Xenophobia. It was something Davey saw occasionally in Tionis, but the feeling this time was different.
He shot back, “Then you should've prevented crimes like pickpocketing from happening in the first place. Why are you trying to shift the blame for your failure to maintain public order onto us?”
“Shut up! Unless you want to die!”
Clank clank clank!!
The soldiers quickly surrounded Davey and Josiah with their metallic armor clinking. It was obvious they were trying to appease the situation by arresting them, the foreigners.
“STOP! You've violated the law! If you resist arrest, we'll use force. Raise both hands immediately and kneel down.”
“Calm down, Josiah. It's not like you haven't seen this before.” As she grinded her teeth in anger, Davey stepped forward.
“Then what about that guy lying over there?”
He pointed at the unconscious pickpocket, and one of the soldiers gestured. A few of them ran toward the boy and restrained him. One of them shouted, “STOP! You've violated the law! Pay the court a fine or serve your sentence. Your stolen goods are now forfeit!”
On the surface, it seemed they were arresting everyone who caused trouble, but Davey saw it differently.
He heard the boy grumble quietly, “Ugh. My head. Fuck, I knew something felt wrong about that guy...”
“Hey, soldier,” Davey called out. The man was surprised, and didn't respond.
“That guy's with you, isn't he?”
“What are you talking about?”
“What do you think, Josiah? It’s about time to take them all down.”
As soon as he finished talking, Josiah let out a vast amount of mana. At the same time, the duo both frowned.
“What's going on?”
The mana density was extremely low. It felt like something was suppressing mana’s distribution.
“All personnel! Draw swords!!”
The soldiers all pulled out their iron swords and rapidly closed in on Josiah and Davey.
She sighed and clapped her hands a couple of times. She then bounced on her feet and pulled out the staff she had been carrying on her back. She stretched her neck and gave a smirk as she approached them. “Perfect timing. I was just getting stressed out.”
Before things could pop off, someone suddenly appeared with a flash of light, grabbing everyone's attention. “What's going on?”
One of the soldiers was flustered and shouted, “T-the First Apostle!!”
Davey and Josiah didn't know who the person was, but the soldiers certainly seemed to.
They trembled in fear and immediately bowed their heads to the man.
He sternly barked, “Didn't I ask what's going on?”
“T-that is... it's nothing at all! We'll handle it ourselves, sir.”
“Hey. I asked what the situation is, not what you're going to do,” the young man said while his eerie eyes coldly flashed.
The soldier clamped his mouth shut like a cat had his tongue. Eventually, he finally let out, “P-please forgive us!”
“I'll forgive you... for one arm.”
Swoosh!!!
“Aaaaargh!!!” The soldier writhed on the ground and screamed in agony.
“Quiet.”
Thud!!!
A formless power burst out, forcibly clamping the soldier’s mouth shut.
The newcomer turned to Davey and Josiah. “Would you two care to tell me what's going on right now?”
Josiah was shocked. “Hey! Are you seriously asking that calmly after slicing off someone’s arm?”
“You're a feisty young lady. It's understandable, since you don't know who I am.”
“Who are you?”
The man smiled gently and answered. “The last seat of the goddess's First Apostles. Do you really need the name?”
“Actually, we didn't.” Josiah sighed and shrugged. The man seemed to be a high-ranking individual.
It was obvious that he found her attitude offensive, but he didn't act on it. Perhaps he wanted to present himself as merciful by letting it slide.
He asked, “Then, would you care to explain what happened?”
“It's nothing much. We caught a pickpocket, and those guys tried to arrest us.”
The First Apostle looked at the soldier and questioned him again, “Is that true?”
The man stammered, “W-well...”
“Speak truthfully.”
At his words, the soldier's eyes darted around before he slammed his head into the ground. “I-it’s true! We... we tried to subdue those who caused a commotion...”
“Is subduing the victim the goddess's teaching?”
The soldier flinched at his question.
“Answer,” he demanded.
“F-forgive us!”
“You can beg before the goddess for forgiveness after you're dead.”
Swoosh!
Another soldier's head was thus severed.
It was a bizarre situation, but he spoke to Josiah and Davey as if he was used to it, “My apologies for dragging you into this unnecessary disturbance. You appear to be foreigners.”
“You...” Josiah was once again shocked by the man’s brutality.
“Sometimes soldiers get greedy. This place is under my jurisdiction, so I apologize on their behalf.”
Josiah let out a short sigh at his gentle smile. “It's a relief to talk to someone reasonable.”
The soldiers shuddered at her words.
Regardless, Josiah maintained her composure and turned to Davey. “What do we do, Teacher?”
“What do mean, ‘what do we do?’ I’m saying no if it’s anything troublesome. Before that, let's confirm one thing.” Davey then looked at the mysterious man, asking, “Has there been any unidentifiable supernatural phenomena around here recently?”
At his question, a man in a robe appeared from the air and roared, “You scoundrel! How dare you ask something so blasphemous to the First Apostle?!”
“I’m standing still, and you’re stepping forward now?”
“M-my apologies, First Apostle!”
“Shut up and step back.”
“Yes...”
“Right. Let's finish our conversation. I have to take responsibility for the soldiers' mistakes, so I'll tell you what I know. Supernatural phenomena? Well, I do have a hunch.”
“A hunch?”
“Actually, a dungeon was recently discovered near the outskirts of the city.”
“A dungeon, huh?”
“There are rumors that corpses are walking around there,” the First Apostle told him.
“Thanks. I’ll gladly take the info.”
“It's nothing. You look like adventurers. Are you planning to go there?”
Smirking, Davey shot back, “Do I have a reason to tell you?”
“Hahaha! What a bold one you are. Yes, you’re right. Everyone, clear the path for them.”
“B-but, First Apostle!”
“The goddess teaches compassion. The sin of intimidating the innocent is not light.”
Both the soldiers and the man in the robe bowed their heads under his pressure.
Finally, he motioned for them to go, and the trembling soldiers slowly cleared the way.
“You have to understand. Everyone’s on edge because the goddess declared that demons may have crossed dimensions and are hidden among the foreigners.”
Davey walked past him, but the man continued to say, “The unrighteous ones are those who wield power that shouldn't exist and mimic and steal the power of the goddess.”
‘Is he talking about magic?’
Davey paused, then slowly asked, “What will you do if you find those outsiders?”
“Well. Isn't that an obvious question? Naturally...”
Boom!!
The air around them changed.
“I’ll tear them to death.”
He smiled gently, then disappeared with his entourage of soldiers.
“Teacher, could that dungeon be the necrosed part we're looking for?”
“We'll know when we go.”
“What about the location?”
“He said it’s a dungeon, and it seems pretty well-known. I’m sure we can get our answer if we stop by somewhere like an adventurer’s guild or something,” he said as he pointed to a sign.
‘The language blessing sure is convenient in times like these.’
“Well, it’s nice that things seem to be working out, but that guy just now... he made me feel a bit uneasy,” Josiah muttered.
Davey responded, “I’m sure that guy suspected us, too.”
“Really? But didn't he just let us go?”
“Josiah. Since we can’t entirely trust Solomina, it’s best not to lean toward one side.”
While there was a slim chance, if the world was normal and Solomonia was wrong, there was no reason to antagonize the natives.
“Is that all there is to it?”
“It's better not to attract attention for no reason.”
Davey opened the door to the guild without hesitation. Immediately, many rough-looking individuals turned their attention to them.
In the quiet silence, Josiah, who had followed Davey in, shot them a disgusted look.
Then some of the men let out unpleasant whistles.
“Whew!”
The attendant at the desk asked them, “What's the matter? Did you come to take a quest?”
“No,” Davey answered. “I came to buy information.”
“Information?”
“I heard a dungeon where corpses walk around was recently discovered.”
At those words, the low murmur inside the guild went quiet.
“You... you're going there right now?”
“Is there a problem? I need the location. How much is it?”
Laughter burst out from all sides at once.
“Puhahahaha!!!!”
“What the...” Josiah grumbled irritably.
One of the other adventurers commented, “Those young bloods still have fire in their belly. Fufufu.”
“All they've got is fearlessness at that age, hehe.”
It was as if going to the dungeon meant death.
“I can't send you there,” the attendant solemnly said. “You look like a rich boy from a noble family. Don't do anything foolish, just go back.”
“Hey. What I need right now is the location, not your judgment,” Davey requested again with a calm face.
Even so, the man seemed unwilling to give him an answer easily.
He had seen this kind of atmosphere often in Tionis. The way to resolve it was simpler than one would think.
“Hey, rich boy. You look like you're full of yourself. What's this? A decent sword, maybe?” A mercenary reached out to the sheaths of Red Ribbon and Blue Ribbon strapped to his waist.
The man was clearly built like a mountain.
In the past, Evangeline had also been completely ignored when she went to a mercenary guild and claimed that she wanted to become a hero. Back then, Evangeline, in a purely childish fit, had sliced the reception desk in half.
It wasn't the right thing to do, but the effect was beyond doubt.
“If you go to the dungeon with this toy sword...” The mercenary laughed mockingly and reached out to snatch his sword.
However, Davey lightly caught his arm and twisted it until it cracked.
“Aaaargh!!!”
At the same time, many of the surrounding mercenaries jumped up from their seats. Some were getting ready to draw their weapons.
“Well, do you need anything else?” Davey calmly asked. “It should just be a matter of selling the information for money.”
“You... you son of a bitch!!” The man with a now broken arm yelled furiously and tried to attack, but Davey made him slump back onto the ground with a slight twist of his hand.
“Aaaagh! My arm!!”
The fact that the enormous man had been completely overpowered kept anyone else from stepping forward.
“You...” The attendant was stunned.
“Are you gonna sell it or not?”
“Five peon. I should normally charge an advance fee, but you don't look affiliated with anyone.”
Josiah opened the pouch she had lifted from the pickpocket. “Is this five?”
“That's right.”
The nervous clerk took the money and handed over a piece of paper. “You're unbelievably strong for how you look. It's like you borrowed the power of a demon.”
“That dude I took down is just out of shape.”
Leaving the man and his eyes full of suspicion behind, Davey unfolded the map and turned away.
“Let's go, Josiah.”
“Yes, Teacher.”
Many people’s eyes narrowed as they watched them leave.
That gaze didn't disappear until they left the guild.
* * *
“He's still suspicious,” someone muttered once they saw Davey and Josiah step out. He turned his head after seeing the door close. “Should we go chase them?”
Another man spoke in a relaxed tone, “Let's just watch for now. See if he's a demon or a Bloomer.”
“I have a bad feeling about this,” the first man said, deferential like a subordinate. “If he's dangerous...”
“Hey.”
“Hmph?!”
“Did you think the authority the goddess granted me is some kind of joke? That a mere pawn like that can bring me down?”
“F... for... forgive me!”
“There won't be a second time. Don't doubt the power of the goddess.”
The subordinate, who seemed to be a follower of the man, trembled and slammed his head to the ground at his words.
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