Chapter 71

When I stepped out of the guard quarters, the usual morning scenery spread across the town of Volzard.

Given that the alarm had been ringing frequently here, and this time it had taken a bit longer, it seemed that the town had quickly returned to its daily life since there was no damage.

On my way back to the boarding house, I passed by the reconstruction site of Marcel's shop, where Herman and his crew were already hard at work.

To my surprise, it seemed that the framework was already about eighty percent complete.

"Good morning, Herman."

"Hey, good morning, Kent."

"Wow, it's already this far along, huh?"

"Well, we've got a bunch of skilled craftsmen, so this is about right."

Herman watched the craftsmen working on the site with a hint of pride in his voice.

As I watched the work, it seemed that no nails were being used in the framework.

"Herman, is the framework being assembled by fitting pieces together?"

"Yeah, that's right. The basic lengths of the framework are set, and we combine them to build it. Look around, the heights of the buildings are all aligned, right?"

"Oh, really... the heights and widths too?"

"Exactly. So, the parts that form the skeleton are standardized, and on-site, it's just a matter of putting them together."

"I see..."

It's like a modular steel rack, but for construction.

The wooden pillars and walls are connected with joints and reinforced with earth magic.

Since earth magic can solidify instantly, it can be built much faster than reinforced concrete.

"Wow, this is really efficient."

"Yeah, but for the detailed interior work, you can't just use standardized parts."

I wanted to watch the craftsmen work for a while, but I had things to do as well.

After parting ways with Herman, I headed back to the boarding house.

At Amanda's shop, preparations were underway for the usual business, and a pleasant aroma filled the air.

"I'm back!"

As I called out to the kitchen, Amanda and Merine rushed out.

"Ah, Kent, you're back safe and sound. Are you hurt anywhere?"

"Kent, you participated in the extermination, right? Are you okay?"

"Yes, as you can see, I don't even have a scratch. I'm fine."

"Thank you, Kent, for protecting Volzard."

"No, it was everyone's effort that saved the town, not just mine."

"Come on, you went and defeated the salamander all by yourself, didn't you?"

"What? How did you know that..."

"Murt told me."

"Oh, I see..."

The information must have come from Murt, one of the kobolds.

"But Kent, to defeat a salamander all by yourself, that's really impressive."

"No, Merine, it was just a coincidence this time, just a coincidence..."

"Hmm... With such skills, maybe I should marry you?"

"Wh-what? No, that's... that's a problem..."

"Hehehe, you know, Kent already has several candidates, right..."

"Well, that... that's true, but..."

More importantly, if I were to marry Merine, I wouldn't know what to say to Kaltz.

"Kent, are you hungry?"

"No, I already ate with the classmates I rescued."

"Okay, that's good, but you must always eat properly."

"Yes, I'll let you know if I'm hungry, so please take care of me."

"Sure, leave the food to me."

Meisa has already gone back to school, where classes are being held as usual.

Since I've seen her safe, I'll head to the guild.

The town seemed to have mostly returned to its normal life, but the guild was still in a state of commotion.

Many adventurers had been involved in the extermination all night, so there were fewer people than usual, but the conversations everywhere were about last night's events.

Thinking about it, I had only taken a short nap and had been working non-stop from the rescue operation to the extermination.

Still, I don't feel very sleepy, probably because my body is still in an excited state.

"Hey, that guy..."

"Ah, the monster tamer..."

"That's the one they say is the demon king..."

Whispers spread quickly through the guild, and the surrounding gazes fell upon me.

Oh... What should I do in a situation like this?

I'll go to the counter and check if Donovan is back, and if not, I'll come back later.

As I started walking towards the counter, I was immediately stopped.

"Hey, kid, I hear you're called a monster tamer."

"Yes, that seems to be the case, but I didn't ask anyone to call me that, so I'm not sure."

I don't know who this is, but he looks like a young adventurer, a mix of Ridnel and Gilik, and he doesn't seem particularly strong.

"Huh, a kid like you getting a nickname is a bit premature, isn't it?"

"Even if you say that, I didn't name myself or ask for it..."

"Hmph, you're probably useless without your summoned monsters. Don't get too cocky."

"Being called 'cocky'... I don't really..."

"What? An F-rank adventurer sucking up to Donovan and getting credit? That's a dirty trick."

"No, it's not that I'm sucking up, but I'm being used for convenience..."

"Really, you're a talkative kid... I'll show you a bit of kindness, so come out here."

The nameless, low-level adventurer walked towards the training ground without waiting for my response.

I thought about ignoring him and going to the counter, but I didn't want to draw more attention or be called a coward later, so I decided to go to the training ground.

As I started moving, the people in the guild followed me one by one.

Hmm... I don't really want to stand out, but it seems I have no choice.

Maybe it's better to avoid causing more trouble.

"Murt, bring Zae and the others."

"Sure thing, Master."

The nameless, low-level adventurer was already in the middle of the training ground, stretching his neck and shoulders.

He doesn't seem to be using a wooden sword or armor.

"Hey, come on, don't be scared..."

"Yes... What are we going to do?"

"Haha, fool, what we do in a training ground is training, of course. Injuries are part of the job, so don't whine."

"Yes..."

He cracked his knuckles dramatically, but he just looks like a weaker version of Gilik, and I'm not really scared.

This is just a fight, isn't it?

"Are you ready, kid? Let's go, Mana, Mana, the power that governs the world, gather, gather, flow through my body..."

The nameless, low-level adventurer started chanting to enhance his body, and the crowd murmured in surprise.

I didn't expect him to use magic, but it's actually convenient.

"Flow, flow, Mana, flow through me and become power! Whoa, what's this!"

I enveloped his body from the neck down with a Dark Shield.

"Since you were chanting, I assumed magic was allowed, right? Besides, I'm a mage, so I'll use it even if you say not to."

"Hey, you dirty trick! You were chanting before we started!"

"No, I don't chant."

"Ha...?"

"Zae, come out..."

I created a new Dark Shield next to me and summoned Zae and the others from it.

"Ah, waaah..."

"Oh... It's that lizardman."

"Seriously, he's a monster tamer..."

"By the way, did he summon without chanting?"

Surrounded by five undead lizardmen, the nameless, low-level adventurer trembled uncontrollably.

"Your Majesty, should I cut off this filthy head?"

"Zae, don't use the weapon granted by the king for this."

"Right, just tear it off..."

"No, a flick of the finger should do it..."

"Or maybe crush it?"

Without being asked, Zae and the others started discussing around the nameless, low-level adventurer's head, baring their fangs.

"No, no... Help me, I'm sorry, help me..."

"Hey... I'm pretty busy, so can you not cause me any more trouble?"

"Okay, I won't do it again, please help me..."

His earlier baseless confidence was gone, and he was crying and begging.

"So... Thanks for coming all this way."

"No, I'm at your service anytime."

Zae and the others lined up in front of me, saluted, and returned through the Dark Shield, showing off to the onlookers.

"I'll release the Dark Shield in a moment, so please stay there a bit longer."

I left the nameless, low-level adventurer in the training ground and tried to return to the guild, but the crowd parted to make a path.

Looking around, everyone seemed to be avoiding my gaze.

Did I overdo it?

Just then, Donovan, with his arms crossed, appeared at the end of the path.

"Really, what are you doing...?"

"Uh, sorry... I was just hassled..."

"This shows that your training isn't enough. You shouldn't need to summon lizardmen for this."

"Umm... Training was supposed to be over after the rescue operation..."

"Hmph, I told you, there's no end to training. A person must learn and train for life."

"I heard that, but..."

"Kent, I've been taking care of you, so don't hold back."

"Y-Yes..."

Strange, I thought the training would be over after rescuing my classmates and getting more followers...

"Here, let's handle the salamander bounty. I'm busy, so let's get it over with..."

"Yes..."

I was grabbed by the collar and dragged back to the center of the training ground.

The onlookers, who had been looking at me with a bit of awe earlier, now gave me a wry smile.

I dismissed the nameless, low-level adventurer by releasing the Dark Shield.

"Stand next to him..."

"Yes, Zae, can you help?"

"Of course, Your Majesty."

I expanded the Dark Shield to connect to the shadow realm, and Zae and the others started bringing out the four salamanders we defeated last night and lining them up.

"Hey, those are salamanders, and there are more than two...?"

"Whoa... I've never seen anything like this."

"Man, the monster tamer is really something..."

"By the way, the rumor is that he got a lot of goblin upper-level monster cores..."

"Wow... That must be a huge amount of money..."

Of course, lining up salamanders draws attention.

When Zae and the others saluted again, a murmur of admiration spread.

"Alright, we'll appraise them later. Follow me."

No, no, grabbing me by the collar and telling me to follow is a bit much, don't you think...? But I have no complaints.

I was taken to the staff area behind the counter. Being called a 'monster tamer' or 'demon king' in this outfit... I wonder how that looks.

The staff members seemed to be used to it and chuckled.

"Sit here and wait."

I was plopped into a chair next to Donovan's desk.

Donovan was giving instructions to a staff member, pointing at me.

By the way, there's a mountain of documents on Donovan's desk. Does he really go through all of them?

After giving his instructions, Donovan started boiling water with a magic stone water heater.

"What, if you want to help with my documents, you don't have to be shy."

"N-No, no, I respectfully decline."

"Hmph, if I let you do it, I'd just have more work to do..."

Donovan quickly went through the documents, signing them one after another while waiting for the water to boil.

By the way, when does Donovan rest?

After clearing about a quarter of the documents, Donovan started making tea.

"Last night, I didn't even have time to enjoy a cup of tea... Here..."

"Ah, thank you. Hmm... It smells good."

"Of course..."

I've become quite used to Donovan's smile, which could make a small child cry.

"So... Do you have something for me?"

"Take it easy... Have a cup of tea."

"Ha..."

Well, the tea Donovan makes is really