We entered the inn.
We spoke to the owner and handled the procedures.
After finishing the guest register the owner looked up.
"You two are mercenaries, I take it?"
"Yes. We have not registered with the Mercenary Guild yet."
I had heard that many unregistered mercenaries existed.
There should be nothing unnatural about it.
"Is the purpose of your visit the blood arena, then?"
"It is one of our purposes."
Of course that was a lie.
I had heard about the blood arena from Seras beforehand.
It was a fighting arena where slaves and mercenaries killed each other.
It probably felt like the gladiatorial arenas of ancient Rome.
Those who fought were called blood gladiators.
Seras had explained it this way.
"These days the entertainment aspect for the common people is strong, but its origin seems to have been a place for mercenary bands to evaluate warriors they might recruit. Of course, I hear the culture of scouting blood gladiators as mercenaries still remains."
So it was not unusual for mercenaries to visit Monroy for the purpose of watching blood fights.
"If they win a match they receive a reward. Therefore many mercenaries who are struggling for food often participate. Popular blood gladiators can become good earners for their owners, so sometimes they deliberately keep them in the arena as crowd favorites instead of selling them to mercenary bands."
There were two operating bodies.
The ducal house of Ulza.
The Mercenary Guild.
Even so, pulling Seras in had been the right decision.
She knew most of the basic knowledge of this world.
A walking human dictionary.
No, an elf dictionary.
"The Mercenary Guild has its fingers in a lot of pies."
I looked at the signboard with the letter mark and spoke.
We had left the inn and were now walking down the main street with Seras.
"Guilds exist across countries. For mercenaries who travel between nations, they are a reliable organization. Especially the Mercenary Guild and the Magicians Guild seem to have great influence in each country."
The Mercenary Guild, huh.
I was sure they had been involved in the exploration of the Mills Ruins too.
We first headed to a tool shop.
We gathered instruments that looked easy to carry.
Seras's bargaining remained as sharp as ever.
After leaving the tool shop I touched the small pouch in my breast pocket.
Inside were azure dragonstones.
I decided against exchanging them for cash.
If they circulated on the market the topic would spread to some degree.
Naturally the seller would become a topic as well.
I wanted to avoid standing out unnecessarily.
I closed the mouth of the pouch.
Fortunately my funds were still quite warm.
The gold obtained from the paired skeletons in the Ruined Ruins.
The gold taken from the group that had been chasing Seras.
The high-price purchase of the jewels and ornaments obtained in the Mills Ruins.
Altogether it added up to a considerable amount.
I was blessed on the financial side.
It was reassuring not to have to worry about travel funds.
Even so, frugality was still necessary.
"You really are good at bargaining."
When it came to price negotiation Seras was no pushover.
She did not use blatant intimidation.
Her manner remained gentle.
But she absolutely would not yield on the points that mattered.
Seras gave a wry smile.
"I have a stingy personality."
"You should call it being thrifty. It is nothing to belittle yourself over."
Seras smiled faintly.
"My lord is very skilled at capturing the hearts of his subordinates."
She already seemed completely in subordinate mode.
"By the way, I would like to look into the black egg we found in the Mills Ruins if possible."
There was apparently a public archive in Monroy.
In simple terms it was like the country's library.
"Can anyone enter and leave freely?"
"The public archive in Monroy, I believe—"
Seras recalled from memory.
"For non-approved residents of the royal capital, an entry permit is required. It is valid for only one day."
Even the elf dictionary had not known about the black egg.
In that case the chance of it being written in publicly available books was probably low.
"It might be best to ask the person at our destination about the egg."
The Forbidden Witch might know something.
▽
We decided to have dinner at a tavern.
It would also serve as information gathering.
A lively tavern was the perfect place to obtain the latest topics.
We entered a fairly large tavern together.
We first ordered herb water and food.
We did not drink alcohol, but we ordered some anyway.
It was to blend into the atmosphere.
Since this was another world the matter of being underage might not matter.
However, because of my real parents I had no good impression of alcohol.
That was why I disliked it.
I understood that alcohol itself was not at fault.
Incidentally Seras could drink a little.
While eating I kept my ears open.
Conversations from nearby seats reached me.
"Hey, did you hear?"
"Uuuu… Hmm? Hear what?"
"About the Black Dragon Knights."
"That story again?"
"No, no. It is about the ones who destroyed them."
"Oh? Did some new information come out?"
"This one apparently came from someone inside the royal castle."
"Hoho, that sounds credible."
It was the kind of thing that started with "according to sources close to the matter."
"The one thought to have destroyed them, Seras Ashrain, is apparently already dead."
Seras's expression suddenly became pained.
"Mguh!?"
She seemed to have choked on her food.
"Mgu, gu…!"
I held out water.
"Are you okay?"
Seras drank the water and caught her breath.
"Thank you… I am sorry."
She had suddenly been told she was dead.
She must have been caught off guard.
The men continued talking without paying us any attention.
"Did she die in a mutual kill with the Five Dragon Warriors?"
"No, it seems Seras Ashrain just lost normally and died."
"Eh? Then who killed the Five Dragon Warriors?"
"Hehe, you still did not know? The ones who brought the Five Dragon Warriors to their deaths are called Ashinto."
Ashinto?
"The curse user group that has been rumored lately?"
"Yeah. They are going around claiming that the Five Dragon Warriors lost their lives to their own curse techniques."
Seras and I exchanged glances.
I lowered my voice.
"What do you think?"
"Rumors of curse techniques have been spreading in various places lately."
"Is curse technique something common?"
"No, it is not common."
Seras gave a brief explanation.
Formula.
Chanted spells.
Those two were the ones generally known.
If a third was added it would be the "skills" of heroes.
"What about spirit techniques?"
Because the absolute number of users was small they fell into the minor category.
Come to think of it the tavern customers in Mills had also had a vague understanding.
Besides, elves who could use spirit techniques were rare to begin with.
The spread of curse techniques was recent.
The ones spreading it were the curse user group called Ashinto.
"I heard they are a group that worships the Curse God."
"In short, they want to promote their own curse techniques…"
The role of the culprit who killed the Five Dragon Warriors.
If they were willing to take it on themselves that might be fine.
Of course it would eventually be exposed.
But it should at least disturb the search for the real culprit to some degree.
I did not know how developed the information network in this other world was.
Well, we would enter the demon zone tomorrow anyway.
It would be good enough if it bought us time until then.
Incidentally, where were those Ashinto now—
"We are the protectors of Ashinto!"
The tavern door was thrown open with great flair.
"We are the curse soldiers who guard Lord Muaji, the child of the Curse God! Now, make way for us!"
A group wearing purple robes filed in one after another.
It was that curse user group.
They had apparently been in Ulza.
"Heh."
I slipped my spoon through the soup and scooped some up.
"So those are the curse users who supposedly cursed the Five Dragon Warriors to death."