Chapter 119 : Chapter 119
Chapter 119
Her white hair, which seemed even more brittle than before, was tied low in a loose tail, and the jade-colored earrings she wore were still striking.
The merchant who had set up a street stall during the Founding Festival in Portplum—the Great Old Dust Release—selling dungeon byproducts.
Bejiana had appeared from the opposite side of the street.
And behind her stood another familiar face.
“Why, Beji—oh?”
A tall man with a white cloth wrapped around his head.
Ridim, the guard who had stood at Bejiana’s side in Portplum, looked forward—then froze in the same way.
His eyes widened as far as they could, and he immediately jabbed Bejiana with his elbow, whispering,
“Th-that person, could it be…….”
Of course, their voices were louder than Ridim’s whisper.
“Ah! You came at just the right time! I waited just in case, since you were not at the end of the line—and here you are!”
Dalia turned toward Heinen and Porzelin.
“This man! It is him, right? Merdin says so too, and the one I passed by yesterday was dressed just like this!”
She pointed sharply at the man standing before her.
The same man who had come into the magic tool shop yesterday carrying a lamp.
Just as Dalia said, his armor and gauntlets were identical to what he had worn then.
“You…….”
The man recognized Heinen and reacted.
That alone should have been enough, yet Heinen nodded firmly.
“……As he recognizes me, I also remember him. He is indeed the one who came to the magic tool shop yesterday.”
“We expected you would come, which is why we waited here—but to assault someone and then stroll about so brazenly the next day! The audacity is unbelievable!”
The moment Porzelin nodded as well, Dalia’s anger flared even higher.
“Assault……?”
“That man there assaulted the owner of a magic tool shop.”
People who had grasped the gist of the commotion began whispering among themselves.
Those near the front of the line craned their necks, curious about what was happening behind them.
The man seemed taken aback, as though he had not expected to be confronted so openly before such a crowd. But soon he composed himself and shouted viciously,
“Ha! You barge in and start spewing nonsense! When did I ever do such a thing?”
He brazenly claimed nothing had happened.
He could do so because there was not a single visible injury on Merdin’s face, which he had struck with his fist the day before.
He had been startled at first to see no trace of wounds, but quickly decided it worked in his favor.
“Hmph! There is not a single injured person here, yet you accuse an innocent man!”
“What? There are several witnesses here and you still dare—!”
“With no evidence, do you expect anyone to believe you? Is that not so?”
He snorted and turned sharply.
Behind him stood one of the companions who had accompanied him to the magic tool shop yesterday.
The other was nowhere to be seen.
“……Is that not so?”
“Ah—uh, y-yes! Of course, without evidence, how could anyone believe it!”
His companion, glancing nervously at those around him, hastily echoed the claim.
“……There is not even a scratch! If he had shown up with wounds and claimed assault, that would be one thing—!”
“You saw what his injuries were like yesterday and you dare say that? His brain was shaken, he could barely think straight, and the flesh on his arm was torn by those gauntlets, blood pouring out! Should we have left him untreated until now? Should we have sent for Fairywind instead?!”
Dalia shouted furiously.
Without giving Merdin or anyone else a chance to intervene, the exchange continued—Dalia pressing accusations, the man responding shamelessly.
The commotion grew louder.
Aquila, who had been watching for a moment, turned his head—and once again met Bejiana’s eyes.
They had looked at each other at precisely the same moment.
As though that alone were a signal, Bejiana hurried toward him.
Porzelin, noticing someone approaching the young master, moved to block her, but Aquila reassured her and sent her back toward the scene.
“……You are that customer from before, are you not? Why are you here? Oh, right—did you receive the letter I sent? Is that why you are here? And was your hair not a different color before?”
Now standing before Aquila, Bejiana unleashed a torrent of questions, too many to answer at once.
Ridim hurried after her and tugged lightly at her tied hair.
“Bejiana. If you ask so many questions at once, you will trouble him.”
“But it is strange that he is here! Do you not think so, Ridim? He should be in the North by now…… Ah?”
As she continued speaking, she suddenly paused, as though recalling something.
Her turquoise eyes fixed intently on Aquila’s face.
“Now that I think about it, I heard news from the capital yesterday. And your name was definitely Reschen—”
Aquila was prepared to interrupt if she attempted to say it in full, but before he could, Bejiana snapped her mouth shut.
News from the capital.
She must have meant the attack in the capital and the kidnapping of Aquila Reschenhardt.
‘So even news of a petty noble disappearing reaches the East. Or perhaps it travels more slowly than expected.’
Given the high price of a Communication Bracelet, the speed of information flow was likely much the same before and after Beirets Hurbel’s invention.
Unless they became more widely distributed in the future.
Bejiana’s eyes widened again.
“How are you here……?”
“Well, that is simply how it happened. There is little else I can say.”
He could hardly explain that Ark Batchel had thrown him onto a Teleportation Circle and forcibly sent him to the East.
“Perhaps you might speak a little more comfortably…….”
Ridim murmured.
No one paid him any attention.
“Then why are you at the Adventurers’ Guild? Do you have business here? Oh—was it to obtain information about the Egoril Mountain Range?”
“No. That is no longer necessary. What interests me now is the newly opened dungeon……”
“What is all this commotion!”
Though Aquila had attempted to converse with Bejiana against the backdrop of the ongoing quarrel, the disturbance only grew louder, and someone emerged from inside the guild building.
A large, broad-shouldered man accompanied by three others approached.
More precisely, he headed toward Dalia and the man accused of assault.
“Tch, the Deputy Director…….”
Bejiana muttered with obvious displeasure and slipped behind Aquila.
Ridim did the same, despite being taller than Aquila, discreetly shifting behind him.
The man called Deputy Director pushed through the gathered crowd and strode confidently to the front.
His sharp gaze swept the area before settling on Dalia.
“So, Dalia. What are you doing here? I was under the impression that matter had already been settled.”
“……Kelson.”
The moment the man named Kelson appeared, Dalia’s fiery demeanor cooled into something cold and hard.
“……Perhaps it was settled for you. I am here to apprehend the one who assaulted Merdin yesterday.”
“Merdin was assaulted?”
“Yes. By this man.”
Dalia pointed to the man opposite her.
Kelson looked at him, then shifted his gaze to Merdin.
Merdin met his eyes with an expression far from pleasant, yet Kelson’s face remained unchanged as he scrutinized him from head to toe.
“I see no injuries. And yet you claim assault?”
“Of course he was treated. The fact that you say the same thing makes me wonder if the two of you rehearsed this.”
Dalia retorted sarcastically.
It was evident they did not share a good relationship.
Relations between the Adventurers’ Guild and nearby merchants had deteriorated ever since a new leader took control.
Money was usually the cause.
Problems arose whether one entered into partnership with the guild or not.
“Every time I see him, I feel unlucky.”
Bejiana muttered from behind Aquila.
Kelson did not seem particularly popular.
He shifted his attention to the man wearing sturdy gauntlets.
“Your name?”
“Dernell…….”
“Hm. Very well, Dernell. Is this drunken rambling true?”
“……I did nothing! As you just said, there is not a single mark on him!”
“There are witnesses! The bloodstained clothes, the floor, and the lamp you bought and left behind are still at the shop!”
“If you check the sales records, you will see who purchased it. Magic tools are delicate instruments; I record who buys them and when.”
“I bought the lamp and returned it. But how does that prove I assaulted anyone?”
As Dernell shrugged, Kelson rubbed the back of his closely shorn head.
“Dernell’s words are not entirely wrong.”
“There were three witnesses, including the victim!”
“Hah! Who is to say they did not coordinate their story? If the injuries were as severe as you claim, even potions would leave scars. There is no way such wounds could be healed so cleanly in the East—”
“Oh. So we need only explain how the injuries were healed so swiftly?”
Someone cut in.
It was Heinen.
His calm tone, entirely at odds with the tension of the scene, drew all eyes to him.
“I wondered why you insisted such clean treatment was impossible. But now I realize—you would not know. There are not many priests in the East.”
“……What are you talking about?”
Ignoring Dernell’s irritation, Heinen pulled the cord at his neck and drew out the necklace from beneath his clothes.
The moment the softly glowing pendant appeared, eyes widened all around.
“Th-that is…….”
“I assisted him. I swear there is no falsehood in this.”
Heinen declared it plainly.
It had been only two days since he had changed his clothes and emerged from the forest into civilization.
From his perspective, the misunderstanding was understandable.
“A holy knight’s oath…… then this cannot be denied.”
Kelson’s gaze fixed intently on the insignia of the temple in Heinen’s hand.
Something flickered within that gaze before sinking back down.
He jerked his chin toward Dernell.
***
Despite Dalia’s fierce confrontation, the situation resolved smoothly the moment Heinen intervened.
Dernell, struggling, and his companion—who had been attempting to slip away unnoticed—were swiftly restrained by the men who had come with Kelson.
Heinen apologized, saying he should have spoken sooner, but Dalia shook her head.
She had assumed he wished to conceal his identity as a holy knight and had tried to handle the matter herself to protect his secret.
It was not entirely incorrect, though revealing it was not particularly harmful either.
The three exchanged quiet glances.
In any case, distrustful of Kelson’s handling of the matter, Dalia disappeared into the guild building with Merdin.
As Dernell’s punishment was no longer their concern, Aquila and the others chose not to follow.
They had other matters to attend to.
And besides……
“How long has it been since anyone has seen a temple knight in the East! Or perhaps never? Ridim, have you?”
“……I cannot say.”
Bejiana chattered on, while Ridim cast Heinen a somewhat complicated look.
Though it had been some time since they last met, Aquila stated that they needed to join the line for dungeon entry.
“Oh? The Black Forest Dungeon? You are going in?”
“Yes. As I said earlier, that is where my interest now lies.”
Bejiana shook her head.
“Ah! Then you need not stand in line. Would you like to take our waiting registration number? We no longer need it.”