Registering with the adventurer guild seems to be quite simple and doesn't
involve any typical fantasy stuff, such as getting a magical card created from
thin air, where all my information is visible. It was to be expected, since this
world doesn't deal with stats and skill points, and magic isn't the solution to
everything.
Here, I only had to sign my name on a form after reviewing its contents.
However, it was in no way simple, since I can't read the language of this
world. I was fortunate that the bard and Gram left to gather more information
about the upcoming quest issue, and only Lady Nightwane stayed with me in
the room where the formalities were being sorted.
Thus, when the guild worker left for a moment, Senka could translate for
me quickly, and I could fill in the form. The dark elf is still shaking in her
boots whenever the doll girl speaks, but I know she'll never reveal it to the
others. After all, there's a secret between them that she doesn't want to get out
further than it already has.
I'll have to ask Senka to teach me this language properly over time since I
won't be able to hide my identity for long if I can't understand the human
writing system. If I were a peasant, it might be reasonable for me to be
illiterate, but my setting is that I'm a noble.
And if I don't learn how to read, I won't be able to study the magic book
Arcelia gave me.
"Thank you for waiting." The guild worker who took our forms away for
the final procedures comes back into the room. "Here is your guild emblem.
Please show it whenever you are acting on behalf of the guild during
requests."
She hands Lady Nightwane and me each a metal badge with the guild's
symbol on the front and our names carved onto the back.
I've become an adventurer!
With our newly gained proof of membership, we return to the main hall to
show it to Rolan and Luna. Holding it up high for them to see, I grin from ear
to ear. There's no turning back now; I'll be coming with them, whether they like it or not.
"You can't get rid of me anymore." I grin at the leader and wink at Luna.
The latter looks at me with a bewildered expression.
"Hah, the joke's on you. I'll work you hard from now on." Rolan accepts it
with humor and returns my grin with one of his own. "No getting away from
me now!"
I find myself laughing with him, and realize that despite our inherent
differences, we could become friends. If only he didn't want to kill my
mother...
"Rolan, come here!" Ingrid's voice resounds through the hall, and we all
look up to the second floor. The guild master is standing on the gallery in
front of her office and waving at the leader.
It seems she has news for us.
We're back in Ingrid's cozy office. From her expression, I can judge that
things didn't go as smoothly as they could have. I think it's obvious that the
merchant isn't going to have the slaves packed up and loaded on his carriages
already when he's only heading out in a few more days.
"Vigi inspected Sveinn's carriages as well as the warehouse where he stores
his goods but found nothing out of the ordinary." Crossing her arms while
sitting in her boss chair, the guild master shares the piece of information she
gained. I already expected that it wouldn't be so easy to find proof. "But
there's something else. I had a guy go and check on Lady Nightwane's store,
and someone broke down the front door. It seems those kidnappers returned,
and when they didn't find her, they trashed the place completely."
"So they came back..." Luna frowns and gives Lady Nightwane a
sympathetic glance. The dark elf seems quite shaken by the news.
"But they left clear footprints, so they don't know that we're investigating
them. I have my best trackers on their trail." Ingrid's face is unexpectedly
filled with aggressive determination. For some reason, she sounds very
reassuring right now. "If we can find their base, we might be able to obtain
evidence that links them to the slave trade and Sveinn."
"The big man told me that the city watch has some illicit dealings with
Sveinn and most likely other smugglers that may be carrying slaves." Rolan
brings up this concern and looks to Ingrid with a thoughtful expression.
"This issue might be out of our league, is that what you're saying?" Her eyes pierce into his, as she inquires with a dangerous undertone. Why does it
feel like she's judging him?
"Not like that's going to stop us, right?" Grinning, the leader pumps his fist
and responds naturally. That's so cliché! He's like the typical shounen anime
hero who doesn't put any thoughts into potential consequences and merely
follows his convictions!
"Thought so." Ingrid smiles. It seems she already knew he would answer
like this.
"But Gram and Sigurd aren't around right now." Rolan brings up the fact
that two of this party members might not be back on time for when the
trackers return with information on their hideout, and wouldn't be able to join
the raid if we were to go right then.
"That's alright. I told my trackers to keep watch over their hideout when
they find it, and send someone back to inform me of its whereabouts."
Standing up from her chair, Ingrid walks over to her window. "I'm sure we
have plenty of time before then, so we'll gather everyone first."
What follows is a round of strategizing during which I don't have much to
add. I can't really come up with battle plans or strategies since all I was ever
good at was one on one fighting games.
In the end, they decide that the best course of actions is to wait it out until
the slavers make a move. Ingrid says that she will make the person called
Vigi keep on shadowing Sveinn's every move, to find out where he's keeping
the slaves - if he is transporting any.
It's a pretty good strategy. If by chance he finds out that it's in a place
different from where the second group that visited Lady Nightwane's store is
going to, we may be able to find more than one of their bases.
But this means that we might have a few more days before the beginning of
the operations. In other words, I can learn some more magic in that time.
Gram and the bard return to the guild shortly after we leave Ingrid's office
and sit down in the hall downstairs. The big man brings some news from the
city watch. The few among them he has been friends with for a long time and
whom he trusts are willing to lead a full search on Sveinn's carriages when he
passes through the gates.
I didn't consider it before, but what we're doing is vigilantism. Without a
warrant, you can't search a house or cargo, or arrest a person whom you aren't catching in the process of committing a crime. At least that's how it was in
modern day Japan, but I don't know how the legal system works here.
According to the bard, he found out that there were rumors about illegal
constructions going on in the slums at night a few years ago. It was
investigated back then, but nobody found signs of anything having been
changed, so it wasn't further pursued. The likelihood that the slave traders
settled there and built a base is pretty high, then.
It's possible we're dealing with a hidden fortress where a lot of people
could be gathered, which has been in operation for years without being
detected. Either they must have gotten sloppy for us to catch them, or they
were able to deal with such situations before easily.
We'll see then, but for now, we don't have anything to do and are basically
on standby for the next few days, until Ingrid gives the command to move
out. We all have lunch together, and then the party separates again to gather
more information.
However, since Lady Nightwane is still under the threat of being
kidnapped, we're told to stay either at the guild or the Dancing Dragon. The
same goes for Luna, who's going to stay with Rolan for the time being.
In other words, I have some free time with the dark elf and Senka.
"Let's go back to the inn." As the others move to leave the guild hall, I take
Lady Nightwane's hand and pull her up.
"Yes..." She blushes at the physical contact, but a bashful smile graces her
lips. Apparently, she just can't get enough of someone touching her so
casually, even if it's only through her gloves.
I hear Senka clicking her tongue but ignore it.
"Someone, help!" Suddenly, a loud voice cries out from the entrance of the
guild. All eyes are on the two men who just came in; they're both wounded,
although one is in much better shape than the other. He's propping up his
delirious companion who looks close to death.
"What happened?" Rolan is among the first to react and runs over to
support them. Luna immediately follows him and begins to administer first
aid. I guess I'll go along and heal them using my new light magic spell.
"Master Norling... had us track the footprints... leading away from Lady
Nightwane's store..." Breathing heavily and holding his bleeding shoulder,
the less injured of the two begins to explain the circumstances leading to their
current states.
Apparently, they found the kidnappers' hideout in the slums, but were
spotted and ambushed while deciding who would go and bring the news.
They were three, but one stayed behind to let these two escape and return to
the guild. They barely made it to the main street, after which the attackers had
to give up their pursuit.
That means the slavers know we're coming.
"Everyone, get ready. We need to move right now!" Rolan announces into
the guild hall, before jumping up to his feet and running upstairs to inform
Ingrid about the change in the situation. We have to go there as quickly as
possible, or the slave traders will make themselves disappear.
I cast a healing spell on the more heavily wounded man, whose halfconscious state stabilizes when he feels the comfortable light seeping into
him before he slips into slumber. The cuts slowly but visibly close up under
my magic, and all the gathered adventurers watch in awe. Then I move on to
the one who explained the situation to us. He'll have to lead the way so that
we can find their hideout.
"Laila!" From the back of the guild hall, Ingrid calls out a name, as she
walks towards us. A young woman with red hair in a big braid and sharp
green eyes leaves the circle of onlookers to respond to the call. "Tell Inga to
find Vigi and bring him the news. He should continue his surveillance on
Sveinn, and apprehend him if he shows signs of trying to escape."
"Understood." With a nod, the woman known as Laila moves to fulfill her
task without any questions asked and leaves the guild in a quick sprint.
"Hear me, Halfdan!" Another person is summoned. This time, a rugged
man with a brown, lion-like mane of a hairdo and a thick beard, who was
watching the situation from his nearby seat, stands up to heed the call.
"Gather your group now and get ready for battle."
"Right on." With a deep and rumbling voice like rolling boulders, the man
named Halfdan turns to the others in the guild. "Get everyone back here and
tell them to gear up."
He seems like the kind of person who's all about muscles, and I assume the
same is true for the members of his party. But when it comes down to a raid
on a potentially fortified position, those kinds of people are usually the best.
"Arni, gather your men. We need you on perimeter." The man Ingrid
addresses is the typical image of a ranger, with dark brown hair, sporting a
two-day-old beard, and covered in a green cloak. Completing it is the bow and quiver on his back. I assume by 'on perimeter', she means to keep watch
over the surroundings of the slavers' base, which is the perfect job for
someone like him.
Ingrid calls upon several more people, but I get busy listening to the lastminute strategizing Rolan and his party does on the side. After all, I'm one of
his members now. They're thinking of ways to minimize the chance for the
slavers to escape into the slums, which are practically impossible to search
with the numbers we have here.
I feel like they might have already run away and emptied the building
complex we're supposed to be raiding. At least if I were their leader, I would
have ordered everyone to run for it and scatter into the winds. Of course, if
they think they can stand fast against the assault from the entire adventurer
guild, they might not move at all.
For now, I have nothing to add to the strategy meeting, so I start thinking
about my role in what's about to go down. If I assume that the other
adventurer parties are all around the level of Rolan's, I feel that this should be
easy. The thugs only looked physically strong, but I'm sure they don't have
the amount of teamwork these guys have.
And if push comes to shove, I can always just get out of there on my own.
Ah, of course, I'd be taking Senka and Lady Nightwane with me.
"Hear me." Ingrid gathers everyone around her for a briefing on the interparty strategy. The other groups cease their talks and turn to listen to her.
"Halfdan and his group should be able to find and deal with any underground
passageways using their earth magic. But we might be too few to surround
the place completely as well as to raid it."
Although there are around thirty people here, it's entirely possible that the
slavers have many more. If they were to focus solely on escaping, there's no
way that Arni's party of six could hold fast against an onslaught of twenty on
their own. After all, their job is supposed to be picking up individuals who try
to escape alone.
"Umm..." I make, and everyone instantly turns around to me. My words get
stuck in my throat, and I have to swallow physically to get talking again;
being the center of attention is still a little daunting. "Miss Luna can cast ice
magic, right?"
"Yes, but what of it?" She lifts an eyebrow and asks in an almost snapping
tone. Well, Luna-chan, if you would let me finish, I would tell you. This was a rhetorical question because I know you can.
"Could you use it to create a layer of ice around the building?" Judging by
everyone's stares, I just dumbfounded them with this suggestion. What, is this
idea so out there? "This way you could seal all the exits. Then we could use
an underground passage to get in."
This might be easier said than done, since I don't know the laws behind the
magic in this world, and where it comes from. If it requires something like
mana, then I'm sure she'll run out of it before she could encase an entire
building. At least that's what I know from game logic, so I might be wrong.
So far, I didn't feel anything like that though, when I used the healing spell.
And if there's no mana, then there are no limitations to magic than the caster's
imagination. That would make for a very broken system.
"I can do it, but if they have someone proficient in fire magic, they could
just melt it away." Luna replies with a thoughtful expression. The typical
rock paper scissors of elemental attacks, huh? But I feel like you forgot the
fact that the building here are mostly made of wood, as far as I can tell. If you
use fire magic from inside a building to melt ice encasing the exterior, it's the
easiest way to burn the entire house down first.
"Yes, but then Arni and his group could pick those off that emerge from the
breach. It would create a bottleneck, which is far better than them running
away in every direction." Ingrid picks up my suggestion and carries it further.
It seems I'm not needed here anymore, so I disappear into the background
again.
In the end, it's decided that the group will split up into two teams, with the
parties under Rolan and three others performing the raid, while Halfdan and
Arni's parties would make sure nobody could escape, and provide medical aid
in case it's needed.
Incidentally, Luna, Lady Nightwane and I were meant to be put under
Halfdan's command, but the former refused very adamantly. I joined in on it
because I didn't want to miss out on the fun of raiding a criminal bastion, as
well as potentially nabbing a few bodies along the way.
"Alright alright, but can you guarantee that your ice magic will hold out for
that long?" Rolan obviously wants Luna to stay out of danger's way. In a
sense, he's making a legitimate point with that concern. But questioning your
girlfriend's capabilities like that is not a smart thing to do.
"I will just make it a glacial prison if you think an ice prison is not
enough." Are those actual spell names or are you just making comparisons? I
can't tell. But it seems to convince Rolan, so it must hold some meaning.
"I-I'll stay here, s-since I can't fight..." Lady Nightwane mutters sheepishly,
but nobody pays attention to her, so only I hear what she says. I'm a little
surprised since I expected that she would want to be with us so that she can
maybe find whomever she has been looking for all this time just a little bit
earlier.
In either case, I finally have an official reason to join the adventurers on a
potentially very dangerous mission, since I can use healing magic like a white
mage. Even though I'm carrying Senka like a certain black mage in a fantasy
game, who channels magic through dolls.
I move to the back of the group and make sure the bard is surrounded by
people talking before I lift Senka up close to my face.
"I forgot to ask... but can you fight?" I whisper to her. I know she can use
something like a life-draining curse when she ingests someone's blood, but
that's a very conditional ability with a steep prerequisite. Her body looks
quite frail, and the stitches don't help in the least to change that impression,
so I'm not sure she could draw someone's blood by herself. It feels like she
could be broken into pieces by just a strong impact.
"Well, for starters, I have a fear factor going for me. Similar to your real
appearance, when people see me move, they get scared." She replies without
moving her mouth.
Well, that's a psychological effect, but that alone doesn't kill people. Oh
wait, it does. Someone actually died upon seeing my true appearance. Still,
that can't be completely reliable in a battle.
"Also, I can attack people's souls directly. Any damage done to the soul is
reflected onto the body it occupies." That sounds really scary, oi! It's like a
certain demon that can wound people in their dreams and cause real damage
to their bodies. "But do you want me to join in the fighting?"
"No, I don't. We shouldn't reveal ourselves to anyone whom we can't just
dispose of without causing trouble."
"Thought so."
"It's just for future reference."
Finally, Ingrid concludes the briefing and tells us to get ready to move right
away. Apparently, we'll start as one group, but split up shortly before reaching our destination, to cover as many escape routes as possible, as well
as mask our final approach.
I'm getting fired up.