Chapter 97

After parting ways with the Gordon brothers, I returned to the Adventurer Support Office.

Mia and I leaned against the back wall, watching the other adventurers.

Everyone was talking about the monsters in the forest.

It didn't seem that vicious a demon, but well, fear and rumors tend to be exaggerated.

Rumors had even spread that the entire investigation team had been wiped out.

They must have been the ones who came to report it.

Thanks to the seeds I had sown, I started hearing rumors that Gaston had defeated it.

It seemed that almost no one believed it.

Just as I was thinking, "If Gaston could show up around here..." the door opened, and three men entered.

"Didn't I say that's enough! Can't you listen to me! What the hell is this dirty root anyway!"

"Just shut up already! We'll get scolded by Abel! You just need to finish this cashing out!"

Gordon and Mordon dragged Gaston in.

It seemed Gaston had been drinking alone and didn't know about the Eibel Boun incident.

The moment Gaston appeared, everyone in the facility turned to look at him and fell silent.

The noise from a moment ago seemed like a lie, and the silence was eerie.

It was a lie, of course, but there was a glimmer of hope in their eyes.

Gaston, puzzled by the strange atmosphere in the facility, grabbed the bag of Eibel Boun roots from Mordon.

He glared at Gordon, then turned forward and strode to the reception desk.

"Let's get this over with. This is a one-time thing! Hey, you guys, move! I'm in a bad mood! Just looking at your gloomy faces makes me angry!"

Gaston shouted at the people in line, perhaps venting his frustration.

Cutting in line, as usual for Gaston.

A young adventurer who was shouted at by Gaston turned to his companion.

"Hey, didn't you see something like a tree root sticking out of that bag?"

"Y-You don't mean...?"

The entire facility began to buzz again.

"What's wrong with you guys? Not moving? Huh?"

As Gaston approached, the young adventurer's face lit up.

"Y-Yes, yes! Please, go ahead!"

As the young adventurer moved aside, others in the line began to disappear.

It was as if they had all agreed, clearing a path on both sides.

From behind, Gaston looked like Moses parting the sea.

"W-What's going on? What is this?"

Gaston's face showed obvious confusion as he looked around nervously.

Noticing that everyone's eyes were on him, he took a half-step back, but then seemed to make up his mind and walked to the reception desk.

Gaston threw the bag onto the counter and looked back.

"Hey, lady, get this appraisal done quickly. It's creepy."

"Y-Yes, yes..."

The receptionist carefully opened the bag Gaston had handed over.

When she saw the black root, she swallowed hard.

"W-What is this?"

"How should I know! Read the report!"

Gaston slammed a crumpled piece of paper on the counter.

It was the fabricated report that Mia had written, detailing how Gaston had broken the Eibel Boun with his bare hands and burned it to ashes with friction heat.

To avoid trouble if the remains were found, he had decided to destroy the main body.

He had wanted to use a weapon, but since Gaston was unarmed, there was no choice.

The receptionist hurriedly opened the paper.

Her hands were shaking with excitement, and she had trouble opening it.

Finally, she managed to open it and her eyes widened as she read the report.

"Wait a minute! Let me see that!"

Another staff member appeared from the back of the facility and grabbed the receptionist's hand.

Then, a familiar man appeared.

He was the captain of the lord's investigation team who had come to slay the Eibel Boun.

With his neatly trimmed beard and unique three-white eyes, his name was Regino, if he remembered correctly.

He had been talking in the back of the facility.

The male staff member and Regino leaned in to read the report carefully.

"Unbelievable, but it's true... the black roots that surge from the ground, the power to cause strong winds. These characteristics are undoubtedly those of the monster that wiped out our team."

"What! That troublemaker took it down alone, and with his bare hands? That's ridiculous! Gaston has been stuck at quasi-D rank for a long time!"

Seeing the staff members' conversation, the adventurers began to stir.

"Hey, it really seems like Gaston did it."

"No way, that troublemaker?"

"No, I believed it. Gaston is the kind of guy who gets things done when he needs to."

The commotion grew louder.

Gaston, who had been standing there with his mouth open, seemed to start grasping the situation.

He shivered and his angry expression disappeared, slowly returning to his usual cheerful face.

"Amazing... this is amazing."

"The noble's private army fled, and he took it down alone?"

"We might be witnessing the beginning of a legend."

Gaston, breathing heavily, seemed to be listening to the adventurers' words, but when the receptionist called him, he immediately turned around.

"Mr. Gaston, I apologize for keeping you waiting. I was a bit flustered."

"Hmph! That's fine."

"You may be aware, but there are some complicated circumstances surrounding this matter..."

"Hmph, I don't know. I can't remember every monster I've defeated!"

Gaston said proudly, and the crowd around him buzzed even more.

Gaston, ignoring the commotion, smiled smugly.

Of course, Gaston wouldn't know since he hadn't seen it.

From the looks of it, he hadn't even read Mia's report.

"Can you come to the special window immediately?"

"Hmph! I'm a busy man, but I'll make an exception! Just make it quick."

Amidst the cheers, Gaston moved to the special window.

I'm glad I had a stand-in.

I didn't expect such a big commotion.

I would have collapsed from nervousness.

...But, from the look of Gaston, he seems like he'll keep it up for a while.