Chapter 269: Volume 7 Chapter 4: Reinforcement
Volume 7 Chapter 4: Reinforcement
(Walson)
Led by the little bandit, we arrived at the best inn in the village... also the only inn here.
In the middle of a large open space stood a mushroom-shaped building, covered in vines and surrounded by numerous strange potted plants.
A beautifully crafted sign hung above the door, with the words "Hammer and Bow" carved into it.
It was clear that this building was the center of attention.
Around it, dozens of rectangular wooden tables were neatly arranged, and adventurers of various races had filled almost all the seats.
They were enjoying their meals and beers while shouting and laughing loudly.
An inn with an open-air restaurant, huh?
"Master, you’re here. Everyone’s been waiting for you." A familiar voice came from beside me—it was Melon.
She bowed slightly and made a gesture inviting me to sit down.
Following her direction, I saw that my companions had already filled up an entire table.
"Walson, over here!" Derisha waved at me.
"What happened? Why are you so late?" Barella asked, holding a barrel of ale.
"...Walson, you’re so slow," Grace said while munching on some bread.
Wow, everyone’s already here... Looks like I’m the one who’s late.
Maybe we landed farther from the village... or perhaps that little bandit led us on a detour on purpose.
I kind of wanted to settle the score with the little rascal, but when I turned around, I realized the bandit had already disappeared.
Damn! She ran off!
"Master, aren’t you going to sit down?" Melon asked.
"Ah, right. Let’s go. Let’s eat together. Zakarina, would you like to join us—" I started to ask her, but when I turned to look, I noticed Zakarina staring intently at Melon with a strange expression.
Of course, Melon had also sensed Zakarina’s gaze and was looking back at her.
The two of them—a slave and a maid—were locked in a silent staring contest.
"Is there something you need, Miss Zakarina?" Melon asked.
"...How do you know my name?" Zakarina responded.
"That’s because Master has mentioned you before," Melon replied.
"I see." Zakarina blinked, and who knows what was going through her mind.
Suddenly, she turned to me, pointed at Melon, and asked, "Goblin, who is she?"
"Uh, this is Melon. Melon, this is Zakarina," I realized that Zakarina and Melon hadn’t formally met, so I tried to introduce them to each other.
However, Zakarina completely ignored me, turned to Melon, and said, "Well, now he’s mentioned your name to me as well, Melon." With that, she flicked her sleeves and walked straight to the table.
That left me and Melon staring at each other, both a bit puzzled.
She’s really... hard to figure out sometimes.
...
...
...
I have to say, Melon’s incredibly sharp hearing often comes in handy.
At the table, she reported the information she’d overheard from the surrounding adventurers.
Meanwhile, Alice had gathered some intel from the local adventurers’ guild, so we pieced together the current situation and figured out why this small village was so crowded.
As confirmed by the information broker at the guild, the Hero King was still rampaging towards the Capital, Carmel, like a madman.
The Elven Empire had dispatched troops to stop him, but they hadn’t succeeded.
The troops sent out hadn’t returned, and the current casualty count was already over a thousand.
The Imperial Capital was understandably tense and had declared martial law, ordering the expulsion of all non-high elves from the city.
With nowhere else to go, these displaced people had taken refuge in the closest village to the capital—Red Mushroom Village.
You might wonder why martial law would involve expelling non-elves from the city.
Well, that’s because the High Elves don’t trust any other race, even the common elves.
It’s not unusual for their policies to treat non-elves as potential threats.
So, from their perspective, this martial law makes sense.
That’s also why there are so many different races in this small village right now.
Additionally, the village’s current order is barely being maintained by the influence of a few strong adventurers.
That’s because all the soldiers have been recalled to the capital.
"We didn’t come to the wrong place... Alwin is definitely heading this way, and he’s getting close..." Belle frowned. "Regardless of his reasons, his actions must be stopped immediately."
"If not, it could lead to serious chaos," Zakarina added while sipping her beer.
These were conclusions we had already drawn.
We estimated that Alwin would arrive here within two days, and that was being conservative.
The fact that the Elven Empire was willing to risk internal backlash by enforcing such a strict martial law showed how serious the situation had become.
The Hero King’s strength was recognized as formidable by the nations of the Western Nation.
"The sooner he’s stopped, the better. We should take the initiative..." Belle murmured.
"Um, may I say something?" Derisha, who rarely voiced her opinions during our discussions, unexpectedly raised her hand.
"Hm?" I was curious about what Derisha had to say.
"Go ahead," Belle said.
"I think we should wait for him to come to us," Derisha suggested.
Derisha’s reasoning was quite simple.
First, we couldn’t confirm the Hero King’s exact location.
We were relying on information from brokers, which wasn’t real-time.
If we chased after him, it would only make the situation more uncertain.
Secondly, the Hero King was a Vassal of The Light and likely had access to powerful weapons like the Command Cube.
His combat strength was unknown but undoubtedly strong.
Rushing into battle without preparation could lead to a disastrous defeat.
Since we knew his destination was Carmel (where the Wind Labyrinth was located), Derisha suggested that we prepare ourselves in Red Mushroom Village near the capital and face him when we were at our strongest.
That would be the best strategy.
It was a solid plan, and I agreed.
"I support Derisha’s idea," I raised my hand in approval—of course, I had to back my wife’s opinion.
"...Zakarina, what do you think?" Belle turned to Zakarina.
"I agree," Zakarina said. "Besides, this battle will be different from usual. It’s a fight between Vassals, so we should be cautious."
"I see." Belle closed her eyes for a moment. "By the way, Zakarina, can the Mutual Aid Association offer us any support?"
"Since it’s a conflict between Vassals, it wouldn’t be appropriate to involve the Association. My participation in this battle is purely personal," Zakarina explained.
She paused, then added, "However, I won’t let Fire Rabbit stay out of this."
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