8
The person opening the door didn't go in right away.
Instead, General Dungeon Chief Administrator, Eliza Notz got in through the door.
"Pardon me."
Behind her, the tall man bent over as he passed the door.
It's a curious looking man.
He's taller than Lecan. He's thin and lanky, but his bones are thick, and the muscles sticking to his bones haven't lost their firmness. He's wearing a leather vest on top of a nicely ventilated shirt. His trousers look quite sturdy. And the longsword hanging on his waist looks very small relative to his height.
He's an elderly. Quite at an advanced age. Yet he's still overflowing with life force.
And the most striking feature is how his face is missing the flesh on a third of his right mouth to before his right ear. His teeth and cheekbone in that area are exposed due to that fact.
Nark who noticed the visitors came out of the kitchen and stopped moving.
"Well dang, this takes me back. If it ain't Zoltan!"
"Hey sonny, been a while eh."
"Hahahahaha. Yer' still callin' this old man sonny? Come on in, don't just stand there, get..."
That was when Nark saw Eliza. It's clear at a glance that she's a noblewoman. Very high up on the ladder at that.
Lecan spoke to the frozen up Nark.
"She's General Dungeon Chief Administrator, Eliza Notz. Think she's the marquis's niece or something."
"C-c-c-chief administrator? Mar, mar, mar, mar."
"You're Lecan-dono then."
"Yea."
"I am Zoltan. Here today as a guide and escort for the young miss. Mind if young miss takes a seat?"
"Yea. Excuse my lack of tact. Chief administrator-dono, have a seat."
"You have my thanks."
Eliza waited around for a bit but as no one would pull a chair for her, she went and did it herself.
"Aren't the four outside coming in?"
"Don't think it'd be good if so many people got in. I have them wait outside."
"I see. You're not gonna sit?"
"I'll remain standing. For as long as I'm guarding young miss that is."
<TLN: Catch the latest updates and edits at Sousetsuka .com >
"Do as you like."
Zoltan pointed his finger at the kitchen toward Nark. A sign to leave them privately. Nark obediently went inside.
"Lecan-dono, that was just too cruel."
"Well that's sudden, chief administrator-dono. What did I do again?"
"Elder Termin has made an ultimatum that he will go back to the royal capital. Along with his disciples. Just why and how did it come to that?"
"Come to what."
"You must have told the elder to stop working here and go back to the capital."
"I said nothing of the sort. To begin with, I didn't even know that old man's from capital."
"Then how come the elder wished to go back to the capital all of a sudden?"
"What happened after I left the Administrative Office the other day?"
"Elder Termin sought an audience with me. 'In the matter of Secret Appraisal service adventurer Lecan paid one big gold coin for, the sitting observer Gwislan broke the oath, stole the content of the appraisal tag which he reported to the Chief Administrator, then based on that report, Chief Administrator revealed that she knew about the result to adventurer Lecan, in effect admitting that the sitting observer Gwislan saw the content of the appraisal tag. Do you have any excuse for this'. Thus he asked out of nowhere."
"Hou. What did you tell him?"
"I cannot answer that as it pertains the Marquis House's secret."
"Hee. Did the old man relent then?"
"No. He inquired further. 'You must have been stealing the results of all Secret Appraisal that have been performed thus far, and got them reported, do you not'."
"He pressed on eh. So what's your answer, administrator-dono."
"'It is not stealing. We, the marquis house are simply finding out that which is our right to know.' So I said to him."
"You... No, forget it. So was that the end of it?"
"No it wasn't! Elder Termin spoke thus. 'I and my disciples shall hereby take our leave from this town, I expect you to deliver the overdue payment to the capital'."
"Hou. Brazenly done. But, I thought old man Termin lived in Tsubolt or an employee of the marquis house, so he got a house at the capital eh."
"You cannot be saying that you are not aware of who Elder Termin is, can you?"
"Got acquainted at the trade facility here."
"That's not funny for a joke. Elder Termin is renowned as the kingdom's best appraiser in everything swords, you know."
Lecan never thought he was that important.
But if you think about it, this place is Tsubolt. <Dungeon of Swords>. It's probably the place to get the best and biggest amount of swords in the whole kingdom. Nothing surprising with the kingdom's best sword appraisers flocking here.
"I asked him. How did it come to you going home. Your working period per the contract is not over yet. Then the elder replied back. 'His excellency Marquis of Tsubolt has violated his contract with me. Defiling the oath, trampling it underfoot. Therefore, I shall not remain here any longer'."
(That old man's unexpectedly fiery.)
"When this matter reached my uncle, marquis's ears, his wrath was truly immense. He ordered me to make the elder stay at Tsubolt no matter what even if it means I have to grovel on the ground. I paid a visit to elder Termin. Then he told me to ask forgiveness from Lecan-dono first of all. And so I have come here."
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