Chapter 16: CH 16

“Ooh, we arrived in the depths of the forest so easily.”

My name is Ivan, an adventurer who works in the Forest of Magic Beasts.

Me and my party had arrived at a location deeper in the forest than we had ever been before.

That was because a certain rookie, no, because Rex had done it again.

The guy somehow managed to make a road in the Forest of Magic Beasts with magic.

Thanks to that, not only did the merchants not have to take long detours to get to towns or villages that were actually close by, but if you stayed in the middle of the road, you’d be protected from Trap Plants, Killer Plants, and other plant-type monsters.

The benefits that road brought with it were immeasurable, and many merchants and travellers had already begun using the road.

Furthermore, the adventurers’ guild and nearby towns had pooled together some money to hire adventurers, who had then created clearings to let carriages pass by each other or for camping.

Thanks to the road and clearings, we had been able to go further into the forest than ever before.

Man, that Rex really is something else.

What was even more shocking, was that all this had happened in just two days.

It was an incredible speed one never would have expected from those lazy old men or government officials.

The group who went into the forest to stay overnight will definitely be surprised.

What happened to the days when you had to keep a barrier up constantly and not let your guard down for a second?

“There really are a lot of materials and monsters here. It’s all untouched here, so hunt as much as you want!”

Not only we, but other adventurers who had entered the depths of the forest for the first time were also in a material-gathering daze.

Everyone was constantly competing for the materials in the outskirts of the forest, so the depths of the forest was literally a mountain of jewels.

“Ooh, it’s a Madara Mandragora!”

“There’s a Horned Rat’s nest here!”

“Oww!”

“Idiot! Get back to the road and recover!”

“Y-yes!”

And even if we were attacked by monsters due to our material gathering craze, we could just hurry back to the road; our job really had become much easier.

“That guy could reach the very depths of the forest with a snap of his fingers if he wanted.”

My comrades nodded in agreement at what I had muttered. We didn’t even have to elaborate on who ‘that guy’ was when he was mentioned any more.

“Now then, let’s gather all the materials from around here you lot!”

“““Alright!”””

Although this area had so many materials, it would be hard to ever take them all.

“And even here, looking at the whole forest, we’re still only on the edge; it really is a huge forest.”

◆ ◆

“Phew, I did my best today too.”

Having finished my work in the Forest of Magic Beasts, I went to the guild’s reception to report.

It was to report about the job to burn down the edges of the forest, and the job to make a road through it, and normal monster subjugation requests.

I felt like I had earned some money, since if I burned more of the forest on the job to make a road through it, I could easily raise my profits.

“I burned down the forest around here today, and added a new road here. Also, here’s some Hexarm Monkeys from this subjugation request.”

After I had pointed out to the staff member the places where I had expanded the road, I submitted a part of one of the monsters I had defeated as proof of having completed the subjugation request.

It wasn’t a problem for me, who had a magic bag, but for people who didn’t, bringing home a monster that wouldn’t be sold was not very useful, so as long as one submitted a part of the monster that could be recognized as belonging to that specific monster, the guild would judge the request completed.

Although, while magic bags certainly aren’t cheap, I highly doubt you can’t buy them like normal.

And magic tool craftsmen would probably make their own.

Speaking of which, they called it a Lost Item back in Tougai.

Maybe I should ask someone what that means?

“Yes, I have confirmed the part of the subjugated monster. As for today’s forest incineration and road expansion, the rewards will be added to next time’s rewards after someone in charge has confirmed it. Also, yesterday’s forest incineration rewards are twenty-four gold coins. I’ll hand them over with the reward for today’s subjugation request, which is thirty silver coins.”

While I was lost in thought, the receptionist had checked the subjugation materials and prepared the reward.

“Thank you very much.”

I stepped away from the reception as soon as I had taken the reward so as not to get in the way of the person behind me.

Hmm, I worked a lot today too.

…But I feel like I’m forgetting something…

“Oh no! I forgot to show the subjugated monsters to Liliella-san!”

Oh no! I was going to show her the monsters I had subjugated in the forest to get her to understand that I wasn’t tricking her!

I accepted the subjugation request for that reason, but I had carelessly submitted it at the reception from the high of having completed the job!

“Uu, I’ll have to take another subjugation request tomorrow.”

There is no use crying over spilled milk.

I’ll eat something delicious to cheer myself up.

“Alrigh! Foooood! Food time!”

Ivan-san and his party were heading to the bar in the guild, also having seemingly sold all the materials they had gathered.

“Oho, if it isn’t Rex! You makin’ money, kid?”

Finding me instantly, Ivan-san patted, or more like hit me on the back.

“Ow, that hurts.”

He’s a good person, but I really wish he’d stop hitting me on the back.

“Gahaha, well, we’re certainly making money! Thanks to you!”

“Thanks to me?”

“Yeah! Thanks to you making that road through the forest, it’s become waay easier for us to work!”

“Ahaha, I am overjoyed to have been able to be of assistance…”

“Hm? You seem kinda down. You worried about something? Alright, tell me! But first, food!”

Before I had even noticed it, I had been dragged along by Ivan-san and co. and we were having dinner together.

Eh, it’s fine.

◆ ◆

“I see, so you still haven’t resolved the young lady’s misunderstanding, huh.”

“Yes, I couldn’t find time in the morning, so I thought that we’d get to meet in the evening when selling materials, but I just carelessly submitted the monster’s subjugation part at the reception.”

“Gahaha, that really is careless!”

“Don’t laugh!”

Oh come on, give me at least some respect.

“Don’t worry, I’ll vouch for you when you tell her!”

“Really!?”

“Yeah, I still am a famous adventurer here in Hexi, after all. If I vouch for you, the young miss’ll also believe you!”

Uwaa! What a nice person!

Adventurers really are all reliable people!

“Well, you also helped us out! Doing that much is no big deal!”

Thank goodness, it seems like Liliella-san’s misunderstanding will be resolved soon.

I really would feel bad, leaving that misunderstanding there.

“But still, Liliella-san is rather late. It’s already dark outside.”

“Ah, she might be staying in the forest. With a barrier, you can even spend a night in the forest. Especially with the clearings in the forest by the road, so don’t worry! Wow that road’s really convenient!”

The other adventurers laughed along with him.

They’re all in such a good mood.

“Huh? But didn’t she and the party she was in say they were going into the forest two days ago?”

An adventurer at a different table interjected.

“Eh? Really?”

“Yeah, we went a bit too far into the forest the other day and found some Zenso Grass. This guy was talking with his companions how it had been worth the effort to go too far into the forest when the young lady asked where they’d found it with this really threatening attitude.”

“Hee, Zenso Grass is a really rare herb.”

Zenso Grass was a herb that was used as an ingredient for some really difficult-to-make medicines.

What medicine was it used for again? I can’t quite remember.

“But I really would never have thought there would be a road through the forest the very day after we desperately managed to get back from it.”

“Man, that really shocked me! I was like ‘Time to go into the forest again’ and then there was this road stretching all the way in! Gahahaha”

It seemed like these people had been exploring until right before I had built the road.

“So, is Liliella-san still in the forest?”

“Well, it’ll be a bad sign if she doesn’t come back soon. There’s a limit to how much stuff you can carry while fighting monsters in that forest, and in the places further in, monsters that just completely ignore barriers can also appear. And the monsters around where we found the Zenso Grass were rather strong, so much so that we waited to set up camp until we had reached an area where the monsters were weaker to set up camp before returning.”

Uwa, I’m having a bad premonition here.

“How far away from the town is the place where you found the herbs?”

“About two and a half days north-east once you enter the forest.”

“There’s no roads near there. If you accidentally stray onto a road, then you’re way too far away from there.”

Ivan-san took out a map and pointed to where Liliella-san and her party likely were.

Is that line on the map the road I made?

“What should we do? Shouldn’t we go look for them?”

“No, it’s already dark outside. And if they were in the midst of coming back, in the worst case, we might even miss each other and end up stranded. Don’t underestimate the size of the Forest of Magic Beasts.”

“Everything around you in the Forest of Magic Monsters is your enemy. The level of danger at night jumps up by an order of magnitude here, unlike in normal forests.”

“Also, her party were all B-Rank. They won’t do anything silly, and even if they did, and died because of it, that too is something an adventurer has to be prepared for.”

Ivan-san and the others stopped me, telling me not to go into the forest at night.

“Novices usually do rash things. Act after having thought of your own safety first.”

Ugh, my ears hurt. Is that the mindset of the top adventurers?

“…All right. Even if Liliella-san doesn’t come back, I won’t move until the morning.”

Right, Liliella-san’s a B-Rank adventurer.

Also, she’s been an adventurer for longer than I have, so I’m sure she won’t do anything reckless.

I’ll just have to believe in her for now.

“Good. Well, if the time does come, we’ll also take part in the search! …For a fee, of course!”

“A fee!? How unscrupulous!”

“Shuddup! I’m a pro adventurer! I’ll be picked on if I show any weakness!”

Ivan-san made a mean statement and was made fun of by everyone.

But he said he would help with a search, so everyone is concerned, even if the don’t show it.

They really are all good people.

But then, the guild’s door was suddenly slammed open, making everyone inside glance over.

Really beat-up looking adventurers came in.

They were all bleeding, their equipment stained red.

“Are you all right!?”

The adventurers nearby instantly began moving, casting recovery magic and removing their equipment to make it easier to breathe.

Then, someone from the guild also came out, and began asking them about the situation while treating their wounds.

“What happened!?”

“W-we were camping in the forest with a barrier and were attacked by a pack of Blade Wolves…”

“Blade Wolves!? Those are A-Rank monsters!”

The adventurers became nervous.

Blade Wolves were monsters with a blade-shaped bone sticking out of their bodies that they used to attack people with.

Those bones were as hard as real swords, and being attacked by a pack of them put one in grave danger.

“Where are they!?”

“About a day into the forest. We were camping, and they attacked us all of a sudden…”

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“A day away!? I haven’t heard of Blade Wolves appearing there!?”

“They probably came from further into the forest.”

“T-that’s n-not all… there was also a black Blade Wolf the likes of which we’d never seen before.”

“A black Blade Wolf!?”

“Yes, it was in command of the rest of them.”

A black Blade Wolf, did a monster like that even exist?

“It’s probably a mutant. Mutants behave differently to normal monsters.”

“But if it’s a mutant when it was already an A-Rank monster to begin with… In the worst case, won’t that be equivalent to an S-Rank!?”

“This might lead to a special subjugation request.”

“What’s a special subjugation request?”

I asked Ivan-san what the unfamiliar word meant.

“Ah, special subjugation requests are ultra-top-priority requests issued by the guild when a monster that is so dangerous that it would make adventurers unable to work there and so strong that it will bring harm to towns if not subjugated immediately appears.”

Hee, so things like that exist too.

“Whenever a request like that appears, C-Rank and below won’t be able to take any requests in the corresponding area, and B-Rank and above will only be able to accept that request alone. That’s just how important it is.”

“That’s right!”

A dignified voice rang out in the guild.

It belonged to Mirisha-san, the guild chief’s assistant.

“I am issuing a special subjugation request. The contents are the following: One: The suppression of the pack of Blade Wolves and the black Blade Wolf. And two: guarding the road through the Forest of Magic Beasts until the subjugation is complete!”

The guild buzzed at Mirisha’s declaration.

“It must be quite urgent if you’re issuing it at this time of day.”

The other adventurers nodded at Ivan-san’s words.

“Normally, a special subjugation request would be issued the day after, or even later, after all the executives had gathered and held a meeting. But this incident happened near the road, which just opened. Considering the urgency of the situation, the guild chief made the decision immediately.”

“I see, if the newly-opened road became unusable due to A-Rank monsters, all talk of profit would fade away. So they’d rather take the risk and send us into danger.”

“Is that so?”

Taking action at night was dangerous, so it would be easier to just defend the road for now.

“If the merchants camping along the road were attacked by a pack of Blade Wolves, the number of merchants would drop due to it being dangerous. So we have to subjugate the monster that’s the cause of this as soon as we can. The important thing is to give the road a track record of being safe.”

“The request has a reward of one-hundred-and-fifty gold coins for each Blade Wolf, and six-hundred god coins for the person who defeats the black Blade Wolf that is likely a mutant!”

“Ooh, not bad! One and a half times the normal price!”

“Really? B-Ranked Evil Boars sell for more though.”

“It’s because Blade Wolves are the same size as normal wolves. They may be strong, but defeating one’s easier than defeating an Evil Boar. It’s just that their packs are larger. Fighting them all at once would be way too difficult. Also, Evil Boars don’t sell for that much more, do they?”

I see, it’s due to the difference in numbers.

But Evil Boars also move in droves of half a dozen or so, don’t they?

“How many Blade Wolves are there usually in a pack?”

“Let’s see, around fifty I think it was, give or take. On their own, they’re B-Rank, but since there’s so many of them, and they work together so well, they’re a nuisance. That’s why the guild fully mobilized all the adventurers, so we can all hunt them together.”

Uwa, that’s around ten times the number of Evil Boars.

And since it’s assumed you’ll encounter them in a pack, they’re A-Rank.

They really do sound like annoying opponents.

“The problem is we don’t know how strong the mutant is. Mutants’ strength depends in the individual, so past reports aren’t very useful.”

Mutant monsters did indeed look almost the same as normal ones, but their abilities were very different.

And since they were almost always stronger than their normal counterparts, they were still bad news all around.

“So we just wait at the clearings by the road for monsters to appear?”

“No, searching for them by repeatedly using search magic close enough to the road not to lose sight of it would be better. Since the rewards are greater than usual.”

“Then why don’t you join us? We also have someone who can use search magic.”

The adventurers immediately began strategy meetings.

“Now then, what should we do. We just finished work too.”

On the other hand, Ivan-san and co. didn’t seem all that interested in the special subjugation request.

“Huh? Ivan-san, aren’t you going?”

“No, we just got back from a job and we’re all tired. Just because the rewards are good doesn’t mean we should be greedy. And it’s not like they’re all going to be subjugated soon anyway. If we rest today and move tomorrow, it won’t be too late.”

I see, as expected of Ivan-san.

He comprehended their situation without letting himself get carried away by the surrounding atmosphere.

Looking around, I actually saw multiple other groups of adventurers unhurriedly eating their dinners.

They must have had the same thoughts as Ivan-san.

“I also worked today, so I think I’ll also go for it tomorrow.”

As I was thinking that, I happened to hear the words whispered by one of the adventurers being treated by the guild staff.

“Please, save Liliella. She’s still in the forest.”

“Liliella-san!?”

Shocked, I rushed over to the adventurer.

“What happened to Liliella-san!?”

“She acted as a decoy so I could escape after we were attacked by the Blade Wolves and I was injured.”

Oh my goodness. No way, Liliella-san didn’t manage to escape.

“But, considering the time it took you to return, it’s already been two days, no? We’re way too late.”

“But she had a barrier stone, so she might still be…”

“Didn’t they attack you completely disregarding your monk’s barrier? Then, erecting a barrier is useless, isn’t it.”

The adventurers were talking like Liliella-san’s situation was hopeless.

No way, I hadn’t even resolved that misunderstanding yet…

“I have to go save her!”

“Oy, wait wait, it’s dangerous to go into the forest at this time of day!”

Ivan-san grabbed my shoulder, stopping me.

“But I have to hurry or Liliella-san will!”

“Like I said, you can’t go alone! How small do you think that damn forest is!”

“But I don’t have a party…”

Ivan-san laughed at that.

“Aren’t we here!?”

“Eh!?”

“Hey you lot, listen up! Miss Liliella was left behind in the forest to protect her companions! So, if you find a young lady in the forest, protect her!”

“All right!”

“Leave it to us!”

“I guess we have no choice, we’re going as well!”

“Yeah”

Ivan-san raised his voice, and not only the adventurers heading out on the subjugation request, but even the other adventurers who were going to wait until the next day stood up.

“Everyone…”

“Adventurers are all companions, after all. We help each other out when in trouble.”

“And now’s the time to rake it in too! We don’t mind looking for someone at the same time!”

“It’s not cute at all when an old man like you tries to act affectionate!”

“Shuddup!”

“““““Hahahahaha”””””

I unconsciously teared up at the sight of all the adventurers picking up their weapons and checking their equipment.

It was a sight right out of one of the stories about adventurers.

“Alright, we’re going too. Recover your mana with magic potions!”

“Ugh, those are really disgusting.”

“Stop acting so spoiled!”

Ivan-san’s magician companions unhappily took out magic potions from among their luggage and drank them.

“Ugh, gross!”

“Alright, let’s go! Rex, come with us!”

“Yes!”

Wait for us, Liliella-san!

◆ ◆

“We’ll be going straight through the forest. Don’t forget to leave behind glowstones periodically so as not to forget where the road is.”

We had come part of the way on the road, but would now be entering the forest.

The glowstones Ivan-san had mentioned were stones that would glow for a while if filled with mana.

Apparently they were usually used when exploring unexplored ruins and such, and it was my first time seeing them in use.

“We’ll go straight through! Ignore all monsters other than the ones directly in our way!”

“Got it!”

Under Ivan-san’s command, we began running.

We couldn’t use torches while on the move.

There was the danger of being attacked by monsters and losing our lightsources.

Instead, the magician-san had cast lighting magic on all our weapons and shields.

Like this, our hands won’t be filled with torches.

“Gruoooooooo!!”

A beast’s roar rang out.

“A Blade Wolf!?”

“No, that was an Ogre Bear’s roar!”

Just as the party’s thief-san spoke those words, two Ogre Bears appeared.

“Ugh! A pair! Those things are lumps of stamina that never get exhausted. What’s more, their fur’s so thick, not even a battleaxe can properly hurt them! And since they’re a pair, they will likely attack randomly to get nutrition for the cubs! We don’t have the time to fight them properly, so just blind them with magic!”

“Got it.”

“No, we’re running short on time, so I’ll kill them.”

“Eh?”

I activated body strengthening magic, and instantly jumped in between the two Ogre Bears.

It seemed they really hadn’t been expecting me to jump in between them, since they stopped moving in bewilderment.

“Ha!”

Casting magic on my sword, I spun round in circles, holding it out.

“Vacuum Blade!!”

A vacuum was created around my sword, and the surrounding air pulled the large Ogre Bears in sucking them towards the sword.

“Haa!!”

Still spinning, I horizontally cut the two approaching Ogre Bears in half.

The vacuum barrier on the sword easily sliced the Ogre Bears apart.

It also cut nearby Trap Plants and Killer Plants apart as well.

“I’m done! Let’s go!”

“Y-yeah.”

I resumed the search for Liliella-san at the very front.

“Aren’t we unnecessary if he’s here?”

For some reason everyone nodded at that.

Nono, it really isn’t like that, everyone.

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