Shujinkou Janai!

[————-Oh. You’re early.]

When I opened the door to the office, Verteran looked up from his papers and said these words to me.

However, I didn’t have enough composure to return his greeting.

Going straight to the point, I asked him a straightforward question.

[I heard the news from Resilia. Is it true that one of the <Twelve Dark Ruins> has been conquered?]

……The report that “one of the Ruins had been conquered” came as a complete surprise to me.

The first World Event was the attack of <Demon Lord Bling> which took place during the Great Insect Raid event.

Having dared to “go against the flow of the event”, I succeeded in killing the <Demon Lord> on the spot, even though he was supposed to have run away.

The fact that I was able to kill <Demon Lord Bling”, who would later go on a rampage at a later event, was a major coup.

On the other hand, however, the promising clue that would lead me to the identity of the Hero had also fizzled out.

Just as I was thinking that, I received information from Resilia.

Whoever has conquered one of the Ruins can’t be left alone, and if that “someone” is using a weapon that resembles the <Sword of Light>, it’s even more important.

And so, when I learned that it was the Adventurer Guild’s Guildmaster, Verteran, who had passed on that information to Resilia, I came to Verteran to acquire information he may have on hand.

[It’s true. ……No, I don’t know exactly how it happened, but an unthinkable phenomenon have been confirmed.]

Verteran must have felt something from my impatient question.

Hearing him verify its authenticity, a serious expression appears on my face as I nodded.

It’s just, I felt something out of place with the way he answered.

[An unthinkable phenomenon has been confirmed? You didn’t receive their report for the conquering of the Ruins?]

In response to my questions, Verteran said “Let’s talk about it step by step”, and sat back deeper in his chair.

[First of all, it was the Adventurers’ Guild in the neighboring region of <Niebuhr> that informed us that one of the Ruins had been conquered.]

[Through the Guild’s communication device huh.]

Unlike modern Japan, this world has neither the Internet nor telephones, so the transmission of information is slow.

However, the Adventurers’ Guild has communication devices that allow them to communicate with other Guilds in other cities, and I knew that the Guildmasters talked with each other in case of emergencies, such as the <subjugation of the Ant Queen>.

[From what I heard, five days ago, from the Ruin near Niebuhr City, light suddenly swelled up and spread out to the extent that it engulfed the entire continent before disappearing. This was confirmed by almost everyone who was in Niebuhr City at that time. No, not only that, some of the residents here in Frelia even said that they saw something shine in the west.]

[I see.]

In the game, no one but the “Hero” ever conquered the <Twelve Dark Ruins>.

I don’t know what was going on outside while the player conquers one of the <Twelve Dark Ruins>, but it was possible that that light would spread to the world.

[And so, a party of adventurers who thought that light was suspicious went to the aforementioned ruins and found all the monsters there had been wiped out. It means that the dungeon down to the deepest level has been conquered.]

[In that case, it really wasn’t the person who conquered the ruins who reported it huh.]

[Yeah. And so, even if there’s information about a solo guy who conquered the ruins or that they used a shining sword, those were just information from eyewitnesses.]

[What the heck is with that……]

Normally thinking about it, conquering one of the <Twelve Dark Ruins> would be a great achievement for an Adventurer.

If they had conquered it, everyone would have been gladly running to the Guild so that they could report it.

[……You’re the last person I want to hear saying that.]

For some reason, Verteran looked at me with dismay.

I reported to Verteran that I had defeated a <Demon Lord>, but I asked him not to announce that it was me who defeated that <Demon Lord>.

Although he had no choice but to announce that the <Demon Lord> had been resurrected and that the <Demon Lord> that had been sighted was already defeated, but I asked him to create a scenario in which several parties encountered the <Demon Lord> during the campaign to defeat him, and relying on our numbers and barely winning, albeit at the cost of some lives, we had managed to defeat the <Demon Lord>, who had just resurrected and hadn’t completely regained his strength.

This wasn’t because I don’t need any more prestige, but simply because I realized that I would never be able to win a battle against Bling, the weakest of the <Demon Lords> by a straight-forward battle.

Circumstances won’t just be easy when dealing with the remaining <Demon Lords>, as they aren’t opponents who you could just prepare dozens of special items to fight against.

If that’s the case, I want to avoid getting a reputation for defeating a <Demon Lord> and become targeted by them.

However, it’s also true that Verteran went into a lot of trouble just to keep my name out of record.

Avoiding Verteran’s resentful eyes, I continued with my questions.

[So, did you have any other information on the guy?]

[The guy apparently didn’t like socializing. It seems that the people over there are also desperately searching for his identity, but it seems that even they don’t clearly know his name. However……]

Thereupon, Verteran leaned forward on his desk, and seemingly as if he was about to tell a secret, he spoke.

[————-I heard he had already left Niebuhr City and is on his way somewhere else.]

※　※　※

[Nii-san, what do we do now?]

[……Let’s see.]

After I left the Guild, Resilia asked.

I honestly feel like my thoughts are going in circles, but I guess I’ll sort out the situation for the moment.

First, one of the <Twelve Dark Ruins> was conquered five days ago.

It was right after we defeated a <Demon Lord>, when we were still underground in the Ant Burrows.

That would explain why we didn’t notice it.

Moreover……

(Speaking of which, I think the ants have gotten a little stronger by the end.)

With the Queen dead, the ant raid is over, but that doesn’t mean the enemies in the ant colony are wiped out.

I was killing the ants I could see to pass the time until the carriage that would pick us up arrived, but I had the impression that the ants had gotten tougher than expected.

If I interpret this as “because the level of the enemy monsteres had increased due to one of the ruins being conquered”, then it would certainly make sense.

(The next thing I’m curious about is that “shining sword”.

As far as I know, the only weapon that fits that description is the <Sword of Light>.

No, if they had imbued Light Enchant on an ordinary sword, the eyewitnesses could have misinterpreted it, but the chances of that being the case aren’t that high.

And if the ruins were conquered 5 days ago, that would be after defeating the <Demon Lord>.

In other words, after the <Sword of Light> appeared in front of me.

Perhaps could it be that because of that half-baked “Encounter with a <Demon Lord> Event, the “real Hero” who was on Niebuhr’s side became able to use <Sword of Light>?

Is such a thing even possible?

(……Either way, not checking on him isn’t an option.)

Verteran said that the Adventurer left Niebuhr.

And there are only two areas that can be reached from Niebuhr.

Frelia, northwest across the mountains.

And also……

With the map in my head, I turned to Resilia, who was waiting for my next words.

""

[Resilia. Let’s go prepare for a trip.]

[Nii-san?]

As it seemed like she was unable to keep up with what I’m saying, I clarified.

[—————-This would be our first expedition. After this, we’re going to the Royal Capital!]