Chapter 39
By the time we returned to the first floor from the teleportation stone on the tenth floor, evening had already fallen.
We headed straight to the Adventurers' Guild.
When we entered the guild, the receptionist we'd seen before noticed us.
"Welcome back. How was the fifteenth floor?"
"We made it back safely."
"I can see that."
The receptionist smiled a little.
"What about the Blade Mantises?"
"We defeated three."
"...So you can fight on the fifteenth floor without any trouble now."
"I'm not sure I'd call it 'without any trouble.'"
"Defeating three and coming back on your first trip to the fifteenth floor as B-Rank adventurers isn't normal."
Felicia nodded beside me.
"I agree."
"Felicia-san?"
I placed the Blade Mantis scythes we'd brought back as proof of our kills on the counter.
The receptionist checked them one by one.
"I've confirmed all three. The quest is complete."
At that moment, words appeared in my vision.
【Quest completion confirmed】
【You acquired 100P】
【Balance: 2,925P】
【Total P Acquired: 39,835P】
"Did it go up?"
Felicia asked quietly.
"A hundred P."
"Then we're almost back to three thousand P."
"Yes."
Right after buying Swordmaster, my balance had dropped to 525P.
And now, after just one day, it was already back up this high.
The deeper we could go, the easier it'd be to earn P.
"The quest reward is 620,000 jenny. We'll appraise your materials, too."
"Please do."
Another staff member joined her, and they began laying out the materials we'd brought back.
Steel Lizard scales.
The Metal Scorpion's carapace and tail.
Crystal Horn horns.
Cave Wyvern claws and wing membranes.
And the scythes and carapaces of three Blade Mantises.
We hadn't brought back the whole body of every monster, but it was still quite a haul.
The appraisal was finished a little while later.
"We'll buy the materials for 1,460,000 jenny."
"One million four hundred and sixty thousand..."
Felicia's eyes widened.
"With the quest reward, that comes to 2,080,000 jenny."
Split between the two of us, that was 1,040,000 jenny each.
"A million in one day..."
"Those are materials from the fifteenth floor, after all."
The receptionist answered.
"The Blade Mantis scythes were in good condition, and you brought back Cave Wyvern materials, too."
I looked at the amount we'd received as well.
I'd already received fifteen million jenny just in war rewards.
Add that to my savings and today's 1,040,000 jenny...
When I'd bought the Flamefang Sword, even 1,280,000 jenny had seemed like a lot.
Things were different now.
"Allen-san."
"Yes?"
"Would you like to look at equipment tomorrow?"
"I was thinking the same thing."
"I thought so."
Felicia smiled.
"Now that we're B-Rank, there might be better equipment than what we have."
"Yeah."
The Flamefang Sword was still fine.
But there might be better armor.
The same went for Felicia's equipment.
"Then it's weapon and armor shops tomorrow."
"Yes."
It was already late today.
We decided to look at equipment tomorrow.
◇
The next morning.
After breakfast, we stopped by the Adventurers' Guild before going to look at equipment.
Most of the good quests were snapped up early, so I wanted to check before we went shopping.
We arrived at the guild and opened the door.
Several adventurers were already lined up in front of the reception desks that morning.
The receptionist we'd seen before was busy checking documents, too.
When we walked in, she looked up.
"Allen-san, Felicia-san."
"Good morning."
"Good morning."
The receptionist set down the papers in her hands.
"I've been waiting for you two."
"For us?"
"Yes. We've received a request from the House of Belgrant specifically for the two of you."
"From the count?"
Felicia looked surprised, too.
"For both of us?"
"Yes."
The receptionist handed us a single request form.
【House of Belgrant: Special Request】
【Designated Adventurer: Allen Valdis】
【Designated Adventurer: Felicia Roth】
【Request: Survey the Forest South of Belgrant】
"Our names really are written here."
"I was told the count selected you based on your wartime achievements and promotion to B-Rank."
"I see..."
The last time the count had issued a request, it had been a joint request to gather C-Rank and higher adventurers.
This time was different.
Our names—mine and Felicia's—were written on it.
"What are we supposed to investigate?"
The receptionist unfolded a simple map.
Belgrant was in the center.
A road stretched south from there, with a vast forest beyond it.
"Belgrant's population has been growing recently, and there's a plan to expand the city southward."
The receptionist pointed to the northern edge of the forest.
"They'd like you to investigate this area beforehand and see if it can be developed."
"So it's not the whole forest."
"Of course not. This time, it's only the northern part, close to Belgrant."
"What specifically should we look for?"
"Whether there are any powerful monsters, whether there's a water source, and whether the terrain is suitable for development.
They'd also like you to check for signs of bandits or anything like that."
That was easy enough to understand.
"How long will it take?"
"They expect two or three days. But if you decide it's dangerous, you can come back."
"What's the reward?"
"Eight hundred thousand jenny for the two of you."
"Eight hundred thousand just for a survey?"
"It's a special request from the count's household. Besides, there's no guarantee nothing will happen."
"That's true."
I looked at Felicia.
"What do you think?"
"I'd like to take it."
"So would I."
Yesterday, we'd gone as far as the fifteenth floor.
This time, we were heading outside the city.
We'd get to explore somewhere completely different from a dungeon.
"Then I'll register you for the quest."
"Please do."
"It's about a two-hour walk from the south gate to the forest. The survey area is beyond that, so make sure you bring camping supplies, too."
"Understood."
We'd planned to look at equipment, but decided to buy what we needed for this quest first.
◇
Food.
Water.
Basic camping gear.
Rope and a small knife.
We bought the bare essentials, then left through Belgrant's south gate before noon.
We'd do a proper search for equipment after we got back from the quest.
"We didn't make it to the armor shop after all."
Felicia said.
"We'll go after we get back."
"I hope we can come back without anything happening."
"It's just a survey, so I'm sure it'll be fine."
"When I'm with you, ordinary quests have a way of not staying ordinary."
"That's not true."
"Are you sure?"
"...I'm not confident."
"See? You aren't confident at all."
We walked along the road stretching south.
Fields and pastures spread out just beyond Belgrant's walls.
We passed several wagons carrying vegetables into the city.
Farther along, we saw people building structures beside the road.
Lumber was piled up, and men who looked like carpenters were working busily.
"The city really is expanding."
Felicia said.
"Yeah."
New buildings were gradually appearing outside the city walls, too.
Seeing it in person made it easy to understand what the receptionist had explained.
"If the population keeps growing, they'll need more land."
"Not just for houses, right?"
"Right. They'll need shops and warehouses, too. More people means more water, and they'll have to widen the roads."
"You sound like a lord, Allen-san."
"I had to study that kind of thing in the past."
"Oh... At the Valdis household?"
"Yes."
Back when I'd been raised to be the heir, I'd been made to study estate management, too.
Taxes.
Agriculture.
Roads.
Water sources.
At the time, I'd thought there was a lot to learn. I hadn't expected any of it to be useful after becoming an adventurer.
"So it wasn't a waste after all."
Felicia said.
"It seems not."
After walking for about an hour and a half, the road began to slope gently uphill.
It was a small hill.
"Shall we go up a little higher?"
"We might be able to see the forest."
We left the road and climbed the hill.
As we neared the top, the view opened up all at once.
"...Amazing."
Felicia stopped in her tracks.
I felt the same way.
Beyond the hill.
The forest filled the entire southern horizon.
It stretched so far to either side that I couldn't see where it ended.
Dark green.
Bright green.
The trees were different heights in different places.
Whenever the wind blew, the leaves swayed like waves across the treetops.
"It's much bigger than I thought."
"It's nothing like seeing it on a map."
"We're only surveying the part closest to us, right?"
"That should be the case."
"How many months would it take if we had to cover all of it?"
"I don't want to think about that."
The forest stretched far to the east and west, too.
And even farther south.
Near the hazy horizon, I could make out several small white shapes.
"What's that?"
Felicia seemed to have noticed them, too.
They were too far away to make out any details.
Still, something that looked like a tall tower rose above the forest.
"That's in the direction of Miradia."
"The Holy Land of Miradia?"
"Yes. It's beyond the forest to the south. Those might be towers in a town near the border."
"Another country..."
The Holy Land of Miradia.
It was south of the Kingdom of Sahar.
I'd learned long ago that it was a nation centered around its temples.
"Would you like to visit someday?"
Felicia asked.
"Of course."
"I thought so."
"What about you, Felicia-san?"
"I'd like to, too."
We weren't going that far today.
Our goal was the forest spread out before us.
"Shall we go?"
"Yes."
We went down the hill.
After walking for another thirty minutes, the fields and buildings disappeared from view.
The road grew narrower, too.
Then the forest loomed right before us.
It looked different from when we'd seen it from the hill.
Each tree was thick and sturdy.
Branches covered the sky overhead, and the forest looked dark even from the outside.
Birdsong.
The rustle of leaves.
Every so often, we heard branches snapping deeper inside.
"This is where we start."
Felicia gripped her staff.
"Yes."
I checked the position of the Flamefang Sword, too.
We left the road and entered the forest.
After just a few steps, the sunlight began to fade.
The ground was covered in fallen leaves and moss.
Thick roots protruded from the ground in several places.
The air was more humid than outside, too.
"It's darker than I expected."
"There are a lot of trees."
We advanced while watching our footing.
There were no signs that people came through here often.
First, we needed to check the terrain.
Then, the water sources.
And signs of monsters.
There was a lot to investigate.
"Allen-san."
"Yes?"
Felicia, who'd been walking a little ahead of me, stopped.
"...Look."
I followed her gaze.
A large footprint was embedded in the damp earth.
It was much bigger than my foot.
Marks like claws had dug deep into the soil.
There wasn't just one.
Several footprints continued into the depths of the forest.
"It must be pretty big."
"Yes."
I crouched down to examine them.
The shape of the prints in the earth was still clear.
They didn't seem to be very old.
"...Allen-san."
"What is it?"
Felicia wasn't looking at the footprints, but at a tree beside them.
I looked up as well.
A young tree about as thick as my arm had snapped partway up.
The break was much higher than my head.
"Do you think it broke this, too?"
"It's possible."
I looked at the footprints again.
They were spaced far apart, too.
Its stride seemed much longer than that of an ordinary large monster.
I turned my gaze toward the depths of the forest.
"Let's follow these footprints for now."
"Yes."
We didn't know what was out there.
But if it was near the planned development site, we needed to find out.
We followed the large footprints deeper into the forest.
Total P Acquired: 39,835P