Chapter 21: 18

Chapter 4-18 : Survey Expedition Ⅳ

 

「Gwa!!」(Nord)

「「Nord-san!!」」(Iris & Kate)

Nord was blown about ten meters away and slammed into a boulder real hard.

「Gah!」(Nord)

Still, he was lucky to not land in a puddle of boiling water.

「Nord-san, are you okay!?」(Iris)

「I’m… good… Ugh, just a bit hurt…」(Nord)

He was able to survive because the tail didn’t actually hit him. He was just thrown away when he slipped while hugging the tail.

Nord got up and shook his head. He didn’t seem to be severely injured.

「A, Are you even human…? But I’m glad you’re fine.」(Iris)

「Looks like my muscles saved my life.」(Nord)

As he said that, Nord showed his biceps.

「Then use those muscles of yours to help us!」(Iris)

Iris was able to hold the Lava Lizard without Nord holding its tail because she used body strengthening magic, but it wouldn’t last long.

「Please hurry or I will kill this lizard!」(Iris)

「Wait! I’m coming, I’m coming!」(Nord)

When Iris said that as she glanced at the sword on her waist, Nord immediately dashed and grabbed the Lava Lizard’s tail again.

「Gwaaaahhh! I won’t let it go this time!」(Nord)

After learning from his mistake, Nord held the lower part of the tail this time.

The Lava Lizard was physically strong but Nord managed to restrain its tail with the strength of his muscles.

「Khh! This lizard is so powerful! I see… If they’re all this strong, then no wonder they were able to kick out Hellfire Grizzlies from this area. I see, I see… Khh!」(Nord)

「Do you need to analyze them now!? What a researcher…」(Kate)

「Ughh! I think killing it would be ten times easier! Kate, hurry up!」(Iris)

「I’m trying! Just a bit longer!」(Kate)

After trying her best for a while, Kate finally managed to tie the hind legs of the Lava Lizard. She then immediately wrapped the rope around its body to restrict its movements even more.

A while after, she managed to tie the Lava Lizard’s entire body and completely restrain its movements.

「We… We did it!」(Kate)

「Finally!」(Iris)

Iris and Kate sat down on the ground and high-fived each other.

As sweat ran down their cheeks, they were smiling with a sense of accomplishment filled their hearts.

Kate took out a bottle of water from her bag, drank the water a bit, then tossed the bottle to Iris. She then took off her hood and wiped off the sweat on her face with a towel.

Iris also drank the water and wiped her sweat. They then looked at each other and took a deep breath.

「I’m really tired…」(Iris)

「Same… But we did it.」(Kate)

「Yeah.」(Iris)

「Good work, you two! Now we just need to catch a few more!」(Nord)

「「……..Eh?」」(Iris & Kate)

When Iris and Kate heard what Nord said, the smiles disappeared from their faces in an instant.

They then turned to Nord and glared at him with dumbfounded expressions.

「Look. Two or more objects are needed for verification in any research, so I need a few more Lava Lizards to inspect.」(Nord)

Even though he almost died from just catching one Lava Lizard, Nord said that with a smile like it was nothing.

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「「………..」」(Iris & Kate)

Iris and Kate squinted their eyes as they glared at Nord while recalling the hard time of fighting a Lava Lizard just now. However, the smile on Nord’s face didn’t crumble.

「…Nord-san… By “a few more”, do you mean you need at least two more…?」(Iris)

「Of course. I need at least three subjects to inspect after all, but if possible, I want four or five more Lava Lizards to get more accurate results.」(Nord)

「Seriously…?」(Iris)

「Hahh….. This gonna be a looong day…」(Kate)

 

◇　　　　◇　　　　◇

 

After they caught a few more Lava Lizards, Nord began to inspect them and do various experiments on them.

While Nord was doing that, Iris and Kate were watching him while sitting on the ground and breathing heavily.

They were relieved that it was over. They thought that Nord wouldn’t ask them to do more troublesome work. Howeverー

「Iris-kun, Kate-kun, can you pick up some Lava Lizard eggs for me? It seems that they lay their eggs in hot mud, so you will be able to find them in muddy areas with boiling water.」(Nord)

「Hold on! Inside hot mud, you say!?」(Iris)

「Yeah. Don’t you think it’s strange that they don’t turn into boiled eggs?」(Nord)

「That’s not what I mean! It’s dangerous to get into those muddy areas!」(Iris)

「Don’t worry. I have a net with a long handle. Here, you can use this to scoop out the eggs.」(Nord)

「「………..」」(Iris & Kate)

 

After thatーー

「Iris-kun, Kate-kun, can you pick up some flame stones for me? They are the staple food of Lava Lizards and Hellfire Grizzlies, so I need to inspect them as well.」(Nord)

「Eh? But they can hardly be found now. The Lava Lizards ate almost all of them.」(Kate)

「Don’t worry. Look. There are quite a lot near the pool of boiling water over there.」(Nord)

「But sometimes hot water discharges from the ground around it like a fountain! It’s dangerous!」(Iris)

「You’re wearing Sarasa-kun’s Heat-proof Coat. You’ll be fine.」(Nord)

「Yeah, but then we will die from poisonous gas!」(Iris)

「Ah, if you’re worried about the gas, you can use this gas mask. It’s an artifact that will neutralize the air you breathe in.」(Nord)

「「………..」」(Iris & Kate)

 

After thatーー

「Iris-kun, Kate-kunー」(Nord)

「Ugh… What is it this time…?」(Iris)

「I have a bad feeling about this…」(Kate)

「Lava Lizards are originally not aggressive monsters. When they are alone, they will run away the moment they spot threats. However, what if they are not alone? I’m wondering if a group of Lava Lizards spots a threat, will they run away, scattering all over directions, or will they run after the threat and attack it together.」(Nord)

「Don’t tell me…」(Iris)

「You want us to…」(Kate)

「I want you to approach a group of Lava Lizards and see what they will do.」(Nord)

「Waaait, wait, wait! That’s too dangerous no matter how you think about it!」(Iris)

「You can just run away if they chase after you. I will distract them somehow, so you’ll be fine.」(Nord)

「「………..」」(Iris & Kate)

 

Just like that, Iris and Kate’s high-risks-high-reward job continued for a while until they finally could continue ascending the volcano, heading for the Salamander’s cave.

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