Volume 1 Chapter 8 Iron Sand Digging
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
”Go dig up some iron sand for me.”
Just as I finished my morning chore of drawing water and was about to head to the guild as usual, Mr. Zenom caught me.
An order from my master is absolute.
I’ve been getting into the athletic vibe over this past month, but hold on a sec.
Today’s the last day of the continuous quest ‘Hero’s Unwavering Effort’.
My stats as a hero are pretty low.
Among all the heroes that have been summoned, I’m at the very bottom, a triple crown holder of the worst records.
In terms of ability scores, I’m probably not much different from the villagers, maybe even lower.
Even a nobody like me has 2 quests I can complete as a hero.
The first is a daily quest called ‘The Hero’s Daily Quest Part One’.
It’s a deal where you get a thousand gold for completing any quest at the Adventurer Guild.
The “any quest” part is key.
The guild has quests that even an old person or a little kid could do, like picking herbs or running errands.
There are even tasks like babysitting and dog walking.
I take on the quests that normal heroes would never do because I’m a commoner-type hero who can see things from the weak’s perspective.
The second quest is a continuous one called ‘Hero’s Unwavering Effort’.
You complete it by finishing ‘The Hero’s Daily Quest Part One’ for ten days straight.
The reward is ten thousand gold, and a single common gold coin.
According to the young ladies in the village, one of the criteria for a marriage partner is a monthly income of over ten thousand gold.
When you become a hero who goes to dungeons, you start to realize that not everything is about gold coins.
It’s a whole different sense of money, like “it’s not gold if it’s not cash.”
By the way, if you compare it to Japanese prices, a common gold coin is probably worth about a hundred thousand yen.
I’m the type who can’t afford to waste even a single gold coin.
I fix my own broken arrows and reuse them, and I also butcher my own prey.
So, ten thousand gold is definitely a huge sum for someone like me.
Yes, today is the day I get that 10,000 gold.
It’s the tenth day of my continuous quest.
But Mr. Zenom gave me a job to do.
If it were tomorrow, I would gladly do it, but I really wanted today off.
”Could you please request that job through the guild? I’ll take just 1 gold as a reward.”
I blurted that out, and the moment I said it, I regretted it.
I shouldn’t have said something so foolish.
I brace myself for Mr. Zenom’s iron fist punishment.
”Well, I suppose I should visit the guild after a long time.”
Huh?
This is unexpected!
It seems like saying anything can lead to surprises.
So, I accepted the sand iron gathering quest.
* * *
Just outside the village gate, the luck river snakes around the village.
The inside of the flow has nice sand piled up, turning into a private beach for the village kids in summer.
Today, the village kids are running around n*ked, having fun since morning.
There’s no school in this village, so the little ones have plenty of time to play.
They help with housework or do simple quests, but mostly, they just play.
Since they don’t go to school, they can’t read or write, but most villagers think it’s fine to leave that to the important people.
Not being able to calculate can lead to being ripped off by shady merchants, but that’s not my problem.
I prepare the magic tool for gathering sand iron that I borrowed from Mr. Zenom.
It’s as big as a baseball bat and looks like a giant lighter.
When I press the button, the tip becomes a magnet.
Speaking of electromagnets, I remember making one in science class with batteries and enamel wire.
But Mr. Zenom’s magic tool is not that cheap; its body, treated with a silver finish, has a presence that rivals legendary swords.
When I press the switch, black sand iron gathers at the tip like a beard.
The sand iron that jumped out from the surrounding sand swirls up like a sandstorm and rushes towards me.
Ouch!
Even sand-sized iron hurts a bit when it hits my skin at high speed.
My skin is actually getting scratched a little.
I quickly turned off the switch because I didn’t want iron sand in my eyes.
I underestimated the magic tool. This is a weapon!
”Hey, Ms. Nina, do you know about magnetic force?”
I asked Ms. Nina, who was waiting with a burlap sack.
Magnetic force sounds like a cool, dark hero thing, right?
”I haven’t heard of it. What you used seemed like wind magic.”
So, magnetic force is wind magic?
I can’t use magic, but I can use magic tools.
Magic tools are still tools, so I need dexterity to use them.
Could this be my time to shine?
The weapon that uses magnetic force is the railgun, which is popular these days.
…Nope, I don’t really understand how it works, and I can’t make a weapon that isn’t even used in Japan, a country of advanced technology.
I understand how a linear motor car works, though.
If I could develop it, I could become the king of the railway!
Overpowered village management would be fun too.
My dreams are getting bigger…
”Hey, Hero, what are you doing?”
This cheeky kid who suddenly bothered me while I was daydreaming is Anita, 13 years old.
She’s Mr. Laken’s granddaughter.
She uses her position as the village head’s granddaughter to be the leader of the village kids.
Not only the kids, but she’ll even hit adults if she thinks she’s higher up in the ranks.
She even has a story of beating the violent Mr. Chaa.
Mr. Chaa, he’s all about sucking up to those in power.
Ever since I fought with the kids for the Gather quest, this girl has been giving me trouble.
The Gather quest is for kids, so I’ve been letting them have it lately.
But it seems that she thinks she’s better than me because of that.
Because Ani-Ani started looking down on me, the other kids started teasing me too.
There are no nobles in the village, but there are complicated hierarchies among the villagers.
The kids may not understand the details, but they learn from experience that adults who can’t hit them are lower in rank.
I decided long ago, even when I was in Japan, that I would never hit women or children.
I don’t hit men either, you know.
It’s not that I can’t hit; it’s that I choose not to.
But the kids misunderstood this.
They thought they were above the heroes.
So, bullying the hero became a fun game for the village kids.
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
Thanks for reading.
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