Chapter 22
We enter the village and head toward village chief’s house immediately. This is a farming village, so each house has their own field. Isn’t that rice?
A : No, it isn’t.
Oh, yeah….
[Excuse me, we came here about the request.] I state.
We start talking in front of village chief’s house, and the door is opened immediately.
[Oh, I have been waiting. Please come in.] the village chief says.
[Excuse me.] I reply.
We head inside. Of course, Yurika goes with us, too. The village chief starts talking as soon as we were seated.
[Well, after I saw what happened with that ojou-san, I think I’m about to declare a failed request.] says the village chief.
[I’m sorry…] Yurika says.
Yurika apologizes. Come to think of it, she had to report about the potion-making request before this request, and that gave a disadvantage to the next adventurer who is going to accept this request…
[Well, I don’t need to worry because you found adventurers who can defeat those fang wolves.] the village chief began. [Everyone does have battle experience with fang wolves, right?]
[I lost count. If there are just two, we can handle them alone without a problem.] I reply.
Oops, I forget to say, “Excluding Yurika”.
[That sounds reliable.] the village chief says. [Will you able to defeat them today? If you are going to do it tomorrow, you can stay at this house since there is no hotel in this village.]
[We will do it today.] I state. [So, could you tell us about the details? Please include what Yurika found too.]
The village chief and Yurika both nod.
[Yes. First of all, the damage happened outside of this town’s barrier.] the village chief begins.
It seems there is a magic tool called “barrier stone” that protects towns and villages. It creates an area around the stone that monsters can’t enter. Of course, there are some exceptions. It is completely unaffected by monster followers, highly intellectual monsters, and powerful (high level) monsters. It becomes less effective against large monster groups. It doesn’t seem to prevent stray dragon attacks or monster stampedes.
This farm village isn’t affluent, but it still covers a large area. So… Some fields might be beyond the protection area, and the more area that barrier stone can cover, the more expensive it will be.
But low-intellectual monsters don’t usually approach field, even if it was outside of the protected area, because of the unpleasant feeling they experienced when approaching fields inside the protected area.
[There aren’t many wild animals here,] the village chief states. [And monsters usually don’t approach the barrier stone much. Because we didn’t understand the reason we were attacked, we sent the request to the adventurer’s guild.]
[And from my observation, the criminals are fang wolves.] Yurika says. [I decided to escape because I couldn’t fight when the second one showed up.]
I know how weak Yurika is. It seems she is going to fight desperately with goblins.
[Do you know why fang wolves damaged the field?] I ask.
The village chief is troubled by my question.
[Perhaps it is an anomaly in Torute forest.] says the village chief.
[Torute forest?] I ask.
[Yes, it is a forest east of this village.] the village chief begins. [Fang wolves can usually be found there. They don’t attack the village’s fields much because there is a lot of food in the forest.]
[So they targeted the fields outside the barrier when they couldn’t get food because there is an anomaly inside the forest…] I propose.
[It is possible…] the village chief agrees.
But our request is just to exterminate the fang wolves that damaged the fields. Since this problem is unrelated to us, we don’t want to go deeper than this.
[Do you know where those fang wolves are right now?] I ask.
I can find them with Map.
[Yes, they are in the field right now.] the village chief states. [They seem to think we don’t have enough power to drive them out.]
I am right, after all, since I could detect enemies inside the village.
[Really?] I state. [Could you send someone out to confirm this since we are going to exterminate them now?]
[Then, I will go.]
the village chief says.
[M-Me too!] Yurika exclaims.
Yurika, too. Well, is that really necessary?
We head toward the field at outskirts of the village.
[Well…] I begin. [How are we going to defeat them?]
[Just approach them normally and kill them, as per usual.]
Maria answers calmly. Well, that is a good idea.
[No, I will let Mio defeat them.] I reply.
[Eh? Me?] asks Mio.
Mio is surprised when she heard what I said.
[Don’t you want
[Oh! That’s right! I will do it!] exclaims Mio.
It seems Mio finally remembered the promise that I will convert skill points from the monsters she defeats into
[It is impossible to calculate all points in the middle of chaotic battle, so this is your chance.] I tell her.
[Thank you very much, Master~!] Mio exclaims.
It is good if you are happy.
[Does that mean my chance hasn’t come yet?] asks Sera.
[Uh, sorry.] I begin. [I will find a chance for you later.]
With our situation, I think Sera will have a lot of chances to take an active role. Perhaps… a situation that nobody else can do.
[Then I will snipe them with arrows.] Mio says.
Fang wolves are within her sight. We just hide ourselves in the bush, twenty meters away from them. Those two wolves are like a tasty meal.
[Then I will finish them at once! Ei!!]
Mio shoots arrow while shouting.
[Once more!] Mio exclaims.
Mio fires two arrows in row.
One of them directly hits a fang wolf’s head, killing the first one. The second one, who was eating vegetables, notices it and raises its head. The second arrow hits its head directly and kills it.
Hmm… You could predict the location of the enemy ahead of time. She really put forth some thought…
[Wow! You did it.] I exclaim.
[Fufu, Mio-chan has been improving everyday, too!] Mio says.
Mio sticks out her (non-existent) chest with pride. Our policy doesn’t rely on high status, but one’s own skills.
[This is amazing.] the village chief says. [You can defeat them in the blink of the eye…]
[Uwa~ Even this girl can kill them, but I…] Yurika mutters.
Please don’t be surprised. Well, you couldn’t expect that kind of result when you look at Mio’s appearance.
[So this request is done.] I say. [What should we do about the corpses of the fang wolves? We are going to harvest them, but if you want, we’ll sell them at a lower price.]
[No, that is good enough for us.] the village chief says. [Let’s return to my home for the time being.]
At the village chief urging, I store the corpses of the fang wolves in Item box and then follow him.
Again, we are at the village chief’s house.
[This is the proof of a successful request and reward.] the village chief says. [Thank you very much.]
[No, it is really okay that we could defeat them safely.] I say.
[Err…] the village chief mumbles. [If you are okay with this, could you accept one more request?]
What is it? I think I can predict it.
[What is it?] I ask.
[I want you to investigate the anomaly in the Torte forest.] the village chief begins. [I want you the find the reason why those fang wolves came out of the forest. If there is an anomaly in the forest, this village is in danger.]
I’m certain this is something that needs to be investigated. However…
[Why us?] I ask. [Do you usually go to town and put in the request?]
[You are right,] the village chief says. [But you are really strong, so I will go to put in a request after this. So… Please!]
[What’s the objective… and reward?] I ask.
The village chief is at a loss for words after hearing what I said.
[Uh… Err.. there is nothing we can do if that isn’t investigated…] the village chief says.
[We have to talk about this.] I say. [How could we accept the request without neither objective nor reward?]
In the first place, accepting the request from Yurika is really bad. Investigation and extermination are the same type of request. The rank of the request is dependent upon information from the field.
It is possible that a simple investigation request will become an extermination request. I can’t accept the kind of request carelessly.
I mean… Why did I accept Yurika’s request? Didn’t I just overstep the adventurer guild’s responsibility?
A : In case of requests that are C-ranked and below, you don’t need to confirm the rank with the guild. In this case, it was judged by the small amount of damage that was done to the field. The basic stance should be “I shouldn’t accept any requests I don’t want”, and that includes the requests you aren’t sure you can finish.
Really blunt.
[Because you are strong! Please accept this request!]
Yurika, who has been silent until now, suddenly says that.
[Didn’t you hear want I said?] I ask. [This request don’t even have a clear objective. I can’t accept that kind of request.]
[But people of this village might be in trouble!] Yurika exclaims. [As adventurers, we must help a person who is in trouble!]
Yurika seems to have misunderstandings about being an adventurer. She has a strange sense of justice.
[I can’t say you are wrong with that,] I begin. [But there is a limit to how could we accept the request properly. Being an adventurer isn’t a charity job. Please don’t misunderstand that.]
[But it is natural to help people in front of us who are in trouble!] Yurika says.
She is stubborn. I didn’t say I wouldn’t accept this request. It won’t be a problem, at all, if this request has a proper objective and reward. The village chief doesn’t intervene either, since this situation gives him an advantage.
[Don’t try to change the subject.] I say. [We are talking about adventurers who are or aren’t going to accept request right now, not the reason for being an adventurer.]
[Ugh, b-but I thought being an adventurer is cooler than this…] Yurika says.
Yurika’s voice become weak. Completely depressed. Like we aren’t going to accept this request. Well, let’s copy her skill before it is too late. I just take one point each from
It seems Yurika’s
[We can’t accept this request right now.] I state. [Today, we are going to stay in our carriage and have a vote about what we are going to do tomorrow. We could bring you to town with us, too.] We return to carriage as I said since we feel bad about staying at the village chief’s house. I mean, our carriage is more comfortable than the village chief’s house…
Yurika doesn’t go with us. Instead, she stays at the village chief’s house. So we don’t have to worry about “facilities we can’t show her”, specifically, the kitchen, bathroom and bedroom in”Room”. The next day, I have everyone prepare for departure while I head toward the village chief’s house alone. [You are here again,] the village chief begins. “But aren’t you going to return soon?] [W-Well, you are right…] I mumble. The village chief is suspicious. Don’t tell me he plans to make me accept the request at the last moment? [Come to think of it…] I begin. [Where is Yurika?] I don’t see Yurika on the Map. [That ojou-san…] the village chief begins. [She said,”I’m going to investigate that forest.” She left early this morning.]
The village chief gave up and told me this. It seems she really has a strange sense of justice. So she moved on her own. Great! I already took her skill yesterday, so she has nothing to do with us, anymore. Am I heartless? It doesn’t matter because she acted on her own, and she wasn’t even our companion, either. [So? A request note?] I ask. The village chief is a little surprised when I asked for the request note. [Are you going to help us?] the village chief asks. [Why did you ask?] I counter. [Is it for your companion?] asks the village chief. [No, it isn’t.] I say. [She just followed us when she transferred her request to us.] It seems he thinks we are going to follow Yurika, who went ahead to investigate. Perhaps he even enticed Yurika to do it. [Don’t you have a request note?] I ask. [N-No, I don’t.” the village chief stammers. [I think I’m going to wait for her to report back first.] Well, he is right. According to yesterday’s event, the village chief knows how to make a proper request now. [Understood.] I say. [In that case, we are leaving.] I left. [P-Please wait a moment!] the village chief calls out. [Could you wait while I make a request note?!] [I will wait this morning only.] I say. [I have no intention of waiting for Yurika to report back, so you have to make it right now or forget it.] [That is…] the village chief mumbles. I don’t have plans to hide anything nor intentions to clean up this mess. I want to return to town and prepare to go to the next town… I leave the village chief’s house and return to the carriage. [Eh? Yurika-chan and the villagers?] someone asks. [It seems Yurika is investigating the forest on her own.] I begin. [We are going to accept the request if there is one because of the result of our vote, but we have to go soon.] [It seems so. There is no point to wait.] says someone. [Then, let’s go.] I say. [[[[Yes]]]] everyone exclaims. < I leave the driving to Sera and Maria as we leave the village. Since Yurika isn’t here, we are free to use”Room”. As we leave the village, I check Map. There is an area call Torte forest nearby. Yurika isn’t on the road or in the village, so she should be in the forest.
Let’s have a trivial talk… About Map’s function. I just realized the color spot on the map is classified by the relationship with me. All my subordinates are displayed in blue. There is a severe condition to let the system to display a blue icon, so it won’t become blue if they aren’t really a close friend or lover. I don’t think her icon will be blue. Enemies will be displayed in red, and that includes anything with hostility, no matter high or low. Green is netural. They are the most common. This allow me to detect a problem ahead of time… or plan how to approach. Corpses are displayed in gray, and the border color is used to identify friendly or enemy corpses. Right now, Yurika’s icon suddenly blinks and turns gray with green border. [Eh… Yurika, she is dead.] I say. [Eh? Oh, you are right.] Sakura says. < [That’s right.] Maria confirms. [It seems she is dead. That is natural because she acted on her own without listening to Jin-sama’s warning.] [Maria-chan, that is too harsh.] Mio says. [But I did tell her to take responsibility for herself.] Sera says. [So this isn’t our fault.]
Everybody is quite calm. From the perspective of people in this world, including Mio but not Sakura, life is cheap. However, Dora just doesn’t understand. Since all of them used to be half-dead slaves, they are really familiar with death. [What is Master going to do?] Mio asks. [I have no intention of doing anything.] I say [I already took all her rare skills yesterday, and we can’t take her abilities since she was killed by someone else.] But I’m a little curious about the monster who killed Yurika.
Man Eater (Abnormal Class) LV 40 Note: A plant that preys on animals, monsters and humans. (Spec: I read too many H-manga to know what will be happened next >_< ) [Maria, Sera. Let’s head to the Torte Forest.] I say. [Understood.] Maria says. [Uhh… W-Wait? Why?] Sera mutters. Sera is a little confused by my sudden command while Maria just obeyed my instruction immediately. [Why do you suddenly want head into the forest?] Mio asks. [Ah, I’m interested in the monster that killed Yurika…] I reply. Mio also checks the Map. [Man Eater? Abnormal? It seems really interesting.] Mio agrees. I’m interesting in the abnormal type, but the problem isn’t just there. [It is an abnormal type, and its name makes me feel unpleasant.] I say. [Uh… Do you know something about man eaters?] Sakura asks. [I’m sorry, but I don’t want to talk about it.] I say. [We have to defeat it, anyway. And this isn’t revenge for Yurika.] It isn’t about Yurika, at all, but we have to defeat it, no matter the cost.
Q : What is an abnormal type? A : An extreme rare mutated monster with a low probability of happening. Monsters are usually strong, and this mutation make them even stronger. We reached the Torte Forest about ten minutes later with our carriage. Tamo is on stand-by, guarding the carriage. [Since we want to defeat them quickly, I will raise overall status.] I state. [It is unusual for Jin-kun to do this.] Sakura says. [Uh… Do you hate man eaters?] asks Mio. I don’t think I hate man eaters. [Since this is extermination, Maria and Sera will be vanguards while Dora and I move freely.] I begin. [Mio and Sakura, although I think this is bad idea, I want you to come, too.] [Understood!] Sera exclaims. [My time has finally come!] [I can’t bother Jin-sama with those pests.] Maria says. [Just Sera and I are enough to exterminate them.] The two vanguards seem the have full motivation. <> Dora says. Dora is cute as usual. However, she isn’t suitable for extermination because her role is a tank. [It is hard to fight while moving. So I will follow behind you.] says Sakura. [ Sakura isn’t suitable for this, so she just stays back. Mio, didn’t I tell you it is hard to calculate the points during chaotic battle?
We enter the forest. Torte Forest is different from a goblin forest. It is more like a tropical forest. Colorful nuts and mushrooms are everywhere. Colorful mushrooms? It is clearly a poison, without a second thought.
By the way, all of the monsters here are plant types. Because of the abnormal man eater’s appearance, the balance of power in the forest has changed, and this forest is now being dominanted by plant-type monster. It might look completely different from the original forest’s appearance. This is the reason that forced those fang wolves out of the forest.
So… ? What kind of monsters are in this forest?
Brown Mushroom LV 8 Note: Brown umbrella mushroom.
Green Mushroom LV 8 Note: Green umbrella mushroom
LV 8 Note: Purple umbrella mushroom
Rainbow Mushroom LV 8 Note: Rainbow umbrella mushroom
LV 10 Note: Monster who mimics trees.
Ice Flame Bug LV 8 Note: Parasite. Also gives resistance to monsters under its control.
Burst Apple LV 5 Note: Exploding apple. How/why it explodes is still unknown.
Burst Pineapple LV 5
Purple Mushroom
Trent