NOVEL ONLINE FREE Chapter 64
Normans, having been attacked by Asydia, narrowly escaped thanks to the Flame Hero.
This news quickly spread to all corners of the world through the Adventurer Guild.
The Normans branch reported the situation to the Adventurer Guild headquarters, and after a brief investigation, the Guild posted an article in the newspaper for all Adventurers to see.
– Flame Hero Bearnes defeats Asydia!
Without a doubt, the center of attention was Hero Bearnes.
While investigating strange occurrences near Normans, she discovered traces of Asydia, and as soon as her investigation commenced, Asydia, in a panic, opened a Dimensional Door and launched a surprise attack.
“What the… Isn’t this just a typical day for our Hero?”
“Well, if it’s the Mercenary King, he ought to be able to do at least this much.”
“…But is this really worth making such a big deal out of?”
Hero Bearnes blocked the remnants of the Demon King’s Army from making a move.
I thought that alone would be sufficient, but it seemed that the remnants were acting more systematically than expected.
“While the Hero was off closing the Dimensional Door, they ambushed us with Sand Worms? Seriously, how do we stop this?”
“They assassinated the personnel guarding the Magic Explorer beforehand? Whoa, Normans must be in shambles.”
“Let’s see… They say ‘Scarlet Unite’ took them down?”
“Scarlet Unite? What’s that?”
While the Hero was absent, new power players rose to protect Normans.
The Adventurer Guild deemed their information ‘confidential,’ but their details were properly detailed in the article.
“A Witch who uses Flame Magic. A Knight who cleaves through Sand Worms in a single blow. An Elf archer raining down silver arrows.”
“…Totally sounds like ‘that party,’ right?”
“Yeah. The Knight is a guy, so that settles it.”
The emergence of new heroes.
For humanity, having more people to face the Demon Race, especially the remnants of the Demon King’s Army, is always welcome.
“If they’re hiding their names and personal information, they must be quite the promising newcomers… although, involving Asydia, who knows how they’ll seek revenge.”
“They might already be on the move? Those Asydia folks are thorough when it comes to revenge.”
“Tsk, what if Normans gets attacked again.”
“I just hope they stay out of Normans. If they wander off somewhere and get spotted by Asydia, wherever this team goes will instantly become a battlefield.”
“Tsk tsk tsk. It’s paradoxical.”
Despite saving a city from revenge Asydia could enact, they must keep their identities hidden.
It’s unfortunate, but for the safety of many citizens—’the great cause’—there’s no other choice.
“If you’re a Hero who loves saving people, isn’t that something you should sacrifice and bear? Hehe.”
“Hey, forget about that for now. I heard Count Odrone is forming a Knight Order.”
Talk of the unfortunate Heroes was just passing gossip.
Adventurers, mercenaries, and those dreaming of knighthood in Count Odrone’s territory all turned their attention to a notice bearing the Count’s signature.
– Knight Recruitment.
– Minimum of twelve members.
– A family-like Knight Order.
– Experienced candidates preferred.
While the Count’s territory is indeed much larger than that of a Baron or a Viscount, it’s rare to recruit as many as twelve Knights at once.
And that’s ‘at least.’
Considering the massive amount of gold required to recruit even one Knight, this was a tremendous opportunity for those aspiring to become Knights.
“Could it be that, he’s trying to create a Knight Order for the Hero of the Holy Sword?”
“The Hero of the Holy Sword?”
“Yeah, they say a real Hero emerged from the now-vanished Village of the Holy Sword.”
“…You mean the Master of the Holy Sword who hasn’t appeared for hundreds of years? Ha, what a laugh. You think the other six Masters of the holy swords are still active, and through elimination method, the Holy Wind Sword makes sense? It hasn’t shown itself for five hundred years!”
“That’s why it’s a legend. The Holy Wind Sword reappearing after five hundred years. Ah, my heart races.”
The Holy Wind Sword.
At first, it seemed like the existing Master of the Holy Sword had changed, but the presence of all six other Masters confirmed that the last Holy Sword had finally begun to act.
Awakening of the Holy Wind Sword.
The recruitment for the Knight Order of Count Odrone.
As this big issue stirred Odrone’s territory, a small Magic Circle unfolded in a forest at the boundary of the Count’s land.
“Whoa.”
Three unaware of their identity as ‘Scarlet Unite’ stood there.
*
In the village at the edge of Count Odrone’s territory, ‘Lastima.’
“It’s a quiet village.”
“Sure is.”
We had arrived in the village of Count Odrone’s territory.
While I had various worries crossing over through the portal at the Count’s boundary, thankfully no traces of Asydia immediately appeared in the village.
In fact, it was so quiet that it began to feel suspicious.
It was such a peaceful village that I started worrying for no reason.
‘Something usually happens in villages like this.’
If nothing happens, then that alone would be a betrayal.
“I hope there’s an inn here?”
“If there’s no inn in the village, that would indeed be a serious problem.”
“Right. Can’t just rent a stable and sleep.”
A stable?
I’d pass on that.
We’re not broke, and there are plenty of comfy beds out there; how could I sleep on the ground?
“I hope they won’t turn us away just because we’re outsiders.”
“Doesn’t seem like they’re showing that kind of vibe… or maybe a little?”
The villagers mostly glanced at us, then went back to their business.
A few were watching us from a distance, with cautious eyes, wondering why we had come.
“Thank goodness.”
“Why’s that?”
“They’re suspicious of our identity.”
“Isn’t it bad that they’re suspicious of our identity?”
“Yes! Rosemas, listen well. In a newly visited backwater village, if everyone is nice to you? That’s 100% a trap!”
What settlement in the outer regions welcomes outsiders?
‘This is the basic law of villages in the outer regions.’
The three newcomers in the village, one of whom is an Elf.
They must look like typical adventurers, so it’s only natural that the villagers would be wary.
“Just wait a bit. Soon, someone will…”
“Excuse me.”
The hunched elderly village chief approached us.
He came with a cane and seemed to be judging us up and down with a rather stern expression.
“Are you from the Guild?”
“The Guild?”
“…Or not?”
“We’re travelers from ‘Sarvance.’ We intend to take a request at the ‘Odrone branch.'”
I stepped in before Lucius could say something unnecessary.
“You came from Sarvance?”
“Yes. We had a skilled archer handle all the beast encounters on our way over.”
I gestured to Rosemas behind me.
“She’s from the Forest Guardians.”
“Hm…”
He still looked disbelieving, but the old man’s suspicion seemed to lessen somewhat.
We came from Sarvance.
Roughly speaking, it was a neighboring town to Count Odrone’s territory, a place where many monsters could be encountered on the way over.
Claiming that it was handled by a Knight from a well-known order in human terms gave us some credibility.
“But to be looking for Guild members, was there something going on?”
“Well, what can I say…”
The old man trailed off.
“I thought you were the adventurers who came to solve our town’s problem…”
“Something—”
Lucius appeared quite interested—being the good Samaritan type, of course—and I subtly stepped back, stepping on Lucius’ foot to hold him back.
“Well, if it’s a formally registered task with the Guild, I suppose we can confirm it when we get to Odrone. If it hasn’t been taken by someone else, we’ll check it out.”
“…Sure.”
You’re trying to swindle a group of adventurers who just battled their way through monsters, huh?
Not gonna happen.
“I don’t know what the request involves, but someone is undoubtedly preparing to resolve it and on their way here.”
Being a bit too cold about it is my role.
It’s only proper that the oblivious Hero steps in when I appear to have no compassion.
I lightly waved my fingers behind my back to Lucius and pointed toward the village as I took my foot off his.
“Then take care, Elder.”
“Uh, Master…?”
“What?”
“Shouldn’t we at least hear what it’s about?”
A flash of excitement flitted across the old man’s face.
I nearly broke into a smile too, but I waved my hand with a heavily annoyed look.
“If it’s something officially requested from the Adventurer Guild, we shouldn’t intervene freely. If the person who registered the request finds out we solved it first, they’ll have made a wasted trip, right?”
I turned my back on the old man and silently signaled to the others.
“The Princess of the Sky, of course, would rather do that to pass the time, huh?”
“You wouldn’t share about what you’re dealing with?”
“Well…”
I feigned hesitation.
“Is there a way to contact the Adventurer Guild here? If so, wouldn’t we be able to accept the request without going to Odrone?”
“That could work…?”
“There’s one!”
Gotcha.
The old man’s eyes lit up, and I glanced around the village.
“There’s one Mage in the village. She has a remote crystal that can contact Count Odrone’s territory, so if you talk to her, the issue of accepting the request will be resolved quickly!”
“A Mage, huh…”
This was intriguing.
The people we’d encountered so far were either members of the Order of the Crescent Moon Goddess or commoners; we hadn’t properly met a Mage yet.
Even in Normans, it was rare to encounter one.
Perhaps the profession of Mage has become scarce, or they’ve faced oppression in the past five hundred years; either way, it was hard to find skilled Mages.
…Indeed.
A capable Mage.
“Alright. Let’s head on over while we listen. What’s going on that would prompt them to seek help from the Adventurer Guild?”
“…Every night, livestock disappears.”
“……”
That sounded like a fitting yet remarkably trivial request for adventurers.
“I see. Livestock vanishing might be due to wild beasts or monsters…”
“They return three days later, all their insides gone, leaving only their remains. And they’re filled with flies.”
“…….”
Flies.
“……This needs investigating in a bit more detail.”
Beelzebub.
The Demon King of Gluttony.