Chapter 2: The Cup of Blood

Chapter 2:
The Cup of Blood

 

—1—

 

THE NEXT MORNING, Pomera, Philia, and I went over to the Adventurers’ Guild. Kotone had told me that Garnet would be in the Guild today, and I was itching to get the rest of the ingredients I needed for the Blood Ethers.

Pomera had been quiet most of the morning, but it was clear that she had something on her mind. Finally, she asked, “Kanata…what did you talk about with Kotone?”

“Ehh, it wasn’t really anything important. We just happen to be from the same place, so we got a bit wrapped up in talking about home.”

I hoped she would drop it, but she gave me a suspicious look instead. “A bit wrapped up…? For that long? I was worried sick, you know.”

“S-sorry! Well anyway, it seems she’s not a bad person…” I remembered Kotone excitedly discussing manga magazines. “I think Rosemonde just misjudged her since she’s such a private person.”

“It seems you two became much…closer in the span of just a day. I trust you that she must not seem that suspicious, but remember what Rosemonde said. It might be dangerous to let your guard down too much,” said Pomera with a pout.

To be fair, she had a good reason to be angry—she was left alone and wondering if I’d walked into a trap while I happily socialized all yesterday afternoon.

The problem was that I really couldn’t go into detail about what we’d chatted about, since I’d promised to keep the manga a secret. Pomera could tell I was hiding something, and she must have thought it was some sort of world-changing mystery instead of two people bonding over pop culture. She was irritated with me, and there was little I could do to make her happy.

I figured a sincere apology might smooth things over. “I’m sorry… I should have let you know as soon as I realized Kotone-san wasn’t an enemy.”

“It’s not like I’m mad or anything!” huffed Pomera as she picked up her pace to walk past me. “There’s no reason for me to be mad!”

Philia looked at Pomera’s back as she stalked off. “Pomera’s mad.”

I took Philia’s hand and ran to catch up.

We soon found ourselves reunited at the reception desk in the main guild hall.

“Is Garnet-san here by any chance?” I asked.

“Mr. Garnet? He’s a very busy man. Do you have an appointment?” asked the receptionist.

“Oh, right. We should have scheduled something in advance…”

As both the chairman of the Mithril Wand and the master of the Adventurers’ Guild, Garnet was essentially the beating heart of Manaloch, and he had little free time. At this rate, it would take forever to sell our excess items and buy the stuff we needed. Perhaps I should have asked Kotone to be our go-between.

“Mr. Garnet is particularly busy today. A royal messenger from the capital is arriving soon, and…” said the worker, but at that moment a large-framed man came down the stairs behind the desk like a bolt of lightning.

There was a thunderous sound as he hit the floor at the bottom of the steps and stopped quickly, surprising the surrounding workers. Garnet scanned his surroundings with narrowed eyes and a scowl, but the moment he spotted me, his face broke into a familiar, warm smile and rushed over like nothing was out of the ordinary.

“Ah, if it isn’t Master Kanata and the Holy…” Garnet swallowed the nickname the moment he saw Pomera’s scowl, then continued, “Ahem. And Miss Pomera and Miss Philia.”

Pomera’s expression immediately went back to normal, and Garnet quirked an eyebrow as if making a mental note not to repeat that mistake in the future. His interpersonal skills were scarily good.

“H-hello, Garnet-san…” I said.

But before I could continue, he wheeled back to me and said, “I wanted to let you know that I’ve found a way to get my hands on the large volume of Jade Dragon’s Eyes that you requested.”

“Sir, don’t you have something important coming up…?” asked one of Garnet’s embattled secretaries, only to have Garnet’s palm thrust toward his face, stopping mere inches in front of his nose.

“I am aware of the time, thank you!” he shouted.

Was this really a good time for us to come?! I wondered, amazed at how quickly Garnet’s emotions changed. Then I began backpedaling, “Um, we’d be happy to come back another day—”

“No no no, Kanata,” Garnet said soothingly, “Don’t you worry, this other thing is not at all important.”

I wouldn’t have thought a visit from a royal messenger would be so routine, but Garnet ordered a receptionist to lead us into a small office in the back.

“Garnet’s beard is so funny!” said Philia, reaching up to grab at it as I desperately tried to swat her hands away.

“Ph-Philia-chan, that is really rude!”

But Garnet lowered his head to make it easier for her to reach. “Ho ho! Why Miss Philia, I might just cut it off and give it to you if you like it so much!”

“…Are you sure we should be taking up Garnet’s time?” asked Pomera, looking at me with uncertainty. I didn’t feel right taking him away from his duties either, but hopefully we could keep this meeting short.

“Um, Garnet-san… Actually, there are a few additional things I would like to ask you to get. If possible, would you be able to find these?” I asked.

“A-additional things…you say? I-I see…” he stammered, his smile looking somewhat pained.

“…You really are busy, aren’t you?”

“N-no, no! I can get whatever you like, it will just take time! I will put the entire Mithril Wand on it!” declared Garnet loudly, and I thought he was trying to assure himself as much as me.

But what I needed him to get this time weren’t B-rank items like Jade Dragon’s Eyes. I just had a list of measly C-rank items and below. I quickly passed him a slip of paper, saying “This is an overview of what I need…”

His eyes passed over it, and his expression relaxed.

“Good, good, good…” he murmured to himself. “Even without extra time, I should be able to get my hands on these. Most of them should be available in town. I will put my workers on it,” he said, looking utterly relieved. Then his expression clouded over again. “However…needing Jade Dragon’s Eyes in the volume you’ve requested is unprecedented. And given the combination of these ingredients, the situation seems…ominous, to say the least. Kanata, what is it that you are making?”

“I suppose I should tell you, shouldn’t I?” I said, feeling a bit like a kid caught with his hand in a cookie jar.

“No no, it’s not important! Forget I asked,” said Garnet.

I was shocked for a moment. Was he perceptive enough to know what I was doing already, or did he just value discretion and our working relationship? I paused for a moment, then continued, “A-anyway, I’m a little worried about whether or not we have the money to cover these additional items.”

“Don’t you worry about that, Kanata. The sum of money Miss Pomera received for defeating the demon king was embarrassingly low. A beast of Lily’s level may well have destroyed Manaloch if not for Pomera’s intervention. If that had happened, the royal family would have placed a bounty on Lily’s head in excess of one billion gold.”

“O-one billion?!” I sputtered. I couldn’t believe a level 400 monster could pay out a billion gold. Lily wasn’t even the real demon king! I killed Mother…and now my brain was reeling wondering how much she would have been worth if anyone had known the truth.

“Oh my, yes. As it is, I feel bad enough asking for payment for the Jade Dragon’s Eyes. So please don’t concern yourself about the trifling cost of things on this list,” continued Garnet.

“Was Lily…really that dangerous?” I mumbled to myself, still in shock.

“What was that, Kanata?” asked Garnet.

“N-nothing.”

In any case, I didn’t want to keep forcing more and more work on Garnet because he was being kind. With that in mind, I thought about the sap of the spirit tree. Maybe he would take some of it in trade for the things I asked for, and I wouldn’t feel like such a leech for getting the stuff for free.

Besides paying fair value for the things I needed, I also realized that I didn’t want to be too indebted to Garnet. He was friendly to us…but he was also a shrewd businessman. I had a feeling that owing him too many favors could come back to haunt us.

“Garnet-san, I brought something along that I thought could help cover the cost. Would you mind assessing it?”

“Hmm…? And what might that be?” asked Garnet.

“Sap of the spirit tree,” I said, and Garnet’s eyes grew round.

“What?! So, the stories that Miss Pomera has a contract with a massive spirit are true?”

A variety of emotions fought for control of Pomera’s face. Surprise was winning, but guilt was still a strong contender. Garnet was most likely talking about the stories from when Philia used the Sand of Dreams to create the First Dragon and defeat the ragni we encountered on the road from Arroburg. Then again, he might well be talking about Wolzottl.

“White magic, martial arts, and now spirit magic too. Dear me, Miss Pomera, I must say, your skills are to be envied by all,” said Garnet with a deep bow.

Pomera tried her best to keep her expression blank and muttered out, “Y-yep…thanks.”

“Is sap of the spirit tree really that valuable?” I asked.

Garnet was struggling to get his hands on the Jade Dragon’s Eyes, which were B-rank items. The sap was an A-rank item, which made me think it should be valuable, but my track record wasn’t the best when assigning gold values to items.

“Yes, yes, of course it is,” said Garnet. “Only a select few of the most powerful spirits reside within the world tree, Yggdrasil. You must of course have a contract with one of them and then negotiate a trade in order to receive sap of the spirit tree. It is an incredibly difficult task. Miss Pomera, to be able to receive sap of the spirit tree at your age… You must be blessed by the spirits. In fact, you must be blessed by the entire world.”

As Garnet spoke, Pomera smiled tightly and said, “…Th-thank you very much.”

Meanwhile, an image of Wolzottl lying on his back and asking for belly rubs kept popping in and out of my mind.

“Sap of the spirit tree has naturally powerful restorative properties,” explained Garnet. “In addition, as the science of alchemy has progressed, it has become increasingly valuable and critical to the advancement of alchemical research. Due to the increased demand, the spirit king decreed that sap of the spirit tree shall not be brought easily to other worlds. Even high-level spirits are unable to bring it out as easily as they did in the past. I would be more than happy to purchase some from you.”

Well, that question was answered. I pulled a satchel from my magic bag.

Inside was a portion of the sap of the spirit tree that Wolzottl had brought to me. Using some empty milk bottles I bought at the market, I’d transferred about three-quarters of a gallon of the sap into the glass containers for easy carrying.

“…And what’s this?” asked Garnet, looking confused.

“This, uh, this is it,” I said.

“You mean…?” The wrinkles on his face deepened.

“This is what I was talking about, the sap of the spirit tree.”

“All of it? It’s all sap of the spirit tree?”

“Yes.” I nodded, beginning to worry that I’d been bamboozled by a dog spirit.

Garnet looked sternly between me and the bottles, then tumbled from his chair into a heap on the floor.

“Garnet-san! Pull yourself together!” I cried.

“All the liquid in th-th-those bottles is sap of the spirit tree?! I c-can’t believe it!” shouted Garnet as he pointed to the sap with a shaking finger.

“Calm down!” I shouted back. Sap of the spirit tree was something any spirit magic user worth their salt should be able to get their hands on. I didn’t understand why he was losing it so much when he saw the real thing.

“Kanata,” he said after taking a moment to compose himself. “Long ago, I once met a spirit magic user who was in a contract with a spirit over level 100. Even for that worthy magician, it was a struggle to get enough sap of the spirit tree to fill a single cup. And that volume was worth over eight million gold.”

I looked down at the bottle I held in my hands. This was only a fraction of what I’d received for just scratching Wolzottl’s belly.

Garnet continued, “Are you sure it isn’t diluted with something? I understand that is a rude question, but I find it hard to believe that a spirit delivered that much sap when the Spirit King has ordered that it be protected. Miss Pomera…what in the world have you made a contract with?” asked Garnet fearfully.

Lily was only around level 400, and she was considered a threat to the entire country. Wolzottl was over level 2,000—and yet when I thought of the massive dog, all I could envision was vivid blue fur and two wagging tails. Had I gotten us in over our heads without even knowing it?

“M-may I open it and have a look?” asked Garnet.

“Of course,” I replied. “If you need some time to check it. You can hold on to it for a while.”

“It does appear to be the real thing, however…however!” He took a sniff of the jar. “Kanata, the Mithril Wand cannot purchase such a large amount on my decision alone. But, if it is real, the Mithril Wand would want to purchase as much of it as possible. It’s just, this volume is far more than I had expected.”

“I don’t mind selling at below market price, and I’ll be happy if you only purchase what you need,” I said. The amount Wolzottl brought was more than I needed for now. The best outcome for me would be to sell the jars I brought with me in exchange for all the ingredients I was lacking.

“First thing first, would you be kind enough to allow me to hold off on giving you an answer until we have confirmed its authenticity? In the meantime, I will happily take responsibility for this list of items you need and gather everything for you in exchange,” said Garnet.

“I would appreciate it very much,” I said.

We were interrupted by a knock on the door.

Garnet turned toward the door and shouted, “What?! I’m in the middle of a very important—”

“Sir, Kotone has arrived! If we don’t finish preparations now…”

Garnet looked anxious when he heard Kotone’s name, and I wondered if this is what he’d been so busy with today.

“Garnet-san, I’m sorry to have taken up your time. We can see ourselves out,” I said.

“I hate to rush things, but…” he replied and then offered his well wishes.

I was surprised to hear Kotone’s name though. Was she involved with the royal messenger’s business too?

I doubted this was related to manga.

 

—2—

 

POMERA, PHILIA, AND I left through the guild hall.

“Um, should we have shown Garnet that?” asked Pomera once we were halfway back to our apartments.

“It’s fine. Probably… Well, I’m not entirely certain. But Garnet-san seems like the kind of person who can handle a delicate situation.”

Garnet really was incredible. I was sure that he’d picked up on the fact that I was trying to keep a low profile and was doing his best to accommodate me.

Just then, I saw three people wearing blue metal armor with golden patterns on it—two men and one woman. They looked a bit strange for adventurers, mostly because of the matching outfits.

“Who are those people?” I asked.

“I’ve heard of that blue armor,” said Pomera with tension in her voice. “They’re Royal Knights, the country’s greatest fighting force.”

They were a bit more than the simple messengers I’d imagined. If they were the country’s elite warriors, did that mean their levels would match their reputation? If these were the people charged with keeping the country safe from humanoid dragons and demon kings, then they should be far stronger than run-of-the-mill adventurers.

“But why are they in Manaloch?” I asked.

“Really, why are we acting as delivery people?” sighed a male knight with green bobbed hair, who seemed to be thinking the same thing. “Why have we been assigned such a worthless task?”

The other male knight, a huge man with a missing eye who was probably around forty years old, replied, “It’s just a precaution. His Majesty is the worrying type, and we follow our orders no matter how worthless we think they are.”

“I heard that Manaloch was the most developed city after the capital, but is this really all there is to it?” huffed the female knight with violet hair. “Half the reason I came on this mission was to sightsee, but this is a waste of time.”

The country’s greatest fighting force or not, they seemed pretty stuck-up to me.

“It’s probably best if we don’t get involved with them,” I said quietly, and Pomera nodded.

Unfortunately, someone near us had other ideas.

“Watch your mouth!” shouted a man in flamboyant red robes as he moved closer to the trio. “Nobody talks bad about our city, and I don’t care if you are Royal Knights! I don’t see what’s so great about you anyway!”

The people of Manaloch loved their hometown and could be arrogant and cold to outsiders. There were only a few cities this large in the country—and they were proud of that.

The one-eyed knight shrugged in annoyance, but the violet-haired woman flashed her canines in a laugh and moved forward.

“So…what adventurer rank are you?” she asked.

“Tsk, I’m C-rank, but what’s that got to do with anything?” asked the red-robed man.

In a flash, the woman stepped forward and kicked the red-robed man in the jaw, knocking him to the ground. Then she stepped on his head where he’d fallen, pressing his face into the sidewalk. Drawing her sword, she held it to his neck.

“In the capital, you’d be nothing more than a D-rank failure. Maybe it’s a good thing you were born in Manaloch,” she said before pulling her sword away and lifting her foot.

The red-robed man crawled away from her with a groan, before standing to run shakily away. The knight cackled as she watched him go.

“You dropped your staff! Moron!” She stomped her foot down, shattering the crystal set in its head.

These really weren’t the kind of people I wanted to get involved with. Anyone willing to draw their weapons on a crowded street to settle some petty dispute was someone I wanted to avoid. Granted, only the female knight had been violent, but her companions certainly hadn’t done anything to stop her.

“Philia hates those people,” said Philia, puffing up her cheeks and starting toward them, but I quickly grabbed her hand.

“Philia-chan, when you don’t like someone, you should just stay away from them,” I said quietly.

“I thought the Adventurers’ Guild was around here somewhere, but I don’t see it. Bennet, you’ve been here before, haven’t you?” said the one-eyed knight, and the knight with the bobbed haircut—Bennetbennet—shrugged.

“That was just a quick mission a long time ago.”

I pulled Philia’s arm to get out of there as quickly as possible, but then Bennet pointed at us.

“Hey, you, lead us to the Adventurers’ Guild.”

I hung my head. We failed to escape.

“I am so terribly sorry, but we have a very urgent matter to take care of,” I said, trying to come up with a quick excuse to get out of there. “If you head in that direction, you should see it right away. It’s the large building with all the adventurers gathered around it…”

“Well, we have an even more urgent matter. We’re acting on behalf of the king himself. On whose orders are in you in such a rush?” asked Bennet as his eyes narrowed in a glare.

“…Let us show you the way,” I said. It seemed like the fastest way to get rid of them would be to give them what they wanted.

“See, I knew you’d get your priorities straight,” said Bennet as he patted my shoulder twice. I forced a smile, while Philia glared at him. “You got a problem, missy? I’ve got to tell you, I can be pretty immature. I don’t think I’d be above putting you in your place.”

Bennet smiled faintly as he brought his face close to Philia’s.

Philia turned red and went to raise her arms. Pomera and I both turned pale and tried to hold her back.

“St-stop, Philia-chan! Please! I’m begging you!” I hissed.

“L-L-Listen to Kanata! I’ll buy you some candy later!” chimed in Pomera.

The Royal Knights might be powerful, but Philia was over level 3,000. If she let loose, there might not be much of Manaloch left.

“Hah, I’ll let you off the hook this once if you do as your big brother says. Now, come on, we don’t have all day,” said Bennet, unaware that he’d just come within a few seconds of certain death.

With a brisk step, we led the three knights toward the Adventurers’ Guild.

“You lot, you’re adventurers, right? What rank?” asked Bennet as we guided the knights.

“Just C-rank,” I replied, and Bennet grinned while shooting a glance at the one-eyed man.

“Hah, people like you can make it to C-rank? No wonder Manaloch is hopeless.”

“…Kanata, can we stop holding Philia back?” whispered Pomera with a frown.

“It’ll be over soon enough,” I whispered back.

The Guild came into view. Bennet looked up and muttered, “Ah, there it is. Right. We’re done with you now.”

He waved us away dismissively, offensive to the very end. But at least we managed to end the encounter without incident.

Just then, a seedy-looking man ran by and crashed into the one-eyed knight. The knight immediately guarded with his sheathed sword and directed the man toward the ground. The man fell backward.

“How dare you? What’s got you in such a rush, hmm?” asked the one-eyed knight as he pressed the man down against the cobblestones. I sighed because it looked like things were going to end in a fight at the very last moment.

Suddenly, a woman who was walking nearby lunged to plunge a knife into the one-eyed knight’s back. It took me a second to realize what was happening as the knight groaned in pain and then turned to bludgeon the woman with his scabbard.

There was a scream, and the townspeople started running away while dozens of armed thugs circled around us.

“Sh-she got me!” roared the one-eyed knight as he fell to his knees. “They distracted me and then stabbed me with a poisoned knife!”

“Hey…hey! Y-you just aren’t listening, are you, Manaloch!” Bennet grimaced as he shouted, but his casual arrogance didn’t sound nearly as confident now.

“It’s fine. At least this makes this mission interesting,” said the violet-haired knight with a bloodthirsty smile as she drew her sword.

“K-Kanata, what’s happening…?” asked Pomera as she scanned the area in confusion.

“Looks like they’re after the knights,” I said. I tried to think back to the warning we received from Rosemonde the day before.

What did she say? …Something about a suspicious group in the city. All armed but none are registered as adventurers. One looked like a bandit on wanted posters. Trying to cause a panic in the city and just looking for the right time to do it.

It seemed the knights were their target. That meant this was a much bigger deal than even Rosemonde had imagined. The suspicious people she’d spotted must have been just a tiny portion of a larger group.

“Summoning Magic Level 8: Flare Dragon!”

Atop the Adventurer’s Guild stood a man with neat red hair—his face was covered in bandages with lifeless eyes peering out—and behind him a dragon with fiery red scales appeared from a magic circle. It was over sixty feet long with whiskers and a mane, making it look more like an Asian dragon than a European one.

“What the?! That’s Dogma the Fire Dragon! He’s got an A-rank warrant on his head!” shouted Bennet as he glared at the man.

“Ha ha ha! Now, my good knights, let’s play!” The man leapt up onto the flare dragon’s head, and the beast flew straight at us, its mouth open as it belched forth a mass of flaming spheres. The balls of fire blew gaps in the cobblestones wherever they landed.

“Gwah!” The one-eyed knight was flung back by the concussive force.

“Urgh! You’re a goner if you take a direct hit! I’ve got to strike the main body as quick as possible!” shouted Bennet as he narrowly dodged a flaming sphere and moved to attack.

I stood in front of Pomera and Philia, swatting away flaming spheres with my bare hands. They weren’t magic, so they weren’t affected by the anti-magic defense effect of Lunaère’s Robe—but they weren’t that powerful, either.

You weren’t going to summon a particularly powerful spirit with only an eighth-level spell. They were probably level 100, max.

“Incredible, Kanata…” said Pomera.

“Pomera-san, let’s support the knights!” I said. I couldn’t stand the three of them, but I wasn’t about to let them face their doom at the hands of some bandits, either. I just hoped this wouldn’t call too much attention to myself.

Two men came at us, one from the front and the other from the rear. It was a good move on their part, but they weren’t high enough level to be fast enough. I karate-chopped them both in the chin, and they collapsed on the street, unconscious.

“Fire Magic Level 7: Fireflies!” cried Pomera.

Orbs of fire appeared in the air around Pomera and crashed to the ground. The blast ripped up more cobblestones and sent nearby attackers flying backward.

“Wh-who the hell are you…?” said the one-eyed knight, staring at us in disbelief from where he lay on the ground.

“Tsk!” The violet-haired knight landed near us. She looked like she’d been hit by the enemies’ blades. Her armor was charred from the flare dragon’s fireballs, and fresh wounds ran across her skin.

They’re not much better than A-rank adventurers…

The violet-haired knight crouched and took a magic bag off the one-eyed knight.

“I’ll take care of this,” she said.

“It’s in your hands now… I think I’m…done for…” he said.

After that, she slipped between the enemies and ran. Whatever was in that bag must have been what the thugs were after.

“H-help! Somebodyyy!” screamed Bennet.

I looked in his direction to see the dragon holding Bennet in its mouth as it dragged him along the ground.

“Hah ha ha! Don’t disappoint me, my dear knights! A-hah! Try and stop me if you can!”

Then the flare dragon was coming at me, straight on.

I saw Bennet’s crying face and realized a magic attack might hit him as well.

I drew the Heroic Sword of Gilgamesh and stepped to one side to slash at the flare dragon as it passed. It split, the slice across its neck burning away from the sword’s magic. The dragon’s head crashed to the ground with a growling roar.

It groaned in pain as its body was surrounded in light and dissolved away. I gathered Bennet in my left arm and swept him to safety before letting him drop to the ground.

“Hah…ha ha…hah,” came a weak laugh from behind me. Dogma lay on the ground, flung off his seat on the flare dragon’s back. His arms and legs were bent in unnatural directions.

“Y-you’re…way too…strong…” he said, then his eyes rolled back in his head, and he lost consciousness.

I didn’t know what was going on, but I knew we had ended this attack.

 

—3—

 

“WHITE MAGIC LEVEL 4: HEAL.” Pomera tended the wounds of the one-eyed knight and Bennet. “Are you…all right?”

Both Bennet and the one-eyed knight had taken some bad hits. Their physical wounds had been healed, but they were still trying to wrap their heads around what had happened.

“Wh-what kind of C-rank adventurer faces off with a high-level spirit and attacks it…” murmured Bennet while looking at Dogma, who was still unconscious.

The one-eyed knight was listless—he was conscious and his life wasn’t in danger, but the poisoned knife must have sapped quite a lot of his energy.

“But I’ll have you know, an enemy as weak as that wouldn’t stand a chance against us if they fought fair and square,” Bennet continued. “We were just taken off guard by a surprise attack, and the battle didn’t go our way. I’ll admit you’ve got a bit of skill yourself, but they were focused on us and that let you get in some cheap shots. That, and we prioritized securing the item over gaining control over the enemy.”

“Huh, right…” said Pomera.

“What’s with that attitude?!”

“You can’t even give a simple thank you?” Pomera stared at Bennet with a look of exasperation.

Bennet looked at the collapsed enemies and clicked his tongue. “Tsk, based on this, I bet info on this mission was leaked a long time ago. Dogma the Fire Dragon is one of the head honchos of the Cup of Blood.”

That must have been the name of the group that tried to take whatever the knights were bringing from the capital.

The fact that the knights were attacked in broad daylight right before they could hand over their package to the Guild meant this group didn’t think much of the elite Royal Knights. If we hadn’t been there, they’d have been wiped out.

“It’s good we managed to fight them off without things getting too bad, though,” said Bennet as if they had been the ones to carry the fight. “Quite a feat to finish off the Fire Dragon Dogma when he was leading a surprise attack. That’s making good luck out of bad. We have to meet up with Noelle as soon as possible.”

I assumed that was the name of the violet-haired knight.

“Kanata…we’re so close to the Guild, but no adventurers came out here as reinforcements,” said Pomera with an uneasy frown. Suddenly, a wall on the second floor of the Guild collapsed and the glass in the front windows shattered. There appeared to be a fight going on inside.

“The attack’s still happening!” shouted Bennet.

Then a scream came from a different direction entirely. It wasn’t just the Guild—the Cup of Blood was attacking all of Manaloch. But if their target was the item the knights were carrying, there was no need to attack the entire city.

Regardless, their execution was perfect—this wasn’t the act of some amateur street gang. Did they have another target besides the item the knights carried?

“I-Impossible… The Cup of Blood is spread out throughout the entire kingdom. But this scale…” mumbled Bennet, struggling to take it all in. “They’ve got to have all their members gathered in Manaloch. If that’s the case, who knows how many villains in the same class as the Fire Dragon Dogma are wandering the streets? Maybe even their leader, Big Arm Bosgin!”

I’d never heard of any of these people, but the Cup of Blood sounded like a pretty dangerous organization. Manaloch was in serious trouble.

“…Pomera-san, let’s split up. You go with Philia-chan, heal the severely wounded and fight off the attackers where you can,” I said.

We could prevent more damage if we spread out. I was worried because we hadn’t started leveling Pomera again yet, but even so, she should still be one of the strongest people in Manaloch.

“A-all right!” she replied with a nod.

Kotone was in the Adventurers’ Guild. I was worried about her too, but she was S-rank and could take care of herself. I needed to patrol other areas.

I was about to run off when Bennet grabbed onto my leg. “W-wait, you C-rank adventurer!”

I reacted too late and stumbled, my momentum dragged Bennet across the ground and sent him rolling.

“Gah! Ah!”

“S-sorry! That wasn’t intentional!” I said. I rushed to his side and helped him up.

“With the way things are going, I’m getting worried about Noelle. She took the magic bag and ran. You have to help us!”

I looked away from him and went to leave. He latched onto my leg again.

“Wait wait wait! C-come on, I’m begging you! And I’m a knight!”

“You three aren’t my responsibility,” I said.

“B-but it’ll be really bad if that criminal organization gets their hands on the item we brought!”

“Really bad…?”

Bennet’s eyes narrowed, he looked serious. “Yeah. I’ll never live it down. My parents will disown me, and I’ll lose my inheritance. Even though I’m the eldest son!”

Is he messing with me?

I turned to leave in disgust, but Bennet wrapped his arms around my waist and wouldn’t let go.

“I-I-I’m sorry! Help me! Please help! The Red Staff of Authority is the kind of thing that could cause horrible damage if used for evil!”

I thought for a moment. It was true that I was somewhat worried about the item, and right now I wanted information more than anything. I didn’t know much about these people who were attacking.

“All right. Let’s go find Noelle. We’ll stick together until we find her,” I said.

“J-just until we meet up with her? What about after that?! Even if we run from Manaloch, Big Arm Bosgin could come chasing after us! Please, reconsider!”

How could this person look down on everyone so much when he’s this much of a coward?

“I’ll make my decision then,” I said.

“G-good compromise! Don’t have much choice, I’ll accept your conditions.”

I sighed, wondering how long I’d have to stick with Bennet. If possible, I wanted to get as much information as I could, then go our separate ways.

“The Red Staff of Authority… It’s the item the royal family ordered us to bring to Manaloch to give it to the Aries’s Hand,” explained Bennet.

He went on to say that the Red Staff of Authority was an item that used to belong to a traveler from another world. The owner was one of the Four Heroes who destroyed the Nightmare Rites, a group of five high-level demon kings that existed over three thousand years ago.

However, the staff’s nature meant you couldn’t use its power unless you formed a contract with the powerful spirit sealed within the staff.

“Aries’s Hand has a skill that lets her ignore an item’s conditions for equipping it. Some of the alchemists at the Royal Institute even think she might be able to draw out more of its power than the traveler from the legends. They decided to bestow this item on the Aries’s Hand as a countermeasure against monster disasters.”

“I see…” That would be why Kotone was called to the Guild. Now things were starting to make sense. In a world where countries could be destroyed by monster disasters, a trump card like Kotone could be more powerful than any army. “But if she’s the only one who can use it, then it’s not that dangerous if the bad guys get their hands on it, right?”

I mean, what would they actually do with the Red Staff of Authority if they got it? On top of that, it wasn’t even certain how well Kotone would be able to use it. True, the knights might lose a potentially powerful weapon, so you could say that was a big problem—but it didn’t seem like it would immediately turn into a crisis.

“What are you saying, you idiotic C-rank adventurer! I’ll be ruined!”

“Bennet-san, maybe you should have stayed behind.”

Bennet was proving to be dead weight, and he didn’t have much information to make it worth my time. I could move much faster on my own.

“Th-that’s not all of it! It’s strange that the Cup of Blood prepared this seriously for their attack!” said Bennet.

“Go on.”

“L-Look, if they can’t use the Red Staff, it’s just an expensive decoration. I mean, it has value, but it’s too weak a motive to bring together all of the Cup of Blood in one place. They’re normally scattered across the entire kingdom. The Cup of Blood are bandits, but they’re not your average thugs. They’ve got multiple members who could rival A-rank adventurers.”

A-rank adventurers did have a fair amount of power in Locklore. People with that kind of strength would never be short of money as long as they didn’t blow it all. They could pick and choose whatever jobs they wanted. Giving that up to be a bandit was a choice that said a lot about the Cup of Blood.

“Particularly their leader, Big Arm Bosgin,” Bennet continued. “There are only a handful of people in the kingdom who are higher level than him. He rivals even an S-rank adventurer. If we knew he was coming, we’d have brought the entire force of Royal Knights. If he’s here, Manaloch’s finished.”

I gulped. I’d been thinking that Pomera shouldn’t have too hard a fight so long as it was against someone along the lines of an A-rank adventurer. Bosgin might be too dangerous for her.

I should have been more cautious. The way things were going, I thought I might end up fighting someone as strong as me, if not stronger.

“A combination of Big Arm Bosgin and the Cup of Blood organization could be considered a humanoid dragon,” said Bennet.

I let out a sigh of relief. If Notts counted as a humanoid dragon, and Bosgin needed his entire crew to be that powerful, then I had nothing to worry about.

“Are you taking this seriously?” asked Bennet, his brow furrowed. “Anyway… I don’t know why Big Arm Bosgin is so focused on the Red Staff of Authority. I doubt the leader of a bandit organization is obsessed with history. Even if he sold it to some rich person in some other country, it’s still nothing more than a decoration. There’s only so much money he could get out of it.”

Considering he’d have to divide that prize with the dozens of underlings he brought with him, it didn’t seem like a very profitable plan.

“So, in other words, you think he found a use for the Red Staff?” I asked.

Bennet shrugged. “It’s not impossible. Besides, that item’s been stored in the treasury for ages. We can’t even anticipate what kind of damage the Red Staff of Authority would cause if used for evil. It could level the entire kingdom.”

There were too many unknowns. Considering the worst-case scenario, we couldn’t take the Red Staff of Authority lightly. Bennet might be a jerk, but I decided we should prioritize getting it back.

On top of that, if Bosgin was aiming to get the Red Staff, we would likely run into him as well. I wanted to take him out as quickly as possible to limit the damage.

“And think of me! If this thing turns into a huge disaster, it won’t just be me who’ll end up ruined! My family will be dragged into it too! Don’t you understand?!” Bennet pleaded, looking desperate.

“I get it…I don’t really care though. Please just stop talking about it,” I said.

“This is serious! My family have been Royal Knights for generations! If I fail, even my father could be chased out of the knights! This is an abnormal situation, but if the worst happens, they’re not going to consider that. We have to protect the Red Staff of Authority, no matter what!”

I wondered if I could find someone else to take Bennet off my hands along the way.

 

—4—

 

WE FOUND OURSELVES engaged with a group of Cup of Blood bandits in an alleyway. Bennet was locked sword-to-sword with one of the bandits.

“Not too bad for a criminal, but that’s all you are!” said Bennet.

They continued to exchange blows until Bennet plunged his sword toward his opponent’s heart. The man couldn’t react fast enough, and Bennet dealt a fatal wound.

“Right, who’s next?” he asked as he turned toward me.

“I’ve already handled it, Bennet-san,” I said, as the other six Cup of Blood warriors collapsed around me.

“Uh… Oh, all right…” Bennet lowered his sword in confusion. “Guess they weren’t that strong, huh.”

“Let’s hurry, Bennet-san. Noelle and the Red Staff might be in danger, right?”

“Right…” Bennet swung his sword, flinging the blood from it, and then slid it back into its sheath. “Kanata, was it? Why are you only a C-rank adventurer? You want me to put a good word in for you with management?”

“No, I just want to take it slow.”

“Uh, sure…” said Bennet, then he frowned and looked at a building. “I just heard Noelle scream on the other side! Let’s go around!”

“Wind Magic Level 3: Fluegel,” I said, and a magic circle surrounded me, lifting me upward. I grabbed Bennet’s shoulders and pushed off from the ground, launching us onto a nearby roof. Bennet stumbled on landing and almost fell over, but I kept him upright.

“Are you okay?” I asked.

“A-a warning would be nice! I’m glad for a shortcut, but I wasn’t ready for that!”

I turned toward the other side of the building to see an open square. In the center was Noelle tied to some wooden planks, her arms stretched so she formed a cross shape.

“N-Noelle!” shouted Bennet. She appeared to be breathing, but no life showed on her face, and her violet hair hung limply. Her wrists and neck were wrapped with thorny vines.

In front of her stood two people—a man and a woman. The man was shirtless and carried a massive axe with a peculiar purple gleam. He wore a black cloth over his head, with cutouts for his eyes.

The woman had black hair and was wrapped entirely in bandages. She was tall—nearly six and a half feet—and wore a simple black dress of the sort a woman might wear to a funeral, along with a wide-brimmed, dark-colored hat.

“That’s Bahar the Executioner and Healis the Thorn Witch! Either one of them would be a match for an A-rank adventurer!” said Bennet, turning pale.

“They’re famous?” I asked.

“They’re ruthless killers. The two of them combined have killed more than a thousand people. I didn’t think they were the kind of villains to associate with an organization, so I’m surprised to see them working with the Cup of Blood. Bahar’s particularly bad, we’ve lost two Royal Knights to him. His axe uses a rare poisonous metal and was originally an artifact belonging to another country. A tiny scratch can be enough to kill you.”

“Ahh, so you know of my Hydra, the Violet Dragon Axe?” said Bahar, looking up at us and laughing from behind his mask. “I had a feeling some other knights would come if I tortured their friend here. I hate being looked down on, so get off the rooftop and come down here and fight me, little one.”

Bahar readied his axe to strike Noelle. Bennet scowled in anger.

“Hey, Kanata, don’t you think it’s perfect? Two against two? You take Healis, I’ll take Bahar. I’ve got a bone to pick with him,” he said.

“I don’t mind, but—”

“Be careful. Healis has had both white and death magic used on her. They say she’s turned into some kind of monster under all those bandages. She’ll probably move in for close combat, since she can take the hits and try to trap you with her thorny vines…but she’s sure to have some other ace up her sleeve. Sorry to make you take care of her, she could be the most dangerous opponent in the Cup of Blood. If things go badly, just keep your distance and hold out. I’ll come help as soon as I can.”

“Thanks for the warning.”

“Hey hey, you make it sound like I’m not all that much of a threat,” bellowed Bahar, tapping his axe on the ground. “Get down here and I’ll show you both the true meaning of hell.”

I stepped forward and leapt down from the roof.

“H-hey, time it with me, idiot! They’ll both come at you now!” Bennet shouted, rushing after me.

“You think I’d waste any effort against a weak opponent?” said Bahar, sneering at Bennet’s words.

I landed. Healis, who had been standing still until now, came at me. The aura she gave off was less like a human’s and more like the ones of the monsters I’d fought in Cocytus. I noticed her fingers were oddly long and her skin below the bandages was a dark crimson shade.

“Earth Magic Level 6: Malice Thorn!” said Healis in a hoarse voice. Countless black thorny vines stretched from her fingers toward me.

“Kanata! Didn’t I say to keep your distance?!” shouted Bennet.

Whatever.

Lunaère’s Robe had complete resistance to any spell of tenth level or lower. The black vines shriveled and died the moment they touched me.

Healis was shaken and stopped.

“Are you a moron or what? Only an idiot kid like you would leave yourself open. Make no mistake boy, this is a fight to the death,” said Bahar as he swung his axe at me from behind.

I grabbed the withered black vines and pulled, swinging myself around. The vines pulled Healis with them, and I used her body to block the incoming axe.

“Gah!” The blade of Bahar’s axe sank into Healis’s back.

“What…?”

I followed with a light kick to the side of Bahar’s head while he struggled to remove his weapon. The force of the kick sent him flying, and he dropped his axe before crashing straight through a stone engraved with the image of a dragon. The rest of the wall collapsed onto him a moment later.

Bennet ran to a stop behind me. He looked at Bahar, then Healis, his face expressionless.

Since Bennet had just said Healis was tough, I was expecting her to get up from that, but I guess she wasn’t that tough. The poison on the Violet Dragon Axe that could kill with just a scratch was in fact working very well.

“Sorry, didn’t mean to steal your kill. It’s not a problem though, is it?” I asked as I turned back to Bennet. He looked back and forth between Bahar and Healis for a while, dumbfounded, then back at me.

He pursed his lips and then stuttered out, “K-Kanata…do you want to be a knight?”

“No, but I appreciate the offer.”

After that, we managed to get Noelle off the planks. Her injuries were extreme, but she would probably live if we could get her to safety. Bennet made Noelle drink a potion that brought her back to consciousness.

“U-urgh…B-Bennet?”

“I’m glad you made it. The enemy’s all over the place, and I came as fast as I could. I was worried sick,” he said.

“Thank you… You saved me.”

“Well… I didn’t actually do that much,” added Bennet in a low voice. “Anyway, where’s the Red Staff?”

“It’s…gone. A man who looked like Bosgin took it along with the magic bag…” said Noelle weakly. Bennet sank to the ground.

“N-no… I-It’s all over… I’m sorry, Father…”

Well, this looked like this was turning into an annoying situation. The leader of the Cup of Blood already had the Red Staff of Authority. He’d achieved his goal and I wouldn’t be surprised if he had already left Manaloch.

Bennet turned to me with a pleading look in his eye. “K-Kanata! Please help me get the Red Staff back! We’re friends now, right? We can chase after Bosgin! If both of us fight, we can probably manage even against an enemy like him!”

“Friends is kind of a stretch…” I said.

“I-I’m sorry for being rude before! But please!”

“I can’t leave Manaloch in the state it’s in right now. Besides, we aren’t even certain we’ll find the staff if we leave Manaloch, and I owe a lot of people here. We’re going to have to go our separate ways now,” I suggested, and Bennet’s shoulders slumped in disappointment.

“Yeah…you’re right. I have to get Noelle somewhere safe, and it seems like members of the Cup of Blood are still in the city.”

But had Bosgin really run? Bennet himself had said there was something strange about this. There were too many unknowns surrounding the Cup of Blood’s attack. Depending on their true motive, Bosgin could still be in Manaloch.