Chapter 70 – Vampire (6)
When Roden is wearing a helmet… He had a distinctive tone used by adventurers and a slightly modulated, low-pitched voice.
“That’s right. We are a team of adventurers from Varmela’s guild. We came here after hearing that the base of the recently infested mosquito swarm might be somewhere in this swamp.”
Upon hearing that answer, the Lizardmen’s vigilance softened.
“Since it’s getting late now, I’m going to spend the night at your village and collect some information. Is it okay if I go inside?”
“If it were normal times, outsiders wouldn’t be allowed inside… But the chief ordered that only those who came to fight off the vampires be allowed to visit and stay. However, you can only be allowed inside if you show proof that you are an adventurer. “
Loden and her twin sister met each other’s eyes and nodded, and handed out an adventurer’s dog tag and a request with the guild’s seal on it.
Roden added a brief explanation, placing her hand on Loxia’s head, the only one who didn’t have an adventurer’s dog tag.
“Oh, this child is still an apprentice, so he hasn’t registered as an adventurer.”
The guard lowered his eyes and looked at the girl.
“Oh, hello…”
Most human girls of that age get scared when they meet eyes with a Lizardman, who often has a disparate appearance to the extent that they can hear the sound of monsters. Came to say hello I like it very much.
“Well… At least one of the party will be fine. Welcome to the haven of the Blackscale tribe. Don’t cause unnecessary trouble.”
“Thank you for the welcome.”
Before Roden went inside, she exchanged a few more words with the guards and looked for a building where she could stay overnight and an area where outsiders were not allowed to enter.
Today, two teams are said to have visited first. One party said that they only gathered information and left again, while the other party said that they were resting inside the village.
The party passed the guards and entered the village where the Blackscales live. Since it is located in the middle of a swampy area, just move your feet and the sound of splattering will naturally follow.
At each hut passing by, large fish are entwined and stretched out like oysters. Lizardman’s preserved food.
Since it was already late, there were not many Lizardmen wandering around him. Those who happen to meet strangers do not approach strangers easily, but only look at them from afar.
The three women looked around the Lizardmen’s area for the first time and each said a word.
“The village where the Lizardmen live is very dark at night because there are no lights, but it’s not very different from the village where humans live.”
“Yes. Except for the fact that it is built in a swampy area, and the residents’ appearances are unique.”
“Hehe, Maril. You say that you look scary in an archaic twist. By the way, I personally imagined a wilder scene. Here, it’s more ordinary than I thought… Ephet! Epepe! Tup! Tup! Tup!”
While having a brief conversation, Merim suddenly nodded! It turned and made a strange noise.
“Ahhhhh… A bug got into my mouth.”
“Be surprised. It’s because you wear something like that on top of your head.”
“Aww, it’s embarrassing. It seems that a lot of aggro was attracted to me because of the light.”
Whoop!
With a literal insect-bitten expression on her face, Merim extinguished the orb of subdued brightness that she had kept above her head the whole time.
With this, the surroundings became completely dark, but just in time we reached our destination. Now that she has arrived at the gentile quarters, Light has done her part.
There were no Lizardmen guarding the inn.
The first reason is that they don’t pay for lodging for strangers who claim to get rid of mosquitoes, which are a big headache for them. The second reason is that there are no items to steal in the building.
Anyway, when I went inside the building, the adventurer party the guard had told me about earlier had gathered in a circle.
There are five of them, all black men, and a magician mixed in as they see an orb of light floating in the center of them.
It’s the first time everyone sees it. A party of adventurers from another city seeking the bounty of mosquito nests…
As long as they are aiming for the same prey, it is meaningless to try to get information from them. There is absolutely no need to share a long story.
After exchanging brief greetings with them, Roden’s party set up a place to lie down at an appropriate distance.
In fact, it’s called an inn because it’s good, but the appearance of things similar to straw on the floor was literally no different from a stable.
In the first place, Lizardmen, who were so adaptable enough to live in a swampy area, did not need any sleeping utensils at all, so there was no need for a soft blanket or rug in the colony. The only thing that can be called bedding is a wooden needle made roughly.
“Sleeping in a building with a roof and walls is a homeless thing and a shame compared to it, so let’s not be too sad. How about Loxia? Will you be able to sleep here?”
Before Roxia could answer, her cheeks puffed out, and Roden’s close-knit twin sister let out a disgruntled voice.
“Oh my… This man puts his nephew before his lovers.”
“I’m a bit embarrassed.”
“The two of you active adventurers are very used to going camping. Don’t be jealous of the kid. Anyway, is Loxia okay?”
The girl, who had been giggling at the good relationship between her master and her older sisters, nodded her head.
“Huh, yes. Originally, I was prepared for homelessness. I’m fine.”
“That’s good. Let’s go to sleep now.”
The four of them raked up straw from the surrounding floor to make the most plausible bed possible, and then huddled together.
“Hey… Older brother Roden. How do we decide the order of night watch?”
Right before they fell asleep together, Marill whispered in a voice that only her party could hear.
Even if you are sleeping in a building, not only sleeping in a colony of another race, but also having a party of other adventurers right next to you, in many ways the anxiety factor is very large.
Although they are partners, adventurers are beings that can turn into murderous robbers at any time in the face of black desire.
Moreover, since it was a party made up of only men, after we exchanged greetings, we could feel the glances peeking at us. Her argument was valid.
“It’s okay for you to sleep comfortably. If you pay attention and fall asleep, you will be able to react immediately to whatever comes your way.”
“Hmm… Okay. I’ll trust you.”
Loxia, trusting her master, immediately nodded her head, and her twin sister, who had become accustomed to setting up her night watch when she fell asleep in the countryside, showed signs of hesitation for a moment, but they trusted Roden and went to sleep comfortably. Made with
I know very well that he’s not the kind of person to talk nonsense about things like this.
It was not a cozy bed by any means, but with the feeling of being cooler than usual and the fatigue from working all day, they quickly fell asleep.
With her eyes on the three women asleep, Roden sat with her back against the wall and closed her eyes. She felt a bit cramped because she didn’t take off her helmet, but she was well-trained and could tolerate this much inconvenience.
Wearing her helmet like this not only covers her face, but also gives the adventurer party at a distance a bonus that she can’t tell whether Roden has her eyes closed or open.
The fact that the party of adventurers is glancing at her party is something that even Roden knows about her long ago.
Well, yes She thought that Roden would do as well as stare at her from a distance.
… At any rate, if she tried to execute the gears she was imagining in her head, she would tear them apart with her own hands.
Fortunately for both parties, the early morning in the swamp passed smoothly and without incident.
* * *
The morning of the third day since Roden and his party started exploring the swamp area using the Blackscale Tribe’s settlement as their home, dawned.
So far, ‘something’ that will be the root cause of the mosquito crisis has not yet been discovered, but there has been a small harvest. It is the cocoon of monster mosquitoes. To be more precise, it is a bloody core extracted from a cocoon.
Mosquitoes are never naturally cocooned creatures, except for the giant mutant mosquito.
Based on the vivid testimonies of the local lizardmen, after exploring the rough swampy area, they were able to find as many as four cores of cocoons full of mutant mosquito eggs.
Of course, all the eggs of the mutant mosquitoes were removed.
The adventurer’s guild said that an average of 5 silver coins were paid for each core of the cocoon, so it could be said to be a pretty decent side income.
Anyway, when Roden and his party stretched out from the inn for outsiders, they were checking their equipment to investigate the swamp again today.
“Are you the group of adventurers who have been steadily clearing the nests of bloodsucking insects lately?”
A Lizardman with a physique that was one head taller than Roden and easily exceeded 2M approached the party. The other Lizardmen roaming around looked so small.
“Nice to meet you. I’m Sharnar Katric, the chieftain of the Blackscales… I’ve been very busy recently leading the warriors to clear out nests of bloodsuckers, and now I have time to say hello.”
Charnard, who introduced himself as the chieftain, has countless scars that have turned white from aging on his exceptionally black scales. In vulgar terms, it is a wound of glory.
Sharnar held out his hand towards Roden, who was feeling unusual energy.
“Nice to meet you, Chief.”
As much as he was confronted by the chieftain who led the tribe, Roden raised his horse and held Sharnar’s outstretched hand.
“My name is… Titus.”
However, only the name presented what he used in the past when he was a silver-grade adventurer.
After shaking hands with the chief, Roden briefly introduced his twin sister and Loxia. Charnar, who was looking down at the three women while flicking his tongue in a lizardman habit, let out a thick voice that sounded like scraping iron.
“Oh, are these three your females? Like a male with superior energy, he leads several of them.”
It is by no means an insult to say that Charnard is a female or a male. It’s just that there is no other title that Lizardmen call men and women other than that.
Master’s female…
Either that or not, Roxia, whose blatant words had been lodged in her ears, felt her face burn in an instant. The girl desperately wished in her heart that her master would nod her head, but Loden shook her head pitifully.
Now he is a silver rank adventurer named Titus, not Roden. So, the answer now is…
“It’s just a colleague relationship.”
“Is that so? Excuse me. If you don’t have a partner right now, find a mate as soon as possible and spread the seeds far and wide. An excellent male like you has a duty to do so.”
The three women, who were listening to the chief’s words to spread the seeds, glanced at Roden’s groin and had very obscene thoughts.
“Ahaha… Let’s listen deeply.”
Roden smiled awkwardly at the Lizardman chief, who was encouraging polygamy, and spoke smoothly.
“Even though I am, an excellent male like the chief must have many wives.”
Lizardmen bands are invariably polygamous, with strong males leading multiple females. In particular, if you are in the position of a chief who leads a tribe, you will have at least three females.
Loden, who has traveled alone for long periods of time in the past and encountered the Lizardmen tribe a few times, knows that fact very well.
According to Roden’s experience, a male Lizardman… In particular, all the chiefs like this kind of praise very much.
However, contrary to his expectations, the Lizardman chief shook his head and replied in a solemn voice.
“What are you talking about? As you can see, I’m a female.”
“Ah…”
Roden had what is commonly referred to as brain freeze.
