Chapter 303: Theory for the Reason behind that Behavior
We had thick sliced bread, minced meat sausage, sunny-side up fried eggs, grilled tomatoes, caesar salad, oranges, cottage cheese and berry jam for breakfast.
I wanted them to get used to eating soft-boiled eggs, but their enjoyment of food is my priority so I don’t force them if they don’t want to. In return, I’ll definitely introduce this to the island, yup, island it is.
Salmonella bacteria grow quickly at temperatures that are around room temperature, like 17°C and 43°C. When conditions are right, they can increase so much that they can make you sick in just one day. On the other hand, if the bacteria are there but the food is freshly prepared, they haven’t grown enough to make you sick yet, so it’s safe to eat.
Everyone was staring weirdly at the sunny-side up eggs, but I simply ignored them all as I placed one on top of the bread slathered with butter, sprinkled some soy sauce on top of it and took a huge bite.
「Jean makes the food seem so tasty, but I’m still not sure about giving it a shot. 」
「Indeed, overcoming deeply ingrained habits and aversions seems to present a considerable challenge. 」
Dinosso and Butler commented.
Hmm, maybe they need one more push?
***
We enjoyed the tea Butler brewed after the meal, then we went to the Adventurer’s Guild. I entered the guild a bit later than the others. Well, no one will remember me anyway even if we walked in together, but still, I can’t bring myself to join them after all.
Naturally, I was guided to the room where Dinosso and the others were, and Dean and Chris were also there. Everyone was present because Glasses requested the presence of all the adventurers who went down.
Ischal, Nefer the White Snake and a young lady with a huge bum, probably an assistant, represented the guild. The presence of the assistant had an instant effect on Dean!
Nefer was peeking out from Glasses shoulder with a cute smile. Is Glasses’ mana that delicious? Oh well, it’s great that you’re fond of him, no matter what.
「As you can see, the guild has been quite busy with all the various happenings occurring in the temple. This incident had brought to light the misdeeds, subterfuge and fraud that the temple had been conducting until now. The repercussions of those are now catching up, if I may say so. 」
Glasses commented as the final negotiations for the remuneration started.
What did he mean by subterfuge and fraud? I wonder what happened to Robe the acolyte? Oh well, I don’t really care about that, though.
The negotiations were mostly wrapped up, so today’s purpose is actually to confirm what I, the guy who didn’t appear until now, wanted. I didn’t want to demand anything, so I simply got my payment and was done with it.
Dean and Chris received a bunch of papers like certificates of mission completion and letters of recommendation for their promotion to Gold Rank. Actually, they could complete the advancement in the fortress city guild, but the duo wanted to handle the procedure in Canum.
The others also came here to negotiate for their own conditions, apparently; they were carrying different pouches aside from the documents and money pouches.
「Did the hero return through the Fae’s Path? 」
Dinosso asked as he took his compensation. Direct to the point as agreed previously.
「He returned the same way apparently. 」
Glasses nodded.
「So what about Amadeo and the others? 」
「The spirit sword was snatched away from Amadeo-sama and his companions, apparently. They will sojourn in the fortress city for a while to assist the guild. 」
Glasses was strangely beaming as he answered.
「Word’s going around that a bunch of light spirits vanished. Is it confirmed now that the hero who showed up here is a Changeling? 」
「 — Indeed, both the Guild and the Feudal Lord acknowledge that. 」
What had been mere suspicions until now had become official, huh. I guess this means they’ll probably mark this as confirmed hostility or something like that.
「We believe he destroyed the entrance situated in the fortress city this time to avoid pursuit. It is also understood now that the changeling of the hero, as unfortunate as it is, devours spirits and makes them go crazy. For those who wish to defeat him before he becomes even more powerful, or before he targets them, that path remains to be the most effective method. 」
He probably just destroyed the entrance before Sis could order him to find a way to take her here. He already got the Spirit Sword that was his target; I totally think he would simply report that the fortress city’s side of the Fae’s Path collapsed.
They continued discussing the situation in the temple for a while longer then we left the Guild.
「So the guy who came through the Fae’s Path was Shrum’s spy, huh. Judging from the expression on the Deputy Guild Master’s face, the guild will probably make Roza’s group do all sorts of stuff or even make them work for free in exchange for not asking questions. 」
Dinosso commented after we reached a distance away from the guild.
「Even the people at the brothel were talking about how Amadeo’s sway is going downhill. Ah, he even cussed at one of his party members. 」
Dean spouted information that supported Dinosso’s words.
「So that’s how it is? 」
「Folks are gossiping about Shrum’s spies all over the place, not just in the fortress city, although it’s just bit by bit. If you tie that in with how the Deputy Guild Master was acting and the rumors in town, it’s obvious that they’re getting messed with. 」
That’s what Dinosso said, but I still don’t get it.
「Maybe it’ll make sense if put this way — folks think that they pretended to be adventurers to steal information or objects within the fortress city, and after they succeeded with their goal, the fake hero helped them escape. 」
Retze explained it to me.
「Roza-sama’s group must have been thoroughly used. 」
「Their actions were quite brainless, or maybe it’s hard to figure out what they’re thinking, but all in all, I think they’ve just been manipulated for a good time. 」
Retze shrugged in response to Butler’s words.
Ahh, so that explains the forced labor for the Guild! They were clueless that they had already been dragged into the mess and were used as cover for the spies.
「I already asked Meikel, the guy we met in the Labyrinth, to keep an eye out and fish for rumors, so we’ll probably hear more details the next time he comes here. Well, it’s all good if it doesn’t involve us. 」
Retze said.
Ohh, Meikel must be that Mr. Talisman. He may not be at par with Retze, but he seemed pretty quick-witted. Butler knocked him out, though.
「That so-called fake hero probably blocked Fae’s Path only for a while, huh. 」
Khan muttered.
「Well it’s weird that he didn’t devour more spirits than that if he really wanted to destroy it— he probably didn’t know that Jean already did it for him for real… 」
Hey Dinosso, what’s up with you staring far off into space with pity while mumbling that, huh!?
NEXT CHAPTER
RELEASE RATE
I Got Transferred in the Middle of a Mountain
Speed up schedule by 10 hours
Current schedule: Every 80 hours
Thanks for the treat.