Chapter 21: Four Guys on a Subjugation Journey ①

The Mazan Mountain Range.

It’s the high wall of mountains that stretches behind Hydrangea, known as the Mazan Mountain Range A.

And on the other side, there’s the Mazan Mountain Range B, which also forms a high barrier for the neighboring country.

We’re talking about a small region nestled between these two Mazan Mountain ranges.

This region is a permanent neutral zone, a harsh environment, and also a treasure trove of monsters.

The Mazan Mountain Range area. Kutta Plateau.

From the outside, it looks like a serene plateau with beautifully visible mountains, but…

“Take that! Axe!”

Hoss calls out.

From ahead, a three-eyed rabbit with horns the size of a dog glared at me with bloodshot eyes.

It showed its sharp, fang-like teeth as if to threaten me.

If it bit me, it wouldn’t just be a fatal wound — it would be worse.

“Yeah.”

I respond briefly and draw my sword. Its name is Standard.

And its appearance is exactly as the name suggests.

It’s the rare kind with a wooden hilt and a straight, square sword guard that’s a bit old-fashioned.

The blade is a double-edged straight sword — a typical longsword, my beloved weapon.

A Mad Edge, a mid-tier copper-ranked rabbit, jumped toward me.

It showed its fangs, grinning as if to bite me.

“Give me a break.”

I chuckled wryly and smoothly cut the Mad Edge diagonally from below.

The sensation of my blade cutting into its lower belly was faint, but I severed it cleanly.

“Phew, who could eat something like this?”

I have no interest in eating a three-eyed rabbit.

Behind me, Rell was standing on a slightly protruding rock, taking out the Mad Edges one by one with arrows from the slope below. As always, she’s cool.

“Hey, Hoss. Where’s Agaro?”

“Agaro? He charged right into a herd of four-eyed cows.”

“Wait, that’s a Hellhorn, right?”

I remember those are silver-ranked mid-tier monsters with a relic of Hardening.

And their size is like that of a small house.

To charge into a herd of those… is he reckless or what?

Just as I thought that, a massive pillar of flame shot up. I could tell who was behind it.

Hoss looked on and said:

“Do you think a Hellhorn is edible?”

“I don’t want to eat a cow with four eyes.”

I said, feeling exasperated.

The monsters around here have horns and multiple eyes. They’re fierce and strong.

Rell returned to us and commented on the pillar of flame.

“Really grandiose, huh? By the way, my tenth sister once ate a whole Hellhorn.”

“At this point, it’s not just about being a big eater.”

“She even sucked the bones clean.”

“Even the bones?”

“Yeah, if you stew them, they become soft enough to eat, but still, eating all the bones is a bit much.”

“Speaking of which, do you know the saying, ‘If you eat and immediately sleep, you become a cow’?”

“Oh, I remember that one.”

“In my hometown, we also had a saying that if you eat and then sleep, you’ll turn into a cow. So what’s the point?”

“I figured out why the ninth sister has a cow-like chest. She’s always sleeping.”

“That’s totally unrelated.”

“You sleep right after eating.”

“Also, don’t compare your real sister’s chest to a cow’s.”

With that, Rell quietly adjusted her glasses with a small flick, not saying anything. What’s up with that?

And still, those sisters are quite the characters.

And I want no part in that.

“Hey, you guys!”

“Agaro!”

Agaro came towards us, carrying massive, black-glowing horns on his back.

Those are Hellhorn horns. I wonder what he plans to do with them.

Well, whatever, Agaro has a Legendary [Storage Pouch].

He’ll probably just put them in there.

It’s been eight days since we entered the Mazan Mountain Range area.

We’ve been exploring dungeons for guild requests and dealing with the dungeon anomalies that we got caught up in.

From these experiences, we realized that we need to become stronger to achieve our goals.

So, I, with a bit of shame, asked the witch for help.

The witch then introduced us to Agaro.

At first, Agaro was drunk and looked at us with annoyance.

But after we shared a drink and had a passionate conversation, Agaro kindly agreed to join us.

Agaro was strong. Even with the three of us working together, we couldn’t match him.

What’s more, he never used a single relic.

As expected from a level I-qualified Demon Slayer, a level II explorer.

He’s one of the strengths we’re aiming for.

The quest Agaro accepted for us was to subdue the Great Demon Blade Rhino hiding in the misty valley of the Mazan Mountain Range.

The Great Demon Blade Rhino.

It’s a large rhino with a giant blade-like horn on its head.

And that blade is an out-of-place artifact. Of course, it’s adapted.

It’s a gold-ranked mid-tier monster.

By the way, there are also small Demon Blade Rhinos and mid-sized ones.

The mid-sized ones are silver-ranked lower and upper-tier monsters.

The mid-tier Demon Blade is a little smaller than the Great Demon Blade. The small ones are even smaller.

A gold-ranked mid-tier monster… if it were just us, there’s no way we could handle it.

With our current strength, we’d be struggling even against a silver-ranked upper-tier monster. A gold-ranked lower-tier one would probably be a challenge too.

“Alright, let’s camp here for the night.”

Agaro said beneath a massive boulder in the Kutta Plateau.

The boulder was so large that we had to look up to see the top. We’d seen it a few times since entering the plateau.

Agaro set up four boundary stones around the camp, then erected both large and small tents and prepared a campfire.

He also set out log chairs and two square white stones next to each other.

“Man, Agaro’s storage pouch is amazing.”

Agaro’s pouch, worn at his waist, was a legendary storage item.

According to him, it could store as much as an entire warehouse.

Though he says it mostly contains alcohol.

“You guys could get one too if you were third-tier or around my level.”

By now, Agaro was already drinking.

Hoss was using one of the white stones as a makeshift kitchen. He placed ingredients into a deep frying pan, added water, covered it, and set it over the fire.

“Once it boils, take off the lid.”

“What kind of dish is that?”

“Steamed food.”

“Steamed… That reminds me.”

“Let me guess, another sister story?”

“Which sister this time?”

Rell adjusted his glasses.

“It’s my third sister. She’s worried about skin irritation, so she asked the twelfth sister, who’s knowledgeable about that, if steam is good for the skin. She immediately lit a fire and stuck her face into the smoke, then started coughing heavily. Apparently, she mixed up steam and smoke.”

“That’s just clumsy.”

“Kind of an endearing clumsy, though.”

“Yeah, my third sister is always tripping, spilling buckets of water, falling into ponds, or even getting caught in traps in the underground tomb.”

“Underground tomb? What’s that?”

“That ‘trap’ is in the thirteenth sister’s room. She’s been holed up in our family’s ancient underground tomb for years. Occasionally, the other sisters go to check on her. The third and fifth sisters often get caught in the traps there.”

“Are the traps safe?”

“I’m more concerned about the underground tomb being her room!”

“The traps are non-lethal. They’re mostly just pit traps. There are thick cushions placed to make sure nobody gets hurt. The thirteenth sister is a kind one, I suppose.”

“That kinda defeats the purpose of the traps, doesn’t it?”

“Kind, or maybe a bit off? Your sisters, especially the one hiding in the underground tomb.”

What kind of sisters does he have?

“Ha ha ha, your sisters are hilarious, Rell!”

Agaro laughed loudly. I mean, they were entertaining.

At this point, I figured it was time to ask.

“Hey, Rell. Who’s the scariest, the most terrifying of your sisters?”

“Hmm… That would be the first sister.”

“She’s the next Marquis, right?”

“Yeah, right now she’s acting as the lord’s deputy.”

“That’s why she’s the most terrifying. She was strict, serious, and had a stern personality, right?”

She sounds like the textbook example of someone scary. But Rel shook her head slightly.

“No, the truly terrifying one is the first sister after she drinks.”

“So, she gets violent when drunk?”

“Not even close.”

“She changes her personality or something?”

“Exactly. When she drinks, she… becomes the Virgin Mary.”

“What?”

“Wait, your oldest sister is married?”

“Nope. She’s 33 and still single.”

“How does that make sense?”

“She’s in her 30s, but there’s no sign she’s even thinking of getting married.”

“Just like my older sister. She’s 30, but no sign of settling down.”

Agaro muttered quietly. Yeah, Arifa’s onee-san is kind of like that.

“One time, during a family dinner when all the sisters were gathered, she became the Virgin Mary. After that, the sisters never dared to oppose her. The fourth, seventh, and thirteenth sisters even fainted from the shock, foaming at the mouth.”

“What did she do to make them pass out?”

“Is that even the Virgin Mary?”

“That sounds terrifying.”

Agaro muttered again, and I could see why. It was kind of frightening.

But every time I hear stories like this, I wonder what’s going on in Rell’s family.

It’s probably better not to ask, though. I know nothing good would come of it.

The food was ready. It was steamed fish, and it was delicious. After so much meat lately, the fish was a welcome change.

After we finished eating, Hoss started cleaning up. Rel went to a nearby spot and quickly set up a makeshift lookout post, drawing her bow and standing guard.

Agaro and I sat by the fire, drinking slowly. It was rare for Agaro, who always challenged me to drinking contests, to take it easy.

“By the way, how’s your mother doing?”

“…She’s doing well. Wait, Agaro, are you familiar with her?”

“Yeah, she took care of me when I was just starting out.”

“That’s news to me…”

“Many explorers have been helped by Emi. Even my sister. I’m really grateful to her.”

“…I’ve been wondering something. Why is she still a second-tier explorer? She could’ve easily reached first-tier.”

“Well… I asked her about that once. She said it’s a form of penance.”

“Penance?”

“Yeah. She says she ran away from facing something important. So, as penance, she’s decided to stay second-tier forever.”

“….”

“Well, if you want more details, you should ask her yourself. You’re her son, after all.”

“Yeah… I’ll make sure to ask her when I see her.”

“Good. I’m sure you’ll get your answer. But, honestly, I admire your attitude. Even without relics, you aim for the top. It’s exciting, really. Makes me want to support you. And… I’m kind of envious too.”

“Envious?”

What’s that supposed to mean?

Agaro poured himself a drink, staring at it as he spoke.

“I don’t mean I hate where I’m at right now. It’s not that. I’ve just been thinking. Since you guys can’t hold relics, I can’t afford to lose mine either. So, I can’t take on challenges like you. I thought about that for a bit, and I became envious.”

I hadn’t considered it from that angle.

It’s true—at least as far as I know, it’s impossible to lose a relic.

So, I can’t be without one. I’d never thought about that before.

Of course, that makes sense. Who would want to lose a relic? That’s not something you’d normally want.

I started to feel a bit intrigued. Well, if that’s the case, then I’ve got more to say.

“Agaro, I’ve got something that’ll make you even more envious.”

“Huh? What’s that?”

“Do you know about Relic Plates?”

“…You…”

“I was given one and told I could use it, but I turned it down.”

“You turned it down!? Are you serious? Relic Plates are almost never found, you know… Do you not want relics?”

“I don’t. Right now, being without relics is our pride.”

I said it confidently. I really like who I am right now. I feel great about it.

Agaro gulped down the drink he’d been swirling around, finishing it in one go.

“Glug… Ha! Damn, you’re right, Axe. You guys are serious… I’m even more envious now!”

With that, Agaro took another drink, grinning.

I looked up at the sky for a moment. The stars were so bright, it almost seemed like they might fall.

Mom… no, Mother.

I really like who I am without relics.

Previous chapter | TOC | Next chapter