“Ah, welcome, Yuusha-sama! You are—”
“Sorry. Please wait until I start the conversation.”
Clang… Clang… Rustle, rustle, rustle…
“Phew. Now, Village Chief-dono, let’s hear your story again.”
“Ah, yes. Actually…”
“Wow, this is the steel spirit of a hero…”
“I’ve come full circle and I feel like I can respect him… no, it must be my imagination.”
As we listened to the village chief’s story with a renewed sense of the hero’s greatness, we left the village and arrived at the entrance of the cave in question. There was no blockade at the entrance, but there were no signs of people inside.
“Wow, it’s quite spacious, isn’t it?”
“And it looks like it has been touched by human hands quite a bit. Although it’s a cave, it feels more like a road, doesn’t it?”
The cave was a spacious passageway about five meters in width and height, and thanks to magic lanterns that glow automatically with the mana of the people who pass by, it was bright enough even without any light source.
The floor or the ground was also hard-packed, and although it wasn’t quite as well-maintained as a stone pavement, it seemed sturdy enough for a carriage to speed on.
“The demonic beast is said to be near the exit, but there may be other demonic beasts inside as well. We’ll proceed with caution.”
“Understood.”
“Leave it to me!”
With Gou leading the way, we proceeded through the cave. As we moved a little further, we began to see several side roads branching off the main road. We followed Gou’s lead and checked each one.
“We’re going to check all the side roads too?”
“Yes. There’s a high chance that demonic beasts are lurking in these places. And besides…”
Because the side roads were not maintained by humans, we created a light with Tia’s spirit magic and proceeded. Then, at the dead end of one of the side roads, we found a wooden box that seemed out of place.
“Oh, there it is. A treasure chest.”
“Eh!?”
As Gou quickened his pace towards the box, we naturally followed. What we found there was a box that could only be described as a fairly respectable treasure chest, with a square body, an arched lid, and the edges processed with metal.
“Eh, what’s this box… a treasure chest!? Why is it here?”
“? Isn’t it common sense to find treasure chests at the end of forests and caves?”
“!?”
Gou, who was saying it as if it was obvious, turned back to me with a surprised look on his face. But there was no way I could answer that.
“Tia, it’s okay. If Gou-san says so, then it is. Okay?”
“But! A treasure chest!? I’d understand if a thief had made it his hideout, or if I went a hundred steps back and said it was a goblin nest, but why is there a treasure chest in a dead end where there’s nothing!?”
“Well, let’s see what’s inside… oh, it’s medicinal herbs.”
“Medicinal herbs!? Why are there medicinal herbs in a treasure chest!? No matter how you look at it, the box is more valuable! And this is a road where people pass by, right!? Well, normally people wouldn’t come this far, but they should still have checked these side roads when they were maintaining the road. So why is there a treasure chest that hasn’t been opened by anyone until now!? Why!?”
“Calm down, calm down Tia. It’s not about logic, you need to feel it with your heart.”
“Uuuuuuuuuu……”
Tia was growling at me, who was trying to calm her down, with a face like she was chewing a bitter bug. I couldn’t help but be skeptical about the quality of the herbs that came out of a box that should have never been opened, being the same as the ones sold in the store… in other words, they seem fairly fresh, but what we don’t know, we don’t know.
“Hahaha, Lunaritia, you’re always so noisy. If you’re on a journey, you should have plenty of opportunities to see treasure chests.”
“I haven’t seen one! I’ve been traveling quite a bit, but I haven’t seen one ten times!”
“…Well, that’s bad luck.”
“Luck…huh.”
As Gou awkwardly averted his gaze and spoke, the strength drained from Tia’s body. Unless it’s a place like a sealed ruin, there are no treasure chests in normal circumstances. So it’s not a matter of luck… well, yeah. There are treasure chests sprouting up all over the place while I’m traveling with this person. Haha, I really don’t get it.
“Alright, I get it! I can’t accept it, but I’ll accept it! So this is… just a tantrum!”
“Gyiii!?”
Shouting, Tia brandished and swung her sword towards the darkness behind her. And there was a large spider monster about to jump down from the ceiling.
“A spider monster…a Derance Spider, huh? Good catch, Lunaritia.”
“Of course I was being vigilant! But, didn’t Gou-san notice?”
“Hmm…sorry. I’m not very good at that. I think I would have noticed if it was an enemy walking on the ground.”
“Ah, right, it is hard to be vigilant about what’s overhead. Good job, Tia.”
“Well, yeah!”
Of course, I noticed it too, but there’s no point in saying that. As we high-five, Gou’s expression grew stern.
“Gou-san? Is there something that concerns you?”
“Yeah, that Derance Spider just now seemed a bit small for an adult. If that’s the case…”
“You mean, there might be a large nest nearby?”
“There’s a possibility. We may need to thoroughly inspect the entire cave, including the side paths.”
At that statement, we tightened our focus. After that, we continued to carefully examine the main and side paths, but for some reason, we did not encounter any monsters on the way, only when we reached the end or opened the occasional treasure chest and tried to go back, a few Derance Spiders attacked us.
“I have… a bad feeling about this.”
I shared the sentiment with Gou’s muttered words. And that premonition was quickly proven true when we reached the entrance of the cave.
“Uwa…”
“This is nasty.”
In front of us was not the giant lizard monster that had taken over the place, but a giant Derance Spider that had wrapped it in threads and a large number of eggs laid around it.
“The situation has changed so much from the initial information… Are you two okay?”
“No problem.”
“I’m fine.”
Our original target for subjugation was pitifully reduced to prey, and what stood in our way was a giant spider. But just because the target has changed, the situation of needing to defeat it hasn’t changed. Then there’s no reason to hesitate. I draw my [Dawnbreaker] and take a stance, and Tia also draws her [Silver Spirit Sword] and starts chanting spirit magic.
“Let the spear of the radiant red sunset, swirling with flames, manifest. A pair of spirit arms clad in dull light, pierce, tear, burn, and annihilate! Under the name of Lunarietia, manifest [Volcanic Lancer]!”
With the chant complete, two spears of flame appear behind Tia. As Gou and I charged towards the Derance Spider, it spewed a thread at us… but before the sticky white substance could cling to us, the fiery spears flying from behind us burned it all away.
“Too soft, you spider bastard!”
“Hmph!”
“GIGIGIGIIII!?”
Our strikes sever one of the Derance Spider’s front legs each. Although there was a chance for a follow-up attack, we instinctively leap back, and a swarm of spiderlings rushes to where we just stood.
“Ugh, gross! I’d hate to be bitten by those.”
“…Hey Ed, you know?”
“Hm? What is it?”
“Since it lays eggs, shouldn’t it be a female, not a male?”
(T/N: Gou uses “野郎” meaning bastard/asshole which is usually used for males hence Tia’s comment)
“…Ah, yes. That’s right.”
Ignoring Gou’s astonishingly irrelevant remark, I repositioned my sword and thought about our next move.