## Chapter 9 – Hunting the Cockatrice
The journey to the west gate, where the carriage awaited, was pure hell. Winia started tormenting me from the very beginning. This crazy sadist seemed to derive joy from bullying those weaker than her. It was driving me insane.
“Hey, Darkie, how have you been?”
“I’ve been good.”
*I’ve been good because you weren’t around.*
“Did you miss me while I was gone?”
“I missed you.”
*I’ve been lonely ever since I came to this world.*
“Weren’t you lonely?”
“I was lonely.”
I answered, hoping this situation would just pass by like water. No matter how crazy this woman was, she wouldn’t do anything to me in broad daylight with so many people around.
Winia persisted with her questions.
“Aren’t you happy to see me?”
“I’m super happy.”
“Then why don’t you look happy?”
“…”
Silence.
The phrase “school bully” flashed through my mind.
“Darkie, you really want to die, don’t you?”
“Ah, no. Why all of a sudden? What did I do wrong?”
Winia narrowed her eyes and grabbed my collar. Before I could resist, my body was pulled forward in an instant. My voice, utterly terrified, naturally shrank as if crawling into a mouse hole.
“It’s just that you don’t seem sincere in your answers.”
“I’m a barbarian, so I’m not good at talking…”
“Our Darkie really needs to die, huh?”
— *Pzzzt!* Along with a subtle flow of mana, an electric shock spell swept through my body. Manipulating magic with just a finger to inflict a small electric shock on my body—Aaaaaaaagh.
“Gyuaaaaaaagh!”
I screamed pathetically, writhing in pain, and collapsed…! Tears started streaming down my face from the excruciating pain! That electric shock was a terrible magic used only by true lunatics, capable of inflicting pure pain without damaging the body!
— Once more!
“Gyeooooooogh!”
This bitch, when did you stop calling me Darkie! I said I’m a barbarian, so why are you still doing this to me, aaaaaaaagh!
“William! Go on ahead! I’ll catch up after talking with my friend for a bit!”
“…I hope you’re not too late.”
William and Copson left me lying on the ground and coolly went on ahead. Damn it… Damn it! Why! Why do I have to suffer like this! Who the hell said getting beaten by a beautiful girl is a reward in this industry! It just sucks!
It hurts like hell! Please, someone save me!
“Darkie. Now that you’re E-rank, are you not scared of me anymore?”
Winia approached me, who was rolling around like a dog, and sat down, squatting. She poked my swollen cheek with her finger.
She was smiling on the outside, but she must have been furiously angry on the inside. I don’t know why she’s angry… Why is this bitch pissed off again… I was definitely answering her questions sincerely…
“Kuh… Keuk!”
Damn it, the electric shock magic hurts so much I’m crying!
“Oh my, are you crying? Are you crying now? Our Darkie’s crying?”
“I’m not crying…”
“Darkie… you’re not a kid, you shouldn’t cry over something like this. Got it?”
As I wiped away my tears, Winia’s face brightened as if she was pleased by it. A kind of madness was transmitted. She was literally a psychopath. She genuinely enjoyed seeing me writhe in pain.
“Alright, Darkie. Get up. We have to go now.”
Winia smiled brightly and grabbed my arm, pulling me to my feet. She was also incredibly strong, lifting my nearly 180cm frame with ease. She grabbed my face and spoke as if she didn’t care that people around us were staring.
“Alright, alright! Darkie, smile! I’ll kill you if you don’t smile!”
— *Flinch.*
This woman would really kill me and still have energy to spare.
My face stiffened as I felt the fear of death in that moment.
“Kyahahaha! Just kidding, just kidding! Let’s go quickly, the others are waiting!”
Winia, excited all by herself, grabbed my hand and pulled me along. If she had a leash, I think she would have put it on me. Just imagining it sent shivers down my spine.
I might seem pathetic. But that’s because you don’t know the situation surrounding me. First of all, Winia is strong enough to crush me in three seconds, and unlike me, who has no backing, she has plenty of support. She was a mage, and I was a common E-rank adventurer.
Who would I report the assault to? It’s like a difference in status. Whatever the case, I have no choice but to endure it or cater to Winia’s whims.
Even if I were lucky enough to beat Winia to a pulp, it wouldn’t benefit me at all. Mages are friendly with each other, so they would never forgive me for that.
Probably in less than two days, I would be found as an unidentified corpse dumped in the underground waterway.
Still, someday I’ll get my revenge, you bitch.
I swallowed my hatred and resolved myself.
Thus, I arrived at the west gate, dragged along by Winia. My hands were sweating. A carriage was already waiting. Copson waved his hand.
“This way, Barbarian!”
Winia immediately got into the carriage, and Copson whispered to me.
“Wow, Barbarian. Did you enjoy your date?”
“Wow, it was so thrilling, I really enjoyed it.”
“But what’s the relationship? I don’t know why you’re suddenly getting beaten up? Did you have an affair or something?”
“Ha, I don’t know either, damn it…”
Copson, who seemed to have convinced himself that she was my ex-girlfriend, also got into the carriage. But how long will it take to get there? I’ve never ridden a carriage in this direction, so I don’t know. I called out to the coachman as loudly as I could. He was stroking the horse and answered with high energy.
“Hey, coachman! How long will it take to get to our destination!”
“It’ll take about half a day!”
Half a day, so it won’t take that long. I calmed myself and got into the carriage. Inside the carriage were William, Winia, Copson, and luggage. Seeing that the carriage and luggage were prepared in advance, it was indeed a D+ rank quest. The guild had prepared everything thoroughly.
“Darkie, sit here!”
Winia patted the seat next to her and said. I wanted to talk to Copson, whom I hadn’t seen in a while…! I wanted to ask him what he had been doing in the mud pit, but it was thwarted from the start. Let’s give up.
I didn’t want to sit next to her at all, but I sat there as instructed.
Anyway, as I sat next to Winia, William, who had been looking around the carriage for a moment, cleared his throat and said.
“Ahem, now that everyone’s here, I’ll give a brief explanation.”
William’s smooth explanation poured out. He was indeed worthy of being a C-rank adventurer. To be honest, I had never seen a C-rank adventurer fight, but looking at William’s sharp impression, it was clear that he could handle a truckload of guys like me.
E-rank meant you were now an adventurer who could do your part. D-rank meant you were a skilled veteran adventurer. And the next level, C-rank adventurers, were evaluated as having some real skill.
“I heard that a cockatrice has appeared in the granary area and is causing severe damage. But since it’s not a real cockatrice but a subspecies, it shouldn’t be that much of a problem. Winia and I alone are enough to handle it. Your job is to assist us. You’ll mostly be doing porter work, but the target is said to be dragging its young around, so we’ll leave dealing with them to you.”
“Understood.”
“Of course.”
[Cockatrice-Subspecies-Young] is something even I can hunt. And Copson, that bastard, I can’t say he’s good at fighting, but at least his skills are similar to mine. I can trust him. Just doing this much should be enough.
In my opinion, the battle will likely unfold with William holding the cockatrice in place while Winia delivers a critical hit to finish it off.
Copson and I can just protect Winia. But protecting Winia, damn it, that sounds really difficult.
Can’t I just go out and fight? I seriously thought that fighting the cockatrice would be better than staying by Winia’s side.
“Of course, depending on the variables, I may give direct orders, so I hope you’ll follow my instructions then.”
After that, William didn’t have any other plans and fell asleep. Being able to sleep anywhere in any position like that was a very valuable skill. Being able to recover stamina and fatigue at any time is a great advantage. But I can’t do that now. It’s so uncomfortable that I can’t even think of sleeping, let alone doing anything else.
Winia had my head resting on her lap and was constantly touching my hair. She was playing with my hair while humming to herself without saying a word, and my heart was pounding because I felt like she might suddenly poke my eyes or put sand in my ears.
Copson, who met my eyes, looked away awkwardly.
“Darkie, are you friends with him?”
Winia, who had been touching my hair for a long time, pointed at Copson and asked. Copson and I could be said to be in a friend-like relationship. But considering Winia’s sense of things, since Winia and I were also friends, Copson and I could be said to be the best of friends, the kind you only meet once in a lifetime.
In fact, everything might look like friends to Winia.
“Yeah. He’s my friend.”
“Then who are you closer to, me or him?”
Winia’s fingernails started scratching my ear. It was a creepy sensation.
If we’re talking about who I’m closer to, it’s Copson.
“Of course, I’m closer to you.”
“Wow, this Barbarian. Where did you sell your friendship with me? Weren’t we best friends? Didn’t we get promoted together? That’s too much.”
Copson, who had been listening quietly, shouted. You bastard… is that what you were thinking… Feeling deeply moved, I said.
“Hey, Copson… I’ve known Winia longer than you…”
“Damn it.”
Seeing that Winia didn’t react much, it seemed like I wouldn’t be caught and scolded for no reason. But I was curious. What would have happened if I had said I was closer to Copson here?
“Um, I was going to tear your ear off if you answered wrong.”
That was the answer she whispered. I almost got screwed.
After a time punctuated with pain, we arrived at the granary area.
“Oh my! Lords! Have you arrived!”
The one who greeted us with intense emotion was the chief of this manor. He was a white-haired, elderly man, but unlike his appearance, he seemed very energetic.
“That crazy, fearless bird is wandering around our farm like it’s his own living room, eating up all the crops! Please save us! We’re going crazy!”
William stopped the old man, who was shedding tears and even kneeling.
“Please guide us to the place that was attacked.”
“I’ll guide you right away!”
The field we were guided to was indeed. Just looking at it, it was clear that the damage was severe, with various places torn up. The farmers were sitting down with dead expressions, as if the cockatrice had eaten so much with its large size that they had lost the will to work.
“It eats the crops like that and runs away right away! And when it gets hungry, it comes back again! When it runs away, we don’t have the power to do anything! Please kill that crazy bird as soon as possible and save this farm, adventurers!”
“I understand, so calm down.”
The old man seemed to have a lot of pent-up anger towards the cockatrice. As if he had a motor in his mouth, hateful shouts poured out from between his few remaining teeth.
“That creepy cry still echoes in my ears… Those wings, that beak!”
Leaving behind the old man, who was having a fit and fainting, we followed William. What is this, a cosmic horror?
Perhaps because he had a good eye, William quickly found footprints. Large footprints were deeply imprinted among the crops that had fallen here and there.
Seeing many small footprints around, it seemed like it was bringing quite a few chicks with it.
“The trail leads that way.”
William specified the direction. The direction they had escaped to was towards the forest.
“Winia. There are two ways: tracking it down or waiting for it to attack. Which one is better?”
“Hmm, wouldn’t it be better to track it down? It must be there. Its nest.”
“My concern is that the farm will be attacked while we’re tracking it. Is that okay?”
“It’s okay for once! We’re going to track it down, so what can we do? And I’d rather find the nest than deal with that!”
The two came to an agreement. To track down and hunt the cockatrice.
