Chapter 2: What Must Be Done

What mattered right now was my determination and also my resolve.

Heading in the direction of the Easton Rock Mountain Range’s summit, where the lich was said to be, I dashed up the mountain and snorted a battle cry.

I had to make sure of one thing. The Adventurers’ Guild had come to the conclusion that their enemy was a lich, but that was wrong. Their real menace was one of the Three Musketeers, Dreibach Steibelt.

When he was a child, this man had been continuously exposed to a spell that turned people into monsters, and he now has the appearance of a dullahan himself. Normal dullahans in the wild utterly despised relinquishing their solitude, so if I found a dullahan on the mountain range now, I could be pretty confident that it was Dreibach Steibelt.

I snorted, long and loud, before stopping myself. “I’m not an orc anymore; I don’t even have the leisure of messing around and making that sound! And what the hell, why are there so many monsters?!”

If the guild defeated one of the Three Musketeers during the fight with the lich, they’d happily spread the news far and wide. Zenelaus would become the city that defeated one of the empire’s heroes, the one known as the Living Dead, while having kept everything under wraps. The reputation of the Freedom Union would soar to unprecedented heights.

However, things wouldn’t go in the favor of the Freedom Union’s plans. Zenelaus would suffer a grave defeat against the power of the musketeer, and a gruesome war between the north and the south would begin.

“You’ve got to be kidding me! Damn that lich bastard, just how many monsters has it turned into puppets?!” I exclaimed.

The Easton Rock Mountain Range was steep. On top of that, the higher I went, the more and more dangerous the zombies became. Eventually, the whole place was flooded with them. No wonder the Adventurers’ Guild had sent out an official notice warning everyone to stay away from the new dungeon.

For me to break past these guys and reach the dungeon... No matter how many helpings of lunch I ate, it wouldn’t be enough to fuel me through to the end!

Voices filled with burning resentment seared themselves into my ears. I just might have nightmares about this.

Even an experienced adventurer would probably want to run with their tail between their legs if they faced a sight like this.

The moment I spotted the floating gray robe in the dark night, the battle kicked up into high gear.

It was the lich. There was a high chance that the dullahan would be near it as well.

“Die! Die! Die!” the lich howled in a distorted voice.

“Do you have any other words in your vocabulary, you lich?!” I yelled.

The lich was definitely looking at me from beneath its robe and it began to glide towards me.

Powerful monsters like high-ranking zombie varieties could float along the ground, almost as if they were declaring that walking was a bother. From beneath the robe the lich was shrouded in, two arms reached out in my direction. It gives me the creeps. It’s just like a ghost.

Defeating a lich wasn’t a simple matter in the least. They were very tricky monsters to deal with. There was one legend about how someone succeeded in purifying one by single-mindedly attacking it for three whole days and nights, finally managing to banish it from this world after all that.

However, liches were seekers of paragon in the world of sorcery. They almost never attacked human establishments. It must have a great resentment against people... No, in this case, it’s probably just obeying the will of the musketeer.

“Why do you attack Zenelaus, lich?!” I exclaimed.

“Die! Die! Die!”

“Ignoring me, huh?! I’m starting to get curious about what’s under that robe of yours!”

It was a popular opinion that liches didn’t have substantial bodies and that an indomitable will was all that drove them. Liches were resurrected mages who had both remarkable talent and lingering attachment in life. The lich I was facing was especially noteworthy. It had been the dungeon master of an S-rank dungeon in a Northern Dustour territory known as the Laboratory. That dungeon had been a headache for the empire for a long time.

It had taken pity on a human baby that had been abandoned in the dungeon. It continuously showered the child with an ability that would eventually transform the human into a monster. Over time, that baby grew up with a tremendous power within him. When that baby grew into a young boy, he had taken off into the outside world, equipped with the knowledge taught to him by a lich.

At the same time, the lich continued to watch over the boy from the shadows, and as the years went by, the abandoned baby eventually became the youngest member of the Three Musketeers.

The lich howled with distorted laughter.

“No way, an ordinary zombie was able to hit me?!” I gasped.

The zombies made by the lich were extremely high-quality. To fully defeat them, I needed to erase all traces of their bodies without fail. I had fired powerful spells in quick succession, each with enough force to destroy all the approaching zombies...and that had backfired on me.

I realized that within the few hundred zombies I had annihilated, there had been one monster enchanted with a strong resistance against magic.

Never in my wildest dreams had I ever imagined there would be a zombie that could withstand my spells. Thus, I had made light of the group attacking me earlier, thinking that none of them could match me in any way.

“Lich,” I said slowly. “That thing you just did isn’t something you can pull off with such a nonchalant air around you.”

That lich had used necromancy to control the zombies. It was a taboo technique that tricked the dead into thinking that they were still alive.

Under normal circumstances, even zombies would recognize that they were dead if their heads were blown off and they would disappear. However, the zombies created by that lich weren’t normal at all. Even when they had lost their body parts and were nothing more than a lone severed hand, they would still lunge my way.

That lich’s curse is so intense that the zombies can’t recognize the boundary between life and death anymore. Like I expected, its power is unparalleled as a necromancer. So this is the infamous dungeon master of the northern dungeon—a lich that has consumed hundreds of high-ranking adventurers.

By nature, liches weren’t supposed to devote their efforts to battle, but I supposed this one had probably had a lot of experience in combat fighting alongside Dreibach.

“You must be kidding me...” I muttered. “I heard that you had only arrived here relatively recently!”

For some reason, even withered trees came alive. Slits appeared on the light-brown bark. Haunting eyes snapped open inside the rifts, and they all looked at me simultaneously.

I even saw more of the lich’s loyal subjects, including monsters known as shadows and the lapis.

It’s far too dangerous for me to continue fighting in their territory.

A lich was born when a mighty mage sought out immortality, and these shadows manifested from standard mages. Even though they were a step down from the lich, their intelligence was still off the charts compared to normal zombies. These resurrected mages were powerful monsters.

The robed, footless monsters smoothly glided in my direction as they floated a little above the ground. It was as though literal shadows were closing in on me. That was why these guys were called shadows.

At this point, it was clear that this entire mountain was the lich’s stronghold.

“This is way past what one person can deal with...” I muttered again.

I used to think that the Living Dead and the lich causing the fall of a country all by themselves was a cock-and-bull story, but who would have thought that they were this powerful?

I might have been a little rash. I can’t believe I snuck into enemy territory, alone, without even an inkling of a plan! Thinking that I might be able to defeat the lich by myself by some chance, I rushed here myself, but...

“Damn it!” I clenched my teeth. “Time to retreat!”

I ran all the way down the mountain range in one sprint.

However, zombies weren’t the only monsters that were trying to close in on me. Other types of monsters were pouring out from the small dungeon located beneath ground level of the Easton Rock Mountain Range. These things then began to fight against their fellow monsters. Among them, I even saw former dungeon monsters which had probably evolved into shadows, as well as lapis which used wind magic.

This place had many monsters that were susceptible to zombification. The lich probably decided to make this place its base because it wanted to expand its army.

“I wonder how much the Adventurers’ Guild would pay me if I sold them some information about the zombies...” I muttered to myself.

In high spirits, I blasted away the looming zombies, but I suddenly felt a chill run down my spine. Somebody was watching me. I stopped in my tracks and looked for the source. I froze when I realized just who it was.

A voice not unlike a gust of wind called out to me. “Who are you?”

No reasonable person would be in this kind of place, the Easton Rock Mountain Range, at this time of night. The thought of hearing somebody’s voice was ridiculous. But someone was definitely there.

The voice paused. “Right now, the Adventurers’ Guild has prohibited anyone from entering this place.”

Oh no, I messed up. I knew I mustn’t let anyone see me come here. Just like the voice said, Zenelaus has issued an order banning adventures from exploring any of the dungeons in the area.

The voice continued. “If you are an adventurer, the commands of the guild are absolute. Surely you must know that.”

The Easton Rock Mountain Range, occupied by the lich, was no exception to that ban. In fact, people even said that just entering this general area would make the guild consider revoking one’s adventurer license.

I wasn’t an adventurer, but if the guild found out that I had acted against their orders, my hands would be tied in Zenelaus.

“It seems that you aren’t an adventurer after all.”

And the person talking to me right now was actually the person I was most curious to speak to.

The overlord of Zenelaus, the Eye of the Crimson Lotus, stared at me square in the eyes. Something about him set him apart from the typical riffraff of adventurers in Zenelaus. He didn’t look like a person whose occupation was to fight. He seemed to be a gentle guy who would be at home working as a valet or something similar.

His voice was steady. “If you are a spy from the empire, your life ends right here.”

“Wait, no! I know it’s going to be hard for you to believe me, but I’m really not anyone suspicious!” I exclaimed.

However, the air around the man starkly contrasted his appearance. His face looked kind, as if he couldn’t even bear to squash a bug, but this guy could definitely harden his heart whenever needed.

He was the guild master, a man whose background was full of mystery. He had a cursed eye which was said to have destroyed his own homeland and wore an eye patch over it. His strength was so overwhelming that it was rumored that monsters ran with their tails between their legs the moment this man entered a dungeon.

But hey, hold up a minute! Why is he so hostile towards me?!

The next moment, his weapon, Sylpheed, also known as the Seed of a Hero, bloomed abruptly from the ring he wore. The metal around his finger transformed, and the famed battle-ax made its magnificent entrance.

“Hey! Please put away the menacing stuff! I’m Slowe Denning. I came from Daryth to seek out the truth of the situation in Zenelaus!” I yelled.

“From Daryth? And Denning, you say? I can’t believe this! You’re trying to say that you’re from the Country of Knights, and from House Denning, of all places? Surely you could have come up with a better lie. Compared to the empire’s spy I caught a while ago, you are very lacking.”

I-I’m not! I wailed inwardly. He even thinks I’m from the empire?! I-Is there anything that can prove my identity?! Something that would immediately show that I’m not his enemy!

Ah, that’s right! I managed to get past all the borders with just this.

In the darkness, I threw my wand at him as it was etched with the Denning crest. It seemed that even the mighty Eye of the Crimson Lotus was taken aback. I get it, considering that a wand is the lifeline of mages. But by doing this, it should show that I have no intention of resisting!

He was quiet for a moment. “Where did you get a hold of this? I haven’t heard of the death of any Dennings recently.”

His face was filled with doubt. So he’s trying to say that he can’t trust me completely. Not yet, at least. I clicked my tongue inwardly. How paranoid can this guy be?!

“I’ve met you before,” I said. “You saved a Daryth noble once as an adventurer, didn’t you? You were invited to a dinner party held by House Denning, and—”

“...Where?”

“In the Holly Olive Chamber of the royal castle in Daryth City! Our queen really took a liking to you, and you were given an offer to become a Royal Knight! But you turned it down, and the Guardian Knight tried to cut you down. I should be the only one who knows this.”

There was a long stretch of silence after my speech.

The man finally spoke up. “Why is a member of House Denning here in Zenelaus? And not just any Denning, but the Dragon Slayer, Slowe Denning.”

“I can tell you why. You’ve been spreading lies. What’s all this about a new dungeon spawning? A lich attacking this city? True, the lich is making all these zombies, but the real mastermind behind all this is a human.”

The air around the man turned sharp. “Tell me everything you know.”

“That depends on your next move, Eye of the Crimson Lotus. At least, that’s what I’d like to say, but I’ll tell you one thing. To be more precise, that human in charge is an assassin from the Dustour Empire. All of this is caused by the power of one of the Three Musketeers, Dreibach Steibelt, isn’t it?”

And then I realized that behind the man was a tall pile of corpses.

The mood, which had temporarily eased, tensed up once more. The Eye of the Crimson Lotus seemed as if he was hiding something abominable behind that smile of his.

“You’ve got me there. I thought nobody else knew about that. So, what do you want? If you intend to make this information public, then...”

“Don’t worry about it. I’m not going to.”

“In that case, why—”

I cut him off. “I’ve answered your question, so it’s my turn now. You’ve known the identity of the lich, as well as who the true enemy is, for quite a long while now, haven’t you?”

“Recently, I accosted an imperial spy who had posed as an adventurer. That’s how I found out that their first target was Zenelaus. It’s now my turn to ask a question. What tipped you off?”

“You’ve been spreading misleading information all over the place and have been lying about Zenelaus. Anyone with a sharp intuition would realize that something weird was happening here.”

The man hesitated. “You need a lot more than a sharp intuition to come to that conclusion from that. It’s downright frightening. That being said, this is rather awkward. I wanted to settle everything before someone like you dug up the truth, but, well... How did you realize that the enemy was a musketeer, though?”

“I had somewhat of a scuffle with a member of the empire in Huzak. I heard it from that guy. More importantly, Eye of the Crimson Lotus, did you decide to do this all on your own? Did you turn Zenelaus into a battle zone without consulting anyone and decide to try to fight the strongest military asset of Dustour all on your own?”

“So you were the person who drove that man back. I see now. Too many of our adventurers had died at his hands... But to answer your question, how could I have done all of this by myself? The top echelon of the Freedom Union are my partners in crime. They’re in charge of funding the battle and regulating the flow of information. However, for people inside Zenelaus, let’s just say that only very few know the truth. Of course, that is if you don’t spread it, Slowe Denning.”

“I won’t say anything,” I declared. “More importantly, Eye of the Crimson Lotus, why are you all alone in this—”

The hero of the adventurers shook his head, and the battle-ax slowly returned to its ring form. I remember hearing that this was a sign showing that he had lost his animosity.

“The lich, who constantly cursed the musketeer, is currently building up an army of monsters. There’ll be a war, and many adventurers will die. I am their guild master, so I’m the man who will be sending them to their deaths. I am duty bound to help them fight with as much of an advantage on their side as possible, so I’ve been investigating the lich’s army.”

This guy hadn’t brought any subordinates with him, and he had come into the wilderness by himself.

There was a bulky book at his waist. The man opened it and flipped through its pages, showing off its contents to me. There was an abundance of information inside of it.

I was speechless. This is absurd. You must be kidding me. How long did it take him to learn all of this?!

“Do you think I am a fool?” he asked, and he smiled.

I looked at the Eye of the Crimson Lotus and felt my face stiffen.

Yeah, I knew you were that kind of guy. In the anime, this man would forgo sleep in order to research the followers of the lich because he was the guild master of Zenelaus. He probably wanted to learn as much as he could to make things easier for the adventurers he was dispatching to the hellish battlefield.

The Eye of the Crimson Lotus is trying to defeat the musketeer with only Zenelaus’s power. He’s an S-class adventurer, so he’s probably quite confident...but he’s going to lose.

In that case, should I tell him to wake up and look at reality?

I can’t. His resolve is admirably unbreakable. He’s like a captain prepared to do his best and go down with the ship if need be. I couldn’t possibly ever say something like that to him.

“I think you’re a fool, yeah. You took everything upon yourself... You probably haven’t been sleeping properly either, have you?”

“I started this fight. I knew what I was getting into.”

Despite his youth, this man had climbed to the top of the Adventurers’ Guild. He probably had the weight of the world on his shoulders. He had probably even completed a few tasks just as outrageous as this one in the past.

“Eye of the Crimson Lotus... What is your goal? Why are you trying to fight the musketeer? And why are you hiding all this information?”

The man’s tone was light. “It’s simple, really.”

He seemed like a kind, honest man who wasn’t two-faced. My impression was probably right on the mark.

In one of Dreibach’s flashback scenes in the anime, the musketeer had regarded this guild master as the strongest person he had faced. Unfortunately, the screen time had mostly been reserved for Shuya’s fights with everyday zombies, so I never got to know just how the Eye of the Crimson Lotus had fought and suffered defeat.

What I did know was that in that flashback, Dreibach had even thought that if the guild master had just a little more stamina left in him, the musketeer would have been the one to fall instead.

The man before me continued. “I’ll stop this war. Stopping even one of the musketeers in their tracks would be enough to halt it completely.”

I inhaled sharply.

“If it gets out that a musketeer is hiding in the south right now, there will be no turning back. Daryth, the alliance leader of the Great Southern Alliance, would lead the charge against them, and things would immediately spiral down into an all-out war. It would be unsalvageable by that point.”

“Yeah, probably,” I said at length.

“That is all the more reason why I would end things here in Zenelaus. I must not let anyone else learn the truth.”

I was at a loss for words. His thoughts completely mirrored mine, word for word.

At the same time, I realized that even if this man were to defeat the musketeer, he had no plans of making that fact public.

He’s taking everything onto his own shoulders, and he’s basically declaring that he doesn’t need riches or glory, huh...

“That aside, Slowe Denning,” he addressed me, “may I ask what you witnessed in the area above here, where you came from?”

“I saw that the true form of Dreibach Steibelt is a dullahan. You can recognize him with a single glance. That thing is on a whole other level. He even seems like an alien life-form.”

The man seemed to mull over my words. “May I ask how you knew what I wanted to ask?”

“You want information on the monsters, right? Someone of my skill would be of help, in that case.”

I was a little mystified at my own words. They were showing faith in a man whom I had never talked with until a few moments ago. To think that somebody is actually working from the shadows to prevent the war, other than me! And in this current time period, before it’s even starting!

His eyes widened. “Slowe Denning, what in the world are you...?”

“I’m saying that we should cooperate. You can just make use of my power to aid the defeat of the musketeer.”

“Are you out of your mind?”

I knew many things because of the anime, and one of those things was the fact that this guy was planning on sacrificing himself.

This man understood everything that was waiting in his future, and yet he was still trying to handle it all by himself.

If he had said that this was the work of a musketeer, everyday adventurers would probably run for the hills. The Three Musketeers were the superhumans of the north, who didn’t know the meaning of the word “defeat.” And it just had to be the most vicious one we had to face...Dreibach Steibelt, the Living Dead.

The Eye of the Crimson Lotus had planned on fighting alone against the assassin sent in by Nanatrij. If his fate followed the anime storyline, then...he would become the man who shouldered the weight of the world. The man who challenged the musketeer to a battle and lost.

“I take pride in my ability to judge character,” I said evenly. “However, if you know the rumors about me and think that I’m not worthy of your trust, that’s fine as well.”

“...Why are you doing all this?”

“Isn’t it obvious? It’s because we think the same way on this matter.”

The guild master was preparing for battle so he could prevent the oncoming war. If that was the case, then there was no way I wouldn’t help.

To be frank, it was probably going to be tough to gain this solitary hero’s complete trust. However, it should be possible for me to support him from the shadows.

I wasn’t an adventurer, so if I collaborated with him openly, it would earn me the scorn of the adventurers in Zenelaus. After all, the Eye of the Crimson Lotus had gathered the adventurers to try and defeat the musketeer.

“I came to this city to nip the war in the bud,” I said. “If we stop the musketeer, Dustour will be forced to change its plans of uniting the continent. They’re relying on the Three Musketeers’ power, after all.”

There was also the fact that in the original timeline, Shuya had gone on a rampage after he saw the fall of the Eye of the Crimson Lotus and the Archflare.

This was an important decision that would become a turning point. It was vital to stack the odds in Zenelaus’s favor.

“Our opponent is a musketeer. Do you believe that Zenelaus has a fighting chance?” Even now, the guild master’s voice had a hint of doubt as he asked me for my opinion.

“I don’t. At this rate, the city that you’ve built up will crumble into nothing, for sure. It’s not particularly farfetched to think that, really, since the most powerful person in Zenelaus is planning on facing the enemy while he’s dog-tired.”

“Then why do you want to help?”

“If I cooperate, things will change. I’ll investigate the monsters under the lich’s command in your place. Then, you can put all your efforts into taking down Dreibach Steibelt.”

In the anime, he had tried to prevent as many adventurer casualties as he could. He spent countless sleepless nights gathering information. That was why he hadn’t been able to fight the musketeer in a rested state or with impeccable preparation.

That hadn’t been all. Even though the guild master had known that the musketeer transformed into a monster during fights, he hadn’t been sure which monster was Dreibach and had wasted some of his strength meaninglessly on the wrong ones.

Just as I thought that, the Eye of the Crimson Lotus waved his hand. One shadow, which had approached me from behind, crumbled into a heap. He had been aiming for it the whole time, I see. I didn’t even notice.

The battle-ax, which had materialized again in the blink of an eye, slowly returned to the ring once more.

“I thought that it would be a pipe dream to fight the Living Dead in peak condition. However, it seems that your power is in a similar league to mine, Slowe Denning.”

“Are you going to trust me?”

“I may not look like much, but I have climbed to the top of the Freedom Union. It’s a country full of sly foxes posing as merchants.”

The chief of the Adventurers’ Guild of the south, who governed tens of thousands of adventurers, extended his hand to me.

He has quite a lot of confidence in himself, doesn’t he? I thought wryly. People even say that he’s the greatest genius ever since the Adventurers’ Guild was established. He’s the real deal.

“I’m placing all my bets on your victory, Eye of the Crimson Lotus. I will do everything I can to help.”

“Slowe Denning.” He nodded. “I want you to investigate the entirety of the Easton Rock Mountain Range in my stead.”

“Investigating monsters? Leave it to me.”

With that, I succeeded in securing an alliance with one of the S-class adventurers.

“My comrade was bitten by a zombie! Does anyone have any holy water?!”

“A novice adventurer, aye? The guild has free holy water! The second guild branch is the closest one to here!”

The adventurers in Zenelaus were oblivious to everything. These zombies crowding around the city... What in the world were they aiming for? They had no idea.

Not even I knew why the musketeer was attacking Zenelaus. It was different from Dustour’s usual strategy. However, I knew one thing for sure: the real enemy wasn’t that lich.

That aside, it looks like the Eye of the Crimson Lotus’s scheme is a huge success. By throwing cash at participants of city defense, he’s making them stay here.

Now that they were banned from entering any of the dungeons in the wilderness, it wouldn’t be strange for many adventurers to leave Zenelaus, but I heard that those cases were few and far between.

A youth wailed somewhere nearby. “Big brother, look at that person. He ordered a crazy amount of food, but he hasn’t touched it at all.”

“Don’t even look. It’ll just make you hungrier.”

“We became adventurers, but we barely earn anything!” The younger boy pouted. “Zombies are scary, and we can’t even participate in the beginner dungeon training right now. We’re only going to get poorer by the day.”

“We can’t do anything about it!” the elder brother exclaimed. “On top of that, just going back to Galland City, the closest city from here, costs a fortune! Since zombies are wandering around, we need guards or something.”

The younger boy whined. “But you were the one who said that we could eat good food if we became adventurers, big brother! We haven’t eaten for a whole day!”

Some adventurers came to Zenelaus with nothing but big dreams. However, the current situation was a travesty for people like those two, who were real fledglings in every sense of the word.

Right now, many dungeons were sealed off, and requirements for entry were very strict. At the same time, city defense was too dangerous for adventurers fresh out of the oven, so they were useless.

Fighting zombies as a fledgling... It’s probably a bit difficult. I mean, there isn’t anyone soft enough to save an adventurer who isn’t in their party, so... The guild will provide money to adventurers who can’t even reach the novice adventurer stage, but accepting that cash also means being deemed a failure.

“Please, have this if you’d like.” I offered my food to the pair.

“Huh?! R-Really?!” the elder brother gasped.

“To tell you the truth, I have no appetite... Feel free to have as much as you like,” I said.

“Th-Thank you so much!” the elder brother stammered.

The younger boy looked at his brother. “B-Big brother, is it really okay for us to eat it all?”

The title of adventurer didn’t guarantee that one could stand on their own. A significant number of them would end up dying in a novice dungeon after a stroke of bad luck, and there were also plenty of others who gave up because they realized they couldn’t fight against monsters.

Coming to Zenelaus wasn’t the starting point of an adventurer’s career. The real start was when an adventurer saw the dark entrance of a dungeon in person, and when they had to make the decision whether to enter or not.

“Yeah.” I nodded. “I’ll give you some money too, so treat your little brother to lots of tasty food, won’t you?”

The elder brother was moved. “Thank you so much!”

“No problem. I haven’t been hungry lately, and it’d be a waste not to eat all this. Honestly, it would be a great help if you’d eat this in my stead.”

In exchange for helping the guild master, I had received a great sum of money. With that much, one could probably live a few months in this city without any issues.

The cost of living was high in Zenelaus. Money that would last a few months here was enough to pay for half a year in other cities. It would probably cover those siblings’ living expenses for the meantime.

Huh. Now that I think about it, adventurers who actually earn a lot are the exception to the rule. They might feel like enlightened people, or they’re full of confidence, or there’s something else that sets them apart. Take the example of the Archflare, who leads Zylush and invited Shuya to his party. Apparently, he started off hacking orcs apart from the very beginning.

“I suppose I’ll go back and sleep now,” I muttered to myself.

Now that I knew how determined the Eye of the Crimson Lotus was, I couldn’t bring myself to indulge in a carefree meal.

A few days had passed since I took on the quest from the guild master. For the past few days, my days and nights were completely reversed. Every night, I struck out to gather information inside the wilds, and I worked as a guard for a guild staff member who was apparently a professional in this field. I was filling in for what the guild master had done in the anime.

“This magical sword can cut through the darkness. It’s now on sale! First come, first served!”

“Is there anyone who wants to form an adventurer party with me? I’ve got a secret hideout in Zenelaus!”

“For a limited time, we’re offering escort services to Galland for dirt cheap! Half the price of the Armed Convoy!”

But this change in my lifestyle wasn’t an important matter. I knew the real thing I should be focusing on was something else. A certain someone called Shuya.

On the day we arrived in Zenelaus, Shuya hadn’t returned to the inn that night. Apparently, there were stations scattered around the entirety of Zenelaus’s perimeter, and their accommodation facilities were very extensive. Shuya had probably stayed in one of those.

If this had only happened once, I could let it slide as a once-in-a-while occurrence, but lately he had been away day after day.

It seemed that Alicia and Charlotte had been trying to persuade Shuya to evacuate with them, and these discussions had lasted well into the night. He probably got miffed.

But for now, I’ll leave the job of talking some sense into him to Alicia and Charlotte. I don’t think that guy would ever listen to what I have to say.

“Oh boy, this inn is as run-down as always,” I mumbled to myself as I opened the door, which croaked out a miserable creak as it moved.

Indeed, nobody would probably ever imagine that the princess of Cirquista, a major power, was staying in this kind of place.

I stared for a while before speaking up. “So, what are you two doing?”

I had been looking through the hole that connected our rooms. I watched as Alicia sat on an uncomfortable-looking chair as she faced the desk and Charlotte leaned in to look at what she was working on. They were mumbling and seemingly giving opinions to each other. It looked as if they were having lots of fun.

“Writing a letter. I’m writing to my parents, saying that I’m going to return soon, so they shouldn’t worry about me,” Alicia answered.

“You still haven’t written one?” I asked, appalled.

“Oh, shut up. I didn’t know what to write!”

“If you send that letter from this city,” I said slowly, “they’re going to trace it back to here.”

“I know that. That’s why I’m going to go to an evacuating merchant tomorrow and ask them to send it from somewhere else.”

Alicia rushed out of Kirsch without their permission and came to Zenelaus, right? You can’t just laugh it off as her being too impulsive or having a rebellious spirit. To be frank, she’s nuts! What kind of princess would trudge into a danger zone on purpose?! If I said this, she’d boil over with anger, so I won’t. But my point still stands!

“Um, Lady Alicia...” Charlotte hesitated. “Saying that you ‘went on a trip with a friend’ might not be the best idea, in my opinion...”

“Why is that?” Alicia quirked an eyebrow.

“People would definitely ask about this friend of yours. If that happens, Lady Alicia, do you think you would be able to tell them the truth? That you were with Mister Newkern?”

Alicia crossed her arms and mulled it over for a while. “No, I can’t.” She sighed. “This one goes into the bin too.”

“Then, how about this? You came to play around in the casino of the Freedom Union! If you wrote that, they might think that it fits your personality and they’ll buy your story!”

Alicia went quiet for a while. “What do you mean by that? ...But you’re right; that’s a good plan. You’re amazing, Miss Charlotte. It’s a lie through and through though. Is that really okay?”

“That kind of a lie is fine. Back when I had to report Master Slowe’s daily life in Kirsch to the members of House Denning... That was a wild ride.”

Charlotte mumbled something I couldn’t hear into Alicia’s ear, and the two seemed to be getting heated up.

That reminds me... Back then, Charlotte used to make detailed reports about me to House Denning, didn’t she?

“So what have you been up to lately?” Alicia addressed me finally. “You’ve constantly been coming back early in the morning. You also look tired all the time.”

I hesitated. “Well, the Eye of the Crimson Lotus kind of asked me to do something, so...”

Charlotte shouted in surprise. “Huuuh?! M-Master Slowe! What is he like?!”

“He was one of the nicest people you could ever meet... I also got to know what’s going on in his head. I can’t tell you much about the details, but...” I paused. “I’ve decided to cooperate with him.”

That man had predicted what would happen in the future. Somewhere in his heart, he probably knew that if the war really happened, he couldn’t win against the Dustour Empire. However, considering the delicate situation, he knew he couldn’t make this knowledge public either. Thus, he had chosen to carry it all on his own shoulders and fight on his own, believing that he had a chance if he only faced one of the musketeers.

“How are things on your end with Shuya? Do you think you’ll be able to persuade him?” I asked.

Oh. Bad question. The lively atmosphere in the room plummeted immediately. With a thick veil of gloom over her, Alicia slammed her head onto the table with a bang. It looks like she’s really at the end of her rope...

“Are you okay, Alicia?” I asked carefully.

“It’s no good. It’s completely hopeless. That guy’s completely brain-dead!”

“Ah, I’m not surprised...”

I guess I expected this to happen. In the anime, Shuya had participated in the showdown with the lich in the end.

“I swear, this time, I’m completely fed up with him! I knew that he was missing a few brain cells, but I didn’t know he was missing this many! But those so-called Zylush adventurers share the blame. They think it’s so funny, and they say whatever it takes to rile him up. No matter what they say, there’s no way he has the talent needed to be an adventurer... I hear that their leader is some big-name guy, but what in the world was he thinking when he dragged Shuya of all people into his party?”

I hesitated. “Who knows? He probably saw some of himself in Shuya. Alicia, don’t blame yourself too much.”

“I know... But surely even someone who’s that stupid would calm down at the eleventh hour, just before the final showdown.”

“I hope that’s the case...” I muttered.

Unfortunately, Alicia’s hopes wouldn’t come true. Shuya would participate in the battle against the lich, together with Zylush. And then, Zenelaus would fall.

There were plenty of adventurers in this city, and one of them was even the famed S-class adventurer I had made a deal with earlier. Everyone probably thought that the idea of defeat was silly against a lich.

But I knew that they were wrong. They were going to lose. The people Shuya respected would die one after another, and Shuya... Shuya would go berserk.

And then, the Great Spirit of Fire, Eldred, would steal Shuya’s body from him.

Right now, I was living my life like a nocturnal creature.

“I’m exhausted again today... The guild staff sure are knowledgeable about monsters though. I shouldn’t have expected anything less.”

While the sun traveled across the sky, adventurers would be protecting the city while zombies were out and about. After the sun hid below the horizon, adventurers would return to the city after the zombies retreated as well, and I would go out into the wilderness with a guild staff member.

I could have totally gone during the day, but the zombies were more sluggish at night. On top of that, going to the mountain range during the day meant that there would also be monsters from other dungeons trying to pick a fight with me.

“I’m not hungry today either...” I muttered dejectedly.

The Eye of the Crimson Lotus continuously showered me in money, but I had no use for it. I had told Alicia and Charlotte that my job wasn’t too dangerous. However, if I showed them this sum of money, they’d probably go ballistic with panic.

Vibrant laughter from somewhere nearby caught my attention. “This voice is...”

I recognized this voice. I spotted a long-haired, haughty-looking man who was in very high spirits. He was part of Zylush, the adventurer party led by the Archflare.

If someone ranked the adventurer parties present in Zenelaus right now, Zylush would be powerful enough to make it into the top ten.

Those guys refused to receive rewards because Zenelaus had molded them into adventurers who could stand on their own two feet, and they were working diligently to protect the city. I admired them greatly for that.

Or at least I would have if Shuya hadn’t been one of them.

“Mister Zodd!” Shuya shouted excitedly. “I fought better than yesterday, didn’t I?!”

“Shuya, you’re surprisingly good at seeing the big picture on the battlefield. You surprised me back there. You’re good enough to match up with me when I had just started out. You have promise,” Zodd praised the young man.

“Oh, don’t listen to that guy!” Nalita said with a note of exasperation. “You’re way more composed than Zodd used to be! You were calm even when surrounded by those elder zombies, despite you saying that you’ve almost never explored dungeons! I think I’m starting to see why our leader invited you!”

Shuya’s face lit up. “Am I that good, Miss Nalita?!”

“You sure are! You know, you should really settle down here. There’s no need to go back to Daryth. You have siblings back in your family lands, right? You can just leave the family stuff to them! Being an adventurer really suits you, Shuya!”

...Instinctively, I hid myself in an alley.

That brat! How dare he be so carefree! Doesn’t he know how worried we are?!

The people with him are probably with Zylush. Zodd and Nalita, I see. They probably just returned together from the city defense quest.

“Are you sure you’re not going to evacuate though?” Nalita asked. “They’re recommending that adventurers of your class leave the city...”

“I’m all right! There is no way I could run away all by myself!”

Zodd did a wolf whistle. “Good speech, Shuya! Now that’s what I call a man!”

That bastard. Run away, he says?! Alicia has been paying for his room this whole time. Does he even know how she feels? Shuya was completely oblivious as he talked to the others, and I felt an irrational anger well up as I watched him do it.

That was why I came out of the alley and stood in their way.

“Hey, Shuya,” I hissed. “You look like you’re having the time of your life, don’t you?”

“Denning...” Shuya narrowed his eyes. “What do you want?”

“What’s this? You little, glaring... Are you trying to pick a fight?” Zodd frowned. “Watch who you’re talking to, chap. Hm, wait. I’ve seen you somewhere before... Oh right. I met you a little while ago.”

“Shuya. Haven’t Alicia and Charlotte been telling you to leave this place?” I snapped.

“It has nothing to do with you, Denning.” Shuya turned away from me. “Come on, we should get going.”

“You sure, Shuya?” Zodd glared hard at me. “That guy was totally asking for a fight.”

Very few people were willing to provoke an adventurer on the cusp of an A-class rank. Nevertheless, I ignored Zodd and continued to address Shuya. However, that guy tried to pass by me by walking around, and thus—

“Are you trying to run away from me?”

Shuya stilled with an enraged gasp.

I continued. “So you really are having the time of your life, Shuya, playing make-believe adventurer.”

“Denning,” he hissed, “what did you just say?”

I purposely spoke in a way that would get on his nerves and provoke him. My choice of words would show that my hostility didn’t stop at Shuya; it would rope in the other adventurers as well. However, I couldn’t just stop there.

Zodd’s face visibly soured. This guy’s anger switch is way too easy to flip! I thought to myself, appalled.

“I said, do you feel less sorry for yourself by playing make-believe adventurer?”

“Denning, right now, I am putting my life on the line to protect this city. The monsters summoned by the lich aren’t the only ones out there. Monsters are even coming out from other dungeons. I am going to fight to my last breath to protect Zenelaus.”

“You’re a noble,” I reminded him. “The people you ought to protect are Daryth’s citizens. Am I wrong?”

Shuya took a while before he could answer. “Well then, what have you been doing? This is a city of adventurers. You’re not one, so get out!”

Excuse you! For the past few days, I’ve been working with the Eye of the Crimson Lotus, gathering information for the guild and living a nocturnal lifestyle!

“Listen here, Denning. I’m strong now. I’m different from someone like you. You were born with a silver spoon in your mouth and with natural talent in magic, fated to sprint along the fast track of the career path of elites,” he hissed.

“Oh really? So you just thought that I was an elite noble who was privileged from birth. I see how it is. In that case, this ‘great elite’ will enlighten you some. Shuya, you think you’re strong? How? You gained a shady power and you’re letting it get into your head. What can you do against the lich’s army? I bet your sorry behind just stands by and lets those two protect you the whole time, like every other day.”

“What did you just say, Denning?!”

“I’m saying that you’re a pathetic guy who can only watch as others protect you. Just like back then.”

Shuya gritted his teeth. “How dare you!”

The redhead looked openly aggravated by my words. He slid on his glove, and its embedded crystal flashed briefly with a gleam of light.

Shuya Newkern’s power was experiencing exponential growth as he borrowed Eldred’s might. Perhaps Eldred was talking to him, even at this very moment. I was a smidgen interested in what that seasoned, extraordinary being had to say about me.

“I’m not lacking in skill...”

“You are. Even at Kirsch, you didn’t stand out much.”

“Shut up...”

“And more importantly, what’s with this spell you’re casting? The gap between us is like heaven and earth, but you’re actually thinking of fighting me?” I sneered.

Responding to Shuya’s will, a sea of fire orbs had manifested and were floating nearby. If he could fully control all of them at his will, yeah, I guess I could say he had indeed gotten stronger.

However, not all of it was Shuya’s own merit. It was definitely a show of Eldred’s power.

“You’ve never failed to rub me the wrong way, Denning. I’ve always thought that.”

“Well, what a coincidence, because I feel the same about you. So, Shuya, you want to fight me?”

“I’ve changed, Denning.”

“You have. You didn’t have that tacky glove before, right? Actually, I’ve been thinking that for a while now. You’re a pretty tacky guy.”

Shuya’s head snapped up at me in anger.

How well would this guy fare against the lich I met in the wilds? This guy, who I know couldn’t even put up a fight against Rooney in Huzak!

His newfound strength is nothing but an illusion.

That’s why I will crush him right now, so he won’t stand back up.

“Denning!” Shuya hollered and took one step forward.

At that precise moment, his spell activated. The floating fireballs swooped down on me. There’s one, two, three, four...they’re only multiplying. It’s Shuya’s signature spell.

However, they all snuffed out before they reached me.

There was a commotion. A circle of onlookers was already around us. Scuffles like this were an everyday occurrence in Zenelaus and brawls between adventurers were a common source of entertainment.

Shuya looked dumbfounded. “Wha—”

“What’s with that look?” I scoffed. “You’re wondering why your spells disappeared. It’s written all over your face. Let’s see... If an amateur like you swears to evacuate from here, I don’t mind telling you why that happened.”

A bigger inferno flickered into existence above us. It looked very impressive, and the peanut gallery of gawkers began cheering.

It wasn’t just some nobody fighting either. One of the participants was a known newbie whom the Archflare and Zylush had set their eyes on. The crowd narrowed their eyes in concentration, trying to gauge Shuya’s worth.

However, that spell was practically nothing. It wouldn’t even serve as a distraction. Just learning a few tricks that could draw out Eldred’s power wasn’t nearly enough for him to get a hit on me.

He didn’t even hold a candle to the people I had fought up until now, like No Face or Sepith. Thus—

“Use your charmed blade, Shuya,” Zodd ordered.

“Are you mad, Zodd?! We can’t let him use that without our leader’s permission!” Nalita exclaimed.

“Do you even have a brain? If our guy loses, our reputation would take a hit. Shuya, put that brat in his place.”

Charmed blades were swords specifically for mages. They were pretty popular magical artifacts for us spellcasters, but they didn’t come cheap. What’s with that smug look on Shuya’s face? I thought with irritation.

“See, Denning? I’m a new man now.”

“You certainly have gained some pretty intimidating comrades, from the looks of things. However, a baby like you is just going to be dead weight in their party, don’t you think?” I taunted.

I’ll beat his confidence to a pulp. Right now, this guy is only thinking of himself. He tossed aside Alicia, who stuck with him all the way here, and he chose those strangers who had no relation with him whatsoever.

But...Shuya is going to be the one who ends up killing them. His body will be taken over by Eldred, and he’ll kill those comrades who gave him that charmed blade. Finally, after he remembers everything that happened... The queen of Daryth will set him up as a tragic hero.

Which is why I am going to break his spirit now. For that sake, I’ll even become a villain if that’s what it takes.

After all... Shuya, you might not realize it yet, but the path you’re heading down only leads to war, you know?

●

Shuya had made the first move and Slowe Denning had replied in kind.

“Hey! What in the world is that brat doing?!” an adventurer exclaimed.

“He neutralized the spell with his own wind spell. Well, well, we have quite the capable guy here. Unless he knows the redhead’s power veeery well, he couldn’t pull off a stunt like that.”

Brawls in Zenelaus were an everyday occurrence. However, very few battles turned out to be so one-sided as this one.

The charmed blade was hindered by an invisible wall. The redheaded youth’s attacks couldn’t reach his opponent at all. That was how extraordinary the other mage was.

The pair seemed to be having a conversation of some sort, but the people around them couldn’t hear their words.

The boy with black hair, Slowe, had said something, and Shuya had seemed shocked by it. Nobody could hear the details, however. Shuya, still shaken, distanced himself from Slowe.

Only a short period of time had passed since their exchange of blows had begun, but it was clear that Shuya was fatigued. There was a definite difference in ability between the two.

“I’ll be damned; he abbreviated his chant! This guy definitely has enough power to pick a fight with Zylush. He’s not just a hothead!”

“Yo, Zodd!” an adventurer called out. “That little redhead over there doesn’t look like he has any chance here. Wouldn’t it be better for you to take his place?”

After Slowe had said something to him, Shuya started behaving strangely. He maintained his distance from him and almost looked as if he was scared to approach for some reason.

The battle was at a stalemate. Slowe didn’t show any intent to attack Shuya aggressively. He had stuck to only defending himself from the very beginning. Compared to the desperate Shuya, Slowe looked completely at ease.

The onlookers had gathered because they heard that a member of Zylush was having a squabble, and now they were booing. There were even guild staff members among the curious crowd.

If the clamor spread even further, this battle would end up influencing Zylush’s reputation in Zenelaus. Nalita felt anxious; she hadn’t expected such a big commotion. If their leader saw this scene, things would not end well.

“Zodd!” she yelled. “We’re banned from fighting seriously in brawls in our party! Leader’s going to be really mad! We need to stop him!”

“Shut up, Nalita! As long as Shuya wins, all is well!”

“But he’s been acting strange since that boy said something to him! He’s lost his confidence!” Nalita looked over and let out a frustrated groan. “I can’t just let this go on! That guy’s practically bullying him!”

“Even if that’s the case, Shuya hasn’t given up. This is his fight. He’s a Daryth noble who went out of his way to come to Zenelaus. Like how we did in the past, he came here desperately wishing to become stronger! That’s proof of how resolute he is, isn’t it?! We mustn’t cut in!”

The deputy leader of Zylush, Zodd, wasn’t blind. He knew that the power gap between the two was overwhelming. Shuya could never win against that boy.

Right now, the black-haired boy was making earth puppets, and perhaps out of playfulness, he was leading Shuya around by the nose.

Zodd stared hard at the boy. The boy from the Country of Knights was a multi-element mage; people like that were a rare find. His power was the real deal. Could I even win against that guy? Zodd wondered.

“That brat’s overdoing it. If he goes any further, he’ll be smearing mud on our party,” Zodd declared.

The man prepared to take action. However, someone grabbed his shoulder. The fingers gripped tightly and dug into his shoulder with force.

Zodd snarled from the pain. “That hurts, ya know?!” He turned around angrily, and he found—

“Don’t make fun of me!” Shuya yelled. “You never change! You’ve always looked down on people from your high and mighty station!”

“Of course I would, Shuya. The students of Kirsch and I practically live in different worlds.”

“Yeah, and that’s called looking down on people, you know?!”

The redhead boy didn’t have natural talent like Slowe did. However, he earnestly worked to better himself day after day.

This earnestness was something that I felt we had lost along the way.

His desire to become stronger... Watching him, I realized that I had lost that drive. That’s why I invited him, a novice adventurer, to my party.

“Leader, I am so sorry. Zodd and I were both with him, and yet...” Nalita trailed off.

A man approached the pair of fighting boys. He drew out the longsword he carried on his back and brandished it before him. With that, the dancing puppets Slowe had made burst into flames.

“I was the one who invited him to this adventurer party,” he announced. “If you are planning on continuing this fight, then I will be your opponent.”

The man let out a grandiose sigh. This gesture was enough to cause the wild atmosphere to dissipate into nothing.

The aura around him set him apart from other adventurers. He was the Archflare, a special A-class adventurer. He had the powerful presence of an influential figure, aged exquisitely with experience into perfection.

He stepped forward, interrupting the fight. Silence took over the crowd, and you could nearly hear a pin drop.

This man was one of the leading influencers in Zenelaus based on his strength alone. He was the wielder of the magical sword that spouted flames, and some even called him the right-hand man of the Eye of the Crimson Lotus.

“You’ve caused a great commotion, Shuya,” the Archflare said. “Fall back now. I will deal with the rest.”

Shuya hesitated, then said, “Understood.”

Shuya was mortified. The Archflare was the last person he wanted to show such a pathetic sight to. Shuya had joined this party and decided to stay in Zenelaus because he had wanted to be useful to this man, whom he admired.

Meanwhile, the black-haired boy, Slowe, faced the man who barged into their fight. “It looks like Zylush has a grave shortage of people. I can’t believe that you invited such a small fry into your party.”

“As the leader who represents my adventurer party, I should make you pay for what you did on principle. However, the guild master has told me that you’re one of his allies.”

“Interesting... Who would have thought that the hero of the adventurers unexpectedly has a loose tongue?”

“There is one thing I would like to ask you, however. For what purpose did you torment my young party member? What is it about him that spurs your distaste? This boy has talent. It’s just that nobody has realized it yet.”

All eyes were on Slowe. His face twisted with bitterness. “You say he has talent? I’ll make one thing clear first. You people are going to be the ones who regret your decision later.”

It was impossible for anyone else to know the truth. For nobody could foresee that in the upcoming battle, Shuya was fated to go on a rampage and destroy Zenelaus.

●

I had let him rile me up into starting a fight, and he had beaten me to a pulp in front of that giant crowd.

I let out a groan of frustration in my mind. Why did I even do that?! Denning is a dragon slayer. I knew I didn’t stand a chance against him, not at all, but I saw red and couldn’t stop myself... But after my time here in Zenelaus, I’ve grown at least slightly stronger...right? Yeah, I’m pretty sure I did. Yet, I was still a helpless baby against him.

It hurts... All the joints in my body are aching.

Even before the fight, my body had been in tatters. After all, I’ve been driving away those invading zombies all day, every day. I’ve been fighting alongside seasoned adventurers; I would be surprised if I wasn’t worn down.

However, this pain is different. If I had to name it... I’d call it heartache.

I feel downright awful. I ended up sullying Zylush’s reputation...

I let out a long, long sigh.

“Well, that sigh sure was something. So here’s where you were. I was looking for you.”

I felt someone pat my head. I couldn’t bring myself to smack the hand away.

Hesitatingly, I said, “Old man...”

“Don’t beat yourself up about it. In the past, I used to lose all the time too,” he said.

This man was a famous, high-ranking adventurer. I had gotten to know him a few days after the lich first made its attack on Zenelaus. He had struck up a conversation with me during one of my routine solo zombie battles, and I had been in his care ever since.

The sword on his back, Flamberge, made it obvious who he was. He was the leader of Zylush, an adventurer party that required its members to incorporate red in some form as an accent color in their attire. He was respected by many, and he was always surrounded by a crowd of adventurers.

And I had been the one to smear dirt on the reputation of the old man’s adventurer party.

I had lost to a mage who wasn’t even an adventurer. The news had spread like wildfire, and I had been mocked countless times. I was so ashamed that I couldn’t dare look at him and I had hidden here. Yet...he ended up finding me anyway.

“I am so sorry. It’s all because I lost...” I muttered.

“It’s fine. That’s part of the life of an adventurer. Besides, everyone will forget it soon enough. On that topic... Shuya, was that a friend of yours?”

“I wouldn’t call him a friend, but...” I replied at length.

“I see. Well, I guessed that much from your interaction. Still, you got quite the flashy beating. Who is he? Is that boy the rumored guild ally Piggi-Du?”

“P-Piggi-Du? What’s what?”

“The guild master is gathering powerful people to prepare for the decisive battle ahead. One of them, Piggi-Du, is apparently especially remarkable... But that boy probably isn’t him. He doesn’t really feel like a Piggi-Du, you know?”

“I think it must be someone else...”

“Yeah. He’s much too young for our guild master to recruit. He probably came to this city from somewhere after hearing rumors. What did that boy say to you though, Shuya? Zodd and Nalita said that you had seemed extremely unnerved when you tried to use your charmed blade.”

I was silent. I couldn’t tell the truth to the old man. There was no way I could.

When I had slashed at that guy, he had told me to be careful of the crystal ball I had.

Gaining significant magical skills overnight was too good to be true. He had told me that, then said that I should know this better than anyone else. That I should question just who was “lending” me power.

His face had been more serious than I had ever seen as he warned me about all this.

Denning knew about my secret. That was why I had been so shaken.

The old man observed me. “I see that there’s something you can’t tell me, Shuya.”

“Sorry...”

“It’s fine. You are a noble from Daryth. You’re different from us; we’re all recluses who have cut our ties with the world. If you don’t want to tell me, you don’t have to. You can figure it out by yourself. Now then, I’m heading off, but I want to say one last thing, Shuya.”

I had certainly become stronger than before. After my experiences in Huzak, I worked hard to drive back the zombies here in Zenelaus. With everything I had gone through, the way I went about using my spells had changed. I could feel the difference very clearly. I had learned how to control my magic, and I also gained a special power.

I owed everything to the voice inside the crystal ball, who called himself Eldred. However, at the same time, I also knew that this was crazy. I was more aware of that fact than anyone else.

Which reminds me... That guy said something. He insisted that I must refuse if the voice ever asked me whether I wanted power. What’s with that? What was he trying to say? I thought to myself, miffed. Ah, but Denning was always very knowledgeable about things like history. Maybe he has an inkling of who this mysterious power truly is.

But...I’m needed to protect Zenelaus.

“Remember this. As a noble, you’ll probably return to Daryth someday, but stay with us until that day arrives at least. We all think that you’re one of us.”

I paused, moved. “Thank you very much.”

“I’m heading back to my usual post. When you’ve regained your spirit, come along too! Zodd and Nalita were also very worried about you. Do you hear me? A real man keeps his word!”

I hesitated for a brief moment. “Yes, sir.”

I used to have the impression that high-ranking adventurers were all difficult and fussy people, but the old man was different. He had looked after me, and he had taught me how to live as an adventurer. Once, I had even confided in him about my anxieties about being a noble.

Alicia had claimed that adventurers were all barbarians, but I actually wanted her to get to know the adventurers as well. There was a lot we could learn from them.

But, well, she was a princess. I couldn’t exactly force her to do anything.

“Hey, Eldred. Do you think I actually have talent? Are people only paying attention to me because of your power?”

“No! Remember what that man said? Shuya, you have the ability to move the hearts of people.”

I was silent for a moment. “How?” I muttered self-deprecatingly. “Just like Denning said, it’s all your power. I haven’t changed at all.”

Indeed, I had gained strength, but it wasn’t truly mine. That guy didn’t have to spell it out for me. I already knew that I was only borrowing Eldred’s power and nothing more.

That was probably why I got irrationally mad when he pointed that out. It was a sore spot. Denning’s words were the irrefutable truth, and thus, I hadn’t been able to control my emotions.

It was just like he had said. I shouldn’t even be in this fight. Normally, I wouldn’t be involved at all.

However, there were people who treated me as their comrade, and that was more than enough reason for me to be here.

“Shuya, you will probably surpass that kid one day.”

“Me, surpassing Denning? Him, a dragon slayer? That’s unbelievable...”

“That may be the case. But you are strong, Shuya, and I know your strength. However, your brand of strength isn’t something tangible.”

“How can you be so confident?” There was a note of bitterness in my tone.

“I have watched you for a long time. Shuya, you are a human who is capable of sacrificing your life for someone else’s sake. You did as much back then, as well as when you first heard my voice.”

I paused. “When I first heard your voice? When was that again...?”

“I’ll make you remember. And then, keep wishing for power. The stronger your yearning, the more power I will provide.”

Eldred had mysterious powers.

He could support me in battle or even show me the view from someone else’s eyes. These powers helped me a great deal.

But...what is this? Something’s burning? What is it? Is this something I saw myself? When was this? I can see the Newkern lands. My barren hometown.

Huh? But there’s greenery around. Wait... Isn’t this the weird power that Denning mentioned? What did Denning say earlier...?

“Ah... Ugh...” I groaned.

H-Huh? My head... I can’t think. My body feels weak.

That’s right; he told me to refuse it. But it’s impossible. Gradually... I can’t even open my eyes anymore...

Who...is that? Somebody is shaking me. I feel sick...

“Shuya! Damn it... Eldred! There’s no way I’ll let you brainwash Shuya!”

I can’t...think...

●

“Show yourself, Eldred!” I screamed.

There was a pause. “What a rather untimely intrusion,” he hissed from Shuya’s lips. “Just like I thought, kid, you realized the truth.”

Before my eyes, Shuya’s body stood back up from his collapsed position on the ground.

Shuya was an idiot who even Alicia couldn’t talk sense into, and he had been my biggest bickering opponent back in Kirsch.

However, the guy standing in front of me wasn’t the Shuya that I knew.

“When did you realize who I am?” the being said. “When did you figure out that I am Eldred?”

The “Shuya” before me was possessed by Eldred, since the real one had lost his consciousness. From Shuya’s mouth, I could hear that spirit’s voice.

It was so, so annoying.

“You are one of the peerless Great Spirits, and the Great Spirit of Fire at that. I would never have thought that someone like you would care about such a small detail,” I mocked.

“Answer my questions, Slowe Denning. What is your aim? Why are you trying to get in my way? Why did you choose to come into contact with me now? And on top of that, earlier, you deliberately tried to confuse Shuya.”

Anger bubbled up within me as I listened to Eldred go on and on. I couldn’t forgive him. The destruction of Zenelaus in the anime was all this guy’s fault.

To tell you the truth, Shuya... The one who would destroy Zenelaus isn’t a monster, nor is it the musketeer.

It’s you.

To protect Zenelaus, you’ll draw out too much power from the Great Spirit and go berserk.

“Eldred, I don’t plan on having a long, meaningless chitchat with you. Your mere possession is enough to cause a burden to Shuya’s body. However, I’ll make one thing clear.”

“Go on.”

“If you dare lay your hands on Shuya, I will kill you.”

“Interesting. How are—”

“In the state you are in now, even the Great Spirit of Wind might be able to end you,” I said, belittling him.

“...You are an impertinent kid, through and through.”

With that, it seemed that Eldred no longer wished to speak with me.

It had been a complete bluff on my end, but... That spirit had even realized that the Great Spirit of Wind was around...

“You there! Wanna join my adventurer party?! If you’re able to pick a fight with Zylush, you’re definitely good enough!”

“I heard that he even managed to make the Archflare withdraw! What a guy!”

I had planned on lying low in Zenelaus, but the story of my fight with Zylush was the hottest topic in town. It seemed that they looked highly upon me because I had faced the high-ranking adventurer Archflare without backing off at all.

If news of this gets into Charlotte’s and Alicia’s ears though, I’ll be in deep trouble. Those two are trying their hardest to persuade Shuya to leave, but with that incident, Shuya’s probably going to become even more stubborn.

Ugh, I really messed up... But I’m not the only one at fault, I think...

A guild staff member had started a conversation with me as he passed by me. “Sir Piggi-Du. May I have a moment of your time?”

I frowned. “I remember telling you to never talk to me in public.”

If at all possible, I didn’t want adventurers to see me interacting with the guild staff.

There were an infinite number of adventurers in this city who wanted to get chummy with guild staff members and benefit from that relationship. The staff knew of many things that the public wasn’t privy to. For example, they had information about new monsters that would bring in a fortune, as well as newly discovered magical artifacts.

However, the Eye of the Crimson Lotus gave out strict punishments to anyone involved in an incident where guild staff members leaked information about dungeons.

“It’s about the man you mentioned—Silva. We confirmed that he has arrived in Galland City, and—”

I went quiet.

It seems that nearly all the players needed for the showdown are here, huh?