"Patrice, thank you very much."

"No, I’m just relieved that everyone is safe."

"Still, I didn’t expect them to interfere so soon..."

"It was only recently that we sent out the notice to the nobles and the major shops. It’s possible that the messenger really didn’t know about it due to a communication mistake on their side."

"I see."

"Or perhaps the master deliberately didn’t inform the messenger. If they managed to bring you to the estate, that would have been fine. Even if they failed, they could just deny knowing anything about it. Either way, the messenger is likely to be cut loose now and blamed entirely for this."

"………………"

It seems scapegoating by those in power is a universal constant. That said, it does make the arrogant messenger seem a bit pitiable... not that I intend to defend them.

By intentionally waiting for Rizac and the others to arrive without revealing to the messenger that the shop was in cooperation with the Adventurers' Guild, we were aiming to make an example of them.

This incident will likely spread throughout the city quickly. The fact that someone tried to mess with our shop and got burned is the exact kind of story I wanted out there. As for the baron—Limjin or Rigeem or whatever his name is—I sincerely hope he faces strict punishment.

"In any case, I’m glad everyone is safe. I’ll head back to the guild now to gather more details and file a formal protest with Baron Rigeem. I’ll let you know the results later."

"Yes. Thank you so much for your help."

"Not at all. Please don’t hesitate to reach out if anything happens in the future."

Patrice, along with the other Adventurers' Guild members, returned to the guild. I’ll make sure to express my gratitude to them properly another time.

"Everyone, I’m sorry for all the trouble today. To the customers who alerted the guards and the guild, thank you so much. Please continue to support the Outdoor Shop in the future."

We can talk with the staff about today’s events after the shop closes. For now, let’s focus on attending to the customers who came by.

"Thank you very much."

The door shut with a bang as we closed up for the day. Despite the earlier trouble, the shop managed to operate smoothly otherwise.

"Phew~ Good work today, everyone. It was a hectic day, but thanks to all of you, we managed to get through it."

"Still, that was quite the ordeal. We’ve had merchants trying to buy more than the sales limit before, but I never expected a noble to cause such a fuss."

"Exactly, Lilia. Who would’ve thought they’d come here in broad daylight and stir up such trouble? Nobles really are a pain."

"It’s possible the tail that Lange noticed might’ve been connected to that noble."

When Lange returned to the city earlier this week, he reported being tailed when he left town last week. The person trailing him didn’t attack but seemed to be observing him from a distance.

Apparently, Lange lost them when he entered a certain forest. They were likely trying to uncover the suppliers of our shop’s products, and it could very well have been connected to the noble who caused today’s commotion.

"Their tailing skills were amateurish at best. And judging by their companions’ abilities, they weren’t all that strong either, right?"

"Yeah. Their equipment was decent, but their movements were equivalent to a D-rank adventurer at best. Even if they’d come with ten people, Dolph and I could’ve handled them."

"T-Ten people!?"

"That’s reassuring to hear."

It’s understandable that Fia was shocked. While I can’t personally gauge their strength, it seems they could handle five times as many opponents with ease. High-ranking adventurers are truly incredible.

"...Just to clarify, it’s highly unusual for both an active B-rank adventurer and a former B-rank adventurer to be in the same city. Even by this town’s standards, the skills of the group from earlier were above average."

"Now that you mention it..."

It’s easy to forget, given how familiar they’ve become, but Lilia, Lange, and Dolph are all exceptional adventurers for this beginner’s town. Even with just Lilia and Dolph, it seems like we’d have no issues defending the shop.

"As planned, let’s stick to contacting the Adventurers' Guild immediately and summoning Rizac if anything happens."

"Yeah. Rizac is probably the strongest in this town, so if we bring him along, it should be fine."

"Is Rizac really that strong?"

"He’s a former A-rank adventurer. Even though he’s retired, in a straight fight, there’s no one in this town who could beat him."

Wow... So it’s not just his intimidating appearance—he really is a force to be reckoned with. Having him as an ally is immensely reassuring.

"Word of today’s events will likely spread quickly, so I think there will be fewer people trying to mess with us now. But we’ll remain vigilant. Lange, be careful of anyone tailing you when you leave the city."

"Got it."

"Understood."