313 - - over-forceful entrenchment

"Oh, you're going for the big hole. ！！！！"

One day before Thor and his friends' ordination ceremony.

Nine men and women crowded into the conference room of the town hall in the border town of Dadan.

Nine border towns dotting the western side of the central country.

They are the former heroes who govern them.

All of them are outstanding figures who have sealed the noxious gas, and all of them have been in command of the front lines for a long time.

Naturally, the atmosphere in their bodies is far beyond that of ordinary people, so much so that the staff member who opened the door to make tea couldn't scream and cowered.

The reason why these town leaders gathered was to meet the newcomers who would be joining this gathering.

And to see how they had conquered the troublesome labyrinth lord.

Especially, the success of the owner of the skill tree who does not belong to the lineage of the six great deities was heard as various rumors throughout the central western part of Japan.

The rumors also included the possible recruitment of other talented adventurers and the establishment of friendly relations with the new border towns on the pretense of assistance.

The border town of Dadan, in particular, has formed an advantageous alliance with Bossalia, and now, after acquiring a large tract of land, will have a new border town under its protection.

It is no exaggeration to say that we are one step ahead of the rest.

For this reason, the town chiefs were coming to this meeting to take advantage of this situation.

Since the situation in the home country has become more tense than ever before, we need to bring back as much advantageous information to our cities as possible.

The former heroes were so enthusiastic, but the content of the discussion was almost disappointing.

The candidate for the new town chief is a water-using maiden of the Soukei clan.

She is a young woman, not even half the age of those present at this meeting.

She certainly has a remarkable talent for healing, but it is easy to see that she was chosen for the position of town chief because of the relics.

And the battle with the master of the labyrinth is not even worth mentioning, as it was only one man who ended the battle with a single sword.

After hearing all the reports, the conversation naturally shifted to how troublesome and unmanageable the fixed dungeons in their supposed land were.

It is not something that should be kept secret, and in fact, disclosing the information may provide clues to the strategy, or, depending on the situation, the strategy may progress at once through the exchange (trade) of adventurers.

The reason they took time out of their busy schedules to gather here was the earnest wish of the town leaders to make their town as strong as possible.

However, the conversation soon turned to complaining about the pushback from the temple and the home country, about the Chamber of Commerce's reluctance to spend money, and about the adventurers who had invested large sums of money in the hope that they would be able to get out of the city.

The fierce adventurers who had earned the title of "heroes" were complaining about it, and they were nothing more than old men who kept repeating the same old complaints.

Even the staff member who just came in here, however, has changed so much that he can pour another cup of tea without a care in the world.

In the midst of all this, Cie, the head of the border town southwest of Dadang, spoke with a tone of envy.

By the way, what are you going to do now, Mr. Dadan?

"I'm sure that once the town is safe, I'll have a lot of free time. I envy you.

"Well, I guess I can retire quickly and live a life of leisure."

"What!　Dadaan, I will not allow you to do such an insolent thing without me."

"Calm down, calm down. Calm down. Calm down. I have no intention of retiring. I still have one big job left to do.

The old warrior grins and lifts the corners of his mouth at his allies, who have begun to verbally criticize him.

Sie ponders this with interest.

The threat of monsters is gone and the training of the younger generation has blossomed. Now the only thing left to do is to cultivate the land.

No, I'm going to leave that to my sons.

Then I give up. I have no idea what great work you should be doing right now, Mr. Dardan.

Even the most discerning of you can't see that. It's a huge mountain, but I thought I'd put myself to the test before I die.

"Don't be so presumptuous, Dardan. Don't be shy, Dadaan.

The old man with the familiar tone is Mgalgo, the chief of the border town further south than Dadang and Sie.

He is a shieldman of the Chakaku tribe who boasts of an enormous physique that stands out from the crowd, and who was known as the immovable man when he was in active service.

He and Dadan were active in the same age group and were good rivals during their active service.

The old man, who had caught everyone's attention, simply revealed his answer.

"I am going to challenge the 'coma hole'.

Which leads us to the first surprise.

The former heroes opened their mouths in stunned silence, but quickly regained their composure and continued the conversation.

"Hey, are you serious?　Dadan."

"...... what are you saying out of the blue? You're being a little paranoid."

"Ha-ha-ha, I think it's good to have dreams."

"But that's insane. It's too reckless."

While each of them expressed their dismay, the only one who did not look surprised at Dadaan's comment opened his mouth.

"When are you planning to do this?　Director Dadan."

"About two weeks from now."

"Well, I think we can make time for that. But as I have pointed out many times before, you are too sloppy in your arrangements. You should have more time..."

"You're still a nag, aren't you? I was told out of the blue too. Give me a break."

The exchange between Sacco, the current town chief of Bossalia, and Dadan, his former boss, again causes the remaining seven to look amused.

"Mister Sacco, that ......, I can't quite see what you're talking about."

What do you mean?　Are you going to follow me?"

I suggest you both calm down a bit.

It's a little early to be so stupid. Mr. Dadaan, Mr. Sacco...

"Good God, it's so easy to lose one's head when you're retired and living in a daze."

"What the ...... is ......!"

The other town chiefs are agog at Sacco's sharp reply.

However, these are not young men who are just getting chic at a bar, but are the very best of the best.

The atmosphere of excitement swells immediately, and one of the officials carrying the tea again almost falls down without uttering a sound, and is supported by Dadan.

The old man, his purple eyes glinting at the dangerous situation, sipped a cup of freshly brewed tea and waved his hand in the air.

"So, you guys should calm down a little bit. Sacco, you too. We know Thor well. They don't. That's the difference. Don't make me ask you to do that stupid sheath thing.

"Yes, you're right. I'm sorry. It seems ...... that your spirit has not waned."

It seems that I provoked him on purpose.

The former heroes, who had been discouraged by Sacco's easy defiance of them, relaxed their anger.　

Instead, they were interested in the name that came out of Dadan's mouth.

"Thor," he said, "is the hero we've heard so much about. Is he involved?"

"Yes, it would be quicker to meet him in person than to try to say all we can here."

At the same time as he said these words, the door to the conference room opened and a man of nearly forty appeared.

Immediately, seven pairs of piercing eyes fell on Thor, who bowed lightly.

"What do you think you're doing, Dadan? I thought only the mayor was supposed to be present at this meeting.

"What are you up to, bringing in outsiders?"

A sharp rebuke flew, but Dadaan showed no sign of concern and continued speaking without hesitation as he looked at the people lined up on his desk.

"Why don't you save face for me, the chairman, and listen to what he has to say? Look, I've set the stage for you, Thor.

"You're throwing it all away, Master?"

I don't think I could put it into words any better than you could, having seen it firsthand."

Scratching the bottom of his chin, Thor looked around at the faces of the people he was about to meet.

Siye the Storm, Mugargo the Immovable, and Sacco the Bright-Eyed.

All of them had two names that no one knew.

But without enthusiasm, Thor repeated the same story he had told us yesterday at Choyuya.

At first, the town leaders seemed to be listening to Thor's story with a distrustful look, but as the story progressed, their eyes gradually changed, as if they had an idea of what he was talking about.

When Thor finished speaking, the former heroes, who had been keeping their mouths shut, all shouted in unison.

"Indeed, we cannot deny the signs. It is true that we cannot deny the signs, but at this stage it could just be an overblown prediction.

"A similar theory has been raised at our office. However, we concluded that it was too large to be possible.

"I've had the same kind of advice from my Kongo class guys. I laughed it off as bullshit. ......"

The town leaders confirm each other's intentions as they look into each other's eyes.

Eventually, Siye of the Midoriwa clan quietly asks Dadan, "What do you think of the situation in the city?

"............So you are talking about striking at the main idea, aren't you?"

"I'm glad to see you understand so quickly."

"We don't have any proof of that, and those of us who have tried to get into the maze know that better than anyone else. It's just too dangerous."

Thor's earlier explanation omitted the part about the future being mostly disrupted by the .

Therefore, it is reasonable to suspect that this is just a groundless fear.

If so, it is only a matter of showing these former heroes that it is a certain end from which they cannot escape.

Dadaan quietly gazed into the face of his beloved apprentice.

Thor nodded in reply to his silent question.

Their hands slowly clasped together.

"Yes. I think you will not be convinced unless I can see it in your eyes more clearly than in words. Thor has the power of God in him.

"What's up, hurry ............ to ............"

"I was wondering what you were going to say ...... about ............."

"As always, a delightful ............ ............."

Each of them almost reacted to Dadan's words, but they stopped moving with their mouths wide open in the blink of an eye.

Their eyes are wide open to the fullest as they look at their old friend, whom they should be familiar with.

Eventually, one of the town leaders let out a guttural sound as if squeezed from the back of his throat.

"...... Eh?"

Sitting there was a purple-eyed young man in his late twenties.

He had a head of fluffy hair and several eyes moving busily about.

"Well, now do you believe me?

Seconds after Dadan's words, a terrible scream echoed through the conference room.