Chapter 203
The Ruins
Translator : PolterGlast
Retracing the path I came from and
running for half a day, I returned to the city of Locorante.
Considering the timing of when the messenger arrived from Locorante,
it is highly likely they were struck by some kind of trouble immediately after
I left the city. I had warned them repeatedly, and I couldn't help but think
that if things were going to turn out this way, it would have been better if
they had just let me investigate the ruins back then...
However, if I had gone to investigate the ruins, I wouldn't
have been able to take down the Clown
Demon who killed the Meteor Demon Bird, so it wasn't entirely a bad
thing. While justifying this wasted travel to myself, I headed for the Adventurer's
Guild.
The moment I entered the Adventurer's Guild, I knew
some kind of trouble was occurring. Well, since they had issued an emergency
request, it was obvious there was trouble, but regardless, the inside of the
guild was noisy.
Weaving through the frantically moving guild staff, I headed further into the guild. When I knocked on the door, I heard the Guild Master's panicked-sounding voice from
inside.
"Another problem...? Hmm? You're the adventurer from Biodasdal
who gave me the warning! I just sent a messenger to Biodasdal with an
emergency request a little while ago, but to think you had still remained in Locorante!"
"No. I received the notice of the emergency request and
hurried over."
"—Hm? The messenger hasn't returned yet, though, and I believe they just arrived there...
well, never mind. Just as you warned, we were keeping strict watch over the
ruins, but it was confirmed that someone entered them!"
So the Demon King's Army had made contact with the Crimsonroid
after all. They had made contact with the 2-Star (★2) Meteor Demon Bird too, so I thought the
possibility was high, but I didn't expect them to make contact in multiple
places simultaneously.
"So they made contact after all. Was the one who
entered the ruins a member of the Demon Race?"
"We haven't been able to confirm that much. However,
we've already received reports that the Crimsonroid has begun to move,
and the adventurer party that went to stop it has already been defeated."
"It'll be bad if it gets close to the city of Locorante.
Do you know the Crimsonroid's current location?"
"There are eyewitness reports saying it returned to the
ruins, but we don't know if that's true. We have issued requests to the Royal
Capital, as well as Klingark. I beg of you to please cooperate in
holding it off until reinforcements arrive."
The bald Guild Master bowed his head deeply as he said that.
If it's a 3-Star (★3)
monster, I think I could not only hold it off but even subjugate it... but
things will probably go smoother if I just obediently agree here.
"Of course I'll help. For the time being, is it okay if
I go to the ruins? If it has returned, I might be able to hold it off inside
the ruins, and even if it isn't there, I might be able to obtain some
clues."
"Yes, of course! You are a solo adventurer, but I will
make an exception and grant you permission to enter. There might be other
adventurers there, so it would be a great help if you
cooperated with them."
"Understood. Then I'll head there right away."
"I feel terrible relying on you like this after having
refused you before, but please, I'm counting on you."
I replied to the deeply bowing Guild Master by raising one
hand, and decided to head to the ruins. As I followed the path I was taught, an
old, weathered ruin came into view.
Numerous tower-like structures were built there, and there
were also magnificent stone statues. It was simply an intriguing place, but my
objective this time wasn't ruin sightseeing, but the subjugation of the Crimsonroid.
I pulled my attention away from the ruins that I found myself captivated by,
and concentrated on searching for the Crimsonroid.
I've known this since the other day, but I couldn't sense
any presence from the Crimsonroid. This is the troublesome part about Magic-Driven
Soldiers; you can't find them unless you spot them visually.
Not even knowing if it was in these ruins, I proceeded
through them with concentration... when I sensed a strange presence from the
top of one of the countless towers lined up. It was either an adventurer from Locorante
who had climbed the tower to keep watch, or someone from the Demon King's
Army who had made contact with the Crimsonroid.
Either way, as long as I had no clues regarding the Crimsonroid,
I had no choice but to check out whoever was on top of this tower. With that
decided, I killed my presence and footsteps, and decided to try climbing the
ruin's tower.
It was deteriorated from age, making the footing quite
unstable. Climbing without making a sound was an extremely difficult feat, but
if it were an enemy, being noticed would put me at a disadvantage, so I climbed
carefully, taking my time.
It wasn't that high, but having taken several dozen minutes
to climb the tower, I finally reached the top floor. Peeking onto the top floor
so as not to be noticed, what was there was a humanoid something wearing
a mask and draped in a black cloak large enough to cover its entire body.
Because it had a human form, the possibility of it being an
adventurer was still there... but given that it scored full marks for
suspiciousness, that possibility was low. Besides, its atmosphere somewhat
resembled the Clown Demon in the Meteor
Demon Bird's nest, so it would be normal to consider it someone from the Demon
King's Army.
It didn't seem to have noticed me, so I would attack from behind just like this. I just need to be careful not to kill it, and in the unlikely event it's an adventurer, I can just apologize. Having made that decision, I made my move to attack the suspicious masked figure.
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