Chapter 3: The Adventurers' Meeting

Chapter 3:
The Adventurers’ Meeting

 

—1—

 

ONCE THE BUSINESS between Pomera and Alfred was done, we went back into the Guild. It seemed they had finished inspecting our bounty while the duel was going on.

“You have 107 ragno eyes, which comes to a total of 2.67 million gold. For slaying the two large ragni and providing valuable information, we have added an additional bonus of six hundred thousand. The overall sum comes to 3.27 million gold.”

A jingling sack was heaved onto the counter, which I gladly accepted. It was seriously heavy! Sounds of admiration rose from the surrounding adventurers as I tried to shove it into my magic bag.

“We did it, Kanata!” Pomera was unusually giddy. The thrill of victory over Alfred and the massive payout from the ragno eyes had her flying high. “I’ve never seen this much money before!”

“It’s got me pretty excited too,” I said. With this, we should be able to buy the materials we need for the ethers.

My stomach clenched a little. This was more money than I’d ever dreamed of making at once, but I still wasn’t sure if this would be enough for the research. We’d made just enough money to get by in Arroburg and it felt wrong to blow all of this on alchemy without enjoying some of the fruits of our labor.

If I was going to keep my word to Lunaère, I needed to learn to be content. The higher we flew, the farther we had to fall. And I knew that at least one person had trained their eye on us since our arrival in Manaloch.

I’d heard the name Kotone. I couldn’t be certain, but it seemed likely she was a traveler from Japan like me. Unlike me, she would have received a special power from Naiarotop to prepare her for her role as a main character. Was she the black-cloaked figure who had observed us the day we came to town? The last thing I wanted was for the gods to steer us into a needless conflict.

Now wasn’t the time to brood on it. I glanced at another receptionist station and saw Sera quietly accepting their compensation. Bowing to the receptionist, she pocketed the money, then turned and left quickly. She seemed like a person who did a lot of hard work and got very little thanks.

Just then, I heard shouts from the back of the Guild.

“Please, sir! You’re the guildmaster! If you leave the meeting, it will wreck the agenda! We still have mountains of things to discuss! We can’t take this ragno issue lightly!”

“I don’t need you to tell me that! Continue without me. My subordinates have my instructions, and they can fill in where needed.”

What was this fuss about? The guildmaster sounded like a frightening individual.

“Wh-what’s going on? Wait, I think I’ve heard that voice before,” said Pomera, confused.

From the back came a heavyset man with a strong nose and a coarse white beard. He turned his head and glared at the adventurers standing around the Guild reception counter. Even the adventurers jumped and tried to look busy to avoid a confrontation.

“It’s mister beard man.” murmured Philia, gripping my robe.

We had indeed met this man before. It was Garnet.

“So, he’s an important man at the Guild, too…”

Between managing the affairs of the Mithril Wand and the Adventurers’ Guild, he had to be an incredibly busy person—even if I didn’t think that necessitated so much shouting.

As Garnet walked, people jumped out of his way to clear a path. He was a scary person on a normal day, and he seemed to be in a darker mood than the last time we’d met. Even the toughest-looking adventurers scurried out of his way. I wondered if he had some sort of aura like Lunaère, even if he wasn’t a lich.

Garnet narrowed his eyes and scanned the hall as he walked. He seemed to be looking for something.

“K-Kanata, let’s move aside,” whispered Pomera.

“Good idea,” I said, and we shifted to the edge of the corridor.

Garnet spotted us moving almost immediately.

His severe expression vanished and was replaced with a smile as he zipped toward us. I couldn’t help looking behind me to make sure he wasn’t interested in someone else.

“Ah, so good to see you again!” Garnet stopped in front of Pomera, a huge smile on his face as he rubbed his hands in joy. “Pomera, Kanata, and little Philia! Glad to see you in the Guild. I heard of your efforts on the ragno issue and I wanted to express my personal thanks.”

As frightening as his sour disposition had been, the sudden change was scary in its own right. The other adventurers around us were looking at Garnet like he had suddenly grown a horn on his head.

“O-oh, no problem at all… W-we really just needed the money.” said Pomera, and Garnet’s eyes widened slightly.

“Oh…? Money, eh? Perhaps regarding our business at the Mithril Wand?”

H-he’s too good at guessing!

I worried that he knew too much. The pieces of the puzzle had all been there, but he put them together really fast. What else had he managed to learn about us?

Pomera’s face paled and she fell silent. I wondered if she was thinking the same thing, but she just looked at me for help like a deer caught in the headlights.

“W-well… We didn’t have any specific plans, but…” I said, shaking my head and forcing a smile. I had a feeling it would be dangerous to let Garnet lead us on too much. We did need to go back to the Mithril Wand, but perhaps we needed to wait a bit before we did.

Garnet leaned in and whispered, “If there’s something Pomera needs, I may be able to accommodate you at a significant discount. You seemed disappointed last time, Kanata, but we have a number of items that aren’t for sale to the general public.”

Then he gave me a wink and touched the side of his nose.

“Do you mean…we’d be able to see those items?” I asked.

Garnet smiled and nodded.

“His beard’s amazing! It’s so crunchy!” said Philia as she poked Garnet’s beard.

“Ph-Philia! I’m sorry Garnet-san!” I said, my eyes wide as I panicked and snatched Philia’s hand away.

Garnet smiled and bent over so Philia could touch his beard more easily. “Ho ho, is it now? I check how it feels every morning myself.”

Philia giggled and played with Garnet’s beard.

“H-he snared both of you so quickly…” Pomera muttered.

“Pomera, if it’s all right with you, I would like to show you to the Mithril Wand right away,” said Garnet. “Reception can be…stubborn. It really is best if I accompany you.”

“W-we can’t possibly inconvenience you. You seemed really busy just now…”

“No, no, it’s perfectly all right! In fact, my schedule has just opened up.”

Pomera seemed on the verge of another anxiety attack when a guild worker came running up to Garnet.

“Mr. Garnet! How little do you think of our current meeting that you’d leave to chat with some random adventurers? How can you do this during such a crisis—”

“Silence!” Garnet bared his teeth as he struck the wall with a fist, causing dust to fall from a nearby chandelier. The entire Guild fell silent again.

Garnet cleared his throat and brought a smile back to his face. “Ho ho, I apologize for my outburst.”

He was a very scary man.

 

—2—

 

WE FOLLOWED Garnet over to the Mithril Wand and looked around for something that might work as a substitute adamantine ore in the elixir recipe.

I wasn’t worried about the demon brains. I could get as many of those as I liked in the Cursed Mirror. And it would probably be a bit difficult to alchemically manufacture something similar to the Sap of the Spirit Tree, but we could get that by making a contract with a powerful spirit. Any powerful spirit would supposedly do the trick, and Pomera was attuned to the spirit realm.

No, the roadblock was the adamant. Given that it was valued at S-rank, we could search the entire country and not find any in a store. But now we had money, and I had a plan.

I was sure I could make adamantine ore with alchemy. Garnet seemed confident in the range of items available at the Mithril Wand, and now I just needed to find a suitable base.

Asking about the Mithril Wand’s stock in a roundabout way, I browsed room after room of curated items. There were just so many, from C- and B-rank ores and metals to monster feathers and other bits. After a making a few tough decisions, I settled on what we’d need.

“Thank you very much, Garnet-san. I should be able to manage with these,” I said.

“It’s fairly rare that we use all these things together in our alchemy research,” said Garnet looking over the pile of items that I’d stacked on a counter. “Pomera, what exactly are you trying to make? I get the impression that you’re aiming for something…specific. You wouldn’t be willing to let me in on the secret? I swear I won’t tell anyone else. I may even be able to help.”

“O-oh, it’s mostly just fooling around… Uh…” said Pomera, glancing at me like she was lost. Garnet followed her gaze and looked at me. I decided to stare at the ceiling.

Garnet glared at me suspiciously. He was really, really scary.

“It’s for Philia! They’re going to make Philia some yummy candy!” said Philia happily.

Well, I had said I’d let Philia taste the Blood Ethers when I finished them.

Garnet smiled and bent over so his face was level with Philia’s. “Oh, is that so? That’s nice of them.”

“Yeah! Philia’s super excited!”

Phew! Thanks for the save, Philia.

I let out a sigh of relief, and Pomera poked me in the shoulder.

“Kanata, do we have enough money for all this?” she asked in a whisper.

“We have three million from our ragno hunt. It might be tight, but I’m sure we’ll have enough.” If it went over what we had, I’d just have to say sorry and come back later.

Interrupting Philia and Garnet’s happy chatter, a man rushed into the room and stopped in front of Garnet. He looked winded.

“S-sir!”

“Is this really necessary? I’m busy right now, save it for later,” said Garnet in annoyance.

“Are you selling the Jade Dragon’s Eye?! It took forever to negotiate that acquisition!” The man seemed distraught. I wondered if he was a researcher.

The Jade Dragon’s Eye was a B-rank crystal with a greenish-blue center. On our first tour, Garnet had said that B-rank items were normally reserved for research, but I thought it would be the best option for creating adamantine ore. I knew it wasn’t going to be cheap, but now I was worried that the sale might fall through entirely or be well beyond our budget.

“E-excuse me, Garnet-san, I think I’ll pass on the Jade Dragon’s Eye if it’s needed here…” Everything I said was immediately drowned out by Garnet’s shouts at his subordinate.

“How dare you! Don’t you think I know that? I was the one who did the negotiating. I brought the Jade Dragon’s Eye into this institution, and I’ll sell it if I think it benefits the institution to do so!”

“E-excuse me, Garnet-san, you don’t have to go that far for us…” I said, trying to stop Garnet, but he was on a roll.

“I am busy!” He leaned over the researcher imposingly. “Are your ears simply decorations, or are you too moronic to understand that simple concept? Don’t bother me again!”

“M-my apologies, sir,” said the man. He didn’t look satisfied, but he also seemed too scared to continue the argument.

Wh-what should I do? I’m not even sure I can afford it.

“Um, Garnet-san, how much is all of this together?” I asked.

Garnet placed a hand on his chin in thought. “Hmm…I would like to maintain a friendly relationship with you, so I’ll attempt to give you as large of a discount as possible. We purchased the Jade Dragon’s Eye for five million gold, and the others…”

Oof. We were over budget right out of the gate. Pomera hid her face in her hands.

Garnet smiled at our reactions but continued to tally up the cost of the items. “All together, these items come to eighteen million gold… But for you I can drop it down to ten million.”

I was stricken. That was way more than I’d thought. We’d have to hunt another three hundred ragni to get that much. I should have asked the price as I browsed, but I had been so focused on looking for what I needed that I completely forgot. My only choice was to put things back and keep the bare minimum.

“U-uh, Garnet-san…” I started, planning to apologize to him, but he leaned in close and gave me a wink.

“I know that’s steep. But if you were to consider a little request of mine, I could simply give this to you as a…token of my gratitude. What do you think?” he said.

“A…request?”

Garnet nodded solemnly. “Manaloch needs you. The Guild will soon hold an emergency meeting regarding the ragno situation. I will personally contact each A-rank adventurer in the city and ask them to attend, but…I would very much appreciate it if the two of you attended as well. You would, of course, be free to decide whether or not to participate in the Guild’s strategy after hearing what I have to say at that meeting.”

All we have to do is go to a meeting? But these items cost ten million gold all together!

“We would really appreciate that, but that seems far too generous…” I knew there had to be a catch.

“I am certain that it isn’t! I wouldn’t have suggested it otherwise. You three were instrumental in identifying the large ragni. The date and time of the meeting haven’t yet been decided, but it will probably be tomorrow.”

I looked to Pomera to make sure she was amenable to the arrangement, then nodded to Garnet.

“All right. If you are really okay with those conditions, we’d be happy to accept.”

Garnet beamed as he took my hand in a firm handshake. “Ah, thank you so much, Kanata, Pomera! I look forward to seeing you there!”

I felt like Garnet had us in the palm of his hand. I just hoped his intentions were honorable.

 

—3—

 

WE QUICKLY RETURNED to my room and started our alchemy experiments.

I laid out the ingredients and a cauldron on the floor. With luck, the Jade Dragon Eye would soon become adamantine ore for a fraction of the price.

In front of the cauldron was a curious object provided by Philia. I’d asked her for a small sample of the Sand of Dreams, and she’d decided that making it into a cutesy version of Zolophilia’s mask was the way to go. For anyone who hadn’t been in that fight, I imagine it would have looked whimsical, possibly even adorable. For me it was just creepy. I flipped open the Acacia Memoirs to make sure it was what I needed.

 

MASK OF THE RULER OF DREAMS

Value Class: Godly

A mask which can only be created by a being in total control of the Sand of Dreams and resembles the one worn by the artificial god Zolophilia. Handle with caution—the Sand of Dreams literally interprets the wishes of its owner.

The mask emits magic that assists in all types of alchemic reactions by causing a chain reaction in the material to be transmuted.

When alchemists created the God of Terror, they also prepared two of these masks. The masks have made appearances throughout history, their power inciting war whenever they surface.

For some reason, a third mask exists at present. This Mask of the Ruler of Dreams has been warped to be somewhat cuter than normal.

 

That was troubling. It seemed the fickleness of the Sand of Dreams was the key to its power as a catalyst. It was also interesting to note that the Acacia Memoirs recognized that this specific mask was an uncatalogued anomaly.

The book must write itself as it goes along!

I glanced at Philia, who was sprawled on the floor looking proud of herself.

“Hey, Kanata! Philia’s helping, right?” she said.

“Uh…yeah. You’re a big help. Thanks, Philia-chan.”

Once I was done using the mask, I wanted to completely get rid of it so as to ensure there were only two in the world again. Blood Ethers of the Gods were nice, but not start-a-world-war nice.

Anyway, an alchemical transmutation took three main ingredients: the thing you were changing, the catalyst to start the change, and magic power to keep the reaction going.

In our case, the Jade Dragon’s Eye was the thing we were going to change, also known as the base. I would layer in other lesser ingredients to modify that base. Then the catalyst—the Sand of Dreams, in this case—would be added to get the change started. After that, I needed large amounts of energy to keep driving the transformation until it was complete. Most alchemists used magical items for this, since their MP wasn’t sufficiently high. But in my case, I could just use my own magic power to complete the reaction.

The size of the object that could be transmuted was proportionate to the amount of magic an alchemist had at their disposal and their understanding of alchemy. In addition to its role as the catalyst, the Mask of the Ruler of Dreams could significantly boost the outcome. Even ridiculous alchemical processes that wouldn’t normally be possible could become a reality with the help of the Sand of Dreams.

“K-Kanata, do you really think this will make adamantine ore? There are only one, or maybe two, adamantine swords in the entire country,” said Pomera.

“Hmm… I wonder how much those would sell for?” I mumbled. Now that I knew the cost of a B-rank item, I was a little shell-shocked.

The Jade Dragon’s Eye was more than five million gold, and that was with a deep discount. A sword made from adamant would have to be twenty million gold or more. It was a shame that even if I could make one, I probably wouldn’t be able to sell it.

“W-well, if it were a lump large enough to make a sword, you’d probably be able to find a buyer even if you charged a hundred million gold,” said Pomera.

“That much?!” I sputtered. “But it’s just an S-rank item!”

“What do you mean ‘just an S-rank item’?!” Pomera was getting annoyed having to deal with my skewed expectations. “What do you think S-rank items are?!”

It was only that S-rank items were a dime a dozen in Cocytus. Lunaère exclusively carried Godly items. Even the parting gifts she’d given me had all pretty much been Legendary or Godly. I couldn’t wrap my head around the fact that people made do with such low-level stuff, even if they were high-rank adventurers.

Come to think of it, we might have blown through a billion gold in Blood Ethers!

We were probably entering territory where it was stupid to try and express value in terms of money, but it could well have been tens of billions of gold. It was likely that the royal budget of a small kingdom wouldn’t have been able to finance my training in Cocytus. I owed Lunaère more than I could ever have comprehended.

“Kanata…there’s a weird purple smoke coming out of the cauldron. Shouldn’t you stop it?” said Pomera.

“Huh…? Aaah!” That’s what I got for daydreaming. A nasty-looking smoke was spewing from the cauldron and filling the room. It appeared the liquid around the Jade Dragon’s Eye fragment had started to evaporate and disappear.

This shouldn’t have happened so fast!

In all likelihood, the Mask of the Ruler of Dreams had accelerated the alchemical reaction faster than expected. All that energy was being shoved into the Jade Dragon’s Eye fragment and I realized now that there was no way it could stay stable.

The gem emitted a brilliant and mysterious light. I quickly pointed the Heroic Sword Gilgamesh at it.

“Barrier Magic Level 5: Force Shield!”

A ball of light wrapped around the cauldron. Within moments, the shield started vibrating and inflating from the internal pressure of the reaction.

Barrier magic wasn’t my strong suit. I had a lot of practice with fire magic because I was good at it, space-time magic because it was cool and Lunaère used it a lot, and earth magic and alchemy because they had utility outside battle.

I desperately poured magic into the barrier, trying to hold it in place.

“A-are you all right, Kanata?” asked Pomera, worry apparent on her face.

“How much do you think this building would cost to rebuild?”

“Stop it! Don’t think like that!”

There was the sound of a muffled explosion and the barrier stopped deforming. I lowered my sword.

“Huh, would you look at that?”

The lump of material in the cauldron had taken on a distinct metallic-purple sheen. I took the Acacia Memoirs from my magic bag and flipped through the pages.

 

ADAMANTINE ORE

Value Rank: S

An ore with shining streaks of a purplish hue. Adamant is said to be the strongest naturally occurring material known to the human world. It is resistant to all types of magic.

The ore forms naturally along ley lines as metal nodes are exposed to high levels of magic over extended periods of time.

 

“It…it worked!”

“I-It really worked…?” Pomera peered over my shoulder at the Acacia Memoirs.

The fact that it had landed on the page for adamantine ore meant that this was the real deal, at least as far as the Memoirs were concerned.

The alchemy experiment was a success. Now all I needed was some Sap of the Spirit Tree and a few demon brains from inside the Cursed Mirror.

“Amazing! Kanata’s amazing!” Philia jumped up and down, congratulating me on my success.

“Let’s turn the rest of the Jade Dragon’s Eye into adamant,” I said.

Pomera grimaced slightly at my suggestion. “D-do that multiple times over? I could use spirit magic to cover up that sound… But can you really hold back the explosions like before? You’ll be increasing the amount of the materials in the alchemical reaction…” She glanced nervously at the bent and deformed cauldron.

“We’ll be more prepared this time. It should be all right.”

Pomera still used Spirit Magic Level 5: Silent Singer to dampen the sound in the room, and I used the remaining Jade Dragon’s Eye to make as much adamantine ore as I could. Thanks to our precautions, we were pretty sure that none of the other residents in the nearby apartments were any wiser as to what we were doing.

“Thank you, you helped a lot, Pomera-san. And Philia-chan too,” I said, picking up the Mask of the Ruler of Dreams and handing it back to Philia.

“You can keep it, Kanata! It’s a present from Philia!” she said cheerfully.

I looked at her as I remembered its description in the Acacia Memoirs. “Eh…”

Was this really something I should keep? Granted, I already had quite a few Godly items in my Dimension Pocket. Any of those might start a war if they got out too.

More to the point, I was hung up on the idea that the mask was part of Philia’s body. And since it was a Godly-rank item, manifesting it had to take tons of energy.

“Kanata, you’re not happy? You don’t need Philia’s mask?” she asked with tears starting to well up in her eyes.

I stooped so my eyes were level with Philia’s. “Th-thank you, Philia-chan. I just think that it will be a lot safer if you hold onto it. It’s a job only you can do. I’d like it if you let me have it again when I need it, though. Can you do that for me?”

“Yeah! Philia has it under control!” Philia gave me a thumbs up then took the mask from me. Once she put it on, it faded away.

“That cauldron is in bad shape,” said Pomera in an exasperated tone. When she poked it with the butt of her staff, it creaked pitifully and a piece chipped off the rim.

For some reason the alchemical reaction always resulted in a final explosion. I had patched up the cauldron as we went along with metal I created from earth magic, but at this point it looked really bad.

“Are you sure we’re okay? Another magic user might have sensed the magic we used,” said Pomera.

“Eh, it’s probably fine. I should brush up on my barrier magic just in case, though.”

Even if I stretched myself, the highest I could go in barrier magic was level 8. Based on my experience so far, that was similar to an A-rank adventurer. I could dump a lot more MP into my spells, but if I had to fight someone of my level and barrier magic came into play, I’d make a pretty poor showing.

I wish I’d learned more about this from Lunaère.

“Well…it’s better than nothing, I guess,” I said.

“If you’re not very good at it, then I’ll learn barrier magic! I’m your partner. I want to be able to help you out more!” said Pomera enthusiastically, raising her bandaged staff. We needed to find her a new one.

“Thank you, Pomera-san! Once we can make the Blood Ethers of the Gods, we can start raising your level in the Cursed Mirror again. We should be able to push up the level of magic you can use at the same time.”

“Yeah… The mirror…yay.” Pomera grimaced.

“Do you hate it that much? I’m not going to force you, you know.”

“N-no! I’ll do it! I’ll show you I can do it! Just leave it to me, Kanata!” said Pomera, squeezing her staff tightly.

“O-okay. Anyway… It’s pretty rare for people to pick up on when someone’s doing alchemy. We probably don’t have to be that cautious.”

There came a knock on the door. Both Pomera and I jumped and looked at one another in a panic. Philia glanced vaguely at the door, wondering if we had a visitor.

I sat frozen for a moment, and there was another knock. Pomera took a deep breath.

“I-I’ll answer it,” she said. “They knocked, so they probably aren’t an enemy.”

“No, stay there. I’ll get it. It’s okay, my master taught me the fundamentals of sudden magical combat.”

I hadn’t taught Pomera the Twin Minds Method yet. She’d be at a serious disadvantage against an unknown enemy at close range. Besides, I had the health to soak up a hit or two if I got jumped.

I gripped the hilt of the Heroic Sword of Gilgamesh, thinking this might be the first time in a long while that I might actually use it to its full potential.

I held my weapon behind me and opened the door to find Pointy Hat guy standing there. The sight of me cracking the door with the sword held behind my back startled him. He took a step backward and immediately held up his hands.

“Whoa! Relax! I work for the guildmaster,” he said, taking another step back. “I came about the adventurers’ meeting. There wasn’t anyone in Saint Pomera’s room, so I came here.”

I let out a sigh of relief. This had to be the meeting Garnet had talked about. Come to think of it, Pointy Hat had mentioned he was connected to guildmaster before. Garnet was likely his boss.

After a moment of silence, Pointy Hat craned his neck to try and get a look behind me.

“Could I talk to Saint Pomera, maybe?” he asked.

I quickly put myself in his way to stop him. Right now, adamantine ore was laying all over the floor around a battered cauldron. I couldn’t let him see that.

“Sorry, I don’t mean to pry.” He held his hands up again. “The guildmaster asked me not to push you too much.”

That seemed on the level. I often felt Garnet’s words had a hidden meaning, but I appreciated that he wanted to respect our privacy. In the room, Pomera covered the cauldron with a towel, then came rushing over.

“I’m sorry! What were you two talking about?” she said.

“The adventurers’ meeting is happening earlier than expected. It’ll be tonight. Well…immediately. As soon as we can get everyone in the same room. The ragno issue is really serious,” said Pointy Hat.

“T-tonight? It’s that bad?”

Pointy Hat nodded, then looked around to make sure no one was listening. “The ragni appearing around Manaloch are just a small portion of what’s out there. We’re dealing with a demon king. It’s not just Manaloch that’s in danger. The entire kingdom is at risk.”

 

—4—

 

WE LEFT PHILIA in the room while Pomera and I followed Pointy Hat to the Guild. At this point, I considered Philia to be an equal partner, but she was still passing as a child. On top of that, she was a child who had poor impulse control and a mysterious past. It wouldn’t be responsible to drag her into a meeting full of people that might figure out who she really was.

“Uh, may I ask your name?” I asked.

“Oh!” Pointy Hat nodded. “I’m Gildo, Mr. Garnet’s personal assistant. No need to introduce yourselves, ha ha!”

So, he worked directly for Garnet? He had seemed pretty interested in Pomera the first time we met. Garnet had also said he heard about us from one of his subordinates who’d returned from Arroburg. Things were starting to make more sense.

“You mentioned that you think there’s a demon king lurking somewhere?” I asked.

Noble had told me about demon kings before. They were like natural disasters, except instead of being made of wind or water, they were made out of monsters. Demon kings were leaders among monsters and had the ability to enhance their minions’ latent powers. On top of that, they could make themselves more powerful as their hordes grew. They had nearly limitless potential. There were also different tiers of demon king, but even the weakest could be a serious threat to a kingdom.

Lunaère had turned from a human into a lich because a demon king killed her. They were no joke.

Gildo looked around with a wary expression, making sure that no one could overhear our conversation. “Based on the trends we’ve seen thus far, we’re almost certain. In the beginning, it was strange enough to see such a flood of a single type of monster. Now all the signs are pointing to a demon king.”

“Th-that’s terrifying…” said Pomera, her face pale.

That’s why the Guild administrators had been in such an uproar. This was a real existential crisis.

In general, the balance of power in this world greatly favored monsters. The only reason humanity hadn’t been destroyed was probably because Naiarotop and the other gods kept them hanging on by a thread for entertainment value. I gritted my teeth, disgusted by the thought.

I finally understood why Garnet had forced his way out of his meeting and tried to make contact with Pomera, despite everyone trying to stop him. He absolutely wanted the Saint of Arroburg on his side if he was facing a demon king. And then she’d demonstrated that she was powerful enough to beat Alfred, an A-rank adventurer, in a duel.

Without her help, the City of Magic risked being entirely overrun.

“Are we planning to strike against the demon king before it makes a move?” I asked, wondering if I’d encounter the S-rank adventurer at this meeting.

“If we gather enough A-rank adventurers, we might be able to do something against the demon king. But that’s not what Garnet has in mind,” said Gildo.

“What?”

“That’s all I can say for now. I’ve been ordered to deal with you with utmost honesty, but I don’t know how Garnet plans to break the news. I can’t say any more without his approval,” said Gildo, his eyes somewhat sad.

I gulped. Whatever he knew, it seemed incredibly serious.

 

We finally reached the Guild. Following Gildo straight in, we walked up to the second floor and into a room that normally only guild workers could enter. In the center was a large circular table with a few adventurers already seated and waiting for the meeting to begin.

I saw Rosemonde. She was once again encased in absurd armor with her face hidden behind the metal goat mask. Since everything looked pristine, I guessed that she had a spare set at home.

Our eyes met and I bowed my head, causing her to jump slightly.

She seems pretty scared, but that’s not surprising.

“Sit wherever you want,” said Gildo, and I stared at the round table, lost.

This felt like the lunchroom in high school, and I worried there was some unwritten rule about where people sat.

I felt a death glare from behind me.

“You’re in my way. Why are you just standing here?”

I turned back and saw Alfred. His sharp, narrowed eyes held a hint of hatred.

Gildo had said they were gathering A-rank adventurers, so I shouldn’t have been surprised to see him. Maybe I’d been hoping that he would leave the city immediately after he woke up from Pomera’s knockout strike. His manners certainly hadn’t improved.

Pomera gave Alfred a disgusted stare of her own.

“Alfred…” warned Sera. His attitude seemed to have her on edge.

He quickly gripped Sera’s shoulders and her armor creaked under the pressure of his fingers.

“What? I was just asking a couple of morons blocking the door to move along. Are you saying I need to throw myself on the ground and grovel when they’re in front of me just because I lost a duel?”

“That’s not what I meant. I just…”

All eyes in the room were drawn by Alfred’s ludicrous behavior. Alfred saw everyone looking at him, clicked his tongue in annoyance, and released Sera.

“I’m just trying to get into the room. Are all the adventurers in this city professional gawkers as well?” He seemed to be working himself into another tantrum.

I wanted to shut down any opportunity for him to give us more trouble in the future. “I’m sorry for blocking the way. Pomera-san, let’s just sit over there,” I said and pulled on Pomera’s arm.

“I’m a persistent man,” said Alfred quietly, looking at us. “Don’t think you’ve won. Ha ha… I don’t know what this meeting is about, but it’s given me an opportunity. I’ll make you regret embarrassing me.”

I watched him from the corner of my eye as Pomera and I sat down next to each other. I’d have preferred to ignore him, but I wouldn’t let him endanger us. If he insisted on clinging to this feud, I’d have to do something about him.

Rosemonde scooted away a little as I sat in the seat next to her. She drummed her fingers on the table nervously.

“Oh… Sorry. It just sort of happened,” I said.

Rosemonde glanced at me, then looked around the room. She placed her hand over the mouth of her goat mask, lowered her voice, and asked, “The kid’s not here?”

“No, she’s taking a nap.”

She huffed a sigh of relief and relaxed.

That encounter with Philia must have been traumatic. I decided to ask Philia to apologize the next time they met.

“I heard about the duel, guys,” said Rosemonde. “There are some real jerks in this town.”

Rosemonde looked at Alfred. Pomera and I followed her gaze and saw that he’d been staring resentfully at Pomera the whole time. She let out a little yelp and dropped her gaze.

Alfred had called this meeting a perfect opportunity—I just hoped he wouldn’t end up sabotaging the Guild’s strategy.

 

—5—

 

OTHER ADVENTURERS started to filter in and take a seat.

“That guy in the bandages, right?” said Rosemonde in a low voice. “That’s Poison Ludger. He’s a real shady guy who’s a master of alchemy, earth magic, and water magic. He fights mostly with…poison. His name sort of gives that away, y’know.”

Poison Ludger was covered head to toe in cloth, whether it was his large blue robe or bandages anywhere that exposed skin might have showed. Even his abnormally long fingers were wrapped in strips of cloth.

“Watch your back around him, kid. People say he’s the weakest A-rank adventurer in Manaloch, but I think he’s hiding something. He’s got friends in dark places, if you know what I mean. At least Alfred will challenge you to your face.” Rosemonde quietly clucked her tongue. “I warned them not to call him to this meeting. Well…if he gives you any trouble, just be sure to fight him head-on. Don’t take your eyes off of him.”

“Thank you, I’ll watch my back,” I said.

“You two seem to be making friends,” said Pomera, looking at Rosemonde and me in disbelief.

Rosemonde shrugged, then crossed her armored arms. “You guys are weirdos, but you seem like good eggs. I probably would have been fine on my own, but when I was having trouble, you helped out. The least I can do is let you know what’s going on in town so you’re not running blind.”

It seemed her mental state had improved after coming back to the city, and her attitude along with it.

The lineup of people participating in the adventurers’ meeting was taking shape. Rosemonde gave me a quick rundown of the people already there. In attendance were the city’s lord and his underlings, the leaders of the Adventurers’ Guild, and all the A-rank adventurers.

I already knew Alfred and Rosemonde, and now I’d been made aware of Ludger. The only other adventurers in the room were an elderly man and a young woman, both magic users. Rosemonde didn’t know much about them.

“Who else hasn’t arrived?” I asked.

“Just waiting on Garnet and Kotone now,” said Rosemonde.

I gulped. Was I going to come face-to-face with the magic user that Philia had attacked in the street a couple of days ago? I suspected that Kotone was a traveler like myself, and I honestly wanted to avoid making any sort of contact with her.

“I apologize. I called you all here so suddenly and arrived late myself,” said Garnet, entering the room through a concealed side door.

Following him was a young woman. She was small and bowed to the people in the room. She seemed to be a year or two younger than myself, with pale skin and glossy black hair that barely reached her shoulders. Wearing light robes, her hands were covered by simple gauntlets that concealed the backs of her hands while leaving her fingers free. The way her bangs were cut straight across her forehead made it clear that she was maintaining her own sense of style.

In any case, she was almost certainly Japanese. I tried to be inconspicuous among the rest of the attending adventurers.

“That’s Aries’s Hand, Kotone Takanashi,” whispered Rosemonde. “She’s been laying low the past six months, but it looks like that sly fox convinced her to come.”

I wasn’t the only person on edge when Kotone entered. Apparently even A-rank adventurers were a little apprehensive about being in the room with her.

“Kotone Takanashi…” I muttered. I didn’t think I’d ever hear a name from home again.

“She’s a traveler, y’know—from another world. And she has one of those gift skills from the gods. She always gets the job done, but she’s wicked antisocial. Never hangs out with anybody. But she is, hands down, the most powerful person in Manaloch, so try not to get on her bad side.”

A gift skill from the gods, huh? My suspicions were confirmed.

But I wondered why she wasn’t hiding the fact that she was a traveler. Had she been forced to go public for some reason? And what skill had Naiarotop given her?

It made me wonder what kind of skill I might have been granted if I’d just kept my mouth shut.

Rosemonde was right, though. I needed to be careful around Kotone. I wanted to try and use Status Check on her, but I worried she would notice. There was no doubt that she had been granted that skill, just the same as me.

Kotone walked to an open seat with a blank, bored expression. Her bangs accentuated her aloofness and made Rosemonde’s comments about her lack of social skills seem accurate. Garnet was obviously pretty influential if he could draw someone like that back into action when she’d stopped doing adventurer work.

“Kanata…that’s not the same person that Philia attacked, is it?” whispered Pomera.

No. She wasn’t.

I’d only seen the black-robed stranger from a distance, but the length and color of their hair was completely different. That person’s hair had definitely been pale, not dark. It looked like there was at least one other high-level magic user in Manaloch.

I wracked my brain, trying to remember every detail of the person we’d encountered a few days earlier. That magic user had been a little shorter than Kotone. And their hair had gone past their shoulders…

It really was Lunaère, wasn’t it?!

But it couldn’t be. We’d cut things off so completely in Cocytus. There was no way she’d follow me after that, was there? And even if she did, I didn’t understand why she wouldn’t have talked to me.

No, our mystery stranger had to be someone other than Lunaère. I was just being biased because I missed her so much.

“What’s wrong, Kanata?” asked Pomera.

“It’s nothing.” But the scene kept playing over and over in my head. None of this made sense. “It’s nothing,” I said again, “but if we have time, I’d like to try finding someone in this city.”

“Wh-what? I mean, I’ll help if there’s something you want to do, but…” said Pomera, confused.

We were interrupted as Garnet stood. “I will now brief you on everything the Guild has learned from our investigation into the ragno issue. Without mincing words: we have come to the conclusion that the abnormal increase in ragno activity and the emergence of stronger variants is due to the appearance of a demon king.”

Everyone started talking at once, and Garnet folded his arms as if he’d expected this.

“A demon king? It can’t be true,” said the elderly magic user doubtfully.

“Surely you jest? How in the world could a demon king appear so randomly?” said Alfred, his face drained of blood. He might have been brave when challenging a C-rank white mage to a duel, but demon kings apparently scared him pretty badly.

Rosemonde plunked her elbows on the table and let out a heavy sigh. “I was thinking it might be that. Tsk, anybody leaving should probably do it before the townies catch wind.”

A guild employee let out a sudden gasp. “Wh-what are you saying, Rosemonde?!”

“Come on, my guy. I have no obligation to stick my neck out just because you say so,” she replied. “I can do whatever I want. I couldn’t care less what’s best for you.”

“Even so, this isn’t the time or place…”

“Stop.” Garnet’s deep voice silenced the room. “Rosemonde has a valid point, one that I would like to address. We will provide fair compensation for the risks you will face. All I ask for now is that you listen to my plan and my offer. If you still wish to leave after that…I won’t stop you, and I won’t blame you.”

“Sure thing, chief,” said Rosemonde with a snort of laughter.

Though I’d heard about demon kings from Noble and Lunaère, I still didn’t know much about them. But the atmosphere in the room told me plenty. Rosemonde seemed to think that we were already too late to save Manaloch. The other adventurers didn’t look hopeful either.

Kotone raised her hand, and when our eyes turned toward her, glared back in annoyance. Then she said, “Are you certain it’s a demon king? Even with the large volume of monsters, even with the more powerful versions appearing, that doesn’t mean it’s the only possibility. We don’t seem to have the evidence to back up the claim. Besides, the increase in ragno activity has been an ongoing trend for a while now. The overall progress is too slow to have been caused solely by a demon king. And no one has encountered any other abnormal phenomena.”

She rattled off the information as it were the most boring thing in the world, and she just wanted to get out of the room. Once she finished, she quickly lowered her hand with her eyes closed.

“She’s right. You’re jumping to conclusions,” agreed the old magic user, his eyes wide—like Kotone had suddenly solved the problem with a stroke of logic.

It looked like the other adventurers had a lot of faith in Kotone. I wondered how long she’d been in Manaloch.

“That would be the case if we were simply seeing a wave of the more powerful ragni,” said Garnet. “However, the locations where Pomera and Alfred killed their large ragni were very far apart. In addition, we’ve received reports of strange tracks left on the ground in another location. Those were most likely also left by large ragni.”

That meant they’d essentially confirmed the existence of the large ragni in at least three locations, each one far from the others. But what exactly did that mean?

Garnet continued, “When we encounter more powerful versions of a monster under normal circumstances, we never see them over such a wide area. And we never see multiple encounters at exactly same time. It could happen by sheer chance. If it were in two locations, I’d be willing to entertain the notion… But three? Not in three.”

Garnet took a quill, stood, and drew three X marks on a large map on the wall. “We believe that they were all spawned at the same point of origin. These three locations are where the appearances occurred.” He added five more marks. “These other locations also reported large gatherings of normal ragni.”

Then he started connecting the marks to form a large, imperfect circle.

A gasp rose from the adventurers. Even Kotone, who had claimed it was too early to assume it was a demon king, looked anxious.

Garnet traced the circle with his finger, then tapped each of the three locations where the large ragni were seen.

“It seems the ragni are appearing centered on this location. Additionally, the ragni only appear on the lower slopes of large hills,” said Garnet.

“And what’s the relevance of that?!” interrupted the elderly magic user with a pound of his fist on the table. His hope that this was something other than a demon king was running out.

Garnet replied, “At first, we only saw the occasional ragno straggler. Then they began to operate in groups. Next, large herds of ragni appeared at the same time, surrounding the city in a highly coordinated pattern. All of you know that ragni burrow through the earth.”

Garnet squeezed his hands into fists of frustration as he explained. His voice sounded like he was holding back extreme emotions, which put everyone in the room on edge. Then he forced himself to relax and continue.

“Most likely, they have built a massive underground network of tunnels. If so, the origin point will be in the center of this irregular circle. If anything, it’s more concerning that we haven’t seen more of them! This suggests that some intelligence is keeping them under control, coercing them to work to build a tunnel network, but also to stay underground as much as possible to keep us from noticing. Mark my words—the ragni we’ve seen thus far are but a fraction of the total population. They are the overflow that can no longer be contained in the nest. In a normal situation, it would be impossible for these monsters to create such a large network and anticipate human actions. That is, it would be impossible without a demon king.”

The room fell silent again.

“The more time you give a demon king to develop, the more powerful it becomes,” said Garnet. “If we assume the demon king came into existence well before we noticed ragni on the surface, then we can also assume that we are far past the early stages. We are furthermore past the point where ten or twenty A-rank adventurers might be able to overcome the demon king if they attacked as a coordinated unit.

“Furthermore, if it is intelligent, it already knows the large ragni have been defeated and that it has been detected. Manaloch is too close to the nest. The demon king is no longer a threat to the city—it is a threat to the entire kingdom.”

The mood grew ever more somber as Garnet spoke. Rosemonde was completely silent, though I couldn’t see her expression because of her mask. Alfred had a deep furrow in his brow and his nose trembled.

“I’ve already sent word to other cities, asking if they can accept evacuees,” said Garnet. “We’ll have the townspeople take as little of their belongings as possible so that they can flee quickly, giving a wide berth to the demon king’s nest. What I wish to ask of you is that you to prepare for the demon king’s attack, bring up the rear of the evacuation, and protect our people.”

Garnet was planning to abandon Manaloch.

He was the guildmaster of this city and an executive in the largest research facility in the country. But he was willing to throw all of that away to save the people of his city. Even now, he fought a battle to control his emotions and ensure that his plan was solid.

“I won’t stop you if you wish to flee first,” said Garnet. “I do ask, however, that you don’t spread any information you learned in this meeting. Above all else, we must avoid panic. I plan to tell the people that we’re expecting a large-scale attack from the ragni, then the Guild will move forward with preparations for the evacuation. If you choose to stay and help, I ask that you return here tomorrow morning at first light. You will be compensated, and I will be happy to negotiate rates at this time.”

 

—6—

 

WHILE THE ADVENTURERS met with Garnet to plan for the city’s evacuation, Lunaère and Noble had a meeting of their own in the abandoned church.

“I was a little surprised when I saw that half-elf girl walking alongside Kanata, seeming so close. But…it appears they are just acquaintances,” said Lunaère, trying to keep her voice in her standard monotone as she nervously prattled on. The mixture of relief and apprehension was almost unbearable. “It seems that she owes Kanata some sort of debt. He’s such a kind person, so that’s not entirely unexpected. Noble, you were a fool for scaring me and getting me so worked up.”

“I scared you?” Noble stretched back in indignation.

He was teasing her a little, but he was also sure that any anxiety she felt was entirely of her own creation.

A tiny wrinkle appeared on Lunaère’s brow and she bit her thumb. She looked away from Noble, pacing uneasily back and forth in the abandoned church. “But that half-elf girl likely has some improper feelings toward Kanata. He’s so open-minded. The same kindness that allowed him to accept me also makes him easy to manipulate.”

“Oh, he’s definitely easy to manipulate,” muttered Noble.

Lunaère shot him a look. It was a look that halfway dared him to say something more, while at the same time begging him not to make his point.

Noble settled for sticking out his tongue in annoyance.

But she knew Noble was right—Kanata was easily manipulated. It was how he’d managed to accomplish all of her absurd training demands. He never suspected that she’d made those impossible demands to keep him in Cocytus. Deep in her heart, Lunaère had hoped that Kanata would break down and give up. She would have used it as an excuse to let him stay.

The irony of it was that Kanata had believed that those demands must be achievable because she was the person asking him to meet them. Because of that trust, he’d forged ahead and achieved Lunaère’s artificially high expectations. It seemed impossible, but he’d successfully gained an absurd number of levels in a mind-bogglingly short time.

There probably wasn’t a single person in Locklore who was more easily manipulated than Kanata Kanbara.

“Th-then maybe that half-elf girl will manipulate him into loving her. But Kanata said… He said he cared for me.” Lunaère’s feet stopped and her shoulders slumped.

She was sure that he meant it, but the wall between the living and the dead was so thick. Even when they were physically close, they lived in separate worlds. They were destined to walk through life at difference paces. Many years from now, when Kanata was an old man, Lunaère would still be the young woman she was now.

Doubt began to creep back in.

If he realized this, would he have a change of heart? This situation was all her fault in the first place; it was only happening because she’d thrown him out. Did she have any right to criticize him for what he did once he left Cocytus?

After pacing back and forth for a while, Lunaère sat on the ground with her back to a pile of rubble and hugged her knees to her chest.

“If Kanata lived longer, I could wait until that half-elf girl died,” she mumbled, thinking to herself.

“Whoa there, Lady. Those are dangerous thoughts,” said Noble.

Her eyes opened wide as she realized what she’d just said.

Noble clicked his lid. “Besides, they’re not in love or anything right now, right? Why are you letting yourself get hung up and disappointed by something that hasn’t even happened yet?”

“You’re right, I’m being a coward.” Lunaère buried her face in her knees. “It’s been so long since I’ve worried about another person, or since I’ve walked through the human world. I’m probably just not myself.”

“You’re definitely out of your element, that’s for sure. Well, look—as of right now, things have turned out for the better. I mean, you didn’t plan to see him for twenty years and expected him to still care after all that time. That was just cruel! But now you’ve had a chance to talk with him and things look like they’re okay. You can stop worrying. By the way, how is he? What’d you guys talk about?”

“What do you mean ‘a chance to talk with him’?” asked Lunaère, confused as she stood.

“I mean, you talked to him, right?”

“No.”

“Huh?”

There was a brief moment of silence between the two.

“Wait, wait, wait! If you haven’t talked to him, how do you know what he’s feeling about this half-elf girl?” Noble demanded.

Lunaère sighed in frustration. “Who do you think I am?”

“Lady, I have no idea anymore.”

Lunaère raised an arm. “Summoning Magic Level 22: Medjedross.”

A massive magic circle appeared at Lunaère’s words, and a strange-looking spirit manifested behind her. It was draped in a white cloth covered in mystical geometric patterns that somewhat resembled eyes. Three sets of inorganic wings peeked out from below the sheet.

“Medjedross is the spirit of a majestic bird king. He sees all and remains unseen by moving through cracks in space-time,” said Lunaère.

“Kree, greee…” Something moved beneath the cloth. Everything about the spirit was unsettlingly unnatural.

Noble stared in horror.

“Sit,” said Lunaère, and Medjedross sat on the floor.

“Lie down,” she said, and it curled underneath its cloth, lowering what was seemingly its head.

“Good boy,” said Lunaère as she patted its head.

It made a noise that sounded like a pencil sharpener purring as it rubbed its head vigorously against her hand.

“Disappear for us,” she said, and it immediately vanished. Lunaère looked smugly satisfied.

“Even I can’t find Medjedross when he hides. He is both here and not here at the same time.”

“And what’s this got to do with Kanata?” asked Noble uneasily. He already knew the answer, but he had to ask. He hoped he was wrong.

Lunaère sighed. “You still don’t understand? I had Medjedross hide himself and follow Kanata, then I shared his vision.”

“You are such a stalker!” Noble stretched his tongue out and smacked the floor for emphasis. The force of the impact cracked a paving stone.

“Well, I didn’t have any other choice! When I went before, I panicked and got into a fight with that homunculus girl… Besides, Kanata must know by now that I was glaring at the half-elf girl! How can I face him after that?!”

“I dunno…normally?! Like a normal person who wants to talk to a friend?!” Noble smacked the floor again with his tongue.

“B-but I forced him to leave Cocytus… I basically abandoned him. I’d look like an idiot if I went and said I followed him because I was worried!” Lunaère’s voice rose. All pretenses of remaining calm and emotionless were gone.

“If that’s your argument, then you’re basically saying you can never talk to him again! Are you okay with that?”

“O-of course I’m not, but…” Lunaère’s voice became weak, like she was about to pass out.

“No more using that bird or whatever it is again! Go talk to him face-to-face! Be honest and tell him you came because you were worried! Then it’ll all be over!”

“Uuugh! B-but…”

“No buts!” shouted Noble.

Tears gathered in Lunaère’s eyes.

He’d never been this hard on her before, but unless he put his lid down, she would spend the next ten or twenty years using Medjedross to secretly stalk Kanata.

“Kree…” In the face of Noble’s rage, even the invisible spirit shrank away.

 

—7—

 

DEEP IN THE FOREST near the City of Magic was a deep, expansive underground den. From humble beginnings, it had grown significantly larger than Manaloch itself.

Ragni crowded so thickly across the subterranean walls that there were no gaps between them. A cluster of over a hundred large ragni skittered across the floor, each one nearly a match for an A-rank adventurer. Among the horde, there were even more new varieties of ragni, none of which had been seen before.

This was the seat of a growing empire.

All manner of monsters and people hung from the ceiling of the den, their bodies wrapped entirely in silk. Most of them had already died, but one person remained alive.

“H-help! Help me, please! Somebody, somebody…” the man cried out, abusing his parched throat in desperation.

“So annoying…” came a voice.

“Is someone there?! Help…” A spark of hope sprang to life as he saw a figure in the darkness. It was extinguished as he beheld her form.

Her upper half was that of a human girl, but below the waist, she was a monstrous spider. Vibrant red hair framed beautiful facial features, but a sinister light shone in her wide, sharp eyes. The fangs peeking from her mouth hinted at her cruelty.

“Please, no!” begged the man.

She smiled, seemingly enjoying his terror. Then she opened her mouth wide and bit into the man’s head. Blood poured from where his face had been, and his body fell to the ground as the silk gave way to the strength of her attack.

“Take care of this mess,” she said, and countless ragni swarmed to devoured the corpse. The sound of their chewing filled the cavern.

She calmly walked through the cave without looking back. Instead, her eyes scanned the darkness for something else.

“Mother! Mother!” she called.

“What is it, Molly, my beloved girl?” replied a voice. A corner of the wall moved in response to Molly’s call.

Another half-human, half-spider descended from above, this one nearly five times Molly’s size. Unlike Molly, her face was not beautiful.

A wide gash of a mouth carved its way across her rough-skinned face. Spread over her forehead were a multitude of unevenly sized red eyes that wriggled and glanced around the cavern. Instead of fingers, four blade-like claws on each hand scythed through the air as she landed. An enormous plum-colored gem was embedded in her chest.

This was the demon king of the ragni, the one who threatened the city of Manaloch.

“Mother, the humans have started to notice us,” said Molly as she coddled and stroked a tiny spider that rode in the palm of her hand. The miniature ragno had entered the city and searched for secrets.

Mother opened her unseemly mouth in a terrible grin. “It was only a matter of time, my child. I’ve made too many children, and I can’t possibly keep my eye on them all. Some were bound to wander up to the surface to play. Hee hee! It was only a matter of time…” Mother stroked the plum-colored stone as she spoke. “But the humans won’t have any idea how strong we’ve grown.”

“Of course, Mother,” said Molly with a wicked grin. “But we don’t need to be so cautious. I’m plenty able to destroy one silly little city all by myself.”

“Be careful now, beloved. The prophecy warned us against arrogance.”

“You worry too much, Mother. You don’t think these sad little creatures could keep up with your beloved Molly, do you?” To make her point, Molly stuck out her purplish-red tongue; on its tip was the eye of the man she had just eaten. She withdrew it and swallowed. “And my dear sisters aren’t the sort of monsters to let measly humans get the better of them. Well…I’m not so sure about Lily.”

Molly snickered.

Four abnormal ragni had been born first, and Mother called them her daughters. She loved them. First came Dory, then Mary and Molly, and finally Lily.

“I suppose there’s no need to keep hiding if they’ve noticed us. Have Lily take some ragni and destroy the city,” said Mother.

“But Mother, what about me? I really, really want to hunt the humans. I want to play with a fresh adventurer before I kill it!”

“Listen to your Mother, beloved. In every group of adventurers, there are a small number of powerful humans mixed in. Send in Lily to flush them out, and let them think that she is the most powerful among us. We shall strike once they lower their guard. Although, all the better if she can finish off things on her own.”

“I suppose. I’ll do as you say, Mother.”

“If there are humans that can defeat Lily, then it’ll be up to you and Mary. But do make sure that I don’t have to ask Dory to take a turn. She listens so poorly… A bit of a wild child.”

“Yes, Mother!” Molly smiled wickedly.

 

—8—

 

POMERA, PHILIA, AND I headed off to the Guild before the sun rose the next morning. We had decided to accept Garnet’s request to prepare for the demon king’s attack. Though I wasn’t keen on doing anything that would make me stand out, we had to protect the people as they fled.

The city was in chaos as we hurried along. The town guard and lower-ranked adventurers had been tasked with knocking on doors and spreading the order for an immediate evacuation.

“We don’t know when the monster attack will come! Please gather your valuables as quickly as possible and exit the building!”

“Th-that’s not easy to do on such short notice! Can’t Kotone handle those beasts?”

Pomera observed while we walked, a worried expression on her face. “I suppose I already knew, but this isn’t going to be easy…”

I understood how she felt. We’d been told that this situation was uniquely abnormal at the meeting last night, but the state of the city really drove that point home.

I began to wonder if we’d made the right decision. Garnet said he wouldn’t blame us if we decided to run. Even high-ranked adventurers were taking a terrible risk by staying in the city even one second longer.

“I should have sent you and Philia-chan on to another city ahead of everyone first,” I said.

“What are you saying, Kanata? I’m staying with you, no matter how dangerous it is!” Pomera, gripped her staff tightly. “…Besides, if Philia is in danger, then nowhere would be safe.”

Pomera glanced at Philia, who struck a little victory pose and let out a small battle cry.

“Leave it to Philia! Philia will smash tons of ragni!”

Come to think of it, Philia was probably a bigger threat to the town than the demon king.

“Philia-chan…do your best, but in moderation,” I said.

“Okay! Philia will do what Kanata says and will smash tons of ragni in moderation!”

I smiled uncomfortably. As I considered a better way to have this conversation, I felt someone staring at me from behind.

At first I thought it was just my mind playing tricks on me, but Philia jumped in surprise at the same time. She looked around, frightened, and I stopped walking and looked around too. No one was there.

“K-Kanata, someone was following us just now, weren’t they?” said Pomera, looking back with a frown. Her elven senses must have been alerted as well. “It was probably Alfred. I don’t think he could hurt you in a fair fight, but…please be careful.”

I nodded slightly.

He’d made some veiled threats last night, and I had a hard time believing he wouldn’t try something in all this chaos and confusion. He might even become a hindrance while we were busy doing the dangerous work of protecting the people.

Philia stared, then her eyes opened wide in fear as they locked on one spot.

“Philia-chan?” I asked.

“It’s the bad feeling. S-scary,” said Philia.

“Bad feeling…?”

I remembered the stranger who had defeated Philia with one strike. Was Lunaère back?

The thought that she might be stalking me, checking to make sure I was doing okay was creepy. But…it made me kind of happy.

“A-are you there, Lunaère-san? It’s you, isn’t it?” I called, but there was no response.

Whoever it was had already vanished. I thought about looking, but we didn’t have time for that. This wasn’t a morning to be late.

“Let’s go. Just keep yourselves alert,” I said, giving up and moving to the front of the group. Then I saw a figure in a black robe and goat mask.

“Hey! You kids going to the Guild too? Hmph, I hate to say it, but I’ve got a good feeling about this. We shouldn’t have any problems with you three in the bag.”

“Rosemonde-san!” I said.

“Goat mask lady!” said Philia, happily approaching Rosemonde. Rosemonde took a few steps backwards and readied her metal cross-shaped staff.

“Wh-whoa there, champ! I still remember what happened last time.”

It looked like there was some lasting trauma.

“I-I’m sorry…” said Philia, a little disappointed.

“So, you’ve decided to stay in the city too, Rosemonde-san,” I said.

Considering her pessimistic view of the situation, I figured she would be the first to leave.

“That old fox said there’d be compensation,” she said with a shrug. “It’s not like I’m protecting the city either. The whole place can fall down, and it won’t be my fault. Besides, it’s wicked dumb to try and run away on your own. Strength in numbers, y’know?”

Rosemonde gazed out at the chaos in the streets. It didn’t look like things were going smoothly—citizens didn’t understand just how bad the situation really was. It seemed like we might have to buy the city more time than we’d hoped.

“I was raised in this city,” said Rosemonde, almost to herself. “My parents died when I was a kid, but my friends picked me back up. They helped me get into adventuring work and even let me join their party. Taught me everything I needed to know about being an adventurer—magic and martial arts with a staff and gauntlets. This city raised me.”

Even through the mask, she sounded wistful.

“It’s horrible, y’know? All we can do is beat feet…abandon our home. I wanted to do more to resist. Not like it would keep the place in one piece, but that’s all I can do.”

“Rosemonde-san…”

“Tsk. Okay, enough gabbin’. Time to get to work.”

 

—9—

 

WE ARRIVED IN FRONT of the Adventurers’ Guild a few minutes early, ready to hear any last minute changes to the plan or any other new information.

“Don’t get the wrong idea. If things go south…I’m out, kid. Even if that means abandoning the people,” Rosemonde shrugged.

Pomera’s mouth twisted in a frown. “But this is your hometown… Or I thought you at least wanted to help the people get away safely?”

“That doesn’t mean I intend to take a dirt nap doing it.”

I had a hard time disagreeing with her. Noble acts are all well and good, but could you really expect others to sacrifice themselves for a lost cause? Rosemonde might have been coldhearted, but at least she told the truth.

“B-but you don’t have to say it out loud!” said Pomera.

“Ha! Listen, pal, you may be skilled with magic, but you still lack experience. Here’s a tip…” said Rosemonde forcefully.

“Wh-what is it?” asked Pomera, looking mortified.

“You gotta already know in your head when to stand your ground and when to run. You won’t have time to think about it when the time comes. And if that happens, you’re going to have to decide—will you save yourself, or will you go down fighting to save someone else? That’s why you gotta decide now, kid. Or else you might do the wrong thing when the time comes and you’ll either spend the rest of your life regretting your decision, or you won’t have any life left to spend.”

Pomera’s mouth popped open in surprise, but she quickly snapped it shut and nodded.

“I understand. Thank you for the advice, Rosemonde,” said Pomera with a hint of embarrassment. I don’t think she’d expected anything that heavy.

Rosemonde was more complex than either I or Pomera had given her credit for. She would fight for Manaloch, but on her own terms.

“So, uh, will the tiny terror be fighting too?” asked Rosemonde with a hint of fear in her voice.

Philia clenched her fists and let out a cry of affirmation. “Yeah! Philia will fight really hard!”

“G-good for you, champ.” Rosemonde looked away.

“Philia-chan, just make sure to only use as much power as you absolutely need,” I said.

“Yep! Just enough power to squish all the bugs! Philia promises to do what Kanata says!”

Philia hugged me around the waist and looked up at me proudly. I patted her head and noticed that Pomera had a conflicted expression on her face.

“We’ve got no choice…” I said apologetically. “If the situation is really this bad, then Philia-chan’s strength could make the difference.”

“If she does something again…do you want me to cover for her and pretend it was me?” Pomera asked.

Oof. We’d let a few people believe that Pomera had summoned the First Dragon in order to hide the fact that Philia was something other than human. That had ended up causing Pomera a lot of distress once the witnesses started telling other people.

I remembered we were in mixed company and quickly turned to look at Rosemonde.

“I have no idea what you guys are talking about, but you can leave me out of it.”

I turned back to Pomera. “Ehh…d-don’t worry, Pomera-san. I’ll cover this time…”

Avoiding attention was one thing, but if someone powerful came hunting us, I’d rather they target me instead of her. As I stroked Philia’s head, I thought about Rosemonde’s advice. What choice would I make between protecting myself and protecting people I cared about?

I owed Garnet a lot too. He was doing his best to organize a defense of the evacuation, and to make sure that the adventurers would have a fighting chance, even if they were forced into a life-or-death situation.

I was stronger than any of the A-rank adventurers. Was it really right for me to play defense like they were going to do? I wanted to keep my strength a secret, but it would be hard to do that in a situation where other people’s lives were at risk and I could effortlessly turn the tide of the fight.

I looked in the direction of the city gates. I knew where the ragno leader was thanks to Garnet’s map, at least in a general sense. No matter how many ragni came at me, they’d never pose a risk.

There was still something that only I could do.

I could go to their base and solve the problem from the top down.

There was surely something more dangerous than normal ragni in their nest. But after hearing Rosemonde speak of her convictions, I felt it wouldn’t be right for me to keep hiding my strength and stay somewhere safe.

If I made it into their main base, I could do more than just reduce the number of their available foot soldiers. I could learn the demon king’s level and see the true scale of their forces. I might even be able to challenge the demon king on the spot.

“Pomera-san, Rosemonde-san, Philia-chan, I’m sorry. I’m going to have to step down from the guard work,” I said.

“K-Kanata?! Why?!” Pomera demanded in shock.

“That’s weak, kid. A tough guy like you is scared of this fight?” asked Rosemonde, annoyed.

Even Philia pouted and looked like she was about to say she wasn’t going to quit.

“I’m really sorry. It’s just…there’s something else I have to do. The evacuees are going to the city of Ploroque, right? I’ll meet up with you there.”

“If there’s something you need to do, I’ll help!” said Pomera.

I shook my head. “I have to go alone. This is sort of a spy mission. I want you and Philia-chan to make sure the defense is a success.”

“…Okay. W-we’ll do it. If that’s what you want. Just, promise you won’t do anything reckless. We have no idea how powerful the demon king is,” said Pomera.

She and Philia were significantly above the average level of the other adventurers. As long as they stayed with the wagons, things would be safe on that front.

I also wanted to make sure we repaid Garnet for what we owed him, which was a lot. I didn’t want people thinking we were ungrateful. This spy mission could be part of that payment…but I’d have to find a way to get the information to him without revealing any of my secrets.

Besides, Garnet was mostly interested in Saint Pomera. As long as she joined the defensive team, he probably wouldn’t even notice that I was missing.

“I’m sorry I’m being so evasive about this. Pomera-san, Philia-chan, please be careful. You too, Rosemonde-san.”

“We will. You be careful as well,” said Pomera.

“Hmph… Fine, Philia will go with Pomera.”

I hoped she stopped pouting before the fighting started.

“Huh. Real convenient that you get to run off on some personal business while your friends are going into danger,” said Rosemonde, looking at me with contempt.

I stepped close and lowered my voice so only Pomera could hear. “Obviously be careful of the monsters, but don’t forget to keep an eye out for Alfred. I know he doesn’t stand a chance against you, but he might try something underhanded.”

I had planned to personally give him a beating next time he picked on Pomera. He wouldn’t know what hit him, but I was going to make sure that would be the last time he pulled a stunt like that. Now that we’d be traveling separately, I was a little worried he might attack when she wasn’t looking.

Once, I’d thought he was a high-level adventurer who had earned the right to be a little arrogant. Now I knew he was just a scumbag.

“Yes, I know. I’ll be cautious,” said Pomera with a resolute nod.

I bowed to all of them again and walked away from the front of the Guild. Looking back after I’d gone a ways, I saw Pomera and the others head inside to learn their part in the plan.