Vol. 1 - Ch. 229 - Reunion with Dio

"Y-you're Mad Hound from Royal Capital, aren't you!!"

A middle-aged man's—his visage looked familiar, though we've not interacted for sure—a loud scream reverberated across the entire building, inviting everyone's gaze toward our direction.

However, the bonafide explorers they're—I heard Dragreid's explorer branch was easily among the top two in skills—their gaze carried only a curiosity and puzzlement at the sudden shout. They didn't stir up from the sudden situation, or caught up in the flow. If anything, it appeared more like they're appraising us. 

If you ask me, that middle-aged explorer from Royal Capital was dirtying the somber expression of this place with his nonsense.

"Oh? So he's the rumoured «Mad Hound» huh..."

"Ah, the mad dog of the royal capital!!"

However, as expected from a guild branch known to have some of the most highly skilled explorers in the kingdom, the looks they cast weren't filled with panic or confusion. Instead, they seemed to carry a mix of curiosity and mild suspicion—more like evaluating the situation than reacting in alarm.

"Rumours were that he hadn't been seen since he stormed the base of Rose Family, who had some shady dealing, and brought down everyone from lowest riff-raff to even their leader to their knees with his fists. ...So he's alive huh. I wonder why he came here...?"

"Ah, I also heard he had swooped at «Frenzied Tyrant Shell» with an iron pipe to prove his strength instead of greeting him like normal. This is why he's been called a ruthless bashing machine... hmm, he does have that menacing aura going with him, especially those stony eyes."

With a dead dispirited gaze like a dead fish, I listened to the scandalous rumours. 

Amidst that, Dio approached me. He had only raised his eyebrows when my, unwanted and absolutely ludicrous, nickname 'Mad Hound' came up, but otherwise there was no confusion on his face. If anything, there was a subtle hint of amusement, or perhaps even a faint sense of pleasure, on his usually stern face.

And speaking of, Dio wasn't a servant of the Rovenne family. Formally, he was only an explorer using Rovenne territory as base for his explorer activity, and my mother was merely a client, and the wife of the territory lord, who occasionally put some request to him. 

Even when he had helped me when I was preparing for my exams in the capital, there was no sign of him treating me with any particular respect as his noble master.

In fact, in the beginning, he had despised me because I was the typical image of 'prodigal son of noble' and had always kept distance from me. He clearly wasn't keen on being loyal for the Rovenne family.

According to my mother, Dio had abandoned his Ringart family name long ago and remained loyal to her as an independent explorer.I presumed he chose this path in lieu of the financial situation of the Rovenne family, and the emotional burden it placed on my mother.

I approached Dio as another explorer and lightly tapped the left side of his chest, protected by his bright red leather armor.

"It's been a while, Dio. And you're already promoted to B-rank? Wild huh. ...But I haven't forgotten the debt from when you beat me up back then, you know?"

As I grinned and spoke those words, a murmur ran through the guild branch, with whispers of gossip filling the air.

"Has it been a year already? Look at you, at least you grew out of your brat phase, boy. Well, I have spent more time rehabilitating my rusty body for the last year." 

"Haha!" 

I couldn't help but laugh out loud.

Even now, from time to time, I would imagine him as my imaginary training partner, and simulate  his moves to fight through.

Having been trained at the academy and sparring with geniuses of generation classmates, I could sense that my skills had improved considerably over the past year. But frustratingly, I still couldn't visualize myself beating Dio like I had hoped.

So, a laugh was all I could muster when I heard the same man wasn't even in his 'final form'. I guess, revenge was still a long road for me. 

"...They're supposed to be the beloved of heaven, but at least, the time that had stopped for them—"

Dio narrowed his eyes, and chuckled in a soft voice, seemingly reminiscing of the past memories that had begun to unearth again.

"—slowly, but surely started to move."

It was my turn to narrow my eyes. Until a year ago, he was like a withered branch, or an old man at death's door, drawing a contrast to his strength. But he looked now like a towering tree, exuding vitality from every inch of his body.

"...I heard rumours. You sure are making your bounce terrific."

"Haha!"

A chuckle—more like, a bitter smile—escaped from my mouth.

"Oh, you're here, Ren-kun."

As I exchanged a silent glance with Dio, reminiscing about old times, Satowa emerged from deeper within the branch. His calm, approachable demeanor still resembled that of a humble civil servant, but his movements betrayed no opening. 

"Ah, Satowa-san. My apologies for being so late…"

I lowered my head in a polite bow, and Satowa waved it off with a smile.

"Not at all. I heard you were quite busy. Well, given your essential role in this request, I was a bit worried we would have to postpone, but it's good to see that's not the case. Oh, and for this mission, I’ve specifically requested three people, and two of them are you and Dio-san here. Hmm, are two acquaintances?"

Satowa asked this with an air of mild surprise, but he was the vice president of the Explorers' Guild, so it was only natural that he would be aware of Dio’s background in the Rovenne territory and his achievements there. I presume he must have considered this a possibility too.

Well, I had no secrets to hide, moreso since Satowa already knew my identity, and Dio probably didn't care about such matters now that mother's identity is already all over. 

But it color me surprised though. I wasn't expecting we would be joining in the same request. Fine by me though. I too am looking forward to seeing how much 'rust' he had shaken off from himself. 

It appeared Dio was unaware about this setup just as much, and an expression of surprise flashes on his face, but that expression twisted into a smile a moment later. 

"Well... we’re not exactly close, but you could say he’s someone who helped me learn the proper range with a spear. A benefactor, in a way."

As I explained, Satowa smiled warmly. I noticed that Parry-kun—I almost forgot about him—twitched his eyebrows ever so slightly. 

"It's certainly a good thing if you two are acquaintances, that will help the party's coordination. Oh, and yes, depending on the outcome, Dio-san may get his A-rank promotion at the end of this quest, so make sure to give your best shot."

The A-rank promotion test, if I remember correctly, involved a guild executive with A-rank qualification to issue a nomination request and directly assess the candidate.

I’m not sure about the pass rate, but the number of B-rank explorers were incredibly low compared to those below C-rank, so even getting the chance to take on a promotion-related request could be seen as a rare opportunity. Naturally, the difficulty of such requests would always be equivalent to A-rank.

"...I just need to focus on my usual work, I know. By the way, you mentioned assigning requests to three people, right? Who is the third member?"

Dio asked in a calm tone, inquiring about the remaining party members.

"The third is Ignis-san, an A-rank explorer based in Dragreid. Have you heard of him?"

At this, the other explorers in the vicinity, who had been listening in, murmured among themselves. He must be a well-known figure.

"«The Giant Aragan» is all I know about him..."

It seems Dio was familiar with the name.

"What kind of person is this Ignis?"

I tilted my head, having no knowledge of any explorers in Dragreid, and Satowa proceeded to give me a brief profile.

"Ignis Rafador. At the young age of thirty-two, he’s already an A-rank explorer and also serves as the head of Muto Stoneworks, the largest stone mining company in Dragreid. Ren-kun, are you familiar with the martial art known as Bufu?"

Bufu, huh? This was a martial art with more prevalence in the Dragoon region. I heard this technique had been passed down since ancient era.

It followed rules similar to sumo, where it’s acceptable to touch the ground with your palm. It retains ceremonial elements meant to pray for the safety and success of hunts, which also makes it resembling sumo in some respects.

The elementary schools in Rovenne territory also taught it, so I had some experience in it. I nodded, and affirming that, Satowa continued.

"Ignis-san is the first person in the last 50 years to strike five-time consecutive victories in the Bufu competition held in Dragreid. In the achievement of so, he had been conferred the «Giant Aragan» title. At a young age, he’s already one of the most influential figures in this city, and he’s regarded as a symbol of Dragreid’s pride. I can vouch for his character as well as his abilities."

The Bufu competition was held annually in Dragreid. Winners were given titles based on animals: the champion receives the title "Aslan," which means lion, the runner-up gets "Zarun," meaning elephant, and the top four are awarded titles like "Tsaga," meaning horse. The title like "Giant Aragan" was even more extraordinary, awarded only to those who win five times in a row.

I was now finding myself looking forward to seeing the person. Of course, grand titles and influential positions in the city weren’t the cause. To be truth, since this was one of the few chances I would be staying in Dragreid, I had been hoping to get some more  commission related to ore gathering, aside from Satowa's request. I had already dispatched my ore mining related tools to this branch from Royal Capital. 

What truly struck a chord with me was the fact that he served as the head of Muto Stoneworks.

I was hoping that during my stay in Dragraid, I could not only fulfill the bodyguard request from Satowa but also secure some mining-related requests. 

I couldn't return without swinging My Pickaxe. I had it crafted by a certain blacksmith I met in the royal capital. I was determined to put it to use.

The world of craftsmen often follows an apprenticeship system.

According to the blacksmith, the world of stone adheres to this model; It starts with a young apprentice doing menial tasks like cleaning the tunnels, known as small fragment sweeping. Then, you progress to hauling stones, followed by becoming a stonemason. From there, you move up to mid-level management positions like foreman, and eventually, you become a supervisor.

Ignis-san might not be the owner, but from his achievement alone, I believe he must have overcome every challenge alone to reach the pinnacle of the craft through his own merit in the meritocratic world of craftsmen.

“…We don't have to dilly-dally around here then. Let's get on our way to meet him. I want to learn Ignis-san’s rhythm, his timing, as much as I can today.”

I didn't know if rhythm or any other shit even matters for mining,  but the more you learn, the better. You never know! —Nah, scratch that. I really want there to be some just for the enigmatic factor alone! It might be a stretch, but I would be more than happy to get some tip on super moves as well. 

After stuffing my holiday's schedule as much as possible, with every second in it counting, I urged to quickly get on our way with an impatient expression. Satowa seemed slightly taken aback, but he quickly smiled.

"Truly, I'm impressed to see you still have that cautious, and mindful personality despite the success, which can even the best lose their sight. I’ve just received word that Ignis-san is currently on site at the most dangerous part of the quarry, «Area 81.» Let’s head there right away."

"Really?! Thank you so much! I’ll go pick up the gear I sent to the branch!"

"I will follow along. It's good to meet others earlier for better party coordination, and I am curious to see the boy's growth myself."

Dio also showed his affirmation. 

Hehe. I might be swinging my pickaxe for the first time, but I have perfect the image in my mind with countless hours of simulation. I bet he wouldn't have words left to say at my skills.

I immediately rushed to the counter to grab my gears. 

"Hey!! Remember I am here as well!!!"

Parry-kun, whose existence I had completely forgotten, skipped over and said from behind.

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