After entering the city of Norrkut, we are currently being led by the bald gatekeeper (name unknown) to the City Lord’s mansion.
The town is as disorderly as I’ve heard.
People are swarming around the carriages, all shouting things like ‘let me get in’ or ‘I’ll go first’.
The problem is that this town is some distance away from all the others.
It takes at least two days to reach the nearest village on foot, which, as you might have guessed, is a bit of a problem whenever a large group of people needs to move all at once.
To make matters worse, there aren’t enough carriages to go around.
The city guards are desperately trying to keep things under control, but they don’t have enough manpower.
The adventurers who received the compulsory request from the guild are trying to help out, but to be frank, it’s like pouring water onto hot stones.
Plus, most of them decided to ignore it altogether, and head for the other cities on foot instead. They are used to travelling light, so it’s not really a problem for them, and there are barely any adventurers of rank B or above left, so the penalty is a one-year suspension at most anyway.
ED Reminder: The penalty for ignoring compulsory requests from the guild depends on one’s rank. You also need to be at least at rank B to receive nominated requests, which is why Jin decided to keep everyone in the main party at rank C just in case.
“Looks like the gatekeepers and the city guards are still properly doing their jobs…”
“But the adventurers’ morale is low, right?”
“Same with the citizens ☆”
“The two ladies are really harsh… Well, it’s a shame, since I expected the adventurers to have a little more of a backbone. As for the citizens… There’s not much I can really say. Few can act calmly when their lives are at stake.”
Maria and Tiramisu followed my mutterings with some pretty ruthless comments, making the bald gatekeeper smile wryly.
“When a village I know was about to be attacked by a monster stampede, they used the carriages to evacuate the women, the children and the elderly first. The adventurers there also received a compulsory request, but almost all of them joined in.”
You know, the Rice Village in Kastal. (not its actual name)
Well, I ended up taking care of that stampede on my own, but still…
“There’s actually such a village…? Well, it’s true that it makes our city look bad in comparison…”
“No, I think it’s actually the village that’s a special case. The city’s reaction is the normal one. Still, it’s a village in the neighbouring Kastal Queendom, so there shouldn’t be that much difference…”
At least the people shouldn’t act that differently.
“Oh, so you came from our neighbour? Wait, but if you’re from Kastal, then why did you enter through the gate facing in the opposite direction…?”
“No, I didn’t say that. I just meant that I’ve been to Kastal before. Still, are you saying there are other gates than the one we’ve passed through? Are there still people guarding them?”
“There are four gates, facing north, south, east and west respectively, and the gatekeepers should still be there.”
Looking at the map, I confirmed there really are four gates and there are indeed people still stationed at the other three.
Looks like the gatekeepers here are all pretty loyal. Call me impressed.
“We tried to stop the riots at first, but it didn’t really work out… We had no choice but to give up and just do our job as gatekeepers instead.”
“But the gate is left empty now. Won’t that be a problem?”
“Isn’t this more important right now?”
“I guess…”
Guarding the gate is an important job, but it doesn’t take priority over solving the current situation.
He’s not only loyal, but also flexible. The adventurers could learn a thing or two from the bald gatekeeper.
As we were talking, we arrived in front of a large mansion.
“Well, here we are. The City Lord should still be inside.”
“In this situation?”
“Probably. He has a strong sense of responsibility. He’s not really the type of person who would run away on his own, while leaving the rest of us behind.”
I don’t think it’s a bad thing to be dutiful though…
I think someone once said that the job of a leader is twofold: to make important decisions, and to take responsibility whenever they don’t pan out.
“I’ve come, my Lord!”
The bald gatekeeper declared loudly after boldly entering through the front door. Why would you barge into the City Lord’s home like that?
Looking at the map, apart from the City Lord, there seem to only be a couple of servants still around.
Judging by their status and such, they are a senior maid and a senior butler. Looks like there aren’t any combatants left… My maids can fight so it’s different.
The maid rushed into the hall, as the bald gatekeeper led us inside.
“What’s wrong Joshua? Did something happen again?”
“‘No, this time it’s good news. I want to take them to see the Lord.”
“…Okay. This way, please.”
The maid led us through the house.
Based on the previous scene, it looks like the gatekeeper is pretty close with the City Lord.
“Joshua… ☆ With that face. Joshua… ☆”
“Tiramisu-chan, fufu… You shouldn’t laugh…”
Tiramisu and Sakura were both trying to hold back their laughter. I know how you feel.
The name of the bald gatekeeper turned out to be ‘Joshua’. The name… of the bald gatekeeper… with a bandit face… is ‘Joshua’. He looks like ‘Gonzales’ if anything, but not ‘Joshua’!
Maria and the other monster girls didn’t seem to understand why the two were laughing so much.
“I feel like they’re thinking something rude…”
“It’s all in your head.”
I’m sticking with the ‘bald gatekeeper’ regardless.
As shown on the map, we arrived in front of the room where the City Lord was.
“My Lord, Joshua is here to see you.”
“Come in…”
In response to the maid’s knock, a slightly faint voice came from inside.
“Excuse me.”
The person inside the room turned out to be an unhealthy looking old man who matched the thin voice.
Although he’s almost 2m tall, his arms and legs are rather thin, so he gives off an impression of being very crunchy. His eyes are also pretty narrow, and he doesn’t have much of a presence in general. His skin is so white that it makes you want to ask if he even goes out at all.
So, you’re saying… he’s the one in charge?
“I know what you mean. He doesn’t look the part, but he’s very reliable, so please don’t let his appearance fool you…”
When I looked dubiously at the bald gatekeeper, he nodded and reaffirmed me.
“Joshua… that’s a pretty mean thing to say…”
“I’m sorry. But it’s true, you know.”
“Well, yes… but sometimes the truth can also hurt…”
Looking at the two talking casually, I wondered if they are close friends.
“Well, let’s leave that aside for now…”
-Sigh “Are you going to introduce me to the people behind you…?”
The City Lord muttered, while looking at us who haven’t been introduced yet.
“Right. They say they can get rid of the disaster-class monster.”
“Is that true…!?”
“Yeah, did you hear the big explosion outside?”
“I did… No way…!”
“Yeah. That was them. It was one ridiculously powerful water and wind magic. But they’re mercenaries, so it will probably cost a lot…”
When it comes to adventurers, the recommended reward is somewhat normalized by the rank of the request, but in case of mercenaries, the reward depends on, let’s say, ‘market price’… The laws of supply and demand can be scary like that.
“A reward… I only have 100 million gold left… Could you please do something about it…?”
“”Wha~…!?””
The maid and the bald gatekeepers were both stupefied by the City Lord offering up all of his money, without even trying to negotiate.
A: It’s true. His entire savings, excluding living expenses, amount to around 100 million gold.
If Alta says so, it means he really isn’t trying anything, and is simply offering us all he has.
“You idiot! Why are you suddenly offering them all of your money! Negotiate, negotiate!”
“No… instead of wasting time negotiating, I would prefer them to subdue the monster, even if a little bit faster instead… It would reduce the anxiety and burden to the citizens…”
“But still, even if it’s just a little…… Ah, forget it! I’m not going to fight you over this right now.”
The City Lord might not look very capable, but he doesn’t hesitate to spend his entire fortune to save his citizens… that’s really impressive all things aside.
“So, the Lord’s offer is 100 million gold. Will you accept the request?”
“It’s good that you’re eager and all, but can we at least hear what kind of monster it is first?”
“Ah!”
“You still haven’t told them…?”
The bald gatekeeper palmed his shiny forehead. It actually made quite a nice sound.
After that, he and the City Lord explained about the Giant Man-Eater, but we didn’t learn anything new, so I’ll skip that part.
“I’ll ask you again, will you accept this request?”
“Yeah, we’ll take it.”
I agreed to his repeated request.
Next we went over all the paragraphs of the contract and worked out all the details.
Where did I suddenly get a mercenary employment contract you ask? Well, I had Maria contact Lucia, who had it sent to us with an express delivery (through the “Inventory’).
“We’ve still got to stop by the Adventurers’ Guild before we go fight the Giant Man-Eater.”
“The Adventurers’ Guild? What for?”
When I told him about my plans, the bald gatekeeper raised a question.
“I’m going to report to the guild, just in case. It would be a hassle if there was a request for subjugation already out there. Plus, we’re trying to spread our name right now, so we’ve got to advertise a bit.”
To be honest, it’s just a remnant of the ‘Mysterious Rookie Adventurers Masterpiece Strategy’. Things are going so smoothly, we’re about to miss our chance here, so I’m getting slightly annoyed.
I want to do a template!
“In that case, I’ll come along. I’d like to at least watch you fight the Giant Man-Eater, even if I can’t come with you…”
“No can do. You can only follow us until the gate.”
I firmly refused his request. It’s also something we’ve included in the contract earlier.
From the start, the bald gatekeeper asked to accompany us in the upcoming fight. Of course, I understood his feelings, but I firmly refused, saying that there are some things we have to keep a secret.
Maple and Chocolate are very limited in what they can do in their human forms, and the other party is reasonably strong as well, so I don’t want to create a situation where they can’t fight at full strength.
“I know. I’m just saying…”
The bald gatekeeper still looks dejected.
“Then, I’ll at least help you out by spreading word that ‘monster extermination experts are on their way to fight the Giant Man-Eater, so everyone should stay away’. I’m not sure how effective it will be though…”
“Oh? Please do.”
If the City Lord declares it, it will make our achievement go public to some extent. If we add the Adventurers’ Guild on top of that, it will really help us get some name recognition.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
After passing the message to the City Lord, he led us to the Adventurers’ Guild.
The city was still disorderly, but no one tried to bother us. Well, we didn’t have a carriage after all.
It’s still before noon now. We’ve set the deadline for defeating the Giant Man-Eater as ‘until this evening’. While it’s certainly dangerous, it doesn’t move very fast, so If you leave the city before then, you will be able to escape.
Walking through the turbulent city, we arrived in front of the Adventurers’ Guild.
“Sorry to barge in.”
The bald gatekeeper opened the door.
Inside the Adventurers’ Guild, some rough looking adventurers are drinking alcohol during the daytime… not. Obviously. I mean, the city is in a state of emergency. There are barely any people here. Correction, there’s only one, a single receptionist girl.
“Ah, Joshua-san!”
The receptionist is a little younger than me. Shaking her brown pigtails, she ran up to us from the counter. Her eyes are tearing up. What ever happened here?
“Ah, Miss Kenny. Can you call Gilmas for me?” (ED: Not sure if it’s supposed to be a name, it’s ‘girumasu’ in the raw, but it sounds a bit like ‘guild master’)
“That… The guild chief said he was going to the next town to call for help, and took a few C-rank adventurers out in a carriage…”
“What!? You’re kidding!”
The bald gatekeeper looks shocked, but is that really that much of a surprise?
“Going to the next town for help” is a pretty lazy excuse if you ask me. It’s not something a guild master would do himself to begin with, unless he happens to be fleeing the city, like this one.
In other words, he was the first to run away. And he even had the gall to lie about it…
Wait! Doesn’t that mean we can’t do any advertising in accordance with the ‘Mysterious Rookie Adventurers Masterpiece Strategy’ any more!?
“Then, why is Miss Kenny still here?”
“Because, it would be a problem if there was no one left in the guild, so he made me a temporary chief.”
“What the hell!?”
The bald gatekeeper is furious, and so am I.
Is the guild chief’s position even something you can pass onto others that easily?
A: No, it’s not.
See!?
“So, why is Joshua-san here? Is there something I can help you with?”
“Ah, right… These guys are going to defeat the disaster-class monster. I’m here to report that… Well, it doesn’t really matter any more.”
The bald gatekeeper explained to Miss Kenny, who still tried to diligently perform her duties.
“Defeating the disaster-class monster…?
“I know, it sounds like a joke, but it’s true. I’ve seen a bit of what they can do, and it makes me think that they might actually be able to pull it off.”
“Are you referring to the mysterious rain before…?
“Yeah, it was them.”
It looks like her intuition is pretty sharp.
I asked her a question.
“Miss Kenny, was there a request to defeat the disaster-class monster? If someone already took it, it’s going to be a problem.”
“I haven’t issued one. I mean, I couldn’t, even if I wanted to. I can’t even begin to imagine how high the fee would be. It’s not the kind of request you can make on your own.”
Incidentally, the 100 million gold reward offered by the City Lord is among the top 20 rewards ever paid to adventurers (according to Alta). It scarcely ever happened, even in the past.
Of course, it is not a personal request, but one from the City Lord.
“Ok, that’s all we needed to know. Then, we’ll be on our way to take care of the Giant Man-Eater.”
“Are you sure? Didn’t you say something about a publicity stunt?”
“In here?”
“Ah, right…”
There isn’t much advertising we can do with only a single receptionist girl here, now is there?
We left the guild and headed for the gate in the direction that the Giant Man-Eater was approaching from.
“Then, I’ll wait for you here. Please don’t overdo it. If you find that you can’t win, just run away.”
“It’s not that strong of an opponent. You don’t need to worry so much… Still, thanks for worrying about us.”
“OK, see you later.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Having parted ways with the gatekeeper, we headed out to subjugate the Giant Man-Eater.
Just in case, I checked the map, but it didn’t seem like anyone, including the bald gatekeeper, was following us.
After a short walk, when the city was out of sight, we used ‘Portal’ to transfer us most of the way towards the Giant Man-Eater, and then we flew the rest of the way.
“This is… pretty impressive…”
Sakura muttered, looking at the scene in front of us.
From up high, you could clearly see the difference between the landscape before and after the Giant Man-Eater has passed through.
In front of it, it was a regular meadow, while behind it, it all turned into a wilderness. It really looks like some sort of a natural disaster.
The Giant Man-Eater itself is about 10 meters wide, which is considerably larger than the 6 meters of its regular counterpart.
“Just like we’ve heard, it doesn’t seem to move that fast.”
“It would have been a disaster if it did.”
“As long as it doesn’t fly, Tira-chan can probably handle it ☆”
“Good luck~!”
It’s time to check out the status of the Giant Man-Eater, which we’ve been saving until now.
Giant Man-Eater (Rampage – Gluttony)
Level 98
Skills: <HP Auto-Recovery LV7> <Tentacles LV8> <Poison Attack LV8> <Acid Attack LV8>
Curse Mark: <Gluttony LV->
Remarks: A mad plant that preys on all living things and inanimate objects.
<Gluttony>
Impossible to tame. Harder to escape. Can devour anything and everything.
…This is going to be fun.
For now, there are two parts I’m interested in: ‘Rampage’ and ‘Gluttony’.
A: ‘Rampage’ refers to the state of a monster that has run amok under the influence of the Demon Lord. Whenever a Demon Lord appears in the world, some monsters will start rampaging.
It’s because of the Demon Lord? Does that mean the rampaging monsters are being controlled by them?
A: The details of the Demon Lord’s influence are unknown. ‘Rampage’ doesn’t mean they are being directly controlled by the Demon Lord. Hypothetically, if the Demon Lord were to appear in front of them, they (monsters) would still attack them (Demon Lord) indiscriminately. To begin with, the Demon Lord is the ‘Lord of the Demon Race’, and not the ‘Lord of all the monsters’. (ED: They use the same Japanese word for ‘monster’ and ‘demon’)
From a human’s perspective they are both enemies, but it’s not like they are working together.
Then, please explain the ‘Gluttony’ part next. I’m guessing it’s one of the ‘Seven Deadly Sins’.
A: As you have already guessed, it’s a curse representing one of the seven deadly sins. Any monster afflicted with one will go on a rampage.
Yep, I knew it. Well, the ‘Seven Deadly Sins’ are an easy theme to handle. And they’re pretty powerful for the most part.
Well, it doesn’t really change our plans to defeat it though…
Right, tell everyone what you’ve just told me.
A: Understood.
“It looks like a strong enemy. Jin-sama, can I step in if something happens?”
“Please do.”
Maria suggested, after listening to Alta’s explanation.
“If possible, I’d like to fight it with just these mistresses, without Maria’s help.”
“That’s right, it looks stronger than I expected… but I’ll still do my best.”
“Let’s do our best ♪”
The monster girls all seem to be in high spirits.
Landing in its path, they prepared to face the incoming Giant Man-Eater.
“Let’s do it!”
“All Right!”
“Go~ ♪”
Maple and Chocolate, both in their monster form, and Tiramisu in her human form, all raised their voices.
By the way, the non-participating members are watching from some distance away.
“$% # $% &&!”
The Giant Man-Eater also noticed their presence and made a weird noise. It didn’t get translated by ‘Connect’, so it doesn’t seem to have any intelligible meaning.
The Giant Man-Eater tried to extend its tentacles towards Maples, but…
“’Aqua Javelin’!”
“‘Wind Javelin’!”
“Throw~ ♪”
Maple and Chocolate released a salve of magic attacks using the <No Chant> skill. Looks like they liked the javelin type spells so much, they both decided to keep using them.
Previously, I’ve given all of my new subordinates some stats and skills of my choice to start them off, but since the monster girls were already pretty strong to begin with, I let them choose the skills they wanted instead. The two both chose the <No Chant> skill, saying that there’s no better skill for people who usually fight with magic. And since their <No Chant> skill level is set to 5, the level 5 javelin type spells are the strongest ones they can use it with, right now, which is also one of the reasons why they chose to use them here.
As for Tiramisu, what she is doing is, in a word, ‘stone throwing’.
Seeing as she couldn’t use any magic at all, she needed some means of long-distance attack, namely the <Throwing Mastery> skill.
Combined with her monstrous strength, an accurate hit from her was a force to reckon with.
“#% $ &% @:!?”
The three attacks hit directly, making the Giant Man-Eater scream (figuratively). Looking at its HP, this alone dropped it by about 5%.
The Giant Man-Eater fluttered a little, before again stretching out its tentacles.
“’Aqua Spread’!”
“‘Wind Slash’!”
Though they don’t have the same power level as the javelin type ones, the two spells have a much wider attack range, letting the two monster girls shoot down most of the approaching tentacles before they can get close.
Tiramisu took this chance to continue her attacks, causing the Giant Man-Eater’s HP to fall by about 2% with each landed hit. By the way, the stones she is using are being stored in her ‘Inventory’ in a large quantity.
“Looks like this isn’t gonna cut it.”
“The <HP Auto-Recovery> skill is such a nuisance.”
“Its HP won’t go down ☆”
The girls keep throwing attacks at it, but with the Giant Man-Eater’s <HP Auto-Recovery LV7> skill in effect, its HP barely decreases.
Not only is its HP very high to begin with, it also has high defence, making it difficult to damage in the first place. It’s quite a tough opponent for the three, not to mention the lack of fire element attacks is working against them.
Still, some damage continued to accumulate, but unfortunately…
“Seriously!? It can recover HP by eating monsters around it!?”
“Ugh, now it heals itself even faster!”
“Not good ☆”
Probably thanks to the <Gluttony> skill, the Giant Man-Eater’s HP began to recover even faster when it started grabbing nearby monsters with its tentacles and devouring them.
This meant that the amount of damage it recovered outweighed the damage he was being dealt, completely countering the monster girls’ attacks.
“But the things it can eat aren’t infinite! If we keep attacking it like this, we should win in the end!”
“Our MP will run out long before then!”
“Uh-oh!”
“I can keep throwing stones at it ♪”
“The number of stones is also not infinite!”
“Ugh, you’re right ☆”
Fighting at a long distance, the girls’ ability to deal damage is slightly lacking, so I decided to give them a little advice through telepathy.
“Tiramisu. Are you only going to throw stones at it from a distance?”
“Ah… That’s right ☆ Stone throwing is just one of the cards in my hand ☆ Me-chan ☆ Choco-chan ☆ Support me ☆ I will go in close ♪”
“I understand!”
“Got it!”
Tiramisu stopped throwing stones and charged at the Giant Man-Eater.
Naturally, it sent its tentacles towards her, trying to stop her, but Maple and Chocolate shot them all down.
“Ah ☆ Almost there… ♪”
However, they couldn’t handle all the tentacles, and one caught Tiramisu by the arm.
Having successfully caught her, the Giant Man-Eater pulled Tiramisu toward it… or at least it tried to.
Tiramisu was still standing with both of her feet firmly on the ground.
“It’s not really that strong ☆”
Apparently, a single tentacle was no match for Tiramisu’s monstrous strength. (ED: …and weight)
Seeing this, the Giant Man-Eater tried to extend additional tentacles toward her.
“Obviously, We’re not gonna let you do that”
“Of course!”
This time, Maple and Chocolate successfully shoot down all the approaching tentacles.
In response, the Giant Man-Eater opened it mouth in preparation to use its <Poison Attack> and <Acid Attack> skills
“Oh no you don’t… ♪”
Tiramisu grabbed the tentacle still wrapped around her arm and yanked it towards her.
“$ %% @:; # !?”
The Giant Man-Eater got flung forwards, closing its mouth shut, looking almost as if it had tripped and fell.
“Let’s do it ♪”
“Un!”
“Oh!”
They showered the Giant Man-Eater that fell down and couldn’t move for the moment, with attacks.
Thanks to its large body, Tiramisu could freely engage it in close combat, without worrying about getting hit by Maple and Chocolate’s stray magic attacks.
Tiramisu landed her signature drop-kick attack while again fully exposing her strawberry-pattern panties. She says it’s unavoidable because with her weight, it’s the strongest attack she can do at the moment…
The Giant Man-Eater’s HP kept falling rapidly. When it hit 30%, its movement speed suddenly increased.
Like with the regular Man-Eater we’d fought against in Kastal Queendom, reducing its HP below a certain level caused it to become enraged. At the same time, it kept stretching out its tentacles in search of anything else it could devour…
“That won’t work… It has already eaten everything in its vicinity… If it doesn’t have a way to attract more monsters, it’s pretty much useless…”
Yes, as Sakura just said, all the monsters in the vicinity were already in the Giant Man-Eater’s stomach (figuratively speaking).
Its rage mode doesn’t seem to be working out.
“Looks like it’s game over. They didn’t even need my help. Brilliantly done.”
“Well done~!”
As we commented on their fight, the Giant Man-Eater’s HP finally hit 0.
“Victory!”
“The mistresses have won!”
“Alright ♪”
The three monster girls cheered as we approached them.
“Good job. You’ve done well.”
“Masterfully done.”
“Congratulations… Everyone was amazing…”
“Winners~!”
“It would have been tough without Honey’s advice though ☆”
“These mistresses still have much to learn.”
“That’s right. It was a mistake to only rely on long range attacks.”
Maple and Chocolate, who have returned to their human form (naked), looked back on their battle while putting their clothes back on.
“Well, you’ve only just started working together. You should look for more ways to get stronger together.”
“You’re right.”
“Un.”
“I’ll do my best ♪”
This is how Tiramisu and her team ended up defeating the Giant Man-Eater.
Now, all that’s left is the clean-up…
After entering the city of Norrkut, we are currently being led by the bald gatekeeper (name unknown) to the City Lord’s mansion.
The town is as disorderly as I’ve heard.
People are swarming around the carriages, all shouting things like ‘let me get in’ or ‘I’ll go first’.
The problem is that this town is some distance away from all the others.
It takes at least two days to reach the nearest village on foot, which, as you might have guessed, is a bit of a problem whenever a large group of people needs to move all at once.
To make matters worse, there aren’t enough carriages to go around.
The city guards are desperately trying to keep things under control, but they don’t have enough manpower.
The adventurers who received the compulsory request from the guild are trying to help out, but to be frank, it’s like pouring water onto hot stones.
Plus, most of them decided to ignore it altogether, and head for the other cities on foot instead. They are used to travelling light, so it’s not really a problem for them, and there are barely any adventurers of rank B or above left, so the penalty is a one-year suspension at most anyway.
ED Reminder: The penalty for ignoring compulsory requests from the guild depends on one’s rank. You also need to be at least at rank B to receive nominated requests, which is why Jin decided to keep everyone in the main party at rank C just in case.
“Looks like the gatekeepers and the city guards are still properly doing their jobs…”
“But the adventurers’ morale is low, right?”
“Same with the citizens ☆”
“The two ladies are really harsh… Well, it’s a shame, since I expected the adventurers to have a little more of a backbone. As for the citizens… There’s not much I can really say. Few can act calmly when their lives are at stake.”
Maria and Tiramisu followed my mutterings with some pretty ruthless comments, making the bald gatekeeper smile wryly.
“When a village I know was about to be attacked by a monster stampede, they used the carriages to evacuate the women, the children and the elderly first. The adventurers there also received a compulsory request, but almost all of them joined in.”
You know, the Rice Village in Kastal. (not its actual name)
Well, I ended up taking care of that stampede on my own, but still…
“There’s actually such a village…? Well, it’s true that it makes our city look bad in comparison…”
“No, I think it’s actually the village that’s a special case. The city’s reaction is the normal one. Still, it’s a village in the neighbouring Kastal Queendom, so there shouldn’t be that much difference…”
At least the people shouldn’t act that differently.
“Oh, so you came from our neighbour? Wait, but if you’re from Kastal, then why did you enter through the gate facing in the opposite direction…?”
“No, I didn’t say that. I just meant that I’ve been to Kastal before. Still, are you saying there are other gates than the one we’ve passed through? Are there still people guarding them?”
“There are four gates, facing north, south, east and west respectively, and the gatekeepers should still be there.”
Looking at the map, I confirmed there really are four gates and there are indeed people still stationed at the other three.
Looks like the gatekeepers here are all pretty loyal. Call me impressed.
“We tried to stop the riots at first, but it didn’t really work out… We had no choice but to give up and just do our job as gatekeepers instead.”
“But the gate is left empty now. Won’t that be a problem?”
“Isn’t this more important right now?”
“I guess…”
Guarding the gate is an important job, but it doesn’t take priority over solving the current situation.
He’s not only loyal, but also flexible. The adventurers could learn a thing or two from the bald gatekeeper.
As we were talking, we arrived in front of a large mansion.
“Well, here we are. The City Lord should still be inside.”
“In this situation?”
“Probably. He has a strong sense of responsibility. He’s not really the type of person who would run away on his own, while leaving the rest of us behind.”
I don’t think it’s a bad thing to be dutiful though…
I think someone once said that the job of a leader is twofold: to make important decisions, and to take responsibility whenever they don’t pan out.
“I’ve come, my Lord!”
The bald gatekeeper declared loudly after boldly entering through the front door. Why would you barge into the City Lord’s home like that?
Looking at the map, apart from the City Lord, there seem to only be a couple of servants still around.
Judging by their status and such, they are a senior maid and a senior butler. Looks like there aren’t any combatants left… My maids can fight so it’s different.
The maid rushed into the hall, as the bald gatekeeper led us inside.
“What’s wrong Joshua? Did something happen again?”
“‘No, this time it’s good news. I want to take them to see the Lord.”
“…Okay. This way, please.”
The maid led us through the house.
Based on the previous scene, it looks like the gatekeeper is pretty close with the City Lord.
“Joshua… ☆ With that face. Joshua… ☆”
“Tiramisu-chan, fufu… You shouldn’t laugh…”
Tiramisu and Sakura were both trying to hold back their laughter. I know how you feel.
The name of the bald gatekeeper turned out to be ‘Joshua’. The name… of the bald gatekeeper… with a bandit face… is ‘Joshua’. He looks like ‘Gonzales’ if anything, but not ‘Joshua’!
Maria and the other monster girls didn’t seem to understand why the two were laughing so much.
“I feel like they’re thinking something rude…”
“It’s all in your head.”
I’m sticking with the ‘bald gatekeeper’ regardless.
As shown on the map, we arrived in front of the room where the City Lord was.
“My Lord, Joshua is here to see you.”
“Come in…”
In response to the maid’s knock, a slightly faint voice came from inside.
“Excuse me.”
The person inside the room turned out to be an unhealthy looking old man who matched the thin voice.
Although he’s almost 2m tall, his arms and legs are rather thin, so he gives off an impression of being very crunchy. His eyes are also pretty narrow, and he doesn’t have much of a presence in general. His skin is so white that it makes you want to ask if he even goes out at all.
So, you’re saying… he’s the one in charge?
“I know what you mean. He doesn’t look the part, but he’s very reliable, so please don’t let his appearance fool you…”
When I looked dubiously at the bald gatekeeper, he nodded and reaffirmed me.
“Joshua… that’s a pretty mean thing to say…”
“I’m sorry. But it’s true, you know.”
“Well, yes… but sometimes the truth can also hurt…”
Looking at the two talking casually, I wondered if they are close friends.
“Well, let’s leave that aside for now…”
-Sigh “Are you going to introduce me to the people behind you…?”
The City Lord muttered, while looking at us who haven’t been introduced yet.
“Right. They say they can get rid of the disaster-class monster.”
“Is that true…!?”
“Yeah, did you hear the big explosion outside?”
“I did… No way…!”
“Yeah. That was them. It was one ridiculously powerful water and wind magic. But they’re mercenaries, so it will probably cost a lot…”
When it comes to adventurers, the recommended reward is somewhat normalized by the rank of the request, but in case of mercenaries, the reward depends on, let’s say, ‘market price’… The laws of supply and demand can be scary like that.
“A reward… I only have 100 million gold left… Could you please do something about it…?”
“”Wha~…!?””
The maid and the bald gatekeepers were both stupefied by the City Lord offering up all of his money, without even trying to negotiate.
A: It’s true. His entire savings, excluding living expenses, amount to around 100 million gold.
If Alta says so, it means he really isn’t trying anything, and is simply offering us all he has.
“You idiot! Why are you suddenly offering them all of your money! Negotiate, negotiate!”
“No… instead of wasting time negotiating, I would prefer them to subdue the monster, even if a little bit faster instead… It would reduce the anxiety and burden to the citizens…”
“But still, even if it’s just a little…… Ah, forget it! I’m not going to fight you over this right now.”
The City Lord might not look very capable, but he doesn’t hesitate to spend his entire fortune to save his citizens… that’s really impressive all things aside.
“So, the Lord’s offer is 100 million gold. Will you accept the request?”
“It’s good that you’re eager and all, but can we at least hear what kind of monster it is first?”
“Ah!”
“You still haven’t told them…?”
The bald gatekeeper palmed his shiny forehead. It actually made quite a nice sound.
After that, he and the City Lord explained about the Giant Man-Eater, but we didn’t learn anything new, so I’ll skip that part.
“I’ll ask you again, will you accept this request?”
“Yeah, we’ll take it.”
I agreed to his repeated request.
Next we went over all the paragraphs of the contract and worked out all the details.
Where did I suddenly get a mercenary employment contract you ask? Well, I had Maria contact Lucia, who had it sent to us with an express delivery (through the “Inventory’).
“We’ve still got to stop by the Adventurers’ Guild before we go fight the Giant Man-Eater.”
“The Adventurers’ Guild? What for?”
When I told him about my plans, the bald gatekeeper raised a question.
“I’m going to report to the guild, just in case. It would be a hassle if there was a request for subjugation already out there. Plus, we’re trying to spread our name right now, so we’ve got to advertise a bit.”
To be honest, it’s just a remnant of the ‘Mysterious Rookie Adventurers Masterpiece Strategy’. Things are going so smoothly, we’re about to miss our chance here, so I’m getting slightly annoyed.
I want to do a template!
“In that case, I’ll come along. I’d like to at least watch you fight the Giant Man-Eater, even if I can’t come with you…”
“No can do. You can only follow us until the gate.”
I firmly refused his request. It’s also something we’ve included in the contract earlier.
From the start, the bald gatekeeper asked to accompany us in the upcoming fight. Of course, I understood his feelings, but I firmly refused, saying that there are some things we have to keep a secret.
Maple and Chocolate are very limited in what they can do in their human forms, and the other party is reasonably strong as well, so I don’t want to create a situation where they can’t fight at full strength.
“I know. I’m just saying…”
The bald gatekeeper still looks dejected.
“Then, I’ll at least help you out by spreading word that ‘monster extermination experts are on their way to fight the Giant Man-Eater, so everyone should stay away’. I’m not sure how effective it will be though…”
“Oh? Please do.”
If the City Lord declares it, it will make our achievement go public to some extent. If we add the Adventurers’ Guild on top of that, it will really help us get some name recognition.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
After passing the message to the City Lord, he led us to the Adventurers’ Guild.
The city was still disorderly, but no one tried to bother us. Well, we didn’t have a carriage after all.
It’s still before noon now. We’ve set the deadline for defeating the Giant Man-Eater as ‘until this evening’. While it’s certainly dangerous, it doesn’t move very fast, so If you leave the city before then, you will be able to escape.
Walking through the turbulent city, we arrived in front of the Adventurers’ Guild.
“Sorry to barge in.”
The bald gatekeeper opened the door.
Inside the Adventurers’ Guild, some rough looking adventurers are drinking alcohol during the daytime… not. Obviously. I mean, the city is in a state of emergency. There are barely any people here. Correction, there’s only one, a single receptionist girl.
“Ah, Joshua-san!”
The receptionist is a little younger than me. Shaking her brown pigtails, she ran up to us from the counter. Her eyes are tearing up. What ever happened here?
“Ah, Miss Kenny. Can you call Gilmas for me?” (ED: Not sure if it’s supposed to be a name, it’s ‘girumasu’ in the raw, but it sounds a bit like ‘guild master’)
“That… The guild chief said he was going to the next town to call for help, and took a few C-rank adventurers out in a carriage…”
“What!? You’re kidding!”
The bald gatekeeper looks shocked, but is that really that much of a surprise?
“Going to the next town for help” is a pretty lazy excuse if you ask me. It’s not something a guild master would do himself to begin with, unless he happens to be fleeing the city, like this one.
In other words, he was the first to run away. And he even had the gall to lie about it…
Wait! Doesn’t that mean we can’t do any advertising in accordance with the ‘Mysterious Rookie Adventurers Masterpiece Strategy’ any more!?
“Then, why is Miss Kenny still here?”
“Because, it would be a problem if there was no one left in the guild, so he made me a temporary chief.”
“What the hell!?”
The bald gatekeeper is furious, and so am I.
Is the guild chief’s position even something you can pass onto others that easily?
A: No, it’s not.
See!?
“So, why is Joshua-san here? Is there something I can help you with?”
“Ah, right… These guys are going to defeat the disaster-class monster. I’m here to report that… Well, it doesn’t really matter any more.”
The bald gatekeeper explained to Miss Kenny, who still tried to diligently perform her duties.
“Defeating the disaster-class monster…?
“I know, it sounds like a joke, but it’s true. I’ve seen a bit of what they can do, and it makes me think that they might actually be able to pull it off.”
“Are you referring to the mysterious rain before…?
“Yeah, it was them.”
It looks like her intuition is pretty sharp.
I asked her a question.
“Miss Kenny, was there a request to defeat the disaster-class monster? If someone already took it, it’s going to be a problem.”
“I haven’t issued one. I mean, I couldn’t, even if I wanted to. I can’t even begin to imagine how high the fee would be. It’s not the kind of request you can make on your own.”
Incidentally, the 100 million gold reward offered by the City Lord is among the top 20 rewards ever paid to adventurers (according to Alta). It scarcely ever happened, even in the past.
Of course, it is not a personal request, but one from the City Lord.
“Ok, that’s all we needed to know. Then, we’ll be on our way to take care of the Giant Man-Eater.”
“Are you sure? Didn’t you say something about a publicity stunt?”
“In here?”
“Ah, right…”
There isn’t much advertising we can do with only a single receptionist girl here, now is there?
We left the guild and headed for the gate in the direction that the Giant Man-Eater was approaching from.
“Then, I’ll wait for you here. Please don’t overdo it. If you find that you can’t win, just run away.”
“It’s not that strong of an opponent. You don’t need to worry so much… Still, thanks for worrying about us.”
“OK, see you later.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Having parted ways with the gatekeeper, we headed out to subjugate the Giant Man-Eater.
Just in case, I checked the map, but it didn’t seem like anyone, including the bald gatekeeper, was following us.
After a short walk, when the city was out of sight, we used ‘Portal’ to transfer us most of the way towards the Giant Man-Eater, and then we flew the rest of the way.
“This is… pretty impressive…”
Sakura muttered, looking at the scene in front of us.
From up high, you could clearly see the difference between the landscape before and after the Giant Man-Eater has passed through.
In front of it, it was a regular meadow, while behind it, it all turned into a wilderness. It really looks like some sort of a natural disaster.
The Giant Man-Eater itself is about 10 meters wide, which is considerably larger than the 6 meters of its regular counterpart.
“Just like we’ve heard, it doesn’t seem to move that fast.”
“It would have been a disaster if it did.”
“As long as it doesn’t fly, Tira-chan can probably handle it ☆”
“Good luck~!”
It’s time to check out the status of the Giant Man-Eater, which we’ve been saving until now.
Giant Man-Eater (Rampage – Gluttony)
Level 98
Skills: <HP Auto-Recovery LV7> <Tentacles LV8> <Poison Attack LV8> <Acid Attack LV8>
Curse Mark: <Gluttony LV->
Remarks: A mad plant that preys on all living things and inanimate objects.
<Gluttony>
Impossible to tame. Harder to escape. Can devour anything and everything.
…This is going to be fun.
For now, there are two parts I’m interested in: ‘Rampage’ and ‘Gluttony’.
A: ‘Rampage’ refers to the state of a monster that has run amok under the influence of the Demon Lord. Whenever a Demon Lord appears in the world, some monsters will start rampaging.
It’s because of the Demon Lord? Does that mean the rampaging monsters are being controlled by them?
A: The details of the Demon Lord’s influence are unknown. ‘Rampage’ doesn’t mean they are being directly controlled by the Demon Lord. Hypothetically, if the Demon Lord were to appear in front of them, they (monsters) would still attack them (Demon Lord) indiscriminately. To begin with, the Demon Lord is the ‘Lord of the Demon Race’, and not the ‘Lord of all the monsters’. (ED: They use the same Japanese word for ‘monster’ and ‘demon’)
From a human’s perspective they are both enemies, but it’s not like they are working together.
Then, please explain the ‘Gluttony’ part next. I’m guessing it’s one of the ‘Seven Deadly Sins’.
A: As you have already guessed, it’s a curse representing one of the seven deadly sins. Any monster afflicted with one will go on a rampage.
Yep, I knew it. Well, the ‘Seven Deadly Sins’ are an easy theme to handle. And they’re pretty powerful for the most part.
Well, it doesn’t really change our plans to defeat it though…
Right, tell everyone what you’ve just told me.
A: Understood.
“It looks like a strong enemy. Jin-sama, can I step in if something happens?”
“Please do.”
Maria suggested, after listening to Alta’s explanation.
“If possible, I’d like to fight it with just these mistresses, without Maria’s help.”
“That’s right, it looks stronger than I expected… but I’ll still do my best.”
“Let’s do our best ♪”
The monster girls all seem to be in high spirits.
Landing in its path, they prepared to face the incoming Giant Man-Eater.
“Let’s do it!”
“All Right!”
“Go~ ♪”
Maple and Chocolate, both in their monster form, and Tiramisu in her human form, all raised their voices.
By the way, the non-participating members are watching from some distance away.
“$% # $% &&!”
The Giant Man-Eater also noticed their presence and made a weird noise. It didn’t get translated by ‘Connect’, so it doesn’t seem to have any intelligible meaning.
The Giant Man-Eater tried to extend its tentacles towards Maples, but…
“’Aqua Javelin’!”
“‘Wind Javelin’!”
“Throw~ ♪”
Maple and Chocolate released a salve of magic attacks using the <No Chant> skill. Looks like they liked the javelin type spells so much, they both decided to keep using them.
Previously, I’ve given all of my new subordinates some stats and skills of my choice to start them off, but since the monster girls were already pretty strong to begin with, I let them choose the skills they wanted instead. The two both chose the <No Chant> skill, saying that there’s no better skill for people who usually fight with magic. And since their <No Chant> skill level is set to 5, the level 5 javelin type spells are the strongest ones they can use it with, right now, which is also one of the reasons why they chose to use them here.
As for Tiramisu, what she is doing is, in a word, ‘stone throwing’.
Seeing as she couldn’t use any magic at all, she needed some means of long-distance attack, namely the <Throwing Mastery> skill.
Combined with her monstrous strength, an accurate hit from her was a force to reckon with.
“#% $ &% @:!?”
The three attacks hit directly, making the Giant Man-Eater scream (figuratively). Looking at its HP, this alone dropped it by about 5%.
The Giant Man-Eater fluttered a little, before again stretching out its tentacles.
“’Aqua Spread’!”
“‘Wind Slash’!”
Though they don’t have the same power level as the javelin type ones, the two spells have a much wider attack range, letting the two monster girls shoot down most of the approaching tentacles before they can get close.
Tiramisu took this chance to continue her attacks, causing the Giant Man-Eater’s HP to fall by about 2% with each landed hit. By the way, the stones she is using are being stored in her ‘Inventory’ in a large quantity.
“Looks like this isn’t gonna cut it.”
“The <HP Auto-Recovery> skill is such a nuisance.”
“Its HP won’t go down ☆”
The girls keep throwing attacks at it, but with the Giant Man-Eater’s <HP Auto-Recovery LV7> skill in effect, its HP barely decreases.
Not only is its HP very high to begin with, it also has high defence, making it difficult to damage in the first place. It’s quite a tough opponent for the three, not to mention the lack of fire element attacks is working against them.
Still, some damage continued to accumulate, but unfortunately…
“Seriously!? It can recover HP by eating monsters around it!?”
“Ugh, now it heals itself even faster!”
“Not good ☆”
Probably thanks to the <Gluttony> skill, the Giant Man-Eater’s HP began to recover even faster when it started grabbing nearby monsters with its tentacles and devouring them.
This meant that the amount of damage it recovered outweighed the damage he was being dealt, completely countering the monster girls’ attacks.
“But the things it can eat aren’t infinite! If we keep attacking it like this, we should win in the end!”
“Our MP will run out long before then!”
“Uh-oh!”
“I can keep throwing stones at it ♪”
“The number of stones is also not infinite!”
“Ugh, you’re right ☆”
Fighting at a long distance, the girls’ ability to deal damage is slightly lacking, so I decided to give them a little advice through telepathy.
“Tiramisu. Are you only going to throw stones at it from a distance?”
“Ah… That’s right ☆ Stone throwing is just one of the cards in my hand ☆ Me-chan ☆ Choco-chan ☆ Support me ☆ I will go in close ♪”
“I understand!”
“Got it!”
Tiramisu stopped throwing stones and charged at the Giant Man-Eater.
Naturally, it sent its tentacles towards her, trying to stop her, but Maple and Chocolate shot them all down.
“Ah ☆ Almost there… ♪”
However, they couldn’t handle all the tentacles, and one caught Tiramisu by the arm.
Having successfully caught her, the Giant Man-Eater pulled Tiramisu toward it… or at least it tried to.
Tiramisu was still standing with both of her feet firmly on the ground.
“It’s not really that strong ☆”
Apparently, a single tentacle was no match for Tiramisu’s monstrous strength. (ED: …and weight)
Seeing this, the Giant Man-Eater tried to extend additional tentacles toward her.
“Obviously, We’re not gonna let you do that”
“Of course!”
This time, Maple and Chocolate successfully shoot down all the approaching tentacles.
In response, the Giant Man-Eater opened it mouth in preparation to use its <Poison Attack> and <Acid Attack> skills
“Oh no you don’t… ♪”
Tiramisu grabbed the tentacle still wrapped around her arm and yanked it towards her.
“$ %% @:; # !?”
The Giant Man-Eater got flung forwards, closing its mouth shut, looking almost as if it had tripped and fell.
“Let’s do it ♪”
“Un!”
“Oh!”
They showered the Giant Man-Eater that fell down and couldn’t move for the moment, with attacks.
Thanks to its large body, Tiramisu could freely engage it in close combat, without worrying about getting hit by Maple and Chocolate’s stray magic attacks.
Tiramisu landed her signature drop-kick attack while again fully exposing her strawberry-pattern panties. She says it’s unavoidable because with her weight, it’s the strongest attack she can do at the moment…
The Giant Man-Eater’s HP kept falling rapidly. When it hit 30%, its movement speed suddenly increased.
Like with the regular Man-Eater we’d fought against in Kastal Queendom, reducing its HP below a certain level caused it to become enraged. At the same time, it kept stretching out its tentacles in search of anything else it could devour…
“That won’t work… It has already eaten everything in its vicinity… If it doesn’t have a way to attract more monsters, it’s pretty much useless…”
Yes, as Sakura just said, all the monsters in the vicinity were already in the Giant Man-Eater’s stomach (figuratively speaking).
Its rage mode doesn’t seem to be working out.
“Looks like it’s game over. They didn’t even need my help. Brilliantly done.”
“Well done~!”
As we commented on their fight, the Giant Man-Eater’s HP finally hit 0.
“Victory!”
“The mistresses have won!”
“Alright ♪”
The three monster girls cheered as we approached them.
“Good job. You’ve done well.”
“Masterfully done.”
“Congratulations… Everyone was amazing…”
“Winners~!”
“It would have been tough without Honey’s advice though ☆”
“These mistresses still have much to learn.”
“That’s right. It was a mistake to only rely on long range attacks.”
Maple and Chocolate, who have returned to their human form (naked), looked back on their battle while putting their clothes back on.
“Well, you’ve only just started working together. You should look for more ways to get stronger together.”
“You’re right.”
“Un.”
“I’ll do my best ♪”
This is how Tiramisu and her team ended up defeating the Giant Man-Eater.
Now, all that’s left is the clean-up…
