Ossan Saikyō Chapter 5 Part 02
That day, we cleared an F-class dungeon so Freynil could acquire a new skill.
The boss was a normal Bear Wolf, and it was finished with a single shot of «Sacred Ray».
More importantly, the《Mourning Staff》turned out to be extremely high-performance.
According to Freynil, the time required for mental concentration was reduced by about 20%. It did feel like her casting speed had improved, and the power had increased significantly as well.
In that sense, I might have to thank my【Bad Luck】skill.
The new skill Freynil acquired was【Parsimony】, which reduces stamina consumption when casting magic. She seemed to be steadily advancing along the path of a mage.
The next day and the day after, we dove into the riverside E-class dungeon I had already cleared.
Fishmen were no longer a threat. As for Stone Tortoises, once I added my【Heavy Burst】skill, I could blow them apart along with their shells.
Slimes made for perfect training targets for Freynil’s magic. Even the Boss, the Large Slime, was taken out in a single sniping shot of «Sacred Ray».
Honestly, for an E-rank party, we felt unusually strong. Maybe it was because we both had rare skills.
Freynil’s new skill this time was【Crucible】. By extending the time spent on mental concentration, it increases the power of her magic. This might end up being our party’s trump card.
That day, both of our adventurer levels increased, and in high spirits, we headed into town toward the guild.
“Soushi-sama, I feel like I’ve finally started to be useful.”
“Yeah. Your magic is completely viable in real combat now, and your positioning has improved too. Honestly, it’s much easier to fight with you than when I was alone.”
“Really? That makes me very happy. I’ll keep working hard so I can be even more helpful to you, Soushi-sama.”
A beautiful girl with blonde hair and blue eyes smiled up at me, holding her staff to her chest. As always, there was a slightly intense light in her gaze.
As we chatted like that and approached the guild, I suddenly felt a strange gaze.
Looking over, I saw a girl standing at the entrance. She had long, slightly purple hair and looked a bit older than Freynil. With wolf-like ears, she was clearly a beastkin. She had a pretty face, but her sharp eyes were fixed intently on us.
“Soushi-sama, are you concerned about that person?”
“Hm? No, I just noticed she’s been staring at us.”
“Perhaps she has some business with us?”
“Who knows. If she does, she’ll come talk to us.”
An older guy walking around with a girl would naturally attract attention, for better or worse. But when that attention came from another girl, it was hard to tell what kind of interest it was.
For now, we ignored it and headed to Mariane’s counter.
“Good work, Soushi-san. Here to sell materials?”
“Yes, please.”
As I placed the mana stones and materials on the counter, Mariane examined them, then turned to Freynil.
“Congratulations, Freynil-san. You have now met the requirements for promotion to E-rank.”
“Eh? Oh… thank you very much.”
Freynil blinked in surprise at the sudden announcement.
“Isn’t that a bit fast?” (Soushi)
“Clearing multiple E-class dungeons while still F-rank, defeating rare Bosses, and slaying a Lich — those are more than sufficient achievements. In fact, it would be inappropriate to keep her at F-rank.”
Mariane answered calmly, but what it really meant was that capable individuals needed to be promoted so they could be assigned to large-scale subjugation missions.
While updating Freynil’s adventurer card, Mariane brought out a booklet and opened it on the counter. It appeared to be a ledger of subjugation requests.
“By the way, Soushi-san, there is a subjugation request I would recommend to you. Would you like to hear about it?”
“Ah, from the other day, right? Yes, please.”
“Yes. It concerns the subjugation of a Terror Knight.”
“Terror Knight… that’s a type of undead, correct?”
If I remembered right, it was like a hollow suit of armor that walked around.
“That’s correct. However, it is purely physical in nature, so it should not pose a problem. It has been seen wandering near a northern farming village, and there have already been injuries.”
“How many?”
“The request lists two, but please confirm on-site.”
“Understood, I'll do that. Freynil, do you have any objections?”
When I asked, Freynil shook her head and placed her hand on her chest.
“I will follow Soushi-sama’s judgment.”
Seeing that, even Mariane frowned slightly. I just hoped this didn’t give her the wrong idea.
“Then I accept. Do I process it with my adventurer card?”
“Yes, please hand it over.”
As I reached for my card, I sensed someone approaching from behind.
“Hey, if you’re taking a subjugation request, how about adding me to your party?”
The one who spoke was the beastkin girl who had been watching us earlier.
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Since it wasn’t something to decide on the spot, we put the request on hold and decided to hear her out properly. Led by the beastkin girl, Rani, we entered a nearby restaurant.
After the three of us sat down and ordered, I spoke to her.
“Alright, can you tell me why you approached us?”
“Why, is it…? Simply put, I just got kicked out of my previous party, and then you guys showed up. I’m E-rank, and from what I heard, you are too, so I thought it might work.”
She spoke casually, so she was probably being honest. But from our perspective, that didn’t really tell us much.
“I have two questions. First, why were you removed from your previous party? Second, why did you decide we’d be a good fit?”
“Ugh, you’re asking the hard stuff. I got kicked out because they said I was bad luck.”
“Bad luck?”
“Yeah. Apparently, whenever I’m around, more monsters show up. I thought it was just an excuse, but actually, the same thing happened in the party before that.”
It’s certainly not an easy thing to say, but it’s not a bad idea to be open about it. As a way of navigating life, though, it’s a bit of a gamble.
“As for why I chose you, like I said, same rank. And also, the combo of an uncle and a girl looked weird.”
“So a strange combo makes you want to join?”
“I got curious about what kind of relationship you have. Oh, and I can tell by smell that you’re not a bad person.”
“You can tell that by smell?”
“Yeah. I’m a wolf beastkin, my nose is sharp. Freynil doesn’t smell like you, so I figured it’s fine.”
“What does me not smelling like Soushi-sama have to do with his character?”
Freynil tilted her head, looking between Rani and me.
…What was this wolf girl saying in public?
I pressed my fingers to my temple and gently explained.
“Freynil, that’s something you’ll understand someday. For now, just forget it.”
“Alright… if you say so, Soushi-sama.”
Thank goodness she was so obedient. Though honestly, maybe a little too obedient.
“That part of you is interesting too. Doesn’t seem like you’re forcing anything. So what is this uncle to you, Freynil?”
“He is not an uncle, he is Soushi-sama. He is the one who saved me.”
“I see. That kind of relationship, huh. Anyway, will you let me join? My nose should be useful for subjugation missions.”
“Is tracking monsters your only specialty?”
“Well, can’t you tell from looking?”
Rani had a longsword at her waist, and her armor was more like light protection gear than full armor. Her outfit matched her purple hair, but it was fairly revealing. Her skirt seemed… very short. I chose to believe she was wearing something under it.
“All I can tell is you use a longsword. Are you the type to overwhelm enemies with speed?”
“That’s part of it, but my specialty is magic sword techniques. So I’m strong against enemies resistant to physical attacks. Of course, I’m strong in normal fights too.”
Magic sword… so that existed too. If I thought of it like a game, it probably meant fighting with elemental attributes. That would definitely help against enemies that only took damage from certain types.
“Hmm…”
Now then, what to do?
The bad luck part was concerning, but if it just meant more monsters, it wasn’t much different from my own【Bad Luck (tentative)】skill. Maybe it wasn’t worth worrying about.
Besides, finding someone willing to join my party at all was rare. From a combat standpoint, she was clearly an asset. And Freynil might feel more at ease with another girl around.
Also… Rani had a tail, and it had been drooping the entire time. I didn’t know if beastkin tails worked like animals’, but if they did, she was probably more depressed than she let on. That made it hard to just turn her away.
“You can join, but I’ll be the leader. Is that okay?”
“Of course.”
“Our party enters dungeons basically every day. All free time is training. If you’re okay with that, you’re in.”
Rani’s ears twitched at that. If she backed out here, then it just wasn’t meant to be.
“…Wait, really? My previous parties were always complaining and barely went into dungeons. I was honestly fed up. I want to get stronger, so that actually makes me want to join even more. So yeah! Let's work together!”
Seeing her tail wag wildly, she clearly meant it.
Well, as long as we shared the same goal, that was enough.
Even if it looked like we were heading straight into a black company-style party… I’d just believe that pursuing strength was the right choice.
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E/N:
What a frank girl! Rani, welcome to the party!
Stay tuned!
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