“Hello. You must be the adventurers that accepted my request.”
The following morning, a guy was waiting for rc, Foldia, and Svemir when they arrived at the scheduled location.
The man appeared to be in his mid-thirties. He was undoubtedly younger than rc, being in the sa age range as Foldia. If one considered the inside rather than the outside, that was.
The man then proceeded to introduce himself as Edin. He was from the Kirel Village and had co to Logholt to work for a few months.
“To think it’s already been three months since I ca to Logholt. I was just getting used to the work here…”
Edin said with a dejected expression. In response, Svemir didn’t waste any ti inquiring.
“Wat bout yar work?”
“Since I don’t know when I’ll be able to co back I decided to quit. It was possible to take an extended leave, but I might stay in Kirel for a while.”
“Hm. There must be sothing big brewing for ya to go back.”
“My wife and child are in Kirel. However, the regular letters that I got from them suddenly stopped all of a sudden. There’s no reply no matter how many letters I send. I’m worried sick that sothing might have happened.”
Edin described his situation. This, in turn, aroused rc’s interest.
“How long has it been since the last letter?”
“About a month, I guess. Typically, they would arrive once every week, or once every two weeks at the latest.”
Since Edin regarded rc as being younger than himself, his tone was warr when he spoke than when he had spoken with Svemir. rc, in turn, seed unconcerned about it and replied with a simple nod.
“So in order to return as quickly as possible, you submitted the pricey urgent request?” Foldia asked, just after Edin finished replying to rc’s question.
“Correct. I ca to Logholt by myself at first. At the ti, I had a difficult ti dealing with bandits and Magic Beasts, so this ti I made the decision to recruit so adventurers even if it would cost a bit.”
Edin replied with a serious tone.
Even though Edin likely thought of Foldia as being younger than himself, he nonetheless made the decision to treat him similarly to how he had treated Svemir. Although she didn’t express it, rc was a little upset by this. She knew that there was no point in fighting over this, so she simply let it go.
“Well since yar in a hurry let’s go! It’s 10 days to Kirel Village… Are ya all ready?”
A bulging rucksack stood in front of Edin’s feet, and rc and Foldia had already made preparations. All of them were ready to leave at a mont’s notice.
Thus, the four set out for Kirel Village.
Four days had passed since the group had left Logholt. The journey had been uneventful over these days. The only issue thus far was that Edin had been advancing slower than anticipated, but even that was not a cause for alarm if everything else was in order.
As anticipated, the group arrived in the Town of Ruho on the fourth day.
“Wow. So you’re going to Kirel.”
The group had stopped at a restaurant to eat and rest after reaching Ruho. The owner of the restaurant had spoken to them at that ti. The gang had happily inford him where they were heading because they had no need to keep it a secret. But they didn’t anticipate his response.
“What’s wrong with Kirel Village?”
“Nothing… You can reach it in a week’s ti. That is if you go through the Goldless Tunnel.”
“The Goldless Tunnel? Do you an the tunnel that runs through this big mountain?” rc inquired, pulling out the map the guild had given her and pointing to what looked like a tunnel.
“That’s the one. The place that you’re pointing at is the so-called, Goldless Tunnel.” the restaurant owner said.
“Oh, I know it. I passed through it the first ti I went to Logholt. It is fairly wide and very bright thanks to the magic illumination apparatus installed throughout it.”
Edin added, recalling a previous trip through the tunnel.
“Normally, traveling through the tunnel would take you to Kirel without problems, but sadly, it has been closed for over a month. You have no choice but to go around.”
“What? Has the entrance collapsed or sothing?”
After hearing the owner’s remarks, Foldia asked.
Tunnels were less likely to collapse nowadays because of the use of magic and advances in excavation technology, but older ones were still vulnerable to collapse unless they were restored.
If the so-called Goldless Tunnel was old, it would not be surprising if it had collapsed and beco impassable. The owner, however, shook his head, indicating that was not the case.
“The entrance is fine. The Goldless Tunnel is a remnant of the past that was dug out because the mountain was considered to be a gold mine. The mountain ultimately proved to be a dud. Even so, they made the decision to complete the tunnel since they believed it would be a waste of money. Hence the na Goldless Tunnel. Funny, isn’t it.”
“That’s an interesting story, indeed. However, if it hasn’t collapsed, why can’t we access it?”
“Apparently, gold was discovered in the Goldless Tunnel1.”
“What?!”
The reasoning was totally ludicrous. The tunnel, dubbed the Goldless Tunnel, had unexpectedly yielded gold. Sothing like that wasn’t easy to believe.
“Are you for real? Didn’t you say that nothing was discovered after a thorough investigation, which is why it’s now just a tunnel?”
“Well yea, However, it appears that soone did in fact find gold ore within the tunnel and let the local nobles know about it. If there really is a gold vein inside that tunnel, then it will make soone filthy rich. There’s no way the nobles would pass up on such an opportunity.”
“Then the reason they closed the tunnel is…”
“To carry out an extensive search. It’s expected that it’ll take several months. As a result, getting through is not possible right now.”
“That’s terrible…”
Edin muttered with a defeated tone as his shoulders fell. The idea of being unable to return to Kirel devastated him.
“Say boss, ain’t there a way to get to Kirel without the tunnel? So kind of detour or sothing?”
Svemir, unable to bear to watch Edin dejected, asked. The owner, though, showed a troubled face.
“A detour… To be honest, I wouldn’t recomnd it. There are two other ways. One is to leave the town and enter the Chulice Empire. There’s a road there that leads to Kirel. You won’t run into any Magic Beasts and will have a reasonably simple journey if you go that route.”
“How much will it slow us down?”
“Hm. It’s only a day slower when compared to passing through the Goldless Tunnel.”
“That’s amazing! It’s settled then!” Svemir exclaid.
“Perfect! No, wait…”
For a brief mont, Edin’s expression brightened. Nevertheless, it quickly sank once more.
“Huh? Wat’s wrong?”
“You said we’d need to go through the Chulice Empire, correct?”
“That’s right. I’m afraid that you can’t use that option as well.”
“That’s…”
Edin’s complexion grew even worse.
anwhile, rc, Foldia, and Svemir were all staring at the owner and Edin, looking confused by what they were saying.
“Wat do ya an?”
“You’re adventurers so this doesn’t affect you, however, the Chulice Empire started limiting general people’s access to the Empire a few years ago. Without an adventurer’s license, one is required to pay a hefty entrance fee or go through an immigration process which may well take several months or even a whole year. What good is it if you three can go if your client can’t follow you?”
“That’s ridiculous!”
“I guess luck isn’t on our side.”
The owner’s statent left all three of them completely dumbfounded.
Although rc had never visited the Chulice Empire, not even as Estert, she had never heard of such a restriction. She imagined it to be sothing that had been decided upon after her death.
“What’s the other option?”
After completely ruling out the option of going to the Chulice Empire, Foldia asked.
“To be honest, I don’t advise using that one. Young man, you look pretty tough. What Grade are you?”
The owner asked, throwing a question right back at Foldia.
Foldia, in turn, smiled and looked at rc.
Don’t you dare tell him!
rc scread, however, there was no way Foldia could hear her thoughts.
Foldia’s cover would be blown right away if he were to accidentally reveal that he was a Grade 1 Adventurer.
After all, one could count the number of Grade 1 Adventurers across the whole continent in one’s hands.
“Hehe… That’s a secret.”
Foldia replied, allaying rc’s fear. With a smile on his face, he then continued,
“However, I’m not weak.”
“I can see that much. Then you’ll probably be fine.”
Probably persuaded by Foldia’s smile, the owner said. He then proceeded to point at a place on the map.
“Look here. You’ll have to go around the right side of the Goldless Tunnel and pass through this tiny forest. However, be warned. Magic Beasts dwell in this forest. Grade 4 Adventurers shouldn’t have any trouble getting through as long as they are skilled. It’s a walk in the park if one is a Grade 3 Adventurer or higher. I assu that you’ll be okay.”
“Old man Svemir’s a Grade 3 Adventurer so we’ll be fine.” Foldia exclaid.
“I’m a Grade 6, though…”
Foldia’s words drowned out rc’s hushed response. Everyone then turned their attention to the location the owner was pointing to on the map, ignoring rc’s remark.
rc, seemingly not affected by it, also turned her attention to the map.
“It’ll only take a day to reach Kirel after you’ve passed the forest. That’s all I can tell you. Make sure to get there safely, okay?”
“Thank you. Truly. Is there so way we can repay you?”
Edin thanked the owner for explaining everything to them. They most likely would have beco stuck in front of the Goldless Tunnel if it weren’t for him.
“Hahaha! Don’t fret! I’ll add the information fee to your bill. Hahaha! Well then, enjoy.”
As he made his way to the restaurant’s back, the owner remarked while laughing heartily.
“What a great man.” Foldia remarked while smiling as he observed the owner leave. He was not alone. Svemir, Edin, and even rc shared his opinion.
Later, when the group prepared to leave the restaurant, their bill simply said, “stay safe,” rather than including an additional fee.
Robinxen: What a twist!
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