Chapter 42 - Chapter 41: The Cursed Talisman
Mika listened intently, straining his ears.
Even in a quiet forest, quite a variety of sounds could be heard.
The wind rustled the grass and trees, and the chirping of insects and the songs of small birds could be heard.
Amidst such sounds, a clearly alien noise entered his ears.
A rustling, scratching sound, an irritating noise, something moving through the bushes.
Diagonally behind Mika, at the 7 o'clock direction. Eight meters? No, around seven meters?
Just as Mika was about to fire the fist-sized "Stone Bullet" he had suspended above his head, he noticed another source of sound.
A rustling sound, quite small compared to the noise heard until now.
At the 3 o'clock direction. Distance around six meters?
It seems they were planning to attack Mika's side and rear from two directions.
(There are smart monsters, the Vigilance Committee members said. ...I didn't think these guys were that kind.)
Mika gave a bitter smile, wanting to test just how dangerous the monsters were.
When Mika stood still as before, the irritating noises heard until now stopped simultaneously.
And then―――.
Biiiiiiiii!!!
The Sou-Labi behind Mika let out a loud cry and leaped out of the bushes with great force.
Mika winced for a moment at that cry.
Then, after a beat, the Sou-Labi on the side leaped out quietly.
This one did not make a cry.
Mika fired two "Stone Bullets" above his head at such high speed that the Sou-Labi could not dodge them.
Goshu-goshu!
A dull sound echoed, and the two Sou-Labis had their heads crushed by the "Stone Bullets," rolling over and over.
Mika quickly glanced at them to confirm, then listened to the surrounding sounds again.
Aside from the rustling of grass and the songs of small birds, the sound of blood spurting from the Sou-Labis' bodies could be heard.
But aside from that, it seems nothing else was making a sound.
Mika, grimacing slightly at his ringing ears, continued to be alert to the surroundings and slowly approached the dead Sou-Labis.
"Haa... finally, I can catch my breath."
Mika placed his luggage on the lakeshore and stretched widely.
Beside Mika was his usual duffel bag.
And a little further away were the two corpses of the Sou-Labis.
The Sou-Labi corpses had their tails tied with a rope and attached to a long stick.
Mika had learned relatively recently that Sou-Labi pelts were items the Guild bought, and depending on size, color, and condition, they could be sold for over three thousand Rats per body.
The blonde, fluffy-haired lady at the Adventurer's Guild, who noticed that while there were records of Sou-Labi exterminations, there were no records of them being turned in, kindly told him this.
At that time, she also told him that it was better not to damage the body parts too much to get a higher price, so he went through various trials and errors.
As a result, he ended up fighting this way.
"But seriously, they were really smart. How are they coordinating like that?"
The two Sou-Labis were divided into two directions, the side and the rear of Mika.
Moreover, the one behind made a loud noise on purpose to draw Mika's attention, while the one on the side made no noise and attacked after a beat.
Even for humans, to coordinate like this, you would need prior discussion and training.
"I'm really glad I didn't run into these guys first... I would have definitely died if I had."
Mika muttered deeply.
Today was the 1st day of the 3rd month of Water.
In the world he came from, June 1st.
Since it was the last month of spring, it was already quite hot.
It had been nearly two months since Mika started pretending to be an adventurer, and he had accumulated quite a bit of actual combat experience, thinking about his fighting style through trials and errors.
Mika tapped his ears, where the ringing had finally subsided, with his fingertips.
"The 'Hell Ears' are convenient, but if a loud noise comes suddenly, it puts me at a disadvantage. I need to think of a countermeasure for this too."
After considering various fighting styles, Mika had developed a magic that amplified sounds reaching his ears.
By the way, this magic name was not official; he was just using a temporary name that fit the image.
In his generation, that image just became so strong.
He had a bit of a crush on that demon man. The anime version was cool.
...The original work is gross though.
Anyway, once monsters hid in the bushes, Mika had few effective ways to find their location, so he wondered if there was any method.
Sharpening the ability to sense presence like Ninetiana was the best, but unfortunately, it was not that easy to learn.
Mika wanted to solve the problem quickly with magic if possible.
So he thought about picking up small sounds like a directional microphone.
Sound is the vibration of the atmosphere.
If he could amplify the atmospheric vibrations from a specific direction, he could find the monster's location.
However, just like he couldn't use "Blast," unfortunately, he could not amplify atmospheric vibrations.
Mika, who could now use "Absorb," thought he might be able to interfere with the atmosphere, but it seemed it wasn't that simple.
So, he created air with magic inside his ear canal and amplified only the sounds that entered it.
This was easier than expected, and as intended, he was able to notice faint sounds that he couldn't hear before.
But there was a weakness.
If a sudden loud noise occurred, that sound would be amplified as well.
During the battle with the Sou-Labi just now, when the Sou-Labi behind him let out a loud cry, it sounded like a very loud noise to Mika.
Thanks to that, his ears had been ringing for a while until just now.
But it was usual to have points for improvement.
If the objective was achieved, it didn't matter at all.
This way of thinking made him feel like he was truly a programmer.
If the result was as specified, minor problems could be fixed later.
After all, no matter how carefully you program, bugs will definitely appear.
If there are bugs, just fix them.
He wasn't aiming for something perfect right from the start.
Also, this time he was simultaneously training the precision of "Thousand Edge."
Mika could see his own mana, so he had assumed mana was something visible.
But while accompanying Rimliche in training to sense mana, he was asked.
"How do you interfere with my mana, Mika-kun?"
Mika himself remembered asking Rad similar questions.
So he showed it to her. His mana sphere.
He just pushed the gathered mana into Rimliche's hand, saying, "This is how I gather mana."
However, Rimliche could not see Mika's mana sphere.
He tried showing it to Messerite as well, but Messerite couldn't see it either.
So he asked Dagny and Naporo, and got the answer, "Mana is not something visible."
Now that he thought about it, he felt Rad had said something like that too.
Because he could see it, he had completely assumed it was visible.
Dagny said she remembered reading somewhere that "there used to be rare people who could see it."
In other words, the most worrying point of "Thousand Edge" was actually not a problem.
"Mana shortage" was also resolved by "Absorb."
That meant, if he practiced expanding his mana and training sensitivity, he could use it in actual combat.
The prospect of putting his trump card into practical use had arrived.
(Well then, I'll train hard.)
So, during the battle with the Sou-Labi, Mika had been expanding his mana.
That was why he was able to grasp the direction and distance of the Sou-Labi hiding in the bushes.
The distance he could expand was still unstable, and he was distracted by the Sou-Labi behind him, so he noticed the one on the side too late, but this would be solved if the precision improved.
"But expanding mana is really exhausting..."
While expanding it, he still had to hold it back so it wouldn't dissipate.
Achieving both was truly difficult.
"If it was within the visible range, I could extend it easily."
If it was within the range Mika could see with his eyes, extending the mana and holding it back without it dissipating was quite easy.
Around 20 meters, he could do it without much trouble.
But once it was outside the field of vision, control became impossible immediately.
Still, he had finally managed to extend it to around 7 or 8 meters, but maintaining the expanded state consumed mana, so without "Absorb," practical use would have been a dream within a dream.
Mika took a deep breath and thought about today's schedule from now on.
It wasn't even noon yet.
For now, he had planned to gather until past noon if he didn't encounter monsters.
But he didn't want to wander around with the Sou-Labi corpses, so he considered wrapping it up for today.
"Oh."
He realized then.
He had left the bag containing the Karemiso behind.
He noticed the Sou-Labi while gathering and immediately went into battle preparation.
After defeating them, he was so focused on collecting the Sou-Labi corpses and being alert to the surroundings that he completely forgot.
His ears were ringing too.
"Well, it's a bit of a waste."
Today's gathering was probably worth over three thousand Rats.
It was a pity to throw it away.
He didn't want to take the Sou-Labi corpses near the forest, so he decided to leave them here and rush back to collect them.
If someone took them... he would just have to accept his bad luck.
He successfully retrieved the bag of Karemiso and, walking while alert, noticed something shining a little ahead.
Something seemed to be reflecting in the dappled sunlight.
Approaching it, it was something made of metal.
A flat object, far smaller than the palm of Mika's hand.
It looked like a cast humanoid figure, or perhaps like a statue of a god or something.
"Is it an amulet?"
When Mika picked it up casually, his hand touching the statue felt a little creepy.
What was that? He thought, looking at the metal statue, but it was nothing.
"..."
Mika tilted his head and decided to leave the forest for now.
Carrying the stick with the two Sou-Labi corpses on his shoulder, Mika arrived at the West Gate.
Each body was about 10 kilograms, so adding the weight of the stick, it exceeded 20 kilograms.
Honestly, it was incredibly heavy.
"Yes, thank you for your hard work. We will take care of it here."
When Mika reached the front of the gate, an old man in dirty work clothes spoke to him.
This old man was a Guild employee, the person in charge of the dedicated window for taking in collected monster bodies.
There were fakes, people pretending to be employees and stealing others' prey, but this person was a real Guild employee.
"Please."
Mika loaded the Sou-Labi corpses, still attached to the stick, onto the cart.
The old man took out a metal rod and lightly touched Mika's Guild Card with it.
This completed the handover procedure for now.
The appraisal would be done at the dedicated pickup window inside the town.
The old man pulled the cart through the gate, and Mika followed behind.
"Mika-kun is amazing. Bringing two bodies."
"Today I guess I was lucky."
"Well, even I can handle one body, but I don't want to deal with two in a day."
While chatting like that, they headed toward the dedicated pickup window.
Upon arriving at the dedicated window, the staff inside collected the Sou-Labi corpses.
Mika confirmed that the application form for appraisal listed two Sou-Labis and signed it.
He could wait for the appraisal right here at the dedicated window, but Mika had no other place to get appraisal or pickup done.
So, regardless of dissatisfaction with the appraisal amount, he had no choice but to let the Guild take them.
Telling the staff he was going to the Guild, he walked down the main street.
Since it was a Sunny Day, the main street was crowded with many people, but fewer than before.
As Ninetiana had said, the crowd seemed to have calmed down a little.
Upon arriving at the Guild, he headed toward the pickup window for Karemiso.
As usual, there were more than ten parties at the Guild.
When handing over the Karemiso, the staff at the dedicated window said it might take some time since they were appraising.
Mika decided to wait quietly inside the Guild.
All counters were occupied, and the usual blonde, fluffy-haired lady was handling some adventurer party.
Well, calling her the usual lady, she didn't handle Mika every time.
She just happened to be at the counter business often on Sunny Days, so she often handled Mika.
While Mika was waiting, zoning out... his name was called.
Today it seemed to be someone other than the usual lady.
When Mika went to the counter, a black-haired short-haired lady made a surprised face.
Had she never seen Mika?
She must be thinking, "A kid like this?"
"Oh? You are Mika-kun, right? Now that I think about it, I didn't know your name."
It seems she knew about Mika.
The lady stared at Mika, then smiled brightly.
"I'm sorry, Mika-kun. It seems there was a mix-up here. I'll guide you to your handler, so will you follow me?"
Handler?
Did such a thing exist?
The black-haired short-haired lady hurriedly walked inside the counter and handed documents to the usual blonde, fluffy-haired lady... pushing them.
To anyone looking, it didn't look like handing over.
She was clearly pushing them.
The black-haired lady beckoned to Mika.
"Hey, we are still handling this over here―――."
"It's fine, it's fine. Well then, Yunressa. Thanks for the rest~."
The black-haired lady turned her back to them, waved her hand, and left.
Mika left behind, the blonde, fluffy-haired lady, and the parties the lady was handling, all stood there with open mouths.
"Eh, um... Mika-kun? Can you wait just a moment?"
The lady asked Mika with a strained smile.
"Yes... that's fine, but..."
When Mika said that, the lady apologized to the party she was handling and continued.
The party's handling ended without making him wait long, and she spoke to Mika with a bitter smile.
"Sorry to keep you waiting, Mika-kun. I'm sorry."
"No, I'm fine."
The blonde, fluffy-haired lady looked toward the black-haired lady and saw her giving a thumbs-up with a nice smile.
The blonde lady was flipping the bird back at the black-haired lady.
(No, lady? That's vulgar.)
Ah, so flipping the bird is also bad in this world? I'll remember that.
Mika stared at the blonde lady, and she laughed, trying to cover it up, "Ho ho ho..."
"Ahem... um, Mika-kun's business for today is... appraisal and pickup."
The lady said while checking the documents.
"Is your name Yunressa-san, lady?"
"Yes, is that so? Why?"
"The lady just now said she was my handler."
Bang!
Yunressa slammed her face onto the counter with force.
Mika looked toward the black-haired lady, and she winked at Mika while giving a thumbs-up.
(...No, you. You are handling customers right now?)
A man who seemed to be an adventurer being handled by the black-haired lady looked back and forth between Mika and the lady in surprise.
Yunressa put her hands on the counter and struggled to get up with a grunt.
"You shouldn't believe what that person said, Mika-kun."
What do you mean by that?
Don't believe what was said at the window? That's pretty unreasonable?
Also, your forehead is red?
"Um, I'll be careful?"
For now, he decided to answer that.
After that, the procedures went smoothly as usual, and Mika left the Guild.
For now, today's income and expenses.
Karemiso 480 grams 3360 Rats
Sou-Labi 1 body 4100 Rats
Sou-Labi 1 body 3300 Rats
――――――――――――――――――――――――
Total 10760 Rats
It was the first time exceeding ten thousand Rats.
With this, he could finally buy the armor he had longed for.
First, just leather bracers.
He could have bought it already by spending all his assets, but a purchase plan with so little margin was hard to approve.
Combat risk and financial risk.
Considering these, he had been waiting until he had some margin.
When Mika went to the armor shop, the owner showed him the bracers with a surprised expression, but naturally, there was no item that would fit Mika's size.
The owner measured Mika's arm length and hand width in detail and said he would place an order.
He thought custom orders would be expensive, but it seemed custom orders like this were normal.
It just took a little time for delivery, and there was no financial burden.
(With things like this, isn't it better to deal directly with the craftsman? When she said the Craftsman District shop was good, was it because of this?)
Mika remembered what Ninetiana had taught him before.
But unfortunately, Mika still didn't know where the Craftsman District was.
If he had no connections, there was no choice but to buy at a shop near the Guild.
At least, he should be satisfied if he could avoid a bad shop.
Mika thought that if it took time to make the armor, he would order the leather chest plate together and paid the deposit for both to the owner.
However, when he confirmed, "Buying the leather chest plate will take about a month, is that okay?", the owner said it was fine as long as he paid the deposit.
Mika, who had left the armor shop, came to the tool shop next.
Though, the purpose was not the tool shop.
It was the appraisal shop next door.
Mika entered the narrow shop interior.
Inside the shop, there was only an old woman at the counter.
The old woman had messy white hair and looked very suspicious.
It seemed the inside of the counter was connected to the neighboring tool shop.
"Welcome, young lady... no, young master? Well, it doesn't matter."
The old woman seemed to have thought Mika was a girl based on appearance, but quickly realized otherwise.
Should he think she had a decent eye?
"I'd like to get an appraisal, please."
Saying that, Mika took the metal statue he found in the forest out of his pants pocket and placed it on the counter.
There was nothing special about it, but somehow Mika was curious about this statue.
The sensation when he first touched it. Even putting it in his pants, his heart felt restless.
So, remembering that there was an appraisal shop next to the tool shop, he decided to try it.
The old woman held the statue Mika placed and looked at it, then tapped the table with her fingertips.
"Well. One silver coin should be enough for this. It's not something worth spending a large sum on."
When Mika paid with his Guild Card, the old woman grinned.
"This is a very common amulet. They handle them at the neighbor too. See."
Saying that, the old woman pointed to a corner of the neighboring tool shop from inside the counter.
But, of course, Mika couldn't see the neighboring tool shop.
It was separated by a wall.
Honestly, Mika was a little angry.
He couldn't possibly know the entire lineup of the tool shop, but if it was a common item, knowing it would have saved him unnecessary expense.
For Mika now, not even a copper coin was money he could afford to waste, let alone a silver coin.
He was angry that he wasted money due to his ignorance.
"Hee hee hee, don't get angry. Just this, and we aren't that corrupt. We have information worth one silver coin."
The old woman, looking at Mika's reaction as if it were funny, said such things.
"This one is cursed. Thanks to that, the 'Blessing' has also come off. It's best not to carry it around and to dispose of it."
"...Cursed?"
An unexpected answer came back.
While Mika was frozen in surprise, the old woman happily explained.
"These kinds of amulets have a weak 'Blessing' cast on them. They call it 'Blessing', but it's a fake, different from the real [Blessing]. Well, even so, it has some effect. About the price, that much."
The old woman pinched the amulet Mika brought with her finger and showed it to Mika.
"But this one has a curse inside, and the important 'Blessing' seems to have come off. It's not a serious curse, but I guarantee there's nothing good about keeping it."
Saying that, she pushed it back toward Mika on the counter.
"We do take in cursed items for pickup, but it's not something worth paying money to dispose of. After leaving this shop, you can throw it anywhere you like."
It might be that the one Mika picked up was also the result of someone throwing it away like that.
Mika reached out his hand over the counter and grabbed the statue.
Indeed, there was a slightly restless feeling.
(The true nature of this feeling was a curse...?)
It was so surprising that he couldn't express his current emotions well.
If told it was cursed, one should normally feel uneasy, but it wasn't that kind of feeling.
Rather, instead―――.
"Is the normal version of this amulet sold at the neighbor too?"
"Yes, they sell it. It's not a rare thing or anything. It's something you can find everywhere."
"Can I see it?"
"Hm? Well, it's fine. Wait a moment."
Saying that, the old woman instructed the tool shop employee.
"Yes, this is the original amulet. The price is three silver coins. From the price, you can tell it wasn't a great 'Blessing' originally, right?"
The old woman grinned.
(You shouldn't say that, the person selling it. I understand what you mean though.)
Mika gave a bitter smile.
He tried holding the normal amulet as a test, but he didn't feel any strange restlessness.
(Indeed, it doesn't feel strange, but on the other hand, I don't feel anything special from others either...? It doesn't feel like there's a 'Blessing' in it.)
Just fiddling with it a little didn't make it clear.
Mika felt his usual "bad disease" throbbing.
"This amulet, three silver coins, right? I'll buy it."
Saying that, Mika took out his Guild Card.
The old woman looked a bit surprised, then grinned with a wicked smile.
"Hee hee hee. You're an interesting child. What are you plotting? Don't do too much mischief, okay?"
Saying that, she processed the payment properly.
(Plotting? That's a bad word. This is called 'intellectual curiosity'.)
Mika did not refute the old woman's words, but simply grinned like the old woman.