Chapter 13: To Oz – Part 05
After leaving the Viscount’s residence, we headed to the Adventurers’ Guild.
Personally, I was curious about what had happened to the four members of the “Ginrin,” and of course, gathering information about the Undead that had been appearing was also necessary.
Since it was still early in the afternoon, most adventurers were out, leaving the lobby nearly empty. Mariane went to see the Guild Master, while the other members headed to check the bulletin board. I felt a presence in the training area and decided to investigate.
In the training area, more than ten men and women were engaged in rigorous training. Among them were the four members of “Fortuner” and the four from “Ginrin.”
“Looks like you finally showed up, Kaim,” I called out.
Kaim, the leader of “Ginrin,” turned around, holding a Dark Metal Rod.
“Hey there, old man! It’s not like it’s been that long. I finally made up my mind to come out.”
“Long time no see, Soushi.”
“Soushi, huh? I’ve heard rumors about you.”
“Soushi-san, you’re the ‘Twilight Slayer,’ right? That’s incredible!”
As Kaim responded, Meribe, Ranan, and Labelt also greeted me. When they called me the “Twilight Slayer” so loudly, I could feel the eyes of other adventurers on us.
“It seems like you’re still keeping up with your training. Did you teach Zeal and the others as well?”
“Yeah, I taught them too. Zeal was pretty mad that I didn’t teach him sooner.”
As I expected, Kaim and Zeal from “Fortuner” seemed to get along well. Zeal, who was referred to as “brother,” approached with a wry smile.
“The last time I saw you, I thought you were doing some unusual training. But when I asked Kaim, it turned out there was a solid rationale behind it. It’s no wonder you’re getting stronger, Soushi.”
As Zeal spoke, the other members of “Fortuner” nodded in agreement while looking at me. It seemed the importance of skill-based training had been conveyed.
“I just happened to have the knowledge and applied it. I’m glad it was helpful.”
“If you take this seriously, you can compensate for a weaker pull of special skills. Especially for lower ranks, this training is essential.”
“That’s true. I’d appreciate it if more people understood the importance of training itself.”
“That’s the next step. There are many who don’t train at all. But as long as serious folks like ‘Ginrin’ keep rising, more will start to notice.”
“‘Fortuner’ is aiming for the top too, right?”
At that, Zeal looked a bit embarrassed.
“Well, yeah. I almost gave up once, but we’ve decided to push ourselves a bit more. Watching ‘Ginrin’ has inspired me.”
“That’s great to hear. However, I’ve heard things are getting a bit dicey around here lately, so you might not be able to go everywhere.”
“That’s true, but… well, we’ll leave that to ‘Ginrin.’ Thanks for introducing us to a good party, Soushi.”
“Hey, brother, that’s not fair! I still have things to learn from you!”
Kaim hurriedly pressed Zeal, making them look like real brothers.
I couldn’t help but think how nice it was to see such good relationships forming, and I left the training area.
Returning to the lobby, I rejoined the members of “Soul’s Guidance.”
“Did you find any interesting information?” I asked.
Sfenia shook her head.
“Not particularly. There were a few low-rank subjugation requests. There were also some requests regarding the Undead, but those had already been accepted. It seems they are being prioritized.”
“That might be due to the Viscount’s orders. If that’s the case, there shouldn’t be any major issues. We’ll stay in Euron for three days, dedicating two of those to Shizuna-san’s dungeon exploration.”
“Sorry about that.”
“However, this place has one F-Class, two E-Class, and one D-Class dungeon, with the D-Class being fifteen floors deep. If we plan to explore all of them, it will be quite a strenuous endeavor, so prepare yourselves.”
“That’s exactly what I want! I’ll explore every inch and make sure to acquire skills!”
As Shizuna spoke with determination, Mariane chimed in.
“If you manage to clear all of those, Shizuna-san, you’ll be able to rank up to D-Rank. I’ve confirmed this, so please do your best.”
“Is that true? If so, I might finally be able to face my mother with confidence!”
While we were having that exchange, three groups of adventurer parties entered through the entrance. They seemed to have just returned from a job, but as Ranan reacted with, “It smells like zombies,” it was clear they had been out dealing with the Undead.
They began chatting while waiting at the counter for their processing.
“Undead have definitely been increasing lately, huh? Is that rumor true?”
“Rumor? Is there talk that someone is sending out the Undead?”
“Yeah, that. There were whispers about suspicious individuals during the last large-scale subjugation.”
“Oh, that… actually, I’ve heard it’s the people from Oz.”
“Oz? Now that you mention it, someone mentioned that a while back.”
“There are rumors that Oz is using Undead to do their bidding. I’ve also heard reports of a massive Undead Golem appearing in an Elf town. They might be targeting us.”
It seemed they were discussing something quite concerning. Shizuna looked like she wanted to say something to the adventurers.
At that moment, I felt a nagging sensation. It was because the adventurer who mentioned “Oz” was wearing something that seemed familiar.
“Ranan, wait a moment.”
“What is it?”
“Does that man smell like Mecalinan to you?”
“Huh? Um, it’s hard to tell with the strong zombie stench… But now that you mention it, I think I do smell it.”
“Just as I thought.”
“Did you figure something out?”
“I’ll explain later at the inn.”
I noticed Shizuna was about to confront that man, so I called out to everyone to head to the inn.
However, if my suspicions were correct, it might be wise to meet with Viscount Barius again. This didn’t seem like something an ordinary adventurer should get involved in, but now that I was aware of it, I couldn’t just ignore it.
Back at the inn, as I took a moment to relax in our room, Ranan led the way as four of them entered.
We had booked a higher-end inn in Euron, but having five people in a single room was quite cramped.
Once everyone settled on the beds and chairs, Ranan eagerly asked, “Hey, Soushi, what did you figure out earlier?”
“Earlier, some adventurers were saying that the Undead commotion might be the fault of the Oz Country, right?”
“Really? They were saying that?”
“Yes, they were. It’s completely unfounded, though. I should have said something to them.”
Shizuna crossed her arms, looking indignant.
“We’re on a royal escort mission, so it would be problematic if Shizuna-san drew attention.”
“Well, that’s true…”
“So, you confirmed that the man who was spreading that rumor is from Mecalinan?”
Ranan brought the conversation back.
“Exactly. If the Undead commotion is indeed a scheme by Mecalinan, and at the same time, they spread rumors blaming Oz, the impact would be significant.”
“Are you saying that adventurer was the one spreading that rumor? Oh, I see.”
As Ranan nodded in understanding, her ears perked up. Sfenia continued.
“So, you suspect that the adventurer from earlier might be an operative of Mecalinan?”
“Given the incident where an adventurer tried to use Shizuna-san, it’s almost certain that Mecalinan is employing adventurers as their operatives.”
“I see. If that’s the case, it suggests that they might be coordinating a larger number of adventurers than we initially thought.”
“That could be true. However, thinking it through, I can’t imagine the guild would allow adventurers to be used in such a way.”
“It might be necessary to ask Mariane about this. Even if the guild doesn’t approve, there are always those who act on their own.”
If this theory holds true, it would mean that not only in the Barius Viscounty but also in other territories, Mecalinan operatives could be infiltrating. The Viscount level would have likely noticed this long ago, but perhaps due to some agreement with the Adventurers’ Guild, they couldn’t easily take action. In other words, Mecalinan was a country that employed quite ruthless tactics.