227: It's always sudden, hearing a shocking truth, huh?

Leaving the satellite noble's territory, proper roads vanish all at once. Beyond the capital, the frontlines against monsters—there are no roads but those connecting one fortress to another.

Villages and towns exist, sure, but they're always under the shadow of monster threats. When such places fall, refugees flood out. I heard most of them are being taken in by Goldendown now.

No wonder there's a constant stream of refugees.

Since we left the satellite noble's land, monster encounters have spiked sharply.

Still, the ones we meet? They're barely worth a second glance—Persia and Nobuna take them out in an instant.

"Ugh. Back when I was an adventurer, I'd have bolted the second I saw a monster like that. Now they're gone in a flash."

"Guess my bow’s not needed here."

Jitarou ran a hand over the oversized bow, too big for a hunter, then looked down at Evah’s corpse—sliced clean in half.

"Cyclops... the name 'adventurer killer' must be weeping right now."

"Evah’d take something like that out in a flash, right?"

"Doesn’t it worry you? Being chopped to pieces faster than you can even cast a spell?"

"Totally."

Still can't use attack magic, so whenever something shows up, I naturally fall back to Maina and Master Javir’s cover. But half the time, I’m already dead before I even get to stand in front of the cart.

Yeah. These guys are off.

That sense of safety must’ve loosened my guard a little.

The road had vanished where the dowsing droplet pointed, and now we were deep in unmarked trails, moving forward for a while.

Camille, who had gone ahead to scout, finds a monster settlement. We’d rather avoid it, but the visibility’s poor—too risky to skirt around and get flanked from behind. So we decide to wipe it out.

“Then I’m off.”

“Yeah, leave it to you.”

We park the wagon well away from the monster settlement, setting up camp around it. Me, Maina, Leifan, Jitarou, Jabir, and Ryuuko stay behind. The rest head toward the settlement.

Ryuuko starts laying out rations. Leifan sets up a simple hearth.

“Make sure the food’s ready the second everyone gets back.”

They move fast, getting the meal prepped with ease.

“Leifan or Ryuuko around, dinner’s always something to look forward to.”

Jitarou nods, grinning.

“Usually on the road it’s just dried meat, dried yams—nothing else. I can’t even handle a normal trip anymore.”

"Nah, you're a hunter. What about when you're holed up in the mountains for days?"

"I bring a bento. So I wrap up the hunt in a single night."

"Is that really okay, you mountain hermit?"

With Jitarou’s skill, could he even take down a big game in just one day? Living too soft these days.

"Jitarou. You’re always begging for bento. Honestly, it’s a pain."

"Aw, no way! I’m always grateful!"

"What are you even doing?"

Maina was chopping vegetables, prepping the meal, when Jitarou and Ryuuko suddenly looked up.

"...I sense enemy presence."

"This is likely a clash with a scouting party from the settlement."

"Bad news. We’re getting surrounded."

Jitarou nocked an arrow, scanning the area. Ryuuko, calm as ever, assessed the situation.

I fumbled, dousing the campfire with water magic, and shouted orders at Maina and the others.

“Jabirou-sensei! Maina! Ryuuko! Into the wagon!”

“What’s this? What’s going on!? We’re in trouble!?”

While Jabirou-sensei flailed in panic, Maina stood firm, raising her defensive rod.

“I’ll fight too.”

“No! You don’t listen, I’ll set up the transfer gate right now and send you back!”

“U… um…”

Even if she could use magic now, there’s no way I’m sending Maina into battle!

I scooped her up and half-threw her into the wagon.

“Ryuuko, hurry!”

“No. With this formation, we’re short on fighters. With all due respect, I’ll go out.”

“What!?! No, you’re a maid, aren’t you!?”

“Yes. A maid’s little skill.”

“Huh?”

I didn’t get what Ryuuko meant and let out a wild shout, but reality wasn’t kind. One after another, orcs emerged between the trees.

“Here they come! ‘Painting the Dragon’s Eyes’—right on!”

“Damn it! A whole pack of orcs! Watch for coordinated attacks!”

“Leave it to me!”

Jitarou took the front, Leifan the back.

Two sides left!

“Guess I’ll just blast ‘em all with a big spell…!”

I started weaving a flashy spell, ready to blow them all sky-high—when suddenly, my maid’s dress fluttered.

“Ryuuko!?”

“This side’s in your hands. Master, please handle the other side.”

“Handle…?”

The thing Ryuuko held in her hand was a wooden rattle, carved from a random stick.

A rattle?!

Before I could even dive in, Ryuuko locked onto an approaching ogre, slipped inside its guard, and rained down rapid strikes on its vital points.

Probably couldn’t see it, though.

The ogre crumbled in seconds.

Huh? Ogres… really that easy to take down?

“Craft! Not the time to be distracted!”

“Right, right!”

Ryuuko seemed fine, so I focused on the group of ogres ahead.

“Can I get close to Master Javir!? ‘Spiral Rock Lancing Spear’!”

Multiple stone spears spun through the air, one after another, pulverizing the ogres.

If Ryuuko hadn’t held that front, we’d’ve had to burn the whole forest down with a big spell.

Against all expectations, the tension of the first moment gave way to swift, clean annihilation of the entire ogre group.

“Ooh… terrifying…!”

I placed a hand on my teacher’s shoulder, trembling in the corner of the carriage, trying to calm her.

“It’s alright, Teacher. We’ve taken care of all the enemies!”

“No! You idiot! The real danger is you lot!”

“Eh…”

Weird. Normally ogres are strong, terrifying monsters. Why us?

Unlike the teacher, Maina was buzzing with excitement over our performance.

Yeah, yeah. I’ll pat her head.

“Craft-sama was awesome!”

“Is that so? But you shouldn’t stick your head out of the carriage. Some enemies might shoot for the head.”

“Mm.”

I couldn’t scold Maina too hard while she was so fired up, but I had to warn her. Still, this is a bloody mess. Is Maina really okay with it?

“Because I’m not human.”

“Huh. That’s right.”

You’ve gotten strong, Maina.

By the time we’d gotten caught up in that exchange, I’d missed what Professor Javir was muttering.

“Huh… something’s off… why’s Ryuuko so strong?! I built her on maid knowledge, not combat weaponry!”

“Sir Javir. Combat’s not a maid’s hobby.”

“Then what in the blazes—?!”

When I turned around, I found the professor hunched over, clutching his head. I stared, puzzled, but kept an eye out for any remaining forces.

“Seems fine. I’ll go gather more magic stones.”

“Got it. Be careful.”

I left Jitarou where he was and stared hard at Ryuuko. Should’ve been just a familiars’ automaton, a maid-made construct—nothing more.

“Still… Ryuuko’s strong.”

Leifan was wearing the same look as me.

I’m shocked too. I’d heard from records and the adventurer’s guild that I was supposed to be strong… but I figured it’d only be enough to catch petty thieves.

I’d heard reports of people catching thieves breaking into their homes, so I figured I might be able to fight back a bit. I mean, my body’s built on dragon material to begin with.

I figured it was some adventurer from the guild or a guard who’d caught the thief, really.

Compared to my master and my friends, it's just a pastime.

No way! You think you can take down multiple ogres? At least you’re C-rank adventurer level, right!?

He was stronger than Raidock was back when we first started up. That’s how big the gap was—almost made me feel bad for the ogre knocked out with a single hit.

The members who’d gone out to wipe out the settlement were back.

Nobuna glanced at the fallen ogre and seemed to understand the situation at a glance.

"Oh, you noticed, huh?"

"Nobuna!? You knew about this!?"

"Only you and Leifan didn’t catch on. Raidock found it amusing, so I told him to keep quiet until you figured it out."

"Damn you, you bastard!"

Chiyome sounded delighted by our exchange.

"The bet’s mine, then."

"Kyle-sama fainted and went on an adventure? No one could’ve predicted that—so it’s invalid, right?"

"Nobuna-sama. A bet’s a bet."

"Fine, fine. Next time we get back to Goldendown, I’ll treat you to a fancy restaurant."

"Yay! Got it!"

They bet on how long it’d take me to notice Ryuuko’s strength!?

"You guys don’t bet on people’s observation skills!"

"That’s not quite right. We bet on your dullness."

"Way to make it worse!"

Leifan was kneeling beside me, utterly drained.

"Uuu... I was treated the same as Craft... it's shocking... really..."

"Are you even worried about that!?"

Damn it. I'm the one who didn't notice.

Anyway, I'll count this as a solid addition to the team.

"Ryuuko, stay near Maina and Professor Javir."

"Understood. I shall protect the two of you with my very being."

"I'm counting on you—but don’t go overboard."

"I will give it my all."

She’s got the skillset of an excellent maid. Should be fine. Yeah. Probably.

Professor Javir muttered, eyes distant.

"Maids... I should hire one... hehehe..."

He lives in a house already. Isn’t he basically already hired?

Something about that made the professor hesitate, as if the idea was too strange to say out loud.

Adventure Seekers: Fired!⑦ Now in stores!

The manga version of "Cursed Alchemy Vol. 5" is also a hit—now available!

If it’s sold out, please order it at your local bookstore!!