TN: Please read my translations only on my website since I never give my permission to any site to host my translations. And if you like my translations, please support this site on Ko-fi, and join our Patreon to read up to 12 chapters ahead for this novel!
Sponsored chapter by Patreon. Enjoy~
Chapter 315 – Last Chance
“All right, then. I’ll escort you. Shall we try transporting the goods again?”
Upon hearing this, Quad-san looked utterly bewildered but gradually seemed to grasp the situation.
However, he didn’t look joyful, but confused. He shook his head vigorously from side to side.
“Well, as you can see, I’m totally broke. I can’t even buy any goods!”
“I’ll lend you all that money.”
“Huh…?”
“I said I’ll lend you the money.”
“N-no… And the carriage, too! The carriage vanished, along with everything else. I don’t have it anymore!”
“If you don’t have it, just borrow or buy another one. I’ll lend you the money.”
“Huh!? But what about the people? The others left after this happened, so there’s no one to drive the carriage!”
“Then hire some.”
“That’s tough! Everyone knows that Kius Trading pany is after us! Who would want to work for us in this situation?”
“Then offer them enough money to make the risk worth it.”
“Well, I guess you could say that…”
“But seriously, do you really want revenge?”
“W-well…”
“You’ve listed all the reasons why it can’t be done, but everything you’ve built up bit by bit is about to be crushed. Without getting your revenge, you’ll lose your shop, your money, and your life. Everything will wither away.”
“…”
“Well, Kius Trading pany probably thinks that, once they achieve their goal, anything else is just a pebble in the way.”
“Don’t you dare! What about my feelings? We—”
I understand that feeling, but that’s just how it is.
Villains who harm others so easily aren’t interested in the aftermath. They barely even recognize themselves as perpetrators.
If that story is true and you genuinely feel like a victim and are angry, then seize this chance. Make them realize it; make them regret it to death.
“If you feel that way, why not act? It’s a miracle that someone has appeared who will cover your expenses and provide escorts, right?”
“…Or rather, you’re a pretty young mercenary. Who exactly are you?”
“e to think of it, you’re right. My apologies for the late introduction. I’m Loki. I travel and earn money as a mercenary and a hunter. I’m an A-rank hunter, but in terms of ability alone, I should definitely meet the standards for S-rank.”
It was a rather boastful introduction, but I wasn’t lying.
What I need now is either the “fighting power” to fend off mysterious disappearances or the “financial power” to resist mysterious temptations.
When I showed him the guild card engraved with an “A,” he stared intently at the card, then at my face.
“R-really?”
“Yes, really.”
“But why…?”
It was an understandable question.
Well, of course.
If I were in his shoes, I’d think the same thing. Only when asked did I realize that I was more motivated now than before I came here.
“There are various reasons, but I hate them, too. Those who harm people under the illusion that there’s no risk, and those who sit back and gloat while watching the spectacle.”
“Huh?”
“So, if your story is true and I can verify it, I might just crush Baron Olan—”
Just as I got that far, Quad-san frantically covered my mouth.
“H-hold on! If anyone overheard that, we’d be dead meat! I’m always ready to die, but you can’t say stuff like that, Loki-san!”
“Mmmph… It’s fine. I placed a barrier magic tool at the entrance, and I’ve also checked the surroundings with Investigation.”
“Wh-what!? You have a small-scale barrier tool? Is it a Type 5? Or a Type 6? It’s worth at least 300 million Beeke on the market! Why’d you bring something like this?”
“Eh, no, wait. Calm down.”
“Hm? Now that I’m looking closely, Loki-san’s armor isn’t normal either, is it? It’s made of materials I’ve never seen before, and my appraisal skill can’t identify them! What the heck is it?”
Wh-what should I do?
It’s good that he’s bee more energetic, but he’s bee too energetic and is suddenly really annoying.
“Well, I’ll explain that part later if I feel like it. What do you say? I doubt you’ll ever get another offer this tempting. Want to take this last chance?”
“If Loki-san acts as our escort, does that mean no one else will die?”
Ah, so that’s why he hesitated.
“I’m not a god, so I can’t make such an irresponsible promise. It’s practically impossible for me alone to guard you every single day on such a long journey.”
“…”
“But I’m confident I can prevent deaths, and I’ll do my absolute best to make that happen.”
“Then… I couldn’t stand seeing the people around me keep disappearing because of my struggles. Whether I cry or laugh, this is my last chance. Please, I beg you!”
From that day on, the Quad Trading pany, which had been on the verge of collapse, began to recover.
They aimed to replicate the scale of the previous disappearance incidents, even if it took a considerable amount of time.
Quad-san, the merchant, was responsible for the preparations. My job was to earn the necessary funds. I flew to Rosberia, handed over that day’s earnings, and returned to my routine.
I’d accumulate skill experience at Palmera at night, deliver materials to Org-san in Falmenta in the morning, and then return to Ortran to map again.
During that time, I moderately visited the Quad Trading pany, observing Quad-san and his surroundings. Thankfully, there were no direct attacks, as I’d feared.
“If they were going to do it, I think they would have done it earlier.
I agreed that it made sense and decided to leave it to him.
There must be a reason they can’t do it directly.
Over ten days passed like this. While I was beating up an A-rank monster west of our base, I was still puzzling over Org-san’s punk declaration.
Suddenly, I spotted something strange deep in the forest.
“Could this be… a petrified body part?”
What I saw was a stone lump that looked exactly like a human arm.
Even then, I thought it was probably just a coincidence.
This was the habitat of the Katoblepas, the A-rank monsters that inhabited the sixth layer.
I had never heard of anyone reaching this far before.
Or so I thought.
“They said the bird-people retreated at the fifth layer, but some actually made it through?”
The towering mountains to the west of the base were quite high.
In the forest on the hillside, I witnessed what appeared to be two stone statues.
How many years had truly passed?
A slightly smaller humanoid stone statue with wings on its back lay sprawled on the ground. Another statue, once likely much larger, covered it. It was barely recognizable as human.
This statue showed almost no feathers, and its back seemed thinner, as if worn away by long exposure to rain and branches—almost as if melting.
I gently shifted the statue that had been covering the smaller one and looked at them again.
The smaller statue lying on its back had lost one wing entirely. Was it petrified in that state, or did it break after petrification?
I couldn’t tell, but one wing was missing from the root.
Otherwise, it appeared to be in good condition at first glance, with no other missing parts.
Could a pletely petrified state be reversed?
It was a question I’d never considered before.
No solution presented itself at the moment.
Still, if there was any possibility…
With this thought in mind, I gathered both statues and thoroughly searched the surrounding area, just in case. Then, I returned to base.
If you like my translations, please support me on Ko-Fi and subscribe my Patreon to read up to 12 chapters ahead for this novel!
User Comments
0 comments from readers