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

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 33

Frog looked resentfully at the receptionist who had taken away the diary. He then turned his attention to another ledger.

“Damn, what a guy! Next!”

Frog began to point to pages rapidly, but Mei answered every page’s content in detail.

“Idiotic, how can such stupidity be…”

“By the way, there are typos on pages 23, 56, and 88 of the ledger you’re holding, and there’s a mistake in the calculation on page 55.”

“What?”

Frog flipped through the pages quickly and checked the contents.

“Damn, indeed…”

He twisted his face and muttered in frustration, not expecting his errors to be pointed out.

“Hmph, you have lost this one. This girl’s memory is flawless.”

With Lort’s backing, it was clear there should be no doubt about Mei’s memory.

“…I see, I see, I see! Wonderful! But, that might just prove it instead.”

“Prove what?”

“Yes. Now, Mei, was it? Answer me. Is the name of that woman, Alecto, mentioned in this ledger?”

Alecto’s name… was it there?

“What about it, Mei?”

“…It was not.”

Not there? What does that mean?

“Hey, you assessed the Aloy herbs that Alecto brought before, right?”

“Yes, I did. But as I said, the assessment didn’t pass. Thus, they weren’t treated as goods, and hence, no rewards were issued. Therefore, there’s no need to record them!”

“What? Don’t be foolish! You people always record debts thoroughly, don’t you?”

“That’s a different matter. Here, we’re primarily dealing with jobs that arise within the guild. There’s no need to keep a record of a non-guild member’s failed Aloy herbs!”

He laughed triumphantly, an irritating man indeed. But I had anticipated this scenario, including the possibility that Alecto’s name wouldn’t be recorded.

“So you’re saying that the Aloy herbs Alecto brought were so bad that they couldn’t be used as products. Then, what did you do with those terrible Aloy herbs?”

“What? We disposed of them, of course! They were in no condition to be sold!”

Good, I heard him clearly state they were disposed of.

“Mei, he says this, but what was the actual situation?”

“Yes, Master. Indeed, Alecto-sama’s name was not in this ledger, but there was a peculiar detail.”

“Peculiar detail? Haha, what nonsense.”

“Alkto.”

Frog’s expression changed dramatically when Mei mentioned that name.

“What’s wrong with that name?”

“Yes. This is the name of an adventurer recorded in the ledger, but oddly, this adventurer has only ever taken on tasks to collect Aloy herbs.”

“Hmm, that’s quite interesting.”

“What’s so strange about that! It’s not odd for an adventurer to only collect magic herbs!”

“Yet, there are no other adventurers like that, are there?”

“So what? There’s just one odd one out there!”

He suddenly became desperate. I always thought this Frog was an easy read.

“Mei, how much Aloy herbs has this adventurer Alkto collected so far?”

“According to the records, this adventurer has collected a total of 5,585 bundles of Aloy herbs, all approved.”

“Alecto, does this number ring any bells?”

“Uh? Uhmm… Ah! That’s right, it’s close to, or perhaps the same as the number I’ve collected… Um, something like that.”

“I thought so.”

“What do you mean ‘I thought so’!”

Frog’s flustered state was quite amusing to watch.

“Where is that record, Mei?”

“Wait!”

“Here it is.”

Frog stretched out his hand, but Mei quickly pulled out the specific document from a pile of ledgers and showed us the relevant page.

“Hmm, I see. Ha, ‘Alkto,’ now this is interesting.”

“What is interesting about it?”

“Just look. Do you recognize this handwriting?”

“I told you to wait! That is sensitive guild information! It shouldn’t be taken lightly!”

“What are you saying now? You brought it here, saying it was okay for you to look.”

“Gu, gu, gu, gu!”

He clenched his fists and gritted his teeth. Lort was right. Frog had been complacent, thinking that no one could verify such a volume of content, and assumed that if Alecto’s name wasn’t found, it wouldn’t raise suspicion, but his lack of thoroughness was apparent.

“Um…”

Then, Alecto tilted her head curiously after reading the relevant section.

“It kind of looks like my handwriting. Strange, isn’t it?”

“That’s your conclusion after realizing all this?”

“Such a pity for a young lady. And to think she’s well-endowed.”

That old man, despite his age, was keen on such details…

“Alecto-sama, how about we try hiding this line here?”

“Eh? Ah! This is my handwriting!”

“So it seems. And?”

“What? What are you trying to say, all of you!”

“Do we really have to spell it out? Listen well. This document in the ledger, marked under ‘Alkto’ in the request column, was originally filled out by Alecto. It was later altered to ‘Alkto,’ wasn’t it? I’m genuinely surprised. Did you really think such a sloppy alteration would go unnoticed?”

“Silence, silence! What basis do you have?”

“A copper coin and a bronze coin.”

“What!”

“Ha, watching your reaction is quite entertaining. The payment per bundle listed in this request is one bronze coin. Can any of you answer, is that the usual payment for Aloy herbs?”

“Uh? Ah, yes, that’s correct, but what of it?”

“No, that’s all I needed to know. Thank you.”

After thanking the adventurer who answered, I turned back to Frog, who was staring fiercely at the adventurer.

“So, what does this mean?”

“Alecto, you really are clueless…”

“That’s harsh!”

Her eyes teared up, but really, she should have noticed.

“Alecto-sama, what it means is that while you should have been receiving one bronze coin per bundle of Aloy herbs, you were only offered a copper coin.”

“That’s right. In reality, the payment should be 20,000 bronze coins for the herbs you’ve collected.”

“Eh! Isn’t a bronze coin worth ten copper coins?”

“Indeed. Glad you know that.”

“Don’t underestimate me!”

Considering how clueless she had been so far, it wasn’t unexpected.

“Wait, she was taking on these requests for just a copper coin per bundle?”

“Seriously… accepting such a job for that payment?”

“It seems like even a child’s errand would pay more…”

And gradually, the adventurers began to sympathize, especially with Alecto.

“Enough already! You make it sound like I’ve been committing fraud!”

“Aren’t you, though?”

“Silence, silence! Those characters just happen to look similar to others! That’s no basis for anything!”

“But according to the adventurer’s registry, there is no adventurer named ‘Alkto.’ How do you explain that?”

“What? An adventurer’s registry?”

“Yes, right here.”

Mei held up the adventurer’s registry. Frog’s eyes widened as he glanced around at the receptionists and yelled.

“What are you thinking! Why is the adventurer’s registry here!”

“Uh? But Foreman Frog, you said to bring all related documents…”

“Silence, silence! Just the ledger would have been enough! Are all of you complete fools! You all might as well be slaves!”

The room fell silent at his remark. The receptionists’ eyes turned cold. Ah, by saying ‘slaves,’ he had definitely turned the receptionists against him.

“You are truly despicable. These receptionists are just diligently doing their jobs.”

“I must say, you are the lowest of the low.”

“Mei-san, that’s quite harsh…”

“But those disdainful eyes are spot on!”

Old man, think about your age… Oh, wait, I’m older!

“Let’s get back to the main topic. As you see, the name isn’t in the registry either. Do you still have anything to argue?”

“Hmph! The adventurer ‘Alkto’ just quit recently! That’s why he’s not in the registry…”

“Eh? I don’t know any adventurer by the name ‘Alkto.'”

“Shut up! Don’t interrupt!”

A receptionist told me this after his earlier blunder. He really did turn the receptionists against him.

“Either way, that excuse is weak. If he truly had quit, there should be a notification. That’s the case with other adventurers.”

“Hmph, the receptionists here are all fools! They probably forgot to process it!”