Chapter 404: A Clue Right Under the Nose

「I suppose living long was worth it.」old man Hoya muttered after a long silence.

「What?」

「I didn't expect a child like you to see through what I've been hiding all these years.」

「So you admit that you know about the mythical mountain tribe Pozi.」

「Yes.」

The old man snickered and picked up a tool on the workbench used for the inscription. It resembled a pointed ice pick, with a wooden handle that was darkened from years of use. The old man's gnarled hands seemed to be a perfect match with the tool.

「I may as well ask.」he said.「What brought you to this conclusion?」

「Do you know the lifespan of a wyvern?」

The old man blinked in surprise at the sudden question.「No... But I would guess more than ten or twenty years.」

「Yes, it is said to be at least thirty years. The life cycle of a wyvern is not very different from that of humans, and once they settle in a place, they live there for a long time, creating settlements just like humans.」

「What does that have to do with the bell?」

「As large monsters, wyverns don't like moving to new environments. I guess you can say it's difficult for them to adapt to new surroundings. Anyway, we can assume that wyverns have been living in the Potterat Mountains for hundreds of years.」

The old man still didn't seem to understand what Hikaru was trying to say. He stared at him, frowning.

「What I'm trying to say is that if there was a mountain tribe living in these mountains, they would have had to coexist with the wyverns. But these creatures were basically like a natural fortress that prevented anyone entering from the outside.」

「And that's where the bell comes in.」

「Yes. It's clear that the Pozi people either had the power to slay wyverns, or some way to avoid them. I didn't think the former was possible.」

「Why not?」

「If they had that much power, there would have been traces of their downfall. When humans obtain power, they want to use it.」

「Hmm... you're much more mature than you look.」

「Not really a compliment.」

「It's better than being told you're immature.」

Hoya set his tool back down on the workbench, crossed his arms, and mumbled.「He deduced all that from a single wyvern? I've been making bells for a long time now, and it never even crossed my mind.」

「Can I ask you something else?」Hikaru said.

「Go ahead.」

「I can think of many ways to keep wyverns away, but there's one thing I'm sure of after seeing this bell.」

Hikaru told him that the inscription on the bells was not found in any existing theory of sorcery.

「Oh... you mean this technology is something we developed on our own?」he said, wearing a different expression than before. His eyes lit up with curiosity. For once, he looked like a boy, not a dour old man.

「By 'our own' you mean...」

「Since you already know so much, there's no point in hiding it. You don't seem to be the kind of person who goes around bragging publicly. I learned this technique. I was an apprentice to a craftsman in the village of the Pozi.」

I knew it, Hikaru thought. He considered this possibility. But he didn't dive in too deep because he thought it was too absurd.

「I am a survivor of the Pozi.」Hoya said.

The clue to the mythical tribe was there before they climbed the mountain.

Hoya moved to the table in the living room and shared his story with the girls. He told them how the Pozi perished while sipping tea made by Paula.

It was a typical story. People who had been forced to leave their homeland for various reasons moved here, marking the beginning of the Pozi people. Some of them excelled at tinkering with magic items, and created tools to avoid wyverns. They found a large amount of gold in the river, but since they did not want to get involved with society, they used it only as decor for the village.

There were other races too besides humans, and as they procreated with each other, they became the Pozi, a race that looked similar to the human race but were shorter, had fuller hair on their backs, and lived twice as long as humans.

「But peace only lasted for three hundred years.」

When the Gordon Mine was developed, many humans went into the Potterat Mountains in search of gold, and some of them happened to meet the Pozi looking for food. Some found dead bodies killed by wyverns.

It wasn't the people in the foothills that changed. It was the Pozi. Those fed up with a life of starving despite having gold proposed to go down to the foot of the mountain, memories of their persecution long gone from their minds.

Those who wanted to leave and those who wanted to stay argued, and eventually the arguments devolved into killing.

Hikaru thought back to the geologist's note.

I met the Pozi. As the legend goes, they adorned their bodies with plenty of gold. But they said they were suffering from a declining population, and now there were less than twenty people in the village.

The real reason for the population decline was internal fighting. A small number of pacifists realized that the gold caused conflict, so they abandoned their gold and escaped. No one followed them. One of them was Hoya, who was only a boy during that time.

「Why didn't they chase you?」

「While the Pozi didn't have much food, they had plenty of gold. That useless piece of junk was a symbol of authority. Its light leads people astray. He who throws away the gold is not a Pozi.」

Although the old man had abandoned his roots, there was a tinge of sadness in his voice.

I guess it makes sense. He was forced to leave his hometown.

「I don't think there are any survivors in the village」Hoya continued.「By the time I left, only about half of us remained. There was a funeral almost every day. If you were from a different faction, you couldn't participate in the burial, no matter how close you were with the deceased. My parents passed away when I was a baby, so my grandmother led me out of the village in the middle of the night, alone. My grandmother wished to die with the village. She said she was too old to go to a new place.」

At first, Hikaru didn't feel anything in particular, like he was simply listening to the history of some foreign nation, but the moment Hoya mentioned his parents, he felt a sudden sense of affinity. Hikaru, Lavia, and Paula were all at a loss for words to say.

「It's been almost a hundred years now. That night, there was not a cloud in the sky, not even the moon. The sky was full of stars, their light guiding my way. I looked back only once.」He closed his eyes.「Despite the faint light provided by the stars, the roofs, pillars, walls, were shining. The breathtaking sight made me shudder, and I almost turned back.」

He could still see the scene in his mind.

Hikaru thought back to the rest of the geologist's note. Chronologically, the geologist and the Pozi survivors met after Hoya's escape.

I suggested that they come down the mountain, but they insisted on staying. Apparently, the fewer people there are, the more gold they can monopolize. They measure their worth in how much gold they have. Gold has them captivated.

Hikaru and the girls discussed their next move. As originally planned, they would climb the mountains to find the village of the Pozi. Information provided by Hoya gave them a rough idea of its location.

The last thing the old man said was,「My grandmother had a golden necklace that she treasured. It had a motif of a small bird. Could you bring it back to me if you can?」

Hikaru agreed. His modest request was nothing compared to the information he provided.

「I'll head to the Adventurers Guild」 Hikaru said.「You two buy food for the trip.」

「Gotcha.」

「Okay!」

They were set to depart in the afternoon. According to Hoya, the village was about two and a half days' distance away. Since they would end up camping in the mountains anyway, they didn't have to leave early in the morning.

When Hikaru arrived at the guild, it was as crowded as ever with adventurers.

Hikaru approached the man at the reception desk.「Excuse me. I have a question.」

The man looked surprised.「Wh-What is it?」

He must have thought Farna beat me to a pulp or something, Hikaru thought, keeping his composure.

「If we find the village of the Pozi, will the Adventurers Guild be able to mobilize people to carry the gold?」

For a moment, the whole place quieted down, but soon after laughter erupted.

「He's acting like he already found the gold!」

「Isn't that the kid from yesterday?」

「Seriously? Well, I guess I'd better find some men to carry his gold!」

The rambunctious laughter continued.

Same crap as yesterday, huh? Hikaru thought. Boooring.

Hikaru ignored them and fixed his gaze on the staff. Unlike yesterday, there were no adventurers picking on him.

「Um, in that case, the Adventurers Guild will put out a transport commission for the adventurers.」the receptionist said.

「What? You're gonna ask the adventurers?」

「Why, yes. This is the Adventurers Guild, after all.」

Another round of laughter broke out, though less rowdy than the previous one.「What kinda guild does he think this is?」one said.

Hmm... I'd rather not get adventurers involved. Who knows what would happen if we lead this bunch to the village? Looting for sure. Worst case scenario, they would claim they found the village first. Did this receptionist not consider that?

「How about asking the miners?」Hikaru suggested.

「What? Uh, no. That's impossible.」

「Why?」

「It's obvious, isn't it?」

Ah, no good. I can't count on this guy.

There had to be some sort of reason why he could only send adventurers. Hikaru surmised that the Gordon Mine was everything to Gordon, and the governor put it above anything else. He wouldn't want to assist adventurers with anything.

Nevertheless, there were surely steps they could take, like offering adequate rewards or pressuring the mine through the Empire's central guild. Hikaru was upset that the receptionist did not offer any reason, perhaps because he was only a young boy.

「I understand.」Hikaru said.「It's fine, then.」

As Hikaru walked away from the counter, he heard someone say,「Hey, kid. If you find any gold, make sure to tell us, okay?」followed by more laughter.

Well, that was a letdown.

Hikaru had Stealth to move easily through the mountains, and Hoya already provided information as to the location of the village. His only problem now was he couldn't carry the gold. His only choice was to ask someone he could trust for help.

Five, huh? That's quite a lot.

As Hikaru walked through the town, he noticed people following him. Three of them formed a group, while the other two were on their own.

I'm guessing they believed me.

If someone showed up seriously asking for help with transport, a few would inevitably wonder,「What if this guy actually found the Pozi village?」

They were probably desperate enough that they were willing to follow even the smallest lead.

Confronting them here is a bad idea, but giving them the slip is also risky.

If they found out that Hikaru was actually a skilled adventurer, his credibility would increase. For now, it was better for them to think that he was just a delusional kid.

「Whoa!」Hikaru deliberately bumped into a man carrying something.

「Oops, my bad.」

Hikaru tripped and pulled the basket full of fish down with him.

「Man, look what you did! Can you not take the fish down with you?!」

「I'm sorry, I'm sorry.」 Hikaru picked up the fish and produced a leather bag.「I'll pay for this. How much?」

The man—a young beastman—clicked his tongue.「I don't want it. It's probably not your own money anyway. Put that away.」

「B-But...」

「I said I don't want it.」He assumed Hikaru was the son of some wealthy family.

Hikaru sensed the three guys and one other person moving away.

The plan worked, but now I feel bad. He tried to think of a way to convince the beastman to take the money.

「Hey, bro. This guy's my friend.」A man appeared.「Sorry if he caused you trouble. Can you please accept the money? You know, for me.」

It was a familiar voice, and to Hikaru's surprise, it belonged to the last guy tailing him.

「What?! I-I don't even know you...」

「Don't sweat the small stuff. A man can't take back money he's already offered.」The man pushed a few gold coins to the beastman.

「It's too much!」

「It's okay.」It was clearly more than the cost of the fish.「Let's go, kid.」

「O-Okay...」Hikaru reluctantly followed the guy.「So what are you doing here?」

He was wearing a refreshing linen shirt of fine quality that suited his well-toned muscles. The hem of his pants, the loose-fitting kind that adventurers and outdoor workers liked to wear, were tucked into his boots. He had short-trimmed hair and an unforgettable flame tattoo that ran from his forehead to his right cheek, to his neck, then down to his body.

「You live in Pond, Kelbeck.」

It was the head of Pond's Thieves Guild.