TERNLF Vol. 1 Chapter 2 Part 3

Full title: The Exiled Reincarnated Noble Lives Freely

Note: If you found any typos/mistakes, pls write them in the comment. Thanks.

Translator: Canon

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“This certainly appears to be a cursed tool.”

At the temporary Guild counter, I explained the situation to the receptionist and asked for their cooperation.

After verifying the pendant and demonstrating that it interfered with magic activation when worn, I made it clear that—even if that group of men had filed a report against Nikka—it was a false accusation.

However—

“There has indeed been a claim for compensation filed against Miss Nikka earlier.”

“Compensation?”

“Yes. For misrepresenting her abilities.”

“But we just proved that was false! Get that claim withdrawn.”

I leaned over the counter, raising my voice in protest.

But the receptionist’s response was entirely unexpected.

“Even if it was due to a cursed tool, the fact remains that they incurred damages.”

“Damages? It’s not like anyone was injured or nearly killed, right?”

“In this profession, any occurrence that endangers one’s party is considered grounds for punishment, that’s the rule.”

“We just proved she wasn’t lying and didn’t harm anyone.”

“Yes, and yet the fact remains that they suffered actual loss.”

“And what kind of loss are we talking about, exactly?”

“It seems they were forced to cancel a request they could have completed today due to Miss Nikka’s negligence. As a result, the commission was taken by another adventuring party. That loss was formally reported.”

Negligence.

It was true that Nikka had accepted the pendant without inspecting it and wore it without question. That carelessness had left her unable to use healing magic, which led to the group abandoning their quest.

I didn’t know what the commission entailed, but it must’ve been something time-sensitive.

You couldn’t just snap your fingers and find another free healer who could use recovery magic.

With no other option, they canceled the job and reported the lost reward—what should’ve been their earnings—as a claim against Nikka.

“…So how much are they demanding?”

I realized Nikka couldn’t be considered completely blameless. Rather than wasting time arguing, it seemed wiser to just pay the damages and resume our search for Grassa.

They’d hired a temporary healer only capable of basic spells.

And the request was something that could be completed in a single day.

The sum shouldn’t be too high.

“Ten gold coins.”

“…What?”

“The compensation, including the fine, amounts to ten gold coins. The original quest had a listed success reward of one hundred gold coins.”

Whoa, hold on. That couldn’t be right.

In this country, a single gold coin was enough to live on for a month—as long as you weren’t extravagant.

As a brand-new adventurer, I didn’t know all the going rates for commissions.

Still, even I could tell: no basic request would ever offer a hundred gold.

“…I don’t have anything close to that kind of money.”

Beside me, Nikka whispered tearfully, having listened in silence all this time.

Of course she didn’t.

She’d only just arrived from the countryside, there was no way she had that kind of fortune.

“And if we can’t pay?”

“In that case, her adventurer license will be revoked, and she’ll be permanently expelled. The only alternative is to negotiate directly with the claimants and persuade them to withdraw the complaint.”

Permanent expulsion over something this minor?

By the standards of my previous life, the punishment seemed absurdly severe.

But here, adventuring involved life-and-death risks.

Even the smallest error could prove fatal.

That’s why infractions that could lead to death—especially those involving deceit—were dealt with harshly.

The best course of action would be to find those men, have them witness Nikka’s healing firsthand, and get them to drop the complaint.

But with no sign of them in the Guild Home, tracking them down would waste precious time.

And if something happened to Grassa or her party in the meantime, it would leave a scar on Nikka’s heart that might never heal.

Besides, one thing still troubled me.

When Nikka had healed my wound earlier, the magic had clearly taken longer than expected.

Until I understood why, there was a chance even a demonstration wouldn’t convince them.

With all that in mind, I made my decision.

“Fine. I’ll pay it.”

I slapped ten gold coins onto the counter, venting my frustration.

“That settles the debt, right?”

“Y-Yes. One moment, please.”

The receptionist flinched at my intimidation, but began counting the coins.

While he finished the paperwork, I gently patted Nikka’s head as she whispered tearful apologies beside me.

That payment had nearly wiped out my entire savings.

I slightly regretted being so generous when repaying my debt to the Kashit household.

If not for the apology money I received from the Guildmaster, I’d have been forced to start pawning my belongings.

“I’m so sorry… really… I’m sorry.”

“It’s all right, Nikka. Someone who helped me in the past once told me: ‘If you can help someone without overreaching, you must do it.’

And besides, we don’t have time to be standing around, remember?”

I turned away from Nikka, who still looked like she wanted to say something, and fixed my eyes on the receptionist.

“So. That clears Nikka’s record, correct?”

“Yes. I’ve confirmed full payment.”

With that, he retrieved a different form from the back and handed it to Nikka, asking for her signature.

“….”

Nikka silently read through the document, then signed it.

The receptionist added his own signature below, folded the paper in half, and sealed it in a pouch with the coins I’d given him.

He disappeared into the back room again, and after a short while, returned with the official proof of payment.

“Please ensure that something like this never happens again.”

“…Yes, sir…”

Lowering her gaze, Nikka accepted the document and held it out to me.

“Please hold onto this, Mr. Toa.”

“Me?”

“Yes. Until the day I’ve paid you back in full…”

I hesitated for a moment.

I hadn’t paid with any expectation of reimbursement.

But I could tell that letting me hold it would ease Nikka’s conscience.

So I took the slip from her hands.

“Now then. It’s time you tell us about Grassa and which party she joined.”

As I tucked away the certificate, I turned a piercing glare on the previously aloof receptionist, intense enough to make him visibly recoil.

This had been our real reason for coming to the Guild.

We needed to locate Grassa, who was likely still wearing a cursed pendant.

We had to find her quickly and warn her about the item she was unknowingly carrying, and seal or destroy it.

“We’ve already completed that investigation.”

Apparently, while we were discussing the compensation, the receptionist had asked another staff member to check Grassa’s records.

Despite his cold attitude, he was more competent than I’d given him credit for.

Still didn’t make him likable, though.

“So, where is she?”

“Miss Grassa is currently registered with a D-rank party called Windfang.”

That must have been the connection Grassa had mentioned.

In hindsight, it would’ve been better if that lead had fallen through because—

“They departed just before noon, heading east of the capital to subjugate goblins in the forest.”

Grassa and her party had already left the capital to carry out their mission.

—

Several hours had passed since we spoke with the Guild staff about Grassa and her party.

Nikka and I were now galloping eastward from the capital’s gate, riding toward the forested region on horseback.

“Hold on tight so you don’t fall.”

“Okay!”

Ideally, we would have borrowed two horses but as it turned out, Nikka didn’t know how to ride.

And after paying off her compensation claim, my wallet was light enough to feel the sting of the wind.

So, we decided to share a single horse as we made our way toward the forest Grassa and her party had entered.

Unlike motorcycles or other modern vehicles, riding a pillion on a horse demanded its own degree of technique and experience.

Naturally, Nikka had neither.

As a result, I opted to seat her in front of me and tie her around the waist so she wouldn't fall off as we rode.

But I hadn’t anticipated one particular drawback of this arrangement.

“Eek!”

“Guh!”

At first, I’d been secretly delighted by the idea of holding a cute girl while riding.

But after her head smacked me in the chin for the third time, all such thoughts were thoroughly eradicated.

I understood, of course, that the motion of the horse was frightening for someone unaccustomed to it.

Even so, I couldn’t help but shout over the rushing wind, hoping she’d settle down at least a little.

“Grip the saddle tightly so you don’t bounce around so much!”

“O-Okay! But I’m scared!”

Fearing the next surprise headbutt, I gritted my teeth and urged the horse onward, the forest slowly drawing nearer.

By the time I had dodged and absorbed several more blows, we finally arrived at the outskirts of a village situated at the forest’s edge.

Encircled by simple wooden fencing, this modest village was said to sustain itself primarily through forestry.

It housed a dozen or so homes and a single small inn, supposedly built for adventurers traveling into the woods.

Aside from that, the only other establishment was a humble tavern that had been converted from a residential building.

In villages like this, it was common for inns to sell the basic consumables adventurers needed.

We rode through the gate and stopped at the inn to stable our horse, then set off on foot to gather information about Grassa’s party while making our way toward the trail leading into the forest.

After speaking with a few villagers and adventurers returning from their day’s work, we pieced together the situation:

Five parties had entered the forest today on goblin subjugation quests, the same number confirmed by the Guild.

Of course, that didn’t mean all five were hunting in the same location.

So, we still needed to figure out which hunting ground Grassa’s group had gone to.

Fortunately, that information came surprisingly quickly.

“Windfang said they were headed to the eastern hunting ground today.”

It was a swordsman from another adventuring party we encountered who shared that detail.

Apparently, their team had initially accompanied Windfang into the forest but later split off to different areas.

“Come to think of it, there was someone I didn’t recognize. That must’ve been the girl you’re looking for?”

“Yes. Her name is Grassa.”

“Yeah, that was it. She said it was her first time hunting goblins and seemed really fired up.”

From his account, it sounded like Grassa was on very friendly terms with the Windfang party.

Especially their leader, Edra, they appeared to be long-time acquaintances.

He mentioned that Grassa had stuck close to Edra the whole time, chatting excitedly about something.

After thanking the group for the information, Nikka and I picked up our pace and followed the trail toward Windfang’s supposed location.

Soon, we found the landmark we’d been told to look for—a boulder about a meter tall—and approached it.

“This must be the rock?”

“Looks like it. See here, right beside it, there’s a narrow trail leading into the forest.”

I pointed at the ground as I spoke.

The grass was trampled, forming a faint animal trail that disappeared into the woods.

If the report was accurate, Grassa and the others had entered from here.

“We don’t know what might lie ahead. Let’s proceed with caution.”

“Got it.”

As a precaution, I cast light defensive spells on both Nikka and myself before stepping into the forest.

We carefully followed the faint path, weaving between trees and doing our best not to lose the trail.

Nikka followed just behind, her expression tense and wary.

Eventually, I came to a halt.

“Nikka. Stop.”

“Huh?”

“Someone’s coming.”

Through a gap in the trees up ahead, I saw movement; two figures approaching fast from the same trail we were on.

Two people. They were moving unusually fast for forest terrain.

I stepped protectively in front of Nikka and slowly drew my sword, bracing myself.

The way they moved was unsettling: too quick, and too deliberate.

“Stop right there!”

I raised my voice, projecting with force as the figures entered earshot.

“Is someone there?”

A man’s voice responded from the shadows.

Moments later, two figures emerged: a young man and a woman.

From the look on their faces, they hadn’t expected to encounter anyone here.

That reaction alone made it unlikely they were bandits or thieves.

I sheathed my sword but remained alert as Nikka and I cautiously approached.

Then the man raised his voice.

“Are you adventurers?”

“Yes. Are you by any chance members of Windfang?”

I had asked the Guild for a description of each member, just in case.

These two matched perfectly.

The man—slight and wiry in light armor—was likely Opos.

The woman, holding a staff and wearing gear designed to amplify magic, was probably Az, their mage.

“That’s right. But how do you know that? We haven’t met before, have we?”

“We came looking for you. Actually—”

I was just about to mention Grassa when Az suddenly cut in with a piercing cry.

“Why are we standing around talking?! This isn’t the time!”

I’d always disliked shrill voices, even in my previous life.

The kind that made you want to plug your ears.

“If we don’t hurry, Edra and the others—!”

“Right! I forgot!”

Edra, Windfang’s leader and Grassa’s supposed acquaintance.

“What’s going on? Why the panic?”

From their desperate expressions, it was clear things had taken a turn for the worse—far more serious than I’d assumed.

“There’s no time to explain. We’ll tell you on the way to the village—we can’t afford to waste a second!”

Opos tried to dash past us with Az at his side.

“Gwah!”

“Eek!”

But I wasn’t about to let them bolt off without an explanation.

I grabbed both by the collars and yanked them back, scowling.

“You’re not going anywhere until you tell us exactly what happened.”

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