Chapter 57

Mea and I were discussing the hunting grounds of the magical beasts .

I was just about to form an opinion that the forest was the way to go after all when I heard an angry voice from the next table .

I turn my attention to the voice .

Ive told you repeatedly that this is the place to be! Why cant you listen to me, the leader!

Hits the table with a bang and the blond man stands up .

He wears leather armor . He seems to be the same age as Me and Mea .

Apparently, they are in a dispute over the selection of a hunting ground .

It might help us decide on a destination .

Ill have a look for a second .

Im a semi-E-class adventurer! How old are you guys? Youre both F-class! You should just shut up and follow me! If you cant do it, leave! Leave! Dont you ever come in front of me again!

Sitting in front of the blonde are two men and a woman .

All three of them wear similar armor .

The details are different, but the materials are the same .

So they are F-rated and the blonde is semi-E-class .

It seems like a fifty-step process, but is it that different?

The man stands up and bows his head .

Seeing this, the blonde crossed her arms and gave a small shake of his head .

Ha! You should have done that from the beginning . Well, its all right if you understand, if you understand .

Sorry, Maizen . Im going to have to leave the party .

Eh, oh, hey What?

Ive been thinking about it . Maizen, you and I dont think the same

R-relax . Okay, I feel like Ive said too much either . Im sorry . Im sorry, okay? There, I apologized now! So lets start the talk from the start . After all, my instincts as a semi-E-class adventurer are telling me its better this way .

The woman, too, sat up vigorously .

If Tidas out, Im also out!

W-, wait! Can we sit down? Can we sit down for a minute? Ill sit down, so lets all sit down . Here, all right, lets all sit down at the same time . Ill count to three . No betrayal . Okay, one! two!

Lisa, you dont have to leave too

No . Ive always been in love with Tida! Let me follow you!

Lisa

W-wait, both of you calm down for now . That wasnt the way it was supposed to go, was it?

Lisa, I like it too! Tida!

Leaving the blonde behind, they shared a passionate embrace .

They continued to hold hands and walked away .

Hey, hey, wait! I mean, I like you two, too Wait Hey! Youre forgetting about me, do you? Hey,I said hey

The blonde reached for their backs but crumpled to the ground with a gut-wrenching crash when they were out of sight .

He put all four limbs on the floor and spilled tears, Why . .

. . I thought it would help us decide where to hunt, but it didnt .

The others who had been watching the three of them interact awkwardly quickly look away .

I turned away in a hurry, too . Though I was a little late .

That looks great, Mea, I adore that kind of thing . I hope those two will be happy .

Mea was the only one with a blush on her cheeks as she turned her head in the direction the duo from earlier had left .

I dont think thats what you should be focusing on .

I put my hand on the edge of the desk and moved it a little to the left .

Then I casually scrape her chair and moves away from the blondes desk .

Mea, you shouldnt look at it too much . Lets get the hell out of here .

I say to Mea, keeping my voice low .

Wait, wait, you guys werent you wondering where you were going to go hunting earlier? ? I think I heard you talking about how youre in trouble because of lack of money or something like that .

Suddenly, I was approached by the blonde from earlier .

I readied my wand as quickly as I could .

There were already no tears in the blondes eyes, but a dismissive smile stuck to his face .

The blonde looks at my wand and moves her head in a racy manner .

Hee~, you, so youre a sorcerer . Well, Ive always wanted a sorcerers comrade .

I used to be a party leader myself, but I just got rid of the useless ones . Would you guys like to join my party?

Does this blonde, by any chance, think that the commotion that was going on earlier is not being heard by the people around him?

You were just eavesdropping on the hunting grounds we were talking about in normal tones .

Sure, as a formality, this blonde might not be able to say that this blonde got rid of them, but it would be a pretty subtle decision .

If you listen to me, Im happy to lend you money for the trip . If youll only listen to me .

I turn to face Mea .

Normally I would jump on this, but I think hes a bit of a thing in many ways .

What do you want to do?

Its good, isnt it? Its kind of sad to say no here

Well, thats one thing, but

I turn my head back to the blonde .

Where do you think youre going? Id like to hear that and then think about it

The ruins of Zeshum .

Zeshum oh, I think I read about it in a book

The elves live in the Celestial Land of Alfheim and do not come down of their own accord .

The elves who exist on earth are those who have sinned and have been driven from the Celestial Land of Alfheim or their descendants .

Nearly two thousand years ago, due to religious conflicts caused hundreds of elves to fall to the ground .

They built a fortress to counter the persecution of the Norcs on the ground .

Eventually, the elves, who were beginning to be accepted by the Norcs, sealed off the functions of the fortress and left it .

That is known after as the Ruins of Zeshum .

(Quoted in Bernise Belmonds book Knowing the Elves)

The Norcs are the most numerous and uncharacteristic race .

Most of the people in this city are also Norcs .

In short, the ruins of Zeshum are a fortress that was abandoned after it was built but was no longer needed when it was completed .

In the innermost part of the Zeshum ruins is a large golem, which is said to still be guarding the elven treasure, the Arrow of God .

According to the newspapers, there are no demons and it is not treated as a dungeon .

There are some demonic beasts in their own right, but theyre not much different from those woods . They are completely just ruins .

Two thousand years later, the effects of the warding are still so strong that the door inside is almost impossible to open .

Its also doubtful how correct history is .

Elves have a long lifespan, but its still five hundred years .

No one has any way of knowing what happened four generations ago . Its almost faded away .

Why would you go to the ruins of Zeshum?

The distance is reasonable, and if you want to hunt demonic beasts, its quicker to go to the forest .

You heard me right . According to the information Ive got, some of the wards have been lifted recently . However, when it was opened, a magical beast was inside of the ruins and the investigation has been stalled . If you cleverly slip in, then steal the treasure is the plan . There should be some magic stones to maintain the wards, so it wont hurt .

Oh, oh! Somehow, it looks kind of awesome . Mea is kind of excited about this . Abel, what do you want to do? What do you want to do?

It certainly seems like a pretty good target from what Ive heard .

Im just curious why it hasnt been brought to light .

Based on the fact that he had just said earlier, there must be some holes in it .

Im going to need to think about this some more

You just need to come in light as a baggage carrier and youll be fine . Theres no time to worry about it, the investigation should be going on even as we speak . If you guys dont want to, Ill find someone else . Im sure there are plenty of kids who want to be in my party . Im a semi-E-class adventurer after all .

But we cant reimburse you for your travel expenses if we dont make it

I dont want to be stuck in debt again .

Dont worry . If you follow me, you wont lose anything . In the unlikely event that the returns dont come in, I can at least take care of the travel expenses .

If you say so much, then .

In the end, they were pushed to the end and headed to the ruins of Zeshum with the blond man, Maizen, as their leader .

Magic stones are quite pricey if they are expensive .

If you gather the numbers efficiently, you have a chance to get rich .

Besides, if we really found the treasure, I could pay off the two million Gs of debt in a heartbeat .

Its also great to hear from senior adventurers along the way .

He had called out the rank many times, so Im sure the semi-E class must be pretty awesome .

Im sure it will teach you some useful things about being an adventurer .