Declared Dead, Exiled, and Betrayed— Now I Walk Away, but I'll Save One Who Cared - Chapter 5

“Hey, did you hear?”

“Hear what? That you did something impressive today? Nah, I couldn’t care less.”

This was the tavern attached to the Adventurer’s Guild.

For those who worked in the dungeon, life consisted of two places—their lodgings and the guild.

The dungeon entrance was beneath the guild. The first floor housed the reception desk, a drop item exchange, and this tavern. The second floor contained the guild staff’s offices, a records room, and even a weapon shop.

And conveniently, the most popular inn for adventurers was right next door.

Some adventurers had a tendency to cause trouble, so keeping them near the guild prevented them from running amok elsewhere in the city.

Of course, other inns and taverns existed, but none were as cheap as this one.

Adventurers got discounts, so naturally, they gathered here.

Occasionally, townsfolk or people with close ties to adventurers mingled in.

As expected, most of the conversations here revolved around dungeons, monsters, and powerful parties.

“It’s about ‘Flash.’ Lax survived, can you believe that?”

“Oh yeah, I heard. Hilarious.”

“How the hell did he make it back? After all, he’s the one who screwed up and triggered that trap, nearly killing his entire party.”

“Michelle still hasn’t woken up, has she?”

“Right. She got caught in the attack—Jekyll shielded her, but she took a heavy hit because of Lax’s mistake.”

“Damn shame. And she’s such a beauty, too.”

Tonight, the most talked-about topic in the tavern was none other than Lax, the former leader of Flash, the city’s top adventuring party.

His return, his fight with Jekyll and Eranda, and his exile had become prime gossip.

Of course, all of this was based on Jekyll’s lies—but nobody knew that.

“Jekyll really had it rough these past six months.”

“Yeah. He pulled in that warrior, Rega, and the cleric, Barzam, to stabilize things, right?”

“We all did our part too, taking down monsters.”

“Yeah, ‘cause if a stampede happens, we’re screwed.”

“Lax was such a pompous ass. Just because he could cull monsters, he kept reducing the budget for monster subjugation, remember?”

“Yeah, thanks to him, our pay got cut. The last three years were rough as hell.”

“And get this—Jekyll said Flash was the only party that didn’t get a pay cut. What a selfish bastard.”

“Eranda-sama and Guildmaster Gandos even apologized for it. They promised to increase rewards moving forward. Eranda-sama is amazing!”

One voice hesitated.

“Still… doesn’t that seem a little too obvious? Lax actually trained a lot of us…”

“Shut up! He just never expected his corruption to be exposed. It’s hilarious! There’s no place for him in this city anymore!”

“Damn right.”

“Good riddance!”

“If he ever comes back, we’ll take care of him ourselves!”

The tavern filled with laughter.

No one knew the truth.

They had been manipulated.

And they were too drunk to care.

“And he actually punched Jekyll and Lyla before storming out? What a damn berserker.”

“Such a piece of sh1t.”

“Talk about a sore loser.”

“He tried dragging the guards into the dungeon, calling it ‘training.’ And when they refused, he forced us into it instead!”

“Yeah, the guy was insane. The working conditions sucked!”

“Total slave driver. ‘Move! You can still fight!’—I can still hear him shouting.”

“Just because he was a little strong, he thought he was untouchable. And look at him now—lost everything over one stupid mistake.”

“I heard he even lied to Lady Shifa before leaving.”

“For real?”

“Yeah. She was crying her eyes out. Poor girl.”

“If I ever see Lax again, I’ll kill him myself!”

The drunken slander continued at every table.

It was a common scene in the tavern.

A sad one.

“Jekyll and Eranda-sama are truly incredible.”

“Yeah. The city is completely back on its feet.”

“I heard Duke Horneld himself praised the city’s recovery.”

“The duke? Why’s he interested?”

“Because he’s the patron of the Riofendarl territory. And thanks to the city’s revival, the king recognized him for it.”

“Didn’t he fund the new casino too? Long live the duke!”

“Weren’t you the one who lost all your money there last week…?”

“That doesn’t matter! It’s entertainment! And I won today!”

“You never learn, do you?”

“Hey, I have every right to enjoy myself! Besides, Eranda-sama herself came to the casino the other day! Imagine how amazing it’d be to get close to her!”

“Damn, really? Lucky bastard. I wish I could get near her too.”

“Yeah, no. Jekyll would break your face.”

“Hahaha!”

The laughter continued.

As if nothing was wrong.

Adventurers—A Life of Life and Death

Being an adventurer means constantly gambling with one’s life.

That’s why many adventurers are hedonists.

They drink. They gamble. They buy women.

“Oi! More booze over here!”

“Same here!”

“Drink up! Drink up!”

BANG.

The tavern doors burst open.

A Guild staff member rushed inside.

“Everyone, this is urgent!”

“What now?”

“Hey, sweetheart, why don’t you pour me a drink instead?”

“No way, she’s coming here first!”

“The hell she is! I called dibs!”

“Screw you!”

“Wanna take this outside?!”

The adventurers completely ignored the panicked guild worker.

They were too drunk and rowdy to care.

But the staff member didn’t give up.

With every ounce of strength, they shouted at the top of their lungs—

“LISTEN UP, EVERYONE! THIS IS SERIOUS! A STAMPEDE IS COMING!”