Chapter 42

It's now been 10 days since the Goblin subjugation .

This morning, we returned after what seemed like a long time to Gallus' shop . As usual, merchants had intense looks in their eyes while they loitered around his store .

「Afternoon . 」

「Well, if it isn't little miss and Teacher! It's been a while! What can I help you with today?」

『First things first, how's the armor coming along?』

「Gahaha! It's going fine! When you see it, you'll definitely be surprised!」

「Looking forward . 」

「So, did you only come to ask for an update?」

『No . Actually, we wanted a bit of advice ――』

I explain to the old man how I grow stronger as Magic Sword through absorbing Magic Stones . Since Gallus hadn't leaked the fact that I was an Intelligent Weapon, he seemed like a trustworthy fellow .

「I see, so you had that type of ability... And, essentially, you're wondering whether it's alright for others to know or not?」

『Uh-huh . So, what do you think?』

「Hmm... I think you'd better not . 」

「As expected: unusual . 」

「Got that right . I've heard of large scale Magical Tools having similar traits, but for a sword to have such ability... It's the first I've heard of it . 」

So my abilities were something that even a famous Blacksmith hasn't heard of? In that case, it's definitely not on the level of a normal person's knowledge...

「As expected . Teacher: amazing . 」

「A bit too amazing . Intelligent Weapons aren't unheard of, but one that can grow by absorbing Magic Stones — and even gets skills through them to boot... It'd be easy to see something like that being labeled as a Divine Sword . 」

Divine Swords: equipment of legends . The ones that exist are undoubtedly super weapons . Compared to me, they're on a whole different level of might .

「A single Divine Sword can easily influence the military balance between Nations, you know . 」

『It's at that level?』

「Aye . Even though my knowledge only covers 5 of them, each one has unbelievable legends associated with 'em .

Being the origin of the 'Divine Sword' title, the first divine sword: Alpha .

Achieving fame in a war which ruined entire Countries, the divine sword that brings abnormal mentality to its wielder: Berserk .

Having served a single horseman to kill an army measuring 30,000 strong, the Battle-Horse sword: Chariot .

Considered to have sealed the Demon King itself, the Demon King's sword: Diablos .

And then, the sword of flame that we've already spoken about before: Ignis .

In addition to those, there're several other Divine Swords . Almost all of them have stories of mass-slaughter, and end with sites of great destruction in the end . 」

「Divine Swords: amazing . 」

「Well, there's always some exaggerations mixed in with their tales, but without a doubt they're on completely different levels . Of course, every Nation keeps their blades' locations a secret, and the whereabouts of the Divine-Class Master Blacksmith(s) who forged the Divine Swords is completely unknown . Whether they're still alive, or if a new Divine Class Blacksmith was born... Anything related to them is unknown . 」

「Why?」

「That's the question, isn't it . Maybe they didn't want to be used by governments and hid, or... Maybe they're being sheltered by the Gods . There're lots of rumors, but the truth is unknown . It's for that reason that each Nation keeps an iron grip on the Divine Swords that they know of . 」

『So, they're existences of that magnitude, huh...?』

「Right . If by any chance the information that you're a Divine Sword spread... No doubt people would come to steal you for the sake of acquiring your strength . And it wouldn't be some small number, either . It wouldn't even matter if you wereactually a true one or not; in such peoples' eyes, it'd be fine to steal first and verify later . After that, they'd test you out to measure your ability . 」

Whether it's entire Nations or simply individuals, Divine Swords are certain to be aimed at by many .

「Even if their opponent wields a Divine Sword: surprise attacks, poisoning... There're always ways to give themselves an edge . Since your wielder is the little miss, some might turn to 'sweeter' forms of persuasion, but...」

『In the end, it's better to keep my abilities hidden . 』

「You ought to do that . I'm happy that you came to open up to me, but make sure you don't become careless and get discovered from now on, alright?」

The risk gained from revealing my abilities is far too large . For now, let's keep it a secret .

◇◆◇

After departing from old man Gallus', we went to the Guild to turn in our commissions as per usual . We were doing well day after day ―― would be something I say tentatively, but it's a fact that we've been steadily piling up completed commissions . There was nothing else to do, after all .

「Today: also disappointed . 」

『There was nothing besides insects, after all . 』

「No consistency when chewed . 」

『On this side, I've only gained 7 points in Magic Stone Value in these 10 days...』

Commissions like 'harvesting' or 'investigating' are nice, but our desired Experience Points and Magic Stone Value aren't being gathered at all .

『Fran is Level 25 now, right?』

「Nn . 」

『Then... From now on, it'd be best not thinking that you'll be leveling up as fast as you used to . 』

「Next: dungeons?」

『Haunts, probably . 』

According to the rumors we've heard, Haunts have Demonic Beasts in high numbers, just like Dungeons . It's for that reason that they're known as "Boundaries of Demons[E1]", after all .

Maokami Plains also falls under that category . I think above 90% of the creatures there were Demonic Beasts, after all .

That being said, I'd prefer not going back there . Not only is there the fact that we'd have to get close to the Forest of Starvation, but it also appears that the Threat Level in the plains skyrocketed since I left .

Around the time we came to town, the Adventurers made an investigation of Maokami Plains — as to keep an eye on the turf war between large scale Demonic Beast . The reports filed to result of said investigation confirmed the presence of several Rank B Demonic Beasts .

During the time I was there, neither shadows nor figures of such beings were present . However, when talking about Demonic Beasts, even without breeding they can be produced spontaneously when magic power coagulates . Most likely, the Demonic Beast that showed up were born like that .

If that's the case, then after I departed, Rank B Demonic Beast were born...

— Really close!

If they had been born any earlier, I might not be here now . Or rather, that fact is almost certain .

There's even the possibility of an A Rank existing there, so the reconnaissance team's main body is still in the middle of continuing the survey . Because the danger is high in the Plains itself, they're supposedly observing from inside of the Forest of Starvation . Staying in that forest for a prolonged period: thanks, but no thanks .

Anyways, an A Rank, huh... For such a being to have come into existence... Saying that the Plain is an A Rank Haunt gives me a bad feeling, but I can agree with it . Or rather, I should probably count my lucky stars that the Demonic Beasts were weaker while I was there .

「Then: dungeon delving after all?」

『That's also possible . 』

However, our taking down the Demon in this last Dungeon was largely due to luck . If the Demon was cool-headed and came to finish us off at long range, then we would have had to flee without being able to do anything .

『Let's not challenge Demon bosses if we come across any . We might be able to handle weaker ones, though . 』

Hm... From now on, we should collect information on Dungeons and Haunts . We can't leave the town before receiving the armor from Gallus anyways .

(Check up on dungeon info?)

『Mh . Let's pass the rest of the day doing that . 』

We'll have time to spare no matter what we do, so let's take our time searching the Guild's reference room for today .

In the second floor of the Guild is a room dedicated to books and documents . I can't really imagine many Adventurers reading documents as part of their preparations, but there seem to be some people here and there . They're all Scouts or Mages . Different from the muscle brains responsible for the vanguard, they came to search for information on their commissions, I guess .

One can really see the sorrows of the intellectual Adventurers up here .

「Oho . Is this your first time here, missy?」

「Nn . 」

「Then, let me take a look see at your Adventurer Card . 」

At the Reference Room's reception desk sits an old man with a small build . He's bald with a white beard that reaches his chest, and his eyebrows have grown to the degree of hiding his eyes entirely . Even if he's wearing a classy robe, I can only think of him as a hermit .

『He brings quite the pointless ambiance...』

「Hoho, so you're the rumored Magic-Sword Girl, eh?」

「Rumored?」

「That's right! Lately, you've become quite the talk, missy . Because of that I immediately recognized ya!」

So rumors have started to spread, huh . Well... There's not much that can be done about us standing out like a sore thumb at this point . Judging by the old man's response, the rumors don't seem to be bad at least .

「I'm Shuuren[E2], and this here reference room is managed by me . 」

「Nn . 」

「Taking documents outta here is forbidden, but transcribe 'em all you like . A single parchment is 300Gorudo, and you can loan a pen for 30Gorudo per hour . 」

Paper is quite expensive... Well, information is valuable in the long run, after all .

After buying one sheet of parchment, we start searching for the desired documents . Since Shuuren showed us where the documents were whenever we asked, finding things was quite easy .

The first thing we looked for was a map of the continent .

Taking a look at it, we're currently in the Jylbard[E3] Continent . Its form seemed close to a caltrop . It's probably around the size of Africa, but that's just conjecture . In the first place, it's questionable whether or not the map is accurate .

The town of Aressa belongs to a Kingdom called Kranzell[E4], and it's located in the Western part of the caltrop-like Jylbard Continent . I didn't know until now, but if you went West for ~5 days from here, you'd probably be able to reach the sea . [M1]

『So, places with Dungeons close to Aressa include... Illuuf[E5] and Urmet[E6] . 』

Illuuf is in a neighboring country to the North, and belongs to the Belios[E7]Kingdom . If we can't cross the border, then no matter how much we struggle there's no way we'd be able to reach it .

On the other hand, Urmet lays South of Aressa, and also belongs to the Kranzell Kingdom, so there shouldn't be much trouble with entering it .

(Both have dungeons . )

『Illuuf has one C Rank Dungeon . 』

(Urmet: two D Rank Dungeons . )

So, do we take quality or quantity? Hmm... I personally think that Urmet would be the best choice . There wouldn't be any problems regarding borders, and it's probably best to accumulate experience in lower ranked Dungeons first .

『So, which one?』

(Urmet . Warm up with D Ranks first . )

『I also agree . Then, let's keep researching . This time, let's aim for information regarding the Dungeons of Urmet . 』

「Nn . 」

After that, we should find the route we'll be taking to get there, and any stops we should take along the way . There appears to be both a land and a sea route, too .

『By sea or by land... Which would be better, I wonder?』

(Land route would be easier . )

『That's true . By the way... Have you ever been on a ship Fran?』

(Once, as a slave . Was kept crammed at the bottom . )

Somehow... I'm sorry . Or rather, that's her only memory of a boat trip! That's no good! No way that can stay like that!

『I-Is that so . Well then, how about this time we enjoy ourselves on the sea route?』

(Enjoy?)

『Ou . Traversing the sea on a boat is enjoyable . There're also delicious marine products to be had . 』

(... Fish?)

『There'd also be Shrimp, Lobster, Crab, and other shellfish too . There's a great variety . 』

(Nn . No choice but the sea route, then . )

So it's for food in the end... Well, with that we've decided in favor of the sea route .

◇◆◇

「Nーn...」

Fran stretched out over the table . It seems that her body has gotten stiff from sitting for so long... Probably . We've been in the Reference Room for 2 hours straight, after all .

『Then, the things we should research later would be...』

(Nn . Urmet's delicacies . )

『Well, there's that too, but there are also other things to investigate, you know...』

Passenger fees, planns for our exact route, and so on .

(Right . Those too . )

『... Do you really understand?』

(Can't go without investigating specialities . )

『Ah... Oh well . 』

[E1] A note on 'Haunts': in Japanese, it's 魔境, which can also be 'Boundary of Demons' . Info on Haunts was introduced in C15 . A tl;dr version is 'they're areas under the control of Demonic Beasts' . Just restating because C15 was released a while ago .

[E2] 'シューレン'

[E3] 'ジルバード'

Note that 'バード' is the term commonly used in RPGs as 'Bard' .

[E4] 'クランゼル'

[M1] 1 day = 40㎞ usually, as walking speed is ~5㎞ per hour . Then, the time to build/take down camp before/after 12 hours of daylight needs to be taken into account — but '5 days' could be air distance, too . With all this information, maybe I should make a map?

[E5] 'イルーフ'

[E6] 'ウルムット'

[E7] 'ベリオス'