Traversing through the wilderness and emerging from the forest, they walked a few more hours before finally catching sight of the entire town.
"Finally arrived..."
"You look pale, Yuka."
Contrary to her words, Yuka, with her poor complexion, was reaching the limits of her anxiety. This was evident from the abnormal amount of cold sweat she was producing.
Ignoring Yuka's state, Izayoi calmly observed the town.
The town of Telmus, situated right at the border between humans and demons, was not a desolate place despite constantly facing the threat of demonic invasion. In fact, it thrived, attracting many adventurers seeking monsters in the boundary forest, their hunted monster materials becoming special products of the town. This, according to Yuka, was the frontier town of Telmus.
And more importantly, it was one of the towns that Izayoi had once destroyed.
Yuka, who was walking with both hands and feet due to tension, was left behind while Izayoi, suppressing his laughter, observed the robust walls surrounding the town, comparable to a demon lord's castle. He could see the strong structure from afar, with ballistae installed in the watchtowers as anti-aircraft weapons.
Although he couldn’t recall exactly how much time had passed since then, seeing such formidable walls inevitably made him feel the passage of time. Or rather, he should be impressed by human resilience.
"What are you doing? Let's go!"
"...Yeah."
Prompted by Yuka, Izayoi headed towards the entrance of the town.
▼
They were surprisingly able to enter the town with ease. There were soldiers with spears at the gate, but they were there primarily for monsters. Basically, humans could pass without identification.
However, this was only the case in frontier towns, as the guard kindly informed Izayoi; in cities near the capital, identification would be necessary.
Yuka had forgotten to mention this earlier, leading to a small argument, but they managed to enter the town safely nonetheless.
"It’s unusually noisy."
"True, is there a festival or something?"
The whole town seemed to be bustling. Thanks to this, Yuka, although slightly, regained her composure and looked puzzled.
The expressions of the people they passed were uniformly joyful, the streets were filled with food stalls, and the town was wrapped in a festive mood.
"Shall we ask around?"
Leaving Yuka behind, Izayoi approached a skewer stall that was conveniently empty.
"Hey, young man! How about some skewers?"
"Sure, I’ll take one."
"Thanks! One skewer, two copper coins."
Handing over two copper coins, he received a skewer in return. The appetizing aroma whetted his appetite.
"But this is quite lively. What's the occasion?"
"You don’t know?"
"I've been in the boundary forest for a while, just got back."
Izayoi shrugged, ignoring Yuka's mumbling in the background.
"Ah, I see."
The stall owner nodded understandingly.
"So, what’s the celebration?"
"Well, it seems the Demon Lord has been defeated, and this festival is to celebrate that."
"...I see."
Izayoi used all his willpower to maintain a straight face, which looked incredibly serious.
"Now we can live peacefully without fearing the demons."
"Indeed."
Unfortunately, the Demon Lord was very much alive. In fact, the man talking to the stall owner was the Demon Lord himself.
After a brief conversation, Izayoi left and returned to Yuka.
"So, did you find out anything?"
"Well... sort of."
Izayoi handed the skewer to Yuka, who bit into it after a moment of hesitation.
"Yum, it's good!"
She said, savoring the skewer.
"So, what did you find out?"
"Apparently, the Demon Lord has been defeated."
"Wha!?"
Yuka choked on the meat due to the unexpected answer. Izayoi patted her back, and she raised her slightly blue face forcefully.
"What kind of rumor is that? The person himself is very much alive!"
"True."
"But then, why such a rumor… Ah!"
Yuka seemed to have realized something.
"Is it because the castle collapsed…?"
"That’s likely."
They didn’t know who had confirmed it, but it was probable that people misunderstood the Demon Lord had been defeated by the hero due to the castle’s collapse. It’s only natural to think that if the castle falls, the castle lord, the Demon Lord, falls as well. No one would dream that he would join the hero.
However, something didn’t sit right with Izayoi.
Hosting a festival was fine and even commendable, as such events contribute to the prosperity of the town and country.
However, an absolutely essential entity was missing.
The protagonist who supposedly defeated the Demon Lord - the Hero.
Common sense would dictate that such a celebration should start with the hero’s triumphant return. Why would they host a festival without him? "The hero hasn’t returned, so they’ve concluded he’s dead? No, that seems rather premature.
Why didn’t they wait?
No matter how much they had given up on Yuuka, if she achieved the great feat of defeating the Demon King, they would have to acknowledge her accomplishments to some extent.
So why?
A single, most dreadful possibility crossed Izayoi’s mind.
Next to him, Yuuka was innocently munching on skewers.
"Mm~ Delicious~"
Watching Yuuka, who placed her hand on her cheek and narrowed her eyes happily, Izayoi let out a wry smile.
A possibility is just a possibility. It’s too hasty to conclude without basis.
That’s how Izayoi concluded, shutting off the possibility that had crossed his mind.
However, they were still severely lacking in information. He wanted to gather information somehow, but asking about facts that he should normally know would make him suspicious, just like with the shop owner earlier.
He couldn’t keep deceiving like that repeatedly.
As Izayoi was considering ways to gather information,
"What’s with that serious face?"
Yuuka, who had finished her skewers, peered into his face.
"No, it’s nothing. More importantly, what should we do now?"
"Um, I think it’s best to register as adventurers at the Adventurer's Guild, right? If we have the adventurer cards, we won’t have trouble proving our identity."
Indeed, for the two heading towards their temporary final destination, the royal capital, having something to prove their identity was essential. And it’s not something troublesome to have.
Moreover, becoming adventurers might allow them to access the unique information network of adventurers. That was something Izayoi, who was lacking in information, could only wish for.
Accepting Yuuka’s suggestion, Izayoi headed towards the Adventurer’s Guild."