Volume 1 Chapter 34 Quest： Not Just My Brother I
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
Forming a party with someone was actually something Kian was used to.
Recently, he had been given the dishonorable nickname of ‘garbage scavenger’ and was avoided by other adventurers, but before that, he had teamed up with various parties for quests.
He had taken on a guiding role in parties made up of rookies like the Funnelwing’s ‘Falcon Brigade,’ and he had been invited to join parties when lower-level adventurers needed extra members for profitable ventures.
While these weren’t parties in the true sense──where you trust and rely on each other──they still worked together on quests, at least on the surface.
So, when he teamed up with Serena this time, he didn’t feel particularly confused or nervous.
He was able to tackle the quest naturally, without changing his combat style or anything.
’The morning sun is so bright!’
(It would have been nice if you were wearing sunglasses.)
On the fifth morning of teaming up with Serena, Kian was leaning against the outer wall of a nearby tavern, waiting for her to arrive near the eastern gate of East End.
The sun was already high in the sky, and most of the adventurers who had been preparing since dawn had already headed out through the gate to hunt.
The street to the east was sparsely populated.
Most of the people passing by were adventurers, and they were sending various glances Kian’s way.
Disgust, contempt, curiosity, and pity.
Disgust and contempt were nothing new, while curiosity came from those who had heard about his victory over the Griffin.
The pity came from those he had previously teamed up with.
Among those he had once partnered with, some had expelled Kian from the party simply because he was lacking in skill, without harboring any ill feelings towards him as a person.
Kian, of course, was shocked to be expelled, but it must have been a difficult decision for them as well.
They had to cut ties with Kian, who was desperately trying to survive.
But──.
To elevate the party to a higher existence, who is needed? And considering the rewards, how many members can the party have so that the distribution allows each person to sustain themselves? By the time Kian was moving up from the lowest rank to the lower rank, his place among them had naturally disappeared.
Many of them still seemed to feel guilty, awkwardly averting their gazes whenever they saw Kian.
A few had even approached him with pity, asking, “Are you okay?” when he was first called a “garbage scavenger,” but in the end, they remained mere bystanders.
No one wanted to pick up the chestnuts from the fire.
They had their own positions and lives to consider.
There was no way they could take Kian seriously, who was just a temporary member of the party.
From their perspective, it was understandable, but at that time, Kian felt a strong urge to loudly condemn them as hypocrites.
”You all just talk, but you don’t help me at all. If you feel sorry for me, at least give me ten silver coins.”
’Hmph. It’s selfish, but perhaps there’s some room for sympathy.’
(Don’t read my thoughts.)
’If you just overheard me, then I’ll forgive you.’
Kian pushed up the bridge of his glasses and let out a sigh.
(Well, it’s something I’ll never show on the outside, and since I’m wearing glasses, I don’t care about them at all. They’re just people I’ll eventually surpass.)
’I’ll surpass them. But from what I can read of your thoughts, it seems that the top adventurer in this town, Rean, has also kicked you out of the party. If they’re going to surpass you, it doesn’t seem like you’ll be in a position to be a top-tier adventurer, does it?’
”My potential was never meant to fit within the framework of an adventurer. It’s just a natural progression.”
Kian replied immediately as usual, and the glasses let out a satisfied ‘Heh-heh.’
’That’s right! That’s why you’re this one partner. Don’t worry about the masses. Just keep moving forward on the path you believe in.’
”You really go all out to keep me positive.
Well, I guess it feels better than being nagged all the time.”
He pushed himself off the wall he had been leaning against.
He spotted a silver-haired girl walking toward him from the main street.
He stepped away from the tavern and onto the street.
Serena was walking at her own pace, not in a hurry at all.
Even though Kian was waiting, she didn’t seem to care much.
There was still plenty of time before their meeting, and she wasn’t late, so she probably thought there was no need to rush.
When she stopped in front of Kian, she greeted him in her usual blunt manner.
”Good morning.”
”Yeah, good morning. Are you ready?”
”You’re going to handle the second request out of the 4, right? Don’t worry, I’m ready.”
Serena said this quietly.
The second request──.
It was a task he had heard about from a guard at the training ground.
They needed to go to the territory of ‘Spoon Wing’ to retrieve his brother’s belongings.
From what he gathered, it seemed that there was some kind of love triangle involving his brother, and he was sent to hunt mushrooms in the ‘Spoon Wing’ territory to kill a monster.
Along with the belongings, they were also asked to bring back a part of his brother’s body if possible.
By the way, he had already completed the first request 2 days ago.
”Hey, doesn’t this request seem strange?”
Serena frowned as she pulled out a copy of the request form and looked it over.
”What’s strange about it?”
”Well, the area where his belongings are supposed to be is way off the usual mushroom hunting route. Did your brother really go mushroom hunting all the way out there? If he did, wouldn’t they have asked him to search somewhere along the route instead?”
”The truth will be clear once we get to the site. But I think it’s highly likely that his brother was lured into the ‘Spoon Wing’ territory by his brother’s guard. The fact that it’s so far off the route suggests that. The guard probably used ‘Spoon Wing’ to try to kill his brother. Be prepared for a fight when we go to retrieve the belongings; the chances are high.”
As Kian said this casually, Serena’s sharp eyes twisted in response.
”…But to think that brothers would kill each other… The human race really has some incomprehensible aspects.”
”It’s not just humans; it happens often. When women or money are involved, there are people who would kill their own parents without a second thought. The Wolfmen are just too pure.”
”Isn’t everyone supposed to value their siblings…?”
Serena’s words carried a sad tone.
She looked young, but her ability to empathize with the clients’ situations made her seem more mature than her age.
”It depends on the economic situation and the environment they grew up in. For nobles, killing each other among siblings is just a part of daily life. It’s the same in the Franz Kingdom and Azrael.”
”That’s sad…”
”Yeah. But this is work, so we shouldn’t let personal feelings get in the way. Even if the client is a bad person, work is work. ──Now, it’s just about time to gather. Before we head out on the job, let’s check our gear.”
Kian said this briskly, pointing to the wooden sword on his back and the club hanging at his waist.
”I have a wooden sword and 2 clubs. Plus, homemade bombs and insecticide bought from the Guild store. For medicine, I have painkillers, hemostatic ointment, and a strong distilled liquor. The alcohol is about 90 proof. ‘Spoon Wing’ uses powerful sleep-inducing poison darts, so if you get hit, it’s basically game over.”
”Um… But can you really fight a sub-dragon with just a wooden sword and clubs? The other day… well, you came with that weak equipment, right?”
The other day referred to the first quest they had gone on 2 days ago.
The task was to search for treasure in ruins on the western outskirts.
It seemed like a troublesome job among the requests they had taken, but Serena’s keen sense (being a wolf, not a dog) meant there was hardly any real fighting, and they quickly pinpointed the treasure’s location, completing the quest.
It was supposed to be a test of their abilities, but unfortunately, they only learned that the physical capabilities of beastmen were far superior to those of humans.
Kian touched the club at his waist and nodded.
”No problem. I don’t think I’ll hold you back, so don’t worry.”
”Right. Since you defeated the Griffin, I think it’s safe to trust you, but…”
It seemed that Serena viewed Kian as a capable fighter, but her inner evaluation of him had apparently dropped after their recent quest.
Well, considering he was just a regular human in terms of physical abilities and his equipment was as shabby as a goblin’s, anyone would likely react the same way she did.
”If you think it’s dangerous, just stay behind me. I’ll handle it.”
”Being confident is good, but remember, the enemy can fly just like the Griffin. Are you sure you’re okay?”
When Kian asked this, Serena nodded firmly.
”I won’t make the same mistake twice… Let me show you my equipment. First, my weapon, the longsword.”
Serena drew the sword from her waist.
It was the same one she had used when fighting the Griffin, and Kian nodded as he noticed the magic inscriptions carved into the blade.
”The inscriptions are different from last time. Instead of ‘Acceleration,’ it now means ‘Heavy Sword.’”
Magic language refers to the special symbols that can be engraved on weapons and armor to grant them unique effects.
With ‘Acceleration,’ reading it would make the sword lighter and faster.
With ‘Heavy Sword,’ the weight of the blade increases, making it easier to literally crush enemies when slashing, just like when swinging a greatsword.
In the Western world, every swordsman engraves some form of magic language onto their weapons.
For adventurers, when they level up from the lowest to the lower ranks, they can receive a special reward from the Guild to have one inscription of their choice engraved on their preferred armor or weapon.
The Guild takes such measures because magic language holds significant importance in combat.
Of course, if the weapon breaks, that’s the end of it, and if the inscriptions wear off, it becomes useless, so many lower-ranked adventurers are careful to take good care of their items.
Once they reach the intermediate level, they have more financial freedom, and everyone starts using weapons with magic inscriptions more liberally.
Serena returned the sword to its sheath.
”When I fought the Griffin, it was still in the ‘Storm Herd’ configuration──set up for fighting other people. I was planning to have it rewritten for monster battles after becoming an adventurer, but I didn’t have enough money.”
”Is it really okay? I think getting magic language carved would be quite expensive for a Rank 9 adventurer.”
”I barely managed with the reward from 2 days ago. I can just cover my living expenses… It won’t be like the time with the Griffin. I’m confident I can break bones like those of a ‘Spoon Wing.’”
As Serena said this, she unbuckled the belt around her chest.
It was a leather belt that she had draped over her armor, going from her right shoulder to her left hip.
It had holders with several knives tucked in.
”I’ve attached wires to the knives like this. After throwing them, I can retrieve them, and I can also tie them to branches for moving around. I’m sorry they’re handmade; I didn’t have the money.”
”So you plan to counter the flying ‘Spoon Wing’?”
”‘Spoon Wing’ doesn’t fly as high as a Griffin, and it’s definitely slower. Plus, the battlefield is a forest filled with tall coniferous trees, so my sword should reach them.”
”I see, so you’ve come prepared.”
”Of course.”
Serena said this with a composed face, but her silver tail was wagging excitedly from side to side.
She seemed a bit proud of herself.
”Besides that, I have painkillers and blood stoppers. I couldn’t afford the distilled medicine for reviving, so instead, I bought a few flash bombs. Actually, I went over budget because of those flash bombs.”
(Is this person really buying flash bombs from the Guild store? What a luxury!)
’Unlike some idiot who bought a ton of materials for a comatose raid, I think I’m using my money wisely.’
Kian ignored the words from the glasses and nodded, saying, “Alright.”
”We’ve got a good grasp of each other’s fighting power.”
”Yeah. I’m ready to leave anytime.”
”Then let’s head out right away.”
As Kian said this, he thrust his right arm forward.
A crow that had been perched on the tavern roof flapped its wings and landed.
Kian made a low, soft sound, almost like a breath.
”──────, ────────.”
Once the crow finished hearing Kian’s words, it quickly took off from his arm.
With a loud caw, the other crows that had been resting on the roof all took to the sky at once.
The crows flew in a straight line toward the Eastern Forest, forming a small black mass.
”…What did you do?”
Serena cast a suspicious glance.
”Those crows are my allies. They’ll help me find the target of this Quest from the sky. Last time during the treasure hunt, I didn’t have enough of them.”
Kian explained that he had gathered the bats to use at night first, which is why the crows weren’t ready in time.
”I apologize if this seems rude, but it should be more reliable than relying on your sense of smell and intuition like before. He also mentioned calling for the crows throughout the forest.”
”Another strange trick… to control such intelligent creatures like crows.”
As Serena murmured this, Kian quickly slipped past her and went through the gate.
”Let’s go. By the time we reach the entrance of the Eastern Forest, the crows should have found the client’s brother.”
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
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