Chapter 100

The day after the Eibel Boun incident, I met up with the Gordon brothers in a back alley.

Of course, it was to receive the reward that Gaston had paid.

When I entered as agreed, I saw Gordon waving at me.

Gordon snatched the bag from Mordon's hand and ran over to me. From the looks of it, the collection from Gaston had gone well.

Mia, who didn't seem to have a good impression of Gordon from their first meeting, slightly lowered her mouth and hid behind me as Gordon ran over.

"Abel! This is the reward for the extermination and the money from the roots! It's a lot, how much do you think it is?"

Gordon stopped in front of me, swinging the bag, and said that. Mordon, who had been following behind, caught up a bit later.

"Hey, brother... You didn't have to run so much..."

Mordon seemed tired from suddenly running to keep up with his brother and was breathing heavily.

The reward from Gaston was handed over at a special counter, so I didn't know how much it was. The roots of Eibel Boun were apparently quite valuable, and the attention had increased after the private army withdrew.

Since the amount varied depending on the currency, it was hard to tell from the bulge in the bag. Maybe around 800,000 G?

If we could consistently get this much money, maybe we could leave the city only once a month.

However, if the actual amount exceeded my guess, the atmosphere would freeze. I should keep my estimate low.

"About 500,000..."

"Wow, that's a lot, huh, a million G or so!?"

Mia, who had been hiding behind me, peeked out and overlapped my words with a slightly high-pitched voice. I quickly pushed her shoulder to keep her hidden.

"1.5 million G, 1.5 million G! The reward for the extermination is a million, and the money from the roots is 500,000!"

"1.5 million!?"

Was that demon really considered so dangerous? I often hear adventurers complain about their rewards being cut, but this was quite generous. It was a bit questionable whether the demon was that dangerous, but the timing was good after the private army withdrew.

"Gaston was surprisingly honest about handing it over."

Honestly, I thought he would take the money and disappear from the city.

"Yeah, he was eerily honest. He seemed in a good mood and said he would rely on us in the future."

...That guy is easier to deal with than I thought. Was he that happy about the improved reputation?

"However, he asked for a loan, so I lent him a bit from my own funds. He's afraid of his strength being revealed, so he can't form a party easily and is having trouble with money. He's going to work on the city wall repair project next time."

"Ah, I see... Yeah, that makes sense..."

...If the city's hero is working on the wall repair, wouldn't that be more suspicious?

In the first place, if he can't continue as an adventurer even after raising his rank, what does he plan to do? When he said he wanted to quit, we should have cut ties with him. He's now a day laborer, and I don't understand why he's satisfied with that.

"...Really, 1.5 million? Can I count it, please?"

Mia peeked out from behind me again and reached out to Gordon. Is the amount really that important to her?

"What's wrong, Miss Horn? Sure, go ahead, but be careful not to draw attention here."

Mia, who received the bag from Gordon, crouched down and started counting the coins.

"50,000, 100,000... 150,000..."

She muttered to herself with a determined look.

...Ah, I see. She must be concerned because this amount will almost pay off her debt. That's why she's so focused on the amount. ...Since Mia has a history of buying all of James' goods and lending me 2 million, I should keep the money as living expenses for now. However, I can't keep it like this forever. I need to find a good way to return it.

After receiving the reward, I gave the Gordon brothers a commission. ...I gave them a bit more to cover Gaston's debt.

Since I was worried about storing such a large amount of money, I decided to convert it into precious metals and hide it inside the World Tree's Oathem. This way, I can easily access it, and it's secure. I also cast a spell to make it scream and thrash around if touched, as a precaution. I put in a lot of effort, so I hope it works at least once.

To gather information, I headed to the Adventurer Support Office out of habit. I needed to check Gaston's reputation. I found some of Gaston's former associates and decided to eavesdrop while pretending to read the Adventurer Newspaper.

"Ah, Gaston has really become a distant figure... I always thought it would come to this. After all, his sword style was different. It was bold and sweeping..."

A tall man with a hood on his head nodded knowingly.

"...But that's just because the weight of the sword was pulling him. You laughed about it in the bar, remember? He was swinging the sword and dancing, imitating Gaston. He got a bit too cocky after achieving some success, didn't he?"

A shorter man in the group laughed and glared at the tall man. The tall man glared back, looking annoyed.

"No, no, I always knew he would become big. He just had a different aura than us."

Another man tried to calm them down and praised Gaston.

"But yesterday, he was drinking heavily at the Drunken Inn. Isn't that strange? It's definitely strange."

The short man, Childe, interjected again, shaking his head dramatically and sighing.

The men, who had been talking enthusiastically, started to look gloomy.

"Hey, Childe, are you trying to criticize Gaston's achievements? Huh?"

"Ah, no, but..."

Childe, noticing that his friends were not around, panicked and his expression changed.

"You're interrupting someone's story. Who do you think you are? Do you want to rust Gaston's sword?"

Gaston's sword is at the pawnshop right now.

"You've got some nerve. Let's go outside."

"Wait! But, but! Hey, let go! It hurts! Hey!"

Childe was immediately surrounded and dragged out of the facility. Mia and I watched him being dragged away with blank expressions.

"...Rumors can be scary."

I witnessed the majority suppressing the truth. Childe's words didn't help.

"Yeah, that's true."

Feeling guilty, I tried to leave the Adventurer Support Office. As I started to walk quietly, I was called from behind.

"Isn't that Abel? Nice to see you again."

"Ah!"

I turned around and saw familiar blonde hair. It was Maisen.

"Ah, it's just you, Maisen. You look well... I guess..."

I tried to use the standard greeting for meeting an acquaintance but stopped mid-sentence. ...Maisen had dark circles under his eyes.

"Is there something bothering you? Are you okay?"

"Yeah, yeah, it's nothing much. With me, this level of challenge is nothing! ...Probably."

It seems the tension in his party hasn't been resolved yet.