“Hey, Zino. Long time no see.”
I met a nasty guy.
Though elves are known for having little freedom, I’m not doing nothing myself.
I’m leveling up, and I’m actively looking for allies.
Meeting Kunimatsu the other day was truly a great harvest.
Though we can only communicate through basic magical communication due to our countries’ circumstances, it’s reassuring to have a comrade with the same goals.
With that in mind, this guy is a disappointment. Not only is he unreliable, but if push comes to shove, it wouldn’t be surprising if he switched sides to the Demon Lord’s army out of self-preservation.
He neither helps with leveling up nor the search for companions, yet he adapted to this world faster than anyone else.
That’s this half-elf named Lopez Totanes.
“Sigh…”
“Hahaha, you’re cold. It’s been a while since we’ve met.”
“The fact that you’re still alive is bad news. I almost wish you had fallen like some of the other reincarnators.”
“I’m not that foolish.”
Indeed, he’s not foolish.
However, living freely and declaring that the world’s crisis has nothing to do with him, he’s no different from a foolish reincarnator in my eyes.
“So, are you still making pocket change today?”
“Pocket change? This is a much bigger deal. As long as you know your place, the elves… they pay well enough.”
“Elves, huh… more like your masters, right?”
Lopez chuckled and laughed heartily after a brief pause, perhaps because of the unexpected words.
“You seem to be struggling, huh?”
“Of course. I bet you’re not willing to share that burden, let alone take it on yourself.”
“Obviously. I’d say, as long as the money’s right, but you can’t put a price on life. Sorry, but find someone else, Zino.”
That someone else is Kunimatsu.
Honestly, I had hoped you’d be the first ally, but…
I don’t have the naive thought that this is just a game world. I’m already adapting to it as a relatively skilled locksmith.
But even for him, taking on the Demon Lord is probably a reckless gamble.
“At least don’t do anything unnecessary that would provoke the Demon Lord.”
“Okay, okay. I care about my life too. You should be the one to quit with the Demon Lord hunting.”
“I wish I could…”
“That Loco thing? You sure like to take on all the trouble yourself.”
Leave him be. Not everyone can live freely by embracing destruction.
I’ll fight until the end, at least.
“Well, I think it’s smarter to just live in this world like me.”
“Already going back?”
“Yeah, I’m a busy guy, you know. I heard some interesting profit-making stories from my companions.”
He probably was like this even before his reincarnation.
He likes making money without too much risk, but that doesn’t mean he was following the law.
He’d be making illegal money in ways where the risk didn’t affect him.
Now that he’s in this world, the laws have changed, and even countries are doing shady dealings in gray zones.
For someone like him, this world must be a lot easier to navigate.
◇
“Yo. You’re late, Lopez.”
“Sorry. Old ladies talk too much.”
“Ah, you’re making money off those elves again? You sure put up with those annoying ones.”
That kind of arrogance is just cute.
Like Zino said, this really does feel like a game world.
Even if they’re irritating, they’re not unpleasant enough to be bothersome, perhaps because they might become allies depending on the story.
“Anyway, let’s go. There’s a better client waiting than those guys.”
“A pharmacist, right? I’m not interested in any dangerous drugs.”
“Of course not. If we drink self-detonation potions, we’d actually blow up and die.”
“Ugh… Okay.”
I can’t get used to this…
In a world where dangerous potions are self-detonation potions, who would even drink them?
Is this world healthy or not? It’s hard to judge.
And who would drink them, and for what purpose?
“Anyway, it seems like healing potions are selling like crazy to beastmen right now.”
“An alchemist from the human side is ordering materials for healing potions at a much higher price than usual.”
“And that’s where the cave comes in.”
You guys really are close. It’s impressive how smoothly you three can continue talking.
But unfortunately, it looks like I misunderstood the “great profit-making story.”
That cave… I have a bad feeling about it. It’s probably because of the griffins.
If we go there, we won’t make it out alive. My instincts are sounding the alarm.
“Wasn’t there a cave where someone was growing medicinal herbs? But that place…”
“I know, I know. It has dangerous monsters like griffins, right?”
“Then, if you know that, go look for something else. I’m not crossing any dangerous bridges…”
“Only three of them, right? Large bird monsters.”
That’s right. The person who first discovered the cave, and the one who went to check it afterward, both said the same thing.
There were only one griffin, one hippogriff, and one cockatrice, right?
Just those three, but that’s still a big threat for us.
Yeah, I’m not taking on this mission. It’s not worth it.
“You thought we were just satisfied with the dwarf’s wages?”
“Well…”
Then, what he took out was a blue leaf.
It was part of an herb, but not for healing. It was something used to induce sleep.
“Making a powerful drug to make the griffins sleep. That’s the condition for cooperating with that pharmacist.”
“Reluctantly, but he cooperated properly.”
Even though they’re powerful opponents, in the end, they’re just monsters.
If we use our wits, they’ll easily fall for it.
In fact, I’ve already successfully used this kind of sleeping drug to take down monsters like griffins and minotaurs.
“How many drugs do we have?”
“They said three. Including some spare ones, that makes six.”
Double, huh… We can only afford to fail once each. It’s a bit nerve-wracking, but gathering medicinal herbs from the cave where the griffins live is starting to look more feasible.
“Stop being so stingy. I had him prepare ten, rounding it up from nine.”
“…Haha. You sure got overcharged.”
“What are you talking about? If the rumors about the herbs in that cave are true, this price is cheap.”
“No doubt about it… Well, if everything’s prepared, it seems like joining in is the smarter choice.”
It’s dangerous, no doubt. But it’s different from the time when we had no plan.
Now, we have a good chance of winning this battle. Anyone who hesitates here will miss their chance for life.
I still have a bad feeling. But I also sense this won’t be something that will get us killed.
That means, at worst, we’ll get injured but still manage to pull through.
“Let’s go. Herb thief.”
“Hey, hey, don’t make it sound bad. Who’d willingly grow herbs in such a dangerous place?”
“Most likely, they were chased out by the griffins and the others. We’re just retrieving them and not letting them go to waste. ‘Thief’ is an insult.”
“I don’t care either way. It’s this kind of world, after all. If there’s an item lying around, it’s ours for the taking, right?”
If this were a game world, I’d feel no guilt about it.
Though, I did similar things in my original world, too.
And so it goes.
Simply put, I’ve brought this upon myself.
I’ve made a living by playing smart, knowing full well it’s illegal, both in my original world and this one.
And now, as part of that, I misjudged things. I failed. It’s just how it is.
“Lo, Lopez! T-the griffins! The hippogriffs, and the cockatrices… There are so many!!”
“Shut up, just run!!”
I haven’t wasted a single sleep drug.
With three doses, I managed to put the griffins, hippogriffs, and cockatrices to sleep.
But, just ten doses of sleeping drugs wasn’t enough.
The math doesn’t add up. Actually, the premise itself was wrong.
“There’s more than three! Ten!? No, there’s even more!!”
With an unusually high ceiling, large bird-like monsters fly high above.
There are so many of them, I don’t even want to count…
Did they make a nest here…?
Ah, I’ve really messed up.
I just assumed they were straggler monsters.
Never even considered the possibility of them having a nest…
These monsters were the ones who were kind to me, regardless of my being a reincarnated person.
They’re idiots, but I get along with them.
Well, I guess there’s no helping it. With the powers the damn goddess gave me, I’ll have to do something about it.
“Unlock!”
Luckily, we managed to escape to the cave entrance, and I inserted a key into the wall.
It pierced through the hard rock surface smoothly, but the hole itself didn’t open up.
I twisted the key.
“Lopez!”
“You guys just run!”
The rock face split open like a door.
Unlike the wide space where the herbs were, the entrance was narrow, like a passage.
As a result, one of the walls collapsed, throwing things out of balance… the cave entrance collapsed.
“…!”
The sounds of my companions faded, and the surroundings were covered in rocks and rubble.
With this, the birds won’t be able to get out and chase us… at least I hope so…
