Chapter 266 – 22. Warrior’s Party – Blackened Mint (2)

As a result, there were no accidents.

This is because Valdes quickly subdued the drunken mercenary before there was a problem.

“Turn it off… My arm, my arm…”

He threw a word at the mercenary rolling across the floor.

“I broke it neatly, so if I don’t do anything strange, it will stick straight.”

A few members of the party, including Yuri, looked at Valdes with surprised eyes, but he was quite generous. And Sasha and Fiora were sympathetic to that point.

“It’s kind of good if you break it so it can be reattached.”

“Right.”

Valdez went to deliver the innkeeper an apology for the small disturbance and an apple fee from the mercenary’s pocket.

Jinhyeok looked at the boy’s back with awkward eyes.

A scene that is hard to imagine with Valdez until now. Somehow, this brief scene seemed to bring his past his to mind.

Actually, it wasn’t too different. The only difference was that it was a past as Pedro, not a past as Valdez.

“Mercenaries are really tough…”

“I see. To be honest… I was very disappointed.”

“It can’t be helped. Sometimes among immature aristocratic youngsters, there are such people.”

Vilma said casually while eating the salad with a fork.

Yuri and Jinhyuk’s heads turned toward her. Sensing the gaze of the two, Vilma returned her eyes to the two as if asking why. She then put down her fork and apologized.

“No, that’s not to say you guys are immature…”

“I know. Rather than that…”

“Yes. Vilma, I think you know very well that there are noble youngsters like that.”

“Huh? Huh? Ah…”

Vilma panicked with a sorry expression. It was so funny that the twin warriors laughed a little. It was the same for Fiora and Sasha. As if only Arsha was not interested, she was chewing on the meat.

Seeing his colleagues’ incomprehensible reactions to her, Vilma scanned their faces for something, and soon realized why.

“We know.”

“Oh, do you know?”

“You’re from a noble family.”

“Ah…”

Even though Vilma let out a sigh, she was relieved inside. It was fortunate that she was not discovered that she was the princess.

Her relationship with her with Valdes and the fact that she was like her demon lord her would n’t be revealed, but just being the princess was a big problem. She was known to have run away from home, so if the imperial princess, who had been there for almost a year, was discovered at a warrior’s party, it would be a big deal.

Due to the emperor’s policy her, she never came out of the empire ever since she was born and rarely attended banquets, so her face her was unknown even to nobles and foreign royalty.

In the end, she said at the end of her continental tour that when she comes to the Empire, there is a high chance she will be caught, but Valdes will take care of that part. Even if she said that she would step in, it was something she could accept.

“Honestly, not knowing is weirder.”

“That’s right. Nobles are usually very distinctive in their behavior and demeanor.”

“We honestly didn’t know, but we found out later after seeing them talk.”

“Anyway, we’re not used to this kind of thing.”

“… Even though it was obvious enough for me to know.”

These were the words of Fiora, Sasha, Jinhyeok, Yuri, and Arsha in turn.

Vilma’s face turned slightly red at the laughter of his colleagues at her. She herself attributed it to her confidence in her acting in her as a commoner. She never pointed it out, and she didn’t notice because she had been with people she knew longer than with people she didn’t know.

“Ugh… That’s embarrassing…”

Valdez, who returned late, sat down in a chair.

“What’s so funny about everyone?”

“She let Vilma know that we know she’s a noble.”

“Ah, finally.”

“You-you knew…”

“I’m like that.”

Valdez clicked her tongue at Vilma’s awkward performance on her and quickly changed the subject.

There was some hot news that just came in. It was Valdes who had talked to most of the party, but since there were Jinhyeok and Arsha who still couldn’t let go, he raised his words.

“I heard an interesting story, would you like to hear it?”

“Fun story?”

“When I went to apologize, the innkeeper told me why there are so many people in the city.”

At that, Fiora tilted her head.

“Isn’t it just for hunting monsters?”

“There’s that, but… I think there’s an interesting rumor.”

“Hmm, what is it?”

Jinhyeok asked while picking up a piece of fruit for dessert. As you can see from his actions, he was not interested in Valdez’s story. Although he had antipathy towards Valdes, it was largely because of his disappointment in his mercenaries.

However, Valdez’s words were enough to make him drop the fruit he was about to put in his mouth.

“It’s a dragon.”

“…Uh?”

“Dragon?”

“Now, wait. What do you mean by that?”

Of course, it wasn’t just Jinhyeok who was flustered. Even Arsha, who often shied away from the story, pricked up his ears and focused on his story her.

The restaurant has become noisy again since his colleagues took the mercenary lying on the floor, but there is nothing difficult if someone decides to eavesdrop. Because of this, their heads naturally gathered toward Valdes.

Valdez did not hesitate to reveal the identity of the rumors.

“There is a place that is believed to be a rare dragon somewhere in the mountains.”

“Rare?”

“However…”

Unlike Yuri and Jinhyeok, who had twinkling eyes, Fiora showed a very negative reaction.

However, as a continental common sense person, this was a normal reaction.

That will be too.

“… Except for the United Republic’s green dragon, all dragons must have gone to sleep?”

The green dragon that Valdes, who serves as the chairman of the United Republic, is aiming for with a grudge.

Except for her, it has been over 100 years since the dragons of the continent have not appeared. Even the green dragon avoided giving a clear answer, so the Continents assumed that other dragons had gone into a long sleep. Even when the demons started a war, no dragons appeared.

“The rare of the sleeping dragon… ”

“No. They say it’s an abandoned rare.”

“That’s fortunate.”

Even in the sleep phase, dragons are very wise and dangerous creatures. I don’t know what kind of traps were set in the lair in preparation for intruders.

However, if it is an abandoned rare, the risk level is lowered.

“It’s almost a gamble when it comes to discarded rares. You never know what’s inside or whether there are treasures.”

“If that’s the case, there won’t be any rumors that it’s an abandoned rare.”

“…Uh?”

Vilma’s eyes widened as she was the first to understand the meaning of the words.

“The Guardian inside came out with some of the treasure.”

“Answer.”

That’s enough evidence. The fact that it is an abandoned rare, and the fact that there is a treasure inside.

The rumor started when a guardian released from the dragon’s bondage or contract came out with some treasure and was discovered by mercenaries who were hunting monsters.

The monster discovered was a monster that couldn’t be there geographically, and the amount of gold coins and jewels that monster was holding was too much for a single monster to have. Crucially, there was no merchant that had recently been robbed of that much treasure.

“Wow, that’s so skinny.”

“Put out?”

“I can’t even subtract or beat it.”

“Ah.”

Vilma nodded while questioning whether Jinhyeok’s words fit the situation.

“But how can such rumors not spread widely?”

“That’s right. A dragon’s discarded rarity is something that the imperial family would be interested in.”

“And it’s easy to tell us who don’t even know that well?”

Arsha and Fiora questioned. And Valdes spoke the reason he thought.

“The reason rumors didn’t spread is because of control, well. I guess the mayor is greedy. And the royal family’s interest is in the military fortress a little far away from here.”

“Um, but…”

“Actually, I think I’m vague too. The innkeeper here also said he overheard a drunken mercenary talking.”

However, it was not a sufficiently convincing explanation, and the source was unclear. Thanks to this, the rumors he spreads quickly lost credibility.

The only ones who were still interested were Yuri and Jinhyeok.

“What’s certain, though, is that the mayor has been hiring some elite mercenaries lately. This is what the mercenaries at the other tables said as they returned to the table, so it must be true.”

The warrior party fell into trouble.

The credit rating is low and there are many suspicious corners, but each and every word of the dragon’s abandoned rare was enough to arouse people’s interest. Especially for the twin warriors who have not completely abandoned their fantasy world.

Crucially, they were the leaders of the party.

“What would you like to do?”

“What’s the schedule like if we go into the mountains?”

Jinhyeok looked at Fiora and asked. The moment when the question alone is the answer. Fiora sighed, but answered.

“If it drags on too long, it will be a problem. But if we leave within a week, we can somehow adjust the schedule.”

“A week… Good. Then, if we can’t find the place in five days, let’s go.”

“Okay. Ugh, I’ll have to find an excuse first…”

Fiora secretly glanced at Yuri, hoping that he would object. She also had a face full of anticipation, her eyes twinkling as if she had already begun her search. It was practically game over.

Afterwards, they finished eating and gathered in Jinhyeok’s room his. It was a one-person room, so it was a bit narrow, but there was enough space for seven people to sit. Once there was a bed, four people could sit on it.

After that, they talked about exploration in earnest.

The discussion continued until near bedtime, and we managed to reconcile our opinions.

“Okay, then we’ll start tomorrow morning. We’ll move alone, without anyone else.”

“You must be busy to get up early and pack your things.”

“It’s fortunate that there will be quite a few merchants open even at dawn.”

After talking, they decided to go back to their respective rooms to sleep as they had to get up early tomorrow and move.

While they were chatting and parting, Vilma deliberately moved slowly, but when she saw everyone entering the room, she hurriedly found Valdes.

“Valdes-sama!”

“You must be tired, but go to bed early. Why?”

“Did Valdes-nim decorate this? I haven’t heard of something like this.”

Vilma expressed her displeasure in a voice full of regret.

As time goes on, the help Valdez gives is getting less and less. No matter how much he comforts you with this or that, if you don’t tell him about this important thing, he has no reason to be here. It was a dissatisfaction caused by the fact that it was thought to be something Valdez had planned.

But Valdez shook his head.

“No.”

“Huh? Then…”

“You really heard it.”

Vilma looked at him as if it were absurd.

Rumors about a rare abandoned at the timing of a party of warriors passing through the city. It’s not too suspicious. Of course, it could really be a coincidence, but we can’t ignore the possibility that someone made it up.

This opinion came out during the meeting, and because of this, it was decided to move only among themselves. It would be difficult to find the way, but with them, you can somehow get out of the mountains even if you use expensive magic tools, and it’s easy to run away from danger.

“This… Is okay, right?”

“Is there anything to worry about? I’m here.”

“…”

“There are many ways to secretly use numbers. I’m worried about the goddess, but I’ve been quiet until now, so I can’t suddenly find out.”

“Ugh, okay. Then I’ll prepare thoroughly too!”

“Okay, go in and sleep.”

“Yes.”

Vilma grabbed the doorknob and glanced back.

“…? Why aren’t you going?”

“That…”

“What. Say something.”

“Kiss… Please.”

Laughing at her shyness her, Valdez approached her.

After 10 minutes, the princess’s face was as red as the tomatoes she ate at dinner.