The day after we got the information from Gazzol.
We headed to the Adventurers Guild early in the morning to gather more information.
In any normal town, we would be getting random stuff to eat on the way there, but this town had practically zero food stalls. Food was already precious, and they seemed to be stockpiling it because of the antidemon season.
That’s why Fran was walking around with nothing in her hands. As one would expect, she read the mood and didn’t just plop out a bunch of meat skewers from her dimensional storage.
Okay, I lied. I had to stop her from doing that.
「No blue cats here.」
『It is the main street after all.』
After spending a few days in this city, we realized that the territory of ordinary citizens and outlaws seemed to be clearly separated.
Outlaws stayed out of the main streets or residential areas, or only entered quietly. They also tended to distance themselves from areas where the Adventurers Guild had a strong influence.
The inn Fran stayed at was mainly for adventurers, so it should be mostly safe.
If the security situation ever got too bad, people would start avoiding the city, stopping the flow of goods coming in. The outlaws were well aware of that, so they didn’t overstep their bounds.
We passed through the safe main street and arrived at the Adventurers Guild. Inside, the atmosphere was as dingy as ever.
Fran went to the counter and sat down in front of Prear. Does this guildmaster really play the bartender every day?
I’m sure he’s there to keep an eye on the riffraff, but what about his actual job?
「Juice.」
「You want the cheap stuff?」
「Nn.」
Fran got the same juice she drank last night at the bar, sipping it a sour look on her face. After that, they began their conversation.
「I want to ask you something.」
「You’ve been making a whole lotta noise in such a short time, haven’t ya?」
「Nn?」
「Why the questioning look?」
「I was just talking to people.」
While it’s true that Fran never picked any fights, I think she really thought she did nothing unusual.
「So how many people did you beat up?」
「Nn……? A lot.」
「Sigh. No one confirmed your appearance, but everyone around here has heard the rumors by now. About the kid sniffing around for slavers.」
「Hmm……」
「Well damn! You certainly don’t look interested!」
「But I am. I’ll be lucky if the slavers find me.」
「Just so you know, the guild can’t protect you if you cause a big commotion in the middle of town.」
So in other words, he’s saying that he will cover for Fran to some extent?
「You seem confused, but it’s the antidemon season, yeah? We seriously appreciate the presence of adventurers of your caliber. I’m willing to at least take the brunt of it, but I can’t cover for you if any ordinary citizens get hurt.」
「I got it.」
「I’m counting on you, okay? Help me out when the time comes.」
「Nn. I’ll fight if they attack the town.」
「That’s all I needed to hear. I don’t think you’re the type to make promises you can’t keep.」
「I do keep my promises, except to the bad guys.」
「……For the record, I’m not a good guy, but I don’t do bad things all the time.」
So he doesn’t deny being a bad guy. Well, I guess the guildmaster of this city would have to get their hands a bit dirty no matter what.
「I need info about the blue cats.」
「There are some among the adventurers, but I can’t just leak their identities out. Unless you have proof they are connected to the slavers, that is.」
Even though Fran was Rank B with an alias, Prear couldn’t just release personal data on other adventurers willy-nilly. It would be a matter of the guild’s credibility.
「Mrgh. Then, how about info on the strong helpers of the Beastmen Union?」
「I’ve been hearing about them for a while now, but I’ve got no detailed info on them either. All I know is that they’re a pair of cat beastmen, one male and one female.」
「I heard the male is a blue cat.」
「I’ve heard that too. They say the girl wears a cloaking robe at all times, so no one can tell her race.」
It seems Prear also heard the rumors about the Beastmen Union’s helpers, but that was unfortunately the extent of the guild’s knowledge.
「And I think that girl is avoiding contact with the adventurers on purpose.」
「Why?」
「She’s either a famous adventurer or has a bounty on her head. Has to be one or the other.」
Since the girl was obviously hiding her identity, Prear reasoned that she must be avoiding adventurers to prevent them from identifying her.
『That makes them all the more suspicious.』
「Nn. Where should I go to meet them?」
「How would I――No, wait. I’ll look into it for you.」
「Really?」
「I can’t even imagine how much trouble you might cause if you move on your own…… Even those hotheads from the Beastmen Union are a necessary force for this town’s defenses.」
Seems like his main concern was the number of casualties if Fran got into a conflict with the Beastmen Union.
This town must be built on a delicate balance between organizations, and he didn’t want to upset that balance. It was already tipping over slightly due to the Dragon King Syndicate getting out of hand recently.
（What do you think?）
『If he’ll let us make use of the guild’s information network, it’d be best to leave it to them.』
They might be able to get stuff that we can’t.
「Nn. I’ll leave it to you.」
「Oh, great! You can count on me! It’ll take a few days, so I’d appreciate it if you stay out of trouble in the meantime.」
「……Okay.」
The more Fran walks around, the more likely she is to cause a scene. He wanted her to be as inconspicuous as possible.
「Then I’ll do some sightseeing for now.」
「You’d better not head off the main street, and don’t make a scene at the Sanatorium either. I’m dead serious here.」
「Nn. I know.」
