“What’s wrong? Your face is pale. Is buying stock in Davron that dangerous? Should we cancel?”
Neon noticed that something was wrong and looked at me with concern.
“Um, the trip isn’t what’s dangerous…”
I didn’t know where to begin explaining. I panicked.
“Calm down. Take your time.”
She gripped both my shoulders and spoke slowly in a composed tone. Watching her, I gradually calmed down too.
“Neon, to put it simply, this town is going to be attacked by monsters. And if things continue as they are, there’s a high chance it will fall.”
“What?! How did you learn something like that from asking about a buying trip?”
Neon was startled too, but after telling me to calm down, she tried to hide her own agitation.
“I received the answer that leaving town will constantly be dangerous from the second day onward. Most likely, monsters will attack starting two days from now, and we’ll be unable to leave. I’m going to narrow down what will attack us now.”
“R-right…”
Hearing that, Neon began thinking through various possibilities.
『Is the attacking monster rank A or higher?』
『No.』
『Is it a rank-B monster?』
『Yes.』
It was a small mercy that it wasn’t rank A, but rank B was bad enough. The strongest adventurers in this town were rank C, and there was only one party at that level. This had to be extremely serious.
『Will it attack with a pack?』
『Yes.』
Most likely, a great horde led by the rank-B monster was coming.
“Neon, apparently it’s a rank-B monster.”
“Rank B?! You’re joking, aren’t you? This town doesn’t have the strength to withstand an attack by a rank-B monster! Why…? But we still have time. If we take all our money and merchandise and flee right now…”
Neon began muttering to herself.
“I’m going to the Adventurers’ Guild to gather information.”
“A-all right. I’ll prepare whatever I can too.”
I immediately headed for the Adventurers’ Guild. I sprinted all the way there and threw open the door. A few people looked my way, but I went straight to the counter.
“T-this is terrible! A huge force of monsters is coming to this town!”
“W-what do you mean? What sort of monsters?”
The receptionist was startled by my words, but quickly asked for details.
“I don’t know that yet… But a rank-B monster is coming here.”
“What do you mean, you don’t know? How could you possibly know that much?”
In an instant, the receptionist’s gaze changed to the wary look reserved for suspicious people. In my panic, I hadn’t explained enough.
“My skill… told me. Do you know of any rank-B monsters that appear in this region?”
“Monsters as powerful as rank B don’t appear near Delcour. Rank B is severe enough for the kingdom’s army to be mobilized. The last one appeared more than fifty years ago—a monster called a grand crocodile. It was over eight meters long, covered in steel-like scales, and had four eyes and six legs. I heard it attacked the town with a large number of red crocodiles back then and caused enormous damage, but it was ultimately slain.”
『Is it a grand crocodile that’s coming?』
『Yes.』
“That’s it! A grand crocodile is going to appear!”
“I see. But we can’t take action when there haven’t been any sightings. When you say your skill tells you, is it some sort of danger-detection skill?”
A danger-detection skill allowed its holder to sense threats on their skin. Some adventurers possessed such skills, though the range differed from person to person.
“My skill is called Divine Answer—Metis, and…”
I hadn’t intended to say much about it, but I explained Metis to the receptionist as well. She remained doubtful, but I wanted to believe she trusted me at least a little.
“A Unique Skill… I’ll report this to my superiors. But we can’t issue an evacuation warning based on that skill alone. We can’t make everyone leave town merely because one citizen claims danger will arrive in two days.”
I understood what the receptionist meant. I had no credibility. But at this rate, the town was in danger.
“It would still make a difference if you prepared in advance so everyone could evacuate quickly when the monsters arrive. Please, I’m begging you.”
I bowed my head. If I said any more, they would probably throw me out. I was painfully frustrated by my lack of standing.
“Understood.”
I left the Adventurers’ Guild. Learning what was coming was significant, but I probably couldn’t persuade them to evacuate everyone. In the end, it seemed I couldn’t save them all. Should I meet the lord? I doubted I could even secure an audience. Telling him that monsters were coming and he had to empty the town, with only my skill as evidence, sounded far too suspicious.
I wasn’t a hero who could save everyone.
But there were people I had to save: Neon and Eve.
“I have to tell Eve…!”
At this time of day, she should have been patrolling near the main street. I ran through the avenue, searching for her.