Never touch Eldmia Egga - Episode 393
Although it was definitely a major port city in Itisel, there is no gate at the current Mandeli Port..
To be exact, it was there but it disappeared. It is said that they destroyed the gate themselves because they feared it would be used when the city was destroyed due to an invasion by demons. Considering that it was a common practice to aim to reinforce troops through the gate, this shows how serious the attack was at the time..
Thanks to that, I tried to fly from the capital on a flying dragon... but it was so cold that I looked into the city where both the gate and the flying dragon station were located and just moved from there. I ended up spending a bit of money, but it was okay to spend this much extravagance, so there was no need to arrive tired..
As the sun began to set, Mandeli Port, seen from the sky, looked like it had not yet completely shaken off the aftereffects of the attack..
I don't know what it would look like if you saw it from the ground, but at a glance, the city's walls were shattered in several places, and there were more than one or two collapsed buildings on the dockside. Nevertheless, I got the feeling that Jeolchan-ri was being rebuilt thanks to the people bustling around inside like a swarm of ants..
As soon as I arrived at the Drake Station, after briefly saying goodbye to the second Drake pilot in my life, the adventurer's guild I visited was not only in almost perfect shape, but also large in size. The huge building, which is twice as large as the capital's guild, seemed to clearly show the status of adventurers here..
I don't know why the roof was decorated with things like whale bones, but I was reasonably convinced that it was something of a mascot to preserve the port city's identity. As I entered, the hot heat and the smell of alcohol, which I couldn't feel in the capital, hit my face. hit.
I don't know if it was because there were a lot of adventurers, or if this demon search had some effect, but it wasn't even evening yet, and the inside was already full of drunk adventurers. The inside of the guild, which was completely distracted with noises like "I can't do it" and "It's worth it," seemed far removed from the horrors of war that could be seen from the outside..
It was also difficult to say that he was a typical adventurer. It was as if all the adventurers belonging to the guild had finished one task and sat down to unwind..
Of course, it was obvious what the cause was. I took off the fur cloak I was wearing, draped it over my arm, and walked to the reception desk to avoid the drinking party of adventurers who had clearly returned from searching for demons..
"The only thing the guild provides to those who have contributed to the search for demons is food and alcohol!! You will be charged personally for all smashed items, so don't try to ignore them.!!"
I heard the guild members serving food and drinks shouting intermittently, so I guess this was a problem because everything was free. Well, considering that some adventurers tried to leave the city they were staying in and run inland just because of the rumor that demons had appeared, this would have been enough to calm their complaints..
"Ha... welcome. Are you here to join the search for demons??"
As I approached the situation, leaving behind a situation that was understandable just by seeing and hearing, the female receptionist, who had just been pointing a point at somewhere and yelling that if you eat it, you will die, looked at me without hiding her tired expression. Still, she was a person with a very strong work ethic, as you can see from the way she managed her facial expressions and tried to smile..
"I came here because I wanted to find friends who participated in the search. Is there a way??"
I was worried that my attitude would change if I didn't join the search, but the receptionist's expression brightened after hearing what I said..
"Normally, I would have found a list of requests and provided them to you, but since this search is in collaboration with the military, a separate procedure was created as we formed a temporary party to manage personnel. Do you see the bulletin board over there??"
As I followed her hand gesture, I noticed a bulletin board on one side of the guild wall, close to eye level. At first, I thought there were a lot of request bulletin boards, but it turned out that they were for a completely different purpose..
"As a formality, a nameplate is made with the name of the adventurer in charge of the party, and it is a status board made to check whether the adventurer is still on a mission or has returned. If you know someone who is at the party, you can check that first, so would you like to take a look? If it's not there, I'll help you again.."
Was it because the client was dealing with such a large scale that they created a procedure to reduce the workload?.
I guess the reason her expression brightened was because she was able to take a break for a little while as an excuse for me to come back after looking at all the bulletin boards. She never thought she would see a location information board here, something she had only seen in the military, but she nodded and headed to the bulletin board..
Unlike in the capital, there were no eyes pouring on me just by moving. Perhaps because there were so many things committed there, even when I entered the guild gate, the guys who recognized me started reacting like an alarm and paying attention..
It was inevitable that a certain amount of attention would be drawn to me because of the armor I acquired this time, but most people just glanced at me in moderation and then turned their heads. And there is no hostility there. Thanks to you, I was able to check the bulletin board with peace of mind..
It wasn't that difficult to find the Gaendal party there. Those who were treated as one of the few independent search parties and were moving separately had names..
"They say a competent person stands out wherever he goes.."
It's marked as not having returned yet, so if you sit down and eat some food, you'll be able to meet up..
I pretended to look for the receptionist, who was still looking at me, and then sat down at an appropriate table. There were a lot of people, but there were plenty of seats, and the room was so warm that there was no need to find a warm spot..
Just by quickly settling in and listening quietly, I was able to get a vague idea of how things were going here..
"It's nice not to have to worry about being hungry, but it's exhausting. Was there any success on your part??"
"No way. I only ran into female orcs.."
"If you were an orc, you would still have some extra income. We were just wasting our time."
"Giggling. What is this waste of money? If anyone hears it, they will think that the guild doesn't pay money.."
From those who lightly exchange stories about what happened today and drink a glass of wine..
"Damn it, I wonder what kind of trouble this is because of demons that don't even exist.."
"There are no demons?"
"They also have heads. Are they still here? Even if it had to fly, it would have been carried right away. It's already been several weeks since I've been messing around all day, but do you still believe there are demons out there?."
"No, that's just what you think..."
Even those who argue with co-workers with seemingly valid but weak statements. Although each person's words were different, the main feeling was that they were tired of fruitless labor even though they were fed well and paid..
"When I heard it, there was a rumor going around that they were looking for someone.."
"who? The devil?"
"okay. People who ran into gangsters like thieves and slash-and-burn farmers sometimes talk about it. I heard that you seemed to be looking for someone.?"
"Damn, then you're saying that they ran into some demon bastards, but they're not bodyless, so why are they kept alive??"
"Do you understand??"
The adventurers chatting as they passed by didn't seem to hear the rumor, but from my perspective, having already run into it a couple of times and received Seneran's report, it was quite a valid story..
The Demon King's army was better disciplined than expected and had a strong sense of duty. Above all, they had a clear division of roles, such as not using the humans they were acting with as outcasts, so it is possible that they were in control of civilians such as slash-and-burn farmers, even if the bandits did not know about it..
It may be because the Demon Lord's army at that time was a unit that infiltrated with a special purpose, but the guys here now are also of that type, so they can be seen as similar..
Of course, this is only possible if they have the confidence that there will be no problem in escaping even if they are caught... but looking at the stories that have been heard, it seems that they are at least confident that they have that level of skill..
As I sipped the stew I ordered, how many times did I mindlessly listen to the stories around me and think about them?.
"Why are you worrying so much??"
Suddenly I heard a very familiar voice in my ear..
"Hey, I'm surprised.!"
At that moment, I almost jumped out of my seat without realizing it, but I held back and barely managed to turn my upper body so as not to spill the stew. Behind me, Seneran, who I couldn't tell had come before me, was standing with a lifeless smile on his dark circles due to fatigue..
Over her shoulder, Gaendal Party, who had spotted me, was waving affectionately, but I was so surprised right now that all I could do was exchange a brief glance. If I had known this would happen, I wouldn't have sat with my back to her entrance.!
"Other people say they only notice when the person standing behind them shows signs of popularity. Eldmia, why are you like that??"
"You have to be popular to be noticed. Can you tell because they all approach like dying corpses??"
It's not a joke. I was not only listening to the conversation, but I was concentrating my hearing as much as possible to prepare for any footsteps approaching me, but I did not notice Seneran coming right up to the back of my head..
Has this person learned some kind of stealth technique? She looked down to see if she could see that she was wearing not her shoes, but some unidentifiable bundle of fur on her feet..
Damn, I'm not a thief. That thing ate up all the footsteps..
"Oh my god, can you walk in those things??"
"It's better to have some trouble walking than to suffer from frostbite.."
On the contrary, it seemed like it would be painful when it cooled down due to sweating profusely, but it was difficult to say that he was satisfied. She smiled as if it was fun and took out her chair and sat down. As she changed the status board and approached her, Mr. N Dal greeted her warmly..
"Long time no see, Eldmia. But did you come riding a flying dragon??"
Considering it's been a while since we last met, the question that followed was a bit of a strange greeting..
How did know?
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