Chapter 203: Now, to the Secret Village

“I apologize for underestimating you all.”

Having subjugated the monster that attacked the town, Sharaza-san said that and bowed their head to us.

“I will admit it. You, who defeated that guy, are undoubtedly an excellent warrior. And so are the rest of you, who stood up without fear to protect the townspeople.”

“No, please don’t worry about it. As long as you understand, that’s fine.”

“Yeah, yeah, Bro is seriously amazing, right! After all, he became an S-rank in the fastest time in history!”

No, I don’t think that’s related, Jairo-kun.

“Indeed. There is no warrior among us Elves who could defeat that thing alone. I have felt the sheer awesomeness of an S-rank adventurer with my own body.”

Eh? Isn’t that overestimating me a bit too much? That monster wasn’t really that strong, you know?

“Right, right! Hehehe, what, you’re pretty understanding after all!”

However, hitting it off, Jairo-kun and Sharaza-san had gotten excited, leaving my bewilderment completely ignored.

Then, looking at me again, Sharaza-san straightened their posture and bowed their head once more.

“Lord Rex. I wish to ask you once more. Please save our village, and the thing we protect.”

“We cannot speak where there are people’s eyes. Let us talk about the details at Gordov‘s place.”

It seems it’s quite an important matter.

$diamond$

Upon returning to Gordov-san’s shop, Sharaza-san began to speak.

“The request I want to ask of you is… the protection of our mother, the Spirit Tree.”

“Protection of a Spirit Tree, is it?”

“Umu. In our village, we enshrine a certain Spirit Tree. The monsters are aiming for the fruit that grows on this Spirit Tree.”

Heh, a Spirit Tree enshrined by Elves. I wonder what kind of tree it is.

Elves are a race that values harmony with nature, so a Spirit Tree that they particularly treasure must be quite special.

However, that raises one concern.

“I understand that. However, I hear that Elves are excellent warriors. Especially that your magic, which borrows the power of spirits, rivals that of veteran mages.”

“Hey Bro, are Elves really that strong?”

Jairo-kun, who had no opportunities to meet Elves, asked just how much power Sharaza-san and the other Elves possessed.

“Yeah. Elves are often misunderstood because of their slender and beautiful appearances, but their warriors are very brave. Especially their spirit magic, which borrows the power of spirits dwelling in nature, is said to exert considerable power in exchange for restrictions on where it can be used.”

“Heh. You guys are surprisingly amazing.”

That’s right, there were many powerful warriors among the Elves in my previous life.

They were called beautiful barbarians because they joyfully faced monsters with beautiful faces, and their spirit magic, which borrowed the power of Great Spirits and rivaled military ritual magic, was also called elusive annihilation fireworks.

The spirit magic used by my Elf acquaintance was also truly flashy.

“No, it is not to that extent.”

However, Sharaza-san stoically showed humility towards Jairo-kun’s praise.

“Returning to the topic, it is true that we Elf warriors take pride in our martial arts. But the number of monsters is greater than that, and we simply cannot handle them all.”

A massive horde of monsters that even Elf warriors, users of unparalleled spirit magic, cannot handle.

This might be… a bigger matter than expected.

“If possible, we want you to help with the defense until the fruit of the Spirit Tree ripens. But since it is the first time the fruit has ripened in our generation, we do not know when exactly it will happen. Therefore, we would like to consider the request completed once you subjugate the monsters to some extent and their invasion weakens.”

“Even so, it’s a tree fruit, right? Then it shouldn’t take that much time, should it?”

Everyone nodded at Mina-san’s question, but only Sharaza-san shook their head in denial.

“It has already been 200 years since the fruit grew on the Spirit Tree.”

” ” ” ” ” “200 years!?” ” ” ” ” “

We couldn’t help but raise our voices at the unexpected number of years.

What kind of fruit doesn’t ripen even after 200 years!? I’ve never heard of such a thing!

“Umu. By a human’s lifespan, even being tied down for a few years is a long time, correct?”

“200 years… we’d go past being grandmas and turn into bones.”

“That’s right. It’s truly tough to be tied down for that long.”

Everyone was also somewhat bewildered, realizing that a commitment measured in years was a bit much.

“That is how it is. It would be a stroke of luck if you could discover the monsters’ nest, but we cannot force such danger upon outsiders. Therefore, even if the monsters’ invasion does not weaken, we would simply like you to fight alongside us for at least one month. If we need you to stay longer than that, we will make a new contract each time. Also, we will provide a place to live and meals during that time separately from the reward… is that acceptable?”

When Sharaza-san looked at Gordov-san, Gordov-san nodded.

It seems they consulted Gordov-san, who understands the human sense of time, regarding the request details.

That being said, one month, huh. If it were a subjugation, it would end once we wipe them out, but not being able to defeat them all because there are too many seems tough.

Well, it’s nice that they’ll cover all living expenses during that time, though.

“And what about the crucial reward?”

With the confirmation of the request details and duration finished, Meguri-san asked about the reward as if she had been waiting for this moment. Wow, she’s sparkling.

“Umu, regarding the reward, since we have almost no involvement with outside countries, we possess almost no human currency. Therefore, I want you to understand that it will be a payment in kind.”

“Payment in kind, is it?”

Does that mean payment in kind like vegetables or meat?

“Gordov.”

“Umu.”

When Sharaza-san called out to him, Gordov-san brought over a large cloth bag that had been placed in the corner of the workshop.

And when he untied the bag, a massive chunk of metal shining pale purple came out from inside.

Huh? Could this be…?

“C-Could this possibly be!?”

“This radiance! There’s no mistake!!”

The moment they saw that radiance, Mina-san and Meguri-san raised voices of surprise.

“Umu, this is our reward, a chunk of Mithril.”

” ” “Mithril!?” ” ” “

Faced with the massive Mithril, everyone raised voices of surprise.

Yes, it was the precious metal, Mithril.

And it wasn’t raw ore, but refined Mithril.

“A-As I thought, it’s Mithril!”

“Treasure! Treasure!!”

Ah, out of sheer excitement, Meguri-san has become unable to say anything but ‘treasure’.

“That is right. This is our village’s treasured item. A chunk of Mithril.”

“Mithril… It’s my first time seeing it.”

“Isn’t it a legendary metal?”

“Oh! Even I know about Mithril! It’s the stuff top-rate adventurers usually have, right!”

Hearing ‘Mithril’, Jairo-kun and the others also had their eyes wide open.

“That’s adventurers in stories. In reality, even among A-rank adventurers, there aren’t many humans who have weapons made of Mithril,” Mina-san said.

“Eh? Seriously?”

“It’s a precious metal that’s difficult to process. There are few blacksmiths who can handle it. They say it’s more likely to find Mithril weapons or armor in ruins.”

Hmm, isn’t that an exaggeration?

Sure, Mithril is more precious than iron, but as a material, its rarity isn’t that much different from Dragon materials.

Ah, but since it’s a mineral that depletes when mined, it might be more precious than Dragons, which are living materials whose numbers increase.

“Even so, this is high-quality Mithril.”

Looking at the chunk of Mithril, I was surprised by its purity.

Setting aside the value of the Mithril itself, the refining technique is quite something.

“Do you understand, Master? This is a treasured item of the chief of our Dwarf tribe.”

“The Dwarf tribe’s!?”

At Gordov-san’s words, it made sense to me.

I see, no wonder the quality is good. Dwarves are also known by another name: ore maniacs.

It wouldn’t be strange for the Dwarf chief to possess high-quality Mithril chunks. Even more so if it’s an already refined Mithril chunk this large.

“If you accept the request, we will provide this. You can ask Gordov to make weapons or armor with it. If you extend the request, providing the exact same thing is impossible, but we will provide items of as much value as possible as an additional reward.”

“That being said, you probably don’t need my hands, Master, so feel free to use the workshop as you please.”

“A refined chunk of Mithril as an advance payment for the request fee… what do you think of this as a reward, Liliera-san?”

Having never accepted a request in this format, I asked Liliera-san for her opinion on what would be appropriate.

Then, Liliera-san answered with a face like she had bitten into a bitter bug.

“What do I think… I’ve never heard of an advance payment in Mithril. Normally, this is on the level where you’d lecture the client. Seriously.”

Ah, Liliera-san’s eyes are in hometown trauma mode!?

Th-This might be bad…!?

Come to think of it, the people in Liliera-san’s hometown were scammed out of their reward by fake adventurers.

That’s probably why she can’t forgive an act that could easily lead to being scammed out of a reward by herself.

“Making it an advance payment also includes my gratitude for defeating the monster that chased me. Thanks to you, we avoided involving unrelated people. Furthermore, I have already seen your abilities. I was able to learn the power of an S-rank adventurer beforehand, and you are a man recognized by Gordov. Therefore, I have no anxiety about paying in advance. This man is as eccentric as he looks, but he has an eye for warriors.”

“The ‘eccentric’ part was unnecessary! In terms of being stubborn, you’re pretty much the same!”

Gordov-san raised a voice of protest at the subtle evaluation that was hard to tell if it was praise or an insult, but looking at his expression, he didn’t seem entirely displeased.

“How about it? Will you accept?”

Having finished explaining the request details and the reward, Sharaza-san stared at us with serious eyes.

“Ugh.”

Realizing that it was a choice made after acknowledging us that much, Liliera-san was at a loss for an answer with an indescribable face.

Now, what should we do.

The request details are a common settlement defense request. Though the target of protection is a Spirit Tree, not a town or village.

And the duration is at most one month.

Considering it’s deemed a success even without completely subjugating them, this timeframe might be reasonable.

Also, the fact that they considered the duration based on a human’s lifespan rather than an Elf’s lifespan gives a good impression.

Providing the reward in advance also shows respect towards us.

Above all, though this is a personal reason, with the long lifespan of Elves, we might be able to obtain detailed information about the fall of the ancient magic civilization.

It seems there are actually multiple reasons why the ancient civilization fell.

Therefore, I don’t think it’s a bad idea to become friendly with Elves who have actually experienced those precious old times.

“…Understood. We will accept that request.”

“Are you sure!?”

Liliera-san checked to make sure it was okay.

“I think it’s fine. This person saw our power and believed in us, who received an endorsement from Gordov-san. In that case, if we believe in this person too, neither of us will end up unhappy, right?”

“…That is…”

“Then, Sharaza-san, I will present one condition for accepting the request.”

“A condition?”

“Yes, please issue a nominated request to the Adventurer’s Guild again. A nominated request for S-rank adventurer Rex and his comrades! If you do this, it becomes a request through the Adventurer’s Guild, so Liliera-san can be convinced too, right?”

“Fumu, if that is your condition, it is no problem.”

“So they say.”

“…Haa, I surrender. If you’re going to go that far, I have no reason to object either.”

“Fumu, human society is a troublesome thing.”

Seeing Liliera-san convinced, Sharaza-san tilted their head at the mechanisms of human society.

Well, I lived in a rural village in this life too, so I can somewhat understand that feeling.

“…Seriously, how did this person make it to this town without getting scammed.”

“The folks in the village don’t know the outside world. Wanting to hear from someone who knows the outside, they ignored the Adventurer’s Guilds in nearby towns and came straight to my place; I guess that paid off.”

While Mina-san was exasperated, Gordov-san explained how Sharaza-san had made it to this town.

I see, so being ignorant of the world actually led to a good result?

“But in that case, it’s better to hurry to Sharaza-san’s village.”

“Umu, however, our village is far. From this town, it will take several months even by carriage.”

” ” ” ” ” “Several months!?” ” ” ” ” “

Whoa, that is far.

“Our hometown is in a rugged place. Carriages can only go partway. So the travel on foot from there is long.”

“I see. In that case, it’s better to fly there.”

“Fly!?”

Hearing we would take an air route, Sharaza-san raised a voice of surprise.

Huh? Elves should be able to fly using spirit magic, though?

“Yes, I can prepare an airship. Let’s go with that.”

“A-An airship!?”

Yes, if we use the former pirate ship I modified in the Eastern Country, it’ll be a quick flight to the Elven village.

“H-Hey Gordov, is that true!?”

Sharaza-san, looking bewildered for some reason, called out to Gordov-san.

“Ah… I haven’t seen it myself, but it wouldn’t be strange if Master had one.”

“What!?”

Come to think of it, since we just got back from the Eastern Country, I haven’t shown it to Gordov-san yet.

I’ll have him take a look at it later. Since it’s just a former pirate ship, the construction is poor and it’s battered, so I want to ask if there are any improvements he could make as a Dwarf.

“Then let’s go to the destination by airship, everyone.”

“Agreed!”

I proposed traveling by airship to quickly reassure Sharaza-san, but Sharaza-san stopped it.

“W-Wait! We do not want outsiders to know the location of our village where the Spirit Tree is. So please do not travel using a method that stands out too much!”

“Methods that stand out are no good… huh.”

I see, it’s something the Elf tribe keeps secret. It can’t be helped that they don’t want other races to know about it due to their tribal customs.

“Then let’s have a Golem disguised as a horse pull a carriage. That way, it will run day and night without standing out much.”

“A G-Golem carriage…? U-Umm… I see. If it doesn’t stand out, I suppose there is no problem?”

“Then I will prepare the carriage, so let’s depart tomorrow.”

Well then, let’s stay at an inn in town tonight and make the carriage and Golem we’ll ride tomorrow!

$diamond$

The next morning, we met up with Sharaza-san outside the town.

“Good morning, Sharaza-san!”

“Good morning. So where is the carriage? I don’t see it anywhere.”

Returning the greeting, Sharaza-san looked around asking where the carriage was.

“I’ll bring the carriage out now.”

“Bring it out?”

I took the Golem and the carriage out of my magic bag and placed them in front of Sharaza-san.

“This is the Golem carriage.”

What I took out was a Golem horse that looked exactly like a real horse, and a completely normal carriage with standard construction.

“This is a Golem carriage!? It just looks like a normal carriage…?”

“It’s a proper Golem. Look.”

In front of the bewildered Sharaza-san, I detached the Golem horse’s neck to show them.

“Ooh!?”

Raising a voice of surprise, Sharaza-san peered into the Golem horse’s neck in astonishment.

“I’m surprised. It truly is a Golem. Indeed, with this, no one will find it suspicious… probably?”

“Then please get in, everyone.”

“Ah, right, Sharaza-san. Could you tell me the direction of the destination?”

Before Sharaza-san got into the carriage, I confirmed the direction of our destination.

“Ah, the destination is in the direction of that mountain visible over there.”

What Sharaza-san pointed at was the direction of a snow-capped mountain range to the north.

“Understood.”

“Munch munch kyuu!”

As Sharaza-san got into the carriage, Mofu-mofu jumped onto the driver’s seat while munching on some kind of meat.

I was wondering why I hadn’t seen it for a while; was it hunting for meat nearby?

Hmm, I wonder if it feels lonely outside by itself?

But well, Mofu-mofu is an animal too, so being able to breathe the outside air is probably better than being inside a cramped carriage.

Getting into the carriage, I opened the window installed behind the driver’s seat and gave an order to the Golem horse.

“Run towards that mountain.”

『Neigh!!』

Hearing my command, the Golem horse raised an energetic voice.

Then, a short while after the Golem horse neighed, Sharaza-san called out to me, sounding somewhat confused.

“…When will we move?”

“We are already moving.”

“What!?”

Hearing that the carriage was already moving, Sharaza-san raised a voice of surprise.

Then, peering out the window, they confirmed that the scenery was indeed moving.

“Wha-!? We are really moving!? Then why is it not shaking!?”

“I installed a magic formula to cushion the impacts in the carriage. Since a normal carriage would take too much time.”

“A magic formula!? Not just the Golem horse, but this carriage is also a magic item!?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

That being said, I didn’t have quite enough time to build it from scratch in one night, so the performance isn’t really that great.

“I see, so this is also an item you obtained on your adventures. To possess something like this, S-rank adventurers are unfathomable…”

Hmm? No, it’s not exactly an item I obtained on an adventure… Well, I am using Elder Plant materials and such, so in a sense, does it count as an item obtained from an adventure?

“Even so, it’s fast. Or rather, don’t you need to steer the Golem? Don’t we need a driver?”

“Ah, it’s fine. I taught the Golem horse the direction of our destination before we left. From now on, even if we don’t order anything, it will run towards the destination while avoiding obstacles. So we just need to make minor direction adjustments occasionally.”

“Not only does it not shake, but it runs on its own!? You used such a precious magic item for us!?”

“Yes, you must be worried about the people in your hometown, Sharaza-san, so I wanted us to arrive as quickly as possible.”

“What!?”

To be honest, taking the airship would be the absolute fastest, but since they don’t want the village’s location known to bad people, I thought this was the next best option.

“…You have my profound gratitude.”

Bowing their head deeply, Sharaza-san offered us words of gratitude.

In this way, we headed towards the Elven village where Sharaza-san lived.

$diamond$ Some Adventurers $diamond$

We are traveling adventurers.

Right now, having finished a request, we are in the middle of heading back to town.

That being said, there’s quite a distance to the town, and on top of that, our legs are heavy because we have gathered materials to carry.

If only a carriage would pass by at a time like this, we could have them give us a ride to town in exchange for acting as guards.

Just as I thought that, conveniently, a carriage came approaching from behind.

This is lucky, let’s explain our situation and hitch a ride.

Or so we thought, but somehow the carriage seemed strange.

“Hey, isn’t that carriage kinda fast?”

“Yeah, that’s way too fast. Did something happen?”

Perhaps they are being chased by monsters or bandits.

If so, it’s a chance to sell them a favor!

“Heeeeey!”

We waved our hands and tried to call out to the driver… however.

“Hey, look! There’s no driver!”

At my comrade’s desperate voice, I looked at the driver’s seat, and indeed, the figure of the driver who should have been there was missing.

“Seriously!?”

Does that mean they’ve already been attacked!?

“Uwoh!?”

The carriage overtook us in the blink of an eye and kept running straight ahead.

“This is bad!? The horse is going off the road!”

“Oh no, it’s going to plunge into the river at this rate!!”

This is bad!! If the carriage plunges in like this, the people inside will drown!!

Moreover, the river around here is deep and the current is fast, so entering the river to save them is also dangerous!!

“Kuh! Please make it in time!”

We chased the carriage, but it’s absolutely impossible for human legs to catch up to a horse.

“But that doesn’t mean we can just abandon them!”

However, reality is ruthless, and the carriage finally reached the very edge of the river.

And just like that, the carriage fell into the river and…

『Neigh!!』

Without falling in, it kept running straight over the surface of the river.

” ” “…Huh?” ” “

I didn’t even know what I was saying, but unmistakably, the carriage was running on top of the river.

And we, who had kept running without understanding what was going on, reached the riverbank where there was no one to save.

Strange, the river around here should be deep with a fast current…

Or did they just happen to go down in a shallow spot?

Thinking that, I looked at the river, and the color of the water was green, telling us without a doubt that it was deep enough to sink a carriage.

” ” “…Eh? Eh??” ” “

Only the horse’s neigh echoed in the ears of us bewildered adventurers.

Later on, in numerous towns and villages, we would hear joke-like ghost stories such as a carriage running over rivers, or a carriage sprinting above the trees in the forest.

…What on earth did we see?