Talking with the innkeeper, we began completing the procedures needed in renting a room . After filling out the register, the innkeeper turned towards us . [Are you two mercenaries?] [Yes . Though, we haven’t really registered on the mercenary guild yet . ] I heard that there were many mercenaries that also weren’t registered in the guild . This kind of reasoning shouldn’t be unnatural . [Is the reason that you came in here the Blood Colosseum?] [That’s one of the reasons . ] Of course, that’s just a lie . I’ve heard of the Blood Colosseum from Seras earlier . It’s an arena where slaves and mercenaries kill each other . It reminds me of those colosseums back in ancient Rome . The warriors fighting here were called “Blood Champions” . Seras explained it before . “The recreational aspects of the people nowadays were strong enough already, but that place has also been a place where they could evaluate the strength of mercenaries who want to join the guild . Of course, I heard that culture also made some of the mercenaries withdraw . ” That’s why, it weren’t unusual for mercenaries to visit Monroy for the purpose of watching the matches in the Blood Colosseum . “You would receive a reward if you were to win a match . So, most of the mercenaries who joined were those who were troubled with putting food in their plate . There were also some slaves that became popular Blood Champions which can earn a good amount of money for their owners . That’s why, these slaves were most often not sold to mercenaries, but they were kept in the Blood Colosseum because of their popularity . ” There were two organizations that controlled the Blood Colosseum . One of Urza’s dukes . And the Mercenary Guild . Nevertheless, it was really the right choice that I won Seras over to my side . She knows most of the basic knowledge of this world . You could even call her a walking human dictionary . No, it’s actually an elf dictionary huh... [It seems that the mercenary guild have a hand on various things . ] I look towards the signboard with the figure of letter and Mark on it . We’ve already left the inn and were walking along the main street together with Seras . [The guild exists in every country in this continent . It’s an organization that could be relied on by those mercenaries that were travelling across countries . The Mercenary Guild and the Magician Guild seem to have a lot of influence in every country . ] Mercenary Guild huh... If I remember it correctly, they also had a hand in that exploration in Mills Ruins . Anyway, we first went towards the tool shop . I began gathering the available tools that were easy to carry around . Thanks to Seras’ haggling, the price has been cut down a bit . After leaving the tool shop, I could feel the small pouch in my pocket . There is the Azure Dragon Stone inside of it . I thought of changing it into money but— I stopped . If that were to be circulated into the market, that topic would surely spread out the area . Naturally, the person who sold the Azure Dragon Stone would also be talked about . I don’t want to stand out for no reason at all . I close down the small pouch . Fortunately, my purse is still quite loaded . I’ve obtained some gold from those pair of skeletons in the Disposal Ruins . There’s also the money I’ve taken from those four-person group who followed Seras . And also, the money after I’ve sold those expensive jewelry and ornaments I’ve obtained in the MIlls Ruins . The total amount after all the money I’ve obtained were combined were quite large . We were quite rich in terms of money . Thanks to that, we don’t have to worry about the travelling expenses we would need . However, saving money is still necessary . [As usual, you’re quite good at bargaining . ] When it comes to bargaining, Seras isn’t someone easy . She doesn’t really intimidate others . She still has that gentle demeanor . However, she won’t yield at the times that it matters the most . [It’s just that I’m quite stingy . ] [I think you should rather call it thrifty . You don’t have to be that self-deprecating about it . ] Seras holds back a laugh as she smiles . [It seems that Milord is quite skilled at grabbing the hearts of his subordinates . ] Can’t you just say that I’m completely conscious about the circumstances of my subordinates? [By the way, I’d like to find out about that black egg I found at Mills Ruins if possible . ] There is a public library here in Monroy . If you were to put it in another way, I guess you could call it the national library . [Can anyone just go in and out of that place?] [If it’s about those archives that’s opened to the public, I’m quite certain that’s—] Seras seems to be trying to recall something . [If you’re an unregistered resident in the royal capital, you would need to be issued a permit before you were approved to go in . That permit only works for a day though . ] Even the elf dictionary herself doesn’t know this black egg . Is it possible that this black egg would ever appear in any book ever published? [It might be better if we were to ask that person we’re going to about that egg . ] If it were the Witch of Taboos, she may know something about this . We decided to have dinner in a nearby tavern . The taverns also serves as a good place for gathering information . This is the ideal place to get information about the latest news . We started going into the wide tavern . First, I requested some herbal water and food . I don’t really drink alcohol, but I also ask for some . It’s because it blends with the surroundings . Because I’m in a different world, it wouldn’t matter even if I were considered a minor . I don’t really have any good impression of alcohol because of my real parents . That’s why I hate alcohol . Even if I know that the alcohol itself is innocent . By the way, it seems that Seras could drink a little . While eating my meal, I listened to the conversations around me . I could hear the conversations in the nearby seats . [Hey, have you heard?] [Nomnomnom~... Hm? What is it?] [It’s about the Black Dragon Knights . ] [Is it that story again?] [No, no . This story is about how they were annihilated . ] [Oh? Did you obtain any new information?] [This one’s a story that came from a man who works in the Royal Castle, you know?] [Hohou... Then this one should be trustworthy . ] He based it all on the source of information huh... ɴᴇᴡ ɴᴏᴠᴇʟ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀʀᴇ ᴘᴜʙʟɪsʜᴇᴅ ᴏɴ n0velfire.net [Seras Ashrain, who were considered as the culprit of their annihilation, seems to have been dead now . ] Seras suddenly have a difficult expression on her face . It seems that some food have clogged in her throat . I held out a cup of water to her . Drinking the water, Seras takes a deep breath . [Thank you... S- Sorry about that . ] She suddenly hears a story about her death . She must have been really surprised about that abrupt news . Without caring about her reaction just now, the men continued talking . [Did she die after she fought against the Five Dragon Warriors?] [No, my guess is that Seras Ashrain just lost against them and died . ] [Eh? Then, who defeated the Five Dragon Warriors?] [Yep, as I thought . You really haven’t heard it yet . I heard that the death of the Five Dragon Warriors were the deed of Ashinto . ] [That rumored group of sorcerers I’ve heard recently huh...] [Yeah . They seem to be going around the place, claiming that the Five Dragon Warriors fell from their magic . ] I exchange glances with Seras . Hiding my voice, I said . [Recently, there have been rumors about some kind of sorcery all around the place . ] [Is sorcery something you common?] [No, it’s not common at all . ] Seras briefly explained . Chanting incantations . These two were more commonly known by the public . If I dare to add a third type of magic in that list, it would be the “skill” of the Heroes . [What about Spirit Techniques?] It seems to belong in a minor category because the number who could efficiently use that magic is small . Speaking of which, even the people who were talking about it in that tavern in Mills were quite vague with their understanding in this type of ability . In the first place, you could rarely find Elves which were the people who could use Spirit Techniques . It is only recently that sorcery has begun to spread . The one that were spreading out these out were a group of sorcerers called Ashinto . [I heard that it’s a group who worships the God of Curses . ] [In short, they’re trying to spread their sorcery with that huh...] The criminals who killed the Five Dragon Warriors . It might be good that they took responsibility of that for me . Naturally, their lies may be found out sooner or later . However, they would still be able to somewhat disturb the search of the real culprits . I don’t really know the extent of this world’s information network but... Well, we would be entering the Demon Zone tomorrow . I guess I’ll let them earn some time for me . By the way, as for where that Ashinto right now— [We are Ashinto’s Guardians!] The door of the tavern was thrown open . [We’re the Curse Guardians of the fallen child of the God of Curses, Muaji-sama! Now then, vacate your seats at once!] A group of people wearing purple robes came inside in droves . It must be the aforementioned group of sorcerers . It seems that they’re in Urza . Diving the spoon in the bowl, I scooped out some soup . [So that’s the group of sorcerers who cursed the Five Dragon Warriors to their deaths huh...]