GalaxyTL
* * *
“Fuwaah……”
Letting out a yawn, the hero Torch was walking toward the adventurer’s guild branch office amid the hustle and bustle of Liheid.
The branch chief Taderphon had urgently summoned them.
“Shishi, don’t be so drowsy, Torch! It’s like they’re telling us to come quickly!”
“Yes……I’ll be careful……”
It was early morning around 6 AM.
The fortress city of Liheid is a town where adventurers gather.
Serious adventurers essentially have to wake up early to head to the guild branch and secure more lucrative requests.
To accommodate them, the food stalls and street vendors also begin operating, so Liheid is already crowded with people at this hour.
Incidentally, the night scene is crowded too with adventurers celebrating successfully completed requests and newfound wealth by carousing all night.
An ever-vibrant town that never sleeps – that is the fortress city of Liheid.
“Supi— ……supi—……”
“Hey, brat, wake up already, we’re almost at the branch.”
“Supi— ……supi—……”
“Chiron is weak in the mornings, huh……”
Moreover, the lone girl Chiron in their party was still being carried on Zydeo’s back while deep in slumber.
Drool dribbling down as she snored heavily.
“But still, to summon us this early in the morning, I wonder what the chief wants?”
“Shishi, maybe they finally discovered Tezonkania’s location?”
It had already been several days since the hero’s party arrived in the fortress city of Liheid.
While completing some requests at the adventurer’s guild to gather information on Tezonkania, they still hadn’t grasped any solid leads.
During that process, they had met the guild branch chief Taderphon and the margrave governing this town, requesting any information on Tezonkania’s whereabouts be provided if found.
“That would be nice, but……”
Slapping his cheeks to wake himself up, Torch opened the door to the moss-covered stone adventurer’s guild branch building.
* * *
“Hahhhhhhhah! Good morning, Hero-kun!!”
The resounding booming voice greeting Torch’s party upon being led to the chief’s room by the staff was headache-inducing.
“M, Margrave Manju!? Why are you here!?”
“Well, a bit of a troublesome matter seems to be arising, you see. We were discussing it.”
The one replying with a raspy voice while sighing into a chair was the wavy-haired elderly woman tying her hair back – Chief Taderphon.
Standing beside her was the muscular middle-aged man Margrave Manju.
The margrave has governed these lands for generations as its lord, a stalwart figure with deep support from his subjects.
“A troublesome matter, you say?”
“Hey granny, did you find Tezonkania or what?”
Ignoring Zydeo’s complaint, the chief simply made eye contact with them in silence, gesturing for them to sit.
An overwhelming air.
Sensing this was no trivial matter, Torch’s group obediently took seats on the sofa.
Chiron was still asleep.
“Hahhhhhah! First, take a look at this!”
Laughing heartily, Margrave Manju handed them a report.
It was compiled from investigations conducted by the margrave’s subordinate soldiers.
“……Shishi, I see. The monsters in this entire area have vanished, and even the kirkree nuts are completely gone too.”
“Those were reports from my adventurers too. Thanks to that, business has been booming on my end.”
“I’ve had my own supplementary investigations done too! Indeed, not a single monster can be found! I’ve lived in these lands for a long time, but this is unprecedented!”
“……Hey Zydeo. If the monsters disappeared, isn’t that a good thing?”
Watching the adults grow solemn and discuss as they read the report, Torch tilted his head in puzzlement.
“Shishi, think carefully, Torch. ……What do you think made the monsters disappear?”
“Eh……umm……they ran away, or something?”
“And ‘what’ did they run away from?”
“……!!”
Even Torch finally realized.
The danger of this situation!
“Could it be……the monsters fled from some overwhelmingly powerful ‘something’ that……is lurking in those mountains now!?”
“If they merely ‘fled’, that would be the better case. The worst possibility is that they were all ‘devoured’.”
Sinking deeper into her chair while sipping tea, the chief furrowed her brows with eyes closed.
“All of them……devoured!?”
“In which case, that ‘something’ may still not be ‘satisfied’! There’s even a possibility it could set its sights on this town!”
“That couldn’t……could that really happen……!?”
The worst possibility.
That “something” attacking the town, devouring its people.
Imagining that scenario, Torch’s face paled.
Having experienced numerous battles, he still carried the traumatic memory of his village’s destruction.
Torch’s body trembled slightly.
Noticing that, the margrave heartily slapped his shoulder!
“Hahhhhhah! But that’s still just a possibility! Don’t worry too much, Hero-kun!”
“Any adventurers who ventured into the mountains around when the monsters started disappearing have all returned unharmed. That ‘something’ may not be a threat to humans. Just an optimistic view, though.”
After draining her tea cup with a clank against the table, the chief began summarizing:
“In any case. There were also gouged terrain, toppled trees, shattered boulders in streams and more discovered across various areas – devastation unlikely to be manmade. There is undoubtedly ‘something’ in those mountains now.”
“You want me to…..exterminate that ‘something’, don’t you? ……I am the hero, after all!”
Gulping down his saliva, Torch fixated the chief with resolute eyes.
It was scary.
Even as the hero, battle was terrifying.
However, he was the hero.
To protect the people……he must not flee from battle!
“No, that’s not it.”
“Heh!?”
Yet that determination was immediately brushed aside, dissipating like mist.
“Hahhhhhah! Hero-kun! You are certainly strong! I’m well aware from our sparring session! However!!”
“Protecting the townspeople is the duty of my subordinates and soldiers here, naturally!”
“But……!”
“Listen, boy.”
The wrinkled chief gently stroked Torch’s head with a smile, bringing her face closer.
“You may very well be the hero. You may be strong. But you don’t need to shoulder everything alone.”
“Hahhhhhah! Rely on your elders more, Hero-kun!”
“……Shishi!”
“Supi— ……supi—……”
Through the window, the sky was overcast.
However, patches of warm sunlight peeked through the gaps.
Illuminated by that morning glow, the chief’s room felt very warm.
“Well, the reason I called you all here was simply to convey that information and issue a warning……Nothing more than that! My apologies for unintentionally putting you on such high alert!”
“Geez~……”
The tension drained from Torch as he slumped against the sofa.
“Hahhhhhah! Besides, even if that ‘something’ does attack this town, there’s no need to worry! This is a fortress city at the foot of the demon realm……we’re fully prepared! My soldiers are currently on heightened alert, and we have shelters reinforced with ‘great magic’ barrier stones!”
The tense atmosphere in the room had completely dissipated.
The chief had begun her second cup of tea, while the margrave was helping himself to snacks.
However, it was at that moment!
……Paan! Pan, Paaaan!
The mysterious explosive sounds resounding throughout the area caused the windows to rattle violently!
“Mmgh!? What was that!?”
“Please excuse me, Margrave sir!!”
Clattering in armor, a soldier burst into the chief’s room!
“Reporting! D, demons claiming to be the Demon Lord’s Army! Have appeared on the northern plains of Liheid wielding numerous monsters!!”
“What did you say!?”
“Supi!?”
Torch jumped to his feet in shock!
Even Chiron woke up with a start!
“The demons are currently unleashing some speech while magically assaulting the town’s outer walls! What are your orders, Margrave sir!!”
Zuun, zuun, zuun……!
Even as the soldier reported, vibrations presumed to be from the demons’ attacks continuously shook the chief’s room.
A cup on the table fell and shattered with a small sound!
Demons.
Upon hearing that word, Torch.
The hero Torch couldn’t remain still.
“……!!”
“Ah! Hey, Torch!!”
Shaking off Zydeo’s attempt to stop him, Torch flung open the window and leapt out, dashing toward the northern outer walls……the demons’ location!
He was the hero.
The hero!
Even if battle terrified him, he must not flee.
To protect the townspeople!
That was his duty bestowed with the power of a hero!!
Like the wind itself, Torch sprinted through the fortress city of Liheid.