The Chronicles of a Lost Man in His Forties Founding a Nation ~Commonsense is Hindering Me From Becoming TUEE~ Chapter 13

Chapter 13: Mask of a Great Wizard

 

Along with Dahbarus, who still doesn’t understand who I am (not that I blame him), our whole group pa.s.ses through the doors of Pavilion of the Iron Pot Knight. The very next moment, Mora gets swept into a fierce hug by a man. 

“Mora! I’m so glad you’re safe. I’m so sorry that you had to go through such an ordeal……!”

The man has brown hair and brown eyes very similar to Mora’s. His clothes are embroidered and ornamented, yet look easy to move in, giving him the look of a successful commercial merchant. 

“I’m all fine! Not even a scratch. Cus I got saved!”

“Ohh!? Sedam-san, thank you! Really, how can I ever repay you……!”

“Ah, no, hold on a sec. There were various developments in the situation.”

The man…… Irudo is clinging to Sedam while lowering his head again and again. I can tell from his behavior how worried he was for his daughter. Maybe I really should have hurried to the village first thing…… 

“Now, now, how about you calm down first. Everyone else, please rest yourselves.”

Ushered by the proprietress, all of us were settled at a table. This is completely irrelevant, but the first floor of an inn has really gotta be a tavern…… 

♥♦♣♠

“...... And that is all that happened.”

Irudo had been bowing his head repeatedly with such force that he was in danger of banging his head several times, but Sedam managed to stop him and give a simple explanation of the situation. Of course, he made no mention at all of the army of anki. 

“Then you are the one who saved Mora…… Thank you so very much, great wizard-sama!”

“So you’re the one who…… Ohhhh! So ‘great wizard’ means ‘a really powerful magician’!”

Both Irudo and Dahbarus thank me honestly. In a way, this is a testament to Sedam’s personal character. 

“D-, Don’t worry about it…… All I did was only natural as a wizard.”

At the corner of my eyes, I see Sedam and Claura making “meh, that was just pa.s.sable” faces. 

After that, talk turns to the adventurers’ reward. Of course, Sedam declines it (but there was prior agreement that the advance payment wouldn’t have to be returned). On top of which, it became that the reward would be paid to me instead. 

I also try to decline it, but upon Irudo’s entreaty, ended up accepting the 3,000 gold coins. 

“By the way, how much is 3,000 gold coins worth? Around these parts, I mean.” (Gio)

“Well, 1 gold coin can buy 1 family a day’s worth of delicious food here in this town.”

“3,000 gold coins is just right for buying a house in Lelis! A house just right for 2 people to live in! Do you want Father to make you the introductions?”

“I, see……?”

After a few more questions, I determine that 1 gold coin is worth about ¥10,000. Then again, with the monetary economy here not as pervasive as in j.a.pan, apparently people like farmers and hunters live most of their lives without ever using gold coins. 

But if things are like this, then it means that 3,000 gold coins is equivalent to 30 million yen. 

“...... So expensive!”

30 million yen. That’s higher than my net worth back in j.a.pan, oy. 

“Is it really? It’s the market price for these kinds of jobs at our Adventure Guild. After all, we are placing our lives on the line.” (Sedam)

Then again, 3,000 gold coins divided equally among 5 people means only 600 each. Considering that it was a job with a real risk of dying, this much might not be that high after all. Guess I really shouldn’t use modern j.a.pan or D&B as standards. 

“With that said, I’m afraid I don’t have the money on hand. May I trouble you to come to Lelis to claim it on a later date? I will prepare a certificate for you. For now, please accept this as an expression of my grat.i.tude.”

With those words, Irudo hands over a leather bag filled to the brim with gold coins. So this is a hundred pieces. It’s not like I’m particularly strapped for money, though. More like, if we’re talking gold coins similar to these, I already have more than 3 million pieces…… 

But even I can tell that with this flow in conversation, refusing here is only going to engender bad feelings. For now, let’s thankfully accept this, and think of a way to repay him another time. 

Incidentally, I also had Irudo take a look at some Jiiteias gold coins that I had in one of the pockets of my robe, and it turns out that they’re useable in the Liuus Union. 

“Allow me to also give you my thanks, great wizard! If you ever find yourself in Senpu Village and in need of anything, don’t hesitate to call on me!”

Dahbarus also firmly grasps my hand with both of his while saying so. Senpu Village is apparently the name of the closest dwarven settlement from here. 

From start to end, the telling of Mora’s rescue and return was accompanied by constant refills of the proprietress’ delicious s.h.i.+l tea. 

“Gio-san. I have a favor to ask.”

Mora’s request turns out to be for help in retrieving the rest of the luggage seized by the mountain bandits. Above all, since the entire place has been raised to the top of a sheer precipice, it is a given that I would have to go. Of course, I accepted her request. 

“Ahh, that’s fine and all, but can that be postponed a bit?”

“After all, there is something urgent that we really wish for Margils-dono to do.”

Mu. Oh right. I first have to destroy that anki nest. 

“It's fine to do it later, but! Definitely, definitely help me with it, alright?! It’ll be really troublesome for us if that cargo is lost!”

♥♦♣♠

After that exchange, father and daughter retired to Irudo’s room. They’re apparently going to return to Lelis by joining another caravan that will be departing that way soon. 

For now, I breath a sigh of relief at having cleared the first goal that I had set for myself. 

“Well then, can we excuse ourselves?”

“Ah, sure.”

Sedam, Claura, and I move to another room. This is so that we can discuss our next moves. 

“Our very top priority is to find and discover that anki nest.”

Sedam says that while looking at Claura and me. Naturally, we both nod. 

“Thank you for taking this on. However, I’m sure that there’s still a lot that you don’t know, so let me explain my thinking first. After that, tell me if you have any questions or input.”

“Sounds good.”

As always, Sedam speaks intellectually. I really wish the young ones at my company could learn a thing or two from him. 

“Upon discovery of an anki nest around these parts, it is my duty as an adventurer to report it either to the Carbanera Knight Order or the Council at Lelis. Considering the physical location, the Knight Order makes more sense. After that, the ent.i.ty that received the report must use their full power to eliminate the threat.”

“With you so far.”

“However, there is a problem. Thing is, there hasn’t been any news of large-scale anki armies or nests within the last 10 years. As a result, there are those in the Council and Knight Order who have grown to think lightly of their duty to eliminate anki.”

“Well, it's a fact that a large-scale anki army did appear……”

“Question is, will they believe that?”

So said Sedam unpleasantly. Claura is nodding in agreement with a sour look on her face. 

“Eh? But, I mean……”

“You planning on saying something like ‘There was a huge army of anki, but a meteor fell and wiped them all out’? Who would believe that?”

“Ahh, so that’s what you meant.”

I’d forgotten, but this is not modern-day j.a.pan. The fact of the anki army’s appearance is now nothing more than information that hasn’t even been reported yet. Evidence that the army had even existed and that I’d dropped a meteor on it can only be found back at the site. Things would be altogether different if the army did manage to reach Yuule or someone from the Knight Order had witnessed it firsthand…… 

“We do have a certain amount of trust from the Knight Order and the Council. However, they won’t believe this story. And even if they do, there is a high chance that they will look at the situation too lightly and not take the necessary countermeasures in time.”

Unnn…… this kind of thing happens a lot in j.a.pan too…… 

Ah. 

If that’s the case…… ah, a lightbulb just went off inside my head as I realized what he is getting at. 

“Then I simply have to drop another meteor and prove that I really do possess the power to wipe out an entire army—is that what you want to say?”

“Our conversation from a while back was already alluding to this.”

…… I see. Whether or not this incident is believed hinges on whether or not the existence of an irregular such as myself is believed. Furthermore, if I am thought of as a dangerous (or perhaps unreliable) person with the power to annihilate an army of anki, then all is lost. That’s where the “act like a hero” advice ties in. 

“Uumu……”

I understand what Sedam is saying. My own thinking was far too lenient. Even in regards to destroying the anki nest, I was just thinking that I could tag along with Sedam’s party and secretly use a spell or two when needed. 

♥♦♣♠

After becoming employed, I have lived through twenty years of the stormy waves within my company. 

Going off of my experience from those years, this conversation is now on the creation of a ‘persona.’ And I’m not referring to that power that you discover upon absorbing your shadow and whatnot. No, I am talking about ‘bringing out the part of myself relevant to the role a.s.signed to me.’ Up until a few days ago, I had been wearing the persona of ‘a veteran company employee with 20 years of continuous service.’ When off the clock, I was ‘a gentle middle-aged guy who loves gaming.’ What persona should I adopt in which situations? Having the discernment to answer this question correctly can almost be said to be the deciding factor between good and bad company employees. 

“That might be the reason why I have been feeling flighty and unsettled ever since coming over here……”

I murmured to myself while looking up at the ceiling. Indeed, after opening my eyes and finding myself in a jail cell, I’ve been my bare self the entire time, without a single persona to put on. In other words, I was without a foundation upon which to base my existence. 

“I understand fully now.” (Gio)

“Very relieved to hear that.” (Sedam

“Do you really, fully understand?” (Claura)

“...... For now, I’ll work at acting more the part of ‘a great wizard.’ Me saying this about myself is a bit, you know, but it’s the truth after all. However, whether I’m a hero or not is a completely different question. ‘Hero’ is a t.i.tle that can only be granted by other people, right?”

Well, I’ve already been given this power, so there’s no helping it. Let’s put on that exaggerated mask of ‘a great wizard.’ But still, it doesn’t necessarily mean that I have to give up my dream of a laid-back early retirement life. 

“For now, please do that.” (Sedam)

“...... Well, that should be enough at this point in time.” (Claura)

It appears that I have successfully managed to appease both Sedam and Claura for the moment. 

♥♦♣♠

First of all, we need to go to White Sword Castle, the base of the Carbanera Knight Order. 

It fell to Sedam, Claura, Torad, and I to borrow horses and make the urgent trip. 

But as usual, while everyone is busy going around making all the necessary preparations, I alone have nothing at all to do. Seeing that, Claura comes over to talk to me. 

“Do you have some time to spare?”

“Ah, but of course.”

This is most likely about the magic vs wizardry thing from before. Something about blowing apart the Magician Guild……? 

“It would be more appropriate to put on more airs when you speak, ‘oh great wizard.’”

“...... Ahh, I don’t mind.”

Doesn’t hurt to put her precious advice into practice. But rather than putting on airs, I enter my ‘when a new employee wants to ask me a question’ mode. 

“That's not bad at all.”

Claura laughs a little. This might be the first time that she’s shown me her natural laughing face. 

“So, what is it that you wish to ask?”

At the company, “what do you want to ask” would have sufficed, but I’m ad-libbing here. 

“There is a lot, actually, but we are in a state of emergency right now, so I’ll limit it to one.”

She looks straight into my eyes, and quietly poses her question. 

“It has been 200 years since the first magical academy headmaster founded the academy. Magic, as a system, has been developed and built upon from generation to generation, all the way down through the ages, uninterrupted. I, too, have devoted much time and effort to reach where I currently am. However, the combined might of the entire Magician Guild probably is still no match for your ‘wizardry.’ So my question is, is ‘wizardry’ something that only you alone have been blessed with? Or perhaps——”

Her voice cracks up. When she continues, it is in a shaky voice like that of a child who has just heard a frightening rumor. 

“Is it a set of techniques that can be learned and acquired by other people?”

“............”

It’s just a bunch of settings that my friend and I made up because it used to be a game. 

I can’t bring myself to tell her that, though.