The Raven Warriors belongs to the Temple of Odis. They are dungeon specialists, made up of only skilled adventurers.
The dungeons bring us magic stones and relics. There are people in the Royal family who have skills related to “seal”, and it was also the role of the temple of Odis to properly manage the seals of the dungeons made by the gods. Hence, the Royal family and the temple are closely related.
But dungeons are dangerous places. There are monsters, and even adventurers may turn against you. That’s why the Temple of Odis had an elite fighting force that could take control of the dungeons if necessary.
That force is the “Raven Warriors”.
But……
“P-Patriach……!?”
Mia-san and I exclaimed in unison.
The person in front of us looked like an ordinary girl. A girl about 15 or 16 years old —I think we are three years apart at most.
“You?”
Mia-san crossed her arms and looked incredulously at her. Well, it was a given. In front of us is Parine, the rookie adventurer who we had saved in the Eastern Dungeon. But right now, she is dressed in a white robe with a high hat, and she is smiling calmly at us.
“It’s hard to believe, but I’m indeed the Patriarch.”
“But you’re so young…..”
“There are circumstances, but my position is genuine.”
We looked back and forth between the Raven Warriors standing behind us and Pauline. The Warriors didn’t deny it at all, so I think what she said was true.
“Parine is also a temporary name, and my real name is Pauline.”
I suddenly felt hot and cold all over. If I’m not mistaken, she also said she’s princess earlier. Her status made me dizzy and I don’t know how to talk to her.
“Hmm…. Then why are you in the dungeon?”
“M-Mia-san? Uhm, well, P-Patriach we….”
Pari-……Pauline-san made a wry smile when I hesitated to speak.
“Pauline is fine. You and the Warriors are both adventurers after all. Rather than that, let’s get down to business.”
She taps her staff into the ground. Pauline turns her jade green eyes to the carriage.
“We want you to come with us as soon as possible.”
“That….…”
I may be rude, but I looked straight up at Pauline-san.
“Pardon me but I can’t do that. I have to go home first.”
I’m worried about Lu and my mom. I’m not going anywhere unless I made sure that the battle hadn’t reached our house.
Then I continued,
“I’ll definitely show up at the Temple of Odis. If it’s because of breaking the seal in the dungeon…. and I have unsealed the dungeon, I’ll talk about it properly then.”
“Besides….” I added as I turned my gaze to the side. I can see the battered city and the adventurers on the move.
“…… I’m still worried about this area.”
The streets that became the battlefield are still in a mess. A power like the one I did earlier might help.
Pauline-san’s eyes widened. With her pale white cheeks, she smiled appreciatively at me.
“That’s how adventurers should be. It’s a wonderful attitude. But you should rest a little. For example…… If the caster collapses in the middle of doing the healing magic, the healing will stop in the middle and it will be a big problem then.”
“That’s….…”
“The Temple of Odis also dispatched magicians who are in perfect health. Also, the first place we’ll head to is your residence.”
I was surprised.
“M-my house….?”
“Yes. Let me give you protection. Far from being a criminal, you are actually our most important guest.”
Pauline-san’s eyes were serious. The word “protection” raised many questions in my head. But I intuitively felt that there was no time to argue. Speaking of which, before going to battle with Skoll, I saw a group of Raven Warriors near my house.
There may have been a danger in the neighborhood. Slightly nervous, I quickly agreed.
“I-, I understand.”
We then got into the carriage. It’s a large four-wheeled carriage pulled by two horses. The inside is spacious, and the ceiling is lit with magic stones for lighting. Even when it started moving, it didn’t shake as much as I thought it would. It’s weird to compare this to the wagons in the neighborhood.
The night was still deep. Even in the areas far from the city walls and spared from the battle, the houses had their wooden gates tightly shut. As we approached the poorer area, I felt people staring at us. They probably were worried about what was going on as they never saw a fancy carriage come by before.
Eventually, when the carriage came near the house, I noticed something unusual. On the roof. From time to time, a figure with a fluttering cloak appears.
“……Raven Warriors?”
Pauline-san, seated across from me, nodded.
“While you were fighting the monsters at the city gates, the enemy came to this area as well.”
Her words sent chills down my spine.
“…..T-There’s a fight here?”
“Yes. But rest assured, the Warriors have repelled him.”
Pauline-san spoke nonchalantly, but the atmosphere became heavier.
“The other party is the slave trader we were chasing. It seems that he has recruited slaves with ‘rare skills’ through the nobles. I think he has set his sights on you brothers and sisters.”
It reminded me of the battle with Skoll.
―Sigh, at this rate the sister is lost too….
There was indeed a woman who said that right before she ran away.
“L-Lu…… She is being targeted too?”
“Yes. In fact, it was the same slave trader who unsealed the Eastern Dungeon and tried to destroy the royal capital.”
The carriage then came to a stop.
“We have arrived, Master.” , said the voice of the coachman.
If we haven’t arrived yet, I might have stood up and questioned Pauline-san. She said it’s the same people who made the city like that, and the people who wanted to enslave us.
“What do—?”
Pauline-san shook her head and gestured with her hand.
“Who knows.”
We get out of the carriage. We are at the front door of a familiar house. I had just left a few hours ago, but I felt like I hadn’t been back in years. The pillar still bears the scratches from when Lu and I used to swing sticks around when we were little.
It’s just like the time with my father. Something that destroys happiness comes suddenly.
“I’m home.”
When I entered, I saw my mother standing there, she’s wearing a pot on her head. There’s also a visible nervous look on her face.
“R-Rion….…”
Tears welled up in Mom’s eyes.
“I’m back now.”
After letting out a sigh of relief, my mother hugged me tightly. She must have been relieved.
My father walked out the same front door as me but he didn’t come back. Then mother eventually noticed Mia-san and Pauline-san behind me.
“The people behind you are……? Oh, look at me, you are with your comrades.”
“May God bless you.”
Pauline-san bows.
Mother’s eyes widened, she took off the pot and she brushed the dust off her usual hood and robes.
“T-that hat…… B-Bishop?”
Come to think of it, I’ve heard that a high hat represents a rank. Pauline-san pursed her lips as she looked at the bare living room.
“I’m sorry, Rutger.”
—I can hear her saying it softly. Rutger is my father’s name.
“I’m sorry for the late night, but I would like to take your family into a protective custody as soon as possible.”
Pauline-san declared so.
With a confused look, my mother looked at me. I nodded at her.
“Don’t worry Mom. Is Lu upstairs?”
“Yes. She’s coughing again, so she’s staying on the bed.”
I went up the stairs.
(Gods…… can you hear me?)
I talked to the gods in my head. I want something definite as an answer.
No reply.
I can hear something in the back of my ear, but there are so many voices mixed together that I can’t make it out clearly.
I then opened the door of our bedroom.
“Oniichan!”
My little sister is trying to get out of bed.
“Lu? I heard you’re coughing again. Are you okay?”
I’ve heard that she’s sick again, but I can tell that Lu’s breathing isn’t disturbed. She’s sitting on the bed while holding her chest though. Her brown gown that had been with her for a long time had been draped over her shoulders.
“Mm. I’m a lot better.”
“Really? Since when? It gets cold, so if it comes back it’ll be awful.”
“Really. I’m really better. I think…. around when I heard the horn sound.”
I wonder if defeating Skoll made Lu feel better.
Come to think of it, she got sick before I fought a strong monster called the zombie werewolf too.
“I felt like Oniichan is fighting somewhere far. Then I got better.”
That’s good then. Lu also looks really fine.
I can’t help but think that the horn I rang that time might have cheered up not only God, but Lu as well. I am really grateful for that.
“Horn huh….”
『Gjallarhorn』 is still in my pouch. I took it out. It’s a very beautiful horn with intricate craftsmanship. However, it feels like it has lost its power. I remember that right after I used 『Alarm』, it seemed to shine from within.
“Maybe I woke up God, but now He’s asleep……?”
At that moment, I heard voices in my ear.
『……！ ……！！』
『—se! —to!』
『It’s cramped!』
The coin in my right pocket vibrated. It’s the voice of the gods.
『Stop! Everyone, stop making a fuss!』
『But it’s getting smaller and smaller!』
『T-there’s no other way! Originally, it’s only my space, then four people came into my place suddenly!』
Anxiety begins to swell up inside me like summer rain clouds.
(S-Solana!?)
『Rion! It seems that the sudden addition of four people to this gold coin made it too cramped……!』
Then golden light overflowed from my pocket. I hurriedly took out the gold coin, but it is already shining brightly.
“O-oniichan!?”
The gold coin is still vibrating. Then it floated into the air on its own and along with the light, the “contents” are released outside.
“Uoh!”
A red-haired giant god falls on my mother’s bed. It’s the god, Thor. His two-meter giant body crushed the bed. Then next to the loud crush,
“Uwa!”
“Kyaa!”
The brown-haired god, Uru came out next. He took a defensive stance and landed on his feet. But then the armored goddess —Sigris— fell on top of him, and the two of them flipped the shelf over making another loud crash and clattering sounds.
The noise was probably heard not only on the first floor, but throughout the neighborhood.
“Oh dear….”
Finally, Loki, the black-haired god, landed on my bed. He sit cross-legged and leaned against the wall. Loki’s eyes widened. Then he said,
“Oh, this is better than the inside of the gold coin, but…… isn’t it quite small here?”
Solana was the last to jump out of the gold coin. She floats softly in the air, looks around, and then she clutched her blonde hair.
“Ah! Forget it!”
She shook her blonde hair as if she couldn’t take it anymore. Then she shouted,
“Y-you guys! You already know that it’s cramped, but you guys still went wild! Of course it becomes even cramped! How can you not understand that concept!?”
Thor scratched his head. His body was as distinct as the statues in the plaza, with unnecessary muscle trimmed away. But the way he scratched his nose in embarrassment made him look very carefree.
“Especially you Thor! The bed you crushed with your back is mo—”
“R-Rion? What’s going on?”
My mother called out from the first floor. Then I heard a number of people coming up the stairs.
“N-No, it’s nothing!”
I hurriedly blocked the door. I’m going to have to explain it all at some point —I know that’s part of it, but I didn’t want to show our bedroom in this state.
“H-hey, everybody, shrink your size! Or go back to the coin!”
Solana gave an order in panic, but none of the Gods obeyed her. Perhaps the world 1000 years in the future is so strange to them. They are either curiously looking out the window or opening the shelves, touching here and there.
“Especially you Thor. You need to shrink yourself as soon as possible.”
“Shrink?”
“Limit your magical powers.”
“Limit the magical power……?”
“Tsk! You’re really useless at everything except fighting, aren’t you!?”
Wow, that’s a lot.
There was a lot of commotion. Thor tried to get up but fell flat on his face.
……Odis-sama. Thank you for the unseal skill. But for now, just for now… I want not the “unseal” but a seal skill!
“Rion, open the door!”
“Y-yes.”
But it’s too late. The door was torn down. The Raven Warriors and Mia-san came pouring inside the bedroom. Mom was stunned by the strange gods in the room and Solana floating in the air.
“……Y-Your house. It’s true. It was said that your house will become the Valhalla, and it become a reality.”
Solana’s eyes wandered and she she whispered something that I did not quite catch.
“R-Rion……?”
Mom collapsed to the floor. With her eyes wide in shock, she looks around the bedroom. In this situation, I didn’t have the courage to introduce Solana and the others as “gods”. I think it would be more convincing if I said that they are drunk adventurers from the tavern that just barged in.
“Y-you have more friends……?”
“Well, this…… uhm, they are not my friends….”
In that moment, Pauline-san cleared her throat.
Thud! Thud!
She hit the floor so much that the decorations on her staff nearly came off.
“Everyone, hop in the carriage! We’ll take you to the Raven Warriors’ base tonight.”
Mia-san was the only one who seemed relieved by all this and she is even laughing heartily.
“The horn has been blown”, she hummed.
It is a phrase known to adventurers that means “there’s no choice but to move forward.”
This is translated by Yume Neiji. Kindly read at yumeineijiworks.wordpress.com.
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