Chapter 0080 Final day
-x-X-x-
On the 4th, 5th, and 6th days of the Port Opening Festival, the four people from Room 10 ate from the shops around instead of the stalls.
Of course, they still mainly ate while walking.
There were some minor inconveniences, but they weren't a big deal compared to the satisfaction of eating while walking.
And finally, the seventh and final day of the Port Opening Festival.
On this day, there would be a garden party in the courtyard of the Lord's building at night so many people came and went to the building from the morning to decorate it.
In addition, the city itself was lively as well for the closing festival that would happen because it was the last night.
Among them, there were many unfamiliar vendors, but that was common since the representatives of each country brought their followers in the first place.
It was unavoidable that there would be cracks in the security.
However, the time passed quietly without any problems until the evening.
Of course, that was apart from the hustle and bustle of the Port Opening Festival.
It wasn't until they finished eating lunch that day that the four people from Room 10 suddenly noticed.
"Hey … now that I think about it, we've not been to the Adventurer's Guild since we arrived in this city …"
It was the first time that Niels spoke so nervously.
"Ah..."
"Must we show our faces in the guild?"
"Our seniors will have to answer that. Amon and I have just become adventurers."
Etho who completely forgot couldn't say a word while Amon and Ryo were clueless about that convention.
Certainly, it was not mentioned in the beginner's lecture that they attended at the guild.
"It's not a rule, but there are some cases where adventurers are notified through the guild. Also, if you plan to do some activities as an adventurer in the city you travel to, notifying the guild would make it less likely to face issues later on."
At such times, it was Etho's task to explain rather than Niels.
"Oh well, let's pop our heads in for a short while? It's not as though we have any other acquaintances there … If we stop by to show our faces and nothing goes wrong, we can continue our food hunt! I didn't expect a delicious seafood pasta shop in a complete blind spot in the alley of the north street …"
"Thanks to Rin's tip."
With that said, the four from Room 10 headed for the Whitnash Adventurer's Guild.
The Whitnash Adventurer's Guild was quite large.
Although not as large as the one in the City of Rune, which was said to be the largest on the outskirts, this was one of the best port cities in the Kingdom of Knightley so the number of adventurers and requests was quite large.
"I've never seen such a large guild other than in Rune …"
"Yeah, it's pretty big."
Etho and Niels were also impressed with the size.
Once inside, they found quite a few people hanging out, even though it was in the afternoon.
In the City of Rune, the guild would be quiet at this time.
"I guess there are many people in the guild because it's during the festival?"
Ryo came to a strange conclusion but no one retorted.
That was because Niels, who usually played the straight man, had found a person he didn't want to meet.
At the same time, the other party also saw Niels.
"Why are you here?"
"Huh? That's my line, bastard."
Niels and Dan started the conversation like some delinquents.
Yes, Dan from Room 1 and his followers were also in the guild.
Niels and Dan were in a volatile state, but the others greeted each other without any enmity.
In particular, the Scout that Dan dragged to join the 『30th two-seater boat race: Adventurer's category』was having a friendly conversation with Amon who was also dragged to join by Niels.
In the end, it seemed that they formed a bond after they were involved in the rivalry and experienced the destruction of the ship, sinking, and falling into the sea.
And,
"Hey, Sasha from Room 2. It's been a while."
"Oh, Etho-san from Room 10. It has been a while."
The priests greeted each other.
In the end, Ryo was left out since he wasn't particularly acquainted with anyone so he just greeted them lightly and blankly looked at the bulletin board.
"Eh? You guys are those two on the boat."
"You're right. That was amazing, wasn't it?"
"Oh, fighting here is prohibited. Rather than that, come here and have a drink. Adventurers can drink and eat as much as they want during the festival."
So that was why there were a lot of adventurers even at this time?
Ryo and his friends were strangely convinced.
(Alcohol is absolutely prohibited in the guild cafeteria in the City of Rune, but there is no such rule here. I guess it depends on the location.)
Ryo, who had such an impression, was dragged by a Whitnash adventurer and ended up going to the cafeteria.
But, as expected of the guild cafeteria.
The food was delicious!
"Wow, this salt-baked fish, delicious!"
"The taste of seafood is exuding from this soup."
"A wonderful smell is coming from this big shellfish when baked."
"I can't believe I can eat spiny lobster …"
There were four adventurers from the City of Rune who enjoyed the seafood more than eating outside.
"How is it? Do you think it's a go?"
"No problem."
"Have those that planned to leave left?"
"The City of Rune adventurer's guild Guildmaster has left the city. A substitute will participate in the garden party."
"Okay, then do as planned."
The sun was setting and around 6 o'clock in the evening, the garden party was about to begin at the Lord's building.
"Abel-dono. I see you are standing in once again?"
"Your Highness Konrad. Yes, my Guildmaster was in the city until this morning, but he has already returned to the City of Rune, so instead, I will be attending the garden party again."
Abel shook his head and asked himself why me?
Seeing that, 3rd Prince Konrad smiled.
"But didn't you enjoy the festival until today? I couldn't even take a single step outside … I understood that it was difficult, but I was of the assumption that I could still go around the festival a little, but I guess it was impossible."
At that point, someone else called out to Konrad.
"Brother."
As Konrad turned around, Princess Fiona, dressed up for the garden party, was there.
"Oh, Fiona, let me introduce you. Abel-dono, this is … Well, as you know, Fiona Rubin Bornemisza, the eleventh princess of the Empire, my sister. Fiona, this is Abel-dono, standing in as the Guildmaster for the adventurer's guild in the City of Rune. He's a great B-class adventurer."
When introduced, Fiona and Abel greeted each other lightly.
"See you later, Abel-dono."
Then, Konrad walked with Fiona toward the Lord.
Abel was feeling extremely bored and lonely.
Because there wasn't his usual sword on his waist.
Of course, given that it was a garden party, no one was equipped with weapons.
Even ceremonial swords were not allowed for this garden party.
The security was perfect with the『Wind Barrier Hidden Treasure』 … Nobody could argue against that.
"By the way, Rin said that it was as strong as the Wyvern's wind defense film … But, Ryo pierced that with a thick ice spear …"
It was an event he encountered while crossing the Devil's Mountain, which could be said to be the nest of the Wyverns, on the way back from the Rondo Forest.
"Well, nothing is perfect."
After he muttered that, the Lord of the City of Whitnash went up to the stage.
It was the start of the garden party.
It had been about an hour since the garden party started.
The first to notice the irregularity were the Magicians with the Lord who managed the 『Wind Barrier Hidden Treasure』.
"Eh?"
"What happened?"
"Suddenly, I can't channel my magical power to it."
"What does that mean?"
"I don't know, but if nothing is done, the barrier will disappear …"
"No way!"
It was over by the time they found out that the magical power supply to the 『Wind Barrier Hidden Treasure』 was tampered with to burn out after a certain amount of time had passed once it was deployed.
At that moment, they had fallen into panic.
The supply of magical power was cut off and the wind defense film disappeared.
It was a barrier that wasn't noticeable unless you looked carefully. Because it was thin enough to be called a 『film』.
And even more so when the background was the night sky.
And catastrophe struck before anyone attending the garden party noticed.
A large amount of attack magic, arrows, and throwing spears began to land in the courtyard where the garden party was held from outside the building.
"Kyaaaaaaaa."
Screams and angry bellows echoed in the courtyard.
There were Knights of Whitnash present in the courtyard but they were disposed of without any means to defend against the oncoming attacks.
"Hide in the shadows of the tables."
Those who heard that voice and followed it were able to prolong their lives for a while.
But the attack didn't end there. Rather, it was just the beginning.
Just as the attacks from outside died down, they launched their direct assault.
The door was kicked open and men in black rushed in and slashed at random.
Regardless if it was knights, guests, butlers or maids.
"Damn, who are these guys? What happened to the guards?"
Someone among the guests shouted but no one had a clear answer.
But as soon as they entered the building, it was clear.
All of the Lords' forces, except those in the courtyard, had already been killed.
The encirclement was already completed without anyone in the courtyard garden party knowing.
Those who were killed included not only the Lord's forces but also the subordinates of the guests.
"
Princess Fiona continued to protect Prince Konrad, creating a much thicker barrier than others.
The first attack had, unfortunately, hit Konrad and he was seriously injured.
"Brother, if we keep our backs to the wall of the summer house over there, we can last for a while. It's fine if you take it slow, can you walk?"
"Yeah …I'm okay, Fiona healed me, I can manage that."
Fiona was a Magician who could manipulate Fire and Light attributes.
Healing using the Light attribute could be said to be second nature for senior Priests, but as long as they did not know what will happen in the future, he could not allow her to heal him with all her might.
Konrad instructed that.
And that instruction seemed correct so far.
The attacks from the outside had stopped but the assailants had launched a direct attack.
The few surviving knights in the courtyard were clashing swords with the assailants here and there.
"Even with all this happening, the fact that no one else is coming through the door except the assailants means that it is highly likely that the entire building has been subdued."
Even if the wound was closed, the lost blood would not be regained.
Despite his pale complexion, Konrad informed her of his analysis.
"No way …"
Fiona despaired at Konrad's words.
"Fiona, didn't you come with your men? Do you have a way to get in touch with them?"
Hearing those words, Fiona raised her face as if she had been struck.
"I have!"
Then, she released five black magic bullets from her right hand that went up to the sky as colored bullets and five red magic bullets burst in the sky.
"If they see it, they will rush to our aid. Even if they don't look see it, my teacher will sense it."
"Teacher … Oscar? I'll be relieved if he comes."
Then, Konrad sat with his back against the wall.
The summer house, where the two of them moved to, was difficult to spot from the main venue of the garden party, and there were no assailants, guests, or knights.
(As long as we can buy some time here … teacher will come.)
But, they were not given such leeway.
"There he is."
The moment he said that, the assailant might have considered that he had screwed up.
This was because Konrad's powerful gaze shot through the thief.
"I see, this attack was aimed at me."
"We were the target …"
Fiona trembled a little from Konrad's words.
"Fiona, you don't have to keep them alive. Kill everyone."
"Yes, brother."
The assailants approached cautiously.
Konrad chanted in a soft voice.
After they are closed in to some extent.
"
Konrad chanted the trigger word and four stone spears launched from the ground toward the assailants.
At that moment,
The assailants, who were not the target of the Stone Javelins and were safe, start running toward them all at once.
"
Fiona's chantless magic caused four white-flame extra-fine arrows to fly toward the assailants.
When an assailant dodged the arrow of fire coming from the front, the arrow made a U-turn and stabbed into the assailant's neck from behind.
After that, three more Piercing Fires were fired, decimating those who could be called the vanguard of the assailants.
At the very least, there were no enemies in sight … but they heard a tiny, soft chanting.
Hearing the chanting, Konrad's complexion became even worse.
"No way, this chant is … Fiona, full defense forward. No, absolute defense, Sanctuary."
"
The moment Fiona chanted, the tiny soft chanting ended and the magic was released.
The spell's name was
"Bullet Rain …"
One of the highest-grade Wind-Attribute Magic used by Rin to deal the finishing blow for the Goblin King at the end of the Great Tidal Bore.
That magic with enormous attack power, that even the defense of the Goblin King was pierced like paper, and its body riddled full of holes.
It was impossible to defend against it with ordinary defensive magic.
That was why he called for
Absolute defense
The ultimate light defense magic said to prevent all magic and physical attacks.
It was a spell that could only be cast by high-ranking Priests, but Fiona could cast it … and she could use it since childhood.
However, Sanctuary consumed a terrifying amount of magical power compared to other defensive magic.
Even Fiona, who boasted hundreds of times more magical power than ordinary people, had continuously cast magic barriers, Piercing Fire, and now, Sanctuary.
She knew that her remaining magical power was quite low.
(If the opponent who fired the Bullet Rain attacked seriously … it will be a pretty tough battle …)
Thinking so, Fiona got ready, but the presence disappeared.
And multiple other presences appeared.
(Three, four … five people? I feel their presence but I don't know the location.)
"It's a spell I don't know."
The chant was too soft for Fiona to hear.
Konrad heard a little but have never heard of that spell.
"No … this is mixed with the Earth-Attribute? But the main chant is that of the Fire-Attribute's explosiveness? What is this?"
"Earth? Explosion?"
At that moment, Fiona looked at Konrad.
Then, she sensed the magic that was being built up on the ground on which Konrad sat.
"Brother, danger!"
Fiona body-slammed into Konrad and pushed him away.
And she chanted at the same time.
"
At that moment, the ground burst.
Flames and soil blew up like a geyser.
Fiona was blown away by it.
However, while Fiona was blown away, she confirmed that her reliable comrades had rushed into the courtyard.
"Teacher, please take care of my brother …"
-x-X-x-
Luckily, Deputy Chief Oscar, Adjutant Jurgen, and Adjutant and maid Marie were outdoors when Fiona fired five red bullets in the sky to signal for emergency rescue.
That was when they saw five red bullets rising from the courtyard of the Lord's building.
"Five red bullets … emergency rescue request? Jurgen, Marie, we are charging straight into the building."
"Affirmative."
In the army, the orders of superiors were absolute.
They usually joked around as companions, but when it came to the battlefield or similar situations, they maintained the relationship of superiors and subordinates.
The guards guarding the gates of the mansion were on duty as usual.
All three were aides to Princess Fiona, and more importantly, they were informed that Oscar was the Explosive Blaze Magician, so they were able to enter without any questioning.
The problem was after they opened the door and entered the hall.
"What is this …"
"They're dead."
Jurgen and Marie confirmed that the people there were dead and reported it.
"It is confirmed that this is an abnormal situation. We'll head to the courtyard."
Around the first corner, they encountered a very large group of people dressed in black.
"
Oscar, who was in the lead, shot over 20 extra-thin arrows of white flame.
It was worthy of special mention that all of them struck the foreheads of the assailants.
"Precise control as usual …"
Adjutant Jurgen murmured.
This
A very fine white flame arrow that does not spread fire would strike the forehead and reach the brain, ending the target's life.
The damage to the target was minimal.
For that reason, he was also able to sell his materials at a high price.
After passing through several corridors and defeating several groups without a moment's delay, the three reached the courtyard.
However, the scene there was a picture of hell.
Scattered with magic, bows, spears, and the bodies of those killed in close quarters combat.
"No way, Her Highness …"
Marie whispered with a quivering voice.
"Her Highness will not fall so easily! She may be injured, look for her!"
Oscar scolded her and Marie and Jurgen started searching …
However, they couldn't find anybody who resembled her.
(It's okay, there's no corpse. She's alive somewhere …)
Oscar pretended to be calm in front of them but was about to lose his mind from anxiety.
At that moment …
"Deputy chief, there is the sound of battle from the other side."
Jurgen pointed out.
Oscar started running as if to say that answering would be a waste of precious time. Following that, Jurgen and Marie also ran after him.
The sight that the three saw after crossing the fence was …
Fiona blown away by the flames and soil that blew up like a geyser.
At that moment, Oscar's face was dyed in despair.
But it was only for a moment.
That was because he saw Fiona's lips move while being blown away.
"Jurgen and Marie, protect Konrad-sama. I will chase after Her Highness who was sent flying."
Oscar commanded and dashed out of the building at full speed.
Since it was the last night, a closing party was being held in the city.
If this was modern Earth, fireworks would be launched but it appeared that gunpowder was not yet common on 『Phi』.
At least, Ryo had never seen any since he reincarnated on 『Phi』.
That said, there was a huge bonfire in the square.
Some vendors were even using decorations that were used during the festival in place of firewood and it seemed that they were enjoying the closing party as they pleased.
Finally released from the Whitnash adventurers, the four from Room 10 were heading towards the bonfire on the beach instead of the one in the square.
Of course, while procuring various foods on the way.
"I have four mini Krakens."
"I bought four crepes."
"I really liked the Lindo candy, but it was sold out … he called it takoyaki but it was delicious when I tasted it, so I bought four sets of this."
Etho proposed for each of them to buy what they liked and exchange them so the four of them went separately and gathered there.
"Hmm? Is Ryo late?"
"I thought I saw him at the Lindo street candy stall over there …"
"Oh~!"
Amon, who had given up on the Lindo candies, cheered at Etho's report.
Meanwhile, it was completely coincidental that Niels was looking up at the sky.
"What is that?"
Niels said and pointed to something flying over from the Lord's mansion.
"Where?"
"A person?"
Etho could not see it while Amon couldn't identify it either.
"That … that is the princess."
Niels said and started running alone.
She was going to land on the coast. Even though it was sandy, she could die if she landed poorly.
Following Niels who started running, Etho and Amon ran after him.
There wasn't an ounce of Ryo in their minds anymore …
He had never run so hard during an adventure.
Niels ran desperately.
As his feet got caught in the sand, he desperately tried to avoid falling over and over, and aimed to not slow down as much as possible as he ran to the spot she would land on.
And...
He had to pretty much slide in the end … but he managed to catch her at the last second.
"Oh, that was dangerous …"
At first glance, she had no major injuries.
She appeared to have been at a party as she was in a dress.
"Fu … fu … Niels-san, how is the princess?"
"Oh, she's probably okay, though she fainted."
Amon caught up first, and Etho caught up a little later.
But Etho wasn't the only one catching up.
"Amon!"
"Yes, I see them."
Amon replied as he drew his sword and slashed at the man in black.
Normally they would wonder who they were, but suspicious people appearing in that situation would not be there for anything good … Niels and Amon came to that decision.
And Etho, who joined late, agreed too.
"Block all attacks
Without any hesitation, the daggers released by the black assailants were targeted at Fiona. Etho blocked it with a physical barrier that prevented physical attacks.
Niels couldn't move while holding Fiona.
In essence, Amon was dealing with two assailants on his own.
If he was just any regular F-rank adventurer, he would have been cut down in no time.
However, Amon gained time by kicking up the sand at his feet, blinding them, and attacking persistently to incapacitate instead of to kill.
And finally, an arrow was released from the hands of the priest Etho.
To the members of Room 10, they had no archer and wanted even a little means of dealing middle to long-range attack so during this festival, what the four of them found was this small 『crossbow』.
It was the type that was worn on the left arm, and although it was difficult to attack from a long distance, it had an effective range of about 10 meters.
The arrow shot from the crossbow pierced the neck of one of the assailants.
The other assailant was slightly taken aback by the sudden attack.
Amon took advantage of the slight sway in alertness.
He slammed with his entire body, pushed him down, and thrust his sword through his head.
....
No one spoke for a while.
"I'm glad it worked …"
Eto muttered softly.
Amon retrieved his sword and moved to Niels.
There may still be further pursuits.
And then, he appeared.
"Oi, back away from that person."
-x-X-x-
After leaving the mansion, Oscar continued to run at full speed.
"The beach? … If it's a sandy area, she should suffer fewer injuries."
Assailants were carefully positioned even from the streets to the beach.
He easily pierced them with Piercing Fire without giving the slightest consideration and rushed onto the shore.
Corpses were lying there too, but they were completely invisible to Oscar.
The only thing he saw was the men holding his respected princess.
The moment he saw that scene, the little remaining reasoning he had was blown away.
If he had only retained a little bit of reasoning, he would have noticed that they were different from the black assailants.
If he had only retained a little bit of reasoning, he would have understood that the corpses on the ground were the black assailants and that the men had defeated them.
If he had only retained a little bit of reasoning… he would not have tried to kill them.
As he approached step by step, Oscar uttered.
"Oi, back away from that person."
But the men said nothing and showed no sign of letting Fiona go.
Naturally. They were assailants after all.
"That person is not someone you can lay your hands on."
At that instant, Piercing Fire was fired from Oscar's hand.
All of them felt the danger coming from the approaching 『individual』.
However, among them, the degree of danger that Etho felt was arguably the greatest in his life.
(What's this … the magical power around him and the magical power that he's gathering are abnormal)
"That person is not someone you can lay your hands on."
The moment that 『individual』 spoke, Etho chanted reflexively.
"
Emergency deployment of defensive magic ... the quintessence of a priest was to deploy a defensive spell in an instant without chanting.
The absolute defense
(TLN: I have been translating 'Sacred Ground' as 'Sanctuary' but here the author mentioned another spell named 'Sanctuary'. All 'Sanctuary' before this chapter has been 'Sacred Ground'. I will make the distinction from this chapter onward.)
It could only last five seconds but could defend against most physical and magical attacks.
But the recoil was tremendous.
It would have been so for high-ranking priests, not to mention Etho, who was just an E-rank adventurer …
Jut~
Sanctuary was activated successfully and repelled the three Piercing Fires.
The three arrows were accurately aimed at the foreheads of Niels, Etho, and Amon.
The moment he confirmed that, Etho nodded in his heart that he did not make a mistake in judgment.
"Cough"
However, the recoil from Sanctuary caused him to spit blood from his mouth and fall to his knees.
"Etho!"
"Etho-san!"
Amon rushed to Etho and supported his body.
Etho's consciousness was already hazy.
However, Oscar held no sentiment for such exchanges.
"Get away from her now."
Oscar commanded and fired Piercing Fire again.
"
This time, a transparent ice wall flicked away Oscar's Piercing Fire.
"What?"
He could understand how Sanctuary could repel his Piercing Fire, but a mere Ice Wall could do so too?
There was a crack … just a crack?
"I was searching for where everyone went … to think that I would find corpses and you guys in battle."
As he said that, Ryo finally saw Etho spitting blood and kneeling.
A picture of his companion spilling blood … was enough for Ryo's reasoning to be blown away.
"You bastard … what did you do to Etho …"
"Shut up, quickly get away from that person."
Oscar said once again, firing off four Piercing Fires.
(
Ryo intercepted the four flaming arrows with four ice spears.
"What is happening …"
Even Oscar, who had lost his reasoning, could understand that the Water Magician in front of him was abnormal.
Intercepting four of his Piercing Fires with four ice spears … it was proof that he had the same magic generation speed as him.
That was the first time Oscar met such a person.
And as long as Fiona was in the hands of the opponent, he could not use large-scale destruction magic.
If she gets caught in it, he would lose everything.
In that case, the means he had were naturally limited.
"First, I will kill you.
From Oscar's hands, ten Flame Spears with enhanced penetrating power, which were different in quality from the Piercing Fires, were fired toward Ryo.
(
In front of Ryo, ice walls formed one after another.
They formed one after another in front of Ryo heading toward Oscar.
It was the spell that he used to clash against the Akuma Leonor's
As expected of his
Even the Ice Wall 10-layers which Ryo was proud of would be pierced through with a single blow.
But … in anticipation of that, he cast a
Unless it was as destructive as the Akuma Leonor's Hellfire, it could not break through Ryo's current defense.
Oscar tried to break through by firing four more consecutive casts of
The spear of fire moved forward while penetrating the ice wall … but every time it penetrated the ice wall, its speed surely slowed down. It was hard to see, but it was definitely slowing down.
Finally, it struck an ice wall that it failed to break through and disappeared.
That repeated dozens of times …
Ryo's Laminated Ice Wall completely defended against all of Oscar's Flame Spear Duets.
"No way …"
Oscar couldn't believe what he was seeing.
Oscar's custom-made
He fired 10 of those at once, and cast it 5 times … A total of 50 flame spears were fired.
And he blocked all that? That was nothing worse than a nightmare.
Moreover, his opponent didn't seem to be out of magical power.
"What? Are you done? Then it's my turn next."
Ryo's voice echoed.
However, another voice interrupted to drown him out.
"Wait. Both of you pull back!"
The voice that interrupted was very familiar to Ryo.
But …
"Abel, don't involve yourself. If you get in the way, I will kill you."
Ryo's voice was low, really low.
Even Abel, who spent the longest time with Ryo, found that voice chilling.
For that reason, he understood that Ryo was infuriated.
"Pl-please wait a moment, Ryo."
While having cold sweats, Abel asked Ryo to restrain himself.
"That person with white hair is Oscar. Oscar Ruska, Deputy Chief of the Emperor Magic Division of the Debuhi Empire."
Hearing his name, Oscar finally looked at the intruder.
"Who are you?"
"My name is Abel. Acting in as the City of Rune Adventurer's Guild Guildmaster. These four people you are facing are not suspicious. They are adventurers who belong to the Adventurer's Guild in the City of Rune. I am familiar with them and they are not involved in what happened at the garden party."
Oscar reacted slightly when he heard the word garden party.
"Of course, I know you're acting with the princess in mind, so just listen."
"Abel, your conversation is over, right? Then, time for me to kill that guy."
"No, why!"
Abel yelled at Ryo's announcement.
"He injured Etho that far, I can't let it slide that easily. Yes, how about I encase this woman in ice? You'll end up with a very beautiful object."
The moment he heard those words, the little reasoning that returned to Oscar flew away.
Oscar showed a furious expression and activated his magic.
"
It was a wide-area destruction magic in which countless flame bullets fell from the sky. Originally.
However, all the flame bullets were falling straight for Ryo.
(
All the falling flame bullets were mowed down by the 256 extra-thick Water Jets fired in a fan shape.
He magnificently intercepted and extinguished all the flame bullets.
"Hmm, he's good for a human, but that's as far as he goes. I can kill him now, right? Abel."
"Goddamn idiot, that's just an excuse!"
Far from having just cold sweats, Abel was soaked in sweat, but he couldn't pull back there.
They were on the verge of a war between the Kingdom and the Empire.
Only at this point, he realized that he had to persuade Ryo more than Oscar.
Because it had been Ryo fanning the flames from a while ago.
"Ryo, I understand your feelings, but please stand down."
"Will Abel be persuaded to put down his sword if Rihya suffered the same thing?"
"Yes, I will stand down, because Rihya doesn't want a war between the Kingdom and the Empire."
Abel made a clear statement to Ryo's question.
It was, of course, to persuade Ryo, but at the same time, it was his true feelings too.
Ryo didn't say anything for ten seconds.
For Abel, those ten seconds caused his stomach immense pain.
"… I see. All right. I will stand down in honor of Abel."
At that moment, even bystanders could tell how relieved Abel was.
"Abel, could you pass that princess to that white-haired tanned-skin man?"
"Ah, yes. Niels, pass her to me."
Abel received Fiona from Niels and carried her to Oscar.
When Oscar received Fiona from Abel, he finally regained his composure.
(That's the Explosive Blaze Magician … white-haired tanned-skin, what kind of middle-grade syndrome does he have to choose that? The power of his magic was not as good as that of Leonor, but … his magic generation speed was abnormal. Perhaps, his generation speed might be even faster than mine… even my magic generation speed was faster than Leonor, but … I will have to train more.)
-x-X-x-
The next day. The day after the Port Opening Festival was over.
Etho, who was admitted to a temple-run healing clinic last night, had almost recovered overnight.
That was due to Abel's efforts … or rather, the Priest Rihya from 『Crimson Sword』, who lent a hand to contact the temple in Whitnash.
Incidentally, the treatment itself was done by the most-skilled Rihya, but Etho, who was unconscious all the time, did not know that.
When he woke up and heard that, it seemed that he was trembling with excitement.
"But Rihya likes Abel …"
Ryo muttered, thinking of Etho's unrequited feelings.
"Adoration and love are different emotions."
The youngest 16-year-old Amon whispered in a soft voice.
Ryo was shocked.
What on earth had he experienced in just 16 years of life?
In any case, Etho had recovered.
In the first place, he had no trauma and the blood was spit out due to the recoil from
(What is the magic of this world … No, not this world, the magic of the Kingdom, or the magic of the Central Nations? It's different from the magic I use … The Akuma Leonor and the Elf Sera's magic … and yesterday's 『Explosive Blaze's』 magic was different too … I would love to take some time to find out …)
After the festival, the Whitnash main boulevard was a little desolate but there were still some stalls open.
He heard that some shopkeepers who came for the festival to open stalls only during the festival sometimes end up settling down in Whitnash because they found it comfortable.
Some stalls that Ryo and his friends liked were still open and it seemed that they would remain in Whitnash for a while.
However, unfortunately, it seemed that the crepe stall had already left …
At such stalls, the four people were eating their recent purchases … well, Etho had just recovered and was told to cut down on his intake, so three people plus one onlooker … were called from behind.
"I also … prefer to eat at the stalls …"
It was Abel.
"Abel, did you put all the problems in order?"
"I don't want to be told that by Ryo!"
One of the reasons why the relationship between the Kingdom and the Empire was one step away from war last night was undoubtedly the Water Magician in front of him.
Of course, he could understand his righteous indignation because his friend was almost killed.
According to Abel, both sides agreed to overlook the fight between Oscar, the Deputy Chief of the Imperial Magic Division, and the four from 『Room 10』.
Abel went directly to Princess Fiona, who woke up, and Prince Konrad, who had recovered, to explain the story he had heard from Niels and others.
The matter was resolved safely, partly due to an apology from Deputy Chief Oscar himself, who was listening at the same place.
However, that was not the case with the raid on the garden party.
"For the garden party, a good number of guests who attended sustained injuries … There will likely to be various diplomatic issues at the national level after this. Well, there is no doubt that the Lord of Whitnash will be in trouble …"
"They should have been protected by the Wind Barrier Treasure, right?"
Etho recalled what Rin and Rihya were talking about before.
There was also a possibility … that he remembered all the words that the person he adored said.
"Yeah. It cut off just before the attack so it seemed that somebody tampered with it. It's a clear blunder."
Abel shook his head.
As if he remembered something there, he suddenly looked up.
"Oh yeah, Niels, Etho, Amon, Princess Fiona sends her gratitude. She plans to send a package of money for saving her from hitting the ground and protecting her from the assailants. It would be sent over through the guild, so it should be transferred into your guild account by the time you return to the City of Rune."
"Yeah~!"
"I'm thankful for that."
"Is it okay to accept that?"
Niels, Etho, and Amon were delighted.
Of course, they didn't help for any rewards, but it was only natural that they would be happy if their actions were recognized and commended in that manner.
"By the way, Ryo won't be getting anything."
"We-well … the assailants were already defeated by the time I arrived. There was just some Fire-Attribute Magician weirdo."
"You're something special to call the Explosive Blaze Magician some Fire-Attribute Magician weirdo."
Abel sighed loudly.
"By the way, did Abel also attend the garden party? Did you get hurt?"
Abel suddenly started behaving strangely.
"O-of course. So-so-something of that extent won't hurt me."
"It's plain to see that he's acting strange ….."
"Yeah ..."
Etho and Amon were suspicious of Abel's strange reaction.
By the way, Niels was
"As expected of Abel-san! Amazing!"
He had no doubts at all.
"Abel … it's easier if you spit it out. Come on, say it all."
Ryo gently said to Abel, as though it was a police interrogation or to a colleague who drank too much.
Of course, he had no intention of letting him go easily.
"No … I was attending at first … but halfway through, I was caught by the Guildmaster of this city. We were having an individual meeting in a remote room … We even used a sound insulation magic tool so we were late to notice even though such an incident happened …"
"But you said that Hugh completed all the talks before returning?"
"That's right but … the point is that they plan to conduct the adventurer's beginner's class in the City of Rune here in Whitnash too. So, it seems that they discussed the materials and the dispatch of the instructor and he returned … After that, yesterday's talk was about letting Whitnash's instructor candidates participate in the beginner's class that is being held in the City of Rune. Well, he endlessly talked about that request …"
It seemed that there were many inconveniences when having a high-ranking position.
If even a substitute had it this rough, how hard was it for full-time Hugh McGrath?
The four from Room 10 received a request from Abel to hand over a letter to Hugh in the City of Rune, containing the content of the discussion with the Guildmaster of Whitnash.
"I really want to hand it over personally but I have a little more work to do …"
In Ryo's eyes, Abel seemed like he was lying.
It must be because he knew Hugh would thrust more onto him and found it annoying.
Either way, he would be subject to a ton of questions when he return to the City of Rune, so all that would only give him a few days of grace … Why do people delay the inevitable …?
Ryo pondered the working habit of man that existed since the prehistoric ages.
Early morning the next day.
After ten days, they rejoined the trading company that gave them the escort request.
Along with the members of 『Coffee Maker』 led by Delong, who worked together to defend the convoy.
"Hey. Niels, you've made yourself a name."
Delong began the conversation with the rowing competition.
Coffee Maker seemed to have seen that 『confrontation』 too, and discussed it with excitement with the adventurers of the city after that.
"It's not a bad thing to make a name for yourself as an adventurer."
Delong nodded grandly and struck Niels' shoulder.
"Okay, the formation will be the same as when we came. Stay alert for two days."
"Yes!"
And two days later, as they did when they arrived, the party reached the City of Rune without any particular problems.
-x-X-x-
Chapter 0083 <
-x-X-x-
(My name is Alfonso Spinazora. The grandson of Margrave Rune. I'm nineteen this year. My parents have already died, so if nothing happens, I'll be Rune's next lord. No, that doesn't matter now. The bigger problem that lay in front of me right now is a certain woman who has been in a bad mood for the past few days.
The woman, whose name is Sera, is my swordsmanship teacher. Teacher is an elf and very beautiful. So beautiful that even that word doesn't do her justice … Yes, she's beautiful.
Of course, her beauty has nothing to do with her skill with the sword.
Once, I made a mistake. I tried to forcefully make Teacher mine. As a result, I had my shoulder crushed and a sword thrust further into it. Yes, after crushing my shoulder, she purposely thrust her sword into my shoulder as well. It was terrifying …
Of course, it was the price for my stupid deed … Since then, Teacher became the subject of my awe and admiration. She hardly laughs and is a taciturn person. I've never heard her talking about anything other than training. Teacher also teaches the Knights, but the Knights said the same thing, so I believe she is that kind of person.
My mistake is also known to the Knights … they know that my shoulder was crushed and pierced with a sword … but no one said anything in particular after that … although it would be normal to be despised …
After that, I tried to change my mind. Ashamed of my stupidity, I put in the effort to become a nobleman who would not be spoken badly of behind my back by anyone as the next Margrave of Rune. Of course, I don't believe I've reached there yet, but I'm still working hard.
Let's end the talk about ourselves here.
The big problem is that teacher has been in a bad mood for the past few days.
Of course, just because she's in a bad mood doesn't mean she rebukes me unreasonably or becomes violent. It just feels a little uncomfortable.
And most of the people in the mansion, including the Knights, feel it, not just me.)
(My name is Reylita, and I am a maid at the lord's house. I mainly take care of Sera-sama, who is the swordsmanship instructor.
However, for the past few days, Sera-sama hasn't been well. Of course, she performs her swordsmanship instructor work as usual, and she treats us, maids, kindly. However, I can tell because I meet her every day that she's not in good spirits.
When I asked, she only answers that she's okay, as usual. So I don't know the exact reason.
But … I think the reason is related to the mock combat at the training ground the other day.
I'm just a maid, so I don't really understand swords or magic. Still, Sera-sama and her companion … Ryo-sama, the battle between them was amazing.
Working here, I often see the practice done by the Knights, and as Sera-sama's maid, I often watch her battles with the Knights. But … compared to that battle between the two, it was a difference between an adult and a baby … no, I think it was a difference between a god and an ant.
And after that battle was over, Sera-sama hugged Ryo. She left immediately, but that was the first time I saw Sera-sama appear so excited and happy. Moreover, when separating, she said that he was a "cherished person" …
Sera-sama is a very beautiful person … she's even called the goddess of beauty. However, there has never been any romantic gossips about her. Of course, with such beauty and strength, the Knights and other people in the mansion watch her with longing eyes. However, she is indifferent to it all …
I digress.
Anyway, Sera-sama hasn't been acting normal for the past few days. All of us maids are very worried about her.)
That day, Sera, who rarely came to the Adventurer's Guild, entered.
By the way, the directions she followed to get there was the North Library, Hoshoku-tei, and Adventurer's Guild Dormitory Room 10.
Yesterday, she found documents about alchemy and golems in the North Library forbidden archive.
It was not a book, but dozens of very old parchments.
Not to mention the owner of the Northern Library, perhaps even Sera, who knows more about the collection than any librarian, was the first to see that bundle of parchments.
She followed the above route to tell Ryo, who was looking for golem-related alchemy, about it.
Another reason was that she hadn't seen Ryo in the library or at Hoshoku-tei for the past five days.
As she passed through the guild door, some eyes turned toward Sera. Then, after looking away once, they turned back to look at Sera properly once more.
There were many double-takes.
"Hey, that's …"
"Sera of the Wind …"
"Sera-sama …"
"That's really rare."
"Eh? Who is that beautiful woman?"
"Idiot! That's Sera, the person in the solo B-rank party!"
As if she couldn't hear such words, Sarah went straight to the reception.
"It's been a long time, Nina."
"Welcome, Sera. What kind of business do you have today?"
The receptionist Sera greeted was Nina.
"I'm looking for Ryo, a D-rank adventurer. I want to tell him that I've found a clue to what he's looking for."
The guild basically sends messages to adventurers and safe keep their belongings, but does not give information about the adventurer's 『activities』 to others.
This was because it was often part of a request and the confidentiality of information related to the request should be taken with great care.
Sera, a B-rank adventurer, was well aware of that, so she used the above phrase. 'I'm looking for Ryo to convey what he was asking for'.
In fact, it was not a complete lie.
"Oh … Ryo and his friends aren't in town due to a request."
"I see … then, I'll come back tomorrow."
That said, Sara was about to turn around.
"Ah, Sera, please wait."
Nina stopped her in a hurry.
Then she beckoned her to come closer and said softly.
"Sera, Ryo and his companions went to another city on a request, so they won't be back for a while."
The moment she heard that, despair covered Sera's face.
Nina also noticed the change.
"Se-Sera, are you okay?"
"Ah, yeah, I'm okay … I'm okay … About how long would it take …?"
"I don't know the exact duration because the request form only stated 『Contract period: one week or more』, but maybe it will take another week or more …"
Nina speculated that he would be returning after the Whitnash Port Opening Festival ended as it was a round-trip escort request to Whitnash, but she couldn't tell Sera that much. Therefore, she told her that it was more than a week.
"I see … I understand. Thank you."
Sera replied and left the reception.
Her appearance was shocking to everyone, and the adventurers saw her off without calling out to her.
For the next week, Sera's heart wasn't clear.
(Just a month ago, I didn't know about Ryo's existence, so I just went back to that time … yeah, I know that but … Sigh … I understand well why did the Fairy King like Ryo …)
Even though she was told that he wouldn't be back for a week, she went to the North Library and Hoshoku-tei every day, thinking that she might find him.
But the figure she yearned to see wasn't there, and Sera always returned to the lord's mansion crushed with sadness.
And eight days after meeting Nina.
After training the Knights in the morning, Sarah headed to the North Library.
At the library, she looked at every corner of the large reading room, as well as the forbidden archive that he wouldn't be able to enter … but she didn't see the person she was looking for.
Next, she headed to Hoshoku-tei in a stricken state even more than yesterday.
It was a little after noon, and there weren't many customers at that time.
However, it was during this time that she met Ryo previously.
Sera opened the door to Hoshoku-tei and entered.
There … she saw a Water Magician eating curry deliciously!
Sara almost cried.
She didn't know the reason.
But it was a straightforward feeling.
Ryo was tackling the curry wholeheartedly … Seeing that figure, Sera couldn't move for a while.
Suddenly, Ryo raised his eyes. And he caught the figure of Sera in his field of view.
With a spoon in his right hand, he beckoned to her to come with his left hand.
Sera walked up to Ryo with a big smile.
-x-X-x-
Ryo was in the forbidden archives of the North Library.
Only B-rank and above adventurers could enter the forbidden archives so naturally there wasn't anybody around.
Next to him was an elf woman with lightly-tied platinum blonde hair that flowed to her back, a literal goddess of beauty. Sera.
Originally, even if they were accompanied by a B-rank or higher adventurer, an unqualified person would not be allowed to enter the forbidden archives.
However, Ryo could enter this time because Sera specifically sought the permission of the Lord directly.
The purpose was to browse an alchemy-related parchment bundle that Sera found in the forbidden archives while Ryo was on a request to the City of Whitnash.
Books, documents, and other materials in the forbidden archives were not allowed to be taken out of the library.
Given that rule, for Ryo to see the parchment bundle, she had to obtain special permission for him to enter the forbidden archives.
Ryo looked up after browsing through the bundle.
"It's really interesting."
"Right? I thought so too so I went to tell Ryo …"
"Sorry, I was out with the escort request."
While Ryo was away from the city for thirteen days for the escort request to Whitnash, Sera went all the way to the guild to inform him about this.
He was full of gratitude.
"No, no, it's okay, don't worry about it."
Looking at her side profile, she seemed a little elated to Ryo.
"Okay, then I'll take some notes."
Ryo arranged a bundle of paper, pen, and ink on a desk.
"Parchment cannot be copied by
Sera said with a look of disappointment.
"...Eh?"
"...Yes?"
Ryo replied with a strange query, and Sera replied the same way.
It seemed that the meaning didn't get across.
"Did you just say transcription?"
"Yes, I just said transcription."
The meaning changed greatly depending on whether or not intonation was raised at the end …
"If this was written on paper and I said
"Yes, that's possible. Going by Ryo's speech, you don't know about the spell
Sara smiled sweetly after finally understanding.
(I would repeat 'I've not heard of
Ryo's thoughts strayed.
But he reined his thoughts in with the power of will.
"Yes. I have not heard of a transcribing spell …"
"Ryo is interesting. You seem to know a lot and although you're strong, you don't seem to know the basics."
"Transcription is basic?"
After hearing that, one mystery was finally solved.
The papers often placed in the Adventurer's Guild … the instructions that Nina showed Ryo when he registered as an adventurer … they were all copied with
Therefore, there were many copies of them.
On 『Phi』, magic replaced the role of letterpress printing.
If you think about it, it was natural.
If there was an extremely convenient 『tool』 called 『magic』, letterpress printing would not have been born.
"Would I be able to use the transcription spell?"
"Hmm, I don't know. It is non-attribute magic, but surprisingly not everyone can use it. So, if a person wishes to do commercial activities in the City, they would hire a transcription shop."
There seemed to be printing companies in this world too …
"Huh, I guess if anyone could use transcription, nobody would have to buy a book for a large sum of money …"
"Yeah, that's illegal after all."
There even seemed to be something like copyright in this world …
"In the end, you should purchase to read a book. That's for the sake of the author."
"Yes, you're right."
Sara smiled sweetly as Ryo agreed.
After somehow managing to copy it, Ryo was taking a break before he asked Sera what he had been wondering for a long time.
"I've been wondering for a long time, but Sera-san is often in the library, right?"
"Yeah, I guess."
"Wouldn't the cost of admission amount to quite a sum …"
"Eh..."
Sera quickly averted her eyes.
"E-eh?"
"No … you see … I work in the mansion, so my admission fee is free …"
"I'm so envious!"
It was a cry from the bottom of Ryo's heart.
"We-well, I did pay at first? But when the Lord knew that more than 90% of the entrance fee income here was paid by me, he felt it was too much so it became free … Ah, but thanks to that, I could get permission for Ryo to enter the forbidden archives this time …"
For some reason, he felt as though he could hear a proud clearing of the throat at the end and naturally he was grateful for her help.
"Of course, I'm grateful for that."
That was his true feelings.
"Oh yeah, I'll bring you to visit a transcription shop I know, to see the
Sera forcibly changed the topic.
"...I'd like that."
Ryo followed suit too.
"I don't know much about magic so …"
"Same goes for me. I'm not familiar with human magic, or the magic of the Central Nations, but … well, it's been a while since I left the forest, so I think I can answer some of Ryo's questions."
(How old is Sera actually …)
"Ryo … you were thinking about something rude just now, right?"
"N-no..."
Sera stared intently at Ryo. While Ryo looked away from Sera's gaze.
"I'm about 200 years old."
Ryo looked at Sera with surprise.
"What~? Was that unexpected?"
Sera grinned, having succeeded in teasing him.
"No … I'm just surprised that you're still so beautiful even though you've lived for 200 years …"
"I-I'll still feel shy if you say that directly to my face."
With her face bright red, Sera turned to the side.
After eating curry together at 『Hoshoku-tei』, they headed to the transcription shop that Sera was acquainted with.
It was located on a street that was just behind the main street, but it was a pretty elegant store.
"The speed of transcription varies considerably from person to person, so the people who can do it faster can naturally increase the amount of work they can do and make a profit."
Sera explained the reason for the fine-looking store.
"Well then, let's enter."
She said and was about to open the door when a person came out from inside.
"Oh, Sera."
"Abel, it's been a long time."
Abel, holding a bundle of paper that seemed to have been transcribed, came out of the store.
"Abel, it's rare to see you work."
"Ryo? I do work, okay … wait, why is Ryo with Sera?"
Abel was surprised and reacted to Ryo's light tease.
"Sera-san is my … so to speak, teacher."
"Ryo is my … so to speak, student."
Then they laughed with each other.
"You guys are on good terms …"
While Abel was taken aback by the two of them, a person came out of the store.
"Abel, close the door after you … Oh, Sera, welcome."
It was a woman in her mid-thirties who came out.
"Oops, I'm out of time. Well, I have to deliver this. Ryo, I have a lot to ask, so I'll see you again another time."
Abel said and left quickly.
"Hi Copyras, it's been a long time. Ryo, this transcription shop is run by Copyras. It's the best transcription shop in the City of Rune."
"Hey, Sera, that's an overstatement … Nice to meet you, Ryo, I'm Copyras."
"I'm Ryo, an adventurer."
Copyras and Ryo exchanged greetings.
"Copyras, actually, Ryo said he doesn't know about the magic
"That's okay. Abel was in a hurry just now, but I have other orders that can be done slowly, so you could take a look as I do so."
That said, Copyras guided them to the back of the store.
The transcription magic that Copyras showed them was a literal 『copy and paste』 of the page.
Holding her left hand over the original page and her right hand over the target page.
"I wish that a twin is born by the miracle of pen and paper
That made a duplicate page that was an exact copy.
In addition, it could not enlarge or shrink the size but only transcribe 'as is', regardless of the size of the target paper.
Of course, it could not compare to the speed of a modern Earth copier, but it was sufficiently practical because one A4 page could be transcribed in about five seconds.
"This is amazing."
Ryo commented from the bottom of his heart.
It may have been even more so because he just physically made a copy from parchment in the morning.
"Yeap. This magic is one of the magic that changed human life significantly."
"Sera, you're exaggerating."
Copyras replied with a bitter smile to Sera's heavily proclaimed words.
"Was it an exaggeration? It's an amazing spell and I think Copyras who mastered it is really amazing too."
Being able to see Sera's way of appreciating things was very favorable from Ryo's perspective.
Yes, not only flashy things were amazing.
"Copyras, thank you for showing me something good."
"No, don't mention it. You can watch anytime if you want to. Please hire us if you need any transcription done."
Ryo and Sera left the transfer shop.
However, there, Sera suddenly called out to Ryo.
"Ryo, I have something to say."
It was a surprisingly direct statement.
"Eh? Sera-san?"
"Yes, yes, that Sera-san."
"Huh?"
"Until now, I imagined that you couldn't help it because I'm B-rank, but … you called Abel without any honorifics, so I'd like you to drop it for me too."
Sera said and pouted.
That was so cute.
"We-well, I don't mind …"
"Yes, then do it. Sera."
"… Sera."
"All right!"
Sera exclaimed and smiled happily as she started walking.
-x-X-x-
Ryo had a punishment imposed on him by the Adventurer's Guild.
『Complete three requests in two months.』
The first was the request to escort a trading company to Whitnash with the three others from 『Room 10』 alongside 『Coffee Maker』.
In actual fact, a round-trip escort request was treated as separate requests for the outbound route and the inbound route, which meant that he had already completed two requests.
Since that was just how the guild processed such requests internally, the clients were not aware of it but do not suffer any disadvantages either.
That said, it was certainly a very enticing request for adventurers who had to fulfill a quota for a variety of reasons.
And Ryo was such an adventurer.
In other words, there was no problem as long as he completed one request within the next month and a half.
As such, Ryo wasn't impatient at all and he went in and out of the North Library, Houshoku-tei, or the Knights' Training Ground for practice.
"Ryo, I need your help with something."
"Hmm?"
That day, after finishing mock combat with Sera at the Knights' Training Ground in the afternoon, when he returned to the dormitory, Niels, who was in the room, bowed deeply and requested.
"You need my help?"
The following is a summary of Niels' explanation.
The village where Niels was born and raised had sent a subjugation request to the Adventurer's Guild.
Since the request rank was C-rank / D-rank, they could not accept it on their own as an E-rank party.
If Ryo, a D-rank adventurer, forms a temporary party with them, it would be possible to accept D-rank requests.
The targets for subjugation were goblins and skeletons that appeared near the village.
"Goblins and skeletons?"
(Finally, the mainstay of fantasy worlds alongside goblins! … is this where skeletons enter the story?)
"But … why goblins and skeletons? That's a weird combination, right?"
"Yes. The two species have fundamentally different habitats. Well, I don't know if skeletons have a particular habitat."
Etho answered his question.
To Etho, a Priest, the undead skeletons should be his mortal enemies … that was what Ryo concluded on his own.
Therefore, he was probably the most knowledgeable regarding skeletons.
"The places where skeletons appear are graveyards, abandoned temples and shrines, abandoned buildings, or at most abandoned mines. Niels, is there a place in the village that corresponds to these?"
"There is a graveyard. Maybe it's there … The request didn't give a detailed explanation of the area. In the first place, this subjugation request was originally sent to the City of Kyradea. Since Kyradea was the closest to the village. But the request wasn't completed and it flowed to the City of Rune …"
"It's only a goblin and skeleton subjugation but it could not be completed by Kyradea …"
Etho was also perplexed.
It was a well-known fact that goblins were weak. Apart from those appearing from a Great Tidal Bore.
Similarly, skeletons were not strong at all, and if it was one-on-one, even an F-rank adventurer could defeat them without problems, and if there was a priest capable of wide-area purification magic
For that reason, it was unclear why the request had not been fulfilled.
"Well, that's why I think we should first stop by the Kyradea Guild to get to know more about the situation."
"How long would the request take?"
"I think it's about seven days in total, with one day to Kyradea, one day to the village, and three days for the request."
After saying that, Niels looked at Ryo with a face wondering if he would accept it.
"I don't mind accepting it."
"Really!? Thank you!"
"However, I promised a person for a mock battle tomorrow, so I have to find that person to cancel. So, I will only go to the guild to apply for the temporary party and accept the request after that is done, but you're okay with that, right?"
It didn't mean much to Ryo, but the three were surprised to hear about his plans tomorrow that had to be canceled.
"Mock combat with Ryo …"
"Does such a person exist in the City of Rune?"
"It doesn't necessarily have to be human …"
Niels, Etho, and Amon were so surprised that they muttered very rude remarks.
"Well then, I'll be off."
Ryo was back at the entrance of the lord's building, which he had just came out from an hour ago.
The knight on guard was surprised.
"Is something wrong, Ryo-dono?"
Before he knew it, the knights were calling Ryo with '-dono' honorifics.
For the past few days, he had been having mock battles with Sera at the Knights' Training Ground every afternoon, and he heard the rumors of the battles spreading within the Knights … and it ended up with them referring to him with '-dono' honorifics.
"Sorry, I promised Sera to have a mock combat tomorrow, but a request came in so I have to cancel the mock combat, so could you let her know …"
At that point, the guard looked very disappointed.
"That's a shame, I was thinking of attending to watch tomorrow."
"We-well, sorry about that …"
"Ah, no … Sera-sama should be training the Knights at the training ground now."
He replied, gestured for Ryo to enter, and pointed towards the training ground.
"Eh? Are you sure I can enter without permission?"
"Yes. Ryo-dono has permission to enter the training ground at any time. Please go ahead."
That was the first time Ryo heard about that … when did that happen!?
At the training ground … most of the knights were lying on the ground.
Everyone was getting along well with sleep learning … of course not.
Only Sera was standing there without problems.
Apparently, she had beaten them up by herself.
Ryo arrived at the training ground in such a situation.
"This ..."
He only muttered in a really soft voice, but Sera spiritedly turned to Ryo in response.
And she moved to Ryo instantly without a moment's delay.
"Ryo, you were here just a while ago. Did you forget something?"
"No, I actually have to apologize to Sera …"
Then, Ryo briefly talked to Sera about the request.
"… So, I came to tell you that tomorrow's mock combat would not be possible and I'll be away from the city for a while …"
Earlier, when Ryo and his friends went to Whitnash for an escort request, he heard that Sera was looking for him, so this time he thought he'd inform her properly in advance.
Sera seemed a little depressed after listening to him.
(She always seemed to enjoy our mock combats … it seems that she's depressed that she can't do it for a while …)
With that in mind, Ryo suggested something for after he comes back.
"When I'm back, let's have plenty of mock combats. Also, let's go to Houshoku-tei for curry together."
After he said that, Sera became visibly brighter.
"Re-really? It's a promise, okay? An unbreakable promise, okay?"
"Ye-yeah. I promise."
Ryo nodded many times, pressured by Sera's enthusiasm.
"Okay. Then have a safe trip and do your best for your roommates."
Sera said and sent Ryo off with a big smile.
I'm glad she didn't get in a bad mood … Ryo was relieved from the bottom of his heart.
When Ryo returned to the guild dormitory, three people from Room 10 were waiting in the room.
It seemed that Niels drew a simple map of the village and explained various things.
"Sorry I made you wait."
"Ryo, welcome back."
"Welcome back."
"Did your opponent for the mock combat get angry …?"
Niels asked the last question gingerly.
"Oh, it was okay. Let's go to the guild and go through the procedure. I'm hungry, so we can have dinner as well."
The procedure at the guild was done without any hiccups.
However, after accepting the request, they were invited to the reception room, which was different from usual.
Then, after two minutes of waiting, Hugh, the guildmaster, came in.
"Oh, I'm sorry to have you all gather here. Oh, you don't have to greet me. You can sit down."
He instructed the four, who tried to stand up in a hurry, to sit.
"I asked you to gather here to explain the sequence of events that caused this request to come from Kyradea. I believe you guys are curious?"
"Yes, we're curious."
Niels was the first to answer.
Naturally. It was a request from his home village.
"Adventurer parties were sent twice from Kyradea. The first was an E-rank party and the second was a D-rank party."
"Did the D-rank party also fail the request?"
Subjugation of Goblins and Skeletons … they didn't know how many, but it would be unimaginable for a D-rank party to fail.
"No … the report of the D-rank party stated 'We couldn't get the cooperation of the villagers' or 'The villagers were hostile'…"
"...Ha?"
Niels was also the one who made that sound.
"It's not such a withdrawn village … well, it's not that open-minded either."
"Well~, I can't conclude anything from the report alone. However, members from the first E-rank party were seriously injured. It appeared that they were attacked by Skeletons. They wrote that they encountered more than 20 skeletons at that time so be careful. Well, you have Etho as a Priest so you should be fine as long as you don't let your guard down."
When he heard that, Etho nodded firmly.
"Honestly, I'm grateful that Niels and you guys took over. It's definitely better for it to be someone from the village … I know because I was born in a small village too. I was wondering what would happen because the request rank I received was 『C-rank / D-rank』 … but it's fine since Ryo joined you guys. Yeah, I'm glad."
Hugh was happy with himself and nodded many times.
"Also, I wrote a letter of introduction for this request to the Adventurer's Guild of Kyradea, so take it with you. It also says that Niels is from the requesting village and to provide informational cooperation. Well, they won't treat you badly."
"Thank you, Guildmaster, for everything."
"Oh, don't mention it. You guys are youngsters I have high expectations for. Come back safely."
Then Hugh left the reception room while laughing loudly.
"I'm hungry. Let's have dinner."
Ryo declared at his own pace and Niels nodded while still lost in thought, while Etho started laughing and Amon smiled bitterly.
You can't work with an empty stomach.
-x-X-x-
The next day.
After breakfast at the guild cafeteria earlier than usual, the four headed to the City of Kyradea.
Of course, by foot.
The road between Rune and Kyradea was well maintained because travelers and goods frequently come and go.
Although considered well maintained, it was not cobbled but just compacted ground … but it was still much easier to travel compared to uneven surfaces.
Along the road, occasionally there would be columns one meter in diameter and five meters in height.
"What are those occasional columns?"
Ryo, curious about the columns, asked nobody in particular.
And it was usually Etho who answered those questions.
"Those are Monster-Repelling Columns, columns meant to deter monsters. They should be built at 500-meter intervals."
"A barrier …"
Ryo murmured unintentionally. What came to Ryo's mind was the barrier set up by Michael (pseudonym) around his house in the Rondo Forest.
"It's not as effective as a barrier … but … well, unless there is a significant cause, monsters won't come near. They are usually installed on the main roads of the Kingdom."
Apparently, they were also on the road connecting Rune and Whitnash, but Ryo didn't notice them. At that time, he was more on focused extracting information from 『Coffee Maker』.
It seemed that there was a fundamental difference between these columns and the barrier around his house.
One day, he would want to solve the mystery of the barrier around the house … another ambition sprung up in Ryo's heart.
And then, it was noon.
The four rested while consuming the lunch box made by the guild cafeteria.
"At any rate … really nothing happened."
"Ryo … what on earth were you expecting …"
Niels answered Ryo's monologue with a stunned look.
"No, you see, when it comes to moving between cities … the typical scenario would be like having to repel monsters that attacked incessantly or apprehending bandits that attacked in a group and conversely taking the treasures they accumulated."
"What kind of godforsaken place are you talking about …"
If such encounters happened frequently, the economic activity of the country would stagnate.
Niels explained.
Yes, the Swordsman Niels, who looked like a huge rascal, explained to him.
Ryo was astonished.
"Oi Ryo, you're thinking of something really rude, right?"
"N-N-o, I-d-o-n-t-k-n-o-w-w-h-a-t-a-r-e-y-o-u-t-a-l-k-i-n-g-a-b-o-u-t."
Etho who was snickering next to him finally couldn't resist laughing loudly.
After laughing for a moment.
"Abel-san once told Niels that before and he engraved it to memory."
"Etho, don't expose me!"
Niels was flustered when Etho revealed the facts.
"I knew it ..."
"Why are you agree with him?!"
Ryo nodded in agreement while Niels protested.
Amon was listening from the side the whole time.
"But it's amazing how you engrave every one of those facts you've heard properly to memory. I'll do my best too!"
Amon was a nice guy.
That evening, the four arrived at Kyradea without incident.
"At this time, the guild would be crowded with people reporting the progress of their requests. Let's secure our accommodation first."
At Niels' suggestion, they decided to secure an inn before visiting the Adventurer's Guild.
It wouldn't cost them to camp out but since they were in a city, they wanted to have a good sleep in a proper bed.
Because the physical body is the asset of an adventurer.
After securing an inn and having dinner, the four headed to the Adventurer's Guild.
As expected, the peak period to report request results had passed for the day and there were few adventurers in the guild.
And there was only one young male receptionist present.
"We are adventurers from the City of Rune who accepted the subjugation request for Avery Village that came from this city. We wish to gather information. And this is the letter of introduction from our guildmaster."
Niels explained and gave Hugh's letter of introduction to the receptionist.
"Understood. Please wait a moment."
The receptionist replied and went into the door at the back with the letter of introduction.
"After this, a person would come out from the back room, and this city's adventurers and influential people would pick a quarrel with us and we would fall into an explosive situation. We would then have to solve the situation by force."
Ryo talked about the typical development of a light novel.
"Why does Ryo want the situation to develop into fights …"
"Is Ryo frustrated because his mock battle was canceled?"
"It's the thing Ryo said once before, everywhere is a battlefield!"
Niels was speechless, Etho shook his head, while Amon used difficult words.
But unfortunately, or a matter of course, that didn't happen and the four were sent to the reception room in the back.
"The Submaster will explain about this request so please wait here."
The receptionist told them and they waited five minutes in the reception room.
A Submaster was the second-highest-ranking person in the guild who assists the Guildmaster. When it came to guilds beyond a certain size, there would typically be such a position.
However, for some reason, there was no Submaster in Rune's Adventurer's Guild, which boasted the largest size in the frontier. For that reason, in Whitnash, Abel was dispatched in Hugh's place as a 『proxy』.
The man who entered had the image of a former Magician and was in his mid-thirties.
The man was as tall as Ryo, had a delicate body like Etho, and had a soft expression like Amon, giving the impression that he was easy to talk to at a glance.
"Adventurers from the City of Rune, right? I'm Landenvia, the Adventurer's Guild Submaster of Kyradea."
"I'm Niels, the party leader. These are Etho, Amon, and Ryo, my party members."
Niels explained politely, unlike his usual manner of speech.
Time, Place, and Occasion were the fundamentals of a working adult.
"I see, you're Niels from the village that sent the request. It was written in the letter of introduction from Master McGrath. And that this party is a young party with great prospects. A party that Master McGrath has expectations for. ... I'm a little jealous he has such a party, because Kyradea hasn't had many new parties lately …"
"Young party with great prospects…"
"Master McGrath … that sounds cool."
Apart from the three joyful tones, one person focused on a strange aspect, but I dare not mention who it was.
It definitely wasn't some Water-Attribute Magician …
"Is our guildmaster such a famous individual?"
Submaster Landenvia was surprised at Etho's mutter.
"You guys don't know about the Hero McGrath …?"
"Hero?"
All four asked in unison.
"Has it reached the time where the generation who doesn't know about that era becomes adventurers? In the past, no adventurer in the Kingdom wouldn't know the name 『Master McGrath』. That was how famous he was. When you're back in the City of Rune after this request, ask your senior adventurers to tell you. Master McGrath, the heroic tales of that man."
"Yes, we will."
Still not recovered from the surprise, Niels nodded seriously.
"Okay, let's talk about this request, but to be honest, we don't have much information."
Kyradea sent one E-rank and one D-rank party.
The first E-rank party fought with skeletons and two of the five members were seriously injured. They withdrew.
The next D-rank party could not investigate the situation due to a lack of cooperation from some villagers. They withdrew.
After that, the village mayor visited the Kyradea Adventurer's Guild to apologize.
However, no other party stepped up for the request after that, and the request was sent to the City of Rune, which was the largest city in the remote region.
"I'm sorry I don't have much information. Do you have any questions?"
"I believe it was submitted as a Goblins and Skeletons subjugation request. Were Goblins confirmed?"
Etho asked a question.
Certainly, in the reports so far, there was no mention of Goblins at all.
"No, it was not confirmed."
Landenvia shook his head and denied it.
"Did the E-rank party encounter Skeletons in the western graveyard?"
Niels, who was familiar with the geography of the village, asked a question.
"No, they reported the encounter in the eastern forest, not a graveyard."
"Eastern Forest?"
Niels pondered the answer.
After that, the explanation by Landenvia ended after they had no further questions.
"Well then, I wish you good luck."
Landenvia stood up and sent the four people from Room 10 out.