21 - Chapter 17: The Evaluation of the Three Idiots and the Seeds of Unease
I think it is a form of aesthetic beauty to receive punishment after running wild in a comedy. I want to play the BGM from Kochikame.
The Three Idiots, who had turned a herd of Earth Dragons into a mountain of ingredients, exchanged high-fives, nodded to each other, and turned back toward the refugees.
However, inside their hearts, despite their composed expressions...
(Elf-san! Elf-san!)
(Moffu-mofu! Moffu-mofu!)
(Loli-loli! Loli-loli!)
They were the epitome of vulgarity.
They had saved the refugees... or more accurately, the women, from a desperate situation. They were surely held in high regard. Although their actions were stained with calculation and desire, their outward appearance was certainly that of great heroes from a story. In reality, they had shown such overwhelming combat power that the term "scattered" was too mild, and as a result, people were a bit put off, but as the Three Idiots, they didn't notice.
They began to walk, as if to say, "Now for the triumphal return."
"Ow!"
"Ouch!"
"It hurts!"
Fists rained down on the crowns of their heads from behind. Rubbing their heads, which were numb from the pain, they looked back.
"You lot...!"
"Ah..."
There stood the three members of Hekireki, their temples twitching.
●
In a room at the Adventurers Guild in the Imperial Capital, the owner of the room, the Guild Master, a middle-aged man with a build like a boulder named Dusk, was hearing an unexpected report first thing in the morning.
That day, as usual, he had been gently woken by his wife, eaten breakfast, played with his children for a bit, and then headed to his workplace, the Adventurers Guild. It wasn't exactly a late arrival, but the playing with his son, who had become particularly mischievous lately, had lasted longer than expected. When he muttered, "I wonder who he takes after," his wife replied, "Doesn't he look like a certain former Gold-rank adventurer?" and he had to look away. It seemed he had strongly inherited the blood of the man who had run wild in various places as an adventurer in his youth.
While he hoped his son would aim to be a knight rather than an adventurer, who might die at any moment, as he headed to work in his role as a father, he heard voices that were a mix of screams and cheers.
When he went to the butchery area, where the voices were coming from, there was a mountain of Earth Dragon corpses.
Even in his active days, he had never seen such a result, and even Dusk was left speechless, questioning a nearby butchery worker. The worker replied, "Since this morning, Larc, a Silver-rank adventurer, brought some depressed-looking rookies, and those rookies have been bringing out Earth Dragon corpses one after another," a response that grasped the main points but defied understanding.
In the end, he called out to Larc, who was glaring with crossed arms at the boys and girls—the Three Idiots—who were depressedly bringing out Earth Dragon corpses and performing butchery work, and brought him to the Guild Master's room.
The story that came out from there was incredibly fishy.
If it hadn't been the words of the leader of Hekireki, who had accumulated enough achievements and trust to be promoted to Silver-rank soon, and who had not seen the mountain of Earth Dragon corpses beforehand, he would have laughed in his nose. In fact, even with Larc's words, the thought "Is this guy sane?" almost reached his throat.
That said, there was undeniable evidence at the butchery area. At least 100 Earth Dragons had been killed by someone. It would be impossible for the Silver-rank Hekireki. If they could manage to kill one while barely escaping with their lives, that would be a success. Even then, they wouldn't do it unless their backs were against the wall. Basically, they would have retreated.
After that... after the Three Idiots had slaughtered the Earth Dragons, Hekireki, led by Larc, scolded them. They scolded them severely. They scolded them immensely.
There was a difference in ability, and in the end, it was good that the refugees were saved, but still, he couldn't let it go. This was because the Three Idiots' actions were self-righteous acts that completely ignored the purpose, role, and rules of this job.
People who think that everything is fine as long as the result is okay cannot be trusted. If the main party had been the Three Idiots and Hekireki had been in a supporting role, that would be fine. But the leader this time was Larc, and they had an obligation to follow his decision.
People who think it's fine as long as they produce results through solo play can only be entrusted with roles where they can recover even if they fail, or jobs that can be done alone. He absolutely did not want them in team play. Because it would undoubtedly lead to discord within the team. Or rather, they couldn't be trusted as members of society in the first place.
Moreover, Hekireki did not yet know the true strength of the Three Idiots, and this was a field test to measure it. It just so happened that the Three Idiots possessed strength exceeding that of the Earth Dragon herd, but if they had charged in out of mere overconfidence or righteous indignation and died, it would have been Hekireki's management responsibility. If it were the result of Hekireki inevitably giving such an order, he would willingly bear the responsibility, but if it were the result of them doing whatever they pleased, he would want to scream "Don't mess around." The Three Idiots had other ways, such as persuading them or showing they could kill one from a distance. But they had completely skipped that because they got too excited.
...After receiving such long, tedious preaching, the Three Idiots, who had experience as members of society in their previous lives, were scolded quietly and obediently. They also knew that if they argued like typical youths, the intensity would only increase.
The miscalculation was that they ended up collecting the Earth Dragons and reporting to the guild instead of escorting the refugees. No, the role of the Serious Breakers wasあくまで auxiliary. And since they were the reporting party, that was only natural.
...In other words, there was no interaction with elves, fox-girls, or lolis. There was no healing anywhere.
This left the Three Idiots disheartened. Moreover, the way back was accompanied by Larc's preaching. While adventurers value freedom, he gave them passionate guidance toward their first year as members of society, explaining that because of that, there is responsibility and so on. For the Three Idiots, whose mental age already exceeded 50, it was a mix of painful truths and secondhand embarrassment, and they were fed up. But since they were in the wrong, they couldn't use words they would have used when they were on the side of admonishing others in their previous lives, like "Now, now, that's enough. The young ones are reflecting on it." They thought about arguing and winning the debate, but they decided to become like clams, thinking it would only add fuel to the fire.
As a result, the mentally worn-out and depressed Three Idiots could only hollowly repeat "Yes, sorry" like broken robots. They seemed quite exhausted, and even now, they were helping with the work at the butchery area with the highlights gone from their eyes.
In conclusion... this is the end for fools who run wild.
Digression aside.
"Just to be sure, I'll ask. As for the test results?"
"I couldn't get the final judgment, but if they failed with those results, no one could ever become Bronze."
"114 Earth Dragons, and one Large Earth Dragon..."
At Larc's words, Dusk let out a deep sigh. It was a great achievement. It was at a level that could be recorded in history books.
"How was it actually...?"
"There is no 'how'. They are not vessels for the Iron-rank. Even one of them is at least Gold-rank, and if the three are together, they are undoubtedly Platinum level."
"Based on their origins and achievements, I already expected around Copper..."
Marianne aside, Geoglyph came from the Triad family, famous for their martial arts, and Later is a disciple of Jinrai. Their growth environment must have been good, and at least in Later's case, he judged that he had the ability for the former Gold-rank Jinrai to write a letter of introduction.
However, that was only based on common sense. He never imagined they could massacre a herd of Earth Dragons.
"So, what is the overall evaluation?"
"Bonklers with raw power?"
"That is quite..."
From Larc's perspective, since the Three Idiots were completely swept away by their fetishes and emotions, it was a relatively appropriate evaluation.
"For now, they'll be on probation until the situation settles. Well, they'll probably be dragged out for various things."
"What about the rank?"
"Their ability is at least Gold-rank, but raising it suddenly would cause friction with those around them. We'll raise it sequentially, so for now, Copper. We'll let them take a few requests and move up in stages. The matter of the Earth Dragons is already causing a stir, so as long as we follow these steps, there shouldn't be any complaints from others even with a speed promotion."
A plan had been set for those Three Idiots. That was fine for now. The test results were a bit, no, quite, no, absolutely earth-shattering, but it was fine.
There was a more serious problem.
"Now, let's hear the report."
"This place is soundproof, right?"
"Hmm. Wait a moment."
Dusk chanted in a low voice, casting a soundproofing barrier in the room just in case. Then, he signaled Larc to proceed.
"The refugees are temporarily taking shelter in the Beastman Village. They were severely exhausted."
"I heard Mira and Alan joined as escorts."
"And some of the Imperial Army as well."
After all, they had been in an extreme situation for ten days. Food was scarce, and there was no way they could return to the Imperial Capital. The closest place was the Beastman Village, which had been designated as a refuge from the start, so they decided to send them there.
The only ones who returned to the Imperial Capital were the Serious Breakers, who were originally tasked with reporting, their supervisor Larc, and a few members of the Imperial Army tasked with acting as messengers to the state.
"And, while Geoglyph, who can use storage magic, was collecting the defeated Earth Dragons on the way back, he found something strange."
It seems a fist-sized jewel came out, embedded in the head of the defeated Large Earth Dragon. When the elf saw it, she apparently frowned.
"A Beast-Frenzy Orb...?"
"It has 'Beast' in the name, but it's apparently a magic tool that can control monsters in general. That came out of the Large Earth Dragon."
A herd of Earth Dragons in a forest where they shouldn't be. And a magic tool that can control monsters from the boss, the Large Earth Dragon. What that meant was...
"A man-made disaster, huh..."
Whether intentional or accidental, it was certain that a third party was involved in this commotion.
"We haven't identified who did it. For now, Captain Reeber told us to keep it quiet, but we are permitted to tell the Guild Master."
"In exchange, report any anomalies to the state immediately and stay alert for a while. Well, it is certainly a strange situation. If anything, the Kingdom."
Until about twenty years ago, the Kingdom of Karim to the east and the Empire were in a full-scale state of war. From there, it became a lull, and they finally ceased fire about sixteen years ago. Since then, it has been a state of cold war, but skirmishes still happen frequently, so the motive is sufficient.
That said.
"Geographically it's the opposite, and it's too simple to suspect them head-on."
Dusk nodded at Larc's words. The pioneer village where the incident occurred was southwest of the Imperial Capital. From the perspective of the Kingdom to the east of the Empire, it was deep in enemy territory. Questions about how they transported the Earth Dragons from such a place were natural, but above all, it was too simplistic. While it might not be a plot to sow discord, it was certainly more rational to think of a third party trying to fan the flames of war between the Empire and the Kingdom in a state of cold war.
"Things are starting to smell fishy..."
They had found the seeds of unease, but it was beyond the capacity of Dusk and Larc, who were merely a guild master and an adventurer. However, feeling that they would inevitably be involved in the future, they let out a deep sigh.
To be continued tomorrow.