Going Back 10,000 Years (5)

“I thought it was just a subjugation of insignificant goblins, but…”

Lakum muttered blankly. The fact that he could even sigh like this was because the situation had ended and was in the process of being resolved.

What they thought would be a common fight with low-level magical beasts turned out to be a desperate struggle several times more intense and difficult.

“If we had been a little later, things could have become much more serious.”

“I can’t deny that. Who could have expected those creatures to go berserk like that?”

Lakum smiled bitterly and shook his head at Renia’s words. Not only the adventurer parties who participated just to make money, but also the Guard suffered considerable damage.

It was because of the rampaging goblins that were mixed in no small numbers. Those creatures, wrapped in surging curses, shocked them with their much stronger and faster bodies.

The Guard, who fought organizationally, suffered less damage, but the adventurers were completely devastated.

Right now, everyone is focused on dealing with the aftermath because they’re in a state of confusion, but not a few people died or were injured. It will become an issue and be talked about later.

“By the way, if what you said is all true, it’s a big problem.”

Lakum turned his body slightly and looked at the cave behind, changing the subject. The cave, where Renia’s team members were busily moving around with exploration and survey equipment, was where the phenomenon Renia had formally named ‘erosion’ was progressing.

She spoke about what happened there, claiming it as fact, and pointed to it as the root cause of everything.

“There’s no lie in my words. If dealing with the erosion had been a little delayed, more magical beasts would have popped out, and they would have gone berserk even more strongly.”

“If that’s the case, then that goblin named Kai achieved a great feat. He saved many people with his own body.”

Lakum mentioned Kai. A hero who ultimately sacrificed his body to nullify the erosion. No one knows exactly how that was possible.

The direct witnesses just said so.

‘Actually, an even greater person intervened, but.’

Of course, that testimony was slightly twisted. It’s true that Kai sacrificed himself to completely purify the erosion, but the main actor purifying the erosion was someone else.

Renia glanced at Lakum’s expression, confirming that her lie hadn’t been detected.

“If such erosion phenomena occur in other places, it will create much more damage. I plan to widely publicize this fact to raise awareness, and talk to the mayor about starting full-scale research.”

“It doesn’t seem like there’s much a mere knight like me can do.”

Furthermore, Renia intended to investigate this sudden anomaly. No one would question her qualification to investigate as the first discoverer and an authoritative scholar.

“By the way, about the damaged mythical weapon…”

“Ahem. That was indeed my mistake, so I’ll compensate for it somehow.”

At that moment, Lakum mentioned the gun he had lent her. Startled by the mention of the gun, Renia’s tail, which had been wagging, stood straight up. She had lied that the gun was damaged during battle and sucked into the erosion site.

‘Ugh, but this is still getting off lightly.’

Although her hair stood on end at the thought of compensation, she consoled herself. It was because she thought she had gained a more valuable connection.

“If this erosion phenomenon isn’t just a simple accident that occurred by coincidence, we’ll have to stay on our toes for a while.”

Fortunately, Lakum soon stopped mentioning the gun and turned his attention to other matters, muttering.

* * *

“…Nothing happened where we were hiding. We had no idea such things were happening.”

As Lakum had predicted, the repercussions of the incident had already spread.

Especially among the adventurers who suffered many casualties, news and rumors were spreading quickly. Patrick sighed as he heard about the events that occurred while he was hiding with Lina.

“The possibility was low since they had all escaped already, but it’s fortunate just in case. It could have become extremely dangerous.”

Isilia, who was being piggy-backed by Patrick under the excuse of tired and sore legs, smirked. Against enemies that even knights could fall to if careless, it couldn’t be guaranteed that Patrick could win while protecting Lina.

“Adventurers in the area will probably suspend their activities for a while. Pretty much every party participated in this subjugation, and it seems none of them escaped without losses.”

As they were approaching the city, Patrick clicked his tongue, watching the endless stream of injured and bodies being transported to the city.

Even he, who had been an adventurer for over 10 years, had never seen such a sight.

“What should we do?”

“Let’s rest for a few days too. We need some time.”

When Lina asked looking at her, Isilia nodded as if she had already decided. She too needed to regroup.

“We received quite a bit of money as compensation for this job. We might start activities again soon, so rest as much as you can.”

“Then let’s see each other then. I’ll let you know if there are any other requests.”

They parted ways after returning to the city, where the atmosphere was unsettled due to the aftermath of what happened outside. Isilia, who had wriggled down from Patrick’s back, watched his retreating figure and stretched with a cracking sound in her bones.

“Patrick will take care of the annoying stuff for us, so let’s go rest.”

“Shall we go to the hotel?”

“For now. But we should pack our things and go to Ethan’s house.”

Isilia told Lina about the plan she had made in advance. However, Lina tilted her head at the mention of going back to Ethan’s house.

“Why to his house…”

“It’s more free there.”

Although they could imagine Ethan’s horrified reaction, Isilia didn’t care in the slightest.

‘I’ll try calling the wind spirit there.’

She grinned, recalling the spacious backyard of the mansion located on high ground. Like the earth, but even more so, the wind is free.

For her, a High Elf with the ability to communicate with spirits just by touching them, Ethan’s mansion garden was not a bad training ground.

“I was worried when I heard dozens of people died or were injured, but as expected. There’s no way you could get hurt.”

“If someone heard that, they’d think my body was made of iron.”

“Still, I’m relieved. The atmosphere was quite ominous.”

Ethan’s reaction upon seeing them come to his house through the secret passage was as expected. But given the situation, there was also a sense of relief at their safety.

From Ethan’s perspective, he couldn’t afford to lose her, a secret weapon that could change his position as a mere organization executive in an instant.

“So. Did you just come here to rest? No matter what, it won’t be as comfortable as a hotel suite.”

“Things like bedding or facilities don’t really matter. What I wanted was that.”

Isilia pointed her finger at the garden visible through the window. Remembering that she had been in the garden when training the earth spirits, Ethan just went along with it.

He didn’t particularly care about the garden anyway.

“Do as you please. More importantly, I’ve acquired a few more artifacts…”

“Bring them tomorrow. For now, I’m planning to wash up and crash.”

Above all, Ethan also gains quite a bit.

Ethan grinned, recalling the artifacts he had prepared in the safe, at Isilia’s response which seemed to say she had expected this.

“Thanks to the artifacts you create, I’m handling more money than I’ve ever touched before.”

“You’re disposing of them properly, right?”

“Don’t worry. Even if it means taking a loss, I’m going further away to dispose of them to avoid leaving any traces.”

Ethan, who had almost been marked by not only underground organizations but also public authorities for mishandling an artifact, had been doing business with thorough preparation since that day.

As a result, while those still tracking him were floundering elsewhere, he was still selling items and making profits.

‘Money is everything. If your weight class is ambiguous, you just give them a reason to touch you, but if you overcome that adversity and drastically increase your weight class, they won’t even dare to touch you. Now the organization will have to watch out for me instead.’

Ethan was an ambitious businessman. Even the organization he had been part of his whole life since childhood was merely a tool for his ambition.

Having grasped this opportunity and gained unbelievable power like this, he believed he could steadily advance and achieve his ambitions.

“…What’s this?”

“It’s a report on Ethan, the branch leader of Suan, Branch Leader.”

But as Ethan himself predicts, things don’t always go smoothly.

Especially when money and power are involved, it’s even more so. In another city’s branch that Ethan didn’t know about, it was the point where checks against Ethan, who was gradually raising his presence, were beginning.