Approaching the end of the Abyssal woods range, Ordial was now in sight. Upon noticing it, I turned to face Odale. "We're almost there. It'd be a good idea for you to hide in my shadow now." The lich nodded, before pulling up the hood of his robes onto his head and then moving over my shadow. "Call me whenever you need me, Master Faofa."
"Of course."
Then, Odale sunk into my shadow, disappearing completely. Once he was in my shadow, I continued my march towards Ordial.
Approaching the front gates, I greeted the guards that were stationed there before moving inside the town itself. "I should go check up on Avy…" I thought, looking around the town before heading off towards the Ordial Medical point. Moving through the town streets, it was as lively as ever. So many different people going about their days – with occasional adventurers wandering the streets as well, with a lot of them going to different shops.
"Guess everyone that participated in the dungeon raid is now spending whatever cash they earned." I laughed lightly, rubbing the back of my neck. Because of the incident that occurred with me, Avy and Rodrigo's friends in the dungeon, we didn't manage to really get much artifacts to bring back for the guild – so our payout wasn't as big as it could have been.
In fact, now that I think about it…
I haven't had any news about whether my adventurer rank will go up. Then again, the Guildmaster did request to speak with me and Avy after she was all rested up.
So maybe I'll hear something about it then…? Although, I'm not really holding out hope for that, especially since I have this bad feeling about the whole meeting with the Guildmaster.
Something about the way he was looking at me and acting when he met me in the dungeon — didn't quite sit right with me. It felt as though he was careful to observe me and even a bit like he was wary of me… For whatever reason. "...Could he have..?" I floated the idea for a moment, before shaking my head and clearing it from the idea.
"No – no he couldn't have. I've been careful to keep my identity a secret." I commented in my mind, before picking up my pace a bit, to make it to the medical point a little faster.
After a little while, I arrived at the Ordial Medical point. The building looked still, as impressive as when I first found myself here – after defeating the Southern Beast. Walking up to the front door, I gently entered the building, only to be met by a surprising scene at the front desk.
"Are you certain you are feeling alright, Miss Avy?"
Avy nodded gently.
"Nothing hurts." The receptionist lady at the desk looked down, sorting through a few documents on her table, before exhaling and placing them to the side, looking back at Avy with a gentle smile. "Very well. I shall inform the head doctor about your dismissal. Have a nice day miss Avy and please, if you start feeling bad, do not be afraid to come back."
"Of course, thank you." After bidding a quick farewell, she turned around and began moving my way. Smiling, I moved towards her a bit. "Hey Avy." The woman looked up at me upon hearing my voice, before her face visibly went through all sorts of emotions — first was worry, then happiness and then lastly… She started crying before leaping onto me, hugging me tightly, while burying her face in my chest.
I was taken back by her reaction a bit, however I simply chuckled before hugging her back. "She must have been worried like hell about me… I did separate from them all in the dungeon unexpectedly."
"Th-Thank the dragons…. Y-You're okay… I-I was so…"
I gently pat her head, smiling lightly. "I know, I know. Sorry that I made you worry so much." Backing up from me, sniffling a bit and wiping off her tears, Avy looked at me with a wide smile.
"Feeling alright?"
"Mhm… J-Just got dismissed." Avy replied, before taking out a small handkerchief and blowing her nose a bit. "Great. Then let's head on out." I turned around, taking Avy by her hand and pulling her with me out from the medical center.
As the two left, some of the medical staff chuckled lightly.
"Ain't those two lovebirds just adorable?" One male staff member laughed. "Mhm～ Young love… Such a wonderful thing." A female staff member agreed, chuckling to herself, before returning to her work.
Back out on the streets, me and Avy first headed to a spot to eat something - as I hadn't had breakfast yet due to my excursion with Odale to that A-Rank dungeon, or rather, I suppose it'd be more accurate to call it Odales 'tomb' and Avy had just recently woken up – so she hasn't had anything to eat or anything for at least two days.
We hit up a small restaurant, where Avy absolutely devoured everything that she ordered — going through the food like her life depended upon it. I went a bit more slowly, while gently - and slightly nervously - laughing about Avy's huge appetite, which I can only imagine she built up over the two days she spent in her 'coma' state, resting after taking down the 'boss' of the Fire Princes domain dungeon.
After having a fulfilling meal, the two of us headed towards the Adventuring Guild building. Now that Avy was awake, it felt like the appropriate time to go and see what the Guildmaster wants with us — better to get it over with than drag it out.
"I have a bad feeling about meeting with this 'Guildmaster'..." Avy stated, her expression clearly showing her distrust towards the man.
While I couldn't say her suspicion was unwarranted, especially since I myself was rather cautious of anything that the Guildmaster could potentially want with us — I couldn't help but also feel like the ominous aura of 'I don't trust this man and will jump him at the first opportunity' that Avy was slightly giving off right now… Wasn't entirely right.
"We'll have to see what he wants. Maybe it's simply just some questions regarding what exactly happened in the Fire Princes domain." I responded, even though I myself doubted the possibility of it being that simple.
Approaching the Adventuring Guild building, I felt a slight sense of hesitation creep up my back. Suddenly, I wasn't so sure about meeting the Guildmaster… However, there really wasn't turning back now. Stepping up to the building's entrance, the two of us entered it – being met by the usual liveliness that the Adventuring Guild housed inside it. As soon as we stepped in, an employee of the Guild immediately rushed over to us.
"Sir Riyo and Miss Avy, correct?"
I looked at the fair lady before nodding. "That's us. We're here to—"
"I am aware. The Guildmaster is waiting. Please, follow me." She cut me off, before bowing towards me and turning around, moving to move up a staircase that was to the side in the building. Shedding a slight sweat and exchanging a quick gaze with Avy, the two of us moved after the employee, climbing up the stairs – the lively scene of the guild vanishing. It didn't take long for the chatter and such to fade away as we all moved through the higher floor of the Adventuring Guild. This part of it was a lot more… calm.
Less lively and even quite a bit darker, with the only current source of light being a few windows that were located in rooms to our sides, that had their doors open… for whatever reason.
Sneaking a slight peak inside the rooms, they mostly seemed to be file rooms, with shelves upon shelves of documents, books and other things, with employees dressed in red variations of the usual guild uniform working in these rooms. There were also around four of what seemed to be waiting or rest rooms, where there were no piles of books or documents — just some furniture and teapots with teacups. "I'll take a guess on those rooms being where the employees go for their breaks."
It was a rather simple guess, but at the same time, it was the most likely one.
Eventually we reached the end of the hall, where a closed, rather fancy door stood. Just above it was a small wooden plate with a simple engraving on it; 'Guildmaster'.
"Must be his office.."
I commented in my mind, before the employee turned towards us and bowed, opening the door for us. "The Guildmaster awaits. Please, head on inside."
"Thank you." I gave a quick bow towards the employee, before moving past her and into the office, with Avy sticking close to my side, remaining silent the whole time. Once inside the office, the door behind us was closed. Looking around, I couldn't help but feel rather impressed by the room.
It was spacious, with a few bookshelves filled with books and documents lined up against the wall closest to the door. On the wall next to the bookshelves, there were several plaques and certificates hung – with a couple of medals even among them. "Must be official recognition and what not that the Guildmaster has received during his time alive.."
Continuing to move my gaze around, it fell onto a rather long, dark wooden chest, inside of which laid a sheathed sword on a bed of red cloth. The scabbard of the sword was rather simple, with it being mainly brown in colour with a grey 'fire' pattern across it. The handle and the hand guard of the blade sheathed in the scabbard were also rather simple – they looked quite a lot like something an Adventurer would use.
"Guess the Guildmaster used to be one..? That'd make sense, no?" I thought for a moment, before a small cough came from the side. I was brought out of my thoughts, before I threw my gaze over to where the cough had come from. To the right side of the room, there was a massive circular window – with a desk in front of it. On the desk, there were several documents scattered with a few other things also just kind of all over it. At the desk itself, there he sat - Gidou, his arms crossed, leaned back in his green and dark brown, wooden chair, his eyes locked onto me and Avy, with a gentle expression on his face.
"Have you finished observing my office?"
"Ah… My apologies." I rubbed the back of my neck, with the Guildmaster laughing lightly, before gesturing for me to sit down on one of the couches in front of his desk. Avy moved before me, quickly moving over to one of them and sitting down, crossing her legs. I stood there for a second, slightly hesitant, before following after her and sitting down next to her – looking over to the Guildmaster afterwards.
"Man… This sort of reminds me about those times when I'd be called by the higher ups into their office in my previous life… I feel the same anxiety as I did back then." I exhaled lightly. "Guess I am not as used to speaking to people of higher authority as I had assumed…"
After a moment of silence, the Guildmaster cleared his throat before looking at us both. "Now then, allow me to first congratulate you both on surviving in the Fire Princes domain, despite uncovering things we had no idea even existed. Many other Adventurers would have been screwed if they had been in your place." I nodded, expressing a silent gratitude towards the Guildmaster. Avy remained silent, keeping a sharp gaze onto the Guildmaster.
"I also want to thank you. Because of you we had been made aware of traps and an entire section of the Dungeon we had not discovered before. This will ensure that any future dungeon raids will be a lot safer for the Adventurers and hopefully, that a situation like the one you experienced, does not repeat."
So far… It seemed like I was worrying for nothing.
He was simply congratulating us for basically 'informing' the Guild about an entire section of the dungeon that they had no idea even existed. He even congratulated us on surviving – as… unexpected, as that was.
"I assume you didn't call us here just to congratulate us, right?"
"Correct, Miss Avy." I threw a slightly nervous stare at Avy. The sharp way she said that could have led to trouble, however right now, it seemed the Guildmaster didn't mind the way she spoke. After a slight adjustment of his clothes and a gentle brush of his beard, he rested his arms onto his desk, before resting his chin onto his arms. "I have a few questions for the two of you. I hope you can answer them truthfully."
"What are they about?" Avy's tone screamed her suspicion.
Which I couldn't judge. It was wise to be cautious - even if I didn't really believe that there was a need for it at this time.
"Just a few questions regarding the dungeon, that's all. More specifically, regarding the events that transpired." He narrowed his eyes a bit. "Think that's fair of me to ask?"
Regarding the dungeon?
I suppose… As long as I kept everything surrounding Odale a secret and did not let too much slip, there was no issue with telling him what happened. Avy nodded in response. "Feels a bit like she's taken control of the conversation in my place…" I chuckled lightly under my breath.
"Great. Then, we can start by reciting what exactly occurred. As detailed as you can would be preferred." A pretty reasonable place to start. I exchanged gazes with Avy before looking back at the Guildmaster and beginning the reciting of the events that transpired.
The two of us thoroughly explained what exactly happened up until I was split from the rest of them – from which Avy explained what happened with her, the other three adventurers and supposedly another person who had appeared out of nowhere in the dungeon — who the Guildmaster stated to have been a simple guild employee, making sure that the the Adventurers in the dungeon were safe at all times.
Once she recounted her half — I recounted mine.
Of course, I cut out the details I felt as though it would give away too much or even potentially lead to him becoming suspicious of me. So, things like the miasma I felt, Arvalor's existence and the entire confrontation with Odale – I skipped, only telling him that I faced an Undead Knight down there, who had been guarding what looked like an empty throne.
Once I finished, I was nervous at first.
I wasn't sure whether my recounting would convince the Guildmaster or not, however after a bit of silence, it seemed like he had been convinced, with him nodding and exhaling. "I see. Certainly quite an adventure the two of you had."
I laughed lightly with Avy shrugging.
"Alright, now that I've heard the overall situation and how everything occurred – Let us move onto my other questions. First, sir Riyo, you mentioned an 'Undead Knight' guarding an empty throne in the hidden section that you found yourself inside of. Could you elaborate on the specifics about this knight?"
"Uh… Could you make it a bit clearer on what you want to know exactly..?"
"Just how strong the monster was. If it was very powerful, then there is a chance that the monster that Avy defeated wasn't the actual boss of the dungeon and instead, that knight was." I shed a cold sweat. He had managed to guess the truth that easily–?
I mean, the Knight wasn't the true boss monster of the dungeon, but even then… Being able to accurately guess that the drake that Avy took down wasn't the true boss, simply from the recountings me and Avy gave was a bit… scary.
Guess it showed his sharp mind.
"Well…" I started, thinking about how to best explain the knight and its abilities, without revealing so much, that it becomes suspicious on how I managed to defeat it. "The knight was absolutely strong. It had skills that I was only barely able to match and its speed and physical strength were immense. Plus, it had a rather terrifying ability to its name."
"A terrifying ability you say? And what may this ability be? Could you describe it?"
"Well, he was able to basically perfectly copy one of my spells – replicating it like it was his own." Which technically wasn't a lie. My 'skills' could be passed off as spells, if I used them correctly.
The Guildmaster looked surprised for a second, before thinking and then exhaling, a visible sweat drop falling from his face – it seemed he was rather worried. "It's only a guess, however I think it could be assumed that the knight possessed the unique authority known as 'Greed'."
…Seriously, how sharp is his mind?
I should pretend I don't know what he's talking about.
"Greed..?"
"I assumed you weren't familiar with it, since it's a rather rare ability to come by. The unique authority known as 'Greed' is an ability that allows its holder to 'steal' the abilities of others, by perfectly mimicking them. It's a very powerful and dangerous ability to encounter, especially when facing a strong monster such as an Undead Knight." Gidou's explanation was what I had expected. A simple, easy to understand statement regarding what it was and what it could do. If I truly didn't know what 'Greed' was, I most certainly would have appreciated the simplicity of the explanation.
"I see… That sounds truly frightening."
"It indeed is frightening. The knight you faced must have been inexperienced in using the authority of 'Greed', since usually an adventurer of your rank wouldn't stand a chance against such an ability." I kept silent, laughing in my mind gently. "Oh it was absolutely not inexperienced with it… In fact, it was more experienced at using it than I would have liked."
After a moment of silence, with the Guildmaster seemingly making note of what I had said, he placed the pen in his hand to the side and then exhaled. "Alright, next question. How did you make it out of there unscathed, sir Riyo?"
…Yikes… How do I answer that one?
I looked at Avy a bit, with the woman gently shrugging before nudging me. It seemed she wouldn't be able to help me out here either. So, it was up to me to think of an excuse to give, that would sound believable enough as to not raise suspicion about me in the Guildmaster. "Well, I got lucky… The knight let its guard down at one point, allowing me to get in a strong strike on it. Luckily, that strike was enough to beat it."
"Hmm… I see…" I was sort of praying that he would believe my explanation, which, technically, wasn't entirely wrong.
I simply severely undercutted the real story. After a bit, Gidou took note on a paper next to him once again, before exhaling. "I must thank you two for being so cooperative. I know one or two adventurers who wouldn't be as cooperative in your place." The Guildmaster smiled gently, allowing me to breathe a light breath of relief.
"Are we free then…?"
I asked, with Avy already standing up to leave.
"Almost, I just have one last question — followed by a small request." I nodded, gesturing to Avy to wait just a bit more. The woman sighed heavily, before plopping back down next to me. Afterwards, I gestured to the Guildmaster to ask away his question. "We're listening."
The Guildmaster nodded, before resting his arms onto the desk once more – placing his chin onto them as well.
A light ding went off in my mind.
I sensed a sudden barrier appear around the room. "What the…?" Did someone cast a spell over the room? Or was it Gidou…? Either way, suddenly I had a bad feeling. After the initial barrier, I felt another one envelop the room around us – this one seemed to be one that blocked sound, judging from its properties.
Then, Gidou looked at us with a gentle smile on his face, his eyes slightly glowing. "...Who are you two truly?"
A momentary silence took place in the room around us. I shed a nervous sweat, before lifting an eyebrow. "..Pardon—?" Before I could even finish, Avy suddenly lunged at the Guildmaster, her talons sharp and aimed at his throat. In an instant, her attack was interrupted by the Guildmaster, who blocked it with a shortsword he had seemingly pulled out from his desk, before pushing Avy back.
I quickly jumped up to my feet.
"Avy, what are you—?"
"That's curious. The strength you exerted against me just now — it most certainly outweighs the strength expected of an adventurer your rank." The Guildmaster stated, standing up before looking at Avy with a more serious expression. I was confused, but understood that the situation had turned a bit… dire. With the two barriers that were cast over the room, and the sudden change in attitude from Gidou — as well as the magical energy that began to leak from his body, creating an aura which matched… No, even outpowered the aura I felt when I was face to face with Odale, it was safe to assume that he was suspicious.
In fact, he was potentially even more than just suspicious… He might have seen through my attempts at lying. Gidou looked at me for a moment. "And you, sir Riyo? I do not believe an average adventurer carries three monsters in their shadow everywhere they go."
My eyes widened for a moment.
Then, a pair of red eyes shone in my shadow, before Odale flew out and created a quick fireball, which he threw at Gidou. "W-Wait, Odale don't—!"
The Guildmaster stood there as the fireball reached him in an instant, only to dissipate as soon as it was about to make contact with his skin. Then, I felt a third barrier get cast over the room. Suddenly, my head throbbed and my entire body felt heavy.
I fell to my knees, with Odale collapsing next to me as well, seemingly struggling as well, while Avy lunged at Gidou again, exchanging a few blows with the Guildmaster, before he easily overpowered her and knocked her back – the Owl Princess crashing into the bookshelves on the other side of the room, before falling to the floor.
"A-Avy..!"
"She's fine. I made sure to hold back so as to not hurt her." Gidou stated, before brushing off his clothes a bit, I looked at the man, trying to force myself to stand up, only to fall back down. "Interesting… Usually, a human wouldn't be particularly affected much while inside a magic nullification barrier, however you and your lich friend there are struggling quite a bit."
The Guildmaster stepped towards me, walking up, before kneeling down in front of me. "I don't want to harm you, sir 'Riyo' – however, at the same time, I am someone who values the safety of Ordial and its people above all else, so I assume you understand that I can't overlook a monster roaming around playing pretend as a human."
He looked into my eyes with a deathly serious glare.
"Answer me truthfully sir Riyo. Who are you truly?"
I gazed back at the Guildmaster, sweat dropping down my fake human body. I could feel it slightly falling apart as the magical energy that made it up began to slowly disappear. If I didn't comply, it was more than safe to assume that Gidou would eliminate me, especially after seeing that I was a snake.
Gulping, I threw a look at Odale and then Avy, before looking back at the Guildmaster, who was basically staring into my soul with his gently glowing eyes.
"God damnit… I got careless…"