Chapter 211

Chapter 211

***

There was a saying not to miss the forest for the trees, but sometimes you have to look at the trees. Because if you only look at the forest, you cannot feel the breath the trees exhale, the traces of the years they have lived, or their texture.

The place Rickart's steps naturally led without being conscious of it was not a forest but a tree. It wasn't because there was a certain reason, but precisely like a feeling of finding his proper place.

On the way from Kalitz to the Imperial Capital Nibelungen, there was a small city named Neuschafen. It was a city formed not long ago, a place where trade goods coming from the south and east gathered.

Trade goods would sometimes pass through Neuschafen to their destination, but sometimes trades were also made here. Since it was essentially buying goods at retail prices, there were many people trying to buy things here.

There were only people coming and going like the spring breeze, and there were no locals here. Though one might not know after years pass by. And here too there was an Adventurer's Guild.

The Adventurer's Guild was spread throughout the Empire, but depending on the region its characteristics, scale, and culture were all different.

While there were places where bottom-feeder adventurers living day to day formed the mainstream, there were also places where adventurers with outstanding skills gathered.

The Neuschafen Adventurer's Guild was somewhere in the middle. However, because there were many people coming and going there were many requests, but the abilities of the adventurers executing them also fluctuated wildly.

Of course occasionally, but truly outstanding swordsmen also briefly passed by.

If people asked, 'Were you an outstanding swordsman?', Rickart would answer, 'Just enough to protect my own body.' Because he didn't really like boasting.

Rickart didn't particularly infiltrate to discover the wrongdoings of the Adventurer's Guild here, or to expose absurdities.

Because he understood that places where people lived were originally noisy with this and that being said and somewhat messy, the thought of just quietly taking a look around was the biggest.

However the world inherently wasn't something that could stay still just because he wanted to stay still.

Rickart sat at a table in the Neuschafen Adventurer's Guild, and instead of the 'Perpetual Stew' whose contents were unknown, he paid a relatively expensive price and ordered roasted sparrow and roasted potatoes and such.

Naturally there was no such thing as water, and what they sold was only lukewarm ale, so he ordered a cup to refresh his mouth after the meal.

Looking around inside while waiting for the meal to come out, though not exactly an open market level, it was a somewhat noisy atmosphere.

There were many adventurers of all sorts of colors with diverse ages and origins, there were tables on the second floor too, and polearms were leaning slide against the wall. And on another wall wanted posters were stuck disorderly.

How long had it been since he saw the scenery of people living up close, honestly just looking at it was fun. Because for the past 10 years he had only been constantly looking at dry and boring documents.

But while Rickart was looking around at the people, someone shared his table. It was a young woman, looking about 17 or 18 years old, with a cat-like impression.

It definitely didn't seem she was in her 20s, and the most eye-catching thing was her hair color. A reddish bob cut reached around her jawline.

Her dark green attire seemed like an adventurer's, and perhaps having gained a few years of dignity in the adventurer life her outfit wasn't awkward.

Anyway since it was a woman he saw for the first time Rickart looked around at other tables wondering if it was originally a place where people freely shared tables and such.

However everyone was sitting together with their companions, and moreover there were some people alone too, so it didn't seem they freely shared tables.

Then why?

"Seems you have confidence in your skills?"

The woman asked. Rickart blankly looked at the red-haired woman for a moment then answered.

"Just enough to protect my own body......"

"A red cloak, no particular marking, seems you don't have a clan?"

Rickart lowered his head for no reason checking his attire. No cloak clasp, no buckler, and no particular decorations applied on the sword's pommel either. That was, there was nothing to prove his origin, affiliation, or status.

Rickart looked at the red-haired woman again and said.

"I had one in the past."

He was speaking of the Viola Clan. Rickart was originally an initial founding member.

Rickart, Bori, Bolka, Delphi. What the four started was the Viola Clan, but now it was the clan with the highest status in the Empire. Didn't they say a Sword Master emerged from it recently?

"And now?"

"As you can see I am alone."

"Seems you have confidence in your skills?"

"As I said it's enough to protect my own body."

"No, having no clan, having no companions, totally alone yet carrying only exactly one sword without any other tools I saw for the first time you see. Meaning that means you are really confident in your swordsmanship right."

"......You seem to have quite good observation skills in your own way, but nowadays differ from the past right. One sword is enough, what else is needed?"

"If it's a general poor traveler it would be so. But isn't here an Adventurer's Guild?"

In the woman's eyes Rickart himself seemed to look like an adventurer right now. The feeling wasn't exactly bad.

Rickart smiled slyly, and sitting a bit more comfortably asked.

"So what are the words you want to say?"

"There's a pretty good request case. A request that came from the 'Backroom'. Wondering if you have the intention to do it together."

"Backroom?"

"You don't know this? By any chance do other regions use different terms? Unofficial requests, not official ones, are called Backroom requests."

"Are there many of those?"

"It's rare. Especially if you don't possess both skill and credit you can't take on Backroom requests."

"Like assassination or something?"

"Shh."

At the word assassination the woman hurriedly put her index finger to her lips. And she carefully looked around, but fortunately no one was paying attention this way.

While a somewhat awkward air flowed the food and ale came out. The woman seemed uncomfortable in her seat for a moment.

Rickart took a bite of a crisply roasted sparrow including the head. Fine bones broke making a crunching chewing sound. The salty yet savory flavor filled his nose fully.

Watching that appearance the woman opened her mouth again.

"It's not something like that. I don't know well either but I heard things like assassination are hired privately, and they don't put requests in the guild."

"Is that so? Guess it's a bit different form from the past."

Rickart had taken on his first assassination request when he was 10. The job of killing the entirety of the Ehrenberg 5.

The season where pure white snowflakes fluttered, the period where Ghost stories of people eating people crawled over the snow, he had met The Nameless. His first assassination request was like that.

And by completing the request he could save many students from starvation.

"The past? The past when?"

"Has it been about 20 years."

"Was there an Adventurer's Guild then too? How old are you?"

Because academies didn't particularly teach history in detail, the so-called young people nowadays thought Emperor Martelia created the Adventurer's Guild for the first time.

They just vaguely knew that adventurers before that existed just as something like fixers.

"Thirty."

Then the woman opened her eyes roundly. Because perhaps due to living in a good place and eating only good things all this while, Rickart didn't look thirty.

However the woman frowned soon. If it was 20 years ago at thirty years old isn't that 10 years old. So she thought Rickart was making fun of her.

"I am not such a fool. I have many requests I solved in my own way, have trustworthy companions, and later I'll make a clan too."

"Do well."

Rickart said taking a sip of ale. It was sincere. However in the woman's eyes it looked like he had no interest.

"I'm telling you the pay is strong for Backroom requests. Furthermore this request is special."

"Just beating around the bush like that can you entangle a person? How about just saying what that special reason is?"

"Jeez really......"

In Rickart's view the woman seemed to be in a difficult situation to execute the request with just her and her companions. So it seemed she was trying to hire someone with some skill, but lacking money it was perfectly obvious at a glance she was approaching in this way.

Still perhaps she really picked the right person. The problem was how to entangle him as Rickart said though.

The woman checked her surroundings' mood once more, then leaning her upper body towards Rickart said quietly.

"......Codex."

It was a word he had forgotten for a long time. That word clearly, attracted Rickart's interest.

"What Codex?"

"Mana Drive. Heard it's an item that came from the Eastern Frontier. Said to be certain and not a fake or useless thing."

"There are many dangerous ones among those too."

"Seems you know a bit about codexes?"

"Just heard things here and there."

"Good. Then the talking will be easy. We aren't trying to become just an ordinary small-to-medium clan. Planning to become big like Beringen Academy or the Viola Clan. Also joining the Master's Federation. But to become like that a Mana Drive is essential. Because the Federation monopolizes and hides securely all the codexes of the Sword Society. Then we cannot rise up."

The Sword Society the woman was talking about was the 'Adelorn Royal Library Sword Society', a kind of academic gathering Bori founded and was the head of.

They would approach swordsmanship and mana theories academically and publish codexes, but those were all structured to be monopolized by organizations affiliated with the Council of Six.

And they also added annotations independently or developed them to suit themselves.

However, since they were exceptionally sensitive items that also caused conflicts between Beringen Academy or the Viola Clan, they were not well revealed nowadays.

A thing started with pure intentions ending up inciting discord in reality was a common occurrence in any field.

But did this story leak outside too? From Rickart's position the fact that the woman knew was somewhat surprising. Actually it was a difficult thing to perfectly hide even if trying to hide it.

"......Does it become like that?"

"Of course. If you become proficient in Mana Drive you jump high exactly like a bird, or run fast exactly like a wild animal, or gain strength to lift a big rock. They say it's a bit different depending on the properties, but the secret of a Sword Master is exactly the Mana Drive. Of course even learning it would be difficult though. Anyway the important thing is, Mana Drive is essential."

"......"

Rickart was speechless, and feeling troubled, and his thoughts also became complicated. It felt exactly like coming to know what he didn't know by looking at the trees after only looking at the forest.

"Let me ask just one thing. Why do you want to succeed so much?"

"Because we can do it too. Widening the gap with something only they know is cowardly. If under the same conditions we can do better. Not being able to climb higher because of origins is also unfair. But we aren't asking them to do it for us. We will personally, achieve it ourselves."

"Where are you from?"

"Kalitz Academy."

"......"

Rickart was speechless again. Because the academy his son enrolled in just the day before yesterday was exactly Kalitz Academy. The woman was exactly a graduate of that academy.

Rickart looked at the cooling roasted potato, then took a bite. And drank a cup of ale. For a while he only ate speechlessly.

The woman thought Rickart was contemplating. Actually Rickart being contemplating was correct.

After finishing the potato and brushing off all the ale into his throat, Vilter stayed still for a while then said.

"Name?"

"Lena. And you, Mister?"

It was an extremely, thoroughly commonplace commoner name. Of course that wasn't a part that became a flaw for Rickart. Looking down on commoners hadn't happened even exactly once in his entire life.

So Rickart revealed his own name like this. A name of the gloomy days, a name used for 10 years, and the 10 years after that used his real name, and was the name used again now.

"Ricky."