14-Episode 14: Subjugation of the Forest and Marubeni

So, here comes the big time rookie.　Kanpai!

""Kanpai!"

After that, we, who had burned down a corner of the Forest of Demonic Beasts, had somehow started a feast in the tavern inside the Adventurer's Guild.

Or rather, Ivan-san started it on his own.

''No, I'm surprised!　I didn't know a rookie could do that awesome magic!

Ivan and the others clap me on the shoulder with a smiling face.

'I saw you!　You're awesome!　We were desperately trying to fight a trap plant with an axe, and you wiped them out with that awesome magic!

The adventurers who seemed to have been fighting the demons nearby earlier are coming over.

'No, no. It's not a big deal. That much was just ordinary grass cutting magic in my hometown.

""What kind of hometown is this?

The adventurers shout out in surprise.

They said the same thing earlier.

''Well, whatever!　If there's a rookie, no, he's not a rookie anymore. Can you tell me your name again?

It's Lex.

Lex, if Lex is around, there's no need to be afraid of the invasion of the Forest of Monsters!

We won't have to do any more complicated work!

The adventurers are shouting with real joy.

''Is it really that much trouble?''

Yeah, they're hard and they're very alive. You know?　Wood is surprisingly hard to burn because of the moisture inside.

Yeah, I understand that. You need to find dry branches or dry them out to dry once to evaporate the water inside.

Anyway, since there are so many of them, the material is saturated, so the purchase price is just as good as nothing. That's why very few people take requests. That's why not many people are asking for help, which means the forest is expanding rapidly.

There are many reasons why the forest of monsters is expanding.

And that's why you're the one who showed up!　You can use your flaming magic to burn trees and demons alike in the blink of an eye!　I'm counting on you!

We're counting on you.

With that, everyone slaps me on the back again with a bang.

''Ahhhh, you all hurt!''

"[Ga-ha-ha-ha]

But I'm so glad they accepted me favorably.

And that was when it happened.

The door of the guild opened and an adventurer came in.

I looked at him to see who it was, and it was a familiar figure.

''Lilliera-san!''

That's right, the woman who just now suddenly got angry at me for calling me a fake.

She came into the guild carrying a large bag.

In terms of time, she must have finished her adventure and come to ask the guild to buy it.

''Lilliera-san!

I call out to Liliera-san in an attempt to clear up the misunderstanding I had earlier.

''Hmm........''

But when Liliera-san saw me, she turned her head away and headed for the window.

It seems that she is still in a bad mood.

''I have to do something to clear up this misunderstanding.

Hey, don't worry!　If you bring the materials of the monsters you actually defeated in the Forest of Demonic Beasts, that young lady will understand that you are the real deal!

I see. That's what I'm talking about, Mr. Ivan!

You're so calm, like an adult adventurer.

That's right!　Yeah, I'll do my best!

'Oh!　Come on, come on, come on!　So let's celebrate on the eve of the big day, boys and girls!

Actually, you just want to make some noise!

I take it back, I might be a bad adult after all.

◆

Okay, we're going on an adventure in the Forest of Monsters today!

I look at the request board with a lot of enthusiasm.

"Excuse me, are you Lex?

I heard a voice calling me from behind and I turned around to see a beautiful woman with long black hair.

'Uh, yes, but who are you?'

'Excuse me, I'm Milisha, the assistant guild leader of the Adventurer's Guild here in Hexi town.

Wow, the big guy from the Adventurer's Guild!

Hi. Hi. Nice to meet you. I'm Lex. Um... What can I do for you?

Yes, I have a very important favor to ask you. I was wondering if you would be willing to take a look at it.

You want me to do this?

Yes, sir.

A direct request from the assistant guild leader, huh?

I'm not sure if I'll accept it or not, but maybe I'll just ask.

I can't tell you whether or not I'll accept it until I hear what it is. I can't judge whether or not I'll accept it until I hear what it says, but if it's okay with you, let's hear what you have to say.

Yes, that's fine. You can decide if you want to accept the request after discussing your skills and circumstances. The guild won't force you to do anything.

You're not going to be able to do that.

Milisha urges us to sit in chairs facing each other.

I can tell by the signs that the adventurers around me are glancing at us to see what's going on.

''So what do you mean by a request?''

Then I'll cut to the chase. What I want to ask of Mr. Lex is to stop the forest from expanding.

Stop the forest from expanding?

I seem to remember hearing a similar story yesterday.

I heard it from the adventurers. "I heard from the adventurers that you are a wizard of fire magic. I heard that you used it to burn down a section of the forest in an instant.

'Oh no, it's not that much magic.

''Your humility. Guild officials have confirmed that, indeed, a section of the forest has been reported to have disappeared. That, too, an incredible area had been cleared.

I think you're lifting it too high.

''Since you were baptized as an example, I'm sure you already know about the situation in the Forest of Demonic Beasts.

Um, are you talking about a growing forest?

We are working together with other countries to stop the growth of the forest, but we are facing a demon horde. We have been short of men, and the forest has been expanding little by little.

Milisha twisted her eyebrows in frustration.

To be honest, I was prepared for Hexi to sink into the forest sooner or later if things continued as they were. But then you appeared. We thought it was a blessing, and we were delighted.

What do you mean?

The story is simple. We want you to use your magic to burn down the forest's perimeter. The reward is the area of the forest that you burned. For every 1 x 1m burned, you will be paid a silver coin. The reward for defeating a trap plant is five coppers, so the reward will be at least twice as much.

Are you really willing to pay twice as much?

It's fine, in fact, it saves a lot of effort and time, so even double the amount is less than that. Unfortunately, there is a limit to what the government can pay you, so I'll let the rank assessment adjust that area.

So it's going to be easier to increase the adventurer's rank instead of not having enough rewards.

It's true that this could be possible.

Are there any conditions before we can burn down the forest?

If possible, I'd like you to burn along the perimeter of the forest. Let's say the forest is distorted, in an extreme case, it will be crescent-shaped, for example. Then the pointed end of the forest is ignored because there is not much material to be found there, and the demons in that area will scatter new seeds and the forest will grow long and thin.

Milisha-san reaches out her hand to show the trees in the forest as they grow in an arc.

'In the worst case scenario, the town is in danger of being surrounded by thinly growing and breeding monsters. So I want you to go around in a circle and burn the forest little by little.

I see, so the adventurers will lose their umami taste when they are snoring.

The guild will provide carriages for places that are far from town. We will also negotiate with the country to keep at least half of the cost of the carriage if a request is made by a neighboring country.

Hmm, the rewards are tasty, and I'll be able to remember the guild better, so I guess there's no reason to refuse.

But if that takes away my freedom, it would be the end of the world....

''Well, is there any way I can't accept any other requests while I'm accepting that request?

No, I'm happy to take on other requests as long as you burn down the forest on a regular basis.

What if I want to move to another town?

Of course, that's also up to Lex-san. However, if you can, it would be very helpful if you could pack up and burn the forest before you leave.

So you want me to burn down the forest while you go on your adventure.

If it's not a threat to my freedom, I'll do at least a little.

Okay. I'll take the offer.

'Thank you!　Then when you burn the forest, please report it to the staff at the window!　I'll be on my way to check it out soon!

Milisha-san lets out a sigh of relief.

I guess he wanted me to take it so badly.

◆

So, what do you want me to do?

After finishing my talk with Milisha-san, I was examining the request I would receive in the Forest of Demonic Beasts.

''Oh, are you going to take the request immediately?''

And the one who came to talk to me was Ivan.

You look pale.

You look pale, Ivan-san, what's going on?

Well, I had a little too much to drink.

Oh, we were all drinking late yesterday.

'If you're going to take a commission, I'll give you one piece of advice.

Advice?

That's right. The trick to operating in the forest of hexenbiest is to ignore the plant-type monsters.

Are you ignoring me?

Huh?　But what about the Hexenbiest Forest, where everything around you is supposed to be magical?

Wouldn't it meet the sack if I ignored it?

The plant-type demons can't walk. Some of them can walk, but they're not that fast, so you can run away if you want. Everything around you is an enemy, so it's best to reduce the number of times you fight them. If you're going to fight them, focus on the animal-shaped monsters. And the best place to fight them is in the open, with few trees.

Okay, that makes sense.

It's an obvious choice to fight in the open, where there are fewer tree demons.

And that's the most important thing. If you feel you're in danger, leave the forest immediately. If you can't do this, you'll die soon. So, at first, keep going in and out and get into the habit of retreating.

Wow, that's awesome.

It's like the tactics of a veteran adventurer.

It's probably a lesson that has been handed down in this town for a long time.

I get it!　Thank you for everything you've taught me, Mr. Ivan!

Hey, watch your back!

After listening to Ivan's advice, I decided to accept the request to defeat the forest wolf, which is a beast-shaped demon.

This monster is said to attack livestock in neighboring villages from the forest, but as soon as the villagers and adventurers come out to chase it away, it seems to run away into the forest.

The forest is too dangerous for adventurers below the C-rank to enter, so they are in trouble.

''Since the extermination of vermin was also done in the village, let's make this request.

You're not going to be able to do that.

After receiving the request, I immediately came to the forest.

''For now, let's fulfill Milisha-san's request, Flame Inferno!

I lightly burn down the surrounding forest with Flame Inferno.

''Let's go then,''

A trap plant attacks me as soon as I enter the forest.

Without panicking or making a fuss, I cut off a branch of the trap plant with my broadsword and discard it.

''Oops, come to think of it, I'm not supposed to deal with them properly.

I remembered Ivan's advice and moved forward, cutting only the branches that attacked me without stopping the trap plant.

'This is certainly easy. Since they won't be chasing us, all we have to do is take away their means of attack.

That's a lot of advice from a seasoned adventurer!

You're not going to be able to do that.

What are you doing?

My name is Ivan.

I'm an adventurer based out of Hexi.

I got a hangover from the rookie's welcome, but I managed to sober up and made my way to the Hexi Forest to do some work.

Well, it's a pretty good time, so we can't go too far into the forest.

When we were about to enter the forest, we came across a strange sight.

"Have the branches of the trap plant been pruned?

I don't know why, but the branches of the Demon Trap Plant, which makes up the Forest of Demon Beasts, had been neatly cut off.

Moreover, a trap plant in such a state continues all the way to the back of the forest.

Trap plants use branches as their weapons, so they can't attack us without them.

In that sense, I'm grateful, but....

"Who the hell is going to make this kind of trouble?

The words of my companions reminded me of a rookie's face, but he's a wizard.

I'm sure he would have burned every single trap plant around here.

Normally in this forest of monsters, they don't fight plant-type monsters, but instead avoid their attacks as they move deeper into the forest.

What kind of person would take the trouble to trim a branch?

Well, I'm grateful or not. We'll use this road until we reach the halfway point to our destination!

Thanks to this, we were able to get deep into the forest easily.

And the sight of the trapping plants with their branches stripped bare along the way was quite melancholy.