by Funa
“Orcs are too easy, but the four of us aren’t strong enough to take down a rock golem. The wyvern hunting job is too far away, and worms and spiders are super gross…”
One might think that Reina was being too picky, but with their lives and their futures at stake, it was good to be cautious. Mavis, Pauline, and Mile studied the job board with serious expressions.
“Oh, hey! What about this one…?”
The rest of them turned to look at the posting Mile was pointing at:
Rock Lizard Harvesting. Reward: 15 half-gold apiece, up to 5. Dependent on condition of returned parts.
Rock lizard meat was edible, and their livers were prized for their medicinal value. The hides could also be used to make armor and the like. The way the request was written, it was clear that they were primarily after the meat, but also likely that they wanted to extract the livers and use them for gourmet cuisine, or sell them off to an apothecary. The hide would go to an armorer or workshop.
There was a reason Mile’s eyes had fixed on this posting.
First of all, rock lizards were not particularly strong. Yet despite their sluggish appearance, they were fairly fast, with rock-hard scales, and could make sweeping strikes with their powerful tails. Even so, a group of even just two or three C-rank hunters could probably manage to defeat one.
The issue lay in the location. Unlike a rock golem, a rock lizard’s body was not actually made of stone. Instead, they earned their name from living on rock faces deep in the mountains, where stronger monsters such as rock serpents, rock golems, or sometimes even iron golems might appear.
“Rock lizards, huh? The reward is pretty good…”
Reina did not appear especially interested. They would have to bring back the bodies, so she couldn’t use her fire magic and, even if they encountered golem-type monsters along the way, her sort of magic wouldn’t be much help with them, either.
Plus, it was a two-day journey each way. At minimum, this venture would take them five days and four nights—longer if things proved difficult.
Still, there were also advantages.
First, because the hunting ground was distant and perilous and the quarry itself was such a difficult foe, the reward was substantial. Netting just three lizards would be enough to cover the party’s minimum food and lodging expenses for a month. Part of the reward was probably compensation for carrying a bulky and easily bruised creature such a very long way, but for the Crimson Vow, who had Mile and her absurd abilities with storage magic, that wasn’t a big deal.
Plus, there was plenty of time before the deadline, and the penalty for non-completion was low—only two half-gold. At most, they could get five rock lizards, but given the dangers and the difficulty involved in transport, they were only expected to get one at a time.
It was also incredibly convenient: rock lizards were not a strong monster that would serve as their trial of strength. So as long as they bagged at least one, they could retreat whenever they liked.
“We have a lot of freedom here and not much to lose. What do you think?”
“I have no objections.”
“I don’t either.”
“Me neither!”
Mile quickly tacked on her agreement after Mavis and Pauline.
“Well, then. Let’s do this! The Crimson Vow will give it our all!”
“Yeah!!!”
“I would really advise against this…”
As expected, the guild clerk tried to stop them.
“I am aware that you all fought bravely against the Roaring Mithrils. However, this is a completely different matter. I cannot stand idly by and watch as you recklessly take on jobs that may be the death of you.”
Ah, she didn’t say “won,” just “fought bravely”… I guess that’s how they saw it.
Mile understood that this was probably what others thought of their mock battle at the graduation exam.
“We already know that! But we’re not asking to do this kind of job all the time—just this once. If the going gets tough, we’ll retreat. It will be fine. This is a trial that we of the Crimson Vow must overcome!”
“W-well…”
While the receptionist could advise them on their best course of action, she did not have the authority to refuse a job assignment request from C-rank hunters. As long as the applicants themselves fulfilled the basic requirements, the guild had no choice but to honor that request, as long as it did not violate a mandate from the guild master.
“Please!!!” begged Mavis, Pauline, and Mile.
The receptionist reluctantly processed the request.
“Please, if you do find yourselves in danger, run away as quickly as you can.”
“We will! Of course. We value our lives, and we aren’t the kind of fools who would get injured just to protect our own pride!”
With the fretful eyes of the receptionist, the guild officials, and the other hunters watching over them, the four girls left the guildhall.
“All right. It’s time to get our equipment in order! We’ll need cooking tools and bedding, food, rain gear, toiletries, and a few other things. And since we’ll be using all of these for the foreseeable future, we had better find some good stuff.”
Because of their considerable magical abilities, the Crimson Vow could easily take care of things like water, flint, kindling, and medicine. Indeed, it was a huge advantage over parties without magic users. Furthermore, thanks to Mile’s storage skills, they could journey unburdened by even their minimal amount of luggage. Honestly, it hardly seemed fair.
Mavis and Pauline nodded at Reina, but Mile shook her head.
“Oh, I’m fine. I’ve slept outside plenty of times, so I’ll just use the gear I already have.”
“Oh yeah? And where in the world are you keeping all of… w-wait, don’t tell me…”
“Ah, yes. It’s in storage!”
“………”
They looked at Mile with utter weariness.
“Fine. But you’re still coming shopping with us! We need to help Mavis and Pauline pick out what they need, and we still need your input on purchases that affect the whole party!”
“Oh.”
Naturally. This was not an “every man for himself” sort of situation. They were a party of four.
Not having realized that, Mile was a bit crestfallen.
Reina patted her on the head. “C’mon, let’s go!”
“O-okay!”
They made their rounds at the used clothing shop, the general store, the grocer and the like, purchasing cloaks, saucepans, cooking tools, preserved food, and other accessories before returning to the inn.
At dinner, they notified the mistress at the inn of their upcoming absence and requested that their lunchtime meal for the following day be left in a box at breakfast time. Then they retreated to their room on the second floor.
Tomorrow was a big day, and they had no time to play hostess to the other guests.
“All right, we want to get an early start tomorrow, so let’s eat breakfast as soon as we get up. And let’s all try and get a good night’s sleep.”
In spite of Reina’s words, she was the most restless of all of them—far from ready to fall asleep. There was still plenty of time before the night’s second bell at 9 PM, and so they sat up and talked. The night ended with Reina raging at Mile—who was telling a story called “The Weeping Red Ogre” from her Altered Japanese Fable series.
“Why would you tell us a story like that right before we go kill monsters?!” Reina cried.
***
The next day, after finishing their breakfast and washing up, the Crimson Vow departed the inn. By all appearances, they were nearly empty-handed. Except for their weapons, armor, and water skins, everything—including the boxed lunches they had received—had been stowed away with Mile’s storage magic.
In truth, Mile only pretended to use storage magic, instead stashing their lunches away in the time-frozen world of her loot box where they wouldn’t spoil.
<
br /> “That sure is handy,” said Reina, worrying what would happen if they grew too used to it.
Their destination was two days’ walk.
Normally, the number of days a trip would take was calculated according to the pace of an average adult male. That was nothing for Mavis and Mile, but Reina and Pauline would have taken longer if not for the benefit of the storage magic.
It was no question that between full-grown men wearing weapons and armor, carrying water, food, and tons of other equipment on their backs, and women carrying nothing but armor and weapons, the latter would move much quicker—especially if said women were hunters. No matter how much slower the rear guard might be, their weapons were light staves and rods, which nearly made up for the difference.
The Crimson Vow left quite early that morning, planning to stop only one night along the way. They should be able to reach the foothills by the evening of the following day.
After they arrived, they would camp and spend the next day hunting. Then they would camp for one more night and set off home the morning after.
If all went well, the trip should last five days and four nights—perhaps a day or two longer if they were delayed. They hadn’t packed very much food, but that wasn’t a problem; there was plenty to gather along the way. With their magic, they didn’t have to worry about water, either. Finally, although the other girls didn’t think they’d brought much food, Mile stashed plenty away in her loot box.
They took a nice long rest at noon and dined on their boxed lunches. Then the Crimson Vow proceeded down the highway where, suddenly, they noticed two wagons following behind them.
A wagon should move quicker than someone on foot. Even Mile and her company, who were reasonably quick, would be a little slower. But, for some reason, the wagons never tried to pass, always keeping a fixed distance behind.
When they stopped for a rest, the wagons stopped as well.
When they started moving again, so did the wagons.
“Looks like we’ve got a parasite,” Reina said, peevishly.
“A parasite?” asked Mile, clueless as usual.
Reina replied, “Ah, I guess they never brought it up at school. ‘Parasites’ are merchants who are too cheap to pay for an escort, but think they can just shadow hunters or other parties traveling the same route and get free protection. If they’re near enough, the chance of them being attacked falls significantly, and even if they are targeted, it’s unlikely that the hunters will just ignore them. The merchants are compatriots for the time being, after all. Just standing by would leave a bad taste.
“The problem is that when you allow this sort of thing, it means fewer job requests for small escorts and more unpaid work for hunters. It’s a huge nuisance for the merchants who pay for an escort like they’re supposed to, as well as the hunters who put their lives on the line for someone that isn’t their employer.”
While it would be clear to anyone that these four young women were novices, they were obviously still hunters. Besides, to be traveling this far they must be D-ranks at least, and their positioning indicated they had two advance guards and two magic users. That would be sufficient to fight off several orcs, and lesser parties of bandits would think twice before ambushing them. Even if the bandits thought they could win, they wouldn’t want to chance serious injury. If even a few of them were injured, a small group could be wiped out entirely.
“Parasites, huh? Well, what do we do?”
“We don’t do anything. Or rather, we can’t. Even if we go yell at them, they’ll just shrug and say, ‘We’ve got business in this direction, too,’” Reina replied.
“I guess you’re right…” said Mile, understanding.
Well, it was an underhanded thing to do, but at least they weren’t interfering with them directly. At least for now.
When the sun starting going down, the girls moved into the woods near the highway and set up camp.
No one would stay outside cover where bandits and other travelers could see you. Since the starlight couldn’t get through the treetops, the forest got dark fast.
Reina had the most experience, so she gave directions and the members of the Crimson Vow scurried about, preparing an efficient sleeping shelter and a nice bonfire, and making ready for dinner.
But just then…
“Hey there! Good evening!”
They were greeted by a rather portly, grinning, middle-aged man, flanked by two guards—most likely, the merchant parasite.
There was only one guard for each wagon, but it seemed this caravan did have escorts after all. Perhaps they were the man’s personal bodyguards. That was only sensible—even if the wagons were lost along with his wares, if a merchant worked hard, he could earn that money back again. His life was not so easily recovered.
Presumably there were also drivers, who had probably been left at the campsite.
“Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Dewberry. I’m a merchant from the capital. We’ve made camp just over there, and I saw your bonfire, so I thought I would come and say hello.”
He was a parasite after all. It was a bald-faced lie, but there was no use in calling him out.
“Ah, that’s courteous of you. We are the C-rank hunting party, the Crimson Vow. I am Mavis, our leader.”
Normally Reina would take the helm, but when it came to formal exchanges, Mavis—the official leader—was in charge. Even Reina knew that her abrasive manners could be misconstrued and that her appearance gave a certain kind of impression. However, her face still twisted at Mavis, who’d slipped up by announcing their rank to a total stranger with unclear intentions. Mavis didn’t seem to notice.
“Perhaps you girls would like to dine with us?”
The merchant smiled, but there was no mistaking he was planning something. No typical merchant would share his precious food with strangers he’d just stumbled upon. He’d surely packed only enough for himself and his staff.
He was underestimating them, planning to take advantage of their inexperience—or perhaps his intentions were more sinister…
Whichever it was, Reina was certain that nothing good could come from the man’s invitation. She gave a sign to the other three—one of the many hand signals they had devised—which meant, Let’s show them how much stronger we are. Being underestimated or swept up into something weird meant trouble, and the others agreed immediately.
“As far as I can tell, you don’t appear to have any food. My own supplies may not be sufficient, but if you come along with us we’d happily share our stores.”
“Actually, we have plenty of food.” Reina responded. “In fact, if you don’t have enough, then I suggest you share some of ours.”
And so the merchant’s invitation was rejected in a single blow.
“Huh? I don’t see any—”
“Mile, please bring out the food!” Reina cried, cutting the merchant off.
“Yes, ma’am!”
Mile reached into her loot box and pulled out a number of ingredients.
Vegetables, fruit, and even meat, which had been magically “kept on ice” (that is to say, stored inside the loot box), so it was not dried, but raw.
“Wh…”
The merchant and his two guards were completely lost for words.
“S-so you have storage magic, then…”
“And you’re C-ranks…”
Glancing at the stunned merchant and his guards, Mavis quickly sliced the meat with her short sword and Reina roasted it over the bonfire. Pauline used magic to funnel boiling water into a pot. Watching them, Mile thought fondly of the night of their field trip.
And secretly, the nanomachines wept to see the short sword they’d worked so hard to craft make its debut as a cooking knife…
Reina used the bonfire instead of her fire magic to cook the meat. While flash-roasting it with her spells would only blacken the outside and leave the inside raw, food cooked over a normal fire was much tastier.
“So, as you can see, there’s no ne
ed to worry about us,” said Reina.
The merchant retreated, dejected.
“So what d’you think?” asked Mavis, her cheeks stuffed with roasted meat.
Reina’s mouth was downturned.
“Well, I don’t think they’ll try anything funny, but if they’re attacked by bandits or monsters they’ll definitely come running with their tails between their legs.”
“That’s still unpleasant. It’s one thing to come across some merchants who are under attack and give them a hand, but to be used by penny-pinching strangers…”
It was a way of forcing hunters to work for free, something they were not especially interested in doing. Pauline was particularly offended.
“Well then, let’s just ignore them!”
“Huh???”
Mile’s words startled the others.
“We aren’t actually working for them—or even traveling with them, right? We just happen to be traveling in the same direction? It would be uncomfortable to watch them get attacked by beasts or bandits right before our eyes, so we just have to not see it.” Mile grinned. “If some strangers somewhere get hurt… well, that’s none of our business!”
***
“We’re under attack! A horde of orcs is coming this way! I can’t tell how many!”
Late that night, the merchant, the drivers, and the guard who’d just completed the first watch were startled awake by a cry from the other guard.
“Dammit! We should’ve been fine around here! We’ve got no choice!”
“Got it!”
The guards had been hired to handle this sort of situation. The merchant listened, then followed their commands.
The plan, as always, was to drive the attackers ahead towards their “hosts.” In this case, that meant four young and seemingly inexperienced women, but they were C-ranks, and they even had storage magic, so they must be at least somewhat capable. And rookies were always soft, their hearts filled with thoughts of justice. They wouldn’t easily abandon someone in need, even a complete stranger. It was a stupid way to live, but quite convenient for the merchant and his crew.