Chapter 245

Translator: Kell | Editor: Weasalopes

Voices from the Ruined Continent

「From what I know, Dew Roke has already fallen into the hands of the people from the New World . 」Kaglai said .

「Did a fight break out?」

「I do not know of any details . But Vireocean requested for assistance from every nation . They sense a great threat from these people . 」

「I see . 」

Hikaru understood the situation . The waters to the east of Dew Roke were infested with huge sea monsters, and a fleet went past them . These people clearly had the forces to do so . Perhaps they employed some sort of method to avoid the monsters . Either way, they probably possessed unknown technology .

These people survived for five hundred years in an environment filled with monsters much more vicious than the ones in this continent .

「So there’s a crisis-response meeting after this . 」

「Yes . We still do not know what these people from Grand Dream want . That is what they call the continent, by the way . 」

「Is it really that important that you have to go yourself?」

It bothered Hikaru . A foreign invasion would be a threat to the concerned parties . Since Vireocean obviously bordered the eastern seas, and so did Quinbland, they saw the risk of an invasion . But that was not the case for Ponsonia and Forestia . Do the rulers of those nations have to go as well? Hikaru thought .

Kaglai smiled . 「It was the first time in history that Vireocean, a nation that boasted absolute confidence and prided itself to be the number one in the whole continent when it comes to the sea, sent such a humble message . 」

「They’re that desperate, huh?」

「That they are . I could not believe my eyes at first . I wanted to reaffirm it, so they sent the message again to be certain . “Please, we beg you to come here . It’s a matter of utmost importance that concerns the whole continent . ” They went as far as to beg for help . How could we not answer their call? Quinbland is on good terms with Vireocean as well, and Man Gnomes were involved in the matter five hundred years ago . 」

Vireocean’s earnestness spurred the emperor into action .

「Queen Kudyastoria and Queen Marquedo will come as well . The latter will pass through our empire . 」

「Oh…」

Even Marquedo’s going, huh? Hikaru thought .

「Anyway, let’s rewind a bit . Why me?」

「Is it not obvious? With Unken gone, you were the only one I thought of who was as skilled as him . No, you are even better than him . 」

「I thought there were competent Man Gnomes back in your hometown . 」

「I had already asked for their help . 」

「What on earth is going to happen anyway?」

「This is just my hunch, but I sense a battle coming . 」

Instinct . Hikaru checked Kaglai’s Soul Board .

【Soul Board】Kaglai G . Quinbland

Age: 73 Rank: 38

4

【Vitality】

. . 【Natural Recovery】1

. . 【Stamina】3

. . 【Perception】

… . 【Smell】2

【Magical Power】

. . 【Mana】4

. . 【Spirit Affinity】

… . 【Air】2

【Physical Strength】

. . 【Strength】3

. . 【Weapon Mastery】

… . 【Sword】3

【Agility】

. . 【Power Burst】1

【Dexterity】

. . 【Dexterity】3

. . 【Tool Mastery】

… . 【Musical Instrument】2

【Willpower】

. . 【Mental Strength】8

. . 【Charisma】5

… . 【Heroic Nature】1

. . 【Appeal】2

【Intuition】

. . 【Instinct】2

… . 【Insight】

……【Music】2

…… . . 【Natural Talent】1

. . 【Memory】1

Like Hikaru, he had two points on Instinct . The emperor could sense things even with only limited information . So there’s a high chance of a battle breaking out .

「What do you want me to do?」Hikaru asked .

「I want you to obtain information . 」Kaglai immediately replied . 「These people from Grand Dream do not know anything about us, and we do not know anything about them . Just gather as much information as you can . 」

「And that’s supposed to be good for the empire?」

Kaglai smiled . 「Of course . But there is more: Who would not want to know how these people, who we had not contact with for five hundred years, think or how they lived? I want to know . I want to know faster than anyone else . We might find something we can use in our negotiations, and perhaps we can even settle things peacefully . Above all, my curiosity will be satisfied . Sneaking into unknown territory is a feat only you can do . Am I right?」

Hikaru thought about it for a moment . Lavia and Paula were in Pond waiting for his return . But if he went to Vireocean, he would have to go with Kaglai who already pushed his departure to the last minute . If he didn’t go with him, he might miss the first contact with the people from Grand Dream .

He could use the Drakon Passage, but Drake should still be asleep . Departure was at noon tomorrow . If he went to the Adventurers Guild first thing in the morning, he could send a message quick . He instructed Lavia to visit the guild every day in case he sent a message .

「Okay, I’ll go with you . But no one will know about me . Just prepare one more carriage that I can use as camouflage . Don’t worry about food and other accommodations . I’ll deal with those myself . 」

「Will coin do for your reward?」

「No, that’ll only get in the way . Besides, I’m not in any need of money right now . Let’s see… I’ll take one rare book from the palace library . 」

「You sure are a man of few wants . Do you want to visit my hometown? There are even rare books over there . 」

「I’ll pass… That’ll only come back to bite me later on . 」It felt like the yakuza had its eyes on him .

「I see . Very well, then . So we have a deal?」

Kaglai held out his right hand, hoping for a handshake . Then the wind blew, ruffling the curtains, drawing the emperor’s eyes in that direction . It took a bit of time before he realized that Silver Face had disappeared .

「Good morning, Paula . 」

「Good morning . By the way, Drake opened his eyes a little bit just now . 」

The girls were staying in a room in Grand Hotel Pond . Drake was sleeping in a basket, covered with a blanket . At a glance, he looked like a white furry puppy curled up on his bed .

「His belly’s gotten a lot smaller . 」

「Yeah . 」

At first, Drake’s stomach bulged too much after swallowing the dragon stone . It was actually possible to see where the stone was exactly . But now, it was hard to tell with just a glance . His tiny body was digesting the stone . It looked like he was really just asleep—he breathed normally and his body was warm .

「Sorry, Paula, but could you look after Drake today too?」

「Of course . Are you going to the Adventurers Guild? Take care, then . 」

Lavia made her way to the guild alone to check if Hikaru sent a message . As always, there weren’t a lot of adventurers around . Aurora, her face gloomy, stood quietly behind the counter . Her dismal aura was a waste of her beauty .

「I have a message for you, Miss Lavia . 」

「Really?!」

Is it from Hikaru? Lavia wondered .

「The guild has finished assessing the materials you brought the other day . 」

「Oh… you meant that . 」

Hikaru was told by Jill to wait for the computation until they could find places to sell the materials .

「The total amount is 687,200 gilans . 」

Lavia’s eyes widened . It was quite a lot of money . Still, it was nothing compared to what was in Hikaru’s account as of the moment—around 90 million gilans .

Aurora explained how they arrived at the number . She also included the materials in the explanation, which would take some time, but Lavia didn’t have any plans today, so it shouldn’t be a problem . She ended up listening quietly as she found the receptionist’s voice pleasant to the ears .

「That is all . Thank you for listening . 」Aurora bowed, and so did Lavia .

「Thank you too . If you’ll excuse me, then—」

「Oh, one more thing . 」

「What is it?」

「We received a message from Hikaru this morning . 」

「What?!」

You should’ve told me that first!