Volume 5 Chapter 39 The Gangs Of The Night Fall Apart
While carrying my old man back to where I arrived, I found Frain holding the reins of Nightfather's boss, whom he had captured. He spotted me and said,
"Oh, you're back."
"Yeah, I beat my damn old man. Did you manage to finish things on your end too?"
"He doesn't have any combat abilities himself, you know. Well, he is family, after all. I can't be too rough with him."
The boss, who had been hit by Frain, sarcastically remarked, "What a dutiful son." Then he looked at me and my old man and said,
"Looks like Protean is lose. Times are changing."
"Stop talking and let's go. We need to parade through the city."
"Hey, Frain, don't handle me roughly."
"Annoying."
The boss seemed to have a different kind of annoyance than my old man.
While thinking about these things, Toxy approached us.
"Wade, good job."
"Yeah, Toxy. My old man put up quite a fight for someone so useless. He gave me a hard time."
"Haha, but I think I understand it a bit. Because father-in-law was strong, it's likely that you inherited some of his abilities."
"Is that so? Well, blood is thicker than water."
I glanced at the old man on my shoulder. Despite being hit by a heavy blow, he was already snoring peacefully.
"Haha, he always looked like that when he was chubby, but seeing him all muscled up, he still has that familiar face of yours."
"Stop it, Toxy. I don't want to be told that I look like him."
"Haha, father-in-law will be happy to hear that."
"...Alright, you win."
I surrendered with both hands. "I have no choice but to forgive you," Toxy said mischievously.
"...But, I'm glad. Even though father-in-law will be locked up, you were able to reconcile with him."
"...Yeah."
Toxy pulled my head towards her and I let her. She hugged me and said, "Good job,"
"Even at a time like this, you're fooling around."
Frain muttered, clicking his tongue. I found it amusing and smirked in response.
"Frain, aren't you a good man? You're promising, so you're popular."
"Is that sarcasm? There are women who come to me because of my status, but once they know my true nature, they run away."
"You've become quite humble compared to before."
"I'm just being realistic. Besides, I inherited this from my father. It's only natural that I have a terrible personality."
Saying that, Frain kicked the Nightfather's boss. "Ow! You violent guy," the boss joked.
I said,
"Well, your personality is certainly terrible."
Toxy added,
"You're always insulting, so I don't want to be near you."
Frain glared at us.
"Do you want to pick a fight?"
As we exchanged light blows, the boss laughed. "Hahaha."
Frain glared and asked,
"What's so funny?"
"Nothing? I never thought Frain, who acted like he was the boss of the mountain, would have comrades he could talk to as equals. ―――For Nightfather's end to be overrun by abnormally strong brats, times really do change suddenly. My world has crumbled disappointingly."
To the boss who said sentimentally, Frain said.
"What's 'my world'? The empire you built at night didn't do anything good, and the organization only brought threats to Karditsa."
"Well, that might be how you see it. I won't make excuses. From your perspective, as someone who didn't know the former head of Karditsa, I might be seen as an evil emperor."
So the boss told Frain,
"You and your friends will bear the next era. Old soldiers just leave. The villains of Karditsa were scattered due to Nightfather's Collapse. They'll be sent to war and their numbers will decrease. But they will certainly remain. Good and bad people alike."
The boss spoke as if he had seen it all.
"When that time comes, the next era will surely arrive. It depends on you what will happen."
Those words made me feel a little startled. The next era. The era that had been created so far was ending, and the era we would create was beginning.
"... Say what you want. I'll live my life the way I want."
In response to Frain's reaction, the boss just smiled faintly.
Around that time, I asked Toxy.
"So, who should I report this to?"
I patted Toxy on the rear end. Toxy laughed a little and answered,
"Don't worry! I've already called the guards, so they should be coming soon."
As soon as Toxy said that, guards in armor started coming over to us. When I saw that, I thought, "It's over," somehow.
A few days later, we were gathered under the lord's command again.
"You've all worked hard. However, words of gratitude are worth less than gold to you. First, let's talk about your reward."
The lord said, looking at Shadowmira, a maid of the gold rank. Shadowmira nodded and gently placed a luxurious-looking leather bag on the table between us.
When I opened it, I saw coins I had never seen before.
"One platinum coin is worth 5 big gold coins. I want you to take them."
"...Whoa, amazing. I've never seen a platinum coin before."
"I agree this time. I never thought I'd see one in my life."
Frain and I exchanged words quietly. Then Shadowmira gently closed the bag and collected it, then gave each of us and Frain a different leather bag.
"But I can't distribute the platinum coins correctly. So I'll give each of you 7 big gold coins and one grand gold coin. This way it's fair."
""Yeah...""
Frain and I said at the same time. We at least wanted to touch the platinum coin.
"Wade and Frain are actually quite similar, aren't they?"
"We're not similar, Toxy."
"Frain, you have a surprisingly cute side."
"Shut up, Sylvia."
We all waved our hands with bitter faces and glared at each other.
"Anyway, you've really helped us. It's just a token, but I want you to have it."
We each received a gold stealth weapon adventurer's badge from Shadowmira and Frain. Wow, the gold rank series is really coming in handy.
"When you have this adventurer's badge, it becomes an ID that can be used anywhere if the country is involved. It's a combination of strength and government authority. That's what a gold stealth weapon adventurer's badge is. I hope you use it wisely."
Lord explained, and even though I didn't understand everything, I nodded. Then, Shadowmira emphasized it even more.
"From me as well. Originally, the gold stealth weapon adventurer's badge is only given by nobles above the Margrave family from the guild. Royalty, the Duke's family, the Marquis family, and the Margrave family. Among them, only 3 are given to the Margrave family."
As she said this, Shadowmira took out her own gold stealth weapon adventurer's badge.
"All of them are gathered here. Please understand the meaning of that."
She said. I slowly began to understand the intention of this explanation. In short, if you show this adventurer's badge to the government, you can really do anything.
We gained that much trust from Lord. Frain also looked tense at the thought of his first gold rank being a stealth weapon adventurer.
"Well, let's leave it at that for Nightfather."
I thought it was over. I thought there would be a lot more to talk about, so I felt a little let down.
But I was wrong. Lord had just moved up what he really needed to talk about.
After taking a deep breath, Lord addressed us.
"―――I will call you again soon. You've heard the rumors of war, right?"
"...Fist of the Dragon."
I muttered, and Lord nodded.
"That's right. 'Fist of the Dragon' Sieg. A fearsome great hero who even surpasses a platinum Sword adventurer. His army is heading towards Karditsa."
Everyone fell silent at Lord's words. Lord continued.
"Unfortunately, it seems that the platinum Sword adventurer won't make it in time. As usual, he was evaded by Fist of the Dragon. So the hand against 'Fist of the Dragon' will be yours alone. I know your strength, but... it will be a tough battle."
Silence filled the reception room.
"...Let's end it here for today. Until next time."
We tightly gripped the leather bags filled with rewards and the adventurer's badge made of gold, and Shadowmira guided us to the entrance.
Please bookmark this series and rate ☆☆☆☆☆ on here!
Donate me
Support Me with USDC
(ERC20)
Support Me with XLM
(Stellar Lumens)