Chapter 318: The Carriage of Madness 3

Chapter 318: The Carriage of Madness 3

TL/Editor: raei

Schedule: 5/Week Mon-Fri

Illustrations: Posted in discord.

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If their gazes had physical power, my armor would be in tatters, and for the first time since becoming Roland, I might be near death. That's how fiercely the squires of the knight order were staring at me.

Their eyes seemed to desperately wish for me to come to the temporary headquarters of the knight order instead of the Adventurer's Guild to greet them.

I had experienced the gazes of junior adventurers who claimed to be my fans, but it was my first time being looked at so longingly by a group, and it was quite overwhelming. I was used to receiving glances from women in social gatherings, but it was my first time with a group of sweaty men.

"Wow, Roland, you’re incredibly popular."

"Is it because you're the owner of the holy sword? The squires' gazes were intense."

The two people who naturally grabbed my arms on either side smiled bashfully and glanced toward the squires. Irene wasn’t quite natural and was very stiff.

It seemed like there were more rumors about the owner of the holy sword than the hero party. Stories might have spread about a senior adventurer who wielded a shield and war hammer, defeating the Demon King’s army and being chosen by the holy sword. It made sense since there were few adventurers as fully armored as I was, making me stand out.

Even high-ranking adventurers would get hurt if hit by a giant monster. This resulted in fewer adventurers like me wearing full plate armor. There was a somewhat biased perception that light armor was for adventurers and mercenaries, while heavy armor was for knights.

"But still, is it necessary for them to gather like this?"

"What do you mean?"

Grace mumbled as we subtly moved inside the guild to avoid the intense gazes. Glancing sideways, I saw her eyes, full of mischief, softening.

"It's not that Roland isn't popular."

She giggled exaggeratedly before continuing.

"Considering the level of the 46th floor we saw, shouldn’t the Royal Knight Order be able to handle it without settling on the 43rd floor? Just twenty adventurers caused chaos in the city. It was like a small village being overrun by orcs."

Grace’s words seemed to belittle the enemy, but they were reasonable. Twenty high-ranking adventurers nearly brought a city to its knees.

Of course, human cities would face similar devastation. If twenty high-ranking rioters ran wild, there would be significant property damage and loss of life. Just like a single high-ranking monster like an ogre or wyvern could annihilate a small village.

However, the Harpies' city wasn’t some remote village; it was the 46th floor where the ordinary residents were intermediate-level monsters, and the city guards were high-level monsters.

Given that such a formidable place was sacked by just twenty adventurers, Grace's reaction was understandable.

A city that could be looted by just twenty adventurers would be utterly slaughtered by a knight order. The 46th floor was disappointingly weak, like the undead in the swamp.

"The upper floors might be different. From what I've heard, it seems like a corrupt rural lord."

"Why? What happened?"

"I’ve heard a lot about you, Sir Roland! Of course, this was before you wielded the holy sword!"

"From Sullivan, I presume?"

"Don’t even get me started! Because of that chatterbox, the squires act like village kids following a bard around!"

Seeing him laugh happily in front of us, it seemed he wasn’t actually angry. Thinking back, his voice was much quieter now compared to when he dragged James away in the morning. Then, his voice had echoed through the building's first floor, but now it wasn’t loud enough to be heard outside the guild.

"Wow, his voice is as loud as his size. It's almost disorienting, like turning up earphones too high. Is the stream volume okay?"

-It sounds like he’s shouting just by talking normally.

-It might be a mana thing. Maybe his mana reserves make his voice resonate more.

-Is there a way to adjust his volume? My ears are ringing.

-I nearly jumped out of my seat watching with earphones on.

-Teacher Roland’s shouts were less jarring, but is this really his normal speaking volume?

Of course, how spacious, comfortable, and soundproof the lobby of the building crafted by the stone dwarves was a different story. Han Se-ah seemed to be genuinely asking the viewers about the stream sound quality, as her ears were hurting.

Just as pain and bad smells were somewhat limited for players and viewers, it seemed that loud noises were also edited to some extent. Comparing it to my shouting, it appeared that overtly loud noises were edited out, but the knight captain's voice was just below the threshold.

Han Se-ah began discussing volume settings with the viewers while rubbing her ears, and Grace and Irene, seemingly tired of the loud voice, quietly moved back to Katie's side.

"So, Sir Roland! Anyway, do you have business with me?"

"...This is the Adventurer's Guild."

"Ahaha! That's right, indeed!"

Seeing us laughing together brought back memories of the things James Sullivan had said about his superior.

James had described him as a hairy half-ogre, a rare hybrid monster from the southern jungles who had swallowed a voice amplification artifact in his childhood that got stuck in his throat, a madman from the magic tower who drank potions like liquor, and someone who couldn’t hear others because of his large ears.

"So let me tell you my business! I want the Adventurer's Guild to open a passage with that thing, whatever it’s called!"

"I told you, it’s not an Adventurer's Guild item!"

"Please! It’s for the royal palace!"

"Oh, for goodness’ sake!"

Ellis, who had been trying to flee to the second floor, shouted in frustration, and the knight captain, ignoring her, continued to insist. Watching this skit-like conversation, I realized that James’s complaints weren’t just drunken ramblings.

This man wasn’t actually deaf. He was just pretending not to hear anything unfavorable to him, using his image to push his agenda.