If You Know Them, You Solve It

Clink.

In the end, I managed to take a money pouch from the middle-aged man.

Inside were 1 gold coin and 5 silver coins. It wasn’t a huge amount, but for something I earned without any effort, it was decent.

With this money, I could probably stay at the inn for free for a while.

“Ugh, uuurgh…”

Once the proper settlement was over, I gave Barkal a look. He nodded, then tossed the thief over to the man.

Don’t take it too personally.

If you get caught stealing, you should be ready to accept far worse.

“That’s another story.”

After moving the gold coin into my pocket, I returned the pouch to the man.

Then I brought up the previous conversation.

“Are you the ones who posted on the forum?”

Are these guys really the ones who wrote the post on the “forum” saying they wanted to meet us?

If so, that’s a bit disappointing. I wanted to check if there were other “players” different from myself in this world.

These guys didn’t seem connected to “players” at all at a glance. I could be wrong, but my gut told me otherwise.

“Y-yes, we are.”

The man nodded his head. As expected, these were the culprits.

“Did you write that you were looking for Dungeon God?”

“Yes, yes we did.”

I even tried mentioning “Dungeon God” out loud, but there still wasn’t any major reaction.

They’re not players. That’s certain.

Now that I’d taken the money and confirmed they weren’t, all that remained was to find out why they sought us out.

“Why are you looking for us?”

I asked the reason directly. There was no need to beat around the bush.

“You were looking for us!?”

But it was Barkal, not the middle-aged man, who reacted first to my words. He spoke in an angry voice and glared sharply at the man and the thief.

“Wasn’t it because you want something from us?”

The middle-aged man nodded with fear.

“And yet that little rat tried to steal from us!”

It did come across as a bit brazen, hearing that.

“Hand him back! I should break another arm!”

“Eek, eeeeek!”

The rogue who had tried to steal trembled and cowered from Barkal’s berating.

The middle-aged man took a step forward as if to shield him.

“P-please don’t do that! It was to test you, you see!”

To test us?

“The only one who can test a barbarian is the Trial of the God!”

Thud, thud.

Barkal strode forward, exuding overwhelming pressure, and I stopped him.

I didn’t like the idea of stealing just to test us, but since I’d gotten a purse out of it, I let it go for now.

“Consider yourself lucky that the wisest barbarian of our Red Wolf Tribe showed mercy, you rat!”

Barkal’s disgust was clear. I could pretty much guess the reason.

Barbarians absolutely despised rogues, and the god Barkal believed in – Thrag – hated rogues even more.

Stealing and poisoned daggers, constant acts of cowardice, avoiding head-on battles whenever possible while coveting only treasure – their class alone was enough to breed animosity.

But it was also because the god representing “rogues” in this world had committed something particularly vile.

I wasn’t a barbarian, and I didn’t hate rogues all that much.

* 〈Thrag wishes for the extermination of the rats!〉

Well, maybe except for Thrag.

“What was the test for?”

Since we’d gotten this far, I decided to at least hear their reason for coming.

Perhaps feeling the conversation had finally circled back to the main topic, relief appeared on the middle-aged man’s face.

“Your ‘Dungeon God’ party recently defeated a necromancer, didn’t you?”

Rumors that start in the Adventurers’ Guild spread like wildfire. Which explains why people like this come snooping around.

“That’s right.”

“That’s why we’re here.”

Because of that?

“My name is Rubelt, a member of ‘Dark Shade’, who specialize in hunting necromancers.”

The man introduced himself as Rubelt of ‘Dark Shade’.

From what he said, it seemed “Dark Shade” was a group specialized in hunting necromancers.

In the end, isn’t that just an extension of being an adventurer? That was the impression I got.

“In the end, it’s the job of any adventurer. Is there a need to make such a big deal out of being a hunter?”

I didn’t mean to belittle, but perhaps my words were off-putting, because the rogue who’d tried to pick my pocket scowled a little.

But as soon as Barkal glared at him, he went back to being meek.

“Necromancers inhabit dungeons. Adventurers clear dungeons. What would hunters have to do in between?”

Aren’t they just trying to cut into the adventurer’s job? They’re just like mosquitoes.

“T-that’s true, but we specialize in tracking necromancers.”

What’s the point in tracking something that just lives in the dungeon?

“Not just the ones holed up in dungeons! We track necromancers who’ve blended into human society! That’s who we go after!”

The reason dungeons aren’t left unattended is that if monsters escape, it becomes dangerous.

Necromancers are monsters too.

That’s why they can come out of the dungeon as well. This “Dark Shade” supposedly tracks such necromancers.

Huh?

Wait a second.

Necromancers hiding within human society. And they came looking for “Dungeon God” because of that?

Could it be—they mean me?

“So you’re necromancer hunters—I get that. But then why did such hunters come looking for us?”

If that’s true, what now? A cold sweat trickled down my back, but I forced myself to ask calmly.

“D-dungeon God. You recently killed a necromancer, right?”

I quietly listened to Rubelt.

“To join our ‘Dark Shade’, you must have experience killing a necromancer.”

Ah.

Now I understood why they came looking for us.

Since we had recently killed a necromancer, we met the condition to join ‘Dark Shade’.

In other words, they came to scout us.

“Are you here to recruit us?”

Rubelt nodded.

Recruitment, after stealing my stuff?

“A-and we hope to cooperate as well.”

Cooperation? What’s that supposed to mean?

“According to other ‘Dark Shade’ reports… there’s a necromancer hiding here in Iushil.”

Ah, damn.

Could it be me?

“Apparently, it’s a necromancer who serves Mortis, God of death and corpses.”

Whew, not me.

I worship Thrag, the God of Blood and Revelry.

“They say he came from the direction of the Crimson Wasteland…”

Crimson Wasteland.

The place where the Red Wolf Tribe resides.

Ah, damn. Is it me after all?

“What do you say! Wouldn’t you like to build even more honor by slaying a necromancer?”

Honor?

Of course I’d like that.

The more famous you are, the higher adventurer rank you can attain, and you can get more information about the Rune of the Abyss.

Not to mention, you could rake in tons of money.

If you reach “Gold” rank or higher, plenty of competent people would apply to join our party.

At that point, the party members would take on commissions and earn money even if I just sat back and did nothing.

That’s what the rich say, right?

Create an environment where money comes in even while you’re idle!

“If you have old grudges against necromancers, this would be your chance for revenge!”

I personally have no grudge. Maybe Barkal or Serena does, though.

“Let us unite and stand together against the evil threatening the continent!”

Unite, huh.

After glancing at the trembling rogue, I spoke up.

“You are weak.”

“Wha-what?”

“Cooperation exists between equals. We do not cooperate with the weak.”

The two looked flustered at my words, but seemed unwilling to leave just yet, as if there was more they had to say. Barkal stepped forward.

“That means we have nothing more to say! Be gone, rats!”

At Barkal’s outburst, Rubelt and the single rogue scampered away as if running for their lives.

As Barkal watched their retreating backs fade away, he said,

“You did well, brother! Nothing ever comes from dealing with rats!”

I also reached that conclusion after weighing our benefits.

Is it really necessary?

Sure, killing necromancers would bring honor, but as adventurers, exploring dungeons is the better deal for now.

“We solve our problems with our own hands.”

When I said that, Barkal’s skull helmet shook up and down in approval.

“I never liked them from the start!”

Barkal. Isn’t that just because you don’t like rogues?

Actually, there’s another reason why I didn’t want to get involved with Dark Shade.

They are a group that hunts necromancers. That means they’d be adept at sniffing out necromancers, maybe even have someone with a “Necromancy Tracking” skill.

So let’s stay out of it.

* * *

After sending Rubelt and the ones claiming to be “Dark Shade” on their way, Barkal and I returned as planned to the Bearded Cat Inn for a meal.

Thankfully, dinner was free for long-term guests, and we narrowly qualified as those ‘long-term guests’.

It was a relief to be able to save even a little money. As I was thinking this and beginning my meal, Serena returned.

“Everyone, thank you for all your hard work today!”

She approached us, still smiling brightly. When asked if she would join us for dinner, she shook her head from side to side.

“It’s okay. I already ate!”

Is that so? Then there’s no need. But I do have a question for her.

“Serena.”

“Yes?”

“What is that garland on your head?”

“A garland? Ah!”

As if a thought had just occurred to her, she patted her head. Then a colorful garland ended up in her hand.

“I forgot to return it!”

Come to think of it, as soon as she got her money earlier, she hurried off somewhere. Where would she get a garland, anyway?

“There’s an orphanage in the outskirts of Iushil run by a follower of Creana, Goddess of freedom and kindness! I visited there today!”

I became curious—but I didn’t want to ask about her personal affairs.

Sensing my curiosity, however, Serena spoke up first.

Anyway, did she go to the orphanage as soon as she got paid?

That’s an extraordinary sense of volunteering. Anyone would think she was a cleric.

Oh.

She is a cleric.

“What about you brothers? How did you spend your day?”

Serena grinned and asked. Barkal let out a sigh in response.

“We met rats.”

“Rats?”

They do have the proper class name ‘rogue’, but honestly, there’s not much difference between them and rats.

“It’s nothing special.”

There’s no point in explaining what’s already over.

“Still, please tell me about it! I’m curious!”

As she talked, Serena perched the garland on my head.

Hey, aren’t you going to take that off?

“Brother, there’s no need to talk about it.”

So you’re with me on this, huh, Barkal.

“The rat has come back.”

Huh?

At Barkal’s words, I turned my head in the direction he was looking.

Sure enough, I could see the rogue and Rubelt from before approaching us again.

The difference this time was that there were more than just those two.

A total of five people.

What was especially notable was that a woman about Serena’s age, apparently their leader, was walking in front.

“Oh? Those people…”

Serena spoke in a surprised tone.

Does she know them?

“Ca-Camilla?”

When Serena spoke the name “Camilla,” the woman at the front turned her gaze toward Serena.

“You… Serebrina Lightbringer?”

Camilla’s hair glimmered faintly red whenever it caught the light, undulating gently like flames.

“I’ve missed you, ms. Camilla!”

Serena greeted her warmly with a big smile and moved closer.

Wait—could this be the adventurer with the scent of roses Serena mentioned before?

It certainly smelled nice, though I wasn’t sure if it was actually roses.

Camilla, on the other hand, looked startled as her emerald eyes wavered.

When Serena forcibly took her hand as she tried to back away, Serena asked,

“Why on earth did you kick me out of the party!?”

Ah.

“You…”

Camilla squeezed her eyes shut and her lips trembled.

“How could a cleric cast buff spells only on themselves and go punch things on the front line!?”

What?

She was simply another victim of Serena’s scamming ways.

————-= Clacky’s Corner ————-=

【ദ്ദി(⩌ᴗ⩌)】

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep