Rhuda endured the pressure weighing down on her and desperately assessed her surroundings. Naturally, she listened closely, but she utilized all five of her senses.
Night Palace was a Level 8 treasure vault. A vault’s level was generally proportional to its accumulation of mana material. Higher reserves of mana material also meant stronger phantoms and more of them. A Level 8 would likely have many times more phantoms than in White Wolf’s Den, a vault she had recently gone through.
But Rhuda couldn’t detect any signs of life. Falling Fog was at the front of their formation and that party included Eigh Lalia, a Thief of a higher level than Rhuda. But he looked just as apprehensive as she did.
There were no traps and no enemies. Rhuda had never before entered a castle-type treasure vault because they were rare and tended to have levels on the higher side. She had heard the phantoms in these could be very well coordinated. But to not encounter any phantoms was almost unbelievable.
Maybe she had made a mistake in coming here. The moment she saw the treasure vault, her instincts strongly urged her to turn around. She somewhat wished she had listened to those instincts, but she knew it was too late for regrets now.
From the start, she had a feeling that Falling Fog’s objectives hadn’t quite matched up with everyone else’s. But she and Scorching Whirlwind were hired to escort Chloe and they felt they should try and stop the Crashing Lighting and the Thousand Tricks from coming to blows.
Rhuda couldn’t begin to imagine what might happen if a Level 7 and a Level 8 hunter clashed. She sensed more raw power in the former but knew the cunning tactics the latter could have in store.
No, be honest, she told herself. She didn’t know about a one-on-one fight, but she believed Grieving Souls would beat Falling Fog. She wasn’t certain just how powerful Krai was, but she could see who had the stronger allies. The hunters of Falling Fog were certainly nothing to scoff at, but none of them could match what Rhuda saw when she first encountered the Stifled Shadow.
Falling Fog had just recently been held off on that lakeshore with just two members of Grieving Souls. If the whole party assembled then Falling Fog wouldn’t stand a chance. Ultimately, Rhuda’s job would most likely be to step in after Falling Fog had lost.
Falling Fog were a rowdy bunch and behaved how civilians imagined all hunters did, but they weren’t bad people. On their journey, they never cast Rhuda and Scorching Whirlwind aside, no matter how dire the situation. She felt she should return the favor.
Krai also had Tino at his side. Rhuda alone might not be enough, but if she and Tino begged and pleaded, the Thousand Tricks might at least spare the lives of Falling Fog. So went her original line of thinking. Now she thought those ideas were hopelessly naive.
She was confident Krai would acquiesce to her pleas for mercy. And not even the Stifled Shadow would defy him. But first, they would have to actually confront Krai, and they might die before that even happened.
Night Palace was more daunting than she had even imagined. She hadn’t yet encountered any phantoms, but she could still tell that even White Wolf’s Den was heaven compared to this place.
Pale as a ghost, Rhuda desperately tried to concentrate. Behind her, the members of Scorching Whirlwind all looked even worse off. Their group was far bigger than any of them were used to, but that didn’t make them feel any better. For the Likes of Rhuda and Gilbert, the phantoms of this infernal space were beyond what they might have any chance of damaging.
Their only hope was the Thousand Tricks. That docile yet manipulative man surely knew that Rhuda and the others would follow after him. After coming this far, they sure hoped that was the case.
After looking around, Eigh had said he didn’t plan on dying in a place like this. The density of mana material was more than Rhuda had ever felt before. Slowly but surely, she could feel herself becoming more powerful. It was a good experience for her. If only she could think of it as that and nothing more.
After entering the treasure vault, she saw Night Palace had an unexpected majestic aura. The outer walls and gate looked brand-new and were built from stone in a way that let them harmonize with the surrounding scenery.
The doors that automatically opened for them seemed to be made of metal and had a bizarre texture. They took this as proof that every part of the castle was constructed from mana material. The doors and gate seemed unimaginably durable, yet perhaps not invincible.
Under the pounding rain, Eigh carefully scanned their surroundings. A room that would normally be packed with soldiers was unoccupied. The unused chairs and table, the still burning lamp, it was incredibly unsettling. After peeking into the room, Eigh posed a question to Chloe.
“Miss, do you know anything about this place?”
“I’m afraid there are very few records of expeditions into Night Palace. The Explorers’ Association was greatly looking forward to whatever information Grieving Souls might bring back.”
This caused Arnold to scowl. Hunters preferred to avoid treasure vaults that were still poorly understood. A lack of solid information probably contributed to the lack of expeditions into Night Palace. Anyone who calmly entered such a place was either a champion or an idiot.
Beyond the gates stretched multiple paths laid with smooth stones. Narrow paths branched off to the left and right and a wide one went straight forward. There was something unnerving about the equally spaced, well-maintained trees that surrounded them, and the rare shimmers of light managed to make it through the dense clouds. Arnold gripped his sword and prepared to be attacked at any moment.
“There’s no signs of battle,” he said.
“It’s possible they were covered up,” Eigh replied.
The downpour might wash away footprints, but traces of combat didn’t fade so easily.
They had only just passed through the front gate. It was strange that they hadn’t yet encountered any foes, but it stood to reason that the main attraction started once they got inside the castle. Arnold looked grim, but his pace didn’t falter. He looked up and saw black spires cloaked in storm clouds.
“Just how far did he go?” Rhuda wondered aloud.
They hoped he hadn’t entered the castle, but there was no telling what the Thousand Tricks might do. Krai, the two sisters, the chimera, and that weird monster should be fine, but she worried about Tino as she was probably being dragged along against her will.
Tino was strong and Rhuda had been amazed when she fought Arnold one-on-one, but the small Thief clearly wasn’t ready for a Level 8 treasure vault. Maybe she was at this very moment sobbing and enduring some terrible ordeal. Rhuda really should have been more concerned about herself, but she thought her nerves might get the better of her if she didn’t keep her mind busy.
If there were going to be any phantom encounters then she hoped they happened as close to the gate as possible. Preferably, outside the castle. And if only one appeared at a time, all the better. The best-case scenario would be for them to run into Krai before running into any phantoms, but she just somehow couldn’t see that happening.
“Hey,” Eigh said. “Are you guys all right?”
“Y-Yeah, just a little tired,” Carmine, the leader of Scorching Whirlwind, said.
“We haven’t even seen any phantoms after all,” Gilbert replied.
So they said, but they looked completely exhausted. Eigh wondered if he looked the same way.
“Are you okay, miss?”
“Yes. But I’d like to get out of here as quickly as possible,” Chloe responded.
Rhuda would do whatever was necessary to come home alive. She realized that this assignment wasn’t much more than an errand and who wanted to die on an errand? As she pulled herself together and took a deep breath, the head of the group, Arnold, stopped in his tracks. Suddenly, they heard a sort of noise. The members of Falling Fog swiftly spread out and got into formation.
Shadows writhed in front of them, roughly ten meters out. Chloe drew her sword. The noise intensified. The faint spots of darkness coalesced into one and took shape and color. Standing behind Falling Fog, Carmine’s eyes bulged and he took a step back.
“Are those phantoms forming?!” he cried. “I thought they weren’t supposed to form in front of us like that!”
“Heh, I guess the mana material here is just that strong,” Eigh said. He was breaking out in a cold sweat, but still managed a strained smile.
Phantoms were generally believed to form when a set amount of mana material accumulated. If hunters entered a treasure vault then they would absorb the mana material and thus preclude any phantoms from forming nearby. It wasn’t unheard of for a phantom to form right in front of a hunter but it was an extremely rare phenomenon unique to high-level treasure vaults.
Falling Fog’s Magus began to mutter an incantation and Scorching Whirlwind’s Magus quickly followed their example. Seeing her allies prepared for combat, Rhuda calmed her nerves.
It was unexpected, but when she thought about it, a phantom forming right before them was actually a stroke of luck. This way, they could attack before their opponent was ready. They might even slay the phantom before it could manage a counterattack.
The darkness converged and then a knight appeared. It was about the same height as Arnold. A black helmet covered its head, armor hid every inch of its body, a black sword hung at its waist. And then she realized there wasn’t just one—there were two black knights.
This didn’t look good. Arnold was the only member of their group who could be considered a sufficient level for Night Palace. Everyone else, including those from Falling Fog, was well below that. They didn’t know how strong the phantoms were, but running into two at the first encounter was rotten luck.
But maybe encountering two was just fine. Arnold could take on one and everyone else would handle the other. It was do or die and they all understood that. This wasn’t the first time these hunters had put their lives at risk.
“Get ’em!” Eigh shouted the moment the phantoms finished taking shape.
Two parties. In the spur of the moment, the two Magi had both chosen fire spells. Just as the black knights started to move, they were struck by blades of blue flames and a storm of projectiles made of compressed fire. The black knights didn’t even attempt to evade. There was a long cacophony and a blinding light.
“Did that kill ’em?!” Gilbert shouted.
“Not a chance in hell!” Eigh shouted back.
Before verifying the results of the attack, Arnold began to move. He was a massive man with a massive sword, but he still charged with incredible speed. With crackling bolts around him, he had the magnificence of a lightning deity.
The light faded. With a roar, Arnold swung his greatsword. The black knight blocked the attack with its own blade, a shrill sound reverberating upon impact. There was no time to stand around in shock. Eigh slipped behind the other knight and kicked it in the back of its knee.
The direct hits from the spells hadn’t even caused the black knights to flinch. Their armor didn’t even show any scorch marks, much less actual damage. To Rhuda, those spells looked like they would be sufficiently powerful. If she had been hit by such an attack she would at least be seriously wounded, if she survived at all. What impervious armor it must be if it went unscathed. She had learned back in White Wolf’s Den that phantoms had sturdy armor, but this was on a whole other level.
“Don’t just stand there!”
The black knight made a swipe with its sword. It was so fast that Rhuda’s eyes struggled to track it. Arnold angled his sword, blocking the high-speed strike with only the slightest of movements. The resulting sounds overlapped and sounded like one. Arnold’s face was red and strained, but the black knight didn’t waver in the slightest.
However, the real issue was the black knight that Eigh had attacked. Theirs was a completely one-sided fight. The black knight would attack and Eigh would dodge. The knight’s full-body armor deflected any of Eigh’s blows. Even his first surprise attack had almost no effect.
Even still, you could argue Eigh’s efforts were successful. The Thief didn’t let up because even Arnold would have a difficult time taking on both black knights at once. One of the knights focused on chasing down Eigh and didn’t make any effort to support the other.
The black knight could swing so fast that its blade appeared as a mere blur, but its lumbering body allowed Eigh to somehow avoid getting hit. Every time he got behind the knight, the phantom had to turn around. If he stepped back, the knight would have to come after him.
Unlike the Stifled Shadow, most Thieves relied primarily on skillful positioning and never took a foe head-on. Three Swordsmen from Falling Fog backed Eigh up by taking advantage of the openings he created. Surrounded by three burly warriors, the black knight paused as though analyzing the situation.
The movements of Falling Fog were fluid and carried out with explicit communication. The hunters of Scorching Whirlwind, including Gilbert, couldn’t keep up.
“Shit. This goddamn thing’s one of the weaker ones?” one of the Swordsmen said between heavy breaths. He took a swing at the black knight.
Eigh smiled. Sweat covered his brow, but he gave a spirited reply.
“Yeah, they’re really something. But we can beat it like we can any other phantom!”
The Swordsman let out a resounding yell of approval.
While Eigh and the others were locked in a stalemate with their black knight, Arnold’s fight was growing increasingly more intense. With its blinding attacks and magic-resilient armor, the knight had the upper hand.
A greatsword was a weapon that emphasized the power of an individual blow. Limited to wide swings, which were still easily mitigated, Rhuda and Gilbert both thought that Arnold appeared to be locked in a brutal struggle. They hadn’t expected the battle to unfold like this.
After Eigh received his backup, the Magus needed a new task to focus on, so they directed their staff at Arnold.
“Here you go, Arnold!” they shouted. “Greater Acceleration!”
A white beam of light pierced through Arnold. This was a spell that enhanced physical capabilities. Spells of this variety were a double-edged sword. The sudden change in senses, particularly among spells that affected muscles and reflexes, made them undesirable to most hunters. Rhuda herself had tried one of these enhancements and found it quite startling. She figured Arnold’s body must feel incredibly light—so light he would struggle to control his sword.
She gasped. She saw no changes in Arnold’s stance. With as brief a movement as possible, he blocked a lightning-fast swing. At first, Rhuda thought the Magus must have failed their spellcast. Then she realized she was mistaken.
Arnold was used to it. He was used to abrupt changes to his senses. Acclimating to such a discomforting change required backbreaking effort. He had probably practiced countless times. Over and over, letting himself be enhanced by magic so he could manage the change when he really needed to.
Following the speed enhancer, he received spells for strength, stamina, and defense. Arnold looked like someone fighting back a fiery rage as he simultaneously blocked an attack and received enhancement spells.
The black knight being held back by Eigh and company seemed to realize what was happening and changed its behavior. It went purely offensive and struck with such speed that the receiving Swordsman couldn’t hope to block it. The hunters’ formation fell apart, but the Crashing Lightning didn’t budge.
Gilbert moved to put himself between the black knight and Arnold, but Eigh immediately put a stop to that.
“Don’t get any closer!” he shouted. “Stay back and don’t come until we need you to! We’ve still got this!”
Gilbert stopped and bit his lip with frustration as he stomped on the ground. Rhuda could empathize; it didn’t feel good to know your strength wasn’t enough. Carmine and the others probably felt the same way.
The movements of Falling Fog were well practiced. Eigh was right; it was evident that outsiders wouldn’t do much more than create more openings.
“Damn it, isn’t there anything we can do?” Gilbert said. “What’s Arnold doing? He’s got all those enhancements.”
“Hold on, isn’t that—”
The black knight facing off with Arnold stopped for a brief moment. Arnold used that moment to press up on the knight, pushing it back. Phantoms generally had far more stamina than humans so it wasn’t possible that the black knight could be tired.
Rhuda thought she might be imagining things, but that wasn’t the case. The black knight’s movements were gradually becoming less precise. It paused, its center of gravity became unstable, and its knees seemed to spasm.
The advantage had suddenly shifted to Arnold. The knight’s attacks were losing their edge. Arnold’s attacks hadn’t changed, but now he was able to keep a steady stance, blocking any incoming attacks.
“Ah, so it’s his sword?”
Gilbert looked at Arnold’s electrified greatsword. Rhuda also managed to piece it all together.
It was the electricity. It would pass from the greatsword to the black knight’s blade, damaging the phantom in the process. The knight was fully armored, but even that wasn’t enough to protect against electric shocks. This was generally considered a merit of lightning magic.
Arnold must have been waiting for this. He was biding his time as the electric damage piled up until the black knight eventually made a fatal mistake. It was quite clever. It was an almost underhanded method, something entirely unimaginable for a man of his size and choice of weapon. But to Rhuda it was a show of a seasoned hunter’s pragmatic strength.
This was a Level 7. These were skills obtained through experience and refinement.
At last, the black knight wavered and fell to its knees. With the opening he had been anticipating, Arnold let out a roar. The air shook. The other black knight paused. Arnold raised his sword, which shimmered and sparkled with golden light. Being in close proximity caused his body to grow numb.
This was lightning. It wasn’t like the natural kind, it was golden, like what some dragons might blast from their mouth. He hadn’t even resorted to this during his battle with Tino. This must have been his trump card.
“Crashing Lightning.”
It was just like watching a striking thunderbolt. The black knight tried to raise its sword but was enveloped in golden light. The blade not only cleaved through the knight’s armor but also demolished a few meters of the stone floor as its energy dispersed.
The black knight exploded. Arnold’s victory was undeniable. After being fixated solely on the sight of the Crashing Lightning, Gilbert inhaled as though he had been forgetting to breathe.
“A-Amazing!”
“This is what a Level 7 looks like!”
Thus far, they had only witnessed Arnold being toyed with by the Thousand Tricks, but only a champion was capable of what he had just done. Lightning still crackled around him, giving him a faint yellow glow. He didn’t relish in his victory, his narrowed golden eyes just searched for their next prey.
Eigh and his allies began to give their black knight a wide berth. Then the thunderous champion flew at the phantom. The fight was over in a matter of seconds. Arnold swung with a speed and force far beyond his previous attacks and he split the black knight in two.
The rest of the group almost found it hard to believe they had just been fighting for their lives. Arnold finally lowered his sword once he was sure neither of the phantoms was getting back up. Eigh let out a sigh of relief after checking on the Swordsman who had been blown away.
“No major injuries over here. We did it, didn’t we, Arnold? I figured a vault like this wouldn’t be easy but—”
“Mm. But this isn’t what we came here for.”
The glow around Arnold faded. He didn’t show even a hint of joy. Rhuda could understand why. Anything that appeared in such a barren arena probably wasn’t the boss. Arnold’s constant vigilance was a sign of vast experience. But they had just toppled phantoms in a Level 8 treasure vault, she didn’t see anything wrong with celebrating just a little bit.
Then something occurred to her.
“Way to go, old man! How’d you do that move? You think I could learn it?” Gilbert said, completely serious.
“Now’s not the time for idiocy,” Arnold said with exasperation.
With scrutiny, Eigh looked down at the remains of the phantoms. They weren’t letting their guard down, but they did have the sort of slackened tension unique to soldiers after a battle.
Rhuda felt a sense of shock just as intense as Arnold’s attack. Her eyes widened. It was déjà vu. She had been in this situation before. They escaped certain doom, healed their wounds, took a breath, and—
She looked at Gilbert, who had also been there. The red-haired young man looked back at her with a blank expression.
“Gilbert, do you remember White Wolf’s Den?” she asked.
“Hm? What’s this about... Wait. Hold on?!”
The color instantly drained from Gilbert’s face. He must have figured out what Rhuda was getting at. The experience had left a distinct impression. The strength of the phantoms, the events prior to the battle, that was all different, but the situation was still eerily similar. This included the fact that they had reached this point after getting involved with Krai Andrey.
This was one of his Trials.
“We’re in deep shit, old man! More! More are gonna come! That’s what happened last time!” Gilbert frantically shouted.
“What are you on about? Have you lost it?” Arnold replied.
Gilbert’s thought process probably didn’t go any deeper than his babbling, but Rhuda still appreciated his energy at times like this. He was right, more would come. That’s how it went the previous time.
After just barely managing to overcome a tough foe, four more attackers, all with different weapons, had appeared. If Krai hadn’t come to the rescue, they would’ve died in that treasure vault. And with a Level 7 at their side, there was no guarantee any help would come this time around.
Maybe it was their imaginations. Maybe they were just worrying too much. But the possibility was too dangerous to ignore. Eigh was taken aback by Gilbert’s sudden panicking so Rhuda also offered a suggestion.
“Eigh, Gilbert’s right, we should start moving,” she said. “Last time we were in this situation, reinforcements came.”
“Hmmm. What do you think, Arnold?” Eigh asked.
Arnold looked at his companions and growled.
“So we can either leave or press forward, huh?”
Arnold was an undeniable champion. He was a proud man and inflexible on certain matters, but he could make the right call when it mattered.
They had battled phantoms, survived, and gauged the strength of what they were up against. This time they had only encountered a few, but if they continued on, it was all but certain that someone would suffer a critical injury. It was inconceivable that he hadn’t already figured this out; Arnold was much smarter than he looked.
Rhuda stepped forward and looked up, straight into Arnold’s eyes. She was following her instincts and couldn’t offer veritable proof for what she was about to say. She felt she knew a thing or two about the Thousand Tricks, even if it was all secondhand knowledge passed down from Tino.
“I think we should press forward,” she said.
“What?”
Arnold’s eyes bulged. Eigh, Gilbert, Carmine, everyone looked at her with disbelief. But she knew that the Thousand Trials weren’t something you could run from no matter how hard you tried. You could bet that the Thousand Tricks fully understood what sort of person Arnold was.
This all drove Rhuda to make the unconventional choice. It was all based on her own intuition, but sometimes you just had to follow that instead of reason. Indeed, if the Thousand Tricks was involved then there would most likely be enemies lying in wait on the path behind them. But she didn’t know how that information might be received by someone who hated the Thousand Tricks as much as Arnold did.
Rhuda steeled herself and said, “My intuition is telling me that there are powerful enemies behind us and we should move forward. If we’re going to turn back, I think we should first press onwards and then take a long loop back. We only need to press on for a bit so please believe me!”
***
“It’s absurd, but that sort of intuition has saved parties before.”
Staying alert to their surroundings, the group moved forward as if something were hot on their heels. Arnold felt there was truth to Rhuda’s words and chose to believe in her.
If it was possible for phantoms to approach from off the path then it was also possible for them to attack the group as they made their retreat. Rhuda had been a solo hunter, and solo hunters had senses fine-tuned for detecting danger. Hunters couldn’t do their job if they sidestepped every danger, but at the same time, they couldn’t just blindly charge headlong into peril.
Arnold saw enough value in Rhuda’s words that he was willing to bet their lives on their veracity.
“Hell yeah, nothing’s coming! We made the right choice!” Gilbert said with a sigh of relief. He had been frantically checking the group’s six. Just how traumatic had White Wolf’s Den been if his concern was based on the same experience as Rhuda’s?
Following the path took them on a straight route to the castle. As they got closer to the pitch-black structure they became steadily more unsettled by it. Not even Arnold had any idea what might be residing inside.
The castle doors came into view and the surrounding scenery shifted as the trees flanking the path began to thin out. Rhuda let out a small scream when she saw their new surroundings. Gilbert grew pale and Arnold couldn’t help but gulp.
They were in a circular forecourt, one paved with stones. With almost nothing to obstruct their view, they could see far and wide. Just beyond the open area was the castle. But the source of their shock was the black mountains piled outside the edges of the forecourt.
Gilbert quietly stepped up to one of the piles and began to tremble after giving them a close examination.
“What...happened?” he said.
The piles consisted of corpses created in all varieties of manners. What shocked Gilbert was that black armor and weapons made up the vast majority of the piles. Even at a cursory glance, it was clear that there was no unifying cause of death. Some were burned, others had been crushed. Some had been frozen or ripped apart along with their armor.
From the shape of the remains, they managed to discern that they were from something human-shaped. But it wasn’t just that. The armor was that of the phantoms they had just fought.
“H-Holy shit, what happened here?” Eigh said with a grimace as he searched the mountains. He extracted a severed octopus-shaped head impaled on a sword. It was black and covered in mucus, its two green eyes muddled and without a flicker of life.
The knights they battled earlier had been scorched by Arnold so they had been unable to check inside the armor. Apparently, the knights weren’t human. Rhuda tepidly inspected a pile of cadavers and every one of them had a face or body not quite human.
The color drained from Chloe’s face, but she maintained a veneer of composure.
“It seems there was a whole army of these aberrant soldiers,” she said.
Looking around at the mountain range of corpses, Gilbert whispered, “Did the Thousand Tricks do all this?”
The forecourt was expansive. There must have been at least a couple hundred piles lining the perimeter. Phantoms would immediately dissolve once their life was brought to an end and the strength of their mana material directly affected how long it took them to fully disappear. If this many had been killed, it made sense that they had only run into two phantoms so far.
It hardly seemed possible for a human to kill so many phantoms when it took so much effort from Arnold to defeat two. It was unbelievable, but what other explanation could there have been? Who else could have created such a scene? The moniker “Thousand Tricks” made a lot more sense when looking at the many different ways the phantoms had met their end.
“A-Arnold, look, in the center,” Eigh said. “Those are the remains of a bonfire. What sort of lunatic would do that out here...”
Arnold’s heart pounded and he felt something cold run down his spine. He realized what that feeling was, but kept his surprise from showing on his face. This emotion he hadn’t felt in so long—it was terror. Absolute terror at the unfathomable, at absolute power.
I’m afraid to even challenge him, Arnold thought.
He had considered defeat to be a possibility, but only in a battle between parties. He had been confident he could win a one-on-one against the Thousand Tricks. Arnold had been confident in his supremacy, even after the Stifled Shadow had ambushed him and even the time the Thousand Tricks had forced him to the ground.
For reasons uncertain, the Thousand Tricks didn’t give the slightest impression that he had even an ounce of strength. But such a direct display of might made it crystal clear that Arnold’s evaluation of him was mistaken.
Arnold felt his heart beat. He exhaled and once again glared at the mountain of corpses. This was what a Level 8 could accomplish. The road to catch up was a long one. The Thousand Tricks hadn’t been alone when he did this, but even still, Arnold couldn’t picture himself triumphing over that man.
“Damn it. Damn it. Damn it.”
He clenched his teeth and gripped his sword. It was no use. He was lacking. In his current state, he was far too lacking. He didn’t even know what it was he was lacking.
Eigh looked at Arnold with concern etched upon his features. A leader needed to stand at the forefront and look strong. Chloe also turned her eyes towards Arnold. A leader needed to be able to push through adversity by sheer tenacity, to be able to maintain a dauntless facade.
Eigh wiped the unease from his face. Arnold’s performance didn’t fool him. In all likelihood, Eigh could tell how his party leader felt and knew he was doing his best to not let it show. So he forced himself to relax a bit and be the same vice party leader he always was.
This was no time to be distracted by their discord with the Thousand Tricks. What they needed to focus on was a way to make sure everyone got out of this hellish treasure vault in one piece. Even if he was losing his will to fight, Arnold had a duty to lead the party no matter the circumstances. Only death could relinquish him from this responsibility.
Would he decide to wait for the Thousand Tricks and lower his head, or would he decide to loop around and look for the exit?
Then Eigh widened his eyes. He was startled, but managed to take a deep breath and speak in a low voice so only Arnold could hear.
“Bad news. They’re coming. A whole damn swarm of ’em. It’s way too much for us!”
“What?”
Eigh was looking in the direction they had just come from. Something black was writhing on the horizon. It was still in the distance, but it was headed for them like an encroaching tidal wave.
No, it wasn’t something. Those were knights, a legion of those grotesque knights in black armor. Arnold and Eigh couldn’t tell exactly how many there were but it was undeniably more than they could manage. It was about as large as the orc pack they had fought not too long ago, but orcs paled in comparison to the phantoms. Arnold probably couldn’t slay half of them even if he fought until his very last breath.
Rhuda’s eyes bulged when she noticed the incoming swarm.
“Thousand Trials,” she whispered in a tone that sounded like she could both laugh or cry at any moment.
This was a Trial?!
“Goddamn insanity,” Arnold muttered.
He looked around the forecourt. It was too late to run, but they had no shot at victory if they chose to stay and fight. In this wide-open space, they would be surrounded and crushed. Everyone began to lose hope, but you should never give in. Arnold calmed himself and looked for a way out of this perilous situation. If they stayed in the forecourt, not a single one of them would make it out alive.
Suddenly, he looked at the obsidian castle that lay beyond the forecourt. This was where the treasure vault got its name. It was likely to be much more dangerous than the outer sections. But perhaps it would be better than being swallowed up by a wave of phantoms.
The grotesque army was steadily closing in. There was no time to waste. The group had recovered from their shock and were awaiting Arnold’s orders.
And so he made his decision.
***
“Please, accept our sincere apologies!”
“Ha ha, it’s totally fine. Stuff like this happens to me all the time.”
It seemed it wasn’t just me, the inn employees had also never heard of a dragon trespassing in a hot spring. When I left the baths to report the situation, I found inn staff all kowtowing before me.
It turned out the sky-blue dragon was one of those hot spring dragons that Liz had been going on about. They were indigenous to the mountains near Suls and their name was derived from their affinity for hot springs, but they usually hid out in the mountains and rarely approached human settlements. Of course they didn’t. You couldn’t run an inn if you had dragons dropping by for the occasional visit.
The inn staff knew of the dragons, but most of them hadn’t even seen one before. They all looked at the unconscious dragon with trepidation.
“This hot spring dragon is still young,” said a woman in her forties. She was the inn’s oldest staff member and its proprietress. “The young ones are very inquisitive. Maybe it saw that visitors weren’t coming because of those bandits and its curiosity got the better of it.”
“I see. Well, it happens sometimes.”
Accidents were normal for hunters. Run-ins with roving dragons, roving ogres, roving cyclopes, and roving treasure vaults had left me prepared for any mishap. My luck was just that awful. Sometimes I became outright delusional and began to think they were attracted to me or something.
It could’ve been worse, it could’ve been an adult dragon. If any non-hunters had been present, someone might have been killed. But there were no fatalities, so the inn just needed to focus on making sure something like this didn’t happen again.
What I was concerned about was Tino’s mental health. Even after putting on some clothes, she still had that exhausted look in her eyes. I repeatedly tried speaking to her, but she never responded with her usual smile.
The battle happened spontaneously so I thought it was unavoidable that she had to fight the dragon while naked. Not to mention, I had done my best to look away. I guess it was still a shocking experience for a girl her age. It seemed my senses had grown dull due to Liz’s nonchalance.
“Oh, that’s right,” Sitri said with an inspired clap of her hands. “Let’s have boiled dragon tonight!”
This pulled Tino from her sullen silence.
“Huh? You’re going to eat it?!” she cried.
Dragon wasn’t a common dish. The creatures were rare and their blood, flesh, and bones all sold for high prices. But our party wasn’t one to worry too much over profits. If we caught a dragon, eating a portion of it was the norm. I couldn’t remember what started that habit, but our feral children—Luke and Liz—would eat anything, including centipedes and spiders, so they might as well eat dragons too.
“You like dragon too, don’t you, Krai? This is Tino’s first slain dragon!” Sitri said to me in a cheery voice.
Tino looked bewildered. It seemed Sitri was trying to turn this into a positive experience so Tino might forget the bad parts. Or maybe she just wanted to eat dragon. I still eagerly went along with her.
“Yeah, dragon’s delicious. I can’t wait.”
Anything Sitri prepared was delicious and we didn’t need to eat like we were camping out, but I kept those thoughts to myself. I also thought it was silly for her to do any cooking when we were at an inn, but, again, I held my peace.
“You’re incredible, Tino. Great job back there,” I said.
“Y-You flatter me,” she said in a small voice.
She was looking at the ground and seemed both embarrassed but also pleased. It seemed like she might agree with just a bit more praise and Sitri smoothly backed me up.
“You fought that dragon without weapons or armor. T, you were adorable.”
“Yeah, uh-huh...huh?”
Tino had finally gotten back on her feet but now she was quaking again. Red to her ears, she hung her head and backed away from us.
No, I didn’t look. Not at all. I swear.
How could I kick back and enjoy the scenery when a dragon was rampaging about? I didn’t do anything or let it show on my face, but I was pretty frantic back there.
Sitri winked at me like we had just accomplished something. I wanted to tell her off, but Tino was right there so I just sighed.
“Huh? A hot spring dragon was here?”
After returning from her search for a hot spring dragon, Liz listened to our tale with shock. She had gone to the mountains but her hunt turned up nothing, whereas we found one without even trying. What a funny thing life was.
With her legs folded beneath her, Tino sat on the tatami floor. She shrunk back and looked at her mentor with upturned eyes. She seemed to think that Liz would be angry because her prey had been caught by someone else. But Liz wouldn’t do that.
Liz had a stern expression as I told her about the dragon. But when she heard that Tino fought the dragon while naked and still emerged victorious, she smiled and jumped at her apprentice. Tino let out a small yelp as Liz embraced her and rubbed her head.
“Woo! Congrats on your first dragon, T! Now you’re also a Dragon Slayer.”
“Huh? What?”
“We’ve gotta eat the dragon and celebrate! Right, Krai Baby?”
“Yeah, uh-huh.”
“Huuuh? You think so?” Tino said.
She seemed entirely taken off guard by her mentor’s reaction and looked at me. This “first dragon” business was new to me, but if Liz said it was cause for celebration then it probably was. She was happier than I had seen her in some time. She must have been truly proud to see her apprentice grow. It was also a sign that she was growing as a mentor.
“But if you were gonna kill a dragon, I wish you’d done it while I was around,” Liz said as she patted Tino on the back. “It’s such a big occasion—”
“Lizzy, if you were there then you would have slain the dragon yourself, wouldn’t you?” Sitri interjected. “We’ve already killed enough that one more hardly matters.”
Well, someone had to defeat the dragon if we wanted to get home alive.
Tino was surprised to see them talking like the cute apprentice had been ceded the chance to fight a dragon. Sitri probably wasn’t serious about having slain that many dragons. She was organized and ready for anything, but that didn’t mean she was enthusiastic about direct conflict. She usually made sure to have Luke, Liz, or Ansem in front while she stayed in the back.
“C’mooon. How about we go back to the baths, Krai Baby? I wanna fight a dragooon!”
“Yeah, not happening.”
They said they’d be enhancing the town’s security and I didn’t think there would be a second dragon. The main bath wasn’t even open due to the damage, so we would be making do with the open-air in our room. If a dragon appeared in that small bath then I would just give up.
No one had ever said they wanted to fight a dragon and I never told anyone to go ahead and do that, but Liz still looked at me with pursed lips.
“Huh? Tino alwaaays gets special treatment. Aren’t you playing favorites with her?”
“Indeed! Be clear: who’s more important to you, me or T?!”
Liz could only think about the dragon, Sitri was taking advantage of the situation, and Tino was completely thrown for a loop. I was sure she was thinking something like “Huh, I’m being favored?” Once you got wrapped up in the Smart sisters’ lines of thinking, there was no coming back, but fortunately, they stopped before that happened to Tino.
Liz suddenly began to look at her apprentice with suspicion.
“T, since when were you strong enough to fight a dragon bare-handed? Have you been holding out on me during our training?”
“N-No, Lizzy! That was, um...”
I had been wondering the same thing. Tino was talented and had been enduring Liz’s torturous regiments, but she was still a Level 4 and this was her first dragon. “Dragon Slayer” was given out as an accolade because all dragons surpassed a certain degree of strength. Even if that one in the hot spring was weak for a dragon, it still shouldn’t have been something you could defeat sans clothing.
Tino’s lips quivered for a moment before she looked at me and spoke in a small voice.
“Um, you see, Master, after wearing that mask of yours, my body has felt lighter. Or maybe it’d be better to say I’ve learned to control it better.”
For real? I know that mask draws out latent powers but does it also have lasting effects?
Super Tino had been a sight to behold. She had grown taller and become strong enough to be a match for Arnold, a Level 7. She was conscious when she wore the mask so it wasn’t strange that she remembered those moves even after she removed the mask. Maybe that was Evolve Greed’s main use?
What the hell. You can’t be serious, draw out my latent powers too!
“Hmmm, so it has lasting effects,” Liz said through pursed lips. “That’s kinda unfair.”
She had given the mask a try back in the capital, but apparently, it rejected her for “security reasons.” Sitri sat quietly and smiled. I didn’t know what the mask had said to her but she had also been turned down when she tried wearing Evolve Greed.
“By the sound of it, there are restrictions to the latent powers Evolve Greed can act upon,” I said.
It was still an excellent Relic. Its compatibility varied...I just wished it was compatible with me.
“Th-That’s right, it didn’t work for you, Master.”
“I guess it’s a Tino exclusive.”
Granted, my case was a bit different. Unlike Liz and Sitri, I couldn’t use the mask because my latent abilities were too low. And I didn’t think it could necessarily draw upon all of one’s latent powers. Liz had recognized Tino’s talents; I didn’t think there could be much of a gap between the powers they had in store.
Sitri then clapped her hands as though to move us onto a different subject.
“For now, let’s set aside the matter of the mask and focus on celebrations,” she said with a wide grin. “Today we’ll be feasting on boiled dragon. Boiled dragon made with hot spring dragon!”
Those weren’t words I was used to hearing. It almost sounded like the meat was boiled in a hot spring. But I wasn’t going to object, overwriting misfortune with fun was the way of the hunter.
We took Liz to the courtyard so she could see the dragon and her reaction was quite something.
“HA HA HA HA WHAT THE HELL IS THIS?!”
“Lizzy, don’t laugh so hard.”
“Huh? You’re gonna become a Dragon Slayer after defeating this? Holy shit!”
Liz was right. It seemed scary when it was rampaging around, but now that it was knocked out and lying on its side, its round body and bright colors made it seem almost like a plushie.
“Sure, it’s an abnormal dragon, but it’s a dragon nonetheless,” Sitri said as Liz clapped her hands.
It was a tougher dragon than its looks might lead you to believe. After all, it demolished the inn’s prized main bath. Its hot-water breath didn’t look like much but it could have killed me in an instant if I hadn’t been wearing any Safety Rings.
Having had her fun, Liz wiped the tears from her eyes.
“Heh, heh. But I heard hot spring dragons are much fiercer than this thing.”
No, Liz, it doesn’t look like much because it’s unconscious. It’s plenty fierce.
“Still, according to the proprietress, these dragons rarely approach human populations, even ones situated around a hot spring,” Sitri said as she picked up a large billhook borrowed from somewhere. The dully glimmering blade was simple but unnerving. “Mmm, I hope this blade can cut through. Too bad I can’t call for Luke.”
Some monsters and mythical beings had skin more durable than metal. Sitri raised the billhook with ease and swung it at the dragon’s neck. At the same moment, the sky-blue dragon opened its eyes.
It made a squawking noise.
“Ah, it dodged it.”
The dragon dodged the incoming blade with unbelievable swiftness. The shining cutlery dug into the earth. Tino let out a brief screech and was about to hide behind me, but stopped when she realized Liz was watching.
The hot spring dragon stood up on wobbling feet. It saw Sitri wearing a faint smile, Liz grinning, Tino frantically preparing for another fight, Killiam standing with its arms folded, and me standing still as a board. It let out something resembling a scream.
I might mention that Tino didn’t finish off the dragon earlier because Sitri said dragon tastes best when killed right before you cook it.
Tears welled up in the doe-like eye of the hot spring dragon as it started at Liz.
“Look, Krai Baby! Our dinner’s crying! So even some dragons cry.”
“No need to cry now. I’ll end it with one swing, it’ll only hurt for a moment,” Sitri murmured.
“I-I won’t let you hurt Master!”
“Kill kill.”
“Rawr...” the hot spring dragon cried pitifully.
The dragon was strong but we had the complete advantage with Tino backed up by Liz, Sitri, and even Killiam. Its fate was sealed. It seemed to understand the predicament it was in and frantically looked around. Unfortunately, there was nowhere for it to run. But then its gaze fell on me.
Yeah, uh-huh. There is a weak link in our group. But I have my Safety Rings. The moment you attack, Liz will slug you and then it’ll all be over. It won’t do you any good, so don’t try attacking me.
The dragon flung itself at me. Even I could dodge that if I tried, but it would just make more trouble even if I successfully evaded it. Without any better options, I just decided to let it hit me. Resigned to my fate, I held my arms wide open, but the dragon rolled over.
“Wha?!”
The hot spring dragon cooed as it rolled on its back and showed me its belly. It looked at me with teary eyes. I was at a loss for words. Tino looked at me like I was something more than human.
“U-Uh, the dragon’s showing you its tummy. So it’s surrendering?! Y-You never fail, Master.”
No, there was clearly something off about this dragon. Besides, I was pretty sure the dragon was trying to appeal to my weakness, not submit to my strength. Still, on its back, the dragon wiggled its way towards me. It didn’t show a speck of the pride that marked an apex predator. Then it made a mewing noise.
No way that’s a normal dragon sound.
It had been trying to kill me not too long ago but now I had it in the palm of my hand. I experimentally placed my foot on its stomach, but it didn’t react. It seemed to think this was better than being eaten. I suddenly felt a strong affinity for the dragon.
“Krai, what shall we do?” Sitri asked.
“Mmm, good question.”
It seemed Liz and Tino were also ready to follow my lead. Even if it was acting docile, a dragon was still a dragon. Maybe it would be best just to kill it? There was no point in waiting until after it caused an incident.
I steeled my soul and touched the surface of the dragon. It was smooth and warm like a hot spring. It was a really pleasant sensation.
“W-Well, I don’t see anything wrong with forgiving it. Nobody died or anything.”
I was certain I’d sleep well if I used this guy as a pillow.
The dragon let out a cry of excitement.
This thing can definitely understand what we’re saying.
***
Even as he looked back, he struggled to understand where he went wrong. Work was work. He knew what he did was dangerous. He thought he knew what he did was dangerous. Sitting by himself absentmindedly in the corner of a luxurious room, Gray thought himself a fool.
When he turned down his chance to get in on Black and White’s escape plan, they looked at him with disdain, but he didn’t care.
He was a bad person. After being too unruly even for treasure hunting, he became a criminal and committed a number of heinous acts. He had seen all sorts of things in the imperial capital’s underbelly. There was the terrifying, the ugly, the pitiful, and that which no human should witness. He came across some people who had no regard for human life.
But the Thousand Tricks, he was something else entirely. He was no mere hunter. Something unnerved Gray when he first saw the Thousand Tricks. Even among the criminal world, Gray was an exceptionally perceptive one. It was how he had lasted so long despite his lack of other notable strengths.
That man didn’t have the distinct bearing of those who had overcome gauntlets. He didn’t have the distinct shadow of those who had seen the darkness. Most of all, unlike the Stifled Shadow and the Ignoble, he didn’t have the trace of blood.
Even if they weren’t especially bloodthirsty like the Stifled Shadow was, all treasure hunters got the smell of blood on them to some degree or another. That “trace,” as Gray referred to it, wasn’t something that could be washed out with any sort of soap, no matter how hard you tried.
Until meeting that man, Gray had never met a hunter who didn’t have that trace. That caused Gray to misread the situation and show the wrong attitude. Looking back, that was a stupid thing to do.
It seemed unthinkable that a man could reach Level 8, all while leading a party of butchers, and not be involved in any bloodshed. That completely unfathomable side of that languid young man was exactly what made him someone Gray didn’t want to mess with.
Gray saw multiple examples of that man’s strange behavior during their trip. He never did anything of note, but that’s what made him so strange. Gray knew he couldn’t afford to let his guard down.
Before they departed on their trip, Krai hadn’t shown a hint of malice when he was about to have Black, White, and Gray done away with. This meant that he saw their lives as things just as insignificant as rocks on the side of the road.
It was the Stifled Shadow who had captured them, but that was likely because that task was simply beneath the Thousand Tricks. Black and White had their suspicions, but to Gray, it looked like they would be let go as long as they didn’t do anything.
Gray shrunk down and sat in silence like someone waiting for a storm to pass. He kept his mouth sealed like a clam and pretended he was a rock. This was his surest means of survival for someone in his position. They hadn’t done anything wrong to that man—anything he would consider wrong. They hadn’t done anything worth his intervention or his interest.
Gray found himself concentrating, but he didn’t hear the screams of Black and White. Of course not, even if something happened they would be dead before they could make any noise.
Then, with perfect timing, came a knock at the door.
“Black, White, are you there?”
“Huh?!”
Gray thought his heart might burst from his chest. For an instant, he wondered if it was a despair-induced hallucination, but the sounds and voices didn’t go away. Gray frantically stood up. His knees threatened to give out on him, but he managed to pull through and unlock the door. The locks on doors in an inn like this one would have meant nothing to a Level 8 and not opening the door wasn’t an option in the first place.
Black and White had gone off to steal the collar key from the Thousand Tricks. Gray didn’t know how their attempt fared but he didn’t think it was a coincidence that the Thousand Tricks was calling their names. And if he was only calling for Black and White, that meant he was actually calling out to Gray.
The door opened. The young man gave Gray a peculiar look. His stance was as defenseless as ever, his body seemingly incapable of violence. Behind him was his opposite, Sitri Smart, a woman who exuded a savage aura. She looked at Gray with her usual bone-chilling smile.
But what bothered Gray the most was clinging to the young man’s feet—a sky-blue dragon. It was small and its bright color seemed like some sort of joke, but something clearly dragon-shaped was rubbing its head against the man’s feet as though in an attempt to curry favor. Gray couldn’t help but stand stock-still.
“Don’t worry about it,” the Thousand Tricks said with a sigh. “It’s become domesticated. I guess it really doesn’t want to be eaten.”
Gray struggled to believe that nonchalant utterance. It was unimaginable that a mythical beast would submit to a human. The Thousand Tricks just shrugged his shoulders with resignation.
“By the way, is it just you, Gray? Where are Black and White?”
Gray came to his senses and instinctively pressed his lips together.
The Thousand Tricks could see right through him. Nothing in his voice or expression was unnatural, but that wasn’t going to fool Gray. Normally, he would start yelling, but all that escaped Gray’s lips was a weak trembling voice. His heart was pounding like a drum. He was certain the Thousand Tricks had no interest in him, but it was only natural to be afraid of scary things. Obedience was the only recourse for the weak.
Gray had no idea what this man might say or do and that’s what made him so terrifying.
“I-I told them not to. Black and White, they went to steal the k-key...”
He had said he would keep quiet, but he no longer cared. The more he thought about it, the more flaws he saw in their plan. Black and White had been overly optimistic and were banking on good luck. Under normal circumstances, it was a laughable plan not even worth considering. Only bad impulses could have driven them to carry it out. No, their nerves had probably snapped from the fear pervading them.
Hearing what Gray said, the black-haired young man made a strange face and blinked a few times before casually lifting up the chain at his hip. Dozens of pieces of jewelry were on the chain, including two collars just like the one on Gray’s neck.
Krai Andrey clapped his hands as though something had just dawned on him. It was comically obvious, but, surprisingly, nothing about it seemed like an act. If Gray didn’t know any better, he might have immediately judged this man to be an utter moron.
With a strained smile, the Thousand Tricks turned around. Unlike him, Sitri had an icy look in her eyes.
“Sitri, it looks like they ran off. Is that gonna be a problem?”
“No, not particularly. I can’t imagine they’ve gone far yet. If they need to be stopped, I can put Lizzy to the—”
“No, it’s fine. That’s not what I meant. This isn’t worth bothering Lizzy while she’s on vacation. Yeah, we’ll just make a small change in plans. By the way, just out of curiosity...”
Krai scratched his cheek, furrowed his brow, and looked at Gray. Gray could see his haggard face reflected in those eyes of pure black. The man’s incomprehensible expression sent a shiver down his spine. This was an unbeatable man who had conquered a dragon, made people fend off vicious monsters, and showed no concern for human life.
“How come you didn’t run?” he asked Gray.
***
I screwed up.
I was completely caught off guard by the news that those two ran away. It seemed unimaginable considering that I had already told them I would give them the key and set them free. Sure, it was stupid of me to not realize they had fled even after I found their collars in the locker, but I think my stupidity has been well-established by this point. It was all because of that hot spring dragon.
But this wasn’t a fatal mistake, their release just got expedited a tad. Sitri didn’t think it was a problem either so there really was no need to go after those two. If they had stolen a Relic then I might have sent Liz after them, but fortunately I had brought all my Relics into the hot spring with me. I just prayed that stealing that key was the last crime they would ever commit.
But I still didn’t understand why Gray alone stayed behind. When I blurted out that question, he looked at me with surprise. Maybe because he had been on lookout duty the entire trip, he looked emaciated around the eyes and cheeks. From the start, he didn’t seem to be a vigorous person, but now he looked like a dead tree.
When I voiced my question, he stumbled and fell on his rear. It was just a simple query but for some reason, he went pale and his teeth began to chatter. Maybe I shouldn’t have asked. I didn’t think anything of it as the words left my mouth, but when you think about it, stealing and fleeing aren’t exactly good deeds. Anyone would be put in an uncomfortable spot if asked why they didn’t do it.
Gray looked up at me with wide eyes, his lips trembling.
“I-I-I...”
“Ah, sorry, you don’t have to answer that. I was just a bit curious,” I said in a reassuring voice.
I wasn’t going to be bothered one way or another. This was just a vacation for me. I dropped the key right in front of Gray and let out a big yawn. This was just one less chore to have on my mind so I considered it a stroke of good luck.
“Here’s the key. You can head off whenever you feel like it, but since we’re here why not stay a bit and rest? Sitri’s paying for all this after all.”
“Indeed, and it’s only costing me a trifling sum,” Sitri said with a twitching smile.
Even if they were a criminal, working someone to death was still a crime. Under Zebrudian law, you could kill a criminal during an attempt to catch them, but once arrested you couldn’t just off them on a whim.
As I placatingly tapped a dissatisfied Sitri on the shoulder, I felt obligated to give Gray a warning.
“Oh, right. Don’t go committing any more crimes, okay?”
***
Lady Luck must have been in a fine mood because Black and White’s plan went off without a hitch. They had managed to remove their collars, left the inn without being spotted by the staff, and even made it out of town with the items they had stashed away. They were free to go abroad or return to the capital and lay low. But they couldn’t breathe easy just yet.
Taking off with the carriage with them would’ve been a bit much. That would’ve been too daring and given their captors one more reason to come after them. They had been running separately from the road for a while. Once the town faded from view, Black and White stopped.
Their escape had gone perfectly, but they still had ghastly complexions. Breathing heavily, they took swigs from their canteens and looked in the direction of the town. They were both recalling the last thing the Thousand Tricks had said to them.
“Why? What drove that man to let us go?” White said.
“Hmph. Don’t ask me. How should I know what goes on in the head of a Level 8?” Black replied.
“There might be thieves,” he had said back at the main bath. That was clearly aimed at Black and White. Black couldn’t tell whether that was meant to discourage them from stealing the key or to tell them he knew what they were up to. If they had made it this far, did that mean he was permitting them to get away?
“Where should we go?” White asked, his face drained of color. “Do we leave the country? Should we go back to the capital?”
They were both natives of the imperial capital. Back there, they still had hideaways with items and they could easily keep a low profile. But the capital was also the home base of the Thousand Tricks. Who knew what might happen if they returned? He might have let them go, but the Ignoble and the Stifled Shadow might not be so forgiving.
“We’ll go abroad,” Black declared. “Zebrudia’s too dangerous as long as we’ve got their ire.”
“Oh, yeah, I was thinking the same thing,” White replied as his eyes busily scanned their surroundings.
If they left the empire, even the Stifled Shadow probably wouldn’t come after them. There was no reason for her to be that fixated on them. From the bag, White retrieved a map of the empire and unfolded it. It was a simple map but they could at least use it to figure out the shortest route out of the empire.
Black and White were both skillful hunters. Looking back on that brutal expedition, they felt they could now overcome any gauntlet that came their way. White’s eyes glimmered with vitality, he looked ready to do whatever it took to take advantage of this opportunity to escape with his life. Black felt the same way.
“Which way?” White asked.
Suls was surrounded by mountains on three sides. Their best option was to leave via the road they came in on, but that was also an obvious choice. As she mulled over what might be the most feasible route, Black suddenly recalled a conversation the Thousand Tricks and his cohorts had in the carriage.
She checked the map. She looked intently at a wide region that was near Suls, just a stone’s throw away. It was near the border and belonged to a blade of the empire which warded off monsters, phantoms, and invaders. It was home to an elite order of knights, almost devoid of corruption, a bad place for anyone up to no good. It was also a place the Thousand Tricks had been determined to avoid.
“The Gladis Earldom. We’ll pass through here. We’re crossing the mountains,” Black declared in a dry voice.
***
There’s nothing better than being on vacation. My time in Suls simply flew by. The food was delicious and the hot spring was incredible. I think it was because of the incident with the hot spring dragon, but the inn staff all had a sort of reverence for me. But I got some stuff on the house and I just ignored their idolizing eyes.
At the end of every day, I would look back and regret all the time I wasted and even that was pleasant. The main bath had been destroyed, leaving me with just our room’s open-air bath. But I could enjoy that without worrying about any other guests, so that wasn’t so bad. If I really wanted to go to a big bath I could go to the hot springs outside. I had been a bit on edge, but there hadn’t been any more dragon sightings after the first day.
The only downside was that Luke and the others weren’t there to join us. We hadn’t gone anywhere as a party in a long time, but trips were something we usually did together. Perhaps they would gripe at me once we got back to the capital.
But we can just all come together another time. When I see them, I’ll boast as much as I please.
I had heard from Sitri that these hot spring waters had healing properties and it seemed she was right. Not that I had any old wounds, but I still felt like I could soak in there forever. The water was a bit hot, but I solved that problem with a Relic that enhanced heat resistance.
I was idling about another day, my lower half submerged in warm water, and, as usual, I could hear Liz and Tino arguing. Liz had no sense of restraint. Once, when our whole party found a hot spring deep in some mountains, she unabashedly tried to join me, even after I told her no. She thought of me less as a man and more as a childhood friend.
You’d often hear it said that among hunters the barriers between men and women were fairly low. Equipment getting destroyed and similar occurrences meant you couldn’t be too bothered by nudity. But I thought there was something wrong with not showing any shame at all.
I was indeed a man and unlike Luke, I wasn’t apathetic to everything unrelated to swords, so I couldn’t just ignore it. Even though I was used to Liz’s skinship, I was comfortable seeing all that skin and I was even less comfortable with her wrapping her arms around me. Usually, Lucia would do some fancy magic and keep Liz at bay, but with her nemesis absent, Liz was in high spirits. Even though I knew this might happen if we went here, I couldn’t resist the call of the spring.
I heard a scream from Tino and the next moment the door rattled open.
“Maaaster, run! And aren’t you in there too much?! How many times have you hopped in the bath today?!”
“Krai Baby, I brought some booze! Wanna have a drink together?” Liz said with excitement.
“Oh, fine, go ahead, Liz,” I said while stifling an enormous yawn. “Just be sure to wash yourself before getting in.”
Accompanied by Liz and Tino, both in yukatas, I strolled through the town feeling like a man doubly blessed. It seems the appearance of the hot spring dragon had caused a shock for the townsfolk and they treated us like celebrities for defeating it.
We already stood out plenty as we were just about the only tourists in town. The hot spring dragon seemed to be one of the weaker varieties, but it was still a dragon which meant it was a mythical beast that no average citizen could handle. Watching it laze about in our room’s open-air bath, it was easy to forget that thing was dangerous.
It was natural that we would be lauded for vanquishing it (even if we didn’t kill it in the end), but Tino didn’t seem accustomed to the attention and wore a very stiff expression.
“You should smile at times like these, be proud. The minor fame will wear off soon enough,” I told her.
“Y-Yes, Master.”
I munched on a complimentary hot spring dragon manju as I strolled around. Being a hot spring town, Suls had a very relaxed atmosphere, which was to my liking. Our inn wasn’t the only place with baths, there were a number of smaller springs located throughout the town. The quality probably didn’t vary, but I still thought it might be fun to try out a few of the other baths.
There was also something refreshing about seeing Tino and Liz in different outfits. The yukatas showed less skin than their usual gear but they looked very nice on their slim figures. Perhaps due to the steam from the springs, their skin was redder than normal, giving them a vaguely erotic allure.
Which reminded me of something Sitri once told me. She said that yukatas are folded with the left side on top so one’s right hand can reach in and fondle the chest. What a blatant lie. No way someone would make such a blatantly lecherous outfit!
Near the edges of the town, Sitri was talking business with a group of men all wearing fine clothes.
“Between scenery and safety, safety should take priority. A barrier can ward off monsters, but not the strongest of them, or humans for that matter. With that in mind, why not purchase a cutting-edge golem?”
Grinning and wearing a yukata, she spoke while pointing at the outer wall, which was only as high as her neck.
“They may run a high price, but they can be used not only for combat but also manual labor. Surely, they’re a bargain compared to human workers. Fortune won’t place a Level 8 hunter in your baths a second time.”
She always hid it under her robe, but, compared to Liz, Sitri had a fine figure. She was a bit taller, but her chest left no room for competition.
“Krai has taken a liking to this town, and these golems are still in their test phase, so if you buy now, I’ll slash the price by half. With weapons included, a set of thirty golems will come to one billion gild, plus tax!”
The old men who seemed to be in charge of the town talked among one another while presumably being taken in by Sitri’s luscious figure. One billion gild seemed a pretty hefty sum for a town of this size. Could golems even win against a dragon? Why was Sitri conducting business while we were on vacation? It all made zero sense to me.
“Siddy...never misses a beat,” Tino remarked.
“Nobody’s better than her at finding weak spots,” said Liz.
With exasperation, both of them watched Siddy, who simply did as she pleased. They had the right of it, but then again, Liz was the girl who went off in search of a dragon on our first day here.
Sitri saw me and came running over even though she was in the middle of negotiations. I couldn’t help but look and notice that her robe was folded with the left side on top.
“You’re working hard,” I said.
“It would be a shame if another dragon appeared, aaand I could test the powers of my new weapons. I see this as two birds with one stone,” she replied.
Is she a merchant of death?
But Sitri had a point, this town’s defenses did come across as insufficient. It might only seem relevant to them as long as that bandit squad was around, but it mattered a whole lot to a temporary visitor like me.
But still, one billion gild was a lot of money. It wasn’t a price you’d agree to without some consideration. Just how much did those golems cost to produce? The town’s bigwigs seemed to be giving up on the golems. Most anyone wouldn’t immediately agree to buying golems if they hadn’t even seen them in action.
“Sitri, why not drop the price just a bit?” I suggested after some brief hesitation.
“Huh,” Sitri looked at me with wide eyes. “How much should I set the price at?”
How much? This is new. Are you really gonna sell it at whatever I say?
I wasn’t an Alchemist nor did I know the value of golems. This wasn’t even something I would normally stick my nose in.
“This is for the town’s safety. Here, how about you don’t charge money but let them pay with goods or something?”
“An exchange of goods, you say? But the only notable product in this town is its hot springs... Oh, I’ve got it! How about their sovereignty?!”
“A-Also, I think if you want someone to buy something, you should let them see it first.”
“Hm, that’s right,” she said while looking contemplative.
What did she mean by sovereignty?
I wasn’t going to say “Give the golems away for free,” and she wouldn’t do that even if I told her to. She greatly valued my opinion, but she wouldn’t just do as I said. It was a bond of friendship that existed between us.
Sitri seemed to have gathered her thoughts as she clapped her hands and grinned. She went back to the townsfolk, who were having a serious discussion.
“I’ve reached a decision,” Sitri said in a cheery voice. “If you’re undecided, then I’ll lend you all the golems completely free of charge for the duration of our stay. Consider it a gift from Krai. If another dragon appeared during our vacation it would be quite a hassle. Remember, you can wait until after you’ve seen the golems at work and it won’t be too late to make a purchase.”
Once her pseudo-volunteer sales pitch was over, I collected Sitri and the four of us walked around town together. She hadn’t brought any golems or whatever with her, but it seemed she could manufacture them out here. What a hard worker she was.
“Are you okay with the way that went?” I asked, my umpteenth question that hour.
“I am. It’s for your sake after all,” she said with a cheerful nod.
I was an amateur when it came to commerce but it seemed Sitri was getting a bad deal here. We had already encountered a hot spring dragon. I doubted any other threats would pop up during our stay and those golems wouldn’t sell if they didn’t get a chance to show their power.
And isn’t this for the sake of the townsfolk, not mine?
Sitri didn’t answer my question, but just took a half step, closing the distance between us. A faint sweet aroma drifted from her hair. Probably her shampoo? I didn’t comment on it, but I found myself wanting to bring my face closer. I began to feel woozy.
“Krai Baby, don’t be fooled by her blatant attempts to score points with you!” Liz said as she jutted between us. “She’s totally using her wiles so she can put you in her debt!”
“I’m doing nothing of the sort. Lizzy, you’re absolutely paranoid! Right, Krai?”
“Yeah, uh-huh.”
She’s going to try the usual trap, the one where they say, “Oh yeah, I lent you money a while ago. Why not come over to my place sometime soon?” Well, I have nobody to blame but myself and I’ll probably get by without paying her back.
I took in the tranquility as the Smart sisters bickered. Tino seemed to have become a bit more chipper again. All I had to do was buy time until the Gathering of the White Blade was over. Our trip had its troubles, but all’s well that ends well.
I idly considered taking Liz and Sitri somewhere so Tino could briefly be free from getting caught in their cross fire. But suddenly, I spotted an unadorned sign that looked out of place in a hot spring town. I read what it said and furrowed my brow.
“Construction?”
“It appears they were digging up a spring, but the project was paused due to the rumors of bandits,” Sitri added.
A wide lot was surrounded with barbed wire and a large hole was dug in the center. I didn’t know the specifics of unearthing springs, but apparently, even this was affected by the bandits.
“In all likelihood, they were probably borrowing a Magus for this project,” Sitri continued. “Said Magus was probably evacuated, just to be on the safe side.”
“I hope this bandit situation gets resolved soon.”
The construction site was huge; they were probably planning to build a fairly large inn. Construction equipment was piled up around the hole.
Well, even without the interruption, it probably wouldn’t have finished before our arrival. But if this continues, it might not be done when we come back with the rest of the party.
“That reminds me,” Sitri said with a grin and a clap of her hands. “Earlier, I heard that there are legends of more than just dragons in this area!”
“Legends?”
Legends. Nothing about this sounds good.
I thought my attitude made it clear I didn’t want to hear it, but Sitri continued on.
“I hear they sometimes come out nearby.”
“C’mon, let’s talk about something else.”
I wasn’t proud to say it, but I couldn’t handle ghosts. I had been chased around by all sorts of them, you see.
“No! They’re not ghosts, the legends mention a strange Sapien—”
“C’mon, let’s talk about something else.”
I wasn’t proud to say it, but I couldn’t handle Sapiens. I had been chased around by all sorts of them, you see.
Sitri sighed and smiled faintly when she saw my complete lack of passion.
“Well, it is just a legend and I hear there haven’t been any recent sightings.”
Right. Damn right. We’ve already run into enough trouble. If we run into anything more, we can pronounce my luck dead.
For the time being, our concern was the bandit squad.
“I wonder if there are any nearby hunters who can deal with the bandits,” I wondered aloud.
Liz looked at me wide-eyed and smiled as she waved her hands. Of course, I meant any hunters besides her. If she went to battle then Tino and I would be dragged along and I wanted to be spared that.
Then a loud noise boomed all of a sudden. At the front gate, which could hardly be called a gate, a large, beat-up carriage was being pulled by lanky horses. The few barkers in the streets looked with curiosity at the abnormal sight.
Are those new visitors?
I watched absentmindedly as the carriage door opened and a deathly pale man disembarked. I couldn’t contain my surprise. It was Arnold getting out of the carriage. He had changed so much, I didn’t realize it was him at first, but there was no mistaking it.
Arnold Hail. He was a Level 7 hunter with the moniker the Crashing Lightning. He was also a man out for my head for some reason. He was covered in bandages, his hair was a mess, his cheeks sunken, but he was unmistakably the man who had recently caused me so many headaches. Following him were his party members and even Gilbert.
They had a different aura about them. Some of them were in different gear. They didn’t seem to be critically wounded, but their steps were uneasy and they seemed to be covered in cuts and scratches. The only one who seemed even somewhat all right was Chloe, who got out last.
They must have really been hurt if they didn’t notice me even though I had noticed them. In their normal condition, it was unthinkable that I would spot them first.
Could they be stalking me?
But if that was their plan, they wouldn’t appear before me in such a terrible state. They looked like they had just escaped mortal danger. I once came close to dying in the desert, so I knew exactly what that looked like.
What a terrible thing to happen, and while we’re on vacation to boot. God must have it out for me.
Tino’s eyes were bulging. A smile took form on Liz’s face when she caught sight of Arnold. Sitri’s eyes went wide, but then she clasped her hands as if it all made sense to her now. I didn’t like this development.
We needed to get out of dodge before we were noticed. Arnold and company didn’t seem like they were watching their surroundings.
I grabbed Liz’s hand and pulled her back, but Sitri stepped forward as though she were taking her place. I wasn’t able to stop her before she gave a welcoming round of applause to Arnold. She didn’t look surprised. She wore a wide grin as if she had seen this all coming.
“Well, well, well. I bid you welcome to the town of Suls. Should I say it took you long enough? Or perhaps your timing is perfect, as usual? I grew tired of waiting. You took so long, T had to fight the dragon.”
“Hm?!”
Sitri, you knew this was going to happen?!
I didn’t understand how she could’ve predicted all this, but if she had I wished she had said something to me. Then we could’ve gone to a different hot spring.
Arnold looked at Sitri, then at me, and then his eyes opened as wide as they possibly could. His large body wobbled and, without saying a word, he fainted on the spot.
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