241 – Glasses Boy Arrives at the Base

The arrival was generally on schedule.

As the days have grown shorter recently, the sunset had completely vanished in the blink of an eye by the time we arrived at the scheduled village.

The instructors who had gone ahead, along with Chace and Trawllul, stopped at a point just short of the destination and waited for us, the trailing group.

“…Huff… Huff…”

I couldn’t stop gasping for breath.

My heart was racing.

It was indeed tough.

It had been a while since I’d exhausted myself to this extent.

“You’re really feeling it, aren’t you?”

Trawllul, who had arrived a bit earlier and had somewhat recovered, said this to me, who was leaning on my knees, and Lisse and Harriatan, who were similarly out of breath.

By the way, Chace, who arrived almost simultaneously with the instructors, was also exhausted.

There’s nothing to say but that it’s amazing that we managed to keep up.

Still, it seems that even beastmen found the journey taxing.

If they had taken it all in stride, it might have been quite a shock. It would have seemed like a huge difference in ability between us as fellow candidates… well, even at this point, that might not be an incorrect perception.

It’s been so long since I’ve felt like this, to the point where I don’t even want to run anymore, since the carefree days of training in the safe place called Heidygar.

When training outside, I always leave a bit of leeway to handle any external threats…

But right now, I’m completely drained.

If I were attacked now, I’d probably die without being able to do anything. That’s how worn out I am.

After the lunch break.

Crossing from the edge of the forest over the highway and into the forest again was fine.

We had run in a straight line for the shortest distance to the village. Given the distance, the time required was certainly quite short.

However, the fact that it was followed by crossing a river and then climbing a mountain was unacceptable. There shouldn’t have been a mountain. My heart was pounding so hard I thought it might explode.

…But, this isn’t the time to be thinking about that.

I set “Glasses” to “Physical Reinforcement” and… huh?

I felt a sense of discomfort.

It seems that, given how exhausted I am now, it’s not very effective.

When I wasn’t so exhausted, it would allow me to move more than usual… That’s an unexpected discovery.

So, I set “Life Absorption” instead to recover stamina—alright, I should be able to run somewhat now.

“Huh? Where are you going?”

I answered Lisse’s question without turning around.

“I’m going to go pick them up.”

The trailing Geodine, Belge, and Florentine had not yet arrived.

Not only had they not arrived, but they were so far behind that they couldn’t even be seen when I looked back.

It had become completely dark, and as soon as the sun set, the cold had increased.

It would be disastrous if we encountered any monsters.

…Though I think it should be alright with Florentine around.

But, since I’m the vice leader this time.

I need to make sure to do what needs to be done.

So, I found Belge, who was as exhausted as I was earlier, and Geodine, who was beyond exhausted, as well as the energetic Florentine who had carried Geodine like a sack, and led them to the village.

“I’m really tired now,”

Florentine said, breathing heavily.

But she wasn’t gasping for breath, it seemed.

Her stamina was on an entirely different level. I was envious.

“Urru. Come on. Let’s go.”

She said, spreading her arms wide. But it seemed like the events of the day were still affecting her, as Trawllul’s reaction was full of caution.

“…Meow… Aren’t you going to break my spine anymore?”

“Oh! I’ve never broken anything!”

Thus, the relationship that had been strained was repaired. Oh, look at them getting all lovey-dovey right away. It’s so trivial that it might be better not to watch anymore.

“…”

Leaving behind the grudge with Lisse.

Even if it’s called a sense of loss, I don’t really understand it, but don’t look at me with such a lonely face… If you want to come, just join in.

…Well, anyway, this time, everyone has safely participated in the task.

Although it was a struggle to even get to the task location without helping each other, whether it was a last-minute arrival or just barely making it, participation by everyone means everyone participated.

“Geodine… it seems impossible. Eil.”

One of the instructors who had been waiting for everyone’s arrival, Instructor Evanesque, called me to replace the downed Geodine.

“I’m going to greet the village chief. Follow me.”

For the next few days, this village will be our base.

I’m not sure how many days it will be. It’ll be until we’ve dealt with the zombie army.

Well, it will probably be treated as just a “place to stay” as before, so there won’t be many opportunities to interact with the villagers.

However, we should at least make a good first impression and greet them.

“Understood.”

Even though it’s the leader’s role, since Geodine will be out of commission for a while, it falls to me as the vice leader.

Honestly, I’m not looking forward to it, but I have no intention of complaining at this point.

It’s fine to argue or complain until we get to the site, but once we’re there, complaining is just a nuisance.

“What’s the plan this time?”

“As usual. Just make small talk and go along with whatever.”

I see.

The village… well, it’s a small, rundown settlement, much like my own rural area. From the presence I can sense, it doesn’t seem to have many people.

It’s completely dark now, so the villagers seem to have retreated into their homes. However, the villagers on guard at the gate have surely spotted us by now.

Given the threat of monsters, similar security measures were in place in my village as well.

“Who are you guys?”

A burly man in his forties stood in front of me and Instructor Evanesque.

“We’re adventurers. We’ve come to take on the zombie extermination request.”

Instructor Evanesque responded.

—I didn’t get the full details, but I suspect that, like in Roda, there are people related to assassins hiding in various towns.

They get information from there and assign us tasks based on it.

“Just to be sure, could you show me the request form and the guild cards?”

The man, clearly relieved, asked for the identification documents as a matter of procedure. It’s a standard practice, just like it was in my village.

“Here you go.”

This response was expected, and Instructor Evanesque produced the request form and the guild cards.

The request form is likely genuine.

It’s probably something we received from the adventurer’s guild.

As for the guild card, which serves as identification for adventurers… I’m not sure.

It could be a fake, or it could be the real one belonging to Instructor Evanesque. I don’t particularly feel the need to verify it.

We were guided by the gatekeeper to a slightly larger building than the others.

—There was nothing particularly noteworthy beyond that.

In the village chief’s house, we were briefed on the situation.

Apparently, a large horde of zombies was discovered a short distance from the village.

The town’s adventurer guild issued an extermination request, and while adventurers came once, the number of zombies was greater than expected, so they only conducted a survey and then withdrew.

The survey suggested that it might be a zombie army led by a necromancer named Sanongor.

And shortly after this was identified, we arrived.

“—Given the high likelihood that Sanongor, the necromancer, is present, the longer we wait, the more zombies will appear. It’s not that the number of corpses is increasing,”

Instructor Evanesque interjected.

In the case of Sanongor, what increases are monsters similar to zombies, not humans turning into undead.

However, we can’t predict what will happen next.

Zombies move by pursuing living creatures.

There’s always the possibility that a series of unfortunate coincidences could bring them here.

With their large numbers and the unknown ways in which damage might spread, it’s hard to gauge the full extent of the threat.

That’s why early extermination is desirable.

While zombies themselves may not be a major issue, the curses they spread can lead to the annihilation of forest creatures, among other problems.

It’s not just a matter of humans being attacked.

“—I understand the overview. We’ll handle the rest,”

the instructor concluded, and the greetings were finished.

I didn’t have the chance to say anything, which was quite preferable.

The house prepared by the village chief, along with some additional space for those who were left out due to the number of people, completed our base.

For now, we’ll start our work tomorrow.

I’m extremely tired today, so I’m going to bed early.