Tuesday 30 January 2018

Ch 63 Tondemo Skill de Isekai Hourou Meshi

Chapter 63 -- Refusing To Accept What I Show Them


Hey, Johan, are you around?" Apparently the tough old ojisan with the bald head from yesterday is named Johan.

"What brings you here, Guild Master? Yesterday you said..."

"Johan, I'm sorry to ask you to do this but could you close the door and make sure no-one else comes in? I don't want anyone else finding out about this."

Responding to the serious tone of the Guild Master's words Johan didn't hesitate and immediately closed the warehouse door.

"Right, this is fine." I said. "I'll get everything out now." The Guild Master had said he wanted to see everything I wanted to sell so I started pulling stored monsters out of my Item Box. First out were the Orthros and Chimaera which I had planned to keep there forever. Next was the Blue Ogre and four regular Ogres, the Orc King, the Metal Lizard and the Lake Shark. Today's haul from the goblin village massacre followed, a Goblin King, three Goblin Generals, two Goblin Mages and seven Goblin Soldiers aaaand... I felt around in the Box. No more monsters.

"That's the lot." I finished. The Guild Master and old man Johan were stunned.

The Guild Master finally unfroze. "...Ah, forgive me but... it's just amazing to see..." Pardon me, but you did want me to get everything out so I did.

Johan came back to life, his eyes remaining fixed on the monsters on display before him. "Guild Master... for me, this is the first time in my life I have ever seen Chimaera and Orthros..."

It's too late now but perhaps I shouldn't have brought them out...?

"Myself," the Guild Master replied, "I once saw an Orthros subjugated nearly forty years ago. Back then I remember it took three Adventurer parties, all of whom were rank A and rank S."

Three parties of entirely rank A and rank S Adventurers... that just shows how strong Fer is now, I suppose although right now that supposedly invincible Fenris was lying on the floor and yawning.

The Guild Master got down to business. "We can't purchase the Chimaera or the Orthros from you, the Guild simply doesn't have that much money. Even the Blue Ogre, Orc King, Metal Lizard and Lake Shark will be a big problem for us to pay for but the Chimaera and the Orthrus, I'm afraid..." he shook his head.

So they can't take them off my hands? Oh well, I had originally planned to just keep them tucked away forever anyway so it can't be helped.

"Well, please purchase the rest then." The rejected Chimaera and Orthros went back in my Item Box. Sleep well.

"To think I'll get to disassemble a Blue Ogre with my own hands..." Johan's eyes sparkled with the lust of a true craftsman. I listened closely as he eagerly explained that a Blue Ogre was a special variant of Ogre, several times stronger and usually rated as an S-ranked monster. I looked down at the animated rug sprawled at my feet. Fer, you hunted something like this for the fun of it? That's terrifying, kiddo.

I asked him about the other monsters the Guild Master had made a fuss about earlier.

 Johan-ojisan went on to explain that the Orc King rates about rank A by itself but since it's a King monster it's usually surrounded by hundreds of regular Orc followers so that makes it a class S opponent in reality.

A Metal Lizard is a monster of rank A but physically attacking it directly is pretty much useless since its skin is as hard as steel. Normally to subdue such a monster Adventurers would trap it in a pit and cast fire spells or drown it in water. However to succeed in doing something like that a considerable number of wizards would be needed as support so a Metal Lizard rarely appears on the market unless it is the result of an emergency subjugation request.

The Lake Shark is even rarer, ranked S but incredibly difficult to subdue since it can swim around freely in its lake to avoid attacks. Mostly it seems Lake Sharks are only seen when a drought dries up the waters they live in.

Fer, you really defeated all these monsters like it was nothing? Truly terrifying... The animated rug was snoring now.

"You caught the Goblin King, Mages, Generals and Soldiers today?" the Guild Master inquired.

"Yes, we, ah, ran into a goblin village earlier."

"Ah, so there was a village?" He explained the Guild had noted an increase in the number of goblins in the eastern forest and they had planned to investigate whether there was perhaps a goblin village there.

"There's a reward due to you for subjugating the goblin village, you know." Eh, a reward? That's good to hear. Fer forced me to into attacking the village but if we get paid for destroying it then that makes up for it, a bit anyway. Lucky!

"Dealing with the goblin village single-handed truly demonstrates Fenrir-sama's incredible fighting power. Of course he has already proven his capabilities by subduing the Chimaera and Orthros so it's not too surprising."

Hearing the Guild Master's words Sui suddenly trembled in her bag and protested to me telepathically.

"It wasn't just Fer-ojichan, Sui pew-pewed a lot of the green guys dead-!" she complained.

I comforted Sui and reassured her with a "Of course Sui killed a lot of goblins. Sui's amazing!" before I explained what had happened to the Guild Master.

"Fer dealt with the top goblin monsters but Sui and I killed all the ordinary goblins." I ducked my head a bit. "Although to be truthful I only managed to kill a few of them."

"Ah, I hadn't realised that. So your Slime is really that strong, is it?" Absolutely, Sui is really strong and she can make recovery medicines too. She can do so much.

"Guild Master?" Johan interrupted. "This young feller here already gave me a bunch of disassembling to get through to deliver to him tomorrow. If I push on and work really hard I think I can get the rest of these done too by then." He grinned. "Say the word and I'll show you what a craftsman with this sort of a challenge facing him can achieve." Johan's impatience to start disassembling the monsters piled up in front of him was clear.

Please work hard disassembling, Johan-ojisan. Oh, and remember to save the edible meat for me.

"Well now that's agreed will you come back tomorrow? We'll have your C-ranked Guild card ready by then and of course I can explain the high-ranking requests to you then."

"That sounds okay. I'll return tomorrow." It looked like our worries about the King and the nobles in this country were at an end, but now we have a high-ranking request to deal with. Well, it's actually Fer who'll be handling the request of course but I'm sure he'll do his best.

"Hoi, I'm hungry." The animated rug had woken up. Yeah yeah. "Remember our agreement?" What agreement was that?

"We'll only stay here in this city if you supply me with delicious meals." Fer reminded me. Oh, that agreement.

"You remember now. Good. Hurry up and make me a delicious meal." Yeah yeah. Let's go back to the inn then.

Monday 29 January 2018

Ch 62 Tondemo Skill de Isekai Hourou Meshi

Chapter 62 -- C-rank Adventurer


"To move on, sir," the Guild Master continued, "I presume that presenting all those goblins ears as proof of subjugation means that you want to improve your rank?"

Oh, I nearly forgot about that. Well, it's because of a certain someone who took me to a goblin village that I collected that many goblin ears in one request.

"If that's so then I can raise you to C rank using my authority as Guild Master." he went on.

"Eh? I'm ranked G at the moment and I only really wanted to go up to F rank so I could move around without getting demoted out of the Guild altogether after a month. Jumping straight up to C rank, is that really OK?"

"It's not a problem, any Guild Master such as myself can do so in exceptional circumstances. The bigger problem for us is that someone who has contracted with a Fenrir is only rank G."

I'd planned to rise from rank G to rank F but I'm suddenly going to become C-ranked. If I'm rank C then I'm safe from demotion for six months even if I don't complete any requests.

"Even if you decide not to rise to rank C there are some requests we would like you to consider."

Ah, it's like that is it? I wouldn't need to be rank C to do these 'requests'?

"Ummm, I'd be inclined to turn the requests down, I must admit." However there was another party involved. "Fer?"

"You're wanting to go up in rank, right? So what's the problem?"

"Well, it's a pain..."

"The requests, there's no problem taking them as I'd help you get them done quick."

"Pardon me for interrupting but since the requests would actually be of rank A or even rank S difficulty, in reality we would be asking Fenrir-sama to carry them out for us." the Guild Master said to Fer.

Ah, that's where he was going with this. I understand now. "Fer, you OK with this?"

"Huh, I don't understand this A or S stuff but there ain't anything that can beat me after all." he said matter-of-factly. Of course he'd say something like that...

"Oh, that's very good. You see, high-ranking requests don't appear often. If you became an A rank or even S-ranked Adventurer then the number of requests that are worthy of your attention is very limited. Usually such high-ranking Adventurers are only called upon specially when an emergency arises. Other than that then they are free to do as they please."

So there are only a few really high-ranked Adventurers and they don't have to grind the levels like other people to maintain their rankings? Of course if the Guild needs an A or S-ranked Adventurer in a hurry they can't always guarantee having any of them around. The Guild Master went on to explain.

"So that's why, if you're travelling around, we'd appreciate it if you could let the Guild offices in any city you're in know that you're available if a high-ranked request turns up."

Well, we'd be visiting the Adventurers Guild anywhere we went just to get meat so it seems OK for me to go up to rank C thanks to the Guild Master using his authority. One moment though, is it fine for me to accept rank A requests as a rank C adventurer?

"Is rank C really sufficient?" I inquired.

"Ah, that's not a problem. Each Guild office in this country will be contacted and the situation explained to them. Any such requests they might want you to take would come directly from the Guild Master so your rank would not be relevant."

I see. "Fer, you good with this? If we're travelling around then we're gonna have to ask the Adventurers Guild to do the dismantling if you want meat."

"Yeah, of course. I'm fine with it. Besides I enjoy a good fight every now and then. I get kinda flabby if I don't exert myself properly once in a while."

"Sui will fight as well-" Sui piped up telepathically, having been following the discussion quietly until then.

Ah, right right.  I patted a trembling Sui to calm her down.

"That seems OK then." I agreed.

"Oh, we're extremely grateful. I'll get in touch with the other Guild offices at once to inform them. The Adventurers of this country know each other quite well and the news will spread quickly, I believe. I will also order them to not bother you or get in your way."

Thanks. This Guild Master really knows his business. That should solve a lot of problems.

"So if I go through the high-ranking requests we have and narrow them down, can I give you a request tomorrow perhaps?"

Tomorrow I had planned to go to Lambert-san's shop and visit the Merchants Guild too but I'd be coming to the Adventurers Guild as well to collect the meat and sell the other items. Since the Guild Master helped us out then I'll visit the Adventurers Guild first thing tomorrow.

"Okay, I'm planning on coming back into the Guild tomorrow anyway in connection with some purchases." As I spoke I had a sudden thought. If everybody's going to know about Fer being a Fenris then I don't have to be quite as secretive as I've needed to be until now, and my Item Box is full of monsters like Orc King and Blue Ogre which I thought I'd have to hide forever.

"Ummm, would it be OK if you bought some other monsters from me?"

"Eh, more monsters? There shouldn't be a problem." The Guild Master still looked puzzled so I explained further.

"You see, I thought they would cause us trouble if I tried to sell them and we wanted to avoid notice so I've kept them tucked away instead. Since the Guild Master has come to an arrangement with Fer and the fact he's a Fenris will be widely known soon then I figure it should be OK to sell them now..."

"I see. So what sort of monsters do you have?" He leaned forward, obviously interested.

"Eh, well there's a Chimaera and an Orthros. In addition there's an Orc King and a Blue Ogre and-"

The Guild Master's face froze as I spoke. "W- w- wait, did you just say 'Chimaera'. A- a- and 'Orthros'?" He put his head in his hands as if he was close to fainting. Ah, maybe I had said the wrong thing but after a second or two the Guild Master stood up shakily.

"Please follow me, I wish to confirm this." I picked up Sui's bag and then Fer and I followed him out of his office and down to the Guild's warehouse where I had been the day before.

Sunday 28 January 2018

Ch 61 Tondemo Skill de Isekai Hourou Meshi

Chapter 61 -- It Seems We Won't Be Hassled


I got off Fer's back outside the Adventurers Guild in Carerina and entered with him. We had hit the busy time when adventurers congregated and the place was crowded so we joined the line at reception.

"This'll get you up to rank F, so can we head for the ocean tomorrow?" Fer said telepathically.

"Even if I do end up F-ranked I want to stay in this city a bit more."

"Why?"

"Lambert-san, the merchant we rescued from the bandits, I want to go to his shop."

"Day after tomorrow then?" Fer persisted.

"Don't be in such a hurry. The ocean won't run away, you know."

"Yeah well... the folks around here are kinda boring and besides my sleeping space at the inn's a bit cramped."

Ah, that beast. The stable stalls for contracted beasts at the inn are smaller than he really likes. There's only enough room in his stall for Fer to go in and lie down after all. In our travels recently we were sleeping under the sky without a care so the inn's stable is bound to seem somewhat claustrophobic. I feel for him a bit...

"I can put down a futon in your stall if you'd like? That'll make it a bit more comfortable won't it?"

"Yah, do that. It'll help."

"OK, I don't think we'll be that long so just hang on. I'll make something tasty later."

"Gotcha. Don't forget the delicious food. We can stay here as long as there's delicious food for me."

"Yeah yeah." Just as I answered him my turn came up. I handed my Guild card to the receptionist.

"Ah, this is the goblin subjugation request? Have you got the right ears as proof of completing the request?"

"Yes. And... here they are." I dropped a heavy hemp sack full of goblins ears on the counter with a bang in front of the receptionist.

"Ah? Is this, what is-?" she exclaimed. Oh, sorry to confuse you but that's not all. I dropped another three sacks on the counter with a thump-thump-thump. Four bags full of goblin's ears, two hundred and twenty-seven of them in total. I knew it was a good idea to buy an extra sack.

The receptionist seemed stunned. What's the problem Receptionist-san? She stared into the four bags without saying a word.

"Ah, are you all right?" At my words the receptionist started then with a "Please wait a moment" she hurried off into the rear of the Guild offices. She came back a short time later.

"The Guild Master would like to meet with you so follow me if you would. Bring your contract beast with you please."

I nodded and asked Fer telepathically to follow us as we went up to the Guild Master's room on the second floor. It was bigger than normal since it was the boss's room but it still seemed cramped when Fer entered.

"I'm Willem, the Guild Master of the Adventurers Guild here in Carerina." Willem-san, the Guild Master had grey hair and lots of wrinkles on his face. He seemed to be in his 60s by his appearance but he looked fit and strong despite his age.

"My name is Mudouka. Nice to meet you." The Guild Master had called us up from downstairs, was me having presented so many goblin ears at one time as proof of the request causing a problem?

"Your companion is a Fenrir, no doubt about it." Saying it like that the Guild Master was clearly very sure of his identification. I guessed that sort of Appraisal ability was part of being a Guild Master.

"Yes. Fer is a Fenrir." I confirmed.

"To actually see such a legendary monster with my own eyes..." the Guild Master murmured, his gaze fixed on Fer. Knowing Fer was a Fenrir I wasn't too surprised at his reaction. Ah, talking about monsters I should maybe introduce him to Sui too?

"As well as Fer I've got another contracted beast..." I pulled Sui from her bag.

"It's Sui, she's a Slime. She's a Unique Slime and unlike ordinary Slimes she's very strong."

"A S- Slime, you say?" he asked. "Yeah." I nodded in reply.

The Guild Master might wrongly think Sui was a regular Slime but I knew Sui was strong.

"Hmph, well you contracted with a Fenrir... I won't pry since I assume there's something you're wanting to keeping hidden about the circumstances."

Yup, you bet there is. If I told you that a Fenrir contracted with me because he was obsessed with my cooking you wouldn't believe me anyway.

"Anyway let me explain why I asked you to come to my office. We received an urgent message from the Royal Palace to pass on to you. Ahem, to put it simply it reads,"-- 'Please enjoy your stay freely in our peaceful nation. We will never attempt to force you to leave and we have instructed our vassal nobles that you are welcome here and under our protection. If you should suffer any problems then please do not hesitate to request our assistance.'

Eh? So I'm free to come and go as I please? The King and the nobles won't bother me?

"I'm surprised, this country's King seems to be a quite direct type, isn't he? Royalty usually likes to meddle with the lives of the little people under them but in my case he's being quite practical."

"Well, that is..." the Guild Master looked flustered.

"I'm sure he's thinking that it's better for me to not be hassled while I'm here because he doesn't want to make an enemy of someone who has a Fenrir as a contracted beast, since he knows very well that a Fenrir can easily destroy an entire country. He wants to stay on my right side because of the contract and he's even issued orders to make sure no-one else bothers me too."

It seemed like a good arrangement to me but I thought I should check with Fer although as long as I make dinner for him he's usually willing to go along with anything I decide.

"It sounds good to me... what do you think, Fer?"

"No problem. This place is as good as any to stay for a while, unless someone starts something." Fer bared his teeth and the Guild Master winced.

"If you say so." I nodded reassuringly to Willem.

"Good, that's excellent." The Guild Master said. "Even though the Adventurers Guild is not controlled by any one nation and maintains its independence, the Adventurers here are mainly from this kingdom and they have families and connections in this country. The Adventurers Guild is reassured that your stay here will be peaceful."

Saying that so formally was quite intimidating in its own way...

Friday 26 January 2018

Idle Talk 6 - Tondemo Skill de Isekai Hourou Meshi (post Ch 60)

Idle talk 6 - Three Heroes


"Hero Summoning"

Recently my younger sister has gotten into reading light novels and that phrase appears in a lot of them. I read them as well to kill some time but they're pretty crappy stories. Ordinary school students and 'salaryman' office workers are summoned into a parallel world and given magical cheat powers and are acclaimed as Heroes and they go out to defeat the Demon King while building a harem in the process. The contents of these novels were so bad they were laughable.

However I or rather we have actually been brought to a parallel world by a "Hero Summoning".

I'm Saitou Kaito and I attend the same high school as Oono Kanon and Yoshida Rio, that makes us three "ordinary school students". I've got no idea who the salaryman is though.

Kanon and Rio and me were in the same class two years ago and we became good friends. We live close by each other and we usually went home together and today was no exception. We were waiting at a crossing for the light to go green and chatting and there may have been a salaryman in a suit behind us, I'm not sure. Then suddenly our surroundings started to glow... And before we realised it here we were.

"Brave Heroes-" A beautiful girl with blond hair and blue eyes and dressed like a fairytale princess smiled at us.

At our feet was a magic pattern in a circle with a man and a woman wearing robes to either side of us. Knights in armour lined the sides of the room. It was just like an illustration from those crappy light novels my sister loved to read.

"What's this, is it a Hero Summoning? What the-" I was stunned, was this really happening? But it truly was a Hero Summoning ceremony. However the ceremony should have Summoned three people and there were four of us.

It was deemed necessary to conduct something called a "Status Appraisal" so I was examined by some kind of magical spell.

[Name]  Kaito  .  Saitou
[Age] 17
[Type] A Hero from another world
[Level] 1
[Fitness] 800
[Magical Power] 769
[Attack power] 772
[Defense force] 759
[Agility] 746
[Skill] Appraisal, Item Box, Holy Swordsman, Fire Magic, Water Magic, Earth Magic, Wind Magic, Light Magic, Lightning Magic, Ice magic

So according to this Status Appraisal I'm a Hero. It turned out Kanon and Rio were also Heroes with similar stats. After seeing our stats it was clear we really were Heroes. I used to laugh at those light novels I borrowed from my little sister but somehow it might not be bad to be called a Hero, no to actually be a Hero and we're all Heroes together which makes me feel a bit better.

Oh, and there's the salaryman guy whose Status Appraisal was just "A person from a different world who got dragged in by mistake". His status levels were considerably less than ours and the only skills we had in common were Appraisal and Item Box. He's definitely not a Hero but apparently everyone Summoned from another world will get Item Box and Appraisal. He got only one extra Unique Skill which is "Net Super." What the heck is that? We were Summoned to be Heroes so they needed people with strong skills, and "Net Super" is really funny.

After all the status Appraisals were completed we had an audience with the King. It turned out they summoned us as Heroes since the Demon King had been attacking this country. They had managed to drive him off but they dodn't think they would continue to succeed so they conducted a Hero Summoning with great difficulty. They begged us to help them.

It felt good to be asked this by the King and I figured I would do as he requested but I didn't know about the others.

"What will you do?" I asked Kanon and Rio.

"Well, we can't go anywhere else and only the Demon King knows how to return us to Japan so I'll go along with you." said Kanon.

"I agree with Kanon. We're powerful, we can help those who are suffering at the hands of the Demon King can't we?" said Rio.

When we announced our decision the King, the Queen, the princess and all the courtiers were delighted. It made me feel even better about accepting the role of Hero.

The salaryman, however refused. "I'm not a Hero and I'd only get in your way if I stay here. I can find something else to do though. If I can get some money to live on for two or three months then I can find a job somewhere, I think." he explained.

That made sense, his status was terrible and he couldn't fight so he wouldn't be any help.

After the salaryman left, Kanon and Rio and I had a discussion with the others in the room.

"The first thing you need to do is gain more power." said the head of the Knights. "You should all register as adventurers and devote your efforts to levelling up as soon as possible." We were introduced to three Knights who would assist us.

I was surprised, I'm 180cm tall and they tell me my face is good enough to get me into a talent agency or even a boy band. Kanon has beautiful eyes and long black hair and she is tall and slender too. Rio's a bit small but she's pretty enough that people think she's a pop idol. I thought we stood out but these three Knights were something else.

"My name's Leonard Hume. Pleased to make your acquaintance." Leonard was taller than I am, handsome with a princely air, an urbane blonde ikemen type with green eyes. Rio stared at Leonard-san, her face red, obviously having fallen in love at first sight.

"Aaron Barrera is my name. I'm looking forward to working with you Heroes." Aaron was also taller than me, with brown eyes and bright red hair, a fierce-looking guy. Oh, he winked at Kanon... but that didn't seem to bother her for some reason.

"My name's Louise Winkler. Let's get on well, Hero." Louise was  the only woman in the group of Knights. Louise, how to describe her... I was fascinated by her on first sight. She resembled a Hollywood actress I had a crush on. She was maybe 165 cm tall with honey-blonde hair and blue-green eyes and a slender figure. Her hair was trimmed neatly to shoulder-length, her features sharp and with a pleasing expression. Just thinking of her being near me made me excited.

Although it seems we'll have to register as adventurers first, this looks like it's going to be quite enjoyable.

Thursday 25 January 2018

Idle Talk 5 - Tondemo Skill de Isekai Hourou Meshi (post Ch 60)

Idle Talk 5 -- I can SEE you, I can SEE you...

Ah, I ate too much because it was so delicious, you know. I finished off the other-world guy's offerings in just three days but I couldn't help myself, I'm like that.

Come on other-world guy, hurry up and pray to me and make your offerings again. If he's late again I'll have to consider sending him an oracle this time regardless.

It's all I can think of as I watch the world below in the scrying pool.

Mumu-, at last! The other-world guy is finally praying and making offerings.

"Wind Goddess Ninril-sama, please accept my offering as thanks for your continued protection now and in the future."

[Oh, I've been waiting! I'd have sent you an oracle if you'd been any later.]

What are you saying, other-world guy? Eating sweets will make me fat?

[I- I, I, I won't get fat, truly. G- Goddesses like me are always beautiful you know.]

Deities like me can't get fat and I'm always beautiful, that's just how I am. Naturally.

What do you mean, "I stutter"?

[B- B- Be quiet, you! Those cakes and puddings were very tasty but we've not eaten any for the last three days, I'll have you know.]

It's totally not my fault they're all gone. It's just the cakes and puddings were so delicious. The other-world guy is thinking "Eating all that in just three days you're bound to get fat, aren't you?"  He's being snarky even though I've told him I'm eternally beautiful and not scared of getting fat which totally won't happen anyway.

[Gumumumu, let's move on to more important things. What sort of sweet things are you offering me this time?]

That's right, stop distracting me. Sweets, that's what I want you to talk about.

Uh, that's not a nice thing to think about me, other-world guy.

"[What? They're only sweets, you know! You fool! Sweets aren't that great, huh?]

It seems the other-world guy has figured out I can know what he's thinking and he's calling it a violation of his 'right to privacy'.

[Hah, what 'right to privacy'? I'm a Goddess, you know. There's nothing you can keep secret from a deity like me. I can see what you do, hear what you think in your whole life from beginning to end. You might want to remember that clearly, you know. Anyway, I'm a Goddess, don't forget it. I'm all-powerful and that's why you should show me some respect, you know.]

Huh, I'm a Goddess after all, you know. I'm all-powerful.

Nu-? A- A deplorable Goddess, am I? M- Me?

[Nuuu, I am so totally not deplorable, you know!] This other-world guy is mega-!

"Well, this time I chose some Japanese sweets, that is sweets from the country I came from." he said. " Ninril-sama requested anpan and dorayaki and there's a sweet that's got a lot of 'anko', the same filling inside them."

[What'd you say? That 'anko' pastry? That subtle sweetness is so delicate, you know.] I started drooling as I remembered the taste of 'anko'.

A certain person is thinking unkind thoughts about a certain Goddess. Again.

"And as you can see, I've also prepared an offering of dorayaki." he prayed. There's dorayaki too?

[Ohh, dorayaki. Great job, you.] Time to transfer his offering to the world of the Gods... aaaand done.

[Muho-, there's a lot this time. You've done well my disciple.]

Lots and lots, oh there's so much this time... isn't it great?

[I'll eat a dorayaki straight away. Mm-mm-mm- muhaha, delicious as ever, hah!]

It's been so long since I tasted such sweetness. It's delicious, it's delicious.

This time I'll be careful and not eat too much. I swear.

But, just a single piece more... yeah, that's fine.

'Castella', it's a square cake, the top and bottom are dark and the thick middle is a yellowish sweet filling.

 Just a mouthful then, munch. Mmmm-, it's fluffy and sweet and soft and its taste is unbearable, you know- Sooo good, munch munch munch. Oh, it's all gone.

I should really stop eating now, shouldn't I? Yes, I should stop now, don't do what I did last time.

Uuuuh, but can I resist, can I...?

The figure of a woman watches from the shadows as Wind Goddess Ninril-sama wrestles with her conscience and loses to the sweetness arrayed before her.

I wondered why she was being so secretive, the hidden woman thought to herself. She shouldn't be selfish, such delicious food is meant to be shared. She hurried off to immediately inform the other Goddesses.

Tuesday 23 January 2018

Idle Talk 4 - Tondemo Skill de Isekai Hourou Meshi (post Ch 60)

Idle Talk 4 -- Eeny Meeny Miny Mo

The Wind Goddess Ninril was, as usual, staring at the visions of the world below appearing on the surface of  a pool of water.

[He's late, he's late, he's late you know-]

Man from another world, pray to me and make your offerings. I'm getting tired of waiting. Fenrir, tell that other-world man off!

Good boy, Fenrir. I didn't give that other-world man my Divine Protection free of charge, after all. He's got to pray to me and make offerings in return. Only an fool would forget something so important. He's really stupid.

 Finally the other-world guy offered up a prayer to me.

[Ooh, finally. Really, how long were you going to keep me waiting?]

He said he got distracted and he was busy and... He was lying of course. I can read his mind after all, you know. He apologised and I forgave him. I'm not a monster after all.

[Hmmm, I'll forgive you this time but don't make such a mistake again. I considered sending you an oracle to remind you many times but there are reasons why I couldn't do it.]

How many times I considered sending him an oracle... But there are all sorts of Goddesses here as well as Gods of War, Blacksmith Gods and other Gods too, you know. The oracles I send might be noticed by my fellow Goddesses and if they got a sniff of the offerings I receive then they'd want a share. The longer I can receive offerings without them finding out the better, you know.

The other-world guy laid out an array of assorted items as an offering and I looked them over.

[Woohoo! This, this is-!!]

So many multi-coloured sweets? Really? Everything's different too as well? Really truly?

The other-world guy is asking me if it's maybe too much...

[Wh-what are you saying? Too much? No, this is perfect. Next time you should offer the same amount. That's an order.] Totally. There's no way this is 'too much', you know.

The other-world guy told me that I should keep the rest refrigerated to eat later. Hah! Goddesses like myself have no need of simple refrigeration.

[I got it. However we Gods don't need to refrigerate things, we can just stop time passing for them. I can enjoy one piece each day. Mmphph...]

Mmphph- Mmphph- Mmphph- It's so nice to indulge myself every now and then.

[Anyway, offer up this amount next time, please. Be sure not to forget again.] I order the other-world guy.

Fuahahaha, these sweets look superb! Right, let's get started.

Enny, meeny, miny, mo! Yes, this one here. Some kind of red berry on a white triangle, a sweet called "strawberry shortcake" apparently. Well then, I'l just take a bite.

Muhaha-, it's so incredibly tasty! The soft and fluffy insides and the white surroundings come together so well. The red berry is sweet and sour at the same time. Munch munch munch. Hah, it's all gone.

Just one doesn't feel like enough though, I'll have just another one you know? Next iiiiiis- this one.

Soft and round, it's called a "cream choux" apparently. Right then, munch! Muha-!, soft delicate pastry surrounding yellowish sweetness inside, oh I can't bear it! This is great, it's so delicious! Munch munch, oh it's vanished you know.

I'm not quite satisfied so I'll have just one more, I promise.

This weird-looking pastry is called a "Mont Blanc". It's made from lots of long twisted brown-coloured threads, oddly firm... is that some kind of nut on top of it? Well, let's go for it. Munch.

Muha-!, the full-bodied sensual brown threads complement the sweet richness of the filling. The nuts on the top are also crisp and sweet. Munch munch munch. Oh, it's vanished, how did that happen? It was soooo good, you know.

I meant to enjoy them one at a time but somehow I ended up eating three of them at once. Oops.

Gah, have patience. I'll enjoy some more tomorrow, you know. See you tomorrow.

Hurry up tomorrow.

Friday 19 January 2018

Ch 60 Tondemo Skill de Isekai Hourou Meshi

Chapter 60 -- Getting Bigger and Smaller


After shivering and shaking for a few seconds Sui suddenly became huge. She was two and a half metres across and maybe a metre and a half high. She was even slightly bigger than Fer.

"Sui has evolved." Fer said. I used Appraisal on her.

[Name] Sui
[Age] 1 month
[Types] Big Slime
[Level] 2
[Fitness] 684
[Magical Power] 679
[Attack power] 668
[Defense force] 674
[Agility] 682
[Skill] acid bullet, restorative medicine creation, growth

Sui's become a Big Slime and she's already level 2? All her other stats are higher and she's got a new skill too. 'Growth', what does that mean? Is it why she's suddenly so big?

"Fer, you know anything about this 'Growth' skill?"

"Nope. Usually when a Slime gets to be a certain level it splits in two but that's all."

I'm at a loss. "Sui, you've evolved and you've got a new skill, are you bigger because you used it?" I asked.

"Sui is not sure how but Sui can be bigger or smaller."

"Bigger OR smaller?" I asked.

"Try-, watch what happens." As she said that several smaller Slimes split away from Sui and she returned to her original size.

"Everybody- go melt the green guys-" she commanded. The small Slimes climbed on top of the goblin corpses and then they burst, splashing something like acid and dissolving the bodies to the point where even the bones vanished. Both Fer and I were astounded at what we had just witnessed.

"Have you ever seen anything like this, Fer?"

"Never in my very long life."

"Hey Sui, what were those small Slimes that split off you?"

"Unn-, that was Sui too-"

"They were Sui as well?"

"You see, if Sui thinks she wants to get big then her body gets big. When Sui wants to get smaller then Sui's big body splits up into little Suis. Sui can talk to the little Suis for a bit of time after Sui divides but not long."

Uhhh, she can grow big using her 'Growth' skill then she can split up into smaller Slimes afterwards and even talk to them for a short time. Hmmm...

"What happens to the divided parts, the little Suis?" I'm worried about that.

"You see, the smaller Suis disappear after a time and Sui stays." So the split-off bodies only last for a finite time? Wow, that's a really amazing skill. She can stay safe and launch long-range attacks and let the enemy "kill" the split-off bodies without harm to her. A surprise attack would be particularly effective. They might even be able to make lots of Sui's Deluxe High-grade Potion as well.

"Wow, Sui keeps getting stronger..." I exclaimed.

"That's right." said Fer. "But it's a good thing, not a problem right?" He had a point.

"Aruji-, my tummy's empty-"

"Muu, definitely."

I was wondering when these two gluttonous characters would get around to mentioning food.

"Well, I don't fancy eating around here so let's move away a bit." Being surrounded by goblin corpses wasn't good for my appetite. Sui climbed back into her bag and I got on Fer's back again.

After going for a while I said "Here's fine" to Fer and we stopped.

"I'm a bit tired so d'you mind if I just get out some sweet buns for now?"

"Anything's good as long as you're quick." Fer growled.

Yeah yeah. I bought some buns from the Net Super. As well as the usual anpan and cream buns this time I got melon bread and choco cornets and of course, canned coffee which is the essential accompaniment to sweet buns.

"First time I've seen these." Fer's sharp eye spotted the melon bread and choco cornets and he zeroed in on them.

"Yeah yeah, hang on and let me get them out for you."

I opened the bags, lined the contents up on a dish and let Fer and Sui help themselves.

"Unh, tasty-"

"Mu, delicious. First time we've had these..."

Sui really liked the sweet buns and Fer liked the melon bread and the choco cornets. I sat back with some canned coffee in my hand and sank my teeth into an anpan. Oh, deee-licious! A tired body craves sweet things.

Thinking back, I wondered how a simple goblin subjugation request had escalated into the destruction of an entire goblin village. Huh-. Well it ended up with me getting the hundred points I needed so it worked out, I suppose.

I had been planning on a long stay in this city but it looks like it's already over. Somehow.

Tuesday 16 January 2018

Ch 59 Tondemo Skill de Isekai Hourou Meshi

Chapter 59 -- Dead Bodies Everywhere


When we snuck up on the village, making sure not to be detected, we saw swarms of goblins there.

"So what should we do?"

"What do you mean, 'what should we do?'" grumbled Fer.

"Well, I don't want to really, but how should we attack the village?"

"Just like before, of course." No no, how about employing strategy or something?

"No use hanging around, let's go." Saying that Fer raised his muzzle and let out a loud howl. Was that the right move? The goblins turned to look at us as Fer's cry reverberated around the village. A mob of goblins brandishing clubs, swords and axes headed towards us.

"I've put up a Barrier for you guys as usual. I'll go hunt the top-ranking goblins, you and Sui can deal with the small-fry." Saying that Fer ran towards the village. Oh no, not this again-

"Uwaa-, there's lots of green guys-! Aruji-, Can I 'pew pew pew' shoot them good-?" Battle maniac Sui had crawled out of her bag, ready to fight.

"Attagirl. 'Pew pew pew' them good, we'll finish off all the green guys here."

"Sui and Aruji gonna finish them all off-?"

"Yeah, me and Sui are gonna finish them all off. Ready?"

"Uhn, ready-. Sui, do my best-"

"Okay, let's go."

"Unh-."

After that it was desperate times. I shot off magic Fireballs and Stone Bullets continuously and Sui fired off Acid Bullets freely left and right too. My accuracy was terrible but there were lots of enemies in front of us so it didn't matter too much. To tell the truth I was so frantic I was just shooting off Fireballs and Stone Bullets at random and when I did hit something it was a miracle.

Compared to me Sui was like a sniper, her Acid Bullets hit enemies every time and she never missed. She's so skilful. She steadily destroyed the goblins rushing towards us while I shot off Fireballs and Stone Bullets like crazy.

The battle seemed endless but it actually finished in less than an hour.

"Fuu-, I'm worn out. We're finally finished, thank goodness."

"Yay-! We beat them all, Aruji-!" Sui bounced up and down, obviously very pleased. I wasn't angry though, she's tired but still bouncing. Sui's so strong, I reckoned she killed 80% of the goblins here. She's definitely strong.

I looked around. Dead bodies everywhere. That describes the scene perfectly. Dead goblins as far as the eye could see.

"You finally finished?" Fer suddenly re-appeared.

"Have you finished your part, Fer?"

"I finished a while ago. Goblin King, Goblin Generals, Goblin Soldiers and Goblin Mages, piece of cake." Oh, I see, there was a Goblin King. Well, it was a goblin village after all. Hah, there are more than two hundred goblin bodies out there.

 "It's time to cut the ears off, I suppose."

"Yeah. You'll have to do it since you're the only one of us with hands. Get to work." Fer explained.

Yeah yeah, I get it. I started cutting the right ears off the goblin corpses without arguing. The goblins Sui had killed with Acid Bullet resembled cast members from a zombie movie, bright blue and pale white so I just concentrated on cutting off the ears without looking at them too closely. It's best to switch off your thinking while you do such things, just get on with it.

It took me about three hours to cut off all the right ears. When I counted them there were two hundred and twenty-seven of them. That's a dreadful number.

While I remember... "Hey Fer, didn't you say something about a Goblin King and some other higher-ranking monsters?" I had recalled something about the last goblin village whose Goblin King had a magic stone inside his body.

"This Goblin King? He's kinda small." So he wouldn't have a magic stone then. Okay then, since the Goblin King is worthless let's just go back to the city. However for some reason Fer got me to take the higher-ranked goblins with us. I put the Goblin King Fer had defeated, three Goblin Generals, two Goblin Mages and seven Goblin Soldiers in my Item Box.

Turning to leave I looked around and I had a sudden thought. "Hey Fer, is it OK to just leave these bodies lying around here?"

"What's the problem with that?"

"it just seems unhygenic and besides won't the bodies attract other monsters?"

"Yeah, other monsters will come along and eat the dead goblins. That's the Circle of Life around here."

"Yeah well that's maybe how things work but I'm thinking a feast like this is likely to attract some big dangerous monsters and this is a bit too close to the city for comfort."

"It's as you say, so you could maybe burn the bodies if you want."

Even if I wanted to burn the corpses, all I've got to do it with is my puny Fireball spell... Besides we're in the forest and starting a forest fire would be  a problem. Ah, we've got Sui to help. I think she can manage it with her acid.

"Sui, can you 'pew pew' all these green guys until they're totally melted?"

"Unh-. Can do it OK-. Totally melt all the green guys?-"

"Yeah, all of them. Do it for me please?"

"Sure. But, wait a bit-" Saying that Sui shook and burbled, trembling oddly.

S- Sui?

Ch 58 Tondemo Skill de Isekai Hourou Meshi

Chapter 58 -- Goblin Subjugation Request


I went to the bulletin board to get a request immediately. As the receptionist had explained, rank G requests were quite limited. There were many menial jobs around town listed as requests but there was a note at the bottom of the list... oh, these jobs only earned one point. Another G rank request on the board was gathering medicinal herbs, worth two points. There were virtually no requests to subdue monsters suitable for G rank adventurers, only goblins but they were worth three points.

Uh, that's problematic. Right then, gathering medicinal herbs it is. I can do that. When I put my hand out to take the request for gathering medicinal herbs a thought came from Fer.

"Goblins, it says there."

"What? You can read those letters, Fer?"

"Who do you think I am?" Fer's thought was tinged with annoyance. "I've lived a long time, remember, so learning to read human writing was nothing for me."

Yeah yeah, OK. But anyway goblins are out of the question. I put my hand out again to take the medicinal herbs request and Fer interjected with a thought. "Hey, I said 'Goblins' didn't I?"

"Tough. I'm going to take a request to collect herbs."

"You need points, you said. If you want to do that you should choose goblin subjugation since it's got the highest points." Fer said.

"No, I'll earn points by working hard (safety first is my motto)."

"What're you talking about? We've not reached the ocean yet." Haah? Since when are you wanting to go to the ocean?

"I didn't say anything about it before, that's all." Fer shrugged. "I just decided. I want to eat Kraken and Sea Serpent." What the-? "So you'll have to get up to rank F as quickly as possible."

You might recall me mentioning my horrible experiences with goblins previously, no? Due to a certain someone's actions...

"Hey, Sui? What d'you think we should do? You wanna go fire off some Acid Bullets again?" Fer said telepathically to Sui who stuck her head out of the bag.

"A fight? Sui wants to go 'pew pew' shooting." Bah, Fer's enlisted Sui on his side.

"No, Sui, we don't wan't to go 'pew pew' shooting, medicinal herbs, we want to go gather some don't we? They'll be made into all sorts of nice medicines." I argued desperately.

"Ehhh." Sui sounded disappointed. "Sui can make medicines to cure painful wounds. Better Sui goes to shoot 'pew pew', fight." Unfortunately that was true, Sui had a restorative medicine creation skill.

"Sui agrees with me, take the goblin subjugation request."

"Goblins? Green goblins? Sui go 'pew pew' at the goblins, finish them off good." S- Sui-chan?

"You're outnumbered." said Fer contentedly. Gaaaah. I give up. I can't say no to cute Sui when she says she wants to go 'pew pew' and finish them off good. I plucked the goblin subjugation request off the board and took it to the receptionist.

* * * * *

The request entailed subjugating goblins which lived in the forest east of the city. The receptionist explained that was the most common place for them to appear. The request was for killing five goblins and the reward was three silver coins and three points. Right, let's go hunt goblins and then return to the city. That's best.

We ran into a group of three goblins as soon as we entered the forest.

"Aruji-, can I go 'pew pew pew'?" Sui asked excitedly.

"All yours." I said.

Pew pew pew. The goblins were hit in the belly by Sui's Acid Bullets and fell to the ground with a thump. The dead goblins had large holes burned in their middles. Awesomely lethal, our Sui is.

"Skillful as ever, Sui. We'll cut off the ears as evidence that we got the goblins, Sui, so remember to hit them in the belly like just now and don't aim for the head."

"I got it-"

I've got to cut off the right ears of the goblins to prove we killed them to claim the reward. Actually I don't really want to do it but I had to, I suppose... I took my knife and started cutting the ears off, dropping them into a sack I had bought on the way out of the city. I felt sick, uuuurp...

I pulled myself together and we moved off again, looking for more goblins in the forest.

"Hey, there's another five goblins over there." Fer said. I followed his gaze.

"Can Sui do it-?"

"Wait, Sui. This guy here will do it this time." Fer ordered. Me? Well, OK. We're in the forest so I'll use Stone Bullet rather than Fireball. Right, concentrate and-

"Stone Bullet!-" Pebbles smacked into the goblins. Two fell down with a thump but the other three weren't hurt too much. They screamed as they ran towards us waving their clubs.

"Stone Bullet! Stone Bullet! Stone Bullet!-" The goblins running towards me fell down. Fuuh, I managed to stop them. I need to fire off three Stone Bullets to do the job it seems or some of them could get away. I should remember that. Safety first.

I bent down and cut off the ears of the dead goblins. With eight ears that's us done.

"We've completed the request, let's go back to the city... Fer?" Fer was sniffing the ground then he looked up, gazing deep into the forest.

"What's up?"

"There's a goblin village up ahead."

"What, a village?"

"Let's go."

"Whaddya mean, 'let's go'. We're not going anywhere except back to the city."

"If you hunt more goblins, you'll get more points won't you? So if we go to the goblin village and kill them all then you'll get lots of points."

Well, I suppose so but goblins and especially goblin villages hold bad memories for me.

"Sui, do you still wanna fight?"

"Uh-huh, Sui wants to fight more, shoot lots more 'pew pew pew'!"

Damn it, this bastard's got Sui on his side again.

"Eh? Sui, we've done enough, we could be back in the city in ten minutes."

"Eh-, don't. Sui wants to shoot more 'pew pew pew', Aruji-"

Sui, when did you become such a battle maniac? You bounce around and jump up and down and are so healing and comfortable and that's enough.

"That's how it is. Give up and get on me." Fer ordered. Geh, I lost again.

"Can I go 'pew pew pew' some more? Yahoo!" Sui bounced around and jumped up and down. Somehow that made me feel happier. Then she jumped up to my chest and trembled. "Thanks so much, Aruji- I love you-"

Ah, Sui-tan is sooo cute. She loves to fight but her true strength is in her cuteness.

"Hoi, hurry up." Yeah yeah. I'm just enjoying being cuddled by Sui. I put her in her bag and then I straddled Fer's back.

Ch 57 Tondemo Skill de Isekai Hourou Meshi

Ch 57 -- Aiming for F Rank

The next day I went to the Adventurers Guild with Fer and Sui. I figured it would be crowded later in the morning so I arrived early at the reception desk and got attended to promptly.

"Ummm, I'd like to enquire about something?"

"Yes, how can I help you?"

"I'm rank G right now, how do I get up to rank F?"

The receptionist was momentarily surprised but she gave me a complete explanation. It took a while but I couldn't complain since I had asked for it.

"You need to complete a series of requests to gain points to go up a rank and if you want to rise above rank C there's also an examination." I don't plan to rise above C rank so that's not a problem for me.

"I understand I need points to rise in rank but how many do I need to go from rank G to rank F?"

"You need a hundred points to rise from rank G to rank F." A hundred, is that really a lot or not?

"Rank G adventurers are limited to simple requests. Most of these are worth one or two points and a few are worth three points so it's very difficult to go up from rank G to rank F." the receptionist explained.

It seemed that rank G was sort of a training period for beginning adventurers, learning about adventuring while they find out whether they're up to it. Those who can't cope with the job will quit or quickly fail which is why the number of points to rise to F rank is set so high. So that's how it works, hey? I wasn't told this when I first registered to become an adventurer.

I've re-registered now and I'm not planning to make a living by adventuring so how hard do I have to work to make it up to F rank?

"Oh, it takes someone who's keen to be an adventurer about three months or so to rise from rank G to rank F but average beginners will take about six months. Please do your best, Mukouda-san."

Eh, that long?

Being an adventurer isn't really my thing so I didn't properly investigate what was required for the job to start with, and maybe the receptionist at the Adventurers Guild in Fariel didn't like adventurers to begin with...

Well, if it takes a keen beginner three months it's likely I'll take a bit longer so I'll be staying in this city for a while it seems. Going up to rank F from rank G takes a lot of effort but I don't want to fall back again. I told the receptionist that I understood.

This time would let me find out if I actually want to be an adventurer for real, I suppose, but putting my life on the line continuously isn't really my thing. No, I'll give it a miss. Once I'm up to F rank I'll stay there. Obviously.

However de-registration from G rank is only a month and it takes some effort to get up to F rank so a G-ranked adventurer can't accept requests that take him a long way from home. The receptionist laughed when I asked her about this. Basically there are no G-ranked requests that involve travelling any distance.

Right, in that case unless something untoward happens I'll stay here and rise up to F rank from my current G rank. It seems taking requests from the Adventurers Guild in the city you first registered until you achieve F rank is the normal thing to do. When I first registered at the Adventurers Guild back in Fariel I collected medicinal herbs and then immediately set off on a long trip. That wasn't a good idea.

The receptionist yesterday had also said something about the G rank de-registration period being the shortest but I hadn't really grasped the reasoning behind it. Having listened more closely this time I figure I'm not going to be a real adventurer but unless something goes wrong I'll just earn the points needed and move up to F rank. Well, I learned something new today.

I'll work hard with the help of the Adventurers Guild here and aim for the F rank.




Ch 56 Tondemo Skill de Isekai Hourou Meshi

Ch 56 -- Indulging in Traditional Japanese Sweets

Ah, I just remembered, before I go to bed I need to make an offering to the Goddess. I nearly forgot and she's bound to complain if I skip another offering again.

Right then, get it over and done with and then go to bed. Let's see, open the Net Super... what would be good?  Since she's got a sweet tooth, how about traditional Japanese sweets this time around?

Hmmm, to start with some bean-jam-filled rice cakes, strawberry-filled rice cakes and some manjuu buns too, they've got a sweet chestnut filling. Dango dumplings on skewers for dipping into red-bean-jam sauce as well.

Ho hum, castella too, traditional wagashi confectionery and some more dorayaki. I've offered that up before but that Goddess won't complain if I repeat, I guess. To make sure I'll add a presentation box of sweet-bean jellies too. Yes, this should be enough. Now to offer them to the Goddess. I laid the Japanese sweets out on the cardboard altar.

"Wind Goddess Ninril-sama, please accept my offering as thanks for your continued protection now and in the future."

The voice of the Goddess echoed in my mind as soon as I finished praying.

[Oh, I've been waiting! I'd have sent you an oracle if you'd been any later.]

Tch, so you've polished off the last offerings I sent you already? You're wanting more sweet things to eat? If you only eat sweets you'll get fat you know. Do Gods and Goddesses get fat, I wonder?

[I- I, I, I won't get fat, truly. G- Goddesses like me are always beautiful you know.]

If you're so sure why are you stuttering?

[B- B- Be quiet, you! Those cakes and puddings were very tasty but we've not eaten any for the last three days, I'll have you know.]

Goddess, you're a truly disappointing deity, you know. You're so gluttonous, aren't you? Totally useless too. Don't get fat, you'll not be able to call yourself beautiful with a straight face. A Goddess that stutters and eats too much is bound to get fat after all.

[Gumumumu, let's move on to more important things. What sort of sweet things are you offering me this time?]

Yep, she heard me just fine. A bit more?

They're only sweets after all, I wonder just how excited you are by them. If this Goddess were to appear in front of me I wonder how aroused she'd look?

[What?] she said. [They're only sweets, you know! You fool! Sweets aren't that great, huh?]

Oh, don't get mad. But as I thought, she can read my mind like an open book. Stop doing that, it's totally a violation of my right to privacy.

[Hah, what 'right to privacy'? I'm a Goddess, you know. There's nothing you can keep secret from a deity like me. I can see what you do, hear what you think in your whole life from beginning to end. You might want to remember that clearly, you know. Anyway, I'm a Goddess, don't forget it. I'm all-powerful and that's why you should show me some respect, you know.]

...she said. If you're really amazing you shouldn't need to tell people 'I'm amazing'. She really is a disappointing Goddess.

I'd like you to stop reading my thoughts as much as possible, huh? And don't bother watching me all the time. My life isn't that interesting after all. Show me some respect and save yourself some unnecessary effort. Give it some thought, please while you reflect on your own behaviour.

Deplorable sweet-loving Goddess.

[Nuuu, I am so totally not deplorable, you know!]

Ah, yeah yeah, of course you're not. Really. We're not getting anywhere with this so let's move on.

"Well, this time I chose some Japanese sweets, that is sweets from the country I came from. Ninril-sama requested anpan and dorayaki and there's a sweet that's got a lot of 'anko', the same filling inside them."

[What'd you say? That 'anko' pastry? That subtle sweetness is so delicate, you know.]

A truly deplorable Goddess. So lazy.

"And as you can see, I've also prepared an offering of dorayaki."

[Ohh, dorayaki. Great job, you.] It looks like the dorayaki is very much her favourite.

"In that case, please accept my offering."

[I understand. Transferring it to the realm of the Gods now.]

The Japanese sweets that were on the cardboard altar were enveloped in a pale light and then they disappeared. It never seemed very flashy but it got the job done.

[Muho-, there's a lot this time. You've done well my disciple.]

What's with the 'Muho-' noise? She is a truly truly disappointing Goddess after all.

[I'll eat a dorayaki straight away. Mm-mm-mm- muhaha, delicious as ever, hah!]

'Muhaha-' this time? Time to stop provoking her, maybe. A deplorable Goddess anyhow. Now that the deplorable Goddess was no longer talking to me I went to bed, sliding quickly under the futon with Sui.

Haaa- my only comfort is Sui.

Monday 15 January 2018

Ch 55 Tondemo Skill de Isekai Hourou Meshi

Chapter 55 -- It's been a while since I tasted curry


I decided to stay at the "Gryphon's Nest" inn that I was referred to. Having travelled through the Gryphons territory to get here the name of the inn was a little disconcerting but it's a well-known inn hereabouts. It costs 8 silver coins a night with a contracted beast.

There was a beast stable at the back of the building, like the places we had stayed at before, so I asked Fer to go there. I went to my room and prepared to cook. I bought the items I needed for the meal I was planning from the Net Super.

The main item, the Rock Bird meat really needs to marinate for an hour or so but I poked it with a fork so the flavourings penetrate more easily and anyway a shorter time will be fine. In the meantime I laid my futon out on the inn's bed.

If I didn't take care Fer would force his way into this room. I took my satchel which Sui was sleeping in and went down to Fer's place.

"You'll have to wait, Fer."

"I've waited long enough." he growled. "I'm hungry right now."

"Ah, sorry, it's going to take a bit longer."

"WHAAAT--?!"

There's nothing that can compete with a hungry Fer when it comes to drama queens. How tragic! Taking pity on the poor wretch I bought ten fried mincemeat cakes from the Net Super for him.

"Dinner-?" Oh, Sui had woken up. I gave her five mincemeat cakes as well.

"Eat these for now, you two and just be patient."

Right then, it's going to be broccoli for a side dish. Chop the broccoli into the right sized-pieces, wash it in cold water and then boil it with a little salt. After it's cooked drain it and let it cool. If you don't drain the broccoli straight away it will get soggy as the water cools. Why broccoli you may ask? Well, I like it obviously. I always make it as a side for this kind of main dish which tonight is going to be tandoori chicken.

I opened up the filled plastic bag which I had prepared up in my room. It had plain yoghurt, grated garlic and grated ginger (from tubes) and salt and pepper and curry powder, along with Rock Bird meat which I had poked with a fork to make holes in it before massaging it. I fried it in olive oil in a really hot frying pan so both sides were scorched and I served it with broccoli and plenty of mayonnaise.

"It's ready-"

Fer and Sui were right beside me in an instant and started eating.

"This has a curious flavour but it's really tasty." muttered Fer.

"Yes, Sui likes it too."

Spicy hot curry may be unknown in this world but it's delicious anyhow. I bit into the tandoori chicken.

"Ummm-!"

When you want to eat curry you REALLY want to eat curry. Since I'm not a true gourmet I cooked the sort of curry I eat at home. This meant using two different types of curry roux. One of them is my regular choice, the other is something different like a new product on the market. I feel that it makes the curry taste richer somehow, it's just the way I like it.

Thinking about how I made curry I wanted to eat more of it. Should I make more curry? Fer and Sui will eat as much as I can make so it'll be fine. I can always grill some Rock Bird steaks for them if they complain.

"Aruji, seconds please-"

"Me too."

Yeah yeah. I'll cook more tandoori chicken for you. I'll have seconds too, that curry taste is so comforting after so long. The broccoli and mayonnaise was delicious too. Next time it will be curry rice.

* * * * *

After returning to my room and putting Sui on the futon to sleep I thought hard about my future.

First I want to establish my position in the Adventurers Guild. It's where I can get monsters dismantled properly and collect the meat and I can't keep on getting deregistered. However the G rank qualification period is only one month and if I feel like travelling anywhere that's likely to take longer than a month.

So should I try and level up to rank F in the Adventurers Guild here while I'm in this city? I'm finally in the Leonhart Kingdom which seems stable. I want to travel a lot but I'm in no rush. If I get to F rank I'll have three months before losing my registration, not one so even if I was travelling around I'd still stay registered.

OK, I'll hang around here for a bit and work hard to get to F rank. Luckily because I got to know Lambert-san and everyone in 'Phoenix' I've got good connections in this city which will come in handy.

Since I wasn't really planning to be a real adventurer I don't know exactly how to raise my rank though, so I think I'll go to the Adventurers Guild tomorrow and ask there. I expect I'll have to take a number of requests like searching for medicinal herbs and such over the next month.

Poor me, it's not like I want to become a real adventurer.

Ch 54 Tondemo Skill de Isekai Hourou Meshi

Ch 54 -- Super High Quality Red Serpent

"I've got a purchase request, please." I announced.

A completely bald ojisan who looked like an adventurer came out. It was just like the Adventurers Guild in Fariel.

"OK, lemme see what you got." He squinted at my companions. "Oh, you're with Rashu's party?" The ojisan and Rashu-san nodded to each other in greeting. The bald-headed guy seemed to know the members of 'Phoenix' and Rashu-san.

"Well, there's a lot of monsters..." When I said that we were led back into the warehouse area.

"Won't be a problem here. Get them out." he said brusquely.

First of all I pulled out five Orc Generals.

"H- hey, an Orc General... and there's five of them?" I started to pull out the Orc King but I stopped when he looked surprised. I'll hold on to the Orc King for a bit longer.

"These too, please." I took out three Rock Birds. I definitely need to get some Rock Bird meat, it's got a delicious chicken flavour.

"R- Rock Birds too...?" the bald-headed guy and the members of 'Phoenix' were shocked. I'm sorry for surprising them this way but I kept on going since there wasn't nearly enough meat. Fer and Sui eat a lot after all.

"I've got Giant Dodo and Giant Deer as well." Everyone was stunned but I kept going.

"Murder Grizzly, Black Serpent and... Red Serpent. That's all." I kept back the Orc King as I don't need it for eating yet. The Metal Lizard probably isn't edible the way it looks and what it's called. The Chimera and Orthros are sealed away permanently since they'd cause me serious problems if I brought them out.

"...R- Red Serpent?" The bald ojisan broke his stunned silence.

"Yeah, Red Serpent." Was it a problem?

"Where did you catch it?" he asked, his eyes sharp. I felt intimidated by his stare.

"Well, it wasn't me that caught it..." I looked down at Fer lying down behind me as I spoke.

"Oh, right. A Fenrir could do it..." The ojisan recognised that Fer is a Fenrir right away.

 "For sure, ossan. A Fenrir could catch a Red Serpent or any other monsters of that rank easy." Rashu-san's words made me worry. After all there's the Chimera and the Orthros.... I'm truly sorry.

"What Rashu said. I shouldn't be surprised." the ojisan said. The Chimera and the Orthros are permanently sealed. I'll never take them out. Please forgive me.

"I'd never see so many monsters like this, usually..."

 "It's the first time seeing Red Serpent for me."

 "It's the first time I've seen Black Serpent myself."

 "Yeah it's pretty amazing, and Mukouda-san even has an astoundingly large Item Box."

 The other members of 'Phoenix' chimed in.

"Sure thing, it's huge."

"Yeah, I've never seen anyone with an Item Box this big before."

"No no, it's not really that big." I protested.

"Mukouda-san, would you join our party?" one of the members of 'Phoenix' said as they were talking about my Item Box.

Uh, d- don't say that... Getting meat here is the main thing, stupid questions are an unwanted distraction.

"Groooowl..." Fer snarled at the members of 'Phoenix' and bared his fangs. The threat petrified them.

"Hey you idiots,  shut up!" Rashu-san shouted at the other members, his face red with anger.

"Mukouda-san, we're sorry, please forgive us. Can you stop threatening us?" he pleaded.

"Yes... Hey Fer, it's okay, you can stop now." Fer settled down again.

"You lot talk too much. Got it?" said Rashu-san.

"Yes, yes, yes, yes..." the other members of 'Phoenix' nodded like bobble-headed dolls, their faces white with fear. I'm sorry everyone but Fer is right. Anyway there are things in the Item Box that are going to stay there. Fer knows about them too, of course.

"Hey, sorry to butt in but can we get on with business?" the ojisan interrupted, trying hard not to laugh. "It's gonna take me some time to get through all this. I dunno, maybe it'll be ready by day after tomorrow?"

The day after tomorrow...? We don't have any meat left. I need at least one monster's meat right now, just to cover today and tomorrow at least.

"Ummm, can you dismantle one monster for me right now?" I asked.

"Just one, huh?"

"Well, to put it simply we need the meat. I want the rest of the meat too and you can buy all the other materials but I gotta have the meat..." I glanced down at Fer.

"I gotcha. I'll dismantle one for you right now then. What do ya want?" the ojisan said. Great! But which one? Well it's nearly dinner-time so in that case, the Rock Bird will do.

"A Rock Bird, please."

"Right you are." the ojisan said and proceeded to swiftly and expertly disassemble one of the Rock Birds. The internal organs were dumped in a garbage bin. I got an odd look when I asked if they were edible. It seemed they don't eat viscera in this world. It's a pity but it can't be helped.

"Oh, is it possible to eat Red Serpent too?" I asked. It's the first one we've caught and I wasn't sure about it. It's probably OK since we were able to eat the Black Serpent.

"Huh? Sure you can eat it. It's super high quality stuff you know. Us commoners can go our whole lives without ever eating any."

Eh, really? I wonder what it tastes like. The Black Serpent was delicious too so I've got high hopes for it.

"I'm curious, Mukouda-san, what was the meat we had last night?" Rashu-san asked with an embarrassed expression on his face.

"Well, there was Black Serpent, Cockatrice and Rock Bird... oh, and after that Giant Deer and Murder Grizzly." I replied. When I said that everyone's mouth fell open.

"When we asked for some of your cooking instead of travel rations, I didn't think that... I'm sorry!" said Rashu-san. "We're sorry!" echoed the other members of 'Phoenix'. They all bowed their heads deeply to me.

"Hey, hey! Raise your heads please. What's going on?"

"We didn't know the meats were of such high quality, we ate too much..." the members of 'Phoenix' nodded in agreement with Rashu-san's words.

"It was a once-in-a-lifetime chance for us to eat such fine food..."

"No wonder it was so delicious..."

"It was all sooo tasty..."

I remember now that they all seemed silently overcome by the taste of last night's dinner. I'm deeply moved at their enthusiasm but it's kinda funny since the meats were all from monsters that Fer caught. They say they're high-class ingredients but it's what I've been eating all along so I can't really understand their feelings. Besides my contribution was only the seasonings and cooking so it's not a problem for me.

"We're really sorry, Mukouda-san. If you ever need something just let us know. We'll help you out any way we can."

"No, no. Don't worry about it. Your boss brought me to this city..."

"No, no. we ate all your luxury meat..."

"No, no, you escorted the bandits to the city for me..."

"Hey, if I can interrupt you guys, I'm done with the dismantling." Thanks, ojisan, great timing. I took the Rock Bird meat from the old guy and packed it away.

"Right, I'll come back the day after tomorrow, so thanks."

"Yeah." The members of 'Phoenix' led the way out of the Adventurers Guild.

"This Adventurers Guild is a nice place, isn't it?" I commented as we left. "Usually if I go into an Adventurers Guild with Fer I get bothered or stared at but nothing happened here."

"It's because Leader was with you." one of the members of 'Phoenix' explained as we walked along. "Leaders of parties like ours are well-known adventurers in this city. Nobody messes with them or anyone they're with." Oh, so that's how it is. It's lucky I got acquainted with Rashu-san.

"Well, as those idiots say I'm well-known in this city. At the cost of repeating myself, if you run into any trouble just let us know." Rashu-san added.

"Thank you very much. That's very reassuring." I said.

"However we're headed off tomorrow on an escort request to a nearby town so we won't be around for about two weeks..." he added apologetically. Oh, right. I'm not expecting trouble in this city though.

"You guys were way too greedy." he told his followers.

"Yeah Leader." they agreed. There was an interruption.

"Sandra-chan!" One of the members called out.

"Shut up-" his fellows said. Ah, it looks like we had run into Sandra-chan, the gossipy Adventurers Guild staff member. Normies should explode.

"If you're still in the city in two weeks time, you can leave a message at the Adventurers Guild for me if you run into any problems. If I can help you I will." I told him I was thankful for his help so far. Rashu-san is someone with a very strong sense of duty.

Ah, I forgot something important. "Before you go, can you tell me if there's anywhere I can stay with a contracted beast?" I asked.

"There's the 'Gyphon's Nest' inn,  straight along this street. I recommend it."

"Oh, then I'll try it." I parted with the members of 'Phoenix' at the door of the 'Gryphon's Nest' inn. I'm finally going to sleep in a bed again after a very long time.

Ch 53 Tondemo Skill de Isekai Hourou Meshi

Ch 53 -- Having to re-register at the Adventurers Guild

So we went with the members of 'Phoenix' to the Adventurers Guild in the city of Carerina. The reception counters weren't busy since it was getting late in the day. I approached the counter next to where the members of 'Phoenix' were standing. The few people in front of me were dealt with quickly and it was my turn.

"Excuse me, I've got a purchase request." I offered my Adventurers Guild card.

"Yes, we're buying." the receptionist said as she took my Guild card. As she examined it her face tightened.

"This card, it has been deregistered. Mukouda-sama, you were rank G, weren't you, and you didn't complete a request within one month?"

...Ah, that's right, if you don't complete a request within a month you get deregistered from the Adventurers Guild. Well I was kind of busy so I forgot about that.

"To tell you the truth various things happened, you see..."

"Rank G disqualification is the shortest period so it does happen sometimes." As she explained, the idea is that G rank adventurers should level up to F rank as soon as possible by accepting suitable low-level requests and then they have three months to get more lucrative requests and start earning money properly.

Is that so? I hadn't been told that. I'd forgotten the G rank period was the shortest.

"Can't I just pay the registration fee again?" I have to be registered with the Adventurers Guild to get the best-quality monster disassembly service otherwise it would be done badly.

"Yes, paying five silver coins for the registration fee is fine. Since Mukouda-sama was the lowest G rank you can use your guild card as it is."

"Oh, and will there be a problem re-registering the beasts I already have contracts with?" I asked the receptionist when she looked at Fer behind me. Although she looked surprised she said "There is no problem."

Okay then, I'll reregister. I handed over five silver coins to complete the deal.

"I've got another contracted beast to register too."

"A new contracted beast?"

"Yes, here it is." I took Sui from my bag and showed her to the receptionist.

"It's a S- Slime?" the receptionist looked confused. Hey, don't laugh at Sui. Unlike other slimes our Sui is insanely strong.

"It's a very special individual, very strong." I boasted but the receptionist looked disbelieving. Ha. She didn't know Sui.

Once Sui's registration as my contract beast was completed, I asked about purchases.

"If you're buying, I have some orcs and other monsters to sell, please."

"In that case please go to the purchasing window." So selling monsters gets done at that big counter like before?

"Makouda-san, are you finished?" It's Rashu-san, the leader of 'Phoenix'.

"Yes. I had forgotten the request deregistration period and I had to apply to re-register." I explained.

"That's a big problem, isn't it?" he said.

"To tell you the truth, I don't want to be a real adventurer, or rather I'm not that keen on it."

"Is that so?"

"Well, as you well know my contracted beast is a big eater. Fer can catch monsters so that's not the problem, it's the disassembly of the monsters afterwards..."

"I understand. The Adventurers Guild is the best place to request dismantling. Of course you can get it done at a non-Guild dismantling store or even a butcher but you won't get as good a service from those sorts of places. Those sorts of dismantling stores will rip you off and they don't handle the more difficult jobs well. A butcher can do a good job with the meat but they can damage the other valuable items like the skin and such. For us the other parts are usually worth a lot more than the meat. You're best off getting it done by an experienced pro at the Adventurers Guild."

Ha, so that's how it is? There are less-skilled dismantling stores and even butchers in this world, it seems. Re-registering in the Adventurers Guild was the right move after all.

"So you're going to sell some monsters, Makouda-san?"

"Yes, we're running very low on meat."

"Oh no, was it because of what you cooked for us?" Well, that's one part of it but I won't say anything.

"No no, we've just used it up over the last few weeks."

"What sort of monsters do you have? Can we see what your contracted beast has caught?" Rashu-san said as he looked over at Fer. I supposed it would be fine to let the members of 'Phoenix' see.

"Yeah, it's OK." We moved over to the purchasing window close by.

Sunday 14 January 2018

Ch 52 Tondemo Skill de Isekai Hourou Meshi

Ch 52 -- Arrival at Carerina

In the distance the road seemed to come to an end.

"That's the city of Carerina," the members of 'Phoenix' explained to me. The walls were imposing and it seemed like a fine city. It was good to have arrived anyway. I'm supposed to get a reward for capturing the bandits and I can't wait until we deliver them to the Knights in the city.

I didn't get any fried food yesterday evening, it was all eaten by the merchants and the members of 'Phoenix'. Everybody stared at me when I was cooking, and the members of 'Phoenix' have an incredible appetite, probably because they're all gigantic brutes. Cooking for them used up all my meat reserves, there's none left, not a scrap.

And, of course, there's a certain character called Fer who will complain if there's no meat to eat...

Once we get to Carerina I'll hurry to the Adventurer's Guild and get the monsters in my Item Box dismantled quickly.

Oh, Sui asked me for some sweet things, saying "I want to eat some cake-" so I secretly bought some cake from the Net Super just for her. Of course Fer found out and said "If Sui's getting some I want some too" so I had to buy some more cake for Fer. You can't deceive his sense of smell.

* * * * *

"Welcome to Carerina," said Lambert-san as he drove his carriage in through the gate.

The city was quite big as I had guessed from the outside. Lambert-san boasted it was the fifth-largest city in the Kingdom of Leonhart. Lambert-san's family had been merchants in Carerina for generations and he was proud of his home city where he had been born and raised.

It took me two hours to enter the city but I was assisted by Lambert-san who was well-known to the guards as an important merchant in Carerina. He explained to the soldiers at the gate that Fer was a contracted beast which helped a lot.

"Shall we go to the Knights guardroom?" asked Lambert-san. The testimony of Lambert-san and the members of 'Phoenix' about the bandit gang's attack would be needed when we handed our captives over so it was decided we'd go to the Knights guardroom near the gate first.

We handed over the bandit gang to the Knights and spent an hour or so telling them what had happened. A man in his early 40s wearing full plate armour, introduced to us as the head of the Knights, spoke to us afterwards.

"I've heard your stories and it's clear what happened. The bandit gang was called 'Black Dog' and they've been causing a lot of trouble recently around here. Their dead leader was named Zahar and he was a wanted man with a bounty of 30 gold coins on his head even before he became the gang's chief. Along with the reward for the rest of the gang, that makes 45 gold coins." He passed a hempen bag full of gold coins over to me.

This is a world where a man's life, even a bandit's, can be exchanged for money. The bandits were suffering the consequences of their own actions but it still felt a bit dirty to profit from their capture.

After this Lambert-san went off back to his shop. The members of 'Phoenix' headed off to the Adventurers Guild to report the conclusion of their commission and I decided to go with them. I needed to obtain some meat as soon as possible.

"Well then Lambert-san, I'll visit your shop later."

"Yes, I'll be waiting for you." he said politely.

Lambert-san's store sells leather goods such as bags, wallets, belts and knife sheaths, and I was interested in maybe buying something there. You see, the bag I carried Sui around in was getting shabbier and dirtier and falling apart at the seams. It was free to begin with, of course but it was second-hand goods so I was thinking of buying a strong new leather bag for her. I could have a look anyways but Sui would have to give her approval, of course.

Ch 51 Tondemo Skill de Isekai Hourou Meshi

Ch 51 -- Silent Pressure

The carriage came to a halt at sunset. "This is far enough for today." Lambert-san ordered as they prepared to camp for the night.

"Hoi, don't forget your promise earlier." growled Fer.

Wait, did I promise him something?

"You said you'd make me a luxury dinner. Remember?"

Oh, so I did. I'd completely forgotten in all the excitement but Fer had remembered, of course.

"I get it I get it, so what do you want to eat?"

"Sui wants to eat fried food-" Sui interjected.

"Ooh, what you made last time sounds good. Fried food for me too." Fer added, going along with Sui.

I wasn't that hungry but something hot sounded good.

Since I promised Fer a luxury meal I decided to make two kinds of flavouring, one with a soy-sauce base and one with a salt base. For the meat, I chose some Black Serpent and what was left of the Cockatrice and Rock Bird and deep-fried them with soy-sauce and salt.

"Aruji, can I eat it-"

"Just wait a moment." I put the fried food on a dish and pushed it over to Fer and Sui.

"Oh, this tastes different. It's also delicious-" Sui said. Oh, Sui noticed. It's nice to be praised.

Fer was silent as usual, gobbling up the fried food. I expect it's delicious for you too the way you're devouring it. Well I can always fry up some more...

Lambert-san, a boy he had hired and members of 'Phoenix' were gathered around us. I was being silently stared at. Some of them were drooling. The pressure...

Oh, right. I got it.

"Here, if you'd like to help yourself..." I pushed a plate of fried food in their direction and jumped back as they dived towards it.

"Excuse us-"

"Really, I couldn't wait to try some..."

"Ummm!"

"Oh so tasty, it's wonderful..."

"I've never had anything so good..."

Fried food is popular after all. After that I was frying and frying continuously. Just cooking for Fer and Sui is hard work, cooking for this lot was much harder. Worse still, at the end there was none left for me.

I couldn't help myself, I bought a sweet bun from the Net Super when no-one was looking to console myself and I ate that instead.

Damn it.

On the other hand I didn't have to stand a night watch. Fer always set a Barrier so I never needed to carry out a watch although it's usually something you should do in camp.

"As a thank you saving us and for cooking such delicious items please have a good night's sleep instead." The members of  'Phoenix' told me so I happily went to bed instead.

"Here you lot, some travel rations for you. It's crappy muck but you can eat it or starve." Rashu-san who was taking the first watch finally gave the bandits a little food before we turned in. "Try and escape though and I'll cut you down without mercy," he warned. Adventurers aren't totally heartless but the bandits had reaped what they had sown.

As it had been a while since the battle that day I thought that some of the bandits might be considering the idea of causing trouble later so I added some more threats.

"We'll be asleep but his hearing is very good, just so you know." I said, looking at Fer as I spoke.

"Even asleep I'm always ready for trouble." said Fer. "Rashu-san won't have to lift a finger, I'll shred anyone who tries to escape into little pieces." At his words the frightened bandits trembled. "That's right, if you don't want to end up like your boss just stay quiet tonight." Fer's threat seemed to be quite effective.

I couldn't use a futon for a bed so I went to sleep wrapped up in my cloak for the first time in a while. Sui prefers a futon too so she grumbled a bit. I explained it was only until we got to the city, telling her to be patient.

Ah, Sui-tan is so cute. I promised myself I'd make Sui something good to eat tomorrow.

Ch 50 Tondemo Skill de Isekai Hourou Meshi

Ch 50 -- The Awesome Adventurers Guild

It was agreed we would accompany the merchant Lambert-san to his home town of Carerina. It would take two days to get there according to him.

Lambert-san was sitting on the front bench of the wagon driving the horses with Rashu, the leader of 'Phoenix' beside him. A member of 'Phoenix' was escorting the wagon on each side.

All eight surviving bandits were tied by a rope in two rows to the back of the wagon, walking behind it. A member of 'Phoenix' was walking on each side of them to keep an eye on them. We were following behind the two lines of bandits.

Of course, I was riding on Fer's back and Sui was in her usual place in her bag.

It appeared these bandits were going to to be handed over to the Knights of the town of Carerina.

The chief bandit was killed in the fight and it wouldn't have been a problem if the other bandits had been killed too when they had attacked Lambert-san and 'Phoenix'. However since there would be a reward, the thieves who survived were taken along to be handed over to the Knights.

They told me to accept the reward since the bandits were actually defeated by Fer and Sui. Mr. Lambert said that it was the correct thing to do since we had saved his life and the members of 'Phoenix' were not able to fulfill the responsibility of the escort mission properly.

I appreciate the reward money so I decided to gratefully accept it. It's a pain that we have to drag the bandits along with us like this though.

Incidentally all the members of 'Phoenix' were big strong-looking men like Rashu-san. Even though they're trying to whisper they're kinda loud since they're so big. I could hear what they were saying to each other.

"Leader said it's a Fenrir but is it really? The rumour I heard was that it's a Great Wolf."

"I don't know but if Leader says it's a Fenrir, well..."

"Would such a legendary Demonic Beast become a contracted monster though?"

"To tell the truth it was Sandra-chan who told me it was a Great Wolf."

"Sandra-chan? That's Sandra, the Guild employee you're sweet on?"

"Ahh. Y'see, the Adventurers Guild's got these magic tools that can send messages between the guild houses. There's all sorts of information gets passed back and forth but it can get messed up sometimes. Maybe it came out 'Fenrir' when they meant to say 'Great Wolf'. Where Sandra-chan works most folks think it can't be a Fenrir so they decided it must be a Great Wolf after all."

"Well, yeah, that's what I'd say too."

"Yeah but, Leader has said he's sure it's a Fenrir. I'm sure I'd die if I went up against him whatever he is so..."

"We definitely don't want him as an enemy. Even a Great Wolf is a Rank A monster after all."

"Absolutely. Luckily for us he's a contracted monster and quiet as a lamb. Let's not provoke him though, huh?"

"Yep."

That was what I overheard. Thinking about it I had been wondering how the rumours about Fer had spread so far so fast in a world without telephones and the like. Was the magic tool they mentioned something like telportation? The Adventurer's Guild is awesome.

Saying that it's clear the rumours about Fer were from someone in the Guild leaking that information. I suppose the Guild's got all sorts of people working for it, good and bad.

Rashu-san is convinced Fer is a Fenrir but the other members of 'Phoenix' aren't so sure. That might be down to their individual levels.

Werner of 'Iron Will' identified Fer as a Fenrir when he first saw him and he's a C ranked adventurer. The ojisan at the Adventurer's Guild in Fariel did so too and he was a B or C ranked adventurer even though he was retired. The other members of 'Phoenix' seem to be in their early twenties so I'd guess they're D and E ranked. So given that, it's likely any C rank or better adventurer can recognise Fer as a Fenrir...

For the moment Fer can pretend to be a Great Wolf and we can only hope anyone else gets confused.

People able to see clearly that he's actually a Fenrir tend to be of a high level and not stupid so when they realise what sort of Demonic Beast he really is they're not going to start anything because they know they'd lose.

Raashu-san also seems to have warned his party members "Don't mess with him unless you're totally ready to die."

The biggest problem we face is the local nobility and the Kingdom itself. We came here because it's supposed to be a relatively free country without discrimination but I don't want to be pressured by the rulers because of who we are.

Saturday 13 January 2018

Ch 49 Tondemo Skill de Isekai Hourou Meshi

Ch 49 -- Fell and Sui Combo vs. Bandit Gang


Fell picked up speed. I could see a blue sky ahead through gaps between the trees.

"Okay, we're out-" said Fer.

We left the forest and entered a wide sprawling prairie. Our journey through the forest had lasted for a month and a half.

"Haa, we're finally out of the forest." I sighed. Grassland, it feels good...... but where are we? Are there any roads?

"Fer, have you been here before?"

"Maybe..." he replied noncommitally. So you're not sure, huh?

"Are there any roads around here?" I enquired.

"Roads made by humans? I think there's a road not far from here."

"Can you head there?"

"Why should we?"

"From what you've told me, Fer, I think that this is the Kingdom of Leonhart but it's better we check that with someone. In addition we need to get to a town quickly since the meat will be used up soon, that's why."

"The meat is running out?" Fer asked anxiously. "That's serious. There's bound to be a human road over that way. We'll go there at once." The possibility of running out of meat to eat is a big deal for Fer.

As Fer promised, he found a human road quickly. I hope to encounter someone while going along this road....

From high up on Fer's back I spotted a horse carriage in the distance as we ran along the road. "Ah, people..."

I heard voices, faint and intermittent. They must be quite loud since they're so far away. Are they shouting?

"That carriage, it's being being attacked by bandits." Fer said.

What? Bandits? !

"F-, Fer, please protect me, I will make a luxury dinner tonight!" The words tumbled from my mouth. I panicked and forgot I wasn't the one that needed help here.

"Don't forget that promise." Fer said as he accelerated towards the carriage.

We were suddenly beside the carriage. Adventurers who appeared to be escorting the wagon were fighting a gang of scruffy-looking ruffians. It looked like the bandits outnumbered the adventurers who were being pressed back.

"Plug your ears." Fer ordered. As Fer said I put my fingers in my ears.

"A-oooh!" Even with my ears plugged Fer's howl froze my body.

The bandits and the adventurers who heard his howl clearly were totally petrified.

Sui crawled out of her bag. "Aruji-, what's wrong?"

"There are some bad guys, Fer-ojichan is dealing with them."

"Huh? Is that so? Sui will help too."

"Right then, shoot acid bullets at the arms of those men with weapons over there and there and over there, OK? Don't hit them with big acid bullets, just get them to drop their weapons."

"I understand-"

Pew, pew, pew, pew, pew.

"Gyaaa"

"Gooo"

"Gaaaaah"

"Gyaaaa---"

"Giyaaaa---"

The bandits screamed as their arms were hit by Sui's acid bullets. It seemed Sui's acid bullet attack is evolving. She wasn't shooting it like from a water gun, it was more like a high-speed beam of acid spray.

"If you don't surrender right now I'll kill and eat you. Throw your weapons down if you understand." The faces of the bandits who hadn't been hit by Sui's attack blanched as Fer showed his teeth and they threw down their weapons.

But the biggest bandit, presumably their leader, refused to obey Fer and brandished an axe. "Where did you come from? Stop interfering!" he shouted as he aimed his axe at me. I crossed my arms over my head to protect myself.

Slash. Pew.

When I opened my eyes after the axe didn't hit me, the axe man was breathing his last, with a horrible appearance that made me want to throw up. Uuurp. Deep breaths, deep breaths...

Fer's claw slash cut him to ribbons and then he was hit by Sui's acid bullet.... I will let you imagine what it was like.

The surviving bandits knew the consequences of the crimes they committed but they didn't want to die. Seeing how the axe man was killed took the fight out of them and they meekly let themselves be tied up by the reinvigorated adventurers, none of whom were seriously injured since we had stepped in quickly.

After tying up the thieves, the adventurer's leader and a merchant from the carriage came to speak to us.

"I am Lambert, a merchant from Carerina, a city in the northwest of the Leonhart Kingdom. Thanks to you, everyone is safe and my cargo is OK. Thank you so much for your help."  The merchant, a well-built man in his mid-40s bowed his head deeply as he spoke.

"I'm Rashu, the leader of the Adventurer party 'Phoenix' which is escorting these merchants. We appreciate your assistance." The big muscular guy, he must have been more than 180cm tall, bowed deeply too. He looked to be in his 30s, with reddish-brown hair.

"No, I just happened to be passing near by... my name's Mukouda."

"Ummm, are these your contract beasts?" Lambert-san seemed to be afraid, looking at Fer and Sui as he asked about them.

"Yes, they're my contract beasts, but they won't hurt anyone. Don't worry." When I said that, Lambert-san looked relieved.

"That Demonic Beast is a Fenrir... so the rumor was true." Rashu-san muttered while staring at Fer. Have such rumors spread so far?

"I heard that there was an Adventurer who had taken a Fenrir as a contract beast, there were Wind Rumours... I thought that it was just someone's fantasy so I didn't believe it..."

I sometimes don't believe it either, but it is a fact.

If the rumors have spread this far, is it only a matter of time before the secret gets out? Rashu seems to have figured it out immediately after seeing Fer after all. It was going to be a big problem if we can't move around freely because everyone recognises him as a Fenrir.

I had overheard high-ranking Adventurers saying that the Kingdom of Leonhart is a relatively free country without discrimination and they were open about accepting outsiders so I hoped I could fit in there. However Fer is a legendary Demonic Beast and insanely strong. It would be great to be able to move freely in the Kingdom of Leonhart and their allied nation, the Erman Kingdom if they are understanding about our circumstances. I hope that will be the case.

I can't do anything else now, I have no choice but to simply see what happens. We're probably going to be OK since Fer is with us, no matter what happens. I won't worry about it now.

"By the way, where are you guys heading?" I changed the subject. I'm not going to admit out loud that Fer is a Fenrir.

"We are returning to Carerina." said Lambert-san. Is he going back to his headquarters after finishing his work? We also wanted to go to a city, I wonder if I can piggyback here?

"Fer, Sui, this seems to be the Leonhart kingdom that were headed for so would you like to go to the city of Carerina? "

"Get some meat there. I'm OK." said Fer.

"Sui is happy too-"

Fel and Sui seem to be OK with going to Carerina.

"Lambert-san, we've just arrived in the Leonhardt Kingdom and to be honest we're not familiar with the geography of the area. If it's possible would you let us travel with you to Carerina?"

Lambert-san agreed to my request with a smile.

"Everyone would be grateful for your company, I'm sure. Please do come along with us."

And so we departed for the city of Carerina.