Chapter 4: Everybody Goes to the Capital:

Grummanonth lowered his head and exhaled sharply through his nose, knocking the overexcited adventurer backwards. “Human, speak your name.”

“Grace!”

“Grace? You shall be Grace the Fearless.”

“Wow! A dragon gave me a title!”

“Not just any dragon. Grummanonth the Moonwalker.”

“Grummanonth the Moonwalker!”

“Know this, Grace the Fearless. The dungeon master you were just with and I have a non-aggression pact. I manage this dungeon while he manages the other. The Nar Union is now my concern, as are you.”

Although Grace didn’t reply, her face lit up in further excitement while Grummanonth continued speaking.

“In exchange for sparing your life and granting you a formidable title, you shall answer my questions and then complete a task for me. Ensure you answer all of my questions truthfully. Do you understand?”

“Yes! Ask away!”

“G–Good. First, why did you attempt to tackle me when you first arrived?”

“I didn’t try to tackle you! It was just a loving embrace!”

“Grace the Fearless, do you normally embrace dragons?”

“What? Of course not! You’re the first dragon I’ve ever met! I couldn’t help myself!”

“In that case, all is well. I permit you to sit down during my questioning.”

Grace obeyed and sat down on the floor across from Grummanonth. “Next question!”

“Why were you with the soldiers that occupied this dungeon?”

“T–Two reasons!”

Grummanonth nodded, signaling Grace to continue.

“The army rounded up most of the adventurers in the southern portion of the country and attached us to the force marching south. They said it wasn’t a forced conscription and that we had the right to decline, but anyone stupid enough to disobey would find themselves pushed from the nearest rooftop in the middle of the night, I’m sure.”

“And the second reason?”

“I’ll use any excuse to enter a dungeon! I love to observe monsters!”

“What a peculiar human.” Grummanonth leaned his neck forward as though to loom over Grace and intimidate her as he asked the next question. “Why was the Union marching south with both soldiers and adventurers?”

“The only thing they said was that they needed to regain control of the dungeon. Of course, that was obviously not the whole story. Half of the adventurers they rounded up were brought further south beyond the dungeon in the Upper Gordu, and the number of escort soldiers was absolutely insane. They couldn’t even all fit in a dungeon!”

Grummanonth pulled his head back to a relaxed position. “Grace the Fearless, do you know what happened to the soldiers who bypassed this dungeon and continued south?”

“No. Well, I assume the ones who accompanied adventurers into the dungeon in the Lower Gordu were wiped out, just like what happened here. The rest of them probably invaded the Holy State, but I don’t know anything else.”

“Know that many escaped back into the Union, but certainly not all. The rest lost their lives.”

“Oh.” Grace’s tone was cold as ice.

“That’s enough questioning. Here is your task. I will allow you to leave the dungeon, so return to your guild in the Union and tell them what has happened.”

“Do I have to leave!?”

“Fearless as ever. If you do not leave, I will swallow you whole.”

Grace started muttering to herself, as though deep in thought and weighing the pros and cons of each decision. Eventually, she decided that getting eaten by the dragon was, marginally, the less-preferred option. “Okay, I’ll go.”

“Good. After reporting events until now, inform the Guild leadership that I intend to operate this dungeon similar to how the dungeon master in the Lower Gordu manages his. I will allow adventurers to train in the dungeon provided they follow any rules disseminated at the entrance. I invite the local Guild to manage the schedule and all other trivial matters.”

“Oh!” She stood and then jumped up and down several times in glee. “I will do that!”

“Grace the Fearless, will you be able to escape the forest by yourself?”

“Oh, uh…” She squirmed where she stood. “That will be a bit difficult…”

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

“I figured as much. I will provide you an escort until the forest edge, after which you must proceed alone on foot. Will that suffice?”

“Yes, I believe it will… Wait, no, no no no! I need monsters with me until the last possible moment! Otherwise, I could fall in battle or get eaten by wandering monsters!”

“Are the plains really so dangerous in your nation?”

“They could be! What if I run into bandits or other ruffians? Just a little white mage all by her lonesome?”

Grummanonth closed his eyes and remained silent for at least a minute while Grace waited patiently. Eventually, he opened his eyes again. “I’ve made arrangements so that you will be protected from afar. Monsters will escort you only as far as the forest’s edge, but you will be safe until you reach your destination.”

“How will I be protected from afar!?” She seemed less worried about her safety and more just excited to learn new things about monsters.

“The arrangements have been made.”

“But!” Grace objected desperately. “But! If I don’t know what form that protection will take, I may react incorrectly in the heat of the moment and increase the risk that I get hurt or killed! I might even get hit by friendly fire!”

“Grace the Fearless, unless the entire Nar Union’s army bears down on you with a single-minded focus to see you dead, you will be protected.”

“But–“

“You’re beginning to look appetizing.”

“Okay! Fine!” Grace turned on her heel and walked toward the door.

“Your escort will meet you at the top of the stairs. Oh, and make sure your Guild knows, if anyone enters my chamber without permission, their lives are forfeit.”

“All right!” she shouted over her shoulder as she exited.

As he watched her disappear around the corner, Grummanonth shook his head in mental exhaustion.

“Oh!” She poked her head back into the room. “Can I choose which types of monsters escort me!?”

Grummanonth charged up a fireball in his mouth.

“N–Never mind!” She raced up the stairs.

----------------------------------------

As expected, a message arrived instructing Lord Davidson to travel to the capital. Now that reinforcements from around the whole nation were stationed in the Twin Cities, the risk of further attacks due to the Lord being vacant was minimal.

The message also instructed the Lord to bring various people with him, including top performers in the recent battle and other advisors who would collaborate on various issues of national interest during the assembly in the capital.

Valorous Vulp was one of the people the Lord instructed to make the journey alongside himself and those advisors. As previously planned by the Guild Master, the rest of Vulp’s adventurer party was hired as additional guards, unnecessary as they were. Bandit would carry out her secret mission up on reaching the capital.

Daphne was invited as well. Although she expressed reluctance at being recognized for performing well in the battle, she couldn’t turn down a free ride to the capital. After fulfilling her obligations, the party would immediately depart for her home, EarthGlen.

The caravan departed from a plaza right in front of the Lord’s residence. All along the road west out of the city, residents lined up on either side and cheered or applauded the city’s heroes as they passed.

“Sir, I know it’s late for me to say, but shouldn’t you remain present in the city while the prisoners are interrogated?”

“It’s not a problem,” Lord Davidson assured his advisor. He waved out the open carriage door at the passing citizens. “Most of the prisoners are actually adventurers from the Union. The Guild Master believes they were forced to participate against their will. They weren’t involved in the siege, either. I agreed to leave their interrogation and disposition up to the Guild.”

“And what of the smaller portion of the prisoners who were captured Union soldiers, my Lord?”

“I’ll leave that to the Guild as well. If such matters are left in my hands, I might do something to those prisoners I’ll regret later,” he uttered through a creepy smile.

One carriage back in the formation, Kat’s party rode along with a few other travelers they didn’t know. As a result, the girls couldn’t speak freely about anything sensitive.

“Why are they letting us ride inside?” asked Lupy. “Since we were hired as guards, shouldn’t we be escorting the carriages?”

“It’s because there’re so many knights and soldiers already,” Vulp explained. “The four of you are basically my personal guards today, even though we’re all in the same party.”

“Oh, okay.” Lupy had no further concerns. “Wait, why do we have to be your guards!?” Except for that concern.

“It’s okay,” said Kat. “Vulp is becoming a noble and did really well during the battle, so she deserves special treatment right now.”

“I killed more enemies, though!”

“Lupy, how many did you kill?” asked Shiba.

Lupy started counting on her fingers. When she got to ten, she puzzled over what to do next.

“N–Never mind.” Shiba didn’t want to know anymore.

“Anyway,” Kat continued, “Bandi–er, Nina isn’t going to be recognized either.” Kat eyed her fellow travelers who weren’t speaking and probably were listening to everything the girls said, even if their gazes were elsewhere.

“So?” Lupy didn’t see what Kat was getting at.

“Nina performed well during the battle too, but the Guild isn’t going to recognize her.”

“Oh!” Now Lupy understood. “Because she–“ Lupy recalled her recent screw-up when she revealed Bandit’s special role in the Guild. “Never mind.”

Bandit patted Lupy on the shoulder.

One carriage further back, Daphne rode along with the rest of her party. She turned to a priestess who was traveling in the same carriage.

“Why is the church joining us?” asked Daphne. “I didn’t think they were really affected by the battle…”

“Oh, the Church received permission for me to travel along and deliver messages.”

“Messages about what happened in the battle?”

“No… Well, yes, that too I’m sure…”

Daphne turned her face away from the priestess and scrunched up her features. “What other messages, then?”

“It’s…”

“You don’t have to answer if you don’t want to.”

“Oh, it’s fine. I can’t think of any reason why I should need to be secretive. I am to teach the Church in the capital what I learned recently regarding the heavens.”

“The heavens?” Daphne rubbed her pointy ear with two fingers. “Did you learn something about them in a vision or something?”

“Oh, no, not at all. I’m far too unimportant to receive a divine oracle.”

“I know the feeling…” said Daphne. “If it wasn’t an oracle, what was it?”

“My teacher taught me physics so that I may understand why and how the planet revolves around the sun.”

“Oh!” Daphne’s face lit up. “Isn’t that how you could predict the path of an arrow fired from my bow?”

“Yes, I solved quite a few problems like that, like how to aim a bow such that the arrow will strike an animal hanging from a tree branch if the animal lets go of the tree branch just as you fire the arrow.”

“Wait, hm…” Daphne took her time parsing the problem and then thinking about how she would handle it as an archer. “Wouldn’t you want to aim directly at the animal? The animal would fall but the arrow would curve downward as well. I think the arrow would still strike the animal.”

“Yes, exactly! You knew that even without doing the math?”

“Well, I am an elf!” Daphne puffed out her modest chest.

Her party members exchanged knowing glances. They each felt an immense urge to tease her, but considering this was the first time in a while she didn’t seem down in the dumps, they decided to let sleeping dogs lie.

“Oh, please forgive my rudeness then. I’m Vera.”

“Daphne! So, who taught you all this?”

“You’ll… surely find it difficult to believe.”

“Why?” Daphne searched her memories. “Oh.”