Hellmode ~A Hardcore Gamer Becomes Peerless in Another World with Retro Game Settings~

“Huh?”

Allen woke up in his bed.

(Where am I? In the mansion? Hmm? Isn’t this a guest room? Huh?　What happened? Where’s Madegarsh?)

I remembered Madegarsh’s creepy human-dog face and hurriedly got up from the bed. My memory was still confused.

I look down and say that I wasn’t wearing my manservant uniform. I was in my nightgown.

“Are you awake?”

As I was checking what had happened to me, the Butler called out to me.

“…Yes?”

“How much do you remember?”

The Butler determined that Allen was confused. That’s why he asked Allen how much he remembered.

 I was chased for three days and three nights by the Madegarsh. I somehow managed to lose it and tried to return to the city.

“I don’t remember reaching the city, sir.”

“Hmm, you collapsed at the north gate and were brought here by the guards, two days ago.”

“Oh…”

“I’m going to call the Knight Commander. Explain the situation regarding Madegarsh to him. Can you do it?”

“Yes.”

“Well, there’s still time for that, so rest until then.”

“Thank you.”

Then I slept for about three hours in the soft bed provided for the guests. When I woke up, there was a meal beside my bed. When I finished eating, the Knight Commander arrived and invited me to the meeting room on the third floor.

(Conference room. I’ve never been here before. It was this way, right?)

I’ve been working here for over a year, but there are many rooms I’ve never entered. In particular, I’ve never been in any of the Baron’s bedrooms, study, or meeting rooms that he often uses.

“Allen, are you okay?”

When I got to the third floor, I saw the Knight Commander.

“I am fine and I apologize for any inconvenience that I have caused.”

I’m sure I caused a lot of trouble by collapsing in front of the gate, so I apologized.

“I’m glad you’re okay. The Headmaster of the Adventurer’s Guild is here now. Wait here for a moment.”

“Oh, I see.”

(It’s about the mess caused by Madegarsh. They said it was an ‘Emergency Quest’. It was kind of a big deal.)

I remember how I was chased from near the north gate of Grandver to outside the city. I found out that the B-rank magical beasts were quite strong thanks to this Madegarsh.

Apparently, with my current strength, I can only defeat C-rank magical beasts. If I don’t raise my level and <Summoning> level, I won’t be able to defeat a B-rank magical beast.

(Most adventurers are talentless, apparently.)

It reminds me of the adventurers and Knights who stood idly while the carriage was being attacked by the Madegarsh.

It’s not that they didn’t want to help but they couldn’t even if they wanted to. Knights and adventurers are no match for a B-rank magical beast after all.

There are few Knights and adventurers who are talented and strong enough to fight B-rank magical beasts.

Raven told me that the only adventurer who can fight B-rank magical beasts in this territory alone is the leader of the party, Silver Fang of the Gale.

And the strongest man in the territory, stronger than the leader of the Gale Silver Fang, is next to Allen.

I heard that the Knight Commander is the most powerful man in the territory.

I’ve never seen him fight much, but I’ve heard that he’s incredibly strong. Those who know the Knight Commander call him War Demon, Zenov.

The Talent of the Knight Commander is that of [Expert Swordsman]. It’s a Talent I’ve never heard of, but I’m wondering if it’s a 2 star Talent between the 1 star Swordsman and the 3 star Master Swordsman.

The Baron was also firstly called out for the Knight Commander when Madegarsh showed up.

“Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to go.”

While I was thinking about the strength of the Knight Commander, a muscular bald man came out of the meeting room with a Butler. This bald man was the Headmaster of the Adventurer’s Guild branch in the city of Grandver. Allen has met him several times while working as a waiter.

He looked venomous, but as Allen wanted to know why he came here, he made eye contact with the Headmaster.

“Hello.”

“Hmm? Oh, Allen.”

He seems to know about Allen. Noticing Allen, the Headmaster came up to him.

“Alle…”

“Do you have anything you want to know about a manservant of Granvelle House? If you do, please ask me.”

When the Headmaster was about to say something, the Butler raised a question to cover the Headmaster’s words.

“What? It’s nothing. I’m just glad he is okay.”

The Headmaster patted Allen on the head and then went straight out of the building with the Butler.

(What was that?)

It was an exchange that Allen didn’t quite understand. It seemed to Allen that the head of the Adventurer’s Guild branch Headmaster wanted to talk to Allen, but for some reason the Butler had stopped him.

The Butler saw the Headmaster off to the door and came back.

The Butler came back to the third floor and the Butler, the Knight Commander, and Allen entered the meeting room on the third floor. There was an old round table, and he asked us to sit here, in the seat in front of the Baron.

“Can you get up now? I’m glad you’re okay.”

“Yes, I apologize for the inconvenience to you, my Lord.”

“Hmm? You have nothing to apologize for.

“Yes, sir.”

“But for future reference, why don’t you tell me what happened between you and Madegarsh?”

Allen said he understood and told him what had happened with Madegarsh.

A carriage was being attacked, so he threw an iron ball, which he had made in a weapons shop, to save a mother and son who were in the carriage.

He told the story of how he was able to successfully change the target of the Madegarsh to himself, which kept the Madegarsh away from the city.

The Baron was listening with a difficult face. From time to time, the Baron looked at the Knight Commander’s face, and the Knight Commander noded each time. Apparently, he was checking to see if such a thing is possible.

“That Madegarsh was quite persistent, and no matter how many times we shook it off, it kept coming after me.”

“And you didn’t return for three days? I heard that a boy in a manservant uniform had been chased away from the city by the Madegarsh. I thought you’d been eaten.”

What happened in front of the south gate was seen by the Knights and adventurers alike. Of course, the Baron heard about it.

“Yes, I don’t know how far I went, but I think I left it pretty far behind.”

How far he had taken them was a murky explanation, as he could not prove it here. Allen was chased to the foot of the White Dragon Mountains.

Allen had taken Madegarsh to the foot of the White Dragon Mountains. He tried to make the White Deer and Armored Ants that were on the way to fight against Madegarsh, but it had no effect at all. He was hoping to use other magical beasts as bait and flee but that didn’t work at all. The Madegarsh quickly killed other magical beasts and continued chasing Allen again.

“I see, I understand the situation now. First of all, I would like to say that there is nothing to blame Allen for this incident. He saved the helpless people of my territory. You deserve a reward.”

“Oh, really? !”

(Reward? It’s been a while since I’ve been rewarded!)

“Here’s your reward.”

Two small bags were placed in front of the table. Allen’s heart leaped as he heard a clinking sound, wondering if they were coins.

(Two bags?)

Allen looked at the bags, wondering why there were two.

“Allen’s work in this matter shall be worth ten gold coins. Thanks to him, the ‘Emergency Quest’ was finished quickly, and I believe that any type of loss was kept to a minimum.

There were sacrifices, but they were minimal.

“Yes.”

(10 gold coins, that’s a lot of money.)

Allen has been in this mansion for a little over a year now, and he has learned one thing. This Baron family is very poor.

I live a very modest life. When I first became a manservant, it seemed to me that I would have been better off if I had remained a serf.

It seems so now that I think about it that the reason why Rodan, Gerda, and the others were made commoners as a reward was that there was no money. It doesn’t cost money to turn a serf into a commoner.

However, I don’t feel bad about the poverty of the Baron family.

The Royal Messenger came twice in the past year. The reason for his visit was to ask for a higher per capita tax. The Baron refused, saying that he had to take care of his people. As a result, the Baron’s family raised the difference and paid the tax out of their own pocket, and the Baron and his family live with a modesty that is not typical of Nobility.

As I was thinking about this, the Baron continued to talk.

“And the other bag has 10 gold coins. That’s a total of 20 gold coins. Allen. It’s from the owner of the carriage you saved.”

“Owner of the carriage?”

The Baron explained that the owner of the carriage was the manager of an upscale inn on the main street in Grandver city. This bag was his thanks to Allen for saving his wife and son.

(Oh! Can I buy a Mithril Sword with this? I need new weapons!)

I was thinking of getting a steel sword for about five gold coins, but thanks to the reward and the thanks I got, I think I can buy a Mithril sword.

I want to go to the weapons store after this meeting.

After that, I was asked to confirm some details and the meeting was over.