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69. [Altora] Life’s Biggest Chance/Leaving

On this day, the adventurer’s guild was engulfed in a strange anger. The gazes of the adventurers who were hanging out there were fixed on one man.

「Hehe, heh…? W-What’s up, you guys? It’s been a while since we last met, but aren’t you guys too quiet?」

Altora, the party leader who used to be the top guy in this guild, showed up for the first time in half a year.

Somewhere along the way, he lost an eye and looked almost completely different. The gazes on him were absolutely cold.

「H-Hey, why are y’all silent? It’s the return of the hero, right? You haven’t forgotten who was the one who conquered the “Abyss From Which Evil Comes”, right?」

「You mean the mistake which ruined you.」

「Huh?」

The person who spoke up was the same boy Altra had previously hired to sing his praises.

「Even I know this. This town was created by the people who came together to conquer the hard dungeon. The guild wasn’t the only one who wanted to conquer that dungeon. It was the town’s earnest wish too.」

「T-That’s why I–」

「You ruined everything.」

The boy pointed to his left – to a bulletin board where quests are posted.

Most of the quests that used to be pasted on top of each other have disappeared. Now there was only one newspaper article posted.

「What do you……?」

「If the S-class dungeon is conquered, wealth and fame will come to the town as well. Then they can move to another area, start a business, and start a new, more prosperous life. That’s what everyone was planning to do.」

The boy tore off the article posted on the bulletin board and thrust it towards Altora.

『S-class Adventurer, instigation due to personal grudge.』

『Enormous Reparations.』

『Submit a claim to the culprit and the guild.』

『A blunder at the unveiling. There are also doubts about past performance.』

Such headlines were printed in bold.

「All that’s left is a town with no jobs and people with no money or reputation who are leaving town. It’s all your fault, Altora.」

As long as the guild exists to conquer dungeons, the people can’t harbor doubts towards it. If they do, everything will be lost.

The people gathered here were those who had everything taken away by Altora’s actions.

「In that respect, everyone says that Marge was admirable. He didn’t neglect the records left behind by the past challengers and researched them… But you treated Marge in such a manner.」

「…Shut up.」

「Huh?」

「Shut your mouth. You guys are also guilty of the same thing. I won’t let you pretend that you didn’t know that Marge’s allocation was reduced.」

The atmosphere in the guild was tense. Regardless, Altora continued.

「Because of that guy, I was arrested by the lord and was beaten day in and day out in a stone room in the basement… Even though I said I didn’t know anything… When I finally return home, I find myself being lectured by guys who are trying to play innocent! You hypocrites!!」

Several adventurers couldn’t bear to listen and stood up.

「Altora…!」

「If you were such good guys, shouldn’t you provide comfort at least a little now that I’m back!?」

「If you want a warm welcome, we’ll give it to you.」

Adventurers stood up one after another and surrounded Altora. When the number reached several dozen, a look of fluster appeared on Altora’s face.

「W-What? Say something…」

Altora didn’t know that people no longer do the talking with words when anger goes beyond a certain point.

「O-Ouch…」

Around the time when the sky began to darken, Altora was finally kicked out of the guild, walking through the town, half crawling.

The streets were visibly sparser than before. And passersby either ignored him or threw stones at him.

「I don’t have money or even medicine… shit…」

This incident was instigated by Altra.

Most of the damage caused was billed towards Altora and the guild. The assets he had accumulated as an S-class adventurer were confiscated, and the little money he had left was all spent on painkillers.

He had no place to go and no money. As Altora was walking aimlessly, an arm suddenly stretched out and dragged him into a dark alley.

「What…!?」

「It’s been a while, Altora…!」

Even Altora didn’t recognise who it was for a moment. A face covered in beard, a thin body, and shabby clothes.

「Gor, don…?」