Ch.389The Western Front Turned Upside Down

After staying one night at the Sweet Club, we moved as efficiently as possible to avoid having the fruits of our adventure snatched away.

First, as soon as the cooldown on the Adventure Book expired, we teleported to the underground of the Stings Mine.

Using the detour that the dwarves had created for us, we escaped the mine and headed straight to the planned site of the 8th Western City.

We then visited the Pioneer Affairs Office to report our discovery of the magical tower left by Grand Sage Deidric Asmard, along with news that the entire Central Swamplands had transformed into rocky terrain.

We included several photographs taken at the magical tower as evidence.

“EMERGENCY!!”

“Bring the urgent communication magic tool! Contact Atelier and Moon Lake… no, all western cities!!”

As expected, the Pioneer Affairs Office was thrown into chaos, and our party was bombarded with questions from the officials.

How were we able to penetrate the poisonous swampland and reach its center?

What was inside the Grand Sage’s magical tower?

What was the direct cause of the swampland’s disappearance?

If we were in the Central Swamplands just yesterday, how did we return here in just one day?

These were reasonable questions from the officials, and we had thoroughly prepared our answers in advance.

‘We endured using clothes and masks with anti-poison effects, along with anti-poison magic we crafted ourselves.’

‘A special hydra variant was guarding the tower. When we defeated it, the poisonous swamp began transforming into stone.’

‘We used a spatial movement artifact to return here. We obtained it during the Dungeon Overflow incident. It was single-use, and we wanted to save it, but our time limit was running out.’

Various other questions came pouring in, but we managed to deflect them appropriately within the range of what we could answer.

We were asked to remain at the planned site of the 8th Western City until the veracity of our report could be confirmed.

Although that request was lifted just two days later when the Atelier branch confirmed the changes in the swampland…

That didn’t mean we immediately resumed our western exploration.

“Achoo!”

“Cough, cough…”

This was because Jessica and I had caught severe colds.

Despite resting well at the Sweet Club, our condition had been somewhat ambiguous, and in the past few days, it rapidly deteriorated.

We were both hospitalized at the clinic, and contact with our companions was prohibited to prevent the spread of infection.

“Thankfully, thanks to the medicine my mother made, cough… I’m recovering quickly.”

“At first, there was a panic about whether we’d brought some terrible disease from the swampland… *sniff*.”

The direct cause of our colds was magical depletion.

Jessica had continuously maintained the Anti-Poison Field, while I had used too many “Demon Lord Slayer” magic bullets in that strange space, rapidly depleting our magical energy.

Although we replenished our magic from artifacts, there was no way to avoid the accumulated fatigue and reduced resistance.

“Have the others already departed?”

“I’m not sure. They said they’d stop by before leaving… ah… ACHOO! *sniff*… With us in this state, visits are probably impossible.”

The others—Seti, Mina, Phyllis, Iris, and Anastasia—planned to visit Paracelsus Workshop while we were resting in the hospital.

They were going to retrieve the camping wagon we had left there.

“Honestly, I’m a bit worried…”

“They’ll be fine. Everyone’s combat ability has improved a lot, and more importantly… *cough cough*… this isn’t a time when outlaws can be active.”

“True, with adventurers moving in groups toward the Westpoint Trading Post, anyone in their right mind wouldn’t think of attacking.”

The disappearance of the Central Swamplands and the discovery of the Grand Sage’s magical tower—these two historic events were enough to turn dozens of adventurers eastward.

As the adventurers left, merchants followed suit, and even shopkeepers in the city hastily packed their belongings to join the exodus.

As a result, this place—the planned site of the 8th Western City—was enveloped in silence, belying its status as the western frontier.

“Let’s leave the camping wagon to everyone else and wait patiently while we recover.”

“No choice… ACHOO!”

*Knock knock*

Along with a hearty sneeze, someone knocked on the hospital room door.

“Yes?”

‘It’s me, Seti.’

Seti’s voice answered from outside without opening the door.

She seemed to have stopped by as promised, but visits were clearly not permitted.

“Are you leaving now?”

‘Yes. They said only one person could come to the hospital room, so I came as the representative.’

“Everyone be careful, *cough*… and eat properly.”

‘We will. Will and Jessica, rest well and get better soon.’

With that farewell, the sound of footsteps faded away.

From now on, they would embark on a journey of about 400km to Paracelsus Workshop.

In the middle of winter, just as the weather was starting to get seriously cold.

~~~ 2 hours later, near the planned site of the 8th Western City ~~~

“…Good. There doesn’t seem to be anyone around.”

“I confirmed with Aquila too~”

The group of five heading toward Paracelsus Workshop had deviated significantly from the routes people typically used.

The reason was obviously to avoid the gaze of others.

“Well… too much attention isn’t always a good thing.”

“We’re attracting notice in various ways.”

As Iris said, Will’s group’s fame was soaring to unprecedented heights.

Not only the party’s achievements but also the reputation of each individual member.

Jessica, the party leader, had become an idol-like figure in the Codex Mage School since inheriting the Golden Week. However, since the education director of the Mage Academy had committed suicide after being implicated in the Poison Oak Sanctuary incident, the image of the entire Academy had plummeted, regardless of Jessica’s personal reputation.

To restore the Academy’s honor, senior mages were urging Jessica to accept a professorship, which she was flatly refusing.

Seti, famous as the first adventurer from the Cat-folk, had recently ranked first in a newspaper survey on “Adventurers You’d Want to Scout for Your Party.”

From the beginning, Seti was a genuine frontline fighter capable of close combat with monsters—something pioneers couldn’t even dream of.

If not for the long-standing conflict between pioneers and the Cat-folk, she could have become famous much earlier.

After the Poison Oak Sanctuary incident, Mina had built an enormous name value as “the creator of the camping wagon” through an exclusive interview with a famous magazine.

Even now, requests flooded the Adventurers’ Guild every three days, with people saying, “I’ll pay any amount, just make me the same wagon.”

In Phyllis’s case, people had previously focused more on her beauty than her skills, but after the Poison Oak Sanctuary incident, her image had solidified as “a righteous judge who never tolerates injustice, even among her own kind.”

Thanks to this, there had been a noticeable decrease in strange men making passes at them when the women went out alone.

Although Iris didn’t have a Frontier License, her fame was no less than the other members.

Unlike the commonly known image of Dark Elves, her friendly attitude, intellectual and dignified speech and behavior, combined with her dedicated activities at the Wellord Mine, had spread by word of mouth. Only recently had they learned that survivors from that time called her the “Black Saint.”

In contrast, people’s perception of Anastasia was somewhat ambiguous.

At one point, she had earned the nickname “Genitalia Destroyer” for blowing up monsters’ groins with her innocent face, but now that notoriety had diluted to merely being known as “a wealthy young lady who somehow joined the group.”

In fact, Anastasia’s identity was officially that of the adopted daughter of Sam McClain, a wealthy magnate from Riverside, so it wasn’t entirely a baseless rumor.

And then there was William J. Kim, the “Invisible Gunman,” famous for the fastest shooting skills in Grantis history.

The number of men envious and jealous of his overwhelming skill and luck in monopolizing the affection of six beauties was countless.

And the rumor that some party members had embarked on independent activities while this very man was hospitalized with a cold had spread instantly among merchants who had started moving late.

It had taken over two hours to shake off people trying to follow the women in hopes of picking up some crumbs of opportunity.

“So let me confirm once more. Through the dungeon from the Third Eye Tribe’s island to the outside, through Wellord Mine, across the Southern Hills and Ogre Hill, straight to Hopmill Farm… Is that route acceptable?”

“Yes. While moving, only two people including Mina will be on Ancestor, the rest will wait inside the Stone House.”

“And when camping, we’ll use the Repellation Field magic stone we received from Jessica.”

This was why they had to avoid people’s eyes and head to a secluded place.

It was an extreme shortcut route to retrieve the camping wagon.

Since passing through the Third Eye Tribe’s island was essential for this, they had visited the day before to confirm that the expulsion order had been lifted.

As everyone had expected, the expulsion order had been a measure to prevent toxic substances from flowing into the island.

“Then I shall proceed with the transfer immediately. Grant mercy and lift the veil to the forgotten coastal city.”

*Whoosh~*

With Anastasia’s incantation, a blue transition gate appeared in the forest.

Beyond it, the sound of waves and seagulls, incongruous with the winter cold, echoed faintly.