Nozomanu Fushi no Boukensha (LN) - Volume 1 - Chapter SS5

The Convenient Rentt 

“...Well then. With this, we’re mostly done,” a strict-faced adventurer said, a sigh accompanying his statement. 

Standing behind him was Lorraine, a Silver-class adventurer and a well-built warrior. Seven years had passed since I, Rentt Faina, had become an adventurer. Although I had been gaining experience ever since, my rank was still lower-Bronze-class. As such, I found myself often left out when it came to parties. But this specific excursion was an exception, having been asked for by name by the guild itself. The party, in turn, conformed to the guild’s specifications. 

Besides Lorraine, I was in a group with two other individuals: a swordsman wielding a great sword by the name of Zarid, and a heavily armored walking mountain of a warrior by the name of Ryude. They were both part of the upper-Bronze-class. Although the highest ranked adventurer in this party was Lorraine, she had no intentions of leading our group, leaving that role to Zarid. 

The nature of the request was easy enough: flush out an unnaturally large concentration of goblins on the first floor of the New Moon Dungeon. Not exactly a dangerous request, and one easily handled even by Bronze-class adventurers. 

We were, of course, not alone in this endeavor, as other guild-appointed parties were hunting goblins here as well. 

All we had to do to complete the assignment was slay the required number of goblins; any extra that we could manage to put into the ground would result in a bonus. It was a good contract, albeit a compulsory one, having been appointed to the task by the guild itself. In reality, however, there was no mistaking that it was a tiring job, hence Zarid’s sigh. 

“Well, we’re about 70% of the way there. We can just hunt the remainder at a leisurely pace well into the evening. How’s that sound?” 

“From now? It is still morning, Zarid. I would like to finish the request and simply return home...” Lorraine disagreed, shaking her head. 

Ryude, the armored warrior, chimed in with his own thoughts on the matter. 

“I get that, Lorraine, but there aren’t many more goblins to go around. It’d be troublesome to go looking for the rest,” Ryude said, in a gentle and polite voice that hardly fit his hulking image. 

From here on out, it was less slaying and more tracking; a time consuming task, indeed. Considering the terms of the contract, however, we had no choice but to do as we were told. 

“I suppose that’s how it is. We can just take things slowly, maybe even fill our stomachs while we search,” I said, with the intention of lightening the mood. Reaching into my magic tool bag, I withdrew enough sandwiches for the four of us, having made them this very morning. 

Lorraine, apparently still in a foul mood, snatched a sandwich from my hands before leaning up against the dungeon’s walls. She held onto the sandwich with her teeth as she poured a drink for herself, a steady stream of water flowing from her canteen into a silver cup. 

Locating an adequate spot, I sat down as well, taking out a cup for myself from the depths of my magic bag. Looking up, however, I found Zarid and Ryude staring at me, wide-eyed. 

“...What is it? There is enough for you two as well. Adventurers do usually bring food and a cup, right? Can’t say much about Lorraine’s silver cup...but a cup is a cup at the end of the day.” 

I, of course, sported a rather normal-looking metal cup. Being fellow adventurers, I had expected Zarid and Ryude to act the same way. However... 

“...Wait, wait, that’s not it! You... You actually went through the trouble of making fresh sandwiches? Aren’t camp rations usually just jerky and dry bread?” Zarid asked, surprise evident in his voice. 

“What, you don’t want any...?” 

Saying so, I reached out, intending to eat Zarid’s sandwich myself. 

“Hold up! Of course I’d like some...” Ryude said, sitting down next to me. “And you’re right, I have a cup of my own, too, but your food and water just smell so good! Can I have some?” 

Handing out a sandwich to him, I poured him a drink from my flask as well. I had taken care to prepare some apple-flavored water—why settle for less? 

Zarid was quick to agree. 

“Me, too! I’d like some, too! Please! I just thought I wouldn’t have anything nice to eat until I’ve left the dungeon... I was merely surprised that you had prepared all this!” 

“Oh, I see. Well...adventurers mostly buy jerky and the like as rations before setting off on expeditions. But this is good every once in a while, no?” 

“I’d rather have it every day! But then again, prepared food is quite expensive... Man, I envy those with wives...” Zarid said, sighing once more. 

While one could indeed purchase dried supplies from vendors at the dungeon’s entrance, the offerings were usually expensive dried rations and not exactly mouth-watering. 

In addition, most adventurers didn’t have magic bags. Due to the relative inconvenience of walking around with fresh food, most adventurers, in turn, simply purchased dried rations and hard bread, stuffing it into their packs. 

But of course, an adventurer would be hard-pressed to find a wife who would purchase a magic bag for a large sum of coin, and then stuff it full of homemade food for their adventuring husband. The average person would most likely get fed up with doing it so relatively soon, let alone on a regular basis. 

And so our chatter continued until we were finally done with our meals. 

“All right! I’ve had my fill now. Thanks to Rentt, I feel like I can work twice as hard today!” Zarid cheered. 

“I feel the same,” Ryude said, a satisfied expression on his face. 

I suppose the sandwiches were worth the trouble after all. I, who was the weakest in terms of combat potential in the group, should at least do this much for my comrades. 

But there was even more that I could do. 

“Also...from the general distribution of the goblins that we fought this afternoon, I have charted out where the remaining goblins are. If we follow this route, we should get there relatively quickly.” 

Zarid turned to me once more, visibly impressed. “...Oi, Lorraine. Is this guy always so convenient to have around?” 

Lorraine’s response was somewhat deadpan. 

“I would say that he is holding back today. After all, he would start cooking on the spot with fresh ingredients if he could. Well, such a thing would be dangerous to do given the amount of goblins in the vicinity, hence...” 

“He cooks on the spot, too? You’re kidding. I’d want him in all my parties... But then, Rentt does have his own goals...” 

“Yes, to become a Mithril-class adventurer.” 

“Indeed. Solo adventuring trains one up faster than exploring in a party. It would be unbecoming of us to trouble Rentt. Give it up, Zarid...” 

But of course, they would only invite me as a courtesy since adventurers were judged by their strength and combat ability. In those aspects, I was worthless, and I couldn’t help but feel a little disappointed with myself... 

After we packed up our lunch, we continued through the halls of the New Moon, slaying the required goblins before returning to Maalt and disbanding. Although I had enjoyed myself in the party today, I couldn’t help but feel that it would be a long time before I could enjoy a similar experience, and that revelation alone filled my heart with sadness. 

“...If you ever did want to set off in a party, I am sure everyone would just flock to you, Rentt.” 

Lorraine, who had been walking next to me, seemed to mumble something under her breath. 

“What was that, Lorraine?” 

“No... It is nothing. Let us return home. In fact, the payout from that assignment was respectable; we should feast over dinner, at the very least.” 

Saying so, Lorraine quickened her step, with me following closely behind as she headed off in the direction of a well-known eatery.