Chapter 138, Reunion and Shock

Translator: Barnnn

 

On the first rest day of February, the trio was just returning from an outing in town when they were stopped in the entrance hall by one of the maids.

 

“Master Fieda, Master Hal, Master Ize. Lord Gruash requests that you come to the reception room. You have visitors.”

“Visitors?” Fieda parroted.

“Friends of Gruash, maybe?” Hal guessed.

“Who could it be?” Ize murmured.

“Can we meet them looking like this?” Hal asked, glancing down at their casual clothes.

“I’ve been told they are adventurers, so your attire will be no problem,” the maid replied.

“All right. Please lead the way.”

“Actually, wait,” Ize said. “Take and Hiro might have left some smell on us. Let me cast a quick Cleanse.”

“Thanks.”

“You’re a lifesaver.”

 

As they followed the maid through the manor, Ize’s spell swept away dust and scents from all of them.

 

“So,” Hal asked, “We’re starting another Dungeon run tomorrow, right?”

“Sure,” Fieda replied. “How about we stay for ten days this time?”

“That would make it our last run here, wouldn’t it? Or maybe we can squeeze in one more after that?”

“Could be the last. We’ll decide when we work out an actual plan later.”

“But man… can’t believe winter’s almost over already,” Hal mentioned.

“Do we start moving on before spring’s fully here?” Ize asked.

“If we went straight to Sooryab, we’d have more time… but if we want to make stops along the way, we’d better leave soon,” Fieda warned.

“True,” Hal agreed.

“Going straight there DOES feel like a waste.”

 

Going from Speraniessa to Sooryab was just over a month’s travel. Leaving at the end of March wouldn’t be an issue, but it would mean little time to linger in towns along the road.

As they walked, Ize counted on her fingers the interesting places she’d heard about while they were here.

 

“There’s that lake with a whirlpool that reverses direction every so often… the village where you can harvest loads of sweet orange-like fruits… and, oh! That cliff where huge flowers bloom all at once–”

“Don’t they use those flowers to make pictures on the cliff face?” Hal asked.

“Oh, that’s right… the spring festival that celebrates the first blooms,” Ize nodded. “We’ll have to plan the timing for that village, then.”

“We’ll figure that out later,” Fieda interrupted just as the reception room’s door came into view.

 

Opening the door, the maid announced,

 

“I’ve brought Masters Fieda, Hal, and Ize.”

 

They stepped inside…and were met by two very familiar faces.

 

“Wardon!?” Fieda exclaimed.

“And Mister Volhelm!” Ize added.

 

The guests were A-rank adventurers: one whom they had met in Jasted, and the other from their time in Fuyuya.

 

◆

 

After a brief exchange of joyous reunion, Fieda asked why the two showed up so suddenly, and Wardon started explaining,

 

“You know they’re holding the Founding Festival in spring, right?”

“Of course,” Fieda said.

“And you know the King will abdicate during it?”

“Right.”

“And that the Church will be gathering there?”

“Actually, I don’t know that part.”

 

At the mention of the Church, Fieda’s face turned defensive.

Hal’s, on the other hand, twisted in distaste.

 

“Don’t tell me they’re not coming to the Dungeon,” he said.

“That’s exactly it,” Wardon replied.

“What? Why not?” Ize asked, baffled by the leap from royal abdication to the Church’s absence.

Wardon explained briefly: “Ceremonies like that draw the Church’s highest bishops and priests. A wide range of the hierarchy — down to the mid-ranking Padres and Saintess apprentices — travel with them.”

“Nobles will be there too,” Volhelm added, his usually light voice edged with irritation. “The Church uses the chance to parade their most powerful light-elemental magic users in front of royalty. They burn their magical power to the limit every day just to curry favor.”

Fieda groaned. “Then what happens to Sooryab?”

“They don’t care,” Wardon said flatly.

“Utterly useless, the lot of them!” Volhelm shook his head.

“Aww, man…” Hal muttered.

“Seriously…” Ize agreed, clearly disappointed.

“Couldn’t they still join us after the festival?” Hal asked, still hoping; the Church completely abandoning the people like that seemed unthinkable.

“I wouldn’t count on it…” Wardon shrugged and turned to Volhelm. “…What do you think?”

“The festival’s at the end of April. Then they’ll spend at least a month schmoozing nobles in the Capital. Even rushing, it’s over two months to Sooryab from there. And they WON’T rush.”

“So August at the earliest, probably later…”

Gruash gave a short, derisive laugh. “And that’s without counting all the other ceremonies they’ll insist on attending along the way.”

 

At that, the three non-Tajellians tilted their heads.

 

“Ah, right…” Volhelm groaned. “There’s the Summer Requiem and the Autumn Harvest Festival. Big moneymakers for them.”

“In other words,” Wardon concluded, “they won’t come for a year.”

 

Money over lives. Money over the kingdom’s safety.

None of them could quite find the words for it.

 

“This IS the kingdom’s problem, isn’t it?” Fieda asked.

“Man, what a bunch’a of jokers,” Hal said flatly.

“I don’t even know what to say,” Ize admitted.

“Yeah, that’s just about the reaction I expected,” Volhelm chuckled.

“Ugh, wonderful…” Wardon grumbled.

 

The two A-rank adventurers sagged back into their sofa, utterly drained.

Hal, connecting the dots, had an idea now why they had come.

 

“Sooo… you’re heading for Sooryab early?” he asked.

“Yeah,” Shezel replied in their stead. “And since Gru’s not the Lord anymore, they figured they could rope him into helping.”

Wardon nodded. “We heard about the change of Lords and guessed you were behind it. And here you are. You definitely stirred something up.”

“Naaah, we didn’t do anything,” Hal said innocently.

“Yeah, on our first day here, maybe. From the second day, though…” Fieda pressed.

“Dammit, Fieda! You traitor!” Hal cried.

 

Ignoring Hal’s attempt to cover things up, Fieda proceeded to explain how they had saved Loudipa.

 

“…All right, I guess that’s a wrap.” Shezel nodded. “Actually, you know what? While we’re here, you’d better tell Wardon about the… other thing.”

“Huh?” Ize said blankly.

“Ahh…” Hal raised a finger, trying to find the words.

“Wait, what? What’s it gotta do with me?” Wardon looked at the group in confusion.

“You know Gruash and Volhelm know, but Wardon doesn’t,” Hal pointed out.

“He doesn’t? I thought we told him,” Ize said.

“He knows about the black hair, but not the truth.”

Wardon tilted his head. “What truth?”

“You didn’t tell him?” Volhelm’s brows shot up.

 

Gruash gave Wardon a look of faint sympathy.

 

“So you thought we were a Hero’s descendants,” Hal said. “Well, that’s close, but not quite.”

“Wait, what are you saying? You mean…” Wardon’s eyes widened.

“Bingo,” Hal said.

“Ding-dong,” Ize chimed in.

“”In fact…”” they announced together, “”WE ARE JAPANESE GOBLIN– I MEAN, HEROES! Clap, clap, clap — ow!””

 

Their performance ended abruptly when Fieda karate-chopped both their heads.

 

Gruash folded his arms. “Okay, now that the reveal is out of the way… Honestly, I didn’t want any of them to be dragged too deep into this kingdom’s mess, but considering how much they’ve been told… I don’t see how we can avoid it.”

Wardon’s head jerked toward the other A-ranks. “Wait, so you BOTH knew!?”

Volhelm smirked and gave a shrug. “I saw the evidence with my own eyes when their Camouflage broke at the Fire Dragon’s lair. Bardveles called them ‘Heroes’ outright, too.”

“As for me, I saw them using miscellaneous items that only Heroes would carry,” Gruash added dryly, giving an identical shrug.

Wardon let out a groan and slumped forward, elbows on his knees, rubbing his temples. “You’ve got to be kidding me…”

 

Fieda, long since unfazed by such revelations, ignored his distress and turned to Gruash.

 

“So… Are you going, Gruash?”

“I will. Loudipa’s heading to the Capital in spring for the abdication, but he says he’ll return immediately afterward. Once he’s back, I’ll take Shezel and Rossalie with me.”

“Miss Rossalie, too?” Ize’s eyes lit with approval. “That’s reassuring!”

“We’ve got no one else in our ranks with light magic,” Shezel explained. “We DO have some water mages, but their Cleanse wouldn’t quite cut it. We’ll need more guards than usual, too.”

“Will you make it in time before the Deluge?” Fieda asked bluntly.

 

The three A-ranks fell silent.

 

“With the scale of it, we can keep in check,” Gruash said at last. “But the original goal to force it into Dormancy and restore the old cycle is… going to be out of reach for now.”

“There’s been talk of abandoning the Rank 2 and focusing on the Rank 3 instead,” Volhelm pitched in. “But the next Rank 2’s Deluge is coming right on its heels. Personally, I think Sooryab has to come first.”

“I agree,” Wardon nodded.

 

As it turned out, the Deluge schedule was merciless: Sooryab’s Rank 2, then a Rank 3, then another Rank 2, all within a handful of years. Without quick decisions, they’d fail not only to restore the cycles but to even keep the damage minimal.

 

Hal’s gaze swept over the three adventurers, weighing them, then he asked at last,

 

“…Do you want our help?”

Gruash replied without a moment’s hesitation: “Honestly, we sure do.”

 

Hal regarded him with a perfectly neutral expression. Beside him, Ize’s hands trembled slightly.

 

“I see,” Hal said.

Gruash’s voice softened. “I know it’s unreasonable. We’re dragging you into a fight our own people refuse to face. But honestly, I want your strength more than I can say.”

Volhelm met Ize and Hal’s eyes in turn. “Same for me. I’m disgusted with our countrymen’s selfishness, but I don’t want to see ordinary people hurt. If you want payment, we’ll provide it. I’d be glad to have you with us.”

 

Finally, Wardon, huge frame awkwardly bent, bowed deeply to them both.

Ize’s fingers tugged at Hal’s, and Hal covered them with his other hand, sighing quietly.

 

“The deadline’s a year and a half from now, right?” Hal asked.

“That’s right,” Gruash nodded. “The Deluge is expected in the autumn of the year after next.”

“Hmm…”

 

Hal tapped his fingers lightly against Ize’s hand as he turned something over in his mind. All eyes were on him now; the air in the room tightened.

 

“So what if…” Hal said at last, “…we cut the time to Dormancy drastically without the Church’s help? Would that rub their noses in it?”

 

After a long pause, a slow grin curved one side of his mouth.

Ize’s face lit up.

 

“Hahaha! NOW Saintess Hal is born FOR REAL!”

Hal blinked. “…Uh, what?”

“Saintess?” Volhelm parroted.

“Waaait… Hal’s a WOMAN!?” Wardon blurted.

“Hell no, I’m not!” Hal snapped at the last comment before pushing on. “Anyway, not to boast or anything, but Ize CAN wipe out the Undead in no time at all. Volhelm, you’ve seen the strength of her magic yourself.”

“A-ah… right,” Volhelm said, recalling the incident.

 

Ize’s healing magic had regrown one wing of the gigantic Fire Dragon and fully healed the other. Volhelm, having witnessed it up close, could only nod.

 

“And since this summer, I’ve been able to improvise my water magic into holy water,” Hal continued.

“Hal was amazing in that Undead Dungeon near the Capital,” Ize said brightly. “All those stinking undead, gone in a flash!”

“Yeah, the fights ended so quickly that gathering the Magicites afterward took even longer,” Fieda added.

“My back still hurts from that,” Ize grumbled.

“Until you learned to pull them in with dark magic, it was a nightmare,” Hal said.

“All that practice did wonders for my accuracy. And my perception of magical energy is much sharper now, too.”

“No meat to loot, but all in all, it was a good Dungeon,” Fieda nodded.

“Whoa, stop right there. That’s just, like, your opinion, man,” Hal interrupted.

“A meatless Dungeon is NOT a good Dungeon,” Ize declared.

“…Okay,” Fieda said flatly.

 

Clearly, Fieda’s standards were not theirs.

 

“Heh… you two haven’t changed at all.”

 

Volhelm’s shoulders shook with laughter. He took a moment to let the chuckles fade, then leaned back against the sofa.

Gruash, in contrast, straightened up, planting his hands firmly on his knees.

 

“Hal, Ize… Heroes of Earth. As a noble of this kingdom, I wish to formally request your aid.”

 

His tone was that of a doctor delivering a grave diagnosis, or a judge pronouncing an already-decided verdict.

Hal and Ize held his gaze. Then Gruash’s mouth twisted into a cold, knowing smile.

 

“When the Church finally shows up, I want to be able to tell them, ‘There is nothing left for you to do, so go away.’ Help us make that possible.”

 

At that, the same silent, dangerous smile spread to every face in the room.