Chapter 47: What Was Thought to Be a Daydream

After returning to the surface from the dungeon, Sena and the others went straight to the Adventurers’ Guild to report their findings. It was there, for the first time, that they learned of the stampede.

“W-what… a thousand monsters…?”

“Ehh?! That… was it really okay?”

To their wide-eyed astonishment, the guild receptionist, Canaria, spoke with a calm, reassuring tone.

“Don’t worry. As you can see, the city hasn’t suffered any damage.”

“True… but still… a thousand monsters? That’s a scale that could’ve leveled the whole town…”

Shifa tilted her head thoughtfully, nodding in agreement, her expression a mix of curiosity and incredulity.

Although it was still early in the day, and there were subtle oddities—most shops were closed, and townspeople seemed restless—there was absolutely no sign that the city had been ravaged. In fact, until Canaria explained what had happened, they hadn’t even realized something so catastrophic had occurred.

“Fortunately, we managed to prevent them from entering the city. The only damage was the west gate—it was destroyed, that’s all.”

“Just that…? How did it come to so little damage? Did the higher-ranked adventurers work miracles?”

“That’s the thing… the guild could only dispatch a small number of adventurers. Your party included, but most of the prominent adventurers were away, tackling the volcanic and underwater regions.”

“So… it was mostly the city troops, then?”

“Exactly.”

“Hmm, not bad at all.”

Anii let out a low whistle, a hint of admiration in her voice. She wasn’t underestimating the city troops at all. While they might lack the nimbleness of adventurers, their rigorous daily training and disciplined coordination meant that when faced with a massive swarm of monsters, their strength could rival—or even surpass—adventurers.

“Thanks to Dad’s equipment?”

“Ah, right! You made mithril gear, didn’t you? Has the delivery been completed?”

“It should be.”

With two hundred warriors equipped with mithril gear, their combat capability would have increased drastically. Against a stampede of a thousand monsters—depending on their type—they might have stood a fighting chance.

Just then, a commotion erupted near the guild counter:

“Believe me! I saw it! A gigantic wall came rushing at us like a tidal wave, blasting the monsters away!”

“Ha! A wall moving like that? Are you dreaming or something?!”

“I’m telling the truth!”

“That’s exactly what I saw too! It happened right when the west gate was about to be destroyed—if that wall hadn’t appeared, the monsters would have swarmed the city! It was bigger than the city’s own defenses!”

“Hey, looks like we’ve got another one dreaming here!”

“Not dreaming!”

The adventurers were shouting over each other, voices rising with frantic excitement.

“And then, a mountain-sized golem appeared!”

“Not just one! There were several! And they defeated the boss monster!”

“Okay, okay, enough. You guys are being ridiculous. That’s enough joking around.”

“We’re not joking!”

Their furious shouts carried all the way to the three girls at the reception counter.

“…Well, they’re the adventurers we sent out, but ever since they came back, they’ve been talking nonsense,” Canaria said with an exasperated sigh.

Sena and the others exchanged skeptical glances.

“…But even if it were one person, having multiple adventurers claim they experienced a daydream?”

“Strange…”

“Hey, hey, what’s a daydream anyway?”

◇ ◇ ◇

“Onii-chan! I’m home!”

“Oh, welcome back! But… what’s the matter?”

No sooner had Sena’s voice sounded from the entrance than she came pounding into the living room, her footsteps echoing loudly on the floor.

“I heard! Something about a stamp… uh, it was terrible, right?!”

“Stampede, Sena.”

“Are you okay, Onii-chan?”

“Yeah. As you can see, I’m fine.”

It seemed she had heard about the stampede from the Adventurers’ Guild. Worried for my safety, she had rushed home immediately.

“Phew…”

Sena exhaled in relief, her stomach growling loudly.

“I’m hungry!”

“All right, all right, I’ll get dinner ready soon.”

“Yay! Really, I’m just glad you’re safe! Otherwise, we couldn’t eat anything delicious, right?”

“Hey, that’s your main reason, isn’t it?”

She hadn’t changed a bit.

While I bantered with my sister,

“Excuse us.”

“Hope we’re not intruding.”

Shifa-san and Anii-san unexpectedly entered the house.

“Shifa-san? And Anii-san too…”

“Why am I just the ‘plus one’?!”

“Heh, what’s going on?”

Sena looked puzzled as well, and it didn’t seem like there was any prior appointment.

“Geo, did you evacuate properly?”

Shifa’s expression was serious, the question pressing down like a physical weight.

“Uh… what are you talking about?”

“The stampede.”

Ah, she meant during the stampede. Did I evacuate…? I hadn’t.

“…Of course I did,” I replied.

Her eyes narrowed.

“Th-that’s not true!” I protested.

“My father said he didn’t see you at the shelter.” 

Anii added, stepping in close, her gaze sharp and accusatory.

“My sister told me the same. You weren’t at home during the stampede, were you?”

“…Fine,” I admitted, surrendering.

“I… didn’t evacuate,” I confessed.

“What were you thinking? There was an evacuation order!”

“Well, I thought… staying home was actually safer. If anything happened, I could move to the garden outside the city. And besides, inside the garden, the golems would protect me!”

“…I suppose that makes sense.”

My reasoning seemed to satisfy them, and the intensity of their interrogation finally eased. I quickly seized the opportunity.

“Right! I have something I want the three of you to see!”

Using the garden’s teleportation system, I led them to the Second Household Garden.

“Geo… what is that enormous thing…?”

“That was Atlas, the source of the stampede.”

“…Huh?”