An Old Man Restaurant Owner Is Unparalleled by Relying on His Old Tricks. It Turns Out, He’s the Legendary Dungeon Conqueror. - 64

Chapter 64: It Might Have Been Difficult for Us to Take it by Force

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“Hi~ Nagao-san and Nishida-san~ We’ve been waiting for you! Thank you so much for coming all the way here!~”

A cheerful middle-aged Ameria man said in broken Japanese as he welcomed me and Nagao-san. He looked relatively small for an amerian. He didn’t seem to be much taller than me.

“This gentleman is Ruth-san. The Ameria Ambassador to Japan.”

Nagao-san explained. It seemed this cheerful old man was a big shot in Ameria Embassy here. While he gave off a rather friendly vibe, the two Ameria men standing behind him were the direct opposite of him. The two men made the whole room feel suffocating.

“Those two men… They are quite strong.”

“Yes, of course they are. Both of them are S-rank explorers from Ameria.”

One of them was a towering black man, nearly two meters tall. With his muscular build and stern expression, he looked every bit like a bodyguard for high-ranking officials. The other one was a young white man who was only a bit taller than me. This young man had blond hair and blue eyes, giving me the impression of a prince. However, his eyes were watching me closely. It was clear to see he was wary of me.

“Nishida-san, your recent achievements have become a hot topic in my home country as well. It’s truly a great honor to finally meet you! If possible, I’d love to sit down for tea with you to hear more about your great adventurers, but alas… It doesn’t seem we can do that today. HAHAHAHAHA!!”

Ruth-san laughed boisterously before his whole body language changed. 

“Now… Shall we get straight to the point? Do you have the item with you?”

In response to his question, I took out the Elixir.

“This… This is the real deal.”

“…Yes. No doubt about it.”

The two men behind Ruth-san gasped softly before they whispered among themselves in English. They then nodded to each other. I had expected for them to conduct an appraisal first, but I guess they didn’t feel the need to go that far. Ruth-san took the Elixir from me and handed it to the young white man behind him. The Elixir disappeared from sight. That man probably had some kind of storage-related skill. They paid me by cheque. The number 20 billion yen was clearly written on the cheque, but I couldn’t help but wonder if this single paper could be worth that much. Well, there was no way they would scam me anyway. 

“Okaaay!~ With this, the transaction has been completed! Here’s to maintaining the good relations between our two nations!”

The transaction for the Elixir was proceeding surprisingly smoothly. We were able to leave the embassy without any problem. 

“Phew. I was really nervous…”

“Oh, so even someone like Nishida-san can get nervous.”

“Of course. This was my first time visiting an embassy.”

It was my first time in any government offices, for that matter. 

“…So that’s what made you nervous? Then, what about those two S-rankers?”

“What about them…. Well, they definitely looked strong and they sometimes tried to pressure me ever so subtly. However, since they never exuded any clear murderous intent, I didn’t feel that bothered.”

“I see… As expected from Nishida-san. To be honest, I was drenched in cold sweat from all that pressure and I used to be an S-rank explorer myself.”

“Oh, really? I see. That makes sense.”

Just as I suspected, Nagao-san used to be an explorer indeed. No wonder she was able to become the director at such a young age. It made sense if she used to work as an S-rank explorer. 

“By the way, hadn’t you agreed to the deal that Ameria pushed on us this time, those two S-rankers might’ve been sent as assassins instead.”

“Seriously?”

“Yes. You didn’t find it strange? We told them about our visit on such short notice, but there were already two S-rankers waiting in the embassy. It was clear to see they had been sent here in advance. They were prepared to use force if necessary. Ameria has nearly a hundred S-rank explorers. If the government ever decides to act, they can mobilize those S-rankers as soldiers. That’s definitely not something we can do here.”

As expected from the world’s most powerful dungeon nation… Their scale of operation was on a whole different level.

“So the strange stares I had been getting were all from them?”

“Most probably. Well, it could have been another group too. There are plenty of people within our country who would do anything to get their hands on the Elixir. It’s practically a miracle that you haven’t been attacked yet. Then again, not many groups have the confidence and firepower to attack an S-rank explorer like yourself.”

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At the Ameria Embassy in Japan

After the two Japanese left the building, Ambassador Ruth asked the top explorers that had been sent by his home country a question. 

“So? How was it? What did you think of that Japanese guy, Nishida?”

The first to respond was the black man. 

“I had seen videos of him fighting before, but… He really exceeded my expectations. I never imagined there would be a man of his caliber in this far eastern island nation. TO be honest, I don’t even dare to think what would  happen if I had to fight that man.”

“Oooh? Really? He’s that strong?!”

Upon closer inspection, a thin sheen of sweat was forming on the black man’s forehead, which surprised Ruth even more. After all, S-rank explorers were not categorized as ordinary human. They were monsters who could complete a marathon faster than a train without breaking a sweat. The blond man also nodded in agreement.

“Yes. I also tried to pressure him a few times, but he remained completely unfazed. I heard Rinko, the one next to him, was a former S-rank explorer, but that man is on a whole different level than her. We were sent here just in case the negotiations ell through, but… If I may be honest, it might have been difficult for us to take the Elixir from him by force.”

“Then it’s truly fortunate they accepted our demands without any complaint!”

Ruth clapped his hands cheerfully. Then, with the same playful expression on his face, Ruth then added. 

“…I’m really glad! I truly am! If things had gone south, we might have to send much more dangerous individuals over to him, instead of reasonable S-rankers like you two! Although our nations maintain a friendly relationship with Japan, but there are plenty of Japanese who hate our country! It would’ve been a real pain in the butt to deal with had there been any casualties over this transaction! HAHAHAHA!”

The S-rankers who had acquired the Elixir immediately went back home in a private jet. Of course, their job wouldn’t be finished until they had delivered the Elixir. The aircraft soared high into the sky and the black man glanced down at the small island nation and muttered quietly. 

“The Kitchen Samurai of the Far East… Nishida. I may run into him again somewhere, someday.”

Meanwhile, on the very same day that the two S-rankers left Japan, a beautiful foreign woman with flowing platinum blonde hair had just arrived in Japan.

“So this is her birthplace… Japan, huh? It’s not a bad country, but… It’s too small for her. Not to mention, this nation is practically a third world country in terms of dungeons. She’s someone who should be thriving on a much larger stage. Not here.”

The beautiful woman muttered in fluent Japanese, albeit with slightly odd intonations. Her eyes were gleaming, showing a deep concern for a certain someone as she continued on. 

“Nana, I will definitely bring you back to our Great French Union!”

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