“No. An inquiry into the situation made several months ago estimated roughly ten more years before that point... That being said, the surveyor that time was Vlad.”
“So what you’re saying is...you’re worried that he supplied false information?”
“The possibility cannot be discounted. Be that as it may, Vlad was aiming to become the Sword Saint, and I have my doubts that he would submit misinformation that could ultimately have discredited him and hurt his chances. Even so, we can’t afford not to conduct another investigation just in case. We had originally planned to assign the job to an A rank adventurer, but Verrick has long since departed for foreign lands, so...”
I remembered hearing some time ago that Verrick and Vlad were the only two rank A adventurers in the kingdom. With those two out of the picture, it seemed that there was nobody but me who was capable of conducting the survey.
Of course, if it were just a normal investigation, then anyone could have done it, but the region in question was home to more than ten thousand devil flies. Based on the panic I had just witnessed, it was likely that nobody else wanted to go there. Even though the job was just reconnaissance, there was no guaranteeing that we wouldn’t be attacked. The job was perfectly suited to an A rank adventurer.
“The reward for this job is thirty gold coins,” the receptionist said. “Will you take it on?”
“Of course,” I said.
I was no man of great ambition, but I did want to see everyone’s lives made safe. For that reason, it was only right that I should step up and investigate the movements of the devil fly swarm.
“Thank you! I would add that, while I will leave the method of investigation up to you, Mr. Kaito, I would advise against working at night.”
Our objective was to make an inquiry into the state of the great forest. It was only natural to note that at nighttime it became immensely difficult to see anything in the woods. With the use of Light Beam, we would be able to continue regardless, but if the devil flies flew at us, we wouldn’t know where they were coming from. As the receptionist said, it would be best to conduct the investigation by the light of day.
“Understood. Also, just to confirm, this being A rank means that I have to bring along four companions, right?”
For safety purposes, B rank adventurers were required to work in parties of three or more and A rank adventurers in parties of five or more. Even though we had invited Tigaro into our fold, we would need to search for one more.
“No, it is not necessary for parties to increase their numbers for the A Rank promotional examination. The job is only a survey, after all. Since combat is not necessary, it is, quite to the contrary, more dangerous to travel in larger numbers, as it makes the party conspicuous. There’s no problem with you going as a trio,” the receptionist said.
“Understood,” I said. I did what was necessary to officially begin undertaking the promotional exam and then we departed the guildhall.
“Should we set right off, then? Or should we go back and let Tigaro know what’s going on?” I asked. Our destination was the thick forest on the kingdom’s border. If we traveled there at our normal speed, we would arrive in the middle of the night. Because we’d want to conduct the investigation by the light of day, we’d have to spend the night in the nearest town with an inn. Given that we already knew we would be out overnight, telling Tigaro in advance so that she wouldn’t have to worry was probably for the best.
“There’s no hurry. It’s not too late for us to go back and tell Tiga first,” Frieze said. With Oltea seeming to feel the same, we made the decision to head back home before the journey.
We returned home to find Tigaro sweeping the entryway.
“Aww, you cleaned up for us!” said Oltea.
“Sure, I guess so. I wouldn’t really be earning my five gold if I did nothing, right?” Tigaro replied. In truth, none of us would have minded much, but it would also have been boring for her to wait around doing nothing while the three of us were out working. Tigaro seemed to prefer staying active, and we preferred to spend our days in a clean home: it was a win-win situation.
“Thanks. You cleaning up around here is a huge help,” I said.
“No need to thank me for doing my job. Makes me feel weird about it,” Tigaro said, awkwardly scratching at her cheek. “By the way,” she continued, glancing from face to face, “you’re home pretty early. Did something go wrong?”
“We have important information to share with you, Tiga,” Frieze said with an earnest expression. Tigaro’s own expression grew nervous at the unexpected tonal shift. Frieze looked at her and began to explain in a somber voice. “We’re going to the Great Forest.”
“To the Great Forest?”
“That’s right. Now listen, don’t get too scared or anything, but there’s a swarm of devil flies up there!” said Oltea.
“We’ll be going there to observe the movements of the devil flies as our A rank promotional examination!” said Frieze.
The two of them were making an exaggerated effort to hype the whole thing up. Tigaro smiled and let out a little laugh at their ostentatious display.
“Wow, for real? Rank A is the highest an adventurer can go, right? Reaching the apex at your age is seriously impressive!” she said.
“Thanks. To be honest, it doesn’t really feel that way,” I said.
“I’m sure that once you actually become A rank, the feeling will come naturally. In any case, this means now you can take on danger level A contracts, right?”
“It does. We’ll be earning more money too. Should I raise your salary, Tigaro?”
“Oh, it’s fine. Don’t worry about me. It’s already more than I even know what to do with. Is there a balance left on your loan? If so, it’d be better to set the money aside and pay that off first,” Tigaro said.
“Understood,” I said. “But if you do want a raise, don’t be modest about asking, okay?”
“I’ll take you up on that if I do. But more importantly—A rank! That really is just absolutely incredible!”
“N-No, no, no! Why are you smiling?” Frieze said.
“Tigaro, do you not know about devil flies?” Oltea asked. Mystified, they looked at Tigaro, who had just been making friendly chatter. Oltea and Frieze seemed puzzled that Tigaro was unfazed; evidently, they’d been hoping that she would be trembling in fear by now. Frankly, I was a little curious too.
Anyone who had heard of the devil flies had heard of the stampede. The whole thing seemed to be common knowledge in this world. Even the big, brawny adventurers at the guild had nearly gone into a panic at the mere mention of it, but Tigaro remained completely unfrightened. It was as Oltea’s question implied: it was a perfectly understandable reaction if she just hadn’t heard of the things, but...