Yuusha Aruiwa Bakemono Chapter 3 Part 4

Pulling on the hero’s hand as she was just going to start complaining, Matari went through the big gate. On the other side of the gate, there was a wide lawn and a water place to wash oneself. There, adventurers were arranging and checking their tools and weapons. Seeing how they were calm and composed, one could guess that they had already acquired the hunting license. Because the only ones panicking were the ones with temporary ones.

The place which awaited them at the end was a majestic temple. Monsters come flowing out of here so one can’t really know for sure what will happen with this world. Bluish-white fog in the form of a sphere covered the temple. This was the barrier which Matari’s ancestor, G. Art, constructed. It was also Matari’s first time seeing it up close like this so she was deeply moved. After all, this divine barrier is the only thing stopping the monsters from taking over the Earth.

“First you start running out like that all of a sudden and now you stop again. Save your admiration for later!”

“So-sorry! Let’s go!”

On their way into the temple, they passed by a group with identical equipments. On their armors, an emblem of the Yuuzu kingdom was engraved. The person thought to be the leader of the group held over a stone-like thing over his hand, which made it glow and they all disappeared within an instant.

It was beyond Matari’s knowledge as to what it was, but she guessed that it was some kind of a magic teleportation tool. After all, they would have to start out from floor 1 every time otherwise.

Inside the temple, there was just one huge staircase leading underground. It was a staircase big enough to fit hundreds of people easily. It has gotten really old but the materials were really sturdy and looked hard to break. The monsters’ flock came out from here so it is only natural.

Whether it was fortunate or not they did not know but–they couldn’t spot any other adventurer there. They had already passed the barrier so it wouldn’t be weird if monsters came out anytime. Matari advanced forward carefully. The hero advanced at ease, with the rod in one hand.

“He-hero-san. I think we should go a bit slower…”

“What are you talking about?–We only have 3 hours. Let’s keep moving.”

At the end of the long staircase, the path was divided into 3 passages. The walls were made with stone and there were lamps here and there. Seeing that, Matari reflected on how it was reckless of them to come unprepared like this. It is obvious that it would be pitch black without light. Because there’s no way the light from the sun would come into this cursed labyrinth.

The passage was quite wide. So much that a big-sized carriage would be able to pass through it with ease. It is not inconvenient for battles but of course, that is the same for the opponent as well. There is also a risk of them striking from the high up.

“Hey, Matari. This is a labyrinth where there’s a risk of monsters jumping out, right? I am pretty sure I heard that.”

“Yes, you are not wrong.” “Then, what is this?”

The hero pointed at a yellow arrow-shaped mark on the stone paving. No matter how you looked at it, it was an arrow.

“It is an arrow. The color is yellow.”

“I can tell as much! What is this all about? “Please proceed this way” or something like that? This is so stupid. Let’s go back.”

“W-we just came! Pl-please wait a little!”

The hero had clearly lost her will. Thinking that this was bad, Matari brought out something from her bag and scanned.

“Umm, it looks like the route to the second underground floor.”

“What is that?” “It’s the Labyrinth Search Beginner Edition. They were selling it at the church headquarters so I bought it!” “How much was it?” “One silver coin.”

The intermediate edition was 10 silver coins so of course, she couldn’t get that. She was kinda curious about why so many of it was piled up like that but she had heard somewhere that information could also be a weapon so she got it.

“…..My head hurts. And? Does it have any other good info?”

“It has information on things like the kind of monsters which will appear, convenient stuff we might find ahead. And it also has safe places listed on it.”

It had “If you have this, you are guaranteed to get a license!” written on its cover.

“Looks like we can refer to it for the monster species. Let’s see–“

—Monsters which appear at the top. (first part)

• Mouse – 2 bronze coins
• Parts worth extracting – fur. It is recommended to retreat if they come with large numbers. Do not make light of them.
• Hell Cats – 1 silver coin.
• Parts worth extracting – fur. They are rare but very fast and ferocious.
• Headhunting hare – 1 silver coin.
• Parts worth extracting – fur. Possesses sharp claws. They have a tenacity to go for the neck so it is necessary to be wary.
• Slime – 10 silver coins.
• Parts worth extracting – nucleus. ** Sword attacks won’t work. It also has magic resistance.

“Seems like there are quite a few of them.”

“Well, I got it more or less. For now, let’s wander around and hunt some monsters. Our time is limited, after all.” “Right. Then, let’s go!”

Matari drew her sword, put her shield in front of her and started walking.

They could have gone through any of the passages but they decided to advance through the one pointed by the arrow. As they kept advancing through the path, one dirty little mouse appeared. It was trying to intimidate them. It had blood-red eyes and looked sharp. One should be wary of their size. Very unlike the ones appearing above, it was the size of a big dog. Who knows if they could make it out alone if they attacked in a group. It would be bothersome if it were to call for its allies. They should charge. That was how Matari’s thought process was like.

“These guys are pretty big, aren’t they? It will be pretty annoying if they were to come in a group.”

“Here I go!” “—–Eh?”

Not even waiting to hear the hero’s words, Matari had already started charging towards the mouse.

The mouse jumped and met her half way, but was thrown back by her shield.

‘Gyyoi’

“Prepare to die!”

The mouse fell on its back with its stomach unprotected. Matari swung her sword straight in.

‘Gyyeeeeeeee!!’

The mouse was cut in half, and before long, stopped moving.

“….Well done.”

“Thank you very much!”

She said as she slightly swung her sword to clean off the blood. There was blood on both her armor and her face.

But she showed no signs of being bothered by it. If you hurt the opponent, blood will of course flow. Being bathed in that is only normal.

“You have a habit of not listening to people talk till the end.”

“? I don’t quite understand what you mean…”

Matari said slightly tilting her head.

“Well, it’s fine.”

“Well then, let’s get over with the extraction real quick.”

She bent down and started dissecting the mouse. Being all defenseless with her sword on the floor, she started with a small knife.

The hero frowned for a moment there but didn’t say anything.

“Mmmm, I can’t seem to cut it. This tail portion is really tough.”

“How about pulling it out will all your might?” “I will try doing that.”

Matari pulled hard on the tail, and kept slowly cutting it off.

Seeing Matari being immersed in the work with a side glance, the hero shifted her  vision towards the ceiling.

“Matari. Don’t move.”

“—-Eh?” “Just, don’t move.”

The hero created a fireball on her hand and threw it straight up towards the ceiling. Seeing that, Matari also looked up towards the ceiling.

—-There, five mice were clinging on to a gap, looking for an opportunity to jump onto their defenseless preys. Having spotted the mice, Matari got surprised and panickedly stood up and at that moment, the fireball hit one of the mice and exploded. And in the blink of an eye, mouse’s body was covered in flames.

‘Gyayayaaaaaaaaa!!’

“–Anndd, here we go!”

The hero said while smacking the mouse’s body with the stick as it came falling covered in flames.

Matari just stood there, dumbfounded. The collision made a weird clicking sound, hearing which the other mice started to scatter. All that was left was the burnt mouse’s body. Seeing their ally die so easily like that, the mice showed no hesitation in running away.

“There’s no way I would let monsters escape. Die!”

The hero held up her right hand and shot a fireball towards the leading mice. It wasn’t small like the one before. The fire kept spreading and swallowed them up.

Not even being allowed to move, the mice burnt alive one by one. The burnt mice gave off a really unpleasant smell, making Matari block off her nose with her hand.

“Whew, trash cleaning complete.”