I Have a Task Log

As the City Guards approached, Colin showed them his ring.

The more experienced one hesitated for a moment before asking, "Excuse me, sir, are you having some trouble?"

"Vigilante justice! This guy is taking the law into his own hands!"

Colin ignored the thug’s shouts and said, "It’s not really trouble. This guy just isn’t too keen on explaining why he was causing a scene. I might have to use some... ’unconventional methods.’"

The older City Guard hesitated again. "Do you need an interrogation room?"

As soon as those words were spoken, the thug Colin was holding began to tremble and blurted out, "Someone—someone paid us to ruin the Carriage Guild’s reputation! Someone paid us to do it! I didn’t mean any harm, milord, I’m begging you!"

"Is that so?"

"It’s true, it’s true," the thug quickly insisted.

"You heard him," Colin said, tossing the man in front of the City Guards. "I have some urgent business, so I’ll be on my way."

"Thank you for helping stop them," the carriage driver who’d been beaten said, slowly getting to his feet. He addressed Colin, "I was just on my way to work when they grabbed me and dragged me here. If it weren’t for you, I don’t know what would’ve..."

"Don’t worry about it. I have to run, I’ve got something urgent," Colin said.

"Nice one!" "Those bastards deserved a worse beating!"

Amidst the clamor of the crowd, Colin pushed his way out, calling "Excuse me," and strode toward the Dwarf Sewer.

Fortunately, the citizens of Thousand Masts City had seen a thing or two, so they didn’t try to follow him.

As he walked down the street, Colin quietly replayed the recent events in his mind.

Several hundred years ago, before so many new nobles had appeared in Thousand Masts City, a street war known as the "Guild War" had actually broken out.

Back then, immense conflicts arose between the artisan guilds and the guilds that supplied raw materials. Both sides began hiring assassins and employing gangs to sabotage each other’s production, causing tremendous losses for the city.

The fighting only subsided after the Masked Lord Council passed several acts.

The heads of the artisan guilds gradually became the new nobles of today, while the old, land-owning nobles stood behind the raw material guilds. In a way, they were forced to relinquish some of their power during this Guild War.

Judging by what just happened, it seemed the ambitions of certain guilds were slowly "reviving."

Thinking of this, Colin sighed internally.

’Why am I worrying about this? I should go talk to Kase and the others about the new mission first.’

Colin pushed the matter from his mind and hurried to the Dwarf Sewer. Kase and the others were in the training room, engaged in various exercises.

Ale was there too, stubbornly practicing with her Heavy Crossbow against a scarecrow and the sewer walls. Perhaps the grueling training was paying off, as the Half-Elf’s accuracy had improved considerably.

Of course, there was a crueler explanation—perhaps the [Lucky Stone] was working.

Colin shouted to the group in the training room, "Hey, over here! We’ve got a new job."

"Did another White Dragon show up?" Kase asked, setting down his axe and walking over while wiping away his sweat.

"Where would we find so many White Dragons?" Colin said, showing them the slip of paper in his hand. "We’re going to investigate someone. The main goal is to see if this guy is colluding with any factions. Of course, he could also be innocent."

"Are we going to be running all over the city again?" Kase grumbled. "I hate these investigation missions. A good mission just tells you where to go and what to kill."

"I know the [Disguise Technique]," Orelia said. "I can help you this time, Mr. Colin."

"We won’t need to do the legwork ourselves this time," Colin said. "We only had to check everyone one-by-one before because we were in an unfamiliar place. Now we’re near home. What’s more, we know some professionals. It’s best to leave this to them."

"Professionals?"

Seeing the bewildered looks on their faces, Colin said with some surprise, "Have you all forgotten that Bob and his guys are from the Hundred Eyes Gang? Don’t just think of him as some old carriage driver."

"He... he is?" Kase said, rubbing his chin.

"Of course. But to rule out any meddling from Demons or the like, Dorn, Orelia, and I will still try to tail the guy," Colin said. "So that’s the plan. This mission shouldn’t be too hard—"

"Wait!" Kase suddenly yelled.

"What’s wrong?"

"Every time you say a mission is simple, it turns out to be a huge pain. Just stop jinxing it, Colin."

Standing nearby, Dorn said thoughtfully, "Is that so? I thought what happened last time when we rescued the villagers was just a coincidence."

"What a superstitious bunch," Colin retorted with resignation.

-----------------

「Two days later.」

The triumphal procession, which had been headlining the newspapers for days, had officially arrived.

KNOCK, KNOCK, KNOCK!

"Coming!"

Colin, who was halfway through washing his face, hastily scrubbed it with a towel a couple of times and went to open the wooden door.

He opened it to find Dorn and Kase standing outside.

Colin was a little dazed. "What’s going on?"

"Aren’t we going to see the procession today? I’m here, let’s go!" Dorn shouted.

"The procession doesn’t start until nine in the morning... You really hold a grudge, don’t you?" Colin grumbled, then turned back to pick up the Armor from the table.

As he put on the Armor, he felt a strange, inexplicable sense of anxiety. It was probably because he was subconsciously comparing his own parade to this triumphal procession.

After donning his Armor, Colin went out onto the main street with the others.

The streets had been cleaned for days in preparation for the procession, and any unclaimed clutter on the roadsides had been cleared away.

Someone had even sprinkled water this morning, making the whole city look refreshed and new.

Notably, the crowds on the street were much larger than they had been for the City Lord’s funeral, a clear testament to the Navy Governor’s standing in the hearts of the people.

No matter the world, a young, promising general would always be popular with the masses.

Colin and the others squeezed their way through the crowd and found the restaurant called "The Blaring Horn" on the main road of the Castle District.

After giving their name to the waitress, the group was led to a second-floor terrace.

As he sat down, Colin surveyed his surroundings.

The terrace was mostly filled with wealthy people dressed in fine clothes. Even they had arrived early, and it was clear from their expressions and demeanor that they, too, were full of anticipation for today’s procession.

As for the common citizens, most were watching from the roadside or their own windowsills. Some were even selling tickets for access to their rooftops.