ushernet Chapter 42: City of Rune
Chapter 42: City of Rune
Chapter 42: City of Rune
Volume 1, Part 3, City of Rune
The next day, early in the morning they left the City of Kyradea.
They were both good walkers.
It would normally take an entire day but by noon, they were on a small hill overlooking the City of Rune.
“This is......”
The scenery seen from there was unimaginable.
The field of vision from the bottom of the hill to the corners of the eye was dyed golden.
Wheatfields that were about to be harvested.
And a huge city that sat in the center.
The scale was definitely a city rather than a town.
The walls surrounding the city were also tall and imposing.
Perhaps hundreds of thousands of people lived inside the walls alone.
In addition, outside the walls, he could see many houses, likely farmhouses.
“Some people live outside the city, right?”
“Yeah, because the farmlands are outside the city. Originally the farmers lived inside the walls but traveling to the farmland took a significant amount of time that they are now building houses outside the city. That’s why the City of Rune doesn’t close the gates even at night.”
That surprised Ryo as expected.
That was because it was common sense that the city gates would be closed at night in the Middle Ages, not to mention in many other worlds stories.
“What about crime prevention?”
“Well ... there are more people on patrol compared to the other cities. That’s why I think public safety is not bad for a city of this size.”
After looking at the City of Rune for a while, they went down the hill to the south gate of the city.
Partly because it was afternoon, which was a rather awkward time to get in and out of the city, there was no one other than the guards at the south gate.
“Eh? Abel?”
The guard who seemed to know Abel was surprised.
“Oh, Nimuru. It’s been a long time.”
“Not just a long time ... you were declared missing...”
“Yeah, well, I managed to come back alive.”
Abel said and laughed.
“And, who is your companion?”
Nimuru, the guard, turned to Ryo and asked.
“My lifesaver.”
“Is that so! Thank you for saving Abel.”
Nimuru exclaimed and grabbed Ryo’s hand before swinging it up and down.
“Nevertheless, you still have to pay the entrance tax...”
“Yeah, I’ll pay for that.”
Abel gave Nimuru his guild card and a silver coin for Ryo’s entry tax.
“Yes, certainly.”
Nimuru received it and said to Abel with a clear joyful smile.
“Welcome back, Abel.”
Ryo watched without saying a word but he was a little jealous of Abel.
He had a place to return to.
And there were people who would welcome him back.
That was something Ryo couldn’t identify with, as he had lived alone for a long time in the Rondo Forest.
He didn’t think much about it in particular until now but when he saw Nimuru welcoming Abel back, he did feel a little lonely.
(I’m happy for you, Abel.)
Yes, that was a good sight to mark the end of the journey.
Abel’s request for Ryo was to 『Escort him to the City of Rune』.
And they were at the City of Rune.
The moment they passed through the gate, the request was fulfilled.
“Ryo, let’s head to the guild now. You wish to register as an adventurer, right?”
“Yeah, it’s probably better to get it done quickly right?”
“Yes, since I’m here with you. You can register for a rank up.”
Ryo tilted his head.
“Rank up registration?”
“Oh, I didn’t talk about that? Adventurer guilds usually register you in F-rank at first, but if there is a recommendation from an adventurer of B-rank or higher, they can be registered in E-rank or D-rank. And I will be recommending Ryo so you should be able to register in D-rank.”
“Are there any benefits in registering at D-rank?”
“You can get higher-ranked requests. The higher the rank, the more rewards you can get, so I recommend it. That said, I don’t think Ryo will be lacking money.”
Abel said, looking at Ryo’s bag.
“Oh, the Wyvern magic stones? Are they that valuable?”
To be clear, Ryo had no clue at all.
In the first place, it only took two shots of Icicle Lances to hunt one.
There was no difficulty.
So even if he was told that the magic stone was a fairly expensive item, it was unavoidable that he couldn’t comprehend it.
But Abel nodded.
Immediately after that, they heard a hoarse voice that reached the reception room.
“What did you say!?”
And the sound of rapid footsteps. The door was opened vigorously and a fierce-looking giant man came in.
“Abel ... I’m glad ...”
The giant exclaimed and collapsed to his knees.
“Guilmas, Sorry for worrying you. I somewhat managed to return home.” (TLN: Abel calls him Guild Master in a shortened form)
“Good grief ... I didn’t feel like living when I heard that Abel went missing.”
The giant stood up and sat in a fairly large, sturdy chair that seemed to be solely meant for him.
“Oops, before that, who’s this ... Magician?”
The giant turned to Ryo and asked.
“This is Ryo. My lifesaver.”
“I see, I’m Hugh McGrath, the Guild Master of the City of Rune. Thank you for helping Abel.”
Hugh commented before standing up and bowing to Ryo.
“Ah, no, I just happened to come across him. Don’t mention it.”
Ryo also stood up and bowed his head.
“Well, Guilmas, Ryo is registering as an adventurer in this city but I’m hoping to recommend him for a rank up.”
Hearing that, Hugh looked toward Nina standing near the door.
Nina nodded.
“Abel mentioned he had something to talk to Guild Master regarding that.”
Hugh started running before she was able to inform him properly so he didn’t know why Abel wanted to meet him.
“Oh, is that so? Well, it was probably conveyed to Ryo, but we need proof that he is worthy to register for a rank-up...”
After speaking until there, Hugh looked at Nina who was still near the door.
Nina understood that it was a gaze to clear people away.
“Then, I shall excuse myself. I will be at the reception so please call me if you need anything.”
After saying that, Nina left.
It was Abel who first started.
“First, Ryo is stronger than me.”
That claim surprised both Hugh and Ryo.
“Hey hey...”
“Abel ... Did you hurt your stomach with the dried meat you ate during lunch?”
Abel sighed.
“Well, he’s a joker like this, but his strength is the real deal. Also, during my journey to return to Rune, we gathered these from the monsters that Ryo and I defeated.”
Abel took out the Wyvern magic stones from his bag and placed them on the desk.
It numbered 25.
“What are these magic stones ... I know they are wind-attribute because of the green coloration but ... they are staggeringly large and dark in color. Such magic stones ... no way, are these from Wyverns?”
“Yes, they are Wyvern magic stones. And Ryo is carrying about as much as this too.”
When Abel said so, Ryo also put his bag on the desk.
“That’s impossible ... where on earth did you meet these many Wyverns ... no, this is a scale that would destroy the country if the country does not use everything in its power to face it ...”
Hugh squeezed those words out. With a voice that was almost a whisper.
“Don’t worry about that. We hunted these Wyverns on the Devil’s Mountain to the south.”
“Devil’s Mountain? That Devil’s Mountain? Why were you in such a place?”
“The ship drifted ... and shipwrecked in a land that extends further south of the Devil’s Mountain. So I came back by crossing the Devil’s Mountain but there were a huge number of Wyverns on the southern side of the Devil’s Mountain. Well, that’s the short story of it.”
Abel shrugged and explained. He had cut it short by quite a bit.
For the time being, it was important to explain that those Wyverns weren’t likely to attack humanity right now and that it would not be so simple to get that many Wyvern magic stones in the future.
“I see. We’ll never get these many Wyvern magic stones on this scale again and they will not attack us. So I can assume that you wish to use the guild network to sell these so that the market value wouldn’t plummet.”
“As expected, Guilmas, it’s a great help that you’re quick to understand.”
If they sold everything in the City of Rune, the market value would plummet.
Furthermore, it would be possible to find out where they came from.
But if they used the guild’s network to sell it as a trade item to another city, the royal capital, or even another country, they wouldn’t raise suspicion.
That was the gist of it.
“I understand. It will take some time, but I will sell it responsibly. Let’s have the royal family buy it too.”
For a brief moment, Abel frowned a little.
“I believe the feudal lord would quickly buy one so I’ll be able to deposit the proceeds in a few days. So should I split the profits?”
“No, four to six. Four for me, six for Ryo.”
“Abel, that’s no good. Five to five.”
Upon hearing that, Abel shook his head.
“Ryo, I have not even shown my gratitude to Ryo for your help. And this also counts as the reward for the request to escort me until here. Take it so that I can hold my head up.”
Abel said and bowed while sitting.
“Abel ...”
“Ryo, Abel has insisted that much. Give in to him and take it.”
Hugh also supported Abel.
“I understand then. I’ll gratefully accept it.”