Chapter 12
Izumi was thinking of a way to free herself.
Meanwhile, Nera was desperately trying to find a way to make Welly let go of Izumi.
However, it seemed that neither of their efforts was working.
Welly only tightened her embrace around Izumi.
"I can smell the scent of a village girl!"
"It's definitely the scent of a village girl!"
"Ehhh...?"
Izumi could only wear a confused expression.
At that moment, the sound of the room's door could be heard.
Creak...
The three of them immediately turned their heads.
Welly instantly released Izumi.
Then she ran toward the door.
The person who had just entered was a short-haired girl carrying a small bag at her side.
Her name was Liliy.
"Liliy! Where have you been all day?!"
"Aaaa... let goooo..."
Liliy tried to free herself from Welly's hug.
Nera let out a long sigh.
"Huuuft..."
Finally.
Izumi also secretly felt relieved.
A few minutes later, the atmosphere gradually calmed down.
Nera introduced her friends to Izumi.
"Her name is Welly. She's nineteen years old and a support-type adventurer."
"Ooh..."
"And her name is Liliy. She's seventeen years old and an alchemist."
Izumi nodded.
"So she's one year younger than us."
"Eh..."
Liliy tilted her head.
"I thought she was already in her twenties."
Nera immediately elbowed her friend.
"Hey Liliy, that's rude."
"Umm, sorry."
Izumi simply shrugged.
She didn't think much of it.
Nera then proudly raised her adventurer card again.
Ta-da...
Ta-da...
Ta-daaaa...
"I finally did it!!"
Liliy looked at the card.
"Weeh... congratulations..."
Then Welly joined in.
"Hm. Yeah, congratulations."
Nera immediately froze.
"Hmmpp..."
"You two don't look happy at all!!"
Nera puffed out her cheeks in annoyance.
Seeing that, Izumi instinctively reached out her hand.
She gently patted Nera's head.
The room instantly fell silent.
"..."
"..."
"..."
Even Nera herself froze.
Her face turned red.
Fortunately, Welly started a new conversation before things became even more awkward.
"I heard someone reported that two knights died in Werenty Village."
Nera blinked.
"...?"
Liliy nodded.
"Yeah. I heard about it from a merchant I know."
Nera looked confused.
"Eeh? Why did the topic suddenly change?"
Izumi remained silent.
Welly continued.
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"Those two knights were killed with a single strike."
"According to the report, the killer was a village girl."
Izumi remained silent.
"The girl had black hair."
The three girls looked at Izumi.
"...??"
"And red eyes."
They looked at Izumi again.
"..."
Izumi became even more confused.
"Why do you keep staring at me?"
Welly continued.
"The girl also had many wounds. Especially on her arms, neck, and legs."
For the third time, they examined Izumi from head to toe.
Then...
"Huuuft..."
The three of them sighed in relief.
"Hahaha... no way."
"Yeah."
Welly nodded.
"Besides, Rumi is from Vesten Village."
Nera nodded in agreement.
Meanwhile, Izumi could only laugh awkwardly.
Because they had absolutely no idea about the truth.
"Why does it matter?"
"What would happen if that girl entered the city?"
Instantly.
The three girls stared at Izumi.
"!!?"
"Are you seriously asking that?"
Izumi blinked.
"Eh?"
Nera answered with a serious expression.
"A long time ago, there was someone who killed two knights."
"He came from Nuumal Village."
"Then he murdered everyone in that village."
Nera swallowed nervously.
"After that..."
"He headed toward this kingdom."
"And managed to kill four more knights."
"He also killed eighteen civilians."
"Even children."
The room became silent.
Yet Izumi's expression remained unchanged.
"Hm... I see."
"..."
"..."
"..."
The three girls looked at one another.
Does this woman actually have a heart...?
Why is her reaction so normal?!
Nera cleared her throat.
"But fortunately, the kingdom's strongest Holy Knight managed to defeat him before there were more victims."
"He defeated him easily."
Izumi looked curious.
"Wait."
"How did a villager suddenly gain such great power?"
Welly immediately answered.
"Of course, because he became a Player chosen by the System."
Izumi nodded.
"Oh, I see."
She had already begun to understand the concept of Players.
Nera continued.
"It turned out he had been hiding the fact that he was a Player."
"Then one day, he carried out a massacre."
"Was he really that strong?"
Nera immediately replied.
"Of course!"
"He managed to defeat two knights!"
"Two knights!!"
However, Izumi still didn't understand the world's standards of strength.
Because to her...
Knights still looked like ordinary humans.
Nothing like the terrifying monsters she had encountered during her journey.
"Even after being injured while fighting them..."
"He still managed to defeat four more knights."
Liliy added.
"That was already considered a kingdom-level threat."
"And he had to be eliminated."
Welly and Nera nodded in agreement.
"So he was killed?"
Nera shook her head.
"No."
"He died on his own."
"Because of the injuries he received."
"And in the end, the strongest Holy Knight only needed a single strike to defeat him."
Izumi tilted her head.
"Defeat?"
"Yeah."
"He was still alive at the time."
"But then he decided to end his own life."
"He stabbed his sword into his stomach until his intestines spilled out."
Liliy immediately covered her mouth.
Her face turned pale.
Yet after hearing such a horrifying story...
Izumi casually asked another question.
"Hmm..."
"Then what does that have to do with the village girl case in Werenty?"
"..."
"..."
"..."
The three girls were completely speechless.
Seriously?!
Is she actually human?!
"We're just afraid."
Izumi blinked.
"Afraid?"
Welly answered.
"Afraid that another massacre like that might happen again."
"Oh, I see."
This time, Liliy couldn't hold back anymore.
"Why do you talk like that?"
"LILIY!!"
Nera shouted in panic.
"What?"
"I'm just being honest."
Izumi looked confused.
"Hah?"
"Is the way I talk really that strange?"
Nera stared at the ceiling.
She seriously doesn't realize it!?
"N-No, it's not exactly that."
"It's just..."
"It's just?"
Liliy answered.
"The way you speak sounds like an old man."
Izumi fell silent.
Nera and Welly immediately panicked.
They were afraid Izumi might get angry.
However, a few seconds later...
Izumi suddenly laughed.
"Hahaha..."
"I see."
She then made up a story.
"Maybe it's because of my father."
"My father always spoke like this."
Nera and Welly could only remain silent.
They didn't know whether to believe her or not.
Fortunately, Nera quickly changed the subject.
"Oh right!"
"I already asked Berin to tell Uncle Zix to prepare a party for us."
Welly immediately looked at her.
"Nera..."
"You're trying to waste money again, aren't you?"
Liliy nodded.
"Isn't she always like that?"
"I only asked for a small party!"
"A smaaaall party!!"
"Today is a special day for me."
"Starting now, I'm going to hunt monsters!"
"And earn lots of money!!"
Nera's face shone with excitement.
Welly smiled.
"Yeah. That's good."
"You can accompany me later."
"Yesss!"
The four of them then headed downstairs.
But the moment they arrived...
Nera froze.
"..."
The entire room was filled with decorations.
Cake.
Candles.
Cookies.
Milk.
Food.
And various other dishes.
"Everything is ready, young ladies."
said Uncle Zix proudly.
Welly looked at Nera.
"Nera."
"This is what you call a small party?"
An intense killing intent instantly leaked from Nera's body.
"Nera..."
"Your killing intent is showing," Welly said.
"Uncle Zix..."
Nera smiled.
However, that smile looked terrifying.
"Didn't I already tell Berin?"
"A small party."
"S."
"M."
"A."
"L."
"L."
"Party."
"Are you trying to put me into debt on purpose?"
Uncle Zix immediately panicked.
"Eh wait! Waiiiit!"
"This entire thing is my treat!"
"So don't worry about it!"
Nera's expression instantly changed by one hundred and eighty degrees.
"WAAAHHH SERIOUSLY?!"
"Then thank you, Uncle!!"
She immediately hugged Uncle Zix.
Izumi looked around the entire room.
The decorations.
The food.
The candles.
The cake.
The drinks.
And the smiling people.
"So this is what it feels like to attend a party..."
she said softly.
Nera, Welly, and Liliy looked at one another.
They felt sorry for Izumi once again.
Because they assumed that the girl had never attended a party in her entire life.
"Rumi."
Nera poured milk into a glass.
Then handed it to Izumi.
After that, she took Izumi's hand.
"Tonight we're going to have fun."
As she raised her glass of milk.
For the first time that day.
Izumi smiled.
Not a fake smile.
Not a formal smile.
But a genuine smile.
A smile because she was truly happy.
Meanwhile...
Across various corners of the world.
The Demon race felt something.
The Flugel race.
The High Elves.
The Titans.
The Vampires.
And many other major races.
All of them felt the same thing.
An enormous energy.
Had entered this planet.
But they did not know what it was.
Unlike the Angel race.
And the Dragonoid race.
The Angels had already begun preparing for the worst possible scenario.
A war between races.
The same war that had shaken the world thousands of years ago.
Meanwhile, the Dragonoids chose to remain silent.
They merely observed.
Not particularly concerned.
At the summit of a mountain that pierced through the clouds.
A Dragonoid sat alone.
Beneath him lay the corpse of a gigantic monster.
Not an ordinary monster.
But a regional Boss Monster.
A Four-Armed Yeti.
His name was Loric.
The strongest Player known to the world.
7 Stars.
Level 88.
Loric gazed toward the sky.
"A human, huh..."
"Humans truly are intelligent creatures."
"They were even capable of building civilizations using only their physical abilities."
"In a world filled with magic and power..."
"That was the furthest they could reach."
He recalled human history.
The strongest human who had ever existed.
Joshep.
The only human who had successfully reached 2 Stars, Level 56.
Yet in the end...
He still died of old age.
"The difference is enormous."
Loric compared Joshep to himself.
"Far too enormous."
Then his eyes narrowed.
His gaze shifted toward the distant sky.
"But now..."
"A power of such incredible magnitude has arrived on this planet."
"And that power has taken the form of a human."
"This is... truly... interesting."