The Villainous Me Turned the Losers into Blackened Bosses-Chapter 137 - Weve Arrived

—

“…It looks like the train has finally arrived. I can see the town in the distance!”

Shuna peered out the window, and in the glow of the setting sun, a faint outline of a town came into view.

“So, where exactly is this train headed? Where are we now?”

“Will, did you skip geography class?”

“…Do I look like the kind of student who skips class?”

“We’ve been traveling for a whole day. Based on the direction of the sun, it’s pretty easy to figure out where we’re going, isn’t it?”

“Oh! Uh… actually, I have no idea! Do you know where we’re headed?”

Theoretically, it was possible to figure it out.

But who actually puts that into practice while riding a train?

Unless… they have extensive survival experience?

Will was in awe of Shuna’s seemingly superhuman survival skills, wondering if she spent her free time wandering aimlessly.

“Hmm… I can only guess. If the distance and direction are right, we’re heading to a pretty unique little town! How about this—if I’m right, you treat me to grilled fish for dinner.”

Shuna winked at Will, as if teasing him with a secret.

The train gradually slowed as it approached the station.

Before anyone came aboard to unload the cargo, Will and Shuna quickly jumped off the train and headed toward the town with its glowing lights.

As they passed a signpost, Will finally saw the name of the town…

Surtes Town.

Ah, that made sense.

No wonder Will felt the warm, humid breeze brushing against his cheeks as they arrived.

Surtes Town was a coastal town in the Entark Empire. Thanks to its trade routes, it had developed well even without relying on dungeons.

No wonder Shuna had described it as unique and mentioned wanting grilled fish here!

The Entark coastline wasn’t extensive, and coastal towns were rare. If even these towns weren’t considered unique, then what was?

“So, what do you think? It’s already dark. How about we head to the Adventurer’s Guild for dinner? They usually have the best local cuisine.”

Shuna casually slung her arm around his shoulder, giving him a friendly pat as she spoke.

“Hmm… Before heading to the guild, I need to take care of something else first.”

“Huh? Are you in a rush to find a nearby dungeon?”

“We’re too tired to dive into a dungeon right now. It’s just that…”

Will no longer felt the “uneasy tension” he had when they first boarded the train.

However, he still needed to let his teammates know he was safe. He couldn’t let them worry too much.

Currently, the fastest way to send a message wasn’t through the government’s postal system but via the Adventurer’s Guild.

Updated from freewёbnoνel.com.

The guild had an inter-town communication system. Given the current distance, it would take about two days for a message to reach Novice Town.

In this era, trains could cover much greater distances in a day compared to other modes of transportation.

If only this were six months later.

In about half a year, a prototype of a magical communication system resembling radio would be discovered in a dungeon.

The Hysterm family would use it to establish a rapid communication network across the nation’s Adventurer’s Guilds, akin to a dispatch room in the era of advanced mobile devices.

At that point, messages could be delivered across Entark’s guilds in a single day.

For now, though, he’d have to settle for writing a letter that would take two days to arrive. At least it would reassure them and keep them from running off too far—after all, the protagonist was set to arrive in a month.

“I get it—you want to write a letter to your teammates, right?”

Shuna picked up on his intentions.

“Huh? How did you figure that out?”

“It was obvious on the train.”

Shuna, still holding onto Will’s right arm, reached out and playfully poked his cheek.

“Was it that obvious? I thought I looked pretty nonchalant.”

“In the morning, when you woke up, you looked like your soul had left your body. You seemed a bit numb, but you snapped out of it quickly.”

Will scratched his head. Could it be that Shuna had noticed, and that’s why she dragged him to watch the sunrise?

“Still, you should write the letter. After all, Little Will is like a pampered young master who’s run off with a delinquent student. You definitely need to write a letter to reassure the school and your family.”

“Why do I feel like you see me as some helpless, bookish nerd with no life skills?”

“Enough of that—look, the town isn’t big. See? The Adventurer’s Guild is right over there!”

—

The Adventurer’s Guild in Surtes Town did indeed serve grilled fish, and it was reasonably priced.

The aroma of the grilled fish on the table, with its mix of garlic and a hint of chili, was enough to make Will’s stomach growl, especially after a day of eating hard bread.

“This is delicious! The side dishes are great too,” Shuna said, already cutting off a piece with her knife. “So, how’s your letter coming along, Will?”

Uh…

Will glanced at the borrowed stationery on the table.

Ten minutes had passed, and all he had written was the salutation—

[To Eir, Leah, and Treya:]

For some reason, the moment he started writing, he had too many things he wanted to include. He wanted to list the dungeons he had planned for them to tackle next, which were both challenging and good for leveling up the team.

He wanted to outline their upcoming training regimens.

He wanted to remind them about weapon maintenance and upgrades…

Most importantly, he needed to explain why he had left.

Maybe he could say he had discovered a rare material and had to chase after it urgently?

So many things to write.

Damn it, was this the side effect of playing too many simulation games? He was turning into a nagging, overbearing caretaker. He felt like someone leaving detailed instructions for a babysitter before going on vacation.

“Let me see… Hmm… You’re really struggling to write this. Do you always have this much trouble writing to me?”

At some point, Shuna had moved to sit beside him, pulling up a chair next to his.

“Not with you… How do I put this… Writing to you is usually pretty quick. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have been able to reply to your letters the day after receiving them.”

“I’m honored.”

“I feel like I need to include all of this. Otherwise, they’ll…”

Will had scribbled a long list of notes on a piece of scrap paper.

“Come on, they’re all basically adults and managed to form an adventurer team. They should be able to think for themselves. You don’t need to micromanage everything.”

“Hmm…”

Maybe Shuna was right.

If he didn’t leave now, there would come a time when he’d have to leave them. When that time came, even if they turned their blades toward the protagonist, they’d have to figure out how to act on their own.

“Yeah, you’re right. I’ll probably be back in a few days anyway. I just need to let them know I’m safe.”

And…

If he had to prioritize, the most important thing in Will’s mind…

Was ensuring the three of them stayed put and waited for the protagonist to arrive.

So they absolutely couldn’t run off. They needed to stay right where they were!

[To Eir, Leah, and Treya:

Due to discovering a rare material with S, I had to leave urgently for a nearby dungeon. Please don’t worry—I’m safe and will return within two weeks at most.

Until I return, stay where you are.

If, during this time, a black-haired young man applies for a logistics position and seems exceptionally skilled yet low-key, please make sure to recruit him!]

Shuna silently read the letter over his shoulder, holding her fork.

“Hmm… The rare material you mentioned—are you talking about that green stone I sent you?”

“Ahaha. That’s just a made-up excuse to reassure them.”

“No, I mean, the dungeon where I first found the green stone… it’s actually here.”

Shuna said this casually, taking another bite of fish.

“Wha… WHAT?!”