Volume 1 Chapter 86 Morning Events
"...It's morning?"
I woke up on a hard bed.
Maybe because I drank liquor last night when Edward invited me, my head feels a bit heavy.
--Come to think of it, I talked to Mel.
I still feel the sensation of her touch on my back. It would be nice if sharing her worries with me could make her feel a little better.
I can hear the hustle and bustle from the main street below. I'm not sure how much time has passed since I fell asleep, but it's already bright outside. Metis town seems to be starting to move.
I got up from bed, changed into my usual clothes, and opened the door to go outside. I'll meet up with the others after washing my face at the well.
"Good morning, Ark-sama."
When I went downstairs, Fatina greeted me.
Fatina and Mel were sitting across from each other at the table. There was bread in a basket on the table, and a simple dish made by scrambling eggs with butter was served on plates. It seems like they were having breakfast. The owner, a man, was sitting at the counter, smoking his pipe just like yesterday.
"Good morning."
"Um..."
When Mel looked at my face, she quickly averted her gaze. Perhaps she was remembering yesterday's exchange. A strange atmosphere had settled between us.
"G-good morning, Ark...san. I, I wasn't sure when you'd wake up, so I, I went ahead and had breakfast."
Her way of speaking was clearly awkward, but I decided not to pay too much attention to it. Both of us were drunk yesterday, and it was just carried away by the moment. If I didn't think that way, I couldn't go on.
"Got it. I'll go wash my face real quick."
I went out through the back door and headed to the well, where I scooped up some water to wash my face. Today, Metis was clear and hot.
I returned inside the inn. I sat down next to Mel. She glanced at me from time to time, but as soon as our gazes met, she exaggeratedly turned away.
"..."
There was no point in worrying too much, so I grabbed the bread placed in the basket, tore off a piece, and chewed on it. Somehow, it didn't taste like anything.
"Hey? What's up with you two?"
"Huh!? No, nothing at all!"
Fatina noticed a strange atmosphere and asked, while Mel stumbled to answer. Her cheeks were flushed, and she didn't seem like she had nothing going on.
"Yeah, that's right. Nothing special. Mel, you agree, right?"
"Uh, um..."
It seemed like she was confessing that something had happened...
"Suspicious..."
Fatina narrowed her eyes and gave us a suspicious look. It felt like we had a similar exchange before.
"Ugh...my head is pounding."
While having an irrelevant conversation, Edward came down the stairs, holding his temple. Then he collapsed into an empty chair.
"Good morning. I think I drank too much last night."
"It's been a while since I came to town, so I went overboard...shop owner, can I have some water?"
Edward said, and the shop owner went into the room behind the counter and brought a cup of ice-cold water. Edward took the cup and drank it all at once.
"So, are you heading to the dungeon right away?"
Edward asked, leaning on the table. There was a faint smell of liquor in the air.
"That's the plan. First, I want to go to the store we talked about yesterday and get some equipment."
"I see. Well, it's impossible to hurry. So, let's go after we eat. It's not too far, so let's leave the carriage and walk. And could you give me another glass of water?"
After that, we had a leisurely breakfast and settled the payment at the inn before going outside.
We asked Edward to guide us and walked through the back alleys from the main street. The road, wide enough for one carriage to pass, was dark and slightly cool under the shadow of the buildings.
"Uh... What's going on over there?"
Fatina pointed ahead where a large crowd had gathered, completely blocking the narrow road. People seemed to be talking while looking at something.
"What could it be? Should we go and see?"
"Either way, if we don't pass through here, we'll have to take a big detour to get to the store. It's probably just a fight or something."
Edward said sounding annoyed, and started walking again. As we approached the crowd, the scene gradually became clear.
--Cretia soldiers standing around, surrounding the area. Patches of broken cobblestones scattered with a lot of red blood. Fallen people. And something lost here and there.
It was a sight that made people want to look away.
"!!"
Fatina, who was standing next to me, covered her mouth with her hand and widened her eyes.
"Tch, this is terrible..."
Edward frowned and made a disgusted face.
"What? What the hell is that?"
Mel tries to see too, but being short, she starts stretching or changing her position right there.
"Don't look!!"
Suddenly, I embrace Mel to cover her view. I can't let her see this.
"Whoa! Th-that..."
Mel seems flustered by the suddenness, but that's not the priority now. It's clear that seeing that would make Mel feel even worse.
"Anyway, we can't use this way anyway. Let's take the long way around."
Edward turns around. I hold Mel's hand, who seems confused, and follow him. Fatina doesn't say anything either.
Anyway, what was that just now?
Metis' town doesn't look particularly safe, but I never thought murder would be so common. And one of them wasn't just a murder, but a figure crushed with incredible force.
It wasn't like I suddenly became scared. Those kinds of emotions had long since disappeared.
But...something was happening without my knowledge.
Vague as it was, I had a feeling about it.
"Hey there. It's been a while since yesterday."
As I walked back a little, someone who had been walking towards me called out.
With short blond hair and slanted eyes, it was Dill, the adventurer guild receptionist from Metis that I had visited yesterday, rolling up the sleeves of his white shirt.
"Oh...good morning, Dill-san."
Fatina greeted, looking a bit surprised. It was unexpected to meet a guild staff member in a place like this.
"Good morning. How's Metis? I hope you like it. Oh, and there are quite a few C-Rank requests piled up, so I'd appreciate it if you could handle some of them if possible."
"Y-yes. Understood. Um, there's an incident ahead, so we can't pass through."
"Ah, I know. Because I came to see the scene, you see."
Dill replied with a smile. Although it was not a calm conversation, for some reason, his expression gave a sense of composure, or maybe it was just my imagination.
"Huh? Why?"
"Just a while ago, soldiers came to the guild. They said that the victims seemed to be adventurers, so they asked me to confirm."
"Adventurers were attacked?"
I couldn't help but interject. It was only for a short moment, but I could definitely see that one of the victims was wearing armor.
"It seems so. From what I heard, they claimed to be A-Rank adventurers. Well, I don't know for sure though."
Dill put his hand on his chin and made a gesture as if he was deep in thought about something.
"It seems that Balzark and the others are involved in this incident. That's why I was approached as well... that's the situation."
Suddenly, Dill said a surprising name.
"Balzark? What does that mean?"
"Yesterday, late at night, there was a story about those adventurers getting attacked by Balzark's party at the tavern. And then there was an incident, so it seems like there might be a connection."
Some of the bodies were completely destroyed. If Balzark did that, it would mean they have incredible power.
"If Balzark is the culprit, it will become a problem that involves the guild's reputation. Metis alone won't be able to solve it, so we'll have to talk to the guild headquarters too."
Dill said with a disappointed expression. If the story becomes about an S-Rank adventurer becoming a murderer, the guild can't just stand by anymore.
"So, where are Balzark and the others now?"
"There are no reports of sightings, and it seems like they're not in town. It's getting even more suspicious, but the guild is also searching for their whereabouts..."
"Hey, Dill! Hurry up and come over!"
I heard a voice coming from the end of the road. When I turned around, I saw several soldiers waving their hands at him.
"Oops, I have to go now. See you later."
"Oh, sorry for taking up your time."
"No worries. I'm used to-- being busy anyway."
Dill replied with a smile and walked towards the soldiers. As he entered the crowd, his figure soon disappeared from sight.
"Dill-san, it looks like he's in a tough situation."
Fatina murmured to me. As an adventurer, and with an incident involving an S-Rank, it's no wonder that officials are being mobilized.
Anyway, since the conversation is over, I decide to head to the shop as planned.
"...?"
However, Edward stopped and kept staring at the crowd.
"Edward? Is something wrong?"
"...No, it's nothing. Let's hurry up and go to the store."
Edward finally started walking, but he looked unusually tense.
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