Chapter 5: Heroes
The following two weeks went smoothly if I did say so myself. I still hadn't gotten a tamed monster, but I didn't feel as desperate anymore either. After only a couple days of doing jobs in the forest I learned that there was nothing in there that could seriously hurt me so long as I kept vigilant. And with my new bag and knife I was able to bring home enough drops and pelts that I wasn't hurting for money. I was by no means well off, but I didn't have to worry weather or not id be able to afford my room and meals at least.
I got to know the Birch Tree Inn and some of its regulars a little better too. Turns out that Martin the cook was Sally's boyfriend. Her husband, and Fenny's father, had been killed before Fenny was born while out adventuring. Turns out that Sally was pretty pissed about that. Apparently, they had the Inn back then as well and there was no financial need for a man with a wife and soon to be child at home to go out and risk his neck adventuring.
"Its not like the fool was any good at it. He had no magical sense and could barely wield that ridiculous hammer he dragged around with him. He was just a thrill junky fool who didn't want to give up the fun and settle down." She had said one night while I read my grimoire at the bar with an ale. "I tell you I will not be letting Fenny out doing any of that unless he shows an actual knack for the damned job! No way my boy is just tossing his life away just because all the other kids say adventuring is cool!"
I ran into Wells a few times as well. I like most of the garrison even if they gave me a bit of the side eye. I suspect that they know a criminal when they see one. They may not have seen me do anything shady since I've been here, but they could tell I wasn't new to the criminal scene either. Vincent kept his animosity to snide remarks and murderous looks, but other wise no sort of backlash came from my earlier sass. Mostly, when I passed the garrison, either to or from the Adventurer's guild, the men there would wave or say hello.
I got a new cloak. One with a hood, but it only reached the small of my back. It left my hands, legs, and tail free to attack. Though I made sure that my tail was always wrapped around mt belt when I was in town. It looked like I was wearing some kind of black scaled leather belt. I also didn't bother having my hood up anymore. I did start wearing my hair up in a long tail. I pulled my hair up in a way that my tiny horns were all but hidden.
I liked to think I looked like some sort of bad ass but who could say for sure.
As for my adventuring license, I got it up to level C with very little trouble. The Jobs at B-level were on a whole other level from C however, so I hadn't made much headway moving up to the next level. Besides, I was already attracting attention as a person who shot through so many levels without ever joining a party. In order to advance farther I was sure I would either join a party... or get some tames and make one myself. I was partial to option two. I didn't mind talking to people, but I hadn't yet gotten to the point where I trusted my life to them.
Honestly the most surprising thing over the last two weeks was that there had been no news of there being new heroes. No announcements on the notice boards nor just through word of mouth. I wasn't sure what the powers that be were waiting for. Maybe they were giving the would-be heroes some time to train so that they didn't look like complete fools when the queen decided to let everyone know about them.
There were plenty of rumors about the Demon King, however. Merchants brought news of the out-ling kingdoms that surrounded the mother kingdom of Larasta. Dark monsters attacking adventurers in the Kingdom of Wastes in the north, suspicious happenings in the Kingdom of Fire, People going missing in the Kingdoms of Swords and Silver. And that was just the tip of it all if gossip was to be believed. Scattered stories of ancient monster that hadn't been seen since the Demon King was around three hundred years ago. And I'd even heard tell that there were odd weather patterns and natural disasters that were suspected not to be natural at all.
Larasta itself seemed to be largely unaffected so far, but apparently that was to be expected. From what Sally had told me a week ago, generally the incidents begin in the out lying nations and make there way inward to the central kingdom of Larasta. She also claimed that she would not be surprised if the Queen ordered the priests to summon forth the heroes any day now. According to her, if the queen didn't act soon there may be a revolt amongst the citizen ship in both Larasta and in the kingdoms themselves.
And so, I wasn't exactly confused when I saw the massive crowd around the notice boards when I left for the market square this morning. People were huddled in whispering circles or other wise shouting excitedly to each other. I bobbed and weaved through the crowd so I could see the cause of the hubbub myself, already confident at what I would see.
Sure enough, there was a massive poster on the bord, covering much of the usual posts, and I saw the official seal in red wax at the bottom of it. In huge, stylized lettering, at the top was the heading: Five New Heroes Arrive, The Queen Puts her Faith in their Strength.
Oh, she does she? I resisted the eye roll. No mention of there being any sort of home-grown heroes either. Like I guess I could understand their need to summon heroes, just a little... but was that an excuse not to at least attempt to train your own soldiers to do the job. If only to help these summoned heroes. Once I learned about my own stats, I sort of understood the need for the summoning. No doubt there were few if any in the kingdoms who had such high numbers without ever even training. I didn't know the stats of the other Earthlings right now but if they were any like most of my own that we were all probably many times stronger than the average knight or adventurer. I could only imagine how strong we could get with some time and training.
It made me a little fearful of this Demon King for the first time. Maybe the people of this world really did need the help of those from Earth. I didn't much like the way they go about it but I'm sure they didn't exactly have a vast variety of Earthling summoning spells, right?
"It makes my head spin," said a familiar voice from behind me. I turned and saw that the Commander, who I now knew to be named Commander Steven Rice, standing like the monster sized man he was. "Knowing that I live in these historic times."
"Scarred?" I asked with a slight smile.
Rice grunted. "Amazed and, yes, a little afraid. If not for myself than for my people."
Somber, I nodded. I had come to like many of the people in this city and I would not want harm to come to any of them. "But we are saved!" I said with some small sarcasm. "The heroes have been summoned."
Again, the commander grunted, now looking at the royal proclamation again. "We will see. This notice only says that they were summoned, not weather or not they are competent."
"Have they been before?" I asked, glancing at the large statue of Lect which was surrounded by excitable city folk. This was the only time I had seen so many poor and well-off people mingling together. I hadn't seen too much of the noblemen. Mostly only in passing. For one thing, I was usually out of town on jobs, and for another I was told that they didn't like mingling with the common folk. They preferred to stay in the northwest part of the city.
"Eye." Said the stoic man, looking worried around the eyes. "In the previous summoning there were five summons. Most know many tales about Sir Lect, Lady Anna, and Sir Francis. They were true and noble heroes of that age."
"The other two?" I had only ever heard of Lect. I hadn't been to the cathedral yet to see the statues. It had slipped my mind. And I didn't ask about the heroes, I figured that it would draw attention to my ignorance.
"Many these days may not even know their names, not unless they decided to look it up or paid close attention to the statue's placards in the cathedral. "He explained. "If I remember correctly, one was named James. I don't recall his given name. Any story you do hear about him would be ones told by jesters. He went down as one of the most useless heroes in all Larasta's history. He spent his days lazing about, flirting with women and expecting the people of our nation to serve him hand and foot."
"Wow..." I said simply. What an ass. I would kind of understand if he just refused to help. After all he didn't ask to be summoned to a strange world and he may have been taken from loved ones. But what gave the ass the right to treat the people of this world like they were lesser?
The silence made me look up at Rice, wondering why he wasn't continuing with his explanation. He was looking at me oddly. It was when he shook his head with a confused smile that I realized my mistake. 'Wow', was not a word in this world. Perhaps he brushed it off as just another oddity that tended to hover around my mysterious self, what ever it was he went on.
"The fifth hero was by far the worst in all Larasta's recorded history. He became a summoner when he arrived here and did quite a bit of good work for his first few months in the capital. Then they say something changed. He and the other heroes would argue often though I do not know what about."
"Did they just not get along?" I asked. What could the man have done that was worse than treating the people like slaves?
Rice shook his head. "That I do not know. I do know that he betrayed Larasta in the worst possible way: He joined in the Demon Kings army."
"What?!" I exclaimed, getting a few scandalized looks.
The commander chuckled at my disgust, seemingly pleased. "Yes. It was said that he turned on the heroes, killing James purely out of spite and fleeing to the Demon Kings side. Those who do remember him refer to him as Gavin, the Destroyer. Many of Larasta's bravest knights met their ends at the claws of his demon summons. They say that he was the most talented demon summoner to have ever lived in our great country and he used that talent to betray not only our people, but the people from his own world. By the end of the last war, before Lect made the final blow on the Demon King, he had not only killed James but was also the reason Sir Francis met his end. Not to mention three princes as well."
"Gods... What an ass." I said, totally irked. What the Hell. Like I was bad enough to be reborn a damned demon, yet I didn't have the urge to go join the freaking Demon King. Being mad at the rulers of this world for the injustice of being summoned here was one thing but who would go and just murder the whole kingdom? Sure, maybe he had a good reason, I didn't know him or his motivation. Hell, maybe this kingdom is the bad guy, and the demon king was the good guy. After all I had as evidence was people's words and the fact that the supposed bad guy was called a "demon king'. And given that I myself was a demon it was a bit of a hypocritical foot to stand on. But I also wasn't going out and senselessly attacking this demon lord either. I wasn't set on killing everyone for no apparent reason.
Rice laughed again. "Yes, I think so too. But both examples show that the heroes are only that in name. until they prove to be worthy of the title."
I sighed. "You sound smart and reasonable."
"And that makes you upset?" He asked sound very confused.
"I hate it when cops sound reasonable. Makes it harder to think them bullies with the law behind them." I laughed. He seemed like a genuine good guy. It was weird.
Rice got that odd look on his face again and I realized that I had said something strange again. I had to be more careful. I was getting too comfortable with these people and would give myself aways as not being what I seemed. They may not suspect me as being from Earth, but my odd words coupled with my looks may make them suspect me as someone not of this world. I didn't want to be recognized as a demon nor an Earthling. At least I wanted to keep it hidden for as long as I could, and not let the cat out of the bag with my own carelessness.
"Anyway," I said with a pat on the man's massive arm. Another sign I was getting too comfortable. I usually didn't touch people as a rule, and I didn't like it when I was touched either. "I should get back to work. No one else is going feed me."
The commander's face softened, and he nodded. "Stay out of trouble then. And do try and join a party this time." He said in exasperation. "Some people here have grown fond of you and would rather be assured that you would be returning at the end of the day."
Walking away, I laughed. "Please, we both know your men have bets on weather or not I come back in one piece. Why deny them their fun now."
The commander's chuckles faded into the burble of the crowds excited chatter as I finished making my way to the adventurer's guild. It was nearly as crowded here. The number of people taking jobs got smaller the higher rank you went up. Still the C-rank board was usually crowded all the same, and today was no different. I was starting to recognize other adventurers now. A few were workaholics like me and I saw them nearly every day.
Several of these people were gathered at my job board today too. I saw Wade, who was a skilled water mage chatting with Melody the healer, who specialized in light spells, and Andrea who was a highly skilled archer. I heard she was only a couple jobs away- and the test of course- from making B-rank. These three often took jobs together, looping in other regular adventurers who were adept at sword play usually, as both Wade and Andrea were long ranged fighters and as a healer, Melody had almost no combat skills.
This group had asked me to join them a time or two as well, even though they had no clue what my speciality was. I suppose the receptionists my have told them in passing, it was on my license after all, but they really weren't supposed to do that. The most likely reason for their offer was that I was a solo adventure and there for I must be capable of fighting in some sense, in order to have leveled up as I have been doing.
I had to turn them down. They seemed like decent enough people, and I may even had said yes if I hade a tame to work with. Unfortunately, I didn't and therefore have been doing all my jobs with my demon prowess. If I went with them, or any group, they would know immediately that I was a demon.
Still, I waved to them with a smile when they waved to me and returned to their conversation. I had no issue with being friendly with people who are friendly with me. Though my last interaction with Rice proved that I was getting a little too comfortable with the people in this town. Though I think that I would be found out sooner rather than later. I just hoped it didn't blow up in my face. If I had too I could just up and leave town, but I was rather comfortable here and really didn't want too.
I eyed the board. There were several delivery jobs. I couldn't understand for the life of me why these were rank C jobs. I usually didn't take them because they tended to be for the nobles. I didn't handle snooty rich people well, much less snooty rich people descended from royalty who could get me arrested just for being rude. And I would be rude.
One job caught my eye. Bandits. It was posted by the garrison apparently. I knew that the garrison was stretched thin. I'd heard wells complain about it a few times. People just didn't want to be soldiers anymore. I guess the alure of being an adventurer was too tempting. According to him, most people didn't become a soldier till they found they couldn't advance farther as an adventurer. I didn't realize they were so busy that they had to outsource work that had to be handled outside the city walls.
I hadn't had to fight actual people since coming to this world. Honestly, I had been nervous to do so. I didn't know if they would kill me with ease at first. Afterall. These people had years of experience with weapons and that's nothing to say about potential magical attacks. I wasn't afraid of that now. No, now I was afraid that I may accidentally kill them.
When I first saw my stats, I knew for a fact that my mana must be exceedingly high. Even my physical attack power seemed rather big. But it wasn't till I overheard some adventurers, drunk and boisterous, at the Birch Tree, brag to one another about their stats that I realized that I was under selling myself. Those men seemed to think that their mutual friend, who was not present at the time, had to be bragging. Apparently, that man had claimed that he had a strength stat of 80. His drunk friends had roared with laughter over that, claiming that there was no way 'Sanderson' could have the same strength as a palace guard.
Then, a few days ago, I watched in hiding, while a group of C-ranked hunters, took on a small pack of Forest Wolves. There were six wolves and five of them. They had a hard time of it. Hard enough that I nearly revealed myself to go help them before they managed to best the beasts. I knew then, for sure, that I had a monstrous strength. My magical attack power was probably around average for a C ranked adventurer, but I was willing to bet that my physical strength was more on par with I higher B rank or even an A.
As for the bandit mission... well according to the post, they were a bunch of slavers and murderers. They were wanted dead or alive... It paid well: six gold coins. But it was recommended to bring a party of skilled C or even B ranked adventurers. If I was aloud to kill them then I was confident I could do it. The problem was, should I? if I came in here and claimed the bounty on those bandits all on my own then people would really be talking. Not just because I took all those men on my own, but because I would have killed them all. From then on, I would be a killer in their eyes.
I decided that I would pass. I've seen the way some people looked at the adventurers who specialized in bounties. They had respect but they were also feared. The last thing a demon like me needed was the label of killer to boot.
This was a dangerous and violent world when it came right down to it. I would kill here. There would be no getting around it. I have killed before. Self defense, but it was a death on my hands all the same. And in all honesty, I had no problem doing it again. I was Sin in name and merit. I had no problem taking a life, morally speaking, If I felt it was justified. But it was something I should probably avoid till I couldn't avoid it no more.
With that decided, I instead, turned my eyes to the job beneath it. An escort job. Apparently, a monster dealer needed someone to guard them and their wears to a near by village. The reports of bandits have them worried and they want an escort. The pay for the job was what drew my attention: one gold coin and a dragon newt.
I had no clue what a dragon newt was, but it had the word dragon in it and there fore my interest was peeked. One gold for a C-ranked escort was low, but maybe this newt was worth more than it sounded? I pulled the job off the board and went to the reception desk to claim it for myself.
Dragon newts were awesome! That was the answer to my question.
I stared in awe at the cage in the back of a large, covered wagon as the merchant made herself busy just outside the south gate. I lost interest in her preparations the second she answered my curious question of "what exactly is a dragon newt", by opening the back of her wagon and showing me what it was were taking on this trip.
Dragon newts were teeny tiny dragons. And they were cute! Their bodies were bout the size of kittens with short scaly legs tipped in needle like claws. Their necks were at least the length of their bodies and their narrow, long snouted heads had bright eyes and lots of sharp tiny teeth. Their tails were longer than their necks, thin and whip like as you neared the end. And they had wings. Delicate, translucent, leathery wings! They were also crazy colorful. It was like a rainbow explosion in that cage. They came in solid colors or with stipes, some had spots... it was eye vomit and I loved it.
I heard a soft, husky laugh, and dragged my eyes away from the dragon newts to look at my employer. She had a large and generous smile, long, curly black hair, and milky pale skin. Her name was Emelda, and she was a dragon newt merchant.
"I take it you like them?" she chuckled, closing the back flap of the wagon.
"I think I love them..." I said seriously. I mean, they were tiny dragons damn it!
"That's nice to hear." She said, still very amused. "Come, sit with me on the bench."
Emelda and I clambered up onto the wooden bench seat and she took the reins of the large work horse she had pulling the cart. A flick of her wrists and we were off. It was my first time leaving out the south gate and I saw that it was very flat out here and that most of the land was dedicated to wheat fields.
"Most people don't care to see them much. They are a E ranked monster after all."
"But they are so pretty." I gasped. I very much could not see how people could not find them amazing to look at, even if they weren't strong.
She let out another of those husky laughs. "I think so too. They are not that common in the wild, and they do not drop any good loot. In fact, they only have one monetary value and you need to be skilled to even cash in on that."
"What kind of value" I asked.
"The value is in their meat."
I admit I probably went pale. I mean, it made sense that they could be eaten. Hell, I even read books way back in my old life that claimed people in their fantasy world hade dragon steaks and such. But the very thought of munching on one of those jewel-like lizards was nauseating to me.
"Oh my god... I hope I haven't eaten one with out knowing it!"
"You would know it." She said, still smiling. "For one, the meat is very expensive. You would have remembered buying it as a meal, I have no doubt. Also, dragon newt meat turns a purplish red when cooked."
I did not eat any purple meat.
"You have the skill to butcher the meat then?" I asked, now that the initial shock wore off, I was more composed. Still, I think I would turn down any dragon newt dishes if offered, no matter how tasty.
"Nope, not me. I just bread them for the people who do. I just off loaded some of my newts in Bellana, to a chef there who is a regular client to me. Now we are headed to South Knoll. There is a lord there who is obsessed with dragon newt dishes. His chef is always my second stop before I head to Robles town to unload the rest of my cargo. It's a long trip and I usually make it fine on my own..."
"But the Dragon king is back and there are bandits about."
"Exactly. And so, I am very grateful that you have taken this job. I know one gold is not much, but I did not budget for a guard when I left. This morning's announcement of the heroes being summoned threw me for a loop. And Then I saw that there were bandits too... I was sure my newts would get taken. Normal bandits wouldn't be able to do anything with them. They aren't like wheat after all. It would be clear that they were stollen and the thieves would get caught the moment they tried to sell them. I'm the only dragon newt breeder in the kingdom of Larasta."
"There are stupid people out there, however. "I said, exasperated for the poor woman.
"That was my line of thinking as well. So, I offered up one of my newts as payment! A single newt goes for ten gold you know. So long as I give you a receipt you can sell it. I would say you could get a chef to make you an excellent dish, but I can see you would not be a fan."
I laughed. "The idea of eating a dragon dose not appeal to me what's so ever."
She gave me an amused look as we passed yet another wheat field. "They aren't dragons you know. They are just called dragon newts because they look like little dragons. Dragons can fly and breath fire. These guys do neither."
"They don't?" I asked, genuinely shocked. "They have wings."
"Yes, but they do not fly. Dragon Newts are native to forests with tall trees. They use their wings to glide between them. And unlike dragons, dragon newts are also cold blooded. They need to sun themselves daily or they get sluggish. And as I said before, they don't breathe fire."
"They are very pretty though..."
"They are pretty." She admitted. "Did you know that they were actually kept as pets by royalty once upon a time?"
"Really?"
"Oh yes." She said, looking pleased. I realized that she probably didn't get a chance to spout dragon newt facts often. "It was quite a long time ago. There are paintings of ancient queens and princesses having brightly colored dragon newts draped over their shoulders like shawls. They used to compete over who had the fairest, or strongest, or most shiny newt. I probably would have gotten even more for them back then.
This time I was the one to laugh. "I would imagine so. And I can see why the ladies of the court would want to have them. And you are okay with me taking one?"
"If you still want one, of course! I just thought, since you were so opposed to eating them, that you wouldn't want one. I was going to have you wait till I made my sale in South Knoll, then give you more gold for your trouble."
"Oh no, I definitely want one!" I said excitedly. "I am actually a tamer." I told her. "I still haven't gotten a monster as a partner, and I think one of these guys would be perfect."
"Are you sure?" She asked after a few seconds of silence. "Don't get me wrong, I am flattered you think so highly of one of my newts... but they are not the strongest of monsters, even by E rank standards. Heck, the reason the royals of the past could carry them around at all was that they are not an aggressive race of monsters, much less a strong kind. The only reason they are E ranked rather than F is because they are rare."
"I'm sure. Its just a feeling I have. I've been looking for a partner but every monster I come across just hasn't felt right. But your newts do feal right."
"I've never met a tamer so I will just have to take your word for it." She said happily, giving the reigns a little tug to keep the massive chestnut horse on course. "Plus, you made it to a C ranked adventurer's license without a monster by your, side so I can only assume you are strong even without one."
"I like to think so."
"Well, as soon as we get to South Knoll you get first pick. Even before that snoot lord."
I laughed and stretched. The wooden bench really was not that comfortable. "I thought he was one of your best customers?"
"He is! But he is also an ass. The man is so full of himself and looks down on anyone not a noble. But I suppose that is the norm for the nobility. They are not all like that of course, but most are."
"I haven't met too many myself. I try to avoid them as best I can. I have no ability to stop myself from saying something that will have them chopping off my head."
Emelda Burst into a ruckus laughter. "Yes, it sounds like it would be best if you kept your distance. For everyone's sake."