Chapter 144 (1/2)

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The Road to the Ruins

The fight between the Four Stars of the East was over in a flash, quite literally. With a flash of Selyse's sword, the men's weapons flew in the air, rendering them powerless. Sarah quickly silenced the wizard chanting a spell. Chloe babbled on about how incredible Selyse was despite Hikaru not even asking.

「Milady…」

Chloe watched Selyse with dreamy eyes as the latter strode to the guild's receptionist. I think a door that should've stayed locked has been opened, Hikaru thought. After that, Selyse talked to the guildmaster and took the Giant Rock Viper kill quest.

Morning of the next day.

「I'm going to the ruins!」Selica announced in the hotel's lounge.

Apparently, even with only Selyse, Sarah, and Sophie, it was already overkill against the Giant Rock Viper.

After breakfast, Hikaru and the others met up with Count Buck.

「I heard you went wild yesterday.」the Count said with a knowing smirk.

「It wasn't me.」Hikaru corrected.「It was the Four Stars that did it.」

They would be going to the ruins on foot, including Count Buck and his escort. Leaving town, they entered a coniferous forest at the foot of the mountain.

『Your leader sure has a twisted personality.』Hikaru said.

『Are you talking about yesterday? It was necessary. We're a party of four women, so there will always be people who underestimate us. I remember going through all the guilds in the royal capital.』Selica explained proudly.『We adventurers, for better or worse, are really perceptive of pecking orders. It helps in gauging the strength of monsters too. Otherwise we won't survive out there.』

『I suppose you have a point… I guess? Or maybe you just don't like to be made fun of.』

『That's not it. Because we showed how strong we actually were, we got to talk to the guildmaster directly. There's information that you can only get by talking with one. The guildmaster is, after all, the manager of the information sharing network between guilds.』

『Such a network exists, huh?』

『They use a special medium to communicate. Sending even a short message costs a lot, apparently. But still, they have to know what's going on throughout the country, so they communicate at least once a month.』

So high-ranked adventurers get all kinds of information, huh? Hikaru thought.

『So, did he tell you anything unusual?』

『Ponsonia's King is dead.』

Unken's face flashed in Hikaru's mind.

『Was he a.s.sa.s.sinated?』

『You're right. Great guess. The a.s.sa.s.sin was killed, though.』

『I see…』

Unken carried out his task, fully prepared to die. With this, he had killed both rulers of Quinbland and Ponsonia. One could say he performed a great deed. But his name would never come to light, forever buried in the annals of time. Only Hikaru, Emperor Kaglai, and perhaps the Prime Minister knew the truth.

Hikaru closed his eyes. Is Unken's soul being judged up there right now?

『Anyway, there's more. Would you like to know?』

『Yes, please.』

『Oh. I thought for sure you didn't care about Ponsonia.』

『I don't hate the kingdom itself. I just didn't like some people there, the King included. So, you said there's more?』

『There was a struggle as to who should take the throne. I don't know the exact details, but the Crown Prince was driven out of the capital and escaped to the fortress city of Leather Elka.』

Leather Elka. Hikaru knew the name. If I recall correctly, it's a town about a ten days travel away by horse. Located on the border between Ponsonia and Einbeast, a steep mountain range loomed behind it.

『He sure chose a nice place to take a refuge in.』Selica said.

『Do you know the place?』

『Yeah, I've been there before. Walls surround the town, built a.s.suming a war breaks out against Einbeast. The border checkpoint is constructed like a fort. Not even the Master Swordsman Lawrence can take the place.』

『Wow…』

While Hikaru was deeply impressed, he felt a tug at his s.h.i.+rt. It was Lavia, who looked a little upset. Probably because they were speaking in j.a.panese.

「Sorry. We were talking about things others shouldn't know about.」

Count Buck was nearby. He seemed like a good man, but he would surely be gathering information about them. Even the ruckus at the guild yesterday already reached him.

「I'll tell you all about it later. Okay?」

Hikaru felt a sense of foreboding. It could be his Instinct working. Somehow he sensed it wouldn't end with just a fight between the Crown Prince and the Princess.

After a while of walking, it came into view. Mountain peaks sticking out above the trees. And on top of it stood a tower. High up in the mountains, trees were bare of leaves. When they made it through the forest, their field of vision immediately grew wider.

After about an hour of hiking, they were halfway up the mountain. They decided to take a break in an open s.p.a.ce with nothing but rocks to sit on, yet more than enough to rest their legs and drink some water. They felt refreshed after downing their flasks.

「There's a valley nearby.」Hikaru said.

「Yeah, and a river too.」

Hikaru spotted a valley and so did Lavia. If they listened carefully, they could hear water flowing.

「And that's the ruins.」

Hikaru turned his gaze at the summit. The plain, cylindrical tower with no windows, reminded him of a diploma case.

Katy approached him.「Did you notice something?」

「You're too excited, Professor.」

「M-My bad. I know. I'm getting too impatient.」

「I did notice something, though.」

「Really?!」

Hikaru nodded.

「Me too!」

Before he knew it, Selica joined them too, and she seemed to have noticed the same thing. It was hard to miss, really.

Hikaru pointed at the huge, rusty dish installed around the top of the tower. There were four of them, all pointed towards their direction.