Chapter 30 - The Coming Crisis

Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

Taking the freshly brewed tea from Anna, Celia blew on it first before taking a sip. Then she put down the teacup and asked,

“Have you heard of red-eyed monsters, Sister Anna?”

Anna was taken aback by Celia’s question. She knew that Celia wouldn’t speak without thinking, so she thought seriously.

“Red-eyed monsters? I think there are many monsters with red eyes, no?”

Red Eyes alone was too broad a characteristic.

Far too many monsters had red eyes. She wasn’t sure which one Celia was referring to with her question.

Celia wasn’t surprised by her answer and so she continued,

“What do you think could have happened for all the monsters and beasts in the Forest of Slumber became red-eyed?”

Hearing this, Anna’s expression turned serious. She could tell that Celia was about to get to the meat of the matter.

In that moment, many thoughts flashed through her mind. Why would Celia ask such a question?

That would mean many red-eyed monsters had appeared. But where? It must be the Forest of Slumber.

That left what characteristics red-eyed monsters possessed.

“Is it an infectious disease?” Anna asked, tone tentative. “Or some kind of—”

Her guesses didn’t matter, she only tossed them out to continue the topic.

What mattered now was whether or not Celia knew the cause behind the situation.

“The cause is still being investigated.” After some deliberation, Celia decided that, to avoid trouble, it’s best to not say outright that the situation was man-made.

“Are there any symptoms after a monster contracts red-eyes?”

“They go berserk, and will attack all non-berserk entities indiscriminately.”

Upon hearing Celia’s question, Anna paled. She stared at Celia for confirmation.

“Is this for real?”

“Would I lie to Sister Anna?”

Celia’s rhetorical response calmed Anna down.

Indeed, given her relationship with Celia, there was no reason for the younger woman to lie to her.

If all of this was true, then all those new adventurers were in for tough times.

“This is indeed important information.”

Having understood the situation, Anna conveyed her heartfelt gratitude to Celia,

“Thank you so much.”

Celia took a sip of tea and said to Anna,

“If you want to thank me, thank me later.”

Anna immediately caught on from Celia’s response that there was more. She quickly sat up straight to listen attentively.

“George went to the Boneyard Range to investigate. There, he found a large number of berserk monsters trying to make their way over the mountain. And the direction they’re moving towards? It’s here.”

This news was even more serious than the previous one. It left Anna thunderstruck.

She turned to George and asked urgently,

“How many exactly?”

“A lot,” George said without looking up.

Anna was clearly dissatisfied with this answer. She continued to probe,

“Can’t you give me a specific number?”

George didn’t respond.

Seeing how George was acting, Anna looked to Celia for help.

The latter nudged George’s arm.

For Celia’s sake, George looked up, thought for a moment, and gave a general estimate, all whilst holding Siluca.

“At least five thousand.”

“Five thousand? If you add all the monsters in the Forest of Slumber to that number… That’s not good.”

To have that many berserk monsters running amok, if not handled properly, things could become very very bad.

The biggest problem here was still the five-thousand odd invading monsters. Had they all been monsters from the Forest of Slumber, Anna wouldn’t have gotten this anxious.

But external monsters represented the unknown. The unknown meant that there could be stronger monsters amongst them, which made things potentially perilous.

At that thought, Anna couldn’t sit still any longer.

She stood up and said to Celia,

“I need to meet with the Lord Mayor immediately.”

With that, Anna strode out the door with haste.

“Celia, did you happen to prepare a Recording Crystal?”

Halfway down the hall, Anna seemed to remember something. She turned around, and just as she did that, Celia produced a green crystal.

This was the Recording Crystal Anna had mentioned earlier.

Aside from the crystal, Celia also took out many other items that could verify the authenticity of the information.

“Of course. I’ve gotten all the necessary things ready.”

Seeing the confident look on Celia’s face, Anna knew that she had been had.

“Looks like you came prepared. If that’s the case, how does this number look?”

Anna gestured a figure at Celia.

Then, she seemed to have thought of something and looked at George, who happened to glance over at the same time.

Their eyes met, and Anna hurriedly explained,

“I know that there were problems with the funds previously, but it has been resolved now.”

Celia raised an eyebrow, but didn’t show any further reaction.

Although Celia didn’t react, there was someone else who couldn’t sit still. Dionmya decided to pipe in and join the fun.

“Who knew your little boyfriend was so popular?”

She sized up Anna then asked Celia,

“Both the lil’ succubus outside and this halfling before you are eying your little boyfriend. What are your thoughts?”

“Sister Anna’s a halfling?”

“Yes. I can sense the aura of a Dryad from her. There’s probably a Great Dryad among her ancestors.”

“I see.”

Celia’s reaction piqued Dionmya’s curiosity. She asked,

“Aren’t you even a little bit worried?”

“Worried about what?” Celia countered. Then she realized what Dionmya meant. She looked at George with a confident smile.

“Worried that George will be snatched away?

“He won’t.”

Celia responded with such utter confidence that Dionmya couldn’t help but wonder about their past together.

In the same breath, Celia walked to Anna and handed the older woman all the items she had prepared.

“I believe you, Sister Anna.”

Because of where she stood, Celia just so happened to block George from Anna’s vision, forcing Anna to look at her.

Anna looked at the younger girl before her with mixed feelings. She took the items from Celia and smiled.

“Thank you.”

After putting away all the evidence and information into her storage ring, Anna took out a blank form and handed it to Celia.

“If there’s no problem with the price, take this form and get the money from Sienna later.”

Celia looked at blank form then at Anna in surprise.

However, after some thought, she quickly realized the crux of the matter, and also came to believe what Anna said about ‘trouble with funds’ more.

“Do you need our help?”

Hearing this, George, who was teasing Siluca also looked up in solidarity.

However, Anna couldn’t see this from where she was standing.

She waved her hand and rejected the offer,

“There’s no need. It’s already been resolved.”

Before leaving, Anna asked Celia, “So do you guys have any plans?”

“Volcano Giant!”

It was the first time George had taken the initiative to answer Anna’s questions. Anna also finally made peace with things when she heard George’s answer.

“That sounds very you. Then I shall take my leave first..”