Rising Life Volume 1, Chapter 34

Episode 34 Quest: Not Just His Brother I

　Being in a party with someone was something that Kian was used to.

　Recently, he had been given the disgraceful nickname of "Garbage Scavenger" and was shunned by other adventurers, but before that, he had shared quests with many different parties.

　He has been invited to join parties made up of rookies like Funnelwing and the rest of the Falcon Clan as a kind of guide, and he has also been invited to join parties of low-level adventurers when they've found a profitable deal that requires a large number of people.

　All of them were not parties in the true sense of the word - forming cliques with trusted friends - but on the surface, they were working together with their friends on joint quests.

　So he wasn't particularly bewildered or nervous when he found himself in a party with Serena. He was able to do his quests naturally, without changing his fighting style.

『The morning sun is dazzling.』

(I wish you were sunglasses.)

　It was the morning of his fifth day in the party with Serena.

　Near the east gate of the East End, Kian was leaning against the outside wall of a nearby tavern, waiting for her to arrive.

　The sun was already high in the sky, and most of the adventurers who had been preparing since dawn had gone out of the gate to hunt.

　The streets to the east were sparse with people passing by.

　Most of them were adventurers, and they were giving Kian all sorts of looks when he looked at them.

　Disgust, contempt, curiosity, and apology.

　The disgust and contempt were the usual, the curiosity was from those who heard that he had defeated the Griffin, and the apology was from those who had been in his party several times before.

　Some of those who had been in the party before had only banished Kian from the party out of necessity because he was not skilled enough, and they had no ill feelings towards his humanity.

　Of course, Kian was shocked when he was banished, but it must have been a painful decision for those who expelled him.

　They had to cut off Kian, who was struggling to survive.

　However...

　When he thought about who would be needed to take the party to the next level, and how many people in the party would be able to make a living even if they were evenly distributed in terms of compensation, Kian's place naturally disappeared by the time they rose from the lowest level to the next.

　Many of them still felt guilty and awkwardly averted their gaze whenever they saw Kian. As for some of them, when Kian started to be called a "Garbage Scavenger," they called out to him as if they pitied him and asked if he was okay, but in the end, they just watched from the sidelines.

　No one wants to pick up chestnuts in the fire - 

　They had their own situations and their own lives to lead.

　There was no way they could be serious about Kian, who was only a temporary party member.

　It was obvious from their point of view, but at the time, Kian felt like loudly accusing them of hypocrisy.

　In the end, you guys are all talk and no help to me.

　I'd rather have ten silver coins than them pity me.

『Hmm. It's selfish of me, but I suppose there is room for sympathy.』

(Don't read my thoughts.)

『Forgive me if I overhear things on my own.』

　Kian pushed up the bridge of his glasses and let out a huff.

(Well, I never show it to the public, and I don't really care about them when I'm wearing my glasses. It's just something I'll overtake.)

『Do you want to overtake them? However, from reading your thoughts, it seems that Lynn, the best adventurer in this city, is also kicking you out of his party. If you overtake them as well, it seems that they will be no more than a top adventurer then?』

「In the first place, my capacity is not something that fits into the framework of an adventurer. It was a natural progression.」

　When Kian answered immediately, as usual, the glasses smiled with satisfaction and said, "Kufufu".

『That's right, that's why you are my partner. You don't have to worry about all the other people. All you have to do is follow the path you believe in.』

「You're doing your best to make me feel positive. Well, it's better than being nagged all the time.」

　With that, Kian pulled away from the wall he was leaning against.

　He caught sight of a silver-haired girl walking toward him from the central street.

　She walked away from the tavern and onto the street.

　Serena was walking at her own pace, not running.

　She didn't seem to mind that Kian was waiting for her.

　There was still plenty of time before the meeting time, and she wasn't running late. So she didn't feel the need to run.

　She stopped in front of Kian and greeted him plainly as usual.

「Good morning.」

「Yeah, good morning. Are you ready?」

「You're going to complete the second of four requests, right? No problem, I'm ready.」

　Serena said quietly.

　The second request――

　The second request, which he had heard about from the guards at the training grounds, was to go to Spoon Wing's territory to retrieve the guard's brother's belongings.

　From what he has heard, it seems that the guard had a dispute with his brother over a woman and sent him to Spoon Wing's territory to pick mushrooms in order to monster kill him.

　In addition to his belongings, the guard asked Kian to bring back a part of his brother's body if possible.

　Incidentally, he had already cleared the first one two days ago.

「Hey, isn't this request strange after all?」

　Serena frowned as she took out a copy of the request form and looked at it.

「Why do you think is strange?」

「Because the expected area where the guard brother's belongings are located is too far off the route for mushroom hunting. Did this guard brother really go to this place to pick mushrooms? If he went to pick mushrooms, wouldn't he have asked someone to look somewhere more along the route?」

「The truth is, we'll know all about it when we get there. But in all likelihood, he believes that his brother's guards led him into Spoon Wing's territory. I guess that's why he is so far off the route. His brother's guards tried to use Spoon Wing to kill him. If we go to retrieve his belongings, there's a high probability that we'll have to fight, so be prepared.」

　Serena's eyes twinkled as Kian said this casually.

「I've been here on the premise of combat from the start. ...... But brothers killing each other?..... I really don't get that about the human race.」

「It happens all the time, even among non-humans. If there's a woman or money involved, there are people who won't mind killing even their parents. The Silver Wolves are too fastidious.」

「Isn't everyone's brother important ......?」

　Serena's words had a sad ring to them.

　She was young by the looks of it, but she was old enough to sympathize with every one of her client's situations.

「It depends on the economic situation and the environment you grew up in. In the aristocracy, it's not uncommon for brothers to kill each other. It's no different in the Kingdom of Franz or in Azrair.」

「That's sad......」

「I agree. But this is a job, and we shouldn't take it personally as we've only received a request. Even if the client is a bad guy, a job is a job. ――Now, it's time for us to meet. I want to make sure that each of us is armed before we go out on our mission.」

　Kian said briskly, pointing to the wooden sword on his back and the club hanging from his waist.

「I have a wooden sword, two clubs, a homemade bomb, and some insecticide from the guild store. For medicine, I had a painkiller, an ointment to stop the bleeding, and an antiseptic spirit. It has a strength of about ninety degrees. Spoon Wing uses a powerful sleep-inducing poison needle, so if you get stung, you're basically done for.」

「Hmm.......But can you fight a sub-dragon species with just a wooden sword and a club? The day before yesterday,...... umm ...... you also came with that rather poor equipment, didn't you?」

　The day before yesterday, she was referring to the first quest he did two days ago.

　It involved a treasure hunt in the ruins on the outskirts of the west.

　It was one of the more troublesome quests he received this time, but Serena's nose is so good that they were able to locate the treasure and complete the quest without any combat (because she's a wolf, not a dog).

　The quest was a test of their abilities, but unfortunately, it only revealed that the physical capabilities of beasts are much higher than those of humans.

　Kian nodded as he touched the club at his waist.

「No problem. I don't think I'm going to drag you down, don't worry.」

「That so. You're the one who defeated Griffin, so I'm sure you'll be fine. ......」

　Serena seemed to think that Kian was a capable person, but the other day's quest seems to have lowered her opinion of him.

　Well, anyone who is a mere human in terms of physical performance and as poorly equipped as a goblin would react like she did.

「If you think it's dangerous, stay behind me. I'll take care of it.」

「It's all well and good to be brave, but you're dealing with an enemy that flies like a Griffin. Are you sure you'll be fine?」

　Kian asked, and Serena nodded her head.

「I will not make the same mistake twice. ....... I'll show you my equipment. First, my weapon, a longsword.」

　Serena pulled out the sword on her hip and released it.

　It was the same one she had used when she fought the Griffin, and Kian nodded at the magic language engraved on the sword's body.

「The words engraved on it were different from that time. It's not "Acceleration" but "Rigid Sword".」

　A magic language is a set of magical characters that can be engraved on weapons and armor to produce special effects.

　If it's "Acceleration," the sword becomes lighter and faster as you read it.

　In the case of a "Rigid sword," the weight of the sword increases as if you were wielding an oversized sword, making it easier to literally crush the enemy as you slash.

　All swordsmen in the western world have some kind of magical language engraved on their weapons.

　When adventurers rose from the lowest level to the next, they would receive a special reward from the guild to have a language engraved on one piece of armor or weapon of their choice.

　The language of magic was so important in a battle that the guild took such a step.

　Of course, if the weapon is broken, it is useless, and if the words are scraped off, they are useless.

　At the intermediate level, they have more money to spend, so they all use weapons with magical languages.

　Serena put her sword back in its sheath.

「When I fought the Griffin, it was still the same as when I left the "Storm Crowd" - it was still the anti-personnel version. I was going to become an adventurer and have it rewritten for monsters, but I didn't have enough money.」

「Is that okay? I'm sure getting a magic language engraved is pretty expensive for a 9th-class adventurer.」

「The reward from two days ago was just barely enough. ...... I even managed to pay for my living expenses. This won't be like Griffin's time. I'm confident I can crush the bones of Spoon Wing.」

　Serena said as she unbuckled her belt from her chest.

　It was a leather belt that she wore over her armor, from her right shoulder to her left hip.

　It had a holder with a couple of knives on it.

「The knife has a wire attached to it like this. You can retrieve it after throwing it, or you can tie it to a tree branch or something for transportation. I'm sorry it's handmade. I didn't have any money.」

「So you're going up against the flying Spoon Wing?」

「Spoon wings don't fly as high as Griffins, and they fly much slower. Moreover, the battlefield is a forest of tall coniferous trees, so my sword should be able to reach them.」

「I see. So you've taken all the proper precautions.」

「Of course.」

　Serena says this with a nonchalant face, but her silver tail is wagging excitedly from side to side.

　She seems to be getting a little good at it.

「Other than that, there were painkillers and blood drops. I didn't have enough money to buy the spirits for the antidote. Instead, I bought a few sparkling balls. Or rather, I went over budget because I bought flashbulbs.」

(Is this guy so bourgeois that she buys flashbulbs at the guild store?)

『I think she's spending her money well, unlike some idiot who bought a bunch of material for a coma rape.』

　Kian ignored the words of the glasses, of course.

　Kian says "All right" while shaking his head.

「We've got a good idea of each other's strength, haven't we?」

「Hmm. We're always ready to go.」

「Then let's get moving.」

　Kian said, and he thrust his right arm forward.

　One of the crows that had been perched on the roof of the tavern flapped its wings and landed.

　As the blackbird cawed, Kian made a low, thin, breathy sound.

「――――, ――――」

　The crow promptly flew away from his arms when the crow finished listening to Kian's words.

　He (?) cawed. As soon as he cawed, the other crows that were perched on the roof took off into the sky at once.

　The crows turned into a small black mass and flew in a straight line toward the eastern forest.

「...... What did you do?」

　Serena gives him a suspicious look.

「Those crows are my collaborators. They will help me find the target of this quest from the sky. I didn't have enough of them the last time we went treasure hunting.」

　He had to collect the bats first, which are used at night, so the crows didn't arrive in time.

　Kian continued.

「I don't mean to be rude, but I think it can be more reliable than relying on your sense of smell and intuition, like before. He also said he would enlist the help of all the crows in the forest.」

「Another strange technique ....... I can't believe you can control a creature as intelligent as a crow.」

　Slipping past the muttering Serena, Kian quickly passed through the gate.

「Let's go. By the time we reach the entrance to the eastern forest, the crows will have found the client's brother.」

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