Sword of Gluttony Queen - Chapter 31

Chapter 31 : Aspiration and Invitation 

「But, I’m really impressed by Dean-kun. I mean you’re a proper adventurer right now.」 

Fedor-san nodded. 

「Come to think of it, I actually planned to take Edda-chan along with me tomorrow to dive into the 《Demon’s Den》.」 

Fedor-san was a first-rate adventurer.
That was why I think that even a Narc tribe’s swordswoman like Edda was no match against Fedor-san.
Maybe, the reason he took on Edda was to teach her the way to dive into labyrinths and its common sense. 

「《Demon’s Den》… was it? It’s rather far from Romburgh City.」 

But, the《Demon’s Den》 wasn’t popular amongst the adventurers.
The reason was simple, that place was filled with either demon beasts with troublesome battle arts, and or undead demon beasts whose battle bones could only be sold at a low price. 

Fedor-san let out a smile as he whispered into my ear.
 

「… Just between you and me, the truth is, there’s a rumor that someone saw a C-ranked demon beast, 《Mineral Demon; Solus》 in that place. It’s an ominous fella wearing an owl mask. A troublesome demon who manipulates the earth with 《Alchemy》 to release countless earth spikes. And worst of all, it’s using poison gas with 《Matter [Sub-Matter Magic]》.」 

「…C-rank Demon beast? A-Are you sure?」 

I was not worrying about Fedor.
It was just that the goal was to teach Edda about Demon Labyrinths.
She, who wasn’t familiar with demon labyrinths, might be quite a burden for Fedor-san. 

Although both Mani and I managed to hunt down the Gold Maimai who was also a C-rank demon beast, I can be sure since I’ve experienced it, that the Gold Maimai was the weakest amongst the C-rank demon beasts.
I never defeated a proper C-rank demon beast. 

At that point, the Battle Rats are D-rank demon beasts that were even more powerful than the Gold Maimai, a C-rank demon beast.
Maybe, even Beelzebub who gained a physical body via 《Petit Dimordi》 could hardly match against a demon beast higher than C-rank. 

… And then, Devils were stronger than demon beasts.
In exchange for not having a battle bone to use for battle arts, they had the highest degree of freedom to manipulate magic thanks to their demon core.
Naturally, magic that could be used by almost everyone was more troublesome than battle art.
It was really troublesome when one was facing against magic.
Since stamina, offensive ability, and agility were completely dependent on magical power, their overall value was beyond their level. 

「Fufufu, it’ll be alright, Edda-chan is rather eager too. And most of all, I’m also there.」
 

Fedor-san said this as if demon beasts of C-ranks were nothing.
As expected of Fedor-san. 

「And lastly, do you want to go with us to the《Demon’s Den》, Dean-kun?」 

「M-ME!? Nay, someone like me will only become a hi—-」 

「Don’t worry about it. I mean, I’m happy that you finally stepped on to the path of the sword that you always dreamed of. I might be able to give you one or two pieces of advice when we’re diving into the demon labyrinth. I mean, you accomplished the same feat as me a long time ago, Dean-kun.」 

Fedor-san showed a refreshing smile befitting that of an adult. 

I mean, for me to be able to stand alongside Fedor-san instead of hiding behind his back….
I ended up stuttering myself but… I want to go. Let’s take this chance! 

「Wait a minute, Fedor. That’s not what you promised before.」 

Though Edda was only standing in silence with a menacing look on her face during my conversation with Fedor-san, she finally cut in when she heard that I was joining the expedition too.
In spite of her indifferent tone, I felt her anger for some reason.
「Surely, I may have little understanding of the conduct of the adventurers that belong to the guild and I’m grateful for your advice so far. But, count me out if you add him to our expedition. I won’t allow a low-leveled non-combatant civilian to participate in this.」 

Her remark irritated me. Despite my appearance, I was a proper 【Lv:20】 adventurer. The current me had become even stronger than Gilbert and Morgan. Despite the fact i am overwhelmingly lacking in live combat experiences, I could at least solo a D-rank demon beast. Currently, I should be qualified as a vanguard. 

「You… aren’t you a bit too rude in your treatment of your benefactor? Fedor-san…」 

Fedor-san quickly grabbed my hand when I was about to leave that place. 

「Please reconsider your opinion, Edda-chan. Adventurers normally work together. One person alone can’t beat a demon beast, thus we need to overwhelm them with numbers. And we need to hire someone in charge of luggage too. For example, we need an environmentalist to dive into an even deeper floor of a demon labyrinth. If you planned to dive for days, you’ll need a white magician to heal your wounds. If your target is ore, you have to hire a miner. That’s how adventurers work.」 

「…………」 

「Naturally, you might dislike some of the guys you hire. There might be someone you have had a hard time dealing with. Or someone with a different goal amongst them…. Basically you have almost an endless reason to like or hate someone in an exploration party. I mean, there might be someone who planned to use your skill to their own benefit. In Dean-kun’s case, he’s a kind, honest, and hot-blooded man. If you can’t even form a party with someone with a good personality like him, you might as well just give up on becoming an adventurer.」 

「… That’s troublesome. I’ve nothing but this sword after all.」 

Edda sent a glance to the sword on her back with an expressionless face. 

Fedor-san pushed his hand forward and then pointed up and then he snapped his fingers. 

「Yosh! That’s the first adventurer knowledge: you should get along with the other adventurers.」 

「Ooh, Here it comes! Fedor-san’s adventurer knowledge.」 

I raised my fist in guts pose.
He taught me this adventurer’s knowledge when I was working as his porter.
By the way, there was no real meaning in the numbering. The number and content were decided by the situation of that time. 

「It’s not my place to butt in but, you really like Fedor-san huh, Dean.」 

Mani said so with a slightly amazed look on her face. 

「I hate being surrounded by many people.」 

Some wrinkles appeared on Edda’s forehead.
… What a troublesome fella.
But still, as expected of Fedor-san.
He persuaded Edda in just a moment. 

Nay, it might be true that he wanted to invite me but, his goal might be to allow Edda to get along with other adventurers.
He was really thorough huh.
Such a vast point of view.
I somehow came to understand how Fedor-san became such a great adventurer.
Someday, I want to become someone that was as reliable as him too.