Ossan Saikyō Chapter 13 Part 06
The following day, as planned, we cleared the F and E-Rank dungeons.
I felt like the number of lesser monsters appearing had increased, perhaps because Rani'【Jinx】level had gone up, but there was no problem as long as they were low-class dungeons.
Since everyone except Shizuna had already cleared these dungeons, Shizuna was the only one who obtained skills.
She acquired【Paralysis Resistance】,【Earth Magic】, and【Stability】, and both she and her Spirits continued to power up steadily.
By the time we returned to town, it was evening.
We went straight to the inn, then I headed to the Viscount's residence while Mariane went to the Guild. I didn't expect anything to happen at the inn, but I told Freynil, Rani, and Sphenia, who were staying behind, to keep an eye on Shizuna.
Mariane and I were each going to report the matter concerning the adventurer from Mekalinan to the Viscount and the Guildmaster. I assumed both of them were already aware of it, but we wanted to confirm it just in case.
I had already visited the Viscount's residence that morning to make an appointment, so I was immediately shown into his office.
“Yo, Soushi. You said you had some information?”
It was customary for the Viscount to speak more casually when it was just the two of us in his office.
“Yes. I imagine you probably already know, but I wanted to confirm it. Yesterday at the Guild, there was someone who appeared to be an adventurer from Mekalinan talking about the undead situation as though it were connected to Orz.
…
It seemed like he was trying to stir up public sentiment by spreading rumors, so I came to report it.”
“Hmm... Well, have a seat. Then, tell me a little more about the situation.”
“Yes. When I went to the Guild yesterday...”
I told him everything I'd seen and heard the previous day.
After hearing the whole story, the Viscount furrowed his brows and groaned thoughtfully.
“What made you think that man was from Mekalinan?”
“One of my party members, Rani, has a keen sense of smell. She said he had the same scent as the adventurers who previously tried to frame Shizuna. We don't have any physical evidence, though.”
“That figures. There's no official record of where an adventurer comes from, after all.”
“The problem is that if this suspicion is true, then together with the incident involving Shizuna, it means Mekalinan is using adventurers as agents. Is something like that tolerated?”
“Of course not. Our agreement with the Adventurer's Guild strictly prohibits that sort of activity. But Mekalinan...”
“Is there something going on?”
“There are rumors that they're involving the Adventurer's Guild itself.”
The Viscount made a very bitter face as he said this.
“If that's true, wouldn't the Adventurer's Guild have to take action as well?”
“If it's true, yes. But if nobody can prove it, it's no different from it not existing. If someone embezzled money, you could gather evidence.
…
But proving that an adventurer is working as an agent isn't something that necessarily leaves physical evidence behind.”
“Ah, I see...”
Another extremely delicate problem had surfaced. If things went badly, it could even develop into a case of corruption within the Guild.
“Of course, I'd always considered the possibility that Mekalinan was using adventurers as agents, but this may be the first time we've actually had a report of someone witnessing behavior that fits the pattern.
…
They could be moving around in other territories as well, so there's no doubt this is valuable information.”
“Then I'm glad I took up some of your time, Your Excellency.”
With that, the Viscount said he would take some sort of measures together with the Guild.
However, even if Mekalinan was deliberately trying to drive a wedge between this country and Orz, there was no reason to think they would only meddle with this country.
If they were also setting something up against Orz, we'd need to remain cautious even after entering Orz.
The following day, we entered the D-Rank dungeon with 15 floors. This was the dungeon where we had become〘Dragon Slayers〙.
It took us about 7 hours to reach the lowest floor, I think. We pushed straight through with only one rest along the way.
As for the treasure chests on the 5th and 10th floors; the 5th floor had the regular Boss, a Minotaur, and yielded a《Gold Nugget》. The 10th floor had the rare Boss Metal Gigant Tortoise, which yielded an《Elixir》.
As expected, it seemed that even in a dungeon we'd already cleared, a rare Boss maintained the treasure chest's rarity. When I pointed this out, Mariane told me,
“That has technically already been reported. However,〈Saul's Guidance〉is hardly an ordinary party if it can verify that with a single party in few dungeon runs.”
Apparently, it was even written in small print in the guide.
“More surprising is that you've obtained two《Elixirs》from a D-Rank dungeon. If the previous one was also obtained here, there's a possibility that this dungeon itself is unusual.”
“If this turns out to be a dungeon where《Elixirs》appear easily, that could cause a huge commotion.”
“Indeed. However, even if we wanted to investigate, adventurers aren't required to report the items they obtain, so we can't even check the records...”
“We could try entering it a few more times. Assuming we have that much time.”
“If possible, I'd very much appreciate it.”
She said that, but if I started casually agreeing to things, I had a feeling we'd end up being made to investigate the rare treasure chests of every dungeon.
Anyway, the Boss on the 15th and lowest floor was the regular boss, a Lesser Dragon.
I couldn't really treat it as "a weakling that I can take down easily all by myself", so I had Freynil and Sphenia use magic to take away its wings, and while I countered its breath attack, I let Shizuna deliver the finishing blow.
(E/N: Ossan is just being humble here. It means he can definitely, confidently solo that kid of a Lesser Dragon 😂)
“I don't really feel like I was the one who defeated it.”
“There's nothing you can do about that. Once the gap between our abilities closes, you'll be fighting together with us to defeat them.”
I tried to comfort her, but she immediately asked,
“Does that mean you're inviting me to join your party?”
“No, that's not what I meant...”
I was about to say that when I noticed Rani giving me a thumbs-up.
No, that really wasn't what I meant.
“...Well, it's not entirely unrelated to what I meant, but let's just say that was only an example.”
I managed to gloss over it.
Incidentally, Shizuna acquired the【Nimble】skill, which apparently also applied to her Spirits. The sight of the rock figures moving with strangely light steps was rather comical, and Freynil was delighted to see it.
The following day was set aside for shopping and rest. When we stopped by the Guild while shopping, we learned that Shizuna had been promoted to D-Rank, so we celebrated by having a somewhat more lavish lunch.
The day after that, we set out for Tolson. It was a 2-day journey, but we ran the whole way and arrived in Tolson that evening.
We stayed in Tolson for 3 days as well, clearing two F-Rank dungeons and one D-Rank dungeon.
The skills Shizuna acquired were【Illusion Resistance】,【Cold Resistance】, and【Dampening】. In particular,【Dampening】should contribute to improving the defensive power of her Spirits.
Incidentally, when I stopped by the Guild and greeted the receptionist, Kisara, she said,
“Huh? Soushi-san, you've gotten so young that you almost look like a different person.”
So apparently the rejuvenation had happened fairly recently. Could defeating higher-ranked monsters really be affecting my physical age?
Anyway, after taking a day of rest, we finally left Tolson and headed for the border.
We were told it would take about 3 days to reach the border, but since these countries essentially had no diplomatic relations, the roads weren't properly maintained.
In fact, there weren't even any fortresses or anything else at the border. Apparently, the mountain range itself was all that separated the two countries.
“I don't know much about these things, but isn't it unusual for there to be no fortress or anything at the border?”
As we walked along a road that was barely recognizable as one because the dirt was exposed, I asked Mariane.
“Normally, that would be unthinkable. There are several reasons for this. Vermilion and Orz have maintained a policy of non-interference with each other, and there's also a mountain range between them.”
“Then there's also the fact that monsters appear in the mountains. Even if an army tried to cross them, they'd suffer losses just from doing that.”
“That's right. Orz itself is a small country, so Vermilion doesn't consider it enough of a threat to warrant that level of vigilance.”
“We've never had any intention of invading other countries, after all. Our military should by no means be weak, but we're already hard-pressed just keeping Mekalinan at bay.”
Shizuna sighed as she said this, prompting Rani to react.
“Mekalinan is bothering Orz too?”
“Mostly through displays of force along the border. From time to time, they even enter our territory and abduct our people. They're truly no better than bandits.”
“Seriously...? How do you put up with that?”
“They have the greater military strength, after all. Orz also wants to avoid an all-out confrontation.”
From what I'd heard, Mekalinan was even more troublesome than I'd expected.
If Vermilion and Orz could just conclude a proper treaty, it would make for a good deterrent, but apparently, things weren't that simple when it came to relations between countries.
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E/N:
Mekalinan is one heckuva nuisance! Or they have all turned into undead and being controlled by a higher power, who knows 😂!
Stay tuned!
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