The Sprouting Grass Which Declares That âWe Are A Party Of Heroes!â Part 2\nThe quest that Kagami received from the Guild was to subjugate 30 Blue Devils in the dungeon called,ăThe Ancient Caveă.
Many monsters could be found in the area surrounding the Dungeon, but the stronger ones were located inside. This was because the monsters outside were born naturally, while the monsters inside were formed through the Dungeonâs miasma.
In other words, their strength was determined by the Dungeonâs miasma.
The Dungeon would continue creating monsters even after reaching full capacity, causing some of the monsters to leave the Dungeon.
This was the reason why the Imperial City had issued this quest.
It was possible that one would encounter Blue Devils in the forest, on the way to the Ancient Cave.
If that happened, it would be extremely dangerous for Peddlers.
The Ancient Cave was a dungeon with a high risk of death for any party without at least four Level 70 Adventurers. Blue Devils normally stayed in the Dungeon, but if even one of them were to leave the Dungeon, it would become dangerous enough that low level Adventurers get chills simply from understanding why the quest had been issued.
âOne Blue Devil drops 34 silverâŚso 30 of them means a total of 1020 silver. Completing the quest is 1 gold huhâŚeasy money! I say today will be cakeâŚno, crab! This Kagami has chosen crab today.â
However, this was only good news for Kagami. He wasnât satisfied with just cake and had wanted to try eating crab. For Kagami, Blue Devils were as threatening as a dog and about as dangerous as Green Slimes would be for Warriors. Not only were they at the level of a dog, they were as threatening as a small dog like a Pomeranian.
âGigiiiieeegyaaaaaa!â (Xant: weâre approaching black knight sfx here)
So, with the strong desire to fill up his piggy bank, Kagami hunted the Blue Devils. Even though normal people wouldnât want to encounter them, Kagami had degraded himself to the point that he hoped that they would appear quickly. Regardless of this fact, Kagami showed the true difference in ability between him and the Blue Devils.
When the Blue Devils appeared, they would screech in a voice that made oneâs hair stand on end. It was normal to see Kagami change directions and head towards the agonizing screams.
âTh-this is a r-rare drop! If I sell it, it would go for 700 silverâŚitâs decided, Black Beef it is.â
When monsters were killed, they could drop items in addition to gold. They were popularly named as Drop Items. These monster-specific items, often known as Rare Drops, scarcely turned up.
âA Blue Devilâs horn? Even though it looks like this, itâs surprisingly valuable, huh?â
As Kagami muttered, he confirmed the amount that had been automatically added to the quest form.
â15 remainingâŚ? Although itâs easy to defeat them, finding them is such a pain.â
Kagami grumbled as he walked inside the Dungeon, which looked like gloomy ruins formed from earth and rubble.
Kagami could not find any more Blue Devils, to the extent that his surroundings became completely silent. He looked at the inside of the Dungeon with irritation as he took a piss and yawned.
As he walked towards the end of a passage, Kagami saw a personâs silhouette squirming around. The people who visited this Dungeon were rarely in danger. Unless they were a reckless idiot, they would usually be a powerful person, like Kagami.
Speaking of a personâs figure, the only monsters inside this Dungeon that appeared similar to humans would be the Blue Devils.
âThe possibility of a group of Blue Devils being here is 99.999%, ooooh!â
Kagami raised his tension and approached the prey that had finally appeared with a dash. As he neared it, he saw the dim shadow of a human come into focus.
The instant he saw the blond hair of the figure in the vanguard, Kagami de-accelerated and swerved to the side of the pathway, wearing an expression that said it was the end of the world.
âA party of heroes?âŚheroes arenât really that amazingâŚit feels about as noteworthy as seeing dog food on the side of the road.â
Kagami began to search the Dungeon while he felt embarrassed for having been in such high spirits. It was better not to wonder about why this party of Heroes had come to the Ancient Cave.
âUmmâŚhero-sama, didnât something approach at a tremendous speed a little while ago?â
The female Monk with peagreen pigtails asked the Hero.
âHmm? Ah, it was probably the monster that we were scared of and ran away from.â
âIsâŚthat so?â
The Hero said, while holding a Blue Devil scale in one hand. It was a Drop Item that he had obtained through defeating the Blue Devils earlier. He did not need to worry about anything, in contrast to the girl Monk, who worried about the shadow that had disappeared.
âEven so, RexâŚwas it? Not bad. Itâs my first time being able to defeat Blue Devils this easily.â
âOf course, after all, I am a Hero arenât I? Even if that wasnât the case, Blue Devils can be easily defeated as long as we have three strong people.â
The glamorous Magician with beautiful, wavy indigo hair said to Rex, impressed, and the blond Hero responded.
âFighting an opponent of this caliber is a waste of time. Our goal is to defeat the Demon King and bring peace to this world.â
The dignified woman who had made a speech in the Square asserted coldly, as she forced her way in between the Hero and the long, indigo haired woman.
âOooh, if it isnât the enthusiastic princess. You had such a different atmosphere a little while ago.â
âPlease stop addressing me that way. Right now, we are equal as comrades. Iâm no different from a common warrior. As I mentioned earlier, my birthday is in October, and please call me Krul Hexal Doria.
âSince thatâs too long, Iâll call you Kuu-chan. Itâs fine to call me Palna, without honorifics.â
The tiresome female Magician called herself Palna Viole. For some unknown reason, Krulâs cold expression vanished and she mumbled ââŚKuu-chanâ while looking slightly happy.
âU-um! Is it also fine if I call you Krul-san? Of course, it doesnât matter if you donât use honorifics with me, Tina!â
The female Monk, Tina Beerus, bashfully suggested to Krul as her cheeks flushed red. Krul again nodded her head willingly, as her face lit up with an unhindered smile.
âYea, this side of Kuu-chan is definitely cute. You should relax more.â
âI-I canât do such a thing! Since my childhood, my father has been preparing me to subdue the Demon King! This trip isnât something to enjoy!â
Krul said as she puffed her cheeks and looked away from Palna.
âU-UmâŚKrul-san, why has your goal been to defeat the Demon King since your childhood?â
When she saw how Krul acted, Tina asked an unexpected question.
Wearing an expression that made it seem as if she had been entrusted with an important mission, Krul slowly opened her mouth to speak.
âLong agoâŚthere were no less than 196 countries. Now, after the appearance of monsters and the Demon King in Clear Earth, only three countries remain. Hexal Doria was once one part of a country called Japan. Do you understand what that means?â
âThe size of the areas where people live in have shrunk.â
Krul asked Palna with a strained expression. The subject was common knowledge to all humans and Palna easily answered.
âThatâs exactly right. Itâs all because of the Demon King, who robbed us of our place to live with his monsters. We have to take it backâŚwe shouldnât have to live in a world where we are afraid of monsters! It might be surprising butâŚthis was a world that originally didnât have monsters.â
Krul, who had trained and studied to defeat the Demon King while growing up in the Royal Palace, appeared to know a little about the history of the world. Palna put on an unpleasant smile as her intuition as an older sister told her that this trip would be enjoyable.
âWell, even though I understand that, why is our first destination this Dungeon? Isnât this in the exact opposite direction of where the Demon King lives?â
âAh, I know that.â
Rex mentioned this to Palna and Tina, who had glanced at him and asked the question they had been thinking.
Then Rex, who had been examining the wall inside of the Dungeon, glanced at Palna and beckoned her to come over and take a look at the wall.
âLook at this.â
As Rex said so, he pointed to a pattern that emitted a faint, pale orange light inside the dimly lit Dungeon. The pattern was completely covered in dense moss due to the Dungeon having been formed from earth and rubble. Although it would have just been seen as mysterious if there werenât any monsters, the presence of Blue Devils, which were high level monsters, only made the location induce fear.
âIs there something wrong with this pattern?â
Tina asked, unable to understand the difference between the pattern that Rex pointed at and the other patterns.
âThere is a hidden room inside this Dungeon that only the Royal Family knows about. Following this patternâs path will lead to that place.
When Rex said so, Tina checked the pattern a second time. It did seem to be leading somewhere, and the path that they had passed through until now had been marked with dots.
âHee, this Dungeon has such a trick. Is there something over there?â
âSomething a Hero can only equip if they are over Level 90âŚa Holy Sword is resting there. Until now, no one has obtained itâŚthereâs no doubt that itâs the strongest weapon.â
Although Palna had thought that something might be there, it was unexpectedly something very important, to the point that she felt a little anxious.
âYou say no Hero has obtained it until nowâŚwhy has the Royal Family been so stingy with such a great weapon? Wouldnât we have defeated the Demon King if we had it?â
Rex gave a wry smile when he heard the question.
âAs you know, although the Role thatâs called Hero is rare, it doesnât mean that only one of them exists. It had probably been left behind for a Hero that came from the Royal Familyâs lineage. Maybe they were worried that this Hero would be killed by the Demon King and become unable to continue the Royal line.â
âWell then, why does Rex know this information?â
âI didnât say? Itâs because Krul is this countryâs princess. The King didnât want his cute daughter to be killed, so he graciously taught me.â
Krul wanted to say, âthatâs right,â in response to Rex, but decided to only nod instead.
âThe subjugation of the Demon King will finally happen this time. A party with Heroes and SagesâŚwhy donât we complete it with the legendary weapon? Nobody had managed to defeat him before because the party hadnât been completed!â
Regardless of whether or not he believed that he could defeat the Demon King, Rex smiled fearlessly and headed towards the path that was marked by the pattern floating on the wall of the Dungeon.
Krul followed the Hero without a momentâs delay.
âWe might have joined a really amazing party, right Palna-san?â
Tina slightly panicked as she thought that the possibility of them subduing the Demon King was higher than they had thought.
âWell, it seems like it will become an interesting trip from here on out. FufuâŚletâs enjoy it.â
Palna, who had confirmed that this party would be more interesting than she had imagined, chased after Rex and walked up next to him while smiling.
âWhich reminds me, Rex, although everyone decided their nicknames earlier, is it fine to just call you Rex? To begin with, whatâs your full name?â
âMy name is RexâŚjust Rex.â
Rex responded and walked toward the end of the passage, as if dodging the question. He did not care about nicknames. The most important thing was to subdue the Demon King so he could get fame and status. While repeating that to himself in his mind, Rex Chickyboy (ăŹăăŻăšăťăăŻăăăźă¤) headed towards the room with the Holy Sword.\n