KKKB 693

Thoughts of Each

*Knight A's POV*

With information from the Adventurers' Guild, we were on a monster-hunting mission.

Today, as usual, we were on the road to defeat a monster, but it turned out the monster had already been killed.

"An adventurer party passing by took down the monster." (Village Chief)

"An adventurer party?" (Knight)

"Yes. A party of four, one male and three females." (Village Chief)

There were no more adventurers in the town that could take down monsters.

This was because the useless wizard adventurers were gone. Following that, other adventurers also left. In their place, we were the ones who were killing the monsters.

So, as villagers said, that adventurer party must have just been passing by coincidently.

We headed for the next village, only to find that the same adventurer party had also dealt with the monsters there.

"An adventurer party passing by killed them?" (Knight)

"Yes." (Village Chief)

Was it really a coincidence?

The captain remained silent as he thought about it.

Then he asked the man, "What kind of adventurers were they?"

"They were adventurers, one man and three women. When they heard that we were in trouble, they immediately went to defeat the monsters. We tried to thank them, but they said they had to leave the village as soon as they could." (Village Chief)

It was the same as in the previous village.

No doubt it was the same adventurer party.

They mentioned that a man and one woman were carrying swords and the other two women were wizards.

"And also..." (Village Chief)

"What's more?" (Knight)

"The three women seemed to have feelings for the man." (Village Chief)

That last piece of information was insignificant.

But as a man, it was information that made me want to punch him in the face.

If we ever see them anywhere, we should humiliate him in front of the women.

And I would not let them get away with this, for snatching the monsters we were supposed to be hunting down.

After that, we continued on our way to defeat monsters, but we never encountered any.

*Gatekeeper's POV*

The Guild Master of Adventurers' Guild asked me to take care of the new adventurers, so we had to keep an eye on the comings and goings of the town to make sure that the new adventurers could come back at any moment.

The worst thing that could happen would be that the new adventurers and the knights would run into each other. While doing our jobs, we were monitoring the movement of the Knights both inside and outside the town to make sure that the Knights didn't encounter those adventurers.

As we stood at the entrance to the town, the knights returned to the town.

"What's with those adventurers!" (Knight Captain)

"What are we going to report to our Lord?" (Knight)

The knights came in, annoyed.

"Just tell him what happened." (Knight Captain)

"But Captain..." (Knight)

"Besides, since monsters were eliminated near this town, the chances of them coming to this town's Adventurers' Guild are high. You guys go to the Adventurers' Guild after this and check on them." (Knight Captain)

"Yes." (Knight)

Apparently, they were unable to defeat the monsters.

That means those adventurers succeeded in getting there first.

That was a nice surprise.

As I was laughing in my heart, one of the knights approached me.

"Hey, have any adventurers come to this town?" (Knight Captain)

"Don't you all know very well that adventurers who know about this town would never come here? Even if they did, they would only come to escort the merchants. Even then, they would immediately leave." (Gatekeeper)

"That's true." (Knight Captain)

I was lying.

I was not going to tell them the truth.

"If you doubt me, why don't you ask the Adventurers' Guild? If an adventurer came to this town without knowing anything, they would probably go to the Adventurers' Guild." (Gatekeeper)

Even if they went to the Adventurers' Guild, they would not get any information.

Everyone hated the Knights and the Lord.

"If adventurers come to the city, be sure to report them!" (Knight Captain)

The knight yelled at me and walked into the town.

If it was true that those adventurers could save this town, I would tell as many lies as I could to help them.

*Carla's POV*

Yuna and the Guild Master were working together to get Primme-chan's sister back. But as for me, I was working as usual at the reception desk of the Adventurers' Guild.

The fact that there were no adventurers to take requests did not mean that the monsters had disappeared. There were still people who asked for help. I have to deal with them, as well as compile information on requests from neighboring villages and people from other towns who have come here for business and seen monsters.

But once that was done, I was free.

Today's work was finished, and while I was relaxing, the knights came in.

They looked different from usual.

"Hey, did some adventurers who hunted down monsters come in here?" (Knight Captain)

They suddenly yelled at me as they came over to me.

I didn't want them to come closer to me because their breath stinks.

But by adventurers, were they talking about Blitz and the others?

Either way, I pretended not to know.

"They won't come to this desolate Adventurers' Guild. I can't even do my job well because of the situation, as you all know." (Carla)

I replied, a little sarcastically.

"That's true." (Knight Captain)

"More importantly, please bring out the monsters." (Carla)

"We didn't bring any today." (Knight Captain)

He was in a bad mood.

"What do you mean? Don't tell me that our information was wrong?" (Carla)

We provided the information about the monsters to the Knights.

It pissed me off, but I didn't provide them with false information.

If I offered them false information, the people who did their best to bring the information would be in trouble with no one to deal with the request.

"No, an unknown party of adventurers defeated the monsters first." (Knight Captain)

I see, Blitz's Party huh.

The same information was given to Blitz and the others as the knights.

"So there is no dismantling work to be done today, is there?" (Carla)

If Blitz and the others continued to defeat the monsters, these knights would bring nothing again tomorrow.

"I'm afraid I can't give you any magic stones today then." (Carla)

Without monsters to dismantle, I could not give any magic stones to them.

Laughter was welling up inside me, but I tried not to let it show on my face.

"If that adventurer party ever comes here, report it to us!" (Knight Captain)

The knight yelled at me and kicked a nearby chair out of the way, as if to relieve his frustration.

"Hah, it's been a while since I've seen frustration on those knights' faces." (Carla)

It looked like Blitz and the others had gotten a head start and succeeded in taking down the monsters.

I knew that they were capable, but it should have been tough to fight a series of battles.

Of course, it wasn't just Blitz who was strong; the other three women were strong as well.

If they were going to follow that man, they would have to be strong enough to defend themselves and protect that man's back to stay with him.

It was cool to see them fight the Guild Master.

"I wonder if there was any good man out there somewhere." (Carla)

After we get this situation under control, I should try looking for a good man to be my partner.

To achieve that, we have to do something about Primme-chan's sister.

Once this town was free of fairies, we would have a better future.

*Guildmaster's POV*

I never thought I would lose to a girl dressed as a bear like that.

What was that move? She avoided my attacks with ease and was not afraid of my attacks.

I could tell by the look in her eyes that she was not afraid of me.

Normally, I would see emotions such as fear, anger, and more in a person's eyes, which speak louder than words.

But that bear girl was different.

Usually, when you wave a sword around, people become frightened or even hesitant to approach you.

But her eyes were neither frightened nor puzzled.

It was filled with observations.

She was observing me, what kind of attack I was going to make, as well as what kind of habits I had, she seemed to be looking into everything.

The girl dodged my attacks smoothly. At first, I went easy on her, but she was so good that I got mad and attacked her with all my might, but it still didn't hit her.

What surprised me the most was that she saw through my attack and started parrying it with a small knife.

The girl also said, "If you know the flow of power, it's easy to counter."

No, there was no way someone could do such a trick so easily. And moreover so, just by looking at their target for a moment.

It was as if I were fighting a veteran adventurer who had fought and survived through many life threatening battles.

A first-rate adventurer must be able to sense danger, immediately spot an opponent's weaknesses, and win the fight.

A young girl of no more than a few years of age should not be able to do that.

That alone was already an impressive feat, but she could also use magic.

I could understand what Blitz and the others were saying about them being no match for this young lady.

So I understand how she was able to arrive in this town, alone with that girl Noire.

I didn't know where they came from, but the world was big.

If Yuna was here, this town could be saved.

*Rosa's POV*

We returned after finishing our work on subduing monsters. Of course, it was impossible for us to fulfill all the requests, both in terms of the number of people and the time available. Therefore, we only completed the requests that were near the town.

Carla-san told us that the knights tended to defeat monsters from nearby places. Therefore, we anticipated where the knights would confront the monsters and went there ahead of them to kill monsters.

"I haven't slept in bed in a long time." (Rosa)

"I need a bath." (Ran)

As we approached the entrance to the town, the gatekeeper ran up to us.

"Hey, don't carelessly approach the town. I hope there are no knights patrolling outside." (Gatekeeper)

"Yeah, we're fine. We checked the perimeter as we approached." (Blitz)

The Guild Master told us not to be noticed by the knights.

We were wearing hoods so that we would not be recognized as adventurers from a distance.

"We'll take care of the horses, so get in quickly." (Gatekeeper)

We thanked him and entered the town. We took a less crowded street and headed for the Adventurers' Guild.

We entered the guild through the back door.

We were told to enter the Adventurers' Guild through the back door, as there was a possibility that someone might be monitoring the guild from the front.

Once inside the Adventurers' Guild, a guild employee silently led us to Carla-san.

"Welcome back." (Carla)

"We're back." (Blitz)

"What can I do for you?" (Carla)

"We've taken care of the monsters in the area." (Blitz)

"Excellent." (Carla)

We reported on the monsters we've slain.

"This many?" (Carla)

"Compared to Yuna-chan, this is nothing." (Blitz)

"Who is that girl really? She's not only dressed like a bear, but she's carrying a bear with her as well." (Carla)

"We don't know why she's dressed like that either. As I recall, she said she had the blessing of the bears or something." (Rosa)

"She likes bears." (Ran)

Ran added as well, as if that was the only answer she could come up with.

Well, Yuna was dressed like a bear, she had a bear with her, Yuna-chan's house in Crimonia was shaped like a bear, and the store Yuna-chan owned was full of bears.

Ran may not be wrong. That made more sense than being told that Yuna was blessed by bears.

"Well, we've been asked to work with her a few times, and we've heard rumors about her." (Rosa)

I said, and Ran and Blitz continued.

"But I can tell you that Yuna-chan is a very strong and gentle girl, just like she looks. But she can be terrifying when she's angry, so be careful." (Blitz)

"...Yeah." (Ran)

Monsters or people, if they provoked Yuna-chan, she would retaliate in full power.

But she was a kind girl who would lend a hand if someone was in trouble.