Chapter 82: The Bandit Hunt and an Unwanted Proposal

To find a suitable commission, I visited the Adventurers’ Guild and discovered a rather strange phenomenon.

The types of requests pinned to the commission board were heavily skewed to one side.

There were far fewer monster subjugation requests than before.

Instead, simpler requests, such as gathering medicinal herbs, had taken their place.

Of course, monster subjugation requests hadn’t disappeared entirely.

It was just that commissions for weaker monsters like goblins and wolves had vanished.

Requests for hunting monsters that provided valuable materials, as well as those specifically requiring such materials, were still present.

At that moment, an adventurer approached the board, glanced over the requests, and let out a sigh.

He didn’t seem particularly disappointed—rather, there was a sense of resignation, as if he had grown used to this situation.

“Excuse me.”

“Huh?”

I decided to strike up a conversation with him.

“The types of commissions on the board are unusually biased. Why is that? It wasn’t like this before.”

“The problem is that winter has gotten longer. With the endless cold, monsters have migrated elsewhere.”

“Does that have anything to do with the increase in herb-gathering requests?”

“Yeah. Because of the prolonged winter, wild herbs have become harder to find. Since stores can’t stock them either, people resort to posting requests… But honestly, if even professional merchants can’t get them, what makes them think adventurers can?”

“I see. Thanks for the explanation.”

I handed the adventurer a silver coin as a token of appreciation. With a light smile, he accepted it and left the guild.

I turned my gaze back to the commission board, frowning.

I had hoped to take on something light with a short duration, but given the current situation, even that seemed nearly impossible.

No wonder the number of adventurers inside the guild had noticeably decreased.

“Hey, Seris?”

A strangely familiar voice called out to me.

Turning toward the source, I saw a receptionist waving at me while holding a thick stack of commission papers.

I didn’t know their name, but I had seen them a few times and recognized their face.

“Hello.”

“Did you just get back from Monster Island?”

“Yes, I managed to return safely.”

“Did you make a lot of money?”

“More than I expected.”

“Huh… That’s good.”

The receptionist muttered as they approached the board and began sorting through the requests—removing expired ones and pinning up new ones.

As they worked, they asked, “Are you looking for a specific kind of commission?”

“I wanted something light, but I can’t seem to find any.”

“Hmm, yeah. How long were you thinking for the request duration?”

“Are you going to find one for me?”

“If there’s anything that fits.”

The receptionist chuckled and held up the stack of commission papers in their hands.

“I’d prefer something that doesn’t last more than ten days.”

They scanned through the papers at my request, but soon let out a sigh and shook their head.

“You might have better luck checking with the guards.”

“The guards?”

“The kingdom recently put a bounty on the local bandits. If you capture them, the reward is quite decent. And since you’re Silver rank, it should be manageable for you.”

“Bandits? Around here?”

“With the weather like this, what do you expect? People can’t farm, so a lot of them have turned to banditry just to survive.”

“Thanks for the information.”

“No problem. If you need anything else, drop by anytime. There are plenty of places looking for Silver-ranked adventurers.”

After saying my goodbyes to the receptionist, I left the guild.

I had already noticed that the smiles had disappeared from the townspeople’s faces, but I never expected that even bandits were now running rampant.

It seemed like the kingdom’s security was plunging just as fast as the temperature.

Crossing the icy roads, I arrived at the city’s guard headquarters. Apart from the soldier guarding the entrance, there was no one else in sight.

“What brings you here?” the guard asked as I approached.

“I heard there’s a bounty for taking down bandits, so I came to inquire about it.”

“You? Taking on bandits?”

Judging by his reaction, he found it hard to believe because of my appearance.

I exhaled a white puff of breath and pulled the Silver-rank badge from my pocket, showing it to him.

“This is…”

The guard examined the badge, furrowing his brows in thought.

After a brief moment of hesitation, he told me to wait and disappeared into the building.

I wasn’t sure how much time had passed, but eventually, he returned, accompanied by what appeared to be his superior.

“So, you’re the one… You’re…?”

The man frowned as he looked me up and down, but his expression changed the moment his gaze landed on the silver badge in my hand.

“Huh. So, you really are a Silver-ranked swordsman?”

“Yes.”

“Hard to believe. If you don’t mind, would you be okay with us verifying your rank with the guild?”

“Of course.”

Upon hearing my response, the man smirked slightly, then smacked the back of the soldier’s head.

“Well? Hurry up and go.”

“Ah, y-yes…”

The soldier, rubbing the back of his head, began walking off hesitantly.

“Hurry it up!” the man barked.

“Y-yes, sir!”

Startled, the soldier broke into a run. Watching with satisfaction, the man then turned to me and said,

“It’s cold out here. Why don’t you come inside and wait?”

“Sounds good.”

He led me into the reception room. As I sat on the plush sofa, he introduced himself.

“I’m Mikel, the captain of the guard.”

“I’m Seris.”

We exchanged a bit of idle conversation. Mikel mostly asked questions, and I answered—where I had been recently, what kind of commissions I usually took on, and so on.

“Monster Island, huh… You went to such a dangerous place?”

“It was a fascinating place.”

“I’d like to hear more about it in detail.”

Mikel showed great interest in the adventures I recounted.

With such an engaged listener, the storyteller naturally became more enthusiastic.

He even took out some snacks he had hidden for himself and offered them to me.

Just as I reached the part where I arrived at the forest where the King lived, there was a knock at the door, followed by a voice.

The guard who had gone to check with the inspection guild had returned.

Once Mikel gave his permission, the guard entered and whispered to him in a low voice.

Though their conversation was inaudible to normal human ears, my enhanced hearing caught every word. However, I pretended not to notice.

After hearing everything, Mikel waved his hand dismissively and sent the guard away.

With just the two of us remaining, he stood up and bowed his head slightly.

“I apologize for doubting you. I hope you’ll accept my apology.”

“No, it’s fine. If I were in your position, I wouldn’t have trusted so easily either.”

After that, we discussed the bandits. Mikel explained why they had formed and who their leader was.

While examining a large map with him and listening to his explanations, a question came to mind.

“But Mikel, why isn’t the guard force handling this directly?”

“There are too many bandit groups like this.”

“You mean they’re short on manpower?”

“Exactly. That’s why we rely on adventurers like you.”

“There must be a lot of them.”

Mikel gave a bitter smile and continued.

“I’d like to ask that you refrain from excessive killing, if possible. They made these choices because they had no other way to survive.”

“All of them?”

“No, their leader is an exception. There’s no need to spare him. Bring me his head, and I’ll make sure you’re well rewarded.”

With that, Mikel handed me a wanted poster with rough-looking men sketched on it.

I nodded, took the poster, and stood up immediately.

“Alright. I’ll be back soon.”

“You’re leaving right away?”

“The sooner, the better, isn’t it?”

Answering with a light smile, I left the guard post.

Two days had passed since I set out to subjugate the bandits.

Finding them had been easy. A young girl riding alone from place to place was an irresistible target. However, tracking down their leader was much more difficult.

I hadn’t encountered him even once so far, meaning he was a cautious one.

“Hurry up and walk!”

I shouted at the captives, whose hands were bound by rope as they trudged along.

I had captured a total of ten bandits this time. When I first encountered them, they reeked of blood.

Given that an Iron-ranked adventurer’s corpse had been found nearby, they were undoubtedly responsible.

Thus, I led them toward the capital of the Karma Empire.

The cold weather had caused frostbite on their fingers and toes, leading to necrosis, but that wasn’t my concern.

“Good work!”

The guards at the city gate greeted me briefly.

Since this was my third return, they opened the path without question.

Clip-clop, clip-clop—

The sound of my Nightmare’s hooves and the rough breathing of the bandits slowly dispersed into the air.

I delivered them to the guards and received my predetermined reward.

Of course, they had to verify that these captives were truly bandits, but the process didn’t take long.

“Uh, Seris? Could you wait a moment?”

Just as I was about to leave after collecting my payment, a guard called out to me.

“What is it?”

“Well… there’s a guest waiting for you.”

“A guest… for me?”

I frowned.

I had few connections, so I couldn’t think of anyone who would be looking for me.

At best, I considered Su or Shu, who had left our hometown to become adventurers.

Clank—

A heavy presence, accompanied by firm footsteps, approached from behind.

Clank.

Judging by the aura, this imposing figure must be the one looking for me.

I tensed my muscles and turned around.

“You are Seris?”

“Do you know me?”

The speaker was a middle-aged knight clad in full plate armor.

Judging by the quality of his equipment and the aura he exuded, he was far from an ordinary opponent.

As a swordsman, he was likely on the same level as Selion—perhaps even stronger.

The knight stroked his beard with his gleaming silver gauntlet before speaking.

“I’ve heard many rumors about you, the elf swordswoman chosen by Hyland.”

“El—Elf swordswoman…?”

I barely had time to feel embarrassed by the cringeworthy title before the knight made an absurd proposal.

“That steed of yours—is it a Nightmare? I’d like to buy it.”

It wasn’t even a question worth considering. I frowned and answered.

“No.”

“I’ll pay seventy thousand gold…”

“No.”

“Then eighty thou—”

“No.”

The knight’s face twisted at my repeated refusals. Taking a deep breath, he spoke again.

“Listen carefully, Seris. A fine steed should belong to a fine knight.”

I let out a long sigh and turned away.

He wasn’t someone I could reason with.

His aura alone made it clear—he had an unshakable belief in his own righteousness.

“Then I’ll offer one hundred thousand gold.”

His voice carried over my shoulder.

But no amount of gold could change my mind.

Outside the guard post, my Nightmare was waiting for me.

The creature, seemingly unsettled by the gazes around it, stomped its hooves impatiently.

But the moment it saw me, it rushed over and licked my cheek.

Snort—

How could I possibly sell such a beautiful companion?

If people were now calling me the “Elf Swordswoman” and knights like him were seeking me out, then my reputation must have grown significantly after subjugating the bandits.

I mounted my Nightmare, took the reins, and galloped toward my next destination.