Chapter 204: Chapter 204 Blessing (4)

Blessing (4)

Blessing (4)

Misha was kidnapped.

And in the city, at that.

Although it sounded like something serious had happened, I calmly confirmed the rest of the story.

If it was true, it wouldn’t make sense for Ainar to be sleeping peacefully in her room.

“Kidnapped? Explain properly. What happened? When did it happen?”

“It happened yesterday!”

The incident occurred just a day ago.

Ainar and Misha had a simple meal outside and were on their way back, she said.

But when they arrived at the inn, guess what?

Beastmen dressed in black were waiting for Misha.

“Ah! From what I heard, they seemed to be from Misha’s family!”

If it was her family, then it must have been the master who sent them.

“……So?”

“What do you mean ‘so’? Those beastmen whispered something to Misha and then dragged her away!”

Hmm, can you really call that ‘dragging her away’?

I asked to confirm.

“Didn’t Misha say anything to you?”

“She said she would be back tonight, so I should just spend a day alone. Ah! She also told me to go greet Bjorn… but I was worried and couldn’t sleep well, so I overslept!”

I couldn’t help but chuckle.

Leaving aside the part about oversleeping, she even left a message before leaving, so how is this a kidnapping?

I asked, and I got a rather interesting answer.

“Misha looked like she really didn’t want to go! But if that’s not a kidnapping, then what is it?!”

To call it a kidnapping because they took someone who didn’t want to go, it’s typical barbarian logic.

However, I’m also a barbarian.

“Right, Misha was kidnapped.”

I know how pointless it is to argue with a barbarian about whether it’s a kidnapping or not.

“Right? I was so upset because Aruru said it was nothing!”

“What did Raven say?”

“She said to wait at home until Bjorn came back and not do anything stupid. So I haven’t even reported it to the police yet!”

Okay, she handled it well.

It’s best to leave barbarians to other barbarians.

If that doesn’t work, it’s best to not talk at all.

“So! What are we going to do, Bjorn! We have to go raid that place, right? Misha is our companion!!”

If we raid that place, who knows what kind of trouble might happen?

I said firmly,

“Misha is also a warrior. We have to give her time to handle it on her own.”

“That’s… you’re right!”

Ainar easily agreed without being stubborn after I persuaded her in a barbarian-like way.

“But aren’t you hungry? It’s morning.”

“Of course, I’m starving!”

First, I had breakfast with Ainar.

And I checked what happened while I was gone.

There wasn’t anything special.

Just training, eating, and home, repeated every day.

It seemed like they even decided to skip the regular meetings with Raven and the bear-like man until I came back.

“Ah, Misha said that Bjorn is amazing. It might not seem like it, but she said Bjorn is the center of the team, and they can’t unite without him!”

“Uh… I see.”

I feel a sense of embarrassment.

Well, it’s a hundred times better than them badmouthing me behind my back…

I changed the subject.

“Did Misha leave money for food?”

“Uh, but I spent it all.”

“…I’ll leave some money, so make sure to eat well until tonight.”

“Are you leaving? Without waiting for Misha?”

“Nothing will change even if I just stay here. I have to do my work. Misha would want me to do that too.”

After finishing the meal, I sent Ainar back to her room and went out.

My first destination was the Magic Tower.

“Ah, you’re back? How’s your body?”

“Thanks to the antidote the Moselan gave me, I seem to be fine.”

“That’s good to hear. You’ve worked hard. Anyway, you heard about Miss Kaltstein, right?”

“Yeah. I’ll go check on her if she doesn’t come back today, so don’t worry.”

“I wasn’t worried from the beginning. Miss Ainar is the strange one, why is she making such a fuss when she just went to her family’s place?”

I smiled bitterly and kept my mouth shut.

Unlike Raven, I know about Misha’s situation with her family.

So I can’t help but be worried.

“More importantly, you said you couldn’t do the settlement because I wasn’t here? Let’s meet tomorrow.”

“What if Miss Kaltstein is late?”

“I’ll come back and let you know.”

After briefly catching up, we set a time and place to meet and parted ways.

The next place I headed to was the bear-like man’s bar.

“Oh, you’re finally back. You’ve worked hard.”

“Anything happen while I was gone?”

“Nothing worth mentioning. But shouldn’t I be the one asking that? Were you okay while you were in Bifron?”

“It wasn’t bad. It’s a comfortable place to live.”

Just like with Raven, I briefly caught up with the bear-like man and then set a time and place to meet.

“I’ll finally get that money.”

“Sorry for making you wait. You could have taken it earlier.”

“No, this kind of thing should be done when everyone is present to avoid any disputes. And besides, it’s not like you couldn’t come because you were busy having fun.”

“Thank you for understanding. Then I’ll be going.”

I hesitated for a moment after leaving the bar.

I have quite a bit of time until evening, so what should I do? After organizing my thoughts, I headed towards the library.

It’s the best place to kill time…

…and I also have someone to check on.

“…Bjorn Yandel.”

Ragna freezes as soon as she sees me after I arrive at the library.

“It’s been a while, hasn’t it?”

I ask nonchalantly with a smile.

And I was about to explain why I hadn’t shown up for 20 days.

But Ragna spoke first.

“I heard. You were exiled to Bifron for using an ability in the city and entering the labyrinth without permission.”

Oh, she knew.

Well, it’s a story that became quite famous since it was a political punishment, from what I heard at the Round Table.

“I’m glad you returned safely. And I’m sorry.”

An apology that doesn’t make sense in this context.

Ragna speaks cautiously as I tilt my head in confusion.

“I asked my butler if there was anything we could do to help, but he said it couldn’t be helped…”

I still don’t understand.

Why is she apologizing, and what’s a butler?

Ragna shuts her mouth as if she made a mistake when I ask again.

So I don’t pry further.

She wouldn’t tell me anyway.

‘…It seems like she’s talking about her family.’

My waning interest in Ragna is reignited.

A mage in her early twenties, at least 5th-grade or higher.

The aura of wealth that’s evident from her clothes and staff.

And the butler she just mentioned.

I was unsure because she’s working as a librarian…

…but she’s definitely a noble.

But…

‘…That’s also strange.’

I looked into it out of curiosity before.

There’s no noble family with the last name ‘Peprok’.

Then who the hell is she?

“…Are you going to read any books?”

“Ah, right. I was planning to.”

Ragna changes the subject, perhaps because she’s uncomfortable with my staring.

Therefore, I also just go inside to read books.

‘Well, I’ll find out later if I have the chance.’

It’s not like she did anything to harm me.

And it wouldn’t be right for me, an outsider, to pry into her family matters when she doesn’t want to talk about them.

Our current relationship isn’t bad.

‘…I couldn’t find the Compendium series again today.’

I get up after reading books for a while, until the sky beyond the window darkens.

I’ve been occasionally looking for the Compendium since I found it here by chance, but I couldn’t find it again this time either.

“Are you leaving?”

“Someone is waiting for me.”

“…I see.”

I then return to the inn and have dinner with Ainar. And I ask her what she did today.

“Today? I took a nap, and then I went to the sanctuary because I was bored.”

“The sanctuary?”

“It’s fun teaching the young warriors. It brings back memories.”

Although she doesn’t seem much different from before…

…her combat power has increased significantly.

“Let’s go together next time. Everyone wants to see you. It’s already been 20 days.”

“Okay, let’s go together next time.”

I readily agree since I’ve also been visiting the sanctuary from time to time to provide early education after declaring that I would become the chieftain.

I need to build support within the tribe beforehand.

“Huhu, the young warriors will be happy.”

As expected of barbarians, the meal is already over by the time we finish our conversation. However, we don’t go back to our rooms and wait on the 1st floor, which also serves as a dining hall.

Because Misha hasn’t returned yet.

‘Did something really happen?’

I get more worried as night deepens, but fortunately, Misha appears after about an hour. She’s wearing black clothes, unlike her usual preference for bright colors.

“Huh? Bjorn?”

“It’s Misha!! Misha is back!!”

Ainar immediately runs over and hugs Misha.

“Ack! Stop it. I’m not in the mood!”

Misha sighs and pushes Ainar away.

And she comes and sits in front of me.

“…Sorry. I was originally going to wait for you out front.”

“It’s fine. I’m not a child. More importantly, how did it go? I heard from Ainar that something happened.”

“Ah, that…”

Misha glances at Ainar, trailing off.

“Ainar, go upstairs and sleep.”

“Eek? Why?”

“Tsk.”

“Okay! I’ll go to sleep!!”

We talk after sending Ainar away.

“So why did your family call for you?”

“That’s… one of my older brothers died, so I had to attend the funeral. I’m still a member of that family.”

“So it was because of a funeral.”

Contrary to my worries, it doesn’t seem like they forcefully took her away.

But there’s one thing that’s strange.

“That’s odd. At this time?”

It’s not right after the labyrinth closed.

But a funeral at this time?

It means something happened in the city that could have killed someone.

“Don’t worry about it. He was already sick. He always had to call a priest for treatment.”

“So it wasn’t the guy from the Floor Master incident.”

I ask directly,

“Then who was it? Judging by your gloomy expression, was it that older brother who you said took care of you?”

“…You probably don’t know him. I never talked about him.”

“Really?”

Since she didn’t talk about him, he must have been one of the guys who bullied and ignored Misha.

Then why is she so depressed?

“Now that I see it, something else must have happened besides the funeral.”

“…How did you know?”

I subtly change my words, thinking she would get angry if I said I could tell just by looking at her face.

“If it were just because of the funeral, there would have been no reason to send Ainar away.”

“You’re only perceptive in these aspects.”

“…Just tell me. What happened?”

“That’s…”

Misha sighs deeply and continues,

“Father… no, that bastard wants to see you again.”

Why can’t everyone just leave me alone?

__________________

The master of the Kaltstein family wants to see me.

I wonder if he found a new clue about the Frost Spirit Ring…

“Anyway, that’s that. You don’t have to go. I already refused firmly.”

But it seems like Misha already took care of it, so I don’t have to worry about it anymore. She said she told him to come find me himself if he wanted to meet me.

If there’s no news, it means nothing happened.

‘If he really comes… I’ll listen to what he has to say and then decide. It seems like it would just be troublesome if I go.’

Then this matter is settled.

“Ugh, the more I think about it, the angrier I get. What the hell does that bastard think I am? I’m never going back, even if he calls me for a funeral or whatever.”

After that, I chat with Misha, who’s burning with her newfound resolve for independence, and then go to bed.

And the next afternoon…

“It’s been a while since we’ve all gathered. How have you all been?”

All the members of Team Apple Nark are gathered in one place.

The location is the same three-story bar where we’ve been meeting since the first meeting.

The goal is the final settlement, which we haven’t been able to do yet.

“I heard about it back then, but I want to hear it again in detail. What’s the total income?”

“Including the ‘Foxfire Knot’ that was sold a few days ago, it’s 159,000,000 stones.”

“Does that include the service fee we received from them?”

“Yes. I thought about it, and we ended up killing them all, right? It would be ridiculous to claim the service fee we received beforehand as my share now. So I just deducted the cost of the test tube.”

Well, it’s loot that would have ended up in our hands after the battle anyway.

‘Still, it’s unexpected. Honestly, I thought she would claim it as her share.’

She’s become a bit more lenient.

At least compared to when we first met.

“Anyway, I’ve organized the final settlement details here. It will be easier to talk if you look at this.”

We start the settlement, looking at the document Raven prepared, complete with receipts.

The magic stone income is distributed equally.

The loot from the battle with the explorers is also distributed equally.

However, the herbs we gathered in the Doppelganger Forest are classified as special loot, so Raven gets 40%.

The potions aren’t sold and are classified as shared items.

Thanks to the well-organized document, the complicated settlement proceeds smoothly.

And…

“30 million stones…”

A huge sum of 30 million stones per person, with slight variations, ends up in our hands.

It’s an unprecedented income.

But now it’s time to pay up.

“Alright, then only the individual loot settlement is left. Actually, I had some time, so I roughly organized this too. I set the prices at about 70% of the average market price, so it will be much cheaper than buying them.”

Raven looks at each of us in turn and says,

“First, Miss Kaltstein. The Half-Troll leather boots with ‘Acceleration’ and ‘Size Adjustment’ enchantments are 2.1 million stones. The Laetium necklace with ‘Cold Enhancement’ engraving is 2.7 million stones. So it’s 4.8 million in total. But we have to subtract Miss Kaltstein’s share… so you just have to pay 3.84 million stones.”

“Ugh…”

“Miss Ainar, the expandable backpack is 1.5 million… and that’s it. Please pay 1.2 million stones.”

“Keuh.”

“Mr. Urikfrit, the subspace quiver is 2.1 million stones, and the steel large breastplate is 550,000 stones… But why did you take the breastplate?”

“…I’m going to enchant it with the ‘Size Adjustment’ spell and have Iron Bear wear it.”

“That’s not a bad idea. It would be annoying to equip it every time you summon him. Anyway, you have to pay 2.12 million stones.”

Everyone except for Raven, who didn’t choose any individual loot, puts the designated amount of money on the table without complaint.

And then it’s finally my turn.

“Finally, Mr. Yandel.”

I wonder how much I’ll have to pay.

“First, the Idium greaves, 3.1 million stones. No. 8667 Outlaw of the Wasteland, 3.3 million stones.”

“Wait, exclude Outlaw of the Wasteland. I’m keeping that as a shared team item, not my personal loot.”

“…Shared team item?”

“It’s a useful item when we encounter that bastard on the 5th floor. It’s better to keep it for then.”

“Hmm.”

Raven looks at me like a tax collector looking at a tax evader.

But in the end, her decision is ‘YES’.

“It’s a convincing argument. Although I feel like I’m being tricked. Then let’s move on.”

Before I can even feel relieved that I saved some money, Raven moves on to the last item.

The highlight of this settlement.

“The Manticore essence. And No. 2988 Guardian Corps Insignia.”

“······.”

“The average exchange price for the Manticore essence is about 50 million stones, but I’ve already deducted the test tube cost and calculated it at the guild’s listed price.”

“So, what’s the listed price?”

“32 million stones.”

Damn it.

So if we apply the usual 70% discount, and then subtract one-fifth since I’ll get 20% back as my share after paying…

“You just have to pay 17,920,000 stones for the Manticore essence.”

It’s still expensive.

“…What about the Guardian Corps Insignia?”

“The average exchange price is 52 million stones.”

So the price hasn’t changed much from the game.

If we apply the discount, the final price is 29,120,000 stones.

“Then if we add the Idium greaves, it’s a total of 48,776,000 stones.”

Raven smiles and continues,

“Do you usually save money?”

“…….”

I keep my mouth shut.

And I look at Ainar.

“Huh? Why are you suddenly looking at me?”

“Ainar, how much did you borrow from me…?”

“You, you’re taking it back…!!”

No, I’m getting it back.

____________________

It was a truly record-breaking expedition.

However, after paying everything, I was still short, even after using all the money I had saved.

The amount was too big to pay in full, even after adding the money I lent to Ainar.

Of course, it wasn’t a problem.

“Ainar, lend me some more money while you’re paying me back.”

“Uh, uh…? But it’s not good to have money transactions between companions—”

“Ah, I’m paying you back.”

“Ah, okay…!”

“Misha, can you also lend me some?”

“Ugh, how much are you short?”

I covered the remaining 13 million stones with credit loans from Ainar and Misha.

I’ve become a debtor.

When will I ever pay this back?

Should I hope to encounter a marauder in the labyrinth?

“I’m rich now!!!!”

Ainar, who was dejected for a moment after lending me money, started spending lavishly.

Well, is it really ‘lavishly’?

Although she bought snacks without hesitation, the prices were so low that it was hard to make a dent in her finances no matter how much she ate.

“Bjorn, what should I do with this money?”

“Just keep it for now. We’ll buy new equipment when we get back.”

“Okay.”

“Oh! Me too! I want new equipment too!”

“Hold off this month. We’re going to craft a few items, but they won’t be finished until before the labyrinth opens.”

Since the settlement was delayed, we decided to postpone spending money until next month.

We have a lot of money now, so I’m planning to get equipment that we can use until the 7th floor, even if it means only getting one or two pieces.

Of course, I can’t tell them to spend it all on that.

“But don’t be too stingy and spend it on things you want to do. That’s what you earned it for.”

“Huh? Is, is that okay?”

What does she think I am?

Although growth is important, I don’t intend to make them give up on their entire lives.

“It seems like you have something you want to do.”

“Yeah.”

“Why are you looking at me like that? It’s your money.”

“It’s not just… because of that…”

“……?”

Misha speaks cautiously as I look at her with a questioning gaze.

“How about… we move?”

“…What?”

“We’re earning good money now, so I thought it would be better to move to a nicer place… And we can’t even cook here.”

Hmm, so that’s why she was looking at us.

I hesitate for a moment and then agree.

I’ve also been feeling like this inn is getting cramped.

And Misha’s cooking is much better than the food at the restaurant.

It’s healthier too.

“Then let’s look for a place to move later. We have to prepare for the labyrinth for now.”

“Okay!!”

Ordinary days follow.

We gather and make exploration plans, visit Rotmiller to resume our navigator lessons, occasionally go to the commercial district to check if there’s anything we need to buy, and so on. Peaceful days.

As always, those days pass by quickly.

And…

“Let’s go if everyone’s here.”

We gather at the bear-like man’s bar, just like last time.

「Entered 1st Floor Crystal Cave.」

It’s time to enter the labyrinth.