kscans

Chapter 59 - Banned and Aided

The riot ended in the blink of an eye.

The knights spread the word that the group's leader had been captured. The followers didn't believe it at first, but the moment they saw their leader in chains, they threw down their weapons. Some fled, while others surrendered. After the followers were rounded up, the next task was to repair the damage to the town and extinguish the fires set by arsonists, a post-battle reconstruction effort.

We decided to leave the country as soon as possible.

With shopping out of the question, there was no reason to stay.

When we reached the gate, we were stopped by knights.

"Our apologies. We have orders not to let anyone leave the country until the town has settled down, so we cannot let you pass."

I wondered why. It seemed strange to ban entry and exit, even if the town was in a terrible state. I asked for the reason.

"Well, there were thieves who took advantage of the situation. We’ve captured some, but there may be others. Once the town is calm, we plan to inspect the luggage of everyone leaving. At present, we don’t know what has been stolen."

The knight’s explanation made sense.

With the shopkeepers gone, they couldn’t know what had been taken. Even if someone wasn’t carrying luggage, the armor or weapons they were wearing could be stolen goods. So, they couldn’t let anyone out.

I nodded in understanding and stepped away from the gate.

Ordinarily, I would want to leave immediately, but being too insistent would arouse suspicion. The only thing to do was to follow their rules. "When in Rome, do as the Romans do." I thought that old saying was surprisingly useful.

I turned to Tina beside me. "Well, since we won’t be able to leave for a while, shall we go to the guild?"

"Yes, let’s," Tina replied. "We are adventurers, after all. It would seem strange if we didn’t go to the guild. Let’s go."

She agreed.

We walked towards the guild. The town that had been so beautiful when we arrived yesterday was now in a tragic state. I wanted to help, but I couldn’t without a request, especially since a theft had occurred in the confusion. If I offered to help for free, I would be suspected of having some ulterior motive.

Acting out of goodwill can be a nuisance to others.

If I was going to help, it would be when someone asked me to. I made up my mind.

We arrived at the guild. No one spoke to us on the way.

I figured it was their way of saying they would handle their own affairs. When we entered the guild, the hall was filled with injured people. Adventurers and citizens were lying on the floor. It was probably being used as a temporary shelter because the other rest areas were full. As I was thinking this, a staff member who was walking by called out.

"Hey! Are you adventurers?"

He seemed to be in a hurry, speaking quickly. I nodded.

"Perfect," the staff member said. "Help us out. We’re short on medicinal herbs. Can you go outside the town and gather some?"

"I don’t mind," I replied, "but the knights wouldn’t let us leave the town."

The staff member pulled a piece of paper from his pocket.

"Show them this and they’ll let you out. It’s an emergency request from the guild. With this, you can get to work. Well then, I’m counting on you!"

He handed it to me and then quickly went into the back. I looked at the paper and then left the guild.

"They must be really desperate to hand that over without even asking our names," I muttered.

"It can’t be helped," Tina replied. "They’ve probably never had a riot like this before. Otherwise, they would have been able to act with some degree of coordination."

I nodded slightly at her words.

It was true. If they had experienced it once before, it wouldn’t be strange for them to have a manual to be able to act more efficiently next time. On Earth in Japan, many people don’t follow manuals no matter how many there are.

Because their lives aren’t on the line.

Even if they make the same mistake at work, they won’t be killed.

But this is a world with many monsters, a world of life-and-death battles.

Mistake equals death.

It is common sense in this world to act in a way that does not repeat mistakes. As I was lost in thought, we arrived in front of the gate.

"You again?" the knight asked. "What is it this time?"

He remembered me. It was no wonder. I had just been here a moment ago.

I took out the paper. "This is an emergency request from the guild. I need to go gather medicinal herbs."

I handed it to him. The knight who received it looked at the paper.

"This is indeed a request form. Alright. But I’ll have one of the guards accompany you just in case. In this situation, everyone is under suspicion. I’m sorry."

The knight bowed his head.

I gestured with my hand to say, "Don’t worry about it." After that, a guard came and went with us.

The guard told us where in the forest medicinal herbs grew in abundance, and we headed there. When we arrived, we began our work. We gathered whatever we could find, regardless of the type. There were many injured people, and the types of injuries were varied. We stuffed the bags until they were full.

Just then, I sensed a presence.

I activated my ‘Detection’ skill. Six red dots appeared in the vicinity. I silently drew my sword. Tina and the guard also drew their swords. Four Goblins and two Bears emerged. I asked,

"Guard, how skilled are you?"

"I have no problem with the Goblins," the guard replied, "but two Bears will be tough."

He gave me a straight answer.

I was grateful for that. It would be a problem if he had put on a brave face. I pointed to one of the Bears for Tina. She seemed to understand, nodding and facing the Bear. I took on the other Bear.

The six of them attacked at once.

The Bear coming at me swung its right claw down in a wide arc. I dodged it and slashed its arm with my sword. The Bear let out a cry of pain but immediately counterattacked. I jumped back to avoid it. The wound wasn’t shallow, but it was still moving. It seemed its fur and thick flesh were protecting its muscles. With that in mind, I poured lightning magic into my sword. An electric current ran through it, and it began to glow faintly.

The Bear seemed to sense the danger and did not attack immediately.

I used this opening to run towards the Bear. The Bear swiped horizontally with its left claw. I met it with a horizontal swipe of my own, slashing the Bear’s left arm. It was as if I had cut it in half in a fan shape. The Bear let out a tremendous cry of pain, but I ignored it, thrust my sword into its belly, and released a burst of lightning. The Bear died from electrocution. After confirming its death, I looked around.

Tina had already finished off her Bear. Its belly had been slashed horizontally, and its carotid artery had been cut. Tina’s sword was in the shape of a blade of water. A water cutter, I presumed.

Just then, I heard the guard scream.

I looked over and saw him being beaten by two Goblins with clubs. The other two were dead. Realizing that four was too many for one person, I went to his rescue.

The result was an overwhelming victory. One swing of my sword, and it was over.

"Thank you," the guard said. "You’re both very strong."

He thanked me with what seemed like a polite formality. I replied in kind.

"Don’t mention it. I just did my job as an adventurer."

After we finished gathering the herbs, we returned to the town. The guard and I parted ways at the gate. As we headed to the guild, the knight at the gate asked the guard, "How were they?"

"Their strength is around B-rank, but they’re holding back. They might be close to A-rank. As for their character, I think they’re sincere. They came to my rescue as soon as I was attacked. That is all."

"Thank you for your hard work," the knight replied. "I will report to the captain. You’re in charge here."

The guard saluted at his command.

When we arrived at the guild, we handed the herbs to the staff member. He said, "Thank you. Also, I’m sorry to ask, but could you help out here? We’re short-staffed."

He pleaded with us, so we decided to help. The evening passed, and night fell.

We were allowed to use a rental house on the guild’s recommendation. After dinner, I wrote a report and sent it off with a messenger bird.

After that, I discussed our future plans.

"It looks like we’ll be stuck here for a while. Well, it can’t be helped. Shall we help out at the guild and wait for things to cool down?"

"Yes, let’s," Tina replied. "It’s not like we’re in a hurry, and although we were trying to leave considering our position, rushing would have just made us stand out more. Let’s go to the Republic when things have returned to normal."

I nodded in agreement. I went into my room, thinking it was about time to go to sleep, when Tina came in, still wearing her silver armor.

Seeing her, I asked, "Are you sure?"

Tina blushed and nodded.

I extinguished the flame, and in the moonlight, I had Tina lie in a spread-eagle position on the bed and put restraints and chains on her hands and feet. After confirming she couldn’t move, I touched her body and face, verbally teased her, and enjoyed myself to my heart’s content.

The next morning, I removed Tina’s restraints and woke her up.

After a simple breakfast, we got our equipment ready and headed for the guild. It wasn’t as busy as yesterday, and the staff weren’t running around as much. The injured who had received some treatment were resting quietly.

When a staff member saw us, he said, "Oh, you’re the adventurers from yesterday. Thank you for your help. Things are still a mess, but you can accept jobs. Today’s requests are posted on the board over there."

He pointed the way.

As we were looking for a job in front of the request board, a voice came from the guild entrance.

I turned to see a female knight standing there.

She wore a breastplate and long sleeves on her upper body, and a miniskirt on her lower body, giving her the appearance of a princess knight.

When a staff member saw her, he exclaimed, "Altorine-sama! What brings you here today?"

Altorine replied to the staff member’s question, "I’ve come to post a request."