That Time a Shut-in for 300 Years Continued to Make Antiques , but All of It Turned out to Be Cheat-Level Magic Tools - Chapter 23

“I thought I was going to die…”

“Are you okay?”

After collapsing and even foaming at the mouth, Mei helped me recover. The maidroid Mei is equipped to handle recovery magic just for such emergencies. Moreover, if she reads magical books, she can understand and learn them on her own due to her learning function.

“But man, that was a shock. I never expected such intense magic to be used. Since transfer magic was involved, I should have been more cautious. To think I actually took the idea of fighting with magical instruments seriously…”

“No, what are you talking about? That was indeed a magical instrument!”

“Monk, in the real world, using a wand to perform magic isn’t considered battling with magical instruments.”

“That’s why this is not a wand. It’s a revolver-type magical instrument. The transfer magic you mentioned is also a magical instrument.”

“Alright, alright.”

He seems intent on framing what I used purely as magic, keeping the information he knows hidden.

Hmm, quite the tight-lipped adventurer.

“Well, anyway, I understand you quite well now. Generally, you can understand what someone is like by battling them. Now, hey you guys!”

“Eek!”

I’d like to say it’s absurd, but since it seems they understood the misunderstanding, I didn’t point it out. I shouted to stop those punk adventurers who were trying to sneak away.

“Ha ha, ah, Aniki, too bad for you.”

“I’m not your Aniki! And you guys, if you tell the truth now, I’ll still forgive you.”

Standing up and stepping forward, cracking my knuckles, I interrogated them. It was almost a threat.

“I’m sorry, Hazan-san! The truth is, we were the ones who attacked first!”

“We thought we could easily scare a brat with a busty, sexy maid into listening to us!”

“We thought we could get money and women, ha ha!”

You guys are confessing way too much. It’s like they’re babbling because of a truth-telling magical instrument.

“I see, I understand. Thanks for being honest.”

“So, you’ll forgive us then!”

As they all raised their heads together, filled with hope and looked at Hazan.

“Huh? Forgive you, you rotten bastards?”

“Wh-what? No, that’s not what we meant, aaaaah!”

And so, the three fools were ultimately punished by Hazan. In the end, it turned out worse than when we dealt with them.

“I’m really sorry. I’ll report these scum to the guild and have them expelled.”

“Well, I’ll leave that to you. That matter is settled for us.”

Though the misunderstanding was resolved and they apologized very humbly, I first thought what a muscle-brained guy he was, but he seemed to have at least a minimum of decency.

“However, that doesn’t satisfy me. Look, I’m a B-rank adventurer. If there’s anything I can help with, just ask! I’ll help with anything!”

“Ah, yeah, I’ll just take your willingness to help gratefully.”

I never thought I’d make a connection with an adventurer in such a way. I have no good feelings towards the guild, but since he feels unsatisfied, I might as well listen to him, as you never know what might come of it.

“Then I guess I’ll take these idiots with me. See ya!”

And with that, Hazan left, carrying the three punks. Even if not as powerful as Mei, he still showed considerable strength.

“Well, we’ve wasted some odd time here, but let’s get going.”

“Yes, Master.”

◇◆◇

“Yeah, who are you guys?”

“Ah, from yesterday…”

As we made our appearance at the magic guild, to our surprise, there was already someone there. I thought it was virtually out of business, but it seems they do have some visitors.

However, thinking about it, it makes sense. The guild couldn’t possibly sustain itself without any clients.

“I have some business here, but I can wait until you finish your conversation.”

“Hmph, strange kid. I’ll tell you this: if you came here to buy something, it’s a waste of time.”

Who is this man? I thought he was a customer of the guild, but his words are too harsh.

“Excuse me, please wait just a moment. Um, how did the items you collected turn out?”

“That’s right. We assessed it at the guild, but the Alloy Grass was in pretty bad shape. Normally, no one would handle such stuff, but leniently speaking, 99 of the 500 might be usable.”

“Wait, 99? That means…”

Alloy Grass… so this man commissioned the collection of Alloy Grass.

Alloy Grass is a basic magical herb used in medicines. It commonly grows in forests filled with a certain level of magical power.

Collecting this type of magical herb is typically a job for novice adventurers, or at least it used to be.

But now it seems the magic guild has taken on such tasks. Indeed, finding things is a specialty of magic and magical instruments.

“Yes, the task was to collect 100 pieces of Alloy Grass. However, only 99 are usable, so technically, it’s a failed mission. You’ll have to pay a penalty.”

“What? A penalty?”

I blurted out, and the rude man glared at me. He’s a middle-aged man with hair only around his ears and a face like a frog.

“Can’t we do something about this? I picked at least 500 Alloy Grass. And now you’re telling me it’s all for nothing over just one missing piece?”

“Sorry, but we have rules. I can’t accept that.”

“Wait a moment.”

“What do you want now? If it’s none of your business, stay out of it!”

He frowned unhappily and waved his hand dismissively, but I couldn’t just stand by and watch.

“It is my business. I’m affiliated with this guild, after all.”

“What!?”

The woman in glasses was surprised. Well, that’s a lie, but I had to say something to get involved.

“Affiliated? A brat like you? Ha! What a joke. What has this guild come to, recruiting such insolent kids because they can’t gather enough people?”

He pointed at me and laughed derisively. Being young in appearance is indeed troublesome.

“No, that, um…”

“Please just go along with this,” Mei whispered to the confused woman beside her.

“Anyway, a penalty is not something I can overlook. As a member of this guild, I must protest.”

“Huh? Protest? Do you even understand your position? We’re doing you a favor by sending work to this rundown guild from the adventurer’s guild!”

I see. That explains the oddity. He’s an employee of the adventurer’s guild.

“So you took on the task of collecting magical herbs.”

“That’s right. Since the task wasn’t completed, the penalty is justified.”

“And how much is the reward, and how much is the penalty?”

“What, you don’t even know that?”

He looked down at me condescendingly. His expression exuded his unpleasant character.

“Listen, the job was to collect at least 100 pieces of Alloy Grass, each worth a copper coin.”

That’s incredibly cheap. Well, the herb is relatively easy to obtain, but still, that’s a ridiculously low fee for such a task.

“And the penalty?”

“Since 401 out of the 500 pieces you brought were unusable, the penalty is one silver coin per piece. So, you owe 401 silver coins as a penalty.”

“What?”