Book 5: Chapter 1 (8)

Dark Continent (1st)

“Oi, did you just arrive here?”

Someone from behind the counter called out to me.

It was one of the barkeeps.

He set an iron plate down in front of me with a delicious looking meat dish on top of it. Finally, food. On the hot iron plate, I could still hear the meat sizzling. Today’s special must be some kind of steak. However, I’m not sure about the origin of this meat.

“Did you really not know his name? He’s the Hero Star of the Kingdom of Cyvern.”

“…I really didn’t. I’m sorry, but as you can see, I’m not from around here.”

“If you’ve never heard of the Hero of the West you must be from very far away.”

“Something like that.”

Another amazing character has appeared. This time it’s a hero.

“He claims he’s here looking into the possible resurrection of the Demon King.”

“…the Demon King?”

“I built this shop a few years back but it’s the first I’ve ever heard of it. The Hero said a great holy woman’s prophecy predicts the Demon King’s resurrection will take place soon.”

“I see….”

And now a saint appears.

Only top tier sword and magic fantasies exist on the Dark Continent.

The great battle between the Hero and the Demon King.

I’m particularly interested in the saint. She’s a virgin without a doubt. The only way to be a saint is to be a virgin. Moreover, because of the way this world works, there’s a decent chance that she’s very young.

I could see a faint light of hope waiting for me in her saintly pussy.

“There’s one thing I’d like to ask.”

“Oh, what’s that?”

“Which saint is it exactly?”

“What are you saying? If we’re talking about a saint, who else but the saint from the Great Holy Kingdom could there be?”

“Ah, of course.”

Where is this Great Holy Kingdom? I’ll need to ask Gonzalez whenever I make it back to Dragon City. I feel like I could discover something great there. If this virgin saint exists there, then there must also be a high percentage of other women that still have their hymens.

Nice.

I’ve discovered something useful.

Good job, Pierre. As expected of a hero.

“Rodriguez, bring me some food!”

“Right away!”

The barkeep named Rodriguez was called away by another customer.

I forgot to ask for alcohol.

I felt a tinge of disappointment as he walked away.

I suddenly left the only continent I’ve known and on the first day I’ve already learned so much I didn’t know about this world. It’s not good to stay in one country for your entire life. Thanks to this widening of my worldview, the FitzClarence name is starting to feel small.

The future is global.

I should aim to become a person that can play a part on the world stage.

And, for that reason, I’d like to visit the Great Holy Kingdom. I wonder if it’s on the way back to the Penny Empire. I think I should learn more about the geography of this world.

I thought over my next move while chewing on my delicious steak.

Before long there was another loud voice calling out to someone in the shop.

“Well, if it isn’t the Hero of the East.”

I recognized the voice of Pierre. It cut through the noise of the room and sent everyone else into silence. Thanks to this, my attention was naturally drawn to him. I continued eating bits of the steak while watching their interaction.

“…oh, I thought that was you, Hero of the West.”

“How strange for us to meet in a place like this.”

In the centre of the room, the “Hero of the West”[Pierre] was addressing someone.

By following their words so far, I can assume the other person is a hero as well. The “Hero of the East.” Apparently, these heroes are in charge of different areas. Does that mean there are Heroes of the South and North?

And, at first glance, the person Pierre was talking to looked the part of a hero. He was the type of hero that would casually go out and slay dragons. He looked to be around the same age as the Hero of the East. And, as if it were a requirement, he was incredibly handsome.

He wore armour with a purple hue to it and a large one-handed sword hung from his waist. With the monsters of the area becoming stronger, I’d noticed a shift in the quality of equipment that others wore. It had gradually shifted from store bought armour and weapons to equipment that can only be obtained from chests in dungeons.

“I have urgent business to attend to. I don’t have time to waste on you.”

The Hero of the East replied matter-of-factly.

But the Hero of the West continued on unabated.

“Are you also here to look into the resurrection of the Demon King.”

“Be quiet and stay out of my way.”

“There’s not much you’ll be able to learn here. You should relax for today before picking up the search tomorrow. If you’re constantly hurrying around, you’re likely to trip over your own cloak. It’s best to move forward at a slow and steady pace.”

“Must you constantly wag your tongue? I’ve not forgotten what you did and unless you want me to cut off that tongue of yours, you’ll be silent and let me pass.”

“Such foul language, ah, not at all fit for a hero. What a sad sight to see.”

“Don’t just say whatever you please.”

“As a Hero, I want to get along with other Heroes but you make it so difficult.”

“…hmph.”

They don’t seem to be on the best of terms.

There was a group of men and women standing behind the Hero of the East. These must have been his followers and they were giving the Hero of the West the same look of disgust as the other hero was.

On the other hand, the followers of the Hero of the West were still happily eating and drinking at their table. Do their respective followers match their personalities?

Well, this has nothing to do with me anyway.

My attention quickly returned to the bar.

“Excuse me, Rodriguez, some alcohol please.”

“Right away!”

I ordered the drink I failed to get earlier.

He quickly brought a glass to me.

“Sorry for the wait.”

“Thank you.”

Upon taking my first sip, the alcohol burned on its way down my throat.

I swallowed it with one big gulp and could feel a gentle heat permeating throughout my body. The colour of the liquor was transparent and the taste was rather mild. A suitable alcohol for almost anyone.

Not bad at all. Perfect for a nightcap.

“All of the big timers are gathering today. You chose a good time to arrive. It’s rare for all of them to be in the same place.”

The barkeep Rodriguez leaned across the counter as I sipped on my drink.

“Is that so?”

“The Heroes of the West and East are big enough on their own, but there’s also two professors from Academy City drinking over there. And two tables down from them, that’s the most powerful clan of the southern region, Royal Elements. And right next to them is….”

Rodriguez rapidly rattled off a list of interesting people in the shop.

A large gathering of highly influential people.

“I see.”

“You’ll not see a gathering like this anywhere else.”

It’s understandable that he’d be proud that so many celebrities come to his shop. Either this clerk is lucky, or this shop is well-known across the entire Dark Continent.

“I’ll have to tell everyone about this when I return to my country.”

“Please do! Be sure to spread the name of Suzanne’s far and wide.”

“Suzanne?”

“That’s the name of my shop and the name of my late wife. We used to be adventurers.”

“I’m not sure what to say other than I’m sorry….”

“I don’t mind. In a place like this, you can’t afford to worry about the past. Tomorrow a hoard of monsters could assault the town and we’d all be turned to ash.”

“….”

Rodriguez responded cheerfully without a hint of sadness in his voice.

I can now understand the feelings of the people that gather here a little better. Most of the people here probably have similar stories. The description the noble mage gave of this place was spot on.

“Oi, Rodriguez, drinks over here too!”

“Right away!”

Someone down the bar, another customer called him away.

Not long after, Rodriguez brought me my drink, he headed off down the bar.

“….”

I stared at his back as he left, wondering what I should do next.

I’d like to make going to the Great Holy Kingdom my next goal, but I need to decide what to do tomorrow. It didn’t take long for me to figure out my next move. I’ve come all the way here and it’s the one place I know of where I can find Green Sylph wings. I don’t know when I’ll be able to come here again.

I’ll need to get those wings before doing anything else. I managed to enter the Dark Continent after only a day instead of the weeks it would’ve usually taken. The Elixir of youth should be my primary focus.

The only real problem I face now is the monsters that inhabit this continent.

Based on my limited experience here so far, it’s best to avoid any head-to-head fighting. I might be able to defeat them quickly enough, but the noise will draw in more creatures until I’ve got the entire continent chasing after me. I’m not sure my mana recovery would be able to last.

If I try to run from them, I’ll just be in the same position I was in before. The clear choice is to avoid conflict as much as possible. As long as I’m careful, I’ll be able to reach my goal with relative ease.

“….”

“All right, that’s my plan.”

I feel a little carefree knowing I have a plan going forward. I’ll quickly obtain the wings, immediately leave this continent, make a quick stop in the Holy Kingdom so I can go virgin sightseeing, and then return home and recover.

It’s a great plan.

I nodded with satisfaction before taking another drink from my glass. 

This liquor is delicious.

It’s the best.

The delicious alcohol put me in a good mood and decided to get some rest at a nearby inn recommended to me by Rodriguez. He told me it was run by fellow adventurers.

I pushed open the door and was greeted by a well-lit entryway with a clerk standing behind a counter.

The person behind the counter was an elderly woman.

“Welcome. I don’t believe I’ve seen your face before.”

“Good evening. Yes, Rodriguez told me about this place.”

“That man did? Well, then, I’ll offer you a small discount.”

“Really? Thank you.”

She seems a bit too old to be an adventurer currently. She must have been one of the older generation that helped settle this continent. 

The talk with the landlady slowly moved to renting a room.

However, I ran into a problem when it came time to pay and I reached for one of my bags of coins.

It’s missing.

I had it earlier. I paid for my food and drinks at the bar. I still had several gold coins in there and plenty of silver coins.

I noticed something felt off.

“Ah….”

“What seems to be the problem, dear customer.”

One of the leather bags I have tied to my waist is missing.

Depending on the bag, the treasure the infololi gave me may be missing as well.

“….”

“…dear customer?”

I lost it.

I lost her precious treasure. 

When did I lose it?

“I’m sorry, but I think I lost something.”

“What did you lose?”

“It’s a small leather bag….”

It couldn’t have happened long ago.

I ran back to Suzanne’s and started crawling on the floor in search of it. Rodriguez also stopped to help, but even with the both of us searching, we couldn’t find it.

What a terrible event.

Is this due to my LUC stat dropping?

It was already getting late, so I decided to call it quits and retired to my room in the inn.

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