Chapter 17 – The Next Destination
A ghastly sound of metal clashing with metal resounded in a secluded vacant lot far from the city’s residential areas.
The sweaty hero and Mirian swung their swords at each other and moved their bodies vigorously.
A few days after the hero talked to the Horde, everyone including the hero trained hard.
Yuria, who fell into a slump for a while, was morbidly obsessed with a higher level, and Mirian, who felt sorry for her hero, had been with the hero every time he trained his sword.
If I had to choose people who didn’t change, it was Lina, who had already reached her limit, and Horde, the porter.
‘Also… It’s more efficient to do it together than to do it alone!’
Sharing the sum with Mirian, the warrior realized that his skills were improving day by day.
Originally, he was a warrior with a talent for swordsmanship, but as the efficiency of training greatly increased, Mirian found it daunting just to keep up with the growth rate of the warriors.
-Visor! Visor!
After dividing dozens of points between the hero and Mirian, the one who won was the hero like that night.
It was Mirian who fired a blow with all his might, aiming for an opening, but the hero who read the blow easily parried the attack and slashed the sword, and the victory was won.
– Clap clap clap!
As the sword left Mirian’s hand and spun several times in the air, it stuck to the ground. Martha, who was watching the scene, clapped her hands and said
“You are wonderful! Warrior!”
The hero scratched his head in embarrassment at Martha’s applause, and Mirian silently looked away from Martha.
When the sparring was over, the hero and Mirian approached Martha who stood up and said,
“Heal Martha.”
“Yes!”
As Martha stretched out her hand toward the hero and Mirian and performed a miracle, the fatigue accumulated in the bodies of the hero and Mirian melted away like snow, leaving them feeling refreshed.
There are so many different types of miracles, but the miracle Martha used this time was a miracle that restored her fatigue and physical strength.
Originally, it was a miracle that Paladins mainly used, allowing them to fight for a long time, but it could also be used for sword training.
“… Then, shall we do Mirian one more time?”
“Good night. I will win this time.”
When Mirian grabs the sword that fell on the floor, the two start sparring again.
“Yoah, hero!!”
Jimu, the guild’s exclusive messenger who had run to Hero’s party during the subjugation of the officers of the Demon King’s Army, came running as hurriedly as he did back then.
“Mr. Jim! What else happened?”
“Yes! But this time it doesn’t seem so urgent! The Master then found a clue in it, so he told me to visit him in the near future!”
“Not right away?”
“Even when I looked at the guild master’s expression, he didn’t look so impatient!”
Hearing those words, the hero took a peek at Mirian, who was sweating profusely, and said to Jimu.
“I’m sweating right now, so I’ll take a shower and visit you.”
“Yes! Then I will excuse you!”
When Jim Mu left, Mi An, who had been listening for a while, said to the hero with his face blushing.
“I didn’t have to worry about it, but…”
Unlike the hero, who was relatively lightly dressed, Mirian, who swung a sword in heavy armor, was covered in sweat.
Even though it was a warrior who smelled sour from her body, Mirian, a woman, was constantly worried that the smell would reach the warrior.
“No. I felt a little uncomfortable too, and since we’re all going together, we should stop by the inn once.”
“… Thanks.”
When we all went back to the inn, Lina was coming down the stairs yawning as if she had just woken up.
“Is Rina awake?”
“Huh… Are you guys on your way to training? It’s been a lot of work since morning…”
After Lina said that, she sat down at her table on the first floor of the inn and ordered breakfast, including bread, from her master.
The hero said to Lina, who was waiting for her breakfast.
“Reena. I’m going to eat all of that and go to the adventurer’s guild, so be prepared.”
“Guild? Ah… Did you get the results of that investigation then?”
When the hero nodded instead of answering, Lina put on an interesting expression, but that was all.
Leaving such Lina behind and heading to the second floor, Mirian said.
“I’ll tell YuRia, don’t worry about the hero and it’s okay to take a shower.”
“Will you? And Mr. Horde…”
“He’s still sleeping, so there’s no need to wake him up. He doesn’t really need to go with him in the first place.”
“Ah… That, is it?”
“Yes. Then I will excuse myself first.”
Seeing Mirian’s cold attitude, the warrior was worried that the two might have fought.
“Martha, then I’ll take a shower and change clothes.”
“All right. If necessary, I can attend to your bath…”
“Uh, huh?!”
When the hero was taken aback by Martha’s words, Martha smiled mischievously and said,
“Whoops… It’s a joke. I haven’t even sweated and I don’t have anything to prepare, so I’ll be waiting for the hero on the first floor with Lina-san.”
“Huh… Then I will prepare and leave as soon as possible.”
After entering his room, the warrior washed himself in his private shower and changed his clothes into spare leather armor.
After drying his short hair with wind magic, he came out of the room.
‘I came out first.’
When he came out of his room, he could still hear the sound of water flowing from Miri’s room.
Because Mi An has long hair and usually wears heavy armor, it took quite a while to wash and change clothes.
“Sorry, did you wait?”
“No! I didn’t wait at all!”
“Shit!!”
As the hero descended, Martha, who sat across from Lina, laughed and waved her hand, and Lina muttered something as she munched on her bread.
“Lina-san… Eat or talk, just do one thing.”
“Hmm… Then I’ll just eat it.”
When Martha scolded her, Lina said so and swallowed the hard-boiled egg from her plate in her mouth.
As the hero approached Lina’s table, Martha moved quietly to the seat next to her and motioned for her to sit down where she had been before.
“Thank you. But what does Marta not want to eat? She didn’t even eat breakfast because she left early in the morning.”
“No… It’s okay. I am a body that eats food, so I refrain from breakfast.”
“It’s gurachine. So how did you make that nipple? Are they trembling because they are in front of you, and they must be eating a lot of meat without you looking?
When Lina, who was at her meal, pretended to stab her Martha in the chest with her fork, Martha quickly grabbed her fork and turned to Lina.
“… Please eat quietly.”
“… Yes.”
After receiving her fork back from Marta, Lina completely shrunk and finished her meal quietly.
Not long after Lina finished her breakfast, Yuria came down with Mirian, who had changed into her light clothes rather than her armor.
She must have been training her magic a little while ago, and YuRia’s surroundings were surrounded by her magical powers.
Since that day, YuRia’s attire has become considerably lighter, and her breasts are exposed as several of the buttons that normally fasten up to her neck are undone.
Horde’s expression wrinkled whenever he saw YuRia like that, but her warrior smiled heartily at the sight of these two people.
‘Mr. Horde is surprisingly conservative, too. No, is it only in front of my lover?’
While she was thinking about that, YuRia, who came up to the hero with her heart pounding, said to the hero.
“Warrior… What’s going on at the guild?”
“I don’t know the details, but the cave I went to before. I think I found something there.”
“Okay? Then let’s go quickly.”
As the hero nodded her head and stood up from her seat, she followed suit, and Martha, who rose from her seat, approached Yuria and said:
“Mr. YuRia. To think that someone who has a girlfriend would dress lightly like this.”
Saying that, while Marta fastened the buttons of her Yuria costume back up to her neck, Yuria glared at Marta with her fierce eyes.
‘Is he doing that for Mr. Hod?’
Certainly, if Horde was here, he would have frowned again, so it would be right to do that instead of Horde not here.
Although Yuria looked in a bad mood, she certainly didn’t look good for a woman with her lover dressed so lightly, even in the eyes of her warrior.
“Then let’s go…”
After leaving the inn together, the Hero group moved to the adventurer’s guild.
After being guided upstairs by the guide who was waiting at the door, the guild master was gone, and the head of the ecology research center was sitting in the master’s seat.
“Warrior? I never thought you would come this soon.”
“I thought it was urgent, so I came quickly… Master doesn’t seem to be there, will you come back next time?”
“No! The Master has only gone to report this to the lord, so he will be back soon. In the meantime, I will explain what I discovered this time.”
Saying so, what the warden took out was an unfamiliar blue ore the size of the palm of his hand.
“What is that stone… ?”
“This stone is called nurturing stone and is a rare ore that is mined only in a mine called Grid Mall. It was found in the cave where the hero-sama subdued it the other day.”
The breeding stone is an ore that is often used when synthesizing demons or preserving the corpse. It is weak in strength and contains ingredients that are toxic to the human body, so it cannot be used otherwise.
“As the magician over there knows, the synthesis of magical beasts is strictly prohibited in any country because it is the realm of black magic.”
Although yukseongseok, which has no other use, was rare, its value was less than that of stones rolling on the street, and it even put a heavy burden on the miners’ bodies, so no one mines them now.
“As far as I know, the mine is closed, and sometimes it is said that wandering warlocks sneak in and dig up growth stones.”
“… So you’re saying that the officer our party knocked down in the cave did the same?”
“We thought so too at first and didn’t think much of it, but… Looking at the unusual amount found in the cave and examining it closely, there were traces of the regular supply of nurturing stones.”
I don’t know where the traces led, but if you go to the Grid Mall, the only place where you can mine nurturing stones, you’ll find out what happened.
“Then we must go to the mine this time.”
“Yes. I guess you should. Perhaps there might be a traitor who surrendered to the demon king’s army.”
According to the warden, Grid Mall was not a large mine, but it was a place where strategic materials such as iron were mined.
If the mine was in collusion with the demon king’s army, it could have been more dangerous than imagined.
“I will go right away.”
“Oh, wait…”
As soon as the hero was about to leave, the warden grabbed him and handed him a letter and a thick money bag.
“This… ?”
“Originally, the guild master should have delivered it, but he is absent now, so I will deliver it instead.”
The money bag the warden handed over was this month’s support money, which doubled as expenses for going to Grid Mall.
The warrior party received monthly subsidy from the country and guild in the form of a request fee, and that was what they had just handed over.
“This letter…”
“This is a letter of introduction explaining the situation to the local guild master. Even if no one else knows, the guild master will trust you.”
The guild master has a confidentiality magic similar to the demon army’s black magic to prevent communication with the demon army.
Even if the lord or the mayor of the area communicated with the demon army, the guild master could not communicate with the demon army.
“This… I was so excited that I was in a hurry. I am ashamed.”
“No! It’s really nice to see that sense of justice! Then, I wish the warrior good luck on his journey.”
That’s how the hero party came out of the master’s room, and the next destination was decided.
Our next stop is Grid Mall, a mining town.
Perhaps it was a place where another executive of the Demon King’s Army might be waiting.
