Episode 17 Quest: Prince of the Sky II
『Was it good?』
As Robert and his three clients, plus the handsome swordsman Funnelwing of the Falcon Clan, the delinquent monk Roses-Pitt, the flirtatious female sorceress Francisca, and the silver wolf Serena, walked along the road west of East End, Glasses suddenly said something like that.
(What is it?)
Kian is at the end of the line.
He was pushing a cart with two of Robert's attendants.
Funnelwing, on the other hand, was getting further and further ahead.
They had patrolled the area ahead, hunting for wild dogs and other dangerous creatures.
Francisca told him that they gathered at three in the morning and started hunting.
Haha, Kian-san had lost his job―Funnelwing said that happily, but Robert said he would pay him if he collected and carried the goods properly. It was more convenient for him to conserve his strength since there was no fighting.
『It's about the guild staff. You told them to show them your adventurer's notebooks later and left, but wasn't that a bad idea?.』
(How exactly is that bad?)
『Kian, you don't know the horror and terror of the human race. What if the traces of tampering in your Adventurer's Notebook are further tampered with? You've given the enemy time to regenerate their bodies. I'm sure the guild inquiry will turn in favor of the receptionist. Are you aware of that? Actually, the evidence is still out there.』
(I didn't even notice, but for all intents and purposes, my adventurer's notebook is still in the guild's custody. ...... I see, so you should have invested all my faith and money to confront the guild.)
『I'm not going to go that far.』
(It is difficult to hunt down the guild side. It takes patience. Because I myself am nothing more than a 9th-class adventurer being kept by the guild.)
『But.』
(The me on the front would have done it. I might have tried my best to protest against the poor legal system and pittance of money in the middle of nowhere. I think that kind of stupidity is important, and I think we should do what we have to do. ――But I'm not going to do it. I've said exactly what I need to say, so I'll leave this matter to them for now.)
『Then what will you do if you are expelled from the guild?』
「At that time――」
Kian held up one hand to the sky.
It's a beautiful day.
The sky is infinitely blue.
「I'll get a new job. It's not efficient to work hard in a place like that if the whole organization is trying to get rid of me. I'll find another way. For example――」
Kian lowered his altitude from the sky he was looking up at and pointed to the majestic castle walls towering far beyond.
That castle is home to the family of a frontier count from Ezerland who lost the power struggle in the royal capital.
The previous head of the family died of a broken heart, and now the only daughter, a fragile princess, is in charge of the vassals.
『To apply for knighthood?』
（I'll be a soldier in the wild and serve with distinction. Rise through the ranks of the knights and build a career while taking on the princess.)
『You're a dreamer, aren't you? Even I am amazed at you.』
(If that's not possible――I'll start my own business.)
Kian looked up at the sun again.
In addition to the scouting skills that he has accumulated over the past ten years, Kian can now use Azrair's swordplay and healing techniques. His lifespan has also greatly increased.
He has more time than he can use to travel around.
Then he gathers money and friends to form a mercenary band.
It doesn't matter if you are rich or poor.
Gathering those who think they are the best, he creates the strongest army.
A fighting group that can rival the Silver Wolf Clan's mercenary group, the Storm Crowd, which is currently considered the strongest.
If he can get to that point, he will be able to get into the hands of the central nobility easily.
(Its name is ......That's right. I've heard of a group of eagles that soar far higher in the sky than Falcon.)
『You're free to fantasize』
The glasses seemed to have had enough of Kian, who never acknowledged his own crisis, but only dreamed about it.
As Kian shrugged his shoulders, Robert, who was pulling the cart, suddenly spoke up.
「Oi, what the hell is this!?」
Before he could react to the voice and look ahead, the swaying blue grass of the road was filled with the dense smell of death. Flies were buzzing around.
........From the brown streets to the green hills that were undulated like waves, the carcasses of wild dogs were strewn about.
There were at least twenty of them near the brown road alone.
On the hillside, they could see some goblin-like carcasses.
All of them had been decapitated or had their hearts pierced by spears of earth that had grown out of the ground.
「Oh, I used the incense to attract the beasts. I'm so glad it's not raining today.」
Funnelwing said as he turned back to Robert.
Robert blinked his eyes.
「The four of you cleaned up this many of them? Are you lying?」
「We're not lying.」
Serena, who was escorting the cart right beside him, answered briefly.
「We took care of all the beasts around here.」
「I-I see. That's why they call you Hope. That's great. But you know what?」
Robert raises an eyebrow.
Kian looked at the wild dogs lying nearby.
The carcasses were suddenly starting to roll around here.
It was evident that they had given up on the process.
「Funnelwing, why didn't you take care of the carcasses? Did you think you wouldn't be able to make it to the meeting time, so you cut it short?」
「Tsk, you're still nagging me. Well, ...... let's admit that was a bit overdue. But even if we don't take care of it properly, the natural world will take care of it for us.」
「I'll take care of it on the way back. Francisca, help me.」
「Ehh, it smells like goblins and it's dirty. If you want to do it, Serena, why don't you do it yourself?」
「.......Then I'll do it alone.」
That's all Serena said and kept her mouth shut.
Robert scratched at his beard.
「Well, the demons will come at night and eat it up on their own, but it's not safe to be too close to the road. At the very least, we should drag them to the hills.」
「Serena, I've got some nitre in my backpack. I'll sell it to you later if you need it.」
Serena's eyes narrowed when Kian said that.
「You carry that with you all the time?」
「Yeah.」
「Hah, he's a handyman, in charge of chores! Even when I hired him, he was good at this kind of work, like disposing of dead bodies.」
「That's not what an adventurer does, is it? Kuhihihihi」
The delinquent monk, Roses-Pitt, is smirking at me.
「Ahh, ....... Oh, ohhh! If we go over that pass, we'll find a place to gather food! It's growing under the cliff on your right!」
Robert said in a cheerful voice, perhaps trying to change the not-so-good atmosphere.
He looks scary, but he might be a good guy.
The man who had been pushing the cart lazily beside Kian nodded.
「That's right. I'm looking forward to your new dish with wild ingredients, Robert-danna!」
「Yeah, I'll make you a masterpiece that's better than shrimp in chili sauce!」
(Hmm? Shrimp chili sauce ......?)
Kian raised his eyebrows.
『It's the dish you had at the Pig's Foot Pavilion.』
（Hmm, come to think of it, this shopkeeper, Robert, has the same hair color as Esther. Although their faces are as different as a beauty and a beast.)
『Human breeding is a real mystery. By the way, ......』
(What is it?)
『There is a useful treasure hidden nearby. It is a rare piece of equipment worn by an ancient warrior.』
（What, where is it?)
『Pour your magic into me. Then I will highlight the location of the equipment in red through the glasses.』
Kian furrowed his brow for a moment.
Pouring magic power...?
With these unfamiliar glasses?
He feels quite a bit of resistance.
『What's the matter? I have no other intentions. Pour me a glass of magic power, that's all I need.』
(You can't do anything wrong with that much. I know firsthand how meager a glass of magic can be.)
Kian nodded, kneaded his magic, and transferred it to the glasses.
Then, out of the corner of his eye, he saw a reddish object further beyond the planned collection site.
『The red is magic power. The equipment is hidden by an ancient illusion. Ordinary people can't detect it, and even those who are familiar with it can't expect to find it abandoned on the side of the road like this.』
（What kind of equipment is buried there?)
『You'll find out.』
（Did the traveler tell you where this equipment is?)
『Yeah.』
(.....Hmm., I see.)
He knew that these glasses were hiding something, but he shouldn't get too deep into it right now. He doesn't think she's going to answer if I ask her, and it would be troublesome if their relationship deteriorated.
He has decided that he's not going to throw this away until he has made her tell him everything she knows about the treasure.
「All right, I'll give you a bag, and you can collect these fox-colored mushrooms! They are very hard to find and difficult to collect, so I'm going to show you one now, so you can follow my example!」
That's when Robert said it out loud.
A huge roar like a lion echoed from far above.
The roar reverberated off the sheer cliffs to their right, rattling their eardrums.
The reverberation was like that of a hawk.
A creature with the voice of a lion and a hawk――
「Aah!」
「Eeekkkk!?」
Robert's two attendants looked up at the sky and quickly turn pale.
「Wh-What!?」
「――――!?」
Funnelwing's eyes widened, and Serena reached for the sword at her hip and held it low.
In the blue sky, a winged phantom with the upper body of a hawk and the lower body of a lion―― The griffin's giant shadow, was flapping its wings.
Previous Chapter --- TOC --- Next Chapter
Tftc
ReplyDelete