Lynn tossed the pouch filled with coins in his hand. It felt heavy.
There were probably quite a few copper coins inside; it seemed the Fire Shield Party's financial situation wasn't particularly wealthy either.
Still, Lynn didn't think it was too little. After all, he had gained quite a bit himself from stepping in to help this time.
Take the white light bestowed by the god, for instance. If Lynn wasn't mistaken, that white light was originally meant for Hilda.
But now, he had managed to siphon off a portion of it.
And even so, Hilda still had to thank him.
“There's no need to be so polite.”
Since this money also included shares for his three other party members, Lynn didn't play-act at being overly generous and simply accepted it.
As for Hilda's promise to do him a favor... Lynn didn't take it too seriously.
But perhaps it would come in handy in the future. After all, Hilda was a warrior recognized by a deity, and her strength was by no means weak.
Lynn did have plans to form his own party in the future.
Keeping an eye out for suitable teammates now wasn't too early.
As for whether he would end up poaching from the Fire Shield Party...
Lynn could only say that the gap in strength between the other members of the Fire Shield Party and Hilda was a bit too wide.
Right now, they were all still apprentices, so they could still hunt monsters without a Challenge Rating together.
But once Hilda became an official class-holder, this gap would widen even further.
Continuing to adventure together at that point would only put both sides in danger.
With the reward delivered to Lynn, Hilda didn't linger. She gathered the members of the Fire Shield Party and departed.
This was also to prevent any complications. If the gnolls' loot contained something extremely valuable, it might cause friction between the two parties.
When collecting loot, it was best for non-party members to not be present.
...
Before long, the gnolls' corpses were thoroughly looted.
These gnolls did indeed carry some decent things on them—
First was currency. They had hidden quite a bit on their bodies, totaling over a dozen silver coins.
It was a mystery why a pack of gnolls would carry human currency.
Perhaps they had already successfully raided other adventurers or villagers.
In a way, Lynn and his group had avenged those people.
Aside from money, the equipment on the gnolls was also a substantial haul.
The gear these gnolls carried was so well-made that it didn't seem like something a humanoid monster race should possess.
Whether it was armor or weapons, everything was comparable to the average gear of elite adventurers, which would probably fetch a good price.
In particular, the twin blades used by the Gnoll Stalker gleamed with a faint light, seemingly a piece of magic equipment.
Holding them in one's hand conjured a rising sense of bloodlust, making one itch to hack at something.
Unfortunately, because it was gear made for a humanoid monster race like gnolls, Lynn felt it would feel awkward to use, so he didn't take them.
Holding up the Gnoll Stalker's twin blades, the Monk suddenly spoke up.
“Don't you think there's something off about these gnolls' equipment?”
He was looking at Lynn as he spoke.
But Lupa was the first to respond, asking in confusion, “Is there a problem?”
The Monk lightly ran his fingers over the magic Runes engraved on the twin blades.
“This kind of equipment doesn't look like something low-grade monsters like gnolls could produce themselves.”
Lynn nodded and took over the conversation. “I find it strange too. If it were just one or two pieces of elite gear, it could be explained as them looting it from adventurers.”
“But the problem is, every monster here is exceptionally well-equipped, and the style is highly consistent. It looks like they came from the same source, or perhaps even the same hand.”
The Monk carefully examined the twin blades in his hands, then suddenly said, “Look here.”
Aside from Aguda, the other two leaned in close.
On the hilt of the twin blades was a mark that looked like a maker's mark, but it had been forcefully scraped off.
Lynn immediately picked up the other pieces of gear to inspect them.
Sure enough, whether it was the leather armor or the weapons, they all bore this mark, but every single one had been erased.
Because the remaining traces were too faint, even trying to piece the marks from several items together yielded no clues as to what the symbol actually was.
“If they can't produce this kind of equipment themselves...”
Lynn left his sentence half-finished.
The Monk understood his implication.
Around Wingen Town, the only factions capable of such blacksmithing proficiency...
...were likely human.
Humans colluding with monsters?
Who would sell military armaments to monsters?
What was their motive?
And why were these monsters ambushing passing adventurers on the main road?
If there truly was a human hand behind them, how could these magical beasts act so brazenly without the human faction behind them fearing exposure?
The Monk's expression turned solemn.
“I think we should report the situation here to the Guild first and let them step in to handle it.”
Lynn nodded. That was indeed the best course of action.
No matter what was happening, it had little to do with them.
After all, they were just novices who hadn't even consolidated their classes yet. Let the big shots at the Guild worry about this kind of troublesome business!
Fortunately, the Adventurers' Guild in this world was big enough to handle any falling sky.
...
After that ordeal, the rest of the journey back was completely uneventful.
By the time they returned to Wingen Town, the sun had not yet reached its zenith.
Lupa was bathed in the warm, dim sunlight filtering through the carriage's canvas cover, looking lazy, like a puppy napping in the sun.
Lynn finally got his wish and saw her tail.
The little wolf-girl's tail was currently hidden beneath her cloak, wagging gently.
Stretching his limbs, Lynn thought about wrapping up the quest settlement quickly so he could treat himself to a short break.
“We're here.”
The driver pulled the reins of the draft horses, and the caravan carriage came to a halt.
Lynn hopped down from the carriage, shielding his eyes from the glaring sunlight.
It was the end of summer, and even before noon, the sun was still intensely fierce.
The Monk said in a low voice, “We should pack these pieces of equipment into sacks. We don't want others seeing us and realizing we were the ones who brought in the gnoll intel.”
Lynn nodded.
It was indeed necessary to minimize their exposure and distance themselves as cleanly as possible from this whole affair.
As for why they didn't just keep it entirely to themselves...
Lynn could only say that there was an ancient proverb in this world:
“No man is an island, and the bell tolls for us all.”
If something really happened to Wingen Town, they, as adventurers, would inevitably be affected too.
After packing the gnolls' equipment into cloth sacks, the group walked into the Adventurers' Guild.
Seeing them return with such a bountiful harvest of loot on their backs, the other adventurers cast envious glances their way.
Upon reaching the second floor of the Guild, the Monk reported the intelligence first.
Hearing that a human faction might be colluding with monsters, the receptionist's expression turned highly serious, clearly taking the matter very seriously.
Before long, a middle-aged man dressed in a black vest and styled like a butler walked out.
He guided the group to a private parlor.
“I am the Guild Master's secretary, Loffan. The Guild has received the intelligence you reported. Please wait a moment; the Guild's appraiser will be here shortly.”
Rate on N.U.
