22. Beyond good and evil (1)
official soldier.
Only Lucia, not knowing the value of that name, tilted her head.
I briefly started with the ranks of the warriors and told them about the temporary and regular warriors.
“So you’re saying it’s pretty difficult?”
“Summarizing it like that makes me so shabby.”
It’s not quite difficult, it’s ‘very’ difficult.
Because to proudly introduce yourself as a ‘hero’ wherever you go, you have to be at least a formal hero.
It usually takes years, and there are quite a few people who give up after trying.
“Maybe it’s too soon…” .”
“Right… ! We haven’t even experienced a D-class dungeon yet… !”
“You spoke well. So, the dungeon I am going to this time is a D-class dungeon.”
“oh… .”
“But what will be different if you become a full-fledged hero?”
Lucia asked.
“First of all, you get a tax cut.”
“Five.”
“You can get priority when buying land or buildings to settle somewhere within this empire. The imperial family sometimes pays a certain amount of dignity management fee every month.”
“Ohh… .”
“When you visit a city or country, if you announce your arrival in advance, you might be welcomed, right? Well, it has to be quite famous, and there are various conditions, such as the maintenance fee, which is cut off if you are not active for a certain period of time.”
“Anyway, are you recognized as a great person? socially.”
“That’s right. And you get the qualification to challenge higher level dungeons. From C-class dungeons and above, only regular warriors are qualified to attack. Of course, the price of magic stones goes up a lot.”
In addition to these things, when you know that you are a regular soldier, the way people treat you changes.
“It’s good. Does Ian think we can do it?”
“If I couldn’t do it, I wouldn’t have brought it up. It would be more accurate to see the results of the first collaboration between the three of you.”
Unlike the other two, Lucia has no great illusions or expectations about being a hero.
That’s why I was accepting this situation very calmly.
“Then let’s do it, what?”
Vivian and Helena were taken aback when he said, “Is there anything we can’t do?”
“If this is Ian… .”
“I also trust Ian-nim’s judgment… !”
That’s how the three people’s formal hero promotion test challenge was decided.
You can’t start right away.
Unlike the Temporary Warrior Promotion Test, which is often held, the formal test is held over a fairly long period of time.
It’s because they don’t have a ‘testing ground’ as if they were cultivating a dungeon like a temporary test.
Securing and managing dungeons suitable for the annual formal exam is one of the main tasks of the imperial family.
If you put in your application by now and wait as you grow, you expect to be able to take the test at just the right time.
“Oh, Ian, maybe… .”
On the way out of the courtroom, Lucia sneaked up to me and whispered.
But, of course, there was someone who came to me in front of me.
Wolf Gang.
… And it was Grace.
Seeing the two of them, Lucia slipped away again.
“Ian! You’re leaving right away like this!”
“What am I going to do by staying here?”
“Isn’t it time to promise a future with me? Isn’t that why I revealed my identity in front of people this time!”
“Why is that?”
“Hmm… .”
Grace glanced at the group behind her.
Among the party awkwardly facing each other, Kati at the end glared straight at Grace.
I couldn’t see my eyes because I was wearing an eyepatch, but that was definitely staring at me.
“… Awesome! Suddenly cold… . Hmmm! Anyway, come on, take it!”
Grace handed over a bunch of papers.
“… What is it?”
“You will know when you see it!”
I quickly flipped through the papers and skimmed through them.
… Aha, this has been sorted out.
“After I found this myself, I thought of Ian-sama and tried to deliver it to you!”
Grace said triumphantly, placing her hand on her waist.
I looked at her and glanced at Wolfgang.
Wolfgang pulled the corners of his mouth down and just shrugged.
‘… The military police found it.’
Still, the fact that Grace wanted to tell me this meant that the military police and Grace were thinking of my situation as well.
“I’m sorry, poor princess.”
“You can call me Grace… .”
After whining once, Grace spoke again.
“and. There will be an auction of the spoils of the Fiorene family soon.”
“… Auction?”
Lucia quietly muttered the word auction from behind.
“There are quite a few valuable items that came from the execution of traitors, including Lorenzo di Fiorene. Among them, there are things Ian-sama might like.”
… Artifact.
Come to think of it, among the artifacts Lorenzo owned, there was something I coveted.
Originally, it was the item I used in the second playthrough.
In the 3rd round, as the power of the imperial family grew stronger, several hidden dungeons were discovered early, and among them, the dungeon where the artifact was stored was attacked by Lorenzo.
“I will remember it well.”
“Are you coming?”
“Yes. Probably.”
“Then, Grace is also participating! As the representative of the imperial family!”
“… … .”
“Then see you that day. Ian.”
Grace grabbed the hem of her skirt and gently bowed her knees.
I just replaced it with a lower back.
The Wolf Gang in the back greeted me with a light salute with my fingers, and I only greeted with a wink.
“From the elven princess to the imperial princess. After all, your reputation is extraordinary, isn’t it?”
“You have a serious misunderstanding.”
Lucia caught up and smirked.
“So it is. Since it’s so popular, what are you going to do in the future?”
Mercy also joined in.
… The two somehow go well together.
“Wow, what the princess said… Isn’t that true?”
Vivian asked cautiously.
“Of course. Didn’t you see my reaction?”
“Yeah, okay… . Since you’re the princess, it’s something you wouldn’t know… .”
“Not at all.”
“Whew… .”
Vivian and Helena let out a sigh of relief at the same time.
Are you worried that I might be the manager?
“It is enough for me to work as a manager now. I don’t have time for that.”
I still have a lot of work to do before me.
It’s okay to not be in that position in the first place.
“Time is not necessarily important… .”
“yes?”
Vivian muttered something softly, but it was too quiet to hear.
“Huh? ah! no! nothing. Hehe.”
Also, Kati has been walking while staring at me from earlier.
‘Look ahead and walk.’
[I am wearing an eyepatch, so the act of seeing ahead is logically impossible.]
‘… … .’
That’s logically correct.
“Oh. You know what I was going to say earlier.”
Lucia came again.
“yes.”
“Could you find out where my mother is?”
After Lucia’s identity was revealed.
She told Lorenzo that her father had died and that her mother had been driven out of the county of Fiorene.
“It can’t be helped if it doesn’t work, but… . Even the fact of survival… .”
It was natural for her to miss and worry about her family when she was alone there.
“It’s just fine.”
“… yes?”
“try reading this please.”
I handed the stack of documents that Grace had given me to Lucia.
“… ah.”
Lucia looked over the papers and gave a low moan.
It was about the residence of Lucia’s family.
It seems that the military police found it while investigating what was left somewhere in Fiorene Castle.
Their mother was alive and well, and Fiorene had even figured out where they lived.
As I left the courthouse and tried to get into the carriage, a crowd gathered before I knew it.
“uh! It’s Philip!”
“where? where?”
“Hey, this is Philip! His warriors are with you!”
… it will be annoying in the future
“Get on quickly. Let’s get out of here quickly.”
We got out of there as if we were running away.
*
First of all, we decided to stop by the village where Lucia’s mother is.
Others readily accepted.
The closer I got to the village, the more familiar I felt.
I guess I’m not the only one.
I heard Vivian and Helena talking in the carriage.
-Isn’t it over here… ?
Vivian said carefully.
– That seems right. Came here before… .
Helena agreed.
When I arrived at the village, some of the nearby residents recognized me first.
“uh? The warriors who came last time… ?”
Without a guard, this farmhouse, quite secluded from the city, seemed to be a rare and welcome visitor.
Starting with that person, it wasn’t long before several villagers came out.
Besides me, they recognized Vivian and Helena from the carriage.
“uh! That wizard from last time!”
“This is Vivian! Miss Helena is back too!”
This was a farmhouse near the Acute Dungeon where the cave lizards were pouring out last time.
Lucia, who got off last, seemed embarrassed by the atmosphere of recognizing and welcoming Vivian and Helena.
Soon, the welcome stopped when he saw one of the people.
There was a girl and a couple.
Lucia’s gaze was fixed on the girl’s mother.
The woman who greeted her with a smile along with her child also hardened her expression when she saw Lucia.
People also noticed that the atmosphere between the two was unusual.
In an awkward atmosphere, the woman spoke first.
“Lucy… ?”
“Mom… .”
“Lucy… !”
Lucia didn’t answer once more, and ran straight to her mother.
Her back trembled slightly.
“Lucy… . Really, really Luciney… ?”
Lucia didn’t answer.
I can only see her back, so I don’t know what kind of face she is wearing.
“Lucy… . Really you, how… . Lucy… . I’m sorry, I’ve always been sorry for my mother… .”
“Fine… oh… .”
Lucia struggled to answer, then silently hugged her.
Seeing this, Vivian blushed.
“It was good to be a hero… .”
Helena also nodded beside her.
However, her expression was moved and complicated.
It’s like that all the time these days.
He’s normal when talking to his companions, but sometimes he puts on a complex expression like he does now.
It seems like a problem that needs to be resolved before the official exam… .
But if that’s the reason I think, it’s hard to approach and ask.
Because I am a person who is far from faith.
Like Vivian, Mercy was looking at Lucia with tears in her eyes.
Kati was just calm.
Even in the midst of that, Lucia held her mother for a long time.
*
You could stay for a day or so, but Lucia didn’t.
The reasons were several.
First, her mother remarried.
also gave birth to a new child.
“Because it would be uncomfortable if I suddenly got in between them… . I know you’re alive and well, so I’m fine.”
She seemed to consider herself an uninvited guest.
“You can come back sometime later. And shouldn’t we become stronger even for a day?”
Lucia smiled at me.
“To help Ian.”
It wasn’t intentional, but it was like saving her mother while solving the acute dungeon.
Lucia appreciated it very much.
“thanks. Ian. Even from places I don’t know, you’ve been saving me.”
So we moved straight to the next dungeon.
In the middle, there was another commotion to get Galatea and Malion out waiting in Supevia.
It was because I, of course, Vivian, Helena, and Lucia all became famous, so people kept following me.
Already, all kinds of newsletters, as well as bulletin boards talking about warriors, were full of stories about us.
Inevitably, Kati and Mercy, who were less recognized, brought out Galatea and Malion.
I was anxious to leave the two of them because I had to go quite far from Superbia.
After so many twists and turns, we arrived at the entrance of the dungeon.
“… Where is the entrance?”
asked Vivian, leaning from side to side.
Naturally, it was because what I could see in front of me was the wall of a cliff.
“It’s a hidden dungeon, so it’s natural that you can’t see it.”
“I see… .”
Now, even if I know this personally, I will move on.
Although this is a hidden dungeon, it is not a place where hidden pieces are hidden.
Not all hidden dungeons contain such treasures.
It’s just that the hidden dungeon has a slightly higher probability.
How to get in is simple.
The cross-section of the cliff in front of you is an illusion, so you can just walk past it.
So I tried to get right in… .
“master.”
“yes?”
Kati suddenly blocked my way.
While everyone in the party was taken aback by the sudden action, Kati took off her eye patch and stared at the ground.
“There are footprints.”
“footprint?”
I followed her and looked down the entrance.
It may not capture as much detail as Carty, but it definitely has a lot of footprints.
It is not at all impossible for someone to discover this place.
There are hidden dungeons like this all over the continent, and someone other than me found some of them.
“It’s not just someone discovering it. As if they had a living space inside, it is a trace of many people coming and going periodically.”
“life?”
“Yes. And there is a mark that looks like a horse’s hoof, but the size is smaller than that of a normal horse.”
“That means… .”
“mind… . There seems to be a prisoner.”
After correcting the name, Kati raised her head and looked at me.
Does it mean that there are prisoners living nearby or in it?
“no way… .”
Galatea murmured softly from behind.
I remembered a conversation I had with Galatea a few days ago.
‘Could it be those guys?’
Kati turned her head and looked in the direction we came from.
There was only a forest of grass sleeping in the darkness.
Kati, who was looking somewhere in the dark with cat eyes with dilated pupils, said.
“It is close.”