I was not surprised that my charges did not get through. I never thought that it was going to work from the very beginning.
If anything, I would have been shocked if those guys agreed with what I said.
âŠOn the other hand, itâs true that I was still disappointed with this result.
I said that it pretty much went the way I thought it would. In other words, I had just a tiny hope that maybe those guys would admit to what theyâve done.
I wanted to tell Larz one thing if the opportunity came up, but in the end, I couldnât say it.
It was âthank youâ. I was truly grateful for him inviting me to his party five years ago.
The way we parted was bitter, but I really had fun from the bottom of my heart at first.
Being comrades of the same low levels, going on adventures together, sometimes succeeding, and sometimes failing. Those days filled me with a sense of fulfillment which Iâve never experienced before back on the island.
The one who had given me those days was definitely Larz.
Thatâs why, if he and the others had admitted to their own mistakesâŠAt that moment, I would have forgiven Miroslav for his sake. Just once, just once though.
âŠHowever, it didnât happen.
It was a complete fallout. The one Iâm thankful to is the Larz from five years ago, and I confirmed that the Larz today was no longer the same. As for Miroslav, it doesnât even need to be said.
The guild as well, they are nothing but my enemies. Itâs obvious since they took her side and tried to bury her crime.
To make matters worse, I canât exclude the possibility that the âappropriate measuresâ they would take are going to be dangerous for me.
To be honest, I kind of hated them when I was first expelled, but the hate I have for them today has nothing to do with that.
The Adventurersâ Guild of Ishka shelved my legitimate appeal to cover their own asses. Thatâs more than enough of a reason for me to take revenge on them.
I curled my lip as that thought crossed my mind.
Now then, the next question is how am I going to go about it?
I could go kill them one by one with my soul equipmentâŠbut thatâs not going to work out in the end.
If I did something like that, Iâd just be an ordinary heinous criminal. Iâll have a bounty on my head instantly.
In the first place, that wouldnât even go well.
I obtained my soul equipment and leveled up, so I have definitely gotten stronger. However, Iâm still far from being the strongest in the world.
To put it simply, Iâm talking about the guild master, Elgart Quiss. If I go up against him right now, I will definitely lose.
By utilizing my soul equipment, I could probably kill opponents who are stronger than me to an extent, but thereâs no way my attacks will do anything against someone who is nearly thirty levels higher than me.
Itâs not just Elgart either. Larz and the others would also be more than qualified to be put in the category of strong opponents for me.
While I was only gathering herbs for the last few years, they have been working hard and they have accomplished more than hundreds of quests.
I donât know how high their levels are since unlike Elgart, their levels arenât publicizedâŠbut going by Larz being a sixth-tier adventurer, his level canât be lower than ten. Heâs probably around 15 or so.
Iria and Miroslav should be around there too. Lunamaria seems to be a bit higher, but regardless, I canât compete with them on levels. I canât afford to take them lightly.
But of course, I have no intention to lose to them. Aside from Elgart, I could probably beat Larz and the others with the power of my soul equipment. I clearly felt that when we came face to face with each other today.
Thatâs only if itâs in a one-on-one situation though. If I fought against their whole party at the same time, I would definitely have a big struggle.
ăWhich means that I have to basically take them down one by oneă
AssassinationâŠwill get a bounty on my head, and I donât think that guild master will take his eyes off me. Iâm sure that Iâm going to be kept under watch when Iâm in the city.
Even if I managed to pull it off, I will automatically become a suspect if something were to happen to the members of ăFalcon Swordăaround this time.
âŠThinking about it again, it might have been better if I stayed dead after the king of flies incident.
No one would suspect someone whoâs dead no matter who is killed.
Itâs just that if I did that, I wouldnât have been able to gather any intel or possibly obtain any compensation in social status from that meeting just now; it was a delicate situation.
So after considering all those conditionsâŠ
ăLetâs use that place after allă
I decided to put the idea I had in mind into action.
The king of fliesâ nest located deep inside the Titis forest- Iâll be making use of it.
To be specific, Iâm going to bring Miroslav there.
The guild wonât have eyes there. Even if they send out a search party, I donât think theyâll find such a deeply hidden area.
Itâs the ideal place for confinement.
Before the talk with ăFalcon Swordă, some guild employees overheard that I was caught by a king of flies.
They asked me things like what was in the nest and how I escaped and stuff.
I just answered them with vague answers like âI donât knowâ, âI canât remember it clearlyâ.
It was because I had planned to make use of the nest.
Right now, the only one in this world other than me who knows the location of the nest is the girl from the kijin race.
ăSince Iâve decided on it, next is preparation. Food, water, and clothesâŠah, do I need clothes that can withstand the cold?ă
It takes about four days to get to the nest from here even if I go full speed with kei, so the preparations are going to take some time.
Hmm. I folded my arms as I went into thoughts.
The guild and ăFalcon Swordă should be on alert for about a month anyway, so in a sense, this preparation period I need might work to lower their guard.
Humans canât stay in a tense, on-guard state for more than a month. The success rate of the operation will also be higher if I strike the moment they are worn out from continuously staying on alert.
With this plan, Iâll need to remodel that cave into a place where a person can live in.
For that, Iâll need to purchase a fair amount of supplies. If I buy them in this city, the guild will know.
I donât think theyâll see through my plan just by seeing me buy things, but thereâs no need to give them any clues.
Should I leave this city right away?
I can just buy the supplies from different towns and villages near Titis forest and gradually stock up on them. Fortunately, I have plenty of fundsâŠ
ăâŠâŠ Ah, ahhh?!ă
I instinctively put my hands on my head as I realized something.
Shit, I left all of my gold coins back at the guild!
Iâll go get them back right now-or not. How could I go back there right after I declared my hostility to them?
*hahhh*Â , I sighed.
It canât be helped. I still have some silver coins left for the time being, and there are still some pieces of equipment that could be exchanged for money back at the nest.
Itâs going to prolong the preparation period a bit, but itâs not like thereâs a time limit anyway. Itâs okay even if it takes half a year or a year if necessary. WellâŠI donât think itâs going to take that long though.
With that thought in mind, I pulled myself together and began to walk down the streets of Ishka.
At that momentâŠ
ăâŠâŠâŠâŠâŠ.Sora, -sană
I heard a voice calling my name from behind.
When I turned around with a frown, what I saw was the elf, Lunamaria. Her face was so pale she looked like she could collapse at any minute.