Chapter 3 — Aurenvale's square

This morning, Yagami was at the center of Aurenvale's square. He walked alone without being accompanied by Aria, as she was waiting for him back at the inn. As for the architecture of the square, it was quite grand.

With a large tower standing in the middle of the street, there was a big bell perched atop the tower. Other large buildings lined the sides of the road, built with black brick designs, and several royal emblems were attached to the walls, including those on the tower itself. Among them, Yagami noticed one he had seen before—the emblem of the wilting Rose. There were also many statues of gods and goddesses in various poses, though most were depicted pouring clear water, often seen along the street.

Yagami walked on neatly arranged bricks on the street, while several people were busy with their daily activities, such as opening shops or construction workers apparently repairing damaged sections of the tower, which the locals referred to as the symbol of Aurenvale Square.

A few horse-drawn carriages passed by, carrying various goods like food supplies, and there were also several carriages with a majestic design, indicating they belonged to nobles or upper-class individuals—something uncommon for the local community to use.

While Yagami strolled casually, his attention was drawn to a general store that seemed to sell rare items such as gems, artifacts, rare weapons, magic staffs, and several potions. The store's design wasn't too luxurious, rather simple, with white walls and some wooden parts, like the showcases it used.

Upon arriving at the store, Yagami began browsing through the items he was looking for. However, instead of his body merely moving while searching, his eyes didn't follow the movement of his body. His gaze carefully noted small details, like the items being sold, among other things. Using this method, he could deduce where an item might have originated from before ending up in the shop owner's hands.

The shopkeeper approached Yagami while offering a small sword with a beautiful pattern of a human skull on it. It seemed that sword had some kind of background story (?)

"Sir... Are you looking for something? ...If you're interested, I'd like to offer you a legendary sword that seems very rare..."

The shopkeeper appeared—a young man dressed neatly and simply, not too flashy, with black hair and blue eyes. Not only that, his slender build suggested he was around 20-23 years old, younger than Yagami. He also had long ears, likely indicating he was a dark elf hybrid.

Yagami calmly replied to the young man, crossing his arms and putting on a friendly smile while joking slightly, "Ah~ it seems I'm looking for something that doesn't exist... Ahaha— But I guess that's not bad either. How much is it? Does the sword have any additional powers?"

"Ah... Come on, sir, I don't sell things that don't exist here... As for this sword—I got it from an old man earlier this morning, and from what I've observed, it seems to have some embedded power. However... It's difficult to identify since it's already rusted. What makes it rare... is that the hilt seems unnatural to me (?)."

Yagami already knew where the sword came from and wasn't particularly interested in the item itself, but he needed information, so he had to confirm it quickly.

Yagami approached the young man while inspecting the rusted parts and its authenticity, "Ah... It does seem to be genuine... This is a rare sword... Are you sure you want to sell it? —If I may ask, who sold you this sword?"

"I got it from an old adventurer. It's hard to describe him... What I do remember is that inside his cloak, there was an emblem of the Solandis kingdom attached. —Hmm... There's a chance he's from there."

"Oh, I see? If I may ask, what does the Solandis emblem look like? Sorry if I'm asking too many questions... You see, I'm new here... And coincidentally, I'm looking for a big souvenir to take home (?), hahah."

"Don't you know? —Solandis is the kingdom that governs the Aurenvale area, symbolized by a wilting Rose emblem. —Like the one on the tower at the square over there..."

When Yagami heard those words, beneath his friendly smile lay a sense of triumph over his predictions since setting foot in the square. He responded, "Oh.... Alright, thank you. I'm very, very grateful to you, —so I will buy that sword at a high price, ...but I want the sword to be in a usable condition... Can that be arranged?"

"...Ce-certainly, sir-! Absolutely! In that case, I'll contact my associate, a blacksmith, to have the sword sharpened. As for the payment—"

"Shh... Don't worry about the money, ...I'll give you an advance payment now, ...hmm, maybe it's not enough? Once it's ready, I'll add more, don't worry—!" As he said this, Yagami handed over a large amount of gold coins wrapped neatly.

"Si-sir! Isn't this too much?? —These are all gold coins!?"

"No, that's the fair price. To me, your help has been immense... And you deserve it... —Well then, I'll be going now. I have other matters to attend to, so I'll come back later to pick up the sword and pay the rest, alright?"

"Y-yes... Thank you very much... I'll ensure the quality is good and it's in usable condition. See you later, sir!"

"...."

And with that, Yagami left the place feeling immensely satisfied by his standards. He had become obsessed with his predictions, which he considered absolute. However, if an error were to occur in his predictions, everything would collapse in an instant, without warning.

However, on his way back to the inn, a sudden loud explosion echoed behind him—the location of the square's tower he had just passed. The bustling sounds of daily activity turned into panicked screams.

The large bell from the Aurenvale square tower rang out loudly, signaling a sudden attack.

The assault didn't stop at a single strike but came in relentless barrages, seemingly from cannon fire launched by one of the factions. The once-sturdy buildings now bore heavy damage, and even the statues that symbolized the square broke apart, leaving only fragments of their forms.

Yagami calmly walked amidst the chaos of panicked civilians, wearing a wide smile while lowering his head. From the panicked individuals, a shadow-like black mist began to emerge, thin and transparent, flying into Yagami's body one by one. As it happened, Yagami's eyes flickered uncontrollably, glowing, and his demon horns slowly emerged without him realizing it. Yagami himself simply laughed loudly, almost maniacally.

Throughout the streets, soldiers from the Solandis Kingdom began arriving, engaging the forces destroying Aurenvale's square. Among them were elite mages hovering in the air, intercepting the cannon fire that continuously bombarded the area from outside forces.

These mages, a mix of elves and humans, wore white uniforms accented with gold and blue patterns. They carried no staffs, casting their spells with synchronized gestures in the air. In an instant, large circular portals appeared, glowing green and surrounded by ancient script carved within.

As the portals formed perfectly, created by the mages, they suddenly emitted beams of white-green light. The resulting tremors caused local buildings to shake and crumble, while the attacking forces in the square were utterly obliterated, leaving nothing but internal devastation.

There were also Solandis knights wielding swords, ruthlessly cutting down the remaining enemy forces. It seemed one of these knights was a reincarnated human, as they moved with exceptional agility, efficiently eliminating the survivors of the earlier magical assault. They acted as absolute executioners.

The attacking forces, however, did not resemble a kingdom's military. Judging by their attire, they appeared to be a shadowy organization, wearing black cloaks with hoods covering their heads. Additionally, they donned masks shaped like mythical serpents, revealing only their glowing eyes.

Yagami, on his way home, didn't want to miss out on the free "nutrients" the chaos provided. Despite his efforts to restrain himself from getting involved, his demonic form was nearly complete. It only needed a little more panic from the civilians—perhaps just 23% more.

Amidst the screams of trapped civilians caught between the battle, the loud toll of the square's bell suddenly echoed through the air, signaling that the Solandis forces had reclaimed the area. By the time the bell rang, however, Yagami had already vanished.

The aftermath of the assault showed minimal civilian casualties, as the attackers seemed to focus on destroying buildings rather than targeting people. From this, it became clear that the sudden attack by the serpent-masked sect was not a full-scale assault but rather some sort of test (?).