My companions and I climb the stairs towards the floor where the Guildmaster is.

"As usual, there's that moldy smell again..."

Adrian muttered.

"I like this scent you know..."

I replied.

"That's cause you belong to the library! I don't get what's with you folks liking dark and cold areas filled with this moldy old scent..."

He said appalled.

"You just don't know the joy of reading a book."

I answered him.

"And I'm glad I don't."

He retorted.

"That's actually a waste you know. Books have all sorts of important contents. As a rogue, I've chanced upon some ancient libraries before. The books have some important secrets that are very useful. Even if it's useless, some old people would pay a ton for it especially if it came from ancient ruins."

Chako interjected.

I agreed with him on that point but I don't like books being treated as a source of income but it's money that attracts various explorers to traverse ancient ruins regardless of the danger to bring us those tomes of ancient knowledge.

Since it's how some knowledge lost in the pass were regained, I can't really condemn this kind of behavior... Especially given the benefits.

"Well, enough banter for now... Let's go in."

I pointed towards a wooden door.

"Sigh... I really don't like that guy..."

Chako muttered.

"He's a good guy, you know. But he likes the same moldy smell as the leader."

"And I keep telling you there's nothing wrong with that..."

Perhaps tired of our banter, Julian put a hand on my shoulder.

"It's rude to keep him waiting."

He spoke sternly.

Letting out a sigh, the two of us acknowledge that this is pointless.

We head towards the door and enter the Guildmaster's office.

Dressed in a scholarly robe, there stood an aged gentleman reading a blue book on his desk.

The room was filled with numerous shelves filled with books.

There was also a map on the wall as rays of light lighted up the room.

He was Ascrein Armida.

The man took his sights off his book and gazed at us and gave us a warm smile.

"Ah, good. I was expecting you. Hm? I see that cheeky brat with you again. I suppose you haven't change at all given your expression."

Adrian gazed at him with a scowl.

Julian went towards him and spoke sternly.

"Adrian, stop that. It's rude."

He merely shrugged it off.

"Hmph. Very few youngsters nowadays know proper manners."

He cleared his throat and said.

"Regardless, this is neither the time to speak of such matters. Let's carry on to official business."

The atmosphere tensed up as my companions and I listened carefully.

"In a certain village west of here, there is a village known as Riverdale Village. It is a rather large village housing over 3000 residents. It's basically a small city by now but without proper walls. Yet. The reason why it’s still a village was due to various issues that prevented the kingdom from formally acknowledging it as a town. When those issues were addressed, it had the qualifications to be called a city."

Chako and Adrian seemed shocked.

He paused.

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When people gather in an area and build a community starting from simple huts, they are formally known as a village. If they grow and fulfill the requirements starting with walls, safety, population and other matters, the kingdom formally considers them a town then a city.

He stands up and takes the map off the wall and spreads it in the table.

"The village mayor intends to raise up walls and formally promote the community as a city. There is an inspector there who came and after some thorough investigations, they've been granted approval. However, trouble soon came."

He points to a certain area.

"This is Riverdale Village."

He points to an area in the map.

Chako and Adrian weren’t acting well…

Concerned, I question him.

"Chako? What's wrong?"

"Are... are you sure the village is called Riverdale Village...?"

With a pale face, Chako asked Ascrein in a stuttering voice.

I was alarmed... I've never seen Chako act this way before.

Noticing something, Ascrein put a hand to his chin.

"I'm sure. The village in question is undoubtedly Riverdale Village. Are you perhaps from that area?"

Paling further, Chako nodded.

"...I was born in Riverdale Village and left to be an adventurer."

He answered in a weak voice.

"...I see... There are many things you should know then."

Ascrein looked serious then resumed speaking.

"The area is mainly a forest but there are a few farmlands located near there. There is a group of bandits located near the area but they are merely a medium sized group."

He looked at us and said.

"As you can see, this might seem like an ordinary village going to be promoted to a town soon but... Certain events happened here that sent the town into panic."

We listened intently.

Especially Chako.

"One day, the villagers discovered that all living things in the forest were dead as dried corpses. The bandits survived somehow though. The village chief was alerted and he sent a report at once. Guards were soon dispatched and they arrived two days later. But then... The incident has already escalated despite the safety measures the chief employed."

He took a deep breath.

"Of the 3000 villagers, more than 700 had died due to a strange disease. Furthermore, 400 people had disappeared within a single day. The guards decided to stay and made some investigations while sending out messengers to report the incident. This was merely 3 days ago... As of now, the guards are dead. They were investigating the forest but were murdered and the perpetrators are still unknown. Though it's likely done by bandits."

Chako nearly collapse once those words were spoken.

Fortunately, Adrian grabbed him and helped him up.

I was worried here...

"So, the situation is continuously getting worse?"

I asked.

The Guildmaster looked grim as he nodded.

Chako looked even more shocked.

"As of present, various major forces have taken notice of this incident and suspect that foul play is involved... Demons, another county or some organization... The scale is growing larger as the incident escalates."

He took a deep breath then said.

"Your task is to investigate the situation. Gather as much information as you can and deliver it here alive. Also... Take care. This might even grow to be an S-Rank mission."

He warned me with a grim face.

"So, will you accept this mission?"

Julian stepped forward to ask something.

"Wait. Have they gathered any intel beforehand such as suspicious people entering or some unusual activities?"

Ascrein shook his head.

"Unfortunately not. Before setting out to gather more people, they did some preliminary investigations. According to the townsfolk, they didn't spot anything suspicious."

This alarmed Adrian.

"Nothing? How about a common point between all the people who died or those who disappeared?"

Ascrein thought for a moment.

"The investigative team only did some basic investigations. So, they're not very reliable. The ones who died all at once and were in different places at the time. Furthermore, they didn't find out any common point between them. As for those who disappeared... The common point is that all of them were young. Most of them are young girls. Teenagers."

This had bad implications.

"Wait... Young people...? This is bad."

I muttered as I paled.

"Yes. What you fear is highly possible."

Ascrein nodded.

"What is it? Tell us."

Julian nudged at me.

"Young people... Especially women are the common sacrifices for demon summoning... That and many other vile magic practices... All such acts are cruel and horrible and involve acts such as rape, murder and cannibalism. I won't go into detail of how they're done... But it's enough to warrant a death sentence."

All the people in the room except Ascrein turned dead silent.

Chako looked as if he would faint.

After a painful moment...

"Scum! Those heretics are actually doing such blasphemy!?"

Adrian shouted furiously.

"There is little you can do by rampaging about. Still, that's the conclusion various forces thought off. You're not the only ones going there... Various forces such as the kingdom and the church are mobilizing their forces to launch an investigation."

Ascrein took a deep breath.

"So, there you have it. Your task is to gather as much information as possible then hand them to those forces so they could deal with it. Sending out an experienced team could reduce the number of casualties before the various forces truly mobilize. You're also not the only party that set out. Many other parties including A-Rank parties mobilized and set off there. Of course, their missions are different from yours. They have much more difficult missions to handle."

We fell silent.

"Everyone, let's head out for a moment."

I proposed.

We need to discuss this privately.

It would be rude to discuss this in front of Ascrein.

The other three nodded and went outside the room.

Chako could walk now despite being badly shocked.

"This is a truly dangerous task."

I said to them.

They all nodded.

"This mission is related to my hometown, I'm obviously going to come. But... I can't drag my emotions into this. What about you guys?"

"This kind of mission... It might be best to decline."

Julian spoke.

"This mission is clearly very dangerous... I fear the worse. Chako, this might seemed heartless... But we should decline this mission. Despite the consequences."

He finished heavily.

All of us fell silent.

"... This mission... is somewhat related to us. We have enough reasons to go... The A-Rank promotion and personal matters. But there are even greater reasons not to go. The danger here and lack of information is such that we might even be walking into our graves... We might need to prepare for death here...If we just rush over there, we'd just adding up to the death count. The final decision is yours, Leader."

The three looked at me.

Our stances are...

Chako is determined to go even if he has to do it alone.

Adrian abstained from any decisions but given his relation with Chako, he would most certainly go.

Julian is against it since he perceived great danger from it.

...They've made their stances clear. What I say will decide how things go.

What should I say...?

Accept the Mission(008)

Decline the Mission(009)