Water?　As long as you pay for it, I'll make sure it's replenished.

This is a very simple response...

Is there something wrong with you, or is there something wrong with you?




　The Little Water Village, where we arrived, was a very small oasis.
　There was a space to attach a boat next to the spring, and when we asked him to refill the water, the middle-aged man didn't talk to us, but he refilled the water in a matter-of-fact manner, got the money for the water from us, and that was it.

'There aren't many boats, either,'

Excuse me, is something wrong?

It's been a while since we've had a 'big ant-digger' nest next door. I'm in trouble.

　Apparently, a huge ant gizzard had built a nest next to the Little Water Village, and boats don't come close to it anymore.
　No wonder there was no other boat to refill our water supply.

We don't need to refuel here, but we have a place in Old Town. We're all out of business.

　In Little Water Village, where the only industry is to refill ships with water from the water source, any sand beast that interferes with it is a disaster of equal magnitude.

'Does Mew know about the Great Antigog?

It's so much like a sand beast that digs a cone-shaped nest and feeds on falling prey. I've heard that there are similar species of small insects, but of course they're not found in the desert.

　Even in this world, it seems that small antidigoks exist in places that are not deserts.
　The problem now, though, was the monster that was treated as a sand beast.

'They're not ants to feed on, are they?

Anything that falls, they say.

　It's a giant ant-digot, so as expected, the food is not enough for ants alone?
　Come to think of it, I haven't seen an ant-type sand beast since I came to this world.　

''Then it's going to be tough until they are defeated.

'Not only that, but when those things run out of food, they can come up from their nests and attack the oasis. Everyone is scared to death of the damage they might do to the village.

　When it comes to sand beasts, an ant-digot is a bold move.
　How dare they come out of the nest they dug themselves?

So I'm here to talk to him.

Ikeniye?　Why don't you ask for a hunter?

　Ikennye should mean dropping people into the nest........
　No, that's not really true.
　I'm sure they will drop their livestock as well.
　But livestock are valuable in this world.
　Wouldn't it be more laborious and costly to catch a sand giant lizard or some other weak sand beast in the area?

''You're going to prepare livestock?　Or maybe a live sand beast?

'Why bother with that. Livestock is precious, and here in Little Water Village, there's a saying that if you dedicate a man to Ikennye, you'll lose the Great Antigog fast.

　It's a small village where not many outsiders come except for the boats that come to refill the water in the oasis, so I wonder if Ikenye is an old-fashioned custom that still exists?
　Even though human rights awareness is lower than in modern Japan, it is not a good idea to make human beings into Ikeniye.

That's why we're in the process of selecting a good-looking man.

Well....

　The people of this oasis had no qualms about the custom of dedicating a human being to Ikenye if the great ant goggle built a nest near the oasis.
　It had always been decided that way, and since not many outsiders came to the place, no one would have thought it was strange.
　''That's ridiculous!'' But it was not unusual in a village like this that people would stubbornly abide by the old rules, no matter how bad the custom was, and say that it was outrageous to stop the practice.
　It's not so easy to change an old rule.

Isn't there a place to have a drink?

Yes. It's a tavern, but they also serve water and snacks.

So you think I'm going to take advantage of it?

'You're welcome to drop off your money, aren't you? After all, we hardly even get customers to refill their water because of the big antigog.

　I still don't think it's a good idea to turn a human into an ikenier.
　We decided to take down the big antigog if it was possible to defeat it, and before that we landed at Little Water Village to find out what happened.




'Taro-dono, that's a big nest,'

If you fall in here, you'll get sucked up by a giant ant-digobog in the center of the room.

Unlike the insect ant-diggers, the big ant-diggers are said to eat their prey with a vengeance.

I'm scared.




　We went to the site next to Little Water Village to check on the giant ant-dog, a huge nest in the desert that was about 50 meters in diameter.
　When we looked at the center of the burrow, two tusks in the jaws, characteristic of the ant-digobog, protruded from it.
　Judging by the size of the tusks, the great ant-digoc must be about twenty meters long.

''Larabell, can you take it down?''

I think he'll be fine. The Great Antigog is not a very strong sand beast.

'Oh yeah ... and Mew?

'It's not that strong. The Great Antigog is.

　As far as combat goes, Larabell and Mew are manly.
　I'm not good at all.
　I don't feel like I can win.

''Me and Mew, we're on a high level.

　Indeed, there should rarely be a hunter with a level of skill comparable to these two.
　The main reason for this is because before the island hopping, the king told me, 'Looking at your face makes you uncomfortable, so try to kill the sand beasts outside as much as possible,' and after the island hopping, he said, 'I had nothing special to do, so I was leveling up as if it were a game,' which as an old man, makes me feel sad.

''The Great Antigogokh isn't even in the named list. If it were an ordinary sand beast, it would be the upper part of the middle.

So why don't you get the hunters to get rid of them?

You must have no money.

　So you don't have the money to hire hunters to get rid of the Great Antidigoks, since the only industry in Old Town is to refill water on ships that don't want to be crowded and crowded when they refill their water.

If this is an attractive hunting ground, it's fine, but other than the giant ant-diggers, there's nothing but giant sand lizards in the area. There are many attractive hunting grounds and dungeons in the vicinity, and many hunters flock to the old town, where there are dungeons where they can catch a lot of money.

I see.

　Are there any strong hunters who would come all the way here for a single giant ant gizzard?
　Weak hunters specializing in giant sand lizards would not be able to stand up to the giant ant lizard, so they would not be able to send out extermination requests.
　Of course, there was no one in Little Water Village who could beat the giant ant-dog, so we must have been talking about Ikennye.
　As we were talking about this, we were looking into the sand pit when dozens of residents came over to us.
　They looked at us suspiciously for a moment, and then looked into the den as well.

''How could they be gone...?''

The place is just too bad,

'Yes. Most boats pass by without refilling their water supply because they can see it from the boats trying to stop at this Little Water Village.

That's going to hurt your water bill.

　Little Water Village is only able to produce food for its few residents, and the only other industry is selling water.
　It would be a matter of life and death, even for a short period of time, if a ship that saw the nest of the Great Antidigokh would be deterred from calling at the port.

'It pains me to say it, but I guess we'll have to do it Ikennye?

However. That would be a last resort.

'Your dead grandfather told me that he made a hard choice to give Ikenyie up fifty years ago too.

'(Mew, is it really that effective to be Ikeniye?)

'(Isn't it just a coincidence?　(It just happened to coincide with the time when the Great Antigog left.)

(The Great Antigorgs do hatch, don't they?)

"(I do.) You are very knowledgeable, Taro. (Even though the insect antidigotes are only found in the north.)

　I only knew about them because the world I was in has an antigog, so that's how I knew about them.

("It's a nasty sand beast because when it hatches and becomes a large mayfly, it can fly too.")

(But can so many hatch?)

　If I recall correctly, it took the insect ant-digokuoku to turn into a pupa and hatch into a mayfly for about a month.
　I feel that no matter how strong the great ant-digokuoku is, if it is in a pupa state for a month, it will be attacked by other sand beasts.

'(The great ant-digoc of the sand beast will hatch in a day. So they must be under the misapprehension that Ikenye is effective.)

　It just hatched and disappeared, but the inhabitants of this place misunderstand that Ikenje is effective.
　You don't have to sacrifice the Ikenje to make it disappear on its own.
　It's just that the Great Antigogokers have been building their nests for a while and then selecting and dedicating the Ikenje, which coincides with the hatching of the Great Antigokers.
　However, it's pointless to say that to the residents here.

''Ikenye.....................I'll have to choose a beautiful girl.

Yeah.

Wait!

　As the residents were discussing Ikenyi, a girl jumped in and appeared on the scene.
　Her age, about middle school age?
　She was an adorable girl with light green hair in twin tails, but that's my criteria for judging her.
　In this world, she should be given the reputation of being a Dobbs, comparable to Larabell and Mew.

''Um!　I'll be the Ikenier!

　What a surprise, he volunteered for Ikenyié at that age.
　Does he have a strong love for his hometown?
　Or is there some other reason for this?
　Either way, it couldn't have happened in Japan.

'Frau, are you going to be an ikenye?'

'Yes. I have no relatives...

　At that age, she didn't even have parents.
　That would mean she was an orphan, but maybe it was hard to live in such a small rural oasis.
　Or maybe someone forced her to play the role of Ikenier because she had no relatives anyway?

　Still, it's a miserable thing to volunteer for Ikenyi at that age.
　If I were my age, I would never run for office.

'Is that your intention?'

Yes, sir.

But hey...

'Oh...'

　The residents heard the girl's determination, but did not give an immediate answer.
　Apparently, they were hesitant to make her an Ikenyer.
　Did they feel sorry for her because she had no relatives?
　Or so I thought for one more reason.

　And as if to reinforce my thoughts, another girl joins the conversation to jump in.
　Her appearance - in this world, she would be treated as an immensely beautiful girl.　
　She has grown very well, and her feet are dipping into the sandy ground every time she walks.

　If it were normal ground, ''Thump! , "Boom! He was so robust that his footsteps seemed to echo.

'I'll volunteer for Ikenyer.

"Sailor, you too?

Yes!　It's a crisis here at Little Water Village. Besides, you can't do that with a flau.

What do you mean I can't do it, Sailor?

Or else you wouldn't know?　Dumbass like you!　The Great Antigog has refused!　It's a huge inconvenience!　Ikenyie has to be a beautiful maiden!

　I know what you mean.
　In every world, Ikenier is always marketed as a beautiful maiden.
　But if we were on Earth, the girl who would be chosen as an Ikenier would be a Frau.

　She would be dedicated to the Great Arisigok as Ikenje.
　In terms of the picture, her beauty, combined with her beauty, contributes to the tragic nature of the story.

　But when I saw a girl named Sailor running for the position of Ikenier as the one she deserves, an unspeakable and unreasonable anger welled up in my heart.
　Because in this world she is right, but it is not right for me at all.

'For the most part, a boneheaded woman like Frau wouldn't even like a big antigog. There's nowhere to eat. Ikenyer must be as plump as I am.

But Ikenyi is dead. You have a family.

'It doesn't matter!　I'm beautiful enough to deserve Ikenyer!　I think even the Great Arisigok has the right to choose Ikeniye!

　The girl named Serra also looked to be the same age as the girl named Frau, but she seemed to be more than twice as wide.
　Indeed, the big antigog might be worth eating, too.
　You might say it's all fat and not very tasty....

　Maybe she's old enough to pretend she's a tragic girl.
　It's also true that by the standards of this world, a girl named Sailor is more beautiful and deserves to be Ikenyer.
　But anyway, I can't help but be angry.
　It's an unreasonable anger and I understand it, but I want to punch the girl Sailor who says with a smug look on her face that she is the one who deserves to be a Ikenier.

　And I want to say it out loud.
　'Because you are far less worthy of Ikenier than I am! And.

　I can't hit him and I can't tell him.
　I'm a good old adult.

'(I don't think anyone will ever understand how I feel...)

'(So Taro thinks a girl named Frau is more appropriate for Ikenier)

(I'm thinking, Ikennye isn't a good idea, after all) Sorry.

　My reason and patience would collapse if I listened to the inhabitants' discussion any longer, so I hastened to address them.

'Are you the people from the boat that refilled the water?'

Yes. It's a giant ant-digger, but we'll kill it ourselves. Oh, we're also hunters.

How can you guys beat a big ant goblin?

Sure.

I don't think it will be that hard.

　I don't know if I'll be able to beat the big antigog, even though I called on them first.
　However, Lalabelle and Mew can afford it.

"I can't pay that much for the request, but...

I don't need it.

　When you ask a hunter to take out a particular sand beast, of course you have to pay for it.
　We explained to the residents that we didn't need to pay a fee this time.
　We explained to the residents that we didn't need to charge a fee for the normal hunters going outside the oasis to kill sand beasts.

　We just happened to encounter a giant ant colony and defeated it, and there was no problem.

Are you sure you want to do this?　You can't catch any good material from the Great Antigog, can you?

Mew, is that so?

Just the two fangs on the chin. The rest is rubbish. Can they be used as fertilizer?

　Defeating a sand beast would give you divine coins based on its strength, but the material depends on the type of sand beast.
　Basically, the materials of strong and large sand beasts are considered to be valuable and expensive, but there are some materials that are not very valuable, such as Emptiness and this big antzigog.
　In the case of Emptiness, though, it seems that the treasures and other materials that had been swallowed up so far were redeemed and became ah.

　Although there were many divine coins that could be obtained, the reality was that there were many hunters who wouldn't take on the task of defeating them unless they paid a request fee, which could be said to be a divisional cheapness where materials were not available.

　There are times when materials that have no purpose of use are collected and used as raw materials for fertilizer, but fertilizer does not sell for very high prices and it takes time and effort to make it.
　We are unique in that we are able to take on the task of defeating the giant ant-digot for no fee.

(We don't get the material anyway, so it's nice not to have to go through the hassle of cleaning up afterwards.)

　Another circumstance was that they couldn't leave the corpse of a sand beast this close to a human habitation site.
　This is because other sand beasts, such as sandworms, will come to eat them.
　In other words, in order to undertake the task of defeating them, he would have to dispose of the corpses as well.
　Furthermore, it was not worth it, so the fee for the request would be high.
　If this is a place far from where people live, there's no problem in taking only usable materials and leaving the corpse there.

''(If it were us, the sand beasts we killed would disappear.)''

　After that, the rewards for defeating them will be converted into Eidolks on their own and credited.
　In addition, Lalabelle and Miu said that the amount of Eidolk that is credited to them is much larger than the divine coins that are dropped.
　Apparently, they will also convert the material amount on their own.
　If that was the case, there was no need for post-processing just to defeat it, so there wasn't much of a problem even if I didn't get the fee for requesting the defeat of the Great Antigogoks.

''Then I'll ask, so when do you start?''

We have a special method of killing the giant ant-diggers that is extremely efficient, so we can kill them cheaply. But we have to do it at night. By the way, we don't want other people to know that we are a food source, and it's dangerous, so we ask that no one but us is allowed to do it.

Oh I understand.

　The residents of Little Water Village accepted my request.
　I guess they thought it was a bit shady, but this was also to hide the secret.
　If the information that the sand beast I had defeated disappeared was leaked to the Kingdom of Burt at some point, they would be in trouble.

　They seemed to think that we were going to talk big and run away in the middle of the night, but this is a job that originally didn't even have a commission fee.
　If they got away, it wouldn't make the situation any worse.
　I noticed that and didn't say anything.

'I'm glad I didn't have to send out Ikenyer.

Sailor is the most beautiful woman in Little Water Village.

It's a good thing they didn't scatter those beautiful young flowers.

　The residents were all happy.
　

　However, I had one thing on my mind.
　That is, Frau, the dumbest girl in Little Water Village - she looks like a pretty, dainty beauty to me - with a face that doesn't float.

'(Let's finish defeating her quickly........)

　Is it also because I am an old man?
　With a bit of heartburn, I decided to consult with Lalabelle and Mew to speed up the defeat of the Great Antigog.