chapter 20
20 – 2. The Path of the Dagger (1)
1.
This world is confusing. All things struggle in chaos.
Even if you form a group, form a colony, represent a species, and build a civilization, one day it will perish overnight.
Humans, elves, dwarves, gnomes…… Even the greatest civilizations can never escape the law.
The first cause of why the world is in chaos is the ‘disaster’ that comes every few tens to hundreds of years. A world where tidal waves strike countries that prosper along the sea, earthquakes strike empires that prosper based on vast territories, and drought strikes kingdoms that have developed with the power of fertile farmland. In the absurdity, as if nature determines the rise and fall of everything, as many religions as there are countless species have arisen. It was to avoid destruction from that disaster even a little by borrowing the power of the gods. However, there is no case of a divine being completely overcoming a disaster.
The second reason is monsters. In fact, there are countless races in this world, excluding livestock without intelligence——the fact that the majority of races are classified as monsters can be seen as arrogance and rejection by the numerous and prosperous races——but to all of them In that they have no intention of coexisting with other races, they will never have to clear that stigma on their own. In any case, monsters that raid villages and villages every day have always been a headache in the long-term development of the country, and even if it is not a disaster that destroys a country, villages are always perishing somewhere.
And as for the third cause——I don’t know how much of it is related to the second cause, but I can point to the dungeon.
A dungeon is a dungeon. A dungeon is not just a place that exists in a mysterious place untouched by humans. If the vines are entangled in a mess and there is a very small mystery in it, it deserves to be called a dungeon. Oh, and of course the monsters who covet that mystery. Monsters that follow the logic of the law of the jungle more thoroughly than any other species preoccupy the mysterious items needed by other races before anyone else, but unfortunately, there is no intelligence to deal with them effectively, so adventurers and monsters always come to steal them from somewhere in the world. A fight is going on. Oh, except for dragons. With very few exceptions, most of them are of a superior race.
Yes, this world is full of chaos, and as such, everyone is frantic to overcome that chaos.
However, disasters cannot be overcome by the power of mortals, and monsters cannot even dream of losing paper forever. So, the only thing that has the concept of ‘aggression’ is the dungeon. Therefore, only adventurers who struggle to obtain the treasures hidden in all kinds of dungeons are not enough to be called those who overcome this world.
Of course, not all adventurers are on an equal footing. As a group arises, an institution arises, and authority comes from that system. Even among the same adventurers, there is a difference in their social status.
A typical example is the rating system. An adventurer who has conquered numerous dungeons and made a name for himself is a valuable force even from a national perspective. It is said that a party that has developed extreme strength can defeat even a dragon. Naturally, the country wants to hold them in their country with numerous rewards and status.
The
The Party residing in the capital, they are the pinnacle of all adventurers. Due to their achievement in defeating a dragon that had the power to destroy a country, they were always ignored when discussing the ranking of adventurers. As many countries as there are, the titles to call adventurers who have accomplished such feats will be different, but in the kingdom, they are reverent and called adventurers of the most sacred color, ‘white’.
And then. Those who did not achieve the feat of killing a dragon, but who ‘survived’ by overcoming countless adversities below that level, adventurers who were qualified to rise to the position of ‘back’ at any time, are the ‘enemy’ adventurers who crossed the boundary between life and death. Call
There are ‘rock’ adventurers who have reached maturity, and ‘blue’ adventurers below them. As an adventurer as a profession, he entered a stable period, and he was called a promising player with a good reputation and a promising future. Although there are classes below “Blue” Adventurer——unfortunately, let’s introduce them next time. Because…… Today’s protagonists are those who were recently promoted to ‘Blue’ adventurers.
Kikkik! Three adventurers follow behind the man who pushed the swing door wildly. The adventurer’s guild in the port city of East Side, where even a man with a tolerable size broke in, was busy looking for a job.
One of the rookie adventurers who was arguing with the staff about the number of goblins caught in the valley was the first to speak. The man in the lead stood out with his blonde hair, a handsome man who didn’t look like an adventurer, but what stood out even more was the well-made sword worn around his waist and the blue-blue dog tag hanging from his neck.
“‘Bastard Sword’…… No, ‘Sunsword’ Gerald!”
The joy of recognizing a promising adventurer at a glance made his voice a little louder, but even taking that into account, the speed at which the people around him agreed quickly. A new party that recently became the only four ‘Blue’ grade adventurers on the East Side. Strictly speaking, considering the period when the party was formed, each individual may not be a newcomer, but there has never been a party that has attracted such attention in half a year.
“Is that the rumored ‘Cheong’ adventurer’s party…… It’s a face worth seeing.”
“Hey! If you’re a man, you should have a rougher taste! Look at that forearm, can you wield a greatsword?”
“What does that matter? I heard that quite a few adventurers go blind just by pulling out a sword wrapped around their waist. Wouldn’t someone like you be an opponent with a sword sheath?”
“What?”
A young man with a twisted mouth smiles as if he enjoys people’s gaze, followed by a female thief who looks suspiciously like an adult, and a wizard who hides his appearance with a dingy robe and bangs. Some of the men showed interest in her curvy figure, but when the wand in her right hand showed off her presence, they only tasted her.
“Then the guys in the back… ….”
“Shhh, be careful with your words. They are not the kind of people we can approach casually anymore.”
“Sheesh, I don’t know if it’s the Or something, wearing two women, but it would be nice to sell it.”
“What? You, don’t you know ‘The Magician of the Veil’? I don’t know who the ponytail is.”
She must have heard the gossip in the guild, but even if her ears were bright, she stomped her feet and looked away as if warning the crowd watching her, but she had no choice but to keep her mouth shut at the soft touch she felt from behind. .
“Okay, I got it. Mister.”
And as if to escort them, a man follows the last rank. It seems that he has no intention of hiding the fact that he uses the strength of his body as a weapon due to his somewhat insufficient physique to be called a giant, but his strong skeleton and clear muscles. There are also those who guess his identity by looking at the thin religiously colored robe and the bald head that reflects the sunlight.
“There is also Sukhbat, the ‘silent monk’!”
“You single-handedly slaughtered a pack of wolves that had invaded the village, right? You look bloody once, yes.”
The four of them move forward while receiving gazes reflecting various emotions such as cheers, envy, jealousy, envy, and longing. In any case, they could be said to be the most famous adventurer’s party on the East Side. This party of two males and two females, a rather rare gender ratio for adventurers, left behind countless achievements in attacking the ‘Dungeon of Amnesia’ that made the area buzz a while ago, even though it was a meager composition without a single cleric. Because
Although the majority of the adventurers who actually went out to clear the dungeon went missing or lost their memory, there is still debate about the difficulty of the dungeon. Their track record was proven by providing powerful magic items as rewards for raids, so not many people doubted their skills.
“This is embarrassing.”
Prosecutor Gerald laughed as he scratched the back of his short-cropped hair. He had just spent his days working as an adventurer as usual, but in recent days he has become a celebrity enough to sell his face to the general public. The female thief, Hilda, responded by pressing her finger on Gerald’s back, probably dissatisfied that her name was not mentioned.
“It’s nice, but it’s all about pretending. It’s okay, take the lead and walk.”
“Is it visible? Well, when are we going to get attention like this again, kyahahahaha!”
“…… Please stop laughing lightly.”
At the party, when Janice, who was the least talkative after Sukhbat, made a face, Gerald withdrew his laughter and put on a puzzled expression. He waited in front of the guild window while attracting people’s attention. Before long, he was guided by a staff member to the second floor with a separate reception room. As Gerald climbed the stairs, he asked a female employee whom he had always been friendly with.
“Uh, Emily? Anyway, why are you going to the second floor today? Adventurers usually don’t let in. Oh, is it because we are blue now? This is so…….”
“No, that’s not it. I heard from seniors that there are people who want to meet you. Of course, you will also hear the contents of the request there.”
“The person I want to meet…… ? Who is that?”
The second floor, which is rarely open to adventurers except for people with thick pockets or meetings with other guild members, Gerald slowed down the stairs leading to it, taking his eyes off Emily’s butt as she walked ahead. . Because she suddenly looked back at herself.
“Uh, I don’t know the details either, Mr. Alicia…… ? They say you’re a noble lady.”
“Sir…… Eh, Emily. For a moment. By any chance, isn’t your family name Louver?”
“Yes? Ah yes! That’s right! Lady Alicia of the Louver family! Mr. Gerald, you are unexpectedly quick like this!”
Gerald barely held back the moment he tried to curse. It was because he couldn’t throw away his friendship with the guild staff that he had painstakingly maintained until this day. However, even so.
Hey, it’s the Countess, you stupid woman——.
I don’t think it was necessary to say that I doubted whether my friendship with an employee who didn’t even know about the family of the lord who governed the manor I resided in was really meaningful.