Editor: Tseirp
“Ahh, you really saved me.”
At the entrance of the Inspectorate near the Imperial Palace, a man nearly two meters tall with a completely shaved head bowed deeply, performing the Darwei-style salute with both hands crossed over his chest.
“No, I’m just glad we could help. Besides, we were headed to the capital anyway.”
One of the people he bowed to waved his hands, flustered.
The others behind him gave a wry smile.
“I, Li Wu, will never forget the debt I owe you all. I’ll be staying in the capital for a while, so feel free to drop by the Inspectorate anytime.”
With another respectful bow, Inspector* Li Wu entered the Inspectorate—for the first time in a year. (TLN: It was translated as Governor previously, as it’s old Chinese terminology used to address several titles)
“All right, let’s get to work.”
“Yes.”Jun Luo, the leader and a third-rank adventurer, said, and Barili, the strategist and magician of the group, replied, smiling.
The rest—Chunk the scout, Shun Li the healer, and Loso, the other swordsman—nodded silently.
They were a five-person, third-rank party led by Jun Luo, who once commanded a fierce retreat from Tiger Mountain against a horde of monsters led by a phantomkin named Garibech.
“First, we deliver the documents from Deputy Magistrate Fu Ten to the Ministry of War, then we deliver the report to the Lord’s residence.”
“If I recall, the Ministry of War is just a little north of the Inspectorate, right?”
Barili confirmed the plan.
They belonged to the Boago Adventurers’ Mutual Aid Society, and they frequently handled such assignments to the capital.
While low-ranked adventurers didn’t receive jobs like that, third-ranks and above were occasionally directly commissioned by nobles.
Transporting official government documents was one of those responsibilities.
Proof of their status as elite adventurers.
After parting ways with Jun Luo’s group, Inspector Li Wu passed through the gate of the Inspectorate for the first time in a year.
But he felt no particular emotion about it.
After all, his return to the capital-based Inspectorate was usually just for reporting—he spent more than half the year traveling across the land of Darwei.
In short, the role of the Inspectorate was to monitor the provinces of Darwei.
The capital region, ‘Chuo Chuang’, was mostly directly governed by the Emperor, but the rest of the country was divided into territories ruled by dukes and counts.
Truthfully, Darwei’s territory was so vast that much of it lay beyond the central government’s direct oversight.
Originally, the nobles were only caretakers of land assigned by the Emperor—but over generations, those positions became hereditary.
The Emperor and the central government struggled to manage such a large country.
Differences in local production due to geography added to the burden.
Eventually, they had little choice but to allow nobles a degree of autonomy… as long as taxes were paid properly.
But this led to the emergence of lords who levied heavy taxes and fattened their coffers.
The Inspectorate’s job, and thus Li Wu’s, was to travel across Darwei, inspecting and overseeing such local lords.
Li Wu, known for his integrity and refusal to take bribes, was not well-liked by many of those nobles…
“Chief, Inspector Li Wu wishes to report.”
“Send him in.”
Li Wu was escorted to the office of the Inspectorate’s Chief.
“Inspector Li Wu, reporting in.”
Li Wu said, bowing deeply—just as he had done earlier with Jun Luo’s group.
Sitting in front of him was his superior, Daifu Zhuon.
Seventy-five years old.
His long white hair was neatly tied and secured with a red crown.
He stroked his white beard that stretched to his chest—a habit when deep in thought.
“Li Wu, it’s been a year, hasn’t it? Weren’t you supposed to be back two months ago, according to the letter from Boago?”
Daifu Zhuon’s voice was gentle.
Like a kindly old man’s.
But Li Wu knew better.
That gentle exterior was a mask.
“My apologies. There were… complications in the territory of Count Gaban…”
“Yes, the report already arrived. Attacked by the Count’s nephew and retaliated? And then you fought the Count’s forces? Never heard of an inspector doing that.”
“Ahaha…”
Daifu Zhuon spoke with exasperation. Li Wu could only respond with a sheepish grin.
“I always say it. An excellent inspector catches evidence without being noticed.”
“Yes, I’m an unworthy student. My apologies.”
“Look at your clothes…they’re a mess. You got attacked again after Gaban?”
“More or less…”
Still in his tattered clothes, Li Wu had rushed straight to report—and could only smile weakly.
Zhuon might be scolding him, but Li Wu understood it wasn’t out of anger.
An inspector’s ideal job was to quietly gather evidence…that’s the basic principle.
But Li Wu always stood out.
While managing to gather evidence.
And he always ended up being targeted for it…
Still, he got results.
And Zhuon, recognizing that, voiced his concerns from a place of care.
“Well, it’s fine. But you were gone too long this time. A whole year—you’ve got a mountain of reports to file.”
“Yes…I understand.”
Li Wu knew it.
And he had already resigned himself to staying in the capital for a while this time.
But he also had something urgent—something he needed to report directly to Chief Zhuon.
“I’ll write up the usual reports later, but first, there’s something I must report to you, chief.”
“Very well. I’m listening.”
Li Wu then reported the matter concerning Tiger Mountain.
There had been repeated monster attacks across Darwei, and behind them appeared beings called ‘Phantomkins’.
The one leading the gray goblins on Tiger Mountain had identified himself as Garibech, a Phantomkin.
After Li Wu finished recounting everything,
Zhuon’s reaction was unusual.
With narrowed eyes, Zhuon asked:
“Li Wu, how did you come across the word ‘phantomkin’? Did this Garibech call himself that?”
“What? No… The term ‘phantomkin’ did appear in fiction, like in tales or epics.”
“I see. I didn’t know that. You were always fond of that kind of story.”
Indeed, the word ‘phantomkin’ appeared in old folk literature.
But not in anything taken seriously by historians.
“Apparently, the phantomkin didn’t name their race, but one of the adventurers identified them as such. When asked directly, Garibech confirmed it. But why would someone even ask that…?”
“Hmph. You’ve been gone from the capital too long—you wouldn’t know. But right now, that word ‘phantomkin is not to be used lightly in the imperial palace.”
“Huh?”
Li Wu didn’t understand.
But one thing was clear—people in the palace already knew the term.
“The phantomkin attacked the imperial palace.”
“What?”
“Afterward, just like in Tiger Mountain, a phantomkin commanding monsters appeared. Prince Ryun captured it alive.”
“Wait, what??”
“Then, a so-called Imperial Envoy from the newly formed Choouchi Empire in the north came to retrieve the phantomkin. Diplomatic negotiations are underway.”
“Wait, what???”
Zhuon’s words made no sense to Li Wu.
Not in the slightest.
“Well, you’ll catch up on things now that you’re back. But as I said, don’t use that word lightly.”
“Understood…”
“Still, that means there are others out there who know the term. How did that adventurer know it?”
“He said he’d encountered a phantomkin before…”
“Hmm, that’s an interesting lead.”
Zhuon stroked his white beard.
In an instant, he was deep in thought.
When that happened, Li Wu knew better than to speak.
“Adventurers, huh…”
Zhuon muttered and then came back to himself.
“Daifu?”
Li Wu asked cautiously.
“There’s unrest among adventurers in the capital.”
“Well, aren’t they always fighting among themselves…”
“I don’t mean the lower ranks. I mean third-rank and above…even Special-rank.”
“Special-rank? The top ones…that means the Six Saints…”
“Yes. Tzosh Lin of the Wind is one of them.”
Zhuon nodded.
The Six Saints—the peak of magic and sorcery in Darwei.
Some were Shitaifu, some adventurers.
Regardless of background or profession, they were chosen for pure strength.
Even so, Li Wu tilted his head.
This was the Inspectorate.
“Why mention this here? We’re the Inspectorate—our work is regional…”
“I know. Shau, the Censorate’s Chief, mentioned it casually over tea.”
Zhuon gave a small shake of his head.
“He probably wanted me to keep an eye on adventurer activity. Ugh…the older we get, the better we are at political maneuvering.”
“Well, so are you, Chief—uh, forget I said that.”
Zhuon glared at him. Li Wu quickly withdrew his comment.
Zhuon was his superior.
His master in this profession.
And when angered… terrifying.
He’d best be careful.
“Enough. I’ll report the phantomkin matter to His Majesty and the Prime Minister. That adventurer you mentioned…Tiger Mountain means the Boago region, right? So they’re probably based in Boago. But you didn’t investigate Boago or its lord, Count Bashu, did you? I don’t think that stiff would be tempted to commit any wrongdoing.”
“No, I didn’t. But when I was staying in Nomon, Count Roche-Ten of Bashu brought the adventurers to me. I heard they’re from the southern port town of Randa.”
“Randa? That far south…?”
Zhuon was surprised.
Randa was one of the southernmost cities in the vast Darwei.
Naturally, as the Inspectorate, they knew regional affairs better than most capital citizens.
“They said they came with the Princess’ Bridal Fleet, hired as adventurers from Randa to Boago.”
“Ah yes, the group of eighty that went rogue.”
Zhuon smiled wryly.
Though that issue fell under the Ministry of Rites, as the Inspectorate Chief, he received detailed intel.
And how the person in charge had overcome the problem.
He had been stunned when eighty adventurers were hired for a royal escort ship—an unprecedented tactic.
“Oh, speaking of! Those two adventurers—at the end, they said they were heading for the capital.”
“What? You were delayed by Count Gaban’s mess… then they might already be here.”
“Indeed. Perhaps we can ask the Censorate to look into it? If you could pass a word to Chief Shau*…” (TLN: Will be going with Chief instead of Secretary)
“Very well. I’ll ask him to assist. Go to the Censorate tomorrow at noon.”
“Yes, understood.”
But Zhuon wasn’t finished.
“Oh, and one more thing—your Three Colors.”
“Three Colors?”
“Gaji, Guza, and Gobo.”
“Ah…”
The three youths who each wore red, blue, and yellow clothing.
“You left them behind while you were gone for a year…”
“My apologies. I never imagined I’d be gone so long…”
Li Wu bowed his head to Zhuon’s scolding.
He truly hadn’t expected it.
Four months, maybe six at most…not an entire year.
“I only took them in because you vouched for them. But they’re useless!”
“Yes, sir…”
“Their parents begged you to reform them, right?”
“Yes, sir…”
“You’ll be staying here for a while—no inspections.”
“Yes, sir…”
It looked like Li Wu’s stay in the capital was going to be longer than he had hoped…
“It’s not a bad thing to be wanted by others.”
“…Huh?”
Abel gave Ryo a puzzled look at the sudden statement.
Ryo often said strange things, but this one was even more perplexing.
“Do you remember where we are?”
“Holy Emperor Plaza, right?”
After leaving the Adventurers’ Mutual Aid Society, they had come to Holy Emperor Plaza.
Since it was getting close to evening, they decided to grab dinner here.
The plaza was lined with food stalls.
But also surrounded by inns and eateries.
Today’s destination: one such eatery.
But Ryo’s next words were…
“You were once sought out by three people here.”
“Ah…the Three Colors.”
That happened the day they arrived in the capital.
“But that wasn’t my fault. They picked the fight…”
“I don’t care about those colorful lowlifes.”
“Huh?”
“I mean—even someone like Abel can be in demand.”
“Huh??”
“Therefore, it’s only natural that the Brothy Wheat Noodles with Pork are also in demand!”
“What???”
Abel couldn’t follow Ryo’s logic.
But Ryo kindly guided him.
Pointing with his index finger.
“There it is.”
He pointed to a certain eatery.
Outside was a menu board.
And on it…
“Brothy Wheat Noodles with Pork.”
“Exactly! Do you remember?”
“Yeah… that was in the Free City of Kwebasa.”
“Yes, in the now-autonomous Kwebasa, at that delightful little place ‘Happy Eats’…”
“Right! We both ordered it!”
Ryo beamed as usual, and even Abel smiled.
Good food brings happy memories.
“Let’s test how the capital’s Brothy Wheat Noodles with Pork compare!”
“Why do you sound so smug about it?”
Abel chuckled, shaking his head.
Even nagging turns cheerful in the presence of good food.
“You sure like rice, but you really like noodles too, huh?”
“Hmm?”
“Back in Twilight Land…we had that thing, ramen, right? That’s noodles too.”
“Oh, how nostalgic! We had it at Agnes’ place. Yes, ramen is a noodle too!”
Ryo’s face lit up with fond memories.
And then he added:
“There was once a swordsman who lived and died for noodles…or so the legend goes.”
“Did he exist or not?”
“And a noodle chef who cried ‘Noodles are my life!’ before collapsing in the kitchen…maybe.”
“Did he exist or not…?”
“Noodles are a bewitching food that drives people to madness!”
“Well then, it’s only natural that you’ve been ensnared, Ryo.”
“Yes. It’s inevitable.”
Drawn in by such bewitching food, the two stepped inside the eatery.
TLN: Please read my translations at , I did not give permission to any site to host my translations.
If you like my translations, please support me on Patreon and unlock early chapter releases! 7 day free trial is available for Bronze tier now!