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The Otherworld Conquest Method of a Reincarnated Porter Chapter 115 Part 2

By the time it was decided that we would decide it with a lottery, I had planned to buy the winning lottery. Today, there are eight other adventurer parties gathered here besides us, but there is a possibility that the number will gradually go up from tomorrow onwards. If we are unlucky, we might get stuck here for three months or more. If we can solve it with money, then we ought to do so. In particular, Rock said they have been in this town for three years. Even if they sell the right to challenge the zone lord to me, I don’t think it would make much of a difference.

「Let’s see… How about two small gold coins?」

「A, are you serious?」

Right now, the only ones that are here are Rock and one other person. All they have to do is take the two small gold coins from me, divide them equally between themselves, and then tell their comrades that they pulled a dud in the lottery. Rock and his friend discuss it for a while and decide to sell the winning lottery to me. Alright, all that is left to do today is get a good sleep and get ready for tomorrow. Returning to where my comrades are, I tell them that we will be able to challenge the zone lord tomorrow, and then go to sleep.

The next morning, the zone lord won’t go anywhere, so we have a leisurely breakfast, before then finally heading to where the fire-breathing salamander is. Unlike the zone lords we have faced thus far, I am a little nervous. After all, the flame salamander, its evolved form, was a frighteningly powerful opponent, and the scene of it burning adventurers to death has been itched in my memory.

When we arrive at the lake… There it is. Huh? I guess that’s the fire-breathing salamander. The one there is a zone lord that is one size smaller than the flame salamander and has darkish skin.

「Alright, first, Zofie and I will lure it out of the lake. Once we manage to lure it out, we’ll surround it with everyone. I will take care of the front side with my shield, but not only can it breathe fire from its mouth, it might turn its neck and change direction, so be careful, okay?」

As the other members split off the left and right, Zofie and I start throwing stones at the zone lord.

「Whoa!」

As the fire-breathing salamander, which doesn’t move from where it is, opens its mouth wide, it creates a fireball and shoots it toward us. Fortunately, we are quite far away, so it’s not difficult to dodge, but what a pickle, as it doesn’t look like we will be able to lure it out of the lake. With that said, we cannot defeat it just by throwing stones at it.

The edge of the lake where it is in is about 50 centimeters deep, so it’s not impossible to surround it. Even so, it takes a lot of courage to go into the water and fight. I wonder how other guys defeat it. The power of its fireballs is not that great, which is nothing compared to that of the Flame Salamander, but I don’t want to get hit by it if possible. However, in order to break the current deadlock, we have no choice but to close in on it, and it may be impossible to defeat it without suffering any injuries. Using a mithril shield that is imbued with magical energy, let’s try doing a kamikaze attack. And then, it might be a good idea to engage in a short decisive battle and finish it off in one go.

「Sei, you always wash our bodies with water magic, don’t you? How about using the lake water?」

I wonder about that. If I use the old demon tree wand, it’s not impossible. However, even if I were to make a wall of water, I have no idea how effective it would be. Well, whatever, let’s give it a try. Even if I were to fail, I doubt I would die, and I may be able to use it as a reference in future battles.

Going around to the side of the zone lord, I use the old demon tree wand in the shallows of the lake to manipulate the water and create a wall. When I move the created water wall to its mouth, the zone lord opens its mouth and fires fire magic at me. Whuoo, this is… It looks like as opposed to a fireball, the zone lord is continuously firing a flamethrower-like powerful fire magic. So hot. The flame created by magic seems to be different from ordinary fire. Faced with its extraordinary firepower, the wall of water evaporates in an instant, and hot steam rises from the surrounding area.

In that case, how about this? As opposed to only manipulating the water in the lake, I also channel magical energy into the water itself. As expected, the wall of water that is imbued with magical energy has higher defensive capability and is able to somehow block the zone lord’s flame discharge. Using that opening, everyone charges toward the zone lord with their weapon at the ready and attacks it from its flanks. My magical energy is decreasing rapidly, but for now I have no choice but to endure. The zone lord changes the direction of its face and tries to shoot fire magic at my comrades, but I control the wall of water and move it to the front of its face all the time. Unable to lure it out of the lake, I thought we would have a tough battle, but contrary to my expectation, we seem to have the advantage in this battle.

The fire-breathing salamander seems to be a monster that specializes in attacks. Its defensive capability doesn’t seem to be that great, and under the onslaught from the six of them, it stops moving before long, and the subjugation is complete.

「We did it. Sei-sama.」

「With this, we’re done subjugating all the zone lords.」

「I didn’t think we would be able to subjugate them all so quickly.」

「I’ve been earning so much money, so I want to buy new equipment.」

「All that’s left is the labyrinth lord-pyon.」

「Just a little more and we’ll get promoted to bronze-rank-konkon.」

Lavina and Konmi were speaking in falsetto throughout the battle, so I guess it wasn’t that formidable of an opponent. After I dismantle the salamander, we head back to the safe area. Today, we will spend the night here, and tomorrow, we will return to the above ground and report to the Adventurer’s Association. There are many adventurers crowded in this safe area, so I have to put my tryst with Zofie on hold. Well, a day like this isn’t so bad, either. I am also exhausted from consuming all my magical energy, so I fall asleep in the blink of an eye as soon as I get into my sleeping bag.

◇ ◇ ◇

「Juke, here you go, your vegetable soup.」

「Thank you, Anita.」

Having been eating three nutritious meals a day, cooked by Anita, Juke’s health had completely recovered. His complexion had improved, and he no longer had skin abnormalities or body lethargy. His unstable mental state had also completely recovered, and when he thought back about it, he came to realize that he had been sick all this time.

He felt a surge of emotion that went beyond gratitude for Anita, who had seen through his illness, taken care of his meal, and instructed him on how to carry himself as an adventurer.

「A, Anita.」

「What’s the matter? Acting all uptight like that.」

「Umm, I like you, Anita. So, umm…」

「Now that you’re healthy, you got back your sexual desire? Haa, it can’t be helped….」

Anita had been taking care of Juke until today, but they had never gotten into male-female relationship. Just had become healthy now, so she judged that it was about time for her to end her adventures with him. Juke didn’t seem to have any experience with women, so she thought it wouldn’t be a bad idea to spend the night with him one last time and make him into a man.

「That’s not it, umm, will you stay by my side? I want you to marry me.」

「M-marry you?! N, no, we can’t. I’m much older than you, after all…」

「I couldn’t care less about age. Anita, you’re the only one I have, so please. Marry me.」

To make a living, Anita had been working as an adventurer, but this world was not so kind that a woman could survive on her own. In order to survive, she had surrendered her body to other adventurers many times, and nowadays, she sometimes sold her body to make money and to distract herself from her loneliness. There were times when she dreamed of getting married and having her own family, but believing that she was not qualified for such a thing, she gave up on it.

「Juke, you’re still young and can do anything. You see, I’m not the kind of woman that’s worthy of you. I haven’t really lived a life that allows me to proudly show my face in public, after all.」

「I couldn’t care less about such a thing. You’re the only one I have, Anita. If I hadn’t met you, perhaps I would have died. Please, I like you, I love you, please marry me.」

「That makes me happy, Juke. I understand your feelings. However, it might just be a momentary trick of your imagination. If your feelings don’t change after we continue adventuring for a while longer, then I’ll take you up on your offer. Now, another adventure awaits us tomorrow. So be sure to eat well and get plenty of sleep.」

「Got it. Don’t forget your promise, Anita. My feelings will never change. I love you from the bottom of my heart.」

Anita finished her meal and got into her sleeping bag, feeling something rising in her chest. She couldn’t leave the young adventurer suffering on the roadside alone because it overlapped with her own circumstances, but she had never expected that the man she helped would ask her to marry him. She had assumed that she would continue on with her life just like that, going old and losing her life in the labyrinth someday, but starting a family with him would not be a bad idea, either. She told Juke to get some rest early in preparation for tomorrow, but her own heart was pounding so hard that she was having trouble falling asleep.