Chapter 168: Chapter 107: United Strategy Meeting (1)

In the second floor of The Gourmand’s Indulgence, an inn in Sentopolly, Sero and Asbar sat on a couch placed in the waiting room next to the many food shops lined along the hall.

「We brought a special guest!」

Zef was in the lead of the group that just arrived, raising his voice towards his friends.

「Oh, fancy seeing you here.」

「Ohh! Now that’s a surprise!」

Zef’s loud voice attracted a few onlookers, while Sero and Asbar turned to him and smiled in pleasant surprise seeing Mira.

「You seem to be doing well. Though this was the last place I thought of meeting you in.」

Mira was also happy to see them. The man with short wild red hair was Asbar, who had also been with her in the Ancient Temple Nevrapolis. On the other hand, in contrast to Asbar, with long red hair and androgynous features was Sero, the leader of Écarlate Carillon. He was also a former player like Mira.

「I wasn’t expecting this as well, though this city tends to gather people from all places. Maybe this type of chance reunions are more common than we think.」

「That’s a plausible theory. Where there’s variety in wares, there’s variety in people. Not to mention this region has plenty of dungeons.」

The city had plenty of inns and restaurants. And from what Mira had seen, there were people from all races and occupations visiting the city. As a trading city, there was a constant flow of people and commerce from all the continent passing through Sentopolly. On top of that, that region was rich in dungeons, making it the perfect place to gather gear and quickly go hunting nearby. That made it a good city to visit for adventurers.

「Anyway, what kind of business brings you here, Mira? Is it related to the dates you showed me before?」

Those dates Sero mentioned were the clues Mira had asked them to investigate, which should lead her to the location of the Nine Wisemen. As for her current business, she was helping one of those Nine Wisemen, who also happened to be the leader of the Fifty bells, defeat Chimera Clauzen so she could return to Arkite as a Wiseman. It was rather cumbersome to explain in simple terms.

「Hmm, in a way, I guess…」

After mulling it over, she gave that vague reply. But then she appeared to remember something, raising her voice to exclaim 「Oh right」 while taking out the paper with the dates she had shown Sero.

「You can ignore one of the dates I gave you, June 18th 2032. I’ve already solved that one on my own.」

That day was when the leader of the Fifty Bells Uzume, also known as Kagura of the Seven Stars, had come to this world from the game world. For good or for worse, it seemed that every time a powerful entity like a Wiseman appeared in this world, some sort of conflict started, which served as clues to track them down. Kagura had been found almost by chance, but was found nonetheless so there was no need to look into that date anymore.

「I see, I’ll strike it out then.」

Saying that, Sero took another piece of paper from his pocket and drew a line on it.

「As for the details of my presence here, I’m not sure if this is the best place…」

Taking a look at her surroundings, Mira said 「You decide」 before leaning towards Sero and whispering the outline of Chimera Clauzen’s existence into his ear. As well as how one of the Sky Denizens had claimed their main base was in Sentopolly. Hearing that story, Sero’s face turned more serious.

「I see. We can’t know where they have ears and eyes, so it might be best to talk about it somewhere else. Still, I’m very interested in this story so let’s go somewhere more private. I want to know more.」

Having an idea of what they were dealing with, Sero stood up. The matter had not been made public yet, but on the higher political levels and positions in Unions, Chimera Clauzen had already become a serious threat. If they were allowed to continue harming spirits, there might come a day when the spirits would turn against humans and demand revenge.

On top of that, the source of all that, Chimera Clauzen, still roamed freely outside the nets of justice, escaping like some sort of ephemeral cloud. After hearing that their main base was located near the city, Sero was filled with a burning conviction, given he sympathized with humans and spirits alike.

「Let’s go then.」

There was another reason why Mira wanted Sero to know about Chimera Clauzen. All the information she and Arlon possessed was that it was located somewhere in the country, which made it almost impossible to search for it in a short time frame. On top of that, Chimera had started larger scale movements as of late, so the longer the search took the less advantage they would gain. Luckily enough, Sero’s group was one Mira found trustworthy, knowing they would help if she gave them the information. Sero was clever enough to understand that was what Mira hoped for as well. To discuss the matter more privately, the six stood up and headed to the stairs heading for Sero’s room.

「Oh, Mira. You’re already here?」

Arlon had just come back and they bumped into him on the stairs. He looked very tired and worn, probably from walking around excessively.

「Yes, and you came at the perfect moment. Come with us.」

Mira smiled at the perfect timing of his return while pointing upstairs. Arlon had been out all day trying to find leads to Chimera Clauzen’s base. Since they were going to talk about that group anyway, Mira figured it would make things easier to have Arlon report his findings at the same time.

「Hm? Yeah, sure.」

Arlon took a glance at the people standing with Mira and nodded, before turning to look up the stairs again.

The group sat around a table in Sero’s room, located on the fifth floor of the inn. As the leader of a famous guild, his room was considerably large, having space left even with seven people there. Though the furnishings were rather plain.

「Let me introduce him first, he’s Arlon, an adventurer aiding me in my current mission.」

Mira waited until Emera poured tea for everyone and then raised her voice to introduce Arlon. When she was done, all eyes moved from her to Arlon sitting beside her.

「Nice to meet you, I’m Arlon.」

Arlon looked back at the gazes focusing on him, speaking in a composed manner.

「And these people are…」

「He’s Sero, the leader of the Écarlate Carillon guild, and the rest are his members.」

Mira was about to introduce the rest of the people there, but Arlon interrupted her, already aware of who they were.

「What, you know of them already?」

「Well, they’re really famous. Though I’m more surprised they’re your acquaintances.」

Arlon reclined his back against the chair, crossing his arms while replying matter-of-factly. He was also taken aback by Mira’s broad connections, thinking of Patronager S as well.

「We’ve known each other from a past incident. And well, I’m sorry I didn’t consult with you first, but I was thinking of telling them about Chimera’s base. I’m certain they’ll lend us a hand once they know everything, but what do you think?」

Mira had only asked for his approval after deciding on sharing the information. Usually that would be a bad idea without Arlon’s consent, as they were a team of two, but Mira had already told Sero a portion of the information. Arlon just gave a short 「That sounds like a good idea」 and approved of it though.

Écarlate Carillon was a very well known guild amongst adventurers, in no small part thanks to their humanitarian values and honor. That happened because Sero’s personality was that way, and he had sought similarly minded people to form his group. Considering the Fifty Bells’ position against Chimera Clauzen, Écarlate Carillon would easily sympathize and become powerful allies. And that would be possible thanks to Mira’s incredible connections. As for their current mission, the multiple members of the guild would make the search much easier. Having spent an entire day walking around without rest, Arlon was ready to bow down to the ground if it meant getting their help.

「I’ll explain the situation then.」

Wielding the last shreds of strength still in his body, Arlon told them everything there was to know about the Fifty Bells.

「I’ll definitely help!」

As soon as Arlon finished his exposition, Fricca raised her voice. As a spellcaster, she was especially sensitive when it came to spirits, so hearing Chimera Clauzen’s actions she was the most willing to fight them.

「I’ll help as well.」

After Fricca, Emera also offered her help. She was a kind person that would offer her help free of charge to a couple of children entering a dungeon. And her amiability was no different in regards to spirits, so she was determined to fight against Chimera Clauzen.

「Hearing a story like that, I can’t stay behind either.」

「I can’t call myself a man if I ignore this.」

Zef and Asbar were also willing to participate. They truly were all of a single mind in that guild.

「You’ve heard them. Écarlate Carillon will lend its full support to the Fifty Bells.」

Once everyone had expressed their willingness to help, their leader Sero confirmed their participation.

「Ohh nice. I appreciate that.」