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CHAPTER 225: THE APOLOGY AND THE COMPENSATION

CHAPTER 225: THE APOLOGY AND THE COMPENSATION

The morning after the incident at the Snake Tower, we gathered in a room at the “Dancing Bear Pavilion”.

Despite the trouble, the competition to collect the Labyrinth Escape Stones continued. The results were now being announced.

By the way, Kinu came in first, Nelphie in second, me in third, Cinque in fourth, and Drake in fifth, and everyone managed to collect over one hundred Labyrinth Escape Stones. Kinu won by an overwhelming margin over second place, and was given the right for us to “Fulfill one of Kinu’s requests while we are here in Wislo.”

Out of curiosity, I asked Kinu about her hunting methods, but it was not something that others could easily imitate. While she was concerned about whether there were other Adventurers around, she seemed to be able to achieve overwhelming hunting efficiency by using Area Hunting magic. Kinu had an incredible amount of Magical Power on her, and her recovery speed was correspondingly way faster, so she was able to adjust her Magic so that she did not run out of Magical Power even over the three-day period, and was able to hunt a wider area than the rest of us.

My personal prediction was that the group of monsters such as us — Kinu, Cinque, and I, who needed less rest than ordinary humans –- would take the top spots, but I was a little surprised to see Nelphie in second place. It would have been difficult to get that rank unless she had calculated her movement speed, the terrain and spawn conditions of the floor she was currently going to, and hunted very efficiently.

Feeling that the competition within the party was a good stimulus for us to go on, the conversation turned to the incident from last night. However, I did not know the exact details of it, so we decided to all go to “Tekirana” and hear what happened directly from them, but Cinque and Drake frowned when I told them that I had been suddenly attacked. I did not think they would do anything stupid, but I think it would be best to just give them a quick warning, just in case……

***

In the afternoon, Curulario was waiting for us at the Adventurer’s Guild as our “guide.”

Curulario had certainly met everyone once before, and I could tell that Curulario, who was in the midst of all of this trouble when it went down, was also on friendly terms with “Tekirana”, so he was the best choice to ease our vigilance.

It seems that what Nelfie said about “Tekirana’s” clever Sub-Master in the advance information she received was all true. Despite the fact that Ciel, the Clan Master, was like that…… It was very likely that Heil’s ability to grasp the situation, crisis management, and Clan management skills were the only reasons they were able to rise to the second-rank position in Wislo, which was the base of operations for so many other Clans.

Curulario guided us to a large building that stood out even in the area known as “The Second Avenue.”

「Well, everyone, we have arrived! This is the “Tekirana” Clan’s house!」

With that being said, Curulario opened the front door and entered the building as if he knew the place really well, then led us to a room at the top of the stairs and opened the door for us.

Ciel and Heil were waiting inside the room for us, and stood up from the sofa as we entered.

「Aun-san, let me start this by saying that I’m really sorry about yesterday.」

「I’m sorry I attacked you because. It was all because I misunderstood the situation.」

The first thing Ciel and Heil said was an apology to me. This was probably not directed at me specifically, but rather at the other Black Bolts members as well, as a way of saying “We have no hostile intentions towards you all.”

「You said yesterday that you shall explain everything to us today, right? So you should explain the situation right away. That’s what we came here to hear.」

「Well then, let me start by doing just that. For starters, Curulario does not actually belong to “Tekirana”, and Ciel himself is not very good at explaining things properly. Ah, I don’t want to talk while standing, so please have a seat for the time being. I will have some snacks and refreshments ready in a moment.」

「Oh my. Is it going to be that long of a conversation?」

「Yes, I am afraid so. If we just talk briefly, it won’t take that long, but I would like to go into more details about the situation at hand so that you can have a full understanding of it, so I am afraid it will be a little bit long.」

「Well, since you are willing to share all that information with us, then we are going to happily accept it.」

「Well then, everyone, please have a seat. And the two in the back, please stop making those scary faces, if you would be so kind.」

The two in the back are Cinque and Drake. They were threatening Ciel and Heil with their glares ever since they first entered the room. I guess they were still not convinced that I was attacked last night. However, I could see that Ciel and Heil had the strength to not change their expressions even when they received the angry glares of those two at the same time.

「For now, everyone, sit down. And you two, Cinque and Drake, calm down your anger, why don’t you?」

「……If that’s what you say, Boss.」

「I understand.」

「Well, first, let me explain the situation right away. First of all, are you perhaps aware that the number of Labyrinth Escape Stones circulating on the market at the current moment has been gradually decreasing?」

「Ah, yes, I heard it from a Guild employee yesterday.」

「That’s actually the very end of the story. The truth is, this trend has been noticeable for a few months now. At first, I did not think it was that important when we saw the number on the market, but recently we realized that it was becoming a pretty serious problem.」

「What? If you want to collect Labyrinth Escape Stones, you can just go around the Beginner and Intermediate levels like we did, and you don’t need to use several in a day, right?」

「Normally, that would be true…… Ah, Aun-san, do you know the wall you always hit when trying to conquer the highest level of the “Dragon Tower”?」

「I don’t like the fact that you have suddenly changed the subject, but does that have anything to do with it?」

「Yes. In fact, that’s the crux of the matter. In the Wislo Dungeon…… Especially in the “Dragon Tower”, there is something called “Hunting Ground Monopoly”…… on the fifth floor and above.」

「Hunting Ground Monopoly??」

「Yes, it’s when a certain Clan or faction occupies the front of the stairs leading to the upper floors and do not let anyone other than their allies through, monopolizing the floors beyond that among themselves. Naturally, the Clans that are currently doing this are the number one ranked “Calvados” and the Clans that belong to that faction.」

「Oh, I see.」

Monopolizing the hunting ground is equal to monopolizing the key items needed to open the Boss room. Furthermore, there is also the advantage that items that only drop on higher floors other than key items can be sold at the market or auction at any price the seller asks for. This will allow you to have more money and improve your equipment, and you can also buy more effective recovery items such as potions. By doing this repeatedly, you will be able to increase the level gap between you and other factions and Clans, and you will be able to monopolize the hunting grounds more securely…… Other than the increased hatred from the enemy Clans, as it was a virtuous cycle.

「As expected, you understand it quickly, which is really helpful. Now, if you try to open the blocked floor, you know what will happen…… right?」

「It would basically amount to a battle between Adventurers. And it would be a melee one with a large number of people mixed together……」

「Yes, that’s right. Of course, it’s the inside of a dungeon that we are talking about, so if you are about to die, you can just use the Labyrinth Escape Stone to get away to safety. Then, after recovering at the entrance, you will attack again as soon as your companions gather together. Of course, the blocking side will also use Labyrinth Escape Stones, and if the battle continues for a long time, the two sides will replenish their personnel and items each time this happens. If that’s the case, once a battle is evenly matched, it becomes difficult to reach a proper conclusion, and the number of Labyrinth Escape Stones used will increase considerably depending on the time spent fighting. If that continues many times over, not only will the demand for Labyrinth Escape Stones exceed the supply, but the assets of both Clans will also decrease substantially.」

「And if there is a shortage of Labyrinth Escape Stones and potions, you won’t be able to challenge the Boss battle until you have the required number of items, and you can safely continue to monopolize the hunting grounds during that period.」

That explains why Ciel was used to fighting against other people. Furthermore, if this story was true, it also explained why the Assassin Clan targeted Cururarlio. So……

「Could it be that…… “Calvados” is connected to the Assassin Clan?」

「Yes, exactly. “Calvados” openly denies this, of course, and the Assassin Clan itself usually pretends to be a healthy and clean Clan. That’s why we have had such a hard time catching them red-handed, and we only just got the information that a large-scale plundering plan was being carried out at the Snake Tower.」

「So that’s what it was. Does that mean Ciel committed the suicide attack on his own?」

「Yes, the moment the information came in, he ran off alone from the rest of the Clan. We hurried after him, but Ciel’s serious speed was so strong that there was no way I could catch up with him personally. And then, when I arrived at the Snake Tower, I bumped into Curulario. That’s when I heard from him that you have saved him, Aun-san.」

「I really regret my own actions. I am sorry.」

「No, it’s fine. Well, let’s fight again sometime! This time for real.」

「Yeah, let’s do tha. You were so strong, Aun. If I get the chance to do that…… Let’s continue where we have left off.」

「You are really unbelievable, Ciel…… But Aun is also a true battle maniac…… Otherwise there would be no way to explain his strength properly. That’s all that I wanted to explain to you, but is there anything you would like to ask me, Aun-san and the company?」

Things that I want to ask him…… Hmm?

There were certainly a lot of things I wanted to ask. I was thinking about what to ask first when suddenly Kinu tugged on my sleeve and shook her head.

「Kinu, what’s the matter?」

「Nnh. That’s all for today.」

There must have been a reason as to why Kinu stopped me here. I would like to get some information, but it was not something I need to know right now. I would just leave it all to Kinu.

「I see. Well, in that case, let’s call it a day for today. However, I will tell you this, Aun-san and the others. About Wislo itself. Without any lies, not to mention the compensation this time around. If you want to hear more about this place, please come here again. Also, Kinu-san…… was it? Our feelings of gratitude for saving Curulario and our apology for Clan Master Ciel’s reckless actions are all genuine. Please don’t be so cautious of us.」

「Mhm. I understand that. But it would be better for both of us if we left today’s story here.」

「…… Oh my, I guess that there is just no winning with you, Kinu-san.」

Heil’s words just now…… I did not understand them at all, but maybe Kinu and Heil were engaged in a silent psychological battle this entire time.

Well, I guess I will ask for more details when we get back to the inn.