Somewhere else…
In a faraway place, a cloaked figure rushed through a long hall, which was gently lit up by a couple of lanterns – illuminating the dark red walls and dark floor of the hall. Making it to the end of it, where a pair of large gates stood, the figure took a second to catch his breath, before knocking on the gates and then slowly opening them, moving inside.
"Lord Olhade? I bring news from the base stationed near Ordial." The figure stated, moving slightly further into the room, before kneeling down. The room itself was rather large and resembled a throne room quite a bit.
Across it, at the end wall opposite to the gates, there was a rather big 'throne' – made of dark red and black crystal-like materials. On it, sat a man dressed in black armour – a white cloak over him, the hood of the cloak hiding his head. Lifting his head up a bit, a pair of blue eyes shone under the cloak. "Erwins faction? Speak. What's new?"
"W-Well… for starters, the base has been compromised. When our members went to investigate the strange magical energy readings, they found the base raided with no one there — some of the members of Erwin's brigade were even laying over the place dead."
"I see… So someone found it and took it down." The hooded figure nodded, looking up at Olhade. "They also found no traces of Erwin anywhere. However, some of his blood stained over the ground as well as traces of his magical energy were found in the base, which implied that he engaged someone in a fight and—"
"And most likely lost."
Olhade cut the figure off, causing it to trip up for a second, before shaking its head lightly and nodding.
"...Indeed."
For a moment, it was silent in the room. The knight sitting on the throne remained silent, resting his head against the throne's backseat, while the hooded figure remained knelt in front of him. After a few more seconds, he let out a small fake cough. "L-Lord Olhade, what shall we do? If Erwin has been killed—"
"Unlikely. That bastard won't die even if his entire body is eviscerated."
The knight cut the figure off again, before looking at him again. "Since the base has been compromised and I assume the ritual to summon a spirit from the underworld was stopped, we have no choice but to go with the emergency plan." He stood up, before walking down the short, small staircase in front of his throne, before walking over to a large mural to the side of the room. "Go and make contact with the Heretic. Tell him to put into motion the emergency plan."
"As you command, Lord Olhade."
The hooded figure quickly lowered his head for a second, before standing back up and leaving the room in a hurry, shutting the gates after himself with a rather loud thud. Olhade remained standing still, looking at the mural for a few seconds, before turning around and walking across the room, picking up a small stick, the tip of which ignited fire.
Afterwards, he used that fire to ignite some candles on the table, their smoke quickly filling the room with a gentle, soft fragrance. "I told the Fool that it was a bad idea to place that ritual in Erwin's hands. Now look at the results… I have to clean up after him. How annoying."
The knight blew out the fire on the stick's tip with a soft breath, before placing it to the side and then placing his hands together, as if praying for something. Then, after a moment, he turned around. "No matter. If the Heretics plan goes well with no interruptions, this setback shouldn't affect us too much." He commented, going back to sit on the throne in the room.
After taking his seat again, he looked over to where he was a moment ago.
Above the candles, was a rather large portrait of a human man and a human woman, both of whom were next to each other – with a child in front of them both. After a few moments of gazing at the portrait, he looked away and exhaled.
Then, he seemingly went back to resting, the gently glowing eyes under his hood disappearing, before his head gently lowered.
Ordial - Guildmaster Gidous office.
I was seated on the couch, with Avy and Olhade next to me, the two of them silent while looking at the Guildmaster, who was back in his seat, sitting at his desk. I had just told the Guildmaster all about myself, Avy and Odale – while additionally telling him about what really transpired in the Fire Princes domain on my side, after I separated from the others. He was now slightly lost in thought, seemingly thinking over everything we had told him just now, his right hand gently scratching his beard.
"Quite a tale. Though, I suppose it now makes sense as to why Arabor of the Abyss disappeared suddenly. After doing that ritual with you, he transferred himself into you and then somehow, he managed to hide his own presence – ensuring that it wouldn't leak from you." Then, the Guildmaster exhaled. "Though, I guess there isn't much to guess or theorise about… This is one of the Primal Dragons we're talking about – of course they'd be able to hide their presence in this scenario."
I shed a slight sweat, examining Gidou's expressions and face. After a moment, the Guildmaster looked at me. "About this whole you being a monster thing… Perhaps you could show me?"
"Show…?"
"I am sure you understand that in order to judge you accurately, I have to see your real form."
I suppose that was a fair point…
After a bit of hesitation, I shifted – my human body disappearing in a black cloud, before my snake form landed onto the couch… A bit sloppily, might I add. After a moment, I quickly coiled my body up – before examining myself a bit. "Did my snake body get longer again…? I feel bigger…"
Shaking my head, I looked back at Gidou — I'd have time to examine myself later. The Guildmaster, as well as Odale, seemed a bit surprised about my form, with the Guildmaster looking at me with more of an analytical eye - As if trying to pick apart my true form to articulate whether I was a threat that needed to be eliminated or not. After a moment, he sighed. "A Shadow snake is certainly a rarity to see nowadays. Though, you're a lot weaker than the ones I have encountered in the past."
Yeah – I'm aware I'm not as impressive as others of 'my kind', no need to reiterate it. "Still, you seem a lot more intelligent than most of your kind. The Shadow Snakes I encountered in the past were more like feral beasts trying to consume everything rather than beings you could actually communicate with."
That… Doesn't line up with what Harcone told me about them.
Harcone said they were 'intelligent' monsters, serving as one of the most powerful soldiers in whatever the 'Great Devourers' army was… But then again, I suppose 'intelligent' doesn't mean that it's something you can reason or communicate with. I mean, back in my previous life, there were plenty of animals that were described as intelligent that you weren't necessarily able to 'talk' to or reason with.
"May I return to the human form…?"
Gidou looked at me before nodding. "I've seen enough to know you're not a threat. Besides, if you were anything like the usual shadow snakes, you would have wiped out this entire town by now." Somehow, it felt like Gidou was taking a stab at telling me how 'weak' I am compared to other shadow snakes again with that comment, however I simply ignored it and activated 'Mimic' again.
After a moment, I was back to my human form, gently brushing my clothes off before sitting back down. "As for the Owl Princess… I guess I should have expected it. Your magical energy certainly feels more special than normal adventurers."
You can discern someone's identity using their magical energy..?
God, I guess I was quite the big fool thinking I could hide my true identity forever…
"If you're curious, I won't be returning to my mothers side yet."
"Oh, I am aware. I… 'accidentally' overheard the Duke of Ordial and Sir Harcone of the Holy Night order talking about how the daughter of the Owl Empress wouldn't return to her mothers side." He stated, picking up a cup of coffee on his table, sipping it gently.
"Something tells me that it wasn't an accident…"
Gidou placed the cup back down, before looking over at Odale last. "And you, the true 'boss' of the Fire Princes domain…. I have to say, it is strange and unusual to see a 'sentient' dungeon boss. In my entire life as an adventurer, I have never seen one like that."
"I suppose you can say I am rather… unique."
Gidou purred his lips. "Unique is putting it lightly… You might just be one of a kind." Odale remained silent, simply crossing his arms.
'One of a kind' huh…. Guess that'd make sense considering Odale's past. I don't imagine there are a lot of people like him that were struck down and especially cursed by those supposed 'Angels' – the enforcers of the Deities.
"So… A Shadow snake who is nowhere near as strong as it should be, the daughter of the Owl Empress and now a monster that was once the boss of a true dungeon… A rather unique party you all are." Gidou commented, before exhaling and then snapping his fingers. "But ultimately, you all seem harmless. Other than your initial reactions, which were simple self defence responses to my sudden moves — you all showed no ill will towards me during this whole conversation." I felt the barriers over the room suddenly disappear. It seemed like Gidou had deemed us 'safe'.
I let out a sigh of relief.
"Since you deem us not a 'threat', may we now take our leave?" Avy spoke up, her voice clearly showcasing her annoyance. Gidou brushed his beard gently before looking out the window behind him. After a moment or two, he looked back at us.
"Not yet. I actually have some other things to discuss."
'Other things'?
Great… What will he ask of us this time?
"First, I have to let you all know that the Duke of Ordial was rather interested in you two." He pointed towards me and Avy. "Us–?"
"Well, more specifically, he was interested in you, sir Riy… my apologies – sir Faofa."
"I'd prefer if you called me 'Riyo'.." I rubbed the back of my neck before looking down. The Duke was interested in me? But why? How did a duke even know about me? I'm an unimpressive adventurer that hasn't done anything grandiose that the public would know about…. Unless…
"Is it because of the Southern Beast?"
Gidou nodded. "While I cannot speak about his intentions exactly, as he is quite a mysterious character, he specifically took an interest in you after it came to light that the Southern Beast had been taken out and you had been found nearby unconscious."
"...So, he doesn't know that I took it out?"
Gidou shook his head. "I imagine he has his suspicions, but I doubt he knows of it completely. After all, as far as anyone is concerned, you are a low ranked adventurer that may have simply gotten in the crossfire of a higher ranked adventurer or something taking it out."
Thank god… If he knew that I was the one who took it out, I imagine that this duke would have called me to himself already. "So far, I have only given him information about you that the guild has. He has requested to meet with you, but I have declined his requests so far."
"Y-You have declined requests from a duke…?"
Gidou shrugged.
"Not that big of a deal. The Adventuring Guild is an organisation of freedom. We do not serve under any specific regime. Besides, as a Guildmaster, the duke holds no power over me either — as the only one who can order me around without question is the Grandmaster of the Adventuring Guilds main headquarters in Tvarta."
That is… Something alright.
A bit wild to think that they can just do that — but then again, I suppose this world's systems work quite a bit differently from my previous world's systems.
"As for the second thing… It is actually a request."
I looked at Gidou with a raised eyebrow, with Avy sighing heavily while Odale continued to remain silent. "A… request?"
Gidou nodded.
"There is something I need delivered to someone. However, I am unable to entrust it to just anybody as the location that it needs to be delivered to… Isn't exactly the safest." I shed a sweat. 'Can't entrust to just anybody' – meanwhile is about to entrust it to three beings who are closer to monsters and have been lying about their true identities for a while now…
Seems a bit contradictory.
But there was a slightly bigger question in my mind.
"...Then… Why trust us? Wouldn't higher ranked adventurers you've known longer be better fit?"
"I would usually send a high ranking adventurer party to do this for me instead, however there aren't any high ranking adventurer parties in Ordial that are available right now."
"Can't Lyrra do it–? She—"
"Has departed back to Yiinao. She is currently involved in a bit of a thing in Yiinao, but made a bit of time to join the Dungeon raid. So, now that the raid is over, she returned back to Yiinao to continue her work." Gidou cut me off, immediately shutting down Lyrra as an option.
I rubbed the back of my neck gently.
This was rather annoying… The Guildmaster was basically saying that there was no one else around to do this for him. But even then… Why trust us?
As if picking up my unvoiced question, Gidou cleared his throat. "You see, the location I need this delivered to is rather… Unique. It is a place stained with darkness which makes its environment alone difficult to survive if you're not strong enough to resist the energy covering it. Plus, it is filled with powerful monsters." The Guildmaster looked at us three. "While you three certainly need a bit more time before I can trust you fully, I don't exactly have anyone else to ask this of."
"Can't you go yourself..? You seem plenty strong—" Avy commented, with Gidou cutting her off a bit with a gentle laugh. I looked at Avy, before sighing. "He's the Guildmaster. It's not like he can just up and leave."
"Indeed. I have other things to keep track of and look after." Avy looked away slightly annoyed, while I let out a small awkward laugh. Then, I looked back at the Guildmaster – thinking about it for a moment, before exhaling.
"...We'll do it."
Gidou smiled. "Good answer."
While it seemed a bit 'foolish' to accept the request, it wasn't like we were exactly left with a choice… I imagine that declining the request wasn't a real option in this scenario.
Besides – we didn't have much to lose.
Hell, if we do it successfully, we just might improve our 'relationship' with the Guildmaster and make him trust us more. After a moment of silence, I took in a small breath before exhaling. "What location do we have to deliver this to exactly?"
"I'm sure you've heard of it before, but if not, I will explain."
The Guildmaster turned to lean onto his desk, resting his arms onto it before looking at us three with a more serious gaze. "Tell me, are you familiar with the location known as the 'Deadmans Graveyard'?"
The name, as soon as it was said, seemingly sent shivers down Odale's spine as he let out a small 'gasp' upon hearing it. I eyed the lich a bit, confused before looking over at Avy, who also looked a bit surprised. Looking back at the Guildmaster, I inhaled gently before exhaling. Whatever this place was, both Avy and Odale didn't seem like they were amused by the fact that it was the place that we had to travel to in order to deliver whatever the Guildmaster wanted to be delivered. Their reactions combined with the name of the place were enough for me to deduce that whatever this place may be – it certainly does not have a good reputation.