Volume 3 - CH 4

Chapter 4 – Dark Clouds

Three days after Amou and Sorano returned from the promotional exam, the Guild announced that the two were safely promoted to B-rank. And right now, Kohaku stared at the two’s guild cards in her hands while leaning her body on a table in the Guild’s tavern.

“Silver color, so cool. I am so jealous…”

Kohaku has been repeating these same words for a while, seemingly envious of the two, whose cards have changed from bronze, which is the mark of a C-class adventurer, to silver.

“Mou, give it back already. Kohaku can also take the promotion exam too when you are 15 years old.”

“2 years…it’s too long…”

No matter what Sorano said, Kohaku didn’t stop looking at Amou and Sorano’s guild cards. Just as Sorano said, to take the B-class promotion exam, one must be at least 15 years old, which can already be considered an adult. And Kohaku, who was still 13 years old, most likely felt that it was too long even for her.

And then, Eto, who just had a meeting with the Guild Master in the back, returned. He was reporting on the ominous gaze that Sorano felt in the promotion exam to the Guild Master. It was something that was felt by Sorano, who had the highest enemy detection ability and possessed a keen sense in the party, after all. So, Eto thought there is no way it was just her hallucination.

“What is the response of the Guild Master?”

Sorano asked Eto.

“Hmmm. Although he knew that we couldn’t ignore Sorano’s intuition, it is still difficult for the Guild to do a large-scale investigation just based on that.”

“I can imagine.”

“Then, let’s find out what happened in the forest by ourselves! Since it was Sorano who mentioned it, there is no way it was a mistake.”

Suddenly, Kohaku regained her spirit and said that. She was probably trying to relieve her frustration from not being able to promote to B-class by making some achievement.

Maybe because of hearing what she said, Amou, who had been talking with the tavern owner at the counter, went back to where Eto and the others were.

“No, Kohaku, we have to handle the matter regarding the investigation of that forest more carefully. Although I don’t know what Sorano felt back then, I also had a bad feeling at that time. When I thought about it again when we returned, that feeling closely resembled the impression I had when I first saw a dungeon.”

“Dungeon?”

“Yes. When I was a kid, a new dungeon suddenly appeared near my village. And I went to see it. I guess you could say that my curiosity got the better of me. The bad feeling I felt in that forest was very similar to the one I felt at that time. If I had to describe it, it would be a creepy feeling, as if telling me that there is a mysterious existence in the deepest part of the dungeon.”

Even Amou, who never showed any fear towards monsters, said that. Hence, Eto decided to increase his vigilance to any request in the forest in the eastern part of the royal capital.

However, at midnight of the same day, the royal capital came to know about the sudden change in the forest. A bell rang, informing the civilians about an anomaly. At the same time, many soldiers and knights riding horses can be seen passing through the main street in a rush. Looking at that, Eto and his party hurriedly equipped their equipment and headed toward the Guild to find out what’s happening.

The guild was full of not only adventurers, but also nearby civilians. Everyone came to the guild to ask about the situation. And as Eto and his party walked into the guild, passing through the wall of people, Sally, who noticed them, approached Eto.

“Eto-san, the Guild Master wants to talk to you as soon as possible. Can you please go to the Guild Master’s room right away?”

“Understood. I’ll head there immediately.”

After replying, Eto heads towards the Guild Master’s room, slipping through the crowd.