Ch.23Debt Settlement (4)

“Ah… these guys… they’ve been a bit of a nuisance lately, and now it’s come to this…”

The guard said this to us with an annoyed expression as he carried the sack containing the severed heads inside.

After repelling the attack, we explained the situation to the security forces to prevent any misunderstanding and submitted twenty-three severed heads.

And the response was what you just heard.

They were probably a mercenary group that had been “causing quite a disturbance” in the area.

After waiting briefly in the security office, he returned with the sack of heads and 23 silver coins.

“Are you adventurers? Show me your quest form. I’ll mark that you killed 23 bandits.”

“Uh… wouldn’t that mean getting double rewards?”

For a moment, I couldn’t follow what was happening.

If we received rewards like that… wouldn’t it be against the law?

“Well, if you caught them without a quest, then submitting the heads to us would be the end of it. But bandits encountered while completing a quest are considered obstacles to your mission, so you can receive separate compensation.”

“Oh… really?”

“That’s why most security officers also hold adventurer licenses. You didn’t know?”

“I had no idea…”

“Well, it’s not information you’d know unless you looked into it, so it’s not strange. Hurry up and show me your quest form. If you don’t want the money, that’s fine too.”

“Ah, no… just a moment…”

The rewards get duplicated!

I was mentally cheering as I handed over the quest form, and I remained in a daze until I saw the words [23 bandits eliminated. Evidence confirmed.] written on the form with the security chief’s seal.

After receiving the form back, I snapped out of it and said to Seriya:

“Seriya.”

“Yes?”

“At this rate, we might be able to pay off our debt in less than a week.”

“I know…”

Seriya seemed just as dazed as I was. We awkwardly mounted our horses and headed toward the Adventurers’ Guild.

*

Jingle~ Jingle~

With the now-familiar bell sound, the Iron Walker party entered the Adventurers’ Guild.

I headed to the reception desk with the quest form, while Seriya, holding Doldoli in her arms, sank deeply into a nearby sofa.

“I’m here to report a completed quest.”

“Yes. Could you please submit your quest form?”

Following the receptionist’s instructions, I submitted the form, and shortly after, the receptionist addressed me again.

“…Confirmed. I will issue 23 silver coins for eliminating 23 bandits.”

Rustle.

As the receptionist handed over the 23 silver coins, I swept them into my pouch.

“By the way, how should I handle this sap?”

“The client has been notified, so they should come by today.”

“And if they don’t?”

“Then we will store the quest item on your behalf, and when the client comes to collect it later, we’ll process it as a completed quest and settle the payment.”

“It says there’s an additional reward if delivered within three days… If the client doesn’t come within three days, does that become void?”

“No. Since you fulfilled the quest conditions the next day, you can receive the additional reward no matter how late they come.”

“But what if they refuse to pay?”

“The condition written on the quest form states ‘additional reward will be paid if the quest is completed within three days.’ Since it says ‘will be paid’ rather than ‘may be paid’ or ‘intends to pay,’ if they refuse to pay the additional reward, the Adventurers’ Guild will forcibly collect the compensation in its name, and the client will be banned from posting quests for one year.”

“Hmm…”

As expected of an organization that has existed since ancient times, they have well-established rules regarding compensation.

I went to sit beside Seriya and gradually began sinking into the soft sofa.

When I managed to lift my head to look beside me, Seriya was already half-merged with the sofa.

“Seriya.”

“…What?”

Her voice lacked energy.

It was a natural reaction, considering we had just fought a 2 versus 23 battle.

“Let’s open Doldoli and take out the sap. Someone might steal it if we’re not careful.”

“Hmm…”

At my words, Seriya rose very reluctantly and opened Doldoli, then began struggling to pull out a box containing a large container of sap.

Unable to watch any longer, I stood up and started pulling the box, and with a slight elastic tension, I was able to extract it.

Trudge… trudge…

I carried the box to the reception desk, and the receptionist, who had been watching our clumsy efforts, silently attached my submitted quest form to the box with a ‘thud’ and carried it to a small room next to the reception area.

*

Seriya and I returned to the Captain’s Inn and, as if celebrating being alive, began ordering a feast.

“Order here!”

“Yes~ Coming!”

When I called the staff member, they approached our table, and I poured 10 silver coins onto the table.

Clink! Clink!

“….?”

“Bring us the best food you can make with this money!”

When Seriya shouted that, the staff member wore an expression that said, ‘I knew a day like this would come in my life!’ and put the 10 silver coins in their pocket before dashing to the kitchen.

Soon after, unusual sounds began coming from the kitchen. As the explosive sound of frying oil overlapped with the sound of spices being sprinkled like rain, all the guests, including us, stopped lifting their spoons and looked toward the kitchen.

Swoosh…

And after some time had passed, I gaped at the roasted whole pig coming out of the kitchen, and Seriya’s pupils trembled like aspen leaves.

Thud!

The enormous plate carrying the roast covered our entire table.

“Here’s your Captain’s Inn special roasted whole pig!”

The chef said that while wiping away sweat, and from somewhere in the distance came exclamations of “Wow, that’s amazing…”

We spent a long time wondering where to start eating before concluding that we could dig in anywhere. We carefully cut the pig’s skin and began savoring the flowing juices and aroma.

“Seriya.”

“…Huh?”

“We could never eat this in the forest, right?”

“Fuck, of course not.”

Saying that, we put thinly sliced pork into our mouths, and as the salty and spicy seasoning combined with the pig’s juices, we spontaneously began clapping and shedding tears.

Yes… this is it…

Risking our lives to fight and then enjoying a feast at an inn until the table nearly breaks…

Damn… this is the romance of adventure!

I thought to myself as I raised my hand to order additional dark beer.

Before long, Seriya and I began enjoying a culinary luxury no less than the rich with pork and dark beer. Seriya, born as a wood elf with few opportunities to encounter such stimulating food, was diluting the saltiness of the dark beer and pork with her tears.

And it was the same for me, a former vagrant who had grown up poor. Tasting such luxurious extravagance for the first time in my life, I thought I could die without regrets.

Of course, that didn’t mean I actually wanted to die, so Seriya and I stopped eating precisely when we were 3% away from bursting. I decided to show great generosity to those who were staring at us as if entranced.

“Here.”

“Pardon?”

“Cut the remaining roasted pig equally and distribute it to the guests here. It would be too wasteful for just the two of us to enjoy such a fine dish.”

“Understood!”

When I said that, the inn’s guests began raising their glasses to express their gratitude to me.

Seriya and I went up to our respective rooms with the feeling of wealthy benefactors who had made a generous donation, and then sat on our beds to digest the pig and dark beer.

“Phew… I think this is the first time I’ve eaten until I’m this full.”

Pat pat.

I muttered while patting my bloated stomach.

How should I put it?

I’ve felt the sensation of having my stomach filled countless times, but I don’t think I’ve ever been in this state of being unable to eat any more.

Especially not with such delicious food.

This must be the true taste of adventure.

After a life-risking adventure, receiving the rightful reward.

At least, that’s what it would be for other people.

For me, adventure means venturing into the unknown world, but most people are probably desperate to earn money to survive today.

However, I didn’t particularly look down on them.

Until recently, I was just one of the many people living that way.

“Haaa…”

I lay down on the bed, smelling the faint aroma of dark beer in my breath.

A soft and warm sensation…

In this unfair world, some people have to kill others to lie on such a bed, while others won’t even sit on it because they find it dirty.

But that doesn’t mean my life is meaningless.

Even if I’m not recognized by others, if I can face my final moment with dignity and have acted without shame to myself, how could the four gods send me to hell?

I closed my eyes and thought.

Where will I go when I die?

To Karyl the Blood God’s Valhalla?

To Medina the Love God’s Ataraxia?

To Logos the Wisdom God’s Great Library?

To Moneta the Prosperity God’s Utopia?

Or to Aaru, where those without qualifications remain?

I don’t know.

Perhaps I won’t know until I die.

But if I earn the right to enter the afterlife of the four gods…

Then I only hope that I can face death proudly, even before the gods.