■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ Sarutobi Homura
Aha... I expected something like this. I did not expect the grand duke to concoct an easy test...
Most of the other participants did not seem all that shocked, but some did.
Fire Lizards were giant lizards with copper-colored skin. They had the unique property of releasing a burst of flame all around their bodies when enraged. The Fire Lizard’s body-slam technique was especially dangerous when combined with its flaming skin ability.
In Eashen, the creature was actually known as a Great Blazer, but I had never seen one before. There had never been any near my village.
Hmm... I was told this mission was not going to be too difficult. I probably should have switched out with Shizuku or Nagi...
Then again... That means I get two platinum coins too, right?! Ehehe... If I had that much money... I could eat all kinds of lovely snacks! I guess this is actually good news. I got pretty lucky!
I grinned slightly, but the grand duke glared at me. Even though he had changed his outward appearance, his actions were still pretty much the same.
Don’t worry, geez! I will do my job properly, I promise!
Matters pertaining to the guild were not exactly explicitly related to Brunhild, but I was a member of the knight order, which was more like the grand duke’s private security force. Thus, all I had to do was follow my orders! I was just glad that the grand duke did not give us particularly hard jobs.
If you ask me, boss-lady Tsubaki is the one who gives us the hard jobs. She works us to the bone! With such a harsh attitude, it is not any wonder that she is still single... Eek! What was that feeling just now?!
I looked around in confusion, feeling a rush of killing intent directed right at me. Oh gosh... I do not know where... but the boss-lady is here somewhere... She is so darned scary, e-eep! How can I tell that she is glaring harder now?!
“...Are you quite alright?”
The cat-eared girl turned to me with a look of concern. She must have noticed that I was sweating a lot.
“A-Ahaha... I am fine, yes! Very fine, thank you!”
“...Okay.” The cat-eared girl turned back to face the three examiners. Gradually, the killing intent aimed my way wore off.
Please don’t kill me... I assumed that she was going to be the invigilator that the grand duke had mentioned...
Still, that girl... Mew-san, seemed to have been worried about me. It was possible that she had just found me suspicious, but she seemed to be quite a nice person.
Internally, I noted, “Mew +1” on my mental scoring sheet... But it was not like her empathy was a good indicator of her skills as an adventurer.
“The seven of you have until sundown in three days to deliver the spinfire weed. That’ll mark your quest as complete! Good luck.”
The three examiners, the grand duke included, headed off. And then, the Guildmaster followed suit. Now, all we had to do was get to work.
The grand duke was gone, so it was up to us seven to figure out how to proceed.
“Shall we all make our preparations before meeting in front of the portals in an hour or so?”
“Hold it! When’d you start giving orders?”
Abert started forming a plan when Garron cut in and started yelling. Guys like him were definitely annoying, I did not like it one bit.
“I’m not giving orders, I’m just trying to help. Or do you want to figure out our next course of action?”
“There’s no need for that. All we need to do is get to the island and grab that grass as soon as possible, right? I can do that alone. I don’t need you guys dragging me down.”
This guy was sounding more and more like an idiot.
“You dumb? If you fail, then we fail together. I’m not gambling two platinum on you.”
The tattooed woman with the giant chest... or rather, Rose, started speaking down to Garron. Her way of speaking was a little cruel, but I generally agreed. Nobody was going to leave the hope for such a large amount of cash with someone they only just met.
Surges-san, the staff-wielding man, began walking away. He completely ignored the others. I wondered what was up with him.
“One hour, then. In front of the portals. See you there.”
He muttered quickly before walking off. He was just as selfish as Garron, but not quite in the same way.
The dwarf guy, Dom-san, then sternly walked off on his own. After that, Mew-san walked off as well.
“In an hour, then.”
“Gh...”
“Hmph.”
Garron, Rose, and Abert also parted ways. They probably realized that they were wasting time. I shook my head slightly and planted my hands on my hips.
“These guys certainly seem like a whole lot of trouble...”
“Adventurers are often quirky people with strange personalities. The higher the rank, the more eccentric they are.”
“I see, I see... That makes sense. Guess that explains why the grand duke is ranked gold already.”
“Karina, don’t just say whatever... That doesn’t make sense at all.”
“E-Eep, Grand Duke?! And Karina-sama?!”
I turned around to find the grand duke and his cousin Karina standing behind me. The grand duke had undone the spell on him and looked like his usual self. I quickly doubled back and bowed my head to him.
“Wh-Wh-What do you wish of me?”
“Nothing major, just wanted to wish you luck. You should know already, but your main mission here is to observe them in action, right? Don’t help them out too much just because you want the quest to go well, even if you become their friend.”
“O-Okay.”
That is a little rough...
“What exactly constitutes too much?”
“Like... if you became the main star of the party or something. Just don’t do anything too extravagant. You can’t afford to stand out. You need to be stoic and quiet, like a ninja.”
Stoic and quiet?! I’m basically the worst at that!
“Oh, this too. There’s three days worth of food in here, as well as some medication. It has [Storage] enchanted on it, so it can hold a lot.”
The grand duke created a small magic circle in the air, then pulled a bright green rucksack out from it.
Apparently, it was magically enchanted to have enhanced storage capacity. Plus, it was not heavy at all! I loved it. It also looked adorable.
“Can I keep this?”
“I mean... I basically gave you these supplies for the mission, yeah. Oh... you mean the rucksack itself? Sure, I guess.”
“Yippee!”
Ehehe... Shizuku and Nagi are gonna be so jealous.
“Just remember to report in occasionally. Hide your smartphone, too. Don’t let the others catch you with it.”
That was obvious! The only people in Brunhild with smartphones were those who had important jobs, people in positions of power, or those that had a connection with the grand duke.
Connections were not just family-based, either. That also extended to his friends. The innkeeper of the Silver Moon had a smartphone, and so did Renne the maid.
Of those three categories, I fell into the important jobs bucket. We ninjas were exactly that.
Anyone aware of the smartphone’s existence would also know that anyone who had one was closely associated with the grand duke of Brunhild. That generally meant they would not mess with you.
After all, this world was full of rumors about the grand duke. Some talked about how he mercilessly crushed the coup in Regulus, some said that he caused a beam of light to vaporize the former leader of Yulong, and others said that he had placed the king of Sandora in an infinite torture chamber. Those rumors sounded pretty silly to me.
“Alright, then! As Brunhild’s Intelligence Corpswoman, Sarutobi Homura! I will do my best!”
“Mhm, give it your best shot. Keep up the good work.”
The grand duke smiled and nodded. I am gonna do my best!
About an hour later, all seven of us were gathered at the portal. Everyone had some extra stuff with them. Dom-san the dwarf had the most, and I had the least. Or rather, what appeared to be the least. It was only a small rucksack on the outside.
“Don’t go askin’ us to share food with you later. You should’ve packed better.”
“Do not worry about me, hehe... I do not plan on making you give up anything you have, heh...”
“Tch... Cocky little brat.”
That guy was really annoying. I grinned and winked at Garron, but he just shrugged and turned around toward the portals. He clearly thought he was tough with that shield on his back.
“Let’s move, then.”
Abert carried on after Garron. Rose, Dom-san, Surges-san, and Mew-san headed off toward the portal too.
There were three portal gates that led to the dungeon islands. Each gate connected to a different island. We were aiming to go through the portal that led to the island that housed the Amaterasu dungeon.
“...Will you be okay without food?”
“Mm? Oh, I will! I am going to be fine, I promise.”
“I see...” Mew-san spoke up softly as she walked by my side. Her voice was more than a little distant, but she still seemed to be worrying about me.
It seemed as though the guild had already gotten in touch with the gatekeepers. Once they checked our guild cards, we were let through without any issue.
The gatekeepers were also members of the knight order. They knew me because I ate meals with them, and also from seeing me around town.
They pretended not to know who I was until the others went through the portal. After that, they grinned and flashed a thumbs-up at me. I could feel their motivation. I shot them a thumbs-up back, hopefully communicating that I was gonna do my very best.
As soon as I passed through the portal I came out into a mausoleum building and smelled the sea breeze drifting through. It wasn’t exactly an enclosed building or anything, it was basically a circular platform with a roof, supported by pillars instead of walls.
...I feel a little embarrassed that I never came to one of these islands before... I had always been too busy with missions or training to come to the dungeon islands. Not to mention the fact that I could not swim, either... That actively discouraged me from wanting to be near the seaside.
It is really hot here, though... But I also heard that it gets really cold at night... I did not know there were places with such wild temperature variation...
“Alright, let’s head to the area with the weed. There should be a bridge around here.”
“No shit. Nobody needs you callin’ the shots.”
Garron grumbled in Abert’s direction again. Abert heard him, but didn’t respond much.
Surges-san took a map out from his breast pocket and mulled it over.
“...About a kilometer to the north or so. The bridge’ll lead us to the little offshoot island with the spinfire weed.”
The dungeon islands were actually made up of about seven islands. The three main islands were the ones with the dungeons on them.
Tsukuyomi, Amaterasu, and Susanoo were actually just the names of the dungeons, though.
The islands were named by the grand duke. There was Sunday Island, Monday Island, Tuesday Island, Wednesday Island, Thursday Island, Friday Island, and Saturday Island. They had kind of weird names, but I was not in a position to complain.
Amaterasu Dungeon was located on Sunday Island, Tsukuyomi Dungeon was located on Monday Island, and Susanoo Dungeon was located on Wednesday Island.
So, with that knowledge in mind, we were on Sunday Island. The spinfire weed we needed was located on Tuesday Island.
It was the second-largest of the seven islands and also happened to be connected to Sunday Island by a bridge.
We walked for a short time before the bridge finally came into view. It was made of stone and stretched off far across the water.
“That’s amazing.”
“I heard that the grand duke of Brunhild built this bridge. It’s supposed to be enchanted with Fortification magic so it can’t wear down easily.”
“I heard there’s a barrier in place around it. Something about preventing beasts and monsters from approaching it. It’s certainly something special...”
Rose, Abert, and Surges-san all spoke out in awe when the bridge came into sight. All seven islands had been connected with bridges thanks to the grand duke. It would certainly take a while, but it was very much possible to walk over to any of the islands.
Only Sunday, Monday, and Wednesday Islands had portals installed on them, though. So if you walked off to an island without one, you would have to trek all the way back.
“Quit gawking, morons. Let’s go.”
“Shut up, bigmouth. We’re going!”
Rose snapped back at Garron’s provocation. I really wished that he would think a little more before talking.
We all walked atop the bridge. The view was so nice that I found myself focusing on it instead of the group, and ended up trailing a little bit behind the party as a result.
It is so hot here... Is that not a heat-haze over on the other end of the bridge...? Wow... I reached into my bag and grabbed a water bottle. After unscrewing the cap, I greedily chugged it down.
Whew, that hit the spot... That was so cold, too... Ahh... According to the grand duke, anything within my rucksack was frozen in time. That meant things would remain at the same temperature as they were when they were put in. Food would not rot or spoil, either. You could not put living things inside, though... But small animal corpses would probably be fine.
I put my bottle back in the rucksack, but caught sight of something in the sky. ...Is there something flying above Tuesday Island? Wait... That cannot be...
I covertly triggered my mystic eye, taking care to ensure the other party members could not see what I was doing.
My mystic eye gave me the power to see things at a distance. I could also see through relatively simplistic obstacles in the distance, too.
The vision in my right eye magnified until... What the...?!
I saw a Dragon. It had glimmering scales that faintly pulsed with light. Its tail was long, and its wingspan was broad. It looked like its forearms were fused with its wings, which meant it was more of a Wyvern.
Wait... Wait... Why is there a Dragon on that island?! Wh-Wh-What do I do here?! Wyvern or not, a Dragon is still a Dragon, right?! There is just no way our party can hold our own against it. If I had my knight order gear, and Shizuku or Nagi on standby then maybe... But not like this!
I had heard that before I joined up, several members of the knight order fought against a whole Dragon army. They only managed to win because they used everything they had and had the support of the grand duke. I wondered how I would fare against even one of them.
Given that Tsubaki was overseeing all of this, I needed to inform her right away. I pretended to wipe sweat from my forehead as I covertly typed a message on my smartphone.
Beep
Wyvern in area. Pls advise.
A reply came by pretty quickly.
Beep
No issues with Wyvern. Continue mission.
What...?! Does she mean we have to take it out ourselves? I guess being able to react to new dangers on the fly is definitely a good trait for an adventurer to have, but this is a little ridiculous.
“Y’alright, lassie?”
“Oh, I am fine, thanks...”
“Divven’t keep yer feelins to yerself. We’d be in a reet bad pickle if ye collapsed’re summin.”
Dom-san, the dwarf, spoke to me with mild concern on his face. He was a little rough around the edges, but he seemed sincere.
It was the same with Mew-san earlier, too... It was likely that they considered me in need of babysitting since I was the youngest.
I looked up and saw that the Wyvern was gone. With any luck, it was just passing by, and would not show up again...
We headed off the bridge and stepped onto Tuesday island. Since we were no longer on the bridge, that also meant we were no longer protected by its barrier. Magic beasts or monsters could leap out at us at any moment.
Surges-san paused for a moment and took out a magnetic rock to determine his location. They sold those kind of goods at the Strand company store, but my smartphone was a lot more accurate in terms of positioning.
“It’ll be over there. Pretty sure the spinfire weed is located in that area.”
He pointed his staff over at a rust-colored mountain in the distance. It was really far away. I was not entirely convinced we could even make it there in a single day. Suddenly, I sensed something.
“Something’s coming.” Mew-san spoke before I could, alerting us to the incoming danger.
Everyone took a combative stance and glanced around the area. A few bushes ahead of us rustled here and there. Something was alive in there.
In a flash, an animal leaped out from the shade. We all relaxed when we realized it was just a little deer.
“Damn it... Got scared for a second...”
“Ahaha! That scared you? Are you a baby, meathead?”
“Shut it!”
Just as Garron and Rose started bickering, the cute little deer in front of us died. It was crushed between the jaws of a massive beast that had leaped out from behind it.
We could only stare on, shocked and horrified, as the sound of crunching bones and the smell off fresh blood weaved themselves through the air. The little deer’s head fell to the ground with a wet splat.
The monster, its mouth entirely glazed with blood, looked over at us. It had a lion-like head, a mouth lined with sharp fangs, and a striped body. Its mane was a bloody red, and its eyes were pure gold.
“A Blood Liger!” Rose identified it in no time at all.
Blood Liger? Uh... That’s a magic beast that lives in the mountains and, uh... Uhm... Oh geez... Aaah... boss-lady explained this once, right?! Why did I not pay more attention back then?!
“Groarrrrgh!”
The Blood Liger roared furiously at us, which was typically not a good sign. We quickly came to our senses and readied ourselves for battle.
“Get back, it’s—”
“Haaah!”
Rose called out, but Garron completely ignored her and charged right at the monster. He slashed downward at it, but it deftly avoided his attack. The Blood Liger quickly followed up with a massive swipe of its paw.
“Hah... No chance!”
Garron held up his shield and blocked the monster’s attack. He stood his ground, taking a hit that would have surely sent me flying. I was a little impressed.
“I said get back!”
“What?!”
Rose called out again, just seconds before the Blood Liger released a spew of fire from its mouth.
“Gwaaaah!”
Garron was engulfed in flames and forced to fall back. The Blood Liger attempted to pounce on top of Garron, but Dom-san threw his hatchet. His reaction times were incredible.
The Blood Liger leaped back, just narrowly avoiding the flying hatchet.
“Keep away from it! Those things can breathe fire, that’s what I was trying to say!”
Oh, right! They can totally breathe fire! I knew that!
Surges-san started chanting and wound up casting [Rock Crash], spawning a hefty boulder from nothing above the Blood Liger’s head. Unfortunately, he didn’t quite time it right, and the beast leaped to the side. The boulder shattered against the ground as it made impact.
“Don’t you have a faster spell?!”
“I need to focus on incantations to cast! Don’t ask me to do the impossible!”
Abert thrust his blade toward the Blood Liger as he complained about Surges-san’s abilities. Rose then jumped in from behind and used her whip to grab the monster’s attention.
“We’ll handle this for now. Go help that brash moron!”
Surges-san ran over to Garron and started casting Healing magic on him.
“Ey, lassie! Dinnae swing yer whip around here! I’ll hit ye by accident!”
Dom-san was about to bring his battleax crashing down on the Blood Liger, but Rose’s whip ended up getting wrapped around him. The situation was really bad. They could not co-operate at all.
I took out a few pointy bo-shurikens from inside my clothes and tossed them toward the Blood Liger’s head. One of the bo-shurikens embedded in the monster’s eye. I wish I could have taken credit for such a great shot, but it was a pure coincidence...
“Graaaaaagh!” The one-eyed Blood Liger turned around and charged right at me. But I was not about to let him catch me so easily.
I jumped up and grabbed a tree branch, then swung around it once and leaped to another. The Blood Liger was chasing after me, but I was leaping from branch to branch with ease. This was my special Sarutobi jutsu, the leaping monkey style.
Once I was far away from the rest of the party, I stopped on the ground and unsheathed my ninjato blade.
It wasn’t all that fast, in all honesty. Compared to Moroha-sama, it moved like a slug. I could easily read its movements. So long as I avoided the flames, I was sure I could kill it myself.
But that was a bad thing. I was told not to stand out, and I definitely could not kill the first major enemy of the quest alone...
I had no idea what to do. The enraged Blood Liger shambled toward me, various liquids spewing from its mashed eyeball.
“I definitely should not kill it alone...”
My job here is to make sure that everyone else gets to kill it! I took out a tiny bottle of liquid and splashed it over my blade.
“Grarrrgh!”
“Hup!” I jumped to the side and nicked the Blood Liger’s shoulder with my weapon, just enough to make a shallow cut. That was all I needed. Now, all I had to do was wait for the poison to take effect.
The liquid I had applied to my weapon was a toxic extract from one of Eashen’s death frogs. It was a poison that paralyzed the body and slowed down respiration. The more the target moved, the faster they would be affected. It just looked like lethargy at a glance, but it was far more deadly.
I just had to go back and let the others finish it off.
Just as I turned, I saw Mew-san appear from the treeline. She jumped down and slashed at the Blood Liger. Her blade struck true, lopping its meaty tail off in a matter of seconds.
“GYRAAAUUUGH!”
The Blood Liger turned around, screeching and spewing flames at Mew-san. Abert suddenly appeared from nowhere, jumping in front of Mew-san to block the flames with his shield.
Not smart, Abert...
“...O-Ow! Ow!”
Though he managed to block the flames for a short while, he quickly winced in pain and threw his metal shield to the ground. That much was obvious. What was he expecting to achieve by trying to block something hot with a conductive item?
Surges-san charged in and cast [Light Arrow] from the rear guard. Three shots rang out, but only one of them landed a hit on the Blood Liger’s head.
The Blood Liger started to shudder and tremble. I did not know if that was a result of the magic attack making a direct hit, or the poison I had inflicted earlier. One thing was for sure, though. It was growing weaker.
“Hah!”
“Eat this!”
Rose’s whip reached out and wrapped around one of the Blood Liger’s forelegs. At the same time, Dom-san jumped in and dug his battleax deep into the beast’s other foreleg.
“Grauuugh?!” The Blood Liger’s eye narrowed. I could see the anguish and rage contained within the beast as it wobbled from side to side and fell to the ground.
Abert, Dom-san, and Mew-san brought their sword, knife, and battleax down upon the monster. I just stood by and watched it happen.
“Outta the way, idiots!”
Garron finally caught up with us, running straight toward the Blood Liger. He brought his heavy sword up high above the feline’s head.
The sheer brute force behind the swing crushed the creature’s skull, shattering it along the muzzle and obliterating its mouth.
The Blood Liger, well and truly suiting its name at this point, finally stopped moving.
“That’s what you get, bastard!”
...Man, he just stole the kill even though he did not actually do a thing... Geez. He had made another mistake, too.
“What the hell did you do that for?!”
“Huh?! Whaddya mean?! I killed it!”
Rose raised an angered voice toward Garron. I was pretty tired of seeing them fight, but I understood why someone as discerning as Rose would understand his error.
“A Blood Liger’s incisors are extremely valuable items! You just crushed them into dust, so now they won’t sell for anything at all! You pigheaded oaf, you just cost us a serious score!”
“Guh...”
I knew all that. It was not just specific to Blood Ligers, actually. Any kind of magical beast incisors of that size and sharpness could fetch a pretty penny, but Garron’s reckless attack had smashed these ones to little bits.
The larger the fang, the higher the value as a crafting ingredient. But if they were broken, then they were useless. Item value was one of the main things an adventurer needed to pay attention to when fighting.
Mew-san gently eased the remaining teeth fragments out of the Blood Liger’s mouth. She then expertly de-clawed its paws, as well.
“I’d want the pelt as well, but we can’t bring it with us...”
“Mm? Why not? If we can sell it off, we’ll help you take it apart.”
“Lugging around a Blood Liger pelt would put unnecessary strain on the rest of the mission. The scent of its blood would attract other monsters to us as well.” Rose grumbled quietly in response to Abert’s question.
This tattooed, busty woman certainly knew a lot about handling wildlife. She was probably a hunter or poacher before she decided to become an adventurer. I felt a little bad, since I could have used the rucksack I had received from the grand duke to safely store the pelt without any issues...
“Just bury the pelt, aye? We kin git it on our way back!”
Dom-san shrugged and spoke pretty matter-of-factly, prompting Mew-san and Rose to start skinning the creature. Nobody wanted to get in their way, so we all stood back and watched.
“Can we harvest it for food?”
“Sure. You enjoy the taste of old boots?”
Abert asked another question, which resulted in a dry response from Rose. The meat of a carnivore typically tasted pretty bad. It was usually stringy, too. There were rare exceptions, of course. Dragon meat actually tasted incredible... But it was not as if I got to eat that regularly or anything.
Abert and I looked on as the two girls harvested the Blood Liger, while Dom-san, Surges-san, and Garron sat down nearby. Once the two finished, we buried the pelt and skin beneath a large tree a bit away from the corpse.
Dom-san carried the teeth fragments and the claws. Once the mission was over, we all agreed to split whatever the materials sold for.
“Let’s carry on. Nightfall is soon, we need to reach the base of the mountain by then.”
Abert was right. It was dangerous to travel in the wilderness at night. Monster attacks intensified under the cover of darkness, and it was easier to get lost in low light.
We quietly continued on toward the foot of the mountain. We kept on going, taking out small creatures that got in our way. Eventually, we came to a sudden stop as a shrill, bird-like chirping resounded all around us.
“What is that?! A monster?!”
“It’s a Horolo Bird. It’s a magical beast, but not one that’ll be a threat. It tries to scare predators away with its noises...” Mew-san spoke casually while continuing to walk ahead. That was enough for us all to calm down, and we carried on after her. Rose quickly caught up to Mew-san and began engaging her in conversation.
“You sure know a lot about magic beasts.”
“I was born in Mismede, in a village close to the Sea of Trees.”
“Ahhh, makes sense. I used to work at the hunter’s association up in the imperium, so I know about the kinds of magic beasts you find up that way... Can’t say I know all that much about southern ones, though.”
That made sense. Rose’s knowledge about magical beasts made more sense now that I knew for sure she was a former hunter. I wondered why she changed her career path.
“You’re from the east, right? I’m assuming based on your clothes.”
“Huh?”
Rose turned around and threw a question my way. She probably thought it would be easier to talk to me and Mew-san since we were the only girls.
“Y-Yeah! I was born in Eashen.”
“Eashen, eh? You sure have traveled quite far... Isn’t the grand duke of Brunhild from Eashen as well? Is that why you came here?”
“Ah... Y-Yes. That is why!”
I sounded a little bit stilted, but I was not exactly a great liar.
The grand duke was not actually from Eashen, but that was a pretty common rumor at this point.
Brunhild was formed when the grand duke received a plot of land from Belfast and Regulus, and brought in the ninja clan headed by Tsubaki. After that the Elite Four of Takeda came in with their men as well, so Brunhild was almost completely founded by the Eashenese people.
The architecture and food of Brunhild were also somewhat Eashen-like, which contributed to the misunderstanding. That did raise the question of where the grand duke actually came from, though. I wondered if it was Yulong, but I did not believe he would let his homeland decay like that.
“Ah...”
“Something wrong?”
Mew-san, who had been leading us, suddenly came to a stop. Rose stopped too. The cat ears atop Mew-san’s head started twitching.
“Water flow... We’re near a river.”
“A river?” Rose turned and had Surges-san check the map.
“There’s a river on the map, yeah. If we move along it upward, we’ll reach the mountain’s base.”
Surges-san looked over the map before speaking to Rose. We all had a copy of the island map, but Surges-san had the most detailed one available. The pricier the map, the better the information.
Heh... But the map on my smartphone was actually a lot more accurate! It even showed our location in relation to everything else. I could not use it, though. We eventually reached the river and started heading upstream.
Walking by the river had its perks, but also its downsides. Magical beasts were living beings as well, so they would eventually need to drink water. That meant there was a slightly higher chance of running into one by a fresh water source. But one of the pros was that it was a clear area, which meant we would have a good line of sight against any enemies in the area.
We kept on walking along the riverside, without encountering a single magical beast at all. I was surprised at our luck.
The sun sank before we reached the base of the mountain, so we decided to make camp a little bit away from the riverside. We picked up some dried branches and leaves, before setting up a small campfire.
“Where are you headed? It’s dangerous to go alone.”
I tried to sneak away from the fireside, but Rose caught me out.
“J-Just going to, uh... take care of some business.”
“Ohh... I get it. Stay safe!”
Rose smiled and waved me off as I headed deeper into the woodland.
I was not actually going to use the bathroom, I was going to eat. But once I saw what meal was in my rucksack, there was no way I was going to eat it in front of the others. I climbed up to the top of a tree and took it out of my bag.
“...If I ate this in front of the others, Grand Duke... they would suspect me immediately.”
The right half of the ornate bowl I’d taken out was filled with rice. The left half was filled with thick cully, which smelled really nice and spicy... There was also a lovely fukujinzuke relish atop it... I couldn’t mistake this dish at all. It was a hefty serving of delicious cully rice.
Our grand duke was certainly a strange guy, giving me something so good.
“Ah... This tastes so good!”
Cully rice was a masterwork of mealtime deliciousness. But I had implied to Rose that I was relieving myself, so I could not sit back and enjoy it leisurely.
That being said, it was actually pretty nice just wolfing it down as fast as I could... It was truly delicious, after all.
I finished eating and drank from my water bottle, then sent an update to the grand duke. No issues so far... Sent...
It wasn’t like there were not any small issues, though... The Blood Liger fight honestly gave me some cause for concern. They kept getting in the way of each other, after all.
I was not exactly expecting stellar teamwork from such a ramshackle party, but being able to adapt was a valuable skill for adventurers to have. I could not say for sure that it meant they would fail, but it was not exactly promising.
I decided to hurry back to prevent any strange suspicions or misunderstandings.
My tummy was well and truly filled. I headed back to the campfire and lay down on the grass a little bit away from the others.
All the others were eating the food they had brought. In terms of travel provisions, adventurers usually brought dried meats, smoked fish, legumes, and dried fruit since they kept well. But this was a short mission, so there was some bread and fresh fruit as well.
“Mm...? I smell cully...”
“I don’t smell anything. I guess you’re just missing food from your homeland. Anyone would if they had to eat bread this gross.”
Mew-san started sniffing the air. Her nose twitched. Rose tapped her on the shoulder and grinned.
Mew-san turned her head and stared me down. I pretended like I did not notice. Beastpeople had strong noses... I was worried she had exposed me. I looked over at the others and found Dom-san was stirring a pot of meat and veggie soup. He even had some alcohol with him.
Abert walked over to the dwarf and folded his arms.
“Really? Drinking? What if we’re attacked in the night?”
“Divven be a fool, laddie! Booze is jus’ water tae a dwarf. Ye gonna banish me drink frum me?”
Abert just sighed and shut his mouth. Dwarves were certainly heavy drinkers, but I knew another short person who could drink them all under the table.
That girl was surprisingly adept at staying sober even if she looked drunk to outsiders. I had a strange feeling that she was capable of controlling her sobriety, but I had no way of proving it. Either way, she had beaten several dwarves in a drinking contest once and it left me terrified of her power.
She managed all that despite looking like a girl far younger than me... The grand duke’s family was made up of strange, scary people.
Abert turned from Dom-san and started to address everyone else.
“We need to keep the fire going all night. How’re we gonna handle the rota?”
I covertly checked my smartphone for the time. It was around eight o’clock at night. It would be about nine hours until sun-up.
We decided to split it with two people on watch, then two people on watch, then three. We did not just want one person on watch, because if they fell asleep then there would be nobody keeping an eye out on the situation. With two or more people, we would have our bases covered.
I briefly wondered how we were gonna get paired up, but Rose just dragged me and Mew-san into a group of three with her... I certainly was not complaining.
After that, it came down to deciding how to split up the men. We figured it would be troublesome if Abert and Garron joined up together, so we decided that Dom-san and Garron should be one team, while Abert and Surges-san would be another team.
Then, we had to decide the order. We settled on the girls guarding first, then Abert and Surges-san, then Dom-san and Garron. Abert and Surges-san got the worst of it, since they had to wake up in the middle of the night.
The night dragged on, which meant it got a lot colder. The others took out heavy fur capes and draped them over themselves as they settled in for sleep.
We three girls took out our capes as well, draping them around our shoulders.
We would be able to reach the weed we were after by noon the next day, assuming all went to plan. Ideally, there would not be any Fire Lizards or anything, either. Adult Fire Lizards could reach pretty huge heights, and they liked to move in big groups.
I looked up and found Rose scanning the area.
“Mm? Something wrong?”
“No, I’m just wondering if that guild invigilator might be out there... I can’t sense anyone, so I was wondering if they’re actually watching us.”
She is. Fufu... You fool! I might not be the invigilator, but I am right here!
Tsubaki is definitely out there too, but she would never let a novice adventurer like you detect her presence.
“I bet there’s one out there, yeah. Probably from Brunhild’s intel corps... Someone way beyond adventurers-to-be like us.”
Mew-san voiced her suspicions. She was certainly perceptive. Rose responded by quirking a brow and tilting her head in surprise.
“Why would someone from Brunhild’s government be involved in this? Isn’t this just a guild thing?”
“One of our examiners is related to the grand duke of Brunhild. That’s what I’m basing my suspicion on, anyway. Plus, we’re doing the mission on Brunhild territory. I imagine they’ll have someone keeping an eye on us in case things get dangerous.”
...You are very keen-sensed, Mew-san. Rose glanced around a few more times, but ultimately gave up on looking for anyone else. She turned back to Mew-san.
“So that means if things go bad, we’ll be saved?”
“Maybe. But that means we’d fail the test. No rank increase, no reward, no glory or satisfaction.”
“That’d be bad... But I’m honestly a little relieved. That means we’ll be okay no matter what.”
“You should not put all your stock into being saved by invisible others.”
I interjected a bit into their conversation.
“Yeah, you’re right. If someone is watching us, then they’re probably just tasked with monitoring us. They’d probably only step in if things were extremely dangerous. Maybe they’d cut in if we were gonna lose a limb or have permanent damage done to us, but I’m not so sure they would swoop in if some mediocre level of danger appeared. Maybe if a monstrous beast of unprecedented strength appeared, but we shouldn’t rely on them.”
“You have a point. There’s no guarantee they’ll save us, so we shouldn’t count on it.”
Mew-san and Rose nodded. There was still a chance we could suffer major injury before Tsubaki stepped in. Then again, that was why I was there to begin with. I would be able to buy precious time in an emergency.
“Mm... Adventuring really is dangerous, huh?”
“You can make a lotta cash, though. If we succeed here that’s two whole platinum.”
“That is definitely nothing to sniff at... Wonder what I should buy.”
I briefly fantasized about spending my money.
The knight order wages were not exactly luxurious, but we definitely got a lot of perks to make up for that. We could use the gaming room whenever we wanted, and we were even fed for free. The grand duke provided our basic living needs, so the relatively low pay did not really bother us since we could use it for disposable income.
Now and then the grand duke put extra cash in our pay packets as a bonus, too.
I wondered if the reward for this quest was his way of paying me a bonus...
“The pay’s so good it’s almost suspicious...”
“They probably want us to buy good equipment with it afterward. Because if we get promoted, then we’ll be getting quests that are higher in difficulty, so we’ll need—”
“Kin a dwarf not git some shuteye roond ‘ere?! Ye lassies gotta stap yer jibberin’!”
Dom-san’s irritated yelling overpowered Rose’s voice. The three of us sighed quietly and looked at each other. Perhaps we had been a little too loud.
We continued looking out for danger, quietly this time. Eventually, we started up a conversation again, but made sure to use gentler voices.
“It’s morning. Time to get up.”
“Mh...?”
I opened my eyes to find Mew-san gently tapping my shoulders. After passing off the watch to Surges-san and Abert, I immediately laid down. It still took me a while to get to sleep, so I did not really feel all that well-rested.
I woke myself up by splashing river water in my face. The sky was already fairly bright.
Abert checked everyone was in the area before speaking.
“Alright, team! We need to find that weed before nightfall.”
“We should pay attention to our surroundings as we carry on. We’ll have no idea where to expect the weed.”
The spinfire weed was found in mountainous areas, so we were honestly pretty close to places where it could be found.
We needed to keep our eyes peeled because we did not want to accidentally walk past any.
We carried on along the mountain path, keeping our eyes wide open as we went. After about a three-hour walk, the forested area parted and the path ahead became considerably rockier. We had a much higher chance of finding the spinfire weed in a place like this.
There were a few plants here and there, but it was not what we were after. There were boulders taller than Garron all over the place, so it was kind of hard to see. It was proving quite the hassle.
“What should we do, gang? Split up and search for clues?”
“Oh aye, an’ end up Fire Lizzie chow? Not on my nelly we ain’t.”
“If we keep going as a group we’ll waste time. We’ll cover more ground apart. We’re not gonna make the quest deadline at this rate!”
Surges-san and Dom-san gave different answers to Abert’s proposition. It was true that we might end up wasting time, but still...
“I’ll go find it myself! You idiots! Are gonna waste all our time by arguing?!”
Garron grunted before heading off on his own. He did raise a reasonable point, though.
“What a selfish guy...”
“True, but he’s still not wrong. The longer we stand worrying, the less time we have.”
Surges-san split off from the group and began looking on his own as well. The rest of the group all shrugged and sighed before separating.
I headed up to the tallest rock in the area and started scanning the area with my mystic eye. Then, I stopped because I had actually forgotten to get permission. Finding the weed was part of the quest, so I did not know if I was actually allowed to help them find it or not.
I had no idea, so I decided to ask the boss-lady.
Beep
Boss, can i find the grass 2 or iz that bad?
After a few moments, I got a reply.
Beep
Weed is good. Continue mission.
Guess it is fine, then! Time to look around!
I could not find it at all...
I had spent hours searching, but it yielded nothing. I began to wonder if there actually was any spinfire weed at all.
Maybe the spinfire weed is the friendship we forged along the way... Maybe they just wanted to see how we would act in pursuit of spinfire weed... No way, that cannot be it at all. I bet the grand duke came to the island earlier and picked all the spinfire weed in the easy-to-find places. That sounds exactly what he would do...
I did not think he would be so evil as to make us hunt for something that was not there... It was probably just in a really hard-to-find area.
“Oof... My back kinda hurts... I bent down too much.”
I stood up straight and stretched a bit. My back was sore, which was not too surprising. I rested my hands against my waist and bent backward.
The world turned upside-down. I had a pretty flexible body, so bending backward and looking behind me was not that big of a deal. Suddenly, I froze up. Something was standing behind me.
A large, scale-covered body, a rusty copper color... Thick tail, sharp claws... Slit-like eyes that stared at me unblinking.
We made eye contact.
I quickly righted my body’s position as the Fire Lizard jumped at me.
“Eeek!” I dodged its attack with a hard turn to the side. I took out a few bo-shurikens and launched them at the creature, but they just pinged off its body. It was tougher than I thought! The Fire Lizard roared out in anger after being attacked, and flames erupted all over the surface of its body.
“...Just my luck.”
I pulled out my ninjato and held it in a combative stance. I had no idea what to do. If I pulled out the poison like earlier, it would just melt in the heat. I doubted I could even pierce those scales to begin with.
Man, if only Shizuku was here... She can use water-based ninjutsu really well, so those flames would not stand a chance... I specialize in fire ninjutsu, so what am I supposed to do?!
“Not like I can run, though... I guess nobody else is around, so this should be fine...”
I moved upwind of the Fire Lizard, reached into my sleeve, and released a small bag of powder. The powder had been harvested from another magical beast, Noir Butterflies.
“Greuugh?!”
The powder hit the Fire Lizard in the face, blinding it instantly. Even if it was a Fire Lizard, it was not as if it could shoot fire from its eyes. That was why I knew it would be a weak spot.
It could no longer see, so I did not want to squander my opportunity.
I started picking up heavy rocks in the area and pelting them at the Fire Lizard. Blunt attacks were the way to go against powerful foes, after all.
“Greh! Gryeeeh!”
I had thrown a few hefty stones at its head, so it was definitely a lot more dazed than before. I did not like to boast about it, but I was fairly physically strong. I could easily lob rocks bigger than a human head. Some people once tried to tell me that it was not a very womanly trait, but I definitely did not care about things like that.
“Greuuurgggyyyeeeh!”
“Ack! That was a close one!”
The Fire Lizard vomited flames from its mouth in a fashion similar to that of the Blood Liger.
“Bastard!”
“Greugh!”
I picked up a few larger rocks and started hurling those as well.
Eventually, after a few more choice smacks to the noggin, it stopped moving. The fire on its body also went out. It shuddered and breathed its last atop a stony surface.
Woohoo! Victory is mine! I do not even care if that was completely un-ninjalike at all! Victory is all that counts, damn it! I poked a bit at the dead Fire Lizard. It was not hot, surprisingly. It was actually kind of cold, which was sorta gross.
I had no idea what kind of raw materials were best harvested from Fire Lizards. Hopefully not the skin, given how hard I had bruised it with the rocks.
Mew-san or Rose would probably know best. I briefly considered going back to ask them, but finding the spinfire weed was more important.
The presence of a Fire Lizard probably meant that the weed I was searching for was nearby.
Just as I was about to continue my search, a burst of light illuminated the sky.
“HAAAAAAAAAH!”
My fist, imbued with all the magical and physical might I could muster, slammed into the softest area of the Wyvern’s chest. The moment I made contact with the Wyvern, I released the magic contained inside my hand and launched it a tiny bit forward.
The physical sensation was like slamming my fist into a rubbery wall. Obviously, the punch alone was not going to do a thing to the Wyvern. The punch was just the delivery method to get the magic inside its body.
I stumbled backward and landed flat on the ground. I tried to clamber back up, but my body refused to respond properly. My knees were weak, my palms were sweaty. I felt like I was going to vomit. This was the side effect of putting everything I had into that attack.
“Gruh...”
The Wyvern made a weird noise. I looked at it as it began to stumble backward, shakily swaying its head from side to side.
“Gruuurgh...”
The Wyvern began vomiting and convulsing before it fell forward into its own puke.
“...Did I do it?”
The Wyvern was not moving at all. I was also unable to move.
“Ahahaha... I... Bleh... That stinks, gah!”
I flickered between happiness, disgust, and pain. The thrill of victory washed over me, but it was mingled with the smell of vomit and the stinging pain of my right hand. I was unable to move, either... so I was stuck smelling that gross stuff. It made me feel queasy.
“Gruuuh...”
“What?”
My heart skipped a beat. The Wyvern was groaning. I looked up and saw the beast was shakily rising back up. It had its long neck craned upward into the air.
“No... How...”
“GRAAAAAARGH!”
The Wyvern’s roar brought the harrowing reality of the situation crashing down upon me.
I thought I had killed it... But I was wrong. I could do nothing but stare on in horror as it began to breathe fire. A wretched, creeping flame that got closer and closer to my prone body. It looked like it was traveling in slow motion, and I knew there was no way I could dodge it.
I... I might actually die here, huh? I wish I had eaten more tasty snacks in life... Shizuku... Nagi... Please live good lives... Wait, hold on.
Hold on here, something feels off. Tsubaki could not have been slacking, right? Why are they so late? Boss-lady and the others definitely should have made it here by now... Oh.
Now I get it.
Hah... You were by my side all along... You were just instructed not to interfere, huh?
That certainly sounds like the grand duke’s way of doing things. He does not like to act until the last possible moment... Which is kind of annoying, since it just means he will end up saving my sorry butt...
He might seem strict, but he has a pretty just heart. That is why I know I cannot possibly die here.
“[Prison].”
There it is... Salvation...
The flames unleashed by the Wyvern failed to harm even a single hair on my head. The monster found itself encased in a barrier, along with its fire.
There was only one person in the world capable of something like that.
“Took you long enough...”
“...I’ve been here the whole time. I just held off cause you were doing so well.”
Sorry I couldn’t finish the job, geez! I glared at the grand duke as he descended from above. I wish the sadistic bastard had just kept his mouth shut. He was still using his illusory magic, but I could tell it was him from the way he was laughing. It was way too obvious.
“Target Lock. [Mega Heal].”
He cast a recovery spell, causing Mew-san and the others to heal up on the spot.
I found that my bloodied hand cleaned itself up instantly, and the pain in my ankle was also gone.
My head was still woozy, though... Probably due to the blood loss and my physical exhaustion. I sat back down and clutched at my head.
“You exhausted your magical supply, which is why you’re almost unconscious. Who the hell taught you something so damn reckless, anyway? [Transfer].”
I will have you know it was one of your fiancees who taught me that, mister high-and-mighty!
I felt my head clear as he transferred his magic into my body. I leaped up to my feet and moved my arms around a bit. Woo! I am back to peak power!
“You should all be feeling better now. So yeah, the test is basically done at this point. You can opt to continue the test if you like, but I won’t be helping you with that. If you guys think you can take this thing out, then, by all means, go ahead.”
The Wyvern angrily stomped around inside the barrier. I could not hear any noise, but it did not take a genius to tell how angry the creature was.
“I’m done here. Not about to waste my life on a stupid gamble.”
Surges-san stood up and raised his hand. The poor guy’s robes were shredded to bits. Mew-san and Rose raised their hands shortly afterward.
“I’d be lying if I said I didn’t want the rewards, but I can hardly spend it if I’m dead. I’m out.”
“Same here.”
Abert and Dom-san followed suit by raising their hands.
“I’m finished too. I learned a lot today...”
“Aye... Count me doon fer the count an’ all.”
The two men chuckled, then looked over to Garron.
“...Yeah... Me too. It sucks, but we’re definitely not strong enough to take out a Wyvern.”
Garron grumbled quietly, his hand still tight around his weapon’s hilt. He was probably upset at how weak he was. Though it was good for him to be able to admit that to himself.
The grand duke then turned to face me.
Oh right, I gotta say it too.
“Yep, I am done here! I give up! Oh dearie me!”
“If you’re sure, then.”
The grand duke grinned a bit. It was not exactly like I could complain or anything... After that, he snapped his fingers.
“Graaaaaargh!”
The Wyvern was released from its confines, and its roars were audible once more.
Everyone except the grand duke and I braced ourselves for battle, but before anything else could happen an old man appeared. He was wielding a sword.
Wait... is that not the former king of Lestia?! When did he get here?! I never noticed?! W-Wait, is that Karin-sama standing next to the grand duke? What is with these people?! How come I failed to sense them?
“Been a while since I fought a Wyvern... Shall I teach you kids how it’s done?”
The old man spoke up, then vanished in a flash. Before any of us could even blink, he had circled around behind the Wyvern. The Wyvern’s tail was lopped off and fell to the ground in one strike.
“GRAUUUGH!”
“First thing’s first. You have to stop it flying. Usually, you’d consider impeding the wings, but what you should aim for is the tail. It needs the tail to keep itself balanced in the air, you see?”
The Wyvern tried to take off, but immediately wobbled and crashed its head into the ground. That made sense, but it was still pretty hard to hack off the tail! After that, the old man sliced off the Wyvern’s toes.
“This is actually the best spot, though. The skin is a lot thinner and more brittle along the toes, and cutting them off can prevent them from slashing you. And then, all you have to do is this...”
The old man jumped upward and flicked his wrist. The blade cleaved through the Wyvern’s neck and decapitated it in seconds. What the hell?!
I saw two sudden flashes of light, faster than a blink, and then the Wyvern’s wings fell off. Its body was then split down the middle.
In a matter of moments, the terrifying and terrorizing Wyvern had been reduced to several neatly-diced chunks.
...This was the power of a gold adventurer.
“And I guess that’s how to do it without going overboard.”
We all stared in disbelief, our jaws dropping and eyes wide. Are you saying that you were not going overboard there?!
“When you consider how many materials you can harvest, you should kill it in one go. I’d personally suggest destroying the brain or heart. That’d take a good-quality weapon, though.”
No kidding... Wait a second, that sword you have there is a crystal one... Yeah, that one is made out of phrasium! No wonder you cut up the Wyvern so easily... Did you have the grand duke make it for you?
Even if I had a sword as good as his, I doubted that I would be able to kill the Wyvern as efficiently as he had. I would have probably slashed the thing up crudely and damaged the materials.
The grand duke slowly turned toward us and clasped his hands together.
“I’m sorry to tell you all this, but you’ll only be reaching green today.”
“Because we failed the quest?”
Abert frowned at the grand duke’s words.
“Well, mostly. But there were some other things we’d been keeping an eye on too, including everything you guys did from the moment we gave you the quest. For starters, none of you went into the guild to read up on what you’d be encountering. That definitely lost you guys some points. With a tiny bit of research, you would have been more prepared against the Fire Lizards and known more about the spinfire weed.”
Oh yeah... I forgot the guild had something like that... I guess preparing intellectually is pretty important too.
“Also, you guys really didn’t work together that well... I know you all just met each other and all, but you should’ve been more mindful.”
He was likely referring to the Blood Liger incident. Everyone was too self-absorbed during that fight, which meant there was little to no coordination.
“And you guys didn’t bother looking over your equipment when you made camp. You don’t want your gear falling apart during vital moments, do you?”
“Guh...”
Garron’s shoulders slumped at that. His shield was damaged during the Blood Liger fight, and the whole Wyvern situation exploded because he was not aware of that. I also spent a great deal of time chatting to others, and I did not pay attention to my gear either. They were not the only ones who needed to reflect on their actions...
“Also, about the Wyvern at the end... You might think it was bad fortune that you encountered it, but actually... you should’ve been more attentive to your surroundings. Why didn’t you consider anything about why the Fire Lizards hadn’t eaten the spinfire weed? Why were they moving in such an abnormally large herd? Really, that comes back to you guys not reading up back at the guild. You should have known better.”
Hey, I noticed! I just noticed too late.
Boss-lady always tells me to think before acting, so I guess I need to improve that as well...
“There are a few other issues here and there too... But ultimately, we’ve decided none of you are worthy of blue. Sorry, but that’s how it is.”
“That’s okay... I think it’s fair. If this wasn’t a test, we’d have all been eaten alive at this point. If anything I’m glad this has given me some proper perspective on what it takes to be an adventurer.”
Abert humbly nodded his head. Everyone else was quiet, but they probably felt the same.
“It isn’t exactly the best consolation prize, but you guys can do whatever you want with the Wyvern carcass.”
“Huh?!”
We all stared in shock at the old man’s words.
Wait, really? We get the Wyvern? Seriously?!
“Is that really okay?”
The grand duke suddenly butted in.
Quiet down, man! I want it!
“It’s fine by me. Their equipment got scuffed up pretty bad during the test. It’s not like it’s a real Dragon or anything, and I already cut it up a fair bit. Its value will have dropped a lot compared to an intact one. I don’t really think it’ll be worth all that much, honestly.”
“I still think it’s worth about five platinum, though...”
Five whole platinum coins?! That is around a third of our original reward amount... We would have gotten fourteen, but now it is five...
That was still a considerable amount of money. But when you factored in how much we would need to spend on new gear, it did not come out to a huge amount. Everyone seemed pleased, though. The results were unfortunate, but I figured this quest was still a valuable experience for everyone involved.
We began skinning and harvesting the Wyvern as a team. Karina-sama taught us how to properly handle it, and we went at it as best we could.
Dom-san headed back to find the Blood Liger pelt and skin we had buried the day before, too. That was a little extra pocket change.
There was a lot of stuff, though... We could not exactly carry it all off to the guild that easily, but I knew a man in the area who could handle that for us.
Staaaaaaaaare...
“...I get it already. Quit looking at me like that.”
Good job, Grand Duke. What a kind man you are.
He used his storing magic to stash our raw materials in an instant, which caused the others to reel in surprise and confusion. After that, he used his teleportation magic to bring us back to the guild, so they were even more shaken.
I understood what they meant, though. Our grand duke was the strangest man in the world.
Once all our materials were inspected at the guild desk, we were paid seven gold coins each, with one gold coin spare.
We were going to split the coin between us, but then Abert suggested spending it on a lavish meal. We all agreed and headed toward the tavern. The tavern was right next door to the guild, so it took about a minute to get there.
I was not old enough to drink alcohol, so I settled on some fruit juice instead. I made up for that by eating up as much food as I wanted. This was a rare opportunity for me, after all.
“What now?”
“What do you mean?”
Rose spoke up to me as I was tearing into a chicken drumstick. Mew-san sat by her with curious eyes.
“I guess it might have been fate that we took this test together, you know? We were talking, and we all agreed that we want to continue as a party for a while... I wanted to know if you were gonna join us.”
Oh... I get it. You guys were planning on that, huh?
I looked over at the nearby table and saw Dom-san and Garron trying to drink each other under the table. Abert was watching them, laughing and clapping, while Surges-san quietly drank off to the side.
“Are you going too, Mew-san?”
“I am. Rose invited me, and all.”
Mm... That does sound nice, but... I cannot do that.
“Sorry, but I will have to decline.”
“What?! But we’d be safer in a group!”
“Well... if I must be honest, the adventurer thing has always been a part-time thing for me. I have no plans to become a fully-fledged adventurer. I hope you can understand.”
“I see... Well, we won’t force you. It’s a tough job where your life is at risk, after all.”
“That’s a shame.”
Rose and Mew-san let out sad sighs, but gave up. Sorry, guys... but I have friends here in Brunhild’s knight order. I cannot leave them behind. I might try my hand at some adventuring now and then, though.
“I will be staying here in Brunhild. If you see me around, please say hi. If you ever have any troubles, please count on me. I might look this way, but I am actually pretty well-known in these parts.”
“We’ll hold you to that, then.”
“Yeah.”
We all laughed in unison, clinking our drinking glasses together. The real reward really was the friends I made along the way. I could probably introduce them to Shizuku and Nagi at some point, too.
“Oh right, you guys still owe me for those grenades!”
“You little...”
“Don’t be so miserly!”
Do not call me miserly! It is a known fact that he who laughs while throwing away copper coins will eventually weep while scrounging for them! You need to pay me what I am owed!
I turned my eyes to the drunken men at the other table, grinned, and planned on how best to part them with their money.
“And that is it for my report.”
“Mm. I’m glad they’re still committed to being adventurers. I didn’t exactly expect the Wyvern to show up or anything.”
I sighed in relief once Tsubaki finished talking. I was surprised enough that there had been a Wyvern flying in the sky around the island. I didn’t expect that it would make its nest there.
I was worried that more of them might show up, so I decided to ask Karina to hunt around the islands a little more frequently.
“This mission would have been valuable for young Homura as well. She has an issue where she does not really think things through properly.”
“Well, to be honest, she infiltrated the group in the best way... She could perfectly match up with them, after all. I wish she was a little more patient, though.”
“I will be giving her some harsh discipline starting tomorrow.”
Discipline...? Don’t do that, she isn’t a dog.
“Honestly, I think you should hold off. That’s part of what makes Homura herself at the end of the day. It doesn’t have anything to do with the way she’s been taught. She may well learn to use her nature to her advantage.”
I was actually pretty impressed by how well she was able to make friends with the other adventurers. She’s pretty damn good at blending in.
“O-Oh right, one other thing... Tell her she’s not allowed to use that move she used against the Wyvern! Without the proper gear, she’ll wreck her fist if she keeps using it, and it’s useless to use if she just collapses after.”
“Very well.”
Tsubaki replied, and then I couldn’t sense her anymore. Frankly, I found her whole ‘hiding in the ceiling’ schtick a little silly, but I figured it was just part of her style.
“Are you finished with your talking now?”
“Yeah, sorry to keep you waiting on me.”
Old man Galen, who was seated on the sofa opposite me, let out a small chuckle as he sipped his tea. He was holding a mass-produced smartphone that I had given him as thanks for his help.
The knight king of Lestia, Reinhard, had a smartphone already, but Galen told me he wanted to talk to Hilde now and then, so I figured it would be okay if he had one too. Though, there was a condition.
“Let me just repeat myself here. No sketchy photographs, no upskirts, no peeping.”
“...My, your suspicion of me certainly runs deep. Do I look like the kind of man who could do such a thing?”
“Yes. Yes, you do.”
I did want to believe him, though. He swore on his honor as a knight.
“If I get their consent, is that fine?”
“I mean... I guess, but...”
“Oh yeah... Do you have more of that stuff you showed me one time, with the slender young ladies? I certainly enjoyed those photos!”
Oh come on... I mean, I do have some, but...
I sighed quietly, reasoning it was better to give him some lewd stuff than have him embark on a life of criminal activity. I downloaded some racy shots of girls in swimsuits from the internet, then forwarded them to Galen’s phone.
“Ohoho! Yes, this is good! How voluptuous and sweet their curves are!”
Galen grinned madly, a filthy expression on his face as his perverse eyes scanned the smartphone screen up and down. I quietly acknowledged that aspiring adventurers must never, ever see a gold adventurer with a face like this. It would surely destroy all their aspirations.
“Ah, Touya! Touya! Hilde told me about this thing called a movie, right?! Moving pictures, yes? Is there perhaps such a movie with girls like this in it?”
...Aren’t old people supposed to be bad with tech?! Wait, maybe this is just his perverse logic coming to the forefront? Galen pleaded and begged for a few minutes after that, and I finally gave in... I downloaded a few choice videos from the internet and sent them over to him.
“Hoho... Hohoho... Ohhh... Amazing... Amazing...! They’re jiggling, ohoho!”
With that, the old beast had been quelled... However, the audio was pretty loud, and would surely get me in trouble.
I used [Storage] to take out a pair of wireless earphones that Doctor Babylon had made, then passed them to Galen.
A few days later, the pervy old bastard had sent me photos of various butts and chests. Thankfully, they were clothed, but the angles were certainly concerning.
I just hoped that the guy asked for their consent...
I was going to delete them, but I decided to hold onto them... Just in case they came in handy. That was all, just in case.
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