There were no grand funerals. Gabriel's corpse was never found after the burning of the forest. Not that anyone was too sad about it. Some were even happy, thanks to his passing.
After twenty minutes when the fire was started, airships appeared above the forest. They rained water down upon the fire and after about ten minutes, further spreading of the fire was prevented.
Officials said that the fire was extraordinarily powerful. In that little time, more than a square kilometer of the forest was burned. Thankfully, no lives were lost besides Gabriel's.
The king went on to say the fire was started by a monster that managed to hide since the last Downdraught. He went on to say Gabriel died heroically while defending Astria and its people.
He did not do that out of respect. He believed Suzuki's lie and he hated Gabriel with every last of his being. He saw him as nothing more than an arrogant and selfish bastard.
However, he did not want the people of Astria to be against summoning more heroes. If they were to learn the truth about Gabriel's passing, their trust in high-ranking heroes would waver and that would give an advantage to Jonathan's political opponents.
Some knew that his words were not the truth. Some of whom were fearful, greedy, and righteous…
– – –
As the sun set below the strider's walls, the light coming from Rosenburg's castle shone brighter than any night star. Dinner was ready and the nobilities gathered to honor the dead with wine, pork, and sweet delicacies.
"These are our new companions!" Suzuki led Stevie to a table. "They will help us train until the next Downdraught."
Three heroes were sitting by the table.
"Hi, kiddo! Do you like shooting things?"
Wrick Urbanson, the Hand of West. His past life as a sports shooter brought him many rewards, most honorably a gold medal in the Olympics. He died due to a gun malfunction. He has a Pistol Sigil (Level 17).
"Ugh… Leave him alone…"
Black Tea. Not much is known about her past, including her real name. She likes to overdress in gothic clothes. You can find her by rivers, surrounded by various dolls that seem to move when nobody looks at them. She has a Dollmaker Sigil (Level 21).
"Hah! The boy is so small!"
Stoneman. He was an exception to the group, being the only one who was born in Astria. He is part of the titan race that fled to Astria many decades ago. He stands at a whopping two and a half meters. He has a Brute Sigil (Level 18).
"N-Nice to meet you!" Stevie waved awkwardly.
Suzuki noticed the boy's anxiety. He patted him on the back and reassured him with a smile.
"Don't worry! They won't betray us like Gabriel. You are safe with them."
"Hehe, I'm… I'm sure about that!" Stevie sat down while laughing awkwardly.
Pepon met up with the girl who promised to invite her if she gains a Mage Sigil. She found the tall black woman in the corner of the room, munching on some cupcakes.
"Yo!" Pepon down in front of her.
"Oh, hey!" The woman's face lit up with a smile. "You must be Pepon, right? Did you get a Mage Sigil?"
"R-Right…" Pepon scratched the back of her head. "Tell me, what was your name again?"
"My nickname is Electra! I'm Diamond tier hero in the adventurer's guild. I have a Level 70 Engineer Sigil."
As she said that, Pepon almost spat out her wine.
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"Excuse me?!" She exclaimed. "You are a what?!"
"Oh, don't let my high level shy you away! I know that there is an incredible difference between the two of us. That's exactly the reason why I'm teaming up with you."
Pepon was surprised. She thought the woman was a beginner adventurer, who she could use as a stepping stone.
But this woman had maxed out her levels. If Pepon was to try scamming her, she could face some serious repercussions.
"Explain more!" Pepon said with a frown.
"As you might have noticed, I said I am a Diamond tier hero. There are different tiers in the heroes' guild that you can climb based on your actions. These tiers range from Bronze, Silver, Gold, Platinum, Diamond, to Master and Grandmaster, the two tiers that bear the strongest heroes. I used to be a Master tier hero, but I dropped down to Diamond due to inactivity."
"What happened? Were there not enough monsters to slay?"
"The truth is, no. There were way more monsters than ever before. Every Dowdraught there are more." She stopped for a moment, then continued with a serious voice. "I stopped going on adventures when I realized that. One hero is not enough to defend Astria. If we want to keep the citizens safe, we need to equip them with the necessary equipment to defend themselves. I quit going on adventures to make new inventions that could secure the land more than I could ever do alone."
There was a window beside them. Flying ships were patrolling outside, going on their routine night watch.
Electra pointed at them.
"I built that. I made that design and sold it to the king. Well, selling it would be the wrong word. I gave it for free."
Pepon was speechless. She saw those ships many times already, but she never really thought about how they came into being.
Those flying ships made Astria so secure outside of Downdraughts. They were fast, light, and efficient, entirely running on renewable materials.
"Woah…" Pepon gazed outside.
"I decided to train some of the new heroes, starting with you. I plan to gather every new adventurer into my brigade. The higherups are not too happy about that, but I don't care. I will do everything in my power to train and nurse the next generation of heroes."
Her speech was inspiring, even for Pepon. Though as she heard her plan, a different idea came into her mind.
What Electra described was a noble cause without any selfishness. Pepon had the exact opposite in mind.
"This is amazing! If I play my cards right, I can use her plan to build my own mafia empire and become a mafia lord!"
Electra reached out to Pepon. She offered her hand for a handshake.
"So, what do you say? For the future of Astria!"
Pepon shook her hand.
"For the future of Astria!" She said with a very different image in mind.
Two alliances were made that night. Suzuki and Stevie joined a group of up-and-coming adventurers, while Pepon was at the wrong place at the right time.
Two alliances, that would soon derail Astria's fate.
However, there was a third alliance secretly in the making. It happened tens od kilometers away in a quiet little town, between Naomi and a certain someone, who most would have presumed dead…