Chapter 331: Future Plans
The following day, we decided to head to the Forest of Enchantment as usual. Ivan, Phonia, and Nil would be hunting in the shallow waters of the forest, while the two of us would investigate the Dungeon. We had only encountered one monster from the Dungeon so far, so we wanted to understand the tendencies of the monsters that appeared. If the monsters we spotted in the Forest of Enchantment turned out to be from the Dungeon, it could indicate a potential Stampede.
“Take care!”
El was, as always, staying home to study about Japan.
“See you later!”
Phonia cheerfully waved goodbye to El, her tail swaying along with her hand. As we opened the gate and stepped outside, we found ourselves surrounded by about ten knights clad in impressive armor.
“You must be Shu.”
One knight, standing out with his ornate armor, stepped forward. Upon closer inspection, he seemed to be one of the knights who had been following the Councilor yesterday. A sense of impending annoyance washed over me.
“Truly, it is quite rude to disregard the Councilor’s words, but I shall set that aside for now.”
I thought about how I couldn’t simply brush this off by claiming they had mistaken me for someone else. Meanwhile, the knight continued speaking without waiting for a response. I had no recollection of receiving any instructions, but these knights seemed to talk incessantly without listening to anyone else. Isn’t that what you call a monologue?
“According to the Guild Master’s words, I must ascertain whether you are worthy of interrupting the Council.”
Hmm. I wonder if the Guild Master did something. I didn’t quite understand what it meant to interrupt the Council, but what exactly were they trying to ascertain?
“Hey, Shuu… what’s going on with that?”
“Uh, yeah, I’m not sure either…”
As I pondered how to respond, I received a telepathic message from Rio. I had already mentioned the encounter with the Councilor yesterday, but I was just as clueless about the current situation. I certainly hadn’t expected the knights to get involved.
“I don’t know what you’re trying to ascertain, but we’re heading to work now, so could you please not interfere?”
“Hmph. Then this is perfect. I shall observe your actions.”
“Ah, is that so?”
As long as they didn’t interfere, it was fine by me. I couldn’t care less if they could survive deep in the Forest of Enchantment, and they probably wouldn’t be able to keep up with us anyway. If we ended up separating from Ivan and the others, I’d make sure to distance ourselves quickly.
We began to make our way toward the northern gate of the city, with the knights trailing behind us. They didn’t even ask where we were going, but I wondered if those knights were prepared for this. Did they think our light armor meant we were unprepared? I had no obligation to enlighten them, so I kept quiet. Ivan remarked, “S Rank Adventurers sure have it tough,” as if it were someone else’s problem, but I wondered if they recognized Ivan and the others as part of an S Rank Adventurer party.
“Well, we’ll just be wandering around here.”
“Yeah, take care.”
Once we exited the city and reached the entrance to the forest, we parted ways with Ivan and the others. As I watched Ivan and the others stroll leisurely into the forest, I turned back to the knights.
“We’re going to pick up the pace from here.”
“Hmph.”
I informed them, but they merely scoffed. Did they really think they could keep up with us? I checked their statuses, and they were all in the four-digit range, with no particularly useful skills. I genuinely couldn’t understand what they were thinking. Initially, I had planned to use Teleport to move, but I didn’t want them to see that, so I decided to run until we lost them.
After exchanging nods with Rio, we took off at full speed. Running through the Forest of Enchantment was nostalgic, as my master used to make me do it often. It had been a while since I had run, having taken to the skies, but the sensation hadn’t faded. There were some paths that had seen foot traffic, but we charged straight toward our destination, kicking off the ground and pushing off trees, almost flying through the air. Before long, the knights were nowhere in sight.
“Is it about time?”
“Yeah, I think it’s good now.”
Once we felt we had enough distance, we Teleported to the entrance of the Dungeon.
“Ugh, those guys were such a hassle…”
“Seriously, what were they even trying to accomplish?”
We let out a deep sigh as we stood in front of the Dungeon entrance. I really wanted to avoid dealing with people who seemed like they would only get in our way. The thought of leaving the country crossed my mind, but with the possibility of a Stampede looming, I’d feel terrible if the city fell apart after we left.
“If they start to act hostile, we might have to retaliate thoroughly.”
“That might be a good idea. Didn’t an S Rank Adventurer flee a few years back?”
“Now that you mention it, the Guild Master did say something about that… Could it be that’s why S Rank Adventurers are being looked down upon?”
“I can’t say for sure…”
“Right?”
I hate to say it myself, but I believe S Rank Adventurers should be regarded with some level of respect. It was the same when I stood before the Emperor in the Empire, and we could even use the noble’s gate when entering the city.
“If that’s the case, we might really have to take action.”
“Yeah. It seems we need to change their perception of S Rank Adventurers.”
With our future plans decided, we stepped into the Dungeon once more.