novelraw Chapter 97 : Dungeon God is Open.
Chapter 97 : Dungeon God is Open.
Dungeon God is Open.
Why?
Is there a reason we need a wanted poster?
When I received the documents from the guard, their contents went roughly as follows:
Crime of Defaming Glory
The adventurer party, "Dungeon God", has disgraced the honor of Iushil's great noble.
What on earth does this mean?
Ah, I remembered.
Before Barkal left Iushil, he smashed the statue of a noble in the center of Iushil.
"... The adventurer party named in this wanted poster—is that you?"
The guard looked at me and asked. Honestly, I couldn't deny it, as the wanted poster also had a drawing.
Of course, since it was the times, the sketch wasn't clear.
But Barkal.
That bastard's face was too recognizable.
The barbarian who always wore a skull helmet.
Like, who else could it be but him?
"Crime of defaming glory, huh..."
"Quite a grandiose charge. But in the end, it means you only smashed a statue, right? It's not even as severe as a drunken brawl."
The guard's colleague chuckled at his words.
"All that fuss over a statue, and it's 'defaming glory'? To those high-up folks, maybe a busted statue is like the country going bankrupt."
The guards looked at each other and started joking. Then, perhaps realizing I was watching, they cleared their throats to break the mood.
"Anyway... to get back to the point, there's no way we'd sell out the benefactor who helped Odheim. We're not that shameless."
"Yeah, that's right."
Well, I appreciate that. It wouldn't be good to cause an unnecessary scene.
"May I take this with me?"
I pointed at the wanted poster and asked the guards. The Odheim guards nodded.
"Is something wrong?"
As I was about to leave with the wanted poster, Serena stuck her head out from the luggage compartment and asked.
"It seems what happened in Iushil has become a problem."
"Iushil... you say?"
Serena quietly fell into thought, the familiar name lingering in her mind.
Before long, maybe she remembered the incident right before we departed and gave a wry chuckle.
"Well, that's not surprising. We did smash Lord Lormod's statue after all."
Sneaking a glance through the window connected to the luggage compartment, I saw Miriam let out a sigh of relief.
She seemed to have thought the wanted poster was for her.
"A wanted poster?"
Barkal showed interest too. When I showed him what was issued in his name, Barkal took the poster and looked at it.
"Ooh... Kuahahaha!"
Barkal laughed heartily, as if pleased, then pointed to himself in the picture with the skull helmet and grinned widely.
"This is me!"
Yes, you're right.
"So this wanted poster is going around all over the place!?"
"Yes, there's a good chance it could even be posted in public areas... places with a lot of people."
"Kuahahaha!"
Barkal's laughter didn't stop, as if he was genuinely happy.
"This too is glory, and honor! Thrag would surely be pleased!"
Swish—
Returning the wanted poster to me, Barkal spoke.
"Brother, this is another proof of your honor!"
I nearly burst out laughing. Does something like a wanted poster really count as "honor"?
Maybe you'll say if I become a top criminal, I'll have completed the 'Journey of Proof', too?
Serena took another careful look at the wanted poster I was holding.
"But to think Lord Edmund would issue a wanted poster... he must have been genuinely angry about what happened back then, right?"
"What!?"
Dismissing it as just a statue felt too shameless.
A crime was a crime. What Barkal broke was still city property.
"Edmund!?"
At the mention of the name Edmund, Barkal's laughter vanished.
"So, you mean Edmund is the one who put us on the wanted list!"
"There's no one else."
"How dare he!"
This time, Barkal's voice was filled with anger.
"He wants to bury those who know his secret in the darkness?"
"... Secret?"
Miriam tilted her head in confusion. Since she hadn't been with us for the incident in Iushil, it was understandable.
Because of this, miriam looked at Serena as if asking what had happened.
"Unforgivable... Edmund!"
Meanwhile, Barkal's red eyes flashed. He looked like he was ready to kill Edmund at any moment.
At any rate, this was troublesome.
If we went back to Iushil now, wouldn't we just get caught? Especially since there was a wanted poster out now.
"I'll have a word with him."
Perhaps sensing my worries, Barkal spoke up.
"Edmund accepted our help! He shouldn't be doing this to us!"
Barkal appealed emotionally, and I nodded in agreement.
He's right.
Edmund shouldn't do this.
We even dug up Father's grave together.
"Sincerely. Man to man, I will speak with him!"
"Can you handle it?"
"Trust me, brother. This is a problem I can solve."
The willpower visible beneath the skull helmet was strong. Barkal seemed truly convinced he could resolve this.
Since he said so, maybe I should let him try.
"I trust you."
* * *
"Edmund, you ungrateful piece of trash!"
So much for my trust.
As soon as we arrived in Iushil, Barkal burst through the city guard and marched up to the Steldian mansion, where he hurled his fist at Edmund the moment they met.
"Kuaaaagh!"
Edmund tumbled across the room, having been struck.
Yeah.
Honestly, I expected as much. That's so him.
Edmund rolled around the drawing room floor, and for some reason, I felt déjà vu.
"P-Please, wait a moment!"
However, as if he'd been hit more than once before, Edmund rolled expertly and got back on his feet.
Then, raising his hand as if he had something to say, his determination to not get beaten further was palpable.
Barkal slowly approached him.
"I won't wait. I'll send you right to your father right now!"
"L-Lord Dmihtan!"
Realizing he couldn't reason with Barkal, Edmund looked at me.
"T-Think about it! Didn't we get here without the guards stopping us!?"
That was true.
"I—I have something to tell you! But I had no way to contact you..."
He seemed genuinely desperate to defend himself, so I nodded.
Dude.
Still, this wanted poster is a bit much, isn't it?
You could've just posted on the forum—I would've found out somehow later.
Was this really necessary?
It didn't seem completely free of personal feelings.
"It's true! Lord Barkal!"
This time, Edmund looked at Barkal.
"To be honest, this is related to you, Lord Barkal!"
It's related to Barkal?
I tilted my head. Had something like this happened before?
Still, I wondered if I really had to listen. Especially now, with my head spinning from the trouble caused by the Red Wolf Tribe's priest.
"For now... why not calm down and hear him out?"
"Hmm...!"
Barkal cast a glance at me. He looked like he still wanted to start swinging, but I gestured for him to calm down.
"J-Just in case..."
Still, Edmund trembled as he looked at Barkal.
"I'd like to speak with you privately... Lord Barkal, would that be all right?"
Privately? After all that beating?
I could only be amazed. That Edmund, who trembled like a small animal in front of Barkal, now wanted to talk to him alone.
There really must be something going on.
"Fine."
I nodded on Barkal's behalf.
"Brother?"
"Barkal, Edmund sincerely has something to discuss with you."
"... Hmm."
"It's better to respect his wishes."
Barkal hesitated for a moment, then nodded.
"Sage, if you wish it."
Saying so, Barkal approached Edmund. The two of them exchanged a few words, then left the room together.
We decided to wait in the drawing room until their talk was over.
Then, miriam cautiously spoke up.
"... Did you all know the nobles of Iushil as well?"
There was a note of suppressed surprise in her voice.
"I just knew you as adventurers, but it seems your connections are wide."
Miriam tilted her head, trailing off as if she couldn't quite believe what she was seeing, looking surprised.
"Perhaps... could you introduce me?"
"Introduce?"
"Yes, to a job."
I looked at Miriam with a dumbfounded expression.
"There is one place I could introduce you to."
"R-Really?"
"Yes, really."
"Where?"
Where else?
The adventurer party "Dungeon God".
Right now, it's the perfect time to join a Silver-ranked party.
"Haha..."
Miriam let out an awkward laugh. Yeah, that's exactly how I feel too.
"But Miriam."
"Yes?"
"How long do you plan on sticking with us?"
We'd made it to Iushil, so shouldn't we part ways now?
"Don't be like that, Lord Dmihtan. We have a special connection, don't we?"
Our connection.
Didn't really seem all that special, but...
Creak.
While I was chatting briefly with Miriam, Barkal, who had left to talk with Edmund, returned.
Barkal's appearance as he returned was unusual.
So much so I felt I had never seen him look quite like this before.
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