Avangarde Royal Capital – Hotel Maison
The white ceiling began to come into focus, and I felt the soft, fluffy blanket enveloping my body. It was so comfortable that for a brief moment, I forgot about the battle with the Comet Wolf Brigade. Yes, after that fight, they let us rest. Eeks, of course, but Tiferia was also considerate.
“Good morning, Lua-chan.”
“Good morning…”
Kurinka was already waiting at the round table with breakfast laid out. It seemed she had ordered it while I was sleeping. Warm toast with butter and scrambled eggs. I knew Kurinka would be hungry, yet she waited patiently for me to wake up before touching any of it. I must have really been in a deep sleep. It was a different kind of fatigue, one that didn’t come from the Abyss Cave. Yes, it was from humans. I had been unknowingly exhausted from dealing with people like the Comet Wolf Brigade. My father had said there were humans I could never even imagine. I must have been truly fed up with those filled with incomprehensible malice. Thinking about how my father might have known about my own weaknesses makes me want to apologize. I might have been too arrogant to think I wanted to see the outside world.
“Are you not tired, Kurinka?”
“Huh? I’m fine now. A good sleep took care of my fatigue.”
“I see…”
Her concern for me made me feel even more uncomfortable. If she truly wasn’t tired, then Kurinka was much stronger than I was. Innocent people were killed right before our eyes, and Elmera had slain a thief. I hadn’t realized it at the time, but looking back now, it was quite terrifying. I wondered if Elmera was okay with killing people. She casually said it would be better to kill, and I couldn’t understand the difference between her and me.
“Oh, by the way, where’s Elmera?”
“She’s helping with the town’s repairs. It seems she cleared up most of it with Imagination Magic.”
“That’s amazing… Oh, right. What about the Blast Chimera?”
“It’s sleeping outside the hotel.”
“Is it… okay?”
“Kiki-chan has the Kaiser Eagle with her, and surprisingly, there are quite a few adventurers with monsters as partners. They’re somewhat reassured since we have our partners with us.”
“I hope it’s really okay…”
If that creature went on a rampage, only someone of Eeks or Tiferia’s caliber could stop it. I thought it would be fine, but I worried someone might provoke it.
“Hey, you awake?”
“Whoa! Ord! At least knock! This is a girl’s room; you have no sense of decency!”
“S-sorry…”
“Seriously, you can’t respect that, can you, big bro?”
“Yeah, yeah.”
“Kou and Bun! You guys are okay…”
Seeing the lively Ord and the two of them made me painfully aware that we hadn’t fulfilled our quest. I wondered if Ord was angry.
“Ord, um…”
“Ah, about the quest, right? Don’t worry, I’ll submit a report to the Guild. I’ll cover the necessary expenses too.”
“But…”
“It’s fine. I’m just glad you two made it back safely, and more than anything, you all have positively influenced me in various ways.”
“Thank you…”
“Good thing I’m a nice guy, huh?”
If it weren’t for that unnecessary comment, he could have just been a nice guy. He seemed a bit more rugged than before, but some things never change. Comparing Kou, Bun, and Ord, I felt that Ord looked like a proper big brother now. It felt like the two were looking up to him.
“Well, we’ve had our share of troubles too.”
Ord started talking without anyone asking. He recounted how they had teamed up with soldiers and Exorcists to defeat the Death Weapon Merchant. That part went well, but then Formas showed up, and Yuyu got seriously injured. The serious look on Ord’s face made it clear how dangerous that guy was. Furthermore, Jag was with the Phantom. Just like Formas, it was unclear how he managed to escape. I thought the Phantom, including the Death Weapon Merchant, was behind it, but the mystery of that Demon Sword remained.
“It seems they let Jag slip away. Because of that, Seigel feels responsible, and it took quite a bit of convincing to get him to rest.”
Jag was also Seigel’s father’s partner, so he might be feeling even more pressured. I should encourage him later. Jag was at fault, not Seigel.
“At least all the Phantoms causing trouble in town have been captured, but… that means the Phantom is effectively gone. I wonder where they went?”
“Wait, really? I didn’t know that…”
“Yeah, apparently it’s thanks to two amazing travelers.”
“Oh, it was incredible. They just had to massage them, and those guys looked so relaxed that they tossed their weapons aside.”
I had no idea what he was talking about, but it sounded impressive. More importantly, Ord’s wiggling fingers were unsettling.
“Good morning!”
“Good morning…”
Unlike the others, Truppo and Rash entered quietly, knocking politely. It seemed these two were also exhausted from their sleep. They had come here for a reason but got caught up in a fight with thieves; what a misfortune. I wondered if the Leopardess Guild was still around.
“Wow, the Kingdom of Avangarde is pretty cool, huh? Hey, let’s do a sightseeing tour next time.”
“Rash, this isn’t the time for that…”
“Exactly! This is serious! Listen! The seal on the Lesser Than has been broken!”
“…Huh? Lesser Than?”
No one understood what that was. What even is a Lesser Than? Rash was spitting as he spoke, but everyone fell silent. Truppo looked embarrassed and lowered his head.
“Lesser Than?”
“Lua-neechan, you don’t know?! It’s the legendary demon that nearly destroyed the Wizard Kingdom hundreds of years ago! Back then, even the most renowned Wizards and Sorcerers couldn’t do anything and were swallowed by darkness without a trace, earning it the nickname ‘King of Shadows.’ After paying a great price, they finally managed to seal it, and the country has been managing it strictly ever since…”
“That’s way too local for anyone to know about…”
“And the guards… were all killed without a trace… the seal…”
Ord’s interjection was spot on, but it was still annoying. From Rash’s frantic demeanor, it was clear that this was a serious threat.
“W-wait a minute. What about the Wizard Kingdom?!”
“It’s safe… The problem starts here. There are signs that the seal was broken, but the Lesser Than is nowhere to be found.”
“So, it just disappeared?”
“Exactly. We’ve confirmed that the seal didn’t weaken and break, so it’s possible that whoever broke the seal took it away… which sounds impossible.”
“Indeed, actually. I have something to discuss with everyone regarding that matter.”
“…Huh?”
I hadn’t noticed when he arrived, but an old man with a white beard and eyebrows was sitting on the bed as if he had been there the whole time. I hadn’t sensed him at all; what kind of magic was that?
“Lord Hast!? When did you—!”
“Whoa!”
“W-who’s this strange old man?!”
Look at that, Ord was so startled he slammed his back against the wall, while Kou and Bun fell back, not wanting to leave Ord’s side. As expected, Truppo and Rash were completely unfazed.
“This is the Shadow Entry I used to come up. Was it inappropriate?”
“That’s the same magic the Comet Wolf Brigade used…”
“I’ve heard about it beforehand. The Custom Magic they used was originally researched by an old friend of mine. It was likely Vattel who…”
Lord Hast, who suddenly appeared, seemed to be joking, but he wasn’t at all. Even with that brief explanation, I could roughly understand what had happened, and the frustration was palpable. Lord Hast’s eyes, which had been hidden, were now covered by his thick white eyebrows.
“However, you see, merely mimicking the surface leaves it incomplete. With just a little improvement from me, it can be used without being detected by magical sensing and can hide its presence until the last moment.”
“So that’s why I didn’t notice…”
“You should have been able to notice. Is something off with you?”
“Not really.”
No, if that hadn’t been Lord Hast, I would have attacked right away. Some might have been injured or even killed. I was definitely weak right now. I might recover if I took my time to rest, but it seemed like it would take a while.
“Well, speaking of which, there’s an even more terrifying fact related to the Lesser Than. From my quick investigation, I found that three seals have been broken within this country alone.”
“Three?! Old man! Is that really true?!”
“Indeed. While some seals are quite shoddy and weakened to the point where they could break at any moment, there are still many that hold strong.”
“Um, I don’t quite follow.”
Kurinka raised her hand earnestly, and I felt just as lost.
“In this world, there are places scattered everywhere that seal away terrifying things, even if they don’t reach the level of the Festival of Calamity. Each of these places contains monsters that have posed significant threats and caused great harm to humans. The very fact that they are sealed means that they couldn’t be eradicated.”
“The Lesser Than we talked about earlier is one of them. This seal is managed by none other than the world-renowned Wizard Kingdom. Even a Lesser Than wouldn’t find it easy to break free from within, and that’s what makes it frightening—someone has managed to do just that…”
“Actually, there is a witness to this matter. A pale-faced man in a black robe was seen in the area where the seal was located. Additionally, a mysterious group led by a strange old man has been reported to have massacred a certain clan that was responsible for managing the seal. It’s tragic, really, considering they lived for generations with that duty…”
“A man in a black robe?! That must be Juo…”
I still didn’t understand everything, but when I thought of a pale face in a pitch-black robe, he was the first person that came to mind. What was he, who should have been with the Demon Lord Army, trying to do now? And perhaps that strange old man was allied with Juo. What on earth were they planning?
“But if such a dangerous seal has been broken, wouldn’t the things inside start rampaging? It should be chaos by now!”
“We discussed this during the Lesser Than incident. It’s strange that nothing has emerged since the seal was broken. You’re quite the clueless guy…”
“W-What did you just call me, you brat?!”
“That’s right. All those who were sealed have suddenly vanished without a trace. The possible scenarios are that they either conspired with the one who broke the seal or were brought under their control…”
It might have been a mistake to have Rash and Ord together. Ord, glaring at Rash with a fighting spirit, looked rather pathetic. More importantly, if what Lord Hast said is true, then something is about to happen. Or perhaps something has already begun. Just when I thought we could relax after defeating the Comet Wolf Brigade, it seems we can’t let our guard down yet. Why does it feel like strange events keep piling up?
――Let the curtain rise on a new era.
For some reason, that mysterious voice suddenly came to mind. No way…
“The ones who were sealed are all dangerous, right? Then there’s no way they could be controlled…”
“One simple answer is that the one who broke the seal is stronger than them.”
“Wait, wait, wait! If that’s the case, we can’t just sit around! The Comet Wolf Brigade is nothing compared to the terrifying beings that are out there! We should inform everyone immediately!”
“Even if I explain, in the current state of affairs, they’d likely dismiss it outright. This country is certainly not in a position to take such matters lightly.”
Lord Hast easily deflated Ord’s enthusiasm. While he might be right, doing nothing isn’t an option. I want to take action right away, but I have no idea where to start.
“Lord Hast, you were away from the Royal Capital to investigate this, weren’t you?”
“No, that was just for sightseeing.”
“What?”
“Well, I was also looking into that voice while I was at it. You remember, right? The one we heard during the Hero’s time…”
“Did you find out anything?”
“Not a clue.”
Everyone must have thought the same thing: “Seriously?” The old man stuck out his tongue and shrugged, completely unamusing.
“Well, that was mostly a joke. I do have some leads.”
“So you did find something after all.”
“I can’t say anything at this stage.”
“I see…”
Even Lord Hast seems to be in the dark about this. What kind of being could it be? From the sound of that voice, it doesn’t seem like a monster. But he did lend his power to someone like Vattel, so it’s clear he’s not a good guy. If something like what happened with Aleid occurs again, then…
“Lord Hast, there’s someone I want you to meet. And related to that, I have this…”
“Hm? What’s this? A Ribbon?”
“Yes.”
“Why do you have something like this… Hm?!”
At first, Lord Hast looked bored as he examined it, but suddenly his interest piqued. He roughly snatched the Ribbon from Kurinka’s hand and held it up, staring intently at it.
“Hmm…”
Lord Hast remained silent for a while, lost in thought.
◆ Shin Report ◆
Upon waking, there seems to be a meeting going on.
The fluffy bed feels so nice.
I’m being moved away from in front of the hotel.
No one can feel safe when a sword is pointed at them, claiming it’s for their safety.
If you’re going to keep a pet, you should think about the ten people involved.
There are reasons why adventurers are disliked by some.
The fluffy bed feels so nice.
Seals in various places?
That’s serious.
Well then, Rua will do her best.
The fluffy bed feels so nice. Ah, the comforter…