WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Dionysus
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ The Wizard's Memoir ◈
Chapter 22: Growing Up
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Thanks to Etran’s efforts, if they could be called that, peace returned to Graystone.
First, the chief received a thorough beating and was sent to the dungeon. Unlike a human lord, the chief held an elected position, so removal from office took no time at all.
The vacant position went to Grom Graystone, the senior blacksmith who had helped resolve the case. Grom wasn’t particularly pleased, but had no choice. The new chief’s first order was to rebury their ancestors’ remains.
“I’m telling you, this is Ironfoot! See this axe mark here? That’s from fighting a hobgoblin!”
“You stupid dwarf! The length is wrong! The length! Ironfoot wasn’t this big! Just a squat little shit!”
Putting their skeletal ancestors back where they belonged was a difficult task, but they would all be buried eventually. Some things, however, would never return.
“The grave goods...”
“Apparently, the courier already disposed of them. Seems even the former chief can’t find them.”
The Sorcerer hadn’t acted alone. As the former chief had testified, there had been three new faces in the Markus Trading Company. Even without the Sorcerer, that left two more accomplices, and the circumstances suggested they were probably demons.
“Demons stole the Hero’s holy relic... and demons robbed the ancestral graves... Could it be a coincidence?”
To borrow Dahlia’s expert opinion, they were “pros.” Organized, methodical professionals, in other words.
“In this business, a team of three is standard: one to steal, one to transport, and one to sell. That makes them harder to catch. Even if someone gets caught, they can cut that person loose and limit the damage.”
Professionals like these had stolen the Hero’s holy relic too. The Guild hadn’t expanded its targets to include all demons for no reason. There was simply no other way to catch them.
“So they’re certain demons are behind it...”
Something felt suspicious. Why would a race that had kept its head down for hundreds of years suddenly start causing major incidents?
Grom kept the promise.
Although the stolen treasures remained missing, the suspected proceeds of crime recovered from the chief’s house amounted to over 5,000 dena. Some personal assets unrelated to the case seemed to have been included, but everyone agreed not to worry about that.
“Here’s your 3,000 dena.”
“Aw, everything worked out so well. Couldn’t you throw in a little extra...?”
“Is that a request or a shakedown? A contract must be honored exactly. If I pay you more because things went well, does that mean I can pay you less when they don’t?”
A truly inflexible dwarf. The humans and halfling couldn’t argue and accepted only the 3,000 dena. Still, dwarves weren’t an ungrateful race. Grom scratched that large nose and spoke awkwardly.
“I’ll serve you the one chicken I promised. And you can drink as much ‘real dwarven beer’ as you like.”
“Really?”
“I’ve prepared goat’s milk for that spell-slinger too. There’s a saying that you should never associate with a lout who can’t appreciate beer, but I’ll make a special exception.”
Etran joined Olivia and Dahlia in smiling brightly. Before long, a lively party began, with everyone in the village attending.
An old dwarf apologized for suspecting them just because they were human. A dwarven woman offered homemade fruit wine.
They even laid a militia member down and sang while drumming on the dwarf’s plump belly. By any objective standard, it was noise, but the atmosphere rivaled a royal performance. Even drinking goat’s milk, Etran felt almost drunk.
“I made the right choice.”
“Hm?”
Etran emptied the drinking horn, cheeks flushed. Olivia was about to ask what that meant when Dahlia grabbed her and dragged her off to dance.
The muscular young woman and the tiny young woman danced together, making even the sternest dwarves roar with laughter. Rolf, meanwhile, had been paired with a young dwarven woman and earned jeers for moving like a machine. They were cheerful jeers.
And there was romance in it all. Surely this was the greatest happiness an adventurer could enjoy.
@
Etran’s party returned to Northern Ridge City nursing hangovers.
Between too much drinking, too much food, and accumulated fatigue finally catching up with them, they spent three days groaning. Even Etran, who hadn’t touched a drop of alcohol, collapsed from exhaustion. The journey itself had certainly been tough.
Jenny, one of the employees, brought them sugar water with a sympathetic look. It wasn’t free; Jenny charged them five dena, but they appreciated the kindness.
That was a lie. They didn’t appreciate it at all.
“Ugh... How can you fleece adventurers who work so hard, shedding blood and sweat...!”
Dahlia let out a Grrr!, and the tavern keeper cackled.
“You made a fortune, didn’t you? Think of it as a tip for the Guild staff.”
The job had paid better than most dungeons, making it a decent return for the time spent. Etran’s purse had grown plumper too, now holding 1,372 dena. Perhaps this was why some adventurers did nothing but requests.
“How do you know we made a fortune?”
“That foul-tempered dwarf didn’t come back with you. And there’s still a faint smell of their booze on you.”
Clearly, not just anyone could become a branch head. The tavern keeper marked the Graystone request as completed and removed it from the list. Since it was a local request, they didn’t need to submit a detailed report. It was enough that the client was satisfied and they had received their payment.
Dungeons, however, were different.
“You won’t be much help in this state...”
“With what?”
“Elf Garden.”
Olivia’s party lifted their heads from where they were sprawled across the bar. Apparently, the dungeon information mentioned before had arrived. When the warrior and seeker showed interest, the tavern keeper began explaining as though waiting for the chance.
“From what’s been confirmed, it’s a catacomb.”
“Again?!”
Graveyard dungeons mainly contained undead. Zombies, skeletons, ghosts, and wraiths were the usual inhabitants, while more difficult dungeons featured dangerous bosses such as liches and dullahans.
“The first floor’s almost fully explored, but they’ve discovered a second floor. That makes clearing it more complicated. The party that wanted to keep everything for themselves gave up on clearing it alone and asked the Guild for help.”
So there had been a reason for the delayed information. Still, sharing it rather than pushing themselves too far had been wise.
“They still don’t know how many floors there are?”
“If there’s a second floor, there’s a good chance of a third.”
Assuming there were three floors, they could still earn a decent share by joining now. It almost never happened, but if the boss appeared as soon as they entered the second floor, there would be nothing left for them. The worst case would be arriving just as the dungeon was cleared. Even this business involved a subtle game of timing.
“If you’re interested, I’ll put your names down for the exploration. The other parties will welcome a genius mage from Storm-Seed.”
Everyone looked at Etran. A Mage of sixteen or seventeen was rare, so this wasn’t information they could hide even if they tried. Their admiring looks said, “That’s our mage!” But the tavern keeper misunderstood and offered an explanation.
“The Olivia and Dahlia duo are fairly well known too. I told you I was sorry I didn’t recognize you.”
Those two were famous less for their achievements than for being a female tank and a female halfling working as a pair. Of course, without skill, they would have been listed as missing before becoming famous, so their reputation still meant something.
Rolf watched the tavern keeper with quiet hope. After doing so much research, surely the branch head would recognize Rolf too. Surely.
The tavern keeper placed both hands on the bar and asked softly, “So, are you doing it or not?”
Everyone except Rolf sank into serious thought. It was a good opportunity, but they needed to weigh it carefully. Their bodies were their livelihood. Wearing themselves out would only leave them worse off. They couldn’t ignore their mounting fatigue.
“Let’s rest for a day and think about it. Better than running ourselves into the ground.”
Olivia put off the decision. As always, following the leader’s word was the right thing to do.
@
Even a sword hilt would break if swung constantly, and a bowstring would stretch if left strung. People were no different. Rest mattered.
“Hmm...”
Etran took out some shiny objects and stacked them neatly on the table.
There were sixty-two standard silver coins minted in the royal capital, twenty cut pieces of silver coin, and thirty-two pebble-like silver pieces. They were worth twenty, five, and one dena each, respectively.
“Showing off your money is dangerous.”
Rolf spoke while sitting upright on the bed. Crime happened everywhere. Even the Guild Pub wasn’t completely safe.
“But you’ll protect me, Rolf.”
Etran had given a clever answer. Rolf stayed silent rather than deny it. Even a hardened former mercenary found it difficult to betray someone’s trust. After hearing that, Rolf couldn’t even consider stealing.
“And I need to check how much I’ve earned.”
Olivia’s party maintained a shared fund, so Etran didn’t need to worry about food or lodging. The shares earned from Shadow Castle Ruins, the Well Dungeon, beneath the mine, and Graystone were all still there. At this rate, the purse would fill up, and Etran would have to buy a new one.
“If you don’t need it right away, exchange it for gold.”
Even the smallest gold coin, a one-flona piece the size of a thumbnail, was worth a hundred dena. Exchanging the silver for gold would reduce it to only a few coins.
Quite a few adventurers collected easily concealed gold coins for their eventual retirement, or in case they were thrown out of their party and left without work. Far more, however, spent recklessly without a plan and met their end that way.
“What do other parties do?”
“My previous party divided everything after each exploration.”
The previous party meant the late Dermi’s group.
That policy had its advantages. There was less room for arguments when members joined or left. No one could complain about money they had worked hard to earn being spent on a newcomer, for example. It was petty, but not something they could ignore.
“Which do you prefer, Rolf?”
“This is much better.”
Even apart from how the money was managed, Rolf preferred the current party.
The leader was responsible, the seeker was resourceful, and the mage was quite literally a genius. They worked well together and cared deeply about one another. And, whether they realized it or not, they had plenty of luck. It was hard to define, but it mattered to adventurers.
“I like this party too.”
Etran agreed with a bright smile. Rolf cleared their throat and closed their eyes. That teenage cheerfulness was a great burden to someone in their thirties. Rolf intended to rest now.
Etran swept the silver coins and silver pieces into the purse and went downstairs. A thousand dena would be exchanged for gold, and the loose change would go toward entertainment. For most adventurers, entertainment meant drink and women, but Storm-Seed University’s pride, its seventeen-year-old genius mage, had very wholesome tastes.
“Is there a bookstore?”
Even at the Guild, where all sorts of people gathered, it was a rare question.
John, the young server, called Jenny, the more experienced employee. Jenny then called the branch head, and at last Etran received an answer. A new address was recorded: the shop on the right in the fourth alley off the second street by the south gate.
“Don’t stay out too late. A scary grown-up will go ‘Roar!’ and carry you off.”
“I’m an adventurer too. I won’t let some thug get me.”
“No. I mean the night watch will arrest you. Curfew lasts from the second watch until early in the fourth.”
“...Right.”
Even a genius mage could do nothing about the law, so Etran would have to return in time for dinner. After checking the sun, which stood at the seventh hour, or one in the afternoon, Etran set off briskly for the market street.
As mentioned earlier, rest mattered. For a mage, rest meant books and milk. Add some meat skewers, good for a growing body, and it would be perfect.
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