Chapter 12

That day, it was business as usual at the Adventurers’ Guild.

The number of adventurers was neither large nor small.

There was a lull in the morning, as the adventurers were no longer busy taking requests.

“Fuwaaa…..~”

The receptionist, who had planned to leave after the night shift, had lost her chance to leave due to a minor disturbance that occurred earlier this morning.

This meant that she was trapped in the busy morning hours and forced to work the counter as a helper.

She hadn’t been with the company long enough to be able to push her work to her busy colleagues.

“Nemu……”

As she rubbed her eyes, she remembered the commotion of this morning.

Nasser Virginia.

He is a retired soldier and a highly skilled adventurer who is a valuable Dragon Summoner.

Although he doesn’t seem to be aware of it, he has risen through the ranks to become an A-level adventurer, the highest rank in the guild. And that in a very short time.

He is friendly and his face is not bad.

He is sincere and mild-mannered for an adventurer. He is also a man who is not afraid to show off his abilities, which is why people like and trust him.

Yes.

There were many.

When Nasser first registered with the Adventurers’ Guild, he was the most popular male prospect among the women in the guild because of his good looks, good personality, and good work ethic.

Nasser, who was completely unaware of the situation, didn’t seem to notice, but he was being attacked hard.

However, it was only the meek women who were interested in Nasser’s abilities. Most of them were not taken seriously, but……there was one who attacked fiercely.

That is Alicia Bird. (アリシア・バード)

……was until recently Alicia Virginia, but has since reverted to her original family name.

Youth and good looks. Alicia uses her youth, her beauty and her body as a weapon to attack.

She is a little girl who, after a lot of planning, has finally found herself the bride’s seat. That’s what people think of Alicia.

“She says that Nasser is the first man she’s ever met, but I don’t know if that’s true…….”

Anyway, Alicia was about to marry the promising Nasser, and she was very excited about it.

But..one day, a talented person who surpassed Nasser  appeared.

That’s the “Hero Kōji”…….

He is the strongest warrior from another world.

The guild has changed since he came to the guild through the king’s introduction.

A powerful man and the strongest man in the world.

In this country, he is almost a myth.

He was a man of great youth, great beauty and great stature, a man loved by the gods.

The adventurers, especially the women, were excited. And the men, of course.

……it was amazing.

It was as if beauty, money, status and honour were walking around in their clothes. Everyone was doing everything they could to get in.

It’s the same with this guy……the guildmaster who’s been fretting all morning.

In order to keep the hero in good humour, he had the good-natured and capable Nasser as his caretaker and sent him to stay with him.

And when the guildmaster found out that Alicia was planning to take over the Hero Kōji, he did not admonish her, but rather encouraged her.

After all, Alicia is beautiful and young.

It was clear to the receptionist from the outside that Kōji was also very interested in Alicia since he came to stay at Nasser’s house.

Nasser is the only one who doesn’t realise it.

A pitiful and poor gentleman.

It’s not that he’s a bad guy.

Rather, the obstacle of……being a married woman is what burns Kōji and Alicia.

A disorder that can be perceived as love.

And that’s what [Dragon Summoner Nasser Virginia] is all about.

If he can remove him and connect the hero with Alicia, the hero will remember and be indebted to the guildmaster.

This is also in line with his interests with Alicia.

When these thoughts coincided, the decision to eliminate Nasser was made without a second thought.

Yea, completely unbeknownst to him, …….

“That sucks……”

The receptionist looks at the guildmaster’s restlessness with disdain.

He was probably giving instructions to the ex-criminals while sending them together with Nasser.

Anyone can understand that much. Except for the dull Nasser…

Yes, most of them know about it, except Nasser.

What the guild master and Alicia have done is an open secret. A lot of people know about the guild’s activities and how they plan to frame Nasser.

But as the proverb says, “The brave and the saint are righteous, and the long and the short are wrapped up,” no one will say anything about it anymore.

[(TL: if it might help, the original phrase means ‘if it’s long, it gets rolled up; (if it’s tough, it gets snapped; if it’s heavy, it gets pushed down)’, so something akin to forcing cooperation unto you) Tq, boilpoil & Fluffy.]

Of course, there are some things to think about, but more than that, defending or testifying against Nasser, who has been declared a heretic, would be collateral damage.

It’s the same with the receptionist.

Although she had a fondness for him, she couldn’t help him out in the open.

At best, she would give him a small gift, and even then she was afraid to do so.

“Fu….I don’t like it.”

When she heard the declaration of infidelity between the hero and Alicia that day, she knew that the Kōji guy deliberately made Nasser hit him.

And everyone knows including the guildmaster – that Nasser was treated as an innocent heretic.

They just don’t say it.

No one populates the man who is no longer as good as dead. Because no one benefits from it except Nasser…..

Nasser is a great adventurer, but it is also true that no one will be particularly bothered by his absence.

In fact, many people are more than happy to see him go.

He is a veteran of the army, so he has only one man in reserve, although his reserve strength will be reduced.

Moreover…..he can no longer summon dragons.

In other words, he’s no more than a second-rate adventurer.

That’s why…

“Ha….I think I’m going to quit ……. This job..”

The receptionist blurted out, and the guildmaster, who had been listening attentively, glared at the receptionist.

“Don’t even think about it! Do your work faster and go ho-.?”

“I’m doing it! I’m working an overtime black job…rig-?”

The two of them stop at their own sentences, seeing  suspicious figures.

In the direction of their gaze,the receptionist saw something from the door of the guild that had been left open.

Yes, ‘something.’

A field grey, like a big carriage.

Gyuragyura!!

It seems to make a strange noise and then explode.

The people of the city, some looking away in dismay

Others hide in panic.

Others watching from afar with spears in their hands…

It was a mixed reaction from everyone.

Of course, there are guards, but they are having trouble dealing with the situation.

They don’t attack that thing as an enemy  but they don’t want it running around making noise in the city.

However, this does not seem to bother it at all.

Gyuragyuragyuragyuragyuragyura—-

The vibration of the carriage

As a result, dust is falling from the ceiling.

The receptionist can understand that the vibration that the carriage makes is considerable …

“But with just one carriage?”

“What the hell is that?”

“I-I don’t know!”

The receptionist and the guild master are stunned.

“Hey, hey, what’s going on over here?”

“That’s what  I said, I don’t know about that …… thing!”

The guildmaster, who had been replying to the receptionist’s question in an excited but cool manner, paled as if he had realised something during the process.

“What’s the matter, GuildMaster? Your face is very pale. ──── Oh? Isn’t there someone on the end of that strange carriage…..?”

When the receptionist focuses her eyes at it, she sees a figure approaching it.

At the top of the carriage, which appears to be made of iron, is a sign that reads────

“Ah!　Isn’t that the same……ex-criminals that we sent out this morning for the free quest?”

“…………Oioi, no way”

The guildmaster is listening to the receptionist’s words with disregard, but for some reason he is sweating profusely.

And

Gyuragyuragyuragyuragyuragyura──gikyiiii…….

It stopped in front of the adventurer’s guild.

And then…

The receptionist heard a heavy metallic clang.

“Hey ──── I’ve completed the quest.”

And so Nasser emerged from the iron carriage.

He threw a bloody sack at her.

The receptionist, the guildmaster, and a few onlooker adventurers went outside to see what was going on.

“What, Nasser ……?　What the hell is that?”

“Shut up, you’ve got a ────── goblin ear and a..”

As it happened, a bag of scraps fell nearby, and the receptionist fearfully opened the bag to find…..

“Heeeee!”

She screamed and dropped the bag.

Out of it tumbled the ear of the goblin’s proof of their defeat and the head of…..humans ────.

“And proof that the attempted murderer has been killed. ……Here is one of the witnesses.”

A ragdoll, gagged and strapped to the top of a steel wagon,is a man who had been smacked on the head.

Nasser, taking advantage of the lack of a counterattack, repeatedly smacks him on the head.

“What? The good-natured Nasser?”

People who know Nasser, including the receptionist, are amazed at what they see……While Nasser doesn’t seem to be bothered.

He smacks at the ex-criminal as if he were a normal thug.

No one feels sorry for them, but ……

For some reason, the guildmaster’s face has gone pale.

For a moment, everyone looks at the guildmaster suspiciously, but he is quick to notice and quickly replies.

“Nasser Virginia! You, ……, have fallen too far! Did you kill a man?”

“Ah? It was self-defence……..These are your men, aren’t they?”

Slippery, gagged and ungagged, the ex-crimmnal…

“Don’t be ridiculous! I don’t know who they are…”

“Aa, mister!　Please, help me!　It’s not worth the trouble!　It’s no good having my life taken away for a single silver coin! Sir! Ah?”

The ex-crimnal desperately pleads for his life with the guild master, who tries to deny him.

“Shut up! I don’t care about you! Hey!! you guys… kill him! It’s an urgent quest!”

Rather than admit it, the guildmaster wanted Nasser’s head.

Although the receptionist had some idea of what was going on from what the ex-criminal was saying, adventurers are only money-driven creatures.

Although she thinks it’s ridiculous, the weight and value of the words spoken by “Guild Master” and “Heretic ”are different.

It was obvious, without even thinking about it, which way it was better to go.

Besides, a good number of the male adventurers were jealous of Nasser, who was very talented and popular with the women.

The fact that he had married the young and beautiful Alicia did not amuse them, either.

Some thought it was very pleasant to see Nasser’s wife cuckolded by the hero and then reduced to a heretic.

In fact, some of them actively cooperated with the guildmaster, testified against Nasser, and joined the citizens in throwing stones and filth at him when he became a heretic.

Some of them were directly violent, and many of them were rogues who happily talked about what had happened to his family and used it as a drinking game.

The Guildmaster smiles, the corners of his mouth twisting as he sees how eager the adventurers are.

And then they marched.

“I’ll give you special recognition for these emergency quests!　And the rewards are even more exciting. You’ll get a gold coin for taking part!　And 10 gold coins for the head!”

“Uwoooooooooo?!!!”

Zawazawa, zawazawa!

“Are you serious?”

“A heretic’s head for one piece?”

“Yeah!”

“Me too.”

“Me, me, me, me, me!”

The simple minded adventurer drew their sword, as did most of those present, and pointed its tip at Nasser.

“Oh, oh, oh, you’re going to do it……?　Why are adventurers so short sighted?”

Nasser glared at the gathering adventurers with a cold stare that would have been unthinkable in the old him.

“GuildMaster, that’s called abuse of authority, isn’t it? A guild refuses to fulfill a legitimate request, even if it is a free quest.And attempted murder by sending in an assassin…… and then abetting the murder?”

“Shut up! You’re a heretic!　You’re penniless, you’ve been cuckold, and you have no allies!”

When he has said this, he stands up and looks at Nasser.

His face leaves no doubt as to Nasser’s death.

All around him, there are a lot of lowly looking adventurers…

Some of them seemed to have fled in disgust at the injustice, but at least none of them were on Nasser’s side.

Those who knew what was going on, such as the receptionist, were frightened by the overflowing atmosphere of unreasonable violence around them and quickly hid in the guild.

“Heh heh!　Come down from there, Nasser.”

“I’ve always wondered why you’re surrounded by so many nice girls, old men.”

“Oh, shit. You have a niece or a sister-in-law, don’t you? When I go to the front, I’m going to find her and I’m going to give her a good beating.”

“Hee-ha-ha!　Ten gold pieces on your head!　No hard feelings”

The adventurers begin to swarm around, clapping their sword bellies.

There is only one person whose face turns pale at the sight of them. The only one who looks pale is the ex-criminal who was tied up.

“Oi!!!　Everybody stop!　You’ll die!!!…… Nasser… please let me go!”

As if he knew what was about to happen, he burst into tears and began to beg for his life.

“…… Give it up. You took me to the goblin forest with the intention of killing me. At that point, your life is mine.”

After saying so, Nasser sneaked into the turret of Panzer I.

Gakon!

All that was left was the sound of the heavy hatch closing.

And the man strapped in front of the turret’s two MG13 heavy machine guns could only shout.

“Hiiiiiiiiii!!! STOPPPPPP!!!!!!!!!!”

Nasser, who had heard it all, took up a gun position in the turret.

Before he got here, Nasser was familiar with how to use the summoned “Panzer I” from the tanker who was now at the controls in front of his knees.

Yes, by the time Nasser comes to the guild.

By repeatedly talking to them, watching and listening to them, he had gradually become familiar with the handling of “German” weapons.

Above all, the summoned and Nasser are connected by magic.

In a sense, they are one and the same. The understanding is naturally quick.

And now…

He summoned the Panzer I – with a pilot.

The gunner can also be summoned at will, but for now Nasser was in that position.

This is a tank of the German army.

Two-seater small light tank “Panzer I, B variation” -.

It is equipped with two MG13, 7.92mm heavy machine guns.

Speed, max. 37km/h

Armour, max. 13mm

……was the most powerful weapon in this world.