Chapter 87 The Disturbance in Goblin Forest
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
(Hiroya’s POV)
”Is the threat from Goblin Forest… going down?”
Dad suddenly stood up after hearing the guild master’s report.
”Yes. This is from the adventurers who have been exploring the forest for the past week. It’s definitely true.”
In a room in our house, Dad, Principal Milia, and Master Müller, also the guild master, were sitting down. On the other side of the table, the leaders of the adventurer parties, Guido, Koichi, Liz, and I were standing.
”Since the day Hiroya and the others entered the dungeon, the monsters in the forest seem to have calmed down,”
Eric, the leader of a Rank B party from the royal capital reported.
”I haven’t seen any trolls around. It looks like there are mostly high goblins and regular goblins, with the occasional ogre showing up.”
Guido said while scratching his chin.
”Instead, there are more beast-type monsters. Besides the wild boars that were already common, I’ve been seeing poison snakes, killer rabbits, and wire spiders a lot.”
I added, sharing what I felt during my week of exploring the forest.
”Azradelius… what is he thinking…”
”Maybe it’s about the concentration or buildup of miasma…”
Dad muttered quietly and Principal Milia answered his question.
”I see…”
”They use miasma to create monsters, but the increase in monsters has made the miasma thicker in the forest. So, this was Azradelius’s goal,”
”To gather miasma… is that it?”
My master listens to Principal Milia’s explanation.
”Yes. And the reason for gathering miasma is also clear.”
Milia glanced at Dad.
”That makes sense. Probably──”
”Yes. The revival of the Demon King… right?”
* * *
”The Demon King and his powerful demon followers have special powers──.”
Milia continued explaining.
”‘Seven Lives, One Revenge.’ This means they can be reborn 7 times to take revenge. So, when Van──the hero──and we defeated the Demon King, he was reborn somewhere else. Azradelius, the Demon King’s right-hand man, aims to gather miasma to speed up the rebirth of the Demon King.”
Milia put her hand on her forehead.
”…It was a mistake for us to let Azradelius get away…”
”Yeah, normally it would take 100 years for Demon King to fully regain their power as the Demon King, but if Azradelius is gathering miasma so efficiently…”
Dad closed his eyes and shook his head.
”First, we need to conquer the dungeon and defeat that Azradelius guy. The talk about the Demon King can come later.”
Liz said firmly.
”You’re right… I’m sorry. The concern about the Demon King’s revival can wait.”
Dad said as he stood up.
”Anyway, with the current monster situation in the forest, even young adventurers can handle it. Let’s quickly increase the monster-hunting requests and call the young adventurers to the village. You all should keep aiming to enter the dungeon as usual. The goal is to defeat the dungeon master. I’m counting on you.”
All the party representatives nodded quietly.
* * *
(Hiroya’s POV)
”The revival of the Demon King… that’s not something we can handle, right?”
”Yeah, it feels a bit unreal.”
Liz and I walked down the mansion’s corridor, heading to my room.
”Are you going to get something?”
Liz was holding my hand as we walked.
”I’m getting my Bokken sword. It’s dangerous to swing a real sword during practice, right?”
I opened the door to my room and went to grab the Bokken sword leaning against the window.
”This is Hiroya’s room. I only came in here once before going to the royal capital.”
Liz looked around curiously.
”But seriously, there’s nothing here that looks like a kid’s room.”
”I only used it for homework or sleeping. When I was home, I mostly trained in the garden.”
I sat on the bed with the Bokken sword.
”Hmm…”
Liz sat down next to me.
”Did you and Kazumi get all lovey-dovey in here?”
Liz chuckled.
”…The other day, Dorothy got all excited in here…”
”Oh…”
”It surprised me because it happened so suddenly.”
”Hey, the lord and Madam Megumi were down there too, right? Nice job, Hiroya.”
”Well, what can I do? I can’t just leave it alone.”
”…Do you want to do it with me?”
Liz comes closer with a seductive smile. That’s unfair.
”Of course not.”
”What? We’re finally alone together.”
”But… I want to do it again. I really like you, Liz.”
”You’re such a fool… That’s what makes you seem so grown-up…”
Liz wraps her arm around my shoulder and gently kisses me. I respond with my tongue.
”Mmm… muah~♡.”
”But, Liz…”
”Hm?”
”It seems like Garm is calling everyone back. What are you going to do? Are you going to team up with Ares again?”
”Not sure yet…”
Liz looks at me and smiles.
”Those guys are definitely important friends, but…”
”You should do what you want. It’ll be lonely if you’re not around…”
She hugs me tightly with a big smile.
”I’m yours, Hiroya. I can’t leave you now… I’m so into you… No way I’m letting go now…”
Liz whispers in my ear. Lately, she’s really good at making me excited.
”And… Kazumi and the others are my important family now… I can’t leave them either…”
”Thank you… That makes me really happy.”
I kissed Liz on the ear.
* * *
(Shinji O’Brian’s POV)
”Azradelius, huh… do you think they have found the reincarnation of the Demon King?”
In the empty room, Milia asks me.
”…I don’t know. I hope they haven’t found them yet…”
”Yeah… Either way, we have to defeat Azradelius for sure. We need to break the curse on you and Van, and we can’t let the Demon King come back too soon.”
That’s right. If we don’t defeat Azradelius and break the curse, Van and I can’t fight.
”If we can break the curse on Van and me, even if the Demon King comes back, we can handle it… We can reform the hero party.”
I wink at Milia.
”Should we include Hiroya in the group?”
”…No, he likes his current team. They seem to have a strong bond that’s different from other parties. Hiroya and Kazumi’s party is good.”
”…You sound like a dad. Ah, I want a kid too.”
”Don’t you have any romantic stories? A beauty like you?”
”Van got taken by Barbara, and Shinji got taken by Megumi. I’m totally behind in the game…”
Milia pouts and walks toward the door.
”I have a spot for a second wife, you know?”
”Hmph. Shinji, you love Megumi too much for that, right? You’ve gotten funny enough to joke around.”
Milia laughs and leaves the room.
(…It wasn’t really a joke, though…)
I chuckled to myself in the room.
* * *
(Hiroya’s POV)
”I see. So the goal was to gather miasma──.”
Back at the inn, I told everyone about what happened at the mansion.
”──And the Demon King plans to use the miasma they collected to regain their power.”
Rena continues the story.
”So, does that mean they’ve already found the reincarnation of the Demon King?”
Kazumi brings tea to the table.
”They didn’t talk about that much at the mansion.”
I take the tea from Kazumi and take a sip.
”From what I saw of the lord and Madam Milia, it seemed like they haven’t found them yet.”
Liz adjusts her legs on the sofa.
”So, are we going to fight that Demon King?”
Dorothy looks worried.
”No, for now, we’re dealing with the dungeon master. The Demon King is a later problem.”
Liz replies.
”Then, are we going to explore the dungeon next?”
Martina looks excited.
”Yeah. It seems like the monster situation in Goblin Forest is getting back to normal, so we can leave that to the younger adventurers we’re calling back.”
”Then we have to work even harder than before!”
Martina pumps her fist in the air.
”…The fact that miasma is starting to concentrate in the dungeon means there must be some really strong monsters. We need to be careful.”
Rena sips her tea.
”Ah, right. Dad told me to clear out this room.”
I shared what Dad said with everyone before coming back.
”They say Elberhardt and the others are coming from the capital. This is supposed to be the best room in the village.”
”So what do we do? …Do we rent 2 rooms?”
”I want to stay with you all. I don’t want to split up now.”
”Yeah, I get that.”
”I think Rena doesn’t want separate rooms either…”
* * *
”Should we buy a house?”
Kazumi suddenly made a big suggestion.
”We have quite a bit of money. We’ve saved up a lot from the rewards for defeating monsters.”
”…We still haven’t cashed in the reward for the Hellhound that Hiroya and the others defeated, or the miasma chunks. That’ll be a good amount too.”
Liz remembered and said.
”…Building a house might be a good idea…”
Rena agreed.
”There are still plenty of empty spots in the new area to the south. What do you think?”
Kazumi asked everyone.
”I have a home in this village, and so do Kazumi and Rena… but Liz lives in an inn, Martina is staying at the clinic, and Dorothy doesn’t have a place to go. Thinking about it that way… buying a house could work?”
Everyone nodded at my words.
”I… what should we do…”
Hanna, who was preparing dinner and bringing food to the table, looked worried.
* * *
Hanna was one of the women we rescued from the hobgoblin nest… or the wife from that family in the carriage. She lost her husband and daughter, and even though she’s sad, she wants to help us by taking care of things.
The other women we rescued have started working at the new inn and tavern, but Hanna is too shy to serve customers.
So, we’re paying her like a maid to help us. She really didn’t want to take the money, but I insisted, saying, “We can’t let Hanna work for free.”
* * *
”Of course, we want Hanna to come too. Even though we’re mostly women, none of us are good at housework.”
”…I’m good at cooking while camping…”
Liz muttered quietly. Martina nodded in agreement.
”When it comes to home cooking… we need Hanna.”
Kazumi looked at Hanna with pleading eyes.
”I’m good at housework. If you take me with you… I can handle cleaning, laundry, cooking… everything.”
Ms. Hanna smiled as she said this.
”Should we go check out the new area to the south tomorrow?”
Kazumi’s suggestion set our plans for the weekend.
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
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