Chapter 76

Volume 3 part1
…3 guys, huh.
It had gotten quite late after talking to Caulkin-san and the others.
I went back home afterwards, but on the way back home, I noticed that someone was following me.
No one usually passes through here this time of the day, so I quickly walked away to make some distance between us, but my suspect pursuers also sped up.
Looks like they really were going after me. After all, not only were they going in the same direction, they were also keeping pace. Did they really have to make it that obvious? Still, it doesn’t seem like they’re complete amateurs.
If the three of them are together, then they must be working together. But no one’s blocking the path behind me and there’s no one in front either. Could they have people waiting for me further up ahead?
At this rate, we’ll end up reaching the northern gate, where the guards are, so if they’re going to make a move, they have to do it before then.
When the next corner came, I quickly turned right. As soon as I did, I heard a voice.

Has he noticed?
[Thug]

Doesn’t seem like it…
[Thug}

…He took the corner!
[Thug}

Oops…
[Thug]
When one of the men yelled, they started openly chasing after me.
I quickly tried to run away, but…

…Over here!
[Thug]
I led them all over the place, but couldn’t quite shake them off. Normally, that should’ve been enough, but for some reason, they always knew where I was.
…No one else is around me, though. And there aren’t any tall building within the vicinity either. Hmm… In that case, let’s go there.
 

Hey. Where’s the brat?
[Thug]

He’s been running all this time. He should be hiding somewhere nearby right now.
[Thug]

He’s definitely realized that he’s being chased.
[Thug]

Otherwise, we would’ve caught him already. Running into a place like this…
[Thug]

Damn it! What a pain.
[Thug]
Northeast of Gimuru. This section of the city that’s near the slums is so dirty that it’s hard to call it clean even as flattery. Obstacles littered the road and cloths seemingly meant to cover from sunlight could be seen put up here and there.
Because of the dark of the night and this diminutive body of a child, my pursuers have been having a hard time grasping my position.
They’ve already rendezvoused with their friends, so…

Fortunately, there’s no one around and we also have the advantage in numbers. Let’s check every—!?
[Thug]

Wha—!?
[Thug]

Get down! Archers!
[Thug]

Teleport.
[Ryouma]

Tch! From the other side!?
[Thug]

What? Now it’s coming from that side!?
[Thug}

Does he have someone else with him!?
[Thug]

Teleport.
[Ryouma]
I teleported short distances from within the obstacles on the road as I shot poison arrows (instant effect) at the enemy. I got the poison arrows from my Dimension Home. They should be more than enough to suppress a small group like this.

U…
[Thug]

Damn it! The arrows are poisoned!
[Thug]

You won’t be able to move well for the time being. I investigated that poison beforehand, and it was surprisingly potent.
[Ryouma]

Tch! Stupid brat!
[Thug]

How could you do such a thing!?
[Thug]

I should be asking you the same thing. What were you trying to do to me?
[Ryouma]
As I approached the men, I pointed my spear at them.

Heh… Don’t think it’s going to end well for you after doing something like this. But if you give us the rimel birds and some money, we’ll forgive you— It’s hot! It’s hot! Stop it!
[Thug]

Why are you talking as if you have the upper hand right now?
[Ryouma]
I shot them with the fireball from my spear, and while I missed on purpose, they could still feel the passing heat.

Ah.
[Ryouma]
Something flew at me and I reflexively cut it down.

KIi!?
[???]

Oh, so this was the reason.
[Ryouma]
A black owl-like monster. Regret Owl. There’s a poison in its claws that can make one’s nerves oversensitive. There’s a chance of it cutting someone up when caught. In that instance, the resulting pain from the wound is significantly heightened. It’s also nocturnal, so it specializes in hunting in the night.
I know about it because its legs and claws are considered as medicinal ingredients. It doesn’t live anywhere near here, though, so it definitely belongs to them. So, it seems the reason they were making a fuss was to get this thing to take me by surprise.

What!? How did you…
[Thug]

I just hit it like usual. I was paying attention to the sky, so…
[Ryouma]
One of the owl’s wings broke and it tumbled onto the ground. The man yelled out loud when he saw that.
I’d already predicted to some extent that they had a monster with them. After all, they were able to find me even though they shouldn’t have been able to see me.
Of course, I didn’t know exactly what it was that they had with them. And with the owl being black, it was only natural that I couldn’t see it. Especially, since it was high up the night sky.

Oh. It seems they’ve come.
[Ryouma]

PIRORORORO!
[Rimel Bird]

Is it here!?
[Guard]

Freeze! Don’t move!
[Guard]

The guards!?
[Thug]

Why would they come here at this time!?
[Thug]

Hey, Ryouma! You okay!?
[Wogan]

Guild master? WHy are you here?
[Ryouma]
I’d sent a rimel bird to the guards while I was running, so I’m not surprised about them being here, but why is Guild Master Wogan here too?

So, you were safe. On the way back home, I saw a rimel bird chasing the guards along, so I figured you might’ve been in some trouble.
[Wogan]

Sorry for worrying you.
[Ryouma]

Oh, I wasn’t all that worried… To be honest.
[Wogan]

Excuse me. Could you explain the situation here?
[Guard]
After that we went to the guards’ office to explain the situation.
Volume 3 part2
The next morning.

Thank you for your help.
[Ryouma]

Don’t come back anymore.
[Guard]
The guard seemed like a straight-laced person at first glance, but he seems to be a good person. Or maybe it’s just his nature, I don’t know. He’s a bit hard to understand.
Anyway, I thanked the weird guard, then I went back to the store.
Last night I went home really late and got attacked on the way back home, so the guard had me stay the night at their office, saying,
Think I’ll let you go home alone after that?

Oh, and I wasn’t made to spend the night in jail. They gave me a proper room with an actual bed. Apparently, it was mean for innocent people to use since they couldn’t just release someone after an incident even if they weren’t guilty. In fact, it was best for them not to.

Good morning!
[Ryouma]

Boss, good morning. You sure are early today.
[Leelin]

Good morning, Boss. Did something happen?
[Carla]
When I got to the store, I happened upon Carla-san and Leelin-san.
I explained to them what happened last night, and when I got to the part that I was attacked…

I believe we should talk about this with everyone. I’ll gather everyone right now. Please wait a bit.
[Carla]
Carla-san left the room. When she came back, she’d brought everyone with her.

Umm… What are we going to be discussing?~
[Maria]

We’re not getting fired, are we?
[Jane]

You don’t have to worry about that. Now then, Boss. If you will.
[Carla]
I explained what happened last night again and a different kind of tension filled the room.

And so, as you can see, I got away safely. Not a single scratch on me. But everyone should take care from now on to leave only when it’s bright outside and only when there’s a lot of people passing the streets. Oh, and Fei-san, Leelin-san. The two of you might have to work as guards more often now.
[Ryouma]
When I saw them nod, I continued.

I’m considering increasing the number of guards, but that’s another topic for later. Also, as mentioned just now, the guild master of the adventurers guild happened to be present last night, and today also happens to be the day for the regular meeting of guild masters to be held at the merchants guild, so I will be heading there later afternoon to seek counsel. I would like to ask either Carla-san or Carm-san to accompany me.
[Ryouma]

In that case, I’ll go. Carm can take care of the store.
[Carla]

Alright.
[Carm]

Lastly, Shelma-san.
[Ryouma]

You need me for something?
[Shelma]

I asked the guild master what gift to bring to the meeting, and he told me to bring food, so I’d like to use the kitchen.
[Ryouma]

In that case, let me help too. We can make the store’s lunch together.
[Shelma]

Well that about sums it up. I’ll let you know the results of the meeting later. Also, if you notice anything strange – no matter how small – please make sure to report it… It’ll probably get busy again, but do keep up the good work.
[Ryouma]

Yes!
[Everyone]
After letting everyone know what happened, it was time to prepare for the store’s operation. While everyone busied themselves with work, I followed Shelma into the kitchen.
 

Enter.
[Grisiera]

Excuse me.
[Ryouma]
When I got to the merchants guild, unlike usual, I was first asked to wait at a separate room, then I was led to another room. It would be my fist time visiting this room.
When I got to the room, a large long table could be found inside, and the guild masters I’ve been acquainted with were gathered around it. They offered Carla-san and I a seat, which we took.

Now then, I know full well why you were called here, but first… Comes food!
[Wogan]

Wogan, you’re really…
[Grisiera]

Isn’t it fine? The meeting is over anyway. We’re all gathered here for private business, and we can just talk while eating.
[Wogan]
At that, I took out the food from my Item Box and distributed it to everyone.

Guild master.
[Ryouma]

Call me by my name here. If you call me guild master, we won’t be able to tell who you’re referring to.
[Wogan]

Alright. Wogan-san, I’ve prepared a sausage soup and bread for you.
[Ryouma]

Oh! Sounds delicious.
[Wogan]

My cook did her best making it. Grisiera-san, your meal is over here. Taylor-san, this one is yours.
[Ryouma]

Oh my, you made me a hamburger. It’s like a festival. It’s frighteningly soft, though…
[Grisiera]

That’s because that bread is actually a bunch of raisins kneaded into form. As for yours, Taylor-san, it was made crunchy like a pie… Regardless, they both go well with black tea.
[Ryouma]
Grisiera-san had week teeth, so we prepared something soft for her, while Branch Head Taylor had a small appetite, so we prepared something light for him.
Or at least, that’s what Wogan-san told me to do. I wonder if this is really alright.

Hmm… this bread. It doesn’t smell like seed at all.
[Wogan]

This one too.
[Grisiera]

We made today’s bread using yeast.
[Ryouma]
The seed they mentioned is a kind of seed that functions just like yeast cell, and is sold as bread seed.
It’s used by cracking the seed and adding its contents into the dough mixture. It’s easy to use, easy to preserve, and easy to transport, so it’s commonly used to make bread.
Compared to that, the bread we’re using today is made from natural yeast. Well, even though I say natural, both the seed and the yeast are technically natural. After all the yeast is made by cultivating bacteria for fermentation and a seed is a natural product of nature, so… Whatever. Anyway, I added water to wheat and raisin, then I allowed it to ferment naturally to create the yeast.

I’ve had more time and money lately, and unlike when I was at the forest, I can just order stuff from the store nowadays, so I can do stuff now that I couldn’t before.
[Ryouma]
Making yeast would normally take a week, and would require one to stir the pot once a day everyday, so it wasn’t something I could afford to do back in my previous life when my work schedule wasn’t fixed and I didn’t know when I wouldn’t be able to come home. It was for the same reason that I really admired the thought of making charcoal.
But after leaving the forest and living in town, where it’s easy to procure the necessary tools and ingredients, and making enough money to spare, as well as having the time, there was no longer any reason for me not to do stuff like this.
I’ve also been doing other stuff like buying ingredients and creating stuff from reagents in order to understand the medical efficacy of stuff and learn the ingredients used in certain products.
In short, I’m no longer living like I used to in my previous life, where I simply went back and forth between work and home!!

What are you looking all happy for when you were just attacked yesterday? What a carefree child you are.
[Grisiera]

This is this, that is that.
[Ryouma]

Good grief…
[Grisiera]

It doesn’t seem like there are any problems, though.
[Taylor]
Problems?

They’re talking about what to think about you being attacked in the dead of the night. I told them not to worry, but…
[Wogan]

I can only say that that opinion is based on hindsight, as we weren’t there last night.
[Grisiera]

After all, no matter how much support we offer, if the person himself decides to withdraw, our good will will be nothing more than us sticking our nose where it doesn’t belong.
[Wogan]

Alright, alright. Anyway… These two were worried sick last night about you suddenly deciding to close the store after being attacked.
[Taylor]

Well, yes. After all, you were directly threatened, so we wanted to know how you feel after such an ordeal.
[Grisiera]

Who would’ve thought that you’d be completely unfazed.
[Taylor]

Well, yeah. I mean after getting so much support, I couldn’t possibly just go and say ‘I quit!’ just because I was attacked, right? That’s just too selfish. There are also people working under me. If I were to just up and leave just like that, they’d be left without any ways to make a living. And besides, I came here today specifically to talk about the things to come.
[Ryouma]

Alright, alright.
[Grisiera]
As Grisiera-san said that, she laughed in astonishment.
Volume 3 part3

That’s enough of the roundabout chatter. Ryouma, you go tighten the security of your store and endure a bit more, then we’ll go deal with the problem.
[Wogan]

Meaning?
[Ryouma]

We’re saying that the guys who attacked you will disappear soon.
[Wogan]

I’ve been doing my own investigations ever since bad rumors of me have been spreading. In the process, I managed to find a good lead as to who it was that was that was spreading the rumors, but unfortunately, just yesterday, we lost track of him. We immediately widened the scope of our search, but the first information we got was a report of you being attacked.
[Taylor]

We investigated the people who attacked you yesterday, and it seems they just got to this town two days ago. Apparently, someone
 had informed them that you were a rich kid with a rimel bird. Moreover, it so happens that the person who told them about you matches the appearance of the person we had our eyes on.
[Grisiera]
In other words…

You’re positive they’re the same person?
[Ryouma]

The possibility is high. Judging from the rumors he spread before, he probably knows the relationship between us. If he aimed at you too, then he probably wanted us to split our forces in order to protect you, even at the cost of getting attention.
[Grisiera]

Unless driven by emotions, a person normally wouldn’t follow through with a request to ‘take care’ of a person connected to the duke. It’s the sort of thing one would only do as a last resort.
[Taylor]

In other words, I was attacked in order to make it easier for him to run?
[Ryouma]

That’s how it looks to us. But the person we’re dealing with is the sort to pull off a stunt like this and disappear the moment he’s suspected. He probably won’t be coming back anymore. Otherwise, he would have played dumb or laid low for a while. Though it’s possible that he simply didn’t have the leisure to do so, but regardless, we’re not about to just let him escape like this.
This might be a bit misleading, but you’re not just a normal kid. I believe you’re more than strong enough to protect yourself. That’s why I want you to protect your store with all your strength, without relying on others. Meanwhile, we’ll go after the criminals with all of our strength.
[Wogan]
The suspects are hoping that they would split their forces to cover me, so he’s basically saying that we shouldn’t let things develop as they please.

We’ve already organized a search team to follow their trail with Wereanna’s party, Jeff, and Raypin, an adventurer who can use dimension magic, as the members.
[Wogan]

Still, the culprits are professionals themselves, so there’s no guarantee that we will be able to catch them… That aside, are you okay, Ryouma? You’ve been quietly listening to us all this time, but what do you think?
[Grisiera]
As Grisiera-san asked me that, I became thoughtful.

I’d freest like to thoroughly tighten the store’s security.
[Ryouma]

Don’t worry. We never said we wouldn’t lend any help at all. I’ve talked with Gordon and Cher. They’re not well suited for search jobs, but they’re skilled and also well reputed in this town. They should be able to serve your store well as guards. That guy called Jeff also recommended another trustworthy person, but he’s not registered at the guild, so I can’t give any guarantees.
[Wogan]
So, those two on top of Fei-san and Leelin-san, huh? I don’t know about the guy Jeff-san recommended, but I doubt Jeff-san would recommend someone unskilled. I’ll have to put that guy on hold for the time being, but with this, the store’s security can be upgraded to some extent.

Carla-san, if we add our cooperation with the guards too, do you think it’ll be enough?
[Ryouma]

It’s worrying that we don’t know how big the enemy we’re dealing with is, but considering the scope of our store, I think this is more than enough. That aside, what about assigning some guards to protect you?
[Carla]
Not necessary. As for why, it’s because if the enemy is too strong for me to deal with and I have someone with me, then I won’t be able to run. Having someone following me around would just restrict me. I can’t take them with me with my dimension magic either, and it’s hard to just leave them behind. And besides, if I was just going to leave them behind, then I would have just gone on my own and either fought or ran.

Is the person we’re dealing with human?
[Ryouma]

There’s a possibility a familiar is being used, but they should still be fundamentally human.
[Taylor]

In that case, it would be best for me to be alone.
[Ryouma]
There are no monsters on Earth. As such, all of the techniques I trained in were developed with human opponents in mind. Which is to say that the enemies I’m most suited to fight against are human opponents.

In the past, I did nothing but train with my grandfather, so I specialize in fighting humans or humanoid monsters.
[Ryouma]

…You do have your achievements behind you…
[Taylor]

Wogan also seems to vouch for your strength.
[Grisiera]

Don’t worry, compared to the two of you, I’m a lot better at judging someone’s strength when it comes to fighting.
[Wogan]
Like that our conversation naturally progressed into coming up with a defensive strategy and what to do in case the enemy attacked.
Lastly, Branch Head Taylor handed me two documents.

‘It is therefore acknowledged that sufficient skills have been proven by taming a slime and a rimel bird…’ What is this?
[Ryouma]

Those are legal documents proving that I have acknowledged you as a proper monster tamer. The other document clarifies that although your store uses monsters in its business, you are under the management of the merchants guild.
[Taylor]
Apparently, these documents aren’t usually produced because the guild card is more than enough to prove one’s skill, but both documents do have Branch Head Taylor’s signature and stamp, so they might still prove useful later. I should keep them. Or at least, that’s what he told me.
I wonder if the branch head is worried about getting me caught up in this mess.