Bellatrix and the Adventurers
Bellatrix and the Adventurers
It was six hours before Luke arrived at the port city.
Bellatrix, Vice Guild Master of Gjallarhorn.
The name everyone affectionately called her was Bella.
Bella, who had been staying in the port city, had left the temple a fortnight ago. Today, she visited the Adventurer's Guild with her escorts.
"Vice Guild Master! There's an Adventurer's Guild in the port city too? It's not just in Yoen-su?"
The red-haired swordswoman on the escort quest asked Bella. As they walked toward the guild building, Bella answered the curious swordswoman.
"Yes. The Adventurer's Guild is in every city on the Western Continent. Our Gjallarhorn operates branches all across the continent. Though they're much smaller in scale than our headquarters in Yoen-su."
"Ah-ha."
The swordswoman's name was Rebecca, wasn't it?
Bella had noticed it ever since her entrance exam, but the woman was shockingly naive about the ways of the world. Every Westerner knew the Adventurer's Guild was in multiple cities.
'She said she was from the Kingdom of Zakarta, right? Where in the world is Zakarta?'
Bella glanced at Rebecca, who was sticking close by, and fell into a quandary. Bella's family had undertaken countless adventures since her ancestors' time, but they had never once visited a region called the Kingdom of Zakarta. She almost doubted it was a real kingdom.
But solving that mystery was impossible.
Whenever someone asked Rebecca about her homeland in detail, she subtly dodged the question. She clammed up even in front of Bella, who was her direct superior. From what Bella heard, she hadn't even revealed her homeland to her boyfriend or the nun in her party.
'Well, I can figure it out little by little later. For now, investigating the fishmen comes first.'
She was curious, but what mattered to Bella right now wasn't the hometown story of a newbie adventurer. She needed to find out why, for the past month, all the fishmen on the Western Continent had suddenly turned into homicidal maniacs.
A fortnight ago, Bella had ordered the port city's Adventurer's Guild to investigate the fishmen. The deadline was today, so she just had to collect the compiled data from the branch manager.
"Kate! They say there's an Adventurer's Guild everywhere on the continent! Did you know that?"
"It's common sense, so of course I know, Rebecca unnie. If you don't know that, people treat you like an idiot. Please, study some common sense!"
"What's with your tone? Are you mouthing off to your unnie right now?"
"I don't want to treat an idiot like an unnie~."
"You little... let's see how far you can push this. Hey!"
The port city's Adventurer's Guild was shabby. It was so small in scale that it couldn't compare to the headquarters in Yoen-su.
Bella entered the building with her two escorts, intending to find the branch manager. Of course, she had to break up the bickering escort sisters beforehand, though.
"Quiet, everyone! You're bothering the other adventurers. I've been noticing this ever since the day we parted with Luke, but why are you two always at each other's throats?"
"It's because Kate keeps mouthing off! Ugh, it's so annoying!"
"I can't help it because my unnie is so frustrating!"
A fortnight ago, Bella had parted ways with Luke, the leader of this adventurer party. It was because he had to be left at the Temple of Nain Gard in order to grow as a mage. But the day after they parted with Luke, a strange phenomenon occurred within the adventurer party she had hired as escorts.
—Kate! I told you not to buy snacks with the party's public funds!
—Ah, I told you, I'll refill the money! It's just buying snacks, can't you let that slide?
The adventurer party after Luke's departure was, from Bella's perspective, a shock and a horror. Rebecca and Kate picked fights with each other over every little thing and fought. To Bella, it felt like mortal enemies had formed a party.
'This is seriously hopeless. These adventurers.'
It was so baffling that she wondered how their party leader, Luke, had managed to run these hopeless party members.
—Unnie! Let's be honest! You don't like me, do you?
—Hey, why are you opening your eyes that wide?
But it wasn't as if the two women's relationship was purely bad. Even though they fought like they were going to kill each other, they made up quickly and there were times they got along well. The mood swung between hell and heaven, so Bella had no idea what rhythm to follow.
—Fuahahahahahahaha!! Take my eye lasers!!
—Pfftthahahahahahaha!! Your face looks so ridiculous!!
Bella had finally realized it during the fortnight without Luke.
That it seemed impossible to command these female adventurers under her control. It was better to just leave them alone to carry out the escort quest. Of course, if they got too noisy, she pointed it out like she was doing now.
"If you keep chattering, I'll deduct from the quest reward. Please be careful, everyone."
"Yeees~. Vice Guild Master."
"I'm confident I can be quieter than my unnie."
"Hey, you're the loudest one, you know?"
Feeling her head spin, Bella made her way to the guild's reception room. Waiting there was a man named Brooks, the branch manager of the port city. As soon as Bella appeared, Brooks bowed deeply and greeted her respectfully.
"It's been a while, Lady Bella. I've completed the investigation on the fishmen rebellion you requested."
Even though he ran a shabby guild, Brooks was a competent guild member. She relied solely on Brooks for intelligence on the port city area. He was a man worthy of that trust.
Bella took the documents and listened to Brooks's explanation.
"There was a hidden force secretly commanding the fishmen. A special entity called the 'Great Chief' gave the fishmen orders to incite a rebellion."
"The Great Chief? I've never heard that name before."
"Not just you, my lady. Most people didn't even know such an entity existed. The fishmen had been thoroughly hiding their Great Chief. Besides, their breath stinks like shit, so who would even try to have a conversation with them?"
Bella knew well how severe the fishmen's breath was. She had once fainted while interviewing fishmen who applied to be adventurers.
'That was the first time I fainted because of bad breath.'
Bella recalled the interview momentarily, then quickly snapped back to focus on Brooks's explanation. The story he was telling involved unsettling keywords like genocide and race.
"Great Chief Neptune! He intends to lead the tribes under his command and attack this port city. They say all the fishmen from the entire Western Continent are now gathering here. Lady Bella, it would be best for you to evacuate immediately."
"They're attacking this place? This is a city firmly guarded by the kingdom's soldiers. If they try that kind of madness, the royal family will issue a subjugation order against the fishmen."
"The fishmen's Great Chief is insane enough not to care. He holds a mission to exterminate all non-fishmen races from the continent. A bloodbath will soon sweep through this port city. I will stay here and defend the Lotus Branch alongside the adventurers."
No wonder the atmosphere inside the guild felt ominous. The adventurers belonging to the Lotus Branch had been arming themselves with heavy equipment since early morning. It was to take quests and defend the guild building from the fishmen.
"Does the Lord of Lotus also know the fishmen are attacking? This city should be under Count Cloud's jurisdiction."
"Of course. I sent an adventurer to the lord's castle to deliver the news. The Count has reinforced the defenses at the city walls and the beach. He replied telling us not to worry about the fishmen."
"Hmm."
Bella had met the lord governing the port city at a social party for nobles before.
Count Cloud.
He was a young man who only liked to play, so she didn't trust him at all. She heard he invested nothing in military power and poured the city budget entirely into entertainment facilities.
'How can I not worry? That man Cloud was dumber than a monkey.'
Even after hearing the lord's reply to not worry, Bella was instead anxious. She had to get out of the port city as soon as possible. But there was exactly one thing that bothered her.
"Luke..."
The adventurer Luke, whom she had left at the Temple of Nain Gard.
A fortnight had passed since then, so his trial should be over by now. Luke would probably leave the temple and return to the port city today. He would visit the port city, now turned into a warzone, knowing nothing. That horned adventurer's life was in danger.
"What about Luke? Why are you bringing up my boyfriend?"
"Today's the day he returns from the temple. If we evacuate the city by ourselves, Luke could wander around here lost. Then he could end up killed by the fishmen."
"K-killed?"
"That's just a worst-case scenario."
When they left, Bella planned to at least leave word with the guild members of the Lotus Branch or the employees at her villa. To tell them, if they met an adventurer named Luke, to inform him that the Vice Guild Master and her escorts had left the city. However, there was no guarantee the message would be delivered properly in the midst of the chaos.
"Everyone. For Luke's safety and ours, this seems like the best course of action."
Bella racked her brain and quickly formulated a plan.
"We'll take a carriage to the Temple of Nain Gard today. If we meet Luke on the way, we can just join up immediately, which is even better. We'll request protection from the Rune Mages until the commotion settles down."
"You mean the temple is safe?"
"Yes. That's the safest place on the continent."
Nain Gard was a powerful organization that could grind up fishmen like nothing. Because of their principle of not interfering in outsiders' conflicts, they wouldn't send reinforcements to the port city. But requesting protection was possible.
'My family has had ties with Nain Gard since our ancestors' time. They won't be able to turn us away carelessly.'
Her plan was fully formulated. She would head straight to the villa and issue evacuation orders to the employees. After that, Bella intended to take a carriage and leave the city immediately.
"First, let's go to the villa. Let's escape this place by carriage with Hannah. Everyone, prepare for battle."
Bella exited the guild building with her two escorts. She didn't know exactly when the fishmen's attack would begin, but she had to hurry.
"A message to all residents of the port city! Evacuate to a safe place immediately! Lord Count Cloud has issued a curfew order!"
The moment they stepped out into the city, they saw knights evacuating citizens and tourists. The knights were shouting, but the order was so sudden that controlling the crowd was difficult.
"What is this! Why is a curfew order being issued so suddenly! We want to hear the reason too!"
"Fishmen are going to attack the city. Don't wander around outside for no reason and stay indoors. It would be best to bolt your doors tight."
Bella passed the panicked citizens and headed straight for the villa. But the closer she got to the beachfront where the villa was located, a strange phenomenon occurred.
Ssssshhh—!
An unidentified water mist began to blanket the city. The direction the mist was blowing from was the beachfront. The thick water mist, mixed with a fishy smell, covered the entire city in an instant.
"V-Vice Guild Master! The mist suddenly appeared!"
"The fishmen have pulled a trick. They used their ability to control water and spread this fog."
Their vision was obscured by the dense water mist.
The panicked citizens in the streets clamored noisily. But the spreading water mist was only the beginning.
WHOOOOSH—!
Not just the water mist, but soon seawater flowed in from the beach and flooded the city streets. The water rose to their ankles in the blink of an eye, making it difficult to move forward.
"Hurry! We have to get to the villa before it's too late!"
Bella ran toward the beachfront with her escorts.
But before long, they had no choice but to stop.
"Grrrrrrr."
An unidentified monster appeared on the main road leading to the beach.
It was a bizarrely shaped monster with the body of a giant shark and limbs attached.