Chapter 31: Rebun’s Self-Destruction
“Calm down. Fiery Rebun-chan, or should I call you Leaky Rebun?”
I could hear sounds like pfft and bwah.
“Didn’t it turn out just as you wished? Besides, you’re the one who said you wouldn’t give a share to the ‘extra’.”
“That’s right! You’re the one who started this, and originally, the plan was for these two to accompany us, the Fangs of Osius. You’re more of an extra than Shinya!”
“And Fran did all the subjugation work anyway.”
“Yeah, yeah, a Horn Boar of that size is too much for us to handle.”
“It’s the sad reality of not having a mage in our party.”
“We only managed the Brown Bear subjugation thanks to Shinya’s guidance and help.”
“You just freeloaded off Fran and Shinya.”
“So, with that said, I can’t accept a share, and I won’t. Naturally, just as you said, you don’t get one either. You don’t have any complaints, do you? Also, you should buy an antidote Potion. I don’t think you’d expect to get a second one for free, would you?”
Fran was looking up at the ceiling with an “Oh, dear” expression, but he’s the one who picked a fight with me.
Well, ever since I found out he was harassing Fran, I’d been aiming to crush him.
“Fran, let’s go check on our windfall.”
I handed over my Guild Card at the payment counter and had them confirm the deposit: 3,742,500 Dahla.
The Rank 1 Magic Pouch and the other two were of unknown rank, but it was more than I expected.
“It’s more than I thought,” [Fran said].
“That’s because the Count-sama and the Guild each put in 10 Gold Coins, and it includes the reward for the 10 people we captured. It stings that the ringleader escaped, the one who would have fetched the highest reward.”
“Shinya, you really don’t want any?”
“I don’t need it! I got plenty from the windfall, so it’s no problem.”
I waved the paper they’d written it down on, received 37 Gold Coins, and left the change on deposit.
“Oh, I’d heard about it, but Shinya, you’re earning quite a bit too.”
“It helps that there are quite a few clueless guys like someone I know.”
“Alright, we’ll divide it among the six of us, but since it doesn’t divide evenly, it’s 270,000 Dahla per person. The rest is for meal expenses.”
Everyone received their money at the payment counter, looking pleased, but Rebun alone was watching them with a face like he was about to cry.
He said it himself. It’s laughable how everyone called him out on it, leaving him with no way out.
“We’re heading back tomorrow after we finish our shopping, but what about you guys?”
“Fran seems to be planning on doing a lot of shopping, and I’ll go to the village with her. I left Soo-chan behind, and there are various things I want to try out in the village.”
After parting ways with Dorado-san and the others, I went straight to the store next door, one frequented by Adventurers, with Fran and her brother.
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As soon as Fran entered the store frequented by Adventurers, she went straight to the counter, bought a Magic Pouch, and had her brother register as the user.
She also bought two for her parents, surprising the shopkeeper and her brother.
Leaving Fran to her shopping spree, I picked out some clothes for winter, along with gloves, a hooded cloak to use as a sleeping bag, and some furs to serve as a mattress.
While I was at it, since the arrows for my shortbow are light, I bought 20 with heavier arrowheads.
As I was paying the total of 401,000 Dahla, I heard a voice say, “Fran, you can’t carry all that!”
She was holding a whole armful of things: clothes and boots for her father and brother, knives, and hand spears.
Even if Adventurer gear is sturdy and practical for village life, she was buying way too much.
“While I have the money, I’m buying what we’ll need for the time being and taking it home. Things for Mom, cooking utensils, and seasonings too.”
I braced myself for being dragged around shopping for the next two or three days.
She bought this and that—clothes for her mother, souvenirs for her grandparents—and I was worried if her Rank 4 Magic Bag would be enough, but she didn’t even have to touch the money she’d deposited at the Commerce Guild.
She also bought plenty of food, and it was on the morning of our sixth day in Zandra that we finally left and headed for Osius Village.
“What do you think?”
“I think there are four or five of them. Maybe we were a bit too flashy with our shopping.”
“I wouldn’t call that ‘a bit’.”
“When you came back and gave Dad those Gold Coins, saying you’d earned a lot, I was astonished. You had this much money?”
“Ah, I hardly have any on hand now. It’s been tough since I teamed up with Shinya-san, but I earned a lot because of it. I decided to follow Shinya-san’s example and buy what I need when I have the money.”
“Even so, that’s too much.”
“Gran-san, with Fran’s current skills, she can earn as much money as she wants. You saw her share this time, didn’t you?”
“Shinya, was it okay for you not to take any?”
“The Guild Master called me in for a talk, and I got 37 Gold Coins and a bit from that. I earn about as much as Fran, so don’t worry.”
“More importantly, what should we do?”
“They probably won’t come right away. I’ll leave it to Bee-chan on the way.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Ah, I’m talking about the bees that are like my bodyguards.”
“Come to think of it, you’re a Tamer, and I heard you have the Divine Protection of the Tamer God.”
“Yes, it’s been a huge help thanks to that. I’m truly grateful.”
When we veered off the main road to decide on an early campsite, they rapidly approached, trying to hide in the thickets, but they fled after receiving an indiscriminate attack from Bee-chan and the others.
Bee-chan informed me that all of them—those who managed to get back to the road and those who dove into the grassy thickets—had stopped moving. So, I placed some meat outside the Dome and thanked them for their hard work.
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Having devoured all the food I’d left for it, I was greeted by Soo-chan’s first words: 《Master, I’m hungry.》
I gave it the innards of a Horn Boar I’d hunted on the way and let it eat to its heart’s content.
For its small size, it had a voracious appetite, making me wonder if Slimes really ate this much. But apparently, it was storing food.
I felt drained when Dorado and the others told me that even large Slimes shrink if they don’t have food.
When Fran went to her family with souvenirs, I left the village with Soo-chan the Slime as my companion and headed for the forest.
The gatekeeper warned me not to go too far, but I told him I was going to set up a Camping Barrier a short distance away to train, and then left the village.
It’s just that my training method is a bit different, so I don’t want others to see it.
I deployed the Camping Barrier near a suitable tree and took Soo-chan to the base of the tree.
I made a mark 3m from the ground, and also made marks at 5m, 7m, and 9m.
《Soo-chan, stay here, and when I give the signal, can you jump straight up?》
《Yes, Master.》
While listening to Soo-chan’s reply, I quickly moved away from under the tree.
《Okay, try jumping!》
Just as I thought it quivered, it shot straight up with a poing-like sound.
It jumped to a spot about one body-length below the estimated 7m mark, so it jumped about 6.6, maybe 6.7 meters.
If Soo-chan can jump 20 times its body height, then how far can I, who received that ability, jump?
I had Bee-chan confirm there was no one around, then I started by trying an all-out tree climb using Koo-chan’s tree-climbing ability.
While climbing, I could ascend so quickly it surprised me, making me wonder if it was really me doing the climbing.
I couldn’t go all the way to the swaying treetops, but
Soo-chan was chasing after me, so sometimes I’d jump upwards, using tree branches to leap to the next one.
I thought I was no different from a monkey, but since I could move freely both on the ground and in the trees, I was faster.
Soo-chan could keep up until I jumped up, but since she couldn’t use branches to change direction, she’d fall behind.
Instead, Bee-chan and the others happily chased after me.
《Master, jump upwards!》
《Higher~~~♪》
《As expected of Master! He can fly even without wings!》
《Kyahahahahaha♪》
When I used a branch on a tree as a foothold and jumped towards a tree in front of me, something leaped up from the branch I was aiming for just before I landed.
“Nigyaaaahhh!”
With a chilling cry and an impact that ran across my face, I lost my balance and failed to land on the tree branch.
I started to fall, but I managed to get my feet under me and somehow landed.
《It attacked Master!》
《Unforgivable!》
《Don’t let it escape!》
《We’ll sting it all over!》
It looked like some kind of small animal, so I stopped them with a 《Wait, don’t sting it.》
《Master, your face is wet.》
That’s right. I remembered that I’d lost my balance because of an impact to my face… and my hand came away thickly coated in blood.