episode_0035

“Hoo… ”

We took a long rest next to the spider spirit that we had defeated. All of our party members, except for Kikel, were in a state of either injured or exhausted.

“Drink this, Hilde. It’ll help heal your wounds!”

“Oh, thank you.”

As I leaned against the dungeon wall, trying to catch my breath, Kikel handed me a potion after tending to Wolfgang and Laut’s injuries.

Were these potions that Wolfgang had been carrying?

While they were generally of low quality, even having one was a luxury for an unarmed fighter like me, who tended to get hurt more often than others due to relying on bare fists rather than wearing armor. Perhaps it would have been wiser to save the money spent on potions and gradually invest in a suit of steel armor…

Well, if Wolfgang had possessed that level of intelligence, he probably wouldn’t have chosen to be an unarmed fighter in the first place.

Considering his intelligence, simply understanding the concept that using a potion could heal wounds should be commendable enough.

“Sigh…”

…Well, let’s not be too critical.

Anyway, it did prove helpful for the party.

Thanks to Wolfgang’s reckless spending, not only himself but also Laut and I were able to treat our wounds and recover our strength.

It seemed that the bald unarmed fighter had finally proven his worth, despite being a healer rather than a damage dealer.

◆◆

Due to the potent effects of the potion, it was quite some time before we could leave the dungeon.

After recovering some of my strength, I rearranged my helmet and sat across from Kikel, drying my wet clothes by the fire.

*Snick*

Kikel subtly sniffled. He clearly noticed some tragedy with my pants, but he chose to remain silent, showing a truly appreciated consideration.

“Goodness…”

Thanks to the potion, Laute, who had somewhat regained his strength, examined the corpse of the spirit spider while securing his gilded left arm to his body with a piece of broken shield.

“I mean, to cut this off so cleanly. How in the world…?”

Whether she was carefully observing the head I had severed or prying open the bullet-like protrusion inside her sword.

“Hilde, how on earth did you manage this?”

Then she turned to me and asked.

“Just did it.”

I didn’t have much to say. It wasn’t my place to explain in detail about Brunhilde’s abilities and strength.

“Just did it? What does that even mean…?”

“Well, you know… Sometimes people in life-threatening situations exhibit unbelievable powers, right? Maybe it was something like that.”

“Is that so…?”

Laute looked somewhat skeptical as she tilted her head.

“No, can such a thing be possible just because of that…? Even if you’re a knight, doing something this neat…”

Muttered Laute as she touched the severed section of the spirit spider, her voice tinged with suspicion echoed softly.

A knight, indeed, considering only the physical capabilities, she was at the level of a knight.

Not just any knight, but overflowing with talent and potential enough to be selected as a member of the Hero Party.

Now, well, she’s just a wanted criminal in the Line Kingdom.

Oh, come to think of it, she must have seen my face too, but she didn’t say anything about it.

Did she not recognize me?

If she were a citizen of the Line Kingdom, she would have recognized me immediately, but she’s from here, Herbor, after all.

Or perhaps, it was such a desperate situation that she didn’t even notice my face?

Well, whichever it was, it was truly fortunate.

“Um… Well, anyway, thank you for helping me survive.”

Laute nodded in gratitude.

She said she could give me her share of the reward, but I declined.

Laute’s equipment was just as tattered as mine, so if she gave me the reward, what money would she use to replace or repair her equipment?

To earn money, I set out on a new request, but I’d feel uneasy if I died due to inadequate equipment for no reason.

Instead, it was much more comforting to just show some humanity.

◆◆

“Wait, the three of you took down that monster…?! Truly remarkable…!”

Upon finally waking up, Wolfgang, seeing the decapitated body of the spectral spider, jumped in astonishment.

Rout, chuckling at his reaction, explained to Wolfgang what had happened while he was unconscious.

“So that’s what happened…!”

Wolfgang apologized for being unable to help and expressed gratitude for being protected while he was unconscious.

He didn’t even express any complaints about the reckless use of potions.

As a fellow party member and savior of his life, he decided not to take his reward.

Anyway, after that, we harvested everything valuable from the spectral spider’s corpse.

Claws and fangs, venom sacs and carapace, even a part of the head as evidence to submit to the guild.

We painstakingly tore them apart with axes and maces, wrapped them in spider silk, and carried them on our backs out of the dungeon.

Then we headed straight for the carriage, carefully stowing the spectral spider’s products in the cargo hold. In the meantime, I quietly changed into a new pair of pants from the cargo hold.

It was a good idea to bring spare clothes. Otherwise, I would have had to return to the city wearing stained pants.

◆◆

“Ah! You’ve returned, adventurers! Has the giant spider been dealt with?”

When we went to report that everything was finished, the village chief welcomed us with open arms and a warm smile.

As adventurers who had suffered because of this rascal, his smile only irritated us.

“We did deal with it. However, there were some issues.”

“Issues, you say…?”

I roughly summarized to the puzzled village chief what we had experienced inside the dungeon.

A formidable spider monster, unlike the ordinary giant spiders, appeared. It’s a story of barely overcoming death and hardship to subdue it.

We’ve omitted some information about the spirit spider for now. It’s not the right time to bring up that story.

First―

“So, our consensus is that the original commission fee was inadequate. Do you understand what that means?”

Upon hearing this, we should first check how the village chief responds.

“…Are you asking for an increase in compensation?”

The village chief furrowed his brow as if to say, “What nonsense are you talking about?”

Ah, he’s caught off guard.

Just from that reaction alone, I could be sure. It meant trouble getting a raise in compensation.

“Hmm… It’s awkward. In truth, due to keeping the mine closed for so long, most of our funds are tied up…”

There you have it.

“Furthermore, conducting compensation transactions outside the Adventurers’ Guild violates guild regulations. So… I’m sorry, but it seems rather difficult to increase the compensation.”

Pushing the point, it seemed like nailing down that it wouldn’t work, no coin would come out even if prodded.

In other words, to extract ‘appropriate’ compensation from this village chief, it would require using the former chief’s journal and threatening with the spirit spider’s head…

…No, it meant negotiation was necessary.

“Oh, is that so? I apologize for making an unreasonable request.”

Of course, I had no intention of doing so.

Threats always lead to repercussions.

Threatening the village chief to extort compensation or simply stabbing him and looting everything would be dozens of times safer.

The dead can’t dream of revenge.

However, looting was also not a viable option for an adventurer.

An adventurer who stabs someone to death just because the client didn’t offer a bonus would become a wanted criminal.

“No, I am more sorry. I cannot increase the compensation for those who have suffered so much.”

As soon as I withdrew my attempt to renegotiate the commission fee, the village chief once again put on a hypocritical smile and offered insincere words.

“As a village chief or as a client, I truly have no face….”

Hah, he’s good with words.

“Alright, now smile a lot.”

“Then… it seems we should return to the city now, so could you please sign this request form for us to confirm the completion of the commission?”

I diverted the topic from the negotiation with the king and extended the request form, asking for a signature to confirm the completion of the commission.

Since the negotiation had fallen through, there was no reason for us to linger in this rural town any longer.

“Well, it’s late, so it would be better for you to rest for a day before leaving…”

Rest? Who can believe in resting?

“We’d like that too, but… everyone has various injuries. It seems we need to return to the city as soon as possible to receive proper treatment.”

I politely declined the village chief’s suggestion and obtained the completed commission signature on the request form before returning with it by carriage.

“How did it go, Hilde?”

Rautte, who was resting inside the carriage, turned her head towards me and asked about the outcome of the reward negotiation.

“We’re screwed. They didn’t even consider giving us a single penny.”

I shrugged my shoulders, indicating that there was no room for negotiation.

“In that case…”

“Yes. As planned, we have no choice but to deliver the head of the spirit spider and the diary to the church.”

Murdering a spirit being is a serious crime. If there were only the diary as evidence, it might not be known, but now that there is such clear evidence as the head of the spirit spider…

“Then, they’ll handle it properly, according to the ways of the Goddess Church.”

If we handed this over to the church, they would directly intervene and change the village chief’s address to a underground prison or execution ground.

Once the village chief’s criminal activities were confirmed, we, as informants, would also receive our own rewards.

Moreover, if we sold all the byproducts of the spirit spider, it would be enough money to replace all the equipment that had been destroyed.

Unlike the huge spider subjugation reward that needed to be divided among four people, the byproducts of the spirit spider were to be divided between only Rautte and me.

“Well, in my opinion, that seems much cleaner.”

Wolfgang nodded, as if things were going well.

◆◆

Upon returning to the adventurers’ guild request desk in Bespian, things felt oddly tense compared to usual.

We informed the receptionist lady that we had completed the commission and presented part of the head of the spirit spider as evidence.

“―So, this is the head of the spirit spider.”

“Wait, hold on. Did I hear that right? Spirit spider? Did you say spirit spider?”

The receptionist was so astonished that she almost jumped out of her chair. It took her quite a while to compose herself.

“Goodness gracious, a spirit spider… How on earth did you manage that?”

“I got lucky. The possessed spirit happened to be an old man, so he was a bit weak.”

I laid out reasons that she could reasonably accept as I recounted the tale of our party’s exploits.

“So, how does this affect my promotion? Is this accomplishment sufficient?”

“Of course it is. Just subduing a giant spider alone would warrant a promotion…”

The receptionist nodded with a dismayed expression.

Although the official certification hadn’t been issued yet, simply reporting the details of this request would immediately qualify me for the adventurer rank of ‘Bronze’ they said.

In other words, it could be called a Bronze-ranked adventurer. It was a satisfying outcome.