Heart-Pounding First Adventurer Expedition!
“Don’t worry, Mr. K. A woman like me will be your escort, so you can relax.”
Should I even call her a woman like me? I can’t stand that brat, and the skinhead looks like the main damage dealer. Is it really normal for an archer to take on escort duty?
“Yes, then I’ll be counting on you a little.”
“Tsk.”
Why is that brat so twisted? I’ve seen his type plenty of times. I know exactly why he acts like this. They have their pride, and even if orc subjugation is just pocket-money work they do all the time, having an ignorant woman tagging along saying she suddenly wants to observe must sting their egos.
But honestly, why should I care? They’re getting paid enough, so they should treat me properly.
“Hey, so what exactly is your job that you need our help?”
“Ahaha. Well, it’s research on adventurers and monsters, that sort of thing?”
“Does it involve making magic tools or equipment?”
“Not exactly, but you could say similar materials come up. You’ll naturally understand later.”
Once I visit the adventurers’ guild, these people will find out anyway. By the time they read my novel, I’ll make sure that brat has nothing to say.
“Hmph. It’s obvious what a girl would do.”
“Hey, why have you been grumbling since earlier?”
“No matter how much money we’re getting, an honor student with glasses just wanting to comfortably observe looks like nothing more than that. Plus, a girl? Ugh, so annoying.”
No matter the world, brats are always a problem.
“Even if he looks like that, he’s just worried, so it’s better if you understand, miss.”
“Yes.”
I forced on my best business smile. Smile. Anyway, right now I’m in Milene’s body. If I get angry and punch that brat in the head, I’d be the one getting counterattacked. Just like back when I was running outside jobs and stamping documents at client companies, just smile. Don’t lose the smile.
But.
“Ugh.”
For some reason both the brat and the skinhead stiffened. And they were staring straight at me.
“Uh, Mr. K? That kind of smile from a man is… a bit very dangerous.”
“Pardon?”
“Ah, you really don’t realize. Is this natural?”
Is that my problem? Maybe it’s better not to smile at all. With glasses and short hair, my appearance score has probably taken a hit, but I should just stay quiet.
A little time passed. The place we arrived at was a forest outside the royal capital. The road here connects to the large and small villages in the south, I was told. But there was an orc settlement right nearby, which is why the request came. Of course there were other roads, but having a monster lair so close to the capital was a burden, so they had come to subjugate it.
“Hmm, there are orcs over there. Looks like they’re hunting and heading back to the settlement. From what you see, miss, what do you think we should do?”
“If they were beginners I wouldn’t know, but since you’re all experienced… you won’t engage here and will follow them back to find the settlement instead?”
That would normally be the standard, right?
“Ho. You have a good eye. That’s correct, miss. Beginners usually try to kill at least one first to prove themselves as adventurers, but we’re different.”
“Ah. I see.”
I think I get the vibe. Come to think of it, that bitch Sophia had visited the adventurers’ guild before. In the original work she put in requests to adventurers to find this and that. And what she was looking for was mostly various magic tools. After all, she was going to become queen. Whether it was to decorate herself, drive away women approaching the prince, or simply obtain items that made her own life easier, she would request things from adventurers or inquire with merchants.
“Hmm, this is going to get complicated too.”
The first time Sophia gets entangled with the adventurers’ guild is when the monsters begin rampaging ahead of the Demon King’s revival. Finally, the time for the Demon King to revive has come, and monsters are starting to show their power everywhere. That was the setting.
The Demon King’s appearance becomes the episode where Schwald and that bitch Sophia completely solidify their positions as protagonists. As the monsters grow stronger and threaten humanity, expanding their forces, Sophia thinks of something. Although she is the crown princess, she will accomplish a feat that even the king and queen—who dislike her—cannot ignore. What she comes up with is fighting against the Demon King. In the end, Schwald becomes the hero, Sophia his companion—the so-called saint—and the Demon King army’s Four Heavenly Kings, the lich, revives Milene from somewhere and kills her. Something like that.
Anyway, while that story heads off into the mountains, after Part 1 of this work, the beginning of the Demon King arc is Sophia’s entry into the adventurers’ guild. It hasn’t been long since I possessed this body, but it is effectively after the execution, after Part 1 has ended. According to the story’s timeline, are signs of the Demon King’s revival about to appear around now?
“Why are you like that?”
“Ah. It’s nothing.”
It probably isn’t. After the execution there is still an interlude. Sophia only properly connects with the adventurers’ guild after that. Just in case, I’ll only observe today. Watch once or twice, and whether it’s that Sophia or whatever, she can proceed with the episode with Schwald on her own. At this point the original work might be completely twisted, but if you think about it, all of that was done to follow public sentiment, so that woman will come to the adventurers’ guild to overcome the current situation anyway. Then frequently visiting it myself would be dangerous. Because I really don’t want to meet that Sophia.
“That’s the orc settlement.”
“Whoa, it’s seriously huge.”
It really is enormously big. It’s at the level of a small village enclosed by a simple fence. No, if you look closely it’s just several large barracks-like structures, but the problem is the giant green masses inside that settlement. Orcs that look like they could be brothers with gorillas, with protruding lower jaws, are scattered everywhere. Seeing them in real life rather than in games or manga is, how should I put it… disgustingly ugly.
Rella placed her hand on my shoulder.
“Don’t worry. We can take care of guys like that in no time. Yuri, magic please.”
"Ice Field!"
⟨ Ice Field ⟩
In an instant the area around the settlement froze solid. The orcs’ ankles were frozen too.
“I see. Wow, so that’s real magic.”
This is the first time I’ve seen magic like that. Is this what a fantasy world is supposed to be? The more I see, the more moved I feel. It really hits me that I’ve come to a fantasy world.
Wait, then when mages in my novel use magic, shouldn’t I reflect real elements for authenticity? If I visit the adventurers’ guild I’ll see mages eventually. What if magic I made up suddenly appears and they don’t recognize it? If I just use the magic I created as-is, won’t people say the author doesn’t know jack about magic? Swords and bows can be described dramatically with vague flair, but magic relies on chanting. I might need to ask Jerry for a magic book later.
“Uwooooooh!”
“Gruk gruk!”
The orcs panic when their ankles freeze.
“Right, keep attacking!”
At Adel’s command, Rella immediately began firing arrows. Two at once? No. One was a real arrow, but the other two seemed to be made of something like mana in fantasy terms. With practiced movements she drew the string and three arrows traced arcs through the air, striking the orcs. Each of the three orcs took an arrow to the head and collapsed. That was impressive. In this world, it seems arrows can do that through sheer skill.
“GyaAAAAAACK!”
The orcs notice us late and try to charge, but it isn’t that easy. Their feet are frozen solid by the Ice Field. Arrows keep pouring down. After the initial suppression, Red Claw—starting with Adel and followed by the brat Rota—leapt into the settlement. There looked to be dozens of orcs, yet they charged straight in.
“Ooh.”
Mage Yuri hurled spells at the orcs far in the rear, while archer Rella continued shooting. The rear orcs were killed or suppressed by magic and arrows and couldn’t help their comrades. Rota and Adel weren’t overwhelmed by the numerical disadvantage and slowly crushed the orc forces.
I see. Their skill combinations are pretty good. With that teamwork they’re taking down orcs way too easily. Plus each member is strong. So in other words, this is like high-level players visiting a beginner dungeon. Still, seeing it in reality instead of just in games is pretty amazing. They’re lightly warming up and earning pocket money.
“How is it?”
“Mm. It’s good.”
It’ll make excellent reference material. Honestly I’d like to see harder fights too, but this is plenty for now. I can just flip through a monster encyclopedia or something and note down their characteristics.
Yes. At first I thought it would go that smoothly.
“What is it? Wait. Something’s off.”
Rella said while scanning the distant settlement. There’s no way she could see anything from here—does she have a related skill?
“What’s wrong?”
“Why can’t I see the orc chieftain?”
“You can confirm that much from this distance?”
My eyesight is decent, and Milene’s body originally had good specs, yet I can’t make anything out that far. They just look like green lumps to me.
“Archers have good eyes, you know.”
“What’s an orc chieftain?”
I suppose it’s the boss that leads the orc settlement. Since they call it a chieftain, it clearly possesses considerable strength.
“Yeah. Every settlement has a chieftain. That chieftain leads the orcs. It commands anywhere from dozens to a hundred. The more it can command, the stronger the orc.”
“I see.”
I don’t really get it, but I can just think of it like a fantasy RPG. An orc chieftain, huh. Well, I don’t know much about the orc race, but I definitely don’t want to fight one. It looks incredibly large, and I’m not a overpowered character, so jumping into combat would be a bad idea. Besides, a saint is originally someone who uses miracles. When Milene was revived by the lich, she definitely used miracles. She used them against the Demon King’s army, and the lich exploited Milene’s resentment to corrupt her after revival, making her use not only miracles but also dark-attribute attack magic. That author didn’t give me any attack power anyway. I’ll just watch from the back.