Chapter 108 : Chapter 108
Chapter 108: Homecoming (1)
The merchant company we visited was the ‘Ria Merchant Company’.
It was a merchant company that the Kapers mainly dealt with, in a kind of cooperative relationship, introduced by Logan.
Thanks to that, we were able to have an immediate meeting with the owner of the company, the president.
And he, as a veteran merchant with a lot of experience, was horrified as soon as he saw the quality of the potions and elixirs I had brought.
“They are the work of an alchemist named Nero.”
“Nero…?”
“She has a shop here in Tiaria.”
The president showed an expression of hearing it for the first time.
“S-Such a person, was in Tiaria…?”
As if it didn't make sense that he didn't know a person with such skills.
“By any chance, does she make other items as well…?”
“Of course, she does.”
After that, well, it proceeded smoothly.
The president begged us to introduce him to Nero, and I delivered the contract proposal they had given to Nero.
“Th-Th-Th-The Ria Merchant Company……!?”
At that, Nero showed a reaction of disbelief.
The Ria Merchant Company was a famous merchant company in the city.
In a place where numerous merchant companies were established, as befitting the largest commercial city where merchants from all over the continent gathered, it was one of the top three merchant companies, so it was only natural.
Even after reading the document signed by the president himself several times, Nero did not easily believe it.
She doubted the document itself, and pinched her own cheek to see if it was a dream, and showed various other reactions, but it was neither a fake nor a dream.
In the end, Nero somehow calmed her trembling hands and signed the document.
Thanks to that, we would now receive a small brokerage fee every time Nero and the Ria Merchant Company made a deal.
Nero's products would sell like hotcakes as soon as they hit the market.
It meant that the 10,000 gold I had invested would soon return as 30,000 gold.
And that meant that the amount we could invest in Nero would increase.
The more that happened, the faster the items that could only be obtained at ‘Nero's Atelier’, especially the legendary-grade artifacts, would be unlocked.
So, of course, if I had my way, I would have wanted to invest the money I still had hidden in Ibi's ‘secret base’ in Nero right away.
But if I did that, Don Paulo, who would be searching for his money with his eyes wide open, would immediately attack this place.
Isn't it what amateurs do, to spend a large sum of money nearby as soon as they rob it and arouse suspicion.
Therefore, at least until we somehow dealt with Don Paulo, that money was sealed.
***
The next day.
“I-I found it…!”
When we visited Nero's Atelier (or, warehouse) again, Nero said this to us instead of a greeting.
“The gold coins, right?”
When I asked, Nero nodded her head several times and held up the sack in her hand.
“These gold coins…… are gold coins from ‘Krom’.”
“Krom?”
--
[History] Success
--
It's a city founded by the guys who serve that bastard Kromo, the god of darkness.
Rather than that explanation, it was more commonly.
“Krom… you mean the dark elves' stronghold?”
As Ibi's question suggested, it was better known as the city of the dark elves.
“These gold coins, were they really made there…?”
Perhaps that's why, the flustered Toric immediately began to look at a gold coin he had taken out of the sack with eyes of disbelief.
“How on earth did you find out? What's the basis?”
When Toric asked, approaching closer as if to press her, Nero was slightly surprised and flinched, but she answered diligently.
“W-Well… from the gold coins, the component of ‘gloom’ was detected….”
“Gloom, you mean, surely…”
“I-It’s a kind of miasma, that spreads in the atmosphere around Krom….”
Saying that this was a component that could only be found in Krom, Nero added to Miki, who was trying to retrace his memory.
“N-Not just one gold coin, but gloom was detected in all the gold coins. So… these must have come from Krom, for sure.”
“I see….”
At these words, Toric let out a short sigh and stroked his beard.
“Why? Why that reaction?”
Ibi, who had seen this, asked as if to throw it out.
“Do you have some kind of history with the dark elves too?”
At that, Toric glanced at Ibi and made an “Umm…” sound, as if wondering how to begin.
“They… have a rather, strong tendency to be bellicose.”
Well, that's pretty much the case.
“…What? Why are you looking at me?”
“It’s probably not a racial characteristic, but… because of the atmosphere of Krom itself or the environment they grew up in. Krom is a place where it’s as hard for living things to survive as it is beyond the Wall… ah, literally, that is.”
Well, since the atmosphere is full of the miasma I mentioned earlier, it couldn't be a good place to live.
Because of that, no matter how accustomed they were to their native environment, it was inevitable that they would turn their eyes to other ‘good environments to live in’.
“What are you talking about?”
“…It’s a story that they have tried to invade other cities on the continent several times in the past, especially the closest one, Tiaria.”
“Invade? Tiaria?”
“That's right. …And there was a time when I, along with my comrades, stopped that conspiracy.”
“Ah! I've heard of──”
That.
Miki, who seemed to have been about to say that, slowly lowered his raised hand and cautiously looked at Ibi.
The story of the righteous Kapers fighting against the evil dark elves who were aiming for Tiaria and protecting the city was one of the popular heroic tales.
So Miki, who admired them, would have naturally heard of it.
He must have even felt a sense of familiarity.
But now, next to Miki, was Ibi, who, although a half-breed, was a dark elf.
“……Haa.”
Seeing Miki's reaction, Ibi suddenly let out a loud sigh.
“Hey, you guys. I don’t know what you’re misunderstanding… but I don’t care at all what they hear, you know? I don’t care about guys who have nothing to do with me.”
So why do you keep looking at me, Ibi said.
Her tone was as if she had no sense that they were her own people.
Nevertheless, Toric, who still showed a cautious reaction, slowly opened his mouth again.
“Anyway, the story that many slaves are being sought from Krom through Don Paulo…… sounds very unusual to me.”
As a veteran Kaper, he had such a premonition.
“K-Krom, you say…?!”
Sure enough, Logan, who had heard about the origin of the gold coins, showed the same reaction.
“All those gold coins, came from Krom…….”
He put his hand to his forehead as if to endure a headache, and muttered the name of the moon goddess he believed in, “Tia…”.
“…Perhaps, something more serious than we initially expected is happening.”
“I agree.”
Seeing Toric, who nodded in agreement, Ibi, who shook her head in the opposite direction, muttered in an annoyed voice.
“What the hell is he doing? That damn old geezer…”
But that was also for a moment.
As if it were useless for her to worry about it like this, Ibi said briskly, as if to shake off that worry.
“Well, since it’s come to this, there’s no other way but to go and find out for ourselves.”
Right?
And, looking back at me.
“Let’s go. To catch that bastard.”
***
However, Don Paulo was not an easy opponent.
Because he was the boss of the Tiaria Cartel, the largest cartel on the continent.
Although Don Paulo himself was not strong, the guards who followed him like a shadow all day to protect him were all very skilled.
Not only that, but to even face those guards, you first had to break through the very tight security of the mansion.
But the good thing was, that we had just reached level 12.
Thanks to that, not only had our stats risen and we had learned new skills, but we had also gotten the opportunity to—what is called—‘change jobs’, which can be done at level 10.
That is, the choice of a sub-class.
Just as Toric, who was (gradually regaining his past skills) had become a ‘berserker’ from a ‘warrior’.
Like how Miki had become a ‘paladin’, who focused more on defense, among the ‘knights’.
Lily had become a ‘saint’ from a ‘cleric’.
It meant that she had become a favored child of God and would be able to perform more miracles in the future.
Meanwhile, Ibi had become a ‘phantom thief’ from a ‘rogue’.
Just as her achievements, of robbing Don Paulo's safe and disappearing, had been praised on the streets.
Rine had reached the level of a ‘time mage’ from a ‘mage’, just as her past self had.
It is a special class that ordinary mages can't even dream of, a class that only Rine can choose.
Rine had a talent for controlling time.
The reason why she could use 「Delayed Casting」 and 「Swift Cast」 from level 1.
Finally, I, among the ‘bards’, began to walk the path of a ‘trickster’.
As the bard class itself was designed, unlike other job classes that focused on supporting other allies, the ‘trickster’ was a sub-class that could be used more in combat.
As befitting the name ‘trickster’, it was a class that focused on tricking or deceiving opponents, the most unconventional class among bards.
And of course, I could also learn a trait that could amplify the effects of my main skills, 「Vicious Mockery」 and 「Word Command」.
So from the time I was planning this build, I had not even considered a sub-class other than ‘trickster’.
--
Yubin
Lv.12
Race : Human
Class : Trickster
STR 05(-2)
DEX 05(-1)
INT 10
MEN 12(-2)
CHA 20(+6)
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──In short, for us who had grown beyond one level like this, the 「Don Paulo's Mansion」 was no longer an impregnable fortress.
It was just one of the quest destinations that we could visit whenever we wanted.
However, just because we were prepared in terms of ability, it didn't mean that we were mentally prepared.
But Ibi had said that she couldn't just run away from the past forever.
Therefore, before we officially went to ‘meet’ Don Paulo, Ibi said that there was a place we had to stop by first, and the place she had brought us to was──
“──Welcome.”
The ‘slums’ of Tiaria.
“To the garbage can of Tiaria.”
The place where Ibi had spent most of her childhood.
“Do you know why Tiaria looks so clean and glamorous? Because they throw all the city's trash here and get rid of it.”
Ibi looked at the scene of the slum unfolding before her eyes and let out a bitter smile.
“Filth, sewage, criminals, you can assume that all the trash in Tiaria is gathered here.”
As if she had never thought she would really come back here.