Chapter 1:
Crossing the Border
“THIS IS NICE.”
“Woof!”
Fran didn’t blink once as she enjoyed the wind blowing in her face. Thanks to a combination of the manatech we’d bought at the auction and a wind spell, she was able to withstand the strong headwind, even as it rumbled around us. Without protection, it could’ve easily blown her off her feet.
As for Jet, he was just too fast when he was at his largest. He traversed a distance that would’ve normally taken a whole day in just under an hour, Air Hopping over mountains, rivers, and forests. There wasn’t a single monster that could stand in his way. Anything that tried became the perfect in-flight snack.
“Nom, nom.”
“Good?”
“Woof!”
They weren’t worth butchering for materials, so it was fine.
These days, Jet ate anything he came across. Still, some of these monsters were pretty weird…like that one moss that spewed smoke, or that slime the color of mud. Identify didn’t mark these creatures as edible…not that human edibility probably had much to do with the diet of a newly elite monster.
“Which one of those is good?”
“Arf?”
Fran, you can’t be thinking of eating that thing, can you? You’ll ruin your stomach!
But maybe objecting would show her that I lacked faith in her. Fran was a bona fide adventurer now, after all. She could decide what she wanted to eat for herself.
“I can handle a little poison with Abnormal Status Immunity.”
“W-woof?”
She’d be fine…right? Or should I stop her? No, she would think I was being annoying if I stopped her from doing every little thing. She was gonna hit her rebellious phase any day now. My mind would totally shatter if she said something like “Shut up, Teacher. You stink.”
“Teacher? You’re shaking.”
D-don’t worry about it.
“Hmm.” She was looking at me suspiciously. Not mad, just exasperated. Or was I just imagining things? I needed to change the subject before things got more awkward.
O-oh? Hey, I can see the next town! That’s Didian, our last stop in Granzell! Apparently, it has its own specialty!
“Specialty?”
Didian is famous for cheese made of domesticated monster milk. Apparently, it’s super tasty.
“Wow.”
“Ruff!”
That got her attention.
Based on how fast Jet was going, we could’ve reached Belioth by this point, but we were still in Granzell. We’d been stopping by every town to sample its delicacies. So far, we’d spent over a week learning new cooking techniques and staying overnight at towns we liked.
We weren’t in any rush, so I thought we could take our time and let Fran enjoy herself. If anything, getting to our destination in the blink of an eye would be boring—and it’d be a waste not to take our time to enjoy the journey. I wanted to let Fran experience something other than life-or-death battles for once.
Didian, the town known for its cheese, was situated close to the border. It had high walls and stricter security checks. What with the town being at the frontier, there wasn’t exactly a long line of people waiting to get in. Still, the gatekeepers were heavily armed and there were five extra guards at the post to the side of the gates.
We landed some distance away from the gates so as not to cause alarm and walked the rest of the way there.
We immediately caught the guards’ attention. They stared cautiously at the little girl with a giant wolf in tow, which was fair enough…but were things really that bad here?
“Welcome to Didian. You an adventurer?”
“Hm. Here’s my card.”
Despite being cautious, they weren’t rude. They didn’t waste our time underestimating Fran, either. In fact, they were exceptionally polite.
That changed as soon as they saw her card.
“Y-you’re a B-Rank adventurer?!”
“Hey, you’re the Black Lightning Princess! To what do we owe the honor?”
Fran’s name had spread across Granzell. Regular civilians might not have known her, but merchants and members of the guard sure did. Gatekeepers—those city guards who picked up rumors and information from the people passing them—seemed especially familiar with her. Fran passed inspection quickly and they welcomed her with open arms.
The first people we saw past the gates were more guards, all just as heavily armed as the gatekeepers. I’d known this was a frontier city, but they were really laying it on thick with the security.
But when we made our first stop at a food stall, we learned the reason behind the excess security.
“Hey there, little miss! Care for a bite of Didian’s famous cheese bread? Best in town!”
They were selling gigantic bread—the stuff was the size of Fran’s face! The crust looked tough on the outside, but it was soft and fluffy once you cut into it. It looked delicious.
“Hm. I’ll take five.”
“So generous! Coming right up!” The man stuffed the bread into a jute bag. Judging by his speed, he was used to getting these large orders. “I take it you’re an adventurer by the way you’re dressed.”
“Hm.”
“Wow! A life of hard work at such an early age. First time in town?”
“Just got here.”
“I see, I see! So what do you think?”
“There’s a lot of soldiers?”
“Aah, you’ve noticed?”
A few months ago, a notorious man with a bounty on his head had been spotted in the vicinity. The local and regional guards were mobilized to deal with him, but that single man had decimated them.
“Fella took down a hundred soldiers by himself! Crushed ’em! Things have been a little tense here since then.”
“I see.”
You had to be really strong to crush a hundred-man army by yourself. Probably gave the local viscount headaches. But that wasn’t the only thing that seemed strange about the town.
“The guards don’t look too worried…” noted Fran.
She was right. Despite their great numbers, the guards weren’t emitting a murderous aura. It wasn’t that they didn’t take their jobs seriously, but they sure didn’t seem enthusiastic about bringing the bounty in.
“Well, you see, there were no casualties.”
“No casualties? I thought you said they got crushed.”
“Arf?”
“That’s the thing. They all got beat up but nobody died. The boys kind of lost their reason to fight after that. I’m pretty sure the viscount is only getting guards to make himself look good, too.”
The viscount was trying to make himself look like a benevolent ruler who cared about his people, but he didn’t really care about capturing the bounty. Given that the bounty could easily repel his forces, who could blame him?
“The city was close to panicking after we heard what kind of man we were dealing with. The unrest only got worse after adventurers came to try and take the bounty. Fortunately, we haven’t spotted the fellow in quite a while, and the additional soldiers did a lot to settle public unrest. Honestly, I hope he never gets found.”
“Uh-huh. Say, this bounty…what’s it like?”
“You gonna get him? Can’t say I recommend it.”
He took one look at Fran and could tell that she wasn’t just making small talk. Pretty good read on his part, considering Fran’s lack of obvious emotion. Then again, Fran always got fired up whenever she smelled a good fight in the air.
“Now, listen. The guy’s name is Theraclede. A nasty mercenary. Guy killed hundreds of people in his day. Not exactly someone a fresh adventurer would want to tussle with.”
“Theraclede…? He’s here?”
“Y-yeah.”
Hang on. That couldn’t be right. He fought a hundred people and all of them survived? If he had brutally murdered all one hundred, I’d be more inclined to believe it was him. But this was Theraclede we were talking about. He’d readily kill people just for being near him. Was it really him?
Report accuracy rated at nineteen percent.
Figures. Theraclede was a criminal, but he was still famous. It could be an impostor posing as him to intimidate the locals.
“What’s he look like?”
“I hear he’s a big man covered in wounds. Don’t tell me you’re actually thinking of going after him?”
“Maybe.”
“Your funeral.” The man thought Fran was just being vague to dodge the issue. He gave her a wry smile as he handed her a bag of bread.
But Fran was serious. She still detested Theraclede, but Kiara had told her not to seek vengeance on her behalf. Fran had complied by not going out of her way to find him, but now that he might be close at hand, it was a different story. The Theraclede we were dealing with was probably an impostor, but we couldn’t just let him roam free. Not with us around.
Maybe Jet can sniff him out.
He’d be able to track Theraclede down if he was hiding nearby, although the trail would probably be cold if the last sighting was a few months ago. Besides, we didn’t even know if we were dealing with the real Theraclede.
“Hm! Jet!”
“Woof, woof!”
“Don’t go killing yourself, little miss! You and your pup have got a lot to live for!”
“We’ll be okay.”
Jet was a giant wolf, after all!
Let’s start with the town.
“Hm. Jet, if you would.”
“Woof!”
And so, Fran and Jet began their hunt for the bounty…
“Munch, munch. Not here.”
“Arf! Nom, nom.”
Were they actually looking for him? It seemed to me like they were looking for hidden food stalls more than anything else.
“Sniff, sniff.”
“Well?”
“Woof…”
We searched Didian for Theraclede, sampling their delicacies all the while. If he was in town, escaping Jet’s mighty snoot was close to impossible. He’d memorized Theraclede’s scent from all our battles with him.
But our search came up empty. There was no trace of Theraclede left to even determine whether he was the real deal. Even if he was in the area, he definitely wasn’t hiding in town.
It can’t be helped. All we have is hearsay, after all.
“Hm.” Fran had also given up on the search, but she didn’t look broken up about it. It was just something to do while she took in the sights and ate. She wasn’t expecting much.
So, what now? We got a lot of cheese, but should we stay the night here?
“I’m good,” she said. “Let’s get to the next town.”
You sure?
“Hm. I’m getting sick of cheese.”
That was it? No wonder she was buying up other kinds of food. She had gotten bored of the dairy product after eating nothing but cheese since breakfast, and no one girl should have all those cheeses.
Our next stop will be in Belioth. We’ll have to cross the border before that. We have to go through the official channels to avoid further headaches down the road.
“Got it.”
Borders were vague in this world. No clear lines were drawn, no walls built. It was very easy to ignore checkpoints altogether. This wasn’t a problem among friendly countries whose citizens were allowed to freely cross each other’s borders—but Belioth was different.
Belioth was famous for having the toughest immigration procedures in the world. Checkpoints were set up along the highways, along with a ton of lookout posts. Those who were discovered to have entered the country outside official channels would be slapped with a hefty fine. Commit a misdemeanor without going through immigration, and that charge got upgraded to a felony.
Such were the countermeasures employed against their neighbor, Raydoss, which regularly sent spies. Detainment was very much a possibility. But it wasn’t that bad as long as you went into Belioth through the proper channels. It wasn’t something we’d have to worry about.
“Let’s get going.”
Uh, now?
“Hm.”
She really was bored of cheese. Now that I think about it, she didn’t ask for any toppings on her curry today. But it wasn’t that Fran hated cheese. No, she either liked something, loved something, or was crazy for something.
Let’s get to the checkpoint. Jet should be able to get us there today.
“Woof!”
“Hm.”
Unlike Jet, who was enthusiastic, Fran looked indifferent. She’d either had too much cheese or was disappointed that we couldn’t find Theraclede.
L-let’s get going.
“B-bark!”
An hour passed.
After shopping and reporting to the Adventurers’ Guild that we would be leaving the country, we reached the checkpoint.
That’s Granzell’s side of the checkpoint.
“That garrison?”
“Arf?”
It’s a checkpoint, yeah. Kind of a fortress, almost. The structure really did look like a heavily guarded fortress. It was as if the checkpoint doubled as a check against Belioth. We need to climb a mountain after going through the checkpoint. Past that mountain is Belioth.
“Hmm.”
Granzell and Belioth were separated by a river, but here they were split by a mountain. The peak was apparently the location of the border.
Highways were built between the mountains and checkpoints were placed along those highways. They weren’t precisely on the border because that was where the garrisons were set up.
Even allied nations wouldn’t allow for one-sided fortifications. If there was a garrison on Granzell’s end of the border, there was another one on Belioth’s side, and they were likely built as close to each other as possible.
Of course, you couldn’t have the two fortresses outright rubbing up against each other. Treaties were signed which prohibited the nations from building their fortifications a certain distance from the border, or so we’d heard from the guards at Didian.
We’ll need to be processed at the Granzell immigration side first. Then, we’ll go over the mountain peak to go through the same thing at the Belioth side. A bit of a pain, but rules are rules.
“Okay.”
Anyway, let’s descend here. We don’t want any misunderstandings about our giant flying good boy. If they thought Jet was some dangerous monster, it’d take up even more time.
“Woof, woof!”
I was a bit nervous going into immigration, but the process was smooth sailing. It was especially relaxed compared to Didian, probably because of the bounty they had out there.
We didn’t have to wait either, since we were the only ones there. The process went especially quick because we had an adventurer card. Reason for departure? “Adventure.” Boom, done.
The guards had a lot of time on their hands since merchants and adventurers were the only ones who used this route. The last people processed here were in a merchant caravan and they had come through five days ago. They gave us a warm welcome.
They were a bit dubious about Fran being a B-Rank, but no further questions were asked after her adventurer card was verified. Most adventurers preferred keeping to themselves, and the officers were wise enough not to tick off a B-Rank.
Jet wasn’t a problem either, thanks to his familiar license and shrunken size. The whole process took a little under five minutes.
The Belioth side probably wouldn’t be as lenient. The Granzellian guards warned us not to cause a scene; entering a country was always more difficult than leaving it.
We’re going to have to walk for a while. Wouldn’t want Jet to alert Belioth.
“Woof.”
“Hm.”
They weren’t our enemies, but it was bad manners to cause a ruckus for no good reason. Jet shrank to the size of a large dog and we started our hike.
It wasn’t far to the summit, and the slope was easy—your average person could reach the top in half a day. Monsters spawned here, but the soldiers hunted them down every night. They were mostly F-Threats, with the odd D-Threat showing up once every several years.
As long as we didn’t run into any D-Threats, Fran and Jet could probably reach the top in twelvish hours, probably less. Even if we ran into monsters, we were strong enough that we’d make good time.
Soon enough, evening fell. I figured we’d probably reach the other side the next morning if we set up camp right away. Or so I thought…
I just had to jinx it.
“Hm?”
Never mind. What should we do about them?
“We have to help them!”
As we were reaching the peak, we saw a group of travelers being attacked. By a D-Threat Storm Wyvern, no less.
“Come on, Jet!”
“Grr!”
Fran immediately shifted gears.
At the mountaintop, we saw three women doing battle with the Storm Wyvern. At first glance, I thought they were adventurers. One wore full-plate armor more becoming of a knight than an adventurer, while the other two were lightly armed. All their armaments looked ornamental, to be honest, as if they were nobles playing at being adventurers.
“I’ll draw its attention, Lady Carna! Run away while you still can!”
“Urgh…! Come on, Shera!”
“B-but Lady Dianne…!”
“We’re only slowing her down!”
Carna, the girl who looked to be in her early teens, was apparently their master. I didn’t know whether she was a noble or just the daughter of a rich man, but she wasn’t frozen with fear, which was commendable. Shera, who looked about twenty, was her servant, while the woman in full armor was Dianne, her bodyguard. Her face was concealed by her helmet, but I could tell from her voice that she was young.
Dianne was serving as a distraction so her master could escape…though honestly, I wondered if the metallic rattling of her armor was what attracted the wyvern in the first place. But, uh, that was beside the point! We still had to help her.
Its attention is completely drawn to the knight. We’ll take it down with one strike.
“Hm! Teleport me up!”
Yeah!
“Jet, protect the women!”
“Woof!”
The Storm Wyvern was actually quite weak for a D-Threat. Its stats were more in line with the average E-Threat, but its ability to fly put it just over the line. If you could figure out a way to hit the thing, it wouldn’t be much of an issue.
“Ha!”
“Gyaoooo!”
After teleporting, Fran immediately gravitated towards the creature’s crystal by detecting its mana flow and stabbed me into it. I pierced the crystal in the Storm Wyvern’s neck and it immediately went down.
We quickly stored it away before it could hurt Dianne and the others below us with its fall. The silence returned and it was as if the wyvern had never existed at all.
“Huh?”
The three girls looked up, perplexed. They hadn’t even noticed Jet, who was standing beside them.
“Are you all right?” Fran came down from the sky to address them.
“Y-yes. Thank you for saving us…”
The youngest, their master, was the one to reply. She was a beautiful girl with fluffy violet hair and purple eyes, clad in fancy, well-made armor. I was sure she was of noble birth, but Identify didn’t reveal anything about her lineage. Apparently, the daughter of a nobleman who had no rank in court herself didn’t have a title.
“Did you do that?” she asked.
Fran nodded. “Hm. I beat it and stored it.”
“I see. Again, I thank you.” The girl bowed her head, snapping the other two out of their reverie.
“Y-you saved us. Thank you.”
“Thank you very much… Eek! A wolf!”
“Wh-when did it get here?!”
They finally noticed Jet next to them. The knight flailed and pointed her sword at him.
“It’s okay. He’s with me.”
“R-really? This monstrous-looking wolf? Incredible…”
“Woof!” Hearing the knight’s complaints, Jet turned himself to the size of a pup. Seeing that made them realize that he wasn’t hostile, and the three girls finally relaxed.
The purple girl bowed her head towards Fran.
“Again, thank you. I am Carna. These are Shera and Dianne, my companions.”
“Fran, B-Rank adventurer.”
“Goodness, you’re an adventurer?”
“Hm.”
The three of them immediately reacted to Fran’s declaration. Carna was genuinely surprised, Shera looked scared for some reason, and Dianne had a look of hatred on her face. They definitely didn’t have a good impression of adventurers.
Feeling the sentiment in the air, Fran quietly made ready to leave. She knew staying would mean trouble, and so she took the initiative. I was proud of her. “I’ll be going now.”
They should be able to defend themselves against monsters.
I Identified them and found that their basic abilities were pretty good. Carna and Shera were also around level 30. I’d thought it was because they power leveled, but that wasn’t the case. Carna had fire and water magic, while Shera had healing magic.
Dianne was the real powerhouse of the group. She couldn’t fight a flying Storm Wyvern, but the other monsters there wouldn’t give her any trouble. There was no reason for us to stay and incite bitter feelings.
Shera and Dianne breathed a sigh of relief as Fran turned around to leave. But that relief was turned to ashes by their own master, Carna.
“W-wait!”
“Hm?”
“Umm, could you please be our bodyguard?”
Carna’s words shocked her companions even more than they shocked Fran.
“M-my lady, she is an adventurer!”
“But didn’t you see how strong she was?”
“Adventurers are nothing but money-grubbing barbarians! What if she betrays you?!”
A nasty thing to say. Fran’s mood immediately plummeted. Still, the argument continued.
“But can you defend us if another one of those monsters comes along…?”
“I… Y-yes! I’ll defend you even if it means I would have to die!”
“That will not do. I do not want you to die, Dianne.”
“I am still a proud knight of the Crimson Flag! I am prepared to die for you at any moment!”
What were we supposed to do? They seemed to have completely forgotten about Fran. She hadn’t even said she’d take up the offer.
Should we just leave?
Hmm.
No? You want to stay with them?
I…don’t want Carna to die.
Fran had taken a liking to Carna, who was the same age as her and respected adventurers enough to defend Fran from her subordinates. But she was also quite angry at Dianne.
So, what now?
I’ll let her hire me conditionally.
All right.
All we could do now was wait until the two finished arguing.
Dianne’s hatred for adventurers was exceptional. She didn’t have a single good thing to say about them—they were all money-grubbing opportunists, no better than selfish conmen. Apparently, she felt this way not because of any personal experiences but only from what she’d heard. Or so it seemed, at least.
Carna had heard similar things, but unlike her knight, she reserved judgment until she saw an adventurer for herself. Dianne the believer and Carna the doubter. They went back and forth until their conversation finally ended.
Dianne, obviously annoyed at Fran, looked down at her. “You. Adventurer.”
“What?”
“I will allow you to come with us.”
Wow, who did she think she was?! Fran’s irritation was growing at a rapid rate. She squinted her eyes. “What’s your offer?”
“You dare to ask for money?!”
What was she talking about? Of course adventurers ask for a fee if you want to hire them as a bodyguard.
But Dianne wasn’t finished with her abuse. “This is the problem with you adventurers.”
“Paying an adventurer to be your bodyguard makes perfect sense,” said Fran.
“Lady Carna is granting you the honor of protecting her! That should be reward enough!”
Honor? We didn’t even know who Carna was! Dianne’s hatred for adventurers might have been blinding her, but this conversation was becoming downright painful.
“You knights can fill your stomach on honor, can you?” said Fran. “How nice. But adventurers need to work.”
That was a long statement coming from Fran, so you knew she was mad.
Sensing her anger, Carna stepped in front of her and bowed her head. “I am truly sorry. We do not know the ways of adventurers. How much is your fee?”
“My lady, stop this!” Dianne screamed.
But the master turned to her bodyguard with a sharp glare. “Silence, Dianne.”
“Wh-why?!”
“You cannot impose your values on others. Knights and adventurers are different, just as knights and nobles are different…”
“That’s…”
“If you’re going to just sit here and talk,” said Fran, sounding exhausted, “I’m leaving.”
Before Dianne could retort, Carna once again lowered her head. “I apologize. How much will it be?”
“Hm…”
“Hmph. You’re probably just going to highball us. Fine. Here.” Dianne threw a leather pouch at Fran’s feet, seemingly oblivious to the way Carna was practically glaring at her.
Fran opened the leather pouch and found two thousand gold inside.
“One night,” said Dianne. “That should be more than what you’re worth.”
Maybe, if all you wanted was Fran’s company. But it was nowhere near enough for her to work as a bodyguard. This kind of money would only hire E-Ranks and below.
But Fran was a B-Rank. It wasn’t enough even for a single night. And she was offended, more by Dianne’s cheapness than her nasty attitude. If Fran hadn’t been in a bad mood before, she sure was now. Dianne was saying two thousand gold was all that Fran was worth.
“Yours is that most glorious profession that risks their lives protecting the weak and hunting monsters for vile and dirty money. Am I correct?”
Was Dianne trying to end the negotiation by making Fran mad? Or did she just hate adventurers that much? Either way, Fran wasn’t one to latch onto these subtleties.
She tossed the pouch back at Dianne’s feet. “It’s not enough.”
“Impossible! It’s one night! That should be more than enough!”
“I’m a B-Rank adventurer. I don’t work for this kind of money. An adventurer’s worth is reflected by her fee. If you think I’m only worth this pittance, our negotiation is over.”
“Hmph…that’s what I expect to hear from an adventurer who sells her body for money. Well, then, how much is it?!”
The more she went on, the more I wished we could just kill her to shut her up. Fran was doing a very good job at being patient with her, somehow keeping all that murderous intent she was feeling bottled away.
“Everything you have on you,” said Fran.
“Wh-what?! Don’t be absurd! How are we going to make the rest of our trip?!”
“I’m not being absurd. Pay me and hire me or don’t hire me at all. Honestly, I think I’m doing you a favor.”
“Huh?”
“I’m relieving you of that vile and dirty money you hate so much. Isn’t that how you put it? So I, a vile and dirty adventurer, will happily take all of your vile and dirty money.”
“Th-this is absurd!”
“It’s not. Unless you actually like that vile and dirty money. Unless you’re lying. Are you a liar, fake knight? What kind of pathetic country would let you be a knight, anyway? It’s probably overflowing with pathetic knights just like you.”
Fran was pissed now, and probably purposely speaking her mind to anger Dianne. Apparently, she was the one who wanted to end the negotiation early.
“Ugh… Do not mock my country, you fool!”
“You started it. I don’t care who you are, but don’t go around putting down adventurers. The only fool around here is you.”
“H-how dare an uneducated adventurer like you insult a knight?! I am no fool!”
“I’m just calling it like I see it. You don’t listen to your master, and you don’t even realize that the person you were trying to hire is trying to kill you. A real idiot.”
“Huh?” Dianne stared quizzically at Fran, a question written all over her face: “Trying to kill me? How?”
In that slight pause, Fran slipped behind the knight’s back. “See? You’re dead.”
“…!” Dianne’s spine twitched, not expecting the voice to come from behind her.
Unable to trace Fran’s movements, Dianne finally understood their enormous difference in strength…and the awful predicament she was now in. Dianne’s face paled and she fell to a crouch.
She’d been too blinded by contempt to really see Fran before. Now that she was eye to eye with Fran, she finally did.
“…”
“Ah…”
And she finally saw the fury in Fran’s eyes.
Dianne squeaked and cowered in fear. Nothing could change the fact that she had derided and angered someone far stronger than her, and that someone was now hostile towards her. Her lips trembled and tears welled up in her eyes.
I didn’t think Fran was actually going to kill her, but…
“Hmph…”
Maybe I was wrong. Maybe she was so angry that she couldn’t hold back her murderous intent. Was it my job to stop her? Or my duty as a sword to help her kill once she’d made up her mind?
Fran, honey, you’re not really going to kill her, are you?
I’m…just scaring her.
Aah, of course. Still, she had such an aura of violence that I was actually worried for a second. I sighed with relief.
Just then, Carna stepped in between Fran and Dianne. “That’s enough. Dianne, you are in the wrong here. Hearing what you said made my skin crawl. No more talking.”
“A-ah…” Dianne stammered.
Wow. The young lady had reprimanded her own bodyguard while simultaneously protecting her from Fran. What’s more, she stood within Fran’s intimidating aura without flinching. This girl was pretty good.
“Hmph!” Fran scoffed as if annoyed, but I knew that she was impressed by Carna’s courage.
“I truly apologize,” said Carna. “I will make sure to reprimand Dianne later. She will not cause you any more grief. Please, will you withdraw your anger?”
Without a word, Fran switched off her intimidating aura and turned to Carna. This girl was special. Shera looked like she was about to faint after watching Dianne take a beating, but there wasn’t a trace of fear on Carna’s face. Even if she was bottling it up, she was doing a good job of it. Her apology was clearly an honest one, too.
“So,” said Fran, “are you going to pay up or not?”
“About that: could we perhaps pay you later?”
“Hm?”
“We must take the money we have on hand with us to Thanal, you see.”
Thanal? Fran wondered.
Uhh…
A city in the western region of Belioth, P.A. answered as I wracked my brain. It is located near the Magic Academy.
Ooh, I see.
“I’m afraid we wouldn’t be able to cover our expenses if we handed you all our money now…” said Carna with a pleading look. Interesting. She was still trying to negotiate, even after Fran’s display of intimidation.
I caught the twitch of a smile on Fran’s face. With her frustrations at Dianne vented, all she had left was her interest in Carna. She was amused by the fact that Carna was so fearlessly negotiating with her.
“You’ve shown us how strong you are, and I know that I’ll need quite a bit of money to employ your services. But this is all we have to offer for now. Will it be enough for you to accompany us to the next checkpoint?”
Carna handed Fran a leather pouch of gold coins, thirty thousand gold in total. Funny; she got the price just right. That was the rate you’d pay a B-Rank adventurer to protect you from low-level monsters. In fact, it might’ve been too much if you considered the power levels of Carna and her companions and whether they would set up camp for us. Did she know that?
Either way, Fran took a definite liking to her. “All right. In exchange…”
“Of course. She won’t badmouth you any longer.”
“Hm. I’ll take it.”
“Thank you so much!”
But how would things shake out on the road? I smelled nothing but trouble. Still, Fran had taken the job and it was my duty to support her.
The sun had set by the time Fran and Carna finished their exchange. Talking with them had taken more time than expected. In the end, we decided to set up camp.
Camping here should be fine since we won’t end up blocking the side paths.
“Hm.”
The path to the peak wasn’t a one-way trail; instead, it branched off to connect to different locations. One of them even led to Raydoss. Of course, it was defended by guards and watchtowers, so you couldn’t just go there freely.
Once we decided on a camping spot, we made a wall out of land magic and set up a barrier around the perimeter. It’d be enough to keep anything short of wyverns out.
Dianne and Shera were shocked to see Fran’s barrier.
“S-such powerful magic…”
“Impossible…!”
They knew she was a strong fighter, but they weren’t expecting such powerful magic from her. Carna and the others gasped when they saw the ten-meter walls surrounding us. Honestly, it probably shocked them more than seeing Jet at full size.
The atmosphere wasn’t as rancid as I’d expected. Dianne’s spirit was completely shattered and Shera was still afraid, so neither of them talked much. As for Carna, she was actively making conversation with Fran.
After setting up camp, Dianne and Shera sat a reasonable distance away from Fran and Jet, concealing their presence. They watched Carna sit right next to Fran, who was eating curry and smacking her lips. That got her a death glare from Shera, but Carna didn’t complain about the so-called “scraps” she got from Fran. Sure, the food looked a little rustic, but it was made of well-spiced monster meat. Pretty much on the level of fine dining, in spite of its appearance.
Carna ate her shish kebabs off the skewer with relish. Her cheerful expression seemed genuine. “You’re an adventurer, correct?”
“Hm?”
“I think we are the same age. Are there other adventurers like you?”
“Hm…yeah.”
“I see. Umm, why did you choose to become an adventurer?”
Despite Dianne’s prejudice against adventurers, Carna was interested in them. Were they rare where she came from? Adventurers had guilds in pretty much every town, so maybe she’d just grown up super sheltered. Then again, maybe not—she was pretty proficient with magic and didn’t complain about camping out. In fact, she seemed a reliable sort.
“To get stronger,” said Fran.
“Stronger? Couldn’t you have done that as a knight or a soldier?”
“They don’t take kids.”
“I see. But isn’t it hard being an adventurer?”
“Why do you say that?” Fran was genuinely puzzled.
“It must be incredibly difficult to become stronger at our age.”
“Well, I…became an adventurer so I could get stronger. That’s why I don’t think getting hurt and fighting strong opponents is difficult.”
“I-I see…”
Carna turned away from Fran as if to avoid the intensity of her piercing gaze. Their worlds were just too different. Maybe they could come to an understanding, but it wasn’t going to happen overnight.
The days Fran spent adventuring must’ve seemed like hell on earth to Carna, but they were irreplaceable for Fran. On the flip side, Fran couldn’t understand Carna, either. Even girls born to a good home had private pain known only to themselves.
That was true of every person, when you got down to it.
“An adventurer’s job is to defeat monsters and bandits, correct? They protect merchants and travelers, too.”
“Hm? No.”
“Oh? It isn’t?”
Wait, huh? Even I was surprised by this.
But Fran had a more concrete ideal of adventurers than I thought.
“An adventurer’s job is to go adventuring.”
“Adventuring?”
“Yeah. An adventurer goes on adventurers.”
“But what about catching thieves and hunting monsters? Don’t adventurers do that too?”
“We do. I was just trying to catch a bounty called Theraclede in the last town I was in.”
Dianne reacted strongly to Fran’s words. “Theraclede…!” Her eyes widened as she spoke the name.
“Heard of him?”
“I… Yes. Yes, I’ve heard stories…”
There was an immediate tension in the air. Theraclede was downright notorious, so Dianne had probably heard the horror stories.
“Hmm?” Fran tilted her head but didn’t press the issue. Instead, she returned her attention to Carna. “Capturing bounties is supposed to be the knights’ and soldiers’ job.”
“W-well, I suppose you could put it like that.”
“We only take up the job because they won’t do it.”
Most adventurers probably wouldn’t agree with Fran here. To her, the ideal adventuring life was one filled with combat, taking on haunts and dungeons whenever possible, while eradicating bandits and monsters for public safety was a knight’s job. But that was where the line started to blur. They couldn’t fight monsters both inside and outside of the dungeons, and the same could be said for bandits.
Carna was surprised by what Fran said, but Dianne was the one who reacted most strongly.
Dianne was downright glaring at Fran now. “B-but protecting the weak is the duty of the strong!”
“Is it?”
“Yes! With power comes responsibility!”
“Hmm. I don’t get it.”
“Dianne…” Carna warned.
But Dianne kept going. “You have all that strength! Don’t you care at all about the weak? Won’t you try to save someone who is in danger?!”
“I do. That’s why I saved you.”
“But you said you didn’t understand…”
“Hm? I saved you because I wanted to. That’s all. I would’ve tried to help you even if I thought I was weak. Do you only help people because you think you’re strong? Would you abandon them if you thought you were weak?”
“Th-that’s…”
“Do knights only help people if it’s their job? If someone gets attacked in front of you, do you ignore them?”
“That’s not…! The red knights—”
“Quiet, Dianne!”
Dianne’s face paled at Carna’s reprimand. “But…! I-I apologize…”
It was a difficult question. I didn’t like thinking about the responsibilities of power. On one hand, you could say that the weak wanted to take advantage of the strong…but on the other hand, wasn’t that exactly what a strongman drunk with power would say?
Fran didn’t think about it too much. If she saw someone in trouble, she would step in to help them without thinking. In her own words, she helped because she wanted to. That was all. If the person in question turned out to be annoying, she could either abandon them afterwards or ask for an exorbitant payment for her help.
This was one of the stark differences between adventurers and knights. Knights were effectively a class that lived off taxes. They had rights and responsibilities that went with it, all of which were drilled into their heads when they enlisted…well, when their heads weren’t rotten like August, lieutenant of the former brigade in Alessa.
But no one could truly be motivated by a motto like “Earn your keep!” There was no honor in that, which was probably why knights said things like “save the weak” or “serve justice” instead. Those were a lot more motivating.
Of course, get a little too invested in those concepts, and you wound up with knights like Dianne.
Unlike knights, adventurers were self-centered. Whatever power they had was theirs to begin with and so they were free to use it for their own purposes.
“Not to take Dianne’s side,” said Carna, “but I hear that some adventurers do take part in criminal activities.”
“There’s a lot of trash on the knight and noble side too, isn’t there? Or is your country completely innocent?”
“That’s…yes. You’re right. There are bad eggs even among knights and nobles.” Carna nodded deeply. Something that Fran said had struck a chord inside her. For a rich girl like her to be traveling with such a small party…I was sure she had her reasons. “So, you adventurers—”
“Hm.”
Carna pelted Fran with questions about adventurers until they fell asleep.
It was the day after we saved Carna and her crew.
“There. I see the checkpoint.”
“Already? Now, that was quick.”
“Hm. Jet is amazing.”
We’d resumed our journey at sunrise and reached the Belioth checkpoint in under two hours. Jet carried everyone, though he ran slower than usual so our clients wouldn’t get motion sickness. Still, he got us there in record time.
We eliminated any monsters that got in our way during the journey, but we didn’t waste time with anything else: Carna and the others’ safety was top priority. Fran had taken up the task of protecting her, so we were going to do it perfectly.
“We’ll get off now. Don’t wanna cause a scene.”
“Very well.”
As for Dianne and Shera, they’d been pale throughout the trip.
“I’ve…never seen such an obedient monster before.”
“M-me neither. I didn’t think it was possible.”
As friendly as Jet was, he did still happen to be a giant monster. And in Dianne’s case, she’d angered Fran the day before. No wonder she didn’t want to make any sudden movements or statements around Fran’s buddy.
Shera, well aware of Fran’s strength and wanting to keep any further conflicts at bay, stuck by Dianne the whole time. We had her to thank for the peaceful nature of the trip.
“Let’s get going.”
“Hm.” Fran took the lead as they went inside the checkpoint. Hopefully we’d be able to pass the strict inspection.
The Belioth checkpoint was about the size of the one in Granzell. The fortress was made to withstand both monsters and enemy states.
Archers aimed their bows at us from inside the fortress, a countermeasure against spies and enemy soldiers disguised as travelers. Still, they didn’t draw attention to themselves, so Fran and I just ignored them.
“Halt! Are you a group of four?”
“Hm.”
“I’ll need to see your identification.”
“All right.”
“Very well.”
Fran and Carna obediently gave the guard their papers. As always, the guard was shocked by Fran’s adventurer card, though he still allowed her to enter after verifying its authenticity. Being a high-rank adventurer had its perks. Belioth had no reason for denying access to powerful adventurers. If anything, they could probably use more of them.
“And you’re a party of three?” asked the guard. “Did you enter from a different checkpoint?”
“We hired Fran yesterday as our guide and bodyguard.”
“Morley Trade Association, eh? Can’t say I’ve heard of it.”
“We’re a rather minor association.”
“The daughter of the association head and her two servants, eh?” The guard seemed suspicious of Carna and company. On top of that, was she really the daughter of some trade association’s leader? I guess it made sense—she did have the guts you often found in a good merchant. But that gutsiness didn’t take away the graceful aura around her.
Maybe that gracefulness was the problem. The heiress to a large trade association might behave like a highborn, but this guard was used to checking travelers’ credentials, and he had seen a lot of people come and go. Wouldn’t someone from such a minor organization be rougher around the edges? Maybe not if she was raised in a strict environment. Still…
Dianne, too, was a mystery. She had called herself a knight, but her Class showed up as Swordsman. She was only a knight on paper—could a bodyguard working for a trade association really call herself something like that? Sure, maybe she just admired knights and wanted to model herself after them. Great. But all that talk about the Knights of the Crimson Flag and the Red Knights got awfully specific for some affectation.
Maybe they’d dismissed her, leading Dianne to bounce back with a job working at a trade association. But if that was the case, why would she still call herself a knight?
Teacher, what’s wrong with Carna and the others?
Hmm… We’ll have to watch and see what happens.
Okay.
If push came to shove, we’d deny any affiliation. We wouldn’t be able to move freely in Belioth if they suspected Fran of being a spy.
“Base of operations?”
“A Granzellian harbor, Dars.”
“Name of current head?”
“Raymond Morley.”
“Destination in Belioth?”
“Special autonomous region.”
“Hrm…” The immigration officer had a lie-detecting Skill. It wasn’t high-level, but it was enough to give him a sense of unease when someone was trying to put one over on him. Even though the Skill hadn’t reacted, he clearly couldn’t shake the feeling that something was off about Carna’s crew. His well-honed professional instincts contradicted both his own Skill and the veracity of their identification.
But I kept Essence of Falsehood on, too, and Carna hadn’t lied so far. Was she really the heiress of a Granzellian trade association? We had been to Dars before. It was a port town located in the northern region of Granzell.
The officer was now discussing the matter with his superior in hushed tones. I could hear them loud and clear.
“What should we do?”
“That girl is a Granzellian adventurer, right?”
“Yes.”
“The fact that she has employed a Granzellian adventurer basically means the Adventurers’ Guild is vouching for her. Besides, she’s headed to the special autonomous region. It shouldn’t be a problem.”
“Are you sure?”
“Given their destination…yes, I’m sure. Just don’t forget to verify whether she actually went there.”
“Yes, sir!”
Wait, had Carna just played us? If you brought an adventurer along as a bodyguard, anyone would assume that you hired them at the guild for a quest. That meant you would be someone verified by the guild.
Maybe it’d be overstating it to say that she’d tricked us, but Carna had definitely used some of her cunning.
The four of them passed the border without further questioning. There was nothing more that could be done, really. Immigration had also let her through because she was headed for the special autonomous area, which was treated as its own sovereign state within Belioth. Effectively, that made it the Academy’s problem.
We walked for a while after leaving the checkpoint. Fran turned to Carna and signaled to Dianne and Shera, who were trailing behind them.
“This is the end of the contract,” said Fran.
“Yes. Thank you for keeping us safe. And Jet was so quick in getting us to the checkpoint that we are ahead of schedule.”
“Hey.”
“Yes?”
“Is Dianne a knight?” Fran had been curious too. She just hadn’t brought it up at the checkpoint to avoid further questions.
“Yes…yes, she is. Do you wish to know where I come from?”
“Hm? Not really.”
“What?”
“Adventurers aren’t interested in the past.”
Different people became adventurers for different reasons, often abandoning their past. Prying into another adventurer’s earlier life was forbidden. This spirit seemed to have rubbed off on Fran after spending time with adventurers. That said, she was never one to be fussy about another person’s background.
“But I am worried.”
“Worried?”
“Dianne said that she was a knight and she dresses like one, too.”
This wasn’t going to be the last time Carna’s identity would come into question. Fran was simply worried about her. She had taken a liking to this wily little girl.
“Aah, I see…” said Carna. “She is not my vassal, strictly speaking. Rather, she is a servant I borrowed from my father. I asked her to leave her armor and dress like an adventurer, but she wouldn’t have it.”
With her strong prejudice against adventurers, I wouldn’t expect her to. It would be like telling Fran to dress up like a Blue Cat. She’d rather die.
“And although she is unaccommodating and narrow-minded,” Carna continued, “she is competent in her own right. A woman with her might is hard to find.”
As problematic as Dianne’s personality was, having a strong female bodyguard was important to Carna.
“Thank you for keeping quiet at the checkpoint,” Carna said, bowing deeply once again.
If Fran had said something during their interview, Carna and the others would’ve been in trouble. Dianne’s suspect credentials, the fact that Fran was hired after crossing the border, the fact that the last set of travelers had crossed Granzell’s checkpoint five days ago…there were all kinds of things Fran could’ve pointed out to bring suspicion on Carna and her party.
“I didn’t do anything,” said Fran.
Carna chuckled. “We were very fortunate to have met you. I hope to see you again.”
“Hm. See you around.”
They said their goodbyes and went their separate ways without looking back; we’d let them go, and there was no taking it back.
After they left, I asked Fran a question that had been bothering me. Why were you so interested in Carna?
Carna wasn’t exactly a bad person, but she was cunning enough for us to be cautious around her. She hired Fran because she saw it would help her get past immigration and she’d managed to squeeze out a discount. Not exactly the most endearing qualities.
Now that I thought about it, she might’ve even let Dianne’s outburst go on for a while on purpose. What if she was trying to figure out what kind of person Fran was?
You know that she was using you, right?
“Hm. But she didn’t trick me.”
I guess you could say that, but…
“We’re the same age.”
Now that you mention it, yeah.
Was that it? But apparently, Fran had an even bigger reason for liking Carna.
“She didn’t look down on Black Cats.”
I see.
“Hm. And yes, Dianne did look down on adventurers…but not on Black Cats.”
Everyone we had met on our travels—even the ones we’d become friends with—had always been shocked when they met the Black Cat girl. Their shock came in two flavors. Most of them were surprised to see a little girl coming from the weakest of the races, a Black Cat, leading the life of an adventurer. The others were not just shocked at Fran being a Black Cat, but also taken aback by just how strong she was.
No matter their intentions, both groups still looked down on Black Cats. It seemed like common sense to them that the race wasn’t cut out for fighting, and that brought Fran a lot of grief. But Carna, Dianne, and Shera hadn’t said a word about Black Cats being weak. They looked down on her because she was a little girl and an adventurer, but that was it. And Carna? She didn’t seem fazed by Fran’s race, age, or identity. If anything, she respected her for it.
“Carna’s interesting. She should be an adventurer.”
Huh? That was high praise coming from Fran. It was the equivalent of a high-ranking noble telling a commoner that the land would experience peace and prosperity if they were to become a noble too.
“Carna’s weak.”
She’s about as strong as she can get for a low-level mage.
“But she wasn’t scared of me. I can’t underestimate her.”
When strong adventurers met, they often measured each other’s strength in their minds. Their wills clashed, and they calculated one another’s power with a dance of feints. To the untrained eye, two adventurers might appear to be about to draw their weapons and kill one another, but no grudges were held after this little ritual. In fact, the adventurers might find someone they could treat as an equal if the other was strong enough.
Fran and Carna had engaged in something like this adventurer’s greeting. There was something in Carna—something other than her combat prowess—that managed to strike a chord in Fran’s heart. They were the same age, and Carna didn’t scorn her for being a Black Cat or an adventurer. She had shown no fear, even after seeing what Fran was capable of. I found the girl quite the specimen.
“Carna’s interesting.”
As long as you’re okay with it, Fran.
“Hm!” She’d taken a liking to her, and that was the end of that discussion.
When she could no longer feel Carna and the others, Fran rode Jet again. We were far enough from the border now that he could fly at full speed without drawing attention.
We’re about five days away from the Magic Academy.
“Jet can get us there sooner.”
“Woof!”
True, but it was our first time in Belioth. We could afford to make a few stops.
Anything you want to do?
“Eat local delicacies.”
“Bark, bark!”
That’s one option.
We would also need to check in with the Adventurers’ Guild and see if we could get up to speed on the latest news, especially regarding relations between Granzell and Raydoss. I didn’t want to get dragged into a war, and I was ready to forcefully divert Fran’s course if it meant we could avoid it.
“Is there anything else?”
“Arf?”
Adults…really have lots to think about.
“Ooh, I see.”
It was best to keep Jet at a less than giant size. We wouldn’t want any rumors cropping up.
In the end, Jet turned into the size of a pony and we made our way to a nearby village. There was apparently a decent-sized town some distance past it, but the village itself didn’t yield much. I’d thought a place so close to the border would at least have an inn, but it turned out to be a sleepy farming town.
The local guild branch was run by a kindly old man who used to be an E-Rank. He told us a lot for the price of a meal, including some info about a great lake near a large town that was about an hour away. Most travelers skipped the village entirely and headed straight there.
A lakeside town.
“Can’t wait.”
You’ve never seen a big lake, have you?
“Hm.”
“Woof.”
This wouldn’t be Fran and Jet’s first encounter with a lake—there were small ones throughout Granzell. But this one would be different. We wouldn’t be able to see the other side of it. It was probably the size of Lake Biwa back in Japan…maybe even larger.
“Come on, Jet!”
“Woof, woof!”
Hey now, the lake’s not going anywhere.
“But there’s fish!”
“Woof!”
The old man also mentioned that the town was famous for its large freshwater fish. Maybe there’d be carp? Would freshwater fish work with curry? Carp curry, eel curry…did people make those back home? I remembered getting them as souvenirs, but I wasn’t sure. Fish curry was popular in India, I knew, but the curry I made was Japanese.
Now, Fran, there may be some ingredients that don’t go well with curry.
“Don’t worry. Curry is the best. It makes everything in it taste good.”
Fran’s faith in curry was fanatical. I’d have to step up to the plate and make some good freshwater fish curry!
As I thought about recipes, Jet ran gleefully through the air. Jeez, didn’t he know he could take his time? As if ignoring my plea on purpose, Jet reached our destination lickety-split.
“I see it. The big puddle.”
It’s a lake.
“It’s like the sea.”
No, it’s a lake.
The first thing we saw in the distance was the town of Kierlazen. It seemed small, but only because it was dwarfed by the lake. Its magnificence became clearer as we got closer.
There was a square with a statue of the water spirit in the middle of the town, overlooking the lake. The Maiden of the Lake, they called it, and it was a popular tourist attraction…not that Fran had any interest in it. The town’s buildings were also painted white to match the beauty of the lake, earning it its nickname.
The view of the city, the lake, and the statue rivaled the beauty of any maiden. Sunlight reflected off the water’s surface, splashing the lake’s blue color upon the white buildings next to it. The play of light and color was electric. Small fishing boats cruised across the great lake, giving us a glimpse at the honest work of fishermen.
“It’s huge…”
“Woof…”
Even the gluttonous duo couldn’t help but stare. I was glad that the beautiful sight had touched Fran’s heart. They sat and stared, mouths agape, although it didn’t last for more than a minute.
“Fish.”
“Woof!”
Okay, okay. Let’s get to town.
“Hm.”
Entry to Kierlazen went smoothly. There was a bit of a queue, but it didn’t take more than five minutes. I thought the war had discouraged people from traveling, but in fact there were a number of travelers who entered by way of boat through the lake. The land route was mostly used by merchants and adventurers.
Fran?
“Hm?”
Let’s take a break from getting food and go to the Adventurers’ Guild.
“Nom!”
It’s bad manners to talk with your mouth full.
I didn’t think she’d make a beeline for the food stalls thirty seconds into this town…yeah, sampling local foods was definitely on Fran’s itinerary now. Not good. We had money, but letting her eat whatever she wanted whenever she wanted couldn’t be good for her character. Still, at least she was guaranteed to leave no leftovers…
Hmm.
“What is it, Teacher?”
I was just thinking about your big appetite.
“Heh heh!”
Why did she look proud? Fran wouldn’t even flinch if I said she was cute. Was “big appetite” supposed to be a complement?
So what did you get?
“This.”
Ooh, fried fish.
The fish looked like a carp or a goldfish. Definitely freshwater. It was simply prepared; first gutted and then fried. They didn’t even bother scaling it.
How’s it taste?
“Salty?”
That’s…all?
“Bit muddy.”
As was typical of under-prepared river fish. Even so, Fran continued munching on it.
“I like the crunchiness of it.”
So you like the texture?
“Hm.”
She enjoyed the mouthfeel of the fried scales. The texture made up for the lack of flavor.
After finishing it, Fran charged into the food stalls and bought another fried fish. As we walked away, she dug in.
“Wha—?”
Wh-what?
“This is good.” Fran froze and widened her eyes. Apparently, she had just bit into a fried fish with actual flavor.
“Ruff! Nom nom…”
I guess you like it, too, Jet.
Fran had bought up all the fried fish this strip had to offer. But the one she’d liked looked pretty much the same as the rest—or at least it seemed like that to me. Still…if Fran and Jet said it was different, it must’ve been different.
Looks like you found a keeper. They must’ve prepped and seasoned it well.
“We’re going back!”
“Woof!”
Hey, wait!
Fran and Jet shot down the road we’d just gone through and went straight for a particular store. This must’ve been where she bought it.
The stall was almost deserted. It was old, too. The paint was peeling off the facade and the curtain was in tatters. Did its run-down look scare away customers? Or did it look run-down because it didn’t attract customers? Personally, I couldn’t blame anybody for avoiding the place.
“Oh, you’re back?”
The shopkeeper was a blonde girl, her hair done in half-pigtails. Her fluffy blonde hair and white skin suggested noble blood. And even though she fried fish for a living, her skin was free from the blemishes of sputtering oil.
But the girl’s looks weren’t enough to attract droves of customers. On her face was a black bandage that covered not one but both her eyes. Though beautiful, the blindfold concealed her beauty and gave her an air of strangeness. Fran, who didn’t care at all about such things, promptly ordered more fish.
“Hm! Your fish is the best. The smell doesn’t lie.”
“Woof!”
“Thank you.” The girl bowed slightly, giving Fran an easy smile.
Fran’s nose had led her to this food stall. Was it the frying oil? Maybe the girl was replacing the oil regularly instead of using the same batch.
“Give me all you’ve got.”
“Huh?”
“I want all of it.”
“Um…you want everything here?”
“Hm! And if you make more for me, I’ll buy those too.”
Come on, Fran. You can’t go buying the entire stall’s stock. That’s bad for business.
Sales weren’t the only thing necessary for a shop to survive. They had specialty and regular customers to satisfy. Selling out all the time might actually hurt their standing.
But the girl was more than happy to sell her whole stock.
“Thank you. I’ll get to frying them right away.”
The store wasn’t exactly buzzing with customers, so I supposed it made sense that she’d be happy to offload everything she had.
Still, she’s amazing.
I’d been worried about the girl’s lack of vision, but she fried fish with the grace of a pro. Everything from the preparation of the fish to the time she lifted it out of the oil was perfect. And that wasn’t all: upon receiving Fran’s payment, she quickly sorted through the silver and bronze pieces and gave Fran her change.
I Identified her out of curiosity, and that answered my questions.
Name: Lene
Age: 24
Race: Human
Class: Cook
Status: Vision Loss
Level: 25
Life: 84, Magic: 101, Strength: 30, Agility: 41
Skills: Sharp Hearing 2, Wind Magic 4, Air Current Vision 2, Presence Sense 2, Staff Mastery 2, Echolocation 4, Water Magic 2, Cooking 4, Mana Manipulation.
Equipment: Evergreen Oak Short Staff, Water Spirit Clothes, Magic Blindfold, Magic Necklace.
She had Skills which compensated for her lack of vision. Judging by her Skill composition, she used to be a mage.
“Huh?”
Wait, had Lene’s eyes just detected me somehow? But that shouldn’t have been… Wait, had her Mana Vision told her that I was a magic sword?
I felt strange. It was as if she was looking through the sword right into my soul resting within…but that couldn’t be right.
Still, her other senses were definitely more acute to make up for her lack of sight. I made a note to be careful around her.
“Put it right on here.”
“All right. That’s a big plate.”
“Hm.”
Fran took out a large plate and Lene stacked her freshly fried fish on top of it.
Her hands did not hesitate and the fish showed no signs of toppling. Lene was definitely more aware of her surroundings than she let on. By the end, she’d made a tower of thirty fish stacked on top of each other.
“That’s all of it.”
“Hm! It looks great.”
“Bark!”
“Thank you for buying them all,” Lene said, extending her right hand.
Fran automatically took her hand and shook it, but Lene then put her left hand over hers and squeezed. She shook Fran’s hand vigorously.
I know Lene was happy and all, but she was coming off as overly familiar. Fran didn’t seem to mind, but I’d never seen such a friendly shopkeeper. Maybe she was simply ecstatic about all the fish she’d just sold.
“This is the first time I’ve ever had someone buy up all my fish!”
“Hm. I’ll be back.”
“Thank you. I’ll see you soon.”
We left Lene’s stall, but I couldn’t shake the feeling that she was watching us the whole time.
No…am I imagining things?
“Teacher?”
Fran, do you get the feeling that we’re being watched?
“Hrm…?”
“Arf…?”
Fran and Jet immediately took up a defensive position, but they soon tilted their heads in confusion. Try as they might, they could detect nothing. Maybe it really was just me.
Sorry. I must have imagined it.
“Hm?”
“Arf?”
Let’s get back on track and head to the Adventurers’ Guild.
“All right.”
But even as we were walking to the guild, I couldn’t get the girl with the blindfold out of my head.
I wonder if that girl noticed when I used Identify.
“Lene?”
Yeah. I could’ve just imagined it, but I couldn’t bring myself to shake the feeling.
“She’s amazing if she did.”
After our intensive training in the Garden, our stealth and concealment abilities were greatly enhanced. I’d learned how to suppress the activation of Identify, and I was confident that you’d need a high level Identify Sense yourself to notice when I used it. Even Amanda needed to focus in order to notice, and that manifested less as a certainty and more as a hunch that someone might be peeking.
From what I could tell, Lene wasn’t that strong. Although her senses were sharpened, her movements were little more than amateurish and her magic was on the weak side. Honestly, someone at her level shouldn’t have been able to sense me. She didn’t have any Identify-detecting Skills, her stats were low, and she lacked the intuition and senses of a veteran. Or so I’d thought, but—
There goes my confidence.
After all that training in the Demon Wolf’s Garden, too. It wasn’t like I forgot what Dias told me. He’d warned me about not Identifying royalty since it could very well turn into lese-majesty, though he hadn’t told me to never use Identify. It was more like he wanted me to use it properly.
Sticking to his advice, I’d been practicing and using Identify only on easy targets I knew I’d get away with. Lene was an anomaly. Still, maybe it’d be a good idea for me to hold back on Identifying humans for a while.
As these thoughts ran through my mind, the Adventurers’ Guild banner came into view.
“Excuse me.”
“Welcome to the Adventurers’ Guild!” We were welcomed into the Kierlazen guild by a lady with a bright smile. She seemed honest and guileless, if a bit absentminded. The receptionist didn’t condescend to Fran, putting her squarely in Fran’s good books. “Don’t suppose you’re here for a quest?”
“I’m here to look them up, yeah.”
“I knew you were an adventurer. Running solo?”
“Hm.”
“Really? How odd.”
“What is?”
“You’re not affiliated with the Trade Fleet, are you?”
“Trade Fleet?”
“I take it you’re not from around here.”
“Hm.”
“Okay. You see—”
The receptionist proceeded with her explanation. The Trade Fleet was an armada of ships operating on Lake Vivian (which was the name of the giant lake).
Lake Vivian was bigger than most small countries and was home to all manner of large towns and cities. The Trade Fleet regularly went about these population centers, doing a variety of jobs: buying and selling local goods, transporting adventurers and travelers, fishing in the dangerous lake center, and processing materials. They also ran a circus and hired minstrels for entertainment, and even employed physicians who performed regular checkups.
“All those people can fit on a ship?”
“Ah, but there’s more than one ship. That’s why they call it a fleet.”
“So there’s lots of ships?”
“You bet. I don’t know the exact number, but there are more than ten large vessels and over fifty small and medium-sized ones.”
“Wow.”
That was amazing. The Trade Fleet probably had more people than a village. I’d assumed they were just a merchant caravan on water, but their scale was vaster than that.
“Apparently, they’ve been sailing the lake for hundreds of years.”
“Really? Who started the fleet?” asked Fran.
“This is where things get interesting. Now I don’t know the details of the matter, but they say that Lake Vivian used to be a sea.”
“A sea turned into a lake?”
A sea…? No way. Maybe it was a lake so big it was once mistaken for a sea, right? Or maybe it’d been connected with the sea once…?
“It used to be a small lake, but one day it merged with the sea to become the great lake you see today. Vivian was the name of the original lake, and that name stuck.”
“How’d that happen?”
“I’m sketchy on the details, but there were some natural disasters involved. In the process, it was somehow cut off from the sea and became the giant lake we have now.”
What on earth could cut off a lake from the sea? Even if it was a natural disaster, it had to be one of extraordinary scale.
“The merchant ships which were stuck on the lake then banded together to protect themselves from monsters and formed the Trade Fleet. Or so the fleet’s merchants say.”
“They’ve been on the lake this whole time?”
“They can’t exactly leave their ships behind, right? Might as well make the best of it.”
Ships were expensive to build. A single ship could cost a fortune; it could easily be worth more than its cargo. Effectively stranded, the captains of these ships, whether or not they owned the vessels themselves, had no choice but to stay.
But they still had to work in order to live. They were apparently decent enough people not to turn to piracy—though maybe that was just due to a lack of prey—and they set up ports in the surrounding villages to start trading.
Transportation, fishing, protection, entertainment, trade, healthcare. They figured out a lot of ways of making money, all of which led to the Trade Fleet of today.
“Lots of adventurers get their start on the Trade Fleet,” she said. “Transportation is a safe job and they can learn a lot from their seniors.”
Hmm. So the rookie adventurers near Lake Vivian usually started by working the Trade Fleet, huh?
“There should be a lot of adventurers your age on the fleet.”
“Wow.”
Places with a lot of child adventurers were quite rare. But with the lower risk to life and helpful mentors around, the fleet sounded like a decent workplace.
“The fleet would be more than happy to welcome you,” she said.
“Really?”
“Think about it. Doing adventurers favors while they’re still developing can be a great boon for them in the long run. They can always use defenders on deck, and their endorsement will be valuable down the line.”
“I see.”
We probably didn’t need to board the Trade Fleet, but I did want to see it once. I think Fran felt the same way, too.
“Where can I see the Trade Fleet from?” she asked.
“Oh, did I pique your interest?”
“Hm.”
“Let me think. The main fleet should be in the eastern part of the lake this time of year, though I can’t tell you its precise location. The sub fleets make their rounds once a week.”
“Sub fleets?”
“Fleets made of smaller ships. They regularly go around the lake villages. Unlike the main fleet, which sticks to a predetermined route, they go wherever their quests take them.”
I assumed they were composed of smaller merchant vessels with good maneuverability. Still, it was interesting that the main fleet was due east, given that this town was located dead south of the lake. If the main fleet was to the east, it’d be right in our path on the way to the Magic Academy. Sure, the Magic Academy was far from the lake, but the special autonomous region still had dealings with it. Maybe we’d behold some mighty boats!
“Did you come from Granzell by yourself?”
“Hm. How’d you know?”
“Well, it’s not like there are any adventurers in Raydoss. Foreign adventurers mostly come in from Granzell.”
“I see.”
“I’ve never seen anyone your age run solo, but I think you’d be perfect for the Trade Fleet. Stick with them for a year and you’ll be a decent adventurer.”
“Hm? I don’t want to.”
“But I thought you were interested?”
“Just to see some big boats.”
“Oh, that’s what you mean. Still, I highly recommend it, especially with how low the risk of death is. There’s a guild branch on the Trade Fleet, too, so you can rank up as you go.”
A guild branch on a ship? That was something. The fleet was more than a mobile trade association. It was like a moving town!
“G- and F-Rank kids can rank up in a year. With their accumulated knowledge of adventurer development, they’ll get you there in no time.”
They must assign you jobs appropriate for your current abilities as an adventurer. That sounded like a good system, given how other guild branches tended to have a high mortality rate when it came to children. You might end up getting attached to the Trade Fleet in the long run, but all the connections you’d made in the area would also benefit you if you planned to work nearby.
“So won’t you consider it? I can write you a letter of recommendation.”
“No thanks.”
“Trust me, you’re not the first girl to be this stubborn. I really think you should go for it.”
“No thanks.”
“Oh, come on! It’ll be good for you, I promise. You should at least check it out.”
“Well…can I get stronger there?” Fran asked, yielding to the receptionist’s persistence. She knew she meant well and didn’t hold it against her. The least she could do was humor her.
“Of course. You can get to about F-Rank in a year or so.”
The receptionist continued her explanation, but Fran was only interested in one thing. Not effective leveling techniques, not hidden farming spots—none of that.
“Not F,” she said. “Higher. Like A.” That was the only thing that mattered to her.
“I don’t think so. Most adventurers who reach high B- or A-Rank leave the fleet. But I hear the fleet’s made a lot of C-Ranks.”
“Then I think I’ll be fine, thanks.”
“Why’s that?”
“Here.” Fran handed her adventurer’s card to the receptionist, who still thought she was a rookie.
“Huh…? I thought these things were supposed to be black…”
G- and F-Rank cards were copper. E- and D-Rank cards were black. C- and B-Rank cards were silver. The receptionist was so used to servicing D-Ranks and below that she didn’t know what to make of Fran’s card.
“Huh?! I-it’s real? It is! It’s absolutely real! This thing’s real!”
“You’re being loud.”
The receptionist started screaming after she verified Fran’s card. She stood before her, petrified. “M-m-my deepest apologies! I’m sorry if I said anything to offend you!”
“Hm?”
“I’m so sorry!”
What, did the receptionist think Fran was some kind of gang boss? She was terrified of Fran, and this time Fran hadn’t even done anything scarily strong. Now that was a first.
“Warararagh…!” She was so panicked now that she couldn’t form a sentence.
A few minutes after the chaos started, I sensed someone approaching the desk from inside the guild. A man in fine clothing with slicked-back silver hair stepped toward us. Was this the Guildmaster? He definitely had the build of an adventurer.
“What’s going on out here?” he demanded.
“Awawawargh… Guildmaster!”
“H-hey! What’s gotten into you! Get off me!”
“I’ve embarrassed us all!”
“What the hell is going on?!”
Five minutes later…
“I apologize for the trouble our idiot gave you.”
In his office, the Guildmaster bowed his head. Despite his polished appearance, his speech was lax and casual. Nevertheless, the aura he emitted was that of a high-rank adventurer.
“We don’t get many high ranks in these parts,” he continued. “Seeing a foreign B-Rank was bound to freak her out. She’s used to handling rookies, you see. Honestly, today’s episode wasn’t as bad as last year’s.”
“Not enough high ranks? What if some strong monsters show up?”
“They usually don’t. In the event that they do, I either deal with it myself or we file a quest with the Trade Fleet.”
The fleet itself went on its predetermined routes, but they could send boats out which would arrive in a few days. Those were the sub fleets the receptionist mentioned.
When faced with an overwhelming emergency, town adventurers did what they could while waiting for backup from the Trade Fleet. This was the driving motivation for many of the local high ranks working there. They only stopped by the individual towns for contract work.
“There aren’t many adventurers above B around these parts.”
“How come?”
“At that point, most of them just move on. Most of the quests here don’t suit their rank.”
C-Rank was considered high in this region. The Guildmaster dealt with those adventurers most of the time, further limiting the receptionist’s experience with high-rank adventurers. No wonder she freaked out the way she did.
“Speaking of which, we’ve been seeing fewer adventurers of late,” the Guildmaster continued. “I’m in the middle of talks with the Trade Fleet to see if they can’t install a permanent mid-rank adventurer in town.”
“Wait…what happened?”
“As you can see, a lot of adventurers just never come back. This isn’t the most dangerous area, so they may have simply let their guard slip while out on the road…but I’m sure there are other reasons, too. You can’t afford to get complacent out there.”
More and more adventurers were taking on quests only to never be seen again, for reasons unknown. Whatever the cause, it seemed wise to stay on our toes. No wonder the Guildmaster seemed so tired.
“So, what’s on your schedule, Fran?” he asked. “You actually planning to check out the Trade Fleet like the dingus said?”
“Hm…I’m interested, but there’s somewhere I need to be. Maybe next time.”
“All right. It’s an honor to have you in our midst, Black Lightning Princess.”
“You knew?”
The Guildmaster laughed. “There isn’t a single Guildmaster on this continent who doesn’t know you, Fran. Old Dias had his eye on you, and we learned a lot about you during your B-Rank promotion hearing.”
For an adventurer to be promoted to high rank, they needed the recommendation of a Guildmaster as well as the approval of the Guildmasters from other branches. The guild’s top brass would definitely know about Fran by now.
“Never thought I’d get to see you in person, though…” he mused. “You’re really a Black Cat? I’ve never had Strength Sense ping that hard in a long time. I used to be a B-Rank, ya see.” The Guildmaster was strong, but Fran’s rank seemed like false advertising considering her current strength. He gave her a once-over and broke into a wry smile.
“I came here for information about Belioth,” she said.
“Ah. I’m guessing you just reached Belioth by way of Granzell?”
“Hm. How does Belioth do with the other countries?”
“Let’s see. To start, Belioth and Granzell are more or less on neutral terms.”
Both kingdoms shared borders with the militaristic empire of Raydoss and had never really clashed with each other. If one fell, the other would soon become Raydoss’ target, so they worked with each other while still maintaining a reasonable distance. This relationship had existed for a long time.
“What the people at the top want,” he said, “is for Granzell and Raydoss to destroy each other. They’d really rake it in, then. But they also know this is unrealistic, if not borderline impossible.”
The ambition of Belioth’s nobles was kept in check by the constant threat of Raydoss. Even if war broke out, the kingdom would still be at relative peace.
It reminded me of the Three Kingdoms period in China, from back in my past life. During that time, the master strategist Zhuge Liang proposed the Longzhong Plan to his lord, Liu Bei. The plan involved three rivaling kingdoms keeping each other in constant check, thereby creating stability. Here, in northern Jillbird, those three kingdoms were Granzell, Raydoss, and Belioth.
“Granzell’s been through rough times recently, but they’ll be all right—at the very least, they’re not going down anytime soon. Besides, Belioth wouldn’t want that.”
Just because Granzell and Belioth spied on each other didn’t mean they wanted each other’s destruction.
“Sooner or later, Belioth will probably help Granzell. Behind closed doors, of course.”
“I see. What about Raydoss?”
“Them? Bad as ever.”
They had been fighting for hundreds of years and public sentiment towards them was the lowest in recorded history. Frankly, most people downright thought of them as an enemy.
“But as for whether Raydoss would invade,” he continued, “that doesn’t seem likely.”
“Why’s that?”
“Because of the special autonomous region.”
The special autonomous region housed the Magic Academy. It was located in western Belioth, an area Raydoss would have to traverse in order to invade.
“Belioth wouldn’t just give someone all that land—not even a legendary high elf. In a way, the autonomous region is Belioth’s breakwater. And as head of the region, Lady Winalene’s made a lot of deals and treaties with Belioth.”
“Treaties?”
“I don’t know the details, but the government has dibs on any innovations made by the Magic Academy with military applications. In case of emergencies, Winalene herself will also engage in combat.”
Which gave Winalene a lot of privileges with the kingdom.
“Autonomy over the special region is her number one privilege. Tax exemptions, the right to deny criminal extradition…you name it, she can do it. She also has the authority to intervene in matters related to Lake Vivian.”
“The high elf owns the lake?”
“Not quite, but she has the right to speak out on developments around it. The lake is home to a spirit, after all…and it’s not a spirit you want to piss off unless you want to risk destroying the whole kingdom. Winalene’s basically on watch duty to keep that from happening.”
“A spirit that can destroy a kingdom?”
We had heard the story of Klimt’s wind Greater Spirit before. Maybe this one was a water Greater Spirit. Yeah, you really didn’t want to piss one of those things off. When the wind Greater Spirit had unleashed its power, it had destroyed a small country.
“The Trade Fleet complains about her all the time. Every time they want to set up a new trade route or build a new ship, they have to send a notice to the autonomous region.”
No one knew whether or not the spirit actually lived in the lake. But High Elf Winalene said that it did, and everyone took her word for it.
“Unless they want to upset the high elf,” said the Guildmaster, “they’re not going to call her a liar anytime soon.”
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