3 bar menu

Over the Infinite Chapter 25 Part 2

 

「You’re… not joking? 」

Her attitude while explaining was calm and serious.

It wasn’t a joke. It would be unlikely for the Guild to be involved in such a farce.

 

「We actually have more than enough firepower for it, so don’t worry. 」

 

Overpowering a dragon? What does that even mean?

Yet, considering the Guild mediated this, there must be some level of credibility…

 

「Regardless of our strength, we don’t have much time. We can’t let the nearby villages be destroyed. 」

「…Has there already been damage? 」

「Yes, it’s a little far from here…」

 

She mentioned a village beyond the mountains, gradually getting closer to us. How many villages between here and there does she think there are? This is no joke. Spare me this.

 

I don’t have a deep connection with the village. It’s mostly an employer-employee relationship.

But I’ve visited it often for monster extermination. I have friends there.

 

「When are you planning to leave? 」

「As soon as we agree on the terms. We’ve prepared carriages and provisions. 」

「Okay, I’ll take it. 」

「You don’t want to discuss the payment conditions? 」

「If that story is true, I don’t care about the payment. This job isn’t about making money anyway. 」

 

It’s rare to find a job that pays well. If it was about money, I would have quit long ago.

 

「Then, let’s move while talking. I’m counting on you for guidance, Bolkan-san. 」

「Yeah, it’s nice to work with you too. 」

 

If this story is true, it’s us who should be asking for help. I don’t know how much I can trust it, but if we’re to act, it should be before it’s too late. If we’re indeed dealing with a dragon, guiding is all I can do.

 

-2-

 

Two other Half-Elves, who seemed to be Tiese’s companions, were waiting by a carriage parked behind the Guild.

 

In my mind, the rarity of encountering Half-Elves rapidly diminished. Inquiring further, I learned that another member of their party, an Elf, was out on reconnaissance, riding a wyvern. What kind of group consists only of Elves? How are there so many? And what’s a wyvern? I’ve never heard of such a fantastical creature in my 40 years. At the age of 40, I feel that my sense of values is falling apart.

 

「Celery, are we ready to leave? 」

「Do we wait for Parsley to return? 」

「We’ll send a telepathic message through Carrot. It seems urgent, according to the Guild. Sorry, Bolkan-san, please get in. 」

「Oh, okay. 」

 

Why are they all named after vegetables?

Despite my confusion, I boarded the carriage, which turned out to be quite ordinary.

 

Reaching our dragon encounter destination by carriage would take a whole day. Our intended stop is a village just before there. I had the Guild inform my day job that I wouldn’t be available, though I doubt I’ll be getting any more work from there. I’ll have to look for something new.

 

In the carriage, we began introducing ourselves. The Half-Elf Celery was driving. Apparently, Celery is in charge of the front line. Is taller than the other two but still worryingly slender. Another, Carrot, was in the corner, apparently casting magic. A mage – something I’ve never seen before. The smallest in stature. Parsley, out scouting on a wyvern, is a regular Elf. By now, ‘regular’ seems a strange concept.

In any case, it’s an Elf-dominated party. Why am I, a human, feeling like such a minority?

 

「Are your names aliases or something? 」

「Yes, they are. It’s a rule to use aliases, and revealing our real names is technically forbidden. Sorry about that. 」

「No, that’s fine. 」

 

So they’re aliases. Well, I’m using one too. The person who came up with their vegetable aliases must have been from Earth in their previous life. The vegetables they’re named after are called different things in this world.

 

I really don’t want to meet this ex-Earth resident. If they’re Japanese and my real name gets exposed, that’d be the worst. I’m grateful for my alias, Bolkan.

None of them is that Earth person, right?

 

We didn’t talk much as the carriage moved on. The Half-Elves chattered among themselves in a high school girl-like manner. Am I really in the same profession as these people? I’m starting to doubt it.

 

「Uh, can I ask something? 」

 

I need to communicate with them, as we’ll be working together for a few days. I’ve been called antisocial because I’m a bachelor who never teams up with anyone, but that’s not really an issue for me. When working as an adventurer, I understand the importance of knowing my party members.

 

「Sure, what is it, Bolkan-san? 」

「Well, how strong is this dragon we’re dealing with?」

 

I need information on our enemy. Even if I’m not fighting, I want to know what we’re up against.

Tiese responded, while Carrot seemed shy. Tiese seems to be the leader, considering she negotiated with us.

 

「Dragons vary greatly. Some fly, some breathe fire, some have wings… 」

「That many types? How do you differentiate dragons? With such diverse characteristics, wouldn’t their categories differ? 」

「Their species appears in the ‘species’ column in their status. Also, creatures not technically dragons but with ‘dragon’ in their names are treated as dragons. Sea dragons are a bit of a gray area. 」

 

Wait, what? They have a ‘species’ column in their status?

 

「You can see that in a status? I know some adventurers use ((Insight)), but I’ve never heard of anything like that. 」

 

I’ve heard that something similar is used by priests in the church.

 

「It’s a bit complicated, but there’s a ((Detailed Info: Species)) skill under the ((Appraisal)) tree of the Tree Skill that you can learn at… This is difficult to understand, isn’t it? 

Let’s see, under the skill called ((Appraisal)) is ((Insight)). It is the one to see the information of the target. In addition to that, if you learn the skill called ((Detailed Info: Species)), you can see the race when you use the ((Insight)) skill. 」

 

No, I can’t. I have no idea what this person is talking about. Is she talking about a game?

I can’t even use ((Insight)) to begin with, so there’s no way I can understand what she’s talking about.

 

「The point is, if you have an amazing ((Insight)), you can see through things other than names. The church’s ((Basic Appraisal)) is a completely different thing… 」

 

「Uh, okay, I get it. It’s a bit beyond me. Let’s talk about something more realistic… What’s this dragon like? 」

「This one’s a lesser breed, a Lesser Dragon. It’s of the Earth Dragon lineage, so it doesn’t fly. It also doesn’t use breath attacks, so it’s not very strong. 」

「Ah, is that so? Since it’s a dragon, I thought it could easily decimate a village. 」

 

If it’s a lesser breed, it’s not as terrifying as in fairy tales. Right, the damage took days to occur after the attack began.

 

「Eh, If it attacked a city like the one we just left, it would be destroyed quickly. 」

「…What? 」

「Given the size of the guild and the number of capable fighters, it might take half a day, maybe a bit more. That’s why we’re in a bit of a hurry. The Empire only requested help after several towns and villages were destroyed.

Honestly, the higher-ups in the empire don’t seem to care much about the citizens… The kingdom is no different, though. 」

 

A disaster of epic proportions, huh? What are we going to do? Is that what lies ahead on our journey?

 

「Is that… not very strong? 」

「Eh, yes. Probably, either Parsley or I could handle it alone. Carrot specializes in rear support, so it’s impossible for her, right? Celery… might manage if given enough time? 」

「I’m a tank, and usually, that would be the case, but I’ve brought this with me, so it might actually be manageable. 」

「This? 」

 

The driver, Celery, glanced back and pointed to a chunk of iron that had been placed in a corner since before I got on.

 

「What is… that? Don’t tell me that’s a weapon… 」

 

It’s more than just a chunk of iron.

It was so big, it looked like part of the carriage, but when I saw the whole shape, it was a metal plate… no, a sword?

 

「Ah, right, we had this. It’s big and heavy, I didn’t want to bring it. You like this kind of thing even though you don’t expand the ((Item Box)), don’t you, Celery? 」

「There’s a certain romance in big weapons. Sometimes, I want to do more than just shield. 」

 

Eh, Celery-san. You’re going to use that?

Isn’t that physically impossible? It’s about 3 meters long.

 

「Um, what is that? 」

「It’s a sword. Weapon rank C+, categories: giant/heavy/bladed/two-handed. The name is… what was it? 」

「Dragon Breaker. 」

「That’s right. It’s inconvenient not to have ((Appraisal)). 」

 

This was answered by Carrot, who had been quiet up until now. Had she just performed ((Appraisal))?

The name was surprisingly normal. Well, it’s not normal with ‘Dragon’ in it, but I was expecting something more flamboyant, with a string of Kanji characters.