Crossing fists with him made it immediately clear: just like the fledgling Sword Emperor, Zack possessed a natural, god-given talent for martial arts. For someone like me who had zero talent whatsoever, fighting someone who was the very embodiment of genius was exceptionally fun, making my heart dance for the first time in ages.
Perhaps because I was so focused, I did not notice until my name was called. Shifting my gaze toward the sound, I saw two men pressing their foreheads against the ground.
I recognized them. They were the hunters who had tried to pick a fight with me before. The tall, blond man with the sharp glare, Raiga, had looked down on me with blatant contempt. For that same Raiga to take such a humiliating posture before me meant something was seriously amiss. It seemed a truly troublesome situation had developed.
"What happened? Explain in detail."
"I-It's all my fault! My companions...! The city...!"
Raiga blurted out in a ragged voice, unable to suppress his agitation and panic as tears streamed down his face.
Taking over for Raiga, who was too distraught to speak coherently, the short-haired, black-haired man beside him wearing a hood over his head spoke up.
"Because of our careless actions, Balse is in grave danger. Please, lend us your strength!"
He offered a concise explanation.
A crisis in Balse, was it? Arnold and that slave girl were in that city. Abandoning them was out of the question.
Good grief, nothing but trouble ever seems to come my way.
Next, a woman with long blond hair tied into a single ponytail rushed up to the edge of the martial ring, out of breath.
"Kai Heinemann-san, this is an urgent request from the Balse Hunter Guildmaster—Ralph Excel—for cooperation in subjugating a regional class monster! Please come to Balse with us immediately!"
She shouted at the top of her lungs. This woman was the receptionist at the Balse Hunter Guild, Mia, if I remembered correctly.
At Mia's words, a murmur rippled through the arena like wind rustling through a forest.
"I forfeit this match."
Telling Old Man Aaron just that, I stepped down from the martial ring and walked over to the three of them.
"Let us go. I want to hear the full details."
Giving a firm instruction, I began walking.
Rose and the others were waiting in front of the arena, so we all headed toward a nearby plaza together.
Old Man Aaron and Zack followed along as well, but it was not something that needed to be kept secret, so I did not turn them away.
At the plaza, I listened to what the three had to say.
"I see. A monster from the Deep Zone in Balse..."
Rose murmured to herself with a solemn expression.
Apparently, Raiga's party had used an item given to them by a suspicious individual to investigate the Ancient Temple located in the Deep Zone of the Silke Sea of Trees. However, they triggered a trap, wiping out everyone except Raiga and Hook. Soon after, monsters from the Deep Zone attacked Balse.
The one who requested my support was almost certainly Arnold. That gentleman always evaluated me far higher than necessary.
"Well? Asta, do you know anything about this?"
Though it had not been long since we met, Asta was strangely knowledgeable at times.
"Unfortunately, I have not been informed in the slightest as to what world this even is. Therefore, I have not the foggiest idea."
He did not seem to be lying. Or rather, he likely had zero interest in the matter altogether. It was always written plain as day on his face.
Looking at Faf beside me, she was clinging to my clothes, dozing off. Come to think of it, it was her nap time right now. In this state, asking Faf would be pointless as well.
"At any rate, we have no choice but to return to Balse."
We could figure out the rest after that. Well, it would work out somehow.
"So? What're you gonna do? Even if you run a carriage day and night from here to Balse, it'll easily take a day and a half. Even if you leave right this second, you probably won't make it in time, you know?"
Zack, you are definitely enjoying this, aren't you? And to top it off, you look fully intent on getting involved. What is more—
"Indeed. Without needing that young lad Zack to point it out, someone of your caliber is already well aware, are you not? I, too, am quite intrigued."
Old Man Aaron also spoke with keen interest while stroking his long, snow-white beard.
"Kai?"
To Rose, who turned a pleading gaze toward me, I replied:
"I know."
Letting out a deep sigh, I retrieved the Subjugation Compendium from my Item Box, turned to the relevant page, and called out, "Release."
A gigantic, monstrous bird manifested before our eyes. The 700th-floor boss—Phoenix. A cringe-inducing undead bird falsely claiming the name of the divine bird. Like a chick begging for food, it had constantly squawked about its immortality, but when I chopped it to pieces until it was literally dead, it had ascended without a fight—a spineless monstrosity.
"Oh, dreadful and great Master. How may I be of service?"
Seeing the self-proclaimed divine bird lowering its head so low it practically pressed against the ground, Asta reacted.
"Did you truly usurp all authority over the Gods' Ordeal?! Everything you do is completely out of your mind!!"
Greasy sweat dripping down his face, Asta began muttering under his breath while furiously gnawing on his thumbnail. That guy was being even creepier than usual. Right. Best to just ignore him. That was the only sensible choice.
For that matter, except for Faf, who was rubbing her sleepy eyes, everyone else was simply staring up in stunned silence with their mouths hanging wide open.
"Take us to the place I direct."
"As my Master commands."
Our bodies floated into the air, drifted onto the Phoenix's back, and touched down. The Phoenix governed wind, fire, and rebirth. This was likely the power of its wind.
"Now, head toward the city to the north of here."
"Understood!"
The self-proclaimed immortal monstrosity—the Phoenix—flapped its wings, surged into the sky, and began flying at blinding speed.