97人人模人人爽人人喊谢绝

「–“Inextinguishable Light Sword” Joseph?!」

「–I didn’t know he was an instructor here.」

「–Who is that big guy talking to Joseph?」

The guild was buzzing. That’s how much weight Joseph-san’s name seemed to carry. Joseph-san approached and patted me on the head —「I drank some kind of medicine, which you made, apparently. I think it was called Reikon?」he said.

…So you drank a Reikon soup to get rid of the hangover?!

「Oi, submaster. As far as I can tell from this boy’s story, it is certain that a dragon appeared in the mine. The city’s defenses are strong against land monsters, but weak against flying monsters – much less so if it’s a dragon. First, we have to evacuate the people. Quickly give instructions to the adventurers.」

「…Wouldn’t it be better to build a defense line on the walls and repel it?」

「Don’t be stupid. A dragon, at the very least, is as big as the size of this guild. Shooting arrows would only bounce off of it. Among the guys here, how many of you have skills with 4-star or higher?」

About 3 people raised their hands. However, instead of a 4-star specialized in one particular area, it was the kind where you can use multiple magic and techniques. One of them is 【Four Elemental Magic】, the same skill used by the cafeteria auntie from the mine… I wonder if the auntie is still on the run?

【Four Elemental Magic】 is a skill which allows you to use four types of magic – fire, earth, wind, and water – and the power of each element is equivalent to that of a 2-star skill, like 【Fire Magic★★】.

「This is why, submaster, don’t expect adventurers to use defensive tactics. Rather, we should guide the evacuation of the people. There will surely be some people who will try to take advantage of this crisis. For defense, you should turn to the soldiers.」

「…We can’t count on the soldiers.」

「Why?」

「The main body is already moving to reclaim Six Mine. Right now, there is only a minimum number of guard soldiers remaining in the city.」

「Oi, this isn’t looking good.」

It seems that Joseph-san did not expect this. He was scratching the back of his head, while looking up at the ceiling.

「…Seems like we have no other choice but to fight with all we’ve got.」

Then, the adventurers started crying, “I can’t,” “I’ve never even seen a dragon before,” etc.

It means that only the adventurers in this place can be counted on as the fighting power. They would most likely have to put their lives on the line.

It is no surprise if low ranking adventurers get cold feet.

「Well, wait, wait.」

A man, donning a finest-quality red metal armor, stood up, gesturing with both hands.

「You are “Inextinguishable Light Sword” Joseph, who was once gold rank, right? I didn’t know you were a trainer here.」

「And you are?」

「I am Oscar, the leader of the party “Eternal Star”. Well, there are some guys who call me “Red Comet” in the streets. Last month, everyone in my party rose up to silver rank.」

The man called Oscar, smiled dubiously, his white teeth showing. His hair was the same red as his armor, like the glowing red sun during sunset. His guild plate was hanging from his neck, displayed for all to see. The plate was silver, as his “silver rank”. According to 【World Ruler】, it seems to be made of silver.

…Even so, the name “Eternal Star” sounds like the naming sense of elementary school students.

Despite that, it’s still amazing that he and his party members were all silver rank. There were about 6 of them, and one of them was the one who had 【Four Elemental Magic】. Naming sense and true ability are not related.

「–What is a “Red Comet”?」

「–I don’t know. It’s just something Oscar calls himself.」

「–But stars are so small. Why not name it after the sun?」

Oscar’s cheeks twitched, hearing the whispers of the adventurers around him. Is this one of those cases where the adventurer attaches his own moniker? No wonder he seems bitter.

「It is reassuring to have a talented, active adventurer party.」

However, Dante-san seemed to be genuinely grateful. Looking at Dante-san, I thought about how clouded my thoughts have become. Raikira-san, you should reflect on yourself, too. The moment you heard “Eternal Star,” you secretly laughed, didn’t you?

「And who might you be? It looks like you’re close to Joseph.」

「…My body is not in a good condition. So, don’t count me in.」

「What are you saying? Having “Silver GreatShield” would only solidify our chances. I saw your movement yesterday at the training ground. You can still fight on the front line.」

Joseph-san praised Dante-san, but Oscar openly frowned, as though displeased with the fact that Dante-san had a moniker.

「Well, that’s okay. You say your body isn’t in a good condition? Then, how do you mean to fight a dragon when you don’t even know where it’s gonna come from? You’re out of the force.」

Oscar’s question was right. The city is large. If the adventurers are scattered, the fighting power will decrease.

「That’s a difficult question. If we believe in the boy’s words, the dragon can even attack from the sky.」Joseph-san said.

「Exactly. What I’m trying to say is that it’s easy to tell us to lay down our lives, but I don’t wanna throw away my life for nothing.」

The rest of the adventurers nodded in agreement with Oscar’s words.

However, Joseph-san’s words made me rethink something. Am I overlooking something?

「Submaster. What does the Guildmaster say? Why isn’t he here?」

「He was summoned by His Excellency New Duke in the morning.」

「New Duke? Even though the remains of His Excellency have yet to be recovered?」

「Regardless of the procedure, if there is a summons, you ought to oblige. I have already relayed this information to His Excellency New Duke.」

It was night when I saw the dragon. It was so far away that I could only see the silhouette. I’m sure even the dragon couldn’t have seen me.

Looking back, the rumblings I heard back in the mine might have been because of the dragon.

「…That’s it.」

The attack that the dragon shot seemed to have fallen around the mine. At the very least, there was no trace of the dragon’s attack in the towns that I visited after. And the forest wasn’t attacked either.

Despite that, why is the dragon aiming for the city?

「…Dante-san, it’s weird.」

「What’s wrong, Reiji?」

「”A dragon is flying towards the city,” is the information we got. Assuming that information is accurate, how did the dragon know the direction of the city – or more precisely, how did it know that attacking this city would cause the most damage to humans, and how did it grasp the location of the city?」

「…Hmm? What do you mean?」

「To put it simply, how did the dragon find the location of the city? At the very least, there is no record that a dragon was found around here in the past, right? A dragon which had been asleep below the mine, can’t simply jump into the sky and locate the city right away, correct?」

「…」Dante-san started thinking quietly.

There is a considerable distance from the mine to the city. I don’t know how magic communication works, but, for example, if it’s like an email or Morse code, the person who sent the message believes that the dragon is headed to the territory – there must have been something which made that person believe, “the dragon is heading for the city”.

In other words, the dragon most likely has intelligence.

「Reiji. So what you’re trying to say is… the dragon has some kind of sensory organ and has the ability to find out where humans are crowded.」

「Yes.」I nodded.

「This is just my hypothesis, but I think the dragon found this place because a good majority of the population have a connection to the mine.」

「Connection?」

「People in the city have absorbed the thing only found in the mine, haven’t they?」

「Ah!」not only Dante-san, but all the adventurers raised their voices simultaneously.

「Wouldn’t the dragon be capable of detecting skill orbs from the mine?」