13-Episode 11: Makoto Takatsuki forms a temporary party




Hey, Makoto. You wanna go on a quest with me?

 Jean said something like that to me.
 Next to her is Emily, a monk.

'Huh? What are you talking about? Are you guys out of your minds? Go away!
 Lucy, with her drink, is bullish.
 'I mean, are you going to turn it down without permission, Lucy?

'Why would Lucy say no!
 Emily counters.
 'You guys shouldn't be fighting.

"Why do you even bother with us?
 Let me ask you, in case you're wondering.

No, actually. No, actually, I'm planning on taking down the 'rampaging bison' next time.
Huh.
 The rampaging bison.
 Simply put, they are giant cow demons.
 Its size is about three times the size of a normal cow.
 Normally they are quiet, but when you make them angry, they are violent.
 They get excited when they see something red.
 It is such a monster.
 He is a herbivore, so he doesn't attack people, but it seems that he rushes into carriages and annoys travelers.

 If you have a party of Bronze rank adventurers, this quest is a good difficulty level.
 The rewards are normal, but the meat of the rampaging bison is very tasty and is bought for a high price.
 It's a popular quest for spending money.

 However.
I'll pass.
'What? Why!
The rampaging bison are the demons that stalk the prairie. The grasslands near McAllen don't have a lot of water. I'm an apprentice wizard who can't do anything without water, so I'm useless.
 I gulped down the other half of my cocktail.

"No, but you're good at detecting and stuff, right?
Why do you need a trace?
 A giant cow in a meadow can be seen from a distance without needing to use detection.

'Looks like I'm not helping you,'
 He munches on his sandwich and tries to break off the conversation.

'Wait!' You'll get more of your share of the reward! So why don't you come with me?
Why would you want to go with me that badly?
I know you're sorry for the last one.
 Lucy replies.

 Oh, is that so?
 I look at Jean and Emily and they look awkward.

''It's meant to be an apology, but we're both new adventurers and we want to get along in the future.
 Emily replied.
 Getting along.
 I don't know what's going on.

'What? There's no way we're going to get along now.
Why are you being so combative?
 Holy shit! And Lucy and Emily are glaring at each other like a cat fight.
 You two should get along a little better.

'Hey, Jean. Why don't we go on an adventure together and kill goblins?
'Yeah, I was thinking about that too, but if you're a goblin, you're in the Great Forest. I heard Lucy's fire magic is banned in the Great Forest.
'Oh, yeah.'
 Lucy is banned from using fire magic in the Great Forest until she has control of her magic.
 The only decent attack magic Lucy can use is fire magic.
 Therefore, she's been spending her days in training lately.

''If we were in the grasslands, we could use Lucy's fire magic to our heart's content.
Well, that's for sure. What do you think? Lucy.
'Yeah, you're going with these guys?'

 Lucy isn't happy.
 But she's been bored with all the training lately, and we're an unbalanced party of two wizards.
 With Jean in the vanguard and Emily in recovery & assistance, the balance will be better.
 However, there is one concern.

'There's nothing I can do, okay?'
 In a waterless grassland, it's really, really useless.
 Your detection and covert skills are useless.

Well, as long as they keep us stranded or something.
 Emily says, as if it's hard to say.
 You mean as a decoy.
I'm not sure if I can get away with it with my "escape skill" and "evasion skill".

It's fine. The reward is more than enough for me, right?
Yeah, I'll split it 7:3.
 Jean's face lights up.
 'I haven't been making any money lately, so I guess that's okay.

'Lucy, it's a good time for you to come along.
I hope you're right.
 Reluctantly, Lucy agreed.


 ◇

 The next day.

 I wake up in the Adventurer's Guild's common room and wash my face with the nearby well water.
 After that, I hold the Goddess's dagger in both hands and pray.

It's another great day, Goddess.
Yeah, yeah, yeah. Safety first, really.

 We finished our daily prayers and headed to the meeting place with Jean and the others.

 The meeting place was in front of the east gate.
 After that, we went out to the grassland.
 The weather was clear. Not a cloud in sight.

 For me, as a water wizard, it's bad weather.
 I wish it had rained a little.
 On the way, Jean and I chatted as we headed for our destination.

'Huh, so Jean and Emily are childhood friends?'
'We've been together all the way through the orphanage in the Land of the Sun. I'm an aspiring knight and Emily is an aspiring high priest, but I'm trying to make a name for myself as an adventurer first.
That's an honest goal.
 You become famous as an adventurer and then change careers and get a stable job.
 This is a common career plan in this world.
 However, the adventurer's job is so dangerous that many people fail to make it.

 Also, it seems that Jean and Emily are not exactly lovers.
 The last time Lucy said a lot of things about them, it seems to have been a quarrel sale.
 But a beautiful childhood friend. I'm jealous.

'What are you trying to achieve, Makoto?
'Well, I guess I'm going to level up for now and go to the more difficult dungeons.
 I didn't mention that I was aiming for the highest difficulty dungeon, The Undersea Temple.
 And Lucy was taken aback by it.

''Oh, so you're an adventurer all the way.
It's the only thing I can do.
 I'm going to live in the palace in style, working for some other country like my classmates.
 My status and skills are not good enough.

So, I guess you're going after the Great Maze Labyrinth, huh?
The largest dungeon on the continent.... I'd like to go there sometime.
 A vast dungeon that stretches underground across three countries, the Land of Wood, the Land of Water and the Land of Fire.
 It is said that it is so large that there are still many unexplored areas.
 That's why there are many adventurers who challenge the dungeon.

'You have to be Iron Rank for that.
Yeah.
 The recommendation for the Great Maze is for adventurers of Iron rank or higher.
 It's still too much for us.

 Lucy and Emily are following me a bit further away.
 Are they getting along?
 I'm curious and try to use my 'listening ear' skill.

'Hey, hey, how far are you guys going?'
 Lucy is teasing Emily.
 Oh, come on, what are you talking about?

This is so sudden.
You're in love with Jean, aren't you? Have you made any progress?
Look, we're just old friends.
What are you talking about? You hated me for it.

No! To begin with, you always dress too revealingly and that's why Jean was in trouble. You're dressed like that today too.
It's too hot. It's too hot to do anything about it, and you don't have enough training. I don't care about the truth, okay?
'That's great too.... Is he not interested in women?
 Don't be rude.
 I'm interested.

What if it's true that you like men?
 I was worried about Lucy.
 Jerk.

How's it going with you, Makoto?
 Emily fights back.
'What? There's no way there's anything there. We've only been partying for a few weeks, okay?
Not too close for that. I've heard that you two train together every day and late into the night. It's all over the news.
Yeah...
 Huh? Really?

Lucy's poisoned... and her next target is the otherworldly wizard, Makoto-kun.
I'll tie you down.
You were the one who said the weirdest things first.
 I don't want to hear any more about it.
 It's not safe.
 Well, it looks like it's safe for now.

 It was some time after we left.

I think that's it.

 Lucy pointed to the target.