Hunting the wind dragon had robbed us of our sleep and turned our sleeping schedule upsidedown, and so we decided to take the next day off . That being said, it just meant we’d take turns sleeping . The mountain peak had harsh winds, but there were no monsters . And so it was a good spot for resting, but we decided that someone should still stay up and watch, just in case .
As for the tent, there was no trace of it ever being there…
The next day, we went to the former bandit hideout on our way down the mountain . There was still blood all over the place . I couldn’t tell what was from the wind dragon, blood apes or bandits . But it all looked very ominous…
I folded my hands one last time in front of their graves, and then we started our journey back to the city .
We moved at a much more leisurely pace this time, and ended up bumping into the military who were on their way to investigate the east mountain . They had decided that the rumors could not be ignored . However, the truth of the matter was now in my bag .
“…And that’s how it went down . The rumors were true . ”
“I see… But you two did it alone…”
I can’t believe it . He seemed to want to say . I was more than willing to prove it to him, and so I dropped my bag and was about to unleash the dragon corpse on him, when Daniela put a hand on my shoulder .
“If you do not believe us, you must go and witness the scene for yourself . The battlefield will tell you much . You will also see where we buried the bandits . And more than anything, I have the head of their leader . ”
She said as she raised the bag .
“…Very well . We shall go and see this battlefield . We’ve come all this way, and we can’t return without more information . ”
He chuckled and assured us that he was not doubting our account . Very convincing .
“As for your reward, the guild will handle that, so you should have that processed as soon as possible . Now then, we’ll be on our way . ”
He saluted us and then returned to the other men .
I stared dumbly as the troops marched off to the mountain . It was actually the first time I saw the Empire’s soldiers marching . There was something satisfying about the precision in their movements . It’s no wonder they started doing parades .
“…We should go . ”
“Yeah . ”
Daniela pulled at my clothes as I watched them . And so I turned in the direction of the city, and started walking .
It’s now been a week since our return to the city . During this week, Daniela and I mostly acted separately, which was quite unusual for us . It had been a while since I spent so much time alone in this world . But I really didn’t have much to do, and so there was a lot of aimless walking through the city and occasionally stopping to take in the city sights . Of course, it wasn’t like I did nothing at all .
On our way back, I had told Daniela that I wanted to spend some time alone . She seemed to have sensed something and so she readily agreed . I was happy about that . And so it was with a lighter heart, that I ran . I carried Daniela all the way back to the city . It had taken us two days to get to the mountain, but the trip back was just one day .
After we returned, I went to the guild, reported the completion of the quest and had the wind dragon carved up .
It only took one day for that to finish . They had been quite happy to be able to work on a dragon . I chuckled at their undisguised enthusiasm . It was the same in every city . In any case, it meant I could take the materials to a tailor much earlier than expected .
The guild suggested a good place for me to go, and I ordered a set of clothes that were similar to my old ones . The tailor did not look amused at first, but that changed when I pulled out the materials . Materials were everything to a craftsman .
Still, tailoring was a process that took a long time . And so I was told it would take a week even without enchantments . As I had brought the materials in a day after our return, that meant the clothes should be ready tomorrow . I could hardly contain my excitement, but I decided that checking up on their progress now would not help them at all . That was too bad…
And so I decided to go out into the city . I thought of going to the guild and accepting a random quest, but then again, the tailor had my wind dragon gear, which made me anxious about my lack of protection . What to do…
“Uh… Where am I?”
Before I knew it, I had walked into an area that I knew nothing about . Well, I think I was still within the west district…
I looked around but there were no signs or obvious landmarks . Damn it…
“Oomph…”
I used Legs of the God Wolf to hop onto the roof of one of the buildings . This was the thing to do when in doubt .
“Hmmm… Ah, I’m right by the nobles district . ”
I could see the wall to the east .
“You get a great view of the castle from here…”
The Iron Castle, Revance Reve . It was mostly black and gold with many spires . Very intimidating . As I sat on the roof and stared at it, something moved in the corner of my vision .
“…A child?”
A girl . She was walking alone . Judging by her clothes, she was clearly of noble birth…
From what I could see, she seemed to be lost . She looked around repeatedly and her fists were clenched anxiously .
“I can’t ignore someone like that…”
I wasn’t the devil . Surely helping a child wouldn’t result in me getting involved in anything… I could just help her back to the gate of the noble district . Yes, that’s all .
I jumped off the roof and landed in the shadow of a building . I would walk out casually as if I were completely oblivious .
With my hands in my pockets, I started to walk in her direction .
But on the opposite side of her, I could see that two men were walking in her direction as well .
“…”
I had spent quite a while in this world now . And something in my brain was raising an alarm . Those weren’t attendants or people with good intentions .
And so I turned into an alley and activated Presence Block . From there, I peeked out into the street .
They could just be guards who happened to look rough . I wasn’t all that experienced to have an instinct for these things .
“Now…”
What were they? The answer was about to be revealed .
“Ohhh…which way is it…”
“Little lady . Are you lost?”
“Huh?”
They were talking . She was lost after all .
“Uh, yes . I’m trying to get to the main street . ”
“This place can be quite complicated . Hmm, I can take you to it . ”
“Oh, that is very kind of you… Thank you . ”
“Don’t mention it…”
He smiled . Hmm . Perhaps I shouldn’t judge people by their appearances…
And then the rugged man took the girl’s hand and started walking .
In the opposite direction of the street .
“It could be a shortcut…”
I couldn’t go around screaming ‘bloody kidnapper’ without knowing for sure . And so I decided to follow them .
I was careful not to rely on Presence Block too much as I allowed them to go on ahead before quietly following after them .