Makeshift Wolf Brigade ⓪: The Last Member.
Two weeks before the day.
We still haven’t found the last member.
Was Bid-san really that happy about getting [Swiftfoot]?
He called it training and went off on an expedition. He told me he was expecting a souvenir.
After finishing my first request, I haven’t taken on another one.
Lately, I’ve been spending all my time at the Witch’s place.
The Witch had finally finished a batch of restoration work.
So, a letter from her familiar said it was okay for me to come over.
That was convenient. There was a technique I absolutely wanted the Witch to teach me.
When I asked her about it, she agreed, so now I’m learning that technique and practicing self-defense.
I’m preparing so that we’re ready whenever the last member is found.
Well, there’s not much I can do, but I took this opportunity to upgrade my equipment.
Durable yet light monster leather armor and a brand-new jacket. Gauntlets of Serenity.
I want to carry more knives, but there’s a limit to how much I can move with.
Even now, four knives are quite heavy.
So I can’t add more. And I mustn’t break even a single one.
I swore it. I won’t break any more knives.
But equipment weight is actually nothing to scoff at.
I have a small build. That’s natural since I’m thirteen, but I’m even a little shorter than others my age.
Still, I’m not pessimistic about it. My growth spurt just hasn’t hit yet.
That’s right, my growth spurt just hasn’t hit yet.
“…I’m hungry.”
I’m exhausted from the Witch’s training again today.
Alright, shall I head to the Cidre Tavern? I’ll eat a large serving of Butter Rice to grow bigger.
The Cidre Tavern is bustling today, as always. I find an empty seat and place my order.
Suddenly, I overhear a conversation.
“Hey. Sounds like it’s about time.”
“What is?”
“The town’s Dungeon. According to the survey team’s report, it seems like it’s going to be reopened soon.”
“Finally. There’s quite a backlog of requests, right?”
“Weren’t there nomination requests from the merchant guilds too?”
“One way or another, there are things you can only gather or subjugate in that Dungeon.”
“So, when’s it gonna be?”
“A week at the earliest. Two weeks or a month at the latest.”
“Well then, guess we’ll just wait patiently.”
“Yeah. Hey! Two Ales over here!”
“Coming right up!”
The town’s Dungeon is reopening. If that happens, I can go to the 12th floor.
The Ark Ruins, huh? Or maybe the Junkyard’s Sacred Chamber first?
“Phew.”
“Huh? Ax-san?”
A Faun man passes by my side. It’s Ax-san.
“Wof?”
“Hello.”
“…Mind if I take this seat?”
“Eh? Please, go ahead.”
Ax-san sits down across from me.
“Are Rell-san and the others not with you?”
“Ah, yeah, I’m solo right now.”
“Eh? You’re not active as the Fang of Thunder?”
“We haven’t disbanded. It’s just, well… those two are… on the run.”
“Huh…?”
“Ah, it’s not like they committed a crime or anything. Sorry. One Extra-Large Ale, please.”
“Coming right up!”
Ax-san orders from a waitress passing by.
“Why are they running?”
“Why, you ask? They’re running from Rell’s older sister.”
“Ah… Sesh-san, you mean?”
Juicy-san is the younger sister. Dova-san doesn’t seem to have much stamina.
That leaves Sesh-san. The famous mercenary and bodyguard.
Ax-san looked surprised.
“You know her?!”
“Yes. I’ve had some strange run-ins with them myself.”
“Is that so? That’s Wof for you.”
“Eh?”
“Then you must know Tasan too?”
“Yes, of course. Um, I can understand Rell-san, but Hoss-san too?”
Isn’t he completely unrelated?
“That guy. He impulsively blocked Rell’s sister’s sword.”
“Ah…”
So he went and did it.
“That’s why the two of them are out of town for a while.”
“So that’s why you’re solo.”
“Pretty much.”
“Thanks for waiting. Here’s your Extra-Large Ale.”
“Thanks for waiting. Here’s your large Butter Rice.”
My order and Ax-san’s arrived at the same time.
Ax-san grabs the extra-large tankard and downs the Ale heartily.
“Puhaah! Yep, this is it.”
“Mhm, mhm. This. This is it.”
I eat my Butter Rice and nod in satisfaction.
It’s packed with meat and vegetables, and the hidden flavor of Soy Sauce is just right.
After eating, chewing, and swallowing, I asked.
“Does that mean you don’t have any requests or anything right now?”
“Let’s see. Nothing in particular right now.”
“In that case, I have a nomination request, how about it? Would you like to join?”
“A nomination request?”
“Ah, before that, I became a Seeker under special circumstances.”
“Seriously?!”
“Yeah, but I’m only Tier V.”
“…The Witch.”
“Yes.”
That’s Ax-san for you. He figured it out right away. Hahaha.
“Still, a nomination request for a Tier V Seeker? Who’s this eccentric person?”
“Alhazardo Abramelin.”
“…Hm?”
“I said, Alhazardo Abramelin.”
“—That’s not… like, the old guy from the neighborhood butcher shop, right? You know, Ambra Micalbitan or something.”
What kind of grilled meat is that?
“Y-Yes. It’s the Grand Guild Master, Alhazardo Abramelin.”
“……………….—Seriously?”
Ax-san’s eyes glazed over.
“Yes.”
When I nodded honestly, Ax-san silently drained the rest of his Ale.
Once the extra-large tankard was empty, he ordered another of the same and said to me.
“Can you tell me how this happened?”
“Yes. It all started when—“
I recounted the story almost exactly as I had told Ms. Pachira and the others.
Ax-san, drinking the extra-large Ale he had re-reordered, nodded along.
“I see… but.”
“What is it?”
“That mansion where it all started… I know it’s Torquetum’s base.”
“You knew?”
“Yeah, well, Torquetum is famous. Three beautiful girls like that. Even someone like me who’s bad with women hears about them.”
“Well, that’s true.”
They do stand out for various reasons, but is he still bad with women?
Ax-san asked.
“So you went inside the mansion?”
“That’s right. Liv-san invited me.”
“…That’s Wof for you.”
“Eh?”
“Alright. If I’m good enough, I’d like to join.”
“Ah, thank you very much!”
What does he mean, ‘That’s Wof for you’?
Since a little while ago, it’s like…
“So, who are the other members?”
“Yes. They are Mineha-san and Liv-san.”
“Liv from Torquetum?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
“Ah, I see.”
“Mineha too, huh? Come to think of it, where does she live?”
“Eh? You don’t know? At my place.”
“…At Wof’s?”
“Yes. She just moved into the tower in the courtyard I mentioned earlier without permission.”
“I see… That’s Wof for you.”
“Eh? Um, what have I been doing since earlier?”
Seriously, what does ‘That’s Wof for you’ mean? Does he misunderstand something?
Ax-san looked slightly hesitant before speaking.
“Ah, I was just thinking you get along well with women as always.”
“…I won’t deny that…”
I gave a wry smile. I couldn’t deny that,さすがに (sasuga ni – as expected / indeed).
Ax-san apologized, saying “Sorry.”
“No, I’m aware that I can’t keep saying I’m bad with women forever. Besides, even though I’m awkward, it’s not like I hate them. I’m a man too, after all.”
“Hah, well, I understand.”
“That’s why I ended up saying ‘That’s Wof for you’. My bad.”
“No, well, it’s fine… Now that I know the reason, Ax-san, do you have, like, a type of woman you prefer?”
“That’s sudden. W-Well… Elves, maybe.”
“You like Elves?”
“…My mom’s an Elf.”
“Ah…”
So she’s an Elf. Huh.
“No, wait. Not in a weird way. It’s just, the woman I’m most familiar with is an Elf.”
“So, like Lupinus-san?”
“Not her.”
He answered instantly.
“Eh? But she’s an El-”
“Not her.”
“Okay.”
He cut me off to deny it.
“So, what about you?”
“Eh? Me? Well, I don’t really understand that sort of thing yet.”
“Whoa, whoa. Then let’s drop this topic.”
“Yes.”
Ax-san drank his Ale.
My throat was dry too, so I drank some lemonade. Puha.
“In any case. I’m looking forward to this.”
“Yes.”
“First, to Wof becoming a Seeker.”
“Thank you very much.”
“And to the success of old man Abramelin’s nomination request.”
“Yes.”
With that, Ax-san toasted and downed his drink in one go.
The next day.
We gathered at the Cidre Tavern.
At the table sat myself, Mineha-san, Liv-san, and Ax-san, in that order.
After ordering Ales and such, Ax-san gave a slight, wry smile.
“Well, I guess we don’t need introductions at this point.”
“True. Ax. It’s been a while. Did you get in touch with Master?”
“Not yet. Mom. Apparently, she hasn’t returned yet.”
“That sounds like Master.”
“Exactly. And, uh, it’s been a while. Liv.”
“Nn… Ax… Acquaintance… Relieved.”
“Well, I could only ask acquaintances for this request anyway.”
“That’s true too.”
“Right. Okay then, first things first, the party name.”
“It comes down to this after all, huh?”
I felt a little exasperated. I don’t have good memories of this.
Mineha-san asked.
“So, do you have any ideas?”
“Nn… Lord Wof Investigation Team.”
Liv-san spoke up first. That sounds familiar somehow.
Besides, rejected. Something like that.
“Well, well, that’s a good idea.”
“No, no, why my name?”
“Well, this is your nomination request, after all. So. How about ‘Makeshift Wolf Brigade’?”
“What does that mean?”
“Nn… Wolf…?”
It’s at least 10 billion times better than ‘Lord Wof Investigation Team’.
Ax-san took a sip of Ale before explaining.
“Besides Wof and Mineha, Liv and I are in parties, but we’re solo right now. Being solo means being a Lonely Wolf. Such Lonely Wolves have gathered on the fly (makeshift). Therefore, we are the Makeshift Wolf Brigade. How about it?”
“I like it! I like it a lot!”
I was all for it. I didn’t really get the ‘Lonely Wolf’ part, though.
But the ‘Wolf’ part sounded cool. It was 100 billion times better than ‘Lord Wof Investigation Team’.
Mineha-san, eating an enormous bone-in chicken leg easily twice her size, said.
“Not bad. Liv?”
“Nn… Sounds cool… so okay… Good.”
“That settles it. We are the Makeshift Wolf Brigade. Leader Wof, we’re counting on you.”
“It really has to be me?”
“That’s right, Leader.”
“Yo… Leader.”
“Alright. Everyone, grab your mugs.”
We did as Ax-san said.
“Leader Wof. Please lead the toast.”
“Y-Yes. Um, to the Makeshift Wolf Brigade! Cheers!”
“Cheers!”
“Cheers.”
“Mm… Cheers.”
“Na!”
We struck our Chalices together.
And so, the Makeshift Wolf Brigade was born.
I had no idea at all.
That from this point on, I would end up using the name ‘Makeshift Wolf Brigade’ again and again.