My stick shuriken blinded one of my eyes, and the enraged blood liger comes blasting towards me.

It's not a good idea to defeat them all by myself...

　Then it's my job to arrange for everyone to take it down.
　I take out a thumb-sized vial from my pocket and drip a little of the slightly mucusy liquid inside onto my sword.

''Guorgaaaaaa!
Hey.

　While dodging a blow from the Blood Liger that rushed at me, I slashed him a bit on the shoulder as we passed each other.
　Now the mission is complete. All we have to do now is wait for the poison to turn.
　The blood liger was given a paralyzing poison from the Noroi Toad that lives in Yisheng.
　This is a poison that causes difficulty in breathing and paralysis of the body, and naturally, the more intense the movement, the faster the poison turns. At a glance, it would only look tired.
　Someone other than me should give him a shot when he's getting weak.
　Just as I was thinking about this, Miu-san, the cat-eared beastman, came towards me first and cut off the Blood Liger's tail with a meaty knife in his hand.

''Gaaaaaah!''

　The liger turns around and shoots fire at Miu-san. Perhaps anticipating this, Aberto, who had rushed in from behind Miu-san, stepped forward and protected her with his shield.
　Ya, how about that?



　He held out for a while, but then Abelt threw his shield and ran away. That's right. That's what would happen if a metal shield were to catch fire.

''Light, come on, shining barrage, light arrow!

　This time from behind Abelto's back, Surgess's arrows of light were released. Two of the three arrows that flew in were easily ducked, but one slashed through the side of Liger's head.
　The liger staggered back and forth. Whether this was due to the arrows of light or poison, I can no longer tell. The only thing I know is that I'm definitely getting weaker.

It!
Hmph!

　Rose's whip tangled around Liger's paw, and Dom's battleaxe slashed deeply into its opposite paw.

''Ggaaaaaa⁉︎''

　Only killing intent and anger were in the eyes of the Blood Liger as he fell to the ground, only to struggle and flail about.
　Abelto's sword, Miu's knife and Dom's battleaxe were fired at the liger. I'm a complete bystander.

''Move!　Hey!

　Passing me, the resurrected Garon swung his Bastard Sword down between the Blood Liger's eyes.
　The sword swung down with ridiculous strength, crushing the Blood Liger's skull and crushing its nose and mouth.
　As its name suggests, the blood liger, dyed in fresh blood, did not move again.

''Suck it up!

　Aww. He took the most wacky part of the story, you know. He was almost useless.
　But this is....

"What have you done to me?
"Yeah?　I don't have any right to complain to you!

　Garon yells back at Rose's words. I'm tired of seeing this pattern, but this sister is the only one who can speak strongly to this man.

''Blood Liger's fangs sell for a lot of money!　You've made it into such a scratchy thing, though, that it would have lost its value completely!　Think harder and swing your sword!
Ggh...!

　That's right. Not only Blood Liger, but these types of fangs should sell for a good price. But the Blood Liger's tusks in front of me had been hit by Garon's blow, and both tusks had been broken in the middle.
　Naturally, this kind of tusks used in the crafting process are more expensive the larger the item is, the more expensive it is. If it broke in the middle, its value would drop dramatically.
　So when I take them down, I have to be very careful about that.
　Miu removes the broken fangs from the Blood Liger. I cut off the claws of all four limbs with a knife in the same way I'm used to.

''I would have taken off his fur if I had to, but I can't right now.
"?　Why?　If it's worth the money, we'll help you dismantle it too, but...
''Carrying around enough fur for one of these would be too much luggage and the smell of blood is too strong. It could attract other magical beasts to you.

　Rose was the one who answered such a question for Abelto.
　Apparently, this tattooed big-boobed sister was skilled in handling and knowledge of magical beasts. Maybe she was a hunter.
　Well, to tell the truth, if you put it in my backpack, which was given to me by His Majesty, it won't smell, and it won't be a problem to transport.

Then you should bury the stripped furs away from here. Why don't you collect them on your way home?

　The dwarf Dom said bluntly, and Rose and Miu looked at each other, nodded, and began to dismantle the Blood Liger.
　Helping the two of them work would be a hindrance to the contrary, so we just watched them.

''Can't we eat the meat?''
If you like the taste of rubbery bottom, you should try it.

　Rose answered Abert's question, who was watching the demolition process with interest, without looking at him.
　Most of the carnivores are stringy and tasteless. Some of them are not so bad, though. Dragon meat is very tasty. I don't get a chance to eat it very often.
　Abert and I were watching them dismantle the two, while the other three, Dom, Sagess and Garon, were taking a break from the rest of the group.
　When they were finished dismantling them, we buried their pelts at the base of a large tree, quite far from the liger corpse.
　The fangs and claws were to be held by Dom. When the exam was over, we would sell everything, including the fur, to the guild and divide the money into seven equal parts.

''Then let's go. We should manage to get near the base of that mountain until it's dark.''

　Abelto was right, it's dangerous to move after dark. There's a good chance we might get separated from them, and the chance of being attacked by a magical beast is high.
　We were advancing towards the mountain in silence.
　On the way, we encountered a small monster beast, but we managed to kill it as we hurried onward, when suddenly a loud bird-like call echoed around the area, causing everyone to stop in their tracks.

"What was that?　A monster beast?!
''A horror bird. It's a hexenbiest, but it's not that dangerous. He's very good at scaring people with his loud voice.

　While everyone else is wary of the area, Miu is the only one who says that and keeps walking in a stasis.
　They were relieved to see that and started walking through the forest again. I'm sure you'll be happy to know that I'm not the only one.

''It seems like you know a lot about magical beasts.
'I was born in an area close to the Great Treeline of Mismid.
''Oh, no wonder. I was a member of a hunting party in the Empire, so I know a certain amount of magical beasts, but I was in the north. I didn't know much about the monster beasts in the south.

　Hmm. Rose's Miss Rose was a member of the imperial hunting party? No wonder I thought she was familiar with magical beasts. No wonder she used to be a hunter.

Are you from the East by the way you look?
"Huh?

　Rose turns around to talk to me. Maybe it's easier to talk to them since we're the only three women in the room.

"Well, you know. Well, I was born in Yisheng.
Yisheng. You are from a very far away place. Yes, I'm not sure if the king of Brunhild was born in Yisheng. Is that so?
'Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah.

　I can't seem to reply to Rose without faltering. Hmm, I'm not very good at lying, I guess.
　Your Majesty wasn't born in Yisheng, but people seem to think so. But that's what people seem to be saying.
　It's a good thing that I'm not the only one.
　After that, the Four Heavenly Kings of Takeda and their followers arrived, so it seems that most of the residents were Yisheng people at first.
　There are many Yisheng-style foods in the city, so it's not surprising that people have a misconception about them.
　But if they weren't Yisheng, where would His Majesty be from?　Like the Euron?　And that's not it? And I don't think your kind Majesty would leave the country of his birth so far behind.

Ah.
What's going on?

　Suddenly, Miu, who was walking in front of me, stops and Rose stops walking too. The cat ears on her head twitch a little.

'The sound of water. There's a river nearby.'
The river?

　Rose called out to Mr. Surges, who was following behind her, and checked the map.

'There is indeed a river. It seems that if we follow this upstream we can get to the foot of the mountain without getting lost.

　Mr. Surges answers Rose by comparing the map to the direction. We all have a map of the island, but the one that Sirges has is the thinnest and most accurate. The accuracy of the map depends on the price, you know.
　Well, my smart phone's map is the most accurate, though!　I know where we are!
　Eventually we reached the river and followed it to the foot of the mountain.
　In this case, following the river is good or bad. You see, even monsters come to drink water when they're alive, right?　It's possible to bang in there or something.
　Well, since we have a good line of sight, we can see if there are any magical beasts in the distance, so we can run away quickly.
　Perhaps we were lucky, but not a single hexenbiest appeared in front of us as we walked along the river.
　It was getting dark, and we decided that it was not safe to go any further, so we decided to make a camp for the day in an open area near the river.
　We gathered some dead branches to make a fire and each of us began to eat the food we had brought with us.

Where are we going?　You don't want to get too far away from them, do you?

　I was about to move quietly away from everyone around the fire when Rose, who had spotted me, called out to me.

"Hey, I'm just going to pick some flowers,
Oh..... I'm sorry. Enjoy your time.

　I walked away from Rose, who was smiling bitterly, and into the forest.
　I was actually going to eat too, but after seeing the food that came out of my backpack, I decided that I couldn't eat in front of everyone.
　I climbed up on top of a suitable tall tree and took "it" out of my backpack.

''As expected, it would be suspicious if I ate this in front of everyone, Your Majesty.......''

　On the right side of the deep dish is a bowl of freshly cooked rice. On the left side of the plate, the Kalaeru with the aroma of spices. And the brightly shining blessed pickles. It's the perfect kalae rice.
　There's something missing, isn't there, Your Majesty?

But....oh my god, it's so good!

　Their kalae rice was excellent. Since we left to pick flowers, we can't take too long to eat it.
　But regardless of that, I ate it all in one gulp. It's really delicious.
　After finishing my meal, I drank some water from my water bottle while texting His Majesty on my phone to let him know that I was on time. Everything's fine here.....
　It's not that there's nothing wrong with it, though. To be honest, watching the way he fought the Blood Liger, I didn't think it was going to be at all. It felt like they were getting in each other's way.
　I didn't expect them to move that well coordinated since it's an impromptu party, but they're adventurers when they can handle that kind of thing. And I think, in layman's terms, that's what I think.
　If it's too long, it might be misunderstood in some way, so I decide to quickly return to the fire.
　When I was full, I stepped away from the fire and laid down in the grass around it.
　Everyone was gobbling up the food each of us had prepared. Normally, portable food is usually dried meat, dried fish, beans and dried fruit, but on a short trip like this one, they usually brought bread and fruit.

'?　It smells like Karae....
What are you talking about? I know you miss the taste of home more than this bread.

　Miu, who had been twitching her nose at me, tilted her head, and Rose tapped her on the shoulder with a laugh.
　Miu-san turned her gaze towards me, but I'll pretend to be ignorant.
　I looked at everyone else and saw that Dom had brought a pot with him and was making something like a meat and vegetable soup. He seemed to have even brought some alcohol with him.
　Seeing this, Aberto, as expected, interrupted.

''Are you sure it's safe to drink alcohol when you might be attacked at night by a monster beast?
Foolishly, a glass of wine is no better than water for a dwarf. How can a dwarf eat without alcohol?

　That being said, Abelto had to keep his mouth shut. The dwarves are famous for their drinking habits. I know a man who drinks a lot more than that.
　He looked drunk, but he wasn't. He seems to be drunk and not drunk at all. I've been drinking with the dwarven blacksmiths and have beaten them all in a drinking contest.
　You'll find that you're a little girl who looks smaller than me, but.... His Majesty's relatives are a strange lot.
　Leaving Dom-san to continue drinking, Aberto opens his mouth to everyone.

''I have to take charge of the fire, but what is the order?

　I just checked on my phone and it's roughly 8pm now. That can be seen by the position of the moon and stars. If it's from here to morning, it's about nine hours.
　We decided to take turns sleeping in three shifts, divided by two, two and three. The reason why we didn't do it one at a time is because if one of us fell asleep, it would be useless to take turns on the fire and to be on guard against demonic beasts. If there are two of us, we can keep an eye on each other.
　But now it's important to know who to partner up with. However, Rose quickly decided on an all-woman team that includes me. ...well that's fine, but...
　Then, the remaining four men, Aberto and Garon seemed to cause some problems if they were together, so it became Aberto-Surgess and Garon Dom.
　We had some trouble deciding the order, but it was us first, then Abert and Surges, and finally Garon Dom. Abert Sarges' group drew the short straw, as he was woken up in the middle of the night.
　It was getting colder and colder as the night went on. All of us, except for the women, took out our cloaks and wrapped ourselves in them and quickly went to sleep.
　Of course, we will also be wearing our cloaks to protect ourselves from the cold and watch the fire.
　Tomorrow we will be able to reach the fireweed. I hope the Firelizard isn't there. It's said that the grown up fire lizards are quite large, and it seems that they basically act in packs, you know.
　When I suddenly lifted my gaze, I saw Rose glancing around.

''?　What's wrong?
I was wondering if the guild warden was still around. I don't see any sign of anyone, and I wondered if they were really watching what we were doing.

　There is. There is at least one person in front of me.
　And our chieftain doesn't use inexperienced people who can be detected by amateur adventurers as spotters for this kind of surveillance.

Definitely. ''There is definitely one, probably Brunhild's intelligence unit, which is far superior to ours. Far superior to us.

　In response to Rose's words, Miu assured her that. Oh, you're right. But Rose raised one eyebrow and made a dubious expression.

''Why would Brunhild's intelligence unit come out. This is the Guild's business, right?''
"One of the examiners was a relative of Lord Brunhild. So it wouldn't be surprising if they used him. I suppose they're supposed to watch our every move and help us if something goes wrong.

　It's quite sharp. To Miu's explanation, Rose looked around more and more, but she couldn't find anything, so she spoke to Miu again.

Does that mean that you can help us if we get into trouble?
Maybe. But if that happens, the test is over. Failing the mission means no more ranks and no more rewards.
I don't know about that... But does that mean we're safe? Does that mean we'll be safe, right?
Don't rely on it too much.

　I couldn't help but interrupt them as they were talking, "Their mission is just to keep an eye on us, and they won't make a move until the situation is bad.

I'm sure they're just trying to keep an eye on us, and they won't make a move until we're in a bad situation. The only way they will be able to help you is if you're in a bad spot, like losing an arm. Of course, if a high-ranked monster that is too powerful for us to compete with, it will probably come to our aid right away.
Hm. Even if they move in after something happens to us, there's no guarantee we'll get there in time. I don't want to be an ateater.

　Miu was right, it might be too late for the chieftains to make a move after the damage is done to us.
　Well, that's what I'm here for. I think I can at least buy some time for the chieftains to arrive.

"So, I guess being an adventurer is just as dangerous as being an adventurer.
But it's a paying job. Two white gold pieces in this case, if you succeed.
It's great, isn't it? What should I buy?

　I can't help but loosen my cheeks when I think about the reward.
　The salary of the Order is not that high. But there are many privileges in return. You can use the playroom, or eat as much as you want in the dining room for a certain amount of money. Most of the money for life is provided by His Majesty, so they don't have to worry about not having much money.
　Occasionally, His Majesty gives me a special allowance called "bōnasu".
　Is this time's allowance similar to that?

When it's this generous, I suspect that there's something behind it.
Maybe it's just a matter of getting good weapons and armor. The higher the rank, the higher the level of the request you will receive...
Shut up, you little girls!　You can't sleep!

　Rose's voice was interrupted by Mr. Dom's shout from behind us. We shrugged our heads and looked at each other with a buzzed look on our faces. We made a little too much noise.
　After that, we watched the fire in silence for a while, and then we whispered again, and talked about it until we took over.