Not much happened on the way to Bultori. Maybe a few antidemons popped up, but Silard’s holy knights and Hagane’s spearmen practically raced to defeat them, leaving literally nothing for the adventurers to do.
Moreover, the speed of our march was extraordinary. Both the holy knights and the spearmen were well trained, not to mention their stamina and usage of potions to continue marching for extended periods of time.
Meanwhile, we adventurers managed to follow the two armies without delay.
Izario flew through the air by himself, and the other adventurers could outspeed the two armies thanks to Fran’s March of the Valkyrie title.
Thanks to that, we reached Bultori in about half the expected time. It probably took less than four hours.
Many holy knights had their jaws dropped.
Apparently, both of the two armies had severely underestimated the speed of the adventurers. They thought the adventurers were unorganized and untrustworthy, far too weak to be considered useful.
It seems their reluctance to accept us was due to irritation at being slowed down by weaklings on the battlefield.
But after the actual mission started, they were actually the ones slowing the adventurers down. Naturally, they had no choice but to change their opinion.
Not that they really got friendly or anything. They pretty much moved from “Tch! You weaklings are slower than snails!” to “H-Hmph. Maybe you are capable of something. Just don’t get in our way.”
And so, our allied forces entered the town of Bultori and began unpacking supplies in the main plaza bordering the gate. We sent our scouts to search for antidemons, as well as steadily making other preparations.
Fran and the other commanders began a meeting with Bultori’s guildmaster.
「W-W-Wel-Welcome to our city of Bultori! W-Welcome!」
The guildmaster of Bultori bowed his head all the way down. It felt like he might break into a dogeza at any moment.
The Adventurers Guild in Bultori was very small in size, and pretty much treated as a branch of the Nocta guild. As a result, the guild master was still young and had little experience in dealing with such important figures.
The guild here does seem a bit too small given the town’s size. That’s probably because most of the adventurers drifted off to the neighboring city of Nocta.
Since there weren’t many adventurers, the guild didn’t need to be very large. At the same time, the guild’s size meant not many adventurers wanted to come, creating a negative spiral.
Our meeting began in the tiny conference room of the small guild, but the two great nations immediately took control of the conversation. The meeting was now nothing more than a ritual in which the two commanders presented their demands, followed by the guildmaster nodding in response.
In summary, each demanded they would be allowed to deal with any antidemons by themselves, so the adventurers should stay out of their way. That’s pretty much all they had to say.
Since they owned divine swords, they probably lacked any sense of cooperation with people from other countries or organizations. After all, even their own knights or soldiers would become a hindrance upon activation of the blade.
The two great nations had such a fierce rivalry that I thought they might argue over who gets to deploy first, but that never happened.
Apparently, they already had an agreement regarding that issue from long ago. They now swap which nation gets priority every deployment season.
This time, it was Silard with that priority. Without any real discussion, Silard decided that they would be the first to fight. Fran and Izario didn’t even get the chance to say anything.
When Fran tilted her head at this, the guildmaster quietly whispered some additional details to her. He must have wanted to avoid Fran saying something unnecessary and causing a dispute.
This guildmaster probably thought sending Fran here was a poor choice. He knew Fran’s capabilities, so this wasn’t meant in a condescending manner. It’s just that she was a child and the rumors said she was quick to anger. His biggest worry seemed to be that Fran might pick a fight with the two nations.
He kept nervously watching Fran’s every move and gesture.
As for Izario, he was drinking the entire time. If he’s told he doesn’t have to do any work, he’ll just not work. He’s still a celebrity though, so he managed to soothe the fears of the town’s citizens just by showing up.
He was the splitting image of your average drunkard, but he seemed to understand the subtleties of the situation.
In the end, they decided that Silard would be the first to deploy, followed by Hagane. If a third deployment was necessary, Izario would be the next to go out, and the other adventurers would merely stand guard at the town gates.
Fran wanted to fight too, but defying the two great nations would be dangerous even to us. I told her that we should just wait and see, and she reluctantly agreed, understanding my concerns.
After the meeting, Izario and Fran headed for the tavern. The guildmaster took charge of giving instructions to the adventurers, so we decided to leave everything to him.
I guess he wanted to take over the part that he actually could control, and was also a little nervous about leaving things to Fran. He promised to divide the adventurers into groups and assign them to guard the gate in rotation.
All Fran had to do was hear the rotation breakdown from him later, and simply take her shift at the gate accordingly.
Izario ordered some snacks to go with his drinks, while Fran ordered a large pile of food. Together, they sat down in the corner of the bar. No one bothered them, since both of them were cloaking their presences.
Fran and Izario continued eating in silence. It’s not that they didn’t get along. In fact, the silence didn’t feel awkward at all.
Maybe due to their bond as fellow high-ranking adventurers? Or maybe because the age/personality gap was so wide that they couldn’t clash with each other?
The two seemed surprisingly compatible. After the food started to dwindle, Izario finally opened his mouth.
「Little lady, seems you aren’t very well trusted.」
「Master said the right person should do the job. If the guildmaster wants to handle things, let him.」
「Kuhaha, that’s a good point. Completely right, even. Whoever wants the job should do it.」
「But if there’s a fight, I’ll fight.」
「So you’re that kinda girl, huh?」
「?」
「In that you like to fight.」
「Because if I don’t fight, I won’t get stronger.」
「Your eyes are so honest. I have to say, I feel a bit jealous seeing that.」
Izario muttered as he gulped down his drink. His tone was as aloof as ever, but I heard a tinge of truth in those words.
