kscans

Chapter 87 - The Castle in the Mountains and a Quest You Can't Refuse

Two days after the goblin attack, the caravan was making its way along a mountain path. The grasslands were behind us, and we were now surrounded by a range of steep mountains. The road continued on, weaving along their ridges. The constant inclines and declines, coupled with occasional rockfalls that littered the path, slowed our pace considerably. Morning training had resumed, and I was once again getting worked over by Avea. I couldn't shake the feeling she had it out for me. Fang had joined in as well, though he was still recovering from his fatigue.

I was riding in the Mateo Trading Company's carriage. The company members were pressuring me to talk to Claire, and I couldn't seem to relax. I would have much preferred to be in the rearmost carriage, focusing all my attention on catching a panty shot when Mizuki let her guard down. I wanted to bring Famu with me, but that would have weakened our rear defenses, so I couldn't. If only it were just Claire and me, I thought, there are things I could talk about then.

"We should be able to see the castle soon."

Claire peered out of the carriage window. I followed her gaze. We were in a forest, surrounded by mountains, but the slope had become gentler. It didn't have the same gloom as the sea of trees that encircled Richel. Between the cedar-like trees, I could see patches of white mountain face. We weren't at an altitude where winter snow would linger; it was the color of the rock itself. The sound of running water told me there was a river nearby.

"Are we stopping at the castle?"

"We’re only passing by it. I doubt we’d be allowed to enter. The lord of the castle is of the royal family that rules this entire region, including the town of Frucht. It would be wonderful if we could become official merchants to the royal court, but…"

"The royal family lives in a remote place like this?"

"They don’t live here permanently. They have several castles within their domain and move between them. According to our information, they are currently in residence at the one nearby."

As Claire and I continued to talk, a spire, part of the fortress, came into view. It was built of heavy, brown stone. Then a massive structure appeared, enclosed by a sturdy castle wall. It was a fortress built on the steep slope of a mountain, blending in beautifully with the natural surroundings. It was exactly what I imagined a medieval European castle to be. Its blue roof, lit by the sun, shone brilliantly. As we moved along the road, it grew steadily larger.

Even if Claire knew of it from reports, this was the first time she was seeing it in person. She stared, breathless.

"Would you like to live in a place like that, Claire?"

"If I said ‘yes,’ it seems like you would conquer that castle and claim it for me, Mash-san."

"…That’s impossible. You give me way too much credit."

Claire laughed. Maybe someday I could get her something like one of those love hotels modeled after castles back in my world. I'd even have a rotating bed and a luxurious bath installed, and then I'd ravish her there. As I entertained these ridiculous fantasies, the carriage came to a halt.

It was Beers, coming from the lead carriage.

"We’ve been stopped by the castle’s knights. Avea is calling for Mercedes."

The man sitting next to Claire stood up. Claire and I also exited the carriage and followed Beers. Up ahead, five knights were confronting Avea and the others.

"How may we be of service?"

Mercedes bowed his head respectfully.

"Our king is in need of skilled adventurers."

"As you can see, we are but a simple merchant caravan."

"The warrior, the priestess, and the beastfolk there, as well. Leave anyone capable of fighting behind."

"But that would leave us without our guards."

"In that case, we shall invite you all to our lord’s castle. You may stay for a while. Consider it an honor."

The conversation between Mercedes and the knights continued. I stood next to Avea.

"Looks like we’re in for some trouble. Can’t we just force our way through?"

I whispered to Avea, knowing it was a reckless suggestion.

"We are about to enter their territory. We’d be hunted down relentlessly."

"What if we just took them out?"

I asked, though I had no intention of doing so.

"There are two Paladins. At high levels, they can grant physical enhancement blessings to nearby allies. A fight would mean considerable losses on our side as well,"

Avea replied. I took that to mean we would suffer casualties, but we wouldn’t lose. It was a bit confusing, but ‘Paladin’ was both the title of the hero from a hundred years ago, Uta, and a character class. Right now, she was referring to the latter. Come to think of it, Hyakka and Chihiro were also Paladins. That effect would be a perfect match for the beastfolk who served as their party’s vanguard. I was glad we didn't have to fight them. The negotiations between the knights and the trading company continued, thick with tension. But the company had no other options; they were being forced into a single decision. Under the guise of a glamorous invitation, we were to be escorted to the castle.

We were invited to the castle, but we were not granted an audience with the king. The area inside the castle walls was large enough to hold a small town, though there were no shops or residents. The grounds were paved with neat flagstones, and a massive building in the center caught the eye. The royal family was likely staying somewhere inside it. Besides that main structure, there were several others: a kitchen, barracks, stables, and a building that looked like a church.

Our party, Levante, was assigned a single room within the central building. It was luxurious. The interior and furnishings were all exquisitely crafted. Avea’s group, Claire’s group, and the rest of the caravan members were given similar rooms. Mizuki flopped onto the large bed with a thud.

"It’s so fluffy!"

She hugged a pillow, sinking her body contentedly into the mattress.

"Your panties are showing."

I quickly pulled out my smartphone and snapped a picture of her panty shot. If I was going to be stuck riding in the Mateo Trading Company’s carriage, I’d just have to stare at this photo to endure Mercedes’s pressure.

"Mmph!"

She sat up and held down her skirt.

"You already have naked pictures and videos of me, isn’t that enough?!"

"Nope, not nearly enough. I want more. I want to hold an exhibition someday."

Mizuki puffed out her cheeks. Myra picked up a silver water pitcher, examining the patterns on it with curiosity before pouring a glass of water. She took a sip.

"This doesn’t taste very good. I wonder if it has rainwater mixed in. The water Mash-san or Cecily creates with magic is much tastier."

Since there was a river nearby, there was probably a spring as well. I thought they could just pipe the water in from there, but that would probably be a security risk in a battle—it could be poisoned or used as an entry point for enemies. From the room’s window, I could see a courtyard. In its center was a pond, likely for water storage, and a well.

"Aren’t those the medicinal herbs we picked together, Master?"

Famu came to stand beside me, peering out at the courtyard. Our room was on the second floor, but the high ceiling of the first-floor hall made it feel more like the third. I couldn’t tell what kind of plants were growing in the garden. Cecily and Aira were over at the central table, picking at the fruit that had been laid out. With nothing else to do, everyone was relaxing in their own way. Just then, the door to the room opened.

"Aah, you pervert!"

I yelled, just for the sake of it.

"…The Knight Commander is summoning us."

The person who had entered was Avea. My joke only earned me a cold stare. I wish she’d said something.

"Alright. Let’s go."

I led the party members and followed after Avea.

Gathered in the first-floor hall were the members of Levante and Altair, along with Claire and Mercedes. At the far end of the hall hung a banner embroidered with what was presumably the royal family’s crest. Three knights stood before it. The knight in the center was, surprisingly, a woman. She looked to be in her twenties, with long blonde hair and sharp eyes that gave her a gallant look. The chest of her surcoat was noticeably full. Not quite on Myra’s or Aira’s level, but I’d say she was on par with Mizuki in the large-breasted department. Flanking her were the two Paladins who had blocked our path on the road.

"Thank you for coming. I am Zofia, commander of the Royal Guard."

Her voice was clear and carried well.

"To get straight to the point, I want to hire you to destroy the crystal core of a dungeon that has appeared in the castle’s basement."

"If I may be permitted a question, what do you mean by ‘appeared’?"

Mercedes asked.

"A few days ago, the crystal core in the castle’s basement went berserk. This castle is a key defensive point to the north. We cannot afford to leave it as it is."

"Surely you could use the strength of your knightly order rather than relying on scoundrels like us."

Zofia gave a bitter smile at his words.

"We sent in six of our finest. They were unable to break through the tenth-floor Area Guardian."

"…Is that so?"

Mercedes’s expression turned grim. There was no turning back from an Area Guardian’s room. To be unable to break through meant they had been wiped out.

"The dungeon was only recently generated. The tenth floor is likely its deepest point. You will not have to worry about food or fodder for your horses during your stay here. You will be handsomely rewarded. I need you to defeat the boss monster."

"…We understand the request. May we have a moment to discuss it amongst ourselves?"

"I will be in my office. Let me know when you are ready. I will guide you to the dungeon’s entrance."

Zofia and the others left the hall. Mercedes looked over at us and sighed.

"Negotiation is my job, but I must apologize. We have no choice in the matter."

He bowed his head deeply. I couldn’t bring myself to blame him. Those had been orders.

"But why would they bring unknown adventurers into the castle?"

Myra asked.

"Because Avea is an A-rank adventurer,"

Mercedes said matter-of-factly. We all looked at her in surprise. That meant she was on the same level as Aidan. She must have shown them her status sheet when the caravan was stopped.

"I should have shown my status sheet first. Since I’m F-rank, they might have let us go…"

"What did you say?"

Fang and Doris stared at me with shocked expressions. I showed them the letter F shining brilliantly on my status sheet.

"That’s right, I’m an F-rank adventurer! Which should make you all the more embarrassed for losing to my party!"

"…No way, that rank has to be a fraud. You shouldn’t be able to accept any paying quests at the guild until you raise your class. How were you even making a living?"

Famu and I exchanged a look.

"I was gathering herbs. That’s enough to get by day to day, right? I was living a humble life, but then Cecily and Aira here picked a fight with me. From there, things just kind of…escalated."

"A guy over level twenty gathering herbs, huh…"

This time, Fang and Doris exchanged a look.

"Alright, enough with the foolishness. Now that it’s come to this, we have no choice but to clear the dungeon. Let’s decide on the party formation for the Area Guardian’s room,"

Avea said.

"There’s no need to form a new party. I’ll go with Famu, Mizuki, Myra, Cecily, and Aira."

If we couldn’t turn back, we had to move forward. I had Goddess Summon, too. I looked around at the members of Levante. Their expressions remained stern, but they nodded in agreement.

"Wait. Mash, you’ll team up with me. You can decide the rest of the members. If you can’t do that, then you’re staying here."

Unacceptable. I wanted to fight with my six. I shook my head at Avea’s words. Thinking about it calmly, Avea was strong, but her position was a front-liner. She’d have to swap with either Famu or Mizuki. True, Avea was superior in both skill and level, but in a one-shot boss battle, I didn’t think the two of them, with their special skills, were inferior to her. Still, Avea was an A-rank adventurer, same as Aidan. If she also had a special skill, that would change things, but I still preferred to work with teammates I had good coordination with.

"I’ll be honest. The request I received from Mateo was to deliver you and Claire to Miglutt, no matter what. In Richel, I didn’t interfere with the Big Hoppers because I knew you wouldn’t lose. But I cannot allow you to go into a death trap that annihilated even the knights’ elite."

"Avea, it has to be them,"

I replied.

"Is this about your attachment to those women? If you reconsider, I might even let you have me."

"What?! Really? You should have said so sooner!"

The gazes from Famu and the others shifted from heated to the cold, flat stare you’d give a piece of trash.

"I-It was a joke! We’re going as Levante!"

Avea clicked her tongue. Then, as if giving up, she sighed.

"Fine. For now, let’s all explore the tenth floor together. We should be able to get a sense of the Area Guardian’s identity from the monsters that appear there."