Chapter 135: Hassan, the Returnee (3)

༺ Hassan, the Returnee (3) ༻

"With such a big venue and the gathering of so many people, there must at least be one man who will suit my taste here if I just look around."

Since it was a party attended by nobles and high-ranking adventurers, there couldn't be better conditions to find a prospective spouse, just as Hippolyte mentioned right now.

There were some past vestiges of high-ranking adventurers, who were at the gold tier level, marrying nobles to solidify their status in the world. But of course, it was just a rumor that I had heard in passing.

Hippolyte marrying a noble...

I tried to imagine the scene, but perhaps due to my lack of imagination, I couldn't conjure up any believable scenario where such a case could occur. Instead, Hippolyte becoming the Knight Commander was much easier to imagine.

Snap— Kill them all—

That was roughly how things would pan out once Hippolyte became a Knight Commander. Okay, it may just be me thinking too much here...

While I was briefly indulging in thoughts about Hippolyte's marriage, Luna's hand held me from the side and started pulling me in some direction.

"Then look for someone good from afar, Hippolyte! There must be a good person for you in here! We're hungry, so we will go first."

"Sure, you can go, but let's share the same table in the second part of the event. I've reserved a secluded spot under my name, so I can at least accommodate both of you."

The event for rewarding merits in Sodomora was usually conducted in two parts.

The first section of the event consisted of enjoying various banquets that were arranged in a standing party format. Not letting go of the chance, Luna and I devoured the endless amount of food on the table without caring about people's gazes.

"Hassan, look at this! What kind of fruit is this!?"

Luna asked me while holding a long fruit that resembled a banana with both of her hands. I thought it was a banana, but the flesh inside was pitch black, so they might be different from the bananas that I knew of.

"I don't know either."

"Holy shh! It's so delicious. Do nobles eat these every day? I'm so envious."

I was particularly tense because it was a gathering attended by nobles and high-ranking officials.

However, as it turned out, it seemed like they had only gathered together to mingle with themselves and were having conversations among their close circles. Fortunately, no one was paying any attention to Luna and me.

"Hassan, how about we put some of this in our pockets?"

Luna looked around at the surroundings to check if anyone was watching us.

But it seemed difficult to take the fruit with us since people who appeared to be servants of the Margrave family were walking back and forth in the hall, busily filling the food while keeping an eye on everyone.

"Ugh... Hassan, keep an eye out. We should take at least one with us."

However, Luna didn't give up and asked me to keep a lookout for her. Perhaps because she had experienced a period of suffering from hunger, Luna's obsession with food exceeded my imagination.

"Get another one for me as well."

"Okay!"

Luna untied the knot of her pouch that was tied around her waist. As she carefully pulled her hand into the bag to put the fruit inside...

Slide—

Keenly, as I kept an eye on our surroundings, I realized that someone I made eye contact with in the process was approaching us from the distance.

"L-Luna, someone's coming!"

"I-I'm done!"

Sseuk— Sseuk—

Luna tied the knot again.

"Hey, you two."

As the old man with white curly hair approached us, I couldn't help but feel tense about what he was about to say.

Did he catch us stealing the food?

But it was just one fruit out of such a large quantity piled up here. So, it should be fine to take one at least, right? No way that we would receive some punishment, like having to pay a fine, right?

As various chaotic thoughts tangled in my head, the old man who approached me spoke up.

"Hey, you, Samaritan soldier."

"Y-Yes? I haven't done anything."

"I haven't said anything yet. First, I should introduce myself. This is who I am."

The man extended something like a piece of metal toward me. An emblem? A badge? Anyway, it had a pin attached to it in the back, making it an accessory that could be worn on the body.

Was he saying that he is a person with an emblem-like symbol? Luna and I kept staring closely at the piece of metal in his hands, which depicted an unknown small bird with its wings spread wide.

But no matter how closely we looked at the symbol, were we supposed to infer something about him from the piece of metal? Was he referring to himself as a bird-like person?

"Hmm, it seems like I made a mistake with the introductions. Here, look at this. This is the symbol of the Blue Feathers Merchant Group. I am Bartholome, a person holding a fairly high position in our group. If you have ever been interested in business, then you must've probably heard my name at least."

However, neither Luna nor I had any interest in anything related to business, so we simply narrowed our eyes to express that it was our first time hearing his name.

Looking at our reaction, Bartholome cleared his throat awkwardly.

"Okay, y-you may not know. Anyway, my cousin is one of the soldiers in the advance party for the eradication campaign. His name is Bayona. I heard he was fighting beside you—"

"Ah—"

I did have an impression of Bayona in my mind. He was the man who had been exclaiming with endless admiration, as though he was about to tear his hair out in awe, of the Gale Tactics that was proposed by the Young Lady.

Although I no longer had any recollection of his face and appearance, the impression of a man who shouted loudly after doing some sort of aerial flip was still present.

"I heard that you showed extraordinary bravery during the battle, Samaritan soldier. How about serving as an escort for our group of merchants? I will provide a generous salary to you."

Now I finally understood why this old man, Bartholome, approached me. Was he acting like a headhunter? I couldn't believe this! I was being scouted in this barbaric world!

"The salary is one gold per month. And for each completed escort duty, an additional bonus of 20 silvers will be provided to you."

One gold per month?

I felt like lightning had struck my head after hearing such a large amount being offered to me for my services. If I got one gold per month, it meant that I would have 12 golds within a year. 12 golds were 12 golds after all.

Back in the days, when I was still a slave, it took me at least two years to barely save up to 30 silvers. Then, with 12 golds, how many slaves like me could I possibly able to get?

It was such a huge amount of money that I couldn't even calculate it with my simpleton brain!

While I was counting the pieces of gold in my head, Luna, who was holding onto my side, answered on my behalf.

"I refuse!"

"W-Well, I see. Who is this young lady next to you, anyway?"

"...Don't know!"

Luna immediately hid her face behind my back. That caused me to snap out of my reverie. Unfortunately, as Luna said, this offer was one that I couldn't help but reject.

"It's truly a shame, but I will have to decline."

"Really? You can earn 12 pieces of gold per year. On top of that, with additional bonuses for every escort mission, you'll earn more money than a regular guard, almost as much as the amount former knights earn in fact. Are you really going to pass up on this opportunity?"

Bartholome, that old man, asked me in a voice that he couldn't understand why I had refused his offer. But I had no other choice but to refuse. Because at that moment, the purpose of my life was no longer only living to earn more money.

"It's really regrettable, but I can't quit being an adventurer."

"Huh, as expected of a people from the wilderness. I can't understand why you would choose a difficult path over a safe and prosperous job."

"Because Hassan will soon become a gold-tier adventurer!"

In reply to the old man's remarks, Luna, once again, peeked her face from behind me and declared in a loud voice. Hearing her words, the old man's brows furrowed deeply.

"What? A gold-tier adventurer?"

Not only him, but the people in the surroundings, who were talking amongst themselves till now, also started directing their attention and focus towards us. Then, one after another, they started murmuring by themselves, saying things like, "What did they say?" "Gold-tier adventurer?" or something along those lines.

Murmur— Murmur—

Suddenly, I was overwhelmed by the sudden attention and focus that was placed on us. It seemed that Luna felt the same as she hid her head by pressing it on my flank again.

"Hmm, concealment voodoo...."

Did she think that as long as she hid her face, others wouldn't be able to see her? Pheasants often buried their heads in the ground when they heard a gunshot, thinking that by doing that, they already hid their bodies too. And now, Luna was acting like a stupid pheasant.

Anyway, it somehow ended up being my responsibility to handle this commotion.

My face started heating up as I hesitated over what to do in this situation. Then, Bartholome who was standing in front of me and listening to the conversation burst into an uncontrollable fit of laughter.

"A gold-tier adventurer, you say. What a grand dream you have there. So, you're a Samaritan who wants to become a hero, huh.... How interesting! Then, what kind of hero do you want to become, Soldier?"

"What do you mean by 'what kind of hero'...?"

"Well, let me ask you a question. Do you have any heroes you admire? Achilles? Or perhaps Theseus? If not them..."

"Admiral Yi Sun-sin."

The name of the hero I admire popped out reflexively from my mouth. Yi Sun-sin was a truly powerful and impressive hero in the history of my original world. The admiration I felt for him was instinctive, almost as though it was engraved in my genes like a DNA imprint.

However, the murmurs around me grew louder after my response.

"Who's Yi Sun-sin?"

"I don't know. Did I mishear it?"

In the midst of the buzzing crowd, Bartholome, who was conversing with me, was the only one who didn't have a change in expression and continued his questioning.

"Who is that? Is he a renowned figure? I've never heard of such a hero before."

Ah... Well, this was probably an unknown name to them.

As expected, the residents of this world weren't very knowledgeable.

"He was once... a person who saved our nation."

"Ah... I see. So he's a hero of the Samaritans...."

Although the man said that he understood, his face still told me that he didn't comprehend what I was saying...

Perhaps it was difficult for him to understand since we came from two different worlds.

That old man, Bartholome, simply looked at me with a gaze that seemed to have seen through everything. All of a sudden, the corners of his mouth and cheekbones raised up to form a smirk.

"Anyway, a gold-tier adventurer, huh... It's a grand dream indeed. If you're a man, of course, you should dream big. However, it won't be easy to outshine the numerous silver-tier adventurers invited to this event and obtain the prestigious gold necklace."

As the old man spoke, I quickly glanced around. Among the people dressed in suits and dresses at this event, there were quite a few silver-tier adventurers with necklaces made of silver hung around their necks.

Considering that they didn't recognize my face, they were probably adventurers from the Minerva Guild. However, the way they looked at me wasn't particularly friendly.

Their gazes seemed to be saying something like, "Heh, look at this guy." Even a fool could sense the emotions of hostility that were practically tangible in their gazes. Perhaps without even realizing it, I had triggered a widespread provocation.

What Luna said seemed to have gotten me some unnecessary animosity, looks like I'm screwed now.

Clang— Clang— Clang—

Just then, a sharp and high-pitched noise reverberated throughout the banquet hall as if someone was tapping on a piece of metal.

As I turned my head around, I saw a middle-aged man with a neat beard, wearing a white wrapping cloth on his hand, tapping on a metallic object with both hands raised.

"Well, let's proceed to the next event!"

* * * * * * * * * *

Just as Hippolyte said, in the corner of the banquet hall, there was a round table that could accommodate four people.

"Now I can finally relax."

Sitting down on the chair, Luna immediately leaned on the table. Her legs seemed to have been hurting due to standing for a long time and walking around in the banquet hall.

"The table feels cool and nice. Holy sshh! It feels like I'm melting just by being here."

Soon, Luna fell asleep while still leaning on top of the table. She made soft and even breathing sounds. Indeed, she could practically sleep anywhere as long as she had something to lean her head on.

On the other hand, I couldn't help but think that it was a blessed talent of hers. Many people in the world struggle with insomnia and a lack of sleep.

Anyway, if it weren't for Hippolyte, both Luna and I wouldn't have been able to reserve a table here, leaving us with no choice but to keep standing till the end of the event.

In that case, my legs would have become swollen. And if they were to become swollen, it would have a negative impact on my whole body.

Indeed, it was a good thing to have connections.

For someone like me, who fell into this world without bringing anything with me or knowing anyone, to reach a point where I would have a seat reserved on a table at a noble's party—

That was enough to consider that I, Hassan, have obtained great success in my life in this world.

It was like that fable— a fox riding a tiger's back. This was something I could boast about for generations to come.

So, in order to please the tiger, I decided to open my mouth to utter some words of flattery. Hippolyte seemed to have a very subtle fondness for being complimented. So she would probably appreciate some flattering words at this moment.

"Ms. Hippolyte, it feels really nice to be able to sit on a chair. I owe you for this."

"I-I see."

As I spoke those words, Hippolyte's eyebrows twisted strangely, and then she let out a small chuckle.

"Hmph, it's nothing special. It's a bit embarrassing for me to say it myself, but I am a renowned adventurer. Once I officially become a gold-tier, I'll be able to enjoy more privileges and benefits."

"But you mentioned that you refused to be promoted to the gold tier, right? May I ask why you suddenly changed your mind?"

"It was the result of internal discussions within the guild and the city-state of Sodomora. We wanted to dispel the stigma of being a guild and city in ruins, ravaged by the heinous acts of the cultists. Hence we came to the conclusion that it would be better to have a strong figure at the helm."

"I see."

I didn't quite understand what she meant by those words, but I decided to nod nonetheless, signaling that I got what she meant. Hippolyte added a few more words.

"Well, not only that, but I also wanted to challenge myself in various ways. Since the things I'm going to try in the future are something I have never attempted before, it's a bit nerve-wracking."

"Are you planning to change your profession?"

"It's not like I'm changing my profession. It's just... I'm trying to do two things at the same time. I want to try balancing the attributes of a warrior and a woman a bit."

Balancing the attributes of a warrior and a woman at the same time? I wondered what she meant by that. Somehow, the only thing that made sense to me was that she now intended to give a little more weight to her life as a woman.

There were some talks about marriage and such. I'd heard that some people become more desperate for marriage as they get older, so perhaps Hippolyte was also that type of person.

By the way, how old was she even?

I considered asking her how old she was but decided against it in the end. The reason was... it seemed like the second part of the event was about to begin any moment now.

"It's the Margrave."

"As expected, the Margrave himself came out."

The murmurs of the crowd grew louder once they saw the figure walking in the distance. Some of them even stood up from their seats and started applauding with their hands.

The bards playing instruments also changed their tune to a thunderous march.

Wow—!

In response to the cheers emanating from all around, the man stood on a high podium and raised his palm.

"Please sit comfortably. If you all stand up, I'll appear even shorter. Anyway, I greet all my guests. I am Hawkins Sardich, entrusted with the security of Sodomora and its surrounding areas by the honorable royal family."

He was indeed standing on a very high podium. Since otherwise, I wouldn't have been able to even see his face.

The Margrave was a dwarf— a dwarven noble.

A bearded dwarf was a noble. This was quite a strange scene. His daughter, the Young Lady, seemed to be quite tall. Perhaps it was a matter of genetics from the maternal side?

The dwarf with a stylish golden beard spoke up.

"There are a total of five parties to be talked about today. Among them, four are not nobles. Time indeed has changed many things around these parts. It's quite an interesting sight. But no one likes long speeches, whether in the past or now, so let's proceed quickly."

Dudududududu—

The bards started to hit their drums and similar instruments in a rapid yet light rhythm. And at that very moment, I became tense, feeling like my heart was about to burst.

"The first ones to be called can only be this party of heroes. They are the adventurers from the city of Kalkata— the team White Silver Roses. They are the ones who personally captured the cultists' ringleader, Anxious, and ended this malignant war."

Was it a silver-tier adventurer team?

Since Kalkata was the city where Elfriede lived and simultaneously the city where I lived as a slave before landing here in Sodomora, I had some knowledge about it.

So, my heart started pounding nervously, wondering if I would see that ever-familiar face here again.

"Since they are all busy individuals, today, the team leader, Quicksword Delphina, has kindly participated as the representative for the award ceremony. Please come forward and receive your award!"