Kabal, Elen, and
Their faces were drained of energy as they stopped before the familiar building, pushed the door open with no force to spare, and shuffled inside.
It was a cheap inn that doubled as a tavern — their regular spot, and the only place a trio with no money could afford.
After seeing to a room, the three of them gathered in the tavern below.
They let out booming sighs and spoke up as though heaving out the frustration that had built and built.
"That's exactly what I said! I told you we should've called it quits!"
"That's right! I had a bad feeling about this too, you know!"
"What was I supposed to do?! Nobody expected a mutant two-headed giant snake to show up on a request to slay a giant serpent!"
"But still, we managed to take out four of them..."
"We were just one short..."
"At least we managed to negotiate so the request didn't end up a total failure."
Kabal spat out the words as though arguing were pointless. He felt the same irritation as the rest — he only resigned himself to hearing their complaints because he was, nominally, the leader.
Right on cue, mugs of beer arrived before the three of them.
Out of sight, out of mind — they drained their cups in one go. While the request hadn't technically failed, their reward had been slashed in half. On top of that, the dissolving slime they'd been showered in while fleeing the Twin Serpent had wrecked their equipment repair bill. The more they thought about it, the more catastrophic the losses seemed. They needed this drink, or they'd lose their minds.
They would've liked to replace their gear entirely, but with no money to their names, they'd resigned themselves to repairs.
"Man, I'd really love some dwarf-crafted equipment. Even the cheap stuff runs you several gold coins, though..."
"That's a luxury, Kabal. I'm holding myself back from buying a new robe as it is."
"We're all broke. Honestly, just surviving this time around was lucky enough."
"True enough. We made it out alive from the Twin Serpent, and because we reported in, the Guild was able to send a subjugation squad. We should be glad no villagers were hurt!"
"Exactly! The fact that our savings got wiped out by repair costs is no big deal at all!"
Kabal had been trying to look on the bright side after Gido's remark, but a single comment from Elen brought him crashing back to reality, and his mood soured. Elen herself took on a gloomy expression at her own words, and a heavy silence settled over the three of them. To break the tension, Kabal was about to suggest that they get blackout drunk tonight and start fresh tomorrow — when— "Hey, did you hear about that?"
"Yeah, the mansion deep in the mountains past Gienna Village? Apparently there's a request out with a reward of ten gold coins."
The voices of men drinking at the next table drifted over. They were well on their way to being drunk and didn't seem to realize how loud they'd gotten. At the words "ten gold coins," the three of them snapped to attention, faces straight, ears perked.
"They say you get ten gold coins for slaying the monster, but..."
"Whoa, that's a crazy bounty. Why so much?"
"Apparently the request doesn't go through the Guild. Since there's no middleman taking a cut, the payout's bigger."
"But that means the monster's strength is a complete unknown, right? No sane person would take it."
"Ten gold coins is tempting, but Gienna Village is way out there. Going all that distance when you don't even know if it's doable..."
"Exactly. Slow and steady earnings are the smarter play."
The men laughed and moved on to boasting about their own exploits, forgetting all about the dubious tale.
Kabal, Elen, and Gido exchanged glances.
"We just happen to have finished our current job and have time to kill..."
"That's true... And the wild mountain vegetables are in season right about now..."
"Maybe a relaxing retreat up in the mountains would do us good."
Their opinions aligned perfectly, and the three nodded in unison.
Their eyes gleamed with greed, without the slightest thought for the danger involved.
◇◇◇ Kabal, Elen, and Gido were running for their lives.
Just a short distance from the exit, it appeared — blocking the doorway.
A Lesser Demon.
The B+-rank Lesser Demon was an opponent whose outcome against the three B-rank adventurers was entirely uncertain.
The Guild's recommended engagement rank was, in principle, to only face monsters of the same rank or lower. Taking on something ranked above was considered not merely a gamble with no guarantee of victory, but tantamount to suicide.
So how had things come to this?
After staying overnight in Gienna Village, the group had traveled deep into the mountains to visit the mansion.
They'd received the briefing on the request there, but since it was late, they'd been advised to stay the night.
They realized it was a trap during dinner with the mansion's master.
"Wow, are you really sure you can treat us to this much?"
"Everything is just so delicious!"
"Just leave the Ogre Bear to us — piece of cake! You can count on us!"
"Haha! Well now, the young ones are sure reassuring. Please, eat up — there are plenty of refills!"
"Thank you so much!"
"Mmm, it's all so tasty! Hey, could it be that you're trying to fatten us up so you can eat us?"
"Ha ha... ha? Ha ha, what was that just now?"
"Oh, um... I said, are you trying to fatten us up so you can eat us?"
"............"
"............"
The mansion's master laughed awkwardly at Elen's joke.
That unnatural reaction wiped the humor from Elen's face, leaving a strained smile in its place.
"Um... that wasn't actually a joke, was it?"
"Fufu, fuhahaha! How perceptive of you, for a mere human. Plans have changed — I'll kill you here and take your Physical Body!"
With those words, the mansion's master dropped its disguise and revealed its true form.
The instant they saw it, the three decided to run. And so began their desperate escape.
After fleeing for what felt like an eternity, the three were finally cornered at the door.
"You know what? At this point, I've made up my mind! Let's take the damn thing down!"
"Miss, that's easier said than done... but well, I guess we've got no choice."
"Hey, hey — I'm the leader here. Fine, let's do this!"
The two men steeled themselves alongside Elen, and a battle commenced with a full-on, bankruptcy-worthy expenditure of every item they had.
Several hours later.
"I-impossible... I, defeated by these lowly humans... If only my complete incarnation had been finished—"
With those final words, the Lesser Demon vanished. It wasn't truly destroyed — it simply could no longer maintain its incomplete Physical Body — but even so, this could rightly be called a victory for the three.
"We did it! We actually beat a Lesser Demon!"
"We did it! See, we really are capable when we put our minds to it!"
"Thank goodness. Really, truly... I was prepared to die in there, you know."
The three rejoiced together, but their expressions changed the moment they saw the flames approaching.
"Shit! That bastard's fireballs — the mansion's on fire!"
"Oh no! If we don't get out now, we'll be charred to a crisp!"
"Stop standing around and move!"
The three scrambled to escape. Fortunately, the battle had already destroyed the door, and they made it out — but...
"Now that I think about it... those ten gold coins for the reward..."
"Don't even say it. We came here for a relaxing retreat, right?"
"...Right. And the mansion burned down anyway, so this time too—"
"Whaaat?! Free labor again?! I want an elegant life for once! I was going to use that reward to buy a beautiful new robe!"
"That's exactly why I told you not to say it! You'll only make yourself miserable!"
"Well, I guess this is pretty on-brand for us. Staying alive was reward enough!"
"Oh honestly, that's all you ever say... You say the same thing every single time."
Despite their complaints, the three of them were smiling. This sort of thing happened all the time, and they knew from experience that simply being alive was something to be grateful for.
◇◇◇ After filing their report at the nearest Guild, the three sat nursing their drinks as dusk settled in.
Then came a summons from the Guild Master.
Nervous, the three entered the room.
"So once again, blinded by greed, you took on a job far beyond your abilities — I hear that's how it went."
Before Gido, the last one in, could even close the door, the Guild Master's tirade was already underway.
"We hadn't actually accepted the job yet, so there's no violation of regulations — please let us off!"
Kabal scrambled to make his case. But the Guild Master scoffed at his excuse and continued.
"Fine. You survived — that alone was worth something, I suppose."
The three were puzzled by the Guild Master's relatively measured response and felt a flicker of relief — perhaps he was in a good mood today. But— "You lot take far too many risks! You fools!"
What followed was a lecture from the Guild Master — a man feared even by ogres. The sermon went on for hours. Already beaten down, the three wanted to cry.
When he was finally done, the Guild Master said to them: "That said, just as your report indicated, the Twin Serpent has been found. Far from the village, on the outskirts of the forest. You lured it there, didn't you? Well done. And well done for escaping with your lives. Going forward, take your abilities into account — and stop doing reckless things."
"No, we were just panicking and fleeing for our lives — we ran in the opposite direction from the village by accident. We're directionally challenged, you know..."
"Exactly! We got all flustered!"
"We made a careless mistake! There were soldiers stationed at the village who could've backed us up, after all."
The three tried to laugh it off, but the Guild Master saw right through them. "Fine, that'll be all," he said, turning his gaze to the paperwork on his desk. That was the Guild Master's way of expressing his gratitude.
The three bowed and left the Guild Master's room.
A few days later.
When the three passed through a certain village on business— "Oh, it's those ladies! Thank you so much for chasing away the scary monster the other day!"
Children came running up, surrounding the three of them.
Their faces were beaming with joy.
The last time they'd visited this village, the children had been crying, worried sick about their parents. But there wasn't a trace of that anymore.
"For me, just seeing these smiles would be the best reward there is!"
"Yeah. Can't complain."
"That's right — there are things more important than money!"
It didn't take long for the three to find themselves smiling too, drawn in by the children's laughter.
And then, as always, they walked forward together.
The adventures of these three had only just begun.