In the forest, where sunlight poured through the leaves, a thunderous cheer echoed out, cleaving through the peaceful stillness of the afternoon.
“We have triumphed!”
At Skol’s proclamation, the orcs’ cheers grew even louder.
Swinging their burly arms and legs, the orcs gathered atop the adventurers’ corpses. Amid the orcs baring their tusks and letting out eerie laughter, blood-soaked blades and spearheads flashed.
Skol clenched both fists and shouted to his tribesmen.
“Look upon those vermin! Chwik!”
“Oooh! Oooh!”
At the chieftain’s words, the orc tribesmen thrust their bloodied weapons high into the air.
The corpses beneath the orcs belonged to the adventurer Et and his party members.
They had climbed the mountains after hearing Lloyd’s words, only to unfortunately run into Skol.
It was the end of adventurers who had blindly chased after a rumor.
“Warriors of the tribe, always remember this day! The end of those who know no honor is nothing but death!”
“Oooh! Oooh!”
Before he died, Et had held out money to Skol and begged for his life.
That act had only provoked the orcs instead. Feeling that he had been insulted, Skol ordered the adventurers killed.
As a result, the adventurers were turned into cold corpses. But perhaps the orcs’ anger had not yet subsided, for they vented their fury by kicking at the torn armor on the bodies.
“There is no need to collect the corpses of those who know no honor! It would only dirty our hands!”
“Oooh! Oooh!”
So highly did Skol and the orc tribesmen value honor that they did not lay a hand on the gold coins and jewels the adventurers had carried.
They wore disgusted expressions, as though they had seen something filthy.
At that, another tribesman pounded his chest and lent force to Skol’s words.
“Chwik! The chieftain speaks true! We cannot dirty our hands because of worms who know no honor!”
At the sight, the orcs around them began laughing even more gleefully.
In their sharp gazes, only the thrill of battle and the joy of victory flared up.
Their mad laughter rang through the forest as if it would tear the air apart.
A short while later, Necros, who had been standing quietly in the rear, revealed himself.
Skol responded with a smile.
“Sir Necros! I truly thank you for giving me the chance to judge those honorless vermin!”
“Clack clack clack.”
(I merely did what had to be done.)
“Krrgh! In all my life, I have never seen a warrior as honorable as you!”
At Necros’s words, Skol was moved all the more.
To say so bluntly that he had merely done what had to be done.
It would have been wonderful if every warrior in this world were so honorable, but Skol knew very well that reality was not like that.
That was why Necros’s actions seemed truly great to him.
“Tribesmen, listen! We must all train and train again so that we may become honorable warriors like Sir Necros!”
“Oooh! Oooh! Oooh!”
Even thinking so, Skol had no intention of simply letting Necros, who was no different from a benefactor, leave.
No matter how much the other party refused, he had already received a favor.
If he did not offer a fitting repayment for that, he would be unqualified as chieftain.
For an honorable warrior, debts of gratitude and grudges were virtues that had to be engraved deep in the heart.
“Sir Necros! If it is a request from you, I shall grant anything! I swear it on the name of the chieftain!”
Skol was sincere.
If it was Necros’s request, he would fulfill it even if he had to drag along the entire tribe.
At Skol’s heartfelt words, Necros raised his head.
“Clack clack, clack clack clack. Clack clatter.”
And he immediately stated his request.
Necros’s request was simple.
Since Skol, an honorable warrior, had dealt with those who knew no honor, Necros himself would personally clean up those corpses.
“Chwik? No, I never imagined such a request!”
Naturally, Skol was flustered.
The request he made was merely to clean up the corpses in their stead.
That was not a request.
But Necros was firm.
“Clack clack clack. Clack clack. Clack clack clack.”
He expressed his position, saying that if the corpses of those vermin remained in this place filled with honor, it would not be good for the tribesmen.
Therefore, for the sake of this place brimming with honor, Necros himself would make the sacrifice.
“Krrgh! What an honorable warrior he is!”
Skol was so moved that tears welled in his eyes.
From this day on, Skol decided that his goal would be to become an honorable warrior like Necros.
“It would be discourteous of me to continue refusing. In that case, I leave it to you, Sir Necros!”
Since it would look strange to stop an honorable warrior who wished to take the lead, Skol reluctantly allowed it.
After all, respecting the other party was also a virtue.
Even so, Skol’s personality could not permit him to remain in debt.
“Sir Necros! A warrior such as you is welcome anytime! If you ever need help, you may come to us whenever you wish!”
As the chieftain who led the orcs, and as one honorable warrior, Skol bowed his head.
Necros was already a warrior whose honor stood higher than his own, so bowing his head was nothing at all. This, too, was an expression of respect.
“Then we shall take our leave!”
Skol tactfully withdrew his tribesmen.
The corpses abandoned on the ground belonged to the dishonorable.
Since an honorable warrior was taking the lead in cleaning up the bodies, merely standing by and watching would not be honorable.
“Clack clack!”
Necros happily saw Skol off.
Once Skol and the orc tribesmen had disappeared, Necros began to move.
“Clack.”
When he quietly made a sound, skeletons hiding behind the trees revealed themselves.
They were members of the assault force newly established by General Manager Celia this time.
It was a force made up entirely of undead.
Although Necros did not manage the assault force, he had one skill.
Corpse Explosion.
Since he could detonate undead monsters at any time, the skeletons of the assault force followed Necros’s words as if they were orders from a superior.
“Clack clack.”
“Clack clack clack.”
In the silent forest,
only the sound of bones rang out softly.
The skeletons moved busily, clearing away the corpses.
Of course, Necros also moved busily.
The busier he moved, the heavier Necros’s pockets grew.
“Clack…”
And Necros thought,
Since I’m at it, I might as well look around elsewhere too.
Having thought so, Necros immediately opened his notebook.
Scratch—scratch—
And he recorded.
Ah, this familiar sensation.
It was time to return to being an inspector after so long.
* * *
The rumor that treasure was buried in a certain dungeon continued to spread.
Its source was unknown, but there was a person who served as proof of the rumor’s authenticity.
A man named Ralph, who owned a high-class mansion in the royal capital, was that very proof.
Naturally, the adventurers were in an uproar.
Among the requests posted on the Adventurers’ Guild request board, those related to the Silent Mountains had already all been taken.
It was because only the story that there was a dungeon in the mountains had become known, while its exact location remained unknown.
If one wandered around the mountains for the time being, would one not perhaps find the dungeon from the rumor?
Thus, many adventurer parties climbed the mountains.
On the other hand, there was also a group that expressed concern.
“The Alliance Leader is entering.”
The group that expressed concern over the rumor was the Adventurers’ Guild Alliance.
Inside the Guild Alliance office, branch managers from adventurers’ guilds across the continent were packed densely together.
Through them entered a man whose face was covered in scars.
The man who could command every adventurers’ guild on the continent—the head of the Guild Alliance, Kyle.
“Thank you all for attending, despite my having called you so urgently.”
Kyle bowed his head.
It was such an urgent matter that, even though he had issued an emergency summons, everyone had attended the meeting without exception.
Of course, even if the situation had not been urgent, there were no branch managers who would have refused Kyle’s summons.
Though Kyle was a retired adventurer, he was a legendary adventurer of adamantium rank.
There was no one who would disregard a being who had reached the highest rank as an adventurer.
If anything, the branch managers were busy gauging Kyle’s mood.
Was it not because he possessed not only outstanding reputation, but also the ability to back it up, that he led the Adventurers’ Guild Alliance?
“I believe you have all already heard the rumor.”
To dispel the heavy atmosphere, Kyle immediately began the meeting.
“A dungeon where treasure lies sleeping… Is there anyone among you who knows much about this rumor?”
“……”
No one answered Kyle’s question.
After all, the contents of the rumor were truly something they were hearing for the first time.
If such a dungeon existed, would they not have formed a party and entered it before anyone else?
When, as expected, no answer came, Kyle moved on to the next point.
“As it happens, I looked into this matter a little. The central figure of the rumor is a man named Ralph.”
As expected of Kyle, who held the position of Alliance Leader, his network was considerable as well.
To confirm the source of the rumor, Kyle had secretly sent elite adventurers to the Sayle Kingdom.
Their target was Ralph, the man who had become the subject of the rumor.
“However, we were unable to make contact with this man named Ralph.”
At the words that even Kyle had ended in failure, the branch managers widened their eyes in surprise.
“No, Alliance Leader. What do you mean? You were unable to make contact?”
Even if he was the central figure of the rumor, he was nothing more than a nouveau riche.
Kyle had failed to investigate such a person?
There was another reason Kyle had been famous even before becoming a legendary adventurer.
During his active adventuring days, his ability to handle matters was unrivaled, and anyone could rest easy if they entrusted a request to him.
Yet he had failed, so expressions of disbelief burst out among the branch managers.
“It seems Ralph hired mercenaries.”
According to the report that had reached Kyle, armed mercenaries covered from head to toe were stationed all throughout Ralph’s mansion.
They said the security was so thorough that even the adventurers Kyle sent had found no gap to slip through.
“Well, I suppose he became frightened after suddenly accumulating wealth.”
“Indeed, it does not seem particularly strange.”
Most of the branch managers brushed it off as nothing significant.
Since he had suddenly become rich, it was only natural for him to hire mercenaries to guard him.
But something did not sit right with Kyle.
It was the intuition of a man once called a legendary adventurer.
Above all, according to the report, the mercenaries had even covered their faces.
Their intent to hide their identities seemed clear.
But why were they trying to conceal their identities?
That point felt suspicious and unsettling.
Even so, if he tried to push the matter further, they might be discovered by the royal family of the Sayle Kingdom.
Kyle was cautious about this issue. No matter that he was the Alliance Leader, one wrong move could make it seem as though he were interfering in the internal affairs of the Sayle Kingdom.
‘That absolutely cannot happen.’
Moreover, the current queen of the Sayle Kingdom was a person who had earned merit by defeating a calamity and was even keeping an eye on the White Order.
There was nothing to be gained by making an enemy of such a person.
That did not mean they could bury this matter either.
Instead, Kyle thought of another method.
“The purpose of this meeting is neither to determine the truth of the rumor nor to stop it.”
They could not restrict the actions of adventurers.
In his heart, he wanted to control them and tell them not to enter the mountains, but unless a single nation like the Sayle Kingdom was imposing control, it was nearly impossible.
Since they had already failed to make contact with the man named Ralph, there were not many options the Adventurers’ Guild could put forward.
No, rather, it could be reduced to a single option.
“The reason I have convened this meeting is to seek your agreement.”
At Kyle’s words, everyone swallowed.
The atmosphere of the meeting suddenly grew cold.
“If this rumor grows beyond our control—”
There was only one situation in which the Alliance Leader sought agreement like this at a meeting.
“I intend to immediately deploy adamantium adventurers to the Silent Mountains.”
Among the adventurers active on the continent of Eldorad, adamantium adventurers held the highest rank.
Because their numbers were few, even when all branches were combined, they did not exceed ten fingers.
Of course, there were also those who had formed parties and received adamantium rank as a group rather than as individuals, but that did not mean they were weak.
“Therefore, now, as the one who represents the Alliance, I make this proposal. If anyone opposes deploying adamantium adventurers to the Silent Mountains, please raise your hand.”
Kyle’s eyes gleamed sharply.
Adamantium adventurers were beings with the greatest skill.
To move such beings, the branch managers of the Guild Alliance had to agree unanimously.
“I would be grateful if you would speak freely.”
His words were gentle, but his expression was anything but.
The deep scars crossing his face made his expression even more fearsome.
Under that gaze, as if he were glaring at an enemy on the battlefield, the branch managers unknowingly held their breath.
“Very well. In that case, this proposal has been passed unanimously.”
At the same time, Kyle’s expression softened.
“I shall notify the adamantium adventurers.”