Chapter 25

When Estelle woke up, Tora immediately set off for Finris.

Due to taking a nap, Estelle's walking speed increased. Her ponytail seemed to regain its energy as well.

By the time the sun turned a deep crimson, Tora had arrived at Finris without any issues.

"Hey, Tora and Estelle. Welcome back. Did you both return safely?"

"Yes, thanks to you."

"What are you talking about? I didn't do anything. Alright, go on through."

Tora showed the guild card to the guard and entered. Then, Tora headed straight for the guild.

"…Huh?"

Outside the guild, Tora stopped and furrowed his brow. The inside of the guild was unusually noisy. Listening closely, he could hear a man's angry shouting.

"What's going on, Tora?"

"Well, the guild is a bit noisy. If we go in now, it might get complicated."

"What, a fight? That's a daily occurrence, isn't it?"

"Y-Yeah."

Fights being a daily occurrence made Tora wonder if this place was Edo.

Having lived in modern Japan, Tora would never think of mediating a fight. He would try to blend in and quickly leave the scene.

So this time, he wanted to stay away from the scene and pretend he didn't see anything.

But Estelle had already entered the guild.

"…There's no choice."

Tora sighed and followed Estelle.

The atmosphere inside the guild was tense, as if a single spark could ignite a fire.

The ones shouting were two men, both wrapped in bandages. They were protesting to the receptionist at the counter.

What had happened? Tora was curious, but he didn't want to get involved.

"Tell us where the kid who registered as an adventurer last time went!"

"We were beaten up by that guy!!"

"I'm sorry, but due to confidentiality, we cannot disclose the whereabouts of individual adventurers."

"Isn't it forbidden to harm other adventurers? Are you protecting someone who broke the guild's rules!?"

"No, that's not my intention… Ah!"

Hearing the men's voices, Tora wanted to turn around and run out of the guild. But before he could, the receptionist noticed Tora and widened her eyes. The men must have noticed too, as they turned their heads sharply.

"You!!"

"You bastard!!"

"…Tora, do you know them?"

Despite the men's aggressive shouting, Estelle asked Tora calmly. She was quite composed.

"Y-Yeah. I guess you could say they're acquaintances, or rather, people with a grudge against me."

Tora had been attacked by them before. He had defended himself, but he hadn't expected them to come back to "thank" him.

Estelle's ponytail wagged like a puppy's tail in response to Tora's words.

"Tora made friends in Finris so quickly!"

"No way, they're not friends at all!!"

"Really?"

Why would he make friends who looked at him with such hostility?

Such friends were something he wanted to avoid at all costs.

"What are you showing off in front of a girl for?"

"Because of you, we can't take on any quests!"

"Huh…"

"That's not it!! Listen, you might not know this, but it's forbidden for adventurers to harm each other. The worst case is expulsion from the guild. Got it!?"

"…Yes."

The receptionist, asked in a loud voice, answered briefly with a face that said, "You don't have to shout so loud."

"If we file a complaint, you'll be expelled."

"But in my case, it was self-defense—"

"Will you be expelled? Will you? Then pay for our medical expenses!!"

The man interrupted Tora and shouted loudly. It seemed they weren't there to get Tora expelled but to extort money using the threat of expulsion.

"I was attacked by you—"

"If you don't pay, we'll file a complaint through the guild!"

"Let me explain—"

"Answer me, damn it!"

"Um—"

"Answer, damn it!!"

"…Shut up."

Tora, irritated by the men's attempts to drown out his voice, cast a <Pressure> spell, making the men's knees buckle.

The other adventurers, who had been watching from a distance, turned pale and trembled. The people in the bar buried their faces in their mugs, as if to say, "I don't know anything."

"I was attacked, so I defended myself. According to the guild's rules, self-defense is not a problem, right?"

"…Y-Yes, that's right. It's fine."

The receptionist, trembling, nodded repeatedly.

"It wasn't self-defense. We were attacked by you!"

"Y-Yeah, you were clearly trying to kill us!"

"No, it was self-defense…"

"Then do you have any proof!? We're injured!"

With two against one, the odds were not in Tora's favor. Moreover, there was evidence that he had injured them, so it was impossible to deny it now.

(What a hassle…)

Tora found dealing with them troublesome. He even considered ignoring everything and leaving Finris.

If he left without refuting their claims, he would be labeled as an assailant. He would likely be expelled from the guild and might find it difficult to live in other cities.

(Then, maybe I should go to another country…)

While he was thinking this, a burly man with a vein popping on his forehead appeared from the back of the counter. It was the guild member who had conducted Tora's skill test.

"What's all the noise about!?"

"Mr. Graf! This guy attacked us unprovoked!"

"He beat us up and took all our money!"

Now, Tora was also accused of robbery. The situation was escalating beyond mere expulsion.

As Tora was thinking of how to counter, the man called Graf looked at Tora.

His eyes showed a hint of regret as he spoke.

"Did you get beaten up by a wanderer…?"

"…What?"

"…Huh?"

"The Tora standing there is a wanderer. You guys were almost D-rank, right? Aren't you ashamed of being beaten by a new wanderer?"

"He's a lowlife!?"

"Th-That's ridiculous…"

The men, who had turned pale, suddenly remembered the incident a few days ago. They had been embarrassed by a boy named Tora, but the memory was hazy due to the alcohol.

However, they did remember hearing that he was a lowlife.

This important information had been forgotten amidst their anger and embarrassment.

"Hahaha!"

"Beaten by a lowlife!"

"Pathetic!"

"Are you really beaten by a lowlife!? Impossible!"

The other adventurers, who had been watching from a distance, burst into laughter.

The men's faces turned red with embarrassment.

Being beaten by a wanderer, a lowlife, was equivalent to admitting they were weaklings who couldn't even fight back.

"No, that's not true. That guy isn't a lowlife!"

"Y-Yeah. We were beaten up by him! He's lying about being a lowlife!"

"Why would he lie about being a lowlife…?"

Graf sighed deeply and asked the receptionist.

"Hey, Marry. What were the results of Tora's soul measurement?"

"Yes… He was definitely a wanderer."

"See?"

What do you do? Graf asked the men with his eyes.

"…Ugh"

"Kk…"

"Most likely, you were injured by a monster and tried to blame a new adventurer, right?"

"No—"

"Is that it?"

Graf glared at the men with a look that said, "End it here."

If they had been beaten by a monster, their pride would be preserved.

But if they insisted it was Tora, they would be known as lowlifes who were beaten by a lowlife.

"…Damn it! Let's go!!"

"Remember this!"

Leaving a cliché parting shot, the men quickly left the guild with red faces.

The other adventurers burst into laughter at the sight.

"Sorry, Tora. I had to reveal your background."

"It's fine."

Tora shook his head.

Graf's words were the best solution for Tora.

It prevented the situation from becoming a mud-slinging contest, resolved the issue peacefully, and even preserved the pride of the complaining adventurers. It was a win-win, or rather, a win-win-win situation.

Although his background was exposed, Tora understood that it was the quickest and simplest way to resolve the issue, so he had no complaints.

"You might get involved in various troubles because I called you a wanderer."

"I already am…"

"Right. If any adventurers cause trouble, feel free to mention my name. I'll take care of them."

"Thank you."

Tora felt that the benefits of this far outweighed the drawbacks. He vowed to use this to his advantage in the future.

As the atmosphere in the guild began to calm down, Tora finally reached the counter.

(Just to report, it felt like the distance from the entrance to here was incredibly long…)

"Mr. Tora, I'm sorry for what happened earlier."

"Don't worry about it, Miss Marry."

Tora shook his head.

"As I told Mr. Graf, that was the quickest way. Besides, Miss Marry, you helped me, so we're even."

"…I appreciate that."

Marry had given Tora information about Estelle's whereabouts, which was just within the limits of her confidentiality. Thanks to that information, Tora was able to help Estelle. It would be wrong to complain about being called a wanderer.

As Tora and Marry exchanged smiles, a heavy atmosphere settled on Tora's shoulders.