Chapter 43
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「We’ve arriiived!」
The energetic tomboy Milan is ten meters ahead of me.
「Low, hurry up! Come on, run, run!」
As if urging me on, she jogs in place.
「Ooh, so this is it?」
As I finally reach the front of the guild, I’m greeted by a huge stone building.
I try to enter right away, but for some reason, the entrance door is a set of swinging doors like in a Western movie. This is exactly the kind of guild design I often saw in anime and manga about otherworld transfers when I was in Japan.
Not just limited to guilds, I wonder if the reason why buildings that resemble the fiction I saw in Japan keep appearing is because other people who have been transferred or reincarnated like me are involved in their construction.
While pondering this, I open the door.
「Excuse me!」
The moment I step inside, I’m greeted by an even more familiar scene.
This is it. This is what I’m talking about.
It feels as reassuring as being in my own home.
For some reason, the guild has a dining and drinking establishment like a cafeteria or izakaya. I get it.
And even though it’s still the middle of the day, I can see red-faced people toasting with mugs of ale, saying 「Cheers!」 Just as I thought! This is it!
「So that’s why I told him-」
「How many times are you gonna tell that story?」
「What’s the big deal?」
This is it! This is the guild I’ve been looking for!
As I’m getting excited about the guild scene, Milan taps me on the shoulder from behind.
「Bro, you shouldn’t stare too much. You might get into a fight.」
She’s right. I may have been a bit rude with my gaze.
「Mm, I’ll be careful.」
Even though I think that, my highly capable Yamada Ears can’t help but pick up on their conversation against my will.
「By the way-」
「What is it?」
「The town’s economy is doing well thanks to the Hero.」
「Sure is.」
「This is just between us, but…」
「Here we go again with the ‘just between us’ talk.」
「Go ahead. Spit it out.」
「You know how the Hero’s party started exploring a new dungeon recently? Don’t you think there’s something odd about that?」
「What do you mean?」
「They cleared the previous dungeon in a single exploration, right? Does it make sense for them to return after only investigating the first floor this time?」
「Aah, I guess you have a point. But you know, the dungeon they’re diving into now is on a whole different level compared to the A-class dungeon we’re currently challenging.」
「That’s not it. We went together the other day, remember? To defeat the 《Launcher Dragon》 that descended from Hidden Mountain, along with a party from the S-rank clan 《Vienetta》.」
「We sure did.」
「What I’m about to tell you is something I heard at that time. Apparently, the sword saint is holding the Hero’s party back.」
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I sit at the table behind them and beckon Milan over.
I order my ale and Milan’s hot milk with honey and cookies from the waitress.
When Milan asks what’s going on, I gesture with my eyes for her to wait a moment.
I focus on listening to the rest of their conversation.
「What you’re saying is different from what I heard.」
「Oh, you must’ve heard it from your friend in the 《Wanderer》, right? Well, hear me out until the end. There’s no contradiction.
I can pretty much guess what you heard.
They were able to return from the boss monster on the first floor without any casualties thanks to the sword saint. The sword saint worked like a lion in the vanguard. Something like that, right?」
「That’s right.」
「That’s not wrong at all. But with the sword saint’s true power, a boss on the first floor should be a piece of cake. I heard she was the one who took down the final boss last time.」
「Now hold on, are you saying the sword saint was holding back? I’ve seen the sword saint before, and she didn’t seem like the type to hold back at all.」
「Exactly. You’re both correct. She gave it her all. But for some reason, she couldn’t unleash her true power.」
「So, what’s this ‘some reason’ you’re talking about?」
「This is where the story I heard comes in. Apparently, there was a meeting between the leaders of two major clans, the well-known Guildmaster Balen of the Lemone Guild, and the Hero’s party.」
「I heard about that.」
「And during that meeting, it seems the sword saint was reprimanded. He said things like 『Why do you ignore the Hero’s orders?!』 and 『Why don’t you use your full power?!』」
「In front of everyone?」
「Yeah, in front of everyone. She was forced to apologize. But apologizing or doing anything else won’t solve the root cause. So why was she judged as not using her full power, you ask?」
「Stop beating around the bush.」
「Well, apparently it’s because she didn’t use the Holy Sword.」
「Why’s that?」
「The thing is, it’s not that she didn’t use it, but rather she couldn’t use it.」
「That’s just speculation, isn’t it?」
「No way, there’s even talk that when she drew the sword, her nose started bleeding and she immediately sheathed it again.」
「So what if her nose bled? What about it?」
「You’re really dense, aren’t you?! Anyone would figure it out after I’ve said this much! Either the Holy Sword or the sword saint is cursed!」
Cursed?
Eris is cursed?
Damn it! Who cursed Eris-
「Okay, I get it. Assuming she’s cursed, then who cast such a curse?」
「According to the Hero’s party, you know, that guy who used to be with them…」
Huh?
「Ah, oh, you mean the Runaway Holy Knight Yamada?」
What, me?
「That’s right. Apparently, that Runaway Holy Knight is the one responsible for placing the curse on the Holy Sword.」
M-Me?!
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