s limited editions.¡± ¡°Ten huh¡­? I guess the capital is different.¡± The basic price for a limited edition board is eight gold coins. Tauro was worried. Considering the distance to the royal capital, labor costs and other expenses. 10 gold coins wouldn¡¯t be enough to cover up for everything. Is that really worth it? ¡°The Chamber of Commerce says they¡¯re selling them for fifteen gold pieces per side, and they¡¯ve already sold six sides.¡± They almost doubled the price? Tauro thought that the merchant had an amazing business spirit. ¡°I¡¯ve been to King¡¯s Landing several times myself and there are many people there who are richer than the lord of this city. And on the other hand, if it¡¯s cheap, the buyers will be dissatisfied.¡± Leo added. ¡°It¡¯s a kind of status, I guess?¡± ¡°Maybe. I¡¯d also like Tauro-kun to accompany the caravan on this mission.¡± ¡°¡­..What? What did you just say?¡± After a moment, Tauro who thought he heard wrong asked. ¡°I want you to play the role of the Reversi guide and you¡¯re to go to the royal capital for about a month. I¡¯ve told them you¡¯re the inventor¡¯s best student.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t need a mentor. The rules are simple! Besides, I¡¯m only ten years old!¡± It wasn¡¯t something I wanted to say, but I couldn¡¯t help it. ¡°It can¡¯t be helped if they insist. Besides, I can¡¯t let them find Mauve when he¡¯s gone somewhere else. He¡¯s not even the inventor.¡± There was no mistaking what Branch Manager Leo was saying, but it made him stand out too much. ¡°You¡¯re the inventor but there¡¯s no one in King¡¯s Landing who knows you, and it¡¯s not a bad idea to see King¡¯s Landing while you¡¯re young.¡± Tauro was persuaded by the plausibility of what he said. But he was surprised by the unexpected addition, ¡°Oh, and you¡¯ll be promoted to E-rank today, so it¡¯s fine.¡± He was surprised by the unexpected report. ¡°Eh? This is so sudden!¡± ¡°The E-rank adventurers from elsewhere are of worse quality than you, so we¡¯ll have to promote you to balance things out.¡± It was a very delicate reason and Tauro did not feel too good about it. CH 26 Now that he was going to King¡¯s Landing, Tauro was busier than usual. He had to make 10 limited edition boards and at the same time, he was thinking about whether he could do an E-rank quest since he had been promoted. Receiving quests is part of his daily routine, but for now he¡¯s been using his time by collecting herbs, which is quick and efficient. ¡°I can¡¯t wait to finish the limited edition work and do the E rank quests before going to King¡¯s Landing.¡± Tauro thought as he chipped away at the wood. In the evening, a large group of adventurers came to report their quests, and Tauro ran around to help the guild staff. This was one of the specialties of the Sa?si branch of the Adventurers¡¯ Guild. However, there was one adventurer who was uncomfortable with this scene. He was an adventurer who had recently arrived from another town. ¡°I can¡¯t believe there are kids wandering around the guild in this rural branch. It¡¯s an eyesore!¡± ¡°I saw him doing a quest a while ago. When did the guild start babysitting kids? I don¡¯t understand the common sense of the countryside!¡± The two stranger adventurers were talking loudly so that Tauro could hear them. Tauro was a sensible person and he wasn¡¯t surprised because he has been getting bad feelings from them towards him for some time. That¡¯s what he had imagined. They were probably part of the ¡°poor quality E rank adventurers¡± that Branch Chief Leo had mentioned. Looking at their tags, he immediately recognized them as E rank because their tags were made of copper. If Tauro, who was helping the staff from a distance, could hear it, it meant that the other adventurers could hear it too. The local adventurers were not only annoyed by Tauro¡¯s slander, but also by the ¡°country-side branch¡± comment. However, no one among the adventurers was offended by this level of bad language. It¡¯s just an everyday occurrence. The E rank adventurer got carried away. ¡°It¡¯s tough when kids like this underestimate us, isn¡¯t it?¡± The E rank adventurer seemed to have gotten carried away. ¡°You guys are the ones who underestimate us the most!¡± This was the moment when the voices of the local adventurers in the lobby became one. ¡°I don¡¯t know what you think you¡¯re doing, but Satou, the ¡®kid¡¯ as you call him, is an accomplished adventurer. He¡¯s an E rank adventurer just like you.¡± The leader of the hastily-formed C-ranked team, the Blue Guardians, spoke on behalf of everyone. This adventurer was the leader of the hastily constructed team that had been given a potion by Tauro during an emergency quest. ¡°A kid is an adventurer and is the same E-rank as us? It¡¯s not even funny as a joke.¡± Perhaps they thought it was a joke, but the E rank adventurers laughed out loud. The ranks of the adventurers were roughly as follows G rank: Amateur F rank: novice E rank: Average D rank ¨C skilled C rank -> Strong B Rank-> First Class A Rank -> Super First Class S rank -> Legendary These were the rankings. The fact that ten-year-old Tauro was treated as a Normal Adventurer might have sounded like a bad joke to those who didn¡¯t know him. ¡°But it¡¯s true. I don¡¯t know what kind of place you were in before, but the quality of adventurers here is better than anywhere else. The head of the branch and the martial arts instructor are former A-rank adventurers, and under their tutelage, even the ¡®kids¡¯ become stronger than you.¡± The local adventurers were excited by the scathing reply of Roy, the leader of Blue Guardian. ¡°Haha, if Roy said it, then I feel sorry for you guys!¡± ¡°That¡¯s right!¡± ¡°Yes, yes, we have good quality!¡± As the lobby became enveloped in a sense of unity, the two E-rank adventurers couldn¡¯t stay there anymore and hurriedly left the guild. Leo, the branch manager, and Daz, the instructor, were former A-rank!? Tauro was more surprised by those words than Roy¡¯s help. The day after this minor trouble in the guild lobby, the two E-rank adventurers left the city. Although they look thick-skinned, they seemed to be sensitive to their own shame. CH 27 Tauro was helping the guild with their daily work. After a while, the hustle and bustle in the lobby began to die down as more and more adventurers went off on their quests. Just as he was looking at the bulletin board to choose a quest, a man who looked like an ordinary person but was not an adventurer entered the room. Tauro felt a presence, but he didn¡¯t care as he was looking for a quest. He found out that the man stopped for a moment, but instead of heading for the reception desk, he heard footsteps approaching closely behind him. He felt blatant malice and turned around in alarm as the presence approached him, and there stood his father. ¡°What are you doing here after running away from home, you little shit?¡± When he realized it was Tauro, he nudged him and tried to punched him. Tauro quickly dodged the fist with his reflexes. The father fell due to his own weight and the fact that Tauro evaded the punch. When he dodged the punch, his father got pissed. ¡°Who said you could dodge? You son of a bitch!¡± His father made to grab him but Tauro dodged it, too. This time, his father staggered from the momentum. ¡°Hey, what are you doing?¡± Nei, the receptionist, chastised the man. The rest of the adventurers joined in. ¡°Violence is not allowed in the guild, old man!¡± Tauro¡¯s father had no choice but to calm down, but he quickly regained his composure. ¡°Where do you stay? Pack up your things, we¡¯re leaving!¡± He yelled at Tauro and grabbed him by the wrist. But Tauro quickly shook him off. ¡°I¡¯m not going back there.¡± Tauro replied firmly. Surprised by his son¡¯s defiance, his father lost his temper again ¡°Who the hell do you think you are talking to?¡± He made an attempt to punch him again. Tauro dodged the punch again in disgust. The man hasn¡¯t changed at all. Tauro sighed. He was tempted to kick his father¡¯s staggering butt, but this was the guild, and violence was not allowed, so he held back. ¡°Staying here will cause trouble for everyone, so let¡¯s go outside and talk.¡± ¡°Who are you to tell me what to do?¡± His father started to say, but when he realized that Nei, the receptionist, and the remaining adventurers were staring at him, he relented and obeyed. Nei was worried about Tauro and wanted to come with him, but Tauro shook his head and refused. It¡¯s a matter between father and son, he couldn¡¯t bother Nei. As soon as they moved to the guild-run restaurant next door, ¡°Yasuragitei,¡± As soon as they sat down, his father said. ¡°What happened to the money from the mithril sale? You donated it without permission! What belongs to you belongs to me, your parent! Give me the rest along with what you¡¯ve earned so far!¡± His father yelled at him. Hah. Tauro knew this was going to happen. The rumor must have reached the village. He had probably forgotten about Tauro until now. But since a lot of money was involved, he seemed to have regained his parental status. ¡°I used some of the money from the mithril sale and donated the rest to charity. What I have earned so far is my own and I have no intention of giving it to you.¡± Tauro politely declined. The words made his father lose his temper again and he grabbed him across the table, but Tauro shook his hand away. ¡°You heartless bastard! Don¡¯t you think you owe me as your parent?¡± He seemed to have learned his lesson and this time he appealed to him emotionally. ¡°All I remember is being kicked and punched every day.¡± Of course, Tauro was not moved at all by this emotional charade. ¡°That¡¯s just discipline! And I fed you every day!¡± ¡°Wasn¡¯t that the least you could do as a parent? I remember there were times when you didn¡¯t do that.¡± He was being sloppy and persistent, so Tauro replied sarcastically. Then, two men entered the room and started walking towards them. ¡°Soak, did you get the money from your son?¡± It all started to make sense to him Tauro had a hunch. ¡°I¡¯m about to get it. Please give me a little more time.¡± His father was blatantly frightened and defensive. Tauro wondered how he should approach the situation. CH 28 His father was frightened because of the two men. One had short hair and a scar at the corner of his eye while the other was skin-headed and large. Both dressed in simple clothes with swords lowered. The man with the scar out of his eye looked at Tauro for a moment, and then said ¡°So you¡¯re Tauro. Your father owes us a lot of money and if you don¡¯t pay it, your uncles will be in trouble.¡± He said softly with a smile. But his eyes were not smiling at all and Tauro immediately knew that he was putting up an act. ¡°I heard you have a lot of money and it would be a great help to your father and your uncles if you would pay the debt for him instead.¡± Tauro decided that they were probably not decent money lenders. It was a few days¡¯ distance from the village to the city. Even if he refused here, it was unlikely that they would return empty-handed without getting their money back. ¡°Do you have an IOU(Loan Book/ I owe you)?¡± They were both surprised to hear the unexpected words from the child¡¯s mouth. ¡°Yes, of course we do.¡± The man with the eye scar pulled out a piece of paper from his pocket and flashed it, but quickly tried to pull it down. ¡°That¡¯s not an IOU, is it?¡± ¡°What are you basing this on, kid? You can¡¯t read, so how will you know if it¡¯s an IOU or not?¡± He smiled, but his eyes became sharp. ¡°I can read.¡± Tauro said His father and the man with the eye scar exchanged glances as if to say they were having a different conversation. ¡°From the looks of it, those are the instructions from your boss. Talk as gently as possible to find out how much money I have, find out if I¡¯ll be able to pay back and squeeze out as much money as you can. I¡¯m not going to pay without an IOU. But even if you did have it, I wouldn¡¯t pay because I don¡¯t consider this man to be my father.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t be silly! Pay back your parent!¡± The father shouted as if he was clinging on to a thread. You can see the desperation in his eyes. He knew that if he failed, he might lose his life. ¡°And as I told him earlier, I used some of the money from the sale and donated the rest. I have some money I¡¯ve gotten from my work, but I¡¯m not going to give it away.¡± The two collectors looked at each other. ¡°Hey¡­ Sook. Isn¡¯t this different from what you told us?¡± The man with the eye scar was no longer smiling. ¡°Wait a minute! I think he¡¯s lying!¡± His Father frantically pointed at him. ¡°Everyone in this city knows about the whereabouts of the money from the Mithril sale. And it was this store that used some of it. Ask any of the people around here, and you¡¯ll have proof.¡± The employees, who had sensed from the atmosphere that Tauro, the town¡¯s good kid adventurer was being tangled up with some unsavory people and had been listening in on the conversation. ¡°That¡¯s right! Satou, you bought everyone a lot of drinks at this restaurant and donated the rest to the orphanage! It¡¯s a famous story!¡± ¡°That¡¯s right, he¡¯s a very loyal boy who pays a lot of money to the people who have helped him!¡± The employees raised their voice. Then the proprietress of the restaurant appeared. ¡°Hey, hey, hey, you guys are being rude in front of the other customers. If anything happens to Tauro-kun, the whole city will become your enemy. It would be better for you if you don¡¯t take it too far.¡± She smiled and turned her sharp gaze on the men. It¡¯s just as well that the proprietress is a former adventurer, she is polite yet powerful. It was an unexpected support for Tauro. His father and the two men must have realized they were in a bad spot and rushed to leave. Then Tauro stopped the collector. ¡°I¡¯m sorry for the trouble he¡¯s caused you. Even though we¡¯ve severed ties, I¡¯m sure the two of you can¡¯t just leave now that you¡¯ve come here under orders from your superiors.¡± His father had already run away and was gone. ¡°This is my fee for the trouble, I don¡¯t need a receipt.¡± He took out a gold coin from his pocket and tossed it to the man with the eye scar. ¡°The two men, who seem pressured by the atmosphere surrounding the 10 years-old hurriedly took the gold coin and ran away from the store after his father.¡± CH 29 In the few days leading up to the trip to King¡¯s Landing, Tauro had a series of mishaps. He had been involved in a squabble with an E-rank adventurer, his father showed up and this morning he was involved with another adventurer from somewhere else. The adventurer seemed to have some rudimentary appraisal skills and when he found out that Tauro¡¯s small sword was made by Angus, a blacksmith that was becoming more and more famous, he must have thought it was valuable. He made a false accusation and tried to steal it from Tauro. Of course, Tauro knew that he was being followed, so he led him outside the city to the vicinity of other local adventurers, where he loudly denounced his opponent¡¯s actions so that the local adventurers could hear him. It was a legitimate case of self-defense with witnesses. Tauro was an E-ranked adventurer and his opponent was an E-ranked adventurer too, but he was weaker than he thought. He had cleared the trouble in the morning, completed the herb gathering quest and returned to the guild, but it was already noon. ¡°So many unpleasant things happening all at once.¡± While complaining, he¡¯d been working on the limited edition of the game all afternoon. Tauro had been working intently for a long time. ¡°That¡¯s 10¡­!¡± Tauro did a guts pose out in the courtyard after completing the 10 limited edition Reversi boards for the King¡¯s Landing. ¡°Even with ¡°Precise¡±, It¡¯s hard to make this all in a short period of time.¡± Even with precision, it was Tauro who had to make it, so it was inevitable that he would get tired. However, the ability of precision was plain, but it was useful. If you make one good thing, you can literally recreate the same thing with precision. Of course, you can¡¯t make something good without creativity and the talent that comes with it, but Tauro has the creativity that he had developed through the knowledge of his previous life as well as the study he has done until the age of 21, which enhanced his talent. With that knowledge, it wasn¡¯t hard to create a good work. ¡°It¡¯s a good thing I took my art classes seriously at school!¡± This was the result of the sweat and tears of Taro Sato, who had worked diligently and steadily in all his subjects even though it was to go to a prestigious university with a famous black magic club. The guild was visited by the merchant who had been commissioned to sell Reversi and was going to sell it to the royal capital. He came to check on the progress of Tauro¡¯s limited edition. ¡°How¡¯s it coming along, Satou-kun?¡± ¡°Oh, Paul-san, all ten sides are done.¡± The merchant, Paul, was surprised. He had hoped to get the six sold-out editions in time. But now, with only a few days left before his departure, he had ten copies of the limited edition. Tauro Satou looked like a tree of gold. ¡°Satou-kun, no, let me call you Tauro-kun. Is there any chance that you are going to quit your job as an adventurer and work your way up this line of work?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t try to pull out one of our most promising talents.¡± The branch manager, Leo, appeared from behind and lightly poked Paul in the head. ¡°You¡¯re here, Mr. Branch Manager? You know Tauro¡¯s talent is worth more money.¡± He replied to Leo without any hard feelings. ¡°If you pull him out, I¡¯ll stop doing business with your company.¡± ¡°Please, I¡¯m just kidding.¡± Paul laughed and replied. ¡°I often joke a lot but I was serious about his talent.¡± The two men laughed and that seemed to be the end of it. ¡°So, what about the trip to King¡¯s Landing?¡± Tauro, who hadn¡¯t heard the details, questioned them. ¡°I¡¯d like to leave now if we have all ten limited editions, but we need a few more luxury and general editions, so please wait a few more days.¡± ¡°Have you found out who Tauro¡¯s mentoree will be?¡± Leo, the branch manager, voiced Tauro¡¯s concern instead. ¡°I¡¯ve heard from my contact at the Chamber of Commerce headquarters over there. He¡¯s a nobleman. He was supposed to be a rich merchant¡¯s family member at first. Tauro, you¡¯d better get some new clothes while you¡¯re at it, I¡¯ll introduce you to a tailor. Of course, we¡¯ll pay for it, so don¡¯t worry.¡± ¡°He¡¯s a nobleman?¡± Tauro was anxious about the growing story. CH 30 It was the day of their departure for King¡¯s Landing. ¡°What¡¯s the matter, Tauro-kun? Aren¡¯t you going to wear the suit you had made at the tailor¡¯s?¡± Leo, the branch chief who was seeing him off, said teasingly. ¡°Did you make a dress, Tauro-kun? Come on, you should have told me. I wanted to see it.¡± Nei was curious. It¡¯s formal wear for noblemen, not something you can wear on the road. The day before, Tauro had tried on the finished garment, but it was suffocating, gaudy, and made him feel like he was being dressed. ¡°Well, boys, I¡¯ll be counting on you to guard the merchant corps and protect Tauro-kun.¡± Leo, the branch manager, reminded the C-rank team ¡°Five Arrows¡±, the D-rank team ¡°Red Flash¡±, and the solo C-rank adventurer. The trade association hired five guards from the Five Arrows, four from the Red Flash, and Tauro¡¯s personal guard, a solo female adventurer named Meena. The trading party consisted of three horse-drawn carriages. Most of the cargo contained Reversi, but there is also mithril ore from Saisi, a commodity that now accounts for most of Saisi¡¯s earnings. ¡°The trip to King¡¯s Landing is scheduled for one week, so let¡¯s go.¡± Paul took the lead and the trading party set off. Nei waved and Tauro waved back as he got further and further away. * The first trip went well. After all, following the road was a big part of it. There were many people coming and going along the road, so it was safe. There were rest stops in between and soldiers were stationed there. In Tauro¡¯s opinion, it was a standard fantasy and he imagined that the merchant troops would be attacked during the journey, but he didn¡¯t seem to have to worry about that. Meena, Tauro¡¯s escort, told him that once you get off the road, the security gets worse. So there is a lot of danger for merchants who go from village to village on their own. Meena seemed to have been doing escort work for such merchants so she was familiar with the area. Although she was only 19 years old, she was a solo adventurer and also a rank C-. Meena was an adventurers¡¯ standardly equipped woman with long red-hair in a pony tail, blue eyes, a tall one-handed sword, a shield and a bow and arrow. This is the first time he had talked to Meena for a long period, although he was familiar with her because she often visited Daz, the martial arts instructor. ¡°The man coming from the front is suspicious.¡± Tauro muttered quietly to Meena. He was staring at them, looking at each of them as they passed by and also at the carriage load. ¡°He¡¯s been staring. Could be some kind of bandit with an appraisal.¡± ¡°Could be reconnaissance, I suppose. I¡¯m sure it¡¯s risky for them to attack on the road, so they¡¯re probably trying to figure out if it¡¯s worth it. I¡¯ve heard that Paul has the Appraisal Inhibition (Weak) skill, so I don¡¯t think they¡¯ve spotted the mithril, but¡­¡± ¡°What do you think they saw in this merchant corps?¡± ¡°Hmm¡­ On the outside, there are three wagons with a lot of cargo. It takes a lot of people to attack a group of seventeen people and I¡¯m not sure they¡¯d want to take that risk on the highway.¡± * The half-day at the resting spot passed uneventfully. Apparently, it might have been deemed too risky to attack this merchant corp. While they were resting, they heard a lot of noise out front. It seemed that bandits had attacked another merchant company on the road ahead. It seemed that one of the attacked merchants had run alone to the resting place where Tauro and the others were, asking for help. The soldiers stationed there saddled their horses and galloped in formation to the scene. I hope they can make it in time¡­ ¡° They may not make it in time. The bandits wouldn¡¯t have attacked if they didn¡¯t think the odds were in their favor.¡± Maybe Meena had an idea of what Tauro was thinking, but she told him calmly and realistically. ¡°So It¡¯s not that easy.¡± Reality isn¡¯t always favorable and Tauro¡¯s wish was asking too much. The next morning, Tauro learned that all the merchants had been wiped out and the bandits had escaped. CH 31 On the seventh day after their departure from the city of Sa?si, in the early afternoon, Paul¡¯s carriage at the front slowed down as the second carriage in which Tauro was riding approached. ¡°Tauro-kun, you can see the royal capital from here.¡± Tauro peered out of the carriage at the road ahead, blocking the sunlight with his hand. What he saw was a seemingly endless wall in the distance, with lines stretching from side to side like the horizon. ¡°The walls are much longer than that of Saisi.¡± ¡°If you get closer, you¡¯ll see how high they are.¡± As they approached the royal capital, they could see the royal castle rising up on a small hill behind the walls. ¡°This is the royal capital, huh? I¡¯m already getting nervous.¡± Tauro cringed at the thought of having to teach Reversi to the people who lived there, the ruling nobility. When he reached the gate of the royal city, he was overwhelmed by its size and height. Looking up at it made his neck ache. Tauro and the members of the D-rank adventurer team ¡°Red Flash¡±, who had never been to the capital before, were looking at it with their mouths hanging open when Meena pointed out that they should close their mouths. Everyone else laughed, but for a first timer, it was hard not to be surprised. They didn¡¯t need permission to go through the castle gates. The gates are open during the day, but the main gates are open at night as well. As expected, the gates of the royal castle are closed at night, but Tauro was still surprised. Once they passed through the gates, they were in a different world. In the city of Sa?shi, there were only two-story buildings at most and the only buildings larger than that were the lords¡¯ residences and the main facilities of the city, but here, there were three- and four-story buildings lined up side by side. Tauro had lived in a city in his previous life, so it shouldn¡¯t have been too surprising, but he couldn¡¯t help but compare it to the city of Sa?si. What¡¯s more, it¡¯s a melting pot of different races and beings. In the city of Sa?si, he had only seen beast adventurers and Angus, a dwarf blacksmith, but here, there were many races he had never seen before. The only one Tauro recognized immediately was an elf. ¡°I¡¯m heading to the chamber of commerce headquarters, please follow me!¡± Paul leaned forward from the carriage¡¯s driver¡¯s stand and called out to Tauro and the others behind him. ¡°Yes, sir!¡± They replied in a loud voice, then leaned over the back of the carriage and announced it again in a loud voice. A small voice would have been drowned out by the hustle and bustle of the capital. The five arrows, the red flash, and Meena, who had been walking alongside the carriage, each nodded and moved behind the carriage to begin walking. The roads in the royal capital are basically separate for carriages and people. It¡¯s also the case with the city of Saisi, but it was not clearly defined, only vaguely. Tauro, overwhelmed by the unfamiliar atmosphere of the royal capital, headed with the group to the headquarters of the Chamber of Commerce. ¡°Just in case, we will report the bandit incident to the Adventurer¡¯s guild and complete the quest. You will be back in five days, right?¡± The leader of the ¡°Five Arrows¡± confirmed with Paul. ¡°Yes, please meet me here in the morning in five days.¡± ¡°Understood. What about the ¡°Red Flash¡±?¡± ¡°We¡¯ll go with you. We also want to finish the formalities.¡± ¡°What about you, Satou and Meena?¡± ¡°I¡¯m going to help Paul and the others.¡± ¡°I¡¯m guarding Tauro, so there¡¯s no need for me to go.¡± ¡°Okay then, let¡¯s split up.¡± With that, the ¡°Five Arrows¡± and the ¡°Red Flash¡± quickly left. ¡°The Five Arrows have really gotten used to King¡¯s Landing, haven¡¯t they?¡± Tauro was impressed and asked Meena about it. ¡°They¡¯ve done this kind of quest many times. So have I.¡± ¡°Is it something you have to get used to?¡± ¡°Only at the beginning. It¡¯s a big place, so if you get lost, you can use the tower of the castle as a landmark.¡± Meena pointed towards the royal castle where there was a tall tower. ¡°You got lost, didn¡¯t you, Meena?¡± ¡°Yes, I was trying to get to the Adventurer¡¯s Guild Headquarters, but I got lost for half a day and finally noticed that tower.¡± Tauro didn¡¯t know if Meena was actually being serious or joking, but he felt that the distance between them had shortened. CH 32 On the day of their arrival in the capital, they helped unload the Reversi merchandise, had dinner with Paul, and then decided to rest at the inn he had reserved for them. It was Tauro Satou¡¯s first time staying in a proper inn, so he was very nervous, but he was also surprised at how luxurious it was. ¡°The inn (in this world) is pretty luxurious. I wonder if everyone is like this.¡± ¡°Yeah? This is only for Tauro. I got the room next to yours because I¡¯m your escort, but the other adventurers stay in more modest accommodations.¡± ¡°Really?¡± ¡°The inn I usually stay is at least five times less than the price of this one.¡± ¡°Five times less?¡± ¡°Since you¡¯re going to teach a nobleman how to play the game of Reversi, don¡¯t you think it would be a good idea to have you stay at a decent inn?¡± ¡°So that¡¯s the way it is¡­¡± ¡°Yeah, maybe that¡¯s how it works.¡± ¡°I¡¯m getting nervous.¡± ¡°If you¡¯re nervous now, you won¡¯t be able to hold yourself together for a month.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right, a month¡­ I want to go home in five days with everyone.¡± ¡°Stop whining.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Tauro was dejected, but when he found out that there was a bath, he was very happy and took a bath, humming to himself. He went to bed in a good mood. The next morning. ¡°Good morning, Meena-san!¡± Tauro greeted her cheerfully. ¡°¡­Good morning.¡± Meena, on the other hand, was much less excited. ¡°You look weak this morning.¡± ¡°¡­I¡¯m not weak, I¡¯m just in a bad mood.¡± After a barren exchange, they decided to have breakfast together in the inn¡¯s dining room. ¡°¡­Meena-san. Isn¡¯t the white bread here too hard?¡± ¡°Yasuragi-Tei is special. This white bread is still a luxury item.¡± Tauro usually ate his meals at the guild-run Yasuragi-tei. So, before long, Tauro¡¯s tongue had become accustomed to lavish meals because of the menu he had developed. ¡°I want gingerbread¡­¡± ¡°Don¡¯t, it¡¯ll remind me.¡± Meena was also a regular at the Yasuragi-tei, so she had a good palate. Although they were not satisfied with the menu here, the two ate to their full and decided to go to the chamber of commerce headquarters. It wasn¡¯t the day to teach them how to play Reversi, but they hadn¡¯t been able to greet the people at the Chamber of Commerce headquarters the day before, so they decided to do so. The building of the Chamber of Commerce was a four-story brick and wood structure that could be called a building. Once again, the headquarters of the Chamber of Commerce was huge. It was located just off the main street, but it was as big as any other building in the city. ¡°It¡¯s not as big as the other ones. Hahaha.¡± The representative of the business association, Garfish, was 45 years old. He had a mustache and a dignified appearance, giving him the impression of a dynamic man. He is married to Isana (35) and has three children: his eldest son, Marg (18), his second son, Otsuka (13), and his eldest daughter, Martha (8). ¡°When Paul sent us the reversi on an early horse, we knew right away that it would sell. And our children were fans of Reversi, too. I thought it would surely sell well here in the capital, so I sold it to the nobles who had contacts. Sure enough, it was very well received.¡± ¡°I¡¯m glad to hear that. I¡¯m sure my master, Mauve, will be very pleased.¡± Tauro¡¯s position was that of an apprentice to Mauve, the inventor, and he could not afford to lose his job. ¡°Satou is not only Mauve¡¯s apprentice, but he also has the skill to create a limited edition work of art. At your age, that¡¯s really impressive!¡± ¡°Please don¡¯t tell anyone that I¡¯m the one making the limited edition.¡± ¡°Secret? I see, if the nobles knew, they might try to keep you around. Fortunately, I haven¡¯t revealed the creator yet. They haven¡¯t even asked me about it. We¡¯ve only described him as a Sa?si craftsman, so we¡¯ll continue to push it that way.¡± Garfish sensed Tauro¡¯s words and took them into consideration. ¡°Oh¡­ please give me a limited edition for free to keep my mouth shut. Hahahaha!¡± As expected of a merchant, he was firm. But on the other hand, Tauro knew that it was a contract of absolute secrecy. Tauro had a good feeling about this Garfish. CH 33 The day after the meeting with Garfish. The carriage carrying Tauro and his bodyguard Meena passed the section where the common people lived, passed the section where the ordinary nobles lived and came to the section where the senior nobles lived. ¡°The scenery has changed so much that it¡¯s hard to believe¡­¡± Tauro was looking out through the grate of the carriage and was beginning to regret his decision to come as the adjacent houses were far away and the castle-like houses stood in a large area. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Tauro-kun. I¡¯ve never been to such a compound before and I¡¯m also surprised.¡± Paul, who was riding with him and was also nervous said so bluntly. ¡°Paul, you¡¯re not helping. You¡¯re just making me more nervous!¡± Tauro was a bit weak-hearted. He was relieved to see that Meena seemed to be calm and collected. She must have noticed Tauro¡¯s gaze. ¡°I¡¯m an escort, so I¡¯m always calm. Well, if I were in Tauro¡¯s position, I would have leaked already, so don¡¯t worry.¡± She said. ¡°I¡¯m not going to do that!¡± She was trying to say that it was okay to be nervous, but the way she said it was really peculiar. Tauro and Paulo laughed at Meena¡¯s joke and the carriage became more relaxed. ¡°Is this the residence of the nobleman you specified?¡± The place where the carriage stopped was in front of a mansion that was much larger than other large noble houses and also much larger than the average level of a noble house in the royal capital, which had been explained to him beforehand. When Tauro got off the carriage, he was taken aback by the gorgeous appearance of the building. ¡°I can tell, this is definitely the house of a higher class of nobility, isn¡¯t it?¡± Tauro affirmed. The representative of the Garfish Trading Company, who had arrived earlier, greeted Tauro and the others. ¡°Mister Satou, we¡¯ve changed the location from the originally planned residence of Count Elaino to the residence of the Duke of Barriera, the Prime Minister of the Kingdom.¡± ¡°Prime Minister?¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry I forgot to tell you. It¡¯s my first time here too.¡± Speaking of the Prime Minister, next to the king, he must be the most powerful person. It was at this moment that Tauro knew that he had been summoned by a dangerous person. A man who seemed to be a butler was waiting at the entrance. ¡°Everyone is here, so please follow me.¡± He urged them to follow him. Garfish and the rest of them were led through the doorway and into the back. Tauro¡¯s presence detection told him that there were quite a few people concentrated in the large room where they were being led. ¡°Please wait in front of the door.¡± The man who looked like a butler told him to wait at the door, so he stood there. And then. ¡°Mr. Mardai Garfish, representative of the Garfish Trading Company and Mr. Tauro Satou, the Reversi instructor, and his attendants have arrived!¡± Another man in front of the door told the room in a loud voice and the door was opened and they were welcomed with a round of applause from the room. ¡°One of the conditions for activating the special skill [&% $ #] . [Appraisal Inhibition](Extreme) has been obtained.¡± ¡°Eh?¡± Tauro was surprised at the ¡°Voice of the world¡± in this moment, but at the same time, he was even more surprised at the fact that he was being appraised. But more importantly, he was even more surprised at the new ability he had acquired.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll activate my appraisal inhibition for now¡­¡± Tauro, who suddenly refused to be priced, immediately used his new ability. The appraisal inhibition seemed to be successful and some of the people who greeted Garfish and Tauro had dubious expressions on their faces. Some of them were noblemen, their attendants, and others seemed to be their bodyguards. At any rate, the appraisal inhibition seemed to have been activated and the price assessment had failed. ¡°Welcome, representative of the Garfish Trading Company. Oh boy. I¡¯ve heard that you¡¯re still a child, but I didn¡¯t expect someone who assumed the role of instructor to be so young.¡± The old man who seemed to be the owner of the mansion laughed as he stepped out to greet them and a space was quickly created in the crowd. This man is the Prime Minister of this country? Overwhelmed by the aura of dignity that he wore, Tauro was led to a desk in the back, surrounded by people. CH 34 Tauro and his group were surrounded by nobles as the Duke of Barriera, the Prime Minister, guided them forward. At the end of the room, there was a desk with a limited edition disc that Tauro had made. ¡°Ladies and gentlemen, this is the boy who is our instructor today. The first disciple of the inventor of this Reversi. Please give a round of applause.¡± The Prime Minister¡¯s words were met with a round of applause from those present. ¡°First of all, I would like to start with a demonstration by playing three games with you.¡± This meant that Tauro¡¯s ability would be put to the test. Tauro was a little concerned that he would do something so immature as to expose a ten-year-old child to the world. It is possible that the Prime Minister thinks that he is being ridiculed because they sent a ten-year-old child when he asked for guidance. Tauro had to be serious about this. ¡°Okay, I understand. Then please do so.¡± Tauro bowed and sat down in the chair after making sure the Prime Minister was seated. ¡°Isn¡¯t he too polite for the child of a commoner?¡± ¡°Hmm¡­¡± Whispers could be heard from the onlookers. Garfish and Paul looked pale at this turn of events. As they thought that Tauro needed to prove his ability against the Prime Minister and also have some flowers. Will Tauro be able to do that? And if he failed miserably, he might have to take responsibility for the business association that brought him here. When they thought about it, they couldn¡¯t help but feel anxious. ¡°Well then, go ahead.¡± Tauro gave up the lead to the Prime Minister. The game began. In the beginning, Zhai increased his black side one after another, and Tauro was outmatched. ¡°For a first disciple, you don¡¯t look like much, do you?¡± ¡°No, no, no¡­ The Prime Minister is too strong. We¡¯ve all seen how strong the Prime Minister is over the past few days.¡± The aristocrats who were watching the game were talking quietly, but Tauro could hear them. I¡¯m sure you¡¯ve been through a lot. Tauro thought, but he hadn¡¯t let his guard down from the start. In Reversi, there are a few tricks. One of them is not to take too much in the beginning. The Prime Minister and all the spectators did not know this trick. Towards the end of the game, Tauro fought back with another trick, the square, and before he knew it, Tauro had won by a landslide. ¡°¡­As expected of the number one disciple. He has managed to turn the tables.¡± ¡°Hmm, but the Prime Minister¡¯s early onslaught was also great.¡± The noblemen who were still impressed at the overwhelming advantage of the Prime Minister in the early stages of the game, said with unfounded speculation. ¡°As expected of one who was nominated as the inventor¡¯s best disciple and given the role of instructor. So let¡¯s get ourselves together and play the second game.¡± The second game began with the Prime Minister himself. Once again, the game went in Zhai¡¯s favor, and the spectators praised his advantage. However, as the game entered its final stages, Tauro began to counterattack again, and the game was reversed before he realized it. Some whispered that it was a coincidence, while others wondered if it was a deliberate move. The room was enveloped in a strange atmosphere as speculation led to speculation. ¡°Hmm, let¡¯s start the third game.¡± Perhaps the Prime Minister had something on his mind, but his smile had faded and his words had lost all meaning. In the third game, Zhai had an overwhelming advantage from the beginning and the strange atmosphere in the room was at its peak. In the middle of the game, it became a battle of squares. In the end, however, Tauro¡¯s counterattack narrowed the gap and the game came to an end. The third game was a draw, 32 to 32. The Prime Minister¡¯s aide announced after counting the stones on the board. ¡°Thank you very much.¡± Tauro stood up and bowed. In the third game, the Prime Minister¡¯s persistence made him nervous inside, but he managed to bring the game to a draw. However, the spectators did not see the end of the game as a coincidence. In all three games, Zhai had an overwhelming advantage in the beginning and this was the result. Everyone in the room was caught up in the thought that the boy might have intentionally made the game a draw. Tauro was just practicing a common Reversi trick, but the trick made Tauro look like a genius. Rather isn¡¯t this too serious for Reversi? Tauro was exhausted. CH 35 After the match with the Prime Minister, the nobles who had been watching the game took their seats and began to play against each other, with Tauro giving token advice to each seat. Reversi is a game for passing time, it should be enjoyed. Tauro thought and he was not wrong. After visiting all the seats, he returned to Garfish and the others. ¡°I¡¯m tired.¡± Tauro let out a weak cry to the group. ¡°I couldn¡¯t tell you earlier, but you were amazing. Giving away the handicap in the first half of all three games, then turning it over in the last half and finally bringing the game to a draw with room to spare!¡± ¡°I was amazed.¡± Garfish said, as if he was letting out something that had been building up. Paul was standing beside him, giving a big speech. It seems that he was holding back because he couldn¡¯t rejoice or praise Tauro in front of the Prime Minister. ¡°No, you¡¯re getting it all wrong. The Prime Minister learned his lesson in the first two games and corrected himself in the third, so it was a draw. We¡¯ll see what happens the next time we play.¡± Tauro gave a tired laugh. Anyway, I¡¯ve saved face. ¡°Boy, it was Satou-san, wasn¡¯t it?¡± When he turned around, he saw the Prime Minister standing there. ¡°I¡¯m sorry I didn¡¯t notice¡­Yes, but please do not call me that. I¡¯m afraid we¡¯re too different in status.¡± Tauro bowed his head reverently. ¡°I¡¯m sorry for testing you earlier. This game is so simple that it interestingly brings out the character of the player. I had only been playing for a few days, but I was getting carried away. When Satou showed me the difference in our abilities, I realized how foolish I was.¡± The Prime Minister looked remorseful, apparently not angry that he had lost. ¡°No Sir, you were very strong and your persistence in correcting the third game and others was admirable. I don¡¯t know if I can beat you next time¡­¡± ¡°Oh, I see. I did feel that I had a good response in the third game.¡± The Prime Minister laughed out loud, as if he was really happy. ¡°By the way¡­¡± The Prime Minister¡¯s expression became calm as he stopped laughing. ¡°The reason why I called you here at such short notice, instead of Count Elaino, was so that I could judge you on behalf of someone else¡­¡± ¡°Judge?¡± Did he mean the many appraisals he received when he entered the room? ¡°One of my skills is S-appraisal, so I¡¯m sure I¡¯m a good judge of character. But, Satou, it doesn¡¯t seem to work on you. For a moment, I could see your abilities, but then they disappeared. And the next moment, it was just ordinary abilities. If I¡¯m not mistaken, I¡¯ve never seen anything like this before. I¡¯m surprised.¡± ¡°Huh.¡± Tauro¡¯s new ability, Appraisal Inhibition, not only prevented others from appraising him, but also allowed him to show false information even if he was unconscious. ¡°If you don¡¯t mind, in order for me to trust you and introduce you to someone, can you remove the powerful appraisal inhibition that deceives and surpasses my prized S-rank appraisal?¡± He knew Tauro was using his ability! Tauro felt sweat break out on his back. ¡°I see. Then, only to the Prime Minister¡­¡± Tauro consciously removes the Appraisal Inhibition so he can be assessed only by the Prime Minister. ¡°¡­well, this is interesting.¡± It seems that he could appraise him. ¡°The basic stats are low and are those of a child, but your dexterity is rising with precision and other ability correlations. The ability that is known as ¡°True Eye¡± is also interesting as it¡¯s linked to other skills like ¡°Presence detection¡± and not just the ability to appraise things.¡± Tauro felt as though he was naked. ¡°Most importantly your abilities should be that of a garbled skill, but if you increase your proficiency, your status should increase in proportion to it, but it doesn¡¯t¡­. I can only say that Satou¡¯s is just inexplicable.¡± Tauro, who hadn¡¯t heard about the increase in proficiency in his profession, wanted to jump for joy inside. It meant that his efforts so far are not in vain and that he could increase his proficiency in unskilled professions if he worked hard enough. In fact, he would like to ask more details, but the other party is the Prime Minister, so Tauro held back. CH 36 The appraisal by the Prime Minister continued. ¡°Hmm¡­ It¡¯s strange. I¡¯ve appraised garbled skills in the past, but I can¡¯t decipher what this garbled skill is.¡± The Prime Minister furrowed his brows. ¡°What does that mean?¡± Tauro asked. ¡°It¡¯s a skill that my S- appraisal cannot decipher¡­ Normally it¡¯s possible to predict what kind of skill it is based on the abilities that you learned and the tendency of the status to rise, but as I said earlier, your skills are increasing in multiple professions. This makes it impossible to predict your skills. If it was just the martial arts, I could predict it to be holy knight, hero, savior, etc¡­ but you¡¯ve gained proficiency in multiple unrelated professions, such as blacksmith, woodworker, apothecary, etc. I¡¯ve never appraised anything like this before in my life.¡± The Prime Minister was dumbfounded by Tauro¡¯s strange degree of growth. The Prime minister probably had the best appraisal skill in the royal capital, it can¡¯t be helped if he was dumbstruck. But there¡¯s no need to be pessimistic. He could increase his proficiency, and that¡¯s in multiple professions. God had given him a good, special skill. Tauro was convinced that he was blessed with this skill. The only drawback is that the conditions for releasing the abilities are too difficult, but as always, he just had to work hard and take it easy. ¡°That¡¯s the end of the appraisal. Satou-kun, you seem to have a rare skill, but the proficiency you have for a number of professions is high for your age. There¡¯s nothing truly outstanding, but you¡¯re clearly a hard worker. There¡¯s nothing suspicious about you so you should be fine.¡± Tauro remembered that he had said that he was going to inspect him on behalf of a certain person. ¡°I¡¯ll have Satou take over as the prince¡¯s tutor. His Highness insisted on it. You will instruct His Highness once a week. On the other days, you¡¯ll be working with us and your friends here.¡± ¡°Huh, his Royal Highness the prince?¡± It was the royal family. In addition. The Reversi game didn¡¯t seem like something the nobles will take interest in, it was supposed to be entertainment for common people. Tauro who didn¡¯t want to stand out was getting a more important role and this made him a bit light headed. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll pay you handsomely.¡± That¡¯s not the problem! Tauro wanted to complain. After being released from the hall where the nobles had gathered, Tauro and his friends were taken back to the inn. The time was already evening. Meena, who had been standing by Tauro¡¯s side for a long time, said ¡°Good Job.¡± He really worked hard. ¡°Yes¡­¡± ¡°But the prince is next, right?¡± Meena said with an inflection that made it hard to tell if she was making fun or if she was being serious. ¡°Hmm¡­ I want to forget about it for now.¡± Sighing and answering that way, Tauro entered the inn. An employee immediately noticed that Tauro and Meena had returned. ¡°Welcome back, guests. Would you like me to prepare your meal or your bath?¡± He asked. ¡°What about you, Meena-san?¡± Ladies first, Tauro put the question to Meena. ¡°I think I¡¯d like to have a bath after dinner.¡± ¡°Where do you want to eat? I¡¯d like to eat slowly in my room.¡± ¡°Yes, that¡¯s fine with me.¡± ¡°Then, please.¡± ¡°Very well, sir.¡± The employee walked quickly into the back of the room. ¡°Please prepare a meal for Mr. Tauro and his companion! They will be served in their rooms. They will be taking a bath afterwards, so please start preparing now!¡± Tauro heard the voice saying. ¡°Meena-san, thank you for your hard work today as well.¡± ¡°Yes, thank¡¯s for your hard work, Tauro. Get some rest.¡± The innkeeper was busy preparing for dinner and the sounds of her employees going about their work reached Tauro¡¯s ears as he walked up the stairs to his room. CH 37 The day after the stormy day with the Prime Minister and the nobles passed. Today, for the time being, was a day off. Early in the morning, the Prime Minister¡¯s messenger told him that he was scheduled to meet with the prince tomorrow. For that reason, Tauro wanted to take it easy today, but Mina was waiting next to him as she was his bodyguard. If he was lounging around in his room alone, Mina would be stuck there too. ¡°Would you like to take a walk in the royal capital?¡± After much deliberation, Tauro called out to Mina and decided to go out. ¡°Do you need anything, Mina-san? I don¡¯t have a destination in mind.¡± He asked her as they walked. ¡°Shouldn¡¯t we stop by at the Chamber of Commerce? ¡°I¡¯ve heard that they¡¯re busy preparing for the launch of Reversi tomorrow, so I don¡¯t think we should drop by.¡± ¡°Well, I want to buy some souvenirs for my parents and younger brother, but I still have a few days left.¡± ¡°So you have a younger brother?¡± ¡°Yes, he¡¯s the same age as you.¡± ¡°I see. Your brother must be very proud of you, Mina-san.¡± ¡°My brother is a fan of yours. He¡¯s seen the puppet show so many times that he wants to be an adventurer just like you.¡± ¡°Fan? He¡¯s a fan of mine?¡± Tauro was surprised. Her younger brother must have misunderstood the exaggerated content of the puppet show, which pleased him but was also a bit troubling. ¡°The scene where you chased away the collector is recreated using copper coins.¡± Gah! Is that story spreading too? That was so chuunibyo that he felt embarrassed every time he remembered it! Tauro blushed, not only in his mind, but also in his heart. The royal capital is just so big and huge with many people. The large plaza was filled with people, as if there was some kind of festival going on, and the stalls were full of life. The streets surrounding the square were also wide, and carriages were running all the time. Tauro and his aide crossed the large square on foot and headed for the street of magic tools that they had heard about at the inn. This was Mina¡¯s wish. There were also magic tools stores in Sa?si, but the scale of the royal capital was different. It would take them days just to look around. The two of them found a large store and went in. ¡°Welcome!¡± A shopkeeper greeted them. Tauro looked around the store and saw that every single item in the store was carefully displayed. It¡¯s not a shop where you can just pick up something and look at. He had entered the wrong store! The atmosphere in the store made Tauro realize that they were in the wrong place. ¡°Hmm? This is¡­!¡± There was a backpack on a pedestal in front of them. The name of the product is ¡°Magic Storage (Large) Backpack Type¡±, and the price tag says ¡°Please check with a nearby shopkeeper for price¡±. ¡°This is our pride and joy. A one-of-a-kind item made by the famous legendary magician Jean Fellow, worth ten platinum coins.¡± The shopkeeper was giving off the vibe that a dirty kid had just arrived and that he wondered if he could afford it. It could be seen that he didn¡¯t have a good feeling about Tauro. But it didn¡¯t matter, one platinum coin is worth 10 million yen in his previous life, which means 10 coins is 100 million yen. If he uses his true eye, it will show the value as about seven platinum coins. Thirty percent should be a modest profit considering the store¡¯s overhead and other expenses. It may be a surprisingly conscientious store. But for now, the problem was not that, but the product itself. Tauro was leaning forward like a child staring through a glass at the toy he wanted. Magic storage is a fantasy¡¯s promise. It was one of the things Tauro wanted. ¡°We don¡¯t need a big one, do you have a small one?¡± Mina ( previously translated as Meena), who was watching from the side, asked the shopkeeper. Tauro was surprised that Mina was not surprised by the price and asked the clerk. ¡°Are you buying it, Mina-san?¡± ¡°I¡¯m just looking, I just want to know the price, the performance and the design.¡± It was a declaration to the clerk that she didn¡¯t want to buy it, but still wanted to see it. That was what Mina said without an ounce of fear. The shopkeeper was overwhelmed and led them upstairs. After that, they just looked at the various products and left without buying anything. ¡°Hahahahahaha! You¡¯re really courageous Mina-san!¡± ¡°You also enjoyed the second half, didn¡¯t you?¡± Like this, the two of them enjoyed their day off to the fullest. CH 38 The morning of the day of instructing the prince. In front of the inn, there was no carriage from the Chamber of Commerce. Instead, there was a carriage from the royal palace, with a brightly carved white base. On the door was the emblem of the royal family, the gryphon. The innkeepers and passersby stopped and glued themselves to this strange sight. A carriage with the royal coat of arms was picking up a ten-year-old boy. Tauro, the boy himself, was more surprised than anything. He had thought that the carriage from the company of commerce would pick him up and drop him in front of the royal castle. He wanted to be left alone until he reached the castle. ¡°Mr. Tauro Satou, we¡¯ve come for you.¡± The man bowed reverently to him. Tauro wanted to get away from the atmosphere as soon as possible, so he hurried Mina and got into the carriage as quickly as possible. ¡°Let¡¯s go right away!¡± The carriage proceeded through the royal castle. Normally, horse-drawn carriages are not allowed inside the castle, but the royal carriage was the only one allowed to do so. The person who came to pick them up, Sebas-san, explained this to them. Let me walk there with everyone else! This was the cry of Tauro¡¯s heart, who didn¡¯t want to be singled out any more. ¡°We¡¯ve arrived.¡± When they arrived, they were led by Sebas into the back of the castle. As they walked, they were occasionally bowed to by knights and maids. I¡¯m a commoner from a peasant family! In spite of the cries of Tauro¡¯s heart, the calm Mina could not ignore the bowing of the knights, and returned the bow. Did she have a longing to be a knight as an adventurer? Tauro thought that Mina was a bit cute. ¡°Squires are not allowed in the back from here.¡± Sebas instructed the man standing at the entrance to lead Mina to the waiting room. ¡°See you later, Mina-san.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± She nodded and followed the other man into the waiting room. ¡°This way, Satou-san.¡± Sebas urged him to the back. He stood in front of the massive door. He knocked on the door. ¡°Come in.¡± He heard a short child¡¯s voice. ¡°Excuse me.¡± The door opened and there stood the Fifth Prince Fleue, with the light from the window as a backdrop. From the silhouette, Tauro could immediately see that Prince Fleue had elven blood in his veins. His ears were pointy. The only difference was that he was chubby, unlike the image of a normal elf. ¡°You really are a child. How old are you?¡± As soon as he entered the room, the prince asked him with an arrogant attitude. ¡°I¡¯m ten.¡± Tauro replied, thinking that this might not be his type of person to instruct. ¡°You¡¯re three years younger than me.¡± In this situation, Tauro was relentlessly unforgiving. He put up with all the things the prince had to say and when it was time to teach him how to play Reversi, Tauro beat him to a pulp. It was childish, but he was a child, so he should be forgiven. Tauro¡¯s inner thoughts aside, the prince couldn¡¯t win no matter how many times he tried, which made him look like he was about to cry. Tauro guessed his subjects usually lose. ¡°You¡¯re too strong, I¡¯ve hardly ever lost! What kind of tricks did you use?¡± He wanted to say that it was cheating. He couldn¡¯t make the prince cry, so he told him he had a trick. ¡°That¡¯s how you defeated the Prime Minister, Barriera?¡± He overheard the other day¡¯s match. ¡°I couldn¡¯t believe my ears when I heard that the Prime Minister, who had defeated me, had lost, but I guess there is such a technique!¡± It seems that the Prime Minister was the one who gave the prince one of his few losses. Tauro understood that he was a man who had no mercy for children, just like what happened the other day. ¡°Okay, Satou. I want to win Barriera, teach me how!¡± The prince, who had been arrogant at first, was now in a better mood, though his language remained the same. Apparently, it was good that he didn¡¯t adjust it. ¡°All right, let¡¯s win against the Prime Minister!¡± An adult who is merciless to a child is an enemy and the two of them hit it off. CH 39 Tauro was supposed to teach the prince Reversi once a week, but suddenly it became three times a week. The prince insisted on it. On the other days, the senior nobles and their children were divided into several groups and taught on different days of the week. At first, Tauro was worried. The people he was teaching were ten-year-olds, and even more so, nobles. He didn¡¯t think they would take him seriously, but the fact that he was also teaching the senior nobles, the Prime Minister himself, and the fifth prince, Fleue, became a foil, and there were very few people who had any objections. One day, he was teaching the prince. As usual, they were playing against each other and talking about the prince¡¯s personal situation. ¡°I¡¯m a half-elf, so I¡¯m considered a heretic. But the reason why I¡¯m not treated roughly is because my mother is the elven royalty of the allied nations. But if I¡¯m not accepted by everyone, I¡¯ll always be treated as an outcast forever. That¡¯s why I want to win this Reversi game against Prime Minister Barriera and make everyone recognize me.¡± It was a sudden confession from the prince. ¡°What do you want to do?¡± Tauro wanted to know the prince¡¯s true intentions. ¡°I don¡¯t know, I don¡¯t want to be the heir. My brother is a great man, and it would be fine if I could assist him in the future. But I want to have one thing that I can do better than others so that I can have confidence.¡± I see. The matter of beating the prime minister is not just a matter of being competitive. From that point on, Tauro¡¯s guidance became even more enthusiastic, and the prince¡¯s abilities improved greatly. During this time, many things happened to Tauro. First, he had his carriage changed. The royal carriage was too conspicuous. At the same time, he had to change his inn. The royal carriage¡¯s regular pick-up changed the innkeeper¡¯s attitude even more. In the beginning, the innkeeper was polite because they had been introduced by the Garfish Trading Company, one of their clients. But when the royal carriage arrived, the innkeeper sensed that something wasn¡¯t right and moved Tauro and his friends to the best rooms and the innkeeper himself began to serve Tauro. Tauro felt that he couldn¡¯t stay there any longer, so he changed his inn under the pretense of moving to a place near the royal castle. ¡°The innkeeper had a very sad look on his face.¡± Mina said as if she remembered. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but I can¡¯t help but change lodgings if he treats me like that.¡± Tauro smiled bitterly. At the current inn, I had the prince¡¯s aide Sebas advise me and chose the inn myself, so the customer service attitude was normal. I thought it was a good inn that didn¡¯t change its attitude depending on the customer and they didn¡¯t look uncomfortable even with the strange combination of a ten-year-old child and an escort. However, since it was a high-class inn close to the royal castle, the accommodation fee was extremely high, but Sebas was thoughtful enough to pay for it from the royal family via the Garfish Trading Company. Sebas, so capable! This is a nickname that Tauro, who didn¡¯t know his name, just named him and called him in his mind, but one day, when he expressed his gratitude for being introduced to the innkeeper and the accommodation fee, he just said ¡°Sebas-san¡±. The Sebas was just a provisional name. The man gave him a strange look. ¡°I don¡¯t remember giving my name to you Satou-sama, but did his highness tell you?¡± ¡­So it¡¯s really Sebas? Sebas had a curious expression while Tauro had a surprised one and there was Mina who didn¡¯t understand what was going on. There was a strange atmosphere, but Tauro decided to say he heard it from the prince. CH 40 A month of Reversi immersion was about to pass. Today, a game of Reversi was held in the royal palace between the prince and Prime Minister Barriera. As the invited senior nobles and Tauro looked on, the prince finally won two out of three close games against Prime Minister Barriera and the reputation of Prince Fleue and his instructor Tauro was on the rise. ¡°Satou. Can I call you Tauro?¡± The prince asked Tauro, who had been watching the game from the back, impressed by his victory over the prime minister. ¡°Of course, Your Highness.¡± ¡®Tauro, thanks to you I was able to beat Barriera, and please call me Fleue.¡± ¡°All right, Prince Fleue.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t need the ¡°prince¡± title.¡± ¡°As expected that would be too much.¡± When Tauro responded and laughed, the voice of the world echoed in his mind. ¡°Confirmed one of the conditions for activating special skill [&%$#] Obtained [Spirit Magic (Fire, Water, Earth, Wind, Lightning, Light, Darkness)].¡± In quick succession¡­ ¡°Confirmed one of the activation conditions for the special skill [&%$#] . You have acquired [prestige].¡± Tauro was surprised to find out that he had learned two skills at odd times. But now, it was Fleue¡¯s happy moment, so they both rejoiced and celebrated. * Tauro¡¯s contract as an instructor in King¡¯s Landing has come to an end. At last, he was free from all of this, from Reversi, from the tense days. Tauro was alone on the terrace of the inn, doing a guts-pose. On the terrace, Tauro tried out his new ability, spirit magic, but it was not so good. He was able to see and summon spirits and he was able to use magic, which was a great development for an otherworldly story, but the magic itself was unexpectedly poor. The fire was just something you could ignite with a lighter, the water was enough to drink, and the soil was not much to look forward to. Wind was just enough to dry clothes with a gentle breeze, lightning was just enough to harass people with static electricity, light was just enough to light up a room and darkness could be used in battle because it could block an opponent¡¯s vision. In other words, it was at the level of everyday magic. ¡°Well, I use purification magic regularly, so it will be better to use these in that same manner too. If I use it regularly and sharpen my skill, I might improve.¡± Tauro had a positive mindset. He was looking forward to it. The problem is ¡°prestige¡±. It seems to be an ability to exude dignity to those who are weaker than you, and he wondered if it¡¯s any use for him as a commoner? Tauro remembered that he had tried to use it on a passerby¡¯s child and had frightened him, so he wondered if it would be difficult to use. There was a knock at the door. It was Mina, who had finished preparing to leave. He had planned to go shopping with Mina later today for souvenirs. In fact, the amount of money he received for instructing Fleue, the Prime Minister, and the senior nobles was far more than he had imagined. At first, he was disappointed to be given a leather bag that was lighter than he had hoped for, but when he opened it, he found that all the contents were platinum coins. This surprised Mina, who looked into the bag and Tauro, who screamed and froze. Sebas, who had brought it to him, told him that His Highness the Prince had said that it was shameful to express his gratitude to a friend with money, but that he should take it. The total was 20 platinum coins. Tauro had become a wealthy man thanks to the margins at the Yasuragi-tei in the city of Sa?si and some of the sales from the Reversi, but this amount was unexpected. The money sense of the royalty and aristocracy is something to be feared. However, having received this amount, he immediately decided how to spend it. Tauro and Mina decided to go to that place first. CH 41 Tauro and Mina arrived at a certain destination. Right in front of them was a large, long-established brand-name store on the magic tools street in the royal capital. Last time, they were annoyed by the shopkeeper¡¯s attitude, so they just looked at the store and left without buying anything. Today, the two of them were more imposing than last time, because this time they were ¡°customers¡±. As they entered the store, they heard the words ¡°Irasshaimase!¡± (Welcome!) and an ¡°Ah¡± from one of the clerks. ¡°Welcome. Would you like to see something again today?¡± I guess he was being sarcastic because of what happened last time, but the clerk had a reputation to uphold. Tauro and Mina looked at each other and smiled wryly. Tauro pointed to the product. ¡°Oh, sir, as I mentioned before, this item, the ¡®Magic Storage (Large) Backpack Type¡¯, costs 10 platinum coins¡­¡± ¡°Yes, please give me this one.¡± The other shopkeepers who were watching the exchange became nervous. There are some people who steal right after they say they¡¯re going to buy something and they¡¯ve deactivated the security spell. According to the store¡¯s manual, one of the clerks approaches the store door and locks it. ¡°I¡¯ll pay you properly, see?¡± Tauro produced ten platinum coins from the leather bag containing the money and placed them in the clerk¡¯s hands. All the clerks were very surprised to see it. ¡°I¡¯d also like to have the small pochette-type magic storage you showed me earlier.¡± This time Mina was surprised. ¡°Tauro, I wasn¡¯t planning to buy that.¡± ¡°It¡¯s part of my extra reward for you.¡± ¡°But it¡¯s worth platinum coins. That¡¯s just¡­¡± ¡°What are you talking about, I¡¯ve caused you a lot of trouble this past month with the sudden change of client, so please let me give you this.¡± In fact, this is the item that Mina was planning to buy with her reward and the money she had saved up so far, how could she not be happy? ¡°I¡¯ll take it as a reward without reservation.¡± After this, Tauro bargained directly with the store manager, who appeared later and succeeded in getting him to discount the pochette type by 30%. Right after that. ¡°Confirmed one of the conditions for activating the special skill [&%$#] [Magic Storage (extreme)] is obtained.¡± Tauro was surprised to hear the ¡°voice of the world¡± in an unexpected place. And he learned it right after he had paid for it¡­ Since he already learned it with his ability, the backpack of 10 platinum coins became useless. She looked at Tauro sighing. ¡°I¡¯m not going to take it.¡± Mina, who misunderstood, called out to him. ¡°No, that¡¯s not it, that sigh was¡­¡± When he approached Mina¡¯s ear, he whispered. ¡°Between you and me, I just heard the Voice of the World and gained the ability of magic storage.¡± ¡°Oh¡­¡± The two of them laughed bitterly. After this, they continued to shop around. After all, they had magic storage and as long as they had money, they could buy as much as they wanted. In the magic storage, time stands still, so even fresh food doesn¡¯t get damaged. Mina was buying rare sweets and foods from the royal city for her family. She had always wanted to feed them. Tauro also bought a lot of spices, sugar and other ingredients that were not available in the city of Saisi. Many stores were running out of products. Tauro and Mina also stopped by an armor shop. Mina had a whole lot of money left that she wanted to spend on a pochette, so she decided to equip herself. Tauro didn¡¯t have any armor in the first place, he was an adventurer who mainly collected herbs, so he didn¡¯t have a need for it. However, since he had risen to E-rank before coming to the capital, he would have to take a quest to defeat a monster, so it was a natural purchase. He asked Mina to take a look at the armor. Tauro knew the value of the armor, but he didn¡¯t know if it was suitable for him or not, so he decided to let the older adventurer choose it for him. Mina knew he was still a child and was still growing, so she didn¡¯t choose something expensive, but instead chose something leather and easy to move around in. Mina chose a suit of armor made from the leather of a higher-level monster, light, strong and fire-resistant. The two of them spent the rest of the day shopping. CH 42 The day came for Tauro to return to the city of Sa?si. It was a few days after the end of his contract as an instructor of Reversi. He had been asked by Garfish if it would be possible to set up a production base for Reversi in the capital. Therefore, it took several days for them to have a meeting. Tauro had a lot of trouble with this meeting. He didn¡¯t want to threaten the jobs that had been created in Sa?si by having a manufacturing base in the city. So, as a compromise, he decided to have the capital produce some of the luxury discs for the rich and to have a top-notch craftsman in the capital make a copy of the limited edition discs. The demand for limited edition discs is especially high in the royal capital. There¡¯s a limit to how much Tauro can make by himself, and he can leave that part to them. Apart from that, the decision-making power ostensibly rests with the inventor, Mauve and the branch manager, Leo. So Tauro ¡°agreed¡± to talk with them later and persuade them. As an apology for the delay due to the discussion, the Garfish Trading Company agreed to provide a carriage to take them home. ¡°And you¡¯re sure you¡¯re okay with this, Tauro-dono?¡± Garfish had been making this confirmation for a while now. In fact, Tauro gave away his magic storage backpack to Garfish at a discount. At first, he tried to give it to Mina, but she was very adamant about refusing it. However, since he had gained the ability to storage magic, he no longer needed it. So, he decided to sell it to Garfish Trading Company, who had been helping him with his stay in the capital and the sales of Reversi. Garfish had been wanting this backpack, the Magic Storage (Large), for a long time, but the price was too high and he was worried about it. Then, Tauro offered him a 60% discount. From a businessman¡¯s point of view, it was unthinkable to sell a new item for less than its cost. It was a one-of-a-kind item from a famous magician and if he wanted to resell it, he could only make a profit. Of course, Tauro wouldn¡¯t resell it, but this was a strange situation, and Garfish asked to take it at a discount of 30%. ¡°It¡¯s really okay. I hope you and Mauve will continue to have a good relationship.¡± ¡°I understand. Please leave the sales of Reversi to us, the Garfish Trading Company!¡± Garfish answered strongly. ¡°Thank you very much for your help.¡± After greeting him, the carriage departed. The return trip would be made by a single horse-drawn carriage from the royal city, including the coachman, a merchant from the merchant association, Tauro and Mina, and three D+ rank adventurers from the royal city. There was not a single commodity in the back of the cart, so everyone rode in the carriage. Nominally, it was to take Tauro and Mina back to Sa?si, but it was simply a result of cost-cutting since all the goods were in Tauro¡¯s magic storage. At a rest stop on the way back, Tauro overheard a disturbing story from a garrison soldier who identified himself as an adventurer. It seems that a group of bandits has been active on the highway lately. He heard that they¡¯d once fought with the garrison soldiers, but they were well taken care of and escaped. Could it be the bandits from the trip to King¡¯s Landing? For now, Tauro would have to be careful on the way back. According to the soldier, there was a discussion among the higher-ups to collaborate with the adventurer¡¯s guild and they might send out a request for reconnaissance and defeating the bandits in the near future. The Sa?si branch may also be participating in the quest. What will he do if a quest comes up? He thought about it, but since he wouldn¡¯t know until it came out, Tauro decided to forget about it. Other than that, nothing happened to Tauro and his group and they finished the seven days of their journey without incident. The nostalgic city of Saisi seemed more lively than it had been a month ago, but after seeing the royal capital, it seemed to be a peaceful city to Tauro. The carriage arrived in front of the Chamber of Commerce and after Tauro took his belongings out of the magic storage and indoors, he was about to head to the guild with Mina to report, but Paulo stopped him and the merchant from the headquarters in front of the Chamber of Commerce and Paulo decided to talk about the limited edition of Tauro¡¯s Reversi. So only Mina went to the guild first. ¡°Tauro, you¡¯re back!¡± He heard a nostalgic voice from behind him. When he turned around, he saw Nei standing there with long brown hair, dark eyes, and wearing the uniform of a guild employee. ¡°It¡¯s been a while, Nei-san!¡± ¡°How was the royal capital? Were you okay? Did you teach the noblemen well? Oh, did you buy that leather armor? It¡¯s nice. It looks good on you. And¡­¡± ¡°Calm down, Nei-san. I¡¯ll talk to you when I get back to the guild.¡± ¡°Okay. I¡¯m glad you¡¯re okay. I¡¯ll see you later.¡± With that, Nei went into the Yasuragi-tei to have lunch. Seeing her familiar back, Tauro realized that he was back. CH 43 Tauro had been busy since his return to the city of Sa?si. He had left the limited editions to the artisans in the capital, but Paulo suggested that he make one-of-a-kind pieces. This would add more value than the current one and since it was a one-of-a-kind production, Tauro could do whatever he wanted. Of course, it couldn¡¯t be released under Tauro¡¯s own name, so they decided to put an imprint of the fictional maker ¡°Gilo Sugar¡± on it. First of all, he made five original pieces, three of which he gave to Prince Fleue, the Prime Minister and Viscount of Saisi. Then the other two he gave to the Garfish Trading Company to place in their stores as the Sugar brand which would later become famous in the capital as a ¡°phantom sugar brand¡± that was difficult to obtain. As an adventurer, Tauro had been promoted to E-rank, so he was having a hard time getting used to new quests. In his first E-rank quest, he had tried and failed to defeat a goblin solo. The cause was a numerical disadvantage. Against five goblins, he took two of them down by surprise using ¡°Presence detection¡± and ¡± Presence block,¡± but he was almost surrounded by the remaining three, so he ran away before they could surround him. Because of this, he failed to get the goblin¡¯s right ear and the magic stone that is collected when you defeat a goblin. Either way, the quota was three or more, so it was all the same¡­ Nei consoled him by saying that it was common to make mistakes on your first quest. Tauro thought about how to get around this failure and came up with one possibility: prestige, which he thought was a subtle ability. Tauro immediately resumed his quest to defeat the goblins and soon after his departure, he found a group of six goblins. Tauro immediately put his plan into action. First, he killed two of the goblins with a series of bow and arrow shots in a surprise attack and then approached them. The other two goblins cowered further and Tauro took advantage of this and slashed at them. The remaining two goblins were taken down by Tauro before they could even resist. Thanks to this, he was able to defeat the goblins without difficulty, which would have been hard for a solo player. Tauro also put a lot of effort into developing the menu for Yasuragi-tei. There were a large number of ingredients, spices, and sugar that he bought in the capital. The first of these he made was curry, the national dish of the Japanese people. Although he had ¡°knowledge¡± of eating it in his previous life, he had never eaten it here and since there was rice, he really wanted to try it. Tauro was suddenly motivated, but the development of the curry powder was more difficult than he had imagined and he had a hard time mixing it. The kitchen of the guild was filled with the distinctive smell of spices that danced day and night and when it leaked out into the surrounding area, there were complaints about the stench. After half a month of sweat, tears and snot, the curry was finally ready. * One day, a month after returning home from a busy day, Tauro was invited to the residence of the Viscount of Saisi. It was an offer for instruction on Reversi. The Viscount of Saisi couldn¡¯t resist meeting his own Reversi genius who had made a name for himself among the nobility of the royal capital. When he went to the royal capital, he was asked by the senior nobles. ¡°How is Satou-dono?¡± He was asked. Apparently, the boy had become famous without his knowledge. At the time, he replied, ¡°Yes, of course he¡¯s fine!¡± But later, he heard from people around him that he has a close relationship with the Fifth Prince and the Prime Minister. By the way, he was given a limited edition of Reversi to display, but he forgot about it while he was in the territory because of all the mithril ore related things. The Viscount of Saisi met Tauro Satou. He felt like he¡¯d met the boy before, or was it just his imagination? But he had forgotten that it was the boy who had discovered the first mithril ore in the past. After a brief lesson in Reversi, Tauro left and Viscount Saisi was so busy with the work he had put aside for Reversi that he soon forgot about the Satou boy. CH 44 The proprietress of Yasuragi-tei, Leo, and Tauro were having a meeting to discuss the future menu. ¡°I know the curry is delicious, but it¡¯s not profitable.¡± What the proprietress was referring to was the price of the spices. ¡°They¡¯re so rare that you have to go to King¡¯s Landing to get them, right?¡± ¡°I think we can save money by ordering in bulk from Garfish Trading Company since the spices will last a long time and we won¡¯t have a problem keeping them in stock.¡± Tauro answered confidently. Besides, he also had his own magic storage. ¡°I see. As long as it¡¯s profitable and cheap, I have no problem with it. By the way, this curry is really good, so I think you should open a restaurant specializing in it. Leo, are you willing to buy the bar across the street and open a new one?¡± ¡°The bar across the street?¡± Leo looked surprised. ¡°Yes, Yasuragi-tei is happy to do business, but if we add more items and more customers, we won¡¯t be able to run the place.¡± She had a good point. They¡¯ve been asking them to add more items to the menu because they want to eat Tauro¡¯s dishes, but if they add too many items, they¡¯ll have to do more work, so it might be better to spread them out. ¡°Do you think the owner of the tavern across the street will sell it to us?¡± ¡°He said he was too old and wanted to give it to someone else.¡± The proprietress, who seemed to be a good friend of his, answered immediately ¡°Then it¡¯s settled. All that¡¯s left now is the payment¡­¡± ¡°I¡¯ll take care of that.¡± Tauro had some money from the sale of the magic storage. ¡°Hey, are you sure? It¡¯s not cheap you know?¡± Leo had no idea that Tauro had been paid more than he had imagined. He took the leather bag out of the magic compartment and put it on the table. ¡°Yes, of course, it¡¯s an investment and I will be paid from the proceeds.¡± He replied. ¡°I¡¯m amazed that you can afford to spend so much money at your age.¡± Leo and the proprietress laughed heartily When Leo and the proprietress offered the bar owner a lump sum of money, he immediately replied, ¡°Sold! Sold!¡± It seems that he wanted to retire comfortably. ¡°Thank you, proprietress and Mr. Branch Manager. My knees have been so bad lately that it¡¯s been hard for me to even stand up.¡± With the tavern owner¡¯s gratitude, the business meeting ended without delay, and the contract was signed. The renovation began a week later. Tauro was still sleeping and waking up in the guild room. He was an E-ranked adventurer with a good amount of money, so he should have a place to live, but he was only ten years old. Leo felt it was safer for him to be within earshot for now. Tauro had discussed this with Nei. ¡°If you don¡¯t have a specific plan, you can stay in your current room. You¡¯re paying your rent. The guild can make money from the spare room and we can protect you, so there¡¯s no problem, right?¡± That¡¯s what he thought. Now that he had magic storage, there was no reason for Tauro to leave this convenient room since it would not be cramped with his belongings. In the midst of these busy but relatively peaceful days, a quest came in from the kingdom to the guild. The quest, which came down to all the guild branches from the area around the royal capital to the city of Saisi, was to ¡°defeat bandits on the highway¡±. It was divided into several sections: ¡°Searching for bandits,¡± ¡°Scouting for bandits,¡± and ¡°Defeating a large number of bandits¡±. Tauro wasn¡¯t sure what to do, but he thought that searching for bandits would be more suitable for him. When it came to defeating bandits, even though they were the enemy, they were still people, and you never knew what might happen. There was no harm in choosing carefully. On a side note, he asked Nei. ¡°The Sa?si branch will send out three groups of three, with a maximum of nine people.¡± She told him. It was the first time he had ever been in a team with others, but he decided to join the quest, as it would be a good experience for him. CH 45 The next day, the members of the search team that Tauro would be working with were chosen and met in the guild¡¯s lobby. The leader of the team was Kuzoth, a D-ranked adventurer with thievery skills and a veteran who had the ability to search a wider area than Tauro¡¯s ¡°sense presence¡±. He is a little short and has a sharp look in his eyes, but his atmosphere isn¡¯t bad. He is a local adventurer and Tauro believed he usually worked solo. The other was Cheek, an E-rank adventurer, famous among adventurers for his eccentricities. According to him, he was a skilled merchant and a good negotiator. Together with Tauro, there were three of them. ¡°Satou, you can sense the presence of others, right?¡± Kuzoth, the leader, confirmed. ¡°Yes.¡± He didn¡¯t remember telling many people about it, so maybe he had an appraisal skill and had appraised him before or maybe he had heard about it from someone else, either way, Tauro wasn¡¯t going to deny it. ¡°Basically, we¡¯re going to go around the villages in the area where there have been sightings of bandits to gather information and find out where they¡¯re based. I think that¡¯s where Cheek¡¯s negotiation skills and Satou¡¯s sense presence will come in handy. Once we¡¯ve narrowed down the location to a certain degree, we¡¯ll use my reconnaissance skills to kill the lice.¡± ¡°Understood, leave the negotiating to me.¡± Cheek replied with a mild reaction. ¡°Yes, sir. I understand.¡± Tauro nodded. ¡°Then we¡¯ll get ready and leave tomorrow morning.¡± Tauro was afraid that they might not like the idea of having a ten-year old as a member, but neither of them did. Maybe the guild had taken care of that when organizing them. It was Tauro¡¯s first time working with a team and he was looking forward to it. Three days after their departure, the three of them were steadily making their way around the villages they had entered along the highway. After asking around, they found out that the village hadn¡¯t been targeted at all and that they had heard rumors but had never seen anyone. Kuzoth asked ¡°How¡¯d it go, Tauro?¡± Tauro replied, ¡°I don¡¯t feel like they¡¯re lying, everyone is very cooperative.¡± Tauro replied. ¡°Well, I didn¡¯t get any bad feelings while talking to the village chiefs either. More than that, isn¡¯t this rain a bit heavy?¡±. Cheek had a good point. It had been pouring since this morning and it didn¡¯t seem to be stopping anytime soon. They all put on the raincoats that they had prepared. But they felt heavy. ¡°Let¡¯s finish today at the next village¡­¡± The two of them nodded silently. The village was located at the distant end, away from other villages. As the three of them approached the entrance to the village in the rain, the gatekeeper who was standing guard refused to let them in. ¡°Who are you, in this heavy rain?¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry, we¡¯ve been chasing a monster around here. Can we take shelter here since the rain is so heavy?¡± Cheek sensed the rejection and told him a lie before Kuzoth spoke. ¡°This village is very wary of strangers. I can¡¯t do that.¡± ¡°Of course, I¡¯m not saying it would be free, I¡¯ll pay you well if you can shelter us from the rain under the eaves.¡± He pulled out a leather bag containing the money and showed it to him. ¡°Don¡¯t go inside the village, you can go under the eaves of the watchtower.¡± The gatekeeper pointed to a barracks by the entrance to the village. ¡°Thank you for that.¡± Cheek hurried them to the watchtower before the gatekeeper changed his mind. A man came out of the house closest to the watchtower. It seemed that he had seen several silhouettes at the entrance to the village in the pouring rain. ¡°Hey, Byrne! Who are they?¡± Tauro thought the voice sounded familiar. ¡°It¡¯s raining, so we¡¯re renting out the eaves!¡± ¡°You can¡¯t do that!¡± ¡°Shut up Soak, you cheeky drunk!¡± Tauro heard the voice and wondered if it was him, but when the name ¡°Soak¡± came out of the gatekeeper¡¯s mouth, he was sure it was him. CH 46 It was pouring down, and Tauro was sitting under the eaves of the gate with his hood pulled up tightly over his head. Tauro had a bad feeling about this. He had a bad feeling about his father¡¯s presence here, but also about the fact that he had been looked down upon in the village they had lived in and accepted here in the village he had probably fled to. In a village that doesn¡¯t welcome strangers. He had a very bad feeling. In a whisper, Tauro called out to Kuzoth. ¡°My father was there.¡± ¡°You mean¡­?¡± Kuzoth¡¯s response was short as if he knew about the commotion between Tauro and his father at Yasuragi-tei. ¡°Yes.¡± While listening to the two, Cheek was wary of what Tauro said and wondered if the man would come looking for them in the eaves. Kuzoth looked at Cheek who may have sensed that the village was suspicious because of the strange atmosphere. Cheek nodded silently. ¡°Sir, it doesn¡¯t look like it¡¯s going to stop raining, so we¡¯re giving up on hunting monsters today and going home.¡± ¡°What, you¡¯re done?¡± Byrne, the guard, came out of the guardhouse. ¡°We¡¯ll leave before it gets dark. So can I pay you less?¡± ¡°Oh, come on, you¡¯re haggling.¡± Byrne exaggerated. ¡°I¡¯ll give you three silver coins for three people?¡± ¡°Well, that¡¯s not much, it can¡¯t be helped, so I¡¯ll do something about it..¡± ¡°Then thanks.¡± After Cheek handed over the three silver coins, the three bailed out and quickly left the scene. As they ran, Kuzoth said. ¡°I was worried when you started haggling!¡± Cheek let out a low chuckle. ¡°If I paid him honestly, he would have been suspicious.¡± ¡°But you gave him three silver coins, didn¡¯t you?¡± Tauro asked, thinking it was too much for just renting a place. ¡°I was just trying to put him in a good mood and delay his report. Anyway, are you sure your father was there?¡± ¡°I¡¯m sure.¡± He answered Cheek¡¯s question immediately Just as Tauro answered, Kuzoth, who had been setting up a surveillance network, came back. ¡°People have started gathering near the village entrance.¡± He reported to the two of them. ¡°Father, that man may have reported it, let¡¯s speed up.¡± Tauro said, and they nodded and increased their running speed. The three of them dodged their pursuers and ran away in the rain, using their search and detection skills. Now that the rain had slowed to a trickle, they slowed down and continued walking through the night without stopping at any nearby villages. ¡°We¡¯ll keep going and avoid the nearby villages and rest stops on the road. They¡¯ll be on guard and we¡¯re not seen by midnight, there¡¯s a chance they¡¯ll be wary and run.¡± They nodded at Kuzoth¡¯s suggestion and the three of them decided to return directly to the city of Saisi. Upon hearing the report of the three who had returned, the guild immediately sent fast horses in all directions. If what the three of them reported was true, the land was bordered by the territories of several noble families. There were many problems regarding which would take charge of the subjugation. Since that was the case, there were only a few people who could move. It was either the kingdom¡¯s direct army or the adventurer¡¯s guild. The army under the direct control of the kingdom would not be affected by the territorial borders, but it would take time for them to arrive, so the adventurer¡¯s guild would have to do. Each branch also sent out horses. I had a feeling that it would be a coalition of the different branches in this subjugation. Tauro was not allowed to participate in the reconnaissance of the bandit village. The reconnaissance would require an understanding of the surrounding terrain, the number of bandits, their strength, and whether or not they had hostages, as well as surveillance. It was more difficult and risky than searching. The guild decided that Tauro was not ready for this. At first, Tauro had planned to do only the search quests and leave the rest to the older adventurers, but things had changed. His father had fallen into the hands of bandits, so it was not a matter that could be left to others. Of course, he didn¡¯t want to kill him, but he felt that he had to see the whole thing through with his own eyes. Tauro¡¯s first quest to defeat the bandits was about to begin. CH 47 A week later, a large number of adventurers from each branch were called together. It was just before dawn on the day of the attack on the bandits. The 80 adventurers who had gathered were divided into three groups and marched to the forest before the bandit village, where they received reports from the reconnaissance team. According to the reconnaissance team¡¯s report, the bandit village was also the hideout of a bandit group, with a total of 152 people, including women and children. When Tauro and his team explored the village, they didn¡¯t notice it because of the heavy rain, but there was a fenced-off area at the back of the village with a watchtower. It seemed to be a little like a fort. About fifteen women, who seemed to have been kidnapped as hostages, were sequestered in a hut inside the fort. So the plan was like this. Two units would swoop in from behind and their first priority would be to secure the fort and take back the hostages. It would be troublesome if they were holed up. Fortunately, the bandits were not holed up in the fort and were sleeping in the surrounding village area. The fort seemed to be for emergencies. The rest of the troops would raid the village and take out the bandits quickly. As for those fleeing, the troops stationed at the rest stop on the road should be on their way here by now. If they joined Tauro¡¯s group at the beginning, they might detect their movements, so they¡¯ll join late and block all the main roads. Tauro was assigned to the fort raiding team because of his skill with the bow and arrow. Therefore he was at the front line. His mission was to shoot the guards through the openings in the watchtower. He made eye contact with the other archers and approached the fort from behind. They didn¡¯t notice him at all because of his presence blocking. The rest of the troops kept their distance in case any of the enemies had spying capabilities. Tauro checks the soldiers in the watchtower and draws his bow. The other archers also set their sights on the other soldiers. Twang! The arrow shot from Tauro¡¯s bow was sucked into the forehead of the soldier in the watchtower with a sound that cut through the wind and the next moment, the figure collapsed. The sound of arrows firing came from the surroundings one after another and the soldiers on guard fell. The captain of the ¡°Blue Guardian¡± Roy, waved his hand down and all of them started to charge the fort without a sound. Tauro¡¯s hands were trembling slightly. It was because the feeling of killing someone for the first time was still in his hands. When he slayed the unicorn rabbit, goblins and other monsters, he hadn¡¯t felt anything. But even though they were enemies, these were still people. Captain Roy, sensed this and stood beside Tauro and patted him on the back. ¡°You want to step back?¡± ¡°No, I¡¯m fine.¡± Tauro replied, drawing his small sword and joining the attack on the fort. The raiding party, those with the ability ¡°Nimble¡±, jumped over the fence with ease and opened the gate from the inside. The adventurers flooded in. Tauro did not go in the direction of the gate, but reached the side fence. There was something he wanted to try. ¡°Storage ¡®fence¡¯.¡± Tauro mumbled, and part of the fence disappeared. A part of the fence was stowed in Tauro¡¯s magic storage and disappeared. For a moment, his allies were startled by this scene and said, ¡°Eh!?¡± But they followed Tauro as he made his way through. With the adventurers gaining momentum, they were able to take the fort in the blink of an eye, and as the guards escaped they secured the hut where the hostages were being held. The raid on the fort ended in a great victory. At first, the troops who raided the village pushed forward in a chaotic situation, but as soon as the bandits, who outnumbered them overwhelmingly got into position, they began to be pushed back. Among them, the one who fought the hardest was Mina, who belonged to the Saisi branch. She was a C-ranked adventurer, although she had refused to be the leader. Her sword skills were overwhelming the bandits. The ¡°Five Arrows¡±, the team she had become the leader of, fought hard as well. The Five Arrows had a female wizard. Again and again, she blew up the houses with fire magic, reducing the will of the bandits to fight. The leader of the bandits, who was leading the village side was getting impatient as their numerical advantage was being reduced. ¡°Don¡¯t go at them alone, we have the advantage in numbers, surround them and take them out!¡± Then a report came from a subordinate coming from the fort. ¡°Head! The fort has been taken!¡± ¡°What?¡± Just as he was thinking of escaping while he let his men fight. ¡°What¡¯s their number?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know, it all happened so fast.¡± ¡°Damn it! The number of enemies on this side isn¡¯t a big deal, I¡¯ll defeat them and escape.¡± The bandit leader had underestimated Mina and the others. CH 48 After confirming the safety of the hostages, tying and locking up the bandits they had captured, the troops on the side that had taken the fort decided to immediately head to the village to cover the raiding party. Roy, the leader, pushed forward at the front. Tauro followed behind, covering them with his bow and arrow, but his arrows soon ran out. Then, what was unexpectedly useful was the stone gravel from the earth spirit magic. It could throw a fist-sized stone at the enemy. It had little killing power, but combined with the ability of ¡°precision¡±, it was enough to take away their fighting ability. Some of the bandits were hit in the head by the stones flying from Tauro¡¯s hands and collapsed with concussions. Furthermore, whenever one of his allies was injured, Tauro would immediately bring out a potion of his own making and generously use it to heal them. Tauro¡¯s activities were inconspicuous, but he was definitely helping his fellow adventurers. In the midst of Tauro¡¯s humble efforts, Mina and the leader of the bandits were in a standoff. Then Roy, the leader of the fort raiding party, appeared. ¡°Damn it, those guys behind couldn¡¯t even resist a little more!¡±. He stared at Roy who joined in. While also behind confronted by Mina, the leader of the bandits lost his chance to escape. ¡°Surrender, and you¡¯ll be hanged, but you¡¯ll be spared the pain.¡± Roy warned. ¡°Hmm. I¡¯m confident with my sword. I¡¯ve made a name for myself in the past as a bit of an adventurer.¡± As soon as he said that, he slashed at Mina in front of him. That was the moment. A dark haze covered the bandit leader¡¯s vision. ¡°What!?¡± The next moment, Mina¡¯s kick hit the bandit leader squarely in the stomach, sending him flying and knocking him unconscious at Roy¡¯s feet. ¡°Nice follow-up, Tauro.¡± Mina said and looked behind Roy. The group that raided the village had many injuries due to the large number of enemies they had to deal with. So Tauro and the healers who had potions went all out to treat them. Other than that, they captured the remnants, took out the stolen items, and checked on the hostages. ¡°Shouldn¡¯t we go after the ones that got away?¡± One of the adventurers asked Roy and the other leaders. ¡°We¡¯ll let the Territorial Guard and the Kingdom Guard do that. We¡¯re adventurers and the only work we¡¯ve taken on is the quest to kill.¡± Roy replied, and the leaders all nodded their heads in agreement. Of the eighty-seven bandits in the bandit village, thirty-five, including the leader, were captured. Subtracting the number of dead bodies, it seemed that the remaining thirteen had managed to escape. As far as Tauro could confirm, his father was among them. But he wouldn¡¯t be able to escape for much longer and Soak would be on the wanted list for several territories as a remnant of the bandits. It was only a matter of time before he was caught. The people who were active in this quest to defeat the bandits were promoted one after another. Mina moved up from C- to C. Roy and his team, the ¡°Blue Guardians¡±, rose from C to C+. The ¡°Five Arrows¡± team, which consisted mainly of female wizards, also went from C- to C. Kuzoth, who had teamed up with us in the search quest, also played an active role in the subsequent scouting quest and ranked up. And Tauro had also moved up from E- to E. As for Tauro, his recent solo clearing of goblins, clearing of the bandit search and his performance in the defeat quests were highly regarded and he had no complaints. ¡°You did it, Tauro-kun!¡± He was congratulated in front of everyone in the guild lobby. CH 49 Half a month has passed since the quest to defeat the bandits. Today is the opening day of the curry specialty restaurant. The curry was served at Yasuragi-tei for a short time before the opening, but it soon became so popular that there was a line in front of the store even on the first day. Using the memories of his previous life, Tauro introduced a system that had never existed before, where curry is topped with whatever you want to eat. He also prepared desserts, because after spicy food comes sweet food. Fruit cakes, crepes with fruit and cream, puddings, cookies, and buns with red bean paste, all of which are expensive because of the precious sugar used. All of these were made possible because of the different concept from Yasuragi-tei. The desserts were visible from the front of the restaurant through the glass, so the customers in line were quick to point them out. ¡°We¡¯ll be opening now.¡± When the time came and the employee opened the door, customers who were tired of waiting rushed into the restaurant, took their seats and immediately opened the menu and started ordering. As a curry specialty restaurant, the curry was of course popular, but the desserts were also popular as well. Even though they were rather expensive, a lot of customers wanted to try them because they were made of precious sugar. And when they ate them, they were so impressed with the taste that they forgot to look at others and customers who saw them ordered more. The pudding, in particular, had a new texture that they had never tasted before and even though they had prepared a lot of it, it was sold out first. However, as soon as the customers realized that the other desserts were also delicious, they rushed to order them and before the evening was over, all the desserts were sold out except for the Anko Manjuu (Bean paste buns). ¡°I can¡¯t believe we didn¡¯t sell out the buns¡­¡± Tauro was shocked that his personal favorite buns remained unsold. The buns were absolutely delicious, but the people who ate them were so creeped out by the black filling that they avoided them. They were all asking¡­ ¡°What is this black stuff?¡± For the time being, he stored the unsold ones in his magic storage, because this way, they wouldn¡¯t get spoilt. Tauro observed for a few days, but the buns did not seem to be selling explosively¡­. One day, he talked to Nei. ¡°Why don¡¯t we advertise them along with cookies as portable snacks for all adventurers?¡± Indeed, the buns and cookies could be wrapped in cloth and easily eaten by hand. So Tauro decided to have them placed at Yasuragi-tei, a place for adventurers to relax. They also provide portable food for quests, so he asked them to give them some for free as a trial. This sparked their popularity. The sweet buns became popular as a tasty treat for tired bodies after quests. Some of the adventurers even said they were good as snacks. As adventurers became the main customer base, they decided to sell the buns at a lower price to make it easier on their pockets. It¡¯s good to be lenient to adventurers, because I¡¯m an adventurer too. Tauro * Tauro¡¯s poetry is his personal impression. Tauro was also doing very well in his quests. Thanks to his success in defeating the bandits, he was accepted as an extra member of the quest team. Until now, many people had been hesitant to take him along as an adventurer because he was still only ten years old. However, even though he lacked firepower, he was able to provide solid support and earned the recognition of those who trusted him with their lives. This was the moment when his abilities were recognized. One day, after such a fulfilling day, he was summoned to his room by Leo, the branch manager. Leo, the branch manager, had a serious expression on his face. ¡°Viscount Saisi would like to have you.¡± Leo told him ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°It seems that thanks to the mithril mining, he¡¯s been able to meet more and more high-ranking nobles when he went to the capital. They want to use you as a foil because your name comes up so much.¡± So this is the reason¡­ Tauro wanted to refuse at all costs. CH 50 The Viscount of Saisi asked for him again and again. At first, he wanted to make him the youngest member of the vassalage as a foil, but when he found out that he was only ten years old, he changed his mind and wanted to make him the Viscounty¡¯s little lord. This time, the Viscount¡¯s messenger approached Tauro directly. He was waiting for Tauro to come out of the guild. The messenger tried to persuade Tauro saying that he would be taken as a playmate for the Viscount¡¯s children, that he would be able to enjoy luxury and that it would be an easy job, as if he were an ordinary child. Of course, Tauro refused. ¡°I will continue to live as an adventurer, so I will decline your offer. Please tell the lord that.¡± He tried to be polite, but the viscount was furious. He sent out soldiers to capture him and take him away. The situation developed into a standoff between the adventurers and the territorial soldiers in front of the guild, and the branch manager Leo came out to talk with the person in charge. ¡°So, how did this happen?¡± Leo asked in a resentful manner, as if he knew the captain who was in charge of the territorial army. ¡°I¡¯ve heard that the rumored child insulted the lord, and he¡¯s very angry about it.¡± The captain used polite words as if he knew Leo well. ¡°Rumors?¡± ¡°Yes. The Viscount heard the rumors about a child adventurer who is more popular than him in this town and he is not happy about it. So the messenger complained to the lord about the way the child insulted him and this is how it happened.¡± ¡°Tauro is not the kind of person who would say something insulting. If you¡¯ve listened to the rumors, you¡¯ll know that Tauro is not the kind of man who speaks out of turn.¡± ¡°I said as much myself¡­¡± ¡°Anyway, I¡¯ll talk to the lord, so get the hell out of here before things get out of hand.¡± With Leo¡¯s words, the territorial soldiers were driven back. The commotion caused a stir in the city. The people of the city knew of the good rumors about Tauro. Recently, he had been active in defeating bandits, a story so famous that it had even become the subject of a puppet show. However, some people have begun to suspect that this is why he had gotten carried away. It¡¯s a wild speculation, but the people who say it make it sound plausible. The rumors divided the city and Tauro was heartbroken. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Tauro-kun. The rumors will die down soon. It¡¯s just a baseless story.¡± Nei was worried about Tauro and encouraged him. ¡°Yes, all the adventurers here know that you¡¯re a good guy.¡± Nei¡¯s words were echoed by the adventurers in the reception lobby, who were all offering words of encouragement. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it.¡± ¡°My son is a fan of Satou.¡± ¡°Only a few people believe those rumors.¡± Tauro¡¯s heart was filled with joy as he realized that all the hard work he had put in had come back to him in the most important way: trust. ¡°Thank¡¯s you guys.¡± Tauro struggled to suppress his tears. A few days later in the morning, the territorial guards came in again, this time in a more somber mood. ¡°Is Tauro Satou here?¡± The situation in front of the guild was the same as the last time, a standoff between the guards and the adventurers. ¡°Tauro-kun, you can¡¯t leave.¡± Tauro, who was just looking at today¡¯s quest, was about to leave when Nei stopped him. A territorial soldier who had entered the guild building spotted him and tried to confront him, but the adventurers intervened and a shouting match ensued. Then, the captain came out and said ¡°Tauro Satou, a warrant has been issued for your arrest on suspicion of being a member of the bandits, and you will accompany us quietly.¡± He displays the warrant. ¡°Arrest warrant?¡± This surprised not only Tauro, but also the adventurers and staff in the lobby. CH 51 The arrest warrant against Tauro was unjustified, but there was nothing he could do about it. ¡°You¡¯ve got to be kidding me!¡± Leo, the branch chief, who had come out of his room after noticing the commotion was furious when he heard about the situation from the staff, he couldn¡¯t let the territorial soldiers get their hands on Tauro. The adventurers in the room did their best to stop them too. ¡°You know that resistance will not be tolerated and anyone who gets in the way will be arrested. Now give us Satou.¡± Tauro was upset, but he didn¡¯t want to cause any more trouble for the other adventurers. He left his small sword to Nei and stepped forward. ¡°Then you are under arrest, Tauro Satou.¡± In front of everyone, Tauro was shackled and his arms were taken from both sides by the territorial soldiers. ¡°Tauro, don¡¯t worry! The guild will do everything in its power to get you out!¡± Leo¡¯s voice came from behind him as well as Nei¡¯s sorrowful voice calling out for Tauro. Tauro was to be locked up as a suspect. The interrogations took place day and night. ¡°It¡¯s a fact that your father is a bandit!¡± The interrogator asked the same question for the umpteenth time. ¡°Even before that fact, I was a member of the guild as an adventurer. It was in the exploration quest just before the subjugation quest that I learned about it. In fact, I even reported it. I¡¯m not a member of the bandits.¡± ¡°But your father escaped without being arrested. You must have let him escape.¡± ¡°I was in combat with other adventurers when he supposedly escaped.¡± ¡°You must have passed on the information!¡± ¡°If that were the case, the raid itself would have failed¡­¡± ¡°Shut up!¡± Tauro was beaten as the interrogator yelled in an angry voice. He kept repeating this. When the situation became inconvenient, he would hit him to shut him up, then ask him questions again. He also told him to admit his guilt so he would go easy on him. But admitting his guilt would mean the death penalty. All banditry is punishable by death by hanging, as a rule. Tauro¡¯s heart was breaking, but he chose to endure, believing that Leo, Nei, and the other adventurers would help him. When the interrogation was over at midnight, he was taken back to his cell. It was an underground cell. At first, it was dank, musty, and filthy, with rats and insects crawling all over the place, but Tauro cleaned it up using ¡°purification¡±. Noticing this, the sentry reattached special manacles to Tauro. It was to seal off his magic power. Thanks to this, he was now unable to use his magic storage and could not find any good food. After a short sleep on the cold stone pavement, the interrogation began at dawn. He was beaten again in the morning. Tauro was in a constant state of fresh wounds. The guild leader Leo¡¯s direct appeal to the Viscount was in vain and the days passed by. Paul, the head of the Sa?si branch of the Garfish Chamber of Commerce, who learned of Tauro¡¯s arrest, also took action. He wrote a letter to the Prime Minister and sent a fast horse to the headquarters of the Chamber of Commerce to ask for help in the capital. King¡¯s Landing. Two weeks had passed since Tauro¡¯s arrest. Murdai Garfish was in a room in the royal palace. It was the office of the Prime Minister. He¡¯d finally managed to get an appointment with the Prime Minister today, after throwing around the connections and money of the Garfish Trading Company. ¡°Thank you for taking time out of your busy schedule to meet with me, His Excellency the Prime Minister, Duke Barriera.¡± ¡°No need to preface it. I¡¯m busy, so please tell me what you need in one minute. It¡¯s been a long time since I¡¯ve seen you, but I have little time to spare.¡± ¡°Yes, sir! It¡¯s about Tauro Satou-dono.¡± ¡°Satou-dono? Oh, it¡¯s been a while. How is he doing?¡± ¡°Tauro has been arrested for a crime he did not commit and is being held in jail. He needs your help.¡± ¡°What? Give me the details. Officer in charge, adjust the schedule!¡± The Prime Minister said and handed the assigned documents to his subordinates. CH 52 ¡°I see¡­¡± The Prime Minister nodded as he listened to Garfish¡¯s explanation. ¡°Then!¡± Garfish asked expectantly. ¡°It¡¯s not that simple. It is an ironclad rule that matters within a territory should be resolved within that territory. I can¡¯t interfere with the judgments of other noble domains, no matter how much I want to. If I could, I would send a petition as the Prime Minister personally. Honestly in my opinion, the viscount is starting to gain power because of the production of mithril over there. I hope he¡¯s not getting carried away¡­¡± ¡°But I¡¯m sure he won¡¯t mess with the Prime Minister.¡± ¡°Yes, but there are factions within the nobility. The Viscount of Saisi is a member of the Marquis of Halagulla¡¯s faction.¡± ¡°A faction that¡¯s hostile to your excellency¡­¡± Garfish bit down in bitterness as if he understood. ¡°When it comes to this, I have no other option than to ask His Majesty to make a move.¡± ¡°His Majesty?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not just my faction, there are many noblemen who enjoy playing Reversi. I will gather them together and have them write a petition. I¡¯ll ask the queen to persuade them, and maybe even Prince Fleue can play a role¡­¡± The arrest of a commoner, a ten-year old child, had turned into a matter of great importance to the noble class of the kingdom and now the royal family was about to be moved. Prince Fleue was outraged by the report from the Prime Minister. His friend was in danger. He couldn¡¯t stay like this. However, his aide Sebas stopped him. He said that it wasn¡¯t a good idea to suddenly ask His Majesty for help. He said that it would be better to involve his brothers and ask them together. Each brother is supported by their own faction behind the scenes. He was told that if he jumped over his brothers to make a request to His Majesty, he might incur the opposition of each faction. ¡°All right. I¡¯ll go see my brother. I¡¯ll also ask Mother.¡± Nowadays, Reversi was popular among women, not only among the nobility but also among royalty as a form of etiquette. This was partly due to the heated game between Prince Fleue and the Prime Minister, but it was also due to the boy¡¯s mentor, Tauro Satou. The pinch of the Reversi boy teacher soon spread quickly through the gossip of women in the royal palace. The king moved. There were a series of petitions from various quarters. The king had been playing Reversi for a while, but he didn¡¯t know much about the boy who played the role of teacher. It was interesting to hear that the fifth prince, Fleue, was so passionate about the game that he defeated the Prime Minister, but it seemed that the boy was the one behind it. It seemed that the Viscount of Sa?si knew that the Prime Minister and the prince were close friends with the boy before falsely accusing him and eventually getting him arrested. If this was overlooked, it could lead to a war between the factions and he couldn¡¯t just leave it at that. Following that, The Viscount of Saisi was summoned to the royal palace. ¡°Viscount, are you aware of the reason why you were summoned here today?¡± ¡°No, no¡­¡± The Viscount was prostrating, but his nervousness was clearly felt. ¡°I¡¯ve heard that a boy who was an instructor of Reversi, the popular game among nobles has been captured and imprisoned for a crime he did not commit and there is no end to the number of people who are distressed by this matter and they petitioned me. What do you think I should do?¡± ¡°Well, that¡­¡± The Viscount was so panicked that he slurred his words. ¡°I don¡¯t know how you punish people in your territory in the light of the law, but I can¡¯t let it go unheard when so many people have pleaded so much for his innocence.¡± Hah hah¡­ He was so tense that you could hear the Viscount¡¯s uneven breathing. ¡°Yes, I¡¯ve just found out that he¡¯s innocent and am in the process of releasing him. I¡¯m sorry for the worry and inconvenience this may have caused you Your Majesty.¡± The Viscount lied in anguish, he had him arrested at his own discretion and could¡¯ve released him with a single word. ¡°You¡¯ve found him innocent? I¡¯m relieved to hear it from you, you may step back.¡± ¡°Ha!¡± The Viscount hurriedly left the room without once looking up at His Majesty the King. ¡°Are you happy now, Gret?¡± The Prime Minister, Gret Barriera nodded besides him. ¡°Your majesty just expressed his concern, It was the Viscount who made the decision, and there is nothing wrong with that.¡± Thus, Tauro¡¯s release was decided far away in the royal capital. Three months had passed since his capture. CH 53 Tauro was released from prison. The townspeople, adventurers, and guild staff were all happy to hear this. However, they were all surprised to see how Tauro had changed. The lovely figure that had been the guild¡¯s mascot was nowhere to be seen and his body was thin, scarred, and weak. Nei, for example, must have remembered the first time she met Tauro, because she hugged him with tears in her eyes. ¡°I¡¯m back¡­¡± Nei finally broke down in tears as she hugged Tauro in a faint voice. ¡°Welcome home, Tauro-kun¡­¡± Nei sobbed. The adventurer¡¯s guild was outraged by the Viscount¡¯s brutality and the commercial guild criticized him due to the actions of the Garfish Trading Company. The city of Sa?si was in a sour mood. The Viscount¡¯s reputation had fallen to the ground, and Tauro was inundated with sympathy. However, he was the lord of the city. Outwardly, they were quiet about their resentment. Tauro had been in hell for three months. There was no limit to the violence. If he was hit ten times yesterday, he would be hit eleven times the next day. Often no food was served and harassment of the popular boy by the guards escalated. Sometimes the food was poisoned, though in small quantities. But even though he knew it, he had no choice but to eat it, because he could not live without it. The pain of the poison was so great that he almost had the idea of admitting to his unjustified sin to make it easier. ¡°Confirmed one of the conditions for activating the special skill [&%$#] . You have acquired [Status Abnormality Resistance] and [Status Abnormality Recovery].¡± Tauro was saved by this ¡°voice of the world¡± that he heard when he passed the second month of his life in prison. Thanks to this ability, he was able to keep his mind strong. He was resistant to everything: poison resistance, pain resistance, paralysis resistance, and so on. It wasn¡¯t completely okay, but compared to the first two months, the pain was hell to heaven. Thus, Tauro was able to survive the three months of hell. Tauro was able to heal his external wounds with potions and the magic of a healer. But internal wounds were a different story. The treatment required medicine and time. The doctor told him he would have to stay in bed for the time being. ¡°I¡¯m so happy to be able to sleep in a fluffy bed again.¡± Nei cried when Tauro joked with her. The branch manager, Leo said. ¡°If you can make a joke, then you¡¯re okay.¡± Tauro decided to stop talking about his self-depreciation in front of Nei. * Tauro was celebrating his 11th birthday that day. He was finally feeling better and his skinny body was getting back to normal. Then the voice of the world echoed in his mind. ¡°Confirmed one of the conditions for activating the special skill [&%$#] You have acquired [Super Recovery Regeneration].¡± ¡°I learned something awesome on my birthday¡­¡± Tauro, wielding his sword alone in the guild¡¯s courtyard, laughed bitterly. Tauro¡¯s health returned and he was able to return to adventuring, but for several months between his release and his return, there were no visits from the Viscount¡¯s side. Of course, there were no letters, either. This angered Leo, the branch chief and he declared that he would not accept any requests from the lord for the time being. Tauro was glad that Leo was angry for him, but he did not want the relationship to deteriorate. Tauro himself had no intention of forgiving the Viscount, but he didn¡¯t want them to hate each other. ¡°I think it might be time¡­¡± Tauro was lost in his thoughts as something he had been thinking about for several months came to his mind. CH 54 Tauro, who has been out of commission for several months, had to start over at G-rank. Even Leo, the head of the Adventurer¡¯s Guild Sa?shi branch, couldn¡¯t do anything about this. It was a guild rule. If you don¡¯t do any quests for more than two months, your rank will be demoted, and if it¡¯s been more than five months, your qualifications will be revoked. The only exception to this rule is for B-level adventurers and above (top-tier). This is because long quests are the norm. Tauro was disqualified because he was over five months absent, so he paid the fee and registered again. This time, he registered as just ¡°Tauro¡±, not ¡°Tauro Satou¡±. Since his father was wanted as a bandit, he was not comfortable using the family name ¡°Satou¡±. Besides, there was the matter of the future. The name ¡°Tauro Satou¡± was now known among nobility and the royal family, for better or worse, and it was too heavy for him now. So he just decided to start over as ¡°Tauro¡±. Tauro was quietly doing his errand quest. He was carrying stones for the castle wall repair. It¡¯s been a long time since he¡¯d done any real exercise, so he was gasping for air. But after a period of hell and recuperation, he felt happy to be moving his body. It was a moment when he realized that freedom is a precious thing. An adventurer, Will, who had been doing errand quests as punishment called out to him. ¡°Tauro-kun, are you okay? Don¡¯t overdo it.¡± ¡°I¡¯m fine!¡± Tauro replied Will cheerfully. The adventurer nodded and continued his work. Tauro proposed to Leo about the margin of Yasuragi-tei. ¡°You want us to buy the rights?¡± ¡°Yes, so that you don¡¯t have to keep paying the margin.¡± ¡°Are you okay with that?¡± ¡°Yeah. I¡¯m thinking of moving. I want to get my own place.¡± ¡°And you want a lot of money for that?¡± ¡°Something like that.¡± Tauro told Leo. ¡°I¡¯ll buy it from you if you want.¡± Tauro offered a lower price, but Leo was not convinced and ended up paying several times the amount Tauro had offered. ¡°And the curry shop¡­¡± Tauro began. ¡°That¡¯s no good.¡± Leo answered immediately. ¡°You built it from the ground up, and you funded it. We¡¯ll run it, but you keep the rights. You can withdraw the money wherever there¡¯s an adventurer¡¯s guild.¡± Leo, perhaps sensing what Tauro was thinking, replied meaningfully. ¡°Thank you very much.¡± Tauro bowed deeply. ¡°I told you not to do that when we first met here.¡± Leo then turned around and waved for him to leave. Tauro bowed to him again and left the office. Nei was at the receptionist desk. When she noticed Tauro coming down from the second floor, she winked at him. ¡°Tauro-kun, did your errand quest go well?¡± ¡°Yes, I was a bit breathless, but it¡¯s good to get moving, isn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°Yes, I¡¯m glad you¡¯re feeling better.¡± Nei burst into tears, remembering the past few months. ¡°Please don¡¯t cry.¡± Tauro said with a smile. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, my tear ducts have been a little loose lately.¡± ¡°Yes, Nei-san. I¡¯m going to King¡¯s Landing again, and I need an escort.¡± ¡°To King¡¯s Landing? Oh, you are going to greet the people over there. You said you¡¯ve only thanked them by letter, so I understand.¡± ¡°Thank you very much.¡± Tauro bowed deeply. Nei must have thought it was a joke because she laughed and waved her hand to interrupt him. On the morning of his departure for the capital, Leo came to see him off. ¡°Leo-san, what¡¯s wrong?¡± Nei, who had also come to see him off was surprised to see Leo there. The guard was Mina ¡°I know you must be busy. Are you sure you want to be my bodyguard?¡± ¡°Yes, it¡¯s fun going to the capital with you.¡± Tauro nodded, thinking that it would be hard to tell her that he was only going on a one-way journey. ¡°Thank you Leo-san and Nei-san for seeing me off. I¡¯ll be going now.¡± Again, Tauro bowed deeply. It was the bow of a lifetime. ¡°Tauro, you¡¯re taking too long.¡± Nei laughed and waved her hand. He lifted his head and looked them in the eye. Tauro thanked the city of Saisi in his heart for their help and left to find a new place to live. End of Part I¡­ CH 55 AN: ¡­Part 2 begins¡­ A boy dressed in light leather armor stood in front of the gatekeepers with dull blonde hair, blue eyes and a well-organized appearance that seemed to be that of a popular person. His name is Tauro and he is a little short for his age, being only eleven years old. At that age, he was traveling and had a tag that qualified him for the Adventurer¡¯s Guild. The wooden tag made him look like a novice, but he was dressed in the attire of an adventurer. Well, if the Adventurer¡¯s Guild can vouch for his identity, he should be fine. The gatekeepers of the village of Dansas decided so and allowed the boy to enter the village. ¡°Welcome to the village of Dansas. The villagers are very wary of strangers, so be careful not to do anything that might arouse suspicion or you might spread strange rumors. Also, the blue-roofed building down the street is the Adventurer¡¯s Guild.¡± ¡°Thank you.¡± The boy bowed and walked into the village. After leaving the city of Saisi and arriving at the royal capital, Tauro went around to greet the people who went through trouble for his sake. At first, they solicited to hire Tauro in each of his visits, but he politely refused. For now, he wanted to live in a place where he would not have to deal with authority. So he set out on another journey in search of a safe place to live. Tauro was not sure whether to go to a large city or a small village with an adventurer¡¯s guild, but he decided to stay in a place where he wouldn¡¯t have to deal with the powers that govern the place, so he went around villages doing simple quests for their guilds. ¡°I think I¡¯ll sign up with the guild for now.¡± Tauro headed straight for the guild. The adventurer¡¯s guild was the next largest building in the village after the chief¡¯s house and the meeting hall, but the paint on the blue roof was peeling off and the place looked deserted, making him feel a little uneasy. When he entered the building, it seemed to be cleaned every day, but there were still traces of repairs and a sense of disrepair. As soon as he entered, there was a reception desk. He gave his tag to the receptionist, a thin woman with black hair, dark eyes, and round glasses who was not very friendly. ¡°I¡¯d like to use this village as a base for my activities.¡± He offered to register. ¡°One moment, please.¡± She took the tag and threw it into the magic tool behind the receptionist. ¡°Confirmed. You¡¯re Tauro, 11 years old, G rank beginner. Please check the bulletin board there for the quest.¡± There was a bulletin board on the wall at the end of her finger, and he was given back his tag with a curt explanation. This is the worst response he had ever received from an adventurer¡¯s guild, he thought to himself. But he still had a question. ¡°Do you have any recommendations for an inn?¡± ¡°There is only one inn, ¡°the nameless inn¡± which is two doors down from the guild.¡± ¡°Thank you very much.¡± Tauro thanked her properly and bowed. The receptionist looked surprised at his politeness, but he pretended not to notice it and left the guild. First, he would get a room at the inn and then start doing quests again. Tauro made up his mind and entered the inn. ¡°What¡¯s this? This ain¡¯t a children¡¯s playground.¡± That¡¯s the first thing the hostess said. ¡°No, I¡¯m looking for a place to stay.¡± Tauro replied without being offended by her remark. ¡°What should I pay? I¡¯ll pay in advance.¡± She was blatantly wary but he still asked about the cost of accommodation. ¡°I¡¯ll take three silver coins for a bare night¡¯s stay and six copper coins for each meal. Hot water is two coppers per tub.¡± ¡°Then I¡¯ll pay in advance for ten days of bare nights.¡± Tauro took out thirty silver coins from a small leather bag. Actually, he took them out of the magic storage while making it look like he took them out of the leather bag, but that was a secret. She was surprised at how well he paid and regretted not charging more. ¡°Are you sure you don¡¯t want to eat?¡± The hostess asked, perhaps hoping to get him to pay more. ¡°I can make my own meals, so it¡¯s okay.¡± ¡°Oh, really? Don¡¯t cook in your room, or you¡¯ll cause a fire!¡± ¡°Yes, I¡¯ll be careful.¡± In fact, there was a lot of food in his magic storage, so there was no need to worry about it, but Tauro thought he would have to keep it a secret, since that would have meant revealing the existence of his magic storage. ¡°Oh, well. Your room¡¯s the second room from the back.¡± He got the key and went to the room, but he could enter without it. The door seemed to be broken. He decided to fix it later. It¡¯s too much trouble to let someone enter the room without permission. Inside, the room was small enough for one person to sleep in, with a built-in bed, a small desk and an empty bookshelf on top to use as a chair. Fortunately, there was a window, so he could open it for ventilation. With the window open, light entered the room and Tauro noticed that dust was flying around, so he chanted a purification spell to make the room clean. Tauro was fired up. This is where he¡¯ll be based for the time being. CH 56 My first G-quest in the village was a request from the adventurer¡¯s guild. It was to repair the guild building. Judging by the tattered paper on which the quest was written, Tauro could tell that no one had taken it recently. He had raised his proficiency in woodworking and his dexterity status had been strengthened with the ability of ¡°precision¡±. He was good at repairing things. However, he was disappointed to find out that there was not even a ladder. So, he made one himself. He was relieved to find that lumber and other materials were in the guild¡¯s warehouse. Tauro was worried that since he didn¡¯t have a ladder, he would be forced to prepare the materials himself. He thought he¡¯d just finish up and take a walk around the village. He thought about doing some repairs that would become a village landmark, but he didn¡¯t want to overdo it, so he kept it simple and clean. This was enough to be admired as the work of a dexterous child. Immediately after the repairs were finished, the receptionist came out of the guild and looked up at the guild building from the front, as if she was worried about the child¡¯s quest selection. ¡°What? You¡¯re done already? ¡­ that¡¯s great. You¡­uh¡­¡± ¡°It¡¯s Tauro.¡± ¡°Yes, Tauro-kun, do you have any woodworking skills? I never thought this building could look this good¡­¡± Oh, could it be I did it much better than I thought? He asked himself. Tauro, who had been working at the level of an artist until now, thought he had kept it pretty plain, but it didn¡¯t seem that way to others. He was immediately conspicuous. He got off the roof and returned to the guild room. ¡°Can I clear the quest, please?¡± He asked. ¡°Yes, let¡¯s get the formalities out of the way¡­ Oh, you¡¯ve completed a number of G-quests where you were before. You¡¯ve fulfilled the promotion requirements, so you¡¯ll be promoted to the F-rank zone today.¡± ¡°Oh, thank you very much.¡± He wasn¡¯t impressed since it was the second time, but he guessed it was a good thing since this will give him a few more quests to take. Tauro received his iron tag, the proof of his F-rank adventurer status, and immediately set out to explore the village. It was dusk, so the inhabitants were coming out of their houses. As he walked past them, they must have realized that he was a stranger, because they started looking at him. As the gatekeeper had said, they might have a strong sense of caution against strangers. Tauro wondered why they were so wary of an eleven-year-old kid, but guessed he should just go back to the inn quietly today. I¡¯d better not wander around at dusk. He thought to himself He turned back and decided to stay in his room. As he was fixing the lock on the door, he heard a voice say. ¡°Oh? Are you a stranger too?¡± A man with long brown mane-like hair, dog ears and yellow eyes with a tail walked towards him. ¡°I¡¯m an adventurer.¡± ¡°So am I. Adventurers your age are rare. I¡¯m Bob.¡± ¡°I¡¯m Tauro.¡± They shook hands as a greeting. ¡°My room is in the back. Nice to meet you.¡± ¡°You too sir.¡± Bob went back to his room and came right back out. ¡°What are you going to do about dinner?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll eat what I have prepared.¡± ¡°Okay. Well, between you and me, the food here isn¡¯t very good.¡± Adventurer Bob muttered in Tauro¡¯s ear. ¡°¡­got it.¡± Tauro replied in a whisper, laughing. ¡°I¡¯m going to go eat that dinner then.¡± With a sigh, Bob walked away. The neighbor seemed to be a nice guy. Tauro felt a little relieved. He woke up in the morning, finished his meal in his room, and left. Just then, he saw Bob coming out of his room. ¡°Oh, Tauro, good morning. I heard about you yesterday, that you repaired the building of the Adventurer¡¯s Guild and I was surprised to see how beautifully it was repaired after a day without seeing it. Chloe, the receptionist, pestered me to do that quest, but I refused because I¡¯m not handy. Thank God for that. What a nice save.¡± Oh, she didn¡¯t recommend it to me. Tauro thought but swallowed his words ¡°I¡¯m good with my hands.¡± ¡°I see. Speaking of which, what¡¯s your adventurer rank? I¡¯m an E, though I have a feeling I¡¯ll be moving up soon.¡± Bob pulled out a tag and showed it to him. It was indeed a copper tag, a sign of E rank. ¡°I just completed that quest and got to F-rank.¡± Tauro also pulled out an iron tag from around his neck. ¡°I see you¡¯re a new adventurer. If you¡¯re in trouble I can at least give you some advice.¡± With that, Bob walked into the inn¡¯s dining area. ¡°All right, I¡¯m going to do an F-Quest today.¡± Tauro was fired up and headed for the guild. CH 57 Today he was to collect medicinal herbs, a staple of F-rank quests and one of Tauro¡¯s specialties. Tauro has ¡°true eye¡± that he learned from his garbled skill. It used to be an appraising eye specialized in objects. Now, with his knowledge of plants, he is able to find the specified medicinal herbs by linking it to his true eye. It is also linked to his ability to detect signs of life, which he also learned, and has the ability to react to people and monsters within a certain range. He wasn¡¯t sure if the ¡°True Eye¡± was evolving or if it was just releasing some of its original abilities, but it was certainly very useful. Tauro was steadily gathering herbs with his ¡°true eye¡± when he noticed several figures with his ¡°presence detection¡±. One of them was a man, and the four behind him were goblins, judging by their silhouettes. it seemed that he was being chased. Tauro used his ¡°presence blocker¡± to eliminate any sign of himself and immediately rushed to the scene. It was Bob who was being chased. He looked dizzy and almost unconscious. Tauro decided it was a dangerous situation and killed two goblins with his bow and arrow in quick succession. Immediately, he used ¡°Prestige¡± to stab the remaining goblins who stood up. ¡°Are you okay, Bob?¡± When he turned around, Bob was lying on the ground. He was stabbed by a goblin, but that wasn¡¯t all. The knife in the goblin¡¯s hand was coated with what appeared to be poison, and he seemed to have been wounded by it. The consciousness he had maintained until a moment ago was now gone. Tauro hurriedly took out a potion from the magic storage, poured it over the wound to stop the bleeding, then poured the anti-poison potion into his mouth and forced him to drink it. ¡°I¡¯ll be worried with just this alone, just to be careful¡­¡± Tauro muttered and cast the ¡°Abnormal Condition Recovery¡± Spell. It was the first time he had tried it on someone else, so he was worried about the effect, but he decided that if he used it in conjunction with the anti-poison potion, it should have some effect. After a while, Bob¡¯s breathing stabilized, and it seemed to be working. After checking, Tauro decided to carry Bob on his back and return to the village. An eleven-year-old child had returned from the forest with an adult adventurer on his back. Normally, that would be enough to earn him praise, but the reaction in this village was a little different. The story was that the stranger adventurer had failed in his quest and had almost died, but the child adventurer had found him and brought him back. ¡°What are strangers doing in this village anyway?¡± ¡°I¡¯m glad he didn¡¯t die, but you¡¯re right, why are they here?¡± ¡°Oh, dear, what a mess.¡± Some of the villagers made some unkind remarks. Tauro was surprised by the uneasy atmosphere and was hesitant to even say what happened. It wasn¡¯t just a matter of being wary of strangers, he thought. There was something about the whole atmosphere of this village that made him think that it was strongly against strangers. Tauro ignored all this and went to see the doctor about Bob. The doctor said that the treatment had been quick and that there was little bleeding, so everything seemed to be fine. He added that he was only sleeping now, so he should wake him up and go home. The doctor also had a thorny attitude. But as he was told, he tapped Bob on the shoulder and called out to him to wake him up, then dragged the dazed Bob back to the inn. ¡°Tauro? I was poisoned by a goblin, and then¡­¡± ¡°I found you when you were down and brought you back. Don¡¯t worry, the wound and the poison have been healed, so there¡¯s no problem.¡± ¡°I see¡­ I¡¯m sorry for the trouble I caused you.¡± ¡°No, I just happened to find you while I was gathering herbs. ¡­By the way, what quest were you doing Bob?¡± ¡°Me? I was killing monsters around the shrine¡­¡± ¡°A shrine?¡± ¡°There¡¯s a deity that¡¯s been worshipped in this village since ancient times. Since there was an increase of monsters around the area, the festival in honor of the god has been canceled.¡± ¡°So, you were trying to get rid of the monsters in the area?¡± ¡°Yeah, the monster extermination was going well, but I was worried about a weird stench and when I looked into it, I got carried away and let my guard down.¡± ¡°stench?¡± ¡°I¡¯m a dog-human, so I¡¯m confident in my nose and intuition. My nose warns me that the shrine is suspicious. It¡¯s not that it stinks, of course. The village has the same faint smell, but it¡¯s a condensed version of that smell coming from that shrine.¡± Tauro felt that the shrine might be the source of the strange atmosphere in the village. CH 58 If Bob¡¯s nose and intuition are to be believed, there must be something in that shrine. As Tauro listened to him, he became more and more convinced. ¡°I was once in the care of an adventurer from this village, and he told me how friendly the people were here. Remembering this, I came to this village, but what I heard and what I saw were completely different, or rather, too different. I couldn¡¯t believe that the adventurer who had taken care of me was lying, so I wondered if something was going on in this village. That¡¯s what I thought.¡± So that¡¯s why he hadn¡¯t left the village and had continued to complete his quests as an adventurer, Tauro thought. To be honest, he had planned to leave as soon as he had paid for his accommodation for ten days due to the coldness of the people in this village. Maybe the people from other places would leave soon too, under the current circumstances. At this rate, this village would surely decline. Bob believed in the adventurer and was looking for the cause to save the village. Tauro felt ashamed that he had given up on them and tried to leave immediately. Tauro decided to trust Bob and try to save the village. The next day, Bob went out again in the morning to accept a quest to kill the monsters around the shrine. Tauro couldn¡¯t take the same quest because he was an F-rank player, but he was going into the forest to collect medicinal herbs, so he used that as an excuse to follow him. It was his first time to go deep into the forest, and there were many medicinal herbs growing there, so while collecting them, he made full use of ¡± presence detection¡± and ¡°Blocking presence¡± to avoid encountering monsters as much as possible. He could feel Bob¡¯s presence. He is fighting against a monster and from the silhouette, it looks like a Kobold. As long as he felt his presence, there was still a chance so Tauro decided to leave him be. In addition, he wanted to check the shrine that Bob had mentioned yesterday. The road was overgrown with grass and looked like a monster trail. He followed the path deeper and deeper into the forest. There seemed to be an open space in the back. Tauro stopped just before it. This was because he was able to confirm multiple monsters ahead. Tauro gently peeked through the open bush. ¡°I¡¯ve never seen one of them before, but¡­ is it a goblin sorcerer?¡± A goblin holding a staff and dressed in a tattered hooded robe was accompanied by about ten goblins. The goblins that attacked Bob yesterday used knives coated with poison, which may have been an idea from the goblin sorcerer. Goblin sorcerers are a rare breed of goblin, smart, have magic powers and are a troublesome opponent to be wary of. While Tauro was thinking about what to do, the goblins were led by the Sorcerer into a shrine at the back of the square. So that¡¯s the shrine Bob was talking about, this could be bad. Tauro muttered to himself. Tauro can use ¡°spirit magic,¡± although it¡¯s a rudimentary skill. And with that, he was able to see spirits. The shrine that Tauro saw was filled with dark spirits, and it was easy to imagine that something was happening to the shrine. ¡°Anyway now I have to wait for the goblins that went inside to come out, but I¡¯m sure Bob will be here, he¡¯s here already?¡± Bob came out of the bush opposite Tauro after he sensed him using ¡° presence detection¡±. Tauro was just about to call out to him when the goblins came out of the shrine and as soon as they spotted Bob, all hell broke loose. ¡°Goblins! They came back to the shrine again as expected.¡± Bob immediately drew his sword and got into a fighting stance. But one by one, goblins came running out of the shrine. There were ten of them. At the end of the day, the Goblin Sorcerer came out, so Bob knew he was in a bad spot. ¡°¡­Crap. This isn¡¯t a solo mission!¡± Seeing this, Tauro made up his mind to help. The first priority is to defeat the Goblin Sorcerer. Tauro immediately drew his bow in the bushes and fired an arrow at the Sorcerer. The arrow was sucked straight towards the target, but the next moment Kakin! The arrow was flicked by a sword thrust from the side. From the shrine, a new goblin knight emerged with an iron sword, armor and a small shield, another rare species. ¡°Bob-san, please run for your life!¡± Tauro, seeing little chance of victory, emerged from the bushes and urged Bob to retreat. ¡°Oh, ohh!¡± Bob hurriedly retreated at those words. Then Tauro removed his ¡°Presence Block¡±, distracted the goblins chasing Bob with the earth magic ¡°Stone Pebble¡±, using his bow and arrow and also using spirits and diverted their attention to himself. After that, he was able to escape using ¡°Presence Block¡± again. CH 59 When Tauro returned to the village of Dansas after losing the goblins chasing him, Bob was waiting for him. ¡°Tauro, are you okay? Are you hurt?¡± ¡°I¡¯m fine.¡± Tauro smiled at Bob to calm him down. ¡°I¡¯m sorry. It¡¯s a bad habit of mine to come up with an escape plan only when the situation is the worst.¡± Bob felt sorry for not being able to make the decision to escape quickly. ¡°No, I¡¯m just glad that nothing happened to either of us.¡± ¡°Yeah, you¡¯re right. I should be glad we¡¯re okay now.¡± Bob nodded, regaining his composure. They went to the guild and reported to Chloe, the receptionist, that there were about ten goblins, a goblin sorcerer and a goblin knight living in the shrine. ¡°Eh! ¡­I understand. But I¡¯m in trouble. Bob, Tauro, and Kauno (62), a local farmer who specializes in gathering medicinal herbs are the only members of this guild right now. We have no choice but to ask adventurers from elsewhere, but everyone who came here has already left except Bob, and no one has come since.¡± Chloe, the receptionist, sighed as she said this. ¡°What about the head of this guild¡¯s branch?¡± Tauro had been curious about this since he hadn¡¯t seen his face since he came here. I¡¯m sure he¡¯s a former adventurer, so he¡¯ll be a force to be reckoned with. ¡°Right now, the head of this adventurer¡¯s guild, Dansas branch, is absent.¡± ¡°When will he be back?¡± ¡°No, I mean the guild does not have a head at the moment. The previous head of the guild got angry with the villagers for being so cold to strangers right after he took office and quit immediately. Since then, we still have no one.¡± ¡°Eh¡­. When did that happen?¡± Tauro asked, dumbfounded. ¡°It was about three months ago.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right before I came to this village.¡± Bob also looked dumbfounded. ¡°Yes, and I¡¯ve been managing the guild ever since.¡± This was more serious than he thought. If the adventurers who had left here told others about the bad reputation of the guild, there was no way the adventurers who heard about it would want to come. In the first place, this place cannot function without a branch chief. If this continues, this branch will disappear. I¡¯m sure the villagers don¡¯t want that to happen either, but this village is under some kind of curse from the outside. Even if they understood, they would deny it. This vicious cycle will not stop until they break the stench Bob is talking about. However, adventurers won¡¯t gather. It looked like Bob and Tauro were going to have to defeat the goblins alone. ¡°The guild will request the two of you to take on the goblins as an emergency quest. No time frame is specified.¡± Chloe, the receptionist, understood the situation and made the request. ¡°Let¡¯s get our heads together. Bob and I will have to take them down.¡± ¡°But it¡¯s going to be difficult to defeat a group of goblins including a goblin sorcerer and knight.¡± ¡°We don¡¯t have to take them down all at once, or even right away.¡± He grinned mischievously. ¡°Tauro, you¡¯re making a bad face¡­¡± Bob flinched. From that day on, Bob and Tauro began a thorough hunt for goblins outside the shrine. Since goblins act in groups, they didn¡¯t push themselves too hard and retreated as soon as they were able to kill even one. The goblin sorcerer and goblin knight must have found this troublesome because they sometimes led the goblins on a chase, but at that time they just ran away and hunted only the isolated goblins. Anyway, for now, he didn¡¯t want to deal with the rare species. After a few days of this repetition, they had managed to reduce the number of ordinary goblins around the shrine to two. ¡°It¡¯s about time, isn¡¯t it?¡± Bob, who had heard Tauro¡¯s scouting report, suggested impatiently. ¡°We shouldn¡¯t be in a hurry. Once the rest of the goblins are gone, the sorcerer and knight will have to find their own food. That¡¯s our chance.¡± ¡°¡­Okay.¡± Bob was ashamed of his impatience and obeyed honestly. The next day, the two remaining goblins that had taken up residence in the shrine went out to get food and never returned. Tauro spent the next two days watching the shrine. Tauro who has ¡°Presence Block¡± and ¡°Magic Storage¡± that can store food indefinitely was suitable for surveillance and he suggested that Bob let him take over the watch and also asked him to save his strength for the main event. Tauro has a lot of special abilities, but his basic status is that of a child. When the time came to fight, he would have to rely on Bob for firepower. In the midst of all this, the goblin Knight finally emerged from the shrine. It was finally time to settle the score. CH 60 Tauro immediately went back to the village and informed Bob, who was standing by. ¡°The Knight is wandering alone in the forest right now, looking for food. This is our chance!¡± ¡°Oh yeah! It¡¯s finally here.¡± Bob was nervous when the day arrived, but his nerves dissipated as Tauro led him to the goblin knight. ¡°There he is.¡± He knew where the knight was immediately with his ¡°sense presence¡± {TN: Previously ¡°presence detection¡±}. He was trying to climb a tree, probably to get some nuts. The two men looked at each other and nodded as Tauro shot an arrow and Bob slashed at it. Tauro¡¯s arrow was blocked by the iron armor and was created a high-pitched clang of iron because the power behind the shot was that of a child. Bob¡¯s trusty sword was narrowly blocked by the goblin knight¡¯s small shield. ¡°Here¡¯s our chance.¡± Tauro cast a spirit spell and used dark magic to create a haze that temporarily took away the Goblin Knight¡¯s vision. Bob took this chance and thrust his sword between the armor on his left shoulder. Gaaah! The goblin knight screamed and staggered, but he swung his sword and distanced himself from Bob. That was when Tauro pulled out his sword intending to finish it right there. What? Something is rapidly approaching from behind! Tauro turned around when he noticed it with his ¡°sense presence¡±. The silhouette was familiar to him. It was the Goblin Sorcerer! ¡°The Sorcerer is coming this way!¡± ¡°What?¡± The Goblin Knight didn¡¯t miss Bob¡¯s distraction. He swung his iron sword at Bob from the upper level. Slash! Bob was slashed from his left shoulder to his right flank Without hesitation, Tauro threw the contents of a potion at Bob, who collapsed in a spray of blood and at the same time, he rushed to the Goblin Knight, held his small sword in front of him, and thrust it at the gap in his armor from below. However, the Goblin Knight barely blocked the attack with his shield. Oh no¡­! After all, the attack of Tauro whose strength was inferior could be easily blocked. The goblin knight closed the distance to Tauro who jumped back as soon as it approached and thrust its sword into his stomach. Tauro was stabbed in the stomach with the sword and coughed up blood as his internal organs were injured. The goblin knight was convinced of victory by the sight before him. However, Tauro was aiming for this desperate moment. With all his strength, he thrust his small sword into the goblin knight¡¯s throat. Gof! The goblin knight, caught off guard was unable to dodge and died from the fatal wound. ¡°It hurts like hell!¡± When Tauro sat down, he immediately pulled out the sword stuck in his stomach, but he was in great pain. Then, the Goblin Sorcerer appeared. The goblin sorcerer saw the goblin knight who had been his right-hand fall to his death, the large human lying on his back and the smaller human flailing around. He was surprised to see the big wound in the little human¡¯s stomach closing up. ¡°Monster¡­!¡± Tauro was called a monster by the Goblin Sorcerer, but this was the ability he gained when he miraculously survived from all the harsh treatment in his prison, ¡°Super Recovery Regeneration¡±. Tauro was weeping in pain, but also shed tears in his heart when he was called a monster by the goblin sorcerer. It was a great ability that he had worked so hard to acquire¡­. There¡¯s no end to the shock, but it¡¯s a good chance now that the Goblin Sorcerer is stunned. Hurry up and heal! Tauro couldn¡¯t move from the intense pain, he needed time. Tauro threw more potions at Bob, who fell at the side to heal him and at the same time he used dark magic on the Goblin Sorcerer to block his vision. The goblin sorcerer was unconcerned and cast a fire spell at Tauro. Tauro rolled and dodged the flying fireball. Abunai! (Dangerous). Tauro attacked with the earth magic ¡°Stone Pebble¡± and used spirit magic. The pebble hit the goblin sorcerer square in the head with accuracy because it was an attack using ¡°precision¡± and this made the goblin sorcerer have a concussion and sway about. Tauro also threw the potion at Bob again, just in case and continued to roll and move in the opposite direction of Bob. The dark magic on the goblin sorcerer was broken in seconds. The goblin sorcerer looked and saw the small human rolling away from him, trying to escape. ¡°You¡¯re not getting away!¡± This time the monster cast an earth spell and a series of rock spears sprouted from the ground where Tauro was, trying to pierce him. Tauro continued to roll and dodge. ¡°Okay, the pain is gone!¡± He gets up and throws another rock at the goblin sorcerer. The goblin sorcerer dodges it easily as if he had anticipated it. ¡°Now!¡± The goblin sorcerer casts a fire spell. ¡°This is the end¡­!¡± Bob stood behind the goblin sorcerer. At the same time, he didn¡¯t give the monster time to turn around and the goblin sorcerer¡¯s head was sent flying in the air. CH 61 I regained consciousness because Tauro had poured a potion on me. The fact that I was soaked must have been because Tauro had poured so many precious potions on me. In the midst of this thought, Tauro caught the Goblin Sorcerer¡¯s attention and rolled away from me in the opposite direction. When he looked, he saw the corpse of the goblin knight in front of him. I didn¡¯t remember. Did Tauro do this? It looks like he stabbed its neck. Oh, this is no time to analyze such things. I decided to help Tauro. When he got up, he chopped off the head of the Goblin Sorcerer who had his back to him and was trying to hit Tauro with fire magic. ¡°Thank you for your help, Bob.¡± Tauro smiled and thanked Bob as he ran over to him. ¡°No, I¡¯m the one who was saved. Thank you.¡± Bob looking tired, gave a weary smile ¡°Bob, once you have recovered the two right ears and the magic stone, can I ask you to report this to the guild?¡± ¡°Oh, yeah. What about you?¡± ¡°I thought I¡¯d take a look inside the shrine.¡± ¡°Are you sure it¡¯s okay to go alone?¡± ¡°Yes, I¡¯ll be fine. If there¡¯s any danger, I¡¯ll run! No pressure.¡± ¡°All right, I¡¯ll go back to the village after I get it.¡± Bob replied, and the two parted ways. Tauro arrived in front of the shrine. ¡°The shrine seems to be empty.¡± When he peeked in from the entrance, he could see that there were many dark spirits gathered in the darkness. Tauro had never seen so many spirits gathered in one place since he became able to see them, he didn¡¯t take it for granted and decided to stay alert. It was dark inside, so he used spirit magic to summon a spirit of light to illuminate the surroundings. This way, he could walk safely without worrying about his footing. As he walked deeper into the room, a bad stench hit his nose. Animal carcasses were scattered all over the place, which was probably the source of the stench. However, he was sure this wasn¡¯t the stench that Bob smelled. The number of spirits of darkness increased and the darkness grew thicker. There was a strange scene unfolding in front of him with the light spirits illuminating the surroundings and the spirits of darkness pushing against each other in the same space. They seemed to be harmless so Tauro went on and reached a dead end. There was a stone altar with a round stone sitting on it. Dark spirits were thickly covering the area, but Tauro could see that they were keeping a distance. In front of it, there was a totem that seemed to have been set up by the goblins to perform a spell made of various bones. ¡°It¡¯s dirty and smelly, so let¡¯s clean it up and get rid of the smell first.¡± Tauro cast the ¡°Purification¡± spell he always uses to clean his body on this totem. The totem crumbled into sand and was blown away by the wind. ¡°Was it cursed by any chance? I¡¯m glad I didn¡¯t touch it¡­!¡± Tauro panicked but was relieved to find that nothing had happened. ¡°Even the carcasses of animals have a strong stench, so I¡¯ll clean up the entire shrine along with it.¡± When he said that, he widened his span of the area, concentrated and chanted ¡°Purification¡±. How about now? He could see the dark spirits moving a little closer to the round stone that sits on the altar. ¡°What? ¡­Are you guys curious about that stone?¡± Tauro spoke to the dark spirits. Of course, there was no response, but he tried again, casting Purification on the stone. Then the dark spirits, the black balls of light, moved a little closer again. After all, the spirits seemed to want to get closer to this round stone. So Tauro continued to chant ¡°Purification¡± again and again. However, Tauro who kept chanting the spell ran out of magic and almost collapsed on the spot. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but I can¡¯t do any more today.¡± Tauro who was hit by a strong feeling of fatigue drinks a bottle of magic recovery potion. ¡°I¡¯ll be back tomorrow.¡± he said, leaving the shrine and heading back to the village. He knew that if he stayed any longer, Bob would be worried and come looking for him. Tauro proceeded to collect the trash in his magic storage as he headed for the entrance and when he exited the shrine, he put all the trash in one place from the magic storage and started heading back to the village. CH 62 When Tauro returned to the village, Bob and Chloe were waiting for him at the entrance. ¡°I was worried because it was getting late. I was just about to go look for you.¡± Bob said and gave Tauro a hug. ¡°Thank you again¡­! It was thanks to you that we were able to defeat them!¡± Bob was moved to tears. ¡°No, no. You saved me at the end so it¡¯s mutual!¡± ¡°Maybe so but when the Knight cut me down, I thought I was going to die when I fainted. If it wasn¡¯t for your judgment, I wouldn¡¯t be in this world. I¡¯ll of course pay you for the potions you used on me.¡± ¡°The guild will also pay you a special bonus in addition to the success reward for this emergency quest since it was our decision to let you participate even though you are an F-rank. Thank you very much for your help.¡± Chloe, the receptionist and head of the emergency branch of the guild, bowed her head and apologized ¡°No, please thank Bob. If Bob hadn¡¯t noticed and acted on this matter, I wouldn¡¯t have done anything. Oh, and don¡¯t worry about the potion, I made it myself. I collected the ingredients, so it cost me almost nothing.¡± ¡°Eh?¡± Bob and Chloe were surprised by the answer. ¡°Eh?¡± Tauro was also surprised, so he asked if he said something strange. ¡°You can make potions? You even have the skills of a healer. You are amazing Tauro-kun.¡± It¡¯s no wonder Bob was surprised. As far as they could see, he could use bows and arrows, he could also use swords, had excellent skill in woodworking, had the skills of a healer, had presence detection and blocking, it seems he also had a bandit¡¯s system, so there were at least five. It¡¯s also possible that he has a higher level skill that covers more than one. ¡°No, I only have one garbled skill, unfortunately.¡± The air in the room froze at Tauro¡¯s answer. The garbled skill, also known as the disappointing skill or the useless skill has a number of other expressions, but none of them are good. In other words, Bob and Chloe thought, this boy has come along by effort alone without the support of skills ¡°I¡¯m sorry¡­Tauro-kun¡­you¡¯ve been through so much¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry I didn¡¯t know anything. You¡¯ve been doing your best.¡± As the two of them flapped the wings of their imagination and set off into the distance, Tauro watched them. He knew he had gone through a lot of hardships, but he was sure the world has a strong impression of the misfortune of garbled skills. ¡°Anyway, that¡¯s how the potions were made so it¡¯s okay!¡± He said with a strong ending as if to bring the two who had departed back to earth. ¡°Oh, ohh! I understand. I¡¯ll thank you in a different way some other time.¡± Bob wasn¡¯t going to back down, he really wanted to thank him and was too persistent to be refused.¡± Of course, Bob and Tauro split the emergency quest reward in half. As for the magic stones, since Chloe couldn¡¯t appraise them, it was decided that Tauro would get the goblin knight¡¯s magic stone and Bob would get the goblin sorcerer¡¯s magic stone. Incidentally, when Tauro appraised the goblin knight¡¯s magic stone with his ¡°true eye,¡± he found that it was worth five gold coins, while the goblin sorcerer¡¯s magic stone was worth three gold coins. Eh? Wasn¡¯t the Knight the Sorcerer¡¯s subordinate? The goblin knight seemed to be on the verge of becoming a goblin rider. ¡­That¡¯s dangerous! It¡¯s a good thing we defeated this thing before it became a goblin rider¡­! Tauro thought. Tauro was alone as he tweaked the monster stone. With this emergency quest, Bob was promoted from E rank to E+. Tauro remained at F-. This is because the guild rules state that even if a low-ranked player completes a high-ranked quest without permission, it will not be taken into account in the promotion assessment. If this were allowed, the death and injury rate could jump due to low-ranked players willingly accepting high-ranked quests, so this was taken as a precaution. That¡¯s why they didn¡¯t change the ranks for killing rare species, including goblins. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but this was an urgent request¡­¡± Chloe, the receptionist, bowed her head apologetically. ¡°No, it was an emergency, so it can¡¯t be helped this time.¡± it was unavoidable because If they had waited for the other adventurers to arrive, the worst could have happened. Tauro wasn¡¯t disturbed. And he wasn¡¯t really interested in promotion. He was more interested in the shrine. I¡¯ll go back to the shrine tomorrow, Tauro thought. CH 63 As soon as Tauro arrived the next morning, he went to the guild to accept a quest to collect medicinal herbs and entered the forest. On the way to the shrine, he collected the herbs he needed for the quest as well as the rare herbs he could occasionally find. When he arrived at the shrine, using his sense presence, he confirmed that there was no one inside and went in. As usual, there was a thick gathering of dark spirits inside. Like he did yesterday, he used the magic ¡°purification¡± to break the curse of the round stone on the altar. He tried to break the curse of the round stone on the altar with the same magic ¡°Purify¡± as yesterday. Tauro hadn¡¯t thought about the effect of concentration on ¡°purification¡± before, but now rather than just chanting a large number of times, he tried to put his mind into each chant. ¡°Purification!¡± The black spheres of the dark spirits surrounding the round stone moved closer to the stone. It seemed to have an effect. He chanted it again as if he were trying to remember He continued to do this for a long time, using the magic recovery potion. After half a day, he was exhausted. His stomach was full of water. The dark spirits were getting closer to the round stone of the altar, but something was still holding them back. I¡¯ll come back tomorrow and try again. Tauro thought as he left the shrine. For the next few days, Tauro continued to go to the shrine and chant ¡°purification¡± on the round stone on the altar. Bob also noticed that Tauro had been going to the shrine for a while now, but he concentrated on killing the Monsters around the shrine. He thought that the safety of the village was the priority right now. That day, Tauro took a different route than usual to collect herbs, and when he arrived at the shrine, he immediately began to chant ¡°Purification¡±. Although he had been doing it for a long time, he had begun to feel something in the magic of purification, a ceiling above him, or something that was not the original power. Perhaps this was the limit of his ability. As he was chanting ¡°Purification¡± in distress, the moment suddenly came. The moment he chanted ¡°Purification¡± for the last time, he felt something like a thin film of glass break, and he jumped. Then, as if in response, the dark spirits that had gathered thickly around him entered the round stone as if they were being sucked into it. It was the next moment. ¡°Confirmed one of the conditions for activating special skill [&%$#] [Dark Spirit Magic Restriction Removal] is obtained.¡± The ¡°Voice of the World¡± echoed in his brain. ¡°What? The one who rescued the Dark Spirit?¡± ¡°Yes, you saved me.¡± ¡°Eh?¡± Darkness gushed out from the round stone in front of him and took the form of a man, but it was only darkness, impervious to light. ¡°I am Pluto, the Spirit of Darkness, and I was cursed by this stone which I used as my abode and some of its power flowed into the village where I was worshipped. I thank you for lifting the curse.¡± The darkness seemed to bow its head. ¡°I have no power now, but at least I can use dark spirit magic¡­ Hmm, you already have dark magic¡­ Then I will give you the Dark Spirit¡¯s Blessing (Weak), which will strengthen your dark magic, make you more resistant to it and increase your magic power. It seems you have resistance to abnormalities, so if you combine it with that, you should be immune to dark magic¡¯s psychological effects and ability reduction. I¡¯m sorry, but this is all I can do for now.¡± ¡°No, it will be helpful. Thank you!¡± ¡°I¡¯m glad to hear that. Then I¡¯ll go out into the world for the first time in a while.¡± Then the darkness moved and disappeared towards the entrance. It was noon outside, so the light was strong. Tauro was still stunned by the sudden turn of events, but he regained his composure. If what the dark spirit said was correct, the curse on the village should have been lifted. It would be as if a spirit-based magic had been cast. If that was the case, then the situation would naturally improve as the days went by. When Tauro left the shrine, Bob appeared. ¡°The stench is gone! Tauro, what did you do?¡± ¡°Well, I don¡¯t know exactly, but it seems that the curse on the village has been lifted.¡± ¡°Is that so?¡± ¡°The spirit told me, so maybe.¡± ¡°Spirit?¡± ¡°The spirit who was troubled by the goblin sorcerer¡¯s curse was grateful, so I think it¡¯s okay.¡± ¡°So Tauro can talk to spirits too¡­ that¡¯s amazing¡­¡± Bob was impressed, but he lost the point, so Tauro brought it back. ¡°Anyway, let¡¯s go back to the village and check it out.¡± ¡°Yeah, sure!¡± The two of them ran back to the village. CH 64 Back in the village, there was still no change. But Bob said that the stench was completely gone. ¡°Thank you, Tauro!¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t do anything. You¡¯re the one who defeated the Sorcerer, so it¡¯s you¡¯re credit. I just happened to get the message from the spirit.¡± It would take a long time to explain the ¡°purification¡± magic, so Tauro decided to give all the credit to Bob. * Ten days had passed since he arrived in the village. There seemed to be some changes in the village. For example, the innkeeper¡¯s attitude has changed. As if a curse had been lifted off her, she became more friendly and open-minded and began to joke without malice. The whole village began to laugh and the atmosphere improved. ¡°I guess this is what this village is really like.¡± Tears welled up in Bob¡¯s eyes. ¡°If we hadn¡¯t done anything, I wouldn¡¯t have been able to face the one who had helped me.¡± Bob¡¯s eyes grew distant as he remembered. ¡°You¡¯re talking about the adventurer from this village, aren¡¯t you?¡± ¡°Yes. He bought me a drink and told me stories about this village.¡± Huh? Tauro felt a sense of discomfort. ¡°Well¡­ what was his name?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t remember, because I was drunk. I only remembered the name of this village vividly.¡± Could it be¡­? ¡°He didn¡¯t take care of you? Did he only buy you that drink?¡± ¡°that¡¯s right.¡± So light! He just got you a drink. You almost died didn¡¯t you Bob? I also risked one or eight lives and got a big hole in my stomach. Tauro suppressed the twitching in his heart. Bob¡¯s manly spirit had swayed Tauro in many ways. They say dog will always remember the favor of one meal. Is this because he¡¯s a dog person? No, but the cost would be too great! Bob¡¯s actions had saved the village, but Tauro was still not convinced. Tauro decided to stay in the village, paying for another 10 days of accommodation. He was also worried about the future of the village, but the forest around it had rare medicinal herbs, so Tauro began to try his hand at making new potions. He kept failing, but the ingredients were growing, so he might succeed if he kept at it. Another reason for staying in the village was the fact that the woodwork shops here had good, high-quality wood available at a reasonable price. Tauro, under the name of Gilo Sugar, made special one-of-a-kind Reversi boards very occasionally, which are sold in towns and villages where there are branches of the Garfish Trading Company. There is no branch of the Chamber of Commerce in this village, but he can sell them if he finds them on his travels and he has magic storage, so he didn¡¯t have to worry about having an inventory. So he bought some lumber and stocked it and sometimes when he was free, in the forest, he would take it out of the magic storage and make a special board. Tauro suddenly remembered that he hadn¡¯t tried dark magic with spirits. He put the special board back in the magic storage and looked around. ¡°I can see two Kobolds in the vicinity of my ¡°sense of presence¡±. He approached the kobold, hiding using his ¡°presence block¡± to try it out. ¡° Dark spirit, grant me Mental manipulation and ability reduction.¡± Tauro cast a spell, and there was an immediate change in these two monsters. Suddenly, when they stared at each other, they began to fight. Perhaps it was because of their diminished abilities, but they continued to brawl without power, like children fighting. Neither of them had any decisive moves, and they seemed to be unable to win. Once they were tired, they rested their hands, but again, they fought and bit each other, just like a child¡¯s fight. ¡°I did it myself but it¡¯s a really scary magic¡­¡± In addition, dark magic was cast to take away their vision. The two kobolds stopped fighting and panicked. In addition, Tauro cast a paralysis spell. The two kobolds collapsed on the spot as if they had gone rigid and began to blow bubbles. The paralyze magic of the dark spirit seemed to be fatal to the two monsters whose abilities were already weakened and they died. ¡°This is something I should never use again. Spirit magic is more powerful than normal magic and it¡¯s enhanced by the protection of dark spirits. It¡¯s really too dangerous¡­¡± He felt as though he was getting carried away with the magic power. That¡¯s how powerful it was. Tauro told himself he had to do a lot of thinking before he decided to use it against his enemies. CH 65 Over the past few days, Tauro has begun to feel that this village is a really good place now that the curse had been lifted. The people of the village are so much better than they were before the curse was lifted and everyone calls out to him when he walks by. The villagers seemed to have memories of the time when they were under the curse and they felt deep regret and repentance for their actions. And they were sincerely grateful to Bob and Tauro for lifting the nightmarish curse. So, in order to restore the image of the village, which had lost the trust of strangers, Bob began to go around the surrounding villages and towns, telling people that the village of Dansas had been cursed by monsters, that they had removed the curse and that he could prove it with the Goblin Sorcerer¡¯s magic stone. Tauro thought about the development of the village and brought a new breeze to the blacksmiths of the village by teaching them the blacksmithing techniques he had taught in the town he had been in. At the same time, he discussed with the woodworkers about repairing the houses in the village and passed on his skills to them The village had a strong impression of desolation, but Tauro thought that this impression would gradually change as the houses were repaired. He taught the innkeeper how to cook a special dish. It was ¡°Tonkatsu¡± (Pork cutlet), Tauro¡¯s secret recipe. In this village, there was precious vegetable oil made from the seeds of a rare plant. So he thought that fried pork cutlets would be the best choice. He also taught her in detail how to process the meat, how to make the sauce, how to make the breadcrumbs and how to deep-fry it. Then, he actually cooked it and had the innkeeper taste it. ¡°I¡¯ve never had such a crispy texture before! I was a bit confused when I first started pounding out the meat, but I realized that the processing made the meat of the big bore tender. I¡¯ve never tried frying it in oil before, but I see how it works!¡± The innkeeper was very impressed. ¡°You can fry the vegetables in bread crumbs as well for a different texture and taste.¡± ¡°All right! Can I try it too?¡± She was a studious woman, not the cursed woman she had been when they first met. The food that Bob had rated as unappetizing had begun to taste good unlike before. After all, the taste may change depending on the feelings of the cook. If this was the case, she could become an innkeeper with a reputation for fried food, with tonkatsu as her signature dish. If the food is good, more people will visit and some will come back. All that was left to do was to wait for strangers to come to the inn through Bob¡¯s steady activities around the area. A few days later, a merchant came to visit. He had heard Bob¡¯s story first hand. He avoided other merchants and thought that now that there was no one coming, there would be a good business opportunity since there was no rival. ¡°This village produces valuable medicinal herbs, doesn¡¯t it? I can get my money¡¯s worth from this!¡± The young man seemed to be a novice merchant, but he seemed to be likable, so Tauro introduced him to the medicinal herbs found there. It would be a good deal for both of them if he would buy them, as they would fetch a high price in a big city. They would be dried and processed here, so it will be easy for this merchant to handle. Tauro also introduced him to the tools made by the blacksmith and the small items made by the woodworker. ¡°These are all well-made! I really got a good chance here! The young merchant immediately signed a contract with the blacksmith and the woodworker and promised to come back later with a carriage to purchase the goods. ¡°I¡¯ll spread the good word about this village¡­ By the way, the food at this inn is amazing! I¡¯ve never had anything like it!¡± ¡°It¡¯s called ¡®Tonkatsu¡¯ and it¡¯s only available here. I highly recommend you try it whenever you come here.¡± ¡°Really? I¡¯m going to have it again tonight!¡± Great! Tauro did an inward gut pose. ¡°Ah! But if you eat too much, the oil will cause your stomach to feel heavy, so it wouldn¡¯t be good for you.¡± Tauro was afraid he¡¯ll eat too much at once and get bored. The best thing was to make them think that they would like to eat it again the next time they came. * A young man came from a small village nearby to the village of Dansas, where the adventurer¡¯s guild was located. He seemed to be an aspiring adventurer. He had been wanting to come here for a long time but had been hesitant because of the bad rumors. Then Bob, an adventurer, came and told him about the good rumors, and he seemed to have made up his mind. He immediately paid 10 silver coins to register and was struggling with his quest to learn how to repair the house from the carpenter. As Tauro watched him, he felt that the future of this village would be brighter if more and more people like him came. CH 66 It had been a month since Tauro had stayed in the village. The village was becoming more and more lively. Bob, who had been away for a long time, visiting the surrounding towns and villages, came back in the afternoon. ¡°Welcome back Bob-san.¡± Tauro greeted Bob at the inn. ¡°Tauro-kun. I¡¯m back. I was troubled by the fact that there are more bad rumors about this town than I thought¡­¡± ¡°Is that so?¡± ¡°So I told them about the curse and showed them the magic stone and they believed me, but there was one person who didn¡¯t¡­¡± ¡°Someone who didn¡¯t believe you?¡± ¡°The former head of this Dansas branch.¡± ¡°Oh, I see.¡± Tauro understood. If the head of the branch had gotten aware of it at the time, right after he took office, it might not have been as difficult as it was. It was a problem that could be solved by two adventurers of E-rank and F-rank and if the Branch manager wasn¡¯t aware of it and quit due to his short temper, then his capabilities were in question, which he wouldn¡¯t want to admit. ¡°Well, the guild seems to be considering new candidates and since this is one of the larger villages and the problem has been resolved, I¡¯m sure someone will come along soon.¡± ¡°That¡¯s good to hear. Chloe, the receptionist is doing everything by herself right now and I¡¯m helping her because it¡¯s a lot of work.¡± ¡°What do you mean ¡°it¡¯s a lot of work¡±, did we get adventurers from other places?¡± Bob was so surprised. ¡°Thanks to you, we have two newcomers, a C-ranked team of adventurers from elsewhere, and four soloists.¡± ¡°That¡¯s a faster response than I expected!¡± ¡°There are some villages, mountains and forests that are easily accessible from here you know. There¡¯re also many areas with lots of monsters so there¡¯s plenty of demand. We¡¯re getting requests for quests from nearby villages as well since it¡¯s too far to go to the guild in town.¡± ¡°I see¡­ So quest requests are also coming in now?¡± ¡°Yes, and the villagers are waiting for you Bob.¡± ¡°Eh? Me?¡± ¡°They want to thank the village hero again. So please go to the village chief¡¯s house.¡± Tauro pushed Bob¡¯s back and drove him from the inn to the village chief¡¯s house. I¡¯m sorry Bob, I put you in charge of the trouble! Tauro explained to the villagers that he was just Bob¡¯s assistant. The villagers had no choice but to believe him when he told them that. It would be more difficult to believe that an eleven-year-old kid was the one that lifted the curse, but they would accept that Bob was the hero. When Bob visited the village chief¡¯s house, he was puzzled because he was being treated like a hero and explained that Tauro was the hero, not him. However, this action was misunderstood as Bob being humble. Tauro had reminded them beforehand that Bob would be humble and praise him, but not to misunderstand him. The village chief honestly believed what Tauro had said and interpreted it as Bob being humble. What a modest adventurer. The village chief liked Bob so much that he offered to give him one of his empty houses as a thank you. At first Bob refused, but when he was told that the villagers would be relieved to have Bob living in the village, it was hard to refuse. Originally, Bob was planning to use this village as a base for his activities, so it was a good deal for him, but he didn¡¯t want to take it for free. So he agreed to pay the rent. The rent was one silver coin. At first, Bob was reluctant, but he nodded when the village chief told him that it would be a great help if he could take care of the house. So far, everything went according to the plan of Tauro and the village chief. The village chief wanted to thank Bob for his kindness and Tauro wanted to make Bob happy, who was too good-natured for his own good, so the whole thing was planned from start to finish. Bob was wonderfully being made to dance on the palm of Tauro¡¯s hand in the right direction. When Tauro heard from Bob, who had returned to the inn that they had decided to rent him a house. Yes! Tauro inwardly made a gut pose. ¡°I¡¯ve decided to move out of the inn and into a house.¡± ¡°That sounds great! I¡¯ll help you.¡± ¡°Well, since it has so much room, why don¡¯t you come to the house?¡± Bob invited Tauro to join him. ¡°No! no! Please leave that room for your future wife.¡± ¡°Hey! I haven¡¯t decided to invite her yet!¡± Bob was blatantly upset. Apparently, he has a girlfriend. Tauro thought it would be better for him if he brought her here. ¡°You have a girlfriend right? Since this is such a nice village, why don¡¯t you invite her to live with you? Let¡¯s do that.¡± Bob nodded his head at Tauro¡¯s suggestion. CH 67 I asked Bob to write a letter to get his girlfriend to come to him quickly, but he said he couldn¡¯t read or write very well, so I wrote it for him. She seems to be able to read and write, so it will be transmitted properly. He didn¡¯t feel okay talking about the contents of the letter, so I just wrote briefly. ¡°I¡¯m sorry for keeping you waiting for so long, I was able to rent a house in the village I told you about at a very reasonable price, so let¡¯s live together. I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll love it.¡± That¡¯s all it said. If he were to go into details, it would involve a lot of personal information, so he decided it would be better for her to personally ask Bob about it. Tauro handed the letter to the letter carrier and sent him on his way. He paid the special rate. Normally, letter carriers don¡¯t move until they have a certain amount of mail, because they can¡¯t get their money¡¯s worth. So Tauro paid more out of his own pocket. Anyway, good things should come in a hurry. Tauro was in the forest again on a quest to collect medicinal herbs. This time, he was accompanied by a new adventurer. Chloe, the receptionist, asked him to teach the newcomer how to gather herbs so that he could become a full-fledged adventurer. Tauro knew more about medicinal herbs than the veteran herb collectors in the village of Dansas. As the source of funds for this village, the more people who can collect medicinal herbs, the better. So they decided to entrust Tauro with the role of educational instructor. Tauro has now been promoted to F rank. This newcomer, blessed with short black hair and dark eyes, is F-ranked. Although their ranks were almost the same and he was seven years older, this newcomer, Shin, was straightforward. When Tauro, who was younger than him, explained, he was serious about learning everything as quickly as possible. ¡°This herb is called hera herb,¡± Tauro said, ¡± when you pick it, don¡¯t start from the roots, but from the top. If you don¡¯t, it won¡¯t grow back. This is the basics of herb gathering quests.¡± ¡°Ok, I get it!¡± ¡°There¡¯s a similar weed, but it¡¯s just a weed, so be careful. You can tell them apart by the pointy ends of the leaves and the thickness of the base of the stems.¡± ¡°So¡­ this is a weed?¡± Shin plucked a nearby weed and confirms with Tauro. ¡°Yes, that¡¯s the weed and the one growing next to it is Hera grass. It often gets mixed in with the weeds, so be careful.¡± ¡°I see.¡± Shin was full of admiration for the younger Tauro. Rumor had it that as an assistant to Bob, the village hero, he¡¯d worked to exterminate the goblin knight and goblin sorcerer along with their group. He had killed some stray goblins that were raiding the village fields with other villagers, but only one. The two of them had killed more than ten goblins together, so his calmness was no mean feat. Even now, Tauro was constantly on the lookout for his surroundings, sensing the movements of the monsters. At first, his young age, equipment and F-rank tag caught Shin¡¯s attention, but now he knew that it was appropriate. On the contrary, he even wondered why Tauro was still in the F rank band. ¡°It¡¯s common to encounter monsters when collecting herbs. When you encounter them please run away. Especially goblins, since they usually act in groups and it¡¯ll be too late if you get surrounded. Be vigilant and try to escape as soon as you see them.¡± ¡°Tauro, did you also run away at first?¡± Shin was curious about this boy with an air of mystery. ¡°Of course I ran away. It¡¯s a basic duty of the F-rank to subdue small monsters such as rabbits. It doesn¡¯t affect your rank if you deal with other opponents, that¡¯s how the guild works. There are penalties if you don¡¯t follow the rules so please be careful. Besides, if you fight against them and happen to die, it¡¯s over.¡± That was true. It¡¯s easy to forget when you¡¯ve only ever imagined yourself winning a fight, but if you lose, you¡¯ll be killed and they¡¯re monsters, so they won¡¯t show mercy. Shin trembled as he imagined himself getting killed. ¡°So, now that we¡¯ve met our quota for the quest, I¡¯ll tell you about the expensive medicinal herbs that can be found around the village. I know life¡¯s hard for you right now in terms of income, but if you can get this, it¡¯ll be easier for you.¡± ¡°Oh! That would be great!¡± Shin¡¯s eyes lit up. He¡¯d left his village clutching desperately the money he¡¯d saved, but he could barely earn his daily living expenses. On the other hand, there are days when he¡¯s in the red and has to take out of his small savings. CH 68 In addition to Shin, there was another newcomer in the village of Dansas. He was a large 19-year-old with long black hair tied back and dark eyes, who had risen to the rank of F- within three days. In his home village, he was famous for his strength and he had a bit of confidence. Perhaps that¡¯s why he was so arrogant and the first quest he took on was to defeat the Unicorn Rabbit. After that, he actively took on quests such as defeating killer ants and kobolds. As a result, he didn¡¯t pay attention to the basic F-rank quest of collecting medicinal herbs and made fun of Tauro and Shin for doing so on a daily basis. Tauro noticed his feelings using ¡°sense presence¡± but he did nothing about it. Tauro bought a sword from the blacksmith and gave it to Shin, teaching him how to use it in between gathering herbs, because although he had the skill to use a sword, he hadn¡¯t trained with it and didn¡¯t even have one of his own. Tauro had learned most of the martial arts at the adventurer¡¯s guild in the city of Saisi, where he used to live and had raised his skill level. So he could use most weapons as well as anyone else. Despite being eighteen years old, Shin wasn¡¯t ashamed of being taught by Tauro, who was younger than him. On the contrary, he was very proactive. He said that since he doesn¡¯t know much yet and Tauro knows a lot, he was in a position to bow down and learn from him and that age is irrelevant. One day, when the two newcomers were beginning to show different characteristics, the other newcomer, Rumeya encountered a goblin in the forest. At first, Tauro noticed that an unidentified adventurer had encountered a goblin with his ¡°sense of presence,¡± but when he felt that the person did not run away, he felt relieved, thinking it was a higher-ranked adventurer. However, the silhouette of the adventurer surrounded by multiple goblins was inspected with Tauro¡¯s ¡°true eye¡± ability. That¡¯s where Tauro noticed that his stance looked amateurish. Tauro wondered if he should ignore it and see if he was confident enough to defeat the goblins or¡­ he concluded that the silhouette was probably the newcomer Rumeya. He told Shin, who was with him, that he¡¯d be leaving for a while and ran in the direction of Rumeya. The goblin silhouette attacked Rumeya from behind. It looked like it had stabbed him with a knife and Tauro could see the silhouette of Rumeya collapse to one knee. There were five goblins! After confirming the number, Tauro went through the bushes and saw Rumeya and the goblins. He then stopped the other goblins from moving with his prestige, further reduced their abilities with dark magic and plowed down the nearby goblins one by one, leaving the goblins with no chance to fight back. After confirming the death of the goblins, Tauro immediately poured a potion on the unconscious Rumeya. He was stabbed in the back and there were multiple blows on his head and body. His right arm also seems to have been broken by a blow from a club. ¡°I don¡¯t think the potion is going to heal these quickly.¡± Tauro thought to himself. ¡°I¡¯ll try to use that one.¡± It was an intermediate potion that he¡¯d been trying to concoct ever since he arrived in the village and after a lot of hard work, he finally made it. It should be more effective than ordinary potions. He immediately poured it on Rumeya. The stab wound healed quickly. The bruises healed as well. Tauro confirmed this and went back to call Shin and the two of them carried Rumeya back to the village. At the medical station, Rumeya woke up in pain while his right arm was being treated. I¡¯m alive? Rumeya was stunned. The last thing he remembered before he lost consciousness was being stabbed from behind by a goblin and falling to his knees in extreme pain and he didn¡¯t even have time to prepare himself for death. Because he seemed to have been hit hard on the head, the memories before and after were fuzzy and he didn¡¯t seem to recall anything after that. The doctor said that in addition to the broken arm, he was also hit all over his body and his head was injured, but a nearby adventurer treated him with potions. The stab wound was still slightly sore, but the wound had healed. ¡°The way it healed, it wasn¡¯t just any potion. It must be a higher-level potion. You should be grateful for the help you received with such a precious thing. Without the adventurer¡¯s help, you¡¯d be dead by now.¡± Rumeya was horrified, he had never imagined that he would die. He had thought that he was better than the others and that His quests would be a brilliant success. He was ashamed of himself for being so overconfident and thinking he couldn¡¯t die. ¡°¡­Who was the adventurer that helped me?¡± Rumeya decided he had to thank the adventurer who had saved him, he¡¯d even used a precious intermediate potion to save him. ¡°The ones who brought you here were Tauro-kun and a newcomer named Shin, I believe.¡± These were the two people he had looked down on. Rumeya realized he¡¯d been very wrong. CH 69 Day after day, the village was filled with the sight of the two new adventurers, Shin and Rumeya, following Tauro as he went about collecting herbs. For those who didn¡¯t know what was going on, the sight of two adults (16 years old is considered an adult) following an 11-year-old boy, even though they were newcomers, made them think that the boy was some kind of rich kid from a nice family. Of course, this wasn¡¯t the case, but even for those who knew the situation, it was a strange sight. While the three of them were gathering herbs, Shin and Rumeya were listening to Tauro¡¯s lecture on skills. ¡°Since you have the ¡°strength¡± skill, you should hone it of course, but since you also have the ¡®Shield¡¯ skill, I think you should use both to your advantage.¡± ¡°But isn¡¯t a shield supposed to protect?¡± ¡°There are many ways to use the shield skill. From what I was taught, the basic idea is to take on the enemy¡¯s attacks and not allow them to attack your allies, but you can also use your shield to strike, charge, counter, stab and slash with a prepared blade. Rumeya-san has ¡°strength¡±, so I think if you combine it with the shield skill, your strength will increase considerably.¡± ¡°Oh!¡± Since Rumeya had the ¡°Strength¡± skill, he didn¡¯t hold the ¡°shield¡± skill with high regard because he thought it was only meant to protect. But listening to Tauro, the skill started appealing to him. He had been swinging his axe with all his strength, but now he wanted to master the shield skill properly. ¡°Shin-san, a fighting style that specializes in attack with your current ¡°Sword¡± skill and ¡°Taijutsu¡± would be good. I think it will be a very strong technique if you combine the two together. Since in a battle, you can either grab, throw, kick and stab. I think it¡¯ll be a good skill, if you put them together.¡± ¡°All right, I¡¯ll try that!¡± Since Shin was too straightforward, Tauro thought that if he learned a fighting style that combined the two skills, his range would expand. ¡°But for now, if we can learn to gather herbs efficiently, we¡¯ll have time to do other things. So let¡¯s hone our specialties and prepare ourselves so that when we reach the E rank zone, we won¡¯t fall behind the others.¡± ¡°Got it!¡± Tauro thought that it would be even better if the two of them teamed up. At twilight, when the western sky was tinted a bright orange, Tauro and the two others returned to the inn after dropping by the guild to complete their quest. Just then, a carriage was arriving near the entrance of the village. I heard that this village of Dansas stopped carriages for a while when it had a bad reputation, but has recently allowed them again. It was a good thing that people were coming and going again. Aside from the passengers getting off the carriage, Shin and Rumeya quickly walked into the inn, saying ¡°Rice, Rice!¡± As Tauro was about to enter, he was approached by a beast-human woman who had gotten off the carriage, was carrying her luggage and was looking around. ¡°Hey there. Can I have a word with you?¡± ¡°Yes?¡± ¡°Do you know an adventurer from this village named Bob?¡± ¡°Yes! Yes, I know him!¡± When Tauro heard Bob¡¯s name, it hit him. She had black hair, black eyes, triangular ears and a long, thin tail. This woman, who also looked good in ethnic clothes, presumably of the cat people tribe, was probably Bob¡¯s girlfriend! ¡°Shall I show you to his house?¡± ¡°Really? That would be great. I just got here, so I wasn¡¯t sure what to do.¡± ¡°It¡¯s going to be dark soon, it¡¯s not far. We¡¯ll be there soon.¡± ¡°Thank you.¡± ¡°No, no. Bob¡¯s girlfriend is very welcome.¡± ¡°What? How did you know?¡± The cat lady asked back in surprise. ¡°Oh, sorry, I was the one who wrote the letter on his behalf.¡± ¡°Oh, I see. When you think about it, Bob isn¡¯t that good at writing. I was so happy that I didn¡¯t think about it, Hahaha!¡± The cat-human woman smiled and thanked me. ¡°My name is Tauro, it¡¯s nice to meet you.¡± Tauro bowed as he walked. ¡°Oh, I haven¡¯t introduced myself yet. My name¡¯s Momo.¡± The name ¡°Momo,¡± and the fact that she was a cat person, reminded Tauro of the name he¡¯d given his cat in his previous life, which had been the number one pet name for female cats in Japan in 2020. CH 70 Tauro led Momo, a woman from the Cat tribe and Bob¡¯s girlfriend, to the front of Bob¡¯s house. Light was leaking from the house and through the window pane she could see Bob walking around the room. ¡°As you can see, this is Bob-san¡¯s house and your new home. Now, I¡¯m going to leave so you two can enjoy the rest of your time together.¡± After saying that, Tauro left quickly, blending into the darkness that covered the evening. ¡°Oh, thank you, Tauro-kun!¡± After thanking Tauro, who disappeared into the darkness, Momo stood in front of the front door, suppressing her excitement. She knocked on the door. ¡°Yes! Who is it?¡± Bob¡¯s voice could be heard and his footsteps approached the other side of the front door. There was the sound of the knob being gripped then the door being opened. When the door opened, they both looked at each other and were so moved that they said something unspoken to each other and hugged each other. The warmth of each other¡¯s body made the anxiety of the past disappear and they both felt at ease. The adventurer who saved the village, the hero Bob, had a woman in his house and she was a beautiful cat person. The rumor quickly spread throughout the village by witnesses. The villagers were delighted to hear that Bob had invited her to live in the village, which they interpreted to mean that he was willing to live here forever. Momo, a cat person, was immediately welcomed by the villagers as a member of the village family. They were invited to a welcome party at the village chief¡¯s house. ¡°We¡¯re very happy to have you settle in our village!¡± The village chief said excitedly as he poured alcohol into Bob and Momo¡¯s cups. ¡°I look forward to working with you in the future, Chief.¡± Bob bowed deeply and Momo bowed as well. ¡°Haha, that¡¯s our line, Bob-dono. The curse on this village was lifted thanks to Bob¡¯s desperate efforts to defeat the goblins.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t take the credit alone, you know. Tauro-kun over there¡­¡± Bob was about to say something, but the village chief unintentionally interrupted him and said. ¡°Momo-chan, your boyfriend has restored the dignity of all we villagers from the curse. Thank you very much.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve heard from him that he didn¡¯t do this alone. Please give the same praise to Tauro-kun, who lifted the curse with him.¡± ¡°Of course, sir. The boy himself said that Bob-dono is a humble person and he is indeed a humble person. That¡¯s why the villagers love him so much.¡± ¡°Oh, no, like I said Tauro-kun¡­¡± ¡°Bob, are you drinking?¡± Bob tried to correct him again, but it was drowned out by the voices of the other villagers who had been drinking. Tauro sat at the end of the table and watched Bob and the others, relieved. He was relieved to know that Bob was the hero and not him, the child. Otherwise, if he stood out, he might get into trouble later on. This village is certainly part of Count Dallerer¡¯s domain. Tauro remembered that Count Dellerer was a student of his when he was teaching Reversi in King¡¯s Landing. He shouldn¡¯t remember much about it, but if word gets out and the Count hears about it, he might ask him to give him more guidance. Tauro didn¡¯t want to play Reversi for the time being because he¡¯d played it too many times. Or rather, he didn¡¯t want to have anything to do with nobles. That was the one thing he was sure of. Everyone was getting drunk and rowdy. Bob came over to Tauro¡¯s table. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Tauro-kun. It seems I¡¯m taking all the credit for this one.¡± Bob looked apologetic. ¡°No, on the contrary, it¡¯s more unnatural for a child to play an active role, so everyone thinks you¡¯re the star of the show. I was lucky enough to defeat the Knight, but it was Bob-san who actually defeated the Sorcerer and lifted the curse.¡± Tauro spoke as if he was explaining to Momo, who was standing behind Bob. ¡°So, it may be a bit stiff, but you¡¯re the savior of this village. You should be proud of yourself.¡± ¡°Oh, yeah.¡± ¡°Thank you, Tauro-kun.¡± It was Tauro who was grateful to the two of them, but he also felt sorry for Bob who he dumped all the glory on. CH 71 In the morning, Tauro, Shin, and Rumeya came into the guild as usual. ¡°There¡¯s a rare quest among the F rank quests.¡± Shin pointed to a piece of paper on the bulletin board. ¡°It¡¯s true. It¡¯s a rare quest for F-rank. The mass outbreak of killer ants has led to a subjugation quest. F-E ranked adventurers are qualified to undertake this quest. What are you going to do Tauro-kun?¡± Rumeya asked Tauro to make a decision. The killer ants are huge ants, 50 to 60 centimeters in length and their jaws are strong enough to destroy fields. It¡¯s a level of monster that those in the F-rank zone can crush and deal with, but when they form a group, they attack people as well, so the danger increases. That¡¯s probably why the quest was made to both F-ranks and E-ranks this time. The quest takes them to a neighboring village. Count Delleler must have given this village to the knight who was in charge of it to clear out the forest. Even though there was a knight in charge of the village, it seems the ants were coming out in large numbers at a level that couldn¡¯t be taken care of. ¡°I think I¡¯ll take it then.¡± Tauro took one of the papers that had been posted. ¡°I¡¯ll take one too.¡± Shin followed suit. ¡°me too.¡± Rumeya took the quest paper as if it were a matter of course. ¡°Both of you can choose the one you want okay?¡± ¡°We¡¯ll improve faster if we work with you.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right Tauro-kun. We¡¯re one and the same!¡± No, we¡¯re not one and the same! Tauro was inwardly annoyed, but if the two of them were okay with it, he couldn¡¯t complain. There were slots for four people, and one of them had already been filled, so now the slots were all full. ¡°Chloe-san, can I have this one?¡± ¡°You¡¯re taking this quest? Tauro-kun, you guys have to be careful. There seems to be a real outbreak of them and some people didn¡¯t like the quest even at E rank.¡± Chloe said that she first approached the adventurers in the E rank zone before putting up the quest but none of them were willing to take it. As a result, only one person in E rank took it. ¡°Alright, I¡¯m going to make E+ Bob the leader, and you guys follow him.¡± Oh, so it was Bob who took the job. His girlfriend Momo just moved in and now he¡¯s going to be away from home. I guess he just couldn¡¯t say no. Tauro was taken aback by Bob¡¯s good-naturedness but reminded himself that such a personality was a good thing. ¡°Well, let¡¯s go out first thing in the morning and spend today gathering herbs and preparing for the trip.¡± Tauro suggested to the two of them. ¡°Preparation?¡± They didn¡¯t know what they would be preparing. ¡°We¡¯re just going to destroy the killer ants right?¡± Rumeya had done several quests to defeat them, so he could only think of preparing a mallet. ¡°I¡¯m just going to slash or crush them myself. What else can I prepare besides a sword?¡± Shin also posed a question to Tauro. ¡°Well, we¡¯ll talk later, so let¡¯s take the herb gathering quest.¡± When Tauro said this, they obeyed him and headed for the forest. ¡°Now we¡¯ll find not only the medicinal herbs for the quest, but also this peerless grass, hub grass and capsicum.¡± ¡°What kind of grass?¡± They didn¡¯t seem to know why they were looking for grasses. ¡°These three plants are selective poisons that are harmful to insects.¡± ¡°Selective poisons?¡± Shin asked in an unfamiliar tone. ¡°Selective poisoning is a property that is not harmful to humans but poisonous to insects, in other words, it is highly toxic only to certain organisms.¡± ¡°Oh!¡± They finally understood what Tauro was trying to say. He meant that they would have to find a grass that was only effective against killer ants and use it in the quest. ¡°All right. I¡¯ll look for it.¡± Both of them nodded and started looking. ¡°We¡¯ll need as many as we can get. It will be helpful.¡± Tauro began to search using his ¡°true eye¡± in the opposite direction of the two. The three of them split up and searched for a large amount of grass. It was convincing because there were no insect-based monsters in this forest. ¡°All right, if we have this much, we¡¯re good. Now, please grind them up.¡± Tauro pumped out the medicinal tools from the magic storage. They were amazed at the sight. ¡°Tauro-kun, you have a magic storage?¡± Oh, shoot! Tauro was so busy thinking about what he was going to make that he forgot to keep it a secret. ¡°It small scale, but I had it in my skill set. Haha¡­¡± He lied about the small scale, thinking that there was no way to cover up now that he had shown it. ¡°It¡¯s a useful skill, so I can see why you¡¯d want to keep it a secret. It would be dangerous if a bad guy found out about it.¡± Shin took the liberty of interpreting Tauro¡¯s feelings. ¡°You¡¯re right, Tauro-kun, you¡¯re still eleven years old, even if you¡¯re well-behaved.¡± Rumeya also agreed with Shin¡¯s words. Yeah, they¡¯re not wrong, but¡­. He¡¯d thought that these two people were dense, but they¡¯re too nice. Tauro smiled inwardly at the two good people. CH 72 The next day, Tauro was in the backyard of the inn, drying the grass that they had all ground together with wind magic using spirit summoning, before going on the quest to the neighboring village. This is when spirit magic comes in handy. However, Tauro could only use it at the level of daily life magic. Tauro asked the spirit to dry the grasses while he slept. This is how he always had his laundry dried and on hot days, he had the wind blowing on him all the time. It¡¯s almost limitless, as long as you can provide the magic power. If you can¡¯t provide it, there¡¯s a possibility that you might lose consciousness due to magic depletion, but not so far with Tauro. At dawn, Tauro woke up early, made sure the grass he had ground was dry and began to grind it into a perfect powder. Shin and Rumeya, who had woken up at the sound, joined him in the work. Since they didn¡¯t have much time before their departure, Tauro decided to give them some hamburgers that he had saved in his magic storage to feed them for breakfast. ¡°What the hell is this?¡± ¡°Is this the white bread I heard about?¡± ¡°Is that what this is? It¡¯s soft and delicious. The meat is tender and the vegetables are crunchy¡­ it¡¯s the first time I¡¯ve tasted such food¡± They were so impressed that they were literally crying as they ate the hamburger. Tauro knew they would love it but didn¡¯t know it was enough to make them cry. He was so used to eating them that he¡¯d forgotten about them, but he was happy to remember the reaction of the adventurers when he first served them at the nostalgic Yasuragi-tei. After Shin and Rumeya finished eating, they began to turn the mortar with all their energy and in no time, a large amount of powder was produced. Tauro took care of them and this time he took a bun with bean paste out of the magic storage and fed it to them. They were again impressed by the sweet and delicious bean jam. ¡°I¡¯ll follow you for the rest of my life, Tauro-kun!¡± Tauro politely declined and collected all the powder in the magic storage and headed to the guild to meet up with Bob. In front of the guild, a carriage had been prepared. It seemed that the client had prepared it this time. It¡¯s not often you get this kind of treatment for a single quest, so I guess you could say they were anxious, maybe it was that urgent. The four of them hurriedly got into the carriage. Momo-san was there to see them off. ¡°Tauro-kun, take care of Bob for me.¡± Momo waved him off. Bob laughed and pointed out to her. ¡°It¡¯s usually the other way around.¡± ¡°Because you¡¯re unreliable.¡± ¡°That¡¯s the end of the story! I¡¯m off then.¡± Bob waved his hand to her. Tauro also waved his hand to Momo saying. ¡°It¡¯ll be fine¡± The carriage quickly picked up speed and left the village of Dansas in a flash. In the carriage, Tauro was proposing his plan to Bob. ¡°Will this powder work on the killer ants?¡± Bob asked, holding the white powder that Tauro had offered him. ¡°That¡¯s the plan. You can use wind magic right, Bob-san?¡± ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m still at the beginner level, but I can use it.¡± ¡°That¡¯s fine. The three of us will spread this powder, and you will manipulate the wind.¡± The explanation of Tauro¡¯s mission to eradicate the killer ants began. After half a day of riding in the carriage, they were pretty close to the village. As they were passing through the countryside, they saw a black mass in a part of the field. Tauro looked closely and saw a group of killer ants. It was exactly when they were raiding the field! Bob had the coachman stop the carriage and the four of them got out. The three of them scattered the powder of their secret weapon in the air, and Bob used wind magic to create a breeze. As Tauro said, it¡¯s just a weak wind with zero killing power. The wind picks up the powder and sends it to hit the group of killer ants. Then, to their surprise, the group of killer ants began to thrash around on the spot and then died. As soon as Tauro sees this, he rushes to the corpse of the killer ant and collects only the white powder with his magic storage. ¡°The ability to kill has been confirmed. Let¡¯s head for the village!¡± The three of them, who had been stunned by its power, hurriedly nodded at Tauro¡¯s voice and got into the carriage urging the coachman to hurry. CH 73 When they arrived at the village, it was a battlefield. The villagers were resisting the killer ants with mulberry tree sticks and sickles, but the overwhelming difference in numbers made them desperate to protect their families. Then a carriage arrived. The coachman of the carriage said. ¡°The adventurers have come to save us!¡± Everyone turned at the sound of his voice. Four adventurers gallantly descended on the village and three of them, including a child, started sprinkling white powder into the air. Then, the adventurer who seemed to be the leader of the group rolled up the powder with wind magic and began to attack the swarm of killer ants. One by one, the swarm of killer ants began to struggle and die. It was as vivid as witnessing a miracle. As the adventurer man manipulated the wind, the killer ants died one after another. In between them, a child was running around doing something, but the villagers didn¡¯t see it. Tauro retrieves the white powder with his magic storage, puts it back in a bag to hold it, takes it out, gives it to Shin and Rumeya, they scatter it in the air again and Bob manipulates it with wind magic. Bob continued to do so while recovering magic power with the occasional magic potion Tauro gave him. Before long, the killer ants were defeated. The villagers had just been shown magic. With the help of a single adventurer¡¯s miraculous magic, the killer ants that had been so hard to defeat even by the knight in charge of the village were eradicated. He was truly a savior. The villagers crowded around the adventurer and all expressed their gratitude. They asked the adventurer who he was and he told them that he was Bob, the dog-man adventurer who had saved the village of Dansas. He said modestly, ¡°I just created the wind.¡± What a wonderful personality he has. He is not conceited at all. They were certain they were witnessing a hero. The villagers were truly grateful to their savior. ¡°When I saw the number of killer ants attacking the village, I almost despaired.¡± Rumeya said honestly. ¡°yes, I did too. Bob and Tauro were the only two people who were calm at the time. Besides, we were just spraying the powder.¡± They defeated the swarm of killer ants without much hesitation. The only people who were busy were Bob, who was using wind magic and Tauro, who was occasionally collecting the powder. ¡°All we did was spread the powder.¡± ¡°But Tauro-kun also played a role.¡± ¡°I guess so. It¡¯s nice to be appreciated, but I don¡¯t want to be tortured by the villagers like Bob.¡± The two men looked at Bob, who was in trouble, surrounded by the villagers. With such a large herd, it should not be surprising if there was a killer ant queen. Tauro went around to check the corpses of the killer ants. His prediction was correct and he found the queen on the outskirts of the village. It was large, almost a meter tall. She was holding a wand in her paw. She might be able to use magic. It was very weak, but he couldn¡¯t let it go. There was no guarantee that it would not breed and attack again later. Tauro immediately blocked the Queen¡¯s movement with the dark magic ¡°Paralysis¡± and quietly stabbed her in the back. He also retrieved one of the antennae and the magic stone, the proof of her defeat. Now that the crisis in the village was over, all he had to do was return home and report back. However, he might not be able to return home today. The villagers and the knight in charge of the village have begun preparing a thank-you party. Bob says he¡¯s just doing what he¡¯s supposed to do as an adventurer, but the preparations are progressing rapidly. We can¡¯t leave without Bob and it looks like we¡¯ll be staying the night, Tauro thought. Bob was well received at the banquet. He and the knight seemed to have hit it off and were talking a lot. After all, Bob is not an ordinary person. He has accepted this situation and is enjoying it. Shin and Rumeya were drunk, but they couldn¡¯t keep up with the tension of the villagers. Tauro, being a child and not drinking, remained calm and enjoyed the happiness of the villagers. They had been useful to these people. It was times like this that Tauro felt he was in the best position to be an adventurer. CH 74 The next day after the defeat of the Killer Ant, the four of us returned to the village of Dansas in the early afternoon, having been given a ride home by the knight in the carriage. We went straight to report to the guild. ¡°Oh, is everyone okay?¡± Chloe, the receptionist, looked relieved when she saw the four of us enter the room. ¡°We finished the mission without any problems.¡± Tauro reported on behalf of the team. ¡°What? Three hundred and fifty-six killer ants and one queen¡­?¡± Shin and Rumeya presented three hundred and fifty-six antennae and magic stones to prove the success of the mission. Tauro also recovered the queen¡¯s antennae and magic stones. ¡°It¡¯s three times as many as the number reported at the time of request. There¡¯s also a queen¡­¡± Chloe was dumbfounded by the number and quantity of items placed in front of her. ¡°I¡¯m so glad you¡¯re all okay. I¡¯ve confirmed that the quest is complete. I¡¯ll buy all the magic stones from you.¡± Chloe started the process. ¡°Oh, I¡¯ll help you.¡± Tauro has a ¡°True eye¡± and could appraise the materials but he kept it a secret. Right now, there is no staff member in the guild with the appraisal skill or rather, Chloe was the only staff, so the purchase appraisal was kept at the reception desk at one point and Chloe with Tauro were assessing and processing based on material in their spare time. ¡°Thank you, Tauro-kun. We¡¯ll have an appraiser and a new branch manager tomorrow, so thank you for your help so far.¡± ¡°Oh, finally, a new branch manager! That¡¯s a lot less work for Chloe, thank goodness.¡± Bob was honestly happy for Chloe who had been running the guild by herself for the past few months. ¡°It¡¯s been long¡­¡± Chloe also shed tears like a waterfall as she remembered. Usually, she smiled less and behaved indifferently, but it seems that the pressure was still on her. (Chloe¡¯s POV) Originally, I had been a calm and collected person, or rather, a cool-headed receptionist, and I had done my job with a sense of calmness. I don¡¯t know when it started, but I had a tendency to be hard on adventurers, especially strangers, to the point where I could clearly tell that I was cold-hearted. It was frightening to think that at the time, I had come to feel as though they deserved it. The entire village of Dansas was enveloped in such an atmosphere and strangers were leaving the village one after another. Not only the strangers, but also the villagers had grown tired of the village and began to leave. Then one day, a new branch chief arrived, but he soon quit after a dispute with the villagers. A few employees dispatched from the guild in town also left. The only ones left were a local adventurer who specialized in collecting medicinal herbs and myself. But then Bob arrived. As usual, I responded to the stranger with coldness and harsh words. But Bob refused to leave and continued to complete his quests every day. One day, a child adventurer, Tauro-kun, came to join him. I was cold to him again, but he bowed politely and thanked me. I was surprised. It had been too long since I had been treated that way. At that moment, I felt like I had come to my senses. I wondered what I had been doing. After Tauro¡¯s arrival, the curse on the village was lifted when he and Bob defeated the rare species of goblins at the shrine and as the days passed, I felt like I was waking up from a long nightmare. The two of them contributed to the revival of the village by working to eliminate the bad reputation of the village and teaching their skills to the villagers to bring it back to life. The guild was slowly coming back to life and was busy, but I couldn¡¯t do it without Tauro¡¯s help. Chloe has always felt helpless and limited, but with the arrival of the branch manager and the temporary staff, the guild will be able to function properly. ¡­At least she thought so. Chloe was satisfied with the new dispatch who came with an ¡°appraisal¡± skill. She had short brown hair, dark eyes, was cute and stylish, so she would be well received by adventurers. The other man who was to be the branch chief introduced himself as the vice branch chief. He seemed to be from the same area as herself, with black hair, black eyes, a medium build and glasses. He was good at paperwork and had appealing strength. He seems to be the same type as me, no, wait! We don¡¯t need a deputy branch manager when we don¡¯t have a manager! But then this man, Shiroi Uhutsu (hereinafter Shiroi), gave me a letter of resignation. ¡°This is a letter of resignation addressed to Chloe. As of the moment when you read this letter, I¡¯m appointing you as the head of the Adventurer¡¯s Guild Dansas Branch.¡± Eh? The calm Chloe raised an inaudible voice of surprise in her heart. CH 75 Everyone was surprised when Chloe, the receptionist, was announced as the branch manager. Tauro was also surprised, but not that much. She¡¯s kind, calm and collected, so people tend to think of her as cold, but she has as much emotion as anyone else. I was working with Chloe on some paperwork. ¡°What should I do, Tauro-kun?¡± she asked with a tearful, anxious look on her face. ¡°Please calm down. It¡¯s just an extension of the work we¡¯ve been doing. On the other hand, the reception can be left to the newcomer and the paperwork can be left to Shiroi-san, the assistant branch manager. Chloe, you only have to make the final adjustments, so it¡¯ll be much easier than before.¡± Tauro appeased Chloe. ¡°But the responsibility¡­¡± Chloe¡¯s anxiety wouldn¡¯t go away. ¡°We¡¯ve been doing just fine up to this point. It¡¯s fine to continue as before. You can just tell the adventurers what you want.¡± ¡°But¡­¡± ¡°It¡¯s the same way you¡¯ve dealt with me in the past, you¡¯ll be fine.¡± ¡°That¡¯s because you¡¯ve only been an adventurer for a few months and you¡¯re still at F rank¡­!¡± ¡°If you don¡¯t understand something, ask everyone for advice. If you do that, you can handle almost anything. There¡¯s no need to take it all on yourself.¡± Chloe nodded, feeling as if Tauro¡¯s words had stabilized her. ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll try.¡± Thus, Chloe agreed to take the post, and the Adventurer¡¯s Guild in Dansas Village had a new branch chief. Even though Chloe became the head of the guild, she still did almost everything the same as before. Sometimes she works as a receptionist, sometimes she does paperwork. Most times she would go to the big guilds in town to discuss things, but it was almost the same as usual. If I had to pick one thing that was different, it would be the change from the staff uniform to casual pants and the badge on her left chest indicating that she was the branch manager. The Adventurer¡¯s Guild Dansas Branch has decided to make it a basic policy to add potions to the equipment of the adventurers working in this branch. The reason for this is to reduce the fatality rate during quests. In addition, the village of Dansas has an abundance of medicinal herbs that are less expensive than elsewhere. In order to achieve this, it was important to streamline the process of refining the potions by pharmacists so that they could be made in large quantities. If we could do this and provide them to adventurers at a lower price, both the branch and the adventurers would be happy. Many of the adventurers in this branch have been helped by the potions. Therefore, there were not many people who objected. The ones who did object were those who had never been seriously injured before, but knowing that the potions had saved the lives of some of the chapter¡¯s most famous adventurers, they were reluctant to speak out. In addition, Chloe promoted Bob to D-rank, Tauro to F+ and Shin and Rumeya to F under her authority. This was because of their performance in the quest to defeat the Killer Ant. First of all, they were on a larger scale than previously reported and secondly, there was a queen and they quickly defeated them and saved the village with minimal damage. She would have liked to raise the four of them two ranks, but that was impossible under the guild¡¯s rules, so she couldn¡¯t. She was going to cite the previous defeat of the Goblin Knight and Sorcerer, but that had already been dealt with, so she couldn¡¯t do it. But for the four of us, this was a windfall. Bob, in particular, had only been promoted to E+ for a short time and D- was not something that could be achieved by simply completing quests. There was a screening process to see if you were worthy of the promotion and your personality, background, and contribution to the guild were also involved. This was the barrier between the E rank band (ordinary adventurers) and the D rank band (skilled adventurers). There are many adventurers in this rank range who remain at E rank until they retire. Bob had cleared all of these requirements. There was no one to oppose him, especially since he had contributed so much to the village and worked hard to improve its image. As for Tauro, Shin, and Rumeya, they were F-ranked adventurers, so the conditions were still loose and the promotion was based on the hope that they would have a promising future. Shin and Rumeya were very happy. It was a speedy promotion just from sprinkling powder. They were thankful that they had followed Tauro. Tauro, however, was calm. He wanted to get their fighting styles in shape before the three of them moved up to the E rank. CH 76 One day. A G-ranked quest was posted on the bulletin board in the guild lobby. G-ranked quests are known as ¡°errand quests¡± for amateur adventurers or ¡°penalty quests¡± for those who violate guild rules, so few adventurers bother to look at them. Tauro looked over to see what was going on. ¡°Guild-run tavern to be opened, renovate vacant house.¡± Was written on the board. This is¡­ ¡°I¡¯m pretty handy, so I might as well do it. I just need to get the tavern up and running!¡± ¡°Oh! I¡¯ve only been able to drink at the inn at certain times, so it would be great if I could do it!¡± ¡°Who¡¯s the guy that restored this guild? Has he repaired anywhere recently? I need a tavern.¡± The people who wanted to drink from daytime were making a fuss. Tauro decided to accept this quest, as he welcomed the guild-run tavern. A child adventurer who was becoming famous in the guild took the job and the adventurers who were confident in their dexterity also excitedly took the order. Shin and Rumeya decided that if Tauro was going to take it, then so would they¡­ In this way, the quest capacity was quickly filled and in no time at all, the project to open the tavern was up and running. The village was rich in wood, so there was no shortage of good wood available at low prices. Under the direction of Chloe, the branch manager or rather Tauro behind the scenes, the renovation work began. The location was a large, one-story abandoned tavern across from the guild. Tauro has designed a two-story building to replace it. The first floor will be a tavern and the second floor will be used for adventurers¡¯ lodging and unlike the inn, the rooms will be a bit more spacious. The inn rooms are a bit small to sleep in, and not suitable for long-term stays. In fact, the adventurers who stayed for long periods of time had pooled their money together to rent a house or a warehouse to store their belongings. Tauro was wondering if he should rent a house soon. Tauro has a magic storage, so it¡¯s not a problem for his luggage, but the walls of the inn were thin and the noise echoes, so it would be a nuisance to do any work there. Even if he decided to do work in the yard of the inn, he was worried about the time frame. Therefore, he designed the building with soundproofing in mind, including his personal feelings. Besides, there was no way they wouldn¡¯t use the space above the tavern, which would bring a completely different profit margin from the tavern alone. The skilled adventurers were surprised when they saw the blueprints. They were surprised by the two-story building, but they were also surprised by the accommodations on the second floor. ¡°¡°I¡¯m definitely moving here¡­!¡±¡± The atmosphere was such that I could hear the voices of the adventurers¡¯ hearts even without using my ¡°sense of presence¡±. The adventurers were confident in their dexterity, but Tauro¡¯s work almost made them lose confidence. He cut and shaved the wood with millimeter precision and handed the wood to them exactly according to the blueprint. The branch manager instructed us to assemble it ourselves and they were amazed at how perfectly they fit and how intricately the joints were made without the need for nails. It didn¡¯t take long for all of them to be convinced that this kid was a carpenter¡¯s son or had highly skilled ¡°woodworking¡± skills. After the first day¡¯s work, the adventurers who had been working on the project asked the branch manager who Tauro was, but Chloe refused, claiming of course that she couldn¡¯t talk about personal information. But to be honest, Chloe herself wanted to know. The tests by the mage confirmed that Tauro only had one garbled skill. It¡¯s considered the most useless skill. In other words, there is a big possibility that Tauro has worked harder than others to acquire the skills he has now without any skills. The garbled skill is something that you can¡¯t really work on because you don¡¯t know what kind of skill it is. (This child is getting results under those better conditions.) Chloe took her hat off to Tauro. When the adventurers he worked with asked him about his skills, Tauro answered honestly that he only had one garbled skill. The good thing about the garbled skill was that he didn¡¯t have to explain his inexplicable ability, and he couldn¡¯t be caught lying by being ¡°appraised¡± because of the ¡°Appraisal Inhibition (Extreme)¡±. When the adventurers found out about it, they might have imagined the same thing as Chloe cause they all patted Tauro on the shoulder and said encouraging things like, ¡°You¡¯re doing great! CH 77 The renovation of the vacant house was progressing steadily in preparation for the opening of the guild-run tavern. The work was beyond remodeling, it was more like building a new house, but Tauro¡¯s skillfulness had everyone on board and the work was going smoothly. The renovation proceeded at a brisk pace, and the tavern and inn were completed ten days ahead of schedule. ¡°We made it! Isn¡¯t this stylish?¡± ¡°Right? I had imagined it would be stuffy.¡± ¡°Anyway, this is where we adventurers will hang out from now on!¡± The adventurers were deeply moved by the fact that they had created a new place for themselves to relax. Shin and Rumeya seemed to be the same way. ¡°It¡¯s amazing that we made it ourselves¡­!¡± ¡°So this is where we¡¯ll be staying next!¡± They said excitedly. Then, Tauro pointed out the reality. ¡°It¡¯s hard to pay for this inn with our F rank income, so we¡¯ll have to keep working hard.¡± Tauro¡¯s words made them both gasp and they checked their wallets for money and were disappointed. Tauro could have moved out if he wanted to, but he decided to hold out until the two of them moved out. Chloe named the place ¡°Resting Pavilion¡±(Ikoi-tei) based on the conversation between the adventurers. It may sound cheesy, but it should be a place of relaxation. Chloe promised herself that she would make it a new source of income for the branch. In reality, the branch was running out of money after all they had spent on this place. Thanks to Tauro¡¯s efforts, the project was completed much faster, which saved money, but Chloe was filled with a sense of crisis. if this project failed, it would be the end of the chapter. With Chloe¡¯s sense of crisis aside, Tauro took on the task of training the cooks for this ¡°Resting Pavilion¡±. The inn keeper had made fried food such as pork cutlets her specialty, so he had to differentiate himself by offering different dishes. At first, Tauro wondered what kind of food they should serve, but then he remembered. The guild has the rights to the dishes he sold to the one in the city of Sa?shi, where he used to be. In other words, it wouldn¡¯t be a problem to serve it here at the same adventurer¡¯s guild, right? I checked with Chloe, and she told me that each branch has an independent accounting system, but since they¡¯re part of the same adventurer¡¯s guild, they can use the menu as long as they pay the rental fee. So, Tauro immediately taught the cook how to make hamburgers. He wanted to teach the village bakery how to make white bread, but the guild had the rights to the recipe and he couldn¡¯t infringe on their rights, so he gave up. Even a single hamburger steak would be enough of a novelty now and it would be popular. Tauro also decided to make miso (Pork cutlet), although it would take some time. To do so, he needed to make rice malt. And to make rice malt, you need seed malt. Fortunately, rice was used as livestock feed in this village, so it was easy to obtain. He immediately starts making the seed malt. First, the rice is milled, washed, and soaked (the water absorption rate of the rice is measured to make sure it absorbs enough water). Next, the rice is steamed to achieve a uniform finish and then the steamed rice is cooled to a temperature where the malt mold can grow. Then, the mold (seed fungus) attached to the rice is collected and sprayed on the steamed rice. In order to avoid killing the mold (seed fungus) with ¡°purification,¡± only the germs are killed and the temperature and moisture are adjusted for cultivation. When the rice is ready, it¡¯s dried with wind spirit magic, sifted to collect only the spores and then blended with starch to complete the process. After finishing the work in a short time, he moved on to making rice malt. Making rice malt is similar to making seed malt, up to the point of cultivation. For culturing, he wrapped the rice that had gone through the process in a clean cloth and applied pressure to make it as small and round as possible, and kept it at a temperature of 30-32 degrees Celsius. This was adjusted by placing the rice in a box. Occasionally, air was exchanged to give oxygen to the malt mold and the mass of rice was broken into pieces and re-wrapped in a cloth. After two days of doing this several times, the process was complete. Finally, now we can move on to making miso¡­. Tauro felt faint, but he reassured himself that if he could make miso, it would become a specialty of this village. CH 78 Tauro¡¯s miso making continues. He prepares beans called ¡°senzu,¡± which are similar to soybeans in our world, rice malt, and salt. First, he soaks the beans in water for a night. ¡ý Next, put the beans in a pot and boil them until they become soft. ¡ý Mash them until smooth and let them cool. ¡ý Then, put rice malt and salt into the pot, and add the milled beans and mix. ¡ý Roll it up and put it in a container. ¡ý Use the magic ¡°purification¡± to remove germs, and cover the container with a lid to complete the preparation. It would be completed if it was kept in a cool, dark place for six months to a year, but that¡¯s not possible, so Tauro used his dark spirit magic, ¡°Decay,¡± to let the time pass. Now, the miso was complete. Shin and Rumeya knew that Tauro had been quietly making something for several days, but when they saw that the finished product was a rotten paste of beans, they doubted Tauro¡¯s sanity. ¡°Its Tauro-kun okay¡­ he¡¯s laughing to himself holding that ¡®miso¡¯ in his hand¡­¡± ¡°I¡¯m starting to worry too. He¡¯s saying he¡¯s going to feed it to people¡­¡± Has he lost his mind? They were horrified. Tauro walked into the kitchen with the cook and after an hour had passed, he came out into the dining room with several miso dishes. The cook who came out was smiling, he was raving about Tauro. They were a little relieved to see the smile on the cook¡¯s face, thinking that if the cook had eaten it and appreciated it, it mustn¡¯t be bad. However, they couldn¡¯t be too sure, since they might get an upset stomach later. The four dishes they were served as tastings were ¡°miso soup¡±, ¡°miso meat¡±, ¡°miso onigiri¡± and ¡°miso vegetable stir-fry¡±. After confirming the names of the dishes and the fact that they were loaded with miso, they looked at each other and said ¡°We¡¯re going to have a stomach ache tomorrow!¡± They were sure of it. Tauro and the cook smiled at them and pushed forward the dishes. Their smiles were also frightening to them. These two are crazy¡­. Shin and Rumeya despair. Preparing themselves for the fact that it was not an atmosphere in which they could refuse, they each took a bite of their food. ¡­ ¡­ ¡°Delicious¡­huh?¡± They were surprised and impressed by the taste, but remembered the possibility of upsetting their stomachs and did not proceed to the second bite. ¡°?¡± Tauro and the cook thought their expression was bright, but the next moment, they had a sour expression. So they wondered. ¡°Was it not to your liking?¡± Tauro questioned. ¡°No, it¡¯s not that¡­ I¡¯m afraid of getting an upset stomach¡­¡± At these words, Tauro and the cook smiled as they realized the reason for the darkness in their faces. ¡°It¡¯s not rotten, it¡¯s fermented food.¡± Tauro explained. ¡°You two like cheese, right? It¡¯s made by the same fermentation process. so it won¡¯t upset your stomach.¡± ¡°Is that so?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± They were reassured by Tauro¡¯s reply and began to eat. ¡°I feel like the miso gives this meat a deeper flavor!¡± ¡°The miso onigiri over here, with the chewy rice, is delicious!¡± The chef nodded in agreement with the two of them. ¡°This will become a specialty of Ikoi-tei!¡± The chef shook Tauro¡¯s hand as he exclaimed. The restaurant had a basement, which seemed to have been built to store the liquor used in the previous bar. The miso could be made quickly if Tauro used his dark magic, but it would be better for the future if they could learn to make it themselves. So he taught the cooks how to make it and had them make a little bit every day. He felt sure that in six months to a year, their accumulation will come to fruition. The hamburger steak that he taught them was a big hit with the customers, especially the old people, because it was tender compared to plain meat. There are people who want to eat meat but can¡¯t because it¡¯s too tough. The Ikoi-tei was supposed to be a place for adventurers to hang out, but with the miso dishes, it was becoming a place for villagers to gather and interact. However, there was one person who was not happy about this and complained. Yes, it was the innkeeper. ¡°What are we supposed to do if another inn opens here?¡± She was desperate because her livelihood depended on it. She was told that Tauro, who came up with the idea of tonkatsu, had produced it. She seemed to think that her inn had been abandoned. ¡°Landlady, let¡¯s take this opportunity to renovate the inn.¡± At the same time, Tauro suggested that the inn be separated from the Resting Pavilion (Ikoi-tei). CH 79 Tauro¡¯s proposal was this. The innkeeper would rent a few vacant houses nearby for the current guests and have them move in temporarily at the current rate. During this time, the inn would renovate the accommodations except for the dining room. The cafeteria is popular every day, so it will stay open. That way, there would be no sudden drop in income. Currently, the walls of the ¡°Nameless Inn¡± are thin. For those who are just staying there, the small size is tolerable because of the low price, but there are many problems for guests, such as waking up in the middle of the night to the sound of neighbors and the sound of work being done in the room (Wow ?) being transmitted through the walls. Tauro, who has been staying here for a long time, was also worried about the noise of making potions and special boards. When I pointed these out to her, the innkeeper made a face like it couldn¡¯t be helped. ¡°I knew I¡¯d have to do it at some point. We¡¯ve been getting a lot of visitors lately and we¡¯ve been saving up, so we might as well do it.¡± Thus, the ¡°Nameless Inn¡± was to be remodeled. Under Tauro¡¯s direction, adventurers who had been using the inn and carpenters from the woodworking shop joined in and the renovation went smoothly and quickly. After consulting with the innkeeper, the inn was made into a two-story building. The difference between this inn and ikoi-tei was that it was smaller but cheaper. The name was also changed from the nameless inn to the ¡°Dwarf Inn¡±. Some of the rooms on the second floor also have three spacious rooms. There were some families who preferred to stay at such rooms. The rest of the rooms were the same as before, with many smaller rooms. So far, the number of guests has been increasing steadily and we expected that it would continue to increase in the future. More importantly, the thicker walls reduced the sound leaks significantly. Tauro was very happy about this. Now, the sound of work (Wow ?) won¡¯t bother him as much. By the way, this is just the sound of making potions. The inn was generally well received by the guests. The innkeeper was relieved. If things had continued as before, there was a possibility that customers would have flowed to the ¡°Ikoi-tei¡±. Of course, this was true, but the number of guests had increased more than that. As the number of rooms increased, so did the capacity and the sales went up so the owner thanked Tauro. As the village continued to grow, there was one man who was taking advantage of this trend the most. It was a young peddler named Marches. With his exclusive contracts with blacksmiths and woodworkers and his trade in valuable medicinal herbs, he was able to make a quick profit. ¡°Hello, Tauro-kun! How¡¯ve you been?¡± ¡°Oh, Marches-san, you¡¯re here early again this month.¡± ¡°Actually, I¡¯ve decided to open a store in this village, so I¡¯ve come to look for a good place to live.¡± Just a few months ago, he was doing a small business, but now he¡¯s going to open a store. Tauro thought it might be too early in the game to start. ¡°Fufufu. You¡¯re worried right? Actually, I¡¯ve been noticed by the head of a business association in a big city. We used to be business partners, but he said he¡¯d give me some of his money if I opened a store in this village.¡± ¡°is it a good offer?¡± Tauro was a little suspicious. ¡°The representative said that there¡¯s a difference in credibility between a peddler and a merchant with a store. If you want to do business with us in the future, you¡¯d better set up a store and get your feet on the ground.¡± It¡¯s true that someone who owns a store might be easier to do business with than a peddler. However, it¡¯s still a very generous offer to provide some of the funds or does the representative like Marchese that much? Well, if Marches, a merchant, is going to open a store based on a promise to someone he believes in with his own eyes, there¡¯s no reason to stop him. Tauro brought Marches to the village chief and asked him to introduce him to some good properties. The village chief was happy to have a store in the village. He immediately negotiated with the owner of a property a few doors down from the Resting Pavilion, which was run by the Adventurer¡¯s Guild, and arranged for Marchese to purchase it. Since the owner still didn¡¯t trust him, he made a contract with the owner that the land would be given to him only after he paid the full amount and that he would pay all his money as a deposit, then he would get the rest from the merchant association by the due date. In order to gain the owner¡¯s trust, Marches proposed that he would pay the deposit as a penalty if the deadline was not met. This was also the advice that Marches received from the representative of the merchant association. It seems to be a technique that merchants use to win the trust of the other party in a short period of time, as expected of a merchant. Tauro was convinced and watched over the contract between the two parties. CH 80 After purchasing goods in the village, the merchant, Marches went back to the big city to sell the goods and get money from the merchant association for his business. His back was full of confidence in his bright future. Maybe this is what a successful person looks like. Tauro saw him off. The next time he comes back, he will have a lot of money and he would make another breakthrough as a merchant in this village. A few days later, Marches returned by carriage. I wondered if he was really looking forward to having a store. It was a short-lived thought. When I looked closely, I saw that Marches had changed his appearance and the cart was still loaded with the same goods he had purchased in the village when he had left. Marches stopped the carriage when Tauro approached him. ¡°What happened? Did you change your mind?¡± ¡°Tauro! Arrange to meet the owner of the land right now!¡± ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± ¡°Hurry up, I¡¯ll tell you then!¡± Marches was in a panic, his eyes were bloodshot and he didn¡¯t seem to have slept much. ¡°Please calm down, I¡¯m going to call the landowner now.¡± Tauro ran to the landowner, this was no ordinary matter. ¡°So, can I get the money back?¡± Marches got down on his knees and appealed directly to the landowner. ¡°Hey, hey! I signed the contract at your suggestion didn¡¯t I? Asking me to give it back is really out of line!¡± The landlord was beginning to feel resentment at Marches¡¯ flip-flop. ¡°I¡¯ll go bankrupt as it is!¡± It seems that something is really wrong. Marches was desperately clinging to the landowner. ¡°I don¡¯t care about your personal reasons. I¡¯ve signed the contract you proposed. You must pay in full by the due date. If you don¡¯t, we¡¯ll take all your deposit!¡± The landowner was indignant and left the place. Marches was still trying to cling on to the landlord, but Tauro stopped him. ¡°Please explain what happened exactly from the beginning.¡± Tauro calmed the frantic Marches down. Marches was overcome with despair, but he began to talk. When the representative of the Damaski Corporation, who Marches was supposed to get support from found out that he had signed a contract, he suddenly flipped his hand and said that he would not buy any products and would not provide any funds. The representative of Damaski tried to play it down using the fact that they had only made a verbal agreement and hadn¡¯t signed a contract and in the end he even went so far as to say that if he was to go bankrupt, their business association would take the entire deal with the village of Dansas. He was so proud of his victory that he talked on and on. He must have been planning to do so from the beginning. I don¡¯t know if they didn¡¯t like the fact that a young peddler was making such a big profit, but I¡¯m certain they were planning to trap him and take the profits for themselves. Marches had been set up. At this rate, Marches would lose all his money and go bankrupt with his inventory. He would lose the business he had been wholesaling to Damaski chamber of commerce and the exclusive contract he had with them would be in trouble. Then Damaski would come in and try to make a deal that would be profitable for them. Of course I won¡¯t let that happen. ¡°Mr. Marches, I¡¯ll pay for the rest.¡± ¡°Eh?¡± Marches was taken by surprise and for a moment did not understand. ¡°Oh, of course, I¡¯m lending you the money, but you have to pay me back.¡± ¡°¡­Ah, yeah¡­ I mean, it¡¯s not like¡­ but it¡¯s a lot of money.¡± Marches was still confused, as if he didn¡¯t understand. ¡°Here, then.¡± To help him understand, Tauro pulled out a leather bag containing the money from the magic storage. He put it in Marches¡¯s hand. ¡°This is an investment for you, Mr. Marches. Also, please keep this between us. I¡¯m going to need you to sign a contract just to be sure.¡± ¡°Eh¡­ yes, with pleasure!¡± Feeling nostalgic at the lines he remembered hearing at a tavern in his previous life, Tauro nodded and decided to discuss the future with Marches. CH 81 The merchant Marches has lost one of his few connections and biggest business partner by betrayal. Even though he has a large amount of merchandise, he has no ability to sell it. That¡¯s the situation he¡¯s in. With the money he borrowed from Tauro, he was able to pay the rest to the landowner, but if he doesn¡¯t sell the goods that are still loaded in the carriage, he won¡¯t have any money in the end and since he didn¡¯t have any business partner, he won¡¯t be able to do business in the future. So, again, Tauro suggested to Marches that he go to the city with him this time. The city of Dareder, the territorial capital of Count Dareder, who was also the ruler of the village of Dansas where Tauro and his friends lived. The Damaski Chamber of Commerce which tricked Marches also does business here. It¡¯s not a big business, but it¡¯s a good one in the city of Dareder. It was quite a good network for a simple merchant. Thanks to this, the smaller merchant associations that might be willing to deal with a merchant would not be willing to deal with Marches for fear of pressure from the Damaski Chamber of Commerce. So, he would have to have connections with other big merchant associations. Tauro decided to use his own connections here. ¡°Garfish Chamber of Commerce?¡± ¡°Yes, the Garfish Chamber of Commerce.¡± ¡°Tauro-kun, even if it¡¯s to counter the pressure of the Damaski Chamber of Commerce, the Garfish chamber of commerce won¡¯t take kindly to a mere merchant¡­¡± Marchese let out a weak cry. ¡°Let¡¯s just go for now. It¡¯s not good to give up without doing anything.¡± ¡°You¡¯re right. let¡¯s go with gusto!¡± Marches made up his mind and decided to head to the Dareder branch of the Garfish chamber of commerce. ¡°Well, well, well, Tauro-kun, are you on an errand for Master Giro Sugar today?¡± When we arrived at the Garfish chamber of commerce, an employee noticed Tauro and hurriedly came out of the store. ¡°There¡¯s that, but today I¡¯ve brought a person and a product that I¡¯d like to introduce to the branch manager.¡± Tauro was known as the apprentice of Giro Sugar, the craftsman who produced the special one-of-a-kind Reversi discs favored by the headquarters of the Chamber of Commerce in the royal capital and he had come to this branch once to deliver the special discs. ¡°Okay, I understand. Please come to the back.¡± The employee immediately invited them to the back. Marches expected to be turned down at the front, so he said in disbelief, ¡°Eh?¡± Marches¡¯ thoughts were completely stopped. From the headquarters of the Chamber of Commerce, Tauro, a disciple of Giro Sugar was strictly treated with respect in all the branches due to the instruction given by the headquarters. After all, the Garfish Chamber of Commerce is the only one that deals in special edition boards. The value of the special discs is tremendous to the Garfish chamber of commerce, not only because of the high prices they command but also because of the connections they make with noblemen who want them. The branch managers were made to understand this when they were called to the headquarters. Dareder Branch Manager, Ed was also greatly praised when he delivered the Giro Sugar work directly to the capital. It seems that the Chamber of Commerce had not been able to get a proper hold of the whereabouts of this Giro Sugar person. So, when he reported it, they even offered him a special reward. In addition, it was a privilege to be able to see his work. After all, the world calls it the work of the phantom, Giro Sugar. It was a miracle just to see it. He had already seen one of the works and was taken aback by its detailed carving and innovative design. The head of the branch in the next town was already envious of him. It seemed that Tauro, his apprentice had brought in another piece. Could the person who came with him be Giro Sugar himself? Ed, the head of the Dareder branch, welcomed them into the guest room with a sense of excitement. ¡°So, what can I do for you today?¡± Ed was the first to start the conversation. As a greeting, Tauro took one of the special one-of-a-kind discs from his magic storage and presented it to Ed. ¡°First of all, I¡¯m here to deliver my new creation.¡± ¡°This is wonderful¡­!¡± Ed was impressed by the new piece. ¡°Is it possible that the board is made of metal?¡± ¡°Yes, the master said he tried to be a little elaborate¡­¡± ¡°The idea is amazing!¡± Ed was all smiles, knowing that he had something to brag about to his fellow chapter leaders in the neighboring towns. ¡°Now that we have that out of the way, I have something else to tell you.¡± ¡°Oh, what is it? Is it related to this man?¡± Ed could tell from the vibe of Tauro¡¯s companion that it wasn¡¯t Giro Sugar himself. ¡°Would you be interested in doing business with the village of Dansas?¡± ¡°Hoho¡­I¡¯ve heard rumors, but I believe the Damaski chamber of commerce handles the goods there?¡± At once, Branch Manager Ed¡¯s face turned into a merchant¡¯s face. ¡°The merchant who distributes the products is Marches-san.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s talk in detail.¡± Sensing a business opportunity, Ed shifted his weight forward. CH 82 Tauro told the whole story in place of Marches who stopped thinking and was stunned. ¡°That¡¯s¡­ an unbecoming act for a merchant, isn¡¯t it?¡± Ed was taken aback by Tauro¡¯s explanation. ¡°But since they have a business contract, it would be difficult for us to interfere unreasonably, because the Commercial Guild would punish us severely.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve been doing business on an oral basis for a long time, so there¡¯s no contract of any kind!¡± Marches who was watching them in a daze suddenly came to his senses and broke into the conversation. ¡°As Marches-san said, it was an oral agreement, so there is no problem in changing to a counterparty. As for the rest, you¡¯ll have to judge from the products he¡¯s dealing with.¡± Tauro brought out a few items from the magic storage. ¡°This is¡­! Isn¡¯t this the kind of ¡®sword¡¯ that our Sa?si branch has been dealing with lately? And this sword is well made. ¡­The design of this accessory is innovative, I¡¯ve never seen this seam technology before¡­¡± Ed had heard rumors that the Damaski Corporation had recently started dealing in unusual and high-quality products, but he was surprised to find that these were the same. ¡°The swords aren¡¯t as good as the ones from Saisi, but you can think of them as mass-produced. The quality isn¡¯t bad, so I¡¯m certain you can sell enough. The other swords, shields, and small woodwork would fetch a much higher price if purchased elsewhere.¡± Ed was convinced that this was a business opportunity. ¡°Then let¡¯s go to the Commercial Guild. It¡¯s not going to be public knowledge, but we should report the damage Marches-dono received. We¡¯ll explain to the guild that we¡¯ll support him for the right reasons and that we¡¯ll sign a business contract with him so they won¡¯t be able to complain to us later. They will try to complain to the Commercial Guild about the damage caused by our intrusion.¡± The three of them immediately got on the carriage and went to the Commercial Guild to report the whole thing. When they returned, they signed a contract with the Garfish chamber of commerce in the merchant¡¯s guest room. It was a surprising deal for the merchant. When he saw the price that Garfish had offered him, he realized how cheaply he had been negotiating with Damaski. And it was a contract with the Garfish chamber of commerce, a major company with its headquarters in the royal capital, which was above the clouds. He signed the contract in a flustered mood, wondering if he was dreaming. Marches returned with Tauro to the village of Dansas in a dreamy state. A few days later, Marches had signed the contract with the landowner and the payment was due. With Tauro¡¯s help, Marches had already paid, but on this day, the visitors from the city of Dareder didn¡¯t know that. ¡°So this is the village of Dansas. It¡¯s not as deserted as I thought. There are a lot of new buildings, so having a branch here is not a bad idea. Haha!¡± A flamboyantly dressed man with a short beard walked down the main street of the village with his servants in tow. Then he saw the sign of a building. ¡°Marches Chamber of Commerce.¡± ¡°Hey! Why is there a sign with his name on it? He¡¯s supposed to be bankrupt as of noon today!¡± The man with the short beard, Marman, the head of the Damaski Chamber of Commerce angrily asked his employees. ¡°I haven¡¯t gone bankrupt, please don¡¯t make assumptions.¡± Marches heard a familiar voice out front and came out of the building. ¡°Marches! How come you¡¯re not bankrupt?¡± Damaski¡¯s representative, Marman was stunned. The plan was to sign contracts today with blacksmiths, woodworkers, pharmacists, etc., with whom Marches had exclusive contracts on the grounds that Marches was bankrupt. ¡°On the contrary, I don¡¯t understand why you think I¡¯m bankrupt?¡± Marches blurted out. ¡°Gununu¡­. Since I had intentionally stopped supporting you, you would¡¯ve had no choice but to go bankrupt¡­ Tell them you went bankrupt¡­! You little merchant! Your territory will be mine from today onwards!¡± Marman pointed at Marchese and shouted loudly. ¡°Hey, that¡¯s an interesting story.¡± Ed, the head of the Daredar branch of the Garfish Chamber of Commerce and the deputy head of the Daredar branch of the Commercial Guild came out of the Marches Chamber of Commerce building. Tauro came out after them. ¡°You can¡¯t talk your way out of it with all these witnesses, you know? Marman-san, representative of the Damaski Chamber of Commerce.¡± Tauro points out that it¡¯s a desperate situation for Marman. Merman panicked when he noticed the faces of Ed, the branch manager of a major merchant association and the head of a commercial guild. ¡°No no! It was just a joke! I was just kidding! I have a full schedule later today, so I¡¯ll leave.¡± He then kicked a nearby servant to hurry him along, then ran back to his carriage and drove away from the village of Dansas. CH 83 The misdeeds of the Damaski Merchant Association came to light with the testimony of a major merchant association, the Garfish Merchant Association and the Vice President of the Commercial Guild. This was due to the fact that Ed had called the deputy head of the Commercial Guild to discuss the opening of the Marches Chamber of Commerce and Damaski had accidentally come to dig his own grave, but thanks to this, the Commercial Guild officially punished Damaski Chamber of Commerce for this matter, which was not going to become public. As a result, Damaski¡¯s business was suspended for a certain period of time and the punishment itself was light, but the act of deceiving a merchant led to the loss of trust from other business partners, so it was impossible to predict how much damage it would cause once the business reopened. Well, he got what he deserved, so I have no sympathy for him. Marches was very grateful to Tauro for this. If Tauro hadn¡¯t provided him with the money and connections, he would¡¯ve been bankrupt and finished as a merchant. But because of the contract with Tauro, everything had to be kept secret. He would have liked to sing Tauro¡¯s praises like a bard throughout the village of Dansas and tell people about his kindness, but if he didn¡¯t want that, it couldn¡¯t be helped. As a merchant, Marches would honor his contracts. Taking a closer look back, the money he borrowed out wasn¡¯t low¡­. The village of Dansas was steadily growing. The number of adventurers visiting the village increased. The reputation of the village spread throughout the neighborhood and young people began to gather from all over the other villages. Sensing this atmosphere, there were plans for a commercial guild to establish a branch in the village. It can be said that the village is no longer as desolate as it once was. Today, too, there were new customers coming to the inn. Tauro was already a regular customer at the Dwarf¡¯s Inn, so he was well aware of the comings and goings. There were more and more young people coming to the inn, who didn¡¯t have the money to try their luck in the city, but dreamed of success. It¡¯s a good trend. Of course, many of these young people will save their money here and go to bigger cities in search of more success. However, there will always be those who settle down and become part of this village. This will encourage greater development. Tauro thought that he would continue to build a village where young people would stay and find it hard to leave. ¡°Hey, can I talk to you for a second?¡± While Tauro was alone and lost in thought, a girl spoke to him. She was a little older than him in terms of age. She had long golden hair, red eyes, was taller than Tauro and wore loose-fitting, priestly-style clothes with a white design. Tauro thought she would be beautiful in the future, but he also thought she was a little overbearing, which he didn¡¯t like. ¡°What is it?¡± Tauro responded without showing the slightest hint of such thoughts. ¡°I¡¯m an adventurer, but I¡¯ve never been here before. Please show me the guild.¡± The girl seemed to think he was an innkeeper. ¡°If you go outside and walk straight down the main street, you¡¯ll see a blue-roofed building that¡¯s the Adventurer¡¯s Guild. You¡¯ll notice it right away.¡± Tauro didn¡¯t feel offended and told her straightforwardly. ¡°I¡¯m asking you to guide me, do you understand your job?¡± Oh, I think she¡¯s mistaken me for an employee. ¡°I¡¯ll show you around, but I have some preparations to make, so please wait a moment. I¡¯m going to the adventurer¡¯s guild either way.¡± ¡°Hey, you¡¯re making a customer wait!¡± I ignored the girl and went back to my room, put on my usual leather armor, put on my small sword and prepared to go out. Shin and Rumeya call out. ¡°Tauro, are you ready to go?¡± ¡°Yes, there¡¯s a young lady who needs directions.¡± ¡°Of course it¡¯s okay, but directions?¡± ¡°Yes, she seems to be in the same line of work, so I¡¯ll show her the way to the guild.¡± ¡°I see what you mean, all right.¡± They nodded. ¡°Why are you making me wait just to take me to the guild?¡± The girl was in a furious mode. ¡°Sorry I made you wait.¡± ¡°I waited a long time just for a little guidance¡­¡± She turned around angrily at the sound of the boy¡¯s voice and saw a boy in leather armor standing there with two adults in tow. ¡°Let¡¯s go then.¡± ¡°¡­what the hell is that look?¡± The girl was so upset by the boy¡¯s attire and the presence of the two adults that she could barely contain herself. ¡°This is my normal attire, so don¡¯t worry about it. These two are my colleagues, Shin and Rumeya.¡± ¡°Nice to meet you, young lady.¡± ¡°Co-workers of the innkeepers¡­?¡± ¡°Eh? What do you mean?¡± Shin and Rumeya pointed to themselves and said, ¡°Innkeepers? They were puzzled, not understanding the situation. Then Tauro answered. ¡°I¡¯m an adventurer just like you.¡± ¡°You¡¯re kidding!¡± The girl was surprised and stared at Tauro. CH 84 The boy in front of her claimed to be an adventurer, but the girl didn¡¯t believe him. Because she believed that she was the youngest adventurer in the world and knew people around her had high expectations for her. ¡°You¡¯re still a kid! There can¡¯t be an adventurer younger than me!¡± ¡°Even if you say so, I¡¯m an adventurer after all¡­¡± Tauro tried to play it off. It¡¯s easy to forget, but I¡¯m aware that I¡¯m an exception. ¡°How old are you? I¡¯m fourteen years old and I¡¯m expected to be the youngest adventurer with the skills of Priest, Wizard and barrier master.¡± The sidestepping was blatantly ignored and the girl showed a sense of opposition. ¡°I¡¯m eleven years old.¡± ¡°Huh? How can you be an adventurer at that age?¡± Tauro didn¡¯t tell her he became an adventurer at the age of eight. ¡°What¡¯s your rank? I bet you just became one!¡± ¡°F+.¡± ¡°That¡¯s higher than my F?¡± Tauro couldn¡¯t say that he had been an E before he lost his license because that would have complicated things. ¡°Then you must have some great skills or I wouldn¡¯t be able to beat you!¡± ¡°It¡¯s only one garbled skill.¡± ¡°Garbled skill is a trash skill! I don¡¯t know whether to be happy or disappointed!¡± ¡°Tauro-kun, what is this girl trying to do?¡± Shin and Rumeya were watching the exchange from the sidelines, but Shin couldn¡¯t quite make out what was going on, so he asked. ¡°Hmmm¡­ she¡¯s the girl who wants to know where the adventurer¡¯s guild is and she seems to think she was the youngest adventurer.¡± Tauro explained roughly. ¡°It¡¯s a shame that she¡¯s biting into you Tauro-kun. Anyway, let¡¯s take her to the guild.¡± We decided to take the complaining girl to the guild. As soon as we got there. ¡°There, feel free to go in.¡± Tauro said and tried to enter the guild first. ¡°Wait a minute. Your name is Tauro right?¡± ¡°Yes¡­so?¡± ¡°I¡¯m Aeris, remember that! I¡¯m the adventurer who will soon overtake you and become famous!¡± Aeris dared to say that, but Tauro didn¡¯t want to deal with her, thinking that if he dealt with her any further it would raise some kind of flag, so he quickly walked into the guild. ¡°When people are talking, listen to them!¡± Aeris got angry at being ignored and chased after him. Aeris who had chased him into the guild was eager to catch Tauro, but he became quiet because he felt other eyes In the guild lobby. The dare to Tauro outside was known inside the guild as well. ¡°Youth!¡± ¡°Tauro, if you get tangled up, deal with it, otherwise the girl will look like a pain in the ass!¡± The adventurers teased. Inside. ¡°You¡¯re Aeris from the Daredar branch. Why did you come here?¡± Some of the adventurers knew Aeris. Apparently she was famous in her own right. Aeris looked dissatisfied but went to the reception desk to go through the formalities, which was her original purpose. Tauro went with Shin and Rumeya to choose a quest. ¡°There¡¯s a Kobold extermination, Tauro-kun.¡± Rumeya had found a request from a nearby farmer. ¡°We¡¯ll get rid of the kobold and collect herbs.¡± Tauro suggested and the two agreed. When they took it to the reception desk, they found Chloe the branch manager, working as a receptionist. She and the other receptionist were handling the busy morning duties. ¡°Oh, Tauro-kun. There¡¯s a newcomer here, can you teach her how to collect herbs?¡± Chloe pointed to where Aeris was. I¡¯ve already collected the flag! Tauro thought, but it was Chloe¡¯s request, he couldn¡¯t refuse it. ¡°Anyway, I¡¯m Tauro and I¡¯ll be teaching you how to collect medicinal herbs¡­¡± Tauro¡¯s voice trailed off in disappointment. ¡°Hey! what¡¯s with the lack of motivation? I didn¡¯t think it¡¯d be you either!¡± Aeris was indignant, but since Shin and Rumeya were around, she calmed down. ¡°The three of us have to kill Kobolds afterwards, so we¡¯ll round up the herb gathering early.¡± Tauro said. ¡°Kobold extermination? Then I¡¯ll go with you. You should be grateful.¡± Aeris said as if it were obvious. ¡°No, I didn¡¯t ask you to.¡± Tauro answered clearly, but Aeris ignored him. CH 85 While teaching her how to collect herbs, Tauro asked Aeris why she had come to this village. The answer that came back was surprisingly well thought out. It seems that she thought about the importance of items in order to master the job of a rear guard. There¡¯s a time lag between the use of healing magic as a priest, offensive magic as a wizard and defensive magic as a barrier master and the answer was that items such as herbs and potions could make up for these weaknesses. She¡¯d heard that the village of Dansas was rich in medicinal herbs and had many quests like that, so she came here to learn more about it while she was still at F rank. Indeed, there are many kinds of medicinal herbs in this village. Tauro also learned about new medicinal herbs in this village and was able to make several kinds of potions. Tauro¡¯s basic stats are those of a child, so he tries to make up for it by using such things I understood from experience that the use of potions was important in this situation. So, I sympathize with Aeris in many ways. I thought she was overbearing and crazy, but she was thinking clearly, so I decided to teach her well. Aeris was impressed with the boy¡¯s knowledge of medicinal herbs. She had read books and studied, but this boy went above and beyond. The basics of how to find them, what to look for, where they grow in clusters, and how long they will grow again would be useful in the quest. Apart from that, he also has knowledge that only a seasoned pharmacist would have, such as the types of herbs to mix, the effects that change depending on the preparation, the method of preparation, tips and the herbs whose effect change depending on the order in which they are added. He says that he¡¯s self-taught, learning from books and applying the rest. If you¡¯re to believe that the only skill he has is garbled skills, it¡¯s amazing that he¡¯s been able to learn so much on his own. The fact that he was willing to share what he had gained through his own efforts with others made me feel like I was losing, as if I had been shown the difference in his capacity. Now I have no choice but to show my worth in the Kobold extermination after this! Aeris was very enthusiastic. ¡°Rumeya-san, use ¡®provoke¡¯ to draw the target¡¯s attention!¡± ¡°Copy that! Come on kobold!¡±. Shin cuts into the Kobold from the side because it¡¯s attention was on Rumeya because of his skill ¡°Provoke¡±. Tauro throws an endurance potion at Rumeya who uses a shield to prevent the kobold from attacking, a potion that increases strength to Shin. Then he shot an arrow using ¡°Precision¡± from between the two to kill the Kobold. The coordination of the three of them was superb. The three of them had been doing special training for the enemy on a daily basis, so it was smooth. On the other hand, Aeris didn¡¯t have time to use her attack magic as she entered the battle, and when it came to close combat, she couldn¡¯t use her attack magic, which was still inaccurate, as it might hit her allies. So she was going to use support magic, but Tauro beat her to it with potions. Aeris was unable to do anything and the Kobold extermination ended in a short time. ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I wanted to try out the three of us this time.¡± Tauro apologized to Aeris. He knew Aeris was going to use magic, but what would she use, when would she use it and how would it work? There was no way he could wait and check those things, so he prioritized the three of them this round. ¡±¡­You guys must team up together to fight monsters on a daily basis. That was splendid coordinated play.¡± Aeris praised him honestly, the room to enter was not there for her. ¡°Huh? Today¡¯s the first time we¡¯ve fought together. It¡¯s a tactic I learned from Tauro.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. It was my first time, so I was nervous, but it went well.¡± Rumeya and Shin high-five each other. It¡¯s the first time they¡¯ve collaborated? Aeris was surprised. I¡¯m an F-rank, but I¡¯ve been placed on a higher-ranked team and have a lot of combat experience. She was proud of her ability to adapt and she had been recognized for it, but these three were doing better than her own team for the first time. And they had learned it from Tauro, so who the hell was this boy? Aeris had a strong curiosity about this boy. CH 86 Aeris stopped showing up the next day. Tauro was disappointed because he had the impression that she was a hard worker, but she might have just returned to her original place. Shin and Rumeya were also surprised. ¡°She seemed to have guts, though.¡± ¡°She¡¯s got a bad mouth, but she¡¯s not a bad person.¡± Were their evaluations. The three of them went back to their normal lives, but five days later. The three of them were checking quests again in the morning. ¡°Tauro, there¡¯s a quest from a nearby forest village to kill the mushroom ghost.¡± Shin said, pointing to a quest posted on the wall. ¡°The mushroom monster huh¡­ it uses a sleep abnormality, but if we take precautions with a sleep resistance potion, we should be fine.¡± Tauro pondered for a moment before answering. ¡°I can follow you, right?¡± They heard a familiar voice behind them. When the three of them turned around, Aeris was standing there. ¡°What happened? I thought you were back in Dareder.¡± Tauro questioned in surprise. ¡°I went back to make the necessary arrangements to leave my current team in order to join yours completely.¡± ¡°Huh?¡± The three of them shouted at Aeris¡¯ disturbing words. ¡°We¡¯re not even a team, right?¡± Tauro replied dismissively. ¡°Huh?¡± It was Aeris¡¯s turn to be surprised. ¡°We¡¯re learning from Tauro-kun, but we¡¯re not a team.¡± ¡°Yes. We¡¯re learning how to be adventurers with Tauro-kun as our teacher.¡± ¡°Then what happens to me? I¡¯ve been trying to convince my former team members to join your team!¡± Aeris panicked, at her own hasty decision. ¡°You should¡¯ve asked me first.¡± Tauro said. ¡°¡­¡± Aeris couldn¡¯t say anything anymore. She looked like she was about to cry. ¡°Tauro-kun, I know she¡¯s wrong, but she¡¯s doing us a favor by appreciating us, so let¡¯s be a little less obtuse, okay?¡± Shin followed up and hit him where it hurt. ¡°¡­I was wrong, I¡¯m sorry! But normally I¡¯d think you were a team, after seeing how well you work together¡­! Aeris cried more and more. For the first time, Tauro panicked. He hadn¡¯t intended to make her cry, so he was at a loss as to how to make her stop crying. He needed Shin¡¯s and Rumeya¡¯s approval to form a team. It was hard to say anything about making a team with two kids, especially when you consider the future of both Shin and Rumeya. Shin and Rumeya have been working together in their personal lives for a while now and it wouldn¡¯t be surprising if they were to team up in the future. If they did, they might even go out to bigger cities. In that retrospect, I¡¯m not interested in big cities at the moment. As far as I can see, Aeris is also the ambitious type who wants to make it big. Aeris, Shin, and Rumeya seem to be a good fit, but will I be a good fit? ¡­Well, the problem is me. Thinking up to this point, the problem of creating a team became clear. ¡°¡­So, how about we form a team limited to this village only?¡± Tauro suggested to the three of them. ¡°Limited¡¯?¡± ¡°Yes, a team for the duration of our stay in this village. We don¡¯t know what the future holds for either of us, so we can talk about it when the time comes.¡± Aeris stopped crying at Tauro¡¯s suggestion. ¡°If it¡¯s okay with you Tauro-kun, it¡¯s okay with me.¡± Shin nodded happily. ¡°I don¡¯t have a problem with it either. If something goes wrong, we¡¯ll deal with it then.¡± Rumeya said. ¡°¡­So I can join in too?¡± Aeris asks back, sniffing her nose. ¡°Of course, since I¡¯m making it for you.¡± Aeris¡¯s expression brightened at Tauro¡¯s answer. ¡°Alright, the four of you. Do you want to get started on the procedure immediately?¡± Chloe at the reception desk calls out to Tauro and his friends. The other adventurers could hear their conversation in the small lobby of the guild. ¡°They¡¯re so young. Hahahaha!¡± ¡°Five silver coins that they¡¯ll disband due to misunderstanding.¡± ¡°It¡¯s only for this village, so it will break up eventually. It¡¯s not a good bet.¡± Tauro and the others were toyed with and blushed in embarrassment. ¡°We¡¯re not going to break up!¡± Aeris retorted with a cheerfulness that made it hard to believe she had been crying earlier. ¡°Aeris, it¡¯s just a joke, so stop.¡± Tauro stops her. I think we¡¯re going to be doing this for a long time¡­ Tauro seemed to see a difficult future. CH 87 After asking Chloe, the receptionist, to take care of the formalities, the four of them headed out, accepting only the quest to collect herbs. As they headed to the quest destination, Tauro made a suggestion for the future. ¡°Then I¡¯ll leave the rearguard to Aeris and I¡¯ll take on the mid-range and search for enemies with bows and arrows and stilettos since I have ¡°sense presence¡±. Shin-san and Rumeya-san will continue as before.¡± ¡°Eh? Will you be okay? You¡¯ve been guarding the two of them until now, right?¡± Aeris was concerned that Tauro might have a hard time with his new role. ¡°I¡¯ve learned how to use most martial arts, so I¡¯ll be fine. I¡¯m not very strong, but if you ask me to play the vanguard, I will.¡± ¡°Yeah. Tauro-kun taught us how to be a vanguard. So there¡¯s no problem.¡± ¡°You¡¯re right, Tauro-kun has a great deal of knowledge and experience.¡± Rumeya and Shin supported Tauro. ¡°I¡¯ve been wondering about this for a while¡­ We¡¯re a team, so let¡¯s stop using ¡®san¡¯ and ¡®kun¡¯. We¡¯re friends. I don¡¯t think it¡¯s right that I¡¯m the only one being left out.¡± Aeris complained to Tauro. ¡°That¡¯s because I thought you were someone I wouldn¡¯t meet anymore.¡± ¡°That¡¯s a terrible reason!¡± Tauro, Shin and Rumeya burst into laughter. At any rate, the four of them decided to call each other by name only. The rest of the time they were gathering herbs, they were discussing how to work together. Tauro explained that if the three of them, Shin with the sword, Rumeya with the shield and Aeris with the support, worked well together, they could form a team and if he could be the go-between, they could work together smoothly in a short time. ¡°But wouldn¡¯t that be too much work for you? You¡¯d have to take part in the attack, provide support, and take care of the whole thing.¡± Aeris was worried about him. Despite her high-pressure attitude, she¡¯s a caring child. ¡°While I¡¯m reasonably handy, I¡¯m not as good as everyone else, so I¡¯m better suited to fill in the gaps.¡± ¡°I know that sounds a bit demeaning, but I understand what you¡¯re saying. You¡¯re a good judge of situations, and I feel safer when you¡¯re right in the middle of everyone.¡± There was a harsh word from Aeris, but she seemed to trust me. ¡°And then there¡¯s Aeris, the rear guard. What exactly can ¡®Priest¡¯, ¡®Wizard¡¯ and ¡®Barrier-master¡¯ do? For me, it¡¯s basically provoke and defend and if the enemy has an opening, counter it.¡± Rumeya said confidently, describing his role, the basics of which he had learned from Tauro in the beginning. The more honest and patient the shield, the better. In this respect, Rumeya¡¯s combination of skills and personality are well suited to the role. ¡°I just trust my back and focus on attacking.¡± He made it sound like it¡¯s all about attacking, but Shin is actually very good at it. He¡¯s able to take out enemies by thwarting attacks that focus on Rumeya and he knows which ones to kill early. He has good attack power and is a good partner for Rumeya. If the two of them are supported by the talented Aeris as the rear guard, they¡¯ll make a great team. ¡°I¡¯m good at healing magic, light (holy) magic and using ¡°wands¡± and ¡°maces¡± with my Priest skills. As a wizard, I¡¯m particularly good with wind, water, and lightning, but I can use all the basics. A wizard should be able to use barrier magic and defensive magic in general, but there are still many things I can¡¯t use.¡± The more I listen, the more I realize that Aeris is blessed with skills. This should certainly be expected. Aeris is definitely a gem who can become an expert in the rear guard. And it won¡¯t be long before the three of them leave the village and become a famous team of adventurers. I¡¯m looking forward to that time, Tauro thought. After collecting the herbs, the four of us tried a practical simulation of cooperation. I realized it was good to be able to use Aeris¡¯s first strike as a ¡°magician¡±. In this team, which had only physical attacks, magic would allow for more variation. Aeris is also looking for possibilities in collaboration, suggesting her own role and asking for opinions on how she should move. Tauro gave advice to her and he himself took on the role of the enemy to confirm their actual movements and a fruitful time passed. CH 88 Tauro and his team were reasonably well known in the Adventurer¡¯s Guild Dansas branch as a group specializing in collecting medicinal herbs, but when the promising Aeris joined them, they began to stand out in a strange way. Originally, It was a strange sight to see two adults attached to a child, but it was good because it was still a low-ranked team whose purpose was to collect medicinal herbs. The addition of Aeris, who had multiple skills as a rearguard, was whispered by some to be a treasure trove. ¡°I don¡¯t care. Everyone¡¯s been promoted to F+ and doing well, so let¡¯s surprise them when we get to E rank.¡± Aeris was about to react to these whispers, so Tauro quieted her down. ¡°Speaking of which, why hasn¡¯t Tauro¡­ been promoted from F+?¡± Shin asked, caught up in the unfamiliar name. ¡°Come to think of it, that¡¯s right. I wouldn¡¯t be surprised if he¡¯d already moved up. I didn¡¯t think I¡¯d catch up.¡± Rumeya also questioned Shin¡¯s words. ¡°Tauro is turning down the promotion to accommodate us.¡± Tauro was horrified. He had turned it down directly to Chloe so that no one would notice. When did she notice it? Tauro wondered inwardly. ¡°¡­right? Tauro.¡± (I should have expected it, I thought she was stalking me¡­) Tauro was relieved, he was afraid of what would happen if his friends were stalking him. ¡°Even if I rank up alone, it won¡¯t change what we have to do. Come on, let¡¯s just pick a quest and go.¡± The three of them nodded in agreement. ¡°He¡¯s hiding his embarrassment.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. I think he¡¯s hiding his embarrassment.¡± ¡°You two, you¡¯d embarrass Tauro if you say that much.¡± They said in a loud whisper, definitely on purpose. ¡°Stop it, I¡¯m not embarrassed! And Shin, your follow is bad!¡± Tauro blushed. *** There are many benefits to being on a team at the Adventurers Guild. Because you can receive team quests. There are many quests you can¡¯t do solo. Tauro had always been a soloist, and most of his experience with team quests had been with soloists who had been recruited and hastily assembled. I was deeply moved to think that I was one of them. Among the team quests, there was a team quest for E ranks zone to the F ranks. It was to defeat Kobolds and Rabid Dogs. By the way, I¡¯ve received Kobold extermination before, but I¡¯ve heard that it¡¯s been increasing lately. I guess the reason why they¡¯ve expanded the scope to include E ranks is because they¡¯re trying to clean up the area before higher-ranked species are born and we¡¯re currently the only F rank team in the guild in this village. As a result of the quest recruitment, there were two E rank teams and Tauro and his F rank team, making a total of three teams. The three teams immediately set out together to the neighboring village, where the client was located. ¡°I don¡¯t like the idea of these Rabid dogs running around.¡± One of the E team members blurted out. The Rabid dogs themselves are not that difficult to kill, but when they¡¯re with Kobolds, they are a pain in the ass to get rid of. They would run away when they found themselves at a disadvantage and depending on the quest, the mission might not be completed. This time, we had to hunt down the rabid dogs as well. If they escape, the reward will be affected. ¡°This time, we¡¯ll hunt the Rabid dogs first and then take down the kobolds, okay?¡± The leader of Team E suggested to the rest of the team. ¡°Yeah, I guess that¡¯s a safe bet.¡± ¡°Okay, we¡¯ll do the same.¡± It¡¯s true that an F-ranked team shouldn¡¯t take the lead in a hunt, but that would affect the reward and more importantly, it wouldn¡¯t have been good for the members. Especially Aeris wouldn¡¯t be convinced. In that sense, I¡¯m glad the E rank team suggested it. ¡°Well, how about I gather up all the rabid dogs when we get into battle?¡± Rumeya suggested. ¡°Can you do that?¡± The E-rank leader asked in surprise. ¡°I¡¯ve successfully used ¡®provoke¡¯ on fleeing rabid dogs before, so I think it¡¯s safe.¡± ¡°Provoke? What¡¯s that ability?¡± The ¡°shield¡± skill isn¡¯t a very popular skill. As was the case with Rumeya, who¡¯s the individual in question. The general idea was that the shield was only for temporary protection in battle and that attack was important and not a skill to actively raise. Therefore, very few parties have a shield profession. There are plenty of adventurers who have shields, but they¡¯re not shieldsmen. ¡°You learn it when you improve your ¡®shield¡¯ skill, it¡¯s the ability to gain enemies¡¯ attention.¡± ¡°Shield¡¯? You¡¯ve got an unusual skill set¡­. Anyway, if you can do it, I¡¯ll leave it to you.¡± He didn¡¯t make fun of him, but he couldn¡¯t hide his surprise as he stared at the large shield Rumeya was holding. After this, the E rank team was surprised by Rumeya¡¯s performance in battle. CH 89 A pack of Kobolds and Rabid Dogs have been living in a forest near the client¡¯s village for a month now, establishing a settlement. From there, they seem to be coming down to the village frequently and destroying the village¡¯s crops. According to the adventurer with the ¡°scouting¡± ability of the E team, there were 41 kobolds and 16 rabid dogs, which was more than I expected. Kobolds are like bipedal dogs, not much bigger and less intelligent than goblins, so they¡¯re relatively easy to kill, but they don¡¯t often swarm in such large numbers. No higher species has been born yet, but there is a possibility that the leader of this pack will evolve, so we have to kill him before that happens. Fortunately, the rabid dogs that everyone hated were clustered in one place on the north side of the village, so Tauro and his team attacked from the north, while the E team attacked from the south and east. The west side, which was upwind, was to be left open. Kobolds and rabid dogs have a keen sense of smell and there was a high possibility of being noticed. And so the quest to defeat the Kobolds began. ¡°Let¡¯s go, then! Rumeya!¡± Tauro signaled to Rumeya. ¡°All right! ¡°Come on, you dogs!¡± Rumeya demonstrated his skill ¡°Provoke¡±. The rabid dogs began to bark at the provocation and attacked Rumeya at once! The other teams began to attack at the sound of the rabid dogs¡¯ barks. ¡°Shield attack¡¯!¡± Rumeya put the power of his ¡°Rigidity¡± skill on his ¡°Shield¡± skill and hit the rabid dogs that jumped at him with his large shield. The rabid dogs are blown away with a short bark and a dull sound, dying instantly. Shin and Tauro also took out the rabid dogs from both sides of Rumeya, but Rumeya stayed in place. The rabid dogs that went at Rumeya were quickly turned back and wiped out. Tauro¡¯s team immediately went to support, attacking the Kobolds that each E team was dealing with from behind with Aeris¡¯s attack magic and Rumeya¡¯s ¡°Shield¡± technique, ¡°Assault¡±, while Shin and Tauro put an end to them. The hour-long battle ended with an overwhelming victory for the adventurers. The Kobolds, who had lost their will to fight and tried to flee, were brought back into the line of fire by Rumeya¡¯s ¡°provocation¡± and annihilated. There were some wounded, but they were treated with potions and healing magic. In the midst of all this, Tauro and his F-rank team¡¯s reputation was on the rise. In fact, Rumeya and Aeris were invited to join their team by each of the E rank teams that accompanied them. Shin wasn¡¯t invited because all the teams had a lot of attacker vanguards. Rumeya was also invited as an attacker, but I guess that was because he was unique and very active. Anyway, the two of them received fervent invitations. ¡°Aeris, come to our team. With our firepower combined with your magic from the rear guard, our team can go all the way up!¡± ¡°Rumeya, with that destructive explosive power, you can be the keystone of our attack! With that power, our team will soon be ranked D!¡± But the two of them refused. There was no advantage to leaving the current team and more importantly, these teams were all about themselves moving up and didn¡¯t think anything of us. And the most important reason is that they both like this team. Rumeya found his way of the Shield thanks to Tauro. Also he and Shin are a good fit together. The four of them, including Aeris, enjoyed working together and there was no reason to leave such a team. Aeris had the same reason. Besides, the reason she left the team she was on before was because she felt this team had a strong future. She was very excited to see what would happen if she joined this team. She was also interested in the unknown talent of Tauro. There was no way she could leave the team without witnessing it. The two of them became the focus of attention at the Dansas branch of the Adventurer¡¯s Guild when they returned to the guild to report the quest¡¯s completion and were fervently recruited to E teams. Shin had actually done quite well in terms of the number of kills, but he had been overshadowed by the flashy activities of the two. And Tauro was not so impressive in terms of numbers. He was able to draw out the firepower of the three of them by standing in a supportive role, and since it showed in the results, Tauro felt a definite response and was personally satisfied. CH 90 The next day after returning from the quest to defeat the Kobolds, Tauro was sipping miso soup for breakfast at the Resting Pavilion(Ikoi-tei). ¡°It¡¯s soothing¡­¡± He was alone and relaxed at the taste. Every few days, miso is made first thing in the morning at the resting pavilion. The cooks also prepare the miso, but it takes time for it to mature. For now, they were relying on Tauro¡¯s dark magic to let it mature. So today was the day and I made a lot of it. It should last for a week. If they were running out, the cook would send a messenger to the inn. That¡¯s how it always was. This would have to last for another six months to a year, by which time the miso would have matured and would be ready to eat. Well, it was a win-win situation, since Tauro got paid for his time and effort every time he made it, and he got to eat for free. ¡°Oh, Tauro, there you are. What are you doing today?¡± Aeris walked into the store, noticed Tauro and called out to him. ¡°I have something to do today, so the three of you can continue as usual.¡± ¡°What are you going to do Tauro?¡± Aeris took a seat across from him as if she was interested. ¡°I¡¯m going to discuss product development with Mr. Marches.¡± ¡°You mean the merchant company nearby?¡± ¡°Yes, we¡¯re going to discuss with the representatives of the woodworkers and the blacksmiths¡­¡± ¡°Is it okay if I go with you?¡± Aeris asks meekly. Or rather, she seems to be full of enthusiasm to come along ¡°I think it¡¯ll be boring.¡± ¡°Why? I¡¯ll decide that for myself!¡± Tauro¡¯s attempt to persuade Aeris failed miserably. *** A room at the Marches chamber of commerce. The woodworkers and blacksmiths were gathered in the room. To an outsider, the presence of the children Tauro and Aeris in the midst of all this is a ridiculous situation, but the people involved, with the exception of Aeris, are quite serious. ¡°Okay, Tauro, give us the blueprints.¡± As the facilitator, Marches started the conversation. ¡°Yes, this is it, then.¡± Tauro took out a blueprint from his magic storage and unfolded it. ¡°What¡¯s this?¡± At first glance, it appeared to be just a box. However, It was a box made of wood and steel. But it was Tauro¡¯s blueprint and he had helped the development of this village before by providing them with technology they didn¡¯t even know existed, so it couldn¡¯t be just a box. ¡°It¡¯s a box.¡± ¡°Eh?¡± The craftsmen, except for Marches, who had heard about it beforehand, asked in unison. ¡°Technically, it¡¯s a refrigerator, a box to keep things cool.¡± ¡°Reizouko (refrigerator)?¡± ¡°Yes. It¡¯s a box used to keep food cool and prevent it from spoiling. As for the cooling mechanism, I thought about buying some processed magic stones from a mage, but they were a bit expensive, so I made them myself.¡± Tauro also took out two stacked boards from the magic storage. ¡°What are these boards?¡± ¡°This board is tacked up, but there¡¯s a magic circle on the inside.¡± ¡°A magic circle?¡± ¡°Yes, if you place a magic stone here, which is dropped by a monster¡­¡± Again, I took out a few scrap magic stones from the magic storage this time and placed them on the board. Then, light leaked out from the gap between the matching boards for a moment and they saw that the magic circle had been activated in response to the magic stones. In the next moment, cold air began to leak out of the magic stones. ¡°Oh! It¡¯s amazing that cold air can come out of an unprocessed magic stone without any magic power flowing through it!¡± Usually, magic stones are nothing more than mere stones if they¡®re not processed. This is why the power of a mage is needed to process them and because each one is done by hand, the processed magic stones cost a high price. Because of this, they¡¯re only popular among wealthy families and aren¡¯t affordable for the common people. While the craftsmen were amazed, Aeris was also amazed at the sight. To be honest, magic circle research is a field that is hardly advanced. In fact, most magic can be done by chanting without drawing a magic circle, so it¡¯s considered to be of little use. ¡°How the hell does this work?¡± The craftsmen and Aeris were curious. ¡°The special magic circle on the inside of this laminated board was used to make the magic stone emit cold air. I happen to know a lot about magic circles, so I made one.¡± I can¡¯t say that I studied magic circles in my previous life and used them to reincarnate here on my own. ¡°I¡¯ll tell you how it works after I sign the contract with you, but it¡¯s a top-secret trade secret, so be careful with it. Now, let me briefly explain the structure of the refrigerator.¡± I explained that it uses double doors to prevent cold air from escaping and that since airtightness is important, the skills of the craftsmen were required. The craftsmen listened intently and shared their opinions. For some reason, Aeris was included in the discussion as if it was natural and Tauro was confused, but the craftsmen were listening to her seriously because he brought her. CH 91 We¡¯ve decided to have Marches work with the craftsmen to make a prototype of the refrigerator while we coordinate with them. Once it was completed, he would take it to the Commercial Guild and register it as a patent. The magic circles on the inside of the Tauro board were crafted. There are two magic circles, one on the top and one on the bottom. When they are stacked on top of each other, they show their abilities and when the stacked boards are removed, they disappear. This is supposed to prevent plagiarism. At Aeris¡¯s suggestion, we made a magic contract with the craftsmen, so it would be difficult for them to leak information. It is said to be one of the spells of the ¡°Priest¡± skill. Aeris came in handy in an unexpected way. The good thing about this refrigerator is that it works well with scrap magic stones. Scrap magic stones are small magic stones that are not suitable for processing and are often obtained from weak monsters in F-rank quests. Even so, they have their uses and are bought by the guild, but some of them are too small to be worth more than a few bucks. So, if you open the lid of the magic stone replenishment space on the refrigerator and put them in, it¡¯ll work and will be fuel-efficient. If you add the cost of the magic circle technology, the skills of the craftsmen and the cost of the materials, the refrigerator will be quite expensive, but if we keep selling it, we¡¯ll recover our capital immediately. In the past, there have been foods that were discarded because they spoiled and there are many foods that can be enjoyed by cooling them. Therefore, Tauro was planning to make small ones for home use as well as large ones for commercial use. And a commercial guild was established in the village of Dansas just in time. Perhaps they thought that with the development of this village, it would have a promising future. It was still small, but they could register a patent for it, so it would be great if they didn¡¯t have to go to the city. Tauro had completed the prototype of the refrigerator and after using it, he decided that it could withstand actual use, so he decided to register it with the new commercial guild. At the time of registration, the guild official in charge was amazed at the revolutionary technology, compared the refrigerator with the boy who claimed to be the registrant¡¯s agent, checked with the guarantor, Marches and the process was done immediately. Thus, the revolutionary product, the refrigerator was registered under the name of Giro Sugar, a special reversible board maker, a pseudonym of the famous Tauro. The name ¡°Giro Sugar¡± was originally a fictitious name, but the representative of the Garfish chamber of commerce went through some behind-the-scenes procedures to make it officially ¡°real¡± for the future. Therefore, it had been approved by the commercial guild. The Dareder branch of the Garfish chamber of commerce, which had signed a business contract with the Marches chamber of commerce for the refrigerator, immediately brought the refrigerator to the town¡¯s magic tools store and the response from the magic tools store was great. After all, it was a product that could be used without the need to process magic stones. The store immediately bought one. The merchants wondered why only one unit was purchased, but they sold it without saying anything. After a short pause, the store ordered a second one. Even though the first one had been sold, the merchants were suspicious of the fact that they had only bought one, but again, they sold it without saying anything. When the merchants sent the shopkeeper to pose as a customer at the suspicious magic tool store which bought it, he reported that there were no refrigerators in the store. That was it after all. The Garfish company was convinced. They were disassembling refrigerators instead of selling them. The technology is so innovative that the store was trying to figure it out. The first one was quickly ruined by Tauro¡¯s prior anti-plagiarism technology and they must have bought a second one, but Tauro explained that with the way it was arranged the boards there was no way to the would understand. So he guessed there was no need to worry about being plagiarized. However, he would have to think about future transactions. If they won¡¯t put it in their store, there¡¯s no need to prioritize them. It would be quicker to go to another small store or to a food store directly to sell them. A few days later, they received a third order from the same magic tool store, but they questioned the owner about not having them on the store shelves, blamed him for not answering the question and announced that they were terminating the deal. This angered the Garfish Trading Company, and the shopkeeper had to go to the company every day to apologize. CH 92 Tauro applied the technology of the refrigerator to make a cooler as well. There had always been magic tools which used processed magic stones to produce cold air, but they were only used by royalty, nobility, and the rich, not by the common people and the fuel efficiency was poor. In this respect, Tauro¡¯s magic circles was superior to those processed by magic tool masters. In addition, the magic circle used for the cooler had a weaker cooling power, so even when combined with the wind, it was more fuel efficient than the refrigerator. The only problem was the design, which he decided to take from the memories of his previous life¡­a homage. As for the sales of the product, it would depend on when and where it would be sold, so he discussed it with Marches and they decided to wait and see. Of course, when the prototype was ready, they registered it with the Commercial Guild. The person in charge of the project was also surprised and impressed, saying that he was glad to be exposed to such innovative technology. Tauro had always been curious about the processing technology of magic tool masters, but when he checked the technology from the magic tool master introduced by the Garfish Chamber of Commerce, he found out that it was a simplified version of my magic circles. The magic circle technology may have existed a long time ago, but as a result of simplifying it for different purposes, only the current form remained. We tend to think of prototypes as old, but it would be foolish to talk about evolution without the prototype. Everything has its current form because of the original. It may have evolved directly from the original form into a different form like the one they have now. It¡¯s not about which one is better, but both have possibilities. In this respect, Tauro could be said to have created the technology to become a new ¡°ancestor¡± that branches off from the original form. Aeris was amazed at Tauro¡¯s knowledge. As an adventurer, she had always thought that Tauro had a wealth of knowledge, but it spanned many fields and his ideas were different from the average person. She realized this when she was with him. His cooking is also full of ideas and above all, delicious. Sometimes she sees him carving by himself and he was so delicate but when she tried to look at him closely, he hid it in the magic storage. He said he was embarrassed, but she thought his skills were top-notch. He is only eleven years old, but she wondered where he learned his skills, but when Tauro is asked about such things, he tends to dodge the question. Maybe he doesn¡¯t want to talk about his past. But she knew everyone had things in their past that they didn¡¯t want anyone to hear, including herself. She wanted to know more about Tauro, but at the same time, she couldn¡¯t go into it because of that. One afternoon. When the four of them returned to the guild to report the completion of their quests, the new receptionist, Kannes, told them that they had been promoted to E-rank. ¡°Congratulations, you¡¯ve been promoted to E-rank, so please think of a team name and register it before the next quest. It looks like you¡¯re all no-name.¡± When you move up to the E-rank zone, you need to officially register your team name. Up till the F rank band, you may use whatever team name you want to be called, but it¡¯s not treated as your official name until you reach the E rank band. This is because most of the time, teams break up due to quarrels before they reach E rank, or they change their name because they¡¯re embarrassed by the reality of their overly cool name. There were many such teams, so the guild¡¯s rule was to register only after knowing the reality. Tauro and the others, with the exception of Aeris, were unconcerned about the team name and had kept it on hold until now. It seemed the time had finally come to discuss it. The four of them gathered at the ¡°Restful Pavilion¡± and decided to think about it over dinner. Aeris pointed at them and said, ¡°So you¡¯re just thinking about it now?¡± Rumeya argues. ¡°It¡¯s not too late you guys. The name of our team is important because it represents us right?¡± ¡°Well, ¡®The Four People of Dansas Village¡¯.¡± Shin suddenly said something strange. ¡°¡±¡±Huh? ¡°¡±¡± The other three asked back because of such a wierd naming sense. ¡°No, he probably means something different, that can¡¯t be a team name.¡± (Tauro) ¡°It¡¯s a team name, though?¡± Shin said as if it were obvious. ¡°Sense 0¡­¡± Rumeya retorted. ¡°Then you should think of something, too.¡± Shin replied grumpily. ¡°Hmmm¡­ well ¡®The Group of Professional Herb gatherers¡¯.¡± ¡°You too?!¡± Tauro let out a sigh of frustration. There was a possibility that they all had no sense. Tauro felt a sense of crisis. CH 93 In the dining room area of the Resting Pavilion, the four of us were having a serious discussion. However, what we were talking about was of a very low level¡­ ¡°Well, you tell us, Tauro. You¡¯re only commenting on ours.¡± The spear was directed to me as well. To be honest, I also have 0 naming sense. It¡¯s not that I find it hard but I probably couldn¡¯t come up with anything good even if I tried. ¡°Well, then, since we were formed in the village of Dansas, we¡¯re the ¡®Healers of Dansas¡¯?¡± ¡°That¡¯s a reference to herb gathering, isn¡¯t it? It¡¯s no different from Rumeya¡¯s ¡®Professional Herbalist¡¯ group!¡± This time, Aeris made a comment. ¡°So, what do you have, Aeris?¡± Tauro, who had been lumped in with Rumeya, asked back in rare anger. ¡°That¡¯s right. After all, this is the ¡®Golden wing¡¯ group!¡± Aeris brushed back her long golden hair. ¡°Your appeal is terrible¡± This time, Shin let out a frustrated sigh. ¡°Well, if we¡¯re the Black Golden Wings, then Shin and Rumeya have black hair while Aeris and I have blond hair, so I guess it¡¯s perfect.¡± Tauro suggested, as if to say it was the way to go. ¡°The ¡®Black Golden Wings¡¯? Hmmm¡­. Well, it¡¯s a name that Tauro squeezed out, so it¡¯s fine and it¡¯s definitely better than ¡®Healers of Dansas¡¯.¡± Aeris was satisfied with the team name that came close to the name she had suggested. The others too. ¡°Black and Gold, that¡¯s good!¡± ¡°I like it, too.¡± They were convinced that their hair color was included in the name. Thus, although they had no naming sense the four of them were satisfied with the team name. Tauro immediately embroidered a black wing with a gold border on the back of his leather armor. Aeris noticed this and envied him, so he decided to embroider it on her priest-like clothes as well. Then, of course, Shin and Rumeya were jealous, too. So Tauro decided to pay for half of the leather armor they were going to buy and embroidered the backs for Shin and Rumeya as a congratulatory gift for their promotion. ¡°Hey! It¡¯s no fair that only Shin and Rumeya got something.¡± Aeris complained this time. ¡°You don¡¯t need leather armor like them, do you?¡± Tauro says truthfully. ¡°I want a new wand!¡± Aeris says with a twinkle in her eye. Aeris¡¯s current wand was a beginner¡¯s wand with a small magic stone at the end that had little effect on magic. But wands are an expensive commodity and the better the magic stone, the higher the value and the higher the price. The better the magic stone, the more valuable it is and the higher the price. Because it is special, it can¡¯t be handled by weapon stores and there are even shops specializing in wands. ¡°Hmm¡­ then wait a few days. I¡¯ll make it for you.¡± ¡°Eh? Tauro, you can make wands too?¡± Aeris was honestly surprised. ¡°I know how it works, so I think I can handle it.¡± With that, I went to the woodworking shop. Good quality lumber is cheap here in the village of Dansas. Besides, I had something to try. I selected a piece of ebony and had it cut into pieces. Ideally, it would be a bludgeoning wand. So, the tip should be thicker to add weight. At the tip of the staff, there is the goblin knight (about to become a goblin rider) magic stone that I obtained and did not sell, so I will attach that to the end of the wand, but in the future, when she can obtain a good magic stone, she can replace it. The pattern is carved so that it extends to the magic stone part, but this is a transformation of Tauro¡¯s special magic circle shown in the design. It should be impossible to decipher it since it was carved in a special way. The magic circle is designed to maximize the potential of the magic stone. So, depending on the magic stone, it should be a good wand. After a whole day of work, the wand for Aeris was completed. When I gave it to Aeris the next day, she liked it more than I thought she would. She seemed to like the carving as well and looked at it closely, but then nodded her head repeatedly and said ¡°Thank you, Tauro. I¡¯ll take good care of it!¡± She was satisfied. ¡°That¡¯s good. If you put magic power into it, the stone¡¯s properties will come out.¡± Tauro explained and Aeris immediately put some magic power into it. Light like a cutting edge dwells on the tip of the wand with the magic stone. ¡°The magic stone is originally a magic stone gotten from a goblin knight, it¡¯s useful in close combat. It also has features that strengthen magic power and defense magic.¡± ¡°I¡¯m the rear guard, what am I supposed to do in close combat?¡± Aeris was amazed, but the rearguard is not without close combat and it¡¯s also the role of the rearguard to defend himself and not be a burden. Aeris was once again satisfied with the best gift Tauro had ever given her. CH 94 It¡¯s the morning of the day after he gave Aeris her wand as a gift. Tauro and his E-rank team, the Black Golden Wings, a.k.a. ¡°Kurogane,¡± had come to the guild to receive their first E-rank quest, but there was some commotion at the reception desk. When he looked over, he saw Momo, the cat-person girlfriend of D-rank adventurer and village hero, Bob the dog-person, desperately complaining about something to the new receptionist. Chloe, the branch manager and Shiroi, the deputy branch manager joined the commotion and entered into a short discussion and Chloe said in a serious tone. ¡°It¡¯s an urgent quest. We need to find and protect a team of D-ranked adventurers who haven¡¯t been heard from in three days. In some cases, it may include the recovery of bodies.¡± She said to the adventurers in the lobby. The lobby was buzzing and Momo sobbed on the spot at Chloe¡¯s last words. ¡°What quest did that team get?¡± One of the adventurers demanded information. ¡°It was a request from a mountain village half a day from here to investigate and defeat the orcs that have been appearing lately. The team members are Tom, Sam, Anne, and Bob. An emergency call came from the mountain village to Momo, who happened to be at the entrance of the village and she reported the incident. There was a red smoke signal rising from the mountain where the team was headed.¡± The red smoke signal is something that adventurers raise in times of crisis and although it is rarely seen because most adventurers die before raising it, it was a common method of emergency communication for the adventurers¡¯ guild. Adventurers are given a small red bag by the guild as a good luck charm when they choose to do certain quests in the E rank zone and Tauro and his friends were scheduled to receive one depending on their E rank quests. Tauro couldn¡¯t hide his surprise at Chloe¡¯s words. It was because Bob was on the team. Momo was probably waiting at the entrance to the village to see if her boyfriend Bob would come back, since he hadn¡¯t been back since the day he was supposed to. Then, a villager from the mountain village comes to make an urgent call. Maybe Momo had a sixth sense about Bob¡¯s danger. The cat people seem to have a keen intuition about such things. Tauro didn¡¯t have a choice, he couldn¡¯t decline this urgent quest in front of Momo. ¡°¡­Guys, I want to take this quest.¡±He turned around and checked with the three of them. ¡°¡±OK!¡±¡± The three agreed without a pause. Then the four raised their hands. ¡°We¡¯re going to take on this quest ¡±¡±¡±¡±team ¡°Black Golden Wings¡±¡±¡±¡±¡± They declared. Following the young team, a B-ranked team raised their hands, as did C-ranked and D-ranked teams. ¡°Normally, we¡¯d leave out the newly E-ranked Black Golden Wings, but we need more people for the search, so we¡¯ll let them go. Don¡¯t overdo it and rely on the teams around you. Then, the teams that are ready should rush to the scene.¡± Chloe said to Tauro and the others as if she was giving them a nudge. ¡°Yes!¡± Tauro replied on behalf of the team and they immediately began to prepare for departure. The ¡°Black Golden Wings¡± team did very little in the way of preparation. They had everything they needed in Tauro¡¯s magic storage. So, when they set off, we were the second team to arrive at the mountain village after Team B. ¡°That¡¯s fast, we just got here too. Looks like it¡¯s not all bravado.¡± The leader of the B-team praised Tauro and his team with admiration. ¡°Quickly, the villagers say that a red smoke has risen from that mountain.¡± He pointed to a mountain that overlooked the village. ¡°We¡¯ll split up and look for around, we¡¯ll take the area around it, you take the one to the left of it and the rest of you get the word from the villagers.¡± The B-team leader instructed, pointing to the mountain. Tauro and the others nodded. ¡°I understand. We¡¯ll head there right away.¡± Tauro replied on behalf of the team and nodded to the three of them to head for the site. Tauro and the others entered the mountain from the left side as seen from the mountain village. The trees were tall and the grass was overgrown, so visibility was not good. However, with Tauro¡¯s sense of presence, there would be no unexpected encounters. ¡°Tauro, how are you doing, do you see anything?¡± Aeris spoke to the leading Tauro. ¡°There are animals presences, but right now¡­oh. This presence is an orc. There are two of them just ahead.¡± Everyone became tense. For teams in the E-rank bands, Orcs are the target of the higher D-rank band subjugation. Orcs are humanoid monsters with the appearance of pigs and they have fangs growing out of their mouths. They are strong and intelligent. Like goblins, they fight with weapons and sometimes form groups. Both of them were armed with clubs, Tauro confirmed by the silhouettes he saw with his ¡®true eye¡¯. ¡°Let¡¯s try to avoid them here. Our priority right now is to find Bob and the missing adventurers.¡± The four of them nodded and decided to take a detour with Tauro¡¯s guidance. CH 95 Tauro and his team were searching for Bob and the others, trying to avoid the monsters. ¡°Isn¡¯t the encounter rate with orcs pretty high?¡± Shin wondered when Tauro reported that he had spotted an orc for the umpteenth time by using his ¡°true eye¡± to detect presences. ¡°Yes, this might be a bit high.¡± Aeris concurred with Shin¡¯s question. ¡°¡­Could there be a settlement nearby?¡± Tauro mentioned the possibility but it didn¡¯t seem to fit with the orcs here. If there were, it wouldn¡¯t be surprising if there was a sense of unity between them, but there wasn¡¯t. ¡°I know it¡¯s unlikely, but¡­ there isn¡¯t a dungeon, is there?¡± Aeris said, letting her imagination run wild. ¡°A dungeon?¡± Tauro was surprised to see a fantasy element after a long time. As I recall, dungeons are rare in this world and are strictly controlled by each country considering the danger. Some high-ranking adventurers enter dungeons at the request of the government, but most of the time it¡¯s soldiers from the government that enter the dungeons in teams to figure out what¡¯s going on. The details are classified and not widely known. Tauro had never heard much of it, so he had lost sight of the possibility. ¡°Oh, it¡¯s random. I¡¯ve heard that dungeons are regularly infested with monsters, so I was just wondering if there were any Orcs there.¡± Aeris faked a laugh, as if she thought it was a ridiculous story. ¡°Is it that strange?¡± Tauro questioned. ¡°That¡¯s right. There are only two known dungeons in this country and they¡¯re said to have existed before the country was founded, so they¡¯re hundreds of years old. If there was one here, it would have been a big deal a long time ago. So forget it.¡± Well, that certainly sounded unrealistic. Tauro was convinced and thought of another possibility. If that¡¯s the case, could it be that they had moved in individually from elsewhere? I hadn¡¯t heard of any food shortages in the neighborhood, but what about it? No, we have to search for Bob and the others before we could think about it. ¡°Anyway, let¡¯s look for them now.¡± The three of them nodded to Tauro and once again decided to continue onward, bypassing the orcs. Finally, Tauro felt the presence of several monsters. Using his True Eye, he could see that there were nearly twenty Orcs clustered together at the bottom of the bare mountain slope. A few of them seemed to be trying to climb up the slope, but they were tumbling down. He didn¡¯t know what they were doing, so he let Aeris and the others know and decided to approach and visually check it out. As they approached the Orcs with Tauro in the lead, Tauro¡¯s ¡°sense of presence¡± caught a human being. The presence was coming from the top of the slope the Orcs were trying to climb. Looking up, they saw a hollow in the middle of the slope. There seemed to be a hole and when he used my ¡°true eye¡± he could see the silhouettes of four people. One of them was lying down in the back and one was beside him. The other two were looking down near the opening and I could catch a glimpse of their figures with my naked eye. ¡°Maybe one of them was injured, but the other three seemed to be okay. I¡¯ll get the B-team searching the next area and you three keep an eye on the orcs and don¡¯t take any chances until I come back.¡± Tauro reminded everyone and the three nodded. Tauro decided to use his ¡°presence block¡± skill and went straight through to the area where the other team would be. As soon as he had made some progress, he set up a bonfire and threw the red bag that the guild had given him into it to burn. As soon as he did it, red smoke rose up. The Orcs would see it, but he thought it was more important to get the other teams to notice and come towards them. Then a thief from the B-team, who was relatively close by, appeared quickly. ¡°You found them?¡± When he saw Tauro, he came out of the bushes! ¡°Yes! They¡¯re being cornered by Orcs on a slope in that direction, the four of them seem to be okay, but there are wounded people.¡± ¡°Understood.¡± After a short reply, the man disappeared in the direction where he thought his companions were, and after waiting for a moment he came back with the others. ¡°We¡¯ll go ahead, you stay here and wait for the rest of the team to arrive. How many orcs are there?¡± ¡°About twenty, sir.¡± The B-team nodded and disappeared into the bushes in the direction Tauro was pointing, led by the thief. The other two teams soon appeared where Tauro was waiting. ¡°Is the B-team ahead?¡± Tauro nodded and said, ¡°I¡¯ll show you the way,¡± to which the C-team and D-team quickly followed Tauro¡¯s lead. CH 96 The B-team was waiting for Tauro and the others to arrive at the bushes in front of the Orcs. Aeris and the others were at their side, it seemed they had joined up. The orcs didn¡¯t seem to be upset by the red smoke. They must have interpreted it to mean that nothing would happen because the D-Team had done it first a few days ago. This was the kind of shallow thinking that was typical of monsters. ¡°¡­Tauro, are you okay? There were five more orcs just now. Now there¡¯s 25 of them.¡± Aeris informs Tauro in a whisper. ¡°They¡¯re distracted by the D-team on the slope, so it¡¯ll be easy to surprise them, but there are too many of them. But if we all hit them together, it will be easy to win. Fortunately, the D-team that needs to be rescued is in a safe place right now, so we can go on a rampage without hesitation.¡± The leader of the B-team smiled fearlessly and gave instructions to the C-team and D-team, the plan being to annihilate them in a semicircle siege. Tauro and his E-ranked team, the ¡°Black Golden Wings¡±, were to participate in the attack with magic and support coming from Aeris only. The three of us were to protect Aeris. The B-team decided that it was still too early to entrust the Orcs, which were the target of the D-rank band, to us who were E-ranked. This decision was natural, and Tauro agreed with it. Let¡¯s just stick to backing up Aeris for now. Once the teams were in position, they began to attack at once. Aeris unleashed her full power of lightning magic on the orc swarm. The fire magic of the B-team wizard was powerful. As many as five Orcs were blown away in a single blow. The Orcs panicked, and the adventurers slashed into them. When Aeris confirmed this, she switched to defensive magic. Tauro, who was busy with support magic from behind, applied a magic power recovery potion on Aeris to restore her magic power, and secretly used dark spirit magic to reduce the abilities of the orcs. This should make things easier for everyone. It was a good thing, but Tauro felt his magic power dwindling, so he hurriedly drank a magic power recovery potion himself. ¡°It¡¯s going that way!¡± One of the adventurers warned. Orcs had a habit of attacking those who looked weak first. It seems they spotted us because we didn¡¯t fight and stayed behind. ¡°Rumeya!¡± ¡°Come on! ¡°Shield thrust!¡± Rumeya jumped in front of Aeris, and with his large shield at the ready, he leapt up rather than catching the club that the orc was swinging down. ¡°Switch!¡± Shin called out to Rumeya, and Rumeya stepped aside, then he jumped out of the shadow and slashed at the orc. The orc yelled ¡°Puggya!¡± at Shin¡¯s sword-slash, and blood spurts out from the cut. As he continued to stand, Shin, in quick succession leapt up with the sword he had swung down and this time slashed up at the orc. Tauro jumped out with a small sword and stabbed the orc in the brain through the lower jaw in a follow-up attack. The orc did not scream anymore, but fell back and died. ¡°Here comes the next one!¡± Tauro called out to the others, team ¡°Black Golden Wings¡± never dropped their guard down. After all, the B-ranked team was no fluke. The Orcs, who had been overwhelming in numbers, were unable to resist the surprise attack and the fierce assault of this B-rank team, and they all collapsed, every last one of them being annihilated. When it was all said and done, more than half of the orcs had been killed by the B-team, but surprisingly, the E-team ¡°The Black Golden Wings¡± had killed three of them. One was due to the magic of the first attack by the promising newcomer Aeris, but the other two were taken down by the team. The D-team had killed two, the C-team had killed six, and the B-team had killed thirteen. The D-team being rescued had been watching from above, and as soon as everything settled, a woman who seemed to be a wizard created a staircase on the slope with earth magic. Two men came down from the stairs, lending shoulders to the wounded. Fortunately, Bob wasn¡¯t the injured man who came down, but the one that was lending his shoulder. The two healers and Aeris immediately casted healing spells to treat him. Tauro also walked up and poured an intermediate potion on the wounded man. The two healers were surprised by his action. Not only was the potion itself valuable, but it was an intermediate level potion. They were also doubly surprised because it was an E rank team that was using it. Aeris was not surprised because she¡¯s known Tauro, but normally most people would¡¯ve been. ¡°I thought that we should close the wound as soon as possible since it¡¯s bleeding heavily.¡± They were so surprised that Tauro thought he had made a mistake and followed up with the argument he had used. ¡°Well, yes. Good call.¡± The healer, who had heard the reason, praised him. Tauro handed out potions to the other three, who were also injured. ¡°Thank you, Tauro. You saved my life again.¡± Bob thanked him as he received the potion. Tauro said, ¡°I¡¯m glad you¡¯re okay,¡± and urged him to drink it. CH 97 The badly injured adventurer had his major wounds closed, but his bones were broken, so the C-rank team immediately made a makeshift stretcher, he was carried on it and escorted away with the other D-team members. Bob alone remained. He stayed behind to show the way. Bob and the rest of his hastily-formed D-rank team had initially made good progress in defeating the Orcs, the number of Orcs exceeding tens. Bob and his team imagined that there might be a village nearby, and since they had already met their quota, they decided to explore the area. As a result, they found a cave, from which the orcs were coming out of. After carefully using ¡°search for enemies¡± and confirming that there were no figures in the area. They went inside with peace of mind, but what they found was that there were not only one, but many inside, and one of them was injured by a surprise attack. They retreated while trying to defend, but gave up trying to escape because of the injured, and took refuge on the slope using earth magic, then called for help. If Bob¡¯s explanation is correct, it means that the cave has a hindering effect on the ¡°search for enemies¡± skill. Since the B-team was there, they thought it would be better to check it out while they could, so the rest of the teams decided to head there with Bob as their guide. The cave seemed unnatural, as if it had just recently ¡°appeared¡± rather than having been there for a long time. It didn¡¯t feel old at all. This made the group feel eerie about its existence. When the B-team¡¯s thief tried to use ¡°Search for Enemies¡±, it caught nothing. However, Tauro¡¯s ¡°sense of presence¡± detected the presence of two orcs. But his ¡°True Eye¡±, which was supposed to be linked to the ¡°sense of presence¡± didn¡¯t show the silhouettes of the orcs. ¡°Two Orcs are coming up from below.¡± Tauro said. ¡°What?¡± The man in the thief position looked incredulous, but the Orcs actually appeared from the cave. The orcs were quickly defeated by all of us, but we came to the conclusion that the cave might have been built in such a way that it could not be interfered with from the outside. ¡°It¡¯s hard to say for sure without going inside to check.¡± The leader of the B-team suggested, so they went in. When Bob and his team had gone in, they had found a proper staircase in the middle of the building, with paved slightly shiny floor and walls. ¡°No way¡­¡± The D-team leader was skeptical when he heard this, but as they continued down the cave, they found a really solid staircase. As we descended the stairs, we found a space with a paved, lightly shining floor and walls, just as Bob had described. ¡°¡­I¡¯ve never seen this before either, but it could be a dungeon.¡± The leader of the B-team uttered in dismay. ¡°Let¡¯s take a look around a bit.¡± The group nodded at his suggestion and took a look around. The place was smaller than they had expected, and there were no stairs to go down. One thing that was suspicious, or rather everyone noticed it and stayed away from, was that there was a pedestal in the back with a diamond-shaped stone that looked like a crystal floating on it. ¡°¡­This could possibly be the core of the dungeon¡­¡± Aeris made a hypothesis. ¡°The core?¡± Tauro asked back to Aeris. Everyone also turned to look at Aeris. ¡° It was said that dungeons used to continuously grow every day. There is a theory that the old dungeons that have existed in this country are also growing day by day, and there may be a nucleus somewhere, a ¡®core¡¯.¡± ¡°¡­Is that right?¡± ¡°Maybe. I don¡¯t think this dungeon was built that long ago. It¡¯s a newly made dungeon. That¡¯s why the rooms are small and this is the only level.¡± As Aeris was explaining her hypothesis, the ground on the side of the core began to rise. ¡°What the¡­?!¡± They all became alarmed, as it began to take the shape of a person, and eventually an orc. ¡°Oh no, the orcs are forming!¡± They all rushed to stop the Orcs before they could make a move. ¡°I guess the rumors of monsters forming from dungeons are true. If the promising newcomer there is right, this is the discovery of the century. But considering the nearby mountain village, I think we¡¯d better destroy this one.¡± The leader of the B-team suggested, pointing to the ¡°core¡± with his sword. ¡°¡­Surely, leaving it standing is tantamount to leaving the villagers in danger, and as adventurers we can¡¯t let that happen.¡± Tauro nodded. He thought Aeris would disagree, but she agreed with him. ¡°I think it¡¯s better to destroy the dungeon if we can.¡± Aeris quipped. It was unanimously decided that the core would be destroyed. CH 98 The decision to destroy the core had already been made, the question was who will destroy it. No one knew what would happen when it was destroyed. Everyone was cautious. ¡°I¡¯ll destroy it.¡± Bob came forward. ¡°I¡¯m the one who originally brought the whole idea of finding it. I¡¯ll take full responsibility for it. And if something happens, I¡¯ll run for it. I¡¯m confident in my agility.¡± ¡°Then I¡¯ll stay with you to see it through. I¡¯m also confident in my agility.¡± Tauro came forward. The leader of the B-team thought about it for a moment, then said, ¡°Let¡¯s get this over with before the orcs start forming again. Everyone get out of the dungeon.¡± The group ran to the entrance. Aeris said to Tauro, ¡°Take it easy, okay?¡± and left with the others. When Bob saw that everyone was gone, he said. ¡°I¡¯m going to destroy it, okay?¡± He gave the signal and then swung his sword at the core. Crack! The crystal-like stone that was the ¡°core¡± cracked. But nothing happened. It looks like it needs to be shattered. Bob swung his sword again and again, and the core cracked little by little, but it didn¡¯t shatter. ¡±Haaa!¡± Bob enthusiastically swung his sword down. Ding! Bob¡¯s sword broke against the hardness of the core. ¡°I¡¯ll do it then.¡± Tauro drew his small sword. ¡°¡­Sorry, please.¡± Bob said apologetically. Tauro got on top of the pedestal and thrust the small sword into the gap between the cracks in the ¡®core¡¯, pushing it in. He also took out a handkerchief from the magic storage and drove the small sword in like a chisel. It was at the moment when he struck it several times. The stone shattered with a small sound like breaking glass as countless lights flooded out from the ¡®core¡¯. At the same time, Tauro heard the voice of the world in his mind. ¡° Confirmed one of the conditions for activating the special skill [&%$#] . [Creation Magic (Weak)] is acquired.¡± ¡°Tauro! The lights on the floor and walls are disappearing!¡± Bob warned. Immediately, Tauro illuminated the surroundings with the spirit magic of light, ¡°Illumination¡±. At the same time, the light on the floor and walls completely disappeared. That¡¯s when they realized that the dungeon was ¡°dead¡±. The two of them could feel that the shiny floors and walls had lost their vitality and had become mere stones. Contrary to their imagination, the dungeon did not collapse. ¡°It¡¯s over¡­¡± Bob murmured, relieved. ¡°¡­..right¡­..Hmmm?¡± There was a raised area on the ground at the back of the pedestal, it seemed that the ¡®core¡¯ had tried to create something before it was destroyed, and when Tauro used ¡°true eye¡± it showed a ¡°treasure chest¡±. Bob urged Tauro to get out of here, but Tauro stopped him and pointed to the ground. ¡°There is something there, can I dig it?¡± He askes Bob. ¡°Huh? Oh, yeah, I¡¯ll help you.¡± The two of them peeled away the stones from the floor and cleared away the dirt to reveal a literal treasure chest. I can¡¯t see what¡¯s inside, but in this case it¡¯s probably not a treasure chest-shaped monster mimic. ¡°How did you notice this?¡± Bob was dumbfounded, but urged him to open it. ¡°I¡¯ll open it, then.¡± Tauro opened the treasure chest and found a bow inside. The bow was simple and didn¡¯t look expensive at first glance, but when I looked at it with my ¡°true eye¡±, I saw that it was the Bow of Artemis. Its value was hidden, and its ability was also hidden. I¡¯ve never seen anything like it before, so I thought it might be some type of curse, but I don¡¯t get that kind of vibe. ¡°I¡¯m not going to use the bow, so Tauro can have it. Here, let¡¯s quickly put it in the magic storage and get back to the others, they¡¯re probably worried by now.¡± Tauro nodded and put the entire treasure chest into the magic storage, and decided to take the pedestal and a piece of the labyrinth core with him. We went outside and sure enough, everyone was in the middle of organizing members to go back to check on us ¡°Tauro, are you okay? Did anything happen?¡± Aeris walked up to Tauro. Shin and Rumeya also followed suit, surrounding Tauro. ¡°The dungeon seems to be dead for now, so there shouldn¡¯t be any more monsters forming.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. Thanks to that, my sword is ruined, though. Hahaha!¡± Bob laughed and patted Tauro on the head. ¡°Well, then this quest is all over. Let¡¯s get out of here.¡± The B-team leader said, and the group nodded. They all decide to head back to the village of Dansas in the dusk. CH 99 It was midnight when the D-Team rescue members arrived at the village of Dansas, so they broke up immediately, saying they would report back the next day. Bob also hurried home, because he had a feeling that Momo would be worried and waiting for him without sleep. Sure enough, the house was lit up and Momo was waiting for him, not sleeping. When Bob opened the door of the house, Momo, who was sitting on a chair, got up and hugged Bob without saying a word. Bob also hugged her tightly. ¡°I¡¯m sorry I worried you.¡± Bob apologized frankly. ¡°¡­It¡¯s okay, you¡¯re alive.¡± Momo replied, still hugging Bob. ¡°¡­But¡­¡± ¡°But?¡± ¡°¡­But¡­You smell bad, you have to wipe it out first.¡± Momo said with a tearful laugh. She was worried about Bob¡¯s sweaty smell after not being able to wipe his body for the past few days. The cat people liked to keep their bodies clean. The next morning. The four adventurers immediately went to the guild to report the completion of the quest. They received a reward for defeating the three orcs, but it had no effect on their promotion. The reason was that they were usually targeted for defeat in the D rank zone. The guild rules state that targets above my rank are not considered for promotion because of the danger involved. If they were, more people would take the risk and the casualty rate would increase. Aeris was not happy about it, but rules are rules, and there was nothing we could do. Shin and Rumeya were happy to receive a generous reward this time because it was an emergency quest. It was also their first quest after being promoted to E-rank, so it was special for them. ¡°Okay, let¡¯s rent a house and bring them over!¡± Rumeya suggested to Shin. ¡°Yes, we should. I¡¯ve saved up some money, and I¡¯d be willing to bring her over since it¡¯s an E rank reward.¡± Tauro and Aeris looked at each other when the two said that. ¡°What? You have a girlfriend?¡± ¡°Yes, both myself and Rumeya have girlfriends in our home villages. We haven¡¯t seen them for a long time, though.¡± ¡°¡­hmm, that¡¯s right, I¡¯m only eleven years old. I feel defeated¡­¡± ¡°Hahaha. Tauro is still a kid. I¡¯m 19 and Shin is 18. It wouldn¡¯t be surprising if we did.¡± Rumeya tapped Tauro on the shoulder. ¡°Yes, yes. Tauro is just getting started.¡± Shin nodded. ¡°Damn, I felt like an adult!¡± This was the first time Tauro had felt the age difference. Shin and Rumeya decided to take the day off to look for a place to live, while Tauro had some business to attend to. Aeris followed Tauro. ¡°¡­Why are you following me, Aeris?¡± ¡°Are you going to do something?¡± ¡°¡­Yeah, that¡¯s why I¡¯m here, isn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°Yes, that¡¯s why I¡¯m following you.¡± Aeris had a curious look in her eyes. ¡°Well¡­ I just learned a new spell and I¡¯m going to try it out, okay?¡± ¡±It¡¯s not a big deal, okay? ¡°Tauro emphasized ¡°That¡¯s right. Tauro¡¯s skill is a crap¡­ no, a garbled skill right?¡± ¡°Did you just say crap?¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t.¡± Aeris looked away from Tauro. ¡°¡­not that I mind.¡± Tauro thought that he could use this as a reason to disperse Aeris¡¯s pursuit, so he started walking. But Aeris still followed him. ¡°¡­Okay. Okay, but do you swear you won¡¯t tell anyone?¡± Tauro confirmed. ¡°¡­? Yes, I swear.¡± Sighing once, Tauro came to the outskirts of the village, where there was no sign of people, and decided to experiment, forgetting about Aeris¡¯s eyes on him. If Tauro¡¯s imagination was correct, the ¡°Creation Magic (Weak)¡± he learned this time should be something extraordinary. It¡¯s the (weakness) that¡¯s bothering me, but that¡¯s something I¡¯ll figure out when I try it. ¡°Creation magic¡­!¡± Tauro imagines and chants. ¡­¡­¡­. Nothing happens¡­ ¡°¡­Huh?¡± ¡°¡­?¡± Aeris was also puzzled as nothing happened. ¡°Isn¡¯t it magic that can create something out of nothing?¡± That¡¯s what Tauro expected. He tried it again and again, but it didn¡¯t work. ¡°¡­Are you okay?¡± Aeris called out to the struggling Tauro. Could it be that you can¡¯t make something from nothing? After a few failed attempts, Tauro decided to gamble on a different possibility. He pulled out a piece of wood from the magic storage. Aeris was like, ¡°Huh?¡± But he didn¡¯t care about what Aeris might say, he decided to test the possibilities. ¡°Creation magic¡­!¡± With the piece of wood in his hand, Tauro imagined and chanted. Then, with a blinding light, the wood transformed into a seamless wooden chair. ¡°What?!¡± Aeris was surprised. ¡°Isn¡¯t this the legendary alchemy?¡± He didn¡¯t know if it was legendary or not, but Tauro was happy that he had finally succeeded. CH 100 Tauro was pleased with the success of the creation magic, and Aeris was surprised, but it was short lived. After a few attempts, they quickly realized that it easily drained away all of your magic power, that it couldn¡¯t create from nothing, that it required materials, and that it could not be used on a large scale. After all, the problem might be that the creation magic had a (weak) mark attached to it. Eitherway, it wasn¡¯t the creation magic I thought it would be. Tauro pondered as he drank his second bottle of magic recovery potion. ¡°Hmmm¡­. I wonder if it would be safer to use something that is small, easy to get materials for, and not likely to be made with the technology of this world?¡± He mumbled to himself. ¡°¡­..Then that¡¯s it.¡± ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± Aeris joined in Tauro¡¯s monologue. ¡°What¡­.What¡¯s that?¡± Tauro, who was lost in his own world, was surprised by Aeris. ¡°Hey! Don¡¯t forget I¡¯m here, okay?¡± Aeris puffed up her cheeks and sulked. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I¡¯m sorry. I¡¯ll make you something small that you want as an apology.¡± ¡°Then make me a pendant that combines your creation magic and Tauro¡¯s specialty magic circle.¡± Aeris suggested something that Tauro hadn¡¯t thought of. It¡¯s true that even if you have the ability of precision, there is a limit to the number of small things you can make, even if you prepare them with the right tools. Besides, being able to change materials into various shapes, or change the shape of a hard object, is a skill that I couldn¡¯t have done in my previous life. ¡°Alright.¡± Tauro took out a small diamond-shaped piece of the dungeon core from the magic storage, a silver coin and a gold coin, and covered them with his hands. ¡°Creation magic¡­!¡± Light leaked out from his covered palms for a moment, but quickly disappeared. When he opened his covered hand, Tauro found an egg-shaped silver plate with a gold rim and a heart-shaped stone in the center. It was a pendant with a design that looked like wings growing out of it. In addition, there was a gold pattern in the shape of the magic circle that Aeris had suggested, the work was very detailed. When I tried to appraise it with my ¡°true eye,¡± I couldn¡¯t, maybe because the stone had an appraisal inhibiting effect. That means the stone has an effect, and the magic circle is exerting that effect. ¡°Okay, it worked!¡± Tauro was pleased and handed the pendant to Aeris. ¡°So this was a team effort design! And the shape of the stone is so cute¡­ I¡¯ll treasure it!¡±* Phew Tauro was relieved that she liked it. Out of magic, Tauro hurriedly drank a magic recovery potion. It seems that the magic power recovery potion he drank earlier had been drained shortly after he had recovered. For the time being, I told her that the pendant had an appraisal inhibiting effect, and asked her to check for any other things. Aeris nodded happily and returned to the inn with a skip in her step. After seeing her off, Tauro then made one for Shin and Rumeya, changing the stone from a heart to a drop shape. The stone was made in the shape of a drop, instead of a heart, he thought a heart would be too much for a man. He also decided to make a sword for Bob. First, he went to the blacksmith to buy the materials. I was able to get iron ore, but they didn¡¯t have iron sand, so I used magic storage to gather iron sand like a cheat. Originally, swords were made from tama-hagane, which had to be made from iron sand using tatara iron manufacturing technology. However, there was no such technology in this world. It was convenient to be able to jump over that with ¡°creation magic¡±. For the handle and scabbard, I prepared wood from the treasure chest I got in the dungeon, and for the stone to be fitted into the head of the handle, I used Bob¡¯s goblin sorcerer¡¯s magic stone as a memento. For the stone for the hilt, I¡¯ll use the Goblin Sorcerer¡¯s Stone that Bob has as a memento. When I visited Bob¡¯s house, I explained the reason and borrowed the magic stone. In the meantime, I decided to say I would have a good blacksmith I knew make the sword. Just to be safe, I drank three potions to restore my magic power and used creation magic at the edge of the village. For a moment, the whole area was enveloped in light, but it soon disappeared. In Tauro¡¯s hand was a sword. Before he had time to rejoice at his success, Tauro¡¯s magic power was fully drained and he collapsed on the spot. As his consciousness seemed to fade, he forcefully sipped the magic power recovery potion and fainted. When he woke up, it was already evening. In Tauro¡¯s hand, he held the completed sword. ¡°I almost died because I ran out of magic power¡­ I think I¡¯ll stop making swords now¡­¡± Tauro pulled the sword out of its scabbard as he reflected on what he had done. The blade was faintly covered with fire. ¡°Oh! Is this what you call a ¡°magic sword¡±?¡± I had a slight idea, but I couldn¡¯t appraise it with my ¡°true eyes¡± Anyway, this completes my gift to Bob! Tauro was satisfied with the workmanship of his ¡°magic sword¡±. CH 101 The next day, Tauro visited Bob¡¯s house in the morning, bringing the ¡°Magic Sword¡± with him. Bob welcomed Tauro and invited him into the house. ¡°Oh, is this it? You had a blacksmith friend make it for me right? It has a different feel than a sword.¡± Bob accepted the sword Tauro had given him. ¡°It¡¯s called a katana. It¡¯s single-edged, and unlike a sword, it¡¯s sharp.¡± Bob nodded and pulled the katana from its scabbard. ¡°¡­Huh?!¡± Bob¡¯s eyes lit up when he saw the blade. ¡°¡­ this ¡­ is the blade covered in flames !?¡± ¡°Yes! It¡¯s a magical sword with fire magic power thanks to Bob¡¯s magic stone, and the scabbard is also specially designed to resist fire!¡± ¡°¡­.. ¡°Magic sword¡± ¡­? ¡­ Isn¡¯t this ¡­ a first-class item ¡­!?¡± Bob panicked and quickly put the sword back in its scabbard. ¡°I don¡¯t know if it¡¯s a first-class item or not, but you gave me your bow in the dungeon and it¡¯s a replacement for your broken sword, so please accept it.¡± Tauro replied with a smile. ¡°¡­.. Oh, Tauro. Anything with ¡°magic¡± attached to it is a very expensive item in this world. The blacksmith who struck this must be some kind of master. ¡­Are you sure you want me to take this?¡± Bob asked back, dumbfounded by Tauro¡¯s smile. ¡°Yes, of course. I¡¯m sure the person who made it (me) is happy with it.¡± Once again, Tauro answered Bob with a kind smile. ¡°I understand. I¡¯ll take it. Thank you, I¡¯ll take good care of it!¡± Bob answered Tauro¡¯s smile with a smile and shook his hand firmly. ¡°If Tauro wasn¡¯t underage, I¡¯d have had a drink with him. Hahaha! Momo! Can you get me a drink?¡± Momo poked her head out of the back room. ¡°What are you talking about this early in the morning? Tauro-kun, if you haven¡¯t eaten yet, would you like something to eat?¡± She started to prepare the food. ¡°Oh, don¡¯t worry about it, I already have something ready.¡± Tauro said and took food out of the ¡°magic storage¡±. ¡°After all, ¡°magic storage¡± is very convenient¡­ Eh? Wait! Isn¡¯t that white bread?¡± Momo was thrilled. That¡¯s because white bread was a luxury food. It was food that ordinary people couldn¡¯t afford, so Momo longed for it. What Tauro offered was a sandwich made with it. ¡°Yes, this is also my way of saying thank you, so here you go!¡± ¡°That¡¯s very thoughtful of you! Thank you.¡± Bob thanked him and took a big bite. Momo poked it with her fingertips then took a bite, marveling at its softness. ¡°This is delicious!¡± ¡°Delicious!¡± Tauro was so happy to see them happy that he couldn¡¯t help but smile. () Later that day. ¡°Hiya!¡± With a burst of energy, Bob sliced the orc into two. Fire spewed out from the cut and the orc, cut in half, died in flames. The blade was so powerful that it bit into the rock beside him. In a panic, Bob quickly pulled it out, but the tip of the blade was slightly chipped. ¡°Oh no! I promised I¡¯d take good care of it, but I overdid it right away¡­ haha¡­¡± Bob looked at the edge of the ¡°Magic Sword¡± and wondered what he should do. ¡°I guess I have no choice but to get the blacksmith who struck it to fix it¡­¡± Bob thought he should have asked Tauro for the name. ¡°It¡¯s no use. I¡¯ll apologize to Tauro and ask him to introduce us.¡± Bob changed his mind and decided to return to the village. ¡°Hey, Tauro!¡± Just as Tauro and his friends were coming back from their quest, they ran into Bob on the way back to the village. ¡°Oh, Bob-san. Good work.¡± ¡°Sorry, Tauro! I got carried away with the sharpness of the blade when I was slaying Orcs, and I cut a rock and chipped the tip of the blade. Can you introduce me to the blacksmith who made it so I can fix it?¡± ¡°Oh, really? Can I take a look?¡± Tauro took the sword from Bob. When he pulled it out, he saw that the edge was not chipped. ¡°huh? It¡¯s not chipped at all.¡± Tauro said. ¡°Of course it is¡­ Huh? No, it was definitely chipped, but¡­¡± Bob looked at the tip of the blade, puzzled. ¡°How many orcs did you slay?¡± ¡°Hmm? ¡­Seven?¡± ¡°¡­That didn¡¯t chip it, did it?¡± ¡°Yes. I could even cut their bones in half! The sharpness was amazing.¡± Bob replied, nodding his head in response. ¡°Maybe this ¡®magic sword¡¯ has ¡®recovery and regeneration¡¯ in it.¡± ¡°Recovery and Regeneration?¡± ¡°Katanas are very sharp, but not very durable. I think that explains why the blade hasn¡¯t chipped after so many cuts. It also explains why Bob confirmed that the blade was chipped, but it was fixed.¡± As Tauro explained, to himself he thought that he might have created something extraordinary. CH 102 I got Bob to agree to keep the source of the magic sword a secret. Of course, the source was Tauro, but he made it with ¡°creation magic¡± and almost died, so it will never be made again. I couldn¡¯t respond to this request even if I was offered money, so I had to ask him to keep it a secret. A few days later, Shin and Rumeya decided to leave the inn, the Dwarf¡¯s Inn. Both of them had found a place to live and decided to move into a house. The move itself was easy. They didn¡¯t have much baggage to begin with. The problem was that they had to go back to their respective villages to pick their girlfriends up. For this reason, they decided to take the day off. Tauro was once again alone, going to the outskirts of the village to confirm something. Tauro turned around. ¡°¡­So, why did you follow me, Aeris-san¡­?¡± He questioned the girl behind him. ¡°Why, Because Tauro is going to do something, right?¡± Aeris said as if it were obvious. ¡°You¡¯re right, but¡­ I wonder why can¡¯t I have any privacy.¡± ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter. Let¡¯s get on with it. What are we doing today? Are you going to make something with your ¡°Creation Magic¡± again?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t deny me my privacy¡­!¡± Tauro was dumbfounded, but he decided to do what he came to do, pretending as if Aeris wasn¡¯t even there. Tauro took out a bow from the ¡°magic storage¡±. At first glance, it was a plain white bow, and Aeris saw nothing unusual about it when she looked at it, but a closer look revealed that it was not made of wood, nor did it look like metal. It seemed to be made of an unfamiliar material. ¡°Is that what you want to try today?¡± Aeris looked a little disappointed. ¡°Yes. I got it from a treasure chest in the dungeon, so I thought it might have some special abilities.¡± Tauro answered as he checked the surface of the bow in detail. ¡°Eh!? I didn¡¯t hear you say anything.¡± ¡°That¡¯s because I¡¯ve been putting it on the back burner as a low priority.¡± ¡°I¡¯m amazed that you would put off an item you got from a dungeon¡­¡± ¡°¡­.? What¡¯s so special about dungeon items?¡± Tauro asked Aeris, who seemed to know a lot about them. ¡°You can get a lot of special things from dungeons. Of course, they only come from the treasure chests created by the dungeon. Anyway, that¡¯s why dungeons are managed by the government. ¡­Did you find that near the dungeon core?¡± ¡°Yes, so?¡± Aeris pondered for a moment and then answered. ¡°The deeper you go into the dungeon, the rarer the items you¡¯ll find in the treasure chests. The closer you get to the core of the dungeon, the rarer it probably is. Even if it¡¯s a freshly built dungeon, items obtained on the side of the dungeon core might be worth something.¡± When she puts it like that, I feel like it¡¯s going to be great. It might be a more special item since it was put out before the dungeon core was destroyed. I was also curious about the fact that I couldn¡¯t appraise it using ¡°True Eyes¡±. It¡¯s a weapon with a name, so maybe it¡¯s a good one. Tauro decided to shoot an arrow at a tree, hoping for the best. The arrow shot lightly from Tauro¡¯s hand as he squeezed the bow, and when it hit the tree, it pierced it deeply. Tauro was horrified. It was obvious that the power of the arrow was several orders of magnitude greater than what Tauro normally shot. He continued with his experiment. Next, he put some magic power into it, and a white light enveloped the bow and arrow. He then shot the arrow at a tree again. The arrow, enveloped in light, easily pierced the tree with a small hole and pierced deeply into the tree on the far side of the line. Aeris was also surprised by this. ¡°That was probably a light magic ¡°arrow of light¡±! ¡°Really?¡± This time, Tauro was surprised. Tauro could only use spirit light magic ¡®illumination¡¯. This makes it a valuable offensive magic. But it might be difficult to use it at night because it¡¯s so conspicuous. ¡°By any chance, can you strike without using an arrow?¡± Aeris wondered. Surely, the arrows are something I got from around there. I think I can use it even without those arrows. Quickly, Tauro tried it without an arrow. It seemed strange without an arrow, but he put magic power into the bow and held it up. Then an arrow of light appeared. When he shot the light arrow at a tree, it was sucked into the tree, pierced a small hole and disappeared through it. From the experiment, this ¡°Artemis¡¯s Bow¡± can shoot arrows of light, plus the power of the regular arrows. It may look unassuming, but its performance was extraordinary. While the light arrows are difficult to use, the added power of a normal bow is a big help. This was a big advantage for me, as I was weak and lacked fire power. CH 103 Two days after confirming the power of the Artemis¡¯ bow. Shin came back from his home village. Tauro and Aeris had returned from their herb gathering quest and were about to report back to the guild when they ran into Shin. Judging by the fact that he came back alone, it looks like she¡¯ll be coming later. ¡°Welcome back, Shin. I¡¯m looking forward to the day she arrives.¡± Tauro guessed this and said. ¡°Tauro¡­ That day will never come. I was rejected¡­¡± Shin¡¯s shoulders slumped and tears streamed down his face. ¡°What?¡± I was surprised by his unexpected answer, but couldn¡¯t say anything else. ¡°Why were you rejected?¡± Aeris asked Shin the question that Tauro had been so careful not to ask. ¡°She met a new man while I was away¡­¡± Ah, the long-distance thing¡­ Tauro inwardly felt sorry for Shin, but he didn¡¯t know what to say, so he remained silent. ¡°You haven¡¯t been in touch with her often, have you? You deserve it.¡± Aeris¡¯s words were merciless. Aeris! What do you know at your age? Tauro retorted inwardly. At any rate, he knew he couldn¡¯t hurt Shin any more than she already had, so he warned Aeris and urged her to leave. As Shin trudged off with a soul-deprived look on his face, Rumeya came back in a misplaced manner. Thank God, if Shin had run into Rumeya, he would have been more hurt by Rumeya¡¯s happiness. I¡¯ll tell him about Shin and make sure he¡¯s careful before he rubs salt on the wound. ¡°Welcome back, Rumeya. Will she be back later? Oh yes, I¡¯m sorry to interrupt your happiness, but Shin¡­¡± ¡°She¡¯s eloped!¡± It sounded to Tauro as if Rumeya had just said something ominous. ¡°Huh?¡± Tauro couldn¡¯t believe his ears and quickly asked back to Rumeya. ¡°She ran off with a guy who used to be my henchman¡­! Same here! This is also not good. Tauro inwardly tsked. ¡°Rumeya too? Shin is also depressed because he heard that his girlfriend had found a new man.¡± Aeris didn¡¯t seem to have any intention of being careful. ¡°What? Shin too?¡± Rumeya was shocked, his expression changed at the misfortune of his friends. ¡°Yes, Don¡¯t be downhearted, you should talk to Shin, your his elder.¡± Don¡¯t be absurd, Aeris. Rumeya is in shock right now¡­ Tauro tried to stop Aeris¡¯s unreasonable order¡­ ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll go to Shin¡¯s house.¡± Rumeya showed his brotherly spirit and ran to Shin¡¯s house. Surprisingly, Aeris is a people watcher. Tauro was impressed by her ability to turn a bad situation into a good one. The next day, when they met in front of the guild, Shin and Rumeya were back on their feet. They had come to a conclusion. ¡°Since Shin and I have decided to live together in the same house, why doesn¡¯t Tauro live in the house I was going to live in?¡± Rumeya suggested. ¡°It¡¯s too big for one person to live in¡­..The house I was going to live in has three rooms, so why don¡¯t you and Aeris live there? We can use one of the rooms as a common storage space for our belongings.¡± As expected, Aeris would probably refuse that. She¡¯s only 14, but she¡¯s still a girl. I¡¯m sure she doesn¡¯t want to live with a man, even if I¡¯m a child. ¡°I¡¯m sure Aeris wouldn¡¯t like that.¡± ¡°I¡¯m fine with it. I was thinking of moving out of the Dwarf¡¯s Inn, too.¡± You don¡¯t mind? . Tauro was surprised at how easy it was for Aeris. ¡°I¡¯ve got a lot of stuff to carry, and the Dwarf¡¯s Inn is getting too small for me. Besides, it¡¯s close to Shin and Rumeya¡¯s house, right? It¡¯s more convenient for us as a team.¡± Indeed, as Aeris said, the closer the better. he was surprised that she was thinking about it so properly, but Tauro had no reason to object any more. The first thing Tauro did was to ask the village chief if it would be okay to expand the house or make other changes. The answer was yes, and if he wanted, he could take it down and rebuild it. As soon as I heard this, I immediately took action. I asked Aeris to build a wall with earth magic in the form of an extension to the house. Aeris did as she was told and built the wall, but Tauro instructed her to hollow out the ground underneath to create a space. ¡°What are you going to build?¡± ¡°That¡¯s for later.¡± Tauro replied while tearing down the walls of the house and connecting it to the space Aeris had created. CH 104 Tauro started to make a roof with his own hands. Tauro, with his ¡°precision¡± and ¡°dexterity compensation¡±, made the roof out of wood with ease. ¡°You really are good at this, aren¡¯t you?¡± Aeris was impressed. ¡°I have a high dexterity status.¡± Tauro chuckled. He finished the roof in no time at all, stretched the floor, and added a proper door to the hole in the wall, making it look as if it had been there all along. ¡°Now here¡¯s where this comes in.¡± Tauro pulled out a large lump of clay from the magic storage. ¡°Is that clay?¡± Aeris puzzled over the clay, not knowing what it would be used for. ¡°I¡¯m going to use it to make a toilet bowl with ¡°Creation magic¡±. ¡°Benki (toilet)?¡± ¡°Yes, I¡¯ll make it, you¡¯ll see.¡± Tauro took the clay and used ¡°creation magic¡±. With a blinding light, the clay changed its shape to form the familiar ceramic toilet bowl from his previous life. Aeris had no idea what this white ceramic shape was. ¡°What is this?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a toilet.¡± ¡°Wait, you used ¡°creation magic¡± on that?¡± Aeris was dumbfounded, but when he installed it and explained how to use it, she was delighted. There are many houses that don¡¯t have toilets In this world. Many of them dug holes in the woods or bushes outside and used them. In some places, some people even flush into the river. So, for women, the existence of sanitary toilets was something to be appreciated. ¡°But what happens when the excrement accumulates? Is there anyone in this village who can collect it?¡± That¡¯s an important point. ¡°Normally, when it accumulates, it is pumped out from the outside, but I can use the magic ¡°Purification¡±, and if I use ¡°Purification¡± after use, it¡¯ll return to the soil, so you only need to scrape the soil out once in a while.¡± ¡°Eh?! Tauro can use ¡°Purification¡±?¡± ¡°Really, that¡¯s what surprises you?¡± Tauro was struck by Aeris¡¯s reaction, which was different from what he expected. ¡°Of course I¡¯m surprised, I have the ¡°Priest¡± skill! ¡°Purification¡± is a high ranking magic! I can¡¯t even use it yet!¡± ¡°Well, anyway, I guess that solves the bathroom problem.¡± Tauro who wanted to get back on track, forced himself to finish and moved on. When the moved to the garden, he asked Aeris to use earth magic to build a wall next to the well to make an ell-shaped hut. Tauro added a roof and a door to the wall. They also built a bathtub there, following Tauro¡¯s instructions. ¡°A bath is a luxury. Besides, it¡¯s hard to fill it with water and boil it, so even if you build one, will you be able to use it that much?¡± Aeris pointed out pragmatically. ¡°I¡¯ll take care of that.¡± With that, Tauro grabbed a gold coin, entered the empty bathtub, and used ¡°creation magic¡± on its sides. Then a golden magic circle appeared on the side. ¡°You can now boil water by simply placing the magic stone in this side pocket.¡± Aeris, who had no idea what the hollows she had been instructed to make were, was convinced when she saw this. ¡°So all I have to do is prepare the water!¡± Aeris tried to fill the bath with water using ¡°water magic¡±. ¡°That¡¯s convenient for you, but for normal people it¡¯s common sense to fill it with water from a well, right?¡± ¡°Hmm? Well, that¡¯s true. Not everyone can use magic. But it¡¯s not easy to get water from a well, right?¡± ¡°There you go.¡± Tauro took out a magic recovery potion from his magic storage and drank it to recover his magic power. Then, from the magic storage, he produced lumber, iron, and chunks of chrome and nickel that Aeris had never seen before. Tauro also used ¡°creation magic¡± to create something intricate out of these materials at the top of the well, with light shining all around. ¡°What¡¯s this?¡± Aeris, who had turned away from the glare, stared at the completed object with great interest. ¡°It¡¯s a stainless steel hand pump.¡± ¡°What kind of hand pump?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a stainless steel pump. It¡¯s for pumping water. I made it so that we can pump water manually or automatically by inserting a magic stone.¡± As he staggered, feeling that he had been robbed of all his magic power, Tauro recovered his magic power with a magic power recovery potion. ¡°Hey, you okay. You don¡¯t look good. You need to rest for today.¡± Aeris noticed that Tauro was not looking well. ¡°I¡¯m fine. It¡¯s just a depletion of magic power. The potions will help me recover, so my complexion should return soon.¡± ¡°Oh my God! Don¡¯t get used to that. You should be cautious¡­!¡± Aeris was taken aback by Tauro. But later, when Tauro recovered and showed her the power of the pump, Aeris was happy as usual and appreciated the hand pump. CH 105 Tauro and Aeris changed the shape of their house with the new extension added shortly after Rumeya moved out. Shin and Rumeya, who came to check on them, were surprised to see this. ¡° I want one too. A toilet and a well!¡± After looking around the room, Shin and Rumeya immediately asked for one. So, after consulting with Aeris, I decided to build one. The reason I consulted with Aeris was, of course, because I needed earth magic to build the wall, but also because she didn¡¯t agree with me pushing it too far. Aeris was still okay with it because they were on the same team, but she had warned Tauro not to overdo it. Living in a shared house with Aeris began. Tauro wondered if there would be any changes, but when he thought about it, not much had changed since they had lived together under the same roof at the Dwarf¡¯s Inn. If I had to say anything, it would be that I can wake up peacefully in the morning without the hustle and bustle typical of innkeepers. ¡°Good morning, Aeris.¡± Tauro, who had woken up first, greeted Aeris as she woke up. ¡°Good morning, Tauro.¡± Aeris was in her pajamas. Tauro was used to seeing Aeris fully dressed at the inn, It was the first time he¡¯s seen her wearing pajamas. ¡°It¡¯s rare to see Aeris in her pajamas.¡± Tauro was frankly surprised. ¡°I don¡¯t need to change since you¡¯re the only one here.¡± Aeris blushed a little, suddenly feeling embarrassed at being pointed out. Tauro interpreted that it would indeed be tiring trying to be careful when it was only your friend. ¡°We¡¯re going to eat, right?¡± Tauro asked Aeris, regaining his composure. ¡°Yes, let¡¯s, but where are we going to eat?¡± It wasn¡¯t the inn, so there was no one to prepare it for them. Aeris thought of a few places to eat in the village. ¡°No. I¡¯ll make it now, just wait a minute. Is there anything you don¡¯t like?¡± Tauro asked matter of factly. ¡°Eh? You¡¯ll make it?¡± Aeris was surprised. Aeris had no idea that Tauro was the inventor of many of the village¡¯s specialties. She had thought that he usually stored the things he bought in his ¡°magic storage¡±. ¡°I can cook. I mean, cooking is my specialty.¡± Tauro began to take plates, cups, etc. out of the magic storage and arrange them on the table one after another. Next, he went to the kettle and lit it with a fire spell, took out a frying pan from the ¡°magic storage and placed it on top of the pan, then took out a cutting board beside it and started chopping vegetables and meat. As Aeris stared on, amazed at the series of deeds, Tauro began to cook the thinly sliced meat noisily in a frying pan. As he added the seasoning, it smelled delicious. It was done in no time. Tauro placed it on a platter and laid it on the table. ¡°It¡¯s morning, so it¡¯s easy. You can put whatever you like between the bread and it will be delicious.¡± Tauro pulled out a chair and urged Aeris, who was still standing, to sit down. Aeris hurriedly sat down. Tauro also took a seat. ¡°Itadakimasu.¡± He clasped his hands together and urged Aeris again. ¡°What¡¯s ¡°itadakimasu¡±?¡± ¡°Well¡­ there are many meanings, but in my case, it¡¯s a way of saying thank you to the person who made the food we¡¯re about to eat.¡± ¡°Hmm, I get it. ¡­Then, itadakimasu.¡± Aeris also imitated Tauro and put her hands together. Aeris was in charge of washing the dishes after meals. Tauro was going to use ¡°Purification¡±, but Aeris insisted on doing it herself. Aeris can use ¡°Cleanse¡± magic. Unlike ¡°Purification¡±, it only cleans the surface, so it can¡¯t get rid of germs, but it can clean them before they multiply, so the Clean spell was enough. Tauro¡¯s ¡°Purification¡± magic was overkill to use for cleaning. However, contrary to expectations, Aeris didn¡¯t use magic. She was going to wash them herself. Tauro decided to keep a warm eye on Aeris since she chose to do so. Aeris struggled, even occasionally her hand slipped and she almost dropped a plate. Tauro watched her with nerves each time, and by the time she had finished washing the dishes, Tauro was so excited that his spirit was drained out of him. CH 106 In the evening, a week after the start of their new life. Tauro and the other members of the ¡°Black Golden Wings¡± had returned to the guild to report the completion of the herb gathering and goblin defeating quests. ¡°Tell me, What kind of team is this ¡°Black Golden Wings.¡±?¡± ¡°we¡¯re curious if they can be rivals to ¡°the Jet-Black Swords¡±.¡± ¡°Is the cute girl at the center of this team, Aeris?¡± ¡°Hey! It doesn¡¯t matter what she looks like, we¡¯re going to pull her in based on her bloodline and talent, okay?¡± Kannes, the new receptionist with appraisal skills, was being tangled up with four young adventurers. Although she was a newcomer, she wasn¡¯t technically a newcomer since she had been a receptionist at her previous workplace. So, She calmly responded with a smile. ¡°I can¡¯t give you any personal information, and it¡¯ll be a nuisance to bother the other adventurers, so if you have no other business, please leave the reception area clear.¡± She glanced at Tauro and the others, noticing them, but didn¡¯t dare say anything. When she did, she didn¡¯t dare say their names. ¡°Welcome back, everyone. Are you reporting the completion of your quest?¡± Kannes asked. The four young adventurers looked annoyed at being treated like interlopers, but Tauro pretended not to notice and reported the quest. Then Aeris said ¡°You guys are in the way. Are you just a bunch of amateurs who don¡¯t know the workings of the guild?¡± Aeris blatantly made fun of them. Aeris, the receptionist, Kannes, has been taking care of you, but you¡¯re getting involved! Tauro inwardly asked. ¡°What the hell! This¡­, oh? You¡¯re so cute?¡± It was a man who was just now taking notice of the still unseen appearance of Aeris. He was carrying a wand and his clothes were instantly recognizable as a wizard, but he had long golden hair with a fringe covering one eye, and he was dressed up to the nines. ¡°Don¡¯t make me say it twice, you¡¯re in my way, get out of my way.¡± Aeris ignored the charlatan wizard¡¯s compliment. ¡°Watch your mouth. We are the ¡°Jet-Black Swords¡±, the most notable of the teams of new adventurers.¡± A woman who seems to be a thief, with red short hair, a high degree of exposure of her chest, and who seems to be the only redhead among the four, saw that Aeris was younger than her and spoke back in a high-handed manner. ¡°How much is that name worth to you? Adventurers belong to a world of meritocracy. I don¡¯t think being from a noble family makes you a great adventurer, do you?¡± Aeris noticed that the four of them had expensive equipment and identified them as the children of nobles. ¡°Oh, come on, you¡¯ve got to be kidding. The aristocrats are aristocrats, but the leader of the aristocracy, Viscount Kierre¡¯s second son, Nasirus-dono, who has the ¡°knight¡± skill, and I, Iratuk, Baron Kymol¡¯s third son, who also has the ¡°knight¡± skill! How can we not be great?¡± Iratuk, the man in the plate armor that looked too expensive to be a rookie, said proudly. ¡°We are not only noble blood, but we are also a select group of people who were born with special skills!¡± This other self-absorbed man in plate armor seems to be the leader. The four of them consisted of two knights (warrior-type upper skill), a tracker (thief-type of upper skill), and a mage (wizard-type upper skill), all with special skills, for sure. The high-end equipment may have been sponsored. It was rare for a newcomer to be sponsored, but being the son or daughter of a nobleman and having special skills, he or she may have had some connections. ¡°But that¡¯s not the same thing as this. You¡¯re just a beginner with no common sense in the guild.¡± Aeris pointed out accurately. It is true that the four of them are all too new in appearance and inexperienced. ¡°I beg your pardon! We even killed the goblins we encountered on our way here!¡± Iratuk, who seemed to have a short temper, came biting. ¡°Yes! We are F-ranked adventurers who have already gained real-world experience, not like you kids.¡± With that, Nasirus began to talk about their battle with the goblins. He began to talk about the battle with the goblins in a grandiose way, as if he was telling a heroic tale. If you listened carefully, you could tell that they were only dealing with one stray goblin. It was a long story, but early on, the four of them had just beaten it to a pulp. Ignoring Nasirus who was speaking only to himself, Aeris clearly said ¡°In other words, you¡¯re not even a fledgling in the F-rank zone. From the looks of it, you settled past G-rank with money anyway, you have so little common sense.¡± She said to him. Perhaps finally hitting the nail on the head, Iratuk became upset. ¡°It¡¯s not even worthy of our level! As soon as we move up to the E rank zone, where we can make a difference, the other adventurers will bow down and make way for us!¡± He almost admitted that they had solved the problem with money. Tauro, who had been ignoring the proceedings all along, got the reward. ¡°Well, now that we¡¯re done, let¡¯s all go home.¡± He handed out the rewards to the other three and left the guild as if nothing had happened. ¡°Wait, wait a minute!¡± While Iratuk¡¯s voice echoed in the lobby, the remaining ¡°jet-black sword¡± was still listening to their leader¡¯s ongoing story. CH 107 The next morning. ¡°Sorry, I drank too much and talked too much.¡± An acquaintance adventurer walked past Tauro at the guild¡¯s entrance and apologized to him with a wave of his hand as he passed by. ¡°¡­? Good morning.¡± Tauro and the others, wondering what he was talking about, greeted him and entered the guild, where they gathered in front of the bulletin board as usual and started talking about which quest to accept. Just then, the same four people from yesterday appeared. ¡°I didn¡¯t know you guys were the ¡° Black Golden Wings¡±! We were completely fooled.¡± The leader of the group, Nasirus, sighed exaggeratedly and tried to look like a victim. It seems that he obtained the information by throwing money around at the Resting Pavilion, a hangout for adventurers. The adventurer who apologized at the front might have been bought a drink and told them about the team in a drunken stupor. ¡°¡­? it¡¯s unreasonable to think that you were tricked when we just didn¡¯t answer because we weren¡¯t asked, you know?¡± Tauro replied on behalf of the team. ¡°Shut up, you little shit! We¡¯re talking to your leader, Aeris!¡± Iratuk broke off Tauro. ¡°¡­¡­¡± Tauro made eye contact with Aeris and the others. ¡°What, Aeris?¡± Tauro Laughed. ¡°What the hell is wrong with you, you little shit!¡± He walked up to him and reached out to grab his hair. Tauro slapped his hand away and took a step back. ¡°Don¡¯t you know that violence is illegal in the guild? Let¡¯s follow the rules of being an adventurer.¡± Then Chloe, the branch manager, who had been watching the situation, said. ¡°If you engage in violence within the guild, in the worst case scenario, you will be disqualified from being an adventurer, ¡®Jet-Black Sword¡¯.¡± She said. ¡°He¡¯s the one who messed with us!¡± Iratuk shouted angrily. ¡°It only looked like he hit you because you put your hand out, didn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°Damn!¡± ¡°Well, calm down, Iratuk and you. Both of you should calm down.¡± The leader of the group, Nasirus, intervened as if he were a worthy arbitrator. I was calm, even though he just told me I was responsible for the situation, so I wondered, is this person okay? ¡°Come out in the open! I¡¯ll remind you how strong we are!¡± Vichina, the redhead of the ¡°Jet-Black Sword¡±, challenged Tauro on behalf of Iratuk. ¡°We¡¯re here to choose our quest. We don¡¯t have time to deal with you guys, though. At least come back when you¡¯ve been promoted to E-rank.¡± Aeris, perhaps sensing Tauro¡¯s thoughts, did not take the challenge and modestly refused. ¡°Did you get scared! It would be a shame if your leader was so cowardly.¡± Iratuk tried to provoke them again. ¡°I don¡¯t know what you think you¡¯re doing, but the leader of the ¡°Black Golden Wings¡± is Tauro here.¡± Aeris pointed at the boy, who was slightly shorter than her. The members of the Jet-Black Sword were so surprised that they were speechless for a moment. ¡°Hahahaha. What a funny joke, having a luggage boy as a leader.¡± The leader of the group, Nasirus, regained his composure and replied without taking it seriously. It seems that they also had information that Tauro had a ¡°magic storage¡±. Aeris snapped at the fact that Tauro had been called a baggage handler. ¡°Tauro is our worthy leader, after all. Unlike your misunderstanding self-absorbed self!¡± Aeris said, and Shin and Rumeya nodded in agreement. Aeris-san, don¡¯t take this further! Tauro inwardly retorted at her, but he had to step forward because he was thinking of his companion. ¡°It would be annoying to bother the others, so can I ask you to go outside? We¡¯ll talk afterwards, please.¡± Looking around, the other adventurers were watching the two teams. At this point, the ¡°Jet-Black Sword¡± finally realized that it had become a spectacle, and left the guild as quickly as it could, saying that it would leave first. I watched them leave ¡°I¡¯m sorry to have disturbed you. Good luck with your quests today, everyone!¡± When Tauro called out, there was a burst of laughter. ¡°What are you going to do, ¡°Black Golden Wings? They¡¯re so motivated.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve gotten yourselves entangled with some numbskulls.¡± ¡°They seem to be aristocrats, so they could be trouble.¡± The adventurers called out. ¡°We didn¡¯t say anything about taking them on, so we¡¯ll go out the back after we choose our quest.¡± Tauro replied, and the lobby erupted in laughter again. ¡°You¡¯re right, all he said was to get out.¡± ¡°You¡¯re so clever!¡± ¡°You¡¯ve got a point!¡± While the guild was united in laughter, Tauro and the others really went out the back when they received their quest. CH 108 In the middle of the quest, while defeating goblins, Aeris said, ¡°Why don¡¯t we just beat them up quickly?¡± I started to say ¡°Eh? We¡¯re beating them up right now.¡± Tauro used the ¡°Arrow of Light¡± from Artemis¡¯ bow to penetrate a tree and accurately shoot the fleeing goblin behind it. ¡°No! No, I mean those misunderstanding adventurers called the sword of something!¡± Aeris said as she crushed a goblin with her water magic. I feel like she¡¯s taking out her stress on the goblins That was a disaster, those poot goblins¡­. Tauro felt sympathy for the monters, but he also shot the goblins with his bow one after another. Shin and Rumeya also went on a rampage, and the ¡°Black Golden Wings¡± wiped out a swarm of 25 goblins in the blink of an eye, double the number of goblins that two teams could take on. ¡°Yes! The subjugation is complete.¡± Tauro nodded when he confirmed that nothing was amiss using ¡°presence detection¡±. ¡°Are we just going to let it go?¡± Aeris asked Tauro again. I¡¯m not sure if she relieved some of the stress or not, but she was not unhappy. ¡°The other party are also adventurers, you know. And even if they go around saying something, the other adventurers know what happened this morning, so I think they will understand the situation and not make a problem of it. And since they¡¯re low ranking adventurers, dealing with them will only lead to bullying of the weak.¡± ¡°What? But they all have higher skills.¡± ¡°But if you don¡¯t put in the effort, even the top skills are just a waste, rotten treasures. It¡¯s true that they have more privileged abilities than general skills, so they have more firepower and are great, but¡­. I think it¡¯s offset by the fact that the people using it are not that bright.¡± Shin heard Tauro¡¯s words.* ¡°You¡¯re spitting venom, aren¡¯t you?¡± He pointed out and laughed. ¡°I¡¯m just telling the truth. You and Rumeya may have general skills, but I think you have a lot of talent, and I¡¯m sure they¡¯re just as good as you.¡± ¡°Is that so? Hehehe. I¡¯ll get carried away if you say so.¡± Rumeya wielded the battle axe he normally held in his hand with all his strength. He looked embarrassed and happy, but I made him stop immediately because it was dangerous. ¡°By the way, didn¡¯t those guys say something about pulling Aeris out at first?¡± Shin added the important detail as he remembered. ¡°Oh, yeah. They said something about bloodline and talent. Aeris, don¡¯t let them pull you out, okay?¡± Rumeya jokingly mentioned this to Aeris. ¡°Of course not! Bloodline aside¡­ I¡¯m a bundle of talent, so I can understand why they¡¯d want to recruit me, right? But I¡¯m not stupid enough to let a guy like that take me away.¡± Aeris sniffed and looked at Tauro. ¡°¡­.? So I guess we¡¯re not going to deal with them then, right?¡± After confirming that everyone agreed, they began to collect the magic stones and the right ears to prove that we had defeated the goblin When Tauro and the others returned to the guild, the ¡°Jet-Black Sword¡± was waiting for them in front of the guild. ¡°I¡¯ll just tell you what I want. Aeris-kun, you should come to my team.¡± Surprisingly not complaining about the morning¡¯s events, the leader, Nasirus, spoke his mind. Perhaps they were nailed by the other adventurers. ¡°Of course I¡¯m not going to. What did you think I was going to say?¡± Aeris answered, dumbfounded by the request. ¡°I heard a rumor at the Daredar branch that you were the daughter of a noble family. If you have that kind of talent and bloodline, you belong with us. It would be a waste of time for you to be in a team of commoners with no future.¡± Nasirus said confidently and with conviction. ¡°You really are an idiot. Bloodline has nothing to do with adventurers. What is required is competence. We¡¯re pretty good at what we do. We don¡¯t sit on our talents like you, we work hard to improve our skills and have a good track record. While you guys are proud of killing one goblin, we killed 25 goblins today alone.¡± ¡°Twenty-five? ¡­Hahaha! 25 goblins? How disappointing, you seem to have a tendency to lie.¡± Nasirus shrugged his shoulders and laughed it off. Then Tauro silently took out a leather bag from the ¡°magic storage¡± and unfolded the goblin¡¯s ears that were inside it to show them. ¡°!¡± The members of ¡°Jet-Black Swords¡± were astonished by what they saw. ¡°This is the reality. When have your bloodlines and higher skills ever killed so many goblins and helped so many people in need? If you can¡¯t do that, you¡¯re half-baked. You should be ashamed of your immaturity.¡± Aeris¡¯s words tore the pride of those noblemen¡¯s children to shreds and forced them to face the reality that they couldn¡¯t argue with. CH 109 The struggle between the ¡°Black Golden Wings¡± and the ¡°Jet-Black Sword¡± in front of the guild had come to an end. But surprisingly, the ¡°Jet-Black Sword¡± did not try to leave the village. Originally, they had heard of Aeris¡¯s reputation and had only come to recruit her, so they had no reason to stay. First, after the dispute with Aeris, the ¡°Jet-Black Sword¡± asked for a meeting with Chloe, the head of the guild, then tried to bribe their way up to E-rank, but were flatly refused, and told to get out of the guild if they didn¡¯t want Chloe to find out about the bribe. Normally, they would have turned tails and leave the village of Dansas, but the great thing about those four was that their rebellious spirit was ignited. Iratuk took the place of leader. ¡°We¡¯ll show them what we can do!¡± They left the guild and stayed at Chloe¡¯s guild-managed ¡°Resting Pavilion¡±. Or was it just ignorance? The next day, the ¡°Jet-Black Swords¡± auspiciously began taking the F- rank quests seriously. But then the flirtatious guy with ¡°mage¡± skills started saying that the herb gathering quest were uncool and dull, and he easily left the team and left the village of Dansas. The rest of the team members were so shocked by the unexpected departure that they didn¡¯t come out of their inn rooms for the rest of the day. The adventurers gossiped to each other that the team would probably fall apart. This was often the case among low-ranked teams. It was a common pattern among low-ranked teams, where the difference between the ideal and the reality leads to quarrels among friends and the team collapses. The next day. Nasirus gathered his friends in the dining room of the ¡°Resting Pavilion¡±. He began to make a speech. ¡°Can we continue to be unjustly mocked by the ¡°Black Golden Wings¡± and the head of this guild? No, no, no! We must overcome this ordeal to clear our names and climb the stairs to heroism! We may be down a man, but we can do it, now it¡¯s time to join forces!¡± Iratuk and Vichina were so moved by this speech that they hugged each other with tears streaming down their cheeks. ¡°¡­..Was there a part to make them cry?¡± ¡°¡­They¡¯re just making fools of themselves .¡± Tauro and the other three who were present at the scene were not satisfied with the fact that they had been used as an excuse, but they decided to let it go and continued eating. The other adventurers were either sympathetic with ¡°Black Golden Wings¡± entanglement in this cheap three-people drama or laughed and made fun of them as a snack. That night. Aeris knocked on Tauro¡¯s door with a serious expression. ¡°Do you have a minute?¡± At the sound of Aeris¡¯s voice, Tauro immediately came out of his room. He sat down on a chair at the table where they usually ate, then Aeris sat down too and started talking. ¡°There¡¯s something I want to tell you¡­ I come from a noble family.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve had a hunch about that for a while.¡± Tauro was not surprised when he replied, as though he had already realized it. ¡°Since when?¡± ¡°I knew you were a noble or someone related to a noble when you were so familiar with the dungeons controlled by the state.¡± ¡°¡­I see.¡± ¡°So you see, just because you¡¯re a noble doesn¡¯t mean i¡¯ll treat you any differently. Aeris is Aeris, you know. ¡­Do you want me to treat you better?¡± ¡°No, I don¡¯t want that! ¡­Thank you, Tauro.¡­¡­please keep bearing with me¡± Aeris said sullenly. ¡°Yeah, no problem. But why did you become an adventurer?¡± Tauro was curious about that. Aeris was only fourteen years old, and at that age she should still be having fun and going to school. ¡°My father disappeared in a dungeon, and since I was the only child, my mother brought in my fianc¨¦ to protect the family name, but to make matters worse, he was my mother¡¯s lover. So I ran away from home.¡± ¡°¡­That¡¯s ¡­a terrible story¡­¡± She must have wanted to protect her current position very badly to assign her daughter to her own interloper. Maybe she was trying to protect the family¡¯s name while having a child with the fianc¨¦ so that he would inherit the family. I didn¡¯t want to imagine it, but I could see how heartless she was when she made that man her daughter¡¯s fianc¨¦. ¡°I had heard a lot about adventuring from my father before he died, so I figured if I was going to live, I might as well live as an adventurer! That¡¯s what I thought.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry I asked you something you didn¡¯t want to talk about.¡± Tauro apologized. ¡°No, I feel better now that I¡¯ve talked to you. Thank you for asking.¡± Aeris thanked Tauro and bowed deeply. CH 110 The next day, Aeris revealed her true identity to Shin and Rumeya. The two of them were meekly delighted at the mere mention of nobility. ¡®I¡¯ve never talked to a nobleman before!¡¯ That¡¯s how it was. Tauro reminded them that Aeris was still generous for a noble, but that other noblemen were usually more concerned with etiquette and position, so they should be careful. He also asked them to keep this matter a secret and to treat Aeris as they had always treated her. It was a strange thing for Tauro to ask, but Aeris nodded next to him and said ¡°Please keep working with me.¡± Aeris asked politely as she bowed her head. The two of them hurriedly bowed their heads as well. ¡± Got it!¡± They replied. Tauro laughed at the scene, and they followed suit, and the place was filled with laughter. A few days later. The Adventurer¡¯s Guild received a message. A survey team was coming to the village from the royal capital. It was a result of the Adventurers¡¯ Guild¡¯s report on the dungeon to the country, and judging from the quick response, it seems that the investigation of the newly born dungeon might provide a clue to the attack on the ever-growing number of dungeons managed by the country. The existence of the dungeon core was only one of the hypotheses the country knew about, and they probably didn¡¯t know what would happen if it was destroyed, or that when it was destroyed, it was supposed to produce items that the destroyer wanted. Contacting the guild was the way forward for the investigation team, and they gave a designated quest only for the teams that participated in the attack, but the other teams didn¡¯t like it. This was because even though it was a request from the government, the reward was very low. The reward was on the level of what an E-ranked team would receive (which was still on the low side), so Chloe quickly referred the matter to team ¡°Black Golden Wings¡±. ¡°Please, Tauro-kun! You¡¯re the only ones left!¡± It was hard for the E-ranked team to refuse a request from Chloe, the branch manager. However, Tauro didn¡¯t want to accept this offer either. In addition to the small reward, the time commitment was long, and there was also the fear that the fragments of the dungeon core and the bow of Artemis that Tauro had obtained would be taken away as part of the investigation. The other party was a national investigation team, anything could happen. But that doesn¡¯t mean I want to embarrass Chloe by refusing. Reluctantly, Tauro and his team, the ¡°Black Golden Wings¡±, took on the quest to guide the investigation team. The day the investigation team was scheduled to visit the village. Tauro and his team were waiting at the entrance of the village. A group of people came from afar. The group astride horses in armor, instantly recognizable as the knights of the royal capital, followed by two carriages, one in front and the other behind. The number of knights alone was probably thirty. I had imagined that it would be a small group since they were stingy with the commission fee, but the investigation team is larger than I had expected. The investigation team arrived at the village. From the carriage, a thin, scholarly-looking man wearing a square hat, a loose purple outfit, and glasses got off. His assistant, a woman with red hair and a similar yellow outfit as the scholar, followed him down. ¡°You are the adventurers who will be guiding us, right? Well, well, well¡­. You guys are interesting¡­! And you¡¯re the leader? You¡¯re still a kid, that¡¯s amazing! My name is Sharga, nice to meet you.¡± The scholarly man who introduced himself as Sharga was surprisingly friendly. Tauro, who had been preparing himself, was taken aback, but when he was asked to shake hands, he did so and introduced himself as Tauro. ¡°Well then, Tauro-san. I wonder if you can take me to the mountain village near the site immediately. If we start now, we should be able to get there by evening, right?¡± Sharga was in a hurry, as if he couldn¡¯t contain his excitement. ¡°Sharga-dono, you were supposed to stay here for the night and arrive at the site at noon tomorrow, right? Besides, it wasn¡¯t the shortest trip from the Royal Capital, so please let your men rest.¡± The man who seemed to be the captain of the knight order said, trying to appease Sharga. ¡°Yes, sir! You¡¯re asking for too much, we can¡¯t go on like this.¡± The female assistant also tried to get him to calm down. ¡°Hmm¡­..I want to go right away though. All right, we¡¯ll stay here today. Now, can you show us the inn first?¡± Tauro and the others nodded and led the way to the ¡°Resting Pavilion¡± that they had booked in advance. CH 111 ¡°Oh¡­ It¡¯s a more magnificent inn than I expected. Doesn¡¯t it look like it¡¯s only just been built?¡± Sharga, the scholar, said then walked into the inn. Tauro and the others didn¡¯t follow him but told his assistant. ¡°We¡¯ll come back for you in the morning.¡± And with that, they turned to leave. ¡°Oh, Tauro-san, is it? Come in and let¡¯s have a chat.¡± We were stopped by Sharga, who peeked out from the entrance of the inn and asked me to enter. ¡°It¡¯s a big place, isn¡¯t it? Please sit down, everyone. I have some questions for you.¡± As Sharga told them, Tauro and the others decided to sit on the chairs in the dining room. ¡°I¡¯m an appraiser, you know. I can¡¯t appraise any of you, except for Tauro-san. And Tauro¡¯s status is unnaturally mediocre for a team leader, so I was wondering if you have a powerful appraisal inhibitor, or if there was an item I didn¡¯t know about.¡± Tauro was convinced that this was the reason why Sharga had been so surprised to see them at the entrance to the village. The woman who had been directing the loading and unloading of their luggage came in and sat down beside Sharga. ¡°Sir, please include me in the ¡®important¡¯ conversations.¡± She said. ¡°My name is Joshna, Sharga¡¯s assistant.¡± I bowed lightly and urged her to continue. ¡°This Joshna-san has an excellent sense of smell when it comes to important topics related to research, and it seems that my question is related to the dungeon research.¡± Sharga¡¯s eyes lit up and he waited for Tauro¡¯s response. Tauro exchanged a glance with Aeris and the others, and then, not knowing whether to act or not, he produced a piece of the dungeon core from the ¡°magic storage¡±. ¡°What¡¯s this?¡± Sharga and Joshna stared at the shard, their eyes glazed over. ¡°It¡¯s a piece of the dungeon core that you hypothesize lies in the depths of the dungeon.¡± ¡°This is it?¡± Sharga and the others looked at the shard on the table, more surprised than ever. ¡°I can¡¯t appraise it!¡± ¡°I made a pendant out of this shard and it has a blocking effect on appraisal.¡± Aeris pulled the pendant out from around her neck and showed it to Sharga and Joshna. ¡°Wow! How did you manage to process it! No, it doesn¡¯t matter. I wonder if you could give me some of these pieces? I¡¯m not saying it¡¯s free, I¡¯ve scrimped and dug through my regular budget to prepare for just such an occasion!¡± Joshna bowed with Sharga, ¡°Please!¡± She bowed her head. ¡°I¡¯ll give it to you for free. If I sell them to you here, the other adventurers might resent me for hiding and monopolizing them.¡± Then he took out a few pieces from his ¡°magic storage¡± and handed them to Sharga. ¡°Are you sure? Between you and me, these shards are valuable because they prove the existence of the dungeon core for the first time in the history of dungeons. Its value is immeasurable!¡± Sharga was surprised and spoke enthusiastically about its rarity and value. ¡°Yes. It¡¯s okay. But please make sure we don¡¯t get into any trouble. You understand right?¡± Tauro said calmly, as a reminder. ¡°We¡¯ll keep the source secret!¡± Sharga nodded broadly. They also provided Sharga with information that Tauro knew, such as the fact that the shards of the dungeon core had the ability to heal and regenerate. ¡° I see¡­¡­ So this bow is what you got? The dungeon core dropped a weapon that complements the firepower you seem to need right now. This greatly overturns all hypotheses of the dungeon depths. Very interesting indeed!¡± Sharga smiled and his eyes lit up as if he was really enjoying himself. The assistant next to him, Joshna, was also looking at the ¡°Artemis¡¯ bow¡± with an equal amount of gleam in her eyes. ¡°I¡¯ve never seen an item dropped in a dungeon like this, where the material is unknown and the appraisal is inhibited. There are some valuable drops, such as the holy sword made of orichalcum, but they may be less rare than this bow because the material is known.¡± Tauro was horrified by Joshna¡¯s words. Speaking of orichalcum, it was a phantom metal called the substance created by God. He didn¡¯t expect it to be evaluated any higher than that. Even though it was a newborn dungeon, the payoff for destroying the dungeon core was truly that great. Tauro reconfirmed the value of the ¡°Bow of Artemis¡±. CH 112 The next day. Tauro and his team, the ¡°Black Golden Wings¡±, led the survey team to the ruins of the dungeon. On the way, they encountered some monsters, but the knights took care of them easily without Tauro and the others getting involved. Surely, this was a quest that only required guiding the way. As soon as they arrived, Tauro led Sharga and Joshna into the cave. ¡°This is certainly the type of structure found in multiple dungeons. But it¡¯s not glowing. Just as Tauro explained to us yesterday, I can see that this dungeon is dead. There¡¯s no sense of discomfort when you enter the dungeon at all.¡± Sharga said as he walked deeper into the dungeon, and then he and Joshna looked around the dungeon ruins like children given a toy. Two knights were following closely behind to protect them, but they paid no attention to them. Tauro showed them where the pedestal had been and took it out of the ¡°magic storage¡± and placed it there. ¡°I see, so it was located in a secluded place. This is interesting¡­¡± They looked around at the pedestal again, checking every corner. After a lot of hypothesizing and talking with Joshna, Tauro decided to return to Aeris and the others waiting outside. The front of the cave was unusually lively. It seemed that the knights were making some kind of commotion. When Tauro went outside, he found Shin and Rumeya facing two knights with their swords at the ready. At first he thought they were in trouble, but then he saw the smiles on their faces. Apparently, they were testing their skills against the knights. In the meantime, Aeris began to play second fiddle behind them. ¡°Okay, you two? You¡¯re up against superior opponents, so clash with them with all your might!¡± Aeris¡­why aren¡¯t you trying to stop them¡­? Tauro was taken aback by this scene, but the knights seemed to be enjoying this leisure time. The captain did not take issue with this. The knights on watch were doing their duty and seemed to be tolerating it as entertainment for those on break. The knights watching thought the game would be won quickly, but the combination of Shin and Rumeya had the opposing knights at their mercy. The two knights were overwhelmed by Shin¡¯s unpredictable swordplay, using Rumeya as a literal shield in combination with his physical skills. ¡°Are E-rank adventurers this strong these days?¡± The knights watching the match turned from just laughing in their spare time to amazement and things started to heat up. ¡°It¡¯s Tauro, right? I heard you mentored those two, is that true?¡± When the captain noticed Tauro, he came up to him and asked. ¡°A little about the basics and how to get around. The rest was just a matter of hard work on their part.¡± Tauro answered the question honestly. ¡°I was surprised. At your age, you¡¯ve learned several martial arts and have sublimated them to the point of teaching others. What do you yourself specialize in?¡± The captain asked Tauro more questions, his interest piqued. ¡°Right now it¡¯s all about the bow. We needed that role on this team.¡± ¡°Right now¡­? I see, you¡¯re a flexible person. I¡¯m actually a flexible person too. I have a skill called ¡°Warrior Weapon Master¡±.¡± Tauro was surprised to find out, the ¡°Warrior¡± skill was a rare skill, even among the higher level skills. As expected of a captain. ¡°I have one garbled skill, unfortunately.¡± ¡°Is that so? So, at your age, you¡¯ve chosen to be a free spirit¡­.. You must have put in a lot of effort¡­¡± The captain seems to be a man of many tears. He was a kind man who got teary-eyed just by imagining the background Tauro must have struggled with. Whoa! A particularly loud cheer went up. Apparently, Shin and Rumeya had won. The knights gave them generous compliments. The two defeated knights also gave them compliments when they shook hands with them. This was a rare sight. There must be a lot of knights from the nobility in the royal capital, so it wouldn¡¯t be surprising if they were upset that they lost to commoners, even if it was just for fun. ¡°Are you surprised. In fact, there are no noblemen in my unit. Since I¡¯m from a commoner background, my superiors assigned only commoners to me.¡± ¡°I¡¯m convinced. No wonder the atmosphere is so good.¡± ¡°Hahaha! There are a lot of good knights from noble families, you know? Though you¡¯ll still have to be careful with them.¡± The captain said with a laugh, and then added as if remembering. ¡°I forgot to say my name is Taichi! Sorry.¡± He slapped Tauro roughly on the back and apologized. CH 113 The investigation team remained at the dungeon ruins and camped in front of the cave for the night. Sharga stayed inside the dungeon ruins for a long time. I wondered if he had something to do, but he seemed to be measuring everything from the height of the ceiling to the size of the room to the slightest indentation in the floor, and writing down the details in his notebook. Well, they are scholars, so maybe there was something that only they could understand. In the morning, Tauro went into the cave to check on the situation. Sharga was still looking around, perhaps he hadn¡¯t even slept, but he had his notebook open and was writing something in it. His magic ¡°light¡± was about to go out, so Tauro turned on a replacement ¡°light¡±. When Sharga noticed the light and turned around, he finally noticed Tauro¡¯s presence as well. ¡°Oh, Tauro-san. What¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°Huh? Where are the knights guarding you?¡± ¡°They¡¯ve all gone outside, having confirmed that the interior is safe.¡± ¡°I see. By the way, it¡¯s already morning.¡± ¡°It¡¯s already that time! No wonder Joshna started sleeping earlier.¡± Apparently, Joshna was a night owl and naturally falls asleep in the morning. Even in the ruins of the dungeon, where she couldn¡¯t see what¡¯s going on outside, her internal clock seemed to be accurate. ¡°Sharga-san, Would you like to take a break?¡± ¡°Yes¡­I think I¡¯ll take a break.¡± Sharga sighed and sat down. ¡°Have something sweet to keep your mind occupied.¡± Tauro took out a bun from the ¡°magic storage¡± and handed it to Sharga. ¡°This is a new food for you.¡± He looked curiously at the buns, and when he saw that Tauro was eating it too, he put it in his mouth. ¡°Delicious! ¡­The sweetness of this seems to soak into my tired body¡­¡± Sharga was impressed and slowly ate the rest of the food, savoring it. ¡°That was good. Here¡¯s another one for you.¡± Then he took out a cookie from his magic storage and handed it to Sharga. He took it as well, but this time finished it quickly. ¡°I¡¯ve never been interested in eating, but these are delicious.¡¯ ¡°When you work hard, your brain craves sweets and if you pay a little more attention to what you eat, you¡¯ll get more work done.¡± Tauro advised. ¡°I see, I hadn¡¯t thought of that. You are very clever. I should be more careful about what I eat from now on.¡± Sharga nodded his head, impressed as if the scales have fallen from his eyes. ¡°It seems that this dungeon was trying to create a second level.¡± Sharga said as he regained his composure. ¡°Is that so?¡± Tauro was surprised. ¡°The floor on the far left was slightly recessed, creating a small space inside between it and the stone wall. It¡¯s been said for a long time that dungeons can grow, but just being able to confirm that is a great discovery. No one has ever been able to confirm this, because no one has ever been able to reach the depths of even the centuries-old dungeons that are currently managed by the government!¡± Sharga spoke happily to Tauro. ¡°By the way, Tauro-san, have you ever heard of a game called Reversi?¡± Shagga suddenly asked him a question, about Reversi. ¡°I¡¯ve heard of it. It¡¯s very popular in the capital, isn¡¯t it?¡± Tauro answered cautiously. ¡°It¡¯s a hot topic among the nobility and I¡¯m obsessed with it. The name that comes up a lot is about a boy named Tauro Sato, a child prodigy who is talked about among the nobility¡­¡­could it be you, Tauro?¡± Sharga got to the heart of the matter. ¡°¡­Why do you think so?¡± ¡°The rumors about his appearance, his age, the fact that he is a smart adventurer, and the fact that his name is Tauro, I thought that if all these things matched, you could be him.¡± As expected of a scholar, he¡¯s got a good head on his shoulders. I didn¡¯t expect him to remember the story of Reversi and connect it with the appearance and name of an ordinary child. I could have played it off, but if I denied it and left him only to his suspicions, it might start unwanted rumors. Tauro decided to admit it. ¡°You¡¯re right. I¡¯m surprised, I didn¡¯t expect you to notice.¡± ¡°Oh! I knew it! I¡¯m a fan of you, Tauro-san, no, Tauro-dono! Those legendary three games with the Prime Minister left me numb again and again! Oh, of course, I won¡¯t tell anyone about this. It¡¯s a secret, right?¡± It was an unexpected encounter with one of Tauro¡¯s fans. CH 114 An unexpected fan of Tauro¡¯s appeared in an unexpected place, and Sharga was happy to see him, disregarding the discussion about the dungeon. It seems that Tauro¡¯s disappearance after refusing an offer from a powerful nobleman was famous among his fans and he was said to be a pure and innocent child prodigy. Tauro felt that the story was greatly exaggerated, but he decided to leave it at that. Tauro was now thinking that it was the right decision to abandon the name Sato. I thought about giving the fan in front of me a special edition from Giro Sugar, but I decided not to, because that would be like identifying myself as Giro Sugar. I also made sure not to tell Sharga about it, though I¡¯m sure he has a solid mouth. It¡¯s not impossible that he might be so happy that he might want to brag about it to someone else. According to him ¡°I don¡¯t have enough friends to tell anyone else!¡± It seems I don¡¯t like the idea of him bragging about it, but I don¡¯t think he¡¯s going to tell too many people about it because he¡¯s seen as a special kind of person and is avoided by others. On the other hand. ¡°If you want to enter a dungeon controlled by the government, please contact me. I¡¯ll arrange it right away!¡± Tauro was promised special treatment. No, will I ever go to such a dangerous place¡­? I thought, But I knew that it was just one of Sharga¡¯s great kind gestures, so I thanked him and said that I¡¯d appreciate it. Tauro thought that this person might be surprisingly powerful, considering that he could make such a promise to a young adventurer, but he decided to ignore it as it was none of his business. The investigation of the remains of the dungeon was progressing smoothly. Some of the walls and floors had been stripped and Sharga decided to take them home with him, so he packed them in a bag with a ¡°magic storage¡± function. ¡°Fufufu, I¡¯m sure Tauro-dono¡¯s magic storage is great, but this bag-type ¡°magic storage¡± that I bought on a budget is a one-of-a-kind creation by Jean Ferro and it has medium storage capacity!¡± Sharga rubbed his cheeks against the bag. ¡°It really helps me get my work done faster.¡± He boasted. Tauro didn¡¯t say that his ¡°magic storage¡± was so great that it was better. There¡¯s no point in bragging. ¡°The truth is, I wanted to buy a backpack made by the same artist, but I couldn¡¯t afford to buy it with my budget. I was shocked when it was sold in the meantime. It seems that a private individual bought it. Ten platinum coins in cash, ten coins! That¡¯s an amount that even rich people. would hesitate to pay. There are some amazing people in this world.¡± ¡­I¡¯m the one who bought that artist¡¯s one-of-a-kind backpack-type ¡°magic storage¡± (large). I was going to say that, but I decided not to. It would be even more shocking to find out that I bought it and sold it to Garfish Trading Company at a discount price. ¡°¡­I was wondering if I could borrow some of this pedestal?¡± Sharga asked Tauro. ¡°Yes, of course. The top part of the pedestal will come off, can you take that with you?¡± Tauro readily agreed. ¡°Thank you very much! This is going to help me with my research! I¡¯ll prepare a lease contract then.¡± Sharga instructed Joshna to prepare the contract quickly and after they both signed it, Sharga immediately saved a part of the pedestal in his ¡°magic storage¡±. After completing their investigation of the dungeon, the team returned to the village of Dansas in the evening without incident. Today, they would spend the night at the ¡°Resting Pavilion¡± and leave tomorrow morning to return to the royal capital. Tauro and his friends had completed their quest when they arrived here, but Shin and Rumeya had hit it off with the knights, so they decided to have a drink in the dining room. Tauro and Aeris decided to have a meal at the ¡°Resting Pavilion¡± as well, just for the fun of it. ¡°I¡¯ve never tasted food like this in the Royal Capital, but it¡¯s delicious!¡± ¡°That¡¯s true! This is the last time I¡¯m going to eat here, so I¡¯d better eat a lot!¡± ¡°Someone should ask the head chef to teach us how to cook!¡± The food at the ¡°Resting Pavilion¡± was very popular among the knights. Tauro, who came up with the menu, was very happy, but he didn¡¯t say anything about it. Unaware of this, the knights enjoyed their last night in the village of Dansas to the fullest. Surprisingly, Sharga and Joshna had fallen asleep as soon as they returned to their rooms. After all, they weren¡¯t interested in anything other than research. They seemed to be staying in bed until they returned to the capital. The morning of the day after the party. Sharga and the rest of the investigation team, after being seen off by Tauro and the others, were on their way back to the royal capital. CH 115 Tauro and his team, the ¡°Black Golden Wings¡±, have been promoted from E- to E rank. Shin and Rumeya were very pleased and if things kept going well, they would soon be in the D rank zone! It was exciting, but Tauro was relatively calm since it was his second time. Aeris was also calm, but in her case ¡°We¡¯re too good for this. It¡¯s just a passing phase!¡± She was confident enough to say that. While her friends were rejoicing in various ways, wouldn¡¯t she have risen faster in terms of ability? Tauro speculated. However, Chloe, the branch manager, probably thought that Tauro and Aeris¡¯s age was a reason to be very careful. To Chloe, this was a team of local rising stars who were expected to carry the future of the branch. It¡¯s not strange that she¡¯s trying to raise them carefully. As for Tauro, he sees a lot of talent in the three of them and he wants them to build up their strength and stay on the right path without becoming complacent. Tauro was watching over his friends with a parental-like attitude, but he wasn¡¯t thinking too much about the future because he just wanted to enjoy this world and relax. Tauro turned 12 years old as he was promoted to E rank. There was no custom to celebrate birthdays in this world, so nothing was going to happen. He went out on a quest as usual, completed it, reported the completion to the guild and went home. When I got home, I found the merchant, Marches, waiting for me in front of my house. ¡°Hello. How can I help you? Marches-san.¡± ¡°Welcome back, Tauro-kun. Actually, we received a large order for refrigerators! The order is for the city of O¡¯Circus, the second largest city after the royal capital!¡± Marches reported excitedly. ¡°That¡¯s good to hear. Is it going to be manufactured in time for delivery?¡± Tauro was also happy, but he answered calmly. ¡°Yes! We¡¯ve been making inventory in advance as Tauro-kun had advised, so we should have enough in a few days. But, I have a request¡­¡± ¡°Yes?¡± ¡°I was wondering if I could entrust your team to escort and transport me!¡± I see. Tauro was immediately convinced. I¡¯m the developer myself, I have ¡°magic storage¡± so I don¡¯t need a bunch of wagons, I¡¯m an adventurer and since I¡¯m still in the E rank range, my commission is cheap. It¡¯s a long way to the city of O¡¯Circus, but at first glance, an E rank adventurer team should be enough to escort a single merchant without any luggage. Even so, the ¡°Black Golden Wings¡± are a talented and skilled team, so it¡¯s even more secure. Marches is still a new merchant association, so they don¡¯t have much money. It would be great if they could develop a route to the city of O¡¯circus. This is a great opportunity and it would be wise to take advantage of it. Marches wanted to rely on Tauro, the developer of the refrigerator, the sponsor of the business association and a reliable and wise person. It was a direct request with a lot of thought put into it. ¡°I understand. I¡¯ll talk to Shin and Rumeya about it and I¡¯m certain they¡¯ll agree, but just to be safe, please talk to the guild as well. We can¡¯t take the job directly.¡± ¡°Of course! I¡¯m going to the guild right now! Thank you, Tauro-kun!¡± Marches thanked Tauro and immediately ran in the direction of the guild. ¡°The city of O¡¯Circus is about a week from here, right?¡± Aeris thought of the schedule and tried to count it backwards. ¡°Really? What kind of place is it?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a port town by the sea, the trade center of the country. I¡¯ve never been there, though.¡± ¡°Hmmm¡­. I see. Oh, I have to go talk to Shin and Rumeya.¡± With that, Tauro headed for the house next door, a short distance away from his. When he told Shin and Rumeya about the request for an escort, they immediately agreed. They had never been to a big city before, so when they heard it was the second largest city in the country, they couldn¡¯t say no. ¡°Yes! I¡¯ve always wanted to see the rumored city.¡± Rumeya said happily. ¡°I can¡¯t imagine a city bigger than Daredar.¡± Shin was also looking forward to it and tried to imagine it, but failed. Thus, with everyone¡¯s consent, Tauro and the others accepted the escort quest. CH 116 ¡°Excuse me, Tauro-kun¡­ I have another favor to ask¡­¡± Marches came to my house in the morning, looking apologetic. ¡°? What¡¯s the matter? Please come in, don¡¯t stand outside.¡± Tauro invited Marches into his home. ¡°¡­Actually, I¡¯m about to get another job.¡± Marches told Tauro, sounding uncomfortable. ¡°Something other than the O¡¯circus one?¡± ¡°¡­Yes.¡± ¡°That¡¯s good, isn¡¯t it?¡± Tauro was happy as usual. But he didn¡¯t understand why Marches was looking so apologetic. ¡°Yes, but then I wouldn¡¯t be able to leave the village of Dansas for two weeks¡­¡± ¡°¡­Ah, does that mean you won¡¯t be going to O¡¯circus?¡± ¡°No! I was wondering if you could go on my behalf, Tauro-kun!¡± Marches made a bold suggestion. Although Tauro was the developer of the refrigerator, he had entrusted the sale of the product to the Marches Trading Company, so it would be unfair to ask him to do so. It was a bitter pill for Marches to swallow. ¡°Marches-san, you have employees, right?¡± ¡°Yes, I do, what about it?.¡± ¡°Then appoint one as your agent.¡± ¡°What? We¡¯ve just hired a bunch of new people! It¡¯s not something I can really entrust to them!¡± ¡°I¡¯ll handle the negotiations, but I¡¯m just a kid, I don¡¯t think it¡¯s a good idea for me to represent you. Shin and Rumeya are not good at that kind of thing, so they can¡¯t do it.¡± ¡°Hmm¡­. I understand. Then, would you prefer one of our¡­ skilled merchants¡­? I have an employee named Leada, so I¡¯ll tell her to get ready!¡± Marches said to Tauro as he pictured the employee he wanted to be his agent. ¡°So, we¡¯ll mainly be escorting your agent, transporting goods and negotiating on their behalf, right?¡± Tauro confirmed the job description. ¡°Yes! That¡¯s what we¡¯ll do this time! Now, if you¡¯ll excuse me, I have to tell the agent to make sure everything is ready.¡± Marches bowed his head and thanked him several times before returning to the company. ¡°Are you alright? It¡¯s almost like you¡¯re carrying all the burden though?¡± Aeris, who had heard the whole thing from the next room, said as she came out. ¡°Hmmm¡­ It¡¯s tough, but Marches-san is in a critical situation and as a developer, I need to make sure the product sells. I guess I have no choice this time.¡± ¡°If it¡¯s okay with you, then alright. We¡¯ll still be doing the same thing, just an escort quest.¡± Aeris was convinced and began to prepare. A few days later, The branch office informed them of a long term quest for Team ¡°Black Golden Wings¡± to escort a merchant to O¡¯Circus and back, which would take a week one way and two weeks round trip, with departure in a few days. Of course, Tauro and his team accepted the quest. At the business meeting, Marches introduced Leada to Tauro. ¡°I¡¯m Tauro, the leader of the ¡° Black Golden Wings¡±, and I¡¯ve been assigned to escort you and transport your goods.¡± I greeted Leada, whom I had never met before. She was a stylish woman with long red hair in a ponytail and dark eyes, dressed in a relaxed merchant-like outfit. She wore glasses which was impressive, but looked unsure of herself. She seemed to be a potential right-hand man for Marches. Marches told Tauro that it would be great if Leada could gain confidence by going to O¡¯Circus. I see, it seems that Marches is dispatching her for training as well. Tauro felt like his workload had increased again, but he decided not to talk about it because it was up to the agent. ¡°I¡¯ll leave the negotiations to you, Tauro-kun, but I¡¯m certain you can use Leada¡¯s knowledge as well, so if you have any questions, please ask her.¡± Marches told Tauro. ¡°I understand. I¡¯ll talk to her as we go and see what she has to say.¡± Tauro nodded, greeted Leada again, shook her hand and the meeting was over. A few days later, after completing their preparations, Leada and Tauro boarded a carriage prepared by the Marches Trading Company and set off for the city of O¡¯Circus, the second largest city in the country. CH 117 The female agent of the Marches trading company, the carriage Coachman and the four members of the ¡°Black Golden team¡± team, who were their escorts, were swaying along the road in a carriage. ¡°It takes a week to get to the city of O¡¯Circus, right?¡± Rumeya asked the agent of their employer, Leada. ¡°Yes! We¡¯re taking the shortest route over the pass this time, so we should be there in about a week.¡± Leada unfolded a simple map and showed them all. Tauro was a little taken aback when he heard the detailed itinerary. The route was almost a straight line to the city of O¡¯circus, passing through almost no major towns or villages, but the straight bullet journey was too long. On the first day, we could stay overnight in a village on the way, but after that, if we could not find a house before the town of O¡¯circus, we would be camping out. This was the itinerary planned by Marches, who had been a peddler for a long time, so he must have calculated some unreasonableness would not be too hard, but it seemed a little harsh since Leada, who had come as an agent, did not seem to have any physical strength. Aeris, who seemed to know her way around, also said that it would take about a week to get to the city of O¡¯Circus, so it seems that she, like Marches, was the type to accept a bit of recklessness. From now on, it seems better to consider whether we can afford Aeris¡¯s prediction. Tauro thought, ¡°Well, I¡¯ve made preparations beforehand, so I should be fine.¡± The first night, as planned, they decided to stay overnight in a village on the way. ¡°Are you traveling to the city of O¡¯circus? So you¡¯re planning to cross the pass?¡± The owner of the village inn was surprised by this unusual combination of travelers. ¡°Actually, there is a poor mountain village off the road on the way to the pass, and some young men there have been attacking travelers crossing the pass recently. So, I don¡¯t recommend going over the pass now.¡± ¡°Is that what you call a need to eat?¡± Shin asked the innkeeper. ¡°I think so, so I recommend turning back and detouring.¡± The innkeeper replied, suggesting a safer option. ¡°What do you think, Leada?¡± Aeris urged the client¡¯s agent to make a decision. ¡°¡­If we turn around and make a detour now, we¡¯ll be delayed for days. It will make our business partners wait. In business, trust comes first and I¡¯m sorry to burden you with this, but could we please cross the pass?¡± ¡°If the client says so, then I¡¯ll go along with it, but Leada-san, do you understand that you¡¯re also putting yourself in danger?¡± Tauro pointed out that she was putting business first and neglecting her own safety. ¡°I understand. But as Marches-san said, this deal is a great opportunity. I think so too. As long as there¡¯s a promised date, if anything happens to me, Tauro-san should deliver the goods to the client.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t have to prepare yourself so tragically. The fact that the rumors have gotten this far is probably because the other party is just a thief who doesn¡¯t kill travelers. There may have been some injuries, but if they¡¯ve been identified as being from the mountain village, I¡¯m sure the nearby villages have tolerated and let them off the hook because they¡¯re in need of food, not because they¡¯re up to no good.¡± Tauro glanced at the innkeeper, who had turned his back to deal with other customers, and added that the man was a good man who had warned them. The innkeeper must have warned them because Tauro and Aeris were still children, so they decided to continue on the route over the pass as planned. When we left the village the next morning, the innkeeper stopped us again, but we thanked him politely and left. There were two more days to go before the pass, and if we made a detour before that, we could find a village, but there were no houses along the straight route, so we decided to camp out for the evening. ¡°Well, I¡¯ll get ready for camp.¡± Tauro said as he pulled out a rolled up lump of cloth, a wooden stick, a stake and a hammer from his ¡°magic storage.¡± ¡°? What do you need those for?¡± Aeris was intrigued, thinking that Tauro was up to something strange again. ¡°It¡¯s a tent.¡± Then he tied a string from the end of the cloth to a stake in the ground, unfolded the cloth, set up the stakes, and began to assemble it into a three-dimensional structure. In no time at all, there was space for people to enter. ¡°I made it just for this day.¡± ¡°Hmmm. But if it¡¯s made of cloth, won¡¯t it be over for us when it rains? It has to be leather.¡± Aeris said, peeking in. ¡°Fufufu, It¡¯s okay. The cloth has been soaked with slime bodily fluids to make it waterproof!¡± Tauro smugly boasted of his performance. CH 118 Tauro set up two more of his prized tents, with fluffy furs laid underneath. He gave one of the tents to the coachman and the other to the women. The larger tent was to be used by him, Shin and Rumeya. For light, Tauro had prepared a magical lantern, which was a powerful tool. It also ignited Leada¡¯s merchant spirit. It was a lantern that, when filled with scrap magic stones, triggered the magic ¡°illumination¡±. Unlike expensive oil, it doesn¡¯t smell, it doesn¡¯t cost much and it¡¯s bright. This was a product that every household wanted, so Leada asked Tauro to sign a contract with them! She was very interested. For food, Tauro prepared freshly made vegetable and meat soup, grilled miso rice balls and pudding for dessert, which he took out of the ¡°magic storage¡± and served to everyone. Leada and the coachman were delighted with the sumptuous meal. They couldn¡¯t believe they were camping in the wild. ¡°Oh, Leada. I¡¯ll be sure to charge you for the expenses.¡± Tauro joked with Leada, but Leada coughed as the soup she was eating went up her windpipe. ¡°Well, you¡¯ll have to direct that to Marches-san who is in charge.¡± Everyone laughed when she replied, emphasizing that she was only acting as an agent. After dinner, it was standard practice to set up guard and take turns sleeping, but Tauro and his team, ¡° Black Golden Wings¡±, had Aeris. Aeris, who had the skills of ¡°Barrier,¡± used her barrier magic to create a ward around the tent and made it a safe zone. Most monsters can¡¯t get inside the barriers and won¡¯t even try to get close and If someone were to enter or leave, Aeris will notice. Aeris asked Tauro if he wanted to set up more traps in the barrier, but he declined, saying it wasn¡¯t a good idea. ¡°Once again, you¡¯re just awesome, Aeris.¡± Rumeya praised her. ¡°That¡¯s right! After all, I¡¯m a specialist in the rearguard, an expert from the adventurer¡¯s guild!¡± Aeris was boasting, but Tauro didn¡¯t want to interrupt her because he thought that she really was. Dawn came without anything unusual happening. The group happily ate the breakfast that Tauro had prepared beforehand and left immediately. There was very little work to be done as the tents were packed away in a matter of seconds by Tauro¡¯s ¡°magic storage.¡± At one point, going over the pass to O¡¯circus had been a bad idea, but now it had become a pleasant itinerary. Even Leada, who had been nervous at the beginning, began to relax and smile more. In a good atmosphere, we spent the rest of the day safely in the camp and finally we were approaching the problematic pass. ¡°Nothing has been caught by my ¡®presence detection¡¯ so far.¡± Tauro confirmed as he dismounted from the carriage and walked. The other members of the team also walked on foot to flank each other as they approached the uphill slope in order to reduce the burden on the horses. The slope was steeper than they had expected. Since they didn¡¯t have a lot of luggage on board, the carriage made its way up without any trouble. It seemed that they would be able to run a lot faster when they encountered bandits and had to flee. After a few hours of walking up the hill, Tauro¡¯s ¡± presence detection¡± responded. When I used my ¡°true eye¡± to reflect a silhouette linked to my ¡°presence detection¡±, I was able to confirm that ten figures were waiting for us at the top of the hill. ¡°Our opponent has the ¡° Spotting the enemy¡± skill. They noticed us before I noticed them.¡± Tauro¡¯s ¡°presence detection¡± could detect the emotions of the other party, but its range of effect was narrower than that of ¡°spotting the enemy¡±. The three of them moved to the front of the carriage and climbed the hill ahead of the carriage along with Tauro. ¡°Truly, it¡¯s just a mix of children. Hey, why don¡¯t you just quietly leave the load and go away? That way, you won¡¯t get hurt.¡± The man with the sword, who seemed to be the leader of the group, was surprised to see the travelers, but he demanded in a familiar manner. However, although there were many of them, only five of them had swords, the rest had clubs, two-handed axes for lumberjacks and some had sickles. ¡°Suke-san, Kaku-san, punish him just enough not to kill him.¡± A distracted Tauro joked to Shin and Rumeya standing in front of him, imitating the old lord of Mito. ¡°Suke- san, Kaku-san?¡± The two turned to look at Tauro with a ¡°?¡± look on their faces. ¡°Oh, it was a joke. Anyway, they¡¯re amateurs, so just punish them, not enough to kill them though.¡± ¡°Okay!¡± The two of them nodded and hastily headed towards the unprepared bandits. CH 119 Aeris casted a defensive spell from behind Shin and Rumeya as they headed towards the bandits, just in case. The bandits were in a panic as they came at them with no questions asked. ¡°What! Hey guys!¡± ¡°Oh, no!¡± The bandits attacked the two. But they were no match for Rumeya and Shin. They were blown away by Rumeya¡¯s shield, kicked off by Shin¡¯s body art and as he watched his men get knocked down, as quickly as he could, the leader of the group slashed at Shin, stopping him in his tracks. ¡°Oh, it looks like I¡¯ll do it a little.¡± Shin caught the sword and leaped up, then flipped his body and mowed down the leader¡¯s legs with a spinning kick, flipping him over. The leader fell and hit his head on the ground, knocking him out. The rest of the bandits were stunned when the leader was hit. In their panic, they quickly dropped their weapons and surrendered. ¡°No, please don¡¯t kill us!¡± The bandits began to beg for their lives. ¡°You¡¯d better learn from this and stop acting like bandits.¡± Tauro, who had been watching from behind, stepped forward and said, ¡°The rumors about you are starting to spread to the neighboring villages. For now, they are tolerating you, but if you go any further, you may become a target for subjugation. If that happens, you¡¯re done for. Please stop before that happens.¡± Tauro tried to convince all the bandits. The bandits groaned. They probably hadn¡¯t imagined it would be that important. ¡°Okay, okay. We don¡¯t want to be destroyed either!¡± ¡°Rumor has it that you are from a nearby mountain village. Why do you do this?¡± ¡°They know that much about us!¡± The bandits were once again stunned, they thought they were doing well. ¡°We¡¯re from a nearby mountain village, just like you said. We¡¯re having trouble making ends meet this year due to a poor harvest in our small fields and difficulties hunting. So Bandi, who fainted there, suggested that we do it.¡± Shin poked the unconscious leader, Bandi and woke him up. ¡°What¡­? Where am I¡­?¡± When he realized that Shin had a sword pointed at him, he began to beg for his life, asking for help. ¡°You¡¯re the main culprit, aren¡¯t you? Don¡¯t you have something to say before you beg for your life?¡± Tauro asked him to reflect. Although Tauro was a child, the leader of the bandits was taken in by his atmosphere. Actually, Tauro used the skill ¡°prestige¡±. It was a very powerful tool against weak or weakened opponents. ¡°I¡¯m sorry! I¡¯ll never do it again!¡± Bandi apologized after being taken aback by Tauro¡¯s skill. ¡°We¡¯re in the middle of a job, so we don¡¯t have time to worry about you. We¡¯ll come back here after work and we¡¯ll talk again. I¡¯ll give you some money to live on for the time being, so please don¡¯t ever do anything like this again.¡± Tauro then pulled out a leather bag of money from the ¡°magic storage¡± and handed it to Bandi. ¡°Huh?¡± The weight of the leather bag and the unexpected turn of events had Bandi and the others baffled. ¡° Oh, I¡¯m not giving you it, I¡¯m lending it. I¡¯m not that good-natured either. So, please use it properly for the benefit of everyone in the mountain village. I¡¯ll check back on my way home.¡± With that, Tauro nodded to the coachman and the carriage began to move. Aeris and the others started walking along with it. ¡°Ah, uh¡­ Um¡­, thank you!¡± Bandi and the others all bowed their heads. They continued to wave their hands until they could no longer see Tauro and the others leaving. ¡°You¡¯re too much of a softie. You should lend money to people who can repay it.¡± Aeris lectured on with a smile. ¡°I told you. I¡¯ll stop by the mountain village on the way back and we¡¯ll talk about repayment.¡± Tauro gave her a look that said it was obvious. ¡°Eh!? Are you really going to collect? What! I was admiring your good points.¡± Aeris was taken aback by Tauro¡¯s reply. Leada, who had been listening to the conversation from the carriage, came out and said ¡°I¡¯m sure that Tauro-san intends to offer his wisdom for the future of the mountain village. That¡¯s why he didn¡¯t indulge them, but lent them the money.¡± She was very perceptive. ¡°You are very perceptive. Well, we¡¯ll have to wait and see what happens in the mountain village, but it would be nice if we could get something for the village on our way to O¡¯circus.¡± Tauro was impressed by Leada¡¯s reading. CH 120 Once Tauro and his group crossed the pass, the rest of the journey was smooth. They continued to stay in the wild on the way, but they were able to eat and sleep comfortably, and they all had Tauro¡¯s ¡°purification¡± to preserve their hygiene, so there was little trouble. The only thing we had to worry about was the toilet, but Aeris had built a wall with earth magic and prepared a simple toilet, so the two women didn¡¯t have any trouble. The trip was not too bad by comparison and we arrived at a village with only one more day to get to the city of O¡¯Circus. It was the first time we had been to an inn in a few days, but the morning after we stayed there. The women woke up with a grim look on their faces. The room was not hygienic at first, so they had to clean it with Aeris¡¯s ¡°cleanliness¡± magic, and when it came time to sleep, the wall between the room and the next one was so thin that they couldn¡¯t sleep well because of the snoring of their neighbors. The men were in a similar situation, but Tauro and the others had already experienced the ¡°Dwarf¡¯s Inn¡± in the village of Dansas before the renovation, so they didn¡¯t seem too bothered. Well, they all agreed that they felt more comfortable in the camp¡­. We left on such a bad morning and headed for the city of O¡¯circus. In the late afternoon, the carriage finally entered the city streets from an uneven road that was just trampled earth. So the road became cobblestone and the shaking of the carriage calmed down. At this point, Leada finally felt relieved and began to doze off beside Aeris. As the sun began to set and the sky turned orange, the carriage crested a hill and the city of O¡¯Circus, the destination of their journey, came into view below. It was already dark in the port town as the setting sun was blocked by a small hill, so countless lights were already on everywhere, giving the largest port town in the country a fantastic atmosphere against the sea. ¡°Wow!¡­.This is the city of O¡¯circus¡­¡± ¡°The city of Daredar seems so small¡­. And the sea is so big¡­¡± Rumeya and Shin peeked out from beside the coachman and were amazed at this metropolis of a different scale. Tauro was also surprised to see the scale of the port city for the first time. The view from the hill was breathtaking. It seemed as if the port city had been built with this view in mind. Most visitors were taken aback by the view. The horizon was already dark, with a hint of blue sky overlaying it, and the dusk continued to spread. ¡°This is a view that you won¡¯t find even in the Royal Capital¡± Tauro let out a sigh of admiration as he admired the scenery honestly. By the time they reached the Great Gate, the entrance to O¡¯Circus, the sky was dark. The gates were brightly lit and there was a short procession of people and carriages trying to get home as quickly as possible. As Tauro and his party joined the procession, a soldier at the gate saw them peeking out from beside the Coachman. ¡°Are you ready for it? Have fun in the city of O¡¯circus!¡± He welcomed us with his unique accent. Once they passed through the castle gates, they found themselves in a different world from the royal capital. The streets were not as wide as in the Royal Capital, and it seemed to have become more crowded as the number of people increased. The buildings were scattered and there were many signs overhead. Some of the larger ones were lit up with magic stones. Tauro was convinced by the sight in front of him that the lights he had seen from the hill must have been a lot of magic stones. ¡°We¡¯re going to the inn the business partner has arranged, right?¡± The coachman checked with Leada, who had been asleep, but finally woke up and since she was in a daze, Tauro answered in her place. ¡°Yes, please!¡± Tauro replied. The coachman nodded, lightly whipped the cart aand steered the horses in the direction of the inn. The inn arranged for us was located just off the main road. In terms of size, I¡¯d say it was in the lower-middle range. Still, It was a large inn for a small merchant company. The best thing about it was that it was close to the building of the merchant company we were dealing with. The other party may have chosen this inn for its convenience. After confirming that Leada had completed the formalities at the inn, Tauro and the others decided to go to the O¡¯Circus branch of the adventurer¡¯s guild to report the completion of the escort mission so far. They also had to find a place to stay. The inn where Leada was staying was reserved for her alone and not for Tauro and her escorts. We¡¯ll ask around at the guild after we report. The O¡¯Circus branch of the Adventurer¡¯s Guild, where Tauro and the others were headed, was much larger than the Dansas branch. In addition, the exterior was lit up with gaudy, processed magic stones. ¡°Such Bad taste.¡± Aeris expressed her impressions without any ostentation. Tauro did not deny her impression. CH 121 TN: Sorry about the month-long break between updates, had some issues to deal with. Regular weekly updates will now resume and thanks to all those who donated and commented during this time. The lobby of the O¡¯Circus branch Adventurers¡¯ Guild. It was a really large hall with a tavern attached to it. At this hour, many adventurers were starting to drink at the tavern. The reception area was separated from the tavern by a low wall, so that the right half was the reception area and the left half was the tavern. There were two entrances and exits for this reason, but the structure was such that both could be accessed from inside the room. So the noise from the tavern could be heard from the reception area, but the people in the branch seemed used to it, no one paid attention. ¡°I¡¯ve been in big places before, but this is probably the noisiest of them all.¡± Aeris divulged to Tauro, fed up with all the hustle and bustle. ¡°Let¡¯s just report in quickly and get an inn.¡± Nodding to Aeris, Tauro went into one of the many reception areas that were open. ¡°It¡¯s an escort quest from the village of Dansas to here, I confirmed it ¡­This will be your reward. Will you still accept the escort quest from here to the village of Dansas in a few days as planned?¡± The receptionist asked while looking at the data displayed from the thin box-shaped magic tool. ¡°Yes, please.¡± Tauro nodded in agreement. ¡°Okay. I¡¯ve confirmed the order for the escort quest for Team ¡°Black Golden Wings¡±.¡± While Tauro and his team were at the reception desk reporting and accepting quests, some of the O¡¯circus adventurers found the combination of the four of them odd. ¡°Did we have a team with two children in our branch?¡± ¡°Wasn¡¯t there one child in that parent-child adventurer team, team¡± Family Hawks ¡°?¡± ¡°So they¡¯re not from here, are they?¡± ¡°Maybe they¡¯re a newbie team?¡± The adventurers with strong O¡¯circus accents speculated in a voice Tauro and the others could hear. ¡°¡­I think they¡¯re going chew us up, so let¡¯s get out of here.¡± Tauro suggested to his companions as the receptionist introduced them to the innkeeper. Aeris and the others immediately nodded and decided to leave the guild. ¡°Wait a minute, guys. Let¡¯s have a little talk. Huh? This team is tagged as an E rank band! They¡¯re not amateurs!¡± A local adventurer who stopped Tauro and his team was surprised when he saw the tags of the four of them. ¡°Oh!? That¡¯s a fresh team!¡± ¡°Wow¡­You guys are amazing! Let¡¯s get a drink over here!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t try to drink with the kids!¡± They got entangled in the local Adventurers¡¯ flirting and drinking. ¡°Thank you, but we¡¯re all tired from our long journey, so if you¡¯ll excuse us for now.¡± Tauro replied politely. ¡°What, you¡¯re the leader? You¡¯re a strong boy. Where do you come from?¡± ¡°I¡¯m from the village of Dansas, in the county of Daredar.¡± Tauro thought he would have to give them some information to get them to let him go, so he decided to answer. ¡°Daredar? You¡¯re from a pretty rural area, did they promote you because they were short-staffed?¡± Tauro and his team didn¡¯t seem to take offense, but the adventurer was being quite rude. Apparently, there was a shortage of adventurers in the O¡¯Circus branch. This is why it seems to be relatively easy to get promoted to E rank nowadays. ¡°There are a lot of requests here, so we can choose our work as much as we want. If you¡¯re going to be here tomorrow, have fun.¡± ¡°Oh, no, we¡¯re just here temporarily on an escort quest.¡± ¡°Oh, really? Anyway, who would be so stingy as to ask a team of kids to escort them?¡± The local adventurer was indignant, but this was also disrespectful to Tauro and his team. As Aeris began to get annoyed, Tauro thought it was turning unpleasant. ¡°My friends are tired, so we¡¯ll leave you alone for now. He pushed her back and left the guild. ¡°What the hell is wrong with them? Have they no sense of decency? They¡¯re so rude it¡¯s annoying!¡± On the way to the inn, Aeris expressed her dissatisfaction. ¡°Oh, well. They didn¡¯t seem to have any bad intentions¡­¡± Tauro remembered a memory of seeing his classmate from the Kansai region speak out boldly in his previous life, and this coincided with the culture of this city, which calmed Aeris down a little. ¡°I think it¡¯s easier for me to understand when you explain it like that.¡± Rumeya did not seem to feel any ill will. ¡°It¡¯s definitely a bit of a turnoff, but it¡¯s easier for some people.¡± Shin was also surprised, but he didn¡¯t have a bad impression. ¡°I¡¯ve met people like that before, so I¡¯m used to it, but first-timers might be surprised.¡± Tauro was sympathetic to Aeris¡¯s feelings and asked her to be understanding for the future. CH 122 The day after their arrival in the city of O¡¯circus. In the morning, Leada informed the business partner of her arrival and it was decided that the deal would be done the next day at noon, so they were free for the day. Each of them decided to take a walk around the city, but as Tauro went, Aeris followed him. ¡°Aeris?¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°You know you¡¯re free to go for a walk on your own, right? You can go to the harbor to see the ocean, You can go shopping, You can rest at the inn. Okay?¡± ¡°Yes. So let¡¯s go. It will be hard to carry the luggage without your help.¡± Aeris then naturally pulled Tauro¡¯s arm and they headed towards the crowded streets. Tauro and Aeris looked like they were on a date as they looked around, eating and drinking, but Tauro gradually made his way into the less crowded streets. As he looked around, he saw that the street was lined with stores that catered to farmers, selling rare plants, seeds and tools. ¡°Oh, you¡¯re shopping for that mountain village, aren¡¯t you?¡± Aeris guessed right away. ¡°Yeah, I promised I would, so I thought I¡¯d see if I could find anything that might be useful.¡± Tauro was looking around at each plant with his ¡°true eye¡±, which allowed him to evaluate things, when one plant caught his eye. ¡°¡­Tomorro ¡­ could that be corn over there!?¡± ¡°Are these bumpy plants any good?¡± Aeris looked curiously at the plant, which she had never seen before. ¡°Yes. It can be eaten simply by boiling in salted water. It¡¯s a plant that grows at high altitudes, so I think it¡¯s best suited for fields in mountain villages.¡± ¡°Really? Then why don¡¯t you buy some?¡± ¡°I will! ¡­.. Excuse me, I need all the tomorro seeds you have here.¡± ¡°Welcome¡­All of it? Thank you for this. Between you and me, it¡¯s too rare to find a buyer.¡± The shopkeeper was pleased to hear that. He wrapped the goods and handed them to Tauro. ¡°As a thank you for your purchase, I¡¯ll also give you some Tomate seeds, which are also grown in the south for high altitude!¡± ¡°Tomate¡­ oh, tomatoes! I¡¯ll take all of those, too!¡± ¡°All of it? Isn¡¯t the extra amount enough?¡± The shopkeeper, amazed at the boy¡¯s eagerness to buy, wrapped up the tomato seeds as well. ¡°Okay, now I¡¯m going to give you some cold-tolerant characiform seeds, which are rare here and easy to grow at high altitudes. This is all we have, so we can¡¯t sell any more.¡± The shopkeeper offered me another rare variety that he didn¡¯t have in stock. ¡°Characiformes, what kind of herb is that? Characiformes¡­ or are these Mustard greens?¡± Tauro used his ¡°true eye¡± to check the extra product and came up with an answer. ¡°Characiformes?¡± Aeris looked at the extra item and asked. ¡°This characiformes is probably mustard. It can be eaten as it is, but it can also be processed into a seasoning, so if we teach them how to process it, it could become a specialty of the mountain village.¡± Tauro replied to Aeris. ¡°I don¡¯t know what mustard is, but if it can be made into a special product, it will help the mountain village.¡± Aeris didn¡¯t quite understand what Tauro was saying, but she was convinced that if he knew what he was talking about, it would be okay. Tauro put all the items he had purchased into the ¡°magic storage¡±, thanked the owner for teaching him how to grow them and left the store. Aeris then said that it was her turn to buy clothes and equipment and took Tauro along with her. Was there an order? Tauro wondered, but Aeris seemed to be enjoying herself, so he agreed. He was satisfied. In the Evening. When Tauro arrived at the ocean, he was deeply moved by the fact that it was his first time seeing it in this world. ¡°Is this your first time seeing the ocean, Tauro?¡± ¡°Yes, I¡¯m not familiar with it.. (I guess in this world, it¡¯s my first time here.)¡± ¡°I see. Well, we¡¯re having seafood tonight!¡± Aeris was hungry and suggested dinner, ignoring the emotion Tauro felt as a result of being in front of the sea for the first time. ¡°Oh, I forgot to stock up on seafood!¡± Tauro remembered one of his objectives. ¡°That can wait until we get back, we¡¯re going to eat now. It¡¯s a specialty of this city!¡± Tauro was pulled by the arm by Aeris, who said, ¡°I¡¯m hungry.¡± CH 123 The day of the business deal. Leada and Tauro were in front of the headquarters of the Kishiwanda Trading Company, the company they were trading with. It seemed to be one of the biggest merchant companies in the city of O¡¯circus, with its headquarters building, an accompanying building and two large warehouses in between them. An employee came to the front to greet Leada and the others. He was suspicious at first because they had no luggage. He guessed that Leada was carrying a ¡°magic storage¡± device, since she was with an out-of-place child, and sent someone to the representative, waited a bit, then let them through to the guest room. ¡°Welcome to the Kishiwanda Trading Company! My name is Hayoki and I¡¯m the representative of this business. So, let¡¯s get down to business.¡± We were welcomed by the large bearded man who called himself the representative of the business association, it was easy to say hello and start talking about business. ¡°So, how much did you prepare for today? Our order was for eighty, I think you¡¯ve got about forty.¡± Hayoki had been informed in advance by his subordinate that there was a child accompanying her who was thought to have ¡°magic storage¡±, so he estimated more than that, assuming the capacity of the child¡¯s magic storage. In addition, he knew that the company he was dealing with was a small business association, so he placed a larger order and planned to bargain with them when they failed to prepare. The first transaction would determine the market price in the future, so he made a preemptive punch at the order stage. It was a child¡¯s magic storage, so the capacity should be small. In fact, even if I were to make a full estimate, they would probably be able to produce only 15 to 20 units at the most since the order was placed in such a short period of time. A refrigerator is certainly a unique product that has never been produced before, so if we can get a good price on it, our profits will increase and we¡¯ll win this deal from the start. Inwardly, Hayoki was convinced that his company would make a lot of money. ¡°Yes? Your order was for eighty, so what makes you think I didn¡¯t bring 80?¡± Leada gave him a look as if she didn¡¯t understand why he thought that we brought 40. Tauro kept quiet and watched, but he could sense that the man in front of him had always been very proud of himself, so he figured that was it. ¡°He was worried that we might not be ready since we are a small trading company.¡± Tauro politely revealed part of Hayoki¡¯s intentions. ¡°What?¡± For a moment, Leada was startled out of her skin, but she quickly understood what was the case. ¡°Ah, no, I didn¡¯t¡­. But if you don¡¯t prepare it as ordered, we¡¯ll be in serious trouble, so I¡¯m counting on you.¡± For a moment, Hayoki was at a loss for words, but he continued to bargain, thinking that the ¡°magic storage¡± capacity of the child in front of him couldn¡¯t be that large. The Kishiwanda Trading Company¡¯s way of doing business was to bargain for even a single copper coin and sell it at a higher price. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. As our representative, Leada, said, we have 80 refrigerators ready to go. Originally, we had our suppliers produce a lot of refrigerators in advance, so we were able to prepare for this kind of situation. On the other hand, we were worried that you wouldn¡¯t be able to pay us properly for such a large number, but we were relieved to hear that you¡¯re a large company. The warehouse is right next door and I¡¯m sure we¡¯ll be able to store eighty refrigerators in no time.¡± Tauro said as he pulled a large commercial refrigerator out of the ¡°magic storage¡± in front of him. ¡°I can¡¯t take out eighty refrigerators here, so I¡¯ll take them out in the warehouse next door after we close the deal, okay?¡± He reconfirmed again. ¡°Oh, yes¡­¡± Tauro¡¯s counterattack completely overwhelmed Hayoki, who had been so proud of his victory earlier. After that, Leada had the upper hand in the business negotiations from start to finish. Not only did she set the price, but she also surprised Hayoki by telling him about the innovative technology in the product description. The Kishiwanda Trading Company had a directly managed store specializing in magic tools in the city of O¡¯circus and Hayoki had a certain amount of expertise in the field. That¡¯s how he knew that the refrigerator was a product with performance beyond his imagination. Hayoki¡¯s original bargaining strategy did not work and he ended up signing a contract to purchase all 80 units at the price that the Marches Trading Company set. ¡°Now, here is another product called ¡°Cooler¡±¡­¡± Tauro took advantage of the opportunity to bring out a product from the magic storage and began to sell it. Hayoki was surprised to see another innovative product and signed a contract to purchase 30 of them. CH 124 ¡°Wasn¡¯t that a bit much considering future business?¡± Leada muttered to Tauro when they were alone after the business meeting. ¡°Considering the performance of the product, I think it will sell well even if the price is set higher, so I think we can both agree without discounting.¡± Tauro wiped away Leada¡¯s worries. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I¡¯ve never sold so many items to a large trading company before, so I was kind of worried.¡± For Leada, the fact that a small trading company in the countryside could do business on equal terms with a large trading company in a big city seemed like a lie. Behind this, the fact that they had already done business with the Garfish trading company was to some extent a check on the other Trading companies. If the Garfish trading company of the Royal Capital, which had a lot of momentum, would go to the trouble of trading with a small merchant company, there was no way that the merchants of O¡¯Circus, which was also a business town, wouldn¡¯t be interested in the deal. When Kishiwanda heard the rumors about the product, they knew that Garfish would already be behind it and decided to make a deal. For the Kishiwanda chamber, it was also a way to control the Garfish trading company since they had not yet established a branch in this city. The deal was also a way for the merchants to keep each other¡¯s territory in mind. Leada and Tauro visited several workshops introduced by the Kishiwanda trading company. The purpose was to establish a manufacturing base in the city of O¡¯circus. As expected of the second largest city after the Royal Capital, many of the workshops are large in scale as well as in technical capabilities. This time, however, we decided to make a contract with a few workshops that have the technology but are smaller in scale. This is because large companies tend to have business with large companies and give priority to them. Even if we were introduced by the Kishiwanda trading company, the fact that we came later and are a small trading company, they would have too little trust on our achievements, credibility, or track record to be taken seriously. On the other hand, a small workshop would accept a request from a small trading company, and when they heard that the supplier was the kishiwanda trading company, they were eager to do business with us in the future. It was a mutually beneficial contract. When I showed a sample of the refrigerator to the craftsmen at the workshop where we had signed a contract, they all said. ¡°I must say, it¡¯s quite well made for a country workshop¡­¡± The craftsmen were impressed as they looked at every corner. ¡°Basically, we¡¯ll send you the core part, which is manufactured by a workshop that has a special contract with us, so that you can fit it to complete the work.¡± ¡°Great. We¡¯ll do that then. Now, about this seam¡­¡± The craftsmen immediately started asking questions about the technology, which Tauro answered and explained in detail. ¡°! That¡¯s amazing, Bozu! I didn¡¯t know you were a craftsman too!¡± The craftsmen were even more surprised when Tauro, a young boy, didn¡¯t only explain the details of the technique, but actually showed them how to do it. ¡°A child prodigy appears!¡± Tauro was bombarded with questions from the craftsmen, but he reminded them that it was okay to use the technology elsewhere, but that they should keep it to themselves. ¡°Of course, techniques are the life of a craftsman, and if you teach them to others for free, you will lose your job. Hahaha!¡± With that, the craftsmen immediately began to imitate Tauro¡¯s example and worked hard to learn the techniques. The day after the business deal was concluded. As on the previous day, Tauro was to go around the workshop and give simple instructions on how to make refrigerators. In the meantime, Leada wanted to look around the city to find something that might give her an idea for a business, so she decided to go around the city with Shin and Rumeya as her guards, just as a precaution. Aeris didn¡¯t go with them, but stayed with Tauro and watched the work from his side. The craftsmen were impressed at the sight. ¡°We can¡¯t keep Bozu¡¯s¡¯ girlfriend waiting, so lets just learn it and get it done!¡± The craftsmen were strangely motivated and under Tauro¡¯s guidance, they mastered the skills necessary to make a refrigerator. ¡°Okay, you two, we¡¯ll finish it as soon as we can! Go and spend your lunch time on your date.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not like that! Men are so quick to say things like that!¡± Aeris was overreacting, but the Craftsmen tried to calm her down. ¡°That¡¯s enough!¡± I was so unfaithful. Stop it, craftsmen, I¡¯m the one who has to put her in a good mood afterwards. Tauro thought inwardly, but he didn¡¯t want to say anything because Aeris would get angry again if he did. CH 125 Aeris was in a bad mood for a while, but her mood improved when Tauro said he would buy her lunch. He asked the craftsmen for a good place to eat, and decided to go to a diner in a back street. ¡°Tauro, wouldn¡¯t it be faster to go this way?¡± Aeris pointed to a narrow alley and pulled Tauro by the arm into it. ¡°Aeris, let¡¯s not go over there, it doesn¡¯t look good!¡± Tauro rushed to stop Aeris, but it was too late. Two men suddenly came out of the shadows and blocked their way. Two suspicious men who had been standing in the street, talking to each other, appeared behind them and blocked the way. ¡°Sorry about this, ladies. This is a place where kids sometimes go missing when they pass by.¡± This man was kind enough to declare themselves kidnappers. Tauro quickly drew his small sword and readied it. Aeris also silently cast magic power onto her wand, causing light like a cutting edge to dwell at the tip, where the magic stone was attached. ¡°Oh? I¡¯ve never seen a cane like that before. That¡¯s going to sell well.¡± The man who seemed to be the leader of the kidnappers did not panic when Tauro and Aeris held up their weapons. He must think they were just children. Tauro secretly casts a dark spirit magic. ¡°¡­Hiyaa!¡± The man who was standing behind them slashed at his fellow man who was standing next to him. The man who was caught off guard was slashed decisively and fell screaming with a deep cut on his shoulder. The delirious man walked past Tauro and Aeris and slashed at the leader. The leader was upset, but he immediately leapt up and slashed the delirious man¡¯s sword away, then cut him down unceremoniously. ¡°Damn it! What the hell did you do, you little brat!¡± While the kidnappers were bewildered, Tauro used a mind-disrupting magic on the man who was standing with the leader, but the man held back and shook it off. ¡°Brother! This kid is using dark magic!¡± The man with the leader was resistant to dark magic and showed signs of knowledge. ¡°Let¡¯s kill the kid and just take the little girl!¡± The leader decided to do so and slashed at Tauro. The attack was sharp, and Tauro could tell that he was quite skilled. The other man approached to grab Aeris, but Aeris swung her wand at him. The man thought he had dodged the wand with plenty of time to spare, but he misjudged the distance between the glowing parts. It was a shallow cut, but it sliced through his chest and stomach and drew blood. ¡°Gyaaaah!¡± The leader of the kidnappers clicked his tongue as he heard the screams of his comrades being beaten behind his back. ¡°You¡¯re lucky, kid. I¡¯ll let you off the hook this time.¡± With that, he ran to the street and into the crowd, blending in so quickly that he disappeared. ¡°¡­.Whew. That was close.¡± Tauro was relieved. He realized after they crossed swords that he was at a disadvantage if he continued. ¡°Tauro, are you okay?¡± Aeris turned around and walked up to Tauro. ¡°Yes, Aeris, go get the patrolling soldiers!¡± Tauro then threw a potion on the injured kidnapper and tied him up with a rope as he healed him. By the time the guards rushed there, both men¡¯s wounds were healed and they survived, but the man who had been cut down by the leader of the kidnappers had died. Tauro and Aeris were taken with the kidnappers to a cell for questioning, but Aeris was not happy about this. ¡°We were just going to have lunch! It¡¯s already past noon!¡± The guards were tantalized by the girl. ¡°Don¡¯t be so angry, we¡¯ve got work to do too, so give us a break.¡± ¡°Just listen to us briefly today and we¡¯ll do the rest tomorrow, please¡­¡± She looked at her companion, Tauro, and asked him to do something about it. Tauro felt bad about this, so he pulled out a sandwich from the ¡°magic storage¡± and suggested Aeris eat it in the staff room. She was furious. In the end, I had to go to the staff room and explain what had happened, but in the meantime, Aeris¡¯s mood did not improve, even after eating the sandwich. ¡°Come back tomorrow, okay? There has been an increase in the number of reports of disappearances lately, which has become a problem, but when it comes to kidnapping, there¡¯s a big possibility that a criminal organization is involved, so it¡¯s important for us to have you as witnesses.¡± The man who seemed to be in charge of the guards explained this to Tauro and told him to apologize to his girlfriend as well, then they were released. CH 126 It was the evening of the day we encountered the kidnappers. After returning to the inn, Tauro and Aeris took Shin and Rumeya to the inn where Leada was staying and explained to her the whole story of what had happened. ¡°How could that happen? ¡­Then we can¡¯t go back in the morning¡­¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I apologize for the inconvenience to my employer.¡± Tauro and Aeris bowed their heads together. Shin and Rumeya, who were listening nearby, also hurriedly bowed their heads. ¡°No, I don¡¯t know how this business meeting would have turned out without Tauro, and I¡¯ve saved a lot of money by having him help me with the transportation, so please don¡¯t worry about it. Besides, I¡¯ve been wanting to stay here and look around a bit more, so now I have a good excuse.¡± Leada was happy and pleased. Tauro told Leada that they would pay for their own stay while they were here, but she refused, saying that the business association would pay for it. He said that it would be a shame if they caused trouble for their employer and had to pay for their stay, but really, Leada didn¡¯t seem to mind. Shin and Rumeya were also very happy to learn that they would be able to stay here in O¡¯circus for a little while longer. They seemed to enjoy the water there very much. As it was, the five of them, including Leada, had dinner together and talked about the kidnapping. ¡°I don¡¯t think there are many buyers in this country, since slavery was abolished a long time ago.¡± Leada shook her head, troubled. ¡°Then is it possible that they came from another country?¡± Shin made a sharp point. ¡°But if the kidnapper spoke with the accent of this city, wouldn¡¯t that be different?¡± Leada argued against Shin¡¯s point. ¡°They could hire riffraff who know the geography of the city to kidnap people, and transport them overseas and sell them themselves.¡± Aeris pointed out another possibility. ¡°So even people from this city can do it, as long as they have a ship.¡± Rumeya, of course, arrived at the answer. ¡°It¡¯s possible, but unlikely. I think the risk of being caught trafficking people in this country is too great for someone who has the financial resources to own a ship. However, it might be conceivable if it was out of debt and had to do to it as a last resort.¡± Tauro pointed out that it seemed unlikely. ¡° I think it¡¯s possible to narrow down the criminals, such as those who were in trouble with debt but have recently improved their weighs, or maybe are looking for a ship out of the country.¡± Leada nodded to Tauro. ¡°¡­.we can¡¯t help but think about it, can we?¡± Aeris made a valid point. ¡°Haha¡­. You see, you and I have to go to the guard station tomorrow, and if we tell them then, it might help them in their criminal investigation, right?¡± ¡°Yeah, but¡­ who¡¯s going to listen to the suggestions of a child?¡± ¡°We¡¯re the only victims who they didn¡¯t succeed in kidnapping, so I¡¯m sure we¡¯ll be helpful.¡± ¡°Well, that¡¯s one way to put it. All right. We¡¯ll tell them tomorrow.¡± Aeris was convinced by Tauro¡¯s words. Her mood seemed to have improved before she knew it, and Tauro was inwardly relieved. The next morning. Tauro and Aeris immediately went to the guard station to give their testimony. There, they told them of how the leader of the group had an accent from this city, and what they inferred from it, The man who seemed to be in charge of the guards nodded. ¡°The people we¡¯ve captured aren¡¯t talking yet, but I think we¡¯ll start with that line of inquiry.¡± He was surprisingly straightforward. Since he couldn¡¯t get a confession, there was nothing he could do. ¡°Oh, can I meet the people who were caught?¡± ¡°What? Normally victims don¡¯t want to meet their assailants, are you sure?¡± The person in charge asked back in surprise. ¡°Yes, and if he confesses, the investigation will proceed, right?¡± ¡°Yes, that would be a great help, but are you sure?¡± ¡°Yes, I¡¯m sure.¡± With that, Tauro went down to the cell in the basement of the station, guided by the officer in charge. ¡°Are you all okay, how are your injuries?¡± As Tauro approached the isolated cell one by one, he worried about the injuries of the two criminals. ¡°Damn it! You little dark magician! I¡¯m not going to tell you anything!¡± As soon as one of the criminals, the man with a resistance to dark magic, saw Tauro, he went on alert. ¡°I imagine your leader is going to cut off the two of you who have been captured because you¡¯re no longer useful, are you willing to talk?¡± ¡°Who¡¯s going to talk? You little shit!¡± ¡°¡­.¡± The man with the Dark magic Resistance gasped, but the other man remained silent. ¡°For the one who talks out of the two of you, we¡¯ll drop the report and ask the superiors to reduce the sentence. That way, you might be able to avoid a death sentence, right?¡± ¡°!¡± The person in charge stared in amazement at Tauro¡¯s comment, but he guessed what he wanted to do. ¡°I¡¯ll help you. But as the boy said, only one of you will be saved. So, I¡¯m going to have to ask the quiet man over there to move to the interrogation room.¡± He suggested, and ordered his men to take the man out of the cell. ¡°Hey! Ah¡­!¡± The dark magic resistant man was in a panic, but he couldn¡¯t do anything but tell the man not to talk as he was being taken away. CH 127 The silent man was taken into an interrogation room. ¡°It would help if I told you first, right?! I¡¯ll tell you, but first, I need a contract with you to reduce my sentence!¡± He suddenly started talking and demanded. It¡¯s not so much that he wanted to save his life, but rather that he was distrustful of the possibility that the dark magic-resistant man might speak. I guess that¡¯s the extent of their relationship. Tauro was given a view of the interrogation room through a small window-like grate from a room next to it. I would have liked to be involved in the interrogation, but they refused, saying that they couldn¡¯t let a child do that. Then I wonder if it¡¯s okay for me to watch it, but since I would never be able to watch if I complained, I think it¡¯s better if I¡¯m quiet about it. Aeris was also quiet, as if she had sensed this. ¡°We were approached and hired by Ruhi, the leader of the kidnappers. Ruhi is a former adventurer and rumor has it that he used to be a C-rank belt.¡± ¡°C-rank belt?¡± The guards were astonished. The guard in charge warned them to be quiet. ¡± There was talk of him getting to B-rank, but he was banned from the adventurer¡¯s guild permanently for his bad behavior. Anyway, Ruhi is a dangerous bastard. I¡¯m certain the kids at the scene know that he¡¯s merciless to his friends as well.¡± He testified while glancing a look at Tauro and the others who were looking at him from behind the grate. ¡°Okay, I know about Ruhi now, So who¡¯s the employer?¡± The person in charge cut to the chase. ¡°Only the leader, Ruhi, knows that, but he once told me while drunk that it was someone who does business in this town.¡± ¡°How many children have you kidnapped?¡± ¡°Only eight. They¡¯re going to put them on a ship and take them out of the country when the number increases, but they haven¡¯t informed us of that yet.¡± ¡°Where are you keeping the children?¡± ¡°We¡¯ve rented a warehouse in the port under Ruhi¡¯s name, but I¡¯m sure they¡¯ve already moved out.¡± ¡°You guys, head out ASAP!¡± The man in charge ordered his men to leave and hurried away, leaving Tauro and the others behind. ¡°What part of the city does this Ruhi man come from?¡± Tauro asked the man in the interrogation room through the window grid. ¡°I think it¡¯s the slums, but what does that matter?¡± ¡°No, I figured if I was going to stay put until things cooled down, I¡¯d run to a place I knew well and where the guards rarely came. The slums would be a good place for that.¡± The remaining guards gasped and exchanged glances. There are only a few places where you can hide eight children in a hurry. The employer¡¯s place was first of all too dangerous and unlikely. In a slum, few people would bother to call the guards. I know because I spent a few years in such a place myself. It¡¯s a good place for bad people. It¡¯s a good place to run to and if you¡¯re from there, it¡¯s perfect. ¡°Aeris, we should do what we can.¡± ¡°You¡¯re going to help?¡± ¡°It would be too reckless for us to go in alone, but we know Ruhi¡¯s face, and if we can find him, we can alert the guards.¡± ¡°All right. I¡¯ll call Shin and Rumeya too.¡± Aeris hurriedly went out of the station, and fired lightning magic into the sky. When the lightning magic was fired twice in succession, it burst like fireworks in the air. This was the way Tauro had planned to use Aeris as a landmark to let them know where they were if they were separated in this large city. The people nearby gasped at Aeris¡¯s action. ¡°You¡¯re doing something remarkable!¡± ¡°If I could do magic, I¡¯d do it too!¡± Aunts came over to her, impressed. While Aeris was dealing with the ladies, Shin and Rumeya came running, out of breath. ¡°I didn¡¯t think you¡¯d actually do it, I¡¯m surprised!¡± ¡°It was only yesterday that you explained it to us. I¡¯m really surprised!¡± Shin and Rumeya laughed at the flashy signal and commented on it to Tauro, who was waiting for them. When Tauro explained the situation to Shin and Rumeya, they were convinced. ¡°Well, let¡¯s go, Aeris.¡± He called out to Aeris, who was surrounded by aunts, and the four of them headed for the sea. CH 128 Tauro and the others took the shortest route to the slums, which was very far away from the station. There were some suspicious back streets, but Tauro¡¯s ¡°Presence detection¡± allowed them to avoid them and with Shin and Rumeya also present, they made it to the entrance of the slums without getting tangled up. There were few signs of people around here, so we decided to keep our distance and keep watch. Tauro, Shin, Aeris and Rumeya took turns in shifts of two. When Tauro was keeping watch, he saw two men with lowered swords running into the slums in a hurry and a few minutes later, Ruhi came out of the favelas with them and headed somewhere in a hurry. After asking Aeris and Rumeya to stay and keep watch, Tauro and Shin decided to follow Ruhi and the others. Tauro used his ¡°Presence blocker¡± and instructed Shin to follow him at a distance. This way, unless he was spotted, the other party wouldn¡¯t notice Shin¡¯s presence. Even if the other party had an ¡°enemy spotting¡± ability and Shin was caught, they would know by his movements that he was not following them. They wouldn¡¯t be able to tell since he was chasing Tauro. Ruhi and his three minions walked with a great deal of caution of their surroundings, but they were unable to notice Tauro¡¯s tail, and when they entered a corner of the commercial district, they entered a business association from the back. ¡°¡­..is this their employer¡¯s home?¡± The building itself was large and its construction gave the impression of a long history on the front side, but the back side of the building looked shabby and unkempt. I asked Shin to wait at a distance, then approached the building from the back, listening carefully through the walls. From time to time, I could hear voices. ¡°The guards know we¡¯re here!¡± ¡°My men were taken out¡­¡± ¡°This is really bad! I want them loaded on a ship tonight and sold to the¡­¡± ¡°¡±I¡­ got it.¡± What I could hear was not enough, but it was enough for me to confirm that this merchant company was the employer. The only thing left to do was to rescue the kidnapped children. Tauro left the building as quickly as possible and joined Shin to return to Aeris and the others. When they returned, they found Aeris, Rumeya and four other men they didn¡¯t know. ¡°¡­Who are you?¡± Tauro asked, since they didn¡¯t look like guards. ¡°These men are the ¡°Naniwards¡±, the O¡¯Circus Adventurer Guild¡¯s rank C+ team.¡± Rumeya had run to the guild to ask for backup. He heard that Ruhi was listed in a bounty, and that this ¡°Naniwards¡± had been following him as an irregular quest. ¡°Thank you, brothers. I heard that Ruhi is a kidnapper, right? We¡¯ll have to catch this local disgrace and turn him in to the guards as soon as possible.¡± The leader of the ¡°Naniwards¡± answered strongly. While this was going on, Aeris informed everyone that I was back. When I looked, Ruhi was hurrying in through the entrance of the slums with two of his minions. The leader of the ¡°Naniwards¡± signaled to his companions and a man who looked like a theif followed him. Tauro followed at a distance. Ruhi and his men entered a large building with a sense of security, their previous caution gone. A carriage was parked in front of the building and a guard was standing there, but there was no sense of tension. ¡°¡­.There are sixteen people in the room.¡± Tauro called out as he approached the man who looked like a theif. ¡°Half of them are kids. ¡­By the way, you¡¯re really skilled at blocking signs! It doesn¡¯t even let my ¡°Search¡± skill detect you!¡± ¡°¡­I¡¯m somewhat confident.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sure you are. It doesn¡¯t affect my other skills either, so I don¡¯t even feel comfortable talking about it right now.¡± ¡°I can understand that somehow. ¡­Oh, I¡¯ll come back and report to the guys.¡± ¡°Okay. I¡¯ll be back to report also.¡± Tauro nodded and went back to the place where everyone was waiting. When Tauro came back, he explained the situation and there was a discussion on the spot, and the idea of calling the guards came up, but when they found out that there were eight of them, they decided that it would be faster to go in and take control of the situation rather than lose a man to call them. It was decided that it would be faster to go in and subdue them. The only trouble was Ruhi, and we concluded that if we kept an eye on him, it would be easy to subdue him. Besides, the guards were still loose at the moment. It would be better to take them by surprise during this time. Team ¡°Naniwards¡± and Team ¡°Black Golden Wings¡± took up positions to attack from the front and back, respectively. CH 129 The ¡°Black Golden Wings¡± and the ¡°Naniwards¡± didn¡¯t wait for a moment to take their positions. They approached the building quickly, attacked and subdued the guards while they were still in position, kicked down the door into the building and rushed in. Tauro and the others were just a few seconds behind the ¡°Naniwards¡± and Rumeya was ready to kick down the door, when it opened and a panicked Ruhi came out. Both of them. ¡°Eh?¡± They both froze for a moment. Ruhi¡¯s thoughts were further confused by the fact that the group in front of him included the two children whom he had failed to kidnap, but as the group raised their weapons, he quickly drew his sword as a conditioned reflex. ¡°Chi! You were adventurous enough to come and capture us!¡± Ruhi understood the situation and said in a spiteful tone, slashing at Rumeya, who was standing at the forefront. Rumeya hurriedly held up his shield, but couldn¡¯t make it in time, and he was cut on his dominant arm. ¡°ow!¡± ¡°Rumeya!¡± Shin intervened to protect Rumeya and slashed at Ruhi. In the meantime, Tauro threw a potion on Rumeya to help him recover and Aeris cast a defensive spell on Shin. Ruhi easily parried Shin¡¯s slash and kicked him away. This was usually Shin¡¯s number one physical skill, but Ruhi was better. Shin was kicked away and sent flying towards Aeris. ¡°Aaaaah!¡± Shin and Aeris collided and fell, unable to move. Tauro holds his small sword low and slashes at Ruhi. Ruhi, too, leaps lightly at Tauro¡¯s small sword. He then looked at the tag around Tauro¡¯s neck and said. ¡°For an E-rank belt, you¡¯re pretty good, but you¡¯re no match for me.¡± With that, he disappeared into the back alley. The C+ ranked team ¡°Naniwards¡±, who had entered from the front, had successfully subdued Ruhi¡¯s men and rescued the children. It seems that Ruhi had fled to the back door just as the door was being kicked down and the ¡°Naniwards¡± were unable to catch up with him because they were blocked by his minions. ¡°I didn¡¯t expect Ruhi to run away so fast. I¡¯m sorry, I was going to deal with him.¡± It was too much for Tauro and the other E rankers to handle, so ¡°Naniwards¡± was aiming for Ruhi, but they miscalculated that he would run away without a fight. ¡°There was one more who escaped, but other than that, it looks like we defeated them.¡± The leader of ¡°Naniwards¡± counted the number of fallen minions and said. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, leader. The one who escaped probably has the ¡°fugue¡± skill. We¡¯ve been scattered.¡± The man who looked like a theif came back from outside, probably chasing the escaped man and reported to the leader. ¡°What? He was able to throw you off? That¡¯s impressive! But you at least got a name with your ¡°Personality appraisal¡± skill, right?¡± ¡°That¡¯s about right. It looks like a guy named Soak Sato. That¡¯s not a name you hear around here, is it?¡± Tauro, who was casually listening to the exchange between the members of team ¡°Naniwards¡± as he treated Rumeya and the others with potions, was startled. Soak Sato, if I¡¯m not mistaken, is my ex-father, unless it¡¯s a different person with the same name. I¡¯ve cut off all ties with him and abandoned his surname, and even if I hadn¡¯t, I have ¡°appraisal inhibition¡± (extreme), so even if they were to appraise me, they wouldn¡¯t be able to find any connection to me, but inside I was filled with mixed feelings. I hadn¡¯t heard any rumors that he had been arrested, but now he was here¡­. Tauro was breaking out in a cold sweat, but he didn¡¯t talk about it. He finished treating Rumeya and the others, and went to talk to the children who had come out of the basement after being untied. ¡°Um¡­ what kind of ¡°fugue¡± skill are you talking about?¡± Tauro asked about his ex-father¡¯s information. ¡°¡¯Fugue¡¯ It¡¯s a special skill with limited conditions that can only be activated when running away. ¡­I¡¯ve heard only rumors about it, but with footprints so cleanly erased, I can¡¯t think of anything else but the ¡°Fugue¡± skill.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve never seen anything like this before,¡± said the man who looked like a theif. He was impressed by the fact that he had been thrown off so well. a¡­ I didn¡¯t know he had such a skill¡­. It must have been his skills that allowed him to escape this far despite being a wanted man. Tauro wished he had a break from the rate at which he encountered his former father. CH 130 Tauro and his friends called the guards to make sure that the kidnapped children were safe. Tauro¡¯s testimony led to the arrest of the merchant who was the main culprit, bringing the curtains down temporarily. Ruhi and Soak, who escaped, were wanted again and will not be able to stay in this city. However, team ¡°Naniwards¡± and Tauro¡¯s colleagues had not given up on Ruhi. For team ¡°Naniwards¡±, it was a bounty. For Tauro and the rest of the ¡°Black Golden Wings¡±, he was the one who had given them a black mark. They wanted to clear their names. Escaping from the city wouldn¡¯t be an easy task. Since the escape routes were limited. Tauro thought he might try to escape by sea. So, we had set up a warning net in the harbor, but it was successfully slipped through. It was late at night. There was a small boat paddling out to a large ship anchored offshore. The guards called out from the wharf to stop, but it didn¡¯t heed. When Tauro, who rushed to the scene, illuminated it with the spirit of light magic ¡°illumination¡±, it was Ruhi who was rowing the small boat. ¡°Sorry guys! That ship belongs to another country! Even you can¡¯t touch that thing!¡± In triumph, Ruhi declared his victory. Then a bright light appeared on the quay, separate from the ¡°illumination¡± magic that illuminated him. What is that? As he stared at the light on the quay, squinting at the glare of the magical ¡°illumination¡±, the light gets bigger and bigger. No, it¡¯s closing in on me! Ruhi thought. By the time he thought that, it was too late. The arrow of light that was approaching him drawing an arc pierced Ruhi¡¯s chest and made a hole, and the arrow pierced deeply into the edge of the small boat. ¡°That¡¯s absurd¡­. At this distance¡­ in this wind and waves¡­ with such power and accuracy¡­¡± Gah! Ruhi collapsed into a heap in the boat and died. ¡°It¡¯s hard to tell from here, but I think I got him.¡± Tauro felt the response and reported it to the leader of the ¡°Naniwards¡± who was by his side. ¡°¡­¡­Are you serious¡­ To accurately shoot Ruhi from this distance¡­, you¡¯re amazing!¡± When the leader was praising Tauro, the ¡°Voice of the World¡± echoed in Tauro¡¯s mind. ¡°Confirmed one of the activation conditions for the special skill [&%$#] . You have acquired [God¡¯s Hand]. With the acquisition, the restriction of the ¡®bow¡¯ has been lifted.¡± God¡¯s hand ¡­ Is it the name for master archer? Tauro inwardly jumped at the fact that he had gained an ability after a long time, but now that everyone who had scattered to look for Ruhi had gathered, he put off his rejoicing. Since Ruhi¡¯s attempt to flee the country had taken place in the middle of the night, Tauro and the others had to explain to the guards what had happened, so they had to postpone their return by a day. Their employer, Leada, said it couldn¡¯t be helped, but she seemed happy to have an excuse to still be in the city of O¡¯circus. ¡°So that¡¯s it.¡± Tauro was testifying to the Guard in charge at the station. ¡°Well, it¡¯s okay because it matches the testimonies of the other adventurers, but you¡¯re absurd. Thanks to that, the kidnapping case is over, the children have returned safely and the victim families are happy, so that¡¯s good. ¡° The person in charge was disturbed by Tauro¡¯s activities, but he forced himself to believe that this was how adventurers were. ¡°it seems that one of the remnants has escaped, but I¡¯m sure he¡¯ll be caught soon. Take Ruhi¡¯s bounty to the guild. Thank you then!¡± The guard in charge thanked him and the guards saluted him. Tauro, embarrassed, left the room and joined Aeris and the others who were waiting for him. ¡°The result was good, but there upsides¡­¡± Rumeya quietly let out a whimpering sound. Ruhi was an overwhelmingly powerful person for the ¡°Black Golden Wings¡±. He was probably the equivalent of a B-rank class. It was upon coming here that Shin and Rumeya realized that they had been over confident. But Aeris didn¡¯t think so, did she? ¡°What are you talking about? It¡¯s obvious, You can¡¯t always expect a lower-ranked person to show up. There are a lot of strong enemies out there, so we have to work hard to become stronger. Don¡¯t get smug!¡± She reprimanded Shin and Rumeya. To Tauro, it sounded as if Aeris was talking to herself, but he didn¡¯t point it out and invited everyone to a late lunch. CH 131 The day came for Tauro and his group to leave the city of O¡¯Circus. Leada seemed a little sad to be leaving, but it couldn¡¯t be helped. As a merchant, this town was a treasure trove of information and no matter how long she stayed, she would never be able to stay long enough. Shin and Rumeya had also grown fond of the city, so they vowed to come back again. As everyone got into the carriage, the city of O¡¯circus began to fade away. We could have taken the long way home, but we decided to take the same route as before. Yes, because I had promised to stop by the mountain village. It would take several days to reach the pass. In the meantime, whenever he had a free moment, Tauro was checking out his new ability, ¡°God¡¯s Hand¡± I have a vague feeling about this. This ¡°God¡¯s hand¡± is a correction to the base status. You can see that the power, agility, and maybe even dexterity have been raised. In the case of dexterity, the correction by precision makes it too large to be felt, but in the case of strength and agility, even without the Angus small sword, which has an agility correction to the base status, which was originally just a hair on the scale of an ordinary child, agility has clearly increased and I can move uncomfortably fast. And the ¡°power,¡± which had been ineffective, only felt uncomfortable as the power needed to draw the bow became distinctly lighter. What was even more surprising was that when I used my ¡°true eye¡± to keep an eye on my surroundings, I discovered that the distance I could see had increased. Even with the naked eye, I can now see the range of the bow and arrow. I¡¯ve heard from other adventurers that this is a skill similar to the ¡°hawk¡¯s eye¡± skill (which allows you to see things in the distance as if you were looking through a telescope ), but in my case, I can¡¯t see as far as the ¡°hawk¡¯s eye¡± skill because I can only see within the range of the bow and arrow, but I¡¯m sure my vision is much wider than before. However, if my vision is blocked, I¡¯ll not be able to see beyond it, so too much visibility may not be of much use. Well, it was fun to look at things from a high place. So, it was a fulfilling itinerary for Tauro, who was satisfied with his new discovery until they reached the pass. Seeing Tauro like this, Aeris knew that Tauro was trying something, but at first glance, it looked like he was eagerly practicing his bow and arrow. However, after observing him, she predicted that he must have learned an ability related to the bow, because he had been using Artemis¡¯ bow ability to shoot straight and forcefully, but now he was doing something dexterous by drawing a curve and shooting through a hidden target. And based on this prediction, Aeris said to Tauro ¡°What did you learn with the bow this time?¡± She asked. ¡°¡­Um¡­¡± I had nothing to hide, so I told Aeris that I was able to acquire the ability of ¡°God¡¯s Hands¡±. ¡°That¡¯s amazing! It¡¯s the first time I¡¯ve heard of this ability, but it must be something very special to have multiple abilities and compensations!¡± Aeris was stunned by the cheat-level ability. The reason why Tauro was able to learn this ability was because he had access to the ability of ¡°precision¡± and the ¡°bow of Artemis¡±, and he understood that it was a level that he wouldn¡¯t have been able to obtain if he had done it normally. It was just a coincidence, but thanks to it, I was able to compensate for the ¡°power¡± that had been a problem for me. I had been forcefully fighting because of my inability, but now I could fight somewhat differently. It was also great that ¡°agility¡± has been corrected. Unlike the correction of the small sword, I always get the correction even if I don¡¯t have it equipped, and when the small sword is equipped, I can move even more. However, his stamina was that of a child, so if he got carried away and moved too fast, he would soon run out of gas. ¡°I can move so easily!¡± Kaba de kaba de kaba de kaba de¡­ Tauro was so happy that he tried to play a minor sport from his previous life while moving left and right agilely, but Aeris, who witnessed this asked ¡°are you okay?¡± she was worried. Tauro and his group entered the mountain pass. As they continued to climb, Tauro and the rest of team ¡°Black Golden Wings¡± got out of the carriage and were walking up the slope when they saw a person in the distance. He waved to them, and when they waved back, he jumped several times to show his joy, then ran off somewhere. They were probably from the mountain village, and they seemed to have gone to inform the village. They seemed to have been looking forward to our arrival so much so that they set up a lookout. No, I understand that, but wouldn¡¯t it be faster if you waited for us for a bit and showed us the way? Tauro inwardly grumbled. CH 132 After climbing up the hill, Tauro and his group decided to wait for a while. They thought the inhabitants of the mountain village might come for them. After waiting for about five minutes, Bandi, the leader of the bandits, came rushing out of the narrow mountain road with two young men. ¡°We¡¯ve been waiting for you¡­! Hahahaha¡­. We thought you weren¡¯t coming because you didn¡¯t show up on the scheduled date¡­we almost gave up. Welcome.¡± Bandi looked at Tauro with a relieved expression and welcomed the group. ¡°How long do we have to wait until you take us to your village.¡± When Aeris said that, Bandi and the others hurriedly replied, ¡°This way!¡±And guided them to the mountain village. The village was rich in nature, surrounded by forests, but the fields were small and the houses were poorly built, as if the land had not been well cultivated. However, there seemed to be a surprisingly large number of people living in the village and smoke from cooking rose from various places, indicating that people were living there. On the way to the village chief¡¯s house, Bandi told us about the village. ¡°We basically live on hunting and lumberjack work. We started to expand our fields in the last few years when we started to have difficulty making ends meet. But it¡¯s not going so well. But thanks to the money from Tauro-san, we¡¯ve been able to have a decent meal for the past week, thank you very much.¡± Bandi thanked them on behalf of the villagers. He was very polite, which was a change from his disgusting behavior when he had acted like a bandit. Maybe he was better suited for this kind of thing than rough stuff. But he might have some skills with a sword, since Shin had said he was good with it. ¡°Why aren¡¯t your hunting and lumberjack jobs working out?¡± I asked Bandi, wanting to know why my help was in need. ¡°For one thing, the price of lumber is dropping and for another¡­ well, this is the chief¡¯s house.¡± Bandi announced their arrival at the chief¡¯s house, even though he was in the middle of a conversation. Bandi called into the room and an old man hurriedly came out from inside. ¡°Oh, so you are Tauro-san and his party! Thank you for lending so much money to our village!¡± The old man knelt down and bowed reverently. ¡°Oh, Please stop!¡± Tauro hurriedly looked to Bandi for help. When Bandi saw that Tauro was troubled, he hurriedly walked up to the old man. ¡°Chief! Tauro-san is troubled, please stand up!¡± Bandi lent his hand to the village chief and helped him to stand. ¡°What? I¡¯m sorry, Bandi. I didn¡¯t mean to embarrass Tauro-san¡­¡± ¡°Anyway, why don¡¯t you and your friends go inside, Tauro?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. Please come in, everyone.¡± With the village chief¡¯s words, the group was finally able to catch their breath. When they were invited into the house, the village chief thanked them again and apologized. Tauro was embarrassed by his words, but he asked the same question to the village chief that he had asked to Bandi. The village chief nodded. ¡°In addition to the price of lumber falling, the number of beasts in the forest have decreased so much that we can¡¯t even trap them, let alone hunt them. The last few years have been particularly bad and we¡¯ve tried to expand our fields to overcome this, but it hasn¡¯t worked out. ¡° He replied. ¡°Didn¡¯t you ask the farmers to teach you directly?¡± Tauro asked. ¡°I¡¯ve been told that fields at high altitudes are different and don¡¯t work as well as we¡¯ve been taught.¡± ¡°Then try this in the fields you have.¡± Tauro pulled out the seeds he had purchased in the city of O¡¯circus from the ¡°magic storage¡± and unfolded them out on a table. ¡°What are these?¡± ¡°These are tomate seeds, these are tomorro seeds, and these are calashin seeds. All of them are suitable for growing at high altitudes, so try them out. I¡¯ll explain the details later.¡± ¡°Oh¡­! Such a thing? We were just discussing what to plant. I¡¯ll have the villagers do it right away!¡± Perhaps grasping at straws, the village chief instructed one of the young men Bandi had brought along to carry the seeds without question. ¡°And I saw a lot of jagamo leaves around outside, aren¡¯t they edible?¡± In Tauro¡¯s previous life, it had been called a potato, and here it was called a jagamo, but he wondered why he had seen the leaves by the roadside instead of in the field. ¡°oh¡­ Jagamo? They bloom beautiful flowers at the right time of year, but the berries are poisonous and not edible¡­¡± ¡°Oh, so that¡¯s what it is¡­. The buds and greenish parts of the jagamo are poisonous, but if you cut them out, you can eat it safely. Please teach this to all the villagers. It¡¯s very important. As for how to cook them, there are many ways to eat them, such as boiling, steaming and frying and more importantly, you can eat a lot of them so you can have a full meal.¡± Come to think of it, I¡¯ve never seen jagamos on a table in this world. Tauro had unexpectedly found something that could save the village. CH 133 Tauro got permission from the village chief to take a look around the village. At the back of the village, there was a cave on a slope that had been blocked off and used as a storehouse. The cave is empty now, but the temperature seems to be stable all year round, so it is very useful. ¡°What¡¯s in this jar?¡± Tauro¡¯s eyes fell on a jar in the back of the storage room. ¡°This is vinegar. Next to it is mostly livestock feed.¡± ¡°You¡¯re making vinegar, aren¡¯t you? Oh, and there¡¯s rice! I guess they treat it as livestock feed here, too.¡± Tauro was disappointed that rice was still treated so poorly on this side of the world. ¡°Vinegar can be used to make preserved food, so we make it in the village. We buy a lot of rice cheaply to feed our livestock, so we still have much left over.¡± Bandi flipped open the straw cloth covering the rice. ¡°There¡¯s a way to make this rice taste good, I¡¯ll show you later.¡± ¡°You eat livestock feed?!¡± To be honest, Bandi was puzzled by Tauro¡¯s suggestion of something he had excluded from his diet, including the jagamo. ¡°Yes, well, then, what kind of livestock do you keep?¡± Tauro noticed Bandi¡¯s confusion, but passed it by, thinking that he would have to cook and feed it to him later when they sat to catch up. ¡°Oh, yes. In case you¡¯re wondering, the entire village owns five mountain moo-moo, which are for milking, not for meat. They are mainly used to make cheese, but they are consumed by the village. Also, 20 mountain chicks for eggs, not for meat.¡± The mountain moo-moo is a cow in the previous life, but t¡¯s covered with a thick coat of hair, though its belly has no hair at all, and the thick coat has to be cut off beforehand so that it can be milked. This one looks just like a chicken, but its torsos are the distinctive green color peculiar to the mountain chicken. I wondered if the color was to blend in with nature. ¡°Vinegar, eggs¡­. Do you have vegetable oil?¡± ¡°Yes, we have a little oil, but it¡¯s made in the village.¡± ¡°Okay!¡± What Tauro wanted to do was to create a special product for the village. Tomorros, corn, and calashin would sell well if they could be grown well, but it would be great if they could be made to feel that they had to come from this village. That¡¯s when I came up with the idea of seasoning. Calashin can be used to make mustard, and with eggs, vinegar and oil, we can make mayonnaise, which has been left as a secret ingredient for a long time! The mustard and mayonnaise can be combined to make calashin mayonnaise, which can be used in a variety of dishes. Although he had not been a mayonnaise-lover in his previous life, he was sure that there weren¡¯t many people who didn¡¯t like mayonnaise, so he was confident that it could sell well if it was commercialized. The villagers weren¡¯t quite sure what to make of Tauro¡¯s proposal, but Leada, who was a merchant, had high hopes for the product byTauro¡¯s proposal. ¡®This mountain village is on the way to the city of O¡¯circus, so our merchant association should definitely stop by. If we can buy the goods then and sell them in the town of O¡¯Circus, our profits will increase.¡¯ Tauro rented the kitchen at the village chief¡¯s house and made tempura with steamed , fried potatoes cut into strips and fried in oil, and, for good measure, wild vegetables that Tauro had collected while gathering medicinal herbs. Rice was cooked and made into salted rice balls, and mayonnaise was made and served with steamed jagamaos. It was a simple dish that was easy for the villagers to understand. Tauro recommended that they eat it, but it was common knowledge that jagamaos were poisonous and the villagers had a preconceived notion that tempura was just a weed, so they refused to try it, so Tauro showed them the steamed version with mayonnaise and ate it. ¡°It¡¯s delicious. Try it with this mayonnaise. The fries are also salted, so you can eat them as they are, or you can dip them in mayonnaise. Try the riceballs with tempura of wild vegetables sprinkled with salt as a side dish.¡± The villagers were not quite able to get their heads around it, but Bandi, the leader of the bandits, trusted Tauro and got his hands on it first. ¡°¡­the jagamo is so crispy and the mayonnaise goes well with it and it¡¯s really delicious!¡± He continued to try the fries, tempura and salted rice balls. ¡°Everything is good, guys! I thought this tempura was just weed, but it¡¯s crunchy and has a slightly bitter taste that¡¯s addictive! The rice is also chewy, slightly sweet, and good in the stomach!¡± The villagers believed Bandi¡¯s words and began to eat. After taking a bite, the villagers were amazed at the taste of the food, and they all expressed their positive impressions. CH 134 The simple dish prepared by Tauro will change the poor food situation in the mountain village. Jagamo and rice are staple food. There¡¯s a big difference between having staple food and not having it. If they can get it cheaply, fill their stomachs and enjoy the taste, the burden on the villagers will be lightened in the future. When I asked the villagers if they had any idea about the hunting, which is one of the causes of poverty in the mountain village, they said they had no idea. ¡°Sometimes monsters appear and cause damage to the village, but that hasn¡¯t changed for a long time, I think. But there are fewer beasts, that¡¯s for sure.¡± One of the hunters pondered for a moment, but replied that there had been no change in the mountains. ¡°Have you seen any big birds in the last few years?¡± A boy behind the hunter, not much older than Tauro, tugged at his father¡¯s hem. ¡°Ah? Ah! Is it the ¡°big bird¡± you are talking about? I¡¯ve seen them flying above us from time to time, but they¡¯re harmless, aren¡¯t they?¡± Placing his hand on the child¡¯s head, the hunter continued. ¡°I¡¯d like to kill it, but it¡¯s flying too high for me to aim. Hahaha!¡± The hunter was laughing gaily, but Tauro was a little concerned about the ¡°big bird¡±. As far as I can see with my ¡°true eyes,¡± which are now able to see a little further, there are no monsters around that pose a threat. The only change the villagers noticed was the ¡°big bird¡±, so it¡¯s probably safe to suspect the ¡°big bird¡±. ¡°If you look up at the sky, you¡¯ll see quite a bit.¡± Tauro was lost in thought, so the child guessed what it was and told him. ¡°Thank you.¡± As a test, Tauro walked out of the village chief¡¯s house and looked up outside. He looked up at the sky, which was tinged with red and the sun that was about to set. ¡°It¡¯s already this late¡­. we¡¯re going to have to stay overnight ¡­h?¡± A bird flew in the direction of the mountains, crashing through the sunset sky that he was looking up at. Tauro immediately looked at the bird with his naked eye which was enhanced via his ¡°God¡¯s Hands¡±, but it was too far away to make out anything but a silhouette in the shadow cast by the setting sun. However, the silhouette was as the hunter and his child said, ¡°a big bird¡±. I could see the size of the bird even more clearly when I looked at it with the eyes of the far-sighted ¡°God¡¯s hand¡±. It¡¯s not just a bird. After all, its silhouette had four legs. Tauro was able to predict what it was just by looking at it. The next morning, Tauro decided to ask the hunter to lead him up the mountain, higher up from the village. Aeris also went with him. He asked Shin and Rumeya to repair the houses in the village. Lumber was cheap and plentiful, so it wouldn¡¯t be a problem to use it to repair the tattered houses. ¡°But why do you want to go there? It¡¯s too steep, too high, there are no animals and no one in the village likes to go near it.¡± ¡°That¡¯s where the big bird disappeared yesterday.¡± ¡°Ah! That¡¯s it! Hmm, that bird is nesting in that area? If I had known that, I would have gone hunting too.¡± ¡°Haha¡­ I don¡¯t really recommend that, because I think that ¡®big bird¡¯ is probably a monster griffon.¡± ¡°Eh?!¡± Aeris, who had been following behind silently, was surprised. ¡°? What¡¯s a griffon?¡± The hunter, surprised by Aeris¡¯s reaction, asked Tauro. ¡°The griffon is a territorial monster. They are fierce and brave, and are ranked B or higher in the Adventurer¡¯s Guild. They are so powerful that they can grab a large monster and leap into the sky to knock it down from a height to kill it. There¡¯s a high possibility that the griffons have made this area their territory and the beasts are afraid to approach them.¡± ¡°¡­So that¡¯s why you didn¡¯t bring Shin and Rumeya with you.¡± Aeris seemed to understand Tauro¡¯s actions when she learned that it was a Griffon. There was nothing they could do if the two vanguards were grabbed and kidnapped into the sky. No, if you hadn¡¯t come with me, I wouldn¡¯t have brought you here either¡­! Tauro made a comment in his mind, but didn¡¯t say it outwardly. ¡°Since Griffons mostly fly in the sky, it¡¯s special even in the adventurer guild subjugation quest because it¡¯s tough. Even the team formation is also special, B-rank band adventurers are usually the leading team.¡± ¡°Is that so?!¡± Even hunters in the countryside know from rumors how great B-rank adventurers are. The fact that those level of adventurers are required in the defeat of such a monster meant that it was a very serious monster. The hunter felt uneasy, wondering if this boy and girl would be able to defeat it. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. We have a good chance of winning.¡± Tauro answered confidently. CH 135 As we climbed up the mountain, we came to a place a little farther away from our goal. If we get any closer, we might enter the griffon¡¯s security net. ¡°Please stand back and wait. I don¡¯t want you to get caught in the middle of this.¡± The hunter nodded his head and hurried away. ¡°So, what should I do?¡± Aeris asked, full of motivation. ¡°Well, set up barriers and magic traps around the place.¡± Tauro replied as he checked their surroundings. ¡°Eh? Are you sure this is the right place? If we¡¯re this far away, the griffon won¡¯t notice us, so what¡¯s the point?¡± ¡°It¡¯s okay. We¡¯re just within range at this distance.¡± Tauro answered, checked the trees around him and began to climb. He then took out a rope from the ¡°magic storage¡± and began to tie it to the trees. He was so meticulous in his work that the ropes spread across the sky like a spider¡¯s web. ¡°I see. So you¡¯ve made it difficult for them to approach from above, right?¡± Aeris could see Tauro¡¯s intentions in the spreading scene. ¡°And while I¡¯m at it, Aeris, please put up a magic resistant barrier.¡± Speaking of griffons, they are said to use wind magic, so this is a countermeasure. Aeris understood that too, so she obeyed honestly. ¡°But what¡¯s the point if we can¡¯t really get the griffon over here?¡± As soon as she finished casting the barrier spell, Aeris checked with Tauro. ¡°It¡¯ll be ideal to kill the griffon before it gets here, but it might not be just one griffon, right? Even B-rank adventurers have a hard time with them, so it¡¯s important to be prepared.¡± ¡°Well, yeah. Legend has it that a griffon once drove an attacking dragon away. It¡¯s important to be cautious.¡± What? Is there such a legend? Tauro¡¯s eyes widened silently at the information that Aeris had just given him and he looked towards her. ¡°Griffons are on another level¡­¡± ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s why there aren¡¯t a lot even among the best adventurers who deal with them. I think those who do are either very crazy or in dire straits.¡± ¡°¡­Yeah, should you really be talking about this in front of me when I¡¯m about to deal with a griffon?¡± Tauro retorted at Aeris, who didn¡¯t mean any ostracism. Tauro climbed the tallest tree nearby.He directly sees the griffon¡¯s nest, as he can see anything with his naked eye if it were within the range of his bow due to his ¡°God¡¯s Hand¡± skill. ¡°There are two gryphons¡­? Aeris, we should get started.¡± He let Aeris, who was waiting below, know. ¡°Ready when you are.¡± Tauro nodded and descended from the tree. He drew his Artemis bow, two arrows in hand. Overhead looking up, of course, there were multiple layers of rope. ¡°¡°God¡¯s hand.¡± long range sniping, light arrows and continuous shooting¡­!¡± Tauro muttered, shooting an arrow. Two arrows of light dodged the multiple ropes and flew in different arcs to the griffon¡¯s nest. Tauro drew two more arrows out and released them immediately. The arrows cut through the air and were sucked into the griffons in the nest. Tauro couldn¡¯t see it, but he could hear the high-pitched cries of the griffons. It seemed to have hit the target. There was a response. The silhouettes of the griffons appeared in his ¡°true eye¡±. One of them was approaching them at high speed. Tauro couldn¡¯t see them with his naked eyes because he was in the forest, but he could see their silhouettes using his ¡°true eye¡±, so he fired arrow after arrow into the sky. But¡­ ¡°¡­ it ducked!¡± As Tauro said that, he looked up in the sky and saw a griffon coming at him. But the griffon was bounced back by the barrier and at the same time, it was caught by the trap magic, and suffered a high-pitched squeal in the sky as it was numbed by a lightning strike. Tauro didn¡¯t miss the opportunity and fired an ordinary arrow. He didn¡¯t have enough time to fire a light arrow. With the power correction from the God¡¯s Hand and the increased power from Artemis¡¯ bow, the ordinary arrow was no longer ordinary. The arrow rumbled and pierced the griffon. ¡°Okay, I got him!¡± This was the moment when Tauro was convinced of his victory. The griffon used its last bit of strength to fire a wind magic ¡°vacuum blade¡± at Tauro! ¡°I knew that was coming.¡± The ¡°Vacuum Blade¡± released by Griffon was offset by the magic-resistant barrier that Aeris had previously set up and scattered. I couldn¡¯t confirm it or not, but the griffon died in the sky and fell onto the rope stretched out like a spider¡¯s web and stopped At that moment, the ¡°voice of the world¡± echoed in my brain. ¡°Confirmed one of the conditions for activating the special skill [&% $ #] . The ability [levitating] has been acquired.¡± ¡±¡­This should bring the beasts back to these mountain forests¡­¡± The voice of the world aside, Tauro was relieved and thanked Aeris for placing the barrier. After that, he collected the carcass. CH 136 Tauro retrieved the dead griffon and began to remove the rope from the forest. ¡°You didn¡¯t need the rope, did you?¡± Aeris said to Tauro, teasing him. ¡°Yes, it would have been the end of it if I had killed it with that first strike, but this was a last ditch effort to buy time. Thanks to you, I was able to save the day. The only time this would have worked was when our lives were at stake.¡± As Tauro was answering, the hunter, who had been watching from a distance, came over. ¡°Is everything alright?¡± He looked at me from the shadows of the trees and checked and then looked up in the sky several times to make sure It was okay. ¡°Oh, It¡¯s fine now. If you can, will you help me remove the ropes?¡± ¡°Oh! Okay!¡± The hunter was a seasoned tree climber and he easily climbed up and removed the rope. In the griffon¡¯s nest, there was a dead griffon that had been shot by Tauro¡¯s arrow and the carcass of a half-eaten gray six-legged bear. ¡°Wow. A gray hexapod bear, which even monsters fear is food for a griffon!?¡± The hunter realized once again how fierce and dangerous the griffon was. Tauro collected the griffon into the ¡°magic storage¡± and looked around. I thought there might be eggs in here since the griffons were mated, but it seems they hadn¡¯t laid yet. There was one more thing Tauro was curious about as far as griffon knowledge was concerned. It was that griffons liked shiny things like gold. So he thought that there might be something in the nest. I collected branches from the nest with my ¡°magic storage¡± and found¡­ nothing. ¡°Not satisfying¡­¡± Tauro was disappointed, but Aeris didn¡¯t seem to be expecting anything. ¡°That information is probably not true. If it were true, how could any adventurer not want to take on a griffon? Maybe it¡¯s just something the guild put out there to get people to do the quest.¡± And with that, she slapped away Tauro¡¯s faint hopes. It¡¯s true¡­ I found out about it from the guild¡¯s archives. I¡¯ll have to remember the author next time¡­ Tauro had learned another lesson about reality. By the time Tauro and his friends returned to the mountain village, it was almost evening. Shin and Rumeya were still wielding their hammers and repairing the houses. The sound of their work echoed throughout the village. ¡°Oh? Tauro, Aeris, you¡¯re back! So, where have you been?¡± Shin asked from the roof, looking down at Tauro and the others. ¡°I caught something, I¡¯ll cook it.¡± Tauro replied to Shin. ¡°Seriously? Then I¡¯m counting on you!¡± Rumeya came out from behind the house across the street, responding to Tauro¡¯s words. Tauro immediately took the griffon out of the ¡°magic storage¡± in the village chief¡¯s yard to prepare it, the villagers groaned, but regardless, he drained the blood, picked back the wings and began to handle it. It took several people to do this, it would have taken a long time for one person. The hunters joined him, so it took surprisingly little time. The upper half of the meat was cut into small pieces, seasoned with salt and pepper and beaten egg, then covered with rice flour and fried in oil. Finally the fried griffon was ready. The bottom half of the meat is sliced thinly, seasoned with salt and pepper, cooked in a frying pan, and placed on top of cooked rice with the gravy to make a griffon meat bowl. The reason for such different meat dishes is that the upper and lower halves of the griffon are made of separate eagles and lions. Tauro wanted to make more dishes, but it would take too much time to cook for all the villagers, so he decided to compromise with these two dishes. Seeing Tauro¡¯s skill, the housewives of the village immediately copied him and got to work. The children were hungry, drooling at the smell and sound of the cooking, while the men brought out the liquor they had left in the cellar and drank it, eagerly awaiting the completion of the cooking. By the time there was enough food for everyone, the sun had set and the garden of the village chief¡¯s house was illuminated by Tauro¡¯s spirit of light magic. Tauro led the way on behalf of everyone who wanted to eat and taught everyone the ¡°Itadakimasu¡±(Let¡¯s eat), a culture not found in this world and asked everyone to chant it with their hands together. The food was a big hit. The meat was the best part of the meal, but the fried meat was a shock to the villagers who had just learned to eat fried food with French fries. The dinner party in the garden of the village chief¡¯s house continued until midnight amidst great acclaim. CH 137 The day after the dinner party. Leada was very happy. Last night, she had signed an exclusive contract with the village Chief. With this, Leada had secured a production base for mayonnaise. It was also promised that the Marches Trading Company would take care of future shipments of Tomatoes and Tomorro. Tauro said that the mustard seasoning was just as delicious as mayonnaise, so they can expect more of it in the future. As for the jagamos, the mountain village and the Marches Trading Company are planning to discuss the possibility of setting up a stall in the city of O¡¯circus, specializing in products from the mountain village. Fried and steamed jagamos with lots of mayonnaise are easy to prepare and sell well if you have the space. Tauro also said that the impact of the jagamos was not strong enough, so he¡¯ll tell them about a good dish when it becomes possible to produce explosive tomorros. The explosive tomorros are one of the varieties of tomorros that look dangerous, but when cooked, they are good for attracting customers, and the product is called ¡°popcorn¡±. Anyway, it seems to be profitable for the Marches Trading Company and she wants to report it to the Marches representative as soon as possible, but she has to stay in the mountain village until noon. This is because Tauro will be teaching the villagers how to cultivate in the morning. Now that he has made the contract, he can relax until noon. Tauro was carefully instructing the villagers on how to grow the essential jagamo. Jagamo is relatively easy to grow and cultivate, even in small spaces, but it¡¯s not a vegetable that can be continuously cultivated. He advised that once you plant potatoes(Jagamos), you should not grow them in the same place for at least three years, so it is better to prepare four different places and grow them alternately. The jagamos can be harvested twice a year, require little water and will grow on their own as long as they are fertilized and thinned out. Even a novice grower in a mountain village should be able to grow it easily. Tomate grows best in a sunny place, so Tauro recommended growing it on a slope. It¡¯s also good that it¡¯s at a high altitude so it¡¯s far away from its natural enemy, humidity. Once it is grown, he recommended making Tomate sauce. Tomorros, like tomatoes, need to be grown in sunny places and since they are a crop that absorbs a lot of fertilizer, they can absorb excess fertilizer from the field and clean up the soil. It can be grown in the same field as long as you take care to thin out and add fertilizer. The villagers immediately began to sow the seeds. Tauro was relieved to see the villagers working with more vigor than on the day of his visit. It was agreed that the money Tauro had lent would be repaid gradually after the harvest through the Marches Trading Company. The mayonnaise could be produced quickly and would be profitable soon, but it wouldn¡¯t be a valuable source of income until the harvest and they would have to spend a lot of money to raise and increase the number of mountain chickens, so he decided to wait. In fact, Tauro thought it would be better to increase the number of mountain chickens and mass produce cheese and butter, so he decided to invest even more. He took out a leather bag filled with money from his ¡°magic storage¡± and handed it to the village chief. ¡°Is this really okay?!¡± The village chief was surprised at the weight of the bag. ¡°It¡¯s an investment, so please use it in a meaningful way along with the money I gave you earlier, while consulting with the Marches Trading Company. Please do your best to rebuild the mountain village.¡± Aeris was watching Tauro from the side and wondered where his money was coming from. The money came in in spurts, probably from the sale of ¡°Refrigerator¡± and other items. There seemed to be some other income as well and she¡¯d seen him withdrawing money from the adventurer¡¯s guild, too. The only business she could think of for the guild is making miso at the ¡°Resting Pavilion¡±, but she was sure the revenue from that is minimal. He might have been doing some kind of business in the town where he used to be, but she hadn¡¯t heard that much about it. ¡°Who are you?¡± That¡¯s what she asked when Tauro asked her if she wanted to get ready to leave. ¡°Eh? When you asked me before, I told you. My mother died when I was little and I ran away from my violent father to the city and became an adventurer at the age of eight.¡± ¡°I remember that, but¡­¡± Tauro did not tell Aeris that he was the creator of Reversi. If he did, it would complicate things. It would cause trouble for Mauve, the adventurer who lent me his name and it would also involve Leo, the head of the Adventurer¡¯s Guild Saisi Branch, who had mediated between us. In order to convince Aeris, who seemed unconvinced, he told her a fact. ¡°Between you and me¡­ there¡¯s a store in my old town that I own.¡± It was information that Tauro hadn¡¯t told her yet. ¡°What? What do you mean?¡± When he told her that he was running a restaurant specializing in curry under the management of a guild in the city of Saisi, Aeris was surprised but believed him. CH 138 Tauro and his group left the mountain village at noon to head home. As we were leaving, I was impressed by the way the villagers looked at us with words of gratitude.¡¡Some of them were a little teary-eyed, which drove Rumeya to tears, but I decided to pretend not to notice. Perhaps it was the time spent helping with the carpentry work and interacting with the villagers that brought about the friendship. Over the next few days, they were on their way home, camping out again, but on the way, Tauro would try out his newly learned ability ¡°levitation¡± at night. I was really excited inside that I might finally be able to fly, one of the best parts of fantasy. I couldn¡¯t resist trying it out. ¡°Okay, everyone is asleep, right? ¡­¡¯Levitate¡¯!¡± Tauro¡¯s body floated lightly as he chanted. ¡°Oh! Interesting! ¡­But is this the limit?¡± Tauro¡¯s body floated up, but as he had commented, after about 50 centimeters, there was no sign of floating any further, as if it was the limit. ¡°¡­Hmmm.. It¡¯s definitely levitation, but¡­ it¡¯s not what I imagined!¡± Tauro hung his head in disappointment as he floated in the air, but continued with his experiment. ¡°Stay afloat and approach the tree¡­¡± Tauro grabbed the tree, confirming that he could proceed by walking in the air. He then began to climb the tree effortlessly using only the power of his hands. ¡°Oh! This ¡®levitation¡¯ means that I¡¯m floating because I¡¯m lightening my weight, not because of some height limitation!¡± He climbed to the top of the tree, then let go. He slowly descended. ¡°¡­Huh? Could this be¡­?¡± Tauro kicked the tree to get some distance and suddenly fell. ¡°Whoa!¡± Tauro¡¯s body came to a stop just short of the ground, and he bounced back up to about 50 centimeters. He felt as if his momentum had been absorbed by an invisible cushion. ¡°That was scary¡­.This means that the ¡®levitation¡¯ effect is probably spherical, centered around me and if I¡¯m on the side of the tree, I¡¯ll slowly descend while acting on the tree, but if I¡¯m out of range, I¡¯ll fall head long into the area of effect.¡± While chilling, Tauro understood the characteristics of ¡°Levitation¡±. ¡°Anyway, it seems that the fall damage can be offset, so depending on how I use it, this could be useful. And it seems to consume very little magic power.¡± He confirmed this by jumping and running while floating. ¡°I¡¯ll have to see how it works on water.¡± Wanting to be sure, Tauro checked the surrounding terrain with his ¡°true eye¡±. There is a river in the forest. ¡°Okay, let¡¯s try that river over there!¡± Tauro ran into the depths of the forest, still floating. But that was a bad idea. He crossed the boundary of the barrier Aeris had set up. Aeris jumped up and called out a warning to Leada, who was sleeping in the tent with her. Shin, Rumeya, and the coachman also got up in a hurry. Tauro, who was on his way to the river, could hear the commotion faintly. ¡°Oh, I forgot about the barrier¡­¡± He was so absorbed in his work that he realized his mistake and hurriedly turned back. When he returned to the encampment, he found Aeris and the others with their weapons at the ready and told them that it was he who had broken the barrier. ¡°I¡¯m also at fault for not recognizing Tauro because it was a simple barrier I had put up, but what are you doing in the middle of the night!¡± ¡°¡­I¡¯m sorry.¡± ¡°¡­Hmmm. I¡¯m sorry for making a scene, guys. I¡¯ll talk to Tauro, so everyone get some rest.¡± Aeris urged Leada and the others to go to bed then turned to Tauro, who was sitting upright. ¡°Since it¡¯s you, you were probably just learning and testing your abilities again anyway, right?¡± ¡­I¡¯m being read. Tauro broke out in a cold sweat at Aeris¡¯s good intuition. ¡°I learned about ¡®levitation¡¯ magic and wanted to try it out¡­¡± ¡°It¡¯s a very rare ability that a ¡®sage¡¯ or a ¡®pope¡¯ or a ¡®hero¡¯ skill level learns!¡± Aeris said in surprise at the unexpected ability, in a whisper but with a strong tone. ¡°Really? But it isn¡¯t that great of an ability, is it?¡± Tauro reported the results of his experiment to Aeris. ¡°You know how those things get more versatile as you get more proficient, which means the more skill you have, the more versatile it becomes. Maybe it might even grow into ¡®flight¡¯ on top of that?¡± Aeris replied with dismay. ¡°Is that so? But the conditions for learning my abilities are too specific and often restrictive¡­¡± Since Tauro didn¡¯t understand his own skills, he couldn¡¯t help but wonder if he would be able to learn them in a sensible way, like Aeris had said. CH 139 Tauro and his group returned to the village of Dansas around noon after an absence of about three weeks. When they arrived in front of the Merchants¡¯ Association, Tauro, who had taken care of the goods Leada had purchased in the city of O¡¯Circus, took them out of the ¡°magic storage¡± and piled them up inside the Association. When Leeda reported to Marches about the exclusive contract with the mountain village, Tauro¡¯s camping supplies and the successful transaction with the Kishiwanda Trading Company, he immediately thanked Tauro for waiting for him and offered to sign the contract for Tauro¡¯s idea. ¡°Oh, after I report to the guild, I¡¯ll go to the commercial guild to complete the procedures, so please we¡¯ll discuss the contract and other matters afterwards¡­!¡± As if to escape from the pressure of Marches, Tauro replied and headed for the guild with Aeris and the others. ¡°I missed the guild of Dansas.¡± ¡°Yeah, this place hasn¡¯t changed a bit, either.¡± Shin and Rumeya walked into the guild, giving off the vibe of a place they hadn¡¯t visited in years. Then Aeris and Tauro followed in. ¡°How can things change in three weeks?¡± Aeris made the obvious comment. ¡°Oh? If it isn¡¯t ¡°Black Golden Wings¡±. I thought I hadn¡¯t seen you around lately, but you¡¯re still alive.¡± ¡°It¡¯s true. Have you been on a long term quest?¡± ¡°I thought you¡¯d moved elsewhere.¡± As the four of us entered the guild, the other adventurers approached us. ¡°We¡¯ve been on a long quest.¡± Tauro answered the voices and headed straight for the reception desk. ¡°Welcome back, Team ¡°Black Golden Wings¡±. I see you¡¯ve finished.¡± The receptionist, Kannes, greeted Tauro and his team and began the procedure. Chloe came out of the branch manager¡¯s office. Perhaps she heard the voices in the lobby. ¡°Tauro-kun, you guys have returned safely. I thought something had happened to you since you were running behind schedule.¡± Chloe was relieved to see the four of them safe and sound. The four of them were locally formed adventurers who would be the future of the Dansas branch. The client was also a merchant association that contributes to the village, and the guild would¡¯ve lost a lot of money if something happened to them, so she was really worried. ¡°I¡¯m sorry for the trouble. There were a few unexpected things that happened along the way, so we went over our schedule, but we got the client¡¯s permission, so there¡¯s no problem.¡± Tauro reported directly to Chloe and the receptionist, Cannes, said ¡°This is going to be a long report¡­ can you help me, representative?¡± She chuckled and prepared several report forms. ¡°Ah¡­Aeris. I¡¯d like to go to the Commercial Guild as well, can you help with the report?¡± Tauro asked Aeris, since he had to submit documents to the Commercial Guild as well. Normally, the report is just a confirmation of what is automatically recorded on the tag worn by the adventurer, a verbal explanation and a simple check of the quest completion items by the receptionist, but if something unexpected happens, the receptionist has to ask from scratch and fill out the form. It would be great to have someone who could write help. But Shin and Rumeya couldn¡¯t read or write very well. Tauro thought that it might be a good idea to teach them how to read and write for the future. ¡°¡­I understand. You have a lot of procedures to take care of over there. I¡¯ll take care of this one.¡± Aeris nodded and accepted. Shin and Rumeya looked at each other strangely and said. ¡°Then, Aeris, we¡¯ll leave the rest to you!¡± Then they tried to go to the ¡°Resting Pavilion¡± across the street to have a meal, much to Aeris¡¯s displeasure. When Tauro went to the Commercial Guild, he had a hard time with the procedures. There were many things to register: a magic lantern, a cloth that wouldn¡¯t get wet, a tent made of it, rain gear, mayonnaise, mustard, French fries and popcorn. The guild was thrilled and since it was a small branch, the branch manager and all the office staff had to be mobilized to complete the registration process. ¡°I don¡¯t know about food, as I¡¯m not an expert, but the idea of a water-repellent cloth a this lantern is nothing short of genius!¡± The branch manager moved his hand in praise of Giro Sugar, the name of this registrant. Tauro was inwardly quite happy with the praise, since he had confidence in both the lantern and the cloth that would not get wet. But still, it was the mayonnaise that he imagined would be a hit with both the common people and the nobility. This, along with mustard, should be a hit. This village is becoming especially famous for its fried food from the Dwarf¡¯s Inn, so we ate the fried food with mayonnaise and mustard, along with some chilled drinks from the refrigerator. This would be a devilishly delicious dish for fried food lovers. Tauro was underage and could not drink alcohol, but he was looking forward to the future when it would be mass-produced in the mountain village. CH 140 The night of our return home. Aeris helped with the guild¡¯s report and I went through the registration process at the commercial guild. Both of us were tired and came home and of course we planned to relax, but Marches was waiting in the living room of the house. ¡°¡­Well. Marches-san, we¡¯ve had a long trip and to be honest, I¡¯m tired, so can we do this tomorrow?¡± Tauro wanted him to give him a break today, so he told Marches without hiding it. ¡°Well, I¡¯ve been waiting for you since you said we¡¯ll talk later.¡± That¡¯s right¡­. ¡°Huh¡­ Well, I was the one who said that, so let¡¯s talk about it. But I won¡¯t talk about the specifics today, because if I do, I won¡¯t be able to sleep.¡± Tauro made sure, but when Marches asked for an explanation of the magic lantern and the cloth that doesn¡¯t get wet, he answered him, and before he knew it, it was midnight. Aeris had fallen asleep early on the way, tired. The next morning. Tauro was asleep and hadn¡¯t woken up. Aeris knew that, so she left him alone without waking him up. Then Shin and Rumeya came to check up on them, but found out that Tauro was still sleeping. ¡°How about the three of us go on a herb gathering quest today?¡± Shin suggested to them. ¡°Well, if there are any other simple quests we can do while we¡¯re at it.¡± Aeris replied, making them wait a little while she got ready and the three of them decided to go to the guild without Tauro. When the three of them arrived in front of the guild, they saw a noble-looking man and his men, three soldiers in sheet metal armor, standing in front of the guild. ¡°What is that?¡± Rumeya shouted, noticing these people who didn¡¯t look like they belonged in the village of Dansas. ¡°They look like noblemen, but what are they doing in the countryside?¡± Shin also noticed and craned his neck. ¡°It¡¯s true. Their bad taste in clothing looks like¡­¡± Aeris was about to compare it to something, but stopped mid-sentence. Shin and Rumeya turned around in response to Aeris¡¯s words and saw Aeris¡¯s pale face. ¡°What¡¯s wrong with you Aeris, you don¡¯t look so good¡­?¡± Rumeya looked into Aeris¡¯s face. Shin thought that the aristocratic-looking man in Aeris¡¯s line of sight had something to do with it, so he quickly put his body between her and the man, blocking his view. ¡°Is that guy the cause, Aeris?¡± Shin guessed and had Rumeya move his body so Aeris couldn¡¯t be seen from that side. ¡°¡­That is my mother¡¯s lover and with him is my intended fianc¨¦, Uwakin who is the second son of a fallen viscount.¡± ¡°What is that¡­? There¡¯s just too much information¡­!¡± Rumeya was taken aback by Aeris¡¯s complicated misfortune setting. ¡°Then again¡­I can see why Aeris is so pale. I wouldn¡¯t want to meet that scum.¡± ¡°Okay, let¡¯s get out of here.¡± Rumeya tried to turn back the way they had come while hiding Aeris. ¡°Hey, you two wait there, and whoever¡¯s hiding in the shadows, come out where I can see you.¡± Uwakin noticed the back of Shin and Rumeya, and Aeris, who was slightly in the shadows, and stopped them. But the three of them pretended not to notice his words, ignored him, and turned to leave. ¡°Oh, hey! It¡¯s disrespectful to ignore the people of the Marquis of Van Dyne (to be)! Hey, you guys, stop those people!¡± Uwakin ordered the three soldiers he had with him. The soldiers did as they were told and ran towards them, grabbing Rumeya and Shin by the shoulders and trying to turn them around. Shin and Rumeya turned around to meet the force of the tug, and repelled the hand. ¡°What the¡­ you guys are trying to resist!¡± The soldiers held their spears in their hands. ¡°Oh, they¡¯ve got their weapons up!¡± ¡°What are you talking about when you carelessly grab a man by the shoulders?¡± Rumeya and Shin continued to stand between Aeris and Uwakin¡¯s view. Then Chloe came out of the guild to the commotion out front. ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± She spoke unusually loudly and intervened. Uwakin and the soldiers looked at Chloe at the sound of her voice. ¡°What is it, girl? I am (or will be) the Marquis of Van Dyne, remember?¡± Uwakin wielded authority as he looked Chloe all over with an arrogant gaze from her feet. ¡°I¡¯m the head of the Adventurer¡¯s Guild Dansas branch. Even if you are a nobleman, should you be allowed to interfere with the Adventurer¡¯s Guild under the oath between the country and the guild? What kind of business is it of yours to point a weapon at our adventurers?¡± Chloe was inwardly intimidated by the title of marquis, but on the surface she showed her authority as the branch chief. In the corner of her eye, she saw Aeris and the others fleeing into the shadows of the building and she felt relieved inside that she had done her job. CH 141 Even though Chloe was trying to protect her own adventurers, she bit a nobleman, someone who seemed to be related to the Marquis. Inwardly, she thought, ¡°I¡¯ve done it¡­ I might be finished¡­¡± But thanks to her personality, she was usually calm and collected, so she didn¡¯t show it on her face. ¡°¡­Gu! Soldiers! Forgive me for that. I don¡¯t want to fight either.¡± He started the conversation himself, but then became reluctant, making it seem as if the soldiers had done it on their own. Chloe¡¯s response was, ¡°Oh, so now you¡¯re scared of me? You¡¯re not a big person, are you? I¡¯m not going to make a big deal out of it,¡± she thought, then decided to take it in the direction most well fitting. ¡°We don¡¯t want to get into an unnecessary fight either. The guild is responsible for the security of this village. Please be careful in the future.¡± Chloe then walked back into the guild building, feeling nervous inside. ¡°¡­.Where did they go?¡± After watching Chloe return to the guild, Uwakin looked at the soldiers again and finally realized that the troublemakers had disappeared. ¡ª-A back alley lined with houses in the village. ¡°Thanks to Chloe, we¡¯re saved.¡± ¡°Really. Aeris, are you okay?¡± Shin and Rumeya took a deep breath and called out to Aeris, who nodded silently. ¡°Let¡¯s go home for the time being. I think we should talk to Tauro about this.¡± Shin suggested and Aeris finally replied, ¡°Right.¡± When they got back to the house, Tauro woke up just in time to see the three of them through the window and greeted them with a sleepy-eyed ¡°Good morning¡­¡±. But when he noticed the mood of the three, he asked, ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± When they entered the house, they explained to Tauro what had happened in front of the guild. ¡°I see¡­ He doesn¡¯t seem to be the kind of person who comes here by chance. But then again, even if he is Aeris¡¯s fianc¨¦, if he is the second son of a fallen nobleman, he shouldn¡¯t have a title to claim, should he? And he shouldn¡¯t even be eligible to take the Aeris family name¡­this is a problem.¡± Tauro showed a shady smile on his face. ¡°Tauro, your smile scares me¡­!¡± Shin and Rumeya reeled at his smile. ¡°What do you want to do, Aeris?¡± Tauro tries to confirm Aeris¡¯s intentions. This is the most important thing. ¡°¡­.I want my house back, but¡­. I¡¯ve already cut ties with my mother. And there¡¯s no way I¡¯m marrying that man.¡± ¡°¡­ Okay, ¡­ Yeah. Tauro, it works.¡± Tauro uttered the words that someone had said to him in a previous life, and began to ask Aeris questions about this and that. Some of them made Aeris ask, ¡°What?¡± but she answered them. When the questions were over, Tauro groaned as he tried to collect his thoughts, but after nodding to himself, he went back to his room and started writing a few letters. In the meantime, the three of them were unsure of what to do and the time passed unattended. When Tauro finished writing the letters, he called Aeris and asked her to write a letter as well. Aeris spelled out what Tauro was asking for. ¡°¡­My father¡¯s brother, my uncle, is a son-in-law of an earl lower than the Marquis of Van Dyne, so it wouldn¡¯t be difficult to ask for his help, right?¡± The content of the letter was to ask for help from her uncle, but as Aeris said, he wouldn¡¯t normally move against the Marquis family, which he considered the main family and she couldn¡¯t help but worry about whether he¡¯ll help. ¡°Even if he can¡¯t do anything, it¡¯s enough if he¡¯s on your side emotionally.¡± Aeris was confused by Tauro¡¯s answer, but she knew that he was thinking of something and she could trust him. ¡°What do you want us to do? We¡¯ll do whatever it takes! We¡¯re part of Team ¡°Black Golden Wings¡± too!¡± ¡°Yes, we are. It¡¯s times like this when we can do things as friends.¡± Rumeya and Shin were both snorting with enthusiasm. ¡°Thank you, both of you. I¡¯m glad I¡¯m friends with you all.¡± Aeris was so moved by them that she began to cry. ¡°Well, then, let¡¯s disband the ¡°Black Golden Wings¡±.¡± ¡°Ok! I¡¯ll leave it to you!¡± ¡°Yeah, disband it, got it!¡± ¡°Disbanding would be so easy!¡± ¡­ ¡­ ¡­ ¡°¡±Eh?!¡±¡± The three of them were upset by Tauro¡¯s insane words. ¡°What? What do you mean, Tauro? ¡°Why, Tauro?¡± ¡°Tell me you¡¯re lying, Tauro!¡± The room was in an uproar. ¡°Oh, that came out wrong, Please wait a moment. I mean Aeris and I are going to the Royal Capital.¡± ¡°¡±Eh!?¡±¡± The three of them were again surprised by Tauro¡¯s response. CH 142 They were surprised by Tauro¡¯s reply and thought about it for a moment. ¡°¡±Why the royal capital?¡±¡± They asked. ¡°And why disband the ¡°Black Golden Wings¡±?¡± Aeris asked Tauro on their behalf. ¡°The reason for the suspension is simple: if Shin and Rumeya go to the capital with us, they¡¯ll have no income. On the contrary, I honestly can¡¯t predict how much you¡¯ll have to spend if you go to the Royal Capital, so you two should continue your adventuring business here and earn your living expenses.¡± ¡°Aren¡¯t the conditions the same for the two of you?¡± Rumeya said disapprovingly. ¡°I¡¯ve got my own network of contacts in the Royal Capital, so if we want to take advantage of that, I have to be there, right? Aeris is the person in question, so of course it¡¯s only natural she¡¯ll be there. If it were okay, I would ask the two of you to act as her bodyguards, but as I said before, I don¡¯t know how much expenses will mount up, so I can¡¯t guarantee anything and the two of you will have to work as usual to make ends meet, right?¡± Tauro pointed out the ostensible reason. They couldn¡¯t say anything. As Tauro had pointed out, even though they had savings, they didn¡¯t have that much money. If they were to have no income, the travel expenses alone would exhaust their savings. That would be a drag on the two of them. The reason behind it was that he judged that it would be dangerous to involve the two of them in noblemen problem. But Tauro didn¡¯t tell them that, because he didn¡¯t think that would satisfy them. ¡°But why the royal capital and not the Marquis of Van Dyne?¡± Aeris now asked. ¡°That¡¯s easy, there¡¯s no need to go all the way to the territory of someone who can exercise the maximum amount of power.¡± In their own territory, the lord is the most powerful. If they went into a place like that, Aeris will definitely be taken back and locked up without question and they¡¯ll be the only judge. Tauro was most keenly aware of the fear of one-sided power of that kind of authority. It would¡¯ve been foolish to get into the ring of the opponent and fight against them. ¡°But even if you go to the capital, there aren¡¯t many nobles who can intervene in the family feud of the Marquis of Van Dyne. On the contrary, I don¡¯t think there are any nobles who would deal with us.¡± Aeris was beginning to feel as she said it that she had involved Tauro in a hopeless battle. ¡°We won¡¯t know until you try. I don¡¯t know how much help I can be, but I¡¯ve decided to do what I can.¡± Tauro said and put his hand on Aeris¡¯s shoulder. ¡°¡­Thank you, Tauro¡­.Shin and Rumeya, please take care of things. In the meantime, the two of you are the ¡°Black Golden Wings¡±, so make sure you do your best!¡± Aeris was encouraged by Tauro, and blasted Shin and Rumeya strongly. ¡°Hey! We¡¯ll protect the Black Golden Wings, so don¡¯t worry!¡± ¡°If things get bad, just run away, okay?¡± Rumeya and Shin agreed to stay behind. Tauro asked Shin to prepare a carriage and to give the letters to the courier, along with a special fee. Couriers usually don¡¯t move until they have collected a certain number of packages and can make a profit. Tauro was very generous in this area. As Tauro and Aeris were preparing to leave for the Royal Capital, there was a buzz at the front of the house. ¡°We know from our research that Aeris-san is here. Let her out quietly!¡± ¡°Oh? This isn¡¯t my house, so there¡¯s no way I can get her out even if you told me!¡± ¡°Then don¡¯t move!¡± ¡°I don¡¯t need you to tell me what to do!¡± I could hear Uwakin and Rumeya struggling in the room. ¡°I¡¯m the Marquis of Van Dyne(to be)! You guys, I want you to get rid of this rude person!¡± ¡°Who is the Marquis of Van Dyne? Rumor has it that you are the second son of a fallen viscount. In other words, you must be someone without a title. If that¡¯s the case and you¡¯ve tricked the Marquis of Van Dyne, I can¡¯t overlook this. A person who deceives a nobleman is guilty of death in this country. You know that very well, don¡¯t you?!¡± As Tauro walked out of the house, he grabbed the tail end of Uwakin¡¯s gaffe and reprimanded him. At the same time, he activates his ability ¡°Prestige¡±. Uwakin was overwhelmed by Tauro¡¯s power, who was still a child. He slumped and sat down, incontinent. ¡°Well, that¡¯s¡­ I didn¡¯t mean to deceive you with a figure of speech¡­! Oi, you guys, give me a hand, we¡¯re leaving!¡± The soldiers took Uwakin by the shoulders and carried him away like a trapped alien. Rumeya was watching. ¡°That bastard cowered when he saw Tauro¡¯s power!¡± He laughed with excitement. ¡°All right, we¡¯ll leave the village in the carriage that Shin is preparing. Rumeya, take care of the rest.¡± After asking Rumeya to take care of everything and the ¡°Black Golden Wings¡±, Tauro called out to Aeris in the room. ¡°Alright. I guess this is goodbye for a while.¡± With Rumeya waving at them, Tauro and Aeris ran off. CH 143 Tauro and Aeris met up with Shin outside the village and boarded the carriage that had been prepared for them. ¡°Take it easy, you two! And, good luck!¡± Shin called out to the carriage as it pulled away and waved. Tauro and Aeris waved back at Shin. Shin and the village of Dansas behind them faded into the distance. As Tauro gazed at the scene, he knew that it was going to be another long journey beyond the city of O¡¯circus. Tauro really wanted to go straight to the royal capital, but for safety¡¯s sake, they rode to the capital via the city of Daredar. Because it was conspicuous that Him and Aeris, two children, even if they were adventurers, were traveling in a rented carriage. We decided that if we strayed from the city streets, we would be in danger of being targeted. Besides, there was no need to be in such a hurry. Uwakin¡¯s movements were worrisome, but I had already intimidated him to the point of incontinence once. It was unlikely that he would come after us. It was the evening of the fifth day of our journey to the Royal Capital. We decided to spend the night in a small town slightly off the road, but an unexpected pursuer appeared at the entrance to the town. It turned out to be Uwakin and three of his soldiers. They seemed to have been following us auspiciously. Just as Tauro and the Coachman were getting out of the carriage and going to the entrance to ask the gatekeeper for permission to enter the city. ¡°Hey, I found you, Aeris! It is unladylike for a woman to travel alone with a man, even if it is a child while we are engaged to be married! But I¡¯m a forgiving man and I¡¯ll overlook this runaway and tolerate this behavior. Now, come with me back to Van Dyne territory!¡± With that, Uwarkin ordered his soldiers to capture Aeris. ¡°I will not let you do so.¡± Tauro stood in front of the soldier and the self-proclaimed fianc¨¦, who was not wanted. Then he chanted something and one of the soldiers who had gone towards them turned to his companion. ¡°Haaa!¡± The soldier shouted and punched his fellow soldier. ¡°Gya!¡± The soldier was blown away by his comrade¡¯s surprise fist that went squarely into his face. When he hit the wall of the city gate, he fainted and collapsed on the spot. This startled Uwakin and the rest of the soldiers. ¡°He¡¯s betraying us!¡± They hurriedly accused their fellow soldier and started to hold him down. The gatekeeper of the city gate, who had been watching this exchange, saw that it couldn¡¯t be overlooked and called the other guards together to capture him. Uwakin shouted that he was a nobleman, a member of the Marquis of Van Dyne party! He shouted, this time threatening the guards who were now trying to seize him. ¡°Guards. That man is the second son of a fallen viscount, not a member of the Marquis of Van Dyne family. He¡¯s a criminal, so to speak, deceiving the nobility. You¡¯d better capture him and confirm his authenticity.¡± Tauro warned the guards. ¡°You¡¯ve got a lot of nonsense to say!¡± Uwakin retorted, his face turning red as he grabbed at Tauro. Tauro slid away from the outstretched hand and swatted away Uwakin¡¯s leg, flipping him over. The guards seized him as he fell. ¡°Let me go! I¡¯m the (future) Marquis of Van Dyne!¡± Tauro and Aeris climbed into the carriage with Uwakin¡¯s cries behind them and headed for the town¡¯s inn. ¡°Is it okay for us to stay here and relax?¡± Aeris expressed her concern to Tauro in the inn¡¯s dining room. ¡°Once captured by the guards, it will take time to contact the lords above or even above them for confirmation, so I think they will remain detained even after we leave the inn tomorrow. It¡¯s true that he did impersonate the Marquis of Van Dyne in front of the guards.¡± ¡°Is that so? That¡¯s a relief, isn¡¯t it? When Aeris confirmed this from Tauro, she finally felt relieved and drank a glass of water to catch her breath After that, the rest of the way to the royal capital was smooth, with no Uwakin in pursuit. ¡°What are you going to do when we reach the capital, Tauro?¡± Aeris, who hadn¡¯t been as nervous as she had been when Uwakin had followed their trail, seemed to be getting nervous again as they approached the capital. ¡°In case you¡¯re wondering, I¡¯ve sent out a letter ahead of time, so you¡¯ll have to follow my lead and meet a lot of people for the time being. From what I¡¯ve heard from you, the Marquis of Van Dyne is powerful and well respected, so I¡¯m sure there are only a few people who will try to interfere in this family feud.¡± ¡°The Van Dyne¡¯s aren¡¯t part of any faction, but that¡¯s why they¡¯re so well respected. My father was a well-liked man. I don¡¯t know what¡¯s going on with my mother now that she¡¯s doing whatever she wants.¡± The gates of the royal capital were approaching in front of them. They had arrived at the capital after more than ten days of travel. CH 144 For both Tauro and Aeris, it was the first time in a long time that they had been in the royal capital. ¡°Well, thank you for coming this far.¡± Tauro thanked the carriage Coachman who had taken care of them for about ten days as he paid him the rest of his fee in color. ¡°Take care of yourselves, you two. Oh! Pleasure doing business! I¡¯ll stay here and look for a passenger for the return trip¡­¡­ I¡¯m looking for a passenger to take back to the village of Dansas via the Daredar territory. Departure is tomorrow morning! Who wants to go in the same direction?¡± With a smile on his face, the man put his reward in his pocket, wrote the destination on a wooden board and began to call out to the crowd gathered at the transfer station, holding it up for all to see. ¡°What do we do now?¡± Aeris asked Tauro. ¡°We¡¯ll go to the Garfish Trading Company, which is supposed to mediate between us and the nobles.¡± ¡°Tauro, we¡¯re in the royal capital. The Garfish Trading Company is a big company that even the local branches are not sure if they can deal with, and going directly to them and asking them to introduce us to the nobility is just too reckless!¡± The Garfish Trading Company¡¯s guest room. ¡°Tauro-dono! It¡¯s been a long time!¡± ¡°It¡¯s been a while, Mardai-san.¡± The representative of the Garfish Trading Company, Mardai, was personally waiting for Tauro¡¯s visit at the front desk, so the meeting took place immediately and the two shook hands. ¡°¡­Eh¡­.¡± Aeris was unable to comprehend this sudden development. When she was first shown into the guest room, she was grateful to her father that the prestige of the Marquis of Van Dyne had extended even to the Trading Company, but apparently Tauro and the representative of the Company were acquainted. ¡°This is Aeris, the daughter of the Marquis of Van Dyne, whom I mentioned in my letter.¡± Tauro introduced Aeris to Mardai, the representative. She hurriedly stood up and bowed. ¡°I am Aeris!¡± ¡°I am Mardai Garfish, the representative of this Trading Company. Pleased to make your acquaintance.¡± Mardai bowed politely. ¡°So¡­ what do you think?¡± Tauro immediately cut to the chase. ¡°I¡¯ve been asking around for a meeting with a number of people, but it¡¯s going to cost a lot of money just to meet with these powerful noblemen.¡± ¡°It can¡¯t be helped. Please make the payment as usual.¡± ¡°I understand. By the way, if you haven¡¯t decided on a lodging house yet, I can prepare one for you.¡± ¡°That would be great.¡± Aeris could only listen to the exchange between the two of them in amazement. ¡°I sent a messenger to Sharga, the scholar mentioned in the letter and he was the first to reply that he would cooperate. He introduced me to the Count, who is the head of the King¡¯s guard, and I have just received a letter from the Count himself.¡± ¡°Commander of the Kingsguard?¡± Sharga was a scholar and a self-proclaimed fan of Tauro, he was the man in charge of the dungeon investigation team in the village of Dansas. Tauro thought it would be helpful if he could be introduced to a nobleman of the same scholarly field, but he was surprised by the unexpected choice. ¡°He¡¯s a well-known figure in the country¡¯s military, so I know he¡¯ll be able to introduce you to someone there if you establish a connection.¡± Mardai advised, looking at Tauro and Aeris. ¡°I understand. Can you set up a date for us to meet as soon as possible?¡± ¡°Of course. For some reason, the other side made an aggressive offer to make out time, so I will reply to them so that you can meet tomorrow. Hey, someone! I want to send a messenger to the headquarters of the King¡¯s guard immediately, someone please prepare!¡± Mardai stood up and took a piece of paper and a pen from the desk away from him and wrote something down easily, sealing the envelope with wax. He knocked on the door and handed the letter to the maid who came in and immediately left. ¡°Now that we¡¯re alone. By the way, Tauro-dono. I heard from the branch office that you have signed a contract with a local trading company for a product registered under the name of Giro Sugar. We are indirectly involved, but¡­ why not us?¡± He must be talking about the ¡°refrigerator¡± and¡°cooler¡±. ¡°¡­Oh, I¡¯m sorry. You¡¯re right, I¡¯ve been indebted to the Garfish Trading Company. Then, how about an exclusive contract between our two local merchants, Marches and Garfish, for the recently registered product?¡± Tauro suggested with a wry smile. Aeris looked relieved beside him as the atmosphere became much more relaxed than before. ¡°What¡¯s it like?¡± Mardai quickly put on a merchant¡¯s face. ¡°It¡¯s a magical lantern and a tent or rain gear made of cloth that won¡¯t get wet¡­¡± ¡°Fufufu¡­ Let¡¯s start with the magic lantern. Oh, I¡¯m sorry, Aeris-san. Do you want me to show you to the inn right away?¡± Mardai apologized for dismissing Aeris¡¯s presence. ¡°No, don¡¯t worry about me. I¡¯m used to talking about these things from being around Tauro. More importantly¡­¡± When he said this, Aeris¡¯s eyes lit up and she happily began to explain the lantern¡¯s beauty to Mardai on Tauro¡¯s behalf. Mardai was very intrigued by the explanation and the two began to exchange looks face to face. ¡°¡­but¡­ It¡¯s a product that I made ¡­¡± Tauro was dumbfounded, but inwardly he was pleased to see that Aeris, who had been depressed for some time now, seemed to be feeling a little better. CH 145 Tauro and Aeris decided to stay at ¡°Bacchus Pavilion¡± an inn recommended by the Garfish Trading Company. At night, Aeris went to Tauro¡¯s room. She seemed to want to talk, so he let her in. He sat Aeris down on the chair provided, offered her some water and sat across the table from her. ¡°¡­Thank you, Tauro.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t thank me yet. It¡¯s just beginning.¡± ¡°I know, but I was worried about the future. No, I wasn¡¯t. I think I was hoping that while I was gone, my mother would change her mind and break up with Uwakin. But she didn¡¯t. On the contrary, he is using the Van Dyne family name with impunity. Once again, I knew that I would never be able to get back together with that man¡­¡± Aeris sighed as she said this. ¡°Is your mother going to remarry and take over the Marquis family or something?¡± Tauro had one question. He thought that if she remarried Uwakin and Aeris died, the marquis would belong to Aeris¡¯s mother. But instead of doing so, she¡¯s trying to bring Aeris back. ¡°It¡¯s as simple as that. My father disappeared in a dungeon and I think he died there, but his body hasn¡¯t been found yet. So if it can¡¯t be confirmed, the death certificate will be accepted only after five years of grace, so they thought it would be easier procedurally to inherit the title and transfer the marquisate to me and remarry Uwakin rather than wait that long.¡± ¡°¡­And you will be their puppet to wield power as they see fit.¡± ¡°She is still a marchioness, and her authority as a marquess remains as long as my father is missing, so she can do whatever she wants. Perhaps if a child were born between them, I would be easily eliminated as an obstacle.¡± Aeris said ominously to herself. ¡°No, don¡¯t say things like flags.¡± ¡°A flag?¡± ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s a bad omen. You know, sometimes what you say comes true, so you shouldn¡¯t say ominous things.¡± ¡°Right. I¡¯ll be careful.¡± Tauro had to prevent Aeris¡¯s imagination from becoming a fact. But then a thought occurred to him. What if Aeris was right and a child was born to her mother and Uwakin? He wondered. Isn¡¯t there a possibility that they could pretend that the child is the child of the missing Aeris, and make Aeris disappear to keep her mouth shut? Aeris hasn¡¯t reached adulthood yet, but in this world, it¡¯s not uncommon for a minor to conceive a child, so it¡¯s an excuse that can be used as an appropriate reason for the world. Tauro felt that he had to take action as soon as possible to prevent this from happening. The next morning. A messenger came from the Garfish Trading Company. He came to tell them that the meeting with Count Connoen, the Commander of the King¡¯s guard, had been decided for noon. ¡°I understand. The place is the headquarters of the King¡¯s guard. Thank you very much.¡± Tauro thanked the messenger and told Aeris about it. ¡°So, after breakfast, can we drop by the Adventurer¡¯s Guild?¡± ¡°Okay, but what are we going to the guild for?¡± ¡°I¡¯d like to make a request for an investigation of the Van Dyne family.¡± ¡°Investigation?¡± ¡°Yeah, even you don¡¯t know the latest information, right? So I thought we¡¯d check on the Van Dyne family as they are now.¡± ¡°Yes. It¡¯s been more than a year since I left home, so I think it¡¯s better to find out. Well, let¡¯s go to the guild after we finish breakfast.¡± After saying that, they went downstairs to the dining room to eat. By the time the two of them went through the procedure to discuss the request and contents in detail at the guild, it was almost noon. ¡°I think we¡¯d better head to the headquarters of the Kings guard.¡± ¡°Yeah, let¡¯s keep going.¡± The two of them left the guild and boarded a short-distance carriage in front of them, one of the transportation networks in the royal capital, after asking about their destination. It was like a bus in a previous life. It had a blue top, and there was always a stop in front of a prominent building in the capital. There were other people on the bus, so we sat down in the middle of the crowd. The speed of the ride was only better than walking, but it was certainly a very convenient way to get around in this large city. ¡°I¡¯m getting nervous, I wonder if I¡¯ll be okay¡­¡± Aeris spoke out in an unusually weak tone as she swayed in the carriage. ¡°We¡¯re just going to meet and talk, it¡¯ll be fine.¡± Tauro soothed and encouraged Aeris. CH 146 Tauro and Aeris arrived in front of the headquarters of the King¡¯s guard. It was surrounded by a wall so thick that it looked like a castle gate, so they couldn¡¯t see inside, but they could hear the voices of many soldiers training beyond the wall. At the entrance, they told the guards that they had a meeting with the Commander of the King¡¯s guard. ¡°What? You guys? The Commander doesn¡¯t have enough time to waste on children. And if you really have a meeting scheduled, we will send someone to pick you up. I don¡¯t know where you got the idea that you had a visit today, but I wouldn¡¯t trust someone who showed up in a short-distance carriage to get through here. Go home!¡± If that were true, there might have been a carriage coming to pick us up at the inn. ¡°I¡¯m afraid there¡¯s been a misunderstanding, then. This is Aeris-sama, who is scheduled to meet him today and I am her escort. You¡¯ll be in trouble if you do not inform Count Connoen, the Commander of the Kings guard of our visit and you will be reprimanded.¡± Tauro stepped forward and politely informed the guards. ¡°We are doing our duty faithfully. We¡¯ve been informed that the day time visitors will be coming by carriage, so we don¡¯t have time to deal with anyone who looks suspicious!¡± The guards seemed to have a rigid mindset. This is not a good way to talk. If this happens, we¡¯ll have to ask someone inside to come here directly¡­ Tauro used his ¡°sense of presence¡± to sense a large number of soldiers on the other side of the wall, and used his ¡°true eye¡± to catch the silhouettes that were regularly lined up and waving their swords. There¡¯s a figure looking at the soldiers a little farther away. That silhouette is probably the soldiers¡¯ superior officer. When Tauro saw this, he decided to use brute force. ¡°There¡¯s a distance, but I think I can make it now.¡± Tauro mumbled, drawing his Artemis bow and holding it aloft in front of him. The guards condemned the appearance. ¡°What are you doing, kid? We won¡¯t tolerate such an outburst in front of the King¡¯s guard headquarters!¡± The guards hurriedly approached Tauro to stop him, but he ignored them and fired an arrow. He fires two more arrows into the sky in quick succession. Each of the three arrows flew to different heights, but at the time of their fall, they were all aligned in the sky and fell into the grounds of the headquarters and disappeared. ¡°¡­¡­¡­ Ah! Stupid! Don¡¯t think you¡¯ll get away with doing that to the headquarters grounds for free!¡± The guard was stunned for a moment, following the arrow¡¯s whereabouts with his gaze and then he pointed his spear right in front of Tauro¡¯s eyes. Tauro raised his hand obediently and the other guards came out to make a big fuss about the child. Tauro was pinned down to the ground by the guards with force. Aeris was also held back by the guards, who pointed their spears at her. Then, a soldier in a luxurious sheet metal armor, different from the guards, came running. ¡°Who were those people shooting arrows at us?¡± ¡°King¡¯s guard! This little boy did it, so I seized him!¡± ¡°¡­Did one kid do that?¡± ¡°Yes! I¡¯m the one who confirmed that, he did it in front of me, so he¡¯s guilty of it. Even if it was a child, he will be punished severely.¡± The guards took credit. ¡°Let him go, the Commander wants me to bring him back.¡± ¡°What? Let him go?¡± The guard thought he had misheard and asked again. ¡°Yes, is that lady with the child? I¡¯ll take her with me as well.¡± He ordered the guards to release Tauro, who was pinned down on the ground and then dusted him off when he stood up. He also showed Aeris what a gentleman he was by offering his hand and leading her to come along with Tauro. Tauro and Aeris were escorted into the compound. They were taken in front of a large number of King¡¯s guard soldiers. There, three arrows were stuck in one place on the ground. ¡°Was it you who did this?¡± A man who was instantly recognizable as a great man stood beside the pierced arrows. The man was at best in his thirties, with long brown hair, a beard, and a large physique with an austere air. ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°¡­Hmm, at your age, you¡¯re quite skilled¡­.Hmm? The young lady over there¡­¡± ¡°This is Aeris, Count Connoen, with whom you had a meeting scheduled for today.¡± ¡°Oh! No wonder her eyes look just like Marquis Van Dyne¡¯s¡­ I¡¯m sorry about this. I¡¯m the Commander of the King¡¯s guard and my name is Connoen. I was indebted to your father, the Marquis of Van Dyne when I was young.¡± Aeris was surprised by his words. ¡°Someone! Show these two to my office. I¡¯ll be back later after I¡¯ve worked up a sweat, so please wait a moment.¡± Count Connoen bowed to Aeris and left. Meanwhile, a member of the King¡¯s guard led Tauro and Aeris into the headquarters building. CH 147 The office at the headquarters of the King¡¯s guard was plain in contrast to the luxurious sheet metal armor of the knights. It was simple but clean, with only the essentials and no unnecessary items. This is probably a reflection of the personality of the owner of this office. Aeris and I waited for a while in the office of Sir Connoen, the Commander of the King¡¯s guard. When we looked out the window, we could see the scene of the King¡¯s guard knights training below us. As expected of the knightly order that protects the royal family of this country. I could easily understand the level of the knights as an adventurer, even if I couldn¡¯t assess their character. Then Count Connoen entered the room. He was not wearing the sheet metal armor that he had been wearing earlier, but instead was dressed comfortably in plain clothes. The reason for the delay was that he was a beastman of the lion race with long, bushy hair, so it had taken him a while to dry off after bathing. ¡°I¡¯m sorry to keep you waiting. Thank you for your patience and please make yourself comfortable.¡± Count Connoen said and invited them to sit down, while he sat down across from them. ¡°What is it that you want to talk about? Sharga begged me to have a meeting with her, but when I heard that she was the daughter of Marquis Van Dyne, I couldn¡¯t say no either. Besides¡­¡± Count Connoen cut off his words once and looked at Aeris. ¡°¡­.Also, the fact that Marquis Van Dyne couldn¡¯t be protected in the dungeon was the fault of my Kingsguard knights who accompanied him. I am truly sorry.¡± Count Connoen bowed deeply and apologized to Aeris. ¡°Please raise your head, Count. I¡¯ve heard that my father suddenly disappeared as if he had been hidden by the gods while working with the research team. I can¡¯t blame anyone for that. It might have been someone else¡­¡± ¡°But it is true that it was the Marquis of Van Dyne who was the subject of the escort. It¡¯s the fault of my knights for not being able to protect him.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s stop now. The dungeon is an area where you never know what will happen. My father was prepared for this every time he dove into a dungeon.¡± ¡°¡­in which dungeon did the Marquis Van Dyne disappear in?¡± Tauro asked Count Connoen, wondering if he could ask Sharga for permission to go to that dungeon so that Aeris could offer flowers if she wanted. ¡°It¡¯s a top-secret matter of state¡­.but it¡¯s a dungeon called ¡°Babylon¡±, half a day from here. I¡¯ve heard that he didn¡¯t disappear in the depths, but while investigating a newly discovered room in the first level.¡± ¡°A new room in the first layer?¡± This is the first time Aeris has heard this information, so she asked back. ¡°This thing is top secret, so please keep it secret. Right now, ¡°Babylon¡± has been cleared up to the 101st layer. Then, we heard that a small room had suddenly appeared on the side of the stairs leading down from the first level to the 101st level. The Marquis of Van Dyne was in charge of the investigation and he took a team of people to investigate. As a result, it¡¯s reported that the Marquis of Van Dyne disappeared in that room during the investigation.¡± ¡°Thank you for telling me something important. ¡­It¡¯s related to that, or rather, that¡¯s why this is happening in the Van Dyne household¡­¡± Aeris began to talk about the main topic, the commotion in the Van Dyne household. ¡°What a surprise!¡± How is that possible? I had heard rumors of the Marques¡¯s ugliness, but affairs are common among the nobility, but if it¡¯s true, I¡¯d have to say that her attempt to take over the house is an evil act that shakes the very foundation of noble society¡­.¡± ¡°Right now, we¡¯re in the process of gathering evidence, but I believe that there¡¯s a good chance that that side will use the power of the Marquis of Van Dyne to harm Aeris. So for now, I¡¯ve asked Sharga-san to introduce me to the Count for assistance in competing with that power.¡± Count Connoen responded to Tauro¡¯s words. ¡°To be honest, I¡¯m an emerging nobleman and my only connections to the nobility are as a military officer, so I don¡¯t think I can be of much help. However, I¡¯ll send someone to guard Aeris-sama while she¡¯s here in the Royal Capital.¡± He kindly agreed to cooperate. ¡°Thank you very much!¡± Tauro and Aeris stood up and thanked him. ¡°¡­Anyway. You said your name was Tauro. How old are you?¡± Count Connoen seemed to have taken an interest in Tauro. ¡°I¡¯m twelve.¡± ¡°I see. So you¡¯re the same age as my son and with your skills, you have a very strong voice. From now on, when you meet other nobles, be more careful. There are far more nobles who you don¡¯t know what they¡¯re thinking than there are who you do. Protect Aeris-san, will you?¡± He advised as he stared at Tauro with narrowed eyes, as if looking at his own son. Count Connoen must be having a hard time. ¡°Yes!¡± Tauro replied and left the room with Aeris, thanking him for his cooperation. CH 148 Starting with the meeting with Count Connoen, Tauro and Aeris went around meeting influential nobles. It costs a lot of money just to set up a meeting with a nobleman. The very existence of a nobleman is a brand. Even though she was the daughter of the Marquis of Van Dyne, it was her father who was the noble. They had no intention of meeting her for free. In such a situation, I went around to meet with them, but some nobles were afraid of the influence of the Marques of Van Dyne. However, there were also many nobles who judged that it would be more beneficial to side with Aeris, his only daughter. ¡°My son is still single¡­. If he could get engaged to Aeris-san, it would strengthen the bond between the two families and make it easier to cooperate. There were many nobles who blatantly put engagement as a condition for their backing. Furthermore, there were also nobles who favorably promised to cooperate with the Van Dyne family, who had been one of the heavyweights of the Neutral faction for many years, taking the opportunity to form a friendship with them. Above all, there was a knight dispatched from the King¡¯s guard Order behind Aeris during the meetings. The fact that Count Connoen, an influential figure in the military, was behind the negotiations, even though it was just two children, Tauro and Aeris, gave them a boost and worked well. A little more than a week passed and whispers began to circulate in noble society that Aeris, the only daughter of House Van Dyne, was looking for a guardian for herself and that she was trying to protect the continuation of the legitimate line of the Marquis of Van Dyne, but that this was being blocked by the Marques of Van Dyne and her manservant. This was Tauro¡¯s goal. The Marques of Van Dyne had been spreading false information that her only daughter Aeris was living in a mansion in her domain and was in good company with her fianc¨¦, so I spread rumors of the truth to counteract it. It seems that the Marquise of Van Dyne has finally noticed this rumor and her residence in the royal capital has suddenly become very busy. According to the report from the team of adventurers who accepted the investigation request, the Marquise is staying in the capital, leaving her domain to one of her stewards. It¡¯s a common practice for noblemen who own estates around the royal capital to leave their estates unoccupied now that there was no lord, but ostensibly they want to say that it¡¯s okay because their daughter¡¯s fianc¨¦ is at the estate. In addition, various people have started to come and go in the royal residence and some of them were from that line of work who noticed us on the lookout. ¡°They had a different air about them than that of an adventurer. It¡¯s possible that it¡¯s someone from behind the scenes, so you¡¯d better watch out, because it¡¯s not just anyone who could find me at C+ rank.¡± Tauro was warned by the regular reports from the thief adventurers. However, I don¡¯t think she would harm Aeris. If she did, the family would be in turmoil and someone from another family with the Marquis of Van Dyne¡¯s bloodline would have to take over the family. If that happens, Madame and Uwakin won¡¯t be able to do as they please. They would want to avoid that. ¡­That being the case. The first thing that comes to mind is that they are gathering people to bring Aeris back secretly, but would they hire someone behind the scenes just for that purpose? Besides, now that the rumor is out, it¡¯s hard for them to get their hands on Aeris. There¡¯s no better way to be careful, but Aeris has an off-duty King¡¯s guard knight as an escort, so she should be safe for the time being. For now, we need to quickly decide on a guardian for Aeris. We want someone who is impartial, powerful, and has no desire for power to interfere in the future, but so far the only nobles we¡¯ve met are those who want to take advantage of the size and power of the Van Dyne family and there is no one who can guarantee Aeris¡¯s future. It may be difficult to find such a convenient nobleman. Tauro and Aeris had been discussing whether a certain amount of compromise was necessary, but they were still unable to make a decision. ¡°We don¡¯t have another meeting planned today right?¡± Aeris asked, looking out of the window of Tauro¡¯s room. ¡°Yeah? We already had our last meeting earlier today, though, didn¡¯t we?¡± ¡°There¡¯s a carriage out front that looks like a nobleman¡¯s carriage.¡± ¡°I wonder who it is? Is it for us?¡± Knock, knock, knock. While they were having this conversation, there was a knock at the door. It was our house, after all. It seems that a nobleman who wants to meet Aeris has come from over there. ¡°Yes.¡± Tauro replied and opened the door. When he opened the door, he saw a familiar face standing there. ¡°It¡¯s been a while, Tauro-san. I¡¯m here to pick you up today.¡± The person standing there was Sebas, who was supposed to be a confidant of Prince Fleue, the fifth prince of the country. Sebas was the person who used to pick Tauro up in a carriage when he was teaching Prince Fleue how to play Reversi. ¡°Sebas-san!? It¡¯s been a while, but what brings you here? Aren¡¯t you supposed to be a member of the prince¡¯s entourage?¡± Tauro was surprised by the visitor he had never imagined. CH 149 Tauro and Aeris were rushed by Sebas, placed in the carriage and left the inn. ¡°By the way, Sebas-san, what now?¡± ¡°I¡¯m still in the service of His Highness.¡± Sebas immediately answered Tauro¡¯s question. ¡°What about this carriage?¡± ¡°¡­His Highness thought It would embarrass Tauro-dono if we sent out the royal carriage.¡± ¡°Oh, so you remember what happened last time.¡± The last time they went to pick up Tauro, the reversi instructor, in the royal carriage, there was a big commotion and they had to change inns. Prince Fleue had heard about it and remembered, so when he went to pick up Tauro this time, he instructed him to lower the carriage to the level used by nobles. ¡°Of course. His Highness still considers Tauro-dono to be an important friend and he said that he didn¡¯t want to embarrass him.¡± Sebas replied, smiling. Aeris, who was listening to the exchange between Tauro and Sebas, was inwardly puzzled by the fact that the prince¡¯s name was mentioned and that the prince and Tauro were friends, which was beyond her imagination. Tauro, as Aeris knew him, was a peasant boy who lost his mother at an early age, ran away from his violent father at the age of six and became an adventurer at the age of eight. She had no idea where he had any connection to royalty. Even if it was a contact with the nobility, she thought it was not direct since it was through an introduction from Sharga, a scholar whom he met through dungeon research and the Garfish Trading Company¡­. Come to think of it, I think some of the nobles I met with showed signs of knowing Tauro. It didn¡¯t turn out to be about Tauro, though, because the conversation was mainly about me the whole time¡­ Aeris was alone, wondering about the past of her companion sitting next to her and her thoughts went round and round. ¡° Aeris-san. Is something bothering you?¡± ¡°Oh, no¡­. I¡¯ve never heard of Tauro being friends with royalty¡­¡± Aeris answered Sebas¡¯ question honestly. ¡°Oh, I¡¯m sorry. I¡¯ve been keeping it a secret because I didn¡¯t want to be misunderstood or misinterpreted if I told you too much, so I kept it a secret¡­¡± This was the first time Tauro had explained to Aeris that he had visited the capital before as an instructor of Reversi. ¡°¡­When I bought Reversi at the Marches Trading Company and we played it at home, you lost on purpose, didn¡¯t you?¡± Aeris had once proudly told Tauro that it was a popular game in the capital, but Tauro had almost always lost to Aeris. It turned out that he had done it on purpose. ¡°¡­I¡¯m sorry.¡± ¡°..Enough! I know you let me have the win.¡± Aeris puffed out her cheeks and pretended to be angry, but everyone could tell that she really wasn¡¯t that angry. While they were talking, the carriage arrived at the royal castle. The peaceful atmosphere for a moment changed and Aeris felt nervous as she was pulled back to reality. Even though her father was a leading figure of the Neutral faction, the child Aeris had never been involved with the royal family. It would be absurd to tell her not to be nervous. On the other hand, Tauro was more nostalgic than nervous, as he had been concentrating on his visit. ¡°Is this your first time at the Royal Palace?¡± Tauro got out of the carriage and spoke to Aeris, trying to soothe her nervousness as Sebas led them through the palace. ¡°Ah, of course! It wasn¡¯t normal for me to go in and out as a child!¡± Aeris unintentionally raised her voice in nervousness and her voice echoed in the corridor of the royal palace. She quickly covered her mouth and looked around her. ¡°It¡¯s alright, it¡¯s the domain of His Highness Prince Fleue¡¯s residence up here. If you make a little noise, you won¡¯t be blamed.¡± Sebas said to reassure Aeris. As Aeris bowed her head in appreciation, Sebas stopped. It was a massive door that Tauro was used to seeing. When Sebas knocked and announced that Tauro and Aeris had arrived, there was a response from inside, ¡°Come in¡±. When the door opened, the silhouette of the fifth prince Fleue appeared against the light coming through the window. You could tell from his pointed ears that he had elven blood in his veins. And there he was, not the chubby Elven image, but the tall, slender Prince Fleue. CH 150 A room in the compartment where the fifth prince resides in the royal palace. Tauro was frankly surprised to see Prince Flue¡¯s growth, which was different from the last time he met him there. The chubby, egocentric appearance was gone and the chubby parts seemed to have been taken away as nourishment by his growth, so it was no wonder he was surprised to see how slender he had become. ¡°Long time no see, my friend and the young lady with you. Please take your seats.¡± Prince Flue calmly offered them a seat. ¡°Do you know why I¡¯ve invited you here today?¡± Prince Flue asked Tauro, of course. Tauro sensed Prince Flue¡¯s unusual mood, but he did not recognize it. Was he talking about Aeris? ¡°I don¡¯t know, Your Highness.¡± ¡°¡­Then I¡¯ll tell you. Why did you come to King¡¯s Landing and not meet me first, Tauro?¡± In the way he said it, I could clearly see the face of the former Prince Flue. He¡¯s still the prince I¡¯ve known for a long time. No, I can see that he¡¯s growing as a prince. But I got the impression that his thoughts and his earnest character had not changed. ¡°I couldn¡¯t afford to cause any trouble for you, your Highness¡­¡± Tauro said without pausing when the prince questioned him. ¡°How could I not help my friend when he is in trouble? How could I not be annoyed?¡± The prince sighed exaggeratedly and glanced at Tauro. ¡°I should have informed my friend first and thank you for your concern.¡± Tauro bowed his head and thanked Prince Flue. ¡°Alright, then, I¡¯ll ask for more details, Tauro. I¡¯m sure your companion, the daughter of the Marquise of Van Dyne, would like to do the same.¡± Prince Flue listened to their conversation. ¡°I see. The Marquise de Van Dyne is an important vassal to the royal family. I¡¯m sure my brother and sister would agree with me. We do not want the bloodline of the marquise to be severed in such a way. Besides, even I know that the Marquis has contributed to the country in dungeon exploration, so I will let His Majesty and Mother hear about it.¡± ¡°Thank you, Your Highness.¡± Aeris thanked him. ¡°No, it¡¯s okay. What I can do for you is very little, but my friends¡¯ companions are very important to me as well, you can count on me. I¡¯ll call you Aeris, too. Feel free to call me Flue as well.¡± Prince Flue replied and Aeris nodded. ¡°Yes. Then I shall call you Flue-sama here.¡± She answered. ¡°Aeris you definitely understand. Tauro only calls me ¡®His Royal Highness Prince Flue¡¯ in a very strange way.¡± ¡°Your Highness, I¡¯m a commoner, so I¡¯m not like Aeris. If anyone else hears me talking like that, I won¡¯t complain even if I have to be killed.¡± Tauro laughed at Prince Flue¡¯s complaint. ¡°I understand. As for you, Tauro, I don¡¯t blame you. But a friend is a friend. If you¡¯re in trouble, you can count on me.¡± Prince Flue left his seat after saying that, went to the back room to get something and came back immediately. ¡°I used to be able to thank you only in the form of money. I thought it best to have it made by a craftsman with a good reputation these days.¡± Prince Flue then presented Tauro with a sword. ¡°The handle of this sword bears the royal coat of arms. My father has given me permission to give it to you. If you¡¯re in trouble, you can show this sword and you¡¯ll be given access to the kingdom and you will be able to do all sorts of things in the country.¡± There was a cover on the handle and when he removed it, he found the royal coat of arms. Tauro, surprised by the gift, appraised it with his ¡°true eyes¡± and was surprised again. The small sword ¡°Tauro¡± by the master swordsmith Angus, which grants +6 agility, +4 swordsmanship, and the light attribute. ¡°What¡¯s this? Is the person who made it a blacksmith in the city of Saisi?¡± ¡°I remember that Sebas reported to me that he was a blacksmith in the city of Saisi, the same as Tauro. Hmm? Does Tauro have the ¡®appraisal¡¯ skill?¡± ¡°No, I don¡¯t have the ¡®appraisal¡¯ skill, but I do have abilities similar to that.¡± ¡°Oh, I see. This small sword was one of several candidates and coincidentally or not, the blacksmith had named this small sword ¡®Tauro,¡¯ and I liked it. Take it.¡± Once again, Prince Flue presented the small sword to Tauro. The royal coat of arms was a burden, but he didn¡¯t expect to find a sword made by Angus here. And moreover, that he would name the small sword ordered by the royal family after Tauro¡­. Angus himself would never have thought that the sword was ordered to be given to Tauro, whom he had called his master at one time, but coincidence led to coincidence and it was a miraculous coincidence at best. There was no way he could refuse. ¡°I¡¯m very grateful.¡± Tauro knelt down and reverently accepted the small sword ¡°Tauro¡± from Prince Flue¡¯s hand. Then the ¡°voice of the world¡± came into Tauro¡¯s brain. ¡°One of the activation conditions for the special skill [&%$#], , is confirmed. [Good Luck] has been acquired.¡± It was Tauro who again gained another ability at an unexpected timing. CH 151 One day. Tauro and Aeris had come to the forest near the royal capital. They were accompanied by two ¡°off-duty¡± Kingsguard knights who had been unofficially dispatched by the Kingsguard. The reason why they¡¯re in the forest is to do a herb gathering quest. Adventurers below the C level are subject to serious penalties: demotion if they stay idle for two months without doing a quest and there¡¯s deprivation of qualification if they stay idle for five months. Today, they happened to have some free time, so although they still had some time to spare, they had come to the forest to do some simple quests so that they would not be left unattended. ¡°I think this is about right. It took longer than usual because there are few medicinal herbs in this area of the forest.¡± Tauro let Aeris know what he thought. ¡°You¡¯re right. If it weren¡¯t for your ¡®true eye,¡¯ we would¡¯ve been in trouble.¡± Aeris laughed and stretched. The two of them had been having a lot of meetings with nobles in the capital recently, so it was good for them to have a distraction. Tauro laughed along with her, but it soon faded. The reason was that the group that had begun to surround them at a distance had been caught by his ¡°presence detection¡±. The knights of the Kingsguard, who also have the sensing skill, immediately noticed and moved closer to Aeris¡¯s side. The silhouette of the one who is giving instructions behind the bushes is reflected in the ¡°true eye¡±. Tauro readied his bow, drew it, and fired an arrow at a tree near the silhouette as a warning. The arrow pierced through the bushes, flew between the trees, tore and roared through the air and pierced deeply into the tree next to the leader-like figure. The silhouette of the man who seemed to be the leader, who had been caught off guard by the distance between them and the tree, sat down on the spot. However, the group began to narrow the siege on Tauro and his men, taking note of the leader¡¯s ugly appearance. There were 15 opponents. Since they were coming this way even after warnings, their target was probably Aeris. ¡°They number 15. They are ignoring our warnings and closing in on us in a semicircle formation.¡± Tauro informed the Kingsguard knights. The two Kingsguard knights nodded and drew their swords. The two knights were off-duty, so they were in plain clothes instead of the luxurious sheet metal armor they normally wear. As if following Tauro¡¯s lead, Aeris also readied her staff. Immediately, she casts a defensive spell on her allies. Then, she cast agility-increasing magic, attack-increasing magic and endurance-increasing magic. Tauro decided to reduce the number of enemies approaching in the meantime. He shot arrows at the bushes at equal intervals from the left side of the semicircle to the right side, one after another. Then, from behind the bushes, there was a series of screams. He checked their silhouettes with his ¡°true eye¡± and confirmed that a total of five of them were cowering as arrows pierced their right shoulders. The opponents were obviously upset. ¡°We can¡¯t back out now!¡± With a loud voice, the men came through the bushes and appeared on this side of the road. ¡°We¡¯ll just take the girl and be done with it. We¡¯ll kill the guards and the kid¡­¡± The man who gave the order was shot through the forehead by Tauro¡¯s arrow and died the next moment before he could finish his sentence. ¡°I¡¯m not so good-natured that I¡¯ll let you kill me without doing anything.¡± Tauro said so that the other men could hear him and then he raised his bow again. The men flinched at this. ¡°I thought you said we only had to deal with two guards!¡± When someone mentioned this, the other men became disheartened. Tauro, as if to drive home the point, intimidated the men with one of his abilities, ¡°prestige¡±. The two knights of the Kingsguard read Tauro¡¯s intention and one stepped to Aeris¡¯s side and the other to a nearby man in a flash and knocked away the sword in the other¡¯s hand. The man whose sword was sent flying and the men around him were stunned by the instantaneous event. ¡°Oh, man! They¡¯re on a different level!¡± Someone shouted and they all ran away. The two knights of the Kingsguard did not follow, since their purpose was to protect Aeris and Tauro also did not shoot arrows at the backs of the fleeing men. ¡°You¡¯re amazing. Your archery skills are great, but at your age, just how many experiences have you had?¡± The two Kingsguard knights were impressed by Tauro¡¯s lean and efficient manner. The leader of the group, who seemed to have been directing the men at first, seemed to have escaped with them as they ran away and turned back. From the silhouette, it looked as if it might have been Uwakin, the adulterous partner of the Marquesse of Van Dyne, but this could not be confirmed. ¡°The quest to collect medicinal herbs has turned into a big mess, hasn¡¯t it?¡± Aeris sighed with relief. ¡°They¡¯re not as competent as I thought they¡¯d be¡­ Well, that¡¯s a good thing¡­¡± Tauro felt a touch of unease at the fact that there was no one among them who was considered to be a skilled adventurer as had been reported by the adventurers. CH 152 Several days have passed since the attempted kidnapping of Aeris. Count Connoen doubled the number of guards after hearing the report of the attempted kidnapping. Two of them stayed by Aeris¡¯s side as usual, while the latter two took on the role of guarding the surroundings at a distance. As a result, it was discovered that someone was apparently watching Aeris and Tauro from afar. The fact that Tauro¡¯s ¡°presence detection¡± didn¡¯t catch them suggests that at least one of them has the ¡°presence blocking¡± skill. What the Kingsguard noticed was their high sensing skills, experience and analytical skills. He sometimes felt their eyes on him with his ¡°Gaze Detection¡± skill, but he could not see them, so he narrowed down his range to the diagonal of where he could and couldn¡¯t feel their eyes on him as he moved from place to place and identified a place where he could easily monitor Tauro and Aeris¡¯s lodgings. ¡°To avoid being noticed over there, I asked my other colleagues to back me up as I stepped onto the scene, but he was able to escape by a hair¡¯s breadth. There were other people using their ¡®hawk¡¯s eye¡¯ to watch at a distance, but they were only adventurers when we caught them, so they insisted that we ask the guild about the client.¡± As a hired adventurer, you would have to answer like that. And the guild has a duty of confidentiality, so they won¡¯t talk about the client. We can¡¯t blame the guild, since it is not illegal to just monitor us. Still, I¡¯m curious about the ones who escaped from the Kingsguard. It may have been someone who noticed our surveillance, as reported by the adventurer who had been entrusted to watch over the Van Dyne family. He must be a very skilled man, since he was able to escape from the skilled Kingsguard with a single stroke of a pen. Tauro thought that the Van Dyne family was not very good at using people, but perhaps it¡¯s because they are such opponents that they have been able to spend so much money to conduct manipulative activities to bring influential nobles to Aeris¡¯s side so smoothly. The nobles who joined our side reported that the other side, too, had begun to spread money around in an attempt to win them back. However, rumors of the Marquise of Van Dyne¡¯s ugliness have begun to spread considerably among the noble circles. Once she loses the trust of the nobility, it will be difficult to regain it. If she were to try to turn things around, she would have to get Aeris back and have a child with Uwakin, but there¡¯s no way that Aeris will comply with her in that case. The ideal situation would be to get Aeris back and then tell her that she¡¯s the parent of the child she has prepared for her and then Aeris would suffer an accident. The dead have no say in the matter. As for the child, the adventurers reported that the Marquise of Van Dyne was holed up in her mansion and could not be seen. It seems that she hasn¡¯t been seen for more than half a year. Could she be dead? I thought so, but it seems that this is not the case and people from the Countess¡¯s family visit her from time to time. The adventurer on the watch said, ¡°She might be pregnant¡±. I had expected that. A member of the countess¡¯s family had brought in a pram mixed in with her luggage. This would mean that they are planning to bring Aeris back and make her the parent of the child because she¡¯s about to give birth. There¡¯s no way that Aeris will comply with such a plan, so the Marchioness¡¯ plan will probably not save Aeris¡¯s life. She wants to just kidnap Aeris and have her die in an accident at the Van Dyne family mansion. Perhaps the plot is that she will die of postpartum malady. Then, the grandmother, the Marchioness and her husband, the Marquise Uwakin, would make the surviving child happy and the Marquise family would be happy. And the Marquise would continue to do as they pleased in the dark as long as Madame and Uwakin were in the charge. Now, the other side¡¯s objective was clear. But that¡¯s only if they can bring Aeris back. So, in the near future, they¡¯ll make another move. But that should be difficult since the Kingsguard knight escort has been reinforced¡­ but do they have a plan? Tauro thought about what he would do if he were the enemy, but he couldn¡¯t come up with anything significant. ¡°Tauro? Isn¡¯t today the day of the meeting with Prince Flue?¡± Aeris approached Tauro, who was in his room thinking. ¡°Oh, that¡¯s right. I have something important to report, so I¡¯ll be on my way.¡± This time, I decided to leave Aeris behind. The reason for this is that the Kingsguard and I have discussed that if Aeris moves around now, she will create an opening for the enemy to take advantage of her. With the Kingsguard present, Tauro felt at ease and decided to go to the royal castle where Prince Flue was staying. CH 153 After leaving the inn, Tauro walked to the main street to the short-distance coach stop. There were so many people around that it looked like a festival. The density of the population in the royal capital is amazing, as this is the norm. Suddenly, he felt something strange about the people in his field of vision. The crowd was so much that ¡°presence detection¡± was of little use, but he subconsciously noticed that the people who entered his field of vision for a moment were not caught by his ¡°presence detection¡±. That is to say, someone is using a sensing inhibition skill at this very moment. And when it comes to a situation where the presence is so inhibited that it cannot be caught by ¡°presence detection¡± that Tauro is becoming more and more skilled at, what immediately came to mind was the powerful person who had been seen at the residence of the Marquis Van Dyne. Tauro involuntarily looked around. ¡°No one is here¡­?¡± It was a moment of relief. He felt a prickling pain in his neck. ¡°Ouch!¡± Tauro reached down to his neck and found a thin needle stuck in his neck. ¡°Oh no¡­!¡± There was no moment to wonder what had happened and the moment he pulled the needle out and was about to chant ¡°Restore the Abnormal State¡± to himself, he was hit by a violent convulsion that made his blood boil and he collapsed on the spot. This is lethal poison! As his consciousness rapidly faded away, Tauro gathered his last ounce of energy and cast a ¡°recovery from an abnormality¡± spell and his vision went dark. Around Tauro, people were walking up to him, saying that the child had collapsed convulsively, that it was no ordinary event. And people surrounded him. Some of them smiled and walked away. But no one around noticed the convulsing, bubbling and motionless child. ¡°The look on his face says he¡¯s beyond help¡± ¡°He¡¯s already got the look of death on his face.¡± ¡°No. His heart¡¯s not beating anymore¡­¡± The people who rushed to the collapsed child were just about to throw up their hands in despair at this hopeless situation. Do-kun! Tauro¡¯s heart which had stopped, pulsed slightly. He had resisted the poison with ¡°Abnormality Resistance¡± and ¡°Dark Spirit¡¯s Blessing (Weak),¡± which strengthened him slightly, neutralized the poison with ¡°Abnormality Recovery¡± magic and recovered cells destroyed by the poison with ¡°Super Recovery Regeneration,¡± but even so, Tauro¡¯s death might have been just barely avoidable. However, Tauro had no way of knowing this, but due to the correction of his newly acquired ability ¡°Luck,¡± he was able to switch from the side of ¡°death¡± to the side of ¡°life¡± just in time for recovery. ¡°Someone go get the nearest guard, we won¡¯t be able to move this child until we have confirmation of his death.¡± ¡°Hey? Isn¡¯t his complexion getting better?¡± ¡°That¡¯s absurd. It¡¯s true¡­! Somebody go get a doctor! No, I¡¯m supposed to carry him!¡± A passerby panicked as he picked Tauro up, but another passerby said, ¡°The infirmary is that way!¡± and the crowd that surrounded them also made way and guided them. The passersby picked Tauro up in his arms and ran to the clinic. When Tauro woke up, he was lying on a bunk. There he heard ¡°the voice of the world. ¡°Confirmed one of the activation conditions for the special skill [&%$#], . [Complete Poison Resistance].¡± He decided to ignore the ¡°Voice of the World¡± for now. There¡¯s a smell of chemicals peculiar to hospitals. It didn¡¯t take him long to realize that he had been brought into the clinic. That was a close one¡­I could have died! As he picked himself up, Tauro was inwardly relieved. ¡°Doctor, the patient is awake.¡± A woman who appears to be his assistant calls out to the doctor. ¡°You seem to have fainted on the road. According to the testimony of the person who brought you in, your heart had stopped and you were dead, but he must have been mistaken, because when he came here you were pale, but not that pale. Maybe it was just temporary anemia.¡± So said the doctor who checked Tauro¡¯s condition. ¡°We¡¯re different from a healing center, so we don¡¯t do magic therapy. I think you should be fine now.¡± He said. ¡°Oh, I¡¯m fine. I¡¯m sorry for the inconvenience. Who brought me in?¡± Tauro asked as he got up from his bunk and asked back. ¡°Oh, he has already left.¡± ¡°I see¡­ Oh, how much do I owe you?¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t do anything, so you don¡¯t have to pay me. Have a safe trip home.¡± The doctor said and withdrew into the examination room. Tauro thanked him and walked out of the clinic. It was already dusk outside. Tauro was looking at the sky a little unsteadily when he suddenly noticed something. ¡°Oh, I¡¯ve got Prince Flue waiting for me!¡± Tauro panicked, grabbed his small sword, used his agility compensation and ran to the royal castle. CH 154 By the time Tauro reached the royal castle, the sun was setting and the gates were about to close. Tauro hurriedly produced a small sword bearing the royal crest and held it up to the gatekeeper. ¡°The Royal coat of arms! Ah, Tauro-dono, is it? It¡¯s long past the appointed time and at this hour we cannot let you through¡­¡± The gatekeeper had been informed of Tauro¡¯s visit and he was right. ¡°Then please just give him a message. ¡®Sorry I¡¯m late, I was attacked by an assassin. I hope to see you again later¡¯. ¡°Eh? Assassins?¡± The gatekeeper asks back at the ominous word. ¡°Oh, I am safe, so if His Highness is concerned, please tell him that I am fine. No, the situation is not okay, but as it turns out, I¡¯m fine¡­. Anyway, please remind him that that was the reason I was late and that I did not skip the visit because I wanted to¡­!¡± No matter how good a friend he may be, Tauro was still dealing with His Highness the Prince. It must have been disrespectful for him to have turned away a meeting. The gatekeeper must have understood this because he nodded his head and said ¡°I understand. I will let him know as soon as possible!¡± The gatekeeper ran to the guardroom, replaced the guard with a man on standby and ran to the royal palace. ¡°I wonder if I¡¯ve managed that now¡­¡± Tauro decided to return to the inn while clearing his head. It was likely that he was targeted because he was deemed to be an obstacle to Aeris¡¯s kidnapping. In fact, he has interfered with Uwakin many times. He must have advised the Marquesse de Van Dyne that he was a threat. And, indeed, he was about to be killed, just as he wanted. ¡°I guess that means they are getting serious¡­. But even so, is he so powerful that he would target us in broad daylight? We have to end this before any harm comes to Aeris.¡± Tauro thought of a method that he had seen in the stories of his past life, where he pretended to be dead so that he could outwit his enemies, but then he thought about it and realized that having himself as the target would still make his opponent¡¯s aim clearer. Yes, it would be better to have him aim for his own life again, so that he could direct the assassin¡¯s nasty, poisonous needle at himself, which I don¡¯t think even the Kingsguard would be able to withstand. ¡°Now that I¡¯ve got ¡®complete resistance to poison¡¯ as an ability¡­¡± Tauro was unusually rooted this time. He thought it wouldn¡¯t help. Besides, the poison was unexpectedly painful, he was almost literally dead. ¡°When you get hit, you hit back¡­double payback!¡± Tauro didn¡¯t expect to say this in real life, but the words seriously leaked from his mouth. If that is the case, he decided to go back to the inn as usual. The assassin would probably be quite upset if he noticed him, so Tauro thought he would use his ¡°presence perception¡± to at least sense his surprise. When he returned to the front of the inn, he detected a sign of surprise directed at him in his ¡°sense of presence¡±. He could see that he was quite upset and that the distance between them was getting farther apart. Fufu. The assassin was so surprised that the ¡°presence block¡± is not doing its job. Tauro thought about chasing after him, but the other party is an assassin and a first-class one at that. Even if he chased him down, there¡¯s a possibility that he would get a return fire. Tauro considered it as a harvest just to have surprised him first. Besides, he felt very hungry. It may be because ¡°Super Recovery and Regeneration¡± worked so hard to bring him back from the dead. He couldn¡¯t wait to eat dinner. ¡°Ah, Tauro, welcome back. What¡¯s wrong? You look a little worn out¡­is it my imagination?¡± Aeris pointed this out as soon as she saw Tauro. Sharp! Tauro was tongue-tied by Aeris¡¯s insight. There¡¯s a big chance this will be discovered soon enough, even if he hides it and she¡¯ll definitely be pissed if he doesn¡¯t tell her beforehand! Immediately, Tauro instinctively sensed the danger and decided to call his escort, the Kingsguard and tell them about the daytime assassination drama. ¡°¡­That could be an assassin from the assassination guild.¡± One of the guards pointed out. ¡°The special assassination techniques, like the use of deadly poison in needles, certainly suggest the possibility of an assassination guild.¡± The other nodded. ¡°More than that, why how did you survive it¡± The four Kingsguard seemed to think that was the most important thing and when Tauro was surrounded, they looked all over his body. ¡°Hahaha¡­ I was resistant to poison, so I was fine¡­!¡± Some abilities are tricky to explain if he answered in detail, so that¡¯s what he did. ¡°Is that so? Still, to be saved from a deadly poison is a miracle.¡± The Kingsguard were stunned. ¡°The Marquise of Van Dyne has hired someone from an assassination guild, so we¡¯ll have to be even more careful than before.¡± While the Kingsguard were united, Aeris was in tears, perhaps in shock over Tauro¡¯s near death. ¡°Ah¡­ it¡¯s okay! You see, I¡¯m still in good shape, right?¡± ¡°I know¡­but¡­ I¡¯m sorry it¡¯s my fault.¡± Aeris sniffed and resisted the urge to cry. CH 155 From the day after the attempted assassination of Tauro, he began to take personal action. It can be called a provocation against the assassin. As if to lure the wary assassin, Tauro rented out the top of the ¡°Soraki no Toa,¡± one of the tourist attractions in the royal capital from which he could view the city, for a few days and waited alone at the top all morning. On the third day, while Tauro was sitting on the edge of the tower¡¯s rooftop looking out over the city, he heard a voice behind him. ¡°I¡¯ll show myself to you as you wish.¡± Tauro turned around and saw a man standing there with a hood pulled up over his eyes. The impression of the man is vague, probably due to the use of ¡°presence blocking¡±. ¡°You¡¯re still receiving requests to kill me, right?¡± Tauro questioned the assassin who finally appeared. ¡°¡­I thought I had killed you and reported it, but you were still alive, so their trust in me has been shattered. Today, I will put a proper stop to it and clear my name.¡± The assassin quickly put a thin tube to his mouth and blew a needle toward him. Tauro had read this, so he readied his small sword and parried it. Click! The needle was bounced and fell to the floor with a ¡°kin¡± sound. However, another needle was stuck in the hand holding the small sword. It seemed that he had released two needles in quick succession. ¡°Unlike last time, I prepared a secret poison. You¡¯ll never be able to save yourself by accident again. I¡¯ve won.¡± The assassin, convinced of his victory, declared. ¡­ ¡­ ¡­ ¡°Umm¡­ should I scream ¡®gyaah!¡¯?¡± The assassin seemed to be waiting for his response, so Tauro asked if he should be concerned. ¡°¡­Why doesn¡¯t the poison work?¡± The assassin was astonished. It wasn¡¯t that the poison was slow to work, but that it wasn¡¯t working at all on this child. He had shamelessly asked for the assassin¡¯s guild¡¯s secret poison and had put it in the needle, but the child in front of him was still alive and well, and he could not help but be amazed. Tauro pulls the needle out of his hand. ¡°I¡¯m resistant to the poison, so it won¡¯t work.¡± He replied matter-of-factly. ¡°That¡¯s impossible! I¡¯ve never heard in the history of the Guild of Assassins that the guild¡¯s secret deadly poison, which is so lethal that it cannot be tolerated even with resistance, doesn¡¯t work!¡± ¡°That being said, it doesn¡¯t work, so¡­. You lost the moment you failed to finish me off the last time.¡± ¡°Damn! Then I¡¯ll only kill you with other methods. I know you chose this place so as not to get people involved, but I have time until noon and you made a mistake in getting rid of people until then!¡± The assassin said and drew his dagger. ¡°If we fought normally, I would probably lose. I know you are strong. But I¡¯ve got my Kingsguard on the ground and when I give the signal, you¡¯ll be the rat in the bag.¡± ¡°As a member of the guild, I would be happy to kill you. If you send a signal to the ground now, I can kill you before they come up. I know the only way in and out of this summit is this door behind you, you can¡¯t escape.¡± This time, the assassin was confident of victory, that he could complete his objective. ¡°Then I¡¯ll give the signal. The spirit magic of light, ¡®illumination¡¯.¡± Tauro, standing on the edge of the tower sent a light signal to the ground with ¡°Illumination. The ground became hectic and from above it could be seen that the Kingsguard were rushing to the doorway. ¡°Looks like I don¡¯t have much time, die!¡± The assassin readied his dagger and flashed it at Tauro. ¡°Then I win, goodbye.¡± With that, Tauro leapt backward over the edge of the tower. Which meant he jumped off the tower. ¡°What? Stupid!¡± The assassin was again aghast at the kid who jumped off the tower proclaiming victory. ¡°He thought he would have won if I hadn¡¯t killed him¡­. If he jumped, he would die with me¡­!¡± Muttering this, he was stunned for a few moments, then rushed to the edge to check for death and looked down to check the ground. Then, from the ground, the child who had been his target waved at him. ¡°Once again, you have lost! I¡¯m so sorry!¡± Tauro waved his hand as he loudly addressed the assassin at the top. Tauro had descended to the ground unharmed by the ¡®levitation¡¯ magic. In essence, it was a bungee with no strings attached, but Tauro was inwardly quite scared to jump off. But he was relieved that it worked. ¡°I mentally don¡¯t want to do this move again¡­¡± Thinking he didn¡¯t know what kind of person would do a bungee, Tauro doubled down by tearing the assassin¡¯s self-esteem to shreds. CH 156 The assassin, driven to the top, was surrounded by the Kingsguard. Even though the assassin was a skilled member of the assassination guild and had good skills, he was up against the Kingsguard. Assassins specialize in assassinations and if assassination is to be carried out, he could have easily killed the Kingsguard in front of him if the conditions were right. In fact, Tauro had informed the Kingsguard of the poisoned needle and dart and they had taken countermeasures. ¡°Surrender and tell us who your employer is. No one got killed this time.¡± One of the Kingsguard tried to persuade the assassin. His words greatly hurt the assassin¡¯s self-esteem. Yes, he had not killed anyone this time. He, who prided himself on being a first-class assassin, hadn¡¯t been able to kill a single child. The child he had cornered had somehow managed to escape from the top of the tower and the child had trapped him, leaving him in a tight spot. It was humiliating. But wait a minute. If the trick the kid used to jump off the tower was still there¡­could I do it too? The assassin thought. No time to think about it. Either way, if he gets caught, he¡¯s done as an assassin. He had no choice but to take a chance! The assassin stood on the edge of the tower, surrounded by Kingsguard and mimicked every move Tauro took. Because you never know what could be the switch in a trick. Of course, there was no such trick, but he was serious about his last chance. ¡°I win. Goodbye.¡± He even mimicked Tauro¡¯s line to him and jumped back. Of course, there was nothing behind him, so he was flying headfirst to the ground. Waaaa! With a shout, the assassin fell in front of Tauro, making a loud noise and dying. ¡°I never thought¡­he would jump down and kill himself¡­. What a decision by the enemy¡­¡± The assassin was simply imitating Tauro out of a desire to save his life, but of course Tauro hadn¡¯t imagined it that far. Tauro laid his hands on the body and decided to leave the cleanup to the guards who had rushed to the scene. ¡°Now that we¡¯ve gotten rid of the troublesome assassin¡­ We must quickly find a trustworthy guardian for Aeris from a powerful noble family, get rid of the Marquise Van Dyne¡¯s clutches and break her ambitions¡­. We have quite a few more nobles on our side, but that¡¯s all we have right now.¡± Tauro pondered this and that as he returned to the inn. There was no schedule for the next meeting with Prince Flue. He¡¯s also busy with school and his duties as a prince, so he doesn¡¯t have much free time. He seemed to have something important to talk about, but Tauro wouldn¡¯t know what it was until he met with him. Besides, it had already been a month since they left the village of Dansas. Tauro wrote a letter to Shin and Rumeya about their situation, but he wondered if they would be okay. He thought, ¡°I¡¯m worried about Aeris, but I¡¯m sure they¡®re worried about Aeris, too¡±. Tauro did not know how much longer it would take, but for now he had to concentrate on Aeris. When he arrived at the inn, he found a carriage parked there that belonged to a nobleman. Since they weren¡¯t scheduled to meet today, did this mean that the noble had visited them? Tauro hurried back to his room to find a person who appeared to be a messenger from a noble family in front of Aeris¡¯s room in the middle of telling her that she was invited to the mansion to meet with his master. ¡°Ah, Tauro, welcome back! You¡¯re early today. This is Count Ayanshi¡¯s messenger.¡± Aeris spoke to Tauro, looking for a helping hand. ¡°Count Ayanshi?¡± The messenger thought it would be quicker to persuade this child than Aeris, who would not shake her head. ¡°My master, Count Ayanshi, wishes to see you now, so I have come as his emissary.¡± It¡¯s unusual for a nobleman who cares about his reputation to ask to meet with me. Does it mean that he wants to ride the winning horse? Speaking of Count Ayansi, I believe he was a powerful noble in the Marquis of Haragoura faction¡­. The Marquis of Haragoura is the leader of a historic, senior aristocratic faction that is in a factional war with the vizier, the Duke of Barriera. There are several factions and he¡¯s the most powerful among them, but this faction has many rumors of aristocratic supremacy, which is typical of today¡¯s aristocrats, so Tauro did not want to get involved. However, he had gone to the trouble of setting up a messenger to ask them to come and if they refused, it might affect Aeris¡¯s position later on. Tauro thought about it, nodded to Aeris and urged her to get ready to go out. CH 157 Tauro and Aeris hurriedly changed their clothes and got ready. They were rushed by the messenger to the carriage that took them to the nobles¡¯ residential area, where many nobles were gathered. The two had already been to this area before when they met with the nobles. That¡¯s why Tauro suddenly felt a sense of discomfort. Count Ayanshi is a powerful noble in the Marquis of Halagoura faction. This area is home to a relatively large number of middle and lower class nobles, but the higher class nobles live in another area, in a mansion on a very large plot of land. Of course, there are some high ranking nobles who also live here, but is Count Ayanshi unique among that faction? Well, they¡¯ll know when they meet him. Tauro was convinced of this and the horse-drawn carriage took him to Count Ayanshi¡¯s mansion. The mansion he arrived at was quite large, but the atmosphere was not quite what one would expect from such a powerful man. ¡°Please come in, then.¡± The messenger showed them the way to the mansion. Tauro and the others were ushered inside. The interior was simple. Or rather, it was too simple. When Tauro checked the flow of people in the house with his ¡°presence detection,¡± he couldn¡¯t confirm whether the inhibition skill was being used or not. The escorting Kingsguard seemed to be the same and shook his head when he saw Tauro. There are many aristocrats who do not like to be probed and keep people with inhibiting skills by their side. This may be the characteristic of a high-ranking nobleman. ¡°The escorts will wait in this room.¡± The messenger tried to lead the guards and Tauro to another room. ¡°Oh, I will be with Miss Aeris, so please inform Count Ayanshi.¡± The messenger furrowed his brow in thought. ¡°Please wait a moment while I go confirm.¡± He then went into the guest room alone. After a while, the messenger returned. ¡°They are going to see you two, please come in.¡± Tauro and Aeris entered the guest room as guided by the messenger. The door to the guest room was about to close. Tauro felt a prickle of pain in his neck. Ah, this pattern again. Tauro looked back and saw a man standing in the shadow of the door with a thin tube in his mouth. Aeris was being held by the mouth and was being choked. Tauro¡¯s body went slightly numb, but quickly returned to normal. This time it was not a poison, but a paralyzing one. The weak effect was probably intended for Aeris. Tauro¡¯s ¡°resistance to abnormalities¡± and the ¡°Dark Spirit¡¯s Blessing (Weak),¡± which strengthens it, drowned out the effect of the paralysis. Tauro immediately drew his small sword and came at him. ¡°Why won¡¯t you fall down?¡± The men were surprised at the boy. First, Tauro slashed the arm of the man who was pinning Aeris in a chokehold, then released her and slashed at the man who had stuck the paralyzing needle in him. The man with the paralyzing needle was caught off guard by the needle not working on Tauro, so he was unable to respond to his movement and Tauro easily stabbed him in the side with his small sword, causing him to scream. Tauro no longer looked at the man with the paralyzing needle, but went to the man who he had slashed first. The man ran to the back door, holding his slashed arm. But Tauro¡¯s agility was more outstanding. In a flash, he closed the distance and thrust a small sword into his thigh. ¡°It hurts!¡± The man fell and crumpled to the ground in place, clutching at the door. Outside the noble room, the messenger man could be heard pushing and shoving with the Kingsguard in front of the door. ¡°Aeris, are you alright?¡± ¡°I¡¯m okay. Tauro, are you alright with the needle in your neck?¡± Aeris looked at Tauro¡¯s neck with concern. ¡°I¡¯m fine.¡± He replied, pulling out the needle and dumping it on the spot to show it to her. ¡°It looks like the Marquise of Van Dyne sent them to do this too¡­¡± As he looked at the wounded men, Tauro understood the discomfort he had been feeling. The messenger was struggling with the guards in front of the door, but when the door opened and Tauro came out, he was surprised and perhaps because of his surprise, he became unresisting and was held back by the guards. ¡°It was a trap.¡± Tauro reported to the Kingsguard, who entered the room, seized the two wounded men and tied them up. The injuries were quickly treated with potions from Tauro and healing magic from the Kingsguard. ¡°I suppose this was supposed to work in conjunction with my re-assassination.¡± Tauro said to Aeris as they pushed the three criminals into the carriage and took a breath. ¡°What? Tauro, were you targeted again?¡± Tauro remembered something he had not yet reported, and when he explained what had happened with the assassin in the morning, Aeris had a mixed expression, not knowing whether to be angry or relieved. CH 158 A few days have passed since Tauro¡¯s second assassination attempt and Aeris¡¯s kidnapping attempt. The truth has come to light. Among the men captured in the kidnapping attempt were servants of the Van Dyne family who had been hired for their inhibitory skills. The servant¡¯s testimony revealed that he had deceived them in the name of Count Ayanshi. The servant was also the one who gave the orders, and his crew included the man who served as a messenger, a man from the assassination guild who used a paralyzing poison on Tauro, and a leader who escaped and was never caught. According to the statement of the man who served as the instructor, there was also a carriage waiting at the back of the mansion to carry away the kidnapped Aeris, but they also escaped. It seems that Tauro¡¯s presence this time was a big surprise to them. The man in charge of giving instructions was only supposed to use his inhibiting skills, but he ended up taking on the role of strangling Aeris. However, he blurted out that it was all a failure because it was so unexpected. The assassination guild man was apparently hired by the Marquise de Van Dyne. The fact that she hired this assassin from the assassination guild proved that she was in touch with the underworld. After all, assassination guilds are the dark side of this country. Although it is called a guild, it is not recognized by the government. On the surface, this existence is ¡°evil,¡± but whether it is a ¡°necessary evil¡± or an ¡°absolute evil¡± may change the pursuit of the Marquise de Van Dyne, depending on how it is handled. Such information came to my knowledge through a letter from Count Connoen, Commander of the Order of the Kingsguard. No matter how much she wanted to bring her own daughter home, it was not a good reason to even use the assassination guild to do it, so she wouldn¡¯t be immune from criticism if the world found out about it. As for Tauro¡¯s assassination attempt, there¡¯s no evidence because it was against a commoner and the perpetrator jumped to his death from the tower. It would be difficult to pursue the case from that direction. Now it has created an atmosphere in which Aeris needs a guardian to protect her properly. The nobles would have no opposition to such an incident that would leave evidence. All that remained was to decide who would be the guardian, which had been postponed. After all, the person would be the guardian of the daughter of the Marquise of Van Dyne, a famous family and the guardian had to be a nobleman who could silence the Marquise of Van Dyne¡­. Tauro reread the letter from Count Connoen and sorted out all this information in his mind. It was early afternoon. Prince Flue informed him that he had time for a meeting. Normally, he would have given Tauro plenty of time to prepare before the date, but this time it seemed to be sudden. So, he hurriedly prepared for the visit with Aeris. After getting ready, they got into the carriage and headed for the royal castle. When they arrived at Prince Flue¡¯s room, his first words of concern were for Tauro. ¡°Tauro! I heard you were attacked twice by assassins! Are you sure you¡¯re not hurt?¡± ¡°I¡¯m fine, Your Highness Prince Flue. Oh, by the way, a few days ago there was a commotion over the kidnapping of Aeris.¡± ¡°Is that so? Aeris-san, are you all right too? Are you hurt?¡± ¡° Flue-sama, I was fine thanks to Tauro. Thank you for your concern.¡± Aeris bowed reverently. ¡°Don¡¯t be like that, Aeris-san. You¡¯re my friend too. No one is watching us here, so make yourself comfortable. Yes, I¡¯ve called you guys here today because of Aeris-san.¡± ¡°Is it¡­me?¡± Aeris had no idea of what was going on, but since she was called together with Tauro, she knew it must be something related to Tauro. However, she couldn¡¯t imagine it being about her personally. ¡°Yes. Aeris-san is looking for a guardian, isn¡¯t she? It was a topic of conversation in the royal family, so I told them she was a friend of mine and my mother said she would be her guardian. If the royal family becomes her guardian, no one can complain!¡± Prince Flue sniffs proudly. Tauro did not expect this. It¡¯s a family affair of one noble family, he didn¡¯t expect the royal family to name a guardian. Besides, Prince Flue¡¯s mother is, of course, the wife of His Majesty the King, the head of this country. She¡¯s the most favored person in the world right now and if she were to become Aeris¡¯s guardian, there would be no one better. As a nobleman in the service of the royal family, their interests are clear, so she won¡¯t be taken advantage of or be vulnerable like with other nobles. She just has to serve more than ever. Aeris¡¯s late father, the Marquis of Van Dyne, was also a loyal retainer, so it was simply a matter of following in her parent¡¯s footsteps. ¡°Are you sure you want to do this?¡± Aeris could barely respond to the offer, which she had not expected. ¡°Of course. It would also be a way for the royal family to repay the Marquis de Van Dyne for his loyalty. This will put an end to the family feud.¡± Prince Flue clapped Tauro and Aeris on the shoulder, happy to have been able to help his friend. CH 159 The announcement of the decision on Aeris¡¯s guardianship was to be made at a later date in a big way. In the aristocratic circles, the Van dyne family turmoil was a matter of interest since it was now well-known. Tauro was relieved to hear this. The nobles he had met had all had their own merits and demerits, and he had been unable to choose one. All of them were eager to sell their favors to the Van Dyne family and eventually to incorporate them into their own power. Tauro had initially wondered if he could choose a guardian from the Prime Minister¡¯s faction, but they were silent on the matter. Using his personal connections, he also sought to contact the Prime Minister, the Duke of Barriera, but he was met with nothing but silence on the matter. Therefore, he was unable to use the connections he had relied on, and he had to work hard to find a guardian, but things bore fruit with an offer from the royal family that could not have been better selected. There is a side story to this, and the reason it came up in the royal family was because the Prime Minister spoke to the king during a reversi game. The reason why the Prime Minister did not meet with Tauro was because he thought that if he had, Tauro would have been noticed and would have been involved in a factional war, but as expected, Tauro would not know about this until a little later. The decision of the guardianship quickly turned the tables. The Marquise de Van Dyne was now completely unable to touch Aeris. Even before the announcement, rumors were already circulating among the nobles. It was only speculation that a royal family member might become her guardian, but the rumor alone would serve as a check. Tauro was finally relieved that Aeris¡¯s safety was finally going to be assured. Besides, Tauro¡¯s fortune was running out. It cost him a lot of money just to meet with the noblemen. Tauro¡¯s wealth, which had been quite rich, had been swallowed up by this incident and he was on the verge of poverty, so it was good that the problem had been solved before it disappeared. While he was calculating his future expenses at the inn, he received a request from the Garfish Trading Company to meet with them. They wanted to discuss the commercialization of the ¡°lantern,¡± a magic tool made by Tauro, and the ¡°non-wetting cloth,¡± which uses slime bodily fluids. ¡°Consulting me at a time when I¡¯m broke¡­¡­ was he also doing the math?¡± Tauro recalled the smiling face of Mardai, the representative of the Garfish Trading Company, and he also suspected that the merchant¡¯s sense of smell made him aim for the right time,¡­¡­. **** ¡°©¤©¤That¡¯s what we¡¯ve decided on for the price of the lanterns. We have already secured several major workshops for the production. As soon as we get your approval, we¡¯ll be up and running.¡± Tauro visited the trading company and immediately entered into business negotiations. Tauro was overwhelmed by the enthusiastic explanation from Mardai himself, the representative of the Garfish Trading Company. Aeris was not there. Aeris tried to follow him as usual, but he decided she should keep quiet until the announcement of her guardianship. She knew she was causing trouble for Tauro, so she agreed, albeit reluctantly. Back to the story, the unit price of the lanterns was also set low at Mardai¡¯s suggestion due to Mardai¡¯s momentum. In other words, Tauro will remain poor for the time being, as they can barely make a profit by selling at a low profit margin. He would receive a large sum of money in the form of a contract fee, but since he would be staying in King¡¯s Landing for the time being, he would have to deal with the nobility, so he had a feeling it would be flying that way. ¡°I understand. Then, the innovative technical parts will be supplied only by the one workshop that signed the special contract, and the other workshops will take care of the rest of the work, is that right?¡± ¡°Yes,. Tauro-san. As proposed, we will have each workshop manufacture the parts separately and the assembly will be done by a workshop affiliated with our trading company. This way, productivity will be much higher than the conventional method of having a single workshop manufacture everything from one part to the next. I didn¡¯t realize this way of doing things ¡­¡­, it¡¯s groundbreaking!¡± ¡°With this method, we don¡¯t have to teach the techniques from start to finish, so it will be easier to increase the number of workers.¡± ¡°Then, we will start production immediately. Hey! Somebody!¡± Mardai called his servants and asked them to send a message to the various workshops. Mardai once again praised the ¡°lantern¡± magic tool. ¡°Tauro-san, I believe that this ¡®lantern¡¯ will be a bigger hit than reversi. We are fortunate to have an exclusive contract with the Marches Chamber of Commerce.¡± ¡°I hope so.¡± ¡°No, this will sell like hotcakes! There is not a household in the world that doesn¡¯t need lights. The oil-based lanterns of the past will be eliminated, and this new magic tool, the lantern, will take over the world! This is a revolution!¡± It sounds like an exaggeration, but Mardai, a great merchant, said it, and when he was told that much, Tauro began to feel that way. CH 160 In the guest room at the headquarters of the Garfish Trading Company, the conversation with the company¡¯s representative, Mardai, continued. ¡°So, the ¡®cloth that doesn¡¯t allow you ¡®get wet¡¯ that was explained to me along with the ¡®lantern¡¯ the other day¡­¡­¡± ¡®Yes. So you did exactly what Aeris described and the prototype didn¡¯t turn out well?¡± ¡°Yes! How did you know that!¡± Mardai bent forward, closing in on Tauro across the desk. ¡°If I¡¯m imagining it right, the slime¡¯s bodily fluids didn¡¯t settle on the fabric.¡± ¡°Yes, it didn¡¯t! The surface didn¡¯t become as smooth as the cloth Tauro-dono showed us!¡± Mardai wanted to know why. Tauro looked around the large guest room. ¡°This is a big room,¡± He pulled out a large workbench from his magic storage and placed it in a corner of the guest room. ¡°This is ¡­¡­, a workbench, right?¡± Mardai asked Tauro as he stood up and looked at the desk closely to make sure. ¡°Yes, But it¡¯s not just a workbench, it¡¯s a magic workbench.¡± ¡°it has magic specs?¡± ¡°You do know that magic stones don¡¯t come out of slimes, right?¡± ¡°Yes, of course. Therefore, it is the weakest demon that is not even a target for defeat. However, if left unchecked, it is a nuisance because it melts many things. ¡­¡­¡± ¡°Melting ¡­¡­, oh, I just thought of that! No¡­¡­ sorry, we were talking about cloth now. The slime, however, has a weak magic power in its bodily fluids.¡± ¡°Body fluids?¡± ¡°Yes. So this desk has a magic circle that uses the slime¡¯s weak magic power to fix itself to the cloth.¡± ¡± ¡­¡­, that means ¡­¡­.¡± ¡°If you don¡¯t work on this desk, no matter how many times you work elsewhere, the slime¡¯s bodily fluids will never settle on the cloth. Aeris just watched me work on it at home, so she didn¡¯t notice it.¡± ¡°I see. ¡­¡­. So that¡¯s what you meant! This is great. Unless you have this workbench, there¡¯s no way to imitate it anywhere else.¡± ¡°I have a few of these workbenches available, If you have a tabletop, all you have to do is put the magic circle on top of the tabletop and glue it to the surface of the workbench. If you peel it off, the anti-theft system will erase the magic circle, so it can¡¯t be stolen.¡± ¡°Can I have some workbenches delivered to the fabric store that we have contracted with? If we don¡¯t start the work, the fabric store will become a slime farm since we¡¯ve already collected slime as raw material¡­¡­.¡± ¡°That¡¯s troubling, let¡¯s head over there right now.¡± Mardai must have had a large amount of slime collected in advance for the production of ¡°non-wetting cloth. The cloth store was located far from the Garfish Trading Company, so we decided to go there by horse-drawn carriage. After a long ride, we found that the cloth store was located on a large plot of land near the city walls, which was not a good location. ¡°The cloth merchant used to be a cloth producer and wholesaler, but he was on the verge of closing his store because of competition, so we set him up here. It is far from the center of town, but we were able to secure a large plot of land, so in addition to production and wholesale, we also invited a sewing shop to streamline the entire process of creating products. Since we are in a remote place, we haven¡¯t received any complaints about the slimes.¡± Mardai explained as he got off the wagon. ¡®So this whole area belongs to the Garfish Trading Company? ¡®Yes. I thought about owning land in the center of town on the workshop street or the sewing street, but the land is expensive and the lots are small, so I got a lot of space here away from the center of town at a low price. All it would cost me is the cost of transportation and time.¡± Mardai is a merchant after all. When Tauro had talked to him before about improving efficiency, he had immediately understood and put it into action, purchasing such a piece of land. He must have originally had a plan to abandon this cloth shop, but when I told him about the ¡°non-wetting cloth,¡± he immediately changed direction, quickly gathered slime, and is now trying to make a prototype, so I bow down to his ability to execute. However, I wish he would not do this without consulting me¡­¡­. Mardai showed us a large warehouse in a remote location, where many barrels were piled up. The contents of the barrels in this warehouse are all slime. ¡°Huh, ¡­¡­. All of this?¡± ¡°Yes, all of it.¡± ¡°¡­¡­We still don¡¯t know if we can sell it, isn¡¯t this too much ¡­¡­?¡± ¡°It¡¯s okay. Don¡¯t worry, these will sell just as well as the lanterns!¡± Mardai said confidently. ¡°No, the lanterns haven¡¯t sold yet either, have they?¡± ¡°Tauro-dono, you must be confident! I guarantee you that this will be the biggest seller since Reversi!¡± Ha-ha-ha! Mardai¡¯s exuberant laughter echoed through the warehouse. Tauro thought to himself, ¡°I¡¯ll leave the rest up to this clever merchant¡±. CH 161 When I returned to the inn after my business meeting with Mardai, the representative of the Garfish Trading Company, I found that the adventurer who had been sent to investigate Marquis de Vandyne¡¯s family had arrived to report his findings. ¡°Ah, thank you for your hard work.¡± ¡°I¡¯m reporting today that ¡­¡­, the subject of the survey appears to have given birth.¡± ¡°What?¡± Tauro asked back. ¡°The subject¡¯s partner was so happy that he bragged to everyone around him, ¡®Now that the child has been born, I still have a chance to become a marquis! ¡®he said.¡± The only way for Uwakin to become a marquis is to wait for Aeris to come of age and take her as a wife. That is impossible because Aeris refuses to do so. The only other way is to have a child with Aeris and become a father, but that is also impossible. After all, the Marquise of Vandyne and Uwakin would probably announce that the child born to them was between Aeris and Uwakin. Since Aeris has the blood of the Marquise of Vandyne in her veins, there is still a possibility that the bloodline of the child could be falsified by disposing of Aeris¡¯s body and presenting the Marquise of Vandyne¡¯s blood when the bloodline is magically investigated, since the child¡¯s bloodline is connected. Her husband, who can testify, is already gone, so she must have some idea of how to deceive. However, there is a serious drawback to this. Aeris will deny it. Therefore, in order to prevent her from denying it, it is necessary to kidnap Aeris and fake her death by claiming it was due to postpartum malady. Or, after assassinating her, they could fake her corpse. ¡­¡­ Either way, the rumor that Aeris will have a guardian and that it will be announced the day after tomorrow must be spreading and heard over there, so they must think they don¡¯t have much time. The truth is that they are almost deadlocked with the attempted kidnapping of Aeris, but by the looks of the report Uwakin is probably not giving up just yet. It is a well-known fact that Aeris is not pregnant, as she has met with many of the nobles, so it was easy to imagine that he still thinks he can fake it, although it¡¯s pathetic that he thinks he can still fake it before the announcement. In fact, if the royal family had announced it once she was under guardianship, this would have negated the royal family¡¯s decision, which would have stopped them, but since no official announcement has been made yet, that may have backfired on us. ¡®¡­¡­ today or tomorrow.¡¯ Either of these is the only date the other party can carry out the attack. Tauro gathered Aeris and her escorts, the Kingsguard, and told them about the report from the adventurers and Tauro¡¯s prediction. ¡°¡­¡­ haven¡¯t given up yet?¡± The escorting guard was taken aback. ¡°I think they will try to kill Aeris with all the men they can muster today or tomorrow.¡± ¡°I see. I¡¯ll have to be off duty tomorrow as well and join you here¡­¡­.¡± The escort by the Kingsguard is basically done by those who are off-duty. It¡¯s dangerous, but does it make your blood boil? ¡°Huh? That¡¯s not it! I j just don¡¯t want to impose it on others because I know the danger.¡± Contrary to Tauro¡¯s imagination, he was a very responsible person. This Kingsguard was the one who had been in charge of capturing the assassins during the last assassination attempt on Tauro at the empty Tree tower. ¡°I apologize for repeatedly putting you in harm¡¯s way.¡± Tauro apologized, and Aeris bowed with him. ¡°No, I won¡¯t feel good if we fail to you them after we¡¯ve come this far, especially since we know they¡¯re going to attack us¡± The Kingsguard laughed and nodded along with the other Kingsguard. If we know the attack is coming, we know what we have to do. We decided to move quickly from the inn to a house on the grounds of the Garfish Trading Company¡¯s cloth store that we had visited during the day. We could not involve people who were not involved in the attack, as there was a high possibility that the other party would come after us by any means necessary. Moreover, the area surrounding the trading company¡¯s premises is tranquil and open, making it easy to take countermeasures against an attack. When we arrived at the house on the site we had moved to, the guards checked the surrounding area. They were convinced that this would make it easier to protect us. I was convinced that it would be easier to defend. We had asked the innkeeper to inform Mardai, the representative of the Garfish Trading Company, that we were renting the house, but of course had not received a reply. I told him to stay away from me because I would get him involved, so he couldn¡¯t refuse. ¡°I¡¯ve sent a request for help to the Commander, and I¡¯m sure many off-duty people will be on their way starting this evening.¡± One of the guards reported this, probably to reassure Tauro and Aeris. Speaking of which, there were only three guards, and one of them seemed to have gone out to call for help. ¡°Aeris, take care of the rest with your barrier magic.¡± ¡°Finally, I can be of service.¡± Aeris smiles wryly and sets up two or three layers of warding around the area. With this, she created a state where she could respond to different situations, such as detecting approaching people, people with malicious intent, and countermeasures against magic. ¡°¡­¡­Tauro-kun. We have some uninvited guests¡± ¡°I checked too. These aren¡¯t the reinforcement of the Kingsguard.¡± The Kingsguard, who had been outside, must have noticed with their skills, and came into the house to warn us. ¡°There¡¯s only one guard left, so I guess they thought they had a chance.¡± Tauro went outside, drew his bow and arrow, and fired an arrow as a preemptive strike toward the darkness that the enemy was approaching in. CH 162 The assassins sent by the Marquise Vandyne numbered thirty-five in all. Not only those from the assassination guild, but also mercenaries like myself, adventurers, and vagabonds, all of whom had been hastily rounded up. The plan was to attack the inn tomorrow night and kill everyone, including witnesses, but since the target had moved to a new location and the guards were down to three, we decided to take a chance and attack in the cover of darkness. The area was so dark that it would be completely dark by the time of the raid. The other party had apparently moved to a house with a good view of the surrounding area, which was almost empty, so we could attack without worrying about witnesses. The target woman is said to be only 15 years old, so the profit margin is small, but the reward is good. Besides, it¡¯s such a dirty job. I¡¯m sure my employer will continue to use this as a story to extort me in the future. In the distance, I saw a house with a light in it. It looks like the house with the target. I thought, ¡°Maybe it¡¯s time to scatter around and surround the target house,¡± but no one said anything. It was at that moment. For a moment, I thought I heard a sound that cut through the atmosphere. ¡°Aaah!¡± ¡°Gah!¡± ¡°Ouch!¡± ¡°Ow!¡± The man next to me fell with a short cry, and the men behind me fell in succession. If you look closely in the darkness, you can see an arrow piercing deeply into the right shoulder of the man in the back. That is to say, one arrow had pierced through three men and seriously wounded a fourth. The next moment, before I could confirm it, several more men are mortally wounded by a single arrow and scream in the same way. ¡°Such a powerful and accurate arrow in such darkness! Scatter, or you¡¯ll be a good target!¡± I warn the people around me, astonished. At that moment, another few victims are already on their way with a single arrow. ¡°Take cover in the shadow of the guys with a shield!¡± It¡¯s an open area with no hiding spots. Those with shields had no choice but to block the arrows flying from the darkness. I stepped forward with my shield at the ready. Then, the lights of thehouse in the distance went out and it was completely dark. The next moment, a white light appeared from beyond the darkness. ¡°illumination magic? Target that one, we¡¯re going to attack too!¡± The commander was angered by the fact that I had given an order while ignoring the chain of command. ¡°You don¡¯t give orders without my say-so! I¡¯m in command¡­¡± The commander shouted as he hid behind a soldier holding a shield. A dark light approached at high speed and penetrated the soldier holding the shield, along with the shield, and an arrow pierced through the commander¡¯s chest. ¡°An arrow of light granted to an arrow! The guards have magic buffs watch out!¡± The power of the light arrow that pierced through the shield scared the others. When the huddled hobos saw this, they screamed and ran away. However, the five assassins from the assassination guild were not intimidated, but saw their immediate target as an escort who would fire a bow and arrow, and they scattered to the left and right, closing in. I ran to catch up with them, but as expected of the assassins from the assassination guild, they were too fast for me to catch up. The next moment, I couldn¡¯t see the assassin who was running in front of me. The assassin running in front of me touched an invisible wall, screamed like he had been hit by lightning, and stopped moving, paralyzed and smoking. A trap by warding magic? While he was surprised by the higher magic and stopped in his tracks, the other assassins were not frightened and stepped out. The reason is that once a trap by warding magic is activated, it disappears. But one more touched an invisible wall and was engulfed in flames. A double trap! This made the assassins stop in their tracks. Then, another arrow flew out, and one of the assassins fell to the ground with a short cry. The two remaining assassins readied their shortbows and fired arrows at the tips of the flying arrows to keep the enemy in check. I caught up with the halted assassin and stepped into the trap, not fearing the trap, passing it as I went. Nothing happened. ¡°There are only two traps in the barrier!¡± It was the moment I told those following me. With a roar by my face, two arrows sliced through the air and shot through the two assassins. I hurriedly readied my shield and closed in on the guard who fired the arrows. I caught sight of the fearsome foe in the darkness, ¡­¡­ A child!? I stopped in my tracks in surprise, and at that moment, an arrow was released from the bow held by the child. I saw the arrow close in on me, and it was the last image of my life. *** Tauro was approached by a hodgepodge of assassins. They fired arrows of light, which made them more visible in the darkness, and the enemy rushed to Tauro like insects to light. Then, the two Kingsguard guards separated from Aeris and joined the fray. ¡°You¡¯re amazing! Leave the enemy to us two and shoot arrows without worrying about them!¡± The Kingsguard said as he dodged through the arrows and cut down the approaching enemies. The battle was going well; the five assassins from the assassination guild had been defeated, but the rest of the enemies were also up in arms, and the battle was going back and forth. Tauro, who had been shooting arrows, pulled out his small sword to fight back as the enemy began to get too close. Gradually, they began to be pushed back by the enemy, who had the advantage in numbers. Someone said, ¡°The target is inside the house.¡± And that was when With a neigh of horses and the sound of their hooves, a troop of cavalrymen appeared. It was the Kingsguard, led by Count Conowen. The enemy realized that the situation had changed drastically, but before they could flee, they were surrounded in a flash and surrendered CH 163 In the morning, the guards rushed in to examine the bodies. One of them was that of the man who had commanded this hodgepodge of assassins, Uwakin. ¡°This man, I believe, is the one who was rumored to have had an ugly affair with the Marquise de Vandyne. It is not good that this man is dead. According to those who we captured, their employer was, at least for the time being, this man. Without the testimony of Uwakin, we cannot prove the involvement of the Marquise de Vandyne.¡± The head of the guard raised a practical issue. ¡®You have the testimony of the perpetrators of the attempted kidnapping, don¡¯t you?¡± Tauro, who was present at the inspection, pointed out. ¡°About that, he was killed last night in his cell by someone. Besides, without physical evidence, it¡¯s difficult to accuse a high ranking nobleman when the testimony of a lowly person is gained by the authorities. So it would have been nice if we could have at least had Uwakin testify, even though he was an amorous lover and a fallen nobleman. ¡­¡­ ¡°You mean you can¡¯t charge her with a crime on circumstantial evidence?¡± ¡°We have received secret orders from the royal family. We are trying to find out the connection between the Marquise de Van Dyne and the guild of assassins in order to find physical evidence. Judging from what happened this time, these two parties must have signed a number of contracts. It would not be surprising if there is at least one document that can be used as evidence.¡± ¡°Documents, I see¡­¡­¡± ¡°If there were, it would be irrefutable evidence, and we¡¯d have a shot.¡± ¡°¡­..I understand. I will try to find them. Tauro answered, and then wondered what he should do. Aeris, who had been sleeping in the house for a while, woke up. Behind her is a Kingsguard wearing luxurious sheet metal armor, who is not on duty. Since an assassination attempt of this magnitude had occurred, the royal family, her guardians, had instructed him first thing in the morning to protect Aeris¡¯ safety. ¡°What¡¯s wrong Tauro? You have a scary face.¡± ¡°Oh, good morning, Aerith. I¡¯m here to see you, Do you know the layout of the Marquis of Vandyne¡¯s mansion in King¡¯s Landing, and where the vaults are?¡± ¡°Of course I do, but what are you going to do?¡± ¡°Of course. Lupin stuff.¡± ¡°Lupin?¡± ¡°Well, he was a thief.¡± ¡°Excuse me!? We¡¯re the Marquise de Vandyne, a leading neutralist. It¡¯s not easy just to get into our house ¡­¡­, but, that could work¡± ¡°No?¡± ¡°You can go with me. The guards are very strict on the outside, but they¡¯re loose on the inside, so once you¡¯re inside, you¡¯re in.¡± ¡°No, no, no, Aeris! They tried to assassinate you! it¡¯s not safe for you to jump in there!¡± ¡°Of course, we¡¯ll have to get the Kingsguard to come with us.¡± ¡°But won¡¯t they see you then?¡± ¡°She knows that if she continues as she is now, she will lose her position the moment I have a guardian. She will not tolerate such humiliation because then the guardian will control everything. So I¡¯m sure she¡¯ll bite when I tell her I¡¯m going to help them. So, what are you going to steal?¡± ¡°Documents showing their connection to the Assassination Guild?¡± ¡°¡­¡­ I see, they tried to kill me. If you have proof of that, that means he¡¯s finished too¡­¡­.¡± ¡°¡­¡­, do you want me to stop?¡± ¡°No, I can¡¯t be naive after all this. We¡¯ve got a lot of people involved, so let¡¯s get this settled properly.¡± ¡± ¡­¡­.Then let¡¯s head to the Marquis de Vandyne¡¯s mansion right away¡±. Without warning, Tauro and Aeris took the Kingsguard with them and visited the residence of the Marquis of Vandyne¡± The Marquise thought about fleeing in a panic when she heard that her daughter had visited with the Kingsguard, but the Guild of Assassins had reported that the captured servants had been silenced by the Guild of Assassins. ¡°I should be able to act unaware¡¯ she thought. The other party was the one who had killed Uwakin, and although I hate her, I have to be patient and meet with her to make her feel sorry for me as a victim. Yes, I should hold the baby in my arms and welcome it. The nanny had been left with him, and I hadn¡¯t even seen his face yet, but I had to get him here as soon as possible. ¡°Bring my child here. As for Aeris and the others, take them to the guest room! I¡¯ll take him in my arms. Hurry up, you worthless bastards!¡± The maid, having informed her of Aeris visit, said, ¡°Yes! Immediately!¡± and leaves the room in a hurry. The nanny, saw the baby was sleeping in the crib, took the sleeping baby in her arms and brought him to Aeris¡¯ mother. The baby was sleeping, but when she took him in her arms, he woke up and began to cry. CH 164 Tauro, Aeris, and four of the Kingsguard, who had been waiting outside, were invited into the house by the maid who had come to pick them up. There were six other Kingsguard waiting outside the house, and they were ready to respond immediately in case something happened. Aeris was greeted by a lineup of maids and servants inside the mansion. It had been about two years since Aeris had been in her old home in King¡¯s Landing, but the number of maids and servants she knew had dwindled. Among them, Mei, the head maid, who was a good friend and loved her very much, saw Aeris and her eyes welled up. Some of the servants were also moved to tears when they saw Aeris, who had grown up and become beautiful over the past two years. Aeris was also moved to tears at the sight of the few remaining people she had known, but she decided not to cry in anticipation of her confrontation with the madam and held her tears. An elderly man whom Aeris did not know, who seemed to be in charge of the stewards of the residence, reprimanded those who were in tears, but soon the head maid, Mei, stepped forward to protect everyone and took charge of guiding Aeris and the others. The butler man tried to give this May a hard time, too. ¡°Hey! Are you going to expose the ugliness of the Marquise¡¯s family in public without showing us around? Shame on you!¡± Aeris reprimanded the butler and asked May, the head maid, to show them around. ¡°I understand, please come this way.¡± The head maid bows and leads Aeris and the group to the guest room. Tauro saw that the head maid wore round glasses, had long purple hair tied back in a bun, and a well-endowed chest that could be seen even through her maid¡¯s uniform. She was about twenty-six years old. She was a beautiful woman with a hint of sex appeal, but her eyes were kind and concerned for Aeris. As the head maid led Aeris and the others on foot, she probably had a lot to say, and was about to say something, but she held back and led them silently to the guest room. The head maid once again bade Aeris and the others farewell, and then left the room herself as the other maids were present. Aeris wanted to call out to her, but she lost the chance to do so. As she waited in the noble guest room, she could faintly hear the baby crying as it approached the noble guest room. The moment the door was opened, the baby¡¯s crying was maximal. The baby appeared in the arms of the Marquise de Vandyne herself. Waaa waaah! ¡°Oh, my darling Aeris! I heard there was an unfortunate misunderstanding this time, and your mother was heartbroken to hear it. This child too¡­¡± ogyaa ogyaa£¡ The Marquise de Vandyne¡¯s three-sentence play was interrupted by the baby¡¯s crying. She thought she would never get to the end of the story. ¡°This child is crying for you, too, with pain in his heart. she added. ¡°But this is a grown-up discussion, so let¡¯s ask the grieving child to leave the room.¡± She handed the baby to the maid at her side. The baby¡¯s crying stopped so suddenly that Tauro and the others thought it was hilarious, but they watched as the maid took the baby in her arms and left the room. ¡°Now then¡­¡± The Marquise de Van Duyne was about to speak. ¡°Excuse me! I have a stomach ache, may I go to the bathroom?¡± Tauro interrupted her. ¡°¡­¡­ then I¡¯ll let the maid show you¡­¡± ¡°He can find the bathroom by himself, mother. Tauro, you can find the toilet at ¡­¡­.¡± Aeris explained, and Tauro nodded and quickly left the room. As soon as Tauro left the guest room, he cut off all signs of his presence at once with the ¡°presence blocker. He then headed straight for the office that Aeris had told him about. According to Aeris¡¯s estimation, there is a high possibility that the safe is in the office. It was a custom-made item, large and difficult to move, and had three keys, one of which had to be unlocked by magic. However, it is said that anyone who knows the Marquise¡¯s magic can unlock it. So, Aeris will unlock the keys from a distance by applying warding magic from the guest room. The problem was the other two: the keys were supposed to be in the possession of the lady and the butler, so they would usually have to be dealt with, but Tauro didn¡¯t need them. Yes, Tauro was going to open these two locks by himself in a short time. It was not as easy as in the dramas and movies of his previous life, but now, with the dexterity compensation from ¡°Precision¡± and ¡°God Arrow Hands,¡± Tauro¡¯s dexterity was in a realm where it could be called cheating. Furthermore, he was confident that the keys of this world were not as complicated as in his previous life. When I arrived at the office, the door was slightly ajar. There were signs of people in my ¡°presence detection¡± and I could see their silhouettes with my ¡°true eyes¡± as well. So I carefully peeked into the room through the gap in the door and saw the head maid hurriedly opening a drawer in the office and searching for something. Behind the drawer, there was a very large safe, and I could see that a key was already inserted in one of the keyholes. It seemed that the head maid and myself were after the same thing. CH 165 Tauro wanted the head maid to leave the office, but she would not leave until she found what she was looking for, or rather, until she had achieved her goal, so he decided to talk to her. ¡°What are you doing?¡± The head maid regretted her lack of attention and slowly looked in the direction she was approached. There was the boy that Aeris had with her. When the head maid confirmed this, she felt relieved inside ¡°Sir, are you lost? I am sorry, but you can¡¯t come in and out of a place like this. Please leave the room and I won¡¯t tell the Mistress. Then I called out to her, ¡°I think you¡¯re the one in trouble in this situation.¡± ¡°¡­¡­What are you talking about? I was just looking for something for her. I¡¯d be troubled if you say bad things about people.¡± ¡°I can check with Marquise de Vandyne now, you know, but that would be a problem for you and a problem for me and Aeris. We don¡¯t have much time, so may I ask you to step aside?¡± Tauro approached the head maid and pushed her attractive body aside and stood in front of the safe. ¡°¡­¡­ what?¡± ¡°What? I¡¯m going to open this safe now.¡± ¡°You can¡¯t do that, that¡¯s why I¡¯m looking for the key ¡­ oh¡± The head maid, realizing that she had made a slip of the tongue, stopped talking. ¡°You and I seem to have the same purpose. It¡¯s to open this safe. I want to open it for Aeris, you ¡­?¡± ¡°I am also for Miss Aeris!¡± The chief maid claimed his legitimacy. ¡°Then, we¡¯re together.¡± Tauro nodded with a smile. ¡°But I don¡¯t have one of the keys ¡­¡± The chief maid regretted that she couldn¡¯t find it no matter how much she searched. ¡°The key is probably with the Marquis, so we can¡¯t find it even if we looked for it, so I¡¯ll create a key myself.¡± Tauro had confirmed that she had the key to the safe when he looked at the Marquis with his ¡°true eyes.¡± ¡°Since I¡¯ve confirmed the shape of the last key ¡­, take out iron from¡± Magic Storage ¡°. Create it with¡± Creative Magic ¡°.¡± Tauro covered the iron block with both hands and made a key to the safe with ¡°Creative Magic¡±. ¡°eh?¡± The chief maid was surprised, not knowing what happened when the key came out of the boy¡¯s palm. ¡°¡­ After all,¡¯creative magic¡¯ drains a lot of magic power ¡­ Oh, I was planning to open it with a wire if I didn¡¯t have a key, but I¡¯m glad you got one.¡± When I said that, I inserted the key in the keyhole of the safe and twisted. Gacha There was a sound of the safe opening. ¡°Eh! I haven¡¯t unlocked the magic lock yet !?¡± ¡°It was opened by Aeris from the VIP room.¡± Then Tauro opened the heavy door of the big safe. Even with the ¡°God¡¯s Arrow Hand¡± compensating for his strength, he could feel the weight of the door. Behind the heavy door, there is a large space packed with precious metals, money, works of art, and important documents. The chief maid was appalled by the amount. ¡°¡­ It will take time to search through all this.¡± ¡°That¡¯s okay¡± Tauro at once put all the contents of the safe in his ¡°magic storage¡±. ¡°The contents of the safe, in an instant !?¡± A stunned maid chief. ¡°And take out what you want.¡± When Tauro said that, the documents that proved that Marquis Vandyne had signed a contract for assassination of Tauro, kidnapping of Aeris, and assassination appeared from the ¡°Magic Storage¡±. ¡°I should return the contents of the safe properly, right?¡± Then I held my hand over the safe and everything else was restored. No, it was more organized than before, so it was obvious that he had tampered with the safe¡¯s interior, but that didn¡¯t matter. As long as you get the documents, there is no problem. ¡°With that document, isn¡¯t Lady Aeris okay?¡± The chief maid confirmed with this mysterious boy in front of her. ¡°Yes, all I have to do is call an outside guard and arrest the marquise.¡± With that said, Tauro put away the documentary evidence in ¡°Magic Storage¡± just in case. ¡°Chief maid please call the outside guards. I will return to Aeris.¡± Tauro tried to leave the office after giving a bow to the chief maid. ¡°Wait a minute! What¡¯s your name?¡± ¡°Tauro, Aeris¡¯ friend Tauro.¡± ¡°I¡¯m Mei, the chief maid. Thank you for taking care of Miss Aeris.¡± The head maid bowed deeply to this mysterious boy as if entrusting him with her precious Aeris, whom she had taken care of since she was an apprentice maid. CH 166 After leaving the office and parting from the chief maid, I decided to return to the VIP room. Then, on the way, I encountered this butler of the Van Dine family. When the butler stares at me, ¡°Why is a commoner child walking in such a place? It seems you haven¡¯t stolen anything yet.¡± He looked at Tauro¡¯s whole body and confirmed. ¡°I wonder? I just might steal something while returning to the VIP room. Will you follow me?¡± I sarcastically replied to this elderly butler. ¡°Don¡¯t you know how to speak? Ha commoners! I¡¯m the lead deacon of this Marquis Vandyne household!¡± ¡± For now, right?¡± ¡°What did you say!?¡± The butler turned red and tried to grab him, but Tauro lightly evaded it. Guided by the chief maid, the guards came in there. ¡°Mei, what is the meaning of this! What do you mean by bringing the Kingsguard in! I¡¯ll tell the mistress again, do you think you¡¯ll go scot-free !?¡± The butler approached the maid chief Mei while cursing. ¡°You¡¯re in the way, please move. I don¡¯t care about being pardoned anymore.¡± The chief maid glared at the butler sharply. Then the guards behind her stepped in between the chief maid and pushed the butler aside. ¡°Let¡¯s hurry, you too¡± She urged Tauro to go to the VIP room. The butler tried to stop them, but one of the guards restrained him. Then the chief maid and Tauro lined up and headed for the guest room. ¡°-So, that¡¯s what Uwakin did on his own, so I¡¯m not involved. And I¡¯ won¡¯t try to kill my real daughter, that¡¯s scary ¡­ Aeris blames me, the parent, without any proof? How pitiful, poor me and my newborn baby ¡­ ¡° In the VIP room, the quarrel between the Marquise and Aeris continued. The Marquise tries to entice sympathy with her exaggerated acting, and if she¡¯s denied, she shifts responsibility to someone, and then ¡°where¡¯s the evidence?¡± She says.. Aeris was once again keenly aware of her real mother¡¯s lack of affection for herself. This woman¡¯s affection has always been directed only to one person, herself.. Even Uwakin, her lover, is useless to her now that he is dead. She blames him for her murder, but she does not even mention Uwakin himself. ¡± You hold the evidence, don¡¯t you, mother? ¡° Aeris said coldly. ¡°What are you talking about?¡± The Marquise naturally replies in a blur. ¡°My repeated kidnappings and assassination failures. There¡¯s no way you would have disposed of the contracts asking for the return of the contract money paid to the assassination guild.¡± ¡°I wonder what you mean by evidence from a while ago. Immediately after that person died, You started to blame me ¡­¡± ¡°It¡¯s because you brought the man you were having an affair with into our home the day after my father¡¯s disappearance!¡± ¡°Oh, that¡¯s a terrible accusation. And I¡¯m your parent too ¡­ Uwakin just comforted me when I was heart broken.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t twist things conveniently! The butler¡¯s and serfs, who had served for many years, were dismissed because they pointed it out, and were getting in your way!¡± It was when Aeris stood up as her anger peaked at the villain in front of her, Tauro, the chief maid Mei, and the guards came into the VIP room. ¡°What¡¯s this, the chief maid! Who allowed you to enter the room?¡± ¡°These are the contracts with the assassination guild that shows all your crimes, including the kidnapping of Marquis Vandyne, the kidnapping of Aeris, her attempted assassination, and my attempted assassination. Tauro said that and showed the document out of the Magic Storage. ¡°That ¡­ no way ¡­¡­¡­ it¡¯s a fake! The real thing is in the safe? The key is here!¡± She took out the key from the hidden pocket of her dress and showed it. ¡°That remark also supports the evidence. They are genuine documents that came out of the safe ¡­. Everyone, please.¡± The kingsguard knights nodded and grabbed both arms of the marquise and took her out of the room. ¡°Aeris, help me! It was just that little devil¡ª! Please ©¤©¤¡± The distant voice echoed in the hallway of the Vandyne family mansion. ¡°¡­ This is the end.¡± Aeris, who was at the peak of his anger, sank into her chair as if the air had escaped. ¡°¡­ Yeah. Now you¡¯ve regained the Vandyine family.¡± ¡°Yes, Aeris-sama. I¡¯ve been waiting for you to return.¡± Mei, the chief maid, walked up to Aeris as she shed tears that she had been putting up with. ¡°Sorry for the hard work, Mei!¡± When they hugged each other, they cried aloud. CH 167 The family disturbances of the Marquis de Vandyne¡¯s family finally came to an end. Rumors about this spread out of nowhere during the day, and there were some who had evil thoughts about the series of events, but that stopped short of the surface when it was announced that the royal family had become the guardians of Aeris, who was in the middle of the whirlwind of events. The guardian who is the queen is now the most favored by the king and is at the peak of her popularity. They don¡¯t want to make an enemy of her. As for the disposition of the Marchioness, she was imprisoned in the tower and testified about her past misdeeds, but one morning she was found dead in the cold. She was poisoned. Apparently, it was the work of someone who did not want any more testimonies about the assassination guild. As a side note, the Marquise¡¯s baby was taken in by the Countess of the Marquise¡¯s family. Thanks to this, Aeris could return to the Vandyne family without any more danger to herself. There were no more aristocrats who would openly and blatantly propose an engagement. The marriage would not proceed without the guardian¡¯s approval. The nobles, who had been hinting at marriage as a condition for cooperating with the visitation, acted as if such a thing had never happened. As one would expect, to the royal family, the guardians, they would not openly say that they wanted their sons to succeed the Marquis de Vandyne¡¯s family. Well, the royal family would probably come up with an arranged marriage, but for the Vandyne family, which is a leading figure in the neutralist faction, they would not arrange a marriage with a strange partner in order to maintain balance among the factions of the country. I was truly relieved to have Aeris back where she belonged. I and Aeris had spent a short time together, but she¡¯s an important friend. Now that I think about it, Aeris¡¯ initial insistence on me being the youngest may have been a desperate attempt to find a place for herself, a value for her existence. And for a short while, I would like to think that ¡°Black Golden Wings¡± became that place, or rather, had become it. Besides getting this family business settled, Tauro had one other thing he wanted to do for Aeris. That was to go with Aeris to the dungeon where her father was believed to have died and offer flowers. It would just be a comforting thought, but it would give Aeris some closure, wouldn¡¯t it? The dungeon was under such tight control that it would be difficult to enter, let alone get close to it, but fortunately, we could get in and out of the dungeon by asking Sharga, the person in charge of the dungeon investigation whom we had met earlier. Also, I had to thank him for introducing me to Count Conowen. Yes! Shall I give him one of the special reversi boards I couldn¡¯t give him last time as a souvenir? I don¡¯t know if I should say so myself, but I¡¯m sure he¡¯ll be glad to have the special discs that I make which are now said to be the phantom Giro-Sugar works and fetch high prices at auctions, and are very hard to find. Tauro immediately contacted the Garfish Trading Company to make an appointment to see Sharga. Aeris is busy meeting with the royal family and so on for the next few days, so we are separated. Tauro, a commoner from a quaint farm family, could not meet other royal family members in an official setting, as it was informal and special for him to meet Prince Frue. (TN: Changed ¡°Prince Flue¡± to ¡°Prince Frue¡± So Aeris was reluctant, but he did not accompany her. So while we¡¯re at it, let¡¯s get permission to go to the dungeon. I also have other business meetings with the Garfish Trading Company. Tauro had a lot to do in the capital. ¡°¡ªI understand, I will contact Mr. Sharga immediately and ask him to make time for me. I made prototypes of the tents, rain gear, and carriage covers that Tauro-dono came up with using ¡°non-wetting cloth,¡± and held an exhibition to hear how well they were received by the people concerned, but I received a large order for them. So I thought I would talk to Tauro-dono about it.¡± Mardai, the representative of the Garfish Trading Company, gave Tauro an explanation and a report. ¡°A large order? How big is it? You don¡¯t mean a hundred or two hundred, do you?¡± ¡°The first order was for a thousand rain gears, this from the Kingsguard. The Royal Guard will be ordering tents and rain gear as well.¡± ¡°A thousand? And from the knights, too?¡± ¡°Compared to the ones made of monster skins, these are lightweight, inexpensive, and dry quickly because they repel water. The money is also paid by the government, so they pay well. They are our best customers!¡± ¡°But that means we won¡¯t be able to keep up with production¡­¡­.¡± ¡°We are already building additional factories and recruiting craftsmen. I believe we can start mass production next week.¡± Mardai, the representative of the Garfish Trading Company, was as efficient as ever. He must have made preparations as soon as he had a good feeling about the project, and he acted quickly. ¡°The magic tool ¡°Lantern¡± will be available for sale the week after next. As Tauro-dono suggested, we will display them in the store to attract the attention of passersby. We have also stocked up on a large quantity of the scrap magic stone for this from the Adventurers¡¯ Guild.¡± Although there is a possibility that the lanterns could be stolen from the storefront, we have a well-spoken clerk standing in front of the storefront to explain to passersby the greatness of the lanterns. Yes, this is the same kind of TV shopping demonstration and sales that was in my previous life. Here, it¡¯s a technique that peddlers do on the street, but no one does it in their own storefronts. If it works, it will become a topic of conversation, and that was Tauro¡¯s goal. CH 168 The day after the business meeting. I was to meet with Sharga, a leading dungeon researcher. I went to the research institute where Sharga was working because he seemed to be busy. ¡°Welcome to the Institute, Tauro-dono!¡± A thin man wearing a square hat, purple costume and glasses greeted Tauro in the guest room of the laboratory. ¡°Long time no see, Sherga-san. First of all, thank you for introducing Count Conowen to us. Thanks to you, there have been many occasions when I have been able to pick up lives.¡± ¡°No, no, no. I¡¯m sure you may have heard from Count Connoen that he was not feeling good about the disappearance of the Marquis de Vandyne. At that time, the knights of the Kingsguard were assigned to escort the second prince, who had suddenly decided to go to the dungeon, instead of doing their usual job of guarding during dungeon surveys.¡± That a prince was involved was new to me, and I think it was top secret, but Tauro decided not to mention it. ¡°I didn¡¯t realize that was the case. ¡­¡­ Still, it helped a lot. Thanks to you, Aeris, the only daughter of the Marquis de Vandyne, was greatly helped. I don¡¯t know how to thank you, but please accept this.¡± Tauro took out a special reversi board made by Giro Sugar from the magic storage and placed it in front of Sharga. ¡°This is ¡­¡­! Is this the work by Giro Sugar that the Prime Minister was so proud of?¡± Sharga¡¯s eyes lit up and he looked at the delicately carved work of art from various angles, impressed. ¡°In case you are wondering, I am also a disciple of Giro Sugar, and he gave me his work, so I¡¯ll give it to you.¡± ¡°Are you sure! There are any number of rich people who would want this special edition! I tried to buy it on a budget, but my assistant, Joshna, stopped me, so I couldn¡¯t get the one that went to auction!¡± He said regretfully, and looked at the special discs in front of him again, all of which were one-of-a-kind, precious pieces. What? You tried to buy it on a budget! Tauro was inwardly stunned, but did not forget to say something important. ¡°And I have a favor to ask you.¡± ¡°What is it? Anything I can do for you, I¡¯m all ears!¡± Sharga was already in a groove. He was going to do whatever I asked him to do, now that he had the special disc in front of him. Actually, I¡¯d like to go into the dungeon with Aeris. The purpose is to offer flowers at the place where Aeris¡¯s father, the Marquis de Vandyne, disappeared. I know it¡¯s a lot to ask.¡± Tauro asked as he bowed his head deeply. ¡°Raise your head, Tauro-dono! Of course, as I promised before, I will fulfill that promise. However, there are several teams that are already diving at the moment, and we don¡¯t have enough knights to accompany them. So it will be at least a week from now, is that all right?¡± ¡°Of course! Thank you!¡± ¡°I¡¯m glad I was able to fulfill my promise too. Also, since you gave me this special disc, I will have excellent knights to guard you! I will treasure this special disc as a family heirloom!¡± Sharga made a gesture of worship toward the special disc. He seemed to like it very much. As the creator of the special disc, I¡¯m happy that he¡¯s pleased with it, but I want him to use it because it¡¯s a special disc that needs to be used, but that is up to him. Tauro thanked Sharga and left the laboratory. When he returned to the inn, a carriage had stopped and Aeris had arrived. Aeris, who now had the Marquis de Vandiyne¡¯s household back, already moved to the Vandyne family mansion, and was not happy that Tauro did not come with her. ¡°Where have you been all day?¡± We decided to go separately because I couldn¡¯t attend the meeting with the royal family, but Aeris wasn¡¯t happy about that either. ¡°I was at Sharga-san¡¯s place. That¡¯s right, I need to ask you, I¡¯ve made an appointment to go to the place where your father died so that I can go there to lay flowers, can you go?¡± ¡°¡­¡­I¡¯ll go.¡± Aeris answered shortly. ¡°I¡¯ll let you know when the date is set.¡± ¡°¡­¡­Mou! You should move from the inn to my place! Ours is free!¡± Aeris puffed out her cheeks in anger. ¡°But I don¡¯t like that butler.¡± ¡°He was taken away as that one¡¯s accomplice! I¡¯m in the process of bringing back the former serfs of my household.¡± ¡°That¡¯s good to hear.¡± ¡°Come on! Come with me! Don¡¯t make me say it again!¡± Aeris says loudly and unobtrusively. ¡°¡­¡­Okay, Okay! Then, I¡¯ll pack my bags so wait for me.¡± Tauro didn¡¯t like the idea of a luxurious mansion, but he decided against continuing to refuse. CH 169 The residence of the Marquis de Vandyne in the royal capital. Even looking at it again, the size of the house, the area of its grounds, and the grandeur of the house were amazing, even though it was not their main residence their residence in the capital. Aeris led me directly to a room in the mansion, but it was so spacious that I felt extremely uncomfortable. ¡°It¡¯s right by my room, so if you need anything, you can come directly to me.¡± Aeris seemed to be busy in her own way, and Mei, the head maid who was waiting for her, spoke to Aeris with a document, and Tauro watched her go back to her room while she received it. Tauro took only a change of clothes and daily necessities out of the magic storage and spread them out on the large bed desk. ¡°How can I use this large space, except around the bed ¡­¡­?¡± Tauro, who was not accustomed to large rooms in his previous life or in his current world, was not used to having this large space. Late that night, A knock sounded at the door of Tauro¡¯s room. ¡°Yes?¡± Tauro, who was still awake and unable to sleep in his luxurious bed, answered. ¡°Can I come in?¡± Aeris¡¯s voice said. ¡°Yes, come in.¡± Tauro answered, and Aeris came in. ¡°I need to talk to you, is that okay?¡± ¡°Well, have a seat.¡± Tauro, who would be using the chair and table in the space other than the bed area for the first time today, did not mention it, but encouraged Aeris to sit down and took a seat across from her. ¡°¡­¡­Are you used to this room?¡± Aeris asked, not quite on topic. ¡°I still haven¡¯t gotten used to it. It¡¯s too big for me and I don¡¯t feel comfortable. Haha.¡± Tauro tried to laugh in an attempt to lighten the mood, but it was unsuccessful. ¡°¡­¡­ what will you do after this?¡± ¡°Hmmm, let¡¯s see. I guess I¡¯m meeting with Mardai-san of the Garfish Trading Company to continue our business meeting and discuss product development. After that, my current plan is to go to the dungeon with you.¡± ¡°¡­¡­ Then what after that?¡± ¡°After that? If I don¡¯t make plans, I¡¯ll go back to the village of Dansas and¡­¡± ¡°Please stay here, Tauro!¡± Aeris asked, interrupting Tauro. ¡°¡­¡­ Aeris.¡± ¡°I want to go back to the village of Dansas too, but I can¡¯t go because if I go now, this House of Vandyne will be gone. I¡¯ve talked to the royal family who have become my guardians, but they say that¡¯s not possible¡­ Tauro please, will you stay in King¡¯s Landing and continue as an adventurer here? Then I can stay with you, and I think we can invite Shin and Rumeya over here too!¡± ¡°I can¡¯t answer ¡­¡­ right away, but for now, I¡¯ll send a letter to Shin and Rumeya. Can we talk about it then?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right ¡­¡­ I¡¯m sorry for getting ahead of myself. You should talk to Shin and Rumeya properly.¡± ¡°I see. But I can tell you now that the four of us, me, Aeris, Shin and Rumeya, are still the ¡®Black Golden Wings¡¯ that won¡¯t change.¡± ¡°Thank you, Tauro!¡± Aeris began to shed tears as she said this. It was as if the emotions she had been holding back were overflowing. Tauro went to Aeris¡¯ side and hugged her, patting her gently on the back to calm her down. The next day, Tauro decided to change the bathrooms and toilets at the Marquis de Vandyne¡¯s house to the specifications of his home in the village of Dansas during the free time he had on his schedule. Aeris asked him to do it. The toilet bowl was created and installed with creation magic. Tauro decided to add a new sewage treatment system to the toilet. It was simply a stone slab processed with slime¡¯s bodily fluids on which a magic circle was drawn and placed at the bottom of the sewage tank, and when feces and urine fell on it, it dissolved over time. The magic circle was designed to harness the power of the slime¡¯s bodily fluids and digestion. The digestive power is not so strong so it can only dissolve feces and urine, but it saves time and effort in fetching it out. It would also be more hygienic. Of course, the work is done after purification, so I won¡¯t say it¡¯s dirty. The bath was easy. The bathtub was a magnificent one that was custom-made for a nobleman, so I just had to draw a magic circle on the surface with creation magic to boil the water using gold coins as the material. Then, when it was time to boil the water, you just had to put in the scraps of magic stone and you¡¯re good to go. Now Aeris should be able to take a bath with the same convenience as in the village of Dansas. But, however, ¡­¡­. ¡°This mansion has half a dozen toilets and baths!¡± It was then Tauro thought he would not be able to relax while he was in this mansion. CH 170 The guest room of the Garfish Trading Company. The discussion with the representative, Mardai, about the product is over. ¡°Then all we have to do is wait for the sales.¡± ¡°I guess so. Oh, here¡¯s one suggestion: ¡­¡­¡± Mardai¡¯s face turned into a merchant¡¯s face again. ¡°The curry shop in Tauro-dono¡¯s name in Saisi city. Hey, do you have any intention of opening a second store in the capital?¡± ¡°Is it urgent?¡± ¡°No, in case you are wondering, Paulo of the Saisii branch has been proposing it for a long time. However, that store is in your name, so I wondered what to do¡­..¡± Mardai had not wanted to bring this up until this point because Tauro did not want his name to be in the foreground. ¡°Well¡­ The store over there is run by a trustworthy adventurers guild, so it¡¯s viable, but that¡¯s not the case here¡­¡­.¡± ¡°Of course, if you can have it served here, we will manage it responsibly. Curry is now a firm favorite as a specialty in the city of Saisi. I¡¯ve had it myself, and that stuff is delicious! It¡¯ll be good if it¡¯s in the royal capital, so I can eat it anytime I want. ¡­¡­ It will surely become popular!¡± Oh, now he was getting all personal. Tauro laughed inwardly, but the Garfish Trading Company would be able to manage it. ¡°Why don¡¯t we make a big name for ourselves here, and even consider opening branches all over the country!¡± Apparently, Mardai was serious. Although a nationwide expansion would be too big a stretch, I myself would be happy to see a branch open in the village of Dansas. But the first thing to consider is money. Right now, Tauro doesn¡¯t have much money on hand. He spent too much on visits to the nobility. As a result, his efforts were wasted when the royal family became the guardians, so he didn¡¯t want to think too much about money at the moment. However, he was glad that he had spread the money around as a necessary expense since it helped Aeris show her face and provided some protection as she thrust herself against the Vandyne family¡¯s turmoil. ¡± Then Mardai.-san¡­¡­ please lend me the money to build a second store in the capital.¡± I told him the thing I most hated to say. In my previous life, I had never borrowed money. But now that I¡¯m here, I finally have a second loan. The first debt was to Mauve-san. It was the money I needed to register to become an adventurer. I needed the money to survive, so I had no choice but to take it, but I had always thought it was safer to live a life without debt. ¡°Well, since we¡¯re the ones who offered, we¡¯ll pay for it, won¡¯t we?¡± ¡°No, I paid for the first store myself, so I put it in my name. I would like to open the second store under my own responsibility. However, I will leave the management to you, but please lend me the funds.¡± ¡°I understand ¡­¡­ I¡¯ll lend you the money. But my guess is that Tauro-dono will pay very quickly, right? Hahaha!¡± Mardai said meaningfully and laughed. Tauro did not quite understand what he meant, but he decided to borrow a large sum of money from Mardai since he intended to pay back what he borrowed. When that happened, Mardai introduced me to a good storefront property that day, and I previewed it and signed a contract right away. This time, I decided not to buy the property, but to lease it. I also decided to do the remodeling work myself. I could have asked the Garfish Association for the funds, but that would have meant more debt for me. So I decided to do what I could do myself. A few days later, Tauro completed the remodeling work by himself, and the owner of a restaurant nearby was so surprised at the results that he had to politely decline the offer to decorate his own place. And the menu, which would be competitive, was made the same as that of the Saisii restaurant. I don¡¯t know if we will expand nationwide in the future, but we will compete with a common menu. In the future, we may have a local menu or local toppings. Oh, in the village of Dansas, they could have curry with pork cutlets, their specialty! Once Tauro realized this, he decided to open a third restaurant in the village of Dansas. CH 171 A week has passed since Tauro¡¯s unfamiliar temporary residence at the Marquise de Vandyne. By this time, Aeris was somewhat relieved from her busy schedule. One of the reasons for this was that she had found her former butler, Sheeps, and was able to bring him back. Sheeps, to his surprise, or perhaps as would be expected, was a beast of the sheepman tribe, bright and capable in all aspects of the duties of the Marquis de Vandyne¡¯s household. He has a fluffy white coat of hair and ¡°amon horns¡± that curl and grow in a rounded fashion, which he is very proud of. Thanks to Sheeps¡¯ return, Aeris was relieved of her chores. The same seemed to be true for May, the head maid, who was relieved, saying, ¡°I can finally concentrate on my own work¡±. However, her joy was short-lived, as Sheeps, the butler, said he was worried about the Marquis of Vandyne¡¯s estate, and left the residence in the royal capital. In the meantime, it was May, the head maid, who was appointed as the butler of the mansion after him, although she was saved because he left after completing the work that had accumulated. Since another person has been appointed as the head maid, she is not hindered in her work, but May is not happy. ¡°I live my life to take care of Aeris-sama!¡± She had already served the Vandyne family for 16 years, and Sheeps had assured her that she was the right person for the job because she understood the Vandyne family well and could do the job well. Aeris was happy to hear this and signed the letter of appointment, so May could not outwardly oppose. In the midst of all this joy and sorrow, a letter arrived from Sharga saying that we could enter the dungeon. Since Aeris would be free from her busy schedule and could make time for it, I decided to ask Sharga to set a date for the appointment. May was initially opposed to Aeris entering the dungeon, but when Aeris explained that I would be accompanying her, she agreed, perhaps because of her trust in me. ¡°But, ojou-sama, if anything should happen, you must follow Tauro-dono¡¯s instructions for your own safety.¡± ¡°Tauro-dono, please take good care of the young lady.¡± And May, who was still unfamiliar with the butler¡¯s appearance, bowed. ¡°Yes, I¡¯ll take care of Aeris. Please leave her to me. Besides, Aeris is a fine adventurer.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right, May, I¡¯m expected to be a rear guard specialist in the Adventurers¡¯ Guild. Besides, Tauro is the youngest and most capable adventurer, and we are part of the team ¡®Black Golden Wings¡¯!¡± Aeris boasted with pride. ¡°Yes, that¡¯s right. It¡¯s a strange feeling that the young lady is still an adventurer, but Tauro-dono is here too, so I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll be fine. Oh, please be careful not to get hurt, Miss.¡± ¡°I know. The dungeon is only one level deep, so don¡¯t worry about it. I¡¯ll be back as soon as I¡¯ve laid a wreath at the place where my father died.¡± ¡°Please do the same for me¡­¡­. I will be here praying that the Master is properly taken to heaven and be at peace.¡± May said to Aeris with tears in her eyes, perhaps remembering the Marquis de Vandyne. Aeris nodded and replied that she would make sure to deliver May¡¯s portion as well. The morning of the scheduled day. Tauro and Aeris gathered at the north gate of the royal capital. Sharga and Joshna were there to see them off, and ten knights were there to escort them. Among them was Captain Taichi, who had been the captain of the escort when Sharga had visited to investigate the dungeon. ¡°Hey, long time no see, Tauro. I didn¡¯t expect to see you again so soon. Hahaha!¡± ¡°I¡¯m looking forward to working with you today.¡± ¡°Oh, I¡¯m not the captain today. The captain is over there, Tsuyoku. I¡¯m his second-in-command.¡± ¡°TAICHI-san is second-in-command?¡± Tauro was frankly surprised. This Taichi is a fierce warrior with the warrior weapon master skill. So is the other person a stronger knight than he is? ¡±Tsuyoku is stronger than me, and he¡¯s also a good commander. When it comes to spears, there are few who can match him.¡± ¡°Such a man is going to escort us ¡­¡­?¡± ¡°He is a knight whom Mr. Sharga trusts so much that he made him clear his schedule for today. He knows the dungeon so well that he is the one who was in charge when we dived to the highest level of the dungeon.¡± Taichi pointed to a dignified knight in slender sheet metal armor with long blond hair and blue eyes standing before him. Tauro and Aeris were introduced by Sharga to the captain of this escort, this Tsuyoku, who they greeted and thanked for his protection. ¡°No problem. I had my own grievances about the Marquis de Vandyne, so I am rather grateful to be able to escort his daughter.¡± He was brusque, but he seemed sincere. The two nodded and thanked the trustworthy knight again. CH 172 Half a day north of the royal capital. Babylon, one of the largest dungeons in the country, is surrounded by double and triple walls, and its gates are tightly closed, as if to repel all comers. ¡°The walls are as high as the city itself¡­¡­.¡± Tauro said as he looked up at the gate. ¡°The barriers seem to be extremely tight and multi-layered, and they seem to be very strong as well.¡± Aeris joined Tauro in looking up at the dungeon. ¡°The dungeons are full of hidden treasures, so there are people who want to break in and get rich quick. Also, a lot of monsters sometimes come out of dungeons, so they are very strict.¡± Taichi, our second in command, explained. ¡°From the dungeon?¡± ¡°Yes. A stampede of monsters. My father told me before he died that there is a mass outbreak of monsters in the dungeons every few decades or so, so we have to protect the area.¡± Aeris explained on Taichi¡¯s behalf. ¡°You know your stuff, ¡­¡­ Yes, these outer walls are for intruders from the outside, but all the walls inside are for the monsters from the dungeons. There are sometimes mass outbreaks of monsters in the natural world, but the same thing can happen in dungeons.¡± As Tauro was listening to the explanation from Taichi and Aeris, the large, thick castle gate began to open with a dull thud. ¡°Wow! It is very powerful.¡± The gate, thicker than the one in the capital, stopped after opening a little. ¡°It¡¯s so thick, it rarely opens all the way. We¡¯re going in.¡± Captain Tsuyoku led the way through the gate, followed by Tauro and Aeris, with Taichi at the rear, and the other guards followed. After passing through the gate, a large, well-maintained road led straight to the next wall. The side of the road was lined with buildings and seemed to have a tavern attached to it, in addition to the soldiers¡¯ quarters and various stores that dealt with the soldiers. It was a bit like a town, but almost all the residents were soldiers and their families. ¡°Let¡¯s have lunch here once and then go into the dungeon.¡± Captain Tsuyoku gave the group a suggestion, or rather, an instruction. ¡°I understand,¡± Tauro replied with a nod to Aeris. The group entered one of the small restaurants used by the soldiers and decided to have a meal. During the meal, they heard that the room that was their destination at the first level of the dungeon they were going to dive was located by the stairs leading to the second level, and it would take several hours to get there. The monsters in the first level are not so bad, but they are a bit special, so you need to be prepared. If you dive without preparation, you will have a hard time. Taichi, who explained the situation to us, looked at Tauro¡¯s small sword and said ¡°With your weapon, you should have no problem at all.¡± He gave a drumbeat of encouragement. ¡°?¡± Taichi didn¡¯t explain further and said it would be fun dive, so Tauro could only imagine, but his own small sword has a light (holy) attribute. Tauro understood somehow that that was what he meant. ¡°I know what¡¯s on that layer. Do you want to know, Tauro?¡± Aeris, of course joins in. ¡°Maybe a weeping ghost or a skeleton warrior?¡± Tauro¡¯s shoulders slumped in disappointment as he replied. ¡°How did you know? Don¡¯t you know that girls don¡¯t like it when you have too much intuition?¡± Aeris wanted to tell Tauro, but he guessed easily and she complained. ¡°I¡¯m suprised! Most of them are skeletons, but very occasionally there are ghosts, too. How did you know that? Incidentally, ghosts don¡¯t attack directly, but they sometimes cast status-lowering curses, which can be quite annoying.¡± Taichi was surprised that I even guessed that ghosts appeared. ¡°Well, it¡¯s because you gave me a hint. You noticed that my small sword has a magic attribute, so you said it wouldn¡¯t be a problem, right?¡± ¡°Right you are. Because both ghosts and skeletons are weak against magic or magic-enhanced weapons. I only found out about it because of the benefit of my skill. But strangely enough, I don¡¯t even know what Tauro¡¯s weapon is. I have to ask, what attribute does your small sword have? If it¡¯s not dark, it will work.¡± ¡°Well, it has a light (holy) attribute.¡± ¡°¡­¡­ This is a surprise. It¡¯s the most valuable attribute. ¡­¡­ It must have been made by a master craftsman. By the way, do you know who made it?¡± ¡°A dwarven blacksmith named Angus, who lives in the city of Saisii.¡± ¡°Ah! The up-and-coming genius blacksmith who is the talk of the town right now? ¡­¡­ I see, he¡¯s even better than the rumors say. I¡¯m going to take some time off and go see him to have a sword made.¡± Tauro was surprised and happy that Angus was so famous, but when he remembered Angus¡¯ appearance, he thought that he was more of a skilled blacksmith than an upcomer¡­¡­. CH 173 After finishing their meal and taking a breather, the group passed through the second castle gate. Once they passed through this gate, the atmosphere around them changed drastically. There were no houses left, only soldiers, and the atmosphere was tense as they were training. ¡°This is the center that guards and monitors this dungeon, Babylon,¡± Taichi explains. Taichi explains. ¡°Then, when we pass through that gate, is it the dungeon?¡± Tauro pointed to the gate further ahead. ¡°No, there is another gate beyond that one, and beyond that is a temple that houses the entrance to the dungeon.¡± While Taichi was explaining, the captain, Tsuyoku, went to the gate and went through the formalities beside it. Then, he must have finished. He beckoned to us. ¡°Let¡¯s go then,¡± Taichi urged. The group passed through one more gate. After checking with the gate of the castle beyond which we passed, we passed through it and found that one large temple stood in the center of it. It was surrounded by cobblestone pavement and no vegetation. ¡°When was this temple built?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know. I¡¯ve heard it¡¯s a thousand years old. Oh, actually this temple is not man-made, you know? This is part of ¡®Babylon,¡¯ apparently.¡± ¡°Is that so?¡± ¡°That¡¯s why it¡¯s been here all these years, never fading away.¡± Aeris explained here and there. ¡°So these cobblestones are too?¡± Tauro asked Taichi, curious about the cobblestones paved all around the temple. ¡°These cobblestones are man-made,¡± Taichi said. It seems that when the dungeon overflowed with plant-based monsters a long time ago, they attacked people by manipulating the plants that grew around them, and the cobblestones were laid out after that.¡± Taichi responded with a laugh, wondering if that was what was bothering him. Tauro thought that the dungeon might also encroach on the earth, but his fears seemed to be unfounded. ¡°Let¡¯s go into the dungeon.¡± Captain Tsuyoku, leading the way, stepped onto the steps of the temple. Tauro and the others followed him up the steps and into the temple. It seemed that they were already in the dungeon. The entire interior of the temple was glowing faintly. The walls, ceiling, and floor were glowing, just as Tauro had experienced in the dungeon he had first entered. As he walked forward, he saw soldiers standing guard, an open door at the back, and a staircase leading down. ¡°Be careful down here, there are monsters.¡± Taichi warned Tauro and Aeris. They nodded and headed down the stairs. Once down the stairs, they found themselves in a maze of unknown size. They went down a path, came to a wide space, and then the path split, and so on. Captain Tsuyoku leads the group, moving forward without hesitation at the front of the line. He seemed to remember the route perfectly. ¡°Oh, it looks like there are demons up ahead,¡± Tauro was the first to notice. ¡± Oh, That¡¯s ¡®presence detection. You¡¯re quite skilled, aren¡¯t you?¡± Captain Tsuyoku sounded impressed without looking at Tauro. He quickly stepped forward and struck the three skeletons that were coming toward him with his magic-enhanced spear. It was a sophisticated move with no waste. Tauro was impressed, thinking that there was no way he would need to take part in such a situation. After that, they continued to walk through the maze, and the skeletons they encountered were kicked away by the escorting knights. Tauro felt a sense of being out of touch as he just walked, but just in case, he was constantly using his ¡°presence detection. Suddenly, he felt an evil presence on the other side of the wall. ¡®Is there a skeleton on the other side? I¡¯ve never felt such a presence before¡­.¡¯ As he was thinking this, a translucent black shadow appeared from the wall. It approached one of the knights who was guarding the wall and touched him, then went back to the other side of the wall. ¡°Look out everyone, it¡¯s a ghost!¡± Taichi points his sword at the area where the ghost disappeared. ¡®Tsk! It¡¯s gone and put a curse on us!¡± The knight guard who was touched by the ghost clicks his tongue. The curse of reduced status can be cured by magic ¡°purification¡± or by spending time in a church or other holy place to break the curse, but until it is cured, the sudden drop in status causes temporary weariness and other symptoms. ¡°Since there is no one with ¡®purification¡¯ this time, I guess you¡¯ll have to go back and get the cure.¡± Taichi called out to the cursed knight. Tauro ran up to him and cast the magic ¡°Purification¡±. The knight¡¯s curse faded away with a pale light. ¡°¡±What?¡±¡± Everyone was simply astonished. The boy who was the target of the escort in front of them cast ¡°Purification,¡± which is a higher magic, so they could not help but be surprised. Tauro walked along the wall and suddenly slashed at a ghost that appeared through the wall with his small sword. ¡°This guy is awesome!¡± The knights who were escorting him were surprised to see that he was no ordinary person. CH 174 Once it was discovered that Tauro was not just an ordinary boy, he and the escort knights then proceeded to fight their way through. When that happened, Aeris was tempted to join in. The staff that Tauro made for her is made strong enough to hit her enemies with. The magic stone obtained when defeating the gryphon in the mountain village is incorporated into the staff in place of the previous magic stone, so that when you put magic power into the staff, the wind attribute is added. The knights were reluctant to have their escort target fight, but their destination was the place where her father had died. It would be more helpful if they could move their bodies and vent rather than be stiffledin the dark. So they decided to let them do it within safe limits. ¡°¡­¡­Even still, aren¡¯t these two, too used to fighting for their age?¡± One of the escort knights muttered to his companions with a sense of shock and admiration. ¡°I thought so too,¡­¡­.¡± His companion responded. ¡°Aah,, they¡¯re both adventurers. Of course, they¡¯ve been there and done that.¡± Taichi interrupted the conversation of the escort knights from the side. ¡°What? She¡¯s the daughter of the Marquis de Vandyne, isn¡¯t she?¡± ¡°Before the incident the other day, she was an adventurer away from home.¡± ¡°No wonder¡­¡­¡± While the escort knights were impressed, they turned at the end of the maze of streets and saw a staircase. ¡°We¡¯ve arrived. Enter the path by that staircase and you will find a room.¡± Captain Tsuyoku explained to Tauro and Aeris. As they approached, they saw that there was indeed a path by the stairs. Captain Tsuyoku led the way and Aeris followed him until they came to a room with white stone walls. ¡°As you can see, it¡¯s a large, empty room, but they say that right after entering this room, Marquis de Vandyne vanished.¡± ¡­¡­ Captain Tsuyoku says there¡¯s nothing there, but to Tauro¡¯s eyes, there was something overtly suspicious. It looked like the entrance to an alien space, like when you open a magic storage. Apparently, no one else could see it. But then, Aeris seemed to see it, too, and tilted her head. ¡°What was that?¡± Aeris pointed to the space. ¡°What is what?¡± Captain Tsuyoku looked in the direction Aeris pointed, but of course there was nothing there. ¡®Aeris, maybe we¡¯re the only ones who can see it,¡± Tauro advised. ¡°Do you two see anything?¡± Tsuyoku looks at them and tilts his head. Tauro moves closer to the side of the alien space that only they seem to be able to see. Aeris followed him. When he looked closer, he saw that it also looked like a rift. ¡°This could be¡­¡­.¡± Tauro leaned forward into the crevice. ¡°Tauro, it¡¯s dangerous!¡± Aeris grabbed Tauro without hesitation and tried to stop him. The next moment. The next moment, the two disappeared from in front of Captain Tsuyoku and the escorting knights. ¡°Huh? The walls around us are gone?¡± The moment they entered the dimensional rift, the rift in Tauro¡¯s vision and the walls of the room surrounding it disappeared. Looking back, he saw Aeris and the rift behind her. Apparently, he had come from the rift to some other place. It was an empty space. The cobblestone floor was the same as in the dungeon, but there were no walls or ceilings as far as the eye could see. ¡°What is this place?¡± Aeris asked, still holding Tauro¡¯s arm. ¡°I think we¡¯re in another space.¡± ¡°A different space?¡± ¡®Yeah, I think we came to a different space because we entered through that dimensional rift-like thing. ¡­¡­ wait a minute. Is that ¡­¡­, is that a person?¡± Tauro noticed a small figure at the end of the wide space. ¡°Hey! That person there!¡± Tauro called out loudly to the figure. The figure was sitting down, but when he got up, he took the luggage that was beside him and ran toward us. ¡°¡­¡­ what?¡± Aeris was alerted behind Tauro by the figure running toward them, but was astonished when they came within sight of his face. ¡°Someone you know?¡± Tauro somehow knew that the person was the one he was expecting, but he checked with Aeris just to be sure. ¡°Papa!¡± ¡°You wandered in here too, didn¡¯t you? Hm? Aeris? You¡¯re Aeris? Why are you here too!¡± Running toward them was a man with all blonde hair and red eyes, dressed in aristocratic clothes and expensive-looking leather armor, looking like an elderly gentleman. He was surprised when he noticed Aeris, who was standing hidden behind Tauro. ¡°You are the Marquis de Vandyne. Let¡¯s get out of here first. We don¡¯t have much time.¡± Tauro grabbed the arms of Aeris and her father, who were flustered by their reunion, and pulled them into the chasm, then plunged into it. CH 175 Several hours had passed since the only daughter of the Marquis de Vandyne, the target of the escort, and her companion, a young boy, suddenly disappeared. The escort knights had been searching this empty room everywhere to see if there was anything unusual or if they had missed anything. The two disappeared without warning, and although Tsuyoku could tell that they had found something at the moment of their disappearance, he could not tell what it was. Before he could confirm it, they were gone. Isn¡¯t this the same situation as when the Marquis Vandyne disappeared? When the Marquis disappeared, there were reports that he disappeared in an instant even though there were knights of the Kingsguard around him. We had no choice but to assume that the same thing had happened to the two of them. Then, thinking about the Marquis de Vandyne, whose body has yet to be found, the two of them are already¡­. ¡°I¡¯ve been looking for the Marquis Vandyne¡¯s body for a long time, but I haven¡¯t found it yet. We can¡¯t waste any more time. We¡¯ll have to go back and report back once¡­¡­¡± Tsuyoku made the decision to abandon further exploration. ¡®Wait a minute, captain! The two found something and disappeared right after that! There¡¯s something in this room, let¡¯s search some more!¡± Taichi, the second-in-command, bit back. ¡°It¡¯s already been a few hours. Even if we continue to stay here without a clue, we¡¯ve only made simple preparations. We have to go back and make preparations before coming back again.¡± Taichi could not refute the captain¡¯s words, but the next moment, he was unexpectedly pushed back and fell down. ¡°Ouch! Who are you in the middle of an important conversation?¡± Taichi turned around to see Tauro, Aeris, who was holding his arm, and¡­¡­ ¡°Marquis Vandyne!?¡± Captain Tsuyoku was also taken aback by the sudden appearance of these three people in the space. The Marquis of Vandyne, who had been missing for several years and whose life had been given up as hopeless, appeared in the room. The other escort knights were also stunned by the sudden appearance of the three in their line of sight. ¡°One of the activation conditions for the special skill [&%$#], , was confirmed. [Spatial Transfer] has been acquired.¡± Tauro, Aeris, and her father, the Marquis of Vandyne, were able to return from the dungeon distortion, and Tauro heard the usual ¡°voice of the world¡± in his mind. When the three of them returned from the dungeon distortion, the rift into another space disappeared, as if to confirm that the foreign object was no longer there. ¡®Although it¡¯s no longer possible to confirm this, I wonder if Aeris could see the distortion created by the dungeon because she is holding the bow of Artemis, which was created by the dungeon, and the dungeon core of the labyrinth as a pendant.¡¯ Tauro thought. Be that as it may, the escort knights cheered and rushed to the Marquis de Vandyne. It was the first time in several years that he had returned. It would be strange if they were not excited to see a miracle in front of their eyes. ¡°You¡¯re alive, Marquis Vandyne!¡± ¡°We thought you were dead.¡± ¡°I¡¯m glad to see you back safe and sound¡­¡­.¡± The escort knights and the Marquis Van Dyne were friends who had shared many years of hardship and joy in dungeon exploration. ¡°Hey, hey, you¡¯re overreacting! I was only gone for three days. Well, in a dungeon, it¡¯s certainly fatal but¡­¡­.¡± According to Marquis Vandyne¡¯s sense of time, only about three days had passed since he had been in the different space. That¡¯s how slowly time moved in the other space and how quickly time moved in the real world. Tauro suspected this possibility when the Marquis de Vandyne, who had been missing for several years, was still alive. That¡¯s why he pulled the two of them to get out of the other space as quickly as possible. Marquis Vandyne, in our world, several years have passed since your disappearance. Aeris happened to visit the place where you disappeared and discovered a distortion created by the dungeon, and was able to enter it and find you by chance. Tauro spoke to Marquis Vandyne in a simple, explanatory manner so that everyone could understand. ¡°A few years! ¡­¡­I didn¡¯t think it had been that long. ¡­¡­Thank you, Aeris. Thanks to you, my dear daughter, I¡¯m out of that prison.¡± Saying this, Marquis Vandyne hugged Aeris. Aeris had told herself that her father was dead, and she had almost convinced herself that he was dead, so at this sudden turning point in her life, she hugged her father and cried aloud, unable to stop her tears. The group watched warmly from afar as the father and daughter were emotionally reunited. CH 176 The Marquis of Vandyne¡¯s return from a three-year disappearance in the dungeon ¡°Babylon¡± was kept secret because of the dungeon¡¯s secrecy, but the fact that he had returned was soon made public. Rather, there was no way to hide it. The disappearance of the Marquis de Vandyne in the dungeon was well known among the people concerned, so when he was among the group that came out of the dungeon, the soldiers noticed and a big commotion broke out. Therefore, the fact that the Marquis Vandyne had returned from ¡°Babylon¡± alive spread quickly before the gag order was issued. Therefore, he was busy day after day. Starting with meetings with the royal family, inspections, discussions with dungeon researchers, meetings with many nobles, parties, etc., it was a terrible schedule for someone who had been missing for a long time, but the Marquis de Vandyne digested it without suffering from it. In between his schedule, he spent time with his daughter, Aeris, who had grown up over the past three years, so it seemed that the Marquis de Vandyne¡¯s stamina was boundless. During that time, Tauro was training cooks for the opening of the Curry Shop in the capital. The people were prepared by the Garfish Trading Company, so they were quick to learn, and there seemed to be no need to worry about that. Both Tauro and Aeris were busy, but finally the Garfish Trading Company decided to sell the ¡°lantern,¡± a magical tool. Tauro¡¯s proposal for a demonstration and sale caught the attention of passersby, who stopped to look and gather around. ¡°What is that? It¡¯s not just a lantern, it¡¯s very bright!¡± ¡°It¡¯s true. It¡¯s really bright, even in the middle of the day!¡± ¡°Is that some kind of magic ¡®lighting¡¯?¡± The crowd also gathers to see what¡¯s going on. ¡°What¡¯s going on? What¡¯s with this crowd? ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Is something wrong? ¡°Are they all looking at that shopkeeper in the storefront?¡± The fact that the people were looking at the ¡°lantern,¡± a revolutionary magical tool that glowed brightly and was being sold at a reasonable price, immediately drew a line to the storefront, but the commotion caused the sentries to be dispatched, and the demonstration and sale was immediately halted. The demonstration sales were canceled due to the commotion, but the lines continued to form until the store closed, and the ¡°lantern¡± magical tool spread explosively among the common people of King¡¯s Landing. By the evening of the same day, many people were using these ¡°lanterns¡±. Inside homes, in stores, and in the hands of those walking around the neighborhood, the lanterns caught the attention of those who did not yet know about them. They were much brighter than oil lanterns, and attracted a lot of attention. People gathered there, and when they heard that the lanterns were on sale at a magic tool store, they formed a new line at the magic tool store the next day. This line attracted more people, and the word spread by word of mouth. The Garfish Trading Company was happy to sell the ¡°lanterns¡± and the scrap magic stones as a set. The Adventurers¡¯ Guild was happy since they had a large inventory of the scraps and that Garfish Trading Company had signed a contract to purchase any future items that would come out of it. The lanterns spread rapidly throughout King¡¯s Landing, and the name of the Garfish Trading Company became a big hit following Reversi, and its name recognition increased dramatically. Incidentally, the Marches Trading Company, another contract partner, began selling lanterns in Ocirus, the second largest city in the country, a little later than in the capital, but these too were so well received and sold so explosively that even though they teamed up with the local Xiwanda Trading Company for mass production, they still could not keep up. Of course, Tauro had no way of knowing this, but the lanterns were spreading throughout the country. Amidst the commotion, Tauro¡¯s curry shop in the capital quietly opened. On the street, there were passersby who were buzzing with talk of Lanterns, but they did not come into the restaurant. Yes, a new restaurant that had never been to the city before would not have many customers. Tauro, however, knew this. ¡°I didn¡¯t think I¡¯d have to use this move after Reversi¡­¡­.¡± Tauro mumbled to himself. ¡°Well then, crowd actors, I¡¯m counting on you!¡± he called out to the many people waiting outside. Yes, he hired a lot of crowd actors this time, too. Of course, they would receive money and food. Above all, it was a great part-time job because they could eat the sugar candy, which is expensive even in the royal capital, for dessert. The customers eating in the restaurant could be seen through the rare glass windows, so at lunch time, people gradually gathered, attracted by the interest of the customers. CH 177 The first day at the Curry Shop at the capital was off to a good start. The curry was unfamiliar, unheard of, and unfamiliar to smell, but the spicy aroma was appetizing. People who were attracted by the aroma came to the outside of the restaurant, and looking at the crowd actors inside the glass-walled restaurant, they confirmed that there were quite a few customers. At that moment, they turned from passersby to customers, saying, Well, me too. A woman with an interest in sugary confections gazed at the first desserts she saw on display behind the glass. The lineup was the same as at the first store, but the various fruit cakes and fruit and cream crepes were made from rare fruits available that day in the royal capital. Pudding, cookies, and red bean paste buns were the same as usual, but the destructive power of pudding was still alive and well even here in the capital, and women¡¯s eyes were glued to the mysterious, pulling object that is not usually seen in the city. The price was set a little high because it is a sugary confectionery, but its colorful appearance and the fact that those who ate it were impressed and praised it so highly made the people living in the capital willing to pay to eat it even if the price was a little high. Once they had tasted it, they were sure to be captivated by the food, so it was a sure-fire winner when they entered the restaurant. ¡°This curry food is so good!¡± ¡°I can¡¯t get enough of the spiciness!¡± ¡°I love that you can choose toppings to put on it!¡± ¡°Yes, yes! And the fruit cakes afterwards are sweet and ¡­¡­the best!¡± ¡°The sweetness really stands out after the spicy food!¡± ¡°This pudding food is too good! Maybe this is the food of the aristocracy!¡± The customers who tried the food gave it high marks. Now, if only the word would spread, we would have a lot of customers. After the first day, Tauro was relieved at the response he had received. The processed products of the ¡°non-wetting cloth¡± were selling well, especially those related to the military. Starting with the large orders from the Kingsguard Knights, as mentioned earlier, there were also group orders from the Royal Order of the Knights and the Guard. The Garfish Trading Company is on the verge of becoming a purveyor to the military if things continue as they are. As for Tauro, he was relieved to know that he was able to recompense his expenses during the Marquis de Vandyne uproar with all his hard work in arranging appointments with influential nobles. I¡¯m happy that the Garfish Trading Company will be profitable since I¡¯ll be entrusting them with the management of the curry shop from now on. After finally taking a break, there was something I wanted to confirm, and that was the ¡°spatial transfer¡± ability I had acquired in the dungeon. I was thrilled that my cheat ability was finally coming into its own, but I had been too busy to check it out. In any case, in otherworldly fantasy, it¡¯s the kind of thing you learn when you¡¯ve mastered a cheat. In short, the ability to move instantly. With this, I might be able to return to the village of Dunsas in an instant. Excited, Tauro went to the Adventurer¡¯s Guild and received a quest to gather medicinal herbs, and set out for the forest on the outskirts of King¡¯s Landing to conduct experiments. What a waste power! Tauro kneels down in disappointment. He was eager to experiment and learn ¡°spatial transfer¡± while gathering medicinal herbs, but the distance he could travel in an instant was only about one meter, and it consumed a lot of magic power. Tauro took a deep breath while drinking the magic recovery potion. ¡®Calm down, me. There must be some use for it. ¡­¡­ Yes! I can go through walls! This way I can get into a room right away and ¡­¡­ just go through the door!!! The magic it takes away is too great to use!¡± Tauro was out of sorts and flipped an invisible table. ¡°Haa haa. ¡­¡­. Calm yourself. There must be other uses for it¡­¡­. Since I learned it in the dungeon, surely there¡¯s still an element of awesomeness¡­¡­. The creation magic (weak) I learned at the time of the labyrinth nucleus destruction had a similar specification!¡± He flipped out again. ¡°Haa haa haa ¡­¡­. That¡¯s right! Let¡¯s tie me to a tree for a minute¡­¡­. tighten the rope and make it impossible to move¡­. Spatial Transference!¡± Then Tauro was able to slip through the rope and move beside it in an instant. ¡°Success! In this case, I was worried it would be a pattern of failure and me flipping the table, I mean seriously read the air!!.¡± Tauro was alone in the forest, acting in an emotionally unstable manner and making an irrational comment to the ¡°spatial transfer. CH 178 Tauro decided to return to his current lodging, the Marquis of Vandyne¡¯s mansion, for the first time in several days. For the past few days, he had taken lodging by the curry shop store and had been going to the store until it opened. As usual, he greeted the guards in front of the mansion and was let in. ¡°I haven¡¯t seen you for a few days, what¡¯s up?¡± The guard and I were familiar with each other, so we were getting to know each other. They too felt free to talk to Tauro when Aeris was not around. ¡°I was kind of bunking on the side where I work.¡± ¡°At your age, it must be tough to be away from work for a few days. Ah, no, Miss Aeris was looking for you, so maybe you should go right away.¡± ¡°Thanks, I¡¯ll see her as soon as I can.¡± I thanked the guards and headed for the mansion. The distance from the gate to the entrance of the mansion is far, so I had to walk there, but when I arrived at the entrance, Aeris was standing in front of it, as if she had spotted me coming back through the window. ¡°Welcome home, Tauro.¡± ¡°I¡¯m home, Aerith.¡± She was not angry that he had been away for a few days. Even the ¡°presence detection¡± can¡¯t detect a disquieting atmosphere. ¡°My father wants to talk to you again.¡± ¡°?¡± I couldn¡¯t imagine what he was going to say, since we had already told him how we came to help him after coming back alive from the dungeon, and that I and Aerith were members of the same Adventurer party. Maybe he¡¯s going to tell me that it¡¯s time for me to leave? Tauro thought about the possibility, which did not seem very likely due to the personality of the Marquis de Vandyne, but he would find out anyway when he met him. Aeris led him to the Marquis Vandyne¡¯s office. ¡°Tauro, please have a seat.¡± The Marquis de Vandyne, who was looking over some papers, stopped and offered Tauro a seat. Tauro obeyed and took his seat. ¡°I asked you to come here today to talk about your future.¡± What? Does that mean I have to leave after all? ¡°What do you mean?¡± Tauro prompted the Marquis Vandyne to speak next. ¡°Do you intend to continue as an adventurer?¡± ¡°Yes, I intend to continue to be an adventurer. I have been able to make a living by becoming an adventurer, and I think I am suited for it. I also like the village of Dansas, where I am currently based.¡± ¡°¡­¡­. This may go against your grain, but I have a suggestion.¡± ¡°Suggestion ¡­..?¡± ¡°I heard that a certain count¡¯s family has no heir children and is considering adopting a child to keep the family alive.¡± Hmmm? Something about the conversation taking an outrageous direction ¡­¡­. ¡°Well, does that mean I¡¯ll become a nobleman?¡± ¡°If you get adopted, that¡¯s what you¡¯ll become.¡± ¡­¡­ far above expectations¡­¡­. Tauro was inwardly quite upset. The option of becoming a nobleman himself was completely out of the question. ¡°¡­¡­ I¡¯m a commoner, and a farmer at that. I¡¯ve heard that usually, an adopted son of a noble family is taken from a place where the bloodline is clear, such as the third or fourth son of another noble family. I think I would only tarnish the name of the count¡¯s family.¡± Tauro said the obvious. ¡°You¡¯re right to feel that way. But they know you very well. I didn¡¯t know it because I had already disappeared when you were active, but I heard that you were famous among the nobility. I heard that you beat the Prime Minister in a game of reversi.¡± Ah, the people involved at that time¡­¡­ Tauro laughed inwardly. ¡°It was just a game, I had the upper hand, so my victory at that time meant nothing to me.¡± This was Tauro¡¯s honest opinion. If they played now, there is a good chance he would lose. ¡°You are humble. More and more, I would like to recommend you to the other side. I don¡¯t expect you to give me an answer right away, but I want you to take your time and think about it.¡± For Tauro, weighing the current life against the life of a nobleman was too far apart to compare. As I was about to open my mouth to clearly refuse, the Marquis de Vandyne continued to speak. ¡°And also, Aeris says she wants to be an adventurer for a while longer. So I¡¯m going to ask you to take care of her in the meantime. When Aeris is convinced and ready to return, then I want to hear your answer.¡± That would give me a year or two to think about it. Still, I was surprised that Aeris still wanted to continue as an adventurer. Since her father had returned alive, he thought she could safely return to aristocratic society, and Tauro was considering saying goodbye and returning to the village of Dansas after a while. Then it seems that the team ¡°Black golden wings¡± will still be able to continue. Thanks to this, Tauro was relieved that he did not have to explain the situation to Shin and Rumeya. CH 179 The day after being approached by the Marquis of Vandyne to be adopted by a nobleman. Aeris and I visited the Adventurer¡¯s Guild together for the first time in a while and received a quest to collect medicinal herbs. Tauro had come the day before, but Aeris had to take the quest soon so that she would not be penalized by the guild with lowering her rank since it had been so long since her last visit. ¡°Um, Tauro. I¡¯m looking forward to working with you from now on.¡± Aeris and Tauro were on their way to a forest on the outskirts of the royal capital, and when their conversation was interrupted, Aeris greeted him anew. ¡°No problem. But I¡¯m surprised. You didn¡¯t have to be an adventurer anymore.¡± ¡°That¡¯s true, but ¡­¡­. I like myself as an adventurer. Black Golden Wings is a place where I belong, and I want to take good care of it.¡± ¡°Since your father has come back, why don¡¯t you cherish the time you spend with him?¡± ¡°I thought so too. Mother, she was Dad¡¯s wife, even if she was rotten, and I thought Dad would be shocked¡­¡­. But it seems that their marriage had been on the rocks for years. So he wasn¡¯t as shocked as I thought he would be. He was more shocked that I knew. So we spent a lot of time together over the past few days talking¡­¡­.¡± Tauro waited silently for her next words. ¡°He¡¯s been having a good feeling with May lately.¡± ¡°Huh?¡± Tauro asked, feeling that the conversation had taken a sudden turn. ¡°She was the head maid, but now she¡¯s working as a butler. May and Papa are giving of a good mood, and I didn¡¯t want to disturb them, so I thought I¡¯d ¡­¡­ leave the house for the time being.¡± Tauro was surprised at the unexpected reason, but Aeris seemed to want the two to be together. ¡°Then why not just return to the Vandyne territory alone?¡± ¡°That¡¯s possible, but it¡¯s more fun to be with you and the others as adventurers. Besides, we¡¯re still an E rank team, right? I¡¯d love to go to the higher ranks with you guys!¡± ¡°If that¡¯s okay with you, then it¡¯s fine, but¡­.., you do realize you¡¯re a marquise, right?¡± Tauro laughed bitterly at Aeris¡¯s decision. The two arrived at the forest to collect medicinal herbs and immediately began gathering them. ¡°¡­¡­By the way, about my being adopted as a son¡­¡­¡± ¡°¡­¡­ did it annoy you?¡± Aeris asked the other way around. ¡°No, I¡¯m honestly at a loss because it¡¯s an option I¡¯ve never considered before. Up until now, I was just hoping to enjoy my life as an adventurer.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sure he meant it as a thank you. At first he was thinking of hiring you, but when I told him about you, he realized that you wouldn¡¯t like that because of you¡¯re personality. He thought about his friend the Count who wanted a child, about me, and about thanking you, and he came up with an answer that would please everyone: adoption. Oh, the Count is a very nice man, you know? He¡¯s devoted to his wife, but they¡¯ve been having a hard time conceiving a child. When we suggested adoption, he said he would be happy with you¡±. ¡°Well, ¡­¡­, I¡¯m not sure. Looking at Aeris, it seems to me that even the nobility are quite free¡­¡­ But the ¡®black golden wings¡¯ are important too. I still can¡¯t decide without consulting with Shin and Rumeya.¡± But, although I thought it would be okay to refuse right away, I decided to put it off until Aeris thinks about what to do in the future since it is something that the Marquis of Van Dine also thought about as a way of thanking me. ¡°I understand. It¡¯s something that will affect your life from now on. I¡¯ll tell Dad that.¡± After the two completed the herb gathering quest, they visited the curry shop as customers and he treated Aeris to a meal. Aeris seemed to be very satisfied with the curry, but when the dessert was served, her eyes changed color. ¡°What is this pudding? I want to try the other brightly colored cakes, too¡­¡­. Tauro, can I take some home? I want my dad to have some too.¡± ¡°Okay. I¡¯ll put it in the magic storage, so tell me if you want to eat it.¡± ¡°Thanks, Tauro!¡± Aeris went to the glass case in a good mood and started ordering from one side to the other. ¡°If you eat too much, you¡¯ll get fat, so eat in moderation¡­¡­¡± Tauro confirmed once again that sweet food attracts women no matter what world they live in. CH 180 Tauro was having a hard time deciding when to leave the capital because of his concern for Aeris. Aeris was still determined to be an adventurer, but she would have to say goodbye to her father again for the time being, and he would be worried about his daughter, and he was unsure of the right time for such a matter. With the Garfish Trading Company, there was little that was important anymore in the way of business matters. There was nothing more to do, as the Garfish Trading Company would make a lot of money by selling and I would receive a profit as well. After a few days of such idle days, Aeris came to visit me in my room at noon. I invited her in and immediately asked her about her reason for visiting. ¡°Are you still not going back to the village of Dansas?¡± Aeris asked Tauro about the matter that had been troubling him. ¡°Huh? Rather, Aeris, are you done with things here?¡± Tauro couldn¡¯t help but ask back. ¡°Me? I¡¯m always ready. I¡¯m sure Dad would feel free to make out with May that way. Besides, I¡¯m sure Shin and Rumeya are missing you enough.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve written to them several times to let them know how things are going.¡± ¡°But they¡¯re not very good at reading and writing, so I¡¯m not sure how well they¡¯re getting the message.¡± ¡°¡­..I forgot about that. But they can get the guild to read for them¡­¡­¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think you they have the personality for that, do you?¡± ¡°¡­¡­I guess not.¡± Tauro agreed with Aeris¡¯s point because they share the same positive, honest, but charming personality that is somewhat out of the ordinary. ¡°I guess It¡¯s time for us to go home.¡± Tauro suggested that they go home. ¡°Yes!¡± Aeris replied cheerfully. They told Marquis Vandyne that they would be returning to the village of Dansas, and after greeting once again Prince Flueh, Count Conowen, the leader of the Kingsguard, and Sharga, the dungeon researcher, they left the royal capital a few days later. ¡°¡­¡­ Hm? Those marks on the backs of the two women walking in front of us are ¡­¡­.¡± ¡°Coincidentally, I noticed the same thing¡­¡­¡± The first thing that caught the eye of Tauro and Aeris, who had returned to the village of Dansas after more than ten days from the royal capital, was the symbol of the team ¡°Black Golden Wings¡± with black wings and gold borders. From the back view, there was a woman with long black hair, loose-fitting priest-like clothing, and good proportions who could be a healer, and a slender woman with bob-cut brown hair who looked like she could move easily, wearing leather armor with her skin showing in places, who was probably a theif. Upon closer inspection, the markings on the back were misshapen and a far cry from those embroidered by Tauro. ¡°¡­.. does this mean we¡¯ve got a new member in the ¡®Black Golden Wings¡¯ in the few months we were gone?¡± Tauro looked at Aeris with a wry smile. ¡°A new member? Without asking us!?¡± Aeris was immediately in angry mode. ¡°Well, relax ¡­¡­. Shin and Rumeya won¡¯t do that¡­¡­ on their own, will they?¡± Tauro was getting a little worried too. The two women noticed the look from behind them and approached when the boy they were looking at mentioned the names of Shin and Rumeya. ¡°What, boy? Are you fans of ¡°Black Golden Wings¡±? Oh? (Noticing the mark on their backs) Hey you guys! Even if you¡¯re fans, you shouldn¡¯t be doing that!¡± The woman in a bandit¡¯s uniform tried to grab Tauro by the chest, but he brushed her off. ¡°That¡¯s our line! With whose permission are you impersonating our mark!¡± Aeris responded in a completely combative manner. ¡°What? We¡¯re Yu, the genuine ¡®Black Golden Wings¡¯ healer, and Ren, the thief, who is both the vanguard and rear guard! Are you so gullible that you don¡¯t know us around here?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know! In the first place, the leader of ¡°Black Golden Wings¡± is Tauro! What are you saying without the leader¡¯s permission?£¿¡¹ Aeris couldn¡¯t stop. She was completely out of control. ¡°The leader? This kid? ¡­Ren. Aren¡¯t these two the kids Rumeya and the others were talking about?¡± The healer who identified herself as Chloe had an idea, so she turned to her partner Ren. ¡°The ¡°Black Golden Wing¡± members who went to King¡¯s Landing? That was a joke those two were telling, wasn¡¯t it? Besides, the leader of the group is Rumeya. I¡¯m his girlfriend and a member, and Yu is Shin¡¯s girlfriend and also a member. It¡¯s not obvious which one of us is right.¡± Ren, a woman in the thieves¡¯ profession, said so, and showed Aeris a snide smile as she dissed her. ¡°What? Shin and Rumeya would never let a woman like you into the Black Golden Wings without permission!¡± Aeris snarled at Ren. CH 181 Old and new? The ¡°Black Gold Wings¡± tussle was not going to stop. Tauro thought that while Aeris was right that Shin and Rumeya would never do such a selfish thing, it was also possible that they were pushed into admitting it by the ladies because of their good-naturedness. ¡°Anyway, Aeris. Until we hear what Shin and Rumeya have to say, you need to calm down.¡± The ladies over there were confident. ¡°Confirmation won¡¯t change the fact that we¡¯re the ¡®Black Golden Wings¡¯, okay? Hmph!¡± Ren, a woman in the thieves¡¯ profession, said a few words and walked away from Tauro and Aeris. Aeris was also upset by the words, but then she noticed something that made her pale. ¡°¡­¡­ Tauro. Aren¡¯t those two heading in the direction of our house?¡± Tauro had never thought it was possible before he was told that. The house is managed by Shin and Rumeya. He imagined that perhaps, because of their personalities, they thought it would be okay to rent the house until they came back themselves. All of their personal belongings were in the magic storage, so it was ready to be lent to anyone, but Shin and Rumeya might have checked it out and lent it to them. ¡°¡­¡­It¡¯s possible that Shin and Rumeya might have lent it to those two people¡­¡­.¡± ¡®¡­¡­ Tauro. This is war¡­! Let¡¯s settle who the Black Gold Wings belong to!¡± ¡°No, no, no, Aeris-san. War is an overreaction ¡­¡­.¡± Tauro tried to say so, but Aeris¡¯ eyes were serious. ¡°If you know your enemy, you can fight a hundred battles without danger! Let¡¯s go to the Adventurers¡¯ Guild and get some information about those two vixens!¡± Aeris snorted and turned to the guild. ¡°Tauro, Aeris, you¡¯re back! Welcome back!¡± When they went to the guild, they were greeted by the cool-headed Chloe, the guild leader of the Dansas branch of the Adventurers¡¯ Guild, with an unusually husky voice. ¡°Chloe-san, we¡¯re back!¡± Tauro and Aeris replied cheerfully and immediately got down to business. ¡°Chloe-san. I want to ask you about the current situation of ¡®Black Golden Wings¡¯, what are those two?¡± Aeris asked Chloe calmly. ¡°¡­¡­ Oh. Did something happen? Those kids moved in from somewhere else to replace you guys. ¡­¡­ you guys had just left, and Shin and Rumeya wanted a rear guard, so they hit it off at the bar.¡± ¡°So, does ¡­¡­ mean that Shin and Rumeya approached them first?¡± Tauro asked with a sigh. ¡°I don¡¯t know about that. The girls wanted a strong vanguard, too, and they asked me to introduce them at the reception. I had given them both names as one of the candidates, so they must have known.¡± ¡°So it might not have come from Shin and Rumeya!¡± Aeris bit into that. ¡°The girls have aggressive personalities, ¡­¡­. which is why Shin and Rumeya stood out because they both worked hard and were active. ¡­¡­ Oh yeah! They¡¯ve both moved up in rank to E+, isn¡¯t it The four of them have been active together lately, too, so we¡¯re considering a promotion to D- ¡­¡­, oh, that¡¯s a secret, isn¡¯t it?¡± Tauro had a feeling that this might mean there was no place for him and Aeris to return to. Aeris was getting grumpier and grumpier. ¡°¡­¡­ Well, Aeris. We haven¡¯t heard from Shin and Rumeya themselves yet, so don¡¯t be too pessimistic, okay?¡± ¡°But They¡¯re getting results with the new members without us!¡± When she said that, tears came to Aeris¡¯ eyes. Indeed, that was true. The new members? I was not sure what to say to Aeris, since I was sure that they had been speedily promoted by teaming up with the new members. ¡°Oh, you two. Shin and Rumeya seemed to be doing their best to surprise you, so don¡¯t get me wrong. Besides, I don¡¯t think it¡¯s official, since the guild hasn¡¯t received a procedure that these girls have joined ¡®Black Golden Wings,¡¯. Well, some people don¡¯t register, so I can¡¯t say for sure. ¡­¡­¡± Chloe, who had some idea of what was going on, tried to follow up, but as she spoke, she ended up on her butt. ¡°That¡¯s right, Aeris! Chloe is right, it¡¯s not official, so let¡¯s talk to them properly. Besides, we¡¯re the ones paying the rent on the house, so let¡¯s go home with an open mind!¡± Tauro encouraged Aeris, thanked Chloe, and we walked off to go home to our house. CH 182 When we arrived at our house, sure enough, there were those two women living there. ¡°What are you guys? Have you come to make false accusations again?¡± ¡°We don¡¯t want to make accusations, this is our house.¡± Before Aeris could get too riled up, Tauro spoke up for them. ¡°What? This place is rented from Rumeya, it can¡¯t be your house.¡± A woman named Ren, a thief by trade, snickered like we were fools. ¡°No, that¡¯s a mistake. We originally paid the rent here. We just left Shin and Rumeya to manage the place while we were away. So can I ask you to leave?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re talking about. If you have a problem with me, go talk to Rumeya. If that¡¯s the case?¡± Then her companion, Chloe, the healer, came out of the house. ¡°You guys again? You persistent little brats.¡± Chloe shook her head in disgust and reacted in an exaggerated manner. ¡°These two are now claiming that this is their house. I¡¯m really getting tired of all the accusations they¡¯ve been making.¡± Ren agreed with Chloe and said, ¡°You guys, that¡¯s enough! Me and Tauro paid to rent this place! We did the renovations ourselves!¡± Aeris was being stopped by Tauro, but she was running out of patience and stepped forward. Then Shin and Rumeya came running in, shouting loudly. ¡°Oi! Tauro, Aeris! Long time no see!¡± The two women, Tauro and Aeris, turned their heads in that direction. It had been a long time since Tauro and Aeris had seen their friends, but this time the situation was complicated. It was the worst possible time to be happy. ¡°Hey, you two, do something about this!¡± Aeris vented her anger straight at Shin and Rumeya. ¡°Rumeya, Shin! These bra¡­.. kids have been trying to make accusations against us for a while now! Help us!¡± ¡°Right right!¡± Ren and Chloe catcall Rumeya and Shin for help. ¡°I¡¯m home, Shin, Rumeya. I guess I can tell by the way things are going that you¡¯ve been renting our house to these two, right?¡± Tauro says quietly and smiles a black smile. ¡°¡±Guys, sorry!¡±¡± Shin and Rumeya apologized to Tauro and Aeris right out of the gate. ¡°Hey, hey, hey! Why are you apologizing, you two! It was these kids who made the accusation!¡± Ren and Chloe were upset. ¡°Pack up your stuff quickly. I told you before until the people who live in this house come home, didn¡¯t I?¡± Rumeya said without standing by the duo. ¡°What? That was just an excuse to rent the house to us, wasn¡¯t it? You haven¡¯t talked about it for months!¡± ¡°That¡¯s not true! Your pushiness made it hard to say, but the house belongs to the two of them! And Tauro is the leader of the Black Golden Wings! And Aeris is a member of it!¡± ¡°¡±Huh?¡±¡± Ren and Chloe continue to be upset. ¡°Shin, Rumeya. This duo has the ¡®Black Golden Wings¡¯ symbol on their backs, can you explain why?¡± Aeris asked, this time with a quiet, smiling black smile. ¡®Well, that¡¯s ¡­¡­, I was asked to¡­¡­. But I didn¡¯t mean to put them on the team at all! We were only a hastily formed team until you and Tauro came back!¡± ¡°Yes! The two of them took the liberty of calling themselves the ¡°Black Golden Wings¡± and embroided it on their backs, so I was wondering when to warn them about it! Shin and Rumeya desperately try to make excuses. ¡°But she¡¯s your girlfriend, isn¡¯t she?¡± Aeris¡¯s pursuit did not stop. ¡°I was still trying to get them to stop. That¡¯s where the flirtation and momentum led to a relationship,¡­¡­.¡± ¡°I was her type, too, so that¡¯s how we got¡­¡­ into that kind of relationship.¡± Shin and Rumeya excused themselves respectfully, dripping with cold sweat. ¡°¡­¡­that made it harder to say?¡± Tauro followed up with a helping hand. ¡°¡±Yes¡­¡­ that¡¯s right. Sorry ¡­¡­!¡±¡± Shin and Rumeya shrank down and got down on their knees. Ren and Chloe, looking completely villainized by this scene, were not amused. ¡°Hey, you two! You¡¯re our boyfriends, you should be defending us! Aren¡¯t you ashamed to bow down to these two brats in the first place!¡± ¡°Shut up! You¡¯re going to complicate things, so shut up for a second!¡± Rumeya was offended by Ren¡¯s comment. Apparently, the problem was not as I had first feared, but it seemed to end up as a lover¡¯s quarrel between a man and a woman, and the problem was over. At any rate, I¡¯d like to get these two out of the way and relax at home. Tauro and Aeris finally got to the bottom of the matter, and their exhaustion was quickly overwhelming them. CH 183 Ren and Chloe¡¯s move was helped by Tauro¡¯s Magic Storage. Because waiting for them to put things away one by one would take time. In an instant, Tauro collected the items from their rooms, and the duo was stunned by the sight, but he ignored them and quickly removed them from the house. Aeris remained in a foul mood. She was quite displeased that people she disliked were doing whatever they wanted to her house, and he could tell even more because she asked him to perform a ¡°purification¡± spell on the house. Tauro decided to move their belongings to Shin and Rumeya¡¯s house in the neighborhood. They, of course, accepted without any objection. The rest was up to Rumeya, Ren, Shin, and Chloe, and Tauro did not want to get involved. ¡°Then the four of you can talk about it.¡± Tauro said and quickly returned to his house. ¡°Finally, we¡¯re back home¡­¡­¡± Tauro let out a sigh of relief as he took Aeris¡¯ belongings out of the magic storage and put them back. ¡°That¡¯s right, we¡¯re finally home¡­¡­. But what are we going to do about the four of them? ¡°I don¡¯t know. This is all a matter between them anyway.¡± Tauro could only smile bitterly. The problem of the sexes was not well understood even in my previous life, so it is not like I suddenly became familiar with the issue here. So, when asked, I really had no way to answer the question. Both of us were tired from the trip and the commotion, so we went to bed early that day. The next morning. While Tauro and Aeris were having breakfast, Shin and Rumeya came to see them. They had not slept much and had dark circles in their eyes. The discussion seemed to have dragged on for a long time. Tauro invited the tired duo into his house and offered them a chair. ¡°It¡¯s about Ren and Chloe¡­¡­.. We¡¯re sorry again about yesterday!¡± They bowed their heads. ¡°We¡¯ve been gone for a long time too, and we¡¯ve caused you a lot of trouble, so I guess it¡¯s fair for both of us. I¡¯m sorry.¡± After apologizing, Tauro suggested that they end it like that. ¡± It was my fault that we were in the royal capital for so long and caused you both so much trouble. I apologize too, Shin, Rumeya, I¡¯m sorry.¡± Aeris bowed her head and apologized as well. Shin and Rumeya stopped her bowing in a panic. ¡°No, if we had told those two clearly, this wouldn¡¯t have happened.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. I¡¯m sorry that we were the ones who put off the problem from the beginning.¡± Shin and Rumeya start apologizing again. ¡°Hahaha. This is getting out of hand, so let¡¯s stop here!¡± Tauro laughed and stopped the conversation, as it seemed like there was no end to their mutual apologies. ¡°¡­¡­ By the way, what will you guys do?¡± Aeris asked about their future activities. This is an important question. ¡°Of course, I¡¯d like to continue as ¡® Black Golden Wings¡¯ with Tauro, Aeris, and the four of us!¡± ¡°Me too! I¡¯ve been saying from the beginning that the team with ¡­¡­ Ren and Chloe was just until you guys returned, so we got them to agree to disband. They¡¯re going to the guild this morning to look for someone who can act as a vanguard.¡± ¡°¡­¡­So that means the relationship will continue, right?¡± Aeris asked, as if she had guessed something from their reactions. ¡°¡­¡­Well, that¡¯s another story,¡­¡­.¡± Rumeya answered a bit shyly. I see, maybe the lack of sleep wasn¡¯t just about the discussion. As for Tauro, he had no intention of interrupting Shin and Rumeya¡¯s private life. However, Ren and Chloe have their own feelings about Tauro and Aeris, and I was concerned about whether or not there would be a lump in the relationship later on. ¡°Speaking of which, you guys already have a guild rank of E+, don¡¯t you?¡± Aeris asked them, whether she thought it was a good idea to change the subject, or maybe she was just curious. ¡°Oh, yeah! While you two were away, we went back to the city of Ocircus and did some more quests and stuff, and we got up here, right Shin?¡± ¡°Yeah, Ren and Chloe were there, so I tried my best to look good.¡± It seems that the girls were a big part of this. ¡°Well, I and Aeris need to catch up soon, too.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right! Then, starting today, we¡¯ll go out again to search for quests with the revived team ¡°Black Golden Wings¡±!¡± ¡°Aeris, calm down. You two are sleep deprived, so we won¡¯t do this today.¡± Tauro quieted Aeris¡¯s impatience. ¡°Speaking of which, both of you look tired. It can¡¯t be helped, you two can take the rest of the day off. Tauro and I will go to the guild alone.¡± ¡°Well then, we¡¯ll take your word for it and go home to sleep.¡± Rumeya and Shin went home after saying that. Tauro and Aeris saw them off, finished breakfast, cleaned up, and headed for the Adventurers¡¯ Guild. CH 184 When Tauro and Aeris arrived at the Adventurers¡¯ Guild, they found a group of adventurers just leaving the guild. Looking closely, one could see that it was Nasirus, the leader of the ¡°Jet-Black Sword¡± who has a strong sense of rivalry towards Tauro and his ¡°Black Gold Wings,¡± Iratsuk, also a knight, and Vichina, a red-head girl who is a tracker, which is a higher skill in the thief profession. Rumeya and Shin¡¯s girlfriends, Ren and Yu, followed them out. ¡°It¡¯s a difficult combination again.¡± Tauro was, a little taken aback by Aeris outburst. Apparently, they¡¯re going to do a quest together with ¡°Jet-Black Sword.¡± It seems like they are hitting it off, and that¡¯s what I¡¯m afraid of. ¡°Let¡¯s not get involved.¡± Aeris seemed to think the same thing as Tauro. ¡°©¤©¤Well, If it isn¡¯t the leader of the ¡®Black Gold Wings¡¯! While you¡¯ve been away from this village of Dansas for a few months, we, the ¡°Jet-Black Sword¡± have been promoted to E-rank. It won¡¯t be long before we overtake you.¡± The leader, Nasirus, brushed his golden bangs and immediately noticed Tauro and Aeris and got involved with them. This squabble has been around ever since the ¡°Jet-Black Sword¡± arrived in this village, so Tauro has learned to let it pass. ¡°Good for you.¡± He then went with Aeris into the guild. ¡°Wait a minute! I heard you kicked out these two girls who were in the black gold wing¡¯s base while you were gone. This vanguard is not happy about it!¡± Iratsuk bites back vigorously, probably waiting for an opportunity to say something. ¡°Yes! That¡¯s right! They are so mean! They kicked out two women, the girlfriends of their colleagues, from the house they were living in for their own reasons!¡± Vichina, who had been the red head, followed up. Ren and Yu are acting like victims and crying. I see, that¡¯s what they are supposed to do in their plot. Tauro was in no mood to deny it since the storyline was subtly correct, but he decided to argue with it since the other adventurers in the guild who were listening in might misunderstand what he was saying. ¡°In the first place, those two girls were only renting the base while we were gone. We returned and I got them to move, that¡¯s all. I¡¯m not going to try to inquire why the story got into your ears, but I¡¯m not impressed with you taking one side¡¯s opinion and meddling in other people¡¯s affairs.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right! And when the duo there used the ¡°Black and Gold Wings¡± base without the leader Tauro¡¯s permission, it¡¯s pretty clear which one of us is right! Well, Shin and Rumeya are partly to blame for leaving them alone.¡± With Tauro¡¯s righteous argument and Aeris¡¯s follow-up, the ¡°Jet Black Sword¡± was left with nothing to say. Ren and Yu, too, felt that this was a flagrant violation of their rights, but they remained silent and didn¡¯t argue. ¡°I wonder if this problem has been solved. I think we just had a misunderstanding, so we¡¯re not going to blame you anymore.¡± Nasirus, who always interprets things in the most convenient way, seemed to be unable to say anything when he was told this, and he silently looked at the duo who would be going on the quest with him. Ren and Yu looked away from him. ¡°Do your best in the quest.¡± Tauro said to the ¡°Jet-Black Sword¡± and walked into the guild. Once inside the guild, the adventurers suddenly began to buzz around. It seemed that they had been listening in. ¡°I apologize for the trouble, ladies and gentlemen. Starting today, I look forward to working with you all again. Thank you for supporting the ¡± Black Gold Wings.¡± Tauro bowed his head, and Aeris also bowed in a hurry. ¡°Oh, Welcome back! I thought you had left the team!¡± ¡°That¡¯s true!¡± ¡°It was a disaster as soon as you got back! Ha-ha-ha!¡± ¡°I was told they had fled to another country, is that wrong?¡± ¡°You idiot, that¡¯s a drunken joke!¡± ¡°I heard they ran away in the night.¡± ¡°That¡¯s just a lie from the ¡°Lying Saw¡± guy!¡± It seems that while he was away, the adventurers had made him the centre of their jokes. I was in a hurry at the time and had no way of predicting that this would happen, but I was a little dismayed that Shin and Rumeya had left things till they got out of hand. Come to think of it, I wonder what happened to the letters I used to send them from time to time. Tauro wondered if they had read them. CH 185 Tauro and Aeris took on the usual standard herb gathering and goblin-killing quests, which they usually only did with the four of them. I thought I should be the vanguard once in a while. Fortunately, I¡¯d learned the ¡°God Arrow Hands¡± ability, which increased my strength, so I¡¯m not so weak anymore. Therefore, I decided to challenge with a shield. I also wanted to make full use of my newly acquired small sword ¡°Tauro¡±. The last time I used it was against skeletons and ghosts, so I wanted to try it against the goblins I usually fight. Aeris also joins the fray with her staff. As soon as they reached the forest where the goblins appeared, Tauro immediately used his ¡°presence detection¡± to find the goblins. There are six of them. He could handle them alone, but he and Aeris wanted to test their coordination, so they approached and confronted them head-on without using ¡°presence blocking¡±. The goblins tried to come around in a semicircle, but Tauro stepped forward and invited the goblins to attack. The goblins were attracted by the human who came out and attacked with clubs and knives in their hands. Tauro used his shield to block the club, and then he used his small sword to stab the goblin holding the knife in the eye. As the goblin screamed and died, Tauro quickly moved on to the next goblin. Aeris approaches the goblin as if to surround it from the right, and with her staff, which is magically imbued with the wind attribute, she breaks off the club in the goblin¡¯s hand, swings it over the goblin¡¯s head, and smashes its head open. In the meantime, Tauro slashed the next goblin¡¯s throat with a small movement, hit the goblin that was trying to come around from the left with his shield, it staggered, and then he stabbed it with his small sword before it could get into position. The goblin in the rear was stunned by an earth spirit magic ¡°stone gravel¡± to the head, and then he approached it and put an end to it. In the meantime, Aeris had struck down the remaining goblin with her staff. ¡°As expected Tauro. You¡¯re very good with the shield.¡± ¡°I was a little nervous because it¡¯s been a while, but it seems to be alright. You also seem to have an easy time against goblins.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll also have to get used to this kind of thing. I¡¯m glad it went smoothly because I fought skeletons and ghosts in the dungeon.¡± ¡°Shall we go again?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not tired at all, so let¡¯s go again after collecting the ears and the magic stone for the proof of defeat.¡± Aeris was also enthusiastic, so Tauro collected the goblin¡¯s body into the magic storage. ¡°Let¡¯s do the collection work later.¡± He proposed and Aeris nodded her head in agreement. After that, Tauro¡¯s ¡°presence detection¡± detected the next group of goblins and they attacked them. As a result, they killed 23 goblins in half a day. As Tauro was cleaning Aeris¡¯s clothes, which were stained with goblin blood, with a ¡°purification¡± spell, he was able to confirm the presence of a person with his ¡°sense presence¡±. When he checked again with his ¡°true eye,¡± he saw a silhouette of a person holding a sword and shield, so it appeared to be an adventurer. The other 13 goblins were fighting against him. As expected, there were too many to fight alone. It would be better to join him. Tauro told Aeris that. ¡°I understand.¡± Aeris nodded, and the two of them headed in that direction to help. ¡°Damn it! I didn¡¯t expect to encounter two groups of goblins while gathering medicinal herbs¡­.!¡± The adventurer surrounded by goblins was a woman. Her appearance was unusual. She had horns. She had long black hair in a ponytail, golden eyes, and a beautifully shaped nose, and she was tall for a woman and had the physique of a model in scaled armor with her skin showing in places. At first, I thought she might be a sheep-human, but she wasn¡¯t, because she had scales on her skin. ¡°No way, the lizard tribe?¡± Aeris stopped, startled by her appearance, but Tauro shot two goblins in quick succession with his bow, and she hurriedly fired a covering shot with her wind magic to kill one of the goblins. The female adventurer, perhaps empowered by the support she received, showed off her sword skill by striking both goblins with a single flash of her sword. ¡°Oh! That¡¯s amazing, in just one swing!¡± Tauro, honestly impressed, killed two more goblins with his bow and arrow. Aeris blew away the two fleeing goblins with her water magic, and Tauro¡¯s arrows struck and killed all three goblins that showed their backs in rapid succession. ¡°Both of you. Thanks for saving my life.¡± ¡°Are you alright? If you¡¯re hurt, I have some potions.¡± Tauro produced a potion from his magic storage. ¡°No, that¡¯s okay, but are you guys from around here?¡± ¡°I¡¯m a resident and an adventurer. Are you not an adventurer?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not an adventurer. I just heard that there are many rare medicinal herbs around here.¡± ¡°I see. If you tell me what you are looking for, I can help you.¡± ¡°Really? That would be a big help! Ah! You¡¯re not going to demand my body in return for my favor, are you? Kuh! Kill!¡± The female warrior said something strange, but she did not seem to be a bad person, so Tauro and Aeris decided to listen to her. CH 186 The female warrior gave her name as Ragune. She was not from the lizard tribe as Aeris had pointed out. ¡°I¡¯m not a lizard, but a dragon.¡± ¡°Eh!? The dragon tribe is a very rare race. Now that I think about it, the lizard tribe don¡¯t have horns. It¡¯s certainly a characteristic of the dragon tribe.¡± Aeris was again surprised. ¡°I don¡¯t like being mistaken for a lizard tribe, but It does happen at times.¡± Ragune gave Aeris an understanding look. ¡°So you¡¯re not from around here then. Why are you here?¡± Tauro asked Ragune the obvious question. ¡°I¡¯ve heard rumors that there are many rare and fine medicinal herbs growing wild here that make good medicine. There¡¯s an epidemic in my village right now and I came here to look for something that could be a cure for it.¡± ¡°I see. Well, if you tell me what kind of herbs you are looking for, I will find them for you.¡± My abilities include ¡°knowledge of plants¡± and ¡°true eyes¡± can link to it. If it¡¯s around here, I can find it. ¡°I see! But how will I pay you the reward? You¡¯re adventurers, right? It¡¯s against the law to take on work without going through the guild.¡± ¡°This is not a job. We¡¯re just helping. So it¡¯s not something that should be done through a guild.¡± Tauro replied with a smile. ¡°Thank you! Ha! You say that now and then later ask for my body as a reward! Kuh! Kill!¡± Apparently, Ragune has a prejudice against men. Tauro laughed, but since she seemed to be serious, he decided to make a promise. ¡°Here¡¯s what we¡¯ll do, since Aeris can use contract magic, I promise to help you for free, and we¡¯ll make a contract!¡± When Tauro suggested this, Aeris said. ¡°Fine, but I¡¯ll keep it simple.¡± Aeris then used her contract magic after getting between Tauro and Ragune, cast a spell, and the two signed the contract. ¡°Then, with this, I can help you without charge.¡± Tauro nodded to Ragune, and she finally nodded back. ¡°Then, thank you.¡± According to Ragune, the disease prevalent in the dragon people¡¯s village is slightly different from that prevalent among humans. It¡¯s a deadly disease that only occurs very rarely among the dragon people. Symptoms include high fever, nausea, aching joints, inflammation and sores on the parts where scales grow, gradual weakening of the body, and finally death. Certainly, in humans, there¡¯s no inflammatory disease because there are no scales. ¡°Because that¡¯s special¡­.¡± Tauro took out some medicinal herbs from the magic storage that he had collected and stocked from before. All of them are valuable herbs with a high price tag. ¡°In addition to these, there are some herbs that I¡¯ve been curious about for a while.¡± A bright red herb was added to the list. ¡°Is that fire dragon grass? But that¡¯s said to be a grass that has no efficacy whatsoever.¡± Ragune seemed knowledgeable and pointed out. ¡°The description says that it¡¯s a medicinal grass that doesn¡¯t have any efficacy on its own.¡± ¡°Fire dragon grass is a medicinal herb? This is the first time I¡®ve heard of it.¡± Ragune was skeptical. ¡°I don¡¯t know either, so I¡¯m going to make a potion from these ingredients.¡± With that said, he also took out the potion-making tools from the magic storage and began working on the spot. While Tauro was working over time, Aeris asked Ragune about various things. The dragon people are rare and she had a lot to ask. ¡°Is it true that you can turn into a dragon?¡± ¡°That¡¯s just a legend. We¡¯re not so different from your race.¡± Ragune laughed and answered, probably because she was often asked this question. ¡°So, what about the story that there are skills unique to dragon people?¡± ¡°Well, that depends on the dragon person, but I have the skill of ¡®dragon knight.¡± ¡°That¡¯s your skill? Sounds amazing! What kind of skill is that!?¡± ¡°You¡¯ll learn a Knight¡¯s ability to increase durability with light equipment without being so heavily equipped, although it¡¯s close. Also, agility and jumping ability will increase dramatically. You¡¯ll also learn the ability to breathe fire and snowstorms.¡± ¡°Wow! The ¡°Dragon Knight¡± sounds powerful. So, where do you come from, Ragune?¡± ¡°I come from the dragon forest in the north. It¡¯s a long way from here, but I¡¯m confident in my legs, so I came here while gathering information.¡± ¡°The Dragon Forest? I¡¯ve never heard of the place.¡± ¡°Because that¡¯s a name that only we the dragon tribe call it. In general, it¡¯s somewhere in the Antas Mountains.¡± Ragune wasn¡¯t sure where she lived. Well, it could mean that we were not yet trustworthy enough to be told. Time passed as they talked, and Tauro finished his work. ¡°It¡¯s done. As I thought, I¡¯ve appraised the effects of this potion and it¡¯s effective against the symptoms of the disease that Ragune-san mentioned.¡± Tauro handed it to Ragune. ¡°I¡¯ll show you how to mix it and you can make it when you get back to the village.¡± Tauro took out a large amount of expensive herbs from his magic storage and handed them to Ragune. ¡°So many! Thank you, Tauro-san! Ku! Kill! Ah. I¡¯m sorry, I¡¯m just in the habit of saying that.¡± Oh, that¡¯s your habit? Tauro was relieved to find that Ragune¡¯s line, which had been bothering him, was just a habit. CH 187 Ragune was a capable warrior. The amount of medicinal herbs Tauro had given away was so large that he wanted to prepare a basket to take them home for her because they were too bulky to carry, but Ragune refused. ¡°I have my own magic storage, so I¡¯ll be fine.¡± Saying that, instantly all the medicinal herbs in front of her were cleared out at once. ¡°Wow! Ragune has multiple valuable skills!¡± Aeris was impressed. ¡°Well of course, I¡¯m still trusted as an excellent warrior in the village of the Dragon People. That¡¯s why I was chosen to be one of the representatives on this journey to find a cure for the epidemic!¡± Ragune proudly showed off her honor with her chest. After all, leaving the village seems to be a rare thing for the dragon tribe. It may be that going out itself is by permission only. No wonder there are so few encounters of dragon people in the world. ¡°It seems to be a long way to the village of the dragon people.¡± Tauro was honestly concerned. If it¡¯s somewhere in the Antas Mountains, as Ragune said, it would take more than a month to get there on foot from here. Even if she brought back the medicine, it might be too late. ¡°It took me a long time to get here, but it won¡¯t take me long to get back, so don¡¯t worry. Now then, excuse me for I want to help my friends as soon as possible!¡± Ragune said, looked around, and then ran quickly in a southern direction, the opposite direction of the Antas Mountains. ¡°Ragune-san, south is that way!¡± Tauro and Aeris hurriedly called out to her, but she probably didn¡¯t hear them. ¡°I wonder if she¡¯s extremely directionally challenged?¡± ¡°I¡¯m terribly worried. I wonder if she¡¯s going to be okay.¡± We were both left with nothing but worry as we met and parted, but it was already dusk and we were heading back to the village of Dansas. Busy evening. As usual, Chloe, the head of the Adventurers¡¯ Guild Dansas branch, was also in the reception area. ¡°The two of you took down so many goblins!¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t it amazing? If we hadn¡¯t been helping people along the way, I think we could have taken down even more.¡± Aeris was proud because it was the first time she and Tauro had taken down goblins together. ¡°Helping people? Well, it looks like you¡¯ll both have no problem getting promoted to E+.¡± ¡°A promotion! really!?¡± Aeris bites into Chloe¡¯s words. ¡°Yes. I was worried because of your age, but if you can do this well together, you¡¯ll be fine.¡± ¡°Yay! Now all of the ¡°Black Gold Wings¡± are rank E+!¡± Aeris was pleased as she took Tauro¡¯s hand. ¡°Oh, one more thing. Shin-kun and Rumeya-kun just reported completing the quest with the duo of Ren and Yu, so I promoted them to D-rank.¡± ¡°Eh?¡± ¡°You know the trouble they got into earlier today? The duo was rejected for a temporary team quest with the ¡®Jet Black Sword¡¯, so they cried out to Shin and Rumeya, so the four of them took on the quest and reported their completion just now. The two of them have a bit of a personality problem, but they are very capable. And when they work with Shin and Rumeya, they get good results.¡± ¡°Shin and Rumeya agreed to that?¡± ¡°They were reluctant at first, and thought they should wait for the both of you. But those two convinced them that they should move them up to the D-rank zone while they still can, because it¡¯s not something you can move up to anytime soon.¡± ¡°Those two!¡± Aeris quietly oozed anger. ¡°Aeris, those two girls are their girlfriends and they have their priorities, so stop being mad at them.¡± ¡°But!¡± ¡°Let¡¯s respect Shin and Rumeya¡¯s decision. The two of them have always had the goal of moving up to the D rank band, and that¡¯s fine.¡± Aeris still didn¡¯t seem convinced, but it¡¯s not a bad thing to put your girlfriends first. Besides, we were the ones who were away the entire time. They seem to have good chemistry with the duo, and this might be a good time to seriously think about Shin and Rumeya, and maybe even consider disbanding the team. Shin and Rumeya are caught between themselves and the girls, and the current situation mustn¡¯t be pleasant. Those two are good guys, so it would be better to put out this option here. Tauro decided not to tell Aeris about this idea yet. If he told her now, it would make things awkward. After quieting Aeris down, they left the guild and headed home. CH 188 Tauro and Aeris went to bed that day in a slightly heavy mood. The next morning, after a good night¡¯s sleep, Aeris felt better, ate well, and said nothing more about the previous day. Seeing this, Tauro was about to talk to Aeris about the future of the team when he sensed the presence of Shin and Rumeya. It seems they are coming this way. Tauro decided to talk to Shin and Rumeya when they arrived. When Shin and Rumeya arrived at the front of the house, Tauro opened the door before they knocked to welcome them. ¡°Good morning, you two.¡± Tauro greeted them, and they returned his greeting with nervous faces. They looked serious. Tauro could see that and to a certain extent he could guess what was going on. It seemed that the two had given their answer. Aeris also sensed the mood of the two and her expression darkened. ¡°¡­¡­Well, I don¡¯t want you to stand still, so sit down, both of you.¡± Tauro urged them to take a seat. ¡°Ummm. Yes.¡± In the midst of all this, the atmosphere in the room became even heavier. Meanwhile¡ª ¡°Actually, we¡¯ve been promoted to D-rank!¡± Rumeya opened the floor and spoke up on behalf of the two of them. ¡°Yeah. Congratulations!¡± ¡°Eh? You knew about that? And you¡¯re not mad about it?¡± Rumeya asked, surprised. ¡°It¡¯s your decision, we don¡¯t have anything to say about it. Besides, I¡¯m glad to see my friends promoted.¡± Tauro answered, and then he looked at Aeris. Aeris nodded at Tauro¡¯s prompting. ¡°And¡­¡± When Rumeya was having difficulty saying what he wanted to say, Shin interrupted him. ¡°Actually, we¡¯re thinking of leaving the ¡®Black Gold Wings¡¯ and forming a team with Yu and Ren! I know it¡¯s selfish, but it¡¯s something we¡¯ve been thinking about!¡± He made a serious statement. Aeris¡¯s expression suddenly turned pale and she looked shocked. ¡°I see. You¡¯re serious, aren¡¯t you? I guess that means we both have something to protect.¡± ¡°Yeah. We can¡¯t afford to cause any more trouble for you guys with our blunder and we want to take good care of them, too.¡± Rumeya took over Shin¡¯s statement. ¡°Yes. I think the feelings you want to cherish are important.¡± ¡°Is that okay? We owe you a debt of gratitude, and we don¡¯t think we¡¯ve repaid it! So¡­¡± ¡°We¡¯re all friends, aren¡¯t we? So it doesn¡¯t matter what you owe me. If we choose to make our precious friends happy, then we ought to congratulate them for that.¡± Tauro¡¯s answer made Aeris feel as if she were about to cry. With tears in her eyes, she came to hold Tauro¡¯s hand under the desk. Tauro gently squeezed her hand back. ¡°Thank you, you two. Actually, we¡¯re thinking of moving to the city of Ocircus since Ren and Yu say they don¡¯t feel comfortable staying in this village.¡± Surely it was because of the trouble they had gotten into in front of the Adventurers¡¯ Guild, and the other adventurers had smoked them out of the village. Tauro wondered, but didn¡¯t point it out. ¡°I know you both liked the town of Ocircus. I hope you¡¯ll do well there too.¡± ¡°Thanks. As a former member of the Black Gold Wings, I¡¯ll do my best.¡± ¡°Maybe we¡¯ll see each other again there and you¡¯ll show us around.¡± Aeris said, fighting back tears. ¡°Of course! You can come over anytime. I¡¯d love to be famous over there and surprise you both.¡± Shin responded to Aeris. Shin, perhaps influenced by Aeris, also had tears in his eyes. ¡°Hey Shin and Aeris, you both shouldn¡¯t cry, okay?¡± Rumeya wiped the tears from his eyes as he said this. ¡°You¡¯re the first one to cry!¡± Aeris pointed this out and couldn¡¯t take it anymore and began to shed tears. Shin couldn¡¯t hold back any longer and began to cry as well, saying, ¡°I¡¯m sorry¡±. Tauro watched the three of them, tears streaming down his cheeks without being aware of it. Tauro was happy that these four had formed the team ¡°Black Gold Wings,¡± and although the team had originally been created in a hurry, he was filled with pride. I¡¯m certain everyone else felt the same way. ¡°Thanks to everyone. This team was great! When Tauro told them that, they all cried a lot. There were two pendants left on the table that Tauro had made and given them, showing ¡°Black Gold Wings¡±. Shin and Rumeya were the first to see the pendants. ¡°These are for the ¡°Black Gold Wings¡± should have.¡± Shin and Rumeya had left them behind. I had wanted them to take it with them, but I guess they wanted to be fair, so I couldn¡¯t force them to take them, so they accepted my offer and returned them. Aeris was tired of crying and retreated to her room. Tauro collected the pendant left on the table in the magic storage and went outside. It was still noon. Looking up at the cloudless blue sky, a ray of weather rain fell and wet Tauro¡¯s cheeks. CH 189 A few days later, Shin, Rumeya and the others were to leave for the city of O¡¯circus. Tauro and Aeris were able to see them off with a smile. It was a mutually satisfying goodbye. Shin and Rumeya will be successful there too. They have that much ability, and their personalities are suited for it. The chemistry of that duo is excellent as a vanguard, so they¡¯re sure to be appreciated in the future. After seeing them off, Tauro and Aeris decided to rest for a few days. Aeris, no matter how much she saw them off with a smile, couldn¡¯t shake the feeling of loss. She needed a few days off. Tauro visited the Marches Trading Company and used the time for business meetings. From the second day, Aeris also followed him to the business meeting. The reason was that she didn¡¯t want to be alone, but after a few days of business meetings, Aeris found that her energy was returning. This should be okay. On the morning of the sixth day, Aeris was back to her normal self and they decided it was time to visit the Adventurers¡¯ Guild. On the way to the guild. ¡°If I knew it¡¯d turn out this way, I¡¯d have followed Ragune-san to the village of the Dragon People.¡± Aeris talked about what to do. ¡°Oh, that dragon tribe lady. It¡¯s only been a week since we saw her, so she must still be on her way to the village. It would have been a great experience to go with her.¡± ¡°And since she seemed to be an excellent vanguard, I should have asked her to join us.¡± ¡°I think that would have been a good idea, since she had the valuable skill of being a ¡°dragon knight¡± and she seemed to be a good person.¡± Tauro and Aeris arrived at the Adventurers¡¯ Guild while talking incessantly. When they entered the Adventurers¡¯ Guild, the room was abuzz. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Aeris noticed that the atmosphere in the Adventurers¡¯ Guild was tense for the first time in about a week. Listening to the adventurers, she heard the name ¡°ogre¡± being mentioned. An ogre is a monster that looks like a demon. They are armed, armored, warrior-like, and love fighting. ¡°An ogre?¡± Tauro asked the receptionist, Kannes, who was just available. ¡°Yes. A swarm of ogres have been spotted in a neighboring village.¡± ¡°A swarm? That¡¯s very unusual.¡± ¡°According to sighting reports, there were about five of them, but we are still waiting for the next report.¡± The ogre is a C-rank target, as I recall. Right now in this village, there is one B-rank team and two C-rank teams of adventurers above the C-rank zone. There are also four D-rank teams, and most of the rest are in the E-rank range. As for individuals, the standout is Bob, a dog-human who has just recently risen to C- rank with a speedy rise in the ranks. Considering the strength of the team, depending on the number of ogres, it seems safe since there¡¯s a B-rank team. ¡°Then, we should be fine with the B-rank team we have now and the two C-rank teams, for a total of three, right?¡± Tauro normally thought so, but he didn¡¯t understand why there was tension in the air in the guild. ¡°Well, the B-rank team and one C-rank team are away at the moment.¡± One of the adventurers responded to Tauro¡¯s optimism. ¡°Eh? They¡¯re away right now?¡± ¡°Teams B rank and C+ are away taking part in a massive Troll King defeat that the Adventurer¡¯s Guild in the city of Daledar reported on.¡± ¡°So there are only six people left, including the three members of the C rank team ¡°Goblin¡± and Bob, who is working on his own?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. The ogre is weak against magic attacks, but it¡¯s extremely strong against physical attacks. The three members who are working individually are also muscle brains. The six people present could barely take on the five that was initially reported. Depending on how many others are out there, it¡¯s doubtful that this guild will be able to help.¡± Then, the story changes. Depending on the decision of the branch manager, Chloe, there may also be people who can use magic attacks in the D- and E-rank bands called in. There was an adventurer who rushed in to report to the guild. ¡°The first five ogres appeared near neighboring villages and we have confirmed eighteen others. That makes a total of twenty-three!¡± A sigh of despair escaped the guild. This is beyond the current tolerance of the guild. If the remaining C team ¡°Goblins¡± of the current strength and Bob and the other three C ranks are sent in, the possibility of total annihilation is overwhelmingly higher. When Chloe, the branch manager, heard the report, she fell silent. The adventurers were also silent, and there was a renewed tension in the room. ¡°We can¡¯t just abandon the village. From now on, the Dansas branch will go into all-out warfare, with teams made up of adventurers of E rank or higher, especially those who can attack with magic. Please team up with Marge, an E+ wizard, and Holly, a healer, on the ¡°Goblin¡± team. Three people who are also in the C rank band, Aeris, who is an E+, and the rest of you can go to ¡­¡­¡± Chloe pondered who to pick and was about to speak. ¡°I can do magic attacks too, so can I join her and Aeris?¡± Tauro raised his hand. CH 190 Chloe, the branch manager, was surprised when Tauro raised his hand. ¡°Eh? Tauro-kun, you can use magic?¡± ¡°I can do magic-granting attacks, so I think it will be effective against ogres. Besides, Aeris and I are a team, so we should be together.¡± ¡°I understand. Then, I want you to form a team of three C-ranked adventurers plus ¡°Black Gold Wings¡±. D+ team ¡°Dawn¡± and the same E+ team ¡°Akebono¡±, a total of nine people, please! And then the D-team ¡­¡­¡± Chloe¡¯s team formation continued and six mixed teams were formed. The teams are a mixture of nine or more members, more quantity than quality, except for two teams of five members each, mainly in the C-rank range. 3 people in D rank band plus 12 people in E rank band. There is also a team of 15 people in total. Chloe¡¯s strategy is to use the C+ team ¡°Wolf Fang¡± as the main team, with Bob and the other C-rank teams and ¡°Black Gold Wings¡± as the rangers, and the others, along with the main team, in a group battle to overwhelm them by sheer numbers. If they didn¡¯t do this, there was no way that an E-rank team would be able to defeat a B-rank level superior monster with only a physical attack. This was no longer a war to protect the village. The Adventurers¡¯ Guild of Dansas was about to launch an all-out battle of will that could be described as reckless. The group of adventurers quickly formed up, checked each other¡¯s strengths and made preparations, and rushed to the nearby village where an ogre had been sighted. Tauro and his team went ahead of the rest of the adventurers, who were moving in a group. Tauro and his mixed team will be led by Bob, a brown-haired, long-haired, yellow-eyed dog person who is currently the most active member of the Dansas branch, with red-haired, red-eyed Twin, a twin-sword user who is a C-rank known for agility, and blue-haired, blue-eyed Belin, a spear user who is also known for his agility and movement, fighting as the vanguard. Tauro and his group arrived at the village ahead of the others, but encountered the villagers just as they were fleeing. ¡°The monsters are attacking us right now! Kill them quickly!¡± The villagers ran away without stopping. Four ogres came running after them. Twin, the twin-sword wielder, and Belin,the spear wielder, who were ahead of them with their agility, went to attack the ogres. In response, Aeris used her lightning magic which can kill even durable orcs with a ranged attack. Aeris dropped her lightning magic on the center of the four ogres. Gugaaah! The ogres stopped moving with a cry. ¡°Magic is their weak point, but even this magic can¡¯t kill them with a single blow!¡± While Aeris was surprised, Twin and Belin slashed at one of them in pursuit. ¡°I cut it with the intention of beheading it, but it¡¯s too hard!¡± Twin said. ¡°I also meant to pierce its heart!¡± And Belin jumped back, wary of the remaining three, as the two of them finished off one of the ogres. There, without a pause, Bob lightly slashed the necks of two of the slow-moving ogres with his magic sword. Then, one of the remaining ogres cried out, ¡°Gah!¡± and was about to swing his sword at Bob. A ray of light cut through the wind and instantly passed by Bob¡¯s face, and was sucked into the ogre¡¯s mouth. Tauro¡¯s arrow of light penetrated the ogre¡¯s mouth and pierced the right shoulder of a new member of the ogre pack that had come up behind him. Meanwhile, Aeris used auxiliary magic to boost the attack power of both Twin and Belin. She decided that even the two main fighters didn¡¯t have enough offensive power. The other adventurers caught up with them from behind. Tauro and his group, who were ahead of the others, had already killed four of the Ogres, so the other adventurers, thinking that they might have a chance, slashed at the following horde of ogres. Meanwhile, Tauro handed Aeris a magic recovery potion and told Bob, ¡°I¡¯ll cover you!¡± Bob grinned and replied, ¡°I¡¯ll leave it to you!¡± Bob grinned and slashed at the ogre. At first, the adventurers were energized, but the E-rank adventurers were easily repelled. The ogres weren¡¯t only hard, but also armed and armored. Their swordsmanship was also battle-oriented and instinctive. They were literally of a different caliber. ¡°Don¡¯t attack them individually! We, the C ranks, will finish them off!¡± The leader of the ¡°Wolf Fang¡± instructed everyone. The wizards also began to use attack magic, not to finish them off, but to weaken them. In the midst of all this, the adventurers in the vanguard were desperate. Each swing of the ogre¡¯s sword was fast and heavy, and there was no time to relax, so their strength was quickly drained. ¡°Take over next!¡± The adventurers formed up in formation and quickly switched vanguards to endure. The battle with the hordes of ogres was evenly matched. CH 191 While the main force led by C-team ¡°Wolf fang¡± desperately held off the ogre horde from the front, Tauro¡¯s group, led by Bob, started from the left wing and gradually but surely reduced the number of ogres. Because of Bob¡¯s success, Elias also decided to switch to support magic instead of attack magic to help the senior adventurers in the C rank zone. Tauro, who was also supporting the senior adventurers, was more comfortable now that Aeris had switched to support, and he used his bow and arrow with unparalleled accuracy to stop and wound the ogres. At first, they were aiming for the vital points to finish them off, but the ogres were no scarecrows. They were wary of Tauro¡¯s high-powered arrows and began to avoid them or repel them with their weapons. ¡°As one might expect from a demon that specializes in physical combat, they aren¡¯t so naive! ¡° Tauro then switched his attack method. He stopped using the straight, powerful arrows of light and began to attack from behind his comrades, hiding himself and bending the trajectory of his arrows from a blind spot. The ogres could no longer cope with this, and were shot through the legs, arms, shoulders, and thighs one after another, sapping their fighting strength. The adventurers, who had managed to hold their own, began to lose ground. However, the adventurers were not unscathed. Many adventurers, especially those in the E ranks, were seriously or slightly wounded, and Tauro was in no condition to treat them. Naturally, even in the village of Dansas, where many medicinal herbs can be found, there were few people who had potions for restoring magic power, as they were expensive. Tauro, while covering for Bob and the others, threw the potion a long way and made a big show of it, even though there was a little distance between them and him as they came into view. Tauro, whose dexterity status is superior due with his ability compensation, literally broke the bottles containing the potion in mid-air by throwing the potion a long way, and poured the contents over the heads of the injured, healing them. At the same time, shards of glass also rained down, but that should be tolerated. Aeris, who was watching in the background, was surprised to see Tauro performing such a trick while shooting arrows at the enemy, but she immediately drank the magic recovery potion Tauro had given her and covered Bob and the others with magic to increase their strength. Thanks to Tauro¡¯s superhuman support, the vanguard of the main group was able to maintain its position without collapsing. In the meantime, Bob and his team completely defeated the ogres on the left flank and cut into the center. As expected, the ogre hordes were now at a disadvantage. If they were cut from behind, there was nothing they could do. And since Bob¡¯s magic sword was extremely sharp and his skill in using it was considerable, a slash would be fatal. The battle was now decisive. The hordes of the greatly reduced numbers of ogres were surrounded one by one, and then struck down, and in no time at all, they were all wiped out. The adventurers all collapsed into a heap as soon as the battle was decided. Although they had won, they were at the end of their physical strength. Bob, however, did not slump down, but instead entered the village. ¡°Follow me, Tauro!¡± Bob said, and Tauro and Aeris followed him. Bob¡¯s words were followed by Tauro and Aeris, who thought there might be survivors among the villagers who had failed to escape and had been attacked by the ogre pack. Tauro gave Bob and Aeris rare advanced and intermediate potions, and they scattered to search for the wounded. Unfortunately, most of the villagers who had failed to escape were dead. However, Bob found two people who were treated in time and survived. It was truly a miracle. Bob was able to treat the fatal wounds with an advanced potion he had received from Tauro. Tauro immediately rushed to the scene and healed them with additional potions. Aeris also assisted with healing and strength-raising magic. One of them was the village chief. It seems that he had been standing his ground and resisting for the villagers until the end, and was saved by the arrival of the adventurers and their rush into battle. When he regained consciousness from his injuries, he was very grateful to Bob for saving him. The chief was very moved and grateful to learn that he was the hero of Dansas, a well-known hero in the neighboring villages when he heard his name. When it was all over, Bob had killed by far the largest number of ogres. The other adventurers were also very impressed, saying that they might have been doomed without Bob¡¯s help. No,¡± Bob said humbly, ¡°they were all weakened, and I just put a stop to them. Bob himself was modest, but that also contributed to everyone¡¯s appreciation. Tauro, as one of the witnesses who had seen Bob up close and personal, added his own flowery praise for his efforts. ¡°If it hadn¡¯t been for Bob¡¯s work, I think we would have been beaten in the end,¡± ¡°No, Tauro, you did a great job in the rearguard position. Many of us were saved thanks to your hard work in the rear guard.¡± Bob wanted everyone to know about the heroic efforts of this reliable boy, but they also saw it as a kind gesture on Bob¡¯s part. And so, another tale of great deeds was added to the legend of Bob¡¯s heroism. CH 192 The battle for the extermination of the higher-ranked ogre by the Dansas branch ended in victory, despite the casualties. Unfortunately, not a few of the adventurers could not be saved by potions and healing magic. Still, it was a great victory, considering that they could have given up on the rescue itself at the beginning. Bob, who played a key role in the victory, was promoted to the C rank, which was unusual, even though he had just become a C-rank. He was judged to have that much ability. Other C-rank adventurers who had achieved results against ogre opponents were also promoted. However, as per guild regulations, those in ranks D and below were not eligible for promotion against higher-ranked opponents, so they were rewarded with rewards from the village and special rewards from the guild. Tauro and Aeris were also compensated for providing special assistance and potions. Kanne, the receptionist with the appraisal, handed them their rewards. ¡°Thank you both for your hard work on this emergency quest. Many people were saved by Tauro¡¯s potions, so we¡¯ve added an extra amount for that. Also, you contributed to the recovery and transport of the ogre¡¯s corpse, so your reward is included.¡± Indeed, when I looked around, I saw that my portion was larger than the size of the leather bags containing the money that the other adventurers were receiving. ¡°Thank you.¡± Tauro and Aeris thanked her, completed the formalities, and left the guild. ¡°I¡¯m glad we won this time, but it was a close call¡­¡­.¡± ¡®I think it was a good thing that Bob was the vanguard this time and fought with high aggression, but if I had been the vanguard, I don¡¯t think it would have worked out so well. I realized that we have to find a vanguard for the ¡°Black Gold Wings¡± as soon as possible.¡± ¡°I agree. No matter how dexterous you are, or how good you are at maneuvering, it¡¯s difficult for a to achieve that kind of offensive power.¡± The two agreed. They decided to recruit adventurers who could act as a vanguard. A week had passed since the guild began recruiting vanguards for ¡°Black Gold Wings¡± on the guild¡¯s recruiting board. In the village of Dansas, ¡°Black Gold Wings¡± had a good track record. I thought that someone would come, but¡­.. I was naive. The success of ¡°Black Gold Wings¡± in recent months has been Shin and Rumeya and their girls. Before that, the two vanguards were active and Aeris was the one who provided the firepower, so it was thought that they were attractive. Now that Shin and Rumeya are gone, Tauro, the boy who is the leader who carries the baggage with magic storage and uses potions, and the girl who is mentioned as the expert of the rear guard but still gives the impression of an incomplete girl, Aeris, look unreliable, so they were concerned about whether we were worthy of having their backs. In fact, he has several more achievements than other E-rank adventurers, but they are almost unknown to the other adventurers. Chloe also followed the two vanguard searchers and called on other adventurers to vouch for their achievements and abilities, but Chloe, the head of the Dansas branch of the Adventurers¡¯ Guild, was not very convincing because she, too, had almost no achievements as an adventurer. ¡°I¡¯d like to find a vanguard before we move up to the ¡­¡­D rank zone, but this might be difficult.¡± Tauro sighed unusually. ¡°That¡¯s right. And if you think about it, it¡¯s rare for a grown man to follow the lead of a boy. Aeris agreed. The two realized once again how much Shin and Rumeya meant to them. The two were still in the forest for their quest that day. It was the usual gathering of medicinal herbs and goblin extermination. Aeris was already accustomed to the two questing together, and under Tauro¡¯s tutelage, she was able to use her staff as a melee weapon in a way that would have made even the vanguard of a with an actual vanguard¡¯s profession look pale. At first, Aeris was reluctant to get stained with blood, but Tauro¡¯s ¡°purification¡± spell cleaned even the most stubborn stains better than Aeris¡¯ ¡°cleanliness¡± magic, so she no longer had to worry about that and her movements were much better. ¡°Oh! Savior of our village, I never thought I¡¯d see you here again!¡± Suddenly, feeling a presence caught by my ¡°presence detection¡±, I was approached by this person. It was a woman¡¯s voice that sounded familiar. The owner of the voice appeared through the bushes. ¡± Ragune-san!¡± The two could not help but be surprised when they were reunited with the beautiful woman with long black ponytail hair, golden eyes, and a small nose, who should not possibly be in this place. CH 193 The sudden appearance of Ragune left the two of them with only one question. ¡°¡±Why are you still here?¡±¡± When we first met her and sent her off after teaching her how to make the medicine, we suspected that she was directionally challenged because she ran south instead of north, where the Antas Mountains are located, where the village of the Dragon People is located, but the fact that she is still here means that she¡¯s¡­¡­. Ragune-san, you really are extremely directionally challenged! It¡¯s been almost a month since we parted ways that day. That¡¯s about enough days to get to the village of the Dragon People, as Ragune calls it. If she had lost her way during that time and ended up here again, she would be in serious trouble. I was more worried about what might have happened due to the epidemic in the dragon people¡¯s village. ¡°Hm?¡¯ I came back to thank you for the medicine. Thanks to you, the village was saved, so thank you!¡± Ragune bowed deeply. ¡°What? The village was saved? Could it be that¡­¡­ you went back to the village?¡± ¡®Yes, of course. I went back to the village and used the herbs you gave me to make the medicine you taught me, and I was able to cure the epidemic. The chief told me to go and thank you on his behalf, so here I am again.¡± This means that she had traveled a route that would have taken a month to complete in less than half a month, made medicines in the village, cured the disease, watched it heal, and then came back here again. No way¡­ can the Dragon People fly? It is only natural that Tauro would come up with that answer. He could think of no other way. ¡°Huh? Oh, I see. You doubt if I have wings on my back?¡± She seemed to have guessed this as he looked towards Ragune¡¯s back and tried to see. Ragune turned around and showed him her back. ¡°I don¡¯t have wings. I told you, I¡¯m not much different from a human. I have scales because I¡¯m a dragon person, but other than that, there is not much difference between us. Hahaha!¡± She explained, and laughed. ¡°Then did you really run back to the village?¡± If that¡¯s true, that¡¯s a hell of a lot of legwork, that¡¯s more incredible. I can¡¯t go into details even if you¡¯re my benefactor, but I can tell you that I have the ability to make it back to the village in no time. So, the truth is, I came to thank you after spending slow days in the village, sorry. The chief has asked me to give you what you want, from gold to a full set of armaments, valuable magical tools, and rare materials. What do you want?¡± Ragune was poised to pull anything out of her magic storage. Tauro looked at Aeris and nodded. ¡°I don¡¯t particularly need a thank you¡­¡­ but more importantly, Ragone-san. If you¡¯d like, can you join our team?¡± ¡°Huh?¡± Ragune sounded surprised. (I don¡¯t understand what that means. I was going to bring every one of the treasures of the Dragon People and give them what they wanted. That¡¯s how grateful the Dragon People are to the person who saved their lives. The chief also reminded me to thank him as much as he wanted¡­¡­.) ¡°Yes, that¡¯s right. We¡¯re having trouble finding a vanguard for the team because our guys had to leave for some reason. We would be happy if you could take their place.¡± Aeris nodded and pleaded. ¡°¡­¡­ There are many treasures in the Dragon People¡¯s treasure trove, national treasures that everyone in the world would like to have at their throats, you know?¡± ¡°More than that, I want a companion like Ragune-san.¡± Tauro pleaded again. ¡°I can¡¯t make a decision on my own, I¡¯ll go ask the chief¡­¡­.¡± She must have been so panicked that she used her ability, which she had kept secret from Tauro and Aeris, on the spot and unexpectedly returned to the village. The only thing Tauro and Aeris could see was that Ragune had suddenly vanished from their sight. ¡°¡±What?¡±¡± The two were honestly surprised. ¡°This is what Ragune is capable of?¡± ¡°Looks like, it¡¯s some kind of transfer magic!¡± ¡°I¡¯m jealous¡­¡­ I¡¯d like to trade it for my spatial transfer¡­¡­¡± Tauro sighed. ¡°What? Tauro, when did you learn spatial transfer?¡± ¡°No, you see, at that time¡­¡± Tauro started explaining it to Aeris as she asked him, and he decided to show her what it was all about. ¡°It¡¯s a short distance, but isn¡¯t it amazing!¡± Just as Aeris was amazed at Tauro¡¯s spatial transfer, Ragune returned. Ragune was startled when Tauro disappeared for a moment and moved in front of her as she returned. ¡°Could that be spatial transfer!?¡± Ragune, who seemed to know something, was surprised. ¡°Yes, welcome back. So, have you come to a conclusion?¡± Tauro confirmed the answer to Ragune while drinking a potion to recover his magic power. Aeris also paid attention to Ragune¡¯s answer. As for Ragune, she was concerned about the spatial transfer that had just taken place in front of her. But since they seemed to be interested in her, she decided to answer their question. CH 194 Ragune took a deep breath, sighed once, and opened her mouth with a serious expression. ¡°Now I will tell you the decision of the Dragon People Chief. ¡® From now onward, as long as you wish, I offer Ragune Dragoon to be your sword and shield. Please take care of Ragune.¡± ¡°I decline.¡± Tauro unexpectedly refused. ¡° Why?!¡± Ragune was surprised and puzzled by the unexpected words. It was these two who had invited her, and she had expected them to be pleased, so it was natural for her to be confused. ¡°We wanted you to decide on your own will and wanted you to become our friend, so we invited you. We don¡¯t want a relationship where you follow us because you are ordered to. So, first of all, I want you to respect your free will. After that, please decide whether or not you would be willing to become a member of our group. Because you can¡¯t call someone who is bound by orders a companion.¡± As Tauro answered, Aeris nodded by his side. ¡°it¡¯s The chief¡¯s decision, you see?¡± For Ragune, the chief¡¯s decision was absolute. She did not quite understand the difference Tauro was making. But still. ¡°¡­..I understand. Well then, I will take your words to the chief.¡± Ragune replied, and the next moment she disappeared from the place again. ¡° I wonder if it¡¯s the same spatial transfer magic as Tauro¡¯s?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think so. The way she disappears is different.¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t the way she disappeared the same as when we disappeared into another space in the dungeon?¡± ¡°Could that be¡­¡­ the ¡®dimensional corridor¡¯?¡± Aeris was excitedly surprised to have an idea of what it might be. The ¡°dimensional corridor¡± is a special ability that is said to allow users to instantly go back and forth over a long distance through a doorway set by the user. ¡°Ah! That makes sense then. I believe it is an ability that the heroic skill could use?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. It is also a very rare special ability that is not always available! Ragune can use such an ability. If that¡¯s the case, we should have asked her to take us to the village of the dragon tribe. If we could talk to the chief directly, we wouldn¡¯t have to play this message game.¡± Aeris said plausibly. ¡°That¡¯s true¡­¡­ We¡¯ll talk to her when she gets back.¡± Just as Tauro nodded, Ragune returned. ¡°Sorry to keep you waiting. I will pass on the message from the chief. ¡®I declare that Ragune from today will be free from the customs of the Dragon People. All of Ragune¡¯s words and actions will be left to her own judgment. That is all.¡± Ragune was puzzled by the chief¡¯s decision. ¡¯I don¡¯t know what to do when suddenly told that I don¡¯t have to follow the customs. I understand that I am free, but in a sense, the restrictions on my actions made my life easier¡¯. ¡°Well, then, Ragune-san. I¡¯ll say it again. Please join us.¡± ¡°¡­¡­ this is left to my free will, is it not?¡± Ragune asked timidly back. ¡°Yes.¡± ¡®Then ¡­¡­. I can¡¯t respond if you suddenly call me a friend. I know you¡¯re good people. But I know that a friend is only a friend if there is trust, friendship, and a blood pact. But I¡¯m willing to help you, we can work together. ¡°Sure, I agree. Then, let¡¯s compromise with each other. Then I¡¯d like to ask you to join our team, ¡°Black Golden Wings,¡± and be an adventurer with us. Then, if trust and friendship grows, you can make a blood pact with us, no? If that doesn¡¯t work out, then you can go back to your dragon tribe village. Of course, the Dragon People need not feel indebted to us.¡± ¡°Is that what you want?¡± The Dragon People have a long life span, so they are somewhat prepared to be around for a few decades of a person¡¯s life. As for Ragune, she intends to be able to do that much without hesitation since she is repaying a favor to the village¡¯s lifesaver, but if you ask her, it will be over in a very short period of time. ¡°Yes, I would be happy with that. If that¡¯s all right with you, please.¡± ¡°Me too, please.¡± Tauro and Aeris bowed their heads. ¡°Okay, okay! Please Raise your heads, I¡¯m begging you. From now on, I will protect you both at all costs!¡± Ragune said to the two of them. ¡°No, you must value your life.¡± Tauro was quick to contradict Ragone¡¯s decision. ¡°Now that we are a team, we will help each other and adventure together so that we can be true ¡°companions¡±.¡± Tauro declared, and Aeris nodded in agreement. ¡± Ragune, I look forward to working with you from now on!¡± She took Ragune¡¯s hand and shook it. ¡° Oh, nice to meet you. ¡­¡­ By the way, what are your names?¡± The two laughed when Ragune reminded them that they hadn¡¯t told her their names. CH 195 After introducing themselves, the three of them first decided to register Ragune as an adventurer. So when they passed through the forest and entered the village of Dansas, Ragune, whose body was covered with scales in various places, immediately stood out. ¡°¡­¡­ this is not good. It¡¯s especially upsetting to be mistaken for a lizard person.¡± Saying this, she cast a spell on the spot. Then, the scales disappear from her skin. ¡°Now there won¡¯t be any fuss, will there?¡± ¡°Amazing! It¡¯s vision-obstructing magic, right?¡± Aeris pointed out in surprise. ¡°That¡¯s right. Mine is basic, but it hides everything but the corners.¡± ¡°Yes, we can see the horns. So now they might think you¡¯re of the sheep race.¡± ¡°Hmm. That¡¯s disconcerting¡­. but If it¡¯s inconspicuous, it can¡¯t be helped. ¡­¡­, kuh (damn it)¡­¡­¡± ¡° Haha. But please make sure to apply for registration with the Adventurers¡¯ Guild as a Dragon Tribe. Lying on your first registration is a recipe for trouble.¡± Tauro said. ¡°Of course. I am proud to be a Dragonborn. I won¡¯t need to use visual obstruction magic if I didn¡¯t stand out, I don¡¯t like to cause unnecessary fuss.¡± Ragune replied. When we arrived at the Adventurers¡¯ Guild, we went straight to the reception desk. Chloe, the branch manager, was just helping out at the reception desk. ¡°Oh, you two are back. You¡¯re back early today. Is that an adventurer from somewhere else?¡± Since Chloe did not remember this woman, she thought she was an adventurer from elsewhere because of her appearance. ¡°This is Ragune-san, Please register her as an adventurer.¡± ¡°What? Is this your first time? I¡¯m surprised ¡­¡­. I thought you were a very skilled adventurer by your look and feel.¡± Chloe began the procedure for Ragune as she answered. After a brief explanation of the guild¡¯s rules and regulations, she began the appraisal with the magical tools. ¡°What?¡­¡­ you¡¯re a Dragon Tribe¡­!?¡± The usually calm Chloe was surprised at the results of the appraisal displayed on the magic tool, and since personal information must not be divulged, she confirmed it with Ragune in a whisper so that the others would not hear. ¡° ¡­¡­ Of course. For some reason I have decided to become an adventurer and assist Tauro and Aeris.¡± Ragune also mimics Chloe¡¯s whisper and replies in a whisper ¡°So you belong to the ¡± Black Golden Wings¡± ¡­.. right? Okay, I¡¯ll register you there as well. Chloe nodded and quickly completed the procedure with familiar movements. ¡°This is your tag that proves you¡¯re an adventurer. If you lose it, it will cost money to reissue it, so be careful. And don¡¯t worry, a stolen tag cannot be misused. It is a simple identification, but as soon as you put it through a magical device for that purpose, we will know if it does not belong to you. I suggest you put it on a string and hang it around your neck so you don¡¯t lose it.¡± Chloe said and handed it to Ragune along with the string. ¡°Got it.¡± Nodding, Ragune immediately put the tag on the string and hung it around her neck. ¡°With this, Ragune is a member of our team! Since that¡¯s the case, I¡¯d like to call you a companion, but¡­ we have to earn your trust and friendship as soon as possible, and get you to make a blood pact right?¡± Aeris was honestly delighted. ¡°Then shall we try a g-quest together?¡± Tauro took Ragune to the bulletin board. ¡°Normally, you can search for quests on this board, and then go to the reception desk and ask for them.¡± Aeris explained on Tauro¡¯s behalf. ¡° And if you complete the quest, you will receive your reward after you go to the reception desk and complete the procedure.¡± ¡°I see, so that¡¯s how you earn your money.¡± Interested¡­ Ragune nodded in agreement. ¡°That¡¯s right. Let¡¯s find a G rank band quest that the three of us can do today and actually do it. The one we can do right now is¡­¡­ to build a fence to enclose the village. I¡¯ll use wind magic to cut some tree logs, Tauro will do the processing, and Ragune will carry it with magic storage.¡± ¡°Is that part of the job of an adventurer? I guess it¡¯s not just about slaying demons, is it?¡± ¡°G-quests are mostly errand quests that anyone can do. As you get promoted, you¡¯ll be able to do more.¡± ¡°¡¯Really? That¡¯s also interesting. ¡­¡­¡± Ragune nodded and together they went to the reception desk with the G-quests and completed the formalities. The three of them soon arrived at the logging site in the forest, where the site supervisor began a brief explanation of the work and divided the work among them, and they got moving. From then on, it was just a matter of time. The three were efficient and quickly exceeded their quota, even though they started late. Ragune was happily doing her work, when she was approached, ¡°is it over already? What a pity.¡± She commented. When the site supervisor thanked her and gave her a sign that his quest was complete, Ragune was happy. ¡° It¡¯s nice and fun when people appreciate an adventurer.¡± ¡®Yes, it is. It sure is nice to hear the client¡¯s words of gratitude¡± Ragune¡¯s words reminded Tauro of how he felt when he first started as an adventurer. And this straightness of Ragune¡¯s heart made him want to be recognized as a friend once again. CH 196 Tauro and Aeris spent their days completing mainly G-quests with Ragune, interspersing them with herb-collecting quests. G-quests are low-ranked errand quests, but even for higher-ranked adventurers, when performed, they are easily evaluated based on their contribution to the adventurers¡¯ guild and the local community. So it didn¡¯t bother Tauro and Aeris at all, but Ragune began to show signs that she felt she was bothering them. ¡°I can¡¯t seem to raise my guild rank. I¡¯d like to raise it as soon as possible so I can be of service to the two of you. ¡­¡­ Ku, kill ¡­¡­.¡± ¡° Haha. Don¡¯t panic, don¡¯t panic. You¡¯ve already moved up to the G rank, and in terms of pace, You¡¯re on the fast track.¡± ¡° That¡¯s right, Ragune. And don¡¯t worry, you¡¯re not bothering us at all. And if there are any nomination quests to the ¡°Black Golden Wings,¡± you¡¯ll be asked to participate in them as usual. It doesn¡¯t mean you can¡¯t do quests for the higher classes.¡± To reassure her, Aeris explained. ¡°Oh really?¡± Ragune¡¯s expression brightened. ¡°That¡¯s right. It just doesn¡¯t affect the promotion assessment, but if you have the ability to do it, you can do the quest. Well, we don¡¯t have a client who would nominate ¡®Black Golden Wings¡¯ though¡­¡­.¡± Tauro added, while also adding a few snippets of information. Right now, since we are discussing cooperation during times like gathering medicinal herbs, Ragune may have been frustrated that we couldn¡¯t fight as a team. ¡°Then, I¡¯d be very grateful if I could join you and your team on your quest next time!¡± Ragune was very motivated. ¡° ¡ª-the guild has sent a nomination quest to the ¡®Black Golden Wings.¡± Tauro reported to Ragune and Aerith. ¡°Oh! I can join in!¡± Ragune was very enthusiastic about the opportunity. ¡°A village two days south of here has asked us to investigate the cause of the abnormal changes in the nearby swamps that are having a negative impact on the surrounding area.¡± ¡°Why is that a nominated quest for us?¡± If it¡¯s a search mission, it could be done by another team or even by an individual adventurer. It was only natural for Aeris to wonder. ¡°It looks like the swamp has been contaminated with poison. I¡¯ll have to check the details, but it looks like Chloe, the branch manager, decided that my ¡®poison resistance¡¯ and ¡®purification¡¯ could be useful.¡± ¡°What! Tauro-dono has complete resistance to poison? And even ¡°purification¡±! I, too, have resistance to the abnormalities inherent to the Dragon People, so I think I can be of some help!¡± Ragune was surprised by Tauro¡¯s ability, but she did not forget to appeal herself. It¡¯s a chance to play an active role. ¡° Okay, I¡¯ll let you two take center stage this time. ¡­¡­By the way, both of you, please stop honorific words such as ¡°Dono¡± and ¡°San¡±. If not, the distance won¡¯t shrink no matter how long it goes!¡± Aeris complained about the distance between them. ¡°Hahaha. I¡¯ve been warned again. I understand. Ragune, can I call you by your first name?¡± Tauro asked Ragune to agree. ¡°Of course! May I also call you that¡­¡­ Tauro and Aeris?¡± Ragune said, looking embarrassed. ¡°¡°Of course!¡±¡± Tauro and Aeris answered together. ¡° Oh, and also the vacant house in our neighborhood, formerly rented by former members of ¡°Black Golden Wings¡±, the team will pay the rent and Ragune can live there. You are commuting from the village of the Dragon People now, right?¡± Tauro suggested. I¡¯m not bragging, but Aeris and I remodeled the house together, so it should be quite comfortable to live in. It¡¯s in our neighborhood, and if someone was to live there, I¡¯d prefer Ragune, who is a member of the team. ¡°Really! Actually, my ¡®dimensional corridor¡¯ uses a lot of magic power, so it¡¯s something of a challenge. It would be easier if I could live here, so that would be great.¡± ¡°Then, Ragune, I hope you¡¯ll be my neighbor from now on!¡± Aeris is happy that she and Ragune are getting to know each other a little better. Tauro, too, is not very good at closing the distance between people, so he was happy to see that they could shorten the distance between them. And he felt that Aeris was reliable in helping him shorten the distance at times like this. CH 197 As the new ¡± Black Golden Wings,¡± we were on a quest to investigate a poisonous swamp. The two-day one-way trip was spent talking and getting to know each other. On the way, we encountered six kobolds and decided to take them down to get our skills up to speed, but they were so weak that we easily defeated them without the need for coordination. Ragune wiped them out, and Tauro killed the fleeing Kobolds with his bow. ¡° Tauro, you¡¯re such a good archer. I thought you specialized in close combat since you¡¯re so good at standing in the vanguard.¡± Ragone was impressed by Tauro¡¯s skill and praised him. ¡°You¡¯re pretty good with the spear, too, Ragune. I thought you were a swordsman.¡± ¡° Yes. Many ¡°dragon knights¡± are good with spears. I¡¯m one of them. However, if there are obstacles around me, I can¡¯t wield my spear around, so I sometimes use a sword. In my case, it¡¯s easier to use a sword if I have one in my magic storage.¡± Ragune looks clumsy, but she is surprisingly skillful. She has a fair amount of knowledge about medicinal herbs, and she studies them. The three of us had a discussion while going around collecting medicinal herbs, and she was quick to understand and easy to teach. The current roles of the three are Ragune as attacker and shield, Tauro acts as intermediary between attacker, shield, and rear guard, and Aeris as magic, recovery, and support. Tauro¡¯s bow will be used in the lead up to engage with the enemy, but for now, he and Ragune are the two vanguards. It depends on the number of enemies, but it is a heavy burden to make Ragune alone bear both attacking and defending. Tauro¡¯s judgment was that it would be difficult without two vanguards. However, if Ragune¡¯s style was to protect herself with her shield and use her spear to take advantage of any openings, her offensive ability might not drop that much. It would be interesting if he could also use his sword, shield, and bow in battle. When Tauro informed them of this, Ragune nodded and said, ¡°Then I think I would be able to get around better if I use my shield to attract and defend the enemy and then use my sword as my weapon of choice, don¡¯t you think? She proposed a correction. ¡¯Aeris and I should use support magic to increase your endurance at that time, right?¡± I suggested. As the three of us walked side by side along the road, we talked endlessly. In the evening, we decided to set up camp. We had gone faster than expected and passed the village where we had planned to stay on the way. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I was so engrossed in our conversation that I missed it¡­¡­.¡± ¡°That goes for me too.¡± ¡°Well, it¡¯s my fault too for not pointing out that we had gone too far ahead of schedule.¡± All three of them smiled wryly and began to prepare for the encampment. Tauro immediately put out his magic tool ¡°lantern¡± to light up the surroundings. Ragune was surprised by this, as she was about to take the oil lantern out of her magic storage. ¡°Tauro, what is that!? I¡¯ve never seen a lantern that shines so bright!¡± When this happened, Aeris began to explain about the magic tool ¡°lantern.¡± Ragune, to her explanation, ¡°Was Tauro also a researcher of lost magic circles? ¡­¡­ Even in the village of the Dragon People, research hasn¡¯t progressed much, so I know how amazing this is!¡± She was impressed for a moment. ¡° I did research, but most of that research was useless. But I guess I¡¯m just happy to have created something useful like this in part.¡± Tauro showed modest delight. Tauro also brought out a tent, which was easily assembled, which Ragune saw and admired it as well. The culmination was the cooking. When he served the food that he had prepared in advance at home and stored in the magic storage, Ragune was impressed and ate it. She especially liked the pork cutlet. ¡°I¡¯ve never eaten food like this before!¡± When he served a lot of it, she ate it all up. ¡°For the time being, it¡¯s a specialty dish of the dwarf inn in the village of Dansas, so you can eat it there when you¡¯re in the village.¡± After telling her that, Ragune would later became a regular customer of the fried food at the ¡°Dwarf Inn,¡± but that is another story. While having such exchanges, the three of them were able to shorten the distance between them and grow even closer on their way to the quest. CH 198 The three of them arrived at the requested village in the early afternoon. The village head hurried to the entrance of the village to welcome them, but he looked worried when he saw two children and a young female beastman. He looked worried because she was the only adult. Indeed, with this group of people, it was no wonder he was worried. ¡°We are team ¡°Black Golden Wings,¡± and we came here in response to a request. I am Tauro, the leader of this team, and this is Aeris and Ragune. Can you tell me where the swamp in question is? ¡° Tauro briefly introduced himself and showed that he was ready to do his job properly. ¡°Oh, yes! This way, sir.¡± The village head became even more worried when he heard that a child was the leader, but he decided to accept the fact that the request was to investigate the cause of the problem, so the children would investigate and report back to the guild, and based on that report, the guild might be able to solve the problem. After passing through the village, we found a path to the forest. Looking up into the sky from there, Tauro could see a haze overflowing from the forest, which immediately convinced him. ¡°It¡¯s just up ahead, isn¡¯t it? Thank you very much. That¡¯s all for now.¡± Tauro gave Aeris and Ragune a poison-resistance potion each and had Aeris put on a mask as a precaution. The three of them then entered the forest. The trees were so withered that it could hardly be called a forest. After a short walk, we soon came to a swamp, but it was obvious that the trees were dying from the Miasma overflowing from the swamp. ¡°Aeris, would you mind putting a barrier on the swamp to keep the miasma from getting out?¡± Tauro said, and Aerith nodded and quickly set up the barrier. ¡°Ragune please go around the swamp and let me know if there was anything of interest.¡± ¡°Understood!¡± Ragune answered energetically, then she walked away without worrying about the miasma. She was able to resist the Miasma because of her resistance to abnormal conditions. ¡°Well then, I¡¯ll go to the center of the swamp.¡± Tauro said to them and entered the swamp. Aeris had no time to stop him before he stepped into the swamp, and Tauro literally walked on top of the swamp. This startled Ragune, who was walking around the swamp, and she stopped to look at Tauro. Aeris was also startled, but had an idea of what was going on, so she decided to remain calm. Ragune ran back to Aeris. ¡° Tauro, he¡¯s walking in the swamp! No, I guess he can walk, but¡­¡­, no, he¡¯s walking on top of it!¡± Ragune was so surprised that her words were out of order, but she knew what she wanted to say, so Aeris answered. ¡°I think it¡¯s probably using ¡®levitation¡¯. That¡¯s why it looks like he¡¯s walking on the swamp.¡± Aeris¡¯s reply surprised Ragune, who was again surprised by Tauro. ¡°So Tauro can use ¡®levitation¡¯ too. ¡­¡­! He¡¯s really awesome and constantly amazes me. Who the hell is he?¡± Ragune of the Dragon People was amazing enough, but it was Tauro who surprised even her. ¡°Tauro has only one skill, a garbled skill, so I know that he has gone through a lot of experience and put in a lot of effort.¡± ¡®¡­¡­ garbled skill! It¡¯s considered a useless skill among the dragon people. ¡­¡­¡± Ragune was surprised again, but in a different way. ¡° We have the same reputation among our people. But Tauro has been working miracles with that one skill. Of course, it¡¯s all about brains and hard work, isn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°That¡¯s really amazing, ¡­¡­. I still have a long way to go.¡± Ragune said and ran back to explore the area around the swamp. By the time Tauro got to the center, he realized part of the cause. It was a swarm of giant poisonous frogs. Apparently, there were a lot of them. These giant poisonous frogs, which were quite large, ranging from 50 to 80 centimeters in length, were sticking their heads out of the muddy water to keep Tauro on his toes. Then, from its back, it emits a poisonous haze that contaminates the surrounding area. Unlike the frogs of the previous life, this large poisonous frog is inconspicuous because it rarely croaks, and it does not lay many eggs, so the mass outbreak itself is a rare case. A subspecies may have been born. Tauro thought that the first thing to do was to find them and exterminate them. CH 199 Tauro reached the center of the swamp. The surrounding miasma is so thick, it would be extremely difficult for anyone without poison resistance to reach this point. Furthermore, It¡¯s not easy to proceed because of the muddy conditions. The swamp was so polluted that some of the original creatures had died and floated away. Some of the carcasses were rotting and emitting a foul odor. A large poisonous frog, which was not caught by Tauro¡¯s ¡°presence detection¡± but was not able to hide itself, was caught by the naked eye. It appears to be a species with inhibition skills. While the other giant poisonous frogs are a poisonous blue color, this one is purple, as if to say that it is really dangerous. Is it as big as I am? ¡° Could this be the main thing that caused such a massive outbreak and turned this swamp poisonous?¡± When he guessed this, Tauro silently draws his bow in an attempt to finish it off as soon as possible. Then, perhaps sensing that Tauro was targeting it, the poisonous frog subspecies dove for cover. ¡®Perhaps it¡¯s surprisingly smart?¡± It was a swamp, so it shouldn¡¯t have been deep, but since it was not affected by ¡°presence detection,¡± Tauro decided to approach it and finish it off. As he advanced to the center, the large poisonous frogs that had been hiding in the surrounding area came close to Tauro¡¯s periphery. (Looks like, I have been identified as the enemy.) He easily avoided the other poisonous frogs because he could see them with ¡°presence detection,¡± and finished them off with a single thrust of his small sword. Occasionally, as a final counterattack, it would spit out its venom, but unfortunately, Tauro has complete resistance to poison, so he was undeterred. However, the venom was sticky and stuck to his leather armor, so the discomfort was at its highest. So in that sense, the damage to Tauro was significant. ¡°Later, I¡¯ll have to ¡®purify¡¯ it all together ¡­¡­. This is tough ¡­¡­!¡± Tauro made a disgusted face and looked for the subspecies that seemed to be the boss. Since I can¡¯t confirm it with ¡°Presence Detection¡±, I have no choice but to follow the silhouette on the surface of the water. As I was searching around, I caught a silhouette rapidly approaching me. I can¡¯t confirm it with ¡°presence detection,¡± so it must be the subspecies. I readied my small sword and took a posture to intercept it. Then, it suddenly stopped. Instead, another large poisonous frog attacked Tauro from behind. ¡°Are you going to cooperate, you frogs?¡± Tauro turned around and finished off the poisonous frog with a single thrust, and as usual, venom was splashed on his face. Then, the long tongue of the subspecies emerged from the water and tangled with his leg. Sshhh (sizzle sound effect). ¡°Hot!?¡± It was a tongue with a powerful acidic effect. Tauro, ignoring the intense pain, immediately tried to slash at the tongue with his small sword, but the subspecies pulled its tongue back and dove into the water. ¡°I knew it was smart, this subspecies.¡± Tauro, frowning in pain, automatically healed his leg injury with ¡°Super Recovery Regeneration¡± and switched from the small sword to the bow and readied it. The next moment, he released his ¡°levitation¡± and fell into the water. Tauro submerged in the water up to his torso, but in the next instant, he activated his arrow of light and shot an arrow below the surface of the water. Yes, in his ¡°levitating¡± state, he could not use the arrow of light. The arrow of light cuts through the water and was sucked toward the silhouette floating below the surface of the water. The next instant after the splash, the white bellied subspecies floated up without making a sound. ¡°I got it. ¡­¡­¡± Tauro quickly floated to the surface using ¡®levitation¡¯ as he sank further and further into the swamp. ¡°I¡¯ve cut off the big source, but the three of us still have to hunt the big poisonous frogs, right?¡± Tauro was fed up by the large number of big poisonous frogs around him. Around the swamp, Ragune hunted the big poisonous frogs, aggressively stabbing them with her spear. Aeris, from outside the barrier-enclosed swamp, used a magic fire arrow to shoot down the poisonous frogs. Unusually, instead of using a small sword or bow, Tauro switched to a spear and moved on to poking the giant poison frogs while ¡°floating¡± over the swamp. This sweep took three full days. When it was over, we had killed more than 300 poisonous frogs. To be honest, it wasn¡¯t the most challenging quest request, but we were sure we were the right people for the job, so we decided to do it to save the client and the guild a lot of trouble. The village chief was so thrilled that the poisonous miasma had been cleared and its cause exterminated that he held a welcome party for the three of us. However, since no one but Ragune, who was 18 years old, could drink, the welcome party was a simple affair, and the three of them decided to leave early. ¡°Well then, if you ever need anything else, please contact the Adventurers¡¯ Guild.¡± Tauro bowed as he opened for business on his way out. ¡®Thank you so much! You have done more than asked for, and we will pay the guild for that as well!¡± The village chief and the villagers bowed their heads over and over again as if no amount of bowing would be enough, thanked him, and waved goodbye to team ¡± Black Golden Wings¡± as they headed home. CH 200 In front of the reception desk of the Adventurers¡¯ Guild Dansas Branch. Tauro and the other members of ¡°Black Golden wings¡± came to report the completion of their quest on their way back. ¡°Ah, Tauro-kun, welcome back. Looks like It took longer than expected, didn¡¯t it? Did something happen?¡± Chloe was probably worried about the three of us who had returned late, so she took over for Kannes, the receptionist, and took care of us. ¡°Actually, ¡­¡­.¡± Tauro reported on the quest on behalf of his friends. ¡°¡­¡­ I see. That¡¯s a job for multiple teams¡­¡­. I¡¯ll contact the village and request an increase in the success fee, but don¡¯t worry, we will pay the three of you properly. Also, since you did the quests for several teams¡­¡­, that¡¯s right. Let¡¯s get Ragune-san up to rank F at once. The big poison frog subjugation is basically a free quest, so that¡¯s not a problem. The number of frogs killed is so great, I think it¡¯s worth that.¡± Luckily, with the branch manager¡¯s authority, Ragune was able to raise her rank all the way up to F-rank. Ragune was overjoyed at this. ¡° ¡®I¡¯ll work harder and contribute by moving up to you two¡¯s E rank band!¡± She said with great enthusiasm. ¡° That¡¯s right. I need to talk to the three of you. You were looking for a vanguard, right? There¡¯s one adventurer who is interested, what do you want to do? You can refuse if you don¡¯t want him ¡­..¡± Chloe gave me an atmosphere of not recommending it, as if she had some reason for not recommending it. ¡®¡­¡­? Can we do it tomorrow? I have a report to write, and we¡¯re all tired today, so I¡¯d like us to take the rest of the day off.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry I didn¡¯t notice. Okay, let¡¯s talk again tomorrow.¡± Chloe nodded and helped Tauro prepare the report, and then Aeris and Ragune joined him, and in no time at all the report was completed. ¡° Good job, you three. Oh, Ragune-san, here¡¯s your F-rank tag.¡± Chloe handed Ragune an iron tag indicating her new F-rank. Ragune happily accepted it and immediately put it on a string and hung it around her neck. ¡°if it¡¯s like this, it won¡¯t take her long to get to the E rank belt.¡± Tauro said this while looking at a delighted Ragune, and Aeris nodded. ¡°With Ragune¡¯s ability, though, she wouldn¡¯t even fit in that E-rank band.¡± What Aeris said is reasonable. With Ragune¡¯s ability, it might be possible to reach D rank in no time. The other thing that Tauro thought was that if he and Aeris did not drag their feet, there would be no problem. Tauro and Aeris left the guild and headed home, while Ragune ran to the ¡°Dwarf Inn.¡± ¡°I wonder what happened to Ragune?¡± Aeris wondered about Ragune¡¯s behavior. She thought that there was no reason for her to go to the inn since she already had a house. ¡°I¡¯m sure that she was just craving some fried food.¡± Tauro chuckled. ¡° I know she likes pork cutlets. ¡­¡­ But if you eat too much, you¡¯ll get fat, so I¡¯ll have to tell her next time.¡± Aeris said with a serious expression on her face, as if she were speaking from experience. The next morning. Tauro and the others were at the Adventurers¡¯ Guild. Chloe had told them that there was a vanguard who was interested in joining the team previously. If there was one more vanguard, Tauro could go to the rear guard. Then the team would return to its usual form, and Aeris¡¯s burden would be reduced and the team balance would be better. That was what I wanted most. However, I was concerned that Chloe did not seem to recommend it. ¡°The person who requested it told me that I could talk about his career as an adventurer, so I¡¯ll talk about it.¡± Chloe led the three of us into a private room and began to explain. ¡°His name is Ankh, he is twenty-six years old and male. He used to belong to the Royal Capital Headquarters before he came here¡­. He became an adventurer this past month and is currently E-rank.¡± ¡°Huh? That¡¯s also great. That¡¯s a great promotion in just one month¡­¡± As Tauro was about to continue, Aeris took over. ¡°Either he¡¯s a very talented person or he bought his promotion with money, right?¡± Aeris was right. Either way, why would such an unlikely person come to this village of Dansas and choose to join the ¡°Black Golden Wings¡±? Even if it is a coincidence, there are many questions. Tauro, who did not know the reason but could not make a judgment until he met the person, replied to Chloe that he would like to meet the person. CH 201 In a corner of the dining room at the Rest Pavilion. Tauro and the others were sitting in front of a man. He had shaggy red hair, red eyes, black iron armor from top to bottom, a large sword on his back, and a scar on his temple. The age of his equipment suggests that he may have been in the battlefield as a mercenary before becoming an adventurer. It seems that he has really risen to the E- level in a short period of time through sheer strength. ¡°So, Mr. Ankh? Why did you want to join a young team like ours whom everyone seems to avoid at first glance?¡± ¡° Hm? Because you were the one team I saw recruiting for the vanguard position, ¡­¡­, but this, I¡¯m surprised ¡­¡­.¡± ¡°¡±¡­¡­?¡±¡± ¡°No, I¡¯m sorry. This onee-chan is a rare race, isn¡¯t she? I¡¯m not one to talk about it, but it¡¯s been a while since I¡¯ve seen your kind.¡± Ankh looked at Ragune in surprise. ¡°¡­¡­ How did you recognize my race?¡± Ragune hides her race from view by using a visual inhibiting magic. The actuality is that you can¡¯t really see it. ¡° I have good eyesight. I can get through some inhibitions. And I also have a low-grade person appraisal ¡­¡­ that girl over there has great inhibitory skills, I have no idea what her name is.¡± Ankh shook his head and cowered exaggeratedly as he pointed at Aeris. I wonder if he has the skill to spot inhibition systems, he also has an appraisal and his skills are likely to stand out. ¡° I¡¯m the leader, so a kid will be in charge, is that okay?¡± ¡° When it comes to mercenaries, it doesn¡¯t matter whether they are children or adults on the battlefield. The one who survives the longest is the best. And I¡¯m just starting out, having only been here a month or so. The secret to longevity is to listen and absorb what the veterans have to say.¡± Apparently, he doesn¡¯t care that the leader is a child. Aeris looks at Ankh with a dubious look. ¡°Then, I want to see how good you are, may I ask you to do an E-rank quest with me?¡± Tauro immediately suggested. ¡°Oh? You¡¯re moving fast. Are you sure? If a twenty-six year old guy like me joins, I¡¯ll raise the average age of the group.¡± Apparently, he was confident that he could pass the practical test. ¡°For what it¡¯s worth,¡­In spite of appearance¡­, ah, excuse me, I don¡¯t mean that in a bad way. ¡­¡­ you seem to be more understanding and less stereotypical than I thought you would be. Also, it seems that you¡¯re answering the questions honestly, and since you¡¯re showing your hand, I would like to respond appropriately as well¡­¡­.¡± Tauro looked Ankh in the eye and answered. ¡°¡­.. that¡¯s terrifying, boy.¡± Ankh was taken aback by the look in Tauro¡¯s eyes. The quests for Ankh¡¯s acceptance or rejection were the usual goblin slaying and the promised herb gathering quests. ¡°I can understand the ¡­¡­ goblin slaying, but gathering medicinal herbs, again, an unexpected choice.¡± Ankh was puzzled by Tauro¡¯s unreadable choice of quests. ¡°Basically, this is what our team does. Then let¡¯s all get started.¡± Aeris and Ragune, as a matter of course, quickly found and collected medicinal herbs. Tauro found an expensive medicinal herb that was supposed to be difficult to find and returned immediately after leaving the area for a moment. Seeing Tauro, Ankh also rushed to the spot and started collecting medicinal herbs. Surprisingly, Ankh knew how to gather medicinal herbs. He may have done the quests at the guild in the Royal Capital, or he may have done them when he was a mercenary. ¡°When did you become a mercenary?¡± Tauro asked Ankh while showing Aeris where the medicinal herbs were. ¡°I guess since I was ¡­¡­ ten years old, when I took up a spear at my employer¡¯s side. That¡¯s when I killed my first one, and I¡¯ve been in the mercenary business ever since.¡± He is now twenty-six years old, which means he has more than fifteen years of experience. He is a veteran warrior. ¡°Why did you become an adventurer again?¡± ¡°The reason is simple. I got tired of killing people. But I¡¯ve been in the battlefield for a long time. I can¡¯t do much else. I thought being an adventurer wouldn¡¯t be too far out of my field.¡± Ankh¡¯s answer was clear. I think he meant what he said, but there was something about it that stuck with me. But it wasn¡¯t bad. Tauro thought that Ankh was not the type of person to play tricks. ¡°Well, then, it¡¯s time to go and take down some goblins. There seems to be a goblin pack nearby.¡± Tauro confirmed the goblins with his ¡°presence detection¡± and caught their silhouettes with his ¡°true eyes¡±. ¡°Oh! I can finally show off my real job skills.¡± Ankh lightly tapped the hilt of the great sword on his back. CH 202 Ankh¡¯s moves were excellent. Perhaps it was a good match for Ragune, but the two of them quickly took down the six goblins we had discovered. However, I could see that Ankh was clearly out of his depth. No, it might be a battle tactic to adjust the degree of subjugation to avoid wasting energy. On the battlefield, you will often be forced into battles that you do not know when will end. So, that¡¯s why I think he¡¯s making a stand to avoid wasting energy. This is in contrast to Ragune¡¯s style of seriously defeating with maximum firepower. As Tauro analyzed this, Ankh began to explain the same thing to Ragune. ¡°Ragune-chan, If you¡¯re going to defeat the same enemy, it¡¯s important to adjust and prepare for the next one. No matter how much inexhaustible physical strength you have, when you get tired, you get tired.¡± It was just as Tauro had thought. Even so, it must be difficult to moderate to defeat them. Ankh probably knows how to do it from his vast experience, but it would be difficult to imitate him all of a sudden. That¡¯s what I was thinking ¡­¡­. Upon finding the next goblin pack, Ragune immediately began to stand out, adjusting her strength according to Ankh¡¯s advice. She was still not as good as Ankh, but she seemed to be enjoying the discovery of new ways to fight. She was also happy to work with Ankh. Aeris also saw this and changed her view of Ankh. ¡°¡­¡­ Ankh might be good for the team,¡± She said, and finished off the fleeing goblin with a magic water arrow. Perhaps it was his good chemistry with Ragune, but the two of them took down the six goblins we found in no time at all. ¡°¡­¡­ I see. Well, then, since you seem to agree, Ragune too, so let¡¯s pass Ankh-san¡¯s test.¡± Tauro told Ankh that he had passed the test after the goblin subjugation was over. ¡°If you are okay with our team, please join us.¡± ¡°Are you sure?¡± ¡°Yes, I think you get along well with Ragune in the vanguard, and you seem to be able to coordinate well with each other, so it would be very helpful if you could come to our team.¡± Tauro nodded with a smile. ¡®¡­¡­ I, too, would appreciate it if Ankh could come.¡± Aeris said, embarrassed by this, since she was initially wary. ¡®I, too, would welcome Ankh-dono, for he is easy to fight with. And I¡¯d appreciate your advice.¡± Ragune followed suit and replied. ¡°I¡¯m surprised at the unexpectedly warm welcome, but ¡­¡­, well, I¡¯ll take your word for it and join. Once again, my name is Ankh. I¡¯m nothing more than a fighter, but I¡¯m looking forward to working with you.¡± ¡°I¡¯m Aeris, and I¡¯m the rear guard. I¡¯m sorry I didn¡¯t introduce myself properly.¡± ¡°I¡¯m Ragune, and I¡¯m a Dragonborn. I joined the team because I owe a debt of gratitude to Tauro and Aeris, and now they are my good friends.¡± ¡°Eh?¡± Tauro and Aeris were surprised to hear the word ¡°friends¡± come out of Ragune¡¯s mouth. For the first time, Ragune had acknowledged them as friends. It was impossible not to be happy. ¡° Oh, and I¡¯m Tauro, the leader. Umm, Please call me by my name. I¡¯ll do the same. And Ragune, too.¡± Tauro introduced himself, although he stopped unexpectedly, distracted by Ragune¡¯s remarks about them being friends. ¡° I agree. It¡¯s funny to attach ¡°Dono¡± if it¡¯s one of your own. ¡­¡­, I got it.¡± Ragune nodded with an honest smile at Tauro¡¯s point. She was embarrassed to mention it to her peers himself, or maybe she was just embarrassed, but she smiled shyly. ¡°Well then, let me ask you right off the bat, are Aeris¡¯s inhibition skills natural?¡± Ankh seemed to be interested in the skills of Aeris, whose name was not visible at all, even though he has low-grade person appraisal. Aeris looked at Tauro, not sure if she should answer. ¡° Since this is a good opportunity, I¡¯ll give you both a pendant to signify our team.¡± Tauro then pulled out two pendants from his magic storage. At first glance, Aeris thought that Shin and Rumeya had returned the pendants, but upon closer inspection, she saw that the stones were not like the previous shape of drops, but in the shape of a diamond and a three-leaf clover. Tauro seems to have made them anew. ¡°If both of you hang this around your neck, I don¡¯t think anyone will be able to see your status.¡± ¡°¡­¡­ is there such an item?¡± Ankh received the pendant in amazement. Ragune also receives it and immediately puts it around her neck. Ankh¡¯s person appraisal revealed was unable to recognize Ragune¡¯s name, and even Ankh¡¯s unique ¡°eye¡± skill, which had revealed that she had been hiding her dragon person identity through visual-inhibition magic, was also no longer effective. ¡° This is amazing¡­¡­. It¡¯s completely blocked and I can¡¯t see at all. I¡¯m in the same state as Aeris. ¡­¡­¡± ¡°Of course, Aeris also wears it around her neck, so you will not be able to see the status. I won¡¯t go into details, but this is a sign of our team, so please take care of it. ¡­¡­¡± ¡°¡±Of course!¡±¡± Ankh and Ragune nodded and harmonized their reply. CH 203 The group was returning from the forest after completing their quest when Tauro asked Ankh, ¡°Where are you sleeping now, Ankh?¡± ¡°Me? I¡¯m staying at the Dwarf Inn at the moment.¡± ¡°If you like, we have two houses for rent right now, would you like to share with me?¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t Tauro with Aeris now? Would you mind if I shared with Ankh?¡± Ragune suggested, casually. ¡°Ye, ye, ye (No, no, no) Ragune. It¡¯s a problem to put a grown man and a woman together under one roof.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t see why not. Is Ankh going to lay his hands on me? No, I don¡¯t think so. Then it¡¯s not a problem.¡± ¡°Oh, come on, Ragune. How much do you trust me all of a sudden, just because I became one of you? What if I overstepped my bounds and attacked you?¡± ¡°Is that so? ¡­¡­ Sure, there may be times when you lose your self-control when you have a drink or something, but at that time it¡¯s okay to hit you, right? With the Dragon People, that would bring them back to their senses, but for humans, should we at least stab them?¡± So the Dragon People are iron-fisted. ¡­¡­ Tauro smiled wryly at Ragune¡¯s reaction, but wouldn¡¯t it be a little tough for a grown-up like Ankh to live under the same roof with a beautiful woman like Ragune? ¡°I have no intention of doing so at the moment, Ragune, but you should be aware of your own appearance. You¡¯re a good woman. That¡¯s enough to confuse men. Hahaha!¡± Ankh laughed loudly when he said this, as if Ragune¡¯s reaction was funny. Tauro, looking at the two of them, felt that nothing could go wrong, but as a leader, he wanted to show that he was sensible. ¡°What do you think Aeris?¡± Tauro decided to listen to a woman¡¯s opinion for now. ¡°¡­¡­ We don¡¯t have a choice. I¡¯ll share with Ragune, and Tauro can live with Ankh.¡± Surprisingly, Aeris decided to give up her share with Tauro. ¡°Are you sure? Aeris. I really don¡¯t mind with Ankh¡­¡­.¡± ¡°It¡¯s okay. A beautiful woman like Ragune, a man who doesn¡¯t make a move under one roof is crazy. If you believe that Ankh is a decent adult, I have no choice but to switch.¡± ¡°Wahaha! I don¡¯t know if my common sense is decent or not either, but I¡¯ll go along with the leader¡¯s decision. What do you think, leader?¡± ¡°Then, let¡¯s move. I¡¯ll go to Ragune¡¯s current place, and Ragune will go to the room I was in¡­¡± Tauro started to say, but Aeris interrupted him. ¡°That would be a hassle. All I have to do is go to Ragune¡¯s place and we¡¯ll be done. Ah, can you help me with the move?¡± Aeris agreed to move into the new room without complaint. As soon as I finished completing the quest completion procedures at the guild, I had Ankh pack up his belongings and showed him to the house. ¡°This is a surprise ¡­¡­. I thought it was just a house, but it has a bathroom like you¡¯d find in a nobleman¡¯s mansion, a bathtub, a well ¡­¡­, and what¡¯s that on top of it?¡± Ankh seemed very interested in the house, which had many unfamiliar things. He was honestly surprised when Tauro explained each of them. ¡°All of these were built by the leader?! What the heck, leader! Does that house have the same thing as this? That¡¯s amazing! Isn¡¯t this more convenient than a nobleman¡¯s house? I¡¯m glad you put them in the ¡°Black Gold Wings¡± lodgings. Wahaha!¡± Ankh was happy with the convenience of his new home. ¡°Tauro, take care of my stuff.¡± Aeris¡¯s voice said. ¡° Okay, Ankh, go unpack. I¡¯m going to go help Aeris.¡± Tauro answered Ankh and ran away. ¡°Our leader is a jack-of-all-trades.¡± Ankh was simply impressed. Tauro placed Aeris¡¯s belongings in the magic storage, and they decided to go to Ragune¡¯s house together. ¡°¡­..are you sure it was a good idea?¡± Tauro reconfirmed with Aeris. ¡°Isn¡¯t this the best choice? Well, it¡¯s a pity that I won¡¯t be able to eat Tauro¡¯s home-cooked meals in the morning.¡± Aeris sighed. ¡°You and Ragune should come over to my place for a meal. isn¡¯t it more fun eating together?¡± Aerith sighs. ¡°Yes, it is. And now that Ragune has accepted me as her friend, it¡¯s more fun that way. ¡­¡­ Speaking of which, is that the sign of companionship that Ragone was talking about? What is the blood pact she was talking about?¡± ¡°Oh, you mentioned it. I¡¯ll have to hear it from you.¡± ¡°Okay. I¡¯ll ask her. But if it¡¯s what I think it is, ¡­¡­, you¡¯ll need a potion.¡± Aeris lightly tapped the pochette that held her potions. ¡°huh? it¡¯s that kind of thing?¡± Tauro looked a little uncomfortable. ¡° It¡¯s because it¡¯s a blood pact, isn¡¯t it? I don¡¯t like pain either, but if it¡¯s a sign of companionship with Ragune, I¡¯ll put up with it.¡± Tauro nodded at Aeris¡¯s decision, and they arrived at Ragune¡¯s house at the same time. CH 204 Team ¡°Black Golden Wings¡± had more quests to do now that there were four of them, but since Ragune was still ranked F, they were mainly gathering medicinal herbs, defeating Kobolds, exterminating goblins that sometimes came under Tauro¡¯s ¡°presence detection,¡± and G-quests that would contribute to the village of Dansas. Because of this, the ¡°Black Golden Wings¡± were seen by other adventurers as a small team that had lost much of its strength due to the departure of Shin and Rumeya, who had been active while they were away. Nonetheless, Ragune, a beautiful beastman woman, and Ankh, who carried a large sword, caught the eye, but they were not considered to have much skill when they were under Tauro, the child leader of the team. One day, a quest was posted at the Adventurers¡¯ Guild. It was a free quest for a limited-time. Free quests are basically quests that can be accepted at any rank. They are prepared for a wide range of targets, or for a large number of targets, and require the participation of a large number of adventurers. ¡°This is hunting for the remnants of the Troll King subjugation battle that was called up in the higher ranks, right?¡± Aeris said, looking at the contents. The reason why Tauro and Aeris, who were lower in rank, decided to participate in the previous battle to defeat the Ogre was because the higher-ranked adventurers had been called to participate in this Troll King subjugation battle. ¡°That¡¯s right. The Troll King led many monsters, so after the adventurers defeated him, the monsters scattered to various places and are hunted as remnants of the Troll King¡¯s army.¡± ¡° if it was a monster led by such a troll king, wouldn¡¯t there be a strong one?¡±* Ragune pointed out. ¡°The monster named ¡°King¡± is a being that influences other monsters as well. In the battle against the Troll King, a wide range of monsters gathered, including trolls, harpies, ogres, orcs, goblins, and kobolds, so it¡¯s a little tricky. ¡± ¡°I see. In other words, if you encounter a remnant monster, if it¡¯s someone you can defeat, you¡¯ll be evaluated if you hunt it down!¡± Ankh seems to have guessed something. ¡°That¡¯s what it means. The Adventurers¡¯ Guild has been dealing with a worsening security situation in the area after the defeat of the Troll King, so I think they have decided to send out this quest in order to restore security as soon as possible.¡± ¡°Either way, it looks like an opportunity for our team.¡± Ankh grins. ¡°opportunity?¡± Ragune still doesn¡¯t seem to understand. ¡°in other words. Even if we beat a higher rank in the guild, we usually don¡¯t get evaluated for it, but for this limited time free quest, we will get evaluated for it. So, depending on the results, Ragune and Ankh can also expect to improve their ranks in a short period of time.¡± Aeris carefully explained to Ragune the reason for this opportunity. ¡°Oh! So that¡¯s what this means! That means that depending on the results, I too can move up to the E-rank in no time!¡± Ragune finally understood what a good opportunity this was. Team ¡°Black Golden Wings¡± immediately decided to take on this free quest. ¡°Yeah, I think both Ragune-chan and Ankh-san are capable, so it¡¯s OK, but be sure to run away from the opponent if they look too strong. Even a single troll is a subjugation target for D+ teams and above.¡± Chloe, the Adventurers¡¯ Guild branch manager who was working at the reception desk, advised Tauro and the others. ¡°Yes, Of course, if it is an opponent who we can not beat, we will run away.¡± Tauro replied, but he thought the team¡¯s current strength was enough to defeat the trolls, so he wasn¡¯t too worried. Of course, I do not intend to overdo it. At the moment, Ragune is always concerned about her rank, so if she could raise it from F to E, that would be fine. Therefore, Tauro thought that he should try to get Ragune to finish off as many as possible, but Ankh and Aeris had the same idea. As a result. A forest on the outskirts of the city of Daredar. ¡°¡­¡­ haa haa? Is it my imagination? I feel like I¡¯m the only one who¡¯s putting any effort. ¡­¡­?¡± Ragune, while spearing the fifth orc in the heart with a single thrust of her spear, was starting to feel exhausted. So far, Ragune has defeated not only orcs, but also many goblins, and even an ogre. ¡°Even Ragune, who prides herself on her physical strength, must be getting tired. Then take a break and let Ankh take over for you next time. From now on, Ankh will take over as the stopgap, while Ragune concentrates on defense.¡± Tauro, reflecting that this was indeed too much, decided to give priority to recovering Ragune¡¯s strength. While taking a break, there was a human reaction just at the limit of Tauro¡¯s ¡°presence detection.¡± I thought it might be other adventurers, but they seemed to be fighting the monsters in a regular formation. Perhaps they were the Daredar territory military forces. Not only adventurers, but also many territorial soldiers were participating in the hunt for the remnants. They are approaching us as if they are retreating. Apparently, the opponent¡¯s monster seemed to be a formidable enemy and they were being pushed back. Tauro checked the silhouettes of the monsters with his ¡°true eye¡± and saw two harpies from the sky above, ten orcs and a troll that seemed to be leading them from the ground CH 205 Tauro used his ¡°presence detection¡± to let the team know that a group of demons and monsters in battle were slowly approaching them. ¡°Ragune, are you okay? If you haven¡¯t recovered yet, take a potion.¡± Tauro handed the potion to Ragune. ¡°Thank you, I will.¡± Ragune took it and drank the potion. ¡°Well then, let¡¯s go rescue the group that¡¯s retreating this way. For now, we¡¯ll prioritize killing the most troublesome harpies.¡± Harpies are ugly-looking creatures with the upper body of a woman and the lower body of a bird. ¡°Harpies are in the mix. We¡¯ll have to finish them off first, otherwise it will be hard to fight.¡± It can¡¯t be helped that Ankh hates them. Fighting an enemy while worrying about the harpies overhead is very challenging and nothing but a nuisance. ¡± I¡¯ll take care of the harpies, but Aeris, too, be on the lookout for them with magic. I¡¯d like to get there first and take them out if I can.¡± Tauro asked Aeris to do it. ¡°I understand. Are you okay?¡± Aeris nodded and asked Ragune. ¡°I¡¯m fine, no problem.¡± Ragune nodded in affirmation. ¡°All right, then. let¡¯s go.¡± Tauro said, and they all headed for the rescue. ¡°Damn it! That harpy is too much trouble!¡± The captain leading the territorial troops held his shield above his head, and while retreating his troops, he was fighting off the attacks of the orcs that were coming at him from the front. ¡°The wounded must not spare the potion. Use it now or you will die!¡± ¡°I don¡¯t have any more of that potion!¡± ¡°Damn! Somebody give him a hand, and watch your head, the harpies are after us!¡± The captain said, while blocking the attack of the orc club in front of him with his shield. Just as he was about to strike back at the orcs, His gaze turned to the front and his head became neglected. The harpies saw this chance and pounced on the captain. The other members of the team shouted, ¡°Look out, captain!¡± It was time to issue a warning. With a sharp crack of the wind splitting above their heads, an arrow shot through the neck of the harpy that was on the verge of attacking the captain. Another harpy flying overhead also fell, its wings burned by a magic fire arrow. The troopers were startled, and when they turned around, they saw a group of what appeared to be adventurers. A child adventurer with a bow in his hand threw potions to the wounded. And then, a female beastman warrior and a warrior wielding a great sword ran past them, slashing at the orcs the captain and his men were fighting. ¡°You guys?!¡± one of the troopers asked the boys. ¡°We¡¯ll get to that later, please.¡± The child responded succinctly, then drew his bow and shot the orc in the head as it circled around and tried to attack the wounded men. The girl wizard? also dropped a lightning spell on the troll, an ugly-looking, monstrous creature of exceptional size, who was poised behind the battle. The troll turned charred black, smoked up and fell to its knees. Aeris thought she had finished it off, but as she watched, it recovered. Trolls have this. They are basically dumb and rely on their monstrous strength, but it is their ability to heal and regenerate that is troublesome. It¡¯s said that they can even heal a limb that has been cut off by connecting it to the body. In order to defeat it, the attacker must finish it off with powerful firepower before it recovers. Aeris¡¯s lightning magic, which killed the orc with a single blow, did not seem to go far enough to kill the troll. However, it seems to have inflicted a certain amount of damage, judging from the fact that the troll¡¯s movement had stopped. In the meantime, Ankh had sent an orc¡¯s head flying with his greatsword, and Ragune had also killed an orc with her spear. Aeris switched to casting magic to increase the attack power of the two. She decided that her firepower was not enough to kill the troll. Then Tauro gave chase to the troll. He fired a high-intensity arrow of light. Perhaps a wild hunch? The troll grabbed an orc that was standing beside him and used it as a shield, killing the power of the light arrow fired by Tauro. The arrow of light penetrated the shielded orc, but reverted to a normal arrow and pierced deeply into the troll¡¯s shoulder. The troll immediately pulled the arrow out and the wound regenerated. But while the troll was taking time to heal from the deep wound, Tauro¡¯s priority was to take down the orcs as well. The band of territorial soldiers also recovered and began to fight back. Tauro healed the wounded with potions, and the orcs were quickly defeated due to their numerical advantage, but Ankh and Ragune were very active among them. Ankh, with his high firepower with his great sword, and Ragune, with her accurate attack, agility, durability, and overall strength, left a strong impact on the soldiers. Only the giant troll remained. The soldiers thought this was their chance to show off their skills and surrounded the trolls, but they lacked the decisive offensive power. For the time being, Tauro and the others tried to stand by the territorial soldiers and watch them quietly, but after seeing several territorial soldiers blown away by the troll¡¯s large club, Ankh jumped out and slashed down the troll¡¯s right arm with his large sword, which was holding the club. Tauro then fired two arrows from his bow and shot the troll through both of its eyes at the same time, crushing them. Aeris attacked the troll again with lightning magic, forcing it to its knees as it flailed in pain. The final blow was Ragune¡¯s precise and sharp spear thrust piercing through the heart of the troll, bringing it to a safe fall. CH 206 The captain of the Territorial troops, who had narrowly escaped death, thanked the adventurers who had come to his rescue. ¡°Thank God! Are you adventurers from the Dareder branch?¡± He asked, Ankh looked at Tauro with a look like, ¡°Me?¡± Tauro was giving potions to the soldiers and treating their injuries. Aeris was using healing magic. Ragune dismantled the monsters she had killed for proof of defeat and puts them in the magic storage. Ankh was also helping with this, but since he was the oldest, he was mistaken for the leader. ¡°We are adventurers from the Dansas branch. You don¡¯t have to thank us ¡­¡­, right, leader?¡± Ankh called out to Tauro. ¡°Yeah. We were in the middle of a free quest, so we will take the monsters we killed, no need to thank us. I think it¡¯s okay to say that we both did our jobs.¡± Tauro took the stance that he was just doing his job, not selling a favor. He was not interested in being called in later to be thanked. ¡°Are you the leader of this group? You are so young ¡­¡­. We¡¯re still grateful for your help, and we thank you. Also, I know I sound like I¡¯m making excuses, but that troll is a troll leader, a rare and relatively intelligent species among the dumb trolls. We fell into his trap, and here¡­a pitiful story. It was a C-rank target among adventurers, so it should be a good reward.¡± This is good information. Not only Ragune, who put a stop to it, but also the reputation of everyone who took it down with her will go up. ¡°Thank you for the information. May we take the credit for the monsters we stopped?¡± Tauro negotiated. It would be a problem if credit was claimed later. ¡°Of course! We had been defeating a fair amount of monsters before we encountered these trolls. I don¡¯t ask for more than that. Oh, and if you could claim the cost of the potions through the guild, I think that would make the process easier, thank you very much. Oh yeah, what¡¯s your team name?¡± The captain seemed to be a man of understanding, and there seemed to be no dispute over the share. ¡°Okay, so that¡¯s that then. We are the ¡°Black Golden Wings.¡± Tauro bowed and left when Ragune called him. ¡°. ¡­¡­ Black Gold Wings, huh? I¡¯ve never heard that name before, but I¡¯m sure they must be one of the top teams in the Dansas branch.¡± The captain was impressed, but he had no way of knowing that it was treated as a small team in the Dansas branch, which was the important thing. ¡°Tauro, this troll is the last one, but my magic storage is full, can I leave it to you?¡± Ragune¡¯s magic storage doesn¡¯t seem to be that big. ¡°Then, I¡¯ll take care of the other monsters too, so you can take them out.¡± Tauro replied and put the Troll in the magic storage. Ragune nodded and took out all the orcs she had killed in the previous battle. Orc meat can be sold for food, so if you take the whole thing with you, you can get some money for it. Besides, it was the raw material for her favorite fried dish, pork cutlets, so Ragune didn¡¯t have the option of throwing it away. Tauro stowed away all the orcs that had piled up like a mountain. The captain, who was casually looking at the pile of orcs, was taken aback by the sudden appearance of the mountain of orcs in front of him, but he was also surprised to see it disappear in an instant. Aside from the surprised territorial troops, team ¡°Black Golden Wing¡± prepared to leave, bowed again to the captain, greeted them, and headed back home. ¡°With this, maybe Ragune can be promoted to the E rank!¡± Aeris said happily to Tauro. ¡° Yes, I think so. Ragune did a tremendous job this time, so I¡¯m sure she¡¯ll be fine.¡± Tauro gave his assurance. ¡°I-I see! Will I finally be able to reach the same E-rank belt as everyone else? I¡¯m looking forward to it?¡± For Ragune, the fact that she was the only one with an F rank had always been a source of concern. It was for this reason that everyone was turning to her to make the stops, Ragune was honestly glad that she had tried so hard. ¡°If things go well, maybe we¡¯ll all get promoted.¡± Ankh responded. ¡°Me and Aeris are E+, so I don¡¯t know if we¡¯ll be judged into the D rank band again, but Ankh might get promoted to E.¡± Tauro was also looking forward to hearing the results of this free quest. Adventurers¡¯ Guild, Dansas Branch, Lobby Reception. ¡° What? Is this everyone¡¯s defeat in this quest? Hey, hey, everyone submit your tags so I can check them!¡± Chloe, who responded, was amazed at the results of Tauro¡¯s team. I did not underestimate the ¡°Black golden Wings¡±. She still has high hopes for them as a promising team. With the addition of Ankh and Ragune, I thought the team would be as good as before, but the number of orcs was also great, in addition to the mix of higher-ranked ogres and rare species of troll leader. Apparently, they have been targeting and hunting monsters above their rank. When I checked the tags, I found that many of the kills were F-rank Ragune¡¯s. The branch manager, Chloe, realized that this team was much more impressive than she had given them credit for, as she looked at the records left on the tags she had checked with her magic tool. CH 207 Chloe, the head of the Dansas branch Adventurers¡¯ Guild, and Shiroi, the deputy branch head, were troubled. This time, It was about team ¡°Black Golden Wings,¡± which had achieved phenomenal results in the limited-time free quest. The other teams had also achieved good results, but they were commensurate with their ranks, and it is fair to say that the ¡°Black Golden Wings¡± in the E-rank band were able to kill a large number of ¡°higher-ranked¡± monsters, an unprecedented achievement in the Dansas Division. ¡°For now, this Ragune should be raised from F rank to E rank at once. It is in the guild¡¯s best interest to raise this talent as soon as possible so that she can play an active role.¡± ¡°I agree. ¡­¡­ I¡¯ll move Ankh up from E- to E+, both in terms of ability and battle record. The problem is Tauro-kun and Aeris-chan ¡­¡­ Considering the team¡¯s record, they are qualified enough to be promoted to the D rank, but Ragune and Ankh¡¯s performance is so great that it gets lost in the haze¡­. Hmm, in my ideal, I think it would be better to raise the four of them to the D-rank belt together to keep the balance¡­¡­¡± ¡°Then there would be dissatisfaction from them. Even though the performance of the two vanguard is amazing, they must be proud that it is only with the support of the two rear guard that they are able to do so. I think they are aware of the fact that the team¡¯s record this time around has put them in the D-rank belt.¡± ¡°¡­¡­Yes, that¡¯s right. I¡¯m worried about those kids because they look like they don¡¯t take it too hard, but they do some pretty dangerous things¡­¡­. Tauro-kun and Aeris-chan should be promoted to D- rank.¡± After much deliberation and consideration, the branch manager, Chloe, decided on an unusual promotion. The next day, Chloe announced the promotion to each member of Tauro¡¯s team who came to the guild in the morning. ¡°I¡¯m ranked E! I didn¡¯t know they would appreciate me that much. ¡­¡­ I¡¯m not sure I¡¯m good enough for an E ranking ¡­¡­Kuuh¡­!¡± Ragune, who had achieved the best results this time, seemed to be pleased, although it was worrisome that she said something disturbing for a moment. ¡°Two ranks up? That¡¯s a great service! Ha ha ha!¡± Ankh is also pleased, but his reaction seems to be somewhat unimportant. Maybe he doesn¡¯t really feel it. And then there¡¯s Tauro and Aeris. ¡°Oh, that¡¯s still good.¡± The two who had been the most worried about their promotions were the least responsive, and we¡¯re simply dismissive. ¡°huh, it¡¯s a big promotion!¡± Chloe asked in surprise. ¡°I want to go up with everyone. I¡¯d like Aeris and I to be together with them when we¡¯re promoted.¡± ¡°Oh, but if Ankh is also E+, then it¡¯s possible that by the time Ragune is E+, Ankh will be One up.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sure Ankh will be fine. Ankh doesn¡¯t seem to care about his rank. Besides, he and Ragune are good friends, so he¡¯ll wait with us.¡± ¡°That¡¯s true¡± Watching their interaction, Chloe knew that the decision she and her vice had been worrying about in the middle of the night was unfounded. ¡° I don¡¯t want to say more, but Ragune and Ankh have been exceptionally promoted, and this won¡¯t ever happen again, so please don¡¯t overdo it in the future. Usually, aiming for higher ranks is not appreciated.¡± Chloe, as the head of the Dansas branch, did not forget to nail the point It would be a problem if a team like this one were to aim for a rank higher than their own and try to hunt in large numbers. If that happened, it was obvious that there would be many deaths. Even though it was the decision of the Dareder branch, I¡¯ll submit a letter of opinion so that this free quest would never be issued again. ¡°Yes. But there are five days left for this free quest, right? If we have a result war in the meantime ¡­¡­¡± Tauro said something scary. Chloe panicked. ¡°Hey, hey, Tauro-kun! This is a one-time thing! I¡¯m not going to let you bring this quest to me again, okay? This is the last time! Don¡¯t you ever do anything reckless again!¡± She crossed her arms to express her disapproval. ¡°Ha ha ha! I understand. It¡¯s a pity, but my goal was for Ragune to get a big promotion, so I won¡¯t do anything reckless again.¡± Tauro laughed and reassured Chloe. Behind them, Ragune and Ankh, who had been talking together, entered the conversation. ¡°Tauro is a Spartan. I wouldn¡¯t think twice if he asked me to do that one day after day.¡± Ragune nodded with a serious face. ¡°Oh come on, Ragune. The leader and Aeris were coordinating behind the scenes to make sure you could finish things off, you know? I wouldn¡¯t call that Spartan. Ha ha ha!¡± Ankh is in the vanguard, but he can see well behind. After all, he is a former mercenary, accustomed to melee combat and always paying attention to his surroundings. ¡°Then, since the both of us have been promoted, why don¡¯t the four of us take on our first E rank quest together?¡± Tauro suggested, and everyone agreed. CH 208 In the village of Dansas, in a room of the Marches Trading Company, Marches and Tauro, the representative of the company, were having a business meeting. ¡°A stall ¡­¡­?¡± Marches could not think fast enough to catch up with the sudden proposal. ¡°Yes. I thought that the stall level would be just right for the size of the operation that everyone in the mountain village of Gryphon could manage.¡± Tauro had suggested operating a stall as a source of income for the mountain village on the way to the city of O¡¯circus (the mountain village where the griffon was defeated). The company that has an exclusive contract with that place is the Marches Company, so he approached them. ¡°Oh, I see. So you¡¯re going to commercialize the Jagamo and Tomorow dishes, right?¡± Hearing the explanation, Marches understood and asked back. ¡°Yes. It¡¯s easy and doesn¡¯t require much expense, and I think it would be a good way to promote the mustard and mayonnaise that Yamamura makes for condiments, and also the ketchup made with tomoto. The ¡­¡­ problem is how to preserve it. ¡­¡­¡± ¡°Actually, the villagers are hesitant about using raw eggs for mayonnaise ¡­¡­¡± ¡°Oh, they are afraid of food poisoning? It is safe if it¡¯s made the way I make it. The Vinegar used as an ingredient is a disinfectant, and if you make sure to mix at least 10% vinegar or more, it will kill salmonella as well. If you are stingy with the vinegar, you will not be able to sterilize it enough, so you have to be careful. ¡­¡­ Are you okay with other storage and transport issues?¡± ¡°Of course! Thanks to the pochette with magic storage and the bag that Tauro-dono purchased in the Royal Capital and loaned to us, we will be responsible for handling them, so don¡¯t worry!¡± Marches lightly touched the bag he always carries with him, tapping his chest, and answered confidently. ¡°We already have a pochette in the mountain, so we can hire local villagers there as employees of our branch, and they can travel to the surrounding villages and to O¡¯circus regularly to supply condiments.¡± ¡°Speaking of O¡¯circus, you are the head of the Marches Trading Company there, right?¡± ¡°Yes. It was just launched last month, but thanks to the magic lantern and non-wetting cloth related products, we are on track without any losses. We should be fine¡± Leada, who had been dealing with the Xiwanda Trading Company in the city of O¡¯circus with Tauro and others, seems to have quickly settled in as the right-hand woman in whom Marches has full confidence. ¡°Well, then, I made it this way in order to set up stalls in various places.¡± Tauro opened a sheet of folded paper on the desk. It was a drawing of an assembled, relatively lightweight stall, roofed with a non-wetting cloth. ¡°This is, again, an easy build.¡± ¡°Yes, it is. I designed it with fire prevention measures in mind. This will fit in a pochette with a magic storage compartment with plenty of room to spare, along with the merchandise.¡± ¡°This is good. It looks easy to move around. We can pay the location fee on a daily basis and open stalls at various locations. ¡°Yes. it¡¯s easy to clean up afterwards, it doesn¡¯t cost much to open a stall, it¡¯s easy to move around, and it doesn¡¯t require a lot of manpower. Even if you don¡¯t have a pochette with a magic storage compartment, you can easily transport it on a cart.¡± ¡°Does that mean it will be easy to expand to other villages and towns?¡± ¡°Yes, it is possible to develop as much as possible depending on the motivation of everyone in the mountain villages.¡± Marches immediately liked Tauro¡¯s proposal. ¡°Okay, let¡¯s do it! Our contracted woodworker can easily make these drawings for us.¡± In this way, the business of stalls, which became the income source of the mountain village, was started. When the mountain village heard the proposal was from Tauro, they immediately agreed. They immediately went down to a neighboring village to set up a stall, and the french fries, steamed jagamo, and popcorn (salty flavor), which made a noise and attracted people¡¯s attention, quickly sold well. ¡°The steamed jagamo with this mayonnaise sauce is irresistible!¡± ¡°This popcorn is also delicious with its light and crunchy texture!¡± ¡°Fufufu, you guys, the best way to eat these fries is to mix these three condiments together!¡± The simplicity, inexpensive price, and delicious seasonings have resulted in a steady stream of repeat customers, and it has become so popular that a line of customers forms as soon as it opens. Yamamura, sensing a positive response, consulted with Leada of the O¡¯circus branch of the Marches Trading Company about opening a full-scale store in the city of O¡¯circus, she readily agreed. It will soon become popular in the city of O¡¯circus, but that is a story for the future! CH 209 It had been two weeks since Ankh and I started sharing a house. The first few days, Aeris came to the house frequently, so Ragune also came over and the four of us spent more time together, but Aeris and Ragune, who both are women, spent more time talking alone, so naturally, we began to separate into men and women. When the four of us are together, Tauro and Aeris, Ankh and Ragune were often separated, but we still often talked to each other. Ankh, perhaps because he was a mercenary for a long time and did not often stay in one place for long periods of time, seemed to dislike taking it easy, but when I looked into his room, I saw that he had finally started to unpack his belongings and spread them out. He had been keeping them all in one place until then. ¡°Have you been in the village of Dansas for long?¡± Ankh asked me one evening over drinks after dinner. ¡°Not really. I used to live in another town.¡± ¡°But I¡¯m surprised that so many of the villagers here know you, leader.¡± ¡°Oh, that¡¯s ¡­¡­.¡± Tauro explained that the village had been under a curse for a while, and that he and Bob, another fellow adventurer, had lifted the curse and were treated as benefactors. ¡°That¡¯s amazing.¡± Ankh was impressed. ¡°But more importantly, Ankh. why are you always keeping an eye on us? ¡° Tauro suddenly asked a puzzling question. ¡°¡­..What¡¯s this all of a sudden? I¡¯m not watching you, am I?¡± Ankh stopped drinking and answered. ¡°I just thought you were worried about Aeris and me.¡± ¡°¡­..Huh.¡­¡­ Well, even though you¡¯re a senior adventurer, you¡¯re still just a kid. You have to be a little careful.¡± Ankh replied plausibly. ¡°I understand it¡¯s not just that, ¡­¡­ you probably don¡¯t want to be pursued?¡± Tauro puts it in an inclusive way. ¡°¡­ that¡¯s right. Think about the circumstances of adults.¡± Ankh smiled wryly and let out a little of his true feelings. ¡°¡­¡­ I understand. I believe you. I look forward to working with you all in the future .¡± Tauro bowed his head and asked, guessing Ankh¡¯s answer as best he could. ¡°Does that include Ragune too? Well, she¡¯s worth training. Wahaha!¡± Relieving his tension, he burst into laughter. It was a great laugh to blow away everything. As Tauro thought, Ankh was not the enemy. On the contrary, he would not be allowed to interfere. That would be equal to bringing harm to Aeris. In other words, there is a strong possibility that Ankh was hired by the Marquis Van Dyne as an escort for Aeris. Furthermore, it may be part of his job to report on Aeris¡¯s recent situation. He must have asked Ankh, who was originally a skilled mercenary, to become an adventurer at a moment¡¯s notice, and then come with his money and ability to raise his rank to E in a short period of time. It is possible that I am also a target of escort, or that he is being told to investigate my background and report it. to check out my background ¡­¡­. Hm? So does that mean there are other employers? The possibility of an employer outside of my imagination caught me off guard and got me thinking. I was tempted to ask Ankh for more details, but he probably won¡¯t answer me any further. Well, if we stay together, we might be able to see some things. Besides, after working with the team, Ankh is very trustworthy. He seems to be someone who is willing to do more than he is asked to do, so it would be better for us to stay together as a team. Tauro felt refreshed when one doubt was cleared. The next day. ¡°Good morning, Ankh.¡± ¡°Good morning ¡­¡­.¡± It seems that Ankh drank more than usual after that, either because he was relieved or because he was ashamed of being found out. Since he seemed to be suffering from a hangover, Tauro cast an ailment recovery spell on Ankh to relieve him of his hangover. ¡°¡­¡­ Oh? My hangover is gone! Leader, I want that magic every time from now on!¡± No, no, no, you¡¯re going to drink a lot, aren¡¯t you? That disqualifies you from being Aeris¡¯s bodyguard! Tauro was dumbfounded, but he thought about harassing him by using magic to sober him up while he was having a good time drinking. CH 210 One morning in the guild lobby. As usual, Tauro and his friends were in front of the bulletin board where quests were posted. ¡°Ah, there¡¯s a quest for us!¡¯ Aeris took one of the quests from the E- rank and showed it to everyone. ¡°Let¡¯s see, ¡­¡­. Escort to and from the city of Dareder, organize and transport luggage, solve any problems that may arise, appraisal required?¡± Tauro read out the quest offered to Aeris. ¡°What¡¯s that? That¡¯s a very demanding quest.¡± Ankh said and peeked over Tauro to confirm it. ¡°I don¡¯t have an appraisal, does Tauro?¡± Ragune also peeked out from Tauro¡¯s side and read the quest silently, then asked. ¡°Yes, I do have something like an appraisal, one that specializes in appraising things. That¡¯s the ¡®true eye¡¯ I described before.¡± ¡°Oh, that thing that could appraise plants! Tauro has a variety of unusual abilities. Compared to that, damn it, kill.¡± Ragune was in her usual habit of talking, but Tauro let it pass and asked everyone. ¡°The quest is going to take at least three days, including the round trip and the stay over there, so what should we do?¡± ¡°The reward is modest, but since we have leader and Ragune, transportation will be easy, and we can do the appraisal, we might as well take on the job.¡± Ankh said something plausible. Our team would be the best choice for this Dansas branch for E-rank adventurers who are in line with the wishes of the client. Other teams may only escort the client in some cases, and they may have to spend more time looking for an appraiser over there. This would naturally increase the burden on the client. ¡°Then, we¡¯ll take care of this.¡± ¡°¡±¡±Ok!¡±¡±¡± With everyone¡¯s agreement, team ¡°Black Golden Wings¡± decided to take on this highly demanding quest. Tauro and his team went to the client immediately, who was surprised that there was someone who would accept it right away. ¡°No way, I didn¡¯t expect to find someone as soon as I put it out. There were many demands¡­¡± The client, Riryo-san, seemed to be aware that there were many demands. ¡°Well then, when should we leave? Also, please give us a detailed description of our work.¡± Tauro got right down to business. ¡°In that case, please be here first thing tomorrow morning. And about the specifics¡­ Actually, my family¡¯s home is in Dareder, but my father died suddenly recently, and my mother is in poor health, so we decided to move here where there is more nature. My parents own a general store, so it would be great if we could organize and dispose of the merchandise together. Riryo explained. ¡°What do you mean by ¡®problems¡¯?¡± As far as the explanation, I didn¡¯t understand what he meant by ¡°solving problems as they arise,¡± which he went out of his way to add. ¡° Ah, it seems that my father had a dispute with a local influential person before his death, so I thought that if I went there, there might be some trouble with that person.¡± ¡°I see, so that¡¯s what you mean. ¡­¡­¡± Tauro was beginning to feel that it would be trickier than he thought, but now that he had accepted the job, he had no choice but to complete the quest properly. He could only hope that there would be no trouble. The next morning. Riryo, the client had prepared a carriage for us, so we all got in and left the village of Dansas. It was going to be an easy trip since we were not on foot. It was a day¡¯s ride to the city of Daredar, which we reached in the evening without any problems. ¡°Then tomorrow morning you will come to this store. I¡¯m concerned about my mother¡¯s health, so I will stay here.¡± Riryo, the client, opened the door of the store, checked the interior, while saying to Tauro and the others. Tauro casually peered into the store through the open door, but he sensed an unusual presence with his ¡°Presence Detection¡±. It was an unpleasant feeling. It was not human. But it was the same as the one he had felt somewhere else, so when Riryo entered the store and was about to close the door, Tauro put his hand on the door to stop it from closing. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Riryo asked Tauro suspiciously. ¡°Let me take a look around,¡± Tauro said. Tauro then entered the store and used his ¡®true eye¡¯. In the back room of the store, there is the silhouette of a woman lying down. It must be Riryo¡¯s mother. There¡¯s no sign of anyone else. but I have a bad feeling about it. As Tauro looked around and checked the merchandise, his eyes fell on a fist-sized stone on a shelf at the back of the store¡¯s reception desk. ¡°The Curse Stone.¡± That was the name displayed on the ¡°true eye.¡± The description read. ¡°A specially processed magic stone to curse the target via a curse from the sorcerer. The closer the stone is placed to the target, the more effective the curse will be. Very rare.¡± It states. Tauro quickly discovered the problem. CH 211 Tauro noticed a cursed stone in the store and approached it. ¡°Tauro, don¡¯t touch that!¡± Aeris stopped him. Aeris warned Tauro, perhaps using her intuition or feeling something because she did not have appraisal skills. Ragune and Ankh react to Aeris¡¯s words. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°That stone, there¡¯s something disgusting about it.¡± When she said that, Riryo also noticed the stone. ¡°I¡¯ve never seen this stone before¡­¡­. The surface is polished and clean, but is there something wrong with this stone?¡± Riryo, the client, wondered and tried to touch it. ¡°Don¡¯t touch that stone! That¡¯s probably a curse stone, it¡¯s meant to curse the subject, so if you touch it, you might get cursed!¡± Aeris said and cast a spell, creating a ward over the store. ¡°This should eliminate the interference of the sorcerer from the outside, but The curse on the stone itself has not disappeared, so be careful¡± ¡°A cursed stone? ¡­¡­, why is that thing here!¡± Riryo stared at the cursed stone in amazement, almost as if it were piercing a hole. ¡°For now, I¡¯ll try to break the curse with my ¡®purification¡¯ technique.¡± Tauro said and immediately chanted ¡°Purification.¡± Then the surface of the cursed stone cracked a little. ¡°¡­¡­ Aeris, is the curse lifted?¡± Tauro checked with Aeris. ¡°It¡¯s probably fine. But I can feel the residue of the curse from the back of the room. Could it be Riryo¡¯s mother? Tauro, her too, lift the curse.¡± When Riryo hears this, he rushes into the room, calling out, ¡°Mom!¡± Tauro followed him into the room. There was a woman lying on a bed, her cheeks hollow and pale. ¡°Riryo, welcome back ¡­¡­. I¡¯m sorry, I was lying here because I was feeling a little under the weather.¡± His mother tried to get up when she said that, so Riryo stopped her and put her back to sleep. Riryo looked at Tauro for help, Tauro immediately nodded and chanted ¡°Purification¡±. Aeris looked after the scene and saw the black haze disappear from the woman. ¡°It looks like the curse has been lifted.¡± Aeris said, and the woman¡¯s rough breathing somehow calmed down. The client, Riryo, was relieved to hear this. Tauro and Aerith left the room and returned to the store. ¡°This is going to cause a lot of problems.¡± Tauro whispered to everyone with a sigh. ¡°I guess so. Maybe this is what happened to the father, who died suddenly.¡± Aeris pointed to the curse stone. ¡°Oh dear, I don¡¯t think we¡¯re going to get out of here anytime soon.¡± Ankh answered, taking note of the situation. ¡°We¡¯ll have to catch the person who cast the curse!¡± Ragune was full of enthusiasm. ¡°I¡¯m sure we will. Well, we can avoid the curse problem if we move to the village of Dansas, so it might be better for Riryo¡¯s mother to be accompanied in the carriage. Ragune, Ankh, and Aeris please be the escorts. I¡¯ll stay behind and check on the people who will be visiting here later.¡± ¡°Hey, hey, leader. Are you sure you can handle this by yourself?¡± Ankh looked at me as if he didn¡¯t want me to do that. ¡°Of course, come back as soon as you drop them off. I¡¯ll just stay here, so it¡¯ll be easy, but the three of you won¡¯t have time to rest.¡± Tauro laughed as he said this. ¡°¡­¡­ Tauro, don¡¯t be reckless, okay?¡± Aeris said with a serious face. ¡° Of course. Besides, I¡¯m the only one who can break the curse, and I have high resistance to darkness. I¡¯m also the best person to keep an eye on things, so why not?¡± ¡°I guess so. The leader¡¯s right. Our job is to escort the client and his mother back home. Let¡¯s follow the leader¡¯s decision for now.¡± Ankh nodded and Ragune agreed with him. When I told this to Riryo, he looked puzzled at the idea of leaving the child alone, even though he was an adventurer, but when he was told that it was to catch the culprit, he had no choice but to agree. The next morning. The mother was feeling much better after a good night¡¯s sleep, so they decided to move to the village of Dansas as planned. They also decided to carry their personal belongings in Ragune¡¯s magic storage, and Tauro would store the other items in the magic storage in advance and dispose of them after the appraisal. Fortunately, there is a branch of the Garfish Trading Company in this town. The goods would be cheaper, but they would be able to buy them. According to Riryo¡¯s mother, the cursed stone was left as a thank you for giving a discount by a customer she has never seen before. That was the only clue I had, so I needed more information, but I decided to see Aeris and the others on the way. ¡°Tauro, please take care of the rest.¡± Riryo, the client, shook Tauro¡¯s hand as he said this. ¡°Yes, I don¡¯t know how it will turn out, but I will try to find the culprit.¡± After shaking hands, Tauro sent the group on their way. CH 212 After seeing the group off, Tauro remained in the town of Dareder and decided to stay put for the day inside the store using ¡°Presence Detection¡± and ¡°Presence Blocking¡±. Although it¡¯s in the city of Dareder, this store is located a little off the beaten path, so it cannot be said that there is a lot of pedestrian traffic. But people still pass by. By midday, the streets were filled with people. However, the store was not a busy place. According to the client¡¯s mother¡¯s impression, the store hadn¡¯t been open for the past few days, so it was unlikely that anyone would be suspicious if it was closed again today. Then, I felt the presence of a person. It was obviously someone trying to see the inside from outside the door of the store. It was not a very nice feeling. Tauro went around to the front of the store, listening to the presence from behind, and saw a person pretending to be a passerby, looking about the interior of the store. It was a small man with a large nose. For a while, he searched the room through the gap in the door, but then, perhaps thinking it was useless to go any further, he scuttled away from the store. Tauro decided to follow him. With Tauro¡¯s ¡°presence blocking,¡± the small man was completely oblivious and entered a large mansion without taking notice at all. This time, Tauro decided to go around to the back of the mansion and look inside. ¡° So¡­ how¡¯s it going? Has the wife died already?¡± The man who seemed to be the owner of the house had a loud voice, and when I strained my ears, I could hear his voice even from outside. ¡°I didn¡¯t feel any signs from the room.¡± ¡°You didn¡¯t feel it? You idiot! Then you could have gone inside the store, and according to the information you got from the neighbors, you could have retrieved the magical stone directive that the owner had apparently picked up when I had dropped it.¡± ¡°But there¡¯s still a cursed stone inside! I don¡¯t want to be cursed!¡± Both of their voices echoed as they heated up. A magic stone directive? Tauro remembered that, come to think of it, there was a processed magic stone in the luggage in the store that he had collected in his magic storage. ¡°As long as you don¡¯t touch the cursed stone or stay with it for too long, the curse doesn¡¯t affect you that much!¡± ¡° There¡¯s such a thing as too much! Give me a break!¡± ¡°What the hell do you think I sent you there to find out! Because the sorcerer says the connection to the curse stone has been severed! ¡­¡­ huh? Go back tomorrow.¡± ¡°¡­¡­I understand ©¤©¤¡±. It seems that the master of this place is the main culprit in regards to the cursed stone. However, the keyword ¡°magic stone directive¡± is worrisome. After asking a passerby who the owner of the mansion was, Tauro returns to the store. The night passed uneventfully. and the sun came up. If all went as expected, the small man would come to the store again to investigate. Let¡¯s surprise him a little and see what he comes up with. Tauro decided to open the shop in the morning after returning the items that had been placed in the magic storage. Of course, I was in charge of the store. At one point, a few customers came and bought some daily necessities. Just before noon, the small man came in. He was surprised to see Tauro. ¡°You¡¯re a boy I haven¡¯t seen before, right?¡± The small man spoke to Tauro. ¡°Welcome. Me? I¡¯m helping out here from today.¡± ¡°Helping?¡± ¡°Yes, my aunt has been sick for a few days and closed the store, but I, a relative, decided to help her because she can¡¯t close any more. Auntie has been feeling better since yesterday, so I may only be here for a few days. Oh, Uncle, would you like to buy something?¡± ¡°Ah, no. I just looked in the store because it was unusually open. So, is the lady in the back better now?¡± ¡°Yes, she¡¯s not fully recovered yet, so she¡¯s sleeping. Oh, if you need her, give her a few days.¡± ¡°I-I see, I hope she recovers. Then, I¡¯ll come again in a few days.¡± The little man said and left in a hurry. He must have gone to report to the owner of that mansion. If he made a move, it would give me a chance to take advantage of him. If it¡¯s as Tauro expected, there¡¯s a way to neutralize them. Let¡¯s wait and see how they react. In the evening, Tauro began to feel an unpleasant presence clinging to him. It seems that Aeris¡¯s warding magic was broken spontaneously, and that side sent another curse to the curse stone. This time, the curse was beginning to be applied to me, who was inside the room. This was exactly what Tauro wanted. Tauro¡¯s aim was to return the curse with dark magic. While magic can be used to curse remotely, there are risks. That is the possibility of a counterattack by returning the curse. Once the curse is returned, it is literally doubled. Tauro has received blessings from the Black spirit regarding dark magic, so he can return the curse. ¡°Okay, let the counterattack begin.¡± Tauro put both his hands on the spell stone and cast a spell. CH 213 When Tauro directly holds the cursed stone and chants dark magic, a black mist that is clearly visible erupts and entangles his body. The sorcerer on the other side must be very skilled, because even after Tauro cast a spell to return the curse once, the sorcerer pushed back. ¡°The other side seems to be a real professional, so it won¡¯t be easy to push him back. ¡­¡­¡± Tauro cast another spell. Then, the black mist that was entwined around Tauro was sucked into the cursed stone and stayed there for a moment, and the next moment, it erupted all at once, and this time it was sucked into the gap in the ceiling. The curse on Tauro was still there, but he paid it no mind and ran out of the store. The black haze spread across the sky as if blending into the darkness that was beginning to darken, and disappeared in the direction of the mansion where the main culprit of the curse resides. Then I hear the ¡°voice of the world¡± in my brain. ¡°Confirmed one of the conditions for activating the special skill [&%$#] . [Magic Manipulation] (Extreme) has been acquired.¡± ¡°For the time being, it looks like it¡¯s a success¡­ I remembered something¡­ ¡®Purification''¡± Tauro lifted the curse on himself and drank a potion to restore his magic power, and then he breathed a sigh of relief. ¡°Tauro! Are you okay?! I could feel something ominous moving out of here just now!¡± Aeris and the others who had delivered the client, had just returned. ¡°It looked pretty bad, but are you okay?¡± Ankh also seemed to sense it and came running over with his hand on his greatsword. Ragune did the same and had already drawn her sword. ¡°Did you guys not see that?¡± ¡°What are you talking about?¡± ¡°A black haze-like ¡­¡­¡± ¡°All I could see was a hint of it?¡± Aeris nodded her head. ¡°I see, I just returned the curse to its sender.¡± ¡°¡°¡°Returned it?¡±¡±¡± Aeris and the other three were puzzled, not understanding what Tauro meant. I asked Aeris and the others, who had returned, to tell me as much information as possible they could get from the client¡¯s mother in the store. ¡°According to Riryo-san¡¯s mother, He encountered a local influential person who was having a dispute with someone he didn¡¯t see on the outskirts of town, but when he noticed his presence, they left in a hurry, dropping the magic stone. The father who picked it up couldn¡¯t give it to the other man because he was an influential person he didn¡¯t get along with, so he kept it, and that might be the source of the trouble.¡± ¡°So he shared it with the neighbors.¡± ¡°Huh? Yes, that¡¯s right. I heard that the father talked to one of his regular customers about it, but how did you know?¡± Tauro told them what he had heard at the cursed master¡¯s mansion. ¡°I¡¯m sure that the main culprit is definitely that influential person. Ah, this magic stone seems to have a mechanism that requires magical power to unlock it, but I wonder if Aeris can unlock it?¡± Tauro took the magic stone out of the magic storage and handed it to Aeris. ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll try.¡± Aeris nodded, accepted the magic stone, and began to try to unlock it. ¡°So, what were you talking about when you said you sent it back earlier?¡± It seemed that Ankh and Ragune were still interested in the story that seems to be the source of the ominous signs. ¡°What was it?¡± Tauro now explained the curse return. ¡°¡­¡­ leader. Don¡¯t be reckless, ¡­¡­.¡± Ankh sighed in amazement. Ragune concurred. ¡°We can¡¯t protect you if you do that when we¡¯re not here. Next time, please do it in our presence.¡± She was worried about Tauro, to whom she owed a debt of gratitude. ¡°I¡¯m sorry ¡­¡­. I¡¯ll be more careful next time.¡± The serious tone of Ragune¡¯s voice made Tauro honestly reflect on the situation. ¡°¡­¡­ then does that mean the other spellcaster is in trouble right now because of the curse?¡± Ankh said with a serious look on his face. ¡°Yes, that¡¯s right. Depending on the situation, the people around them may have been harmed as well.¡± ¡°Did you return such a terrible curse!?¡± Ragune was honestly surprised. ¡°The original curse was very powerful. The curse will be returned with more than double the curse, so if the caster over there didn¡¯t take countermeasures against the curse, at best he would not be able to wake up again, at worst he would die instantly. I think the people around him would be under a pretty severe curse as well.¡± ¡°¡­¡­ If he¡¯s that good of a sorcerer, he might be involved with an assassination guild.¡± Ankh mentioned the possibility. ¡°What would happen if it was dealt with?¡± ¡°Hmm. I feel like I¡¯m going to feel like there¡¯s no chance with that haze, but I might be exposed to a serious curse that makes me faint in agony.¡± ¡°¡­¡­ Either way, it¡¯s not going to be a free ride.¡± Ragune was horrified and cowered her head Thereupon Then he heard a voice saying. ¡°I¡¯ve got it unlocked. Now I¡¯ll open the information.¡± Aeris said holding up the magic stone toward the wall. Then, a message was projected on the wall. ¡°¡­¡­ ¡­this is pretty bad, isn¡¯t it?¡± Ankh gulped at the contents displayed. Tauro and the others were also stunned by the contents. CH 214 What was projected onto the wall from the magic stone was a directive for the plan to assassinate Count Dareder. The plan centered on a sorcerer sent by the Assassination Guild, who was to use a person to sneak the curse stone into Count Dareder¡¯s living area and curse him to death. The plan included detailed instructions on how to do this, from sneaking the stones into a large number of magical stones to mixing them with stones in the garden. The instructions also included a reminder to conduct a test on site once to confirm the certainty of the method. ¡°I guess that means ¡­¡­ this test was done with the client Riryo¡¯s parents.¡± Tauro made one assumption. ¡°Perhaps they were chosen as the subject because of their personal grudge, since I heard that they were usually arguing with each other. ¡­¡­¡± Aeris added to that assumption. ¡°I¡¯m not going to let this happen. I¡¯m going to call the guards.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. I think we¡¯re in over our heads with this story. Please, Ankh.¡± Tauro nodded and threw the magic stone, which Ankh received. Then he ran out of the store and went running to find the guards. ¡°What are we going to do? It will take some time for the guards to arrive, so why don¡¯t we go to the main culprit¡¯s mansion first?¡± Ragune suggested. ¡°Yes, that¡¯s right. We don¡¯t want them to escape in the meantime, so let¡¯s go.¡± The three nodded and decided to leave the store and head to the house of the main suspect. The sun had set and it was dark in the vicinity of the main suspect¡¯s large mansion, which was lit up by the countless lights of the ¡°lantern,¡± a magical tool made by Tauro. Screams and groans could be heard coming from the main culprit¡¯s mansion, so nearby residents gathered with their lanterns as onlookers. ¡°¡­ Tauro¡¯s curse seems to have been successful¡­¡± Aeris commented on the cries coming from the mansion, horrified by the vicious power of the screams. ¡°It sounds like he didn¡¯t die, because the fact that we could hear voices means he was taking measures to return the curse. With all those curses, I¡¯m sure he deserved it. ¡­¡­¡± Even Tauro felt chills at the power of it. Then Ankh arrived with the guards. The guards were sorting out the onlookers as they entered the mansion. ¡°What¡¯s that screaming?¡± Ankh found Tauro and the others among the onlookers and approached them. ¡°It¡¯s like the effect of the curse being returned.¡± Ragune answered. ¡°I see. Well, if you want to curse someone, you have to prepare your own grave, right? They got what¡¯s coming to them, don¡¯t worry about it.¡± Ankh patted Tauro on the shoulder and comforted him. ¡°That¡¯s right, Tauro. They cursed Riryou-san¡¯s father to death, and were plotting to assassinate the count.¡± Aeris also encouraged Tauro with concern. ¡°Yes, it¡¯s true. No evil has ever flourished. This is the right thing to do.¡± Ragune, too, seemed to want to say that returning the curse was a justifiable act. While they were exchanging these words, the main culprit, an influential local man, a man in robes who looked like a sorcerer, and a small man who had been inquiring about the case, screamed and were taken away by the guards, writhing in agony. ¡°Help me! Please help me! Release me from this suffering!¡± ¡°There¡¯s something writhing under my skin! Someone please remove it!¡± ¡°Aah! I¡¯m in agony. ¡­¡­ Somebody kill me!¡± As the screams of the culprits echoed around the crime scene, they were being loaded into a carriage and driven away. As they were being escorted away, one of the guards called out to Tauro and the others. ¡°It¡¯s been a long time, my friends. You did a good job this time, too.¡± It was the captain who had led the territorial army and was rescued by Tauro and the others when they were in danger while subjugating monsters. ¡°Ah, It¡¯s been a long time.¡± Tauro also remembered seeing him and greeted him. ¡°I¡¯m very grateful for your help, but I¡¯d like to ask you a few questions about the circumstances surrounding this incident. So do you mind coming with me?¡± ¡°I understand. I¡¯ll accompany you since it¡¯s my job too.¡± Tauro nodded and followed the captain. ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± The captain thanked him and took Tauro and the others to the station. During the interview, Tauro and the others emphasized that they had only done the quest as adventurers and that the magic stone was a coincidence. In the cellar below the prison, the screams continue. If someone who did not know what was going on had heard it, it would have sounded as if they were torturing them, but of course that was not the case. The suspects readily admitted to the murder of Riryo¡¯s father. When questioned about the plot to assassinate the feudal lord, Count Dareder, the suspects spoke honestly with a desire to be released from their suffering. As a result, it seems that the planner of the assassination plot against Count Dareder is a person in the royal capital called ¡°That One,¡± who apparently made the local influential person, the main suspect in this case, rich. The means of communication was always by magic stone, and the person who carried it was said to have called himself Alexa, but it was probably not his real name. The mystery only deepened, but the most important thing for Tauro and his team was that they were able to complete Riryo¡¯s request. The rest was left to the guards. Exhaling a sigh of exhaustion from the late-night interview, I rested on the bed the guards had prepared for me. CH 215 It is noon, the day after the case was resolved. Tauro and the others were to meet with Count Dareder¡¯s confidant. They wanted to thank him for the case, but he was adamant at first and was about to go home. He was in the middle of a quest, after all. And, more importantly, Count Dareder was a member of the Prime Minister¡¯s faction and had met Tauro before, so there was a possibility that he would remember his face. Therefore, I had refused to meet with him for those reason, but it became difficult to refuse because he hinted that he would guarantee the life of the family of the man who was cursed and killed. Fortunately, Count Dareder was very wary of the assassination attempt on his life, and also avoided meeting with me directly. So, I met with the Count¡¯s confidant. ¡°I would like to thank you on behalf of my master for preventing his assassination¡± The confidant bowed his head deeply. However, the other party was Ankh. If Tauro was the representative, the conversation would be long and troublesome later on, so he was asked to take over. Ankh looked uncomfortable, but he would have to put up with it for now. ¡°This is a coincidence, so it¡¯s a problem if you bow your head like that.¡± Ankh had been told to emphasize the coincidence in his meeting with Tauro, so he passed the word on. ¡°But it is true that you have saved my master¡¯s life.¡± The confidant man emphasized the benefactor. ¡°We would like nothing more than for you to provide for our client¡¯s parents, so I¡¯ll be counting on you to take care of that.¡± Ankh says the barbed dialogue. ¡°My God! You don¡¯t want your own reward?¡± ¡°We receive compensation from out client. Your case, as I have said many times, is a coincidence, so we would appreciate it if you could thank the client again. We¡¯d like to report this and other things to the client and complete our quest, so can we go now?¡± Ankh glanced at Tauro and spoke. ¡°Yes, all right! Then may I ask you all to give this reward to the client? It is to be used as a compensation for the victims and to help them in their future lives. Please tell him that I will send a messenger later and thank him again.¡± The confidant handed Ankh a leather bag containing money that was on the desk behind him. ¡°All right, man. We¡¯ll give this to the client. Then, leader, please take this money and put it in the magic storage.¡± Ankh took the money and called Tauro ¡°leader,¡± relieved that the play was finally over. ¡°Eh?¡± The confidant looked at Tauro and Ankh again and again, wondering if he had misheard that a child had been called leader. ¡± ¡­¡­. Hey, that¡¯s not right, Leader! I always say my name is leader! Ha ha ha!¡± Tauro tells a makeshift lie. At any rate, if only the name Tauro was not mentioned, Count Dareder would not connect it to him just by asking, no, I would like to think not. The confidant did not seem to get it, or did he? He conveniently interpreted this as a ¡°good thing¡± and did not pursue the matter.* Were Tauro and his party safe? They took a rest as they left Count Dareder¡¯s castle. ¡°Ankh, give me a break ¡­¡­! It would have been perfect if it weren¡¯t for that. ¡­¡­¡± ¡° Sorry Leader! I was so relieved, I couldn¡¯t help but get it out of my system. ¡­¡­ But with this we¡¯ve got our client¡¯s living expenses, so all¡¯s well that ends well, right? Ha ha ha! Ankh laughed and faked it. ¡°Anyway, so we can finally go home, right?¡± Aeris finally finished stretching out and stood up. ¡°It¡¯s past noon today, so let¡¯s go home first thing tomorrow morning. If we leave now, it will be midnight before we get there.¡± Tauro had given up on returning home today. ¡°I guess so. Then, shall we stay at the client¡¯s parents¡¯ house today?¡± Ragune suggested. ¡°Yes, that would save us money on lodging, so we can spend it on dinner.¡± ¡°That would be nice. leader has ailment recovery magic, so we can drink a lot today, right? Wahaha!¡± Ankh was in high spirits. ¡°It¡¯s fine to drink, but if you get too drunk, Tauro will use his magic on you,¡± Aeris drilled him. ¡°No way, there¡¯s no point in getting drunk then!¡± Ankh made a disgusted face. ¡°Now, now, it¡¯s okay. Drink in moderation, Ankh, so you don¡¯t end up like that.¡± Tauro rebuked him, and Ragune also joined the conversation. ¡°Then I¡¯ll have a drink today, too. I¡¯ll leave the rest to Tauro¡¯s judgment.¡± Since it was unusual for Ragune to make such a declaration, Tauro decided not to use magic except when they were hungover. CH 216 The morning of the return home to the village of Dansas. For some reason, there was a messenger appointed by count Dareder¡¯s confidant and two people claiming to be escorts, and they decided to accompany them. The Count Dareder¡¯s confidant asked us to escort his men on our way back home, and the Adventurers¡¯ Guild also asked us to be their escort. On the other hand, if I refused, I would be unnecessarily suspected of something. Or perhaps they already did. The fact that Tauro hid the fact that he was the leader in yesterday¡¯s farce may have aroused suspicion, and it is possible that he was suspected of having had something to do with the attempted assassination of Count Dareder under the guise of coincidence. I didn¡¯t go into detail about returning the curse, so that may have aroused even more suspicion. Tauro, for his part, was beginning to regret the fact that his shallow tricks seemed to have aroused suspicion. This is why it was so sudden, and Tauro could not help but feel that the messenger had some other intention. The two men, including the messenger, seemed to be so skilled that they did not need to be escorted all the way to the village of Dansas. On the way back to the village of Dansas, these two men took turns asking Tauro and the others various questions. They went into their personal histories, including not only the current incident but also how long the ¡± Black Golden Wings¡± had been formed and what they had all been doing before that, which made Ankh look overtly uncomfortable. ¡° I took on the escort, but I didn¡¯t sign a contract to answer your questions, did I? I don¡¯t know what you want to know, but it¡¯s a rule among adventurers that we don¡¯t pry too much. I don¡¯t owe you any answers.¡± It was a little funny coming from Ankh, the shortest adventurer in the group, but when he answered so clearly, the two messengers closed their mouths. Aeris is also the daughter of a marquis, so she didn¡¯t want to be disturbed by being pestered unnecessarily. So she nodded to what Ankh had said. When Tauro thought about it, he realized that all of their members have their reasons for being here, so once they are questioned, it may be no wonder that they are considered suspicious. But when it comes to Count Dareder, things are different. It was necessary to clear their suspicions. Arriving at the village of Dansas around dusk, he introduced the ¡°Rest Pavilion¡± to the two messengers, and Tauro and the others headed for the Adventurers¡¯ Guild to make a report. In a corner of the guild¡¯s lobby, the client, Riryo, was waiting patiently. When he noticed Tauro and the others entering the room, he rushed over to them. ¡°Everyone, were you able to solve it!?¡± Riryo looked relieved to see Tauro and the others. Tauro, on behalf of everyone, gave Riryo a full report of the case. The assassination attempt on Count Dareder is top secret, but Riryo has the right to know. ¡°¡­¡­ That¡¯s how it happened! ¡­¡­ My father was involved in it. ¡­¡­ But thank you for avenging him! I¡¯m glad you all accepted my request ¡­¡­.¡± Riryo silently shed tears and thanked Tauro and the others. ¡°Ah, this is a gift from Count Dareder. Also, I think that a messenger from Count Dareder¡¯s will visit Riryo-san¡¯s house tomorrow, so please go home early today and report it to your mother.¡± Tauro called out to the crying Riryo, who nodded, thanked him again, and went home to report the matter to his mother. ¡°I¡¯d like to say this is the end of the matter, but if we don¡¯t get rid of Count Dareder¡¯s suspicions, we may be in for a whole lot of trouble.¡± Aeris hit Tauro where it hurts. ¡°Yes, I know. This is my fault, so I¡¯ll go see the messengers after this and tell them the truth.¡± Tauro gave a wry smile and answered Aeris. When Tauro went to the tavern of the ¡°Resting Pavilion,¡± the Count¡¯s messengers were buying drinks for the local adventurers and gathering information about themselves and their ¡°Black Golden Wings.¡± As expected, they seemed to be under suspicion. When Tauro approached the messengers from behind, they were startled. ¡°Oh, oh, well, this is¡­ ¡­¡­. What can we do for you Mr. Leader? you want to see us?¡± You need something, too, right? That¡¯s what Tauro thought, however, he did not want the Count to think that he was one of the assassins or worse, that he had made a wrong report, so he sat down across from the messengers and began to tell them everything. The messengers thought what Tauro was saying sounded out of the ordinary. ¡°You mean to tell us that you taught our master Reversi as Lord Tauro? Ha ha ha ¡­¡­. That¡¯s another unbelievable story.¡± He responded. It would be hard for anyone else to believe, except perhaps Count Dareder himself, who knows what Tauro looks like. I¡¯m afraid I¡¯m going to get a strange report, but I have nothing more to say since I have already told them the truth. Tauro left the ¡°Resting Pavilion¡± thinking that he would have to leave it to Count Dareder to decide what to do after hearing the report from these two. CH 217 The day after the exchange with the messenger. After meeting with the messenger, Riryo visited Tauro¡¯s house. He came to report that the messenger had promised him condolences and a guarantee for his mother¡¯s life, to express his gratitude once again, and to talk about something that had been bothering him. ¡°Actually, he asked me a lot of questions about Tauro-san and the others. ¡­¡­ It was a little bit like they were looking for a connection to that influential person who plotted the assassination.¡± I knew they weren¡¯t convinced. ¡­¡­ Tauro let out an inward sigh. The other side is probably gathering evidence to convict us once they have suspicions. Those messengers were working with that intention from the beginning. Therefore, Tauro¡¯s explanation at the ¡°Resting Pavilion¡± yesterday sounded like an evasion by the culprits, and it is possible that it may have convinced them to the contrary. ¡°Thank you for taking the trouble.¡± Tauro thanked him and asked him to go home, and then wondered what he should do. Ankh, with whom he shared a room, was listening. ¡°We¡¯ll have to clear their suspicions before the messengers return to the city of Daredar, or things will get complicated. Sorry, It¡¯s based on my careless remarks, isn¡¯t it?¡± He said reflectively. ¡°I¡¯m the one who made you tell the lie. It was my fault for playing tricks on them.¡± Tauro also expressed regret ¡°¡­¡­ I¡¯ll go talk to them. I¡¯ll have to give him my employers¡¯ name, but at least I¡¯ll be able to prove that the leader is who he says he is.¡± After Ankh said this, he headed for the ¡°Rest Pavilion¡± where the messengers were staying. Speaking of which, who is Ankh¡¯s employer? I think it¡¯s the Marquis Van Dyne, but I haven¡¯t actually asked him. Well, at the point of protecting Aeris, I am 90% sure that it is the Marquis Of Van Dyne. After a while, Ankh returned. ¡°We talked about it. They suspected me, too, but I think they finally believed me after I showed them the talisman and ring with the emblems I had been given in advance.¡± The Marquis of Vandyne, after all, would have to be the one with the emblem to convince the messengers. ¡­Hm? A talisman and a ring? Multiple emblems, does that mean there are multiple clients? Tauro was curious about that, but it was good that he was able to convince the messenger. ¡°Thank you, Ankh. I¡¯m sorry I made you go through all that trouble again.¡± ¡°That¡¯s all right. But if Count Daredar knows you¡¯re here, it¡¯s going to be hard for you to stay here, isn¡¯t it? The leader of the group is kind of a celebrity.¡± ¡°¡­ Hmm. I don¡¯t think it can be helped if it¡¯s known to some extent. I¡¯ve been doing a lot of things. Besides, I¡¯ve come to be able to protect myself to some extent, and I have friends and companions, so it¡¯s reassuring. ¡° Tauro continued, determined. ¡°I don¡¯t have a bad impression of Count Daredar, but just in case, let me use that. ¡­¡­¡± ¡°That?¡± Ankh echoed Tauro¡¯s implication. ¡°Yeah. I¡¯m going to go see the two messengers at the ¡°Rest Pavilion¡± again.¡± After saying this, Tauro headed for the ¡°Rest Pavilion¡±. The tavern at the ¡°Resting Pavilion.¡± There, the two messengers were drunk and intoxicated. ¡°What is ¡­¡­ with that kid? Suddenly the daughter of a great noble or a subordinate of a powerful noble is vouching for his identity ¡­¡­!¡± ¡°According to the boss if he met with Count-sama as a hero who prevented his assassination from happening, there was a great possibility that he was going to try to kill the Count at the meeting, right? What kind of person would be defended by a nobleman more than the Count, let alone a suspect? ¡­¡­¡± The two messengers are talking about such things in a corner of the tavern. Hm? The daughter of a great noble ¡­¡­? Did Aeris come here too? While thanking Aeris in his heart, Tauro approached the two messengers. ¡°Have you two cleared up your suspicions?¡± The two messengers were startled and turned to look back at the voice and answered. ¡®No. ¡­¡­. I didn¡¯t mean it from the beginning. ¡­¡­¡± One of them trailed off. ¡°Yes, that¡¯s right. We were just doing our job. Of course, it¡¯s our job to be skeptical because our boss ordered us to do so. ¡­¡­¡± The other one was a little more hesitant to speak up. ¡°If you still have doubts, I will show you the evidence to support my testimony that I spoke the other day.¡± Tauro said, he pulled out the small sword he carried at his waist and began to remove the cloth wrapped around the handle. He then removed the cover from the hilt. The two messengers watched Tauro¡¯s actions, unsure of what he was going to do. ¡°This is the royal crest that the Fifth Prince gave and allowed me to use as an instructor of Reversi and as a friend.¡± Tauro showed them the royal family crest on the hilt of his small sword. At first they looked drunkenly at the royal emblem, but then they rubbed their eyes, stared at it with wide-open eyes, slid off their chairs to the floor, and got down on their knees in the process. We- we-, We¡¯re so sorry ¡­¡­! We only did what we were ordered to do, so please forgive us!¡± The two men realized that they had suspected a very serious person when the royal coat of arms appeared and asked for forgiveness. ¡°Hey, hey, stop it, both of you!¡± Tauro, who was also impatient at the unexpected power of the royal crest, hurriedly tried to get them to stand up. CH 218 With the names of Ankh¡¯s unidentified employers, the testimony of the daughter of the Marquis of Van Dyne, Aeris, and the power of Todome¡¯s royal crest, Tauro was at least able to convince the investigators who were posing as messengers. These investigators visited Tauro¡¯s home the next morning, apologized for their rudeness thus far, and returned to the city of Daredar. Tauro was relieved he could finally take a breather, and told Aeris and the others that they would take the day off. Then Ankh went out for a drink at the ¡°Resting Pavilion¡± in the morning, and Ragune decided to return home by the ¡°dimensional corridor¡± and went to see her village. Aeris said she was interested in Ragune¡¯s village and wanted to follow her, but she replied that the ¡°dimensional corridor¡± was just barely passable for only one person. ¡°The ¡®Dimensional Corridor¡¯ has its limitations?¡± ¡°Mmm¡­ I¡¯m the only one who can get through, but I¡¯m a little worried because I¡¯ve been eating a lot of pork cutlets lately and I feel like I¡¯ve gained weight.¡± Ragune apparently went out of her way to test the ¡°dimensional corridor¡± in her armor, even though it was her day off, in order to check it out. ¡°I¡¯m off then.¡± Ragune opened the ¡°dimensional corridor¡± and jumped in. but stopped as if she¡¯d hit a wall. ¡­¡­I also felt it vaguely, that Ragune was fat after all¡­¡­. Tauro knew in his heart that Ragune had gained weight. The biggest shock was to Ragune herself. ¡°As I thought, I was fat ¡­¡­. I didn¡¯t think I couldn¡¯t pass through in my armor¡­ This was supposed to be my role. ¡­¡­ Damn it, kill ¡­¡­.¡± She literally fell to her knees and hit her hands on the ground. Tauro is not encouraging this one. He knew that Ragune had been eating a lot of pork cutlets recently, and he had warned her. Aeris was the same. ¡°I told you so. I told you, you will get fat if you eat more than two meals of pork cutlets a day.¡± She also pointed out Ragune¡¯s recent unbalanced eating habits. She was eating two meals every day! Just eating it every day would make you fat¡­¡­ In his heart, Tauro was astonished at how addicted Ragune was to pork cutlets. ¡°It¡¯s ¡­¡­ all right, it¡¯s all right ¡­¡­! I can get over there if I take off my armor.¡± Ragune took off her armor and put it in the magic storage, and went over there in the ¡°dimensional corridor. ¡°¡­When you come back, your homemate Aeris will improve your eating habits, okay?¡± ¡°¡­¡­ I¡¯m sorry, I¡¯ll be careful. But I always notice that it after she¡¯s gone to eat at the ¡®Dwarf Inn¡¯ ¡­¡­! ¡°Haha ¡­¡­, I see. Ragune eats so much that even one meal a day could be dangerous.¡± ¡°I agree. I¡¯ll be sure to improve it when she gets back ¡­¡­!¡± Aeris decided to become a demon for the sake of her friend. ¡°I¡¯m going to go for a walk outside the village. Oh, and make sure you lock up your house before you leave.¡± Tauro said and left the house, leaving Aeris behind. ¡°Ah, Wait a minute, I¡¯m leaving too.¡± Aeris said and left the house with Tauro. ¡°So ¡­¡­, what is Tauro doing today?¡± Aeris asked meaningfully. ¡°¡­¡­ Aeris. Can¡¯t you do something about that keen intuition of yours?¡± Tauro answered Aeris with dismay. ¡°Tauro wouldn¡¯t go for a walk for no reason. Have you learned any more abilities?¡± ¡°¡­¡­This time it¡¯s normal, probably. I learned ¡®magic manipulation (extreme)¡¯.¡± Tauro answered without hiding anything. ¡° What? Magic Manipulation (Extreme)? ¡°Magic Manipulation¡± is also rarely learned, even by advanced magic users, right? From what I know, it increases the efficiency of magic consumption when using magic. ¡­¡­ But Tauro¡¯s magic isn¡¯t much use except for dark spirit magic, so I don¡¯t see the point.¡± ¡°Hmmm. I guess that¡¯s true. ¡­¡­ I had a dim feeling that was the case when I used ¡°Purification¡±. I¡¯m just glad to know that I can clearly improve the efficiency of my magic consumption. Now I just need to try a few things out. ¡­¡­¡± Tauro seems to have something in mind and is willing to experiment. ¡° I guess so. Then let¡¯s get to the outskirts of the village ASAP!¡± Aeris, as usual, was in high spirits. ¡° Hah, I knew you¡¯d follow me.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. you almost died before when you used ¡°Creation Magic (Weak)¡± alone, right? If you do something reckless by yourself, you need someone to take care of you.¡± ¡°Yes, I did. ¡­¡­¡± The first time Tauro used creation magic to make the magic sword he gave to Bob, the consumption of magic power was much greater than he had imagined, and he almost died of magic power depletion. He was lucky to survive the incident by drinking a potion that restored his magical powers before he blacked out. At that time, I drank a magic recovery potion before fainting, and I was saved by a fine line. ¡°Well then, thank you very much.¡± Tauro took the protective Aeris with him to the outskirts of the village. CH 219 When Aeris and I arrived at the forest on the outskirts of the village, we immediately decided to experiment with my new ability, ¡°Magic Manipulation (Extreme)¡±. First of all, I tried to create water with water spirit magic, although it could only be used at the level of daily life magic. ¡°As usual, it¡¯s just enough magic that you don¡¯t have trouble with water. The ¡­¡­ magic seems to be decreasing ¡­¡­, even less than before. Maybe, I feel that the minute that had been consumed in vain is gone.¡± ¡° Is that so? That means that the magic I¡¯m casting is also very wasteful. ¡­¡­ ¡®Magic Manipulation¡¯ ¡­¡­, I want to learn it too ¡­¡­¡± ¡°Now that we know that the magic consumption has been optimized, I¡¯m going to try another experiment.¡± Tauro said meaningfully, the original purpose was this one. ¡°What else is there?¡± ¡° Magic manipulation, and also ¡°Magic Manipulation (Extreme)¡±. Don¡¯t you think it¡¯s not only about optimizing the consumption of magic power, but also about other things?¡± ¡°Others?¡± Aeris can¡¯t think of any, so she doesn¡¯t know what Tauro is trying to say. ¡°For example, the water in this life magic¡­¡­.¡± Tauro shows her how to use spirit magic to produce water again. ¡°?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll show it to you with my image and manipulation magic ¡­¡­.¡± The water, which had been trickling out, gradually came out of Tauro¡¯s hand with more and more force and sharpness, as if pressure had been added to it. He directed the water at a tree and scratched it. ¡°eh!¡± Aeris is surprised at the power of the water. ¡°Furthermore, if you add magic power to this, ¡­¡­¡± The water, which had been coming out of Tauro¡¯s hand in a thin stream, became sharper and sharper. The tree was cut as if by a sharp knife, rather than harming it.*instead of damaging it Before all the wood was cut, the tree tilted under its weight and fell over with a thud. ¡°What is this!?¡± Tauro¡¯s beginner-level spirit magic had severed the tree, and she couldn¡¯t keep up with her understanding. ¡°I had created a condition called water cutter amputation by pressurizing the water with magic power. Of course, it is still a beginner level spirit magic, but I modified it by using ¡°Magic Manipulation (Extreme)¡±. With this, even beginner-level magic can be highly powerful with image and manipulation.¡± ¡°¡­¡­?¡± Aeris still looked incredulous at Tauro¡¯s explanation. ¡° other is the fire spirit magic,¡­¡­.¡± When I say that, I put out a flame like the fire of a lighter at my fingertips, the flame changes from red to blueish-purple with a gurgling sound. ¡°With this, it will not only be able to set fire, but it will also have the power to melt iron.¡± ¡°With beginner-level spirit magic, even iron!?¡± ¡°It¡¯s like a gas burner, but with a higher temperature flame.¡± ¡°That¡¯s the same as advanced magic!¡± ¡°But it¡¯s basically beginner magic, so you can use it for welding and cutting.¡± ¡°¡­¡­Is that so, does that mean you can use ¡°stone gravel¡± too?¡± ¡°I think so. If you sharpen the shape of a fist-sized stone and make it into a ¡°stone tip,¡± it will have more killing power.¡± When he says this, he actually transforms the earth spirit magic ¡°stone gravel¡± by magical manipulation and throws it at a tree. The ¡°stone tip¡± flew toward the tree and pierced it deeply. ¡°It¡¯s no different from the ¡°rock spear¡± of earth attack magic, ¡­¡­ This one is smaller, but it¡¯s just as powerful, right?¡± Aeris was stunned. ¡°Oh, I have an idea.¡± Tauro said, then he changed the ¡°stone gravel¡± with magic manipulation and turned it into countless small grains. It¡¯s just like a bullet. He sent them flying like a shotgun, and the bullets pierced the trees. It was less powerful, but it seemed to be able to attack a wide area. ¡°anything is possible now. There¡¯s nothing you can¡¯t do as a wizard.¡± Aeris spooned. Tauro continued his experiments. ¡°If it¡¯s wind, I can manipulate the magic to compress the breeze and turn it into ¡­¡­ a ¡®kamaitachi¡¯.¡± Tauro then held his hand toward the tree, and an invisible blade made a cut on the tree. ¡°This one doesn¡¯t seem to be as powerful as the others, but it¡¯s nice that you can¡¯t see it.¡± After Aeris pointed it out, Tauro felt that it would depend on how he used it. ¡°Shouldn¡¯t we try that one?¡± Aeris suggested, as if remembering. ¡°I was just about to try it.¡± Tauro let out a smile, as if he understood what Aeris meant or had been planning to try it from the beginning. ¡°Spatial transfer!¡± Tauro chanted and he instantly moved one meter away. ¡®¡±¡­¡­ This also seems to be consuming a lot less magic power than before!¡± Tauro was honestly delighted. If it was the same as before, the magic power would decrease too much and there would be no chance to use it. If this is the case, this could be used several times in a row. He realized how much magic power he had been wasting before. I also want to ask Ragune to try to intertwine this ¡°spatial transfer¡± with that one. ¡°Then the last one is creation magic, right?¡± Aeris suggested using the magic that Tauro avoided using the most. TL note: The Kamaitachi¡­*cut caused by whirlwind*, type of Japanese folkloric monster (yokai), thought to be a trio of weasels who appear in a whirlwind to cut their victims CH 220 I had been trying not to use creation magic too much. One of the reasons was partly because I had almost died once, but I also felt that the magic seemed too unreal and my dreams might just be destroyed. For example, I don¡¯t know how much magic power I would use, but it occurred to me once that I could make a pistol. But of course, I rejected this idea, because it is too dreamless a weapon. Besides, I don¡¯t really understand much about its structure, so I¡¯m afraid that even if I make it, it¡¯ll explode. That¡¯s why I tried to use creation magic only as much as necessary. However, it is also true that it is a highly versatile magic, so it would not be wrong to experiment and learn more about it. When I recap, this magic is ¡°Creation magic (weak)¡±. I had a vague idea of the meaning behind the ¡°(weak)¡±, but I thought it might have something to do with the amount of magic power consumed and the fact that it requires materials. After all, the amount of magic power consumed is too great. The more complicated something is, the more useful it is, the more magic power it takes, but even so, the consumption of magic power is too great. As for the magic sword that nearly killed me, I had made it without even recognizing how great it was, but it seemed that It had consumed enough magic power to nearly kill me due to the effects of using multiple techniques, including the creation of the sword there was the use of the labyrinth core, and the magic stone that imparted magic. I was thinking that if I could get this (weak) removed, maybe the magic consumption would calm down a bit, but here I am with ¡°Magic Manipulation (extreme)¡±. If it goes in the right direction, it may be possible to open up a way to make more use of ¡ºCreation Magic¡». ¡­¡­ That didn¡¯t happen! For a start, I tried making a chair without joints using wood, and somehow I felt that the consumption of magic power was lower than before, so I decided to make weapons for Ragune and Ankh, thinking that this might be a good idea. First, he tried to create a special weapon that could only be used by Ragune using the iron ore he had prepared for Ragune¡¯s spear, a piece of labyrinth core, oak wood, and the magic stone from the ogre that Tauro had previously defeated. The result was another near-death experience due to the amount of magic power consumed being too much. He only survived due to the magic recovery potion he drank just before and that Aeris quickly ceded her own magical power to him, a healing magic that saved his life. At this time, I heard the ¡°voice of the world¡± in my distant consciousness, but that is a story for another time. ¡°I thought a spear would be ¡­¡­ good since the only metal part of the weapon was the tip, but nope¡­¡± And when Tauro woke up dizzily, he reflected on how he had miscalculated. ¡°Does this mean that ¡®Magic Manipulation (Extreme)¡¯ cannot affect ¡®Creation Magic¡¯?¡± Aeris pointed out the results of the experiment as he drank the magic recovery potion. ¡°I don¡¯t know ¡­¡­. I¡¯m not sure if ¡°creation magic¡± is special or if the fact that it has (weak) attached to it is the problem. I don¡¯t think ¡°Magic Manipulation (Extreme)¡± has any drawbacks when it has (Extreme) attached¡­¡­¡± Tauro pondered over Aeris¡¯s point. ¡°But in the end, it¡¯s good that we were able to create a spear specifically for Ragune. Great job Tauro!¡± Aeris accepted the positive outcome and praised Tauro. No, because it almost killed me, again! If it weren¡¯t for Aeris this time, there¡¯s a good chance I¡¯d really be on my way to the afterlife! Tauro inwardly retorted. ¡°But it would be unfair if I didn¡¯t make a great sword for Ankh, right?¡± Tauro was convinced that if this was what happened with a spear, considering the size of Ankh¡¯s great sword, it would be an instant death this time. ¡°I though about thist, but ¡­¡­. Isn¡¯t it dangerous to make everything at once?¡± Aeris pointed out sharply. ¡°¡­my goodness, that¡¯s¡­¡­?¡± Tauro asked back, beginning to faintly realize something he had overlooked . ¡°we¡¯ll divide the process. First, make a large sword and then recover magic power. Then, use the labyrinth core then recover magic power. Then also use the magic stone then restore magic power ¡­¡­This would reduce the amount of magic power consumed at one time and lower the risk of losing one¡¯s life, wouldn¡¯t it?¡± darn it Aeris is right! Tauro was shocked at his own stupidity as he fell to his knees in disappointment. He had been so focused on efficiency that he had overlooked something simple. If Aeris is right, it will take more time, effort, and cost more, but the chance of losing my life will be much lower. ¡°¡­¡­ Okay, let¡¯s give it a try. Aeris, stay with me a little longer.¡± Tauro gulped down the magic recovery potion and took out a large amount of iron ore from the magic storage. ¡°Okay, but don¡¯t push yourself too hard, okay?¡± Aeris replied, and just in case, she too drank a magic recovery potion to recover. CH 221 The creation of the great sword for Ankh was watched over by Aeris, the person who proposed it, but although it took time, effort, and cost, it was safely completed to the end, and was completed by midday. ¡° Whew¡­ I still used a lot of magic power, but thanks to Aeris¡¯s advice, I managed to make it without almost dying.¡± Tauro breathed a sigh of relief and drank a magic recovery potion to restore his magic power. He drank several potions before he was finished, so his stomach was growling. ¡°Thank you for your efforts. Isn¡¯t it great that there are more possibilities of what you can make if you break it down into smaller pieces?¡± Aeris followed up with Tauro. ¡°¡­yes, but it¡¯s still a lot of work, so I wouldn¡¯t use this magic too often.¡± Tauro smiles wryly and reveals his true intentions. ¡°Well, It¡¯s already past noon, so why don¡¯t we have lunch at the ¡°Resting Pavilion¡±? It looks like Ankh is drinking too, so if he¡¯s there, it would be just fine if we give him this great sword as well.¡± Gu. ¡°Oh¡­ I¡¯m really hungry. I think I¡¯ll have the ginger-grilled set meal today¡­¡± Tauro replied with a wry smile at the sound of his own stomach, which signaled he was hungry, and put away the great magic sword Imbued with wind magic in the magic storage, then returned to the village. When they both arrived at the ¡°Resting Pavilion,¡± there was no sign of Ankh in the restaurant. ¡°Ankh¡¯s not here. He should have been here¡­¡± ¡°that¡¯s true. I wonder if he got tired of drinking and moved on?¡± The two looked around the restaurant for Ankh, but he still didn¡¯t seem to be there. ¡°Welcome, you two. What would you like today?¡± A female employee of the ¡°resting pavilion¡¯ came to ask what they wanted. ¡°I¡¯ll have the ginger-grilled set meal with a large serving of rice, please. What about you, Aeris?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll have the Miso Vegetable Stir-Fry set meal.¡± Aeris was also hungry and seemed to have already decided what she wanted to eat, so she answered immediately. ¡°Okay. One ginger and one miso vegetable. Oh, Tauro-san, the head chef said he wanted you to see how the miso was prepared.¡± The employee then returned to the kitchen to convey the order. ¡°Oh, come to think of it, they¡¯ve already started using the miso that they made and aged.¡± ¡°Is that why you haven¡¯t been making miso lately?¡± Aeris made a satisfied face. ¡°Finally, this store is independent.¡± Tauro nodded and said he was going to have a look around, and then he went downstairs to the basement to look at the kitchen. ¡°Oh, it¡¯s Aeris. What happened to the leader, are you alone?¡± Ankh entered the restaurant just as Tauro was leaving. ¡°Oh, hey, we were looking for you, Ankh. Tauro¡¯s in the restaurant basement right now. By the way, you said you were going out for a drink in the morning, but you don¡¯t smell like alcohol, do you?¡± Aeris pointed out as she pretended to smell Ankh. ¡°Ah, ah¡­ After that, I had some errands to do, and I was finishing them. I¡¯m finally done, and I thought I¡¯d have a drink.¡± With that excuse, Ankh called out to the employee and ordered miso-pickled vegetables and some sake. ¡°Have you eaten yet? Why don¡¯t you join us since we¡¯re having dinner too?¡± ¡°Come to think of it, it¡¯s already past noon. I¡¯ll have dinner too¡­. I¡¯m sorry, sister there. I¡¯ll have the miso meat set meal, too, please!¡± Ankh stopped the employee and ordered. ¡°Yes, sir! One miso meat!¡± The employee took the order and went to pass it on to the kitchen. ¡°Ankh,¡­ are you hiding something from me?¡± Aeris asked, wondering if it was just hunch or if there was some basis for the question. ¡°¡­Oh, come on. I¡¯m 26. Of course I have a secret or two. There are things I haven¡¯t even told the leader, my roommate. It¡¯s not your place to ask that, Aeris.¡± Ankh took Aeris¡¯s question head-on and simply dodged it. ¡°¡­it¡¯s not like that¡­ well, okay.¡± ¡°A good woman¡¯s secret is to wait for a man to tell her his secrets without trying to uncover them, right? Ha-ha-ha!¡± Ankh laughed and fooled her. ¡°I kind of know, though.¡± Tauro suddenly appeared beside Aeris and Ankh. It seems that Tauro had approached them using his ¡°presence blocker¡± in order to startle him. ¡°Whoa! Don¡¯t show up behind me, leader!¡± Ankh tried to avoid again without touching Tauro¡¯s words. ¡°Thank you for waiting, one ginger-grilled set meal, the miso vegetable set meal, the vegetables pickled in miso and sake. Please wait a little longer for the Miso Meat Set meal!¡± The conversation was then put to rest when the female employee brought the dishes to the table, and Ankh was relieved to hear that the conversation was over. CH 222 Tauro, Aeris, and Ankh ended up having a quiet dinner. Then Ragune happened to visit the restaurant. ¡°I didn¡¯t know you were all here. What a coincidence!¡± Saying this, Ragune sat down beside Ankh. ¡°I¡¯ll have the Miso Vegetable Stir-Fry Set Meal, please!¡± Ragune stopped an employee and ordered. ¡®That¡¯s unusual. You always eat at the ¡°Dwarf Inn¡±. And it¡¯s also stir-fried vegetables with miso. Aeris pointed out, surprised at Ragune¡¯s change. ¡°Well, that¡¯s¡­. When I returned to the village, the chief scolded me for gaining weight¡­. Damn, kill me¡­.¡± Haha¡­ I knew he would be angry with her¡­. Tauro, Aeris, and Ankh laughed inwardly. ¡°Oh yes, I have a little present for you two¡­¡± When Tauro said so, he took out the magic spear and the great magic sword he had just made from his magic storage and handed them over. ¡°Th-This is¡­ It¡¯s not just a spear¡­ Is it a magic spear!?¡± Ragune took it, grasped the hilt, and noticed the power contained within it. ¡°For Ragune¡¯s spear, I used the Ogre¡¯s magic stone, which increases Ragune¡¯s own durability and gives the spear an earth attribute, and I can¡¯t go into detail, but it also has a ¡®recovery and regeneration¡¯ feature, so a few spills will be restored.¡± ¡°I wonder if there are any spears with that kind of performance in the Dragon People¡¯s treasury¡­¡± Ragune¡¯s hands trembled at the sudden light-hearted and super first-class gift. ¡°Next, is Ankh¡¯s great sword¡­¡± ¡°Hey, hey, hey! Wait a minute, leader! This is not the kind of gift you¡¯d expect to be handed lightly at the dinner table!¡± Ankh was unsettled by Tauro¡¯s unexpected present. ¡°Oh, come on, Ankh, calm down. It¡¯s a pretty impressive piece of work, so let me explain. The sword is made from the magic stone of the gryphon, which increased the blade¡¯s sharpness by applying wind magic to the main body, and also increases Ankh¡¯s own agility. This sword also has recovery and regeneration, so you can cut your enemies without worrying about the blade chipping.¡± ¡°When I hear about the performance, I¡¯m even more unsettled¡­.if you give me something like this, I won¡¯t be able to sleep at night ¡­.¡± Ankh mentioned a real problem. ¡°Both of them have appraisal inhibitors on them, so others can¡¯t know their ability. And since they were made to be used exclusively by the two of you, I don¡¯t think they would cut or pierce very well if someone else used them.¡± ¡°What extravagant specifications¡­! Normally, it¡¯s an item that would be passed down from generation to generation as a family heirloom¡­¡± Ragune let out a sigh as she looked at the spear carefully. ¡° I made it with the image of identifying an individual at the genetic level, so perhaps it could be used by descendants as well. I haven¡¯t tried it, so I don¡¯t know.¡± ¡°Genetic??¡± ¡°What?¡± The two were unfamiliar with the words, and there was a question mark above their heads, but anyway, they somehow understood how amazing it was. ¡°¡­But is it really okay for me to receive something like this? I have nothing to give you anything in return¡­¡± Ankh also let out a few words as he looked at the great magic sword he was given from top to bottom. ¡°That¡¯s right. I am in Tauro¡¯s debt. I owe tauro so much that I should be the one to give him something, but I can¡¯t accept something like this¡­¡± ¡°I told you I don¡¯t care about gratitude. We are friends, and if we can help each other, that¡¯s enough.¡± Aeris nodded at Tauro¡¯s words. ¡°¡­I¡¯m overwhelmed. I thought it was my job to protect you, but¡­ Okay, I¡¯ll do my best.¡± ¡°¡­I¡¯m going to say it because it¡¯s the perfect timing. I want you all to make a blood pact with me!¡± Ragune offered, her face reddening, as she had gathered up the courage to say it. ¡°Ah, the one you used to talk about?¡± It¡¯s something that seems to be a sign of true companionship for Ragune, which Tauro and Aeris have always been interested in. ¡°The one?¡± Ankh did not know, so he asked back. ¡°I¡¯ve only ever made blood pacts with my own kind, to be honest. That¡¯s why you all are so special. Kill me¡­!¡± She was embarrassed, and her usual habit came out. ¡°I¡¯m glad to hear that, because it means you¡¯ve recognized us as true friends. Then let¡¯s make a blood pact. How do we do that?¡± ¡°It¡¯s easy. All we have to do is cut each other on the palm of our hands, let the blood drip into the other¡¯s mouth, and then shake hands with each other. We Dragon People are accustomed to come to the aid of those with whom we have exchanged hands when in danger.¡± ¡°¡­heavy. But I get it! Then let¡¯s make a blood pact with Ragune.¡± Tauro and the others cut their palms with knives and made a blood pact with Ragune one by one. Then came the Miso Vegetable Stir-Fry Set meal that Ragune had ordered. ¡°Here you go, the Miso Vegetable Set meal. Hurry up and eat everyone, or it¡¯ll get cold!¡± The employee¡¯s words brought laughter from Tauro and the others. ¡°Then, let¡¯s eat. Oh, before that, everyone needs to be treated with a potion.¡± Tauro said, and everyone healed the wounds on their palms with the potion and began to eat. CH 223 The four of them had finished their meal at ¡°the Resting pavilion,¡± an inn, bar, and diner run by the Adventurers¡¯ Guild and known for its miso cuisine, but while they were returning home, Tauro asked Ragune about something he remembered. ¡°I just remembered that Ragune seemed to know something about my spatial transfer. How?¡± As Ragune was about to answer Tauro¡¯s question, Ankh, who was startled by Tauro¡¯s words, spoke up first. ¡°What!? leader, you have the legendary ability of spatial transfer?! If that¡¯s true, you can go anywhere you want!¡± ¡°¡­Hahaha. Unfortunately, mine has a defect and uses a lot of magic power and can only move about 1 meter. Ah, but thanks to the abilities I¡¯ve recently learned, I think the amount of magic used has reduced considerably.¡± Tauro explained with a wry smile. Tauro was in search of some good uses for ¡®spatial transfer¡¯ and had some ideas, but he thought that if he knows what Ragune knew about it, he could broaden the scope depending on what it was. ¡°If it¡¯s as it is among us Dragon People, I think that you can exert maximum power if you use it in the dungeon.¡± ¡°Inside a dungeon?¡± Tauro tilted his head. Come to think of it, it was in the dungeon that I learned spatial transfer. But what does that mean? ¡°According to the Dragon People¡¯s legend, spatial transfer is an ability used to move within a dungeon, an existence born from a dimensional distortion. Thanks to the magical power emanating from the dungeon, the user can move through the dungeon in an instant with very little magic power consumed, but there are conditions for this as well, and the user must only move between the ¡°transfer rooms¡± that are created at each level of the dungeon. However, there is more to this, and it is a top-secret information that has been passed down through the Dragon tribe, that it is possible to move between dungeons in an instant.¡± ¡°Is it limited to dungeons only¡­?¡± Tauro was not pleased to hear Ragune¡¯s rare information, but was rather disappointed. ¡°Wh-What¡¯s wrong!? This is a great thing, isn¡¯t it?! If you can go back and forth between dungeons you¡¯ve been to before, and even dive into the deepest levels, all of the Dragon People would be glad to have this ability, and the feast will begin!¡± Ragune appealed to Tauro that ¡°spatial transfer¡± was a wonderful ability. ¡°¡­Dungeons are basically managed by each country, so I can¡¯t just enter them, and I have no interest in diving into dungeons¡­ right?¡± Yes, dungeons in various places are basically managed and operated by each country, and ordinary adventurers can¡¯t even get close to them, let alone enter them. Only a handful of top-notch, legendary adventurers who have received permission from the government are allowed to enter. After that, the rest are government officials, and it was truly a special case that Tauro was able to enter ¡°Babylon¡±, which was managed by the kingdom. ¡°I see¡­I see what you mean. It is true that many of the dungeons are managed by the state, but there are also some dungeons managed by my people.¡± Ragune casually revealed the best-kept secret of the Dragon People. ¡°¡­Oh, of course it¡¯s a secret, okay? If the chief finds out that I leaked it¡­. Kill me¡­!¡± The chief was a really scary person, and her usual habit was very true. ¡°We¡¯ll pretend we didn¡¯t hear about it either. I¡¯m not going to dive even if I knew¡­. After hearing Ragune¡¯s story, I have my own ideas about ¡®spatial transfer,¡¯ and I¡¯d like to give it a try.¡± Tauro wanted to try out what he had been thinking about the possibility of ¡°spatial transfer. ¡°What are you going to do? I¡¯ll help you as much as I can, but I don¡¯t think there¡¯s much I can help you with since I only have knowledge about ¡®spatial transfer¡¯¡­?¡± Ragune tilted her head and waited to see what Tauro would say. ¡°let me confirm one thing in case we are successful¡­ is it okay for outsiders to suddenly barge into the Dragon people¡¯s village?¡± Not only Ragune, who was asked this question, but also Aeris and Ankh, who were silently listening to the conversation between the two, went ¡°?¡±. It was as if they could go to the village of the dragon people, which is more than a month away from here. ¡°It is possible for outsiders to visit the village, but it is almost impossible to get close to the village because of the many layers of warding and inhibiting magic. Of course, Tauro, who saved our lives, would be more than welcome.¡± ¡°Well then let¡¯s go to the outskirts of the village now and do some experiments!¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t it unusual of you to bring everyone along for an experiment?¡± Aeris was surprised at Tauro, who always tried to sneak around by himself. ¡°This is because it is useless without a Ragune. If it looks like it¡¯s going to be successful, I¡¯d like everyone to visit, including Ankh.¡± Tauro took the lead as he said this and turned from the direction to the house to the road leading to the village entrance and exit. CH 224 In a clearing in the forest on the outskirts of the village of Dansas. ¡°Leader, what are you going to experiment here, spatial transfer?¡± Ankh asks Tauro, while making sure there are no other signs of life. ¡°First, let¡¯s see if we can move one person at a time by ¡®spatial transfer¡¯.¡± Saying so, Tauro grabbed Aeris¡¯s hand and used ¡®Spatial Transfer¡¯ to demonstrate it. Tauro and Aeris instantly disappeared and moved to the side of a tree one meter away. ¡°Oh, I was able to do it. I guess I used two people¡¯s worth of magic power¡­. Even though the amount of magic power has been reduced by the ¡°Magic Manipulation¡± (Extreme), it still took up a lot of it¡­¡­¡± Tauro drinks a magic recovery potion to recover his magic power. ¡°Then, now I¡¯ll try it with Ankh together, so hold my hand.¡± Tauro said, and holding Aeris in his right hand and Ankh in his left, he moved again in an instant, about a meter away, using ¡°spatial transfer¡±. ¡°¡­Whew! Consuming the magic power of three people is hard¡­! But it looks like I can do it¡­!¡± Satisfied with the result, Tauro drank two magic recovery potions in quick succession to recover. ¡°Am I next?¡± Ragune excitedly checked with Tauro. ¡°Ragune, I have another favor to ask you.¡± ¡°Oh, really? ¡­Too bad.¡± Ragune was a little depressed because she was the only one who could not participate. ¡°Well then, what I want to do now, Ragune, is to ask you to go to your ¡®dimensional corridor¡¯. Your ¡®dimensional corridor¡¯ destination is the village of the Dragon People, right? ¡°oh? I have the entrance and exit set up in a room at my house in the Dragon People¡¯s village.¡± ¡°Is there anyone else in the house?¡± ¡°I have a brother, but I don¡¯t think he would come into my room. Is there a problem?¡± ¡°No. If we suddenly appeared out of the blue, he¡¯d be surprised. Can I ask Ragune to go and check first?¡± ¡°? I don¡¯t mind, but my ¡®dimensional corridor¡¯ is just barely wide enough for me to pass through, so you can¡¯t all fit through it, you know?¡± After Ragune said that, she opened the ¡°dimensional corridor¡± and disappeared in an instant. After about five minutes, Ragune returned. ¡°Sorry, I explained to my brother that my friends might be coming over now, and he asked me a lot of questions about what I was talking about that didn¡¯t get the point across, and it took me a while to explain, but I didn¡¯t understand it either, so I just broke off the conversation and came back.¡± ¡°Oh, I-I¡¯m sorry. Then, this time, can I ask you to open the ¡®Dimensional Corridor¡¯ instead of moving right away?¡± ¡°Oh, I understand¡­!¡± While Ragune¡¯s mind was filled with question marks, she opened the ¡®Dimensional Corridor¡¯. ¡°¡­then everyone hold hands¡­.let¡¯s go!¡± Holding Aeris and Ankh¡¯s hands, Tauro used ¡°spatial transfer¡± to jump into the different space of the ¡°dimensional corridor.¡± The next moment, Tauro and the others were in a room somewhere. And then, in front of us, frozen in surprise was a man who could be identified as a dragon person. ¡°¡­Oh, hello.¡± Tauro immediately understood that the Dragon tribe man in front of him was Ragune¡¯s brother and greeted him. Aeris and Ankh, who were holding hands, were also frozen in surprise, so Tauro calmly introduced himself. ¡°My name is Tauro. I am a friend of Ragune¡¯s. These two are Aeris and Ankh. I think Ragune will be here soon, so I¡¯ll leave some space.¡± Tauro then pulls them away from the doorway of the ¡°dimensional corridor. ¡°Thank you very much for your kindness. I¡¯m Ragune¡¯s older brother, Drago Dragoon¡­how in the world are you guys here!?¡± The handsome young dragon man with black hair and gold eyes, similar to Ragune¡¯s, who introduced himself as Drago, had just come to his senses from the shock of being startled by the three humans who suddenly appeared in front of him. Then Ragune appeared using the ¡°dimensional corridor.¡± ¡°I wondered if it was possible for you three to come this way, but you really did! Great, I¡¯ve never heard of such a use, not even in lore!¡± Ragune took Tauro¡¯s hand and admired him, but when Drago looked at Ragune, he understood that his sister¡¯s nonsensical explanation earlier was referring to this. ¡°Ragune, what is this all about? When you said you were bringing your friends, I thought they were coming directly to us on foot, but to bring them here through the ¡®dimensional corridor¡¯¡­. With your strength, you could only carry yourself¡­. Don¡¯t tell me you can now carry more than one person!¡± Drago had many questions he wanted to ask, but if his sister¡¯s abilities had been newly awakened, that would be great, so he prioritized asking her about that. ¡°My abilities haven¡¯t changed, brother. More importantly, it¡¯s Tauro, the man who saved our lives from the epidemic ¡° Ragune introduced him to Tauro, her companion and benefactor. ¡°Huh? The genius pharmacist, Tauro-dono, who understood the disease for which no definitive cure had been found just by listening to its symptoms, and taught us how to prepare the herbs and many other medicinal herbs, is this boy!?¡± Drago was surprised to learn for the first time that the savior of the village was, in fact, a child. CH 225 A room in the house where Ragune and her older brother Drago reside in the village of the Dragon people. Drago, the owner of the house, was astonished by the events and information that came one after another. Suddenly, a group of people claiming to be his sister¡¯s friends literally appeared out of nowhere, and It was the savior of the village, and yet he was still a boy. Furthermore, it seems that it was not as I thought, that it was my sister¡¯s ability that brought them here. If this is the case, it means they must have slipped through the many layers of wards in this village. Isn¡¯t this a big deal? Drago¡¯s head was spinning with confusion in the short time he had been here. No, but first, tea for the saviors? No, no, no, call the chief and explain the current situation¡­. No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no! First of all, I have to find out if they¡¯re a safe opponent¡­! Drago¡¯s head was in turmoil as he tried to think, but he was so confused that he couldn¡¯t think straight, and then the savior boy spoke up. ¡°I think we should all sit down and calm down first. Drago-san, please sit down first.¡± Drago nodded, as the boy told him what he, as the owner of the house, had to say. The sister and the girl used the bed as a chair, the grown man and the boy sat on the chairs next to the table, and I sat on the chair next to the door. ¡°As I introduced earlier, my name is Tauro. We are a team of adventurers including Ragune. Today, as a result of an experiment combining Ragune¡¯s ¡®dimensional corridor¡¯ and my ¡®spatial transfer,¡¯ I was allowed to visit here. Sorry for the suddenness.¡± A boy named Tauro explained the situation. ¡°Eh!? ¡®Spatial Transfer¡¯!?¡± Drago was surprised to hear the name of this legendary ability coming out of the boy¡¯s mouth. If what this boy says is true, then, is this child an owner of the hero skill? Nowadays, there is no one who has the ability of ¡°spatial transfer¡± even among the dragon people. There are those who were born with the hero skill even in the current generation. However, it is not always the case that they learn ¡°spatial transfer.¡± Even the same heroes have their own personalities, and are competent or incompetent. No, but it is a rare unique skill that is said to be possessed by only one brave in several generations¡­ Does this boy have it too? My head is spinning! ¡°Kill¡­! Oh, I¡¯m sorry.¡± Drago was so confused by the surprising information coming from this boy that he involuntarily blurted out something strange. ¡°¡±¡±eh?¡±¡±¡± Tauro and his friends heard the same disturbing words they were accustomed to hearing from their friend, and now they were hearing them from her brother as well. Your brother has the same habit! Everyone was inwardly chastising him. ¡°Um, that habit of yours? I¡¯m also curious about that too, but since your brother seems to still be confused, can you explain it to him Ragune?¡± ¡°Brother. Tauro is not a hero, but he is someone who can use ¡®spatial transfer¡¯. Just as Tauro explained, they came here as a result of the combination of my ¡°dimensional corridor¡± and his ¡°spatial transfer¡±. Brother, do you understand?¡± Ragune understood from the fact that her brother was confused, and a habit he rarely said anymore came out, so she explained in a way that calmed him down. ¡°¡­I¡¯m sorry. I was too upset. Whenever I get confused, I have flashbacks to my training days in this village, so I say things like that. I say this especially to Ragune because she was in that training until recently, but I hope you all understand that. ¡­By the way, does that mean that you came here as a result of an experiment and not for any other reason?¡± Drago summed up the conversation. ¡° Yes, sir. So, if you could also lift this siege or let down your guard, it would save us from getting nervous too.¡± From a moment ago, Tauro¡¯s ¡°presence detection¡± had shown that the house was surrounded by people who seemed to be ridiculously strong, dragon race warriors. Some of them are hard to detect because of their inhibitory skills. Although they were not trying to kill us, they were exerting pressure on us from the outside, as if they were going to crush us. Ankh also sensed this and was breaking into a cold sweat. ¡°¡­ Ah, I¡¯m sorry. It¡¯s a system that senses when an outsider enters and the garrison rushes in. I can¡¯t talk about it any more. I will explain the situation to the garrison, but after that, I think you will all have to meet with the chief.¡± Drago then left the room and went to explain the situation to the garrison outside the house. ¡°I¡¯m going to go, too. You guys stay here.¡± Ragune also said this and left the room. Outside, I heard a voice saying, ¡°Ragune again? and ¡°What? Spatial transfer?!¡± and ¡°the savior is here?!¡± And then, after a series of murmurs were transmitted from outside to inside the room, Ragune came back into the room. ¡°When I explained it to the captain, he said that he¡¯d take everyone to the chief and he wants us to come, but what do you guys want to do?¡± At Ragune¡¯s words, Tauro and the others looked at each other. ¡±Well¡­we don¡¯t have a choice, do we?¡± Tauro let it slip, and both Aeris and Ankh nodded. CH 226 When I stepped out of Ragune¡¯s house, I found that it was not the dragon people¡¯s village I had imagined, but rather a small town. The houses were lined up from the slope of the mountain to the foot of the mountain, creating a three-dimensional townscape with a great difference in elevation. There were many ropes running from the slope to the foot of the mountain, and occasionally people would use pulleys to pass through the ropes at high speed and descend to the foot of the mountain. Tauro and his group were overwhelmed by the sight. Ragune¡¯s house was located a short distance away, overlooking all of this, on a hillside where you could look up at the houses on the slope and down at the houses at the foot of the mountain. If you look closely, you can see that the city is surrounded by walls. As Tauro and the others were overwhelmed by the scenery of the Dragon People¡¯s village, what appeared to be the captain of the Dragon People¡¯s garrison approached Tauro and the others. Then he turned his gaze toward Ankh. ¡°Are you Tauro-dono?¡± he asked. ¡°Huh? It¡¯s not me! Tauro, our leader, is over here.¡± Ankh pointed at Tauro. Everyone, including the captain of the garrison, looked at the boy beside Ankh, in amazement. ¡°I¡¯m Tauro. Nice to meet you.¡± Tauro politely greeted all the guards who had gathered there. ¡°Ah, I¡¯m sorry for mistaking my benefactor! Come on, I¡¯ll guide you to the chief, so please follow me.¡± The dragon tribe man who seemed to be the captain of the garrison led tauro¡¯s party. Tauro and the others followed him obediently. ¡°¡­These garrison guys are pretty tough, huh?¡± Ankh whispered into Tauro¡¯s ear while breaking into a cold sweat. ¡°You¡¯re right, they¡¯re all pretty amazing guys.¡± Tauro nodded at Ankh¡¯s words. Even in ¡°presence detection,¡± I can feel the pressure I feel from first-class adventurers from the dragon people in the garrison. The captain¡¯s presence is even greater than that. I honestly don¡¯t want to make an enemy of him. ¡° Speaking of which, Ragune. What was that training your brother was talking about earlier?¡± I asked Ragune to change the mood. The guards who were walking around with her reacted with a jerk. What is it? Did they hear something bad? Tauro tensed for a moment. ¡° Ah, it is the tradition of our people to have a period of training from the age of 12 to about 18 years old. The training is very severe, especially the training to develop resistance to various abnormalities, which is like torture¡­. It lasts as long as six years, so everyone has wanted to die at least once¡­¡± Ah¡­! So kill me! That¡¯s what you¡¯ve been saying¡­ ¡°Oh, but it also sounded paranoid to me¡­¡± Tauro recalled that when they first met, she said something like, ¡°You want my body!¡± ¡°That was no delusion! Before I came to the village of Dansas, someone who approached me under the guise of kindness actually said that under the terms of a business deal. That¡¯s why I was a little distrustful of people back then!¡± Ragune blushed, embarrassed by the memory. That¡¯s right¡­. Tauro smiled wryly and tried to change the subject. ¡°Then, Ragune¡¯s resistance to various types of abnormalities¡­¡± ¡°That¡¯s right, it¡¯s something I acquired through this training. We, the dragon people, sometimes gain abilities other than our inherent skills by slipping through the lines of death. So even those who do not have combat skills can gain them through training¡­ Ah, but I¡¯m sure there¡¯s no precedent for this in humans, so I think it¡¯s probably something unique to the dragon people. So you¡¯d better not imitate them.¡± Ha-ha-ha¡­, Kill me! I don¡¯t want to go through training under the line of death to the point where they are always saying, ¡°Kill me!¡± Tauro thought that the training of the dragon tribe was only possible because of their unique physical abilities, especially their endurance. First of all, wouldn¡¯t they have a mental breakdown after being forced to do it for six years? That¡¯s probably why the dragon people¡¯s toughness is different from that of humans. ¡°I won¡¯t imitate you¡­. I don¡¯t want to be invited.¡± Tauro answered with a smile, and Aeris, perhaps imagining this, nodded broadly beside him. The garrison captain led the way up the hill, and when they reached the top, they came upon a large mansion. Behind us was a slope, so the mansion was halfway down the slope. In front of the mansion, a particularly large dragon tribe man with a powerful presence was waiting for Tauro and his group with several other dragon tribe members lined up behind him. ¡°¡­ Tauro-dono, isn¡¯t it? It is my first time meeting you. My name is Ryuga, and I am the chief of the Dragon People. This is my wife, Oryo. The rest are my men. You have saved the lives of many of my people, thank you.¡± I don¡¯t know if he learned of this from the garrison earlier, but the chief, Ryuga, looked at me without hesitation and said hello, expressing his gratitude. ¡°No, Ragune has already helped me as a companion, as a friend. So, you don¡¯t have to thank me. I am sorry for disturbing you with my sudden visit.¡± Tauro bowed his head and apologized. ¡°No, no, no, I was hoping to meet you at least once, and you are more than welcome! Now, please come into my home.¡± Chief Ryuga then invited Tauro and the others into the chief¡¯s home. CH 227 Tauro and the others were invited to the chief¡¯s mansion and were amazed by the items on display inside the house. Ankh was amazed at the rare magical tools, armor, magic swords, and holy swords, all of which were on display. Aeris was used to seeing the magic tools that Tauro makes, so she was not surprised, but Tauro was quite surprised because he could see the value of the items with his ¡°true eye¡±. I think that the magic sword, magic spear, and great magic sword that I made with creation magic are not inferior in terms of performance, but the items here are all very valuable¡­. Perhaps the ones I make are also of high value¡­. Tauro pondered a bit and decided to revise his evaluation of the appraisal-inhibited weapons he made. When Tauro and the others were invited to take a seat by Chief Ryuga, Chief Ryuga once again thanked Tauro. ¡°We owe our lives to you, Tauro-dono. You saved us, my wife included. At the time, she was wandering between life and death, and was about to give up. So many lives were literally saved by the medicinal herbs Tauro-dono provided and the potions made by the recipes you taught us. Thank you so much¡­!¡± He bowed his head deeply, probably in gratitude as a husband, not as a chief. Oryo, his wife, also bowed her head. ¡°Please raise your head. I didn¡¯t do anything serious. If Ragune here had not come all the way to the distant village of Dansas to look for a cure, nothing would have happened. I think Ragune is the biggest contributor.¡± Tauro praised Ragune¡¯s achievements. ¡°I was only one of the companions who set out to help the Dragon People. If not me, I think others would have come. It was by chance that I met Tauro, and it was you who reached out to me. It saved the lives of many people of the Dragon People, so it is only right that we thank you.¡± Ragune bowed her head with everyone else as she said this. ¡°That¡¯s why I asked you to raise your head! I¡¯m grateful that Ragune has become our companion, so I can¡¯t have you keep bowing to us anymore.¡± Tauro gave a wry smile and said so, making everyone raise their heads. ¡°I¡¯m sorry about that¡­.Let¡¯s change the subject. I heard that today¡¯s visit was an experiment with ¡®spatial transfer¡¯? Chief Ryuga asked about Tauro¡¯s visit. ¡°Yes, actually¡ª¡± Tauro explained why he came. ¡°¡­I¡¯m surprised. I didn¡¯t know it could be used in that way. To begin with, Ragune¡¯s ¡®dimensional corridor¡¯ is also a very rare and useful ability, so I sent her on a journey to search for a cure, even though she is still in her infancy. It was a miracle in the first place that Ragune, with her special ability, met Tauro-dono, who possesses the ¡°spatial transfer¡± that we all crave. In such a situation, the idea of crossing the two special abilities would have never occurred to even us, the Dragon People.¡± Ah, Ragune was proud of being chosen as a representative, but¡­she was called immature¡­. Oh, she¡¯s depressed¡­! When Tauro looked at Ragune, she was drooping. ¡°Is ¡®spatial transfer¡¯ that rare?¡± Tauro was still in the process of learning how to utilize ¡°spatial transfer,¡± so he asked Chief Ryuga, who seemed to know a lot about it. ¡°Yes. Even among the heroes of the past, those who have learned it are rare. And for those of us who have been aiming to conquer dungeons for many years, ¡°spatial transfer¡± is something we want to have at our fingertips. After obtaining the ¡°Dimensional Corridor¡±, I was able to see the path, so I was about to organize a large-scale dungeon capture team, but just as I was about to do so, the current epidemic made me think twice about it. It seemed to prove that even the dragon tribe, who had sent out many heroes, could not win against disease. Thanks to Tauro-dono, we were saved, though. Ha-ha-ha. ¡°I heard that ¡®spatial transfer¡¯ is most effective in dungeons, but what does that mean?¡± ¡°In dungeons, after you go down a certain number of levels, a ¡°transition room,¡± which is also a safe haven, is created next to the descending stairs. The ¡°spatial transfer¡± allows you to freely go back and forth from the room to the room below, so you can get to the level where the ¡°transfer room¡± is located in a matter of seconds. In other words, it is easier to conquer. However, ¡°spatial transfer¡± is a rare ability. Until now, one had no choice but to continue to dive and return, dive and return, all on your own. However, a few months ago, we decided to organize a large-scale expedition that would dive for up to a year, since Ragune learned the ¡°dimensional corridor¡±, the problems of food shortages and armor repairs were solved. The ¡°spatial transfer¡± solves not only those problems, but also that of people coming and going. Furthermore, it is possible to move between distant dungeons. If that¡¯s the case, there is no dragon tribe that doesn¡¯t want ¡®spatial transfer¡¯!¡± Chief Ryuga¡¯s explanation was filled with enthusiasm., However, something else caught Tauro¡¯s attention. Isn¡¯t it too dark to keep diving for up to a year!? Tauro was taken aback by the stoicism of the dragon people, as well as the torturous six-year training period. CH 228 The setting sun casts a shadow on the village of the Dragon People. ¡°Oh? Is it this late already? How about staying with us today?¡± Chief Ryuga asked if they would like to stay with him. ¡°No, I can¡¯t take you up on your offer. Besides, I can go home right away with spatial transfer¡­ Is it okay if I visit here again?¡± Tauro confirmed with Chief Ryuga if he had permission to visit again. ¡°Of course! Tauro-dono and his friends are always welcome. And I, too, have a favor to ask of you, so I look forward to seeing you again at your earliest convenience.¡± When Chief Ryuga said that, he stood up from his seat and bowed. Tauro and the others stood up from their seats at that and bowed deeply, then left the chief¡¯s mansion. Accompanied by the captain of the garrison, they made their way back to Ragune¡¯s house. ¡°¡­Tauro. By putting Ragune in the ¡®Black Golden Wings¡¯, does this mean that we¡¯ve interfered with the Dragon People¡¯s long-held dream of conquering the dungeon?¡± Aeris was concerned about the fact that Chief Ryuga had leaked the fact that Ragune¡¯s ¡°dimensional corridor¡± was necessary for the dungeon capture. ¡°Yes, that¡¯s right. Ragune is now in a position where she doesn¡¯t have to follow the customs of the dragon people, so that might be the case¡­Maybe that¡¯s what the chief was asking me to do.¡± ¡°Ah, you mean carrying the dungeon conquering group down with your ¡®Spatial Transfer¡¯.¡± Aeris pointed it out as if it made sense. ¡°If that¡¯s what the chief is asking for, I¡¯d appreciate it if you¡¯d listen to him. If the ¡°spatial transfer¡± is as the legend says, it would mean that it would take only a short time to reach the lowest level, which in the past took several months to reach. If this is realized, the burden on the conquering team will be greatly reduced. If it weren¡¯t for the epidemic, I would have been diving into the dungeons as a member of the conquering group to support them right now.¡± Ragune talked about her planned life as she entered their conversation. ¡®If Ragune asked me to do this, I wouldn¡¯t say no. Well then, when the dungeon capture team is ready, I¡¯ll help you then.¡± Tauro replied and drank a magic recovery potion he took out from his magic storage. He used a lot of magic coming to the dragon people¡¯s village, so it¡¯s for recovery. ¡°It¡¯s outrageous that there are so many strong monsters in the dungeon that even the dragon people haven¡¯t been able to conquer it yet.¡± Ankh looked at the garrison members who were accompanying him, and was dumbfounded. ¡°The dungeon conquer team is an elite group with even better power than our garrison, but the dungeon has demons, traps, tricks, and depths that make it difficult for them. I myself once dived into a dungeon in the past, but I couldn¡¯t reach the bottom level, where the past conquerors had dived, and I had to turn back.¡± The captain of the garrison responded to Ankh¡¯s words. ¡°You look pretty strong too, but is it that much!?¡± Ankh was surprised because he had guessed that the garrison leader was quite strong. ¡°At that time, I was in the support group, and there was a huge gap in ability between us and the conquer group. Hahaha!¡± The captain of the garrison answered with a smile and continued. ¡°There is an adventurers¡¯ guild in this village as well, so if I were to rank them, I would say that the strength of the conquer group would be in the S-rank range.¡± Tauro and Aeris were taken aback by the garrison captain¡¯s casual comparison. The S rank band means the legendary level. It is a band where one must have the highest level of skills, the highest limit of ability, and must be able to sublimate them through blood-soaked efforts, and is said to be impossible unless you are blessed with further luck. To be frank, the adventurer¡¯s guild¡¯s past top-ranked skill holders are treated as the best even in the A rank range. It may be a kindred favoritism toward hometown adventurers, but that¡¯s how great the dragon tribe¡¯s conquering group is. ¡°What kind of skills do they have, if you don¡¯t mind my asking?¡± Tauro asked, intrigued. ¡°Skills? Ah, the skills of the conquering group include the great hero, the great sage, the true saint, the extreme warrior, divine mage, and the heavenly flying dragon knight.¡± ¡­¡­A rare skill I¡¯ve heard has something like ¡°great¡±, ¡°true¡±, ¡°extreme¡±, or ¡°heaven¡± at the beginning¡­? I¡¯ve heard of all of them, but I¡¯ve never actually seen them..! Tauro was beginning to feel that it would be better not to ask about the incomparable level of the dragon people. ¡°¡­¡­ haha. I thought I had pretty good skills, but the Dragon People are far above that ¡­¡­.¡± Aeris couldn¡¯t help but laugh in dismay at the difference in level. ¡°Even in the village of the dragon tribe, the skills of the elite group are a valuable part of the village. I hope I too can surpass the limits of a dragon knight and become a ¡®Flying Dragon Knight,¡¯ but that¡¯s still a long way off.¡± ¡°Huh? Fixed skills grow!?¡± Aeris asked Ragune in surprise. ¡°Huh? Not by normal means, but they say if you can push past your limits, you can grow, right? The conquer group is those who have crossed that limit. Well, the dragon race is a long-lived race, so it might be difficult for humans. ¡± Ragune answered casually, something that would cause a big fuss as a major discovery if it were announced to a national research institute. CH 229 Tauro and his party were amazed at everything they saw and heard in the village of the Dragon People and made a new discovery. When we arrived at Ragune¡¯s house in the midst of such a harvest, the sky was about to turn from orange hues with the setting sun to darkness with the coming of night! ¡°Well then, everyone, we look forward to seeing you again.¡± The captain of the garrison greeted Tauro on behalf of the garrison and went back to his rounds for work. At home, Ragune¡¯s brother Drago was waiting for them. It was at this point that Tauro realized upon his return that Ragune¡¯s house was too big for her and her brother to live in together. Perhaps they live with their parents. He wondered if there was some reason why they were not here at the moment. ¡°Welcome back, everyone. Would you like to stay with us today? Or are you going home now?¡± In order to welcome this important guest, Drago had been making preparations while they went to the chief¡¯s house, so that Tauro and his party could stay overnight. ¡°No, it was sudden today, so I think we¡¯ll go home quietly. I apologize for the disturbance.¡± Tauro thanked them on behalf of the team and bowed. ¡°Then everyone, the entrance to the ¡®dimensional corridor¡¯ is in my room, so let¡¯s go in.¡± Ragune opens the door to the house and invites everyone in. Her brother Drago also took the lead and led the way to Ragune¡¯s room. In this way, the experiment combining ¡°spatial transfer¡± and ¡°dimensional corridor¡± was a success, and they succeeded in visiting the village of the Dragon People, were welcomed, and returned to the village of Dansas that same day. After confirming that Tauro and the others had moved, Ragune was about to return to the village of Dansas as well, when her older brother Drago called out to her. ¡°Ragune, please bring Tauro-dono and the others back again. I would like to welcome them here in the village, not on a day trip like this.¡± ¡°Okay, brother. We have plans, so I don¡¯t know if it will be soon, but I will talk to Tauro about it.¡± The sister replied and returned to the village of Dansas via the ¡°dimensional corridor.¡± ¡°¡­ Are there people like that in the outside world? Makes me want to go there, too.¡± Drago had never envied his Little sister Ragune, but this was the first time he did. It was the morning of the second day after the emergency visit to the village of the Dragon People. Tauro and Ankh, as well as Aeris and Ragune, who had come to have breakfast, were responding to a messenger from the city of Daredar.. ¡°My master, Count Daredar, wishes to receive you as a guest in his household. Of course, this is not mandatory. Count Daleder simply wishes to see again the man who saved his life, the master of reversi¡­Tauro-dono.¡± ¡°I appreciate your kind words, but¡­, of course, I, as well as the team ¡°Black Golden Wings,¡± only fulfilled the client¡¯s request as adventurers, and it was only a coincidence that we ended up helping the Count. So we did not do anything to be welcomed as guests. Besides, I have already been thanked for it. Please return because it will be excessive.¡± ¡°Please wait! I have been directly asked by my master, so I cannot simply turn back. May I ask you to meet my Lord at least for a glance?¡± ¡°¡­Hmmm. We are adventurers. If it¡¯s a job request, we¡¯ll accept it, but in that case, can we get it through the Adventurers¡¯ Guild?¡± Tauro stubbornly refused to give in to the messenger who invited his sympathy. ¡°¡­I understand. Then I will tell my master so.¡± Disappointed, the messenger nodded and left Tauro¡¯s house to return to the city of Daredar. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you at least meet him?¡± Aeris wondered. ¡°I don¡¯t really know what kind of person Count Daredar is. I didn¡¯t want to meet him and be asked to serve him, and I thought it would only cause trouble¡­. This time, he felt indebted to me and wouldn¡¯t be unreasonable in refusing, so I thought I¡¯d take advantage of that and keep a certain distance.¡± ¡°That¡¯s why you said something like putting the adventurer¡¯s guild in between us.¡± Ragune made a face that agreed. ¡°As far as I know, Count Daleder is a mild mannered fellow, so he¡¯ll be fine. The messengers the other day weren¡¯t very nice, though.¡± Aeris remembered talking to the messengers in order to guarantee Tauro¡¯s identity, and divulged her impressions of that time. ¡°I have that impression, too. I¡¯m sure he was a bit tense, having just been targeted by assassins, so they were being cautious, just in case.¡± ¡°Nobles do take it for granted. It¡¯s better to be cautious. Ha-ha-ha!¡± Ankh laughed in support of Tauro and renewed the atmosphere of the place. CH 230 The day I had the messenger of Count Daredar respectfully return. As usual, Tauro and the others went to the Adventurers¡¯ Guild to check on quests, and found an E-ranked quest labeled ¡°urgent¡±. ¡°¡­An investigation quest? The content is, t¡¯o confirm the safety of a village that has been out of contact with its neighbors for a week and to investigate the situation. The bridge leading to the village is down, so civilians can¡¯t easily approach. If there is an incident, please investigate the cause and report it. In addition, if the problem can be resolved, please do so¡¯.¡± ¡°For an emergency, the reward is rather small. Do you feel it will be added separately?¡± Tauro wondered whether he should choose the client or not. ¡°The client seems to be a peddler. He must be doing business with this village.¡± Ankh looked at the request form over Tauro¡¯s head, and confirmed the client¡¯s name. ¡°If it¡¯s urgent, we can do it ourselves. If the bridge is down, we¡¯ll have to give them a rope, but Tauro should be able to do that easily, right?¡± Aeris suggested that Tauro¡¯s ability could solve the problem. ¡°It¡¯s true that I can safely hand over the rope. But this is an investigation request, and the client suspects a case, so we have to keep an eye on that as well.¡± Tauro cautioned, as the argument seemed to be shifting off topic. ¡°I agree with Aeris. There are people in need, let¡¯s do it.¡± Ragune nodded to Aeris in agreement. ¡°Like I said, it¡¯s not a request to give them a bridge¡­ What about you Ankh?¡± ¡°We¡¯ll have to ask the client for more details. Looking at the map, this village seems to be on the border between Count Daredar¡¯s territory and the neighboring territory, but there is no name on it. It looks like a pretty rural area and will take a lot of work to just get there. But I¡¯ll leave the decision up to leader.¡± Ankh was right. We would have to ask the client for more information. When I asked Kannes, who has the appraiser at the reception, where the client was, she told me that he was staying at the ¡°dwarf¡¯s inn¡±, so I decided to go see him. The dining room of the ¡°Dwarf Inn¡±. ¡°Are you the adventurers who are accepting our request!?¡± The client, who appeared to be a peddler, had a large rucksack beside him. ¡°Are you going somewhere?¡± Tauro noticed the client¡¯s appearance. ¡°Yes, I¡¯m a peddler. I just stopped here to make a request. This is the domain of Marches, a fellow peddler, so I¡¯m going back to my own domain. Also, I was going to check in in a few days to see how things were going here, but I¡¯m glad It was taken right away.¡± The client was relieved and spoke without surprise to Tauro, the child adventurer in front of him. ¡°I would like to hear more about your request, if that¡¯s all right. The map doesn¡¯t even show the name of the village, and it¡¯s a place I¡¯ve never been to, so it would be helpful if you could tell me how it is.¡± Tauro confirms. ¡°Oh, I call it the Children¡¯s Village, it¡¯s a small village, but it¡¯s full of children. It has a closed atmosphere to the outside, so please be careful in that area when making contact. Also, the road is steep from the halfway point, and the mountain road is steep beyond the fallen bridge¡± ¡°Is it a children¡¯s village¡­?¡± ¡°Yes. I think there are about 10 adults and close to 30 children. They are self-sufficient, so I mainly sold general merchandise, seasonings such as salt, and iron tools such as knives. The bridge had collapsed in the past, and the villagers immediately handed over a rope, so I thought it would be okay this time too, but a week passed and there was no sign of that. I got worried and made the request¡± The client must be worried about the children, and even though he is a total stranger, he managed to raise the request fee from his meager earnings. ¡°I understand. It¡¯s basic for us to go and check then report back on the situation, and if something happens, it would be helpful if we could solve it. If we can¡¯t solve it, we¡¯ll come right back. Okay?¡± ¡°Of course. I¡¯ll leave it to your judgment.¡± ¡°Okay, then we¡¯ll get ready and head out first thing tomorrow morning.¡± ¡°Please do so. I have to go to another village where I have a deal, so if you¡¯ll excuse me.¡± The client bowed to Tauro and the others and left the ¡°dwarf inn¡±. ¡°¡­almost 30 people, that¡¯s a village with a lot of kids.¡± Ankh seemed to be more interested in that than in the request. ¡°Yes, I think so. Do they take in orphans?¡± Aeris pointed out a possibility. ¡°Taking in children and raising them in an inhospitable place reminds me of the ¡®dragon dens¡¯ where the Dragon People would train warriors in the village.¡± Ragune compared it to her own village. ¡°I¡¯m also curious about the existence of the ¡°dragon pit¡± that Ragune mentioned, but with that point made, I can see the possibility that it could possibly be some sort of educational facility¡­.. Anyway, everyone needs to be ready to go first thing tomorrow morning¡­.¡± Anyway, we will investigate and report back. Tauro reminded them that this was the request they had accepted. CH 231 Leaving the village of Dansas first thing in the morning the day after receiving the request, Tauro and his party decided to head straight to the requested village. Since it was an urgent request, it was a forced march through the night in the wild. Except for sleeping and eating, we kept on walking, but no one complained. Everyone had that much stamina. I was worried about Aeris because she seemed to have the least stamina, but she didn¡¯t complain at all. ¡°Something might have happened to the children, right? Then we have to hurry.¡± Aeris said, rejecting Tauro¡¯s suggestion of taking a break and suggesting that they continue walking. ¡°The road¡¯s getting steeper, but did that peddler really walk all this way to the village with a big load? He had a lot of guts.¡± Ankh was impressed with the peddler client. ¡°I guess so. Merchants are said to go to even the remotest places when there is a profit to be made, so I guess they are not afraid of this kind of thing.¡± Ragune agreed with Ankh. The road was narrow, undulating, steep, and rugged. Of course, it wasn¡¯t paved, so walking on it was a challenge. ¡°It¡¯s interesting to gather children and live in a place like this.¡± Ankh climbed up the slope with dismay. ¡°¡­Yeah. It¡¯s strange to live with children in a place with nothing but steep paths¡­¡± Aeris was prioritizing the children, but she questioned the incomprehensibility. ¡°Yes, I agree. There¡¯s a reason for that village, that¡¯s for sure.¡± The group continued walking with Tauro in the lead, till a cliff appeared before them. There remained the remnants of what appeared to be a bridge. ¡°¡­As the client said, the bridge is down. I guess this was the right path after all.¡± The distance to the opposite cliff was about 10m, and there was a cliff in between that was so deep that if you fell, you would die instantly. ¡°Well then, let¡¯s go.¡± Tauro tied the end of a rope to a thick tree near the cliff and let it down to the bottom of the cliff, then used his ¡°levitation¡± ability to lose his weight and descend down the cliff. It would be faster if he jumped down, but even though he had experienced it before, he did not want to bungee without a cord again. When he reached the bottom of the cliff, there was a skeleton. It was a person¡¯s skeleton, too. Looking at the scattered baggage, they might have fallen off the bridge. From the scattered baggage, I was able to determine that it might have been a peddler. Judging from the condition of the skeleton, it must have been someone who had come here to do business before the client, but Tauro was a little caught off guard. While still having doubts, Tauro lost his weight and climbed the opposite cliff with ¡°levitation¡±.. After quickly climbing the cliff, Tauro tied a rope to a nearby thick tree. And at the same time, signaled to everyone on the other side of the cliff, ¡°I¡¯m going to scout out the village while you guys are crossing! When you¡¯ve crossed over, take a break!¡± I called out to them. ¡°Okay! Be careful!¡± Aeris responded. Tauro, just to be safe, used his ¡°presence blocker¡± to erase his presence, and then proceeded along the steep path, checking his surroundings as best he could with his ¡°presence detection¡±. He sensed a person with his ¡°presence detection¡±. He also saw a small silhouette of what appeared to be a child lying down with his ¡°true eye¡±. ¡°One¡­only one person?¡± Tauro¡¯s vigilance grew with doubt, and as he continued on his way, he saw a village surrounded by fences. There was indeed a village. However, it was obviously strange that there was no sign of anyone but that one child. Where had all the other villagers gone? He entered the village through the entrance, wondering where the other villagers had gone. He looked around the area with great caution, but did not see a single shadow of a person. Tauro heads toward the house where he sensed the child¡¯s presence. It was the largest house in the center of the village, so it must have been the chief¡¯s house. ¡°Sorry, please. Excuse me, is anyone there? I¡­ I¡¯m coming in.¡± Tauro said hello and entered the room, aiming for the silhouette of the child reflected in his ¡°true eye¡± and went into the back of the room. There was a boy lying on the floor, breathing hard. ¡°are you OK!?¡± Tauro called out to the boy before running up to him. Tauro looked around to see if there was anything unnatural, and then looked at the boy. ¡°¡­Who are you¡­?¡± The boy woke up when he noticed Tauro, and asked him with heavy breaths. ¡°My name is Tauro. I was asked by a peddler who comes and goes here to check on you.¡± ¡°¡­Yes. So you¡¯re Tauro¡­¡± ¡°¡­? Do you know me?¡± He felt suspicious as the boy who was in pain confirmed him out. ¡°¡­This used to be a facility that was meant for one thing. But a good instructor who went out on a mission from here was captured after he failed his mission, so they pulled him out¡­¡± ¡°Why are you telling me, an outsider, something so important?¡± Tauro¡¯s back was beginning to sweat. ¡°¡­Because it seems that you are the cause of it. You have interfered with our assassination guild many times, and this is the guild¡¯s retaliation against you¡­.¡± The boy speaks breathlessly and says something shocking. Tauro gasped, and then raised the boy¡¯s body sideways. Underneath the boy¡¯s body, buried in the ground, was a large, processed magic stone, along with a cursed stone. ¡°Oh, no! This is a trap!¡± Tauro¡¯s intuition had raised the alarm to the maximum, so he moved away from the boy and ran to rush out of the house. ¡°¡­You can¡¯t escape the curse of instant death at this distance¡­¡± At the moment the boy mumbled this, a black haze erupted all at once from the magic stone and the cursed stone, and Tauro was swallowed by the black death-causing curse, and the haze swallowed the entire village up as well. Tauro ran out of the house, but the moment he was engulfed by the haze, he ran out of strength and collapsed on the spot, dying at the doorstep of the house. CH 232 Aeris and her friends were waiting for Tauro to come back. However, Ankh said it was getting a little late, so they all decided to head for the village. After a steep road, the village came into view. The peddler¡¯s information seemed to be correct. ¡°I wonder if Tauro went into the village?¡± Aeris turned to Ankh and Ragune, and just as they were about to speak. A black haze erupted from the center of the village, covering it in the blink of an eye. It happened so fast that Aeris and the others were frozen in place, unable to move. ¡°¡­This is a range instant death spell!¡± Ragune said ominously. Aeris, startled by these words, looked toward the village and, perhaps worried about Tauro¡¯s safety, tried to jump into the village. Ankh hurriedly grabbed her wrist to stop her. ¡°Wait, Aeris! Don¡¯t jump in!¡± ¡°Tauro could be inside!¡± ¡°Still!¡± As Ankh held Aeris back, the black haze that had spread over the entire village quickly cleared and faded away. ¡°Ragune, is it safe to go now!?¡± Ankh asked Ragune, who seemed to know the cause of the haze. Aeris also looked at her as if she was hanging on. ¡°¡­it should be fine now. But those who were inside¡­¡± Ankh, who was more than a little shocked by Ragune¡¯s words, loosened his grip on Aeris¡¯s wrist. Aeris jumped into the village without hesitation as Ankh let go. Ankh also came to his senses and followed after Aeris. Ragune also followed after them helplessly. Her steps were heavy, probably because she imagined the village would be hopeless. ¡°Where are you, Tauro!? Is there anyone in this village!?¡± When Aeris went to the center of the village while calling out in the deserted village, she saw Tauro lying on the ground. ¡°Tauro!¡± Aeris rushed to Tauro and turned him on his back. Ankh also responded to Aeris¡¯s voice and came running. ¡°Tauro! ¡­ Ankh, Tauro is not breathing! His heart has stopped!¡± Aeris was distraught that Tauro was not moving, but she began to chant healing magic Ankh, too, put his ear to Tauro¡¯s chest and confirmed that his heart had stopped. ¡°Damn! Leader, don¡¯t go!¡± and began to perform cardiac massage, something he had learned when he was a mercenary. Then Ragune came in. ¡°¡­Ankh, it¡¯s impossible. That instant death spell is a forbidden spell that brings ¡®death¡¯ itself to a certain area in place of the caster¡¯s life. It takes away the life itself, you can¡¯t be brought back to life, it¡¯s impossible.¡± While Ragune despaired over Tauro¡¯s death, she calmly shared what she knew. For a while, Ankh ignored those words and continued to massage his heart, but he finally stopped. Aeris understood that Tauro was completely dead there and stopped casting healing magic. And then, tears overflowed from her eyes, running down her cheeks. Aeris was silent and just broke down in tears. ¡°¡­I¡¯m going to look inside the house¡± Ankh, unable to stay there any longer, got up and went into the house where he thought Tauro had come from. There, he saw a child lying inside. Upon closer inspection, he was still breathing. ¡°¡­Tauro-kun¡­is dead, isn¡¯t he? Now I can finally die too¡­¡± As he said this, an unintentionally deafening high pitched sound rang out from the boy. Ankh covered his ears but did not take his eyes off the boy. The boy drew his last breath when the sound stopped. It might have been his last sign of something. Ankh calls out when he returns to Aeris and the others. ¡°The sound you just heard, could be a call to someone outside. I¡¯ll carry Tauro on my back, let¡¯s hurry and leave this village.¡± Ragune nodded at Ankh¡¯s suggestion and pulled Aeris up. As Ankh left the village with Tauro¡¯s cold body on his back, the houses in the village were set on fire. He does not know if someone had started the fire or if it had been set after his death, but the flames spread as fast as they could see it. ¡°I don¡¯t see any sign of the others, but we should hurry to the bridge just in case.¡± Ankh said while carrying Tauro on his back, and Ragune pulled Aeris¡¯s stunned hand and quickened their pace. The group was heading down a steep road towards the bridge. Ankh, who was carrying Tauro on his back, immediately recognized the moment. He could feel Tauro¡¯s heartbeat, body temperature, and breathing on his back. ¡°Aeris! Tauro¡¯s heart has started beating!¡± Ankh hurriedly called out to Aeris. Aeris¡¯s eyes, which had been out of her mind as Ragune pulled her by the hand, quickly came back into focus. ¡°Are you sure Ankh!?¡± Aeris shook off Ragune¡¯s hand and rushed to Ankh. She immediately put her hand over Tauro¡¯s mouth and saw that he was breathing. ¡°He¡¯s alive! Tauro is alive!¡± Ragune was surprised by Aeris¡¯s words and rushed over. Ankh lowered Tauro down and laid him on his side. ¡°Aeris, use magic to increase his strength! I¡¯ll make him drink the advanced potion Tauro gave you!¡± Ragune made Tauro open his mouth and poured in the potion little by little. Aeris and the others, who took no time to immerse themselves in the miracle that had occurred before their eyes, began to heal Tauro. CH 233 At one point, Aeris, Ragune, and Ankh despaired of his death, but Tauro¡¯s return to life was truly a miracle. The group was hesitant to move Tauro, who had come back to life, so they decided to camp out in the mountains. Since Tauro puts the tools for camping in his magic storage, they were literally camping out in the mountains. Aeris put Tauro¡¯s head on her lap, Ragune was putting her jacket on Tauro, and Ankh was on guard around the campfire. Aeris¡¯s warding magic around the bonfire ensured safety, but Tauro¡¯s consciousness had not returned, so the tension continued to build. ¡°Even so, what happened to Tauro? I¡¯m pretty sure he was dead at the time. ¡­¡­¡± Ankh, who was on watch, spoke to Ragune. ¡°Maybe Tauro had some sort of self-resuscitation ability.¡± Ragune pulled from the back of her mind the knowledge she had learned in the village and formed a hypothesis. ¡°Self-resuscitation?¡± ¡°The ¡°Grand Pontiff¡± has a fixed skill called ¡°automatic self-resuscitation,¡± which means that when death comes to you, there is a very small chance you can resuscitate yourself, an extremely small chance, and a chance that depends on luck. However, even if this ability is activated, if the person who died is injured to the point of death, he will die immediately again even if he comes back to life, so with that ¡°range instant death spell¡± that destroys the body this time, he should die immediately even if he comes back to life. ¡­¡­¡± Ragune was also troubled by the unknowns that her knowledge could not assist her with. ¡°¡­Tauro has the ability of ¡®super restorative regeneration¡¯. What if that ability continues to heal his destroyed body until the moment of his death, and even after he comes back to life?¡± Aeris shared her own hypothesis about Tauro¡¯s ability. ¡°Does Tauro have such an ability! It¡¯s true that if you have ¡°super recovery and regeneration¡±¡­. But I still don¡¯t think there¡¯s even a 1% chance of survival. ¡­¡­¡± Ragune was unable to explain the miracle-level odds of Tauro being brought back to life. ¡°¡­maybe it¡¯s because I have the ability of ¡® luck¡¯ attached to me.¡± Tauro, who was sleeping on Aeris¡¯s lap, got up and said. ¡°Tauro!¡± Aeris hugged Tauro and began to cry. ¡°I¡¯m sorry for worrying you, guys. It looks like we¡¯re all safe.¡± Tauro apologized to the three of them as Aeris held him close. ¡° Oh dear¡­ Leader, how did you come back to life?¡± Ankh decided to check with the person himself this time. ¡°I was listening to Ragune¡¯s explanation while I was sleeping, and I came to my own conclusion¡­ Actually, I almost died when I made Ragune¡¯s magic spear¨C¡° ©¤©¤ Tauro¡¯s recollection. When he made the magic spear with creation magic¡­ He almost died from depletion of magic power, but Aeris¡¯s support saved him. ¡°Confirmed one of the conditions for activating the special skill [&%$#] . Acquired [Automatic Self-Resuscitation Technique]¡± *See chapter 220.* It was Tauro who heard a voice. However, I understood right away that it was obviously a resurrection system that only works after I died, so I didn¡¯t have the chance, or rather, the courage to try it, so I quietly pushed it into the corner of my memory without telling Aeris about it. ¡°I think I was able to revive myself with ¡®automatic self-resuscitation¡¯ and ¡®luck¡¯ to fulfill the low probability activation conditions to revive, and ¡®super recovery regeneration¡¯ to solve the other bad conditions and come back to life, just as Ragune had guessed¡­That¡¯s what it means. I really worried everyone.¡± I lightly patted Aeris on the back, who was still hugging me, to comfort her, and she finally pulled away. Her face was a mess from crying too much. ¡°¡­What happened in that village?¡± While wiping away her tears, Aeris asked about the main topic of the conversation. ¡°¡­that¡¯s¡­¡± Tauro briefly explained that the village seemed to be a training facility for the assassination guild, and that the sorcerer who attempted to assassinate Count Daredar had served as an instructor there. He also speculated that the Assassination Guild, including Aeris¡¯s case, had set up a large-scale trap to take the lives of Tauro and his friends, with one sick boy remaining to retaliate against Tauro for his continued interference in their mission. ¡°Leader, you were being targeted by the assassination guild¡­.Well, if I had to guess, I¡¯d say that the magical high-pitched tone the boy assassin emitted just before he died was a signal to his friends that he had succeeded, what do you think?¡± I had witnessed the boy¡¯s immediate actions, so I was almost certain Ankh was correct. ¡°I think so too. I think that was a way to contact his friends who were waiting outside the range of the detection system. Because of that high-pitched sound, I could see the birds from a wide range of the forest taking off all at once, even from a distance.¡± Ragune calmly analyzed the situation. ¡°Right. They won¡¯t even come to check on him to make sure he¡¯s dead, so the leader is probably off the bingo list in the assassination guild, and that¡¯s a good thing.¡± ¡°What makes you think they won¡¯t come back to check on him?¡± Tauro, who had lost consciousness, didn¡¯t know the reason. ¡°If they were going to check from the beginning, there was no need to set the houses on fire after they had succeeded. The only reason they didn¡¯t do that is because they are more afraid of the possibility of coming on site and running into the enemy.¡± Ankh explains to Tauro that the village had burned down. ¡°I see¡­ Then I¡¯m presumed to be dead, so I won¡¯t be targeted for the time being.¡± When Tauro said that, he smiled and reassured everyone. CH 234 Having spent the night near the assassin¡¯s village, Tauro and his party decided to return to the village of Dansas. There is a possibility that the peddler who made this request was also a member of the Assassination Guild. At first glance, he looked like an ordinary peddler, but if it was all an act, then he was a very deceitful person. ¡°We were completely deceived. I didn¡¯t see through it with my ¡®eye¡¯¡­ as expected of the notorious Assassin¡¯s Guild.¡± ¡°¡­Maybe they hired an amateur. Maybe they were waiting for you as a client without explaining the details to a real peddler.¡± ¡°Then, until we came to accept the request, other people might have been planning to refuse with some reason¡­, if I had stopped you! Damn it, kill me!¡± As a shield, Ragune felt ashamed that she had fallen into the enemy¡¯s trap and almost caused the death of her benefactor and friend, Tauro. ¡°Well, It¡¯s my fault that I willingly accepted this request. I¡¯m sure the enemy analyzed that I would accept an unusual request, even if it was a little cheaper¡± ¡°Yes, Ragune. If the enemy had analyzed Tauro and carefully prepared this trap, it was inevitable. In the end, Tauro came back to life safely, so let¡¯s be happy about that!¡± Aeris encouraged Ragune. ¡°¡­Even so, that ¡°Range instant death spell¡±? That¡¯s a bad idea. The plants and animals in the area covered by that haze were completely dead. If it wasn¡¯t for the leader being who he was, he wouldn¡¯t have survived.¡± ¡°Even in the village of the Dragon People, there are very few people who could have used that thing. I never thought that a young boy of no more than a year old could use it.¡± (TN: I believe Ragune was talking about dragon years here) It seems that Ragune was impressed by the assassination guild¡¯s training and developed an image of it. ¡°No, no, no, Ragune. I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re imagining, but this time it was made possible by a large magic stone, a curse stone, and a special method that required the life of the caster, and it¡¯s not something that a dragon personcould cast on his own, not at our human level, right?¡± ¡°Is that so!? I thought he had acquired it by doing something similar to the training of the dragon people¡­. I see¡­there is a different way. But risking your life¡­¡± ¡° I know. I mean, if he died, there¡¯s nothing we could do about it.¡± The guild of assassins taught him to risk his life to accomplish his mission, and for Ankh, whose job was to survive by killing as many enemies as possible and receiving rewards, his view of life and death was at the opposite end of the spectrum. ¡°I guess those ideas were instilled in him from when he was a child.¡± Tauro let out a sigh. The dead boy was not much older than he was. He had memories of his previous life, so he had more experience and knowledge than his age, but for the boy, everything he had been taught was his world. Given that he was ill, he may have been led to believe that he was given the opportunity to be useful, something he could do nothing about. If so, the assassination guild would be unforgivable. Besides, if it is known that I was saved, there is a possibility that I will be targeted again. Tauro thought that it might be better for him to think about his future once he returned to the village of Dansas. After returning to the village of Dansas, he went to the Adventurers¡¯ Guild and reported to the branch manager, Chloe. ¡°It was a trap set by the assassin¡¯s guild! I¡¯m glad you¡¯re all safe. Now, tell me more about it.¡± Tauro and the others explained the details of the incident in the branch manager¡¯s office. ¡°I see¡­. Actually, between you and me, only our top adventurers have just received a request to take part in an operation to destroy the assassination guild branch in the Daredar territory. This time, with the targeting of Count Daredar, the Count himself Is the client.¡± ¡°Is there a branch of the Assassin¡¯s Guild in this Daredar territory!?¡± Tauro was also surprised by the unexpected information. ¡°That seems to be the case. This time, we were trying to get ahead of them by working in secret with only the elite forces of the Count and our top adventurers, but if Tauro and the others are right, we would have been wiped out by such a dangerous spell. I would like to ask, on my authority, if Team ¡± Black Golden Wings¡± could also participate in this operation. If I¡¯m right, Aeris¡¯s warding magic should be effective, and Tauro-kun¡¯s experience of actually encountering assassins and dispatching them is invaluable. Of course, I don¡¯t want to push you too hard, so don¡¯t worry. I¡¯ll have the NO.2 B-team of the Dansas branch, ¡°Shadow¡±, as your escort.¡± ¡°No, we will be guarding Aeris, so please send ¡®Shadow-san¡¯ over to carry out the operation. And I think our Ankh and Ragune are also capable of that.¡± Tauro said so to the branch manager, Chloe, and refused, boasting about his companions. ¡°Oh come on, leader. You¡¯re not going to get anything out of me if you keep stirring things up, okay?¡± Ankh looks a little happy. ¡°But, of course, I¡¯ll be the one to protect Aeris! ¡­Ha! You¡¯re not after my body after all that agitation, are you? Kill me!¡± It was Ragune who said her usual delusion and habit of speaking out of happiness. ¡­It¡¯s okay, right? Tauro was a little worried, smiling wryly at the two who seemed to be vulnerable to such agitation. CH 235 Tauro and his team took a day¡¯s rest after consulting with and reporting to the Adventurers¡¯ Guild. Even though it was called a rest, Tauro and the others had a strategy meeting in the adventurer¡¯s guild¡¯s branch manager¡¯s office with the B rank Team and the branch manager Chloe, so it was only in name. After hearing Tauro¡¯s report, the B-rank team ¡°White night¡± and ¡°Zekei¡± let out a loud sigh. ¡°This is the first time I¡¯ve heard of such a curse ¡­¡­. Indeed, if we carried out the operation without knowing it and rush into the enemy base, we could be wiped out. ¡­¡­¡± The leader of the team ¡°White night¡± broke into a cold sweat and let out a sigh of relief This B-ranked team ¡°white night¡± is acquainted with Tauro¡¯s ¡°Black Golden Wings¡± in the past, as they have worked together in a rescue operation of Bob and his team. ¡°¡­¡­ I¡¯m surprised ¡°black Golden Wings¡± didn¡¯t get caught in the middle of all this. It¡¯s good to have luck on your side. No matter how good you are, it¡¯s easy to die without luck in this world.¡± The leader of the B-rank team ¡°Zekei¡± was impressed. Incidentally, it was kept secret that Tauro was ¡°instantly killed¡± at that time. ¡°It would be good to talk about this at the strategy meeting after the meeting with adventurers from other branches and the elite troops of Count Daredar, but since the framework of the operation itself has already been decided to some extent over there, there is a possibility that we, the B rank team, will not be able to take action with regards to the spell. In that case, we will need you, the Black Golden Wings, to take action, is that okay?¡± The leader of ¡°Zekei¡± confirmed as he looked at Tauro and then at Aeris, Ankh, and Ragune standing behind him. ¡°It¡¯s rare to find a wizard with the ¡®ward¡¯ skill, so it would be difficult to prepare someone other than Aeris on short notice. And since we¡¯ve experienced that before, I think we can help identify the likely place it would be used. If we can identify it, Aeris will set up wards around it to minimize damage, and the three of us will protect her. I don¡¯t think that¡¯s too much to ask.¡± ¡°If that¡¯s the case, if we¡¯re too quick to destroy the enemy base, they could self-destruct. No, the operation will try to be quick, so we¡¯ll have to get the ¡®black golden wings¡¯ to move before that?¡± The leader of ¡°zekei¡± twisted his head, imagining a strategy that he had not yet been told about. ¡°For the time being, We will send someone to contact you if there is any urgent information, but please support the two teams so that the E rank ¡°Black Golden Wings,¡± will not be isolated at the strategy meeting. ¡°Of course. The information brought back by ¡° Black Golden Wings¡± is the key to the success of the operation after all. I will work to ensure that Tauro is given the opportunity to discuss this information at the meeting.¡± ¡°The leader of the ¡°white night¡± team promised to support them since their lives were at stake.¡± ¡°Our two teams did quite well in the last Troll King subjugation battle, so I think we have earned their trust, so I think it¡¯s okay.¡± The leader of ¡°zekei¡± nodded strongly. ¡°Then, all three teams, please complete the mission and return safely.¡± Chloe gave a shout out to the three teams, and they all replied, ¡°Of course!¡± and disbanded. ¡°I wonder what the mission will be like?¡± Aeris, perhaps feeling nervous, finally opened her mouth as they left the Adventurers¡¯ Guild. ¡°I think it¡¯s basically an ambush strategy. In order to minimize damage and defeat the enemy, we should attack by surprise, divide the enemy, destroy them individually, and exterminate them.¡± ¡°That way the enemy can¡¯t escape, so they¡¯re going to use that, right?¡± ¡°I guess. I think the cornered enemy will use that as the last trump card.¡± ¡°Oh, come on. Then, we will be wiped out too. What are you going to do, Leader?¡± Ankh entered the conversation. ¡°I have some resistance, but judging from its power in that village, Tauro was killed instantly, so I don¡¯t think I have much of a chance of surviving, either. What are you going to do, Tauro?¡± Ragune also asked. Resistant? what kind of training did you go through for that, Ragune ¡­¡­.? Tauro was inwardly curious, but he did not retort to the question. ¡°I guess it¡¯s up to the commander of the operation, but if we don¡¯t get any useful ideas, I have a few good ideas that I¡¯d like to try.¡± Tauro had something on his mind, but he didn¡¯t say it now, and acted pretentiously. ¡°Well, if the leader has a good idea, I¡¯ll leave it to you. Well then, let¡¯s prepare for tomorrow.¡± After saying that, Ankh turned to the ¡°Rest pavilion¡±. ¡°Wait, Ankh! You can¡¯t be serious.¡± ¡°I¡¯m going to have to drink up! Ha-ha-ha!¡± With that, he walked into the restaurant. They could hear a voice from inside the store saying, ¡°Welcome!¡± ¡°Well then, I¡¯m going to go and eat the pork cutlet I¡¯ve been holding off for a while now, to fill up my stomach.¡± With that, Ragune headed for the ¡°Dwarf Inn.¡± ¡°¡­¡­ neither of you are feeling tense.¡± Aeris, who plays an important role, is not like the two of them. She was responsible for setting the wards up properly and making sure that the black haze did not spread, or many people would die. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll take care of it. Besides, even if we leave tomorrow, it will take a few days to assemble, have a strategy meeting, and carry out the plan, right? If we¡¯re nervous now, we won¡¯t be able to make it.¡± Tauro smiled and tried to ease Aeris¡¯s tension. CH 236 The day after the meeting in the branch manager¡¯s office. First thing in the morning, Tauro and his ¡°Black Golden Wings¡± secretly left the village of Dansas together with the B- rank teams ¡°White night¡± and ¡°Zekei¡± and went straight to a certain forest where the strategy meeting was to be held. It was a day and a half away from the village of Dansas, and even within the Daredar territory, it was close to other territories. ¡°Even though our opponents are an assassination guild, it was far too prudent to have a strategy meeting in the middle of nowhere like this.¡± The leader of the ¡°White night¡± grumbled after confirming on the map that they were approaching their destination. ¡°¡­Because there is a possibility of being monitored in towns and villages.¡± Suddenly, a man appeared from behind Tauro¡¯s team and the teams. Tauro and his team all put their hands on their weapons wary of the man. ¡°¡­.. This is a surprise. I believe you¡¯re Eikoku-san of the A-Team ¡°the Golden Mane,¡± right? I didn¡¯t expect to run into you at a place like this. ¡­¡­¡± The leader of ¡°Zekei¡±, who is strong in search-and-rescue, was secretly moved to meet the target, a man dressed like a black-clad ninja in front of him. ¡± ¡®the Golden Mane¡±! Why would a top-notch team do that?¡± I was surprised that even the leader of ¡®White night¡¯ knew the name. ¡°According to the ¡­¡­ report, after ¡°White night¡± and ¡°Zekei,¡± there will be an E-rank team called ¡°Black Golden Wings,¡± which I heard has information about the enemy, but who is it?¡± The ninja man called ¡°Eikoku¡± looked at Tauro and his group curiously as he asked this. ¡°It¡¯s us.¡± Tauro raises his hand. ¡°¡­¡­ This is a surprise. The guys with the inhibition skills are in the E-rank band? They seem to be very competent though.¡± Eikoku, the ninja man, may have appraisal . On top of that, he looks at Tauro with even more interest. ¡°I can see your abilities in the appraisal are¡­ No, I¡¯ll stop.¡± Eikoku, who was watching Tauro in the appraisal, noticed the unnaturalness of Tauro¡¯s ability that was rewritten by ¡°Appraisal Inhibition (Extreme)¡±, and speculated that he probably possessed a special inhibition-type ability, but stopped immediately, perhaps thinking that it would be bad to reveal it. ¡°All three teams, only the representative of each team should follow me. The rest of you will stay here.¡± Eikoku said and walked deeper into the forest. Tauro and the others hurried after him, while Aeris and the other team members rested in the shade of the trees. As they proceeded deeper into the forest, they found that Count daredar¡¯s elite troops were stationed there. In the center of the forest stood a tabernacle. In the curtain house, the captains of the troops and the representatives of each adventurer team were gathered. ¡°As you can see, only the best adventurers from the various branches of the Adventurers¡¯ Guild in Count Daredar¡¯s territory have gathered here.¡± Eikoku explained to Tauro and the others, urging them to sit in the chairs prepared for them, and disappeared from the spot in an instant. ¡°!?¡± The leaders of ¡°White Night¡± and ¡°Zekei¡± were momentarily startled by Eikoku¡¯s disappearance. Tauro was surprised as well, but even though he knew it was useless, he tried to search for Eikoku¡¯s presence with his ¡®Presence Detection¡¯. However, he could not detect it at all, probably because he had an inhibition skill. I don¡¯t know how he disappeared, but that must be part of his skill. As expected of an A-ranked group. After waiting for a while, people came in later and sat down on chairs as they entered the tabernacle. Eikoku, who must be the leader of another team, seems to be leading the way. Then, in front of the assembled leaders, a board was set up and eight men and women appeared in front of it. Among them is Eikoku, who has moved on. They must be members of Team ¡°Golden Mane¡±. ¡°Let me just introduce myself. I¡¯m Raiga, the leader of the Golden Mane, who was appointed as the commander at the request of Count Daredar. This is Captain Sam-dono, who reports directly to the Count, and second-in-command, Ram-dono. The rest are our members.¡± The people who had been introduced to the group lightly nodded their heads. ¡°Let me quickly explain the plan. This time¡­¡± ¡°Wait a minute. I want you to listen to the information from the adventurers of our branch first, okay?¡± The leader of ¡°White night¡± raised his hand and stopped the A-rank team leader Raiga¡¯s explanation. ¡±¡­If I remember correctly, you were the leader of the ¡°White Nights¡±, weren¡¯t you? I hear you played an active role in the Troll King subjugation battle, but can¡¯t you hear what I¡¯m saying?¡± Raiga spoke a little intimidatingly. ¡° I have important information about the assassination guild which is the target this time, so I just want you to decide on a strategy after hearing it.¡± The leader of ¡®White Night¡¯ replied without flinching from Raiga¡¯s intimidation. ¡°Speak then.¡± Raiga grimaced and sat down in his chair. Tauro stood up on the spot and, feeling everyone¡¯s eyes on him, explained about the range instant death spell in the assassin¡¯s village. They all buzzed when they heard it. ¡°Are you serious?¡± ¡°If we rush in without knowing it, it¡¯s dangerous information, isn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°We can¡¯t get too close¡­¡± The leader of the adventurers crossed their arms and pondered. ¡°Quiet! Are you sure about that information? If there is such a thing, there is no way that Eikoku, who has infiltrated and obtained the information before us, would not have noticed it. What do you think, Eikoku?¡± Raiga half-heartedly asks Eikoku about the information and confirms it. ¡°¡­I haven¡¯t found anything like that in all the time I¡¯ve infiltrated and searched, But it is possible that I may have missed something. In fact, I only briefly checked the underground prison and the treasury.¡± Eikoku replied cautiously, and Raiga gave him a bitter look. The strategy had already been worked out, and after explaining it to everyone, he was supposed to enter the scene to carry it out. ¡°I don¡¯t think Eikoku would have overlooked something suspicious like that. He says this, but I want to believe in Eikoku¡¯s achievements and carry out the operation as planned, okay?¡± Raiga, the commanding officer, insisted on implementing the operation as planned when he said so. This feels like a dangerous trend. Tauro inwardly wondered what was going to happen. CH 237 The other adventurers began to stir at the inflexible remarks of Raiga, the leader of the A-rank team. ¡°Wouldn¡¯t it be bad if it were true?¡± ¡°But since Raiga, who is in the A-rank zone, said it, I think it¡¯s safe¡­¡± ¡°Wait, wait, wait. It¡¯s too risky to leave the life and death of your team to someone else¡¯s judgment.¡± ¡°But nobody died from the spell that little guy is talking about, even teams in the E rank band can avoid them, it seems we can dodge them well enough, right?¡± ¡°Certainly. Besides, there¡¯s a corresponding risk on the Assassin¡¯s Guild side, isn¡¯t there? Isn¡¯t the possibility of them using such a thing low?¡± ¡°Yes, that¡¯s true¡­ But depending on the situation, it may not be possible to avoid it. I can¡¯t take the boy¡¯s information on faith, but I think we¡¯d better plan a strategy to deal with it, just to be on the safe side.¡± ¡°We don¡¯t have much time before we have to execute the operation, right? If we start thinking about it now, we will only increase the chances of them escaping, okay?¡± The leaders of the adventurers¡¯ teams began to lose their composure as they exchanged their opinions. ¡°Everyone, please be quiet! The preplanned strategy was designed to accommodate unforeseen circumstances. This time, we need to quickly subdue the enemy and seize evidence, but with the scope of this boy¡¯s information, I think it is possible to avoid having to use the instant death spell. Remember, we are here with you B-rank adventurers, the best of the best. Your efforts should be enough to deal with the situation.¡± ¡°That could lead to our total annihilation.¡± Tauro knew he was in the wrong, but he persisted. ¡°Our team was lucky not to get caught in this spell, but it is not something that can be avoided by relying on luck. So let me make a suggestion. Let us participate in this operation. We have a plan to prevent this ¡®range instant death spell¡¯ from happening without getting in the way.¡± Tauro suggested to Raiga. ¡°A strategy ¡­¡­? I¡¯m sorry to say this, but it¡¯s obvious that teams in the E rank range will be dragging their feet if they participate in this operation. The team of the warding master is certainly attractive, but if the skill is only in the E rank range, it can only be said to be a hindrance. Thanks for the information, but I don¡¯t think we can allow you to participate.¡± Raiga seemed to have underestimated Tauro as an E-rank team. He did not listen to him. ¡°¡­¡­ Wait, Raiga. It wouldn¡¯t be a bad idea to listen to what the boy has to say.¡± Eikoku rebuked his leader¡¯s shallow attitude. ¡°Damn! ¡­¡­ then explain what that strategy is.¡± Raiga reluctantly complied with Eikoku¡¯s suggestion and listened to Tauro¡¯s explanation of the strategy ¡°If we do that, they might find out about our plan!¡± Raiga seemed unconvinced by Tauro¡¯s explanation and bit at him. ¡°Before they find out, you must carry out the plan that Raiga-san and his team have devised. We will work from the inside to stop them.¡± ¡°¡­ If you¡¯re not careful, you guys might be killed on the spot, you know?¡± Eikoku warned against Tauro¡¯s seemingly reckless plan. ¡°It¡¯s okay. I¡¯ve prepared information that they might want.¡± Tauro replied with a smile. ¡°I¡¯ve got it at ¡­¡­. Raiga, let¡¯s conduct our operations concurrently. If they fail, we can move without delay so that our operation will not be affected.¡± Eikoku agreed to Tauro¡¯s operation. ¡°Wait a minute, Eikoku! I always say I¡¯m the leader, not you! ¡­¡­ we don¡¯t have a choice. I¡¯m telling you, once the operation starts, we won¡¯t have time to rescue you guys, so you¡¯ll have to protect your own lives.¡± Raiga was pushed into accepting Tauro¡¯s plan by his fellow comrade, Eikoku. The plan that Raiga and his superiors had devised was explained to everyone, and the deployment and coordination were also explained. The rest was to be done on the spot. Tauro and his team were to work in a location unrelated to the operation, so when they heard from Eikoku about the base of the Assassination Guild, they decided to move to that area during the middle of the night. ¡°Leader. The strategy is good, but why are you collecting everyone¡¯s weapons and making us carry spares?¡± While traveling late at night, Tauro collected everyone¡¯s weapons, staffs, spears, and great swords and put them in the magic storage. ¡°I¡¯ll give them back to you later, so please use that spares for now.¡± Tauro had moved on with everyone in tow, without any explanation of the plan. The night was beginning to dawn and the sky in the east was tinged with red. ¡°Tauro, isn¡¯t it about time we reached our destination?¡± Ragune looked around and warned. ¡°Yes, but my ¡®presence detection¡¯ hasn¡¯t picked up anything yet, so I think it¡¯s fine¡­¡± As Tauro was about to say. Behind the four of them stood people dressed in black with curved swords pointed at them. If you look closely, you can see that they are surrounded by others as well. ¡°¡­ I¡¯m sorry everyone. It looks like they have some kind of perception inhibition skill.¡± Raising his hand, Tauro urged Aeris and the others to drop their weapons and surrender. CH 238 Tauro and the others were tied up on the spot and taken to a nearby building in the ruins of an ancient castle. ¡°What were you doing here? If you don¡¯t talk, I¡¯m going to kill you right here, one by one.¡± A man whose face was covered with a cloth, who seemed to be the person in charge of the place, interrogated Tauro and the others. ¡°Wait a minute. We¡¯re only here because we were asked to scout this area.¡± ¡°Reconnaissance ¡­¡­?¡± ¡°Yes, sir. Yes, we are here to scout to see if you are here.¡± Tauro answered meaningfully. ¡°You little ¡­¡­! What else do you know? No, it¡¯s not good to make him talk here. Take them all to the prison in the basement for the time being. We will interrogate them there.¡± As soon as the man in charge said this, his men, dressed in black, pulled Tauro and the others away and took them inside the low walls that was built in the ruins of the old castle. The walls of the old castle had been demolished, but a new wall had been built on the remaining foundation that seemed to blend in with the forest. The interior was overgrown with trees, and if not for the walls, it would not look much different from the forest. For the members of the assassin¡¯s guild, was it perhaps easier to be safe if there were trees blocking their view? It seems that the buried cellar has been dug up and is now being used. Tauro and the others were put in a prison cell on the second basement floor. ¡°Hey, Salk, we¡¯ve got work to do! Your job as a waste of time and money is to watch over these prisoners until we can interrogate them. Just don¡¯t let them escape, okay?¡± From the dimly lit depths of the basement, a man came trotting up at the call. ¡° a war prisoner? That¡¯s very unusual in such a remote forest!¡± The man who answered and was projected in the candlelight was Tauro¡¯s former father, Salk Satou. ¡°Isn¡¯t one of them a beauty! Hehehe! If only this girl was a bit older ¡­¡­. huh?¡± Salk was checking each of the faces in the dim light, holding the lantern light close to each face, when he recognized the face of the third child. No, it was not only familiar, it was Tauro, the very son who had caused his downfall. ¡°Hey! This kid is the very one who turned me into a criminal, mister!¡± Salk curses, not happy to be reunited with his own son. Of course, even though Tauro cut ties with his father, he is still his ex-father by blood, but it¡¯s certainly not a happy reunion, and Salk isn¡¯t the only one who wants to curse. ¡°¡­¡­ You deserved it. You dropped so low, got yourself wanted, and now you¡¯re acting with these kind of people.¡± Tauro sighs in disgust. Aeris and his team didn¡¯t know how to react to the man who seemed to know Tauro. ¡°I don¡¯t care what you have to say, just keep him in jail until we¡¯re ready to interrogate him.¡± ¡°Ha! Yes, sir!¡± Soon after, Salk unlocked the cell and pushed Tauro and the others into the rough and dirty room. ¡°The tables have turned, Tauro! I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re doing here, but this is one of the assassin guild¡¯s strongholds. You ain¡¯t getting out of here alive!¡± Salk triumphantly began to tell his story. ¡°Do you know what I¡¯ve been through because of you? I became a bandit, then I escaped from subjugation there, wandered around, then I moved to a big city and became a servant of a kidnapping gang, and was chased out of there too, and then the assassin guild picked up my skills because they were so valuable. It¡¯s been hard work all the way here!¡± He yells at Tauro as he hit the bars with a stick. ¡°You had it coming. You brought this on yourself.¡± Tauro coldly dismissed him with a look that said he didn¡¯t even want to deal with him. ¡°Tauro, I know you guys are acquaintances, but who is this scum-looking man?¡± Aeris asked Tauro without any hint of ostentation. ¡°¡­¡­ my ex-father.¡± Tauro said the words he did not want to say. ¡°¡±Eh!?¡±¡±¡± Aeris and the others were all surprised at the same time. They had heard that he existed, but they had never expected to meet him here. And, just as they had heard, he¡¯s a scumbag. ¡°Tauro is in a tough spot. I¡¯m not sure how I feel about this kind of scumbag ¡­¡­ man as a parent.¡± Ragune looks back with disdain at Salk, who looks at her with a disgusted look. ¡°¡­.. the leader must have been a success story as unlikely as goblins giving birth to gryphons,¡­¡­.¡¯ Ankh sympathized with Tauro while looking at the man in front of him with cold eyes. ¡°True. I¡¯m glad Tauro doesn¡¯t look like his father. I bet he looks like his mother.¡± Aeris breathed a sigh of relief. ¡°Shut up, you two! I can hurt you guys all I want until the interrogation! ¡­¡­ that¡¯s right, I can do what I want with that beautiful woman over there. ¡­¡­¡± Salk threatened by pounding the iron bars with the stick in his hand, but he smiled at the ghastly idea. ¡¸¡¸¡¸Shit¡­¡­¡¹¡¹¡¹¡¹¡¹ This was the moment when everyone¡¯s thoughts came out of their mouths as they saw the man literally in front of them. He unlocks the jail and salk comes in. He beats ankh that was in front of him with a stick and drives him to the back. It seems that he really intends to lay his hands on Ragune. ¡°I have no use for this man!¡± ¡°Damn!¡± Even though Ankh was being beaten with a stick, he leaned forward in front of Ragune. ¡°Stop it, you piece of shit!¡± Aeris said clearly. ¡®¡±Such a piece of scum, in a place like this. ¡­¡­! Damn, Kill me!¡± Ragune slanders salk with her usual line. ¡°Shut up! You guys stay out of this! ¡­¡­ huh?¡± He continues to hit Ankh with a stick and was about to hit Tauro as well. Tauro, who was in front of him disappeared for a moment, only the rope that tied him remained, and in the next moment, he appeared next to Salk, holding the swinging stick, having used ¡°Spatial Transfer¡±. ¡°For now, just go to sleep.¡± Tauro twisted the stick in Salk¡¯s hand and took it away, striking him on the head. ¡°Gyaa!¡± Salk let out a short scream and fainted. CH 239 Tauro unbuckled everyone¡¯s restraints and locked salk In the prison, where he remained unconscious. ¡°Then I¡¯ll give you all your weapons,¡± As Tauro said so, he took out his own weapon from his magic storage and handed it over. ¡°¡­Is it okay to leave this piece of trash alone?¡± Ankh points to the fainted salk. ¡°I heard that this man has the ability ¡® escape,¡¯ so I think it would be better to put him in jail and bring him in later, rather than take him around. But for now, we need to stop the ¡®range instant death spell¡¯ first.¡± Tauro answers Ankh. ¡°¡­That¡¯s right. I guess that comes first now.¡± Tauro and his party immediately rushed to the stairs that went up. As they approached the stairs, they heard voices from above. ¡°It¡¯s a surprise attack! Everyone who can fight, get up and take up arms!¡± ¡°What? How did they find out about this place?!¡± ¡°Perhaps information leaked out by the sorcerer captured in the assassination attempt on Count Daradar.¡± ¡°Nonsense! That sorcerer was a top-notch magician. If he had tried to leak the information, he would have used a spell formula that would have resulted in his own death, wouldn¡¯t he?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know, but I heard that that sorcerer had been cursed back, and that curse may have made him unable to commit suicide.¡± ¡°¡­If that were true, wouldn¡¯t this place already be surrounded?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know! Anyway, we have to stand up and resist now. I also told the sorcerer to come to the treasure room. We may have to use that thing, so be prepared!¡± ¡°What about the prisoners downstairs?¡± ¡°That¡¯s not the point now, leave them alone!¡± The sound of footsteps faded away as the exchange was heard. ¡°¡­As expected, it looks like it¡¯s in the treasure room. It¡¯s also located on the first basement floor above here.¡± Tauro gulped down a potion to restore his magic power and said so that everyone could hear. ¡°If we can seize the treasure room, then I guess I don¡¯t have much work to do.¡± Aeris, who had been nervous, breathed a sigh of relief. ¡°We can¡¯t rest until we seize the treasure room. I¡¯ll take the lead. It¡¯s hard to use a big sword in an indoor battle, but I have a lot of experience with swords.¡± Ankh lightly tapped the throwing knives and daggers in the pocket of his armor as he said this. That¡¯s right, Ankh was a mercenary before he became an adventurer. He knows how to kill people in a different way than the assassins in the Assassin¡¯s Guild. ¡°Ankh, I¡¯ll take the lead. My resistance gives me an advantage here.¡± Ragune, probably wary of the enemy¡¯s poison and paralysis, stepped forward with her shield in one hand and her spear outstretched. ¡°Then, Ragune will take the lead, followed by Ankh and Aeris, and I¡¯ll take the rear.¡± Tauro, acting as the leader, decided so, and everyone nodded as he led the way up the stairs. On the basement floor, Ragune and Ankh dominated. No matter how skilled the assassins were, fighting these two head-on in a narrow space was fatal. While Ragune, with her shield held out, was knocking down enemies with sharp thrusts, Ankh was covering Ragune¡¯s gap with a throwing knife from the side and knocking them down as well. Aeris followed them both with magic, while Tauro gave precise instructions from the rear with his ¡°presence detection¡± and true eyes to see the whole area, and warned of the enemies approaching from the rear. Then, in no time at all, Tauro and his team reached the treasure room at the back of the building, wiped out the enemies, and conquered it. Tauro used ¡°spatial transfer¡± to enter the locked treasure room in an instant and retrieved all the items using magic storage. Among the collected were two large magic stones that would be very valuable and a lot of curse stones. ¡°This is¡­bigger than the magic stones we saw in the village. What would have happened if they had used the ¡®range death spell¡¯ with such stones?¡± Tauro was breaking into a cold sweat. As someone who had experienced that spell, he never wanted to experience that kind of terror again. ¡°Someone¡¯s here, leader!¡± While Tauro was relieved, Ankh called out to him. Tauro rushed out from inside the treasure room to the surface by ¡°spatial transfer,¡± where five enemies were preparing to take back the treasure room. Tauro was about to leave when he heard a voice saying, ¡°You guys get away from here for a while. I¡¯ll take care of them with this magic stone and curse stone. Don¡¯t get caught up.¡± One man, who looked like a sorcerer, pulled a magic stone the size of a child¡¯s fist out of his pocket and stepped forward, forcing his companions to back away. ¡°Aeris!¡± Tauro immediately senses this and calls out. The sorcerer was deadly for giving his companions time to leave the place. In the meantime, Aeris was quick to cover the conjurer¡¯s surroundings with her warding magic. When a black mist erupted from the sorcerer, the ward suppressed and confined the mist from spreading. The sorcerer said, ¡°A barrier!¡± and by the time he realized it, it was already too late, and he collapsed on the spot and died due to the cost of his art. ¡°Do they personally have it too¡­ Aeris, I think it¡¯s okay because I collected all the large magic stones, but if there is a sorcerer, this kind of thing may happen again, so be careful.¡± Tauro warns Aeris and drinks a magic recovery potion himself. ¡°¡­I got it. I¡¯ll be ready to ward the place at any time.¡± Aeris nodded and clutched her staff nervously. ¡°Then, let¡¯s go to the ground. I¡¯m sure our allies are fighting up there!¡± Tauro said, and everyone nodded and headed for the stairs to the ground level. CH 240 When I went up to the ground, I found four companions of the previous magician waiting there to avoid the collateral damage of the range instant death spell. ¡°What!? Did he fail!?¡± Ankh, seizing the opportunity of his enemies who could not hide their agitation, killed two of them with a throwing knife while running up the stairs, and when he had closed the distance, he cut down the other two with a swing of his great magic sword. ¡°Once again, the sharpness of this great magic sword is quite impressive.¡± As Ankh admired the sword in his hand, the sound of explosions, things breaking, shouts, and angry voices, could be heard and it seemed that there was a great commotion outside. Tauro and his group are on the first floor of the building in the center of the base. When we were brought in, we were covered with sacks, so I don¡¯t know their exact location, but I have a vague idea of it. ¡°It seems that the subjugation force is taking the lead outside, with the adventurers at the center, but what are we going to do?¡± Ragune confirms to Tauro what to do next. ¡°¡­The contents of the treasury have been subdued, so all we need to do now is to defeat the leader of this stronghold and the enemy will stop moving¡­ Is that okay with you guys?¡± ¡°Of course!¡± Aeris answered strongly. ¡°Ah, aiming for the general is a common tactic in warfare.¡± Ankh, who is accustomed to fighting, grins fearlessly. ¡°That¡¯s right. We¡¯re aiming for the boss here!¡± Ragune seems to be in a good mood. ¡°Then let¡¯s go to the floor above here.¡± Tauro nodded to everyone and ran up the stairs leading the way, aiming for the place where the group reflected in the ¡°Presence Detection¡± was. As Tauro and the others went upstairs, they heard the angry voice of a man who appeared to be the leader of this base. ¡°Let the sorcerers use their spells to break through the siege from the west! North is no good. Over there is the A-rank band adventurer team ¡°Golden Mane¡±. They may look the least populated, but they are the hardest to break through among the siege. We¡¯ll break through the siege on the west side and get the classified documents out. Burn the rest!¡± The man, who seems to be the leader, ran down the stairs on the opposite side of the ones which Tauro and the others were coming up to take command of the spearhead, taking his men with him. ¡°There¡¯s a stairway over there too! It can¡¯t be helped¡­ We¡¯ll take hold of them before they burn the documents.¡± Tauro decided to change from his original plan to take down the leader. It seems that the documents are very important to the enemy, so it is more important to seize them. ¡°We have no choice. Let¡¯s seize these documents before they are burned.¡± Ankh also decided that it would be better to change the order of priority based on the boss¡¯s comment. ¡®¡¯¡­I guess we¡¯ll just have to give up on the boss!¡¯¡¯ Ragune seemed a little disappointed, but convinced herself that it couldn¡¯t be helped. ¡°Well then, let¡¯s get going!¡± Aeris pointed to the room where the boss had come out of. Everyone nodded and headed for the Boss¡¯s room. Behind the ajar door there were people trying to take the documents out onto the terrace to burn them. ¡°I won¡¯t let that happen!¡± Tauro shot an arrow through the chest the man who was about to set fire to the pile of documents with fire magic. All four of the others turned around to see that their member had been shot. ¡°The enemies are here! Burn the papers quickly, I¡¯ll take them with me!¡± One of them said and pulled a dagger from his waist. Tauro reacted to the word ¡°take them with you¡± and made Aeris and the others back away. A man near the documents seeing this, took a piece of the document and jumped over the terrace railing to escape. It must be a confidential document. Tauro had been fooled by the bluff. ¡°Damn. Sorry guys. I was fooled¡­¡± After Tauro apologized, he quickly drew his bow and pierced the enemy as he tried to set fire to other documents. ¡°Damn! Then!¡± The man holding the dagger turned his back on Tauro and plunged into the stack of documents. No way! Tauro shot an arrow at the man¡¯s back. At the same moment that the man was covered by the pile of papers and the arrow pierced his back, the man¡¯s whole body erupted in fire. Fire erupted from the man¡¯s entire body, and in the blink of an eye, the flames engulfed the documents. ¡°Aeris, water magic!¡± As soon as Tauro said this, Aeris immediately cast a spell and tried to extinguish the fire with water magic. However, the last man stood in front of the documents, and when he, too, burst into flames, blocking Aeris¡¯s water magic, and he collapsed on top of the pile of burning papers. Aeris quickly extinguished the fire with water magic, but most of the documents had already been burned away. ¡°¡­What the hell are these guys. To risk their lives for a piece of paper¡­¡± Ankh shook his head, as if not understanding the enemy¡¯s act of suicide without hesitation. ¡°¡­it can¡¯t be helped. I want to chase the leader now, but let¡¯s head to the western front immediately and prevent the enemy from breaking through.¡± Tauro thought that the reason he was on the back foot might be the difference in preparedness between him and the enemy. CH 241 Tauro and his party jumped out of the building and quickly made their way to the west wall. There is a small gate here, but it is already slightly open. As Tauro climbed the wall, he found that a battle was being fought in the forest nearby. The enemy was not caught by Tauro¡¯s ¡°presence detection.¡± They must have some kind of inhibition ability. However, I can detect the presence of the adventurers and territorial soldiers fighting against them. From their location, Tauro predicted the area where the sorcerer was. ¡°Aeris, please cast a five-meter radius warding spell around the perimeter under that big tree right now!¡± Tauro immediately told Aeris where he was and instructed her to use her warding magic. ¡°Understood!¡± A few moments after Aeris cast the spell, a black mist appeared. A black haze blew out from the area around the tree Tauro had indicated and filled the ward Aeris had set up. The trees within the ward withered as soon as they were seen. Unfortunately, the three territorial soldiers and the two vanguards of the adventurers¡¯ team who were inside the magical ward were taken with them. Still, Tauro thought the worst was averted. The situation was not as bad as he had feared, for there were dozens of soldiers and three teams of adventurers deployed around him. If they had been in the wrong, many of their allies might have been caught in the middle of it. Aeris¡¯s warding magic was now working at its best. With Tauro and his team having minimized the damage, the enemy, who had been hiding in a remote area with sensitive information and was watching the situation, must have decided that it was impossible to break through, and they turned back to the gate where Tauro and his team were. The enemy, who had returned through the small gate, met Tauro and his team. The enemy must have grasped the situation in an instant. With a classified document in one hand, he pulled out the sword at his waist and readied it. ¡°Hey, hey, you can¡¯t protect those documents from us all by yourself, you know?¡± Ankh held his greatsword at the ready and called for the enemy to surrender. ¡°¡­¡­ No. Not really. Salk! Take this and run!¡± The enemy said and threw the rolled up documents behind Tauro and the others. Tauro and the others were unexpectedly distracted by the papers going over their heads. The enemy did not miss that moment and slashed at Ankh. Ankh, who had been caught in the moment, still just barely caught the sword with his great magic sword. After confirming that, Tauro followed the whereabouts of the confidential document with his gaze. There, was a startled salk catching the documents. It seemed that he was trying to escape from the prison. Tauro readied his bow. ¡°Put the document on the ground and step back.¡± Tauro warned. ¡°I don¡¯t know ¡­¡­ what it is, but it looks like I can harass you if I run away with it.¡± Salk grins as he says this and blurs out of Tauro and the other¡¯s vision. With his ¡°escape¡± ability, Salk blends into the background like an alien from a certain movie and disappears. ¡°He disappeared!?¡± Aeris is startled by that. Tauro did not panic, and without hesitation, he fired an arrow in the direction he thought salk had disappeared and fled. ¡°Gyaa!¡± Salk screamed. The arrow Tauro shot only grazed Sauk¡¯s arm, but Salk dropped the papers he was holding and reappeared on the spot for a moment, but soon disappeared and ran away again. Tauro quickly turned his arrow and, anticipating the movement of the unseen Salk, fired another arrow. This time, it pierced the ground without hitting. Only then did Tauro stop firing his bow. Behind him, Ankh and Ragune were defeating the enemy. The enemy seemed to be strong enough to be defeated by two people. ¡°¡­¡­This took us longer than we expected, but are you okay there, Leader?¡± Ankh asked Tauro, sweating coldly at the unexpected skillfulness of the enemy. ¡°He got away, but it looks like we managed to get the confidential documents back.¡± Tauro picked up the confidential documents that Salk had dropped and waved them at Ankh and the others. The Assassin¡¯s Guild¡¯s stronghold capture was completed an hour later. The enemy leader was killed by the A-ranked adventurer team ¡°the Golden Mane¡± after a fierce battle. ¡°The Golden Mane¡± is literally a top-notch adventurer team, although the leader is short-sighted. The enemy leader who fought fiercely with that team was said to be incredibly strong. Tauro now wonders if he and his team could have been annihilated if they had given priority to pursuing the enemy leader. CH 242 It is not surprising, or perhaps it should be, that most of the prisoners of the assassination guild were non-combatants, men, women, and children, and only a few were seriously wounded and unconscious. Many of them committed suicide when they were captured. The subjugation team suffered a lot of damage, and of course, some of the B-ranked adventurer teams and the territorial soldiers were almost wiped out. This was because the enemy was using lethal poisons and paralysis, which can be fatal even without deep wounds. Tauro was able to heal his teammates by using potions and magic to restore them to health, and some of them barely survived, but there were still some who were too late and could not be healed in time. ¡°¡­I¡¯m sorry, but this person has already passed away.¡± Tauro¡¯s abnormality recovery magic and potions did all they could but he pronounced the casualty dead. ¡°Damn it¡­! This guy didn¡¯t make it, but our healer was saved. Thank you. They were going after the rear guard first. It¡¯s my fault that I, the vanguard, couldn¡¯t stop them¡­¡± The enemy¡¯s strategy seemed to be to target first the rear-guard adventurers, who could heal from abnormal conditions. Adventurers usually fight monsters. Although they also usually fight bandits and brigands, but they had a hard time dealing with the assassins, who have a special way of fighting. However, these were first-rate adventurers, and once they became familiar with the enemy¡¯s fighting style, they were able to gain an advantage and win the battle. All the casualties were gathered in the central building of the base. The captives are also pushed into the underground prison, just in case. As soon as the wounded were settled, the A-rank band team ¡°Golden Mane¡± called the captains of the territorial troops and the leaders of each team. Tauro was not among them, but the leader of the Dansas branch¡¯s B-rank band adventurer team ¡°White Night¡± and the leader of ¡°Zekei¡± invited Tauro. These two teams were deployed to the west, but they were wary of the black haze from the beginning, so they weren¡¯t caught up this time. yet they had witnessed its power. Although they had been very careful in their battle with the enemy, trusting Tauro¡¯s information, the black haze was actually used in front of them and its range of instant death spells spread faster than they had expected. In such a situation, it was immediately clear that the ¡°Black Golden Wings¡± had set up a ward to minimize the damage. They were horrified to think that if it hadn¡¯t been for that, they might have gotten caught in the middle of it as well. That is why the two teams thought they should let Tauro and the other members of ¡°Black Golden Wings¡± tell of their achievements in battle. ¡°¡­Mmm. Why is the leader of the E-rank team here?¡± The leader of the A-rank team, Raiga, had a sullen expression on his face. ¡°Because Tauro¡¯s information was correct. And thanks to the team¡¯s wards, we on the west side were able to minimize the damage. Also, Tauro and his team, the ¡° Black Golden Wings,¡± had done a good job of holding the treasury as planned and preventing the enemy from using their large-scale instant-death spells. There is no reason not to call them here.¡± The leader of ¡°White night ¡± defended Tauro. Next to him, the leader of ¡°Zekei¡± also nodded. ¡°But in fact, only that E-rank team really knows if such a large-scale spell was about to be used, don¡¯t you think?¡± Raiga still didn¡¯t seem to believe it. Then the leader of ¡°white night¡± took out a magic stone and a curse stone from his bag with magic compartment and put them on the desk in front of Raiga and his team. ¡°This is what the sorcerer we witnessed had, and used during the range instant death spell. And¡­Tauro, show them.¡± The leader of ¡°White Night¡± urged Tauro to produce the magic stone he had retrieved. ¡°¡­This is the magic stone that the enemy tried to use.¡± Tauro took a large magic stone that had been specially processed from his magic storage and put it in front of Raiga¡¯s eyes. ¡°Raiga-san, you can see this in comparison. The magic stone over here killed three of the soldiers on the west side and the two vanguards of the B-team ¡°Hungry Wolf¡± who were working together were killed instantly. If you add up the enemies, there were more than ten of them. And that was with the damage minimized by the ¡°black golden wings¡± warding. If they had used such a dangerous spell method based on such a big magic stone, everyone might have been taken out by the enemy, no? But Tauro and his ¡°Black Golden wings¡± prevented that from happening. Isn¡¯t that enough? They saved our lives.¡± ¡°Damn!¡± There was a moment when Raiga, not wanting to admit he was wrong, thought about retorting, but then he realized that he had been wrong. ¡°Raiga¡­. The leader of ¡°white night¡± is right. We must learn a lesson from this. The assassins¡¯ guild has its own technology that we are not familiar with. It was our mistake to underestimate them, and the death toll is high.¡± Eikoku interjected into the conversation, perhaps because he thought he would lose credibility if he let Raiga speak out of turn. ¡°And this, too, I¡¯ve got it, so please check it.¡± Tauro understood this, so he decided to talk about something else before getting into an argument and submitted a classified document from his magic storage. Eikoku received it and checked its contents. ¡°¡­Th-This is!¡­Raiga, this is a great job done by this team. I can¡¯t tell you the details here, but I can tell you that we have completed what Count Daredar asked us to do.¡± Apparently, the team ¡ºGolden Mane¡» had received another request in addition to the Assassination Guild subjugation request. He didn¡¯t know the contents of the confidential documents, but there was no doubt that Tauro and his team, ¡°the Black Golden Wings¡±, had done the best job. CH 243 The assassination guild branch annihilation operation resulted in many casualties, but was a success. Fortunately, Tauro and the other members of the Dansas branch did not suffer any casualties. On the way back to the village of Dansas. While B-Team ¡°Zekei¡± returned home a little earlier at an amazing speed, ¡°White night¡± and ¡°Black Golden Wings¡± were on their way home together. ¡°I honestly didn¡¯t think you guys would make it this far. The reputation of ¡°Black Gold¡± had been in decline since two of the main members left the group due to the mess. But it looks like the new members are excellent!¡± The leader of ¡°White night¡± patted Tauro on the back with a blunt remark. ¡°Hahaha¡­ The current ¡®Black Golden Wings¡¯ are pretty strong too.¡± Tauro said confidently with a wry smile. The leader of ¡°White night¡± rolled his eyes at Tauro¡¯s confidence. ¡°I guess. In fact, when I saw you guys, I realized that the rumors were baseless and come from the lower ranks.¡± He then gave his approval to the strength of Tauro¡¯s group, the ¡°Black Golden Wings¡±. After returning to the village of Dansas, Team ¡®white night¡¯ and the ¡®Black Golden Wings¡¯ went straight to the Adventurers¡¯ Guild to report their findings. This unusual and unlikely combination caught the attention of the other adventurers in the guild. Meanwhile, Chloe led the two teams to the branch manager¡¯s office and disappeared into the room. ¡°¡­ what kind of combination is that?¡± ¡°Speaking of which, I haven¡¯t seen them for the past few days.¡± ¡°A B-rank team and an E-rank team, and that too the failed ¡®Black golden Wings¡¯ team¡­I don¡¯t get it.¡± ¡°If you think about it, wouldn¡¯t it be like the luggage carrier Tauro was chosen to support ¡ºWhite night¡»?¡± ¡°Ah, that makes sense¡­ No, the ¡°White night¡± team has a bag with a magic storage compartment. That can¡¯t be the reason.¡± ¡°Then, is it a coincidence?¡± ¡°If it was a coincidence, they wouldn¡¯t have gone to the branch manager¡¯s office together!¡± While the adventurers in the room were speculating about the foolishness of the situation, a report was made in the branch manager¡¯s office. A report was made in the branch chief¡¯s office while the adventurers who were present were making foolish speculations. ¡°With that said, this quest has been completed.¡± After hearing Tauro¡¯s report, Chloe let out a sigh, ¡°I¡¯ve received a report from ¡®Zekei¡¯, but I¡¯m really sorry Tauro-kun and the others. I didn¡¯t know it was that dangerous¡­ I¡¯m sorry I let you guys in the E rank band go¡­¡± Chloe apologized and expressed her remorse. ¡°No, it was a situation that we had to report, and it was my decision as team leader, so it¡¯s not Chloe¡¯s fault.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. And I¡¯ve said it many times, these ¡°black gold¡± guys did a great job. They saved the lives of everyone there. Branch manager, I¡¯m recommending this team for promotion. They¡¯re not a team that will languish in the E rank belt.¡± The leader of ¡°White night¡± confidently recommended the team for a promotion. ¡°Everyone in ¡°Zekei¡± who reported to me earlier said the same thing. Well¡­you¡¯re right. Ankh and Ragune just had an unprecedented promotion, so it can¡¯t be sudden, but I¡¯ll think about it.¡± As for Chloe, there is also the matter of conflicts with other adventurers. If the other adventurers, who are unaware of Tauro and his team¡¯s achievements, think that she¡¯s favoring Ankh and his team, who had been promoted so quickly, it would affect the credibility of the Dansas branch. It was a difficult decision for Chloe. A few days later. When Tauro and his group returned from their quest as usual, and were reporting their completion at the reception, Chloe came out of the branch manager¡¯s office and called Tauro and his group into the branch manager¡¯s office. ¡°¡­ehm¡­.well. There were various recommendations to me for everyone¡¯s promotion, so I¡¯m going to have all four of you promoted to D-. Ragune-chan, you¡¯re going up two ranks from E, but you¡¯ll accept, right?¡± Chloe asked as she let out a big sigh. ¡°What? You said the other day that it couldn¡¯t be done on short notice, right?¡± ¡°I did, but I got letters of recommendation for everyone¡¯s promotion from the A-team ¡°Golden Mane¡±, and from the head of the Daredar branch. And even a letter of recommendation in the name of the Count himself! As the head of a weak Dansas branch, I can¡¯t hold back any longer. Also I¡¯m sorry, but this quest is confidential, so please don¡¯t tell anyone the reason for your promotion.¡± That meant I couldn¡¯t say that I had been promoted on merit, which is going to be a source of trouble. But no matter what the reason, everyone was now promoted to the D rank band. Ragune was happy that she had finally caught up with everyone else, and Aeris was happy that she had achieved one of her goals of being a D rank in a shorter period of time than she had expected. Ankh, who has only been an adventurer for a short time, didn¡¯t realize how great it was, but he laughed and said, ¡°Good for you all!¡± Seeing everyone like that made Tauro happy. Ankh and Ragune were promoted at an unusually fast pace, but their abilities were real. Tauro was satisfied that it had been proved. Coincidentally, this day was also Tauro¡¯s 13th birthday. CH 244 Tauro and his ¡°Black Gold Wings¡± were all promoted to D-rank. At last, a silver tag to show for it. As adventurers, the D-rank band is proof of strength. Because many adventurers retire at the E rank level. That is why there is such a big barrier to advancement to the D-rank level. The largest number of adventurers are in the E rank zone, which is called the general level, and among them, a handful of talented adventurers are able to move up to the D rank zone through assessment. Because of the large number of skilled adventurers in this rank range, there are many who set their sights on this rank. Tauro reached this rank when he was only 13 years old. Aeris is still only 16 years, it¡¯s understandable why Chloe, the branch manager, was reluctant to promote them. Despite being a promising team in the Dansas branch, the leader is still a minor. The envy and jealousy from those around him must be considerable. That was one of the reasons why Chloe was reluctant. Therefore, Chloe deliberately divulged the reason for Tauro and his team¡¯s promotion this time. The fact that the ¡° Black Golden Wings¡± were promoted because of the recommendation of the A-rank team ¡°Golden Mane,¡± the B-rank team ¡°White night¡± and ¡°Zekei,¡± the other B-rank adventurer teams from other branches, and Count Daredar, the lord, for their success in a certain secret special quest. The level of the rumor seemed so outlandish that even the adventurers of the Dansas branch were unsure how much to trust them. In the first place, it was surprising that all the first-class adventurers recommended them for promotion, and the recommendation of the top-notch ¡ºGolden Mane¡» was too big to be a lie. The two vanguard members had fallen out, and two new recruits had finally joined the team. Those who heard directly from the branch manager who was the source of the rumor and the team members of ¡°White night¡± and ¡°Zekei,¡± who recommended them, could only think it was a joke. So the rumor was soon settled as a joke. But a few days later, a message was received from the city of Daredar ¡°It seems that a top-notch team of adventurers had gathered together to secretly take out the assassination guild¡¯s stronghold, and they have succeeded.¡± When rumors spread to the village of Dansas, the adventurers, ¡°Is this what you meant!?¡± And the rumors about the ¡°Black Golden Wings¡± rekindled. ¡°Are you saying that ¡®Black Golden Wings¡¯ were the only E-rank participant in this quest?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think that¡¯s true. If the lineup is as rumored, it really is only in the B-rank zone, right?¡± ¡°Certainly. There is no room for ¡°Black Gold,¡± which was in the E rank band, no matter how much they want it, right?¡± The main reason for this is that the people who were in the E rank band and saw ¡°Black Gold Wings¡± as a lower rank were all negative about the rumors. However, among some high-ranked adventurers, there were also those who appreciated the ¡°Black Golden Wings¡±. ¡°the Leader, Tauro, has a calmness that you wouldn¡¯t expect from a 12- or 13-year-old.¡± ¡°Ah,He was a very strong, if unspectacular, rearguard in the ogre subjugation battle, and his skill at making potions is amazing. He is a very skilled potion-maker, isn¡¯t he? If it¡¯s a supportive participation, it¡¯s quite possible.¡± ¡°No. It¡¯s not. No one knows about the two new vanguards, but it seems that they are actually adventurers. The fact that they have risen to their current ranks in such a short period of time is probably due more to the abilities of the two newcomers than to Tauro¡¯s support skills.¡± ¡°Is that so? They¡¯ve actually become a D-rank. I¡¯m sure they will prove their abilities in the future.¡± While the high-ranking adventurers were calmly exchanging their opinions, one of them said to the other ¡°I think I¡¯ve seen that new guy somewhere¡­. No, I¡¯ve heard of him. ¡­¡­ for the features I¡¯ve heard of.¡± He mouthed the words. ¡°Which one? That beautiful lady?¡± ¡°No, the one with the big sword. The one with the big sword. I¡¯m pretty sure he was a mercenary back in my mercenary days. ¡­¡­¡± ¡°Yeah, you were a mercenary until a few years ago.¡± ¡°¡­If I remember correctly, that man might be the one who was known among mercenaries as the ¡®Red Devil in Black¡¯.¡± ¡°The ¡°Red Devil in Black¡±? It is true that he wears all black and has red hair. But, such a celebrity? I¡¯m sure there are people out there who dress like them and bluff their way into imitating them.¡± ¡°I guess so. I used to bluff my way to get a little more money in my contract at the time also.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sure there will be people who will try to take advantage of that celebrity. In the first place, why would such a person become an adventurer and bother to take a child under his wing?¡± ¡°I¡¯m sure that¡¯s true. Ha ha ha!¡± Tauro, who was choosing a quest in the guild, was eavesdropping on the conversation. Information is important, so Tauro often listens to the conversations of high-ranking adventurers. If the rumors are true, Ankh might be a well-known figure in the industry. No wonder he is so good at what he does. Tauro was convinced, but Ankh didn¡¯t change his complexion whether he didn¡¯t hear or pretended not to hear. ¡°Leader. I think we might as well play it safe and go on an orc subjugation quest today. It¡¯s more of a day trip than this one.¡± Ankh said, comparing the quests for defeating orcs and harpies that were posted. Admittedly, it¡¯s a neighborhood quest and a reasonable quest for D-. ¡®Orcs, I like that one! The proprietress of the ¡°Dwarf Inn¡± will be pleased if we deliver fresh meat to her!¡± Ragune seemed to agree. ¡°Hey Ragune. Don¡¯t think of things in terms of pork cutlets.¡± Aeris warned Ragune about her appetite. ¡°I think I¡¯ll go for this orc slaying then.¡± Tauro took charge of the situation and went to the reception desk as usual to complete the quest procedures. CH 245 Tauro and his group had been doing quests as D-rank adventurers for several days, but one morning, the branch manager, Chloe, called Tauro and his group, who were choosing their quests, into the branch manager¡¯s office. ¡°What can we do for you?¡± Tauro asked Chloe on behalf of the group. The post- processing of the assassination guild branch eradication operation had already been completed, so he did not understand why he was being called in. ¡°¡­Actually, I¡¯ve got a request for you all.¡± ¡°¡±¡±nomination request?¡±¡±¡± A question mark appeared in everyone¡¯s head. It was not something that should be called all the way to the branch manager¡¯s office. It seemed to be a matter that could have been handled by the receptionist. ¡°¡­It seems that the client wants to keep it strictly confidential.¡± ¡°¡­I see. So, who is the client?¡± Tauro urged Chloe to continue. ¡°The client is¡­ Count Daredar himself, and he will tell you the details of the request directly. We basically reject requests that we can¡¯t tell the adventurers the details of, but since the client is a lord¡­ The reward is quite good. They¡¯re also asking for a confidential case, and they¡¯d like you to just listen to them.¡± It seems that Chloe hasn¡¯t heard the details of the request either, is it a request of some magnitude? ¡°¡­I would like to refuse, but I owe Count Daredar a debt of gratitude for recommending me when I was promoted. ¡­It¡¯s okay if I just listen to it and decline, right?¡± Tauro confirms. ¡°Of course. That¡¯s what they also said, and if anything goes wrong, the Adventurers Guild will do its best to protect you! We don¡¯t have that much power here in the Dansas branch, but¡­¡± At the end, she added something that made Chloe seem uneasy, but Tauro pretended not to have heard it. The other party is a lord and also a powerful nobleman. It was no wonder that Chloe felt weak. ¡°¡­What about you guys? I¡¯m open to it.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t mind. I heard that Count Daredar¡¯s character is not bad, so I think it will be fine.¡± Aeris understood. ¡°I¡¯ll leave it up to the leader to decide.¡± Ankh grinned and left the decision to Tauro. ¡°If everyone agrees, I have no reason to oppose.¡± Ragune agreed with a smile. ¡°¡­Then Chloe-san. I accept this quest.¡± ¡°Yes, I¡¯m glad to hear that! Now I can get some sleep today. I have to admit that I have been nervous since this offer came to me. Tauro, I was afraid you would refuse.¡± Chloe let out a big breath of relief and sat deep in her chair. ¡°Hahaha¡­ I don¡¯t know what it¡¯s about, so I¡¯d really like to say no.¡± Tauro laughed wryly and let out his true feelings. ¡°Yes, I know. If it wasn¡¯t Count Daleder with whom I was dealing with, I would say no.¡± Chloe agreed with Tauro. Tauro and his party left the village of Dansas on the same day as it was top secret and rushed to the city of Daredar When they arrived at night, they went straight to the inn, and decided to go to Count Daredar¡¯s castle first thing the next morning. Morning. When Tauro and his party were about to leave the inn, they found a horse-drawn carriage waiting for them from Count Darader. It was a modest carriage, but what kind of client would send foran adventurer to meet them in a carriage in the first place? ¡°I¡¯m here to pick you up. Please get in.¡± The gentleman bowed his head politely, and then he and the others were placed on the wagon. While Tauro and his party were rocked by the carriage, ¡°Leader, this is a job, right?¡± ¡°I think so, but¡­¡± Tauro was also puzzled by this treatment. Was it perhaps a request related to reversi? He felt nervous inside. ¡°It¡¯s all right, everyone. We¡¯ll be fine.¡± Aeris remained calm and composed. Ragune closed her eyes as if she didn¡¯t think anything of it. ¡°Anyway, let¡¯s hear the content of the request from the client, count Daredar, and then we¡¯ll make a decision.¡± That was all Tauro could do. When they arrived at Count Daredar¡¯s castle, they were let in through the back gate. As expected, top secret is top secret. It seems to be a reasonable request, as he was sure that we were not to be seen, Tauro felt a little relieved. Is that right? It seems to be a proper job. Tauro and the others were taken directly to Count Daredar¡¯s office. There, they found a well-dressed man looking over documents and signing them. Tauro, who had met him several times in the royal capital, knew right away that this person was Count Daredar. He looks older than when we had met him before. He may have had a hard time due to the repeated assassination attempts on his life and the assassination guild branch eradication operation. ¡°Master, Tauro-sama and his party have arrived.¡± The man who escorted Tauro and the others to the office called out to Count Daredar, who was engrossed in his work. Count Daredar finally looked up as if he remembered being called and smiled when he saw Tauro¡¯s face. ¡°It¡¯s been a long time, Tauro-dono! Please, everyone, sit down.¡± Count Daredar welcomed Tauro and his party with a casualness and humbleness that could not be imagined from his aristocratic appearance. CH 246 ¡°First of all, I would like to thank you. I owe you my life, Tauro-dono. Thank you very much.¡± Count Daredar bowed deeply to Tauro, an adventurer. Normally, one would thank a man with words or a letter, but not with a bow. This is because of his position as a nobleman. But Count Daredar ignored this. ¡°Please raise your head, Count Daredar. If you are referring to the assassination attempt, it was just a coincidence, as I said.¡± Tauro quickly replied. ¡°¡­¡­No, but it did in fact save my life. And I¡¯m sorry it¡¯s taken me this long to thank you.¡± ¡°No, that¡¯s one aspect I refused.¡± ¡°I was also the one who was rude to Tauro-dono because my subordinate suspected you of being a member of the assassination guild. I was surprised when I received the report later. I was also suspicious of the assassination attempt and avoided people, so I apologize for being behind the curve. I was told that the interrogator was able to extract information smoothly thanks to the curse that Tauro-dono placed on the assassin so that the assassin¡¯s sorcerer would not be able to commit suicide. Thanks to that, it led to the ¡°Assassination Guild Branch Eradication Operation,¡± which is a great achievement. Thank you very much.¡± ¡°I did return the curse, but that¡¯s just a coincidence. It¡¯s just an afterthought, so there is no need to thank me.¡± Tauro replied, inwardly wondering if that was why he was able to extract information from the assassin. ¡°No, no, I was told that it was Tauro-dono and his men who obtained classified information and saved the lives of adventurers in our elite unit this time as well. For that, too, as a lord, I am grateful.¡± Count Daredar bowed his head again. This time, lightly. He seemed to have learned that Tauro would not like it if he bowed too deeply. ¡°I give credit to my team for that. Everyone did a great job.¡± I decided to accept the Count¡¯s gratitude on that point. ¡°The leader of the A-rank team, ¡°Golden Mane¡±, praised you as a good team. I know you¡¯ve all already received your rewards, but as your lord and master, I¡¯d like to give this to you.¡± Count Daredar said so and had his men bring a tray with money on it. ¡°To you, Tauro-dono, who has been at the center of this series of successes, I give three platinum coins, and to everyone else, I give one platinum coin each.¡± ¡°What a surprise. My goodness, you¡¯re so generous! Ha-ha-ha!¡± Ankh laughed and accepted his reward without hesitation. Everyone followed his example and accepted their rewards. Tauro took only one piece and put the rest back in the tray held by the count¡¯s subordinates. ¡°The reward should be the same as everyone else¡¯s.¡± When Tauro answered so, Count Dareder nodded his head, perhaps thinking that forcing it was not a good idea, and had his subordinates lower the rest. ¡° I have called Mr. Tauro here not only to thank him for his help, but also to express my gratitude for the confidential information he has given us, which has revealed a great deal about the flow of money in the assassination guilds. As a result of my close examination of the classified information, I found that there is a story or a connection that is not entirely unrelated to Tauro-dono. ¡­¡­ In fact, we were following the money flow of a certain aristocratic faction, and we realized that some of the flow corresponded to the confidential information of the assassination guild.¡± ¡°Wait a minute, Count. It¡¯s probably not a good idea to talk about it with us.¡± Tauro realized that Count Daredar was about to talk about something risqu¨¦ and stopped him. ¡°It is true that this is a very bad thing to talk about. But since you have obtained this information and since we have a history together, I thought it would be a good idea for you to hear it¡­¡­.won¡¯t you listen?¡± Count Daredar looked into Tauro¡¯s eyes and fell silent. ¡°¡­Everyone, leave the room unless you want to hear this story.¡± Aeris and the others don¡¯t move even the slightest, they seem to be fully willing to listen. ¡°¡­Then please continue.¡± Tauro, with everyone¡¯s agreement, urged Count Daredar to speak. ¡°¡­Tauro-dono and Aeris-san, you probably know, but I belong to the Prime Minister¡¯s faction. It is the largest faction among nobles, and recently it has surpassed even the royal family. And now, the Prime Minister¡¯s faction is in conflict with the Marquis of Halagoura¡¯s faction, and the rift between the two is deepening. The Marquis of Halagoura is the largest and most powerful faction of the nobility, recently surpassing even the royal family. We were concerned about this faction and were investigating the flow of money behind the scenes. Currently, the Marquis of Halagoura faction is believed to be moving a large and disturbing amount of money: the Marquis of Halagoura, the leader of the faction; Count Ayanshi, a leading figure; and Viscount Saissi, who has made a fortune from mithril ore but has been quiet until recently.¡± Tauro reacts with a twitch. It is true that they have a history with me. Count Daredar continues. ¡°¡­Especially after the recent movement of large sums of money around Viscount Saissi, several suspicious deaths began to occur among the nobles in our ranks. We knew right away that it was assassination guild-related, but we didn¡¯t know who was behind it. So we were on the lookout for Viscount Saissi, who had begun to spread money around in a flamboyant way, but we were having a hard time catching his tail.¡± ¡°¡­In there, is this the confidential document?¡± ¡°Yes, the assassin¡¯s guild dealt with an important goldmine, so it seems they investigated it on their own. Most of the confidential documents themselves were encrypted, but the numbers correspond to the flow of some of Viscount Saissi¡¯s money.¡± ¡°In other words,Does this mean that Viscount Saissi is involved in the series of suspicious deaths of aristocrats from the Prime Minister¡¯s faction? ¡°Yes. we believe so. We believe that the fact that Tauro-dono also obtained the confidential documents this time is a very fateful coincidence.¡± Tauro had a deep connection with the assassination guild, but Tauro never thought that Viscount Saissi would also be involved in the guild. (TN: For those who have forgotten, Viscount Saissi is the ruler of the town,Tauro first became an adventurer). CH 247 The meeting between Tauro and his party and Count Dareder was still ongoing. ¡°©¤ And at the end of the classified document, there was a sentence scribbled in non-encrypted text. It was Tauro¡¯s name and a number, followed by an ¡°X¡±. We have been investigating this ¡®X¡¯ for some time now. Our research had concluded that this ¡°x¡± was an assassin. ¡­¡­, but did Tauro-dono, ever have any assassins targeting him? If so, it is possible that he was targeted by an assassin, but it is also possible that he was mistakenly thought to be an assassin. ¡­¡­¡± Count Daredar asked Tauro, making a guess based on his troubled conclusion. Depending on Tauro¡¯s reply, it could mean that it was just a coincidence that the other coded sentences and numbers matched the ones they had checked out. ¡®Yes, I have reported to the Adventurers¡¯ Guild that there was an attempt to assassinate me the other day. I think the assassination guild thinks they have succeeded. But I¡¯m sure they will soon find out, since they have someone who managed to escape this time.¡­¡­¡± ¡°¡­ I see, so, as expected, it¡¯s as we read¡­ huh?The assassination of Tauro-dono seems to have been carried out mainly by the assassination guild. The reason being is that the amount of money spent on Tauro-dono was so low that no assassination guild would normally accept it.¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°It¡¯s hard to say, but it¡¯s ¡­¡­, it¡¯s just one silver coin. The amount¡¯s so low that it doesn¡¯t even cover expenses. At first I doubted that the confidential document itself was genuine, but if there had been an assassination attempt, the assassination guild would have had a reason to accept the low price. The scribble of Tauro¡¯s name and forehead almost changed the value of the confidential documents. Oh, of course, it¡¯s not that the value of the document is not worth it. It¡¯s a matter of consistency. ¡­¡­¡± I understand what Count Daredar is trying to say. Assassination guilds would not normally accept a job for just a single silver coin. If the content scribbled in readable characters on a confidential document written in code is a single unconvincing sentence, then the coder¡¯s conviction will be lost as well. But isn¡¯t one silver coin a terrible deal? Tauro was a little hurt by his low value. But perhaps, in the course of signing a big contract with Viscount Saissi¡¯s side, they suggested that they would handle one of us as a bonus or service. And as a result of the proposal, the name that came out of Viscount Saissi¡¯s mouth may have been me. The assassination guild was likely to have been enthusiastic about the idea, since his own name, with which they had a close relationship, was mentioned. It was such a large-scale assassination, there was almost no doubt about it. ¡°Have the texts written in ¡­¡­ ciphers been deciphered?¡± Tauro confirmed. ¡°Yes. I don¡¯t think it will take much time to solve it, but it¡¯s still early days. Right now, my men are working day and night to crack the code. ¡­¡­ By the way, Tauro-dono. If the other side finds out that you are still alive, they may target you again. For the time being, I think it would be better for you to hide yourself somewhere where no one knows about you. ¡­¡­¡± ¡°¡­¡­, I¡¯ll think about it.¡± As for Tauro, he would have been fine if it were only about himself, but he had to be cautious because of the possibility of getting everyone else involved. In fact, when I died from the ¡°range instant death spell,¡± I could have involved my friends. This was a problem I had to seriously consider. ¡°Tauro-dono, you saved my life, so I will do my best to help you. Feel free to ask me anything.¡± Count Daredar then promised Tauro and the other ¡° Black Golden Wings¡± free access to the castle, as well as support within the territory. Tauro tried to refuse, but Count Daredar would not budge. He was given a tag with the Daredar family crest on it, so that in the case of any emergency, he would be able to put his name forward to the person in charge of the town or village and ask for help. Thus, the meeting with Count Daredar ended without incident. This was the end of Count Daredar¡¯s request. After being taken by carriage to the inn, Aeris and Ragune came to the room where Tauro and Ankh were staying to discuss the future. ¡°So, what are you going to do, Tauro? I think it would be better to leave the village of Dansas until things cool down. Do you have someplace to go?¡± Aeris asked for a concrete plan. ¡°Hmmm ¡­¡­. There is one thing, but I wonder what you guys want to do first.¡± ¡°Huh? Us? I have no complaints about working with leader, you know?¡± ¡°I¡¯m going to be working with you as one of your friends, okay? ¡­You¡¯re not going to tell me that you¡¯re going to break up with me when we¡¯ve just become friends, are you? ¡­¡­Kill me¡­¡­!¡± Ragune said sharply, as usual, but without thinking. Tauro was thinking of temporarily leaving the team himself as an idea. ¡°¡­Are you thinking of leaving the team alone and hiding yourself?¡± Aeris, taking a hint from Ragune¡¯s words, came up with an answer that Tauro might consider. ¡°¡­ I don¡¯t think so. Ah, but I¡¯m going to a place that everyone knows about, so there¡¯s no need to worry, right? I¡¯ll be able to contact you soon.¡± After saying that, Tauro began to talk about a place to escape from the assassin guild¡¯s clutches. CH 248 A certain inn in the city of Daredar. The group gathered in the room where Tauro and Ankh were staying and were having a discussion. Tauro told Aeris and the others about an idea. ¡°I think I should go to the village of the Dragon People, Ragune¡¯s hometown, until things cool down at the Assassination Guild. People from the outside are rare there, and I¡¯m sure they¡¯ll recognize us when we come in. Besides, I heard that there¡¯s an Adventurers¡¯ Guild branch there.¡± ¡°The village of the Dragon People?!¡± Aeris and Ankh were surprised at the idea that was so far above their expectations. ¡°I thought maybe we were going to go to the city of Saisii, but it¡¯s the village of the Dragon People!¡± I thought Aeris that had an outrageous imagination. ¡°That¡¯s a terrific idea, too, but ¡­¡­! The village of the Dragon People is, above all, a far, steep, and risky place to go normally, isn¡¯t it, Ragune?¡± ¡°Ah, yes, that¡¯s right. From here, it would take about a month to get to a remote human settlement village in the north, then traverse the great forest area, enter the Antas Mountains, and finally reach the village after finding the dragon forest from there. As I told you before, it would take me more than a month to find us, even though I am confident in my leg strength. Besides, the entire village is covered with wards and sight-obstructing magic, so it would be extremely difficult to find it even if you were looking for it.¡± Although she was suddenly asked to speak, Ragune told the truth about what was probably the village¡¯s secret. ¡°©¤©¤That¡¯s right, so the assassins won¡¯t come to the Dragon People¡¯s village, so I thought I should take care of them there. To do so, I would have to ask Ragune to intervene and get permission from the chief of the dragon tribe. And even though it¡¯s a long distance, it¡¯s the easiest way to stay in touch with everyone.¡± ¡°You are very welcome to come to the village, so I think the chief¡¯s permission will be granted soon. Besides, the chief also said that he has a request to ask you.¡± Ragune extended the welcome. ¡°Yes, I think I¡¯ll go and take that request as well.¡± Tauro had not forgotten that Ryuga, the chief of the Dragon People, had said he had a favor to ask. He had been so busy recently that he had not visited the Dragon People village since that day, but he had felt the need to visit, so he thought the timing was perfect. ¡°Then we¡¯ll go too. Since we¡¯re a team, we¡¯ll go anywhere there¡¯s an adventurer¡¯s guild.¡± Aeris added naturally. ¡°I thought you would say that, but if it¡¯s what the chief wants, it¡¯s going to be a big deal, so maybe it would be better if you and the others acted separately?¡± Tauro thought it would be disingenuous to take Aeris and the others into what he considered to be danger, so he took a negative stance. ¡°Aeris, the leader is right. He¡¯s trying to hide from the assassination guild so that we don¡¯t get caught up in their raid in the first place, but If we go along with him to hide ourselves from them, we¡¯ll be in even more danger there. Besides, it wouldn¡¯t make sense to make it an established fact that the leader had left the team and disappeared unless we were still in the village of Dansas. If the whole team disappears, the assassination guild will be looking for the four of us with blood on their hands. If we don¡¯t make them think we¡¯re no longer in touch with the leader, he¡¯s going to have to worry about us. You know what I mean right?¡± ¡°¡­¡­ how long is this going to take?¡± Aeris asked Tauro, looking disapprovingly. ¡°I don¡¯t know. It depends on what the chief is asking for, but about six months to a year? It depends on the progress of the dungeon capture. I¡¯ll probably be in charge of taking them back and forth, so they¡¯ll be able to avoid as much danger as possible. Besides, Ragune has been returning to the village of the Dragon People frequently, so I think she will be able to contact me soon.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right, Aeris. For me, my hometown is a place I can always go right back to. If something happens, I can reach you right away, so it¡¯s a lot closer than halfway across the country, right?¡± Ragune also advised Aeris with concern. ¡°Even though we were able to get a team of four together and were just about to start in earnest. ¡­¡­ Okay, I¡¯ll see what I can do.¡± Aeris, perhaps having something on her mind, decided to go along with Tauro¡¯s idea. In this way, the leader of the Black Golden Wings, which was supposed to start in earnest as a D-Team, temporarily left the team. CH 249 At the adventurer¡¯s guild, Tauro completed the procedure to leave the team ¡°Black Golden Wings¡±. With this, I¡¯m officially a solo adventurer. This flustered Chloe, the head of the Dansas branch, and she called everyone into the branch manager¡¯s office and asked for an explanation. Tauro, on behalf of all of them, gave a straightforward explanation. ¡°¡­So that¡¯s how it is. I¡¯ll try to reach out to headquarters about the Assassination Guild, but I don¡¯t know what will happen¡­.By the way, what are you going to do now, Tauro-kun?¡± ¡°They won¡¯t be after me forever, so I¡¯m going to go into hiding for a while and come back when things cool down.¡± I didn¡¯t explain that I was going to the village of the dragon people. It would be better if she didn¡¯t know. ¡°¡­Yes. Tauro, this guild is indebted to you. You still help us gather medicinal herbs, and you often undertake G-rank quests for us. You supported the foundation of the Dansas branch, so it¡¯s a pity even if it¡¯s only temporary. Sigh¡­ Take care, and thank you for everything.¡± As the head of the branch, as the receptionist, and as an individual, she thanked Tauro. ¡°Huh? Tauro-kun, are you leaving this village!?¡± The representative of the Marches Trading Company, Marches, raised his voice at the unexpected words of Tauro, who came to visit him. ¡°You speak too loudly, Marches-san.¡± Tauro laughed and warned. ¡°Oh, sorry. Of course, it¡¯s only temporary, right? You wouldn¡¯t leave it open for a few months or something like last time, would you?¡± While Tauro was in the royal capital, they had been exchanging letters, reports, and business consultations, but that had been difficult because of the lag. ¡°I may be away for a long time. This time, since we are not close enough to exchange letters, I don¡¯t think I¡¯ll be writing to you unless it¡¯s urgent, so please keep our business dealings as they are.¡± In fact, it would be quicker if he went through Ragune, but considering the current situation, it would be better to keep it a secret. ¡°Is that so? I¡¯m not sure¡­hmmm. I¡¯m worried because I¡¯m indebted to you, Tauro-kun, but, well, I¡¯m settled down now without any noticeable trouble. Oh, and of course, you¡¯ll call me when you have new business to discuss, right?¡± Since Marches could not imagine doing business without Tauro, who was the de facto owner of his business association, it was probably inevitable that he was worried about losing contact with him. Tauro thought that this might be a good opportunity for Marches to reassure him that the Marches trading company would grow along its own lines, and he was glad to see Marches¡¯ reaction. After that, he reported to the head chef of the ¡°Resting Pavilion¡± and the proprietress of the ¡°Dwarf Inn¡± that he was leaving the village, and then he visited the home of Bob, a dog person. ¡°Bob! Tauro-kun is here.¡± Bob¡¯s girlfriend, Momo, a cat person who lives with Bob, called him, who was in the back room. ¡°Oh, Tauro! What¡¯s the matter? Don¡¯t just stand there, get in the house!¡± Bob came out of the back room and greeted Tauro with a smile on his face. Tauro reported that he was leaving the village as he had done to everyone else. ¡°You¡¯re leaving the team, too! You just made it to the D rank zone¡­. Where are you going to continue as an adventurer?¡± Bob had properly checked on Tauro¡¯s promotion, but since he did not know the circumstances, he probably wanted to hear about it. They are friends who saved this village together, so he¡¯s curious to know where I¡¯m going. ¡°I think it will be up north, but I haven¡¯t decided yet.¡± ¡°I see¡­ You didn¡¯t have a falling out with your team or anything, did you?¡± ¡°No, Of course not. Actually¡­I¡¯m being targeted by the Assassin¡¯s Guild.¡± Tauro could feel Bob¡¯s concern for him, so he decided he should be honest and confided in him. ¡°¡­Is it related to the operation from the other day?¡± ¡°Including that, so I decided to lay low for a while.¡± ¡°¡­I see. It¡¯s to keep your friends from getting involved¡­? I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll be able to find a way. I¡¯m glad you told me. Of course, I¡¯ll keep this to myself. Momo, don¡¯t tell anyone either.¡± I stopped him from telling Momo, who was working quietly by my side. ¡°¡­of course. I hope you¡¯ll be back soon.¡± Momo called out to Tauro sadly. ¡°Yes, I will. I will come back when I return. Don¡¯t worry, it¡¯s not goodbye for life. I¡¯ll go somewhere safe, don¡¯t worry.¡± Tauro replied with a smile and said hello to the two of them before leaving Bob¡¯s house. ¡°¡­bad timing. I was planning to surprise you with an invitation to our wedding, but I never got around to giving them to you¡­¡± Bob sighed heavily. ¡°It can¡¯t be helped. Tauro-kun has his own reasons. Let¡¯s surprise him when he comes back. That kind of surprise might be nice.¡± Momo patted her future husband on the back to encourage him. CH 250 Tauro, after greeting all the people in the village, disappeared from the village without being seen off by anyone other than Aeris and the others. This was, of course, because Ragune¡¯s ¡°Dimensional Corridor¡± can¡¯t be openly revealed, but for those who did not know what was going on, there were a lot of surprises and unfounded rumors because the team ¡°Black Golden Wings¡± had just risen to the D rank zone. ¡°he¡¯s been on a long disappearance before. I¡¯m sure he¡¯s off somewhere this time, too.¡± ¡°No, I heard that this time he officially left the team and disappeared.¡± ¡°Really!? The youngest adventurer in this village, and he¡¯s on his way up!?¡± ¡°Hey, hey, hey. Black Gold, right? You guys didn¡¯t kick Tauro out, did you?¡± A higher-ranking adventurer in the Adventurers¡¯ Guild, who recognized Tauro¡¯s ability, spoke to Aeris and the others who were just there before the lower-ranking adventurers started spreading rumors of his departure. ¡°Don¡¯t be silly! Tauro has his reasons ¡­and we¡¯ve decided to send him on his way.¡± Aeris retorted grimly, but sadly. ¡®¡­From now on, I¡¯ll be leading the team as the leader of the ¡® Black Golden Wings¡¯, so please support me when I join you on a quest.¡± Aeris bowed to the adventurers in the guild lobby. ¡°Oh¡­okay¡­when you are in the D rank zone, there will be a lot more support quests for the higher ranks. We¡¯ll have a lot of opportunities to work together.¡± The leader of the D rank team, who had previously helped Bob and the others defeat the orcs when they were rescuing them, approached Aeris. ¡°Don¡¯t deal with people who spread rumors. We know that.¡± The B-ranked teams ¡°White night¡± and ¡°Zekei¡±, who somehow guessed the situation, also approached Aeris. At this, even the adventurers from the E-rank team, who had been trying to spread the rumor as if it were someone else¡¯s business, also stopped talking. The two B-rank teams, the aces of the Dansas branch, took a defensive stance. Saying more than that might get you noticed. That was something they all avoided. ¡°So, new leader. Do you have any plans for the future?¡± After accepting the quest to exterminate the orcs and leaving the guild, Ankh asked Aeris about her outlook. ¡°I don¡¯t have any plans. I have a few things in mind. But it¡¯s not like I can¡¯t get in touch with Tauro at all, and I want to solidify the three of us as a team, so for the time being we¡¯ll just play it safe and do the D rank quests. Let¡¯s do our best! Aeris replied, inspiring everyone. ¡°Yeah! Tauro said that I only need to come to the Dragon People¡¯s village once in a while to check on things, but once every few days I¡¯ll go check on him. And it¡¯s my parents¡¯ house to begin with!¡± Ragune laughed and said. ¡°I¡¯m amazed, how exactly did Ragune¡¯s brother agree to this?¡± Ankh asked back, laughing at the fact that Tauro¡¯s lodging in the Dragon People¡¯s village was now at Ragune¡¯s house. ¡°Since I don¡¯t show up much these days, Brother seems to think it¡¯s a good opportunity.¡± Ragune answers Ankh with a wry smile at her older brother Drago¡¯s concern for her. ¡°I can easily contact Tauro, so it¡¯s okay. The problem is the three of us. Tauro is no longer a member, so we don¡¯t have bows and potions to support us, and we don¡¯t have accurate instructions, right?¡± Aeris was the one who had to fill Tauro¡¯s shoes as the rear guard, so she reminded herself as if to call attention to this. ¡°Relax, Aeris. Your support has been more than good enough in the past, and me and Ragune have plenty of solo experience, so we can handle ourselves. We can manage our luggage with the magic storage bag that Tauro left behind and Ragune¡¯s magic storage, so there¡¯s no need to panic. Get used to it.¡± Ankh tried to ease Aeris¡¯s nervousness by pointing out her concerns. ¡°¡­Yes, I know. But let¡¯s both be careful with the organization without Tauro until we get used to it. Even so, the difficulty level of the quests has increased since we moved up to the D rank zone. We¡¯ll also concentrate on defeating the orcs today!¡± Aeris shouldered the responsibility of the team without Tauro on her shoulders and faced the quest. A few days have passed since Tauro disappeared. The days pass by unchanged in the village of Dansas. Soon after, Ragune went to the village of the dragon people to check on them, but she found that Tauro was nowhere to be seen, and her brother Drago, who was there at the time, told her that ¡°Tauro-dono has gone to the Adventurers¡¯ Guild here, and he seems to be in trouble because there are no quests at all.¡± After receiving the report, she decided to return to the village of Dansas through the Dimensional Corridor without meeting Tauro. Tauro rarely stayed at Ragune¡¯s parents¡¯ house, and was always on the move. Therefore, Ragune was not able to see Tauro, but only heard from her brother Drago about Tauro¡¯s condition and then conveyed that to Aeris and the others. She was not able to report to Tauro about Aeris and the others. The report, however, was to reassure Tauro that the new three-person team had taken shape over the past few days, so a message to Drago would have sufficed. Thus, Tauro moved from the village of Dansas to the village of the Dragon People by himself, and Aeris and the others began their new lives. CH 251 Tauro decided to stay in the village of the Dragon People. First, he greeted Chief Ryuga and with Ragune¡¯s mediation, obtained his consent, including permission to live in Drago¡¯s house. Chief Ryuga, of course, readily agreed. Tauro saved their lives. When asked why, he said that an organization called the Assassination Guild was trying to kill him. He wanted a place to hide for a while, so he chose this place. They, too, had no intention of overlooking the fact that their benefactor¡¯s life is in danger. Besides, Tauro also had an offer to make. It was to cooperate with the Dragon People¡¯s long-cherished dream of conquering the dungeon. Tauro himself said, ¡°If my ¡®spatial transfer¡¯ can be of use, I will cooperate.¡± Chief Ryuga was also planning to approach Ragune in the near future to see if he could be of assistance, so it was a godsend. In this case, the Dragon People would also owe Tauro a great debt. So, Ryuga decided to order a unit of the Dragon People to gather information on the assassination guild and possibly intercept it for Tauro¡¯s sake. According to Ragune, the forbidden magic that only a few of the Dragon People can use has changed form and is being passed down to that organization. Perhaps the founder of the organization is from or related to the dragon people. It was something that could not be overlooked if such a thing was threatening Tauro, the man who saved their lives. So, using Tauro¡¯s ¡°spatial transfer¡± and Ragune¡¯s ¡°dimensional corridor¡± method of transportation, he first sent out several people to the village of Dansas. This is mainly for the purpose of hunting down the members of the Assassin Guild who were hiding or scouting the surrounding areas, and to also gather information from them. Since they are skilled at this, they should be able to handle the task easily. The others were going to gather information from the villages of the dragon people as they moved south, and they were going to strip the assassination guilds naked. In the meantime, it would be mutually beneficial if he and Tauro could conquer the dungeons together. At first, Tauro was surprised by the proposal. The cooperation of the Dragon People¡¯s Village would help him gather information on the mysterious assassination guild. Nothing could be more reassuring. In fact, when he first sent the Dragon People to the village of Dansas, I was introduced to them, and they were all undoubtedly highly skilled. I think I understood why someone as skilled as Ragune was called ¡°inexperienced.¡± If we were targeted by these people, we would have no choice but to give up¡­. It was so clear that they were not only skilled, but also well trained, so it¡¯s almost strange that I even sympathize with the assassination guilds that they¡¯re targeting. Thus, Tauro felt at ease and decided to stay in the village of the dragon people. First, as an adventurer in his own right, he went to the Adventurers¡¯ Guild, his home base. It was a branch of the ¡°Dragon People¡¯s Village,¡± which I recognized immediately because of its large building and blue roof. It was larger in comparison to the Dansas village. When he entered the building, he saw a woman, probably the receptionist at the reception counter, staring at him with a surprised look on her face. Ah! People themselves are rare here. Tauro inwardly understood why she was staring at him, and approached the receptionist. ¡°I would like to be based here for a while, so please complete the necessary procedures. This is my tag.¡± Tauro went through the usual procedure that everyone does first at a new base. The purple-haired, bob-cut, sallow-skinned dragon race receptionist, ¡°Ah¡­ Yes! Let me check. ©¤©¤©¤©¤ Yes. The procedure is complete. Erm, Tauro-san. There are no D-rank quests in this branch at all, is that okay?¡± eh!? Tauro unintentionally looked back at the golden eyes of the receptionist, and then hurriedly looked at the bulletin board where the quests was supposed to be posted. There was no quest posted there, let alone a D rank. There were literally ¡°0¡± quests. e!? Tauro froze in surprise for the second time. Then he looked at the receptionist again. ¡°What in the world is going on here?¡± Tauro asked, trying his best to keep his composure. ¡°The Adventurers¡¯ Guild has not received any quest requests for a long time. We basically don¡¯t need this guild system ¡­¡­. Most of the time, we do it ourselves, or we get help from our neighbors. Hahaha¡­ I¡¯ve been in this job for a few months now, but this is the first time I¡¯ve seen an adventurer. Oh, of course, I learned the job description properly from my predecessor, so I¡¯m fine, right? However, since there are no requests and no adventurers, being a receptionist is like a punishment in this dragon people¡¯s village. ¡­¡­¡± Wow. A receptionist in the adventurer¡¯s guild, a popular and stable job, is a punishment. ¡­¡­ Tauro was amazed at the cultural difference. ¡°Then why do you have an adventurers guild here that you don¡¯t need?¡± I ask the receptionist the most obvious question. ¡°From what I heard, a long time ago an agreement was made to create a branch, and it has been managed and maintained as it is. Sometimes adventurers who are lost come here, but since there are no quests, they ask us to show them the way and they all go home right away.¡± Hearing this, Tauro felt for the first time that he might have come to the wrong place. CH 252 Tauro was concerned about the lack of quest requests from the Adventurers¡¯ Guild. If I stay here forever without completing any quests, all the hard work I did to reach the D rank with everyone will be lost. That said, I can¡¯t go back to Dansas village and do random quests regularly. Tauro, who could not stay cooped up in Ragunes¡¯ house, decided to take a walk around the Dragon People¡¯s village (which is about the size of a town) and think of a way out of this mess. ¡°¡­Although it¡¯s almost completely surrounded by mountains and cut off from the rest of the world, but there is an abundance of fresh seafood, not to mention wild foods, and the craftsmanship is on par, if not better than in the royal capital. The food¡­this is normal, but the overall standard is very high. There seems to be little or no trouble¡­. Hmmm, when it comes to this, finally, no one will ask the Adventurer¡¯s Guild¡­¡± Tauro used to rely on the adventurer¡¯s guild when he was in trouble, but for the Dragon People, there was no room for the Adventurers¡¯ Guild, since they were able to defeat monsters and do all the heavy lifting themselves, and when they couldn¡¯t do it themselves, they would ask their neighbors for help. ¡°In this case¡­ the only way is to make them want to rely on us¡­¡± Tauro spent several days walking around the area and, after much deliberation, came up with a number of strong-arm tactics. The first was to go to the artisan street and blatantly show off his skills to attract the interest of the artisans and get them to order work through the guild. Second, he would make anonymous requests and solve them himself, which would not earn him any money, but would allow him to meet his minimum quota for completion. The third is to use his position as a lifesaver in the village of the Dragon People to sway the chief and get him to make some appropriate request. Yes, after much worrying and wandering, Tauro could only come up with something out of the ordinary. ¡°I thought it was a good idea last night, but after a good night¡¯s sleep, I realized what a horrible idea I had come up with¡­¡± Tauro hated himself. ¡°¡­No, but the first plan is still better¡­the second and third are so out there I don¡¯t even want to remember them¡­¡± Tauro¡¯s technology, of course, refers to the products using magic circle, which even Ragune was impressed with. Fortunately, the magic lanterns that have been a big success in the capital, the cloth products that do not get wet, and the blacksmithing techniques for refrigerators have not yet been introduced here. Besides, Tauro had a new product idea in his mind that he thought would sell well in this dragon people¡¯s village. Therefore, I decided to rely on the palliative method of showing the craftsman here the technique and appealing to them, and having them go through the guild to be taught. But, however. ¡°The Adventurers¡¯ Guild does not accept such a request. That kind of technical work is under the jurisdiction of the guild of commerce.¡± The receptionist clearly rejected Tauro¡¯s question, ¡°Is this something I can do?¡± it¡¯s not surprising. Not all quests are acceptable. After all, I¡¯m too impatient and thinking too many strange things¡­! Tauro fell to his knees in the guild and held his head in his hands. It had been ten days since Tauro had been staying with Ragune¡¯s brother, Drago. Every day he visited the Adventurers¡¯ Guild in the morning, but there were ¡°0¡± quests, and finally he wondered what to do. Should we go for 2 and 3, which are really bad ideas at this point? As for 2, I thought it would be good to just ask Drago and give him money and ask him to make an appropriate request. I don¡¯t know how long I¡¯ll be here, but I¡¯m afraid of what if I move to action at the last minute and it doesn¡¯t work. Tauro wanted to have an idea of what to expect. On that day as well, while Tauro was looking at the empty bulletin board, the receptionist stood in front of him with a piece of paper and put it up on the board. Its contents were ¡°Free Quest: Help with dungeon capture. ¡» * I would like to have a space transferee who can pick up and drop off the capture group. Client: Chief Ryuga It was a ¡°Free Quest: Help with dungeon attack. Apparently, Drago was concerned about Tauro¡¯s daily visits to the Adventurers¡¯ Guild, and reported it to the chief who came up with this form. ¡°This is what I had in mind¡­!¡± Tauro breathed a sigh of relief when he read the details of the quest. The dungeon capture itself is a high-ranked quest, and there¡¯s no way the adventurer¡¯s guild will accept it as a D-rank quest at the scrutiny stage, but if it¡¯s a free quest with a special ability and a limited transfer, the risk level can be reduced and even D-rank Tauro can accept it within the guild rules. Tauro had initially intended to accept this request, which was at a level he could not normally accept on his own, without going through the guild, so this was a blind spot. ¡°This should be fine, right?¡± When I brought this quest to the reception, the receptionist said while receiving the quest form. It seemed that it was this receptionist who gave her wisdom to the chief¡¯s advice. ¡°What is your name?¡± Having come to an agreement, Tauro uttered a line he had heard somewhere. CH 253 The receptionist at the Adventurers¡¯ Guild ¡°Village of the Dragon People¡± branch introduced herself as Ryuko. She said that she and Ragune were childhood friends. They have been through the hell of the dragon people¡¯s unique ¡°training¡± together, so they don¡¯t have many good memories of each other. Therefore, when Tauro mentioned Ragune, he heard the usual line, ¡°Kill me¡­¡±. I can¡¯t hear about the past¡­* Tauro laughed inwardly and decided not to make that kind of small talk. ¡°©¤©¤That means the procedure is complete. Please ask the client, the chief, for more details.¡± Ryuko, the receptionist, replied with a big smile, perhaps satisfied with her first job as a receptionist. ¡°Speaking of which, do you have a branch manager here?¡± Tauro looked around the back of the room for the branch manager, whom he had not seen yet. ¡°He is here, but he usually dives in the shallower levels of the dungeon to provide support to the capturers.¡± ¡°Heh. What tier would you say the shallow tier is?¡± Tauro asked for reference. ¡°©¤ About 50 layers. Once you dive, you may not come back for almost a month, so you probably go back and forth between those layers.¡± ¡­50 layers is shallow! And I think I would be worried if I didn¡¯t come back for about a month, but¡­¡­after all, the senses of the dragon people are peculiar¡­. Tauro smiled wryly and listened with even more interest. ¡®What exactly do you do as support?¡± ¡°Huh? Well¡­I thin out the monsters in the dungeon, report the discovery of new rooms, make maps, and investigate the ecology of the monsters. Tauro-kun, don¡¯t you and the other humans do this?¡± As is common practice among the dragon people, the receptionist Ryuko twists her head and asks back. ¡°We rarely have the chance to dive into dungeons. The dungeons themselves are controlled by the state, so we can¡¯t even get close to them.¡± ¡°Is that so? We dragon people often go into dungeons as part of our training, and dungeons offer many benefits, so we are usually free to come and go as we please¡­¡­. Oh, I remember the branch manager saying that he monitors the comings and goings of outsiders. ¡­¡­ But Tauro, you¡¯ll be fine, you¡¯re the savior of the village. Thank you again.¡± Ryuko, the receptionist, said and thanked him. Since I came to this village, every time I meet a villager, they thank me instead of saying hello. Some of them cried and thanked him, saying thatshe had saved them when they were actually sick and about to die. There were in fact many such people, but when the garrison appeared out of nowhere, they intervened to prevent Tauro-dono from getting into trouble. The villagers had no intention of bothering their benefactor, so for the past few days they had taken to thanking him instead of greeting him. Tauro also thanked the receptionist Ryuko for the formalities and left the guild. The fact that a quest had been issued would mean that the capture group was ready to go. The time had finally come for Tauro to help out, and he headed for the chief¡¯s house with high spirits. ¡°Welcome Tauro-dono. I see that you have accepted the quest. Did I do it right? I was nervous when I wrote the request form for the first time. Wahaha!¡± The chief joked that he enjoyed his first experience and suggested he take a seat. Tauro nodded and thanked him as he took his seat. ¡° I am very thankful for your help. I was honestly in a panic because there were no quests at all in this village. So, about this time, ¡­¡­. Are you finally going to capture the dungeon?¡± Tauro mentioned the dungeon attack, which would take up most of his time in the village. ¡°Yes, it will happen. But don¡¯t worry. I don¡¯t intend to ask you to do anything dangerous. As I mentioned in the request form, all I need you to do is to take the attackers to and from the ¡°transfer room¡± on the ground and by the stairs down one level, and send them to the lowest level from there. If you do not leave the ¡°transfer room,¡± which is a shelter, there is almost no danger even if you go to the lowest level. Please do not leave the ¡°Transfer Room¡± at the lower level. ¡­¡­¡± Chief Ryuga reminded Tauro for his own safety. ¡°I understand. So when do we leave?¡± Tauro asked, full of enthusiasm. ¡°©¤ ©¤ ©¤ Before that, tomorrow, you will see the dungeon and actually go to the ¡°transfer room¡± on the first level. There, could you lightly experiment with using ¡®spatial transfer¡¯ to move to a shallower level?¡± Ryuga asked to quiet Tauro¡¯s enthusiasm. ¡°Haha, sorry. You¡¯re right. I forgot that I have never used spatial transfer in a dungeon. Where should I go tomorrow?¡± ¡°Then, please meet me first thing in the morning in front of the village main gate.¡± ¡°Okay. I will see you tomorrow.¡± Tauro was inwardly fired up for his first quest in the village of the Dragon People. CH 254 First thing in the morning, Tauro went to the main gate, the entrance to the village. There, he met the captain of the garrison, whom he had met when he first arrived, and five warriors of the Dragon People gathered there, dressed to their liking. ¡°Tauro-dono, today we¡¯re going to send some people who were off-duty in the garrison to guard you; the first level is mostly harmless, so you should be fine, but please be careful. You guys, make sure you protect Tauro-dono!¡± The captain of the garrison greets Tauro, while he urges the warriors to protect him. The warriors stood erect and saluted the captain¡¯s words. I am sure the captain is usually scary. They had been neatly lined up from the standby, but a word from the captain filled them with a renewed sense of urgency. ¡°It is nice to meet you all.¡± Tauro bowed politely to the warriors. It¡¯s hard to say I¡¯m comfortable in this atmosphere. ¡°Then I¡¯ll go back to my work now.¡± With that, the captain left the scene. Tauro saw him off with the warriors. ¡°Then, please guide me to the dungeon.¡± And with that, he headed for the dungeon. ¡°Is the captain usually scary?¡± Tauro asked, trying to calm the silent warriors. ¡°He is very strict when we are working!¡± One of the warriors replied nervously. ¡°Oh, you don¡¯t have to be so formal. I¡¯m nervous too, so please be normal.¡± When Tauro said this, the warriors looked at each other and breathed a big sigh of relief. ¡°Thank you. The captain had us gather at the front gate before dawn and said to us, ¡°If anything happens to Tauro-dono, you will lose the pride of the Dragon People and your long-cherished desire.¡± He was right, and even though it was just a coincidence we were off duty, we felt that we need to protect you with our lives. On behalf of the warriors, a stoutly built warrior with brown hair and golden eyes characteristic of the dragon race answered. He would be the leader of this group. ¡°You don¡¯t have to risk your life, but I¡¯m looking forward to working with you. I¡¯m not going to push myself too hard, so let¡¯s take it easy.¡± Tauro smiled wryly as he admired the seriousness of the warriors. I know that they have a considerable level of presence as warriors. As an adventurer, I would say that they are about as good as a B rank. Having these people accompany me as an escort was nothing but a relief, and it¡¯s almost too luxurious. As we were walking through the forest, I suddenly saw snow in front of me. There was no snow on the road, but there was a little snow on both sides of it. ¡°It is out of season, but there is still snow around here. Besides, it¡¯s outside the barrier, so it¡¯s a little chilly.¡± As the leader said, the trees in the forest are also covered with snow. He had thought that there was only snow on the mountains in the distance from the village of the Dragon People, but in fact the village itself was at a high altitude, and Tauro simply did not notice it due to the power of the warding. Thinking about it, the dragon warriors around me are so large that I feel pressed or suffocated, but perhaps the air was really a little thin. As Tauro was taking his clothes out of the magic storage. ¡°Oh, it¡¯s cold, but if you walk a little further, you¡¯ll be inside the wards that surround the dungeon, so you¡¯ll be back to normal in no time.¡± He told me. Indeed, as we proceeded, the snow was gone again, as if a line had been drawn. I crossed the border and the coldness I had felt earlier was gone. It was like entering an air-conditioned room. ¡°It¡¯s true. I didn¡¯t know there were such wards.¡± ¡°Yes, there are many different types of wards. Is it different in your village, Tauro-dono?¡± There were many things that were common knowledge to the dragon people but not to us, and this seemed to be one of them. ¡°Yes, there was a time when I was cursed because the village in which I operate has no warding and is unprotected. I think it¡¯s different in the Royal Capital, but I don¡¯t think it is as much as the level of warding in the area where the dragon people live.¡± ¡°Is that so? We can¡¯t believe it because we have been in this environment all our lives. It¡¯s so convenient, so you should do it.¡± The leader of the dragon warriors was surprised at the cultural difference. No, there are usually few people who can put up such an advanced barrier over their entire living area, you know? Tauro inwardly rebuked, but stopped himself because it was sad to say it out loud. After walking for a while, the forest opened up, and suddenly a castle gate appeared. ¡°Huh?!¡± Tauro was surprised and stared at the gate wondering if he is mistaken. After all, the gate seemed to exist there. ¡°Ha-ha-ha. The illusionary wards prevent us from seeing the gate and walls until we get closer. The village is also protected with these wards.¡± The leader laughed and explained, perhaps amused by Tauro¡¯s reaction. Tauro was amazed at how much more there was to this explanation that he did not know. CH 255 Passing through the castle gate that suddenly appeared in front of him, Tauro went inside. Inside the castle walls covering the entrance and exit of the dungeon, there were several buildings, a rest area, a tool shop, and several armory shops, all crowded with the villagers. Some of the children, smaller than Tauro, were sitting by the side of the square listening to the adults¡¯ explanations. They were being told what to do and say in the dungeon and what precautions to take. It seems, the goal is to familiarize them with the dungeon from a young age. ¡°Those children also dive into the dungeon.¡± Tauro was impressed. ¡°Yes, the third level underground is relatively safe because it is full of slimes. But the level below that level is a completely different and dangerous level, so we have to explain to them repeatedly how dangerous it is. Those kids are probably on a ¡®slime layer march¡¯ to the third level and back over which will take a whole day since today is their first day.¡± I received a reply mixed with ominous words. ¡°Huh? A whole day?¡± ¡°Yes. The slime layer here, ah, I mean from the first to the third level. This slime layer is not so dangerous, but it is very wide and complicated. It takes a whole day to go back and forth from the first level to the third level. I experienced it when I was a child, but it was hell to walk all the way except for breaks. Ha ha ha.¡± The leader replies with a smile. Are you guys like that? Tauro was secretly thinking, ¡°This is where the dragon tribe¡¯s reckless nature begins.¡± ¡°Of course, this time we will lead the way in the shortest possible distance, so don¡¯t worry. We will take you to your destination, the ¡°Transition room¡±, in a few hours. The leader pointed to what appeared at first glance to be a mere crevice in the slope. ¡°That¡¯s the entrance to the dungeon.¡± Unlike ¡°Babylon,¡± the dungeon near the capital, there was no building covering it, and it was a bare crevice. There were several guards around the entrance of the dungeon, and the five warriors, including the leader, greeted the guards lightly as they led Tauro through the dungeon. Naturally, they all knew each other, so they immediately understood that Tauro was a stranger, a rare human race, and that he had saved their lives, so instead of greeting him, they thanked him with ¡°Thank you.¡± Tauro responded with a light nod and followed the leader into the dungeon. Unlike the outside appearance, once inside the dungeon, a beautifully maintained staircase with cobblestone pavement peculiar to dungeons appeared. Of course, it¡¯s not maintained by someone, the dungeon itself manages it. So even if you break the cobblestone floor, it will repair itself over time. So it was not possible to dig a direct hole to the bottom. And like other dungeons, the floor, walls, and ceiling emit a faint light, so there is no dark area. The aspect of the dungeon changed drastically when we descended the stairs leading to the bottom of the dungeon. The cave was made of cobblestones until we descended, but when we reached the first level, it was a natural-looking cave with bare rocks. But what made it different from a natural one was the overall pale light it emitted. After all, it seems to be a sculpture created by the dungeon. ¡°There are dungeons of this type, too.¡± Tauro looked around with admiration. ¡°Do you know about other dungeons, Tauro-dono?¡± The leader showed interest. Yes, one was just completed, and the other was a dungeon called ¡®Babylon¡¯ in the Royal Capital, both of which were brick-style dungeons with cobblestone pavement that came down to here. I only know of one level, though.¡± ¡°The first level of the dungeon is basically built like that. This place has a natural cave-like appearance with a lot of moisture and bare soil, perhaps because of the slime that springs up here. But you can¡¯t dig a hole because you can¡¯t scrape out the dirt.¡± The leader put his hand on the wall and made a pretense of grabbing the soil, but there was nothing in his open palm. Tauro tried to imitate the leader and grasp the fragile-looking wall of dirt, but was of no use. It felt like dirt, but I couldn¡¯t grasp it, and a strange feeling remained in my palm. The leader said, ¡°Let¡¯s go ahead. Please follow me.¡± And started to lead the way. Tauro followed and encountered slime clinging to the walls. There were slimes of all colors, and it looked like a slime exposition. ¡°That green slime and that earth-colored slime are supposed to inhabit different environments, right?¡± Tauro noticed this. ¡°Yes, the slime layer has many different types of slime, regardless of the environment. But don¡¯t worry, the higher ranked individuals don¡¯t appear in this shallow layer.¡± The leader explained. Hearing this, Tauro remembered something he wanted to try. ¡°I would like to try something. I won¡¯t take up too much of your time.¡± ¡°Sure. What are you going to do?¡± The leader asked with interest. ¡°A little bit of dark spirit magic¡­¡± Tauro answered and decided to use the dark spirit magic that he had been refraining from recently. CH 256 Tauro had the group stop at a large space along the way and decided to experiment. ¡°Dark spirit magic is another rarity, isn¡¯t it?¡± The leader of the group admires Tauro while confirming the safety of his surroundings ¡°Is that so? I¡¯m sure there are plenty of dragon people out there.¡± ¡°There are a few who can use spirit magic, and dark magic at that. In addition to that, there is also the availability of talent. I don¡¯t think there were any dark spirit magic users among the elite members of the dungeon capture group this term.¡± ¡°I am not at that level.¡± Tauro humbly replied that he might be overrated. ¡°oh, I¡¯m sorry. The Dungeon Capture team is also on a cloud above us as well, so there is no comparison.¡± The leader was horrified and apologized to Tauro. ¡°But I was surprised. I didn¡¯t realize that the dark type was so valuable.¡± ¡°It¡¯s rare for dragon people to use spirit magic. And many of them are more apt to use light than dark magic.¡± ¡°I see. Oh, well, I¡¯ll experiment then.¡± ¡°Oh, yes. Go ahead.¡± Tauro nodded and cast the dark spirit magic, mental delirium. That¡¯s as usual, but this time I wanted to try and see whether If I can manipulate a part of the spirit clearly with ¡°magic Manipulation¡± (extreme) there. It seemed like a dangerous experiment to use it on people, and there was a possibility that ordinary monsters would fight back. I came up with the idea that if I wanted to concentrate on using it, a slow-moving, harmless slime type might be the best choice. Since Tauro was usually cautious about using dark magic, he had recently refrained from using it, but since many of the dragon people, including Ragune, were familiar with certain loose skills, he thought he could experiment and get some advice. However, from what he had just heard, it was unexpected that the dark type was rare even among the Dragon People¡­. When Tauro concentrates, he concentrates on trying to control the slime. Tauro said move, and the surface of the target slime rippled with a blur. It was at that moment. ¡°Confirmed one of the conditions for activating the special skill [&%$#] . [Slime user] acquired.¡± The ¡°Voice of the World¡± echoes in my mind. ¡°¡­I succeeded in controlling the slime¡­. But at the same time, I learned to be a slime user, do you understand?¡± ¡°Congratulations on a successful experiment. ¡­You are a slime user? It is a kind of monster-user, but from what I have learned and heard it is said to be one of the most useless abilities. It is something that the Dragon People learn from time to time during their childhood, and since the number of slimes that can be tamed is limited to one, and slimes themselves are the weakest monsters, it is an ability that can only be used as a temporary way to pass the time of a child. If you can manipulate a lot of slimes, you can still use them, but you can¡¯t do that, and you are limited to the first kind of slime you manipulate, so if you choose one of the slimes here now, you will only be able to manipulate that kind of slime for a long time. If you are going to do this, I recommend that you choose a slime that will be as useful as possible.¡± The leader advised Tauro as he looked around at the many types of slime in the open area. ¡°The ability to only take on one slime¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­ It certainly doesn¡¯t seem to be useful¡­. Please tell me about the different types of slime before we leave. Fortunately, there seem to be many different kinds here.¡± ¡°Yes, I understand. I would recommend the healing slime. It is really only a subtle healing, but when used in combination with potions, it is a little more effective for traumatic injuries. I¡¯ll let you know if I find it on our way back.¡± The leader nodded and promised. After completing Tauro¡¯s experiment, the group started walking again, this time toward the ¡°transfer room¡± on the first level side. As they walked, Tauro was inwardly disappointed at the shoddiness of his new ability, but he decided that just knowing that mental manipulation magic could control monsters with ¡°magical manipulation¡± (extreme) was enough of an accomplishment. And since there are so many different types of slime, it shouldn¡¯t be surprising if there are some useful types. On the way home, Tauro felt bad for everyone, but he decided to take his time in choosing one. As I was thinking about this, we came across another open area. ¡°We have arrived. At the end of the passage on the left, there is a stairway leading down. At the end of the passage on the right is the ¡°transition room,¡± also known as the break room.¡± The leader pointed to it. ¡°Why the break room?¡± Tauro questioned. ¡°The break room is a good place to rest because it is designed to prevent monster from approaching. We use this room to store various supplies, preserved food, spare items, etc., and it is the key to our dungeon strategy. The members who support the dungeon capture group are in charge of replenishing these items, although it is not easy to do so in the deeper levels. The first level is spacious because we don¡¯t put anything there.¡± Saying so, the leader guided Tauro to the ¡°transition room¡±, commonly known as the break room. CH 257 The leader guided us to the ¡°transition room¡±, commonly known as the ¡°break room¡±, which had the same white stone wall as the one in ¡°Babylon¡±, a dungeon near the royal capital. Or rather, it looked exactly the same. ¡°As you can see, it is a large room with a bleak view. I have heard that all the break rooms in the deeper levels are of the same construction.¡± When the leader entered the room, he briefly explained . ¡°It is the same structure as the one in the dungeon I was allowed to visit before. Are all the rest rooms the same?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve heard that other dungeons are built in the same way. It¡¯s said that it¡¯s because it¡¯s easy to create an image when transferring space. It¡¯s based on long-standing lore and research, so it¡¯s highly credible. I think.¡± ¡°I see. It is true that if the image of the room is easy, all you need to do is to imagine the depth to dive in and the location of the other dungeon rooms. I think it is very convincing. ¡­Then, let¡¯s try the transition experiment. Let¡¯s see if I can get to the lower level lightly by myself.¡± Tauro said, and disappeared instantly from the spot before the leader could stop him. ¡°My God! Is this spatial transfer? Tauro-dono disappeared in an instant ¡­!¡± While the leader was stunned, Tauro had the illusion that he was standing motionless in a white stone-walled room, seemingly in the break room. ¡°¡­ ¡°Spatial transfer¡± succeeded, didn¡¯t it? There are no dragon warriors here¡­. I guess I can¡¯t tell if it was a success or a failure if we¡¯re in the same room¡­.And unlike when I used ¡®spatial transfer¡¯ outside, I can hardly feel the drain of magic power, so I don¡¯t even feel like I¡¯ve used it¡­¡± Tauro, who did not feel any response, could only sense success by the fact that the warriors who were barely accompanying him were not around. ¡°I¡¯ll check outside this room just in case¡­¡± Tauro said to himself and went out of the break room. There, he found a dungeon space with mud walls, slightly different from the first level, but almost the same, and many slimes. And there was a number written in paint on the wall. 2 ¡°2, as in, the second level. I knew it was a success. Well then, let¡¯s go back to everyone.¡± Tauro turned back to the break room and used ¡°spatial transfer¡± to return to the first level where he had originally been. ¡°¡±Wha!¡±¡± The dragon warriors were startled as Tauro suddenly appeared in front of them using ¡°spatial transfer.¡± ¡°Oh, I¡¯m sorry. I didn¡¯t mean to startle you¡­ It looks like the experiment was a success. Next, I would like to see if I can move everyone together, is that okay?¡± Tauro was convinced that ¡°spatial transfer¡± was a risk-free way to move within the dungeon¡¯s rest area, so he suggested the next step. ¡°©¤ Wow, I understand. Then I would like you to take the five of us to the lower level. how can we do that?¡±*what should we do The leader and the other warriors were puzzled by what they were about to experience for the first time. ¡°Everyone please hold hands and come to either side of me. Oh, it is easier to understand if you join hands in a circle. ©¤ ©¤ Then, let¡¯s go. After confirming that everyone was holding hands and formed a circle, Tauro used ¡®Spatial Transfer¡¯ with the image of diving deep. ¡°¡­¡­¡­?¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡­?¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡± The same as the previous ¡°spatial transfer,¡± the room is the same white stone walls, so it seemed to everyone that there had been no change. But, only Tauro had the feeling that he was able to move because his magical power was somewhat drained. ¡°¡­Did you succeed, Tauro-dono?¡± ¡°I think I probably succeeded. I had the sensation of having consumed magic power¡­. Let me just check outside the room for a moment.¡± Tauro said and was about to leave the break room. ¡°Please wait. Just in case, please stay inside the room and check the outside.¡± The leader reminded Tauro to be prepared for any eventuality. ¡°got it¡± Tauro nodded and went to the doorway of the room to check outside. As before, the outside of the room seemed to have mud walls. Tauro¡¯s image was of a somewhat deeper dive, but it seems that he couldn¡¯t go below the slime layer, probably because of the five people he had with him. The leader, who had been following Tauro, peeked out from Tauro¡¯s side to check. ¡°This is the second or third layer of the slime layer, isn¡¯t it? The dungeon of the mud wall is up to the third layer.¡± I was relieved when the leader confirmed that it was a shallow layer. I had been nervous in case it was a deeper layer that we could not handle. ¡°So, let¡¯s go out and go to the place where they have the numbers of the layers and check them. I¡¯d like to check the magic power loss and the layers we¡¯ve dived to get a clear idea.¡± Tauro suggested. ¡°¡­Yes. The slime layer is safe, so let¡¯s do it.¡± Everyone left the room, chatting and laughing as they were relieved at their success. ¡°Ah, there are slimes, aren¡¯t there? I knew it was the slime layer you all said. The magic power loss was greater than I expected, so I thought I had dived into a deeper layer. Hm, what¡¯s that?¡± Tauro asked as he pointed at a slime. ¡°Huh? It looks shinier than ordinary slime¡­maybe it¡¯s a precious one. No, no, I know that slime! Everyone protect Tauro-dono! That¡¯s the Slime Emperor!¡± The leader hurriedly warns everyone. The warriors, except Tauro, were momentarily confused by the leader¡¯s warning, but they formed a wall to protect Tauro. ¡°Tauro-dono, please hurry to the break room! That¡¯s a monster that shouldn¡¯t be in the slime layer!¡± Tauro could feel the gravity of the situation as the first-class warriors tensed up in a state of panic. CH 258 The leader of the Dragon People warriors warns Tauro to flee to the break room. Then, the leader, wary of the slime emperor, sees the numbers written on the mud wall in the corner of his vision. ¡°2¡­¡­01, ¡­¡­201 layers!¡± The leader involuntarily looked over and shuddered. It was the deepest level that the dungeon capture group had not reached since they arrived more than a few decades ago. But in the next instant, the warriors were using reinforcement-type magic on their allies, some holding shields ready to attack, some chanting magic and attacking the slime emperor, and some analyzing with monster appraisal to be sure, and some holding spears to attack the slime emperor directly following the magic. The leader also chose to attack directly in order to buy Tauro time to escape. Basically, slime emperors have a high level of resistance to magic-based attacks and are weak against direct attacks. However, it has excellent agility and is extremely difficult to hit with a direct attack. ¡°What is this? Leader! This isn¡¯t just an ordinary slime emperor! A normal one shouldn¡¯t have appraisal inhibition! This guy is probably a variant of the Slime Emperor!¡± Just to be sure, the person who was conducting the monster appraisal warned the leader who launched the direct attack. The leader, who was already moving despite hearing the warning on his back, slammed his sword into the Slime Emperor, drowning out the wind magic that had hit him to buy time. The other warrior also thrust his spear. But their attacks were met with a dull thud. ¡°Resistant to physical attacks!¡± Not only the two attackers, but also the other warriors who were watching the spectacle were astonished. As the appraiser had said, it was far removed from the characteristics of the slime emperor in the information brought back by the capture group. Tauro, realizing that the warriors above him were helpless and that he would only be a liability if he remained here, chose to flee to the break room as quickly as possible, as the leader had warned. Everyone can¡¯t back down when I¡¯m here. In the worst case, my allies could be wiped out. But the next moment came. The slime, which seemed to be a subspecies of the Slime Emperor, sensed Tauro¡¯s attempt to escape to the break room and instantly dived through the warriors with unimaginable agility, moving between Tauro and the break room to stand in his way. ¡°Ha, that was fast!¡± Tauro had no choice but to stop his feet, which were on the move. Clearly a move that prevented him from understanding the conversation and escaping. ¡°Tauro-dono!¡± The leader voiced his panic at the fact that Tauro, the target he was supposed to protect, was now closest to the enemy. The slime moved its body and a part of its body changed into a sharp spear-like shape. ¡°The slime emperor reportedly does not change its form. ¡­¡­, Tauro-san, please be careful, it¡¯s trying to do something¡­¡± The next moment, the leader was running toward Tauro, calling out to him from behind. The slime instantly stretched out the part that changed its shape into a spear and stabbed Tauro. No, it pierced the space where Tauro was. In an instant Tauro moved to the slime¡¯s side, and in the next instant he was between the break room and the slime, and at the last second he jumped into the break room. Tauro had read the slime¡¯s physical attacks and used his ¡°spatial transfer¡± accordingly to escape. ¡°¡±¡±¡±Good!¡±¡±¡±¡±¡± The dragon people warriors made a fist pump as Tauro was able to safely escape to the break room. The slime, perhaps not giving up on targeting Tauro, attacked with a sharply pointed part of its body, but it was blocked by something between it and the break room, and the attack was repelled. Watching this scene before his eyes, Tauro drank a magic recovery potion and stood up. ¡°¡­¡­ I¡¯m going to try to tame this slime!¡± Tauro said so that the leader could hear him. ¡°If it is a normal slime, it will succeed almost 99% of the time, but this is a Slime Emperor, an unconfirmed subspecies. The chance of success may be less than 1%. ¡­¡­ Unless you¡¯re extremely lucky, you won¡¯t succeed! Besides, I don¡¯t think the tame can be used without leaving the safe zone, the break room. Please don¡¯t take that risk!¡± The leader issued a warning as best he could given the level of danger. If he lost Tauro here and now, the Dragon People¡¯s long-cherished wish to conquer the dungeon would become distant again, and that was something he could not overlook as one of the warriors. But even for Tauro, there was a danger that if he did not take the mission himself, the Dragon People warriors would be annihilated. That could not be overlooked. The slime seemed to understand what Tauro was trying to do, and once it stopped attacking, it seemed to be looking for a way out. ¡°¡­¡­Then, I will do it.¡± ¡°Alright! ©¤©¤Everyone!¡± The leader, perhaps feeling that Tauro¡¯s decision could not be overturned, decided to divert attention as much as possible and launched an attack on the slime with everyone without even saying a word. At that moment, Tauro jumped out of the boundary of the break room, and said, ¡°Tame!¡± He chanted towards the slime. The slime didn¡¯t even tremble against Tauro¡¯s taming, and feeling no pain or itch from the leaders¡¯ attack, jumped out and thrust a part of its body between Tauro¡¯s eyebrows in an attempt to finish him off. But again, Tauro used ¡°spatial transfer¡± to avoid the attack. Tauro moved to the side of the slime and chanted ¡°Tame!¡± again. The slime is unmoved and thrusts a part of its body at Tauro again. Tauro moved to avoid it again the next moment by ¡°spatial transfer,¡± and repeated tame. The slime, however, had read his movements as well. It moved instantly to the place where Tauro appeared, and attacked between the eyebrows to finish him off this time. ¡°Tame!¡± At the same time, Tauro¡¯s word ¡°tame¡± and the slime¡¯s attack pierced his eyebrow. Blood trickled down from the brow where it had pierced. ¡®¡­¡­¡­ success ¡­¡­?¡± A part of the slime¡¯s sharp pointy body stabbed a little between Tauro¡¯s eyebrows, causing blood to flow out, but it was stopped at a shallow stage. ¡®Are you okay ¡­¡­, sir?¡± The leader calls out to Tauro. As if in response, the slime retracted the sharply pointed body part into its body. ¡°¡­ It looks like it¡¯s okay. ©¤©¤ Phew¡­ It was dangerous¡­ It was a close call, but I succeeded in taming it.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t believe you really pulled it off at the last minute ¡­¡­.¡± The leader was both amazed and appalled. ¡°Haha. In case you¡¯re wondering, I think the odds were still, I guess, high, because I have the ¡® luck¡¯ ability. Well, I didn¡¯t succeed the first time, ¡­¡­, but it was dangerous as expected.¡± Tauro chuckled as he reflected on his own risky bet. ¡°¡­.. haa. You are being too reckless. Oh, and now that it¡¯s become a familiar, please give it a name. That way, you will be able to communicate with them to some extent.¡± ¡°I see. Then, from today on, you will be my familiar. Your name is ¡­¡­, well, ¡­¡­, you are a slime emperor, so ¡­¡­, ¡®Pella¡¯.¡± The slime seemed to like the name, shook itself and jumped up and down on the spot. CH 259 It had been more than 10 days since Tauro left ¡°The Black Golden wings¡± and went to the village of the Dragon People. Aeris, who took over as leader, was very busy. She had no idea how much Tauro had contributed to the team by doing all kinds of work. Even after all this time, I can appreciate how much he has done for the team. And while she was busy, Aeris also had a chance to look at herself. When she first became an adventurer, Aeris was frightened by the shadow of that woman who was her mother, but she continued to strive to find the meaning of her existence. And was beginning to feel that her talents had been recognized as an adventurer and that her hard work there was worthwhile. But then Tauro appeared. I was surprised to see a boy younger than me, who appeared at the guild where I was being flaunted as the youngest and most promising adventurer. At first I was astonished that he was better than me, then I was angry about it, and then I was intrigued. So I was taken into the company of Tauro and his friends, and I felt safe and comfortable beside them. Tauro was always cautious and had a cute side, but yet was always cool-headed and would use his brains and talents to get out of a crisis. I found my place beside him and became dependent on him. When there was an uproar over the succession of my family, Tauro gave generously of his own wealth for me, and helped me in every way he could. Of course, my father reimbursed him for all the money afterwards, but I was so happy that he helped me that I finally became dependent on Tauro. But I was the daughter of that lousy woman. I began to think that one day I might end up like her, and that Tauro might give up on me because of it. Of course, I didn¡¯t let go and stayed by Tauro¡¯s side where I felt comfortable, but one day, Ragune joined us, Ankh joined us, and I decided to share a home with Ragune. In the midst of all this, when Tauro died, albeit temporarily, the shock was so great that I couldn¡¯t even speak. Of course, I was relieved that he came back to life, but I also realized how important Tauro was to me. And then a change came to me as well. By spending time with Ragune and talking with her, I became aware of my dependence on Tauro, and I felt that I was able to look at myself more objectively.* Then came the Tauro¡¯s withdrawal from the group. It was a great opportunity for me to look back at the past and take a serious look at myself. The fact that I am able to see Tauro¡¯s absence as a positive rather than a negative was something I would not have been able to do in the past. Aeris asked herself, What can I do now? Isn¡¯t it to create a place where Tauro can come home in peace? It is my turn to contribute to Tauro. So what can we do? Eradicate the assassin guilds? No, that¡¯s not realistic. ¡­¡­ So, pursue the employers who are targeting Tauro? How can we do that? Aeris repeated the question to herself and came up with an answer. ¡°Ragune, Ankh. Shall we go to the royal capital?¡± On the way back from completing the quest, Aeris made a proposal to the two that at first hearing seemed out of the ordinary. ¡°¡±The royal capital?¡±¡± Since their quest was over, the two asked again, wondering if she was talking about some kind of quest. ¡°Tauro¡¯s gone into hiding and wait for things to cool down, but I think it¡¯s important that we do what we can to help.¡± ¡°That¡¯s all well and good, but what are you going to do in the Royal Capital?¡± Ankh did not understand what Aeris meant and asked again. ¡°I¡¯m going to move my dad. My dad is a leading neutral in the noble faction, but Viscount Saissi, who is suspected of being the cause of the targeting of Tauro, is a member of the Marquis of Halagoura¡¯s faction. So we have to move the neutral factions to cooperate with the Prime Minister¡¯s faction, which is close to the royal family, to hunt down Viscount Saissi.¡± ¡°Hey, Aeris. If you do that, you could end up in an all-out war between factions that¡¯ll split the country in two.¡± Ankh pointed out the danger of Aeris¡¯s idea. ¡°I¡¯ll talk to my dad about it. If we want to protect Tauro, we only need to deal with Viscount Saissi.¡± ¡° I¡¯m not sure ¡­¡­, but if we do that, does that mean Tauro can come back and not be frightened by the assassin guilds? If that¡¯s the case, I¡¯m all for it.¡± Ragune agreed with Aeris¡¯s plan. ¡®¡­¡­ are you two serious? Huh,¡­¡­, okay. Let¡¯s just trust that Aeris¡¯s dad will stand up to him well.¡± Ankh let out a sigh and decided to agree with them both. CH 260 Tauro and the dragon warriors, who had tamed the slime Pella, were able to return safely from the ¡°transfer room¡± at the 201st level, the deepest level, to the ¡°transfer room¡± at the first basement level by Tauro¡¯s ¡°spatial transfer¡±. They are now on their way back. Strangely enough, the tamed Pella was able to enter the ¡°Transfer Room,¡± also known as the ¡°break Room,¡± normally. According to the leader, it¡¯s because Tauro¡¯s magical power flowed into them after taming them, so it was treated as a familiar monster instead of just a mere monster. There have already been several experiments conducted among the dragon people, and there are many examples of this. Incidentally, if the contract with the familiar is terminated in the transfer room, the monster will disappear due to the power of the ward. When the leader explained this, Pella the slime seemed to protest, jumping up and down, perhaps offended by the comment. ¡°Ha-ha-ha. It¡¯s all right. Don¡¯t worry, Pella. I wouldn¡¯t do that.¡± Tauro immediately took a liking to this smart slime emperor subspecies. ¡°I heard that the Slime Emperor is also smart, but this subspecies seems to be as smart as humans. It seems to be able to understand our conversation. ©¤ Hey, Pella. Make sure you protect your master, Tauro-dono. This is your absolute mission.¡± The leader spoke to Pella, a slime who was lying on Tauro¡¯s shoulder. Pella seemed to understand, and her body surface rippled. ¡°¡­¡­ I knew you understood. This is really surprising. There have been no reports of such a subspecies from the capture group, so this is a new species. And the only one that can change parts of its body like that is the mimic slime found in the depths of the dungeon. I¡¯m sure the researchers would be delighted if I told them about it. Oh, and of course, I won¡¯t talk about this without your permission, Tauro-dono.¡± The leader pretended to keep his mouth shut and promised not to talk about it. ¡°I would like to cooperate with all the dragon people because you¡¯ve been kind to me, but it depends on Pella.¡± Pella shivered and trembled slightly. Probably a sign that she didn¡¯t want to. Tauro could mainly feel her consciousness. ¡°It seems it doesn¡¯t want to do it. Please don¡¯t tell anyone except the chief and those involved.¡± Tauro smiled wryly and asked the warriors, including the leader. ¡°¡±¡±¡±¡±Okay¡±¡±¡±¡±¡± The leader and the others nodded and promised to keep their word. ¡°Then it would be better to be less conspicuous¡­©¤ ©¤ Hey, Pella. Do you have mimicry skills? You know, the one where you can morph and change your body color?¡± The leader spoke to Pella. Pella shivered lightly and changed her body into the surface of the leather armor worn by Tauro and changed her color as well, completely mimicking it. ¡°Oh! This is awesome! ©¤ ©¤ I¡¯m sorry. This will protect Tauro-dono¡¯s life, and it won¡¯t usually be seen by the public. As for food, slimes are basically omnivores, and they should be fine even if they eat very little to no food. I don¡¯t know about Pella, though, since it¡¯s a subspecies.¡± Pella replies by rippling the surface of her armor. I can feel her consciousness. ¡°It seems to be all right. Well, I¡¯ll make sure she eats regularly, just in case.¡± Tauro laughed and nodded as he stroked Pella, who had transformed into leather armor. ¡°Yes, Tauro-dono. I see that your leather armor has been used for a long time. It looks a little small, so why don¡¯t you get a new one when you get back to the village? I¡¯ve heard that our village¡¯s selection of goods is popular with those who have wandered into our village, saying that they¡¯ve never seen anything like it. I think it¡¯s a good idea to prepare before you dive into the dungeon in earnest. Some of them are one-of-a-kind, made of materials from monsters killed in the depths of the dungeon.¡± This information was fascinating to Tauro, an adventurer. He had been so preoccupied with other things since he got here that he had not checked out the armor. ¡°I¡¯m looking forward to it. I was thinking that this armor is a little bit old, so I¡¯ll visit an armor shop when I get back on the ground. By the way, do you have any recommendations?¡± ¡°Well¡­ The store with the largest and best selection is ¡°Dragon¡¯s Breath Armor Shop,¡± ¡°Dragon Knight Armor Shop¡± is the one that focuses on one-of-a-kind items, and ¡°Rangas Blacksmith,¡± a trendy store owned by a dwarf, has a small selection and has recently gained a good reputation after splitting off from ¡°Dragon Knight Armor Shop.¡± The leader thought for a moment and suggested three stores. ¡°You have a dwarven store?¡± ¡°Yes, there was a dwarf who wandered in quite some time ago. He fell in love with the blacksmithing skills here and stayed and trained for a long time. Recently, he opened his own store, and it has a reputation for making some very good things. ¡°Rangas Blacksmith ¡­¡­. I¡¯ll just go to those three stores for now.¡± Tauro memorized the three stores that the leader had told him about, and his steps became lighter as he looked forward to the return trip home from the dungeon. CH 261 When Tauro returned from the dungeon, he first went to the Adventurer¡¯s Guild and reported that he had made a slime into a familiar monster. The receptionist, Ryuko, registered it as a familiar. ¡°It seems that it is very rare for people to register a slime as a familiar, since they are all treated as disposable slimes.¡± She told me. It is true that an ordinary slime cannot even move, and the tamer has to carry it along. The slime is not worth the trouble. So it was natural that no one would report it to the Adventurers¡¯ Guild because it would be quicker to break the familiar contract right then and there. ¡°So, where is this slime? It¡¯s a living creature, so it shouldn¡¯t fit in Tauro¡¯s magic storage, and it¡¯s too small to fit in that pouch on your waist¡­¡± Ryuko, the receptionist, looked around Tauro for confirmation. ¡°Pella, break out of your mimicry.¡± As Tauro said this, the surface of his leather armor rippled and Pella, a subspecies of the Slime Emperor, suddenly appeared in front of Ryuko, the receptionist, like a magic trick. ¡°Eh!? Could the slime be the mimic slime that was reported to have been discovered in the depths of the dungeon long ago?!¡± Ryuko was surprised by the slime that suddenly appeared in front of her, and she immediately performed an appraisal of the monster. ¡°©¤©¤!? It¡¯s a mimic slime with appraisal inhibiting skills? This is a new species! Tauro-kun, where did you find such an amazing slime ¡­¡­, and how did you manage to tame it ¡­¡­? Huh? Tauro-kun, did you have the ability to use monsters?¡± The receptionist Ryuko is currently the only adventurer in this Dragon Tribe Village branch?Adventurer Guild, Tauro¡¯s ability has been informed to some extent by checking the tag and identity verification. There must not have been any monster users among them. ¡®That¡¯s because I learned it in the dungeon ¡­¡­. After that, I ran into this Pella in the deeper levels, so I just tamed it.¡± Tauro laughed a little and said while stroking the belt. ¡°¡­¡­ I see that you did. ¡­¡­. Did you say deep layer? I heard that mimetic slime appears after the 150th level, but did you try to see if you could make it to that level? No, Tauro-kun, you shouldn¡¯t do such a dangerous thing! I don¡¯t mean to put it this way, but the members who followed Tauro-kun today are still novices compared to the dungeon capture group, and they could have been wiped out at the 150th level, which is a dangerous level, you know? Anyway, I¡¯m glad you¡¯re safe and sound. ¡­¡­¡± Ryuko, the receptionist, warned Tauro and was relieved when he pointed it out. ¡°¡­¡­Ah, I¡¯m sorry. I did not know the adjustment and went to a deeper by mistake ¡­¡­¡± The truth is, he had gone as far as the 201st level, but Tauro kept his mouth shut about the important parts, thinking that she would be incredibly angry if he said he had reached the 201st level, given the level of anger she was getting at the 150th level. ¡°¡­¡­But still, you really were able to tame a mimic slime, weren¡¯t you? You¡¯re very lucky because there are probably no examples of people being able to do it. The ¡°monster Mastery¡± that Tauro learned must be of a very high level. Otherwise, the probability of being able to tame would be extremely low.¡± Ryuko, the receptionist, was impressed. ¡°From what I¡¯ve heard, it is the most rudimentary ¡®slime user¡¯ among the monster tamers¡± Tauro answered casually. ¡°Eh!!? Tauro-kun, slime users have a 99% taming rate against normal slimes, but it¡¯s almost impossible to tame against mimic slimes, you know? Do you know how lucky you were!?¡± Receptionist Ryuko shouted again in surprise. It was loud enough to echo through the Adventurers¡¯ Guild, but there was no one there but the two of them, so there was no need to be shy. ¡®¡­¡­ it seems so. Haha ¡­¡­.¡± Tauro laughed and shook it off, swallowing his words without being able to say that it was actually not a mimic slime but a variant of the Slime Emperor, so perhaps the probability was even lower. ¡°©¤ ©¤ You are being too reckless, Tauro-kun. The dungeon is a place where the difficulty of conquering it can suddenly increase just by going one level deeper. The 150th level is a dungeon that only the attackers and their supporters dive into. In such a place, today¡¯s members at the escort level could have been wiped out, so you should not carelessly leave the break room. I¡¯ll report this to the chief, but we must be careful from now on!¡± After a stern lecture from Ryuko, the receptionist, Tauro apologized and went back to Drago¡¯s house, where he would sleep for the rest of the day. CH 262 The day after I returned home after taming the slime Pella. I went to the residence of Chief Ryuga first thing in the morning and reported that I had succeeded in ¡°spatial transfer.¡± He had already received a report from Ryuko of the Adventurers¡¯ Guild and the leader who had escorted him, but when he actually heard the report directly from Tauro, Chief Ryuga was overjoyed. ¡°©¤ ©¤ Does this mean that we can safely send the capture group to the deepest part of the dungeon?¡± Chief Ryuga asked for confirmation from Tauro himself.. ¡°Yes, the deepest part is the 201st floor, isn¡¯t it? The leader who accompanied me as an escort confirmed this, so I am sure of it. The other question is how many people can be sent together, but judging from the decrease in magical power, I think a good number of people will be fine. ¡°¡­¡­ I see. It has been decades since we last reached the 201st level for the first time, so we are pleased. There are 3 groups of 15 people in the capture group and 6 groups of 30 people in its support group, making a total of 45 people, is that okay?¡± ¡°Yes. I can do that while drinking a potion to restore my magic power.¡± ¡°That¡¯s good to hear. ¡­¡­ Thanks to you, Tauro-dono, we, the Dragon People, may be able to accomplish our long-cherished dream of conquering the dungeon.¡± The chief Ryuga suggested, relieved at Tauro¡¯s words. ¡°I see, so the dungeon is that deep. ¡­¡­¡± Tauro was honestly surprised at the depth of the dungeon, which was 201 levels deep. ¡°We did not know how deep it was either. That is why the mental pressure on the capture team was so great. And when I think of the effort required to go up to the 201st level, it would have taken several months to go one way, and you have to calculate the way back, so Tauro-dono¡¯s ¡®spatial transfer¡¯ is truly a godsend.¡± Tauro was afraid to be praised for an achievement he had not done yet, but he politely declined the offer of hospitality and left the chief¡¯s mansion early. For Tauro, the most important thing today was to get his armor ready. He also decided to experience something he had been wanting to do since he arrived here. He decided to use the pulley to go down to the foot of the village. A rope had been set up right in front of the chief¡¯s mansion to go down to the foot of the village, and a dragon lady sat on a looped rope that had been extended from the pulley, and she smoothly went down in front of him. ¡°Oh! I knew you guys were used to this.¡± The ropes leading down to the base of the mountain originated from a small hut. A man was in the hut, and when he asks where you¡¯re going, he attaches a pulley to the rope and sends you on your way. ¡°I want to ride too, is that okay?¡± Tauro asks the man. ¡°Of course, Tauro-dono, is it? Thank you! Where is your destination?¡± The man, who immediately recognized the rumored life saver Tauro because of his unusual human race, nodded cordially and asked him where he was going. ¡°I want to go to the armor shop.¡± ¡°Then it¡¯s this second rope. Please wait a moment¡­¡± The man quickly attached the pulley. ¡°When you arrive, there may be a shock, so please be careful. Ah, you don¡¯t have a brake, do you? Then please use this one.¡± The man noticed that Tauro was empty-handed and handed him a V-shaped wooden stick. ¡°Here, bite this into the rope and use it as a brake to adjust your speed.¡± I see. So, it is dangerous to go down the slope with a lot of momentum. Tauro understood, thanked the man, and sat down by putting his body through the loop of the rope extending from the pulley. The man pushed Tauro out from behind. The pulley with Tauro on it immediately gained momentum, cutting through the wind and descending to the foot of the dragon people village below him. It was a splendid and exhilarating experience. Tauro enjoyed the ride down, feeling the wind and exclaiming, ¡°Wow! As he enjoyed the descent. The arrival was short-lived. Tauro quickly used the V-shaped tree to slow down the rope. It worked well for the first time, and as he slowed down, it came to a stop right at the end of the rope. There, the man in charge immediately comes and removes the pulley with a familiar movement. He had to remove the pulley before the next person came down. Tauro hurriedly thanked the man and left. After a moment of fun, Tauro immediately headed to the main event of the day, shopping. He planned to buy leather armor, gauntlets, shin guards, and a shield to make him light and mobile, although he would decide on armor after seeing the actual items. While he was excited to go shopping for the first time in a while, he decided to first visit the ¡°Dragon¡¯s Breath Armor Shop,¡± which is said to have the best selection of products. The store was a large building facing the main street at the foot of the village. Tauro saw the name ¡°Dragon¡¯s Breath Armor Shop¡± on the signboard and entered, where he found a space larger than he had imagined, and a large selection of armors to match. CH 263 The ¡°Dragon¡¯s Breath Armor Store¡± that Tauro visited had a great selection of goods, just as he had heard. It¡¯s a 3-story building, with a lot of armor and clothes on the 1st floor, various weapons on the 2nd floor, and staffs and processed magic stones on the 3rd floor. After checking the bulletin board, Tauro¡¯s purpose was to buy armor for himself, but since he was also making weapons for Aeris and his other friends, he was intrigued by other things as well. Tauro changed his plans a little and went up to the third floor to visit all the floors. He decided to look at his own armor last, so he decided to look down from the top. ¡°The third floor is a jewel box of wands and magic stones~?¡± Tauro praised the scene spread out before him, saying a phrase he had heard somewhere before. In a glass case, there are a variety of colorful magic stones, magic tools made from them for different purposes, and wands of various shapes and sizes made from all kinds of materials and magic stones. There were various types of customers: some dressed like mages looking at the products, housewives buying magic tools necessary for daily life, and people dressed as warriors who came to sell magic stones. ¡°This floor seems to have the most customers.¡± Tauro joined the customers and looked at the products. I tried to confirm the value while using ¡ºTrue Eye¡», but unlike in the royal capital, the value and selling price were almost the same. I am sure that the purchase price is originally lower than in the Royal Capital and other places. The price was reasonable. ¡°Oh? Are you Tauro-dono? Thank you very much. Please let me know if there is anything you would like to buy.¡± A man working at the store noticed Tauro, a rare ethnicity, and called out to him. ¡°Yes, thank you.¡± Tauro bowed and walked through the items one by one. I can¡¯t help but look at the products on display and compare them to the wand I made for Aeris. Ragune also mentioned before that research on magic circles hasn¡¯t made much progress even among the dragon people. The wands lined up in the store are all equipped with a mechanism to attach a processed magic stone to the wand for the purpose of increasing the user¡¯s magic power or to enable the use of fixed magic. I can¡¯t find any with a mechanism that incorporates a magic circle that draws out the original power of the magic stone. However, there are a variety of magical tools, many of which are not found even in the Royal Capital What made Tauro happy was the fact that there were also rare and difficult-to-find unprocessed magic stones. In front of Tauro¡¯s brightly shining eyes, there was a small, light blue-colored magic stone in a special glass case. The description of the item read, ¡°Water Dragon¡¯s magic Stone *Please ask the clerk about the price. Tauro had ¡°true eyes¡± without bothering to check with the store clerk. However, when I tried to check the price, I found that it was blocked from being appraised and could not be appraised. ¡°Is it a magic stone with appraisal inhibition? This seems to be quite valuable.¡± As Tauro spoke to himself, the store clerk suddenly appeared beside him. ¡°This is a rare magic stone. In fact, this stone was brought back from a dungeon several decades ago by a group of conquerors, and its price is 30 platinum coins (about 300 million yen).¡± The clerk secretly whispered into Tauro¡¯s ear. ¡°¡­¡­30! ¡­¡­ That¡¯s also outrageous. It¡¯s true that it¡¯s small, but the magic power contained within it seems to be amazing. ¡­¡­ It would be interesting to attach it to Aeris¡¯s wand,¡­¡­, but It¡¯s really expensive.¡± ¡°Ha-ha-ha! This product is one of the highlights of this store! I heard that the dungeon capture team had to struggle quite a bit to get it, so the price is also because of its preciousness. It¡¯s no wonder you can¡¯t buy it.¡± The clerk consoled the disappointed Tauro. ¡®No, I could buy them if I wanted to, but I thought my friend wouldn¡¯t like it at this price. ¡­¡­¡± With a wry smile, Tauro pulled out a bag containing a lot of platinum coins from his magic storage. ¡°Eh!¡± The clerk gulps and freezes, his eyes wide with breath in front of the large amount of gold in front of him. Tauro was now secretly a very wealthy man thanks to the sales of his numerous magic tools. But Tauro didn¡¯t spend much money. He never knew when a situation would arise where he would need a large sum of money, like he had with Aeris before. Tauro¡¯s thinking was that there was no harm in saving up, and as a result, the money just kept accumulating. ¡°Oh yes, may I see the other magic stones?¡± Tauro thought of something, and with the store clerk¡¯s explanation, he bought some of the more expensive magic stones. CH 264 After purchasing a few magic stones, Tauro went downstairs, being seen off by the store clerks, who were all looking very pleased with his purchases. The second floor is a section where weapons are sold. I have no intention of buying one, but I want to compare it with the one I had made and use it for future reference. The weapons section is also a store of the dragon people, with many high quality items, and some with attributes added. There were some weapons with shapes that I didn¡¯t quite understand, but I guess they put them there because there was a demand for them. Tauro was attracted to a variety of products, but there seemed to be nothing in particular that looked good for the knives he was considering replacing this time. ¡°¡­should I find another store? ¡­Now all that¡¯s left is armor.¡± After looking around the weapons section, Tauro went down to the first floor. The dragon¡¯s breath armory sells a large selection of armor and clothing. There are many housewives looking for clothes, and the clothing section is crowded with people. The armor ranges from heavy armor to light leather armor for children. Although Tauro has grown a little since he turned 13 and has grown taller, he still has the body of a child. He is just about the same height as Aeris, so perhaps they are about the same size. While I was thinking about this, I saw clothes that a healer or a wizard would wear. ¡°Ah, it¡¯s a size that Aeris can wear.¡± Tauro picked it up, thinking that Aerith would be able to wear it. The price tag showed that it was a very expensive item. The design is based on a loose-fitting white fabric with purple and blue one-pointed designs, similar to the clothes Aeris wears. It¡¯s designed so that processed magic stones can be attached to the area around the chest, and depending on the type of processed magic stone, it seems to have a conferring effect. The design was a little different from what Tauro had in mind, so he decided to buy it, saying, ¡°This looks like it will take shape with just a little tweaking.¡± In the end, Tauro left the ¡°Dragon¡¯s Breath Armor Shop¡± without buying anything for himself. He then headed next to the ¡°Dragon Knight Armor Shop,¡± which mainly deals in one-of-a-kind items. ¡°Welcome!¡± The ¡°Dragon Knight Armor Shop,¡± located a few doors down from the ¡°Dragon¡¯s Breath Armor Shop,¡± was smaller than the ¡°Dragon¡¯s Breath Armor Shop,¡± but it was a familiar store with an integrated workshop. Indeed, as one-of-a-kind items are their specialty, no two items are alike, and each one is different from the next. At first glance, Tauro thought that he might find something more suitable for himself here. ¡°Are you from the human race?¡­That means you must be Tauro-sama. Thank you for coming to our store!¡± Again, Tauro was welcomed as a lifesaver. ¡°¡­ahaha. May I take a look at your products?¡± ¡°With pleasure!¡± I decided to look at the products, receiving a response I had heard somewhere before. From Tauro¡¯s point of view, it was immediately apparent that all of the items were good enough without the use of ¡°true eyes¡±. ¡°The lineup of products is separated from that of the ¡°Dragon¡¯s Breath Armor Store.¡± However, the majority of the items in the store were basically adult-sized items, and there were few items in Tauro¡¯s size. I will defend that this is the normal feeling of the store, but it was only because I had seen the first store. ¡°Regarding the size, depending on the type, you can adjust it somewhat, so don¡¯t worry. What kind of item do you need?¡± The clerk must have noticed Tauro¡¯s reaction, because he asked. ¡°If possible, do you have any light and sturdy leather armor, a small shield that is also light and sturdy, and a light and large shield for my friend to carry instead of me?¡± Tauro looked around the store and answered the clerk. ¡°Leather armor? If that is the case, I would recommend you to go to the shop that recently split from our store. The dwarves originally made the best leather armor in our company. ©¤ ©¤ If you are looking for a shield, how about this round shield made of an unknown metal obtained from a golem in this dungeon, beaten and stretched and attached to the surface? It is made of wood except for the surface and back, but the wood part is also carved from a piece of a wood-type monster, so it is very strong and lightweight. It may be pricey, but it is one of our craftsmen¡¯s pride and joy.¡± The shopkeeper took off the shield that was displayed on a high place, took it down, and handed it to Tauro. It was indeed surprisingly lightweight, yet comfortable in the hand and, above all, it looked durable When I checked with my ¡°true eye,¡± it was obvious that the price was quite high, but the shield was well worth it. ¡°Another larger shield¡­how about this one? It is called a long shield. However, judging from the small sword on Tauro-sama¡¯s waist, this shield is not suitable for you, is it?¡± ¡°No, it¡¯s not something I would equip myself with, but my fellow Ragune¡­¡± ¡°Oh, Ragune? Then it should be fine. She¡¯s a dragon knight and a spearman, and this shield is suitable for handling with a spear, and she would be happy to have this shield since she wanted it herself.¡± The shopkeeper apparently knows Ragune. Maybe she is a regular at this store. If you think about it, it wouldn¡¯t be strange for the dragon people to know each other. ¡°How is she? She hasn¡¯t shown her face for a long time, so I was worried about her. Oh, I¡¯m a relative of Ragune¡¯s.¡± You¡¯re related to her? Tauro inwardly retorted, he thought that the store clerk was unnecessarily handsome, and was convinced that he was a relative of Ragune¡¯s. CH 265 Inside the Dragon Knight Armor Shop. Tauro continued to look around the merchandise with the explanation of Ragune¡¯s relative. Just then, a black sheet metal body armor caught his eye. ¡°What features does this have?¡± Tauro was intrigued by the armor, thinking it looked good for ankh. ¡®Oh, is that it? It is a reworked version of something that was obtained by defeating a monster called the Prowling Ghost Armor. Normally, it would be melted down and reused as scrap iron, but it had been given a ¡®lightweight¡¯ rating from the start, so it¡¯s a piece that the craftsman took advantage of to modify. On the back side of the chest, we¡¯ve made it possible to fit the processed magic stone that is currently popular in the village of the Dragon People, and in addition to the weight reduction, the magic stone can be used to give you a gift. You can enchant it with a stone, it¡¯s really light, so please try holding it in your hand.¡± The store clerk recommended that I hold the heavy-looking sheet metal body armor, and I was able to lift it easily with one hand. Although it looked heavy, it feels strange. ¡°I¡¯ll have this one, and do you have any gauntlets or shin pads in my size?¡± Tauro did not hesitate to buy the rather expensive sheet metal armor as a souvenir for Ankh. ¡°I think a woman¡¯s set would be just right for your size. How about this set? It¡¯s made from the items found from a treasure chest in a dungeon. It is a light material, but it is so strong that it was hard to process.¡±* The set of gauntlets and shin guards that was given to me was gray and plain looking, but it was certainly lightweight and comparable to the current leather ones. ¡°By the way, what was the original item?¡± Tauro asked about the prototype. ¡°The original item? I don¡¯t know, I¡¯ve never seen anything like it. Sometimes you find things in the treasure chest that you don¡¯t know what they are for.l We collect them cheaply and use them as materials.¡± The store clerk told me the story behind the purchasing process. I see, so they use materials they have never seen before if they can. When I tried to appraise it with my ¡°true eye,¡± the appraisal was inhibited and did not show up on the display. Maybe it¡¯s the same material as Artemis¡¯ bow, but it¡¯s a well-crafted one. Tauro was impressed and decided to buy it, liking it because it seemed light and strong. Tauro decided to buy his leather armor, which could be called the main event, at ¡°Rangas Blacksmith Shop,¡± but when he thought about it, he wondered whether it was a good idea to recommend leather armor from a blacksmith shop? Tilting his head, he walked down the street that the shopkeeper had told him about, one street back from the main street, to find the store he was looking for. There was no sign, but I could hear the high-pitched sound of hammers hammering iron. As I stood in front of the store, I saw what looked like a small nameplate with the words ¡°Rangas Blacksmith¡± scrawled on it. The owner of the store seemed to have zero interest in advertising. Once inside the store, there were a surprisingly large number of weapons lined up in a cramped space. However, there were no clerks in the store, and only the sound of hammering could be heard from the back of the store. It seems that, like the dwarves I know, they are not interested in selling their wares. Hm? Rangas¡­? You¡¯re not related to that dwarf blacksmith, are you? ¡°Excuse me! Angus¡­ no. Is Rangus-san here!?¡± Tauro called out to the owner, remembering the old blacksmith shop. ¡°What, are you a customer? I¡¯m not Angus, I¡¯m his brother, Rangas¡± A dwarf peeked out from the back room. Oh, he looks just like Angus-san¡­. He said brother, so he must be Angus-san¡¯s brother! Remembering Angus, the dwarf blacksmith who had helped him in many ways in the city of Saisii, Tauro greeted him, surprised at how small the world was. ¡°My name is Tauro. I have been indebted to Mr. Angus in the past. I never thought I would meet his brother here.¡± ¡°Are you my brother¡¯s apprentice or something?¡­Huh? Tauro!? Could it be that the human prodigy who taught my brother how to make a katana!? What a surprise! That¡¯s what inspired me to set out on a journey to train as a blacksmith and ended up here. I never thought I would meet my brother¡¯s master here! Ha ha ha!¡± Rangus burst into laughter when he said that. Even the way they laugh is similar¡­! The same Angus in his memory overlapped with this Rangas, who also looked like him. ¡°My brother has succeeded as a weapons smith. I¡¯m trying to master armor, but the only armor that gets popular is leather armor, please, master. Would you be willing to pass on some of that to me?¡± Rangus sat on his knees and began to make an unreasonable request to Tauro. ¡°Hey, please stop! I¡¯m just here to buy that leather armor!¡± Tauro was flustered by this strange turn of events. CH 266 Tauro was in trouble. His shopping was about to take a turn from being a customer to being a teacher. Tauro had worked as a blacksmith under Angus when he was in Saisii, so he knew a little about blacksmithing, but he was less on the teaching side compared to those who were first-rate skilled professionals at their main job. Therefore, there is little I can teach him. What Angus taught me was just accidental knowledge. ¡°There is nothing I can teach you. Angus-san succeeded on his own, relying on my hints, so it was not thanks to me.¡± Tauro humbly answered Rangas¡¯s request. ¡°My brother Angus hit a wall and couldn¡¯t get over it. It was you, Master, who got him over it! Please, give me some of those tips, please!¡± Rangas, it seems, has hit a wall just like his brother Angus. ¡°¡­ Hmm. Even if you say so¡­ (I look around the store with ¡°true eyes¡¯¡¯) ©¤ ©¤ This place is blessed with materials, and it is an environment where many things can be made. ¡­¡­ but it seems that what Rangas-san wants to make is not leather, but rather he is particular about armor using iron-like materials. However, I wonder if the materials are being utilized for that particular purpose. All of them are very valuable and well made, but they don¡¯t show the characteristics of the materials obtained from demons. ¡°Aren¡¯t you so focused on what you want to make that you forget to make the most of the materials?¡± Tauro asked Rangas a tough question as he discerned this with his ¡°true eye.¡± Rangas was shocked by what Tauro said and froze. ¡°¡­¡­You¡¯re right, I was so focused on what I wanted to make that I lost the flexibility to make the best use of the materials. ¡­¡­If you ask me, the items in my store are made of different materials, but they¡¯re all uniform and uninteresting. ¡­¡­ Thank you, Master! I¡¯m going to try to make armor from scratch that makes the most of the materials!¡± Rangas¡¯s expression brightened as he said this and he stood up. ¡°¡­¡­ then, I¡¯ll pick out the leather armor I want and-¡° ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Master. I¡¯d like to close the store today and concentrate on making the armor, so please go home today!¡± Gah! No, I¡¯m a customer, let me buy it! I¡¯ll do the rest of the modifications myself! Tauro didn¡¯t have time to answer before Rangas kicked him out of the store. ¡°Today¡¯s main event is¡­!¡± Tauro fell to his knees, dejected. Then, the belt around Tauro¡¯s waist began to move. Yes, the belt around Tauro¡¯s waist was a mimicry by the slime Pella. Since I wasn¡¯t wearing leather armor today, I had it mimic the belt, but it was Pella who appealed to me as an encouragement. ¡°Thank you, Pella. Your encouragement has been conveyed.¡± Tauro gently stroked Pella, who was disguised as a belt, and thanked it. Tauro had indigestion, but he had some time left before he had to go home, so he decided to have a meal and take a walk. He decided to eat at the ¡°Fire-eating Dragon Restaurant,¡± which he had heard about from the garrison members. When I entered the restaurant, it was full of people and very lively. ¡°Are you by yourself?¡± I nodded when the waitress, a dragoness, asked me if I was by myself. ¡°Then please take a seat at the counter.¡± I nodded and was shown to an empty seat at the counter in front of the restaurant. The dragon tribe customers who were eating in the restaurant looked at Tauro when they were leaving, and would say, ¡°Thank you!¡± And left. I¡¯m glad to be thanked, and while I¡¯m waiting for my order, well, it¡¯s okay, I can bow too. But it¡¯s troublesome during meals, so please stop! Tauro was so often thanked while he was eating the restaurant¡¯s signature fire-eating lizard steak, which was said to be hot, that he didn¡¯t have time to savor it. By the way, the fire-eating lizard steak was an exciting food where the meat was always covered with fire due to its quality, and it was a very juicy and tasty dish, but by the time Tauro finished eating, he had burned the inside of his mouth. Tauro ate it under the supervision of an expert. Also, after eating, his mouth is healed by his ¡°super recovery and regeneration¡± ability. Ordinary human tribesmen should not eat it without the guidance of an expert, as it is dangerous. After returning home, Ragune¡¯s brother Drago told me that when the dragon people eat these, they lightly exhale a breath in their mouth to extinguish the fire and then eat them, so they don¡¯t get burned. In other words, this food is not suitable for humans like Tauro. Since this is common knowledge among the dragon people, no one would have dreamed that Tauro was eating it while burning his mouth. CH 267 After strolling around the village of the Dragon People, or rather a town in scale, ¡­¡­, Tauro returned to the room he had rented from Drago, Ragune¡¯s brother. He went out into the garden and immediately brought out and laid out the several magic stones and clothes he had purchased that day, as well as two shields, one large and one small, and a sheet metal body armor. ¡°I can modify the basket and shin guards separately ¡­¡­, it doesn¡¯t matter.¡± Tauro muttered to himself and picked up the clothes first, then took out a sewing kit and a square piece of fabric with a magic circle drawn on it from the magic storage and sewed it on the back of the clothes. The front side is exactly where the magic stone is to be inserted. ¡°I heard that the fabric of this dress is made from the threads of the Giant Hell Spider, so with my magic circle and this magic stone, I should be able to demonstrate my abilities¡­¡± Tauro put the magic stone into Aeris¡¯s clothes and examined it with his ¡°true eye. ¡°Giant Hell Spider¡¯s Priest¡¯s Clothes.¡± This is a high-class priest¡¯s suit that has been remodeled by Jiro Sugar. The wearer is given ¡°resistance to poison,¡± ¡°resistance to paralysis,¡± and ¡°resistance to fire¡± by a secret spell. The skeletal necromancer¡¯s magic stone gives the wearer ¡°increased magical power¡± and ¡°instant death resistance¡±. ¡°Good, that should compensate for Aeris¡¯s weaknesses.¡± Tauro nodded at the result and put it back in the magic storage. Next, he turned to the two shields, one large and one small. Tauro took the bag of gold coins out of the magic storage and picked up the smaller shield and placed it on the ground with the back side facing up. Then, holding one magic stone in his right hand and a gold coin in his left, he chanted, ¡°Creation magic!¡± For a moment, a blinding light illuminated the entire area, but the light soon disappeared. On the back of the small shield in front of him was a magic circle and a magic stone fitted in the center of it. Tauro took a breath, let out a sigh, and let out, ¡°After all, creation magic is tough ¡­¡­,¡± and gulped down a magic recovery potion. Then, he took out a plate with a magic circle drawn on it from his magic storage, put the plate on the shield so that it covered the magic circle with magic stone drawn on it, and this time, he chanted the elementary fire spirit magic and made the fire hotter with ¡°magic manipulation (extreme)¡±. Yes, I am going to weld the plate to the backside of the shield. ¡°It will take a little longer, but this way is less burdensome.¡± Tauro put on his tinted glasses before he knew it, laughed as he welded, and finished it in no time. ¡°Then I¡¯ll use the ¡®true eye¡¯ for this one, too,¡± Tauro appraised it. ¡°A guardian doll round shield.¡± A one-of-a-kind round shield, remodeled by Giro Sugar. It has ¡°Physical Resistance¡±, ¡°All Magic Resistance (Weak)¡±, and ¡°Increased Durability¡± by secret magic. The magic stone of the Great Scarlet Ape grants the user ¡°increased arm strength (strong)¡±. ¡°Okay, with this I can also act as a shield in case of emergency.¡± Satisfied with the result, he puts it in the magic storage and turns to the large shield. With the gold coins and magic stone he had taken out earlier in both hands, he used creation magic to embed another magic circle and magic stone on the back side of the large shield, and then welded them together to complete the process. ¡°This is the second time, so it went smoothly.¡± Satisfied, Tauro gulped down the magic recovery potion. And again, he appraised it to check the result. [Mirror Turtle Rectangular Shield.] A one-of-a-kind rectangular shield remodeled by Giro Sugar. It grants ¡°magic reflection,¡± ¡°physical resistance,¡± and ¡°light magic resistance¡± by a secret art. The magic stone of the magic rock turtle gives ¡°physical resistance¡±, ¡°earth attribute strengthening¡±, and ¡°range protection¡±. ¡°It¡¯s not what I expected, but I think it¡¯s good for Ragune.¡± Tauro was satisfied with this as well, and put it in the magic storage. Finally, Tauro turned to the sheet metal body armor for Ankh. Since this has already been given ¡®lightening¡¯, he decided to set up a magic circle that can only demonstrate the abilities of the magic stone. As before, he takes out a gold coin and embeds a magic circle in the back of the sheet metal body armor. Since there was a dent to accommodate the magic stone from the beginning, it was easy to consume the magic power of creation magic. ¡°The rest is to fit this magic stone. Then, the appraisal.¡± ¡°Sheet metal body armor made of wandering ghost armor¡± ?A sheet metal corselet with ¡°lightening¡± that has been slightly remodeled by Giro Sugar. ?With the magic stone of the flying sub-dragon, ¡°Strengthen Wind Attribute¡±, ¡°Wind Attribute Resistance¡±, and ¡°Increase Agility¡± are granted. ¡°¡­Yeah! Would this help us take advantage of the Ankh¡¯s offensive capabilities?¡± Tauro was satisfied with the response he got from this as well, and put it away in his magic storage. The only thing that remained was a magic stone that he had planned to put in his own leather armor. ¡°Hmmm¡­ What should I do about the leather armor¡­. I want to buy it at Rangas-sans¡¯ place, so I guess I¡¯ll just have to hold out.¡± Tauro put the magic stone in the magic storage and finished all his plans for the day. It was a few days later, the day before going underground in the dungeon, that he visited Rangas¡¯s store again and was presented with the leather armor. CH 268 The next day after shopping and remodeling. For the first time in a long time, Tauro was making a special edition of Reversi in the garden of his temporary residence, Drago¡¯s house. ¡°What a beautiful sculpture! By the way, what is this thing supposed to do?¡± Drago took an interest in Tauro¡¯s work and asked him a question. Tauro willingly explained about Reversi to Drago and decided to actually play with him. ¡°Oh, I see! If you take it here like this, you¡¯ll end up overturning a lot!¡± Drago was a fast learner, and was immediately hooked. So, Tauro, as it was, gave a special edition boards to Drago, and when Drago was pleased with it, Ragune visited the house at noon, a rare occasion using the ¡±dimensional corridor¡±. ¡®Thank goodness Tauro, you¡¯re home! I had a few things to report today.¡± Ragune was relieved to see Tauro, and came out of her room into the garden. ¡°What¡¯s the matter, Ragune? I¡¯ve heard what¡¯s going on over there in you¡¯re message to your brother, right?¡± Tauro thought, ¡°?¡±, and decided to listen to Ragune¡¯s report. ¡°Actually, right now, the D-rank quests of¡ºBlack Golden Wings¡»are centered on free quests that support high-level adventurers¡­¡­¡± ¡°Yeah, it seems. Since the mediation of advanced quests will increase from the D rank zone, it¡¯s time to go around supporting and learning a lot of things, right?¡± ¡°Ah, that¡¯s right. So, we¡¯ve decided to go on an outing to support a B-rank expedition. It looks like we¡¯ll be leaving the village of Dansas for the time being.¡± ¡°Heh, for how long?¡± Tauro still did not understand what Ragune was trying to say. ¡°The quest itself will only last about a week, but after that, according to the leader Aeris¡¯s wishes, we will set up a base of operations in the capital for the time being.¡± Ragune¡¯s explanation sounded like she had something stuck in her back teeth. ¡°In the Royal Capital? I¡¯m also stuck as it is, so I¡¯m afraid I¡¯ll be here for a long time, but is it safe in the Royal Capital with the assassin guild?¡± ¡°Th-that¡¯s fine! Tauro sent three of my people to the village of Dansus, didn¡¯t he?¡± ¡°Ah, the Dragon People.¡± ¡°Yes, those three have been secretly hunting suspicious people thought to be spies of the Assassin¡¯s Guild in the village of Dansas for some time now, but it seems that they were seen by villagers while processing them, and it is difficult for us to get any more information from them. So we decided to have them register as adventurers and work together. So we decided to go to the Royal Capital with the three of them to gather information on the assassination guild.¡± ¡°¡­¡­That¡¯s a sudden development, isn¡¯t it? Did Aeris say anything about gathering information on the assassination guild?¡± Tauro had left it to Count Daredar and the dragon people to make the move, but if Aeris was going to make a move, it would be a different story. The reason I left the team was to prevent any harm from coming to my team members. The situation could get worse if Aeris and the others were to go snooping around the assassination guilds. ¡°No, ¡­¡­. The gathering of information on the assassination guild is the role of our three compatriots, and we are only supporting them. The three of them are not used to operating in the Royal Capital. I think we need Aeris and Ankh¡¯s help. Aeris is not the one who initiated this. We all talked it over and came to that conclusion.¡± Ragune is not a good liar. Or rather, maybe Aeris and Ankh aren¡¯t very good at it either, so they probably just left the role of messenger to Ragune, but it¡¯s clear that they¡¯re hiding something. ¡®¡­¡­ there¡¯s a lot of things that are caught up in this. I¡¯m not against it if it¡¯s something everyone decide to do. But please be very careful.¡± ¡°Okay! But, Tauro, are you okay? It must be hard to be alone without us, right?¡± Ragune, speaking for all of them, looked worried. ¡°I¡¯m fine. Oh, yeah. I actually made a new friend.I wanted to introduce it to everyone, but under the circumstances, I¡¯ll only introduce it to Ragune. Pella, break out of the mimicry.¡± Tauro said, patting the belt on his stomach. Then, the disguised slime Pella shook itself and appeared in front of Ragune and Drago. ¡°¡°This is a mimic slime!?¡±¡± As expected of two members of the dragon tribe, they seem to know a lot about slime. ¡°It¡¯s using mimicry, but this is a variant of the slime emperor, ¡®Pella¡¯. I¡¯ve become a slime user now, so I¡¯ve tamed this Pella.¡± ¡°¡±You tamed a subspecies of slime emperor!?¡±¡± Siblings, indeed. they spoke in perfect harmony with every word. ¡°Yes, I heard it¡¯s rare. But I¡¯ll be fine, because Pella here is now my partner. Pella has both magic and physical resistance, so it¡¯s strong.¡± Pella was so happy to be praised by Tauro that it jumped up and down and appealed to him. ¡°¡±I never ¡­¡­ expected you to tame the pinnacle of slime, or even its subspecies¡­There are so many surprises that I can¡¯t get my head around ¡­¡­. Kill!¡±¡± Again, the older brother Drago and the younger sister Ragune all said their usual habits. CH 269 Tauro, who was reunited with Ragune in the garden of Drago¡¯s house for the first time in several days, briefly introduced Pella, and just as he did when he gave Ragune the magic spear one day, he decided to lightly take out the armor items he had made the day before from the magic storage and give them to her. ¡°Th-This is¡­¡­!¡± Ragune was surprised to see the rectangular shield that was given to her for her own use. ¡°I bought this rectangular shield on the recommendation of a clerk who said he was a relative of yours. Is this what you wanted? Oh, I¡¯ve modified it to improve its performance, so it should work well with your magic spear.¡± Tauro, with a smile on his face, also gave a full explanation of the modified performance for Ragune . ¡°Eh? You put a magic rock turtle¡¯s magic stone into a mirrored magic turtle¡¯s shield? Tauro, can you give me a minute? This rectangular shield is quite expensive, but to put a magic rock turtle stone in it, are you insane! How much do you think that magic stone is worth?¡± Ragune pointed out, surprised to whether he knew the value of the magic stone. Haha¡­. I guess the dragon people did know the value of the magic stone after all. Tauro tried to cover it up by laughing, but Ragune had a reluctant expression on her face. ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I know I¡¯ve caused you three a lot of trouble, so I¡¯d like to apologize for my absence and ask you to use them as my replacements.¡± Tauro said the words he had prepared since last night. He thought that they might not be received normally. ¡°Damn. I guess I have to accept it when you say it like that¡­. But, Tauro, I want you to consult me properly next time. This rectangular shield alone costs five gold coins. And there¡¯s the Magic Rock Turtle¡¯s magic stone. The magic shield modified by adding the magic stone of the magic rock turtle to the shield is a thing that is owned by the level of the capture group, so it is not something that is easy to receive.This shield is the one thing my brother here wanted most of all¡­¡± When Ragune said this and looked at her brother Drago, he looked as if he really wanted it. Apparently, the shields of that dragon knight armor shop are very popular. I¡¯ll make a similar one for Drago later and give it to him as a thank you for letting me live here. ¡°¡­Yeah. Sorry for all of a sudden. But please accept this. It¡¯s the least I can do right now. I want you to protect everyone¡¯s life with this.¡± After saying this, Tauro bowed his head. ¡°Okay. While Tauro is away, I will act as a shield for the two of them, and I will protect you well.¡± Ragune nodded, and for a change, she happily picked up the rectangular shield and looked at it. ¡°As I mentioned earlier, Ragune¡¯s magic spear has an earth attribute, so if you equip this shield, the earth attribute will be strengthened and the attack power will increase.¡± Tauro explained how to use it. When Ragune put in the magic power as she was told, a semi-transparent wall was deployed around the rectangular shield. ¡°Oh!¡± Ragune marveled like a child, and this time, she prepared her magic spear and struck a rock in the garden. The rock shattered and broke. ¡°Oh!¡± Again, Ragune exclaimed with joy, like a child who has been given a toy. ¡°Ragune, it¡¯s all right to be happy, but please don¡¯t destroy the landscape of my garden.¡± Drago, the older brother, warned his younger sister, but he still looked somewhat envious. ¡°So, Ragune. I want you to give this armor to Aeris and Ankh as well.¡± Tauro asked a favor and handed Aeris¡¯s modified high-grade priest¡¯s suit and modified sheet-metal body armor to Ragune. ¡°What?! You want me to take on this big responsibility, Tauro! Do you think I can say it well enough to convince them to accept it? I¡¯m pathetic for saying it myself. Damn it Kill me!¡± Ragune was not sure if they would accept it as honestly as she did, so she did not know if she could convince them, and her usual line came out. ¡°Ha ha. Then all Ragune has to do is tell them exactly what I said.¡± Tauro looked at Ragune¡¯s troubled face, laughed, and told her so. ¡°¡­Oh, yeah? Then what should I tell them?¡± Ragune felt better now that she only had to give a message. ¡°Tell Aeris, ¡®I¡¯m sorry, this is all I can do right now. And tell her, I¡¯d appreciate it if you¡¯d think of these clothes as a replacement for me.¡± ¡°¡­Okay, I get it. Then what about Ankh?¡± ¡°Just tell Ankh, ¡®It¡¯s the price for protecting your life.¡¯¡± ¡°The price for protecting your life?¡± Ragune asked back, not understanding the meaning of Tauro¡¯s words. ¡°Yeah, just tell him that and he¡¯ll understand.¡± ¡°I see. Is there anything else you would like to say?¡± Ragune was satisfied and confirmed the message with Tauro. ¡°I want you all not to do anything reckless. Put your lives first. And take care of the place I¡¯m coming back to.¡± ¡°Of course! I¡¯ll tell them both that. ©¤ ©¤ Brother, please continue to take care of Tauro while he is here.¡± After answering, Ragune returned to the village of Dansas by way of the ¡°dimensional corridor.¡± ¡°Pella, you haven¡¯t met the other two yet, but I¡¯ll introduce them to you again some other time.¡± Tauro said, and Pella jumped up and down and immediately transformed into a belt. CH 270 Tauro decided to go to the shop of the armor maker Rangas, the younger brother of the blacksmith Angus in Saisii, to buy leather armor once again. That¡¯s because the next day, the transportation of the capture group would begin. Even though it was only a pick-up and drop-off, so we would only be traveling in the safe transition room, it was in the depths where the encounter with Pella seemed to have taken place. I don¡¯t know what¡¯s going to happen, so I can¡¯t afford to be unprepared. Last time, he was kicked out of the store without being able to shop, but this time, Tauro¡¯s goal was to say what he wanted to do right away and buy only what he wanted to buy. ¡°Excuse me, .¡­¡­ I came here to shop.¡± Tauro said his business first so as not to make the same mistake as last time. ¡°Oh! Master! I¡¯ve been waiting for you! Thanks to your advice last time¡­¡± ¡°Wait a minute! I came here today to buy the leather armor I couldn¡¯t buy last time. I¡¯m going to need it tomorrow, so please let me buy it first!¡± Tauro interrupted Rangas and again said what he wanted to do first. ¡°No, listen to me too, Master! After that, I was able to make something good! I want you to take a look at it.¡± Rangas said, overriding Tauro¡¯s words. ¡°No wait! Please let me shop first!¡± Not to be outdone, Tauro pushed Rangas¡¯s words back. ¡°No, master, you don¡¯t have to shop!¡± Rangas now denied Tauro¡¯s purpose. ¡°I have to shop, I¡¯ll be diving into the dungeon tomorrow, so I have to buy something!¡± Tauro was not backing down. If he was pushed into it like last time, he would have to face tomorrow without being able to buy leather armor again, which he did not want. ¡°I don¡¯t think so, Master. I made the leather armor for you and I want you to have it.¡± ¡°Please don¡¯t make me repeat myself! I want to buy the leather armor¡­ what?¡± Tauro tried to keep up with Rangas¡¯ momentum, but Rangus¡¯ words stopped him in his tracks. ¡°I took master¡¯s advice and went back to basics and made a leather armor for you. I don¡¯t know because I don¡¯t have an appraisal, but I feel like I was able to grant something. take it!¡± Rangas said. Then he produced a piece of leather armor from the back of the room. Tauro looked at the leather armor with his ¡°true eyes¡±. ¡°Behemoth Leather Armor¡± ?Gives ¡°Various Ability Increases¡±. is displayed. Behemoth is a mythical creature that appears in the mythology of this world. Tauro was flinching inwardly at the fact that the material was a dangerous one. ¡°This is not right for me to receive ¡­¡­¡± As expected, I understood from the value displayed in my ¡°True Eye¡± that it wasn¡¯t something that could be received for free. ¡°I had been saving this material for one day when I was sure of my abilities, but mentor¡¯s words gave me confidence and I decided to use it. Rest assured, this leather armor is the cheapest part of the behemoth¡¯s right front leg, so it¡¯s not that expensive. Ha ha!¡± Rangas said so, but Tauro¡¯s ¡°true eyes¡± did not see it as cheap. After all, it is valued at nine platinum coins. The materials may have been obtained cheaply, but the value of the leather armor itself is outrageous, and this was not something he would accept for free. So Tauro decided to show Rangas how he would modify this leather armor in front of him. ¡°Rangas-san, in return for your kindness, I would like to show you my secret tricks.¡± After receiving the super-luxury but plainly designed Behemoth leather armor, Tauro took out a piece of leather and a magic stone with a magic circle on it from the magic compartment. ¡°¡­¡­ Is that a lost ancient magic circle? And it¡¯s a high-class magic stone that has not been processed yet ¡­¡­¡± Rangas looked at Tauro¡¯s hand with interest. ¡°Yes. This is a magic circle that draws out the abilities of the materials with the ability of the magic stone and its magic power.¡± ¡°What!? If such a thing could be done, it would be amazing, but can you do that with unprocessed magic stones!?¡± Rangas stares at the magic circle in surprise. ¡°I will give you three copies of this in return. However, this magic circle is something that I am not allowed to share with you. I have made it so that it can only be activated by overlapping this magic circle with another magic circle drawn on the leather. Please note that the magic circle will disappear when you peel it off.¡± ¡°Three pieces of such an amazing mechanism?!¡± ¡°Yes. If Rangas-san thinks he has created a masterpiece, use it, and I think you will get your money¡¯s worth out of this leather armor.¡± Tauro then used ¡°creation magic (weak)¡± to attach leather with a magic circle on the back side of the leather armor, and also attached a magic stone to the surface. Rangas was amazed at the technique and said, ¡°I knew you were the master of us brothers!¡± As Rangas told Tauro with a look of envy, a voice rang in Tauro¡¯s mind. ¡°Confirmed one of the conditions for activating the special skill [&%$#] . Acquired [Anti-Inhibition].¡± Tauro was inwardly pleased that he seemed to have acquired the ability he had been looking for. CH 271 Tauro, who had been given leather armor by Rangas, a blacksmith who specialized in protective gear, thanked him and headed home. So, while walking down the street, he used his ¡°true eyes¡± to quickly check the abilities he had acquired. When I use ¡®Presence Detect¡¯ on a dragon people male warrior walking down the street, I feel nothing. This is evidence of inhibition-type skills against presence detection. There were quite a lot of people in the dragon people¡¯s village who possessed inhibition skills, and Tauro¡¯s ¡°Presence Detection¡± ability was often useless, but when the new ability ¡°Anti-Inhibition¡± was activated and ¡°True Eye¡± was used, those who use inhibition skills are highlighted. The belt mimicking Pella also has inhibition skills, so when viewed through the ¡°true eye,¡± the outline of the belt shines through and is seen as highlighted. ¡°I knew it was an ability I wanted,¡­¡­. The ¡°Anti-inhibition¡± seems to be an ability that cancels the opponent¡¯s inhibition skills. This will greatly reduce the probability of being caught by surprise.¡± Tauro joyfully used ¡°Anti-Inhibition¡± and probed the surroundings with ¡°Presence Detection¡± confirming that there were many dragon people who were peering at him. Of course, they were not directing bad feelings at me, but gratitude, a very pleasant feeling. Tauro felt once again that the Dragon People were so grateful to him. When he returned to Drago¡¯s house, he decided to check the leather armor he had received from Rangus again in the garden, this time with his ¡®true eye¡¯. Behemoth leather armor A one-of-a-kind piece of leather armor that had been remodeled by Giro Sugar and was originally made by Rangas, a top-class craftsman. It has been given ¡°various ability increases.¡± ?By a secret art, ¡°physical strength increase (strong)¡± and ¡°instant death resistance (strong)¡± are granted. ?The skeleton bishop¡¯s magic stone gives it a ¡°light (holy) attribute enhancement. ¡°The Behemoth¡¯s potential is awesome. ¡­¡­ I wanted to strengthen my physical strength at once. And ¡°instant death resistance (strong)¡± is one of the rarest of the rare. ¡­¡­ The magic stone was to strengthen the light attribute as expected, so this will increase the attack power of the small sword and the bow.¡± Tauro rejoiced and put on his leather armor on the spot, then took out a round shield from the magic storage and equipped it. He then walked over to a rock in the garden that was much larger than a man. Like Ragune, Drago possesses the ¡°Dragon Knight¡± skill, but he also possesses the ¡°Magic Knight¡± skill, and in order to improve this skill, he has been researching and studying magic on a daily basis. For that reason, Drago was in his room today, writing a thesis on forbidden magic. Suddenly, he saw Tauro, his guest, from the window overlooking the garden. He began to equip himself with some kind of protective gear. ¡°What is he doing?¡± Drago was curious and opened the window to talk to Tauro. Tauro was just approaching a large rock in the garden. ¡°What are you doing?¡± Drago asked. Tauro said, ¡°Ready! And with a mighty effort, he lifted the large rock up to waist height. ¡°What?¡± Drago froze. ¡°It¡¯s heavy! Good¡­ ¡° Tauro lowered the big rock back down again. With a thud! The large boulder made a dull noise and returned to its original place. ¡°¡­¡­ I feel like the rock has just been lifted ¡­¡­. Is it just my imagination ¡­¡­?¡± Drago could not believe what he was seeing, so he went out into the garden to check and called out to Tauro again. ¡°Tauro-dono. What was that just now¡­?¡± As Tauro was testing the power of the armor¡¯s grant, Drago came out of his room and called out to him. ¡°Ah! I¡¯m sorry Drago-san. Did I interrupt your studies?¡± Tauro replied apologetically to Drago. ¡°No, that¡¯s fine, but just now, I feel like this big rock has moved¡­¡± Drago still doubting his own eyes, put his hand on the big rock. He looked down and saw traces that the rock had moved. He knew that what he had seen was real. Drago looked back at Tauro with renewed surprise. ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I was actually testing how much power I could exert by combining the ¡°Arm Strength Increase (Strong)¡± granted to this shield and the ¡°Various Ability Increases¡± and ¡°Physical Strength Increase (Strong)¡± granted to this leather armor. I was able to move this big rock, but this is the limit. Ha ha ha.¡± Tauro laughed as he explained about the ability of the armor. ¡°No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no¡­¡­, Tauro-dono. You are saying something outrageous right now, aren¡¯t you? Normally, the ability of a magic stone processed by a magician is limited to a medium level of magic stone at most. You are raising it? And what is this ¡®various ability increases¡¯! I¡¯ve never heard of such a dreamy ability grant!¡± ¡°Ah, this is the dwarf Rangus¨C¡° Tauro explained that the maker of the leather armor had given it to him when he made it. ¡°Is it the grant of that Dwarf blacksmith?! ©¤ ©¤ This is a surprise ¡­¡­. Perhaps he has more talent as an armor maker than the Dragon People. We must let the chief know as soon as possible so that this will be favored even more than before!¡± Drago bowed once to Tauro and ran to the chief¡¯s house. ¡°¡­¡­ Was it so outrageous that Drago-san was surprised? Rangas, you must have been a great dwarf just like your brother.¡± Tauro¡¯s magic circle was also amazing, but Tauro admired the dwarf brothers without thinking about it in the slightest. CH 272 Aeris and the other ¡°Black Golden Wings¡± had three new temporary members join them. They are all G-ranked adventurers. In reality, however, they are excellent warriors of the dragon tribe who came to the village of Dansas through a combination of Tauro¡¯s ¡°Spatial Transfer¡± and Ragune¡¯s ¡°Dimensional Corridor. Malak, a tall, beautiful man with red hair and golden eyes. Zumei, a blond-haired, Golden-eyed, small in stature, and at first glance, looks like a beautiful boy. Reeva, a slender, golden-eyed beauty with long blue hair in a ponytail. All three were equipped with almost the same equipment, but the individuality of each of them was considered eye-catching enough. ¡°I¡¯m sad to leave the village of Dansas behind.¡± The red-haired Malak sighs with regret at having to leave his short-lived but much-loved village. ¡°Malak-san is disappointed that he won¡¯t be able to eat the pork cutlets that Ragune taught him, isn¡¯t he?¡± Zumei, the blonde, said to Malak, his senior, as if to tease him. ¡°Zumei also liked the fried food at the ¡°Dwarf Inn,¡± didn¡¯t you?¡± The blue-haired Reeva pointed out to Zumei, who couldn¡¯t speak for others. ¡°There are delicious foods in the royal capital, so please be patient. Besides, there is a ¡°curry shop¡± in the royal capital that Tauro entrusted to the Garfish trading Company to run.¡± Aeris provided the three new travel companions with information about food in the Royal Capital. ¡°Oh! Tauro-dono, who came up with the idea of tonkatsu, has a restaurant in the Royal Capital? I¡¯m looking forward to that.¡± The red-haired Malak was so happy that he was willing to put aside his purpose of going to the Royal Capital, and Zumei agreed with him, so the blue-haired Reeva calmed Malak and Zumei down. ¡°Don¡¯t forget what we are here for, both of you. Our mission is to gather information on the Assassin guild who are targeting Tauro-dono and to eliminate the members of that organization.¡± Riva said something outrageous, but in reality, she was the first to find the assassination guild agent who came to the village of Dansas to search for Tauro¡¯s whereabouts, using her higher-level Person Appraisal skill and Anti-Inhibition skill. Once she caught him, she ruthlessly extracted the information and disposed of him. Once, a villager saw the scene right after that on the outskirts of the forest, so they decided to leave the village of Dansas, but when Ragune told them they were going to the royal capital, they decided to register with the Adventurers¡¯ Guild and become members of ¡°Black Golden Wings¡± so that they could accompany her. It¡¯s best to get local information from those in the know. At first, they had asked Ragune, who was working hard in the area, but she had told them only about fried foods such as pork cutlets, delicious miso cuisine, and Adventurers¡¯ Guild-related matters, which left them feeling extremely biased. In the meantime, They had already hunted down all the suspicious characters in the village of Dansas, so it would be safe when Tauro returned to the village, but if they don¡¯t cut off the source, it would be a cat and mouse game. The three of them thought so, but they had heard that the base of the Assassination guilds that had been secretly operating in the area had been wiped out by Count Daredar, who controlled the land of Dansas, so they decided that it would be better to move to the royal capital, where they were still in the dark, and gather information. ¡°Aeris-san, you are very good at standing in the rear guard. I have many years of experience, so it¡¯s only natural for me, but to be able to do so well at your age is something, I look forward to in the future.¡± The blue-haired Reeva praised Aeris, recalling the time when she was ordered to take down a group of orcs in order to check her abilities. ¡°It¡¯s rare to see Reeva praising a rearguard¡¯s standing. Aeris-dono is a good leader, so I think you should be confident.¡± The red-haired Malak also praised Aeris. ¡°I think so too. We dragon people are long-lived, so we have a lot of confidence in our ability to get around due to our long years of accumulated experience, but I think Aeris-chan is pretty good at her age.¡± The blonde Zumei agreed with them and praised her. ¡°Thank you, all three of you. ¡­¡­How old are you all?¡± Aeris asked as the interim leader of the ¡° Black Golden Wings,¡± feeling complicated as the new members praised her from above. ¡®I¡¯m only a little over eighty myself, but I¡¯m the oldest in this group. I¡¯m relatively young.¡¯ The red-haired Malak replied with a laugh. ¡®I¡¯m sixty-eight. I¡¯m the youngest of the three, but I¡¯m the center of this information-gathering mission, you know?¡± Zumei, the blonde, seems to be the strongest of the three. ¡°I¡¯m 79. All three of us were chosen because we are all good at what we do when it comes to gathering intel.¡± The blue-haired Reeva answered her age without reluctance. ¡°Huh? Isn¡¯t Reeva already 80?¡± Malak, the red-haired one, asks with a straight face. ¡°I¡¯m still 79 years old! Only 5 days left¡­¡± Reeva smacks the red-haired Malak hard on the head. It seems as if she answered without hesitation, but in fact, she is a little concerned about her age. Aeris and Ankh are surprised to hear the ages of the three. Aside from Aeris, the three people Ankh thought were his age were actually his seniors in life. ¡°It¡¯s no wonder they¡¯re making efficient moves against a herd of orcs¡­ Normally, I don¡¯t think you can rush into that herd without hesitation, but I guess that¡¯s the difference in experience.¡± Ankh had a lot of experience on the battlefield, so he was able to go charging into the herd with them, but he was convinced, he was just surprised that they didn¡¯t hesitate more than he did. ¡°I¡¯m just a little kid in this group. ©¤©¤Then, what is Ragune like among the dragon people?¡± Aeris said as if to warn herself, and asked about Ragune. ¡°I am a promising young woman with a promising future ahead of me¡­¡± As Ragune was about to answer with a proud look on her face, the three senior warriors interrupted her. ¡°¡±You¡¯re still just a chick, aren¡¯t you?¡±¡± The senior warriors were all over her, and she let out a single, depressed remark: ¡°Damn it, kill me¡­¡± She let it leak out. CH 273 Tauro finally came to the entrance of the dungeon to pick up and drop off the clearing group to It¡¯s depths. I had come all the way here from the village of the Dragon People, protected on all sides by the members who were escorting me this time, and I could tell from their presence alone that they were even more prestigious than the members of the previous group. Because of what happened last time we were here, Chief Ryuga seemed to have been more careful in assigning the best men to the job. Although he thought that they were overreacting, Tauro, who was the key man, was really important because conquering the dungeon was the long-cherished wish of the dragon people, including the chief Ryuga. He was also the one who saved their lives in the first place. The chief was keenly aware that he was responsible for Tauro¡¯s pinch last time when he sent off-duty guards to protect him, so this time he was very careful to send spare members of the support group. As Tauro had sensed, the members were capable of playing an active role even in the deepest levels. As he took the members with him, he found a group of dragon tribe members of a different dimension waiting at the entrance of the dungeon. Literally, a group. There were three teams of five capturers, 15 people. There were a total of 45 people, 6 groups of 30 people in total, 2 teams of 5 people each supporting them. The 45 dragon people were what adventurers would call S-class level. Even if heroes from all over the country, let alone the entire country, were to gather here, there would not be this many. Tauro was alone, in a position similar to that of an early-level adventurer who visited the last dungeon of the game due to a bug. ¡°Oh, sorry to keep you waiting! I¡¯m looking forward to working with you.¡± Tauro was so nervous that he couldn¡¯t speak. ¡°No, Tauro-dono. It is my pleasure to meet you. You are the one who saved our lives. Not only that, but you are also the key to the dungeon attack. On behalf of everyone, I would like to thank you for your cooperation this time.¡± One of the heroes, who was wearing extraordinary equipment and was recognized as strong at first glance, bowed his head. The other heroes who were also present bowed to Tauro in unison. Then the ¡°voice of the world¡± echoed in Tauro¡¯s mind. ¡°Confirmed one of the conditions for activating the special skill [&%$#], . [Heroic Style].¡± I learned something awesome! Thought Tauro, but that was not the point now. The heroes in front of him were bowing to him. This was something out of the ordinary. ¡°Please raise your heads, everyone. I am not the kind of person who deserves your gratitude.This time it was a thank-you for allowing me to stay in the village of the Dragon People. If you are in such awe of me, I will be in trouble. I¡¯d like you all to act normally, so please do!¡± ¡°Well, I¡¯m sorry for the trouble I have caused you. ¨C ¨C raise your heads. Lord Tauro is troubled.¡± Tauro had the heroes of this world raise their heads safely. He was relieved inside, but then again, the heroes were right in front of him. He immediately decided to ask them about the abilities he had learned. ¡°¡­ Um, by the way, do you know what the ability ¡®Hero¡¯s Style¡¯ is? I just learned it¡­¡± ¡°What! Tauro-dono has the ¡®Hero¡¯ skill?!¡­But that¡¯s strange. ¡®Hero¡¯s style¡¯ is one of the ¡®Hero¡¯ skills that can be learned in the early stages. By learning the ¡°Heroic Style¡± skill, you will increase your charm and raise your basic ability a little. It also makes you resistant to illusions. It¡¯s very helpful in the beginning. ¡­¡­¡± I don¡¯t know if it¡¯s an ability you learn early on ¡­¡­, but it would be helpful enough to raise your basic stats even a little bit. Plus the increase in attraction¡­¡­, does this matter? In his heart, Tauro had mixed feelings, but he replied to the hero in front of him, ¡°My only skill is the garbled character skill.¡± ¡°A garbled skill! I haven¡¯t heard of that skill in a long time. Well, that skill is a matter of some debate among the dragon people, but it seems to be a mystery. ©¤©¤©¤Excuse me, but may I take a moment to evaluate Tauro-dono¡¯s character? If you don¡¯t mind, I¡¯d appreciate it if you could remove , your ¡° Appraisal Inhibition¡± skill.¡± ¡°Ah, yes. Go ahead.¡± Tauro immediately removed his ¡°Appraisal Inhibition (Extreme)¡± skill. The quintessential hero seems to have noticed the false information by ¡°Appraisal Inhibition (Extreme)¡± immediately. ¡°¡­¡­ This is! ©¤ ©¤ I see, the evaluation of the garbled skill must have changed to a better one. It seems that Tauro-dono really only has the garbled skill. it is wrong to let a garbled skill that learns so many abilities be evaluated as a scrappy or junk skill. ©¤ ©¤ Thank you very much for allowing me to appraise it.¡± The hero bowed his head to Tauro once again. ¡°No, this skill is troublesome, it¡¯s tricky¡­¡± Tauro answered with a wry smile, but he thought that the dragon people, who are thought to be doing unreasonable training in the so-called ¡®Dragon¡¯s Den¡¯ as it is commonly known, might still have a way to utilize it. CH 274 Tauro, surrounded by his escort and a total of 50 legendary-level dragon people, proceeded through the first level of the dungeon and arrived at the transition room, also known as the ¡°break Room.¡± Tauro was stunned by the sight of the capture group burning every single slime on the road with a single magic spell, just to be safe on the way there. It was the highest level of magic I had ever seen. Tauro could only feel sorry for the slimes that were burned to death by such outrageous magic. He was also worried about Pella, who was mimicking the front of his leather armor, but Pella did not seem to be bothered at all, even though they were the same kind of slime, Tauro did not feel any agitation from her. It seemed that, as Tauro¡¯s familiar monster, she did not care about anything other than Tauro¡¯s crisis in terms of priority. ¡°The last time I tried ¡®spatial transfer¡¯ I was able to get to the 201st level, but is that the lowest level you are currently capturing?¡± Upon arriving at the ¡°break room,¡± Tauro checked in with the hero who was the representative of the capture group. ¡°Oh! That¡¯s right. Last time, I was in the support group, and we did indeed reach the 201st level and turned back. That was several decades ago, and no one has reached the 201st level since then.¡± The representative of the group nodded his head and answered, and the other heroes groaned in agreement. ¡°It really looks like we can reach the 201st level all at once.¡± Even the legendary warriors could not help but tremble with excitement. ¡°Well then, let¡¯s head over there right away. Ah, please note that the 201st level is similar to the slime layer, so be careful not to confuse it with the slime layer.¡± Tauro and his team¡¯s failure last time should have been reported, but he just wanted to make sure. Then, he continued. ¡°Oh, and since this is the first time we¡¯ve had a group this large, I¡¯ll be bringing back 15 people at a time, one capture group and two support groups, so everyone please split up as a group.¡± After saying that, Tauro formed a circle with the representative group of the capture group. ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± Tauro said simply, and disappeared from the ¡°break room¡± in an instant, leaving the rest of the group behind. ¡°they really disappeared!¡± ¡°Get the next group ready!¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t know it was this easy to get to the deepest level!¡± ¡°Our dungeon capture is about to begin, don¡¯t let your guard down!¡± As the remaining warriors buzzed around, Tauro soon returned. ¡°Yes, next group, please form up in a circle.¡± At the sound of Tauro¡¯s voice, the second group rushed to form a circle. ¡°Let¡¯s go, then.¡± Tauro said in a working manner, as if he were an employee at an attraction, and then he chanted ¡°Spatial Transfer¡± again and moved to the deepest level in an instant. ¡°We¡¯ll be the last one after that. Let¡¯s form a circle and get ready!¡± As the last group of capturers prepared, Tauro returned immediately. ¡°Yes, we are the last. ©¤ ©¤ Then let¡¯s go.¡± This time, 20 people, including Tauro¡¯s escort group, formed a circle and moved instantly to the 201st level. ¡°This is the deepest level!¡± When the third and final group arrived, the representative of the first group confirmed it. ¡°Well then, we¡¯ll go on ahead. As you all know, the job of the capture group is to move on to the lower levels. The support group will take care of the rest. Then I wish you the best of luck.¡± After saying this, they left the ¡°break room¡± and went down the stairs to the lower level. ¡°We¡¯re on our way, too. Support group, please keep in close contact with the other groups.¡± The representative of the second group reminded them, and like the first group, they left the ¡°break room¡± and headed for the lower level. The representative of the third group turned to Tauro and said, ¡°Well then, we¡¯ll be on our way. Thank you, Tauro-dono. From now on, Tauro-dono will move on to the task of transporting the supply group to the ¡°break room¡± at the deepest level. Thank you very much.¡± After thanking Tauro, the third group also headed down to the lower level. ¡°¡­¡­I guess most of my work is done now.¡± Tauro took a deep breath while drinking the magic recovery potion. ¡°No, Tauro-dono. When the capture group arrives at the lower level, you will have the job of carrying the supply group from the top down to the bottom from here. It is very necessary for dungeon capture, so please keep up the good work.¡± Tauro¡¯s escort leader, Tsugumu, said so seriously. ¡°Yes, it was so. The supply group will leave the ¡®break room¡¯ and follow after the capture group to do the supply work, right?¡± ¡°Basically, it¡¯s like supporting the support group. Until now, my job has been to regularly bring in supplies to the break room, but this time, thanks to Tauro-dono, that has become easier, so we have very little work to do. But I¡¯ll have Tauro-dono regularly carry the supply crew from top to bottom.¡± The escort leader Tsugumu answers with a mysterious expression. It¡¯s a job that can¡¯t be done without Tauro, so he was sorry to make him work all the time. ¡°Yes, I understand. I am totally fine with it. I found today¡¯s ¡°spatial transfer¡± to be less burdensome than before. Then let¡¯s all go back upstairs, shall we?¡± Tauro replied with a smile and formed a circle with his escort team to return to the first level. CH 275 Five days have passed since Tauro sent the dragon people off to conquer the dungeon by ¡°spatial transfer.¡± During that time, Tauro continued his quest to transport the supply group, whose members had magic storage, from the first level to the deepest level. Yes, as a task requested by Chief Ryuga to the Adventurers¡¯ Guild, Tauro stopped by the Adventurers¡¯ Guild once in the morning and dove in to complete the free quest ¡°Assistance in Dungeon Exploration¡± procedure. Of course, but as usual, there are no other quests available at the Adventurers¡¯ Guild, Dragon People¡¯s Village Branch. However, as an adventurer, this was Tauro¡¯s reason for staying in the Dragon People¡¯s Village, so he was not bothered by the fact that there was only one quest. ¡°Then please come again today.¡± After meeting and greeting Tsugumu and his members of the escort team in front of the Adventurer¡¯s Guild, the supply team joined them and headed for the dungeon together, as was their routine. ¡°Huh? Everyone is carrying big bags today, but is there anyone with magic storage today?¡± I noticed the ostentatious attire of the supply group. ¡°As it just so happened, the guy who was supposed to be in charge of carrying the magic storage today happened to be absent due to a legal matter, so the rest of us have to split up to carry it.¡± The supply group¡¯s escort, who was carrying a large load, answered Tauro¡¯s question. ¡°In that case, since I have magic storage, I will carry it to the deepest floor for you.¡± Tauro offered willingly. ¡°But with this amount of stuff, you¡¯ll have to have a lot of magic storage capacity, right?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry, my magic storage is (extremely) large, so I¡¯ve never felt any limitations.¡± Tauro answered calmly, but the supply group members were surprised and their eyes widened. ¡°¡­ Huh? Tauro-dono¡¯s magic storage has no limits!?¡± ¡°Yes. So I¡¯m going to put everyone¡¯s belongings in storage.¡± When Tauro answered so, he stored the luggage of the dragon tribe warriors, who were carrying more on their backs than any ordinary person could carry ¡°¡­¡­ surprised me. No one else in the capture group has this much storage capacity.¡± ¡°Haha. But, all of you in the strategy group are very talented and skilled, aren¡¯t you? I¡¯m not even close to you. ©¤ ©¤ Then let¡¯s head for the dungeon.¡± Tauro had become so accustomed to the out-of-the-ordinary sights and sounds of the dragon people that his senses had become numb, but them being surprised had made him realize that he was not the only one. That¡¯s right, the storage rate of my magic storage was abnormal. When I¡¯m in this village, I feel numb. He was reminded that he, too, had a moderately great ability. Then, with a wry smile on his face, Tauro and his group headed for the dungeon. The 201st level, the deepest level of the dungeon. ¡°Thank you for your hard work, all of you who are on standby.¡± When they arrived at the 201st level, Tauro greeted the support group that was staying in the ¡°break room.¡± They are the members who are on 24-hour standby in the ¡°break room¡± to provide treatment, support, and assistance to the dungeon capturers when they come in for an emergency. They are also the people Tauro has brought in from above over the past few days. ¡°¡±¡±Thank you, Tauro-dono.¡±¡±¡± Everyone in the ¡°break room¡± greets Tauro. ¡°Then, everyone in the supply group, let¡¯s take out the luggage.¡± Saying so, Tauro takes out the luggage. ¡°Did Tauro-dono carry the luggage for the supply group?¡± One of the waiting members noticed and called out to him. In response, a member of the supply team explained the reason. ¡°I see. But I¡¯m in a bit of a pickle. Since only two people have magic storage among the current members, we can¡¯t split up into three groups and carry it to the three capture groups. Just today, since we haven¡¯t replenished since the first day, we were counting on the supply group. ¡­¡­¡± ¡°We¡¯ll have to split up the cargo and carry it by ourselves. We¡¯ll have to increase the number of guards for that, but we have no choice. Hey, we¡¯re going to assign more people to one of the special groups, so who can join us?¡± The room suddenly became noisy. Since this was something that was not planned, various suggestions were made. ¡°©¤©¤©¤Won¡¯t that be a problem when the support group rushes over here?¡± ¡°©¤ ©¤ But isn¡¯t that better than the supply group being wiped out?¡± ¡°©¤ ©¤ There are also unforeseen circumstances. It¡¯s hard to allocate members to stand by here, isn¡¯t it?¡± The absence of the dragon people¡¯s magic storage holder, who is no longer here due to legal matters, has become important. ¡°Let¡¯s see,¡­¡­. Can I join you as a baggage handler? Then since I already have an escort team, and if the supply group escorts also join us, I think we¡¯ll be safe enough.¡± At Tauro¡¯s suggestion, the Dragon People¡¯s group replied, ¡°No, that would be too much of a burden for Tauro-dono. ¡­¡­¡± ¡°But we can¡¯t turn our backs now, can we?¡± ¡°You idiot. What if something happens to Tauro-dono? That would be the end of our dungeon invasion, wouldn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°That¡¯s why Tauro-dono is suggesting that he should have more guards! Besides, the guards attached to Tauro-dono are reserve members of the support group, so they are the best of the best among them. If we attach to them the members who will be going this time, it will be safer.¡± At first, there were some opposing opinions, but once all the opinions had been collected, it was decided that it would be best to have Tauro join the group. Thus, a supply group was hastily formed with Tauro as a member. CH 276 In order to replenish the capture groups on the 202nd floor of the dungeon, the three supply groups left the ¡®break room¡¯. A total of 11 people, including Tauro, his escort team, and the original supply group escort team, followed the third attack group, Left the 201st floor¡¯s ¡°rest room¡± and headed down the stairs nearby. ¡°Traditionally, the support group of each team would come to the ¡°break room¡± to pick up supplies, but with Tauro-dono¡¯s participation, the support group will be able to devote themselves to supporting the capture group more efficiently. We changed it so that we, the supply group, would deliver the supplies to the front line.¡± Tsugumu, the captain of the escort team, explained as he descended the stairs. ¡°Does that mean that I increased the work of everyone in the supply group?¡± Tauro guessed that the supply team originally only had to carry the supplies to the ¡°break room.¡± ¡°No, that¡¯s not what I mean. If not for Tauro-dono, the supply team would have had to dive down to the deepest level of the ¡°rest room¡± by themselves, layer by layer, to bring in the supplies. Furthermore, food supplies have a limited shelf life once they are taken out of the magic storage, so they cannot be left unattended. Therefore, the supply team had to stay in the ¡°break room¡± until the support team came to collect them. Considering all these hardships, the work of bringing supplies to the front line is a breeze. Besides, the support team ensures our safety to a certain extent along the way. So the workload is now a tenth of what it used to be.¡± Tsugumu carefully and thoughtfully answered the importance of the tauro. They all descended a long flight of stairs to a side passageway, the exit of which was illuminated by a strong light. ¡°We¡¯re already on the 202nd floor, right?¡± Tauro nervously asked Tsugumi. ¡°¡­¡­ Yeah. It will be, in a manner of speaking. I think you can see what the 202 level looks like when you go through that exit. ¡­¡­¡± With Tauro as the rear guard, the supply team moves forward with vigilance. The entrance is said to be dangerous. And the deeper levels are full of smart monsters, so there is a possibility that they will use their skills to ambush us. However, as Tauro approached the lighted doorway, he was sure that there were no monsters around. Yes, Tauro had recently acquired an ¡°anti-inhibition¡± ability. The combination of ¡°presence detection,¡± ¡°true Eyes,¡± and this ¡°anti-inhibition¡± ability can be said to be at the cheat level. It nullifies all inhibitory skills, so even if you think you¡¯re hiding, you¡¯re completely transparent to Tauro. ¡°There seems to be no sign of monsters around. I think we¡¯ll be fine.¡± Tauro said and steadily advanced. After passing through a lighted doorway, I found myself in a- What a surprise¡­ a prairie with a blue sky! There was what looked like a forest nearby and mountains in the distance. ¡°Huh? Outside?¡± For a moment, Tauro was puzzled, wondering if he was hallucinating. ¡°The ¡­¡­202 level is a ground type? No wonder it¡¯s taking so long for the capture group to clear it. ¡­¡­.¡± The leader of the escort team, Tsugumu, said as soon as he saw this scenery. ¡°What is this?¡± Tauro¡¯s confusion continued. ¡°Oh, this is, of course, the deepest level. The sky is just a ceiling created by the dungeon, and although the view seems endless, it is actually a wall with edges. However, it is a very large space. That¡¯s why it¡¯s so hard to find the stairs to get to the lower levels in this ground type floor. No wonder there have been no reports of finding the lower level even after 5 days. ¡­¡­¡± Even after hearing Tsugumu¡¯s explanation, Tauro couldn¡¯t believe it and looked out over at the landscape spread out before him in disbelief. There¡¯s a breeze blowing and the smell of sunshine. What is that sun? Tauro was also curious about the sun-like light that illuminated the earth with such intensity that he could not look directly at it. ¡°Oh, is that it? We tried to investigate on a different level, but the ceiling was too high for us. The hypothesis is that it is a sun-like object created by the dungeon. In other words, we don¡¯t know much about it. Ha ha.¡± Tsugumu couldn¡¯t answer Tauro¡¯s question, so he laughed and shook it off. ¡°¡­ There are many parts of the dungeon that even the dragon people haven¡¯t clarified?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. it¡¯s the support group¡¯s job to figure out the truth, and some things are still being discovered today, but the mysteries are far greater.¡± If even the dragon race didn¡¯t understand it, the human race wouldn¡¯t have progressed that much. Tauro was witnessing the unknowns of the dungeon. ¡°Now then, we will follow the trail of the attack and support groups.¡± The person in charge of tracking the supply group took the lead when he saw the ground. ¡° the third group we¡¯re in charge of is starting their search from this side, as per the basic plan. Let¡¯s head there.¡± To Tauro, the ground looked ordinary, but the tracker seemed to be able to see something. Following his instructions, Tauro¡¯s group followed the capture group into the depths of the 202nd level. CH 277 The 202nd dungeon level. The group had been advancing for half a day, avoiding most of the monsters using Tauro¡¯s ¡°True Eye¡±, a combination of ¡°Anti-Inhibition¡± and ¡°presence Detection¡±. Some of the scenes were fought by the escort team, because it would be quicker to take them down than take the long way around. Tauro had initially intended to participate in the battle, albeit in a minor way. Tauro had raised his basic stats considerably with the armor he had modified himself, so he thought he could help them a little. However, the escort team was agile, powerful, and efficient, and they were able to analyze the monsters¡¯ weaknesses in no time at all. Tauro had planned to join in whenever he had the chance, but the monster was vanquished before he had a chance to do so. ¡°You are all very quick. I was going to participate in the attack a little myself, but it was no use at all.¡± Tauro praised the coordination of the escort team. ¡°Ha ha. Except for our daily lives, we are members who have been doing only combat training. We also study Monsters . If it is a monster we have knowledge on, most of us understand our roles and can move instantly.¡± As Tsugumi, the captain of the escort team, said, these two teams protecting Tauro were perfect, working together with few words There was no room for Tauro, who had some confidence in his standing, so it was a considerable amount. ¡°Tauro-dono¡¯s ability is great enough, too. Even our search ability is not perfect against inhibition skills, so we all rely on our intuition at the end of the day. But Tauro-dono can also sense monsters with high inhibition systems. That alone is a big help to us.¡± Tsugumi admired Tauro and praised him. ¡°I¡¯m still not sure about my ¡®anti-inhibition¡¯ ability myself. Because I occasionally react to rocks and stones. I¡¯m not sure if it¡¯s too sensitive, or does the rock or stones contain some kind of inhibition ore¡­¡­ See, even that rock over there reacts when I look at it through my ¡®true eye.¡¯.¡± Tauro points to a nearby rock. ¡°¡­¡­ that rock?¡± Tsugumi stares at the rock near Tauro. The other members also looked at the rock Tauro pointed to. For a moment, the rock seemed to move. ¡°It¡¯s a rock hedgehog!¡± It was not long before Tsugumi warned the members of the group. Suddenly, countless needles shot out from the rock at high speed. Tauro was too close to react. But Tauro¡¯s partner, Pela of the Slime Emperor subspecies, was different. Pella, which was mimicking the surface of Tauro¡¯s leather armor, broke its mimicry the next instant and spread thinly, creating a wall in front of Tauro. It was a membrane that half covered the rock. The thinly spread Pella rrepelled all the attacks that flew at Tauro while making a lot of high-pitched sounds of metals colliding with needles that were fired at high speed. After repelling the attacks, Pella bounce off Tauro¡¯s leather armor and return to it¡¯s mimicry, as if it¡¯s role was over. The rock Hedgehog , which had broken out of its rock disguise, was literally a large rat covered in needles. Since most of the attacks were blocked by Pella, it fled in an instant with quick movements, as if it thought it was at a disadvantage. Tauro calmly took out Artemis¡¯ bow from the magic storage and fixed the arrow. The arrow was immediately covered with the ¡°Arrow of Light¡±. But instead of the usual blurry light, the arrow is covered with a beautiful film. Tauro sharpened the power of the arrow with ¡°magic manipulation (extreme)¡±. Tauro took aim and fired the arrow at the rock hedgehog. The arrow followed the fleeing monster in a single curved line and pierced it. However, the Rock Hedgehog didn¡¯t flinch and moved away from him. ¡°¡­¡­ surprising. I can¡¯t believe that arrow couldn¡¯t kill it even with the increased power¡­¡± Tauro stared at the monster as it moved away from him. ¡°Tauro-dono, are you okay!¡­ It doesn¡¯t look like you are injured. ©¤©¤The wounded must be treated immediately! The needles have poison, paralysis, and other abnormalities attached to them, so be on your guard!¡± When the captain of the escort, Tsugumi, confirmed that Tauro was unharmed, he immediately urged those around him to treat the wounded, as some of them had been attacked without even Pella being able to prevent it. ¡°I also have ¡®status ailment recovery¡¯ magic, so I will help.¡± As soon as Tauro said this, he walked up to the injured person, pulled out a needle, and cast a spell. The needle had a barb on it, and when I pulled it out, it looked pretty painful, but the dragon people didn¡¯t even move an eyebrow. On the other hand, ¡°Kill me¡­¡± was the cry from the mouths of not only the wounded but also the rest of the dragon people, who were ashamed that they had not noticed the monster in their vicinity. ¡°¡­Even so, as I heard in the report, is this a subspecies of the Slime Emperor? I¡¯m surprised that this quintessential deep level Monster could react so instantly and protect Tauro-dono. Thanks to you, those of us who were in the line of fire with Tauro-dono were not harmed. I was too weak to defend myself, sorry.¡± Captain Tsugumi expressed his remorse. ¡°No, it¡¯s amazing that you were able to react and prevent that thing from happening. I couldn¡¯t do anything. Thank you, Pella.¡± Tauro chuckled and stroked the leather armor that Pella had mimicked. The surface of the leather armor rippled, perhaps because she was happy to be thanked. ¡°¡­It really is a subspecies of the Slime Emperor, isn¡¯t it? Ordinary Slime Emperors are weak in physical attacks and can¡¯t even mimic, but witnessing the scene just now, there is no doubt that it is a new species. Thank you for protecting Tauro-dono.¡± Tsugumi was amazed by Tauro¡¯s partner, but thanked Pella for protecting the target they were supposed to protect. CH 278 Night came normally on the 202nd level. Of course, it was not outside, so it¡¯s kind of like that, but there were stars in the sky and the moon was shining. For something created by a dungeon, it looked real, but upon closer inspection, the arrangement of the stars was completely different, indicating that it was not of this world. This was the proof that it was a fake. Tauro and his group decided to spend the night in the area where the road was warded by magic stone tools, which they could tell was the path after the capture group had passed through, and decided to camp there. So, it goes without saying, Tauro immediately surprised the dragon people by setting up a tent of his pride and joy and providing them with lanterns, but what surprised them the most was the food. Although a lot of food was prepared to supply the capture group, although it was to be stored in the magic storage, it was basically preserved food, and there were pre-cooked ingredients and so on in it. However, the dragon people seem to willingly eat the preserved food that is readily available and easy to eat, and they have little desire to go to the trouble of cooking and eating hot food in the dungeon. So, Tauro brought out cooking utensils such as a skillet and a stove from the magic storage and began to cook on a large scale. At first, the dragon tribe members refused, saying, ¡°Can we just use preserved food?¡± But when Tauro said he wanted to serve the food to everyone, they agreed. ¡°Do you need any help? Are you okay? I understand.¡± ¡°This aroma ¡­¡­ is an unusual spice, isn¡¯t it? Just a lot of smells mixed ¡­¡­ together.¡± ¡°Indeed. ©¤ ©¤ Yes? Is that orc meat? Pork cutlets? I¡¯ve never heard of that dish before.¡± ¡± it¡¯s a little sludgy for a soup, but is it okay? What? It¡¯s not soup?¡± ¡°What is this white food? Is it rice? Rice!? The kind you mix in with livestock feed? Are you going to eat it?!¡± The dragon people took turns peering into Tauro¡¯s cooking process , their stomachs rumbling with the aroma of the cooking scene they had never seen before. What Tauro had prepared was, yes, a cutlet curry filled with chopped vegetables. Since Ragune was addicted to pork cutlets, he thought that a curry with them might be popular with the dragon people. Each person formed a line with a plate of rice which he or she had been given. Next, the pork cutlet was placed on top of the white rice, and Tauro poured the curry roux in question over it. ¡°It¡¯s the first time I¡¯ve seen this dish, but it smells good.¡± ¡°It was the first time I¡¯ve seen orc meat cooked, but it looks delicious.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not a fan of the rice, but overall it looks good.¡± Before eating, the dragon tribe members let out their impressions of the appearance of the food. ¡°well then, it looks like it¡¯s gone to everyone, so please enjoy your meal. Please enjoy it. There is also a second helping.¡± As Tauro recommended that they eat, the captain, Tsugumi, first scooped up a spoonful of curry cutlet and brought it to his mouth, as if to represent the captain. ¡°Delicious! The spiciness of this curry roux, the sweetness of the vegetables, and the rice¡ª¡± When Tsugumi began to explain his impressions, everyone was stimulated by the aroma and began to eat the curry. Everyone shouted, ¡°It¡¯s delicious!¡± This seems to be more popular than I thought. I thought I had made a lot of it for preservation, but I¡¯ll make some more. Tauro was impressed by the vigor with which everyone was eating the curry, and he knew that outdoor curry was a great success. He took out more ingredients and cooking utensils from the magic storage, and began cooking again. After the meal ¡°Thank you for the meal, Tauro-dono. I never thought I would be able to enjoy such a delicious meal in a dungeon.¡± Captain Tsugumi thanked him on behalf of everyone. ¡°I¡¯m glad it was so well received. We still have plenty of refills, so please let me know if you¡¯d like more.¡± Tauro answered with a smile. ¡°No, I¡¯ve already had five bowls, so I¡¯ll stop. Ha ha ha!¡± Tsugumi also laughed and answered Tauro. ¡°Hahaha! The person who ate the most had seven bowls. Don¡¯t be shy.¡± When Tauro said that, someone shouted, ¡°Hey, hey, who ate seven bowls of food?¡± And everyone laughed in response. The area was brightly lit by the lanterns Tauro provided. ¡°The tent also is one of the many things that Tauro-dono has made. I am amazed.¡± Tsugumi was impressed by the brightness of the lanterns. ¡°I¡¯ve only been able to make good use of some of the research I¡¯ve been doing on the magic circle. It¡¯s mostly failures¡± Tauro usually has a lot of ideas, but only a few of them have taken shape. ¡°The original magic circle is said to be a lost art. We, the dragon people, are also researching the magic circle related to magic tools, but I am not sure if there is anyone who knows as much as Tauro-dono. ¡­¡­¡± ¡°My knowledge is also incomplete. I¡¯d like to do a lot of things, but I haven¡¯t been able to put them into shape yet.¡± Tauro was humbled and decided that while he was in the village of the Dragon People, he would continue his research on the magic circle. CH 279 Tauro spent his first night in the dungeon, but was able to greet the morning without incident thanks to the wards that the support team attached to the capture group had put up using magic stones to ensure the safety of the path. ¡°A magic tool that can create wards ¡­¡­. I wonder if I can do it too?¡± Tauro pondered this convenience. ¡°Tauro-dono, let¡¯s get going. The Capturers seem to be moving around in the dungeon more than expected. My men tell me that the wards and traces left behind by the support group to ensure their safety and to serve as landmarks are everywhere¡± Thereupon Tsugumi, the leader of the escort team, urged Tauro to depart. It seems that the capture team is having more trouble with the 202nd level than expected. It is such a large dungeon that it is not easy to find a stairway to the lower levels. ¡°I understand. Let¡¯s catch up with them as soon as possible and replenish their supplies.¡± Tauro nodded and continued on with the group. How long have we walked, the sun is high in the sky, it¡¯s probably around noon in this dungeon. With this in mind, Tauro¡¯s ¡°true eye¡± caught sight of a figure in the forest a short distance away. It was a group of people with high inhibiting abilities. In Tauro¡¯s ¡°true eye,¡± the outline of the group appeared to glow, indicating the characteristics of those using inhibition-type abilities. They seemed to have noticed us, too, and were coming toward us through the forest. ¡°Are You guys the supply group? Thank you! What¡¯s going on? Wait a minute, why is Tauro-dono here?¡± The first words were words of gratitude from the woman who was leading the group, but when she saw that Tauro was a member of the group, the atmosphere suddenly changed. ¡°¡­¡­ actually©¤©¤¡± Tsugumi explained to the leader of this support group on behalf of the group. ¡°¡­¡­ supply is indeed an important mission, but we are not amateurs either. We use supplies in a trimmed-down manner in case of unforeseen circumstances. So, in such cases, even if there is a delay, we can leave it to other supply groups. How dare you bring Tauro-dono to a dangerous place! You are also thoughtless, Tauro-dono. Of course, we appreciate your cooperation in this important matter. It is also because of its importance that it is Tauro-dono who holds our lifeline in your hands. We cannot allow you to take such a risk. The rest of you, please get in line. To begin with¡­¡± The female leader of the support team began to lecture Tsugumi, Tauro, and all the members of the escort team after they were all lined up in a row. ¡°So, we will accompany you to where the capture group is. Is that clear?¡± After a long sermon, the female leader of the support team agreed to accompany Tauro and his team. ¡°But don¡¯t you support group members have other important duties to perform?¡± Tauro asked, not wanting to intrude. ¡°Originally, we have a wide range of tasks, such as ensuring the safety of the route from the stairs to the Capture group, the ecology of monsters, researching and mapping this dungeon, but we have decided that ensuring the safety of Tauro-dono is our top priority. Usually, we would be the ones to pick up the luggage, but since this team only has a small capacity to carry magic storage, we will accompany you, okay?¡± The female leader exerted an atmosphere of pressure that made it seem impossible to refuse. ¡°Yes. ¡­¡­.¡± Tauro and Tsugumi, to the captain of the escort team, could do nothing but reply. The support team led the way, and Tauro and his group took a shortcut to where the capture group were and caught up with them. Even if I say I caught up, it was a matter of walking for several hours. ¡°It seems that the capture group and the support group are fighting monsters right now. We will go closer, but please keep your distance until the battle is over. We are going to cover the capture group.¡± The female leader of the support group pointed to a cloud of dust in the distance. Tauro¡¯s ¡°true eye¡± has been enhanced to be able to see at a long distance by learning ¡°God¡¯s Hand¡¯¡¯, but even his ¡°true eye¡± cannot see much at this distance. ¡°Understood. We will protect Tauro-dono and keep an eye on the surroundings.¡± The leader of the escort team, Tsugumi, nodded and deployed everyone around him. The female leader of the support team confirmed this and ran at high speed to the battlefield with her companions. Tauro and his team decided to wait until they were close enough to see with their ¡°true eyes¡± where the cloud of dust was rising. Tauro watched the situation with his ¡°true eyes,¡± which could only make out a few sesame seeds of human life. There was one large enemy monster and about 15 of his followers, and they seemed to be fighting on equal terms with the capture group. Occasionally, a cloud of smoke rises from a flashy explosion magic, but this is from the monster side, and the capture group seem to be fighting back with a simple ray of light magic that disappears as soon as it flashes. Nonetheless, Tauro was confident that the capturers, including the capture group, would all be S-class level adventurers, and that it would be over in no time. ¡°¡­ It seems like it¡¯s over. They¡¯re beckoning us to come over, so let¡¯s go.¡± The captain of the escort team, Tsugumi, was the first to notice this and reported it to Tauro. ¡°Okay. If I go, I won¡¯t be preached by the capture team this time, right?¡± Tauro jokingly said this to Tsugumi as he rushed to the location of the capture team.