Chapter 99: The Returning Man

Chapter 99: The Returning Man The Returning Man

* * *

A burly man walked through the overcast town of Yoshanka today as well.

Passing through the main gate and down the main street, he headed toward his destination – the Adventurer’s Guild branch office.

“Tch, it ended up taking an unnecessary amount of time.”

The scratches covering the man’s scowling face would likely deter any regular person from approaching, let alone striking up conversation.

“Well, well, you mustn’t say that. We put in our utmost effort, you know?”

“Meticulous work simply requires time. Please excuse us.”

The man and woman walking behind the intimidating brute responded without missing a beat to counter him.

The man was slim with a tidy appearance.

The woman was petite with a plain face, her constant snickering smile hinting at an underlying maliciousness.

“I’m not blaming you, I’m not blaming you! Just stop nitpicking every little thing I say, would you—...”

Raising both hands in a surrendering gesture, the exasperated burly man grumbled.

While the two seemed unintimidating in stature, the burly man didn’t appear to pay them any heed.

“But what happened to Yoshanka while I was away? What’s with this liveliness?”

Glancing around as he walked, the man craned his neck in puzzlement.

The Yoshanka he knew was supposed to be a depopulated ghost town with barely any foot traffic.

Yet the current scene differed starkly.

Numerous adventurers strolled the main street, with alchemists chatting idly in the public parks.

“W-Well, isn’t that a good thing? Not sure what happened, but—”

“More importantly, we’ve arrived at the branch office. Time for the final phase, so stay focused.”

“Yeah yeah.”

Taking a deep breath, the burly man reached for the doorknob to enter the Adventurer’s Guild branch—

Only for the entrance to suddenly swing open outward with force.

“Whoa! Hey, open doors gently! If you break it, I’ll make you pay for the damages!”

“............”

The one emerging from inside while shrugging his shoulders was a silver-haired young adventurer.

His face flushed red, brow furrowed, and mouth twisted into a straight line.

Tears even welled in his eyes, clearly having experienced some unbearable frustration.

Blinded by anger, the young adventurer didn’t seem to notice the burly man, disappearing into the crowds on the main street.

“............Wasn’t that Kamasse......?”

The intimidating burly man recognized that young adventurer.

A promising youth who had recently arrived in town and been active at the Yoshanka branch.

Foul-mouthed yet earnest at his core despite childish tendencies.

But the burly man never expected such behavior from him......?

“Come now, no wandering gazes. Let’s head inside promptly.”

“......Yeah yeah, got it.”

However, the burly man’s train of thought was promptly derailed by the slim man prodding him from behind.

He then opened the door, the slim man pushing him through into the branch office.

* * *

(Phew— I was wondering how I’d handle being questioned, but it all concluded smoothly without any issues. What a relief~!)

Just prior to the intimidating burly man’s entrance, the receptionist Pilitza had been heaving a sigh of relief.

From the frantic subjugation of the Togūdo Commander to the subsequent cursed child expulsion chaos—

While the rapidly shifting situation had unfolded in a dizzying blur, Pilitza was confident she had made the optimal choice for herself.

The Commander’s subjugation meant avoiding any tedious paperwork, the cursed child seemed to have left town, and the Trade Association geezers had departed satisfied.

Cause for celebration.

True, losing the cursed child meant her temporary income was gone, but it couldn’t be helped.

It had been unexpected money to begin with, so any greed beyond this point risked failure.

She had always intended to discard the cursed child at some juncture anyway, so she could embrace this conclusion.

She had earned more than enough. This was sufficient.

The only unexpected element had been that brat Kamasse stubbornly defending the cursed child and protesting against Pilitza.

After the cursed child dashed out, Kamasse had chased after her momentarily before returning and continuously voicing objections to Pilitza.

Well, despite his glib tongue, he was still just a child no match for Pilitza – the hardened, corrupt receptionist veteran who eventually reduced him to storming out in tears.

Pilitza’s attempts to find a solution were interrupted by that woman’s voice reaching her ears.

The voice belonged to the plain woman who had entered alongside Investigator Sainon and Chief Dakkante.

“Oh, oh? You know of him, Taiche?”

“Yes. As a guild-affiliated adventurer, I have every single one committed to memory. There exists no other adventurer by the name ‘Garisen’ besides that individual.”

The woman conversed familiarly with Investigator Sainon.

Likely his subordinate colleague, his partner of some sort – in any case, an associate.

This was her chance.

While she had fabricated this Garisen as a fictitious identity, if an adventurer by that exact name truly existed, she could play along convincingly!

“Exactly! That’s the one~ Seems he had some circumstances preventing him from revealing his real name, so he asked me to keep it confidential. Even from an investigator like yourself, I was hesitant to divulge that information without his consent. My apologies!”

She had initially withheld the name out of obligation to the adventurer’s own request for anonymity.

Yes, a plausible excuse without any unnaturalness.

“I see. However, that’s an odd tale, isn’t it, Pilitza?”

“O-Odd? How so? That adventurer was definitely Garisen, yes? Nothing odd about—”

“You see, Garisen passed away 5 years ago.”

“......Huh?”

“Which is to say, Garisen has already deceased. ......So this Garisen appeared here in Yoshanka, you claim? Well now, how peculiar. Did a ghost manifest, perhaps?”

Taiche snickered out those words teasingly.

(I’ve been had—!!)

By now, Pilitza’s face had drained of all color, her lips turning purple.

Her knees trembled as dizziness overtook her senses.

Cold sweat drenched her.

“Ah, and just to clarify, the notion of someone impersonating Garisen’s name is equally implausible. While admittedly renowned in certain circles as a herb-gathering master, the late Garisen unfortunately also had an alter ego as a roving thief. His death 5 years ago occurred in prison, in fact. Now, does it seem likely that a criminal’s name would be used as an alias? Did you put any thought into that aspect of your ruse? Need some time to reconsider? I can wait.”

“............”

Pilitza no longer possessed the energy to muster any rebuttal.

Unable to remain standing, she collapsed onto the floor in a seated position.

What was happening right now?

How had it come to this?

Question after unanswered question flooded her addled mind, swirling chaotically without resolve.

Dizziness and vertigo overwhelmed her senses.

Yet one fact remained crystal clear even to Pilitza’s state:

Something catastrophically detrimental to her was unfolding.

“......Hah. You two have had your fun toying with Pilitza, haven’t you, Investigator Sainon and Special Affairs Officer Taiche? This isn’t getting us anywhere.”

Heaving a sigh, it was Chief Dakkante who interjected into the conversation.

“Ah, haha! My apologies, you’re quite right. We happened upon additional incriminating evidence right before our eyes, so we simply couldn’t resist prodding further.”

Though verbally apologizing, Sainon showed no signs of remorse as he grinned in amusement.

“Tch. ......Pilitza, the money in that envelope is a secondary concern for now. To begin with, allow me to explain why these two from headquarters had to trouble themselves by visiting this remote Yoshanka branch in the first place. And just to confirm, do you have any inkling of the reason?”

Any inkling?

Even if asked, Pilitza had no clue whatsoever.

Embezzling reward payments?

Inflating contribution points through fraudulent accomplishments?

Improper handling of shelved requests?

She had plenty of inkling – too many potential reasons, in fact.

“......Which one?”

The words slipped out unintentionally, prompting Dakkante to slump his shoulders with a heavy sigh.

“Likely every single transgression you just envisioned. You thought you’d gotten away with it all, didn’t you? But don’t underestimate headquarters’ investigative capabilities. Some trigger tipped them off to your misconduct, and the more they dug, the more offenses piled up....... Which resulted in me being summoned to headquarters and receiving a stern reprimand. ......Well, my circumstances don’t really matter here. Regardless, this eventually led to the issuance of this directive.”

Saying that, Dakkante retrieved a document from his chest pocket.

Not just any ordinary document – its edges were adorned with ornate golden embellishments.

More prominently, the signature emblazoned at the very bottom.

The name inscribed was “Lairine Rune” – the Immutable, revered as the strongest special-rank adventurer.

And the current supreme commander of the Adventurer’s Guild itself, the organization’s leader.

In other words, this document was an official directive issued under the Adventurer’s Guild’s supreme commander’s authority!

“Ahhh......’For various criminal charges, the apprehension of Pilitza, receptionist of the Adventurer’s Guild Teenidys Branch Yoshanka Office, is hereby ordered.’ So yeah. Pilitza, looks like your debt’s come due.”