## Chapter 53 – The Black Mage’s Request
I woke up early and arrived at the east gate a bit before the agreed meeting time. While waiting for the others, I looked over the map I had bought the day before. You can only properly memorize a route by studying the map and then surveying the area yourself.
Memorizing the surrounding geography is essential knowledge for an adventurer. Let’s try to get it all into my head.
“You’re here early?”
“Ah, Mr. Gibson. Good morning.”
As the dawn ended and the morning sunlight brightened the world, Gibson arrived. I greeted him and briefly discussed what we would be doing today. Gibson had hunted Scale Wolves before, so there shouldn’t be any major issues.
“Hi, am I the last one?”
Next, Claudie arrived. She said that as soon as she got here, but unfortunately, Maurice was still missing.
“Hmm, should we wait a bit longer?”
She approached and stood next to me silently, crossing her arms. Then, she mumbled something while looking down. I glanced at her nervously, wondering if she was suffering from some kind of mental illness, but she said she was meditating.
Her skin and hair color are quite unique.
Her tan skin and light purple hair are as uncommon as my black hair.
“Mr. Maurice is late.”
“Seriously, why isn’t he here yet?”
We waited for Maurice. Until I was genuinely thinking, “When the hell is that damn pig going to show up?” To put it bluntly, he was incredibly late.
Even though we were supposed to meet in the early morning, just after dawn, he didn’t show up until it was time to have already finished breakfast.
“Ah, sorry. I’m a bit late.”
“Yes, you are. Quite late. Wow, the sun rises late these days.”
“It’s hard to get up in the morning at my age. Well, let’s get going.”
I felt a bit annoyed that he didn’t seem to think much of being late. He didn’t even understand my sarcasm.
This is a bit unsettling.
I had forgotten because my team luck had been good lately, but my team luck has never been great.
When playing games, I’d lose 7 out of 10 matches due to teammates intentionally throwing or trolling. “Dodge it yourself~. I’m on an alt account (lie).” How many losses had I experienced while boasting like that?
“It’s about a 2-hour walk to the Eastern Swamp.”
As we were late, the group’s marching speed was a bit faster. As soon as we left the gate, Gibson, who seemed most familiar with the road, took the lead, followed by Maurice and Claudie in the middle, and me at the rear.
As I walked, I identified the terrain and landmarks. I observed while looking at the map every so often, intending to completely memorize this route. Acquiring new knowledge is very important for living in this other world.
We passed the main road and entered the forest area. According to the map, we need to go deeper to reach the [Eastern Swamp]. It looks like a monster hotspot. Usually, if a specific place name is attached to an area outside the city, it means that monsters appear in large numbers there.
“Ahem, you. Claudie, was it? You have outstanding beauty. Where do you live?”
Maurice, who was walking next to Claudie, seemed to have taken a liking to her and started flirting. This old man is quite energetic.
“Isn’t the adventurer life difficult?”
I wish he would just focus on work when we’re working. It’s ridiculous to expect professionalism from adventurers, but at least you shouldn’t intentionally make your coworkers feel bad. Especially in a mixed-gender party. There are often people who don’t know their limits and flirt excessively.
“With such a delicate woman’s body… How long have you been doing this?”
I thought they were having a conversation, but when I listened closely, it turned out that Maurice was the only one talking. Even if I were a woman, I wouldn’t feel good if an old man like that was flirting with me. I understood her silence.
“Hey, if someone’s talking to you, at least pretend to listen…”
Perhaps feeling ignored, Maurice tried to grab Claudie’s hand.
It would be troublesome if Claudie got upset and abandoned the party. I was starting to think that I should step in and stop him for the sake of a smooth party progression.
Then, Claudie expressed her annoyance in a sharp tone.
“Hey, Maurice, was it? Can you stop hitting on me?”
“What? Hit, hitting on you?”
“You heard right. Stop hitting on me.”
“When did I…!”
“Ah, never mind. Let’s just ignore each other.”
Crap, damn it.
You can’t fight with your party members.
Maurice’s face turned red.
“You seem quiet.”
Before Maurice could say anything, Claudie said that and walked towards me. It seems she wants to avoid Maurice and walk with me in the back. He glared at Claudie once, then turned his head and went to Gibson’s side.
“Haa, annoying. I don’t mind people talking to me, but I don’t know why they try to touch me. Why are the men here so rude?”
“They’re just ignorant adventurers, what can you do? We’re only seeing each other for a day anyway. Just ignore it. If you see them again later, avoid them.”
I responded to her words as she vented her frustration. I talked with Claudie in the rear like that.
Perhaps she felt we were in similar situations as fellow immigrants, she spoke to me as if confiding in a compatriot she had met in a foreign land.
“Really… Does my tan skin make me look easy? It’s not just one or two people. Thanks to that, I had to buy clothes that cover my body.”
I wondered why she had been wearing a hood since yesterday, it seems it was to hide her face. Well, if you’re a beautiful immigrant woman, people will try to flirt with you from all directions.
“I know what you mean. These guys here are a bit clueless. Rude bastards. I also get treated like a barbarian because my hair is black.”
I continued the conversation by agreeing with her complaints. The conversation flowed as there was still a prevailing atmosphere of racism in this world. Come to think of it, such an atmosphere still exists in modern Earth, so this other world is probably even worse.
“Well, where did you come from, Claudie? You have such an uncommon appearance, like me.”
“Don’t talk about me like I’m from the countryside. I came from the West. A place called Shurdic, I haven’t been here long.”
Where is that again?
“Shurdin? I’ve never heard of it.”
“It exists. It’s a very hot country. And it’s Shurdic, not Shurdin. When I first came here, I was wearing light clothes, and at that time, it was really…”
“Haha, did the men here swarm you like bees? That would be troublesome.”
“Yes! That’s right! Really. Haa, these clothes here are uncomfortable.”
I wonder what the everyday clothes of a ‘hot region’ are like.
Does she dress like a dancer or something?
She seemed to have a lot pent up. She seemed excited even while complaining, perhaps she hasn’t had the opportunity to have such a conversation with anyone else since coming to a foreign land.
Her tight leather outfit set might cover her skin, but it didn’t hide her natural figure. Rather, it emphasized the curves of her body, so if she were to dress like a dancer, I can understand why the men’s eyes would be drawn to her.
It’s fortunate that she’s wearing a hooded cloak.
“Still, it’s nice to talk to you. You can call me Katter, right? You remind me of the men from my hometown, so I like you.”
“Oh my, you shouldn’t say such things to a woman. It tickles my heart.”
Claudie’s assessment was that the men from the Shurdin region are gentlemen like me, with good manners, politeness, and, decisively, an appearance that is liked by many women.
Anyway, I felt good. Men are simple creatures who feel good just by talking to a beautiful woman (except for Winia).
“We’ve arrived. This is the Eastern Swamp from here.”
Following Gibson’s words, the scent of old mud and rotten leaves wafted through the air.
We arrived at the Eastern Swamp.
Looking down over the hill, there were many ponds, and there were numerous plants sprouting from them and huge trees rooted in the bottom of the swamp. The gloomy atmosphere was exactly like a swamp in a picture. It felt like a crocodile swarm would appear at any moment. A crocodile swarm.
“Scale Wolves sometimes attack first, so let’s stay alert.”
As Gibson said, I drew my newly bought sword and walked with it in my hand. Indeed, good equipment brings good confidence. With this sword, I feel like I could cut down a Scale Wolf in one strike.
ㅡSwish, swish.
“What’s that?”
As expected of a swamp where monsters appear in large numbers, I saw other monsters here and there. It looked like a small group of Gnolls. They disappeared into the corner of the swamp, walking on two legs with their backs bent or running on all fours, showing various appearances.
“Gnolls live here too.”
…If I see them again, I’ll kill them and take their, well, their dicks.
It’s a very uncomfortable and unfortunate request, but I can’t help it if they ask me to bring it. I had to make a decision here. Should I capture them, cut off their dicks, and release them, or should I just kill them and then take their dicks? A cruel question.
Neither of them could be called merciful.
We crossed the swamp, being careful not to get our feet stuck. We moved as cautiously as possible, searching the surroundings for Scale Wolves. But unlike our cautiousness, Claudie’s steps were very light. I said.
“Your movements are light.”
“In my hometown, we sometimes get stuck in the sand while walking in the desert. Agility is a basic skill.”
What the heck is agility? And she really did seem to live in the desert, just as she looked. Actually, a tan-skinned beauty can’t survive without living in the desert.
“Shh. I found them.”
Gibson signaled.
Holding our breath, we slowly approached Gibson and carefully parted the bushes.
ㅡCrunch, crunch.
ㅡMunch, munch.
“They’re eating like crazy.”
Beyond the bushes, a Scale Wolf was voraciously tearing apart a Gnoll’s meat. It was holding the corpse tightly with its front paws and tearing off pieces of flesh with its sharp teeth, chewing them with a crunch. Just looking at it made me feel full.
This bastard… he eats so heartily.
“From here on, follow my instructions. I’m the oldest and most experienced, so it’s better if I give the orders.”
It was the moment Maurice, who had been quiet all along, opened his mouth. No, shouldn’t we adventurers know that without having to say it? Everyone usually does things according to the situation.
“First, we’ll surround it.”
“Uh… sure.”
I was planning to do that anyway without being told. Maurice sent Claudie and Gibson to the sides. If we attack on signal, the monster won’t know where to run and will attack, and we can just knock it down.
“Katter, was it? You go in first. I’ll follow you.”
“Hmm. Me first? Why don’t you go first, old man?”
…Is this bastard ordering me around?
He wasn’t asking me to take the front, he was just ordering me, so my tone became sharp.
“As you can see, my weapon is an axe. If you go and restrain it first, I’ll cut it in half.”
“Is that so?”
I was about to say something, but I decided to go ahead and test my new weapon and increased skills.
I had fought and won against a Scale Wolf once even in my F-rank days. At that time, I literally did a tearful ass-show and won tragically and dramatically, but the scar it left from scratching me remained permanently. I also remember that I didn’t get paid properly because I tore off the leather in such a mess.
“Well, I’ll go first then. You follow me, old man.”
Now was the perfect time to test my combat power. Let’s test how much of a person I’ve become compared to then.
After seeing that Claudie and Gibson had taken their positions, I pointed my sword and put strength in my lower body, charging forward with a banzai attack.
