Taah!

　Upon receiving my blow, a spider demon with the color of bright red blood splits in half.
　This monster is an inferno spider. Its venom is weak, but it is a troublesome demon that can be deadly if not treated properly.

　Well, most of them can't be used as materials, so it's a demon that can be easily defeated.
　The poisonous liquid can be used to make an antipyretic if it's processed, so the hunter can simply collect the poisonous liquid after defeating it, which is also a nice touch.

There really are a lot of demons with poison.

　When we arrived in the forest near the capital, we focused on eliminating poisonous demons, which are usually absent.
　The adventurer's guild asked us to eliminate poisonous demons on a priority basis.

''Yes, it's not every day that a demon with such a dangerous poison appears in one place.

　Liliera-san let out a sigh while spearing the attacking demons.

''We don't have to worry about the worst since we have the low-grade universal poison eraser that Lex-san has prepared for us, but even so, our nerves are going to be honed because we don't know where the poisonous demons are hiding.

'Haha!　Come on, you demons!　If you're not afraid of my flames, ah, ouch!

　Oh, Gyro-kun, who was fighting in a good mood, has been bitten by a monster that came out of the bushes.

Painful, hot, bruising!

　It seems that it was a poisonous demon that bit him, and Gyro-kun is rolling around in pain.

"I told you to be careful, you idiot!　Megri, cover me, please!

　And Mina-san immediately makes Jairo-kun drink the lower-level universal poison eraser.

　And to cover the gap, Megri-san.........what?
　For some reason, Megri-san stayed with the demon in front of her and didn't try to follow up with Mina.

''Megri-san!''

　I call out to Megri while using magic to check the demons attacking Mina and the others.

'Oh, sorry.'

　When I called out to her, Megri-san hurriedly went to cover Mina and the others.
　Hmm, it's rare to see Megri-san like that. Could he be in bad shape?

Ha!

　An invisible blade of wind flew from the dagger wielded by Megri-san and cut off the demons that were coming towards her.
　Meguri-san was fighting at mid-range, using the attribute enhancement well to avoid being poisoned by the demons.
　Hmmm, but the fight itself is well timed and fought without carelessness.

''Yes, he's back!　I'm not afraid of the poison, thanks to you!　How dare you do this to me!

　And Gyro-kun, whose lower-grade universal poison eradication has taken effect, immediately returns to the fight.

''Oh ouch!''

　Oh, and this time I was bitten by another poisonous demon.

"You idiot!　No matter how cheap it is, it's going to cost you money!

'd*mn!　It would be a lot easier with the antidote magic if Norbu's guy was here.　

'I can't help it, Norbu was called to church and he's been gone all morning.

　And Mina was making Jairo-kun swallow the low-grade universal poisonous eraser while talking about Norbu-san, who was not here today.

　◆

Huh, looks like we've killed most of the poisonous demons around here.

　The demon's raid is over, so we can take a break.

I've got quite a bit of material to work with. If it weren't for Lex-san's magic bag, I would have rounded it up a long time ago.

''That's true. But I'm sure the Adventurer's Guild will be satisfied if we beat them this much.

　That's right, apart from the original request we received, we were killing poisonous demons.
　Because we were asked to defeat the demons that came from the corrosive land.

　◆

　It was in the morning when I was looking at the request board in the Adventurer's Guild looking for a job.

'Is this a priority request?'

　As we were mending our requests, the guild's receptionist asked us to exterminate a demon.

''Yes, it's a special request that arises from a notice from the guild, and although it's not as urgent as an emergency request, it's a request that needs to be taken on a priority basis if you don't have anything particularly urgent to do.

　Huh, I didn't know there was such a request.

"It involves the extermination of a poisonous demon from the land of corrosion.

'Corroded earth!'

　Megri-san, hearing the receptionist's words, raised her voice unusually.

''What's the matter, Megri-san?''

'Oh, yeah I'm just surprised that the name of the place is a bit dangerous... yeah.'

　A dangerous place? It's true that the land of corrosiveness is a dangerous place just by hearing the name.

The reason for this is that the requested area is the land around the corrosive land and the area where a demon with poison that is not normally seen in normal times has been confirmed. The period of time is until the poisonous demon is no longer seen.

　It's kind of a very sketchy request.

I mean, it's a priority, but am I not allowed to take on other requests during that time?

The only thing you'll need to do this time is to exterminate the demons, so I'll just ask you to take other requests and defeat the poisonous demons when you find them. As a guild, we want to reduce the number of them anyway. However, if you can't fight them even if you find them, then please report the location where you found them to the guild as soon as possible.

　I see, so you can think of it as a normal request + defeat.

I understand. By the way, what's that thing called the Land of Corrosion?

　I asked the receptionist, and she said, "What?　I nodded my head.

'Huh?　You don't know anything about the land of corrosion, do you, Lex?

'I remember hearing the name, but I don't know the details.

'I see. Well, if you don't mind my being presumptuous, allow me to explain.

　When I told her I didn't know, the receptionist straightened her posture and started talking about the Corrosive Earth.

''The Corroded Earth is a poisonous swamp that appeared about a thousand years ago,''

Is this a toxic swamp?

Yes, that swamp gradually contaminated the surrounding land and spread the poisoned land.

　It's spreading and contaminating the surrounding area...

It's like a forest of beasts.

　Yeah, the forest of demonic beasts that was created by the tree demons also gradually eroded the surrounding land and swallowed up Liliela-san's home village.

''That's right!　The Corrosive Earth is the same dangerous area as the Forest of Demonic Beasts!

"Danger Zone!

　Hearing that name, I remembered when I heard the name of the Corrosive Earth.
　Yes, that was when I got a B-rank in Togai town and the guild leader told me about it.

　A dangerous place, a dangerous area, where only those above a certain rank among adventurers are allowed to enter.
　I don't remember the Corroded Earth being one of such dangerous places.

There's a theory that demons created this land of corrosion, and once every hundred years or so, the demons that live there have a major breeding season. And the demons that are expelled from the corroded land will settle in the surrounding land.

　The receptionist spreads her arms out as she directs the demons that have been driven out of the swamp to spread.

''So there have been a lot of requests to defeat the poisonous demons lately.

　After listening to the receptionist's explanation, Liliella voiced her agreement.

''That's right. Moreover, this time it's only been about 50 years since the last flood of demons, so the guild was in trouble. If it was as usual, they would have gathered the ingredients for the Poison Eradication Potion and prepared a sufficient inventory in time for that period of time, but this time it was unexpectedly early, so they were behind in their preparations.

　And that's where the receptionist smiles at me.

''But that problem was also taken care of thanks to Lex-san's low-grade universal poison eraser!　I'm in a hurry to gather materials for some of the more powerful poisonous demons, but the rest of the poisonous demons I'll have in stock soon, thanks to this poison eraser!　After all, it was even effective against a B-ranked Inferno Spider's poison!

"Inferno Spider!

　Hearing that name, Mina shouts in surprise

You know that, Mina?

　When Jairo-kun asked with a twist of his head that he didn't understand, Mina nodded with a blue face.

It's a pretty vicious and disgusting poisonous demon. It's about the size of a dog, so it attacks you normally, regardless of whether it's poisonous or not.

''That's right. The strength of the Inferno Spider by itself is equivalent to a D-rank, but considering the danger of the poison, it's rated B.''

　The receptionist added to Mina's explanation.

'What the hell, if it's a D grade, it's no big deal. If you have the medicine, it's a piece of cake.

''You see, Inferno Spider's materials are not worth money, and if it's as good as D-rank, then its shell and fangs are only that good. And yet, they have a poison that raises their danger level to B. The only thing of value is the venom. The only thing of value is the venom, but the poison remover is more expensive to get for the fight. That's why inferno spiders... or rather, they don't like fighting most of the demons with poison because the cost is more expensive.

　It's true that even in the previous life, unless there was a situation where a city was raided and it was absolutely necessary to defeat it, demons with powerful poisons were either left alone or wiped out throughout the land from a distance.

''That's why the danger of defeating them has greatly decreased, but the danger of demons coming out of the swamps attacking ordinary people remains the same. That's why I want you to prioritize killing the poisonous demons until the breeding season of the Corrosive Land demons has stopped and we finish hunting all the demons that have come out of the swamps. In return, the guild will increase the purchase price of poisonous demons' materials and offer discounts for various poison removers until the priority request is withdrawn. And the more poisonous demons you kill, the higher your contribution to the guild and the more you will be evaluated for rank advancement.

'Oh!　You can rank up when you defeat a poisonous demon!

'It's not a definitive statement; it's about getting an advantage in the judging process. That said, it will definitely get you closer to a higher rank than those who don't participate.

'Oh, speaking of which, what's going on with Liliera-san's promotion to S-rank?　I'm pretty sure the head of the guild in the town of Tattron was supposed to recommend me for an S-rank.

''Yes, if that's the case, I've already been contacted by the other party. I'm counting it as one of the factors in Liliera-san's S-rank promotion review.

　When I asked her about the events in the town of Tattron, the receptionist answered in that way.

'Huh?　Aren't you going to be able to get an S-rank soon?

''That's right, adventurers' promotion to higher ranks requires multiple screenings, unlike the promotion of lower ranks. Simply being strong isn't enough.

'What?　But I got an S rating right away, you know?

''You see, when you're promoted to a higher rank, you have to take into account not only simple strength, but also cooperation, humanity, and contribution to the guild and nation. Particularly when it comes to humanity, you can't tell unless you take the time to look at it carefully.

　Yeah, I know what you mean.

'It's just that in Lex's case, his achievements to the state and the guild are too many...'

'What?　I don't remember doing anything of that magnitude, do you?

　I really didn't do much.

Needless to say, we have established a roadway through the forest of demonic beasts and a ward that allows people to rest within the roadway, as well as selling potions that repel demons, so people can travel safely. In addition, the sale of anti-monster potions has made it possible for many people to travel safely. The benefits people can gain from these achievements are immeasurable, and these non-combat achievements are a guarantee of Lex's humanity. To be honest, I've been told that I've done so much and now they're going to judge me and what are they going to judge me for?

　How can you be so careless, Judge...
　I'm sure there's a lot more to look into.

''Well, that's why it's not like Liliera-san can be promoted right away.

　Yeah, I see. Too bad.

"Come on, man, it's okay!　If you take this request and slay a bang-bang demon, you'll be able to rank up in the blink of an eye!

　And Jairo, who seemed to have heard what we've been talking about, said something like that.

It's a good thing that it takes the big guys so long to find out what's going on. Besides, the purchase price of the materials will be increased this time, so if you get a lot of money as well as faster rank ups, it's a win-win!

　Oh, that's my boy, Jairo. It's just so positive.

"So, that's it!　Let's go buy that all-purpose poison remover and hunt down all the demons with poison!

　Jairo-kun is very motivated to move up in the ranks as soon as possible.

''As expected of a rookie, he's really fired up. I can't afford to lose either.

　And, perhaps inspired by Jairo-kun, Liliella-san is also fired up.

''It can't be helped. But, well, if it's true that it will speed up the rankings, is there any way we can't do it?

　Not to be outdone by the two of them, Mina-san is also motivated.

''........''

　But for some reason, Meghri was silent among them.

　Megri.

'Heh heh!　I had a great catch today, man!

　After returning from killing the demons, we entered the adventurers' guild.
　There were already many adventurers in the guild, and it was going to take some time to purchase the materials.

''Well, let's see how much it's going to cost today!

　But Jairo, who has high hopes of improving his rank, doesn't seem to care about the length of the line, and he is excited to get in line to buy it.

''Hey, can I go back first?

Hmm?　What's the matter with you, Megri?　Toilet?

You idiot!

Ouch!

　Mina slapped Jairo as hard as she could for saying something stupid.

"Megri, are you not feeling well?　I've been kind of preoccupied today.

　Hmm, you're right, Mina has noticed.

Hmm, I'm fine. I'm just a little tired.

Yeah?　Well, it's going to take a while to buy it anyway, so you can go back ahead of me.

Thanks.

　I left the Adventurer's Guild after splitting up with Mina, who looked worried to the end.

◆

I knew it.

　When I returned to Lex's mansion a step ahead of him, a carriage was stationed in front of the gate.
　And beside the carriage was the figure of a man with neatly groomed white hair.
　The clothes looked normal at first glance, but the fabric used in the clothes was clearly good, telling me that the man was from a wealthy family.

　Or rather, I knew who the person was.

'It's been a long time, isn't it?'

That person who noticed my appearance speaks to me.

"Baharun....

　I call his name.
　The name of the man who once drove me to the town of Torgai.

"If you're here, then I guess that means you're here to...

　Baharun nodded with an indescribable expression.

''Yes, it's time for me to ... fulfill my duties.

I know, I know.

　I take it all in and take his hand.

So shall we, Princess Megrieluna?