Ch.28Orc Subjugation (3)

*Crack… Crack!*

“Huh!”

Startled by the sound of sparks flying from the campfire, I rose up convulsively.

I had no idea when I’d fallen asleep. Instinctively, my hand reached for my scabbard, but upon realizing there was no enemy, my hand lost its purpose.

I stood up awkwardly, but my legs gave out and I sat back down. As I warmed myself by the campfire, Seriya sighed and said:

“Don’t worry, nothing happened. The hunting parties were wiped out. We killed them all.”

Killed them all.

To others, those might sound like frightening words, but to me right now, they were the most reassuring thing I could hear.

“Next time…”

I opened my mouth.

“I should buy stamina potions too.”

“Yeah. I agree.”

While my strength might exceed that of an adult due to my hard labor, the lack of endurance from my not-yet-fully-developed body wasn’t something I could easily overcome.

Fortunately, the world is vast, and solutions are plentiful. Physical disadvantages could be overcome by throwing money at them.

“What about the Muriabi’s head?”

“Here.”

Seriya pointed to our pack.

I nodded and looked up at the sky. The sun was still up, so it seemed not much time had passed.

“How long was I asleep?”

“Not long. About 20 minutes? I’m honestly surprised you can wake up after sleeping so little.”

“When you work 240 hours a week, you become like this whether you like it or not. If you don’t catch micro-naps, you’ll literally die.”

I said this as I forced myself to stand up.

For a moment, I felt my blood pressure drop and my body sway, but thankfully it was temporary.

“If we ride now, we can reach the Adventurer’s Guild in time.”

“Are you sure? Just so you know, I can’t ride a horse.”

“Hmm…”

I tried to objectively assess my physical condition.

The sun was still up anyway, so even if we rested more, we wouldn’t lose a day.

Besides, it wouldn’t really matter if a day passed.

With that thought, I sat back down.

“Let’s… rest a bit more then.”

“Good idea.”

I drifted back to sleep.

*

A few hours later, I woke up refreshed, and Seriya also seemed somewhat revitalized as she mounted the horse.

“We really need to gather more party members. After paying off all the debt first, of course.”

“I agree. A party with debt is a negative factor.”

I nodded.

Regardless of the circumstances, a party with debt was something other adventurers avoided.

Having debt meant the party’s financial situation wasn’t good, and even if the debt was forced upon them, it showed they lacked the power to refuse it.

From that perspective, my forming a party with Seriya was quite a radical choice.

After all, there wouldn’t be many young boys who’d want to risk their lives alongside a woman who owed 400 silver coins.

“You should be a bit more grateful to me.”

“Whatever.”

When I smugly said this, she pressed her chest against my back and cut me off with a single word.

Well, no matter what she says, I was the one who defeated the Muriabi.

However, seeing the future where all the reward money would go toward paying off debt, I sighed and spurred the horse.

“How much money is going to you anyway?”

“I just need to pay back 400 silver coins, that’s all.”

“You do realize we’ve been taking losses ever since we formed this party because of that, right?”

“…”

This time, Seriya kept her clever mouth shut.

400 silver coins was no small sum.

With that amount, one could live like royalty for months in most cities.

“How much debt is left now?”

“200 silver coins. After paying with this reward, it’ll be 100 silver coins.”

“Damn it. This reward’s going to disappear completely too.”

To the question of how we’d live if all the rewards went to debt repayment, the answer was ‘I’ll cover it from my own money.’

Right now, everything we ate and drank, as well as the purchase and maintenance of our weapons, was all paid for from my personal funds.

It was a level of generosity unimaginable for an ordinary adventurer.

If I were to add up everything Seriya had gotten from me so far, it would easily exceed 100 silver coins.

“We need to repair the chain mail and leather armor, and I need to clean my greasy sword too… so we’re in the red again this time.”

Since forming a party with Seriya, the only time I made a net profit was after our first dungeon exploration.

And even that was after spending my own money to buy various equipment and weapons, so it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say I’ve only been taking losses since meeting Seriya.

“I didn’t ask you to buy me anything…”

From behind me, I heard Seriya mumbling.

Geez. Anyone would think she’s a 20-year-old rookie in society, not a 200-year-old.

*

Jingle~ Jingle~

We arrived at the Adventurer’s Guild.

Our appearance was filthy, but the guild staff didn’t mind at all.

After all, anyone who expects cleanliness from adventure would be either an idiot or a fool.

I approached the reception desk with the Muriabi’s head and the quest form, and the receptionist stamped [QUEST COMPLETED] on the form.

“Quest completion confirmed. I will issue the quest reward of 100 silver coins.”

Rustle!

The receptionist handed me a pouch containing 100 silver coins, and I took it and left the Adventurer’s Guild.

Actually, I had originally planned to check the quest board for other quests, but right now, I wanted to repay the debt quickly and rest at an inn.

I had taken quite a beating today, and sleeping in the cold sea breeze hadn’t helped me recover at all.

“Got the money.”

Clink!

I handed the money pouch to Seriya, then mounted the horse again and headed toward the private bank attached to the gambling hall.

I would have preferred to send Seriya alone, but given the atmosphere of the gambling hall, I was concerned about letting her go by herself.

Though my physical condition wasn’t perfect, I could still cut down a few troublemakers who might harass her.

Clop! Clop!

“…Viktor.”

“What?”

“Next time, I’ll ride in front.”

“Suddenly?”

“You’re taller than me now, and I can’t see ahead.”

“Hmm…”

The last time I measured, I was about 166cm tall, so it wouldn’t be strange if I had grown since then.

I was still growing, after all. I might need to extensively repair this chain mail soon.

“Well, do as you like.”

Forest-dwelling elves had no affinity for horsemanship.

Especially since she was a wood elf who leaped through trees, she didn’t really need to ride horses.

We could have gotten another horse, but that wasn’t suitable for our party, which was focused on paying off debt.

Moreover, I had learned horsemanship through experience, so there was no guarantee I could teach her how to ride.

With these thoughts, our pack horse snorted and galloped toward the private bank.

*

“This is fraud!! Fraud, I tell you!! Give me back my money!”

“Drag him out.”

“Let go! Don’t touch me! I said don’t touch me!!!”

The private bank attached to the gambling hall was still filled with shouts and screams.

We entered, and Seriya approached the reception desk with the money pouch.

Plop!

I slumped onto a sofa where I could see the reception desk and checked for any threatening individuals around.

“Oh my… I’m dying…”

My already strained body felt completely sore after riding a horse for hours.

I wasn’t sure if I should be happy or sad to feel the same sensation I used to feel when working 240 hours a week.

“…Confirmed. Your remaining debt is 100 silver coins.”

“Thank you.”

As I was half-dying, Seriya finished her business and approached me, and we got up to head toward the bank’s exit.

“One more visit and all these gamblers will have a fit when they see us.”

“Why?”

“They’re borrowing money from everyone including distant relatives, while we’re doing the opposite—paying back money. And doing it every two or three days. To those guys, we must look like treasure goblins.”

“Haha. That’s true.”

Seriya and I exchanged jokes as we opened the bank’s door.

All that remained was to get enough rest while spending my money.

“Well, well. Seriya. It’s been a damn long time.”

“And who’s this? A kid in chain mail with four swords? Looks like our wood elf sister has found herself a rich young master.”

But first, we’d have to deal with the thugs who surrounded us as soon as we opened the door, acting like they knew Seriya.