Chapter 4: Elderia
“Our next job is decided,”
I called out to my companions gathered around the tavern table.
“There’s a greedy merchant who’s having trouble escaping from a country occupied by the Demon King’s army to the west of here. We need to rescue four people. If we get 100 gold coins per head, it’ll be a lucrative job totaling 400 gold coins.”
“Are they stranded in the Demon King’s territory? Isn’t that quite dangerous?”
Nina asked worriedly. In lands under the Demon King’s control, monsters increase and become more active. It’s a bit tough for humans to survive there.
“It’s a recently occupied country, so it shouldn’t be that bad. However, escape will be difficult. If we go help them, they’ll probably think of us as divine messengers.”
“Do divine messengers need gold coins these days?”
Sophia smirked sarcastically.
“Of course. If the desire for salvation is the same, even gods would prioritize those with money,”
I shrugged. If faith alone could make gods save people, the world would be peaceful.
“But with four people, we’ll need a carriage to get them out. Are we providing it? Or are they?”
Sophia pushed up her glasses, checking. Perhaps due to her background as an apothecary, she’s more meticulous about money matters than I am.
“We’ll prepare one. We’ll charge it as necessary expenses.”
“I see. If the client’s paying, let’s prepare a nice carriage. One fit for a castle ball,”
Sophia made a wicked face like a witch. She probably intends to prepare an expensive carriage since it won’t hurt our pockets.
“We’re not going to a ball. We need something sturdy rather than flashy.”
“You don’t get it, Leonard. Carriages made for nobles are both good-looking and durable. Those guys prioritize appearance and safety.”
Sophia, despite her noble background, seems to dislike her former peers.
“Is that so? However, standing out isn’t good. We might end up inviting monsters to the ball. We need something as plain and sturdy as possible.”
“Alright. A plain carriage with a lovely ride that transports people like cargo.”
“In this case, safety is more important than comfort. It would be easier to treat the merchant’s family as cargo rather than escorting them.”
The job is to safely evacuate the merchant’s family. Customer service is secondary.
“If we’ve decided to go, we should hurry. The merchant’s family must be eagerly awaiting rescue,”
Nina spoke up with a dignified voice. She must be genuinely concerned about the merchants.
“You’re right. This job isn’t about slaying monsters. Bringing back corpses won’t earn us any money. The sooner we go, the better.”
Nina frowned at my tasteless joke but stood up, prompting the other companions to act. Seeing this, Efsey drained his drink and reluctantly got to his feet.
“We’ll depart tomorrow then. Prepare for a comfortable journey.”
At my words, my three companions dispersed.
That night, when I returned to my room at the inn with the supplies I had bought, it was waiting for me.
— The Prophet. The one who chooses and guides the hero from among the people when the Demon Lord appears.
“You again? I’m not at an age where I need someone to sleep with me anymore. Sorry, but try someone else.”
The Prophet showed no reaction to my quip and simply uttered one sentence:
[Do not go west]
“As expected of the great Prophet. You’ve got good ears. May I suggest a career change to an informant?”
I don’t know where it gets its information, but this thing seems to know our destination in advance. It’s a creepy bastard.
[Go east. There you will fulfill your duty as a hero]
Compared to the west, which is being invaded by the Demon Lord’s army, the situation in the east isn’t as bad. I guess it means it’s better to head east where there’s still hope, rather than going to the west where defeat seems imminent. It’s not a bad choice, indeed.
However–
“East or west, it’s none of my business. I only move for money. No, even if I were paid a fortune, I have no intention of working for a country or the world. Anyone who works for such things must be out of their mind.”
I put my finger to my temple.
“Self-sacrifice might be noble, sure. But only for those who aren’t the ones sacrificing themselves. The hero is the prime example of this. If you flatter them with ‘Oh great hero!’, they’ll go fight the Demon Lord. It’s enough to bring tears to your eyes. Do they think erecting a bronze statue after the hero’s death is enough? How ridiculous. If you want to save the world, fight for it yourself.”
I pointed the finger that was on my temple at the Prophet.
“You’re the same, Prophet. Before making others play hero, fight yourself. Don’t just give orders from behind like you’re so important. You only think about using others, so you must be from nobility or royalty, right? It makes my skin crawl.”
The Prophet seemed to waver slightly at my words. Maybe I hit the nail on the head.
Its figure became as thin as a ghost and melted into the darkness of the room.
“I’m no hero. There are no heroes.”
I muttered towards the spot where the Prophet had disappeared.
READ THE ORIGINAL TRANSLATION AT GADGETIZEDPANDA.COM
Efsei and I were riding our horses.
Sophia and Nina were taking turns holding the reins of the carriage. We couldn’t find any peculiar coachman willing to come with us into the Demon Lord’s occupied territory.
It wasn’t far to the village where the merchant family we were supposed to rescue was hiding, but the world isn’t kind enough to let us complete a mission without incident. I saw something blocking the road a little ahead. I signaled to my companions and slowed down the horses.
“It’s a giant.”
Efsei brought his horse closer. Giants are proper monsters too. Bald head, hunched back, sloping shoulders, and an unreliable appearance, but just incredibly big in height and width. About the size of a respectable house. They’re not as strong as their size suggests due to their slow movements, but it’s troublesome when they’re used to block roads like this.
“There are goblins at its feet too.”
I pointed to where about thirty goblins were hopping around provocatively.
They’re probably feeling brave because they’re with the giant. Usually, they’re much more cowardly.
“Sophia, could you burn them a bit?”
I called out to Sophia, who had just gotten off the carriage and was stretching her stiff body.
“You mean ‘please burn them,’ right? What a rough leader you are.”
While complaining, the bespectacled female magician readied her staff and gently closed her eyes.
[O blazing red flames, spirits of fire, answer my chant. Burning flames, with the wisdom poured by ancient arts, respond to my call……]
What Sophia was chanting as her purple-tinged black hair fluttered was the ancient language necessary to manifest magic. It’s an incredibly complex language, and of course, I can hardly understand what she’s saying. Even if I did understand, whether you can use magic or not depends on talent, so I have no desire to learn it.
Light gathered at the tip of Sophia’s staff. The goblins still hadn’t noticed what was happening. Carefree bunch. They had no idea they were about to be nicely roasted.
Then, a tornado of crimson flames engulfed the giant and the goblins.
The goblins were incinerated before they could even scream. The giant, being tougher, didn’t die from this one hit, but it was suffering from burns all over its body.
“Well then, shall we go finish it off, Efsei?”
Efsei nodded silently and spurred his horse on at the same time as me.
The giant noticed us approaching and started swinging its club. It’s not a fast movement, but if we carelessly get hit, it’s goodbye to this world.
I got off my horse and approached, inflicting small wounds with my sword while dodging the club.
Efsei was watching from a distance, but once he confirmed that the giant’s attention was completely on me, he leaped with all his might.
Jumping high into the air is one of Efsei’s specialties. However, he’s defenseless while in the air, so I needed to act as a decoy.
The height of Efsei’s jump easily surpassed the giant’s back.
Leaping from behind the giant, Efsei deeply pierced its neck with his spear. Be it a giant or a demon, if it’s humanoid, the vital points are the same. Get hit here and it’s all over.
The giant stopped moving entirely. It must have died instantly.
“Are you injured?”
Nina, concerned for our safety, rushed over immediately.
“Nope. It was easy.”
I gave a thumbs up. At the same time, Efsei pulled his spear out of the giant and landed with a spin from the recoil. No injuries. This is how we always want it to be.
After defeating the giant, we managed to reach our destination village without much trouble.
The villagers had evacuated somewhere when the Demon Lord’s army invaded, so it was now practically abandoned.
We successfully met with the merchant family hiding there. Everything was going smoothly.
However, one problem arose.
The merchant asked us to help a child from the village escape along with them.
“One child shouldn’t be a problem, right?”
That was his argument.
“Aren’t you taking the value of life a bit too lightly?”
I shrugged my shoulders.
“We’re risking our lives to save you. Imagine this: you’re about to fall into a ravine, and we’re trying to pull you up. If you pull too hard, we might fall in ourselves. It’s a dangerous situation. But we’re getting paid for it, so we’ll manage somehow. However, now you want to add a child to the mix. Don’t you think that might be too much for our arms to handle?”
“But it’s a child! I heard you were skilled adventurers!”
The merchant who hired us approached. He seemed like a kind person for a merchant.
Nina also had a hopeful expression, wanting to help. Efsei and Sophia signaled with their eyes, “It’s up to you.”
“Fifty more gold coins. I’ll give you half off.”
This seemed like a reasonable compromise.
“You’re already taking 400 gold coins, and now you want more?!”
Despite our concession, the client seemed unsatisfied.
“Do as you like. We’re leaving this village. We don’t know when the demon-folk will arrive. If you don’t want to come with us, that’s fine. The mission will fail, we won’t get paid and our reputation will suffer, but you’ll lose your lives. It’s a lose-lose situation. Or we can stick to the original request and only escort you and your family. Or you can pay the extra gold coins, and we’ll take the child too. What’s it going to be?”
Time was truly running out. With such a conspicuous giant gone, the Demon King’s army would notice soon. If the demon-folk came in large numbers, it would be over.
Unfortunately, demon-folk aren’t as foolish as humans. If the royalty and nobility were as diligent as demon-folk, the war situation might have been a bit better.
“…I’ll pay the fifty gold coins.”
The merchant promised the additional reward, albeit reluctantly.
“Excellent. You understand the value of life. It’s a deal. We’ll protect the child as if they’re worth fifty gold coins. Get in the carriage immediately. It’ll be cramped with one more person, but if you give up some luggage, it should be fine. After all, what’s that compared to a human life?”
I urged them to depart immediately.
While waiting for next chapter , I implore you dear readers to read other masterpiece novels that also written by the same author :
- Monster Meat Led Me to the Throne
- The Wicked Princess and 12 Eyes – The Strongest Squires and the Legendary Evil Woman, the Second Time in Her Life
- The Suspects of Necromancy
- The Exiled Merchant Saves the World with the Power of Gold (translated by my friend meerkat)
Also check out my friend Localizermeerkat for more LN translations!
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