Episode 18
Inside the Adventurers’ Guild building.
Unlike usual, the air was taut with tension, and I could feel that something had changed.
Had adventurers always been this serious? The people gathered here today had a different air about them somehow.
"What’s going on?"
Isty seemed to have an idea.
"It’s probably because of the mass outbreak of monsters."
"Mass outbreak of monsters?"
It was a phrase I’d heard in passing at some point.
"There are times when monsters appear en masse due to the Demon King’s influence. When that happens, adventurers scattered across the land gather to resolve the problem."
"So it’s also a time when elite adventurers you normally don’t get to see gather together."
Isty nodded.
"Even at the guild headquarters in the Holy Capital, there was no room to set foot. Now the effects have reached Marne too."
Were all high-ranking adventurers oddballs? Their outfits were distinctive, and many of them looked like they preferred being alone.
Among them, a man with hair grown out to a creepy degree approached this way.
"To think I would see the ‘Aloof Hunter.’ I’m quite lucky today."
…He hadn’t approached me. He’d come up to Isty.
"…"
"I’m not sure if you remember me, but we met during the ‘Minotaur Subjugation.’"
"Wabid. I remember."
Isty merely stared at the hand Wabid extended and did not take it.
Wabid awkwardly withdrew his hand and said,
"Elves are guardians of the forest. I assume you came after hearing that orcs had appeared in large numbers."
"Orcs…?"
"You didn’t know?"
"No."
…Can this Wabid guy not see me?
It felt as though I’d become invisible.
"If you don’t mind, I can share the information I’ve gathered. Shall we go over there?"
"I’ll find out for myself."
Isty politely refused Wabid’s offer and took my hand.
Wabid looked straight at me for the first time.
"Are you her companion, by any chance?"
"I was wondering if you couldn’t see me."
"My apologies. It was something I never could have imagined…"
Never could have imagined?
Did that mean it was that unexpected for Isty to be by someone’s side?
"What change of heart led you to form a party? He must be someone with extraordinary abilities."
Isty clasped my hand tightly.
"Yes, he’s amazing. Amazing enough to fall for."
At this point, wasn’t she not just flattering me, but launching me into outer space?
Hearing such words come from Isty’s mouth, Wabid seemed at a loss for what to say.
"There are already so many talented adventurers as it is… It feels as though there is less and less place for me to stand.
It’s a pleasure to meet you. My name is Wabid, a mere adventurer."
"I’m Dekal."
I shook hands with Wabid.
Judging by the fact that Isty remembered him, he didn’t seem to be a mere adventurer at all.
"Mr. Dekal, then. I look forward to your performance in this orc subjugation mission as well."
I could feel people’s gazes.
At me, not Isty? Huh. Thanks to Isty, it was hard to even gauge how high my evaluation had climbed.
I wasn’t sure if someone like me, who could only use one basic offensive spell, should be mixed in with them.
"Then I’ll be going."
Wabid stepped away.
"You’re famous among adventurers, aren’t you?"
"I don’t really know. A lot of people talk to me asking to form a party, but I turn them down every time."
"Your name isn’t known either, right? Do you dislike it if I say your name in front of others?"
"I don’t want to tell anyone. Humans can’t be trusted. They betray faith so easily."
Unexpectedly, Isty revealed a hatred of humans.
I had forgotten for a moment. She was an elf whose wariness was several times stronger than most people’s.
"You don’t trust me either?"
Isty interlaced her fingers with mine and smiled.
"Dekal is an exception. You’re human, but I can trust you."
I could tell from what she’d just said and done, but it didn’t seem like Isty trusting me would soften her attitude toward other people.
An elf’s distrust of humans seemed quite deeply rooted.
Well, I had no intention of doing anything about that either.
In the end, Isty was right.
When I thought of what a human like me had done to her, how deep was my sin?
I’d held Isty like that yesterday, and yet I felt like I was going to get hard again. Feeling it anew, I really was a twisted bastard.
"Then I’ll call you by name when it’s just the two of us.
Ah, I don’t mind about my name."
"I don’t want to tell anyone Dekal’s name either."
Isty spoke in a tone tinged with cuteness.
"It’s fine. I’m quite good at handling humans, you see."
In its own way, it became a pointed remark.
In any case, the flow of things made it seem like we should take on the orc subjugation mission.
"Should we try hunting orcs? Are they very strong?"
"I don’t know other people’s standards. They were easy for me."
Of course they were easy. She was Diamond rank.
"Should we take it on? I am a bit scared, though."
"I’ll protect you, Dekal."
Come to think of it, if I brought Isty along, there was no way it would be dangerous.
It seemed like I could take it on boldly.
First, I went to the mission board and checked the details of the orc subjugation mission.
“Orc Subjugation”
Rank C+
Recommendations
Level 24 or higher, party of 3 or more, possession of combat skills and search skills
Special Notes
Mass outbreak of orcs, high danger level. High possibility of forming groups.
My level was 16.
The recommendations far surpassed my level.
"Isty, what level are you?"
I moved off to a corner and asked Isty.
If Isty was around 50 to 60, I thought I could trust her and leave it to her.
"1193."
"What?"
Had I misheard?
"One thousand one hundred ninety-three."
Thinking I had truly asked again, Isty enunciated clearly.
"…Just how strong are you?"
"Probably about as strong as a Diamond-rank adventurer?"
Judging by level, she was not someone mere orcs could even try to measure themselves against.
I went straight to the reception counter where Aselin was.
"Ah, h-how may I help you?"
What’s with her?
Lately, she’d been doing fine without stuttering.
Aselin’s face was strangely red. Seeing that reminded me of the suggestion I had planted in her.
It was the suggestion, “Every night, she masturbates while thinking of me”… right? It seemed she had reached the stage of having obscene fantasies while looking at me.
"Your face is red. Are you okay?"
"Yes! N-no problem at all."
"I’d like to accept the orc subjugation mission…"
"The orc subjugation mission, you mean? For that mission, you must possess a Bronze-rank license or higher."
"My license hasn’t come out yet, right?"
"Yes, you need to wait a little longer."
"Then…"
I glanced at Isty.
Isty seemed to understand immediately and came up to the counter in my place.
"I’ll accept it."
"Y-yes!! We don’t have any extra-large soul stones at our branch. Is that all right?"
"Yes. Please give me five large soul stones."
…Was this the dignity of Diamond rank?
The soul stones she could receive were different from mine.
"We need the guild master’s permission, so please wait a moment."
While Aselin hurriedly left her seat, I asked Isty,
"If it’s a large soul stone, how many small soul stones’ worth of capacity is that?"
"A hundred."
"…"
If one small soul stone could hold a hundred goblin souls…
One large one could hold ten thousand goblins…?
No one would take a large soul stone and go hunting goblins, but it was an incredible capacity.
"Then a medium one has the capacity of ten?"
"Yeah."
How much would they pay if it was filled completely?
I thought that a mass outbreak of monsters might perhaps be a good time for adventurers to make money.
It was work that put their lives on the line, but since the pay was definite, it was that much more appealing.
"Here are five large soul stones. Please return them to the guild after completing the mission. And…"
Aselin glanced at me.
"Would you like to register a party?"
"Register a party?"
What was that? Isty also seemed not to know. Well, this girl had never made a party either.
"When forming a party, the leader must disclose and register the members.
It’s for fairly distributing and recording achievements upon completion of the mission."
"Dekal is the leader, and I’m a party member."
"Does it make sense for me, who doesn’t even have a license, to be the leader while a Diamond rank is a party member? You be the leader."
"I’ve never done anything like being a leader before…"
Was it an unfamiliar experience for an elf?
It was the same for me. A boss, maybe, but a leader was a bit much.
"Well, isn’t it just a name anyway? Aselin, does the leader have any privileges?"
"When evaluating mission results, the leader has a greater say."
"If you kill a hundred orcs and lie that I killed fifty, would that count as me having killed them?"
The thought of abusing it came to mind right away.
Aselin panicked and looked around.
"Y-you shouldn’t say things like that out loud."
Isty looked at me with a rarely seen stern expression and said,
"Dekal, you mustn’t do things like that. You should work hard and receive fair compensation."
…What honest young ladies.
"What does it matter? It’s not like the number of dead orcs changes."
"I’ll be the leader."
Isty’s mind seemed to have changed.
"I’ll carefully watch to make sure Dekal doesn’t use any tricks."
"Is that because you don’t trust me?"
Isty gazed at me intently.
"I trust you. I trust that Dekal is more than capable of manipulating the kill count."
To think she had seen through a human like me so sharply.
An elf’s eye for people was not to be underestimated.
"Then I’ll register Hunter as the leader."
Aselin swiftly filled out the paperwork.
I had no complaints either. The strongest person should be the leader.
By the way, where did orcs appear?
"Where do the orcs come out?"
"Right now, they can be easily found in the forest outside the town. If you destroy an orc base and bring back a symbol from it, your completion score will be higher, so please keep that in mind."
So they assigned points after considering various things.
I left the guild with Isty.
"Shall we eat before we set off, Leader?"
"D-don’t call me that."
She had accepted the role, but now that she was actually being called that, she seemed embarrassed.
I ate with Isty at a nearby restaurant, then set out for the orc subjugation.