Ch.2Discovered. I’m Quitting. (3)

At the entrance of the village where the fence appeared broken in the middle.

I was waiting for my client at a spot where only a single guard collecting taxes stood.

I had worried that my client might have an urgent matter and ask to depart the next day, but fortunately that wasn’t the case.

I had already put the money in my Magic Pouch.

Though space was limited due to various items inside, it fit once I threw away unnecessary things.

When a gentle breeze blew, I hurriedly raised my right hand to grab my shoulder-length hair.

Behind my right ear was something others shouldn’t see, so I was trying to hide it.

At that moment, I spotted my client approaching from the distance.

The client wore clothes that were neither shabby nor luxurious—just typical merchant attire.

The cart was loaded with quite a lot of goods, but not so much that there was no place to sit.

The cart stopped in front of me, and the client got down from the horse and offered a handshake.

I had no particular reason to refuse, so I responded by lightly taking his hand.

“Oh my, I’m sorry. You waited long, didn’t you?”

“Please don’t worry about it.”

In truth, without you, I would have had to walk for a full fifteen days.

“Well then, shall we depart right away?”

“Yes, that’s fine with me.”

The client mounted the horse, and I took a seat at the front of the cart, closest to him.

Sitting in the back would have been more comfortable, but the front was better for protecting the client.

Of course, in a situation where I might have to quit being an adventurer, it would be faster to kill the client and steal just the horse, but I didn’t want to do that.

If I, a Warlock, committed a crime, it would feel like I was playing right into the Church’s hands.

I’m sick and tired of dancing in the palm of that damned Church.

As the client pulled the reins, the cart began to move forward.

The scenery unfolding before my eyes was peaceful and beautiful.

The gentle breeze made the grass sway, and butterflies flew around searching for their mates.

Seeing such scenery made me realize anew that I was not the protagonist of this world.

If I were the protagonist, there would probably be a storm raging right now.

Trying to forget such thoughts, I took out two steamed potatoes from my Magic Pouch.

I had bought them while waiting for the client, and they had cooled down just right for eating.

“Excuse me, Kelvin?”

The client turned his head at my call.

“Yes? Did you call me?”

“Yes, you might get hungry on the way, so please have this.”

I offered Kelvin a steamed potato, and he accepted it with a kind smile.

“Oh my, I’ll eat it gratefully.”

I wasn’t doing this good deed because I wanted something from the client.

I just thought doing something like this might make me feel a little better.

And indeed, my heart, which had seemed about to collapse, calmed down a bit, so I’d call that a success.

Having finished the steamed potato, Kelvin took a sip of water from his canteen and carefully began to speak.

“Adventurer, um…”

“Crow will do.”

“Then, Crow, it might not be much of a repayment for the food, but do you know what’s happening in the Royal Capital?”

“What happened in the Royal Capital?”

Having settled in this remote place with my party members for a month, I had no way of knowing outside information.

Kelvin looked around cautiously as if about to share something that shouldn’t be overheard. Then, covering his mouth with one hand, he spoke quietly.

“It seems Warlocks were determined to bring down the Church. I last visited the Royal Capital three weeks ago, so I don’t know much after that, but it was quite chaotic then.”

“The… the Church, you say?!”

When Crow raised his voice, Kelvin startled and raised his index finger to his lips.

“If someone hears, it could be serious trouble.”

“Ah… yes, I’m sorry. But could I hear more details about that story?”

“Yes, I’ll tell you everything I know. In the Royal Capital, there were loud bangs, and strange things flying in the sky…”

Strange things flying in the sky?

Perhaps the Warlocks summoned demons.

Despite the secretive conversation taking place in the swaying cart, the outside scenery remained peaceful.

* * * * *

The A-Rank party, having successfully cleared the unexplored Labyrinth, visited the Adventurer’s Guild carrying the Labyrinth Core and the spoils from the leader monster that Crow had defeated.

In a situation where they might be promoted to S-Rank with this quest, they were far from smiling—instead, they seemed lost.

As if they had lost something precious.

Of course, Franz the Priest was alone in his lewd smile.

Seeing them, the receptionist Reina quickly headed to the Guild Master’s room.

Since little was known about the unexplored Labyrinth, his help was needed.

Opening the firmly closed door, she found a man with a large scar on his forehead—Guild Master Kardan—sitting in a chair reviewing documents.

With his furrowed brow making him look even more fierce than usual, Reina startled momentarily before composing herself and speaking.

“Master, A-Rank party Black Crow has returned.”

“Hmm… Reina, close the door please.”

“Ah, yes.”

As Reina carefully closed the door, Kardan let out a deep sigh.

Crow, member of A-Rank party Black Crow, individually a B-Rank adventurer.

That was certainly what was written in the documents.

But the aura he emitted before departing for the C-Rank mission was not merely that of a B-Rank.

It was something beyond even S-Rank.

A chilling feeling that made his hair stand on end.

Even when meeting the triple-attribute genius magician called the Great Sage, he hadn’t felt this way.

Kardan flipped over the document containing Crow’s information, stood up from his seat, and said:

“Reina, if anyone from Black Crow asks about Crow’s whereabouts, tell them you don’t know.”

“What? But…”

“I know. He’s gone to the Royal Capital now. Because his master is critically ill.”

“Yes, that’s right. But I don’t think his party members would be unaware of that?”

“That’s exactly my point. They wouldn’t be unaware, so if they ask, it’s suspicious. Anyway, don’t tell them.”

Kardan brushed past the dazed Reina and headed toward the reception area.

All while promising himself not to disturb Crow’s mood.

Seeing the Guild Master coming down, Black Crow’s leader, Lael, took out the Labyrinth Core and the leader’s spoils from her Magic Pouch and placed them on the floor.

She would have preferred to throw everything away, but she couldn’t.

As a leader, it wasn’t right to discard everyone’s gains based solely on her emotions.

Kardan immediately realized upon seeing the spoils.

That this unexplored Labyrinth had been too much for merely an A-Rank party.

And that the aura he had felt from Crow was real.

Of course, the details would need to be confirmed by calling an appraiser.

Kardan spoke to the half-dazed Black Crow leader:

“Good work. I’ll call an appraiser as soon as possible to check the spoils. You should all go rest your tired bodies.”

“Guild Master… has Crow, has Crow been here?”

“Crow? Ah, that man with black hair down to his shoulders. Hmm, now that you mention it, I think he used to be with you, but I don’t see him. Perhaps…”

“That’s enough.”

Lael turned away without listening to the Guild Master’s next words.

She already knew what he was going to say.

He was probably going to ask if Crow had died in the Labyrinth.

If he had died, she wouldn’t be asking like this in the first place.

If only he had died, then at least she could have watched over his final moments…

Lael forcibly pushed back the tears that threatened to spill and headed toward the lodging where they had been staying.

Seeing her distress, the elven archer Elin hurriedly followed her outside.

That left two members of Black Crow in the Adventurer’s Guild: Franz and Derin.

Derin, fitting the description of a thief perfectly with her slender figure, approached Franz as if flaunting her body. She whispered in his ear:

“Tonight at midnight, come to the bridge overlooking the river. I’ll give you something good.”

“Are you trying to seduce me…”

Derin left the guild without even listening to Franz’s words.

Watching her departing figure with her swaying hips, Franz couldn’t control his rising smile and exhaled hot breath through his nose.

‘Ah… Goddess, I might betray your faith today. But I, Franz, have rooted out the heretical Warlock, so please turn a blind eye.’

With the expression of someone already lost in pleasure, the crazed Priest offered a light prayer and left the guild with a spring in his step.