Soon after, Fort Port came into view.
Incidentally, the sky was purple here, too.
From the looks of it, the whole world's sky might be tinted purple.
As I was thinking about that, Iris said.
"Where are we going to get off?"
"In front of the Adventurers' Guild would be fine. I'll deactivate the "Divine Speed Blessing EX" there."
"I understand."
Iris nodded in agreement.
We then landed on the ground in front of the Adventurers' Guild in Fort Port.
The people around us seemed to have stopped moving altogether while we were flying.
In fact, it's the opposite; we're just decelerating.
When I deactivate the "Divine Speed Blessing EX," the people around us begin to move normally.
Some of them were surprised by our sudden appearance, but we didn't care, and we entered the Adventurers' Guild building.
It was now late afternoon, the time when adventurers would normally be out on their quests.
Despite this, many adventurers were gathered in the lobby.
When they looked at me, they tilted their heads and opened their mouths.
"That was the "Dragon Slayer," wasn't it? Didn't he go to the royal capital?"
"Maybe he came back after seeing that sky?"
"What do you think? Should we go ask him?"
Such conversations were overheard.
I don't mind explaining to everyone, but first, I should talk to the person in charge here──the Guild branch manager.
The Fort Port branch manager was Jess-san, wasn't he?
He was a man with silver-rimmed glasses and the air of a go-getter man.
I walked through the middle of the lobby and headed for the reception desk in the back.
The receptionist was the woman I had rescued from the pirate Zeed before.
"Oh, Kou-san! It's been a while. How can I help you?"
"I need to talk to the branch manager Jess. I'm sorry to interrupt, but could you call him for me?"
I said and then pointed straight up.
"I need to talk to him about the sky."
"Do you know why the sky is purple?"
"Yes. I just don't know how much to explain to everyone. And I need some help in solving the problem."
"I understand. Kou-san is a great benefactor who has saved Fort Port twice. I will definitely intercede even if the branch manager Jess doesn't like it. Please wait for me!
The female staff member stood up vigorously from her seat after saying that and left the counter, and ran upstairs.
"She's very motivated."
Iris says with a wry smile.
"I wonder if it's because of Kou's popularity."
"I don't think so. But it's nice to hear that."
Nevertheless, he continued.
"If it's so easy to come to Fort Port, it's probably a good idea to go to the casino with everyone else."
"Certainly, Lily was very interested in the casino."
"And there's a bar with a view of the ocean."
"We went there before, weren't we?"
"That bar had a nice, quiet atmosphere. I'd like to go there again."
"Yeah, we should go there again."
"Sure."
I am not a fussy person by nature, and Iris is also a quiet person. We both like to drink in the relaxed atmosphere of a bar.
In that sense, we are very similar.
While I was thinking about that, the female staff member came running down the stairs.
"I got the okay from Branch Manager Jess! I'll take you to the branch manager's office!"
That was pretty fast.
Still, it's not a bad reception, and I'll take her word for it.
Iris and I nodded to each other and headed for the branch manager's office with the female staff member.
"By the way, Kou-san and Iris-san, I see that both of you have returned to Fort Port. Are the other members of your group with you?"
"No, it was just me and Iris. We are going to go to Surier and Toue after this."
"Won't that take quite a while?"
"Well, I got a lot of new skills, so it didn't take us more than an hour to get here from the royal capital."
"That's amazing… As expected of Kou-san…"
The female staff sighed in admiration.
Eventually, we arrived at the branch manager's office.
When I entered, I found Branch Manager Jess there, and we sat down on the sofa to talk with each other for the time being.
"It has been a while, Kou-san, and Iris-san. I would like to rejoice to see you again if I could, but the town of Fort Port is currently in a state of considerable turmoil. Adventurers and guild officials with [Calm] are doing their best to contain the panic, but there is a limit to that. …May I ask you to tell me what is going on?"
"Yeah. We're here for that."
I say and give a brief description of Zogral.
"Emptiness that sucks in the world itself, huh? …It's hard to believe, isn't it?"
"I suppose it is."
"But it is information from none other than Kou-san himself. And since the sky turning purple is such an unusual phenomenon, it is probably a situation where common sense like mine is no longer applicable."
Jess nodded in agreement.
He seemed to be convinced.
"The only thing is, explaining everything to the people of Fort Port may cause them to become more anxious than ever. I will explain only that a powerful monster has appeared in the royal capital and that the sky is tinted purple in the aftermath of the monster."
"Yeah, that would be good."
King Octo did the same thing, and the best "official announcement" at present would be to refer to Zogral as a "powerful monster" without going into details about it.
"However, people may be crushed by anxiety if they just wait for the monster to be exterminated. …I was told that there is something you want us to help you with, and we would be happy to cooperate with you."
Branch Manager Jess said emphatically.
That's very encouraging.
"Thank you. Then, please listen to me."
I told him that I was collecting items that were filled with feelings.
Jess's reply was quite amorous.
"Understood. I will do everything in my power to help you, Kou-san. By the way, how long do you need me to collect that memorable item?"
"The barrier is not going to last very long. I need them by tomorrow at noon."
"That's quite sudden, isn't it?"
Jess shook his shoulders with a wry smile.
"Let's see if we can do it. The world is on the brink of extinction, after all."
"Thanks for your help. We'll go to Surier then."
"As for the carriage arrangements… you don't need one, do you, Kou-san?"
"Yes we will be fine. Thank you for your concern."
I left the branch manager's office with Iris.
I went down the stairs to the lobby and was greeted by a crowd of adventurers.
"I heard a little about what you said in the branch manager's office! There's a monster in the royal capital, isn't there?"
"I heard there's something we can do to help! We owe you a debt of gratitude for saving our city, so we'll do our best to lend a hand!"
"Do your best, Dragon Slayer! And you too, Dragon folk-oneechan!"
We walked out of the building, overwhelmed by the energy of the adventurers.
"…That was a lot of excitement."
Iris shrugged her shoulders.
"It looked like they were about to start throwing a big party."
"It sure was. Well, let's move on."
I then activated "Space-Time Domination" again.
Then, I activated "Divine Speed Blessing EX" and flew with Iris to Surier.
Come to think of it; I'm not acquainted with the branch manager of Surier.
I wonder if the lord, Count Maillard, is still in town.
First, I went down near the mansion and deactivated "Divine Speed Blessing EX."
Then I went to the gate and asked the knight standing guard if Count Maillard was present, to which I received this answer.
"Yes. The Count is still staying at the mansion. He will be very happy to hear that the Dragon Slayer is here. Please wait a moment. I will inform him."
The knight said that and headed toward the mansion.
"It's a similar story to the one before, isn't it?"
Iris said with a chuckle.
"But I'm glad to hear things are moving so quickly."
"Yeah, it's a gratifying thing to hear, isn't it? …Speaking of Surier, the hot springs?"
"I'd love to go back to the hot springs and take my time."
"Yeah. Also, what was the specialty here? I remember we played bingo."
"The specialty is hotep. It's a soup dish, and I'm sure it's flavored differently in different restaurants."
"Oh, that's it. I haven't tried them all yet, and I'd love to go on a food tour."
"Also, I'd like to go to Cal's parents' cake shop."
Cal is a D-rank adventurer woman, and I remember her as always being cheerful.
Where is she now?
While I was thinking about that, the knight returned.
"The Count is coming to see you. Please come in!"
Count Maillard, who had been exhausted by the curse before, had recovered his energy.
His demeanor had become more imposing, giving him the air of a dependable lord.
"Oh, Kou-dono! It's been a long time."
"It has been a long time, Count."
After we were pleased to see each other again, I explained about the Zogral and asked him to collect some of the people's most cherished possessions.
Fortunately, Count Maillard immediately agreed.
"I understand. …When it comes to the crisis of the world, I have no choice but to lend a helping hand. Even in Surier, Kou-dono's name is well-known. I am sure the people will be happy to offer their treasured possessions to you."
"Thank you very much."
We then left the Count's place and continued towards Toue.
On the way, we saw the New Zard Bridge.
"That bridge was rebuilt by Kou, wasn't it?"
"Oh, it brings back memories."
"You really do a lot of things everywhere you go, don't you? You also defeated the Devil Treant in Toue."
"That's when we met Lily, wasn't it?"
"Yeah. Compared to that time, Lily-chan seems to have brightened up."
"Yeah, it's a good sign, isn't it?"
While talking about this, we arrive at Toue.
As soon as the guild branch manager, Popolo-san, saw us, he shed tears and was happy to see us again and to know that we were safe.
"Yes, I understand! One day is enough. We'll collect all the treasured possessions from all over town!"
Good.
Well then, the next stop is Aunen.