The Otherworld Conquest Method of a Reincarnated Porter Chapter 44 Part 2
「As such, Zuma and his friends failed in their honey gathering attempt and all died. As for the rookie adventurers who were tricked and participated as decoys, I think I was the only one who survived.」
At the Adventurers’ Association, I tell the president of the association and six unfamiliar men the details pertaining to the honey gathering. I judged it was best not to involve Alto and Marin, so I decided to keep quiet about them.
Even so, what is the deal with these guys? None of them even bothered to introduce themselves to me, just throwing questions at me. As a rookie porter who happened to survive, it seems that they are taking me as an insignificant guy.
「I see, so Zuma’s dead, huh. We’ve asked him to collect honey every year, but do you have anything in mind as to why he failed this year?」
The honey gathering was a request from the association, huh. If so, were these guys the ringleaders behind the use and slaughter of the rookie adventurers? Besides, they are showing no faintest signs of being concerned about Zuma’s death. I wonder if that guy, too, was ultimately just a gofer of the association.
「Maybe it was because their number of participants was only as few as ten. Also, I believe after the magician who was scattering the white powder got killed by stray bees, the swarm of bees attacked us all at once. I threw my black cloak at the bees that attacked me and ran away as fast as I could, so I don’t know the details.」
「I see. That means they failed to properly scatter the scale powder of the illusionary butterfly, huh. But still, leaving the other guys aside, Zuma was a high-leveled warrior. So even if he got surrounded by golden bees, he should be able to safely escape while fighting, though.」
「It seemed that Zuma was surrounded by a superior species of golden bee, and was unable to escape.」
「A superior species, you say? How can you tell?」
「Were they not? They were large bees with horns or scissors in both hands, so I simply thought they were a superior species. As Zuma’s movements grew duller and duller due to poison, I used the opening in the bees’ attacks to run away, so I don’t know what happened afterwards.」
「Tch, looks like they were horned large golden bees and scissor golden bees. If they killed Zuma and others, some of them might have evolved into demon golden bees. Even though I’ve always taken the trouble to tell Zuma to exterminate the superior species through these years, for that guy to make such a blunder…」
As I thought, monsters gain levels or evolve into a superior species as they kill people, huh.
In fact, the one who killed Zuma was me, but some of the guys should have been killed by the bees. Maybe the superior species have really increased in number. Well, even if they ask me to, I don’t intend to get involved in this matter again, though.
「I’ll give you one large silver coin, so can I ask you to take me to the beehive?」
I can’t trust these guys at all. Even if they didn’t give out the order to use the rookie adventurers as decoys every year, there is a good chance that they knew about it. As such, what I have to do now is feign ignorance.
「It was a four-hour walk through an unfamiliar forest. I also just ran randomly on my way back, so I don’t think I know the way. But more than twenty of us headed there on food. So maybe you could just follow the footprints.」
「Hmm, I see.」
After that, some of them ask me questions, but none of them mention the rookie adventurers who died in this incident. After a while, I am released, but no one seems to be interested in probing into my true identity. With this, the case is closed.
At the reception desk of the Adventurers’ Association, I tell Irina the details about the incident.
「I see. Then, Zuma and the others were wiped out, huh.」
「Was the association involved in the use of rookie adventurers as decoys?」
「As expected, there is no way it was… or so I would like to believe. The meeting place and the day’s itinerary were informed to you outside the gate, right? Maybe they were trying to keep the association from knowing about it? But, hmm~, if I start suspecting them, there would no end to it, so I don’t know.」
True enough, it was certainly strange that we gathered outside the gate. At this point, though, I don’t know.
「By the way, does Zuma’s death bring about some sort of effects? The president of the association and his men didn’t seem too concerned about it, though.」
「Hmm~. I believe it has no effects in particular. There are no wars in this city, and even if powerful monsters were to appear, if the adventurers couldn’t handle them, the knights would be dispatched, after all. It is true that the loss of silver-class adventurers is a hard blow, but there are many other things to consider….」
Irina is hesitating to say something. I wonder if there is something on her mind.
「You see, umm, the Adventurers’ Association also serves as a bank, but….」
Now that she mentions me, she is right. I put my money in my storage, but the other adventurers deposit their money with the association. Not only is it a pain to carry around, there is the risk of it getting lost or stolen, after all.
「In other words, if the person who deposited the money is no longer around, and there is no requisition from the remaining family members, the property right of that deposit will fall to the association. Zuma-san was the adventurer who earned the most in this city, and he didn’t seem to have any family members, so umm….」
I see. In other words, Zuma’s deposit, which has accumulated quite a lot, will fall into the hands of the association, or perhaps the president of the association, huh. The one who profited the most from this incident might have been the Adventurers’ Association. But it is also true that they have lost the source of income in the form of selling honey. I wonder if they will ask Gorth and the others to do it for them next. Well, it is a matter unrelated to me.
「Alright, I get it. I’m a porter before I’m an adventurer, after all. I won’t take on any more dangerous requests.」
「I guess so. As for this incident, I should have been suspicious of it by the fact that they didn’t go through the association.」
It was exactly because I was suspicious of it that I participated in it, though.
After leaving the Adventurers Association, I go to get my wooden bath. It is quite well made and weighs quite a bit. It seems that if I use full-strength body enhancement, I would be able to lift it somehow. After putting the bathtub into my storage, I head to Hinomoto Trading Company to buy shampoo, conditioner, and soap. Other than these, I also need detergent and a scrubbing brush to wash the bathtub.
My current inn boasts a wooden structure, and my room is on the second floor. The floor doesn’t seem to be that sturdily made, so it might not be able to withstand the weight of the bathtub and water. As I thought, I wonder if I should use it in the labyrinth.
RELEASE RATE
Otherworld Conquest Method of a Reincarnated Porter
Speed up schedule by 10 hours
Current schedule: Every 80 hours
Tftc