Inside Barry, the bustle of life remained as lively as ever.
In a city this large, the one thing it never lacked was common people everywhere. Having spent quite a while down in the labyrinth, Gauss found that just walking the streets now felt like he was soaking in human warmth again.
Dong! Dong! Dong!
The bell tower in the distant square struck three times. A flock of pigeons startled into the air from the pointed stone spire, and the deep, lingering chime spread through the streets and alleys before quickly being swallowed up again by the voices of the crowd on every side.
Compared to Falrim, the provincial capital, Barry felt less orderly and regimented, but it carried a stronger sense of everyday life.
And adventurers could be seen everywhere.
That was one of the most obvious traits of a frontier city.
After handing over the task of settling the other members to Luna and Ivan, Gauss walked the streets with the few people from his own core team.
As a person's strength and status changed, even when looking at the same scenery, the feeling it gave them could become completely different.
For example, Gauss no longer felt the nervousness and restraint he had the first time he set foot in this city.
That change came from the growth of his own power.
Back when he had been a level 2 mage, even with his considerable talent, he had still been just an insignificant adventurer in a city as vast as the Forest Capital—a drop of water falling into a lake, too small to stir much of a ripple.
Now, however, he was publicly recognized as an eighth-level caster, and his true combat strength had already reached the transcendent tier. In all of Barry, that made him someone with real weight.
For instance, just walking the streets now, he could already feel many hidden gazes falling on him from the tall towers overhead—only to shift away again moments later.
He did not believe that was a coincidence.
Most likely, from the moment they passed through the city gates and entered Barry, his movements had already received special attention from the city guard.
He could understand that, and he had no intention of concealing his movements.
For one thing, the people traveling with him all stood out quite a bit, even if they were simply walking down the street normally.
Never mind him as Commander. There was Alia with her pure-blooded elven looks, Albena with her massive build, Serandur with his half-serpent appearance. The only one who was even slightly low-profile was probably Shadow, walking off to one side of the group.
Besides, he had no ill intentions, so there was no point suddenly trying to hide himself and making people suspicious.
The gap between transcendent-level powerhouses and ordinary professionals was as wide as heaven and earth.
If someone like that were to suddenly erupt without warning in the middle of a city, the destruction they could inflict on ordinary people would be horrifying. Barry could not possibly fail to prepare for that.
The fact that he had been allowed to enter the city so smoothly and walk around so freely probably also had a great deal to do with the fact that his adventurer record was spotless.
That episode where he had helped save Grayrock Town during the beast tide had undoubtedly earned him a great many points.
Not every adventurer was willing to risk their life to protect civilians and towns with no real connection to them.
Gauss and his group wandered the streets for a while and casually bought a few odds and ends they might need.
Then, after learning from the ravens where Ivan had rented them a house, they slowly made their way there.
In the blink of an eye, two days passed.
During those two days in Barry, Gauss and the others lived quite quietly.
A few invitations had somehow found out where Gauss was staying and were delivered instead to the temporary butler and servant team Ivan had hired.
Gauss only glanced at them a few times before quietly setting them aside.
One of the benefits of becoming stronger was that pointless social engagements you had no interest in could be cut down as much as possible.
Freedom had never really meant doing whatever you wanted. True freedom meant being able to refuse the things you did not want to do.
He simply slept well in his room, letting the tension in both body and mind ease off again.
After that, he ate and drank to his heart's content for several meals and accompanied his teammates on a few strolls around the house.
After two days, even Eden—the King of Slimes, who had been so excited at first because its memories of human cities had long grown vague—had finally calmed down.
Come to think of it, Eden's current state still puzzled Gauss even now.
The more time he spent with it, the more he felt that Demon King species might be far from simple beings.
Eden was not residing inside him in the form of a spirit. If it were something like that, then with Gauss's spiritual power—already stronger than that of most transcendent beings—he should have been able to detect Eden's "presence" very easily, just as he could detect ghost-type monsters.
But the reality was that no matter how hard he tried to perceive it, he could not sense its essence at all. It was as if the voice of thought that constantly sounded by his ear were nothing more than an auditory hallucination.
Eden's current condition was clearly highly unusual. No wonder the monster Index had popped up back then saying that he had killed Eden.
If both body and spirit had been annihilated, what else could that be but death?
Still, relaxing was not all Gauss and the others had done.
During those two days, Ivan and the others had also been gathering intelligence about what had been happening in Barry lately.
From what they found, nearly every notable adventuring party and elite adventuring squad around Barry had been called back by the local guild. Even many groups that normally operated out in the field year-round, leaving behind only a few administrative staff in the city, had also returned.
From that, it could be inferred that the local guild had actually sent out its summons earlier than the time Gauss's group received theirs. In truth, that was fairly considerate. After all, adventurers like them who were already exploring the labyrinth were much closer to Barry and had no need to be called back too early just to wait around.
There were even reports that members of the Golden Company and Thornheart had been seen entering the city gates. Those two adventurer groups were virtually the peak of Barry's adventurer power structure.
Just as Gauss had expected, although the guild's summons was not mandatory, the overwhelming majority of adventurers still chose to show up out of respect.
That was thanks to the Adventurers' Guild's enormous reputation and the extraordinary credibility it had maintained across the continent.
With such a large influx of adventurers—and with Barry already crowded lately because of the Timber Labyrinth—the combined effect had caused lodging costs at many inns and hotels to rise by several tenths.
That morning, Gauss woke from a full night's sleep.
A formal invitation had been delivered into his hands, accompanied by four luxurious carriages.
The seal on the envelope was stamped with golden wax bearing a crossed sword, staff, and shield, and beneath it was a line of elegant small print:
Barry Adventurers' Guild — Secretariat.
He opened the envelope and unfolded the neatly tri-folded sheet inside. The expensive stationery, threaded with fine silver fibers, bore handwriting so precise it bordered on sternness:
"To Mr. Gauss, Commander of the Red Dragon Company:
A special meeting has been scheduled for noon the day after tomorrow in the council chamber on the third floor of Barry Adventurers' Guild Headquarters.
We have long heard of your courage, skill, and strength, and sincerely invite you to honor us with your presence.
Four carriages have been sent with this letter for the convenience of you and your companions.
Respectfully, Barry Adventurers' Guild."
At the bottom of the message was a small personal seal.
Although the letter still did not mention what the meeting was actually about, it was obvious that the local guild was treating him with considerable respect. They had even sent carriages and drivers two full days in advance to wait at his residence.
And yet the more they did that, the more it made Gauss care about this meeting.
He had a feeling whatever this was, it would not be a small matter.
Otherwise, Barry's Adventurers' Guild would not have gone to such lengths. Especially since recalling adventurer parties from external exploration and active commissions was no trivial matter. If there were not a sufficiently weighty reason behind it, the consequences afterward would likely be significant.
After reading the letter, Gauss had the guild's drivers settled in properly.
Then he went out to the training ground behind the house to do some light spell practice. Ivan had clearly been thorough when renting this place—one of the reasons he chose it was the wide, spacious training yard.
After practicing a few spells with low destructive power, making sure his body had not gone slack from two days of rest, Gauss informed the others and prepared to head out.
He had already sent word ahead to Hailier that he would be visiting today.
A considerable portion of the Red Dragon Company's business, under Gauss's direction as Commander, had chosen to cooperate with Hailier's Golden Beak Trading Company.
Hailier had originally wanted to come in person, but Gauss had considered that she did not really know Alia and the others, and to avoid awkwardness, he had chosen not to have her visit the residence.
Gauss rode in a carriage to the front of Hailier's estate.
After all, her family owned a trading company. While it could not compare to mid-sized or major houses, nor to the nobility, compared to ordinary civilians, they were already considered fairly well-off.
Their residence was located in one of the quieter, more central areas of the outer city.
Two rows of neatly trimmed low holly bushes lined the front walk, clearly maintained by dedicated staff.
The moment Gauss stepped down from the carriage, he saw Hailier, her parents, and several attendants already waiting at the steps before the main entrance.
Today she wore a dark green dress with a short cape of the same shade. Her hair was arranged flawlessly, with a lock falling over one shoulder. She no longer gave off quite the same impression as when Gauss had first met her back in Grayrock Town.
She had lost a bit of that sharp competence and gained a softer, gentler kind of feminine grace.
Time had left its marks not only on him, but on everyone.
At that moment, Gauss felt a flood of mixed emotions.
With the strength he possessed now, he certainly had the power to help this former teammate realize her earliest dream of becoming an adventurer. With his protection and guidance, it would even be quite possible for her to advance into a professional class.
But it seemed she had already accepted her destiny with genuine peace.
After those complicated thoughts flickered through his mind, he saw the family standing beside her and suddenly felt a trace of relief.
A meaningful life did not belong only to adventurers.
At the very least, she was living well now.
So Gauss did not voice that passing thought.
He only let the corner of his mouth lift into a faint smile.
"Hailier, we meet again."
And the woman standing opposite him, when she saw that bright smile in the sunlight, went visibly dazed.
For a moment, her breathing stopped, and her mind seemed to blank out completely.
Only when her mother tugged gently at her sleeve did the usually sharp and capable woman snap back to herself in a daze.
"Gauss…"
He looked almost too beautiful—an appearance so perfect it felt unreal, as though no flaw could be found in it at all. Everywhere he passed, even the air itself seemed to grow fresher.
The "Gauss" standing before her now felt even more extraordinary than the one described in the newspapers.
And only at this moment did she truly, viscerally understand that Gauss no longer belonged to the same world as she did.
Not because of worldly identity or status, but because of a fundamental gap in the very level of their lives.
Especially since he was not a stranger to her—since so much of her impression of him still came from the past—the shock she felt, from body to soul, was all the stronger.
An increase in attributes was, at its core, a leap in one's level of existence. And for someone like Gauss, whose six attributes had all skyrocketed, the degree of that transformation was only more obvious than it would be for any ordinary professional.
Her hand, which had started to rise, froze awkwardly at her side. Suddenly, it felt as though her hands were not hands, her feet not feet.
A fierce sense of inferiority instantly swept over her whole body.
"Don't tell me you don't recognize me anymore?"
Gauss shook his head and laughed softly. His powerful Charm naturally radiated a presence that made people feel safe around him.
The wild pounding of Hailier's heart gradually calmed. She took a few deep breaths, suppressing the tangled emotions inside her, and finally managed to force out a smile.
"You've changed so much. Who'd dare say they recognized you?"
Gauss smiled, then turned his gaze toward the couple beside her.
"Sir, ma'am, sorry to trouble you."
"N-no, Commander Gauss, you're too polite…" The two of them did not even dare to respond casually and hurriedly bowed in return. "Please, come in, come in."
Recently, the Golden Beak Trading Company had practically entered the fast lane, and all of it stemmed from a single sentence spoken by the young man before them.
It could be said that one thought from him was enough to send their family toward an entirely different fate.
That alone was enough to ensure they did not dare put on the airs of a friend's parents.
Once everyone had entered the house, Hailier's deeply pressured parents quickly found an excuse to leave the hall.
Gauss could see how nervous they were, so he did not insist on keeping them there.
"How has business been lately?"
"Thanks to you, we've opened several more branch stores recently," Hailier said gratefully.
It was not just Gauss's Red Dragon Company. Several other adventurer groups he had introduced had also expanded Golden Beak's channels considerably.
And those were resources that a small trading company like Golden Beak would never have been able to touch on its own.
She knew that although Gauss had never brought it up, what was really happening was that the Red Dragon Company was vouching for her. The obstacles that had once hindered Golden Beak's further expansion had quietly melted away.
Competition between trading companies was just as fierce as anywhere else. The size of the pie was fixed. If you took a bigger slice, someone else had to settle for less.
That was why so many large trading companies grew by attaching themselves to noble houses or adventurer groups.
"Oh, right. Gauss, the magic clay you asked us to collect—we've gathered a little over two hundred kilograms so far. I can have people deliver it to you later," Hailier said, clearly trying to return the favor, without mentioning money at all.
"No rush. Just have your people coordinate with Ivan at the guild," Gauss replied.
He had never stopped collecting spells or magic clay. Through the Red Dragon Company's channels, he had already accumulated nearly two tons of the stuff.
To him, magic clay was equivalent to utterly loyal rank-and-file soldiers, and it was one of the reasons he had not been in any hurry to recruit more members into the Red Dragon Company.
Two tons of magic clay was enough to split into sixty to seventy clay goblins at once. On a direct battlefield, that was an extremely terrifying force.
What surprised him a little was how efficient Hailier had been. In just a few days, she had already gathered more than two hundred kilograms of magic clay. All he could say was that professionals really did excel in their own field.
That amount was enough to add nearly another ten clay goblins to his forces, bringing him another step closer to a hundred.
Magic clay did not have particularly broad applications. It was not some mass-market commodity, and its output was not high, so the amount circulating on the market was fairly limited.
That alone showed how seriously Hailier had treated collecting it.
"This is long-term business. There's no need to rush. Just gather it boldly. However much you can find, we'll take all of it," Gauss reassured her.
If his guess about this upcoming meeting was correct, then he needed to strengthen his current power as much as possible.
Clay magic might have been nothing more than an unremarkable second-circle spell, but in certain situations, it could prove far more useful than the fourth- and fifth-circle spells he had mastered.
And recently, his research into clay magic had produced a few new breakthroughs.
"Don't worry. I'll make sure people treat it seriously," Hailier said, nodding quickly in promise.
And in truth, Gauss's guess was exactly right. When it came to gathering magic clay, she had indeed committed the greatest amount of manpower. She had even emphasized its importance in repeated internal meetings and tied it directly to departmental performance. As a result, nearly the entire Golden Beak Trading Company had been pushing hard through every available channel to gather information.
What had already been bought and delivered was only the first batch. There was more magic clay still under negotiation. It was only because she did not want to drive up procurement costs too much for the Red Dragon Company that she was still pushing harder in the bargaining stage—but the results would likely come soon enough.
The fact that Hailier had managed to take full control of her family's business in just a year or two showed clearly that she had real talent for commerce and management.
And she understood something else as well: even if Gauss was someone who valued old relationships, as the gap in their standing continued to widen, there would eventually come a day when whatever friendship they once had would no longer be enough.
She had to become someone who was useful to him.
~~~
Patreon(.)com/NotEvenMyFinalForm
— Currently You can Read 100 Chapters Ahead of Others!