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The name of that f*cking goddess came out.
As I thought, she’s quite famous.
[Well yeah. By the way, who among them were the strongest?]
[The Mad Emperor Falken Dotzine’s “Brilliant Squadron” is famous for being an army that haven’t lost any battle.]
[Even if they had lost the Night Wall, there should still be the Hakurou in the Magnar Kingdom in the north, right?]
[There’s also the “Annihilation Monks” from the Jonato Principality in the west.]
[Even in our Urza Kingdom, there’s the Magic Knights.]
[Though we say that…]
[Yeah.]
The three people sounds like they are all in agreement about something.
[The strongest of them all in the continent would absolutely be the Bakuos Empire’s Black Dragon Knights.]
[I have no objections about that.]
[I heard though that just the “Five Dragon Warriors” had the strength of a single country altogether? I think I’ve also heard that there’s someone in the Five Dragon Warriors who are called “Humanity’s Strongest” and “Heroslayer”?]
[The battle between the Black Dragon Knights and the Great Demon Emperor. As long you’re a man, you can’t help but be interested by this battle.]
[Now that I think about it, isn’t the territory of Bakuos Empire right next to our Urza Kingdom? Are we going to be alright?]
[If I’m right, there should have been a peace agreement between Bakuos Empire and Allion Kingdom.]
[Alion Kingdom huh… Did they do that rumored Hero summoning ritual of theirs?]
[I don’t know. There have been no news about that as far as I know. That’s because that place is famous for not wanting any information from that place to spread out to other countries. They probably have summoned the Heroes from another world already.]
One of the men cheerfully chewed on the meat he’s eating.
[It’s okay! As long as you have sake and delicious meat, you won’t be afraid of anything! The Heroes and that Great Demon Emperor should still be powerless in front of delicious sake and meat!]
[Exactly!]
[Even if the country would be destroyed, the sake will not perish!]
[Well said!]
[Cheers~!]
[Yay~!]
The vigorous men began gulping down their sake heartily.
They kept on drinking even when they’re discussing who is the strongest.
It looks like the sake had been going around a bit.
It’s like they can’t even speak straight anymore.
Even the other guests were like that.
This should mean that the proper information I can get from eavesdropping was starting to disappear.
[………]
I stopped gathering information and decided to return to my room.
I climb up to the second floor.
It was good that I got to know some of the names of different countries in this continent for my first try on eavesdropping.
Well, the knights other than those from Allion have nothing to do with me.
For now, these information were not important.
It seems that these should be the only topics that were talked about while drinking sake.
[I guess I’ll gather tools for my journey and leave Mills tomorrow…]
For now though, I would be resting for the night.
But, I stopped halfway.
[Wait a minute?]
The reason why I’ve been feeling bothered by something.
I think I remembered.
I hurried back into my room.
[—Well, before that…]
I brought some of my dinner for Pigimaru.
[Pyuu, pyuu~ ♪]
Pigimaru began to happily eat.
[Then—]
I quickly take out the “Encyclopedia on the Forbidden Arts” from my leather bag.
I sit on the bed and turned over the pages.
I slide my fingertip on the paper…
–Until it stops at a certain page.
[…Found it.]
I’ve thought I’ve seen it for a moment before.
This piece of memory has remained in one corner of my head.
That’s why I had always been bothered by that.
Perhaps, it’s from around that time that woman had said her name in that forest.
Was it because it wasn’t the “first time” I had heard it that I didn’t notice it immediately?
My awareness was focused too much on that first experiment.
Chapter 48
Disposal Ruins Investigation Team
Several men were walking in the dark forest.
A member of the investigation team suddenly stopped and looked back at something he didn’t notice before.
[What in the world are those corpses?]
Hearing him, I also turned around and looked at what he’s looking at.
[I don’t know. Those corpses looks like fallen mercenaries to me.]
[Are they perhaps on their way to Mills?]
[That’s possible. Other than our group, the only people who passes through this forest are those who are heading towards Mills.]
I noticed that one of the members looked really pale.
He is very pale.
[Have you ever seen a corpse that had turned into that state before?]
[Ye… Yes…]
The corpses were terrible.
There were a total of four of them.
None of their faces could be identified.
It must have been eaten by some kind of beast or a monster.
One of the members knocked over the sword that was hanging on the waist of one of the corpses.
[To fall in a forest like this, these mercenaries probably aren’t that strong.]
[These corpses, no one of them had any money?]
Anyone could seldom find that much money from dead corpses.
Of course, that includes the baggage they had.
However, no money were found on these corpses.
[They may have encountered a robbery. Well, it’s rumored that there have been occasional robberies going on in here.]
[Does that mean that after these people were killed by a monster, other travelers who pass by looted these corpses?]
[If they were just going to be killed by some random monster in this forest, they shouldn’t have bothered becoming a mercenary.]
[Did a monster finally come out from the Disposal Ruins?]
[Hahaha, if that were so, then we have to ask the Magic Knights to handle this instead.]
[You’re right.]
The members tried to insert some jokes into their deductions of what they think could have happened to those people.
[Oh, we can finally see our workplace.]
Disposal Ruins.
The familiar landscape.
There would be no change yet again this time.
That’s natural, or so the captain thought.
[There’s no abnormality this time again.]
One of the loose-lipped members spoke.
[This job sure doesn’t have that much change.]
[An unchanging job is fine. Okay, I’ll do the usual confirmation.]
[Captain, you’re so serious~]
[It’s because this is still our work.]
This is the job that was tasked to them by our Allied Kingdom, Alion.
A periodic survey to the Disposal Ruins.
Urza Kingdom and Allion Kingdom have been hand in hand to
gether.
These two kingdoms have a good relationship that they had been maintaining for a long time.
I’m glad that I got this job.
I strongly like that.
First of all, the pay for this job is good.
And yet, the job is very easy to do.
I take out a magic tool from my bag.
This is a magic tool that was personally made by Goddess Vysis.
For many years, this investigation had been occurring from one team to another.
I walked along the walls of the ruins.
I traced around for quite some time until I pressed on one unsuspecting part of the wall.
Clank~ clunk~
A dent appeared out of nowhere.
It’s an elongated hole that is just wide enough for an arm to fit through.
I would then bring the crystal near the hole.
It’s a black crystal.
If you see this crystal’s color turn to platinum, then the work is over.
I don’t know the principle of why the crystal changes color.
However, I had no intention to investigate the reason.
An easy job.
Everyone in the Investigation Team is happily enjoying the leisurely job.
I know what kind of place this Disposal Ruins is.
But I’m not interested.
It has nothing to do with me whoever is sent to wherever it is.
It’s a discussion that has nothing to do with my life.
If I can have an easy life without danger, then that’s just fine.
I don’t wish for any change in my life.
Everyone was used to the leisure of our job.
Even I’m the same as them.
I don’t want any trouble in my life.
I just want to continue to do this good-paying job with ease.
[Hmm? What the?]
[What happened, Captain?]
[The color didn’t change.]
The black crystal didn’t even shine at all.
There’s always something that behind that hole that made the crystal shine into platinum.
The crystal at my hand should have changed its color in response to that.
[Captain! Does this mean—]
[Ah…]
My eyes turned serious as I looked at the others.
With a stern expression, I held my hand over my mouth.
[I guess this crystal had finally reached its end.]
[Even the magic tool that the Goddess had personally made had a lifetime too~]
Clink~
I poke the crystal with my fingertip.
[I guess we have to this crystal changed for a new one.]
[When we get back, should we report this to Allion?]
[No—]
I replied quickly within a beat.
[I can just tell them at the time of the regular report. That should be about half a year later.]
[Is that okay?]
[The procedures to handle matters are really troublesome especially when the news have to be sent to Alion. The procedures would be easy if it would be just talked about in this country.]
[Ah… I understand.]
The Investigation Team started preparing to leave the Ruins.
[Well, I guess the report this time should be “No Abnormalities” as usual. In fact, I can’t anything that had changed at all.]
[Well, what if there may actually be some people who had lived and managed to get out of this Disposal Ruins?]
[Hahaha! That’s impossible!]
Laughing and joking with the rest, I turned back and looked at the ruins.
[There was no record of someone of someone who has managed to live through there and escape the ruins even once, even after examining the past records about this ruins.]
The Disposal Ruins with zero survival rate.
There can be no change.
I put the crystal that doesn’t work anymore into my leather bag that was strapped on my belt.
[This will be just an easy job. Absolutely.]
Chapter 49
The Woman who was called the Princess Knight
The next morning.
I had my breakfast on the ground floor of the inn.
What I’m wearing today are the clothes that I had changed into yesterday and a dry robe.
My uniform was kept into the hemp bag.
Last night, I had a good night’s sleep.
My head was also really refreshed.
The dining room had already been half-filled with people by the time I went down to the ground floor.
It seems there are still some people who are drinking sake even at this time of the day.
I can see that most of the people in the mornings were mercenaries.
After I’m finished on eating my meal, I inquired something towards the innkeeper.
[I would like to ask some questions about that recruitment for raiding that ruins. The one where the Marquis is gathering people for.]
[Ah, Hati-sama seems to have gotten word of it too. Yes, the lord were certainly looking for people to raid that newly found floor in the ruins.]
The innkeeper told me about the recruitment.
It seems that there’s going to be a briefing today.
There’s no special requirements to be able to join.
It seems that registration has been going smooth for members of the Mercenary Guild.
That means even I can participate.
The meeting place is a plaza on the outskirts of town.
I went back to my room and hid Pigimaru under my clothes. I decided to head for this plaza.
* * *
I immediately knew the plaza designated meeting place upon getting near the place.
It was because the area was lively.
My field of view became wider as soon as I pass through the path towards the forest.
At a glance, I could see about… fifty people?
Everyone I see looks like they’re used to travelling and fighting.
Their images looks close to what travelers or mercenaries that come to my mind.
It can be said that this could almost look like the place where there’s a shooting for those overseas fantasy dramas.
There was a platform in one corner of the plaza.
It looks like an event stage.
The organizer will probably explain on top of that.
[Should I buy something that could tell me the time later?]
The way they tell time here seems to be close to the ones from my original world.
There are twelve beasts that were assigned to the normal twelve hours back in my world.
Each beast indicates the time assigned for them from 1 o’clock to 12 o’clock.
There’s also the concept of AM and PM in here.
The yang beasts indicate the AM and the yin beasts indicate the PM.
However, it’s too confusing if I based it on the standards of this world.
So I just set my mind and kept on following on the sense of time that I’m used to.
I left the inn just before 9:30 am.
According to the innkeeper, the organizers designated time for meetup is 10:00 am.
At that time, a voice rang out from one corner of the plaza.
[Hohhooo~!?]
A slightly hoarse voice rang out loudly.
[It seems that one person that’s out of place from everyone around got mixed in the crowd, isn’t it?]
Hmm?
Don’t tell me, is he talking about me?
[I would still know even if you’re wearing that cloak, you know? You look too prim for this place. Even from the parts that aren’t covered by your hood, I could tell you’re an extremely beautiful woman, you know? Moreover, there’s that elegance that’s drifting about your body. Surely, this lady must have some reputation on her name, right? Well then milady, why are you in this place?]
He’s not talking about me.
The tall and slender macho looks like he’s talking about a slender woman.
[What is it?]
That voice…
I listened carefully to the voice of that slender woman.
[Oh hoo~!? You have quite a clear voice, huh!? It’s as if you’re—]
The slender macho’s eyes opened wide as if he saw through something.
[It looks like you’re the former leader of the the Holy Knights!]
The surroundings began to get bustling.
[Eh? You mean that woman, the Princess Knight Seras Ashrain?]
[Is she the one who was rumored to be the princess of the country of High Elves?]
[I heard about that rumor where she had disappeared from Neia, which is now occupied by Bakuos.]
[Eh!? That former leader is now here in Mills!? Really!?]
[Didn’t Bakuos Empire offer a lot of bounty for her capture?]
That slender macho deliberately took the attention of others.
I just watched over the situation.
She’s probably that woman that I had met in the forest.
I knew of that from her voice.
But, there’s no reason for me to help her.
I have no debts to settle with her nor does she have one towards me. I am no longer associated with that woman after that instance in the forest.
Besides, I don’t want to stand out now.
Even if that’s not so, I’m still not going to lend a hand for her.
Why is it?
That woman still had the composure after being discovered by others.
It’s not like she’s in any trouble.
It’s as if she’s her whole being is full of composure.
It may be that she still has a way out of here.
If I just intervene unnecessarily, I may even accidentally get in her way.
Well—
[…………]
I think it’s possible for to paralyze everyone in here anyway.
The slender macho rushed towards the woman.
[Actually, I’ve never met that leader of the Holy Knights in Neia. I heard though that she was a very beautiful person. It’s just that… I had invited you for to eat out with me, but I was coldly refused!]
[I don’t even remember seeing you.]
[Guh~!]
The slender macho looks like he took quite the damage there. He had a really displeased expression on his face.
[I see— Is that so, I understand. I still remember it though. Even at that time, you’re still acting like that. You have that higher-than-thou attitude of yours and didn’t even have the slightest interest towards others, huh?]
