Growburn Village – Discovery

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I’m looking for the Village Chief for a simple reason.

The fastest way to understand the situation is to meet the highest-ranking person here.

“Huh?”

While walking slowly and looking around, two people in the center of the village caught my eye.

A gray-haired old man and a middle-aged man in armor were talking with serious expressions.

“Are there many casualties among the Self-Defense Force?”

“Quite a few. If the Monsters swarm again…”

“We won’t be able to hold out any longer then.”

Those are probably the people I’m looking for.

I quickly ran towards them.

“So, we have no choice but to abandon the village…”

“Excuse me, what’s going on?”

“!!”

The soldier next to him seemed surprised by my sudden question and tried to draw his sword.

“Who are you?”

“Wait! I’m…”

“Calm down and put your sword away. I’ll talk. What brings a young lady to such a remote village?”

They were initially wary of the stranger who suddenly appeared, but they softened a little when they realized I was a young woman.

This body is quite convenient in this regard. When I was a sturdy man, it was easy to invite unwanted wariness.

“We received a request to investigate the Dungeon near this village.”

“Re, really! I am the Village Chief of this village. Did you perhaps come with an Adventurer of Gold Plate rank or higher?”

“Uh… I’m a Silver-Rank Adventurer along with the two people helping those over there. And Carlson, the tall, blonde man over there, is the coachman who brought us here.”

The Village Chief’s expression, which had been welcoming and joyful, gradually hardened.

Looks like he’s disappointed after hearing about us.

“Huh? So, only three Silver-Rank Adventurers came?”

“Is there a problem?”

The Village Chief sighed, holding his head.

“Haa…. Then there was no point in coming. I guess you came without knowing the details.”

There was definitely a hidden story. I only thought it was a troublesome task when we were leaving, but suddenly it’s getting exciting.

“Were there people who came before us?”

“Of course, we discovered the Dungeon and requested help from the Adventurer Guild in a nearby city. So, some people did come here.”

“The situation being like this… Could it be that they didn’t return?”

The Village Chief’s answer was as expected.

“They all went into the Dungeon and disappeared. Because of that, no one wanted to take on the request. It was a daunting task for us as well.”

“If Silver-Rank Adventurers failed, didn’t anyone with higher skills come?”

“We couldn’t offer a large reward…. Gold Plate and Jade Plate Adventurers didn’t come because the reward for the request was too small compared to the risk.”

This already looks complicated.

The higher-ups in the Rica Holy Kingdom must have passed on a troublesome task, calling us the Hero Party.

But this kind of request is an unexpected opportunity. If an unexpectedly powerful enemy appears in the Dungeon… the situation will become interesting.

“I appreciate you coming all this way, but just give up the request and go back. Don’t throw away your precious lives.”

“We’ll discuss it among ourselves first.”

“You should think carefully.”

I greeted the Village Chief and called Annie and Jade, who were helping the people.

As I slowly explained the situation I heard from the Village Chief, the two fell into deep thought.

“It seems too dangerous. Shouldn’t we just head to the Holy Kingdom?”

Annie seemed a little scared by the more serious situation than she had expected.

But Jade will have a different thought.

“That might be right, but…”

Jade looked around with a mournful expression.

Most of the people in the village have despairing expressions. As expected, Jade wouldn’t be able to leave these people behind.

“If things continue like this, everyone will have to abandon the homes they’ve built their whole lives. How about we at least do a light investigation?”

“Yeah, an investigation like Jade said would be fine. Let’s head to the Holy Kingdom right away if it looks dangerous. How about that? Would that be okay?”

I’ve also become curious about the secrets of the Dungeon, so I’m adding my support to Jade’s opinion.

“If you two say so…. It’s about helping people, so I guess it’s worth trying.”

Annie nodded, influenced by Jade’s attitude.

“Then it’s decided? I’ll go tell him again.”

I approached the Village Chief. He was organizing the damage situation in the village.

“You’ve come. Have you made a decision?”

“Village Chief, we’ll try exploring the Dungeon.”

First, I stepped forward as the representative and explained to the Village Chief that we would carry out the request.

“Do you still not understand? The Dungeon is a problem, but the increased number of Monsters around it is also a problem. You’ll be in big trouble if you think of it like any other request. You seem young, and I wouldn’t feel good if you disappeared.”

“Lena, just a moment.”

Jade stepped forward to persuade the Village Chief, who was trying to dissuade us until the end.

“Please trust us just once. We really want to help the people. We’ll at least investigate near the Dungeon or take care of the Monsters.”

“Village Chief. You won’t regret entrusting it to us. You’d be surprised if you knew how amazing Jade is!”

“Annie, that’s enough…”

“Hmm.”

The Village Chief seemed to have given up at Jade’s eyes, filled with the will to help someone, and our continued persistence.

“Alright. There’s no point in trying to stop you any further. I’ll tell you everything I know about the Dungeon if you ask. And if you need a place to stay, tell me. We’ll provide everything.”

“Thank you. I’ll ask for help once the village is organized.”

Jade negotiated with the Village Chief and returned confidently.

“It seems to be resolved well.”

I patted her on the shoulder as a sign of praise.

“Good job, good job.”

“Th, thank you. We came all this way, so we can’t just leave. But is it okay? I’m worried it might be too dangerous.”

Jade said she would do a great job, but she seemed uneasy.

“You have the power of the Hero, but I think you need to be careful. In a typical Dungeon, Monsters have usually built nests, but as far as I know, there may be Demons or Black Wizards.”

“Are there still Black Wizards? Just hearing about what those guys did during the war makes my skin crawl.”

Annie shuddered at the word Black Wizard.

Black Wizards are guys who make contracts with Demons and wield Demonic Energy. Human sacrifice is basic, and they do all sorts of things, so in the past, I didn’t let them live if I met them.

Of course, the Demons were defeated and retreated to the Demon World, so they are almost extinct now. But there are always people who dabble in forbidden things.

“It’s just speculation. We’ll have to investigate to know for sure.”

“Ugh, I hope it’s not a Black Wizard.”

“Is there anything I can do?”

Carlson asked cautiously from the side. He must have seen us make a decision.

“Ah, Carlson, thank you so far. Now―”

I interrupted Jade’s words as she was about to say goodbye to Carlson.

“Just a moment. Would you be willing to join us as a porter for the Dungeon exploration?”

“Ah, would you like that?”

Carlson smiled brightly as if he had expected my words. There’s no way I would let Carlson go like this.

But soon, a cold voice was heard.

“Lena, you said you hated Carlson so much, but you’re saying he can come with us?”

“W, we can’t carry all the supplies needed for the Dungeon exploration just by ourselves. This is unavoidable…”

I hurriedly made excuses to Annie, who was looking at me with suspicious eyes. Now, it seems to be beyond suspicion and slightly angry.

“Okay, then let’s do that.”

But suddenly, Annie smiled brightly and agreed to my words.

“Uh, uh?”

“It’s good to keep doing things with Carlson. Especially for you. Right?”

“Umm….”

Her reaction is a little scary?

I’m looking forward to when I can talk to Annie alone. Of course, I know that Annie saw Carlson and me at the inn that night.

But Annie hasn’t said anything so far, as if she’s planning to talk about it separately.

Carlson doesn’t seem to have noticed because he’s been absorbed in lusting after me, but Annie’s eyes, which were looking at me through the crack in the door, were very sweet.

I need to prepare properly because it will be a headache if I make a mistake in dealing with it.

**

Annie was unpacking her luggage at the inn that the Village Chief had introduced.

“I need to go to Lena quickly.”

Her heart was very urgent right now.

She had to find Lena. The situation in the village was so serious that she couldn’t say what she wanted to say at all.

She had to talk about that matter as soon as possible and find out the truth.

Annie quickly finished organizing and ran outside.

-Knock knock.

Annie immediately went to Lena’s room and knocked on the door.

-Creak.

“Who is it― oh? Annie, what’s wrong?”

Lena opened the door and greeted Annie, who had come to visit, with a smile.

She was as beautiful and kind to her as usual. It’s hard to believe that she’s the same person who had a vulgar face covered in semen that night.

But everything she saw was not a dream but reality.

‘Let’s calm down.’

If I ask Lena, I’ll be able to get answers to my questions.

Annie shook off her thoughts and calmed her mind.

“I’ll come in for now.”

“Okay, come in.”

-Thud, click.

As soon as Annie entered the room, she locked the door and dragged Lena to the bed.

“Uh, uh? What’s wrong all of a sudden?”

Annie didn’t say anything to Lena’s bewildered question and sat Lena on the bed. Then she dragged a chair next to her and sat down.

“So, what’s wrong?”

“Lena, do you like Carlson?”

“What? Carlson?”

Lena was momentarily taken aback and waved her hand.

“That’s too out of the blue. There’s no way I would.”

“Then you have no relationship with Carlson, and you’re not hiding anything from me, right?”

“Of course not. There’s no way I would have secrets from you and Jade.”

“Is that so?”

If she’s going to insist until the end, there’s no choice. Annie reached out to Lena’s shoulder.

-Rip.

At Annie’s touch, the shoulder part of Lena’s clothes was pulled down strongly.

“Wa, wait a minute!”

Lena shouted in embarrassment at Annie’s actions, but the clothes were already down.

“Then, what is this?”

On Lena’s exposed shoulder―

There was a dark hickey.