178-Episode 178: Departure to the East

After resolving the cause of the chimera orc riot, we returned to the royal capital after a long time.

''It's easier to return in an instant if you use the transfer gate.

'You can really come back in an instant, and you almost forget that it's quite a distance from Togai town to King's Landing.

So there's a transfer gate.

Although we've returned to King's Landing it's still morning, so what should we do now?

It's an adventure!　We need to get our achievements up to speed and become B-rated adventurers!

When Norbu-san confirmed his plans for the future, Jairo-kun suggested that he would take a request for something to improve his rank.

''Rank up, but we're going to look for a request, aren't we?

Hmm, you should make your money while you can.

With Mina and the others agreeing on this, it seems that everyone's opinion has been agreed upon.

'Alright, let's go to the guild and find a request!

"...oh!

You're not going to be able to do that.

When I come to the Adventurer's Guild, it's packed with people today.

''The density of people is denser in the royal capital, after all.

''That's right. The town of Togai was also quite crowded, but after all, the royal capital has a lot of people coming and going all day long.

I can understand why Norbu-san agrees with Liliera-san's words.

After all, there are more requests in the royal capital, so the guild has a different vibrancy, right?

''Well then, let's find a request.

We joined the crowd and searched for a request.

It's been a long time since I've pushed myself into a crowd of people like this and looked for the first request in the morning.

'Huh?　Hey, Mr. Lex. I need to talk to you about this request...

And that's where Liliera-san points to the request at the top of the request board.

'Is that an S-ranked request?

But it's a weird request.

I read the request form, curious about Liliera's quizzical look.

"Are you stocking up on goods in the east, which is across the ocean? It looks like a normal request,

Yeah, it's funny how it's a normal request.

What does that mean?

I don't think that would be a problem for a normal request?

''Isn't it strange that they specify the highest rank, S-rank, for the adventurers who are asked to take the request, but the content of the request is normal stocking?　I can understand if you're collecting valuable materials or something like that. This would be like a D or C grade in terms of content.

If there was a problem and there was a stocking problem, I'd expect a request to come in to solve the problem.

And perhaps curious about the request we were looking at, Megri-san joined the conversation.

But I see, that may be true.

If you think about it, that's true.

Hmmm, the more I think about it, the less I understand.

The more I think about it the more I think about it.

For now, let's ask the receptionist why. There may be a good reason for the guild's acceptance, and there may be a good reason for the S rank.

Yeah, it's best to ask them directly in these situations!

That's true.

Excuse me.

We peel off the request form and take it to the reception desk.

"Oh, Mr. Lex, it's been a while. It's been a while.

When the receptionist sees me, she greets me.

'Hi. I'd like to ask you about this request.

Oh, this request?

When the receptionist looks at the request form, she looks troubled for some reason.

Could it be that it's some kind of troublesome request?

Why do you designate an S-rank when you're asking me to stock up?

That's true. We were curious too, so we checked it out, but it seems that the reason is that the ship that went to the east country never came back.

And then the receptionist gave me a surprise.

'The ship isn't coming back!　Isn't that a pretty big deal?

As expected, she hadn't thought it was that important, and Liliera-san rolled her eyes.

That's right. I'm sure you'll be able to find out more about this in the future. That's why they asked me to make the request, thinking that an S-ranked adventurer would be able to take care of the cause of the ship's non-return by force, even if there was some reason for it.

Wow, your client must have been in a great hurry to get the goods so badly.

''But will he ask an S-rank to do the job for him?　A request for an S-ranked item is quite a bit of money, and it's going to cost me a lot of money to travel to get there. What kind of goods would be profitable for you to go that far?

Sure, it may seem strange to think of it as a commercial request, but it's not uncommon to see requests that prioritize time and disregard profitability, such as drug ingredients and other life-threatening items.

''Yeah, that too. If you think of it as a potion ingredient, then you can also think of the trouble as an obstacle for the S-ranked adventurers to defeat.

Medicine material, huh? It's true that I've had a lot of work like that in my past life, too, in those circumstances.

A lot of nasty things came back to haunt me after that, though.

'And I've already received my fee and commission, so it doesn't seem to be a prank. It's possible that they're hiding information with some malicious intent, but I don't think that's going to hurt either, given the average compensation for an S-rank.

I see, in order to submit a request to the Adventurer's Guild, you had to pay a fee and commission first.

''Only now it just so happens that all of S-rank's adventurers are out in the distance with some kind of request, and I was wondering what to do about it since there's no one to accept this request.

Saying that, the receptionist smiles, glad that I'm interested in this request.

Well, that's implicitly asking me to accept it, right?

''Hmm, it's a bit odd, but I'm pretty sure it's an S-rank request. And I've paid the guild for it, so there's no need to worry about fraud.

"But the east country is quite far away, isn't it? It takes a lot of time to travel there and back. It's a boat trip, so it's all in the wind. The problem is that you won't be able to take on any other work while you're gone.

Oh, sure, if the destination is so far away, does that mean it's going to cost more money?

I wonder what's going on around there?　You're not paying your own way!　Or are you going to charge me for it later?

I've already kept the cost of lodging, food, and carriage, as well as the cost of the boat, for expenses. I've heard that you can take the extra money as compensation too.

You're going to get extra money?　Isn't that great?

'Oh, Fatty. Maybe your client is a wealthy aristocrat.

After hearing that he would receive the extra money, Megri-san imagines that his client might be quite wealthy.

''As expected, I can't answer that part.......and I've heard that it may take some time to receive the goods there due to problems in purchasing goods. I've heard that the lodging fee even includes an extra charge in the event of that delay.

You're so thoughtful, it's starting to get suspicious.

'I have a feeling it's going to be a messy one, considering I'm sending the request to S-rank.

The treatment is so good that everyone starts to be wary of the opposite.

Indeed, if you ask me, I've been treated strangely well.

'Certainly. But it's a request to S-rank........''

""S-rated"

Huh?　Why is everyone staring at me?

I feel like that S-ranked guy could be hot, even with all that hiding.

''Odd. I feel like I could handle that S-rank, even if my client was up to something.

That S-rank?　Are you referring to Roddy and his team, who are excellent team fighters?　Or do you know a lot about magic, Mr. Ramies?

" " " " " " " " " " " " " " " " " " " " " " " " " " " " " " " " " " " " " "

I don't know, but people seem to be willing to take the request.

The conditions are good, and I don't see any particular reason not to take it, either.

"Ah!

And that's when Gyro-kun shouts out loud.

'What's up, Gyro-kun?'

"Come to think of it, this is an S-ranked request, so we can't take it!

" " " " " " "

That was it. I thought adventurers couldn't accept requests too far away from their own ranks and higher ranks.

Even in cases where a high-ranked adventurer accompanies them, there are times when the lowest rank is determined, like in the case of the mine ruins before.

''Oh, that's okay. The condition for this request is that there must be an S-ranked adventurer among the members.

What?

'Oh, it's true, it says there must be at least one S-ranked adventurer among the members, and that it's preferable if the other members are also highly ranked.

'By desirable, you mean it doesn't have to be!　Then you'll be fine!

Jairo-kun's eyes lit up as he realized that they could go with him as well, having confirmed the details of the conditions.

'Let's go, brother!　If it's an S-rated request, I'm sure it's a great request!　I want to see my brother fight up close and personal!

My fight?　But I'm sure you see it all the time.

'No, this is an S-ranked request. It's a special S-ranked request, not like the previous guild compulsory requests or anything!

'What?　Oh, by the way,

Indeed, the only jobs and battles I've received since I became S-ranked were the ones I was asked to do by the guild or accidentally got caught up in on my journey.

This might be the first time that the request was purely designated by the client as S-rank.

''Certainly. And if you think about it, this is the first time I've seen a request with an S-ranked order level.

'Right?　Then you'll know what kind of work an S-rank usually does when you get this request!　Watching my brother's work ethic will help me one day when I'm S-ranked!

Well, if you think about it that way, it's a good idea to take the request.

If I can experience an ordinary S-ranked request, and if it's educational for Gyro-kun, then it's worth taking it.

And the fact that it's a cruise with expenses is a nice touch.

Yeah, that's a good idea.

After all, in the previous life and the past life, the basic way to travel away was by airship or the Transfer Gate, so time-consuming means of transportation such as a boat trip was just a hobby for the richest of the rich.

I've been on the Goodruiser, but that was a complete warship, far from being a cruise ship, and besides, it was a job, and its purpose was to investigate demons.

But this time, even if it's the same request, if it's a cruise ship trip, there's no need for us to fight, because the crew and full-time guards will do the fighting for you.

Yeah, we can enjoy the boat trip without any worries!

It looks like you're in a hurry so it's a no-brainer to go there, but I think it's possible to return at the transition gate to save time on the way back.

"I'm looking forward to the boat trip.

I don't know, I just had a horrible feeling that this is a disaster.

Me too.

Me too.

Me too.

Me too, sir.

"Squeaky.

Huh?　Why not?

Anyway, I'll take the offer!

I announce to the receptionist that I will be accepting the request again.

'Yes, sir, I have confirmed your request.

All right!　We're going on an adventure across the ocean!

You're not going to be able to do that.

We came to the harbor with flying magic and immediately decided to look for a ship going to the east country.

"Excuse me, I'm looking for a ship going to the east.

First, I talked to a sailor who was working nearby.

'Huh?　East?

The sailors stared at us with scowling eyes, but they quickly grinned at us.

'Are you guys adventurers?'

Yes!

It's the third ship over there. I can tell them Sig told me about it.

Thank you!

Watch out for that.

I thanked the sailors and we headed down to the dock.

'You're lucky they're nice people,'

But what a nasty way to laugh at people.

'Oh, I know. He was giving us a lot of nasty looks.

....

But for some reason it wasn't well received by Liliella and Mina.

''Sea men get looked at as tough because of the work they do and the way they train. Besides, we need to make sure we don't get licked by pirates and demons.

Yeah, I remember a captain I knew in a past life who used to lament that his face was so scary that he was mistaken for a pirate. In truth, he was a simple man who loved flowers.

He was such a flower lover that he had a botanical garden in his hideaway made up of rare flowers collected from all over the world. He even collected some dangerous plants and almost got caught because of it.

I wonder what's going on in that botanical garden now.

When I arrived at the third ship, as Sig-san had told me, I talked to the sailors working nearby.

I talked to the sailors who were working nearby. I was introduced to a man named Sig-san. Is this the right ship for the eastern part of the country?

Sig's?

When the sailors heard Sig-san's name, they looked at each other and nodded with a powerful smile.

''Oh!　This is the ship that goes to the east, right here!

'We'd like to go to the East Country as well, is it still possible for us to board the ship?

Yeah, he's fine. But you're lucky.

Luck?

I nod my head at the sailor's mention of good luck.

'Yeah, we were actually planning to leave soon. Because of the distance to the east, there aren't many ships heading to the east. Once this ship left, we just didn't know which ship would be heading to the east country next and when.

I see, there are no regular flights to the east.

Hmm, when I think about it, it was right to fly in.

Ten pieces of silver if you want to go on a ship.

I understand.

We paid the sailor ten silver coins and went on deck.

"Captain, we have a guest.

A man in a captain's uniform who was standing on the deck turns to me after being called by a sailor.

Oh, he looks like a captain.

He has a strong body like a man of the sea.

I'm not sure what to expect. You are a guest.

He wants to come to the East Country with us.

'Do you want to go to the East?　That's bold!

You're a big man...?

'Yeah, because there's been a lot of talk among sailors lately about ships that went to the East and never came back.

Yeah, that's what we heard in the guild.

"How godd*mn desperate do you have to be to want to go to such dangerous waters.

The Adventurer's Guild asked for you.

Request?

Then the captain looks around at us.

I see, you are indeed dressed like an adventurer. Well, it's a good thing you have some experience. But you never know what will happen out there. I won't help you if you fall off the ship!

"Huh, that's my line!　You're the one who got attacked by a demon and didn't fall into the sea!　Well, if you fall, we'll save you, though!

'I don't know,' said Gyro-kun, at the captain's provocation.

''Hahaha!　You're not going to help me, man of the sea!　I love it, kid!

I was a bit nervous, but the captain seemed to like Gyro's attitude and gave a dynamic laugh.

Captain, we're ready to leave!

All right!　We're sailing!

The ship sails down and begins to move to leave the harbor.

I felt a sense of discomfort at the sight.

"Huh?　Isn't the lead sail down?

What is it, is there a rule that you can't sail with all sails down by the harbor or something like that?

You're not going to be able to do that.

The boat slowly leaves the land and heads further and further out to sea.

Hmmm, this laid-back atmosphere. You can't experience that when you're on a boat trip while you're on alert for your surroundings!

Well, I think that's enough.

The captain murmurs when the land has become much smaller.

'Heh heh heh,'

For some reason, the sailors around me laugh happily.

'What's the matter with you?'

Heh heh heh, I don't think he's noticed yet.

Haven't you noticed?　What?

Let me tell you something!　Get your sails down!

""Oh!"

As the captain's lead sail descends, a jet-black painting of a skeleton appears from the pure white cloth.

"...but a skull painting?

Everyone shouts in amazement when they see the picture of the skeleton painted there.

''Hahahahaha! Welcome to the Drellard pirates' ship!　Dumb boys!

At the same time, sailors with swords in their hands surround us.

''Pirates?　Captain, what the hell is this?

Ha-ha-ha, you were kidnapped by pirates.

'Kidnapped!'

The captain carries his sword on his shoulder and smiles happily.

''You tricked us!

Exactly. Did you think a pirate's only job was to attack ships?　Boy.

The guy who showed up was the sailor who told us where to find the boat, Sig, I think his name was.

Are you in on this too?

Heh, some pirates are in the business of kidnapping naive little boys.

'Kukkuk, I'm sorry to say that I just became an adventurer with dreams and hopes, but this is the end of the adventure for you little guys.

The sailors jiggle closer with their weapons at the ready, saying whatever they want.

''So you lied about going to the East?''

Oh, who the hell would go to a place where there are rumors of trouble. You'd make more money doing kidnapping with pirates in the waters around the world.

Oh, my God, we weren't even going to the east.

"Put down your weapons and get caught. "Put down your weapons and get caught, and you'll be spared your pain.

Heh, these guys have pretty good equipment. Are you some kind of aristocratic kid?

Then I'll be able to get the ransom out of you. Well, I'm not going to take the money back, though.　

And then I'm gonna turn you into a slave!

The master will take care of you if you're quiet. And the monks will come in handy as a young workforce.

Apparently, they're going to sell us into slavery.

'Whoa, that little boy over there is a man, but he's going to get a tasteful husband to buy him, huh?

Hi!

One of the pirates gives me a disgusted look and Mr. Norbu screams.

'Everyone look out!'

I urge everyone to be vigilant.

These pirates must be very confident in their skills to reveal themselves this close to land.

Normally, if they attacked their prey in a place where they could see land, they would be magically sent a signal to land and the knights would know immediately.

Then the knights would attack from the air and the sea, and they would be captured after a hole was made in the bottom of the ship and there was no way to escape.

Even if they take a hostage, if there's no ship, they'll have no choice but to return to land, and they'll be incapacitated by magic before they can do so.

But since they ignored such theories and attacked us, it's reasonable to assume that they are taking those measures unless they are very stupid.

We don't know what kind of moves they will use. This is dangerous if we don't fight with caution!

You're not going to be able to do that.

I'm sorry.

Please don't kill me.

Help us, please.

"Gazillionaire.

Also, please remove this creature.

I thought, but the fight ended unexpectedly and easily.

And one of them is crying because he's been bit by a mofo.　

''What?　Huh?

Is it possible that these people are really surrendering?

Please help us by sending it to the East or wherever you'd like us to send it.

As far as the captains are concerned, it doesn't look like they're inviting us to let our guard down.

If they were going to ask you to let your guard down in the first place, they wouldn't go out of their way to reveal their identity, would they?

That's what I thought.

I'm surprised that Meghri mutters to me.

''What?　Did you notice that?　Mr. Megri?

Mr. Meghri knew these people were pirates, and he didn't tell us?　Why?

Well, I knew it the moment I saw the faces of the sailors. They had the faces of scoundrels. But I knew it was coming, and I thought if I played my cards right, I could get the money for the boat for free, so I didn't say anything.

And you didn't say anything?　It's too dangerous for you to be in any kind of danger!

Just because we can fly doesn't mean we can't tell our friends.

'Yes!　What was I going to do if something happened to me!

I just wish it was more crunchy.

Gyro, this is not the point.

It's too dangerous to keep quiet about being attacked on purpose to save money on the boat.

Everyone blames Megri, but she's not worried about it.

In the first place, Lex would never be defeated by a mere pirate. If you can defeat a dragon or a witch by yourself, you can make much more money by becoming an S-ranked adventurer with your skills.

No, no, no, no, that's a stretch.

You can't convince everyone for that reason!

" " " " " " " " " " " " " " " " " " " " " " " " " " " " " " " " " " " " " " " " " " " " " " " " "

But for some reason, everyone was convinced by Meguri's outrageous argument.

Why do I have to be convinced?