Chapter 55

Chapter 55

***

If ten people gather, about two of them are brave. Counting generously, three.

Assuming these ten people fight another group, generally two or three brave people lead and the rest just follow behind.

If the brave two or three die here, the rest naturally scatter. Thus, when fighting ten enemies, there is no need to kill all ten.

Exactly two. Or three. If you neutralize the key power or make them leave, theoretically you win that fight.

If one high-rank adventurer died, it was a big blow and burden for the guild. Because high-rank adventurers sway the guild's reputation or name value.

But, if a hundred brave people gather, one among them is a hero.

On the night when an unusually bright full moon rose, high-rank adventurers died, ten at once. Before that, those who died in duels weren't just one or two.

Of course, not all were of the same guild affiliation, but it was not a small number.

So the attempt to occupy the Kaitz Highlands was naturally frustrated. By one boy hero.

The Guild Alliance, which didn't have much trust mutually from the start, disbanded, and each guild pulled out from the war.

Now they had their own problems to deal with. Because they looked tasty uselessly, they got burned big and returned.

But the war didn't end. Because the Guild Alliance, including the Hagen Guild, were actually guys coming to pick up crumbs.

The Beringen Guild's real main enemy was separate. That was exactly the guilds around Siegfinger, including Brabant.

The reason the Beringen Guild command couldn't support the Kaitz Highlands properly was due to such a background.

With the real enemy to deal with being separate, they couldn't deploy power to guys coming to pick up crumbs.

But since they weren't at a level to ignore while struggling, a boy hero appeared.

And the appearance of that boy hero spread to civilians beyond the guild.

The work of punishing the notorious Ehrenberg 5 and twelve duels, and the story of cutting 10 swordsmen bearing a grudge passed from mouth to mouth.

As rumors usually do, flesh was attached to the story, decorated miserably sometimes, gratifyingly sometimes.

In pubs, on the street, children and adults alike, poor or rich, high rank or low, from prostitute to noble lady, whispered the name of that young hero. Ricky. Ricky. Ricky......

There was power in that name. Hearing the boy's name, saying that name, hearts pounded. With envy, and desperateness, and joy.

Of course, since people trust what they want to trust, many parts were drawn by imagination. So there was a distance from the actual incident and the party's reality.

Then how is the feeling of the owner of that name many whisper now? And what heart?

That was something only he could know. And, work having to endure alone fully.

The wind blew and the red cloak fluttered. Rickart's back as he stood on the cliff edge looked somewhat precarious.

If he missed his footing or someone pushed his defenseless back, he could fall just like that.

But whether he couldn't think of such danger, or out of consideration, Rickart's hair fluttered as he looked at the gentle ridge far away.

"Ricky."

A familiar voice was heard from behind. As Rickart looked back, it was Bori-bori.

"Did you fight with Marie?"

Rickart smiled automatically. Probably, he seemed to be asking because the relationship between the two had became awkward recently.

"No."

"No? Ssp, seems not no......"

Bori-bori narrowed his brow putting his hand on his chin, locked in thought with a quite serious expression in his own way.

Rickart burst into a chuckle, smirking seeing that naive appearance was cute, but he didn't want to talk about the matter between a man and a woman in detail. No, can I talk a bit to Bori-bori?

"Because we can't get closer than friends. It will be okay as time passes. It's a part I can't do anything about."

Bori-bori widened his eyes roundly.

"Get closer than friends? Is such a thing possible?"

"Well, I don't know well either."

"Rickart also has things he doesn't know. Tell me if you have a concern. I'll listen."

Bori-bori also grew up decently unawares. It seemed he became so since meeting Nameless.

Rickart and Bori-bori, beyond a simple relationship of leading and following, now were friends supporting each other in an equal position.

"......Okay, thanks."

"Anyway, will you continue to stay close with Marie, right?"

"I also hope so. But I can't force......"

"I have to go inform her."

"What? Hey, hey. Hey!"

Bori-bori turned around running sabak sabak. Didn't look back even if Rickart called urgently.

Marie was sitting side by side with Delphi near the defense tower talking. It seemed she was receiving consultation, or receiving comfort. Delphi's hand stroking Marie's back was soft.

Bori-bori ran to such Marie, finally pointing at Rickart's side and talking blah blah.

Seeing that, Rickart's face heated up. Talking to Bori-bori felt like the mistake of a lifetime. Bori, you betrayed me......

But Marie had no particular expression change. She just looked at Rickart blankly, turned her head to the gentle ridge far away.

Bori-bori ran back to Rickart.

"Marie also says she got it? It seems okay to just continue staying close."

"Hey...... You......"

"Why?"

"......Never mind......"

With a good heart, with a regretful heart's action, what use is getting angry. Rickart just thought he won't tell this story to Bori-bori forward.

Looking below the cliff, the bustling crowd all disappeared and only trash remained messy here and there in the valley.

That meant nothing to see anymore, meant offense and defense here ended.

Originally a place not lived in by people and with rare human trace, so as the fight ended, the Kaitz Highlands became quiet like before.

Strategically defended the rear well, and the thought occurred if they need to guard here anymore now.

Now on the 4th day since delivering the victory news, Rickart and his friends were waiting for a person to come from command.

That person arrived in the afternoon. Climbed the Kaitz Highlands stepping on short grass, swish, swish. But surprisingly, it was a person Rickart knew.

"Sandy?"

"Wow, our young master junior grew a lot? Ordering noona on errands?"

How long is this, 2 years? Sandy speaking slyly, smiling radiantly, didn't change at all. A beauty with brown hair tied up high back and slightly raised eye corners.

Rickart hugged her lightly with a glad heart.

But as soon as they separated, he felt an unusual aura and looked back; Marie was huffing alone as if suppressing anger, lowering her head.

Rickart thought oops, and spoke quickly.

"That, well, Sandy, the person who took me to the Academy from Rheinfurt. Just that only. Known noona. Senior, senior."

Rickart spoke like an excuse unconsciously. Then Marie still lowering her head took a deep breath soothing her excitement barely.

But Sandy seeing Rickart and Marie, noticed at once and grinned.

"I said right? Seemed you would make many women cry."

Rickart only smiled awkwardly, no words to say. Not many though......

Of course including Daisy made two women cry, but Rickart forgot about Daisy completely.

Sandy, like an experienced senior adventurer, gave advice with years of experience to Marie.

"Don't show off too much. Then other women will aim for him more."

But it seemed not the right time to advise. Marie looked at Sandy with her unique fierce eyes when confronting bouncing off words.

"What about me? Don't pretend to know."

"Hmm...... Seems she got dumped not long ago. Have to drain the poison. Since a pretty person doing this makes her look pitiful."

"Yes? Ha!"

Marie seemed speechless dumbfounded. Marie was still young to deal with Sandy with words.

Rickart feeling like cold sweat flowing, introduced other friends forcibly to sort the situation hurriedly. Woman's intuition is scarier than a sharp blade.

"Uh, shouldn't greet first? This is Bori-bori, this side our Clan Master Bolka, here Delphi, and...... this side Marie."

Sandy looked at Marie with a gaze as if trivial, or cute, and spoke looking at other people.

"I am Sandy of 'Gamecock' Clan. Heard a lot, Mr. Bolka."

"Me? Not Ricky?"

"Can I not be famous leading a clan where Ricky is? Mr. Bori-bori is cuter than thought. Heard you enjoy chopping people."

"Uh...... Don't enjoy......"

Maybe the one seeing the biggest damage by rumor was Bori-bori. Because people knew Bori-bori almost as a lunatic murderer level.

"Anyway, these days chaos, chaos. Even if two adventurers gather all talk about your clan. Moreover, graduates last year have something? A person named Ice too, handling enemies tough enough but seems the Master can't handle."

"What can't handle?"

Rickart felt the words 'can't handle' somewhat harsh to the ear.

"The bread size is limited, worrying how much to share isn't it? So heard words coming from command let's not give a mission anymore. I don't know detail either."

Any organization had an internal situation. Depending on influence in the organization, or power, a faction occurred.

And that faction achieved mutual development through competition on one hand, gnawed the organization from inside on the other hand.

Truly a headache-inducing thing, but an inevitable thing as long as humans live forming a society. Problems occurring always regardless of culture or era.

A thousand years ago, or a thousand years later, faction fights always existed, and the problem won't disappear forward. Because how to share limited resources, and power, is the core of the problem.

The Beringen Adventurer Guild also had this problem. Originally clans exercising influence inside the Beringen Guild, or high-rank adventurers exist, but out of the blue Rickart, and the Viola Clan, rose rapidly.

Since an urgent war situation was used, but as breathing space opened, it became a problem how much to reward these guys.

If giving too little they will have a complaint, giving too much the existing faction eating decreases.

How good if they can distribute reward rationally according to merit established, but world work didn't operate so simply.

In the world two things make people's eyes turn. That was power and money. If these two involved, rationality didn't work.

Developing into a situation where everyone becomes a resentful victim, and a terrible perpetrator going crazy wasn't rare.

King killing a child, prince raising rebellion. Human is an animal unable to recognize parent or child if power and money are involved.

"So?"

Rickart asked smelling an unknown ominous scent.

"Leave here to the pig, Master wants to see you guys. Came to deliver that word."

The pig Sandy talks about meant the Widowmaker Clan's Clan Master, Reinhardt. Maybe he living simply ignorantly was the wisest.

"How is the situation on that side going? Didn't tell when I visited before."

Bolka asked.

"At first intended to divide the region into three, activity of the person named Ice was greater than thought. So thought dividing into two, but heard here situational also sorted so thought if Ricky comes can just eat all maybe, changed to that thought seemed, well, as I see it. Command's thought I don't know exactly either."

"......Shouldn't do that."

Hearing Sandy's words Rickart muttered to himself.

"Hmm?"

"War is not done that way. Set a precise goal and if achieving the goal end cleanly. Thinking like 'can do more', 'seems missing a bit', doing wishy-washy things, you lose the principal too."

Rickart saw many cases screwing up operations that way in his past life. Always when something goes wrong, the commander's such complacent thinking was the starting point of the problem.

"I am also not fond but is there a way? Deciding is not up to us. Originally a guild is not to be trusted. Giving expectation always returns disappointment. Only the clan is to be trusted. Everyone lives thinking so. Still, Ricky you are a case without precedent so I also said I don't know."

"......"

Since it was useless arguing with Sandy now, Rickart saved his words.

Looking at history, many cases became a problem establishing too big a merit. A lower person incompetent seen from above also a problem, but too competent also a problem.

Rickart never saw the Guild Master so didn't know what person, so couldn't guess how work would flow.

Only, still a trusted corner existed not entirely zero. Said contact if having trouble, so can do if desperate?

Anyway Rickart ate with Sandy, told Reinhardt he was leaving and all left the Kaitz Highlands together.

The heading place was Siegfinger where Bori-bori, Nameless were active during last winter.