Volume 2 Chapter 21

Volume 2 Chapter 21: Wilhelm’s side, Surprise and cooperation

That night.

「So that carrier really was hero Axel……」

Such were the words spoken Wilhelm to Lilac inside a room in the deeper part of the Pirate’s inn.

「Oh my, so you’ve heard about it, Wilhelm.」

「Yes. A few hours ago, on the way back from the guild after giving my greetings. For some reason, I felt like asking『Could it be that Carrier-niisan was a hero in the past?』and then『Yea, I was』was his reply.」

Wilhelm saw that his hands and legs were still covered in goosebumps.

It was that shocking.

That kind of incredible fact and it was announced in an unbelievably casual tone.

Whilst resting at the table in front of him, Wilhelm exudes a deep breath.

「I was really scared. But after experiencing that power and speed I could only accept it.」

「Haha, that’s right. I also wouldn’t believe it if I merely heard the story. But it seems like he is the real one after all. And him becoming the flying carrier, well, there seems to be some kind of circumstance involved.」

「Well, that’s to be expected. Like hell he’ll get a beginner’s job otherwise. To think that esteemed hero would end up with a job where he might run errands for some random guild out there…」

I’m not looking down on carriers, but many of them indeed do end up like that.

Usually, you won’t expect a hero to be in such a position. And furthermore, you couldn’t imagine a hero in such a position to be content with his situation and be so lively.

「On his ring, there were crests of trust of the merchants guild and transportation guild. To get that much credit as a carrier, he must have done something that big…」

「Yeah, right? From what I’ve heard, he took down an ancient dragon. As a carrier.」

「Ancient dragon…? For real…?」

Wilhelm knew what kind of creature an ancient dragon is.

Any human who was involved in the great was with the Demon Lord knew full well of its power.

Only heroes or legendary adventurers are can take down that monstrosity capable of easily leveling a whole town. So defeating one with a beginner-tier job, a carrier, sounds impossible even for Axel-san, who previously was a hero… Is what I thought but—

「It’s the truth, Wilhelm. I saw it with my own two eyes.」

The moment when I was struggling with those doubts, a voice was heard.

The owner of the voice was a blue-haired girl, who just entered the room—

「You are the one from the City of Stars… Marion of【Sagittarius]?」

「Yes, I haven’t heard from you in a while, Wilhelm. It’s been several months. Since you are here today, join the twelve guilds’ conference.」

「Y-Yes. Sure… However, since you saw it yourself, it means an ancient dragon came to the City of Stars?」

「So you still don’t have specific information… Anyway, it was as you guessed. But due to Axel-san’s performance, the dragon was defeated and the damage was kept to the minimum.」

「I…see. Yeah, that ought to earn your trust.」

I don’t know how, but it seems that the fact of him killing an ancient dragon is true.

Thinking so gives me even more shivers, but it can’t be helped. It was that much of a big deal.

While trying to suppress his rumbling heart, Wilhelm somehow tries to calm himself.

「Phew, I heard a good story before we even got to the main topic.」

「That’s great. So, what’s the main topic you are going to tell us about?」

「Yes, I want to know as well. You called us so suddenly, did something happen?」

When asked by the two women, Wilhelm pushed forward a sheet of paper.

Seeing that, Lilac was the first one to frown.

「…Report with a summary of ship accidents for this month? The number of accidents increased by 50% compared with the previous month? Isn’t that too much? Even if we try to write it off as negligence, it’s on a level where I wouldn’t want to do that.」

Wilhelm nodded to her words.

「There is a difference in the scale of incidents, but this is too strange. According to the survey we conducted on our new ship, there is a strange rocky reef that formed.」

「A rocky reef? In those coastal waters? I’m pretty sure all of the dangerous rocks were eliminated when this harbor was created.」

As Lilac said, there are records stating that when the City of Water Sylvestre was founded, all of the dangerous reefs in the harbor’s vicinity were cut off. Nonetheless—

「There is a possibility that the change is a result of the damage from the war. A bit more detailed investigation is required. So I came to ask for support from the other guilds. Can we count on your cooperation?」

The first one to open her mouth to answer Wilhelm’s questions was Lilac.

「Hmm… An investigation, huh. Well, I do have survey specialists at my place as well, so we can try, but…… We need a lot more people. Since monsters are appearing in this area.」

「Yes, exactly why. We have our hands full at our guild, so I hardly can spare any personnel. If possible, I would also like to have help from Marion of Sagittarius. Of course, I will be the one to provide compensation… What do you think?」

She, being the head of the transportation guild, also excelled at the collection of information. I knew that since I conversed with her many times during guild conferences. That’s why I asked her. Then—

「Of course! Well, since I’m already here, I will help before returning to the City of Stars. ……I just was thinking that as Axel-san’s colleague I cannot fall behind his performance.」

Marion agreed with a smile.

Apparently, the discussion went successful, thought Wilhelm sighed a bit.

「Then, let’s start the survey tomorrow morning. Let’s get on with it.」

「Understood. Let’s not limit ourselves to the sea and also investigate surrounding lands for any changes as well.」

「Yes. Let’s find out exactly how the war influenced the land.」

Then, the three went on their separate ways.