Chapter 40
The Subjugation Report
Translator : PolterGlast
We returned to the
town of Biodasdal safely and came to the Adventurer's Guild to report the
completion of our emergency quest.
The Adventurer's Guild
was still bustling, and since we had finished the quest early, we could see a
few adventurers who were just now heading towards the plains.
"It looks like
the quest is still being offered. A lot of adventurers are accepting the
emergency quest."
"We passed a lot
of adventurers heading to the plains on our way here, too."
Incidentally, we told
the adventurers we passed that the Ogres were already gone, but not a single
one of them believed us.
Because of my
distinctive feature of being a one-armed geezer, my fame as a rookie adventurer
was strangely high, and they just thought I was lying.
The healer from the
battle had changed his attitude, but before the fight, even he was making fun
of me. That's just the kind of treatment I get.
It's not going to be a
problem, so I don't mind if they head out there now.
"Of course they
wouldn't think the quest was completed in such a short time! Even I, who saw
you defeat the Golems with my own two eyes, probably wouldn't have believed you
wiped out an Ogre horde in a matter of minutes!"
"The people who
couldn't see that battle are truly pitiful! It was a truly overwhelming fight,
like something out of a heroic tale! Also... fufu, it felt so good to see the
adventurers who were making fun of you cheering, Graham-san."
"You were really
cool during the battle! Looking at you now, though, you're just an unremarkable
old guy..."
"That’s an
exaggeration, Ginia. And sorry for being an unremarkable old guy."
Aoi stared intently at
my face and let out a voice that sounded like she was disappointed from the
bottom of her heart.
I know I have an
unremarkable face.
Ever since I was in
the village, I've never had any luck with women.
The elderly and
children often liked me and would talk to me, but I feel like I mostly just
drank with my male friends.
While we were having
this conversation, our turn at the quest completion counter came up.
Given what happened
this morning, I wanted to report to our usual receptionist and apologize, but
quest completions can only be done at this counter.
"Welcome. Here to
report a quest, I assume. If you have any items to deliver, please present
them."
"We're here to
report the completion of the emergency quest. The proof of subjugation is in
this bag."
"...The emergency
quest? Please show me your adventurer cards."
At my words, the guild
employee showed the same expression as the adventurers I had warned on the way
here.
He clearly didn't
believe me, and I'm still E-rank, so I guess it can't be helped that my
credibility is low.
"E-rank
adventurers. I'm not doubting you, but did you really defeat them?"
"They really did!
I'll testify that it's not a lie!"
Aoi cut into the
conversation between me and the guild employee while showing her adventurer
card.
Her adventurer card,
unlike our plain white ones, was shining silver.
"Ah, Aoi-san! If
you say so, then there's no doubt. May I have the bag with the proof of
subjugation?"
"Of course. The
Ogre ears are in here."
I handed over the bag
with the Lesser Ogre ears, and Aoi handed over the bag with the Red Ogre ears.
We had separated them
just in case, but since I had burned them to a crisp, I figured it would be
impossible to identify them as Red Ogres from the ears alone.
As for the Flame Ogre,
I had literally burned it to cinders.
I'm now regretting
that I could have gotten a bigger reward if I had killed them with my katana...
but there's no use crying over spilled milk.
I'll pull myself
together and accept the reward.
"I have certainly
received the proof of the Ogre subjugation. This is your reward for this
time."
"Thanks."
I was handed a clearly
bulging sack. I tried to act cool as I thanked him, but I'm sure my face was
breaking into a foolish grin.
From the heavy weight
in my hand, I could tell the reward was on a different level than usual.
"Once we have
finished confirming the contents of this other bag, we will give you an
additional reward, so please come back to pick it up tomorrow."
"What!? We're
getting more reward money!?"
"Y-yes. For
emergency quests, the reward is paid according to your contribution."
"I see... Okay.
Thank you."
It wasn't over yet; the
news that there was still an additional reward coming made me lose my composure
and raise my voice.
My attempt to act cool
completely backfired, and I, suddenly embarrassed, left the Adventurer's Guild
as if I were fleeing.
"Wow, we got a
huge reward! We can have our celebratory dinner now!"
"Yeah. It's for
both our E-rank promotion and the completion of the emergency quest, so let's
go a bit more lavish than last time. Also, let's calculate and divide the
reward there."
"Heeheehee, I'm
so excited."
"Yeah, me
too."
Ginia and I looked at
each other, laughing crudely with greedy expressions on our faces.
However, Aoi, who was
usually annoyingly clingy, was for some reason standing a step back, looking
like she was waiting for the right moment.
"...? Why are you
suddenly fidgeting?"
"Uh, well, I
couldn't figure out the right time to leave! I was trying to figure out what to
say before I left!"
"What? You're
leaving now? We defeated them together, so why don't you come to the
celebratory dinner too, Aoi-chan?"
We hadn't even split
the reward, and I had just assumed she would be coming with us.
I really don't get
her, suddenly acting all meek.
"Ginia wiped out
the whole horde of Lesser Ogres, and I, after all my big talk, couldn't do
anything..."
"That's not true!
Graham-san could have done it all by himself even without me, so your
contribution is the same as mine! I want to get excited talking about
Graham-san's fight, so I want you to come with us."
"I'm not going to
force you to come," I said.
"If it's okay for
me to go... I'll go! ...This means I've officially joined the party,
right!?"
"That's a
separate issue. This is for the emergency quest completion—"
"I'm so excited
to eat with everyone! And I want to talk about all sorts of things with you,
Ginia!"
"Hey, don't
ignore me."
After all that, it was
decided that the three of us, including Aoi, would have a celebratory dinner
together.
Having fun with just
two people is nice, but celebrations are more fun with more people.
I also want to ask
about her adventurer card and other things, so let's head to the tavern and
start our celebratory dinner right away.
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