It was obviously the main port city of Ithiel, but now Mandeli Port has no gates.
Exactly, it was there, but it was gone. It is said that the gate was destroyed on its own because there was a fear of being used when the city was half destroyed by the invasion of demons. Considering that it is a common aspect to aim for reinforcement of troops through bondi gates, it is a part that shows how serious the raid was at the time.
Thanks to that, I was going to fly from the capital on a flying dragon… but it was filthy cold, so I looked for a city with both a gate and a flying dragon station, and just moved from there. I was running out of money, but I was fine with this kind of luxury, so I didn’t have to arrive tired.
After moving like that, the port of Mandeli looked down from the sky as the sunset began to set, and it still looked like it had not completely rid itself of the aftermath of the raid.
I don’t know what it would be like if I saw it from the ground, but at a glance, the city’s defenses are smashed in places, and there are more than one or two collapsed buildings along the pier. Nevertheless, thanks to the people swarming around like ants, I felt that it was being rebuilt.
As soon as I arrived at the flying dragon station, I briefly said goodbye to the second flying dragon pilot in my life, and the adventurer’s guild that I visited was not only maintaining an almost perfect shape, but also large in size. The gigantic building, twice as large as the capital’s guild, seemed to show the adventurers’ position here.
I don’t know why the roof was decorated with something like a whale bone, but I thought it was like a mascot that saved the identity of a port city. .
I don’t know if it’s because there are a lot of adventurers, or if this search for demons has had some influence, but it’s not even dinner yet, and there are already plenty of drunken adventurers inside. The inside of the guild, which had no mind at all mixed with miscellaneous noises such as “I can’t eat it”, seemed far from the horrors of war that could be seen from the outside.
It was ambiguous to say that he was a typical adventurer. It was as if all the adventurers belonging to the guild finished a single job and sat down to unwind.
Of course, it was obvious what the cause was. I took off the fur cloak I was wearing, put it on my arm, and walked to the reception desk, avoiding the drinking party of the adventurers who must have returned from searching for demons.
“The only thing the guild provides to those who have participated in the search for demons is food and alcohol!! All smashed items will be charged individually, so don’t be foolish!!”
Hearing the guild members serving the food and drinks screaming in between, it seems that this is a problem because all of this is free. Well, if you recall that there were adventurers who tried to leave the city they were staying in and run away to the inland just because of the rumor that demons had appeared, they must have done this much to calm their dissatisfaction.
“Haa… Welcome. Are you here to join the search for demons?”
As I approached, leaving behind the situation that I could understand just by seeing and hearing, the female receptionist, who had just been pointing somewhere and shouting that if she eats it, she would die, looked at me without hiding her tired expression. Still, judging by how he managed his facial expressions and tried to smile, he was a person with a very strong work spirit.
“I came because I wanted to find friends who participated in the search. Is there any way?”
I was worried that my attitude would change unless I joined the search, but the receptionist rather listened to me and straightened his expression.
“Usually, I would have found a list of quests and informed them, but since this search is in collaboration with the military, we had to set up a temporary party to manage personnel, so a separate procedure was created. See the bulletin board over there?”
As I moved my gaze following her gestures, I saw a bulletin board on one side of the guild wall at eye level. At first, I thought there were so many request boards, but it turned out to be a completely different purpose.
“Formally, a nameplate was created with the name of the adventurer who was in charge of the party leader, and it is a status board made to check whether he is still on a mission or has returned. If not, I’ll help you again.”
Is it because of the large-scale client, that they made a procedure to reduce the workload?
It seems that the reason her expression widened was because she could take a break for a while, taking me as an excuse to come back after looking at all the bulletin boards. I didn’t expect to see the location status board that I only saw in the military here, but I nodded my head and headed to the bulletin board.
Unlike the capital city, there was no attention pouring just by my movement. There are so many things I committed there, even when I entered the guild, the guys who recognized me started to notice and react like an alarm.
It was unavoidable that attention was drawn to some extent because of the armor obtained this time, but most of them turned their heads after taking a moderate glance at it. And there is no enmity there. Thanks to that, I was able to check the bulletin board comfortably.
It wasn’t too difficult to find a Gaendal party there. Those who were treated as one of the few independent search teams and were moving separately had a name.
“Because a competent person can be seen wherever he goes.”
It’s marked as not returning yet, so if you sit down properly and eat something, you’ll be able to meet it.
I pretended to have found the receptionist, who was still looking at me, and took me to a suitable table. There were a lot of people, but there were plenty of seats, and since the interior was so hot, there was no need to find a warm seat.
Just by quickly settling in and listening intently, I could get a glimpse of what was going on here.
“It’s nice not to have to worry about hunger, but it’s very tiring. Have you had any results?”
“That can’t be the case. I only bumped into Amon Orcs.”
“If it was an Orc, it would have been a side income.
“Chuckling. What’s the fuss, if someone hears it, they’ll think the guild won’t give you money.”
From those who tilt their glasses while lightly exchanging stories that happened today.
“Damn, I don’t know what kind of hardship this is because of a demon that doesn’t even exist.”
“There are no demons?”
“They also have heads, so are they still here? They must have carried me right away.
“No, that’s just your opinion…”
Even those who argue with colleagues with lax brains that seem reasonable. Each of them said something different, but it is similar that the atmosphere is that they are tired of fruitless labor even though they are fed to their stomachs and even given money.
“I hear rumors that you’re looking for someone.”
“Who? A demon?”
“Yeah. The guys who ran into thieves and slashers sometimes talked about it. Did you hear that you seemed to be looking for someone?”
“Shit, then they say they met with the demons, but why are you letting them live?”
“Nandl, do you understand?”
The adventurers passing by and talking didn’t seem to hear that it was a rumor, but it was quite reasonable for me, who had already bumped into it a couple of times and had received a report from Seneran.
The Demon King’s army was more disciplined than expected and had a strong sense of duty. Above all, they did not use the humans who acted together as throwaways, and the division of roles was clear, so there is a possibility that they did not know about thieves, but they had a hand in civilians such as slash-and-burn.
It may be because the Demon King’s army at that time was a unit that infiltrated with a special purpose, but the guys here now are of that type, so they can be seen as similar.
Of course, it is only possible if they have the confidence that there will be no problem in escaping even if their tails are caught because of that… But, judging from the stories I hear, it seems right that at least they are proud of their skills.
How many times must he have repeated the process of listening to the stories around him and thinking about them while sipping on the stew he ordered?
“What are you so worried about?”
Suddenly, a very familiar voice came to my ears.
“Ai-san, what a surprise!”
At the moment, I almost jumped out of my seat without realizing it, but I managed to turn my upper body while holding back so as not to spill the stew. Behind me, Seneran, who hadn’t noticed it before, was standing with a lifeless smile on his dark circles from fatigue.
Over her shoulder, Gaendal Party, who had found me, was waving politely, but right now I was so surprised that I only exchanged glances for a moment. If I had known it would be like this, I would not have sat with my back to the entrance!
“Others say they notice the presence of the person behind them, but Eldmia, why are you like that?”
“You need to be there to notice. Everyone is approaching like a dying corpse, can you tell?”
I’m not kidding. I wasn’t just listening to the conversation, I was paying close attention to my hearing to prepare for any footsteps approaching me, but I didn’t notice Seneran coming right up to the back of my head.
Did this human learn something like stealth? Just in case, I looked down and saw that she was not wearing shoes, but some unknown hair ball.
Hey, he’s not even a thief. It ate up all the footsteps.
“Oh my God, can you walk in that?”
“It’s better to have a little trouble walking than to suffer from frostbite.”
On the contrary, it seemed like it would be painful to cool down from sweating profusely, but it was ambiguous to say that he was satisfied. As she smiled as if she was having fun, she pulled out a chair and sat down while Gaendal, who had changed the status board and approached, greeted her happily.
“Long time no see Eldmia. But did you come riding a flying dragon?”
It’s been a while since we met, but the question that followed was a bit strange.
How did know?
