When we arrived to help, a swarm of monsters was chasing the man.
“This way!”
We called out to him then Mia-san and I faced the herd. The man ran towards us.
“T-thank goodness!”
“Hurry up and stand back.”
I faced a kobold. I could read its sword movement perfectly.
“Fuu.”
Father is gone, but he left me a note. It lists the techniques he taught me or planned to teach me. I’ve been looking at it every day for over a year now, reviewing it in the process. Of course, without skills, that is, physical ability, it was all meaningless learning. But it all become a part of me.
I increased my physical ability by using 『Sun’s Divine Protection』skill.
“Gaaah!”
The kobold swirls its sword. I spin in the opposite direction myself. Holding my sword with my left hand, I use my momentum to deflect the opponent’s sword.
I blocked its attack with my short sword. Then I quickly move out of the way of the kobold’s next strike and I stabbed its chest with the short sword.
“Rion, there’s another one coming.”
When Mia-san says that, it’s when she thinks it’s okay to leave the opponent to me.
“Yes!”
I immediately turn around and avoided the sword being swung down at me. Another strike followed after, but I blocked the attack with my arm. After reducing its momentum, I hook it with my foot with all my might.
A fall is a temporary incapacitation.
The movements that I have imagined many times in my head have been brought out in actual battles. It’s like a drawer that didn’t open was unlocked. I was struggling with the hordes of monsters before, but now I can get through them without the Golden Flame.
After stabbing two kobolds to death, Mia-san killed the last one, a giant ant, with an axe throw.
Seeing that we killed all the monsters, the adventurer who has been hiding in the back comes out. It seems that he was alone and not in a party.
“Thank you so much for helping me.”
It is a face that I have seen several times.
Suddenly, his eyes widen in surprise.
“You…… You are Rion the wake-up caller, right? I’ve heard you got a useless skill….”
Mia-san snorts at him.
“Rion, are you going?”
“W-wait a second. Thanks. I’m really thankful that you guys saved me……”
The man rubbed his feet and stared at the scattered magic stones dazedly.
“T-those giant ants…… No, it’s strange. Something is definitely wrong……!”
He is shaking as he held himself. We may not be able to talk properly until he calms down.
“……Huh?”
When I look closely, I can see that there is a purple liquid on his head.
Mia-san points it out.
“That is a giant ant’s pheromone. That is why monsters are gathering towards you.”
“Uwaa.”
The man wiped his head nervously and dropped the purple liquid. It has a pungent smell.
“Uh, -uhm, I’m sorry. I stepped in a pitfall trap on the exploration level.”
I tilted my head in confusion.
There shouldn’t have been such a thing on the first floor……
“A trap? There shouldn’t have been anything like that on the first floor though.”
“I know right? It’s really strange, right? It’s indeed true that the difficulty of the dungeon has increased.”
Apparently, he was dropped down by that trap and he found himself surrounded by a large number of monsters.
This person is an adventurer who specializes in gathering. I can often see him in the exploration level. Even kobolds are no much for him, but if they form a herd, he has no choice but to flee.
His trembling fingers point to a gaping hole in the wall.
“Over there……that’s where I fell!”
I approached the exit of the pitfall. There is a slide inside and it seems to be connected to the upper floor.
Mia-san puts her hand to her chin.
“Hmm, it’s definitely a trap. Giant ants are also monsters from the Western Dungeon. I guess the difficulty level here is increasing fast.”
Suddenly, I get worried.
The difficulty of the dungeons is clearly unusual. I’m making more money, but adventurers like me who used to use this dungeon will be in trouble.
“But why……?”
As I muttered, I heard Solana’s voice.
『……Rion』
(Hmm, what is it?)
『I sense something strange nearby. 』
I decided to look around for a moment.
A little distance away from the scattered magic stones, I found a pouch lying against the wall. It’s not a dropped item. It’s a palm-sized pouch used by adventurers.
The mouth part of it is open and something black, ash-like thing was spilled on the ground.
『……What’s that? I have a really bad feeling about it. 』
When I used the 『Alarm』skill, Solana jumped out of the coin. She is about the size of a doll, and no one could see her except me so I wouldn’t have to worry about attracting attention.
“It looks like ash though.”
“Hmmm, is that so? But……ash huh….”
Solana approached the bag.
“…..It smells burnt…… It’s as if it was on fire just a moment ago….…”
Her small shoulders trembles.
“Huh?……W-what’s this…… I remember a little. …..A big shadow—a giant? Sealed ice…… fire….…”
Just as I was about to ask what she is talking about, I was called from behind.
“Rion”
““Uwaa!?””
It was Mia-san.
Solana and I gasped in surprised. Well, I don’t think Mia-san heard Solana though.
The ashes on the ground glowed red as if they were bursting into flames once again, then they disappeared.
“What’s wrong?”
“N-nothing…… It’s something that fell there I guess.”
Mia-san picks up the pouch. The contents are already empty, and the identity of the ashes is unknown. However, the pouch was made of fine silk, like what nobles use.
Mia-san asks, pinching the pouch.
“Is it a lost item……?”
There’s no point in asking each other though.
After escorting the person who fell down on the trap back up, we decided to train a little more.
I’ve gotten stronger. I can really feel that.
Today, as we leave the guild with our pouch full, the other adventurers look on dumbfounded.
After exchanging it to cash in the artisan district, Mia-san asked.
“Hey Rion, how much money did you owe Gideon?”
It was a question I knew I’ll be asked someday.
As sunset drew closer, it was getting chilly.
Mia-san sighed and scratched her head.
“Actually, I’ve been curious. I’ve heard rumors, but I wanted to hear the truth.”
“It’s 4 million Gent.”
I whispered to Mia-san.
Mia-san’s eyes opened wide when she heard my answer.
“Haaaa~~~??”
“I-it’s for the World Tree Elixir…… Well, the item I bought is worth that much. It cures all kinds of illnesses, so even nobles buy it.”
“Heh~, and he even asked for that much money from a commoner…… What an orc in the shape of humans, no, he’s a demon……”
Sigh.
In the end, Lu couldn’t be cured by that elixir. She was fine for a couple of days, but it quickly turned around.
“You did well paying it back..…”
“Actually, I worked hard for a year and only paid half of it. I worked with my whole family to save up……”
Still, nearly half of the loan remains to be paid back—1.5 million Gent.
Even if it was exorbitant and we knew it was a disadvantageous deal, it was fine as long as they sold it. That was the conclusion our family came to.
I didn’t want to repeat the loss of my family after my father was gone.
I wonder if Lu is doing well.…
“The deadline is two years, so I still have about a year to repay it. But…… I’m worried about Gideon’s behavior though.”
Suddenly, he pressures me to repay the loan or attacks me. For the time being, the Adventurer’s Guild is a witness to the contract. But Gideon’s reckless way of doing things was conspicuous. The power of the nobles may be growing even more.
“But that’s a lot of money.”
Mia-san crosses her arms with a difficult face.
“The blacksmith shop probably doesn’t need so many spirit stones. Hmm…, I’ll recommend you to another shop. There are only a limited number of shops with solid backing that aren’t swayed by nobles though.”
After all, I’m glad I met Mia-san.
A glimpse of anxiety also crosses my mind. I tried not to think about it too much, but Mia-san is going against the nobles, and I wondered if she would be okay.
“Mia-san you….…”
“Don’t worry. Even if they look down on me here in the Royal Capital, I’ll just keep going on the frontier.”
This is what I admire about her. Even if she leaves the Royal Capital, she can be an adventurer freely.
Mia-san is originally from the frontier. She’s saving money for her hometown. She’s apparently raising money to reinforce the wooden fence protecting their village and change it with stone walls.
My father was also from the frontier, so Mia-san probably knows about the “adventure” part of being an adventurer.
“Outside the Royal Capital huh……”
After saying goodbye to Mia-san, I went home.
Mom and Lu are waiting for me.
This is translated by Yume Neiji. Kindly read at yumeineijiworks.wordpress.com.
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