Chapter 46
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 46
Chapter Title: Test
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Deep in the forest where human feet rarely tread.
Rin, who had gone ahead for scouting, hid herself in the bushes.
Reducing her presence, she cautiously peered out from the bushes and soon spotted monsters.
"Gruk…."
At the end of Rin's gaze, several monsters were moving in the distance.
Bipedal monsters with beast heads.
A pack of Gnolls.
Hidden in the bushes, Rin scanned the surroundings and confirmed there were no traces of other monsters before quietly turning back.
Returning to where her comrades were waiting, Rin reported what she had observed to Ian.
"Five of them, heading this way."
Upon hearing that monsters were approaching, everyone grabbed their weapons and took their positions.
It was a light request they had taken to match breaths with the new member, Lia, after she joined.
This was the first time not only for Lia but also for Mika and Tanya to try a different D-rank request outside the underground sewers.
Five Gnolls….
Mika, who had no sense of how strong they were, quietly asked Lia.
"How strong are these Gnolls?"
"Easier to deal with than Kobolds."
"…And Kobolds are how strong?"
"……."
Lia, the only one who had fought Gnolls before, answered the question, but it didn't resolve Mika's doubts.
Come to think of it, she had said she hadn't done any requests outside the underground sewers.
As Lia pondered how to explain it, the monsters appeared in the distance.
The moment everyone spotted the monsters, the monsters raised their weapons.
Bipedal monsters with beast heads.
Gnolls, which had some intelligence and actively used tools, were all holding plausible weapons.
One of them wielded what looked like forged human-made equipment, though rusted.
Probably looted from a traveler or an unlucky novice mercenary.
"Prepare."
At the signal, Lia, the vanguard, stepped forward.
Rin naturally tried to take position beside her.
"Ah, Rin, hold on a second."
Ian called out to Rin from behind as she moved forward.
"Some might slip to the back, so stay in the center and guard Mika and Tanya."
"Ah, escort duty? Got it."
It was a somewhat sudden change for Rin, who had been the party's sole vanguard until now.
Still, she had received theoretical training from Ian on various positions, so it wasn't impossible.
Rin fell back to guard the front of Mika, Tanya, and Ian in the rear.
"First, try handling the vanguard alone, Lia."
Lia nodded without a word and stood at the very front by herself.
In that time, the distance to the charging monsters had nearly closed.
Watching from the rear with Ian, Mika spoke softly.
"That's a lot of them. Is Lia okay by herself?"
"If it looks dangerous, put up the barrier right away."
"Yes! Got it."
Mika nodded and prepared to cast the barrier spell immediately.
Though they had practiced a lot, this was the first time using it in real combat.
A different tension from fighting monsters herself welled up.
Mika gripped her staff tightly and focused on Lia and the monsters.
Five in number….
The pack of beast-headed Gnolls charged with savage howls.
In just a few seconds, the distance closed to where their weapons would clash.
Lia, who had been waiting, dashed out first.
[Mana Infusion]
Mana surged up and enveloped Lia's sword.
The materialized mana took on a vivid red hue as it rose.
The flame mana Lia infused flowed over the blade like it was burning.
"Grr…."
Lia swung her sword at the oncoming monsters, slicing the foremost one.
The lead monster thrust out a crudely made wooden shield, but Lia brought her sword down undeterred.
[Steel Slash]
Shield shattered / Deep penetration
Lia's sword, activating [Steel Slash], split the shield in two and continued without losing momentum, cleaving the monster behind it as well.
Flames erupted belatedly, and an explosive whoosh swept through the area.
The foremost Gnoll couldn't withstand the force of the attack and was flung back like it had been hit by a carriage.
The following monsters faltered and halted in panic. Lia's sword exploited the opening, swinging immediately to continue the assault.
Though Gnolls knew to use tools and wore crude armor, such things couldn't block Lia's sword in the slightest.
Five times.
Lia's sword, rippling with flame mana, left trails of light like waves with each swing, felling all five precisely without a single wasted motion.
"Hoo…."
"……."
"……."
The rear members, waiting to provide support, didn't even have a chance to act.
Lia turned after dropping all five in an instant and let out a small breath.
She regulated her breathing slowly, but they weren't opponents that even winded her.
"Captain. If you leave everything to me, we won't get to test positions."
"Sorry. Just wanted to see what you're capable of."
"What kind of 'capable' in a D-rank request."
Lia spoke to Ian with a somewhat prickly attitude.
Maybe because she joined through a loophole in the hiring conditions.
It'll get better once she ranks up to C… Ian thought and brushed it off without much concern.
However, Lia was adapting to the mercenary corps better than expected.
Even as a D-rank corps, no one would complain about that level of facilities and pay.
But her unconsciously prickly reactions toward Ian… were instinctive.
She seems so diligent now, but surely someday she'll show her true colors to him.
Like that night.
If he didn't like her attitude, maybe he'd punish her or something like corporal punishment.
It was an unconscious anticipation… no, a manifestation of suspicion.
"Next time, you and Rin handle the vanguard together. Rin takes one…."
But Ian just thought that was her personality from the start and paid it no mind. As long as she followed orders in combat, it was fine.
Lia nodded silently with her prickly expression, obediently following the instructions.
"Pull it tighter."
"M-more than this?"
Mika pulled the rope with all her strength.
Beside her, Rin clumsily spread out the tent fabric.
"Rin. The other side."
"This one?"
"The opposite!"
Under Lia's guidance as she watched the two, the tent was gradually taking shape, awkward as it was.
As sunset approached, a simple campsite was set up in the forest clearing.
Lia, who had taught the two step by step how to pitch the tent, looked around the barely completed makeshift camp.
Still clumsy, but it was their first time, so unavoidable.
"Never camped before…."
Ian Mercenary Corps had only done short day trips when E-rank, and after becoming D-rank, they'd stuck to the underground sewers.
In other words, no one had experience setting up a campsite.
That was why Lia had sighed and stepped in to set it up herself amid the floundering members.
A peculiar corps on the verge of C-rank, with oddly skewed experience.
"Phew…."
Finally finishing the tent setup, Mika and Rin collapsed onto the ground.
"Do we have to do this every time we go out?"
"The sewers were more comfortable…."
"Good work. You'll get faster once you're used to it."
The distance was short enough to return to the city quickly, but Ian had deliberately chosen to camp tonight.
Until now, they'd only taken requests near the city that could be done in a day.
But higher-level monsters nested deeper in remote areas untouched by people.
As their rank rose further, they'd need to go on longer expeditions that couldn't be finished in a day, so this was practice for camping in advance.
"This is done too."
In the meantime, Tanya finished the stew she had been preparing over the fire for dinner.
This was her first field cooking too, but unlike the clumsy campsite, it turned out properly.
After getting her own kitchen, Tanya had dived into various dishes and was fully prepared for camping cuisine.
Rather, she had been waiting for a chance to go camping.
Lia had said preserved rations were better for a day trip, but Tanya could never accept that.
"Come, sit here."
Everyone gathered around the bonfire.
As the sun set and darkness fell, the light and warmth of the bonfire rose to envelop the small campsite.
Everyone took a bowl of stew from Tanya.
"First time camping, it's tiring but the vibe is nice…."
"Yeah."
Mika murmured while basking in the bonfire's warmth.
Tanya, gazing fondly at the pot bubbling over it, nodded too.
Sleeping in a tent might not be fun….
Lia, overhearing beside them, said nothing.
Some things you only learn by experiencing them yourself.
"Captain. More?"
"I'm good."
"Me, more."
As Tanya looked around, distributing the remaining stew, she saw Rin sitting with her head bowed silently.
"Rin?"
Tanya called, but Rin didn't respond.
Rin sat with her head down, seemingly lost in deep thought.
"Rin."
"Huh… yeah."
"What's wrong? Not eating?"
Tanya went over and shook her shoulder lightly, and Rin finally snapped out of it and replied.
Rin's bowl hadn't diminished at all; it was exactly as full as when she first received it.
Rin lifted her head weakly with a dark expression.
And glanced at Lia's face.