Given the Trade City of Ydalir's location, people from many different countries visited it. Not all of them were human, and seeing dwarves or beastmen among those in the streets wasn't rare. Today, another young visitor from a foreign country was having her meal in the eatery attached to the inn she was staying at while seemingly depressed.
She had short, neck-length white hair and pale lavender eyes. The clothes she wore were of good quality, which you didn't see too often around this area, and from the pure-white wings sprouting from her back, it was clear to see that she was a flugel.
The inn she was at was considered the best inn in Ydalir, and its interior was nice and clean. The young girl's name was Hinata Aera… She was the princess of the flugel kingdom of Vanaheim, and it had been decided that she would be succeeding her father in the future. In other words, she was a born member of the elite.
However, becoming the queen of the flugels was not as simple as taking the reins. To become the queen of the flugels, who were said to be the descendants of angels who had come down from heaven, an appropriately strong backbone and ability was required. So, as a trial to become worthy of being queen, she had been tasked to travel for a year. During that year, she had to force over ten monsters or a monster over level 60 to obey her. If she didn't, she would be considered to not have the abilities of a queen.
For this journey, she had been given the treasured sword of the royal family. This sword, the 'Heaven's Song', allowed the user to capture monsters even without the Monster Tamer class, and was currently hanging from her waist.
Hinata was eating gracefully, befitting royalty. However, if one looked closer, her expression seemed lifeless. Hinata was rife with worry. She still didn't know what kind of monster she should capture. There was no real rule of the trial demanding that she capture a monster of a specific strength, which meant that she was free to capture anything. Even any old rabbit or mouse would do. Even if the monster was weak enough that they could be defeated by normal villagers to show off their strength, a monster was still a monster.
However, Hinata's assignment was a rather peculiar one. If one were to simply take the trial's rules at face value, then she could simply just find ten monsters to capture, and it didn't matter what they were. It was not a hard condition by any means; it could be finished in a single day.
However, this was a trial to measure her ability as a queen. Even if the rules allowed her to do so, she'd become the laughingstock of her people if she were to come back with weak monsters in tow.
Hinata could just see them saying things like "So that our new queen doesn't even have the guts to take on a challenge?" or "What a pathetic queen, to only be able to bring back such weak monsters."
The freedom inherent in this trial was actually a heavy pair of shackles with only the name of freedom. It was a test of how harsh a condition she could impose on herself, and how much she could accomplish. That was what the people were looking for. There had been records of kings and queens in the past bringing back weak monsters that weren't even level 5, but those kings and queens had been treated as scathingly and harshly as possible in those records. They were noted as having been almost nothing but decoration, with no real power to influence decisions.
Why…? Why was I born to the royal family…? If I'd been born into a more normal family, I wouldn't have to face worries like this… To Hinata, her fate as a princess that she had been saddled with by birth and her eventual destiny to become queen were nothing but heavy burdens. But even if she thought of it as a heavy burden, she wouldn't know what to do with freedom even if she were to be given it. She could only think, If things were going to happen like this, then it would have been better if I'd been born as a normal child.
The treasured sword at her waist felt unbearably heavy. The people in Hinata's surroundings looked at her inquisitively, but the princess couldn't help but perceive them as stares of scorn and disdain. To her, it was like they were telling her that she wasn't worthy of the sword she wore at her waist.
Look. Even that big scary man over there in the corner seat with tattoos on his face is laughing at me.
"Welcome."
"Hey, do you have space for six?"
"Six? Then, please, this way."
Apparently some new customers had arrived. Hinata shot a furtive glance towards the newcomers and saw a group of young women in armor of all kinds.
There's no consistency in the way they dress, so they can't be soldiers.
Maybe adventurers…? But their equipment's of oddly high quality for that…
From what Hinata knew of adventurers, they were dropouts who couldn't be employed in any other jobs, so they simply filtered down to being an adventurer. It was a job for the dregs of society. In other words, it was for hoodlums and thugs to make money. That was what Hinata thought adventurers were.
However, this group of young women did not look anything like that. So what is up with this eclectic group? There was a red haired female human in knight armour, a blue haired female elf who seemed like a mage, a blond female dwarf carrying a huge backpack on her back, a white haired female half-beastmen half-human in black outfit, and a pink hair female halfling wearing pink gauntlets on both her hands.
"Hey, Jenny, get inside already. I can't get past you."
"S-sorry, I'm stuck here…!"
"That's because you tried to just walk in with that huge-ass backpack of yours."
Apparently there was another person still behind the dwarf girl, who was stuck in the entrance. From the voice, it's another female adventurer.
Female adventurers are rare. That being said, they were beings from a different world to Hinata.
Once Hinata was done eating, she picked up her plates and ascended the stairs while giving the adventurers stuck at the entrance a sidelong glance.
Then, she entered the room she was renting before rinsing out her mouth and taking off her clothes. Hinata placed the sword on a table and threw herself onto the bed.
***
Hinata opened her eyes, and her vision filled with the sight of a ceiling as she realized that she'd fallen asleep at some point.
I didn't think I was that tired, but I guess it's just in humanity's nature to get sleepy when you lie down. The chirping of the birds letting you know it's morning is nice. For today, let's go explore the nearby forest and see if there are any decent monsters to capture.
With that thought, Hinata got up. That was when she noticed something which made her tilt her head.
"Hmm?"
Wait a second. Am I still drowsy from sleep? Or maybe I'm just remembering things wrong? Her thoughts stalled. There's nothing on the desk.
No, wait a second. There is something. I see the belt holder to hang the sword off of, but there's no sword or scabbard.
Hinata took a long moment of contemplation.
Maybe I just put it in the wardrobe. Hinata opened the wardrobe to check, and of course, the sword wasn't there. Of course it's not here. I don't even remember touching the wardrobe.
Actually, wait a second. Maybe it just fell off the desk. After that idea, Hinata searched the floor, but she didn't find anything there either.
Huh? Did I forget the sword on the first floor or something…? No, there's no way. I definitely came into the room with the sword at my waist. I remember that.
She paused. "C-calm down, me. Just calm down and remember."
There's no way I could have lost the sword. That's not allowed. I'm sure it's somewhere. Yeah, I'm sure that once I find it, it'll have been somewhere obvious.
Yesterday… What happened yesterday? Did I fall asleep still wearing the sword? No, there's nothing there, and the holder is still on the desk. Right, maybe I simply held the sword as I slept? Hinata checked the bed as well, but of course there was nothing there.
Hinata started to panic, unable to say anything for a long while before she finally stuttered, "C… C-c-c-calm down… D-d-d-don't panic…"
Hinata's eyes began to fill with tears and her legs started to shake like a leaf in the wind even though it wasn't cold. As if the floor had simply disappeared and she'd started to fall through a void, something cold traveled up from her legs directly into her brain.
Calmdowncalmdowncalmdown… Don't cry now.
I'm sure it's here. I can't have lost it. I mean, it's a relic passed down through generations of flugels royalty. It's not something I can just lose! If I lost the sword during my trial, never mind becoming a laughingstock… I'll…
It was a big enough failure that Hinata knew it wouldn't be weird to have her entire family stripped of their royal status.
"I-It's gotta be here… It's gotta be somewhere."
After that, Hinata spent an entire hour searching her room —from the obvious places like around the table or inside the wardrobe to places that would be impossible for a sword to be, like moving the wardrobe and checking behind the piece of furniture itself. Hinata fruitlessly searched the same places over and over again, though, of course, there was no way doing the same things over and over would result in her suddenly finding something.
Next, Hinata descended to the eatery on the first floor and checked the seat she'd been at the previous day, but it wasn't there. It wasn't anywhere.
"M-Miss Hostess… Could I take a moment of your time?"
"Sure. What is it, young lady?"
"Did you spot a sword at this seat yesterday…? It had jewels embedded in the hilt."
"No, there was nothing like that. We do pick up lost items, but I'd have remembered something showy like that."
After listening to the hostess's reply, Hinata sat down.
There's no doubt now. I should have left it on top of the table yesterday, so if I think calmly about it, there's only one answer.
It was stolen.
Finally, Hinata admitted the truth that she didn't want to face, and she clutched her head in her hands. Theft didn't exactly happen rarely in inns. In fact, it was to be expected in the cheaper ones. Hinata had purposefully chosen a more expensive inn like this in order to avoid that, but even then, it wasn't perfect. There were no round-the-clock guards like a castle would have for its vault; it was simply an inn that was built in a relatively safer area.
Of course, the inn would refuse problematic customers, but as was obvious from the adventurers who had come by the store yesterday, the person would be let in as long as they had the bare minimum of manners.
Though it was debatable whether or not a dwarf girl getting stuck in the door was good manners. At any rate, there definitely was a possibility that someone had posed as a perfectly fine and decent customer before engaging in thievery, and it probably wouldn't make too much of a difference to the hostess in that case either.
"What? Did you lose something?"
It took her a moment to finally admit, "Y-yes. Apparently it was stolen…"
"Well, that's no good. Shouldn't you contact the public security corps?"
In the Trade City of Ydalir, the public security corps had been started in order to protect public safety and order. Their purpose was close to the knight brigade in country capitals: to investigate crimes and incidents and arrest the perpetrators. If a victim were to come forward, they might also recover what was stolen. After all, given what the item was, they would probably go all out to find the treasured bejeweled sword of Vanaheim's royal family.
However, that also meant that Hinata would have to publicly admit to having allowed the sword to be stolen. With that, even if she were to have gotten the sword back, she still wouldn't be able to avoid the scorn of her people. The ideal would be to retrieve the sword without revealing the incident to the public, but Hinata knew that there could be no such convenient ending.
"No, I don't really want this to get out to the public… I mean, I know already. I know that there's no other choice. Aarrgghh… Why did this…? It's over. I'm done…"
"I don't really get it, but is this something you don't want people to know about?"
If it was found out she had let the sword get stolen, Hinata's reputation would fall into the dirt. Of course, she would no longer have any power as the queen. There was no doubt she would only be able to reign as a figurehead. In fact, there was the chance that she could have the throne taken from her.
However, allowing the sword to stay stolen would be even worse, which meant that at this point, Hinata had no moves left.
However, Hinata was the only one who thought so. The hostess had a different idea.
"If that's the case, you've only got one option."
Hinata could only look at her in a quizzical silence.
"Adventurers. Depending on the customer, they'll take on any request."
After hearing the hostess's advice, Hinata fought back the urge to heave a sigh. Of course she knew about adventurers. Saying they would do anything was putting it nicely. Basically, it was a job that people fell into because they couldn't be employed at anything else. While they fought monsters, they were almost all civilians except for a minority who were those who had received knight training but had failed out. The only difference was that adventurers had weapons.
They would be worse at finding things than those who were actually paid to do it. They were ruffians who would do anything depending on the payment… In certain situations, they'd be convenient, but their abilities weren't to be relied on. If they could, they wouldn't be adventurers in the first place.
"It's too early to be so discouraged. There just happens to be a single party here in Ydalir that's so skilled it makes people wonder why they're still adventurers."
"There's no way. That's just…"
"They do exist. I don't really get what's so great about being adventurers, but they've actually turned down invitations from royalty all over the world just because they like being adventurers. They're kind of eccentric that way. You seriously don't know about them…? You really are a pampered rich girl, aren't you?"
Those words did nothing to clear up Hinata's mood. She was still half in doubt as she looked up at the hostess… Well, it was more like ninety percent doubt. She basically didn't believe her at all. In fact, that 10 percent belief might not have existed either. The exact ratio of her disbelief to belief could be best described as something like two percent belief and ninety-eight percent doubt. To Hinata, it sounded extremely phony.
However, the hostess just laughed seeing Hinata's expression.
At this point, the name of Naru's adventuring party was known throughout the world. The leader wasn't actually set in stone, so in some cases, they could be Erza's party or Juvia's party, but it didn't change the fact that they were still heroes far outside the norm for adventurers. They'd managed the great feat of slaying a dragon in the past, and they had even taken the head of the Ten-Headed Dragon King Orochi, saving an entire country. The only people who wouldn't know of them would be pampered kids raised in a thick box, unaware of the outside world. There'd recently even been people who admired them and aimed to become adventurers because of them, and the world was moving towards an unprecedented age of adventuring.
Their daily routine consisted of having breakfast before going to the bar and looking for a job. There'd been a recent boom of requests aimed specifically for Naru's party that were so hard even knights couldn't resolve them, but at the party's current level, such requests didn't pose much hardship. It was never decided beforehand what job they would take on; it all depended on their mood for the day. In the silliest of cases, they had even been motivated just by Jenny wanting to experiment her armor with spider's silk, so they'd taken a job to exterminate a bunch of spider monsters who had made their nests in a forest.
That day, however, they didn't even have to go to the bar. Their job came to them.
"Excuse me. Can I have a moment? There's a request for you all."
"Miss Hostess?" Erza asked. "Sorry, but you can't jump the line for requests. We'd appreciate it if you passed your request through the bar."
It seemed that the inn's hostess wanted to ask them for something, but Erza cleanly turned her down. They fundamentally did not accept people coming straight to them. Now that Naru and the others's names had spread so far, it wasn't rare for people to come directly to them with requests. If they allowed direct requests, they'd be swarmed with people coming to them every day.
No matter how famous they were, it didn't change the fact that they were freedom-loving adventurers. They had no intention of being tied down like that. They would be the ones to decide which jobs they took.
"Well, I get that that's how it usually works, but there isn't enough time to do that."
Naru made a considering grunt as she looked at the hostess.
She doesn't seem to be in that much of a hurry even though she phrased it like that. In fact, she's perfectly calm, which means the hostess isn't the real requester. I'm guessing… She stopped, searching for the likely requester. It's that white haired girl with the white wings over there who stands out a lot. Naru paused, considering her. Royalty, huh?
With the exception of her mother, Naru had completely cut all ties with the flugels. They had an awful custom of persecuting others based on the color of their wings, and royalty stood at the top of all that. Naru should have been able to separate herself from all those fetters and feelings of disgust as she had her past, but emotions weren't so simple. Naru could feel something inside her that was hard to describe in words; it was almost like a sputtering.
Meanwhile, Erza and the hostess continued negotiating. Apparently she had had the treasured sword of the royal family stolen.
"I see… You're right. If we wait too long, then they'll take it outside of Ydalir. And if it makes it to the black market of another country, then it'll be too hard to follow its traces. If we're going to find it, now would be the time," Erza said, looking at the rest of the party.
For a job like this, things got harder the longer it took, so if they were going to take it, now would have to be the time. However, if they decided not to take on the job, that would also mean throwing away the option to do so later. A decision was needed right now.
"Depends on the reward. Hey, Princess, how much are you gonna pay us?" Neo asked.
Adventuring wasn't a charitable enterprise. Of course payment was required. The payment was decided by the requester, and if the adventurers were satisfied with it, they would take on the job.
Hinata took out a jewel from her pocket. "How about this gem? It should be worth around ten thousand el."
"Can we take a look at it?"
"Please."
Jenny appraised the gem that was placed on the table. After some time of looking at it and changing angles, Jenny eventually placed the jewel back down onto the table. "You're right. This could be sold for about ten thousand el. I think this is fine for payment."
Getting ten thousand el to find a stolen item was pretty extraordinary. At Jenny's words, the other adventurers seemed a little more motivated.
"I'd be fine with taking this job. It might be worth creating a debt with the royal family," said Lisanna.
"I agree too," said Juvia, "Besides we due need to upgrade our gears, and that will be costly."
Lisanna and Juvia also became rather favorable towards taking the request.
Jumping the line and going directly to them with requests was fundamentally a no-go, but there were extenuating circumstances this time. Also, selling a favor to the royal family was not a small factor. It would probably have more worth than the gem they were getting as payment.
Naru considered the offer a little longer, then said, "I also have no objections."
The next member to agree was Naru, who everyone had thought would be the one most likely to refuse. Of course, she had never even considered the favor of the royal family. Refusing the job here would not hurt her in the slightest, and she didn't care what those back in her home country would say of her. However, Naru didn't want to cause her mother back in Vanaheim trouble because she had refused to help.
"Okay. Then that means we're taking it?" Erza asked for a final confirmation.
Everyone nodded. It looked like they would be accepting the job.
Since that was the case, Neo said, "Then let's start looking right away. First, I'll ask around town. Erza, you stay here and check to see if the thieves left any traces behind."
"Okay. Leave it to me."
"I'll head to the weapons merchants," Jenny offered. "There's a chance it's already on the market."
Neo, who had the ability to collect and process information, was in charge of asking around, and Erza was in charge of looking for traces left behind. Jenny had connections to weapons shops, and she could look into the flow of weapons.
"I'll try the slums," said Naru. "Their leader might know something about the thieves."
The slums Naru mentioned were the shadow to Ydalir's light, and they contained everything that didn't make it out to that light. The poor lived there, and at the same time, it played host to the safehouses of all those who lived in the shadows. They were cunning, sly, conniving, and clever. They never acted too violently, preferring to blend into the background of daily life.
The area was governed by outcasts that the public security corps couldn't clean up. These outcasts even cleaned up any people who crossed the line themselves. They were kind of like a shadow public security organization.
That was why the public security corps left them alone, silently allowing their existence. Those on the path of shadows were best cleaned up by people from the shadows, and Naru thought that they might know something about the thieves.
"Meow'll go outside and ask the other beastmen," Lisanna said.
"I'll…" Juvia considered her options. "I don't have anything to do. I guess I'll just help Neo."
Unfortunately, Juvia had no part to play here, so she had no choice but to act as Neo's assistant.