Volume 2 - CH 11

Five days until the Century Festival.

Alina found herself walking through a dense, lush forest—the C-class dungeon known as the Eternal Grove. Dungeons are commonly defined as the structures that have been built and subsequently abandoned by the Ancestors. The Eternal Grove was unique in this regard, as it was, to all appearances, an ordinary, run-of-the-mill forest. The reason why it was called a dungeon was that ether, a substance only found in dungeons, also permeates these woods, and monsters, who are drawn to this substance, began to populate the place—though these monsters weren’t all that strong. There was only one floor and no boss room. In an ordinary dungeon, there is a boss room on each floor, in the place where the ether is most concentrated, but there was no such place in the vast expanse of the Eternal Grove. This could be explained by the fact that there are no structures in which ether can stagnate, so its concentration was always maintained at a constant level. This, combined with its proximity to Ifühl and the ability to return to the town in an emergency without having to rely on the Crystal Gate, made it a valuable training ground for rookie adventurers.

‘I’m surprised you used your precious paid leave to come here. You’re serious about this, aren’t you?’ Jade muttered as he and Alina weaved their way through the trees side by side.

‘Of course I am. I’m determined to destroy that rumour-monger.’

‘You traitor!!’ Alina was told when she informed Laila, her face sodden with tears, that she was taking the day off, but she had to lose the junior to kill the rumour—rather, she had to lose the battle to win the war, or else their situation would never end. Some sacrifice had to be made.

‘Just for the record, if our culprit is the same person who instigated Rufus, I want to interrogate him. Make sure you don’t kill him.’

‘I’ll try my best,’ Alina assured Jade, though he didn’t seem convinced that she would. She continued, ‘That aside, are you sure our guy is here? Not in a pub or something?’ Alina looked around the forest.

Tall trees rose haphazardly from the forest floor. Branches and leaves intertwined to form a natural ceiling that blocked out the sunlight. Even though it was midday, the forest was dim, the air was cold, and the roots protruding from the hard ground made it difficult to walk.

‘A lot of adventurers come here. It’s not a bad place to spread information. Besides, the adventurers in the pubs are usually too drunk to hold a decent conversation.’

‘I see. Then…’ Satisfied with Jade’s explanation, Alina jumped to her next question. ‘What the hell is with this outfit?’ she asked in a disgruntled tone, tugging at the hem of her robe.

Alina wasn’t wearing her usual Executioner cloak today. Rather, she was dressed in the loose robes of a white mage, the hood covering her face, and holding an unfamiliar wand. Alina wasn’t the only one dressed differently. Jade wore a black mage’s robes and staff, Loewe was equipped with light armour and a longsword hung at his waist, and Rururi carried the large shield of a tank on her back—though it seemed more as if it carried her.

‘Rururi… your shield is bigger than you are. You look like a walking shield from behind.’

‘Pfft, I was thinking the same thing the whole time. A shield on legs staggering through the forest, what a banger!’

‘Loewe!! I’ll remember this!’

The sound of Rururi’s frustrated voice and grinding teeth came from behind the shield.

‘More importantly, the idea of Alina being in charge of healing is terrifying…’

‘What are you trying to say?’ She shot Jade an accusing glare.

‘A—according to the intel team, our suspect is targeting rookie adventurers,’ Jade explained hastily. ‘It’d be better if they didn’t realise we’re the Blades. This isn’t some costume, it’s a disguise.’

‘Still, this equipment’s kinda nostalgic, isn’t it?’ Loewe laughed, looking down at his cheap, lightweight armour. Each person’s equipment was likewise the kind of commonly available stuff sold at bargain prices on the market.

‘It reminds me of when I was still a rookie. Those days, such simple gear was enough to make me happy. Made me feel like I had really become an adventurer. Wouldn’t you agree, shield goblin?’

‘Grrrrr…!’ Rururi gritted her teeth again, but she couldn’t find the words to retort, and turned away with a huff—probably. It was impossible to tell with her shield in the way.

‘Rookie…’ A whisper came from behind the shield. ‘Yeah.’

Perhaps she was tired, but her voice sounded listless.