The three uninvited guests who had arrived while Maru and Celia were discussing the future.
All of them were holy knights dressed as adventurers.
As for why holy knights had drifted all the way here, one had to turn back time.
* * *
Three holy knights visited the Adventurers’ Guild.
From the receptionist Ralli, they heard various stories and learned about the current situation.
Among them was the fact that entry into the mountain range had been forbidden.
But perhaps the timing was good.
“You’re truly in luck, aren’t you?”
A short while later, Ralli informed them that the ban on entering the mountain range had been lifted.
“What will you do, Adventurers? Shall I give you a request related to the mountain range?”
At her words, Kairen and his companions stepped back for a moment.
They were holy knights, but they had to hide their identities.
They were dressed as adventurers after secretly infiltrating the kingdom, yet there was nothing out of place about them.
If anything, the look suited them well.
“Arex, what do you think? It’s a bit strange, isn’t it?”
Kairen, who had come outside, was the first to speak.
There had been several questionable points in what they had heard at the Adventurers’ Guild.
“It certainly is strange. To think the royal family sealed off the mountain range for no reason.”
At Kairen’s question, Arex also nodded in agreement.
Thanks to that, there was not a single adventurer in the Adventurers’ Guild at the moment besides them.
“Hmm.”
Kairen, Arex, and Raiden.
The three holy knights thought for a moment and discussed what they should do next.
“It feels rather unsettling.”
Kairen said.
The royal decree forbidding entry into the kingdom’s mountain range.
In a word, it was more accurate to say they had sealed it off.
And before that, priests and holy knights who had been heading to the Kingdom of Seil had even gone missing.
The sealing of the Kingdom of Seil’s mountain range.
The disappearance of members of the White Order.
Something about those two incidents felt off.
“……”
At the same time, Kairen could not understand it.
Why had the royal family restricted access to the mountain range?
No one knew the reason.
Even the guild staff did not know, so that said everything.
They simply obeyed without complaint because the royal family had announced it.
In truth, the mountain range was extremely important to the Kingdom of Seil.
There was also the potential the mountain range brought, but more than anything, it was because of its location.
If one crossed that vast mountain range, they would arrive at the Demon Realm, located at the northernmost end of the Eldorad Continent.
However, to humans, the Demon Realm was an unknown place.
Almost nothing was known about what dungeons and monsters lived there, or how they were ranked.
‘If only we could find that out, we would learn the secrets of the dungeons.’
At the same time, it would greatly expand the Order’s influence.
Kairen smacked his lips.
But in reality, far from conquering the Demon Realm, they were in a helpless situation where they had to be relieved that the mountain range served as a breakwater.
Occasionally, nations or high-ranking adventurers explored the Demon Realm, but the information they discovered amounted to no more than its entrance.
An extremely small portion.
Even that extremely small portion was not something to be taken lightly, for the monsters there were formidable.
Then how powerful would the beings farther in be if one continued onward?
That was why the Demon Realm had spread in reputation as an exceedingly dangerous place.
Despite having such a dangerous place nearby, the reason the Kingdom of Seil had survived until now was precisely because of the mountain range.
The existence of the vast mountain range connecting the kingdom and the Demon Realm played the role of blocking the monsters of the Demon Realm.
But the problem appeared there.
A mountain range of vast area.
And resources.
Would monsters have remained still in a land that seemed to lack nothing?
The answer was no.
Naturally, dungeons and monsters appeared in the mountain range as well and took root there.
Once monsters appeared, it was as if the Kingdom of Seil had a fire lit under its feet.
After all, a Monster Wave could break out right on their doorstep at any time.
And to prevent sudden Monster Waves, the kingdom periodically cleared out the mountain range.
However, it was too much for the kingdom to directly manage that vast mountain range.
In terms of both time and cost, it was a loss.
That was why they entrusted the mountain range to adventurers.
Thanks to that, adventurers could receive more requests than guilds in other regions.
On top of that, they could even obtain relatively high rewards, so they flocked to the Kingdom of Seil.
Decent-quality monster byproducts were a bonus.
But what would happen if the mountain range were sealed off?
Most of the requests at the Adventurers’ Guild in the Kingdom of Seil came from the mountain range.
But with the mountain range sealed, the requests disappeared.
It was only natural that adventurers, having lost their work, would stop coming.
In the end, adventurers turning their backs would bring about yet another problem.
In the current case, fortunately, the ban had been lifted quickly, but what if this situation had continued?
The dungeons in the mountain range would continue to be neglected.
The number of monsters would increase, and in the worst case, they would even have to consider a Monster Wave.
In the end, the mountain range was not simply an existence that served to block an invasion from the Demon Realm.
“Why did they seal off the mountain range while accepting such a risk?”
At Kairen’s words, Arex and Raiden also agreed.
If anything, it made more sense that the royal family had sealed it off to cover something up.
‘The royal family was trying to hide something…’
On top of that, the timing was strangely convenient.
The priests and holy knights who had headed to the Kingdom of Seil had gone missing, and the Order was scheduled to visit the kingdom to investigate the matter.
“Could all of this truly be a coincidence?”
Kairen muttered as he looked up at the sky.
Even the timing had worked out too well.
Just as they had gone to the Adventurers’ Guild, the restriction on entry into the mountain range was lifted.
‘It feels as though they’re pushing us from behind, telling us to go up the mountain range.’
Perhaps their choice had already been decided for them.
After all, the kingdom had also lifted the entry ban.
Kairen made up his mind.
Then he went back inside the guild and approached the receptionist.
When Kairen approached, Ralli smiled.
“Have there been any strange incidents in the mountain range recently? Even something trivial is fine.”
Kairen asked first.
The mountain range was an extremely vast place.
Their goal was not to search the entire mountain range.
So if something had happened, it would not be bad to simply look into that.
“Strange incidents?”
Ralli also pondered his question.
It was only natural for her to be wary when an adventurer she had met for the first time today asked such a thing.
However, the adventurer before her possessed a gold badge.
On top of that, had he not even handed her a gold coin as a tip?
At the very least, an adventurer with both skill and money could be trusted.
“Ah, now that you mention it, there is one.”
Ralli handed Kairen a request form.
“Dungeon reconnaissance?”
Kairen scanned the request form.
The request form specified a mission to reconnoiter a dungeon, and its rank was none other than silver.
However, since it was not a subjugation mission, it did not seem particularly difficult.
“Ah, three adventurers who took the request for that dungeon disappeared. So the rank was raised to silver.”
Receptionist Ralli quickly added an explanation.
“It just so happened that the mountain range was restricted, so we couldn’t investigate it. What do you think? If you’re going up the mountain range anyway, it would be better to take a request, wouldn’t it?”
Ralli recommended that request.
In truth, this matter was also for her own sake.
She did not say it honestly, but there had already been two groups of adventurers who had visited that dungeon.
But the problem was that both groups had lost contact.
At first, they had been novices who had only just become adventurers.
Since it did not seem particularly dangerous, she had given them the request, only for contact to be cut off.
Of course, they might have run away.
There were many such people among novice adventurers, so that possibility was high.
But the thought of “what if” had settled in one corner of Ralli’s heart.
All the more so because she herself had recommended that dungeon.
‘Was it Jane?’
She vaguely remembered the name of the girl among the three adventurers who had come.
And the second person to take the request for that dungeon had been an adventurer from Earth.
He had accepted the request with another adventurer party, then vanished without a trace.
At this point, even she understood.
Something was going wrong.
Even so, she wanted to believe it was a harmless incident.
And that opportunity had now arrived.
The men before her were adventurers with gold badges.
Perhaps they could resolve this matter?
Just as Ralli hoped, Kairen was looking favorably upon the request.
In any case, their purpose was gathering information.
Searching the entire vast mountain range was impossible.
It might be better to look into the part the guild considered strange instead.
“Then we’ll take this one.”
A moment later, when Kairen accepted the request, Ralli’s expression brightened.
“In exchange, could you deliver a letter to our comrades?”
Since sending news through letters was quite important to adventurers, the guild also handled such business.
The contents of the letter were simple.
Its purpose was to inform them that they would investigate the mountain range.
The recipient was written as the vice-captain.
At the same time, the delivery location was the old building where they had spent the night.
Kairen roughly drew in the location of the dungeon from the request form and handed it to Ralli.
“Its importance is special grade. Could you deliver it as quickly as possible?”
No matter how they sent word, it would be meaningless if the letter arrived late.
Fortunately, Ralli nodded and agreed.
“It will arrive by this evening at the latest.”
Kairen had already given her one gold coin, and more than anything, that request was weighing on Ralli herself as well.
On top of that, an adventurer with a gold badge even had separate comrades?
This request could not possibly fail.
“May the goddess’s protection be with you…”
The three holy knights left the Adventurers’ Guild and headed straight for the mountain range.
Even in the mountain range, they did not wander here and there, but headed straight for the dungeon drawn on the map.
There were days like that sometimes.
Days when one had a certain feeling.
And for them, today was precisely such a day.
Before they knew it, they were climbing the mountain range.
The green mountains were exceedingly beautiful.
The forest was filled with the sounds of various animals, and even the air was refreshing.
However, there was one presence that dispelled that freshness.
“Goblins. Prepare yourselves!”
Goblins had taken position throughout the forest.
It seemed the monsters’ range of activity had expanded while adventurers’ footsteps had briefly ceased.
But they were holy knights.
Though they were dressed as adventurers, their skill had not gone anywhere.
Slash—
Their swords severed the goblins’ limbs.
The matter ended more easily than expected.
Most of the goblins that had surrounded Kairen’s party were annihilated.
Some goblins fled, but it was not something to be overly concerned about.
“Tch. They were just small fry. There doesn’t seem to be any particular connection.”
“I agree. Let’s look around a little more, then go back down.”
Had it merely been a coincidence?
There was nothing that seemed particularly unusual.
Still, they could not remain in the mountain range indefinitely just to find information.
They did not have much time left.
They had to leave as many results as possible before the main force arrived.
Kairen looked at the map on the request form and continued forward.
He intended to go only as far as the dungeon described in the request.
There was no fear.
After all, it was not a subjugation mission, so all they had to do was go there and return at ease.
Kairen, Arex, and Raiden.
The three of them continued walking.
Since they had already subjugated the goblins once, there were no more beings obstructing them.
It was peaceful.
Because of that, the surrounding scenery entered their eyes once more.
“It’s beautiful. Since everything is so green, it refreshes the heart.”
“Indeed. All the leaves have turned red.”
“Hm?”
Kairen felt for a moment that the conversation had gone awry.
What was that?
“Red leaves?”
With a question in mind, Kairen asked Arex again.
“What’s wrong? All the leaves are red.”
This time, even Raiden, who had been quiet, agreed with Arex.
“It’s true. They’ve turned into beautiful autumn colors.”
Like the blood of the goblins we just killed.
Huh?
Something was confusing.
Was what I was seeing wrong?
No, before that, it wasn’t even autumn, so how could there be autumn leaves?
It was strange.
The moment he sensed that it was strange—
Kairen felt as though an invisible force was seeping into his mind.
He drew up his strength to resist it, but it was no use.
“Ah.”
And the surrounding scenery suddenly transformed into something beautiful.
He understood why Arex and Raiden had said those words.
The autumn-tinted trees burned like golden flames, and the sky was dyed a faint violet.
Purple clouds drifted softly, scattering a poetic rhythm through the air.
The purple sun was growing redder and redder, as if a great lump of paint had been splashed across it.
It was dazzling.
Beautiful.
It felt as though he were dreaming.
At the same time, it felt melancholy.
An unknowable sensation came over him, as if a door had been opened between two worlds.
Was this reality?
Or an illusion?
It did not matter.
He simply went wherever his body led him.
It felt as though someone were whispering to them.
Why am I here?
Who am I?
Why did I try to come to this place?
Someone whispered those words.
Kairen forced out his own answer, as if to resolve those questions.
“Ah… that’s right. I’m a paladin.”
Kairen squeezed out the words one by one in a trembling voice.
And then darkness spread out before him.
He was walking through a long darkness.
A moment later.
The end of the darkness appeared.
‘An altar?’
Ah.
Was this an altar offered to the Goddess?
Without hesitation, Kairen stepped onto the altar.
To offer himself to the Goddess.
To go into the Goddess’s embrace.
Arex and Raidon also climbed onto the altar.
Whether that was by their own will or because someone was pushing them forward, they could not know.
Unaware that it was Celia’s charm skill, they thus became sacrifices.
- An unidentified shadow offers the paladins of the White Order to Master as sacrifices.
* * *
- Successfully absorbed the sacrificed paladin.
- Acquired the paladin’s trait [Faith in the Goddess (D)]. It can be used for enhancement.
“Oh.”
Six hours, both short and long, had passed.
Fortunately, nothing had happened.
More than anything, the abilities gained from absorbing the paladins were incredible.
- Successfully absorbed the sacrificed paladin.
- Acquired a portion of the paladin’s divine power stat. It can be used for enhancement.
- Acquired a portion of the paladin’s divine power stat. It can be used for enhancement.
- [Divine Power]×9
- Acquired the paladin’s skill [Judgment of Light (B)]. It can be used for enhancement.
“I got nine divine power?”
The total divine power he had gained the last time he received adventurers as sacrifices had been thirteen.
And he had invested all thirteen into Maru.
Thanks to that, Maru’s divine power stat had become E-rank.
- Successfully absorbed the sacrificed paladin.
- Acquired a portion of the paladin’s divine power stat. It can be used for enhancement.
- [Divine Power]×5
- Acquired the paladin’s skill [Holy Shield (C)]. It can be used for enhancement.
But this time, by absorbing three paladins, he had gained a staggering fourteen divine power.
“This is seriously amazing.”
He had obtained B-rank and C-rank skills.
And paladin skills, at that.