Chapter 20

After handing over my armor to Manon, I was being dragged along by Donovan, who had a firm grip on the back of my neck.

Is my neck really that easy to grab?

"If you don’t resist, I won’t rough you up..."

"Yes, I understand..."

No, no, I had no intention of resisting against Donovan in the first place.

Manon and Muell are looking at me with worried faces, but Gilik has a face full of hostility.

Well, I guess it can’t be helped since I’m an unknown child right now.

"Master Kent, there’s a bit of a problem..."

"Huh? Basten, a problem? Not about me, right?"

"Yes, a large group of Rock Ogres is approaching from the Forest of Demons."

"Wh-what...?"

Just as I received Basten’s telepathic report while being dragged by Donovan, the sound of a rapid bell could be heard from afar.

"Damn, this is troublesome... Kent, you’re not involved in this, right?"

Overwhelmed by the imposing presence of Donovan, who was in a serious combat mode, I could only shake my head in denial.

When we entered the guild building, a young adventurer rushed over.

"Donovan, it’s bad, a large group of Rock Ogres!"

"What? Rock Ogres? They’re just low-level monsters, damn it..."

After a moment of hesitation, Donovan started walking with large strides, dragging me along.

"Ugh... n, neck..."

"Hey, give me the key to the library!"

Donovan dragged me to the staff area behind the counter, opened the library key, and threw me inside.

"Ouch... it hurts..."

"There’s no time, just stay put..."

"No, wait a minute..."

The thick door in front of me was slammed shut, and the heavy sound of the lock being engaged echoed.

The library, which has no windows, is pitch black, but it’s no problem for me since I can see in the dark.

More importantly, the Rock Ogres are the real issue right now.

"Basten, how many are there?"

"Yes, roughly over two hundred."

"That’s a tough number for the guards and adventurers to handle, isn’t it?"

"Yes, if they fight normally, there will be significant casualties..."

"Alright, let’s deal with it ourselves. Fred, come back!"

"Master Kent... I’m already here..."

"Then let’s go..."

I sank into the shadows of the guild library and started moving.

Guided by Basten, I moved to the shadow of the city wall, where tense voices could be heard from above.

It seems that the guards and high-ranking adventurers are gathering.

"Hey, they’re still coming, how many are there?"

"Listen, don’t let them into the city, we have to stop them here!"

"Even if Rock Ogres are powerful, they can still be injured and killed, let’s do it!"

"Hey, where’s Donovan? Who went to call him?"

Turning my gaze towards the Forest of Demons, I could see Rock Ogres emerging one after another.

"Ubooo! Ubooo! Ubooo!"

Are they calling their companions? Several of them are repeatedly howling.

It’s the first time I’ve seen Rock Ogres in broad daylight, and the sight of them coming one after another is quite alarming.

"Reinhardt, can the three of you handle it?"

"Hahaha, no problem at all, my arms are itching!"

"Then, Reinhardt and Basten will take care of the extermination, and Fred will handle the stragglers and collect the magic stones, okay?"

"Understood... I’ll leave it to you..."

"Reinhardt, Basten, you can go all out, but don’t destroy the city wall!"

"Understood, leave it to us!"

"Leader, let’s do it as far away from the city wall as possible."

"Alright... let’s finish this quickly!"

"Alright!"

When I gave the go-ahead, the three of them stepped out from the shadow of the city wall.

Wow, their entrance is so cool.

They look like heroes from a superhero team.

"Hey, what’s this skeleton? Where did it come from?"

"Huh, it’s heading towards the Rock Ogres? Is it on our side?"

"Well, a skeleton can’t handle Rock Ogres..."

With the confused voices from the city wall behind them, Reinhardt and the others walked calmly towards the Rock Ogres.

When the distance between the two groups was about ten meters, the three of them stopped and took out their weapons.

"Hahaha, Basten, shall we have a competition?"

"Sure, Lieutenant, let’s do it!"

"Fred, I’ll leave the magic stone collection to you..."

"Alright, Basten, let’s go!"

"Shaaaaa!"

Wow, these evil skeletons are really determined.

With a loud thud, Reinhardt swung his sword, Gram, and the heads of six Rock Ogres literally flew off.

On the other hand, Basten’s spear thrusts instantly killed five Rock Ogres by piercing their heads.

"Ubooo! Ubooo! Ubooo!"

Excited by the smell of their comrades’ blood, the Rock Ogres kept charging, but Reinhardt and the others continued to slaughter them without hesitation.

Furthermore, Fred quickly approached the fallen Rock Ogres to collect the magic stones.

Every time Reinhardt swung his greatsword with one hand and Basten thrust his spear, the heads of the Rock Ogres disappeared like a balloon being punctured.

Wow, it’s like a single touch can destroy them.

"Nuoh, this is boring, they’re too easy to handle."

Suddenly, Reinhardt threw his greatsword into the shadow space and started punching the Rock Ogres with his bare hands.

The Rock Ogres, realizing that one of them couldn’t defeat him, attacked in groups.

Right hook, left hook, headbutt—Reinhardt’s strikes still made the Rock Ogres’ heads explode.

A low kick shattered the Rock Ogres’ leg bones.

Wow, drenched in blood, he looks like a demon.

"Shaaaaa!"

Looking at Basten, he hardly moved, just swung his spear to decapitate them and thrust it to pierce their heads.

Even Rock Ogres that were out of the spear’s range became his prey.

Yeah, I can’t even follow his movements, and using a spear for long-range attacks... thinking too much is a loss.

The Rock Ogres were quickly reduced in number and were all wiped out in less than ten minutes.

"What’s this? What’s happening?"

"Well... we don’t know either..."

"Wow, that skeleton is incredibly strong!"

Oh, I can hear Donovan’s voice from the city wall.

By the way, I’m still under house arrest, so I should go back to the library soon.

"Fred, continue collecting the magic stones, Basten, hunt down the stragglers, and Reinhardt, wash off the blood in the river and return to the guard duty."

"Understood!"

I moved through the shadows back to the guild, and as I looked around the town, I saw that the streets were empty and all the shops had their doors firmly closed.

It seems that the people of the town are used to dealing with such monster attacks.

Inside the guild, the air was tense, and I could see Muell and Manon in the attached tavern.

The tables and chairs were moved to the side, and the windows were closed with shutters.

As I was observing the situation inside the guild, a slow, steady bell sound came from outside.

Suddenly, the guild’s interior was filled with sighs of relief, and the tense atmosphere eased.

It seems that the bell was signaling that the danger had passed.

Well, I should go back to the library now.

When I returned to the library, there was nothing to do, so I leaned against a shelf and fell asleep.

Even though I used self-healing to cover it, I was still quite tired.

I didn’t even notice the heavy sound of the library door being unlocked.

"Hey, Kent, wake up!"

"Huh? What... oh, good morning..."

"Ha... Even with monsters attacking, you’re so relaxed... "

"Ugh... my neck..."

I was grabbed by the back of my neck again by Donovan and dragged to the second floor of the guild.

In a room deeper than the conference room where I received the lecture, Klaus was waiting.

"Ah, Klaus, hello."

"Hey, Kent, it seems you’ve caused some trouble..."

"I’m sorry for the trouble."

I was seated on the opposite side of the sofa where Klaus was sitting, with the table in between.

"Donovan, does this look like a dog of Reisenburg?"

"No, but there’s a possibility that he’s a skilled person who doesn’t look like one... though it’s unlikely, just to be safe."

"Right, Kent, I have a lot of questions, but first, who are you?"

As usual, Klaus looks a bit frivolous, but his eyes aren’t smiling today.

However, I planned to reveal my true identity and ask for his help eventually, so it’s just a bit earlier than planned.

"I pretended to be a survivor of a caravan, but in fact, I’m a person from another world summoned by the third princess of the Reisenburg Kingdom, Camilla Reisenburg."

"Huh? Another world? Summoned? Are you serious?"

"Well, let me tell you about what happened after I came to this world..."

Since no one would believe me just by saying I’m from another world, I started telling the story in order.

About 200 students from a middle school were summoned as soldiers, not as heroes.

The summoned have higher magic power than the average in this world.

They were given black bracelets to prevent magic power from going out of control, which made Klaus’ expression darken.

"Kent, is that the ‘Bonding Bracelet’?"

"Probably... I think so."

"Why don’t you have a bracelet?"

"I was deemed a reject, so I didn’t get one."

"Then, why are you free and why are you in Volzard?"

I was tricked into crossing the Forest of Demons alone, thinking it was my last chance.

I was attacked by goblins and was being eaten, but I unconsciously summoned skeletons.

I unconsciously used self-healing magic, and by the next morning, my wounds were healed.

Klaus and Donovan exchanged glances when I told them this.

"Kent, summoning skeletons is dark magic, and healing wounds is light magic. Are you saying you have both affinities?"

"Yes, I think so. I can use dark magic and self-healing magic. The ‘Magic Eye Crystal’ didn’t react, maybe because of that..."

After I told them about selecting and reinforcing three skeletons, which helped me survive the Forest of Demons, Donovan’s expression changed.

"Three skeletons? Could it be the ones from earlier?"

"Yes, the three skeletons that were playing with the Rock Ogres."

"Where are they now? Where are they now?"

"In the shadows..."

When I pointed to my feet, Klaus nodded in understanding.

"Kent, did you use those skeletons to threaten the thugs?"

"Wh-what? You know about that too?"

"Of course, I’m the lord. When monsters appeared inside the city walls, it caused a big commotion."

"Ugh... I’m sorry, I was threatened with a knife, so I... "

"Hahaha, so you summoned skeletons instead of a knife? Hahaha."

Klaus was laughing, but Donovan still had a stern face.

"Kent, can you completely control those skeletons as your familiars?"

"Huh? Well, they’re not really familiars, but more like guards. They move on their own, but they follow my requests..."

"Then, if the skeletons go out of control, you can’t stop them, right?"

"Um... well..."

As I was at a loss for words, Reinhardt spoke from the shadows.

"We follow the orders of our summoner, Master Kent, but we will voice our opinions if we think they are wrong."

"Thank you, Reinhardt."

I deeply regretted having any doubts about Reinhardt and the others.

"Reinhardt and the others won’t harm people. They say they will follow my orders, but I believe they won’t cause any such situation."

"But Kent, skeletons are monsters."

"Even if they are monsters, they are trustworthy companions... no, they are like family to me, and I have no reason to doubt them."

I looked back at Donovan with a determined gaze, and he nodded.

"I see... then, register them as your tamed monsters later."

"Register? What do you mean?"

"Yes, it’s quite rare, but there are tamers who tame and use monsters. Your case is a bit different, but if you register them, you won’t have any trouble even if they are in the city."

"I see, thank you."

So, if I register them as tamed monsters, it’s okay for them to be in the city.

After that, I told Klaus about how I learned about the ‘Bonding Bracelet,’ that Reinhardt and the others’ knowledge was outdated and they didn’t know Volzard was a different country.

I also told him that the classmates who were taken away by carriage were training at the Lastock garrison, and that the true purpose of Camilla Reisenburg was unknown.

"This is why I’m in Volzard. I know it’s a selfish request to enter under a false identity, but please help me save my classmates, I beg of you."

I bowed deeply on the table, pleading with Klaus.

After a moment of silence, Klaus spoke.

"Kent, raise your head."

"Yes..."

"First, before I answer, I want to thank you for saving Volzard from the Rock Ogres. Thank you. If the current forces of Volzard had to face them, it would have been a very grim situation."

"Please, raise your head, Klaus."

When I raised my head, I saw Klaus bowing.

When he raised his head, his face was filled with anguish.

"I’m sorry, Kent, despite all the help you’ve given us, I can’t fulfill your request."

"Is that so..."

"There are two reasons. One is that Camilla Reisenburg’s purpose is unknown. If it’s a clear act of aggression against Volzard, we can intervene, but if it’s for internal conflict or to develop the Forest of Demons, we can’t act first."

Klaus raised one finger, then another.

"The second reason is that your classmates are wearing ‘Bonding Bracelets.’ In Reisenburg, the slave system is still legal, and those with bracelets are treated as property. Taking them away would..."

"Start a war, right?"

"Yes... I feel ashamed that I can’t repay your kindness, but I can’t decide to involve the entire city and the rest of Lanzhelt on my own, I’m sorry!"

Klaus bowed deeply