We went back to the village defeated. Upon returning the elderly man asked us if there was something wrong.
"It appears that our journey will be delayed. Will it be okay if we stay at your village for a time? We would be willing to give a helping hand to any troubles you have." [Wilharrow]
He didn't ask us, but I guess it was a small price to pay for housing.
"Of course. Anything for the Hero." [Elderly Man]
"Thank you." [Wilharrow]
After thanking him, we entered the guest house and sat at the dinner table.
"Shit!" [Raon]
He slammed a fist against the table.
"Calm down. This isn't our property." [Wilharrow]
"Calm down? Calm down?! We haven't even taken a single step into our journey before getting blocked off!" [Raon]
"It's not a big deal." [Solace]
Raon practically jumped out of seat to grab my collar.
"It may not be for a peasant like you, but it is for a noble like me! How can someone of my stature be held back by a mere demon?!" [Raon]
I slowly grabbed his wrist and stared at him.
"Hands off." [Solace]
"...Or what?" [Raon]
Just as I was about to make my move, Fina placed a hand between us.
"This isn't the time to be fighting." [Fina]
Perhaps it was because Fina is also considered a noble, Raon listened.
"Count yourself lucky, Alt." [Raon]
He released his grip on my collar with a shove.
"Hmph." [Solace]
I straightened out my clothing.
"I know some of you are frustrated." [Wilharrow]
He eyed Raon for a moment.
"...Some more than others. However, we still need to move on." [Wilharrow]
On that, I agreed.
"Can we go around the river somewhere else?" [Solace]
Wilharrow shook his head.
"I would love to, but the other passageways are within other countries. Entering through those borders could be seen as an act of aggression." [Wilharrow]
"...Can we get permission or something? Like, send an envoy?" [Solace]
Wilharrow scratched his chin.
"Hm… I'm not too familiar with the politics of that." [Wilharrow]
"Then I'll answer that question for you. It's no." [Raon]
"Oh? Wanna tell me the reason behind that?" [Solace]
"The long and short of it is that heroes are not allowed to enter other territories unless it's an invasion. There is only one exception where all heroes meet." [Raon]
Well that was something I decided to keep in mind.
("So even heroes have gatherings…") [Solace]
Besides that, it was pretty surprising how territorial people in this world are.
"With all these points, I think we can conclude the only way through is fighting the demon." [Wilharrow]
"Hold on, can't we just use magic over the river? Like using earth magic to build our own bridge?" [Solace]
My comrades glanced at each other.
"The river is cursed." [Wilharrow]
"...What?" [Solace]
That was a weird comment.
"Magic cannot be cast near the river. That's why the bridge itself was made by hand." [Fina]
"Oh." [Solace]
Now that made sense.
"Wait. How come we were able to cast skills and stuff on the bridge?" [Solace]
"Each brick in the bridge has holy magic engraved in it. It was one of the most expensive projects within the last two hundred years." [Fina]
"Indeed. The holy magic keeps the river's curse at bay. Only within that small vicinity is where skills may be cast." [Wilharrow]
It really did mean that the bridge was the only way to go. I would suggest swimming through, but even I'm not stupid enough to believe I can swim through a raging current.
"In other words, we need to get stronger." [Solace]
"Simply put, yes." [Wilharrow]
"But how will we do that? Training will not raise our levels." [Raon]
As soon as he said that, we heard a knock on the door.
"I'll get it." [Wilharrow]
He stood from the table and creaked the door open to find the elderly man behind it.
"Forgive me, Hero. I must ask for your assistance." [Elderly Man]
"No need for forgiveness. I- no, WE are here to help." [Wilharrow]
The elderly man seemed to be anxious asking for a favor. Though, he relaxed at Wilharrows calm demeanor.
"There have been appearances of bandits attacking the traders that come to our village. Please, help the traders." [Elderly Man]
"...May I ask how this came to be? Did they not hire any adventurers?" [Wilharrow]
The elderly man made hand motions as he tried to form his words.
"We found the scene, but… there was no sign of anyone. There was only blood and an empty wagon." [Elderly Man]
Wilharrow patted the elderly man on the shoulder.
"Consider it done." [Wilharrow]