The Strongest Farmer in Another World ~I'm a "Farmer", Not a Demon King! ~ - Chapter 127

The Strongest Farmer in Another World ~I’m a “Farmer”, Not a Demon King! ~

Chapter 127   Suspicion of fraud?

“Oh, right. You don’t have to think too hard about it. I’ve pretty much grasped the situation.”

What does he mean by he’s grasped it?

I tilt my head in confusion, but Randel shrugs with a wry smile.

“Recently, you guys have been completing requests at a fairly rapid pace, right? And your rank has been rising.”

Ah, I think I understand what he’s trying to say.

Probably, there are adventurers out there making baseless accusations.

“Some adventurers think that your speed is a bit too fast, and they’ve voiced complaints or opinions about it.”

See? Well, it can’t be helped. There are always people like that everywhere.

“There are others who rise in rank at a similar speed to you, but they can do it because they’re in a team. It’s very rare for newcomers like you to do it. It would be more convincing if there were a clear aura of a strong individual. But you guys are different, right? Even if you were doing it as a pair, one of you is an underage kid, and the one ranking up is a maid.”

“No matter what, there will always be someone suspicious of foul play, right?”

Yeah. Well, I can understand what they’re trying to say. Indeed, if you question whether a child and a beautiful maid can rapidly advance in rank in a short period, it would be doubtful. Rather than having the ability, it would be more convincing to think they’re doing something dishonest behind the scenes.

With that said, if I were a noble, those guys complaining wouldn’t approach with discomfort or make accusations. But we’ve already been exposed as not being nobility over this past month.

At first, they felt tension, but after witnessing Sofia’s attitude and me working without complaints, a guild staff member asked if I was a noble.

Since falsely claiming nobility would be a crime, I reluctantly revealed that I was just a commoner with a bit of money. From then on, I was treated without any particular tension. But once they find out I’m not a noble, such drawbacks tend to happen.

Well, if I’m not a noble and just a wealthy person, there’s no problem with attacking me, and they can make false accusations. That’s why people like that inevitably show up.

“Yeah, sadly, some attribute their own lack of effort to others.”

“Elves don’t seem to have much of that, right? Like jealousy.”

Watching Lilia and the others, I feel that they have less malice towards others. Even when we were attacked before, it seemed more about being conscious of helping comrades than malice.

“It’s not like it doesn’t exist, you know? Resentment and jealousy are there. But then, they think, ‘Well, if that’s the case, I should work harder.’ They praise their comrades’ success and turn that into motivation for their own efforts.”

“They have a strong sense of camaraderie. Is it like being a close family for the entire race?”

“Yeah, something like that. But it’s a bit different.”

Seeing the puzzled look on my face, Randel agrees with my understanding but then shakes his head in denial.

“I said before, the Elves living in one place share the same ancestors. So, how do I put it? It feels like they’re connected at a deeper level, like they’re connected at the fundamental level. It might be hard to understand for other races… Oh. Think of it like picturing a tree. There’s a main tree, and from there, branches and fruits sprout. Think of the branches as families and the fruits as individuals. So, even though the colors and shapes of the fruits are different for each, as long as they’re not severed from the main trunk, they’re all connected. Something like that.”

“I see. Each is an ‘individual’ yet also a part of a ‘group.'”

“Yeah, that’s the feeling.”

It’s a feeling I don’t quite grasp, but I think I’ve got a rough image. In essence, Elves are like replicas or copies of their original ancestor, a bit like a degraded replica rather than a perfect copy.

It’s not a perfect copy, but more like a replica that degrades during copying, which is why differences emerge, forming their individuality. However, I believe that even if they say it degrades, the fundamental parts are replicated perfectly.

Well, there wouldn’t be any fights. In a sense, everyone is ‘themselves.’ Because in a way, they’re all ‘family.’ Even if there’s a bit of a scuffle, they would quickly understand each other and come to an agreement.

“R-right, we got a bit off-topic. So, um, what was it? …Ah yes, the talk about suspicions of foul play.” Ah, right. That was it. Come to think of it, it was about that. But I’ve pretty much heard everything I needed to hear, so I understand what he’s trying to say.

“I get it. Essentially, they’re saying, ‘Prove yourself because we find you suspicious. If you’re fake, face the consequences or leave.’ Is that the gist?”

“Haha. I wouldn’t put it that way, but yeah, that’s the general idea.”

Randel chuckled awkwardly, not denying but rather affirming my interpretation. Truly, it’s troublesome.

“So, what should we do then? It’s implying we need to do something, right?”

It’s a hassle, but leaving it alone won’t make the problem disappear. So, it’s probably better to settle this matter here and now. It would be inconvenient if we were accused of stalling and time wasting when we have urgent matters later.

“It’s simple. We’ll team up with the complaining adventurers, and as a watchdog, the Adventurer’s Guild will send someone along. Let them hunt with you together. If you can defeat monsters without any issues, then the complainer will have to keep quiet.”

Indeed, with that approach, we could likely convince the complaining party. It’s a foolproof method to prove that we do possess the strength they doubt.

However, with that method…

“But teaming up would mean revealing our capabilities, right?”

Until now, we’ve been acting on our own. Not just our abilities, but we’ve tried to avoid revealing our identities as much as possible. That’s why even the other adventurers, let alone the guild, don’t fully understand our way of fighting.

Well, that would make us even more suspicious, I suppose. Because if they can’t understand how we defeated the monsters, they can’t assert that we really did defeat them.

“I hope you’ll accept it as unavoidable. However, I do intend to compensate appropriately, as forcing adventurers to reveal their abilities is frowned upon. Considering this compulsion, we’re prepared to offer compensation. Specifically…”

Adventurers put their lives on the line in their work, so coercing them to reveal their capabilities is a breach of etiquette. Asking someone to expose their abilities is a minor offense, usually dealt with a fine or a warning. However, in severe cases, it could lead to imprisonment.

Given that we’re enforcing it, Randel took out a piece of paper and handed it to us.

I took the paper and quickly glanced at its contents. The amount written there was substantial. To put it into perspective, it’s an amount where a C-rank adventurer could live quite luxuriously for a year without working much. To make it easier to understand, it’s what an average household would earn in ten years. In Japanese yen, it would be around fifty million.

Sofia must have peered into my hands and understood the contents of the paper, given the small ‘eh’ that escaped her lips and the tremble in her body. But I’m the same. Frankly, I have no idea why such a large amount was proposed.

Understanding the contents of the paper, which left me surprised, I turned to Randel, who was smiling happily.

“I’d like to consider this as a reward for you both. Additionally, depending on the outcome, I intend to specially promote your rank to E.”

“To promote me to E rank… that’s an unexpected and hopeful prospect, but it will undoubtedly attract attention. It’s literally ‘special treatment.’ There’s no way not to stand out.”

According to my father, I apparently share the same hair color as my mother, and my face and aura resemble hers. If someone who knows my mother were to take an interest in me, they might find out from there.

…But honestly, we’ve been hiding our identities all along, and in that regard, I don’t see it as a problem. After all, we came from Karakas. In most cases, it’s just like, ‘Oh, that city.’

Besides, there are benefits. Standing out isn’t always a bad thing. It’s only natural to want to keep promising individuals who receive special treatment close, and doing so would make it easier to pave the way to my mother by establishing connections with some noble.

Plus, if I receive special treatment, the number of people bothering me might decrease, but I’m not sure about this, as there might be people who bother me precisely because of it.

However, despite the merits and demerits, it’s true that I fundamentally don’t want to draw attention to myself.

Even so, even if I end up receiving special treatment and standing out, I have made up my mind to increase my rank.

With only a year left, I have no choice but to charge ahead, even if there’s a slight risk of being exposed. If I don’t, there’s no way I could get close to a queen.

“Even just the money is quite a substantial amount. Is it okay to raise the rank of minors?”

“It’s fine, it’s fine. Those with power should be appropriately recognized. Plus, you have to create favor where you can, right?”

Favor, huh… Well, certainly, if they treat us so favorably, I’d find it difficult to just cut ties with the adventurer’s guild or Randel over some minor issues. It’s better to have more collaborators, and unless there’s a significant inconvenience, I’m inclined to lend a hand.

In addition, considering the future when I become A or S rank, paying a large sum here to avoid being disliked is probably a small price to pay.

But well, now that I understand these underlying aspects, it doesn’t mean we won’t be mutually beneficial. Let’s allow them to create this favor.

“Well, if that works for you, then that’s fine… But, ah, we won’t expose our entire hand when we fight, okay?”

I agree to acting together, but that doesn’t mean I plan to expose everything. Ideally, I’d rather not use all the abilities of the ‘Farmer’ skill, but that might be difficult.

But well, let’s think about that later.

“Of course, that’s fine. However, please leave the combat to just the two of you.”

“That’s not a problem. In any case, there won’t be anyone to fight alongside us.”

There aren’t many acquaintances here, to be honest… Well, at least not ‘here.’ Once we go back to our hometown, we’ll have plenty of acquaintances.

“So, about the schedule, are you free in three days?”

Honestly, I could start even from tomorrow without an issue. I don’t really have anything to do or something I specifically want to do.

“Ah, that’s not a problem.”

“Okay. In that case, could you come to the guild before the bell rings on the morning of the third day?”

“Got it.”

And so, to clear the suspicion of cheating that was placed on us, we agreed to the request from the guild and left the scene. Three days later, after preparing our equipment, we returned to the guild to proceed with the mission.