Chapter 24
Chapter 24
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 24
Chapter Title: Blackguard Luke
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Luna had to stop me with all her might, so I put the greatsword hilt I’d taken out of my inventory back in.
The bald guy was currently talking to Adela.
"Receptionist. What's the deal with the adventurers going to the ant nest with me?"
"Mr. Luke, who is behind you, has agreed to join."
"What? You want me to take a brat like that? What do you think I am, a babysitter?"
"I don't want to go either, you bald bastard."
"That son of a bitch is still...!"
The bald guy put his hand on the handle of his axe.
"Mr. Baldwin. I believe you were informed that if you cause another disturbance, your adventurer's license will be revoked."
"Tch... Fine."
I don't usually remember extras, but I remembered him because he was the only bald one in this crowd.
He was the same guy who picked a fight with me before, then tucked his tail between his legs and ran.
He acted all tough, so I thought he was a big shot, but he was only a D-rank?
And didn't she just mention revoking his adventurer's license?
'Couldn't I provoke this baldy, get into a fight, and make one more person unemployed?'
"This is the perfect chance."
"Luke, please..."
"What? He started it."
He had the face of someone who'd become a Demonic Human later on. It might not be a bad idea to kill him now.
"Still, an E-rank is just not right! We're putting our lives on the line here!"
"Isn't it because of your usual conduct that no one is signing up, Mr. Baldwin?"
"I think it's because he's a bald guy with a nasty personality that no one wants to party with him."
If he were a pretty girl, they would have put up with the bad personality and partied with him.
"Still, he needs to have some level of skill!"
"That's right, Adela. You're supposed to party with a person. How can someone be a person if they're missing their hair?"
A person isn't a beast; they have two hands and two feet. But that thing is missing its hair. How is that a person?
It would be more realistic to say the pig I saw yesterday was a person.
"You fucking bastard...!"
"Mr. Luke, that's enough..."
"Yep."
"Mr. Luke is an E-rank, but he recently took down a named monster, so I can guarantee his skills."
"Right... I've changed my mind. Let's go together."
After acting like a total thug just a moment ago, the bald guy suddenly turned around and offered me a handshake.
"Let's work well together on this request."
"Ptooey."
*Throb.*
I could see a vein pop on his forehead.
"Oops! My mistake! Your hand looked dirty, so I did it without thinking."
"Haha... It happens."
Looking embarrassed, the bald guy wiped his hand and left the Adventurer's Guild.
Adela, who had been watching, called me over separately and gave me a quiet warning.
"Mr. Luke. It's a bit late to say this, but please be careful of Mr. Baldwin."
"Yep."
"Don't just give me a half-hearted answer. Listen properly."
What should I have for dinner tonight? I'm tired of eating meat every day. Is there a place that serves rice nearby? Even if this is another world, having meat as a staple is a bit much.
"Mr. Baldwin has a belligerent personality among adventurers, but he's not one to pick a fight he thinks he'll lose."
I can't be clacking my dentures when I'm old, complaining, "This meat is too tough~!"
"He backed down quietly this time, but you don't know what he might be plotting behind your back."
Or maybe I should try some alcohol. I wonder what medieval beer is like.
"Do you understand?"
"Yep."
"What did I just say?"
"Dunno?"
"...Haaah. Ms. Luna, I'm counting on you."
"I understand."
"Yep."
***
After taking some time to prepare before departing, Luna and I met up with the bald guy at the pre-arranged gathering spot.
"...Why are you so late?"
"Your head was so bright I couldn't find my way."
"......"
There was a brief issue with tardiness, but...
"I'll handle everything myself, so you two just watch and don't get in the way."
He made sure to tell me that before we set off.
"Yup."
So I just told him I would.
'He told me to watch and not get in the way, so I'll do just that.'
Today's request was to subjugate a Giant Ant nest.
Well, as the name suggests, they're just gigantamax versions of ants.
Adela said they live in the boundary between goblin and war wolf territories, building their nests underground and living in hiding.
But unlike the typical ant's sweet tooth, these were omnivores that ate grass and even preyed on monsters that invaded their territory.
In other words, they also ate humans.
She said they were terrifying monsters that could crush a person's head with the large mandibles on their heads.
'Still just ants, though.'
Of course, the journey there wasn't smooth.
*Kieeeek!*
They supposedly built their nest between the territories of goblins and war wolves, and sure enough, we had several battles on the way.
Those bastards are real pains. You can't find a single one when you're looking, but they pop up when you're not.
"Hup!"
Contrary to his appearance, the bald guy used earth-attribute magic.
When he slammed his double-bladed axe on the ground, the earth shot up, piercing and killing the goblins all over their bodies.
'I thought he'd use light-attribute magic to reflect light off his head and blind them.'
To think he couldn't use Solar Flare, a technique reserved for the chosen ones.
It was a broken skill that worked unconditionally, regardless of the opponent's power level.
Unlike Master Saitama, who lost all his hair to gain his power, this guy was the exact opposite. I was starting to feel sorry for him.
'Then again, there are only two people in this world with the light attribute.'
The idiotic protagonist and the heroine hailed as a Saintess, who was probably at a different academy right now.
The author was so cruel. Instead of giving the light attribute to the person who could use it best, he showered the frustration engine with every blessing imaginable.
*Awooooooo!*
As the bald guy dealt with the continuously rushing goblins, the howl of a war wolf rang out as if to say it was their turn next.
Before long, a pack of war wolves burst out from between the trees and charged at the bald guy.
For a D-rank, he was handling them well enough on his own, but I could see his stamina draining from the previous fight.
I'm sure it wasn't this bad when I was fighting goblins and war wolves. Maybe his head looked like a Chupa Chups lollipop and was drawing an unusual amount of aggro because it looked tasty.
"What is your assessment, Luke?"
Luna asked me as I watched the scene from a distance.
"About what?"
"That adventurer, Baldwin. Do you really think he can do it alone?"
"You think?"
If he could have done it alone, would Adela have sent us?
People who say, "I'll handle this myself," are divided into two categories.
Either they're a true master, a helper-class talent who can handle everything alone, or they're just an idiot setting up a death flag.
I think he's clearly the latter, but in any case, since he told us to just watch, I'm just going to watch, even if he dies.
The ultimate bystander strategy.
The guy who had been so confident soon changed his tune. There's no winning against a mob. He suddenly turned around and shouted at us.
"Hey, brat! If you came along, then do something!"
He tells me to just watch, and now that he's being pushed back, he wants me to do something.
Who would listen to him when he says it like that?
It's human nature to want to do something more when you're told not to, and to want to do it less when someone begs you to.
"No!"
"What!?"
The bald guy, who had just lopped off a goblin's head with a powerful swing of his axe, questioned me.
"I do not take orders from those weaker than myself!"
"That, that crazy bastard...!"
"I might consider it if you give me some money!"
Whether it's in an RPG or a MOBA, whether you're getting carried or boosted, there's no such thing as a free lunch in this world.
If you want help, you have to pay! Huh?! Where in the world is anything free!
While we were chatting, the monsters swarmed in even more.
The momentum shifted to the monsters in that brief moment of carelessness.
"Urk! I'll give it to you! I'll give it to you, so just help!!!"
It seems the world, unfortunately, was on my side, not the bald guy's.
Giving me a chance to earn some free money like this.
"Upfront!"
"How am I supposed to give it to you in this situation!"
"That's your problem!"
To piss him off, I started tossing popcorn at him from behind.
Honestly, if he had managed to catch it in his mouth amidst all that chaos, I might have been willing to help.
But unfortunately, he couldn't catch it, and the popcorn I threw just slid off his shiny head and missed.
The bald guy ground his teeth, looking at me with eyes that wanted to kill me more than the monsters.
But that wasn't going to change anything.
Whether he tattles on me at the Adventurer's Guild later for just watching, or tries to get revenge, he has to survive first.
"Here! Take it!"
Somehow, he managed to throw the money in that situation.
"Nice! Got it!"
"Then hurry up and help!!"
"No!"
"You took the money, you fucking bastard!!"
"I said I'd think about it. I never said I'd help!"
I said it clearly.
I'd think about it if he gave me money.
To think he couldn't grasp the questioner's intent. He's guaranteed a zero on his language arts test.
"Luke. I think we should prepare as well."
"Huh?"
I'd forgotten while watching the baldy hunt, but there was no way they wouldn't come for us.
*Grrrrr—.*
*Kieeeek!*
Goblins and war wolves began to gather around Luna and me as well.
"Isn't this a good opportunity to test your newly crafted sword?"
"It feels like a waste to use it on mere goblins and war wolves."
"...You made the sword to be used, didn't you?"
"That's true."
Hoarding it will just turn it to crap.
I let only the hilt emerge from my inventory and gripped it with both hands to pull it out.
My big, long, and thick Dragon Slayer.
I immediately closed my eyes.
"Luke...? What are you doing?"
"Shh. Don't talk to me. This is a critical moment."
There is an indispensable process before using a greatsword.
And that is prayer.
'God, Buddha, Allah, please let this hit.'
In this moment, I am a devout believer.
How desperate is my prayer? Will my prayer reach the heavens?
That determines this weapon's accuracy.
*Bark!*
*Kieeeek!*
Just as my prayer ended, they all rushed at me at once.
"Oraaaaaaah━━━━!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
I swung the sword in a wide horizontal arc.
Cut in two with a single stroke.
The goblins that charged were split into upper and lower halves, and the war wolves, as the price for foolishly baring their fangs at a human, had their jaws ripped apart as their bodies were split in two along the length of the sword.
Blood splattering like it was sprayed from a misting bottle was a bonus.
"That's amazing..."
"I know, right."
Just by changing my weapon, hunting became easier.
"Heeeeey!! Help me!!!"
Of course, there were also those for whom that wasn't the case.