Chapter 288

I gave Daniela a detailed report of what had happened. And then finished the story by flashing the newspaper article in front of her. ‘Well done,’ she said proudly.

“It was a good job, considering you were alone. It is a difficult thing to capture so many people alive. Besides, the fact you were able to use so much magic without the help of your ice dragon armor, proves how much you have grown.”

“I don’t mean to be smug, but I’m quite satisfied with what I did. I hate pyromancers, and yet I was able to deal with her.”

“So, I suppose you will not be relying on your ice dragon armor as much, now?”

Hmm. One did not let go of those buffs so readily. Besides, it was because of them that I was able to use my trump card, ‘Niflheim.’ The thought of not being able to use it in a desperate situation made me really nervous. Well, I did also see the importance of being able to fight without relying on it.

Daniela and I talked about such things as we ate dinner. But then the conversation of some other customers suddenly entered my ears.

“Hey, did you hear about it?”

“Aye. The stampede.”

Now that was a word that caused my ears to prick up.

“Well, no one goes to the forest near the northern Alessa mountains…”

“They say that it’s goblins. I’m sure people from Lambrusen have been sent. It’ll probably be fine.”

There was a vast, deep forest surrounding those mountains. According to what they were saying, it was on the Flugelnia side. As for goblins in that area, they would be forest goblins. I remember it now. They really liked their tree sap.

“Please excuse me. Would you mind telling us about that?”

It was rare for Daniela to approach others like this.

“Oh, uh. It’s just about how goblins have appeared in the forest along the Alessa mountains. We know this to be true because people from the nearby village have fled from the area.”

“Is this village to the southeast of the Alessa mountains?”

“No, it is directly north of the Imperial City. You must be talking about…Senka Village. No, it wasn’t there.”

“I see. Sorry to disturb you. Hey, waiter. Two ales for these gentlemen here.”

“Certainly!”

Daniela bought them drinks for their trouble. It almost seemed like she was used to this kind of thing.

“Ah, you shouldn’t have.”

“Much obliged.”

“No. Thank you for the information. I will leave you alone now.”

And with that, she returned to our table. The waiter came back quickly and gave the men their drinks.

Hmm. The communicatively impaired Daniela…had sure grown.

“…Hmm? Ah, that face. You are surprised that I approached some strangers?”

“Yeah. I still remember how you were like in Spiris. Though, it’s hard to believe now.”

“Hmph. I know when things have to be done. Besides, I try to gather information in places like this. I am not the only one who feels more talkative when around food.”

“I’m not sure that’s something to be smug about…”

But Daniela clearly did not agree. If only the time and place didn’t matter… Well, she was at least good at pretending to be a good listener. Maybe that was something to be smug about…

□ □ □ □

The next day, we visited the guild in order to dig a little deeper. Unsurprisingly, it was the talk of the guild. And so we split up and questioned other Adventurers, sometimes buying them some food for their trouble. In about an hour, we had all the information that we wanted.

“Uhh… So, the people that fled were from the village of Namila, which is directly north of the Imperial Capital. I have to say, I’m relieved it wasn’t Senka Village, as bad as that sounds… Uh, oh, and there’s a lake between the village and this city.”

“Yes. It is called the Rivier. It is supposed to be quite big. The people had to travel around this lake to come here. From what I understand, everyone made it alive. The military is surprised that there were no casualties.”

The north district of the city was mostly occupied by the military. In other words, civilians usually didn’t use the north gate. Even outsiders tended to go around to the west or east gate. The fact that they hadn’t had caused quite a stir. Though, that didn’t concern me, so I didn’t ask about it too much. To be honest, the Reserentrible incident had been very tiring. That was one of the reasons I chose to do the security quest without really know what I was getting into.

The villagers who entered through the north gate talked to the soldier who was guarding the gate. The military immediately prepared to defend. Defend the city, that is. While there was no one left in the village, it was still the home that these people were born and raised in.

But the army was only interested in protecting the city. It was their job. So, who would protect the village? Adventurers. The villagers had put up a request to take back the village from the goblins. And they were using all of their money for this. Not only that, but the city was also offering to pay as well. It was one way to support them without leaving the city.

In any case, all of this resulted in a rather lucrative quest showing up on the board.

“‘Namila Village Liberation Front.’ That’s a pretty grand name for a quest.”

“It was the chief who wrote it. Apparently, this chief is quite young.”

That explained it. Well, I quite liked names like this.

The Namila Village Liberation Front had the ultimate goal of suppressing the goblin stampede. And so there were requirements when it came to rank. You had to be a Garnet at least…or Rank C. While F-Rankers often killed goblins, it was a different matter when they came in such great numbers. Besides, there were different kinds of goblins. Most of the encounters I had with goblins were in Fhiraldo or on the road. But in stampedes like these, there were likely to be goblins that used arrows or even magic. It was the result of being raised in a special environment that caused them to grow in such a variation.

We had prevented a kobold stampede once. Had we not done that, it would have likely resulted in more irregular kobolds appearing. And so it was pretty bad that this one had not been stopped beforehand.

“Alright, let us go and register.”

Daniela said as she got up from her seat. As this was categorized as a special quest, you had to go to a special counter to register. There were quite a few people already lined up. Everyone would be above C-Rank. These Adventurers were all confident in their ability. Their equipment looked both expensive and well used. As for me, I was in my normal clothes. After all, I had just come here originally to gather information.

Still, people gave me odd glances.

“Look at that…is that guy serious?”

“This is a grave matter for those poor villagers…”

However, there were others who saw it differently.

“Well, he sure seems confident.”

“Isn’t that Asagi?”

“Ah…”

Hmm. I was just a little bit pleased at being recognized. But once I was, there was something in their looks that suggested disappointment. What the…

“Asagi, I suppose you are not aware…”

“What?”

“There has been much talk about how you wander around the city while poorly dressed.”

“Uh…”

Poorly!? It’s made from dragon materials!

“And sometimes you walk around without a sword…like you are some kind of unemployed…”

“What ridiculous rumors…”

“They are not entirely wrong either.”

In this world, people did not take you seriously if you dressed roughly. But my clothes were comfortable and practical. So why were they unacceptable? It’s not like I was wearing a tracksuit.

“I am not sure what you were thinking. What if you were attacked?”

She wasn’t wrong. There were lots of armed people in this world who were up to no good. I shouldn’t go out for a stroll with the same mentality as someone going to a convenience store. I should have realized this sooner.

“Even I remain armed wherever I go.”

“True.”

“While we are both wearing dragon, having a weapon is also a way of keeping people in check. You should always have one on you.”

“Right… I’ll be more careful in the future.”

Basically, I needed to have some heavy sword hanging on my belt at all times, if I wanted to survive. Well, I promised myself that I would do just that.

The odd looks decreased as we moved along in the line. And then we finally reached the counter. I took out my status card from my pocket and put it on the counter along with Daniela’s.

“Mister Asagi and Miss Daniela. Thank you for accepting the quest. As you are both rubies, you more than qualify. I’ll have you registered immediately.”

“Thank you.”

Rubies were A-Rank. B-Rank was jade.

“A-Rank Adventurers will be expected to raid and annihilate. B-Rank and C-Rank Adventurers will focus on killing the goblins who try and escape. Do you have any questions?”

“Uhh, how many A-Rankers are there?”

“There are two. Adlus, and Rindo.”

Hohoho. Was this an Imperial Sword Tournament reunion? How very exciting. Well, Mister Heinrich wasn’t participating. Perhaps he had gone home? It would have been nice to see him in action.

“Do you have any other questions?”

“No, I’m fine.”

“Very well then. The registration has been complete. Here are your status cards.”

And like that, it was done. This would be my first time being part of a real stampede.

I thought again about how many events we had been involved in since coming here. And now, something new was about to begin. Well, perhaps it had already started, and we were jumping in halfway. I was starting to get the feeling that something completely unexpected was about to happen. Hmm. Was this what it was like to be a proper protagonist?

No, it was probably just these rough clothes that made me feel that way. Still, I was amped up for what would come. And so I told Daniela that I’d return to the inn ahead of her so I could check my equipment. In order to overcome what might turn into a fierce battle, I would have to be sure that my armor was in good condition.

It was the trick to getting through such trials. And this liberation front was something I wanted to overcome safely.