Volume 1 Chapter 34 Signs
"Ryuin-san, thank you so much for everything you've done for me."
"No, thank you for helping me out! If you ever need anything, don't hesitate to ask!"
It had been five days since our report at the guild, and with the dungeon cleared, Ryuin and the others were preparing to move to a different town. Fatina and I had come to see them off at the gates of Voltana.
There, a carriage was parked in front of them. They were going to travel in that.
Since then, there hadn't been any major issues at the Emerald Green Dungeon.
It seemed like the monsters had completely disappeared.
"Where are you heading next?"
"Oh, well... probably just... leveling up. I never expected to have to level up again after reaching S Rank! Hahaha!"
"..."
When I asked, Leoness answered with his usual laughter.
Next to him, Veronica, as expressionless as ever, stood silently.
That's true, Ryuin and Leoness have increased their Level Cap by 10, and Veronica has even increased hers by 20.
For a while, they will also spend time leveling up.
"Do you really not need to take the key?"
"Yeah, Ark-san can do whatever he wants with that key. We don't know what it's for, and besides, even though we helped, it was Ark-san who defeated that dragon."
I told Ryuin and the others that this Emerald Green Key might have an effect of increasing the Level Cap, but now that their own limits have been raised, they seem less interested.
"If you're going to the remaining dungeons, be careful. We're curious about this matter too, so we'll look into it."
"Ah, understood."
As Ryuin said that, the three of them got on the carriage.
Leoness raised his thumb, and Veronica bowed towards this direction.
The carriage slowly began to move, progressing along the highway that connected to the entrance of the town.
"Looks like they've gone."
"Yeah, that's right."
For a while, the three of them simply gazed at the carriage they were riding in.
"Well, since we're here, how about getting something to eat at the market?"
"Oh yeah, I'm starting to get hungry too."
As it was already past noon, Fatina and I decided to buy some food from the stalls in the market.
"I'll show you around!"
"Oh, that would be helpful."
Led by Fatina, the two of us walked through the main street and headed towards the market. After a while, we came to an open area.
"So this is the market."
"Yes! I've been here a few times before."
When I entered the market of Voltana, a town I had never visited before, it was bustling with a large crowd of people.
In the central square and the small roads that followed, numerous stalls were lined up, selling all kinds of things, from food and monster ingredients to weapons and armor.
While walking and talking together, the two of us discuss.
"By the way, it's great that we ranked up!"
"Yeah, we went up two ranks in one go."
Thanks to our achievements this time, both Fatina and I have been promoted from 'E' to 'C' in adventurer rank.
According to the receptionist, our abilities were already at the level of an 'A' rank, but there was a reason why it didn't happen this time.
Firstly, it's because we are still rookies who have only been adventurers for less than a year.
And secondly, it's because we joined Ryuin and the other 'S' rank party to conquer the Emerald Green Dungeon.
However, even so, it seems that it's quite rare for rookie adventurers to rank up two levels in such a short period of time, according to the Adventurer Guild.
"By the way, is Fatina's village okay?"
"Yes, thanks to everyone, it's completely back to normal. In fact, it looks like a proper town now. This is also thanks to Ark-sama."
"It's not just me, Fatina also worked hard and achieved this result."
Fatina had returned to her village for a few days.
It seems she went to check on the progress of the village's reconstruction and deliver the money she earned from the expedition.
The guild bought the materials from the large number of monsters defeated in the middle and lower layers, and distributed them among everyone.
The materials from the Minotaur, in particular, were of high value, with no scratches and excellent quality. This quickly amounted to over a thousand gold coins.
As for me, even if I were to receive that much, it would be troublesome to carry around, so I asked to put the receiving on hold.
"Ark-sama, how about trying that food? It smells really good!"
Fatina approached one of the food stalls, and I followed after her.
A delightful, mouthwatering aroma wafted from the stall.
"Hey there, young girl! It's two copper coins for one."
"I'll take two!"
"Alright, here you go. Thanks as always."
Fatina hands over a copper coin and receives a long, thin food item from the shop owner.
"Here you go!"
"Oh, thank you."
The skewer received from Fatina is fragrantly grilled and pierced with several bite-sized pieces of something meat-like for easy eating.
I try one of them.
It seems to be a grilled piece of fish or something similar, seasoned with a sweet and savory sauce.
"Mmm! It's delicious!"
Fatina's cheeks loosen with each bite.
Voltana is not near the sea or a lake. Therefore, I wondered where this fish was caught.
"Where is this fish from?"
"Oh, do you know the commercial city of Trasverum in the north? It's close to the sea and has good fish. This is sourced from there. We ask a magician to freeze it and transport it, so the freshness is guaranteed."
The shop owner answers while turning the skewer being toasted over the fire.
(Maybe Trasverum...)
I suddenly remember a story I heard from Ryuin.
According to what Ryuin said before leaving town, there are three dungeons that received a message from the princess.
The first one is the 'Emerald Green Dungeon' located near Voltana.
The second one is the 'Aquaflow Cavern' to the north from here.
Ryuin mentioned that the Aquaflow Cavern can be reached from either Trasverum or Voltana.
If I were to go next, it would probably be there.
"Ark-sama, is something the matter?"
"...Hm? No, it's nothing."
"Um, there's something I would like to ask..."
Suddenly, Fatina looks at me as if she wants to say something.
"I──"
"Move! Clear the way! Patrol!"
Just as Fatina was about to say something, a loud voice echoed through the market.
As I turned towards the sound, men in armor emerged from the street lined with stalls.
Each of the men was wearing the exact same type of armor and helmet. I had seen their figures several times in the town.
"Are they Cretia soldiers?"
The ones who appeared were not adventurers, but rather soldiers from the regular army of the Cretia Kingdom.
The soldiers, after parting ways in the middle of the road, entered the lined shops or searched through the stalls before heading to the next location.
It seemed as if they were searching for something rather than patrolling or guarding.
"They seem rather unsettled. What could it be?"
Even Fatina, flustered by their bustling movements, looked puzzled.
(...Are they searching for something?)
"Good grief! What on earth is going on? I've never seen such a tumultuous patrol before."
The shop owner of the stall was also surprised by the sight. It seemed to be an action that was unthinkable from their usual behavior.
"Let's move to a side street before getting involved."
"Yes, that's a good idea."
Hastily finishing our skewered fish, the two of us entered a side street from the road where the food stalls were located and continued walking.
"I wonder what that was all about? The patrol seemed quite rough..."
"Yeah, it seemed like they were searching for something──"
"Eek!"
Suddenly, at the corner of the street, I felt a slight impact on my chests.
Right in front of me, a short figure wearing a brown cloak was sitting on the ground after falling down.
It seemed they had accidentally bumped into each other at the corner.
Due to the deep hood, it was impossible to discern their gender or age.
'I found them! Over here!'
Just then, another group of five soldiers appeared from the path behind, seemingly out of nowhere.
When combined with the soldiers from earlier, the number seemed too high for a mere patrol.
"...Ah!"
Upon seeing the soldiers, the cloaked figure immediately stood up and hid behind us.
"Hey, can you hand that person over to me?"
The soldiers drew their swords from their sheaths and closed in on us, surrounding us.
(They're drawing their swords on just ordinary passersby?)
Fatina also sensed that something was off about the soldiers' actions and put her hand on the hilt of her sword.
"I refuse."
"What did you say?!"
"Don't bother! We have permission! Cut them down!"
A man who seemed to be the captain shouted.
Upon hearing that, one of the soldiers swung his sword at me out of nowhere.
I stepped back to dodge it and at the same time delivered a kick to the soldier's abdomen.
"What?! Gah!"
The soldier was slammed forcefully against the nearby wall and remained unconscious, leaning against it.
"You... do you intend to interfere with us?"
The man glared at me and shouted.
It seems that my status greatly exceeds that of the Cretia soldiers.
I believe this should be sufficient to handle the situation without resorting to using Instant Death Magic.
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