I Said Make My Abilities Average! (LN) - Volume 15 - Chapter 106

Chapter 106:

On the Road

“ICE BULLET!”

Ka-shunk!

“That should be the last one. Did we miss any?”

“All clear. The only other monsters in the vicinity are jackalopes.”

“Let’s go ahead and store them away then.”

After Monika conducted a thorough sweep of the area with her search magic, Marcela nodded and stored the four orcs that the three girls had felled in her inventory. The end result would be the same no matter who stored them, but the task typically was left to Marcela, as one never knew who might be watching. It had been recently decided that she would be in charge of all storage, and it only made sense to stick to that decision to ward against negligence or other mistakes.

Of course, there were certain instances in which it would be permissible for Monika or Aureana to use the inventory as well, such as when it was completely safe or when they could come up with an easy excuse. Crisis would hardly strike if they were to take a spark canteen or a piece of fruit out of it while walking down a city street with no one else in sight.

“Now then, shall we retreat?”

“Let’s. Goodness, though, this inventory—er, ‘storage magic’—really has helped our earnings. We don’t have to worry about having to draw from our account back at the capital in case of emergencies anymore,” said Monika, quickly correcting herself on the terminology midsentence.

This, too, was a necessity. If they didn’t make a habit of using the right terms, there was no telling when they might slip up and say the wrong thing. Referring to this ability as an “inventory” was permissible only when the three of them were alone, and only when it was absolutely necessary, such as if they were honing or otherwise researching the skill.

“Yes. Now we don’t have to risk using the usual money transfer procedures. Of course, it’s doubtful the Guild would give up any hunters’ secrets too easily, but when you’re dealing with royalty, it’s better to be safe than sorry,” Aureana agreed.

Normally, carrying four entire orcs from the forest back into town would be too tall an order even for ten-odd full-grown men. Hunting orcs was not so difficult a task in and of itself, but no matter how many you might bag, the extermination reward was small compared to the effort involved in transporting them. Plus, the most profitable part of the orcs was their meat, and only a fragment of that could safely be transported back by a small party, which meant that orc-hunting didn’t typically make much financial sense. Of course, with a larger group to carry the meat, one could earn more, but that also meant dividing the pay between those extra people, so the benefits were moot.

As you may surmise, the Wonder Trio had now unlocked the secrets to the Crimson Vow’s earning potential.

“All Miss Adele has ever done is aid and bless us, ever since our days at the Academy. We came to see her to express our gratitude for all she had done for us before, only to be given more. Between the cleaning and washing magic and the inven—storage magic—we simply must do something for her in return…” Marcela looked troubled.

“And then there’s the matter of our power levels!” Aureana interjected.

The other two fell silent. 

Since their last reunion with Mile, all three of them had seen their magical ability increase exponentially for no identifiable reason. Mile had taught them all kinds of new spells, but “Ways to Increase Your Magical Potential” had not been among them, nor had she hinted at anything that might explain this change. However, given the timing and the assuredly extraordinary nature of the phenomenon, the trio could not rule out the possibility that their friend Mile was involved. 

“This is certainly her doing, but she would never admit it. Which means…”

“That’s our Adele.”

“That is our Adele…”

Collectively, they let out a sigh.

The Wonder Trio.

In the kingdom of Brandel, Mile’s home country, there was a school where she had studied for nearly a year before her departure, back while she still had a somewhat “average” life. The school was one attended mainly by the sons and daughters of lesser nobles and wealthier commoners: Eckland Academy. There, Mile had made her first-ever friends in this life or the one before.

The first was Marcela, the third daughter of an impoverished baron, who had all the trappings of a noble villainess but turned out to be a kind and upstanding young lady. The second was Monika, the cheerful daughter of a middling merchant. And the third was Aureana, who came from rural farmer stock but was an exceptional student admitted on scholarship. (She was the most serious and unassuming of the three, but she was also the sharpest and would propose the most wicked of schemes if it was for the sake of her friends.)

It was out of both obligation to and affection for Mile—or as they knew her, Adele—that the three girls had honed their skills and set off on their own journey. Adele had done so much for them: had taught them absurd, almost cheat-level magical tricks and saved them from a horrid fate in the form of some political marriage. They longed to travel alongside her—as well as avoid any unwanted proposals thereafter. 

Unlike Adele, the three of them were possessed of wisdom and common sense…emphasis on the were, that is. Past tense.

Yes, once upon a time, the members of the trio were sensible individuals.

And then, they met Adele…

***

Ding-a-ling!

“We’re the Wonder Trio, here on a training journey! Pleased to make your acquaintance!”

At the sound of the doorbell, the girls gave a congenial greeting, only to be met with silence from the room.

They were a party of but three young girls, who could not possibly be C-rank. Even if they somehow had risen to that level—possible only if they were magical prodigies or the daughters of master swordsmen, trained from infancy and allowed to skip ranks at their registration—they still wouldn’t be old enough to travel away from home. Plus, between their equipment and their looks, it was clear the three of them were lacking in combat ability. It wasn’t that they weren’t attractive, but simply that their physique, musculature, and the way they carried themselves did not exactly signal strength. 

The trio strolled up to the exchange counter, ignoring the persistent silence in the room. By now, they were used to this sort of reaction. 

“We’d like to turn in some goods for one of the daily requests.”

Things like medicinal herbs, meat, and pelts were in regular demand at most any guild branch, so there was no need to confirm a specific request for them beforehand. It was typical to hunt or gather these while on the road and sell them at one’s next destination—though this kind of business was normally limited to small amounts of valuable herbs or rare ingredients or, occasionally, small animals hunted just before arriving in town. It was too difficult to carry anything else in addition to the typical encumbrances of travel.

“S-sure…” 

Due to the building’s structure, larger items were received beside the reception counter in the guild’s main building and then taken out through the back to the processing area, with herbs and the like simply turned in at the exchange counter. From his post, the wide-eyed exchange clerk gestured for the trio to present whatever they had, however…

Bam! Bam! Ba-bam!

The exchange clerk, the other guild employees, and the other hunters in the hall all fell even more deeply silent as four orcs appeared out of thin air. Unable to hold their reaction in, the onlookers all cried, “They’re just like the Crimson Vow!!!”

Sure enough, this guild branch was in a town that was situated along the main highway through Vanolark, the kingdom to the west of Brandel, and so the Crimson Vow had already stampeded on through. 

“Well, I suppose it makes things easier on us that Miss Adele’s party already passed by. We’re less of a spectacle that way…”

As Marcela suggested, things seemed to go much more smoothly for them in the towns that had already been graced by the Crimson Vow’s presence. In other cities, the trio were faced with cries of, “St-storage magic?! And she can hold so much!” and “Please join our party!” While they were certainly still oddities in places like this, for some reason, hardly anyone ever bothered them. It probably had something to do with the vague alarm lingering in everyone’s eyes…

After a brief chat with the exchange clerk and a few conversations with other guild staff about the local monsters, the trio left the guild hall behind. In the meantime… 

“Those girls—” a man said to his companions. “They ain’t like the Crimson Vow. They’re all just soft little kids who don’t know nothin’ about the world, I’m guessin’. If we could take ’em in and get a hold of that crazy storage magic, then get them to do as we—”

One of his party members shook his head wildly.

“No, listen. In that Wonder Trio, they’ve got an airheaded little girl with storage magic, a busty girl with a nice face but who seems like she’s pretty cold deep down, and a happy, chatty girl, right?”

“Y-yeah? What about it?”

“I’m just sayin’, they remind me of the Crimson Vow… Except they don’t have a sweet leader like Mavis who keeps the other members in check. Which means…”

“THERE’S NO ONE TO PULL THE BRAKES WHEN THE TRAIN GOES OFF THE RAILS!!!”

Everyone in the guild hall went pale, and silence fell again.

“Plus, the Crimson Vow have at least a swordswoman and a magic knight…whatever the hell kind of job that’s supposed to be. Anyway, there’s two vanguard fighters. The Trio are all mages. They have no vanguard, and they’re weak, with no physical defenses. Just three little girls. Nothing more… Is that even possible? Do you all seriously believe they could survive as hunters like that without getting totally annihilated?”

Everyone shook their heads in unison.

“That’s right. It’s impossible. Normally, it’d be completely impossible! Yet the three of them are alive and healthy, not a single scratch on them. Which means…”

There was a sound of audible gulping.

“They ain’t normal.”

Shock, amazement, and then resigned acceptance crossed the faces of everyone present.

“That’s right. They’re probably even more dangerous than the Crimson Vow. No mistaking it.”

Once more, the guild was silent on both sides of the reception counter. 

Later, upon hearing about the Wonder Trio through his staff, the guild master issued an edict that no one was to ever meddle with these girls…

“Honestly, though, what did Miss Adele’s party do at all of these guild branches?”

“Who knows…”