The Most Important Thing Before a Journey
Before setting out on a trip, what is the single most essential thing to prepare? Thorough camping gear? A flawless itinerary? Of course, those things matter. Depending on how well you handle them, your journey could be comfortable and enjoyable—or it could become a nightmare shortcut straight into the worst kind of suffering.
But there is one thing I value even more than those.
A fat wallet.
There is nothing in this world that money cannot solve. If something cannot be solved with money, it simply means you did not offer enough of it. I have always believed those words with near-religious conviction. Even in this place, capitalism remains utterly magnificent.
Back at the end of Season 1, when a major city was under attack by monsters, one of the sub-quests involved helping civilians escape. While progressing through that quest, you would sometimes encounter a mercenary band heading the opposite way—straight into the city. They had accepted a request to infiltrate the besieged city and rescue a noble’s secret lover from his affair.
Naturally, my characters advised them to give up. Their lives were too precious to throw away. But the mercenaries, blinded by the enormous reward, charged straight into the jaws of hell. As for what happened after that… well, you would have to hear the story from the ones who ended up as monster shit.
Anyway, that is the kind of world this is. I would bet that if you paid an absurd amount of money, you could receive incredible protection right up until the moment the world ended. Of course, if my disciples—the Heroes—failed to stop it, all that protection would become meaningless.
“It feels incredibly heavy?”
“Of course it does. That is all the money earned from the herbs you worked so hard to gather, Iris.”
“Huk! Then this is my blood, sweat, and tears!”
“…That was dangerously close to sounding like something else, but yes, you could say that.”
“Then how can I possibly spend this! It’s the money I earned through all that hardship!”
“Don’t worry, dear. I will be managing the money and deciding how to spend it.”
“Why! It’s money I earned! I have rights too, Master!”
Ha. Rights? What damn rights. If we are going to talk about rights, then pay me back for all the food, clothes, and shelter I have provided you, you little brat.
I hate looking petty, but when the other person acts petty first, I become even pettier. If you are going to claim your rights, then I will claim mine as well!
And now that I think about it, the money from those herbs was not earned through your efforts alone, was it?
“My dear disciple? Simply digging up herbs does not make them all valuable.”
“What do you mean by that!”
“Have you already forgotten how you used to yank up every single weed root and scream, ‘This is an herb, right?!’ Distinguishing them is the real work, you fool! If you had taken that mess straight to the shopkeeper, he would have cursed you out until his mouth went dry! He certainly would not have told you to eat the roots yourself!”
“That is obviously something Master should have done! I was the one climbing all over the mountain to gather them!”
“Is that all?! Who do you think trimmed all those roots and prepared them properly? This Master did everything!”
Just because you dug up some herbs does not mean you can shout “I found a rare one!” and sell them on the spot. Unless you are a trained herb hunter, you cannot possibly collect every tiny root with perfect care. Turning them into something that can actually fetch a decent price requires labor. Yes—labor! Proper, paid labor!
“Iris. My precious and foolish disciple?”
“I feel like something very strange slipped between ‘precious’ and ‘disciple’!”
“That is not the issue here. If you are going to claim rights over the money earned from selling the herbs, then this Master also has a claim. In the end, you would be the one losing out, so why not simply leave it to me?”
“Uuu… You are going to keep bothering me until I give up anyway, aren’t you?”
“Then why ask when you already know the answer?”
In the end, Iris, overwhelmed by my superior negotiation skills, let out a small “hmph” and surrendered her rights. Honestly, I felt a little wronged. I was not even trying to pocket the money for myself. I was planning to use it very frugally for our travel expenses, for both me and Iris. Yet she reacted like that. This Master truly cannot suppress this gloomy and miserable feeling!
“…Master.”
Garam, who had witnessed our fierce battle in vivid detail, cautiously spoke up. Since she had never experienced anything like this during her own time, she must have been quite shocked. She remembered a past that had been rather quiet and rigid. Now she was watching her Master bicker with his youngest disciple. It was only natural that the shock would be significant.
“Have you… been living like this with the youngest all this time?”
“What can I do? The youngest is like this, so I ended up getting contaminated too.”
“It looks far too harmonious to call it contamination. Honestly, it makes me a little jealous…?”
As she spoke, Garam’s golden eyes flashed. It was not just empty words—she really did look jealous. She seemed to be grumbling that while Master had been so strict when teaching her and the other disciples, he was now treating Iris so leniently.
In truth, I had a few things to say about that part as well. When I first started teaching Garam and the others, I was still struggling to adapt. And the one who had taught me was none other than the Heavenly Demon. I had been so immersed in my master’s style that I went around with a heavy demeanor, eyes blazing as I declared things like “This seat is—!”
Thanks to that, the other disciples might find my current self somewhat unfamiliar.
“Master. Is it too late for me to stay by your side again?”
“No. I have no intention of taking you back. Go away.”
“I feel like my training is still lacking. I need Master’s guidance.”
“You say that, but you are just planning to sneak into my bed while I sleep again, aren’t you?”
“Aww. Do I still look like that immature little girl from back then?”
“Let us speak properly. You were not an immature little girl. You were a fox in heat.”
“Ahh! Master! How can you say such things to a woman!”
Discriminating between men and women is an extremely dangerous act, my disciple! Insults should be shared equally, scoldings should be shared equally, and hardships should be endured equally! That was the principle of the world I came from!
“So says our Hero Garam? Are you fully prepared?”
I had not told even Garam the exact route or method of our journey. Still, we had agreed to travel together at least until we left this region. From what I heard, she had not come alone. Like the other disciples, Garam—actually, because she was Garam—had far more followers than the rest. She had left all of them somewhere else and come alone to the area near where I was staying.
Now that I thought about it, when the city was attacked, there had been no support at all. That meant the people following the Heroes had been farther away than expected. Thanks to that, Iris had gained time to shine, so it was not entirely bad.
“As for me, there is nothing more to prepare. I will walk with Master for a while before returning to fulfill my duties.”
“Be careful with those followers of yours. Not all of them are good people.”
“I know. When I first stepped out into the world, people looked at me less like a Hero and more like a fox girl wagging her tail, begging to be devoured.”
I could imagine it clearly. It was obvious. When Garam had first descended the mountain, it was the very beginning of Season 1—just when monster attacks were starting. In other words, the world still knew almost nothing about the existence of Heroes. Until Garam proved herself, people would have seen her only as a seductive fox beastkin.
Garam was the true fox who could captivate countless players with nothing but her character illustration. If such a character actually stood before them, wagging her tail and twitching her ears, they would not have noticed the sword at her waist at all. Of course, what came next—and how it ended…
“Of course, all those foolish men ended up having their walnuts cracked.”
“…”
“No, calling them walnuts is too generous, isn’t it? Hmm, should I call them peanuts? Anyway, I crushed them all thoroughly so they could never harass other women again. As a hero protecting the world, I saved both the women and the innocent men who would have been cursed because of such trash.”
“Y-yes. You did very well. The phrasing is not exactly pleasant to hear, though.”
“Ah! If I made you uncomfortable, I apologize, Master.”
Garam looked like she was about to drop to her knees and beg for forgiveness. I was busy trying to stop her when Iris suddenly piped up, “Master. What are walnuts? And what are peanuts?”
“Iris. I will explain later, so let us put that story aside for now.”
“Why!”
“Because just imagining them cracking makes my lower abdomen hurt too.”
“Why would Master’s stomach hurt?”
There are things like that. For men, just imagining it is enough to make their lower belly throb with phantom pain. It is a universal agony shared by every man in every world.
“Master believes there are spies among those groups who are hostile toward us.”
“There is no way there aren’t. The darkest place is right under the lamp, after all. They always hide in such places, waiting for an opportunity. The kind of bastards who slip through gaps and try to plant a dagger in your back.”
“We were already keeping our distance… Should I just drive them all out? Would that put Master more at ease?”
No, it is not to that extent. It is certain that spies are hiding among them. But on the other hand, there are also passionate supporters of the Heroes, as well as nameless heroes who have gathered to protect the peace of the world. They may not be of any help at all when fighting the Fragments of the Demon God, but when battling regular monsters, they are excellent manpower that lightens the burden on the Heroes.
“I told you before, Garam. Your role is not simply to erase evil. You must show and teach the people that hope still remains in this world. Even if you must filter people, you cannot simply cast them all aside.”
“…You certainly did say that. I am sorry, Master. I forgot your teachings again and let myself have strange thoughts. Please forgive me.”
“It is fine. If there are parts that are lacking, you can simply fix them now.”
As I spoke, I deliberately ruffled Garam’s hair. It was the kind of action that would make most women complain that it ruined their hairstyle. But since Garam was a fox beastkin, she secretly loved being petted so roughly.
“Uhu hu!!”
She immediately twisted her body this way and that, unable to contain her happiness. Seeing her smile so full of pure joy, I could not bring myself to stop.
“Ah, Master! You said we were leaving today! At this rate, when are we ever going to head down!”
Perhaps jealous, Iris suddenly squeezed herself between me and Garam. Of course, Garam skillfully slipped away from Iris’s grasp and returned to my side.
“Youngest, step aside. Can you not see that this great senior disciple is currently speaking with Master?”
“I don’t see it! The conversations I know don’t involve petting heads and laughing like that!”
“Oh my? Tsk tsk. So that is why the youngest is always treated like a child by Master.”
“Eh?”
“Sometimes you need to show a mature side. That way Master will be flustered, and it is good for his heart too.”
What is this fox-like— No, she is literally a fox. As I watched the two disciples bicker affectionately once again, I turned my head.
Once I left this place, it would be a long time before I could see my master again. It would be proper to at least give a formal farewell before departing.
“You two stay here for a moment. I need to go greet Master properly.”
If I did not, the Heavenly Demon might hold it against me for a very long time.