Chapter 97: Kamasse's Debate

Chapter 97: Kamasse's Debate Kamasse’s Debate

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The crowded lobby of the Adventurer’s Guild Yoshanka branch office was further disrupted by additional intruders!

They were the town’s business owners!

Forming a circle around me, they struck intimidating poses with folded arms and menacing gazes!

Even the adventure-hardened adventurers involuntarily shrank back from their overwhelming presence.

Currently, the lobby interior had shaped into me, Emi, standing at the center (along with the inadvertently involved Kamasse).

Surrounded by the circle of business owners.

Further ringed by the onlooking adventurers in the outer layer.

An extremely high-density crowd, yes.

“W-Wait wait wait.....the stall owner old man, and the innkeeper lady? What’s the meaning of suddenly barging in like this?”

Interrupted while delivering his spirited declaration, Kamasse appeared bewildered.

He shot me an accusatory look as if to say “Did you do something!?”, but unfortunately, I had no idea what prompted this!

I simply tilted my head in response.

“Hmph, our business isn’t with you, but rather that cursed child beside you.”

Stepping forward was......ah, the stall owner old man I had driven to tears with my repeating side-steps!

“Ah, that’s Baccarou, owner of the Togūdo Skewer stall!”

“What!? The head of the Yoshanka Trade Association!”

“Eh!? The legendary ‘Togūdo Skewer Artisan’!?”

The surrounding adventurers began whispering among themselves.

Eh, that old man was actually such a renowned yakitori chef?

“I heard he has a bad drinking habit.”

“Rumor is he’s been divorced three times.”

“Saw him puking on the street the other day.”

<Hmm, seems all sorts of irrelevant information is pouring in as well......>

Having good hearing can be troublesome too, huh?

“Ahem!”

The stall owner cleared his throat, silencing the adventurers.

“Ah— my apologies for the rude interruption, adventurer folks!”

Then the old man raised his voice to proclaim loudly:

“Currently, Yoshanka town is experiencing unprecedented prosperity the likes of which I’ve never witnessed since my childhood days here! While I’m glad adventurers like yourselves have adopted this as one of your bases, contributing to this boom, allow me as a resident to express my gratitude!”

“Well I’ll be.”

“Ah shucks, no need for that.”

“What’s a kokeki? Can’t eat that?”

Responding as they pleased to the old man’s abrupt speech, one idiot among the surrounding adventurers displayed a concerning lack of comprehension.

“We townspeople wish to seize this prosperity as an opportunity to revitalize Yoshanka after years of declining population! Each business is devising various strategies – renovating storefronts, exploring new ventures, all sorts of new undertakings! This will make Yoshanka a more convenient town, ideal for residing adventurers as well! Drawing even more people, Yoshanka’s development will surge onward! A wonderful future awaits!”

“I’ll be.”

“Now that you mention it, saw some expansion construction going on here and there.”

“What’s a Yoshanka? Can’t eat that?”

The stall owner’s oratory skills proved unexpectedly adept, inadvertently captivating the adventurers’ attention!

That one particular idiot, however, seemed hopelessly dense.

“However!”

With a bellowing shout, the old man instantly silenced the stirring crowd, then declared:

“There is an existence hindering Yoshanka’s prosperity! That would be you, cursed child!!”

Pointing forcefully at me, he drew everyone’s gaze squarely toward me.Fôll0w current novÊls o/n n/o/(v)/3l/b((in).(c/o/m)

Eh?

Me?

What’s this about me being blamed?

Why am I being blamed?

“It is well known that ‘cursed children spread misfortune wherever they go’!”

“You, a devil, came to defile this town! Begone, devil!”

The rotund innkeeper lady and the elderly woman who had pelted me with salt stepped forward, further accusing me.

The others joined in too, hurling their own invectives at me from all sides.

.........................

Ah, I see.

This is that usual thing, huh.

Discrimination against black hair and black eyes, against cursed children.

They hurl insults.

Foul-mouthed insults, no matter what.

Because I’m a cursed child.

“If there’s no rule against it......”

“Even without a rule, it’s unacceptable! Do you understand what we guards are tasked with at the main gate in the first place? Screening to prevent any criminals from entering! That cursed child hasn’t undergone any such screening process! No, she’s intentionally avoiding it! Why is that? It’s because she’s a criminal!”

This was growing troublesome.

The tide seemed to be turning unfavorably.

<What about that one? We could start by crushing their limbs from the extremities inward, then drown them in a tank filled with their own blood.>

Wait.

Calm down, Extra-sama.

“Sure does seem suspicious, avoiding the main gate like that.”

“If they had nothing to hide, they wouldn’t go through the effort of climbing the outer walls.”

“Could she be dealing illegal drugs or something?”

The bystander adventurers began murmuring restlessly, indulging in baseless speculation.

“In any case, we’re taking that cursed child into custody! After interrogation at the station, it’s either imprisonment or exile! Out of the way, young adventurer!”

The young guard declared as such while trying to shove Kamasse aside.

“Imprisonment or exile,” huh.

It seemed the possibility of me being exonerated didn’t even cross his mind.

He likely intended to fabricate some crime to justify expelling me from town regardless.

As for Kamasse—

Even after being pushed, he didn’t budge an inch.

Bracing himself by activating 【Body Strengthening】, he stood his ground firmly.

“You brat......!”

Knocked back by Kamasse, the guard began directing his hostility toward him as well.

By now, not just the business owners but even the surrounding adventurers viewed me as a menace to be expelled.

Such was the prevailing atmosphere.

And yet.

Still, Kamasse persisted.

“......Unless your actions are legally grounded, you’re the one engaging in unlawful conduct, guard.”

“What did you say, brat......”

“And the Adventurer’s Guild has the ‘Adventurer Rules’!”

......Hm?

“These rules don’t just bind adventurers, but are also meant to shield us from unjust national authorities like this! As an international organization, the Adventurer’s Guild is obligated by these rules to protect adventurers! It’s a fact agreed upon by every nation where the guild operates! Isn’t that right, receptionist!?”

Oh no.

Kamasse, that’s not good.

“What!? The Adventurer’s Guild is siding with this cursed child!? Well, receptionist!! What do you have to say!?”

“Eh, ehhh—!?”

Suddenly addressed after merely observing from the sidelines, the flustered receptionist woman fumbled for a response.

The depraved receptionist who had been exploiting me for medicinal herbs.

“W-Well, um, y’see......!”

Looking around anxiously over the counter, the depraved receptionist surveyed her surroundings.

The business owners and guards were already my adversaries to begin with.

The adventurers harbored no particular goodwill toward a cursed child like me either.

Under such circumstances, her eventual conclusion was set in stone.

Or rather—

There was a fatal flaw in Kamasse’s argument.

Ordinarily, barring that flaw, the depraved receptionist would have been obligated to defend me without hesitation as an Adventurer’s Guild employee.

But instead:

“Err, y’see! As the Yoshanka branch, our stance is that we wish to contribute to this town’s development, which is why we’ve been allowing you to undertake jobs here all this time, y’see!”

“The guild would abandon adventurers!?”

Kamasse roared back.

By reframing it as the guild “abandoning adventurers” rather than me specifically, he shifted the point of contention.

But Kamasse, that won’t work.

“Oh—no no! We would never abandon ‘you adventurers’!”

“Then!!”

“But we absolutely won’t be shielding that cursed child either!”

“Wha—!?”

“Because—!!”

Pausing to inhale deeply, the depraved receptionist shrilly declared the fact:

“That cursed child isn’t an adventurer!!!”

“........................Huh?”

Kamasse froze, blankly dumbfounded.