Chapter 79: Adventurers Bureau
After spending several moments to ponder in silence, Miss Camille spoke, “If there had been an official bounty placed on your head, whether it be official or not, you wouldn’t have been able to walk in the street without being attacked.”
“There’s only one reason I can think of that explains your situation. Leo, there’s a personal hit on you.”
Leo raised his eyebrows.
“What?” he muttered in a dazed voice.
“It means that someone had disguised an assassination attempt as a bounty. The person who wanted you dead had specifically picked your teammates to become assassins without letting them know the truth by disguising it as a bounty. That’s why the Adventures’ Guilds couldn’t find anything during their investigation. The bounty was only available to your teammates and the team of Adventures that had chased you.” Miss Camille explained.
And she continued, “For example, let’s say I want someone dead, so I send you a fake bounty, hoping that you’d accept it and kill the person for me.”
“This way, only you and I know about the bounty, leaving almost no evidence behind, unless they find whatever we used to contact each other, like phones with texts. Do you understand now?”
Leo nodded.
“So the bounty was fake, and my teammates had been tricked to attack me…? Why would anybody do such a thing? I don’t recall offending anybody! Hell, this Leon identity is brand new as well! Unless you, Miss Camille, used someone else’s identity and they mistook me for that person?”
“No, Leon is a fake identity that I personally made up. Unless they have already met you, there’s no way anybody would know about you.” Miss Camille shook her head.
Leo frowned and said, “Besides Guildmaster Borus, Khrome, those Adventurous that had gone on the mission with me, and you, nobody else should know about Leon’s identity.”
“Khrome wouldn’t do something like this. As for Guildmaster Borus, he can do unpredictable things at times, but he would never harm one of his own Adventurers, especially not someone with your talent.”
“As for this Tami guy, he has no reason to kill you.”
“And if I wanted to kill you, you would already be dead by now, as I had countless chances to do so.”
“If none of these people are suspects, who else could possibly want to kill me? Do people in this world have a habit of killing strangers for fun?! This makes no sense at all!” Leo exclaimed.
“You’re forgetting someone else— or should I say something? The Adventures’ Guild and the Adventures’ Bureau also know about you.” Miss Camille said.
“And considering that you had been picked for a special mission that normally wouldn’t be assigned to Adventurers, there is a good chance that the culprit behind your bounty is from the Adventurers’ Bureau.”
The frown on Leo’s face deepened, and he asked, “Why would the Adventurers’ Bureau want to kill me when I have never even heard of them until recently? Aren’t they basically the government?”
Miss Camille suddenly showed a worried expression on her face.
After some hesitation, she spoke, “To tell you the truth, I might be the reason you’re being attacked.”
Leo’s eyes widened with shock.
“Let me explain. As an S-Rank Adventurer, my role as a healer is very valuable and almost irreplaceable. When I wanted to retire, everyone one was against it. Whether it be my own family or the Adventurers’ Bureau, none of them supported it, especially considering my age. I am not even 30 years old, yet I am already retiring. Meanwhile, most Adventurers would not retire until they are well past that prime age or they have suffered an injury that prevents them from fighting.”
“My retirement was frowned upon by everyone, and it had upset many powerful people. Despite that, nobody dared to touch me because they didn’t want to be responsible for the death of an S-Rank healer.”
“I still don’t understand how that’s related to me…” Leo shook his head.
“You’re my first sponsor. They probably see this as an opportunity to finally mess with me.”
“Seriously? I’m being hunted because of such a petty reason?” Leo was in disbelief.
“This is just a theory, but it’s the only one I can think of. Otherwise, there is no reason why anyone would want to kill you.”
“I’m sorry, Leo. This is all because of me…” Miss Camille sighed.
“There’s no reason for you to apologize. You’re not at fault here. The only ones at fault are those unreasonable bastards that decided to kill me, an innocent man, just to mess with you!” Leo exclaimed.
“Anyways, is there anything we can do in this situation? Or should I just create a new identity? I don’t mind climbing back to C-Rank for a second time. It wouldn’t even take that much effort if nobody is trying to sabotage me.”
“You’ll have to register in another city if you want to become an Adventurer under a new identity. Don’t forget, they know that you have an S-Rank Dark Magic Affinity and Wind Magic Affinity. Do you know how many people out there have S-Rank Dark Magic Affinity? They’ll realize it’s you right away if you register in this city.” Miss Camille said.
And she continued, “There’s no need to be hasty. Until we figure out a solution, stop being Leon. The Wilderness Training Course is next week, too. You won’t need to become an Adventurer for a while.”
Leo nodded, “I understand.”
“Anyways, you should spend the next week preparing for the Wilderness Training Course. I bet you’d barely used your sword the last two weeks. Go brush up your swordsmanship. You won’t be able to use magic with so many students around.”
“I understand. What about you, Miss Camille? Are you going to train with me?”
She narrowed her eyes slightly and spoke in a cold voice, “No, I have some business at the Adventurers’ Bureau, so you’ll have to train without me for a little longer.”
Leo’s mouth dropped after hearing her words.