Chapter 71 – Dragon 4 Part 2

Translator: SFBaka

Editor: Thor’s Stone

The guard called Captain Guido right away and he came out from his office to meet us.

“So it’s you, Alan. What is it?”

“Sorry for dropping in all of a sudden. I have something urgent to report. Err, actually, I managed to subdue a dragon yesterday.”

“……You’re serious, aren’t you?”

“Yeah, I sure am. But I understand if you don’t believe me right now. And I don’t really mind if you don’t believe what I’m going to share with you for now. However, please still consider cooperating with me in order to avoid the city going into a state of panic.”

“…Go on.”

“As I said earlier, I managed to subdue a dragon. And furthermore, there was another dragon present as well. Err… To get straight to the point, I managed to subdue one dragon, and the other dragon became attached to me somehow.”

“……It got attached to you? A dragon?”

“Yeah, that’s right.”

“And?”

“I was able to really get along with that dragon. She then offered to bring the corpse of the defeated dragon all the way back to Gantz.”

“Are you actually saying you spoke with a dragon?”

“No, we didn’t exactly talk with each other. I somehow got through to her using gestures.”

“……And you expect me to believe all of that?”

“No. As I said, I don’t mind if you don’t believe my story right now. But that dragon really is coming to Gantz later. I’m sure it’ll cause quite a commotion when she arrives near the city, so I want you and the guards to cooperate with us to quell the panic.”

“……Well, fine. Let’s assume your story is true. When and where will the dragon arrive?”

“She should land right in front of the gate. She’ll probably arrive in three to four hours from now.”

I’ll tell Iris and Gloria about the arrangements after this so they can match the schedule.

“I see… Alright, fine. I’ll believe you for now in lieu of all the contributions you and your Clan have given to this city. You shouldn’t inform just me though. It would be bad if the higher-ups heard your story and decided it was complete bollocks later on after all. However, I can’t guarantee what their response will be if there turns out to be no dragon you know.”

That means if Gloria doesn’t come, all the trust we’ve managed to build up will be rendered moot huh. No, I’ll believe in Gloria. A commander needs to believe in his subordinates after all.

In the worst case, I probably won’t be treated as a criminal anyway. I’ll just be labeled a liar and lose the trust of the people. I guess I can deal with that somehow.

“I understand. It’s alright. The dragon will surely come. Alright then. I need to make some more visits so I’ll excuse myself here.”

“…Yeah. I’m looking forward to seeing that dragon.”

The captain said that with a tone that sounded half in jest. Dammit! I’ll show you all later. Just you wait. I’ll make sure to capture the image of Captain Guido’s face once he sees Gloria later. I gotta remember to order the drones to take a picture.

We left the guard barracks and headed for the Commerce Guild. After that, we’ll head for the Adventurer’s Guild. It’s kind of a hassle to try and convince people to believe my story two more times, but I have no choice.

We arrived at the Commerce Guild and headed for the usual counter. The receptionist lady saw me and gestured for me to wait as she headed for the back office. Yosh, I’m in luck. It looks like Karina-san was present in the guild right now.

After a short while, I finally saw Karina-san come out. Oh, and it looks like Natalie-san was with her as well. That’s rare. Natalie-san didn’t often come to the guild, so this was my first time seeing her after a good while.

“Good afternoon, Alan-sama. It’s been a while.”

“Yeah, it really has. I came to put in a request to the Commerce Guild today.”

“Eh!? You actually have a request for the guild, Alan-sama? Please tell us more then.”

I related the story I told Captain Guido to Karina-san and Natalie-san with a bit more detail. The both of them looked quite shocked the entire time, but I did manage to finish my story.

“In other words, a dragon corpse will be arriving at the main gate later, and you wish for the guild to process it for you, correct?”

I thought of putting up a request at the Adventurer’s Guild too, but I decided to go with the Commerce Guild in the end since they were probably the better option. I’m sure they’ll process the dragon corpse properly.

“Alan-sama. Your story is really quite…… No, we understand. We at the Commerce Guild will take up your request. We will do our best to address your every need.”

“Thank you very much. I really appreciate it. Honestly, I was worried about what I’d do if you didn’t believe me. So, uh, how much will be the request fee then?”

“……This isn’t usually done, but how about we decide the request fee depending on how much work the Commerce Guild will have to do, later on, Alan-sama?

We honestly do not have any set guidelines regarding processing dragon materials unless we peruse the old records to try and find some. There probably isn’t anyone present here who knows their way around processing it, let alone being familiar with the market price. So we truly cannot set a price for the request fee right now.”

“Understood. Let’s do as you suggested then. The dragon will be coming in another three hours. I’ll gather as much help as I can until then. I’m sure it’ll induce quite the commotion. By the way, I’ve already informed the city guards about it.”

“It’s certainly better to get more manpower. But the Commerce Guild will handle the dismantling and transportation, so you do not need to mind about those.”

Oh, that’ll really help. I was actually thinking of asking folks from the Adventurer’s Guild to carry the corpse, but I guess the Commerce Guild would be more experienced when it comes to hauling stuff huh.

“That would really help. Let’s meet up at the city gates later then.”

“We’re pleased to be working with you again, Alan-sama. Well then, we have to prepare things on our end too…”

After saying so, Karina-san went back inside the back office while Natalie-san got out of the counter and left the guild building. She must have gone to make a report to Chief Silas.

Yosh. We’ll go to the Adventurer’s Guild next. We managed to reach the Adventurer’s Guild building before long and I managed to see a familiar face. It looks like I really am in luck today. It helps that everything seems to fall into place without much effort on my part.

“Yo, if it isn’t Karl!”

“Ou! Alan, huh. You guys just got back from monster hunting?”

“Yeah. You free right now, Karl?”

“Yep. We just got back from hunting as well and we’re planning to have a little drinking session.”

“I see. Do you remember the thing we talked about last time? The thing about you guys owing us one, I mean.”

“…Yeah, of course, I remember. What’s up? Do you need our help right now?”

“That’s right. I really do have something I need your help with, actually. Can you come with us to the Adventurer’s Guild first? Of course, I’ll leave the decision on whether you guys accept or not after you hear about my request.”

“Yeah, alright. We’ll do it as long as it’s within our means.”

Our groups then came inside the Adventurer’s Guild building together. The receptionist immediately called Chief Kevin the moment she saw us head for the counter. After a short while, Chief Kevin finally came out to meet us.

“I’m sorry for dropping in suddenly. I hope I haven’t caught you in a bad time. Actually, I have something urgent to report, chief.”

“You came together with Karl and the guys from Gale huh. I’m sure it’s not just any ordinary matter. Please come with me then.”

We went to the usual conference room and took our seats. There were six of us from Shining Star, three from Gale, and two people from the guild present.

I then related the story I told at the guard barracks and the Commerce Guild once more. Since it’s the third time, I was able to relate my story even more smoothly. Of course, everyone apart from us Shining Star members were shocked silly.

“In other words, a dragon will be landing near the main gate in about three hours from now?”

“That’s right. I already informed the gate guards and the Commerce Guild about it.”

“Why did you come to the Commerce Guild?”

“I requested for them to process the dragon corpse.”

“…In other words, you left processing the materials from the dragon corpse to the Commerce Guild?”

“That’s how it is. But are you willing to believe my story, chief?”

“Of course I do. No one would craft such a detailed and grand-sounding lie after all. But, Alan… I would have wanted you to leave processing the materials to our Adventurer’s Guild.”

“I’m sorry, chief. I’m really indebted to the Commerce Guild you see.”