I had made a lot of leftovers,
so I had venison steaks for lunch, but Bridgit, who had been suspicious of our
behavior as we were heading to the village of Bizane, spotted me cooking.
“What? Hey! What on earth
are you eating?” (Bridgit)
I said with a wry smile.
“Well, would you like to
eat some?” (Louis)
“Of course!”
(Bridgit)
I replied, just as I finished grilling
Tiger’s Roar’s portions, so I started grilling Bridget’s and my portion, but
the rest of her group found us, and I just gave up. So, I began grilling
everyone’s portions one after another.
“Thank you. I never
thought I’d get such a good meal on a quest.” (Carl)
Carl was the first to thank
me, but I knew it was going to happen when Bridget found me.
We left for Ares after our
lunch break.
We proceeded in the same
manner as when going to the village of Bizane, defeating small fry monsters,
and arrived at Ares the following evening as planned.
We went through the gate of
Ares and rode straight into the guild.
Lucian went to return the
Raptor carriage, while Carl and I reported to the guild.
Carl called out to Rosa, the
receptionist.
“Rosa, excuse me, but we need
to report directly to the Guild Master on the results of the Orc subjugation.”
(Carl)
“Yes, I understand.”
(Rosa)
Rosa answered and ran to the
back of the room, and after a while, she was out of breath and came back.
“Guild Master Harold,
will see you now. Please go to the back.” (Rosa)
Carl and I were escorted
upstairs to the Guild Master’s office.
As we sat down in the reception
chairs, the Guild Master greeted us.
“My name is Harold. Thank
you for your efforts in defeating the Orcs. Let’s hear the details.”
(Harold)
The Guild Master, who
introduced himself to me, looked to be around 40 years old, with short chestnut
hair and light green eyes, and spoke softly, but his body was more muscular
than Carl’s…well, a total macho beast. The chair in the parlor set was just a
little too small. The chair in the parlor set seemed a little smaller. The way
he and Carl sat facing each other, it was as if they were professional
wrestlers having a meeting, and I could almost feel the heat in the air.
“I’m Carl, of Speed Kings.
This is Louis, a solo adventurer. Thanks to the efforts of this guy, we were
able to take down 48 Orcs this time without any injuries. One of them was even a
High Orc.” (Carl)
“What? There was a High Orc?”
(Harold)
The guild master said that he needs
a complete report, including every step taken leading up to the subjugation of
the 48 orcs and the treatment of the nest.
“Carl, I really
appreciate your hard work on this life-threatening quest. I’m glad you were
lucky enough to defeat it, but this time you might have gotten wiped out, right?
The decision on the quest will be left to the responding field leaders, but
from now on, remember that we all owe you, our lives.” (Harold)
“Understood.” (Carl)
Carl nodded stonily, then stood up, turned, and was about to leave when
the Guild Master called out to us from behind.
“Oh, hey, you two, I’m
promoting Louis to rank D on my authority.” (Harold)
Carl turned around and replied
with a grin.
“Are you sure it is just
a D-rank? I’m pretty sure this guy’s abilities are at least C-rank.”
(Carl)
“Well, even if that’s the
case, it’s still a D, because it’s in line with the others around him.”
(Harold)
I said, “What?” as I
pointed to myself, however, I was already being dragged out of the room by
Carl.
I was led up to the reception
desk, where Rosa took my guild card from me and rewrote it to make me a D-rank
adventurer.
I handed the quest form to
Rosa, asked her to confirm its completion and calculate the reward for
defeating the Orcs, and went to the dismantling area.
I turned in 48 Orcs, including
High Orcs, and also made a purchase request.
Surprisingly, both the reward
and the purchase were made quickly.
This is probably because Orcs
are a popular meat source.
The subjugation reward was 15
gold coins per Orc and 30 for the High Orc, while the material purchase was 30
per Orc and 40 for the High Orc.
Defeat was 15 x 47 bodies =
705 plus 30 for 735 coins, and buyback was 20 x 47 bodies = 940 plus 40 for 980
coins, for a total of 1715 coins.
Divided equally among 10
people, each person was rewarded with 171 gold coins.
As one might expect, it was
well worth the effort to subjugate all 48 of them.
Since there were no expensive
items among the adventurers’ equipment that the orcs had accumulated, we asked
them to give as much as they could find to the bereaved families, and if there
was any leftover, the guild would buy it and donate it to the orphanage.
We were sure that less than
10% of the equipment would be sold, and even if we bought it back, it would
probably not amount to 10 gold coins.
I was worried that if a large
amount of Orc meat were to appear on the market all at once, it would cause the
prices of Orc meat to plummet. I was worried, but it seems that items like
magic bags can be used to preserve the meat, and there are many merchants who
transport it from the capital to the provinces, so there is no need to hold
back any amount of Orc meat, which is in very high demand.
Carl announced the allocation
of rewards and purchases that had been entrusted to him.
“Louis will receive 200
gold coins for his hard work, and the rest will be split evenly among everyone,
168 gold coins per person, with any remainder going to Jeffrey. Does anyone
have any objections?” (Carl)
After everyone agreed and
received their gold coins, we disbanded, but the Tiger’s Roar members asked me
to join them for the after-party, and I accepted and went to the same “Wildcat
Pavilion” as last time.
I asked the owner to let me
cook the venison myself.
There was plenty more venison
to be had, so I gave the owner a chunk of meat as payment for the use of the
kitchen, and he was very pleased.
The venison was only to be
made into steaks, but I used [Maturation] the venison cuts.
I had experienced the taste of
aged meat several times in my previous life.
Since adventurers eat a lot, I
cooked and served twice as many as the number of people in the party, plus the
owner’s portion.
Everyone else drank, but
Margot and I drank only fruit juice and water.
I don’t know if it was my height
or not, but as usual, I was considered a child when it came to getting food.
The aged venison had a flavor
that everyone had never tasted before, and some people commented that they
wondered if they had been served another high-end meat like Jewel Boar Meat.
We still have a large amount
of both Jewel Boar Meat and venison in storage, but this is just aged.
When I got drunk, Vinnie talked
to me about ranks and the battle.
“As I said before, Louis
you quickly overtook our ranks. I was watching from behind you during the
battle, and your ability to fight against the High Orc was incredible.”
(Vinnie)
I remember the High Orc was
really tough, but I just stabbed it in the end after using Huey’s mucus.
Alan then said happily.
“That’s right. It’s nice
to see someone you eat with rising through the ranks like this, and it makes us
all want to do our best, too.” (Alan)
Everyone nodded in agreement.
“Thank you. But since we
are able to talk like this because we made it back alive, let’s continue to put
safety first and do our best.” (Louis)
When I answered, they all
asked why I don’t challenge myself and take higher rank quests.
Well, I basically answered I want
to earn money peacefully, prioritizing safety first.
After a pleasant evening, we
went home and I reflected a little on this time.
I thought about what I had
heard at the church about fairies and spirits, and about the “Spirit Light”
that I seemed to be releasing.
Ah! I remembered clearly! Huey
had told me when we met that I “smelled good!”
If the fairy’s words are
correct, then Huey is something close to a fairy or a spirit, but how is that
possible when he’s a monster?
There are so many things I
really don’t understand.
I’ll ask Jupiter-sama about
the Spirit Light the next time I see him.
In the battle, we, ten
adventurers’ movements were disorganized, and we had a lot of trouble dealing
with a single tough High Orc.
If it had been a higher-ranked
monster, I think we would have been annihilated, but did Carl know the strength
of the High Orc when he decided on the battle?
We have already received a
stern warning from the Guild Master, Harold, but in retrospect, I still can’t
deny that it was an error in judgment.
If I am ever in a position to
lead in a situation like this in the future, I would want to put safety first
and come running back with my tail between my legs.
Even if I am denounced as a
loser or a coward, I will have a chance for revenge only if I live to see
another day.
Then there is magic.
[Exploration] & my other Exploration
Magic has improved, I remember that magic evolves as you use it and become
accustomed to it.
Also, using [Heal] in battle
is difficult.
I think it is because I am not
accustomed to using it enough to instantly activate it, but it is difficult to
switch my thoughts to imagine things in the middle of battle.
If I could imagine two things
at the same time, I might be able to use [Heal] while fighting, but it’s
impossible with my current ability.
I think that if you think that
there are people who can do two or more things at the same time like there are
people who can drive a car or play a musical instrument and sing at the same
time, you can train yourself to be able to do those things.
It is worth training.
I should also think a little
about weapons in combat.
The most efficient thing I can
use at the moment is my Non-Attribute Magic [Psychokinesis], and I can increase
the accuracy of attacks by changing the force and penetrating power by
controlling my Psychokinesis.
Should I enhance what I currently
have available or come up with an entirely new weapon?
Considering mass alone, the
quickest and most effective way is to hit it with a rock and blow it away.
However, if they are unusually
tough like before, or if I am considering the aftermath of the battle, it would
be more efficient to psychokinetically attack using bow and arrows or spears.
If this is the case, I should
prepare weapons such as iron spears, bows and arrows, and needle, according to
the size of the monster.
If I level up my weapons from
stone to iron, I will not have to panic when fighting monsters.
Since we made quite a bit of
money this time, I would like to take a week off from questing starting
tomorrow and stop by Hank Bakery and Sinker Trading Company to replenish food
and spices for the next quest.
I also have some beginner
potions left over, but I’ve decided to make and stock up on advanced potions.
The next morning I woke up
feeling no fatigue. I realize that a young body can recover without leaving any
fatigue. This alone is wonderful for a former 60-year-old.