Chapter 30

Ossan, quickly returns home *DISCLAIMER: I DON'T REALLY KNOW j.a.pANESE, THESE ARE MACHINE TRANSLATIONS THAT I TRY TO PUT INTO PROPER ENGLISH. READ AT YOUR OWN DISCRETION. *I HAVE A DISCORD SERVER IN CASE YOU WANT TO BE NOTIFIED WHEN I'M ABOUT TO POST A NEW UPDATE.  *Yeah, also I put too many unnecessary translator notes, which are pretty much reminders for myself at this point, unless you actually know j.a.panese and can correct me, which I would appreciate. Christine woke up in a plain room made out of wood. Looking around, one would be able to see a table placed near the bed, an antique dresser alongside the wall, and a simple vase without any flowers in it.

She vacantly stares at the ceiling, but as time pa.s.sed, she gradually started recalling her present condition. 

The girl couldn't remember anything after defeating the Wuant, but now, she finally understood that she was staying in an inn room until this morning.

"How… How did I get here… Ah, Zeros-san!"

She could only a.s.sume that the suspicious-looking magician brought her here.

When she abruptly tries to get off the bed, intense dizziness a.s.saulted her. As a result of the fast level-up, her body is in a state of disharmony, and such symptoms are the signs that the optimization process hasn't finished yet. And so, she falls down on the bed once again.  

"Ahh～～……"

She lets out a weird moan before burying her head in the pillow. 

Despite trying to stand up, she can't help but feel extremely tired. 

(It's okay if I give him my thanks tomorrow, right?)

It was impossible to properly convey her grat.i.tude in her current condition, so she decided to give priority to her recovery for the time being. 

As she covers herself with the sheets and closes her eyes, she could hear the hustle and bustle coming from the dining hall on the first floor. And after a while, a calm breathing could be heard from the room of the old inn.

Christine had fallen asleep again. 

The next morning, as soon as she woke up, Christine immediately changed her clothes and dashed out of the room. When she went downstairs and headed towards the dining hall on the first floor, there were several mercenaries having their breakfast. There, as she recognized the faces of the people she was looking for, the fact that she was safe finally started seeping into her brain.

"Have you woken up, Christine-sama? How is your body?"

"I was really worried when you suddenly disappeared in front of our eyes."

"I'm alright now, Izzard, Syll. Corsa and Soctas, I'm glad you're fine, too."

"I would go anywhere to save you, my lady."

"That's right. Well, honestly, I was quite on edge at that time."

She was relieved from the bottom of her heart to see that the knights, who were so close to her, were safe, but she had come here with another purpose in mind.  

"Izzard, where's the person who saved me?"

"That magician? I haven't seen him after he brought you here, Christine-sama. We should probably try asking the ladies who were accompanying him."

The young man, who happened to be the leader of the knights, calls out to the three women having breakfast on the table in front of him. 

"Hey, I'm sorry to bother you, but do you guys know where that magician is? Christine-sama wants to thank him."

"Ahh?… The old man? Now that you mention it, I haven't seen him anywhere."

"Yeah. Is he still sleeping?"

"Ah, if you're looking for mister, he went back home last night."

"""Ha?"""

When Iris informs them that Zeros had left Ahhan village last night, the three people who were completely unaware let out a dumb voice.  

"Wait a minute, Iris! When did Zeros-san leave?"

"You were having a meal when I happened to see you yesterday, right?"

"Yeah. Then we rested for a little while and decided to go back to our rooms, but when we were climbing up the stairs he told me that he was going to take the day off."

"It takes half a day to get to Santhor, right? Is he insane? He'll be the perfect target for bandits…… well, no. It's probably the opposite."

"Yeah, I don't think there are any bandits that can defeat him. He returned unscathed from the deepest layer of the mine, after all."

Even though Zeros left the village late at night, they weren't worried in the slightest. On the contrary, because he was so ridiculously strong, they thought, 'I'd like to see if there's someone capable of killing him.'

They were treating him terribly even when he wasn't there. 

"Did Zeros-san say anything else?"

"Hmm… He said that because it would be troublesome to get involved with a n.o.ble, and they would persistently try to scout him to work for them or something, he was gonna disappear before they tried to talk to him, I think?"

"So, I won't be able to give him my thanks… Hmm, do you know where he lives?"

"Hmm? No clue~. Mister said that he was an 'inn vagabond' or something, right?"

The knights didn't know what to say to the discouraged Christine. Magicians tend to be self-centered people that are completely apathetic towards others, and Zeros quickly vanished without bothering to hear the words of grat.i.tude of the girl he saved, bringing an awkward atmosphere to what was supposed to be a refreshing morning.

No one knew where the middle-aged magician was. 

"Well, they say magicians are that kind of narcissistic people, you shouldn't worry too much about it."

"But, he saved my life… I really think I should properly convey my grat.i.tude… as a person and as a n.o.bleman."

"We're talking of Zeros-san though, maybe you shouldn't expect much from him to begin with."

"Don't torment yourself with that, aight? Mister just wants to live a carefree life in the first place, you know~?"

Christine just wanted to say her thanks but won't be able to now because the person in question suddenly vanished. She was quite dispirited after that, and no matter what they said, they couldn't lift her mood. 

The middle-aged magician had hurriedly left the village and now they were feeling like that. 

—

And, the responsible for said incident, at that time had long arrived at the gates of Santhor, and was humming while smoking a cigarette…

Incidentally, it will take some time for the abandoned mine near Ahhan village to be officially recognized as a dungeon. An investigation team composed of skilled mercenaries was sent to ascertain the veracity of the information, so after some procedures and formalities, it took three months for the dungeon to be officially acknowledged. 

Taking full advantage of that opportunity, it took several years for Ahhan village to become revitalized.  

Around that time, the interior of the abandoned mine expanded even more and the number of monsters increased. Naturally, they didn't know that the cause of that was a certain uncle ma.s.sacring monsters with wide-range annihilation magic.

The victims that were instantly turned into ashes were efficiently absorbed by the dungeon and became its nourishment, providing it with a new source of power. 

This dungeon will continue to expand and become an indispensable place for the people that bet their lives fighting monsters to make a living…… Until the day the dungeon core is finally destroyed. 

Later on, that dungeon will end up being known as 'Ahhan Great Labyrinth'.

Time goes back a little, and the place moves to a tavern in the city of Santhor, where many uncouth hoodlums gather, ordering alcohol as they please, messing around with each other, and occasionally starting fights. 

In this tavern, where the guards are frequently called to stop said brawls, a group of mercenaries is drinking alcohol, trying to forget this morning's disgrace. They are the mercenaries that tried to pick a fight with Christine. 

After being threatened by Zeros, they fled and came to this city, half a day away from Ahhan village. Though, only one of them still has this morning's incident weighing in his heart, drowning his troubles in alcohol. 

"f.u.c.k! That magician… It gets me so f.u.c.king angry every time I remember that s.h.i.t!"

"Oi, haven't you said enough? Just give up…"

"Wasn't that mithril sword all f.u.c.ked up too? Even if you had s.n.a.t.c.hed it away, it was useless anyway, you dumba.s.s hahaha!"

"The f.u.c.k you know. Maybe it was that son of a b.i.t.c.h pulling a snow job on me, y'know?"

There were two reasons why he thought Zeros was lying to him. First, it was impossible to prove that he actually had the appraisal skill. Second, when he unsheathed his sword and thrust it before his neck, he said:— 'leave the sword and disappear.'

Even if someone were to claim that they have the appraisal skill, there wouldn't any way to verify it unless there was another person with said ability. 

In addition, there's the possibility that Zeros pulling out his sword to intimidate them to be merely an act. In which case, the story about having the appraisal skill is likely to be a lie. But, more than anything else, it was his shady appearance that made this mercenary misjudge his true strength. 

"Aight, let's say you're right. You have any confidence in your skills? Dude didn't seem much of a magician, y'know?"

"Ahh… I hated that he pulled out his sword before I knew it."

"That's the kinda man you shouldn't pick a fight with… if you value your life."

"f.u.c.k! I know that!!"

All the mercenaries here were of low rank. Instead of raising their levels, they've come that far only taking advantage of other people's hard work. 

They would secretly follow the mercenary escorts of merchants, who naturally seemed to be strong enough to reliably protect them, and whenever the escorts had to defeat monsters that appeared on the way, they would make their entrance and aim to steal their prey, attacking when the monsters were already weakened, the so-called 'parasitic method'.

They thought they were being really clever, but such a thing made them lose the Guild's trust, resulting in being unable to advance their ranks. 

But even then, they resented the Guild and continued to act in such a way while trying to hide it from them. These kinds of people were everywhere.

A man drinking at the counter approaches them. He was a black-robed magician. 

"What a funny story, did you really think you would get stronger if you had a powerful weapon? It really makes me laugh."

"The f.u.c.k you say!? You b.a.s.t.a.r.d, are you picking a fight with us!?" 

"Ha, the likes of mercenaries losing to a magician aren't even worth calling 'enemies', don't you think? Well, it made me laugh quite a bit, so I will also tell you an interesting story."

"Haa? You're a magician too, right motherf.u.c.ker? And what's that about an interesting story, ah?"

"Before that, you want to get stronger than you are now, right? I'll tell you how if you answer me this: how do you think one can get stronger than others?"

The mercenaries exchange glances. The magician they encountered this morning was just as suspicious-looking, but this one looked even more suspicious in a different sense. Moreover, he was wearing a hooded robe despite being indoors. They also doubted he would simply give them that kind of information just because he listened to their story. 

"Ah! You just have to talk. You don't seem to have enough gold to say you'll pay for it, after all. Let's have a drink. Including that entertaining story from before, it's fine if you answer my question, right?" 

"b.a.s.t.a.r.d, you're just tryna make us drink, don't you?"

"How rude. It's just a thing I don't need anymore, so I'm trying to give it away to someone who might find it useful. You can also just give it to someone else, you know? It might sell for a surprisingly high price."

The mercenaries looked at each other again. The magician in front of them seemed to be giving them something he didn't need, but they have no clue what the object in question was.

But getting stronger will obviously lead to having the possibility of making more money than what they currently earn. 

Although they were unscrupulous, they were also wary of the man, and planned to continue pulling the aforementioned underhanded method in the future as it was the safer option… or that's what they should have thought, however, they were too drunk and didn't think deeply about the magician's story. 

"Then, first show us what you wanna give us, we ain't got no clue, y'know?"

"Ah, that's right. Here it is."

The mercenaries are surprised at the magician who suddenly produced something from the empty s.p.a.ce. Ignoring them, what he puts on the table is some sort of amulet with countless black stones inlaid onto it.

"Well then, did that satisfy your curiosity? Please get me something to drink, will you? Ah, and by the way let me say this, it doesn't matter if you steal it or not, as you need to know how to properly use it in the first place."

"Tch, oi! Bring some ale for this magician!!"

So the man shouts, and after a while, a well-built aunty brings in a wooden mug filled with ale, roughly putting it on the table. 

No, it might be better to say that she slammed it against the table with all her might.

The table shakes due to the impact but not a single drop of alcohol is spilled.

"…… Can you really run a business with that att.i.tude?"

"We're full of mysteries."

"The food is delicious but the att.i.tude is really s.h.i.t…"

"You're still single, right?"

"I-I was almost pushed down by that aunty… naked… it was scary."

Gazes full of sympathy and compa.s.sion gather on one man. He was so terrified that he looked like he was about to cry. Especially because the woman had an incredible physique. She was a fox-eyed* aunty with a body so fat she could've easily been a Guinness record holder. The floor creaked with every step she took, making people wonder just how much did she weigh. And, in all honesty, no one wanted to be ravished by such a woman.

(*T.N: fox eyes refer to having scary slanted eyes like this: )

"W-Well, do what you want, I don't care. So? How do I use this thing?"

"Iyaa～, this is quite delicious, isn't it? Ah, how to use this? You just have to wear it and pour mana into it and it will bestow you with power."

"It's okay if I try it, right?"

"Go ahead, I don't need it anymore."

The man squeezes the amulet in his hand and pours mana.

――Dokun!

Thereupon, he was completely filled with a sense of euphoria, and at the same time, a violent torrent of power suddenly welled up inside his body and appeared to start becoming hotter and hotter as the power began to overflow within him. 

"Hahaha! This thing! This is amazing, I feel filled with power!"

"Seriously? …I want it too."

"Is that so? I have three more, but…"

"""Give it to us!!"""

The men approached the magician. And as expected, he handed the same amulet to each of them with a cramped smile, drawing towards them as if to take a closer look at their faces.

"Well then, it's about time. I'll excuse myself now, I have work to do."

"Oi, you're leaving already?"

"It's work, after all. My boss is quite a tiresome person, so I wouldn't want to be late."

"So you have it hard too, magician…"

"Indeed. We'll meet again if fate allows it."

"We'll be making bank by then."

"……If that's good then I'm glad."

The magician splits from the group and leaves the tavern. After that, the men continued making noise until the next morning. 

After exiting the tavern, the magician enters a building in a nearby back alley, where several hoodlums were waiting for him. 

"Success?"

"Yeah, it went well. The rest is up to you, I guess?"

"Those guys are truly pitiful. They never even thought they were being used as test subjects in a human experiment, really."

"That garbage will give you results, so let's sleep and wait."

"b.a.s.t.a.r.d, you still have a job left."

"It will be depending on your report. Therefore, please present me with outstanding results. For the sake of your country."

(*T.N: This guy is talking with a super polite speech btw, I just couldn't find a way to properly translate it into English.)

The magician exits the building and walks leisurely through the back alley without minding the other men's presence on the slightest.

These men lightly nodded at each other and disappeared as if they were erased from the face of the planet. 

"However, I couldn't give a d.a.m.n about that…"

The magician mumbles before floating an eerie smile in his face and disappearing into the darkness. Now only silence wrapped around the back alley.

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Zeros arrived at the city of Santhor around the time the morning sun was starting to rise. It was supposed to be a refreshing morning, but he was abnormally fired up in a different sense. 

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