Chapter 9: Association
After we returned from our leisurely stroll in the sky, Master was angry.
「Eir, kneel down here.」
「Eh, huh? Umm……」
「Kneel. 」
「Okay.」
The contents of the lecture were very simple.
I neglected the person I should have been protecting and took both guards, Amy-san and myself, away to have fun.
For Master, who was useless in close quarters combat, I had left him alone with Denuka-san, who was just a peddler, and that was a big mistake.
「I am sorry.」
「Seriously. Normally, something like this deserves punishment, you know?」
「Punishment……. Don’t like ecchi things.」
「Why must you make it sound so misleading!?」
Oh, Amy-san turned slightly red because of my declaration.
What was with that expression? Was it a 『So you do that sort of thing!?』 kind of reaction?
「Since you don’t seem to have learnt your lesson yet, how about I add a bunch of chives to Eir’s dinner today?」
「P-please, anything but that!」
Since I had turned into a dragon, my basic abilities had increased greatly. Aside from the obvious changes, like my arm and leg, my sense of smell and hearing had also been greatly enhanced.
This was probably useful to an adventurer, but aside from that, it essentially meant that I was very sensitive to the odors in food…..
「Smell of chives. Smell lasts until morning.」
「Then, let’s make a meal with garlic.」
「Even worse!?」
In the end, I was able to persuade Master to make a normal meal.
In exchange, I had to give him a massage……. Though, I thought that that sort of task was something a slave normally did.
We weren’t able to reach Sokaris that evening, so we decided to set up camp for the night.
Sokaris was only 20 km away, or at least that was how far I thought it was, but travelling by ground would take some time.
In the first place, Focalor was 30km away from Sokaris. If you were travelling on foot, you could barely cover that distance in a single day.
I suppose this region called themselves a satellite town because of that.
We had a soup made from dried vegetables and meat, as well as some rye bread that wouldn’t go bad for some time. For dessert, we had a sliced apple.
Being able to eat fresh vegetables was a great luxury that was only possible right after leaving a city.
By the way, the one who made dinner was, as per usual, Master.
Denuka gave me a strange look, as if saying, “You aren’t going to work, even though you are a slave?”.
「Eir is very clumsy, after all. I mean, she has that arm and all.」
Master said that as an excuse, but it still left an impression.
After dinner, Master and I took turns taking night watch shifts with Denuka-san and Amy-san. Since I needed to give Master a massage, we were the ones to take the first watch.
「Rimuru-sama, is this good?」
「Hmm, not bad…… but I guess it’s a bit soft.」
Master was lying face down, and I was massaging him with my right hand.
Since his feedback was that it was too weak, I sat on his back and put my full weight into my fingers.
「Gu-nununu……」
「Ah, that feels pretty nice. But don’t work yourself too hard, okay?」
「I am fine, can still. Do my best.」
「Now that I think about it, why only one hand? Is your left hand really that clumsy?」
「Very…… should I try?」
「Ooh, bring it on!」
I proceeded to “Bring it”―― *Crunch*
「B-GYAAAaaaaaaa」
The sound of Master’s screams echoed into the night.
The next morning we arrived at Sokaris.
After paying the entrance fee of 10 silver coins at the gate, we were able to enter the city without
any problems. Incidentally, since I was Master’s property, I was exempted from paying the entrance fee. As for said Master, he was lying stretched out in the wagon. Really now, even though I told him that we shouldn’t do a left hand massage……. I said that, right? I had a feeling that I didn’t. Oh well.
「Thank you very much for guarding us on our way here. Who knows what might have happened without you.」
「No, no, I could say the same; if you had not let us ride in your wagon, who knows what might have happened……」
「Rimuru-sama, a bit heavy.」
We were saying our parting words in the local plaza, but since Master was still unable to stand, I was carrying him on my back.
「I said that I can’t use long distance healing yet! I can’t reach my back with my hands!」
「Body inflexible.」
「Shut up!」
It was possible to cast mid-rank and above healing magic from a distance, but outside of those, you had to place your hands above the affected areas.
Even though Master could use high ranking magic like 【Recovery】 that could heal severe wounds, his irregular development meant that he couldn’t use long distance healing.
As I bickered with such an unbalanced Master, Denuka-san watched us with a warm smile.
「Haha, I have had an interesting experience. Rather than being Master and Slave, you two have a rather lax relationship, like that of childhood friends or companions.」
「It is due to my lack of discipline, it is quite the embarrassment.」
「Nay nay, this may become a new type of master-servant relationship, don’t you think?」
「It would be nice if that were true……」
「In any circumstance, we were able to arrive safely due to your assistance. Please take this as a form of my sincerest gratitude.」
「Heavens no! We cannot possibly accept anything. We only did what was natural……」
「This is the reward I had promised to the bodyguards who have lost their lives. Please accept it.」
「This is…… Very well, I will accept it. Thank you very much.」
As Master accepted the reward, he sent a look over to Amy-san.
She replied with a light wave of her hand.
「It’s fine, I’m sure Rats would also…… Well, they are gone now, though. They told me that they didn’t have any relatives, so the excess reward would be sucked up by the Guild anyway.」
「If that is the case, then I gratefully accept.」
「Well then, my job here is done. This incident has drilled into me how lacking I am in training. If I plan on challenging the labyrinth, I’m going to have to raise my abilities a little bit more.」
「Yes. If fate so decides, let’s meet again.」
「Amy-san, bye bye.」
「So long to you too, Eir-chan. Soaring in the sky was really fun.」
「Want to, fly again?」
「Next time, be a bit more gentle, okay?」
「I’ll keep in mind.」
With that, we quickly parted ways. For some reason, it felt very adventurer-esque.
Even though I had only seen a few farewells before, this was completely different. It was cool.
With Master guiding the way, we rented a room in a familiar inn. It was the same inn we had stayed at before.
Master was about to try and rent two seperate rooms, but he quickly changed his mind in a panic. It’s not a good idea to waste money all willy nilly, even if youare a spoiled rich kid …… was the kind of gaze I sent at him.
Besides, I would feel uneasy at being left alone.
So, we rented a twin room and unpacked our bags.
After taking a short breather, the next thing on our list was to go to the adventurer’s guild and register.
With accessories like the gloves, bandages, and mantle hiding my peculiar figure, we headed towards the guild headquarters, which was located at the southern part of the donut-shaped city.
The city of Sokaris was donut-shaped because of the World Tree that was enshrined in the center.
Still, since the roots spread out in all directions, they sometimes ran alongside the streets here and there, making it feel like a maze.
Master had explained to me that ,in a sense, it could be used for things like strategic defenses.
We pushed open the guild’s swinging doors and went inside.
Inside the place, there was a ton of serious-looking people who were armed to the teeth. The room was a bit scary.
Further inside was a counter, and next to that was a bulletin board.Thebuilding that was connected by a passageway was……a cafeteria, I guess?
Master timidly walked up to the counter, and stated why he was there.
An Elf Onee-san was at the counter, wearing a nameplate with the word “Kira” written on it.
「I came to become an adventurer. I would like to register.」
「…… Sir, although you seem a bit young, being an adventurer is tough, you know? Will you be alright?」
「I will admit to being young, but I will be fine. Besides, it’s not like I’ll be by myself.」
「You mean that girl behind you?」
「Yes, she is a battle slave. Quite an impressive one at that.」
The greatsword on my back was underneath my mantle, so my weapons were hidden. As for why, it was because the greatsword I was borrowing was way too amazing. So amazing that it might get us wrapped up in some trouble if we didn’t hide it.
That was why, in places with a lot of people, I made sure to conceal it under the mantle. Of course, it wasn’t exactly hidden from sight. It was quite apparent that I was carrying a weapon that didn’t match my height.
「That girl also looks very small…… or rather, isn’t she just skin and bones?」
「Only on the surface though. Just look at that, she’s able to swing that sword on her back with a single hand. Besides, since I’m a healer, I can’t stand on the front lines.」
「Is that so……? Well, as a rule of the guild, we don’t turn anybody away, so you’re free to register if you want to.」
「I’ll be in your care.」
As Master was in the midst of his conversation, I took a look around the guild.
There was quite a lot of commotion in the lobby, and it was due to the signboard, which had more than just request papers stuck all over the place.
Some of them were also very old; there were posters with words I couldn’t read on them. For instance…..
―― Let’s see here…… The majority has faded away, so I can’t read it, but……『It is prohibited to vomit』? I wonder, would drunkards accept this?
I only briefly glanced through them, but it was a pretty good way to pass the time.
「Okay then, here are the forms you need to fill out. As for reading and writing…… Since you are a magician, I’m sure you will be fine in that department.」
「Yes, there are no problems.」
I quickly took a peek at the paper from behind.
The parts you had to fill in were on the level of Name, Sex, Birthplace, Criminal record, and the like. So, did that mean everything was alright?
Ah! In the part labeled weapon, he wrote “Eir”. Wasn’t that cruel!?
「……”Eir”?」
「That is the girl’s name.」
「Oh, well that’s fine. This guild also has something like an entrance exam. Are you aware of that?」
「Oh, so there really is one, huh? What’s it like?」
「You just have to complete one of the permanent introductory level quests. Right now, that would be……herb collection, wood transportation, or animal hunting.」
「Can you please go into more detail?」
Onee-san, that explanation was too short.
「Herb collection is gathering herbs that can be used as medicine. There’s a forest outside the city, right? You have to harvest the wolfberry plants that grow there. You need to have knowledge of medicines, though.」
「Hmm, I see.」
Master took out a notebook and started taking notes as he listened.
「The wood transportation is a similar task. You have to bring wood from the lumber yard back to the city, where it will be used for construction. For this one, you don’t need medical knowledge or anything, so it’s a request for musclebrains.」
「Musclebrains…… Well, I guess your average person wouldn’t know much about medicinal herbs.」
「Certainly so, compared to a healer. So, lastly is animal hunting, which is different from the others. You have to go and hunt three piggydogs. Do you know what a piggydog is?」
「Yes. If I remember correctly, it is a wild beast that is a hybrid between a dog and a pig, right?」
「Exactly. The meat is pretty cheap, but it is fairly tasty. It is a friend to merchants. Because of that, they are always in short supply, so merchants constantly need more of them. They are not that strong either.」
「Even if you say that, going hunting means there’s a chance to lose your life.」
「Well, out of the three options, it is the most dangerous.」
After listening to the whole thing, Master thought for a while.
「Out of all the options, we only have to do one, right?」
「Yes, only 1 of them.」
「 Can I have a slave do it?」
「Personal connections are also a part of one’s strength. You are allowed to do so, of course.」
「Okay then, we’ll do the wood transportation.」
Hearing the answer, Kira-san’s surprise showed on her face.
Well, that was obvious. Anyone would be surprised to hear that a healer would undertake a test of physical endurance.
「That’s fine but…… It’s heavy, you know?」
「I have her with me after all.」
Ooh, with me here, we could use “Other Dimensional Storage” to easily carry a heavy load. As expected of Master, how sly.
Still, if I remembered correctly, there should be a bunch of wolfberries inside the “Other Dimensional Storage”, so I wonder why he picked this request?
「Well, you are free to choose whichever one you desire. The time limit is three days. You will complete the request when you get proof from the head supervisor at the city’s construction site.」
「Does that time limit include today as well?」
「Naturally.」
「Well, that’s fine…… Please tell us where the lumber site is.」
「I’ll lend you a map.」
The map she handed to us had an X mark in a place slightly east of the Southern gate.
The mark was at the edge of the forest, so the Lumber yard had to be there.
「Still, I thought the exam would be something like『Go and head into the labyrinth』 or something like that.」
「Apparently, it was like that in the past. However, now that the World Tree has been destroyed, the monsters inside became much more ferocious. It wouldn’t be a good idea to use that place for an entrance exam.」
「Heh…… Wasn’t it the Destruction God who broke the World Tree? Even though they are a god, they’ve caused so much trouble. It’s the first time I’ve thought of it that way. Because of that god, we have to go outside the city if we want to survive.」
「You’re right, I feel the same way.」
「――Hey」
At that moment, a voice that was intertwined with a sense of danger came from behind us.