Extra: Everyone Needs Hope

We had arrived at the town of Varienfeld. This town was famous for its woodworking, especially of small objects, so when I heard that, I wanted to stop by. Among the crafts they were famous for, one of them was wooden tea caddies, and the beauty of their designs and decorations made them popular even amongst nobles. It was said that some went so far as to prefer the ones made here.

I used to be exclusively in the tea bag camp, but ever since I found out that I could buy loose leaves with my skill, I started to use those instead. Though all I was doing was putting a tea strainer that I also got from my skill with the leaves in it on top of a cup. But even doing just that was enough to make the taste a level better than using teabags, so I started drinking tea quite often.

For that reason, when I heard of these tea caddies I thought to myself, I definitely want one, and came here. So the first thing I did was go to show my face at the Adventurer’s guild, but......

Varienfeld itself wasn’t that big a town, so the Adventurer’s guild reflected that. When I asked Fel and the others to wait outside and tried to get to the receptionist by myself, I was immediately accosted by some rough looking adventurers.

I’m the type to get messed with just because I’m not with Fel and the others. How depressing... It’s true that compared to the other people here, I’m thin and just seem like an extra in a movie.

Just as I was torn between complaining internally that they didn’t have to come at me like the biggest cliché in the universe, and wondering how to get out of the situation, another adventurer saved me. He was B-ranked, and somewhat famous among the adventurers here in Varienfeld. His name was Mauritz, a wolf beastman and solo adventurer. Due to that event, we started to become friendly, and when I told Mauritz about the tea caddies, he led me to the store he recommended.

After being shown their wares, the one that stood out to me was one that was a deep, glossy brown with a detailed geometric pattern carved into its grain. The detail of its work could be summed up as splendid, and although it was a little expensive, personally, I was very happy with it, since I got something I liked. I heard later that it was created by a famous woodworker, so I understood why it was so expensive.

Although I’d already accomplished what I came here for, I was about to try and convince Fel and the others to stay a bit longer since we took the trouble to come anyway. Especially since Mauritz was going to show me to other good stores as well.

Mauritz showed up at the house I was renting one night.

“Yo, Mukohda. Sorry for the late visit. I have something to talk to you about, regarding tomorrow. Just a smaaalll thing......” Mauritz said, his huge 190cm tall body appearing to shrink.

“I was wondering who it was, but it’s you, Mauritz. Come in, come in.”

I led him to the living room. The house I was renting wasn’t the usual huge mansion I’d go for since this town was so small, but it was still fairly large and luxurious. It was after we had already eaten, so all three of my familiars were lounging around. I had Mauritz, who was commenting on how large the house was in wonderment, take a seat as I served him some tea.

“This tea is good.” Mauritz drank the tea and breathed a sigh in relaxation.

“The plan was to meet up tomorrow. What happened?” Mauritz was going to show me around the shops...

“Well, you see......”

Mauritz said that he wanted to cancel the plans for tomorrow. It seemed that Mauritz had to go deep into the forest east of this town to hunt down a monster called a green gecko at the request of his wife, who was an apothecary three years older than him. From Mauritz’s explanation, after roasting the green gecko (which, as its name implied, was a gecko monster) and crushing it into powder, it can be made into an energy supplement. Not only that, but if you mix it with the stuff made from an orc’s you-know-what, the effects get even stronger, so it seemed that couples who wanted children would pay huge sums for it.

But capturing a green gecko wasn’t easy. The green gecko itself was only about 30cm long, and weak, but on top of its territory being limited, it seemed that they weren’t that numerous. And as for its territory, it was deep, deep in the forest and difficult to get to — since it was a matter of course that strong monsters made their homes deeper in forests. However, there was no way they could let this opportunity to capture them go.

Actually, right now was the time right before green geckos lay their eggs, something that only happened once every four years, and it seemed that both males and females would be in great condition, with all sorts of nutrients stored in their bodies. Compared to normal green geckos, green geckos in this state apparently made for much more effective medicine, so I could understand why they would want to get as many as they could at this time.

“At first I was going to go by myself, but since it’s so deep in the forest, I might end up coming back empty-handed. My wife asked me to do this, but personally, I really wanted some as well. So I had an idea...... I’m asking you as an S-ranked adventurer, Mukohda: will you form a temporary party with me?”

I don’t really mind, but I am curious. “Why do you want one so badly?”

The medicine made from those green geckos would probably sell for a lot, but from how Mauritz was talking I felt like he had some other reason for wanting them...

“Since you’ll be forming a party with me, I guess I have to tell you......”

Of course part of the reason was because his wife asked him, but apparently the biggest reason was for the two of them — Mauritz was a wolf beastman and his wife was human.

It was the first time I’d heard of it, but apparently when the couple was of different races, it was much harder to make a child. Of course it wasn’t at all impossible, but even if they did manage it, there would only be one. I was told that there were many couples that ended their lives without having a single child. In Mauritz’s case, they were lucky and had a daughter after six years, but......

“I wouldn’t say it to her, but I actually do want another one or two children, since I have five siblings myself. I can’t help but think that way. So you see, I ended up saying that to my wife when I was drunk — that I’d like another child.”

Apparently all of Mauritz and his wife’s friends and acquaintances had two or three children. Mauritz told me that he suspected that his wife was jealous, seeing that.

“Although for a couple like us, just having one daughter is lucky......”

The worlds may be different, but a couple’s worries are still the same, huh? Especially when it comes to infertility. I remember reading something like that in a special article about worries that couples have, and apparently it was a big one.

“So, how about it? Will you temporarily party with me?”

As if I could say no after a story like that. Well, it’s not like I mind, but I still have to ask Fel and the others.

“Uhhh, wait a second please.” I hurried to talk to Fel and the others telepathically.

《Fel, Dora-chan, Sui, were you listening? How about it?》

《Hmm, I do not mind. In fact, it is a perfect opportunity to do some hunting.》

《I don’t mind, either. I was just about itching to go hunting anyway.》

《We can all go pew-pew and beat up lots, right? Then Sui is ok too~.》

Everyone gave the OK, so there didn’t seem to be a problem.

“I’ll take you up on it, Mauritz.”

“I-I see!! That’s great—! Thanks, man! Really!” Mauritz took my hand in his giant paws and shook it up and down in big swings.

“You should thank me after we get some green geckos.”

“Haha, you’re right.”

We decided to set off for the eastern forest along with Mauritz early the next day.

◇　◇　◇　◇　◇

“Sorry for making you wait.”

Mauritz was already waiting for us in front of the eastern gates.

“No, I just got here too.”

“Then let’s go. How long will it take to get to the eastern forest?”

“It’s not that far. If we start walking now, we’ll get there by noon.”

So a little less than four hours on foot, huh? Four hours on foot...... That’s no good. So it’s time for Sui, isn’t it?

I tapped my bag and telepathically called out to Sui. 《Wake up, Sui. There’s something I want you to do.》

Sui jumped out of the bag quickly.

《Master —what do you want Sui to do—?》

《We’re going to the eastern forest; can you let this guy ride?》

《That’s fine~.》

After that telepathic exchange, Sui grew to be about two meters. Mauritz, the guards at the gate, and the travelers and merchants that were waiting to get in were all surprised that Sui just grew suddenly. There were even those among the soldiers and adventurers that grabbed their weapons.

“Uhhh, this slime is my familiar, so......”

It’s too late, but it might actually have been better to do this a ways out from the town instead of right at the gates. But it’s already happened, so there’s no helping it. It’s not like I can lie and get out of it. For now it’d be best to just get out of here as quickly as possible, wouldn’t it?

“Mauritz, please get on top of Sui.”

“Wha-? Sui? You mean this slime?”

“Yes.”

“You want me to ride this......” Mauritz seemed confused, like he couldn’t understand the meaning behind it.

“It’s fine. Now, now, get on.” I pushed Mauritz and had him get on top of Sui. And I got on top of Fel, like usual. Okay, everything’s ready.

“Sui, make sure not to drop Mauritz, got it?”

《Yeah, it’s fine~.》

“Fel, match your speed with Sui’s.”

“Understood. We will be a little slower, but there is no way around that I suppose.”

“Dora-chan, just follow us like usual.”

《Sure, got it.》

“Oh that’s right. Mauritz, can we just keep going along this road to get to the forest in the east?”

“Y-Yeah. Just keep going straight this way, and the dense forest on the left will be it.”

“Got it. Well then, let’s go.”

Everyone started moving as soon as I said go.

“Huh? Wha-? Wai-......! WooaaaAAAHHH!” Mauritz’s throaty cry echoed in the wind.

...............

.........

......

“We are here.”

“Th-Thanks.”

《Master — this mister here is kinda limp. Is he okay?》

Mauritz was spaced out on top of Sui, like he was an empty husk that his soul left behind.

“AAHH! Are you okay, Mauritz?!! We’re here!”

Mauritz came to with a start in response to my voice, and jumped off of Sui.

“I-I-I’m fine. I-I’m totally fine!”

You know Mauritz, your knees are shaking like a newborn deer. Seeing a huge guy like Mauritz quivering like that made me want to laugh, but I managed to keep the impulse down.

“Whew...... We’ll be able to spend a longer time searching since we got here early, won’t we? But I wish you would have told me how we were going to get here in the first place.”

“Sorry. When I heard that it would take until noon to walk here, I figured it would be better to get here even a little faster.”

“Yeah, you’re right. But to think that your familiars can even do this...... It’s amazing to think about. S-rank tamers really are in another class,” Mauritz said. I only smiled vaguely.

There’s no way I can tell him that all three of them only became my familiars to get at my food, can I?

“Okay then, let’s go. Don’t let your guard down. There’s a lot of high-ranking monsters in this forest. Oh, I shouldn’t have to tell you, huh? You’re S-ranked, Mukohda. Hahah.”

No — I’m S-ranked, but I’m weak. So I asked Fel for a favor through telepathy.

《Fel, can you secretly put up a barrier around Mauritz?》

《Fine.》

《Ah, don’t forget me, too.》

《I know.》

《Thanks.》

There’s no point if something happens to Mauritz, after all.

◇　◇　◇　◇　◇

Parting the dense, thick forest, we moved ever onwards. Once in a while, we heard the unsettling cry of a bird or something off in the distance. Of course, we never let our guards down. Fel and the others were with us too, but every now and again, they’d leave for a while, so they were probably hunting. It was probably fine; Fel told me they might do that right after we went in, so I had put the magic bag around his neck.

After a while trudging through the forest, Mauritz called out.

“High-ranking monsters start to appear from around here. And this is also where the green geckos live.”

“Finally, huh? So, what kind of place do these green geckos live?”

“They’re nocturnal, so during the day they hide in the hollows of trees or gaps in between rocks; basically anywhere that’s tight and damp.”

“I see. So it’d be best to concentrate on places like that, huh?”

“Yeah. But from now on it’ll be even more dangerous. So keep your guard up.”

“Roger.”

Mauritz and I started looking in every nook and cranny that green geckos might be in.

How about there?

I was looking at the roots of a large tree. Some of the roots were bulging out of the ground, forming a little shadowed space. I tried peeking inside, but nothing looked like a green gecko. Hmmm, I’m not really finding anything......

Apparently there’s not many of them in the first place, so I guess there’s no way I’ll just find one right away, huh?

I looked over at Mauritz, and it seemed that he wasn’t having any luck either, as he shook his head.

“They’re not easy to find, are they?”

“There aren’t a lot of them to find. But it’s still too early to give up. Let’s keep looking.”

“You’re right. Let’s go.”

We started our search for green geckos once again.

After a while, Mauritz, who was peeking into the shadow of a fallen, rotten tree stopped moving.

......(I see one!) Without speaking a word, Mauritz mimed that with his fingers. And, when he brought out the knife that was in the holster on his hip......

*Ssk*

There, stuck on the end of his knife, was a green colored gecko that was stabbed through the head: a green gecko.

“We did it! We got one!”

“That’s great, Mauritz!”

Finally, a smile appeared on Mauritz’s face. Even I breathed a sigh of relief that we got what we came for.

“This makes one. But, and this might just be me being greedy, but I’d like one or two more.”

I have no idea how much just one would make, but it’s true that it doesn’t look like it would amount to much. It’s not that big in the first place, after all. I feel like it’s about a size smaller than what I’d heard from Mauritz.

Since we got to the forest early, there was still time. It’d probably be fine to keep at it for a little longer.

“There’s still time, Mauritz. Let’s keep looking for a while longer.”

“Sorry.”

And so the hunt for green geckos was reopened. As I was peeking through the dense leaves of some shrubbery at their trunk, I heard a rustling noise. Wondering what it was, I turned around to look......

“KIEEEHHHH!”

A huge bird with a tough looking beak was looking down at me—It’s a giant dodo———!

“Ohshitohshitohshit...”

It was much closer than I thought it was, so in my surprise, I fell on my ass. But there was no way the giant dodo would care about that.

“Mukohda!!” I heard Mauritz yell in a panic.

Just as the giant dodo raised its beak to finish me off......

《No bullying master—!》

*Pew*

Sui, who jumped over, unleashed an Acid Bullet that pierced through the giant dodo’s chest. That single blow was fatal, and the giant dodo fell to the side with a thud.

“Sui~, you saved me—! Thanks.” I picked Sui up and started rubbing my cheek on it.

《Eheheh~, is Sui awesome? Sui is awesome, right?》

“So awesome! The most awesome! Keep saving me from now on, okay~?”

《Yeah! Sui will go beat up everybody that bullies master—!》

“Thanks, Sui~!”

Having strong, reliable friends really was a lifesaver. But I never knew that the giant dodos we were always eating were this vicious. No matter what anyone said, it’s a high-ranking monster, but I’d only ever seen it dead, so I never really realized it.

So it was totally a carnivorous bird, huh? I need to be careful.

With those thoughts rolling around in my head, I stored the giant dodo that Sui killed into my Item Box. And......

“Huh? What happened, Mauritz?”

Mauritz was pointing at Sui and I while wordlessly opening and closing his mouth like a fish.

“Don’t ‘what happened’ me! W-W-What the hell is that slime?! It gets big and lets me ride it, and what’s up with that power?! I’ve never seen or heard of a slime like that!”

Even if you tell me that...

“My Sui is special.”

Isn’t that right? It can all be summed up in one sentence. That’s why Sui’s strong. I’m a little proud.

“Special? Can a slime really do all that just because it’s special? It’s right there in front of me, though......”

“Well, can’t we just leave it as my Sui here being special? More importantly, we should hurry and find that second gecko.”

“Y-Yeah...”

When I started looking for green geckos once again, Fel and Dora-chan, who had been away to hunt, came back.

“Mm? Did something happen?”

“Yeah, there was a giant dodo. Sui got it, though.”

《Sui beat it~.》

《Giant dodo? You mean those huge birds that don’t fly? I got one too. And a similar rockbird, too.》

Rockbirds really do look like giant dodos, don’t they? Giant dodos, with their sorta large and solidly built bodies, were kind of like if you up-sized a turkey and made it way meaner. Meanwhile, rockbirds were like if you did the same thing to an emu.

“I have downed some as well. This forest has a lot of bird-type monsters. Those things are fast on their feet. You should be careful. Well, you have my barrier so nothing bad should happen, though.”

“Got it.”

Even with Fel’s barrier, there’s no way I wouldn’t get scared if a violent looking monster was right up in my face. Honestly, I was just about to wet myself earlier, too. I don’t want to get threatened by angry monsters either, so I’ll be as careful as I can be.

And then......

“It’s great that you managed to get another one, isn’t it, Mauritz?”

“Yeah. I was wondering how it would turn out, but we managed to find another somehow. I’m relieved.”

“Then let’s go back.”

“Yeah.”

“Ah, you’re going to be riding Sui on the way back too.”

“Urgh, I’m gonna have to ride that slime again?”

“You rode him to come here already, so you should be fine.”

“W-Well yeah, I guess......”

As I was discussing our trip home with Mauritz, we heard thudding footsteps along with a sudden cry that sounded like, “GUOOHHHH!” Mauritz, whose eyes went sharp in a flash, readied his halberd. And what appeared before us was a huge bear — a murder grizzly!

“GUOOOOOHHHH!”

“Fel, I’m counting on you!”

“I would kill it whether you told me to or not,” Fel said before taking a step forward.

“Guoh!!?” The murder grizzly took one look at Fel and faltered. Then, it turned right around and tried to run away, leaving only the sounds of its thudding footsteps and the rustling of parting greenery.

“Eeehhh......”

“It must have sensed the difference in power between us. However, it already tried to challenge me, I will not let it go. Dora.”

《Sure thing!》 Dora-chan, chosen by Fel, went to chase after the murder grizzly. And......

*Thdshhh* *Thdshhh* *Thdshhh* *Thdshhh*

Pillars of ice grew out of the murder grizzly’s back.

That’s so sad. But, it’s still meat. I made sure to store it in my Item Box.

“I-I won’t get surprised again. I already know that your familiars are abnormal from that slime.”

“They’re all strong.”

After that, we left the forest, and just like how we got here in the morning, Mauritz rode Sui, and I rode Fel back to the town of Varienfeld.

◇　◇　◇　◇　◇

And, the next evening...

Mauritz came to my house once again.

“Yo, Mukohda. Thanks for yesterday.”

I showed him to my living room and was told that apparently, his wife was very happy with the two green geckos and spent all night making the medicine. The finished products sold as soon as they were put up, and apparently some noble heard the rumors and even sent a servant over for some.

“Man, I heard about it too, but I never thought they’d sell this fast. It only took this long to sell all of it you know? All of it!”

It seemed that the effectiveness of green geckos in their egg laying season was famous to those in the know, since it wasn’t actually sold that often, so even Mauritz was surprised at how well it sold.

“Well, we secured our portion already though. I talked to my wife, and we decided to try for a second child.”

He declared that he’d make another baby. Mauritz told me that, according to his wife, although medicine made from green geckos would never be as powerful as those from an orc king’s, they could be close, so it seemed that they’d definitely succeed. That’s fine, but I don’t see why you had to come all this way to tell me that you were gonna go for another kid.

“So, there’s something I want to hand over to you......” Mauritz said, taking out a small pouch from a pocket in his chest.

“This is your reward. Half of the earnings from selling the medicine.”

“What? Can I really have half?”

“Yeah. We already made plenty of profit, you see. Also, it’s thanks to you that not only did we manage to catch so many green geckos in such a short time, but I didn’t get hurt either.”

“If you’re going to put it like that, I’ll take it, but...”

“Oh, and I can’t forget this.” What Mauritz took out next was a small wooden case that fit into the palm of his hand. Inside were three black pills.

“It’s the vitality medicine my wife made. Well, try it out if you ever feel the need for it. One for each time, got it?”

............Is he trying to insinuate something? I don’t even have anyone to do it with, what am I supposed to......

If I need it? There hasn’t even been a hint of that all this time, you know———!

I wanted to just take that case and throw it who-knows-where, but I held in the impulse. And I took it, at least for show.

Y-You know, on the off chance, like one in a million, that something might happen. E-Even I need hope, you know? Hope!