Chapter 150
“Next . ”
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That’s the only word you could hear at the west gate of Nicora . It was eight in the morning .
It was of course, coming from the guards . They smoked cigars and their clothes were unkempt . If anything, I was actually relieved at this point to have my expectations met . All the guards I had met up until now had been rather nice and helpful .
“Next . ”
The caravan that was in front of us moved along, and it was now our turn . Daniela was silently wearing her mask, in hopes that no one would talk to her . I took her status card and handed it over with mine . The guard wrenched them out of my hands . I might have been annoyed if I hadn’t anticipated this, but Yis’s information had given me a lot of patience .
The guard was otherwise doing his job in peace, but unfortunately, I was about to create some more work for him .
“Uh… Sorry to bother you, but it so happens that we picked up something rather…shocking…”
“…You did what?”
I was trying to appear diffident . It was something I was good at, as I used to work with customers at the store . I often altered my attitude depending on the age of the customer . And so I knew that my safest bet in this case was to portray an awkward and uncertain male type .
The guard’s eyes looked at me for the first time . He looked around for second before moving closer . He smelled of cigars .
“What is it?”
“It’s magic ore . You know, horrible rain yesterday, wasn’t there? And there was this old shed you see . We escaped into it and found this . ”
I whispered this to the guard before pointing at the bag . It’s in there .
“Huh… A shed . A shed… And you mean to say that you brought it all here?”
“Oh, yes, we did . You can fit a lot in this bag . ”
“…Well, leave it in the back of the guard house then…”
Then he whispered more quietly .
“Be careful that no one sees you . ”
I wasn’t sure what he meant, and I didn’t feel like asking . I could tell that any further prying would lead to danger .
“Understood, sir . ”
“That will be all . ”
He finally pulled away and pointed at the guard house with his spear . That meant we could go . Also, it was where we were to leave it . I decided to obey quietly .
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When we went to the back of the guard house, there were three middle aged guards who oozed slothfulness as they raised lazy eyes towards us . Uh, this was awkward…
“Eh? Who are you?”
“Uh, um . The guard at the gate said that we should drop up the things we picked up over here . ”
“Picked up? Have you heard about this?”
“No, I’ve heard nothing . ”
The three old men stood up now . The smartest looking of the group then said he would ask his superior, and then he left . Then the other two stood in front of me . They looked incredibly strong and were also quite tall… I felt like I had stood in the shadow of a tree .
“So?”
“Uh, just wait one moment . I’ll take it out . ”
I put the bag on the ground and thrust my hands into it . Feeling the edges of a wooden box, I pulled it out . Strangely, I never felt the weight of an object until it was completely out of the bag . Something about the space within was different . Though, I had no idea how it worked .
Gently, I place the box next to the guards . The process was repeated until all twelve of them were stacked on top of each other .
“Just let me open it . ”
I say as I take off the lid and pick up the contents . There was an amber magic stone in my hand . It had the earth attribute . I wasn’t sure what it was used for…
“The boxes are full of these . ”
“Ah, I see . ”
That was all that the guard said as he picked up one of the stones and sighed .
“Huhhh… You’re not from here, are ya?”
“You bet . We came from Lambrusen . ”
“Ahh… In any case, hmm . We’ll be keeping this then . That’s why you brought it, no?”
“Yes . Taking lost items to the guards . Isn’t that standard practice?”
“Aye, you’re damn right it is . ”
The guard tossed the stone back into the box and signaled for the other guard to move away . Alright, I guess this meant that we could leave now . It was a good thing that these guys were easy to deal with .
“Well, good luck!”
“Aye, have a pleasant journey . ”
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I waved at them and turned to leave…but was stopped by a voice .
“Hey, you . Adventurers . Wait right there . ”
It was the smart-looking guard . I quickly turned to look at Daniela, and she shook her head . That was the signal that we should leave .
“Uh, we’re really in a hurry…”
“Bah, it won’t take long . The captain wishes to thank you . ”
Now that was suspicious as hell . He had only gone to confirm something, he didn’t even know what it was that we had brought . And why would the captain want to meet us just because we dropped something off? It was like when the police department offer letters of commendation or something .
“Now, over here . Come with me . ”
He opened the door as if he would not take no for an answer . We couldn’t turn back now . If it came to it, I would go berserk so that Daniela could escape .
“…Well, since you insist . I suppose I will!”
“Aye, just in this room in the back . ”
“Certainly . ”
I really didn’t want to, but we had no choice . I didn’t want the tiger cub, but would enter the cave anyway…
There was nothing particularly suspicious about the place once we were inside . It was just a long hallway . But then I started hearing strange voices from the other doors . Actually, it sounded like the sounds Daniela often made at night . Could it… I would have to go check .
“Asagi, let us move along . ”
“Uh, I just need to check something . ”
“I will never sleep with you again . ”
“Let’s hurry along . ”
We had better things to do . We had to thank this captain person and then get out of here . Ugh, so busy . So very busy .
We eventually arrived at the far back and were greeted by large double doors . It was just a door, but was able to suggest that it led to someone very important . I had no intention of worshipping the lord of this den, but I did have a mind to not make them angry for no reason . So I knocked .
“Who is it?”
Surprisingly, it was a woman’s voice .
“The Adventurers who dropped the stuff off . ”
“…Enter . ”
Daniela and I nodded at each other and then carefully entered the room . It was large . It could fit many people and many things .
“Excuse me . ”
“…”
The caption was in the far back as she stared at us . It was the first time I had seen someone with dark brown skin in this world . Her long hair was black over her skin, and she oozed the kind of presence you might expect from a famous actress . I could also see that her ears point out from her hair .
“An elf…?”
“Aye, a dark elf, Adventurer . And I see that you, are a light elf . ”
“…”
She could tell . I guess some people just had that ability . Daniela slowly removed the mask from her face .
“Hmph . I knew it . Platinum hair . The white mask . I thought it was you when I heard about those two things . ”
The captain chuckled . Then she raised her legs through the slit in her skirt and lay them on top of her desk .
Almost…
“And what are you doing here, Daniela?”
“What?”
She called Daniela by her name before we had introduced ourselves .
“…It really has been a while . Eve . ”
Daniela replied . Her expression was twisted in a way that suggested she was looking at something very distasteful . The captain of this city of crime was an acquaintance of Daniela . And there seemed to be some history there .
“Indeed . You look quite well . ”
“No thanks to you . ”
“You’re so stubborn . It’s been one hundred years . You should be happier to see me . ”
“I would rather have not met the likes of you at all . ”
“Ahahahaa! You really do hate me then!”
They hated each other… Could this situation be any more uncomfortable? Should I grab Daniela’s arm and make a run for it?
“You, over there . You’re Asagi Kamiyashiro, aren’t you?”
“Uh, yes . ”
She knew…
“I checked the information from your cards after the report . I saw a very nostalgic name there . Along with yours . ”
“Ohh… So I guess captains are allowed to do that . ”
“Of course, we can . ”
The corner of Eve’s lip curled in a smile . Yes, she seemed very mean-spirited indeed .
“Hmph… You have an alias now, Daniela . Ah, and so do you . In spite of your face, I guess you must be moderately skilled . ”
Eve smiled amusedly as she looked at the copies of our cards .
“So? Why have you called us here?”
Daniela seemed like she was out of patience as she asked the question .
“Nothing really . I just happened to hear that some fool had brought the funds I sent to the bandits and wanted to give it back . Of course, I had to see the face of such a fool . But to think that it was you, Daniela . What a surprise that was!”
Eve clapped her hands together and laughed . So the guards really were in league with the bandits…
“Well, I check all the cards at night anyways . So I would have sent people after you eventually . But this makes things much more simple . ”
“And why would you come after us?”
“You already know . To take the sacred treasures of the tree of life and death!”
And with that said, Eve snapped her fingers . The door behind us burst open and soldiers flooded into the room . They were all holding weapons .
“Now, give it to me . Then I will spare your lives . ”
“I cannot do that . ”
“I see . Then you will die along with that scum beside you!”
The soldiers moved . Now that they rushed towards us with weapons drawn, they were our enemies . I wasn’t thrilled to fight against humans, but our lives were in danger . We had to fight .
I quickly unsheathed the sword at my waist and blocked the first blade that fell right in front of my eyes . I didn’t want to fight, but this was war .