The next morning, Mia-san and I headed for the harbor together.
The wind was fierce, whipping across the lake and stirring the surface into restless waves. A pure white bridge stretched all the way to Dungeon Island, and from its midpoint, the tower speared up toward the heavens.
Thick clouds, heavy enough to blot out the sun, raced across the sky at an alarming speed. The air felt damp against my skin, making me wonder if rain was about to fall at any moment. Yet in spite of the threatening weather, Flocia’s harbor was buzzing with noise and energy.
“Those crossing the bridge, this way!”
“Anyone boarding a ship, over here!”
The ones shouting orders were members of the Raven Warrior Corps. Command over the adventurers had already been entrusted to them. Apparently, the Flocia Adventurers’ Guild had issued an official request to that effect yesterday.
Even so, there weren’t enough leaders to go around. Only about thirty of the warrior corps’ members were elite enough to enter a hidden area of the dungeon.
And so—
“City defense is on this side! Don’t mix in with the others!”
A burly adventurer raised an equally massive hand as he shouted. It was Lloyd-san—one of the people who had entered the hidden area with us the day before. He and his companions had taken up positions on a raised platform, acting as field commanders. The stone hammer strapped to his back looked ominously heavy.
Adventurers gathered, moving into position to defend the harbor.
The gold coin trembled in my pocket, and Solana’s voice reached me.
『So this is the critical moment』
At her words, I nodded my head in agreement.
『For those who live here… the tower must be terrifying right now.』
“Yeah…”
Everyone gathered at the harbor wore grim expressions.
Some were preparing to enter the dungeon. Others were there to investigate the tower. And some stood ready to defend the city in case monsters should crawl out of the dungeon. Their roles differed, but they all shared the same certainty—that something was about to happen.
Countless ships were already out on the water. Part of it was to examine the bridge from the side, but it was also a precaution in case the bridge were to sink. Since it had appeared so suddenly, there was no telling when it might vanish beneath the lake again.
A clatter of chains made me turn around.
“Feels like the weather before a storm.”
It was Mia-san. The Raven Warrior Corps’ cloak—matching my own—fluttered in the wind behind her.
“I just want to get to the tower already.”
“Yeah. We need the gods to examine it one more time.”
Later, we would cross the bridge together with Felix-san and the others. A carriage for that purpose had already been set atop the bridge.
It was an enormous structure—easily a kilometer long.
The whinnying of horses made Mia-san and me pause our conversation.
Felix-san rode up, approaching us on horseback.
“May I have a moment? I have a request for you, Rion.”
Mia-san and I exchanged glances.
“We’ll be right back.”
“Got it!”
Felix-san helped me up into the saddle.
At that moment, a strange sensation washed over me. It was Felix-san, but somehow… different. Something about him felt off—unnatural, almost.
“What’s wrong?”
I asked.
“No… it’s nothing.”
We usually traveled by carriage.
Riding a horse—was this some urgent matter?
After parting from Mia-san, I was jostled by the galloping horse, my hands gripping the reins.
Felix-san spoke as he guided the mount.
“There’s someone I want you to meet.”
“Meet…?”
“An ally of Nils has been found. They wish to see you, Rion.”
I think I drew in a sharp breath. Our eyes met briefly.
I wanted to reunite with comrades I hadn’t seen in so long.
“L-let’s go!”
“Heh… yes”
Felix-san replied.
We rode on for a while. Eventually, we reached the warehouse district. And then—a feeling of unease crept over me.
“…So many people?”
Through the Blessing of the God of Hunting, the Wild Heart skill revealed it: dozens of breathing presences.
We were surrounded!?
“Wait—!”
The moment I spoke, Felix-san slammed his horse to a halt.
I was thrown forward, landing hard on the ground.
My coin pouch flew from my pocket, and I scrambled to catch it before it hit the stone.
『…This…』
Solana’s voice whispered in my mind.
We were in a square-like open space, and men—suspicious and menacing—blocked all the exits.
“It’s the presence of monsters.”
“Huh?”
From atop the horse, Felix-san laughed. It wasn’t just a laugh—it was a sneer, a chilling, utterly unsettling sound.
“Hmph… I suppose producing this much magical power makes one too noticeable. Seems I won’t be able to use this hand again.”
Frost crept across Felix-san’s body. When the frost cleared, standing there was… a slender man, dressed like a merchant.
“W-who are you…?”
The presence surrounding him felt anything but ordinary. I drew my short sword, bracing for whatever was coming.
“Perhaps you should pay attention over there first.”
The man said, gesturing with an open palm.
Across the square, from the opposite side, a familiar figure emerged.
“N—Nils-san?”
For some reason, Nils-san stared at me with an emotionless gaze. It was as if he were looking at a pebble, as though every feeling he had toward me had been stripped away and discarded.
『…There’s also the presence of a god, not just monsters.』
Solana’s voice passed through my mind, barely registering.
『Rion.』
Nils-san’s voice sounded directly inside my head.
The same way the gods had spoken to me through the coin. A chill ran down my spine.
“…Nils-san… you said you had allies—”
He tilted his chin toward the man standing behind me.
“They are my allies. I arrived in this city while receiving information from them. At that time, I still went by the name Nils and was your companion… but—”
“W-what are you saying?”
I stammered.
“Just as that man disguised himself, I too… had been wearing a mask.”
The coin in my pocket trembled, and Loki’s voice spoke sharply in my mind.
『…That voice… it’s Freyr’s.』
Freyr?
The god of fertility, sleeping deep within the dungeon?
A chill ran through me, stronger than ever. The words slipped out before I could stop them.
“…Why?”
“I am borrowing a human body for now. I dwell within the flesh of a man left behind, a shell of a body consumed and abandoned by Ymir. And—I approached you to learn about you.”
I glanced at the man atop the horse.
Is he the monster?
Nils-san’s voice echoed in my head while also reaching my ears—two layers of sound, disorienting. I could barely comprehend what was happening…
“It benefits the monsters, yes, but knowing humans was also my sister’s, Freyja’s wish.”
The coin in my pocket grew hot. This time, Thor’s voice rumbled in my mind.
『You switched sides?』
“Yes.”
『You… this does not suit you at all…!』
Nils-san drew his sword.
“I will not lose my sister. I will do whatever it takes… I will not give the goddess Freyja away.”
I faced the person who had once been my comrade. Behind me, the man on horseback laughed—loud and unrestrained.
“I told you, didn’t I? You’d sacrifice a lot. You’re a kind person, but can you fight with all your might against another brother protecting his sister?”
My sword shook. Just as my heart wavered.
The coin trembled too.
『Rion.』
Solana’s voice was hoarse, panicked. The goddess herself seemed alarmed.
『Not here. But in the city… there is an immensely strong presence there.』
“There too…?”
『Yes…! Like that tower… a presence as strong as a giant. What is happening in this city?』
Thor clicked his tongue.
『Hmph. Dividing us, damn it.』
A spark shot through my mind. This was how critical the situation had become.
『Adventurers are scattered across Lake Tower and Dungeon Island. And here we are, Rion. The enemy seeks to divide our forces.』
The river bandits around us formed a wall.
Nils-san squared his sword, eyes fixed.
“You will not pass, boy with the horn.”
Our weapon wasn’t a wooden sword like before.
This was no longer a friendly spar.
This is translated by Yume Neiji. Kindly read at yumeineijiworks.wordpress.com.
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