Chapter 101: Who’s the Rookie? (1)

Three figures staggered toward the western gate of Chelon Territory.

The guards stationed there flinched at their suspicious gait.

“St–Stop right there!”

Their appearance was so filthy that the guards assumed they were beggars.

Because of that, sharp spears were instantly thrust forward.

Shaaak—!

The three approaching men were startled by the guards’ reaction.

“W–What’s wrong with you?”

“What’s this about?”

“Why are you blocking the way?”

Their irritated shouts startled the guards again.

The three were none other than Allen, Howard, and Aizel, who had been traveling with Raion.

They looked so filthy because they were covered head to toe in thick green monster blood.

“State your identity!”

“What else! We’re adventurers!”

Normally the calmest of the three, Allen replied roughly and held out his adventurer badge.

A guard approached to inspect it.

“B–Rank?”

Howard and Aizel showed theirs as well.

A party of three B–Rank adventurers was comparable to an A–Rank mercenary group.

When the guards confirmed that all three were B–Rank, their faces turned pale.

“Can’t you just let us through already?”

“Yeah! We’re exhausted!”

“Please.”

The guard handed their badges back.

“Y–You may enter.”

“Thanks.”

Just as the three were about to move forward, a voice came from behind.

“You haven’t even gone in yet.”

“Ugh—!”

Standing behind them was none other than Raion.

In truth, they had been playing a game of tag.

Starting from the western Clarman Territory, they had hunted monsters all the way here to Chelon, betting on whether they could reach the lord’s castle without being caught.

Of course, there had been a handicap.

“You left half a day before me, remember.”

“H–How did you…?”

The distance from the border forest to the castle was enormous.

Even with a head start of half a day, catching up on horseback should’ve been impossible.

And yet, Raion had caught up right in front of the castle gates.

“Even though Cayman volunteered to act as bait, it was useless.”

“Y–You must’ve left earlier than you said, right?”

At that, Raion merely shrugged.

“I clearly left after the sun was high. Well… it was unexpected that Cayman volunteered to stall for time, though.”

“What happened to Cayman?”

Allen glanced behind them, but Cayman was nowhere in sight.

He couldn’t even be seen in the distance, which was worrying.

“No idea. He’ll make it somehow. So, does that mean I win the bet?”

“Ah…”

At Raion’s words, all three went pale.

Raion, on the other hand, looked pleased.

“The next hunting ground—only fists allowed.”

“That’ll get us killed!”

“I–I can’t! I’m a mage!”

Aizel raised his hand frantically in protest, but Raion ignored him.

“Aizel, no magic—just your staff.”

“I don’t have any strength!”

“Then you’ll build some. Anyway, let’s go in.”

Raion took the lead toward the castle gate.

The guards, startled, hurriedly blocked his path.

“P–Please wait a moment. Y–Your badge, sir.”

Even just seeing how he handled three B–Rank adventurers so casually made them wary.

But the soldiers of a lord’s castle, proud and disciplined, wouldn’t bend easily.

“Ah, you mean my badge?”

Raion pulled something from his chest and held it out.

A badge gleamed in gold.

The guards froze, unable to even take it.

“T–This is…!”

“A–An S–Rank badge?”

Instantly, rumors from Praizen flashed through their minds—rumors so big no one could have forgotten.

“May I enter now?”

“Y–Yes, of course! Please, go right ahead!”

The guards hastily stepped aside to open the way.

Allen, Howard, and Aizel naturally followed behind as if it were only proper.

Once inside, the four of them headed straight for the Adventurers’ Guild.

Clack—!

Raion entered the guild and took a seat.

Meanwhile, the other three went to the front desk.

They began unloading the spoils they’d gathered from Praizen to here to have them appraised and sold.

“…These are quite a lot of materials. Is this perhaps the hide of a Stone Lizard?”

The Stone Lizard was a type of lizard monster that fed on hard minerals.

Its hide was extremely thick and durable, and it could grow up to four meters long—making it difficult to hunt.

Though classified as a C–Rank monster, the difficulty of slaying one was closer to B–Rank.

“Yeah, it was a tough one.”

“There’s only one hide, correct?”

The clerk, Priscilla, spoke casually as she started the appraisal.

Then Allen turned to the table behind them.

“Master, are you going to sell your materials too?”

“Might as well. It’s not good to keep hoarding.”

Raion rose from his seat and approached the desk.

Then, with a motion, he activated his ability to open his storage. Instead of the desk, he dumped everything onto the floor.

Shaaahhh—!

As the materials piled up into a small mountain, the surrounding adventurers and mercenaries gawked in shock.

“Whoa! Isn’t that an Ogre Warrior’s axe?”

“There’s even Claw Bear hide here.”

Most of the monsters they mentioned were ranked B or higher—some even exceeding A–Rank.

Naturally, such creatures weren’t easy to hunt, and only parties of B–Rank or higher adventurers or mercenaries could handle them.

“Y–You’re saying you’re going to sell all of this?”

Priscilla, looking even more shocked than before, glanced at the towering pile of materials.

Raion scratched his head and replied,

“All of it. How long will it take?”

“There’s too much here… Even if we hurry, it’ll take at least three days.”

It wasn’t just materials.

There were also edible beasts among the haul, which meant time was needed for butchering and calculation as well.

“I don’t have that much time… Can’t it be done any faster?”

He’d already wasted too much time in Praizen handling matters with the lord there.

He needed to visit the Arenvatz Territory quickly and then return to Kanas.

Nothing urgent had happened there, but since the future had already begun to shift, Raion couldn’t afford to be careless.

“The fastest we can do it is two days.”

“Then please do it as quickly as possible. Also, prepare some rooms. Five singles, and meals right away.”

“Understood. I’ll arrange it immediately.”

Raion said that and turned to head back to the table.

But a group of large, burly men blocked his path.

“…?”

Puzzled, Raion looked up. The men gave a mocking laugh.

“Where’d you pick up that Claw Bear? Judging by the scar near its eye, it looks like the one I was fighting.”

“You mean to say I picked up the beast you were fighting and came to sell it?”

It was such a ridiculous provocation that Raion was momentarily speechless.

But the big man continued, unfazed.

“So you’re saying you killed it?”

A Claw Bear stood over five meters tall and could render any weapon useless with its long claws.

Even a single one of them required at least five B–Rank adventurers or mercenaries to take down.

The man clearly didn’t believe Raion or his companions were the ones who had hunted it.

As the man picked a fight, Howard, who had been standing by the desk, stepped forward.

“Hey! What are you talking about? Since when is there a rule that whoever spots a monster first owns it? The one who slays it is the rightful owner!”

“Oho~! Easy there! You lot look like you’re from another territory. Around here, we’ve got our own rules~!”

His tone was dripping with mockery.

Then Priscilla, the clerk behind the desk, stepped forward.

“Dolk! They’re adventurers just like you! And no matter who started the hunt, the one who brings it back owns it! So stop behaving like that!”

Her words were common sense.

Even so, the man called Dolk didn’t change his attitude.

“An adventurer should have some worth to be called one, right? You don’t seriously believe this scrawny guy killed a Claw Bear, do you? What do you all think?”

“Hahaha! Hahahaha!”

Laughter erupted from around them. The atmosphere supported Dolk’s jeering.

Meanwhile, Howard, Allen, and Aizel’s veins bulged on their foreheads.

Then Howard stepped forward again.

“You looking down on us? And… Dolk, was it? Aren’t you the adventurer they call the Leech of Chelon?”

At those words, Dolk’s brow furrowed deeply.

“What? Leech!”

With a rough expression, Dolk lunged forward, trying to grab Howard by the collar.

But Howard caught his arm first and stopped him cold.

“If you really are Dolk the Leech, then you’d better behave yourself.”

“You dare say that and tell me to stop! Grrk!”

Only the sound of him straining was heard, as Howard didn’t budge an inch.

The onlookers around them widened their eyes in surprise.

Dolk was known as one of the stronger adventurers in Chelon.

“I didn’t introduce myself properly. I’m Howard, active in Praizen. These two are Allen and Aizel.”

“Howard? You mean Iron Wall Howard?”

“Wait—Allen? As in the one they call Wolf Slayer?”

Their party’s reputation had already spread far and wide.

At that, several adventurers looked down at the massive steel shield Howard was carrying.

It was the very shield that had earned him the nickname Iron Wall Howard.

Realizing who they were, some people hesitated and backed away.

“Now that you know who we are, why don’t you calm down?”

“Sh–Shut up! You insult me and expect me to let it go?”

Dolk was a B–Rank adventurer and warrior himself.

However, since his reputation didn’t quite match theirs, his confidence faltered.

“I’m saying this for your sake—apologize to my master first.”

“Master? What, some noble brat? And you, an adventurer, serve under a noble? Has Iron Wall Howard thrown away his pride for money?”

For mercenaries, that might’ve made sense—but adventurers were supposed to live by the creed of wandering and challenge.

Of course, not all adventurers held to that, but generally, it was considered their principle.

“Well, you’re not entirely wrong. But my master is also an adventurer.”

“Then he’s just a rookie at best!”

There were indeed a few nobles who doubled as adventurers.

But most of them only did so to gain fame on the side.

Dolk assumed Raion was one of those nobles.

At that, Howard, Allen, and Aizel all blinked in disbelief.

“Rookie?”

Up until then, Raion had been standing at the back, idly cleaning his ears.

The provocation wasn’t even worth responding to.

Dolk frowned again at Raion’s indifferent demeanor.

“Are you looking down on adventurers?”

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