Chapter 9

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「Hyo-eaaaaaaaaaaaaa」

In the clear blue sky of the desert, a ridiculous scream echoed.

The one who screamed was Armit.

「…………」

「…………」

In response, Isato and I remained silent.

However, the meaning of our silences was quite different.

Isato was probably in a situation where he had "failed to scream" as he had once described.

The expression I glimpsed was somewhat composed, but his body was stiff as a board.

And I was silent because I was observing Isato's condition.

「...Are you okay, Isato?」

I felt that it might be better for his mental health if he screamed like Armit.

To be honest, I had always thought of Isato as a cool, unflappable old man who wouldn't be shaken by anything, as he was in the game era...

Perhaps he was just more clumsy than I thought.

The calm demeanor he displayed in emergencies might just be because he kept missing the timing to scream or be surprised. In reality, he might have been quietly panicking and only calmed down after seeing others panic, then dealt with the situation nonchalantly. If that were the case, from the outside, he would appear to be calm and unshaken by anything.

「...I'm fine.」

「…………」

It seemed my guess was correct.

Isato's response was drawn out, as if he was buying time, more than usual.

If you didn't know Isato, you might think he was a fearless hero who wouldn't be intimidated by any situation.

And the "situation" in question was precisely this: Armit, Isato, and I were riding on the back of Isato's summoned griffin, flying at high speed through the desert sky. A griffin is a legendary creature with the head and wings of a bird of prey and the body of a lion. Its size is such that it can comfortably carry three people, as you can imagine. Like Fenrir, which I saw last night, it was a large creature, but it didn't have the real smell of a beast. It still had the presence of a living being, but as a "summoned monster," it was clearly different from ordinary creatures. Its fur was short but smooth, and I found myself wanting to pet it. The mane, or rather the longer fur at the base of the neck, gave it a lion-like appearance.

On the griffin, with the smallest Armit in the lead, I, the largest, was holding the reins and keeping the two of them within my arms. Thanks to this, I could feel how stiff Isato's body was. Otherwise, I might have been deceived by Isato's outward appearance. I should remember this.

By the way, the griffin, which should only obey the commands of the summoner Isato, was exceptionally under my control this time. However, I was only given the reins, and I was only allowed to give commands under Isato's supervision.

About thirty minutes earlier.

Isato and I, who had obtained permission from the village chief to cause trouble, decided to head for Elria first.

To cause trouble, we needed various materials.

Therefore, we needed to go to the city of Elria to check if we could use the materials we had accumulated in the game era. If not, we could start by gathering materials or making do with what we had.

Armit volunteered to be our guide, so she joined us on this trip. Entrusting a child like Armit to us, who were still unknown travelers, must have been a difficult decision for the village chief.

When it came time to actually set out for Elria, Isato suggested using his summoned griffin as our mode of transportation.

In the game, griffins were treated as single-rider mounts, but in this world, as long as the griffin agreed, there was no limit to the number of riders. Indeed, Fenrir, which I saw last night, was also treated as a single-rider mount in the game, but it had carried Armit and her mother at the same time. As long as the physical capacity was not exceeded... it seemed that the griffin could decide whether to carry more passengers. We would have to explore this subtle balance in the future.

When Isato summoned the griffin, it made a face as if it was reluctant to let us ride—though it might have just been my imagination—but when Isato lightly patted its neck and asked it to, it obediently lowered its head and followed his command.

So, we immediately mounted the griffin and took off into the desert sky...

Oh, this was quite intense.

It was extremely fast. Very fast.

If I had to estimate based on modern human standards, it was probably going 60-80 km/h.

I had experience riding motorcycles, so I was somewhat used to this speed, but for someone who wasn't, it must have been quite scary.

Moreover, unlike a motorcycle, which still runs on the ground, the griffin was flying.

Even I, who was used to speed, felt a jolt when I looked down, so for Isato and Armit, it must have felt like being on a jet coaster without a safety belt.

To give them a sense of stability, I tightened my grip on the reins and held them in my arms.

「Are you both okay?」

「I'm fine.」

「Akira-samaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!」

...They're not really okay, are they?

Despite this, our first griffin ride continued.

When we could see the city of Elria, we decided to land in the desert and switch to walking.

After all, if a high-level monster like a griffin were spotted by the people in the city, it would undoubtedly cause a panic.

According to Armit, some travelers and merchants occasionally use monsters, but only those that are relatively docile and almost indistinguishable from ordinary animals.

The creatures Isato had shown, like Fenrir and the griffin, were said to only appear in myths and legends.

「Isato-sama and Akira-sama, you both look just like the heroes in the stories...!」

Armit, who had dismounted from the griffin, was looking at us with shining, round eyes.

「Legendary heroes, huh?」

「What are legendary heroes like?」

「Don't you know?」

「We come from far away, so we don't know much about that.」

「Legendary heroes... Before that, Isato-sama, a moment.」

Armit, who was about to start talking cheerfully, then seemed to notice something and called out to Isato.

She gently unwrapped the decorative cloth around Isato's wrist and spread it out. Then, she placed it over Isato's head and skillfully tied the excess to make a hood.

...Ah, so that decorative cloth was meant to protect against the sun and sand when traveling in the desert. Armit herself took a similar cloth from the small pouch she had slung over her shoulder and put it on.

「Hey, don't I get one too?」

「Eh? Akira-sama is a man, so do you use a ruushé?」

「...」

That decorative cloth is called a "ruushé."

The way she said it, as if asking, "Do you wear a skirt?" made me drop my shoulders in disappointment.

It seems that in this area, only women wear cloth to protect against the sun and sand in the desert. I think it's hot for men too, and sand in the eyes is painful.

「...Shall we go?」

Thanks to our status, we didn't suffer much from the desert sun, but it was still hot, and the white, dry sand reflecting the sunlight was painful to the eyes. I didn't want to stand around chatting here any longer.

As we walked towards the city, stepping on the sand, Isato and I listened to Armit's story about "legendary heroes."

「A long, long time ago, before we were born, this world was created by the goddess. She still had power left over, so she created animals and plants in this world. But she still had more power left, so she created beings similar to herself, us humans. But she still had power left, so she imposed the goddess's trials on this world.」

「The goddess's trials?」

「That is... monsters, right?」

「Yes.」

「Why do you know that, Isato?」

「Rather, I want to know why Akira doesn't.」

「Eh?」

「...It's part of the RFC setting.」

「Eh...」

Now that he mentioned it, I think I heard something like that during the tutorial.

But I did the tutorial 3 or 4 years ago. I don't remember the details. It's not a setting that comes up much when you're just hunting monsters to level up and learn skills.

Ah, but I think I saw something about the "goddess" in the scenario events every time.

「Monsters are called both the "blessing of the goddess" and the "trials of the goddess" in our world.」

「I can understand the "trials," but why the "blessing"?」

「Monsters are said to be the physical manifestations of the goddess's excess power. By defeating them, we can receive the benefits of that excess power.」

「So you mean...」

I glanced at Isato.

Isato nodded, indicating that was correct.

「You're talking about the drop items. The excess power of the goddess becomes monsters, and by defeating those monsters, people can obtain the benefits of that power.」

「I see, so that's the logic.」

「That's right. The stronger the monster, the better the items it drops, based on this logic.」

「I see...」

The more excess energy the goddess had stored, the more powerful the monster would become, and naturally, the greater the benefits of defeating that monster. I didn't know there was such a rationale behind the standard setting of MMORPGs. Well, I probably heard it in the tutorial, but...

「But...」

Armit's voice became somber.

「Hm?」

「A long, long time before I was born, we lost the ability to receive the goddess's blessings.」

「Ah, that's what the village chief was talking about.」

When I suggested using drop items for food, the village chief said they couldn't rely on such a low-probability gamble. In other words, for the people of this world, defeating monsters to obtain drop items was a rare occurrence.

「Even if you defeat a monster, that's all it is. No flesh, no blessings, nothing is left.」

「That's... the end of the adventurer era, isn't it?」

There's no incentive to defeat monsters.

「The heroes in the stories are very cool, like Akira-sama and Isato-sama... but in reality, adventurers have become people who only eliminate nearby monsters to protect villages and towns.」

「There's no profit in defeating monsters.」

「That's a lack of romance.」

Isato and I looked at each other.

Protecting towns and villages has its own kind of romance, but that's more in the realm of knights and soldiers who protect the country.

When it comes to adventurers, I want them to explore uncharted lands in search of treasure and engage in battles with monsters.

And most of our equipment, Isato's and mine, is either drop items themselves or made from them. Without the supply of drops, most of the items we use so casually would be impossible to reproduce.

...That's why adventurers have become mundane.

Isato, seeing my disappointed face, added more fuel to the fire.

「It's too early to make that face just because there are no drop items, young Akira.」

「Huh?」

「If the "blessing of the goddess" doesn't activate, it's not just that you won't get drop items; you might not even get experience points.」

「Really?」

It's a miserable situation.

Even if you defeat monsters, you might only get conceptual experience points, but if that doesn't translate into strength, it's a brutal RPG. If it were a game, players would give up. Without rewards or status growth, just improving player skills in an RPG is not the same as in a FPS, where it's more about player skill.

「Why did the "blessing of the goddess" stop working?」

「It's not just for special people like Isato-sama, right?」

「No, I'm human, but I can still get drop items.」

I wiggled my hands to demonstrate.

I confirmed this from the thief-hunting and sand lizard extermination last night.

The sand lizards I defeated dropped pafe at almost the same rate as in the game. At least, I didn't feel any difference.

I don't have a sense of the experience points because, unlike in the game, I can't see the numbers.

「How does the disappearance of elves and dark elves relate to the cessation of the "blessing of the goddess"?」

Isato mused, frowning.

I had almost forgotten, but in this world, elves and dark elves are extinct ancient races.

From the way Armit spoke, it didn't seem like these events happened recently.

「There are so many unknowns.」

「Well, it is a different world.」

Saying that is the end of it.

I feel a bit complacent, thinking I've just been transported to a familiar game world, but this is still a different world trip.

We've only been here for two days.

It's natural that there are many things we don't understand.

「Akira-sama! Isato-sama!」

I looked up at Armit's call.

Thinking about it, I've gotten used to being called with "sama" in a short time.

...I hope it doesn't become a habit.

「We've arrived, Elria!」

And so, we finally reached the starting city, Elria.

I've been extremely busy, so there's been a gap in updates.

If anyone was looking forward to it, I apologize.

Your evaluations, points, and encouragement mean a lot to me.