Chapter 105: The Hydra Hunt – Part 2

“Ugh, this is infuriating! What the hell is their problem?! They just waltz in out of nowhere and steal the quest right from under us!”

Lua’s frustration was practically radiating off her.

She was the leader of the adventurer party that had just been removed from the Hydra-hunt assignment.

“And to think they’re ranked higher than us! That’s a joke! Seriously, try putting yourself in our shoes—we’ve been building our image as this city’s idol adventurers!”

…Though, in truth, her anger was only part of it. The deeper, more pressing reason for her agitation was fear.

For a party made up entirely of women, accustomed to attention and admiration, the sudden appearance of a younger, cuter female party was a dire threat to their status.

“Damn them!”

With a thundering kick, Lua struck the wall of a nearby house.

The middle-aged man inside, presumably the homeowner, flung open the window and shouted:

“Hey!”

“What!? If you’ve got a problem, come at me, baldy!”

“Eek… n-no, it’s nothing, nothing at all…”

Intimidated by her fury, the man quickly slammed the window shut.

“She’s more worked up than usual…”

“Yeah…”

Even her own party members were subtly recoiling at the sight of their leader’s unrestrained rage.

“…If that’s the case, I’m going to make sure they regret stepping into this city.”

“Huh?”

The ominous words made the rest of the party exchange uneasy glances.

“I—I mean, won’t that cause some serious trouble?”

“What are you talking about? There’s no way I’m just backing down like a coward!”

Lua brushed off her members’ concerns with a dark smile.

“Hehe… just watch. I’ll make them wish they’d never even received a quest in this city.”

As their leader barreled forward with reckless determination, her party members quietly sighed.

◇◇◇

The party of women who had been removed from the quest, replaced by Shifa’s team, approached us cautiously.

We instinctively braced ourselves.

We expected them to perhaps berate us or make some complaint.

But the words that came from the woman leading them were surprisingly unexpected.

“We don’t mean any harm. Sure, it’s irritating that we got removed from the quest, but it’s not your fault.”

She introduced herself as Lua.

Born in a nearby village, she was now in her fourth year as an adventurer based in this city, holding a C-rank status.

The other three were Lenana, Lakyure, and Rone.

They had formed this party about two years ago, and since then, had made this city their home base.

“So, this is your first time in this city, right? I know a good inn, so I’ll tell you about it.”

“…?”

“See, if you end up in some awful inn and feel unwell, it could affect your quest performance, right? That would be frustrating for us too, since we’d be the ones replaced by you.”

It seemed she genuinely cared about our wellbeing as newcomers.

Although we didn’t actually need lodging, we decided to accept her advice gracefully, not wanting to dismiss her kindness.

“There’s an inn called ‘Highlander’ in the west district. Prices are reasonable, the rooms are fairly spacious, and the beds are decent. It’s not well-known, a little hidden gem.”

Lua also recommended a place to eat.

“There’s a place called ‘Mavera’ in the west district. The food is good, the owner’s a lovely person, and it’s very popular. Tons of repeat customers.”

Food recommendations weren’t particularly necessary for us either. If it were local specialties, we might try some, but usually, the dishes from my own home garden were tastier and cheaper.

“Anyway, the Hydra is a tough opponent, so good luck. As a fellow all-female party, we’ll be cheering for you.”

With that, Lua offered her encouragement and departed.

“She turned out to be nicer than I thought.”

“Yeah.”

Watching them leave, Shifa and I exchanged a knowing nod.

“Do you really think so?”

“Anii?”

“To me, she didn’t seem that nice.”

“But she did give us a good inn and restaurant recommendation.”

“You never know… maybe she deliberately told us somewhere awful.”

Anii was always cautious—her role as the party scout made it a useful trait.

“Either way, we don’t really need it. It’s too bad, but we can’t really take advantage of her kindness.”

◇◇◇

“Hahaha! That went perfectly! Tomorrow, they’ll be in terrible shape for the quest, no doubt about it!”

Lua laughed triumphantly.

Her party members, however, wore skeptical expressions.

“Um… how exactly is that supposed to sabotage them? You just told them a good inn and restaurant, didn’t you?”

“What are you talking about, Lenana? Do you think I’m capable of such naive acts?”

Lua wagged her finger, smirking.

“Highlander seems normal at first glance, but the owner is completely careless. The rooms aren’t cleaned, and the beds are crawling with mites. They’ll barely sleep and wake up covered in itchiness—the perfect recipe for a miserable morning!”

“Oh…”

“And Mavera? The restaurant’s hygiene is atrocious. Most people who eat there end up with food poisoning. They won’t be able to leave the bathroom, that’s for sure!”

“R-really…”

The members couldn’t help but wonder how such places survived—and even more puzzling, how Lua knew about them.

“With this, they won’t be able to think about Hydra-hunt at all! This is all payback for making me so angry! Hahaha!”