I decide to enjoy my walk back to the inn after leaving the guild. The sun has nearly set on the horizon and the streets are covering in the bare glow of the day before it becomes night. The soft murmurs of the streets and the glow of the shop lights and lanterns are somehow very relaxing.

CRASH! BAM!

“Or at least it would be if those explosions would stop!” I let out aloud

I’ve become so annoyed at the repeated crashing noises during my relaxing walk that I cease to care who hears my complaints.

Shouldn’t the Yuusha have done something about this by now?! Don’t tell me his only job is to kill me. He is an over glorified exterminator if that is true… I suppose I don’t want him to be treated as such though, because that would make me nothing more than a pest.

FWAM! KURTCH! KAH!

Can’t I at least think in peace?!

Losing the last of my patience I head in the direction of the noises. I had my suspicions earlier, but as I begin to follow the sound I become sure that it’s coming from the park I had trained at previously. I suppose it’s the only area in the city that I know of where a large battle could happen. Maybe the Yuusha did show up and tried to steer the battle towards it to avoid casualties. Would he still be fighting if that were the case though? He doesn’t seem the type to go for long drawn out battles. Who knows, maybe I’ll get lucky and he will already be dead.

Bang!

“Kuh!”

Kratcha!

“Not again!”

As I draw closer I begin to hear the sounds of many voices yelling out in pain at the same time as the explosions.

Wow, that sounds like a lot of people. Are they getting attacked by some kind of demon? I hope it’s not too strong. If this is a repeat of the Orc than I might just lose my life because of some annoying sounds.

Cautious of the possible dangers, I peak around a building when I approach the park to see the cause of the commotion.

“Is that all the royal guard has?! Come on then! How am I supposed to let out my frustration on you lot if you keep going down so easy?!” I watch a familiar old man yell at a large group of armed guards as he takes them on at the same time

The weathered-looking old man that had given me pointers before is tossing around armed guards as if they are children. Just as I had done with him before, each of the guards is attacking him with everything they have, only to be deflected or countered every time. The source of the noises becomes clear as one guard it sent flying into a tree making the top shake. Upon further inspection, I notice that the rest of the park is littered with damaged trees and small craters in the ground. Half of the craters still have armored guards laying in them.

“AH! You! The girl from before!” The old man calls out pointing in my direction

I jump in surprise when he does. I thought myself quite well hidden, but he seemed to notice me before even turning his head to look this way.

“You really don’t show people mercy in sparring matches do you?” I ask as I come from around the corner and approach him

I do my best to play it cool, so as not to make it obvious that I was spying.

“Oh? How do you know we are sparing? I could very well be slaughtering this lot.” He says mockingly as he points out the devastation

“You could easily cut down any one of these people with a stick if you wanted to, you made that much perfectly clear before. I don’t even see dents in their armor which means that you were probably even concerned about them having to replace it. I can’t think of many merciless criminals that would put so much consideration into those that they fought against.” I explain in my own mocking tone

“Ohoho! Talented and observant. You are just what I need today. I’m rather frustrated and I need to let off some steam!” He explains with an irritated tone

“I would hope that you wouldn’t devastate the guard of this city this badly every time something got on your nerves.” I respond

“Umm… If you don’t need us anymore, does that mean that we can go?” To my surprise a familiar person walks up and ask

“Jorge?” I let out in surprise upon recognizing him

He places his hand gently on my arm and tugs slightly to indicate he wants me to move, and leads me away a bit before leaning in and whispering.

“Does old man Shishou know about your secret?” He asks trying to make sure he isn’t heard

A short shock goes through me before I remember the “secret” he is talking about.

“Sort of, don’t go telling him though,” I answer trying to humor him

If he thinks that he is keeping a secret then I might as well let him. In the end, if he doesn’t tell anybody it’s pretty inconsequential.

“Still, for you to know the former leader of the royal guard… You must be someone big. I already knew that though I guess. To have the royal seal you have to be someone of grave importance.” He says nodding to himself

Seriously, how important is this ring supposed to be? The princess just gave it to me very casually, but I’m beginning to think it’s going to cause more issues than it solves.