The Monster City Of Belgion

The southern capital, Belgion.

It was a perpetually warm city, and many tourists came there to swim in the sea.

The area surrounding the city in the southern part of the Kingdom of Etowars had been home to large numbers of monsters since ancient times.

As a result, adventurers gathered in the city to hunt monsters. Many Monster Tamers and others who raised and trained monsters also lived there, and tournaments where monsters competed against one another were sometimes held in the arena.

Because the city prospered through monsters, people called it the Monster City.

Here and there along the sidewalks, people could be seen walking miniature dragons and canine monsters—Demon Hounds.

Yuri strode confidently down the tree-lined main avenue, clearly familiar with the city.

Partway along, she turned into a narrow alley, which opened into a shopping district.

It was an area known as Apothecary Alley.

She entered one of the shops there, and I followed her inside.

Yuri placed a cloth bag filled with medicinal herbs on the counter before the shopkeeper.

The shopkeeper glanced between Yuri and the herbs inside the bag, then grinned.

“How about five thousand Xenos for the lot, miss?”

“…Then I’ll sell them somewhere else.”

“Whoa, whoa, sorry. I was joking. How about eight thousand Xenos?”

“I think I’ll still go somewhere else. Another shop offered me ten thousand Xenos.”

“Wait, wait! Fine!! I’ll give you ten thousand and fifty Xenos.”

Yuri was clearly very accustomed to selling medicinal herbs and monsters to merchants. She knew the market prices properly and wasn’t the sort to let anyone buy from her cheaply.

Having supported the Hero for so long, Yuri was surprisingly tough and resourceful.

…Honestly, I got the feeling she could probably survive through self-sufficiency even without becoming an adventurer.

That said, simply selling herbs and monsters wouldn’t exactly provide a stable livelihood. Herbs couldn’t be gathered during winter, and you couldn’t hunt monsters whenever you pleased either, so it would be difficult.

As an adventurer, though, you could always visit an Adventurers’ Guild Hall and find requests posted on the job board. Once you reached B-rank or above, there was never any shortage of work.

After selling the herbs, we decided to sell the giant rabbit Arangora at a Monster Exchange.

I knew a good place, so I guided Yuri there.

The shop never tried to lowball its customers, and since I was a regular, they often gave me favorable treatment too.

“Recently, a young lady from a marquis family has been asking for Arangora fur. We haven’t had any decent stock, so you’ve really helped us out.”

The shopkeeper spoke with a delighted expression while inspecting the quality of the Arangora’s fur.

Apparently, we’d brought it in at exactly the right time.

Not only did he pay us twice the usual price, he also gave us some of the Arangora meat after butchering it.

Arangora meat was tender yet pleasantly springy, and because of its excellent flavor, it was sometimes used in high-end cuisine.

There was quite a lot of meat, so we stored it in a Storage Ball to take home.

“I’ll make fried Arangora tonight.”

“Oh, I’m looking forward to that.”

As we chatted and left the alley, we found the main avenue unusually lively.

Th-There were so many people we couldn’t move forward.

What the hell was going on?

And it was both sidewalks along the main avenue that were packed.

The middle of the road had been left completely clear.

Was there some kind of parade? Accomplished adventurers occasionally held parades in this city after particularly impressive achievements.

“Ah, here they come!”

“It’s the people from the Twilight Ravens!”

“Amazing… That’s really Nick Bluestar.”

Nick Bluestar.

He was an SS-rank adventurer and a hero who had once saved an entire country from an army of orcs.

He was also the leader of the Twilight Ravens, a party composed of some of the strongest adventurers around.

I’d only ever heard his name before, so this was my first time seeing him in person.

A young man riding a bluish-black horse smiled as he waved to the crowd.

His straight silver hair was pulled tightly back into a single ponytail, and his pale blue eyes had sharply defined double eyelids that gave him a cool, composed appearance. His facial features were equally refined.

Rumors even claimed he might be the illegitimate son of some king, and his elegant, handsome face certainly gave him that kind of noble air.

That was why shrill cheers erupted wherever he passed.

Following behind Nick was a girl who looked like a mage, her hood pulled low over her face. A young beastman with canine ears and a tail like Wolk’s was probably some kind of martial artist. He carried no weapon, but wore knuckle guards over his fists. A petite, adorable dwarf girl rode a horse with a massive axe resting over her shoulder, completely at odds with her cute appearance. And the young man adjusting his glasses was probably a priest.

They chatted and laughed among themselves while waving to the crowd.

They really seemed to get along.

Their party must have had an exceptionally strong bond.

The Twilight Ravens seemed like a good adventuring party. I wished Yuri could have traveled with people like them.

“Ah, look, look!! It’s the Hero-sama!”

“Eeeek! It’s really him!!”

“Didn’t he defeat the dragon at the Wars Ruins recently?”

The instant Yuri heard the words Hero-sama, her expression stiffened.

I patted her shoulder and asked, “Are you okay?”

“Yeah… I was just a little surprised. I didn’t think they’d be here today.”

Neither did I.

We hadn’t exactly run into them directly, but I hadn’t expected us to end up in the same place on the same day. So the combat tournament was today.

I wanted to get Yuri away from here immediately, but the crowd around us was so dense that moving was difficult.

“Doesn’t the Hero-sama look kind of pale?”

“Is he getting enough sleep…?”

“Unlike the Twilight Ravens, his group looks downright miserable.”

Just as some of the spectators were saying, the Hero’s party was surrounded by a heavy atmosphere completely unlike the Twilight Ravens.

The mage girl and the female priest were both looking away from each other and didn’t even seem willing to make eye contact.

I couldn’t help muttering.

“Are those two fighting or something?”

“That’s normal for them. They’re always arguing.”

“R-Really?”

Rosa was the only one among them who looked relaxed. She waved at a young man who seemed to be a noble and gave him a wink.

The Hero, meanwhile, looked sleep-deprived, his face pale and dark circles visible beneath his eyes.

If the Twilight Ravens were a cheerful team, then apart from Rosa, the Hero’s party was an awfully gloomy one.

Besides the Twilight Ravens and the Hero’s party, other adventurers who had distinguished themselves were also participating in the parade.

Their destination was the arena.

Apparently, the parade had been organized by the arena’s owner, a man named Gorius Teslard.

Just hearing that name somehow made me picture a huge, burly old guy.

“Yuri, have you ever competed in the arena?”

“I always had too many things to do, so I’ve never participated.”

…Of course that idiot Hero wouldn’t have let Yuri take part in something this glamorous.

Yuri stared intently in the direction of the arena.

There was something almost yearning in her gaze… Since Yuri wanted to discover the extent of her own abilities, perhaps she’d always wanted to test herself in the arena at least once.

But you had to apply for the combat tournament in advance.

They didn’t allow same-day walk-ins, so she’d have to wait for another opportunity.

Still, if there were seats available, we should at least be able to watch.

There were priority seats reserved for adventurers registered with the Guild.

“Yuri, why don’t we go watch the combat tournament too?”

“What!? …But Van and the others will be there too… I don’t really want to run into them.”

“Yeah, I know. We just have to make sure they don’t spot us.”

“What!?”