It was a rather… Awkward atmosphere in the room. Gathered in it were me, Avy and Odale – me and Avy sitting on one of the two couches in the office, while Odale stood behind us, his arms behind his back. Not too far from me and Avy, was Yerina, enjoying a cup of tea.
Across from us, on the other couch were two other individuals. One, I recognised – White armour, with distinct patterns and a 'draconic' theme to it. It was Harcone, the Holy Knight me and Avy briefly encountered when he… Well, there's no other way to phrase it, saved our asses from Erwin in that hidden location within the Abyssal woods.
Just like last time, he carried this intimidating feel to him.
Whether it was because he was simply much, much stronger than me or something else, I wouldn't be able to say.
Next to Harcone, was a man I did not recognise.
Black clothing, aged appearance, small moustache over his upper lip… He looked like some sort of noble or maybe wealthy merchant. I tried asking the Ancient One for information on who he was… However, that little prick just told me that I'd 'find out' shortly.
Way to be useful.
Of course, the last person in the office was the Guildmaster himself – Gidou, who was sat at his desk, his arms crossed. He had said that we had 'much to discuss' when we entered the office and yet, here we were, sitting in awkward silence like a bunch of fools for a few minutes now…
Eventually, the silence was broken by Harcone, who looked towards Gidou. "Now then, shall we continue what we were discussing?"
Gidou looked at Harcone, before nodding and looking at Yerina.
"First, let us catch up her with the situation."
"No need." Yerina replied, placing the tea cup in her hands on the table in front of us, smiling gently. "I believe I've somewhat grasped the situation at hand from the letter you had these lovely younglings deliver to me." She gestured to us. "You need help with the Fire Princes domain, yes?"
Gidou remained silent, before nodding. "Correct, however there is more to it."
"Oh? Then perhaps it would have been nice to include that in this oh so lovely letter?"
She asked with an annoyed expression, pulling out the letter that we had delivered to her. Gidou rolled his eyes before exhaling, however before he could reply, the man in the black robes spoke up. "We apologise for the lack of information in the letter Miss Yerina, however some of the things we need to discuss could not be shared in the letter, in case it got compromised."
Yerina eyed the man.
After a bit of silence, she exhaled. "...Good to see you as well, Lucie. I suppose time has been kind to you?"
The man chuckled. "Not particularly. My body? Sure, my age hasn't affected it too badly, however I am a mere shadow of who I once was." He responded, before adjusting his monocle slightly. "What about you? You don't look like you've aged a day since we've met."
"Haha, you know how we elves are. We maintain a timeless beauty." Yerina stated, flicking her hair back a bit, to 'emphasise' said beauty.
Their little chat was interrupted by Gidou, who let out a little fake cough, bringing everyone's attention back to him. "May we move along?" Yerina and the man remained silent for a bit, before both of them gestured in their own way for Gidou to continue on. Exhaling, the Guildmaster looked at Yerina again. "I apologise Yerina, but just like Lucas said, I was not capable of disclosing the full arrangement of things I wished to discuss with you in the letter – in case the letter was somehow compromised before reaching you."
Yerina rolled her eyes.
"And what exactly has happened so important that it needs to stay an absolute secret? What? Did you accidentally blow up the Fire Princes domain?" Yerina smirked before chuckling lightly.
"It's a little worse than that." Gidou stated, quickly overwriting Yerina's small joke. "A new section of the dungeon was discovered."
As soon as Gidou said that, Yerina went silent, before looking at him a little more seriously. Then, she looked at us three, seemingly debating whether it was a wise move to say something like that with us three here – however, did not say anything. Instead, she turned away and looked back at Gidou.
"I wonder if Gidou will tell her that we three are sort of related to that…" I thought, exhaling lightly.
"I sure hope you aren't just joking around Gidou, because something like this—"
"Would I really go through the effort of summoning you here to talk in private if I was joking?" Gidou cut her off, his voice stern and his tone serious. Yerina remained silent, eyeing both Harcone and the other man in the room, before exhaling heavily. Then, she looked at Gidou again. "...Alright, tell me the full story."
And so, it was done.
Gidou explained the entire situation with the dungeon to Yerina, asking me, Avy and Odale to chime in as well, as well as telling her – and Harcone as well as the other man in the room – Odale's 'true' identity about being the 'true' boss of the Fire Princes domain. I say 'true' quite loosely here, as technically speaking, none of them were aware of his actual true identity, that, of course, being that he was once a human a long, long time ago.
Once everything was explained in full detail, Yerina went into what I could only describe as 'thinking mode' – remaining completely still and silent for at least a few minutes. While at first, I was a little confused and, one could say even a little impressed, by her 'ability' to remain perfectly still for quite a bit of time…
Elves possess a higher intelligence than most other beings in the world. One of their most notable abilities is that they can make their brains work 'overtime' to compress and comprehend information.
In a way, you could say that they have a naturally occurring computer from your old world inside their heads.
…Yeah, he has no trouble explaining this to me, but refuses to tell me who this man in the black robes in the room with us is. It's really, really annoying.
After some time, Yerina exhaled.
"Alright… I believe I understand the situation somewhat fully now." She said, looking at Gidou, crossing her legs. "Let me guess – you want me to go take a look at the dungeon?"
Gidou nodded. "With your expertise, I'm certain you can find out what exactly is going on with it – especially now that we know it isn't like the other dungeons or true dungeons."
Ah right…
That whole part.
Apparently, most dungeons as well as true dungeons crumble away and disappear after the boss inhabiting them is defeated. However, despite both the drake being killed by Avy and Odale being defeated by me in battle – the Fire Princes domain has remained. And if anything, it has continued to produce monsters inside it, even after Odale left it.
Now, at first, we assumed that it was because Odale was still alive – since he was the dungeon boss, however both Harcone and Odale confirmed that to not be the case.
Dungeon bosses were supposedly 'linked' to the dungeons they inhabit.
This 'link' is that keeps the boss alive, so long as the dungeon is intact and vice versa. However, after Odale merged back with his physical body, undergoing an evolution to a Supreme Lich, his link to the Fire Princes domain was severed completely.
Now, according to Harcone, this in itself wasn't unusual, as apparently there have been times when a boss of a dungeon has undergone an evolution and their link to the dungeon was severed. However, in every one of those cases, the dungeon would then crumble and disappear once that link was severed, as it technically had lost its boss. So, the unusual part in this scenario was that despite the drake who was assumed to be the boss of the dungeon being killed, and Odale, the true boss of the dungeon, having his link to the dungeon severed – it didn't disappear. Instead, the Fire Princes domain remained intact and continued to function like a dungeon, as if nothing had happened.
That was the strange part – the part that worried everyone in that room.
It was something that had never happened before — at least, as far as everyone in the room was concerned.
Their current theory?
The Fire Princes domain isn't like the other dungeons. That there is something 'unique' about it specifically… Which – well, they're not wrong. There is something special about it… The fact that it was once Odales castle, who knows how many years ago, before it was buried and placed under a powerful curse by the Angels.
Though, only me and Odale knew that.
We hadn't told anyone else that. And that was not about to change… At least, not yet.
Yerina sighed. "Alright, alright. I suppose I can take a look and see what I can find. Though, I'm warning you already Gidou, considering how absurd this situation is, I cannot guarantee that I'll find anything meaningful. After all, there aren't any past records of anything similar for me to go off of."
"I am aware. Still, I'd appreciate it."
Yerina nodded, gesturing to Gidou to 'just leave it to her' before picking up her cup and sipping the tea in it. "That's one topic down. Now, as for the other…" The man in the black robes looked towards me. I felt a slight shiver run down my spine upon seeing his gaze.
Despite his relaxed, slightly friendly expression – his eyes felt like they were trying to tear a hole into my very being. "First, allow me to express my pleasure in meeting you finally, Sir 'Riyo'." The man stated, before standing up, taking off his hat, placing it up against his chest. "My name is Lucas von Harloth. In case you are unaware, I am the current Duke of Ordial." He then outstretched his right hand towards me, for a handshake.
It took me a bit to process what he had said.
Duke?.... Duke….
"Wait a minute— the Duke of Ordial?! He's the one in charge of this town?!" I looked at the man with a slightly surprised expression, trying to keep most of my… 'Shock' under wraps. Then, I stood up, before taking his hand – gently shaking it. "...Nice to meet you… Sir."
"Please, no need to be so formal." Lucas stated, sitting back down. I also sat back down, eyeing the man with a slightly more cautious gaze. I don't know who I was expecting this man to be, but it certainly had not been a 'Duke'.
"I've heard quite a lot about you." Lucas stated, placing his hat back onto his head. "I have to say, I've been interested in meeting you for a while now. Unfortunately, due to certain…" He eyed Gidou with a slightly judgemental gaze for a moment, before looking back at me. "...Circumstances, I've been unable to make the time to meet you in person up until now."
"It's no trouble at all…"
Something about this man made me keep my guard up.
I don't know why, but it felt like my instincts were basically screaming at me to remain cautious while in his presence. It was a dreadful, unpleasant feeling.
"Please rest assured Sir Riyo, you are in no danger right now." Harcone stated, before looking at Lucas. "With me here, no one will attempt anything foolish." Lucas laughed lightly, looking at Harcone. "I have no malicious intent towards anyone here, don't worry." He stated, before facing me once more.
"Apologies if I have made you worry at all, Sir 'Riyo'."
"No need to apologise…" I rubbed the back of my neck.
"Ahem… Lucas?" Gidou spoke up. The Duke looked towards the Guildmaster, who gave him a slightly… Challenging gaze, before gesturing to him to stay on topic. After an exhale, Lucas cleared his throat. "Right, the second topic we needed to discuss… Apologies for veering off topic there for a second."
He stated, before moving along to the other thing that they wished to discuss with us four.
The discussion dragged on for a while – with us only managing to leave the guild late evening, long after the sun had set. For the most part, the other half of the discussion there was about the Southern Beast as well as touching upon some minor topics – like the increased monster activity on the less dense parts of the Abyssal woods.
I won't lie, for the most part, I was zoned out during the rest of the discussion.
I mean, I still listened in – but not as much as I probably should have. I have never really been a fan of such long meetings where various topics were discussed among several people. In my old life, it was my least favourite part of my job.
We were now back at the inn room.
Due to now having a third person with us, we decided to get a second room with the cash that Gidou had paid us for completing his request – about two gold, one of which we used to get the second room for us.
Me and Avy ended up sharing the original room I had gotten when I first arrived in Ordial, while Odale took the one we got just tonight. I did try to argue that Avy should sleep separately, but she was so insistent on staying with me in one room, that I just eventually caved and just gave in.
Now, it was dark out.
The moon gently shone in through the inn window, while I rested on the bed, staring at the ceiling – Avy, out cold next to me, her back turned towards me.
Thinking about something Master?
Ancient One suddenly spoke up.
"Just… Contemplating."
About… What?
I didn't answer for a bit, before shrugging. "...Lots of stuff, I guess."
Is it related to anything discussed back at the Guild?
"No, it's not." I immediately shut down Ancient One's guess, before exhaling. "...I'm just thinking of what to do next." The Ancient One remained silent for a bit, seemingly not sure of how to respond to my statement. After a bit of silence, the Ancient One spoke again.
Well, since you were ranked up to B-Rank as an adventurer, why not journey off to some other town?
Journey to another town…
Maybe.
Then, I recalled a small conversation I had with Lina, back in the gorgan clan, when me and Avy stayed overnight for their celebration.
"I think I want to go on a real journey across the world. To witness all that this world has to offer."Lina looked at me with a rather surprised look. "That's quite the plan…"
"I know that it probably sounds a bit…. Wild, but I think it'd be nice to see what I can find in this world. To see all the beauties spread across it." After all, I never got the chance to see the beauty of my previous world myself, only ever witnessing it through photos and videos on the internet or television.
For a moment, I laid there, staring at the ceiling – replaying that memory in my mind like a tape, over and over again. Then, I took in a deep breath and got up from the bed, before moving over to the window, looking out of it at the town outside. The view when I was on top of the wyvern had been amazing, it truly showed just how massive this world was and how much there was to see.
Maybe now that we had nothing else to do and were free to move wherever… We could go off onto that journey I talked about with Lina? Take Avy and Odale with me and truly explore this world, see what it has to offer. After a bit of empty staring at the town, I smiled, looking up at the starry sky above.
Think of something?
"...Yeah. I think…" I narrowed my eyes a little bit.
"...I think I want to go and see what the world has to offer with them both."
Ancient One remained silent for a moment, then chuckled.
Then, the only way to do so is by leaving Ordial. When do you plan to do so?
I looked at Avy sleeping in the bed, thinking about it for a moment. When would be a good time to leave Ordial behind and move out on a journey across this world..? After a bit of contemplating, I smiled. "How about tomorrow? The sooner, the better, right?"
….Hah, I suppose that works. A little sudden – but I dare digress.
I chuckled lightly, moving my gaze back to the starry night sky outside. Somehow, for some reason, it looked a lot more beautiful tonight… A lot more… full. Was this how it felt like to set an actual goal for yourself? Would the world turn this… beautiful when you knew what you wanted to do?
Who could say.