The Leader Descends to the Guild - Part 3

…

I was walking down a dirt path surrounded by muck under a sky that was beginning to clear.

"One hour, he said…!!! I've been walking for at least three damn hours and I still can't see anything that resembles a stupid city!!!"

That guy tricked me, he really saw my face! I can't believe I trusted someone like that, I must be an idiot for believing him. Damn it! Just thinking about it makes me even angrier! But... what am I doing?!

I stopped my complaints after hearing what sounded like galloping from behind.

"Do you want a ride, kid?"

A cart stopped next to me. A man, probably in his forties with a mustache, a big belly, and dressed in what could be considered peasant clothing, offered me help.

"Unless you want to reach the next city by noon, I suggest you take my offer."

Noon?! That damn guy told me it would take an hour!

"Thanks... I'll pay for the ride."

At least I could use the coins that crazy guy gave me.

"Oh, you don't seem like someone with money. So, I'll charge you 10 rem for the ride."

I handed over the bag with the 600 coins. Strangely, the man seemed worried.

"Kid, you don't have even 5 rem in there."

"What?! But there are 600 coins here!"

"If that's the case, you only have 6 rem in your bag. Kid, don't you know the exchange rate?"

That son of a... He tricked me with the coins too!

"Don't worry, I won't charge you for the ride. Get on."

"Thanks."

I let out a sigh and boarded the cart.

It was a long journey. The man with the mustache was kind enough to teach me a little about the common sense of this place and the exchange rate. Apparently, that damn cosplay guy gave me something called ris, a coin with very little value used only for insignificant purchases. This coin is practically out of circulation. I understood why the kind man looked at me with pity when I showed him my sack of coins. Thanks to my long conversation with him, I learned that 10 ris equals 1 ado, 10 ado equals 1 rem, and 100 rem is worth 1 eam. Rem is the most popular currency, according to the man with the mustache, and with 10 rem, you can stay at an inn for 2 days with breakfast and lunch included.

If you're wondering why I keep calling the kind man driving the cart the man with the mustache, it's not because I'm disrespectful or rude. No, no, my mother raised me to respect my elders. Calling him by his name would be a sign of disrespect to me. It's just that... the man never wanted to tell me his name. Instead, he told me people know him as The Merchant Nomad and asked me to address him that way. If you ask me, The Merchant Nomad is a cool nickname, very cool, although somewhat embarrassing, but don't get me wrong, I'd rather call him The Merchant Nomad as many times as necessary than call someone like Darkw... I can't even mention that damn cosplay guy's full name in my monologues.

Something the Merchant Nomad explained to me is that names here are an expression of love, and you can only say someone's name to your partner or children. It's a strange tradition, but it reminded me of the last words of that damn cosplay guy: "...don't tell anyone your name." I didn’t think he was so sensitive about this, but my opinion of that damn cosplay guy changed a little, though I still hate him to death.

After walking on the dirt path, we reached a well-built stone road, quite ancient-looking. Instead of using concrete for the joints, the stones were fitted together so tightly that there was no space between them.

"Kid, we're almost there."

With that sentence from the Merchant Nomad, I could see in the distance a fairly large town, surrounded by walls as tall as a two-story house. I had my doubts at first, but the town we were heading toward could be described as an old medieval village from old Europe. It didn't seem very technologically advanced, but at least it looked like a peaceful town.

Upon reaching the entrance, two guards with swords at their sides stopped us. It was a quick check; it seems the Merchant Nomad is highly respected in the town. He quickly gave a brief explanation to the guard with penetrating eyes and silver-plated armor. I didn’t catch what they talked about, but thanks to that, we were soon allowed to pass.

After passing the entrance, we continued on our way to the guild of the damn cosplay guy. On the way, I showed the map to the kind man, and he told me he was heading to his destination. It took us about 10 minutes to reach the place.

"Thanks for everything, it was kind of you to bring me to this place after letting me travel with you. I really appreciate it."

"You don't need to thank me, my destination is just a few houses away. Take care, kid, and try to avoid strange people."

The cart moved away.

"Strange people, huh? Now that I think about it, my horoscope mentioned something about that."

Now, I was standing in front of what looked like an old inn. The walls were worn down and in poor condition. I walked toward the door. After knocking, a "I'm coming!" could be heard. A girl with curly hair opened the door and asked, "What do you want?"

"I was told you could help me, I have a note."

I immediately took out the folded paper with the purple seal from my pocket. She took the note, started reading it, and a thought crossed my mind: "Now I have to read the one with the red seal." It wasn’t that I wanted to keep my promise to the crazy cosplay guy and wait until now to read the note, it was just that I had forgotten about it. After thinking about it, I opened the other note, which said:

"Sorry for tricking you with the coins, I needed them for my journey..."

You should also apologize for tricking me about the time it would take to get here! I couldn't help but feel angry after reading that first sentence. I continued...

"To be honest, I was the leader of the guild I sent you to. The truth is, I still am... at least when we met, but I've resigned. I can't stand the humiliation from the other guilds anymore..."

I was in disbelief, standing in front of the door, not understanding what I was reading.

"Anyway, the note with the purple seal I told you to deliver is my resignation letter. Please apologize to everyone on my behalf..."

Hey, hey, is it okay to resign in writing? Actually, isn't this your inn or guild? Is it okay to just leave them without a leader?

"Make sure they explain everything to you about this place, Leader..."

Leader?

There was something else written at the bottom as a postscript.

"P.S.: Congratulations."

I stood there stunned, and it seemed like the girl who had just finished reading felt the same way.