“I haven’t seen you around. Is this your first time? Ah, I’m Egg, from the clan Jetblack.”
The man introduces himself as Egg, and scowls at our lack of reaction.
“Is this your first time here?”
He asks again.
“…We worked here a bit a long time ago.”
Guilford says while looking to the side, and Rick nods.
“How long? Ah, you don’t have to answer if you don’t want.”
“…About seven years ago.”
“I see. Then it makes sense that you don’t know. Our clan is about five years old. Hn? Does that mean you left the empire?”
“Yes, we’ve been going around a few places, mainly in Elesya.”
“I see I see. And you came back here to challenge it after getting stronger?”
Apparently Egg is assuming they left halfway through because they weren’t strong enough.
“…Why do you think we’ve been away?”
“Jetblack has an exclusive building in various towns in the empire, especially the three with dungeons. If you don’t know that, you must not have been here.”
Says Egg, puffing his chest out with pride.
I see, so that’s why he knew they haven’t been around. I didn’t think about it until Guilford asked.
“So, did you come over just to brag?”
“No, I heard some new people were in the dungeon, so I was curious about what you were like.”
He says, and Guilford looks at him with suspicion.
“Don’t be so cautious. I know, I’ll answer one question if you want to know a bit about the empire.”
He says while raising his arms.
I don’t get why he’s so concerned with us.
I peek at Guilford, and the corners of his mouth move a little.
“I see. Why is the town more lively compared to before? I remember this place being less popular than the other two dungeons. I even heard in the guild that parties have been hunting on the tenth floor, even though no one had gotten past the ninth floor in decades.”
“Are you sure you want that to be the one?”
“Yes.”
“…Okay. I don’t think this place is that different. If I had to point something, it would be that adventurers working in the capital made their way here.”
“In the capital?”
“Yes, have you heard that after teams were sent to the dark forest to take out the demon king, there was a big turmoil in the capital?”
“Yes, I heard in Elesya that the damage done to the capital was devastating.”
I heard about it too.
“What caused it? If adventurers aren’t going back, the cause must still be there, right?”
“Well… Hey wait a minute, I said one question. If you want to hear more, you have to pay for it.”
He rushes to shut himself up, and his mouth twists in a disagreeable way.
I think he might have been baiting us with something interesting so he could use it to negotiate.
“…Sora, do you need this information?”
“I’m not planning to go to the capital, so not really for now.”
“You heard him.”
Guilford is one step ahead. He just wanted to know why there were so many people here, he doesn’t need to know about the capital.
And we’re not planning to go to the dungeon in the capital this time.
The idea is if we finish this dungeon quickly, we’ll go to another… I think it’s in Avid?
Egg looks disappointed for a moment.
“I see. Well, talk to me if you want to know about Avid. Or if you have other reasons.”
Egg looks around, lets out a kind of big sigh, and goes back to where he was.
“What was that all about?”
“Probably to keep others in check? When we entered the dungeon and came to this waiting area, I felt a lot of eyes on us. I mean, if we really want information about the capital, we can just ask in the guild.”
“So is the idea that there will be clans and parties who want to invite us?”
“Yes. And… Maybe they really will invite us. Rurika stands out, and Chris draws more attention. And Mia… Would probably get the same attention if she had her staff.”
Mia used to carry a staff, but she has a spear now.
She’s also wearing clothes that are easier for her to move, and traded her long skirt for something with a slit.
Guilford is saying this because mages are seen as valuable fighters in the empire, because there aren’t a lot of them.
But what about holy magic users, I ask.
“I think there are quite a few. I remember there being a lot of churches.”
He says. He wasn’t in the empire for long, but that’s what he remembers from being in the capital.
But it looks like there’s a lot he doesn’t know, so maybe Rurika and Chris know more.
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Thanks for the treat.