First, Jesha’s inner thoughts:
Dragonkind—they are among the strongest creatures in this world (Ciel).
Unlike monsters, which are mutated from plants and animals by Mana Particles, Dragons, being Mystic Beasts, are objects of worship in some regions due to their immense power and high intelligence, and even children know of their existence.
However, the reason why only Dragons are known by name, unlike other Mystic Beast species, is probably due to their sheer power, but the biggest reason is the variety of “types.”
They become stronger in the order of Wyverns and Sea Dragons, then Lesser Dragons, Elemental Dragons, and Ancient Dragons. Ancient Dragons, which are Rank 8 or higher, can manipulate many Dragon magics, and the beauty of their scales, which house various attributes, has captivated countless people.
Therefore, people fear and admire the power of Dragons, and they have come to be told in various stories.
A type of Dragon, an Earth Dragon, began to move from the depths of the ancient Lace Veil ruins towards the outer perimeter.
(The story is too good to be true. Is there any connection between the Leesan Syndicate breaking the agreement and laying a hand on the Munza Society?)
Jesha Hogroth, the Adventurer’s Guild Master of the Hogroth Company, tries to gather her thoughts in the conference room where the staff are bustling about.
The first report came late last night from several Adventurers who had returned from an expedition.
A mass outbreak of Monsters, a Monster Stampede. There are many reasons for this, such as food shortages due to the heat, but if it’s from Lace Veil, the most likely cause is a ‘mass panic’ caused by a powerful Monster moving from the depths.
One of the possibilities is the existence of the “Earth Dragon,” which has been confirmed for about a hundred years. Among the Adventurers’ reports was a ‘terrifying roar’ heard from afar, so the old Dwarf, Jilgun, who had once faced the Earth Dragon, made a nearly definitive assumption that the moving entity was the Earth Dragon.
The Dragon’s Roar has the effect of causing ‘panic’ in the weak. The Wyvern’s Roar does not have this effect, but if it is a true Dragonkind, even a Lesser Dragon can use the original Dragon magic, ‘Roar.’
The Earth Dragon has the name “Earth,” but it is not an Elemental Dragon. Dragons with the Earth attribute are Jewel Dragons, and in this Searth Continent, there are only four Elemental Dragons: Fire Dragon, Water Dragon, Ice Dragon, and Wind Dragon. At least, Dragons crowned with Emerald or Ruby have not been confirmed.
The Earth Dragon is a Lesser Dragon, without wings to fly in the sky, and becomes an Elemental Dragon by eating attribute Magic Stones over hundreds or thousands of years.
It was fortunate that the Dragon nesting in Lace Veil was not a Rank 7 Elemental Dragon, but the Lesser Dragon, Earth Dragon, can be a greater threat in some cases.
The threat level of the Earth Dragon is Rank 6. Although there are differences depending on the years of existence, its Overall Combat Strength is at least 3000 or more. However, unlike other Rank 6 Monsters, the Earth Dragon, which still has low intelligence, can be moved by the strategies of others.
(Is it the Evil Race that’s moving it…?)
The Dark Elves who disappeared. Behind them, the Shadow of the Evil Race flickers. Is that movement combined with the actions of the Leesan Syndicate? However, if we assume that they are working together, we will be on the defensive if there are other motives.
Then, should the Dwarves of the Hogroth Company stay in town to deal with it, and leave the handling of the Stampede of Monsters and the Earth Dragon to the Humans and Beastmen?
(No!)
The Hogroth Company is an organization of Dwarves. Jesha, one of the children of the Company President, does not trust anyone other than her own race from the bottom of her heart, and believes that if anyone can defeat the Dragon, it would be herself and the Dwarf warriors, including Jilgun.
It is confirmed that a dozen Dwarf party, including Jesha herself, will head to subjugate the Earth Dragon. Other than that, Rank 3 or lower Dwarves and other races can handle the processing of other Monsters.
But—
“…”
In front of Jesha’s gaze, there was only one “Human” whose existence could not be ignored.
The girl’s name is Aria. She is a Mersenian woman with white skin, which is rare in this region where Cruz people with dark skin are the mainstream.
Jesha first heard about Aria from Jilgun, her confidant and overseer, who said, “There’s an interesting Human woman.” Jesha was surprised and interested in his statement.
If she were a dangerous existence, Jilgun would have disposed of her on the spot. But Jilgun did not fight that woman. Was she not even worth killing, or was there another reason?
However, the Adventurer did not show up at the Guild after that, and just as Jesha’s interest began to wane, Kushum, one of the Munza Society elders, offered to exclusively sell Superior Potions, which are valuable in this desert, as an apology for laying a hand on the Adventurer that Jilgun had set his sights on.
That Adventurer who was laid a hand on was Aria, and she herself was the alchemist who could create Superior Potions.
If Aria is a skilled alchemist, it is understandable that the Munza Society would lay a hand on her. As a result, Aria also had a dispute with the Killri Company, and the Munza Society seems to have made amends by introducing a sales route as an apology (..) to Aria.
Why would the Munza Society, which unites the rough Beastmen, do such a seemingly “subservient” thing to a single Adventurer?
When Jesha heard the reason from Kushum himself, she even wondered if she was being joked with.
In this town, where there is no ‘Long-Range Magic Communication Tool,’ which is the fastest means of information transmission, the main means of obtaining information is the ‘rumors’ of merchants.
However, as for neighboring Calfaan Empire and the Ganzaar United Kingdom, only “interesting stories” such as the assassination of the King are transmitted, let alone other countries.
One of them was the story of the “Ash-Covered Princess.”
Certainly, she thought it was interesting to hear. A child entered the Assassin Guild, destroyed one of its branches, turned the Assassin Guild into an enemy, and not only that, but also picked a fight with the Thieves’ Guild.
It is an urban legend (….) that she is still alive, having openly antagonized the two major organizations that people who know the Underworld, not just ordinary people, would never touch: the Assassin Guild and the Thieves’ Guild.
A story like this is more interesting than the story of a King who went into Confusion. It became a good topic at drinking parties, and it seemed natural that rumors would spread to this distant land.
However, when she heard that the person in that urban legend was in this town, Jesha almost broke her precious wooden table, wondering if she was being seriously teased.
According to Kushum, Aria single-handedly defeated a group of two hundred Beastmen head-on.
Even if she heard only half of the story, Jesha asks herself if she can do the same against a hundred people. She might be able to fight. But she is not confident that she can survive. Moreover, if Batil and the Tooth Brothers, whom Jesha also knows by name, were there, how could she win?
No one in their right mind would be able to do such a thing. She thought that the rumors were just exaggerated, and when she asked several Beastmen Adventurers, they were more afraid of that one woman than Jesha or Jilgun, called her the “Desert Rose,” and kept silent about everything else.
Her appearance was reminiscent of a single “Rose” blooming in the wasteland of the desert.
When Jesha saw Aria for the first time at the Adventurer’s Guild, she was convinced by the impression, “I see.”
Her pinkish-gold hair, which is rare even among Forest Elves, let alone Mersenians, would look like a “Rose flower” blooming to the people around here who are used to seeing black and brown hair.
Moreover, she was so young that she looked like she was just coming of age, and her delicate physique, which did not seem like that of a warrior, resembled that of a noble lady, and her features were so well-defined that she could be mistaken for a beautiful princess from somewhere.
Her fixed gaze impairs her original loveliness, but that does not diminish her charm, and rather, it gave her a dim, eerie charm, like wanting to touch a beautiful Blade.
But Jesha thought, “This is bad,” at first sight of Aria.
A beautiful Blade? No, this woman is not something like that. She is a lovely “trap” that scatters deadly poison the moment you touch her, luring her prey. The men in the Guild are deceived by her loveliness and underestimate her, but Jesha, being a woman, sensed her danger with her skin.
Her Overall Combat Strength is no less than that of Jilgun, who has been fighting on the front lines for decades. But more than that, Jesha felt “something” shining in the depths of her eyes, and realized that all the “rumors” she had heard were true.
She must not antagonize this woman—
If Aria joins the Earth Dragon subjugation, the chances of winning will definitely increase. But more than that, as the daughter of the Hogroth Company, she cannot allow anyone other than the Dwarves to take the credit.
As Jesha, personally, she had some empathy as a fellow female warrior. Her easygoing attitude towards Aria was partly an act as a “business partner,” but also partly her true self. Despite that empathy, the guardian of this Desert Town Cutlass had to be the dwarves of the Hoglos Company.
As Jesha of the Hoglos Company, she would prefer Aria just deliver the Superior Potions, but as the Guild Master, wasting that combat ability seemed like a bad move.
But at the same time, Jesha understood that Aria probably wouldn’t listen to the Guild’s requests anyway.
So, what to do?
“Aria, you should just protect what you want to protect.”
Jesha requested that I act on my own as an Adventurer.
From the start, my top priority was Elena’s safety. If necessary for that, I wouldn’t hesitate to fight a dragon, but I thought there was an ulterior motive behind Jesha’s words.
Kushum was killed by the Leesan Syndicate, and at the same time, powerful Dark Elves disappeared. And then there’s this Monster Stampede…
The beginning of it all was when I antagonized the Munza Society, leaving a gap in their defenses. The common opinion in town is that the Leesan Syndicate took advantage of that, but I think the Leesan Syndicate was aiming for an opportunity from the start.
Jesha thinks something is going to happen in this town.
The parent and child I met the other day told me to get out of this town as soon as possible.
I don’t know if this Monster Stampede is it. But that wouldn’t benefit the Leesan Syndicate. Do they just want to crush one of the four organizations? What if their goal is the town itself…?
The answer probably lies with the missing Dark Elves.
I put my cloak back on and run towards the watchtower at the base.
I didn’t notice it when I arrived, but it seems the news of the Monster Stampede has started to spread in town, as I saw merchants starting to close up shop as if fleeing.
There are no Adventurers to be seen in town. They’re probably heading out to deal with the Monsters at the request of the Adventurer’s Guild. The number of residents with weapons in town probably shows the unique bloodthirstiness of this town, sensing danger?
“…………”
On the way out of town, I suddenly felt something was off and stopped.
The Killri Company, being just merchants, prioritize profit and wouldn’t choose to fight. The Hoglos Company and the Munza Society should be deploying their forces against the Monster Stampede.
But what are those guys doing in the corner of town with weapons…?
I slowly approach them.
Maybe they sensed the abnormality in town and are trying to protect it in their own way, even if they don’t know what’s going on. But even if they are residents of this town, where did they get those decent Spears and swords that low-ranked Adventurers shouldn’t be able to afford?
“…What do you want, brat?”
A Cruz man with sun-tanned skin glares at me with a grim face, Intimidation rolling off of him.
Five Cruz men and one man hiding his face with a hood. But that hooded man, despite being the slimmest, was emitting the strongest “presence.”
I approach them, keeping a distance where their weapons can’t reach, and call out.
“Nothing really… I was just wondering why a Dark Elf(….) who’s supposed to be missing is here.”
At that moment, Killing Intent was released from the hooded man, and the men all raised their weapons at once.
Looks like I hit the “jackpot.”
The Stampede begins. The movements of the dragon. Suspicious men.
How are they all connected?
※ Jesha’s impression of Aria was based on the comments section.
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Thank you for your comments and typo reports every time.