According to the flyer, I had already missed the scheduled 'rumble', so my new quest would have to start tomorrow. It was looking like today would be another lute practice day. I quickly made my way to the forest to stock up on edible grasses.
It used to take me about five hours to reach the edge of the forest. I could tell because the sun would usually be almost right in the middle of the sky. Over the last few days though, I seemed to be getting here earlier. If it wasn't just my imagination, the sun wasn't quite as high in the sky when I arrived.
Either I was getting better at walking here, or the sun was rising later now. That was something that happened in autumn, right? I liked to think that it was the first one, though.
I made my way through the familiar area.
At the very least, I was definitely sure I was getting better at herb harvesting! It didn't take me long at all to find a new patch of bluegrass. With experienced ease, I harvested all of it for eating. I was having to head a little deeper into the forest now, compared to my first week, but I was also much more confident in finding my way around in it.
Time passed me by, and by the time I was heading back to Axel Town, I had enough to keep me going for at least five meals, and it wasn't just bluegrass but lichtail seeds and tasteslikechickenroot too.
I was ready for my first real adventure, now!
The village was in the complete opposite direction of the forest, so I stopped back at the Adventurers' Guild to use the bath. After quickly washing myself off and having an afternoon soak in the bath, I hastily made for the town gate.
Thankfully I hadn't been spotted by Miss Irina, so there was no more discussion of finding a party for now. It was just for now. Once I had at least one real quest under my belt, it would be that much easier to find party members!
It was my first time headed in this direction, but I still managed to make it to my destination before sunset. As I reached Greenbloom Village, the first thing I noticed was how busy everyone seemed. A few sweaty men and women were heading back from the fields, some of them carrying baskets filled with produce and tools, but most people seemed to be done with their work day already.
I stood down the road from them, on the path that led to the village entrance. A small group of children were playing near the village entrance, but their mothers were already there. It was probably about dinner time.
…It didn't seem right to bother any of them with questions. I-I mean, they were clearly occupied with the harvest season, and they had just finished a hard day of work. It would be really inconsiderate of me to interrupt their routine, right? And besides, the sun was already setting. Surely, it was time for everyone to wind down and relax with their families.
Right. I didn't want to get in the way and ruin their precious family time. It was actually quite thoughtful of me to not approach the villagers, if I did say so myself.
If you really thought about it, they were paying me twenty thousand eris for a reason. Since they were too busy to spare their own people to investigate, did it make any sense for me to go and bother them about the problem? I had to show a little initiative. At the very least, I could wait until they were well-rested before asking my questions.
Instead of entering the village, I decided to retreat to a small forest just outside of it. It was a perfect spot to camp for the night. I didn't have an alarm clock, so my plan had always been to sleep earlier than usual.
I took my twig pillow out of my bag and found somewhere to stay for the night. The spot I decided on had less leaf litter and more grass. Less chance I would crush any poor insects that way. I pulled some bluegrass out of my bag for dinner before settling down for the evening.
While I was lying down, the sounds of the village carried over to my spot. This was the right choice. It was important to let the villagers have their evening in peace. If I really couldn't figure out which direction the sound was coming from, then I could ask them tomorrow morning when I asked what else they knew.
As I lay there, staring up at the stars, I knew I had made the right decision.
***
The results of my plan to go to bed earlier were a little mixed. Sleeping in a forest wasn't quite what I was used to. I kept waking and sleeping in fits and starts.
Still, it all worked out in the end, since I hadn't overslept. It was the very early morning right now and I was alert and ready, so while I munched on some tasteslikechickenroot, I headed towards a hill I spotted yesterday. The village was still quiet. Did the 'thump' happen before or after everybody was getting about their day? The flyer had only mentioned that it happened in the 'early hours of the morning just before the sun rises'.
With nothing else to do, I reached the top of the hill and found a nice spot to sit and wait. Hopefully the height gave me a good vantage point to listen for this mysterious sound.
Instead of idling, I took my lute in hand and began to mime playing it. I was far enough away from the village that it shouldn't have been audible, even in the silence of the twilight, but I didn't want to risk it. I also didn't want to play over the sound that I was here to investigate, even if it had been described as fairly loud.
After a while, the sun began to rise. The sun itself still wasn't visible yet, but the horizon was starting to glow with its light. I guess I picked the right time to 'wake up'.
I was putting my lute away when I saw it—a cloud of dust, rising just beyond the horizon in the direction of Axel Town—and then the loud thump that followed.
…I wish I had paid more attention in science class. There was something about thunder and lightning and calculating its distance, right? Maybe if I spent less time daydreaming at school, I might have remembered it.
There was a reason my grades weren't very good, though…
I squinted, trying to get a better look at the dust cloud, but whatever had caused it was blocked by the curvature of the planet. It was a little strange to think of a fantasy land in planetary terms, but I didn't want to think too hard about it.
I had the direction to go on now. All that was left was to see if the villagers had any other clues.
A few villagers had left their home to have a look, but they didn't leave for work until a while later. As time passed, more villagers began to wake up and go about their mornings.
I waited, watching for the best moment to approach someone.
Soon enough, the villagers started heading off to work in the fields. It didn't feel right to approach them now, either; they were clearly very busy, and I didn't want to get in the way. Maybe if I followed along, so we could talk while they walked?
For the moment, I could pick someone friendly-looking to talk to. I headed down into the village.
As the time passed, I grew more and more discouraged. Whenever I spotted somebody who looked approachable enough, somebody else would come up to them and begin chatting instead. A few of the villagers who were walking alone looked a little scary, so I left them alone too.
Some of the villagers noticed me and gave me strange glances, but nobody went up to speak to me.
Time passed quickly, and before I knew it, the morning had slipped away. The sun was already high in the sky.
This wouldn't do.
Since it was impossible to ask for any clues, I would just have to figure it out myself. I started walking back down the road I arrived on. As I walked, I kept my eyes peeled for anything unusual.
Eventually I had to take a right and cut through the grassy countryside if I wanted to continue in the direction of the dust cloud I'd spotted. It wasn't too hard to tell that I was on the right track, because the closer I got, the dustier the grass became.
After walking for a while in the afternoon sun, I eventually came across a suspicious crater. After cautiously watching it for a while, I approached in search of clues.
After all, the thumps had always been at the same time each morning. Surely it was safe enough for now.
The crater was deep, but it wasn't too wide. Curiously, besides the crater itself, and the dirt that had been displaced by whatever caused it, there weren't any other signs of a disturbance. As far as I could tell, there wasn't a sign of any monsters, or anything else that might have caused it.
Uneasy, but determined to make my money, I wandered about in search of any other similar formations, but despite my best efforts I found nothing.
By the time the sun was setting, I still hadn't found anything.
Maybe it was time to set up camp again.
Just in case, I walked a good ten minutes away from the crater and then did my best to climb up a tree. All the hiking and exercise over the last three weeks had done my lazy body some good, because it only took me seven tries to get up here.
I watched the sun dip beneath the horizon.
Seated on a branch, maybe four metres up, I was sure that I'd get to the bottom of this.
I probably wouldn't be getting much sleep tonight.
Would it be better if I just slept on the ground? After all, besides all the dust, nothing else near the crater had been touched. And even if I was sleepy, I would probably wake up before the 'thump'.
…No, better not to risk it.
I was a little worried I would drift to sleep and fall out of the tree, but after thinking for a while it hit me. I could simply tie myself to the tree! A rope had come with the basic adventurers' set that I'd been recommended once I had some money, but I hadn't had a chance to use it until now.
I was really starting to become a real adventurer!
I looped the rope around my stomach and the tree trunk first, and then finished it off with a bowtie around my thigh and the branch. With this, I could take a nap without worry!
Excited with my ingenuity, I had some trouble falling asleep, but eventually I did.
When I woke up for the fifth time, the stars were finally starting to dim in the sky. I gave both cheeks a few slaps to wake myself up, and then sat attentively in the tree.
It was almost time.
Around the time the sun was just starting to crest the horizon, I noticed movement. In the distance, on the side of the crater closest to Axel Town, there was a little red speck.
My heart started to race. This couldn't just be a coincidence, could it?
This could be it!
Squinting, I tried to make out what it was. As best as I could tell, the speck looked like some kind of.. red monster with… yellow eyes. Would that be enough for the Guild?
Eventually it approached the crater. I watched in confusion as it began to flash with otherworldly energy, like the colours of the rainbow. The sky seemed to flash in the same way for an instant, orange discs of energy filled the sky, and then—
H-Hiroshima…?!
A blinding light, a mushroom cloud, and then…
a rapidly approaching wall of dust!
'Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!'
The world turned upside down and I screamed. Something pulled on my leg painfully, and then I was swinging side to side, coughing. Blinking through the haze, I coughed and struggled to get rid of the dust from my lungs.
Nose running, eyes burning and watering, I eventually realised what had happened. The force of the wind had blown me clear out of the tree. It was only because of the rope that I hadn't fallen to the ground, which was why my thigh and stomach were throbbing from the pressure of my weight.
W-w-what the heck
was that monster?!
Gritting my teeth, I pulled myself back onto the branch as quickly as I could and then hid behind the trunk. I couldn't let that thing see me!
I couldn't stop my coughing, but I tried desperately to keep it as quiet as I could. I could only hope that it didn't have superhuman hearing.
I didn't know how long I stayed in the tree. Time seemed to crawl. Even after the dust settled and I finally risked a look, the red monster was still there!
Keeping behind the tree trunk, I carefully untied myself, wincing at the way the rope was cutting into me. Clambering down the tree, meticulously keeping out of view, I dropped to the ground and then onto my stomach. I couldn't afford to be seen!
With adrenaline pumping through me, I started to crawl. I couldn't head back to the Guild while the monster was still there. I decided to head for the village instead. If I could just get far enough away, I could loop the long way around back to Axel Town! This had to be reported.
As stealthily as possible, I began making my way through the wilderness, and then the countryside.
When it felt like I couldn't crawl any more, I rolled onto my back and played Melody: Summer Vitality, and then rolled back onto my stomach to keep crawling.
Eventually I made it back to Greenbloom Village, and then it was evening when I reached Axel Town.
I pushed open the double doors to the Guild, exhausted. All the other adventurers were already eating and partying, but a few noticed me and gave me commiserating smiles. That was the first time anybody had done that. I smiled nervously back. I guess everyone had bad days.
I trudged my way over to the counter.
Miss Luna's window was already occupied. She was talking to somebody in a shade of red I would rather not have seen again, but thankfully Miss Irina was free.
'...And then they kicked me out of the party again! Is that fair? No! Absolutely not, I say!'
Trying not to eavesdrop, I walked up to the counter. Miss Irina's eyes widened when she saw me.
'Hitori?! What happened to you?!'
'Ah…' I looked down at myself. I guess I
was pretty dirty. 'There was some sort of monster.'
I quickly recounted everything that had happened. Well, I glossed over my investigation at the village a little, but other than that, I told the story as I remembered, describing the monster as best I could. Hopefully their bestiary would have something. The closer to the end I got, the stranger Miss Irina's expression grew.
'...I think I understand the situation, Miss Hitori.' She sounded a little angry. Miss Irina glanced at the girl in red next to me and then turned to Miss Luna, whose conversation partner had stopped talking for some reason. Had they been listening to my story? 'I'll leave this to you, Luna.'
Before I could wonder at what was happening, Miss Irina turned back to me.
'Miss Hitori, let's get you to the baths,' she said. 'I'll lend you a change of clothing.'
'Ah, yes,' I said obediently. I could tell from her tone that she wouldn't brook any arguments. Right, I was probably getting the Guild all dusty… Sometimes I saw the Guild staff sweeping the floors, and I'd just gotten them all dirty…
…And she must have realised that I'd snuck away the last time we spoke to avoid looking for a party.
I paled. Meekly, I let her lead me away.
I heard some yelling from behind us, but I was too busy trying to figure out how to apologise for causing trouble again to pay it any mind.