Helping with Adventurer Party Management - Chapter 299

“He’s quite an amusing fellow, isn’t he? I knew the name Baron Berthold, but I didn’t realize he’d be that type of person.”

When I cautiously bring up the request for an escort, Jilboa surprisingly accepts it in high spirits. Apparently, he has had dealings with the Baron before. When they hunted a winged beast—a griffon—the Baron bought the materials at a high price. Now that I think about it, I do remember seeing feathers and materials from winged beasts piled up in that atelier, and I recall sketches of such creatures as well.

“And goblin extermination? That brings back memories. We’ve mostly been facing big monsters lately. This might be a good time for a break,” Jilboa says with a nostalgic smile.

The Sword Fangs Legion is steadily growing in numbers. Jilboa no longer just swings his sword; he has other responsibilities now, and he might be feeling some stress because of them.

“The last request was an expedition to defeat a sub-dragon. The mountain path was harder than the battle itself,” Jilboa continues.

Wait, did he just say dragon?

“Did you say dragon?” I ask, unsure if I heard him correctly.

“It’s a sub-dragon. Not one of those legendary monsters that flies and spits fire,” Jilboa explains. “It’s just a really big lizard. About the size of a house. It blends into the rocks and attacks from there. It has hard scales, too. I had a tough time cutting off its head.”

“That’s… amazing,” I respond, trying to process what he just said.

From his description, it sounds like Jilboa himself cut off the sub-dragon’s head. Cutting off the head of a creature the size of a house? Is he even human? Rather than stepping back and focusing on managing the organization, it seems he’s still on the front lines, swinging his sword.

“The Guardian Shoes are really useful,” he adds. “They help you stand on rocks without slipping, which is a big plus. Because they allow the Sword and Shield Soldiers to stand upright, their injuries from blocking attacks have decreased significantly. I had a good feeling when I invested in your shoes.”

“A good feeling, huh?” I say.

“Yes, a hunch,” Jilboa confirms. “And speaking of hunches, I think the situation with Baron Berthold is pretty interesting. And so is the pamphlet Kenji is trying to distribute.”

I don’t want to doubt Jilboa’s intuition, but I feel he’s overestimating the significance of the pamphlet.

“The pamphlet I’m working on is more for novice adventurers. I don’t think it has much relevance for a top-tier clan like the Sword Fangs Legion,” I say, shaking my head.

Jilboa just grins. “Remember when Kenji brought up the Guardian Shoes? You said you wanted to make shoes for novice adventurers that could be bought with a large copper coin. Do you remember what I said then? And what happened since then? Who was right—me or you?”

Hearing that, I can only respond with a bitter smile.

I once made a living guiding novice adventurers. When I was asked to show the prototype Guardian Shoes to the Sword Fangs Legion, Jilboa pointed out my naivety. Though there have been many twists and turns since then, shoe manufacturing has turned into a legitimate business, and I can’t deny that Jilboa’s support has been instrumental in helping us reach this point.

“Well, it is what it is. Just leave the task of guarding Baron Berthold to the Sword Fangs Legion,” Jilboa says with a laugh, clearly amused.