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TL: ALT
Chapter 158 – Jennifer’s Scout Caravan Day 3
I have arrived at the western border of the Kingdom of Estinia.
After taking a short nap at the mountain pass that divides the country into east and west, I tidied myself up at a stream before setting off again.
There were no attacks from plants, and the monsters barely noticed me as they passed by. The Green Tigers were only slightly larger than I am, and compared to those in the demonic land, they were like kittens.
Perhaps due to the climate, the plants grow abundantly, providing plenty of food for monsters and animals. Consequently, there is no atmosphere of violence, and the area feels calm.
Even the mountain roads are paved with stone, suggesting stable trade. It seems like a safe place to live.
It makes sense that the royal capital is located here.
The towns near the royal capital are prosperous, with shops lining the streets. There seem to be more adventurers here than on the east side. In the nearby forest, I see boys hunting mushrooms. Perhaps vicious monsters rarely appear here.
There are guards patrolling the streets, perhaps because crime is common.
The Adventurers’ Guild bulletin board was filled with warnings about bandits and requests for escort services from merchants, but there were very few requests for monster hunting. Maybe the manual from the demonic land isn’t necessary here.
“Excuse me. I’ve come from the demonic land. I’ve brought a manual to increase survival rates. If you’d be so kind, I’d like to hold a seminar…”
I said this while showing my seal and certificate.
The guild official looked at me with a stunned expression, then let out a deep sigh.
“Such scams might work in the countryside, but no one around the royal capital believes them.”
“No, it’s not a scam! I really came from the demonic land!”
I tried to argue, but the staff looked at me as if I were a fraud.
Maybe the distance between the royal capital and the demonic land is greater than it seems. It seems I have no choice but to show my true abilities.
“I see. Do you have any requests for defeating monsters?”
“There are some, but none that can easily be defeated. The only ones left are for monsters like Basilisks and Orthros that live in deep forests.”
“I’ll take it.”
Basilisks are said to be the kings of snakes. Orthros are two-headed, dog-like monsters.
They are said to dwell deep within the forest northeast of the town. There is no other information.
“Let’s go check it out for now.”
I left my luggage at the inn and took only a mace and a knife. Then, I headed for the northeastern forest. In the shallow part of the forest, I saw adventurers who had accepted requests to track down bandits and gather medicinal herbs.
Those who were there to defeat monsters seemed to be heading deeper into the forest. Gradually, the presence of beasts became stronger than that of humans.
Kyoe!
I also heard strange cries that sounded like monsters.
The animal trails became unclear. As I pushed through the thickets, I smelled smoke carried by the wind blowing through the forest.
“Is there someone there?”
Without thinking, I climb a tall tree and look around. To the east, white smoke rises.
Thinking they might be bandits, I tried to stay quiet and approach them carefully. But they turned out to be familiar faces.
“Jennifer!?”
Alquin, the leader of the adventurer party White Lightning, called out, pointing at me. The other party members also seemed surprised to see me suddenly appear at the campsite.
“Long time no see.”
The fat from the meat sizzled over the bonfire. The smell wafted far away, indicating that the monsters in the vicinity had been dealt with. The previous “White Lightning” would never have taken the risk of coming this deep into the forest.
“I’m surprised.”
“I’m the one who’s surprised! Where have you been? How did you get here?”
Gina, who used to be a magician, had replaced her robe with leather armor.
“You’ve changed, Gina.”
“Huh? Oh, I’ve just become aware of my personality and abilities. But more importantly, answer my question.”
“I live in the demonic land now. I wrote a survival manual, so I’m traveling around the country as an envoy of the demonic land. I accepted a request from the Adventurers’ Guild to gain their trust. It just so happened that the request was to defeat the monsters in this forest. It was just a coincidence. Are you guys here for a request, too?”
Even after I explained everything to Alquin and Gina, the others are still confused. It’s understandable, considering they kicked me out of the party, yet here I am, meeting them deep in the forest.
“By ‘demonic realm,’ do you mean the forest in the Far East that we couldn’t enter?”
“Yes, I forced myself to settle there, and now I do administrative work. I manage supplies.”
“Managing supplies? A tanker like Jennifer isn’t doing anything?”
Alquin seems surprised that I’m not in a combat role.
“In the demonic land, you can’t survive if you can’t deal with monsters and plants. Just because I’m not a tanker anymore doesn’t mean I can’t fight.”
“Aren’t you stronger? Your magic…”
Gina seems to be able to sense magic.
“That’s right. I don’t know how I look, but my fighting style and values have changed.”
It’s only been a few months since we parted ways, but it feels like we’ve grown quite distant.
“Wait a minute. Jennifer, what about your luggage?”
“I left it at the inn.”
“The inn… We’ve been walking through the forest for two days to get here.”
It doesn’t seem that far from town, but in the demonic land, our speed of movement is significantly faster.
“What kind of request did you accept?”
“Aren’t they the same Mandragora as us?”
Alquin and Gina asked me questions one after another. The strange cries I had heard earlier might have been from the Mandragora.
“My request is to defeat a Basilisk and an Orthros.”
“Taking on such a quest alone is ridiculous! You’re not Jennifer; you must be a monster in disguise!”
Alquin drew his sword from his waist. The other members followed suit, grabbing their bows and long swords.
“Everyone, put down your weapons! If she were a monster, I would have noticed.”
Gina shouted, but their suspicion of me remained.
“If I put magic in my legs, I can run faster. Look…”
I did so, jumped over the bonfire, and moved behind the other members.
“See?”
Even though I called out from behind them, no one turned around.
“Jennifer, I’m sorry. No one else can see you except me.”
Only Gina, who was standing next to me, seemed to have noticed my movement. Is that even possible?
At Gina’s words, everyone finally turned around and looked back, their faces pale.
“Is it an illusion?”
“No, I mean magic…”
Before I could finish, I felt a strong presence emerge from the bushes.
The sound of snapping twigs could be heard.
“What’s wrong?”
“A monster is approaching! Can’t you hear it?”
Alquin and the others looked at each other, then back at me. They said they couldn’t hear anything.
“Did you set a trap?”
“A trap?”
“Didn’t you check the surroundings before deciding on a campsite?”
“We did check to make sure there wouldn’t be too much damage from the rain…”
“What…!”
“This is like luring monsters with the smell of burning meat!”
Crack!
The sound is getting closer. I can smell beasts approaching.
“Maybe we should leave our belongings and run away…”
The members of “White Lightning” finally noticed the presence of monsters and fled from the campsite.
Grrrr… Grrrr.
I can hear two growls.
Could it be the Orthros?
I hid in the bushes to observe, waiting for the monster to approach.
Soon, a two-headed dog as big as a cow appeared. It was definitely Orthros, the target of my hunt.
It sniffed the meat burning on the campfire, but its two heads fought over it.
Gau! Gau!
The snake on its tail was writhing around, but it seemed to be just for show.
I decided to test it by deploying a slime wall behind the Orthros and setting up a magical defensive barrier in front of the meat on the fire.
Orthros tried to stop fighting and bite the meat at the same time, but the barrier blocked it, almost dislocating its jaw. Its bites didn’t seem powerful.
Realizing it couldn’t bite, the Orthros tried to claw at the meat. However, it couldn’t cut through the defensive wall, and it flipped over.
This is the western part of the country, where monsters are said to be weak. I wonder if they can survive here. Although it’s a target for extermination, it doesn’t seem dangerous.
Once I determined that the magical defensive wall could withstand the attacks, I stepped out of the bushes and rushed toward the bonfire.
Startled by my sudden appearance, the Orthros tried to jump back to the left and right. However, since the two heads made different decisions, the body remained stationary. What a foolish monster.
As I approached, it finally realized the danger and jumped back.
Bang!
It collided with the slime wall, bounced back, and flew toward me.
Unable to move in midair, the monster was helpless. I swung my mace at both of its heads with all my might.
Bam!
The Orthros fell to the ground in two blows.
I crushed its skull, delivered the final blow, and stabbed its heart with my knife.
Unlike the monsters in the demonic land, this one was weak. Once again, I couldn’t fight as I had done there. I killed it out of mercy because it came close and tried to take the food.
I took some vines from a nearby tree, tied the Orthros’ hind legs, and hung it from a large branch to draw its blood.
“Do you have a shovel?”
I shouted to the members of the “White Lightning” who were watching from afar.
They pointed to the side of their backpacks. They seemed to be carrying small, handy shovels.
I dug a hole with one of the shovels and filled it with blood and internal organs. If I could use a magic cube like Makyo-san, it would be easy, but I couldn’t do that now.
“You really defeated such a vicious monster all by yourself?”
Gina asked, staring at the dead Orthros in shock.
“I guess everyone has their own definition of ‘vicious.'”
To me, it just looked like a stupid monster.
“Are you going to eat the Orthros’s meat?”
“No, we’re fine. But aren’t you going to take the magic stone?”
Alquin asked worriedly.
“Oh, I forgot.”
It won’t be very effective since the Orthros is so weak, but I’ll collect the magic stones from the pool of blood.
Once enough blood had been drained, I decided to carry Orthros’s corpse back to town.
“It’s better not to do anything that will attract monsters. Also, if you’re going to camp, you should set traps around the area. It’s all written in the manual, so take a look if you want.”
I handed the survival manual for the demonic land to Alquin and the others.
“You’ve changed, Jennifer,”
Gina said after receiving the manual.
“Maybe.”
“We thought we had acknowledged our abilities and taken on a lot of requests…”
“In the demonic land, you have to keep changing, or you won’t survive.”
“Do you hate us for banishing you?”
“Hate you? I left on my own. Don’t worry about it.”
I waved goodbye to the members of the “White Lightning” and returned to town.
When I brought Orthros’s body to the Adventurers’ Guild, the town was in an uproar, and all attention turned to me for defeating it alone. A seminar was immediately held at the guild’s training ground, and requests for copies of the survival manual from the demonic land flooded in. The stock ran out in no time.
After all, if I could prove my abilities, the manual would sell.
I used the money earned from the seminar to commission copies of the manual at the church, then set off once more for the forest to hunt the Basilisk.
I tried to find it while it was still daylight, but I couldn’t locate it. I only discovered what seemed to be a nest-like cave before returning to the inn.
Although I only completed one request, I feel that I have finally found a way to spread the survival manual of the demonic land.
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