Re-Tale of a Hero - Chapter 9. Adventurer

With the meeting put on temporary hold, Sora expressed his desire to go outside and take a look at the airships. As such, Kaito’s group of four left the conference room to head outside.

When they were outside the room, Sora asked a rather reasonable question.

“You know, it feels like we didn’t have to be there. I mean, Sakura-chan alone would have sufficed, right?”

No matter how he looked at it, Sakura had been the only one to answer questions from the teachers.

“We didn’t have to be there, but it would’ve been cruel of us to leave Sakura there by herself.”

“He’s right, and I’m thankful for that. Thanks to everyone being there with me, I was able to remain calm.”

What she said was true. Even the teachers had been rattled by the recent events. The three of them acting as they usually did had given Sakura a sense of comfort, though she did feel as if they were too calm about it.

With the person in question agreeing to this, Sora had nothing more to say.

“That said, we have to find work someday, huh?”

Kaito gave a wry smile in response to what Sora said as he recalled what was discussed in the meeting.

“Of course. Even a Duchess would be sucked dry if she has to keep supporting 500 idlers. We’d have to become independent sooner or later.”

“I don’t want to work. Raise me, Kaito.”

Kaito ignored Tina’s interruption. In her case, her so-called hobbies were directly in line with the Dukedom’s interest. Hence, it would be fine to leave her alone.

“I wonder what kind of work we can find here.”

“If push comes to shove, they said the Duke’s family will introduce us to jobs…”

Though she said this, Sakura had no idea what kind of jobs there were in Enefia.

As Sakura and Sora discussed what they should do, Kaito revealed a frown. He was deep in thoughts and remained silent throughout the discussion.

Seeing this, Tina whispered to Kaito.

“The Madam that Lucius and the others mentioned should be Kazuha. What are you planning on doing?”

Hearing this question, Kaito came to and let out a deep sigh.

“I wonder as well…It’s true that we have to meet once, but…”

“The promise. Is that what’s on your mind?”

Kaito fell silent again. A nasty grin appeared on Tina’s face, but she soon returned to being serious.

“I guess not. Anyway, Kuzuha and Aura will take care of your daily needs, but what are you going to have the others do?”

“That’s the thing…Even if I step up as the Duke, it will take some time before I can find a firm footing, not to mention being reinstated as the Duke won’t be that easy. With my mana, it won’t be possible to return everyone either.”

“You’re right. Previously, it took you a whole month drawing magic circles and whatnot. Making the necessary preparations took even longer. What happened today is clearly unusual.”

“I’m sorry for the students, but I think they would have to become adventurers to pay for their living expenses and find a way home.”

“I guess that’s what it all boils down to. Not like we can have them work at brothels or anything, so…”

“Farmers…the empire should have enough of them. If going home wasn’t the end goal, it would suffice to be self-sufficient, but that isn’t the case here.”

“Indeed, many would choose to find a way back to Earth. Ignorance is bliss, as they say.”

Tina laughed as if to ridicule the students who were unaware of the dangers that awaited adventurers in Enefia.

Kaito agreed with a bitter smile.

“…Even if we explain it to them, they probably won’t understand. Adventurers can go to faraway places and see various things…or at least that’s what I thought before being hit by reality. However, it’s true that there are benefits to being adventurers. I don’t know if it still holds true today, but we used to be able to use our adventurer registration cards as identification, meaning we wouldn’t have to reveal to others that we’re from another world. That alone will reduce the danger level posed to students greatly.”

Kaito’s expression was cold as he said this, and he seemed to be contemplating something seriously.

“The next question is how we should propose this idea to the students.”

“The best option would be to have Kuzuha explain to them.”

“That should work.”

Their serious discussion was coming to an end, so Tina changed to another topic.

“What were you thinking so hard about previously?”

“Hmm? Oh, nothing too serious.”

Kaito frowned as he said this, but Tina caught the smirk on his face and smiled wryly.

It was clear to her that he was up to no good.

“I don’t know what you’re planning on doing, but don’t go overboard. You don’t know how to hold back after all.”

“Says you.”

They were both oblivious to the fact that they were terrible at keeping themselves in check, but they couldn’t be bothered to care either.

Regardless, their group of four soon arrived near the entrance of the school. Outside, Lucius was ordering his troops around, preparing to set up a camp.

Seeing how busy they were, the four decided to observe the airships from the entrance. They watched as the airships went back and forth transporting supplies, and they took care not to get in the way of the troops. As things started to settle down, Al approached them.

“Did you guys come to watch the airships?”

“Sora begged us to come with him.”

“Don’t you think it’s amazing that something like that can fly? Not to mention they’re not like the ones on Earth!”

The shape of Enefia’s airships resembled that of Earth’s, with a gas bag on top. Their propulsion mechanism was similar to a jet engine’s, with a rainbow-colored flare jetting out of some cylindrical tubes.

These tubes were connected to a ring which went around the gas bags, and as the tubes rotated up and down, it helped change the airships’ elevation.

There were cargo storage units attached to the bottom as well, but the materials that made up the units and the gas bags ranged from woods to unknown metals.

“From what I recall, doesn’t Earth have something similar, with wings attached to the side like a bird?”

“Is that also information that the hero left behind?”

“Yeah. The hero at the time dabbled in various fields, and it’s said that his contribution brought Enefia’s technology 200 years forward. The demon lord from two generations back, who was also one of the hero’s companions, was involved in the development, but…”

“What’s wrong?” Sora asked, sensing Al’s hesitation.

“Because she was involved in making the hero’s ideas a reality, the flying machine…oh, flying machines are those cylindrical objects emitting light.”

Saying this, he pointed to one of the airships’ cylindrical tubes.

“Those flying machines are also something the hero came up with, but… ever since the demon lord from two generations ago disappeared, nobody understood the design concepts and the theories behind them, so we had to start again from scratch. This resulted in a piece of junk that had a worse performance than that demon lord’s prototype. Attaching small flying machines to armors was a pipe dream at the time. Though we had the prototype airship to use as a reference, it took us 200 years before we could make them fly as they do now. Attaching small flying machines to armors was realized a mere fifty years ago, so you can consider it a cutting-edge technology.”

Al, who had mastered the usage of the flying-machine-attached magic armor, was indeed competent enough to be a member of the special forces.

“Oh, and when I say two generations ago, I’m speaking from the perspective of the current demon lord. The demon lord from two generations ago was the predecessor of the demon lord that caused the great war. Some countries do not recognize the previous demon lord as legitimate, so some consider the demon lord from two generations ago as the previous demon lord. The demon lord that caused the war has the worst reputation, so it can’t be helped.”

Tina, who was also listening to this, lowered her face with a pained expression. Kaito noticed this and gently brought her closer to him.

“No clue what that great war you’re talking about is, but what happened to the demon lord from two generations ago? To begin with, why would the predecessor partake in subjugating the demon lord?”

Sora noticed the weird point of the story. Having expected this question, Al laughed before answering it.

“Apparently, the previous demon lord sealed his predecessor and usurped the throne. He couldn’t defeat her in direct combat, so he had to trick her before sealing her. She was unsealed by the hero later on and ended up joining his cause. She’s said to have been a righteous person greatly admired by the masses. As a matter of fact, the current demon lord used to be her subordinate, and even now, greatly admires her.”

In reality, Tina went on a rampage for some reason when she was unsealed, leading to a fight against Kaito and his team. This was the only fight aside from large-scale battles where Kaito had to team up against a single individual. Eventually, Kaito managed to inflict her with a curse of slavery that forced Tina to obey him unconditionally.

Said curse was cast by Kaito, and due to the stupendous amount of force behind it, it wasn’t an easy task for Tina to break it. By the time she could, she had already fallen in love with him, so she left the curse alone.

As an aside, Kaito was able to single-handedly beat the demon lord that had tricked Tina and usurped the throne, proving Tina to be the stronger foe.

“I see, but why did the demon lord of two generations ago suddenly disappear?”

While listening to Al’s explanation, Sora thought of a follow-up question. If the demon lord had been that popular, after defeating the perpetrator that usurped her, she should have been able to be reinstated.

“No one knows for sure. Some say that she fell in love with the hero and went to Japan with him. Others say she felt responsible for the war and retired entirely.”

“Oh.”

Though he had been the one to ask, Sora no longer seemed as interested. Having grasped Sora’s personality, Al didn’t take it to heart.

Tina, the demon lord in question, was able to pull herself back together, and after listening to Al’s story, she finally understood why the performance of the flying machine and the magic armor were so terrible. She was, in a sense, amazed to hear what happened.

“Pathetic. How could they not understand magic theory of this level? It’s no wonder the aircraft’s performance is subpar. To begin with, which idiot came up with the idea of using wind attribute spells to gather mana? It would obviously be much quicker using dark attribute spells.”

Kaito, who heard this, objected to this.

“Not everyone is a genius like you who can reach the answer without going through any of the processes. Don’t expect so much from ordinary people like us.”

Tina, on the other hand, laughed in ridicule when she heard Kaito describe himself as ordinary.

“Ordinary? You? Who in their right mind would call you ordinary after seeing you battle and come up with crazy inventions? You’re the genius here. Even the flying machines attached to the airships came from your idea.”

“I just put two and two together based on what we had and the things I knew from the past. It was you who led the development and made it a reality.”

“Whatever you say.”

Though the two of them bickered, it was something that happened every so often, so they didn’t let it bother them.

Now that his curiosity about the airship had been sated, Sora asked Al about the topic they had been discussing before arriving at the school gate.

“Hey, how can we make money in this world?”

“Hmm…being a farmer would be the safest, but in that case, you probably won’t be able to return to Earth unless you’re extremely lucky.”

Though the other worlders were willing to provide as much assistance as necessary, the teachers and students of Tenou High had been told during the previous meeting that they would have to find a way back home on their own. They were reminded repeatedly that this was something set in stone.

Sakura asked for other options.

“That wouldn’t do. After all, we’d like to return home…”

“In that case, though I don’t recommend it, you can become an adventurer.”

Al suggested this after thinking long and hard with a finger on his chin.

“How about assigning some people to research and investigate magic that can return us home?”

“Finding a solution that way would be near impossible. Ruins of ancient magic civilizations may hold clues that can help you, but it’s just a possibility, and such ruins are typically very dangerous. Asking for adventurers to guard you will require an extraordinary amount of money, so it’ll be cheaper if you become an adventurer yourself, not to mention it’s better to rely on yourself for your safety.”

“So what you’re saying is that we have the highest chance of returning home by becoming adventurers?”

“I can’t give you any promises. It’s the option with the highest chance, but it’s also just as dangerous of an option. You’ll have to fight monsters, and you might die or suffer a fate worse than death.”

“That…doesn’t sound appealing at all…”

Sakura trembled at the thought of what might happen to her. On the contrary, Sora seemed keen on becoming an adventurer and was eager to learn more about it.

“Adventurer, huh? Can anyone become one?”

“Yeah, though I made it sound scary just now, there are a lot of safe quests as well. There are many people who become adventurers to earn some pocket money. For example, you might be asked to carry luggage, organize warehouses, and clean rooms. Of course, quests like these that anyone can do will not earn you much money. On the other hand, once you become a first-class adventurer, you’ll be strong enough to defeat a Lesser Sky Dragon like the one you saw earlier in an instant, and quests like those can bring in a lot of money. By then, you won’t have to worry about not bringing food to the table.”

That was Al’s brief explanation of what being an adventurer entailed.

“Hmm, then does that mean fighting monsters isn’t a must?”

“Yeah, but in you guys’ case, learning how to fight would probably be necessary.”

“As I thought…All the more reason to learn magic, am I right?”

Sora had already made up his mind about becoming an adventurer, and he was determined to learn magic as well.

However, Al warned Sora with a grin on his face.

“If things go well, adventurers would have the chance to meet with aristocrats and members of the royal family, so make sure you aren’t rude when that happens.”

“Why would royals and aristocrats want to meet with adventurers? Aren’t adventurers pretty much just a fancy way of saying handymen?”

Sora cocked his head in confusion. He couldn’t understand why people of high status would deign to meet with adventurers that did odd jobs for a living.

“Adventurers sometimes cooperate with the military to protect their cities. If you have a good reputation, you might even receive requests directly from royals and aristocrats. They might become your patron as well, though that would you’d have to be polite and courteous to them.”

“Ugh, I’m not good with that sort of thing.”

Sora’s seemed less inclined than before after hearing this.

Sakura, who had also been listening, raised her eyebrows after looking at her watch.

“Let’s discuss the matter of whether we should become adventurers with the teachers. Break time’s almost over, so we should head back to the conference room.”

After saying that, she bowed to Al and turned back. Kaito and the others also said their goodbyes before following her.