The Secret of the Village Hidden in the Forest Last Part

Whoever that wizard was, he was pretty strong. Both Ryul and I got quite hurt. If he was second in command, I don't even want to imagine how strong Borak is. We have to hurry and go help. Shalia and the rest are not only fighting against Borak but also against the rest of the bandits. After quickly making sure the hostages were okay, Ryul and I headed back to the village.

Near the village, we tried to stay hidden in case we had the opportunity of a sneak attack though to our surprise, once we got to the village there was rubble and the bodies of bandits everywhere lying on the ground. It seems that various fights have happened throughout the village. After quickly analyzing the bodies, I can see sword wounds that were probably made by Leona's sword and remains of Shalia's earth and water magic.

"What the hell happened here?" Ryul asked as we walked through the darkness of the night.

"I don't know, but we have to hurry."

In the distance, screams and sounds of combat can be heard. Ryul and I ran through the streets trying to get to where the combat noise was coming from, forgetting about our strategy of sneaking in for a surprise attack. When we got to the scene of the fight, we saw that Leona, Shalia, and Ari had already taken care of almost everyone. Only between the three of them, they finished off the bandits and had a tall and muscular man who was holding a large mallet cover in wounds.

"DARX!!" Shalia yelled after seeing us arrive.

"Are you Ok?" I asked, "How is the situation?"

"We have already taken care of most of them. Only Barok remains." Shalia replay.

Meanwhile, Borak used his big mallet to attack Leona, but she dodged causing the mallet to hit the ground creating a loud booming sound, also causing the earth beneath our feet to shake. The **** Borak attacked once more and this time Leona easily defended herself with her shield and then counterattacking with her sword. Seconds later Borak's body was covered by vines which were conjured by Shalia preventing him from moving, and suddenly from the shadows of the night, Ari appeared making the final blow with her kunai. Borak screamed in a loud voice and fell to the ground lifelessly.

"Incredible!" I heard Ryul say.

It seems that our help was not needed. Looking around there were no more bandits trying to attack, and just a few who were trying to escape into the forest.

"You guys took so long that we ended up taking care of everything ourselves," Ari spoke.

"We did our part too. We ran into an incredibly strong magician, you know." Ryul reply.

"Lies!" Ari continued.

While Ari and Ryul were fighting, I approached Leona to make sure she was okay. Fortunately, she only had a couple of minor injuries and both Ari and Shalia seemed fine as well.

"Darx let me heal you," Shalia said after seeing my injuries.

"What happened?" Leona asked me.

While Shalia used her healing magic on me, I told them everything that happened.

"Borak was strong but he didn't really give us that much trouble," Leona said, "That magician seemed to be stronger."

"The rest of the bandits were low-ranking or normal people." Shalia continued.

Hearing that the sounds of fighting had stopped, the people of the village began to leave their houses and when they saw Borak's body on the ground they began to celebrate. I went with Shalia and Ryul to the forest where the hostages were located since the only hope of living for the two other adventurers was Shalia's healing magic. Fortunately, we arrived on time and Shalia managed to heal them enough to be able to take them back to the city.

Back in the village, the villagers looked forward to the arrival of their relatives who had been separated from them. Julia waited anxiously for her mother and next to her was her father, in the same way, waiting for his wife. We took turns patrolling for the remainder of the night to make sure none of the bandits who escaped would return, while the rest rested at Julia's house.

After getting rid of the bandits, we decide to stay one more day to help a little and try to get the village back to normal. We helped collect things that the bandits had stolen, clean up a bit of the mess that the bandits caused as well as the fights of our party and the party that came before us. And also burying the bodies of bandits and some villagers.

The next day, the villagers insisted that we stay one more night as they wanted to thank us with a banquet or at least the closest to one, considering that the bandits didn't hesitate to consume the food supplies that the people of this place had. After spending several days traveling, fighting bandits, and helping in the village, we were tired, so we decided to accept their kind offer and stayed one more night to rest.

They took us to the house of the village chief and there they treated us with food and drink. Julia gave us company along with some of the village leaders. An atmosphere of joy was created in which no one would have thought that a day ago, when they were suffering the tyranny of Borak. I imagine that the people of the village needed the rest as much as we did. After a few hours and after having drunk more than we should, they give us a room each.

Julia took it upon herself to show me the way to my room. While we were walking, there was something I wanted to ask, but I had not found the opportunity until now that we are alone.

"Julia, the bandits were looking for someone, correct?"

"Ah, t-that seems the case..."

"Do you know who they were looking for?"

Julia's expression quickly changed after hearing my question. Although we never found out who they were looking for, I have the feeling that Julia knows more than she is telling us.

"Sorry, I-I don't know... Oh, we have reached your room."

I can tell she is lying. Nevertheless, I decided not to press anymore. If she doesn't want to tell me, she must have her reasons. Besides, I was drunker than I thought.

"Darx...."

Upon reaching the door of what would be my room, Julia looked at me nervously and seemed to want to say something.

"I-It's nothing. Have a good night, Darx. Bye!"

Ultimately Julia left quickly without even giving me time to say goodbye.

Because I was tired and drunk, I barely made it to bed and fell asleep almost immediately when I lay down. I don't know how long it's been since I fell asleep, but the noise from the door woke me up. With difficulty, I opened my eyes and I realized that it was still night. Someone opened the door of my room and when trying to see who it was I saw the shadow of someone approaching me.

"Who-"

I didn't have time to ask who it was when I felt someone's body fall on top of me.

"Shalia!?"

Being close, I could see Shalia's pink hair. She was wearing a white shirt which was unbuttoned at the top, revealing her cleavage. Why is she here? I remember that she was just as drunk as I was or maybe more.

"W-Wait, What are you doing here?" I asked.

Between babbling, Shalia replied, "Res...troom..."

"You are in the wrong place. The bathroom is at the end of the hall."

Shaila ignored me and while keeping her eyes closed she smiled and hugged me putting her head on my chest.

What should I do? Shaila looks like she's falling asleep on top of me. Should I wake her up? If someone sees us, they will think something happened.

"Darx..."

I heard Shalia say in a sleepy voice.

"Y-Yes..."

"Are you really dating Syvis?"

The fact that I'm dating Syvis doesn't have to be a secret, but I only told Ryul. I imagine Shalia and maybe Leona were curious.

"well, the truth is..."

I wanted to answer Shalia, but I felt her hand stick under my shirt which shocked me.

"S-Shalia, w-what are you doing?"

Still with her eyes closed, she said in the same sleepy voice, "Don't you find me attractive?"

"Eh? W-What are you saying? Of course..., I-I find you attractive, but let me help you back to your room, okay!?"

"You're lying..., you... never see me..." Shalia half-opened her eyes and brought her face close to mine, almost like trying to kiss me.

"I may not be as good... as Syvis, but I can..." As she said that, her hand descended from my chest to the entrance of my pants.

I got out quickly of the bed, moving Shalia to the side, "S-Shalia I think you're very drunk."

When I turned to see her again, the shirt she was wearing had moved, showing one of her bare breasts. Even though it was dark, I could see her pink nipple. I was dumbfounded for a few seconds looking at her bare chest while Shalia had a hard time wanting to get up and not being able to.

It took me a moment to regain control but afterward, I approached her, and trying not to look anymore, I tried to adjust her shirt and accommodate her on the bed. Meanwhile, Shalia was babbling things that I could not understand. With difficulty, I managed to make her stay calm, and shortly after she fell asleep. I took a little blanket from my magic bag which I used when we camp outside and went to the corner of the room to try to get some sleep as well. It would be difficult to sleep next to Shalia when I still have the image in my head of her uncovered chest. Her chest was not as big as Syvis's but they certainly had their charm. Damn, now it got hard... I would never take advantage of a drunk woman, however, I can't help but wonder if Shalia approached me that way because she liked me or it was just the ****.

The next morning I tried to wake up Shalia before the others woke up to avoid misunderstandings, however, I failed and Ryul entered my room without knocking as usual and saw a scene of Shalia with little clothes on my bed and me in front of her. It was a chaotic morning between trying to explain to Ryul that it was a misunderstanding and Shalia who didn't know why she was in my room. Around noon we were ready to go. The two injured members of the other guild were in the carriage and we would take them to the city to be fully healed at The Knights Hospitaler Guild.

Several of the villagers came to the entrance of the village to say goodbye to us, including Julia and her father.

"Kids" Adam called us.

"Hey, old man! We already told you that we are not children." Ryul replied.

Adam with a serious expression and after spending a few seconds in silence he finally spoke, "You are still very inexperienced and friendly. If you don't want to end up like me, don't trust anyone so easily, especially in the city."

"Dad!" Julia tried to interrupt him.

Adam smiled at us and without waiting for us to respond, he turned around and started walking slowly with the help of Julia. Julia turned to see us once more and with a smile that seemed apologetic, she thanked us once again and leave with her father.

Our first quest was not clean, but at least we solve the problem and we managed to help the villagers. The road will be long, but I hope that once we return to the city my mother will be already there. I can't wait to see her.

Once in the carriage, Leona looked at me sullenly. It seems that she also heard what happened this morning.

Man... I didn't do anything...

[In another place]

Days after liberating the village of [Yarrin] from the oppression of bandits, inside the Oblivion guild building a person knocked on the door of the guild master's office. He was a hooded man with light armor. His armor was quite worn and had several scratches.

"Come in." It was heard from inside the office.

Inside was the guild master Agnes sitting behind her desk, and in front of her was the new S-Rank, Kase and Syvis, a beautiful dark elf.

"Hahaha! What happened to you? I believed you said it would be a simple quest." Kase says while laughing.

"Hum, what can I say...? I try to enjoy myself a little too much sometimes," The hooded man replied, "But am I interrupting something? Maybe I should come back later."

"You're not interrupting anything. I was about to leave." Syvis replied as she walked to the door.

"I'll be waiting for you at the mansion," Kase told her.

Syvis paused for a split second, but continued walking without looking back or reply and then left the office.

"So, What happened? "The guild master asked, "Did you find out something?"

"Yes! I-"

"Pause, before that, take off your hood; it's aggravating," Agnes told him.

Following the instructions of the guild master, the man removed his hood.

"Much better!" The guild master expressed, "Now tell me what you found out, Gen."

Gen stood next to Kase and began talking, "I was starting to like the mysterious fashion."

With a serious expression, the guild master and Kase paid attention to what Gen had to say.

"It took me some time, though I managed to infiltrate the group of those bandits. Their leader Borak was a brute. Despite being a Rank-B, he was quite weak compared to other adventurers of the same rank, in addition to having a bad tendency to generate troubles. Not for nothing, he couldn't find a place in one of the great guilds. Initially, he tried to kill me, but after letting him beat me while showing him some good qualities, he allowed me to join his group."

"How much did he know?" Agnes asked.

"Borak was just a pawn. After receiving money from someone anonymous to find and kill somebody, he didn't even bother to ask why. As soon as he received part of the money and they informed him the villages where the target could be in, he headed for the first one, which by the way, the target was there."

"Did he find him? Who was he?" Kase asked.

Gen crossed his arms as he recounted what happened, "Borak didn't find him, but I did. While Borak was wasting time with the women of the village, I managed to locate the target. To my surprise, he was a one-legged man."

"A one-legged man? Why so much secrecy in the church to kill only one one-legged man?" Kase wondered.

"I don't think he is an ordinary man." The guild master spoke, "Remember that thanks to our contacts with the underworld, we learned that the church is hiring thugs to eliminate certain people with the greatest possible secrecy."

"Well, they are doing a bad job. After all, those ruffians kidnapped an entire village," Kase reply, "They are not as discreet as they think."

"Although the bandits make such a fuss, no one would think that it was on the orders of the church. Frankly, we found out only by chance even though we are well informed of what is happening in the underworld. The queen also believes that the activities of the church are abnormal, and that is why after informing her of what we discovered, she entrusted us to investigate further with the greatest discretion." Agnes continued.

"The guild master is right." Gen spoke, "While I was undercover, I found out from his wife and acquaintances of his, that the guy's name is Adam and in his youth, he traveled all over the continent. It seems that he discovered things that don't go according to what the church tells us. The church already tried to shut him up once, but now they want to finish the job."

"Did you find out what he knows that makes the church want to get rid of him?" Kase asked him.

"Things about the real truth of the goddesses and the ancient city of [Zrephia]."

"Just that?" Kase questioned, "That sounds like things a canteen drunk would say."

"And the truth of the demons too..."

The last part Gen said, caught the attention of Agnes and Kase the most.

"Go with a healer and take a break. Once you are better, I will arrange an appointment with the queen and we can talk more exhaustively." Agnes told him.

"As you order," Gen said to then walk towards the door.

"Oh, I'm going with him." Kase stated, "There is something we need to talk about."

"Something you have to talk to Gen about?" The guild master questions him, "You better not be with another of your games. This mission is important."

"Of course not! It's... another matter." Kase reply.

Gen and Kase left the office to walk to a study where they were alone.

"What happened to what I requested??" Kase talked.

"You're really eager to know, huh? I didn't anticipate that once the other group of adventurers failed, you would send someone to put the quest in Midnight Dawn, expecting Darx and his group to go."

"It was the perfect quest for a new group. I knew they would go." Kase reply.

"I have been in constant communication with my telepathy with the guild master and with you, but if Agnes finds out that you asked me to use my incognito role in that quest to measure the strength of your rival and his party, she is going to be furious."

"First, he is not my rival and second, she doesn't have to find out, and even more there is nothing she can really do to me."

"If I was you, I wouldn't underestimate Agnes."

"Whatever, let's put that aside. How strong is that party in actual combat?"

"They're pretty good. I only fought two of them, Darx and the monk and you see how I look. I had to withdraw before the fight got more serious."

"What do you think would have happened if they had continued?" Kase asked.

"I'm not sure... I think I could have killed them both, but I don't think I would have remained alive either."

"I see..."

"They are still inexperienced, though, with time, their party will be recognized throughout the entire city. Especially the tank."

"You mean the catgirl?"

"Yes! I saw her fight Borak and some bandits. She is practically the perfect tank. If she were in our party alongside Tina as our tanks, we would be invincible. Too bad she is a Beast-Kind. There are still many nobles who would not accept someone like her into the guild."

"I remember she was cute. And what about the guy with the red eyes?" Kase asked.

"He's stronger than you told me. I'm sure he's at least a C-Rank."

"C? The last time I saw him I'm sure he was a D-Rank."

"Well, you were wrong."

Kase was silent looking at the ground as if he was thinking hard.

"Something wrong?" Gen asked him.

"It's nothing." Kase reply, "Nobody saw you right?"

"Some bandits saw my face, but nevertheless, I took care to eliminate those who escaped to the forest before returning to the city, so there should be no witnesses. "

"I see, well, thanks for the favor."

"You owe me one," Gen replied, "Don't forget."

Kase started to walk to the door when Gen called out once more, "Hey, did I hear you right a while ago? Are you meeting Syvis?"

"It's none of your business." Kase reply.

"Lucky bastard."