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?"
Febral was the one to answer. "I've heard that, in underground spaces like this,
creatures can grow to sizes that would be unthinkable under normal circumstances.
Once they reach a certain size, they have no natural predators and, because
temperatures stay about the same here year-round, rather than die, they just keep
growing bigger."
"So, you're saying there's one up ahead that got big like that?" Dece asked.
The moment those words left Dece's mouth, the air shook. It didn't take a thief's
skills to know that the massive whatever-it-was was almost upon them.
"It's coming!" Iuno shouted.
The creature appeared. Its massive body nearly reached the ceiling, which was
already high for an underground tunnel. It had slimy skin, and, unlike its mouth
which looked like it could open big and wide, its eyes were so small they didn't
realize they were eyes at first.
""""A salamander!"""" the four shouted in unison.
Only one person (?), Little Musashibo, said, "..." ("A ridiculously huge
salamander?!"), having a different reaction from the rest.
Dece couldn't believe his eyes. "Oh, come on... Normally salamanders are maybe
two meters long, at most, you know?"
"..." ("This world's salamanders are usually the size of Komodo dragons?!") Little
Musashibo was surprised, but nobody was able to notice.
"This one looks like it's clearly more than ten meters long," Dece said.
"So they can grow to become this large..." Febral sounded impressed. "However,
it is an issue that it's a salamander. Their mucus is highly acidic. It would be
dangerous to attack with melee weapons, and it's resistant to heat. On the other
hand, if we can freeze it, this could be an easy fight..."
"We don't have anyone who can use ice magic," Dece said. "If flames worked, Julia
could've handled it with her magic, but... How about you, Mr. Kigurumi?"
"..." ("Nuh uh." He shook his head.)
"Well, there's nothing else for it, then. ...Let's run," said Dece, the party leader,
calling for a retreat. "Our quest was to explore and investigate. There's no need to
overextend ourselves. If we just report that we found that thing, the castle ought to
be able to send out a subjugation team later."
"...I get what you're saying, but can we get away so easily?" Febral asked.
As Febral pointed out, the salamander had the adventurers firmly in its sights.
Dece ground his back teeth, bringing up his shield and moving forward. "We'll
have to get away. Febral and Julia are fastest, so they go first. Iuno doesn't have a lot
of gear, so she can go next. Mr. Kigurumi, can I count on you to bring up the rear
with me?"
"..." ("Okie-dokie!" He gave a thumbs-up.)
"Okay... Split!"
They all moved when Dece gave the order.
Febral and Julia ran back along the path they had come from, while Dece and
Little Musashibo stayed behind, keeping the salamander in check. Iuno put her legs
to good use, running around nimbly and confusing the salamander. The salamander
tried to go after the two that fled but, with Dece and Little Musashibo blocking it and
Iuno's movements leaving it bewildered, it couldn't make much progress forward.
Eventually, it must have gotten impatient, because the salamander let out a cry
and swung its long tail. When it did, the mucus that had been attached to its tail flew
everywhere.
"Oh, shoot! Everyone, look out!" Dece shouted.
"Eek!" Julia screamed.
The highly acidic mucus rained down and struck the adventurers. It stuck to
Dece's shield, Iuno's breastplate, the back of Febral's vestments, and Julia's long
skirt, hissing and releasing an unpleasant smell as it dissolved the cloth and metal.
"Salamander mucus will melt flesh, too! Strip off any equipment it got on!" Febral
shouted as he pulled off his top.
When they heard that, Dece dropped his shield and Julia stripped off her skirt,
continuing to run with her underwear showing.
"Hold on, it got my breastplate!" Iuno shouted.
"Well, hurry up and take it off! If you don't, forget your breasts, you'll be showing
your bare ribs instead!" Dece shouted.
"Urgh..."
With Dece shouting at her, Iuno stripped off her breastplate and shirt, going
topless. She did her best to cover herself with her right arm while holding her short
sword ready in her left, but she was turning bright red from embarrassment.
"Iuno, just go already! Mr. Kigurumi, are you all right?"
Once Dece confirmed that Iuno had started running, he looked over to Little
Musashibo to find its face was covered in mucus.
"H-Hey! What're you doing?! Take off that kigurumi already!"
"..."
Despite Dece's worries, Little Musashibo shook his head back and forth. On a
closer look, while he did have mucus on him, there was no sign of any melting.
"...Hold on, is your kigurumi acid resistant?" Dece asked.
"..." (Little Musashibo gave him a thumbs-up.)
Allow me to explain. For Little Musashibo's "skin," his well-paid creator had used
his wages liberally, having nothing else to spend them on, and so it was made of
special, high-quality, bladeproof, bulletproof, cold-resistant, heat-resistant, acidresistant fibers.
For a moment, Dece was struck dumb. "Ha ha ha...! Okay, in another ten seconds,
we'll run, too. Get ready... Three, two, one."
On the count of one, both of them turned on their heels and ran off. The
salamander gave chase. However, perhaps due to the size of its massive body, it
wasn't very fast.
Just as they were thinking We may be able to escape! ...the salamander swung its
tail once more. Because it did it while running this time, the mucus splattered all
over in random directions.
"Ugh!" Iuno howled.
"Iuno!" Dece shouted.
The mucus didn't hit Dece or Musashi, but unfortunately it did graze Iuno's leg.
Iuno crouched down, holding her leg tight. It looked like she couldn't move through
the extreme pain. At this rate, it was going to catch up to them. That was when...
"...!" (Little Musashibo ran forward.)
"Uwah!" Iuno yelped.
...Little Musashibo lifted her up in his arms, throwing her into the wicker basket
on his back. Then, with Iuno still in the basket, Little Musashibo ran off with slow,
easy steps. Iuno poked her head out of the basket, looking at Little Musashibo's face
in profile as he ran.
"Uh, um... Thanks."
"..." (Little Musashibo gave her a thumbs-up.)
Then, just in the nick of time, Dece and Little Musashibo ran through a narrow
hole.
Having made the difficult escape from the salamander and returned to the
surface, the adventurers made their report to the guild. While they hadn't succeeded
in slaying the salamander, their sighting report was deemed valid, and they were
paid a hefty sum for it. It sounded like a subjugation force would be dispatched to
deal with that salamander soon. Regardless, the quest was now complete.
With their reward in hand, the party set out to divide the spoils among
themselves. However, for whatever reason, Little Musashibo made no attempt to
take any for himself. Dece was at a loss for what to do.
"That's not fair, we owe you for saving Iuno! Please, take your reward," Dece
pleaded.
"..." (Little Musashibo silently shook his head.)
"Are you really, really sure you don't want any?"
"..." (Little Musashibo nodded. Then he waved, "Goodbye.")
Little Musashibo walked away from the party with slow, easy footsteps. Julia and
Iuno, who had already changed into fresh clothes, watched that man (?) go with
bewildered looks on their faces.
"I wonder, what was that person (?) really?" Julia asked.
"Don't ask me," Iuno said. "Was that thing even a person?"
"I'll bet there was a little fairy insiiiide..." Julia teased.
"I doubt it," Iuno said. "But, if there was... I'm sure..."
I'm sure it was a good fairy, thought Iuno.
Little Musashibo departed, leaving behind only a mystery. Was the mage right,
and was he a fairy?
And thus, another urban legend was born in the capital.
◇ ◇ ◇
Within the large communal bath inside Parnam Castle...
In here there was the torso of a large-sized Little Musashibo soaking in a tub,
Souma who was washing the acid and mud off of it, and Liscia who was watching
him with a cold look in her eyes.
"...Is it just my imagination, or is it even bigger than when I saw it last time?" she
demanded.
"That was a prototype," he explained. "I used it as a model when I sent out the job
request to craftsmen in the castle town."
"Ah! Don't tell me the 'Kigurumi Adventurer' they're talking about all over town
is..."
"Yeah, it's probably this guy... Wait, Liscia? Why the scary look?"
"First the mannequin, now this! Are you trying to convince people that Parnam is
the demon capital?!" she shouted.
"Ow, that hurts...! Wait, whoa!"
When Liscia threw a bucket at him, Souma ended up diving, clothes still on, into a
cold water bath. While in the water, Souma thought back on everything Little
Musashibo had experienced today.
I never would have imagined there was a giant creature like that under the capital.
I'm glad we were able to find it before damage reports started to come in, but I put
Iuno and her friends in danger...
He had optimistically assumed that even novice adventurers ought to be able to
handle the wild animals living in there, so he had messed up and set the difficulty
level too low. It had nearly meant adventurers dying needlessly on a quest that he
himself had set. The reason he hadn't taken the reward at the end was that he felt it
was the least he could do after the trouble he'd caused Iuno and the others.
...Though the biggest reason was that it would be wrong to accept the reward for
a quest he set himself.
Regardless, I really do have to reflect on what happened today. Though...
"Uh, um... Thanks," Iuno had said.
When he recalled Iuno's face when she shyly said that as Little Musashibo carried
her, the corners of Souma's mouth naturally rose a little.
...The adventure itself was fun. I hope I'll get the chance to do it again.
That was what Souma thought as he sat there soaking in the dirty water.