I Was the Scout for the Hero’s Party

After staying up late to come up with a new name for Depal, we were only able to open our eyes around late morning.

Today was the day we needed to meet with the lord of Quiln to discuss the request Robin had received.

After tidying ourselves up and having lunch at a restaurant near the inn, we gathered Luna’s armor and broken spear and headed straight for the castle where the lord resided.

“O-Austin… is this really okay…?”

“I told you it’s fine. Hold your worries tight.”

“But…”

Naturally, Luna was unable to hide her anxiety about having to go to the lord’s castle, since she had been the target of the request.

“I said it’s fine, didn’t I? When you stand before the lord, just stay quiet. Robin has at least met the lord before… so Robin and I will figure something out.”

“Mmm…”

Since the new inn we had taken was not too far from the center of Quiln, we were able to reach the front of the castle after walking for about 30 minutes.

As we approached the massive door, marveling at the magnificent castle, a guard on duty stopped us.

“Halt. Only those whose identities have been confirmed…”

“We’ve come to receive the reward for the request designated by the lord himself. Here is the request document.”

The guard glanced back and forth between us and the request document handed over by Robin, then brought a wax seal from the barracks, stamped it, and returned the document to Robin.

“So you’re guests of the lord. Welcome. You may enter.”

“Thank you. Keep up the good work.”

As we passed through the castle gate that had been unbolted, we saw people busily carrying weapons and training with them everywhere.

They said they had scraped together all the adventurers and mercenaries because of Argyle’s 7th Legion that had approached right up to Quiln’s doorstep, and indeed, I spotted some faces I had seen a few times at the guild.

“They look busy. Wait, what is the Hero doing? Isn’t this dereliction of duty?”

“…Senior, that’s not something you should be saying…”

“Hey, kid. I left for a reason.”

After passing by the lord’s soldiers and workers who were moving busily while sweating, we saw a knight waiting for us.

“Superior Knight, Rain. The lord is waiting for you in the reception room. Please follow me.”

After a brief introduction, Rain, perhaps due to his taciturn nature, silently guided us to the reception room with his lips tightly sealed.

After going through various procedures, we finally reached the reception room, and Rain knocked on the door.

“Count Albion. Your guests have arrived.”

You may come in.

As the door opened smoothly from the inside, we could see Count Albion, the lord of Quiln, drinking tea.

With golden hair that seemed to be severely curly and wearing glasses as thick as magnifying glasses, Count Albion welcomed us with a friendly smile upon seeing us.

“Welcome! I’ve been waiting for you day and night! Come, come. Please sit down.”

If I can just handle this well, I can go straight to Metelheim.

Count Albion, I’ll bake and boil you with my glib tongue.

At that time, the Hero and her companions, having heard from Gracey that Austin had moved his belongings from the inn he had been staying at, were enveloped in a gloomy atmosphere.

“I… I knew it… Austin now… can’t stand the sight of someone like me…”

Looking at the Hero who was already teary-eyed and hugging her knees, Gracey opened her mouth with a meaningful smile.

“Hmm… although Austin used a shallow trick, don’t worry too much.”

“…Do you have a way?”

Adrien, who had become sensitive after dealing with the Hero’s whining all night, unconsciously spoke in a harsh tone.

Normally, Gracey would have pointed out such an attitude from Adrien, but she simply continued speaking with a slight curl at the corner of her mouth.

“Despite appearances, I am the captain of the royal guard. It’s a bit of an underhanded method, but… last night, I pulled some strings with the lord.”

When Gracey spoke with a triumphant attitude, Maya also expressed her doubt and questioned Gracey.

“Pulled strings… what do you mean?”

“Well… I can’t tell you everything, but one thing is for certain.”

After clearing her throat with a “ahem,” Gracey looked around at the eyes focused on her and said.

“Unless Austin returns to our party, he cannot leave Quiln.”

While everyone was dumbfounded at her statement, only Maya could understand one fact.

‘…He’s screwed.’

The fact that reconciling with Austin would probably be a matter for the distant future.

“Count… Count Albion. What do you mean by that…”

As I asked with a trembling voice, Count Albion put on a troubled expression and raised his finger to adjust his glasses.

“Huh huh… you see… I understand that Sir Austin has left the Hero’s party, but that puts me in a somewhat difficult position. I can provide the reward for eliminating Depal, but you cannot leave Quiln for the time being.”

“…Ugh, my head hurts.”

He can give me the reward for eliminating Depal, but I can’t leave Quiln for the time being? What the hell kind of bullshit is this?

Baking and boiling with my glib tongue, my ass. If anything, it felt like I was going to die from high blood pressure before that.

“The reward I want is for Count Albion to allow me to use the gate that can take me directly to Metelheim.”

“That’s a bit difficult, but… if there’s another reward you desire, I will do my best to provide it… That’s right! Perhaps you might be interested in a monetary reward…”

As I grabbed the back of my neck and rolled my eyes, Count Albion hurriedly continued speaking while sweating profusely.

“But… but! Even if Sir Austin wishes to leave the Hero’s party, it’s not something that can be done at will. You need the Hero’s consent, and at the very least, you need identity verification from another person of confirmed identity…”

Facing Count Albion, who was mumbling and watching my reactions, I barely managed to open my mouth while trying to suppress my rising blood pressure.

“Sigh… I understand. I’ll give up on the gate, but could you prepare a carriage for me?”

“That… what do you need a carriage for…”

“Obviously to ride the carriage to Metelheim. Are you asking because you don’t know?”

When I answered with sharp words and bulging eyes, I heard Count Albion taking a sharp breath.

Somehow, the way he’s mumbling suggests he has more to say… surely not…

“Sir Austin… no, Lord Austin…?”

“Yes. What is it?”

“Ahem… as I mentioned, you must not move from Quiln to another region for the time being. I…”

BANG!!

Before I could even hear the rest of Count Albion’s words, having roughly anticipated what was coming next, I kicked the table, causing both Count Albion and Rain, who was standing behind him, to freeze stiffly.

Damn it, at the very least he should let me use a carriage.

As the table, which had been pushed all the way to the windowsill, hit the wall again making a loud noise, Count Albion flinched noticeably and then quickly laid out his words.

“I… I will! Make arrangements for you to stay comfortably in our castle during this time! Please relieve your anger…”

…This bastard’s unusually nervous attitude has been bothering me from the start.

If it were a situation he couldn’t control with his own power, there would be no need to apologize to me so much.

“…I understand. I’ve comprehended Count Albion’s words very well, so you don’t need to chatter on like a parrot anymore.”

When I spoke with uncharacteristic calmness, nodding my head, Count Albion exhaled deeply with visible relief.

“Ah… thank you… thank you very much! To understand my position, indeed, Lord Austin is as righteous and kind as I’ve heard…”

“More importantly, Count Albion.”

I interrupted Count Albion, who was wiping his sweat with a handkerchief, and asked about something that had been bothering me all along.

“How do you know… that I left the Hero’s party?”

At my question, Count Albion visibly panicked and looked at me with surprised eyes.

Right. Something had been bothering me all along, and now I think I know what it is.

How the hell does this guy know that I left the Hero’s party?

Of course, it could be an unfounded suspicion, but judging by the attitude of Count Albion who is frozen with rabbit eyes right in front of me, it seems I’ve hit the nail on the head.

“Well… that…”

“Tsk… is it because I haven’t been able to cut off heads lately… my short sword has been whining for a taste of blood, so I haven’t been able to sleep well.”

“…Hic!”

“If you don’t want to tell me… may I moisten my short sword’s throat a bit?”

“I-I’ll talk! Please calm down first!”

Seeing my short sword slightly pulled out from its scabbard at my waist, Count Albion hastily stopped me and made me sit down.

“Go ahead, tell me.”

“A-actually… last night, Captain Gracey…”

“Okay, that’s enough.”

I thought so.

All that talk about procedures, how it’s troublesome to leave the party at will, needing identity verification—it was all bullshit.

Gracey, that crazy woman, had subtly threatened the lord using her position to cut off my escape.

“I understand Count Albion’s situation quite well.”

When I spoke softly with a gentle smile, Count Albion slumped his body.

“Th-thank you…”

“Then… Count Albion, you didn’t see me today.”

“What… what? What do you mean…”

Normal people would probably run straight to Gracey to plead or just wait while sucking their thumbs, but I’m different.

Gracey, if you’re going to play it that way, I have my methods too.

The carriage runs even if dogs bark.

“Count Albion. I’ll take my payment in the form of a carriage after all.”

At the relay station located in the central district of Quiln, the second largest in the Metel Kingdom.

Ayla, a low-level employee at this relay station—which was the main contributor to transforming Quiln from a small frontier town to a commercial city in one go—yawned wide enough to split her mouth while going through her unchangingly boring daily routine.

“Sigh… so boring… maybe I should have opened a restaurant instead…”

Sophie, who lived next door, had said her restaurant was packed with adventurers and mercenaries who had flocked in during wartime.

She, on the other hand, had to wear a plain uniform, feed the horses of incoming carriages, and manage carriage tickets.

“I want to meet a wonderful husband and live a better life too…”

As she was filling out carriage tickets as usual, imagining a prince on a white horse who would someday come for her, suddenly the door of the relay station opened with a loud noise.

BANG!!!!!!

“What?! What’s going on?”

“Kyaaa! What was that noise?!”

In a situation where everyone was dumbfounded as the broken door flew all the way to the wall and became embedded there, a group of people soon appeared beyond the shattered door.

“What… what are those…?”

Ayla squinted her eyes to examine them through the thick dust as the station master, who had hurriedly rushed over at the loud noise, stared blankly at them and uttered a few words.

Five people, all wrapped tightly in brown robes and wearing masks large enough to cover their entire faces.

The suspicious person standing at the front, looking around the interior of the relay station, eventually pointed a crossbow at the people inside and shouted.

“Freeze!!! You bitches, get down if you don’t want to die!!!”

It was the spectacular debut of Austin, the carriage thief.