Chapter 11: Signs of Collapse 【Side: Ghuftok】
“What the…?! Just what the hell is with that bastard!!!!”
I slammed my fist on the desk after Loin left.
I’m in such a foul mood.
Why does that weak-ass Loin, who couldn’t even beat a Slime… have a weapon like that…?!
“Gh-Ghuftok-sama…! Please calm down!”
Plum placed a hand on my shoulder, trying to calm me down, but I roughly brushed it away.
“Shut up! How can I be calm in this situation!”
And here I am, struggling because I have no money…
That Loin bastard, he looked like he was doing pretty damn well for himself.
On top of that, my weapon got broken.
“Hey! We’re gonna earn enough so we won’t be outdone by him! We’re going to defeat Golems too!”
“Eh…?! Us, take on Golems…?”
“Yeah, that’s right? Is there a problem…?”
“B-but… since we don’t have any money, maybe we shouldn’t…”
Natalia said, being her usual timid self.
Seriously, this is why she’s useless.
“Don’t be stupid! It’s because we don’t have money that we’re doing this! If we defeat Golems, we’ll get a decent amount of cash.”
“B-but…”
“Huh? You’re not going to listen to what I say?”
“S-sorry…”
I silenced the objecting party members and took the quest to the counter.
It’s my job as the leader to keep the party members in line, after all.
And what’s more, I didn’t choose a Golem that even a weakling like Loin could defeat.
It’s a subjugation quest for an Elder Golem, a superior type of Golem.
“Alright, it’s payback time. I’ll make them understand my greatness.”
We immediately headed to the dungeon.
If we clear this quest, we’ll get money, and we can make Loin eat his words.
It’s truly killing two birds with one stone, a god-like idea!
◇
And yet—
Why…?!
“…Tch! Why do we have to struggle this much!”
We were even having trouble just reaching the Elder Golem.
We were advancing through the dungeon, but the number of enemies wasn’t decreasing at all.
“Hey Cartina! You haven’t been attacking much, have you?! What the hell is going on!”
I yelled angrily at Cartina, the Mercenary.
I thought something was off, and it turns out Cartina has only been attacking the enemies directly in front of her.
In other words, she’s clearly slacking off.
It seems she only intends to do the bare minimum.
“‘What’s going on?’ is my line. I am, to the end, a Mercenary. Since I’m hired for money, if I’m not paid properly, I have no obligation to work.”
“What did you say?! We don’t have any money right now! Stop your damn complaining and do your part to earn it!”
Seriously, what an arrogant bitch.
We came here to defeat Golems because we don’t have money, so what kind of logic is it to not attack because we don’t have money?
This is why I hate stupid meatheads…
But well, she’s good-looking, so I guess I can forgive her.
“More importantly…! Hey Plum! You too! What the hell are you doing!”
“Y-yes! I’m sorry, Ghuftok-sama!”
For a while now, it’s felt like Plum hasn’t been doing her job either.
It’s true that Plum’s work as an Item Artisan isn’t very conspicuous, but…
“Um… I’m an Item Artisan, so… I can’t fight without items…!”
“I know that…! I’ve given you plenty of consumable items for combat, you idiot!”
“Well… I ran out during the last battle…”
“What?! I told you we don’t have any money! You stupid woman!”
Seriously, what a useless party, every last one of them.
My head is starting to hurt.
Even I am forced to use a slightly weaker weapon because my sword broke.
Our efficiency is already down, and with allies like this, we’ll be here all day.
“And finally, Natalia! You too! Your monsters also look like they haven’t been doing any work at all for a while now…? Are they scarecrows? Huh? Say something.”
“S-sorry, Ghuftok-sama…! But…!”
Natalia is a Tamer.
So she has several wolf monsters with her.
Because of that, it’s always noisy and unbearable.
But she’s cute and obedient, so I keep her around.
“Well…! My monsters haven’t been listening to me for a while now!”
“Huh? Are you incompetent? What good is a Tamer who can’t make her monsters obey!”
“S-sorry! It’s just… it seems they haven’t had enough food and are hungry…”
“I! TOLD! YOU! We don’t have any money! We don’t have any damn food to feed some mutts! Go feed ’em your own crap, you dumbass!”
Seriously, talk about money sinks.
Why do my party members go on and on about money like this?
Up until now, we’ve always earned enough.
Why did things suddenly turn out like this…?
Come to think of it, it feels like our luck has completely plummeted since Loin left.
No… that can’t be…
A guy like him, it’s the same whether he’s here or not. He’s an insignificant existence.
It’s a waste to even think about him.
“Agh, damn it! Loin’s face keeps flashing in my mind! Thinking about him just pisses me off even more!”
Irritated, I kicked the dungeon wall.
And then…
—Rumble rumble rumble rumble.
“Hm…?”
Somehow, I feel like that wall just now moved when I kicked it.
What’s going on…?
As I was spacing out thinking that, Cartina the Mercenary tapped my shoulder.
“Hey Ghuftok, get a grip! Stop complaining all the time. You’re the one not doing any work!”
She dared to say something like that.
That Cartina… getting cocky.
“Shut up! My main weapon is broken and unusable! That’s why I’m not at my best!”
“Hmph… I wonder about that. A first-rate warrior doesn’t choose their weapon.”
Damn it…!
That just adds fuel to the fire.
I had reached my limit.
I can’t stand it anymore!
“Uwaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!
Shit
Shit
Shit
Shit
Shiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiit!!!!”
Losing myself, I punched the dungeon wall repeatedly.
Then, the wall moved, even more than before.
And then the wall bounced back towards me!
I was sent flying as if punched by the wall.
“Uwaaaaaah!”
“Ghuftok-sama…?!”
Damn it…
Even the dungeon walls are turning against me…?!
“This damn wall!”
I stood up once more and tried to punch the wall again.
Then, Cartina grabbed me in a full nelson and stopped me.
“Hey, what the hell!”
“Look closely…! This isn’t a wall…!”
“Huh…?”
Urged by Cartina, I looked around carefully.
When I looked up, I finally understood the situation.
That thing I had mistaken for a wall wasn’t a wall at all.
“A G-Golem…?”
Yes, it was just so enormous that I hadn’t noticed.
The Elder Golem, our quest objective, was right there.