We gathered the balm bird in one place and pull the magic stone off the modified balm bird.
Then I think again.
How in the world am I going to bring back this large number of balm birds?
As I was pondering, two menâs voices came from deep within the forest.
âHey, big brother, itâs hopeless alreadyâŠâŠ The balm bird is on alert, and human feet canât catch up with itâŠâŠâ
âShut up, you idiot! They got away with it because youâre being lazy, to begin with! If we donât catch that damn bird and collect the gold, weâll be in the red! I wonât let them get away with this. Never.â
He has a rough tone and doesnât sound very gracious.
I knew it was coming.
The sound of a balm bird attracted me, something other than a balm bird.
Itâs an adventurer who targets the balm birds.
As for me, I didnât want to come into contact with other adventurers in such a secluded place.
I donât have a very good memory of the adventurers in this city.
First, I saw Gaston threatening the staff when I came to the Adventurerâs Support Center.
Next, the adventurers demonstrating at the ruins. Gaston blending in with them and shouting abuse.
The adventurers who look at you with suspicion when you hunt a mutant. Then Gaston, who came to cause trouble straightly.
I once saw an adventurer who was drunk and fighting in the daytime. One half was Gaston.
What the hell, if you think about it calmly, itâs all Gaston.
Thereâs no need to avoid them that hard.
Two adventurers emerge from deep in the forest.
A man carrying an axe and a man carrying a bow.
Both are in their late twenties or so.
The two men had similar facial features.
They must be brothers since I heard âbig brotherâ earlier.
The axe-handling man was taller, while the bow-handling man had a round face and was slightly overweight.
When Mea looked at the two adventurers, she grabbed my sleeve as if she was anxious.
By the looks of things, Iâd better talk to them.
âWha-, whatâs with this situationâŠâŠâ
The little fat man with the bow, probably the little brother, spilled that.
Theyâre both gutsy.
If they seem trustworthy, maybe I could ask them to help me carry the balm bird.
The older brother looked around at the berm bird on the ground and then at me.
âHey, kid. I havenât seen you around, are you new here? What is this balm bird? What happened?â
âYes. Iâm a recent adventurer who ran away from the countryside because I donât want to follow my parentâs plans. My name is Abel and sheâs Mea.â
I explained and bowed my head.
For now, Iâll just have to leave it at the bottom.
Heâs a senior. I might be able to hear something valuable, or he might be able to help me.
The older brother was still staring at me with suspicious eyes.
Ah, the explanation for the balm bird.
Letâs just fool around.
âThe whole thing, Mea killed the balm bird with her bow.â
I indicated Mea with my thumb and said smugly.
I didnât tell a lie.
I attack it with magic, and in the end, Mea finished it off with her bow.
The only balm bird I killed directly was a modified balm bird, for example.
Mea tugs on my sleeve and looks up at me half crying.
âMea is an expert with the bow, soâŠâ
Mea shook her head tremendously. She was half crying.
It was getting a little fun.
âWhat? These kids have killed this many balm birds?â
âBrother, I donât think itâs impossible. Neither of them is norcs, nor are they noirs. They donât look like from around here. The women, maybe theyâre hunters from a remote area where there are a lot of ferocious magical beasts. Iâve heard in the tavern that horned people have better senses.â
âHaha, I see, I see. Youâre the type that is only good at hunting down small fry. If you use it well, itâs worth a fortune.â
The older brother laughed, with a twisted smile.
âWhat do you think of that white kid?â
âHeâs got a wand, so he must be a sorcerer, but there isnât a balm bird with magical trauma. And that kind of bean, he looks like a sculptor. Maybe theyâre technical people by nature. He said he got into trouble with his parents and ran out, and heâs thin. I guess he doesnât have much experience in hunting.â
âOkay, okay, so heâs just useless.'â
The white kid, so theyâre talking about meâŠâŠ
I can hear everything, dude.
However. Heâs looking at it surprisingly well.
Itâs a good thing I ripped the magic stone off the modified balm bird.
âIâm sorry Iâm late to introduce myself. Iâm Gordon. The fat one over here is Mordon. Iâm a semi-D-class adventure and Maudon is an E-class adventurer. So weâre your seniors.â
âThe older brotherâŠâŠ Gordon cackles while clapping his hands.â
Semi-D class, so the same class as Gaston. Heâs pretty high up in the ranks of the adventurers in Lomarnâs city.
Gordon spreads his arms to the left and right and walks briskly up to me.
The tone was abrupt or strangely friendly. What a frivolous-looking man.
âIâm going to teach you one thing as a senior. You canât understand it at first, but an adventurer has to have a quality.â
What are you talking about?
âItâs not just the rank, man. Whether you have a role to play, or if itâs really something you canât do without him, or if youâre just sneaking around on the edge. Money and lives are at stake, so itâs only natural. Itâs quite common at newbie parties, the quality gap. Iâm a nice guy, so I used to work with a lot of useless people. Now that Iâve come to terms with the reality of the situation, I ended up with Mordon.â
âIt couldnât be helped because big brother got into a dispute with the allocation and went on a rampage and a bad rumor spreadâŠâŠâ
Gordon tapped the back of Mordonâs head as he was about to say something.
But I could see what he was trying to say.
In short, heâs probably thinking of pulling Mea out of the picture.
Should I not have told an unnecessary lie? No. Either way, Gordon was here to negotiate.
Or rather, he was safe from a clean hit of Mea.
He glanced over to check Meaâs complexion.
Her face paled and she was staring at the ground.
Her grip on my sleeve has weakened, and now she can only pick at it with her fingers. The tip of it is also quivering.
âYou know what I mean? Horned womanâŠâŠ Mea if I remembered? Get rid of that white knucklehead and stick with me. When the comes, that weak kid wonât be bodyguard much when youâre in a pinch, you know. Iâm a very gentlemanly man even if I look like thisâŠâŠâ
Meaâs body staggered, so I managed to prop her up.
I didnât have the strength to continue supporting her, so I gently made her lean against a nearby tree.
âAre you okay, Mea, hey!â
âUseless, cast asideâŠâŠ uselessâŠâŠâ
She repeated this with empty eyes, mumbling.
âHey, get a grip! Hey!â
Really, the adventurers in this city are all not good.
So Gaston wasnât the only one.
âWhat are you guys doing? Well, okay. Anyway, Horned Woman, you are to follow meâŠâŠâ
For now, Iâve to get rid of these guys first rather than follow up with Mea.
âAs for the party, itâs our problem, so can you not interfere anymore? Both Mea and I are not dissatisfied with the current situation. Besides, look, Mea doesnât seem to be feeling well either.â
âOh, come on, youâre not going to let that fool me! Hmm? Youâve got a look that youâve been punched in the face, hahaha!â
Who does this guy think he is?
Iâm really starting to get a little annoyed.
âNo, umâŠâŠâ
âOh, okay. You donât have to tell me. I understand it all too well. I know youâre desperate, so I donât need to argue with you. Thatâs why Iâm going to test you, as the senior member of the team, to see if youâre up to the challenge as an adventurer. That should change both your mind and the womanâs. AhhhâŠâŠ Itâs not a good idea to bully the weak, but oh well. Itâs the role of the senior to take on the role of the hater, isnât it?â
Gordon stabbed the axe into the ground and snapped his fingers.
âWhat, making your face so hard? Youâre scared? Huh? Donât worry, Iâm not going to take your life. I may make you so battered that youâll never be an adventurer again, but donât you resent me. Such accidents happen all the time when youâre an adventurer. Donât tell me youâre not prepared for that kind of sh*t, do you?â
Even for Gaston, why are they all so quarrelsome?
It canât be helped, letâs just do it with all our might and get rid of them quickly.
Liked it? Take a second to support Novels on Patreon!