Chapter 189 - A Gift Received on a Day That Wasn't an Anniversary

Valdrova put on her armor and left Hestia village.

The people of Hestia village recognized her and greeted her politely.

"Welcome, armor knight!"

"Are you well today?"

She was already an important person in the village, and everyone greeted her warmly when they saw her.

Whenever they did, she would not know what to do and answered by lightly dipping her head.

It was an action born of awkwardness, but to others, it looked extremely dignified.

She headed not for the labor union she usually visited, but for the adventurer's guild building.

"Armor knight! You're early!"

Nod.

"The guild leader will arrive right on time. I will show you to the meeting room."

The guild receptionist welcomed her and opened the meeting room door.

Inside, three people had already gathered besides her.

Valdrova looked at them and was impressed.

'They are all strong people.'

Because she was the Aspect of Power, she could easily gauge their strength.

She could feel all the pain and years they had endured to possess that strength.

Suddenly, a thought came to her.

Was it truly all right for me to be in a place like this?

"You are..."

A blond-haired archer looked at Valdrova and began to speak.

"Are you perhaps the armor knight?"

He acted as if he knew her, but it was quite different from the way the villagers did.

He was asking with displeasure in his eyes.

Valdrova nodded.

"Hmm..."

He seemed about to say something more, then closed his mouth and leaned back against his chair.

Nor was that archer the only one.

The gazes directed at the armor knight were different from the looks she usually received.

'Did I do something wrong?'

Valdrova grew needlessly dispirited.

For now, she decided she should sit and wait, so she took a seat.

After she sat down and some time passed, a few more people filled the room.

The seats of honor filled one by one, but the awkward atmosphere did not break.

At last, someone entered and shattered that awkward atmosphere.

"Ha-ha-ha! How are you all doing!?"

The eyes of the people who had been sitting there as if bored began to sparkle.

"Huh? I feel like I've seen him somewhere..."

"Indeed. I certainly feel as though I have seen him at least once before..."

The man, who seemed like a massive wall just by standing there, was clearly a stranger, and yet everyone felt he looked familiar.

Hearing that, the huge man crossed his arms and grinned broadly.

"Perhaps you saw my face on a statue while passing by?"

"A statue? Ah... no way!"

"Jonathan Sina! He looks exactly like Jonathan Sina!"

The adventurers clapped their hands and blurted out the name.

"That would be Ancestor Jonathan Sina. I would appreciate it if you showed respect to a great warrior."

"Ah, I-I'm sorry!"

"I can forgive a first mistake. Instead, how about you buy me a drink and we have a talk together!?"

Even his hearty laughter carried a force that crushed people down.

It made even proud Gold-rank adventurers whimper like scolded puppies.

Those who had known Jonathan from before welcomed him warmly.

"Welcome, brother. You drank that much and still somehow managed not to be late!"

"How could a warrior lose to something as trivial as drink?"

With seemingly hearty laughter, the room grew noisy in an instant.

He was not simply talking with people he already knew.

Jonathan showed his sociability by drawing the people around him in.

Valdrova found herself envying him for no reason.

'I want to talk like that too.'

She imagined herself becoming the center of such a scene.

But the moment she imagined actually doing so, she only felt as if her breath had caught in her throat.

Still, it seemed better than agonizing over what to say like she was now.

Valdrova simply waited for Erica to arrive.

The appointed time drew near, and at last, the person who had organized this gathering arrived.

Blue hair and clothes that looked free-spirited.

With the pair of horns on her head nowhere to be seen, she went to the organizer's seat and greeted them.

"Good day."

She was the woman who had called them to this place for the expedition into the Land of Demons.

She was the Platinum adventurer known as Eri.

But unlike the others seated here, to Valdrova, only one name stood out strongly.

The Iorga spawn, Erica.

Though she had no horns or tail, her unique atmosphere and appearance could not deceive Valdrova's eyes.

Erica walked to the end of the conference table.

"First, I sincerely thank all of you for gathering here from various places."

Erica's voice carried weight.

"One person has yet to arrive, but we will proceed first. You have all gathered here under the name of the expedition into the Land of Demons."

Erica pointed to each of them with her eyes as she continued.

"Everyone here will become one team from this moment on, comrades who will overcome difficulties together. Let us begin by greeting one another and introducing ourselves..."

Erica's words trailed off.

Someone had shot his hand straight up.

It was the blond-haired archer who had been looking at Valdrova with displeasure.

Erica knew his name.

"Please speak, Mr. Virgil."

"Yes. I know how much Lady Eri has done for our adventurer's guild, and I also know that you have led us for the sake of subjugating demonic creatures."

"That is correct."

"You always emphasized that adventurers maximize their abilities not through each individual's skill, but through trust with their comrades."

"Yes."

"In that sense, I believe I must say this in advance."

He turned his eyes, full of dissatisfaction, toward one person.

Those eyes were directed at the armor knight.

"I question whether that man called the armor knight should be allowed to participate in this expedition."

Valdrova felt as if her heart had dropped.

"And why is that?"

Erica asked calmly despite his aggressive tone.

"He may be praised in the village as the armor knight, but look at his record! He did beat a few demonic creatures to death with his bare hands, but during the subjugation battle, he was nowhere to be seen. If something is beyond his ability, he will surely run away again!"

Run away.

At those words, Valdrova bit her lip.

She suppressed herself as much as possible so as not to be swept away by emotion.

Virgil continued speaking.

"And look at this as well! Was he not caught trying to subtly steal another knight's achievement simply because he could not speak? Adventurers are those who risk their lives and receive fair rewards. A shameless bastard like that becomes the greatest cause of division!"

As if determined to drive the armor knight out somehow, Virgil passionately explained why he should not be here.

Erica, who had been quietly listening to him, tapped her temple with her index finger and said,

"Mr. Virgil."

"Yes."

"It is better not to make hasty judgments before we have even begun."

Erica defended the armor knight's matter.

"He did not flee from the demonic creature subjugation battle; he had already left by then. I do not know where he went, but he had his own circumstances. It is not good to declare that he ran away simply because he did not appear at that time."

"Then the matter of stealing that credit..."

"It was also confirmed that he could not speak about that matter because of the Vow of Silence, not that he tried to steal the credit. The matter was resolved amicably with the person involved, and I also considered it carefully. I do not believe it is something for a third party to argue over."

"If that individual's flaws end up having a major negative effect on the entire team, would that not become a serious matter?"

It had begun as Virgil's emotional issue, but the others seemed to feel similarly.

Erica decided she had to convince them now and move on.

"Do you know of an adventurer party called Ground Foot?"

It was an abrupt mention of another adventurer party.

"Yes. I heard they were Gold-rank adventurers who received Lady Eri's grace."

"Do you know what kind of people they are?"

"I heard they successfully explored ancient ruins in the southern desert and came back."

"You do not know what they were like as individuals, do you? The thief was addicted to stealing and gambling, the mage was an alcoholic, the priest suffered from severe depression, and the swordsman had anger management problems. And they were people who fought whenever they took so much as one step."

"..."

"If separated, they were people who would have been imprisoned in some castle dungeon or confined in a monastery. But do they still look that way now?"

"I do not think... they did."

"The moment people become a team instead of individuals, they are born anew. Stop making hasty judgments before we have even started."

"... Understood. I apologize."

The man named Virgil showed signs of reluctantly accepting it.

"If there are any other complaints, would you please say them now as well? It seems important to correct things before we begin."

"I have none."

"I understand to some extent as well, so it is fine."

As if that was good, Erica spoke to the gathered adventurers.

"Always remember this. There is no such thing as a flawless hero among those here. The same was true of the heroes of the 12-member expedition who threw themselves into the Land of Demons first."

Finally, Erica glanced toward the armor knight.

Her gaze seemed to say that it was all right.

'She truly is Iorga's child.'

Her cleverness, eloquence, and charisma made Valdrova admire her all over again.

At the same time, one question circled in her head.

'Am I not suited to a place like this?'

Getting along with everyone and overcoming difficulties was the very image she had dreamed of.

But that was only how it looked when she succeeded.

What would happen if she failed?

And what if someone was badly hurt because of her mistake?

Valdrova felt as though she would never be able to forgive herself.

'If that happened, I might truly run away.'

Valdrova was feeling that this choice had been far too rash.

While Valdrova was agonizing, a middle-aged mage brought up another topic.

"By the way, I heard one person has not arrived."

"Yes."

"Just who is this person, to be this late?"

There were twelve seats prepared in total, and one was empty.

The adventurers here were all Gold-rank or higher, valuable figures whom mere nobles could not treat carelessly.

Such valuable figures had arrived on time, so it was unforgivable for one person to be late.

"He has so much work piled up that he said he would finish only the urgent tasks and come straight here. Perhaps he will soon..."

Knock, knock.

"I was just thinking he might arrive, and it seems he has."

Erica gestured and opened the door.

The latecomer who appeared last revealed himself.

All of them were startled by his identity, but none more so than Valdrova.

CLANK!

The sound of two pieces of armor striking together rang out from her intense agitation.

Beyond the iron plate was a face several times more shocked than the armor's great jolt suggested.

'Mr. Ferda?!'

Ferda Valdrova.

The lord of this village and the Regent of Valdrova Castle.

An honored personage far beyond merely noble had appeared.

The moment Valdrova saw that face, she felt as if her mind had gone blank.

It felt like receiving a gift on a day that was not an anniversary.

Unlike Valdrova, however, the adventurers' faces looked displeased.

"Lady Eri, no matter what, we did not hear that we would have to escort a noble."

The others began to protest cautiously.

The Land of Demons was a dangerous place, and in dangerous work, reducing risks as much as possible was common sense.

Erica was fully aware of that point as well.

"Unless there is a formal request to escort a noble, it is common sense not to allow even an observer."

Nobles always created unexpected situations.

If they caused trouble and suffered harm, they would begin demanding responsibility with their particular prideful temperament, and if that happened, it would become a headache for at least several weeks.

"However, Regent Ferda will not be a mere observer. He will gain a position and act as a member, the same as all of you."

"The Grand Duchess's fiancé as a member?"

"Hmm..."

Even setting status aside, their reactions were still subtle.

He had reached the 4th Circle at a young age, his magical abilities were outstanding enough to repel Demons, and he had also proven his command ability.

But as was always the case with nobles, most of it was bluster, so unless they had seen it themselves, they did not believe it.

Moreover, he had excellent potential as a mage, but being an adventurer was always a separate issue.

In this field, there existed useless trash of the 5th Circle and saviors of the 3rd Circle.

Erica glanced at Ferda.

It was a signal telling him to say something, anything.

Ferda also thought he should, so he opened his mouth.

He spoke to them clearly, meaning to tell them not to worry.

"There will be no need for you to worry about me."

Up to that point, it was certainly fine.

"I would simply prefer that you not trip over a stray stone and blame me for it."

"..."

The atmosphere grew even more hostile.

Their faces said they wanted to curse, but because he was a noble, they could not bring themselves to say anything.

Erica had to desperately endure the feeling that her Blue Circle might shatter and make her vomit blood.