Chapter 60 - Exterminating Bats at the Fortress
The next day, we depart for a certain fortress in southern Nakanohara.
This is because a request for bat extermination came in from Hans-san.
The supervisor is Beowulf. The town guard used to do it. She says she has participated several times.
Transportation costs aren't covered, but they lent us horses.
Apparently, it takes about two hours one way at a slow pace. I rode behind Beowulf, and Beatrix rode behind Paul-san.
The fortress is on a hill near a village along the South Nakanohara Highway that goes south from the town, and wooden fences with sharpened tips were placed around the hill. Supposedly, more than three hundred people can take shelter there in case of an emergency. Probably all the villagers.
When we go to the village guard station, the post station master, who also serves as the fortress manager, was there. He's an elderly person. He had a prosthetic leg from the left knee down and was using a cane. It must be quite inconvenient to climb up to the fortress on the hill.
When Beowulf, acting as the contact, went to greet him, they spoke with smiles as if they were old acquaintances.
She also introduced us. Here, I must firmly promote the Marcelo Company.
"Hello. We are from the Marcelo Company, here to exterminate monsters as designated by Acting Captain Hans of the Nakanohara Town Guard. We look forward to working with you."
I'll leave these kinds of greetings to me, the priest.
The manager smiled and said, 'I'm glad you came.'
"By the way, you all are walking in a strange way; did you hurt your backs?"
Beatrix and I are not used to riding horses. Our legs have become stiff, and we're walking bow-legged.
No, this is... please don't worry... we're fine... yes...
When I asked about the state of the bats, he replied that there are more than ten. The village guard is apparently going around blocking the entrances to the underground passages so they don't come outside.
"Do they come outside?"
They must be huge ones. It would be terrifying if they were flying around.
"Those fellows sleep in their nests during the day and come to get food at night. When they become monsters and grow large, livestock get attacked. We have to exterminate them before that happens."
Perhaps because they've lived that way since before becoming monsters, it takes time for them to turn into monsters. They apparently increase once every two or three years at this time. Normally, the village guard works hard to exterminate them. However, when the numbers increase, damage occurs, so they ask for reinforcements from the Nakanohara Town Guard.
"I've heard that wind magic is effective. We've brought a high-level mage this time, so it'll be fine."
"I see, then I can rest easy."
It was decided that he would guide us once mine and Beatrix's bow-leggedness was cured.
While looking from a distance, it was just an ordinary hill, but as we approached, there were holes here and there on the slopes. The wall on the opposite side of the fortress was a stone wall, so they must have been dug by human hands. Because of that, we couldn't climb straight up, and we had to climb by circling the hill about three times to the right on the path to the fortress.
The entrance door has a double structure. There was a gap between the first door and the second door, and an iron grate was hanging from the watchtower above the gate. Apparently, they lower it when an enemy attacks.
I was surprised when I went inside. From the outside, it's surrounded by wooden fences, but the inside is a stone wall. It has a thickness that allows people to pass on top, just like the city walls of Nakanohara. The watchtowers I thought were made of wood also have wood hanging over the walls. Supposedly, sharpened logs give off more of an atmosphere.
Inside the fortress, there are several stone and wooden buildings, and we were guided to one of them.
Inside, the village guard was gathered, preparing to block gaps with boards and such. They had already blocked the exit of the underground passage connected to the stream.
Now they are blocking the doors to the basements connected to the underground passage and their surroundings, but it seems like a lot of work as most of the ground facilities have basements.
When I asked for the bats' location, I was told they are in the underground passage leading to the stream.
The underground passage was apparently made using a cave that was originally there, and there are high ceilings in places that humans can't reach. They seem to have settled there.
They should be sleeping, so we'll attack them in their sleep.
It's because they've apparently been attacking them in their sleep with bows and arrows or magic until now. However, they hide in hollows in the high ceilings, so it's hard to hit them. Once they notice and take flight, they apparently counterattack while dodging nimbly.
Descending the spiral staircase in the basement, we came out to a place with a slope that was slightly hard to call gentle, with a width where four or five people could walk abreast. It's an underground passage. It's wider than I thought. The walls and ceiling are made of stone and have a solid construction. The grooves on both sides are probably drainage ditches.
Torches for light are burning, but the path ahead is either curved or shrouded in darkness, and nothing can be seen. Monsters would certainly appear in this.
"Light!"
I immediately chanted the magic I newly learned. I learned it after receiving a revelation the other day. A ball of hazy white light floats in my right palm and illuminates the surroundings. It's a beginner-level holy support magic. Since I've been making Holy shine incessantly as a feint lately, I might have learned it.
The light reaches further than a torch. It's quite convenient in the dark. I heard that if I can master it, I can fly the light balls around freely. It's perfect for a feint too.
The manager also said, 'What a convenient magic.'
The gently meandering underground passage has exposed walls and ceilings from the middle, making it more of a cave than an underground passage. There are high and low places on the ceiling.
The ground changed from laid stones to soil, but it was firmly packed, so there was no anxiety.
Attacking them in their sleep. Everyone is silent.
The sound of Lewis-san's prosthetic leg clicking as he walked and the sound of water droplets occasionally falling from the ceiling echoed loudly.
We came out to a place with a very high ceiling. A ladder wouldn't reach.
The ceiling and walls have stone folds, or rather grooves, with places to hide here and there. It's no wonder bats become monsters. Magic and arrows would be hard to hit in this.
I hold my right hand high to illuminate the top.
I saw pitch-black, human-like things hanging upside down.
The Red-Eyed Man!
I was tense for a moment, but looking closely, the ears are long. They're bats.
They're about the size of a small human. And there are several of them. It's unthinkable for such things to fly through the sky and attack. We have to have Paul-san do something about them quickly.
Looking at that Paul-san, he's deep in thought with his arms crossed.
"What's wrong? Let's just try something for now. Like Tornado Wind."
Beatrix is also urging him, but he's not biting.
Then, he looks at me.
"Shall we use Holy? I think that's best."
"Holy?"
According to Paul-san, if we were to use wind magic here, Tornado Wind would be the quickest. However, since it's a cyclone, it would leave many wounds on the bats' bodies. If that happens, the bat wings, which are valuable, would be ruined.
I don't want our earnings to decrease, so I'll go along with Paul-san's plan.
First is Beatrix. Since I'm using Holy, a substitute light is necessary.
Beatrix learned a new wind magic, Wind Cutter. It's a magic that deals damage equivalent to being slashed with a sword, and if one reaches the high-level mage class, they can easily cut down a large tree. She was frustrated that she could have been a bit more useful if she could use wind magic when she fought the orc horde with the goblins, so it was just right.
It's a shame, but it's not useful here. However, her magic control has improved by that much. Now, she can split a Fire Ball into multiple ones without running out of mana.
"Fire Ball!"
Beatrix produced fireballs with both hands, and when she made a breaststroke motion, the fireballs split into eight and floated in the air. It's like having many bonfires lit in a high place.
"Wind Barrier!"
Next is Paul-san's wind magic. With this, he creates a wall so the bats don't escape. Finally, I just have to defeat them one by one with my Holy.
I aimed and fired Holy at the bats trying to crawl out from the gaps in the air wall controlled by Paul-san. Bats are F-rank. Moreover, because they fly, they are fragile. I could defeat them with one shot.
Thanks to the wall Paul-san made, the bats are just flailing around in a narrow space.
They gather in the same place trying to escape from the gaps he intentionally made. Since Beowulf is pressing them with a special wooden spear made of several connected poles so they don't escape, I hit them with amusing ease.
I defeated all of them while Paul-san moved the wall to change the position of the gaps and made them run back and forth.
Afterward, he just had to lower the dead bats on top of the wall along with the wall itself.
There are thirteen in total. It's quite an achievement.
I was also praised by the manager. Apparently, it's rare to obtain undamaged bat wings. They can be used as a thin, naturally waterproof leather material, and ones that aren't torn apparently fetch two silver coins each.
That means a gain of over one gold coin in just one day.
Since it's apparently polite to leave some of the bats for the village, we decided to leave three.
Our share of the proceeds is expected to be twenty silver coins, so combined with the subjugation reward, it's the earnings of fifty-three rats.
When we came out of the underground passage, the guard, hearing that the extermination was finished, began to restore the gaps they had blocked.
When I asked if they wouldn't come back, an unexpected answer came back.
Apparently, bats are beneficial animals that eat insects that swarm in the fields, and it's better to have a certain amount of them. Even if they become monsters, if things go well, they become a source of cash income for the village. They seem to intend to exterminate them before damage occurs to livestock or humans, and then wait for the small ones to return.
No wonder the guard's work never disappears.
The manager winked at me, saying he'd write a letter saying he wants to request bat extermination from the Marcelo Company in the future. He said he'd tell other fortresses too.
I see, it's a win-win.
I'll add one more bat to leave for the village.
"Pleasure doing business with you!"
Beatrix closed the deal, and the request was complete.
"So, thirteen in the end, huh."
Back in town, I reported pompously to Hans-san while showing him the bat wings butchered in the village and the manager's letter.
"It seems you were quite efficient. It's written here that he's never seen such a brilliant performance and wants to ask the Marcelo Company in the future. Business is booming, isn't it?"
"If it's bats, you can leave them to us."
"Since your numbers have increased, it would be a great help if you could split up and do the rat extermination... If you did that, I could send you to two more places by next week..."
We're quite trusted. Surely the manager's letter was effective.
"Is there something going on?"
The suspicious mage is prying.
"Well, you see, next Sunday, there's that festival, right? Rumors spread fast, and the inns are already fully booked for Saturday. Merchants will gather too. The town guard will be mobilized for highway patrol. We have to guard the town too. We're short-handed."
The festival must be the Water Splashing Festival. Come to think of it, it's next Sunday.
When I asked for the priority, the first was rat extermination. Apparently, the town guard had been doing it while we were away, but since they were short-handed, it was extremely unpopular.
That's only natural; it must have a big impact on people's lives. I was greatly convinced, but when I looked at Beatrix and Paul-san, they averted their eyes.
The second was bats. Apparently, they breed in large numbers at this time. There are times when they attack in droves at night, and it becomes like a war involving the whole village. Black opponents flying in the night sky. They would struggle.
It's only natural that they must be exterminated before that happens.
In addition, I was told that foxes and boars only need to be done once every two weeks per location.
That means, from now on, the quota will be three rat sessions, two fox sessions, one boar session, and two bat sessions. Even adding two scroll-making sessions, it's ten days of labor out of twelve. It seems we can go to the festival too, so we'll manage somehow.
"In that case, we'll take both bat exterminations. However, I have a request."
"A request?"
"Oh, it's simple. From now on, lend us one horse and one cart. It's unsightly to be in this state, after all."
Hans-san looks at the bow-legged me and Beatrix.
I mean, it can't be helped. We're not used to riding horses...