Chapter 78: Debt 78 - Welcome, Your Majesty
Finally the group had reunited.
And somehow, everything had turned out well.
Whether it was because of luck, or the fact that his companions truly cared for him deeply.
Although the interaction between Helen and Beatrice might have seemed strange for a moment, he believed that even so.
That outcome would serve them well in getting to know each other as members of the same party.
And while Ryan continued to look at that scroll.
Beatrice approached him.
"Isn’t there one for me?"
"Why would you want to be on a wanted poster?" Ryan asked, frowning.
To which Karol approached, interjecting.
"How should I put it...? Let’s see... it’s perfectly normal for a demon to be considered an enemy, regardless of where you find them. But what isn’t common at all is for a human being to help a demon, let alone in front of holy knights."
She took Ryan’s arm, and he began to feel his mana being drained.
Ryan sighed.
"This mana vampire never changes."
"Tee-hee," Karol giggled and continued.
"Because of that, Ryan is wanted—considered a traitor to humanity, a demon ally, and a whole lot of other things."
She moved closer, without stopping her draining of his mana.
She looked him straight in the eyes.
"In fact, we were sent to find you, but even though we accepted, none of us had any intention of obeying. You understand, right? We’re with you in this."
All of them nodded.
She smiled and kissed Ryan’s lips.
He did nothing, only reciprocating.
’I understand the situation well. In fact, at the moment I saved Beatrice, I already knew what could happen. And I don’t regret it.’
Ryan walked to the entrance of the dungeon and stopped in front of the rift.
"Stat."
[ CHARACTER STATUS ]
› Name: [Ryan]
› Level: 110 — Rank: S
› Class: Priest
› Titles: Wolf Hunter
› Strength: 8,670 | Magic: 3,233 | Agility: 8,990 | Psyche: 10,000 | Stamina: 8,520 | Luck: 100 |
› Available Points: [0]
› EXP: 0,000 / 1,350,000
’Becoming S-rank and abusing the debt system might have been hard on Beatrice, but she didn’t complain about anything. Looking at this, I know it was worth it.’
Ryan wasn’t sure just how powerful his enemies would be from now on.
But one thing was a fact: his party had significantly increased their power.
Ryan turned around, observing each of the girls in detail.
"You know, I’m counting on you from now on."
"But it’s always been that way, dummy," Helen uttered while grabbing Ryan’s other arm.
"Now that we’re together, we should leave."
"Eh? Where to?" Mirian asked curiously.
"Well... it’s a long story, but we’ll talk about it in the elven village."
Helen looked at him with curiosity.
"I thought you were hiding in the room on the 100th floor of the dungeon."
"That was my intention at first, but well... I’ll tell you everything once we’re there."
Then Ryan walked toward the wyvern and mounted it.
He had the wyvern walk until it was in front of the portal.
Then he looked at Karol.
"Can you take care of it? With your flight magic, I mean."
Karol ran toward the wyvern and mounted it.
She hugged Ryan tightly, pressing her chest against his back.
"Hey, I told you that—"
"Yeah, yeah, I know. But I’m going with you."
Karol used her magic, and each of the girls rose into the air.
Without letting go of Ryan.
Then, everyone left the dungeon.
Beatrice began to comment that it was her first time flying by means of magic.
To which Mirian smiled and told her it was already very common for them.
So, Ryan led the way, flying on the wyvern, and they quickly headed for the village.
"Ryan, are those demons?"
"Yes..."
Two days had passed in the dungeon.
It was no surprise that demons had been sent to investigate.
"Mirian!" he shouted from atop the wyvern.
When their eyes met, he added.
"Can you hit them from this distance?"
"Of course!"
Mirian prepared her bow.
"Violent Shot!"
About 15 demons were in sight.
And a rain of arrows fell upon them.
After the cloud of dust cleared.
Ryan landed with the wyvern.
As did the girls.
"But why are there demons here?" Mirian asked, bewildered.
Helen observed the entire area in detail.
"What on earth happened..."
Ryan climbed down from the wyvern and began walking, leading it to the entrance of the portal to the village.
"A few days ago when I arrived, everything was chaos. There were demons and holy knights; Beatrice and I took care of them, but many elves died, including the King."
"What? Is the princess okay?" Mirian asked.
"Yes, but I imagine she must be very sad about her father’s death."
Ryan searched his pocket for the whistle, and just as he had been instructed, he blew it.
The portal then appeared before them.
Ryan turned around and looked at them.
"So, as you can imagine, the elves haven’t had it easy, and it’s possible we’ll be attacked again. In fact... these demons just now probably came to investigate the fact that their first group never returned, and it wouldn’t be strange to think that holy knights are also on their way."
Helen approached Ryan.
"I don’t understand any of it, but... based on what you’re saying, the problem will be solved if we just kill all the invaders that come, right?"
’To say that would be enough is just naive. We haven’t faced high-ranking demons yet, nor have we faced S-rank heroes or higher.’
Ryan turned back toward the portal.
"For the time being, let’s leave it at that. Later we’ll have to come up with a plan for what to do from here on."
"Yeah, yeah..."
’Still... this portal keeps the village hidden for now, but given its location... I mean, between demons, heroes, and holy knights, someone is bound to have a skill that reveals the portal, or maybe some relic.’
Ryan continued reflecting as he moved toward the portal to enter the village.
’Isn’t there some way to move this entrance to another location?’
Then he entered the village along with the wyvern, and his companions followed him.
Once they were inside, a group of soldiers and other elves were waiting for him in a line.
And when they saw Ryan and his group, they bowed.
"Welcome back, Your Majesty!"
Helen took a step forward.
"Eh? What the hell happened here while we were gone?"
’Yeah... what the hell happened here while I was away!’