Chapter 38
“Oh, thank you. It doesn’t hurt at all anymore.”
It hadn’t been a serious burn to begin with—just a stinging pain that would have gone away after rinsing with cold water and applying some aloe cream.
But now, there wasn’t even the faintest trace of a burn left.
“I understand that this was your first battle against multiple opponents, but you handled yourself quite skillfully. You bound the legs of the enemies attacking at close range and then dealt with the long-range attackers one by one.”
Once my wound treatment was done, Adrian looked at me with his calm, sky-blue eyes and spoke evenly.
“A beginner wouldn’t normally be able to execute such a strategy in their first battle. You really are impressive.”
At Adrian’s praise, I felt my face heat up while checking the now-healed area.
Right. If this really had been my first fight, that would have been pretty amazing.
But…
‘No way I can tell him I actually failed several times and kept retrying the same battle.’
The first time, I couldn’t dodge the spearman’s downward thrust and my HP dropped to zero—failure.
The next time, I managed to dodge that attack, only to get hit by the archer’s arrows and the wizard’s fire spells in quick succession—another failure.
So on the third attempt, I finally cleared the battle, deciding it was best to immobilize the spearman first.
“S-so, um… how did everyone’s information gathering go?”
Recalling that embarrassing part of my gameplay history, I hastily changed the subject—as if throwing a stone to break the calm surface of a lake.
All my companions’ expressions darkened at once. Looked like everyone had been through their own share of trouble.
“I wasn’t even allowed into the library,” Adrian said evenly. “They told me outsiders aren’t allowed. I showed proof that I’m part of the Haggion Hero Corps, and they replied, ‘Does your goddess feed you or something?’”
Pretty shocking words, but honestly, not the worst I’d heard—compared to being called a “pig” or a “parasite,” this was mild.
“I got treated about the same,” Darren said, face red with anger. “Couldn’t even enter the forest, and when I tried talking to them, they threw salt at me, telling me to get lost.”
Ah, throwing salt to drive away unwelcome guests—somehow it made me nostalgic for home.
“…I’m surprised you didn’t start a fight. I thought you’d throw a punch right away.”
When I said that, Darren clenched his large, trembling fists and replied through gritted teeth.
“My grandma told me never to use violence against the weak. That guy looked like an untrained commoner. And besides… if I start fighting with the locals, it’ll just make things worse. So I held it in.”
“Wow, Darren’s actually being reasonable for once…”
“I can hear you, you know?”
Leo muttered quietly, but loud enough for everyone at the table to hear, making Darren huff in irritation.
Even in the game, Leo had this knack for landing quiet little jabs like that despite his timid personality.
Anyway, after all that, the conclusion was clear: none of us had managed to learn anything useful.
“…They say no one who enters the darkness ever comes back alive. I guess charging in blindly would be dangerous.”
Leo spoke in a somber tone.
“Yes. Even locals familiar with the area haven’t returned alive. For outsiders like us to enter without any information would be suicide,” Adrian agreed with a nod.
Then, for once, Lena—who rarely spoke up—joined the conversation.
“What about visiting city hall? Maybe we can ask the mayor for help. I don’t like throwing around my family name, but the Clarus family has plenty of connections in politics. They won’t just ignore Leo and me.”
“Oooh, as expected of a noble lady! Impressive…”
Darren teased, poking Lena in the side. She gave him a glare that basically read “contempt” in one eye and “disdain” in the other.
“Hmm, I think Lena’s idea sounds good,” Leo added carefully.
“…All right. Let’s give it a try.”
Adrian didn’t look very convinced—understandably so, given he’d been kicked out of the city library—but everyone agreed, and city hall became our next destination.
Of course, I already knew this would turn out to be another dead end.
“Welcome, my lady, my lord! So these are the two new stars of House Clarus—beautiful and gifted, just as the rumors say!”
As expected, the moment the mayor heard Lena and Leo’s names, he ushered us into the VIP room and began showering the twins with compliments in his slickest voice.
‘…Yeah, neither of them likes this kind of thing.’
Leo, being the more sociable one, managed a stiff smile, but Lena’s expression visibly soured by the second.
“We’re not here on behalf of House Clarus. We’ve come as members of the Haggion Hero Corps to resolve the darkness that has fallen over Silvagrove Forest,” Lena said, polite but businesslike.
“Yes, and for that, we need information about the forest’s geography,” Adrian continued. “To dispel the darkness, we must defeat the creature at its center—but we can’t enter without guidance.”
At those words, the mayor’s brow furrowed slightly, a troubled expression forming on his face.
“Oh dear… I’m terribly sorry. Though I am technically the mayor of Silvagrove, my position is mostly ceremonial. I’m afraid I can’t provide that information on my own authority.”
And that was why coming to city hall turned out to be a waste of time.
The “mayor” of Silvagrove was merely a figurehead.
The true power rested with the Forestry Guild, which oversaw the entire forest’s industry—loggers, gatherers of mushrooms and herbs, collectors of honey from hives in tree hollows, and all the traders handling those goods.
The guildmaster was, for all intents and purposes, the ruler of Silvagrove.
“So I suggest you try visiting the Forestry Guild. They’re rather closed off, so I can’t promise they’ll share anything, but…”
The mayor trailed off ominously.
And, sure enough, that omen became reality.
We never even met the guildmaster—got kicked out at the entrance by the gatekeepers.
“What, you want our forest info? Are you insane? That’s like asking us to hand over our livelihoods! No way, get lost.”
“Hey, we’re not trying to take over your jobs, old man! The forest’s covered in darkness—no one can work anyway! We’re trying to help here, to get rid of it!”
Darren pounded his chest in frustration, but it did no good.
“Help? We don’t need help from outsiders. How are we supposed to trust you? You’re with those filthy temple dogs—the Haggion lot!”
“…Then perhaps you could at least inform your superiors that we came offering assistance,” Adrian said calmly, meaning, Let us talk to someone above you.
But the reply was cold.
“Tch. You think I don’t know our guildmaster? Forget it. He’d never see you. Don’t waste our time—just leave.”
The guild worker pushed Leo and Adrian back—probably too scared to touch the much larger Darren.
“…Well, at least they didn’t throw salt this time,” Darren muttered, scratching his rough hair.
“I really don’t get it. Why would they reject help like this?” Lena grumbled, clearly irritated.
Leo, watching his twin sister, spoke up carefully.
“I think something’s off. It’s not just that we’re outsiders—don’t you feel like everyone here resents the temple and the Hero Corps? Maybe something happened that we don’t know about. We should check with the temple.”
“A good point, Leo,” Adrian said. “Let’s visit the temple.”
Everyone agreed—and thus, our next destination became the temple.
As for me…
‘I’m getting tired of this…’
Even though I already knew we wouldn’t get any useful info, we kept running around anyway.
We’d already been to so many places—talked to townsfolk, city hall, the guild—and now the temple.
For someone who already knew the future, it was all starting to feel meaningless.
Still, I told myself to endure it. This part would be over soon anyway.
‘And hey, the quest rewards for each stop aren’t bad either.’
Surprisingly, my experience points were climbing fast. At this rate, I might hit level 20 before entering the dungeon.
Then I could head back to Midisle and learn a new skill from Craig.
Dragging my weary legs, I renewed my determination and strode forward.
My mini-map was already displayed as a hologram—I knew exactly where to go since I’d been here in the game.
Thanks to that, we reached the temple quickly without getting lost.
It stood out easily—even in this forest town of mostly wooden buildings, the temple’s grand stone structure was unmistakable.
Except…
“Hmm. It looks… kind of neglected,” Leo murmured, eyeing the overgrown courtyard.
Cracked and chipped statues, rusted monuments, ivy creeping all over the walls—it was hard to tell when anyone last tended the place.
With proper upkeep, it could have looked majestic; now it just resembled a ruin.
“…Are we sure this temple’s still in use? Looks abandoned to me,” Darren said as he pushed open the creaking metal door.
Yeah, even worse than in the game, I thought, chuckling softly.
I already knew what to expect.
While the rest of the party stood stunned by the sight before them—
“Who are you?”
A middle-aged man in priestly robes stepped out from within the temple.
