<h4>Chapter 339 – The Rowdy Trio</h4>


    The Rowdy Trio


    As the new year began, training by the joint army became more and more rigorous, and the Ville Zentra Adventurers Guild was buzzing with many adventurers.


    Hikaru regrly visited Doriachi’s ce as Silver Face, while also working as an adventurer.


    More adventurers usually meant moremissionspleted, but the arrival of many high-ranking adventurers—who were basically celebrities—overjoyed the ordinary adventurers that a lot ofmissions were actually left untouched. Dream Maker’s soldiers were also able to take fewer and fewer requests as the joint training began in earnest.


    Thanks to the Four Stars of the East and some diligent adventurers taking jobs, though,missions didn’t pile up.


    Heh. It’s like being an adventurer is an upation for thugs who can’t get steady jobs.


    They were like guys who went around with their modified bikes when they were in school, but when they graduated, they could not get a regr job and instead got one that involved violence. Or they were recruited by the SDF or the police force. It was pretty much the same in this world.


    『Sup, Doriachi.』


    『Silver Face. Thank you foring.』


    Doriachi and Hikaru often used Japanese when talking to each other, as it reduced the risk of being eavesdropped.


    Hikaru hadn’t told Selica about Doriachi yet. If she found out that Silver Face could speak Japanese, she’d know that the masked guy and Hikaru were the same person, and he wanted to avoid that. Right now he was still stubbornly feigning ignorance at thedies.


    Hikaru was exchanging information with Doriachi about what had happened the past few days.


    『Oh, yes. Lady Patricia asked me to give you this letter.』


    『A letter? For me?』


    It was a private letter from Emperor Kai of the Quinnd Empire. The fact that it wasn’t sealed tight indicated that the Emperor didn’t mind it being checked—a way of dering that it was simply an ordinary letter.


    Maybe he’s saying they’re watching me.


    Patricia would be wary if Kai was sending confidential messages to Silver Face. So he did this to avoid suspicion.


    Hikaru scanned the letter. It was nothing but a in text with not a hint of royalty in it.


    I’m going to send a skilled personnel, who is from the same ce as me, to help. They are quite the good-natured fellow, and Her Majesty Kudyastoria is aware of this. I’m sure you’ll butt heads with them, but you can beat them to a pulp. I don’t mind.


    P.S. I’ll send you your reward for killing monsters, but don’t forget about your book.


    Kai


    Hikaru silently set the letter down.


    『What’s the matter, Silver Face?』


    『Uh... It’s just... I don’t know what he’s up to...』


    Hikaru presented the letter, and Doriachi took it, surprised.


    『You don’t mind if I read it?』


    『Go ahead.』


    『This sure is something. You two sound like good friends.』


    『I don’t know about that.』


    Doriachi returned the letter to Hikaru. There was no point in keeping it, so he ripped it up and threw it into the firece. Doriachi’s eyes widened again in surprise.


    『Normally, you wouldn’t burn a private letter from the leader of a country.』


    『You read what he wrote. It was nothing special. Well, I also don’t want people to get suspicious of our rtionship, so I’m just getting rid of evidence.』


    Patricia probably read it too, he thought.


    The “book” Kai referred to was about getting a rare book as a reward from the Imperial Pce in Quinnd. So much had happened since then that he hadn’t been able to go get it.


    The other reward would be the payment for ying a Rock Dragon, a monster with a giant shell and two heads.


    The leather bag that Doriachi handed Hikaru afterwards contained silver coins. From a quick nce, it probably amounted to around 2 million gns.


    You cunning old geezer...


    If he spent silver coins without proper thought, it would most definitely get traced back to him. The same was true if he deposited it into his guild ount. If Kai said he wasn’t trying to discover Silver Face’s true identity, Hikaru wouldn’t believe him one bit.


    『Silver Face. What about your response to Emperor Kai?』


    『No need. Knowing I received it will be good enough for him.』


    Doriachi chuckled.『You really are good friends.』


    『Oh, please.』


    Patricia, Kudyastoria, and Zofira, the Prime Minister of Forestia, all seemed smart, but Hikaru knew that Kai was even a few notches above them.


    If there’s anyone as annoying as him...


    The dazzling smile—a fake one, he already knew—of the blonde female adventurer, who was known in many ces as the Sun Maiden, shed in Hikaru’s mind.


    Switching from Silver Face to Hikaru, he met up with Lavia and Pa.


    Luka, who had already made up with ude, would be staying with him in the camp starting today. Normally it would be impossible for a married man to bring his wife with him to war, but since ude was treated like a guest, he was allowed to, if barely.


    「Hikaru. Now that Luka has made up with ude, there’s no need for us to go to Grand Dream as adventurers. What’s the n?」


    「Hmm... I think it’s easier to move around when you’re an adventurer. Otherwise, we’ll have to wear a mask the whole time.」


    「I’m going.」


    「I mean, yeah, we’re definitely going.」Hikaru chuckled.


    If they traveled as adventurers, Silver Face could show up only when necessary. There would be no need to wear masks all the time, especially when sleeping. Yup, that would be awesome, Hikaru thought. Everyone needs time to rx.


    The party made their way to the Adventurer’s Guild to change the number of people registered to travel, from four to just three.


    「Hey there.」


    They bumped into none other than the Four Stars of the East, led by Selyse whom Hikaru thought earlier always wore a fake smile.


    「Hello.」Hikaru greeted.


    「Are you guys headed to the guild? Then let’s go together.」


    「I’ll pass.」


    「Come on, now.」


    「Please let go of me. You’re covered in monster blood.」


    「It shouldn’t be a big deal, given you’re an adventurer. If anything, you guys are too clean for adventurers.」


    「I could say the same about you.」


    「Well, we sometimes meet with the nobility, after all.」


    「Is that why you have so much power?」


    As Hikaru was being dragged into the guild with them, he found out why Selyse was so forceful.


    「Listen up. All of you present here, you can drink all you want today. It’s all on me. Like, for real. Keep drinking until you’re wasted.」


    「Senkun’s so Senkun.」


    「True that.」


    The thugs, doomed to a life of poverty, cheered in unison as soon as they heard the words “it’s all on me.”


    「Senkun! Senkun! Senkun!」they chanted.


    The three listened with satisfaction.


    One of them, probably because of his short stature, was standing on a chair, holding his hands up like the conductor of a choir. The other guy was an elf with earrings, his forelocks raised using hair oil, which was unusual for an adventurer. The third was a huge man over 190 centimeters tall. He had straight-cut bangs that covered his eyespletely.


    「You knew they were here, didn’t you?」Hikaru said.


    Selyse pped her hands.「Oh, right. I remember receiving a message from Ponsonia’s royal capital guild that a party of rank A adventurers were on their way.」


    「So that’s a yes.」


    Even with all themotion, the Four Stars stood out like a sore thumb, drawing gazes from the adventurers. The short man on the chair—Senkun, a Man Gnome just like Kai—also noticed them.


    「Aaaaaaaaaaaaaahhh! Hikaruuuuuuuuuuu!」


    Hikaru regretted not escaping with all he got the moment he bumped into Selyse.