CH 117

“Oi, oi, don’t do that. You’re a princess. It’s your fault for losing so much money at the casino…”

“U~ I know, but…”

The last remaining royalty of the Sarkista Kingdom, Alicia Vladia Sarkista.

She’s a small but fierce woman. Once she decided on what to do, she was the type to rush head-on. She looked fresh with her flaxen hair down. Although she was a princess, she was not much different from us. I thought that she was easy to get along but she was always careful not to be taken advantage of by the Dalis students at Kurush Magic Academy.

By the way, she was very strict about lending and borrowing money. My debt seemed to be in the top place.

Let’s see, it’s 8.9 million…5356 now, isn’t it?

Hmm? Did you think I have a thing for Alicia?

No, no, no, no.

The reason why she went to the trouble of studying at the Magic Academy in Dalis was that…

Oh well, I should just look at my own quest.

When I dropped by the guild, I received a quest.

[D-Class Adventurer’s Quest: Suppression of Mass Zombie Outbreak]

[There’s a massive outbreak of zombie monsters in a dungeon near Universe! Kill, kill, kill all those zombies! Even if you’re D-class, you won’t die from a mere zombie! A day’s dive will net you 12,000 gold.]

It’s not bad, but if I use all of this into paying off my debt to Alicia… I should just stop thinking about it…I feel burdened.

According to the information from the Adventurer Guild, for some reason, zombie monsters were increasing in the dungeons.　

Zombies were vulnerable to fire so they were my cup of tea. I could easily take out a zombie soldier or so. But if the monster has evolved into a zombie general or even a lich, it’s a bit harder, or rather, I had to run away. The last time I was at school, I was almost killed by a monster.

If I hadn’t been saved by a Pig Knight who released water, I would have died for real.

Well, according to Alicia, the one who made that Orc Knight was Piggy Duke. If you think about it carefully, he would be the only one who would do such a thing. After the monster attack, we all laughed about how stupid it was.

I should thank him next time, but he was nowhere to be found.

I really wonder where the Piggy Duke had gone. That beautiful maid also went missing. Oh, by the way, I heard that one of the commoner students also disappeared. I hope that everyone was safe.

“By the way, Shuya has been registered as an adventurer for a while now, what level are you?”

“Me? D-Class.”

“Is that amazing?”

“Well, I don’t know. They say that you can only survive if you became a C-Class Adventurer, but I just dive to test my abilities. Hey, what’s with the bored look on your face? I don’t know how you feel about it, but it’s pretty hard to dive in a dungeon!”

Dungeon diving was always fraught with mortal danger.

You had to keep an eye on your stamina, the number of supplies you have, and you wouldn’t know when you’ll be attacked by a monster popping out of nowhere. The reason why so many people become adventurers was that it’s such a lucrative and rewarding job.

I was a noble from Dalis, but among the students, I signed up in the Adventurer’s Guild to test my abilities.

Not long after, I finally became a D-Class adventurer.

Alicia, who was still a bit naive, didn’t seem to understand the hardships I was going through. After all, she grew up as a princess.

“Did you hear? The Adventurer’s Guild Headquarters has personally nominated Slow Denning as A-Class Adventurer!”

“Just because you’re nominated as an A-Class Adventurer doesn’t mean you can become S-Class Adventurer. These days, even if they were given S-Class Quests, some didn’t show any sign of success. There are also rumors that Arkflare went to destroy a dungeon in the Empire according to the guild’s instructions. That pervert will probably join the ranks of A-Class Adventurers.”

“… I heard about Slow the Piggy Duke again. What’s the difference between A-Class and S-Class? Are they more profitable than A-Class?”

“An A-Class Adventurer is an adventurer who can challenge the trials to become an S-Class Adventurer. Really, Alicia, you don’t know anything about adventurers, do you? I’m sure you’ve heard that your Sarkista Kingdom is the most affected by the dungeons.”

S-class Adventurers was the strongest title any adventurer could ever dream of.

Even if you do nothing, the Adventurer’s Guild would pay you a large amount of money every month and provide you with all the equipment and potions you need to dive dungeons in a hurry. In the Freedom Kingdom, S-class adventurers get free food and drink in town, and were treated very well everywhere.

In order to maintain the quality of the adventurers, only seven adventurers were allowed in the same era.

Now there were six, so unless one of the S-class adventurers quits adventuring or gave way to the younger generation, only one could become an S-class adventurer.

The Piggy Duke was appointed as an A-Class Adventurer who could challenge the S-Class.

“Oh, shut up! And about that Piggy Duke, he was not an adventurer! How did he suddenly become this ‘A-Class’ Adventurer?”

“I don’t know either. Well, the Adventurer’s Guild recognized that killing a black dragon was worth it, wasn’t it?”

Every few years, one adventurer was recognized as an A-Class Adventurer. Recently, I heard that an A-Class Adventurer with two names, Flame Purification Arkflare, was the closest to A-Class Adventurer. He was an adventurer who suddenly rise to the top of the A-Class Adventurer after obtaining a fiery magical sword that spits out flames from the S-level Dungeon “Demon Land” in Sarkista.

The magic sword was called Flamberge. It’s a precious item that could rarely be found, even in the depths of a dungeon. It was rarer than a magical tool made of precious magic ore.

You couldn’t help but be jealous.

“It’s not fair… All I heard is this Slow the Piggy!”

“He became a Dragon Slayer… Moreover, it seems like the Black Dragon lived for so long that it was even called an Elder amongst the dragons. I’m sure of it because that’s what the crystal said.”

I turned the crystal around with my fingertips.

After losing money at the casino, I was going to make a profit by fortune-telling, but we’re in that dungeon city　

It’s a wilderness city where adventurers in heavy armor walk around. I’ve never heard of an adventurer coming to this city and not diving in the dungeon.

All right, I wanted to save up some money here and get a magic tool or two.

Even though I was an Adventurer I couldn’t afford to buy a single piece of magical equipment.

The price of magic tools increased since the Windle Territory, which was producing magic ore, got cursed.

Before I was born, I heard that magic tools were available for less than half the price they were now. If you earned as much as a D-level adventurer, you couldn’t even afford a little magic tool~

Then, there was Alicia’s debt repayment… well, 8.9 million… 5,356… hahaha.

“…Shuya. I still think it’s funny to walk around with a crystal ball in your hand. I’ve gotten used to it at school, but everyone was staring at it. It’s embarrassing to walk around with you.”

“Embarrassing, of course not! You’re the one who brought me here in the first place as a baggage handler, aren’t you?”

“…That’s true, but that’s it. You always bring crystal balls, but, isn’t that crystal ball a fortune-telling tool? Yet you brought it with you in a dungeon. Then, is that a weapon? I’m curious.”

“How many times do I have to tell you? Listen, Alicia. First of all, let’s start with the encounter between me and this crystal.”