"But if this monster really is from the Abyss, then that means this monster is the initial wave of their attack on this city," Luke said.
That made sense. If one had already appeared in the forest within the city, then it meant that a much larger force would soon arrive and attack through the front gate.
And not just one—both gates of this city would surely be attacked simultaneously.
Surely, the situation later would become extremely complicated and chaotic.
"Because of that, we have to keep following these adventurers when they go to the forest. No matter what happens, we'll still defeat those Abyss creatures, right?" I asked.
"I guess so," Yuu-chan said.
"Oh right, Hime-san, you brought the letter with Charles-san's signature, didn't you?" Luke asked.
"Relax, I've already put it into my Alter Box," Hime replied.
"That letter will definitely be useful later. There's no way we won't use it," Hime continued.
Thank goodness… if Hime hadn't brought the letter, the four of us would have had to go to where our horse-drawn carriage was parked by the guild.
I had briefly thought that the guild's parking area wasn't far from this guild building, maybe even behind it.
But Luke said that our carriage was parked quite far from here.
As far as I remember, it was in an empty lot near the edge of the city, or maybe close to that large fortress?
In any case, there were several other people's carriages parked there as well, not just ours.
—
The four of us chose to sit down first, since it was impossible for us to keep standing while waiting for the guild leader to return.
Besides, there were still empty tables and chairs available, which worked in our favor.
The difference was that we only ordered plain water to drink. We chose to be more frugal so that our money wouldn't run out too quickly.
—
Not long after that—perhaps around ten minutes after we sat down and enjoyed our water—the guild leader finally arrived, after having a discussion with Marcen, the leader of this city.
He had obtained permission to form a group consisting of adventurers who would go to the forest and conduct an investigation there.
Not only around the roads, but also deeper inside, farther away from the path that connected the city to the forest.
—
I had just realized that the atmosphere inside the guild had become a bit more crowded, and people were gathering near the entrance.
It looked like they had just received an important guest, and they wanted to welcome that person.
The crowd eventually parted to form a path in the middle, and someone walked through it.
A grown man, probably around twenty years old, wearing clothes that covered his entire body.
His outfit was a mix of light green and dark green.
One thing that surprised me about his appearance was his ears. They were slightly longer than those of a normal human, with a faint pointed shape at the tips.
There was no need for me to be confused anymore, since I had seen someone with that kind of physical trait before.
Right now, Cyve rarely appeared anymore, since I wasn't in the middle of a battle or fighting monsters.
Yes, the person walking through the crowd was definitely from the elf race, the same race as Cyve.
Oh, he glanced in our direction for a few moments before looking forward again and continuing to walk.
"Yukito-san, he's the person, right?" Hime asked.
"If those adventurers immediately surrounded him, that means it really is him, right?" I replied.
"Let's go over there," Luke urged.
The four of us immediately followed Luke's suggestion and joined the crowd standing in front of the elf.
Even though we weren't at the very front, we could still see him clearly from where we were.
As for hearing his voice, that wasn't a problem for us. People in this world highly respect the person standing before them.
So they would immediately fall silent and calm the situation once the person in front began to speak.
"Everyone, you all recognize me, don't you?" the elf asked.
"For those of you who are still new adventurers in this guild, I am Lancer, the guild master," he said.
Lancer-san, huh? Alright, now I know the name of the person who serves as the guild leader.
"You've surely heard the news about several people going missing in the forest within the city. I admit, this case must be resolved quickly, so the number of victims doesn't continue to increase," he said.
"Because of that, I want to ask for the help of all of you adventurers affiliated with this guild to form a group and head to that forest to see what's really there," he continued.
Before he could proceed to his next sentence, someone from among the adventurers in the crowd asked Lancer-san a question.
"Can we handle that monster?" the person asked.
"No one knows that yet. But as long as we're together, we'll surely be able to defeat it. Besides, it hasn't even been confirmed that the ones kidnapping people are monsters, right?" Lancer-san replied.
"The point is, we'll think about our next move once we know exactly what's in that forest. Until further instructions are given, we're not allowed to do anything beyond simply checking the situation there," Lancer-san said again.
"Alright then, for all of you who haven't taken a mission yet, follow me and let's head to that forest!" Lancer-san said in a louder voice than before.
From the tone of his voice, I could tell that he was trying to ignite our fighting spirit so that we'd be more prepared for whatever might happen later.
"Ohhh!!!!" the people around us shouted in response, showing that they were ready as well.
—
It took about ten to fifteen minutes to travel from the guild to the forest within the city.
Since the guild was located in the middle of the city and the forest was on the outskirts, that was why it took quite some time for our group to get there.
I thought we would enter together with the group, which numbered in the dozens—perhaps around fifty to sixty people in the initial group.
That number also included the four of us.
However, what I didn't expect was that from those dozens of adventurers, we were divided again into smaller groups.
As far as I remember, there were seven small groups consisting of eight people each, with each group assigned to inspect a specific area within the forest.
The other groups would inspect different areas, allowing us to stay organized and avoid overcrowding due to the large number of people.
As a result, our party was split up. Yuu-chan and I ended up in the same group.
Meanwhile, Hime and Luke were placed in a different group.
Earlier, Hime had told me that I didn't need to worry about the two of them, though that wasn't really what I meant when I heard they were in a different group.
Yuu-chan didn't seem bothered by it either, and in the end, we felt that it was fine even if we were separated into different groups.
Well, hopefully, if there really are monsters in the forest, they'll be something like goblins or orcs—or something even easier than those.
If it turns out the monster is more dangerous than I'm hoping, then I hope Cyve will help me again.
Well, even though it feels like I'm relying on him… I can't deny it either. Cyve is inside my soul now, so I suppose it's fine.