The Rescue Mission
Even when doing important work, one must attend to the small things. Onyxia’s tail was visible right before my eyes, but regardless of that, I had to earn my daily keep. There was a monster named Hazel who would gobble up every coin the protagonist worked so hard to earn, so I had to work in my spare time to fill the void left by the money that kept slipping away. My spending had decreased since Meredith left, but that didn't mean money was just going to magically flow in and pile up on its own.
Walnuts? Naturally, they were confiscated. When they were first taken away, I thought the world was ending, but after a while, I realized it wasn't a big deal, and eventually, I became completely indifferent to it. It seems there must be a specific trigger that brings out the beastkin nature. Perhaps worried about that very thing, the protagonist prescribed that I consume nuts only in front of a guardian and take the appropriate amount at once so there would be nothing left over. Is this medicine? It felt a bit like overprotection, but since I felt a sense of alarm myself, I agreed. Even outside of the moments when I was in contact with nuts, there were times when my instincts overwhelmed my reason. It felt like being dead drunk, where my reason drifted away and my body moved according to the dictates of the deepest parts of my heart. And yet, unlike being drunk, the fact that I moved with my intellect and body perfectly intact was truly malicious.
Even now, I couldn't take my eyes off the two walnuts the protagonist had handed me. Perhaps feeling guilty about my sullen reaction, as soon as we arrived at the guild, he sat me down and pressed one into each of my hands. Then, he gave me strict instructions to sit still and eat them while he went to pick out a quest. He told me not to go wandering around into every corner trying to hide the walnuts. Does he think I'm a child? I wanted to snap back at him like that, but my track record was quite spectacular. I should just stay quiet.
How do I crack these? I carefully brought one to my mouth and bit down lightly with my front teeth. It was hard, but I could feel my teeth sinking in. I checked, and there was a tooth mark. I felt like I could break it if I bit down hard enough. But that wouldn't be good for my teeth...
While I was turning it over and over, looking for the optimal method, a thick arm reached in from the seat next to me and took the walnut that had been sitting on the table. Hey, give that back.
I turned my head to see a rabbit beastkin with a fierce expression. With a large scar sitting on his otherwise fluffy-looking face, the dissonance was stark. One of those old internet memes about a Level-Max Rabbit* felt exactly like this.
*A Korean adaptation of the Vorpal Bunny.
He crushed the walnut easily with one hand. A round of applause naturally rose in my mind. He checked my look of admiration out of the corner of his eye and then picked out the walnut meat and placed it on the table for me. The walnut was bitter. Yet, there was a savory flavor that was strangely addictive. While I was picking up and eating the small, broken pieces of walnut, the rabbit beastkin even peeled the remaining ones for me. This time, perhaps because his force control was precise, the walnut meat appeared in one piece without crumbling between the shells. It was a magnificent skill.
The rabbit beastkin seemed quite proud of himself, as his ears drooped backward. Just as I had finished consuming the allotted amount of walnuts and was busily stuffing the shells into a sack, a sound rang out from the reception desk.
Clang, clang, clang.
It was a heavier, deeper sound than the light desk bells usually heard in the guild. "This is a rescue quest! The location is the hilly area southwest of Silverion, and the party size is two! I repeat... this is a rescue quest! The location is..."
The sound of the bell and the receptionist's high-pitched voice blended into the guild. A commotion broke out among the adventurers. The guild was filled with murmurs. A sinister atmosphere began to settle in.
Not long after the rescue quest announcement, the protagonist returned to his seat. He looked like he had almost sprinted back. "Hazel, did you hear?"
"Yes."
"Southwest vicinity. Right?"
I nodded in place of an answer. The hilly area southwest of the city. That was where the dungeon was located—the one where I had gone for 'field training' with Meredith. I had no evidence, but I had a strong premonition that Onyxia was involved in this. Looking at his expression, the protagonist seemed to think so, too.
"Let's go."
The protagonist's expression as he said that looked complicated. Is this incident entangled with Onyxia? I don't know. I don't know, but... if it is...
I gripped my staff tighter.
Despite what had happened, the reception area looked no different than usual. It was swarming with people trying to accept or post quests. The rescue quest announcement I had just heard was synonymous with 'quest failure.' It was possible that the adventurer who took the mission was just delayed, but usually, the probability of death or a fatal injury was high. Could they really work as if nothing happened after hearing an announcement that was essentially an obituary for a colleague? Even when I might have been on that rescue list if things had gone just a little bit wrong?
The expressions of the adventurers I glanced at were all stiff and rigid. Overall, a gloomy atmosphere permeated the guild. It was as if the usual, excessively cheerful atmosphere had been stripped away. I realized then that being an adventurer was a profession that brushed against death. Those who are in contact with such massive threats as death often hide their fear with excessive emotions. And there were those who walked boldly into places where such threats were waiting with their maws wide open. That was us.
A sign reading 'Emergency Quest Reception' was hung in a spot that was usually empty. Standing at the desk was... wait, was she standing? I made eye contact with a girl wearing glasses. She was a girl with large, round glasses. Her nose was round, and her ears were large and round, too. Her eyes were droopy, but not just at the corners—they were set low overall, giving her an impression that looked more languid than benevolent. She was wearing a receptionist uniform, but there were silver epaulets on her shoulders. Is she a high-ranking person?
I asked the protagonist secretly, and he replied that they were the epaulets of a senior receptionist. ...Is that high? Since 'senior' was attached, I knew she was high-ranking among the receptionists, but it was hard to tell what her position was within the guild. Like a Chief Telemarketer or a Head Janitor. I knew it was something significant, but I couldn't gauge it. It was puzzling.
"I would like to accept the rescue quest." The protagonist said to the girl. No, looking at how she was dressed, she probably wasn't a child. It's inconvenient that you can't tell the age of demi-humans by their appearance. The receptionist examined the protagonist's credentials and said, "Oh, so you're that rumored human trash?"
"Has word spread even among the receptionists?" The protagonist scratched his cheek, looking troubled.
"Yeah. There were a lot of girls who liked you, but they all said they were totally turned off." The receptionist continued, playing with her pen. "You and one slave? You've had good results lately, but we need at least one more person to save face. Kids these days have no spirit. Back in my day, if it was a rescue quest, there were so many people who wanted to do it that it was a problem." The receptionist said that and chewed on the tip of her quill pen. It seemed to be a habit; the tip was already tattered.
"I'll go, too." A low voice came from behind. I turned around, and it was that rabbit beastkin from earlier.
With the manpower filled, the rest of the work proceeded as naturally as flowing water. We rode a pre-arranged carriage and headed toward the hills in the suburbs. When I asked if it was the same dungeon we had investigated, the protagonist shook his head. He said that dungeon was already closed and this was a newly appeared one.
"Recently, traces of a 'Giant' have been seen in dungeons around this area, so we shortened the rescue quest issuance time, they said." The protagonist chewed over what the receptionist had told him.
"Could it be her?"
"Probably."
The protagonist seemed to think that the 'Giant' was Onyxia. I did, too. "What do you think? That..."
"Call me Toby."
"Toby-ssi, do you think the people who went in are still alive?"
He closed his small eyes tightly and said, "I have never seen a rescue issuance time this short before. They must be safe." He then opened his eyes slightly and looked at the protagonist. "But you guys seem to have a rough idea of how things are going... well, everyone has their own circumstances."
The inside of the carriage went quiet for a while. The only sounds were the creaking of the carriage as it swayed and the sound of horse hooves. It wasn't until we were almost at our destination after a long time that the protagonist resumed the conversation. "My name is Jiun. I'm a rogue, and I specialize in close-quarters combat. This is Hazel, a mage."
"It's a pleasure to meet you." Toby nodded to acknowledge my greeting.
"Just a swordsman living by the blade," he said calmly. The carriage jolted, and the long sword strapped to his waist clattered. Not long after, the carriage arrived at our destination. It was a similar landscape to where we had been dropped off last time, but it was a different place. A white cloth was tied to the roadside. Following the cloths spaced at regular intervals, I saw familiar stakes driven into the ground with cloths tied to their ends. Everyone confirmed that their equipment was in order and stepped into the dungeon. I felt as if I had crossed a thin membrane and arrived somewhere else in an instant. The sun was hot, and the air was dry. The smell of blood hit us instantly.