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Chapter 26: Three small fry can form a school

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Translator: Denryuu; Editor: Ryunakama

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Examining her adventurer’s license, I glanced at the girl sitting opposite me. Everly Taux. Nineteen years of age, E-rank. Specialises in swordsmanship and uses a buckler attached to her elbow for defence.

And her skill… heh. You could say she was a low-class adventurer, common around these parts.

「I’d like a bigger quest, if possible.」

「Okay. If there are no suitable quests, we can slot you into an existing party for one.」

Rank takes precedence above all else when determining eligibility for a party quest. An employee of the guild determines the combined strength of all the party members.

I wondered if there were any party quests still recruiting. I skimmed through the quest slips, searching for one that met her needs. Finally, I found a slip with an extra line added to it:

「One more person required… will expire if not found soon.」

It was a D-rank quest to escort a merchant and his goods. Out of the minimally required three people, only two had applied. On top of that, both were F-rank adventurers. Considering their strength as a whole, even if more adventurers came on board, it would almost certainly end in failure. It depends on the adventurers, of course, but I don’t think it would be worth the effort to accept anyone anyway.

In addition, the guild has to take responsibility if anything happens to the client — injury, death, loss of goods, et cetera — as a result of allowing under-qualified adventurers to accept the quest. The safer option would be to assign Everly to a suitable higher-ranked quest on the pretext that none matching hers were available at present.

「Here, is this suitable?」

「D-rank… accompanying a merchant to deliver goods… okay, I’ll do it!」

「Understood. Please give me a moment.」

Obviously, it was rash of me to assign these three to the quest.

The merchant would set off the next day. I vaguely remembered the two F-rank adventurers. From previous experience, as long as they strategise properly, they should be more than enough for a D-rank quest.

I called for one of the F-rank adventurers, Arturo, who had been waiting in the guild. He was a tall and well-built spear wielder. The last person, Urno, had also come to receive the quest. Unlike Arturo, he was much smaller, his weapon being a longsword that was too long for him.

「This is Everly — she will join your party. With this, the quest is now formally yours.」

「Thank you.」

The trio clapped.

I returned to the counter. Seemingly having predicted that I would leave my seat, Milia had taken my position. When our eyes met, she made an ok sign. I nodded slightly.

「Excuse me, employee-san… this quest might be a little tough for us.」, said the longsword wielder Urno uneasily.

I was certainly aware of this — it was clear from their lineup.

「I think so too… even though we did sign up for it.」, agreed Arturo.

Everly raised her hand too.

「I agree… it was your recommendation, but on second thoughts… I’m a little worried.」

At this rate, the client would either have to delay his departure or seek escorts from another source. In any case, it wouldn’t reflect well on the guild.

In my opinion, it’s possible for the quest to go without a hitch, but with this group, that was nothing but a pipe dream. The route they would be taking had recently become infested with thieves and highwaymen.

「Let us move somewhere else. I will issue further instructions there.」

The trio looked at each other. After making some preparations, I brought them to an open field on the outskirts of the city. Making them stand in front of me, I addressed them:

「Indeed, your fears are justified. It is obvious that three low-ranking and inexperienced adventurers are not sufficient to go on such a difficult quest.」

「Mean!」

「Hey, we knew that too.」

「You didn’t have to make it that clear!」

Urno, Arturo and Everly all responded, in that order.

「Moreover, you have been recruited into a quest beyond your abilities by the help of others. Instead of thinking that you might drag them down’, you should start thinking about how not to be a burden.」

Of course, Everly’s case was different, for I had matched her to this quest.

「You’re going too far!」, roared Urno.

「You’re right, I thought we could’ve been of some use.」, mumbled Arturo.

「I think everything will be fine if everyone tries their best!」, said Everly a little angrily.

Recently, Lyla had taught me a rather convenient spell, known as ‘Shadow’. I used it, causing four child-sized shadows to appear.

「Uwaaa –!?」

「What are those!?」

「Those small things –!?」

I mobilised the four entities while keeping my arms folded.

「Kiii!!」

One of them kicked Urno in the shin. Hard.

「Wha –!?」

Another snatched Arturo’s spear away, while yet another leaped and smacked him in the face.

「Ugaaa –!?」

The last pulled Everly’s skirt down.

「Kyaaa– !?」

Having been caught off guard, her panties slipped off too.

「No, don’t do that!!」

None of the shadows were particularly strong. In fact, they were rather weak. Just a little push and the trio were in this state.

「Going too far? Thought you could’ve been of use? You’ll be okay if everyone tries their best? Don’t make me laugh. Reality doesn’t adhere to expectations, you know. For starters, it would do you good to recognise your own weakness. That’s step one to becoming stronger.」

「B-but you attacked us all of a sudden!」

「They didn’t give us a signal or anything…」

「…」

「Neither will thieves and highwaymen.」

「But, but… to go so far as to pull down my skirt…」

「It would become an interesting anecdote if you were to die because you were distracted by your underwear.」

「Uuuu… but I wanted to look cute…」

「If it’s of any importance to you, please wear trousers.」

Especially for girls. I explained to Everly that if you have your skirt lifted, it doesn’t just end with your panties slipping down. You could be raped, gang raped, tossed between low-lifes like a ragged cloth, or even sold as a prostitute or sex slave.

「…」

That gung-ho attitude from before had all but disappeared.

「On the count of three, repeat after me. ’We are nothing but small fry — burdensome dung beetles.’」

The trio stood at attention and recited the phrase.

「We are nothing but small fry — burdensome dung beetles!!!」

「Do not forget this. It will help you to remain humble and recognise that there’s always room for improvement. With time, you will become stronger.」

Now for the main subject.

「I will now teach you what is required for this quest. Please do as I say.」

「Yes, sir!!!」

Since I already knew their skills, I had prepared the necessary items for them.

「Eh, I’ll be using… this?」

「I can handle a spear just fine though.」

「I see… I have to wear trousers after all.」

In order to verify their skills for myself, I summoned five shadows and made them spar with the trio. The results were exactly in line with my expectations. While the shadows were ultimately under my control, I let them fight of their own accord.

「I will be returning to the guild, so please continue training with these shadows.」

「Yes, sir!!!」

Seeing how sincere they were, I doubted that they’d give up altogether.

The following day, I arranged for the trio to meet the merchant.

「So these are my escorts… for this short period of time, I look forward to working together with you.」

「We’ll do our best, sir!!!」

Despite my shadows wiping the floor with them repeatedly, they had managed to defeat six of them head-on by the end of the day. Their expressions had also changed to those of warriors’. I shouldn’t have to worry about them anymore.

However, it’s not like I had absolute confidence in them yet. I decided to let one shadow cling to the underside of the goods carriage to accompany them. Although it wouldn’t last forever, I could at least keep tabs on the party for a short while.

Later that day, as I was working, the shadow sitting cross-legged under my desk suddenly tugged at my pants.

「Kii, kii!」

「Hm.」

I stood up and linked my consciousness — all sensory input became that of the shadow’s. I could see the goods carriage and six men that looked like bandits.

「Fuheheheheheh, I spot a woman!」

「How ‘bout we kill the guys and have a good time with ‘er?」, said one of the bandits with a lecherous grin.

「Let’s do as we did yesterday.」, said Everly calmly.

「I know.」, said Urno.

「Leave it to me!」, exclaimed Arturo.

The small-built Urno initiated the confrontation. In line with my instructions, he had switched his longsword for a dagger.

「Ay you, whippersnapper!」

The bandits were armed with scimitars and hatchets. Urno headed straight for the center of their formation.

「Oraaaaaa!!」

He’d used his skill to counter the bandits’ advances. Just as I taught him. His skill, known as ‘Instant Edge’, sharply increases his agility within a second.

Urno dodged all the incoming attacks and returned the favour with his dagger.

「Gu-aaahhh…」

「Naff off, runt!」

It was worth mentioning that his skill had a cooldown of only three seconds.

「Damn! Can’t hit ‘im!」

No other skill is more suited for the chaos of battle than his. Before this, he had been focusing on his reach and damage. While it’s understandable that he wanted to stay safe while fighting, it also completely defeated the purpose of his skill. Therefore, I needed not for Urno to activate his skill perfectly, but rather for him to have the courage to charge right into the midst of the enemy.

Urno’s charge threw the bandits into disarray. Despite standing at point-blank range, they could not attack him for fear of hitting their own allies.

「Now!」

「Fuuuoooooh!!」

On Everly’s call, Arturo positioned his shield, holding it with both hands, and entered the fray. Him using that shield was my decision as well. Even though he still had his spear with him, his skill alone was more than enough for this battle.

His skill, ‘Reinforce’, targets objects. A simple skill for a simple man.

「Fuuuoooooh!!」

He rammed his shield right into a bandit’s face, whose howling could be heard above the dull clang of the collision. The shield, though cheap, wasn’t even scratched.

Newton’s second law — big man, big shield, big impact.

「Where do I attack –!?」

Arturo’s shield covered his entire body, leaving him exposed only below his knees. Of course, his calves were well-protected by armor. It sounds simple to attack there, but it was beyond a bandit lost in the chaos of battle.

Clang.

One of the bandits swung at the shield with full force, reminding it that it was still a cheap shield after all. Urno, still surrounded, was suddenly slashed in the back.

「Gu-waaa!?」

Craftily staying out of vision, Everly had been waiting behind Arturo. She used her skill — ‘Heal’. The wound remained, but the flow of blood ceased immediately.

Everly crippled the last of the bandits who could still move. She’s usually calm when not distracted by weird things. She instructed Arturo to lower his shield, giving her full vision of the area.

Her sword fighting skills were nothing to write home about. Horrendous, even. However, given the current state of the bandits, even she could venture a few stabs at them.

「The enemies –」

Scanning the surroundings, Everly saw that none of the bandits were left standing.

A good fight, I must say. Systematic, simple, swift and merciless — just what I liked to see. The trio looked at each other and high-fived in elation. They had good chemistry.

The merchant emerged from the cover of the goods carriage.

「Thank you for your help… really! All of you seem like battle-hardened warriors! At first, I was a little worried after hearing your ranks, but I suppose my fears were completely unfounded!」

「Well… all of us were rookies up until yesterday.」

「I guess you could say that our sensei has taught us well.」

The merchant nodded in agreement.

「You have an excellent teacher.」

「Indeed!」

Time and again, it has been proven that the lineup is only the tip of the iceberg — the execution will determine the outcome of the battle.

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