CH 257

Episode 257 – Popularity and Infamy

Author’s Note: This chapter is written from the POV of Tobias, the reporter from the Laudungeon Company.

“Tobias-san! This week’s newspaper was the highest-selling edition since the founding of our company! You really did it!” (Laudungeon Company Reporter)

“Yeah. It’s all thanks to [Sun Strelka].” (Tobias)

“No, no! It was also because you did a good job discovering such a fast-growing adventurer party. Besides, most of the time, we approach them first and then they end up drifting away to the bigger companies. But [Sun Strelka] is showing no signs of doing that! That’s amazing, Tobias-san!” (Laudungeon Company Reporter)

“It’s all luck. Plus, it’s not me who’s amazing. It’s Lewin and them who are the amazing ones.” (Tobias)

Yesterday, the newspaper that featured the interview with Aruna and Rosalie as the cover story had been printed and released, and apparently it had quickly become the highest-selling edition since our company’s founding. Until now, our newspapers hadn’t been selling too well, but now we were so busy that we had to hire a bunch of temporary part-time employees to keep up. As I’d just told Daley, my junior colleague, all of this was thanks to Lewin and his party.

“… But about that article we’d published about the ‘attack incidents’… there was no precise information, and it received a flood of criticism since all it did was fan the flames of anxiety. Tobias-san, that was also an article you wrote, right?” (Daley)

“I guess so. Well now you finally have a lot of work to do thanks to me, so don’t complain. Besides… that wasn’t a false story. There were no exact sources, but there will definitely be monsters coming to attack Landaust before long. And when that happens, this stream of criticism will be reversed all at once.” (Tobias)

“That’d be great if that really happened… But won’t the city be wiped out before then?” (Daley)

“I don’t know, but Landaust has so many adventurers in it, so it probably won’t fall.” (Tobias)

After wrapping up my conversation with Daley, I left the company and headed towards the cafe to meet with Juno. After pushing open the old, weathered door, I saw Juno, who had already arrived and was sitting at a table drinking a cup of coffee.

“Did I make you wait?” (Tobias)

“The building is old, but it really is a great cafe.” (Tobias)

“Yeah. It’s so good that I don’t get why it’s not more popular.” (Juno)

“No, I guess it’s still the outer appearance. Well, if this time’s article blows up in popularity, it might be interesting to put together an article for this place.” (Tobias)

“I’d have to refrain. It’d be hard to come here if it was overflowing with people.” (Juno)

“Heheheh, no doubt.” (Tobias)

“…Anyway, let’s get to the matter at hand.” (Juno)

The calm look in Juno’s eyes became a sharp gaze as she cut to the chase. She had finished her investigation of the attacks, and the issue should have been resolved as I had already written an article about it… Honestly, I had no idea what she called me out here for today.

“What matter? I don’t really think I have anything to say.” (Tobias)

“I saw the contents of the article, but it was nothing more than a meaningless gossip article. We need to let the people know.” (Juno)

“That’s not our job. In the first place, it’s because you insisted on hiding your sources that the article ended up being like that.” (Tobias)

“I had no choice because that’s what I’d promised the person who had gathered the information. I’ve been told not to make this into a big article to avoid the huge criticism that would result if there ended up being no attack, but we were never told not to leak this information. Let’s go talk to the nobles and higher-ups.” (Juno)

I had guessed this from the fact that she had requested Lewin to ask me, but she seemed to be really into this. I was only in it to write an article, but I got the impression that Juno was moving with the intention of saving people.

If I wasn’t mistaken, in the past, her hometown had been destroyed by monsters. I felt like that was probably the reason why she was overly mindful of these incidents. But in my honest opinion, I didn’t want to do anything that would surely be a waste of time.

“Even if you went, they wouldn’t take you seriously. They wouldn’t even listen to an ordinary person like me.” (Tobias)

“You mean that article? It’s just that we couldn’t reveal our sources in the article, but we do have precise information.” (Juno)

“That’s exactly why. It won’t work unless we’re able to reveal that information. Wouldn’t it be better to just tip off one of the bigger newspaper companies?” (Tobias)

“If you want to go, go by yourself. I don’t want to waste my time.” (Tobias)

“You were the one who wrote the article, so wouldn’t it be even more pointless if I was the one who went?” (Juno)

“All you’ve been doing is complaining. In that case, why don’t you write an article, Juno?” (Tobias)

“If I could do that, then I would have done so from the start. There was no way that I could write it and get it published. Isn’t that why I had to ask you?” (Juno)

“Tch, so you used me.” (Tobias)

“But the contents of the article are indeed true. From now on, your ratings will continue to grow, so it’s a win-win situation. That’s what we agreed upon, don’t you remember?” (Juno)

“….Fine. I’ll go with you just this once. Satisfied?” (Tobias)

“It’s good that you seem to agree with my opinion, Tobias-san.” (Juno)

After a troublesome back and forth, I reluctantly agreed to go with her. It would definitely be a wasted effort, but I knew for a fact that there were monsters coming to attack. Perhaps there’s a chance that I could protect myself from the monsters by doing this―let’s just think about it this way.