Semi-retired Adventurer Lives Leisurely Chapter 33

Published at 15th of June 2021 06:24:39 AM

Chapter 33: Some Troublesome Adventurers

This happened while the party was receiving their dues for the drops they collected during their last adventure at the Grandes church tavern.

Henry: “Here’s your share, Jend.”

Jend: “Thanks.”

With Ferris in the party, we decided to put away a third into the party’s shared funds and divided the rest evenly.

With 5, we were overall making more as a team, but our personal shares did dip slightly.

But now, we can rely on Ferris to heal most of our injuries, and that kind of reassurance can’t be bought. Everyone understood this, and there were no complaints from the rest of the party members.

Henry: “Ferris, Cyril.”

Ferris: “Thank you.”

Cyril: “Ya~y!”

Henry: “And Teo, here’s your share.”

I distribute the money accordingly. Our shared funds are being placed in a vault at Jend’s home.

Teo: “Thanks.”

Teo thanks me and places the money in her wallet.

It was around that time that some adventurers sitting a little far from us spoke loud enough for us to hear.

“Hey, hey, look at that. He’s even given money to a kid!”

“Mr. Heroic Warrior is all about equality, huh? If he’s giving money to a kid like that, dontcha think he could be buying us a drink at least?”

“Hey now, it might be just because kids like that are his type. Look at the other women in the party. Yeah, he definitely likes kids.”

There’s vulgar insults thrown our way, but I ignore it. If you got angry at every jeer, then the punks at Ligaleo in comparison would be like fecal stew that’s fermented in a pot for a decade. If you took offense to everything said to you, all the veins in your brain would hemorrhage from anger on the day you get to Ligaleo.

Flowtier has better mannered adventurers than the frontlines, but there are still a few annoying ones scattered here and there.

These guys are pretty much strangling their careers with their own bare hands. Unlike light-hearted jesting and jokes within a party, doing this right under the nose of the Grandes Church is nothing but career suicide. Your trust, reputation, and rapport will plummet, and as a result, the church will stop giving you decent quests.

Jend: “Those guys…..”

Henry: “Jend, just ignore them. There’s no point getting yourself involved with trash like that.”

And I also gently hold down Cyril’s shoulder.

Cyril: “You think we’ll back down when they insulted our Teo? And who’s the other childish girl they’re talking about I wonder, hmmmm??”

Henry: “Argh, you guys, calm down. We can’t just start blowing up stuff and starting a fight in the middle of the church.”

Cyril: “But my mercenary bodyguard next to me gets up and…”

Henry: “Here I’ll take care of them, I mean, yeah right. This isn’t a Rishu Novel…”

{{Chonky Notes: Japanese Samurai movie trope I think}}

I play along with Cyril just to get her to calm down.

Ferris: “Teo, don’t listen to anything they say. Your contribution to this party is as clear as night and day.”

Teo: “.........I’m not letting it bother me. I know that I do my job in the party.”

Teo looks a little bothered and Ferris is doing her best to comfort her. It’s no exaggeration, but a genuine fact that Teo is pulling her weight.

……..and of course, I’m not just talking about her useful bag. She’s a scout, and in a party, that's a critical role. From how Teo looks on the outside, you may not believe that she is able to play that role, but she’s done better than any average adventurer scouts I know. Do they think we’ll take on a useless kid on an adventure quest where our lives are at stake?

“HA! Look at that. Can’t even say nuttin back. They got no guts, these guys.”

“Maybe his Heroic Warrior status is just a fluke? There’s no way a real Heroic Warrior would come to a place like this.”

“True! We just have to scare 'im a little, and maybe he’ll give us something good.”

“Let’s do it!”

……………..those idiots.

If it was just talk, I was going to ignore it with a merciful face like the goddess, and make sure none of our crew does anything rash, but they got up from their seats.

Jend and Ferris get up a little, and Cyril moves her seat behind me.

And Teo….oh shoot.

Henry: “........look, I’ll deal with this so let me handle it, okay?”

ARGH! I hate having to bother with stuff like this……..but if we back down now, they’ll keep coming back at us every time we run into each other.

And besides, even if I lay low, the rest of my party won’t.

I stand up, and go greet the 3 prancing proudly toward us.

“Yo, Mr. Heroic Warrior, how’s business?”

“Looks like you’ve been given quite a sum even to that kid over there. Can’t you give some to us too?”

“If you’d like, we can help you with your quests. Unlike that kid over there, I’ll guarantee that we’ll do better. What do you say?”

Some middle-aged adventurers that plateaued long ago in their careers. I think their names were Roz, Dorudo, and Axim. They don’t have any connections to any big names around here. Their manners are the worst, and no one likes them, but they haven’t committed any obvious crimes. Even if I report their behavior today to the church, it’ll just be settled with a warning with no arrests.

……...and I recall their profile details very quickly.

We’re all the same adventurers. There might be times when we have to work together, so just so we don’t step on each other’s toes, I’ve looked into their backgrounds. And I also thought they might get up in our face at some point too.

If they were part of a bigger party or organization, I would have to go deal with the rest of the members too, but thankfully, it’s just this drunk trio, and we’re done here.

Henry: “No thanks. Just go home, take a ****, and go to sleep.”

“HUH?! Hey, we were asking you really nicely, so what’s with that attitude?!”

Henry: “I’m being more than nice right now to punks like you. You wanna give it a go?”

The people around are wondering if they should intervene or not. If we just part with no real understanding, it’s going to happen again, so let’s make this quick and final.

“HA! Mr. Heroic Warrior who’s all talk? You picking a fight with us?!”

Henry: “Yeah, I am. So why not start it already? It’ll just be me.”

“.....you think you can take us 3 with just yourself? You….”

I circulate a burst of magic energy throughout my body. I need to make it obvious so even these drunkards would get the message.

Henry: “So what’s it going to be? Are we gonna do this or what?”

“.....(spat), whatever, you remember this. Let’s go.”

They try to leave, but I grab Roz around the shoulders. This guy’s the leader out of the three.

Roz: “Wh-what?”

Henry: “I don’t care to remember this night, so just so we’re clear, why don’t you hang with me a bit?”

Punks like these would hold grudges like this and would wait to ambush you in your sleep or while you bathe or even in the toilet. It’ll be troublesome if it goes that far.

At least these guys have enough sense to not start trouble where they’ll get caught, so I need to hammer it in with them.

Henry: “Oh, it might a while, so you guys can go ahead without me~”

I tell Cyril and everyone as I drag Roz with me.

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Roz: “H--hey wait! Hey, let go!” Henry: “I’m only taking you back to your seat. Here, I’ll buy you a drink at least. So let’s talk, okay?”

I’m sure we can have a nice “chat” over a drink and have them “understand” us a little better. If things go bad, a punch or two that reshapes your face always ties up any loose ends.

I’m such a pacifist. Really now. They should really be thankful that I’m so skilled in these kinds of negotiations.

……...no seriously, they should be thankful. Teo was about to pull out her machete. That part of her is identical with Ageha. Is that just a common principal taught at the Cloudy Plains training?

<<<<>>>>

An arrow without arrowheads flies my way, but I dodge it. I smack the second shot with my stick, and the third one is just to distract me so I ignore it.

By that time, Teo has come into my range.

I thrust my stick at her, but she dodges. I then forcefully swipe to the side. Normally, this wouldn’t have enough force or momentum for a normal opponent, but Teo is light enough to be carried off by the swing.

She rolls and breaks her fall, and she tries to distance herself and readies her bow…..but by the time she gets up, my stick is at her throat, and the match is over.

Teo: “.......Th---thank….you…..for the…..match…”

Henry:” Yeah, thanks for the match too.”

We bow to each other. But Teo seems more tired than I am, and sits down immediately. I guess this was pretty hard on her body. Her last bout was a little rough on the edges now that I think about it. It must have been due to the fatigue.

We’re at the Grandes church training grounds.

Teo invited me to train with her after last night’s incident.

As a result, it was 15 matches and 15 wins for me. Teo has a lot of potential, but I’m not going to lose to her any time soon……...there were 2 or 3 close calls though.

Henry: “Here, I have some water.”

Teo: “Yeah, thanks…”

It’s just a large open space with some wooden dummy targets, but there is also a well for water.

I pour the water into a simple wooden cup, and Teo drinks it greedily.

Teo: “Fwew…….I’m sorry, Mr. Henry to bother you with my training.”

Henry: “Oh, don’t worry about it. I need to train with people quicker than me.”

Jend is more about power than speed. It’s good to be able to train with a variety of opponents. And Ferris is in between Jend and Teo.

Henry: “But your movements are really different from Ageha even though your both from the same line of martial arts.”

Teo: “Sister Ageha has…..well, transformed the style to cater to her fighting style.”

Thought so.

I’m glad that her style of always going for the neck is not the default ways of the Cloudy Plains.

If you look really carefully, you’ll see some similarities, but it’s distinct enough to call it two separate martial arts styles.

Henry: “But why all of a sudden did you want to train with me?”

Teo: “......yesterday, you got into a fight because of me. I didn’t want to be underestimated as a child so…”

Teo glances at the church building.

From the tavern windows, you can see the training field, and there are a few adventurers who were drinking and watching our match.

Teo: “I don’t like it when people look down on me. I didn’t want to make it a habit.”

Henry: “.....yeah, I get it.”

15 matches.

Even though I won, they must have at least noticed Teo’s swift movements, her accuracy with the bow, and even her unique, tricky fighting style with close-combat.

Even though it’s around noon, there are plenty of people in the taverns. If they talk about our match, the rumor will just keep spreading.

Henry: “Yeah, I doubt anyone would underestimate you after watching this fight.”

Teo: “Yes.”

She actually picked up a win during the training with the Black Dragon Knights. Adventurers make a living off fighting, and strength speaks volumes in our industry. If Teo’s strength is known, then very few would continue to treat her like a child.

Teo: “Of course, I didn’t show any of my secret moves…” Secret moves……

Henry: “.....please tell me it’s not the Ageha Neck Slash.”

Teo: “Please don’t compare me to sister Ageha.”

I’m glad. That move where you suddenly appear behind an opponent that is 20 meters away was not passed down to her cousin.

We rested a bit, and after a while, Teo and I got up and left the training field.

Chapter end