Kujonin
Author: Hanabokuro
—
The sound of the rain woke me, and when I left the tent, Ayl was having a barbeque.
The rain that continued falling since last night is slowly heading north, so it looks like it's also going to rain in the desert.
As for us, a barrier magic circle is around the Komura Company's campsite so we're not receiving the rain's effect.
It's a magic circle I made previously for sleeping outdoors on a journey, when I started journeying with Ayl in Arisfey.
Even though it's raining hard outside, only here is there an atmosphere like we're taking a leisurely holiday.
"Morning. What are you grilling?"
I asked Ayl.
"A lizard that was in the desert?"
Even if you reply with a question…
"It's probably a desert salamander."
Velsa, who was observing the locust hoppers, replied.
What's a desert salamander?" As I thought that, Velsa drew on the ground and taught me about it. Ayl also said, "Yeah, it's that one."
It's something like a Japanese salamander that lives in the desert.
"So, is it tasty?"
"Hm? Well, I thought that I'd grill it now let Naoki eat it."
"Am I a poison taster?"
"It's fine. It looks pretty tasty-ish, after all."
"What do you mean '-ish'?"
That said, I ate it.
It was tasty.
"This is really good."
"That so? The newbies caught them like mad, so let's have the adventurers who are coming eat them later."
"Ayl-san! We got another desert lizard."
Seth and Merumo, dripping wet, entered the campsite carrying a desert salamander the size of a cow.
"'Kay, try dismantling it there."
Ayl gave the newbies their instructions.
"It's this big?"
"Right? Can't be helped that there's leftovers."
Ayl replied while flipping the meat.
"Mm, delicious-!"
Velsa extended a hand from the side, snatching a taste.
Using Cleanup on the newbies, I watched over their dismantling.
Did Ayl teach them? Both of them are reckless and skilled.
"Our company sure is peaceful."
"Well as long as we act when we need to act, isn't it fine? Un, tasty-!"
Ayl said as she ate.
"Anyway, the rain isn't stopping, na…"
And so I made a bath.
"What are you doing?"
"Making a bath."
"Eh? Are you really going to do the mandrain plant experiment?"
"I'm not. The adventurers are going to be drenched by the rain, right? I was thinking they'd need relief."
"Aa, I see. Doing them a service, huh? A, how much are we making from this job?"
"A, shoot-! I forgot to talk about it."
""Don't kid with me-!""
Ayl and Velsa made a serious rebuttal.
"Maybe… 100 gold coins, about?"
I said, making it a bit on the large side.
"No way! We need to receive 300 gold coins! There's the repairs for the ship, after all."
"That's right! We're putting a stop to 1000 gold coins worth of damage, so as long as it's under half that, the more we receive the better."
The two complained like that.
These two women's sense of money is strong, so I'll leave the negotiations with Riddle-san to them. "Normally that's the President's job;" the two of the got made at me.
Digging out a suitable hole for the bath and hardening the sides, I let rain water in, installed a magic circle to heat it up, and the bath was done.
To divide the men and women, I made cloth partitions.
Frankly, even if I wondered whether doing all this was alright, I made 3 large casks of mandrain brew from the mandrain plant's broth and also 30 smoke traps; when I had done them, I confirmed that there was a break in the rain clouds.
When the two newbies tested the temperature of the bath, "It feels good," they said.
—
—
The adventurers arrived at midnight.
It was pouring outside, so everyone was utterly exhausted.
All of my employees helped putting up the tents.
The tents smelled musty, so I used Clean up on them.
The adventurers with drooping heads inside the wagon went straight into the bath like that.
We gave the hungry adventurers desert salamander meat and Merumo's vegetable soup.
The adventurers crammed inside the large tent ate deliciously.
The wagons arrived one after another.
The priests and Riddle-san and the Blacks Family's people arrived.
There doesn't seem to be enough tents, so we're using our company's campsite.
There was no windswept rain in our campsite, but Riddle-san, who entered with the question, "How did you do it?" nodded in understanding when he saw my face.
Riddle-san listened to Velsa's hypothesis and met with me to discuss extermination.
"I see, I can believe that! That's some exceptional thinking!"
It seems like Riddle-san believes in Velsa's hypothesis.
An adventurer with the Search Skill, an elite to defeat monsters in the desert, a priest, and a pump operator form one 4-man team, and we plan to deploy 10 teams into the desert after the rain. People from the Blacks Family, employees from the governmental office, and my own employees will take on the role of the pump operators.
We will spread out in a W formation into the desert, herd the swarm of locust hoppers, and finally Ayl and I will kill them off with the mandrain pesticide.
Of course, they'll stomp on the slowed locust hoppers as much as possible.
Even so, we have adventurers on alert to fire magic at or crush the ones that escape our encirclement and approach the grasslands.
Furthermore, I proposed that we install mandrain pesticide smoke traps in various places in the desert.
So that the mandrain pesticide wouldn't leak out, I will draw magic power barrier magic circles in the desert.
The effectiveness of both the mandrain pesticide and magic power barrier is about 2, maybe 3 hours before they expire, so it should be fine to install them and leave them be.
When I pointed out each place I'd install them while looking at the map, Riddle-san had a "Ha?" kind of a face, but he said, "Naoki-dono is the one saying it, so he'll get it done, I'd imagine."
Riddle-san went to the tent the adventurers were taking their rest in and conveyed that only Ayl and I could use the mandrain pesticide, there were adventurers who came saying, "We can also use it."
Velsa dripped one drop of the mandrain pesticide on those adventurers, and they collapsed from magic power insufficiency.
"E-, at the very least, you need to be able to move for at least 3 hours without developing magic power insufficiency from this drug."
Velsa said in a loud voice so the adventurers could hear.
Some people tried it, but they all collapsed.
—
It rained all the next day, too.
Early in the morning, my employees went to hunt desert salamanders in the desert once again, and to see, record, and update the current state of the desert on the map.
It seems like there are already a number of rivers appearing.
Of the adventurers who went with our newbies, there were a lot who were out of breath and looked like they wanted to die.
They got in the way of her barbeque, so Ayl through them into the bath.
We spread out the map so everyone could see it in the adventurers' tent.
The break in the clouds was seen around noon the next day.
I went running through the forest to confirm that it was sunny.
I conveyed that it would be sunny in a few hours to riddle, and we began preparations for locust hopper extermination all at once.
Everyone applied the dark green insecticide, put on masks, and gathered at the tent.
It's supposed to be a strategy meeting for everyone.
The elite adventurers as well; Langley seems to have gathered those people who accompanied my newbies.
The priests handed over recovery potions.
I had already given a lecture yesterday on how to use the pump.
All of my employees have blue coveralls on, and in their breast pockets are communication bags.
Riddle, standing on a table, raised his voice.
"Locust hoppers have attacked us and caused us harm many times in the past! This time's operation is something that will bring hope to all the countries around the desert! I believe everyone has memorized the map. I no longer have anything to say about it! I pray for everyone to fight bravely! Sir Naoki!"
He suddenly turned it to me, and I was made to stand on the table.
"Uh — … Everyone, thanks for all the hard work so far! As for things to be cautious of, beware of flash floods, and if you see red smoke, it's the mandrain pesticide, so please run away. And don't overdo it; if you think you're reaching your limit, please return here to the campsite. And if some kind of emergency occurs, please call out to my employees wearing the blue coveralls. And so, please take care, everyone!"
"From now on, the operation for the extermination of the 'Desert's Demons' will begin! Everyone, take your positions and await the signal!"
At Riddle's declaration the extermination operation began.
Outside the rain has become a drizzle, and I can begin to see the sunlight peeking through the clouds.
When the rain in the grasslands had stopped following, the person I thought was the Blacks Family butler struck the drum with a Bang-!
Raising a yell, the 10 4-man teams ran towards the desert all at once.
With Ayl at the head, our employees also took up their positions, waiting for the locust hoppers.
I ran through the light rain in the desert, installing the smoke-type mandrain insecticide.
There were 8 places in the desert with red smoke rising.
After finishing the installations, I took my own position.
10 minutes later, we were still unable to confirm the locust hopper swarm.
"Like this, if there's absolutely no outbreak, I wonder what we should do."
As if to destroy the point of my words, Search Skill picked up one, then another one; I began to see locust hoppers.
"They're heeere-!!!!"
I notified the elite adventurers in the front with a loud voice.
All at once, a swarm of locust hoppers covered the sky to the north.
"Now then, let's begin the extermination."