Chapter 24: In Search of Fa I & II
Translator : Solo | Editor : DarkBlazeWolf
＜In Search of Fa I＞
I ran into Otou-san at the main gate of the city.
We exchanged greetings casually as we passed by each other.
I felt sothing get pushed into my backpack.
I t up with Irvin and Zenobia in the basent of the Zavua rchant company to discuss today's plans.
The maps that I had received from Otou-san were digitized then incinerated.
The act of handing maps to such a new party would affect his reputation. The father of adventurers ought not to play favorites. Well, from the freshness of the ink, they were probably copies.
Also, I had a hard ti trying to leave Rana behind.
She had thrown a huge tantrum.
Did elves turn back into infants when they ran out of magic power? First off, it was a priceless scene, so I recorded it in a video. I’ll watch it when I feel depressed. It would make smile.
「The target floor for today is the 12th floor. Rana isn’t here so don't expect any high firepower area-of-effect magic. Be sure to run away if there are three or more enemies. However, we’ll fight normally if the enemy is alone. It depends on the situation, but the plan is to return in half a day」
I wasn’t necessarily distrustful of Otou-san, but I wanted to check the accuracy of the maps.
「Understood」
Irvin was the sa as always.
That wasn’t a perfunctory reply. It was a reply based on his trust in . In order to not betray those expectations, I also wanted to make plans that won’t lead to failure. Or plans that would allow us to start over if we did fail.
「Aside from that, what on earth happened to the three people over there?」
Irvin’s finger was pointed at Ea, Shuna and Bel, who were all lined up and seething with anger.
「The scramble over breakfast turned into a fight」
I had underestimated the appetite of the young ones. Wait, I'm a young man too.
「This guy put on an act and tried to monopolize the food」
Shuna pointed at Ea.
「Sor~ry」
Ea averted her eyes as she apologized.
「Shuna-chan, who had snapped, pulled out his sword, then got beat up by a beastkin Onee-san」
Shuna was caught by Lanseal, who was a stickler for etiquette, and was given a sermon and a chastising. The cheese was completely cold by the ti they ate the pizza.
Ea and Bel disregarded Shuna, who was getting scolded, and made a show of the gooeyness of the cheese while they ate the pizza.
「Or rather, why did Bel snap?」
「It’s~ nothing~! I wasn’t angry~!」
Bel had clearly snapped when she saw feeding Rana the pizza. Her anger had kept on increasing as ti passed. Should I have done sothing about it?
Also, despite the fact that she had gotten the jump on the others because of her acting, Ea was dissatisfied because she didn’t get to eat as much of the pizza that she had intended on eating as she thought she would.
Why was this happening?
Wasn’t eating delicious food supposed to bring smiles to everyone’s faces? It had turned ugly! No, was it because our pizza tasted bad? If it was more delicious, then maybe things like fights……
Oh……… that was dangerous. I was about to forget my objective. I’m an adventurer, and my job is to explore the dungeon. I'm decidedly not a chef. I also have no intention of introducing such a culture. Even now, I’m already in a grey area, and if I leave any more footprints of the Japanese people, there’ll be no way of undoing what's done.
「Well then, let's go to the dungeon」
On my signal, we took the foodstuffs, which had been divided among us, and left individually. It might be paranoid of to go through all that trouble, but it would be bad if a connection was drawn between Irvin and elves.
His hotown, the holy city of Elysium, was now at war.
The opponent was unknown, and for so reason, only the term black elf was being spread through rumors. In addition, it was complicated by a struggle for power among the Popes of Elysium. The holy city, which was brimming with deception, betrayal and death, was a veritable hell. As a consequence, commodities and people were flowing here. Of course, there were also more than a few knights of Elysium, just like him.
The fact that he, who was seeking fa in order to earn a pardon for his sister, adventured together with elves would be fatal.
I had forgotten slightly, but there was the matter of the hoodlum and his companion from last night. It would be good if we didn’t get caught up in sothing troubleso though.
「Zenobia, can I have so of your ti later?」
「Yeah, that’s okay」
I needed information. It would be best to ask Irvin, but it would be perfect if I could deal with it in secret. I would be a failure as a leader if I made him worry about strange things.
Once we reached the main street, Ea and I parted with Irvin and the others for the ti being.
As always, the plan was to et up inside the dungeon.
「Co to think of it……」
「Hmm?」
Ea gazed steadily at . I gazed steadily back at her too.
She was a beautiful sister-in-law. Elves were unfailingly beautiful, but I thought that even among them, Ea was especially beautiful. She had ceramic-like skin and long thin arms and legs. Her long blonde hair shone like gold dust, and her beautiful face had no equal. As a bonus, she wasn’t stingy about exposing her belly or thighs so she got full marks for fan-service. Even at this mont, there were two people making eyes at her. My perception might not be accurate though, because it was colored by the little sister modifier.
「It’s been quite a while since it’s just Onii-chan and 」
「Yeah, now that you’ve ntioned it……」
That was true.
Or more precisely, it was the first ti that it was just the two of us in the city. Everyone was just a little ahead of us though.
「Nfufu~ Your arm is mine~」
My sister hugged my left arm close. Ea was just a little bit taller than so she was leaning towards . A modest chest was touching my elbow.
「Hey hey」
「Isn’t it fine? It’s not going to decrease or anything*」
「I hope you’re right」
I felt a piercing gaze from within the crowd.
Beltoriche, your eyes are scary. It’s just my little sister, you know?
My nerves and lifespan felt like they were being worn away.
Putting aside such worries of mine, we explored the dungeon.
It went smoothly until the mid-way point so there was nothing to report.
The accuracy of the maps was quite good. With so revisions from Izora, we found and confird the route to the 13th floor. But we decided to return to the 11th floor.
We had gone into the dungeon in the morning and it was noon by the ti we returned to the city.
In order to find information on that, we went to the bar right away.
The reason why we went to the bar instead of the Adventurers’ Guild was because the Guild would make us pay for information.
Although it was sowhat unreliable, the bar had more information and it was fresher as well. Besides, the bar that I was going to had a knowledgeable person who might tell sothing for the price of a al.
『Raging Bull and Silver Fox bar』
It was a kingdom-run bar managed by the cousin of King Lemuria.
Business was as brisk as expected. It might also be due to the fact that it was lunchti, but that wasn’t the only reason.
I had everyone grab a seat and order lunch. As usual, Shuna, Bel and Ea were at one table. A distance away, Irvin and Zenobia sat apart.
I found adventurers flocking to the barkeep at the counter, and I also joined them. There were also adventurers that I recognized but had never spoken to in the crowd. They were rookies from the sa batch as us.
「Calm down! Speak in turns! First, what are its characteristics?」
The barkeeper’s angry voice rang out.
Soone shouted『turtle』, which was followed by『snake』,『lizard』,『shell』,『bear』, 『I’ve never seen anything like that before』and at the end, soone shouted 『dragon』, and everyone went silent instantly.
「I don't get it at all. For the mont, the only information that I can piece together is that sothing has appeared on the 11th floor」
The barkeeper’s words were absolutely right.
「Oh, Souya. Are you going to say that you saw it too?」
I had been caught.
I didn’t really want to stand out, but it couldn’t be helped.
「I saw it. Its size is three stals (6 ters). Its body is a giant rock-eating turtle, and its head is like that of a large snake. And it seems like it has scales that are similar to those of a dragon. The length of its neck is unknown. I believe it can extend at least five stals (10 ters)」
I had thrown the flesh of another rock-eating turtle at it as a test, and it had extended its neck at a speed that my eyes were unable to follow to gobble it up.
「The size of its mouth is one stal (2 ters). A normal adventurer would probably get swallowed whole. In addition, there is a serious problem……」
It was the reason why our party had returned early and also the reason why the rookie parties just like ours were gathered here.
「It took up position near the stairs going down to the 12th floor, and is showing no signs of moving at all」
「Hmm, I see」
The barkeeper set his mohawk while deep in thought.
「Is there anyone among you guys who hit it with magic?」
A plump Hemu magician replied.
「I shot an interdiate fla art of the Jumikura school at it. My magic didn’t even get a reaction out of it, much less deal damage to it」
The crowd was abuzz as unrest ran through them.
The magic that creates flas is powerful and easy to learn, and is used by all magicians. If it received no damage from the interdiate fla art, there would be nothing a normal magician could do against it.
「What about physical attacks?」
A large beastkin answered the barkeeper's question.
「I hit its shell with this axe. It wasn’t even scratched」
It was a large axe that would be difficult for a Hemu to wield. Its tough-looking blade was so chipped that it looked like a saw.
「………………I understand. Thank you guys for the valuable information. Excuse , I’m going to have a discussion with the guys from the Guild」
The barkeeper moved from the counter and called out to the kitchen.
It seems that today's lunch was the barkeeper's treat. That was a nice touch. He left the bar.
The cheers spread and the crowd dispersed.
I could hear the cries of anguish from the waitresses and cooks as they got overwheld.
I lingered in place for a mont.
It was a monster that the barkeeper, who was a seasoned adventurer, couldn’t identify imdiately.
Was I perhaps the only one who had a bad feeling?
＜In Search of Fa II＞
Our party dispersed for the mont.
I gave so pocket money to Ea, Shuna, and Bel and asked them to go have so fun. Irvin said that he had an errand to run so he left, and Zenobia and I changed bars and sat together.
It was a small, privately-run bar.
The quest board was faded and requests that had expired were still posted on it. It was a bar that would be full if there were 10 custors. It wasn’t popular, but it probably had a decent number of regulars. It was a bar with a long history.
I half-heartedly ordered so snacks and drinks.
They were placed on the table in no ti.
「Did sothing happen between you and Bel?」
「Gobfuuu」
I sprayed out the fruit juice that I was drinking. Zenobia gave a good jab suddenly.
「Oh yes, I already got the gist of it」
「Wh, wha, what did……」
Because I was shaken, my hand that was holding the cup was trembling.
Quiet down, oh right hand of mine.
「Occasionally, there are won like that. Ones that are more attached to a dangerous and destructive love rather than an ordinary and stable love. Bel is the forr, isn’t she? Moreover, setting aside her body, she’s still a child ntally. A married person must seem mature to her, and moreover, as adventurers in the sa party, he’s soone who shares the sa fate as her. On top of that, he’s the leader behind the scenes. But it's strange, isn’t it? That girl is a pretty late-bloor. As long as she doesn’t see a really fatal opening or sothing………………」
Zenobia, please stop.
That verbal attack is really effective on .
「So, what is it?」
「The truth is, I was with a kin of Roonー」
I was about to blurt out the truth in spite of myself.
「Not about that, didn’t you have business with ? Huh? Roon is a god of people who serve, right? If I’m not mistaken, prostitutesー」
「I want to discuss sothing about Irvin」
「I’m all ears」
Those were magic words for Zenobia.
Are the human relationships within our party going to be okay?
「The truth is, I ran into two knights of St. Lyridias last night. I feel bad for Irvin, but they were good-for-nothing fellows. What's more, of all the things they could have done, one of them hurt an elf」
There was a hand protector on my right hand. It was an item that was possessed by various valuable curses. Perhaps because of its influence, I was unable to keep my cool whenever elves were involved.
Well, it might just be my preference.
「Don't get into a dispute with those guys. It won’t be a problem for you, and you alone」
「That’s true, I'm sorry. I got a little bit worked up. What I wanted to ask you about, is St. Lyridias, the god that Irvin worships. What kind of god is it?」
「You don’t even know sothing like that, is what I wanted to say. But that’s right, it’s knowledge that a foreigner won’t know」
Zenobia took a sip of wine. After moistening her throat, she spoke.
「Do you know the story of the silver coins?」
「Is it the one about the King of Beasts?」
I thought back on Geto-san’s story and told it to Zenobia.
It was a story of a king who led the beastkin and waged a war against the "human" opponents known as elves, dwarves, and Hemus.
Although he cornered the humans, the humans counterattacked with a weapon called malignant silver, and he lost, which gave rise to the discrimination against the beastkin that still lingered strongly to this day. And then, the malignant silver was made into coins and spread throughout all three continents.
In order to keep watch over the beastkin, and as a threat.
「It’s slightly different, it’s not the King of Beasts. It’s the King of Beastkin」
It appeared that the fishn and Hemus’ perception of it was different.
「The King of Beastkin had been destroyed by the great King of humans. The na of that great king was Ra?Varuzu?Duin?Gargantua. The king had eight children. They were the ones who were called the beast-hunter kings later on. Lyridias was the princes’ spouse. Supporting them from the shadows, she worked hard to build Elysium and create the largest and strongest human nation. This glory was how she attained her godhood.
Of course, she wasn’t the wife of all eight princes. Elysium selects eight people who are the image of the beast hunter kings as the Popes. They are responsible for the military, dostic affairs, diplomacy, and economy. And they also inherit the nas of the princes. Revealing which one of them was St. Lyridias’ spouse would upset the balance of power. That’s why the na of her husband has beco the biggest secret of Elysium and the St. Lyridias Order」
This was also different.
According to fishn’s story, the king beca a beast, and had the princes kill him. Taking the beautification of the story as a matter of course, what bothered the most was the na of the king.
The great King of Hemu:
Ra?Varuzu?Duin?Gargantua
The King of Beasts:
Ra?Guzuri?Duin?Oruosuouru
The way the nas matched was probably not a coincidence. And one more thing; I had the feeling that I had heard that na, Duin, sowhere else as well. I couldn’t quite rember where I had heard it.
「Zenobia, can I ask you sothing? The na that I heard from my fishman acquaintance, Ra?Guzuri?Du――」
Zenobia leaned across the table and covered my mouth.
The tableware and wine bottle fell, drawing the attention of those around us.
「De, dear!」
The color had drained from Zenobia’s face. The people around us quickly lost interest, saying,『Oh, so it’s just a lovers’ quarrel』. It was such a waste of food. Its taste was unremarkable though.
「That na, you must never say the rest of it out loud」
I removed Zenobia's hand and asked.
「Huh, why?」
「That na is taboo. For humans, they’re cursed words. My teacher, who researched these kinds of things, was treated as a heretic and got exiled from Elysium. One day, when he had gotten roaring drunk, he told only a part of that na.
The next day, my teacher cut off his ear right in front of my eyes.
He said,『I hadn’t told you. That if you unravel that na and chant it in full, you’ll be struck with misfortune that’s incomparable to sothing like this』. That’s why I forgot about it. I had forgotten until this very mont! What the heck!」
「I’m sorry」
I had made a gaffe.
Even though I’m a foreigner, I had acted on random curiosity. I regretted it.
「Got it? Never say that na out loud again. Absolutely. Definitely. Promise 」
「I promise. I won't say it out loud ever again」
「Aren’t you glad that I don’t have any connection to the St. Lyridias Order? Execution! It’s sothing that’ll get you executed. You’ll be crucified and also burnt at the stake. There won’t even be ashes of you left」
「I'm really sorry. That was thoughtless of 」
「Hey~! More wine!」
Of course, it’s my treat.
Was what I said before I received a communication from Izora.
『Team mber Souya, is now a good ti?』
「No problem」
A question mark floated above Zenobia.『A communication ca in』I said softly.
『Irvin-sama, you can speak. Please go ahead』
Oooh, said a voice.
『Souya? Can you hear this?』
Irvin took over.
「Yes, I can hear you」
『Co to the Guild right now. The Guild President is summoning all the adventurers who haven’t reached the 15th floor. It’s the matter of that monster』
「Understood. I’ll go right away」
I cut off the communication. Zenobia was looking at with an expression like she had seen sothing wondrous.
「That's convenient, isn’t it? Who was it from?」
「It was from Irvin. There is an announcent from the Guild about that monster. I’m going, but what will you do, Zenobia?」
「I’ll drink so more. This wine is delicious」
Is that so? I said, before leaving more money, and exiting the bar.
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