kscans

Chapter 292 - Chatting at the Camp ~ The Tyrantbot Aftermath ~

"Kudol-san, my thanks are belated, but thank you for your help with the Tyrantbot."

"...Huh?"

Kudol, who had been savoring a feast of Skewered Scaleboar and a soup made from an Invisible Mantis, which made an excellent broth despite its appearance, a meal unimaginable on a normal camping trip, at first didn’t understand what Yuri was saying. Wasn’t he the one who should be saying thank you, for being served such a lavish meal, one that a king or noble would envy, despite being out in the wilderness? Kudol’s mind had been completely focused on the food, but eventually, his cerebral cortex managed to pick out the phrase "with the Tyrantbot," and he understood it wasn’t about the food. But he still didn’t understand what Yuri’s "thanks" were for.

"...What are you talking about?"

"I’m talking about when we were confronted by that young master. Thank you for turning him down."

"...Oh, that."

After the search and rescue of the young master, who had recklessly challenged a Tyrantbot and was nearly defeated, the young master in question had requested that Kudol and "Lucky Footsteps" search for the "Valkyrie," a request that Kudol had flatly rejected.

The young master, who apparently had a name, Walter, seemed to think it was natural to request their cooperation, since besides himself, only "Lucky Footsteps" had witnessed the "Valkyrie." The fact that "Lucky Footsteps" themselves had denied seeing any such "Valkyrie" seemed to have already been forgotten. In contrast, for Kudol and "Lucky Footsteps," once the job was done, their contract with Adon was to promptly bring Yuri back. They had no intention of seriously entertaining the nonsense of a troublesome young master.

"The request was to bring you back safely, Yuri. There’s nothing for you to worry about."

"But… it was trouble that could have been avoided if I had just activated my magic tool properly…"

Yuri was worried that this might cause problems in their relationship with the noble family in question and the lord who had mediated the request, but Kudol and the others had a different view.

"That was clearly them being unreasonable. There was no need to accept."

"That’s right, Yuri-kun. The relationship between adventurers and nobles is one of equals. In return, we give up their protection."

"The guild isn’t that powerless either. You don’t need to worry."

"If anything, the one in trouble is the idiot master. After spouting selfish nonsense, he basically picked a fight with all the adventurers there."

Perhaps irritated by their refusal due to a prior engagement, the young master had started shouting arrogantly when Saba, the Submaster of the Laurenzen Adventurer’s Guild who was in charge of the search party, intervened like a godsend.

"Because the Submaster stepped in there, the other guys managed to keep their cool."

"The atmosphere was getting pretty tense."

The adventurers already harbored resentment that "I don’t know if you’re a noble’s son or what, but if this idiot hadn’t done something stupid, those people wouldn’t have gotten hurt." To top it all off, his words and actions were as if to say, "You lowly adventurers should shut up and obey me, a noble." It was no surprise that not only Kudol and his party but all the adventurers present were on the verge of snapping.

"The Submaster was pretty angry about that incident too."

He had been forced to gather adventurers on short notice because of the idiot, and then the idiot made a rumor that belittled the very adventurers who had done him a favor. It was no wonder Saba snapped. Still, on the surface, he politely declined, stating that "Lucky Footsteps" had a packed schedule ahead of them. When the idiot shouted for him to tell him the name of their client so he could talk to them himself, Saba flatly refused, saying he could not disclose a client’s personal information. Then, Saba slowly began his counterattack.

"In the first place, young master," he emphasized the term with a hint of sarcasm, "you don’t have time for that. You need to sort out the compensation and other matters for those who were injured as collateral damage."

"What did you say?"

As the idiot grew heated, arguing that for adventurers, such things were their own responsibility, Saba remained perfectly cool.

"Normally, that would be the case, but not this time. I hear that when you hired your escorts, you didn’t explain that the target was a Tyrantbot, is that correct?"

"Ah, well… that’s…"

He had likely disliked the idea of the target leaking to others, but as a result, it was as if he had tricked the adventurers into being hired. If he had hired adventurers by unfairly downplaying the difficulty of the prey, this was a clear breach of contract.

"As the Adventurer’s Guild, we believe that compensation is due since the adventurers were injured due to a lack of information on your part. If you insist, I am prepared to take this matter to your father."

"Ah, no… that’s…"

If it was found that he had deceived an Adventurer’s Guild in another territory and caused them harm, this was a clear case of infringement. If a lawsuit were filed, he was guaranteed to lose, and it would be a major incident that would tarnish his family’s name. What would happen to the idiot son who caused such a blunder… it went without saying.

His earlier vigor was nowhere to be seen, and seeing the completely dejected idiot, the adventurers’ frustration seemed to subside. The submaster’s reputation, for having resolved a touch-and-go situation without leading to an unfortunate outcome, soared.