Supply Transport Mission

For the large-scale dungeon raid, Liricia and I were assigned the job of transporting supplies.

So at noon we left the Royal Capital and headed east.

I pulled a handcart loaded with supplies, while Liricia pushed from behind.

It was really a cart meant to be pulled by an ox or a donkey, but since all the livestock were already in use, we had to move it by hand.

There were other adventurers hauling cargo besides us.

The road was fairly flat.

With only two hills along the way, we could take our time moving along.

After about an hour, when the eastern mountain range began to loom closer.

At the foot of the third hill, a large encampment had been established.

At the base of the hill lay the dungeon entrance.

Canvas walls ringed the camp, the supplies were gathered in one place under guard, and numerous tents and cooking areas had been set up for camping.

It looked like there were over a thousand knights and adventurers in total.

Watching them, both adventurers and knights seemed highly excited.

Well, I had never heard of a dungeon being raided with this many people before.

I could understand why everyone was fired up over such an unprecedented situation.

As I pushed the cart along, one of the knights called out to me.

“Good work. Take those supplies to the third tent.”

“Sure thing.”

With sweat gleaming on my brow, I hauled it to the place he indicated.

The knights helped me carry the cargo into the large pavilion.

After that, we headed back the way we had come.

The return trip was quick—and light.

Since I was bored, I let Liricia ride in the cart while I pulled it.

Blushing in embarrassment, she spoke apologetically.

“For a slave like me to take it easy… Master, please let me switch with you?”

“That’s an order from your master, so request denied. Just enjoy it.”

“Eee…”

Liricia’s face turned bright red, yet she happily gazed at the scenery.

After that, I pulled the cart up to the top of the hill.

The view opened up all at once.

Amidst the green grasslands and fields, I could see the road snaking all the way back to the distant Royal Capital.

As we came to the downward slope, I suddenly remembered a game village children used to play.

Once we started down the hill, I jumped onto the cart.

Liricia, who had been lounging comfortably, clung to me.

“Eh!? Master, what are you doing!?”

“Let’s go!”

I wrapped one arm around Liricia and held her close to protect her.

The cart rattled noisily, its wheels clattering as it picked up speed on the way down.

Beside me, Liricia clung to me and let out an adorable scream.

“Kyahhh! M-Master! This is dangerous!”

“Ahaha! It’s fine! I’ll definitely protect you!”

“M-Master—kyah!”

The cart hurtled downhill at breakneck speed. Once we reached the bottom, it veered off the road and shot into the grassland.

Still clinging to each other, Liricia and I were launched up into the air.

Just like that, we crashed down, pushing aside the green grass as we rolled and tumbled.

Neither of us was hurt, and as we caught our breath, for some reason laughter welled up inside us.

Liricia’s cheeks flushed as she tried to stifle her smile and force herself to look angry.

“Really, that was dangerous, Master!”

“Hehe, but it was fun, wasn’t it?”

“Oh, Master, honestly—hehe.”

When we could no longer hold back the laughter bubbling up inside, Liricia and I clung to each other and laughed.

That childish game had somehow been incredibly fun.

…I had barely had anything resembling a childhood, so maybe that was why it felt that way all the more.

Once we had laughed ourselves out, the two of us lay on our backs, still close together.

White clouds drifted lazily across the blue sky. Brightly colored butterflies rode the breeze.

It was as if the whole world had become vivid.

“The sky, the clouds, the grasslands—everything looks beautiful.”

“Yes… everything I can see looks beautiful.”

In my arms, Liricia smiled as she gazed up at the sky.

This irreplaceable warmth, this softness.

These simple, carefree moments I spent with Liricia felt unbearably precious.

I realized what had made the world look so vivid.

“…I see. I’d been living in nothing but gray all this time.”

“Master?”

“The reason walks through town feel fun, the reason silly little games feel entertaining… it’s all because you’re here by my side, Liricia. Thank you.”

“Master… I feel the same way.”

Looking delighted, Liricia nuzzled her cheek against me.

As I stroked her soft silver hair, I spoke.

“From now on, let’s take back all the time the two of us should have had together.”

“Yes, Master!”

For a while we lay in the grass, gazing up at the same blue sky.

Then, when other adventurers arrived and the cart got in their way, we hurriedly moved it aside and headed back toward the Royal Capital.

After that, we hauled the empty cart back to the Royal Capital.

At a warehouse near the castle, we loaded it with supplies again and set out once more.

We made two round trips that day.

Since it was the first day and we had a lot of building materials for tents and palisades, starting tomorrow it seemed we would only need to do one round trip every other day.

In the relaxed afternoon, we headed east along the quiet road.

We reached the encampment without incident and carried the supplies into the tents.

Then, from somewhere in the distance, I heard raised voices arguing.

When I squinted that way, beyond the row of tents I saw a small figure of golden hair, shining in the sunlight.

—That was probably Marius.

Casually, I looked over the party he had brought with him.

There was the female court mage, the female priestess with narrowed, gloomy eyes, and a seductive woman with orange hair.

Wasn’t she the female thief I had seen at the slave trader’s?

It was too far to be sure, but that was the feeling I got.

To think he had even bought an unconditional slave costing six million just to bring her along for the dungeon raid.

You didn’t need to be a hero to clear this dungeon; he could have gone somewhere else.

Going to exterminate the chimera in the old castle or the giant ape ravaging the fields would have done more good for the people.

Well, whatever.

—Just then.

Someone suddenly spoke to us from the shadows.

“Um, excuse me.”

“Huh?”

Liricia and I jumped in surprise.

We hadn’t sensed anyone at all.

When I looked, a lanky, unreliable-looking man was standing there. His messy black hair hid his eyes, he was skinny, and he had no energy about him.

If anything, he gave off an aura of having no motivation whatsoever.

But back in the meeting room, he had introduced himself as Edgar, an A-rank adventurer and thief.

Edgar scratched his head carelessly as he spoke.

“Sorry to bother you all of a sudden. You’re Alec-san, right? That Alec-san?”

“Well, I know what you’re getting at, but even if you invite me, I’m not joining your party.”

“Ahaha, too bad. But that’s not why I’m here right now. Alec-san, are you acquainted with Marius-san?”

“…We don’t exactly have a good relationship.”

“I see…”

“Did something happen?”

“Right now he’s over there causing a fuss because he brought along a slave… What kind of person is Marius-san?”

“He looks good, he’s polite, and even though he’s a noble, he’s friendly. But in reality, he looks down on everyone, pulls strings from behind the scenes, and schemes to constantly grab money and fame for himself.”

“Ahh, that does sound like him. Is he actually strong?”

“Who knows? As long as he didn’t cheat, he must have passed the practical exam for heroes, so he should at least have the minimum ability required of a hero.”

“He just doesn’t really look all that strong to me, you know?”

“I’m not that strong myself. That’s how heroes tend to be.”

I was a useless guy who had failed mission after mission, after all.

Edgar’s mild eyes, hidden behind his black hair, went wide in surprise.

“What are you talking about? I could beat Marius-san myself, no problem, but when it comes to Alec-san, I got no idea how I’d bring you down.”

“Eh, really? If you showed up with your presence hidden like you did just now, I’d have taken a critical hit from your finishing skill easily.”

“Yeah, I can imagine landing a hit, but I just can’t picture it being fatal, or you going down and crawling on the ground, you know?”

“Eh, why not?”

From beside me, Liricia spoke, her silver hair swaying.

“Isn’t it because Master’s Serâge is incomparably vast? If he gets a simple injury, the Serâge that leaks out just heals it.”

“S-So that’s what it was…”

Thinking back, when I had been in the hero party, I remembered the female priestess saying, “It’s easier, so I always want to stick close to Alec-san.”

Edgar nodded.

“In my mind, even if I cut your carotid artery, you still wouldn’t die. I seriously got no clue how to finish you off.”

“So I was that tough, huh.”

“For real. If it were you who’d become the hero, I’d get it, but Marius-san, well… I just figure a lot of things must’ve happened behind the scenes.”

I pulled Liricia’s slender shoulders closer to me.

“Well, thanks to getting fired from being a hero, I met my beloved Liricia like this. I’m just going to live however I want from now on.”

“Master…”

Blushing, Liricia nestled against me. Her soft silver hair was adorable.

Edgar widened his eyes and shrugged.

“You two are really something. Well, if that’s how it is, then I guess what happens to Marius-san doesn’t matter anymore, huh.”

“What’s going to happen to him?”

“See, that slave thief girl—Poison Serpent Mephil—she’s seriously bad news. Any man she sets her sights on ends up losing his status, his reputation, and his fortune one after another, and then she just tosses him aside. She’s literally a venomous snake.”

Edgar flicked his gaze over toward Marius and his group.

All I could do was tilt my head.

“Even if she’s a dangerous woman, isn’t Marius safe since he has a slave contract with her?”

“I sure hope so… Oh, and by the way, she might look young, but she’s actually over seventy.”

“Huh, I thought she was in her late teens or so. Maybe she’s got some elf blood in her… Well, it’s none of my business. You make sure to do your best in the raid too, Edgar.”

“Got it. I’ve just got a really bad feeling about this, though. I just hope I can keep my party members safe.”

Edgar turned a pensive face toward the dungeon entrance. The eyes hidden by his black hair were sharp.

As a leader and as an adventurer, he seemed to be quite a capable man.

He might look unmotivated, but he clearly watched out for those around him.

I figured it might not hurt to tell him at least a little bit more.

“By the way, Edgar. I heard this dungeon has at least two cores.”

“Eh! Seriously!? That’s the first I’ve heard of that!”

“I heard the other one is a golem. I don’t know about the rest.”

“A golem! …If that’s true, my party’s in trouble if we don’t bring spare equipment. We’re not exactly powerhouses… I gotta go back and get ready! Thanks!”

Edgar dashed off with a speed like the wind.

Watching the direction he had disappeared in, I muttered without thinking.

“He really just took my word for it at face value…”

“Because Master is someone who can’t tell lies!”

In my arms, Liricia smiled, rubbing her face against me like a cat—it was adorable.

As I patted her head, I answered.

“Then let’s head home.”

“Yes!”

Over there, Marius was still causing a scene.

“This isn’t a slave the hero bought!”

“My family bought her and just sent her to me!”

He kept making excuses of one sort or another, desperately, to the point of being pathetic.

—Not that I cared.

Liricia and I quickly set our shoulders to the cart and headed back.