"Have you heard? A terrifying monster has appeared in Pinwood Forest!"
"Monster? Everyone's always making such a fuss... Even last time, Max made a big deal just getting scared by a mere goblin."
"No, this time it's real! Just listen first!"
In an inn at a small village about a day's distance from Svinaland. Three sturdy men in crude everyday clothes were having a noisy chat while drinking beer.
Something about a vicious monster appearing in a forest called Pinwood.
I quietly eavesdropped on their conversation while eating tasteless stew I had ordered for dinner at a corner table.
As the apathetic villager said, monsters roaming forests rather than dungeons were usually just weak lowest-grade monsters... but still, you never know.
Though very rare, occasionally powerful monsters stronger than trolls would escape from dungeons and wander around.
That was probably... when adventurers fled in the middle of fighting a dungeon boss monster?
Usually they fail to escape and get killed inside the dungeon, but if they're lucky enough to get out, the boss monster follows them out of the dungeon too.
Seven out of ten return to the dungeon after just killing the adventurers, but the remaining three become wild monsters freely roaming outside.
That was roughly the setting, as I remember it.
Once such a dungeon boss escaped, it was nothing short of disaster for nearby villages.
It would be like a troll appearing and rampaging in a village that could barely handle goblins.
Well, since they're still just mid-level dungeon monsters, they'd eventually be subjugated by adventurers or knights... but by then a village or two would already be annihilated.
So there was no harm in listening to the villagers' fuss.
If it was truly a dangerous monster, I could hunt it down in Fernhilde's name on the way back and raise my reputation.
So I listened to their chat.
"What kind of monster is it to cause such a fuss?"
"It's a monster that killed thirty people. Its body is covered in pitch-black armor, its head is hazy like gathered fog, and blue flames spew from where eyes should be!"
...An undead?
Coincidentally, there was one monster I knew that matched such a description.
'Headless Knight.'
While its appearance is similar to a Dullahan, unlike a Dullahan which is a beheaded corpse walking around, this is a spirit-type undead where a vengeful spirit dwells in empty armor.
If you have means to damage spirits, it's not difficult to defeat, but without such means it's a more troublesome monster than a troll.
...A more dangerous monster than expected has appeared.
Though it would be nothing special for current me and Friede, to safely defeat it adventurers would need at least a silver token party including a cleric.
It might be a monster we should hunt down now rather than on our way back.
"And it's not just terrifying in appearance!"
The man who had gulped down a wooden cup full of beer continued making a fuss.
The listening men seemed interested too, leaning their upper bodies forward slightly to listen carefully to his words.
"The monster appears like a ghost along with a man-sized carnivorous crow, and uses a mouth on its arm to pierce people's heads and eat their contents! They say it's eaten dozens of people like that...!"
"Good heavens, what a terrible monster...!"
"Eating heads? My god, I wouldn't want to die like that..."
Oh, what's this?
The description was a bit strange. Eating heads with arms? The Headless Knight I knew wasn't a monster that did such bizarre things.
Is it a completely different monster that just looks similar? Given that it eats people's brains, perhaps it's a monster related to Ganagl—
"Um... hey..."
That's when.
Friede, sitting across from me, quietly whispered while looking around cautiously.
"Could that possibly be... talking about us...?"
"Ah."
Realizations always come unexpectedly. I stopped mid-spoonful of stew and groaned softly with my mouth hanging open.
What was I thinking? The identity of the monster the villagers were talking about wasn't a Headless Knight at all.
Someone in black armor wearing a perception interference helmet who pierced through and completely holed a bandit's head with their arm.
In other words, it was me.
...This is ridiculous.
It seems those who fled in terror had spread stories about me everywhere... and stories told in a state of panic tend to be exaggerated.
As the exaggerated rumors spread and became gradually distorted, the story of a lady knight with excessive force had completely transformed into a monster story.
I suppose it's fortunate there's no talk of lords or the church organizing subjugation forces yet.
There's a possibility of adventurers coming after hearing the rumors, but by the time they arrive at the scene, I'll already be back at the mansion so it shouldn't be a problem.
...Right?
The next evening. Having set out early in the morning, Friede and I arrived at Svinaland just before sunset.
"Fernhilde Esther... Siegfriede.... Yes, confirmed. Welcome to Svinaland."
Befitting a city of considerable size, solid walls completely encircled the entire city, and guards in heavy armor strictly protected the gates in all four directions.
In the past, I wouldn't have dared to even think about entering.
Not just before obtaining the perception interference helmet, but even after getting it, I would have tried to avoid cities with such strict security just in case.
However, thanks to the magical dyeing tool and disguised identity token provided by Argentir, I could now freely enter and exit such major cities without worry.
Though I still had to at least cover my face with the helmet just in case, even if not activating the perception interference magic.
"So this is Svinaland..."
Upon entering the city, Friede couldn't keep her head still, looking around everywhere with an excited face while constantly expressing admiration.
I understand that feeling well. Even to me, perhaps because it's famous as a tourist destination, it was a city worth seeing in many ways.
Svinaland, the lake city.
The enormous lake at the city's center looked as if it held gold within as it was dyed by the setting sun, and the well-maintained roads and white-washed buildings sparkled chaotically in the reflected water light.
Small boats floating on the lake, and tiny fish jumping up and diving back down with light sprays of water.
Old men sitting by the lakeside puffed on their pipes with fishing rods beside them, while a group of children splashed and played in a corner of the lake.
Aren't they cold? This is in the north.
I paid my respects to the children swimming nonchalantly in the freezing water, then turned my gaze from the lake to look at the streets.
"Svinaland specialty you can't taste anywhere else! Lake pig skewers!"
"Boat rentals! Three silver coins for two hours! If you came with your lover, don't miss this opportunity!"
"Hey travelers! If you're looking for a place to stay, come to our inn! Two silver coins per person! Free beer for two hours!"
Streets noisy with all sorts of soliciting. Even though the sun was starting to set, the plaza was still bustling with pedestrians and merchants.
Somewhere, a woman in fancy clothes was looking at the display of an accessories shop, while elsewhere an adventurer in crude armor was fooling around with their lover, swinging their arms in the air.
Though streets for nobles and commoners were strictly divided, everyone regardless of status was smiling and enjoying themselves.
This place is like another world.
Most cities I had seen until now were gloomy, dark, or rough places, but this place had a bright and lively atmosphere like a swimsuit event in a character gacha game.
"Ugh... there are too many people, it's so noisy... I'm getting dizzy..."
"Yeah. Can't get my head straight."
Even the adventurers' guild in Vespian wasn't like this. I couldn't adapt at all to the overwhelmingly energetic and noisy atmosphere.
"Let's go find an inn and rest. While we're resting, someone from the organization should contact us."
That's what was written in the letter too. To find the marked inn, stick the enclosed feather in the window, and wait.
"Yes, that sounds good... So, where do we need to go...?"
"Wait, let's see, the inn's name is... 'The Drowned Kelpie'. Looking at this, it should be somewhere over there."
"Uh... Kelpie what? What kind of name is that?"
Friede tilted her head as if dumbfounded.
"I know, right? What a strange name."
I felt the same way. A kelpie is an aquatic monster that lures people and drowns them.
It was already strange enough to name a lakeside inn after that, but adding "drowned" in front made it even more bizarre.
It's like naming a brothel "The Orc's Den of STDs"?
I wondered what madman would give their inn such a name. It seems like people would turn back thinking it's ominous just from seeing the name.
Or maybe that's what they're aiming for?
If it was originally used as a contact point for the 'Shadow', having too many regular guests would just be troublesome and interfere with business.
"Well, at least with such a unique name, we won't miss it. Let's go check it out."
I lightly patted Friede's shoulder and headed toward the place written in the letter.
After walking about twenty minutes or so. Finally, a shabby inn that looked like it could go bankrupt any time welcomed us.
"Uh..."
Even without going inside, just looking from outside it was clearly dirty and unhygienic. It looked like they might have gathered all the rats in the neighborhood here.
"...Maybe we should sleep somewhere else."
A sigh escaped involuntarily.