The Sword God Who Reclaimed His Resolve

Of course, most of her anger came from Zoldat's request.

"Don't look at me like that, Roxy. No one can sit this one out. If we can't kill those Red Dragons, all of Sharia Magic City could be in danger."

"What?! You're not joking, are you?"

Roxy folded her arms and gave Zoldat a skeptical look. Plenty of adventurers exaggerated to fool people, and she suspected he was one of them.

"I'm not lying. See for yourself."

Zoldat placed his hand on the map and tapped the marker for Checkesk Town.

"That town's been destroyed by Red Dragons. The nobles just posted a notice: several dragons that broke away from their group are heading from Checkesk Town toward the Ranoa Kingdom."

"It... it was destroyed?!" Roxy's pupils trembled. She gasped and covered her mouth.

The smile vanished from Zoldat's face. His gaze turned serious, and he scratched his hair in frustration.

Checkesk Town wasn't far from Ranoa. At the Red Dragons' speed, they would probably arrive by dawn.

Given a choice, who would challenge several powerful Red Dragons with almost no preparation?

There was a hint of pleading in Zoldat's eyes. Other parties could move to another city, but his adventurer party couldn't.

He looked at the two of them and sighed.

"To tell you the truth, our Thunder Adventurer Party was formed less than a year ago. We just borrowed a substantial sum from the Adventurers' Guild to buy equipment, build a wagon convoy, and recruit members. We were planning to expand the party."

"If the Red Dragons attack and we abandon a guild commission to defend the main city, the guild will lower our credit rating. They might even demand immediate repayment."

"We can't come up with that much money right now..."

"How much did you borrow?"

"Two hundred Asura Gold Coins."

That's a fortune...

Cain's eye twitched as he looked at Zoldat.

"Running an adventurer party costs that much...?"

"Yeah. At the rate the Thunder Adventurer Party completes commissions, we would've saved enough by next winter."

Zoldat bowed deeply to them both.

"Sharia Magic University will send professors to help too. We won't have to fight alone."

"So please, Second Sword God Cain Brand, Water Saint-class mage Roxy Migurdia. If you help us get through this, we'll give you half our reward. We'll take care of your lodging too!"

Now he's using our titles. Still, he shouldn't pin all his hopes on other people...

Cain glanced over the reward listed on the commission.

Just participating would earn them five Aras Gold Coins. Half of Zoldat's reward would add another two and a half, making seven and a half gold coins in total. Then again, that was practically death compensation. Those nobles probably hadn't considered that any adventurers might survive a fight with Red Dragons.

Cain saw Zoldat's troubled expression and the anxious, hopeful faces of the adventurers gathering behind him. He gave a slight nod. They really were in a bind.

Still, even though Cain needed money, he had to hear what Roxy thought. She was his teacher, and they were adventuring together.

"D-don't worry. We'll keep the Red Dragons busy. Cain, you just need to find an opening and kill them."

"Hm? This commission doesn't say how many Red Dragons there are."

"Probably three or four."

They don't even have an exact count...

Roxy pressed her lips together. This didn't feel very reliable. More than the members of the Thunder Adventurer Party standing before her, she cared about her apprentice Cain's safety.

Roxy was still a student at Sharia Magic University. She had fallen out with her teacher, but her teacher was also a Water Saint and might be sent to fight the Red Dragons. Roxy didn't want anything to happen to her in that battle.

"I have no objections, Teacher. What do you think?"

"Me...? Cain, have you ever slain a Red Dragon?" Roxy didn't agree right away. She wanted to know whether Cain had experience killing one. That would greatly improve their chances.

"No, but I can try. I doubt they'll be much harder than those Mud Dragons."

"What?! You idiot! They may both be A-rank, but they're worlds apart! A Red Dragon in the sky is a terrifying S-rank monster. Cain, don't underestimate them."

At Roxy's words, Cain's expression grew a little more serious—but only a little.

Roxy looked at his confident smile. After a moment of hesitation, she sighed helplessly. She couldn't make this decision for Cain just because she was his teacher. His path was his to walk.

"F-fine. I agree... But if the hunt fails, we'll prioritize our own safety. That's a condition of working together."

Roxy looked seriously at Zoldat beside her.

"Yeah, don't worry. And you can count on the reward. Those nobles are bastards, but they value their own lives. They'll pay up, and information like this probably isn't false."

After signing the cooperation agreement with Zoldat, Roxy and Cain followed him and the others through the streets to a fairly luxurious inn in the city center, where they would stay for free.

Naturally, Zoldat's party was paying. It was one of the contract's terms.

"Innkeeper, give these two one room!"

Zoldat seemed to be in high spirits. He waved to the innkeeper and shouted, beaming as though they had already won tomorrow's battle against the Red Dragons.

A moment later, he regretted it. A stone sword appeared at his neck so fast he couldn't see it move. Its sharp sword aura severed a few strands of his hair.

"Two rooms..."

Cain's eyes made it clear he wasn't joking. If Zoldat tried another joke like that about him and Roxy, Cain wouldn't mind testing his Sword God Style against him.

"S-sorry, I misspoke. Please give this young man and this lady two rooms."

Bruce, the dwarf carrying their luggage behind them, looked speechless. Had Zoldat forgotten that the man he was teasing was a Sword God from the Sword Sanctum? Did he have a death wish?

But that was just how Zoldat was: a kindhearted fool with a sharp tongue. Once he got a little familiar with someone, his true colors came out.

Roxy watched the party members from behind with a helpless look. Was this really a respectable adventurer party...?

At night in the Sword Sanctum, a blue-haired middle-aged man in a white training uniform swung his sword without pause on the hill behind the quiet Dojo.

He was Gal Farion, the Sword God of the Sword Sanctum.

"Father, you've been doing this for five days straight. Won't you take a break...?"

Gal's daughter Nina came in through the doorway. Her short blue hair framed her face as she yawned and rubbed her eyes.

"Don't disturb me!"

Gal's reply was an irritable rebuke.

"If he can do it, so can I. If I keep swinging my sword like he does, I'll get there sooner or later."