Chapter 396: Meanwhile…
It was the 25th of Frozen Soil. By noon we had fully descended the mountain and arrived back at Asbel Village where the people seemed to be worked up about something.
It wasn’t the strenuous dread that came with the announcement of an Emergency Quest but more, yes, more like a festival. Everyone had expressions of joy.
“Did news of us beating the l.u.s.t Rose reach here already... yeah not likely.”
We hadn’t even reported it to the adventurer’s guild yet, so there was really no way for the villagers to know.
Plus, the l.u.s.t Rose may have been a powerful rank 5 monster, but it didn’t move from its cave, so the village had practically no reason to fear it. Whether they left it alone or had it subjugated, it made no difference in their lives.
“Though it does feel that they are celebrating a large monster subjugation.”
Fiona said as we walked along the village’s main street lined with wooden houses and storefronts with roofs layered thick in snow. I agreed, it did have that sort of atmosphere.
As we pa.s.sed by I heard some villagers wearing thick fur coats talking about how relieved they were or how quickly they’d done it and other such topics all with satisfied smiles on their faces. Children ran along playing subjugation quest with some being monsters and some being adventurers.
“Must be Wing Road.”
“Oh right, they’d also taken a quest hadn’t they... I don’t seem to recall what though.”
I couldn’t actually remember either, but it became sort of obvious soon enough.
We had arrived at the guild that stood right along central plaza of the village.
And at the center of that plaza there laid the corpse of a huge monster, proving to the villagers that it had been subjugated without a doubt.
“Whoa, that’s one big wolf...”
“Ah!” yelled Lily, “that’s a Fenrir~!”
That’s when I remember that they said they were doing the ‘Fenrir Subjugation.’
Lily was pointing at the monster, the giant wolf with silver fur that had been tied with thick ropes to a wooden framework that made its body splay out on the ground.
From head to tailbone, it appeared to be around 5 meters long. Its tail was fluffy like that of a fox and fell out of the framework due to its length.
And although it had been displayed there to prove that it was dead, its fur still kept a beautiful gloss, like a pristine field of snow that reflected back the sunlight.
“Fenrirs were quite famous in Sinclair as well,” Fiona claimed, “From the size of that one, I believe it may still be growing, but it should already be strong enough to be cla.s.sified as a rank 5.”
“You sure seem to know a lot. Have you fought one before?” I asked.
“No, I’ve only had the chance to watch, once, as a child. I remember being in a warm hut eating oranges while my Sensei fought a fully grown one in solo combat.”
She said it like she was lazing around with a few mandarins while watching a variety show on New Years. But her being so casual about it meant that this Sensei must’ve been so strong that it was fine to let a child watch while they handled it.
“Anyway, looks like they did it pretty cleanly.”
I could barely find any blood on the giant corpse. There were only 2 wounds I could see distinctly.
The first of which was a deep stab wound at the center of its forehead. From the size of the hole I could a.s.sume that Nero was responsible. It was a clean, pinpoint attack that fit his image.
The second wound was a long gash across the beast’s abdomen. This one was obviously Kai’s handiwork as it looked to have been done in one fell stroke using his incredible strength. His style contrasted that of Nero but his strength was close if not on par with the Avalonian prince.
“Kurono-san, if it were you, wouldn’t you have decapitated it?”
Wait, just what kind of monster do you think I... I wanted to retort to her, but realized that it wasn’t that bad a prediction.
Since a Fenrir is supposed to be very agile, I’d first go for its legs. Then to finish it off, I’d lop off its head.
“You’re right. I’d even go as far as to crush it after lopping it off, just to make sure.”
Too many times have I had an enemy attack me even after they got decapitated. Whether it was Saeed or the Greed Goar, they didn’t want to end the fight after the point where it would otherwise end. Crazy stuff.
“Interesting, so it seems you’ve finally awakened to your calling as a Berserker, is that it?”
“Wait, hold up, my Cla.s.s is still――”
I had wanted to correct her, saying that I was still technically a Black Mage, but then,
“Ah! Kurono-kun~!”
I heard a familiar, sweet, songbird of a voice calling out to me.
I turned towards the voice, expecting to see loose, white robes, a pair of white wings, the one and only, the Healing Princess――
“Mumuu!!”
“Kyan!?”
―― Flinching back from Lily’s expected flash attack.
“A-are you alright, Nell?”
“... Yes, I’m fine, Kurono-kun.”
Nell was still staggering as she made a smile with some difficulty while I grabbed on to the mischievous Lily who kept going Grrr at the princess.
“Kurono-san, I believe it’s time we go report to the guild.”
Fiona was now tugging at my sleeve, strongly demanding that we go to the guild. She was acting as if Nell wasn’t even there.
“Uh, hey, we’re not in that much of a hur――”
“Well then, your Highness, goodbye.”
“Oh the guild. Then I shall go with you. I too had an appointment there, so let us head there together.”
Replied Nell with a radiant smile, to which Fiona stopped walking and also stopped tugging on my sleeve.
“... Kurono-san, we can go to the guild later. How about we have lunch?”
Fiona suddenly changed her mind without showing the slightest change of expression.
But I noticed. It was quick but I noticed the ever so slight twitch of her brow.
Oh no. That was a sure sign that she was angry.
“Lunch, is it? I actually happen to know a very good restaurant that should suit your needs, I shall guide you.”
Nell’s angelic smile seemed to convey that she’d be more than happy to treat us too what with all the reward money they had received for the Fenrir quest.
The intensity of that smile utterly prevented me from voicing the obvious doubt as to whether it was okay to miss her guild appointment.
“Ah, of, course, you do...”
And then, the moment I turned my gaze back to Fiona, my spine froze over. Her eyes held a dangerous golden glint.
I recalled the image of a girl endlessly bashing her staff into a long deceased catkin.
“Take a――”
“Fiona!”
I shut her mouth. Pretty much forcefully, I used my hand to cover Fiona’s mouth. I had to prevent her from going any further, or else.
The sudden infringement left her so bewildered that her golden eyes were blinking repeatedly as she let out moaning sounds from behind my hand.
She should’ve gotten back to her senses now, or rather, had those senses diverted.
“Sorry, but I need you to calm down and listen.”
I said in a quiet voice, fully turning my back to Nell as if to tell her to please hold on a moment as we sort things out.
Blocking Fiona’s mouth obviously meant that I’d have to let go of the previously rampaging Lily, but for the moment, it seemed that Lily read the mood and wasn’t going to cause trouble. Even her little girl self understood that Fiona needed some handling right now.
“Kurono-san, I’d like to remind you not to act so overfamiliar with her.”
“Yes, I know you two told me not to do that, but I think it’s better not to be rude, especially here.”
I had no doubt in my mind that Fiona was about to say something along the lines of, ‘Go take a hike already, you insufferable b.i.t.c.h.’
I admit that I was late to notice until a sort of boiling point was almost reached during that back and forth, but as the party’s leader, I had to at least make sure the members are under control.
Most importantly because the reason this was happening in the first place was due to Nell’s social standing.
“Look, we’re not in Spada now, this is Avalon territory. Even if careless remarks can be waved off at the Academy, they might not be so lenient in their home turf.”
“That’s... no, you’re right...”
I personally wanted to be friendly with Nell and speak casually with her, but I knew that it wouldn’t be right to get so close to royalty. Fiona tried to prevent that and so ended up getting heated up.
But behaving rudely to her wasn’t the right way to do it. In fact, it would get us the opposite result since my avoiding Nell was done for the sake of our positions, not because I actually wanted to avoid her.
Which was why I’d gotten them to accept her as my tutor for Model magic. Learning to use my Divine Protections was more important than wading through politics.
“I can deal with this. You two please go to the guild ahead of me. I’ll have a short chat with her, say bye, and go to you right away, how’s that sound?”
The contents of my words sounded like I was almost betraying the friendship Nell and I had.
I felt really bad, guilty even, now that I had come out and said it... But that was just what it meant to have friendship across social barriers.
Fiona, who couldn’t know my suffering as I tried to balance my modern j.a.panese values with the realities of this world, groaned as she considered my words. Of course, she’d reach the same conclusion too, and she knew that. This was the optimal and most peaceful way to resolve the conflict.
“You have 10 minutes, Kurono. No more.”
While the witch still deliberated, the small fairy with an adult’s mind answered in her stead. Lily had switched her conscience.
“10 minutes... can’t I have a little more time?”
I mean, it wouldn’t hurt to just talk to her for a while, would it?
“10 minutes is all the time we can keep the other Wing Road members away.”
“OK, got it. I’ll make sure to finish up in 10 minutes.”
Oh c.r.a.p, I’d completely forgotten about the others, especially that overprotective brother of hers.
If he were to see me and Nell alone together again, well, I didn’t want to deal with that mess.
Which was why Lily had proposed that the two of them would watch out for any of them coming this way and try to somehow distract them.
Adult Lily was as impressive as ever.
“Alright, see you soon―― Kurono~! We’ll be at the guild!”
Chirped Lily as she perfectly switched back to her innocent little girl mind. She pulled Fiona along to go do their part of the deal.
Seeing it again, I’m amazed as always at how instant that switching is... Makes me question if the real Lily is only acting the little girl every time. She wasn’t right?
“Ah, don’t pull, Lily-san...”
Fiona didn’t look as keen on the plan but she was nevertheless pulled away by the brightly smiling Lily who had a firm grip on the witch’s robe.
She looked back at me 3 times before both of them finally entered the snow-covered adventurer’s guild on Asbel Village.
Geez you guys, I’m just talking with her, you make it way too big a deal.
“Sorry about that Nell, Fiona’s still, how should I say this... cautious, around you.”
“Oh no, I don’t mind that, I don’t mind at all, so you don’t need to apologize for anything.”
She replied, smiling elegantly as expected. She really was an angel.
I did try to whisper while I had that party meeting just now, but her smile was so radiant that I could believe that she wouldn’t mind even if she had heard everything we had said.
“I understand that some adventurers are not exactly fond of royalty or n.o.bles in general. It’s a very common occurrence.”
That kind of att.i.tude being ‘common’ to her basically implied that she had gotten used to it. Being a princess must be tough...
“But enough about that. It has been a while since we’ve been together, just the two of us. I’m... um, it makes me a little... happy.”
Nell voiced as she drew in bashfully, becoming red at her pale cheeks.
The completely blatant girl-in-love behaviour caught me off guard for an instant―― No, I can handle this, I won’t misunderstand anything. I know that Nell doesn’t feel that way so I’ll be a gentleman about it.
“These days, Lily’s been practically stuck to me, so I guess it got a bit awkward.”
It was a scenario where you’re with one of your good friends and another friend who doesn’t really get along with the first friend comes in and the whole experience is not a pleasant one. In short, a friend’s friend is not necessarily your friend.
I’ve had an intimate relationship with that scenario back in high school.
My pal Saika, unlike me, was actually a very sociable guy, and at times when I talked to him outside cla.s.s, other people he knew would inevitably join in. There were also times where I’d be talking so someone in the literature club, and they suddenly directed the topic to Shirasaki-san. And Shirasaki-san being Shirasaki-san, she’d engage in our conversation even if she might be scared of me... I always felt really guilty when that happened.
I realized that I was suddenly reminiscing again. Maybe it was due to the l.u.s.t Rose’s dream, who knows.
Anyway, I’m saying I understand what Nell felt in between friends like that. I knew all too well that it wasn’t a comfortable feeling. So of course, she’d be happy but also embarra.s.sed at having to talk like this.
“No really, I’m...”
Nell started fidgeting even more bashfully, seeming to understand that I understood. I strongly felt the importance of mutual understanding among friends.
Alright, no need to dwell on this understanding of awkwardness any more than necessary. I needed to change the topic already, as a friend.
“So, Wing Road got the Fenrir, how did it go?”
Now that I thought about it, this was the first time I talked about quests with a fellow adventurer and friend. Simon was the researcher type, while Will was a prince. Both of them technically had experience doing quests, but they couldn’t exactly be called adventurers.
In all of Spada, I had not one adventurer acquaintance I could banter with. Wait... oh no. I wasn’t just lacking friends, I lacked even acquaintances.
“It went very well actually. Of course, it was a powerful monster, but we had planned and prepared for it perfectly. You could say it was a rather easy quest.”
Oh yeah, we did that too. We prepared for a lot of possibilities, but still got almost done in. I didn’t tell her that though. Mostly out of embarra.s.sment.
Nell wasn’t bragging or anything, but simply talking about it like it was another day on the job, while I was doing my very best to maintain a poker face and answering her with some short and appropriate replies.
“But for a quest, it’s sort of surprising how lively the whole village is.”
“That is because this Fenrir Subjugation quest would’ve become an Emergency Quest in a few more days.”
The mention of Emergency Quest instantly put my senses on alert.
But I quickly calmed myself once Nell explained the details. This Emergency Quest would apparently not have been as urgent as Iskia’s rescue quest or Alzas’ defence quest. Those in and of themselves were very much exceptions among Emergency Quests.
Nell told me about how the Fenrir, whose habitat should have been deeper in the Asbel Mountains, had descended closer to the village and had been sporadically attacking for a while.
Including this village itself, the Fenrir had been spotted various times on both the south highway towards Avalon’s capital city and the north highway to Windham, one of Avalon’s neighbouring nations. It had attacked travellers and merchant caravans alike, the normal fair in terms of casualties when this kind of thing happens.
This sort of thing happened a lot in this world, but it was certainly no laughing matter for the victims and their families. If it’d been a pack of Slimes or Goblins, they could’ve put up a request for the local adventurers to handle. But the issue wasn’t mobs but a Fenrir, the 2nd most powerful of the monsters in the Asbel Mountains, and ranked 5 at that. The average adventurer wouldn’t risk it.
That was where Wing Road came in. They had heard the rumors and had come to take on the quest, and the villagers were of course overjoyed. Come to the present, and Wing Road didn’t disappoint.
“You guys really did a great job, I mean it.”
“Oh no, we were just lucky this time.”
She wasn’t just being humble, but the circ.u.mstances this time were very much in their favor.
If they had wanted to challenge a Fenrir in its own grounds, they’d have to go into the very depths of the Asbel Mountains. The l.u.s.t Rose had made its residence in a relatively shallow region compared to these ferocious silver wolves. Fenrirs made their natural habitat 3 to 4 mountains further from the l.u.s.t Rose’s cave, an area that truly was of a rank 5 danger rating.
Even disregarding the various monsters that lived there, that central part of the Asbel Mountains was so perilous by its very nature, that it was practically impregnable.
“We wouldn’t have taken this quest at all if it hadn’t come that close to the village. Even we can’t fight that deep in the mountains.”
Despite her full trust in her strong older brother and dependable party members, Nell firmly believed that they shouldn’t and wouldn’t go that deep. This was not only due to the harsh climate and distance from civilization, but because of a more fundamental reason.
“You mean the Ice Zero Field? So even Wing Road can’t handle it there huh.”
There existed an area in the Asbel Mountains that nullified the power of Divine Protections: The Ice Zero Field, a zone that effectively froze an adventurer’s most powerful abilities.
Almost any rank 5 adventurer possessed some manner of Divine Protection, and that ultimate power of theirs would become completely useless. The stronger that Protection made them, the weaker they would get without it.
“Yes, no one in our party has a strong ice element Divine Protection after all.”
The only exception to this rule was if one had a Divine Protection that leaned heavily on the Ice element. That particular sort of Protection would, in contrast, get powered up when used in that zone.
This phenomenon has been interpreted such that the Ice Zero Field is an area so dense in ice elemental mana that Protections derived from other elements simply can’t overcome it and manifest.
In my time adventuring, I’ve also been to areas and regions that favored some attributes of magic over others, and even non-adventurers, if they had any apt.i.tude for magic, they would easily be able to sense the difference.
A sea favored water, a volcano liked fire and frigid mountains put priority on ice mana. As an example from my own experience, in our quest to the Revival Catacombs, darkness magic reigned.
Places like that affected the way spells manifested their effects and sometimes even affected the health of an elemental caster. Divine Protections were not an exception either, as they had a tendency to work (or not) in strange ways when they were out of their element. This concept was already common knowledge to anyone living in the continent of Pandora, adventurer or otherwise.
And since knowledge of what mana resided in and what was hindered in what dungeon was so important, the information was readily available to peruse at the local guilds.
This sort of mystic natural phenomena were part of laws that governed this world and extreme regions that greatly affected even Divine Protections were given special names; the Ice Zero Field is but one such example.
This was especially true for any areas that had been discovered to outright nullify one’s Protection since they were all deemed rank 5 zones without exception.
And with those areas usually tilting the balance drastically towards one element, the monsters that could be encountered there all possessed abnormally strong abilities pertaining to said element. This further contributed to the heightened danger level and there were even theories that the monsters themselves possessed some sort of Divine Protections popped up in magic focused scholarly circles.
Further theories also postulate that the reason other attributes are unusable is because the part of the pantheon that governed those lands themselves refused to allow any Divine Protection in which they had no involvement.
In more concrete terms, if this land happens to be a sacred homeland or a site that boasts some legend, it can also grant leverage to specific Protections. The one I was most familiar with was the Fairy Garden’s Spring of Light, Lily’s home, and the place where she could naturally return to her true form.
Basically, the many theories made sense with how this world worked... and whether it was natural phenomena or G.o.ds’ will that denied certain Divine Protections, the fact of the matter was, that such places existed and had to be handled with caution.
I didn’t care why this sort of phenomena existed, but I was glad it did. While it meant that my own Divine Protections could be hindered, it might also mean that certain places exist that weaken the White G.o.d’s powerful Protection.
“Even if we’re strong, we also have to pick and choose the quests that fit our level. Rank 5 parties do practically the same things as any other party after all, just on a higher scale.”
Nell said, her expression the very picture of diligence. I couldn’t find even a hint of egotism or conceit in her words, which made me suddenly think that she must’ve had a very good upbringing. Avalon grew its princesses into fine and respectable ladies.
“But still, the fact that you can be smart about it and choose appropriate quests is a skill too. If it was us, we couldn’t have done it this cleanly.”
“Oh no, ... well actually, if you were to take this quest in particular, I think you might’ve done it better than we did.”
No, I really wouldn’t. My hypothetical plan had been already decided: chop off the head and then crush it into paste. In other words, I couldn’t have had it displayed so cleanly in the central plaza like Wing Road had done.
I didn’t say that though, and only replied that she was elevating me too much. It’d be great if she took that as me humbling myself.
“Kurono-kun, try to guess why this Fenrir went berserk.”
“Hm. Was it a... parasite?”
That was the first thing I thought of. Well, it was the only thing I thought of.
My experience with that was just that impactful. Though now the Sloth was another weapon in my a.r.s.enal and a good one at that. It wasn’t It’s game over once you have you work, but It’s game over so I’ll make you work.
“Ufufu, it’s not that, but you were close.”
And here I thought that she was laughing at me because I had it completely wrong.
Since she said I was close, it might mean that the Fenrir was also being controlled. So maybe there was an evil mage out there mind controlling the monster―― uh, no. Not likely. If that were the case, they’d have a more serious problem on their hands.
“What was it then?”
“A cursed weapon.”
She described how, when they found the Fenrir in question, it’s fur wasn’t the glistening silver it was famous for, but completely black. Not only that, the rank 5 monsters even had a black aura exuding from its body giving off an even darker impression.
You didn’t need to be a Priest like Nell to figure out that the monster had been already tainted by evil.
“After we defeated it, we found a sword lodged inside its stomach. It was a beautifully ornamented rapier, and it held a powerful curse inside.”
I wagered a guess that this cursed rapier had been wielded by a cursed weapon user like myself. But unfortunately for them, the Fenrir was too strong, and they became its meal.
But then, the Fenrir itself lost to the curse that was now inside its stomach.
“I see, that must’ve been a pain to deal with...”
It is generally ill-advised to get near any weapons deemed as cursed. For me, they might be tools that I greatly rely on, but this sort of story reminded me that what I so readily used on a daily basis can actually be very dangerous.
“That’s why I said you might’ve done better, since you’re so good at controlling cursed weapons.”
“Well yeah, I can control, but I can’t exactly dispel them.”
Honestly, if it were me, I might’ve had a tough fight anyway. Of course, we wouldn’t lose. With Lily and Fiona backing me up, Element Masters will never lose in a head on battle!
“Ah, I have an idea, Kurono-kun. How about you take that rapier?”
“Eh, can I?”
No, of course I can’t.
Cursed weapons were generally sold for high prices, no actually, they’d definitely make a small fortune if they sold it to the Mordred Firm. I bet that they’d even showcase it in the next Cursed Carnival, grandly proclaiming how it ousted even a Fenrir and spread fear and turmoil all around the Asbel region and what not.
“But of course. We don’t have anyone who can use it anyway.”
Who knows, that girl Safiel might just be able to. Not her Servants, but on her own.
That aside, as an adventurer, I felt like I couldn’t take such a valuable item they’d fought and earned.
“No, I can’t take it after all. Actually, I’ve been receiving so much from you, I really feel like I need to give something back.”
I declined her offer and in addition implied that we were also getting a big payout for our l.u.s.t Rose quest.
Plus, there was all the gear from the l.u.s.t Rose’s previous victims, which were now ours. It’d take somewhat of a big fee to get the guild to carry it all back, but it should still earn us a bonus.
My wallet was fat enough that I would gladly gift her a present or two.
“Eh! K-Kurono-kun, you’re giving me a present... I, I...”
She might’ve said ‘I don’t need it you loser,’ but I didn’t think that was the case. Looking at her blushing face and both hands holding her cheeks going ‘Kyah!’ I think it’s safe to say that she didn’t dislike the prospect.
Plus, her trademark wings were also flapping in place like crazy which made me imagine that she might fly off like that.
Being a princess and all, Nell must’ve received presents all her life, but perhaps a situation like this, where I, a private friend of hers, would give her a gift was one she hadn’t experienced before.
It’s sort of a cliche that a princess aspired towards commonplace things... but here it was, a real princess doing just that.
“Sure, once we get back to Spada, I’ll be sure to pick out something――”
Maybe it was too soon to be that friendly with Nell, because,
“――Kurono!!”
“Wh!? Lily!?”
Suddenly, Lily had called my name from behind, her tone sharp. I turned around slowly, fearing how badly I was going to get scolded for my overfamiliar treatment of the princess――
“Did something happen?”
She was in her original form.
She had grown taller while wearing the same white punrobe and I could see her s.e.xy, supple legs bared all the way to her upper thighs, but more importantly, her face.
Her expression was extremely serious. In this world, Lily was the person I had known the longest, and I could instantly tell that something had happened.
I changed gears to match her expression, and without bothering to think if it was rude to Nell, I focused completely on Lily’s next words.
“The guild had a letter addressed to you. The sender is King Leonhard.”
Lily handed over the letter in question, which was red wax sealed with Spada’s national emblem, the crown and crossing swords.
I had seen the same emblem, but in stamp version, when I received the Emergency Quest from Will in the Grand Colosseum"s infirmary.
The seal hadn’t been broken, meaning Lily hadn’t checked the contents inside, but had still realized that this was a letter of grave importance.
That went the same for me, and my hands even slightly trembled as they were about to unseal the wax.
Inside, there was a single letter, and as my eyes went over each line of it, the cold sweat gathering in my face clearly told that our urgency was justified.
“... And, what does it say?”
Asked Lily, her tone calm.
My heart was pounding, but I had to be completely direct about this. Calming myself, I replied,
“―― The Crusaders are coming.”