Episode 37 – The Name of Strongest II
The seven gathered immediately at the restaurant Corvo had specified.
It was a well-known place in town, famous for its meunière made from white fish shipped all the way from the port city of Lururie, and for its white wine brewed from grapes harvested in the northern Shuria region. The other dishes were popular too, but for Inferno—an inland city—a restaurant centered on fish cuisine was rare. Naturally, the prices were high.
Since it was a favorite among adventurers, each table was separated like a private room.
The seven adventurers sat around a round table. Starting clockwise from Corvo were Nada, Iris, Ameisha, Reaon, Koroa, and finally Ouro.
Everyone wore the same gear as earlier, and their weapons and packs were carelessly piled in the corner of the room.
No one spoke. Each sized up the others with silent, measuring glances.
“Well then, shall we decide on the rules?”
As the waitstaff placed the white fish meunière before everyone and filled their glasses with white wine, Corvo spoke with a faint smile tugging at the corner of his mouth.
“Before that—can I ask something?”
“What is it, Nada?”
Corvo answered Nada’s question.
“I don’t remember agreeing to take part in this. Can I still refuse? I’m not interested in some stray out in Tohe, nor in the title of ‘strongest adventurer in the academy’ that you lot are talking about. If possible, I’d like to walk out of here right n—”
“You’re joining.”
Before he could finish, Iris cut him off.
“She’s right. Nada, you’re in—”
Reaon added, following her lead.
Ever since arriving, Reaon had only glanced briefly at Iris, and afterward kept his eyes fixed on Nada with a burning focus. No one could tell whether that look held fear, anger, or hatred. Nada was, after all, someone Reaon had a deep grudge against.
“Nada, you owe me, don’t you? Not just once. Twice, three times—more than that. Don’t you think it’s about time you paid me back?”
Iris’s words gave Nada a reason he couldn’t refuse.
From the moment he arrived here, he’d wanted nothing more than to escape this pointless competition he had no interest in—but Iris’s command was something even he couldn’t defy.
He clicked his tongue once, then downed the wine in his glass in one gulp.
His throat burned, but the fruity, light white wine—meant to pair with fish—went down surprisingly smoothly.
“Well then, I assume no one has any objections to finally deciding the rules? First, let’s confirm something. Whoever defeats the stray gets to make a request of everyone here. No objections to that, right?”
“That doesn’t only apply to Iris-senpai, does it? If I win, I’ll get to make a request of everyone here as well—correct?”
Ameisha said this with a seductive smile.
“That’s how I see it. Anyone disagree?”
No one raised an objection to Corvo’s question.
Nada had already lost all interest in the discussion. It was already decided—he was going to hunt the stray.
He felt despair settle in. As he began calculating the cost of the equipment he’d burn through, he tried to escape reality by focusing on the meunière. He cut a piece with his knife and fork and placed it in his mouth.
A crisp, satisfying texture on the outside—followed by tender, juicy flesh.
The sauce was lemon-based, light enough not to overpower the fish. The fish itself had a deep, rich flavor, enhanced further by the fragrant aroma of butter. Each bite released more savory richness across his tongue.
Delicious.
The discussion was awful, no doubt about that, but this restaurant’s white fish meunière was as excellent as ever, and Nada couldn't help thinking so as he ate.
“If no one objects, good. Now, first rule, as a basic premise: each participant must take on this adventure alone. Anyone have an issue with that?”
As Corvo spoke, Koroa quietly raised his hand.
“Corvo, that point is what I find most questionable. Why are you so insistent on making ‘hunting the stray alone’ a required condition? I don’t see anything strange about you joining the conflict between Iris and myself. We are the top of the academy. It is only natural for you to take part in a clash between us. But why forbid parties? Why not do it the way we used to—everyone forms their own party, and whichever party reaches the Knight the fastest and defeats the monster there wins? Would that not be perfectly acceptable?”
That had been Koroa’s concern from the beginning. He simply couldn’t understand why Corvo was fixated on doing it solo.
A skilled adventurer wasn’t defined by raw combat power alone. Absolute strength didn’t exist in this world. There were countless types of monsters lurking in the dungeons. Some, like the gargoyles Nada once hunted, were immune to Abilities and Gifts, and could only be harmed with ordinary weapons. Others—like the skeletal monsters in Tohe—barely reacted to physical attacks but were easily damaged by Gifts.
In dungeons outside Inferno, there were enemies vulnerable only to Fire Gifts or ones that could only be harmed properly by specific abilities.
Even an adventurer with low combat strength could be valuable if they bore the Gift of the Healing God. Someone who can heal any injury is undeniably skilled in their own way—so Koroa believed.
Some excelled in the vanguard; others specialized in the rear guard. Koroa himself was capable of fighting alone, but within a party, he most often fulfilled a rear-support role.
Abilities like the one Reaon possessed—allowing him to view the battlefield from a wide perspective—were not directly linked to offensive power but still made him formidable. And there were countless abilities that didn’t simply boost combat strength, yet still qualified as marks of an exceptional adventurer.
By nature, adventurers were said to be unable to conduct safe expeditions without comrades. Whether in the academy or outside, forming parties was an unspoken rule.
Each adventurer had strengths and weaknesses, and a party existed to compensate for them. That was why the academy had three adventurers acknowledged as “the strongest.”
Each was undeniably powerful, but their areas of expertise differed. That was why Iris, Corvo, and even Koroa all formed parties suited to their own needs and hunted monsters accordingly.
The same applied to the seven here.
They were all exceptional adventurers—but their roles were different.
A genius gifted with overwhelming speed and power, equipped with high-grade Gifts and Abilities—an army-slayer on her own: Iris Scarlet.
A man of sharp judgment and deep knowledge—limited to front-line combat with a small number of powerful strikes, but capable of unleashing this group’s greatest single-hit destructive power: Corvo Danisues.
Master of martial skill, and one of the extremely rare adventurers capable of wide-range detection thanks to an ability almost no one possessed—Second Sight: Reaon Exosta.
Bearer of the Flame God’s Gift, with destructive power unmatched in the academy—capable of incinerating multiple enemies at mid- to long-range in an instant: Ameisha Erute.
Clad in black armor and wielding a black sword, possessing the ability known as Barbaro Veleno, which could slow any monster’s movements: Ouro Brakilium.
A man with no Abilities and no Gift, armed with nothing but plain physical attacks—and yet with achievements in slaying strays that surpassed everyone else: Nada.
And Koroa himself, bearer of the Thunder God’s Gift, a support-type adventurer who specialized in enhancing his allies’ strength.
If the competition were about “forming the strongest party,” Koroa would understand it completely.
That was what made an adventurer truly exceptional.
But Corvo’s insistence made it seem as though he was obsessed with solo adventuring.
Yet whether alone or with a team, the mark of a great adventurer was simply the ability to defeat powerful monsters.
“Of course, I can give you plenty of excuses. Like how the only properly formed party among us right now is Ameisha and Ouro’s. Or how some adventurers find it hard to work in parties.”
Corvo glanced at Nada for a brief moment.
“That’s exactly why starting from scratch would make for better conditions, don’t you think?”
“If we do that, it just turns into a question of influence within the academy. Iris and Koroa would definitely build better parties than me.”
“Then set strict rules for it. Corvo, is there really any reason you must insist on doing this alone?”
“Insisting on going alone—you’re right. I am. Koroa, I am fixated on doing it solo. To put it simply, for this adventure, I’m following an old tradition—”
Corvo let out a sinister little laugh.
“The old days, huh?”
Ouro tilted his head.
“That’s right. There were once heroes—names every adventurer knows. Adamas. Sapirus. Smaragdos. Carbunculus. They competed as adventurers one single time. Back then, each of them had their own party, but for some reason, they all dove into the dungeon alone and competed to see who could hunt the ‘stray monster.’ You know the tale, don’t you? The Four Heroes and the Azure Knight King. It’s a famous legend.”
Everyone present knew it.
The tale of the four great heroes who fought the Azure Knight King, whose sword shone blue. It was said to be a historical fact, but no one knew for sure—it had become a fairy tale.
“So you’re saying this contest follows that story?”
At Ouro’s question, Corvo nodded.
“Exactly. That’s why we all challenge Tohe at the same time, each of us going alone all the way to the lowest floor where the ‘Knight’ awaits. Then we fight the Knight in the order we arrive. Whoever wins becomes the victor of this challenge. Same rules as the old fairy tale. Even the monster we’re hunting—the ‘Knight’—matches the story.”
“Then, Corvo-dono, you of course know how that fairy tale ends?”
“Oh, I know, Ouro. I know exactly how it ends—and I still choose to do it this way.”
Ouro and Corvo’s eyes met.
Eventually, Ouro let out a quiet sigh and looked away.
“...Very well. I have no objections. I’ll enter the dungeon alone.”
“What about the rest of you? Anyone disagree?”
“None,” Iris answered first.
“Same here,” Ameisha followed.
“Koroa?”
“...Sounds interesting enough. I’m in.”
Prompted by Corvo, Koroa nodded as well.
“I’m fine with it too,” Reaon added, without any complaint.
“And you, Nada?”
“...Whatever. Anything’s fine.”
“Then it’s settled. Now—when should the seven of us dive into Tohe? The sooner the better for everyone, right?”
And so, shortly after, the date of the expedition was set for seven days from now.
Previous Chapter - TOC - Next Chapter
Comments
Post a Comment