Dear readers,
There"s a good news and a bad news.
Good news is, we"re trying to hasten the pace we release the chapter in order to catch up with the RAW. Currently, there are 290+ chapters waiting to be translated, and if we release it weekly, then it"ll take minimal 5 years to arrive there.
Bad news is, well, since we"re trying to release faster, there is no fixed schedule of it. Maybe there will be 2 chapters in a week, maybe 3, but there"s also a possibility that we don"t release a chapter for a whole week. Of course, we"ll try to avoid that possibility to the best of our ability, but we don"t know what will happen in the future.
What I want to say is, uh… Please stay tuned.
Mabbo, Fairy, Schwarz13
Enjoy~
14. Megane-kun, being Led Deep into the Woods
With the talks concluded, Laila got up from my bed—at the same time, I asked one thing that bothered me.
「I don"t have to go to the Adventurer"s Guild, do I? You"ll receive the request, right?」
I don"t want to go there for the second time. They will pick on me. Attention will be centered on me.
Since I accepted the deal, I"ll go if I really have to, but if possible, I"ll avoid going there. That"s what bothered me.
「Eh? …Aah.」
Laila thought it a bit, then tilted her neck a little.
「For the time being, there"s a rule that when one is accepting a request, one must write the partic.i.p.ating members on the request. However, for people who joined the Adventurer"s Guild, they only have to write their name or number.」
I see. So it"s prevention against accidents or injuries in the place they ventured.
In the worst case, e.g. when n.o.body came back, it"ll be a clue to their whereabouts. It also can be an opportunity to warn that an obvious danger lays await ahead in this quest. Also, it can a.s.sist when a determining where to send rescue.
There is no demerit in it for any reason. As expected of a big city. They"re doing something clever~.
「I wonder how about yours, Megane. Is there any relationship between the Adventurer"s Guild and Hunter"s Guild?」
Aah, right. Good thing to ask.
「Then don"t write my name.」
It doesn"t seem that good to have my name known.
Rumors of my spoils seem to be spreading around, it seems. I already have enough adventurers who chase me to my room and invite me out with Laila alone.
「If you put it as me tailing you on my own, then it won"t be a problem. Just say that there will be someone coming with you, but he"s not an adventurer.」
「U~n… Well, it is like that.」
Yep. It indeed is like that.
「By the way, Megane」
Hm?
「What"s your name again?」
「Megane is fine.」
Huh, it seems that I"ve not told her my name. Anyway, I answered her halfheartedly intentionally. If my name were to spread, it seems that troublesome things will come to me, so let"s stop giving my name as much as possible.
The departure is early in the next morning. We plan to meet up in front of the Adventurer"s Guild while it"s still dark. After making that arrangement, I did not go hunting in the afternoon and started preparing to fight against a redbear.
I won"t be using arrows made from light wood; I"ll bring iron arrows. This will penetrate the thick fur of redbear. …Well, since my experience on the new bow is still insufficient, all I can do is pinpoint aim from close range.
I made some additional purchases of medications and medical plants, also the bag to contain the redbear after we dissect it.
I swiftly finish my preparations and to further the cause for tomorrow, I slept early.
The next day, I joined Laila in the appointed time. As the sky is still dark, there are but a few visitors to and fro the Adventurer"s Guild. It"s the perfect time for me.
「I received the request. Shall we go?」
A short sword is hanging on her skirt-based one-piece dress, which is reinforced with hard leather at every vital point. So this is her in an armed situation.
Thus, the two of us headed to the southern woods.
Well. There are a few things I want to make sure of.
「Are you able to use a sword?」
「Don"t make fun of me. Even if I look like this, I have all the foundations… sorry. I have no confidence after all.」
Thought as much. How do I put it, she looks inexperienced and burdened by it.
「You a magician, right? I have never seen magic before, what can you do with it?」
I learned that the sword is only at the level of an ornament, so this one is the main question.
As long as Laila can"t use the weapon on her waist, her only means of attack is limited to magic. I"d like to ask her what kind of thing she can do with it, and to which extent the battle prowess I can estimate.
「I can only use two kinds of magic though.」
With those words as the opening, Laila talked.
First, 「Flame Sphere」.
It"s a thing that launches a ball of fire which explodes upon hit. It"s something famous enough that I at least know the name. Never seen it in action though.
Next, 「Wind Slash」.
It"s a magic that generates a blade of wind then launches it, simply put, she said it"s something like 「firing an invisible blade then kill」. I also have heard of this a bit. Though I have never seen it in action either.
「Since the battle might take place in the forest, using that will be dangerous.」
「Ah… you"re right. It"d be scary if a forest fire happened.」
Thereby, 「Wind Slash」 will be her main attack.
「How deep this 『Wind Slash』 can cut? Can it loop off a redbear"s head?」
「I"ve never tried it so I don"t know, —Aah, it can sever a tree around that thickness.」
Saying so, she pointed a tree we saw along the way. …How thin. Far from the neck, it looks like impossible to amputate even one limb of it.
For some reasons, she was showing a smug look to me, so I give her 「Wow~ How cool~」 in return. For some reason, she got sullen instead.
Many magical beasts often have big builds, the redbear we"re going to face is not an exception to that. If it"s big, then it should be at least twice my height when it stands. Naturally, its width is proportionally as wide, and the bones and muscles that supported it are also absurdly tough. Additionally, its fur is thick, so an inferior blade can"t even inflict wounds to it.
Incidentally, I also did my own research in the Hunter"s Guild yesterday. Redbear is a magical beast that is often used in a promotion test from Starless adventurer to One Star adventurer. It seems like in the city it"s recognized as a magical beast with considerable strength.
「Let me say this beforehand! Great people can split anything in half, be it a big tree or a rock!」
When I responded with 「Wow~ That"s cool~ 」, she kicked my b.u.t.t. A woman"s heart is hard to be understood.
As the sun rose and the dawn completely broke, we arrived at the southern woods. As this is also a location I often do my hunting, I"m not unfamiliar with it. It"s just, redbear"s location is quite deep, it"s reaching a place I"ve never stepped into.
From the talk I heard along the way, Laila has traversed to this forest many times before, and she also antic.i.p.ated the location of the redbear from the information she gathered from the eyewitnesses.
「This way.」
I walk along the forest, led by Laila. There is no road, but there"s something like a footpath that the adventurers surely have pa.s.sed over many times before, and Laila is unhesitantly following it. After pa.s.sing through several old and new remains of bonfires, we proceed into the deep parts of the forest that I"ve yet to investigate.
…Hmm. It"s a good forest after all.
The thick scent of the woods, the scent of the flowers, the scent of the matured fruits that have fallen from their trees, and the scent of the beasts. This place is abundant with life.
「—They say it"s around here.」
After we walked for a short while since, entering, it seems like Laila has arrived at the place she"s aimed. There are some old remains of a bonfire.
Although I have pa.s.sed some of them, I just realized that these remain of fires perhaps the landmark for the adventurers. If you write them on a map, it"ll make sharing information easier.
Now then, we"ll search for the redbear with this place as the base point, but before that.
「I"m just making it sure, but you"re carrying the 『Stink Bag』 right?」
「Of course. You should expect that I wouldn"t come here with just two of us without that.」
Glad to hear it. So she came while having the basics down.
Redbears are strong. Strong enough to be chosen as the monster for promotion test from Starless to One Star, and would be too hard to chew for rookies. Or rather, I think they wouldn"t even make a fight.
However, the most eminent factor is that redbears have an exceedingly excellent sense of smell. That"s why they"re selling a powdered medicinal herb namely 「Bear-warding Gra.s.s」 that exudes a smell the redbears hate, redbears, in general, will run away when you throw it at them.
Basically, you put it into a small sack, you open it, then throw it at them. Smearing it on your body is also effective, but it"s not recommended simply because it"s smelly.
For someone like me, I"ve learned something like lacquering my coat to erase the smell of human when I was chasing down a game with a sharp sense of smell from Sishou. However, I won"t do it on my own accord. It"s smelly.
The 「Stink Bag」 is for the last ditch escape since it is extremely effective. Laila chose the redbear as her opponent with training in mind knowing this.
「Then, let"s find it.」
After confirming that we have the card to deal with the emergency in hand, we split and began to look for the redbear.