The next day, as soon as I woke up, I quickly got ready and headed down to the first floor of the inn to have breakfast. As I descended, I noticed that the place was relatively quiet, but I decided not to mind and made my way to one of the vacant tables. After a few minutes of waiting, my breakfast arrived, and without wasting time, I started my meal. While savoring the food, I reflected on the revelations that Aurora-sama had made to me the day before. The truth is, apparently, I am responsible for the horde of monsters approaching the city.

From what I understood from my conversation with Aurora-sama last night, it seems that the horde of monsters approaching the city doesn't necessarily have anything to do with me. It's true that monsters evolve by feeding on each other. Apparently, both plants and water contain mana in their composition, albeit in smaller quantities. This is also true for humans and monsters. However, instead of stating that both were formed from mana like plants and water, it would be more accurate to say that both can extract mana from the environment into their bodies. Either way, the fact is that even though I have a considerable amount of mana in me, it wouldn't be a reason to attract a horde to the city. After all, the more mana you have, the stronger you are.

This basically implies that instead of monsters approaching, they would normally stay away. However, this time things seem to be a bit different. The reason for a horde approaching is quite simple: there is a much more powerful monster that is forcing everyone to flee to the forest's edges. After all, this monster probably lived deep within the forest and sensed my presence when we arrived in this world. Now, it has decided to try its luck and devour me. With these thoughts in mind, a tired sigh escapes my lips as I ponder what my next steps should be.

(If only I were the only one affected by all this...)

While these thoughts weighed heavily on my mind, the sound of approaching footsteps caught my attention, directing my gaze to the stairs leading to the second floor. My vision was completely filled by a girl of small stature. Her long silver-white hair gently swayed as she approached, her blue eyes fixed on me.

"Oh, good morning, Ana"

I greeted her with a kind smile on my face. As Ana approached, she pulled out one of the empty chairs next to me and sat down, staring in my direction.

"Ma-kun... good morning"

Ana murmured sleepily, her eyes seemingly struggling to stay open.

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

"You don't usually wake up early. Did something happen?"

I asked, keeping my eyes fixed on Ana. Upon hearing my words, Ana simply touched her small belly before murmuring sleepily but in an adorable manner.

"I got hungry and felt that Ma-kun had woken up, so I came downstairs to eat too"

After that, Ana's food arrived. Shortly after, Fujiwara, Saemi, and Aoi-sensei joined us for breakfast. We ate slowly while engaging in casual conversation to pass the time. Anyway, today I needed to settle some matters with the guild leader, if he's willing to receive me again, that is. Time is running out, and I believe it would be best to be honest and explain the whole situation to him.

After breakfast, we quickly set off towards the adventurers' guild. It didn't take long until we spotted the building. As we entered, we noticed a strange atmosphere lingering in the place. People seemed worried and even anxious. Faced with this, I questioned the reason behind all this commotion. It couldn't possibly be because of the monster horde; after all, it would still take at least a week for it to arrive here, considering the best-case scenario. Despite appearances, the forest is relatively far from the city, which normally requires almost a full day of travel, at worst.

While pondering the possibilities, a distant voice caught my attention. I headed towards the voice and came across a seemingly friendly trio gathered, conversing and expressing concern about something.

"Adya, Ikari, Zephyra, is something happening?"

I asked as I approached. Fortunately, I had the chance to meet them yesterday, and after some conversations, I believe we can consider ourselves acquainted. Anyway, I discovered something interesting about this world through them. Apparently, people usually don't have last names. It's common for commoners to have just one name, while nobles and royalty have surnames. Upon hearing my voice, the three turned towards me, trying to identify who called them.

"Good morning, Makoto. Regarding that... we were discussing it"

Adya said, pointing to the bulletin board where missions were posted. As I directed my gaze to the board, I was surprised to see a huge notice indicating that a monster horde would attack the city the following day. Although the time wasn't specified, the notice suggested it would likely be in the early morning. Contemplating this information, a sigh escaped my lips.

"Most adventurers are pondering whether to stay in the city to fight or to leave before the horde arrives"

Ikari spoke with a worried expression on her face. It was a delicate matter, and no one could be truly called a coward for choosing to flee in this situation. After all, we're facing a horde with dozens of monsters. In fact, I must be crazy for wanting to confront it head-on.

"What do you three plan to do?"

As I looked at the three of them, I asked the question. Hearing my words, they exchanged glances for a few seconds before nodding to each other with determination in their eyes.

"We're going to fight"

The three of them answered in unison, with determination in their voices. Upon hearing their words, a subtle smile formed on my face, as I already expected this response from them.

"Alright, then see you on the battlefield"

I affirmed confidently, starting to walk away from the three with determination.