Sword, Magic and Academic Society

Vol. 1 - Ch. 101 - Hot Spring (1)

There was a bit of a mental debate going on inside my head but in the end I decided to choose the landmine quest.

There were a few reasons. The danger level was designated C-rank, and even if the situation turned south, the trouble would at best be on B-rank, the same level as a Greateus Snake. I was sure my current strength was enough to muscle through the situation if it really turned out to be trouble.

Truat-san had also confirmed the monsters that might appear, and he didn't spot anything wrong.

Besides, considering the fact that they needed a guard or else they couldn't depart, the stakes seemed to lower further since it meant the client was just some small riffraff.

Well, explorers also had the right to refuse a request and terminate the contract should the client deliberately cause harm or coerce them into doing something illegal or outside the scope of assignment. Like, the request said 'Travel to Kirika via the western road,' so any change in the route without reason would fall into the unacceptable range.

Though the client hasn't mentioned their route except for the general direction, so god knows which route we would be taking.

Another reason was I wanted to get away from Lacanthal as soon as possible. Dan's father seemed intent on greeting his son's classmates, which was nothing but a pain in the butt for me. Dan also told me about the heavyweight nobles like Marquis Grauksh who were gathering in this city for his birthday.

The actual birthday was 10 days later, but his schedule was apparently already stuffed with greeting rounds with the other nobles. The only reason so many nobles were gathering ahead of the party should be to form connections. Dan was basically the No.2 in the Royal Academy, after all.

I was explorer Ren right now and the last thing I wanted was to run into them. I would have no tears left to cry if even this solace was taken away from me.

And the last reason was that I definitely wanted to try out the hot springs of the kingdom's foremost Hot Spring Resort. Well, this was the actual reason. I didn't care much about the rest. I just couldn't ignore the chance as a bath enthusiast, which was also why I insisted on a hot water device and sauna in the dormitory.

To live freely the way I wanted in this life, this was what I had decided to do.

I did think of traveling alone, but I had no idea about the terrain and I heard it would be impossible to cross the mountain in a short time, so camping would be necessary. In that case, I might as well be stuck with a client as a guide.

If only I had a map, but that was asking for too much, I guess... And to be honest, I didn't believe in my sense of direction. Heck, I doubt any modern person would be capable of reaching their destination without a map and not get lost.

For the journey, I decided to stock up on my MacAquate arrow that had a high piercing trait, but apparently they weren't sold here in Serdos, so I decided to buy ten mithril arrows enchanted with ice element following Truat-san's advice.

Mithril was a special type of metal that could be enchanted with elements by a specialist at the expense of mana stones. Considering the place I was headed to, a place raging with fire element, it should be able to show an immediate effect.

One arrow cost 500 rea, but that was actually cheaper than in the Royal Capital by 50%.

Once I had everything ready, I headed for the location I was supposed to meet the client.

???

The meeting place was at the outskirts west of Lacanthal where I met the client--- or I guess I should say clients as they happened to be two men. They're outright giving off the 'I'm a villain' aura.

I also decided to wear my outlaw mask--- the only proven method that actually worked against people of their level.

"Yo, so ye folks are the clients, eh? I'm the explorer Ren who had taken yer reques'. Let's get goin'."

The men noticing my arrival turned to glance at me, but their faces turned red in rage when they confirmed my appearance.

"Hey-hey-hey, what're they expecting sending a runt here? Ain't no way we gonna put a brat to use!"

One of the two men, a small-moustache man, said. Then another man, sporting a goat-like beard, followed.

"Tsk, rats like him aren't rare. I bet he's here fer some easy money thinking it's a safe request, but would cower when the time comes. Listen ye runt, if ya ever so try to desert in front of monsters, ya will be coming out of their poop next thing ya know!"

I unsheathed my dagger from the scabbard that was fastened to my leather belt at my waist the instant that goat-beard extended his hand toward me and slashed one cm length of his beard in a flash before sheathing the dagger.

Shin

A sharp metallic noise echoed faintly.

I could yap all day long, but nothing would go through these shitheads. Speaking from experience, the best way was to give them a lively greeting before they start opening their stinky mouths at any given moment.

Goat-beard man's eyes widened in bewilderment, unable to catch my movement, and ran his hand over the beard and neck in fluster.

"Y-Y-Y-You bastard! Do you think you can get away with that inside the town!"

The small-moustache man hollered with a pale face.

"Come now, 'twas just a shaver. It was sullying the majestic beard. Wait, now that I look at ya, don't ya think yer moustache needs some care? That would just hinder yer movement."

The small-moustache man froze like a statue when I put my hand on my dagger's hilt again and broke into cold sweat.

"......Just joking, tehe~. Anyway, we're short on time and wasn't the plan to cross the Ament Volcano? Then stop dilly-dallying and get your ass moving."

Hmm, I hope they learned their lesson with this.

Afterward, we met with a middle-aged man who came to the town from Ment village for supplies and departed from Lacanthal.

It was a carriage ride. Most of the harmless or puny monsters were kept at bay by my wind magic, while I put an end to any daredevil monster that came near with my dagger.

There was no telling when I might need my arrows in Ment village, so I was focusing on saving them.

On the way, I curiously asked questions regarding the carriage driving skill from the middle-aged coachman as I sat next to him.

The coachman was a mild-mannered guy named Tonny who came here to purchase necessary supplies for Ment Village. The village had hot springs, but that was as far as their specialty went so they hardly had any money to hire explorers for each trip.

It seemed like inviting explorers by offering them guidance and a ride in exchange for taking care of the monsters they might encounter on the trail to Ament Volcano had become a custom.

There were hardly any normal people visiting the village, but there were at least some good-for-nothing folk who fortunately(?) frequently visited the village that they were somehow able to stay afloat in their current situation.

"...I don't understand. I feel like you would be able to make this trip alone, old man. You're at least stronger than the two fellas behind..."

After my involvement in the Hill Road Club, explorer activities, and the knight order, I could more or less discern a person's expertise in body-strengthening magic. It was especially after dabbling into detection magic that I could notice more subtleties as well.

"Heh. Well, certainly, treading alone is also an option if there isn't anyone willing to go along. But then again, it wouldn't hurt to have some insurance, and it's best to avoid taking risks unless necessary. It's hard to get a wink of sleep as well when you're alone. How did you figure that out?"

"Hmm? Ah, it didn't take much to figure out with the way you carry yourself. Maybe call it experience? I can't explain it in words though."

The coachman burst out in laughter.

"Hahaha. It's not much of an achievement, but I'm also a C-rank explorer and yet, you managed to figure that out in just a short time. But I guess you don't reach B-rank just with strength alone at your age. Just how much experience have you piled up? Goodness..."

...As long as you had experience, the key point here, it was easy to guess a person's expertise and control over body-strengthening magic.

As a coach of the Hill Road Club, I would go through each member's report --- visualized through the manager's expertise and magic tool --- each day, so my experience wasn't in the conventional way, but my gaze had been trained enough to discern that much at least.

"Well, just happened to...... Ya think I can't hear you, eh?"

I said while turning toward the wooden partition that kept us and the inside of the carriage apart.

The two men were whispering in faint voices like 'I really thought we would be stuck here after spending our travel expenses in the red-light district, but god must be looking after us to send a handy doll our day. Though a moron at that' or 'Let's leave him on his own if we encounter a strong opponent. He'll become our decoy.'

It was a must to take an escort request seriously, but their words made it clear why the request was missing important details. These bastards must have been looking for some bait for monsters since the beginning, huh? Let's see what they'll do after I tell this to the association.

Just then, my detection magic picked up a sign of a monster attack.

"......Slow down, Tonny. We're surrounded... The opponent is three large-size bipedal monsters. Most like Flame Gongs."

Tonny's face scrunched up at my report.

"What? How can you tell?! I thought we were lucky since we didn't run into that many monsters. I truly didn't expect the monkeys to be behind this.

Shit, they're exceptional at working together and can also use long-range fire magic. I don't care if the two behind turns to cinder, but it would be a disaster if the supplies can't be saved. I'll stop the carriage and lure them away somehow. I'll handle one."

The coachman suggested, but I denied him.

"There's no need. I'll take a shot at them."

I nocked the ice element mithril arrow from the passenger seat while saying that. Before long, three Flame Gongs appeared from both the front, the rear, and the slope to the left.

My three arrows accurately met their targets and shot them dead before they had the chance to use their magic.

"Wait here. I'll harvest their mana stones."

There wasn't much space in the carriage so the least I could do was secure their elemental mana stones.

A moment later, I returned to my seat with the mana stones. Though Tonny was still wearing his bewildered expression.

I guess he must have been impressed by my archery. Then again, this was the first time I used my bow on this trip. His reaction was similar to what I would get from bystanders whenever I hunted around the areas near the Royal Capital, so it didn't bother me at this point.

The trip after that was uneventful, and I also didn't encounter any monsters where I needed to use my bow again. We pitched our tents in a safe spot for that night and arrived at our destination --- Ment village --- in the afternoon the next day.