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We then left the forest in a hurry and ran along the road to report to the guild.
On the way, we spoke to a man and got some idea of what was going on.
He was a Bronze Grade adventurer, and was on a mission to search for the carcass of a land dragon, as requested by the guild. He headed for the place I had reported and went to the valley with several other adventurers.
And there he saw a diverse army of demons.
The man saw the demons leaving the mountain and decided to forget about the land dragons for the moment. He then set about gathering information to report the situation to the guild.
–Then, he saw something strange.
The man saw a being that seemed to be leading a large number of demons. It was not very large, had wings on its back and was humanoid. The demon, which had never been seen before, however, was clearly commanding an army from the air and had an unusual atmosphere, different from that of a normal stampede.
After confirming the army’s master and the composition of the demons, the men ended their reconnaissance in order to quickly inform the public of this unusual situation. Then, as he was about to return to the city, a problem arose.
The man and his men were spotted by a winged demon that was drifting in the air. The demon attacked them with unusual pressure, and was as strong as its appearance, so the men were lightly beaten.
Even more surprisingly, the demon understood human languages and spoke to the kneeling men. According to the men, the demon spoke to them in human language and told them that they were of good quality and that he was going to keep them alive.
Naturally, the men did not obey him, so they attacked in unison, and he, the fastest man on his feet, fled the scene. After that, as we all know, he joined up with the ‘Sword of Wheat’ in this way, and is hurrying homewards.
It was a bit hard to believe, but the man’s story was so realistic that we didn’t think his fear of the winged monster was false.
Anyway, we proceed along the road, even using our physical enhancements, to tell this story to Bren’s upper management. Belle and Lynn, who didn’t seem to be able to keep up with us on the way, were split up and Anri and I carried them on our backs as we hurried along the road.
We arrived in Buren, went through the gates and soon reached the guild.
We entered, out of breath, and informed the staff at the counter that an unusual stampede had occurred. From there, the response was swift.
“We’d like to hear more about the situation, so could you please come to the back?”
We – the members of the Sword of Wheat and the adventurer who witnessed the stampede – were asked by the guild official to separate from Belle and Lynn and were led to a reception room at the back of the guild. After arriving in the room, the man gives a detailed account of the situation, which is recorded by the staff member with a change of expression on her face.
A short time later, the reception room door opens and Gillian-san enters the room for first time since the morning.
“oh, he’s here. I heard something terrible happened. …… hmm? Is it you guys again?”
Gillian-san looks at us and gives us a troublesome expression.
“Branch manager. The story this time is not from them, the Sword of Wheat, but from Dan-san, the copper grade adventurer who was recovering the earth dragon. Here are the details.”
“Ou.”
After receiving the document with the information written down from the staff member, Gillian-san skims over the contents. He looks up and tells Dan, the adventurer who has come with us so far.
“- You did well to let us know about this. The others probably won’t be alive anymore,……, but this information that you alone brought back alive can make the difference between the fate of Bren. …… Good work.”
Gillian san then tells Dan san, “You need to rest,” and sends him back down.
Dan san looks a little relieved, but his expression is still somewhat stiff. As Gillian san said earlier, he must be feeling something about the fact that the other adventurers have almost certainly died. Whether they were his party members or not.
Feeling a heavy weight on his chest, in the meantime, Gillian san instructs a staff woman to inform the lords of the city’s state of emergency and, in parallel, to call an emergency meeting of adventurers. They will probably establish a city defence system as soon as possible.
Watching the staff leave the room in a hurry, I think that the Sword of Wheat must also respond to the call immediately, but before that I have one thing to tell Gillian san. I don’t know why Dan-san was sent home and we were left alone, but I thought it was convenient, so I opened my mouth.
“-Gillian san. Excuse us for getting busy now, but we have one thing to share with you as well.”
“Hn? What is it?”
“Yes. Regarding the monster stampede that Dan-san reported earlier, the monsters that come are probably stronger than usual – the monsters from the valley where I defeated the earth dragon. I think I mentioned it when I was talking about subjugating the Earth Dragon, but for some reason the monsters in that valley are stronger than normal, and they also seem to have a stronger fighting spirit. They are coming in hordes…maybe they lost control after I defeated the earth dragon and came out of the valley.”
I nodded with Anri and the others and conveyed my concerns to Gillian san. I was imagining that his stern face would become even more frowned upon, saying that this was another headache.
But contrary to expectations, Gillian san nodded his head without changing his expression.
“…. Yeah, about the strength of the demons, yes. Even without your information, I could have guessed that from Dan’s story alone. And probably not directly related to the earth dragon thing.”
“….. Is that so?”
“Yeah. This is also related to the reason why we left you here. And also about my old activities as an active member of the hero party.”
“The Hero party …… have something to do with the Demon God?”
Anri reacted to Gillian san’s words.
Before she could ask what he meant, Gillian san nodded gravely.
“Correct. To be more specific, it’s a demon who is a descendant of a demon god. The talking monster with wings that Dan said he saw is most likely a demon.”
“Demon…..”
“Yeah. They always act for the sake of their master, the demon god. I don’t know the details, but I’m sure it will be the same this time. So, the powerful monsters in the valley were probably prepared by the demon as pawns, right? I don’t know what their purpose is, but they’re leading them and targeting Bren.”
Gillian san continues.
“And. The problem is with the demons who are stronger than normal, but what’s even more dangerous is the demons themselves. …demons basically have tremendous power. There are individual differences, but when it comes to the adventurer’s grade, at least he’s silver grade — in the worst case scenario, he has more power than platinum grade.”
“……”
“As long as there’s the earth dragon, they won’t be able to leave the valley. In addition to the strength of the demon himself, there are also the monsters under his control.”
We were unintentionally struck with admiration. I knew from Dan-san’s story that it was a fairly powerful monster, but I can’t imagine it being more powerful than platinum grade. I have never seen a platinum-class adventurer other than Gillian san, and I hear that his power can easily slay a higher-ranking dragon, but I can only think of a legendary hero who is higher than that.
If such a being is heading towards us, it can be said that this Bren is in a very dangerous situation.
However,……, there is something I am concerned about in the first place. If the demon is working for the demon god, then that means that there is also a demon god behind this turmoil.
“–Gillian san. Wasn’t the demon once subjugated by you, the hero party? Listening to what you just said, it sounds like that person still exists.”
“Yeah, ……, that’s what I think.”
At my words, Gillian san muttered and frowned in disgust.
“– about defeating the demons ……, that’s a lie.”
“–“
How many times have I been surprised?
It is widely known that the former Demon God disaster, which plunged the world into the depths of terror, ended with the heroes defeating the Demon God. In exchange for the hero’s life, the demon god disappeared and peace returned to the world.
However, Gillian san says that this was a lie. We were unable to speak, so Gillian san told us the truth.
“Actually, there’s only so much we can do against a demon goddess, a god of the other world. Even though we borrowed some of the power from the goddess, it was only a part of it, not the god itself. But my opponent is a god at full power, so there’s no way I can kill him.”
“Then, the ending of the story we were told in our bedtime stories is…”
“It’s a fabrication. The king and churchmen of each country could not say that the threat of the demonic gods had not yet completely disappeared. In fact, all we could do was manage to push the demons back to the world where they came from.”
“…… So you’re saying that the demigod is still alive and has now returned to this world?”
“Oh no,……, according to the goddess, once a dimensional door is closed, it is not easy to open it, so it should be a long time before the demigod can come back here again,……. Well, I’ll have to look into that too.”
Gillian san let out a sigh and scratched his head.
We couldn’t swallow this shocking story immediately and chewed frantically in our heads. The global story we were suddenly told was enough to make us pause in our thoughts.
–No. Unlike us who froze, Anri was the only one who didn’t.
“So, what’s the reason you left us here? Well, I can pretty much guess.”
Anri turned her sharp gaze to Gillian san and said
“In any case, you’re going to use the ‘Sword of Wheat’—Tale – as the main force to suppress the demons who are the minions of that demon god, aren’t you?”
“…… Yeah. I don’t hate you guys for being so talented and brash, but this is a big deal in this city. Of the adventurer party left in the city, you are the ones who can do the most, and Tale is probably the strongest individual, even including the guardians. I’m old now, and I can’t move like I used to. So, in the worst case scenario, Tale –even if you die, kill the demon.”
Gillian san shoots me with a sharp gaze as if he were standing on a battlefield. Those words carried the weight of someone who rules over an adventurer’s guild branch and who protects the safety of this city.
Refusing Gillian san’s request here should not be done with half-hearted resolve.
I turn my head, which had been slowing down until a moment ago. I think about the people living in this city and, above all, the members of the Sword of Wheat, who are next door.
What will happen if I run away? What disadvantages will all my friends suffer? –Who should put their lives on the line?
Each of the people here must be thinking about each of these things. Each person has a different position, and what is important to them is also different. In such a situation, I sort out my own priorities and figure out which choice will lead to which outcome.
Then, after some quick thinking, I open my mouth to give the answer I’ve chosen—
—At that moment, a fierce anger rose next to me.
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