Chapter 87

“M-m-mage!? Y-you’re a m-mage!? If you’re a mage, you should’ve t-told m-me first, the p-party leader! You idiot, you’re clearly n-not fit to be a p-party member!! Back in the old days, you’d have been executed on the spot! Huh!? Waaah!?”

Why he was throwing such a fit was obvious.

He wanted to bury his shame from last night without anyone noticing. And, seeing me actually contributing as a mage, he saw me as a threat to his tiny sliver of influence and wanted to crush me in front of everyone.

“B- Breed! Kim! Gob! Did I, did I get it wrong!? Huh!? Did I get it wrong! Try it once, Nydri! I’m right! Did I get it wrong?!”

“Ah, um, well… y- yes. What P– Lord said is… c-correct… yes.”

“D-Drazzi! You bastard!! Th-this is all your fault!! It’s because of you!!”

‘Hoo… this guy really.’

Normally, I didn’t pay much attention to barking, but that didn’t mean it wasn’t loud.

You can just bury it somewhere on the way. I’ll handle the aftermath myself.

After just one day, I understood why Kate had made that suggestion.

I gently tapped Shia’s back as she lay sprawled like a koala inside my coat, enjoying her morning nap.

‘Huh… why are you doing that?’

‘Should I… get rid of him?’

‘Hmm? Didn’t you say you wanted to observe the hero since it’s your first time seeing one?’

‘I’ve seen enough. I think it’s fine to just bury this one.’

‘What do you mean?’

Shia didn’t say she was annoyed, but her tone asked me how, not to stop.

‘Well… just quietly twist his neck and shove him into Hosik’s stomach.’

Shia, burying her face in my chest and letting out warm, sleepy breaths, shook her head.

‘Tempting offer, but I think it’s better to let this one slide.’

‘Hmm? Why?’

‘He’s still a hero.’

‘I doubt he’ll help the world much, hero or not.’

‘It’s not that… what if there’s some penalty for harming a hero?’

‘There are plenty of heroes who die messing around, right? Never heard of anyone being punished for killing a hero.’

‘But you’re a hero too. Maybe different rules apply between heroes.’

‘Hmm… aren’t heroes just people you bring along to help defeat the Demon King? I sealed the Demon King myself… punishing me for taking down a hero or two seems contradictory.’

‘True, but you never know about the world. Later, if an angel shows up with nothing to boast about except the fat on her chest, ask her then.’

‘Hah. Can’t argue with that.’

As Shia and I chatted, the anthrobeast—completely unaware that he had been splashing around in the River of Three Paths a moment ago—suddenly snapped and grabbed my arm.

“You, you bastard! D-d-don’t ignore me!? Listen to m-my orders!! I’ll… I’ll crush you!!”

Muscles bulged as he tightened his grip.

Kwahk!

The perfect grip of a seasoned mana user. If it had been a log in his hand, it would have been crushed instantly.

But that was if it were a log.

“What are you doing?”

“Uh, uh? D-d-don’t understand… m-mages… m-mages… why…?”

Bloodshot eyes glared, and a surge of raw magical power—not yet refined into aura—pulsed from his arm, circulating at full force.

Kwahhk!

Even so, the creature’s grip couldn’t pierce my arm.

Unable to use aura, he simply had no chance. My body, once reconstructed upon ascending transcendence, was far too resilient.

“Done?”

I twisted his wrist and grabbed his arm in reverse, squeezing with all my strength.

Crack!!

The satisfying snap of bone breaking.

“Ggh…!”

His fur bristled all over from the pain, and I leaned close to whisper into his ear.

“Wanna die?”

“…!”

“Don’t care what nonsense you pull… but don’t mess with me. One more bark at me after this, and I’ll beat you like a stray dog and bury you.”

“…!!”

I released his arm just as he was frothing at the mouth. The anthrobeast barely freed from pain, drool ran down his jaw.

“Hahaha…”

“Go before I decide to teach you a proper lesson, you ignorant medieval fantasy beast.”

All the way to Cops Village, the anthrobeast drooled and growled like a rabid dog. Clearly, he was mortified that someone he considered far beneath him had the upper hand.

He kept glancing at me while gripping and releasing his sword, probably thinking he could still do something as long as he held a weapon… I hope he summons the courage to swing that blade.

If he tries, at least I can call it self-defense.

Meanwhile, the carriage we were in moved leisurely, and within ten minutes, we entered Cops Village.

The moment the carriage rolled into the village, the quiet, small outskirts instantly buzzed with activity.

“Ah! A carriage! Outsiders!!”

“That’s it! That’s it! The adventurer guild people!”

“They’re here!!”

“Damn monster bastards! Finally…!!”

“O-older brother, I’ve never seen an adventurer before. D-do they really shoot fire with their hands and break stones with swords?”

“The cleric said only the very strong adventurers can do things like that.”

“Shh! Kids, go inside! It’s dangerous!”

“Village chief! Are you here?”

“Greetings aren’t enough! Brin! Doof! I told you, when the carriage arrives, only the men come out to greet! We don’t know what these adventurers might do, so get the young women and children into the village storage immediately!”

“But… aren’t these the people who came to hunt monsters?”

“It’s safer to be cautious with those who live by the sword. That’s the fastest way to avoid trouble.”

“Ah… understood.”

Urgent voices carried from afar, echoing through the bustling village.

Unlike the other party members, I could clearly hear their conversation. I gave a wry smile and whispered to Shia.

“You’ve clearly been burned before, huh?”

“I think it’s prudent behavior. After all, the law is far, but the sword is near,” she replied.

A short while later, we got off the carriage, and an elderly man with snow-white hair—presumably the village chief—greeted us with a broad smile alongside a few dark-clad men.

“Welcome, adventurers! I can’t express how grateful I am that you came in such haste! I’ll have a proper meal prepared for you shortly, so for now, rest at my house! We’ll discuss the details then!”

Instead of idly waiting for the chief to serve a late breakfast or early lunch, I took Shia around the village to explore.

Carrying her piggyback style, we wandered the streets. Curious and cautious gazes followed us from the buildings.

I quietly chuckled at the small children’s colorful, squeaky breaths coming through cracks in doors and walls, and the women gently scolding them.

“A small village, huh.”

“Hm… but it’s fairly well-equipped. And there’s a cleric, isn’t there? Plenty of villages lack even that,” Shia said.

She was right. In this world, a cleric is highly skilled in education, theology, administration, law, and medicine. They’re also the village’s last line of defense. If a crisis arises, the cleric can request aid from the various religious orders.

In short, even a single cleric can drastically raise the village’s quality of life.

Yet…

“For all that, it’s still so backward…”

“There’s no real temple building. Perhaps the cleric hasn’t been here long.”

“Still, it’s only a day and a half by carriage from the guild town. How can the gap in living standards be this big? This really feels like a medieval village on Earth.”

Warehouses doubling as family homes, worn wooden farming tools, grimy villagers who clearly hadn’t bathed, and scattered filth everywhere.

Shia nodded as if agreeing with the obvious.

“Such outskirts see almost no external contact, aside from occasional traveling merchants. Naturally, disparities occur.”

“With no proper transport besides two feet, and a fear of monsters—or even birds—venturing beyond the village is no easy task.”

“Some born here may never leave for their entire lives.”

“…True, without fantasy logic, this is normal.”

As for the meal the village chief “prepared in abundance,” it was extremely modest. No, it was downright meager.

Hard, dark multigrain bread, an unidentifiable porridge, and salted meat preserved by last year’s hunters. The portions were adequate, but the cooking was… abysmal.

Fortunately, those present could at least hide their disappointment—well, everyone except the wolfman, who immediately grabbed a jar of alcohol from the chief and was thrown back onto the carriage. We merely pretended to eat while gathering detailed information from the chief and other key villagers.

And then…

“…Wait. So it’s not just goblins and kobolds?”

Tipola, taking the lead because she was the strongest besides the wolfman, asked. The village chief nodded gravely.

“Yes, that is correct.”

“Then what else is out there?”

“…Trolls.”

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The man named Breed slammed his fist on the table.

“Why wasn’t that mentioned when the quest was issued!? Were we meant to be killed!?”

The chief paled and waved his hands.

“Misunderstanding! Misunderstanding! At the time of submitting the request to the guild, there were no such grand creatures! The trolls appeared only recently!”

Tipola raised her hand to calm Breed and handed water to the chief.

“So… how many trolls are there? Their size? Gender?”

A hunter cautiously answered in the chief’s stead.

“I’ve seen two. Gender unknown. Size… the larger one about four meters, the smaller just over two meters. I’m not sure if there are more besides those.”

Tipola let out a low sigh.

“One adult with one youngling. Judging by size, the adult is male. Trolls are monogamous, so there’s likely a female nearby. There may also be additional young.”

An orc added, confirming Tipola’s assessment.

“Trolls. Their territory is distinct. No other adult trolls present.”

Tipola nodded.

“…If we’re lucky, that’s two adults and one youngling. If unlucky, two adults and maybe four or five younglings.”

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After extracting sufficient information from the chief and villagers, the party sent them off. Tipola sighed and faced the group.

“There are three choices. First: push forward. If successful… the reward depends on quest evaluation, but even if we fail, we’ll likely earn at least three times the originally promised merit. We’d be cleaning up the guild’s mistake.”

High risk, high return.

“Second: abandon. Also fine. Since the information was flawed, there’s no penalty.”

No risk, no return.

“Third: perform a detailed reconnaissance and submit the findings to the guild. The quest will count as successful, though no bonus will be awarded.”

Low risk, low return.

“Triple reward…”

“Hmm… means a single strike could get us promoted…”

“But trolls are too… dangerous.”

“On the other hand, perhaps lucky… Few monsters yield as much as trolls.”

The party’s faces showed their dilemma. True, trolls are tricky, but they aren’t impossible if one is determined to hunt them.