Chapter 7: 7. Party Name & Quest

Leo and Grayfia pondered for a while, before getting out of the way since there were other adventurers that needed to speak with Linda the receptionist. “Any ideas?” Leo asked Grayfia but she shook her head.

<How about—.> Ageha starts, but Leo doesn’t let her finish.

No. he says rather bluntly.

<Dick head.>

Leo ignores Ageha and keeps on thinking about a name. He himself knew that he had never been that creative at coming up with nicknames or titles for things. Even during his childhood, he would sometimes make the most boring or plain ones. To Leo, this problem was equivalent to having an argument with a wall. He couldn’t win.

<Why not just rip-off one you already know?> Ageha suggests.

Rip-off, huh? It didn’t sound bad to him. If he was terrible at naming things, might as well take advantage of his knowledge of many things, right? That made sense to Leo, so he complied with that suggestion. However, he ran into a new problem. Which one...? Leo had many names he could choose from after all.

“…How about Sempiternity Crepuscule?” Leo suggests. This caused Grayfia to look at him with confusion. “It vaguely translates into Endless Twilight or Infinite Darkness.” Truth be told, Leo thought it sounded a bit edgy, but he tried with all his being to come up with it. He also thought why not do some word play with his name that references his party name too.

“I don’t see why not, Leo-sama. It is up to you and I like the name.” Grayfia agreed with him. Since both of them agreed to it, they both waited for the other adventurers to be done with their business. Once they were there, they walked up to Linda again.

“Did you come up with your party name?” She asks them, and they both nod.

“We’ll go with Sempiternity Crepuscule.” After Leo said that, Linda stared at him blankly, confusion apparent on her face. “It means Endless Twilight or Infinite Darkness…” he repeated himself.

“A-Ah! I-I see…t-then please take your card out.” She asked him and he did so. “Now pour some of your mana into it and say the party name again. Oh, and please, Miss Bina, give your card to Mister Leo.” Grayfia took her card out and gave it to Leo.

Injecting his mana into both cards, Leo said the party name again. Once we did that, the two cards briefly glow before returning to normal. Leo looked at it and a new part was added to it.

●●●●

[Adventurer’s Card]:

[Name]: Leo Schwarzer

[Rank]: F

[Party]: Sempiternity Crepuscule (Leader)

[Job]: None

[Mana / Ki]: 1800

[Gender]: Male

[Skills]: Fire Manipulation

●●●●

[Name]: Bina Lessthan

[Rank]: F

[Party]: Sempiternity Crepuscule

[Job]: Maid

[Mana / Ki]: 2800

[Gender]: Female

[Skills]: Elemental Magic

●●●●

Leo nodded satisfied with it, and gave Grayfia’s card back to her. He looked back at Linda who had a look of shock on her face. “What?” Leo asked confused by her reaction.

Linda points at his card, specifically at his mana and ki. “Y-you went up by 300?! How?!” she asks in shock.

Shit, I forgot about that, thankfully she didn’t see Grayfia’s. In response, Leo just shrugged. “We trained yesterday. I guess that’s how? Anyway, we can get a quest now, right?”

Linda nods still in shock as she points at a brown wooden board to their left. “Y-you can get quests over there, b-but please keep in mind that you can only take quests at your rank or 1 rank above. Receptionists determine if you are eligible to take it if it's 1 rank higher. Your safety is our priority after all…” she explains.

“I see, thank you.” Leo thanks her and they leave for the quest board. They quickly arrived in front of it, and there were a few adventurers there too. When Leo looked at the board, he saw a number of quests posted there. Hmm? he notices that most of the ones posted here are F. Leo then looks around to discover there were other boards and other people at them.

“I see, so that’s how it is.” Leo figured out that the one Lind pointed them to was a board specifically with F rank quests, the others were E to S. The one to their immediate left was the E rank board. Leo didn't say anything but kept looking around the board until he found one he wanted to do.

As he reaches up for it, he pulls it off. The quest title reads as such:

●●●●

[Urgent]

[F – Rank Quest]

[Help needed. A beast has been terrorizing our town and we wish for an adventurer to get rid of it or scare it away!]

[Quest Benefactor]: Alma Havens

[Reward]: 25 Gold

[Location]: Town of Sinzafa

[Time limit]: 30 Days

●●●●

Leo turns to Grayfia who he sees also reading it. “Seems simple enough. We also get a lot of gold from it. I suspect it came from someone wealthy in that town." Grayfia also seems to agree, so they gave it to Linda.

“Hmm…I see, it seems doable enough for the both of you. In honesty, I would have been fine if you two took on an E rank quest. This is because your mana and ki were higher than any adventurers in the past few years.” She sighs. "I'm sorry, I'm rambling." She pulls out a stamp and stamps the piece of paper with the quest. It had ‘taken’ in the top right corner and she handed it back to them. “Take care, Mister Leo, Miss Bina.”

“Yeah, we will. By the way, which way is Sinzafa?” Leo inquired, and Linda nodded.

“Just east from here, it should take you a day’s travel on some sort of transportation, and two by foot. Would you like to rent some horses?” she asked them.

“No, we’re fine, but thank you.” Leo waves her off and they leave the guild hall. Once outside they looked at the sky. It was still quite early. “It shouldn’t take us too long to reach it at our speed. Do you want to buy food just in case or just eat in the town when we get there?" Leo asks Grayfia.

“Let us buy food there, Leo-sama. My spatial magic cannot keep things in stasis, so if we buy food, it will just spoil.” Grayfia informs him.

“I see…” Leo thought that might have been the case, however, he was surprised that Grayfia’s ice magic lasted that long. From the time they froze the ogres to the time they brought them out, it was around an hour and a few minutes. Maybe she can just control it while it’s in a different space? That was the conclusion he came to.

“Well let’s just go then. It’s east from here.” Leo looks to his left. Since we were facing North, and Linda was facing South, that means we should head to our left instead of right. But it’ll be better to make sure. Leo spots another adventurer and asks him where Sinzafa was, and what he thought was correct.

“Shall we inform Biselda?” Grayfia asks. Since it would likely take them more than a day, Leo agreed to it. The two of them quickly make their way back to the inn and once they get there, they inform Biselda about their quest.

“Thanks for telling me; I’ll close up shop early tonight then. We only have two other people staying with us. Be safe now.” Biselda was luckily sweeping the front of the inn so the pair of them could tell her relatively quickly.

“Yeah, you too, Biselda.” Leo waves at her before they quickly dash away. Once they arrive at the gate they turn left. Today it was different guards, so they didn’t speak with them. Leo and Grayfia moved away from the guards so they wouldn’t hear them.

“All right, let’s establish some things first. Let’s kill any monsters on the way there, some we’ll keep for selling gold back at the guild and I’ll devour the rest.” Leo said and Grayfia agreed. “Next…” Leo was unsure if he should say the next part.

Leo, when he reincarnated into the world, he didn’t consider himself a hero, or some self-righteous person wanting to save everyone. He just wanted to live life and get stronger. It wasn’t some kind of grand ambition, but it was a goal he set for himself. Leo also knows that Grayfia is a devil, but in the world she previously existed in, Issei Hyoudou was basically the Perverted Dragon Jesus.

Although he did charitable deeds, most people in that world were just amused by his perverted antics, and didn't really scold him. Leo didn’t hate the guy. The series would cease to exist if he wasn’t the protagonist, and he stopped most major villains, so the world would be screwed without him.

But if he compares himself to Issei, then they’re fundamentally different. Issei would go out of his way to help someone, whereas Leo wouldn't, unless he would gain something from it.

“Leo-sama?” Grayfia called out his name, confused by his sudden silence. Leo sighed before deciding to tell her. After listening to him and his reasoning she nodded. “Yes, that would make sense. I, as a devil also agree. You and I wouldn’t stand to benefit from helping a random stranger. So I wholeheartedly agree, Leo-sama.”

Leo was stunned, but— It makes sense, I keep forgetting that she isn’t the Grayfia of ‘Canon’, meaning she hasn’t had Sirzechs’ influence, nor the Gremory family that values their servants and treats them like family. It’s also only been a few years since the Civil War… Leo wryly smiled. He was kind of grateful that they took this Grayfia from that universe and not another.

“Great, let’s head out then.” Leo said and the both of them dashed away, leaving an even larger dust cloud behind them. The guards who were watching from a distance that hadn’t heard their conversation looked at one another stunned.

“What the…”

“Adventurers and their powers…how envious.”

“Oh come on! We were chosen to be guards. That has to mean something, right?" The other complained but got no response from his fellow guard.

●●●●

Grayfia matched Leo’s speed. Even though he was moving as fast as he could, he knew she could still run faster. The two travelers started looking around them as they made their way towards Sinzafa. They didn't know what kind of town it was, or how big it was, but they were determined to reach it as soon as possible.

Along the way, they mostly passed mountains, hills, and open fields. There were also some occasional forests, but they were also quite small. Nothing stood out, and there weren’t many houses here.

Could these places be full of monsters, so people just avoid living here? I have to admit that it looks quite picturesque. Leo thought while checking out his surroundings. However— There should be items that can ward monsters off, right? There were games in my past that had such an item. So all they had to do was make it into an even larger item and put it around their home to ward them off.

“Leo-sama.” But Leo’s thoughts were interrupted again when he heard Grayfia call out his name. He looked at her as she was looking straight ahead. He followed her gaze and found…a carriage being attacked by what looked to be bandits. “What shall we do? Stop and help, or keep going?”

Leo pondered for a second before deciding. “Do they look rich?” he asked her.

Grayfia squints her eyes and nods. “It seems so.”

“Let’s help them then. Maybe we can get some kind of reward.” After that Leo ignited his fists, and Grayfia got ready.

“Give us everything you got!” one of the bandits said in a threatening tone while pointing a sword at the rich people.

“W-we already did! That’s all the things we have on us right now!” a man shouts looking rather terrified.

“No…you still have something.” The bandit gave him a wicked grin and looked at the female beside the rich man.

“No! You can’t! She’s my only daughter!” he pleaded, but of course, his cries fell on deaf ears as the bandit snatched up the rich man’s daughter.

“Nooo!!” she shrieked in horror. But that only got a round of laughs out of the bandits. In total, there were 30 of them, and the small carriage of the rich family had 5 guards, father and daughter.

“Like we give a shi—.”

Boom!

The bandit started to say something but then suddenly erupted into flames and started to scream. Everyone there was shocked but then looked to their right.

“Make it quick! Devour!” Leo shouted and the dead bandit’s corpse was consumed as a large jet-black aura appeared out of his left hand.

“W-what the hell?! Shit! Kill them! They have to be adventurers!” one of them commands and the others start to run towards Leo and Grayfia.

“One of them is a woman! Catch her and we can have fun tonight! "She doesn't look bad either!" another shouted, getting loud screams of approval.

Hell no! Leo got annoyed by what one of them said. Therefore, he created a spear out of flames and using all his physical prowess threw it at the bandit who said that! The projectile quickly reached him and pierced his head! “Devour!” And again, Leo devoured the piece of scum.

“Gross, but you’re giving me some strength at least.” Leo comments as the pair of them approach them before splitting up. Leo took on 15 bandits, while Grayfia took on the remaining 13.

“Are you trying to be a hero, kid?! You’ll get yourse—.” The bandit starts to say, but Leo pierces him in the head with a new flame spear.

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“I don’t need dumb speeches from fodder. Devour." The moment Leo killed the guy, Leo immediately devoured him. The rest of the bandits became uneasy.

Who wouldn’t be? Some strange man shows up, immediately kills three of their comrades and ‘eats’ them, leaving no clothes, items, blood or even bones. That is strange, way too bizarre!

“Shit! Get him!” one of them says, and the rest hesitantly charge forward.

God, I wish I could—no, I can! Leo changed his flame spear into a flame sword, and dashed towards a couple of bandits. God of Anime, don’t fail me now! Leo gripped the flame sword with both hands and brought the flaming sword near to his chest, once he got in range of the bandits…

Flame Breathing: First Form: Unknowing Fire!! Leo screamed in his head while doing a powerful sideways horizontal slash!

Shing!

Leo’s flame sword cuts through all three bandits in front of him! And he immediately devoured them! However, he didn’t leave them any breathing room. Leo changed his flame sword back to a spear and appeared in front of the other bandits who didn’t react in time!

Choosing to target their heads, Leo aimed for a swift death for them. There were 5 bandits in front of him and in quick succession, he pierced their heads with the flaming spear! With the added flames, it made piercing human skin easier, although Leo still grimaced at taking life—human life.

But he had to do it in order to advance and grow. Fights like this will become more common for him in the future. Once all 5 were dead, he devoured them and turned to the remaining 7, 4 had started to run away, terrified at what they had just seen.

“Where are you going?” Leo asked while he dashed in front of the 4 that had started to run away. Only 1 of them reacted in time and saw Leo in front of them. “Weren’t you planning to kill them, and assault the daughter?!” With his newly acquired strength, Leo quickly dispatches the 4 with simple thrusts to the head.

He turns to face the remaining 3 while devouring the 4 that just died. “M-m-m-monster!!!” one of them shouted while falling to the ground. The other two start to run away, but…with his free hand, he points his index finger at the other two and hits them with fire bullets, setting them ablaze.

““Ahhhhhhh!!"" both men screamed as they were set ablaze and slowly burned to death. Logic and reason had left them. The only thing in their minds was to escape and get as far away from Leo as possible.

That was an error. They should have stayed calm, because both of them could use water magic to put themselves out, but they were too panicked to think clearly. Leo disappeared and reappeared beside the two burning corpses and devoured them.

He walked to the last terrified bandit and looked down at him. “Why?” the bandit asked.

“Why?” repeated Leo. “What do you mean by why? You chose this life; you couldn’t be bothered to try to live a more honest one?” Leo asked rather emotionlessly, but he knew at the back of his mind that some of those bandits may have tried to do that in the past, but had to result into doing this.

He wasn’t some naïve child that saw the world in black and white. He saw that first hand in his old world, even in his boring old office job. His co-workers would backstab each other to get ahead in their jobs. It didn’t matter if they had to throw someone under the bus for it.

Leo knows full well how despicable the human race can get. “Monster…” the bandit said and closed his eyes. Leo aimed his spear at his head.

"I hope you understand. We're just on opposite sides of the playing field." Leo says to him, piercing his head and devouring him.

<…>

Leo turned back to see that Grayfia was already done. Most of the bandits she faced were either frozen solid, or were pierced by her ice magic. Leo sighs and dismisses his flaming spear. He looks at all the dead bandits that Grayfia killed and nods to her.

Grayfia dismisses the ice and they all fall to the ground still dead. Leo then used devour on all of them. Both of them finally turned to the stunned family. “Are you two okay?” Leo asks as he looks at the dead guards they had.

“Y-yes…” the father finally answered Leo. “T-thank you…” his daughter was still too scared to answer and was still crying on his shoulder. She looked around 16 to 17 years of age, and Leo took note of that.

Leo looked at Grayfia and they both agreed to let them calm down for a few minutes before asking them questions.

●●●●

Around 5 minutes later, the father had calmed down significantly and was ready to talk. The daughter was left in the carriage and Grayfia sat by her. The father approached Leo.

“Excuse me?” the man called out making Leo turn to face him. Leo had been on-guard watching their surroundings just in case those bandits had reinforcements or in case monsters showed up.

“Hmm? Oh, are you ready to speak now?” Leo asks and the man nods. “Great, so I can guess why they attacked you, so I won’t ask about it. Where are you headed?” The man was taken a little back by Leo’s bluntness.

“W-we’re actually heading back to Sinzafa, but as you saw we were attacked by bandits…our guards were killed first, and then—well, the worst-case scenario didn’t happen since you two showed up, thank you.” He stops to shake Leo’s hand.

Not wanting to be an absolute asshole, he shakes his hand back. “Really? We’re on our way to Sinzafa too, since we—.”

“D-did you two accept the quest that was put up?!” the man asked. Leo was a bit surprised by the sudden mood change.

“Yeah we did, why? Do you know who posted it?” he asks the man and he nods.

“Y-yes, yes, I do! The mayor of the town asked me to post it, and we were just on our way back! This is great, we can go back together!” he exclaimed enthusiastically.

Ah, so he’s the one who posted it? And he seems to know the mayor. Okay, I think this is a good opportunity. We might get a bigger reward if we go back with this man and his daughter. He may put a good word in for us… Leo smiled at the man. “Let me talk to my teammate and see what we can do for you two.” Leo patted the man on the shoulder and walked towards Grayfia.

The man quickly followed Leo, and once they were near the carriage, he gestured for Grayfia to join him. “We’ll need to discuss it, but we should be on our way soon enough.” The man nods and rushes over to his daughter, and they hug.

“Leo-sama? "What are our next steps?" the maid asked.

“They’re the ones who posted the quest we’re going to do. But it came from the mayor of the town, and he seems to be close to them, so if we escort them back, then our reward may increase. How about it? I’ll carry the dad, and you carry the daughter?” Leo asks Grayfia who seems to agree almost instantly.

“Yes, I do not mind, Leo-sama. She seems to like me, that human female.” Grayfia says while looking at the daughter who in turn waves to her since they had finished hugging.

Human female, huh? Well, I guess that part of her is still there. Devils do look down on humans, but I guess I’m the exception right now. Leo wryly smiles at her. “All right, let’s get to it then.” Both of them walk over to the family of two.

“Um, I didn't get your name.” Leo chuckles to himself, and the man nods.

“I’m Patrick and this is my daughter Melisa.” The man named Patrick answers Leo.

“Right. I’m Leo, this is Bina my partner. Anyway, to cut a long story short, we’ll go and bring you two back to Sinzafa.” Leo tells them and they seem relieved, but—.

“H-how will you do that, may I ask?” He looks around and doesn’t see any kind of transportation.

“I’ll carry you and Bina will carry Melisa.” When Leo said that, they were stunned.

“C-carry? Y-you don’t have some kind of transportation?” he asked a bit astonished by what Leo said.

“No we don’t, but rest assured we’ll be faster than any transportation you have ridden before.” Leo turns around and bends down showing Patrick his back. He wanted to carry him on his back, but there was no way in hell Leo was going to carry him like a princess/bride.

The one to make the decision for the two was Melisa as she went over to Grayfia, who didn’t mind carrying her bridal-style. Leo heard Patrick sigh behind him and felt his hands on his shoulder. Leo was much taller than Patrick. Leo was 5’11” while Patrick was 5’6”.

Leo was also a lot more in shape than Patrick as he was a bit more on the chubby side, although Leo didn’t feel much of a difference. “Up we go…” he muttered and looked at Grayfia. “Let’s get started then. Make sure to hold on tight or you might fall.” Leo says and gets ready to run.

“Eh? What do you mea—Ahhhhhhhhhh!!!!" Patrick didn’t get to finish his sentence as Leo sprinted forward at a speed that Patrick could only dream of. “W-w-w-what is this?” Patrick shrieked and basically hugged Leo’s neck while screaming.

He’s loud… Leo thought while getting a slight headache. He then looked over at Grayfia and saw that Melisa was having the time of her life. She was looking at what was in front of her and enjoying the speed they were moving at.

Leo and Grayfia passed through the same terrain that they had passed earlier. It seemed never ending. However, Patrick had stopped screaming and started telling Leo some history about the place. But that was until—.

“What? Why did it…why is this place so barren?” Leo asks, as all around him had become some sort of wasteland.

Dead trees littered the place. The small puddles of water he could see were green and looked toxic. In the distance, there were also some monsters and animals that he could see had undergone some kind of mutation.

“I wasn’t born back then, but apparently the Gods and Demons had a war in our realm before, and this was one of the places that was a battlefield. Many speculate why Grosscarriage is like this, and how it got its name.” Patrick sighs and looks around at the place.

Grayfia and Leo had slowed down considerably as they both wanted to take it all in a little longer.

“Do you see up ahead? In the far distance? It returns to normal. It's such a strange phenomenon. Seeing it, even for an unknown number of times, I can’t help but think that the Gods and Demons were truly the ones to create such an area.” Patrick says while pointing ahead of them.

Leo looked ahead and it did indeed have some sort of cut-off point. It really does change, but does the effect disappear immediately, or does it seep into that area a little? Leo wanted to see for himself.

“I know that expression, young Leo. It does not intersect, that’s another reason for us to believe the Gods and Demons were responsible. It’s like slicing through butter with a sharp knife…a clean cut you could say. If you wish to look, I do not mind a brief detour.” He tells him. Leo looks at Grayfia who heard the conversation and agreed.

“Thanks.” Both of them sped up and they quickly reached the area where it had returned to normal. After turning left, they passed some trees and could clearly see that none of the toxic material had reached here. It was as if there had been a distinct line between them. Leo couldn’t help but stare at it in fascination and curiosity.

“Anyway, let’s keep moving forward. How far until we reach your town?” Leo asks as she starts to run at a moderate speed.

“You have not been there before? If I estimate based on your previous speed...then we’ll reach Sinzafa in around 30 minutes.” Replied Patrick, and Leo nodded.

“All right, we’ll go at the speed then.” Leo looked at Grayfia who agreed and they both increased their speed; the only goal now was to reach the town as quick as possible and get this quest started.

●●●●

“There! That’s it!” Patrick said while pointing in front of them, but Leo could already see it with his eyes.

The town of Sinzafa was surrounded by a lush forest. Leo who had become a bit stronger could feel a lot of animals and a few monsters nearby. The majority of them, however, did not enter the town. The architecture of the town was nearly identical to that of Vrearc, but on a smaller scale.

There were no large buildings or towers. The largest building was a church, and the other was what Leo assumed to be the town hall. They passed by the gates of the town that had no guards, but had poles sticking out of the ground that emitted a strange energy. Leo noted that, and also saw more of it all over the town, both within and around its borders.

The town wasn’t large, and since the houses were small to medium in size, he could see the small walls that separated them from the forest. Could the problem be some kind of monster that keeps coming into the town or something? Leo thought and slowed his speed down.

“You can let me down now, Leo. We can walk to the mayor’s home from here.” Patrick informed the young man and he did so.

“Please follow me then.” Patrick says and takes the lead. Melisa, his daughter also walks beside him. Grayfia walks over to Leo’s side.

Leo started to look at the town, and saw that it was normal. They passed by a small fountain, and what looked like the town center or square. In the four corners there were shops that were selling different kinds of products. Even though the town was small, it was quite lively despite what was happening.

The residents of the town greeted Patrick and Melisa, and looked at Leo and Grayfia with curiosity but also gave them a friendly wave. Leo waved at them just to be courteous, but Grayfia kept her eyes closed.

“They seem friendly but feel a bit tense.” Leo comments. He saw them smiling at him, but some were forced or tired. Leo didn’t know why. Could whatever be happening in this town be happening at night? Leo noted some of them having black spots under their eyes.

But before Leo could speak with Grayfia they arrived at the town hall. Patrick greets some people at the door and they step through. Once in the building, it was quite luxurious, like the restaurant they ate at in Vrearc. But he didn’t have time to admire the place as Patrick walked up some stairs in front of them.

On both sides of the stairs were what seemed to be reception areas. Following Patrick, they veered right, and then went to the door at the end of the second floor. Patrick knocks on it and they hear a voice telling them to go in.

“Patrick! You’re—why are you bloody?!” a middle-aged woman begins to say but when she sees Patrick’s clothing, a look of panic flashes across her face. She walks over and starts patting him all over. “And little Melisa too! What happened?!”

Patrick chuckles and stops the woman. “We’re fine, Alma. We were ambushed by bandits but those two adventurers behind us saved us. And as fortune would have it, they also accepted the quest we sent to the guild today.” Once Patrick finished saying that, the woman named Alma seemed relieved.

Alma? The same benefactor as the quest? So she’s the mayor then… Alma Haven. Leo looks at Alma as she gives them both a grateful look.

Alma Haven has a slender body, long flowing purple hair, grey eyes, and wears a large brown coat, long brown skirt, and heels. She takes the coat off and tosses it on a chair, revealing that she was wearing a white sweater underneath.

“That’s Leo and Bina, they’ve come to take on our quest.” Patrick introduces them.

“I’m Leo and this is Bina, my partner. Nice to meet you, Alma. I’ll cut to the chase, what’s happening in this town?” Leo asks the woman who gives him a dejected and tired smile.

“It seems you noticed the tired look on our people?” Alma asks and Leo nods. “It started 4 months ago. We don’t know what caused it, but…some of our food started to disappear at night. At first, we thought some of the local ruffians were just doing pranks, so we checked their hideouts, but found nothing.”

"Then we thought it was the monsters, but that should be impossible since we have Celestial Nails around our town to keep them out. So that should be impossible. We checked all around the perimeter to see if anything had been dug up and thrown away or had broken. But all of them are functioning.”

“However, it got worse a month ago as whatever was causing this started to do it at night and they were quite loud about it. The noises it made were quite horrifying…please help us. Not only are our food supplies slowly dwindling as winter approaches, now this thing tortures us at night by keeping us awake.” Alma bows to Leo and Grayfia. Patrick and Melisa did the same thing.

However, Alma keeps talking. “We have tried to hire adventurers in the past, but they all vanished during the night…we don’t know if they left or were taken by that thing. We asked the guild for help multiple times, but they asked us to send in a formal request.” Alma sighs.

“But they said that it’s just an F rank quest, and if they determine it to be more, it may increase in rank, so it’s in low priority. They assumed that the adventurers that we hired just left since it was uninteresting or were just bandits pretending to be adventurers.” Alma says in a defeated tone.

That’s a bit of a fuck-up on the guild's part… Leo looked at all three of them, and they were still bowing. "Well, we're already here and have accepted the request. We’ll check how things are going in the town first, then see what happens at night. We’ll tackle the problem tomorrow, is that fine with you?” Leo asks Alma who quickly agrees.

“Yes! Please, anything at this point…” she says tiredly.

“All right, we’ll get to work then. Keep staying indoors at night and let us handle it.” Leo says and they leave the room. “Let’s scout the perimeter, and see if there’s anything wrong with it. I’m curious about those Celestial Nails she mentioned." Leo didn't want to dive into this recklessly. He wanted to see how it all played out first, then plan accordingly.

“Yes, Leo-sama.” Like the ever-attentive maid, Grayfia agrees with his decision.

●●●●

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