Volume 8.5 - CH 3

Daily Life of a Certain Group of Adventurers 

Cabal, Elen and Gido staggered down the road. 

Their faces looked utterly exhausted as they stopped in front of the building they were intimately familiar with. With feeble arms they weakly pushed the door open and entered. This was a cheap inn that also functioned as a pub. To the penniless three, this was their favorite spot. 

The three regrouped at the pub after confirming their rooms. Then, letting out deep collective sighs, they opened their mouths and let a tidal wave of complaints gush out. 

“So, didn’t I say not to do it at the time!” 

“That’s right, I totally said that I had a bad feeling about it!” 

“Nothing we can do about it now! Well we definitely didn’t expect to encounter a mutated twin-headed Python on a contract to eliminate serpents!” 

“But, but, we had already put in the effort to hunt four of them…” 

“And there was only one more left…” 

“It’s good enough that we were able to get negotiations to the point of at least not failing the contract…” 

Cabal threw out the final statement, he didn’t see a point in continuing this argument. He would have liked to complain like the other two, but given his role and responsibility as the party leader, he had accepted his job of listening to everyone’s complaints. 

Ale was served as the three were still caught up in their grumbling. Seemingly in an effort to wash away their frustrations, all three downed the ale in one go. While they may not have failed the contract, the payment was cut in half, and the cost for repairing their gear was sky-high due to the corrosive saliva the twin-headed python spat on them during their escape. The more they thought about it, the worse their losses seemed to get. They’d probably fall into despair without these drinks. Although they want to buy new equipment, they lack the funds to do so, and had to settle for having their gear repaired. 

“AHHH— I want to have dwarven equipment…but even the cheapest ones cost several gold coins…” 

“That’s way too luxurious, Cabal. I also want new mage robes, but for now we have to endure.” 

“We sure are poor. We should feel lucky that we were able to just survive this time.” 

“That’s true. Because we had escaped from the twin-headed python we were able to report about it, that led to the dispatching of the kill squad. We should be happy that the residents there were not affected, right?” 

“Right, right. It’s definitely not an issue that we already spent all our savings on repairing gear.” 

Just as Cabal was going to be optimistic after hearing Gido’s response, he was immediately brought back to reality by the words of Elen, and proceeded to plunge into depression. To lighten up the atmosphere, Cabal was about to suggest that they drown their sorrows in drink, go to sleep, and then start working hard from tomorrow onward! But instead: 

“Hey, have you heard?” 

“Huh, you mean the villa located in the mountains in front of Kiana Village, right? It seems that there’s a contract of 10 gold coins on it.” 

The three overheard this from the drunkards chatting next to them. They seemed to have been drunk at just the right time, so that they didn’t think to keep their voices down. All three instantly sobered up upon hearing about the 10 gold coins and focused on eavesdropping seriously. 

“The payment seems to be 10 coins or so if anyone slays the monster.” 

“Hold on, hold on, that sure is exceptional pricing. But why is the bounty so high?” 

“It seems that the warrant isn’t issued from the guild. You get a bonus from the agency issuing the contract.” 

“If that’s the case, wouldn’t it be impossible to know the power of the monster? Surely there isn’t any idiot who would actually take the deal, right?” 

“Ten gold coins can be a very attractive price, but Kiana Village is still quite far. Having to set out on the journey without even knowing the details of the contract…regardless of how you see it…you probably won’t take it, right?” 

“That’s right. It’s much wiser to make money bit by bit.” 

The men laughed as they said so, setting the matter concerning high bounty contracts aside and started boasting about each other’s “grand visions”. 

Cabal, Elen and Gido looked at each other. 

“You now, we’ve been quite free since the last contract…” 

“Yeah…and it’s about that time in the year to try out mountain cuisine…” 

“Isn’t it nice to occasionally visit mountains to train your body and soul?” 

The three nodded at each other in agreement. Their eyes filled with desire, and it’s clear that they had no concern for whether it was dangerous or not. 

*** 

Cabal, Elen and Gido desperately sprinted at full speed. As they were about to reach the exit “that thing” appeared in front of the door. A lesser demon. It was of B+ Rank, yet to the trio, who were rank B, it was an opponent that they had a 50-50 chance of winning against. 

According to the Guild’s principle of distributing contracts based on level, opponents up until the same level as the adventurer could be considered on par. However, if one challenges an opponent higher than one’s level, to say there is no guarantee of victory would be an understatement, rather, it is a suicidal act. 

How did the situation turn out like this? It all started when… 

*** 

After resting for one night at Kiana Village, the party set out to visit the villa in the mountains. That was where the three decided to take up the contract, and since the night had already set in, they were thus invited to stay at the villa’s guest room. It was not until they sat down for dinner with the villa’s owner that they realized it was a trap. 

“We are truly sorry for the trouble, but is it really okay to treat us with such a feast?” 

“All of the dishes taste amazing~!” 

“You may rest assured if you leave the Giant Ghost Bear in our care, we will handle it for you!” 

“Hahaha, oh my, youngsters these days sure are eager. Please enjoy the meal to your heart’s content, there is plenty more!” 

“Thank you very much!” 

“Indeed, these are truly delicious~! Could it be that he is trying to feed us well before eating us later~?” 

“Hahaha, huh? Haha, wait, what did you just say?” 

“Well… trying to feed us well and eat us…you know, something like that?” 

“…………” 

“………” “………” “………” 

The owner showed a twisted smile regarding Elen’s joke. The expression was so unnatural, that Elen, who just wanted to joke around, could only respond with a forced smile. 

“Could it be…. That~It wasn’t a joke?” 

“Fufu, FUHAHAHA! You feeble mortals have done well in seeing through my act. Although it has not gone quite according to plan, I shall now kill you all and take your flesh!” 

As he finished his sentence, the owner revealed his true form. Witnessing the revelation, the three knew they had to get out of there quickly. That’s how the three’s grand escape began. 

*** 

After running all over the place, their flight apparently came to an abrupt end as all three got stuck at the gate. 

“Ah, we should accept our fate at this point! Let’s just kill it!!” 

“Lil sis, that’s easier said than done… Oh well, I suppose it can’t be helped.” 

“Hey, hey, I’m supposed to be the leader, no? IT—CAN’T—BE—HELPED, let me show you how it’s done then!” 

The two men became determined as well following Elen’s proclamation and decided to fight all out bearing the resolve of suffering bankruptcy (or death) when this was over. 

“Guu, that’s impossible… How… You lowly humans could harm me… If only I’d been fully incarnated—” 

The lesser demon was destroyed following its final words. 

It would seem that it wasn’t fully destroyed, but only unable to maintain its flesh. Nonetheless it could be called a victory for the trio. 

“We, we did it! We beat the lesser demon!” 

“So we did~! I knew that we can do anything when determined~!” 

“That’s great. Really great. I was convinced that I was a goner until now…!” 

The cheering trio’s expressions changed immediately after noticing the approaching flames. 

“Oh shit! That bastard’s fireball has lit the villa on fire!” 

“OH NOOOO~! We will get burnt to crisps if we don’t escape fast enough~!” 

“Don’t just stand there looking shocked, get out of here now!” 

The three of them frantically began their escape, again. Luckily the gate was broken during the battle, so they managed to flee to safety — however… 

“Speaking of which… the 10 gold coins as our payment…” 

“Zip it! We are here to train our body and mind right?” 

“… Indeed we did, and the villa is also destroyed, so this time—” 

“AHHHHHH! So, we wasted our effort again!?~ I thought it was about time we got to enjoy a more elegant lifestyle~! And I wanted to buy a prettier robe using the reward~!” 

“That’s why you should just zip it! This can only make our situation sound more tragic!?” 

“Well, this really fits our style though. We are lucky enough just to have survived!” 

“Really, this again… We are always talking about the same thing every single time~” 

Although, despite all of their complaints, the three looked cheerful as ever. This was just part of their daily life, and the three knew from experience, as long as they live there will eventually be something good in life. 

After reporting to the nearest guild, the three stopped by the pub to kill time. Following this, the three were summoned by the guild master. 

***

The three entered the room nervously. 

“It would seem that you were once again blinded by greed and didn’t see how dangerous the job you were taking was,” the Guild master started scolding them faster than Gido could close the door. 

“No, due to not having accepted the contract at all, this is simply a violation of guild rule, please forgive us!” Cabal desperately exclaimed. However, Cabal was immediately met with the guild master’s smirk as an answer, who then continued: “Oh whatever, you all must have learnt a lot just by surviving.” 

The three were confused by the guild master’s reaction – perhaps he’s in a good mood today, or so the three tried to reassure themselves… 

“BUT, you’re all too reckless! Blockheads!!” 

And so they were lectured by the guild master who is more horrifying than an ogre. The supposedly busy guild master went on lecturing them for hours. The three were on the verge of crying due to such rotten luck. 

To the three, the guild master said at last: “However it is just as you reported, the twin-headed serpents have been found in the forest far from the village. It was because you had lured it to there, is it not? Great job. Apart from that, it is good that you were able to escape. Please recognize the difference in levels in the future and stop being so reckless.” 

“No, it was just because we were so caught up in escaping that we ran towards the opposite direction of the village on accident.” 

“Yes, yes, we were so scared at the time~” 

“It was our mistake, if we were to escape back to the village, there were still soldiers waiting there.” 

The guild master gave them a look saying “Yeah sure, that’s definitely how it went down,” as if he had seen through the three who were trying to get past the situation by saying so. With that, he turned his eyes back to his documents. This is how the guild master expresses his gratitude. 

The three saluted and left the guild master’s office. 

*** 

A few days later. 

They happened to pass by a certain village due to work. 

“Ah, it’s big sis and her party! Thank you so much for defeating those scary monsters!” Kids shouted as they ran over to the three and surrounded them. Those smiles were filled with happiness. The expressions they once saw when they visited the village last time, the weeping faces of children worrying about their parents, are a thing of the past. 

“To me, the best rewards is to see these smiles, or so I think occasionally~!” 

“Well, it sure ain’t bad.” 

“That’s true, there are things more valuable than money!” 

The three were overcome by the kids’ joy and couldn’t help but smile as well. This won’t take up too much time. 

And then the three, as usual, moved on their way. 

Their adventure has only just begun.