120 - - whereabouts of a piece

Orcs roaming the backcountry are mainly of the soldier type.

Their herds are three to five in number.

Their basic equipment is a two-handed spear, and they prefer to fight by rushing forward and crushing with their overwhelming weight.

When they come together, Thor with a single sword cannot stop them.

However, it is precisely in such a situation that the inhibition system shines.

Yuril's ice magic will block their approach, and Thora will deal with the occasional spear they throw at us.

Especially since it is easier to deal with them if they let go of their weapons, we tried to place them in such a way as to lure them as much as possible in the latter half of the game.

As a result, the number of orcs encountered was 16.

The number of ears cut off as proof of defeat was sixty-four.

Each orc has 25 skill points, and the cost of killing one orc is two large copper coins and one medium copper coin.

Starting from the first encampment in the backcountry, we began to examine the surrounding rocky hills and mountains.

We spent the day covering most of the northeastern part of the map, but unfortunately we were unable to find the Beast Demon's Rock Fortress.

We returned to the campsite where we had left our tent for the night, and left early the next morning for a half-day walk through the plain with a tailwind.

After a late lunch, we had some time to spare, so we headed for the wagon stop while killing rock beetles on the Senbaegahara.

Thor and the others, who had left the wilderness in the evening, were exhausted but satisfied as they made their way home.

The proceeds from this search were 16 silver coins for killing the orcs and 3 silver coins for the rock beetles.

I also brought back twenty-eight magic stones of the eighth grade and fifteen hard white stones.

Each of us earned approximately 475 skill points.

Combined with our first arrival in the backcountry, this was quite an accomplishment.

It was the evening of the day after their return that Thor and his family received a visitor at their lodgings.

"For old time's sake, will you listen to me for a moment?

"I knew you would come, but I didn't expect you with your children."

"Lou, welcome!"

At Garudo's feet, with a package under his arm, there was a little girl hiding, clinging to him.

Her eyes light up at the sound of Moe's voice, and she rushes out from behind her father.

She stops with a startled look on her face when she sees Moe with a black cat on his head.

"Nyako?"

"I'm called Kuro, and this one's a striped one."

He turned around and saw a striped cat hanging from his back.

Rudel's anxious face seemed to disappear at the sight of the striped cat, and he burst out laughing happily.

Leaving them at the door, Thor leads the visitors into the living room.

Settling into a chair, Garudo looks around the room and opens the package.

What appears is a board divided into squares and a bag containing pieces.

As he spread the black and white pieces on the board, Garudo's lips lifted.

"How about a game?"

"Oh, I thought it was a souvenir, but it's a piece board. I don't know how."

"Well, that's too bad. It's a good opportunity for you to learn.　It's a great way to pass the time."

Unfortunately, I don't have much free time to kill.

If so, would you like me to play with you?　

Yuril smiles modestly as he places the softly fragrant cup on the table.

"Well, you know what you're doing, young lady?"

No, I've just had a little nibble.

"Ah, you look like you're having fun!　Can I watch, too?"

"Oh, yeah, watch as long as you like. It's more exciting when there's an audience.

Sola sits down next to Yuril and peeks at the table with a curious look on her face.

Thor sat down next to his visitor, feeling that he had been completely taken in by Garudo's intentions.

Yuril, who had taken white, made the first move and moved his pieces quietly.

Almost immediately, Garudo moved his black piece.

The white piece immediately responded to the black piece.

The two continued to move without delay, and Sola, who did not understand the rules at all, looked on in amazement.

"He must be wondering what the hell he is doing here," she said.

Just as I was about to continue watching the game in silence for a while, it was Garudo who started the conversation.

Thor, who had been asked the question, spoke the words after a short pause.

"Yes, I guess so. You don't look like you're here for a favor.

Yes, that's a good point. Oh, so that's how it is.

White appears to have a significant advantage on the board.

Black's attacked player, with a sigh, moves one piece forward.

"I don't think you'll get an answer if I ask you to do so suddenly from the beginning.

"So, this is it?"

"Yeah, you can tell a lot about a person when you play with him."

"Yes, that's right, Mr. Yuril."

"Well, how about me?"

Yuril, with an unusually pleasant expression on his face, looks at his opponents while holding a piece in his hand.

White seems to be attacking with considerable vigor.

Staring at the board, Garudo growled out a brief comment.

He is thoughtful and cautious, but when he attacks, he is relentless. He should never show any weakness to his wife.

"Oh."

"Mr. Euril is the landlord of this house, not the other way around."

"Yes, sir. I'm your real wife, aren't I, Thor?

"Oops, that was rude."

Finally moving his piece, Garudo glanced at Sola.

"Your girl is pretty good, too," he said. The look in her eyes is something else. How did you find such a good wife?

"Hey, don't give out compliments at random."

"Heh heh, I couldn't ask for a better bride, Thor."

No, he didn't say that much.

The sound of pieces being placed on the board echoes, and the board undergoes a transformation.

As the game continued, Garudo spoke without hesitation.

"It was Cerce who taught me this. We used to play together in our spare time.

"You have a surprising hobby."

In Thor's memory, he only left a quiet and somewhat fragile impression.

"He was ten times stronger than me. She was a woman who could think critically and anticipate what was going to happen."

A white piece pushes a black piece out of the board.

Garudo frowned and gave an exaggerated shrug when one of his defenses was broken.

After thinking for a while, he asked me to whisper something to him.

I really want to get Serse back. Will you help me?"

Sola looked up in surprise at these words.

Yuril blinks slowly and repeatedly.

He must have been taken by surprise by the way he spoke as if his wife were still alive.

Outside the house, the cat was meowing and the children were laughing.

After a long silence, the sound of a piece being placed is heard unexpectedly.

Suddenly Yuril shouted his feelings.

"Oh, I see that kind of move...".

It seems that the player who had almost caught them had been easily lost.

As Yuril took a long time to think about the situation, Garudo continued his story in a bland tone of voice.

What do you think?　If the center is open, I think you have a lot to gain."

"Even so, you'll have to deal with the ones that many of us have tried and failed to beat. We can't handle it.

"Hey, hey, what kind of weak talk is this from a man who slayed an evil spirit of the windstorm with only a sword? You're the first one to do that.

"And stop lifting yourself up so badly. We could've gone deep into the country from the north. It's not worth the risk.

But that would take a lot of time.

It seems that the fact that we had spent an entire search to get the drops of senbana had been reported to the authorities.

Garudo lifted his eyebrows deliberately and easily pushed away the white piece moved by Yuril with his black piece.

"You need to hurry up and move up in the ranks for some reason. Don't you agree?"

Thor scratched the bottom of his chin in silence at his old friend's sharp question.

The promise he had made to Deputy Director Sacco was that he would catch up with the A-rated Straccias in six months.

However, it can take more than half a year in some cases to conquer the rocky fortress of the beast demons.

In other words, if we miss the dungeon now, the next one is likely to be several months away.

Perhaps because of their old acquaintance, Thor seemed to have detected his secret impatience.　

"That's true. But I dare to take a risk..."　

"To do something, you have to pay for it. Am I wrong?"

Yuril's hand moves again, and the black piece disappears from the board.

But it seems to have been an invitation.

Garudo's piece runs up to the center of the board, which is now empty because of the disappearance of the obstacles.

Immediately, the game is reversed.

"This is a brilliant move!

I know that vague words are not enough to make you move. That's why I have a special reward for you."

"Oh, special!　Tall girl."

Maybe that's what you've been dying to get your hands on.

Don't be so presumptuous. What are you giving me?

With a sigh of relief, Garudo moves his black piece toward Ulil's position.

His hand looks as if he is already confident of victory.

Then, after a pause, he gives his answer in a few words.　

"The carriage, the carriage."

"............ I see what you did there."

If we had our own carriage, we wouldn't have to worry about being dictated to by reservations at all.

It is no exaggeration to point out that this is, without a doubt, the most wanted thing in the world today.

Thor exhaled shortly and replied in a resigned tone.

"Okay, I'll take care of it."

"Really?

"But I'll put a condition on that. I'll check it out on site, and if I don't think it's possible, I'll back out."

"That's good enough. But if you don't exterminate them, I can't give you the wagon.

He was willing to give up a carriage worth dozens of gold coins.

Even if you refuse, they will ask again and again.

Then it would be better to agree to the deal on certain conditions to save time.

Thor quietly scratched the bottom of his chin, thinking back to Garudo who had said he was ready.

"Well, now I can finally polish my horns. That's a big weight off my shoulders."

"Hey, you're moving too fast. It's not a done deal yet."

"Oh, so it's a dead end."

"I know--what?"

Before I knew it, the situation on the board had completely changed.

Black hurriedly looked back at the board, but it seemed that the result had already been made.

"Oh, what's that?

"Hmm, it's been a long time since I've had fun. Thank you very much."

"I don't know if I can pull it back from there. ......"

Afterwards, Garudo declined the invitation to dinner and left in high spirits, taking his daughter with him.

He said that he and Saralisa were going out for dinner today.

As they were leaving, he put his hand on Thor's shoulder and shook his head silently for some reason.

"How was it?　Mr. Yuril."

"Yes, I was so excited, I couldn't help it. You are a strong man."

I see. What did Sola think?

"That ......, his wife has been missing for three years."

Yeah, that's supposed to be it.

"I thought maybe you wanted a chance to give up properly."

When Thor was about to be convinced by his reasonable words, Yuril casually denies it.

You didn't seem like that kind of person to me. That was my impression from the board.

"Is that what you call a personality?"

"Yes, he's very tenacious, and I've never known him to back down so easily. ......"

With a slightly distant look in his eyes, Yuril continued with his worrisome words.

"And one more thing, you are still hiding something from me."