No to Being the Suffering Heroine! - Chapter 60

After walking for a full day, we reached the gates of Vespian.

“Identification token.”

A guard leaning against the gate demanded proof of identity while yawning long. Saying that only those with verified identities could be allowed passage after sunset.

It was a procedure to prevent serious criminals from sneaking in under the cover of night. Whether it was effective or not was unclear.

“Copper token adventurer, Hilde. I’m returning after completing a request from the church.”

I stepped forward at the head of the group and showed my adventurer token to the guard.

“C-Copper token adventurer, Friede…”

“Will this do for me?”

Friede also approached and showed her adventurer token, while Amy instead took out a badge proving she was an official magician belonging to the Magic Tower.

Not to mention the Magic Tower badge, even the adventurer tokens hanging around my and Friede’s necks could be used as identification for inspection.

While showing tokens is meaningless for iron token and below adventurers, who are treated no differently from vagrants or day laborers…

“Hmm… indeed, it is a copper token.”

It’s different for copper tokens.

Becoming a copper token adventurer means the Adventurers’ Guild vouches for your identity.

Except for places with strict identity checks like the lord’s castle or military facilities, we could pass through simple city gates without any problem.

“Confirmed. You may pass.”

Therefore, as soon as the guard checked the tokens, he nodded as if that was sufficient and stepped aside.

In novels, guards often appear who attempt unnecessary body searches on women or openly demand bribes, but in this city at least, that never happened.

The moment any such rumors spread, they’d end up hanging on the city walls with only their heads left.

The lord of Vespian was quite strict with his subordinates.

Not because he was righteous or moral, but because if his underlings caused trouble, the number of travelers and adventurers would decrease, drastically reducing income…

Well, it’s good either way, isn’t it?

Although it was just a brief setting mentioned in passing, there were occasionally cities that ‘raised’ women of low status and outstanding beauty under the pretext of body searches.

At least here, I could live with peace of mind knowing such things wouldn’t happen. Whatever the reason, it was something to welcome from my perspective.

* * *

The inside of the request office at the Adventurers’ Guild was in chaos, as if a storm had swept through.

Adventurers who had returned before me were arguing, shouting at the top of their lungs with excited faces.

It was probably because of the adventurers who had betrayed them.

The betraying adventurers would have acquaintances, and the adventurers killed by the traitors would have acquaintances too, so it was only natural that things would be in disarray.

Even amidst all this, the sight of them not daring to get angry at the guild staff, who could be considered their superiors, was so typical of adventurers that it was almost laughable.

“What a mess.”

Amy also shook her head with a wry smile, apparently finding it absurd.

“Don’t say that too loudly. If we get into an argument, it’ll just be troublesome for us.”

I advised Amy not to speak too frankly, then went to find the receptionist girl to submit the confirmation of request completion.

Perhaps due to the tragedy of most of the participating copper token adventurers and the priests dispatched from the church being annihilated, the receptionist girl’s complexion seemed particularly pale today as she received the confirmation.

While the receptionist girl was reading the confirmation, I gave her a brief report about this request.

The story of Gerda falling victim to the Abyss Priest’s magic while fleeing from him and the undead giant, and how we then hid in a cave for a whole day before returning after confirming the noise had died down.

Although my conscience pricked a bit because both were blatant lies, I couldn’t tell her the truth.

“I see. The Abyss Priest killed Gerda… that’s unfortunate.”

Perhaps because it was such a dangerous request that adventurers who had lost party members were scattered all over the request office, the receptionist girl wrote down my report without any suspicion.

“…It’s fortunate that you returned safely. You’ve been through a lot, Ms. Hilde. Really.”

After that, she handed me the reward money with a faint smile on a face full of mental fatigue.

“This might be a bit presumptuous to ask… but what will happen to this guild from now on?”

As I received and pocketed the reward money, I casually asked about the future of the Vespian Adventurers’ Guild.

I had managed to return safely, but this disaster was actually enough to shake the very foundations of the guild.

With the number of copper token adventurers, who should have been the backbone of the guild, drastically reduced, if the church came to demand responsibility, they might have to pay considerable compensation.

The paladins had said they had no intention of holding the non-betraying adventurers responsible… but demanding compensation from the guild was a separate matter.

The priests of the church were massacred by the betraying adventurers, but those adventurers were also copper token adventurers whose reliability had been guaranteed by the guild.

Therefore, the damage suffered by the church due to their betrayal might have to be compensated by the guild.

“Well… We’ll have to wait and see about that.”

The receptionist girl sighed and shook her head.

The upper echelons of the guild were in an uproar over this issue and busy with countermeasure meetings, but as a low-level receptionist, she had no way of knowing what discussions were taking place.

“But… um… it won’t go bankrupt. Probably.”

The receptionist girl nodded awkwardly with a smile, as if to reassure me.

Was that assertion based on clear evidence, or was it just the optimistic hope of an employee about to lose their job due to company bankruptcy?

For now, judging by her face, it seemed to be the latter.

“Neither the lord, nor the city residents, nor even the church would want the workforce of adventurers to disappear.”

Hearing the rest, it did have some basis.

“That’s good to hear. I’ve grown somewhat attached to this city.”

I shrugged lightly and said goodbye, saying I’d be going now, then returned to my companions with the money pouch.

“Are you done? Then let’s get out of here. If we stay any longer, my eardrums might burst.”

Amy, who had been frowning while leaning against the wall, welcomed me as if brightening up and urged us to leave quickly. With a face that said she couldn’t bear this commotion any longer.

“…”

Friede also had an expression that agreed with Amy’s opinion, though she didn’t express it in words.

“Alright, let’s go. I’m getting dizzy too.”

So we left the request office. Leaving behind the booming voices and shouts.

I wonder if they might end up in a knife fight among themselves at this rate.

“―If you’ve got that many complaints, come outside, you bastard! Don’t just flap your gums!”

“You think I can’t go out if you tell me to? You arrogant piece of…”

…Like that.

* * *

After leaving the savage and noisy request office street, we headed to a quieter resting place to discuss the distribution of rewards and future plans.

“Oh, you’ve returned safely? I heard the guild is in chaos now, seems luck was on your side, miss.”

“It’s not luck, it’s skill.”

So, I’m talking about the tavern on the first floor of the ‘Snow Bear’s Shelter’ where Friede and I were staying.

It was Amy’s suggestion. She said we should have a drink to celebrate safely returning from such a dangerous request.

…I don’t understand why this eighteen-year-old kid likes alcohol so much. Though by this world’s standards, she’s technically an adult.

Well anyway, I felt bad about refusing last time, and there was no particular reason to object, so I brought her to the Snow Bear’s Shelter.

While taverns in the bustling areas are full of drunkards and as noisy as the request office earlier, this place is relatively quiet and peaceful compared to others.

It was because the alcohol prices were as expensive as the inn fees, so drinkers didn’t even look at this place.

“Anyway, please give us a bottle of Riesling. And two… no, three glasses.”

Pointing at the table where Amy and Friede were sitting, I ordered a bottle of white wine from the innkeeper.

The Rhine Kingdom white wine that the original Brunhilde uniquely enjoyed drinking.

At first, I thought about just ordering beer, but the beer in this world isn’t particularly tasty.

No, honestly, it tasted terribly bad. Should I say it tasted like beer that had been left open on the street on a hot summer day? And they call that alcohol.

The residents of this world drink that stuff every day and even say it’s good, but for me, who was used to cold, carbonated beer, it was really hard to bear.

Since we were having a drink to celebrate today, I wanted to taste something a bit more proper than that garbage, even if it cost a bit more.

“An adventurer should drink ale, why are you looking for such fancy alcohol?”

“You don’t have it?”

“We do have it… but I’ll have to charge five silver coins, is that alright?”

It’s certainly a bit expensive. Not that I can’t afford it, but still.

I handed over 5 silver to the man who showed five fingers, and he took out a bottle of wine and handed it to me with a wide smile, as if he had never criticized me.

“Here you go. One bottle of Riesling and three pewter glasses. If you want more, just let me know anytime. We have two more bottles left.”

“I’ll think about it.”

I just nodded slightly and headed to the table where the two were sitting, putting down the wine bottle and pewter glasses in front of them.

“Huh…? Isn’t this Riesling? This must be quite expensive…?”

Amy looked alternately at the wine bottle and me, seemingly surprised. She had a face that said she thought we were just going to have a light drink, but why did I bring such expensive alcohol?

“Don’t worry about it. It’s my treat. As the party leader.”

I patted Amy’s shoulder lightly and smiled.

Like a lottery-winning classmate grinning while treating an old friend to Dom Pérignon.

“Really? You’re buying, Hilde?”

“Yes, to celebrate our safe return.”

“My goodness…”

Amy looked at me with a moved face and licked her lips. She had the face of a foreign worker looking at a boss who had given a hefty bonus.

…Is it that big a deal?

5 silver for a bottle of wine was truly an insane level of luxury for an adventurer’s income, but honestly, for me, it was just treating them to something special.

I had quite a bit of money for a copper token newcomer.

You see, dealing with one plunderer pays better than taking out forty goblins.

During my days as the Lowborn Slaughterer, I often completely looted villages or merchant caravans, so the income was quite substantial.

I could understand why poor iron token adventurers changed their profession to plunderers or bandits.

Of course, unlike them, I was only acting in ‘self-defense’, but even with the income gained from self-defense alone, I could easily afford this level of luxury.

I just refrained from doing so because there was no need to.

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