“I thought it was fashion, are you saying that those are sealing magic items or possibly a catalyst?”
Climb could not maintain his poker face and frowned.
The current conversation drove him to think that Lakyus was possibly being slowly dominated by an evil item. Thinking of where she was just recently only served to increase his restlessness.
“…Renner-sama might be in danger.”
Evileye stopped Climb who was about to run off.
“Don’t worry. It’s not as if something is going to happen immediately. Even if she were to fall under that dark power, there is no way that it could happen before the person herself noticed it. If she didn’t want us to know then she most likely judged that she can keep it in check. I don’t doubt her willpower, but… to think that sword had such an ability… I had no idea.”
“Should we send word to Azuth-san just in case?”
“It’s a bit frustrating to seek help from a rival… but since it’s a problem about his niece then I guess it would be for the best.”
“Ok, then should we get moving? I need to find out where he is.”
“Yes. We have to be prepared to support Lakyus at any time.”
“Only adamantium can stop adamantium, after all.”
“—Hmm?! Ah! I just remembered, Gagaran. A third adamantium rank adventurer team is supposed to be residing in E-Rantel.”
“What, really? That’s new to me... Did you hear it at the adventurer’s guild this morning?”
“No, that’s… Oh, right. I apologize. I forgot to tell you. From what I hear, their color is black.”
“Black? We have red and blue so I thought the next one would be brown or green.”
“Black is a color used in the faith of the Six Gods so there is nothing strange about it. The next team might be white.”
“I’m not really a fan of the Slane Theocracy though. Because of that one incident, we fought those guys who looked like they were from some secret unit.”
Despite Climb feeling that he had heard something incredibly dangerous, the conversation ignored him and continued on.
“You do not like them, Gagaran? …Although this may seem ironic, I can sympathize with their policy. Well, it’s more like I feel that the role of the guardian of the human race that they impose on themselves is just, at least from a human’s perspective.”
“What? So it’s okay for them to kill innocent elves and demi-humans?”
The disgust was apparent on Gagaran’s face. Her eyes burned with an intense hatred. Evileye answered her animosity with a mere shrug.
“Around here, there are several human countries like the Kingdom, the Holy Kingdom, and the Empire. Gagaran, did you know? The farther you venture out, there are less and less countries that are made up of humans. Depending on the location, there are countries where humans are used as slaves. One of the biggest reasons none of them are near us is due to the Slane Theocracy hunting down the demi-humans.”
With her anger cooled by Evileye’s words, Gagaran sullenly muttered to herself.
“Well, demi-humans are stronger than humans after all. Humans won’t be able to do anything if they unite and advance their civilization.”
“If you are human, you must evaluate those from the Theocracy highly. Of course, they may have a cruel side, but there are none who are more beneficial to humanity. ...Well, it would be a different story if you were to ask the same of the minorities that are being purged. Not only that, there’s a very good chance they were the ones who formed the original adventurer guild.”
“Really?”
“Maybe. The truth is unknown but there is still a high possibility. The adventurer guild was formed after the battle against the Demon God and in those days, humans were weak. They preserved their strength and, as to not cause friction between them and the kingdom, formed the guild so they could provide support.”
When she finished talking, a peculiar silence covered the table. Climb could not endure the atmosphere and opened his mouth.
“Forgive me for interrupting, Evileye-sama. You said that new adamantium rank adventurers had appeared. What are their names?”
“Hmm? Ah, right. It was— Momon. The leader is a warrior who’s called the hero in black and apparently the name of the team hasn’t been decided yet. It seems they’re just called Black.”
“Heh~ and the other members?”
“I hear it’s a two-man team with the other member being called Beauty Nabel, a magic caster.”
“What? Just two? What’re you saying? They must be idiots overconfident in their skill… No, that’s why they’re adamantium. They must be hiding something amazing. So? What kind of feats did they achieve?”
“Apparently it only took them around two months. First they took care of the incident in E-Rantel regarding the thousands of undead that spawned. Then they exterminated the coalition of goblin tribes from the north, gathered an incredibly rare herb from the Tove Mountains, subjugated a Gigant Basilisk, and exterminated a group of undead that spilled over from the Karche plains. I also heard that they defeated a powerful vampire.”
“Gigant Basilisk…”
Climb groaned.
With characteristics of both a lizard and a snake, the Gigant Basilisk was a giant monster measuring ten meters. It possessed a petrifying gaze with deadly poison coursing through its veins. What was worse was that its thick skin was as hard as mithril. It was truly a terrifying existence. If they were really able to defeat a monster that could destroy a small town, then it would not have been strange for them to rise to adamantium.
However, there was a problem. That was—
“That’s… incredible. But did they really beat a Gigant Basilisk with only two people? Isn’t that impossible with just a warrior and a magic caster? Not a chance.”
—Indeed. With only two people, it was close to impossible, especially if it was only a warrior and a magic caster. They did not have anyone to heal them. Not only would there have been no way for them to defend against its petrifying gaze and poison, but also the variety of other attacks at the monster’s disposal.
“Ah! I apologize; I don’t think you can classify them as only two. From what I heard, they tamed the Virtuous King of the Forest by force.”
“…Virtuous King? What kind of monster is that?”
Climb remembered hearing that name in one of legends. However, interrupting here would have been the height of discourtesy.