The strong looking old man named Aran sat in the corner of the biggest inn in town, his eyes scanning the bustling crowd.

Just a few days ago, the inn was nearly empty, with only a handful of people passing through. But now, it was packed with people from all walks of life, all of them looking tough and ready for action.

It was immediately apparent to anyone that the current occupants of the inn were knights, adventurers, and mercenaries. His attention was drawn to a group of men chatting nearby.

"I wonder why Viscount Starlight suddenly hired all of us like this," one of the adventurers mused. "He didn't explain what we're supposed to do."

"Who knows," replied another. "Nobody understands how rich people think."

"Well, isn't his business currently a huge success?" chimed in another adventurer. "I bet he's worried that his rival will try to sabotage it. One way to do that is by abducting his daughter. That's why he sent us here, near the magic academy."

The other adventurers murmured in agreement and nodded in response.

"But how paranoid do you need to be," one of the adventurers said, "to hire this many people just to protect his daughter? What an idiot!"

The others joined in with the laughter, but Aran didn't find it funny. He didn't like the way they were talking about their employer, the Viscount. It was one thing to be cynical, but to openly mock the person who was paying their wages was disrespectful.

"Well, I don't care as long as I get paid," another one said, and the group laughed again.

Aran sighed to himself. He had seen it all before, mercenaries who cared only for the coin in their pocket. But that wasn't what was bothering him the most. He had a gut feeling that this situation was not as simple as it seemed.

A young man with spiky hair approached the old man, Aran, who seemed to be lost in thought.

"What are you thinking about, Captain? You look stressed," the young man said. He was the leader of the popular adventurer party that had recently gained fame, Dwan.

"Don't call me Captain. I'm not in that position anymore," Aran replied curtly.

"But aren't you the one who got elected to talk directly with the Viscount? You're basically our leader," Dwan pressed.

"They just pushed a pain in the ass job onto me. That's all," Aran replied, clearly irritated.

"Oh, come on. No need to be so negative," Dwan said, trying to lighten the mood. "Aren't you an S class adventurer?"

"Former," Aran corrected him.

"Details, details," Dwan waved a hand dismissively. "But doesn't this scenery feel like a dream? We've got famous knights, ex-knights, adventurers, former adventurers, and mercenaries, all in one place. You can't help but think big things are going to happen."

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Aran couldn't help but nod in agreement. He knew that something big was brewing, but he couldn't quite put his finger on what it was.

"What do you think will happen?" he asked Dwan. "Hopefully we won't be forced to rebel against the kingdom or get into a war or something," Aran added.

"Aren't you already making sure that's not the case when you talked to the Viscount?" Dwan asked.

"Yeah, I already told him that if it turns out to be like that, we'll back off from this job," Aran replied. "But when I see them all like this, I start to worry. A lot of them don't really care what job they do as long as they get paid."

"So it's possible that they'll still follow orders even if the Viscount's orders break the contract?" Dwan guessed. "Well, that's possible. Though I doubt it."

"Why?" Aran asked.

"The way Viscount Starlight hired us is too open. If he's planning something shady, he'll act more secretly, right? And what's the point of letting us idle like this anyway? If he had a clear

plan, he should have already told us what to do," Dwan explained.

"That's true," Aran said. "But still..." He trailed off, lost in thought once again.

The uncertainty of their situation weighed heavily on his mind, and he couldn't shake the feeling that something was about to happen, something big and dangerous.

Dwan smiled. "I didn't say I believe him completely, but his track record isn't bad. I sincerely thought he didn't really plan something like that. I just didn't see the point."

"But then why?" Aran asked. "What does he need us for?"

"That's the mystery, isn't it," Dwan replied. "I want to know too."

"Is it possible because of what they say?" Aran asked. "He simply wants to keep his daughter safe?"

"Hm... It is possible," Dwan said. "But isn't the magic academy protected by a magic barrier? I'm not sure how it works, but since it was created a hundred years ago, I've never heard of a student from there being kidnapped. So it shows how strong the barrier is, right?"

"But it doesn't mean it's impenetrable," Aran said.

"Fair enough," Dwan said. "But even if someone managed to break the barrier, it will alert everyone. I just can't see a kidnapper making such a huge scene, right? Normally, they will do it as secretly as possible to ensure a higher possibility of success."

"You're right," the old man replied. "I guess that's not it then."

Dwan nodded. "We can only wait at this point," he said.

Aran could only sigh in disappointment. Continuing this conversation might be pointless unless they get more information. So he tried to change the subject.

"Anyway, where's your party?" Aran asked, looking around. "I didn't see those girls who are always with you."

"They're doing a separate quest right now," Dwan said. "Something about a legendary sword or something? I'm not sure myself."

"Legendary sword?" Aran said.

"Yeah, I guess you're out of the loop with what happened around the adventurer's guild?" Dwan said, grinning. "Doesn't that mean your edge has become dull? Then let me enlighten you this time."

The old man Aran sighed. "Yeah, I'm old. So what happened?"

Dwan laughed. "Alright, some time ago there was a quest from a noble lady called Aurora to check around the forest of Wind for a legendary sword," Dwan said. "At first, people just thought it was only a delusion of a noble girl, but when some adventurers decided to check it out, they found a sword stuck in a huge rock in the middle of the forest. Obviously, they couldn't pick up the sword. They said only someone worthy can have it."

"Oh, I never heard of it," Aran said, interested. "Then what happened next?"

"Later on, there was a follow-up request," Dwan said. "Do you know Rita?"

"I have heard that name before," the old man Aran said, stroking his beard. "Isn't she the famous knight lady who is said to be one of the strongest in this generation?"

Dwan nodded. "Pretty impressive lady, that one," he said. "And that's where the request comes in. Rita has been tasked with bringing that sword back, and to do that, they're making a request for adventurers to lead the way. For some reason, she only accepts female companions. Not that I don't understand why, but because of that, I got booted out from the team."

Aran laughed. "I see, that makes sense," he said. "And that Aurora girl was the one making the request?"

"Most likely," Dwan said. "But I'm not too sure. As far as I know, Rita was supposed to be a knight from the Marquis family. I don't know why she would follow that lady's wishes."

"Aurora," Aran murmured. "That name sounds familiar. Wait a second, isn't that the name of Viscount Starlight's daughter? Is that the same lady?"

"I'm not sure," Dwan said. "Now that you mention it, that's probably true. Since I didn't get included in the team, I didn't get detailed information. Still, I should have looked into it more."

Aran's mind was racing as he tried to make sense of the situation. "Then isn't it possible that it's connected--"

Aran word was cut off by a big explosion from outside the inn. The deafening blast shook the entire inn, causing everyone inside to look at each other in confusion and fear.

"What's that sound...?" one of the adventurers said.

A short silence followed, and then panicked screams and crying could be heard all over the outside of the inn.

Aran and Dwan quickly made their way outside, trying to figure out what had happened. As they emerged from the inn, they were greeted by a scene of chaos. People were running in every direction, their faces etched with fear and confusion.

Looking up, Aran's heart sank as he saw an ominous creature covering the sky. Its hundreds of huge teeth glistened in the sunlight, its gigantic distinctive spiral green shell looked as strong as steel, and it glided slowly along the ground, eating and destroying anything in its path.

Dwan stood frozen in place, clearly stunned by the sight before them.

"What... is that?" he managed to stammer out.

Aran's voice trembled as he replied, "I don't know. I've never seen something like this before..."

***