March Toward Despair 5(Side: Ilsa Harnisch)

The management of Barse's hunter guild listened to Hook's story. After

Hook finished what he had to say, the leaders heaved deep sighs.

「So, greenhorns like you guys managed to reach that ancient ruin by

relying on a pendant a suspicious man gave to you…」

A small, yet muscular man muttered while stroking his beard and sighing.

His name was Ralph Excel, and he was the guild master of Barse city's

hunter guild.

「Moreover, to think that you were stupid enough to approach that

mountain of gold.」

Another man who was part of management groaned while covering his face

with his right hand. His reaction was natural. If something was left in a

dungeon or a ruin, it was for A REASON. But those things would normally

not be left in a conspicuous place that could be found so easily. If a proper

treasure hunter had gone to that ancient ruin, they wouldn't have taken any

of the treasures left in an open place like that.

「Nothing we say now will change the current situation. We have to think

about what to do next.」

Guild Master Ralph said so.

「Who's the black-robed man who gave that pendant to Raiga?」

The staff member with bobbed hair voiced the question that had appeared in

everyone's mind.

「Well, they might be someone from an underworld organization or the

demon race. Both aren't decent, after all.」

「Isn't their goal to summon that Pazuzu guy?」

One of the management staff with a short mustache asked Ralph with a

meek expression.

「It should be. Whichever it is, they all seem dangerous to me. We can't let

that suspicious person continue his dangerous activities anymore. Start

searching for that suspicious person in Barse city immediately!」

「Understood! Please give the instruction for all hunters to immediately

track them!」

「Yes!」

The staff members of the hunter guild left the room as soon as the guild

master gave them the instructions.

「Well then, Guild Master, this is a grave situation. Shall we call C-class

hunters and above to resolve this crisis?」

Ralph nodded at the suggestion of one of the guild staff members.

「Yeah. Let's call them. What about the disaster level? Shall we make this a

city-level disaster?」

「Yes. Although I don't think it's gonna be a big deal as Wolfman happens

to be standing by too, please do, just in case.」

Each management staff member gave their approval to the guild master's

plan.

As a side note, hunter disaster levels are separated into six stages. From the

least dangerous to the most dangerous, they are—

1st Stage: Serial Murderer-Level― A threat level where a few people might

lose their lives.

2nd Stage: Restricted City-Level― A threat level that might cause partial

destruction of the city.

3rd Stage: City-Level― A threat level that might cause total destruction of

the city.

4th Stage: Region-Level― A threat level that might cause total destruction

of several cities.

5th Stage: Country-Level― A threat level that might cause the downfall of

a country.

6th Stage: Global-Level― A threat level that might threaten the entire

world.

The current threat level was still the 3rd stage, city-level, a threat that might

bring the downfall of a city. In short, the situation of Barse city's hunter

guild was serious.

Suddenly, a staff member tumbled into the guild master's office.

「B-B-BAD NEWS!」

「What is it this time?」

One of the management staff members asked with a frown, but the

newcomer ignored them. He just looked at the guild master while pointing

toward the easter gate direction with his right hand.

「IT'S A MONSTER STAMPEDE! There are monsters that inhabit the

deepest region of the forest. Some never-seen-before monsters are also

there in the stampede!」

「W-WHAT?」

All of the staff members stood up at once as they heard that shocking

report.

In the first place, one of the reasons the exploration of the temple hadn't

advanced that much was the monster that lived deep in the forest.

Moreover, the story about an exploration team composed of B-class

adventurers being wiped out by the monsters in the deepest part of the

forest was famous in Barse city.

「Are you kidding me! Do you mean disaster-level monsters are coming

out in swarms?」

One of the B-class adventurers present in the meeting along with me

shouted with disbelief.

「RAISE THE 'DISASTER-LEVEL' TO 'REGION-LEVEL' AT ONCE!

We're going to prioritize the evacuation of the citizens! Send someone to

tell Wolfman about this situation and ask for his cooperation!」

The guild master gave his order to raise the disaster level at once.

「Wolfman has already left to fight the monsters! Amelia kingdom's knight

leader, Arnold, is also cooperating with us!」

Everyone heaved a sigh of relief upon hearing that report.

The S-class hunter Wolfman was famous for his bravery.

He had received harsh discrimination in this kingdom since he was born

from a human and a beastman. However, he had overturned the prejudice

with his unrivaled physical strength. He had saved many people from the

crisis. As someone who is used to hearing his heroic legends ever since I

was a rookie myself, I couldn't help but feel extremely relieved upon

hearing that Wolfman was with us.

Moreover, we even have the backing of the knight leader Arnold, who is

famous for being the strongest swordsman in this kingdom. He is

comparable to an S-class hunter.

There is no greater fortune than having the two of them in this Barse city

right now.

「Yosh, now we'll split our personnel into three teams: subjugation team,

refugee team, and investigation team! Only B-class hunters and above are

eligible to join the subjugation team! Lastly, the first floor of this guild will

become the emergency headquarters for this incident!」

The limit imposed on the members of the subjugation team was natural

since we would only create meaningless sacrifices if low-class hunters were

to fight monsters that came out from the depth of the forest.

「「「YES SIR!」」」

The staff members replied by placing their right fists on their chests.

「T-That sounds too much to be true though…」

「STOP THE USELESS CHIT-CHAT, AND DO YOUR JOB! We're

running out of time!」

The guild master scolded the staff members who sounded like they were

hesitating. The guild master wasn't the kind of man who would raise his

voice at his subordinates like this in a normal situation. It showed that he

was on the edge too.

「I GOT A MESSAGE from knight leader Arnold! He said, 'Recall

Princess Rosemary's royal guard, Kai Heineman, from Luserhall as soon as

possible!」

The room broke into turmoil the moment the messenger finished speaking.

「ILSA! The one called Kai Heineman should be the newbie hunter who's

attending the sacred martial arts tournament, right? Is he actually Princess

Rose's royal guard?」

An A-class hunter approached me and asked that question.

「I-I also have no idea about that! This is the first time I'm hearing about

this matter!」

Kai Heineman is Princess Rosemary's royal guard? Does that mean the

pink-haired girl who goes along with Kai Heineman is Her Highness,

Princess Rosemary?

No, keeping that aside, a royalty's royal guard is akin to the strongest

martial artist, and someone who has gained trust from the royalty on top of

that. No matter how talented Kai Heineman is, it's way too reckless for Her

Highness to choose someone hailed as incompetent to be her royal guard.

This development is way beyond my expectations.

「Forget that trivial matter! Is Kai Heineman really that strong?」

「Far stronger than Knight Leader Arnold!」

The room went into another uproar when everyone heard the messenger's

immediate reply.

「I agree with Arnold in this regard. Although I've only seen him fight

once, even I know that his strength is in a whole other dimension.」

「B-But, his average stat value is 1.」

Mia spoke with a rather impatient voice. It seems she feels some sort of

attachment to Kai Heineman. Well, his weak appearance can invoke the

motherly side of a woman to protect him. That might be why he could pluck

Mia's heartstrings.

「In my opinion, he has an item that can suppress his strength. I realized

this after seeing him fight. It's abnormal for a master of martial arts like him

to only have average stats of value 1. Knight Leader Arnold might have

also arrived at the same conclusion as me.」

「The grandson of Elm, is it?」

The guild master, Ralph, shut his eyes and crossed his arms as he muttered

those words.

「Anyone acquainted with Kai Heineman, come forward!」

Then, he stood from his seat and gave this order.

「T-Then, I wi―」

I couldn't finish my reply.

「FOOL! You're part of the subjugation team. No matter how strong Kai

Heineman is, if the city falls first, it's like putting the carriage before the

horse!」

「That's true, but who will go then? The people who know him are―」

「PLEASE, Let us inform him!!」

Raiga and Hook prostrated themselves on the floor as they begged us to

allow them to do this job.

「Uhm, you guys?」

「I'M DEFINITELY GOING TO CALL HIM BACK! My foolishness has

caused my comrades' deaths! I-I… I won't be able to forgive myself if I

just tremble in fear without doing anything to amend for my foolishness!!」

That's difficult. I mean, Kai Heineman's impression of Raiga is the worst.

In the worst situation where Raiga fails to bring back Kai Heineman, even

if he doesn't die, the citizens and the hunters will become victims. That's

something everyone here wants to avoid at all costs.

「As expected, Guild Master, let me―」

「Good! I'll leave this matter to you guys. You've to depart

immediately!」

Dammit! The Guild Master has no idea about the incident that happened

between Kai Heineman and Raiga. Raiga had insulted Kai Heineman in

public. And he didn't do that as a joke; it was a pure insult. You think Kai

Heineman's gonna believe the words of someone who had insulted him like

that!

「RAIGA, HOOK, we place our hopes on you!」

Guild Master spoke in a loud voice as he looked at them with an extremely

serious expression.

「Yes!」

「Definitely!」

Although their current condition could only be described as tattered and

messy, they stood at once and left the room.

Naturally, I could pretty much guess by looking at Guild Master's face that

this would be the end of their careers as hunters. However, Barse's current

fate depended on them.

「Guild Master, just now―」

「I know! Sorry! Mia, can you go along with them? Just in case!」

「YES SIR!」

As expected of Guild Master. He knows what I'm worried about. Since

that's the case, there's no need to worry about this matter.

「I'll leave this matter to you, Mia!」

「Yes!」

Mia followed the two hunters who were leaving the room as if she were

accepting her fate.

「EVERYONE, PREPARE TO SORTIE NOW!」

We left the room at once with the signal from Guild Master.