CHAPTER 26: WHOSE FAULT WAS THAT CLEARING?

“Toru?” (Esther)

“Huh!?” (Toru)

“What did you do to Marie?” (Esther)

“Something a little bit…” (Toru)

“A little?” (Esther)

“Oh, I’ll tell you later.” (Toru)

　Frightened by the mysterious pressure from Esther, I vowed to tell her more about my interaction with Marie later.

“Now, what kind of business do you have today?” (Marie)

“Ah. I came to report the completion of the request I received last time.” (Esther)

“Okay, let’s move to another place. Please follow me to the small room over there.” (Marie)

　There was a room private room along the corridor towards the training ground. That’s the place where the reporting will be done. I waved goodbye to Esther.

　But,

“Toru” (Esther)

“Hmm?” (Toru)

　Esther turned around and invited me with her eyes. This request was received by Esther alone. I didn’t do anything to help her, and I had nothing to do with the request. I don’t have to be with her during the completion report.

　But Esther gestures that I have to come.

　Would she like me to be a witness and tell Marie that she had been in distress for three days and that she battled with rock worms?

(……it cannot be helped) (Toru)

　I gave in to her pleading and headed to the small room together.

　The small room was just enough for six adults to fit in. The only thing remarkable inside is a table and a solid sofa.

　When I sat on the sofa, the sofa creaked.

(Wow. Super noisy…) (Toru)

　There was no effort made of choosing the sofa.

　As I was adjusting my seating position, Esther sat next to me.

　A gentle, sweet scent blew my way. Esther smells good even though she hadn’t washed her body for three days.

　I was getting conscious of Esther’s smell.

　I was a 32-year-old man in Japan. After coming to Eargard, my body rejuvenated with my soul intact. My body is from a healthy and virile child whose soul I replaced with my own and lived with his body.

　Even though I don’t usually pay attention to it, I would react to the good scent of young women.

“… what’s wrong, Toru?” (Esther)

“No, nothing.” (Trou)

　Esther leaned her head close to me. I can’t see the slightest intent of her trying to ensnare a man. The gesture was innocent.

　I chanted Nembutsu using all parallel thinking and drove out evil feelings from my brain. [T/N- Nembutsu is a Buddhist prayer to drive evil spirits usually accompanied by drum beating.]

“I’m sorry to have kept you waiting… Why is Toru-san also with you?” (Marie)

“Ah. Toru also holds some information.” (Esther)

“I understand. Please start the report.” (Marie)

“Regarding the frequent appearance of silver wolves–” (Esther)

　Esther provided Marie with the information she had obtained during the investigation.

　That’s exactly what I heard from her on our way back to Finlis.

　Marie moves her pen along the paper while listening to Esther.

　When talking about the appearance of the Queen Rock Worm with the Rock Worm, I was startled by Marie’s reaction, which had remained calm until now.

“Queen Rock Worm… I’m going to relay the information with the guild right away.” (Marie)

“It’s okay. We’ve already subdued the Queen Rock worm.” (Esther)

“Eh? The Queen Rock Worm? It’s a monster that has a subjugation rank of C and can only be subdued by parties made of C-rank adventurers and above.” (Marie)

“Yeah. Toru. Take out the magic stone.” (Esther)

　Esther told me to get the stone out while holding Marie who is about to run from her seat.

　Upon receiving the instruction, I took out the magic stone of the Queen Rock Worm from my [Inventory].

“This is the proof. Please confirm.” (Toru)

“I will take care of it. It is certainly larger than a monster of D-rank. Is there anything else that can be used as subjugation proof?” (Marie)

“No. I didn’t bring anything because the condition of the monster’s body was bad.” (Toru)

“Is that so” (Marie)

“Would it pose a problem?” (Toru)

“No, it’s okay because if you have a magic stone, you can know the monster where it’s from, so it’s ok. May I appraise it?” (Marie)

“Oh” (Toru)

“Then, I will appraise it later. So…” (Marie)

　Marie stops the words and turns her eyes to the two.

“Queen Rock Worm. Were you two the only ones who subjugated it?” (Marie)

“No, it was killed by Toru alone.” (Esther)

“Eh!?” (Marie)

　Marie was surprised.

　Is it that surprising? I tilt my head in wonder.

“is that true?” (Marie)

“Yes, it’s true.” (Toru)

“But the opponent is a C rank monster. It’s also the Queen Rock Worm, which is famous for its hard outer skin. For reference, can you tell me how it was subjugated and anything you noticed like weaknesses?” (Marie)

“Hmm. Even if I was asked how I did it… I just used my sword and magic to defeat it as usual.” (Toru)

“…………as usual?” (Marie)

　Marie’s expression was stony.

　For me, I fought like how I usually did. Of course, I don’t think it was easy to defeat.

　However, since I didn’t know its weak points, I can’t explain it because I did it as usual.

“Oh, I scratched the carapace until it was wounded and shot a fireball at the wound.” (Toru)

“Eh, yeah, yes. Using fire magic on its wounds is an effective way to do damage.” (Marie)

　Looking at her facial expression, she looks like someone whose soul is about to escape.

“Marie. This is normal for Toru.” (Esther)

“Yes, that’s… it’s funny, He’s different from the ‘Lost’ people I know.” (Marie)

“Yeah, it is something I can wholly agree with.” (Esther)

　Marie and Estelle hold each other’s hands as if they were sisters, who had been separated for many years and are finally reunited.

“Uh… sorry, why are you two acting like that?” (Toru)

“First of all, there are only a few people in the Eargard who can use [sword art] and offensive [magic] in tandem.” (Esther)

“is that so?” (Toru)

“If you can use attack magic, you are usually a magician. With magic, you can attack safely and one-sidedly from a distance. So nobody is willing to master [sword art] that requires you to jump into the fray in front of a dangerous monster.” (Esther)

“……So that’s it” (Toru)

“Other than that… well, there is no victory in someone who is fighting an opponent whose level is higher than 10 or more anyway. This is a general idea, but it is also common knowledge for adventurers. However, depending on the ability and compatibility, although there are exceptions, it will still be a difficult battle.” (Esther)

　“By the way, regarding a monster’s level, but the E-rank at the lowest is generally level 5 to 10. It is said that the D-rank is 10 to 20. And 20 to 40 when it came to C-rank monsters.” (Esther)

　Esther glanced at Marie with a look.

　Upon receiving the look, Marie took over.

“Yes. If you notice it but the monster level is an estimate calculated based on many years of experience in our guild. The level range of C-rank monsters is high compared to D-rank and below. Please consider that the range of their difficulty is so wide.” (Marie)

　“The rock worm that was defeated this time is D-rank at level 15. The queen is estimated to be around level 30.” (Marie)

“Even if a ‘Lost” person carefully fights against a Level 30 queen, Eargard’s common sense is that he ‘absolutely’ can never reach the foot of the monster’s power.” (Esther)

　Esther emphasized the “never” part.

(I don’t think it’s absolute…) (Toru)

　I leaned back and thought about my level

　If there is too much of a level difference, I can understand the reason why you normally cannot win. This is because the stats will rise as the level gets higher.

　The status cannot be confirmed on the skill board, but the status has certainly risen due to leveling up. I realized that I was able to jump up a cliff after leveling up.

“Can everyone check their level?” (Toru)

“Hmm, oh yeah, I didn’t explain that. You can check your current level and skills by going to church.” (Esther)

“Oh, that’s right” (Marie)

　It can be inferred that something similar to the screen on the skill board is also present in the church.

　God gave the skill board to me as a gift who was sent to Eargard.

　It’s no wonder that there are multiple ways to check levels and skills in a world with skill boards.

“By the way, what is your level, Esther?” (Toru)

“That’s a secret. Should Toru be asking women for their weight and three sizes?” (Esther)

“Yeah. I knew that I shouldn’t have asked.” (Toru)

　Our level and skills are similar to the weight and three sizes. It seems to be a matter of privacy.

　I feel that it isn’t something I can just hide, but it’s because I grew up in a different environment. Even in Japan, the address of entertainers had been published in weekly magazines for as long as I can remember.

　Even if people are raised in the same environment, levels of privacy will change as the times change. That’s what privacy is all about.

“The topic is a little derailed. But I’ve never heard that Toru-san is a bit of a joker-” (Marie)

“Did you have to talk about that!?” (Toru)

　I asked in a hurry, but Marie stopped my words with a smile.

　Her smile had a power that didn’t allow me to refute.

“I think it’s okay to conclude that the increase in silver wolf appearance is due to rock worms moving. Do you remember seeing anything else suspicious during the investigation?” (Marie)

“Well… No, there is something. At the edge of Finlis forest, there was a clearing!” (Esther)

“Has there been someone who has reclaimed…?” (Marie)

“Uhuh” (Esther)

　Esther nodded and leaned slightly.

“There was an open space in the forest where four houses could be built. Trees that had been cut down were piled up in the corners of the clearing. The stumps were smooth and probably not cut by ordinary axes. It didn’t look like it had been cut by a large group.” (Esther)

　“I suspect that some of the elite troops of some army have secretly cleared it for the construction of a base…” (Esther)

“If so, it’s going to be difficult to move. Maybe it’s a sign of a military occupation on Finlis. I will investigate again with the guild. Please do not say anything about this information to anyone.” (Marie)

“Alright” (Esther)

　I was sweating on profusely while listening to their story.

(Somehow, the place where I just cut down some trees to check the sharpness of [Magic Sword] became the source of a terrible misunderstanding!?) (Toru)

“Toru? What’s wrong? You’re sweating?” (Esther)

“No, no… nothing, yeah?” (Toru)

“Is there anything you care to share about that space?” (Marie)

“Oh, I think it’s normal that a lumberjack might have just chopped it down. I don’t think military operations, secret maneuvers, or anything like that was done at all!” (Toru)

((……)) (Marie & Esther)

　The eyes of the two who are now focusing on me who is frozen and sweating.

　(――Ah, is it the work of Toru?) (Esther & Marie)

“…*cough*. Let’s go back to the previous topic then.” (Marie)

“Let’s go back, let’s go back!” (Toru)

((……)) (Marie & Esther)

　I welcomed the quiet talk, was getting pierced by their sharp stares.

　With the silent pressure from the two, I was clamping my mouth shut while shaking like a leaf.