Chapter 304 - A Brief Return to the Imperial Capital

A Brief Return to the Imperial Capital

A trip through the sky with Legs of the God Wolf. The Asagi Airline offered comfort and safety and guaranteed a lack of monster encounters. But then again, the wind on my skin was cold as hell. At least my body was covered up, but my face bore the full brunt of it. I tried covering my face with part of my cape, but nothing could be done for my poor eyes…

“Phew…the Mistnas Company, huh…”

I sighed and thought back on what had been said to me before my departure, as the platinum wind blew around me.

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It was after I was finished preparing and was about to activate Legs of the God Wolf. Someone called my name. There were a lot of people who knew my name and weren’t shy about approaching me. But this voice was familiar.

“Mister…Asagi…”

“Ah, Silket. What is it?”

It was one of the Adventurers that I had fought alongside me in Namila Village. Marcel’s partner. The quiet one. I deactivated Legs of the God Wolf and calmed my breathing while my hands were on my lap. Could the goblins have attacked? My hand was about to move towards my sword, but she quickly stopped me.

“No, it’s not that. There are no monsters. But I heard that you were going back to the city and…”

“Yeah, that’s right… Did you want me to get something for you?”

“No… But I was hoping you could take this to the Mistnas Company.”

Silket said as she handed me a small, decorative knife and a letter.

“This looks pretty expensive…”

“It’s a knife with the Mistnas crest in it. And that letter is for my father. It explains about the goblin stampede and has a request for supplies.”

“….Wait, is this company…”

“Yes, my family runs it.”

Huh. So this Adventurer who rose to the rank of Jade was actually the daughter of a wealthy family.

Silket Mistnas. She then told me that she was a fourth child of a family a nobles who owned a trading company. Her older brother and sister were currently running it, but her father still held the most power.

“We have a store on the main road. You can’t miss it.”

“So, I just need to show them the knife and letter and they will help us?”

“Yes, definitely.”

Silket said with confidence.

“After all, I’m the youngest. They could never resist my requests!”

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I recalled that conversation as I pulled the knife out of my breast pocket. It looked like a ceremonial knife. It would be a waste to use it in combat.

“Ha-ha…achoo! …Damn!”

The cold wind had entered my clothes and I sneezed loudly, dropping the knife in the process. I had to frantically dive down and catch it before it hit the ground.

“It would be the worst if I dropped it in all of this snow…”

I put it away securely and then rose into the air again. I needed to focus on getting there as quickly as possible, and so I kept my eyes ahead.

“Ah…there’s Namila Village.”

I could see all the roofs covered in snow. Visually, it seemed very peaceful. But I used Presence Detection just as a precaution. I detected no monsters or humans. I had been bracing myself to find bandits, but then again, this wasn’t a place they would likely come out to.

And so I passed the village in a flash, leaving it far behind me. The next thing I saw was the frozen lake. Lake Rivier. Our tracks were long gone, and there was a fresh layer of snow covering it. Still, you could make out the shape of the lake from above.

I soon passed the lake as well. After a while, the Imperial Castle came into view. And then the rest of the city and walls.

“Phew… I should probably go to the guild first.”

Adlus had told me to make a report before I was approached by Silket. At least, I think he did.

“Well, he must have said something that made me think I had to… Oh, well.”

Reporting, contacting, and consultation. As a member of society, these things were important. And that’s what we Adventurers were. The guild was a company and we were employees. It was definitely a lot wilder than in modern Japan, but the pay was good.

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I showed the gatekeeper my status card and was let inside. As I was in a hurry, I used Legs of the God Wolf to jump over buildings and dash past the castle and noble district in order to reach the guild. I had no time to push my way through the crowds.

I arrived at the guild and opened the doors. As I didn’t really bother to kill my momentum, I pretty much crashed through while making a lot of noise. Obviously, this caused a lot of heads to turn in my direction. But this was no time to feel self-conscious. I headed straight for the ‘Questions & Other’ counter.

“Hey, what’s wrong with you? You trying to cause a scene!?”

“Sorry, I’m in a hurry.”

“Mmmph!!”

Some big guy was trying to start something as he stormed towards me, and so I knocked his feet out from under him. Jack of all Trades, Master of None really helped me out during minor scuffles like this.

The fallen man moaned, perhaps having hit his head, but it wasn’t my concern. I needed to be back on the frontlines as soon as possible.

In spite of the interruption, I was able to reach the counter safely. The guild worker on the other side was trembling a little. I wished they’d calm down, I wasn’t the bad guy here. And so I gently put down my status card.

“Excuse me. My name is Asagi Kamiyashiro. I’m participating in the Namila Village liberation quest, and have returned to make a report on our progress.”

“Cer-certainly!”

The guild worker snatched the card off of the counter and scurried off to the back.

I waited for several minutes. The guild worker returned, looking quite frantic.

“Ah, Mister Asagi. Please follow me to the drawing-room…”

“I’m really sorry, but I don’t have much time. I would like to just tell you here.”

“Ha…! I-I must regretfully inform you that the Guild Master insists…”

“…”

Well, I guess I should have expected this. I didn’t want to waste time here, but it was no use. This would definitely become troublesome.

Oh, well. I forgot to hide the annoyance from showing on my face, and the guild worker looked more intimidated than ever. I suddenly felt a little bad.

“Very well.”

“Thank you! Well, I must…”

“Could you take me to the room?”

“O-oh…yes…”

The joy of being released was so evident on the guild worker’s face, but it went away in an instant. I wasn’t going to be the only person to be inconvenienced today. Well, at least until we reached the room.