Then came the day when we were asked to do the nomination request.
Fran and Horn were there the other day, as were Maya-san and Sera-san, so we went out to gather medicinal herbs for two days in a row. We were able to get a decent amount of medicinal herbs and Maya-san and Sera-san were smiling because they had enough money.
““Good morning!””
“Hi, good morning. How are you today?”
On the first day of the nomination request, the Margrave and the Deputy Commander of the Holy Knights also appeared at the church.
Shiro, Fran and Horn knew the Margrave and the Deputy Commander, so they greeted each other normally, but Maya-san and Sera-san were wondering who they are.
“Oh, so these girls are Shun’s apprentice huh.”
“Yes, that’s right.”
“So, Shun and his group finally taken up apprentices?”
As I spoke with the Margrave and the Deputy Commander, Maya-san and Sera-san looked even more anxious.
Well, when you’re around someone who wears strange luxurious clothes and armor, you can’t help but feel uncomfortable. With that being said, I’ll move on to introducing them to Maya-san and Sera-san quickly.
“Maya-san, Sera-san, he is the Lord of the Eastern Frontier Territory and he is the Deputy Commander of the Holy Knights of the Royal Capital.”
““Eh!?””
“I expected that’s how you’d react.”
For Maya-san and Sera-san, the Margrave and the Deputy Commander of the Holy Knights may be above the clouds.
Sue also has an expression like she thought there was nothing that could be done about it.
“I, I’m Maya.”
“M-my name is Sera.”
“I’ve heard about you two from my mother. Please do your best today.”
“Well, there are other adventurers here so you guys should be fine. It must be hard for you to become an adventurer so soon.”
Maya-san and Sera-san had somehow finished introducing themselves to the Margrave and the Deputy Commander. Thinking about Maya-san and Sera-san’s mental health, we decided to get to work right away.
“Swordsman-oneechan, what are you guys doing these days?”
“Everyone except me is helping out at their family’s store. There are still a lot of tourists and their store is busy you see.”
“Oh~, I see.”
The adventurer ladies had moved out of the inn and moved into their family’s store. They seem to be too busy helping out at the store that they don’t have much time to do adventuring.
“How about martial art-oniichan and the others?”
“They got a different request. A request to exterminate an animal.”
“Wow, that’s amazing!”
The martial arts adventurers and the others hadn’t left the inn, but they hadn’t been seen in the past few days. But the fact that they were receiving specific requests meant that they had earned the trust of their clients.
With that in mind, we proceed with preparations for a free treatment center and a soup kitchen.
Um, it looks like it will be almost the same role as at the cherry blossom viewing festival…
This is translated by Yume Neiji. Kindly read at yumeineijiworks.wordpress.com.
“You’ve got to be kidding me…. That table is a super expensive table where only famous players gather, right? To win that much there…”
“And she’s still young, isn’t she?”
“Apparently, she started out at a table for beginners. Then she won so much that she moved to a table for more advanced players, and that’s how she got to that point.”
“Seriously!? That’s not beginner’s luck level anymore.”
While the surroundings were buzzing like this and attracting a lot of attention, Fana is playing poker without changing her expression at all.
“Hmm, two pairs.”
“No way…., two pairs!?”
“Damn, she took it all again! And with such a weak hand!”
Looks like she won again. What’s more, she used a bluff to make weak cards look strong, making everyone fold thus she won all the bets.
“I can’t believe Fana had a talent for gambling…… Sure, she’s good at poker face, but……. Eh? Isn’t that Anje at the table over there?”
They also seem to be playing poker. However, unlike the table with Fana, it is clearly a beginner’s table.
“Fufu! How about this, Full House!”
“I got four of a kind.”
“Eeeeeeeh!? No way! I lost agaaaaiin!”
Apparently, Anje is extremely bad at this. Holding her head and screaming, she has very few coins left in her hand.
“Anje is the type that lets her feelings show on her face.”
No matter how I look at it, poker is not for her. Moreover, she is usually the type of person who fights with wild intuition rather than strategy, so she is not very good at bargaining.
She also hate to lose.
“Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh, I lost all my money!”
It seems that she has used up all her money.
“If this happens, I’ll go into debt……! Uuh, I’m sure there was a moneylender in front of the gambling house…… If I borrow money there, with it…… Hahaha.”
“Anje-oneechan, that kind of thing is usually unscrupulous, and it will end up as vice you see. And if a naïve person like you dabbles on it, you’ll be in debt until you die.”
Anje had bloodshot eyes and was about to make a risky decision, so I quickly tried to persuade her.
“Well, let’s give up and think of this as a good experience.”
“Kuuuu, I’m so frustrated!”
At that moment, I heard a conversation between customers.
“Hey, do you know the secret service of this gambling house?”
“Secret Service? What is that?”
“Apparently, there is a special VIP room where only those who have purchased 100 platinum coins, or 10,000 gold coins, are ushered in.”
“10,000 gold coins? Come on, you’d have to be really rich to get your hands on that.”
“Yeah, that’s why the rumor is that it offers some amazing service.”
“What service is it exactly?”
“You know, right now, inside this gambling hall, you’re being served by beautiful women dressed as bunnies, right? But when you become a VIP, you get to….”
It was hard to hear because they are whispering, but I magically enhanced my hearing and picked it up clearly.
“Apparently, all the beautiful women there are stripped naked.”
W-w-w-whaaaaaat!?
I am screaming in my head.
The whispering between the guests continues.
“The servers and dealers there are in their birthday suit! Well, the players are so focused on that they can’t concentrate on the game at all.”
“Haha, I’m sure that would be the case for me too. Or rather, maybe they’re trying to make it harder for them to make money.”
I took out all my money out of my subspace.
“Will this be enough? If not, I’ll borrow some money!”
『Calm down, Master. You just said it was vice a while ago!』
As I headed towards the moneylender in front of the gambling hall, Lindwurm frantically stopped me.
“Then I’ll borrow some money from Fana! If I can’t do that, I’ll cheat with magic and win!”
『Does Master have no concept of shame? 』
This is translated by Yume Neiji. Kindly read at yumeineijiworks.wordpress.com.
The new adventurers have finished collecting medicinal herbs, but there is something that bothered me.
“Maya-san, Sera-san, where do you plan to stay?”
Maya-san and Sera-san’s expressions clouded over when I asked them that.
“The truth is, we just arrived in town and haven’t decided on a place to stay yet.”
“Actually, we didn’t have much money, but luckily we are able to earn a decent amount of money from gathering medicinal herbs earlier.”
In fact, I had also considered the possibility that they might not be able to find a place to stay.
Sue and I looked at each other and nodded, and then Shiro spoke first.
“The inn we are staying at is good. It’s cheap and the food is delicious.”
Shiro cheerfully talked to Maya-san and Sera-san. Shiro’s suggestion was the same as what Sue and I were going to propose, so we all decided to go there first.
“Oh no problem. A room just got vacant. There is a guy who moved out of the room after the cherry blossom viewing festival.”
““Oh!””
The innkeeper, the bear beastman replied that there was no problem since there is a room available.
“I’ve got four more rooms available, so please find some more guests while you’re at it.”
“Oh, then I’m going to find someone!”
“Hahaha, I think you’re really going to find someone, young lady.”
Well, the innkeeper and Shiro are bantering. They look at each other and laughed heartily.
“Then, we would like to stay for a week first.”
“Okay. There’s a bunk bed in the room. Dinner will be served, but you will have to prepare your own breakfast.”
“We understand, thank you.”
Now that Maya-san and Sera-san have completed their accommodation procedures, it’s time to take a break.
At this point, I noticed that a certain person was sitting in the cafeteria. She seemed to notice us as well as she called out to me.
“Oh my, so Shun and Sue got new apprentices huh.”
“Madam, why are you here?”
“I’ve been contacted regarding that nomination request.”
We will be providing free medical treatment on behalf of the church in the form of a nomination request. That is what the wife of the former Margrave is talking about.
I wonder if there is something she wanted to discuss...
We headed towards her table. She is currently sipping green tea in the cafeteria.
“We’ve decided to hold the first free treatment the day after tomorrow. At that time, we’ve decided to serve food to the citizens.”
“Do you mean that you want me to help in the kitchen instead of doing treatment?”
“You’re really insightful. Shun-san is indeed very quick to talk to.”
Aah, seriously……
I wasn’t able to treat any patients during the cherry blossom viewing festival, so I am excited to be able to treat patients this time.
I was a little depressed when I heard that.
“By the way, could you introduce me to those young ladies?”
“Yes……”
She ignored me who was depressed and asked me to introduce Maya-san and Sera-san instead.
Well, since they got to know me, they will meet the people from the Margrave family later anyway, so it may be just the right time.
So, I called Maya-san and Sera-san to come over as well.
“Nice to meet you, my name is Maya……”
“My name is Sera……”
“Thank you very much for your politeness, you are such lovely young ladies.”
When I introduced Maya-san and Sera-san to the wife of the former Margrave, they froze. They probably didn’t expect to encounter the wife of the former Margrave on their first day after arriving in the capital of the frontier territory.
Even I didn’t expect the wife of the former Margrave to come to the cheap inn where adventurers stayed.
“Oh right, since we’re at it, I’ll add the two of you to the list of participants in the nomination request. It’ll be a good learning experience to see what your Master does and work with him.”
““Yes……””
“Well then, I look forward to meeting you two on that day. I’ll see you at the church in the morning.”
And without any further ado, the wife of the former Margrave added Maya-san and Sera-san to list of the group of people in the nomination request, told them the time and place to meet, and then she left.
As expected of the wife of the former Margrave, her drive and decisiveness are incredible.
“Eh? They are not moving?”
“What’s happened to them?”
Fran, Horn and Ao are poking Maya-san and Sera-san, who had frozen in place.
Poor thing. There was so much going on at once for Maya-san and Sera-san that their brains can’t seem to keep up.
For a while, Maya-san and Sera-san remained frozen.
This is translated by Yume Neiji. Kindly read at yumeineijiworks.wordpress.com.
“I’ll show you how to do it without relying on magic. I think I can do well.”
『Master, you’re full of confidence huh. 』
There are many different games to choose from, but the first one I chose was the table game. It’s a game of roulette.
“What!? A baby?”
“Fufufu, I’m sorry, dealer-oneechan. As you can see, I’m a baby but I’m going to win big.”
Even the dealer is in a bunny girl costume.
As expected, she seemed surprised since she had never played a game with a baby, but my provocative words seemed to ignite her dealer’s soul.
“I see. Then I won’t go easy on you. If you cry later, I won’t be able to lend you my breast, so be prepared for that.”
“Oneechan too, please don’t cry later. I want your breasts though.”
And half an hour later.
“Uwaaaaaaaaaaa! I lost agaaaaaaaain!!”
I was crying. That’s because I have been losing consecutive games since earlier. The coins that had been exchanged in such large quantities were quickly reduced to less than half of the original amount.
『How gross of you Master. You’re a creepy old man on the inside, yet you’re crying like that. 』
Gross is unnecessary, what more, don’t call me creep!
“But this dealer is cunning! She uses her boobs to draw my attention!”
Roulette is a game of predicting where the thrown ball will land. You can bet with coins before the ball is thrown, but that’s not a good idea. After all, with a skilled dealer, it is possible to stop the ball where he wants to.
So, it’s a good idea to bet after the ball is thrown. However, you will not be able to bet when the dealer declares “no more bet”, so I need to do something around here.
With my dynamic vision and intuition, I can tell where the ball is going to stop much earlier than it stops. Therefore, I have an overwhelming advantage over others. But,
(She uses her boobs to get in the way! That’s so unfair!)
『It’s just that Master is too stupid, you just don’t have to look at it you know.』
(How can you not look when you can almost see her boobs but not really see them?)
『……』
The dealer flashing her boobs looked at me with a triumphant look on his face.
“Ufufu, it looks like you really love boobs.”
“H-how did you know?”
“When you deal with customers every day, you get to know exactly what the customer’s type is. There are a lot of people who especially like boobs.”
…… I’m completely defeated.
It was a mistake to challenge this skilled dealer to a match. I gave up trying to win at roulette and decided to play another game.
“No table games with bunny girl dealers! Let’s have slot machines! That way there’s no need to worry about me being distracted by the boobs!”
“Ara~, what a cute baby, why don’t you play with me here? I got boobs too, what do you think?”
“I’ll plaaa~aaaayyy!”
“Uh-, how did this happen……?”
The coins I had spent a lot of money exchanging is now zero, and I couldn’t help but hang my head.
『That is a given. You must have lost a lot because of the sex appeal of the dealers. 』
“How terrible! Don’t they have a conscience in this gambling house!?”
In just one day, no, in just a few hours, more than half of the money I had ever made was lost.
“How on earth am I going to survive from now on… All I can do is get breast milk from women with children who pass by on the street.”
『Even though you’ve been through this, are you still into boobs? 』
“They say you hate people but not boobs!”
『No comment.』
At that moment, a loud cheer went up.
I turned towards the voice, wondering what was going on, and it seemed that someone had won in an unbelievable way.
“Poker huh…… Wow, that’s a lot of coins piling up! Eeeh, Fana-oneechan!?”
This is translated by Yume Neiji. Kindly read at yumeineijiworks.wordpress.com.
We arrived at our destination, the forest. But since we hadn’t eaten lunch yet, I prepared our lunch. All I have to do is take out the curry and rice that I have stored in my item box, warm it up, and eat it.
“Is this the dish that the Margrave also ate?”
“It smells really good.”
“Shun-oniichan’s dishes are delicious!”
“Dishes other than curry are delicious too.”
“But curry is still the best.”
Maya-san and Sera-san looked at the curry in the pot on the magic stove with interest. Shiro, Ao, Fran, and Horn said that it is very delicious, so Maya-san and Sera-san are also looking forward to the taste of the curry.
Sue looked at us with a smile.
“Mm~, delicious!”
“I’ve never had such good food.”
And the curry was very well received by Maya-san and Sera-san as well.
Thankfully, thankfully.
After the meal, it is finally time to collect medicinal herbs.
“Leave the herb collection to me!”
Shiro, who sniffed out the smell of medicinal herbs with her nose, was quite enthusiastic.
—However, someone else had already started gathering herbs.
“Ah, Ao said she collected some herbs.”
“Oh~, so these are medicinal herbs huh.”
“Hmm, it smells strange.”
“And there are fine hairs on the underside of the leaves.”
That’s right. Ao already collected some medicinal herbs. The last time we collected medicinal herbs, Ao collected a large amount of medicinal herbs.
The beginners in collecting medicinal herbs looked at the medicinal herbs that Ao had collected.
“Ah! I wanted to be the one to pick medicinal herbs first!”
““Ahaha……””
Shiro, who was outwitted by Ao, had a rather disappointed expression on her face.
Seeing Shiro like that, Sue and I can’t help but chuckle, but I’ll take this opportunity to explain a bit.
“It depends on the type of medicinal herb, but basically, we only take the leaves. If you leave the stems and roots, the leaves will regenerate from there. Also, when you collect 10 leaves, you should tie them with a special string.”
“Pick the leaves carefully so that they can be easily disposed of, and even though this is just the entrance to the forest, there may be something that will come out, so always be on the lookout.”
““Yes!””
In addition to me, Sue also gave them a reminder.
Then from here on, we start collecting medicinal herbs in earnest.
“All right. I will tell everyone where the herbs are this time.”
Shiro, who was taken advantage of by Ao, began to teach the beginners in herb gathering where the medicinal herbs were growing. Everyone seems to be doing their best to collect medicinal herbs, so Sue and I tacitly went on guard around us.
“I could smell the herbs!”
“I think I understood.”
Fran, who is a dragon, and Maya-san, who is half beastman, seem to have good noses too. Like Shiro, they relied on the smell of medicinal herbs to collect them.
“The shape of the leaves is different from other grasses.”
“Well, we can find herbs too.”
Horn and Sera-san also collect medicinal herbs while distinguishing the shape of the leaves.
Ao teaches everyone how to collect medicinal herbs more than Shiro, but everyone seems to have no problem because they are also able to collect medicinal herbs.
“We got a lot of them.”
“The basket is already full.”
After two hours of hard work, the basket we had brought was full. Both Maya-san and Sera-san are delighted with the results of their first herb gathering.
“It’s amazing, the basket is brimming.”
“It was fun.”
Fran and Horn are also happy to be able to gather a lot of medicinal herbs.
Anyone can collect medicinal herbs if they know how to collect them.
When we arrived at the guild, Maya-san and Sera-san were surprised to see the amount of money they got from gathering herbs.
“Eh!? Can you make so much money by collecting medicinal herbs?”
“I thought it would be cheaper.”
“If you collect a large amount, the price of herbs will go up. Last time, this big brother and big sister picked a lot of herbs, but it’s been more than two weeks since then.”
As the guild staff member at the guild buying office had said, medicinal herbs are always in demand. Even if the unit price is low, if you compensate for it with volume, the transaction amount will inevitably increase.
“That was fun!”
“Yes, it was fun.”
Fran and Horn are also happy to have successfully collected their first medicinal herbs.
Thus, the rookie adventurers’ first herb collection was successfully completed.
This is translated by Yume Neiji. Kindly read at yumeineijiworks.wordpress.com.
An invisible force resists the seal that covers the world. The gods, who were unsealed by Rion, accurately perceived the situation with their respective abilities.
With the strategic eye of the God of Thunder, with the insight of the God of Mischief, with the sense of the God of Hunting, with the sympathy of the Valkyrie.
The thing they needed to avoid most was panic. Behind the square was the outer city, and if the residents rushed to the walls, there could be accidents resulting in unnecessary deaths. And it was even worse that it was at night, as darkness incites fear.
Because of the Eastern dungeon of the Royal Capital, the idea of a monster invasion could easily panic the residents.
“I’ll do it.”
Without any prior agreement, Loki made the first move.
“Luna, Eolph, and Lag, the mist that protects dreams――”
A dark mist hung over the square, separating the golem army from the square.
◆◆◆
A pitch-black mist was created between the golems and us. It’s like pulling back a black curtain.
“Rion”
God’s voice echoed in our mind.
“Loki……?”
“For the time being, I hid the golems in the mist.”
The Raven Warriors are also looking around. I guess they are not used to hearing God’s voice.
The square is already noisy. There is no way an adventurer can sit still when they hear the commotion.
“We appreciate the help, but if there are people around, it will make it harder for us to move.”
It was Thor’s voice.
Uru, the god of hunting, added,
“……So, Warrior group. We want you to hold off the reinforcements outside the mist for a while.”
The warriors exclaimed.
“T-that’s……!”
“Don’t worry, it will only take about five minutes.”
Thor rounded up reassuringly, and then he stopped talking.
Nothing could be heard from the mist. Even with “Wild Heart” and “Golden Flame”, the presence and smell of battle was blocked out. The Gods intend to settle the matter with the golems without anyone knowing.
Felix-san furrowed his brows, pressing his coronet.
“The production and sale of golems that can be used in combat should be strictly controlled. Why have there been so many in such a short time…”
While he was pondering, adventurers came one after another from the square.
“Oi, what’s going on!?”
“It’s suddenly foggy and I can’t see what’s in there….…”
“Did a monster come out?”
Many adventurers did not even realize that a battle is already taking place. Never cause panic in the city of Kalmar –that’s what Thor and the others are doing.
“……The Gods.”
Naturally, my back straightens.
“I-, I’m going too.”
Mia-san grinned and Felix-san called out to the others.
“I’ll leave the rest to you.”
“In this situation……!?”
“H-how could we hold them back….?”
“Calm down. There should be enough materials to use for magic failures, cargo troubles, and disguise. Come on!”
We waited for Felix-san and then we jumped into the mist.
“Huh?”
The mist is thick. Just one step forward can disorient you.
“Rion!”
Solana was no longer the size of a small doll, but the size of a girl, about the size of me. Her white hand grasps my arm.
“This way!”
“……yes!”
Solana led the way for us.
When we all got out of the mist together, it was a mythical world.
Thor swings his hammer in the air. His red hair flutters, and lightning flashes through his short-handled hammer. On the other hand, a golem crosses its arms and braces itself.
Thor was huge, but the golem was twice as big.
“Haa!”
The hammer slammed into the golem’s arm. Its arms shattered and the upper body was blown off. Stomping on the collapsing golem, the giant god aims for its next prey.
“O, ou……!”
With a growl, the next golem threw a punch. Thor swatted away with his left hand. The golem’s fist was deflected along with his arm. The golem fell to his knees from such impact, and Thor quickly grabbed its head and pulled it up.
Thunder burst from his hand. The golem emits smoke from its entire body and returns to a pile of rubble.
“…… Amazing.”
It’s like a thundercloud in the shape of a person. The aftermath of the attack left me weak-footed. Solana created a magical barrier to block the flying debris.
I can hear the laughter of the giant god.
“Hahaha”
Thor threw his hammer again. Several golems that were at a distance were blown away at once. Like a chain, the hammer returns to Thor’s hand.
“……It’s like a whirlpool.”
Mia-san clicked her tongue.
“Loki, the god of mishief, surrounded them with mist, and I think God Uru cornered the golems in the middle.”
At the center of it all is Thor, who smashes the golem as he approaches.
Right, it’s definitely a vortex.
Maybe we aren’t needed here after all?
“Leave everything to the Gods”—I shook my head and scolded myself for being so weak.
Didn’t they say, ‘fight together’?
“Waa……!”
A golem, which had been knocked off by the impact, landed near us. It slowly got up. I jump on its head and aimed for the core.
“Leave this to me!”
Thor paused for a moment. With a huge body of nearly 2 meters, he held the hammer in his right hand and said,
“……Oh, thank you. You’re a big guy, after all.”
God’s body glowed red. The same light dwelled in my chest, but it is instantaneous and quickly disappears.
“Fighting together huh”
Solana spoke with a smile. She kept going, protecting us from the flying debris.
And if someone suffers even the slightest hand injury, Sigris will heal them immediately.
“Thor may have changed a bit.”
The goddess’s voice sounded a little happy.
I think it’s a little strange though.
The Gods changed?
“He was also called the strongest god and was often relied on, and because of his individual strength, the gods rarely joined forces.”
A new golem appeared in front of us. But it was already damaged, and the core was exposed.
We just drew its attention and let Mia-san’s chainaxe deal with it.
“In Ragnarok, I think we were struck by that. The gods were never united. Perhaps their strength made them unable to show weakness.”
Solana’s slightly strange logic resonated with me.
“Since meeting you, Rion… perhaps we have changed too.”
Thor jumps up.
In the last one, a terrible lightning strike struck the ground. The golem army was decimated. It took less than 5 minutes as declared.
The god of war let out a roar.
This is Thor, the god of thunder. He is a reliable god who confronts enemies bigger than himself with a hammer.
That strength made me realize once again that I awakened something incredible.
This is translated by Yume Neiji. Kindly read at yumeineijiworks.wordpress.com.
Both Felix-san and I froze when we saw what was underneath the cloth in the back of the carriage.
We both looked at each other.
“……Stone statue?”
“Looks like it.”
It’s a very strange stone statue.
It is in the shape of a little girl, and it is extremely detailed. Her large eyes, the tips of her hair, and even the wrinkles of the clothes and bags are intricately carved. The ring on her looks like it’s about to sparkle at any moment too.
Even I can tell that it was carved by someone with great skill, but the pose is, how should I put it.…. it’s very strange.
She is on all fours with her right hand reaching for the bag next to her. It’s as if the moment she tried to pick something up, she was frozen in her place.
Black Dwarf can be unsealed.
My shoulders jerked.
“B-black dwarf?”
It was a type of dwarf who can be found at our target destination, Alvis. They are also known as the “Dwarf of Darkness”. A cunning being who makes deals with gods and humans. I was at a loss for words at this encounter, which I thought was still a long way off.
『L-let me see too.』
Solana jumped out of the gold coin. The doll-sized goddess flies around the strange stone statue.
“Yes, it definitely looks like a black dwarf —Dwerg… no it doesn’t look like it. Can you unseal it?”
I nodded, but I was also confused.
“Well, you said they might be in Alvis, right?”
“That’s true…… I also wonder why there’s one here.”
There are a lot of things I don’t understand.
Felix-san spoke, looking wary of the surroundings.
“I’m sorry, but I don’t understand what you’re saying at all. .….Is this the dwarf we are looking for? No matter how you look at it, it’s just a stone statue.”
I nodded my head in agreement. Though my Alarm skill is reacting, it looks like a normal stone statue.
Solana nodded her head in confirmation and crossed her arms.
“Dwarves are half-human, half-god. They are not manifested by magic like I am now. They have a physical body you see.”
“Oh, I see….…”
“Maybe the way they are sealed is different to how gods are sealed.”
Well….… Let me think about it for a moment.
“Solana is sealed in the gold coin, right……?”
“Yes, but the dwarves can’t afford to lose their body, so they may be sealed with their body, or they may have turned to stone statues to protect their body……. What do you think of Loki?”
『Well, I’m not sure either. I agree with the latter though. I’ve heard rumors about black dwarves turning to stone after being exposed to the sun, but that’s just a small story.』
I looked at the black dwarf who had turned to stone. When I looked closely, I can see that her eyebrows are furrowed, and she looks a little distressed.
“……I wonder if she’s okay.”
When I touched it gently, the skill rose on its own.
Skill: 『 Alarm』was used. Executing【Unseal】.
The light suddenly scattered. Felix-san and I hurriedly covered the area with the white cloth.
“Rion, what are you……?”
“I’m sorry.”
Both Felix-san and I were dripping with cold sweat as we looked around.
If anyone saw our current situation, they might think we are thieves. At worst, if we revealed our identity as Raven Warriors, we could say we were “investigating,” but trouble was still trouble.
“Uh~hmm……”
In front of us, the white cloth begins to squirm. The apples also rolled off the cart.
“Uah.”
The unsealed entity falls to the ground, taking the white cloth covering the loading platform with it.
I closed my eyes hearing the painful thud sound. For a while, the white cloth continued to wriggle and move.
“O-ouch……!”
Eventually, a girl poked her head out of the cloth. She was wearing a tunic and was about 4 or 5 years old. But if she’s really a black dwarf —I’m not sure if she’s really that age.
She is wearing an apron like that of a blacksmith’s, and her green hair is eye-catching. It was a hair color that I haven’t seen in the Royal Capital. Her dark eyes seemed to be unlike anything I had ever seen. Somehow, I think it glowed a little like an animal.
“……Y-you are….…”
“Rion.”
Felix-san pointed to the exposed cargo bed where the cloth had come off.
“That’s…”
I gasped.
In the cargo bed of the carriage, there was a gap on the left edge, exposing a dark red color. The gap had been covered by other luggage, but now it had shifted along with the white cloth.
“Leviation”
Felix-san used magic to float the luggage. Apparently, the loading platform had a “double bottom”. And that hidden bottom is lined with densely packed dark red orbs.
“Golem core.”
Felix-san’s analysis made me remember the Mithril Golem we fought before.
The same “Golem Core” are now lined up all over the cargo bed!
“The core’s color is similar to the one in the Western Dungeon….…”
“They may be related.”
A black dwarf who came along with the golem’s technology.
What does that mean? Where are they from?
Solana softly descends on the cores.
“This is…… perhaps we now know where the golem from the western dungeon came from?”
At that moment, we heard footsteps in the distance.
They were walking slowly towards the carriage. Since they are not monsters, it was impossible to detect their magical powers. There are four footsteps. They seem to walk with varying strides, and they are chatting while walking.
If we want to run away, we could do so now.
“Felix-san”
“……Has the guards returned?”
“Yes.”
I gestured four people with my hand. Solana quickly returned to the gold coin. I didn’t suggest hiding because I simply thought it would be quicker this way.
There are risks. However, now that I had dived into the dungeon and trained with the Raven Warriors, I could estimate the strength of our opponents with just my ‘Wild Heart’.
Strong people are different from the way they walk.
“……I trust you.”
Felix-san whispered.
Eventually, the men who returned ran up to us.
“You!”
I stared back at them and got ahead of them.
It was that man –the man with a scar on his nose who tried to pickpocket me in the evening. Felix-san whistles briefly. He must have given a signal to our comrades.
“……We’d like to have a question about your cargo.”
The men whispered at each other hearing those words.
“Is this the one our employer talked about?”
“Yeah…… I didn’t think so at first, but he did have a gold coin.”
……Employer?
That’s a little worrisome. The pickpocket incident in the evening was aimed at me after all.
Solana whispered.
『Rion』
“Un, I know.”
I prepared myself so I can activate “Golden Flame” at any time. I can’t let my guard down. There’s no way I’ll miss an enemy now.
“What are you doing here?”
When I didn’t answer, he clicked his tongue.
“Catch him.”
A scary-looking man jumped at me, but I dodged him by stepping forward. They still think of me as a child. I’m stuck at level 19, but with a lot of God’s protection, I can close the level gap by two or three in terms of physical ability.
“Gaa……”
Uh-, I don’t think I need to fill it.
『Haha, nice throw. 』
Thor laughed from the gold coin. While I waited in the temple, the Gods gave me a lesson. At that time, I was taught how to fight a big enemy.
『Perfect for a brave person like you. 』
I had already been taught how to use the difference in height to my advantage and aim for my opponent’s legs. The other two are quickly knocked out by Felix-san.
“You……!”
The pickpocket yelled, his eyes blazing with anger. He held a dagger in reverse grip and started slashing at me. But I know how to use a dagger too. Of course, I know how to block it.
“Ha!”
I took a short breath and guarded my arm with my gauntlet. After killing his momentum, I turned my wrist and grabbed his arm.
“O-o-ooouch!”
Maybe using Golden Flame was unnecessary…
The other party dropped the dagger and groaned in pain. Then our comrades also arrived. Among the warriors was Mia-san.
The man with a scar on his nose spoke with a pale face.
“W-who are you guys……?”
We exchanged glances with each other.
For the time being, there may be people watching the uproar, so we can’t say “Raven Warriors”…….
I laughed mockingly.
“Are you awake?”
“………Huh?”
I glanced back. Wrapped in a white cloth, the black dwarf was staring at us.
“Amazing~……”
She looks somehow harmless. Even after hearing about the black dwarves nature, I can’t help but think that.
Now then, it is time to ask her a lot of questions….
Suddenly, I shuddered. Looking back at the wagon. All the golem cores are now glowing bright red.
When the Raven Warriors stepped forward, the men panicked.
“No, no, w-we don’t know anything!”
“We were just told to transport it!”
“It’s just that.…. an information about a brown-haired kid with a gold coin would be worth money so..…”
I activated the Protection of the Hunting God, “Wild Heart”. The red lights indicating dangerous monsters were not only on the loading platform in front of us, but all over my field of vision.
7, 8……
“…..Seventeen?”
There are other wagons who appear to have been loaded with golem cores. And right now, the magic in it is strengthening all at once.
『Oh my~ oh my~, I see…..』
Loki’s voice sounded.
『So they are using the giant’s ashes in the golem core. We’ve got some good enemies huh. 』
“What do you mean?”
『Giants hate the gods you see. They use their nature to activate the golem when they feel the power of the gods. 』
Loki’s voice, which is lower than usual, burns in my chest with anxiety.
『This could be…… dangerous, you know? 』
Golem cores are activated one after another. They grew larger, absorbing the surrounding rocks and trees, and even the weapons on the loading platform.
I gulped.
If we do it poorly, we would end up repeating what had happened on the east side of the royal capital. Outside the square, there are dense buildings and food stalls —the outer market is right in front.
『Rion!』
It was Thor who spoke.
This is not a dungeon. I realized that the seal was weak.
There is a flash of hope.
Inside the gold coin are the four pillar gods and Solana, who has regained her power.
『I can’t last as long as I did with the horn, but…….』
『I think it’ll be enough against the golems. 』
『It’s not a bad time to work. 』
Thor, Loki, and Uru each conveyed their eagerness to fight.
Bathed in moonlight, an army of golems appeared on the night of Kalmar.
『Rion, this time we’re going to fight together.』
Thor’s words made my golden flame burn even hotter.
This is translated by Yume Neiji. Kindly read at yumeineijiworks.wordpress.com.
The beginner’s course end in the morning, and we have free time after.
By the way, the rookie adventurers who had completed the beginner’s course were out on the streets.
“So, what are we going to do after this?”
“Hmm, let’s see… Eh? Where’s Sue-oneechan?”
“She’s over there.”
“She’s talking to someone.”
When we were about to decide what to do after this, Sue was approached by two new adventurers who had just taken a beginner’s course.
They are a swordsman and a magician girl, and they seem to be younger than me and Sue, but older than Shiro.
I wondered what they were talking about, so we all went to Sue.
“Sue, did something happen?”
“Ah, Shun-san. These rookie adventurers asked me to teach them how to collect medicinal herbs.”
“Oh, medicinal herbs gathering!”
““??””
Come to think of it, I forgot to mention that we collected medicinal herbs in the Eastern Margravate as well.
Shiro is happy to hear about the herb gathering, but Fran and Horn has no clue to what she is talking about.
Half a day is enough to gather medicinal herbs, and for the sake of Fran and Horn’s experience, I decided to do medicinal herbs gathering.
“Sue, why don’t we collect herbs for Fran and Horn’s experience as well?”
“Alright.”
““Thank you.””
The two rookie adventurers bowed to me and Sue, but in a way, this was a godsend for us.
The rookie adventurer didn’t have the herb gathering set, but we had a lot of baskets, so we asked the two of them to buy a string to hold the herbs together.
“We already introduced ourselves during the beginner’s course but let me greet you again. I’m Shun, and she is Sue and she’s Shiro. Then there’s Ao, the slime, and then Fran and Horn.”
“My name is Maya.”
“I’m Sera. Maya and I are childhood friends.”
“Oh, Maya-oneechan and Sera-oneechan huh.”
While heading to the forest where we collected medicinal herbs last time, we decided to introduce ourselves to each other again.
Maya is a swordsman type with brown hair in a ponytail, and Sera is a magician type with short green hair. Maya is a beastman with ears and a bushy tail. They are both 12 years old and have just arrived in the Eastern Margravate from the countryside today and have registered as adventurers. They took the beginners’ training course all the way like that.
By the way, let’s not tell anyone that both of them have bigger breasts than Sue.
“We have many siblings, and we decided to leave the countryside when we turned twelve for the sake of our families.”
“I see.”
In the countryside of this world, it seems that there are many families with lots of children. Some people said they became adventurers for similar reasons. It seems that some successfully became adventurers and they send money back home.
While we were talking, we arrived at our destination, the forest.
This is translated by Yume Neiji. Kindly read at yumeineijiworks.wordpress.com.
“Hey, there’s even a gambling house in this country, and there’s really a lot of entertainment going on.”
In the kingdom of Embara, there were even gambling houses. In some countries, gambling itself is banned, but here it seems to be operating openly.
Well, in the first place, in this country, business was quite free outside the forbidden zone. The women of this country do all sorts of things to “entertain” the merchants traveling through the desert, hoping to make a ton of money.
“I’ve never gambled.”
“Me too.”
“Well, you guys are still kids, and are often get caught by age restrictions.”
“Hmm.”
“I don’t want to hear that from you though.”
However, there is no age limit for gambling here. In other words, even as a baby, I can play.
“I think gambling is also a good training.”
“Master, what do you mean?”
“You either win or lose, because gambling is a game of chance. Moreover, you cannot rely on force. You need to have the power to attract luck.”
Luck. It’s very vague and elusive, but luck is very important in life. Even in battle, if luck abandons you, you may be swept off your feet by a lesser monster.
“Oh~, doesn’t that sound fun then?”
“Of course, you can’t win if you don’t use your brain. So, it might be difficult for Anje-oneechan, who is a muscle-brain.”
“Who’s a muscle-brain!?”
Inside the gambling hall, young women dressed in sexy costumes and wearing hair bands that somehow resembled rabbit ears were serving customers.
“Hmm, are they rabbit beastmen?”
“It’s a costume, a cosplay. They are just wearing ears like that of a rabbit.”
“What on earth for……?”
Lill, who has her own beast ears, tilts her head in puzzlement.
“No, I think it makes a lot of sense, look at that.”
The men, with their noses sticking out, were making bold bets to impress the girls.
“That’s how they are trying to rile up men to spend money. The owner of this place is a genius.”
“Well, you never know what humans can do.”
By the way, it seems that the girls who dressed up like that are called bunny girls.
While I was admiring, a bunny girl came up to Lill, who still seemed to be unconvinced.
“You’re wearing a strange headband, huh? Do they have anything like that? I’ve never seen that before… Ah, I get it! The owner must have put a new outfit on the new guy! He’s the type that just does whatever comes to mind!”
“Hmm?”
“Anyway, don’t stand there in a daze, because there are a lot of customers and it’s busy today! Look, newcomers start by serving drinks! Come over here!”
Apparently, when she saw Lill’s beast ears, she mistook her for a fellow employee.
“W-wait, this is my own….…”
“If you don’t know how to do it, I’ll teach you!”
Lill is pulled by the bunny girl and is taken somewhere.
“Lill doesn’t have any human money, so maybe it’s just right.”
Of course, one needs money to gamble.
In this gambling house, it seems that the process is to buy a special coin before playing the game. Coins can then be exchanged for goods or money later.
“Ara~, what cute customers.”
An older sister at the coin shop is also in a bunny girl costume. She looked at us and asked, “Is this your gambling debut?”, but was stunned by the large amount of gold coins that Fana put out.
“……Huh?”
“Mm, for gambling.”
“Eh, Fana-oneechan, is it okay to change so much?”
“No problem.”
Of course, it’s all Fana’s personal money. The money to be used for the party is pooled separately, so she can spend her personal money however she likes.
“Well done! Then I’ll exchange for more!”
Anje retaliates by putting up a large sum of money.
“No, no, no, no, no, who are you guys!?”
She was shocked, but since that was her job, the older sister counted out the gold coins and exchanged them all for gambling coins.
Both of them are beginners, but they are too competitive!
“Then, as a master, I can’t lose!”
『Even the Master……』
Not to be outdone, I put out a lot of money as well.
“Even a baby!? What on earth is going on!?”
Leaving the confused Oneechan at the coin exchange counter behind, we scattered around the gambling hall to enjoy the game separately.
“I could make a lot of money by cheating with magic, but that’s no fun at all. I’ll try to play without using magic.”
This is translated by Yume Neiji. Kindly read at yumeineijiworks.wordpress.com.
After the classroom lecture, it is a practical training, so everyone moves to the guild’s arena.
Once everyone has moved in, Liliana-san gives an explanation.
“Next, we’ll start the practical training. There are a lot of magic users this time, so I’ll have Shun and Sue watch over the magic users.”
““Understood.””
There were 30 participants in this class, but there were 10 people who could use magic. Some people use physical enhancement, but the basics are the same, so we’ll just take care of them.
“What should I do?”
“Shiro-chan, you can try out someone who is a fighting type with me.”
“Got it!”
Shiro is a fighting type, and she and Liliana-san will be their sparring partners.
And here’s the unfortunate news.
“I already saw Fran-chan and Horn-chan’s abilities in a real battle the other day, so today, you guys can just watch.”
“Eeh!”
“Yes.”
At the time of the demon summoning, Fran and Horn were fighting a lot, and Liliana-san was there. So, Liliana-san has a rough grasp of the power of Fran and Horn.
Fran seemed unhappy because she couldn’t do the actual combat training, but Horn was a little relieved.
“If you can train the basic magic circulation a little more and control the magic power well, the power of your spells will increase.”
“Don’t panic, watch your opponent’s movements. In actual combat, your enemy is less likely to stand still you see.”
Sue and I, with Liliana-san’s permission, made a ball of holy magic float in the air and we asked the magicians to aim at it.
They could hit it when it was stationary, but they had a hard time hitting it when it was moving. Sue and I told the magicians that they should anticipate its movements.
By the way, the physical enhancement type was not good at basic magic circulation, so I decided to teach them just like how we do our daily training method.
“You can’t leave it to brute force.”
“Use more feints.”
Meanwhile, at Shiro’s side, Fran and Horn were holding Ao. Shiro speaks with her intuition, so Ao decides to give advice to adventurers. However, Ao is a slime, so Fran and Horn were interpreting for her. Or rather, Fran and Horn were able to communicate with Ao at some point.
“It’s a good idea to put feints in your movement. That’s a good movement, but it’s very easy to predict what will happen next.”
As expected, Liliana-san gave accurate advice to adventurers. Adventurers, both men and women, listened to Liliana-san’s advice.
As expected of the deputy guild master.
“Oops, everyone’s done.”
“Then Fran too!”
“Horn will do it with Ao.”
Just as Shiro’s partner was gone, Fran and Horn, who had a lot of free time, went to Shiro’s place.
“Toya!”
“Eii!”
“You can move more.”
From the looks of it, there is nothing particularly unusual about what the three of them are doing at the level of training in the morning.
Sue and I were done dealing with the magicians as well, so we went to Liliana-san’s place.
“Oi oi, the little ones are moving really fast.”
“The slime is moving incredibly fast as well.”
“Shiro-chan, were you holding back when it came to us?”
Compared to Shiro and Ao, Fran and Horn still have a long way to go in terms of physical strength, but for the rookie adventurers, the movement of the three of them looked quite fast.
“Oh my. You seem surprised at how fast Shiro-chan and the others are, but your accuracy is still low. You can all improve, so keep trying your best.”
““Yes!””
Finally, Liliana-san wraps up the beginners’ course with a nice closing speech.
I also helped out with the training, which was eventful.
This is translated by Yume Neiji. Kindly read at yumeineijiworks.wordpress.com.
Yume Neiji's Works 