Adventurers.
As the people who challenged and cleared out dungeons and the many mysteries
that lay within, theirs was a profession filled with romanticized adventure. However,
at the same time, they were also jacks and jills of all trades, taking quests issued by
the guild (protecting merchants, slaying dangerous beasts, and more) in exchange
for rewards. Now, here is something about these adventurers. Among the newest
urban legends spreading in Parnam, the capital of Elfrieden, there is one known as...
"The Adventurer Who Wears a Kigurumi."
It was said that this adventurer wore a kigurumi, a sort of full-body costume, that
was 1.7 meters tall. His weapon was a naginata, slung over his back. He had a rolypoly body, but was able to move quickly and was apparently very talented. He
formed no party, taking on dangerous beast subjugation quests solo, but
occasionally, if there was a party seeking temporary members, he would join them
for a dungeon crawl.
Incidentally, his name was registered with the guild as "Little Musashibo."
◇ ◇ ◇
"Uh... So, you're the adventurer who's temporarily joining our party?" a male
warrior asked doubtfully.
A roly-poly kigurumi was standing in front of the quest board in the guild. It
stood before a party of four adventurers (party composition: one male warrior, one
male priest, one female thief, and one female mage).
In the kigurumi's hands was a naginata, on his back a wicker basket, his face was
covered with white silk (in fact, it was sewn on), and the acorn eyes and bushy
eyebrows that peered out from it were adorable.
Who was that? Was he a snowman? Was he a round-bottomed doll? No, he was
Little Musashibo!
"..." (Little Musashibo waved his arms around wildly, meaning, "That's right.")
"Oh, could it be that you're the kigurumi adventurer people have been talking
about lately...?" Dece asked. He was a male swordsman with an attractive face that
wouldn't have been out of place in a boy band.
"..." (Little Musashibo nodded.)
"A-Are you now...?" Dece's expression became a little strained.
Considering Little Musashibo's silly appearance, that reaction was only to be
expected. The rest of his comrades were bewildered, too.
"Oh, come on, I know we're short a person on the front line, but does that really
mean we need to bring in a guy like this?" demanded a beautiful young girl whose
defiant eyes left a strong impression. Her voice was full of venom. This girl with a
slightly punk sense of fashion was the female thief, Iuno. The adventurers called
thieves were, of course, not actual robbers. It was a support role in the party that
detected enemies and disabled traps in the dungeon and could handle melee
combat, as well.
The kindly-looking male priest, Febral, rebuked her. "W-Well, his outfit may be
ridiculous, but everything I've heard indicates he's a reliable adventurer. I don't
think there should be an issue. We aren't delving into a dungeon today, and the
difficulty for this is supposed to be beginner level anyway."
His role as priest was also just what people called a healer. It didn't indicate any
sort of religious belief.
"Oh, sure, what's the harmmm? He's kinda cute, anywayyy!" This light and airy
beauty, the female mage Julia, started to playfully lean against Little Musashibo,
enjoying his softness. Little Musashibo acted a little annoyed by this.
With a dry laugh at the scene, Dece extended his hand to Little Musashibo.
"Anyway, it'll be a pleasure to work with you today."
"..." (Little Musashibo shook his hand.)
"...Are you not able to talk?"
"..." (Little Musashibo nodded.)
Dece said nothing for a moment. Then he burst out, "Oh, come on, is this really
going to be all right?"
There was no one who could answer Iuno's doubts.
With Little Musashibo joining them, the party headed for an underground
passage in the capital.
Apparently, these tunnels had been originally created to let the royal family
escape in the event that an enemy attack reached the capital. Because of that, in
order to confound intruders, the passages had been built as a complex maze with
three levels.
On this occasion, the adventurers had received a quest calling for "Exploration of
the underground passages and investigation of creatures living therein (and if
possible, their removal)."
Because this country had been free of war and chaos since the time of the former
king, King Albert, the importance of these tunnels had diminished and they were no
longer being properly maintained. As a result, giant rats and other such massive
creatures had soon made their home in them. With the situation inside the tunnels
at this point, it wouldn't have been out of place to call them a dungeon.
Now, here was the thing about those underground tunnels. Apparently the
recently-enthroned king wanted to repurpose them, and had posted this quest with
the guild for that reason. Until the underground passages were safe and secure, any
number of people were welcome to challenge it. The reward paid would be
dependent on the creatures hunted. It was a low risk, low reward quest suited to
beginners.
The adventuring party, now with the addition of Little Musashibo, was
progressing through those underground tunnels. In the cold, wet air, an irritated
Iuno poked Little Musashibo's head.
"Hey, don't let this guy stand in front! He's blocking my line of sight."
"Having a front-liner stay in the back would be pointless," Dece snapped. "Deal
with it."
With Dece telling her off, Iuno clicked her tongue in displeasure. That was when
it happened.
A giant snake appeared suddenly before the adventurers. The snake was ten
meters long and thick enough to wrap one's arms around. It raised its head, hissing
menacingly at the adventurers. Immediately, Dece and Musashibo moved up.
"We'll handle the front line! Everyone else, support us from the rear!"
"..." (Little Musashibo gave a thumbs up.)
In the next moment, the giant snake struck. It went for Dece. From there on, the
snake ignored Little Musashibo for some reason, only trying to attack Dece.
"Wait, why's it only going for me?!" Dece cried.
"?!" (Little Musashibo was confused.)
Allow me to explain. Because snakes search for their prey by detecting their body
heat, it could not detect anything from Little Musashibo, which was just a kigurumi.
Dece took a tail slap from the giant snake and, while he did manage to block it
with his shield, was thrown off balance. Taking advantage of the opening, the snake
slithered between the two of them, attacking the three people in back. The first to be
targeted was Iuno, who had been acting as support in the middle guard.
"Whoa, why's it ignoring that kigurumi and coming at me?! I— I can't stand
snaaaaakes!"
It seemed that the sudden snake attack had made Iuno's legs give out. With her
falling on her rump and unable to move, the snake opened its mouth wide and came
at Iuno. At that moment, just when she was sure she was going to die...
Slash!
Just as the snake was about to sink its fangs into Iuno, Little Musashibo used his
naginata to cut it clean in two from behind. With a cut in the middle severing its
head from its tail, both halves of the snake continued to thrash about for a while
before eventually falling silent.
Little Musashibo swung his naginata to clean the blood from it.
Having regained her senses, Iuno shyly said to Little Musashibo, "Th-Thanks..."
"..." (Little Musashibo gave her a thumbs up and then patted Iuno on the head.)
When she saw Little Musashibo not boasting, but showing concern for her
instead, Iuno brought a hand to her chest. She must have been terribly frightened,
she thought, because her heart was racing for some strange reason.
H-He's a weirdo... but he's not a bad guy, it seems.
Having reevaluated her opinion of the man (?), Iuno chased after the rest of the
party.
The party continued their exploration. When they entered the second level, the
attacks by giant creatures only became more intense. Now they weren't only facing
single enemies; some attacked in packs.
"..." (Little Musashibo cut down a swarm of giant bats with a whirlwind attack.)
"Oh, you're pretty good."
"..." (Little Musashibo gave Dece a thumbs up.)
"...Hm? Hey, pal..."
"..." (Little Musashibo tilted his head to the side, as if to say, "What?")
"There're a number of little bats hanging off your back, you know..." Dece said.
"?!" (Little Musashibo flailed around.)
"Yeesh... Here, I'll get them for you," said Dece.
Allow me to explain. Little Musashibo had no sense of pain, and therefore hadn't
noticed he was getting bitten.
—A few minutes later.
Splish, splash.
"..." (Little Musashibo had fallen into a hole full of water and was thrashing
around.)
Splish, splash.
"..." ("Hurry, help me," he appealed to the party members.)
The sight made Julia and Febral feel warm and fuzzy inside.
"He looks like he's playing around..." said Julia.
"He does," Febral agreed.
"Hey, let's hurry and help him!" Iuno said. "Come on, you too. Grab a hold
already."
Iuno reached out, pulling Little Musashibo up. Having been rescued, Little
Musashibo bowed to Iuno again and again.
"..." ("Thank you so much! I will never forget your kindness!" he was saying.)
"Y-You don't need to thank me," Iuno stammered. "I owed you for before. It's only
natural for comrades to help one another."
"..." ("You're willing to recognize me as a comrade?!" He was overcome with
emotion.)
"Wh-Who cares! Come on, let's go already."
"..." ("Ah, wait for me!" He chased after Iuno.)
Little Musashibo's slow, easy footsteps faded into the distance. The remaining
members of the party were dumbfounded.
"Iuno... Was she just talking with that kigurumi?" Dece asked.
"That was what it looked like to me," Febral nodded. "The kigurumi didn't say
anything, though."
Julia giggled. "If she was, it may have been the power of love..."
""Love?!"" The two men's simultaneous response echoed through the dark
tunnel.
—A few more hours later, the adventurers finally reached the third level.
Perhaps it had been built to be spacious, because the ceilings looked to be twenty
meters high, and the paths were wide. This third level was the lowest in these
underground passages. Though there had been some little mishaps along the way,
their progress down here had been nothing if not smooth.
"This is no challenge," Iuno said. "I can see why they said it was beginner level."
"..." (Little Musashibo cocked his head to the side as if to say, "Really?")
"We're used to the monsters in dungeons, see," Iuno explained. "No matter how
ferocious they are, we're not going to lose to some animals."
"..." (He looked at her as if to say, "You say that, but you were awful scared of that
snake...")
"Th-That one doesn't count! Everyone has things they're afraid of!" Iuno burst
out.
"..." (He shrugged his shoulders as if saying, "Sure, sure, I get it.")
"Hey, if you've got something to say, say it!" she fumed. "If I got serious..."
The rest of the party looked on dumbfounded as the two argued back and forth in
the underground tunnel. (Though Iuno was the only one talking.)
"Seriously, how is that conversation working?" Dece asked.
"I am inclined to start believing Julia's suggestion of 'love,'" Febral said.
Then, it happened.
"Huh?! Everyone, be on your guard!" Iuno shouted.
The relaxed atmosphere was blown away, and everyone got into position for
battle. The way they could do this like flipping a switch was part of what made
adventurers so impressive.
Dece asked, "Iuno, how many are there?"
"One," she answered. "But it's unbelievably huge."
Thieves had sharp senses and could use the slightest sound or vibration to judge
the precise number and size of opponents in another location.
"How big're we talking here?" Dece asked.
"That giant snake was nothing in comparison," she replied.
"This is just an underground passage, right?" Julia asked. "Why is there
something so big here?"