Chapter 20
I gave a bitter smile.
"As expected, your craftsmanship is impeccable, old man."
"Hmph. You're stating the obvious."
The old man looked sheepish and turned his back.
Dorea the Alchemist.
An alchemist who had received the lord's official seal, and the oldest alchemist in the city.
An alchemist's skill came from the breadth of their knowledge, so this taciturn old man was unquestionably the finest alchemist in the city.
"How much would it be?"
"Ten gold coins."
I placed ten gold coins on the workbench.
"I could hand it over as is, but I'd like to make you a proposal."
"A proposal?"
The old man raised an eyebrow and looked at me.
His gaze seemed to be judging whether I was trying to stiff him, but when he saw the gold coins I'd taken out, he angled an ear toward me.
"The people under my care will be subjugating a troll soon. I'll deliver the materials obtained from the troll here."
"A troll?"
A troll was a miniboss-level monster.
Its existence was rare, and competition for its materials was fierce.
If an alchemist could obtain troll materials, it was a major boon.
"Is that true?"
"Yes. Keep this money as a deposit. A girl who gives my name will be coming soon. Don't mention that I asked you, and please look after her."
The old man's attention was completely captured by the troll materials, and his grin stretched from ear to ear.
"And just in case I haven't made myself clear."
I hadn't forgotten that this world was an adult game, either.
"If you lay a hand on her, you won't live out your natural lifespan. It's not as though anyone will be backing her, so I'd appreciate it if you used your discretion."
Of course, the old man had never personally laid hands on Elena in the game.
As I said that, I looked toward the inner room of the workshop.
Those were the ones who had touched Elena.
The dolls made by Dorea the Alchemist.
The gazes of the dolls watching for threats to the old man met mine.
"Those dolls won't be able to stop me."
".......I'll keep that in mind."
The old man answered in a weary voice.
***
Time passed. I was back at the guild.
Elena had returned from the eastern forest.
"This is what we observed."
"Go on."
I pushed my glass aside and rested my arm on the table.
Elena spread a sheet of parchment across the table.
The simplified map was cluttered with markers she had drawn herself. Her handwriting was a mess, but the locations and directions were fairly accurate.
"The troll had made its nest near a valley far from the road. Judging from the traces it left in the terrain, it was here, here, and here, like this."
She connected the marked points on the simplified map with her finger.
"This seems to be the route the troll mainly takes. This is its home, this is its toilet, and this is its hunting ground."
She explained each location in turn.
"There were half-eaten animal bones in the hunting grounds, and I figured this was the toilet because there was troll dung here. Mira took some with her because she said it sold for a high price, but the smell was awful."
Elena explained everything carefully, then cleared her throat.
Elena had investigated the troll's ecology even more thoroughly than I had expected. Apparently, she had received help from Mira, an active hunter.
As she continued, the ears around us gradually began to perk up.
"That's everything we found."
"Good work."
I handed the silver coins I'd prepared to Elena.
"Huh? You pay us for something like this, too?"
"Understanding a monster's ecology is important, too. Look over there. Don't you see those people eavesdropping on the information you brought back for free?"
The peddlers I indicated with a jerk of my chin had been pricking up their ears, but turned away when they heard me call them out.
"There isn't much time left before the scheduled subjugation. What do you plan to do with the time remaining?"
"A plan... We should train, right? Mira said trolls are powerful monsters, so it would be dangerous if we didn't prepare properly."
But there was no sense of crisis on Elena's face.
Having easily defeated the C-rank Blade Mantis and Darko, Elena saw the B-rank troll as nothing more than a monster one rank stronger.
"I can plainly see the foolish thought in your head."
"Do you know what I'm thinking, Uncle?"
She looked at me with shining eyes.
No doubt she thought that, since she had easily overcome a C-rank opponent, she could easily defeat a B-rank one as well. I'd seen that thought pattern until I was sick of it in the game.
'Excessive talent must have made her careless.'
Given the nature of the game, changing that would be difficult.
"Who knows? Don't waste time on pointless thoughts. If you've decided to train, make a training plan accordingly. Trolls use green magic, so... Hmm..."
"...?"
"...Come closer."
I had Elena sit beside me.
I whispered in a voice only she could hear.
"Trolls have many green magic spells that bind their targets, so it would be best to tailor your training accordingly. They also have considerable regenerative abilities, so instead of inflicting small wounds, use powerful techniques to inflict severe injuries. You should also train your party members to clear a path for you."
Advice that would help with defeating trolls.
Yesterday, I spoke harshly because we were in front of the party members, but Elena was a monstrous genius who could learn ten things from one. Making her figure out every detail one by one would be a waste of time and talent.
"Do you understand?"
"N-yes? Yes."
Elena clenched her fist.
"But how are the others doing?"
"Hans and Duke still haven't adapted to their bodies. They happened to get into a fight with some orcs, and had a little trouble."
The difference between male and female bodies went beyond simply changing sex.
"It's probably because their habits from when they had male bodies are still carrying over. Point them out yourself and make them correct those habits."
"Yes."
"Then if there's nothing else to say, gather your things and leave."
"Yes... But..."
Elena opened her mouth, then closed it, as if she had something else to say.
"Uncle."
"What?"
"Is the troll really that strong?"
I stopped mid-sip and looked at Elena.
Trolls were strong.
B-rank monsters were treated as tactical weapons. In terms of Earth, they were equivalent to tanks.
A-rank adventurers could be counted on one hand, and knights were A-rank by default, but there weren't all that many of them either.
That was why they didn't send knights out on Red Moon days to gather materials.
"You may be the only adventurer who could say that about a B-rank monster."
"Hehe. Ouch."
I flicked her forehead.
"Don't let your guard down. If you become careless, your party members will end up giving birth to monster offspring. Remember that trolls possess enough power to make that happen."
"I understand..."
Elena hugged the parchment to her chest and stood up.
"I'll head out first, then."
"All right. Good work."
Elena bowed at the waist and left the guild.
I took a swig of my drink.
Just then, Jeina came over with a grin, bringing a fresh glass and taking away the empty one.
"Eck. I did everything you asked me to."
"How much did you get?"
Jeina spread her fingers.
"Twelve low-grade healing potions, four low-grade antidotes, and two barrels of fire oil."
"You managed to gather a decent amount."
"They gave me a discount when I said we were going to use it to hunt a troll."
Healing potions treated injuries, while antidotes were a countermeasure against green magic.
Fire oil would be effective for suppressing the troll's regenerative ability.
"Well done."
"Hehe. I'm pretty good at negotiating, you know."
I flicked a silver coin over to Jeina as a tip.
Jeina caught the silver coin and tucked it into her cleavage with a playful expression.
"Please come to me again next time. And I'll discreetly pass one on to Elena."
"All right."
"Honestly, Eck seems completely devoted to Elena. Watching you makes me jealous."
Jeina returned to the counter with a bitter smile, humming under her breath.
***
'Already aiming for B-rank?'
It struck me anew how quickly Elena was growing.
It had only been a month.
When I first met her, the novice adventurer had been as frail as a worn-out sword, but that appearance had long since vanished, and she had even become imposing.
Meanwhile, I was still an A-rank adventurer.
The highest point Eck had reached as the tutorial boss.
The highest level a commoner could attain.
Eck had given up on growing any further at that point.
He had hit the wall of talent and prematurely concluded that there was no way to climb any higher without becoming a noble's dog.
What Eck lacked was mana.
I needed more mana.
'I need a way to increase my mana.'
There was a way.
On the day the Red Moon rose.
Special events took place in the forest.
'First, I need to obtain the magic sword.'
A magic sword that consumed mana.
It was temporary, but every time I killed a monster, it would increase my mana without limit.
It was a good match for Eck, whose mana ran out quickly.
"Black Wolf Eck."
Just then, someone sat down in front of me.
A woman with short silver hair.
I finished the rest of my drink.
"A distinguished guest has come to such a humble place. What brings you here?"
"I wanted to see you once before the Red Moon rose."
Knight Barie.
The young lady's knight.
She sat in the seat across from me in her knight's uniform and looked at me.
"They call you the Black Wolf, don't they?"
Barie called me by my nickname.
"I've heard the rumors about you. You threw your companion to a monster. They say you're a pervert who enjoys watching your companion get harassed."
"Who says that?"
Barie sighed.
"Honestly, I couldn't care less about the circumstances of the lower classes. I don't care whether you're a degenerate who toys with women and ruins them, or a pervert who enjoys watching your companion give birth to monsters."
"If anyone heard you, they'd think it was true."
"Isn't it true?"
"That's wrong."
Whether or not that was true, Barie pulled out something as though she didn't care.
"Eck, cancel your contract with the young lady."
She recited the line from the game exactly, without changing a single word.
Thud.
She tossed a heavy pouch onto the table.
"It'll be enough to cover the penalty."
As its contents scraped against one another, the pouch's mouth fell open.
It was filled with brightly gleaming gold coins.