Chapter 1229: Party of Adventurers?

Two weeks had passed since we arrived at the village.

The settlement continued progressing, and Fran and Urushi were completely accepted by the villagers. They were practically the same as any other member.

The peaceful days went by, as there were no powerful monsters nearby. We had completely recovered from our intense battles in Raydoss.

Looking back now, I realized just how much we had been pushing ourselves. Fighting until complete exhaustion became the norm, so we failed to realize how awful of a condition we were in.

As the villagers settled in, the influx of outsiders had also started to increase little by little.

They included Peridot’s subordinates, as well as merchants responsible for supplying goods. Additionally, a few were adventurers hired and dispatched by the Kranzel government.

These adventurers were responsible for investigating the resources around the village and searching for magical beasts. Kranzel’s geological survey was proved insufficient by the rock slides we reported, so they probably wanted to conduct a thorough re-investigation.

The ones sent for investigation were only Rank C, they appeared to be quite skilled. I bet a lack of hostility toward Raydoss was also a factor for them being chosen.

They seemed to do their jobs diligently and left without causing any trouble for the villagers.

Well, all aside from one man who remained in the village. He took on the job of an apothecary, so I guess he might be somewhat useful…

「This Sibylla woman appears to be quite interesting. I’d like to dissect her if possible. Kukuku…」

「Shut up, Eiworth. You’re scaring the children.」

The elderly mad scientist Eiworth had settled in the village.

「Oh? You seem quite interested in this village, huh? Well, don’t worry. I don’t intend to indulge my hobbies here. I’ve been sent here by Kranzel, you see. They dispatched a former Rank A like me, so they seem to believe this place is very important.」

No way. They wouldn’t send a guy like Eiworth alone if they cared that much. This man was once a wanted criminal.

I’m sure Kranzel knew how dangerous he could be. Okay, I can accept that he harbors no resentment towards Raydoss and is pretty competent.

But his danger level supersedes all of that.

「Don’t cause any trouble.」

「I know, I know.」

「…」

Fran squinted her eyes when Eiworth simply gave a casual nod.

Fran has always respected Eiworth more than you would think, but she also knew how troublesome he could be.

I’d call him more of a villain than a hero though. He never lets up on his desires, and absolutely loves human experimentation. More than anything, all of it is backed by the power of a former Rank A adventurer.

Yeah, after reconsidering the situation, I’m starting to think that we don’t want Eiworth with us. Well, not that there’s anything more we can do now that he’s already here.

Guess we’ll have to keep an eye on him, and make sure he does his apothecary job without getting into trouble.

It seems the villagers were also unsure about how to approach Eiworth. He was clearly eccentric, though also a valuable apothecary. They couldn’t afford to be rude, but they found it somewhat awkward to accept him right away.

Still, the children didn’t seem to be intimidated. They stuck to Eiworth and bombarded him with questions.

Of course, Fran and Urushi kept a close watch the entire time.

Eiworth seemed to be fine with children. In fact, he probably didn’t care much if someone was a child or an adult, since they were all just potential guinea pigs to him.

We managed to stop him from handing out a “potion for making you stronger”, but it turned out to be just a regular health drink. We were tricked!

However, Eiworth’s presence certainly furthered the village’s advancement. The old man had an immense amount of knowledge, especially when it came to ingredients and materials.

Furthermore, he could do practically anything, such as making monster repellents and diagnosing the sick.

By the time everyone had started getting used to the eccentric Eiworth, a new intruder was approaching the village.

The Red Knights patrolling the area were the first to notice the large group of nearly thirty people heading towards us.

We went over to scout them out after hearing from the Red Knights, and they were undoubtedly adventurers. Sibylla was tilting her head when we reported this to her.

「Fran, did you hear anything from Peridot?」

「Nothing.」

「Klikka?」

「I have heard no report either.」

Which means these adventurers were not dispatched by Kranzel.

However, they were clearly heading directly at the village. We left Urushi to keep an eye on them, but it’s only a matter of time before they arrive.

「What should we do?」

「Well, what can we do? There’s no way they can be allowed in, right?」

「We cannot permit entry either.」

A middle-aged man named White, the leader of the intelligence division members staying in the village, voiced his opinion. It seems he was wary of people who might leak information about the Raydoss villagers to the outside. As a representative of Kranzel, he adamantly refused to allow unauthorized adventurers into the village.

In other words, they would not be allowed entry even if things escalated into violence.

It was decided that Fran, Eiworth, and White would head out and send them away. Fran was a Rank A adventurer, and Eiworth was a former Rank A. Their influence among fellow adventurers was considerable.

We waited in front of the village, and observed the group approaching us through the trees. However, their numbers had clearly decreased. They were missing about ten people.

I scanned for presences, and found them trying to circle around to the rear of the village. Did they split into two squads? But why?

Either way, there’s no way they simply stumbled upon the village accidentally.