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I Will Save You – Part 10

“Hikaru, was there a Goblin Leader?”

“I don’t know what they’re called but there was a Goblin bigger than the manager here and another one with a horn which looked like the leader’s attendant. I read that hitting the Boss would confuse the whole horde, so I attacked it.”

“Did you really?! Were you okay?!” Freya grabbed his shoulder.

“Ouch.”

“Ah.”

What he did was reckless. If a horde of Goblins had a leader, the local guild would work together with the neighboring town’s Adventurers’ Guild to kill it. If left unchecked, they might attack villages in the outskirts and multiply rapidly. It was similar to pest control. The ironclad rule was to deal with them while the damage was still minimal.

“Of course I am. I’m right here.”

“Y-You’re right. I’m sorry. So you got away safely after attacking the Goblin Leader. Did you hit it with something? An arrow?”

“No. There were some poisonous plants growing nearby so I coated a rock with their sap and threw it.”

Hikaru was lying. He actually killed the Goblin Leader, but either she wouldn’t believe him, or he’d only draw unwanted attention. So he went with the story he came up with: he weakened the Boss with poison.

“I thought the horde wouldn’t disperse unless I attacked the Boss. Fighting them all is purely idiotic.”

“You’re absolutely right.”

“…”

“…”

“…”

The three girls went quiet. They were the idiots who tried to fight the Goblins. They were once again reminded of how reckless their actions were.

“Uh… Hikaru,” Pia said. “Thank you so much for saving us. Is there anything we can do to repay you?”

“We’ll give you our first,” Priscilla said with a blank expression.

“That’s a great idea!” Paula exclaimed.

“Oh, crap. Paula actually loves it.”

“That’s enough!” Freya snapped. “You’ll only cause trouble for Hikaru. A-A-Am I right?”

For some reason she was grabbing Hikaru’s arm and shaking it.

Well if it’s their first… Hikaru thought before he regained his composure. “You don’t need to pay me back. It’s okay.”

“But…”

“Then I just have one favor to ask,” he said. “You too, Freya.”

Freya looked at Hikaru. “What is it?”

“Please don’t tell anyone about the Goblin thing. I just want to live my life as an adventurer in peace. Increasing the chances of me getting picked on by other adventurers is stupid.”

Freya nodded quietly. She herself was involved that one time when adventurers picked on Hikaru.

“I agree,” she said. “There’s also the investigation on what those adventurers did to you girls. And if the citizens found out about the Goblins, they’d only get worried. So I have to ask you to not tell anyone.”

“No way…”

Paula looked dejected. She thought she could get intimate with her love and gradually elevate their relationship to a sexual one.

“We’re done with this matter,” Hikaru declared. “Freya, there’s something I wanted to ask you.”

“What is it?”

“Are the adventurers escorting the transfer to the capital already in Pond?”

He was asking about the adventurers tasked to guard Lavia’s transport.

The three girls looked puzzled, oblivious to what Hikaru was talking about. Realizing that it had nothing to do with them, they proceeded to eat while giving their impressions about the food.

“Why do you ask? I told you I can’t say any more than what I already did.”

“Some staff are coming back tonight, right? I was just wondering if the adventurers are with them.”

“You’re too sharp.”

“They’re skilled adventurers, right? I can’t help but feel curious. Especially if they’re more competent than the ones in Pond.”

“Well, if you put it that way… I can see why a studious person like you would be curious.”

He was recognized as studious out of nowhere. Hikaru didn’t mind, so he let it slide.

“They’re scheduled to arrive tonight,” Freya said.

“It’s already dark outside. The gates should be closed.”

“Guild staff are allowed to pass if there’s special reasons. Apparently, those ladies arrived at the capital late, which pushed their schedule back a bit, and now it’s already dark out.”

“Wait a minute. Ladies?”

“That’s right. The escort is a party of four women.”

Women, huh? I thought for sure they’d be men. Is it because they’re escorting a girl?

“And they’re Rank B adventurers.”

Pia spurted out her food.

“R-R-Rank B?!”

“Ew.”

“Gross.”

“That’s just disgusting, Pia.”

“Yuck.”

“Sorry,” Pia apologized.

“Is Rank B that amazing?” Hikaru asked.

“Of course,” Freya replied. “Among the adventurers stationed here in Pond, the highest rank is D. There’s one Rank A at the capital. Apart from those women, there are only ten other Rank B adventurers.”

“I think ten is plenty already.”

“Hehe. You’ve never been to the royal capital? Its population is forty to fifty times more than that of Pond.”

“Wow.”

It’s that big? Roland had hazy memories of the capital, but most of them were spent inside carriages or some manor.

“The name of their party is ‘Four Eastern Stars’. Their commission completion rate is a hundred percent.”

Hikaru etched the information deep in his mind.

---

It was about ten o’clock when they parted ways. In this world 10 p.m. was quite late, and the whole town was asleep, save for a few taverns and the pleasure district.

The lights are still on.

Hikaru was at the Adventurers’ Guild. To gather the last bit of information he needed.

Lavia was scheduled to be transported tomorrow, but he didn’t know exactly what time. So he could only grind Skill points and make money until today.

The most important piece of information he needed was that of the escorts—the adventurers he had to outwit. He had already anticipated them to arrive the day before.

Let’s see what kind of people they are.

Since the main entrance was shuttered, Hikaru entered through the unlocked door. It didn’t take long for him to find the room with people inside; it was the only place where he could hear voices in the otherwise quiet guild.

“Haha. You’re worrying too much, guildmaster,” said a well-built man.

A gloomy, beautiful woman was standing beside him; she seemed exhausted. They were the guild staff—the submaster and a receptionist—that went to the capital.

“If anything, it’s odd not to be the least bit worried when things didn’t go as planned,” Unken—the guildmaster—replied. “Well, uhh… what did you say your name was?”

“The Distant Glittering Stars. I’ll have you know I’m Rank C. You should be grateful we even came all the way to this scrubby town.”

There were three adventurers, seemingly in their thirties.

Hikaru was eavesdropping from the corridor. When he sensed them with his Detection Skill, he was puzzled. First, there were only three adventurers. And they were all men.

“How are three people going to guard the transfer? The standard for convoys is to have at least four people—at least one pair of eyes in each direction.”

“I told you, old-timer. We’re Rank C. I haven’t heard of Rank C adventurers being ambushed by bandits on the road. Even if we do get ambushed, we can send them packing. If somehow the girl escapes, she can’t get far anyway.”

Hikaru recalled what Freya told him. The party’s name was “Four Eastern Stars”, composed of four women, and they were all Rank B. The information he got was different. Perhaps some sort of problem occurred that prevented the Four Eastern Stars from coming.

“We’re not standing in for those East whatever girls. We’re here because we’re better than them. What’s with the attitude anyway? We can just head back to the capital right now.”

“N-No, please stay.” the submaster appeased, rubbing his hands together.

“Then you know what you have to do, right?”

“Yes, Sir. We have a place reserved for you.”

“Wait,” Unken said. “The escort job is tomorrow and you’re going for a night out?”

“They can leave around noon and still make it to the capital by evening,” the submaster said.

“…”

“There you have it. Let’s go, Mr. Nogusa.”

“All right. It better be a great place.”

“Why, of course.”

The three men left along with the submaster. Hikaru immediately distanced himself from the door as they stepped out onto the corridor.

He took a quick peek inside before the door closed to see only Unken and the receptionist left in the room.

Softly, he pressed his ears against the door just to check if there was any information he might’ve missed. What he heard was Unken heaving a deep sigh.

“How truly sad… What is happening at the capital’s branch?”

“Apparently, the capital’s guild is raising their adventurers’ ranks in response to the war,” the receptionist said. “Should the kingdom then request for personnel, they can make a lot off the commissions.”

“And that is simply sad…”

The receptionist sighed. After that, they talked about work-related things.

With the important topic over, Hikaru left.

I’m lucky.

Not only were they one man short, they were also less competent.

Hikaru had checked their Soul Boards in the corridor earlier. The man called Nogusa had the following stats:

【Soul Board】Nogusa Garage
Age: 31 | Rank: 38 | 33

【Vitality】
【Natural Recovery】2
【Stamina】2
【Immunity】
【Magic Immunity】1
【Disease Immunity】1
【Toxin Immunity】1
【Perception】
【Hearing】1

【Magical Power】
【Mana Capacity】2
【Elemental Affinity】
【Earth】3

【Strength】
【Muscle Strength】6
【Weapon Mastery】
【Sword】4
【Armor】2

【Willpower】
【Mental Strength】4

【Instinct】
【Instinct】1
【Detection】
【Life Detection】1

He must be a magic swordsman of some sorts.

He had one point on Life Detection, but it wasn’t enough to find Hikaru. The other two’s stats were a step lower.

To gather the last piece of information he needed, Hikaru headed out into the night-shrouded town.

The rescue mission would commence tomorrow.