052 Scarlets' Research Final p.4

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"Here is the evaluated sum."

"Oh... Damn, that’s down as heck."

When Raymond saw the amount of money that the guild official presented him, he blatantly clicked his tongue. It was obvious that the payment was more restrained than the last time. He was thinking of protesting about his reward. However, the person who calculated and presented the reward was not the "Mr Postman" of the past, but a female employee in charge of reception. In other words, she was a capable employee prepared by Canales. If he poked her in the wrong way, he might even be accused of bad behavior as a ‘migratory crow’.

Raymond gave up on bargaining and accepted the evaluation.

"Fine then."

"Thank you. By the way, Mr. Raymond."

"What?"

"There have been some bad rumours lately, haven't there? I heard that some people in the Trees of Darkness have been interfering with young people's efforts to defeat monsters."

"...Oh really."

Raymond’s voice lowered.

This was a situation that he had half expected. Even if the adventurer's guild was laissez-faire as an administrator, they couldn’t allow them to continuously monopolise the hunting grounds, as it might cut off the growth of young adventurers. He knew that he would be warned at some point in time.

"That’s really troubling."

"Yeah, troubling indeed."

Raymond replied as if he was uninvolved. The female employee let out an obvious sigh.

The territorialisation of the hunting grounds that he had spearheaded was certainly an unsightly act. However, it was not something that could be immediately censured and banned for that reason.

After all, experienced C-rank adventurers were valuable. Unless they were in a monster house like the Western region or St. Gallen, C-rankers were likely the main force in most towns. Their capabilities were not easy to replace.

Of course, if he ignored the warnings from the guild over and over again, that might not be the case for long.

"My my, it’s really scary. You never know when you'll be interfered in the middle of an adventure, right? I'm not a young person, but I still don't like the idea of having to pay attention to things other than monsters."

"That's right. I would have to be careful with my back as well as my front!"

"Hahaha. Totally."

"Hahahaha......"

We exchanged false smiles.

Suddenly, Raymond made a show of turning away.

"Then maybe it's time to go. I've been feeling a little weak lately."

"Oh, no. Isn't that because you challenge high difficulty dungeons? Mr Raymond is a C rank adventurer. If you don't obsess over the Trees of Darkness, I think you can keep at it."

The female employee said in a friendly manner, but her true intentions were different. Reading behind lines, they were:

—If you want to leave the Trees of Darkness and move to a lower-priority area, I'll be happy to help you.

"I'll think about it. Well, thanks for the advice."

He had no reason to object. His crew who monopolised the area for themselves were ultimately a bunch of crows, there for the sake of quick gains. If they learn that the guild was starting to hint or warn them, some of them might be ruffled. Younger members who had been excluded from the hunting areas would probably bear the brunt of their wrath. Thinking about it, it’s not that bad to be given a new area to work at.

The guild official smiled.

"Yes, by all means, please do. We want our skilled adventurers to be able to work in an orderly fashion for many years to come."

"Well, thank you."

After saying this, Raymond walked out through the wooden door. At the same time, the sunlight shining on his face made him squint his eyes.

It was near summer. The stores that were being built during spring have now started operating. In the meantime, more construction was happening, including new stores and houses for the people who work there.

Marlan was in its early stages of a boom.

"Brother, brother! Do you need a new weapon? If you don’t need a new weapon, we do maintenance too!"

"A secret potion for bruises, cuts, broken bones, you name it! Would you like one?"

"Marlan's famous doughnuts! Sweet and delicious doughnuts! As for the price—"

"Hey young mister, you wanna come by? It's half price during the day. Of course, the service won’t be any different."

"I'm sorry, but this street is already at its limit. You can't open a store here. Haven't I explained that to you many times?"

"That's all well and good, Mr. Laubert. but we're in the midst of—"

"Father, father, I want a donut too!"

"Be patient. It's for people from other places. It's too much for our tastes."

Raymond walked through the landscape of a flourishing town.

To be completely honest, he would have liked to stick around a little longer. It was finally time for a large tavern, a small brothel, and a weapons shop to open. This place was becoming convenient as a base of operations for adventurers. It would be a shame to leave the town for another at such a time. It was truly an inopportune moment to leave.

(Oh well, what’s there to do......)

The lack of luck was the reason why Raymond acted alone as a migratory crow. If he hadn't left the party when he was young, if he hadn't overextended himself when he was solo, if he had joined a new party...... There was no end to his regrets. Many times he wished he had a little more luck. This was yet another example of it.

As he walked along, thinking about it, he passed a young adventurer.

"Ugh, the migratory crow......"

He'd seen this before, he thought, as he walked away. He was reluctant to leave, but he had already decided to leave the town. With his new determination, he could no longer stay. If somebody realises his intentions, people who hold grudges against him might come looking for him. He had to leave the town as soon as possible, without doing anything unnecessary and abandoning the people who were part of his crew.

"Oi, what's up?"

"Nothing. Just passed some unpleasant bastard."

"Ah, the crow. Oh, yes, did you know? Speaking of bastards, there's a recent survivor from the Four-Headed Dragon."

Raymond hurried along the road to the inn, ignoring the chatter behind him. Then he smiled grimly.

(Damn, they're all so cool huh. Not like they will ever be a real hero, anyway.)

He suddenly remembered Joel’s party, the party with all the grand ideals. Their party was defeated. The boy who was hailed as a genius swordsman never returned from the Trees of Darkness in the end. There was some disturbance at the Adventurer's Guild when news of their promising newcomer returned, but it had now passed. He was, no matter how you put it, just another commonly found mid-level adventurer after all.

It was also the reason why the alliance, with the Scarlet Shield at its core, was brought in. They, too, had carelessly ventured too deep into the ruins they had discovered and were destroyed, leaving only one person behind. They had a so-called perfect formation of four A-ranked adventurers and 3 supporting B-ranked parties and yet, they equally fell short.

And yet, the world goes on and on. The elite adventurers, the handful of chosen geniuses, no matter what they are called, if they die, that was it. The people left behind do not mourn their loss, and go about their daily lives as usual.

(That's what an adventurer is - a drainage cleaner who slays monsters. There was nothing heroic about it.)

For a few pennies, they clear rubbish that would otherwise be too much for others to clear away. That's all they do. They don't move society, they don't leave a mark on history. Originally, they were the ones who couldn’t put food on the table even if they did normal work. And yet, because they were stronger than others, they think they are heroes. It was ridiculous.

He had come to this conclusion based on his experience up to this age. When he was younger, he was different. When he was younger, he had thought that if he could make a name for himself with his sword, he would be known throughout the world as a hero. That was when he met his first stumbling block. From that point on, he kept tumbling down till he reached the point where he was despised as a crow.

From the beginning, I should not have dreamed so much, and should have been more realistic. There was no need to force yourself to live hard and fast. It was wiser to live a not as exciting but long life, no matter how dirty or immoral it might be. That was Raymond's conclusion.

(Hey, keep dreaming, young people. Until you die a miserable death like that boy......)

The migrator crow ambled along the path, sneering at the youngsters who have yet to experience failure.

Towards the next feeding grounds.

Behind him, the town of Marlan continued to grow, swallowing more and more adventurers.

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