Retrospective: An Adventure in the Capital
I had a dream. It was about the time when me and the others were still living in Belfast’s capital. It was only a few weeks after I’d killed my first Dragon in Mismede, back when we’d returned home after that trip. I wasn’t married at that point. Hell, I wasn’t even engaged. I wasn’t a grand duke either... It was just me as Touya, the adventurer.
◇ ◇ ◇
“A guild-sponsored adventurer contest?”
A poster outside the guild caught my eye as we walked past the building. I didn’t know what an adventurer contest would even cover, so I took a closer look at the piece of paper.
“In order to show the public how indispensable adventurers are, we’re hosting a contest that puts your skills to use in the name of public good! Anyone registered with the guild is eligible to participate. The winning prize is ten platinum coins, and there’s a special bonus prize consisting of one set of mithril armor,” Yumina said, reading out the description on the post.
The prize was ten platinum coins...or roughly ten million yen. That was pretty impressive. Even the best adventurers wouldn’t normally make that kind of money. Mithril armor was first-class equipment too. The guild was clearly sparing no expense when it came to the prizes.
“This seems interesting, it does. Shall we participate?”
“Putting our skills to use? Like how? Do they mean fighting monsters and stuff?”
“Maybe they’ll judge us based on how well we strip materials from our hunts?”
Yae, Elze, and Linze all looked over the poster with curious eyes. Everyone seemed to be interested in giving it a try. Yumina was green-ranked, but the rest of us were blue. Blue-ranks were typically considered veterans, but it had been less than a year since we’d joined. That alone was enough to make us stand out among the adventurers that took jobs from the royal capital’s guild.
Yumina was the princess of Belfast, but she didn’t attract any undue attention when we were out in public. That was thanks to a magical artifact she wore that prevented her from being recognized as a member of the royal family. She was a well-known public figure, so I didn’t want anyone hassling her out on the street. With that in mind, I didn’t really want us to do anything too crazy and stand out in Belfast.
I peeked at the terms and conditions listed at the bottom of the poster.
“Oh, hey, it’s a party-based exercise. Looks like it’s for parties with up to five members.”
Me, Elze, Linze, Yae, and Yumina. Nice. That’s all of us. An easy five.
“So then, we gonna try it?”
“I don’t see why not. Events like these are always interesting.”
“I am of the same mind, I am. This will be a good chance for us to test our skills.”
Elze and Yae seemed highly motivated, while Linze didn’t seem quite as enthused, though she still gave a nod. Yumina nodded as well, but she was smiling.
Hmm... I dunno if we can win this thing, but it might be fun to just participate.
“Let’s go then, all five of us.”
We headed to the guild desk and I handed over my guild card to register us for the contest. They needed a party name, so I named us Brunhild, after the weapon I’d recently crafted. The entry fee was two silver coins per person... I hadn’t realized you had to pay to participate. That was like twenty thousand yen, so with five of us, it wasn’t cheap at all...
I begrudgingly paid the entry fee and took my guild card back from the receptionist when she suddenly spoke up.
“I didn’t think you’d be participating in this, Mr. Mochizuki...”
“Huh? Why?”
I didn’t really understand what she was getting at, so I raised an eyebrow in confusion. Did she think I was antisocial, perhaps?
My reaction amused the woman at the desk, prompting a little chuckle before she replied, “Oh, I didn’t mean anything by it. It’s just that you’re a renowned Dragonslayer, yes? Even if you’re a blue-rank, I’m sure the other participants will see you as quite the threat. They might even want to see you eliminated from the running first.”
“Ah...”
I’d totally forgotten. After I’d killed the Black Dragon back in Mismede, I’d been granted the Dragonslayer title by the guild. The symbol for it was etched into the blue guild card I used every day. It was obvious people would notice at some point!
“Ugh... Damn it.”
“W-Well, you never know. Some other higher-ranked adventurers might participate, and that may take some of the heat off you.”
Higher-ranked adventurers...? So red-ranks, then? Those are the top-tier adventurers, or at least, that’s how I understand it. The wall between blue and red is a high one, so there aren’t many who’ve scaled it.
“Actually, wait, how many people in Belfast currently rank higher than me?”
“There are roughly one hundred and fifty red-ranked adventurers in Belfast, Mr. Mochizuki. As for the rank above that, silver, there are only three.”
“Only three?”
“The silver ranking is afforded only to the best of the best, Mr. Mochizuki. They’re all heroes in their own right. Though honestly, I doubt any of them would be participating in this contest.”
The receptionist smiled politely as if to reassure me. I wondered why they wouldn’t participate. Was ten platinum coins chump change for heroes like them?
“The last time we promoted an adventurer to silver was eighteen years ago. He was over thirty years old at the time, so...”
“Oh, I get it. They’re all retired already.”
Adventurers typically didn’t have long tenures. Unless they were from long-living species like the elves, most adventurers retired in their midthirties and moved to another profession. Some of them even joined the guild in an official capacity to help nurture the next generation. Dolan from the Silver Moon and Barral from the Eight Bears weapon store were retired adventurers, come to think of it.
“And that’s that. Your participation has been registered. Here’s your entry card. Please bring all members of your Brunhild party to the morning meeting. Next, please!”
There were other adventurers behind me in a line, so I grabbed the entry card and headed out. Hopefully, there’d be some red-rank adventurers participating, I didn’t like the idea of everyone else targeting my team.
Then again, the Dragonslayer title was rare even among red-ranks...so it was entirely possible I’d still get harassed. I decided not to think about it, since the most important thing was to have fun.
With the entry card in hand, I headed back to the girls.
◇ ◇ ◇
It was the day of the contest.
“Wow, this is a pretty big event...”
Belfast’s royal capital had a central park and plaza that was used to host big displays for the public. It was also often used as a recreational ground for the citizens to relax and enjoy themselves in. Typically, the place was lined with carts and stalls selling all kinds of food, and merchants would peddle their wares to passersby. Today, however, there were no merchants or food stalls to be found.
Even though it was so early, there were a great number of adventuring parties gathered in the plaza. Some were hazarding guesses as to the nature of the contest, while others were inspecting their weapons closely.
“Everyone seems so excited, they do,” Yae said as she walked around, admiring the sights around her.
They sure did. Part of the motivation was money, but this was a good chance for people to put their names out there. If you performed well in this contest, you could easily get more work. Plus, there was always the possibility of rising upward in the guild rankings.
“We’re kinda drawing some attention, huh?”
“We’ve got the first Dragonslayer in a long time with us. It’s not really that surprising.”
Linze’s response to Elze was curt, but true. We had curious eyes trained on us from all manner of distances. I wasn’t really used to this kind of attention, so it felt kinda weird.
My party was made up of me, Yumina, Elze, Linze, and Yae. I also brought Kohaku along with us, just because.
“You seem fine with the stares, Yumina.”
“I’m used to being gawked at during castle parties and the like. In my case, I’m actually relieved, as none of them know who I really am.”
Yeah, I guess that tracks. A princess would be used to being the center of attention... Even so, though, it’s kinda weird being so blatantly looked at.
Also, it felt like the way they were looking at me was different from the way they were looking at the girls.
“Tsk. Buddying up with a buncha chicks, huh?”
“What a freakin’ playboy. He’s rubbin’ it in our faces too!”
“Curse you... Curse you... A curse on your family...”
...Oops. Don’t think I was supposed to pick up any of that. But hey, I guess it’s not aggression they’re sending my way. It’s envy. I do get it, though. They’re all totally cute... No, I shouldn’t say anything. I feel like if I do, the ambient anger they feel would only grow.
“Haaah...”
“Something wrong, my liege?”
“Nah, don’t worry about it.”
I waved away Kohaku’s concerns, then suddenly noticed a woman walking up toward a nearby stage. A guild representative, perhaps? The woman motioned to clear her throat before conjuring up a small magical circle next to her mouth. Then, a larger magical circle appeared in the air, aimed toward us. I had no idea what I was looking at.
“Attention, everyone! I’m about to explain the contest!”
The magic circle in the air reverberated and projected her voice outward.
What the hell is this?!
“My name is Odette! I work with the adventurer’s guild! By the way, I’m speaking to you through a Null spell known as [Speaker]! It’s perfectly safe, so don’t be alarmed!”
[Speaker]? A Null spell that amplified sound? Sounded handy. Definitely the right kind of magic a public-facing official should have, for sure. That said, her volume and excitement levels were dialed up just a little too much for my liking.
“Now, let’s get this show on the road! Our first trial is the scavenger hunt!”
Huh? Scavenging? For what?
“In this portion of the contest, you’ll be charged with hunting down specific magical beasts! We’ll determine your target by drawing random lots! It’s a competition that requires you to track and hunt with precision!”
Isn’t that more suited for hunters?! Wait, no...I guess this falls into an adventuring skill set too.
“All the beasts we want you to hunt live in Viyella Forest, which is only about an hour’s walk south from here! Not many of them are dangerous either! It should be an easy hunt... However! The time limit is two hours, so you won’t make it in time if you just head there and back on foot! Oh, and you’re not allowed to take horses or vehicles either! Now, come on down, party representatives! Draw your lot and find out which monster you’re tasked with hunting down!”
Once Odette’s explanation finished, the adventurers around me roared and charged toward the ticket booth.
“Lone-horned Wolf! Sweet!”
“Ugh... A Crystal Deer?!”
“W-Wait, aren’t crimson bats nocturnal?!”
The contestants fanned out and left the square. Some were happy, while others seemed disappointed. One thing I noticed was that only one or two members of each party were actually leaving. That kind of made sense, since you didn’t exactly need a full party to hunt most of these things. I did notice a handful of full groups that left together, though. They were probably either lower-ranked adventurers or groups that wanted to split up in order to cover more ground.
Getting to the forest and finding your prey in a timely manner was key to this whole operation. In that sense, it seemed like this part of the contest was a test of endurance and observation, which were two vital skills for any adventurer.
Oh yeah, I gotta draw my lot.
I was the party representative, so I walked over to the box and pulled out a card with my target’s name on it.
“A Saber-toothed Jaguar, huh? That works for me.”
As the name suggested, Saber-toothed Jaguars were jaguars with long and sharp canine teeth. They were large, but they weren’t particularly dangerous animals. The guild regularly asked for their teeth as part of their regular quest cycle too.
“Which one of us will go, which one?”
“I’ll do it. I’ve been to that forest a few times already.”
I opened up a [Gate] to Viyella Forest, rendering my destination but a short step away.
“Wait, you can do that?!”
“None of the rules said I couldn’t use magic. Just no vehicles or horses, right? Anyway, I’m heading out now.”
It wasn’t against the rules, so I had no issue making use of my available skills. The stupefied guild officials could say nothing as they watched me hop through my portal.
◇ ◇ ◇
“Whoaaaaaa! First one back is Team Brunhild! That’s the Dragonslayer’s party, everyone! It’s barely even been ten minutes! Talk about a sneaky and cunning display!”
Gimme a break. You should’ve specified that I couldn’t use my magic!
That reminded me, I’d heard there were a few other people in the world who could use transfer spells similar to mine. None of them seemed to be in Belfast, though.
I handed the jaguar fangs to a nearby guild official. They appraised them and determined that it was indeed from a fresh kill.
“Good work out there, Touya.”
“It was hardly work, really.”
I couldn’t help but let out a sarcastic chuckle upon hearing Yumina’s comment. I felt a little bad, since I hadn’t actually used any of my adventuring skills to secure first place. I’d just used a little bit of my powerful magic... Still, it was the guild’s fault for not banning that magic to begin with.
Close to two hours later, the adventurers finally returned with the fruits of their hunt. Some of them were sweating and wheezing, while others looked completely nonchalant. It was in those reactions that you could see the difference in experience.
“Time’s up, everyone! The first part of the contest is officially over!”
A loud fweeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep echoed through the plaza as Odette blew her whistle.
Points were awarded based on the order in which we handed in our spoils. Obviously, Brunhild came in first, which propelled us straight to the top of the overall rankings.
“If your party didn’t return in time, or didn’t participate, you get zero points! Too bad!”
I heard various groans and grumbles after Odette said that, presumably from parties whose members hadn’t returned yet. I kind of felt bad. But if you couldn’t find your prey, that was too bad for them.
“Get ready for the second trial, folks! Just hold on a few moments!”
I turned to the rest of my party after Odette finished speaking and asked, “Who’s going next?”
“That will depend on the test, it will. But I do not want to go the entire contest without participating, I do not.”
“Touya did the last one, so he can sit the next one out.”
“Those staff members are bringing things out... What are they?” Yumina asked as she pointed over toward two guild workers who were carrying heavy-looking boxes over to the meeting grounds, one after the other.
Are those...treasure chests?
They were, in fact, treasure chests. Of various sizes too! And they were all lined up in a row on the stage.
“Now then, it’s time for our second trial! The chestpicking challenge!”
Odette’s voice rang out across the nearby area.
...Like lockpicking? We’ve gotta open those things?
“Adventurers often come across treasure chests in dungeons, ruins, and bandit strongholds! This trial is all about opening said chests safely and efficiently! Show us that you’ve got what it takes!”
That made sense. Sometimes, we came across treasure chests on our adventures. Some of them were unlocked, while others had locks so rusty that they barely worked or you could just bash them off. Unfortunately, we hadn’t actually come across many locked chests, so none of us were particularly skilled at lockpicking.
“By the by, some of our treasure chests are rigged with traps! If you’re judged to have triggered one, you’ll be immediately disqualified from this trial and net your party a whopping zero points! The traps vary in difficulty too! Some are easy to disarm, while some are extremely difficult! Oh, and some of the chests are mimics!”
What?! Mimics?! Aren’t those dangerous monsters that disguise themselves as chests and eat adventurers?! Is it really okay to have those things involved in a guild event?!
“Participation order will be determined by drawing lots. Party representatives, please make your way over to our boxes. We’ve also prepared lockpicking tools in case you don’t have your own. If you require anything else, please let us know!”
One of the nearby guild representatives had set up a desk with various thin tools atop it. One of them had a little shield attached to it at the base, which I thought was strange. I had no idea what that was for.
“Some chests are rigged to fire out projectiles like poisoned arrows, either from secret openings or the keyhole itself. The little shield prevents them from hitting you,” Linze answered as if reading my mind.
That made sense to me. Other common traps included gas, acid coating, or explosives that would destroy the contents.
“So, uh, who’s gonna go? Since it’s an official guild event, I doubt anything deadly’s gonna happen...”
I was mildly concerned about those mimics, though. Still, the girls had already decided I couldn’t go up as a representative a second time, so it had to be one of them.
“It is my turn, it is.”
“Huh?”
We all blinked in confusion as the unexpected volunteer raised her voice.
“Must you react that way, must you? I am an adventurer. I know well enough how to open a treasure chest, I do.”
“Oh, no. Of course. Go right ahead.”
Yae stood up and walked over to draw her lot. I hadn’t expected this. I really hadn’t expected this at all.
“Will she be all right? I don’t mean to be rude, but Yae isn’t exactly the first person I would’ve thought of. She’s not exactly the delicate sort.”
Yumina had gotten close enough to Yae to say that, but she still sounded a little harsh. It was true that Yae was kind of clumsy and more of a powerhouse than someone with a delicate touch, since she didn’t exactly care about finesse... If anything, she was more suited for whatever the opposite of lockpicking was. But still, she’d volunteered, so I had to assume she had some sort of plan.
I looked over at the stage and saw that multiple parties had already disarmed their traps. Each chest they’d opened had a crystal ball inside. Each of those crystal balls had a number displayed inside them, which was apparently some kind of countdown timer that froze once the chest was opened. In other words, the less time it took for a person to open the chest, the higher their score.
“Oh, Touya. Yae’s up,” Linze said as she pointed over to Yae, who was now on the stage. The treasure chest she’d chosen sat in front of her. I wondered if she’d chosen it for any particular reason.
It was at that exact moment that I noticed Yae didn’t have any lockpicking tools on her.
...Wait, how’s she gonna open the...? Oh. Oh no.
Yae suddenly brandished the blade that sat at her waist.
She’s not gonna do that, is she?!
Yae held her sword aloft and suddenly fell as still as she possibly could.
“Haaaaaah!”
Her sword arced downward with incredible momentum, cutting through the lock like a knife through butter... However, her gleaming blade didn’t stop there. Yae’s excessive force sent her attack sailing through the chest itself, cleaving the entire thing in half.
“Ah...” Yae mumbled as she suddenly turned her head to face us. The look on her face said it all. I could do nothing but bury my face in the palms of my hands.
“I am truly sorry, I am...” Yae muttered quietly. She’d cut the treasure chest so cleanly in two that the crystal ball inside had been bisected.
“I had planned to stop once I broke the keyhole, I had...”
I knew that much. She clearly only wanted to cut the lock open... I knew it, and yet...
“Why didn’t you slash at the edges of the chest? It would’ve been fine then.”
“Ah... That would have been a great idea, it would!” Yae exclaimed as she clapped her hands together at Linze’s comment. I wasn’t so sure she wouldn’t mess that up either, though.
Well, whatever. Not like anyone else in our party could’ve opened it up the proper way.
Whenever we found treasure chests in dungeons, I just crammed it into [Storage] and brought it back to town for a pro to open.
With nothing else to do, we watched the other parties unlock their chests and gain their points. Our team, Brunhild, scored zero points this time around, so we fell from our top position pretty rapidly. Though thankfully, we’d scored so well in the first round that we were still hanging around in the middle of the leaderboard.
“See? It’ll be fine. We’ve still got plenty of chances to turn things around.”
I tried cheering up Yae when suddenly, Odette appeared on the stage to make her next announcement.
“It’s time for the third trial, everyone! Sense or senseless? It’s the Adventurer Quiz! Gain points for correct answers! Easy peasy!”
Sense? So I guess this one’s a test of an adventurer’s common knowledge?
“However! To answer the questions, you have to find them! We’ve scattered the question sheets in sealed letters all over the city. Find them and bring them back so we can open them! We won’t accept any with broken wax seals, though!”
Odette wiggled a blue envelope that had been clearly sealed with wax. Color aside, it was easily recognizable as the seal had the guild’s crest on it. I wondered if there was a question inside that one as well.
Apparently, the questions varied in terms of difficulty. Points were awarded for correct answers, but deducted for wrong answers. You could try answering different questions until you had five wrong answers or five correct answers. In other words, you had a maximum of nine questions you could answer. Assuming you found nine envelopes, of course.
“Magic is prohibited during this trial. If you see an envelope up high, you’ll have to climb! We’ve got a two-hour time limit too! Let’s go!”
Odette signaled the start of the third round, sending the adventurers scattering off in various directions.
Wow, it’s like watching baby spiders spill out of an egg clutch.
“Let’s get going. Shall we split up?”
“Sounds wise, yeah. It would be a lot faster.”
“Okay. You all go in pairs. I’ll take Kohaku.”
Yumina went with Yae, while Elze went with Linze. Then, we fanned out across the city in search of our spoils. I headed west, away from the square in the southern ward. The east side had a ton of venues for entertainment, which meant a lot of people. I didn’t want to have to sift through crowds in my search.
“Tch... Where to find them...? If only I could use my spells...”
《My liege, look.》
Kohaku signaled upward, pointing out a blue envelope stuck to a chimney jutting out of a house’s roof.
Yup. That’s a guild envelope all right. They really put one up there? It’s easy to see, but it’ll be a pain in the ass actually getting there.
I instinctively moved to cast [Gate], but stopped myself a second into the incantation.
Whoops! Can’t use magic. Forgot it was against the rules.
“What a pain...” I mumbled as I clambered up a nearby fence, hopped onto the roof, and grabbed the envelope.
Once I returned to the square with it, there were already a bunch of adventurers with envelopes of their own lined up.
Damn, I’m late.
I took my place in line, and soon enough, it was time for the woman in front of me to try her luck. She brought her envelope to the guild staffer, who was an older-looking gentleman.
“Please answer in the designated time frame. This question is only for her, so none of you in line may try to answer.”
The man nodded sternly as he spoke. He had a small ring with an hourglass set into it, presumably to time the answers. He quickly unsealed the envelope and cleared his throat before reading out the question.
“Now...answer the following question. What material is most precious on a Lone-horned Wolf?”
“Uhm...th-the horn?”
“Correct. Congratulations.”
The man smiled as the girl’s shoulders relaxed. He then drew a little circle on her question card, made a note of her party name, and set it in a nearby box.
That was a pretty easy one. Hell, even I know that!
The girl happily skipped back to her party, which meant it was my turn next. I cautiously handed my envelope over to the man.
“Now...answer the following question. What was the weapon of choice wielded by Buckram the Legendary Dragonslayer?”
“What?!”
Who the hell is Buckram?! What?! Huh?! Weapon of choice? Like a sword or a spear or something?! I dunno! Uh...
My anxiety spiked as I watched the sand in that hourglass trickle away.
Dammit! I’m gonna run out of time! I need to shoot my shot!
“S-Sword!”
“Bzzt. Wrong answer.”
The man drew a cross on my card and dropped it into a nearby box.
“The correct answer was battle-axe. Next.”
I dejectedly slinked away from the counter, not wanting to get in the way of the people behind me.
Dammit... How was I supposed to know that one? I barely know anything about this world’s history... Fine! Another one! I don’t have time to waste anymore!
Kohaku and I rushed back out into town to grab another envelope.
“Answer the following question. What’s the price for the full course treatment at the Blooming Nectar Brothel near the adventurer’s guild in town?”
“I don’t know!”
I knew I was venting my frustration, but I couldn’t help but yell at the young guild worker in front of me. I was angry because all of my questions so far had been ridiculously difficult. Well, it wasn’t that they were hard. They were just questions that I had no chance of knowing the answers to.
“How many guild branches exist in the Kingdom of Belfast?”
“Between flamewheel grass, moonbeam grass, and royalspark grass...which is the most valuable?”
How was I supposed to know either of those? Well...the second one seemed more reasonable, but still!
Everyone else in my party had long since answered all five of their questions correctly, so now I was stuck canceling out their hard efforts by getting everything wrong. If I had more multiple-choice questions, it would’ve been a lot better, but I had no such luck. The time limit was almost over, and I was just about done.
I guess that makes me the least knowledgeable person here? But that’s understandable! I’m from another world! Augh, whatever! Let’s do the next one!
I ran out of the square on the hunt for another envelope.
Envelope... Envelope... Enveloooooope?
Just as I was about to break out into a full-on sprint to find any remaining envelopes, I caught sight of a white animal running toward me.
“Kohaku?!”
The little tiger cub was making a direct beeline for me, carrying a blue envelope between two sets of sharp teeth.
《My liege, I found one!》
“Oooh! Nice job, Kohaku!”
Technically, Kohaku was a summoned beast, so I didn’t know if that violated the magic rule or not...but I hadn’t actually used the summoning spell during the quest itself, so it was probably fine. Maybe.
I took the envelope from Kohaku and ran straight back to the square. Once I got there, I handed the envelope to the guild official, the young man who I’d yelled at on the last question. This was my last shot. I wanted to avoid answering five questions wrong in a row... If I could just get one right, I’d reclaim a little personal pride.
The man pulled the card out from the envelope.
“Oh! It’s a bonus card! If you answer correctly, it’s worth three points! And it’s such an easy question too!”
Wait, really?! Awesome! Wait, though...if I get it right, won’t I still be at -1 for points? Dammit! Then again, given the current state of things, maybe I should just count my blessings and cut my losses... Yeah, this is fine. I can get this right and bring myself back from negative four. I’ll reclaim a little dignity!
“Now then, answer the following question. What is the King of Belfast’s full name?”
“Ah...”
My blood ran cold.
The king’s name? Uh...? Uhhh... W-Wait, it was uh... Uhhh! I can picture his face. I know his face! I see him every couple of days! But I always say Your Majesty or King Belfast! Yumina’s full name is Yumina Urnea Belfast, right? So then, isn’t the latter part of his name Urnea Belfast? Wait, no. Urnea is only for women in their family! For men it’s... Urnes! Right! Duke Ortlinde had that in his surname! Urnes Belfast! So wait, then, what’s his given name?!
“I’m sure it’s... Tr... Tris...? Triscuit? Trist...blyn? No... Wyn?”
“Speak up, please.”
“Trist...wyn Urnes... Belfast?”
“...”
H-Hey. Don’t keep me in the dark here! Tell me!
“That’s right! Three points!”
Just as the man congratulated me, I heard Odette’s shrill whistle ring out over the [Speaker]. The trial had seemingly come to an end. The man circled my card, made a note of the party name, and put it in the box. I’d actually gotten one right...
But man, uh...he’s gonna be my father-in-law, so I should’ve known his name! I’ll have to reflect on that a bit...
In the end, I had negative one point, Yumina and Linze got five each, while Elze and Yae got three each. That meant we got fifteen in total, which was an average of three per person. Not bad at all. If only I hadn’t reduced the average so terribly.
Our rank wasn’t all that high after the third trial, unfortunately. It was still a little above the middle of the board, however.
“It was harder than I thought... I guess we’ve only been adventurers for about a year, so there’s no helping it.”
“It’s just a reminder of how far we still have to go! We’ll keep giving it our best! There’s still time to win the contest back!”
Yumina smiled as if to encourage Elze, who seemed slightly downcast. She was right. This was a critical point for us to earn our top spot back.
“It’s a little past noon, everyone, so we’ll take a lunch break! Worry not, we’ve prepared food for the lot of you. Send a representative over to pick it up!”
Oh, they’re providing lunch? That’s a relief. What a generous guild they are... Wait, no...they charged us to participate, so this is the least they could do.
We took our meal from the guild and started to eat. The meal itself was a large bowl of soup that I hadn’t bothered to ask anything about. There were a lot of veggies in there, along with pork-like meat.
“This is quite nice!”
It was a pretty rustic meal, not exactly the kind of thing you’d have in a restaurant, but I couldn’t complain about the taste.
I wonder what kinda meat it is... Probably monster, right?
As I chowed down on a hunk of dubiously sourced yet delicious meat, Odette began to speak from the stage once more.
“Now, everyone. We all know any good adventurer needs to have a handle on cookery. That’s why we’re going to have you cook a meal with randomly provided tools and ingredients. That’s right! The fourth trial is a Creative Cuisine Cookoff!”
Huh, so that’s what’s next?
We drew lots and ended up getting assigned ingredients and utensils randomly based on them. Our team ended up getting a well-balanced assortment of meat and veggies. As for cooking utensils, we had a saucepan and a kitchen knife. Certainly a versatile and easy set to work with, that was for sure. And yet...
“This is bad...”
“Yup.”
We used [Gate] to go wherever we wanted, so we went out and did a lot of day trips. However, due to the convenience of that spell, we ate at home instead of out on the field while adventuring. And because of my [Storage] keeping foodstuff fresh and hot, I never cooked. I could just cast a spell to produce a hot meal any time, any place.
Plus, it wasn’t just me who struggled in that department either. Yumina was a princess, so she had little in the way of practical cooking experience. Yae was good at eating, but that didn’t translate to being good at cooking. Her only hobby was swordplay. That only left Elze and Linze...
“If it’s come to this, I’ll have to do it...”
“No! Sister, don’t do it!”
Elze rolled up her sleeves and moved to pick up the knife, but Linze suddenly tackled her out of the way.
Hm? It’s rare to see Linze yell.
“It’s fine, just let me do it...”
“No, I can handle it! You wash the veggies, okay?”
“Hrm...” Elze grumbled, but followed Linze’s lead and began cleaning the vegetables.
Linze really didn’t want Elze to cook for some reason. I couldn’t help but lean in and ask why.
“...Is she that bad a cook?”
“She can cook things, but it’s very specific and not for everyone. I don’t think you’d appreciate it very much.”
Specific, huh? She has a unique style or something? Guess it’s for the best that she doesn’t participate this time, then. For this trial, we’re gonna want to have as broad an appeal as possible.
I didn’t want to risk us losing points, since our judge could end up hating whatever it was Elze was thinking of. It wasn’t a worthwhile hill to die on.
Linze began to hurriedly prepare the various ingredients. She used our limited selection of meat and veggies to create a simple, yet elegant, stir-fry. Then, she made a veggie soup with the leftovers. I tried a spoonful, and it was pretty darn nice. It wasn’t exactly fine dining, but I couldn’t imagine camping adventurers complaining about it at all.
One by one, the guild staffers came around to try every party’s food. They enjoyed certain meals, while others made them turn various shades of green.
...Sheesh, that bad?
Our food didn’t stand out, negatively or positively. We didn’t rank very high compared to most of our competitors. Nobody on our team said anything about it, though. Linze had tried her best, and it was better than anything any of us could come up with.
“Now comes the final trial! The most important skill for any budding adventurer! Crisis prevention! Your ability to assess risk and avoid danger! Can’t adventure if you’re dead, right? Survival ranks above all else!”
Oh... That’s definitely true. Adventuring is risky work, and if you don’t have good crisis prevention skills, you could definitely die.
“Take a look over here!” Odette exclaimed as she pointed at a large board that had been brought up onto the stage. There was a map on it. A map of the capital city we were in, in fact. Though, there was some kind of line drawn out that weaved through the streets in a loop.
Is it a race? The line goes through a lot of back alleys...
“The final challenge is an obstacle course! The faster you get through it and loop back, the more points you get! But be warned, traps and other dangers await you along the way... Should you fall victim to any of them, you’ll have points deducted. And if you go off course, you’ll be disqualified!”
So it’s an obstacle course... Don’t like the sound of there being traps, though. I wonder what kinds they’ll have?
The roads had all been sealed off from the general public, and given how much of the city we were using, that was no small feat... The guild clearly wielded more influence than I’d thought.
“Should we take it slow and steady?”
“But if we do that, won’t we fall behind everyone else?”
“If you rush, you are more likely to fall into a trap, you are.”
“Hmm, this is difficult...”
It’d be bad if we were too slow, but it’d probably be bad if we were too fast as well. The best course of action was probably to stay in the middle, and move to overtake when possible.
“By the way, no magic can be used to get past the traps! Specifically, we’re banning teleportation magic and magic that obstructs your competition directly or causes damage to the town! Other magic is fine, but usage of any of those types is grounds for immediate disqualification!”
Tch! I bet she added that rule just for me. And here I thought I could’ve been a little sneaky too...
“Let’s just stick together and move as a group. If anything happens, we’ll be able to help each other.”
“You’re right. Let’s move at a steady pace, while keeping aware of our surroundings.”
Yumina nodded. The course itself wasn’t all that long. If we jogged along it, we’d be at the goal in twenty minutes or less. The only issue was the traps.
The adventurers gathered at the start line. A large number of them had removed their armor, obviously trying to lighten their loads. We moved back from the front of the group and nestled ourselves in around the middle. I didn’t want to charge out in front and get taken out immediately.
“Now begins the final trial, the Obstacle Trap Race! Go!”
Odette signaled the start of the race, so we all sped forward. It started on a straight road, then went down a main street. It was hard to see past the adventurers in front of us, but I couldn’t see anything out of the ordinary...
“Whoa!”
“Bwaaah!”
“W-Wait! Hwaaah?!”
The sudden cries caused a lot of people to stop dead in their tracks. I had no idea what was going on, so I peeked over and saw about ten adventurers ahead of us in a muddy pit.
“Dammit! A slick trap! We’re covered!”
The pit must have been dug out with Earth magic, while the sides of it had been reinforced to prevent it from collapsing earlier. The mud was probably at the bottom to cushion the fall. I was glad my intuition about not charging ahead recklessly was on the mark.
Everyone who was still clean ran around the pitfall and continued onward. It was a little cruel to leave them there, but this was a competition. We couldn’t afford mercy.
“We should definitely proceed carefully...”
“I know, but we can’t afford to be too slow...”
Just as I was about to reply to Yumina and tell her we needed to speed things up, a nearby adventurer got his foot caught in a snare trap and screamed as he got pulled up, hanging by his leg from a tree branch.
“...Let’s be careful, yeah.”
The adventurer in front of us turned a corner. We turned it as well, only to find him flat on his back, rolling around in pain.
“Gwabgh?!”
There was some kind of liquid underneath him. Apparently, he’d stepped right into it and fallen down. I squinted, wondering if it was oil, but quickly realized it wasn’t. It looked more slippery than that.
We avoided the shimmering, slippery liquid and proceeded onward. I wasn’t exactly fond of the idea of traps being right around the corner. If that adventurer hadn’t been there, that could’ve easily been one of us.
“What?!”
Another adventurer behind us charged around the corner and slipped on the slime, landing right next to the other guy. Truly a fearsome trap...
We passed the slippery pathway and came to a long stone bridge, only to witness a massive explosion that sent a group in front of us tumbling into the river below.
Whaaat?!
“I-It’s a minefield?!”
“Don’t worry, contestants! It may be loud and powerful, but your safety is guaranteed! Run on in and relax!”
“How am I supposed to relax when there are explosives under my feet?!”
Odette’s disembodied voice did little to settle my nerves. Another adventurer charged across the bridge, giving me a clear look at the magic circle that formed beneath his feet before it detonated and sent him flying into the water.
“Ah... It’s an explosive sound, and there’s smoke...but it’s not actually an [Explosion] spell. It’s actually Wind magic that’s similar to [Cyclone]. That’s definitely safer. It seems like it’s designed to carry the people who trigger it into the water.”
“...Even if it’s safer, it doesn’t sound fun.”
Linze’s explanation didn’t reassure me very much. Even if it wasn’t going to kill me, I didn’t want to step on a magic mine. Plus, falling into the river meant you went off the course, which equaled instant disqualification!
“Is there a way to tell where the mines are?” I mumbled to myself as I crouched down and scanned my eyes over the bridge.
...I got nothing. I thought there’d be marks or something, but I don’t see a thing.
“Touya-dono! Look!”
“Hm?”
Yae pointed at another party who’d started moving across the bridge, but this group was walking along the parapet edges instead of the main bridge itself.
Damn, that’s smart!
The parapet was too narrow for more than one person to traverse at a time, and before I’d even noticed it, a line had started to form at the sides.
“Ugh. We need to line up too!”
No, wait...if we join the line now, won’t it be too late? How do we do this? Wait... No, I get it. All we have to do is not step on the main part of the bridge, right?
“Rumble forth, Earth! Pulverizing Boulder: [Rock Crash]!”
I cast a bunch of Earth magic atop the bridge, causing a series of basketball-sized rocks to fall onto it, detonating a ton of the mines in the process. It was okay to use because it didn’t cause any damage to the town.
A few of the rocks had blown away, but the ones that remained could now be used as safe stepping-stones to the other side.
Hell yeah! Let’s go!
“Amazing. We can cross now!”
“Great work, Touya!”
Elze charged ahead and leapfrogged her way across the bridge, the rest of us following suit shortly after. The people who were crossing via the parapet were struggling to keep their balance, but there was no way for them to turn back or escape.
We kept going as fast as we could, running ahead after coming down from our stepping-stones. We made it past net traps, gust traps, and even a trap that was just a bunch of food laid out enticingly for us to eat. Then, before we knew it, we were in the lead. It was dangerous being this far ahead, but we had to forge on.
“We will win if we keep this up, we will!”
I nodded over to Yae. We couldn’t afford to drop our guard, however. There could always have been an unexpected twist up ahead, which was usually how things worked with races like this.
Another bridge stood before us. It was different from the one we’d passed earlier, but it ran over the same river.
“Is it another minefield?”
“I don’t know, but let’s not waste any time. We’ll cross the same way as before.”
I cast [Rock Crash] again and dropped a bunch of rocks down on the bridge. Apparently, this was another minefield, as some of the rocks blew up on impact. The girls went on ahead, hopping from stone to stone. I went last, using my Brunhild’s [Explosion] bullets to blow up the rocks behind me.
Fortunately, I couldn’t see anyone behind us, but I didn’t want to give them any chances. Thus, breaking the stones was the rational choice.
“Hm?”
I glanced to the side and saw a little cat walking along the bridge’s parapet.
...Uhhh, why’s there a cat here? Wait! Hey, kitty! Don’t jump down there, that’s a minefield!
“Stop!”
My body instinctively moved to rescue the kitty cat. I jumped from my rock and caught the cat before it made contact with the bridge. Then, I tossed the kitten to Yae, who was just a little bit in front of us...but it was too late for me. The magic circle was already beginning to form at my feet.
“Bwahaaah?!”
“Touya-dono?!”
“Touya?!”
The explosion went off, the wind took me upward, and I tumbled over the parapet and into the waters below...
◇ ◇ ◇
“And the winner is... Team Silverwind!”
A cheer resounded across the plaza. I sat there, soaking wet, slowly clapping my hands. My expression was blank.
“Dammit...”
“There is no helping it, there is not.”
“I’m sorry, guys. I messed it all up.”
“No, it’s not your fault Touya.”
“It was just bad luck.”
A single point. We lost by a single point. I was disqualified, but everyone else finished, bringing us rocketing up the scoreboard...to second place. If I’d finished as well, we would’ve come out on top. If I just hadn’t fallen in the river, even with my point reduction, I could’ve won it for us. It was so frustrating to think about.
“At least we got a runner-up prize. No fancy armor, but five platinum coins is nothing to sniff at!”
Elze grinned and proudly puffed her chest out. I wondered if she was just trying to console me. The runner-up prize was pretty nice, though. Five platinum coins was equivalent to five million yen. That was a million for each of us, no small sum at all.
I nodded quietly as I clutched the money purse close. Spending this would make me feel better, at least.
“Let’s use this money to buy some gifts and souvenirs to help us remember today!”
“That sounds wise! I shall use my money to buy some wonderful ingredients for Crea-dono to cook with, I shall!”
...That’s not really a souvenir, Yae. Kinda sounds like an excuse to fill your stomach, if anything... I won’t say that out loud, though.
“I think I’ll buy some cute clothes for Renne...”
...Elze, do you wanna buy some cute clothes for yourself too? You don’t have to use her as an excuse, you know?
“I’d like to buy some accessories for Lapis and Cecile.”
“I’ll buy a timepiece for Laim.”
Linze and Yumina brought up their own suggestions.
Maybe I should buy our workers some sun hats, or some trinkets...? Wait, no. I’ve got a million yen here! I should treat them!
I decided to buy a set of new gardening tools for Julio, and a new set of armor for our gatekeepers, Tom and Huck.
“Let’s get to shopping, then.”
I started to walk down the street, only for Yumina and Kohaku to flank my sides.
“I had a lot of fun today! We should participate in more events like this sometime!”
“Yeah, we should.”
Yumina smiled at me, and I smiled right back. Seeing everyone happy made me glad we’d decided to do it. It was fun to do this kind of thing once in a while, so I made a mental note to do it again.
With happy feelings in our hearts, we walked through the streets of the capital.
◇ ◇ ◇
“Is something on your mind, Touya? You’ve been smiling like an idiot all morning...” Elze asked as she suddenly raised a brow from across the breakfast table.
...Like an idiot? Rude!
“Oh, I just had a dream about when we still lived in Belfast’s capital. It was kind of nostalgic.”
“You had a nostalgic dream, you did?”
“Mhm. It was about when we took part in the adventurer’s guild contest in Belfast.”
“Ohhh! I remember that! Living in Belfast, gosh... That was so long ago now.”
Yumina smiled and clapped her hands together as the memories came back to her. It was back before I’d even met Lu, Hilde, or Sakura. We’d certainly been through a lot, before and after that time.
“You took part in one of the guild’s adventuring contests? Wow... Did you win, dad?” Linne asked in a curious tone, confirming that the guild was still operating contests in the future.
“We didn’t win, unfortunately...”
“At the very last stretch, Touya... Well...”
Linze’s remark was enough for me, but then Elze had to go and elaborate.
Wait! Don’t talk about my failures in front of my kids!
“I want to hear about how it went.”
“Indeed. I’d also like to know more.”
Lu and Hilde wanted to hear about it. Sakura, Sue, and Leen were all leaning in curiously...as were my children.
...I shouldn’t have mentioned it.
Elze and the others started to tell the story, and I simply carried on eating my breakfast. Watching them excitedly reminisce and chatter, I couldn’t help but smile.
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