Chapter 133 - A New Quest and a Village's Troubles
We, the members of Levante, were walking south from the city of Heilong. The wheat fields near the city soon gave way to a forest. It was filled with low, broad-leaved trees, and as long as we stuck to the small path, it felt bright and open, not at all gloomy. The sun was growing stronger, but the shade of the trees was cool, and the low humidity made it pleasant.
This wasn't a main road; there were several forks leading to our destination, and we had to be careful not to get lost. Fam consulted the simple map she'd received from the Chairman over and over as we walked. At first, I'd been the one to pull out the map at every junction so we could all discuss it, but before I knew it, Fam had taken it from me and made it her responsibility. Every so often, she'd point a finger with a distinct lack of confidence, making us all nervous, but Cecily was the only one who complained.
"Still, these six are who I'm most comfortable with."
"What are you, an old man?!"
Cecily shot back a retort as I spoke with a deep sense of nostalgia. Having officially become C-rank adventurers, we had accepted a request from the Chairman of Longhorn Street. There was a farm he managed about a day's journey from Heilong, and he wanted us to subjugate the monsters that were ravaging it. He didn't tell us what kind of monsters they were, only that we should go to the village and ask a man named Siril for the details.
"A farm… a village… ugh, my head…"
"It's alright, Master. We've grown so much since then."
Fam's reply was quick. It was true; compared to back then, she had grown an incredible amount. But what about me? I felt like I hadn't changed much at all.
"But this time, we don't have the reliable Aidan with us."
"If you're going to be so timid, why did you even take a quest like this? Are you that desperate to do lewd things with that girl, Shizuka?"
I'd barely muttered a complaint, and Cecily's merciless verbal assault was already upon me.
"If that was my goal, I could have that girl anytime I wanted by paying for it, and I've already paid more than enough for that."
"You're the worst! But if that's not it, then why?"
"That's…"
"That's?"
I wrapped my arms around Cecily.
"It's because I wanted to go on an adventure with you!"
"Gah!"
She struggled and broke free.
"Liar! Stop trying to get out of things by hugging me whenever it's inconvenient for you!"
Cecily shouted. Now that she mentioned it, I realized I did have a habit of doing that.
"Alright. I'll stop hugging you."
"Huh? Why?"
She was the one who told me to stop, so I wish she wouldn't ask me for a reason when I agreed not to. I steered the conversation back to why I accepted the Chairman's request.
"Even if you ask, the truth is… I don't really know myself…"
That was my honest feeling. Looking back now, it seemed unnecessary to risk my life fighting an Area Guardian and raising my rank just to help her. Besides, she seemed content with her current situation. But she did say she wanted to come with us to Migul. And beyond that, those summoned by the Five Pillars are comrades. I do want to give her options. I also have this feeling that I need to find Ko-kun. But if you asked me if those were clear motivations, I couldn't say for sure. I'm still carrying around this tangled mess of feelings. We've been given a time limit, forced to do things we don't understand in places we don't know. I just want to find a way to get through this situation together.
"Hah… Get a grip! Still, we're heading to a place in the middle of nowhere. I wonder what they're even growing…"
She let out a sigh.
"Good point. The Chairman is like some kind of underworld boss. If he's growing some shady plants, like poppies or something, let's just pretend we saw nothing and turn back."
I was considering the possibility that he was secretly producing narcotics. He called them monsters ravaging the farm, but it would be a nightmare if we were forced to fight the Chairman's rivals or the city's knights.
"By the way, do you even know what poppies are?"
"Are you making fun of me? They're the fruit that opium comes from, right? Poppy fruits are grown in regions south of here, so I doubt we'll see any around these parts."
Cecily answered, looking annoyed.
"Then you know their effects, too?"
"I've never seen it myself, but I remember reading about it in a pharmacology book. It's a painkiller, a sleeping aid, and a digestive aid. But if you take too much, it makes people violent, lethargic, and can even lead to death…"
"I see. So it's treated as a medicinal substance here."
Cecily tilted her head slightly at my words.
"Well, yes, but it's expensive, and the church's healing or a recovery potion is much faster, so I don't think many people actually use it."
That made sense. In a world where you can craft highly effective recovery potions from herbs growing right there on the roadside, it was unlikely to catch on even among the wealthy aristocrats. Thinking about it, there might be even more dangerous drugs in this world.
"Opium gives you a feeling of euphoria, but with regular use, you become addicted and can suffer from psychosis. That's why it was a prohibited drug in my world."
"So that's why you were asking all those strange questions. You think the Chairman is secretly growing poppies for pleasure and euphoria?"
"Not exactly… well, I guess so. I just can't see him as a decent man, so when I hear that someone like him is running a farm, that's the image that comes to mind."
But from what Cecily said, it seemed narcotics weren't widespread in this world. Come to think of it, I hadn't seen anyone smoking cigarettes or cigars either. The Chairman, in particular, seemed like he'd look natural with a cigar. That probably meant there was no need to grow poppies in secret, and he wouldn't be on the city knights' radar.
"So, if we do turn back, what will you do about Shizuka?"
"I haven't thought of anything, so I'll just give up. You only live once. If Shizuka insists, I'll leave it to Racshell."
"…You know, you should just summon Lady Racshell from the start and let her handle everything."
Cecily stated the one thing that would solve everything.
After noon, we arrived at the farm, a vast field enclosed by a wooden fence. Similar to the village that had been overrun by goblins, the center was a raised hill, where we could see a settlement surrounded by a wooden wall. A watchtower was visible beyond the wall.
"This time, it's people… right?"
Fam said, squinting at the person standing atop the watchtower. She must have been imagining the same grim scenario I was. But it didn't seem to be occupied by goblins like last time. I surveyed the farm. Plants about waist-high were planted at regular intervals. They were a type I'd never seen before. They weren't grown as densely as wheat, but they were flourishing.
"…Medicinal herbs, maybe?"
Cecily commented. I remembered she also had the Pharmacist job.
"Poppies?"
Though I'd just been talking so confidently about opium with Cecily, I had never seen a poppy flower or its fruit. I had no idea what it even looked like. She shook her head in response to my question.
"I think… they're probably growing herbs for contraceptives and medicine to prevent STDs…"
Cecily said, sounding unsure.
"Master, may I borrow the herb guide?"
I took the herb guide from my storage and handed it to her. It was the one we'd used for an herb-gathering quest around the time I first met Fam. She had been far more efficient at gathering herbs than I was, comparing the scent of the pressed flowers in the book to the wild plants. She sniffed a plant in the field, then sniffed the book.
"Achoo!"
She must have gotten her nose too close, because she sneezed. The adorable way she sniffled afterward made me smile.
"Hmph, what's so funny?"
"I'm not laughing!"
"Yes, you were!"
As Fam and I were bickering, the village gate opened. A short but muscular young man emerged, leading several demi-human men, and began walking toward us. The young man had pointed, beast-like ears. His hair was cut short with shaved lines in it. His eyebrows were also short and thin, seemingly well-groomed. He had a well-defined face, but his sharp, narrow eyes gave him a ferocious look. He seemed to be in his mid-twenties. The demi-humans behind him had slave crests on their arms. They were probably being used as serfs.
"The man in front, is he cat-kin…?"
"Probably."
Fam answered my murmur. She was no longer looking at the plant guide. I stopped her as she tried to step in front of me, and we waited for the men to approach.
"What do you want?" the man asked, glaring at me.
"My name is Mash. I've been sent by the Chairman to handle a monster subjugation request. I have a letter from him for a man named Siril."
"I'm Siril."
He took the letter, opened it, and began to read.
"I don't get it…"
After finishing, he looked me up and down as if sizing me up. Then his gaze fell on the memo Fam was holding, the one with directions to the village.
"Let me see that memo."
Fam handed it to him. He stared at it intently.
"It's a miracle you made it this far with this. And this sloppy handwriting is definitely the Chairman's. Does this mean you received the request directly from him?"
"That's right."
I nodded at Siril.
"My apologies for doubting you. Welcome. For now, please come into the village."
We were led inside the settlement.
"What are you growing on this farm?"
"Oh, plants that are used as ingredients for contraceptives, medicine to prevent STDs, and the like," Siril answered my question. It seemed Cecily was correct. The village layout was similar to the one we visited for Aidan's quest. There was one building that was likely Siril's home, one for the laborers, a warehouse, and one building that housed the stables and the slaves' quarters.
"We're going up the watchtower."
Following his lead, I climbed the ladder after him. The view revealed an expanse of medicinal herb fields in every direction. It was quite a sight. However, looking closer at the farm, I could see that about a third of it was in ruins—dug up, withered, or riddled with massive holes.
"It's an Earthdrake monster. The damage started a few months ago."
An Earthdrake, so a mole. But since it's a monster, it probably has some special abilities. I thought about asking Maira for an explanation, but only Fam had climbed the watchtower with me. Mizuki, Maira, Cecily, and Aira were looking up at us from below. I gestured for her to come up, but she shook her head, holding down the hem of her priest's robes. If you don't want anyone to see your underwear, you should wear something like culottes, I thought, but then I'd lose my chance to see them, so I kept my mouth shut.
"How many?"
"I don't know. We've killed three."
"The bodies?"
"None left. They vanished."
Three monsters in several months seemed like a small number, but I supposed it couldn't be helped, since they weren't a group of professional fighters.
"Is it only the fields that are being ravaged? Do they attack people?"
"They don't attack people directly unless we provoke them. There have been no deaths, but some have been injured."
I'd heard that real moles are carnivores and don't eat plants, but monsters live by absorbing mana. Still, how were we supposed to deal with this? Should we just keep hitting the Earthdrakes with a hammer as they pop out of their holes? I pictured a game of whack-a-mole. The problem was how to lure out and defeat such an elusive enemy. I glanced down at Maira, but she wasn't coming up. We'd have to plan our strategy after we came down.
"Is the quest objective to exterminate all the Earthdrakes?"
Siril's mouth fell open at my question.
"You came all the way here without the Chairman even telling you the quest objective?"
"I asked, but he just said I'd understand when I got here."
"I see. So you're in a situation where you have no choice but to obey. He's testing you."
Siril smirked and nodded in satisfaction. His attitude irked me a little.
"Testing what?"
"You fell for one of the whores on Longhorn Street, didn't you?"
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