Chapter 61: Volume 4 - CH 5

The morning of the following day, while it was still dark out, Kyle’s group arrived at the large gate to the east. The guards patrolling even this early weren’t guarding against any human threat, but rather as a defense mechanism towards monsters, or in the worst-case scenario—dragons. The large double doors were sturdy, heavy, and hard to open. They stayed closed throughout the night and opened up with the first morning light. Just like Kyle’s group, other adventurers and merchants were ready to leave town.

“P-Please take care of me!”

Having arrived before them, Erina greeted the group and ran towards them with a tense voice.

“……”

However, Kyle was unable to respond, simply staring at Erina’s face. It was the same yesterday, but her eyes caught his attention. He himself didn’t know why exactly that was the case, but he felt restless every time he looked at them.

Did we meet somewhere before? Since she doesn’t show any signs of that, maybe in my previous life…No, I have no memories of her, that’s for sure.

“Um…i-is there any problem?” Erina must have felt uncomfortable to be stared at, or maybe even anxious since she was dealing with her employer, but she let out a flustered voice.

“Stop staring at a girl’s face!”

Before Kyle could answer, Lieze rammed her sharp elbow right into his flank.

“Guha?!”

Even though he was clad in dragon leather armor, his hips gave out, and he sank to the ground. Lieze’s skills evidently had improved ever since they set out on their journey. It was proof of her hard work and growth.

“Y-You’ve gotten stronger…but…I didn’t want to learn about that this way…”

It was for Kyle’s sake that Lieze became stronger. He knew that she did this with goodwill only, but the pain at his side still made Kyle stagger.

“Lieze’s retorts have gotten cruel as of late, huh…” Seran, another regular victim of Lieze, started sweating profusely at the sight in front of him.

Lieze herself however ignored the two and turned towards Erina.

“U-Um…I’ll do my best, so please take care of me!” Erina was confused at this odd scenery in front of her, but she tried to regain her composure, greeting Lieze.

Lieze had readied herself for the worst, but seeing Erina’s straightforward attitude, she felt the strength in her shoulders relax.

I see…I can’t cast her aside, that’s for sure.

Lieze was charmed by Erina’s passionate attitude.

“My name is Lieze, nice to meet you.”

Following that, Seran, Shildonia, and Urza also briefly introduced themselves. In the face of Seran’s nonchalant introduction, Erina showed a faint smile. When it came to Shildonia, a girl about her size, she felt a bit concerned, and when she saw Urza, Erina was evidently surprised.

“…You mentioned you had a map. Do you mind showing me?” Urza said, to which Erina panicked a bit, taking out a hand-sized map from her chest pocket.

Seeing this, Urza started questioning her in regards to the symbols and other terms written on there, as well as the general outline of the forest. Hearing all of Erina’s answers, she nodded in a satisfied manner.

“…This is quite detailed. Well done. With this, we should be able to trust her,” Urza commented.

“O-Oh yeah, I never asked, but do you not have any comrades?” Kyle held his side in pain still, asking.

“Y-Yes…I’m working independently. Is there any problem with that?” Uncertainty filled Erina’s voice.

The majority of adventurers work in groups. Evidently, because that was the most efficient way of getting quests and requests done. The adventurers who were working alone were either complete beginners, those who held absolute confidence in their own strength and ability, or those who had other particular circumstances.

“…No, as long as you properly guide us there, it’s perfectly fine. Once again, we’re counting on you.” Kyle didn’t know which of those three was Erina’s case, but he didn’t mean to pry into her affairs.

“Y-Yes! Thank you very much!”

Erina seemed to be relieved to be accepted by the other members of Kyle’s group, as her expression softened up. Kyle was once again entranced by Erina, but he felt Lieze’s anger rising again, so he quickly changed the topic.

“S-Still, this really is a country of adventurers. So many people moving this early in the morning.” Kyle looked at the adventurers around them, letting out a comment of admiration.

“No, this is quite the low number, actually. The number of people who are heading to the deeper parts has lessened as well.”

Being told this by Erina, Kyle listened in on the conversation around him. As an expected result, some were talking about the recent dragon sightings. However, since nobody ever actually clashed with a dragon, and with no casualties, it was more like a safety measure than actual fear that drove them.

“Do you know anything regarding the dragons?” Kyle asked, to which Erina shook her head.

“I simply spotted one from afar, but any more than that…However, there’s a rumor going around that a human figure was with the dragon.”

“A human figure? The dragons are acting together with a human?” Kyle let out a surprised voice.

“No, it’s simply a rumor, and I haven’t seen them myself…Rather, it’s the first time something like this has ever happened before…” Erina showed a complicated expression.

“Well, we can just ask about that later.”

“……What?”

Erina tilted her head in confusion at Shildonia’s confident words. Right as she was about to ask what exactly she meant, the bell near the gate rang, signaling the beginning of the day.

“Alright, time to head off,” Kyle told everyone, and they headed towards the gate.

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The first special trait of the forests of Eddos was the harsh environment. The air temperature was high, and together with the upped humidity, simply moving or standing around slowly chipped away at your stamina. The terrain had a lot of ups and downs, which made it harder to move through and navigate. Most terrifying of all were the monsters lurking around, which is why you had to be cautious at any given moment. It was a dangerous location where, without necessary preparations and knowledge, you wouldn’t even last half a day without a miracle up your sleeve.

…Or so it should have been…

Right when half a day had passed since they departed, Kyle’s group learned to appreciate the experiences and knowledge they had gathered up to this point.

“Phew, I’m glad we bought this after all,” Lieze said with a cool expression, not breaking any sweat despite the high temperatures around.

It was thanks to the hoodie with added mantle everyone was wearing. Looking closer at this mantle, it gave off white smoke, automatically cooling down the close vicinity of it. It was another useful magic item, imbued with cooling magic. By wearing it, it naturally cooled you down, like a small fridge.

“Indeed…” Even Erina was positively surprised at the item’s efficiency.

If she had this available on a normal occasion, her gathering work would be a lot easier. However, the simple logistics of this item were relatively complicated, which made this a rare, expensive item. On top of that, the cost-effectiveness scale wasn’t that high either. Adventurers came to the forest in order to earn money, so they couldn’t afford to go in the red. It may be convenient, but not the best decision to rely on.

However, Kyle’s group had prepared one of these items for each member as part of their preparations. For that, they must have bought up all the items available in Rinecol. This probably surpassed even the reward Erina would be paid. As a result of that, their traveling through the forest was going smoothly, but it was also thanks to the individual stamina of the group.

Leaving aside an inhabitant of the forest, Urza, even Kyle and Seran, as well as Lieze were blessed with high endurance. The oddest of them all was Shildonia, who wasn’t even wearing the mantle, and yet didn’t break a sweat either, like the idea of bodyweight and endurance didn’t exist in her books. Erina looked ahead, down at the Wild Boar collapsed on the ground, in the shape of a small mountain. It was around ten times bigger than the average boar.

The Wild Boar’s fur and thick fat are sturdier than your average metal armor, and its vitality was ridiculously high. Its attacks had enough force to mow down an entire row of trees, and it could very well annihilate a small army troop. To a solo adventurer like Erina, encountering one of these beasts was pretty much death itself. And yet, this dangerous monster had been defeated by Kyle in a single strike. A Wild Boar was a strong foe that required an entire group of well-equipped and skilled adventurers to defeat while being ready for sacrifices. That was Erina’s understanding of the beast—until now.

The boar had come at the group out of the thicket, possibly aiming for a surprise attack, but he remained calm, facing it face-to-face like it was a simple breeze hitting him. Right before they clashed, Kyle had jumped upwards to evade the attack, pulling his sword mid-air, ramming it into the vital point where the Wild Boar’s fat and fur was the thinnest. It all happened in the blink of an eye.

The Wild Boar continued its charge shortly after that, but as if it had caught on to its own death, it fell over. Only Seran had managed to grasp Kyle’s movement. Lieze and Urza were looking after him, but Erina was standing still in awe.

“Everyone…is quite amazing,” Erina commented in admiration.

“No, it’s thanks to you teaching us about the various monsters and their vital points. And because you warned me beforehand, I could react quicker.” Kyle said like it was nothing.

“No, that’s not…” Realizing that she wasn’t doing much work as a guide, Erina was starting to lose her confidence.

“So, what do we do about this?” Seran said, pointing at the Wild Boar.

“The scent of blood might attract other monsters. Plus, the sun will start setting soon, so we should quickly move away from here.” Erina got back on track, remembering her duty, and warned the group.

“No worries about that. We have a tool that’ll erase the scent, as well as monster repellant, so we can set up camp here.” The tool Kyle was talking about was equally expensive as the mantle.

“Then, we might as well make some hot pot with the boar—”

“Ah, quiet please.”

Lieze looked up at the small mountain of a monster, bringing up the idea of dinner when Erina must have heard something, and raised a sharp voice.

“The sound of wings…A Killer Bee, I’m sure. It’s a large insect, mainly gathering nectar from the flowers, but it also eats meat. Regularly attacks people if it spots any. Now, a swarm is coming closer.” Erina explained.

“…Great job catching on to that. I only heard it a second ago.” Urza said, speaking in admiration.

Just as with the Wild Boar, Erina was the first one to catch on to their presence, despite an elf Urza being part of the group.

“Y-Yes…without that, you won’t survive here…More importantly, a single Killer Bee isn’t that dangerous, but their numbers are a nuisance. We should move away as quickly as possible. Right now, we should be able to make it at ease.”

Kyle judged that needless fighting wouldn’t give any profit, and was about to move away, when Shildonia spoke up.

“Wait…that means the nest of the Killer Bees must be close, right?” Shildonia asked with a complicated expression.

“Y-Yes…that’s what I would assume…?” Erina must have felt an odd pressure from Shildonia as she staggered half a step backward.

“The honey of a Killer Bee is much richer in flavor than your average honey, and while it acts as strong nourishment, it’s also exceptionally useful as a cosmetic. It was valued highly during the era of Zaales.”

“R-Really?” Lieze’s attention was caught the second Shildonia spoke about cosmetics

“Indeed, and its taste is also marvelous…The moment you get a taste of it, the sweetness immediately stimulates your brain, and yet it isn’t that heavy of a taste either. It goes down your throat quite well, and the scent reaching up to your nose fills you with a pleasant calmness…It is unrivaled honey, I tell you.”

Hearing Shildonia praise the honey excessively, both Lieze and Urza audibly gulped.

“Kyle, Seran…I’m counting on you two! I’ll even make you some boar hot pot and bread with a lot of honey!” Lieze pleaded, forming a fist.

“You two…No matter what it takes, you need to bring back some honey from the nest!” Urza urged the two, seemingly having a sweet tooth.

“So we’re the ones going?!” Seran wasn’t that big of a fan of sweet stuff, so he obviously complained.

“…Isn’t that a bit of a diabolic match-up?” Kyle envisioned tonight’s dinner and grew pale.

“Enough grumbling, and get to work already! I wanna see those arms move!” Shildonia screamed, and the two poor men couldn’t hope to win against the group of three girls, with their eyes brimming with excitement.

No other option left for them, they headed for the nest of the Killer Bees. It’s best not to go against the worlds when they’re this excited—is what the two decided solely based on their instinct.

“What an interesting group of people…” Erina somehow managed to build a sentence.

As such, thanks to the great advice of Erina and the overall skills of Kyle’s group, they managed to enjoy their trip through the forest quite well.

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