(Sara POV)
It took us roughly two more days after that to arrive back at Rosenburg to report our findings.
I still haven't sorted out my impression of Rudeus, but it only changed up to the point of me not glaring at him for now.
Rudeus and the leader of our group went towards the guild to hand over the scales we had found and tell them about the carriage's state.
We have agreed to meet in the evening again to discuss our next moves.
I headed back to my inn to get some rest on a proper bed.
As I stepped into my inn, I saw Susanne and the others in the dinning area, probably eating lunch.
"Susanne." I called out to her, and they all turned to look at me.
"Sara. It's good you're back. We were all worried." Timothy said, the expression on him saying that he was saying that with honesty.
I sat down with them and ordered myself some food.
After I did, they all looked at me with weird eyes.
"What?"
"Did you guys find anything?" Patris asked.
"We found the carriage with its merch in it destroyed. Rudeus found some remains of what might have been the hired adventurers, as well as two kinds of scales. There were leads of a battle, but other than that, we didn't find much."
"And the monsters?"
"No, we didn't find it."
He was probably asking if we already eliminated the monster thanks to Rudeus's help, but then we would be spreading the news a bit more.
"That's not what I meant. I was wondering if you guys find any monsters in general."
I was about to answer him but thought about it some more.
We did, in fact, not find any monsters in general. Not even a single lead.
"Sara." Timothy spoke. "You see, while you guys were gone, other parties have come back with their monster slaying quests unfinished. All of them said that they couldn't find a single one."
"What?!" I exclaimed.
This is too crazy. It would have been weird enough if we were the only ones who didn't encounter any but other parties as well? Either the adventurers wiped them all out or…
"… they are all hiding?" I said under my breath.
Both theories sound plausible, but the latter one seems too terrifying to be true.
My mind went back to the burned up corpses we found. Rudeus said that the blast wasn't aimed at them, but something else.
Not just did the blast kill those two by just standing too close at the side, how strong was the actual target to need to use such an attack?
"Sara, if you feel like the missions too much for you, then we can always talk to the guild master to-"
"No. I will not quit. Not if people get in danger."
They all momentarily looked at me shocked, but all soon realized what my reason was.
They are all aware of my background and how I ended up becoming an orphan in the first place.
Deep in my heart, I feel like I'm obligated to prevent something from happening that would come close to my village's demise.
If only Philemon sent knights to fend off against those monsters, then my parents wouldn't be dead.
It's because of that past that I'm willing to join this mission to prevent another tragedy like that.
Even that adventurer that was induced by that poison had an adamant resolution to warn people about it.
The distance between the carriage and the city gate is about three days in distance.
I can't fathom how much pain he had to endure just to get here in that condition.
But now is different from back then. Now this place can prepare and build a plan on how to deal with the situation.
I simply just hope to get this over with without any casualties.
***
In the evening, I headed back to the guild to meet up with the other of my designated group for our next moves.
We would also get told what kind of monsters the scales belong to should they have found out something.
As I got close to the guild, I spotted Rudeus with his leader.
I was about to call out to him, but he turned around so casually that I stopped midway.
His leader, Soldat Heckler, however, was looking surprised before turning his eyes towards me.
"Ah, you must be Sara, right?"
"We've already met, remember?"
Our first meeting with him was on the same day as when Rudeus told us about the assassin main objective.
Until this day do I not understand his resolution on hiring Rudeus, but it seems to have its positive effects on him over the last two months.
"Well, it's good that you're here. Now let's get inside to discuss our next steps."
"What do you mean? Are you joining the group as well?"
"You see," Rudues said, scratching his cheek. "The leader of our group quit after hearing what type of monster we were dealing with."
"He did what?!"
He quit? Just because of that? I can't stand people that turn out to be cowards. They remind me too much of Philemon.
"Whatever." I said, throwing my head to the side. "So is HE going to be our new group leader then?" I asked Rudeus.
"I'm right here you know?"
"Yes. He volunteered after I told about the vacant spot. Especially after hearing about the monsters we are probably dealing with."
"Am I invisible now?"
"What are the monsters then?"
"The blue scales are already identified as ones that belong to a Sea Dragon. However, they are rather different from what they are documented to be. Primarily the absurd sharpness they hold. And as for the black scales, they don't know which monster they belong to, but definitely not the presumed Red Dragon."
"So, a Sea Dragon. That's weird."
Just as their names imply, they are a type of aquatic monster that lives in the sea.
Many tales are being told about them by various people that traveled over the waters.
Hearing about one being here isn't weird nor plausible, since we are not exactly near the water to begin with.
But that brings a different problem now.
"So we really are facing against dragons." I said, my sight casted on the ground.
Dragons are widely known as one of the strongest lifeforms.
With my archery, I can't do a single thing against something of that magnitude.
"Well, you two already dealt with a dragon, so it's probably better than nothing."
"Not sure." Soldat said flat out. "Last time we were lucky. Sure, things were easier with Rudeus around, but we can't count on that for the rest of this mission. There are limits to what he can do against it. We will handle those creatures in a proper raid, not as a six-person group."
He was right. This isn't any normal quest, it's one that needs to be dealt with the utmost caution.
I looked at Rudeus. He was in thought, his eyes saying that he was worried about something.
"Is something wrong?"
"… It's just… weird."
""Huh?"" Soldat and I simultaneously said.
Rudeus then looked back up at us and put on a serious face.
"Don't you two think that it's weird how we are encountering another abnormal dragon again? It just doesn't fit for me."
"The Blizzard Dragon certainly was something we didn't expect. Things like mutations can happen."
"Soldat." Rudeus said, looking directly at him. "I know I should've been telling you and the others about it, but, I think the Blizzard Dragon didn't have a small mana reserve."
Soldat started to get his eyes sharper before speaking to Rudeus.
"Can you explain that suspicion of yours?"
"I felt like the creature didn't know his limits before it was using it much in its reckless attacks. Like, it wasn't aware of it until it was getting too close to. It was fighting as if going all out from the beginning. The size of it should have meant it was living at least long enough to survive other battles and perhaps learn from them like it did midway in our battle."
I… was majorly confused about what he was talking about.
From an outsider's perspective, it would seem like he wasn't satisfied with the battle.
But from a logical point, he tried to convey the creature's overall used battle prowess.
"Are you saying that someone created that monster?"
"I'm not saying that I do, but if these turn out to be like the Blizzard Dragon, then a person may have something to do with it."
"Are you out of your mind? Who would even be able to do such a thing?" I said.
"None of this makes sense to call it a natural occurrence. Whatever or whoever is out there could have something worse ready for- ow."
Soldat slapped him on the back to finally stop him.
"Okay, we get it. You are being wary. But until we don't know what's exactly out there we can't just speculate and assume everything could go wrong. Now let's meet with the others to discuss our next moves."
Both me and Rudeus, albeit reluctantly, agreed with his orders and headed to the inside.
For someone so strong to get this paranoid feels off. It makes me wonder if he has some kind of instinct that warns him from incoming danger, but that would be ridiculous.
Yet, the unnatural part is bugging me too. And now that he said it out loud, I can't shake the feeling off myself.
I just hope it's some unprecedented to have right now.
///