I was rolling around to collect the demon corpses when Grida said, “Furutsu, I think that should do it.”
Good. We’ve collected all the dead gerugeres now. Thanks, Grida. They’d ended up all over this big clearing, so it was kind of a pain to get them all, huh? Let’s go back.
“Okay!”
The gerugeres had been burned to a crisp, with the majority being not much more than ashes, so I was relieved that I could use Turn Reversal to revert them to decidedly not charred corpses. As I rolled toward the carriage, I heard some voices.
“Oh, don’t be absurd! You don’t have to joke around like that!” said one of the Rank C adventurers.
“As I’ve said before, we’re truly only Rank E!” came Datil’s troubled reply.
“Now, now, no need to be so humble, sir!”
Sir?
“Ah, ma’am! Allow us to carry those heavy items!”
Ma’am?
“Ugh, what’s with you guys?!” Fresa said.
The Rank C adventurers had started to kiss up to Datil and Fresa. Boy, they’ve done a one-eighty.
“And what are you planning on doing with us?” Gruszka and his subordinates had their hands tied behind their backs. They’d completely lost their will to fight after seeing the show of strength Grida and I had put on.
“We’ll hand you over to the authorities. But we’ll have you specifically, Gruszka, come along and act as our guide,” Datil replied. At his suggestion, we decided to head for the next campsite with the eleven bandits and eight passengers in tow. The two Rank C adventurers acted as our coachmen and bodyguards. “I’m relying on you two to get us to our destination before the sun sets, all right?”
“Of course! We’d be honored!” the two bodyguards said, bowing their heads.
We decided to use the bandits’ horses since the carriage horses had fled, but we were clearly over the weight limit. Passengers that were experienced in horseback riding were to individually mount any remaining horses and tag along.
“We’re still over the limit, it seems. Okay, activate King of Apples!” Fresa said.
Ding! “King of Apples has been activated. Please ensure that others are a safe distance away. Activating in: 10...9... You will feel a strong shock wave, please stand back. 3...2...1...”
Five apples floated around her. “Nourishing tonic. Enhance physical capabilities.”
Ding! “All apples will have nourishing effects and enhance physical capabilities. 3...2...1... Upgrade complete.”
“I’m sorry. I’m going to need you guys to push yourselves a little,” she said to the four horses pulling our carriage as she fed each of them an apple. The horses neighed, and we could hear a bubbling sound as their muscles started growing.
That’s terrifying! They got bigger!
“Now we should be fine until we reach the campsite. They’re gonna be real sore and won’t be able to move for the next few days though.”
The horses started breathing heavily as though they were ready to run any second now. Hey, don’t push the limits too much, Fresa.
“And this last apple is for you guys, okaaay?” she said, handing over the remaining apple to the Rank C adventurers. “Be careful though. Only eat this when you’re in a pinch, and even then, only take one bite. Your power will go through the roof.”
“Whoa, thank you so much, ma’am! You’re awesome!”
“We’ll be unstoppable with this!”
Hey, we shouldn’t get too ahead of ourselves. That apple will...
“But don’t eat it if you can help it. It’s not bad for your body or anything, but it’ll take a toll on you afterward. Seriously, one bite when you really need to, okay?” Fresa warned.
As a side note, horses in this world had shorter legs, but were much more muscular. It seemed power was more desired than speed.
“Heh, copy that, ma’am!”
“One bite when we’re in a pinch!”
Are you sure you guys are responsible enough? Look what happened to those horses! I shudder to think what would happen to a human.
“Then I’ll leave our request to you,” Datil said.
“Tell them not to head toward Muruma,” Fresa added.
“Roger that. We’ll take care of it,” the adventurer said.
Our request was simple. They were to catch up to Berry, Júzi, and Arguta, who were headed toward Muruma, and stop them. We’d thought that even this Rank C pair could handle it. Of course, our group would love to do it ourselves if we could, but we had another stop to make first.
“Well then, we’ll head out!” said one.
“Sir, ma’am! Take care of yourselves! Let’s meet again!” said the other.
The cracks of the whip faded into the distance as the horses ran at breakneck speed, not minding that they were over capacity. The remaining passengers on horseback chased them from behind. Will they really be okay?
“Okay, we should head out as well,” Datil said.
“Yeah! I’m so excited to visit the ruins!” Fresa replied.
“Apple-san, why did you also want to tag along? I understand why Fresa-san wants to, since she loves jewels and stuff, but...”
That’s right. Our stop is the labyrinth in the deepest area of the bandits’ base. I’m a little worried whether those Rank C guys could stop Berry and the others, but I definitely want to confirm what the deal is with that large tree that Gruszka’s subordinate claimed to have seen within the maze.
“Heeey, Datil! I never said I wanted any jewels!”
“Oh, you don’t? Then we can leave those behind, I suppose.”
“Huh?! Nooo! You’re such a meanie!”
Get a room, will you? Stop flirting while we’re horseback riding! We’ve got you two and a tied-up Gruszka on a single horse! Don’t you feel even a little bad for it while you’re making all this fuss? Speaking of, even I know that Fresa’s after the jewels, but how the heck did you figure out that I wanted to visit the ruins too?
“Are you two seriously going to enter the labyrinth?” a surprised Gruszka asked them.
“Of course. Isn’t that right, Datil?” Fresa said.
“Yes. It’s clear that something lies within that labyrinth. As an adventurer, that makes me really excited.”
Ha ha ha, you sure sound fired up, Datil. But before that, it seems like we’ve got another mandatory event to pass through. Isn’t that right, Grida?
“Yep! It’s very big and very gross,” Grida said.
In the next moment there was a loud thud, and a huge creature emerged from the dust. Fresa and Datil yelled in surprise. I guess even they couldn’t pick up on this thing. It was masking its presence under the sand, waiting for us to inch closer.
“You noticed, Furutsu? That’s amazing,” Grida said.
Yeah. I didn’t see it, but I definitely felt something odd in the air. Looks like a big worm.