Chapter 399 – Rumors of Adventurers

—The next day. We headed out into town immediately after breakfast.

The reasoning was that it would be better to complete our errands before daytime temperatures rose. At the Moon Temple we arrived at, as expected, a shrine for the Water Spirit King had been built adjacent to it.

“As expected, they fervently worship the Water Spirit King around here, don’t they?”

When Rosemary said this, Fatima, who was our guide, replied.

“Without springs and rivers, life in Baharzard wouldn’t be possible. This is especially true for the southwestern region.”

“I see. A desert… There really are many things you can’t understand unless you see them with your own eyes, aren’t there?”

Rosemary nodded quietly at Fatima’s words.

“Then, let’s begin. Since this is Contract Magic, if you judge there to be any problems, feel free to decline.”

“Yes.”

Claudia immediately set to work. It was a Spell Formula incorporating Contract Magic that would allow teleportation as long as Fatima gave permission.

Standing on the Moon Temple grounds, Claudia took Fatima’s hand and exchanged a few words.

Fatima seemed to be thinking about Claudia’s words—the contract terms—while responding. Eventually, the contract must have been established, as a glow of magical power ran from their feet, circling around the Moon Temple grounds. This part was so practiced it was over in an instant.

“I’d be happy if you could tell the Shrine Maidens to pray to the Moon Goddess in case of emergencies like demon attacks. That way, we can come as reinforcements during demon-related crises.”

“Understood. I’ll notify them. But still, teleportation magic, flying ships… When Verdugal and Silvatoria join hands, amazing things happen, don’t they?”

Fatima placed a hand on her chin and nodded admiringly.

Although Fatima had been informed by Princess Elham that the purpose of visiting Masmadol was to investigate the Sacred Land, she seemed quite willing to cooperate actively.

As for Claudia, she was introduced in the usual way as an important person from the Moon Temple, but since it involved demons—and moreover, was related to the King of Ignorance who was the main cause of Nahalbia’s disappearance, and since it came from Princess Elham—the discussion probably proceeded relatively smoothly.

“Now then… next is the Adventurer Guild, I suppose?”

“I’ll guide you to the front of the Guild, but… having a lord enter to seek information might invite misunderstandings, so I’ll wait outside.”

“In that case, it seems better if I wait outside too.”

Princess Elham responded to Fatima’s words.

It was out of respect for the Adventurer Guild’s independence. Fatima probably wanted to maintain good relations with the Guild as well. So, Princess Stephania and Princess Adriana also wouldn’t accompany us inside the Guild. Since we were requesting information provision from Verdugal and Silvatoria, we might need to mention their names.

Well… since Auria is accompanying us, there probably won’t be any major problems.

“They say the humps on a camel’s back shrink when they don’t get enough nutrition. The desert is harsh, you see, so they carry these things on their backs.”

Meanwhile, the person in question was lecturing Marlene about camel humps. Marlene and Sheila were nodding with serious expressions.

Was that knowledge Auria gained during her time as an adventurer? If that were all, she could pass as well-informed, but the fact that she was thoroughly enjoying the feel of the hump with her right hand while doing so was somewhat regrettable. Well… since they say the inside of the hump is fat, I can understand why the texture might feel good.

“Shall we go then?”

We rode a camel cart through town and arrived at a large building not too far from the oasis. It was a stone structure with almost no wood used. Even though it was also an Adventurer Guild, it gave a completely different impression. I entered the building together with Auria.

“Welcome. How may I help you?”

“My apologies, but this is neither a request nor registration. I am Auria, Guild Master of the Termwills Adventurer Guild in Verdugal.”

“Oh my… You’re the Guild Master from another branch?”

“Yes. My apologies, but could you inform Rahim for me? Since we’re acquaintances, if you tell him Auria from Termwills is here, he should understand.”

“Certainly.”

The receptionist, having received Auria’s words, headed toward the back of the Guild.

She really does have wide connections. I had thought there might be meetings between Adventurer Guild branch masters and that she probably knows people everywhere. Or perhaps they’re acquaintances from her adventuring days.

Then, after a short while, the receptionist returned.

“Please come this way.”

She guided us to the back of the Guild. We passed through a back corridor, went up to the second floor… and found the person in the room we were shown to. He was dressed like a magician. A calm-mannered man with white mixed into his hair.

“It’s been a while, Rahim.”

“Auria? I wondered what this was about since you came so suddenly… This seems like quite a story.”

Noticing our presence, Rahim urged us to come further into the room. It was a room that served as both an office and reception area, with a work desk in the back and a reception desk with a bench in the front.

“Well, I won’t take much of your time. I just need a little information.”

“There are things I can answer and things I can’t… but before that, I must first greet your guests.”

Rahim turned toward us and bowed politely.

“I am Rahim, serving as Guild Master of the Masmadol Adventurer Guild.”

“That’s very polite of you. I am Theodore Gartner. I serve as the Otherworld Ambassador for the Kingdom of Verdugal.”

Following me, everyone else introduced themselves.

“Please have a seat.”

“Thank you.”

Just as we all took our seats, the receptionist from earlier came and poured tea into cups. Waiting until everyone had been served tea, Rahim got to the main topic.

“You mentioned wanting information? What would that be about?”

“Actually… we’ve come here hoping to learn anything you might know about the forest spreading near the former capital of the Nahalbia Kingdom. This is official business for Verdugal as well… You may take it as a request for information provision… or as a commission.”

This approach was to avoid making it seem like coercion or a formal demand.

“I see… However, since this is official business, I have no objections to cooperating.”

“Thank you. I appreciate your cooperation. But I haven’t explained the reasons yet—is that alright?”

“The details, she knows them, correct? In that case, I won’t ask too much. You mentioned it being a commission, but I don’t have much information myself… There are elders who fear that demons come from that forest. If I recall correctly… the Kingdom of Verdugal recently had some disturbances involving demons. You needn’t answer my speculation, but I suspect this is related to that matter. If so, cooperation is rather natural, isn’t it?”

…I see. He’s quite sharp. Judging that Auria’s presence meant he could trust us without hearing our circumstances, and that there were matters of high public interest, he expanded his speculation from the information he had. Conversely, you could say this also speaks to Auria’s virtue.

“Now then. Where should I begin? Are you aware that forest is different from normal?”

“Yes. That even if you try to go deep into it, you somehow find yourself back outside.”

Rahim nodded at my words.

“Exactly. That forest is a place where you can obtain materials, medicinal ingredients, and food that are normally hard to come by in the desert. Adventurers are using the abandoned former capital of the Nahalbia Kingdom as a base.”

“Is that so?”

That was news to me.

“Yes. Due to the tragedy 30 years ago and the forest’s peculiar nature, the people of Nahalbia avoided that forest… but adventurers tend to find value precisely in such places. Merchants also extend their reach to the former capital, commissioning adventurers or transporting goods. For our part, we prohibit entering the palace ruins, but we don’t forbid entry into the forest itself. King Farid and Queen Sheriti seem to feel the same way, thinking the benefits of adventurers entering the forest outweigh the disadvantages.”

Now that he mentioned it… that made sense. If you feared danger, you couldn’t make it as an adventurer. Some seek their livelihood. Others probably visit trying to conquer the depths of the labyrinthine forest.

The story about demons coming from the forest was likely just unconfirmed rumors, and the royal family probably couldn’t prohibit entry into the forest itself.

But to reuse Nahalbia’s former capital as a base… That was either resilient or something else.

Prohibiting entry to the palace ruins was probably to avoid displeasing the Baharzard royal family.

And I understood why Kahar and the others didn’t directly use the former capital’s town as their base. Because adventurers and merchants had already established a foothold there, they had to prepare using a different location as their base.

“There’s also information with low reliability. There were adventurers who went quite deep… and were apparently attacked by someone—that kind of rumor.”

“Attacked by someone…?”

Demons, perhaps? I couldn’t help but exchange glances with Grace and the others.

“I don’t know. They say it was small, child-like figures who called out each other’s names and coordinated their attacks. The adventurers who were attacked were all easily knocked unconscious, and when they woke up, they were at the forest’s edge.”

“Children… Can we meet those adventurers?”

“Unfortunately, as for the source of the rumor… I hear they left this town quite some time ago.”

I see… I had hoped to find out how they managed to go deep inside and determine the general location.

“The fact that they only knocked them unconscious… suggests we might be able to communicate with them.”

“I hope so.”

When Grace spoke, Ashley nodded.

“Hmm. If we encounter them… I think I’ll try negotiating first.”

“Let me reiterate—this is information with low reliability. There are various stories circulating—that they boasted about conquering the forest but ran away after losing to monsters and were too embarrassed, or that they just wanted attention by claiming they went deep inside, and so on.”

Yeah. Certainly… it’s hard to say anything definitive.

Well… it’s better to be cautious assuming they exist. There definitely seem to be monsters there.

That said… considering the story about the forest’s sinners, and with Princess Elham accompanying us, they don’t seem like the kind we couldn’t communicate with at all.