Chapter 670

Chapter 670

TENKEN 670 Brunnen

We made our way to the royal castle of the Kingdom of Belios; it was surprisingly easy to get ourselves in.

The letter of introduction that Weena had written for us proven to be incredibly useful. Furthermore, it seems that a detailed report of the incident at the lake had been submitted to the government before we arrived.

Naturally, there must have been some information about Fran's background in there. But when we arrived at the entrance of the royal castle, a simple inspection was all that was required to get us in.

And now, in a place that looks like a conference room in a corner of the royal castle, we are sitting face to face with an old man.

He is a thin, dark-skinned old man with an unusually stern expression on his face. His eyes that were staring straight at us through his long white hair were as sharp as that of an assassin's; it was almost as if he were glaring at us.

His torn right ear and the scars all over his body told me that this old man was no ordinary person.

If I had met him without knowing anything about him, I would have thought that he was a retired yakuza.

This old man's name is Brunnen. I heard that he was one of the admirals of the Kingdom of Belios. Knowing that, he certainly has the air of a valiant warrior. Well, he looks more like a pirate than an admiral though. But it seems that it was also because he can't afford to let himself be looked down upon by others.

He was apparently the one in charge of the troops heading to Gordisia.

「So you're willing to go to Gordisia as our hired adventurer?」

「Nn」

「I see! I'm grateful for that」

When Fran nodded, Brunnen looked delighted. After all, the impact of this incident was so great that the leaders of the kingdom were apparently quite worried about what to do with the Commitment for Gordisia.

And then came Fran, whom Weena Rhyn described as someone who has the capability on par of an A-ranked adventurer. She's like a godsend for the country.

「We'd love to hire you」

「Nn. So, when do we leave?」

Fran asks Brunnen in a very excited voice. But in response, Brunnen's expression darkens slightly.

「Ugh... Well, about that...」

「?」

「Aah―...」

Hmm? What's with the sudden change?

We've only known each other for about half an hour, but Brunnen is a very lively man. He doesn't seem like the kind of man who would be talking like this.

But after hearing more about it, I understood why.

「So, it's still two months before we leave?」

「Yes」

Originally, they had planned to leave at the end of the third month or at the beginning of the fourth month, that is, just about ten days away from now. But then comes the great magic beast uproar.

In addition to the delays in bringing in supplies and securing troops, they must also provide relief to the victims and rebuild the commercial fleet.

The Kingdom of Belios was forced to change its plans because of that.

「I see」

「I beg of you! I know I'm asking for the impossible, but could you please come back to the royal capital in two months?」

Two months is not a very long time for a country to wait. It's only a two-month postponement of departure. But for those who live for the moment like the adventurers, it gonna be a long waiting time.

Any normal adventurer would definitely say something like 「I haven't heard much detail yet, so I'll pretend that this request never existed」.

I think Brunnen knows that too.

But if we make a promise that we will definitely come back in two months here, they will have to pay a deposit to us for the time being. For an adventurer of Fran's class, it would be quite expensive.

Not only that, there's also the case of adventurers who don't like to be tied down so they turned down the request and left.

However, it would be difficult to force things on adventurers as powerful as Fran, and Fran, who was from another country, could not be expected to be loyal to the country.

So, in the end, the only thing Brunnen could do was to bow his head and ask sincerely.

『What should we do now?』

(I'm fine with it)

『Well, this is just a verbal promise, so there should be no penalty for breaking it』

Brunnen and Weena will hate us if we do that though.

In the first place, we are already planning to go to Gordisia. If that were the case, it would be better to have the backing of the country. Considering this, it was not a bad idea to accept the request while selling a favor to the Kingdom of Belios.

「Okay. I'll come back in two months」

「R-really!? I'm in your debt!」

「Nn」

「So, what's Fran-dono gonna do after this?」

Yes. That's also a problem for us.

We just wanted to cross over to the continent of Gordisia, so we had no specific plans in mind. However, Fran seemed to have a decent idea.

「Barbra! I want to go to Barbra's Cooking Contest!」

『Oh, I see. Come to think of it, now that we got some free time, shall we participate too?』

Two events will be held in the Kingdom of Kranzel. Barbra's cooking contest and Ulmut's martial arts tournament.

Fran had participated in both, but had given up on them for this year.

The reason is, we'd be late if we take part in the events, and Fran's curiosity about the unfamiliar continent was getting the better of her.

However, the trip to Gordisia was postponed, which conveniently gave us more time. This would be our chance to participate in the events in the Kingdom of Kranzel.

Hearing her words, Brunnen pondered something.

「I see... You'll be heading south then?... In that case, why don't you take on one of the country's requests as well?」

「Request?」

「Yes. I want you to ask a certain person to come with us to Gordisia. I'll write you a letter, and please give it to him」

Could it be someone from the Kingdom of Kranzel? Thinking of possible forces, I don't think Amanda is available. I don't think Jean will be able to join us either. So maybe, Forrund?

「I believe he is usually wandering around the small countries of the south, but I believe he has been invited to be the guest of honor at this year's Ulmut Martial Arts Tournament. Perhaps you can meet him there」

「Who is he?」

What came out of Brunnen's mouth in response to Fran's question was a name that I didn't expect to hear.

「The name of the person to whom I'm giving the letter is Dimitris. A well-known S ranked adventurer」