I Became A Married Man in Another World
Chapter 59
059 The Birth of a Santa Rank
In life, one experiences all sorts of things. Having become an adventurer before reaching adulthood and starting out by gathering herbs, his life had been filled with a wide variety of events.
Among them, he thought the most surprising thing was becoming the Guild Master of a place called the Bern Adventurer Village.
Not every Guild Master in the world held a high rank. It wasn’t uncommon for an ordinary adventurer who had grinded through the ranks, just like himself, to become a Master.
This was especially true for guilds in rural areas far from the major cities, like this one.
Even so, Guild Master was a position of special status. It wasn’t something just anyone could achieve. Honestly, he had considered it a miracle beyond reason that he had become the Guild Master.
But that miracle of a Master had just encountered yet another miracle beyond reason.
“Rudolph?”
The Master tilted his head. Though he wasn’t very good at reading, he could recognize the word ‘Rudolph.’
“Why the sudden mention of a legendary magical beast?”
The Chatterbox, who was still buried in paperwork even though it was the middle of the night, asked the question. His nose was practically glued to the paper and his hands were moving busily, yet he still seemed to have the breath to talk.
“Right? Rudolph is practically a legend, isn’t it?”
“What kind of nonsense is that? Please stop playing around and get some work done. It’s easy. All you have to do is sign the documents I’ve already prepared.”
“Well, true, but I don’t have time to be signing things right now. I think there’s a Rudolph in our branch.”
At the Master’s words, the Chatterbox let out a long sigh.
“Master, I respect you in my own way. I’m grateful to you for saving me when I was about to starve on the streets. But I cannot stand your lax attitude toward work. I know you hate paperwork, but all you have to do is sign. Just sign. I’m begging you, please sign. Otherwise, I can’t send these documents to the headquarters.”
He spoke without even pausing for breath. The Master saw this every time, yet it was always impressive.
“No, I mean, it’s true I hate paperwork, but I’m serious about the Rudolph. That horned rabbit. I received a letter saying it might be a Rudolph.”
The Chatterbox, who had been buried in his papers, finally lifted his head.
“Pardon?”
He looked a bit foolish with his mouth hanging slightly open.
“I told you before, didn’t I? I know someone who knows a lot about magical beasts. I asked an old acquaintance from my adventuring days to take a look, and the reply came back saying it was a Rudolph.”
“On what grounds did they make that judgment?”
“Who knows? They just sent back the word ‘Rudolph’ and nothing else.”
“That person is definitely an acquaintance of yours, Master.”
The Chatterbox nodded.
“Cutting out the beginning and the end and only sending the strange middle part—that’s exactly like you.”
The Chatterbox’s expression turned slightly serious.
“Can we trust this person’s word? I hear claims of discovering a Rudolph at least once every year. For me, it’s hard to believe it blindly. There are people who deliberately hit animals to make a lump so it looks like a horn… there are all sorts of types. Even…”
The Chatterbox trailed off, then let out an ‘Ah’ and muttered.
“If it’s someone you vouch for, Master, surely they wouldn’t lie.”
The Chatterbox stood up and headed toward a corner. He began rummaging through a shelf stacked with old registration documents.
“Where was it? I’m sure I saw it.”
Muttering to himself, the Chatterbox pulled boxes of documents off the shelf, put them back, and pulled down new ones to search through.
At first, the shelf had been a mess where no one could tell what was what or where any document was, but after the Chatterbox arrived, it began to be properly categorized. Now it was organized to some extent, stacked by type and date.
To the Master, it looked perfect now, but according to the Chatterbox, it would still take a long time before the filing system was truly where it should be.
Having one capable employee made his life so much easier, yet at the same time, it made his heart feel uneasy. He wished the man would just leave things be now, but the Chatterbox was far too diligent.
After rummaging through the boxes for a long while, the Chatterbox approached the Master holding a piece of old paper.
“Master, could I call this person here? Or perhaps we should send a Healing Magician to them.”
“Who is it?”
“I don’t know either. But according to the records, it seems this person knows a lot about Rudolphs. There’s a note written by the previous Master. I remembered it because it was so unusual while I was organizing.”
The Chatterbox sighed.
“From what I saw, neither that Magician nor the child seemed to know much about Rudolphs—well, they didn’t seem to know much about magical beasts in general. It would be best for them to learn. Even if it’s not a real Rudolph and just a magical beast. Regardless, that party is extremely valuable.”
“Fine, we’ll use guild funds to call the person.”
“Thank you. Though, I’m not sure if this person is still alive.”
The Chatterbox sighed again.
“Now I have to write the report to send to headquarters. Since I know you won’t do it anyway, Master. But you have to keep writing to improve, even if you’re clumsy at it.”
It seemed he was going to start work immediately. The Chatterbox pushed his current paperwork aside and pulled out a fresh sheet of paper.
“But things are going to get a bit troublesome from now on. Just the fact that he’s a Healing Magician with two attributes is enough to make the nobles greedy, which is already a headache. If we add a Rudolph to that, even royalty will throw away their dignity and cause a fuss.”
Before long, a smile played on the Chatterbox’s lips. It was easy to tell what he was thinking.
“You look happy thinking about that Advisor getting scolded.”
“….”
At the Master’s words, the Chatterbox’s smile vanished. But a moment later, he was grinning again. He really was a petty fellow.
‘Did he like the woman who was involved in the marriage talks?’
He had seemed entirely uninterested in women. He looked like the type who didn’t care if someone was a man or a woman as long as they could communicate and listen to him, but perhaps he had unexpectedly wanted to date or get married.
“Ah!”
The Chatterbox suddenly let out a cry.
“Master, our branch is going to have an S-Rank. If it’s a Rudolph, that means he’s Santa’s contractor.”
“Now that you mention it, that’s true. We’re witnessing the moment a Santa Rank is born right before our eyes.”
“I thought S-Rank was just for show.”
“Me too. I never thought I’d see one with my own eyes while I was alive. I should apply for a Santa Necklace as well.”
“Anyway, it’s best to keep the S-Rank talk as secret as possible. We should make sure it becomes known as late as we can manage.”
“That goes without saying.”
But who was the contractor?
The child? Or the Magician?
“I’ll have to find that out first.”
The Master muttered and shrugged his shoulders. It was good to have a high rank, but he was already dreading the increased workload.
The merchant caravan proceeded quietly without any major incidents. Juhwan had been brought along as a Healing Magician, but he was essentially just idling.
Occasionally, someone would sustain a minor injury, but no one asked him to work. It seemed to be because he was paid per case.
Well, those injuries were the sort that would heal on their own if left alone, so there was no need to use magic, but it felt a bit uncomfortable to let the days pass while receiving money for doing nothing. It was likely because he had been a corporate slave back on Earth. When he earned money without working, he felt anxious rather than happy.
‘It can’t be helped.’
Juhwan slept inside the carriage during the day. Lij drove the carriage in his place. To others, it probably looked like the Healing Magician was slacking off while making his party members do all the work. That was true to some extent.
When he woke up, he played with Dorothy, and the three of them would sit side by side on the driver’s seat, chatting about trivial things and laughing. It was peaceful and happy.
And when night fell, he would wake up and scout the area around the Miller Merchant Company.
Most said the rumors of bandits lying in wait were just typical hearsay, but the fact that they had hired him meant they were concerned. There was likely some truth to it.
If someone was targeting the caravan, it would be best to find out before it became a major problem. Even if he didn’t care about the other carriages, he should at least be cautious of his own surroundings. Because Lij and Dorothy were inside.
Juhwan walked through the darkness, a small flame at his fingertips illuminating the ground beneath his feet. He passed several trees of various sizes. There was no one. He heard the howling of wolves nearby, but they didn’t attack.
It was now the third day, but he hadn’t seen anyone lurking near the carriages.
He had been told several times to conserve his mana in case he needed to use healing magic, but he didn’t need to worry about that.
The level of healing magic these people expected was very low. It was enough to heal a wound on a head that had been set on fire, and for something like that, he could treat a hundred people, take a short nap, and be fully recovered. There was no problem with him doing something else on the side.
‘Time to head back.’
He couldn’t go too far. Juhwan turned around. In the distance, he could see the campfires lit by the merchant caravan. He walked diligently toward the campfire where his carriage was located.
He wasn’t too worried since the carriage where Lij and Dorothy were was always locked from the inside, and Oz was with them.
Still, he never strayed too far.
His scouting range was only as far as the campfire light remained visible.
One never knew what might happen in life.
It was when he had gotten somewhat close to the campfire. He saw a torch flickering and moving in the darkness. It was some distance away from the carriages.
Juhwan extinguished his light and stopped walking. He listened intently.
Mmph, mmph. The muffled sounds of someone struggling drifted through the darkness. A man’s low voice followed.
“Don’t struggle! You know what will happen to the other two if you resist, right?”
It was a familiar voice. It was likely the Fire Magician.
After that, he heard the sound of someone being dragged. And the very faint, stifled sob of a woman.
“….”
He realized immediately what was happening. Today was the day Karin and Jessie were on sentry duty. Lij and Dorothy would have locked the carriage and gone to sleep. That left only Marie.
The Red Sword party had told him many times not to interfere in other people’s business. They repeatedly said there was no need to get involved in other people’s disputes for no reason.
However, he was not cold-hearted enough to just overlook something like this.
‘Besides, she’s our party’s instructor.’
That was reason enough to intervene. Juhwan recalled the way the man looked at Lij whenever they ate.
‘Yes, there’s more than enough reason to step in.’
Juhwan stepped quietly, walking toward the source of the noise.
The hunter skills he had learned from Gus were helpful in a situation like this. Juhwan’s footsteps were nearly silent.
the voices of the man and woman grew closer. They seemed to have stopped. After wedging the torch he was holding shallowly into the ground, the man gathered some stones. It looked like he was making a support for it.
During that time, Marie sat on the ground, unable to even run away. Small sobs drifted into the darkness.
The Fire Magician didn’t notice Juhwan until he was right behind him. He was too preoccupied with fixing the torch in place.
Marie seemed startled to see Juhwan suddenly appear. Her eyes widened slightly.
Without looking at the startled Fire Magician, Juhwan approached Marie. He reached out a hand, grabbed her arm, and pulled her up. Marie stood shakily on her feet, barely able to keep her balance.
“What the hell, you bastard! I’m first. If you want a turn, wait in line.”
Juhwan turned and whipped his fist up. Filthy scumbag! But his raised arm stopped mid-air. Marie was clinging to it, weeping quietly as she spoke.
“St-stop. You shouldn’t do this.”
“….”
When he glanced at Marie, she was a mess of tears and snot, her lips trembling.
“D-d-don’t fight. You shouldn’t.”
Just then, someone shouted loudly from the direction of the carriages.
“Who’s there!”
It was Karin’s voice. Because of her, other people’s attention seemed to be drawn this way. Several people approached.
“Tch! Some piece of trash had to go and butt in.”
As people drew closer, the Fire Magician grabbed his torch and left. Someone snickered as they watched him walk away.
Karin ran over and pulled Marie into an embrace. Marie said she was fine and looked at Juhwan.
“Juhwan helped me, Karin… Thank you.”
“…Th-thank you.”
Karin also bowed her head several times in gratitude. But he didn’t understand. Why did she stop him from hitting the guy?
“That man is a Rank 4 Magician. Your rank is higher, but that’s only because you’re a Magician. Unlike you, that Fire Magician is a Rank 4 with actual combat capabilities. I don’t know if you’re good with an axe or if you can fight well, but if you fight a Rank 4, you’ll lose. He’s strong enough to kill us Rank 5s in an instant,” Marie said, looking at Juhwan while trying to suppress her sobs.
So that was why she was going to let it happen without a word? Because he had taken the lives of the other two as hostages, she couldn’t even think of running away?
“Doesn’t the guild do anything?”
It was Karin who answered Juhwan’s question.
“The guild tries to be mindful in various ways. Not everyone is like that Magician. Some men, like you, loathe such things, and they try to make sure we work with people like that as much as possible.”
Karin held Marie as they began to walk.
“But there are more people like that Fire Magician. The guild can’t interfere and penalize every single one of them. He’s not the only one. Besides, being an adventurer is fundamentally a rough profession where skill says everything.”
Juhwan followed quietly behind the two of them.
Karin and Marie suddenly stopped. After a moment of hesitation, Marie spoke.
“Thank you so much for today. But it’s best if you don’t clash with that Magician too much. The adventurers here try not to cross them.”
“….”
Karin and Marie started walking again. Jessie, having heard the news, came running toward them.
Juhwan watched the three of them huddle together and cry before turning away. Perhaps he had been a bit clumsy today. A grudge had been formed. The narrower a person’s heart, the more they tended to hold a great grudge over small things.
‘But even if the same thing happened again, I would probably do the same thing.’
It wasn’t just because of Marie. As long as a guy like that was around, Lij wouldn’t be safe either. There was no doubt about it, given the way he looked at Lij sometimes. Right now, his attention was just on Marie because she was an easier target, but he would have surely laid a hand on Lij within a few days. Juhwan muttered to himself.
If you let them look down on you at first, the others will pounce too. It’s just like the street days back when I fought with gangs.
His pace quickened.
Even though he knew they were safe, he only felt at ease once he reached his carriage and confirmed the door was locked from the inside.
Lij opened the door immediately, perhaps awakened by the commotion.
“Juhwan, are you okay?”
“Yeah.”
It’s okay. No one is dying this time. Santa might be a damn bastard, but he sent me here while wishing for my happiness, so it’s fine. No one will be unhappy. Not Lij, not Dorothy, and not me.
