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We left the Adventurer’s Guild. We needed to prepare again to catch the Leviathan.

“Where are we going this time?”

“Jeminal Academy.”

“Again…?”

“This time, we need the help of people rather than hunting tools.”

I realized something while hunting the Balarain this time. It’s a bit tough for just the four of us. Thanks to that, I think we didn’t have any materials left from what we brought except for the flash bomb. The airship we spent months making was destroyed too.

And I’m not getting paid for this, so there’s really no need for us to suffer together. I just want some fun; I’m not looking for a deathmatch like some crazy combat junkie in a dragon ball world.

“The Dean must be having a tough time…”

“Well, the dean has a busy job.”

So, we moved to Jeminal Academy. Luckily, I didn’t encounter the toilet this time.

“That’s a pity.”

If I had met it, I would have shown it the golden flash bomb I couldn’t use last time.

When I arrived in front of the Dean’s Office, I thought knocking would be too cliché, so I carefully took out a bomb from my inventory.

“Put that back…”

So, I put the bomb away and took out a Magical Power Bomb instead.

“Put that away too…”

Both items got shut down, leaving me with no choice but to do the boring and predictable thing and just knock on the door.

“Hello.”

“Welcome, Luke. It’s been a long time, hasn’t it?”

It had indeed been a while since I last visited, as I’d been busy preparing for hunting for the past few months.

“It seems you finished what you set out to do.”

“Yep.”

“I was just wondering if you would actually do it when you said you would.”

“A manly man doesn’t speak deceitfully.”

A typical trait of a manly man; if he says he will do something, it’s guaranteed he’ll do it.

“Wow, that’s impressive. If merely saying one would do it was enough, we wouldn’t need to classify people into A-Rank or S-Rank.”

“Even if you gild my face, nothing will come from it.”

In fact, I was the one here asking for a favor.

These people are strange, you know? They decorate the face of someone asking for help instead of just getting straight to the point of the request.

“That’s true. So, what brings you here today? I doubt you just came to see me for no reason.”

“I need some help.”

“You do remember I told you I have no information last time, right?”

“This time, it’s not information I need; it’s you, Lucia.”

“Ne…?”

At that moment, Lucia’s eyes went wide.

“Well… um… If there wasn’t a significant age gap, that statement could raise quite the misunderstanding, right?”

That’s literally what I meant; there’s no misunderstanding here! Does she think this is some kind of romantic comedy? Since I didn’t react at all, Lucia cleared her throat a few times and returned to her usual expression.

“Ahem. This request is definitely about the S-Rank Monster, isn’t it?”

“Yep.”

With a light sigh, Lucia picked up a quill.

“I would like to help, but as you can see, I’m too busy with academy work to be able to go anywhere.”

“Oh, that’s fine. You can just wait here, and when the time comes, you can help me then.”

“When the time comes…? How will I know?”

“You’ll know right away.”

It’d actually be strange if she didn’t understand it. She seemed to have many more questions, but I decided to leave the fun for later.

Having conveyed everything I needed to say, we exited the academy.

“Where’s the next destination?”

“I need to meet Amy.”

Once again, we’ll need the help of our all-purpose alchemist, Amy.

“But isn’t she at that island we went to last time?”

“Ah, right.”

I should have asked for a Teleportation Stone to the island.

*

Through sailing, we returned to the island where I once met Amy.

I wasn’t sure if she was here or not, but she seemed very interested in the ruins, and interpreting the things in those ruins would not be something that could be completed in just a few months.

So, reminiscing about the past, we headed towards the ruins.

“Nobody’s here.”

Of course, there was no one around.

“It seems she’s momentarily away.”

“No, is she some kind of ninja?”

She must be sneaking around somewhere on the island again. Even though we’re on the same island, why is it so hard to find her?

“What will you do? Are you going to wait for Amy to come back?”

“No, that would be a waste of time.”

There’s a mountain of things yet to be done; I can’t waste time here.

“Let’s lure her.”

I used my usual method. Instead of searching, make something come to you.

I’m sure Amy came to check when she heard noise last time. So, if I make some ruckus again, she’d surely come to find out what’s going on.

I took a deep breath.

“Hey, wait a minute! At least give me time to get ready!”

The three of them hurriedly covered their ears at my sudden shout.

“KYYAAAAA─────────────!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”

Seriously shouting as loud as I could. What else could change, but I managed to gain some time with that. Though honestly, I didn’t have to scream so much; really, the ruins are almost at the center of the island, so as long as she’s on the island, she’ll hear it from anywhere.

After my shout, a silence fell.

Even if they rushed over now, it would take a few minutes. I sat nearby and leisurely waited for Amy to arrive.

Since it was noon, I started a small fire and began cooking some meat.

-Crackle.

“Did you come?”

As I spoke, Amy popped out from the bushes disguised in a gilly suit.

“How did you know I was here?”

“That sound was no one else but you.”

The monsters here are not small and cute enough to make a rustling sound like that. At least, the sound of a falling tree would be much louder.

“I came rushing over because I heard some strange scream… please don’t startle me like that!”

“But Amy, if I don’t do something like this, you wouldn’t even pay me any attention.”

“…What kind of terrible tone is that?”

“That’s just the way it is.”

I offered her a piece of the meat I had been cooking.

“Want some?”

“Oh, thank you! I was just getting hungry!”

When hungry, you should eat first. Did she not realize she was hungry while wandering around? That’s probably why parents always ask their children if they’re eating well when they call them.

“From what I see, there are still plenty of monsters around, huh?”

“There are quite a few. Oh, but after Luke bro left, there have been fewer monsters, so it’s been easier to move around!”

If she’s thankful, can she reward me with money instead of just words?

“But what brings you here today?”

“I need a big Teleportation Stone. Can you make it?”

“I can, but… with no materials?”

“Do we absolutely need to exchange cash between us?”

“You’ve given me things for free before, right? When did I say I need to charge you?”

Indeed, it wouldn’t be her style to need money. If she had needed money, she could have sold potions for a shower of gold coins every day.

“What do you need then?”

“Bring me something I might like!”

“What do you even like?”

“Well, I’m not sure?”

She’d rather just ask for money. It’s like asking, “What do you want to eat?” and answering “Anything” when ordering delivery.

‘Something that Amy would like…’

Based on Amy’s past personality, she got really excited when she was offered rare materials she didn’t know about or when she was told that she could be a test subject for newly developed potions.

I wouldn’t be able to make any new potions to help her, nor would it be easy to find materials that would satisfy her expectations.

Especially the latter seems to be rare.

‘Now that I think about it…’

There is one that I uniquely possess, something impossible to find anywhere on the continent. I pulled out the material from the Balarain from my inventory and laid it out carelessly.

I don’t even know if this will help her, being a complete novice in alchemy, but since it’s an S-Rank Monster, there must be something useful among it.

“What’s this?”

“Material from the S-Rank Monster, Balarain.”

Amy’s jaw dropped. After staring at me blankly for a while, she finally regained her composure.

“Uh, when did you hunt this…?”

“A few days ago.”

“Wait, are you telling me this was actually possible to hunt?!”

Of course! It’s alive; there’s no creature that can’t be killed! After revealing the materials, I pulled out a wing made of tentacles.

The Balarain we hunted had a total of six tentacles; it took one tentacle to make one wing.

We made six wings altogether, but Luna can fly just fine without these, so we only need three of them. And the rest, I kept just in case, but I never thought I would end up using them here.

“What’s this wing for?”

“A magical tool that lets you fly in the sky.”

“Fly in the sky?!”

“Yep.”

I strapped on the wings and demonstrated. After showing her how I could fly without a single gust of wind, Amy’s eyes sparkled. See? I told you she’s just a little kid at heart.

“I want that!”

“Wise choice.”

With this, she wouldn’t have to sneak around through thickets anymore. This would make investigating much faster than walking.

As soon as she got the wings, Amy took off into the sky. But then, she bumped her head into a twig overhead and fell down.

“KYAAAH!”

So, she thought flying would be that easy?

“Ugh… I think I need a little more practice.”

“More importantly, how long do you think it will take to make the Teleportation Stone?”

“Hmm… First, I need to gather the materials. If it’s a small one, I could make it with what I have now, but how big do you need?”

I don’t know the exact size, but at least it should be several hundred meters, right?

Looking at the small Teleportation Stones lifting someone over a meter tall, considering I need to move something several hundred meters, I’d at least need a few meters in size.

“We’ll get you the materials you need, just write a list.”

“Okay! But…!”

“What?”

“Why do you need such a large Teleportation Stone?”

“I’ll be using it for fishing.”

“Huh…?”

Yes, I’m a novice in fishing. I prefer to fish using a net instead of a fishing rod.

 

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