56 Chapter 56: Return to Havia

"How did I get here?"

I gaped at the gigantic mercenary guild signboard that was held aloft at the front of the building, trying to absorb what had just happened.

Ah, right. Aoyama did something…

Everything became clear now. Aoyama's curse was a transportation curse that forcibly teleported the victim to a faraway place. I didn't know what the conditions of the curse was, or how it selected what kind of place it teleported me to, but at least he didn't dump me into an abyss or right into the middle of an ocean. Or the heart of a volcano.

Then again, Aoyama never meant to kill me.

He was a healer, so fighting or killing wasn't his forte. I sighed in relief. This was a tremendous change from the usual former classmates I had encountered, who did everything within their power to kill me.

"Well, I probably need to contact Elia and Daniel and let them know what happened…"

I was about to take out my communication device when the door to the guild house suddenly swung open. A few mercenaries stepped out, laughing. They stopped to stare at me curiously, but no more than a second, then they were out on the streets where they resumed their jovial conversation. Boisterous laughter punctuated the air behind me.

"Ah, Tanaka!"

A familiar voice shouted out from within the building, drawing my attention even as I glanced at the exiting mercenaries. I didn't recognize any of them, but I did recognize the owner of this new voice that called out to me.

Hughes waved and gestured for me to enter the guild house.

"Oh, it's been a while! Glad to see you make it back safely!"

"Yeah. Thanks for the promotion, and for giving me access to the mobile storage system and everything."

"It's nothing." Hughes grinned as I approached the counter. Placing a glass that he was wiping into the shelf, he turned back to appraise me. "It makes sense for us to reward a member of our guild who has been exceeding expectations and performing very well."

"I didn't do that much, though…"

Hughes laughed at that. "Still as humble as ever. Anyway, I'm glad to see you're back safely. So what did the heroes want with you?"

"Nothing much." I shrugged. "In the end, I didn't see them."

That was a lie, but there was no point telling Hughes the truth. What, there was no way I could casually tell him that I killed two of the three heroes who came after me, and helped Lilith Scarlet kill the third one.

"Still, you're really moving up the ranks." Hughes checked his computer-like device and conjured up a holographic screen. "We actually recorded you killing a demon noble and completing that quest you took a few days ago."

"Uh, yeah. That quest, huh?"

"You're now silver-ranked!"

"So I can call myself Goblin Slayer now. All I need is full-body armor."

Hughes looked at me strangely. "Well, you can continue to slay goblins, but being a silver-ranked mercenary, I'm sure you have much better targets to go after. Like the demon noble you killed. Make sure you slay more of them."

"Ha ha…that was a one-time thing." I laughed sheepishly and scratched the back of my head. I couldn't possibly tell Hughes that I was allied with the demons and actually working under the current Demon Lord right now. "I would much rather not face them again."

"I don't blame you. Must have been quite the tough battle, huh?"

"…yeah." I nodded quietly and looked away, unable to meet Hughes's eyes. "But I think we can coexist peacefully."

"If the heroes aren't so adamant on exterminating the demons, I suppose we can. But their policy now is total annihilation, so it is what it is. Still, if you don't want to look for demon nobles, I won't force you. Speaking of which, I have an even better target for you right now…which is why I've called you in here."

"Hmm?"

I stared at Hughes, who had a troubled expression on his face.

"Most of our high-ranked mercenaries are out in the frontlines, fighting the demons in Helsreach and the borders," the bald, dark-skinned guy continued wearily. "So we're in dire need of strong mercenaries right now."

"Whatever for?"

Hughes regarded me seriously. "Just yesterday, a crimson dragon swooped in and attacked an armored convoy that was escorting the royal princess back to Havia. It made off with her. You know, the usual dragons abducting princesses story…except that the heroes are mostly on the frontlines so they won't be able to return for a while to help out. There's only one in the capital right now, and I doubt she'll try to tackle the dragon alone, even if she's a hero. That's why we're trying to find high-ranked, powerful mercenaries – to help her form a band."

"…I see."

This wasn't good. I didn't want to work with a hero. Especially if she turned out to be one of my former classmates, she would just attempt to kill me like all the others. Then again, if I disguised myself, this might be the perfect opportunity to eliminate her as part of my plan for revenge. Or I could just get by without killing her.

My real targets were Kobayashi and Yamada. Honestly, as long as the others left me alone, I would be happy leaving them alone. Most of the people who tried to throw me off the Bifrost thing had already been eliminated – Tsukishima, Asakura, Samejima, Kijima, Sakaguchi, and Miyazawa. The rest were just…bystanders.

I didn't blame them for not trying to help me. There was a very real risk that the ten or so people who threw me off the transportation spell would turn their attention to whoever tried to help me and throw them off along with me. The rest had no obligation to die along with me.

"I'll send you the details. Go meet up with the hero and save the princess! Who knows, she might fall for you in the process…our very own rising star!"

"…" I didn't dignify that nonsense with a reply. Instead, I just nodded. "Yeah, I will see what I can do. I hope the dragon hasn't killed her yet."

"From intelligence reports, not yet. Even if – worst case scenario – the dragon has already killed her, then the hero will take revenge on the dragon. So don't worry about it."

"Understood."

I saluted and then left the guild house. Suppressing a sigh, I headed to the Blue Moon Inn to get a room. I was going to need a private space to contact my subordinates and perhaps Regis Gremory, so that I could update them on what had happened. I didn't know if I wanted to help out with the dragon thing.

More importantly, I had to find a way back to Helsreach or Helsfort to meet up with my battalion. I couldn't waste my time on mercenary activities. I needed to help my demonic allies fight off the so-called heroes, and then track down Kobayashi and Yamada.

Then I would kill them both personally.

However, before I could reach the inn, my communication device buzzed.

"Whoa!"

I fumbled with my smartphone-shaped communication device as it rang incessantly. Swiping the green button, I stepped back and watched as Hoshizaki Kozue's apologetic face appeared on screen. Behind her was an ashamed Aoyama Aoi.

"Tanaka-kun! Are you all right?!"

"I'm still alive, it seems."

"I'm so sorry!" Hoshizaki bowed, almost in panic. "Even though I told you to meet me there, at the Hanging Cliff, I wasn't there in time to stop Aoyama-kun from attacking you!"

"My deepest apologies." Aoyama stepped forward and bowed deeply, his body bending at a perfect right angle and his long hair falling over his face. Shame and guilt filled his voice. "I thought you were an intruder."

"How can you not recognize Tanaka-kun!? He's from the same class as us!"

Hoshizaki sounded enraged as she struck Aoyama.

"I have no excuses. Please allow me to express my deepest apologies once again. I'll endeavor to rectify this mistake of mine."

"No need for that…" I sighed and shook my head. "Question is…what should we do now? And is Aoyama…?"

"Ah, that's right. I should introduce you. Aoyama is one of the Eight Guardians – he's a rebel like me. You can trust him."

"Uh, well…it's a little difficult for Tanaka-kun to trust me after what I just did to him." Aoyama sounded really apologetic. He glanced at me, his eyes sincere. "Furthermore, it was very rude of me to forget who you are…"

"It's been six months, and we never talked to each other much in class anyway."

"Even then, there's still no excuses…"

"Right," I cut him off. "But apologies and guilt aren't going to solve anything. What should I do now? Where are you guys? Do I travel back to Haemorage or should I head to Helsreach to meet up with you guys?"

"You're in Havia right now, aren't you?" Aoyama asked, studying my location with keen curiosity. "Interesting. I meant to teleport you outside of the Iron Knights' territory, but somehow you've been transported all the way to the capital of Legnica."

"What the hell? What were you thinking?!" Hoshizaki yelled. Aoyama lowered his head shamefully again.

"I…don't know. I swear, this is completely unintentional. My ability only allows for me to teleport the victim to a random location. I don't have control over it. But even I didn't think you would be transported so far away."

"I guess you really wanted to distance yourself from me," I remarked. Both Hoshizaki and Aoyama stared at me, and I cleared my throat. "Anyway, just wait for me. I'll be there soon enough. A week or two, if all goes well."

"Havia is too far away." Hoshizaki groaned, and then she suddenly lit up. "No, wait…that's right! Nanaka-chan is in Havia right now! I'll contact her right away." She beamed excitedly. "Tanaka-kun, you should meet up with Nanaka-chan and follow her for now. She's one of us, one of the Eight Guardians. She'll keep you safe from the rest of the class and bring you to us eventually."

"Nagano-san said she has some business to settle in the capital, though," Aoyama pointed out hesitantly.

"It's still better than having Tanaka-kun attempt to travel to our base on his own. Plus he needs the protection."

I didn't need anyone to protect me…but it was truth that it would be troublesome if Kobayashi and the rest found out I was in the capital. I still didn't trust this whole Eight Guardians thing, but I decided to gamble on them. If it paid off, I would be able to exact my revenge on Kobayashi and Yamada as well as humiliate them.

"All right. Where's Nagano-san?"

"Hmm…I'll contact her. Then I'll let you know. Don't wander off carelessly!"

"Yes, ma'am."

Sighing, I switched off my communication device after Hoshizaki hung up and waited listlessly outside the inn.

*

"Uh, here, huh?"

I ended up coming to the Magic Academy in Havia City. I had no idea why Nagano Nanaka was in the magic academy, but I kept my counsel to myself after Hoshizaki contacted me again to inform me where to meet her.

Hope this isn't a trap…

Gulping, I took a step through the gates. The guards at the gates pointed their magical staffs at me, getting ready to cast spells to blow me off the ground.

"Who goes there?"

"…me."

Stupid question. I mean, who else? You?

The guards gritted their teeth and glared at me. The first one stepped forward in what seemed like an attempt to intimidate. I found it more amusing than scary, especially after killing a bunch of heroes and leading a regiment of demons.

"What's your name?"

See? Asking the right question wasn't difficult.

"Tanaka." I produced my mercenary identification. "I'm here to meet someone. I believe she should have authorized it…"

"He's with me."

I breathed a sigh of relief when I heard Nagano's voice. She stepped out of the building, dressed in simple and feminine white robes, her long pink hair flowing to her waist, tied as twin tails. She nodded at the guards, who withdrew deferentially.

"Hero-sama!"

"Our deepest apologies, Nagano-sama!"

"Argh, don't be so dramatic." Nagano rolled her eyes before she wave toward me. "Over here, Tanaka-kun."

"Yes, Hero-sama."

"Don't you start too!"

"Sorry, ma'am."

Nagano suppressed a sigh and whirled around as I approached her. She led me along the open corridor and into what seemed like an office. Apparently she was the equivalent of a university professor here, possessing her own office. Opening the door, she bade me to enter. I stepped into the fairly large space, taking care not to step on scattered books.

"Make yourself comfortable."

"I'll try."

Honestly, there wasn't any space for me to sit or anything. I couldn't find a chair. In addition to books were dozens of weapons strewn about the messy floor. Several were glowing, some were inert and others were emanating soothing auras.

"Ah, forgive me. I didn't have any time to tidy up my office. I spent too much time crafting and forging weapons."

"Oh, don't worry about it."

I watched Nagano navigate her way around her books and scattered weapons to get behind her desk.

Curious, I activated Absolute Appraisal to check her abilities. With this many weapons, she must be a swordsmith or something.

Name: Nagano Nanaka

Species: Human

Job/Rank: Blacksmith/Hero

Special Abilities: Sacred Swordsmith, Barrier

I was right. Nagano was a swordsmith. Not only could she forge weapons, she could also erect barriers, or so it seemed.

That's great…maybe I can ask her to repair the broken sword that I took from Minamoto Kureha!

The Sword Saint's legendary sword remained in my inventory, broken and useless. The blacksmith in Millennial Town, Smith, told me to approach the Sacred Swordsmith to repair this sword. And right now I was standing in front of her!

"Uh…Nagano-san, do you mind repairing a sword for me?"

"…? Sure, but it'll have to wait until after the mission. Repairing and forging weapons take quite some time, so I will prefer to do it back in our home base, and after we rescue the princess. I can lend you an alternative weapon in the meantime…"

"Oh, no need for that." I shook my head. "I already have an alternative weapon. That's fine. It can wait."

"If you say so." Nagano brushed several books on forging and blacksmithing off her chair so that she could sit on it. She pointed toward another chair that had an axe lying on top of it. "You can put the weapon to one side. Sit."

"Yes, ma'am."

I obediently placed the axe on the floor and sat down, then waited for Nagano.

"I don't know if you already know this, but the capital's been in an uproar after the royal convoy got attacked and the dragon made off with the princess. Since I'm the only hero currently in the capital, I've been asked to rescue her. Takeda-kun wants to meet you as quickly as possible, but he will have to wait. I can't say no, especially after all the things the people of Legnica have done for us. In the meantime, you should…"

"I can help," I piped in, taking Nagano by surprise. "I might not be a hero, but I'm still a mercenary who's been asked to assist you in this quest. I hope I won't get in your way, though…"

"Hmm, that's fine. Since you're summoned from Earth too, you should theoretically be better than any of the other mercenaries or human warriors in Legnica." Nagano scratched her head. "That said, the opponent is a dragon, so it'll be a tough battle…even for me. I would prefer for the other heroes to return and form a party with them, but I don't know how long the princess can hold out for. We ideally want to move out as soon as possible."

"So what do you plan to do?"

"Uh, well…" Nagano shrugged sheepishly. "I've been looking for competent parties. But I don't know anyone well enough…I spent too much time with the rest of the class and didn't really acquaint myself with any of the normal people in Legnica."

"About that…" I rubbed my chin as I contemplated for a moment. "I think I might be able to help you with that. I know a party that might be able to help us."

"You do?!" Nagano sounded extremely relieved as she leaned forward, scattering the books and weapons on her desk. "Please call them! I really appreciate it! I'll leave the recruiting of members to you. I'll start preparing for the mission. Don't worry about transport and logistics. I will handle all of that. Just make sure we have a party who is willing to follow us!"

"O…okay."

I was taken aback by her enthusiastic response. Evidently the heroes had neglected personal relations with the normal people of Legnica, though Nagano and the Iron Knights didn't appear to do it to the extreme end of treating them as NPCs like Asakura and Sakaguchi did.

We exchanged contact information, and then I stood up and left the office to begin my search as soon as possible. First, I decided to head to the guild house. I would need to ask Hughes about the Pure Guardians and hoped they were available.

The orgy-party is the only people I can think of…they might be young and lusty, but we've worked together before and I think they can be trusted.

Scratching my head, I crossed my fingers and prayed hard that they weren't currently out on a mission. That would be disastrous. Telling Nagano that I could recruit a party for the quest, only to fail because of the exact same reason why we couldn't ask the other former classmates for help.

Speaking of which, I wasn't sure I wanted to work with any of our former classmates, the Iron Knights being the exception of course. Hoshizaki, Aoyama and Nagano didn't seem to bear any ill intent toward me – at the very least, they were the first people from our class who didn't try to murder me right from the onset.

But I couldn't say the same for the rest of the class…

Please…Hughes, please tell me the Pure Guardians are still around…

While praying desperately, a familiar figure strolled past me.

"…"

Wait, what?

I blinked and glanced over my shoulder. That outfit, with the red and black cape, wizard uniform that sported a white blouse and black miniskirt, long, golden hair with a pretty hair ornament, and noble bearing…

That was Alicia, wasn't she?

I scratched my head and turned away. Nah, it had to be a mistake. Why would I conveniently bump into Alciia at such an opportune timing? Furthermore, I wasn't sure I wanted to call out to her. If it turned out to be a mistake, it would be extremely embarrassing. Already there were a bunch of female students staring at me and whispering under their breaths.

Those hostile gazes stung me. They had already made the judgement that I was a stalker, and at any moment they were ready to run for the guards. They couldn't make me feel any more unwelcome. It was best for me to return to the guild house as quickly as possible.

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Right, and I also need to contact Elia and Daniel.

Wow, why was life so complicated? Not only was I bouncing between human and demons, I also had to placate both of them. Fortunately, Regis Gremory was already aware of the Iron Knights and I had received approval to contact them for an alliance.

At least I've succeeded in that…

Now to cement the alliance I should help Nagano out with the dragon and the princess. The Iron Knights – or Nagano at least would owe me one. It wouldn't hurt to have one of the legendary heroes in my debt, would it?

As I proceeded toward the gate, the girl who walked past me suddenly stopped. Turning around, she placed her hands on her hips and glared at me.

"Hey, why are you in this school?"

I turned around to gape at her, taken aback by her outburst. But any retort in my throat died when I confirmed that I wasn't mistaken.

"Huh?"

I knew it. That student who walked past me was Alicia.