Artia P.O.V

"So...what do we do now?"

We had been dropped off at our destination by the carriage around half an hour ago, but there was literally no one that had even remotely attempted to help us during this time.

The quest itself had looked like a pretty good deal on paper, but when we got there we saw no adventurers in sight unless they weren't carrying any weapons and attempting to blend in with the crowd, though for some reason I was very doubtful that was the case.

"I don't know, everybody here seems reluctant to even make contact with us. Though perhaps the atmosphere was already like this before we came here. No matter what's going on, our first course of action should be to contact the one who hired us, Lord Terence."

I was inclined to agree with Will on this, but how were we exactly going to find him if no one wanted to help us? The moment we had left the safe confines of the carriage, everybody on the streets immediately left the area. The closer we walked, the faster they got away from us like we were some kind of disease. 

The shop owners weren't of any help as well, they shut and locked their doors the moment they saw us. I doubted that we were even going to get a meal around here anytime soon, forget about finding the lord of the whole state. Nobody was sparing a glance at us.

Elynea grumbled as we walked the now deserted streets. 

"We're supposed to be here to save them, so why are they treating us like a sickness instead!? Damn ungrateful bastards"

I've been noticing Elyneas personality deteriorating more and more as I spent more time with her. Though the others looked like they were completely used to it so it'll probably be fine...I think.

Thogir slung his battle-axe over his shoulder as we walked on.

"Ye do know there's a reason why experienced adventurers don't come here right? The largest threat is inside of the city, not outside. We just need to find an official or soldier to know what to do- like that one!"

As we walked down the street, a man that was dressed in partially leather partially steel armor stood at guard outside of a large, luxurious building with a steel spear. Unlike the citizens and merchants of the town, he did not shy away when we started to come close.

However, when he noticed us, he put out his hand in a stopping motion.

"State your business. We are in a state of emergency, so you need a valid reason to enter the palace."

Huh, this is a palace?

Now that I looked closer, it did indeed resemble a royal palace. Maybe it was the white walls combined with blue roofs, or perhaps it was the multiple flags that were hanging off the sides of the building and the many windows that were built into it, but it just radiated "rich" to me. 

Will didn't look too distraught when asked for the reason, though I didn't think being an adventurer that wanted money was a valid enough reason to enter a palace. He handed the guard the poster that he had taken from the board back in the adventurers guild, was he supposed to take that with him?

"We're adventurers that came for this quest. Are we allowed to know the details for this request?"

The guard looked at the paper for a moment before sighing, holding his hand out.

"ID, then I'll let you through. I need to make sure you're not bandits or assassins in disguise and are actually registered in the adventurers guild"

I glanced over at my teammates to ask what ID he was talking about before my eyes widened as all three of them passed the guard copper cards with all of their necessary information carved into them. 

You're joking

The guard glanced at me as he took the rest of their cards. 

"Miss, where's your card?"

"Yeah, about that. Haha, funny story..."

I am so screwed.

"I have her ID. The guild gave it to us before we left"

If I was paying attention, I would have noticed Will scurrage around in his rucksack and pulling out another copper card.

The guard looked at me suspiciously since my ID was in someone else's hands but he took it nonetheless.

"Give me a moment, I'll need to confirm these. You said you came from the capital, is that right?"

"Yes"

The guard went into a small building that was near the entrance of the palace. Though we probably could've just waltzed in, it didn't seem like the brightest of ideas when taking everything into consideration so we just stood there and waited.

Will glanced at me.

"Sorry, I couldn't give it to you sooner because Someone was withholding your card in their pocket without telling any of us and claimed that she had "forgotten" all about it"

With all the hints he was giving me, there was no doubt in my mind that Elynea did it again. I had no idea why she was acting especially hateful towards me, though she was still plenty being plenty aggressive to everyone else it seemed to me that I had it the worst out of everybody.

For all that had happened, Elynea just sniffed indignantly and turned away from me.

Before I could give her a piece of my mind, however, the guard returned and handed all of our cards back. He was especially shaky when he handed mine back, before letting us into the palace grounds.

"Sorry, we're just suspicious of everyone because of the constant bandit attacks and assassination attempts, I must apologize Ms.Artia. I didn't mean to act that way to the hero!"

You know, I don't know if this is better or not.

"You can just call me Artia..."

"No no, how could I do that!? You're our savior and we're just regular soldiers"

I had been quite taken aback when I was first summoned because everyone was bowing down in that chapel where I first entered into this world. I thought that it could have been because I was some type of religious idol or something, but now it was clear to me that the sentiment was widespread and everybody considered me extremely important.

We were led through the main gates, which had two more guards guarding it, and into the main hall. There were the regular long flights of stairs that everyone would expect in a palace that went all the way up to the top floor, which in this case was floor number 5.

We walked up the stairs, with the guard leading us into one of the rooms that had a large, round table in the center with some bookshelves and potted plants around the place.

"Lord Terence will be here shortly, please wait while I go and get him"

The guard shut the door as he left, leaving us in this room.

"So Elynea, ye want to explain why ye had her ID?"

She glared at Thogir with her usual death stare.

"I have no reason to explain my actions to anyone, much less the likes of you."

"Oh, now yer asking for it"

I would've thought that weapons wouldn't be allowed into a place where the lord was residing, but both Thogir and Elenear had their respective weapons in hand and were about to clash right in the middle of the room before the door opened, prompting both of them to drop their weapons.

A man with short brown hair walked in, accompanied by a man in full steel plate armor. This man was wearing a purple tunic with gold-work threads weaved throughout, making it scream royalty.

"You're the hero and her party, yes? Sorry for the hassle, something happened just yesterday and this place is under harsher security than normal, even though it was pretty harsh, to begin with. I'm Terence, lord of Agrestia. I humbly thank you for accepting the quest but the difficulty ranking and requirements have changed."

"Changed how so?"

Terence sighed before lowering his voice.

"Unlike most of the country, I know that heroes aren't invulnerable until they get to the demon lord and whatnot. Now most people, even the king, believe that you're the reincarnation of god just like how they believed the past heroes were as well.

That explained a lot.

Most of the people that knew who I was either worshipped me or expected me to do great things, so I'm trying, I really am. But in the end, I'm pretty sure I'm still human.

He looked out the window, almost in a sort of longing way.

"I'm not as naive. I saw the hero die before they reached the Demon King two years ago, it was the church that managed to annihilate the Demon Lord with their holy magic that had been boosted by the hero"

"Spit it out, we haven't got all day!"

I had hoped for a good first impression with royalty, but I guess it was too much to ask for with Elynea here. She raised her voice instantly after his explanation, making the knight at his side tense but he was waved down by Terence.

"I want you to reconsider taking this quest. From what we've seen, the danger level has gone up from D to most probably C. A C-rank person would only take another C rank to take down or a group of D ranks, but a large group of them would be a very big problem. The only C rank we have is my knight here and he's only C-. I'm assuming that you're all ranked at most D other than the hero?"

The group nodded, though I was extremely confused about why I would be ranked so high even though most of them would be able to wipe the floor with me.

"If you're confused about why your rank is S, it's because Hero's are ranked the same way monsters are. You're made to be one of the strongest beings in existence, however, if we go by adventurers then you would still be a D rank from your experience."

So far, all I knew was that I would probably get murdered even with my overpowered stats, that's just great! 

"This is why I want to discourage you since we have a larger threat on our hands. Though, I'm sure you would probably survive just fine I don't want the whole country blaming me when the hero gets a scratch. We have enough problems as it is, being the closest place to the Demon Forest"

"We're still accepting ye know, she'll be fine we'll protect her"

Thogir stepped up and managed to voice his opinion, though I appreciated that, it made me seem weak and a china doll that was going to be shattered at the slightest touch.

"I don't know if you guys know, but stat-wise I'm still the strongest. If I just hit someone and they die, I'm sure that we have  nothing to worry about."

"Well...if you're sure. I'll fill you in on the details of this but I have a special task for you, Ms.Hero"

Oh god.

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Ooh, backstory.

Edit: I finally got my Paypal to work!