Chapter 189
A Gift Received on No Special Occasion
Valdrova donned her armor and left Hestia Village.
The villagers recognized her and greeted her politely.
“Welcome, Armored Knight!”
“Are you well today?”
She had already become an important figure in the village, and everyone greeted her warmly whenever they saw her.
Whenever that happened, she would be unsure how to respond and merely give them a slight nod.
It was a gesture born from awkwardness, but to others, it made her appear exceptionally dignified.
Instead of heading to the labor union as usual, she made her way toward the Adventurers’ Guild.
“Armored Knight! You’re here early!”
Nod.
“The Guild Master will arrive right on time. I’ll show you to the conference room.”
The receptionist welcomed her and opened the conference room door.
Three people had already arrived before her.
Valdrova looked at them in admiration.
They’re all strong.
As a being who stood at the pinnacle of power, she could easily gauge their strength.
She could sense every bit of the pain and time they had endured to attain it.
A thought suddenly occurred to her.
Do I really belong in a place like this?
“You there.”
A blond-haired archer spoke upon seeing Valdrova.
“Aren’t you the Armored Knight?”
He recognized her, but his attitude was entirely different from that of the villagers.
There was open displeasure in his eyes.
Valdrova nodded.
“…”
He seemed about to say something more, but closed his mouth and leaned back in his chair.
It was not only the archer.
The gazes directed at the Armored Knight were different from those she normally received.
Did I do something wrong?
Valdrova became needlessly dejected.
Deciding that she should simply sit and wait, she took a seat.
As time passed, several more people entered and filled the room.
The seats around the head of the table gradually filled, but the awkward atmosphere remained unbroken.
At last, someone entered and shattered the uncomfortable silence.
“Wahaha! How is everyone doing?!”
The eyes of those who had been sitting around looking bored immediately lit up.
“Huh? I feel like I’ve seen him somewhere…”
“I agree. I’m certain I’ve seen that face before…”
The enormous man looked like a towering wall just by standing there.
Although none of them had met him before, everyone found his face strangely familiar.
Hearing them, the huge man crossed his arms and grinned.
“Perhaps you’ve seen my face on a statue while passing by?”
“A statue? Ah… no way!”
“Jonathan Cena! He looks exactly like Jonathan Cena!”
The adventurers clapped their hands as they called out the name.
“That would be Ancestor Jonathan Cena. I would appreciate it if you showed the great warrior some respect.”
“Ah, I-I’m sorry!”
“I can forgive a first mistake. In return, how about buying me a drink so we can talk over it?!”
Even his booming laughter carried enough force to overwhelm others.
It made even prideful Gold-rank adventurers shrink back like frightened puppies.
Those who already knew Jonathan welcomed him warmly.
“Welcome, brother. You drank so much last night, yet somehow you still managed not to be late!”
“What kind of warrior would lose to a mere drink?”
With his hearty laughter, the room became lively in an instant.
He did not merely speak to the people he already knew.
Jonathan drew everyone nearby into the conversation, displaying remarkable sociability.
Valdrova found herself envying him.
I want to be able to talk like that too.
She imagined herself becoming the center of attention in the same way.
But the moment she pictured it, she felt as though her breath had caught in her throat.
Even so, it still seemed better than agonizing over what she should say as she was doing now.
Valdrova waited for Erika to arrive.
The appointed time drew near, and at last, the person who had organized the gathering appeared.
She had blue hair and wore clothes that gave her a free-spirited appearance.
The pair of horns that had once adorned her head was nowhere to be seen.
She took her place at the head of the room and greeted everyone.
“Good day.”
She was the woman who had gathered them here for the expedition into the Demonic Wasteland.
A Platinum-rank adventurer known as Eri.
Unlike the others seated there, however, Valdrova associated her with only one name.
Erika, spawn of Iorga.
Her horns and tail were absent, but neither her unique presence nor her appearance could deceive Valdrova’s eyes.
Erika walked to the end of the conference table.
“First, I sincerely thank all of you for gathering here from various regions.”
Erika’s voice carried weight.
“One person has yet to arrive, but we’ll begin without them. You have all gathered here for what is being called the conquest of the Demonic Wasteland.”
Erika looked at each person in turn as she continued.
“From this point onward, all of you will become a single team and work together as comrades to overcome the hardships ahead. We’ll begin by greeting one another and introducing ourselves—”
Erika trailed off.
Someone had raised his hand high into the air.
It was the blond archer who had been glaring at Valdrova with displeasure.
Erika knew his name.
“Go ahead, Virgil.”
“Yes. Lady Eri, I know how much you have done for the Adventurers’ Guild, and I also know that you have led us in countless monster subjugations.”
“That’s right.”
“You have always emphasized that adventurers maximize their abilities not through individual strength, but through trust between comrades.”
“Correct.”
“In that case, I believe there is something I need to say beforehand.”
His eyes, filled with dissatisfaction, turned toward a single person.
They came to rest on the Armored Knight.
“I question whether that man known as the Armored Knight should be allowed to join this expedition.”
Valdrova felt her heart drop.
“Why is that?”
Despite his aggressive tone, Erika responded calmly.
“He may be praised as the Armored Knight by the villagers, but look at his record! He may have beaten a few monsters to death with his bare hands, but during the subjugation battle, he was nowhere to be seen. The moment he faces something beyond his capabilities, he’ll undoubtedly run away again!”
Run away.
Valdrova bit her lip at those words.
She restrained herself as much as possible so that her emotions would not overwhelm her.
Virgil continued.
“And look at what else he did! He was caught trying to quietly steal another knight’s achievements simply because that knight couldn’t speak! Adventurers risk their lives to earn fair compensation. A shameless bastard like that is the greatest possible source of division within a party!”
Virgil seemed determined to drive the Armored Knight out, passionately explaining why he had no place there.
Erika listened in silence, tapping her temple with one finger.
“Mr. Virgil.”
“Yes.”
“It would be best not to make hasty judgments before we have even begun.”
Erika defended the Armored Knight.
“He did not flee from the monster subjugation. He had already left beforehand. I don’t know where he went, but he had his own circumstances. You should not declare that he ran away simply because he failed to appear.”
“Then what about stealing someone else’s achievements…?”
“It was confirmed that he was unable to speak about the matter because of an oath of silence. The issue was settled amicably with the person involved, and I also considered it carefully. I don’t believe it is something a third party has any right to criticize.”
“But if those personal flaws negatively affect the entire team, wouldn’t that become a serious problem?”
Although the matter had begun with Virgil’s emotional outburst, the others seemed to share similar concerns.
Erika decided it would be better to convince them now.
“Have you heard of an adventuring party called Ground Foot?”
It was an abrupt mention of another adventuring party.
“Yes. I heard they were Gold-rank adventurers who received your aid.”
“Do you know what kind of people they were?”
“I heard they successfully explored an ancient ruin in the southern desert.”
“But you don’t know what they were like individually, do you? Their rogue was addicted to theft and gambling. Their mage was an alcoholic. Their priest suffered from severe depression. Their swordsman had serious anger-management issues. And they fought every time they took so much as a single step.”
“…”
“Taken separately, they were the sort of people who would have ended up imprisoned beneath some castle or confined to a monastery. But do they still appear that way now?”
“I… don’t believe they do.”
“The moment individuals become a team, they are reborn. Stop making hasty judgments before anything has even begun.”
“…Understood. I apologize.”
Virgil appeared to accept her words, albeit reluctantly.
“Does anyone else have any complaints? It seems important to resolve them before we begin.”
“I have none.”
“I understand the situation better now, so I’m satisfied as well.”
Erika addressed the gathered adventurers as though pleased by their responses.
“Always remember this. There is no flawless hero among anyone seated here. The same was true of the twelve expedition heroes who first threw themselves into the Demonic Wasteland.”
Finally, Erika cast a brief glance toward the Armored Knight.
Her eyes seemed to say that everything was all right.
She truly is a child of Iorga.
Her intelligence, eloquence, and charisma made Valdrova admire her all over again.
At the same time, one question continued to circle through her mind.
Am I truly suited for a place like this?
Working alongside others and overcoming hardships together was exactly what she had always dreamed of.
But that was only how things looked when they succeeded.
What would happen if they failed?
What if someone were seriously injured because of a mistake she made?
Valdrova felt she would never be able to forgive herself.
I might really run away then.
She began to feel that this decision had been far too reckless.
While Valdrova was struggling with those thoughts, a middle-aged mage brought up another subject.
“I heard one person still hasn’t arrived.”
“Yes.”
“Who exactly are they to be this late?”
There were twelve seats in total, and only one remained empty.
Every adventurer present was at least Gold rank. They were valuable individuals whom even ordinary nobles could not treat carelessly.
For all of them to arrive on time while one person was late was difficult to forgive.
“They have a great deal of accumulated work. They said they would finish only the most urgent matters and come straight here. They should probably arrive any moment now…”
Knock, knock.
“I was just about to say they should be here soon. It seems they’ve arrived.”
At Erika’s gesture, the door opened.
The final latecomer appeared.
Everyone was startled by his identity, but no one was more shocked than Valdrova.
Clank!
Her armor jolted so violently that two metal plates slammed together.
Behind the steel, her face was several times more astonished than the movement of the armor suggested.
Mr. Ferda?!
Ferda Valdrova.
The lord of this village and regent of Valdrova Castle.
A man whose status could not be described as merely distinguished had appeared.
The moment Valdrova saw his face, her mind seemed to turn completely blank.
It felt as though she had received a gift on a day that was not even a special occasion.
Unlike Valdrova, however, the adventurers looked less than pleased.
“Lady Eri, with all due respect, we were never told we would also be escorting a noble.”
The others cautiously began to object.
The Demonic Wasteland was dangerous, and common sense dictated that risks should be reduced as much as possible when undertaking such a perilous mission.
Erika was fully aware of that.
“Unless there is a formal request to escort a noble, it is customary not even to allow them to accompany an expedition as observers.”
Nobles always created unexpected problems.
They would cause an incident, suffer harm, and then begin demanding accountability out of wounded pride.
At that point, the matter would become a headache lasting several weeks at minimum.
“However, Regent Ferda will not be joining as a mere observer. He will act as a full member of the expedition, equal in status to all of you.”
“The Princeps’s fiancé will participate as an ordinary member?”
“Hmm…”
Even after setting his rank aside, their reactions remained uncertain.
Ferda had reached the Fourth Circle at a young age. His magical ability was exceptional enough to repel the demon race, and he had already demonstrated considerable skill as a commander.
But nobles were well known for exaggerating their accomplishments.
Unless the adventurers had witnessed those feats themselves, they were not inclined to believe them.
Furthermore, potential as a mage and competence as an adventurer were entirely separate matters.
This was a profession where useless Fifth Circle mages and lifesaving Third Circle mages both existed.
Erika glanced toward Ferda.
It was a signal telling him to say something.
Ferda agreed that he should, so he opened his mouth.
He spoke clearly, intending to reassure them.
“There is no need for you to worry about me.”
Up to that point, everything had gone perfectly well.
“I would simply prefer that none of you trip over a stray rock and blame me for it.”
“…”
The atmosphere grew noticeably more hostile.
Their expressions clearly showed that they wanted to curse him but could not bring themselves to insult a noble.
Erika had to suppress the feeling that her Blue Circle was about to shatter and make her cough up blood.