[Sinseki Era — Year -21]
[Northern Nations · Granat Count's Territory]
At the open-air café, Miles continued speaking to Serie and Gut in a low voice, recounting the story of the merchant guild.
In the past, under the leadership of the master and mistress, the Dallemonus Merchant Guild thrived, expanding their business greatly.
Their core trade was based on crossing the Schwer Mountains, transporting goods between cities on either side and profiting from exchange.
Given the treacherous terrain of the Schwer range, and the Count's territory's proximity to the Central Nations, which provided broader sources of goods, the guild was immensely profitable.
With that prosperity, plans were made to establish a headquarters.
Unlike the master's preference to base it in the Count's territory, the majority of the guild members—being from the same hometown—proposed a different idea.
Rather than spending a fortune for a small plot of land in the expensive Granat Count's Territory, why not reinvest in their hometown, turning the original village into the Dallemonus Guild's headquarters?
Moreover, the village was ideally located between the Count's territory and the Schwer Mountains, making it an excellent midpoint for supply and transport.
Eventually, the master honored the wishes of the majority and moved his family there, overseeing the construction of the new headquarters.
It was in that rising, prosperous village that Gumi, the young lady of the house, was born and raised.
Miles spoke of the guild's former glory with both pride and nostalgia.
If all had gone as planned, the bright and talented Gumi would have succeeded her parents as guild leader, guiding their enterprise to even greater success.
But alas—disaster struck.
One day, Aura the Guillotine, one of the Seven Sages of Destruction of the demon race, led her remaining troops and assaulted the guild headquarters.
Since the village was isolated, even though the master immediately activated an alarm spell and contacted the Count's territory for aid...
By the time Count Granat personally arrived with his knights, the entire guild headquarters had already been reduced to rubble.
The knights, following clues left by the master, managed to locate and rescue Gumi from a narrow vault.
The vault, reinforced with anti-magic ore, had shielded her from the demons' magical detection—allowing her to survive.
But...
To witness one's beloved hometown trampled to ruin, to see one's parents die in its defense—beheaded, no less, with their heads still...
At this point, Miles' voice broke, trembling uncontrollably.
Gut's expression turned heavy. No wonder his junior sister harbored such deep hatred toward the demons—her past bore unbearable weight.
After telling of the guild's ruin, Miles went on to describe what happened next.
"At the time of the attack, I was spared because I had been sent to the Count's territory to procure festival supplies at the master's command."
"Afterward, thanks to the young lady's trust, I was given full authority over the crippled guild. She herself set out on the path of strength, seeking the power needed for vengeance against the demons."
"I had never seen her—once so gentle—become so extreme. But I could not stop her."
"Because I knew... vengeance might be the only thing keeping her alive..."
Tears welled up at the corners of Miles' eyes. He quickly dabbed them away with a handkerchief tucked at his chest.
"Forgive me for dragging on."
He composed himself, then moved on to share what he knew about Aura the Guillotine.
"In truth, the Dallemonus Guild wasn't the first or last of Aura's victims."
"As the gentleman deduced earlier, the demon race has long lurked near human cities, harassing travelers and destroying outer villages."
"And with Aura's power to convert the dead into her own troops, her thirst for war was even more intense."
"Even after Count Granat redeployed his knights outward and encouraged villagers to move closer to the city, demon attacks still occurred regularly."
"But then—starting a few months ago—everything went quiet. No more demon attacks. No more massacres."
"At first, we thought it was good luck, or a sign that Count Granat's defensive measures were working."
"But if things are as you say—if the demons have chosen to go silent—that's much more troubling."
Miles' face tightened.
"Could it be they've shifted their focus? Maybe they're attacking other cities instead?"
Gut proposed the idea, but Miles shook his head.
"Unlikely."
"Our guild trades widely. If the demons had changed targets, we'd have heard something by now."
"Especially Aura—with her power to create undead troops, she would've left a trail of carnage."
"But no nearby town or village has reported undead assaults. Only the usual monster attacks, at the same frequency as before."
"Unless Aura's target lies within another demon lord's domain—"
"But demon lords don't cooperate. Crossing into another's territory is usually seen as provocation."
"True."
Gut nodded.
But at that moment, Serie—who had been quiet all this time—made a startling suggestion.
"What if she's been taken out?"
"Or maybe she was hurt badly—and is now lying low, licking her wounds?"
"...Huh?!"
Gut and Miles were both stunned.
One knew from future events that Aura would soon launch a large-scale attack.
The other, limited by his own strength and perspective, had never considered such a possibility.
"If that's the case... that would be wonderful."
Miles whispered hopefully.
...
Meanwhile — Schwer Mountains, Mountain Cabin
Mut sat beside the fire and looked to his idol.
"Hero Himmel, have you had any thrilling battles recently?"
"I haven't heard any new tales about you up here in the North."
"Thrilling battles, huh?"
Himmel rubbed his chin.
"Well, there was one—not recently, but a few months ago."
By the firelight, Himmel began recounting how he'd single-handedly fought through an undead army and dealt a heavy blow to Aura of the Guillotine, one of the Seven Sages of Destruction.
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