The serial party member murder charges placed on me and the quest suspension imposed by the guild were immediately lifted.
It was thanks to Amy and Bolton vouching for my abilities and character.
A magician from the Magic Tower and a priest from the goddess church – weren’t they almost too much as guarantors for a mere iron tag adventurer?
Indeed, having connections was important in life.
* * *
“Thanks for the escort. Next time we meet, I’ll be an adventurer too. Take care of me then, okay?”
After leaving the request office, Amy held out her hand to me, saying she should head back to the Magic Tower soon.
“That’s my line.”
I smiled, grasping her hand and shaking it lightly.
“I hear you’ll become a copper tag adventurer as soon as you’re recognized as a full-fledged magician. It’ll take me a bit longer, I think.”
Unlike Amy, who was practically a copper tag adventurer already, it would take me quite a while to get promoted.
My skills were sufficient, but experience was the issue. Come to think of it, it hadn’t been long since I got my iron tag.
To get a copper tag, I’d have to diligently carry out all sorts of requests and accumulate experience for a while longer.
“Well, that might not necessarily be the case?”
Amy grinned.
“You took down over ten wights. We even brought back evidence to show. Unless the guild’s upper echelons are full of blind fools, they’ll surely consider promoting you, right?”
Ah, that’s true.
Come to think of it, with the achievement of subjugating that many wights, they might give me a copper tag even if my experience is a bit lacking.
It’s several times harder than exploring three or four low-level dungeons.
“I’ll go with Amy as promised. I need to confirm that the Book of Necromancy is destroyed.”
Bolton said, glancing at Amy’s backpack.
“Oh… then how should we handle the loot distribution? Should I leave Bolton’s share with the guild?”
Unlike Amy who could leave carefree, we still had things to do.
We had to sell all the loot we’d picked up in the dungeon, then divide the money appropriately among the three of us.
Though the loot was mostly just rusty weapons and miscellaneous burial goods, so it probably wouldn’t amount to much money…
Well, anyway, we had to divide it. That was the contract from the start.
“I’m fine. Let’s give it all to Hilde and Kikel.”
However, Bolton declined the loot distribution with a slight shake of his head.
It was unheard of in the adventurer society where everyone was desperate to earn even a bit more.
“No, but still…”
“Don’t feel burdened. This is my own form of apology.”
“Apology?”
“You know, for the rudeness of suspecting and monitoring the innocent Hilde as a slaughterer. It’s not something that can be passed over with just a word of apology. So, I want to apologize with this, small as it may be.”
So it’s like compensation, he means. Well, if that’s the case.
After gladly accepting Bolton’s apology, I exchanged final farewells with the two of them.
Amy shrugged, saying it was a shame we couldn’t have an after-party if not for the grimoire issue, while Bolton made the sign of the cross, wishing blessings on Kikel’s and my future.
After that, well, we parted ways cleanly, waving hands.
“Let’s go, Mr. Kikel.”
“Now buy shield? Waited!”
I headed towards the adventurer shopping district behind the request office with Kikel.
Blacksmiths and treatment centers, weapon shops and armor shops, general stores and magic item shops – the entire street was filled with shops aimed at fleecing adventurers.
Blacksmiths specializing in producing only weapons like swords and axes, metal armor, and general stores and magic item shops selling only dungeon exploration tools.
Every shop absolutely refused to deal in ordinary clothing, food, farming tools, or daily necessities.
To buy such things, you had to go to the downtown area instead of here.
Unlike here, the shopping district in the downtown area was full of shops selling daily necessities for the city’s residents.
The reason for the complete separation of the two shopping districts was simple.
By separating adventurer shops and general shops, they could overcharge adventurers, couldn’t they?
Taking excessive profits from ordinary people was a good way to fall out of favor with the lord and ruin oneself, but extorting money from adventurers was rather tacitly encouraged.
Why, you ask? Isn’t it obvious?
The more impoverished people are, the more desperate they become, and conversely, the wealthier they are, the more relaxed they become.
Adventurers are people too, so the majority of adventurers with full wallets would retire without hesitation or spend their time idly on alcohol and gambling.
On the other hand, wooden tag adventurers living hand to mouth would come to the request office every day without rest to get their daily work.
They had to work if they didn’t want to starve to death.
In other words, financial hardship was the strongest motivator for adventurers.
So, to use adventurers continuously, there was a need to trim some fat from their wallets.
Adventurers are happy because they can develop themselves, ordinary people are satisfied that the area around the city has become safer, and merchants and lords are pleased with the increased income.
Isn’t this a world where everyone is happy?
…Honestly, it sounds like crazy talk, but anyway, merchants armed themselves with such logic and took excessive profits from adventurers.
It was such a lucrative business that rumors even circulated that you had to bribe various places, including the guild, to open a shop here.
Anyway, that was the reason for the separation of the adventurer-exclusive shopping district and the general shopping district.
* * *
“What’s that? A monster…?”
“Ignorant bastard. Don’t you know lizardmen?”
We attracted attention everywhere we went.
“How interesting. I heard they rarely leave the swamp areas.”
Perhaps the combination of a large lizardman and a helmeted female swordswoman was quite intriguing.
The adventurers wandering the shopping district couldn’t take their eyes off us, chattering about various things with their companions.
“The woman next to him… ah, isn’t that the ‘Iron Face’ or whatever? The one they say kills her party members like dogs…”
“Looking at the helmet, it seems to be her.”
It wasn’t exactly pleasant to hear.
If I had a copper or silver tag around my neck, they all would have been more careful with their words, but would such guys care about an iron tag’s discomfort?
Especially when that iron tag’s reputation was at rock bottom.
Unless my innocence was officially confirmed and my rank rose to copper tag or higher, it was awkward to argue about it right now.
If I started a fight for being ridiculed by those of higher rank than me, the ridicule wouldn’t decrease, but rather my notoriety would only increase.
“Seeing her walking around with a lizard, I guess she’s become unable to form parties with humans?”
“Maybe she can no longer be satisfied with humans? Kukku, what an impressive woman.”
…Should I kill them?
Two warriors with meager equipment, not even a breastplate. Such guys, I could slaughter them so they couldn’t even open their mouths…!
…No. Restrain yourself, slaughterer inside me.
If I use my sword here, my reputation will really plummet…!
I suppressed my right hand trying to reach for the sword hilt and let out a deep sigh.
I couldn’t swing my sword just because I overheard some sexual harassment they were muttering among themselves, not even shouting loudly at me.
Especially not in the middle of this main street.
“…”
So I’ll just remember their faces, and if I ever end up in the same party as them, I’ll give them a hard time then.
* * *
As I was ignoring various noises and looking for a somewhat less unscrupulous blacksmith.
“Woman- no, Hilde. One question possible?”
Kikel, who had been walking quietly beside me, lightly tapped my pauldron and spoke to me.
“Yes. What is it?”
I turned my head to look at him and answered.
Kikel let out an ‘Umm…’ sound while gently scratching his lower jaw with his claw, then slightly lowered his neck and brought his muzzle close to my ear.
Was it a question that others shouldn’t hear?
“You, request office, slaughterer. Right?”
“…Oh.”
I looked at Kikel with a startled face.
Indeed, it was something others shouldn’t hear.
“Your killing smell deep. Very deep. Human blood. Over hundred.”
Kikel said so and laughed ‘Kachak’.
…I wasn’t in the mood to laugh.
‘Was I found out? Killing smell? What’s that? Some kind of lizardman-specific sense?’
It was disconcerting.
I thought I’d gotten away with it, but to be discovered now.
And to be discovered by Kikel of all people, who seemed obviously oblivious – it was something I couldn’t have imagined.
“No, um, well. That is…”
“Kachak! No need surprise. Won’t tell. Was curious. Just.”
Seeing me stuttering and breaking out in a cold sweat must have been funny, as Kikel kept bursting into laughter and patting my shoulder.
…He has no intention of telling?
Ah, of course. If he intended to reveal that fact to others, wouldn’t he have already shouted it out loudly at the request office?
That the lowborn slaughterer was here.
The fact that he didn’t meant… why?
I don’t know. Was there any reason to keep silent?
“…Why?”
I asked him the reason. In a lower, colder voice filled with wariness.
“Kachak! Humans easily misunderstand. Weak humans, poor humans. Not kind humans. When increase, hungry goblins.”
“Hungry goblins…?”
“Right. Lose thinking, steal women, steal money. When alone, steal everything. Just like goblins. And you.”
Kikel raised his fingertip to point at my face.
“You good woman. Much money. Probably alone. So, in eyes of such humans, prey. Tried to steal, got killed. Them. Am I right?”
The true Sherlock Holmes was right here.
A wise man with a reptile head possessing deductive powers that perfectly grasped what I had been through just by looking at my appearance, and a high-level insight into human greed.
“…Yes, that’s right.”
I nodded and answered that his deduction was true. Kikel burst into laughter once again.
“Kachak! Kachak! My thought correct. You polite. Not person who kills randomly!”
That, he says, was the reason why he didn’t bother to mention my identity even though he knew it.
Kikel himself understood that I had good reason for it, but others were condemning the killer as evil just because the weak were massacred.
“I see… Thank you for being considerate. Kikel.”
I smiled, bowing my head slightly to express gratitude.
Inwardly, I kept telling myself how good it was that I had treated him kindly.