The city of Rosenburg, located two months' journey north of the Asura border, was sometimes called "The Gateway to the Northern Territories."
If it wasn't the largest city in the Duchy of Basherant, it was second only to Rosenburg.
The export of magical implements from there to Asura provided more than half of the entire country's income.
It's been three weeks since I appeared in these territories, where I dedicated myself to working with Counter Arrow, carrying out tasks.
With my help, we are now a C-rank group, and I personally am a D-rank adventurer.
"Rudeus, we're here," Suzanne murmured to my left as she shook me slightly.
"I understand, thank you," I murmured as I rubbed my eyes.
This city was only a month away from Asura, so it would only be a matter of time before we arrived. In fact, I could arrive even faster than my letter at this rate...
"So this is the place..."
We got out of the carriage, and I stopped to take a look. The sky above me was completely covered in white clouds; the streets were filled with adventurers and merchants, all of whom seemed very busy. That probably had something to do with the two wagons full of goods we had arrived in town with. The merchandise that came here from the Kingdom of Ranoa and headed toward Asura fetched high prices. Our group needed to be at least rank B to take on an escort mission, so this would be our last stop until we climbed the ranks. "Let's find a place to sleep. Tomorrow we'll go to the local guild," Timothy announced, and we all nodded. Finding an inn was the first step. I didn't have much luggage, but any experienced adventurer knew that securing a base of operations should always be their top priority. With that decision made, we set off through the streets of Rosenburg. There weren't many outdoor stalls in our immediate vicinity. That was definitely unusual. Perhaps the carriages had entered through a different entrance than the one the local adventurers used.
Come to think of it, it would soon be nighttime. In such a cold place, it wouldn't be surprising if the outdoor merchants closed up shop before the sun even began to set.
Before long, we found a street lined with inns.
We wandered around for a while, looking at the rates advertised out front, but eventually picked one more or less at random.
The place was called "The Round-Shield Inn," and it was geared toward B-rank adventurers.
A somewhat odd name. I almost mistook it for a gun shop at first, since the sign out front was shaped like a buckler.
I was a little worried about the price since the inn was a higher rank than ours, but according to Suzanne, the cheap inns here didn't have heating.
You could literally freeze to death in winter, so it was wiser to find a place that was at least B-ranked.
I had only half-listened to that woman's teachings, but she had definitely given me some valuable nuggets of knowledge.
I needed to take the whole "information gathering" thing a little more seriously.
Since we had a couple of savings, we were able to afford rooms for each of us. My bed wasn't the best in the world; in fact, it was dirty and wet for some reason...
I spent the next half hour cleaning the bed with fire and wind magic to kill anything hiding there.
In the end, I had to put an extra sheet on to sleep.
But that didn't guarantee I'd be able to sleep well...ugh...I miss home...
The next day, nothing relevant happened. Timothy chose a B-rank mission: "Exterminate a pack of white Grizzlys near the city."
In short, they were normal bears, but here they were B-rank beasts, even alone. Even I shouldn't have asked why. Despite being much stronger than in my previous life, I remained instinctively cautious around the bears, so I preferred to use magic instead of direct combat.
"Whew..." Timothy hissed as he approached me. "Sometimes I feel like we're just using you to make money...but good work," he muttered, patting me on the back.
"Heh, maybe...but it helps me gain experience, so it's a win-win," I said.
This caused Timothy to burst out laughing, and so we began skinning the bears.
The next day was more of the same. We accompanied a group of lumberjacks as an escort along the way. I fought a couple of treants. The cursed ones used water magic, but nothing I couldn't control.
I had heard that the monsters of the north were dangerous, but this seemed like a piece of cake to me. Perhaps it was a matter of perspective.
Even between days, I was aiming to do some solo jobs to raise my own rank.
The job I chose was simple: clearing a local plaza of accumulated snow.
I could have done it quickly using fire magic, but it was more complicated than that.
Apparently, I had to carry the snow to some kind of magical device that piled it up. I was basically piling the snow into a wall.
It was exhausting but easy work. I earned a total of 3 Asuran copper coins. It was a good day.
In any case, after another week in the city I finally got promoted to rank C and after two weeks my group got promoted to rank B, and so we were finally able to take on an escort mission.
But the next day I found out the whole truth.
"Hey, did you hear what happened in Asura?"
"Yes dude!, They say that a light swallowed an entire region!"
"They also say that the area was completely arid... they say that the capital was completely devastated!"
The murmurs of some adventurers left me completely in shock.
"The whole region...the whole city..." I muttered as I gripped the handle of my sword until my knuckles turned white.
"Now that you mention it, I had heard that a large shipment of slaves arrived in the city of Berni. Most of them said they were from Roa or Fittoa!"
The murmur of the adventurers brought me out of my shock, but before I could do anything I felt a hand lightly squeeze my shoulder.
I turned around slowly and there was Suzanne with an apologetic look on her face as she looked at me.
I instinctively looked down...and my pulse began to race.
If the whole region was destroyed...that means the light reached Buena Village...
"My family..." The words escaped my lips as I looked at the ground.
"Rudeus... calm down, we're close" she murmured and I closed my eyes trying to calm down while thinking about the possibilities
Paul is an advanced triple in the sword, he can defend himself well.
Mom was an adventure in her youth, she must know something about defense too...
Sylphie is almost as powerful as me in magic, she knows how to defend herself.
I won't even worry about Ghislaine.
Eris on the other hand...she is strong, but very stupid...
Norn and Lilia...
I shook my head quickly, removing all the harmful thoughts from my mind.
My family is powerful, I was close...they were okay...
"Rudeus?..." Suzanne's voice was full of concern as she held me tightly by the shoulders.
"Fuuuu..." I sighed weakly as I closed my eyes "...I have faith in my family, they will be okay" I declared.
"Okay, if that's what you think," Suzanne smiled in relief.
This month I have come to appreciate this woman, she seems to give the group a maternal air that I didn't know I needed.
"Let's keep working, I want to get home quickly," I said, and so we took another job.
...
[Paul Pov]
"Hey?..." I felt a strong breeze that ruffled my hair, my vision had been overloaded by a light, as if I had looked directly into the sun, but why?...
Sweat was running down my forehead, it was hot, but it wasn't normal, summer in Fittoa wasn't that hot...
"Zenith?..." The words came out of my mouth instinctively and I looked around which made my eyes widen.
I wasn't at home, no, I don't even know if I was in Buena Village or in Fittoa.
The landscape that stretched out around me could only be described as arid.
A rocky desert in its entirety, the sun burned my skin and the hot sand burned my feet.
"But what happened? That light in the sky...did it come from Roa...Rudeus?..."
I didn't know much about magic and I didn't know how much you could do with it.
I dismissed the thought that my own son was responsible for this but still...
"Daddy?...where are we?" A little voice pulled me out of my reverie and I looked under me.
There was Norn, in my arms, I don't even remember when I held her, but she was with me, sweating and with an anxious look.
I took a deep breath, there was no point in looking for explanations now, all I had to do was get her to safety.
"Don't worry, I'm here," I said as I took off my shirt and wrapped it around his head, I still had my light shirt on which I put on top of my own head.
I had my sword at my waist, I could defend myself, but first I had to know where I was.
...
Hours passed and I continued walking aimlessly, I climbed a rocky mountain and sat with Norn near a shadow.
I was thirsty, my head was spinning and I was tired.
But I couldn't say better about Norn, she must be suffering more than me.
I gritted my teeth in anger as I looked around, not a trace of civilization, The desert stretched as far as I could see.
There was only one place with such extreme conditions and I had only heard about it.
"We are in the Demon Continent..." I muttered with contained despair as I leaned against the stone that gave us shade.
I didn't understand what had happened, everything became blurry after that light in the sky.
But what if I was teleported here?, Zenith and Rudeus...
My grip on Norn tightened but I forced myself to relax.
By this point Rudeus is stronger than me and has magic...he'll be fine.
Zenith, I hope she's in a better place than this at least.
"Daddy...I'm thirsty," Norn murmured weakly, and despair began to invade me.
"I know dear...j-just hold on a little...just a little longer" I mumbled as I struggled to get up from the floor.
For some reason the strength in my body had abandoned me, was this my maximum?...
No! After training so hard for so many years, I made that promise to myself after fighting with NuckleGard!!
I forced myself to stay standing and walk. Fortunately, the sun was already setting, but that didn't comfort me. The cold would soon arrive, and we would definitely be dead there...
But then I saw it.
A man in the distance, carrying what appeared to be a spear in his hand although I couldn't make it out well.
Again my grip on Norn tightened as I analyzed my possibilities, but I knew that without help we would die here.
So I made my decision and started walking towards the man.
Damn my luck when I got a good look at the man.
He was tall and well built, with porcelain white skin, a white spear in his hand and...green hair.
My muscles immediately tensed, my mind screamed at me to run away but my body wouldn't obey.
If we ran away he would chase me, but if not, he would kill me...
I've never felt so desperate in my life as I did that time. With NuckleGard, it was me, but now I had my daughter in my arms...
"you...Who are you!..." I muttered weakly, grabbing the pommel of my sword with my free hand while holding Norn with the other.
"What are you doing here? Humans shouldn't be in such desolate places, especially children." The Man...the Superd said while looking at Norn.
Without hesitation I drew my sword and closed my eyes.
This will be my last day... Rudeus... please take care of your mother.
With that terrible thought I rushed towards the Superd expecting the worst.