61 - A Certain Adventurer’s Withdrawal (1)

I was able to return to Seizeria, and first of all, I went to pay my respects to an acquaintance who had taken care of me.

Although it was not an enemy nation, it was still difficult for a mage to travel between Seizeria and Canaan, whose relations were far from good.

I could only pray that I would never need it again, but in case something happened, having connections for emergencies was never a bad idea.

Well, even if my finances had improved somewhat, they were still far too meager when thinking about the future.

So, this was the time to earn a bit more.

Not as a hunter… but as an adventurer.

I was convinced that the information had surely spread while I was off dealing with the serpent, and therefore, this information could be sold for an extremely high price.

After all, one of an adventurer’s jobs was said to include “gathering information on unknown monsters.”

Back in my hunter days, information on monsters was something exchanged or bought among colleagues, always kept secret within the group for more efficient hunting.

Of course, that was the very reason it took so long to exterminate monsters, and I remembered hearing somewhere that it was also the reason the state pushed for reform and established the Adventurer’s Guild.

As much as I wanted to hurry back to the younger sister figure waiting for me, I had to finish one more job and secure funds, or my future options would become far too limited.

For two women to earn a living as hunters in these times, the situation was never what one could call favorable.

It would not be a bad idea to consider taking a different path around now.

(Will this do for the content, I wonder?)

Having finished my greetings, I stopped by the Adventurer’s Guild and handed the completed letter to the receptionist.

In short, it said, “I have retrieved the magic sword, but I will take care of one job in the capital before returning.”

After paying to send the letter addressed to Rena, I also checked for requests I could take on, but as expected, there were no convenient jobs for someone alone. In the end, the most I could do was turn the carriage fare into pocket change by working as an escort.

At times like these, mages were useful.

Although the reward from the serpent extermination was still plentiful, since I was heading to the capital where the Adventurer’s Guild headquarters was located, I needed to bring a souvenir.

I did not know how much the information I carried would be worth, nor whether I would receive the money immediately, so it was better to save in the meantime.

(If possible, I’d like to have a few new clothes made…)

Swaying in the carriage, I thought about my plans in the capital.

I also needed to carefully consider what souvenir to buy for Rena.

After all, even though I had achieved my goal, I was not returning straight home but detouring on the way.

Winning her over with something half-hearted would be difficult.

As I was mulling it over, the middle-aged merchant who owned the carriage spoke to me.

Even when narrowing down the options, a tradesman’s opinion could be valuable, so I decided to respond pleasantly.

“To think that I could hire someone bearing the name of ‘Kinoshita’ as an escort… at first I thought the price was too low and doubted it.”

“Ah, well, my staff right now is only a spare. It feels wrong to charge the full rate with this.”

When I showed the staff, the man nodded with an “Is that so?”

I also bore the name “Diera Kinoshita,” but it was not a family name, so I was no noble.

It was given to me as proof that I had mastered the “Kinoshita Style” of magic.

I had only been a farmer’s daughter, but when I was eight years old, my magical talent was discovered, and I was taken in by a master who brought that talent into full bloom.

That was how it sounded on the surface, but in reality, at the time I was simply desperate to escape that disgusting master as quickly as possible.

My master, “Bunro Kinoshita,” a middle-aged man who loved to dress like a stereotypical mage, was a dyed-in-the-wool lolicon.

He had merely taken a liking to me, a child he found in the village, lied about me having talent, and abducted me. It turned out I really did have talent, but that was just a coincidence.

When I was eleven, I overheard Bunro drunkenly muttering to himself, clutching his head, saying, “This wasn’t according to plan,” and I realized the truth.

Being in such an environment, it was only natural that I eventually lost my virginity without even noticing.

It was a small mercy that I had no memory of it at all.

But without a doubt, my master was the culprit.

He must have done it while I was asleep, and because the discovery came too late, I could not even imagine how many times it had happened. My view of my master changed instantly.

Fueled by the desperate urge to escape from that vile man, I studied magic relentlessly, and by the time I was fourteen, there was almost nothing left for me to learn from Bunro.

By then, I had already developed the average chest size of an adult woman, and I seemed to no longer be an object of his lust, so he had begun to push me out.

I still wondered what my efforts had even been for.

Thus, I left him easily, and was allowed to use the name Kinoshita. But unless there was a good reason, I rarely did so. However, in Seizeria—a nation of magic—renowned mages often had their names recognized.

Incidentally, when I escaped from my master, what awaited me was the sight of my home village, destroyed by a monster attack and reduced to ruins.

What followed went without saying: when I realized the survival of my fellow villagers was hopeless, I was consumed by vengeance and became a hunter.

Fortunately, I was taught the dangers of working solo, and I began my career by being hired into an existing team. Looking back, I regretted that part of my life somewhat.

It was only a small mercy that the number of times I was deceived and violated could be counted on one hand. Back then, I was obsessed only with killing monsters.

That was when I met the siblings Liesel and Rena.

Later, with Jista often joining us, we became an improvised team that hunted many times together.

In the end, meeting them changed me greatly.

Through many shared hardships and brushes with death, we were no longer just a temporary team.

Then, after our battle against an ogre wielding a magic sword stolen from hunters, we truly became a team.

I was twenty-one years old at that time—after six years of living only for revenge and slaughtering monsters, my life finally took a new turn.

Still, that time ended in less than three short years, and so I called myself a woman well-suited to regret.

(In this world, there are far too many moments when one thinks, “If only I had done this, if only I had done that.”)

Surely everyone felt that way, but it struck harder when it was about one’s own life.

After my talk with the merchant ended, with nothing else to do, I had much time to drift into thought.

That only made me dwell on unnecessary things.

The ten-day journey passed without incident, and upon reaching the capital and parting ways with the merchant, I went straight to the headquarters of the Adventurer’s Guild.

Since I had informed them of my business beforehand, I was promptly shown into the reception room.

After being kept waiting quite a long time, not only the guild master entered but also two individuals who were clearly of high status.

‘This is definitely going to be a pain,’ I thought, as I lifted a teacup and took a sip of cooled tea.

“Two hundred gold coins. That’s the value of the information, which is why I’m asking that amount. How many times do I have to say I’m not overcharging?”

“Don’t be ridiculous! Who would pay that much for mere information on a new species of monster?”

As expected, negotiations were proving difficult.

The same exchanges had been repeated again and again, with no progress.

“I already told you, what you do with the information after buying it is your choice. But you’ll easily make your money back. If I lower the price any further, I’d be the one suffering a huge loss.”

“What kind of world has monster information worth two hundred gold coins!? Enough of this nonsense!”

Apparently, the one holding the guild’s purse strings was lacking in understanding of the situation.

“If you’re dissatisfied with this price, perhaps the Kingdom of Canaan would like to buy it? Who knows how much they’ll overcharge you.”

This was a monster capable of devastating entire army units without taking a scratch.

If Seizeria fell within its hunting range, they would need as much information as possible to prepare for it.

How much damage would be done if they fell behind?

Considering that, two hundred gold coins was by no means expensive. But it seemed the monster’s threat was being underestimated.

(Well, only those who saw it firsthand would understand its menace, so I suppose it couldn’t be helped.)

To be honest, I disliked the bald-headed man who kept shouting.

Not only was he clearly looking down on me, but he also stared at my chest without restraint.

I half thought about never wearing this outfit again, but fashion was troublesome.

If I were branded a “country bumpkin,” I would be looked down upon irrationally by colleagues and fellow women, dragged into unnecessary trouble.

Watching the bald man spit across the table, I sighed, wondering what to do.

“I’d like to confirm one thing. Since you are asking such a sum, I can imagine the content is extraordinary.”

At last, the guild master spoke.

“But, if the information turns out to be unsatisfactory—what will you do then?”

“I’m telling you it won’t be. In fact, it’s something so unbelievable that knowing it will make the difference between life and death.”

At my words, the guild master touched his bearded chin and murmured quietly, “Ho.”

“In other words, the information you are selling includes ‘the means to survive against this new monster,’ is that correct?”

“Not exactly… but let’s just say it’s something you must know if you don’t want to be killed. At the very least, if that monster starts acting in Seizeria, the number of dead merchants will certainly decrease. And I’ll assert that just knowing that monster’s abilities is worth two hundred gold coins alone.”

“That dangerous, is it…”

While the guild master fell into thought, the bald man remained entirely unconvinced.

The young man dressed like a noble still said nothing, simply watching the guild master intently.

“Then I shall pay.”

When he finally opened his mouth, it was to make that declaration.

For someone to casually offer two hundred gold coins, he was undoubtedly a noble.

(But that makes things troublesome.)

Everywhere, it was the same: once nobles got involved, things became complicated.

Still, if he offered the amount I had named, I had no choice but to tell them.

“What I am about to say—you may believe it or not, that’s up to you. But it is without a doubt my firsthand experience and the conclusions I drew from it. How you adapt it is your responsibility, not mine.”

I said what I had to say beforehand.

So now I would tell them.

The tale of that absurd monster—