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nProofreader: Xemul

nAs an adventurer, the idea of being forced to go somewhere simply didn’t sit right with Loren. However, there was something more important they needed to settle first.

n“Can we make it to a country at the northern end of the continent in time?”

nEven if they went on fast horses, it would take them at least more than ten days to arrive if they went around the demon territory in the center of the continent. The fast horse carrying the news had reached Kapha in the shortest possible time without encountering any trouble, but it still seemed like it was already too late.

nBut Ivy offered an explanation for this.

n“Several of the Adventurers’ Guild’s branches are equipped with magical tools for relaying information. If this network is used together with fast horses, information can be spread within a few days.”

n“The Adventurers’ Guild really is impressive, huh.”

n“But if we use a horse-drawn wagon to get there from here, it will still take more than 10 days, won’t it? Since we humans can’t be sent like information, we won’t be able to get there in time, will we?”

nIvy responded calmly to Gula’s new question.

n“There will be a special transport from Kapha to the location. It is a special thing that also accommodates overnight stays inside, and can carry a dozen people at a time. The cost will be covered by funds from non-participating adventurers. We expect to be there within ten days.”

n“I still can’t help but feel it’s too late though.”

nIt should have been at least ten days since the incidents first happened. Even if he did not know the circumstances of the war between the empire and the kingdom, Loren thought it would not be surprising if it was settled in a few days.

nBut Ivy negated this.

n“The empire and the kingdom have been fighting skirmishes and major wars for a long time. It will not be settled so easily.”

n“Loren, are you not familiar with the area?”

nLapis tried to fish for some information from Loren, and Loren considered her question for a while.

nHe remembered fighting on battlefields in the north several times, but when it came to which country he was affiliated with and which country he fought against, he couldn’t remember. For a member of a mercenary company like Loren, the only important thing was how to defeat the enemy in front of him; it was the job of the executives and above to think about which countries to affiliate with and which countries to fight against.

n“Sorry, I don’t think I’m going to be able to help.”

n“You are a true mercenary in many ways, Loren.”

nThere was no exasperation or mockery in Lapis’ words. The only thing her tone of voice carried was a hint of admiration for Loren’s life, which had seemed to be just one continuous battle.

nAs Loren was thinking that he had had no choice but live that life, Ivy turned to him with serious eyes.

n“What I’m about to tell you is something that really doesn’t need to be told.”

nAfter this preface, what Ivy said was a bit of a surprise to Loren and his friends.

nIt seemed that almost no adventurers below silver rank who belong to the Adventurers’ Guild in Kapha would participate in this retaliation commission. They would have to pay gold coins as an alternative measure, but this would be paid in the form of a loan from the Kapha city branch.

nThe reason for this was the same as Loren’s concern: the city of Kapha was too far away to participate in this commission. Forcing adventurers to participate would not do any good to the Adventurers’ Guild branch in Kapha, so they thought it would be better for both the adventurers and the Guild if adventurers chose not to participate in the commission, even if they had to lend money.

nWith that fact in consideration, Ivy informed Loren’s party that she wanted them to participate in this commission.

n“I’m sorry, but this is important to the reputation of the branch.”

nThere was a large difference in abilities even among adventurers below the silver rank. Some could be expected to do well in this commission, while some were certain to die if they participated. If adventurers from the second group were sent to participate without distinction, the reputation of the Adventurers’ Guild branch in Kapha might be damaged. Thus, the branch had narrowed down the list of adventurers they wanted to participate, and Loren’s party was apparently among them.

nLapis seemed dissatisfied with the Guild’s approach, but Loren had no particular qualms about it and urged Ivy to continue on. Being sent into unwanted battles for the convenience of their superiors was nothing unusual for a mercenary, and even if he was now a bit removed from it, it had been a daily occurrence for Loren until just recently, so if he thought of it as a mercenary, he was not as frustrated as Lapis was.

n“It’s just a hunch, but I have a bad feeling about the kingdom’s violent actions this time.”

n“And you want to thrust us head-on into that bad feeling?”

nLoren grimaced in true annoyance, but Ivy, who had started the conversation, was staring at him with a very serious expression.

n“This is not something unrelated to you, Loren.”

n“That’s another nasty thing to say to me.”

nLoren said with a wry smile, but Ivy continued with no regards for it.

n“For one thing, this is connected to Evil Gods.”

nHer words caused a slight tension amongst the group. Gula, in particular, was staring at Ivy’s face as if wondering what in the world she was saying, but Ivy continued to talk without paying her any heed, looking only at Loren.

n“It’s not just one. Perhaps two are involved.”

n“How could you possibly know that?”

nThe smile on Loren’s face disappeared, and he asked with a face as serious as Ivy’s. But it was not Ivy, but Gula who answered.

n“It’s not anything like a connection between Evil Gods, you know. The Evil God of Envy is always looking for something to be jealous of, and she has a nose for the location of superior beings.”

n“I don’t know which Evil God they are, but the remaining two would be the most likely candidates.”

n“Wrath and Pride huh… The most troublesome are the ones left, aren’t they?”

nIvy seemed to agree with Gula’s grumble, and a somber mood began to mingle in the serious expression on her face.

nGula and Ivy apparently knew the two Evil Gods, but this information was unknown to Loren and Lapis, who asked Ivy to explain.

n“I just have an example, so I don’t know if that is still true today.”

nIvy was an Evil God who did not want to continue to be an Evil God; she had used herself as material to rebuild her body and weaken her power. A device installed in a certain ruin made this possible, and Ivy believed that it would not be surprising if there was another ruin with a similar function somewhere else on the continent. That was why she was not sure if the information about Evil Gods before they were sealed and fell asleep a long time ago was still valid now.

nWith this preamble, Ivy told Loren about the Evil Gods of Wrath and Pride.

nThat is why I am not sure if the information about the time before Ivy and the other evil gods entered the sealed sleep a long time ago is still valid today.

nAfter saying this, Ivy tells Loren the information about the evil gods of wrath and arrogance.

nThe name of the Evil God of Wrath was Rage Saturnia. She was a young girl with blonde hair and fierce looks. According to Ivy, she normally was not so bad, but once she got angry, she became out of control.

n“If we simply compare the attack power, she is the strongest among the Evil Gods.”

nIvy then tried to describe the Evil God of Pride, but she looked thoughtful for a moment and then looked at Gula instead of Loren for some reason.

n“What kind of Evil God was Pride?”

n“Huh? Ah… Right, we don’t know what Pride looks like.”

nWhen Loren asked her what she meant by this, she explained that the Evil God of Pride did not like to meet other Evil Gods, and that they preferred not to reveal their true faces to those they considered lower in rank than themselves. They wrapped their faces and bodies in cloths so that they could not be recognized.

n“I’m sure he’s a man.”

n“His name is… probably Superbia Hipride?”

n“This is getting troublesome.”

nOn the one hand, there was the presumptive child Evil God who, once she got angry, got out of hand.

nOn the other hand was a presumably male Evil God who looked down on even other Evil Gods, who were supposed to be his comrades, and never revealed his appearance.

nLoren did not want to come anywhere near them at all.

n“I think that when it comes to things involving Evil Gods, even if you ask a silver rank adventurer to help you, you won’t know if they will be able to return safely. In that respect, you and your team have already encountered five Evil Gods including myself, and have returned alive.”

nEven though this was a recognition of his achievements, it was not something Loren felt happy about at all, but he could not deny that Ivy was correct. Although it was not clear at this point how or from where the intervention of the Evil Gods that Ivy somehow sensed was coming, Loren thought that with the demon Lapis and the Evil God Gula by his side, it was unlikely that they would not be able to do something about it somehow.

n“Can’t we just talk to the gold ranks and ask them to temporarily act as the silver ranks?”

nIt was Lapis who proposed such a way out.

nThe agreement that the Adventurers’ Guild had with each country on the continent was that adventurers of the gold rank and above were not to participate in wars. But what Lapis proposed was temporarily demoting the gold rank adventurers and having them participate as silver rank.

n“It’s impossible. The number of adventurers in the gold rank is much smaller. Most of their faces are known, so it would be easy to find out what our intentions are in demoting them.”

nLoren thought this was a good example of how having your face well-known could limit your actions. It was not a laughing matter, however, since his party were the ones who were currently being put in a disadvantageous position by this situation.

n“To sum it up, the commission this time is to use the Adventurers’ Guild’s pocket to do the job of mercenaries.”

nThis was something that they would not have known if they had not been told. Loren thought that it must have been Ivy’s sincerity that made her go to the trouble of disclosing it to Loren and the others.

n“It sounds like a hassle, but it’s an offer I can’t refuse. I don’t think I’ll mind, do you?”

nWhen Loren looked at Lapis and Gula for their opinions, Lapis gently quietly lowered her eyes and showed no particular reaction, while Gula shrugged and shook her head as if she had no choice.

nHaving made sure that neither of them raised any objections, Loren turned back to Ivy.

n“We can accept it, but… I have a condition.”

n“What is it? I’m willing to take anything this time, even if it’s something unreasonable.”

nIvy braced herself, but Loren waved his hand in front of his face in a lighthearted manner.

n“I’m not asking you to do anything unreasonable. There is a silver rank adventurer named Ritz, right? Please make sure his party doesn’t participate.”

nIvy’s eyes widened a little when she heard the unexpected request, and she stared at Loren as if she was trying to figure out what he was up to.

n“Chuck and Nim from that party just got married, didn’t they? When such people go to war, they often mysteriously don’t come back. It’s going to be a mess and we can’t afford to help them, and if they die, I won’t be able to sleep well.”

nIt was a kind of jinx that was circulated among mercenaries, but Loren thought that it was not to be underestimated because, strangely enough, the probability of such a situation was really high. Perhaps being married distracted them, but if one were to draw a simple connection, it was true that the probability of death was high for newlyweds who went to the battlefield.

n“If those guys are willing to participate and complain about not being selected, I need you to get hold of them and make them give up. Will you do it?’

n“Understood. We will not request their participation, and if they do apply, we promise to give them a variety of reasons why we won’t accept their application.”

n“May I ask one thing of you, too?”

nAs Loren finished his request and Ivy agreed to it, Lapis suddenly raised her hand.

nIvy was relieved that Loren’s request was relatively simple, but when Lapis added her request to the mix, Ivy’s expression stifferend again, and she braced herself.

n“You don’t have to be so cautious… And my request is also something very sweet.”

nIvy, who was not letting her guard down, thought this was impossible. Lapis, perhaps thinking this would reassure her, smiled and winked at her, but this just ended up making her even more wary.

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