Chapter 54

I saw Armia running away in a hurry, some time after parting ways with Narserena. Although I couldn't clearly see Armia's face from a distance, her expression was so lively that I couldn't help but smile.

"Narserena, you did a good job."

To be honest, Armia's previous state was painfully distressing. But, even if I had intervened, the problem wouldn't have been solved. I understood this from the time I fell to the same depths as Armia after being betrayed by the first party I ever joined.

...Whether I forgave Armia or not, it wouldn't fundamentally solve the problem.

However, while I was at a loss and gave up, Narserena was different.

"Can I take care of this? ...I've never been betrayed by someone I admired, but just thinking about it makes my heart ache. ...I can't just leave that girl alone."

After Sieg left, Narserena told me this. To be honest, I didn't understand the meaning of her words.

Still, I didn't hesitate to accept Narserena's offer. I was able to recover from my lowest point thanks to Narserena. I had a hunch that Narserena might be able to help Armia.

And it seems that hunch was correct. Seeing Armia run away, I realized this. Now, Sieg and the others can rest easy.

"...Narserena is really amazing."

Thinking this, I muttered those words. Narserena was an excellent and special person, different from me. Reaffirming this, I felt proud of the party members. With a refreshed feeling, I started to walk away from the scene.

"Finally, I found you!"

"I'm glad I believed the guild staff..."

"...Huh?"

However, the next moment, I stopped in my tracks at the sound of multiple male voices.

They were not voices of people I knew, but for some reason, they felt familiar. I hesitantly turned around.

"......Oh no."

Seeing the large group of adventurers, my face contorted in fear. Without noticing my small scream, the adventurers bowed deeply and began to apologize.

"We are truly sorry for everything!"

...These adventurers were the ones I had ignored and run away from before.

They began to surround me, and the rough appearance of these adventurers made the words "run away" flash through my mind.

"Please! If you let us apologize, we'll give you all our money, just please spare our lives!"

...However, seeing the adventurers' desperate faces, I realized it was impossible. Even if I tried to run away, they wouldn't give up. Even if I had no intention of killing them, they wouldn't understand.

"...Sigh."

Thinking this, I couldn't help but sigh. I had to clear up the misunderstanding with the adventurers before I could leave.

"...Can you calm down for a moment?"

Deciding this, I raised my voice...

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"Please! Just spare our lives..."

Even after several minutes of trying to clear up the misunderstanding, the situation hadn't changed. I listened to the adventurers' words with a contorted face and spoke.

"No, I'm not trying to take your lives at all..."

"No, no! It's fine! I won't tell anyone you were involved in that incident, I promise!"

"Right! I won't say a word!"

"...So, just spare our lives..."

...But my words didn't reach the adventurers at all.

I don't remember how many times I repeated that I had no intention of taking their lives. But no matter how many times I said it, my words didn't reach the adventurers.

The faces of the adventurers looking at me were filled with unmistakable fear. This fear prevented my words from reaching them.

"...Sigh. What bad timing..."

Seeing the adventurers' state, I couldn't help but sigh. The reason they were so afraid wasn't just because I had ignored them.

Recently, there have been many cases of mid-level adventurer parties dying in the upper levels. While this is not common, it's not impossible in this dungeon. So, it's not a big deal. In fact, I didn't even know about it until the adventurers in front of me told me. They probably just got careless and lost to hobgoblins in the upper levels.

"We'll give you all our money! No, if you like, you can have this armor too! ...So, please spare us from being ambushed in the dungeon!"

...But for some reason, the adventurers in front of me thought that the deaths were due to me ambushing them.

Of course, this was just their delusion. In a normal state, they wouldn't have made such a mistake.

But they feared that my ignoring them at the guild was a veiled threat. And the fact that some of the adventurers who died in the upper levels were people who had bullied me before made them think I might have done it.

"Please! I'm begging you for my life!"

"We are truly sorry for everything!"

"Please, please, have mercy!"

"I'll do anything you say!"

That's why the adventurers, who believed I was the culprit, couldn't truly understand my words. Overcome by the fear of death, their faces were a mess of tears and snot as they repeatedly begged for their lives and clung to me.

"Haha..."

...At that point, I could only let out a dry laugh. No matter how much I claimed my innocence, the adventurers wouldn't listen. And if I took their equipment, it would cause a different problem. I regretted ignoring them at the adventurer guild.

Well, if I had listened to them, I would have spent a few days dealing with them, so it's hard to say which was more troublesome.

But I was so cornered that I couldn't even make that judgment...

The rough men crying and approaching, and the unnecessary attention they were drawing. I began to consider running away, knowing that I would be pursued in the future.

"...Ah."

At that moment, I had an idea. In the midst of the crisis, it felt like a miracle to my dulled mind. This would allow me to get rid of these troublesome adventurers and help those people.

"Okay, there's a condition."

"Huh?"

Deciding this, I put on a confident smile and told the adventurers. Confusion appeared on their faces at my sudden change in attitude, but I ignored it and continued.

"For the next three weeks, you will respond to the requests of the people in the city and bring mid-level materials to them for free. If your work is satisfactory, I won't harm you and will even give you a reward. Of course, if you use violence against the people in the city, you will be punished accordingly."

The idea I had was to make the adventurers work in the city. This would help people like Mary, who couldn't afford to buy materials from the guild, and the adventurers in front of me wouldn't follow me around.

"That's a good deal if you think about it, right?"

"Right! I'll do it!"

"Me too!"

One by one, the adventurers decided to participate. As I watched them nonchalantly, I inwardly praised my own idea. I really didn't expect to turn the situation into such a good one.

"...Maybe I'm not so bad at this."

...However, I had forgotten one thing. How much the people in the city were wary of adventurers.

An hour later, I would be buried in the paperwork needed to make the adventurers work in the city, and I would be screaming in frustration. But at that moment, I had no idea...