Chapter 1-28 : The Second Town, Ijard (part 2)
After parting with Eclair-san and the leader of the Silver Wing Brigade, I approached the portal with Shougo and the others to register.
As soon as I stepped into the portal, a half-translucent window appeared in front of me.
ーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーー
ーSelect Your Destinationー
→ Erst Town
→ Hafen
→ Ijard (in grey font)
ーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーー
The name of this town, Ijard, has already been added to the list. Now I can use portals in any other towns to teleport here anytime.
「Have you guys registered with the portal?」(Shougo)
We replied to Shougo by nodding.
「Alright. Our main goal is complete. We can part here, but if you want to explore this town, you can stay with me. As I said, I want to look for a blacksmith to make a new sword.」(Shougo)
「I’m going with you, of course!」(Shuu)
「Me too.」(Gaul)
「You boys can go without me. I’m close to leveling up some of my skills, so I’m going to hunt some monsters.」(Kururu)
「I’ll go with Kururu~ I want to level up my skills too~」(Leone)
「Leveling skills is important after all. I’ll go with you two. Let’s get some quests from the residents here before going to the forest.」(Rin)
「Everyone’s going, huh? Ruka, how about you?」(Alice)
When I asked Ruka, she looked at me and made a weird grin for some reason.
「I want to make money, so I’m going to Hafen.」(Ruka)
「Hm? Why Hafen?」(Alice)
「Recently, I’ve been making a lot of money by selling fiber materials to Lynette.」(Ruka)
「Lynette? I see…」(Alice)
She’s selling fiber materials to Lynette, huh? That’s why she wants to go to the south and gather silk cocoons there.
But… I didn’t expect she would get along with Lynette too.
She has only known her for a short time, but she’s now treating her like a money-making machine…
「Alice, how about you?」(Ruka)
「Hmm…」(Alice)
Shougo, Shuu, and Gaul are going to explore this town and look for new equipment. Rin, Leone, and Kururu are going to hunt monsters in the nearby forest. Ruka is going south to hunt spiders and gather fiber materials.
Since Ruka is alone, it’s best if I go with her, but I don’t really need fiber materials right now, and I’m not in the mood for hunting spiders.
Speaking of spiders, I wonder how those Squidspiders in the lake are doing.
I promised them I would come back and take care of the ‘thing’ invading their nest.
That ‘thing’… I didn’t see its entire body, but I saw its huge golden eye…
I was wondering if it was a boss monster, but after watching the official livestream and listening to what the president said about mythical beasts, I started to think… maybe that ‘thing’ in the lake is a mythical beast.
「Umm… Guys, I know it’s too late to say this, but I think I’ve seen a mythical beast before.」(Alice)
「Eh!? Seriously!?」(Shougo)
「Why didn’t you tell us sooner?」(Rin)
「I just remembered. Ruka talked about fiber materials, and it reminded me of it.」(Alice)
「How come?」(Rin)
「It was invading the nest of Squidspiders, so…」(Alice)
「I see. Can you tell us more?」(Rin)
「Alright.」(Alice)
「Hold on. There are too many people here. Let’s go to a quiet place.」(Shougo)
Everyone nodded at Shougo, and then we went to a cafe that didn’t have many customers inside.
Shougo owed me food, so I got a free cake from him.
While eating the cake, I told everyone about my findings in Lake Clar the other day.
「A huge mysterious monster in the lake… How fascinating…」(Shougo)
「And it’s invading Squidspiders’ nest, you say?」(Rin)
「I wonder if that monster could transform into a girl!」(Shuu)
「Hahh… Why do you always have such thoughts?」(Kururu)
「Fufu~ A mythical beast that can transform into a cute girl, huh? That would be wonderful~」(Leone)
「Right?」(Shuu)
「Not you too, Leone!」(Kururu)
「Squidspiders… I bet they look weird…」(Ruka)
Everyone was surprised, but then they reacted differently.
「So, do you want us to help you capture that thing?」(Shougo)
「Umm, no. I’m not sure. I mean, I don’t even know how you can enter the nest. It shoots a powerful water cannon the moment you peek into the hole.」(Alice)
「How powerful?」(Shougo)
「Enough to make a huge crater in the bottom of the lake.」(Alice)
「Really? That’s a huge problem… Even Gaul might not survive it. No offense, mate.」(Shougo)
「…..」(Gaul)
Gaul, who doesn’t talk much, responded to Shougo with a shrug.
He has a huge shield as a weapon and has the most defense among us, but as Shougo said, I don’t think he could survive that cannon.
「If Gaul couldn’t survive the cannon, then it would be impossible to enter the nest.」(Shuu)
「Then how can we defeat it?」(Rin)
「Good question~」(Leone)
「Maybe we can lure it out somehow? What do you think, Alice-san?」(Kururu)
「Umm… I don’t think we can lure it out.」(Alice)
Everyone was brainstorming, thinking of a way to defeat it, but Ruka came up with a completely different idea.
「If we can’t even enter the nest because of its water cannon, perhaps we’re not supposed to defeat it in the first place.」(Ruka)
「We’re not supposed to defeat it…? Aa!」(Alice)
Thanks to her, I remembered what the Squidspider told me.
「Ruka’s probably right! I forgot that the Squidspider didn’t want that thing to get hurt and wanted to solve this problem peacefully!」(Alice)
「The Squidspider told you that? Hmm… In that case…」(Shougo)
Shougo folded his arms. He seemed to realize something.
「What’s in your mind?」(Alice)
「Remember what the president said on the livestream? There’s a certain condition you have to meet to tame a mythical beast.」(Shougo)
「Ah, he did say that. That means there’s something specific I need to do to deal with that monster, right?」(Alice)
「Yes, and it has nothing to do with combat, I think.」(Shougo)
「Hmm…」(Alice)
While wondering what the condition I had to meet was, a notification popped up in my interface.
I got a message from Lynette. She said that my new armor is ready.
「Umm, guys, I have to go. Lynette said I can get my new armor now.」(Alice)
「She finally completed it, huh? It sure took her a while.」(Rin)
「Wait, how about that mythical beast of yours?」(Shougo)
「Hmm, if I don’t have to fight it, then I’ll think of a solution and take care of it myself for now.」(Alice)
「If you say so. But if you need help, let us know.」(Shougo)
「Un. I’m going now. See you later, guys!」(Alice)
「Ou.」(Shougo)
「See you later~」(Rin)
「Later, Alice-chan~」(Leone)
I took the last bite of my cake, stood up from my seat, and waved at everyone, but when I was about to step away, Ruka stood up too.
「Alice, I’m going with you. I want to talk with Lynette.」(Ruka)
「Alright. Let’s go.」(Alice)
I then left the cafe, went to the portal, and then teleported back to Erst Town with Ruka.
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