Chapter 15
Chapter 15
“We will never give up! You filthy dogs of the Empire!”
“Yes, yes, thank you for your hard work~”
From within the secret passage hidden inside the walls of the city called “the First City,” located right next to the Empire’s capital, anguished cries echoed endlessly.
“Captain, all targets have been captured.”
“Good job, Lieutenant!”
“Yes, ma’am.”
The tall woman called the lieutenant pulled her brown robe further over her head and tightened the bindings around the captured black mages.
“Ughhhhhhh!!!”
“Be quiet.”
“You crazy bitch! Kkagh! Ptoo!”
“….”
The foul-mouthed black mage tried to spit, but the lieutenant dodged it with superhuman reflexes.
“Just do it loosely, loosely~ We’re not even going to transport them anyway.”
“The goal is simply to prevent escape.”
“You’re so stiff~”
“…I am merely doing my job. Captain, you should at least show some dignity.”
“I hate that kind of thing~”
“….”
Unable to argue with the captain’s stubborn attitude, the lieutenant resumed tightening the bindings.
“Gaaaaah!”
At that moment, a figure completely wrapped in a black cloth beneath a brown robe descended lightly from the ceiling.
“Captain, two targets have escaped.”
“Oh~ those two who screamed at the beginning?”
“Yes. One cannot be identified, and the other appears to be from the Eastern Continent.”
“Hmm… put out a wanted notice. Probably just idiots.”
“Yes.”
The fully covered figure nodded and disappeared back into the ceiling.
“Alright~ time to wrap this up.”
“Yes, sunrise will be soon.”
At the lieutenant’s words, the other robed figures began to rise one by one.
Light from the rising sun leaked through cracks in the broken stones of the secret passage.
◆◆◆
“Ughhh…”
“You’re awake?”
We ended up sleeping rough on a city street.
“Today… we don’t have to sleep outside… right?”
“Is that the first thing you say after waking up?”
“I’m… really… tired of… sleeping outside…”
“Whether that changes depends on what we accomplish today.”
“Today…?”
After escaping both the black-robed group and the brown-robed group, we had barely managed to enter the city.
“Today we’re going to the Adventurer’s Guild.”
“Adventurer’s Guild…!”
I shot up instantly.
“Of course! This is another world! A kind receptionist! Alcohol and drinking contests! And… mysterious beautiful women who suddenly invite you into a party!”
“…sigh.”
I spoke my dream with shining eyes, while Revl started walking ahead with a sigh.
“But… won’t those people from yesterday come looking for us?”
Even though we escaped in chaos, it felt unlikely that no one noticed two suspicious people slipping away.
“We don’t even have robes…”
“I did cover myself completely.”
“….”
I stared at him coldly, then suddenly remembered something.
“Hey… what’s that symbol?”
“The symbol of the black mages?”
“Yeah, that.”
Black mages all wore black robes with a white symbol—something like a cross intersecting with a circle.
“Yes. A necessary mark for black mages.”
“Necessary…?”
“They are idiots who seek to destroy the world in their own ways.”
“…that’s oddly straightforward.”
“And the demon race is no different.”
“Hey… aren’t you basically the same then?”
“Don’t compare us to those fools! Our goal is to make the central world our territory!”
“So… conquest versus destruction?”
“Yes!”
Both are terrible anyway.
“So you also hate black mages who want to destroy the world?”
“Sort of… but demons aren’t much different. They all hate other races.”
Apparently extreme racism was just normal here.
“They identify each other using those symbols.”
“Oh… so they’re not organized like I thought.”
“Right. If you carried that symbol, you’d immediately be treated as a black mage.”
“….”
As we walked, I pulled out Momo.
“Momo, are you okay?”
『Yeah… I almost suffocated from boredom.』
“…sorry?”
『No need to apologize. Just wear me on your head from now on.』
“Uh… okay…”
I placed her back on my head.
“That mask again? Don’t wear it so much. It stands out too much.”
“It’s fine! Momo deserves fresh air too!”
“…you’re insane.”
Revl ignored me and continued walking.
“Do you even know the way? You said it’s your first time here.”
“Probably somewhere near the main square.”
And then we saw something in the plaza.
“….”
“…this is bad.”
In the center of the square was a large wooden notice board.
And in the corner—
A wanted poster with our names.
“Well… they didn’t identify us fully.”
It only said: “Black-haired Eastern man, two unidentified males.”
“But isn’t this dangerous? The guild will notice immediately.”
“This kind of notice isn’t from the guild. It’s private.”
“Then it’s fine?”
“No. Adventurers do pay attention to these…”
Revl grabbed my collar and pulled me into an alley.
“Revl?”
“We shouldn’t stand out.”
“Hey, you’re literally—”
“I know.”
“…we should split up.”
“WHAT?!”
“Not like that.”
“…you can read my face too well.”
『He’s very easy to read.』
Even Momo betrayed me.
“Anyway. You go to the Adventurer’s Guild. Become an adventurer. I’ll find us a place to stay.”
“…okay.”
Revl disappeared into the alley.
“Alright! Time to go!”
With Momo guiding me, I headed toward the Adventurer’s Guild.
The building was exactly what I expected—large, wooden, and lively inside.
Adventurers gathered around quest boards, eating, talking, or forming parties.
I walked straight to the reception desk.
“Um… I’d like to become an adventurer.”
“Oh? Your name?”
“Ishiwoo.”
“You’re from the Eastern Continent, right?”
“Well… yeah.”
She started writing as if it was obvious.
“Why did you come all the way here? This city is in the central region.”
“Uh… well…”
What do I say?!
『Just say it’s a famous city.』
“This guild is famous, so…”
“Ohh~ yes, it is quite famous!”
She happily launched into a long explanation about the city and the guild.
“…and our guild was originally built from the tavern where the First Hero once stayed!”
“Wow…”
Eventually she handed me a wooden tag.
“1…?”
On the back was a big “1.”
『That’s a Rank 1 adventurer badge. Congrats.』
“Wait… aren’t adventurers supposed to start at Rank 9?”
“Ah—no? It goes from Rank 1 upward.”
“…oh.”
So this world really does everything differently.
“Do you have a combat role? Skills?”
“I—”
『Wait.』
Momo interrupted.
『Just say you can handle swords a little.』
“I can handle swords… somewhat.”
“Ohhh~ Eastern continent travelers always use unusual swords!”
She wrote it down enthusiastically.
“Any other details?”
“Nope.”
“Registration complete!”
Then she asked about quests.
“Hunting herbs, dungeon exploration, or goblin extermination for beginners. Which do you want?”
“….”
『Take any. They’re all beginner quests.』
I picked one randomly.
“Here?”
『Yeah. Revl isn’t here yet.』
We waited in the alley.
Soon, Revl appeared—fully wrapped again.
“Revl! Look! I’m Rank 1!”
“Don’t lose that. It’s important.”
“If I lose it, I’m basically nothing…”
“And you’ll also get fined.”
“Fined? How much?”
“Ten gold coins.”
“…TEN?!”
After some explanation, we learned the currency scale.
“Wait… so we’re basically broke.”
“Yes.”
“…great.”
Revl led me to a lodging district.
Eventually, he stopped in front of a house that looked like a normal residence.
“This is it?”
“You’ll see.”
Inside, an old man sat in a rocking chair.
“Here is the hero.”
“…ah… the hero…”
He responded vaguely, almost absentmindedly.
“You tricked a dementia patient?!”
“I didn’t trick him. He offered free lodging if I brought the hero.”
“…that somehow makes it worse.”
We climbed into the attic.
There was nothing there.
“…this is it?”
“At least it has a roof.”
We lay down.
Then Revl grabbed a paper.
“A quest?”
“Herb gathering.”
“…reward is 5 copper coins.”
“…we should’ve chosen something else.”
“Let’s sleep.”
And for once, we slept under a roof.
Chapter 15 — Zombies vs Plants (1)
I woke up feeling like I had finally slept properly in a long time.
“Are you up? Let’s get ready.”
“Yeah…”
Revl was already dressed, wrapped in bandages.
“The southern forest is far.”
“Why are we going there…?”
“You chose the herb gathering quest.”
“Right…”
I packed my things, including Momo and the broken sword hilt I still carried like a charm.
“…why are you still carrying that?”
“It’s… a charm.”
“That looks like a pretty good sword.”
“It’s useless now.”
Revl didn’t press further.
We left the attic.
At breakfast, the old couple served us soup.
“Eat up, boys.”
“Thank you…”
The old man suddenly muttered something about the “First Hero.”
“Only that hero was real!”
“Here he goes again…”
Apparently, the First Hero was a legendary figure worshipped like a god.
We left and headed to the forest.
Other adventurers were already gathering herbs.
But everything good was already picked.
“Only two…”
“I only got one.”
We moved deeper into the forest.
Strange creatures appeared—giant insects, glowing flowers, dangerous monsters.
Then—
A worm dropped onto my head.
“…what is this?”
“DEATH WORM!”
We ran.
We were chased deeper into the forest, losing all herbs.
Eventually, we rolled down a slope, crashed into trees, and stopped near a large root.
Revl was injured.
“Are you okay?”
“…I’m fine.”
But his side was bleeding.
And we had lost all the herbs.
We were lost.
As night approached—
A bell rang.
Someone appeared.
A girl dressed in leaf-woven clothes stood there.
“My name is Yakacham.”
We followed her to a hidden forest village.
“Welcome to Kapha Village!”
But an older man immediately raised his staff.
“Outsiders are not allowed.”
Then he looked at Revl.
“And especially… a traitor race.”
“…wait!”
I stepped forward.
“We’ll leave.”
But the man attacked anyway.
So I spoke.
“I am the hero, Ishiwoo.”
Silence.
Then—
He knelt.
“…hero… at last…”