Chapter 13: Scars and Rewards

It felt like I had a fever.

Ice clung to my fingertips. Pure white cold air, and beyond it, the tree spirit, torn apart and trapped in ice.

I couldn’t believe I had done it. Yet, at the same time, I felt a strong sense that this was my magic. It felt incredibly natural. There was no need to think about complicated things or to wear myself out.

Freeze.
Just thinking that was enough to make it magical.

“Haha. This is the worst feeling.”

Talent doesn’t always take the form you wish for.

I pulled the tree spirit’s corpse out of the ice. There was no blood. It really did have a plant-like structure.

Would I be able to exchange it for money if I took it with me?
It’s small, so I’ll take it for now. I descended to the ground, protecting my left arm.

This time, I escaped the forest without getting lost. I was able to meet up with the three members of “Monthly” at the entrance to the labyrinth. Genzo-san, the big man, was carrying the corpse of a Red Walker.

Toda-san approached, raising his hand.

“It seems even our comrade wasn’t allowed to return easily. I’m sorry we couldn’t help you.”
“No, I managed. …Have you ever seen this?”

“I haven’t. It might be in the records, but you should take it back with you.”
“Understood.”

“It seems it was strong.”
“Yes. You all worked hard too, Toda-san.”

It went without saying that I was battered, but Toda-san also had serious injuries. His face, in particular, was greatly swollen on the right side and bruised. The other two were so splattered with blood that their equipment’s original appearance was unrecognizable.

A large hand reached out from behind Toda-san and grabbed my head.

“Don’t worry, kid. This idiot just let himself get hit on purpose.”
“Huh?”

“He tried to learn from the monster, just like our comrade. He thought if he got punched, he’d understand the Red Walker’s magic.”

Toda-san smiled refreshingly with his swollen face.
He let that red monster hit him on purpose? And in the face? No. I can’t understand anything he’s saying.

This person is a dangerous pervert…

“Everyone, let’s head back quickly!”

Ignoring Mitsui-san’s call, Toda-san approached me.

“Hey, comrade. You’ve changed, haven’t you? It’s like you’ve shed a skin. Your understanding of magic has deepened even further… Ow!”
“Let’s go home.”

Toda-san was dragged away, his head almost crushed. Genzo-san walked off with long strides, looking exasperated.

At first glance, Toda-san seemed the most reliable, but the reality was the exact opposite. Genzo-san and Mitsui-san held the reins. That’s probably why these three got along well.

A party, huh?
Will I ever team up with someone someday?

◇

I passed through the gate.

The first person I saw was Shiraishi-san.
Shiraishi-san blinked several times when she saw us, then slowly let out a breath. The tension left her stiff body.

“Welcome back. I’m glad you’re all safe.”

She bowed, then slowly raised her head. Her gaze stopped at the treant’s corpse I was carrying.

“…What is that, Isshiki-kun?”
“It’s like a monster. It attacked me when I was trying to retreat.”

It was hard to explain. What should I call this weird thing I hadn’t heard about beforehand?
As Shiraishi-san and I tilted our heads in confusion, Toda-san stepped in.

“Most likely, it’s a monster that played a part in this incident. I don’t think it was the Red Walker that targeted the rookie party.”
“Is that so?”

—So that’s how it was.
I thought to myself. It seemed Toda-san wasn’t completely certain either, but it was reassuring to have someone who shared my opinion.

“The Red Walker was collecting human right ears. We collected as many as we could, so please cross-reference them with the recovered bodies. It shouldn’t match the number of adventurers who haven’t returned.”

Toda-san indicated his bag, then spoke to Shiraishi-san.

“Please request a re-evaluation of the reward, including the monster Isshiki-kun is holding.”
“Understood. We will price it properly.”

After depositing the corpses at the exchange counter, we decided to go for treatment.
Sitting on a bench in the waiting room, Toda-san looked at me.

“I’m sorry. I kept quiet about our comrade defeating that monster alone.”
“Huh? Oh, is that important?”

When I tilted my head, Toda-san laughed delightedly.

“Ahahaha. So you’re not the type to care about honor?”
“It doesn’t make money.”

“An adventurer’s honor can make money.”
“Is that so?”

“Yes. That’s why, for now, we’ll let them misunderstand that we were involved with the monster our comrade defeated alone.”
“Why?”

“Because the reward will be higher that way. If they think a rookie can defeat it alone, the guild might be stingy with the money.”
“That’s a life hack.”

He even thought of such a thing and apologized. Toda-san is a good person. No… a good pervert.

My name was called, so I entered the examination room.
All my cuts were treated, and an X-ray was taken.
When I returned to the examination room, the old doctor said with vigor,

“Fracture!”
“Whoa!”

I had expected it, but it was still a shock to hear it. My arm was put in a cast, and I was told to rest for a month. I thought there was no way I could rest for a month, but I got painkillers from the pharmacy anyway.

By the time I returned to the exchange counter, the sun had already set. As usual, there were almost no adventurers around. But the usual hustle and bustle would return tomorrow.

“Ah, Isshiki-kun! How are your injuries?”

Shiraishi-san approached me at a brisk pace from the direction of the vending machine. I showed her my left arm, which was in a sling, and slightly averted my gaze.

“I had a broken bone, but everything else is fine.”

That was a bit of a lie. The joints that the tree spirit had bound were bruised, and it hurt quite a bit just to walk. But I didn’t show it on my face and pretended to be calm.

“I see… I guess so. We’ve calculated the reward money, so could you come to the exchange counter?”
“Yes. Please.”

At least 200,000 yen, and then whatever the tree spirit would be worth.
Since my arm was broken, my income would decrease for a while. I wanted to get a certain amount of money.

“I heard from the ‘Monthly’ people. You defeated that monster by yourself, didn’t you, Isshiki-kun?”
“Yes.”

“Actually, I’d never seen one either, but it was in the records. Its name is ‘Cursewood.’ It uses plant-manipulating magic to mislead adventurers before attacking them… Is that right?”
“Exactly. I also fought it after being led astray.”

“You really did well to win and come back… Well, it is you, Isshiki-kun.”

After saying that with emotion, Shiraishi-san shook her head from side to side.

“So, let’s talk about the reward.”
“Please.”

This was the most important discussion.

How much would the tree spirit, now called Cursewood, be worth? I wasn’t asking for 100,000. If it could at least be around 50,000, then the total would be 250,000 yen.

“200,000 yen for defeating the Red Walker, and 300,000 yen for defeating the Cursewood. That makes a total of 500,000 yen.”
“…………Huh!?”

“500,000 yen. 500,000 yen.”
“…………50 yen?”

“500,000 yen.”
“…………?”

Shiraishi-san took out a calculator and showed me the numbers displayed.

“500,000 yen.”

“Whoa, ahhhh! It’s 500,000 yen! Huh, five hundred, why!?”
“The Cursewood’s viciousness, and the fact that it’s recently become rare and its value has increased. Both contribute to the 300,000 yen.”

“I could build a house with that!”
“You can’t build a house, so don’t worry.”

“But I could do so many things, couldn’t I? Many things, like, many things…”
“Keep yourself together, Isshiki-kun. Don’t drown in money.”

Pulled back by Shiraishi-san’s earnest gaze, I regained my composure.
My mind had gone blank. It was as if I wasn’t myself. When I took a deep breath, the back of my brain felt dizzy.

“I’m sorry. …I’ve never seen that much money before.”
“You’ll gradually get used to it. In the adventurer business, it’s normal to get a lot of money at once.”

“Adventurers, it’s a scary world.”
“It is. Many people lose themselves because of money. That’s why you must never forget why you head into the dungeon.”

“…Yes.”

For my family.
I bit the inside of my mouth to calm my mind.

500,000 yen was certainly a large sum. But for a family of six, it was also an amount that would disappear quickly.

I really need to think about how to use it.