The Preliminary Step Before The Departure
“I’ve caught wind of Egil-san’s rumours here and there. Like, 『there’s the strongest Adventurer who doesn’t form a guild』, and,『a man amongst man』, at any rate, your manliness became rumours……so, I had thought that I want to try meeting you one day. I had heard that you’re living in this town so I would look for you whenever I was nearby but I couldn’t quite meet you. Myー, I’m really glad. I never would’ve imagined that Egil-san of all people would accept my request!”
“Is, is that so……”
Hart talkatively conveyed to me his passionate reverence towards me as soon as we moved the stage to a nearby restaurant.
Once in a while, there are some.
No, unfortunately, there are quite a few.
Mysterious male fans like this.
I suppose Hart is an ardent fan even amongst them.
Although I don’t dislike it, it makes me feel slightly complicated.
Hart’s passionate feelings that don’t seem like it would end if nobody stops him, was stopped by Habrik who’s sitting beside him.
“As I thought, it’s the right choice to have hidden it until the very last moment huh. Hora, leave it at that, apologize to the three of them for the rude attitude you assumed just now”
“No……but”
“You as of late have been too sharp-tongued to your surroundings. Although I can understand because I know the reason, it’s too rude to the three who you’ve met for the first time. ーーYou want to have them avenge the three of them, right?”
In response to Habrik’s unusually serious words, Hart became so small that it’s disproportionate to his large armour, placed his hands on the table, and lowered his head.
“……I am sorry. The way I spoke was slightly awful”
“No, it’s fine. More importantly, why were you so hard on us?”
“That’s……”
I somehow already know the reason but I try asking just to be sure.
But Hart turned his eyes to the side and looked slightly like he’s finding something difficult to say.
“I won’t get angry so say it”
“……A male Adventurer who’s bringing women is just all talk, is what I’m thinking. Rather than it coming from experience, it’s because I’d seen a similar lot just the other day”
“A similar lot?”
“Eeh, they’re those fellows who are participating in the《Goliath Fortress Invasion Battle》quest……. Moreover, because the two of them are slaves, well, um……I thought that you lot were that kind of people”
That kind of peopleーーwell, I understand what he wants to say.
It’s a fellow who uses slaves to complete quests, or, a lot who pleasures themselves with slaves during the quest’s break, I guess.
So I’m able to understand a fair bit of what Hart thought.
“It can’t be helped that you think that way. However, we are proper Adventurers. I think we’re different from those fellows you know”
“I, I am sorry”
Hart who slams his forehead vigorously onto the table.
“Don’t apologize that far. Both of you as well, you’re not angry anymore, right?”
“Fufu, I have not been angry since the beginning, you know?”
A sweet smile.
What a lie, Eleanor.
“Well, I don’t mind if Egil-san is fine with it……. It’s unpleasant to be thought of like that though”
Serina who’s sullen-looked despite saying that she doesn’t mind.
Although the two of them are slightly in a bad mood, I begin the self-introduction.
“I think you already know but, I’m Egil. I accepted the quest this time from Habrik’s referral. Hora, both of you as well”
“……I am Serina. Nice to meet you”
“My name is Eleanor. I am Egil-sama’s wife-to-be”
After they respectively finished their strange self-introductions, Hart introduced himself this time around.
“I am Hart・Suarez. I was serving as the guild, 《Jerusalem’s Hope》’s Guild Leader but, as you’ve heard, my companions are……”
“……Aah, I’ve heard. Nice to meet you, Hart. Jerusalem, it’s the name of the kingdom that’s across the Glamier Mountains from here, is it?”
“Eeh, people from our guild were from the respective villages in the Jerusalem Kingdom’s vicinity, so we took the name of the kingdom that’s set in the middle of it and gave ourselves the name, ‘Jerusalem’. It’s simple but……we quite liked it”
Hart who smiles with a sorrowful expression.
I can tell how painful of a situation he’s in just by looking at that expression.
Therefore, I moved to the main issue in order to also dispel that chagrin.
“……Is it alright for me to ask about the details? For Hart, and for Hart’s 《Jerusalem’s Hope》’s guild members’ sakes as well”
“Egil-san……. Okay, if it’s something I know then I’ll talk about it all. However, when it comes to who the other party is, I myself also don’t know who it is”
“Don’t know? Is that because you weren’t attacked face to face?”
“That’s right. And, there’s not just one traitor, there are two……no, I think there are three”
“Three huh”
I wonder if it’s a criminal act that involves a guild.
No, if that’s the case, I have a feeling that there’s a higher possibility that there are four people instead of three.
“How did you know about that?”
“……All the wounds on the Adventurers who were killed were different respectively. If there are those who were shot with an arrow in the heart, then there were also those who were killed by some kind of magic, moreover, there were also those who were split into halves by an axe”
Monsters don’t hold weapons.
If they’re monsters that are close to humans then they might use a bludgeoning weapon like a club, but I’ve never heard before of such things like monsters using things like magic, bow and arrow, and an axe.
It’s because they have no reason to use itーーbecause rather than shooting arrows, rather than swinging an axe, monsters are stronger when they’re using their natural fighting style.
“ーーMy own comrades as well, they had separate wounds”
Perhaps Hart recalled his comrades’ death, his complexion became a little bad.
“Are you alright?”
“Sorry. I still haven’t recovered from it……”
Hart, who finished drinking the water that’s placed on the table in one go, took a short pause and continued with the subject.
“I don’t know about the other guilds’ Adventurers, but our guild was all A Rank Adventurers. Therefore, I think the other party is quite skilled as well. Otherwise, there’s no way my comrades would’ve been done in”
“I see. However, isn’t the method to search for the traitors easy? Since the weapon one uses changes according to the occupation, those fellows whose weapons match the ones used to inflict the wounds are the traitors, right?”
The weapon one is proficient at differs according to the occupation.
Somebody who battles with a sword is unable to use magic.
If somebody, who battles with a sword, battles with an axe, they become significantly weaker.
So, when the traitors commit fratricide, they should certainly be utilizing the weapon they regularly use.
Against A Rank Adventurers, there’s no way they can challenge them with a weapon outside their own occupation and win. Something like that is an impossible task even for me.
ーーHowever, Hart shook his head.
“We also thought that and checked everybody’s weapons. Butーーeven if there’s somebody who uses magic, there are neither anybody who uses a bow nor anybody who uses an axe”
“Which means it doesn’t match up?”
“Eeh, that’s right. That’s why we’re not able to identify the traitors”
“……I see. In that case, have you verified everybody’s Adventurer Card?”
If you verify the Adventurer Card, you can tell that Adventurer’s occupation.
If they do that, they can immediately tell if there were those who were asserting that the weapons they’re using when they usually subjugate monsters are their occupation’s weapon and were changing to their occupation’s original weapons only when they’re committing fratricide.
However, Hart again shook his head.
“Unfortunately, we can’t do that”
“……Why?”
“At some point, it’s prohibited to reveal each other’s Adventurer Card ”
“And the reason for that is?”
“……Everybody became suspicious of anything and everything. That’s why nobody wants to reveal their own occupation”
“That’s what it is huh”
Telling one’s own occupation is like telling one’s weakness.
I suppose they decided on that because it’s a situation where there are fellows who are committing fratricide and they have the thinking that they want to keep it a secret from the lot from the other guilds.
As far as I’ve heard, it’s a situation where they completely don’t have a clue on who are the traitors.
“We’ll accomplish nothing even if we talk about it here, for now, let’s go, shall we. We can already go, right?”
“Yes, we can. Well then, I shall go and arrange the carriage”
“Then I’ll go load the materials that are necessary for the camp area”
Both of them stand up hurriedly.
“Shall we help as well?”
I ask and, both of them shake their heads and leave the shop.
It means, ‘wait here for a while’, huh.
I speak to the two of them who sit on both my sides.
“……Fuu. For now, what do the both of you think after hearing the story?”
“Right. I cannot grasp the situation just from the story”
“I have the same thinking as well. In the first place, why are there still people who accept the quest despite knowing that there are traitors?”
“It’s likely that it’s because this is a quest directly from the Felistina Kingdom’s King-sama. Its reward is higher than other quests and if they complete this quest, they’ll get prioritised on other quests’ requests as well. As an Adventurer, they won’t ever lose their employment if they clear this quest. I guess that’s why even it’s dangerous, they can’t back down even if they want to”
If I can think of a reason other than that, I guess it’s that they’re plain idiots.
I understand if it’s somewhat dangerous, but I don’t understand the reason to continue accepting a quest that has people who commit the likes of fratricide.
If the traitors take pleasure in murdering then this is the best quest there is to have.
“……What about Egil-san, what’s your opinion after hearing the story?”
“Yeah. First of all, it’s troublesome that we don’t know the other party is. Someone who we’re subjugating monsters together with and entrusting our back toーーmay actually be a traitor who’s trying to kill us; it’s more troublesome than an ordinary quest that has monsters as our opponents”
In a Joint Quest, there are fundamentally about 10 participating guilds. And then those 10 guilds don’t act separately, they often act together.
Hence, in the case of a Joint Quest, it’s necessary to have mutual trust between the guilds, but I guess that’s impossible in a state where everybody is suspicious of anything and everything.
By any chance, they may not even say a word.
“Both of you also be careful of your surroundings. If possible, I’d like you guys to not leave my side”
It’s likely that one’s targeted by the traitors when they’re alone by themselves.
If you consider what’d happen if they act when there’s somebody around and they let them get away; it’s not something murderers who are thinking of hiding their identity would normally do.
That’s why I worried about the both of them and said that but, while Eleanor smiles sweetly and Serina’s face turns red,
“I will properly be by your side even if I am not told, so please do not worry. ……I will be together with you inside the tent’s sleeping bag as well”
“If, if Egil-san says so then……yes, I got it”
It looks like I made them misunderstand but, oh well.
“Thank you for waiting. The carriage’s preparation is done so let’s set off soon”
Hart comes to fetch us and we head towards the carriage.
Both Eleanor’s preparation and Serina’s preparation are also adequate.
“I’ve finished replenishing my swords as well. If I have this many, it’ll probably be fine”
My occupation, Sword Dancer, houses swords in an empty space and is able to freely summon it at wherever I want, but those swords aren’t unlimited.
I’m unable to replenish them in the empty space if they’re broken so I have to replenish them every time.
I have approximately 1000 now. It’s on the plentiful side if it’s an ordinary quest. But I wonder how it’d be this time…….
ーーI hope that it’ll be fine.
“Are the three of you done with your preparations?”
“Aah, it’s fine”
“Ah, oh right. Here”
Habrik hands over robes to the three of us.
A monotonous and entirely dark brown cloth robe.
“These are?”
“It’s originally prohibited for Adventurers who didn’t join the guild to accept the quest together as that guild’s member. So because the other guilds don’t know that Hart’s comrades had been killed, I’d like the three of you to carry out the quest while hiding your faces”
“Aah, there was such a rule huh. But is my stature and such alright?”
I ask and, Hart nods and answers.
“Luckily, there’s just one fellow who’s tall amongst my comrades so it’s fine. Besides, in the situation where we don’t know under what criteria does the traitors target the Adventurers, I think it’s better for the three of you to go about living while hiding your faces”
‘It never hurts to be careful.’, is what it is huh.
If that’s the case then I’m grateful for that.
BesidesーーEleanor’s childhood friends are there after all.
Until the time comes, she doesn’t want her face to be seen by her three childhood friends.
“I got it. Then let’s go, shall we”
We put on the baggy hoods that completely cover our faces and hide our entire body with the dark brown robes.
And then we set off.
In order to find the traitors who killed Hart’s comrades and take revenge, and in order to put an end to Eleanor’s past.