Chapter 358: Lifting the Alert Level
The Fortress City of Satanis Garden, where the stampede of monsters had occurred, was located about four days’ journey by carriage from the Royal Capital. On foot, it would take roughly ten days. Once the alert level for the stampede was lifted, we planned to set out towards the Royal Capital at a leisurely pace.
If we opened a dimensional door, we could reach the Royal Capital in an instant, but that would mean bypassing any potential encounters along the way. Our goal this time was to engage with everything and everyone we met head-on, fully embracing the spirit of OHANASHI as we made our way to the castle. Anything that dared to obstruct us would be crushed without mercy. This would be our mission.
Finally, the alert level for the stampede was lowered to Level 2. Consequently, most of the personnel stationed at the front lines were withdrawn, leaving only a minimal number behind. However, the majority of those who left were soldiers.
“With the noisy ones gone, it feels so much better,” someone remarked. Yet, the reason for the withdrawal might not have been that the situation was deemed safe, but rather that the Guild wanted to rid themselves of a troublesome burden.
A few days later, Ivan returned from the Adventurer’s Guild with news that the stampede had officially been declared over.
“Finally, it’s over…”
Ivan sighed deeply as he sank into the sofa.
“Good job!”
“Now I can finally be free from those mandatory requests…”
Speaking of which, when the alert level was raised to Level 2, all adventurers ranked D and above had been issued mandatory requests. Although we hadn’t received any specific instructions since the number of monsters had begun to dwindle, it seemed Ivan had a lot on his plate.
“Ivan-nii, you worked hard. You’re amazing!”
Phonia gently patted Ivan, who was sprawled out on the sofa.
“Thanks, Phonia.”
After being petted for a while, he finally got up from the sofa and returned the gesture, looking quite healed from the ordeal.
“Once it’s all over, we’re heading to the Royal Capital, right?”
“Yeah. I have a lot to say to this country.”
“And we’ve already made appointments.”
As Rio and I nodded in agreement, Ivan grimaced, as if to say, “Did you really do that?” It was an important matter, so we had been spreading the word here and there. In this town, no one seemed to have heard about what we did in the Royal Capital, likely because hardly anyone came to the town during the stampede.
“So when are we leaving this town?”
“Hmm, anytime is fine, but since Ivan just finished work today, how about we take a day off tomorrow and leave the day after?”
“I wouldn’t have minded leaving tomorrow, but sorry about that.”
“Hehe, then it’s settled for the day after.”
“Got it!”
“Woof!”
Once the date for our departure was decided, cheerful voices rose from Phonia and Nil.
The day to leave the town arrived without any incidents.
“Thank you for your patience.”
El had gone to the merchant association early in the morning to handle the paperwork for the land we had been renting, and she returned just in time.
“Alright, let’s get going!”
“Yeah!”
As I looked back at the land we had used as our base, it was now completely empty. The camping house was stored away in the Dimensional Box, and while the garden remained intact, all the LED lights with motion sensors had been collected.
On our way to the southern gate, we decided to stop by the Adventurer’s Guild for a quick visit. However, I was unexpectedly escorted to the Guild Master’s office by a staff member who spotted me at the counter.
“Are you leaving the town already?”
“Well, yeah. We had some good harvests in the dungeon, and I plan to take care of some business in the Royal Capital before leaving this country.”
“Haha… business in the Royal Capital, huh?”
I thought it would be nice to chat leisurely since it was our last time here, but the moment the Royal Capital was mentioned, a dry laugh escaped the Guild Master. He might already have some information about what was happening there.
“I would appreciate it if you could keep things moderate.”
“That depends on the other party.”
There’s no helping it. I could ask El about the current state of the Royal Capital, but I intentionally chose not to. I was somewhat excited to see how things had turned out. No matter what awaited us, we would eliminate everything and storm the castle.
“Listen, please keep it moderate.”
“Yes, yes.”
The Guild Master seemed overly concerned, but did I really look like someone who would cause trouble? I tilted my head in confusion but managed to report our departure to the Guild before leaving the building and heading towards the southern gate.
This time, we decided to take our time walking to the Royal Capital. Of course, we wouldn’t hold back during the journey and planned to stay in our heavily modified camping house. As we exited through the southern gate without being stopped, we headed straight towards the Royal Capital. After a while, however…
“There’s someone there.”
“Huh? What do you mean?”
Rio’s quiet remark caught Ivan’s attention, and Phonia began to look around curiously.
“If they’re just observing, that’s fine, right?”
“That’s true.”
“What’s going on? Are we being watched?”
As Ivan pointed out, there were three presences trailing us from a distance, keeping a close but cautious distance. No, perhaps there were even two more further back. I thought it might be a good opportunity for some OHANASHI, but since they weren’t approaching, it was a bit disappointing. There was no harm done, and since it was only the first day after leaving the town, we decided to hold back.
“Well, they’ll probably make contact eventually.”
“We’ll just have to wait until then.”
“Is that so…”
We continued our leisurely conversation as we progressed along the road, but that very night, something stirred.