国产午夜亚洲精品AⅤ

Chapter 162

Seeing her sleeping with a furrowed brow made me feel sorry for her. She clearly still felt a lot of tension even though she was physically asleep.

At this rate, I might end up losing one of my comrades.

Although Ellen might have felt reassured by my presence, it seemed that my presence also increased her sense of responsibility.

Since it was a room for three, Eleris was also there.

“Shall we take a walk?” Eleris asked.

I gestured towards Ellen with my eyes. Even though Saints Point was almost free of danger, it didn’t feel right to leave a sleeping child alone.

“It’s okay,” Eleris mouthed. “I’ll cast an alarm spell.”

She was trying to put me at ease.

It appeared she had something she wanted to say.

***

Eleris and I left the inn and went for a walk, watching the bustling activity as Saints Point prepared to send out a new convoy.

Though Saints Point wasn’t very large, it was big enough for a nice stroll.

“You’ve made a good friend.”

“... Indeed.”

Aside from a brief moment at Klitz Point, this was the first time I’d been able to have such a casual conversation with Eleris.

“But I’m also worried.”

“Worried?”

Eleris looked toward the inn where we were staying, her eyes turning a bit sorrowful.

“She’s so strong that she seems like she’ll break.”

I understood she meant Ellen, not me. Ellen was the one she was worried about.

‘So strong that she might break.’

I understood what that meant. Ellen had been strong the entire time we’d been at Saints Point. She was always on edge, suspicious of everything. As a result, we had managed to stay safe, but she was suffering from extreme mental exhaustion.

Her acute sensitivity had allowed us to avoid various dangers and uncover the truth behind several incidents.

However, she might suddenly break down if she kept going about each day in this state.

Eleris was worried about that.

“Everyone needs someone that they can show weakness to,” she said.

No one can be that strong. Everyone has a weak side.

They have to be able to let that weakness show.

“It seems that you are that someone for her.”

Someone to whom she can show her weakness...

Eleris believed me to be that person for Ellen.

Indeed, Ellen had often shown her weak side in front of me, a side she never showed to anyone else.

“I think that’s fortunate.”

“... Well, that’s a relief then.”

Eleris looked at me. “Please take care of her.”

“I’m already doing that.”

“Are you?”

Eleris smiled as if she was relieved.

“The things that happened here weren’t good,” she continued. “Certainly, they were tragic, and were not experiences that anyone would desire. You’ve suffered through things I wished you hadn’t, but...”

Eleris looked toward the sunset, her expression a mix of complex emotions. “I think I can feel a bit more at ease now.”

People had been killed. But it had been to protect someone else. Although it couldn’t be called a good deed, Eleris seemed both sad yet somewhat reassured.

“Still... Are you okay, Your Highness?”

Ellen seemed to be wondering if I was struggling with inner turmoil. The guilt and sorrow of having killed someone.

Ellen had suggested thinking about it later, and feared she might follow in her brother’s footsteps.

And what about me?

Ellen suggested to leave thinking about it for later, and focusing on the tasks at hand for now.

After organizing my thoughts, the conclusion was clear.

“I have to be okay.”

For now, I wasn’t going to think about it.

***

We had originally decided to return to the Egxian Forward Base the next day to plan our future schedule, but taking a few days off seemed like a good idea. Ellen needed some time to recuperate in a relatively safe place without having to think about anything.

Given what we’d been through, if Ellen continued to operate in this state, she might begin to experience stress-induced hair loss, and that would be a serious issue.

How miserable would it be if she had a bald spot! While I would be fine, it wouldn’t be right for her! I had a ring that gave me permanent immunity from hair loss!

I needed to protect Ellen’s hair.

Night came around...

After finishing our meal, I was about to go to bed. Ellen, who was still asleep, had even skipped dinner.

Would she wake up in the middle of the night, hungry? Eleris was sitting on the bed, preparing to sleep. I wasn’t sure if she would actually sleep, though.

She might only be pretending to sleep while keeping watch.

And then...

Knock, Knock.

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door to our room.

The business with the guild should have been wrapped up by now.

Ellen had already gotten up, as if the sound itself had awakened her. Had she really even been sleeping?

Cautiously, I approached the door with my sword in hand. One could never be too careful.

“Who is it?”

—An investigator from the Adventurers’ Guild.

“... Huh?”

The voice from outside sounded familiar. It was the investigative officer who’d been dispatched from Egxian. I thought all our business was concluded, but it seemed there was still something left to address.

When I opened the door, the stern-faced investigative officer was standing there, looking at me calmly.

“Can we talk for a moment? Don’t worry. It’s related to the investigation, but it’s not about any charges against you,” he added, as if to reassure us.

***

Since this was supposed to be a quiet discussion, the officer came into our room and sat at the table. Ellen, Eleris, and I were all curious as to what the investigator had to say.

“You assumed that the attack on Klitz Point was conducted by the same group that attacked Altz Point, correct?”

Both Ellen and I nodded in agreement.

“Yes.”

“That’s what we thought.”

We had suspected that the robbers, after attacking Altz Point, had moved north and attacked Klitz Point. We had offered our theory to the officer, believing that the bandits had been attempting to seize the convoy’s supplies.

“We have obtained a confession from Hugson regarding the Klitz Point attack. His group, which had been sent ahead as a vanguard, planned to occupy Klitz Point and ambush the convoy,” the investigator explained.

“... So?”

Whether Hugson confessed willingly or through some other means was unclear, but whatever the case, the investigator had somehow managed to extract a confession out of him.

Ellen and I tilted our heads in confusion. What was he trying to say?

“The key point is the term ‘vanguard’. He said that they’d set off from here and went to Klitz Point, rather than coming up from Altz Point. Hugson claimed to know nothing about the complete communication cutoff at Altz Point.”

While Hugson had admitted to the attack on Klitz Point, he denied any involvement in the Altz Point incident, and was insisting that they were entirely unrelated events.

“We’ve already traced the robbers’ movements using the guild records. They all passed through Saints Point and headed to Klitz Point three or four days ago. We confirmed that it was impossible timewise for those bandits to be responsible for the Altz Point attack.”

Hugson wasn’t lying. Based on the Adventurers’ Guild records, the investigator had determined that the robbers couldn’t have been involved in the Altz Point attack.

Our assumption was wrong. The reason for the communication blackout at Altz Point and the southern region was still a mystery.

But why bother telling us this? We weren’t investigators, so there would be no reason for us to be held accountable just because our speculation was incorrect.

However, Ellen seemed to understand why.

“... You want us to find out the reason for the collapse of Altz Point, don’t you?”

“... You catch on quickly.”

The investigator clicked his tongue briefly.

“The manpower we have currently available is extremely scarce, and all of it is being used just to organize the convoy. Egxian and the guild don’t have much manpower left to spare. On top of that, there are no competent adventurers available at Saints Point.”

Hugson, who was supposed to be the highest-ranked adventurer, turned out to be someone who’d tried to pull off a senseless act.

Despite being mere F-rank novices, the three of us had been bold and skilled enough to annihilate the bandits occupying Klitz Point.

From the investigator’s perspective, discovering the cause of Altz Point’s collapse was an urgent matter. If the threat was severe, more guards would have to be assigned to the convoy.

“No one has returned from Altz Point yet, so this mission is expected to be very dangerous. Therefore, the choice is yours. I’m merely making a proposal.”

Forcing adventurers to take on a task was out of the question. Since he was an investigator from the Adventurers’ Guild, he was likely very highly ranked.

“The objective is a reconnaissance of Altz Point. Remember, the mission is to scout, not to eliminate any threats you might find.”

He was offering this mission to us and hoping that we would take it up due to the severe lack of manpower.

“The anticipated danger level is B-rank, making this a very hazardous mission. The reward is ten gold coins each. If the information is verified, an additional ten gold coins each will be paid out.”

Because of this danger, he could verbally promise a considerable reward. Simply going down to Altz Point and determining what had happened could earn us thirty gold coins. If the information was later verified, we could earn another thirty coins.

Reconnaissance missions usually didn’t come with such high rewards—ten million won per person was quite generous. However, it was undoubtedly a dangerous task, as we had no idea what had occurred at Altz Point.

“L-Let’s do it!” Eleris suddenly exclaimed, before Ellen and I could say anything.

“...?”

“Hm?”

What was this?

Why was Eleris suddenly jumping the gun instead of waiting for us to judge the situation?

“Oh, um... I mean, I think we should do it... yeah.”

Ah. I finally remembered.

Eleris’s shop made practically no sales, and her living conditions were terribly spartan.

The mention of money must have caused her to react instinctively.

... Eleris, driven by the prospect of earning a large amount of money, had spoken before thinking. Ellen seemed to contemplate Eleris’s sudden enthusiasm for a moment before nodding her head.

“It’s a reconnaissance mission, not an elimination mission. It seems doable,” she said.

Ellen then looked over at me as if to ask for my opinion.

“Then let’s do it.”

Money...

I liked money too.

***

We were in a situation similar to Hugson—we were being tasked with a significant mission at Saints Point due to the lack of skilled personnel around.

With no other skilled adventurers in Saints Point, this important mission had fallen onto us, the unproven rookies. There might be actual experts further south, but reaching out to them wasn’t feasible, and recruiting talents from other regions would also take time.

The investigator explained that we could return to either the Saints Point Adventurers’ Guild or the Egxian headquarters if we succeeded in the mission. We received a written commission signed by the investigator on the spot.

“The reward is quite substantial, even though it’s just a reconnaissance mission,” Eleris remarked after the investigator left.

“If we fail or die, they don’t have to pay us. Since this mission is directly commissioned by the Adventurers’ Guild, payment upon completion is guaranteed, so they don’t provide advance payments. That’s why the rewards are higher,” Ellen explained.

We would receive the reward only if we succeeded. Since the commission was coming directly from the Adventurers’ Guild, there was no worry about not getting paid.

However, the dead don’t receive payment.

If we failed or perished, the guild wouldn’t owe us a single coin. Though the adventurers’ world was ruthless and harsh, and we might encounter brutal and cutthroat adventurers, such was the nature of commissions.

Adventurers were sent on dangerous missions with the promise of large sums of money, and only those who returned alive were paid.

In the end, the Adventurers’ Guild was equally cruel. While the moths swarming to the promise of money might be stupid, without the guild holding the lamp and tempting them with that money, they wouldn’t be drawn in at all.

Ellen’s explanation made Eleris’s expression grow gloomy. This place rendered one’s existence and dignity worthless in the face of greed, which was symbolized by money.

“We’ll leave early tomorrow. Let’s get some rest.”

The time spent waiting for the investigation to wrap up had provided us with enough time to recover. We decided to head south again the very next day.

***

It was roughly a four-day journey to Altz Point. Before setting out, we finished our preparations, stocked up on preserved food, and visited the Adventurers’ Guild in Saints Point as requested by the investigator.

“If necessary, we can provide you with horses.”

Whether or not the convoy set out would depend on what we found. Each day of delay could mean more damage to the isolated forward bases and significant losses while those personnel remained trapped.

This was why such a high reward was being promised.

The investigator mentioned that horses could be provided to us despite the substantial promised reward.

However, Ellen mentioned that she couldn’t ride a horse, since she hadn’t learned to yet.

“I can ride,” Eleris said, indicating that she had some skill with horseback riding.

Given the urgency, traveling on horseback didn’t seem like a bad idea.

My riding skills weren’t exceptional, but we weren’t racing; it was just traveling, so I thought it could be manageable.

“Then maybe you could ride behind me...” I suggested.

However, it seemed Ellen was considering more than just whether or not she could ride a horse.

“It’ll just be a hassle. Let’s not take them.”

She judged that horses might be inefficient because we couldn’t predict when and where an emergency might arise, and their presence could end up becoming a hindrance.

I didn’t particularly think that we had to use horses either. Given the uneven terrain, riding would not significantly increase our speed.

Eleris and I went along with Ellen’s decision.

“I hope all three of you return safely,” said the investigator.

We nodded in response.

***

We set off again towards Klitz Point. Thanks to Eleris casting a Chilling Touch spell on us, the heat was hardly an issue.

“... Now that I think about it, we’ll reach Klitz Point by tonight since it’s just a day’s journey, right?”

“That’s correct,” Ellen nodded, agreeing with my observation.

“Hmm... So we’ll have to spend a night in a place filled with corpses,” Eleris said, looking quite dejected.

“We could camp out instead,” I suggested.

“Should we camp out, or sleep in a place where people were massacred...?”

‘Both choices are unappealing!’

Regardless of whether we rested at Klitz Point or not, we would have to camp outdoors eventually, as the journey to Altz Point was quite lengthy.

“But what on earth could have happened at Altz Point?” Eleris wondered aloud.

Neither Ellen nor I had any clear ideas. The timing precluded Hugson’s bandit group from being involved in the destruction of Altz Point. They had recognized that the collapse of Altz Point would lead to a large-scale convoy of supplies, and had headed from Saints Point to Klitz Point without first going to Altz Point.

“We don’t know for sure, but there are two possibilities,” Ellen said, organizing her thoughts as she walked to the front. “One, the people who were returning from the front were killed by bandits at Klitz Point.”

Adventurers might have tried to return to Klitz Point, knowing that they were isolated at the frontiers. They could have been killed by the bandits occupying Klitz Point, which would explain the lack of news from Altz Point.

That was one possibility.

“Two, there’s another bandit group or some similar issue at Altz Point itself, and the people who tried to return were killed there.”

In this scenario, they didn’t even make it back to Klitz Point.

We didn’t know whether the incident at Altz Point was already resolved, or still ongoing.

“Anyway, since our objective is reconnaissance, let’s not overextend ourselves,” she concluded, reminding us of the essence of our mission.

If it turned out to be something beyond our capacity to handle, we could simply report it. Just like with the unexpected situation at Klitz Point, where we ended up exterminating the bandit group, we couldn’t predict what might happen.

For now, fighting would be the last resort.