Volume 2: Fire Lord, Chapter 4: Return

*Proofread by Pervysagechuck 1/04/2019

After they had traveled along the road for a few more hours they decided to start pitching camp. The party needed to get the camp pitched before the sun would set and leave them in the dark of night.

Tri'ade was tasked with setting up the perimeter alarm system. It was fairly simple in design, four wooden stakes set up in a square with silken thread acting as a tripwire. Anything that touched the tripwire would ring the bell at their tent. Given the area though, there was a large amount of silken thread required and it took a while to set up. What he found strange was that they weren't planning for any watch shifts in addition to this alarm.

I guess when your expected opponents are nearly brainless goblins and ogres, this alarm works. But any alert rogue could disarm this trap easily enough.

Not that Tri'ade had to worry about that with the shadow demons on the lookout in the shadows around the camp. Speaking of his servants, Narberal came up behind him as he was pounding down the posts. She spoke in a dark voice as if she was suppressing her rage.

"Master, someone like you shouldn't have to do such menial tasks such as these..."

"Everyone is helping to set up camp. Remember, we are all adventurers here. I am not a Lord to them."

"Didn't you show your magnificent combat ability? Everyone has their strengths, this kind of work should be left to the weak."

I guess it's going to take more than one talk to get her out of that prejudiced mindset.

"Only one who was never weak would say such a thing. Unlike you, I was not. So I am quite comfortable doing such menial tasks.

"You were weak?"

"Everything that is born comes into the world weak and fragile. Only later does strength grow. Anyway, if it bothers you so much, help me finish this up, will you?"

Narberal nodded her understanding and helped her master with setting up the perimeter alarm posts. Afterwards, they returned to the marquee tent in camp to attach the bell alarm to it.

"Thanks."

"No problem."

Lukrut, inside the tent and preparing an oven, didn't even look up from his work. Narberal was visibly annoyed at his discourtesy but Tri'ade didn't care. He spotted Ninya walking the perimeter chanting some spell. From what he heard before this must be that 'Alarm' spell. It didn't cover a large area but it seems like they wanted to supplement the simple tripwire alarm.

This spell didn't exist in YGGDRASIL, so that drew his interest. The magic was arcane like Tri'ade could use and it even looked like the spells from YGGDRASIL. He wondered whether he could possibly learn new spells. He had long surpassed the total number of spells one could learn by his own experience, but back in YGGDRASIL, due to his special skill, Sacrifice to the Gods, it was possible to learn spells past that limit. Tri'ade had previously sacrificed headless bodies to the god Mimir for spell knowledge but he had doubts about it now. Would that still work in this world with its own pantheon of deities?

Ninya realized Tri'ade had been staring, and he forced a smile when he came over. "You don't need to watch so closely! It's not such an interesting spell, is it?"

"You just took a long time in casting that spell. Is that normal for the Alarm spell?"

"Oh, no. I used a ritual to cast the spell. It takes a lot longer to cast but it doesn't require mana to do so."

"Fascinating. So that was a ritual spell? All you did was walk around and chant. I've heard of divine spellcasters doing similar things in their religious ceremonies but I've never seen it for myself."

Ninya turned wide-eyed at first then sighed, "Right. Ritual spells can't really be used in battle. It takes several minutes at least to cast. But they're useful for setting up traps or spells like alarm if you have the time."

From what I know of the Slane Theocracy, they apparently also use ritual magic with multiple people to cast spells beyond the sixth tier. Something about a Miko Priestess being needed.

"How exactly do you cast ritual magic? Normally, I just say the incantation and the spell fires off immediately."

"Well, I can't say I am an expert on ritual magic but it's all about holding onto the magic and concentrating on the process. The rituals vary from spell to spell and even sometimes from caster to caster themselves."

"So the ritualistic elements of the spell are merely there to help the caster focus and channel the spell?"

"Divine magic users would disagree but that's what my Master believes to be the case. At least for arcanists like us."

"As a battle mage, I mostly focused on trying to cast the spells faster... I might have to try ritual spell-casting."

"Well, not all spells can be cast that way and it is better to learn established rituals than try to make your own."

"Why is that?"

"Things can go wrong in ritual spell-casting that don't happen if you cast it normally. More powerful spells I hear require complicated rituals to cast. If the rituals are not performed correctly or the channeling is interrupted, the built-up magical energies can go haywire."

"Ah, that makes sense."

Reminds me of some game storyline where the heroes intentionally interrupt the villain's ritual. Typically summoning some evil creature into the world and the heroes make it backfire on them. Would it be possible to cast [Planar Ally] with ritual spell-casting? If it eliminated the experience cost in summoning high level or permanent summons it would be a great boon to Nazarick.

"Anyway, enough about my spell-casting. It was amazing to see you casting spells in battle. How do you do it with such armor on?"

"Well... It takes a certain level of discipline and sense of your armor. I've trained so much in my armor that it feels more like a second skin sometimes. It takes a lot of practice, so most don't bother with it."

"Is that why Narberal doesn't fight in armor?"

"Yes. She has yet to master it so it's better she fights without armor."

That and her only armor is her maid outfit. I can't have her wearing that in public…

Lukrut chimed in looking up from the oven he was now cooking from. "Hey, sorry to bug you in the middle of your chat, but food's almost ready. Could you get the other three?"

"I'll go get them," Narberal said, obviously wanting to leave Lukrut's vicinity. "Aww! Are you leaving, Narberal? Wouldn't you rather make this meal the fruit of our love? Come cook with me!"

"Drop dead, maggot! Stop spouting such nonsense!"

"Mind your temper, Narberal. Ignore him and go on."

Narberal bowed. "Sorry, Master. I understand," she then turned to leave to go get the rest of their party.

"Mind if I ask you a question, Lukrut?"

"Huh? Sure, go ahead." Lukrut continued to stir the pot of stew he had been preparing.

"You do know you are coming on too strongly with Narberal?"

"I can't help it! Narberal is just so beautiful. I'm not inhumanly strong like you so I got to rely on my silver tongue to get the ladies. I need to push and push. Even if I only get a fraction of affection from her, I'll be a winner for life!"

Tri'ade did read somewhere that women did like to be pursued but Narberal was hardly normal. Even so, he felt Lukrut's fervent flirting was going a bit too far.

"Lukrut is right." said Ninya. "Your strength today resembled something right out of the tales of Heroes. It really sunk into me today that heroes really are something beyond normal people."

"I've been fighting for more years than any of you have lived. Don't get discouraged by it."

Narberal came back with the others following behind her. Tri'ade noticed it was getting late, the sun was about to vanish below the horizon and the sky had been dyed crimson red. Bowls were handed out to each of them and Lukrut poured the stew to each of them.

Looking at it, the stew appeared to be flavored with smoke and salted meat. There were other things he could spot like crusty bread, dried figs, and various nuts. The party arrayed their place-mats around a small fire and sat down. They had set things up near an old tree stump so Tri'ade could have somewhere to sit in his armor. The rest of them sat on the ground with their legs crossed.

Everyone else began eating and Tri'ade lowered his cowl, taking his golden mask off. The illusion magic he had used previously was still in effect.

I'm glad I bothered casting [Veil] instead of [Disguise Self].

[Veil] was a tier six illusion spell while [Disguise Self] was level one. Given the minor alterations to his appearance that he had made, he almost went with Disguise Self for efficiency's sake but he remembered [Veil] had a duration of one hour per level of the player casting it. Normally it was used to disguise an entire party but the quality of the illusion was also quite superb, making illusions capable of being touched or even disguising smells.

Tri'ade didn't use it much back in YGGDRASIL since at higher levels it was common to get equipment with true seeing enchantments. He was afraid of relying on it too much for that reason. His mask and anti-divination ring were far better at hiding his nature to the locals. Even if they managed to get true seeing on themselves they couldn't see through his mask.

He used a spoon and scooped up some of the stew to try it. The dried figs were sweet even though they had a stringy taste and the seeds got stuck between his teeth.

Tri'ade, of course, was not used to eating figs. They were often marketed as a food for the health conscious. The bread, while old, had a good taste to it when you soaked it in the stew but his favorite was the salted pork. It tasted sort of like jerky due to how much salt was used to preserve the meat.

Seeing her master dig in, Narberal did the same tasting one of the dried figs but got a disgusted look on her face afterward. Lukrut asked, "Oh no, is there something you don't like in it?"

"Everything. It doesn't even..." Before Narberal could continue Tri'ade put his hand over her mouth to stop her. "Don't be rude " he said. Afterward, he lifted his hand off her mouth and Narberal stated calmly, "Sorry, Master."

"No. It's not rude at all! I'll prepare something new if my love tells me how she likes it."

Narberal glared with disdain at Lukrut at his response.

Tri'ade waved his hands in front of him. "Sorry, It's not that. Narberal's always has been a very picky eater."

I can't very well say she's been spoiled rotten by the chefs of Nazarick where you can eat dragon steak for dinner.

Dyne Woodwonder chimed in, "Is that so? Sounds like you two have a long history."

"You could say that. I've known Narberal all her life."

Lukrut choked, spitting his stew and causing some of it to sizzle in the campfire. "You're Narberal's father?!"

Narberal tilted her head to Tri'ade and gave him a bit of a confused look not knowing where he was going with this.

"Of course not." Tri'ade replied. "But I knew her father and he left her in my care."

"Ah, so that's the reason you two seem so close." Lukrut said with a tinge of relief in his voice.

"I must admit I'm kind of envious of Narberal." interjected Ninya. "My own master has so many other apprentices, it's difficult for him to arrange the time to train me."

"Yes, but enough about me. What's up with the name Swords of Darkness? None of you have dark looking swords."

"Ohh, that. Tell him, Ninya." An awkward smile played across Lukrut's face.

Ninya's face was turning a deep shade of red. "Don't make me! I was young and stupid."

Crossing his arms, Dyne simply said, "It's really nothing to be embarrassed about. It's important to dream big!"

Ninya then spoke up shyly, "Anyway. It's a reference to the old legends. We named our party after the swords wielded by one of the Thirteen Heroes."

Narberal spoke up from beside him. "I don't know them. Who are they?"

"You haven't heard of them, Narberal? Well, I guess you wouldn't have heard of the Swords of Darkness or their owner. They belonged to the man known as the Black Knight but because people thought he had demonic ancestry, he ended up being more of an anti-hero instead. He among others were deliberately covered up in the saga of the Thirteen Heroes though I've heard he was a very powerful knight.

"The Swords of Darkness are four swords that the Black Knight used. There was the demonic blade Kilineiram, which could emit dark energy, the blade of rot, Crocdabal, which inflicted wounds that would not heal, the fatal blade Sfeiz, which could kill with the merest scratch, as well as the evil blade Hyumilis, whose powers are unknown.

"Hmm."

Every one of the adventurers smiled awkwardly at Narberal's unenthusiastic reply. But Tri'ade leaned back and put his hand on his chin in thought. Those abilities seemed awfully familiar. After thinking on it, those sword abilities sounded similar to skills possessed by Shalltear who had levels in the Cursed Knight class. That class had a number of very powerful abilities but were often cursed with significant drawbacks so few players actually took it.

While the swords may have matched cursed knight skills it was probably more likely the Black Knight himself was a cursed knight. Meaning the Black Knight would have to be around level seventy to acquire all of those abilities. It was a higher level than Narberal Gamma was at level sixty-three, but still far weaker than he was. Though it all depended on the nature of the swords. They could possibly have been enchanted to augment a fledgling Cursed Knight's abilities.

It was probably safe to assume that the Black Knight came from YGGDRASIL. The fact that this supposed half-demon didn't ally himself with the Evil Deities would suggest that like Tri'ade, the Black Knight merely role-played the part of a baddie in the game. Given what names he gave his swords he sounded like he was a chuunibyou.

Lukrut and the others were continuing their conversation of the Thirteen Heroes while Tri'ade was thinking about all of this. He turned his attention back to them, he had doubts he could rely on Narberal to remember every detail about a subject she clearly wasn't interested in.

"Our ultimate goal was to find the swords for ourselves someday. There are a lot of legendary weapons but these, we know for sure exist. Sure we may not know they still exist but..."

"Oh, I know of one person who has a Sword of Darkness." Nfirea casually dropped a bombshell revelation to the party.

All of the Swords of Darkness turned to face him demanding answers.

"Wh-who?!" asked Lukrut.

"Whoa! Really? So there's only three left?!" Dyne asked.

"Hrm. Now there won't be enough to go around." declared Peter.

Nfirea responded timidly, now afraid of how the group would respond. "Er. about that... the person who owns the sword is the leader of Blue Rose."

"Those guys?" said a disappointed Lukrut. "They're adamantite level adventurers! I guess it can't be helped."

"Still, there's three of them left," stated Peter. "Let's work hard so we can be strong enough to claim the rest into our possession."

"Indeed," Dyne added. "Since one of them is the real deal, that probably means the other three are out there as well. I hope they are hidden in a place no one finds before us."

"Anyhow, we still have the other things," said Peter.

"Other things?" asked Tri'ade.

Peter drew a dagger with four jewels embedded into its handle and had a black blade as dark as obsidian. "The idea is to have this as our symbol until we get the real ones..."

Drawing his own black dagger, Lukrut lifted it up high to stare at it. "I don't care if they're not the real deal. They represent the creation of our team. That's more important to me than any mythical blade."

Dyne, with his hand on his chin said in response, "You know I think that's the first time Lukrut has said something mildly meaningful."

Lukrut snapped back, "Hey, take that back!"

Teasing Lukrut, Peter said sarcastically, "Who are you and what did you do with our friend?"

"I'm a silver-tongued fox and you know it!" said a smiling Lukrut.

The Swords of Darkness all laughed together like the group of good friends that they were. It seriously reminded Tri'ade of his old friends and how they acted towards each other. How he would talk to them when going out for a quest or raid. Collecting materials and resources that helped build Nazarick.

For the first time since coming to the New World, Tri'ade felt a chill down his spine and his heart lurched in his chest. While he may have the love of Albedo, and the devotion of the NPC's, he had no friends. Nothing like his former comrades existed in his life anymore. He then began to doubt it would ever change.

He was a being beyond strength, placed upon the highest pedestal in Nazarick as the last remaining Supreme Being and Guild-Master. Tri'ade knew he would inspire more fear and awe than anything resembling the friendship he had with his guild-mates. Despite everything he now had, he found himself envious of the Swords of Darkness's friendship with one another.

He wasn't the only one though. Nfirea had that look about him as well. Though probably for far different reasons. Tri'ade imagined his position as a famous apothecary's grandson and talent holder might have placed him on another sort of pedestal that distanced himself from others.

"You all get along so well. Is that normal for adventurers?"

"Yeah, we all trust each other with our lives. You gotta have that trust to work together well enough to battle monsters."

"It helps our team is nothing but guys. I heard if you have a woman in the group, you end up fighting over her."

Ninya smiled awkwardly. "If we did have a girl, you'd be the first one to cause problems! But I think our greatest strength is our common goal. It keeps us focused on the future."

"Amazing things can happen when everyone's aims are aligned." said Tri'ade. "The impossible becomes possible."

"Were you on a team too, Mr. Tri'ade?" asked Nfirea.

"Yes. When I lost everything, including the will to continue on, nine heroes saved me." answered Tri'ade with a sad note in his voice. "They were the best allies one could hope for, more than that they were my friends, my family. I will never forget the days I spent with them."

"Mr. Tri'ade..." Deep in his memories, Tri'ade didn't know who had just spoken up.

"Don't worry!" declared Ninya. "I'm sure you'll find allies just like them one of these days."

"Don't spout such nonsense at me!" snapped Tri'ade, annoyed by Ninya's spouting of platitudes in his vain attempt to comfort him. He was surprised at his own hostility.

Tri'ade stood stunned, fighting the urge in his arm to hit Ninya or well, anything. The rest of the party was stunned as well but out of sheer fear of his outburst. Forcing himself to sit back down he gripped his knees and did some breathing exercises to try to calm himself down. He then put a hand on his chest to feel out his breathing.

"I'm sorry about that. Old wounds acting up."

"No! No! I'm sorry. I didn't mean to insult you."

Tri'ade sighed, "I know, it's just a touchy subject. I thought I was over it but I was wrong."

"If you don't mind me asking... What happened to them?"

Somewhat embarrassed at his earlier outburst Tri'ade replied frankly, "We grew old and apart. I tried to keep in touch with them but without a common goal, it wasn't the same. Nothing lasts forever. So treasure it while it's there."

"Too true." Dyne said solemnly.

Leaning in, Tri'ade smiled with a half-hearted grin. "So always plan ahead for your team. I mean what would you DO with the Swords of Darkness if you got them? I mean you already know its possible given one has already been found."

The Swords of Darkness looked at one another.

"I know what I would do. I would use it to acquire riches so we could live the way I always wanted to! No more hard-as-a-rock bread and I would have beautiful women at my side." Lukrut said eagerly, fantasizing about it already.

Peter smiled at Lukrut and replied, "If we got the swords our team would finally hit it big. We would be adamantine-class adventurers for sure."

"I would want to use it to protect others from monsters who would prey upon them," Dyne said with a hot conviction which, coming from the druid, surprised Tri'ade.

"There would be nothing to stop me," Ninya said with a somewhat gloomy expression hinting at something more.

So Lukrut's interested in material gain, Peter is looking for glory, Dyne looks like he might have a grudge of some kind against monsters, and Ninya has some deeper motive. Interesting.

The party continued the idle conversation until they had finished their meal and the flames in the campfire began to die down. After that, they went to their separate tents. Tri'ade and Narberal decided to share a tent to save on costs and upon hearing it, Lukrut looked at Tri'ade with envy.

Earlier that day.

On the dirt roads south of E-Rantel there was a plain carriage traveling along the road. A black haired coach driver in plain clothes was holding the reins of two horses pulling it along while the man riding inside was Arthur Oreio Partouche. He had hired the carriage and the driver with the money Lord Tri'ade had given him, thinking it was best to make all haste back to the Theocracy.

It was then he heard a voice in his head.

"[Master there is a someone flying towards you under an invisibility spell. Should we intercept him?]"

It was the squad of Shadows Tri'ade had lent him to help him in his mission to investigate the Pontifex Maximus for blasphemy for his ordering the massacre of human villages. They seemed to be nothing more than a mass of living shadows. Arthur was impressed they could detect someone while magically invisible but compared to the last several days, it no longer surprised him.

"[No. Let them come.]" Fly was a tier three spell. Only highly trained or experienced magic users could use it. Coupled with the invisibility and guessing at the possible motive, only one group came to mind. The Windflower Scripture.

Last he heard, the Windflower Scripture was still tracking down the person who stole the Crown of Wisdom but they had mages who specialized in illusion magic. They would also be the only ones with a motive to try to find him. Sure, the Empire had capable mages but they rarely left the Ministry of Magic and adventurers typically don't resort to common banditry.

How did they track him down so fast when they were busy with their search for the crown?

Before he could think further on it the door opposite him in the carriage opened and he felt a rush of wind towards him. Then he saw a steel dagger appear close to his neck with the man holding it emerging as well. Arthur recognized the outfit he was wearing. All black, non-distinct robes with a cowl and mask over his head to hide his identity. It was a member of the Windflower Scripture all right.

"Arthur Oreio Partouche. Where is the rest of your unit?" The voice was oddly familiar but Arthur had trouble remembering where from. But he remembered what Tri'ade told him. Tell the truth but not the whole truth.

"Dead or captured. We encountered unexpected resistance that led to a total wipeout."

The carriage driver yelled back to them. "Is everything alright back there?! I heard some strange noises."

His new visitor in the carriage pressed the dagger closer to Arthur's throat. He yelled back in response "No, everything is fine! Just focus on driving!"

"If your unit experienced a total wipeout then why are you here fine and dandy getting a nice ride back home?"

It was odd now that he thought about it especially with his relative connection to a Cardinal one would think he would be ransomed. That is if the captor cared about money.

"I was captured at first but I was let go to send a message back to the Cardinals. Our captors gave me enough funds to hire this carriage in order to get there quickly."

The man at this withdrew his dagger and sat down in the cabin's seats. Which was good to Arthur because it meant no longer having a man looming over him with a dagger interrogating him.

"I can't believe the Kingdom could beat one of our Scriptures and capture its members."

"They didn't." replied Arthur. "A man named Tri'ade Nazarick did."

"Never heard of him."

"Neither did we, but no matter what summons we threw at him he swatted them off like flies. He's at least as strong as an awakened Godkin."

"Really? Where did you hear of Godkin? That's supposed to be a secret." Arthur finally got why this man's voice felt familiar.

"Nephew of a Cardinal, remember? Or did you forget that, Tristan?"

"Heh, blabbermouth Cardinals. How you figure it out?" The Windflower member took off his mask revealing the face of Tristan. He had short black hair with a noticeable stubble to his chin.

Arthur knew him because they were in the same class while they attended public school together. Prior to being trained as Scripture members, one had to undergo general public education. To learn the basics, of course. Reading, writing, mathematics, theology, etc. Along with the standard magical aptitude tests. That being the case, it had been many years since they last saw each other so he had trouble recognizing him at first.

"Who else would spot me in plainclothes but an old friend? I thought you Windflower guys were chasing after the crown thief."

"We are. I just spotted you in E-Rantel while on business. That guy in the flame like armor gave me all sorts of chills so I had to wait till you separated. I'm guessing that was Tri'ade?"

Arthur began to sweat over how much exactly Tristan might have seen or heard of him interacting with Tri'ade? But he tried to suppress it. If his old friend knew anything solid he probably would already be dead or arrested already.

"Yes, that was him."

"I'd love to keep a closer eye on someone as dangerous as him but my current orders take priority. As you know, we're spread thin enough as it is. You're going to report back to the Cardinal of Earth, right?"

The Cardinal of Earth, Raymond Zarg Lauransan was the overall commander of the Six Scriptures. Each of the leaders of the Scriptures had to answer to him.

"Right. I need to debrief him about the situation and relay the Godkin's message."

"I'll tell my Captain about this and he'll probably inform the old man via message. So they'll be expecting you back. I assume you're alright traveling on your own? I really should get back to my original mission."

"Your concern is appreciated but I can handle the odd bandit. I wish we had more time to catch up one of these days."

"Me too. But I doubt we can anytime soon, they keep us too busy. Glad you managed to survive."

Tristan gave him a salute and Arthur responded in kind. "May the Gods be with you" they repeated to each other. The Windflower member then opened the door of the carriage and flew out using his flight spell.

"What in the hell was that?!" The driver yelled at Arthur.

"Nothing. Just a friend that decided to leave. Keep your eyes on the road. I want to be in the next town by sundown."

"Not getting paid enough for this..." the driver grumbled.

Arthur decided to ignore the driver and sent a message to Tri'ade warning him that the Windflower Scripture might be operating near E-Rantel.

Road to Carne's Village

The party of adventurers including Tri'ade set out on the road once again at sunrise. They traveled for some time until eventually, they caught sight of their destination. It was a rustic hamlet at the edge of the forest with a wooden fence around it.

Nfirea was oddly quiet when he saw the village so Peter asked, "What is it, Nfirea? Something the matter?"

"Oh no, Just... they didn't use to have such a sturdy fence there."

Tri'ade, recalling the last time he was here said, "Right, that is new. They must've built it after the attack."

"Attack?! What attack?" Beads of sweat could be seen forming on Nfirea's face.

"Right... you weren't there when I told everyone else."

Peter answered Nfirea's question "Carne village was attacked by the Theocracy trying to lure the Warrior-Captain into a trap. But Mr. Tri'ade helped save the village."

"Really?"

Lukrut scratched his head. "Yeah, I could hardly believe it myself but after seeing Tri'ade fight..."

Nfirea moved closer to Tri'ade as he asked, "You wouldn't happen to know what happened to the Emmot family?"

"Emmot?" Tri'ade put his hand on his chin as he tried to recall the last time he was at Carne village. After a moment he remembered his meeting with Enri and Nemu in the woods and him trying to explain magic to them. Then it clicked. "You're Enri's apothecary friend?"

"Yes! So you met her?! Is she alright?!" Nfirea asked in a hurry.

"Calm down," he said, placing a hand on Nfirea's shoulder "She's fine. You can ask her yourself once we get to the village."

Looking up, Tri'ade could finally see Nfirea's blue eyes between the parts of his hair. "Thank you very much for saving this village, Mr. Tri'ade. Thank you for saving Enri." For Tri'ade this was getting awkward so he let go of his shoulder and stepped back. Not really knowing what to say in response to Nfirea's sincere gratitude, he simply said, "Your welcome."

Lukrut smiled mischievously at Nfirea. "It sounds like our client might want to see his girl right away."

Blushing furiously red, Nifera said, "M-my girl? Th-that isn't... " Words failed him at that point.

"Haven't told her yet? Well, let big brother here teach you his amazing technique..."

Peter punched Lukrut, drawing a howl from the latter. The rest of the Swords of Darkness paid no heed to Lukrut's agony at being hit by Peter, instead they focused on Nfirea's supposed crush trying to advise and comfort him on approaching Enri. Nfirea, for his part smiled at their good intentions even if he was not fully convinced by them.

Tri'ade tried to stay silent during this whole exchange. He had absolutely no experience picking up women or any good experiences confessing love. So he didn't want to ruin Nfirea's chances by suggesting something stupid.

He recounted his previous life and all the times he confessed to a girl he liked or thought that liked him which resulted in harsh rejection or failure. The only girlfriend he had in high school was one who confessed to him, not the other way around. His success with women prior to Albedo was minor to say the least. He did end his old life a virgin after all and it was a depressing thought in hindsight.

After the group had settled down they proceeded on to Carne Village. The wheat fields spilled over onto the road that led to the village. Wheat stalks leaning over into the road brushed up against Peter who took the lead into the village. This resulted in him being covered in wheat grains that fell off.

Hiding in this haze of wheat, Tri'ade could spot the barely visible outlines of small green creatures. Goblins, if he had to guess and given their tactics skilled ones at that. He had little doubt what they were. Before they walked further into an ambush he spoke loudly.

"We come in peace. Reveal yourselves."

"Huh? What are..." Lukrut said but before he could finish, goblins began to pop up from the wheat fields beside them armed with swords and bows. The Swords of Darkness drew their weapons out in response.

One of the Goblins with the bow spoke up. "You got good eyes. If you come in peace you'll drop your weapons."

"Goblins," Ninya murmured. The Swords of Darkness began looking at each other trying to read each other if they wanted to fight or not. After a bit they tried to look back at Tri'ade. Another group of goblins emerged from the gate of the village. Tri'ade counted about a dozen of them.

"I'm not surrendering my weapon. We're going to wait here for your Master to sort this out. Everyone sheath your weapons."

"That's good to us. We'd like to avoid combat if we can."

"Who are these guys?!" Peter asked in confusion. Tri'ade didn't know whether it was from the goblin's actually looking like somewhat of a threat or the situation in general.

"They are goblins summoned by the magic of an item I gave the village."

Ninya exclaimed "What?! There's an item like that and you gave it to them..."

The leader looking goblin who was in the middle of the group blocking their entrance to the village realized who he was. "You're the one that saved our lady?" Before Tri'ade could answer a familiar blonde haired girl with emerald eyes came up to the gateway to the village. At the sight of her, Nfirea's eyes widened, and he called out her name. "Enri!"

In response, the girl clapped both of her hands together near her chin in excitement as she shouted back, "Nfirea! Sir Tri'ade!" She ran past her goblin bodyguards to get closer to the cart and Tri'ade moved to meet her. She bowed when she came close.

"This is a surprise! If I'd known you'd be back I would have prepared a better welcome."

"Fate can be strange. I would never have imagined getting hired by your friend."

"Hired by...Nfirea? " Her head slowly tilted toward him. "Wow! I knew your shop was doing well in E-Rantel but to hire a hero like Sir Tri'ade."

Embarrassed by the awed attention of his crush, Nfirea stammered, "Y-Yes, we are here to collect herbs in the forest."

"It sounds like you two have some catching up to do. Why don't we take a break here in the village and let the horses graze?" Peter suggested.

"It has been so long since I've seen you last, Nfirea."

"Th-That's a good idea. There's been a lot of changes here."

"Yeah..." Enri had a bit of a sullen look on her face for a moment.

The goblin leader spoke up next to Enri, "Let's disperse, troops. Get back to your previous work!"

Goblins on the adventurers' flanks got out from their positions and headed back into the village along with their leader. Tri'ade's party followed suit going into the village proper and leaving the cart near a tree outside of Enri's home.

The Swords of Darkness sat and rested beneath the shade of the tree while Nfirea and Enri talked inside. Tri'ade was going to head towards the village square where he saw some of the villagers getting archery lessons from the goblins when Ninya said, "Wait!"

"Huh?"

"I'm sorry but I'm curious about that magic item you gave the village. Could you tell me about it?"

Right, I guess a horn that summons goblins would be an interesting one to adventurers.

"Sure. I was interested to see how the militia training was going but that can wait. What do you want to know about the Horn of the Goblin General?"

"You said something about the goblins being summoned? They don't act like any summons I've ever seen."

"There is also a whole team of them."

Hmm, they do seem fairly independent. The ones I summoned did act like mind-controlled slaves. How to explain their number too... Wait, I know. The Scripture referred to the cost of Resurrection as "life-force" rather than exp.

"Well, the Horn of the Goblin General is a magical item born of sacrifice. In order to cast permanency magic in the first place requires a sacrifice of life-force, the amount depending on the level of the spell. The Goblin General who made them sacrificed his own men as fuel for the magic to create his horns. As a result, they can summon a troop of permanent goblin summons who are completely loyal to the summoner but can act on their own. That's the reason for their behavior, they retain a bit of the mind of those who were sacrificed."

"Even if they are goblins, to sacrifice your own men like that..." Dyne replied with a grim look on his face.

"Yeah seriously, what wicked dark magic..." Lukrut replied as he was lying down on the grass.

"Effective though, it enabled him to field a larger force without worry of internal dissent. He sacrificed goblins of opposing tribes at first and then placed the troops summoned by the horns in key positions. Before my old party got to him he assembled a large army and had several horns on him when we defeated him. I've had them ever since."

As Tri'ade finished telling the story and his reasons why he gave them to Enri, the Swords of Darkness had an awed look on their faces and spewed forth further praises upon him for his strength and generosity. Tri'ade felt a bit guilty for lying to them about the Horn of the Goblin general. The truth is, they weren't some mighty magic items from an epic quest to take down a monster general but low-level items you could get from the cash store. They were really only useful for low-level casters. But there was no way in hell he could tell them that, even if he wanted to.

To be honest, Tri'ade was beginning to wonder if he overplayed himself as too powerful given the lavish adoration and occasional looks of envy the Swords of Darkness were giving him. It might be he was still not used to the attention he had received since coming into this world. The NPC's of Nazarick fawning over him was understandable, given they thought he was one of their creators but he didn't quite expect it of the normal people of this world.

He wondered what he should do regarding his own personal party if he was in danger of being perceived as too powerful to be mortal. Two people performing epic deeds as adventurers might be a bit suspicious compared to a normal party of four or more. But he didn't have many servants that could pass as human, to begin with. Perhaps he could bring along some summoned Succubi with him and have them pretend to be a priestess or a rogue to fill out his party. But then having him as the only male in the group might draw attention to him even more. They also wouldn't have the skills those roles would be expected to have.

Tri'ade was sure many adventurers would love to join up with him to, if nothing else, ride on his coattails. But it would be nearly impossible to keep a secret from them for too long. As he thought upon this, Nfirea could be seen leaving Enri's house in a bit of a hurry. When he reached them he was out of breath.

"What's wrong? What happened?" Peter said in concern.

"Sir Tri'ade, I've been hiding something from you."

What could this boy possibly have to confess to me about…

Tri'ade then remembered then the reason Nfirea said he hired him by name in the first place that a customer told him about the incident in the Inn. The shy Nfirea swallowed nervously, but the look on his face was full of determination.

"Actually..."

Before Nfirea could continue, Tri'ade raised his right hand to stop him. "No need to say anything. Let me guess." Using his left hand he reached into his pouch to go through his inventory as to avoid suspicion drawing out a potion of minor healing. Holding it from its top and dangling it in front of him Tri'ade continued, "You want to know about this?"

"Yes! I mean no... What I wanted to say was the real reason I hired you was to learn more about it."

Lukrut stood up and moved closer to take a look at the potion Tri'ade was holding out. "I've never seen a potion like that."

"It's a God's Blood Potion. It's very rare and can't be made by normal methods. I hired Tri'ade after learning he had given one away. I wanted to know what sort of person would have such a potion and what methods would produce such a potion."

God's Blood? So they think even a minor potion of healing is some sort of legendary item... Thank goodness I decided not to give away a potion of moderate or critical healing.. Who knows how they would react to that.

"Makes sense. Any apothecary would love to know that, I would imagine." Dyne said as he was standing beside Lukrut.

"I'm very sorry!" Nfirea bowed to Tri'ade who then put the red potion back into his pouch and set his arms to his sides.

"For what?"

"Eh?"

"I mean... lying about why you hired me is annoying, sure. I'm more curious about what you would do with the knowledge?"

Raising his head up, Nfirea looked at Tri'ade with surprise. "I didn't think that far. I just wanted the knowledge."

At this, Tri'ade chuckled. "Knowing for the sake of knowing, huh? I can relate to that." "Well, sorry to disappoint you, but I don't know how they are made. I just found them."

"That's still more than anyone I've ever known. Where did you find them?"

"Discussion for another time. I'd imagine your famous apothecary grandmother would want to know as well. We can discuss it with her when we get back to E-Rantel."

Nfirea was about to object but seemed to decide otherwise. "You're right. Then we should get started."

Good, delayed that. Maybe I can think of a plausible lie in the meantime. I could say I found it in some ruins but then they'll probably ask me what ruins…

As he thought on that, the group did some last minute preparations and proceeded to head out to the Forest of Tob. There was a clearing about a hundred meters from the village in the dense woods that the villagers had cleared out thanks to the protection of the goblins. The source of the wood for the fence now surrounding the village no doubt. Nfirea left the cart behind there.

Tri'ade and the others made their final checks, and then the young man who had hired them spoke up,

"We'll be entering the forest after this, so I'll be counting on you to protect me. That said, the area just inside the forest is part of the Wise King of the Forest's sphere of control, so under normal circumstances, the chances of meeting other monsters are very low. The problem is that the Ogres we met yesterday came from a place near the Wise King of the Forest's territory, so something must've happened. Tri'ade, you wouldn't happen to know anything about that, would you?"

"Huh?"

Shit, what does he know?! Calm down. He can't know anything substantial or he wouldn't just casually ask.

"Why do you ask?"

"Enri told me how you rescued her from those Knights. She said the Wise King of the Forest was with you and stayed behind to protect her while you saved the village."

Triade internally facepalmed. Of course, he had forgotten all about that. "Right. I did tell you I was hunting in the forest when the village was attacked. I heard about the Wise King of the Forest and wanted to test myself against him."

"So the Wise King was what you were hunting?! That's impossible even for you." Lukrut said with a wave of his hand.

Tri'ade shrugged his shoulders. "After I managed to subdue the Wise King, he smelled blood in the air and we found Enri after that."

Lukrut had a look of utter shock "Huh?! You mean to tell me you subdued a legendary creature that's lived hundreds of years AND then saved the village afterward?"

"I've lived a long life too. Spent most of it fighting. You get good at it or you die."

Ninya had a look of realization dawn on her face. "Elves can live for several centuries."

Tri'ade sighed, he was getting tired of trying to explain his strength away to these guys. Part of him thought it might have been less complicated if he developed an alter ego for adventuring but too late for that now. He was always crap at lying. Maybe he wasn't the right person for this job. Tri'ade felt very unprepared for all of this.

"Like I said, I've lived a long life but we're getting sidetracked. I'll message the Wise King to meet us so he can help us out in the forest."

"You can do that?"

"Yes, after I beat him he swore himself to me. Something about recognizing my strength and mercy for sparing his life. Give me a moment alone while I message him."

Tri'ade left the overly awed humans who began eagerly chatting amongst themselves. He messaged Aura.

"[Aura can you hear me?"]"

"[Yes my lord. I'm still overseeing construction of Fort Tob and I'll have a new scouting report for you soon. Is there anything else I can do for you?]"

Tri'ade remembered before going to E-Rantel he had given the Guardians various new tasks to occupy themselves. Aura and Mare were busy in the forest scouting it out and beginning the construction of Fort Tob. A resource stockpile area and the territorial linchpin to better secure the area.

Eventually, Tri'ade wanted Fort Tob to become Castle Tob but they hadn't found a good supply of stone yet. With fortifications, he could leave a small garrison of undead or other low-level servants to secure the forest and to serve as a fallback position if they ever needed it. Leaving his far fewer high-level servants to do other work.

"[Is Hamsuke with you? I need her to come to a clearing near Carne Village. Alone preferably. She can be more useful to me at my side.]"

"[I can send her right away. But are you sure I can't come along too?]"

"[No. I need you in the forest for your current tasks. Besides, I got company and I don't want to reveal you to them."]

"[Aww. Understood, my Lord. I'll make sure Hamsuke gets there quickly.]"

Narberal and Tri'ade went back to the rest of the group and waited around for a bit. Nfirea and the others didn't ask about the "problems in the forest" having forgotten about it in their excitement to meet the Wise King and the fact Tri'ade could call upon him. When Hamsuke emerged from the woods the Swords of Darkness had a look of shock.

"This is the Wise King of the Forest?!"

"Master! I have arrived."

Tri'ade patted Hamsuke's head. "Good work. I know she isn't as fearsome looking as her reputation may suggest but this is the Wise King of the Forest."

"So it is true?! You dominated the Wise King with your strength?!"

"Amazing! What a giant magical beast!"

"I feel great strength and wisdom from him!"

"You accomplished so many great feats! I can see why Narberal sticks so close to you."

"Huh."

Tri'ade was underwhelmed at the humans over-awed expressions to the giant hamster. Sure it had a snake tail but otherwise, it was a giant fluffy creature, not some wise king.

He sighed and speculated that perhaps humans in this world had a natural tendency to idolize or perhaps fear anything stronger than themselves. A natural evolutionary trait perhaps to preserve the species? With so many other stronger races around it could make sense. With everything he's seen of New World humans so far, Tri'ade had slowly come to differentiate them from what he knew of humans on Earth.

"Well, I left the Wise King in the Forest because I didn't think human society would accept her. I think though, the guild might see my worth if I take her back to E-Rantel to get her registered."

"But if you take her from this area won't monsters start attacking En...Carne Village because it is not there to scare them off?"

Tri'ade looked over to Hamsuke and motioned his head to Nfirea. Getting the message, the "Wise King" said, "By village you mean… ah, well, the balance of power in the forest is now in chaos. Even if this one was there, this one would not be able to guarantee their safety by any means."

"No way…"

Trying to comfort Nfirea Tri'ade said. "I gave Enri two Horns of the Goblin General. From the looks of things, she's only used one. If she used the other there would be around forty goblin soldiers protecting the place. I'm not worried."

"Yeah, those goblins look far stronger than any other I've faced."

"It's strange to think of goblins protecting a village rather than ransacking it but they are summoned creatures."

"Still..." Nfirea seemed to remain somewhat hesitant about leaving the safety of Enri, the woman he loves in Carne Village despite the goblins protecting her. Tri'ade could understand that, after all, Carne village did suffer a devastating attack and was now possibly open to monster attack.

It seemed as though the shy young man mustered his resolve to say something. "Tri'ade," Nfirea said with a solemn expression on his face.

"Yes?"

"Please let me become your apprentice!"

"What?"

"I want to protect Enri and the Village! Please teach me even a sliver of your strength! I have confidence in my skills as a healer and I can carry your things! So, please!" Nfirea spoke with passion and reached out to Tri'ade. The Swords of Darkness looked to Tri'ade for his response to the boy's earnest feelings.

"So basically you want to become a powerful enough magic caster?"

"Yes!"

"Have you confessed to Enri yet?"

"W-what?! W-well I... No… No, I have not."

"The road to power is long and fraught with danger. It is not a thing to acquire quickly or easily. You might die in the attempt and by the time you have it, you may find Enri has moved on. I can't in good faith take you on as an apprentice."

"But.."

"She's the reason you're asking for this, is it not? If you are going to dedicate yourself to her, do it properly."

Nfirea blushed scarlet and fidgeted. He no longer could look Tri'ade or the others in the eye. "I-I'm not good enough for her. W-what if she rejects me?"

Tri'ade sighed. This shy, stammering boy reminded him so much of himself when he was younger. Withdrawn, and always so critical of himself. He walked over and grabbed him by the shoulders as he spoke to him.

"How do you expect to become powerful if you are afraid to fail? Besides which, your wrong. You two are perfectly suited for each other. You really need to stop being so hard on yourself."

The Swords of Darkness jumped in on this. They seemed eager to encourage the boy to pursue his love and came closer to their client to cheer him on.

"Yeah, he's right! You always gotta keep trying at love! Your feelings will reach out to her if you try hard enough! "Lukrut said with a wink to Narberal afterward. She glared at him with daggers in her eyes in return.

"Be persistent! It's all over if you give up!" Dyne said apparently agreeing with Lukrut.

"You can do it!

"Everyone...You're right! I'll tell Enri how I feel right now!"

Nifirea tried to leave but Tri'ade held onto the collar of his shirt stopping him in his tracks.

"We've been waiting here for so long. We're going herb picking in the forest now. You can confess to her afterward, alright?"

Almost being dragged behind him, Nfirea followed Tri'ade. "Ah! Alright! Everyone, let's go!"

Thinking better of it now, Tri'ade let go of his collar and the group then proceeded to head deeper into the forest. Nfirea described the medical herbs he wanted to collect and Hamsuke surprised everyone by pointing out the best place to pick them. Though he didn't know what they were called or used for. The beast seemed to have learned at least something living in this one stretch of forest for centuries.

It all went fairly well and the cart in the clearing was practically overburdened with packaged herbs when they were all done. When they got back to Carne village Nfirea went to speak to Enri again and confessed his love for her. In private of course. He didn't need the pressures of an audience on top of all his own insecurities and doubts.

Enri accepted his feelings, of course. But when they were traveling their way back to E-Rantel, Lukrut asked Nifrea about the wedding date. Nfirea had no answer. Apparently, a confession was all the boy could manage to say to his beloved.

Tri'ade shrugged his shoulders at this and thought, Well, it's a good first step for him. Good for him. This first adventure was more fun than I thought. Better than grinding pest control contracts. I wonder what else awaits me?

Afterword.

Well this is a bit later update than I had originally planned, but I had trouble writing a satisfying ending for myself. Mostly due to the whole consequences to the storyline that the premature battle with Hamsuke brought up. But I'm satisfied now and hey, it's the largest chapter yet. You got your "money's worth" so to speak by waiting.

Expect the next update to be a while considering all my other deadline promises. I won't make an estimate but I won't leave you hanging for too long. That said, it surprised me that we got to 150 followers since the last update. You guys really are growing in number. That really lights a fire in me to continue updating as much as I can guys, so keep favoriting and following! It'd be wonderful to have over two hundred of ya'll when the next update is out. Never be afraid to leave a review. I read all of them.

Anyways, in regards to the Windflower Scripture, I was always surprised we don't hear more from them in the Light Novels. I mean, Clementine did stage the whole undead incident essentially to escape them. They were probably in the city looking for her, just couldn't because finding one person lying low in a city is like finding a needle in a haystack. They are probably at the top of the list for grabbing Clementine's body if not Zuranon. Another undeveloped piece of the lore. Oh, I got plans for both of them. :) It's going to be so much fun writing the next chapter. I'm still deciding how some are going to die and how things will play out differently with Tri'ade leading the charge.