"Stow your luggage? But I just heard the first mate say he could help you with that. By the way, you’re part of an Adventurer party, right? How many people are in your group? What races are they? I personally think I could help you out with your party’s tactics. After all, I’m a real Adventurer myself. Oh, you must find that surprising, a dragon being..."
Just then, the door to Colin’s room opened behind him.
The others walked in, looking confused.
"Who are you talking to...?" Kase was startled by the sight inside. He quickly drew his weapon and shouted, "A dragon!? A dragon snuck in here?"
"Don’t worry, this isn’t a White Dragon, the kind of beast that attacks people randomly... Alright, you guys go check out the bunks. I’m going to go check on my luggage."
Colin said this as he scurried out the door, leaving the others completely baffled—until the dragon started speaking with a smile.
Once back in the main cabin, Colin breathed a sigh of relief and hurried up to the deck for some fresh air.
Several hours passed. It was only when he heard a crew member announce the start of lunch that Colin went back into the cabin.
He glanced at the people around the long table, then walked over and sat down next to Kase.
A few sailors were placing plates of today’s lunch in front of the Adventurers. Just as he’d seen before, there were hardly any humans sitting around the long table.
Minotaurs, Ogres, and Centaurs sat nearby. At first glance, it was easy to feel like you were the meal, not someone sitting at the table to eat one.
"You’re a real pal, Colin my friend," the Half-Orc said sarcastically.
Colin said, "I really did want to go check on my luggage at that moment."
"Yeah, right. As if I don’t know what you were thinking. Hmph," Kase grunted a few times.
Orelia chimed in, "Mister Colin, you should have warned us. Do you have any idea how long that Miss Dragon talked? For several whole hours without stopping!"
’The two of them seem pretty relaxed. It’s probably because there are so many Alien Races around that they don’t feel like they stick out anymore.’
"How did you finally get away?" Colin changed the subject.
"Stone Face is a surprisingly good conversationalist. She ended up getting into a chat with the dragon, and they’re still over there talking now." Kase raised his hand and shouted, "Two servings for me, thanks!"
The sailor who walked over didn’t even ask, simply giving the Half-Orc an extra portion.
Orelia then took her food and went to find Ale. ’That Half-Elf must still be chatting with the Brass Dragon. Her patience is truly something else.’
Colin’s food was also placed in front of him.
On the wooden platter was a whole roasted sea fish, a few octopuses, and some raw sea urchin that had been cut open. The vegetable dish on the side was some kind of seaweed cooked with clams, which looked a bit like noodles.
’Since there are those gilled Elves on board, it’s not surprising they have such fresh ingredients.’
Colin picked up the lemon that was also on the platter, squeezed its juice over the roasted fish, and used a Small Knife to cut off a piece of fish, which he then popped into his mouth.
The sea fish didn’t have any small bones.
After the lemon juice cut through the fishiness, the meat had a very clean taste, leaving a peppery fragrance after he swallowed.
"Now, we welcome a new member. This is a ’Black Robe’ from our field personnel, and their captain is Colin," Durandel said, holding up a beer mug.
As soon as he finished speaking, the surrounding Adventurers raised their mugs.
Colin and his party hastily raised their mugs in response, sharing a drink with the other Adventurers.
After they put their mugs down, a tortoise-man leaning on a cane—yes, a humanoid who looked like a giant, upright tortoise—stood up and said, "What... are... you... reporting?"
The creature spoke so slowly it was a little maddening to listen to.
Colin glanced at Durandel’s expression. Seeing no reaction, he began to speak. "It’s mainly about the Ancient Empire of Ora Kaim. I saw the awakened legions of the Ancient Empire in Snow Deer Valley. Besides that, there’s also the matter of the Winter Calamity."
"Ancient... Empire... Ora..."
"I’m begging you, can you please stop talking?" the Catman sitting next to him interrupted.
The deep, booming voice of the Frost Giant drifted down from the deck. "The Ancient Empire? Just another trouble left over from antiquity."
"Then what’s the deal with you Giants? You’ve been causing a lot of trouble lately," a Gnome standing on a chair shouted, cupping his hands around his mouth like a megaphone.
But the Frost Giant didn’t pay him any mind, seemingly unwilling to speak anymore.
The Adventurers pointed at the snubbed Gnome and chuckled for a moment before they all began talking at once.
The King of Minotaurs from the Bottomless Abyss, the King of the Deep Sea, the Succubus Queen... The Duke of Steel from the Nine Floors of Hell, the Duke of Greed, the Mother of Evil Dragons... The Viper Association in the Mortal World, the Lich Association, the Black Fist Empire...
A whole slew of evil organizations, some he’d heard of and some he hadn’t, came tumbling out.
’Am I really supposed to be hearing all this?’
For a moment, Colin couldn’t even taste the roasted fish in his mouth. He was completely focused on listening to the tales from the surrounding Adventurer parties.
The more he listened, the more his blood ran cold.
It was only then that Colin realized everything they had encountered on their adventures so far was merely the tip of the iceberg.
There were a dozen or so Adventurer parties, and each one spoke of something different.
And their words weren’t just baseless rumors. Colin chimed in with a few questions and learned that basically every party with something to report had personally witnessed the corresponding events on their adventures. Their information was all substantiated.
By that count, there were over a dozen evil powers plotting to come to the material plane and "join the festivities."
If what these Adventurer parties said was true, then the world situation could be described as a surging undercurrent, not at all as stable as it appeared on the surface.
’Compared to those Abyss Lords and Dukes of the Devil, the army of several thousand Skeletons from the Ancient Empire he’d encountered seemed like nothing. No wonder it felt like Edwin and the others were never particularly concerned about the problem of the Ancient Empire.’
The more he heard, the more uneasy Colin became.
’Does this mean I’ll have to deal with Silent and the Ancient Empire all by myself?’
"Hey, are you hearing this?" Colin nudged Kase, who was next to him, with his elbow.
The Half-Orc, having devoured the sea urchin, was now using every ounce of his effort to lick the inside of the shell clean. He grunted noncommittally.
Colin lowered his head and asked in a small voice, "Do you think something big is about to happen? Why is there so much chaos?"
"Who cares? What’s it got to do with us?" Kase said nonchalantly, putting down the sea urchin shell. "If there’s a problem, we fight it. Why think so much? Anyway, after we die, we’re guaranteed to go to the Divine Kingdom of the Morninglord or the War Deity."
"Alright, there’s no talking to you," Colin retorted.
Despite his words, seeing the Half-Orc’s completely unconcerned attitude did help to settle his own anxious heart a little.
’Besides, if trouble really does come, at least I’ll have a few companions to die with.’
At that thought, Colin couldn’t help but smile, a little more relaxed.