Chapter 48

"Then, Mr. O-ura! Where are we going today?"

Nohl, who has been enhanced, is getting excited.

He is also making the gesture of clenching his fists and waving his arms up and down, clearly in a very good mood.

"North Cave is getting a bit boring, so should we explore somewhere else? I feel bad for Cisaha, who is in the party as a healer."

"No, no, I'm having fun, so it's fine. Rather, I feel bad for not being able to use my healing skills."

I summoned her as a healer, but we haven't had any battles that required healing.

Instead, the other day when we went to the Eagle Warrior Forest for practice, I let her fight the Eagle Warrior Chief, and she instantly killed him.

I started to wonder if all priests are like this.

"Another hunting ground, you say. Should we go to a higher-level hunting ground?"

"Yeah. The magic stone efficiency is quite good, so we might go there again, but it would also be good to explore other places for future leveling."

We need to choose a location based on the ease of hunting enemies and the amount of experience gained.

But since the experience points aren't displayed, we need to check our status while leveling up.

"So, let's go to another hunting ground today."

"Sure. Since Cisaha is here, we could go to a place with stronger enemies."

Hmm, that makes me a bit hesitant.

If Cisaha is needed, it means we might take damage... I don't want to become a masochist like Gauss.

"In that case, how about exploring a dungeon? Maybe we can defeat the slime on the 10th floor now?"

"Yeah, I think we can win. But we don't know what's beyond that, and it's hard to leave a dungeon quickly."

With her joining and me acting as a tank, we can probably hunt the slime on the 10th floor.

However, we don't know what's beyond that, and we can't leave quickly without a beacon.

It might be good for rare drops, but considering magic stones and experience, it's a bit iffy.

●

Since we couldn't decide where to go, we decided to ask the Adventurer's Guild.

We went to the reception where Wijji is and asked her.

"Oh, Mr. O-ura. What brings you here today?"

"We're thinking of exploring another hunting ground. Do you have any recommendations?"

"Recommendations...?"

She tilted her head, closed her eyes, and hummed in thought.

It seems hard to judge what level is appropriate since there's no way to check status in this world.

"There's a place called Remli Mountain to the north. It's a bit far, but it might be good. There are lizardmen, which are humanoid monsters."

Wijji continued to describe the place.

Remli Mountain is about a two-day journey from here. It's probably farther than the pond where the Frogmen were.

Lizardmen are humanoid monsters like Eagle Warriors. They're the bipedal lizards that often appear in fantasy.

Unlike the monsters we've faced so far, they use not only swords but also axes, spears, and bows.

"Since it's far and difficult, adventurers don't go there often. However, the items dropped by the Kepool, a type of lizardman, are popular as materials."

"Popular as materials...?"

Is Kepool a rare species? Does it drop popular materials?

The distance isn't a problem, but the high difficulty gives me a bad feeling...

"Like the Stinger, ordinary adventurers get wiped out, so they don't circulate much."

"Do A-rank adventurers not hunt such monsters?"

"In their case, it's special... and there's no one like Mr. O-ura who hunts so many."

She's being vague, so there might be some reason she can't say. It's intriguing, but I shouldn't press her.

I've only seen one A-rank adventurer so far. I wonder what they do normally. I see B-rank adventurers in the guild often, but never A-rank.

Since they can go to the 40th floor of the dungeon, they must be really strong. I wish I could have seen that monster tamer's status.

"Thanks to Mr. O-ura, the supply of Stinger carapaces has increased, giving adventurers more opportunities to obtain them. The quality of adventurers' equipment has improved, and the guild master is pleased."

I've been selling carapaces regularly since giving them to Deus. I didn't realize it had such an impact.

If it helps all adventurers, that's a good thing... right?

But hearing that, I wonder if the lizardmen are also a target...

"So, I'm looking forward to this as well."

"Hehe... I'll do my best."

She smiled, and I responded with a strained smile.

●

With the location given, we started moving towards Remli Mountain.

However, a small problem arose...

"Why did it come to this?"

"Hehe, it's fine."

We're moving on a carpet, but Estelle is sitting in front of me, cross-legged.

This position is very awkward for a man...

"Ugh, Estelle is being unfair."

"Estelle fits perfectly."

Nohl and Cisaha are sitting behind us. Nohl sounds resentful, but there's no choice.

With four people, this carpet is at its limit. We considered leaving one at the inn and picking them up later with a beacon.

But after some discussion, we ended up like this.

I suggested Nohl sit on top of me, but she insisted on this spot, and I gave in...

It smells nice, and the parts that touch are soft. I can understand why Nohl uses her as a pillow.

"Still, this carpet is fast."

"Yeah, it's moving at a good speed. Be careful not to fall off."

We're moving at a decent speed. Cisaha is leaning forward, looking around with great interest.

I'm worried she might fall, so I want her to stop. She's really fearless.

"Thank you for the warning. Even if I fall, I can heal myself, so there's no need to worry."

"Is that really nothing to worry about...?"

Cisaha says it's not a problem with a smile, but Nohl, sitting next to her, looks a bit taken aback.

She can heal herself, but falling would still hurt... Nohl's reaction makes me wonder if she said something odd.

Her tilted head makes me wonder what she's thinking.

After a few hours of travel, we stopped the carpet.

"Well, let's place one here for now."

I took a beacon out of my phone and hid it in a bush where it wouldn't be noticeable.

"Mr. O-ura? Why are you placing a beacon here?"

"This place is quite far from the city, right?"

They looked puzzled at my actions.

Since we're far from the city, there's no need to place a beacon here.

"Yeah, the place we're going to is quite far. This is insurance in case the beacon doesn't reach the city. It's also an experiment to see how far the signal can reach."

Remli Mountain is quite far. If the beacon placed near the capital doesn't reach, it would be a hassle to return.

So, I plan to place beacons periodically to create a route.

"That's quite thoughtful, Mr. O-ura."

"Indeed. It's surprising to see Mr. O-ura think about something other than gacha... Mwa!?"

"I only think about gacha, don't I?"

Nohl nodded in agreement with Cisaha but added an unnecessary comment, so I pulled her cheek.

It's been a while, so I made sure to massage it thoroughly.