Interlude 5
Tavern Rumors, Part 3
Translator : PolterGlast
"Sounds like
there was quite a ruckus today! Another emergency quest was issued,
right?"
"Yeah, it was a
huge mess. You were lucky you were away on an expedition."
"Why? I wanted to
take the emergency quest too! You got to accept it, didn't you?"
"I accepted it,
but the quest was completed before I could even head out. I don't know who, but
apparently, someone resolved it instantly."
"Huh? Can that
even happen? An emergency quest is issued precisely because it can't be resolved
quickly, right?"
"Beats me. I
don't know the details of what happened. That's partly why I came to the
tavern, hoping to get some information."
In the usual tavern,
as always, rumors were being traded at various tables.
And today's trend was,
of course, about today's emergency quest.
The quest had been
completed in less than half a day after it was issued, resulting in an
anticlimactic outcome for the majority of adventurers who had been raring to
go.
Since it had just
happened, no information had come out yet, and as various speculations flew
about—a pair of adventurers with strangely refreshed expressions on their faces
entered the tavern.
"That was really
incredible. Being able to see that battle live was close to a miracle. Even
now, if I close my eyes, the scene comes to mind."
"It's true. I
used to use the word 'hero' lightly, but I realized that's what a true hero
is."
"And he forgave
you. I was listening like it was someone else's problem, but I was so nervous
my heart was about to leap out of my mouth."
Several interesting
words were being thrown around, and combined with the way they had entered, the
people in the tavern sensed that these were adventurers who knew something
about today's quest.
"I really thought
I was dead. To say such things to a person with that much power. It was a good
thing he was kind... I've decided I will never look down on someone
again."
"Those words he
said were amazing, too. It made me realize that you can't become strong without
having that kind of broad-mindedness."
"We'll never be
able to catch up to his strength, but we at least have to try to emulate his
mindset."
"Don't you think
all the other adventurers who were saved were thinking the same thing?"
"I'm sure they
were. After he left, everyone just stood there in a daze for a while."
They were talking
about something relevant, but it wasn't getting to the core of the matter.
As the adventurers who
were straining to eavesdrop were growing impatient, one of them, having lost
his patience, went to talk to them.
"Sorry to cut in,
but were you guys on the emergency quest?"
"Hmm? —Yeah. We
didn't do anything, but we were on the scene."
"Is that true!?
Then tell me the details! I accepted the emergency quest, but it was completed
before I knew what was going on, and it just doesn't sit right with me."
"I don't mind
telling you... but I think you'll find it hard to believe."
Hearing that it was an
unbelievable story, everyone's expectations shot up at once.
Not just the
adventurers at the nearby tables, but every adventurer in the establishment
fell silent to listen to this story, turning their ears to the man.
"What do you
mean, it's an unbelievable story? I want to hear it!"
"I'm sure you
know about the emergency quest. The details were the raid of an Ogre horde. We
were in the Adventurer's Guild at the time, so we accepted the emergency quest
immediately and headed for the plains where the Ogre horde was reportedly
sighted."
"Huh, you were
lucky. If it really was an Ogre horde, there's no better quest than that."
"We thought so
too when we took the quest. And what was striding across the plains was indeed
an Ogre horde. The number... I think it was about forty."
"That's a lot,
but well, if it's forty, we could probably beat them by teaming up with other
adventurers."
Everyone was so
engrossed in the story that they were nodding in agreement, but so far, the
"unbelievable" part hadn't come up yet.
The adventurers who
were listening, though feeling a bit frustrated, silently continued to listen
to the healer-like man's story.
"We thought so
too and started to engage the Ogre horde, but about ten minutes into the
battle, a strange horde of monsters appeared from the back."
"A strange horde
of monsters? Were they monsters you'd never seen before?"
"They were monsters
I'd never seen or even heard of. They were muscular, and the moment I saw them,
I knew we would be crushed with ease."
"Those monsters
were seriously insane. My body still trembles just thinking about them."
The hands of the
warrior who had agreed with the healer-like man were indeed trembling slightly.
Since they had never
encountered such monsters, it was hard to believe at first, but seeing this
reaction, everyone vaguely sensed that it might be true.
"If a horde of
such dangerous monsters appeared, how did you survive? You were fighting an
Ogre horde too, right?"
"This is where
the story becomes unbelievable. ...Do you know the rookie geezer?"
"Of course I do.
Until a little while ago, everyone was making fun of him. ...Does he have
something to do with this?"
"Yeah. The rookie
geezer, Graham-san, appeared and killed every single monster in an instant.
With magic I'd never seen before, he killed every last one of those vicious
monsters we'd never seen before!!"
Perhaps because he was
recalling the event, the healer spoke with powerful excitement, but the
reaction from his audience was lukewarm, and the mood turned sour.
The rookie geezer had
just recently been promoted to E-rank.
He didn't have the
skill to defeat an unknown monster, and in the first place, he carried a
katana, so he wasn't a mage.
They had been
listening so intently, only to be told such a poorly made-up story. A heavy
sigh leaked from the tavern.
"Haaah, what a
load of crap. I was a fool for listening so seriously. The rookie geezer
defeated an unknown monster? He used magic? If you're going to make up a story,
at least make it a good one."
"What? It's not a
made-up story! Everything I just said is true!"
"Yeah, yeah,
that's enough. Sorry for cutting in. You can talk about it all you want over
there."
"What did you
say, you bastard—"
"Hey, stop it. It
can't be helped if they don't believe you. We wouldn't have believed it either
if we were in their shoes. You were the one who was making fun of him directly,
after all."
"...That's true,
but. For him to accomplish such a great feat and get this kind of reaction...
it's infuriating, isn't it!"
"They'll
understand eventually. We should just focus on what we can do to be of service
to someone."
And so, the story that
was starting to get exciting was dismissed as a lie, and the tavern began to
talk about other rumors.
This would become the
catalyst for a trend of telling funny, tall tales about the rookie geezer among
some adventurers, but—fact is stranger than fiction.
That the adventurers
would soon have their minds blown by a true story even more unbelievable than
those tall tales... that is a story for a little later.
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