Chapter 75: An Unexpected Encounter
Ariela smiled with satisfaction as she looked at the Barrier that had withstood my attack, and her husband praised it.
It was quite a heartwarming sight, but while I did have ways to break a Barrier of this level, I wasn’t so tactless as to rain on their parade.
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Leaving things to the replacement party, we returned to the town of Tanza for our second rest and headed straight for the Adventurers Guild, but just like last time, it was overflowing with people.
At the purchase counter, the Sub-Master was managing things, and when he saw our faces, he told us to go to the meeting room on the second floor.
Following Glen, who tilted his head in confusion, we went to the meeting room, and this place, too, was overflowing with Adventurers.
“Guild Master, what do you need?”
“Oh, thanks for your hard work. How are things looking out there?”
“It feels like they’re just gushing out. You didn’t assign us the worst spot, did you?”
“Well, it is one of the more numerous spots. So, I was thinking of adding another group to your location. If you have any acquaintances, take them with you. If not, I’ll assign a suitable party, so guide them.”
“Shinya-san! What are you doing in a place like this?”
As we were talking, a voice calling my name came from behind us.
When I turned around, Fran was shouting, her eyes wide and round, and the members of Osius’s Fang were grinning.
“Fran, what’s wrong?”
“We got a summons from the Adventurers Guild in Zandra, telling us to go to Tanza as reinforcements.”
“Oh, if you guys know each other, that’s perfect. What’s your party’s name?”
“It’s Osius’s Fang.”
“Alright then, I’ll be counting on Tanza’s Shield, Osius’s Fang, and Shinya.”
“Again? Or rather, we just got back and haven’t even had an ale yet!”
“Got it. I’ll count on you after you’ve had your ale.”
He’s not really listening, is he?
I introduced Dorado to Glen, and for now, we headed to the dining hall for some ale, but it looked like we’d have a hard time getting a drink with so many people.
“Doesn’t look like we’ll be able to drink, what should we do?”
“For now, let’s just drop off our game and head out into town.”
“I’m not leaving town until I’ve had a drink!”
“What about you guys?”
“It doesn’t seem like a relaxing atmosphere for a drink, so for now, could you show us your game?” Dorado asked.
The Dismantling Area was also crowded, with a long queue forming, so I felt like I was about to burp the moment I saw it.
“Ah well, we can’t exactly run away from this place.”
“If we don’t empty our Magic Bags, anything we hunt will just go to waste.”
“Shinya-san, why are you in this town?” Fran asked.
“I came to visit an acquaintance, and while I was at it, I was gathering Gold Mash.”
“Ah, that’s right, because of Mii-chan and Hoo-chan.”
“After that, I was sightseeing in Tanza’s forest, and when I came to the Guild to sell my game, thinking of heading back, I got caught in a compulsory summons.”
“What, Shinya, you became D-Rank too?” Glen remarked.
“Unfortunately, yes. But if they’re requesting reinforcements all the way from Zandra, is it that serious?”
“I heard it’s a once-in-decades thing. Normally, they wouldn’t call people from south of the Royal Capital,” Dorado explained.
A staff member from the dismantling team saw our faces and approached us.
“Hey, if Tanza’s Shield is here, you should’ve called out.”
“I thought it’d be bad to cut in line,” Glen replied.
“Is it a big haul this time too?”
“Yeah, Shinya’s Magic Bag is packed with large game.”
“Then, come to the back.”
Called by the dismantling staff, we headed to the back, and angry shouts flew from the waiting line.
“Hey, what’s the big idea making us wait and letting those guys go first!”
“We’re being sent out on subjugations just like them! Don’t think you can get away with looking down on us!”
“Ah, you there,” the staff member said to one of the complainers. “What kind of game did you bring?”
“What does that have to do with them getting priority!”
“I’m asking because it does. What’s your haul?”
“Three Orcs, a Horn Boar, and five Gray Wolves!”
“Hmm, and you, sir,” the staff member said to another. “You also seem dissatisfied. What’s your game?”
“A Black Bear, two High Orcs, and eight Howl Dogs!”
“That’s not much. In that case, you’ll have to wait in line.”
“Then what’s their haul!”
“Glen-san, is it a similar haul this time?” the staff member asked.
“Yeah, Shinya hunted most of it, but we’ve got about 20 bears alone,” Glen replied.
“There you have it,” the staff member stated calmly. “They have a lot of large game, and many of them, so if we make them line up with you, it’ll back things up and we won’t get any work done. If you think I’m lying, come and see.”
Being told so nonchalantly, the guys who were complaining fell silent, at a loss for words.
《Not again! Last time too, they brought in nothing but huge catches and caused a big stir.》
《The Guild Master promoted them to C-Rank and lets them go deeper than us.》
《The guys who took over after them said it was mostly Orcs, Dog-types, and herbivores, nothing big.》
《The rumor is Tanza’s Shield hunts the big game and lets the smaller stuff flow to those behind them.》
《Even so, it’s all tough stuff, including Orcs.》
“Shinya-san, they’re saying some incredible things. Is it really that dangerous a place?” Fran asked.
“Hmm, if it’s Fran, it’s no problem. With Shelter and Stone Lance, it’ll be a breeze. You’ve been practicing, right?”
“Of course, and I can use them more times now too!”
“Oh, Fran’s the best user in Osius Village now, and she can even go on expeditions alone!” Dorado chimed in.
“Hohoh, well then, maybe I’ll have Fran do her best,” I said.
As we lined up our game in the spot indicated by the dismantling staff, Dorado-san and the rest of Osius’s Fang, who knew me from before, looked astonished at the difference between my past self and my current capabilities.
Golden Bear, 3
Brown Bear, 4
Red Bear, 4
Black Bear, 8
King Tiger, 3
Fang Tiger, 5
Big Cat, 3
Black Cat, 4
Big Horn, 2
Orc King, 1
High Orc, 9
Forest Wolf, 24
Gray Wolf, 18
Buffalo, 7
Big Elk, 13
Horn Boar, 11
“That’s an incredible haul, as always,” the staff member commented.
“We went to the place the Sub-Master indicated, and they just kept coming one after another,” Glen said.
“Well, yeah, the Sub-Master used to be an Adventurer who earned his keep around there. He knows the game trails well.”
“What, seriously?!”
“Damn, did the Sub-Master set us up?”
“He sent us right into a game trail?”
“If it were just us, we’d have abandoned a place like that immediately.”
“We’d be dead without Shinya. We’re counting on you, Shinya,” Ariela said.
“We have Fran this time too, so we can take it easy.”
“Heeh. If Shinya says so, you must be quite a skilled user yourself,” Ariela said to Fran.
“If you watch Fran’s magic closely, you’ll learn a lot,” I told Ariela.
《Hey, look at that!》
《It’s amazing this time too!》
《No matter how much game there is, I wouldn’t want their post.》
《And they just hunt it all so easily…》
Once the appraisal of the game was finished, I asked them to divide the payment equally into Tanza’s Shield’s account and mine, and we escaped from the now noisy Dismantling Area.
Glen and the others from Osius’s Fang followed us silently, but only Fran kept asking with curiosity about what kind of place it was.
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After purchasing a large amount of food and a barrel of ale in the market, we left town and decided to take a few days’ rest on the way to Deelgo Village.
I asked Fran to create a Dome large enough for all thirteen of us to have a party, and inside it, a drinking feast began, serving as a get-together.
However, Ariela was astonished watching Fran create the Dome, and she sat down next to Fran, asking her all sorts of questions.
Being questioned, Fran kept glancing my way, so I smiled and said, “Go ahead and tell her what you know.”
It would save me the trouble of explaining various things.
Fran, perhaps thinking it would be easier to explain by actually demonstrating rather than just talking, said she would show Ariela how to make it the next morning and escaped to join the feast.
At that, Ariela turned her gaze to me, but I told her that an explanation while watching Fran’s magic would be the easiest to understand, so it would have to be tomorrow, and then I chugged my ale.
Even though I was sleeping in a Dome where outside sounds couldn’t be heard for the first time in a while, Ariela woke me up by shaking me early in the morning.
Mii-chan, who should have been in my arms, was being held by Ariela and looked annoyed, asking me mentally, 《Master, can’t I use my claws?》
I wanted to allow it, but even a light scratch would surely cause injury, so permission denied.
When I went outside, Fran was waiting with a sleepy look on her face.
“Sorry about this, Fran. I didn’t realize she was this enthusiastic,” I said.
“What are you talking about, Shinya?” Ariela interjected. “I’ve been checking the flow of Magical Power you mentioned every night, but you won’t teach me what comes next!”
“But you can still only make 14 or 15 Barriers, right? It’s after you can reduce the Magical Power needed.”
“Ariela-san,” Fran said, “you can use the same magic even if you reduce the Magical Power. When Shinya-san taught me, I struggled, but I managed to do it. If you reduce it little by little, you’ll understand the limit where the magic won’t activate, and you’ll be able to use it more times.”
“Let’s have you continue practicing reducing your Magical Power usage before bed, Ariela,” I said. “And for now, let’s see Fran’s Shield.”
Fran nodded and, as she voiced out “Shield,” a Shield instantly rose about 10 meters in front of her.
After raising the Shield three times in a row, I then created a Shelter to envelop myself.
“What’s this?”
“It’s an emergency Shelter, a refuge. An application of this becomes the Dome for camping. I think it can probably withstand even my full-power attack.”
“That’s good, isn’t it? It hasn’t been broken by anyone so far, but if it can withstand Shinya-san’s attack, I’ll feel relieved.”
“I’m pretty sure I’ve never shown Fran my full-power attack.”
“No, no, I can tell Shinya-san’s strength by looking at your prey. If you look at the wound on the Golden Bear’s head, I can tell it’s no ordinary strength.”
“That’s right, isn’t it? A single blow to a Golden Bear’s head is hardly ordinary. Even Beastmen who boast of their strength wouldn’t attack the head, you know.”
Taking her at her word, I took out the Short Spear, and with a light run-up, I slammed the Demon Steel Short Spear against the Shelter.