Side Story: A Certain Herb-Gathering Adventurer and the Dark Side of Kehma Golen

Golen Village. In a tavern in Karisoto District, an adventurer sat drowning his sorrows.

"I found a dungeon. I was the one who found it…!"

He was an adventurer who'd discovered a dungeon.

One of the many who'd come when Karisoto District was established.

He'd originally been on an herb-gathering quest, venturing deep into the mountains to a place he didn't normally go.

An undiscovered dungeon.

Discovering a dungeon came with a hefty reward and was a tremendous honor for any adventurer.

The discoverer could rightly say their name would be etched into history alongside it.

Every adventurer dreamed of it.

And yet.

All he was left with was a large sum of money: the fortune of ten gold coins.

"What do you mean, 'It's a goblin den'?! What kind of den looks like that?!"

On top of everything, the dungeon had apparently already been discovered and was under investigation.

By the village chief, Kehma Golen.

He'd reported the discovery of an unknown new dungeon at the Guild.

A location the Guild wasn't even aware of. A place no one had paid attention to before. And while he was pointing at the map during his report, in walked the Golen Village chief, Kehma Golen.

"I'd actually found a spot that might be a dungeon too, and was already looking into it… Ah, no doubt about it. Same place."

Kehma Golen had glanced at the spread-out map and said exactly that.

He'd definitely confirmed the contents of the report before making his claim!

"Village Chief-sama. If you knew of such a suspicious cave, you should have reported it at that point."

"My apologies. I thought it would be better to report after confirming."

The village chief said it without batting an eye.

His gaze had definitely been on the map. Then he tapped near the dungeon.

"There's a good chance it's a goblin den… Still, since I was investigating, I should have had ropes set up around the area to keep people out… You didn't see them?"

"… I didn't. There was nothing like that."

He could say so with absolute certainty. There had been nothing.

Nothing at all.

And yet, when they went back to verify with Guild staff and Village Chief Kehma in tow, there were ropes lying on the ground.

"Ah, it appears the village chief's account was truthful."

"Sorry about that. I'm not used to setting up ropes like these, so they must have fallen. Apologies for raising your hopes."

A lie, the man thought.

He'd been searching for herbs. If ropes had been lying on the ground, there was no way he'd have missed them.

They were dirty, sure, but suspiciously pristine. Brand new, without a sign of wear.

That's when it hit him.

… Come to think of it, when he'd gone to the Guild to make his report, he remembered seeing Kehma Golen's slave running off somewhere.

Ropes? Someone could easily have been ordered to place them after the fact.

In other words.

This was credit theft.

"Sorry for getting your hopes up. Trust me, what's here is a goblin den. My investigation leaves practically no doubt."

"That can't be…"

He'd seen the inside of the cave. Goblins had been standing there.

He knew at least that much: the difference between wild goblins and dungeon goblins. Wild goblins were brown, their bodies smeared with mud. These ones weren't like that.

"Oh right, I know this hardly makes up for the trouble, but let me pay you the same amount as the dungeon discovery reward from my own pocket… Ten gold coins, wasn't it?"

With that, Kehma Golen casually handed the man ten gold coins.

… A fortune. Ten gold coins.

Far too large a sum to throw back with a "Don't insult me."

At first, he'd tried shouting about it at the tavern next to the Guild, near the dungeon.

"Listen!! I found a dungeon! And yet, someone stole the credit!"

"What, really!?"

"That's unforgivable. What happened? Let's hear it."

They'd listened at first. But the moment they heard his opponent was Kehma Golen, they did a complete one-eighty. Just like that.

"Nah, no way. The village chief would never steal someone's credit."

"Kehma-san? Hahaha, then it really was just a goblin den."

"You think the founder of Beddhism would lie like that? You one of the newcomers from Karisoto?"

The old-timers who'd been in the village since before Karisoto District was established laughed the newcomer's story right out of the room.

With that, the rest of the tavern settled into a mood of "Well, tough luck, but it probably just wasn't a dungeon."

A nameless adventurer versus the most powerful figure in the village.

It was obvious which one had more credibility.

"It's not like he's hurting for money. Why would he even steal the credit?"

"Well… to protect his position as the top adventurer here, obviously!!"

"Hahaha, that position's rock-solid. If anything, it'd be better for him to let you have the discovery credit."

"Even with Hero Wataru living in this village, Kehma-san's still above him."

They laughed as they said it. Ridiculous. As if any of them had ever actually met the real Hero Wataru-sama, the man thought with a grimace.

He had no allies here.

And so, the man fled the tavern next to the Guild and sat drowning his sorrows at a tavern in Karisoto District instead.

… He had money. Enough to go years without working.

But his name wouldn't be remembered. That dungeon would continue to be investigated by Kehma Golen, apparently.

The top adventurer in this dungeon village.

The man was convinced he'd glimpsed what lurked beneath the surface.

"Damn… ngh… I was the one… I was the one who found that dungeon…"

Once things cooled down, a report would surely surface announcing the dungeon's discovery.

Under Kehma Golen's name.

"Bartender, a drink for this gentleman."

"… Hm?"

A man sat down beside him and ordered him a drink.

… He had money of his own, he wanted to say. But there was no reason to refuse a free drink.

"You discovered a dungeon, I hear."

"…! Yeah, w-will you listen?"

"Of course. And then the village chief, Kehma Golen, stole the credit."

"Yes, that's exactly what happened!!"

"Tell me everything."

The man listened to his story.

That alone was more than enough, and on top of that, he was buying him drinks.

That was enough to earn his trust.

"I see. From what you've told me… there's no doubt. That was a dungeon. The fact that Kehma Golen paid you off is the strongest proof."

"Is that so? But shelling out that kind of money would be a huge loss, wouldn't it?"

"Think about it. If it really were just a goblin den, he'd only be taking a loss. But what if the discovery reward comes later?"

"!!"

"He's not hurting for money, so all he wants is the honor. Pay you off to keep quiet… See? That's proof he has something to feel guilty about."

"Y-You're right. Are you a genius!?"

"Not at all. Without the alcohol, you'd have figured it out yourself if you thought about it."

Is that so? Maybe. Definitely. The man nodded.

"… But there's nothing more I can do…"

"Then why not just destroy the dungeon?"

Destroy a dungeon? That was a major crime. Dungeon destruction.

"Remember: it's been officially declared 'not a dungeon.'"

"… Huh? But the dungeon… no wait, it's not a dungeon, right?"

Correct. According to Kehma Golen, it was not a dungeon.

So whatever he did to that dungeon… no, that goblin den, it wouldn't be a crime. Couldn't be.

"Then let's do this. We'll handle destroying the dungeon… or rather, the goblin den. All you need to do is tell us where it is."

"… That's…"

"Consider it payment for the information."

With that, a single gold coin was placed on the table… A pittance compared to the ten gold coins Kehma Golen had given him, but for a man who made his living gathering herbs, there was no reason to refuse.

 

＊ ＊ ＊

 

"… So yeah, info about the dungeon leaked to a Holy Kingdom spy. What d'ya wanna do? Want me to off 'em?"

"Nah, he really did find the dungeon, so I don't think we need to go that far."

Now that she mentioned it, it really was a shame I'd taken away his chance at glory.

I even thought about making another dungeon and pointing him toward that one instead… but since he'd gone and sold information to a spy, that was where my sympathy ended.

"Just so ya know, if ya leave him alone, the spy'll prob'ly kill him. Silence him and take the money back."

"… That's too bitter an ending for my taste. Let's at least save his life."

"Yer too soft. Ya already gave him the money, so who cares?"

"Can't take money with you to the afterlife. Keep an eye on him for now."

"Roger. I'll let Rei know myself."

As for the spy, I could deal with them however I pleased. If they came to the dungeon, they could just quietly go missing.

"Still, a Holy Kingdom spy, huh. What are they even doing?"

"Prob'ly just standard sabotage ops? No way they'd know their own Holy King candidate's doing a trial in there."

"Fair point. Coincidences are scary."

"This village's been on their radar for a while, so it ain't exactly a coincidence."

Oh, right. That was true.