『Boss, may I have a moment?』

Logan called me before I could board the carriage.

"What is it?"

『Yes! With this one strike, the caterpillars are nicely roasted and smell delicious... If I may, we wolf fangs would like to try eating them.』

"Eh!? Eat caterpillars?"

『Yes, they have high nutritional value.』

"I-I see... It’s fine, don’t stop me. There’s no problem. The carriage is slower anyway. Eat slowly. Also, tell the Chicks. They can eat too... or not."

『Haha! Everyone! Boss gave permission! Eat until you’re full!』

『Yippee!』

『I’ll eat until I can’t move!』

『Are you an idiot? If you can’t move, how will you chase Boss?』

『That’s true!』

『The food Boss gives is super delicious, but the quantity is...』

『Idiot! You can’t say that! What will happen if Boss’s feelings get hurt!』

『I’m in trouble!』

It looks like they’re really enjoying themselves.

And the food the Coluna family provides is delicious,

but for the wolf fangs it seems a bit lacking in quantity.

Come to think of it, until now we’ve just let them eat whenever we were by the spring.

When we move in a regular schedule like this, can we really go hunting freely?

...If we stay at some village, maybe it would be better to let them hunt freely after dinner until night.

"Lord Fenberg. Send one knight ahead to Solari town to scout. The hotel reservation is already confirmed, but I’ll contact the adventurers’ guild too."

"Understood."

"Ah, when you go to the adventurers’ guild, tell them to feel free to disassemble the monsters we took down. That’s fine."

『Yes! You say it’s fine? Even though we still have the commission fee and labor for taking them back?』

"It’s fine, it’s fine. As long as the guild gains something from it. Besides, since Logan and the others went to eat the caterpillars, there might not be many left."

"Understood."

One of the mounted knights departed ahead for Solari town.

"The Coluna family’s knights are excellent."

"Of course!"

Lord Fenberg puffed out his chest, but it seems they really are the right talent.

The carriage arrived at the entrance of Solari town.

As usual, we used the noble-only gate reserved for us.

Lord Fenberg stuck his head out of the carriage window and showed the short sword at his chest, and we were immediately allowed inside.

The moment I entered the town, I activated Presence Perception and Magical Power Perception. These are not spirit magic — I learned them when I was alone by the spring, tingling all over. I was happy that I could finally gather information by boosting my swirling energy. Well, I lost consciousness a few times before I got the hang of it...

There’s a very bad feeling.

I hope there’s nothing wrong...

By the way, the town is quite large — not just a village level like before.

So both presence and magical power are felt to some extent.

The information is messy and scattered. It’s completely different from when I was by the spring. I’ll need to train to separate the necessary information.

Logan and the others had also eaten their fill of caterpillars, so some of them had potbellies, but they joined us before we entered the town.

So, for now, let’s check into the hotel.

It’s probably around sunset.

There was still time until dinner, so I decided to head to the adventurers’ guild.

Ring-ring-ring.

Uh... I always wonder why the adventurers’ guild doors make that ring-ring sound.

If I want to peek inside quietly, I’ll get caught.

Incidentally, I’m here alone with Irina.

Sarina went to gather herbs with Logan’s subordinates during our rest stops, and she’s going to deliver them to the alchemists’ guild.

She mentioned it.

The adventurers’ guild also handles herb-gathering requests, but the alchemists’ guild seems to buy specialized herbs in bulk. Moreover, if you’re affiliated with the alchemists’ guild, the buying price is higher.

That’s why the Chick squad and Logan’s subordinates have been helping me gather herbs frequently.

Sarina’s allowance will definitely increase.

So, while everyone around us is looking, I head to the counter.

"...How may I help you?"

A receptionist who seems a bit tense greets us.

"Um... I’d like to ask something. Is it rare to see Grow Caterpillars or Giant Hornets gathering in groups in this area?"

"...! Um... May I know your name?"

"Hm? Yabe."

"Yabe-sama...! Ah, do you have your adventurers’ guild ID with you?"

"Hm? Yeah, I have it. Zoria made it for me. Um..."

I’ve been carrying it around since I made it, but I threw it into my sub-space compression storage because I haven’t used it lately!

When we entered the town in the Coluna carriage, there was no ID check!

I fumble inside the robe and take out the guild ID.

"Here."

"I’ll look... E, F-Rank!?"

Nn? Come to think of it, since I got my ID, I’ve never taken a single guild request. I sell the monsters I hunt.

Somehow I feel like a slacker. Next time I should take some requests.

...Not enough to raise my rank.

"Yabe-sama is F-Rank...!? Excuse me, I’ll check your achievement... Eh!? Zero requests completed!? You’ve never taken even a single guild request...!?"

"Ah, maybe. When I started operating in Solenarini, I only bought personally hunted monsters. Ah, I did help Guild Master Zoria once. But it doesn’t feel like I accepted any guild requests. It was just a conversation."

"Eh? A conversation with the guild master!?"

"Please wait a moment. I’ll call the guild master."

The receptionist goes to the back.

I only wanted information on monsters, but...

Still, I feel like a slacker for getting an F-Rank ID and never taking a single request. Light novels often mention that you get your ID stripped if you don’t complete requests. I should have read the rules. Zoria probably wouldn’t help, so I’ll ask Vice Guild Master Sarina for advice. That means I need souvenirs from the royal capital too. I don’t need anything from Zoria.

"Please come this way."

The receptionist leads me to the back room.

Fuu... I’m going to talk to the guild master again.

I hope the guild master here isn’t some muscle-brained idiot like in my imagination.

"Excuse me. I brought Yabe-sama."

"Welcome. Please sit."

An old man with white hair and a long white beard sits in the chair. If this old man is the guild master, it’s quite different from my image. It feels more like the alchemists’ guild master.

"Please sit."

"Excuse me."

Irina and I sit on the sofa in front of the white-haired old man.

"So you’re the Yabe-dono everyone’s been talking about. Nice to meet you."

"Talking about...?"

"Yes. A Coluna knight came here not long ago and brought news that he and his men annihilated a swarm of Grow Caterpillars and Giant Hornets."

"Ah, that’s why."

"Yes. The knight who handled it said it was an F-Rank guest of the Coluna family. At first I thought it was a joke, but as a knight of the Coluna family, he swore it was neither joke nor lie."

"That’s a very firm knight..."

I didn’t ask for that much enthusiasm.

"And he said if we wanted the materials, we could take them freely. That was another shock. There’s no adventurer who hunts monsters and doesn’t take the materials!"

"Ho ho ho~"

The guild master laughs.

Hmm, this old man is capable. It’s a rule of thumb that an old man who laughs "ho ho ho" has lots of life experience. (Yabe’s personal opinion)

"So, are Grow Caterpillars and Giant Hornets common here?"

"Yes. They appear occasionally, so they’re targets for C-rank parties."

"So they do appear sometimes."

"But I’ve never heard of a group this large. When the Giant Hornets built a nest and went on a rampage, the city used 25 adventurers and 10 guards, with preparation complete, but still had 3 dead and many injured. Fortunately they were able to destroy the nest and no damage was done to the town."

"So it’s that dangerous. I wonder if the bees I took out also had a nest."

"It’s possible, but it’s more likely the Giant Caterpillars’ charge destroyed the nest and mixed them in."

"I see... So that happens too."

As expected, the guild master has deep insight.

"Grow Caterpillars usually don’t move much and just dig up the ground, so they’re actually convenient for nature. But when they gather and something triggers them, they start moving at terrifying speeds and trample everything in their path. If that happened here, it would be a disaster. That’s why I’m deeply grateful."

"I just happened to be there. There was no need to worry."

"...Normally you would have come screaming at the guild demanding a reward for saving the town from an unprecedented crisis..."

"I’m not the kind of person who would do that."

"That’s right!"

Irina stands up and insists.

"Wrong."

"Eh!? Wrong!?"

Irina looks at me with teary eyes. Of course it’s wrong.

"Irina. I’m not a hero who fights for the world and people."

"That’s not true! Yabe! You captured the criminals behind the terror in Solenarini! You healed the sick in Felbane! You rescued Fileontina for free and even defeated the Demon King! You didn’t even take the reward!"

Irina-san, I’m happy you’re so passionate, but you’re spilling things I wanted to keep secret.

"W-What... You defeated the Demon King...!?"

See? Bad reaction.

"And the Miracle of Felbane... was it your doing...?"

See? Even things that shouldn’t be revealed get revealed.

"Even if Yabe isn’t a hero, what do you mean by that!"

Irina keeps insisting with teary eyes. Honestly, it’s embarrassing that she believes in me this much.

"Hey, Irina."

"What is it?"

"I might be your hero, but I don’t think I’m working hard for the world and people. I’m selfish. Sorry, but I have no intention of throwing away my life for some stranger. I just happened to be there. It was just a coincidence. It’s just a result, Irina."

"U..."

"I’m selfish. I always put myself and the important people in my life first. So if I have to choose between the people of a random town and you, Irina, I’ll choose you."

Irina’s face turns bright red.

I said I’d always choose you over thousands or millions of people’s lives.

"So I’m definitely not a hero, right? It’s just that things I happened to do ended up helping people. If you give me a reward, I’ll take it, but I hate asking. After all, we can live fine even without money, right?"

I’m thinking about life by the spring, though. If we ever buy a house in the royal capital, I’ll have to do tons of requests at the adventurers’ guild.

Irina sits on the sofa, face bright red, covering it with both hands.

"But... Yabe is my hero..."

Even with both hands still covering her face, she whispers.

"Ho ho ho, isn’t it beautiful when two hearts beat as one?"

The guild master laughs.

"Exactly! Yabe-dono is the world’s strongest F-Rank adventurer!"

"Wow! As expected of the guild master! Wonderful phrasing!"

"Please stop calling me that. It’s embarrassing."

Irina, stop getting weird titles.

"But getting an F-Rank ID without ever accepting a single guild request, and then handling an unprecedented crisis... Still, the world’s strongest F-Rank adventurer."

"Yes! That’s exactly right! As expected of the guild master — you have insight!"

"No! Absolutely don’t spread that name!"

Stop! I’m not kidding! I’m serious! Calling myself the world’s strongest is embarrassing!

"Kyaah!"

"What is it?"

A woman’s scream came from the guild, so the guild master and I ran outside.

"What’s wrong!?"

"Outside! There’s a pack of wolf fangs!"

"What!?"

Eh...? A pack of wolf fangs?

"What the hell is this!"

The guild master rushes out.

There...

BAM!

A total of 61 wolf fangs are sitting neatly in a row.

"T-This...?"

"Ah, these are my contracted beasts."

Come to think of it, since I left the hotel with Irina, I never told Logan and the others. I thought they were lounging in the hotel garden.

But when I came out, they were all following.

"You guys followed?"

『Haha! When we saw Boss walking out of the hotel, we thought we should guard him.』

"So why all of you?"

『This is the first time in a town, and all my subordinates wanted to be with Boss...』

"If you say that, I can’t complain."

"T-These children... are Yabe-sama’s contracted beasts?"

The receptionists come running out.

"Yes."

"Ca-Can we touch them...?"

"Of course. As long as you don’t do anything they dislike, they’re gentle."

"""Kyaahhhhh!"""

Several receptionists dive at Logan and the others like they’re dying to mofumofu them.

『Oh my, why are we so popular?』

"I don’t know. Maybe because their fur is nice and they feel good to touch."

『That does sound nice.』

While making "wafuwafu" sounds, a crowd of wolf fangs is being mofumofued. Even passersby and children come one after another to mofumofu them too.

"U~m, this is a business opportunity worth making money on."

"No, Yabe is the world’s strongest F-Rank adventurer. We don’t need to make small change like that..."

"No, that’s exactly the point! Absolutely don’t spread that name!"

Weird flags are flying everywhere...