Osric and William walked past the front desk, towards the back office.
"Hey, is Franklin in his office?" Osric asked the guild clerk at the front desk.
"Ah, y-yes Osric. He is."
He nodded and kept walking with the bag full of severed heads, that seemed to intimidate the guild clerk.
Knock Knock.
"Franklin?"
"Come in."
Osric and William walked in.
Franklin, who was sitting behind his desk, looked very surprised to see them in such states.
Franklin's eyes moved from their bloodstained armor to the sack in Osric's hand.
His expression hardened immediately.
"Put it down."
Osric stepped forward and lowered the heavy bag onto the floor in front of the desk.
The wet leather hit the wood with a dull thud.
For a brief moment, the room was completely silent.
Then Franklin stood up.
He walked around the desk slowly, his gaze never leaving the sack.
By the time he stopped in front of it, the air in the office had turned heavy.
Franklin crouched and pulled the top open.
The smell of blood spilled out first.
Then he saw what was inside.
For the first time since Osric had met him, Franklin looked genuinely shaken.
His hand paused on the edge of the sack.
Then his eyes narrowed.
He reached inside, grabbed one of the severed heads by the hair, and lifted it into the light.
William swallowed.
Osric stayed silent.
Franklin stared at the face for a long second.
"…Elliot."
His voice was low.
Cold.
He slowly lowered the head back into the sack and looked up at Osric and William again.
This time there was no surprise left in his expression.
Only grim focus.
"What happened?"
Osric didn't hesitate.
"They ambushed us in the Monster Forest."
Franklin's eyes sharpened slightly.
"How many?"
"Seven."
Franklin glanced briefly toward the sack again.
"…And all of them are in there."
"Yes."
Franklin crossed his arms.
"Start from the beginning."
Osric nodded.
"We were finishing our first Forest Creeper mission of the day. Our new porter Paul was waiting with the cart near the road while William and I were carrying the bodies back."
Franklin listened silently.
Osric continued.
"Seven men approached us with their faces covered."
Franklin's brow twitched slightly.
"Bandits?"
"No."
Osric shook his head.
"They had good equipment. Better than most E-ranks."
Franklin didn't interrupt.
"Elliot revealed himself once they were close enough. He knew my name."
Franklin's expression darkened slightly.
"He ordered two of them to attack first."
William spoke up.
"They wanted to test us."
Franklin looked between them.
"And the others?"
"They watched," Osric said.
"Elliot stayed back."
Franklin exhaled slowly through his nose.
"So he planned it."
Osric nodded.
"They wanted to kill us."
Franklin was silent for a few seconds.
Then he asked the next question.
"And your porter?"
"Alive," Osric replied.
Franklin's eyes flicked toward him.
"He stayed by the road with the cart like I told him to. He saw the end of the fight when it moved closer to the road."
Franklin nodded slightly.
"A witness then."
Osric gave a short nod.
"Yes."
Franklin crouched again and pulled the sack open wider.
He began moving the heads aside one by one, examining them carefully.
William shifted slightly but stayed quiet.
Franklin studied each face for a moment before dropping it back into the sack.
When he finished, he slowly stood again.
"Elliot… Darren… Kalt…" he muttered quietly.
His gaze turned colder.
"I know most of these men."
He looked back at Osric.
"Where exactly did it happen?"
"About two hundred meters inside the forest," Osric said.
"Near the eastern path."
Franklin nodded once.
"And Elliot attacked first?"
Osric shook his head.
"No."
"Two of the others attacked first."
Franklin's eyes narrowed slightly.
"And Elliot?"
"He stayed back until most of them were dead."
Franklin studied Osric for a long second.
"Then he joined the fight."
"Yes."
The room fell quiet again.
Franklin finally leaned back slightly and crossed his arms.
"…You two killed seven armed adventurers."
His tone wasn't accusing.
But it carried the weight of the statement.
William shifted his feet slightly.
Osric didn't move.
Franklin's gaze lingered on Osric.
"You're certain Elliot gave the order to attack?"
"Yes."
"And the first two attacked without warning?"
"They rushed us the moment Elliot stepped aside," Osric said.
Franklin slowly nodded.
His eyes drifted briefly to the sack again.
"…That sounds like him."
William blinked slightly.
Franklin looked back at them.
"Elliot has had complaints before. Nothing proven. But enough rumors."
His voice remained calm, but there was clear irritation underneath.
"He liked to surround himself with men who didn't ask many questions."
Franklin rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
"Still…"
His eyes narrowed slightly.
"Seven men is a large ambush for two E-ranks."
William gave a small, humorless laugh.
"They didn't think we would survive."
Franklin's gaze shifted to him.
"No," he said quietly.
"They didn't."
For a moment, Franklin simply studied the two of them again.
The blood on their armor.
The exhaustion in their posture.
The silent sack on the floor.
Then he exhaled slowly.
"…You defended yourselves."
It wasn't a question.
It was a conclusion.
Osric nodded once.
"Yes."
Franklin looked at them for another moment before speaking again.
"Good."
The single word carried quiet approval — but also a warning weight behind it.
Franklin remained silent for a moment after the word left his mouth.
Then he walked back behind his desk and sat down again.
His gaze drifted once more to the sack on the floor.
"Seven adventurers dead," he said quietly.
The weight of the statement settled over the room.
Franklin leaned back slightly in his chair.
"I'll have the scene inspected," he continued.
His eyes returned to Osric.
"And this incident will be officially recorded in the guild."
Osric nodded.
"That's fine."
Franklin studied them both again.
"If your porter witnessed the end of the fight, that will help verify your account."
William gave a small nod.
"He did."
Franklin folded his arms.
"The Baron's administration may still ask questions."
His tone remained calm.
"When this many adventurers die at once, people tend to notice."
Neither Osric nor William looked surprised.
Franklin's gaze hardened slightly.
"But from what you've told me…"
His eyes flicked briefly toward the sack again.
"…this looks like self-defense."
The tension in the room eased slightly.
Franklin looked at them for a moment longer.
Then he nodded once.
"Alright."
He leaned forward slightly on the desk.
"I'll send someone to inspect the scene."
His gaze shifted briefly toward the sack.
"And these will serve as proof of what happened."
Franklin looked back at Osric.
"For now, the matter is simple."
His voice remained calm.
"You were ambushed."
"You defended yourselves."
"And they died for it."
He leaned back again.
"I'll make sure it's recorded that way."
The room remained quiet for a few seconds.
Franklin's gaze moved once more to the sack on the floor.
"…Elliot."
He said the name again, this time more quietly.
Then he looked back at Osric.
"You realize what this means."
It wasn't a question.
Osric nodded.
"Yes."
Franklin folded his hands on the desk.
"Elliot was a D-rank adventurer."
His eyes moved briefly between Osric and William.
"People knew him."
William shifted slightly.
Franklin continued calmly.
"When word spreads that he died in the forest…"
His gaze settled on Osric again.
"…and that the one who killed him was an E-rank."
The implication didn't need to be spoken.
Osric remained calm.
Franklin watched him for another moment.
Then a faint, almost amused breath escaped him.
"…Ashbrook is going to get noisy."
William gave a quiet snort.
"That's one way to put it."
Franklin allowed the corner of his mouth to move slightly before the expression faded again.
Then his tone returned to business.
"For now, go clean yourselves up."
He gestured briefly toward their bloodstained armor.
"You look like you walked out of a slaughterhouse."
William glanced down at himself.
"…Fair."
Franklin nodded once.
"Leave the sack here."
"I'll deal with the rest."
His gaze lingered on Osric a moment longer before he added quietly,
"And Osric."
Osric looked up.
"…Well done."
The words were simple.
But coming from Franklin, they carried weight.