The Second Dragonoid's Tale

Chapter 29: Who Wants To Play Hero?

The Kingdom of Falmuth is located in a valuable position, being the western neighbor of Dwargon with the dangerous seas to the north, a touch of the Jura Forest forest that cut off the Kingdom of Blumund, and dangerous mountainous terrain to its west, it was the main trade partner between the Armed Nation of Dwargon and the rest of the western kingdoms. Several problems would befall this kingdom thanks to the Lords of the Jura Forest and the Demon Lords.

It was only much later, after the matter was long settled, that Falmuth became aware of the orc army and its orc lord. Fearing the dangers of such a threat, both financially and in the lives of the elites, the earl that ruled the area near the Jura Forest came up with a plan. Send the prisoners of the area that were captured on a suicide mission to investigate the situation. The leader of the group and the members of it were well aware of how they were viewed as expendable.

As a side note, if Falmuth wasn't dedicated to the teachings of the Luminous like all other western kingdoms, they would have heard the news faster. Instead, the information flowed slowly through Dwargon, who was not yet sure how to reveal that the threat was dealt with by an alliance of monsters, a threat on the level with the orc army. So to protect the Lords of the Forest, his juniors, King Gazel ordered a gag on information relating to the city of Veldora, the nation of Tempest, the Lords, and the orc army.

This also meant that the friendship between Dwargon and Tempest was not officially announced, however, the king would keep to the contract's word and his own. This friendship opened the flow of new traders to and from Tempest, which slowly moved the information naturally, and after a game of telephone, most information became distorted. Instead of hearing "The orc army that invaded the Jura Forest was defeated by the monster alliance," all Falmuth would hear is, "The orc army invaded the Jura Forest." The fact that human kingdoms didn't believe different monsters could work together also contributed to the distortion.

***

The next morning. I was up late, even after Shion went to sleep, doing work that I kept to myself, and before the sun rose I made sure to be in the kitchen before anyone besides the night patrols was awake. Preparing mild tea, I planned to bring them upstairs and wake Shion when she woke up surprisingly early though not completely awake. We chatted as I made breakfast, the smell waking up the other guest that was sound asleep all night.

Once we were finished eating I realized something, we were running low on meat. Between the amount Milim can eat and the amount Shion has gone through during her lessons with me, it was clear we needed more. Sending them off on their way, I grabbed my sword and went out into the forest northwest of the city with Erebus who would transport the food back. Going far into the woods, I began to hear rumbling in the distance.

Investigating from afar I saw that a spider-crab, a Night Spider as Gobta once referred to it, was chasing a group of adventurers. Three were the same ones Rimuru and I saw enter the cave Veldora was sealed in. I decided to wait before interfering, to see if they really needed my help or if they had the situation handled. Given the fearful expressions on their faces, it was kind of obvious.

I watched as the young man saved the girl when the creature attempted to crush her mid-chase. In turn, as he carried her she launched a volley of stones at the creature. It was less than effective and they continued running from it. When they finally stopped to fight it, it was clear they stood no chance. Then a stranger stepped in, a rough-looking young man with hair covering one eye, sword ready to fight the creature.

During the exchange, I moved closer and heard them introduce themselves. Fuze, the oldest of the group, a middle-aged man, with a thin scar over one eye and a light beard. Kaval was the young man, Gido was the burly one, and Eren was the girl. The helpful stranger was Youm. He was no longer helpful when the spider snapped his blade in half.