◈Episode 111 To a Faraway Land (5)
“Well, I tried to resolve it quietly if possible…”
The fierce white wind led us back inside, saying it was not a story to be told here. The same was true for the group of wizards who entrusted me with the request.
They were dragged inside together without being properly explained why. Even though I wasn’t given the right to speak at all, I think it would be okay since I didn’t do it voluntarily.
“Before I speak, what I’m going to say is confidential, so make sure it doesn’t spread. Understand?”
More than that, I’m more concerned about being dragged in without being able to wash. Ugh, I feel uncomfortable.
I tried to concentrate on the story as much as possible, pulling pieces of tree bark and grass out of my hair. This is because there was no way it could end as an ordinary matter since it was even mentioned that it was confidential.
“By the way, this is a secret from your group, especially the priest.”
But it’s a secret even from the Inquisitor?
I brushed my stiff hair with a hand comb and stared at the white wind. The person who always smiled brightly—or smartly—looked particularly serious with a cold expression.
“I will fully compensate you for the confidentiality clause, okay?”
My concept isn’t necessarily driven by money, but…
“You think I’ll take that for granted.”
Most people are willing to listen if they offer money as long as it is legal and there is nothing special to do.
However, there are some things that are a secret even to party members. I don’t think it’s illegal since the Archmage is with me, but it still feels uncomfortable.
There is already no quest window, so the contents of the request are not displayed accurately.
“10 million gal. “Wouldn’t this be enough to buy your heavy mouth?”
“…Do you think I’ll sell it?”
“There’s no reason not to sell it. Let’s not be too rigid. “If I solve it, I’ll give you more.”
But it was too much money to refuse.
I looked at him with subtle eyes as I remembered the amount I had asked for at Zakrati.
Of course, strictly speaking, the price of one Vipurit’s head was 10 million gal, and he received a separate payment for driving out the devil—I refused it—and it’s not like he gave me too little or too much… but rather
. What on earth are you trying to make me do? No matter how rich the magic tower is, they wouldn’t risk 10 million gal for something trivial. That’s how important this job is…
What on earth happens that causes the snake catching request to evolve into a 10 million gallon request?? Did I really take a wrong step??
“Anyway, it’s done now, right? Okay then, let’s start talking properly.”
While I was suffering fiercely inside, a fierce white wind revealed the situation.
“First of all, those grasses you saw were created by our mistake!”
A large bomb exploded from the beginning.
“Maybe because the building is old, some magic leaked out to the surrounding area, but that had an effect on the surrounding ecosystem. Water is denser than air, so the magic power remains rather than dispersing to the surroundings, which seems to have had an effect. Ah, I don’t know why the snakes are flocking here, haha.”
Others reacted even louder to the remarks that followed. His face turned red and his lips stammered.
If the person speaking was not a great sage, he might have voiced his dissatisfaction right away.
“so.”
Separately, it’s true that Magic Tower had an accident this time too!
Considering that even White Wind says he doesn’t know about the snake problem, I’m guessing he really has nothing to do with it… It’s true that he bought and killed the grass. They intentionally didn’t explain the snake issue strongly in order to cover it up.
My wizard friend shouldn’t say anything about the temple and the adventurer’s guild?
I had a rotten reaction to that point. White Wind didn’t seem to care at all.
“The fundamental cause is that it is an old building, so it can be done with just repairs… but the problem is that in order to repair the Magic Tower, the grass must be removed! However, it is too noticeable due to the nature of the magic to have our children remove it.”
Instead, the White Wind clapped its hands cheerfully and shouted.
“So I’d like to leave you with that task. I hope this doesn’t reach the temple or the adventurer’s guild. “If this gets out… you know?”
I was wondering why I couldn’t tell the Inquisitor, and it was in the same vein as not explaining the snake issue.
In the end, you want to solve it without their knowledge, right? Me indeed. In this case, the 10 million gal request fee would actually be closer to hush money than commission compensation.
I pretended to react nervously to the situation that led to my sudden change of job as a weeder.
“…Do you think I would do something like this?”
“Yep. know! You probably don’t want to get involved in such a trivial and trivial matter. That’s why I paid a lot of money!”
As if it had anticipated my reaction, the fierce white wind snapped its fingers. Then the mannequin standing on one side of the living room moved.
Creak, creak.
Rattling.
Is it a mannequin or a marionette? The human-shaped thing walked over with a clanging sound and opened a drawer. What came out of it was a very fancy box.
Although it is a bit wide and low in height to be used for storing something.
“Or how about this?”
I will correct it. It was a box used for storage. Also a necklace.
“A subspace necklace I made myself! It’s 3m³! “If I sell it, it will easily exceed 10 million gal. I can even give it to you for this!”
But this is a subspace necklace? Oh, I can’t stand inventory expansion.
“Is it okay if I give it to you?”
“Ahaha. “Compared to Magic Tower being treated like a traitor in this city, this is not a waste.”
“Hmm.”
“Isn’t that why you said you would keep it a secret from the hero?”
I left the people around me and received a necklace from White Wind.
Because it is an octagonal chain, it looks like a snake. If you look closely, it is full of letters the size of millet. It’s a clunky design overall.
Even though it’s silver, I don’t think it would suit me… hmm. Why a necklace? A bandage around your neck is enough.
“It doesn’t matter whether you wear it like a bracelet on your arm, around your neck, or on your feet, as long as it touches your skin. “To insert an object, all you have to do is make contact with the thing you want to insert and think, ‘I’m going to put it in.’ To take it out, just leave enough space and think about taking it out.”
Fortunately, I don’t think I need to wear it around my neck. I looked at the fierce white wind, thinking I could wear it on my feet or arms.
“It won’t be used if it touches someone else’s skin, so take that into consideration too! Your magic power is also consumed, albeit in small amounts. Well, you have a lot of magical power, so it doesn’t matter! Lastly, this is not secure, so someone other than you can use it if they meet the conditions, so make sure you don’t lose it. “This is the end of these precautions!”
Then, would you like to receive the request?
The sonorous voice of the white wind looked down at me. The view from where I was sitting clearly felt like that even though the white wind was low.
“…Tsk. “Make the scope of the request clear.”
Anyway, what do you think? Who can tolerate inventory expansion?
“Oh yeah. The contract is clear. “Can you read?”
“know.”
“Um um. Good good. Then the story goes quickly.”
White Wind had the marionette bring a pen and paper. The writing speed was so fast that the blank space filled up in an instant.
The basic contract details, special clauses such as secrecy, transfer of the necklace, oath, and other things I had to do filled the paper.
Thanks to this, I was able to clearly see what I needed to do even without the quest window…
“Check!”
The problem is that I don’t know much about contracts.
I’ve signed a few contracts for my work, and it was okay because I had the help of a lawyer, but this place is so different from there.
This is why the Adventurer’s Guild is needed. I felt the need for a guild and signed it roughly.
I don’t see any special poison clauses. It seems like everything that needs to be included has been included. This is because I felt that further confirmation would only waste time.
Above all, how could he have cheated when the Archmage was next to him? Usually, people believe this and end up being scammed, but still.
“Confirmed.”
Ha, then it’s a quest now. Seeing that he didn’t take the necklace back, it seems like he was just giving it as an advance payment, but if he accepted it like this, he would have to work.
I rolled up another contract and put it in the bag on my waist.
“Are you going right away?”
“I have no intention of prolonging this trivial matter.”
“haha. “I said I chose one person well.”
I was wondering why they didn’t give me time to wash up, but it turned out they knew I was going to go back in anyway. I feel resentful about something.
“Now then, you guys, hurry up and go help! I originally wanted to keep you from knowing, but there’s nothing I can do since you already found out. “It’s not a bad thing to have something to talk about.”
However, I am in a better position than those who do not receive compensation for their hard work. I went out, offering deep consolation in my heart.
The sun hasn’t set yet.
* * *
Splash!
No, the sun has set.
“Ah, you came up!”
“Aren’t you cold?”
“I bought you a meal!”
I came out only after clearing about 1/3 of the bottom of the lake.
According to the contract, there was no need to clear all the grass that had sprouted, but only the grass that covered the building was to be cleared, but this happened because the scope was only half of the area.
Thanks to this, the sun has completely set and the moon is above the top of my head. My day disappeared in an instant.
“First of all, let’s start with the blanket…”
It’s me too, but you guys are going through a hard time too.
I climbed all the way up onto the bridge, leaving behind the wizards who had been waiting here while I was inside.
Perhaps in consideration of his cold body, a wizard rushed over carrying a blanket.
“Not required.”
Maybe it’s because of the hot pack, but I don’t feel strangely cold. So I refused the blanket and looked at the food that was offered to me. It was a meat field.
“….”
“Shall I buy it all again?”
…no. It’s not like I’m allergic, and someone else took care to buy it for me, but my personality didn’t rot to the point where I complained about the food.
Also, I skipped lunch and dinner and cut grass in the water, and I felt completely full.
The reason I came up in the first place was because the medicine that prevents diving sickness had worn off and I couldn’t control my hunger. There’s no time to wait, so I’ll just pop it in my mouth.
I chewed my food mechanically.
Then I suddenly became curious about where my kids would be and what they would do. I don’t know if he noticed my absence.
The Archmage must have explained it well, right?
Dev seems to have had a hard time following Berserker, and the Inquisitor seems to be busy practicing his skills. I wonder if he is eating well.
As for Berserker… even if you don’t worry about that, it’ll be fine since he looks like he’ll take good care of it.
“Would you like some more?”
Is it almost time to finish eating in silence, with all sorts of distracting thoughts going on? The wizard who first presented me with the request asked cautiously.
I immediately shook my head. I feel like I’ll get sick if I eat more here.
“You can just eat that…”
Oh, is it okay to go into the water right after eating? It’ll be okay. Because I ate slowly, I think I rested for 20 minutes.
“Are you going to come right in?”
Carrots are crunchy. The level of fatigue is still high.
Additionally, there are provisions in the contract that should be as unobtrusive as possible.
With this kind of progression, I don’t think it would be a big problem if it was done during the day… but it would still be better at night. There wasn’t much left.
So I just took the medicine and took it again.
I felt sorry for the wizards who had to wait here until I came out, but they turned away. I never asked to be there.
with a splash!
The cold lake water at night began to surround my body.
“Oh!”
However, right after someone dived without consideration for others, one of the remaining wizards screamed.
“Why why!?”
“What’s the problem!?”
I wonder if the people around him were shocked because they thought it was something serious. The wizard who screamed first turned his head and looked at his colleagues.
“I forgot and didn’t give you a rock to maintain body temperature… It must have been several hours since it ran out.”
“…You crazy bastard! “There’s something else to forget!!”
“Ugh!!”
It wasn’t a big problem.
* * *
Meanwhile, the person who had been worried about the wizards quickly reached rock bottom. The depth of the water, which is approximately 30m, is reminiscent of a night of heavy snow combined with the pitch blackness of the night and floating objects.
I landed where the grass had been cut and looked at the remaining area. The main building remains.
Purr.
I slowly walked along the exterior wall of the building while maintaining my breathing using an underwater breathing device. And when I faced the uncut grass again, I lowered my body and swung a sword with a blade about 40cm long.
The slash advanced approximately 2m. The fact that the grass in that radius was cut down was a bonus.
Pout.
Afterwards, I went through the grass that had been cut down and reached only up to my knees.
They were tough enough to survive, so even in that condition, they got tangled up in my legs. It wasn’t to the point where I couldn’t bear it.
And when I got to the center of the cut-out range, I took out what I had in my inventory. This pill-like thing is a poison made specifically for these plants.
Roughly speaking, I heard that it acts as a poison to things that have been transformed into magic power… The reason why you asked me to do this is simple.
It is effective only if you bury it in the ground and allow it to come into contact with the roots. The problem is that wizards can’t cut it as sharply as I can—because even if they do, there’s a fuss.
For reference, when I asked if they had any plans to improve this, they said it would take a long time. He was in a hurry to develop it effectively by jumping into the water, but in the meantime, he was worried about getting caught by temples or guilds.
So I think it was taken over as soon as I arrived. If you use me, the problem can be easily solved with what has been developed now.
Well, it wasn’t that important. When I received Invenkan, I was completely satisfied.
Deep.
Anyway, I put the pill on the floor. Some of the grass covering the exterior walls of the building immediately began to wither.
It was a slightly larger radius than the one I cut down.
Although there is some loss, there are still a lot of pills.
I ignored it, praised myself for cutting it well, and repeated the same work as before.
And when we reached the center of the main building.
“…?”
Hidden among the grass, I found a purple… hideous… nest-like thing. What is this?