The name Raviata was special.
It wasn’t simply because they were an old and powerful adventurer party.
The reason the name was special was that they were the first group in post-civilization to use magic in human society.
The first leader of the Raviata adventurer party discovered a way for humans to use magic in dungeons and generously shared this knowledge with the world. He gifted humanity with the unprecedented growth they needed.
But was that all?
Every successive leader of the Raviata adventurer party made historic discoveries and each time humanity made significant progress.
And so, the name Raviata was not taken lightly by the current human race.
Because of this, everyone except Shane was secretly tense…
“Haha! This is truly amazing. You prepared all this in just two weeks? James, doesn’t this make our previous contract seem trivial?”
“I really have nothing to say.”
Raviata laughed heartily. She seemed impressed by Shane’s preparations, and even the meticulous James acknowledged her words.
Wow… I have no idea what they’re talking about.
Even though they were both mages, Dilaila was dumbfounded as she did not understand any of the conversation between Shane and Raviata.
About two hours earlier.
Raviata and James arrived right on time, and after finishing their meal, the group immediately began discussing the Great Mezaiya Forest.
In reality, it was almost entirely Shane who talked.
“Being recognized by the picky elders of the Magic Tower in just two weeks is impressive enough, but to also extract magical tools from them? I can hardly believe it.”
“They are not that picky.”
Over the past two weeks, after completing dungeon raids with his team, Shane had continued to prepare for the exploration of the Great Mezaiya Forest on his own.
During this time, he contacted individuals from the Magic Tower, obtained the necessary magical tools, and somehow brought along an elf for the Great Mezaiya Forest no less.
Raviata was particularly surprised by the appearance of the elf, due to the unique nature of the Great Mezaiya Forest.
“As everyone knows, that forest holds the World Tree, which those elves cherish dearly. Fighting them in such an absurd environment is extremely exhausting.”
In fact, the bizarre weather phenomena of the Great Mezaiya Forest, combined with the challenge of fighting the kings of the forest, the elves, made it an impossible mission.
For these reasons, bringing along an elf as a liaison was like a dream come true for Raviata.
“Well, you’ve prepared so well on your end, but I only bring bad news. I’ve brought shame to the name Raviata.”
“If it’s bad news…”
“Well, some leeches stuck to us during our exploration. To those guys, the talk of the Dragon Heart you spread around must have smelled like an irresistibly sweet honey pot.”
Raviata continued with her explanation.
In essence, she said that joint dispatches had been sent from the Empire and from the Kingdom of Haiel which was a region bordering the Empire and the Great Mezaiya Forest.
“On top of that, the Adventurer Guild attached an adventurer party that have been gaining a bit of fame recently. It’s nothing but thieves everywhere.”
“It doesn’t look very good.”
“Exactly. They want to maintain their reputation, gather information, and see it as an opportunity with little risk if they fail.”
“But, aren’t they all quite famous? Won’t their strength be helpful?”
When Dilaila raised her hand and asked that, Raviata smiled bitterly.
“I hate to say it, but it’s all about the higher-ups’ politics. Anything else might be different, but this is about the Dragon Heart, which has never been discovered before. They want to keep us in check and seize the opportunity if it arises. So we have to worry about our fellow humans in this already dangerous cradle.”
“And when the real target appears, it’s unlikely to end with just a standoff.”
At Shane’s comment, Dilaila opened her mouth in a daze.
Then Klein carefully asked a question.
“Then why bother going with them?”
“If a problem arises inside the cradle, we can at least solve it. But if they turn hostile from the outside, things can get complicated right from the start.”
“Huh…?”
“To put it simply, if we reject their proposal, who knows what tricks they might pull behind the scenes. Especially in the case of the Kingdom of Haiel, which borders the Great Mezaiya Forest, they could completely block our path to the cradle.”
“But the subjugation of the cradle is humanity’s long-cherished wish. If they did such a thing…”
To this, James calmly explained.
“Of course, they wouldn’t outright block us. But they can make up justifications. They could raise objections, questioning whether we might mishandle something in the cradle. By forming such arguments and creating anxiety among their people, the public opinion could turn unpredictable.”
“Moreover, the Adventurer Guild of the coalition is in charge of that part, and this time they’ve also got a stake in this.”
“Yes, so they could easily use the excuse of verifying stability to waste our time.”
Raviata’s name carried significant weight, but it wasn’t enough to sway international public opinion.
If it were a direct confrontation, that would be one thing, but such battles over public opinion were beyond Raviata’s control.
“…It’s complicated.”
“Why is life so complicated …”
“It’s unfair, to do such things.”
Klein, Dilaila, and Anais each shook their heads in dismay and Raviata smiled bitterly at the sight of the three.
Normally, there shouldn’t have been such a level of interference.
Taking the battle to public opinion was one thing, but if such interference continued every time they entered a cradle, the people wouldn’t be fooled and would rise up.
But this time was different.
What would happen if the Raviata Adventurer Party that already livied up to their name as the wandering state with their reputation and power obtained the legendary Dragon Heart?
A powerful organization acquiring such a treasure was problematic enough, but what if it went to just one group?
It was not a situation where the bigger powers could remain still.
“For that reason, when the expedition starts tomorrow, the number of people will increase a bit. Please understand.”
“I have no complaints about what must be done.”
“Thank you for saying so. I’ll remember this and make it up to you. So, everyone rest well and see you later.”
“Yes, goodnight.”
After the long conversation ended, Raviata and James left the dining hall. When their presence could no longer be felt, Dilaila spoke in a weary voice.
“We haven’t even entered the dungeon yet, and I’m already tired…”
Klein and Anais couldn’t argue with that.
“When tomorrow comes, you’ll miss today. So, take care to rest well.”
The party quickly realized that Shane’s words were true.
“Ha, I’ve heard about it, but is it really the right choice to bring such young students? The cradle expedition is not a child’s play.”
The knight commander of the Kingdom of Haiel, who introduced himself as Adam, frowned and looked at Shane and his companions.
He had a somewhat sharp expression on his face and immediately uttered those words as soon as the introductions were over.
As if to agree with him, the imperial guards knight Dominic nodded beside him.
“Hmm, they do seem a bit young. The name of the cradle isn’t taken lightly. What do you think, Lampert’s Adventurer Party leader?”
“…Everyone should look out for their own lives.”
Lastly, Eleksa who was the leader of the Lampert Adventurer Party that came on behalf of the Adventurer Guild murmured indifferently.
Raviata sighed inwardly at their attitudes.
It wasn’t that they genuinely wanted to exclude Shane’s team.
The expedition had started because of Shane’s thesis in the first place.
But they had gathered to pursue their own interests.
They were engaging in such power plays to seize as much control as possible over the expedition.
After all, Shane and his companions were still academy students.
At that moment, Shane who had not once glanced at the dispatched people turned to Raviata and spoke.
“Lady Raviata, do you remember the contents of our contract?”
“Huh?”
The contract all of a sudden?
James sighed lightly as he tried to recall the contents of the contract.
“Yes, according to the contract, Mr. Shane’s cooperation is limited solely to the Raviata Adventurer Party.”
“Then I don’t need to show them any consideration. Is that correct?”
“…That’s right.”
“From this moment on, I will consider them an independent faction. Their survival is none of my concern.”
Shane decided to treat the dispatched forces as non-existent due to their attitude.
“Ha, I don’t understand where your confidence comes from. Do you think the cradle expedition is that easy?”
Adam who was the knight commander of the Haiel Kingdom frowned as he spoke.
However, Shane did not even glance at him and was about to leave. But someone blocked his way.
“Hey, didn’t our commander just say something? I guess you’re too young to understand.”
The atmosphere immediately became tense when one of the knights in the dispatched force said this. He was a giant man.
“Haah.”
“Did you just sigh? Don’t you understand the current situation?”
“Wells, stop it. The other party’s position is that way, so we’ll also just treat them accordingly.”
“Ha, the captain is too kind-hearted.”
Adam pretended to restrain Wells, but it was merely a ploy to assert dominance.
“These rookies don’t know how harsh life really is. Seeing how they rely on their prestigious family name and show such attitude towards the kingdom’s knight commander.”
At that moment, the knight called Wells tried to put his hand on Shane’s shoulder.
But Raviata quickly blocked that hand.
“Hey.”
“Huh.”
“Take it easy, will you?”
“…”
At those words, Wells frowned once and shook off Raviata’s hand before speaking.
“Well, alright. Since it’s the famous Raviata saying it, I’ll stop here.”
When Wells returned to the knights, Raviata turned her gaze to Shane.
“Hey, trying to kill him is a bit much, don’t you think?”
While others didn’t notice what happened just now, only Raviata caught the secretive magical power gathering under Shane’s left hand.
The momentum of his magic was so strong, that it possessed a lethality entirely different from the magic bullets Raviata had seen before.
“… I owe you one. I have an extreme aversion to physical contact with others.”
The words of gratitude were sincere.
He had truly intended to cripple that knight named Wells just now.
Although Shane had become much more lenient since his regression, he fundamentally despised human beings.
His desire to protect humanity was solely to counter the impending threat and to shield his brother Klein from being destroyed in the process, not because he was fond of them or anything.
Had he acted according to his nature just now, things would have gotten troublesome.
“Phew, one more touch and he would’ve lost his life.”
Raviata made a joke and walked away, and then the others approached as well.
“Hey, weren’t those guys really rude just now? You held back well; you really did.”
Dilaila who had been watching from behind expressed her anger on their behalf, and the expressions of Anais and Klein were not good either.
Especially Klein, whose gaze toward Wells who was talking with his colleagues was quite hostile.
Has he ever made that kind of face at a person before?
Shane found that quite amusing, and the disgust he had felt earlier seemed to wash away.
“Forget it. Anyway, it won’t take long for those smiling faces to turn into despair.”
It didn’t take much time for those words to come true.
At the edge of the great forest, fortunately, no rain mixed with different elements fell down.
“Run faster, hurry!”
Even so, Adam shouted urgently to his knights.
Boom, boom, boom, boom──!!
It was just that a torrential downpour fell as if a hole had opened in the sky.
Water streams gushed out from all sides, enough to be called rivers. And they were pressing down on the group as if a dam had burst.
Meanwhile, Shane’s team and the Raviata adventurer party who knew of the situation early on were already running ahead.
Dominic, the imperial guards knight who had been observing their actions, and the Lampert adventurer party were also closely following behind them.
The only ones left behind were the knights of the Kingdom of Haiel.
Of course, it wasn’t that they moved late.
They were just about seconds behind the others who had suddenly started running after Shane without a word.
They could be said to have moved quickly.
Nevertheless, they almost tripped over water streams bursting from between the tree roots behind them.
It was a cave made from the roots of a giant tree.
Following the path, they found a large entrance under the tree where the massive roots began, whether it was artificially made or formed naturally.
Shane and his team, along with the Raviata adventurer party, had already reached the bottom of the tree.
If they also could just take shelter inside, they might have a moment to catch their breath.
“Argh! Save me!”
At that moment, one of the knights who was the furthest behind was struck by a water stream bursting from between the tree roots and fell.
“Wells!”
It was the very knight who had threatened Shane earlier.
Adam was unable to just stand by and ran to pull him up, but unfortunately, Wells was swept away along with the water stream as soon as he fell.
The force of the water was so strong that even though Wells quickly planted his sword into the ground, he was instantly swept away.
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