Chapter 149

Alicetia’s Adventure – Day 3.
Outside the Treasury, the insects were everywhere. Originally, I had planned to return to the royal capital by this afternoon, but the appearance of the Insect Mother disrupted everything. Although we successfully defeated the Insect Mother, which had caused a small to medium-scale Stampede deep in the forest near Ostland, the massive number of insects it had spawned remained.

Currently, some insects have given up trying to enter the Treasury, but it seems they’ve realized that Helios is a dragon. They’ve also noticed that Mr. Coote is a high-level magic beast.

Monsters can evolve by devouring higher-level monsters. While it’s not a guaranteed evolution, consuming other monsters accelerates their growth far more than simply waiting over time.

"Princess, I can’t see Helios anywhere."

"He’s probably out there wreaking havoc. He really liked that club, after all."

Helios hasn’t had much of a chance to shine since coming to Arland. In fact, in his human form, he can’t even defeat knights. This is because his brute strength is easily countered by their skill.

Helios is a dragon—an ancient dragon who has lived for centuries. However, he has no combat experience against monsters of similar strength. He’s just been alive for a long time.

Until now, his vast mana and breath attacks were enough to defeat most monsters. But this made him arrogant, and after being beaten by me and my father, his pride was shattered. He even loses to magic beasts he once looked down on in ground combat. If it came to a fight on land, I’m sure he’d lose to Mr. Coote. Mr. Coote seems to be hiding his true strength, and he always looks at Helios’s abilities with a calm demeanor.

This must have been the problem. Helios realized he could lose to humans and even to beasts that crawl on the ground. That’s why he’s been training to ensure he doesn’t lose to anyone, no matter the circumstances.

"Insects are a delicacy, though."

"Mr. Coote, you absolutely must not fight them."

If I saw even a single insect leg sticking out of his mouth, I’d scream.

Insect-type monsters aren’t particularly strong. However, they overwhelm with numbers, which makes them a pain. Their skittering movements and revolting appearance are my worst nightmare. They’re my natural enemy. I don’t want to touch them, and I hesitate to cut them with my sword. Some spider-type monsters raise their young inside their bodies. The thought of them bursting out is terrifying.

Currently, the Soldier Golems are using their guns to exterminate the insects outside the Treasury. Chains from inside are also collecting the defeated insects, but there are still a lot of them. We haven’t been able to wipe them out completely. Helios is rampaging outside the Treasury, so it should be over soon.

Come to think of it, the Treasury is practically a fortress...

"If we used this Treasury as a fortress, it’d be pretty strong."

"Even His Majesty can’t enter without permission, so it’s probably the strongest fortress."

It’s such a convenient artifact. If things get bad, we can just retreat into the Treasury. There’s plenty of food stored inside, so we could hold out for a long time. There’s even a fountain with water that’s safe to drink. The water seems to be transported from somewhere via teleportation, though I can’t pinpoint the source.

"But this is such a hassle. I left the tanks and guns back in Arland."

"We have some spares, though."

One of my clones pointed to a distant area where a stockpile of weapons was stored. Right, we did produce some extras.

But using them in another country risks leaking information. It’s better to just wait quietly for the insects to be dealt with.

In the end, it took until nightfall to clear the insects around the Treasury’s gate. I immediately threw Helios, who was covered in green insect fluids, into the bath, and we returned to the royal capital the next morning.

When I entered the Adventurers’ Guild, many adventurers were gathered.

"Ah, Lord Hollow! You’re safe!"

The receptionist rushed over. Something must have happened.

"What’s going on?"

"We received reports of a massive outbreak of insect-type monsters deep in the forest. There’s a possibility that an Insect Mother has appeared, so we’re assembling a subjugation team.

If it’s not too much trouble, we’d appreciate it if you could join us."

Ah, that was definitely a hassle. No way.

"I already took care of the Insect Mother. I’ve been hunting monsters in the forest for the past three days.

There are still quite a few insect-type monsters left, though. I hate bugs, so I didn’t feel like dealing with all of them."

"What?!"

A murmur spread through the guild.

"There’s no way a kid could defeat something like that!"

"What’s her rank?!"

"I think she’s D-rank."

"Don’t lie!"

What a troublesome bunch. They don’t have to believe me. I brought the corpses.

Ignoring them, I went to the counter and placed five storage bags on it. Inside were the materials I’d gathered and the bodies of the monsters I’d defeated. When I tried to dismantle them, Alicia stopped me, almost in tears. Apparently, that’s a no-go. Not that I wanted to dismantle the insects anyway.

"The reward for subjugating forest monsters depends on what you’ve defeated, right? Please settle the payment. Also, I’m keeping the magic cores for research, so I won’t sell them."

The appraiser at the counter checked the contents of the storage bags. It seemed they had a magic tool that could list the contents. Words began to float in the air.

"T-this is incredible! I need to report this to the Guildmaster immediately. Please wait a moment."

The appraiser, sweating profusely, hurried off to fetch the ´Guildmaster. I didn’t want to cause a big scene.

I glanced at Alicia. Do something about this.

"You just went overboard."

Guess not.

About a minute later, the Guildmaster came running.

"Is it true that you defeated the Insect Mother?!"

"It should be in one of the storage bags."

The Guildmaster checked the bags and let out a sigh.

"How did you defeat it?"

"That knight wannabe lured the insects while we took it down. The method is a secret."

When facing a horde of monsters, a small team can use a tactic called "Train-ing," where a decoy lures the monsters while the leader is taken out.

Specific methods of subjugation are part of an adventurer’s livelihood, so the Guild can’t pry.

"Indeed, there are a large number of insect-type monsters and the Insect Mother inside."

"You seem to have quite the impressive storage bag."

"I made it myself."

It’s not unusual for a mage to have a self-made storage bag. However, my age seems to be raising suspicions. They’re looking at me like I’m some kind of suspicious creature. I’m tempted to charge them with disrespect, but since I’m hiding my identity, I’ll let it slide.

"Hmm, D-rank, is it?"

"Yes, according to the Guild card... She’s the adventurer who helped treat the princess a few months ago."

Why are they leaking personal information like this? The adventurers behind me are definitely looking at me differently now. Their eyes are practically glowing with greed.

There’s bound to be someone here who’ll try to scam me out of money. Not that I have any, though. I’m broke too. It’s rare for a princess to have to work part-time, but here we are.

"Hmm, skilled, or perhaps... Hey, take the test. If you pass, we’ll raise your rank."

"That’s too much trouble. If you’re not buying, I’ll just sell them back in Arland."

"Are you refusing?"

"I can raise my rank anytime. There’s no reason for me to take the test."

I don’t want any more trouble. Just buy the stuff.

"There’s a suspicion that you have noble backing."

"Even if that were true, it wouldn’t bother me. Just buy it."

"Are you mocking me?"

The Guildmaster tried to intimidate me. However, it didn’t compare to my mother’s anger or the punishments from Madame. Honestly, the Stampede was scarier. I remained unfazed, even yawning. In truth, he’s no match for my father’s royal guards. There’s no reason to be afraid.

But being intimidated isn’t fun, so I petted Mr. Coote’s chin. Comfort is important.

Seriously, though, don’t just assume I have noble backing without any evidence. I’m tired from all the hunting.

"... Fine. No test needed. Show me your Guild card. From today, you’re B-rank."

"Guildmaster!"

The Guild staff exclaimed in surprise.

"No test is needed. Someone who can yawn under my intimidation clearly has the skills.

My apologies. If I didn’t do this, the fools behind you would start causing trouble. Don’t mess with her. The royal family owes her a great favor. You’re out of your league."

He doesn’t seem like a bad person. It seems this was all pressure on the adventurers behind me. Well, even without the incident with the princess, I’d stand out, so he probably took preemptive action. He doesn’t seem bad.

"My apologies. But skilled adventurers are always welcome. If you ever have any problems, feel free to talk to me."

He roughly patted my head and then headed upstairs, probably returning to his office. The Guild staff announced to the adventurers that the subjugation team was disbanded and that there would be requests to deal with the remaining monsters in the forest. They don’t form subjugation teams for remnants. It’s too expensive.

I checked the bulletin board for any good requests, but...

"What’s this?"

Adventurer Hollow Only

Request: Accompany the Princess

Reward: 10 gold coins

It seems this request was posted right after I treated her. The Guild staff are watching me. I feel pressured to accept, but I have no intention of doing so. Going to the royal castle, which is full of perverts, is not appealing.

Right now, I’m just an adventurer without status. Dealing with perverts is a losing battle.

For now, I’ll take the wyvern subjugation request. Wyverns are profitable.

By the way, the reward for this mission was substantial, in platinum coins. The Insect Mother alone is weak enough for a single C-rank adventurer to handle, but the insect-type monsters it spawns are a nightmare. It spawns them like crazy. So, it’s an A-rank request. In fact, it’s recommended for multiple A-rank adventurer parties.

The receptionist also warned me not to take on requests beyond my rank like this again. Ignoring the rank system could cause it to collapse.

This time, it was a chance encounter, so they let it slide.