Chapter 164

Upon hearing my words, Pey made a sad expression, as if she hadn’t expected this at all, then suddenly switched to a surprised look and asked again.

“Are you… saying you’ll help me?”

“Yeah. It’s better to leave finding a Lizardman to a Lizardman.”

“But… I’ve already visited all the Lizardmen known to be in Astram.”

“Right, you visited them. But you didn’t properly check, did you?”

In fact, when they mistook me for that Lizardman, they didn’t even check properly—just got their hopes up and then disappointed themselves.

They probably just glanced at other Lizardmen’s arms and immediately dismissed them.

“But that doesn’t mean those people suddenly became one-armed Lizardmen.”

“Ah, well, that’s…”

I was about to say more but suddenly stopped, feeling a mischievous urge.

In this case, it’d be more fun not to say anything until we meet again and reveal it then.

And if I tell her now, it might lessen the emotional impact of reuniting after ten years.

The less we know about each other, the more dramatic the reunion will be, so I’ll keep it to myself for now.

“What is it…?”

“Nothing, never mind. But it’s not like there’s any other obvious way, right?”

“…That’s true.”

“Then let’s start by visiting the Lizardmen in Astram again.”

And so, following Pey’s guidance, I decided to visit the Lizardmen one by one.

“First, there are eight Lizardmen in Astram that I’ve identified. Ah, including Mr. Kurt.”

“Quite a specific number.”

So, excluding me, that’s seven.

“Yes. Even though Astram is large, there aren’t many Lizardmen in the city, and their appearance is quite noticeable, so it was easy to figure out the number.”

Pey seemed a bit naive, but she was quite resourceful.

Theo, whom I met back in the Lizardman Village, was the same—kids these days are really talented.

“Let’s start with the closest one.”

“Okay. The closest one is a training instructor at the Astram Academy…”

“A training instructor… That seems like a fitting job for a retired adventurer. Let’s go.”

And so, Pey and I headed toward the academy.

…

…

…

The first place we visited was the academy where Yuri Blossom, the noble girl I met at the Adventurer Guild, was also studying.

But as soon as I arrived, I realized we’d made a mistake before even approaching the Lizardman.

“That instructor has brown skin, but didn’t you say the Lizardman you’re looking for has green skin?”

“Yes. When I was young, he had a greenish color similar to Mr. Kurt.”

If the skin color is different, it’s unlikely to be the same person.

If a Lizardman could change their skin color, they’d be a Chameleonman, not a Lizardman.

“Then that’s not the one. Let’s move on.”

“Next is someone who works near the commercial district. That person definitely has green skin.”

“Alright. Let’s head there.”

And so, we moved toward the commercial district.

…

…

…

The second place we visited was the commercial district, where I often go to buy ingredients.

The second Lizardman we found was busy moving goods around in the commercial district.

Lizardmen are stronger than regular humans, so they often work in physically demanding jobs.

The first Lizardman was a training instructor, and the Lizardman who saved me was also an adventurer.

But as soon as I saw the second Lizardman, I realized we’d made a mistake without even needing to talk to him.

“No. That Lizardman is too young. If he saved you when you were a child, he’d be at least in his thirties, but that Lizardman looks about your age.”

“Is that so…? Sorry. It’s hard to tell the age of Lizardmen…”

“Don’t worry about it. For scale-type Beastkin, it’s naturally hard for other races to distinguish their age. Let’s move on to the next Lizardman.”

“Ah, next is an accountant at the Blue Eyes Company…”

“An accountant… That’s an unusual job for an adventurer. Let’s go.”

And so, we headed toward the company building on the other side of the commercial district.

…

…

…

The third Lizardman we visited definitely had green skin and appeared to be in his mid-forties.

But something bothered me, so I asked Pey a question.

“Was the Lizardman who saved you a woman?”

“Uh… I’m not sure? It was so long ago, all I remember is that it was a green-skinned Lizardman…”

Adventurer outfits are unisex, and even adults can’t easily distinguish the gender of Lizardmen, let alone a child.

This is ambiguous.

Still, unlike the first two, the third Lizardman woman had too many unclear aspects to dismiss her outright.

“I see. Then I’ll go ask her.”

…

“She says no. She’s never saved anyone, let alone been an adventurer, ten years ago.”

“…I see.”

“Well, don’t get too discouraged. There are still four left.”

“…Right. Next is a guard working at the Holy Kingdom’s church.”

“The Holy Kingdom’s church?”

Ah, honestly, that place makes me a bit uncomfortable.

But since I’ve already committed to helping, it’s too late to back out now. It’s just my own weird feelings keeping me away…

Pey and I headed toward the Holy Kingdom’s church where the fourth Lizardman was.

…

…

…

Regardless of my discomfort with the Holy Kingdom’s church, the fourth Lizardman we visited wasn’t the one we were looking for either.

No, the Holy Kingdom isn’t a corrupt place like the medieval churches of my past life. In fact, they run orphanages, build schools, regularly volunteer, and provide medical care in poor districts…

In fact, the holy water used to defeat vampires is also a product of the Holy Kingdom, and they actively hunt down monsters that threaten the peace and stability of this world, including vampires and other humanoid races. It’s a really good place.

It’s not some evil cult or a place of dark conspiracies—it’s genuinely good…

But it just makes me uncomfortable.

Maybe it’s because of my past life memories.

As I frowned, feeling uneasy after visiting the Holy Kingdom’s church, Pey spoke up.

“Do you really think that person is still in Astram?”

“Don’t talk like that. There are still three left.”

“But the more Lizardmen we visit, the more certain it becomes that they’re not the one…”

“Don’t say that. Do you know anything about the remaining Lizardmen?”

“Yes. Two of them are a Lizardman couple who are travelers wandering around.”

“Travelers… That overlaps quite a bit with adventurers. If they retired from adventuring and are now wandering peacefully, it makes sense.”

That’s also a strong possibility.

“And the last one is an innkeeper running an inn nearby. The Lizardman couple is staying at that inn.”

“Then it’s simple. No matter which one we check last, we’ll have to visit the same place.”

And so, we headed toward the inn near Astram’s entrance where travelers stay.

…

…

…

By the time we arrived at the inn, the sun was already setting.

It took longer than I thought.

I expected it to take two or three hours at most, but I didn’t think we’d spend the whole day.

Ding ding

Since the inn was run by a Lizardman, there were noticeably more non-human races here.

The inn was lively, likely because it was evening.

So, we just need to find the traveling couple here, right?

“Welcome!”

As we entered, a cheerful Lizardman man at the counter greeted us warmly.

And, perhaps because business was booming, a waitress carrying food inside also noticed us and greeted us with a friendly voice.

“Welcome to the Inn of Glory’s Wound!”

…?

Glory’s Wound?

What’s that? What does it imply?

The Lizardman man who welcomed us warmly was the innkeeper, but he had a well-trained physique.

He looked to be in his late thirties to mid-forties…

“Do you know anything about that innkeeper?”

“Not really. Just that…”

“Really? I guess I’ll have to ask him directly.”

“At most, he was once an adventurer, but something happened ten years ago, and he opened this inn. The inn’s name comes from that event…”

“No! If you knew that much, it’s definitely him!”

We’ve been wasting time all this time!

If we’d come here first, it would’ve taken less than an hour.

“I thought so too! But that person has both arms!”

“No, a Lizardman’s arms can regrow!”

“I’ve never heard of that!?”

“Oops.”

I was planning to surprise her when we reunited, so I kept it a secret. My bad.