Volume 24 - CH 33

After joining me in the mountainous region of Portiana, we headed north in search of the fourth trial, Cerberus, the watchdog of the underworld.

「Cerberus can be found in the deserts of the Kingdom of Toran.」

said Letty, a mage clad in a navy blue robe.

「Desert?」

The image was a little different, so I asked her back. In earth mythology, it is a dog with three heads, and a dog would not be found in the desert.

「Yes, but it was underground. They say there's a poisonous swamp deep in the Great Void. I've only heard about it from a mage friend of mine, but I haven't seen it firsthand.」

「A poisonous swamp. Make sure everyone's 【Poison Resistance】 is maxed out.」

「That's right.」

All of them have already raised their levels, so they can afford to have that many skill points. Of course, I already have 【Poison Resistance Level 5】.

「Letty, is there anything else I should be aware of?」

「Hmm, well... Oh, yeah, I just remembered, we need sweets to survive Cerberus.」

「Hmph, a dog with a sweet tooth.」

It seems to share the same sweet tooth as Earth's mythology, but it's too dumb to like it. I don't like the fact that it's too dumb to be a watchdog.

「Wait. What are we gonna do if we let it get away? What's it guarding?」

「Oh, it's guarding the gates to the Underworld. Beyond that, I don't know. Only the Headmaster and a few professors have ever been on the other side of the gate and come back.」

「The Underworld, huh ......」

I'll have to ask the headmaster what it's really like.

「What an interesting place. But, well, there's no need to go there now.」

Saki is right. We just need to clear the trials of the grimoire. No more detours.

「Alec, about the trials, we just have to defeat Cerberus, right?」

Serina asked, but that's not it.

「Didn't you read the grimoire?」

「I skimmed through it quickly, but I was in a hurry to get after you, so I only checked the names and locations.」

「I see. The grimoire said to give it sweets and pass by there. So that should be enough.」

「That means――」

Serina and the others looked at me as if they didn't understand, but I myself wasn't sure if that was all I really needed to know.

After all, it's too easy.

Letty said that you can pass it by giving it sweets, but if that's enough to complete the mission, then it's not a trial at all.

But now that I think about it, there's no way to know what else is out there. The only way to find out is to face Cerberus in person.

「Well, why don't you just try it? If it doesn't work, then we'll discuss again later. In that case, let's get some sweets on the way. Shortcake would be good, right?」

Saki said, but it would be a little difficult to find a fresh cream shortcake like in Japan in this world.

If you're in a developed city, you might be able to find it. . ...... No, it's Saki, so she's probably going to buy the ingredients and make it herself.

「You can prepare several kinds.」

「I'll see what I can do. Okay, my arms are ringing!」

As if she was still planning to make it, Saki began to put her arms around me and get into the spirit.

「Fufu, I'll help you, too.」

Ione smiled and offered to help.

"Yep, I'm counting on you, Ione. If Ione's cookies are good, Cerberus will be satisfied!」

「Me! I like cookies, but I'd rather have apple pie!」

A girl with short red hair raised her hand cheerfully. Marilyn, you look like you're ready to eat yourself.

Marilyn is an insatiable eater who even ate the world tree at Austin Academy of Magic, and if she eats it all, there's no point.

「Me too!」「Me too, me too!」

Lily and Jouga also started to raise their hands in agreement. Sigh .......

「Don't get me wrong, this is bait for magical beast to eat. But you can make more and eat the leftovers.」

I'll just be careful with that and leave the rest to Saki and the others. She's a strong woman, so that they won't have to be eaten up everything.

「All right. Then, we'll have to stop by the city first.」

We descended the mountainous region of Portiana and headed north in the carriage that Serina and the others had prepared.

「Saki, what kind of country is the Toran ahead of us?」

I asked Saki, who seemed to know a lot about geography, since she seemed to be working hard as a merchant and doing a lot of things.

「Hmm~, it seems to be a large country, but it's mainly a grazing country, so it doesn't seem to have much flavor. It's a wool production area, though.」

「I see. Is the security tight?」

「I don't think so. I heard that there are no checkpoints at the border.」

「I see. Well, I guess we'll just have to run when the time comes.」

「Indeed.」

I don't think there's an enemy as strong as Emperor Gilan here, but it's better to avoid unnecessary trouble.

Eventually, the carriage made its way through the rolling grasslands, and we could see a flock of sheep on the hill beyond.

Since they were grazing, there must not be many monsters around here.

The sky was clear and the scenery was peaceful.

After two days of camping out in the open, with members taking turns to keep watch, we safely crossed the border into the city of Toran.

「Then, Tama, you stay there and be quiet. I'll bring you some food later.」

「GRURURU......」

As I expected, letting the big lion into the city would cause chaos, so I decided to let it wait in front. Even if some adventurer found it, there was no need to worry that it would be easily killed.

「Do you think Tama'll behave?」

「Don't worry. I've already tamed it.」

It's because I'm a Magical Beast Master that I understand. We can understand each other.

「But Tama? You should've named it something like Leo.」

Serina complained, but that would have reminded me of a certain actor and I would have been annoyed. So it's Tama.

I walked into the city without a care in the world. This town has no exterior walls, and there seems to be no gatekeepers or guards.　

Most of the buildings are made of wood, and many of them are just tents covered with white cloth.

「Hmm, it's going to be difficult to collect sugar to make sweets with a city like this.」

Saki said, looking around.

「But it looks like there are food stalls, so we can just ask them. Hey, can I have a word!」

Serina quickly started to ask the owner of the stall around there.

「They're overpriced, but they have them!」

「I see, then, buy up as much as you need.」

In order to have enough for Cerberus, I gave the order. There are a number of gourmets in our group who might snack on them, so more is better.

「Got it. Then, I'll take as much sugar as you have. I have money.」

「No, no, no. Even if you offer me gold, I can't give it to you.」

The owner of the stall, who looked reluctant, and Serina began to negotiate, but well, I guess we can leave it to her. She is very good at negotiating. I'm sure she'll be able to round them up, especially the men, with her lewd body.

「Darling, I got a place to stay.」

「Thanks」

I decided to take it easy and relax from my trip.