Free Web NovelSeven days later, Talin.
This was a city standing over two thousand meters above sea level, surrounded on three sides by mountains, where fierce winds blew year-round and rain was scarce.
By all logic, it should have been a dry place, yet a massive lake of several hundred square kilometers in the city’s center constantly breathed mist into the air, like a tireless humidifier that never stopped working.
Vieya lay sprawled over the tavern table, her enormous hat and blanket-like cloak covering her completely. Beside her, the cat-eared maid was relentlessly attacking a plate of grilled fish. Many adventurers and all sorts of professionals came and went through the tavern, most of them here because of the dungeon.
“Meow, you really aren’t going to secretly protect your daughter? Judging by the time, she’s already entered the dungeon with the Academy’s main group.”
“...I’m not going.”
“You’re so strange. We came all the way here, you even lent those two Demon Kings to that golden-haired Hero, and now... you’re just going to sit here eating and drinking with me, meow?”
“......”
Vieya didn’t answer. Her pale arms rested under her cheek as her beautiful eyes quietly observed the flow of people coming and going through the tavern.
She had been to Talin long ago—this city, the largest one along the border between the southern and western territories.
“Sigh, returning to an old place... if only the people hadn’t changed. Cat, when you finish your fish, are you waiting here in the tavern, or coming with me?”
“Of course I’m following you, meow.” Helcat didn’t hesitate—she bit off the fish head in one gulp and spoke while chewing. “We don’t know anyone here. Aren’t you afraid of losing me?”
“I’m going to the Tribunal. You might not like that place,” Vieya said calmly.
“You’re going there why?!” Helcat’s eyes widened with suspicion. “Don’t tell me you’ve finally run out of patience and plan to trade me in for a hundred thousand gold coins?!”
Thwack!
Vieya raised her hand and struck the catgirl’s head with a chop. The cat yelped and clutched her skull in pain.
“I’m going to see a friend. You’re not suited to come along.”
“A friend in the Tribunal? Then I’ll stay here, meow...”
“Cowardly cat.”
“If I weren’t cowardly, I’d have died nine times over already, meow! Even nine lives wouldn’t be enough.” Helcat muttered this softly in her heart as she watched her mistress rise from her seat.
Still, after a moment of thought, the black cat decided to follow.
In truth, most people on this continent would never leave their hometowns in an entire lifetime. Long-distance travel wasn’t cheap. They could only learn about faraway lands through the newspapers of the Four Realms. Born here, buried here—such was their fate.
Vieya had arrived in this city just yesterday.
After a night of adjustment and rest, both her body and spirit had recovered to the peak state of her slime-girl form.
But before meeting her friend in the Tribunal, she first needed to register as an adventurer.
That was the first step toward blending into Talin and officially beginning the dungeon expedition.
“Cat, remember—you’re not allowed to cause trouble.”
“I know. If someone throws mud at me, I’m supposed to plant flowers with it, right, meow?” fɾeeweɓnѳveɭ.com
“...As long as you know.”
Vieya paused, then continued, “Right now, the tension between humans and demons is stretched to the breaking point. The border defenses are taut. If you get discovered, you can forget about ever eating grilled fish again.”
The point wasn’t whether she could eat grilled fish—it was that she couldn’t afford to make the world her enemy.
Helcat understood perfectly, nodding seriously.
“Understood, Mistress. I’ll obey you completely!”
Satisfied with that promise, Vieya nodded.
Then, the two of them left together, heading toward the Adventurers’ Guild at the center of the city.
Along the way, Helcat took in everything with wide, curious eyes. The city brimmed with a vivid, fantastical energy—its streets lined with strange architecture blending styles from every realm, and all sorts of demi-human races passing by, fascinating her endlessly.
Many of these demi-humans were rarely seen elsewhere in the southern lands, and among them were a few cat-eared girls who looked somewhat like her.
But those cat-eared girls had ordinary physiques, with magic so faint it was nearly undetectable, and none could shed their human forms to reveal a roaring, monstrous feline body like Helcat’s.
Still, without delay, the two soon reached the Adventurers’ Guild.
Helcat blinked curiously. She didn’t understand why her mistress had to stop by here before visiting the Tribunal.
Could it be... that her mistress had friends here too?
Clearly, she guessed wrong.
The receptionist of the Guild was a half-elf adventurer named Aina. She had pointed ears and green eyes.
When Aina learned that Vieya was a platinum-ranked adventurer from another city, astonishment lit her face.
Among humans, those who reached such a rank were exceptional talents—powerhouses born once in a generation. And the young lady before her, this platinum-ranked adventurer, looked barely in her twenties.
For Aina’s amazement, Vieya simply smiled, then lifted her adventurer’s badge and pointed toward the cat-eared maid beside her.
Without needing many words, Aina immediately understood what the platinum adventurer wanted.
Under Aina’s guidance, Helcat went through the standard registration procedures set by the world’s Guild system, successfully completing her information entry and becoming a formally registered adventurer.
During that time, Aina dutifully explained the basic knowledge and precautions for dungeon exploration.
After leaving the Guild, the two didn’t linger—they headed straight toward the Tribunal.
As the towering white spires rose high into the clouds, Helcat couldn’t help feeling immense pressure.
“M-Mistress, are we really going in?” The fur on her tail fluffed up like a puffed dandelion.
“Don’t be afraid. You’re a great monster, aren’t you?” Vieya said, smoothing the fur on her maid’s tail while guiding her toward the sanctified, gleaming gates.
“Meowww...” Helcat whimpered as she was dragged inside by the tail.
“Welcome, Swordmaster, to your presence!”
A voice like a great bell boomed from the tower’s summit, echoing across the heavens.
In the plaza, through the streets, in the shops and houses, countless people stopped in their tracks and turned toward the Tribunal.
“Who’s the Swordmaster?”
“No idea... but if the Tribunal’s summoning with such fanfare, it must be someone huge—bigger than any lord!”
“Could it be a giant visiting Talin?”
“Maybe. Probably here for the dungeon too.”
“Really? I’ve never seen a giant before!”
“The giants once gave birth to the Titans. You think you can just see them whenever you want?”
“Heh, some people fart for fun, but when it’s real, you’ll be the first to choke on it!”
“Hey, what’s that supposed to mean?”
The crowd started pushing and shoving!
“The Swordmaster belongs to our human race, not your farting giants!”
In a tavern near the dungeon entrance, a group suddenly broke into argument; in moments, it escalated into drawn blades and a brawl. Luckily, the peacekeeping knights arrived in time to arrest the instigators and quell the chaos.
Meanwhile—
At the dungeon entrance reserved for the Magic Academy, Jasmine was trembling with nerves. Ever since arriving in Talin, she hadn’t seen her mother once.
Three whole days—it felt like years.
“Marla, I shouldn’t have said all those cool-sounding things to Mom...” she murmured, staring at the deep, mysterious dungeon gate.
Three days without her mother’s energy replenishment, little Jasmine felt she was about to wither away.
“A great age has arrived! Our long-slumbering human race has awakened!”
“Our compatriots suffer in fire and water, yet your change is like a stone sinking into the sea!”
On the raised platform, the Magic Academy’s director shouted passionately, gesturing with clenched fists and sweeping arms to rouse the crowd.
“Everyone, we must grow strong, we must fight, ~Nоvеl𝕚ght~ we must wage war, we must never relax—!”
His voice echoed far and wide.
Inside the dungeon, Anna led the two Demon Kings as they roamed about, plundering anything that could be exchanged for gold.
