Yuu Tanaka Page 4
“I’m looking for a blacksmith named Garrus.”
“Never heard of him. We done here?”
“No.”
This looked just like my old hardboiled detective adventures… I was tearing up. But
the conversation was getting nowhere, so we brought out our present to grease the
wheels.
“Bring me someone who has heard of him. I’ll make it worth their while.”
“Will you now?” The dwarf perked up as soon as he saw the bottle of wine. “What do
we have here…?!”
The receptionist reached for the bottle, and Fran pulled it away. The dwarf glared at
her, but she kept her cool and stowed it back into Pocket Dimension.
“Get me someone who knows Garrus. Someone who knows where he is.”
“Hang on…” The receptionist retreated to the back room for a good ten minutes. “Come
with me.”
“Hm.”
He led us into a room in the basement. The door was large, but the room still felt a bit
cramped—as though the door was too large on purpose. The only sources of light were
in its four corners. Bottles of alcohol were strewn about the table, making it look more
like a pub than an office.
“Here she is, boss.”
“Thanks.”
This must be the Guildmaster’s office. The dwarves must’ve really loved their hard
drink to give us such high treatment—Fran hadn’t even introduced herself yet. Then
again, maybe it was because we mentioned Garrus. Fran took out a bottle of wine and
passed it to the receptionist.
“Hey now. You sure about this?”
“I have more.”
“Alright then. Don’t mind if I do.” The dwarf’s glare turned into a megawatt smile. This
one definitely liked his drink.
“You brought wine?” asked the Guildmaster.
“Hm. It’s a gift. Take it.”
“Well then. Looks like I have another reason to treat the Black Lightning Princess well.
I was afraid you’d blow up our guildhouse.”
He knew about Fran, even if that knowledge was limited to her appearance and her
nickname. I could think of several reasons why people recognized her. Adventurers,
and by extension anyone who worked with them, would know that the Black Lightning
Princess had entered Bulbola. The blacksmiths outfitted all races and knew the
abilities of each. One look at Fran told them that she was an abnormally strong Black
Cat. Even the most businesslike blacksmith could sense her strength.
When Fran told the Guildmaster we were looking for Garrus, he frowned. That was
the reaction we were looking for. I got the feeling he knew where to find him.
“Are you Fran, by any chance?”
“You don’t know?”
“I only know you as the Black Lightning Princess.”
“Yeah. My name is Fran.”
“And you were called the Swordceress before?”
“Hm.”
Why the need for verification?
“I see… Unfortunately, I don’t know where Garrus is.”
Teacher?
Truth. The Guildmaster genuinely didn’t know.
“I do have some information about him, but I must ask you not to tell a soul. Top secret
stuff.”
“Hm. My lips are sealed.”
“I hope they are. Garrus is on a confidential task, commissioned by nobility.”
“Elaborate.”
“I don’t know the details… but suffice it to say it isn’t possible to turn down a powerful
family. He had to accept, albeit begrudgingly.”
Garrus couldn’t escape the influence of nobility, either.
“They kidnapped him?”
“Nothing that drastic, although they were quite forcible. It’s still listed as an official
task.”
“I see.”
No lies here, either. No wonder we couldn’t contact him. He was on a confidential
quest.
“He gave me a letter and told me to deliver it to the Swordceress Fran. He said to see
you as soon as you came here…”
But the Swordceress was no more. Then again, Garrus couldn’t have foreseen that. The
Black Lightning Princess bore no trace of her old nickname, making it more difficult
for the Guildmaster to track her down.
“Here you go. Still sealed.”
“Hm.”
The Guildmaster hadn’t gone snooping.
“Don’t read it here. The guild would be in trouble if details to a confidential quest got
leaked. I’ve poked my nose in enough times already.”
It sounded like holding onto the letter was enough to land the Guildmaster in hot
water. He still got it to Fran in one piece, though.
“Tell him I said hello when you see him.”
“Sure.”
Fran took the letter and left the bottles of wine behind. We didn’t know what was in
Garrus’s letter, so we would need some privacy.
It’s getting late. Let’s get a room at an inn.
“Hm.”
We decided to stay at the inn closest to the Adventurer’s Guild. The establishment
allowed familiars, and we needed to be at the guild first thing in the morning.
“Nice room.”
“Bark bark!”
Of course it’s nice.
The room came with a bathtub and it cost 15,000G a night. Fran didn’t mind getting a
cheaper room, but the Black Lightning Princess couldn’t afford to be taken lightly. I
was still quite the show-off, even as a sword. Still, the fact remained that her nickname
was making the rounds, and it’d be better for everyone involved if they didn’t
underestimate Fran.
Let’s read the letter.
“Hm.”
Whoa, don’t just rip it open like that! Easy now.
Fran tore open the envelope and a piece of paper fell out of it, covered in Garrus’s neat
handwriting.
First, he told us that some powerful nobles had made a personal request that he
couldn’t refuse. He wouldn’t be able to contact us until the quest was over, and he
couldn’t tell us his exact location. However, he was certain that he would be in the
capital by the time we read this. He asked us to come visit the equipment auctions to
see if anything caught our eye. Also, he was making us a new scabbard and wanted to
give it to us soon. He would eagerly await our arrival.
And that was it. Fortunately, we were bound for the capital regardless. We wanted to
check out the crystal auctions.
Guess he’s not in Bulbola anymore.
“Hm. One more reason to go to the capital.”
Pretty much.
Meeting Garrus was our main reason for stopping here, but I guess he would have to
wait.
WE LEFT FOR THE Adventurer’s Guild the next morning, eager to see what Reggs had
managed to dig up. We knew where Garrus was now, but maybe the informant had
found something else—like the family who hired him, or the circumstances. If they
had forced Garrus into working for them, then we weren’t about to hunt them down,
but we would definitely be more cautious.
“Sorry for the wait.”
“No problem. I just got here.”
While their exchange was like lovers going on a date, the romance was ruined by
Reggs’ middle-aged grin.
“I’ve got some information for you. I’ve reserved a room for us upstairs. Let’s go.”
“Alright.”
Reggs didn’t want any eavesdroppers? This was promising. He led us to one of the
guild’s private rooms.
“Silence.”
“Excellent spell. No wonder they call you the Black Lightning Princess.”
We soundproofed the room with Silence so we could talk without worrying about
eavesdroppers.
“So about Garrus… Unfortunately, I don’t know his exact location.”
“Hm. Can’t be helped.”
Reggs explained that Garrus was hired by the government and was no longer in the
city. Nothing we didn’t know already.
“Looks like you knew that already. How about this then? Garrus has been employed
by the kingdom, right?”
“Hm.”
“Well, whoever hired him bore the crest of the Marquis Aschtner. I don’t know if the
marquis was acting under orders of the royal family or not… but I’m willing to bet he
hired Garrus for his own reasons.”
The marquis would’ve acted secretly, but the information seemed to be accurate. The
crest was the same as the Aschtner’s villa here in Bulbola. Reggs had seen them
frequent the villa, as well. The vassal had done himself a disservice by acting in secret.
Bulbolans were nervous about suspicious people from the capital ever since the
Linford Fiend outbreak.
“Aschtner? I’ve heard that name before.”
Marquis Aschtner is Seldio’s father.
He’s the noble tracking down Godswords?
Yeah.
Seldio was a nobleman adventurer who attacked Fran in the dungeons of Ulmutt—
 
; trying to steal me away from her. We didn’t have a friendly impression of his dad,
either. This was the man who drugged his own son and controlled him like a puppet.
Also, secretly collecting superweapons wasn’t a hobby for an upright noble. And now
he’d got his hands on Garrus…
“I didn’t see it for myself, but I hear a cart left the Aschtner house the day Garrus
disappeared.”
“You think he was in it?”
“It’s a high possibility.”
“Is Garrus okay?”
“He should be. I think your blacksmith is being treated well. Can’t expect him to work
after a torture session.”
Reggs had a point. Upsetting Garrus would affect the quality of his work. He couldn’t
use his skills while under the effects of mind control, either. Aschtner needed to keep
Garrus in one piece. Of course, that didn’t exempt Garrus from being pressured in
other ways.
“Besides, Garrus is Blacksmith Royal of Granzell—a title bestowed on him by the king
himself. Harming him could be counted as treason.”
“What if they silenced him?”
“Won’t work. If a man like Garrus fell off the radar for too long, the kingdom would
look for him. Even if they hid him perfectly, they wouldn’t escape the kingdom’s reach.
No one would be that stupid.”
I dunno, Reggs. We’d seen nobles do stupider things than that.
“In any case, Garrus is the closest thing we have to a Godsmith. His skill is literally
priceless. I don’t think the Aschtners would do anything stupid.”
Good point. We were expecting the worst, but Garrus’s letter didn’t sound like he was
dragged away kicking and screaming. He even told us to meet him at the auctions, so
I was sure we could contact him once we got to the capital. Regardless, since we didn’t
know where he was, we couldn’t do anything for him.
“I have some extra tidbits about the Aschtners that might interest you.”
“Shoot.”
“It looks like their subordinates were up to something. Something big enough for the
kingdom to launch an investigation into their villa here.”
They must’ve gotten a whiff of the Seldio incident. Perhaps they were compelled by all
the complaints from the Adventurer’s Guild. Did hiring Garrus have something to do
with that? We didn’t have enough information.
“Also, their knights were sent on an expedition to the Demon Wolf’s Garden. Most of
them were wiped out in the Withering Forest, and only a few returned.”
“The Demon Wolf’s Garden? Why would they go there?”
“I couldn’t get the details. They did hire some adventurers to continue the expedition,
though.”
How persistent of them. The Garden was a Haunt with B-Rank monsters. The Aschtners
would have a hard time finding adventurers to risk it.
“Nothing came of it. The only ones who would take the offer were low rank.”
Figured. Marquis Aschtner wanted to keep his expedition a secret and posted the
quest anonymously. No adventurer in his right mind would take on something so risky.
“That’s all I have for you. Sorry I couldn’t get anything better.”
“No problem. It was still useful.”
We’d confirmed that Garrus was safe and that Aschtner was involved. Those were vital
bits of information. We paid Reggs the agreed fee and went on our way.
We still don’t know where Garrus is.
“Hm…”
Well, he told us to meet him at the auction. All we can do now is wait.
“Alright.”
Fran knew that it was out of her hands. It didn’t take long for her to organize her feelings.
Garrus can handle himself better than we can. He’ll be fine.
“Hm.”
Anyway, we need to see Gammod. We’re right on time, too.
“Hm.”
A sparring match with young adventurers…
“I’m burning with determination.”
No! There will be no burnings of anyone today!
“Hm?”
I was a lot more worried about whether Fran knew to hold back! It was nice to know
she was motivated, but if she fought too hard, she might permanently injure the cadets.
As talented as Gammod made them sound, they definitely wouldn’t be able to keep up
with Fran. I was pretty sure the Guildmaster knew that. Or had he set her up with
adventurers who were strong enough to make her sweat? No, he was most likely
forcing his students to walk the valley of humiliation. I just hoped they could survive
the trek. Well, we’d figure that out when we saw them.
We left the meeting room and headed to the first floor. The Guildmaster would probably
allow us to drop into his office, but a quest was a quest. We had to go through the
proper channels.
“Is Gammod here yet?” Fran’s tone remained improper, of course.
“Good morning, Fran. Yes, right this way.”
The receptionist led us to a small room in the back of the guild. When we went inside,
we saw it was an armory. Weapons and armor decorated the cramped walls. Some
were just left on the floor.
Gammod was waiting for Fran. He was fully geared up, radiating intense mana. I
recognized his armor from the Linford fight. This was what he wore in a fight to the
death. Hang on, was he going out to hunt dragons? I thought he just wanted us to spar
with his students?
“You’re here!”
“Hm. What’s with the armor? Am I sparring with you, too?” Fran’s voice dripped with
excitement. She desperately wanted to see what Gammod was capable of.
Unfortunately, the dwarf shook his head. “No, I’m the referee. I just thought I should
gear up in case you pull off a big spell. Safety first, you know.”
“Oh.” Fran sighed, clearly disappointed, but she was still determined to give everything
she had.
“Harumph.”
You can take it easy, Fran.
“Hm. I’ll do my best.”
Fran clenched her fists. I prayed for the safety of her training partners.
“Are you ready?”
“Ready enough to kill.”
No killing!
“Well then, let’s get going. The kids are in the training area round back.”
The training area was quite sizable: thirty meters from corner to corner. The walls
were thick to prevent any roughhousing from spilling out of the training room. There
were more adventurers waiting for us than I expected.
“Look alive, you punks!”
“S’up.”
“Good morning, sir!”
“Hey.”
“Wooo!”
I was expecting two or three, not nine. Their personalities were varied enough, from
delinquent to annoyingly passionate to straitlaced. I Identified them and found that
they were all quite strong. Two stood out from the rest: a Level 27 Illusion Blade and
a Level 26 Flame Mage. Both had D-Rank abilities.
The D-Ranks aside, the average level was still about 22—strong E-Ranks, at least. The
lowest was a Level 20 Scout. I could see why Gammod took an interest in them.
Considering how young they were, they were actually quite powerful.
“We’re going to do some sparring today.”
The adventurers groaned at Gammod’s announcement.
“Again?”
“Can we fight Forlund, at least?”
“You don’t pull your punches like, ever.”
Despite the youths’ complaints, there was no malice in them.
“Shut it, you brats!” Gammod shouted, immediately silencing them. “Introduce yourself.”
“Hm. Fran.” Fran stepped forward, drawing their gaze.
They turned to one of their members. Why were they all looking at this one man? A
quick Identify revealed that the Shielder, named Red, possessed Identify 7. They
couldn’t tell how strong Fran was, but he could.
Still, Identify wouldn’t help him with our Fake Identity in play. We had set our abilities
to look like a greenhorn. Identify wasn’t everything—and this was coming from