Chapter 109: A Moment of Silence for the Demon King

—Sacred Confession Grounds desecrated! Mystic Tablet missing!

So such titles exist even in this world?

After following Zauna's instructions, Alice had successfully registered an account on the March Academy's online forum.

Meanwhile, when Alice saw the peculiar title in the forum's chat section, she guessed that someone must've noticed that the stone tablet in the forest clearing had disappeared.

However, the stone tablet didn't have much of a use. Most people only treated the clearing as a place to confess their love simply because the stone tablet was a rather iconic monument. In reality, the stone tablet didn't have a function that increased the success rate of one's love confession. It was merely a Soul Gathering Tablet.

Because of this, when Alice snuck into the forum post, she didn't see anyone panicking or getting angry because of the stone tablet's disappearance. Everyone simply felt surprised to learn that the stone tablet had vanished. After all, the stone tablet was known for being an immovable object. Many people have previously speculated that it was deeply rooted into the ground and that it would take a person with extraordinary strength to pull it out.

It is true that no normal person can do it. I only managed to pull it out after relying on the Hero's Sword. Alice nodded in acknowledgment as she read the comments in the post. Although the stone tablet didn't have a property that made it impossible to pull out from the ground, it was buried tightly into the ground. It had almost become one with the land, and Alice had to rely on the stat bonuses the Hero's Sword provided to pull it out.

Afterward, Alice quickly found another post that caught her attention after browsing the forum.

—Where do you want to go for the school trip? The Elven Forest? Dragon Valley?

When Alice saw this title, she turned toward Zauna, who was surfing the web on her PC, and asked, "School trip? Can we choose where we want to go for our field trip?"

They had originally planned to head to the library to register a library card for Alice. However, Luna was still helping Alice tidy up her bed and personal belongings. So, Alice and Zauna decided to wait until Luna was done before heading out.

"The school trip? It hadn't been optional, initially. Under normal circumstances, first-year students would visit Mana City for their second-semester school trip." After hearing Alice's question, Zauna turned around and smiled, saying, "There are two reasons for visiting Mana City. The first reason is to experience hunting magical creatures in the Gryffin Forest and obtain magic ingredients. The second reason is to let everyone observe and experience the Hero's Sword."

"The Hero's Sword…" When Alice heard Zauna's words, she promptly understood why this year's school trip was different. "Does that mean the school trip's destination is being changed because I've already drawn the Hero's Sword?"

"The Hero's Sword is the main goal of the school trip, after all. Although Mana City is a small city located at the kingdom's border, it is where the first-generation Hero fought with the first-generation Demon King. It is a place that holds significant meaning," Zauna explained. "You remember the Lajal Mountain Range that separates the Gryffin Kingdom and the Ymir Kingdom, right? Legend has it that the first-generation Hero created that mountain range. Some people are even speculating that the first-generation Demon King's corpse is buried under that mountain range."

"There was such a legend?" Alice scratched her head. Although she had learned many things through the internet, she knew very little about things such as legends. "So, is that why the Hero's Sword is inserted in a small city like Mana City?"

"That's right. It is to commemorate the first-generation Hero. The first-generation Hero was also responsible for constructing the Gryffin Church. Thus, Heroes of every generation would always return the Hero's Sword to the Gryffin Church's when they retire," Zauna patiently explained. "Although Mana City isn't a prosperous city, because of the Hero's Sword's presence, many people would still travel to Mana City to attempt to pull out the Hero's Sword. Of course, most of these people are going there to take photos."

"Ah, I get that," Alice said, expressing her agreement. Whether it was on Earth or in this world, there were bound to be people who liked to take photos of iconic landmarks. Evidently, this world's Hero's Sword couldn't escape such a fate, either.

"Everyone is well aware that it is the academy's tradition to visit Mana City to try and pull out the Hero's Sword and listen to the legends of past Heroes. So, now that you've already drawn the Hero's Sword, everyone knows that there is no point in visiting Mana City," Zauna said with a wry smile. She doubted that anyone in the academy would guess that the Hero who pulled out the Hero's Sword was currently on campus grounds. "So, everyone is guessing where the school trip's new destination will be. Some people even guessed that we would be visiting Dragon Valley."

"Is Dragon Valley a bad place?"

When Alice tried to recall the information she read about dragons on the internet, she found that they weren't as bad as those described in the novels she read before transmigrating. Besides having an arrogant and aloof behavior, as well as a fondness for shiny things, they weren't hard to get along with. At the very least, they wouldn't actively and maliciously attack humans.

"Bad is an understatement. There's no point in visiting the Dragon Valley at all," Zauna said, shaking her head. "Dragons are a bunch of extremely long-lived creations. Many of the dragons that had existed since the first-generation Hero's era are still alive even now. In a valley that has no entertainment options whatsoever, what do you think they would do to pass the time?"

"Sleep, probably," Alice said, inadvertently thinking of the Loli Goddess when she gave her answer. Even with games to keep her entertained, the Loli Goddess would still spend most of her time sleeping. Seeing as the dragons didn't even have an entertainment option, they would probably sleep even more than the Loli Goddess.

"That's right. Dragons spend most of their time sleeping in their homes. If you visit the Dragon Valley, you'd only be greeted by a barren sight. You wouldn't even see animals around that region since no animal can survive and reproduce when in the presence of dragons long-term," Zauna said, sighing. "Of course, if you really want to see a dragon, there is always the option of barging into their homes. The houses of dragons are no different than caves, after all. However, the consequences of barging into private property go without saying… If we accidentally wake up a dragon, it'll basically spell our doom. Dragons are capable of mancan manipulateir to empower their attacks. Although the destructive power of their attacks doesn't reach the level of taboos, it's not far off, either."

"They sound powerful." Letting out a sigh, Alice asked, "Can we drag them in to deal with the Demon King?"

"Stop trying to get everyone you meet to help you in dealing with the Demon King," Kristine's exasperated voice buzzed in Alice's mind.