Bolton didn’t choose the spear simply because he thought the mace was too cruel.
He wasn’t very confident in physical combat, so when those small, fast monsters got too close, swinging the mace was more likely to miss than hit.
After much thought, he decided on the spear instead.
With its long range, he could poke his enemies before they got close.
Honestly, it sounded pretty reasonable.
Among strong fighters, the superiority of weapons wasn’t that significant, but among losers like those clogged with steel plates, it was almost impossible for a sword wielder to beat a spear wielder.
◆◆
Unlike Bolton, who had nothing but a spear and a robe, Kikel was properly equipped as a warrior at the front line.
He had a harpoon of a length suitable for a one-handed swing, and a round shield reinforced with leather on wood and iron on the edges.
And that wasn’t all. He had an axe and a dagger hanging from his waist, all clinking together.
With this much gear, he could safely be considered an A-grade among adventurers clad in steel plates.
Me? Oh, I’m S-grade, of course.
I had only a longsword and a short dagger, which was more of a tool than a weapon, but my armor was rare even among mercenaries.
Anyway, as the receptionist lady vouched, both of us passed on appearances alone.
The only issues were one being a zealot and the other being a lizard.
◆◆
As we waited and chatted casually, about thirty minutes had flown by before we knew it.
“Our client is a bit late. I wonder if something happened?”
I glanced towards the entrance of the Request Office, tilting my head.
Considering the schedule, it seemed like it was about time to depart, yet our client had yet to show their face.
“Is the client… Amy? Well, if we wait a bit longer, she should arrive soon. Isn’t she a magician? She must have a lot to prepare.”
Bolton had such a laid-back reaction.
It seemed that while robbing a priest’s wallet was undeniably a sin that deserved a hit to the head, robbing a priest’s time was surprisingly not a crime.
Well, there’s a huge gap in status between a broke pickpocket and an apprentice magician of the magic tower.
There must be some flexibility in the ‘doctrine’s principles’. Without such flexibility, they would have long since been buried under layers of disputes.
“Caw-caw! Women are always late! It’s how it is! They don’t know the value of time!”
Kikel Greg cackled and shared stories from his own experiences.
The tale of the female Lizardman he had desperately courted who made him wait the entire day despite promising to meet him.
And the heartbreaking story of how a female he ended up hunting with didn’t even show up at the hunting grounds until the hunt was over, leaving him to hunt alone.
“U-uh… must have been quite a struggle.”
It was a cruel story I could hardly hold back my tears at the sheer brutality.
Wow, he must have been really unpopular back home…
I wasn’t too familiar with the Lizardman’s aesthetic standards, but it seemed Kikel Greg was considered quite the unattractive male in Lizardman terms.
With zero charm as a man.
◆◆
Five minutes after the client, the apprentice magician Amy, had submitted the request, she finally arrived at the Request Office.
“Is it you guys? Are you the adventurers recommended by the Guild?”
Amy was a girl with red hair that reached her shoulders and faint freckles on her face, making her a rather impressive sight as she shouted casual remarks with no apologies for her tardiness.
She was the very embodiment of a mage from the magic tower, in terms of personality.
With a height around the mid-160s and clearly under twenty, she wore a robe that proved her association with the magic tower on top of a fur cloak.
“Ah, are you Amy the magician? Nice to meet you. I’m Bolton, a faithful servant of the goddess Elianel.”
Bolton welcomed the client with a beaming smile, speaking politely like a priest.
“I’m Hilde.”
I briefly introduced my name.
I had learned through experience not to mix words with someone so rude.
A long conversation with such a type would inevitably lead to both parties desperately searching for their respective parents.
“The warrior of the swamp, Kikel Greg! Let’s hurry! The night is cold!”
Kikel hastily introduced himself and urged us to set off, using his peculiar short and strange speech typical of a Lizardman.
Now that I think about it, this lizard also started off without any proper honorifics. I let it slide since he didn’t seem capable of using them.
“Uh… I see. We can discuss details while walking, right?”
Surprisingly, Amy showed no particular resentment towards Kikel’s attitude.
No, rather than that, she nodded her head in agreement without a hint of hesitation.
Considering she seemed to take pride in being a rude magician, I had expected a word or two of reprimand, but – why was that?
“Kakak! Good response! Let’s go!”
“Ugh…”
Kikel’s every word made Amy flinch, and I began to understand the reason behind it.
Yeah, Lizardmen do look a bit scary.
With that sharp, bumpy reptilian face.
If it were a cute pet lizard the size of a palm, it might have been adorable, but that face sitting on top of a giant, scaled muscle was…
Honestly, it looked a dozen times more threatening than some monster face.
I would have most likely thought it was a monster if I encountered this species in the wild and would probably approach it first.
And if I accidentally killed it, the jury would surely declare me not guilty.
A face like that was more of a threat than someone wielding a weapon.
That’s what the Lizardman race looked like.
◆◆
Thus, we left the city and headed towards our destination.
A small ruin about four hours away by carriage. The lower dungeon lurking beneath it was our goal for this job.
It would have taken quite a while on foot, but our client had prepared a carriage in advance, thus saving us some hassle.
Considering the distance, simply reaching the destination was already a feat.
“We detected abnormal levels of magic power at the dungeon entrance. There’s a high possibility of a magic book being stored there. Even if it’s not a magic book, something related to magic must be hidden there.”
Amy began giving a detailed explanation about the request.
“While I look for that, your job will be to protect me.”
We were to invade a dungeon that exhibited an abnormally high level of magic and retrieve the suspected object behind that phenomenon.
That was the task the magic tower assigned to Amy as a kind of test. If she brought home solid results, she could officially call herself a magician instead of just being called an apprentice.
“As per the contract terms, all magic books or magical items belong to me. The other loot can be divided among the three of you. That’s how it goes, right?”
If I heard such things from a regular four-person party, it would be very likely that I’d end up ceasing to exist with a knife in the back of my head.
That was basically saying she would gather all the profitable stuff for herself while telling everyone else to fill their bags with some random junk.
However, it felt more accurate to say we were not gathered as adventurers but that our client hired three adventurers for protection.
“Fine, that was the condition from the beginning.”
“No problem.”
No one was likely to voice complaints against a paying client wanting to take all the valuables for themselves.
“Wait! I have one requirement!”
…‘People’, that is.
A non-human party member boldly raised their hand and voiced their objection.
“Requirement…? You’re not planning to try anything funny now that we’ve left the city, are you? You think it’s okay to break the contract because we’ve exited? That would be a huge mistake…”
Amy frowned and snapped back.
She acted as if completely forgetting the fear of Kikel’s face and said she wouldn’t put up with any tricks now that the contract was established.
“Incorrect! We will follow the contract nicely!”
Kikel stood tall, raising his tail defiantly.
“My request is simple! Sell me something warm! I’ll buy it all!”
“What are you talking about, something warm…? Ah, you mean winter gear like warm cloaks or heat stones?”
“Correct! I’ll buy them all!”
As if he had hit the jackpot, Kikel nodded vigorously while exhaling excitedly.
Warm cloaks and heat stones were magical items that emitted heat, essential items for maintaining body temperature in areas like icy plains.
Since they were in high demand, the magic tower monopolized them and sold them at ridiculously high prices.
Even at those prices, they would sell like hotcakes come winter.
Although it might be fine in the warmer southern regions, here in the Kingdom of Hervor, a northern region, the average temperature was quite low.
While Brunhilde’s body was strong against the cold, I had scarcely worried about it, yet just looking at Kikel and Amy’s attire truly underscored the importance of warm items.
Winter hadn’t even officially started yet, and both of them were already bundled tightly in their fur cloaks.
What about Bolton? Why was he fine?
I have no clue. Maybe he was toughing it out like a good priest?
“Something like that can be bought at the magic tower… Ah, it’s a bit pricey for a steel-plated person. Got it, I’ll let it go at cost if any warm items come up.”
“Really! Kakak, thank you! I’ll work hard while I hold my breath!”
Kikel, amazed by Amy’s gesture of only asking for the cost and letting go of an enormous margin, expressed his gratitude with wide yellow eyes and a more excited tone than before.
Even I was surprised at her kindness, so imagine how Kikel felt!
Evidently, Amy, despite her rude first impression, seemed to be quite virtuous among the magicians.
Yeah, reflecting on it, why shouldn’t she use casual speech?
After all, she wasn’t just any steel-plated adventurer; she was indeed our employer.
It’s only natural not to use polite language with a subcontractor.
◆◆
With that, the atmosphere in the carriage became significantly more amiable.
Bolton nodded enthusiastically, claiming that kindness is one of the great virtues, while Amy seemed satisfied with that praise, her freckles slightly reddening as she chuckled.
Kikel’s gaze towards Amy was nearing what could be described as a lizard eyeing a meal.
Was that what ‘eyes full of honey’ meant?
Even with a face so hard to read as a lizardman, this time, I could feel that emotion all too clearly.
Was it really that good?
Well, she was a lizard, so it made sense they’d be weak to the cold, but…
If he was going to hoard warm gear like that, wouldn’t it make more sense to just stay in the south?
“By the way, Kikel, how did you end up in the north?”
I asked him that question.
“Kakak! Wanna know? It’s nothing special.”
Since it was a question close to personal affairs, I didn’t expect him to answer… but maybe he had no particular reason not to tell.
Kikel grinned, showing his teeth, and responded surprisingly readily.
“I, Kikel Greg, am a warrior! That’s the reason!”
…Not really an explanation.
I had no choice but to rephrase my question with a more specific example.
“Um, was it because the north has many aggressive warriors and you wanted to test your skills against them…? Something like that?”
“Close! Warrior of the swamp, I like strong enemies! I came to fight the strongest enemy!”
Kikel nodded enthusiastically.
The strongest enemy; Could he be aiming for monsters in the mid or lower layers of a dungeon?
Let’s see, what elite monsters usually appeared in the north…
“That’s a bit intriguing. I shouldn’t be saying this as a steel-plated person, but what exactly do you wish to fight?”
Even Amy, who had been quietly listening, seemed curious about what Kikel had come north for and asked about the identity of the enemy he sought.
“Cold!”
Kikel replied cheerfully.
“Uh…?”
“What?”
“Cold is the enemy. It makes us weak! So I came to kill the cold, to find the coldest place!”
Surprisingly, it turned out that the ‘enemy’ Kikel wanted to defeat was not a being with a tangible form.
It was an abstract concept called ‘cold’.
“I will kill the cold! When the cold dies, a warm world will come. Kikel Greg will be a hero of the swamp! Kakakakak!”
Yet it appeared Kikel thought of ‘cold’ as something he could fight and overcome.
He believed that merely stabbing the cold would somehow lead to a warm and livable world.
“……”
I felt like I might lose my mind at such an utterly grand sense of purpose.
Oh, so what he’s got in that head of his isn’t a brain, it’s a bowl of udon noodles?!
Now I can finally understand why Kikel had been rejected by the females of his kind.
