NBAA Vol. 7 Chapter 5 Part 1
CHAPTER 5
—As Reito and the others were treating the fallen mercenaries after defeating the Demon Tree, the door that seemed to lead to the arena was opened and the soldiers of the arena appeared. The soldiers were astonished at the scene in front of them, and were confused when they saw the mercenaries sitting next to the wall and Reito applying recovery magic to them.
“What’s all the fuss?”
“Oh… you finally noticed something’s wrong?”
“Too late, that it is!”
Although he was shocked to see the soldiers finally appear, Reito cast recovery magic on the last one.
Since recovery magic could not restore physical strength, the mercenaries lost consciousness after half-draining their nutrients, but they were still alive. In the end, only the mercenary’s leader died.
Reito showed the soldier his guild card, a proof of his adventurer status.
“I am Reito, an adventurer belonging to the Black Tiger Adventurers’ Guild. While we were investigating this sewer, we saved these people from being attacked by a Demon Tree.”
“A Demon Tree? What are you talking about! Such a monster is in our sewers…”
“No, wait!! Could it be that guy from before…”
“No way…!?”
“You seem to have some idea what it is.”
The soldiers seemed shaken by Reito’s words, but from their attitude, it seemed like they had some kind of information about the Demon Tree that appeared in the sewers.
Reito told the soldiers.
“These people are mercenaries hired by the Battle Association. Please take care of the rest.”
“These guys… Captain!! These guys are certainly Red Snake mercenaries!! They don’t seem to be injured, but they are weakened.”
“Mmm, muu…you guys should immediately take them to the treatment room!!”
The captain of the soldiers gave instructions and had his men quickly carry the mercenaries.
After that, he looked back at Reito and the others, with a confused look on his face as he didn’t know how to respond, and then spoke to them as if he had made up his mind.
“You said you were adventurers. And you said you came to investigate the sewers… was it a coincidence that you visited this place?”
“It’s hard to say it’s a coincidence. We found traces of the undead on our way here, and when we were investigating them, we ended up here. In addition, we saw a man who appeared to be a necromancer mutating the carcasses of monsters in the passageway into Dead Soul Puppets, and we also witnessed the scene where he went through the door.”
“What?! T-That’s…”
“The captain briefly reached for the sword at his waist, but as he regained his composure, his eyebrows furrowed, and he slowly let go of his hand and asked.”
“I’d like to ask you something…Are there other adventurers besides you coming to investigate?”
Hanzo answered that question.
“The guilds on the ground are already preparing to dispatch investigators, that they are. There is no doubt that a major investigation will be conducted soon, that it will.”
“I see… I understand. I’d like to hear a little more about it, so could you please come upstairs? I will never treat you harshly.”
“You’re not going to catch us saying that, are you…?”
Dain said, narrowing his eyes.
“No, it’s okay!! If you don’t believe me, you can wait here. I’ll go get the person in charge.”
Reito and the others looked at the captain who said this hurriedly, half in disbelief, and discussed whether or not they should comply with his request.
Alternatively, they could leave as is and report to the various guilds, but in that case, they would also need to bring back evidence of the misconduct at the Battle Association.
However, they could not get any strong clues other than the carcass of the monster, and the mercenaries, who knew what was going on, had been carried away by the soldiers. If this happened, there was a high possibility that even if Reito and the others reported, the Battle Association would turn a blind eye to it.
“What are we going to do, that we should?”
“Everyone wait here, and I’ll go talk to the person in charge by myself.”
“Are you sure you can handle it?”
“I’ll be fine. If the situation arises, I’ll use my ultimate sword technique to knock him out.”
“Hoho!! Is that the secret skill of Reito-dono’s sword? I want to see it too, that I do!”
“Well, leave this to me… If I don’t come back within thirty minutes, run away.”
Hanzo, who took Reito’s joke seriously, was aptly dismissed, and Reito followed the captain on his own.
“You said the person in charge earlier, but who will I meet?”
“Lord Kahne* will meet you. He is the manager of the arena here. Please be in your best behavior.” (TLN: Previously translated as “Monet,” which is wrong. Luckily “Monet” had only been mentioned in two chapters NBAAV6C3P1 & NBAAV6C5P1 and had already been changed to the new name. TLDR: Monet -> Kahne.)
The person Reito was about to meet was a man named “Kahne,” who was a nobleman of the kingdom and in charge of the city’s monster merchants.
Reito remembered the incident where he stole the “Holy Sword Caledfwlch” from him. If it weren’t for these circumstances, he was someone Reito wouldn’t want to meet face to face.
The captain led Reito to a room with quite luxurious decorations. There was a chandelier on the ceiling and paintings on the walls. It was obviously the kind of interior that someone with a taste for luxury would like.
Inside the room, a man was sitting at his office desk, looking over documents.
“Tch…as expected, Swordmaster’s matches don’t make any money. However, it’s also true that their matches attract the most spectators. I wonder what to do about it…”
“Lord Kahne, I have brought an adventurer with me.”
“Ah, I know… there’s no need to introduce yourself, just sit down.”
Kahne glanced at Reito in annoyance and made the captain step back.
Reito felt uncomfortable for a moment at that attitude, but he couldn’t make a fuss here, so he sat obediently in his chair.
Kahne was processing documents for a while, but then he seemed to have calmed down, and with a sigh, he took out a small bag from his desk drawer and sat down in the chair across from Reito.
“First, please accept this.”
“What is this?”
“Look inside and you’ll see what I mean, won’t you?”
Although he was puzzled, Reito received it and checked its contents.
There were about 20 gold coins in the bag. Based on the value of Japanese yen, this would mean the bag contained about 2 million yen.
“What is this money for?”
“Shut up and take it. Then you will return to the guild and report back to them. ‘Nothing unusual happened.’.”
“…I see. Are you telling me to make a false report and stop the investigation?”
“You know what I’m talking about. Use that money to convince your friends too.”
Reito sighed and threw the pouch on the desk.
Kahne scowled, and although inwardly he thought Reito was a cocky kid, he calmly responded.
“Are you dissatisfied with the amount of money? I don’t think an adventurer like you could get that much even if you worked for a year.”
“Unfortunately, I’ve been getting some extra income lately, so I don’t have any trouble with money. Besides, my friends won’t accept this kind of deal either.”
“Tch… I can’t help it. Forty gold coins, I can’t prepare any more than that.”
“I refuse.”
“…What?”
Kahne’s expression changed drastically in response to Reito’s immediate refusal.
Reito folded his arms without losing his relaxed attitude and dared to put his feet on the desk in front of him in a pompous manner.
Kahne’s anger at his attitude grew, but he understood that their situation was unfavorable, and spoke in an outwardly calm manner.
“I don’t understand, I don’t know how much money is being promised for this investigation, but why would you pass up an opportunity to earn so much money? Even if you are satisfied with the money, it does not necessarily mean that the rest of you are satisfied with it, does it?”
“We can’t overlook your problematic behavior this time. Someone died, you know?”
Reito said that while remembering the leader of the mercenary who was killed in the sewers.
It was clear from the soldiers’ reactions that the Battle Association was also involved in the Demon Tree that attacked him.
Reito continued.
“I already know that you guys are using necromancers and reusing monsters that are killed in matches.”
“Don’t make false accusations! Do you have proof?”
“We have seen the monsters left in the sewers, and we have seen the necromancer transform them into Dead Soul Puppets and return to the arena. Besides, the Red Snake mercenary you hired told me many things.”
“E-Even so, without conclusive evidence, you can’t hold us responsible!! Besides, you’d better keep your mouth shut. Your safe return depends on my instructions, you understand?”
Kahne reached for the bell on the desk. Ringing this bell, he thought, would allow the soldiers waiting in front of the room to enter and restrain Reito.
But somehow, as Kahne looked away for a moment, the bell on the desk was swallowed up in a “black whirlpool” of distorted space.
“What!? W-What on earth is this…!?”
Kahne panicked at the sudden incident and looked around, and noticed that the documents on his office desk had also disappeared.
When he looked back at Reito, he saw that he was holding a document in his hand.
“Th-This is!?”
“Heh… it’s a lot of work being the manager of a Battle Association, isn’t it?”
Reito activated his “Space Magic” and retrieved the bell and the documents.
Reito proudly checks the documents in front of Kahne. Then, among a sheaf of parchment, Reito found the documents about the necromancer he had been looking for.
Having succeeded in obtaining the evidence, Reito questioned Kahne with the parchment in hand.
“What do you mean by the item ‘the type and number of monsters mutated into Dead Soul Puppets’ written here? I’m sure, as the manager, you know this very well, don’t you, Mr. Kahne?”
“Wha…!?”
Kahne’s face paled as Reito spoke to him with a smile. He did not know what had been done, but at least he understood that Reito had the definitive proof in his hands.
“If we report this document and the recovered monster carcass to the guild, we will have accomplished our investigation.”
“Or give it back! You insolent bastard!”
“Enough!”
“Hii!?”
When Kahne tried to take back the documents, Reito invoked his “Intimidation” skill and glared at him.
Kahne’s eyes clearly saw a demon with a large sword behind Reito. He was so terrified that he couldn’t stop his body from shaking.
“Whoever you are, it doesn’t change the fact that people have died in the basement of this arena! And yet, what is this money? You think this is going to cover up the investigation report? Don’t play dumb with me!”
“Hiik!?”
“It’s not about money. You should solve what you did yourselves!! If you had reported this incident to the adventurers’ guild yourselves instead of hiring mercenaries, there might not have been any victims. If you act like you don’t understand that…I’ll be disgusted!!”
“Woah!!”
The moment Reito slammed his fist onto the desk, the desk broke and Kahne lost his grip and fell off the chair.
Reito picked up the pouch and tossed it toward Kahne, then he repaired the desk with his alchemist’s ability.
“I’m going to report this to the guild. If we do so, your misconduct will be exposed. But if you tell them about the problem, the guild and the kingdom may soften their treatment of you. You can either be accused of a crime, or you can come clean and beg for leniency.”
“I am a nobleman of the Kingdom! And soon there will be a Battle Festival in this arena! Do you know how much the kingdom expects us to do for this arena? If a problem like this is discovered at this time, the Battle Association will be…!!!”
“There are only two options: Either I report to the guild, or you voluntarily confess the problem. Or do you want me to arrest you here? In that case, I’ll return to the guild even if I have to take you hostage.”
“Oh, are you trying to threaten me!! Who do you think I am!! I’m Count Kahne, a nobleman of the kingdom!!”
“So what?”
“Hiiek..!?”
Kahne backed away from Reito, who was completely unfazed by his own words. He was now on the verge of incontinence.
Still, he could not bear to be dictated to by a mere adventurer, and he called out loudly for the soldiers.
“Someone! Somebody catch this traitor! He’s trying to kill me!”
“What’s the matter, Count? What’s wrong?”
“Oops.”
Reito approached the door to the entrance and locked it, then used “High Speed Shape Change” to transform the keyhole and seal it. He also destroyed the doorknob by force just to be safe, and then turned to Kahne.
“Is that your answer?”
“W-What!? What did you do!?”
“Damn, it won’t open!! Are you okay, Count!!”
The soldiers outside the room gathered in front of the door, but they could not open it because the lock and keyhole were blocked.
Reito approached Kahne and yelled at him, forcing him to stand up on his feet.
“You almost killed a lot of people with your actions… take responsibility!”
“I-It hurts…!”
“Do you swear to report to the guild right away?”
“I-I understand…!! I’ll c-confess, so please forgive me…!!”
“It’s a promise.”
Hearing Kahne’s words, Reito let him go.
Immediately after Kahne fell to the floor breathing heavily, the door was destroyed from the outside and soldiers poured in.
“Count!? Are you okay!?”
“You!!”
“Wait! Don’t touch that man…”
The soldiers tried to restrain Reito, but Kahne hurriedly stopped them.
Kahne didn’t particularly want to protect Reito, but even if they were to succeed in capturing Reito here, the adventurers’ guild would already know about the sewer incident, and a new investigation team would be sent to find out what the Battle Association had committed.
If there was a way to resolve the issue without incident, it would have been for the first investigation team, Reito and his friends, to make a false report to the guild, but since he refused, there was nothing they could do.
“I-I’m heading to the guild now…and I’ll report this incident, okay?”
“Please feel free to do so…but I will also accompany you.”
“Hmph! I must tell you that I am on good terms with Lady Maria, the guildmaster of Hailstorm. If I report this problem to her, I’m sure she will help me!”
“I don’t know about that…?”
The person who replied to Kahne’s agonized excuse was not Reito, but Maria who appeared through the door.