「Uncle, long time no see!」
After that, we browsed the street stalls, and just when the adventurers guild was almost in sight, the tax collector showed up. This one again…
The tax collector looked cleaner than before. The messy hair from last time had been neatly cut, and now it was obvious she was a girl. Saying something like that would probably earn me glares, so I kept my mouth shut.
「You again. How do you even find me in a crowd like this」
I did not notice her at all until she appeared right in front of me.
「If you dress that conspicuously, anyone would spot you」
Well, wearing a camouflage poncho in summer does make me stand out. Everyone else is mostly dressed in gray, after all.
「Please give alms to the poor children」
Seriously, this is completely forced. One hundred percent extortion. Well, the fact that I cannot say no makes me a coward too.
I took out a silver coin and dropped it into the box she thrust toward me.
「Thanks, uncle!」
Once she got what she wanted, the tax collector walked away. Cold, really. Tch.
「Takato, why did you give them money? They are not even working」
「Well, you could say it is my way of getting back at a useless goddess. Like saying, I am saving the people you cannot save. Serves you right」
In truth, I just cannot overcome my sense of guilt, but that meaning is part of it too. People save people.
「Takato, do you hate gods?」
「Yeah, I do. They ruined my life」
I do not pray to gods, and I do not ask them for help. I might use them when it suits me, but I will resent them until the day I die.
「If you want to pray to a god, Bisha, do it if you like. You do not need to worry about me. I have no intention of denying what you believe in」
There are times when you need faith just to keep going, and times when you want to ask someone for help. People need an escape, so do as you wish.
We passed by the adventurers guild for now and continued along the road, circling the Third Walled District. By the time we finished, it was already noon.
We had bought food from street stalls and eaten along the way, so I was not really hungry. Still, we decided to take a break at a cafeteria, at least in my mind.
「Tired?」
I spoke to Bisha, who had grown quiet and seemed somehow smaller.
「……Yeah. A little……」
Her senses are sharp, so she might have gotten overwhelmed by the crowd.
I took out a can of cocoa to help her calm down, and after resting for about an hour, we headed to the adventurers guild.
As usual, the adventurers guild was crowded. Still, as soon as we entered, a young staff approached us. I noticed and gripped the MP9 under my poncho.
「Takato-sama. Welcome. Are you here to see the guild master?」
It seemed they had learned from last time, as the response was proper.
「Yes. If he has time, I would like to request a meeting」
「I believe a meeting will be possible if you wait a moment. Could you please wait in a separate room?」
We were shown to a separate room. I took off my poncho and put the MP9 and Glock into my backpack to show I had no hostile intent.
I also had Bisha remove her poncho and take off the kukri knife at her waist.
After waiting about ten minutes, Sierra-san appeared.
「Sorry to keep you waiting. Please come to the guild master’s office」
She led us to the guild master’s office, where, as always, he was surrounded by piles of paperwork.
…So a real guild master is buried in paperwork all the time…
「Sorry to bother you when you are busy」
「I do not mind. Just not having to deal with the goblin problem is already a relief. That issue is truly troublesome」
I can imagine. With numbers like that, it is either crushed by the budget or crushed by goblins. A terrible choice.
「So, is this a report?」
「No. I have gained companions, so I am thinking of establishing a goblin extermination guild. I came to consult you about that」
The guild master’s gaze shifted to Bisha beside me.
「The Nyaada tribe. So illegal slave traders have appeared again. Sierra, inform all branches. If necessary, have troops dispatched」
Illegal slave traders? And serious enough to deploy troops? Am I going to get targeted?
「Understood」
Sierra-san gave a bow and left the room.
「Well, have a seat. Ah, could you sell me some milk tea? I ran out of what you sold me before, and I could not focus on my work」
That sounds like withdrawal symptoms. Is that really okay?
「If you consume too many sweets, you will get sick. You should hold back a little」
「I would like to, but my head does not work without milk tea」
They say the brain craves sugar when you use it a lot, and with that mountain of paperwork, I guess it cannot be helped.
「Next time, I will bring a supplement, a medicine that helps break down sweets. It would be a problem if you got sick. Well, exercising more and eating vegetables would also help」
Wait, was that for preventing diabetes? Or was drinking water enough? Or was that for gout? Sorry, my knowledge is pretty vague.
「That would help. I cannot die yet」
「You should prepare a successor early. If the person at the top is too capable, those below do not grow, and even when you get old, the work will never let you go」
I have seen cases where someone hoarded work because only they could do it. When they were gone, no one could handle it and everything collapsed. I was only in my second year back then, so I was not affected much, but the section chief struggled to fill that gap.
「Well, that was just idle talk from an outsider who does not know your situation. Please just laugh it off」
I worked in a factory. There is no way I could understand the inner workings of an adventurers guild. Sorry for speaking out of turn.
「No, you are right. I kept telling myself that I was the only one who could do it, but hearing it from someone else made me realize it. I would like to raise a successor while I am still healthy, then take it easy when I get old……」
The guild master slumped his shoulders, as if something weighing on him had fallen away. Did I say something unnecessary?
「……Maybe I should take a break……」
Ah, this feels like it is going to be my fault.
I would only learn later that this uneasy feeling would become reality.
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