Akatsuki Translations

The Wandering City, as it was called, was not a city in the first place.

If you ask what it was closest to, it would be most similar to the place called the “temporary city” where Jain and the others are now. In other words, it was that kind of place.

It had no proper city walls and no temple to worship God.

Therefore, it was not granted the barrier of the Sun God, and of course, it had no power of spirits.

The expression that best fit was a settlement where Nameless simply gathered and huddled together.

“The City of the Nameless”…Ah, I’ve heard of it, but that’s…” -Ur

Ur, a Nameless like Jain, spoke as if remembering, then his words trailed off. He seemed to be considering Jain. Jain laughed through his nose. He hadn’t fallen so low as to be worried about by a brat.

And in the first place, “it wasn’t a place to be considerate of.”

“If ya know, then it’ll be quick. The place I was in was a ‘city of the exiled,’ in other words, a ‘city of criminals.’ It was a gathering of scum.” -Jain

Those who could no longer live in the city. Those who were once allowed to live in the city but committed crimes, were deemed “unnecessary” by the Temple, and could no longer live in the city. The 【Wandering City】was formed by the gathering of these people.

Normally, even if they form a group of bandits, the exiled are quickly attacked by monsters or self-destruct from attrition and naturally disappear, so why were they able to maintain a group called a “city”?

There are several reasons.

The terrain of Gradol, where there are few monsters.

A large number of people were expelled from the city at once, naturally forming a group.

The group of criminals was a former knight order that had committed misconduct and possessed combat skills.

As a result, they were not naturally selected out and survived as a group. They built several bases in the mountainous region of western Gradol and lived quietly to escape from the monsters…or so it seemed.

At least, it wasn’t quiet.

“I don’t know if it was out of necessity or their original nature. The scumbags who were kicked out of the city started to effectively utilize their ‘experience.’” -Jain

Despite being a knight order that protected the city, they turned their backs on the city-state. Rather, they made full use of that past, wandered around the surrounding countries, negotiated with the dark side of the city, and carried out crimes in exchange for compensation.

“In other words, the completion of the so-called 【Dark Guild】. The losers and trash became true scum.” -Jain

What’s worse, they managed to do a decent job as a criminal organization. They had the connections from their original position as a knight order, the brains to utilize them, and the ability to command.

The name of the 【Wandering City】spread. The shady people in each city, or even the upper echelons of the city, chose them as their proxies instead of getting their own hands dirty and secretly made deals with them. The 【Wandering City】gained funds and secrets of the cities and continued to fatten up.

“It was just around the peak when we were born and became aware of things. They were really gettin’ carried away.” -Jain

“I don’t know if it was some kind of complex, but the old men were noisy, saying things like we outside the city are the true rulers or something.” -Rabin

The unstable life of having to move from place to place in response to the appearance of large monsters, the extreme income that didn’t match it, and the overly unbalanced environment probably upset their mental balance.

Perhaps to forget the fear of monsters, Jain and the others remember giving up on their parents early on, seeing them drown in excess money and alcohol and randomly beating children on a whim.

That judgment was correct.

“I was 15, I think. It was around the time when the scumbags, who were getting old and their movements were getting dull, were working us kids to do their jobs for ‘em.” -Jain

“Ah, that was really tough. Some of them actually died.” -Rabin

“It was unbearable to be killed for their sake of alcohol… And around that time, the Wandering City made a blunder.” -Jain

“Blunder?” -Ur

“To put it bluntly, they got carried away, got greedy, and were deceived.” -Jain

The Wandering City, which was dealing with Gradol at the time, apparently made excessive demands during the transaction. There were many factors, such as the aging of the organization, the aging of the mainstream members, and their complacency and arrogance.

As a result, they misjudged.

It is common in all things. Those who do not know their place will face a painful backlash. Moreover, they were the 【Dark Guild】. Their very existence was not publicly recognized. They could become the bearers of vice because no one would be troubled if they disappeared at any time.

If their existence is not recognized, no one will be troubled if they disappear.

Even if they are eliminated without anyone knowing, no one will complain.

At the transaction site where they were to receive their reward, instead of money or food, what appeared were the swords that upheld the law of the grand alliance outside the city, a group called the 【Black Sword Knight Order】. They were showered with merciless, torrential arrows, and when they fled to their base, they were met with a rain of magic, and the Wandering City was easily and quickly annihilated.

“And at that time, by sheer coincidence and extreme luck, we, who were away from the base with the assets they had hidden, survived.” -Jain

“Yeah, we were really lucky.” -Rabin

“Yeah.” -Jain

“I’ll say congratulations on your luck. So, what happened after that?” -Ur

“Nothing particularly interesting happened after that. We used the money to equip ourselves, became adventurers, kept earning money, and became silver rank. The end.” -Jain

Aside from buying safety by fully equipping themselves with abundant funds, it was a very orthodox adventurer’s path. They hunted monsters, delved into dungeons, increased their companions, sometimes fought, and rose through the ranks. If they were to speak in detail, there would be plenty to talk about, but there was no particular change in “purpose”.

“I’ve told ya the outline of my life at length, but I think you get it, Nameless Ur.” -Jain

“What you want is ‘peace of mind’?” -Ur

Jain is not surprised that Ur immediately answered correctly. It is a desire that every Nameless wandering outside the city yearns for.

“When I stole my shitty parents’ money, I really thought I could finally have peace of mind. It was a good amount of money. I even thought I could live lavishly. But that wasn’t the case.” -Jain

Even with just Jain, Rabin, and John, three people, living in the city forever required a huge amount of funds. Nameless who cannot offer the service of “prayer” are made to pay money instead. It wasn’t an amount of money that would run out in a year or two, but the money they stole was not enough to cover their entire lives.

It was none other than for that fact that they had no choice but to become adventurers.

“But you became copper rank and even silver rank by doing so. And yet you still couldn’t obtain peace of mind?” -Ur

What Ur is pointing out is probably about the city rights of the ring. Certainly, after obtaining the ring, Jain and the others’ finances became much easier, and they no longer needed to move from city to city every time their stay period expired. However, that is far from the safety he envisions.

“The Adventurer’s Guild’s ring stay rights are limited only to the period when adventurer activities are recognized. If there’s no prospect of activity, you’ll be thrown out.” -Jain

Or, if you get injured in some way and it becomes difficult to be active as an adventurer, you will also be thrown out. It might be different if you pay a huge amount of money to the city before retiring, or if you successfully get a job at the Adventurer’s Guild after retiring, but the competition rate is high. Or even if you get in, there is a possibility that you will be placed in a position that requires adventurer abilities.

“In other words, you… I see. You’re sick of it.” -Ur

“Yeah, that’s right. I’m totally fed up. Fighting that shaves off your life ain’t peace of mind at all.” -Jain

That’s why Jain earns money. While swallowing the ridiculous contradiction of taking risks for the sake of safety, he continues to earn money. Before he or his companions stumble and suffer a major injury that prevents them from ever getting back up again. To gain peace of mind.

“Buy 【land】 inside the city from the Temple. Obtain a place where no one can threaten ya or drive ya out. That’s my goal. Gotta problem with that?” -Jain

“No.” -Ur

At Ur’s immediate reply, Jain snorts. If he had come to nitpick, Jain would have thrown away all negotiations and punched him. But he also knew that Ur wouldn’t show any lack of understanding. If he’s also Nameless, there’s no way he wouldn’t understand.

The suffering of the drifters.

“–So? Ya made me do the embarrassing act of blabbing about my life. I’m sure there was a good reason for it, right?” -Jain

Jain glares at Ur with a very suspicious look. What meaning could there possibly be in this humiliation? No matter how sad and desperate Jain’s past may be, it doesn’t change the fact that they are currently surrounded by the Sun Knights and in a predicament.

However, Ur, who is being glared at, is the epitome of composure. And with an expression filled with conviction, he nodded.

“Yes, there was meaning. It was useful information.” -Ur

Ur coolly ignored Jain’s gaze that seemed to say, “Are you serious?”

“I’m convinced that the negotiations going forward will be meaningful for you as well.” -Ur

“I hope that’ll be the case.” -Jain

“Then, shall we talk? About the ‘problem’, ‘countermeasures’, and ‘reward’.” -Ur

Thus, Jain was finally able to receive the presentation of information from Ur. Although the question of what the previous self-talk was about remained, he accurately hammered the contents of the information told by Ur into his head.

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A brief but dense explanation, and several questions and answers.

When all those explanations were over, there was not a single bit of shame or question left in Jain’s head about his previous self-talk. There was only one impression.

And that was–

“–Are ya out of yer goddamn mind?” -Jain

Jain gave his impression while breaking out in a cold sweat.

This brat in front of him was crazy.