The day after tomorrow. We left the inn together and met up with Master on the way to the Adventurers’ Guild. For some reason, people around us were in a hurry, and we looked at the request forms posted on the bulletin board.
“Hmmm, there’s nothing special. Tia, how about you?”
“It’s complicated. Strong demons are only found far from the city, and my rank doesn’t allow me to take those requests in the first place.”
While I was working on my blacksmithing, Tia was not playing around either, of course. She was a new member of the Adventurers’ Guild of this world, but because she brought me lunch every day, she could not accept requests to go far away from the guild, so her rank here was only a hair above that of a fledgling.
But that was not surprising. In order to show that she’s not just a strong thug, but someone who can be trusted, she needs to have a suitable background, it was rather healthy that Tia, who had only been a registered member for a few months, was treated as a mere novice.
However, there was no doubt that that would be a problem in this situation, but before I could think of anything else, Master pointed to one of the request forms and spoke up.
“Oh, how about this one?”
“Rock Turtle? I heard it from somewhere….. AH! That Hero guy!”
“That’s what I’m talking about. If it’s a demonic beast that a hero couldn’t defeat, then it’s a perfect test for the sword I made!”
My master grinned and my lips also curled up in a smile. I had no more thoughts about that Hero guy, but if it was a test of the true sharpness for the master’s sword, I surely felt just the right cause and effect.
“But, you can’t take this one with my rank, right?”
“We don’t have to accept it, do we? Look, it says where the habitat is.”
“…Ah, that’s true”
Tia agreed with Master’s words. Certainly the request form described the places where rock turtles have been sighted, and unless my knowledge of the surrounding geography was wrong, two days and one night should be enough to do it.
“So, what do you think, Ed? Can you do it?”
“I have no idea what kind of demonic beast Rock Turtle is, but if you think I can do it, I certainly can. After all, You are the one who forged this sword.”
On my waist, I was wearing the [Dawnbreaker] , a sword forged by my master. Although the beautiful blade of the sword could not be seen because it was in a special sheath made by my master, the matte black metal sheath oozed a sense of weight and luxury that could be recognized even at a glance.
“Aren’t you fired up. Hehe, then all that’s left is to see your skills. Alright, then, let’s get to it――”
“Hey, hey!? Wait a minute!”
As we were about to leave, someone suddenly approached us from behind. We turned around and saw a man in his forties standing there, who appeared to be quite experienced.
“Hmm? What’s wrong?”
“What’s wrong you say, Dalton-san! Please refrain from taking an adventurer without accepting a request”
“And? What is it that adventurers are supposed to do? There’s no rule that says you can’t hunt demonic beasts unless you’re commissioned to do so!”
Master, who was suddenly in a bad mood, raised his voice, but the man, who seemed to be a guild employee, wiped away his sweat and continued his words.
“That’s true, but that doesn’t mean we can’t stop newcomers from going to their deaths. And Tia-san is a popular person in this guild, so it’s a bit … reckless to ask such a person to take on something that is … not even a request.”
“Oh, You are popular, Tia?”
“Fufuf, well yeah!”
When I whispered to Tia, she puffed out her chest proudly and then called out the man.
“I appreciate your concern. But I’ll be fine. This time Ed is with me!”
(T/N: Everyone should have a Tia in life)
“Tia-san…Is Ed-san your friend?”
“That’s right! Ed is very strong! He can even cut dragons in half!”
“Yeah. …?”
I was so happy to hear Tia’s words as she hugged my arm, but the man gave me a skeptical look that could not have been more obvious.
Not only that man, but even the adventures around us in the distance were throwing various gazes at me.
“Is such a wimpy little brat really so strong?”
“Just because Tia-san is a pure and innocent angel, you’re deceiving her!? Unforgivable, absolutely unforgivable…”
“As expected, we need to destroy his crotch. Pretty girls have to be with other girls.”
… Strange. I think the kind of criticism I was getting was different from what I expected. Also, that female adventurer who stared at my crotch with a crazy look in her eyes was super scary.
“Hey, Tia, what did you do here?”
“Grrrr, What, I was just going about my normal activities?”
“I-I see, normal huh….”
If we had worked together from the beginning, this wouldn’t have happened. …… I see, so this is what happens when Tia operates normally away from me. I’ll have to do something about this in the future… No, Countermeasures.
“Oh just shut up! Anyway, he’s my disciple and the best swordsman I’ve ever seen! He’s so much stronger than any of those mediocre heroes! So much so that I’m asking him to use my word!”
“!? T-that’s impossible…. then the thing he is wearing on his waist is…?”
“Yeah, it’s the sword I forged. I was looking for someone to test it out today. Got anything else to say?”
“No, no. If that’s the case…I understand. Then be careful.”
The Staff member finally backed off from my Master, was glaring at him. He was mumbling something and the way he was looking at me changed again from before.
“If Dalton-san forged that sword, don’t tell me he is a Hero from some country?”
“Huh? But wasn’t there a hero from the Alecto Kingdom here a while ago? He’s not the same person, is he?”
“No matter if he is a hero or not, we must get rid of the bad bugs that cling to Tia-san…”
“M-Master! If we’re done here, how about we get going? Here, Tia”
“Tsk, yeah.”
“Let’s go!”
I urged my master and pulled Tia’s hand and left the Adventurers’ Guild to escape the fierce cold stares. After that, we reached the Rock Turtle’s habitat without incident, and I once again drew out my [Dawnbreaker].
“This is the sword that Dalton-san forged. It’s so beautiful …”
“Right? You get it, Jou-chan. Yosh, Ed, let’s get to it!”
“Yes, sir!”
The Rock Turtle, as its name suggested, was a large turtle with a rock-like shell about two meters long. Its weight made it powerful, especially the power of his jaws, which could effortlessly tear through metal armor, was astonishing, but there was no need to fight him head-on honestly.
“First of all… let’s go!”
“Kuah!?”
Gently approaching from behind, I slashed at the right hind leg. The sword needs to be considerably sharp to cut through the thick, flabby skin, but with Master’s forged sword, I was able to cleave through it with ease.
“Kuahhhh!”
“Yes, too bad!”
“KUAHHHH!?!?”
The Rock Turtle, with its legs cut off, tried to bite me with its surprisingly elongated neck. But when I sliced its snout in return, the rock turtle screamed and hurriedly retracted its head into its robust shell.
In a normal hunt, this would be a dead end. Their hard shells were not easily broken even by heavy weapons, and their high resistance to magic meant that there was basically nothing we could do. The Hunt fails when Adventures fails to sever its neck when it was extended. This was the reason why Rock turtles were considered a powerful enemy…. I raised my [Dawnbreaker] up high in front of it.
“Let me show you a blow that will cut through the night….HAA!!”
“!?”
Flash. The shell harder than steel, the thick skin underneath, and everything in between were severed with a single stroke. I saw the Rock Turtle, which had died without knowing why, split to the left and right, and as soon as I released my remaining strength, Tia and My Master came over to me.
“Woaaaah! Isn’t that awesome, Ed!”
“Amazing, Ed! You manage to cut such a big enemy in half!”
""
“Fufufu, well. So, what do you think, Master?”
“Ahh, It’s perfect! But it’s not like we will just stop here. I’d like to get a few more test cuts, can you?”
“Let me take care of that!”
“Fufu, do your best, Ed.”
I answered My Master’s request with a smile, and went on to hunt more rock turtles … With other demonic beasts along the way. The sharpness of the excellent sword that was forged for me was great, and I myself enjoyed testing it ……, which is why when I returned to town, I blatantly distorted my expression at the sight of what was waiting for me in front of that gate.
“Come on, hand me that sword.”
“Why not, another group of knights…”
A group of fully armed knights and a man in robes standing in the center of the group. I was disgusted by the presence that reeked of power and trouble.
(T/N: For those not on discord, Sorry for not posting and stopping at a cliffhanger. My college , as you know, began and I have my mid sems next month from 2 jan :’ ) (Yeah my semesters were halved). I’ll start posting some in Jan. Thank you for reading and supporting my translations.)