Growburn Village – Preparation

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The branches of a tree standing by the roadside sway.

-Swoosh.

A cool breeze brushes past my cheek.

“The weather’s nice.”

Today was sunny, making it a good day to start a journey. I also felt refreshed after finishing all my tasks.

As I walked towards the meeting place, I pondered the intention behind the order to head to Growburn Village.

‘What I can think of first is…’

It’s likely a scheme to solve the troublesome Dungeon for the kingdom, while also testing if Jade is the real Hero.

This way, they can prevent any problems that might arise from false information. And since they can solve the Dungeon at the same time, the Rica Kingdom has nothing to lose.

In the worst-case scenario, there might be Demons mixed among the kingdom’s higher-ups.

In other words, this could be a trap targeting the Hero.

Of course, the possibility is small.

During the last war, quite a few countries fell due to the Demons’ internal machinations.

Whether it was a strategist who was actually a Demon, or a king who fell for a Succubus.

Having experienced such things, they would be thoroughly verifying whether Demons have infiltrated disguised as humans.

‘Surely they’re not being careless after only 10 years…?’

“Lena!”

Just then, a lively and familiar female voice called out.

I lifted my slightly lowered head to look ahead, and Jade and Annie, who had arrived earlier, were waiting.

I had been walking while contemplating, and had already arrived in front of the Adventurer Guild.

The two of them were carrying a lot of luggage for the journey.

“Sorry, am I too late?”

“We just got here too. Shall we go to the guild first?”

Jade tried to enter the Adventurer Guild right away as soon as everyone gathered.

“Just a moment.”

I grabbed his shoulder to stop him.

There was something I needed to tell Jade before entering the Adventurer Guild.

“Jade, from now on, it’s better to hide your identity in other places.”

“By my identity, you mean the fact that I’m the Hero?”

In Veil, the city we’re in, rumors have already spread and his face is known, so he can’t hide his identity.

But in other places, they’ve only heard rumors of a Hero appearing, and wouldn’t know what Jade looks like.

Of course, once he achieves something and becomes strong enough, he should reveal that he is the Hero and give people hope, but…

It’s too early to do so now.

“Can you imagine how many flies will flock to the name of Hero? The remnants of the Demon Lord’s Army will target the Hero, and even humans will try to use you. Let’s keep it hidden until you’re officially appointed by the Holy Kingdom.”

Jade nodded in understanding at my advice. I wasn’t too worried since Jade wasn’t the type to be stubborn about such things.

“If you say so. Then I can just say I’m an adventurer, right?”

“With our skills, we should at least be Silver-Rank Adventurers. I was planning to get a Silver-Rank Adventurer certificate while we’re at the guild.”

Good.

Now that Jade’s side is settled, I just need to take care of Annie’s side.

“Annie. There’s something you need to keep in mind too.”

“W-What is it?”

Annie, who had been listening to our conversation from the side, was startled. She seemed quite nervous at my serious tone. How cute.

“Just kidding. Here, take this.”

I took out Sarah’s Staff from my pocket and threw it to Annie.

-Whoosh!

Annie caught the staff and her eyes widened.

“This is a Wand, right? It looks really expensive, how could you…”

“The jewel on top is a fake. Don’t worry, it’s not expensive.”

Of course, it’s actually worth at least 100 gold.

“Lena, thank you so much. I haven’t done anything for you… I really like it.”

Annie seemed to like the Wand I gave her, and she started rubbing it against her cheek.

Then, Annie suddenly started sniffing the Wand.

“Sniff sniff. But it smells kind of sour.”

“…R-Really? That’s strange.”

If it smells sour, could it be…?

Did I not clean it properly before putting it in Hyperspace?

“Let’s go into the Adventurer Guild quickly.”

I urged Annie in a fluster.

The situation might get a bit awkward if she noticed.

Besides, Boris must be eagerly waiting for us.

He keeps hearing news, but no one comes to see him, so he might be feeling betrayed by us now.

‘He’s surprisingly sensitive about that kind of thing.’

**

-Creak. Jingle jingle.

Together, we pushed open the large wooden door and entered the Adventurer Guild.

“This is the Adventurer Guild?”

Annie looked around the interior, curious about the guild she was seeing for the first time.

“Are you amazed?”

“It’s a bit different from what I imagined. I thought it would be more crowded, but there are fewer people than I expected.”

“Well… it’s not usually a very crowded place, and it seems particularly quiet today.”

As Annie said, the guild was quiet today, as there weren’t many people requesting or carrying out quests.

Amidst all this, a gruff and booming voice called out.

“Hahaha! You guys are here!”

Boris, who was at the reception desk, recognized us right away and greeted us happily.

“Uncle Boris, it’s been a while.”

I waved lightly and approached the reception desk.

“I’ve been waiting so eagerly for you to come. I thought you were going to leave without showing me your faces.”

Boris grumbled and scanned Jade, who was standing next to me, from top to bottom.

“Last time, you looked half-dead… but today you’re full of life?”

Jade scratched his head at those words.

“Haha… you know why, right?”

“I know very well. I heard the news. And this young lady is…”

Boris looked at Annie and made a face as if to say, ‘Who is this?’

Boris probably hasn’t seen Annie before.

“Ah, you probably haven’t met her before, Uncle. This is my friend Annie.”

At my words, Annie stepped forward shyly and formally introduced herself.

“I’m Annie von Orden from the Orden barony. Also, I’m a 4-Star Mage, and I was a student at Veil Academy… and I’m someone who will embark on a journey with the Hero Jade and achieve great things!The appearance she had yesterday, when she was worried about whether to join the party, was gone, and now she was excited about the fact that she was joining the Hero’s journey.

Well, that’s a relief.

It’s better to be full of passion than to be filled with anxiety.

“Hahaha! I hope to hear good news. I’m Boris. As you can see, I work here as a receptionist.”

Boris already seemed to like Annie, probably because she was a cute young lady.

He’s always like that, losing his mind when he sees girls who are like daughters to him.

“Hey, hey. It must be him.”

“Don’t just talk, go quickly.”

Suddenly, the adventurers who were staying in the guild started murmuring and gradually approached us.

Did they overhear the conversation we had with Boris? This could get complicated.

In the end, they surrounded Jade and Annie, excluding me.

“Are you the famous Hero?”

“Yes? I am, but what’s the matter…”

The adventurers with fierce expressions threatened Jade―

“Can I get an autograph? I want to brag to other people.”

―they didn’t threaten him, but asked for an autograph.

“Wow, I’m seeing a Hero in front of me in my lifetime. Can I ask you some questions?”

“I have a question too…”

“P-Please, one at a time.”

I almost got goosebumps thinking they were people trying to take advantage of the Hero. Fortunately, they were people making cute requests to Jade.

Anyway, Jade was surrounded by curious adventurers and started answering the flood of questions.

“Excuse me. I’m also a mage in the Hero Party! It’s ‘temporary’ for now, but feel free to ask me anything!”

“A mage in the Hero Party. Then you’ll become the Magic Tower Lord soon. Haha!”

“Hehe… I wouldn’t go that far.”

Annie seemed rather excited by the attention she was receiving.

But since they’re not asking me any questions, it seems they’ve given up on me because of the prickly image I’ve shown at the Adventurer Guild so far.

‘Good judgment.’

If they bothered me too, good words wouldn’t have come out of my mouth.

The adventurers’ interest will be even greater than the Academy students’, so the two of them will have a hard time today.

“Lena.”

Boris suddenly called me in a small voice as I was watching them and smiling.

“Yes?”

“Um…”

Boris called me over and hesitated with an uneasy expression.

He called me because I was alone, but is it difficult for him to bring it up?

I waited patiently for Boris.

After a while, his troubled lips opened.

“Lena, are you feeling okay?”

Boris was probably worried that I would recall bad memories if he brought up the story.

He’s trying to be considerate of even such things, he’s a very affectionate and thoughtful person, unlike his rough appearance.

I smiled brightly to ease his worries.

“I’m fine. I have reliable friends to lean on, you know?”

“That’s a relief then.”

Boris looked relieved at my usual bright appearance.

“And I heard from Jade. That you trained Jade and helped him a lot?”

“I just watched over him, but most of it was done by Jade’s own strength. I just put a hand on top of it.”

“Don’t be so modest. Anyway, thank you so much. I wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for your help, Uncle.”

I took Boris’s hands in both of mine, bowed my head, and expressed my gratitude.

But he took his hand away and stroked my head.

“How could I turn away someone who asks for help to save someone? I was also helped by a Hero in the past. When my life was threatened by a Monster on the battlefield, he appeared like a comet and saved me.”

Boris seemed to be recalling his memories of when he was a mercenary in the past.

“To the Hero, I was just one person passing by. But I am grateful to him for the rest of my life.”

“Uncle Boris, you’ve seen a Hero before?”

“Of course. I still remember what the Hero said at that time. ‘I’m not the only Hero. People like you are Heroes to me.’ Wasn’t that a wonderful thing to say?”

Hearing Boris’s words, I felt my face turning red.

I said such cheesy things without a second thought?

“Lena, your face is red, are you okay?”

“Y-Yes.”

Suddenly, I feel very embarrassed when the story of my past comes up.

Besides, the me from my Hero days was a bit cool, but it’s not something to praise so much.

Lately, it seems like there are many things that prick my conscience, which is only pursuing pleasure away from the duties of a Hero.