Chapter 33

Chapter 033 : Flooded Wetland

“Then… let us camp around here soon.”

“Understood! Everyone heard that, right?! Hurry and get ready to pitch the tents!!”

“We finally get to rest!”

When Malton suggested making camp around the time the sky grew dark, cheers burst from among the adventurers.

Experienced as he was, Doran pitched his tent in an instant and looked around, but the others were still fumbling.

“Wh-what do I do? The tent peg broke while I was hammering it.”

“Drive in a branch or something! Wait, that’s my spot!”

“Just cover yourself and sleep. We have to take it down tomorrow anyway. …But monsters aren’t going to swarm us in the middle of the night, are they?”

As Doran watched the excited adventurers chattering from a short distance away, a familiar figure approached his side.

“Oh, hey, kid. Did you finish pitching your tent already?”

“Yes. Haa… I feel like I can finally live now… I thought I would die from discomfort today. People kept asking me this and that the whole time we were walking….”

“Really? From what I saw, you were getting along just fine.”

“I was just humoring them. They’re guildmates, so I couldn’t ignore them. …They kept digging, asking if I knew anything about the trio who subjugated the golems, and I had a hard time making excuses.”

“You’ll experience that often if you travel with me, so get used to it. Still, thanks to them, tonight’s watch will pass easily. We’ll be able to sleep well.”

“That is admittedly a little tempting… Ah.”

Radi, who had been stretching and yawning, stopped short and tugged the hood down to cover the head.

When Doran looked toward the campsite in confusion, a female adventurer was approaching.

“Ah, found you! Radi, you already finished pitching your tent?”

“Yes. I’m used to camping.”

“I see. It’s nothing much, but would you like to come bathe with us?”

“Bathe?”

“Yes, we found a nice stream nearby! The female adventurers decided to go first among themselves, and since meeting like this is fate too, I thought it’d be nice if we washed up together.”

“Ah, well….”

Radi glanced up at Doran with an awkward look.

The moment I met those eyes, I sensed it.

‘Looks like my help is needed.’

Wasn’t stepping forward when a companion was in trouble what made a true companion?

I joined the conversation with a benevolent smile.

“I think there’s been some kind of misunderstanding… This kid isn’t a woman.”

“…Pardon?”

“Haha, I can see why you’d misunderstand. His face is very delicate, and even his behavior is often feminine.”

“Wh-what do you….”

｢Strength increases by 1!｣

‘She must be surprised.’

I went even further, gesturing excitedly as I continued.

“You don’t need to be so flustered. To tell you the truth, I nearly misunderstood at first too!”

“Misunderstood…?”

“Yes. His face is pretty, his voice is thin, and he even goes deep into the distant forest every time he uses the bathroom. Even when we shared lodging, he put up a partition with razor-sharp precision and chased me out whenever he changed clothes.”

“…….”

“Ahaha, it’s a good thing I’m quick on the uptake. Most people would have misunderstood. So please don’t be too embarrassed. Anyway, we’re going to wash together later, so you should go first before it gets too late….”

Huh?

Why do my stats keep rising?

Ding! Ding! With noisy alerts digging into my ears, I looked at the Log Window, and the text was updating at a frightening speed.

｢Stats increase due to the [Chaos] Skill!｣

｢Stats increase due to the [Chaos] Skill!｣

｢Stats increase due to the [Chaos] Skill!｣

｢An astonishing amount of stat increase! Remarkable!｣

“Hmm…?”

When I clenched and unclenched my fist, I felt strength welling up vigorously.

Wasn’t this a little too much?

The female adventurer in front of me did not look flustered so much as she let out a small sigh with a face that said, “So it finally happened.”

“Hey, kid. Something’s strange. Do you have any idea what…?”

I turned to the side, then realized something was odd.

Radi was trembling all over like a vibrating pager.

Looking closely, I saw anger swirling in those icy blue eyes, and the fists clenched beneath the robe were shaking.

‘D-did Radi get indigestion? Why…?’

I only found out why after seeing the next message on the Log Window.

｢Your companion Radi feels extreme rage!｣

｢She will never forgive you for inflicting this humiliation!｣

‘Huh?’

I tilted my head and looked into the Log Window again.

The word “she” stood out in particular.

As I chewed over its meaning, the female adventurer spoke with pitying eyes.

“…May I give you one piece of advice?”

“…….”

“…Run. Right now, as fast as you can.”

No sooner had she finished speaking than Radi slowly raised the crossbow.

Only after looking back and forth between Radi, who was aiming the sight at me, and Malton, who had overheard the conversation from afar and was roaring with laughter, did I realize everything.

“You mean you’re actually a woman─?!”

“Drop dead!!”

THWACK—!

Instead of an answer, the padded bolt that flew at me struck me squarely between the brows.

***

CLACK! CLACK! CLACK!

As I sprinted full tilt up the hill to avoid Radi’s bolts, Malton leisurely prattled on.

“You have had remarkable energy since yesterday. Still, do not wear yourself out too much. We have a long way to walk today too.”

“Don’t just watch! Help me!!!”

“Ahem… You deserve to suffer a bit more. Do not feel too hurt.”

“Damn it!!”

I trembled with indignation at the betrayal of the companion I had trusted and desperately fled.

After that incident yesterday, how many times had I run away from Radi in berserk mode now?

As I clutched my backpack and ran up the hill, panting, a chilling shout came from behind me.

“Stop right there!!”

“As if I would! You’ll shoot me if I stop!”

“Obviously! Stop!!”

“Damn it! Where did a tiny thing like her suddenly get that kind of stamina… Huh? W-wait, look over there!!”

“I’m not falling for that!! Hold still! I’ll turn you into a honeycomb!”

“Damn it!!”

A heavy padded bolt whizzed past my temple.

Even if I had ten mouths, I would have no excuse, but that did not mean I had no explanation at all.

After all, Radi always wore that hood pulled low, so I could count on one hand the number of times I had properly seen that bare face.

The thick robe and hardened leather armor meant there was no chance to see her figure either.

Then what about the voice?

“I-I thought your voice just hadn’t broken yet…!”

“Grr! I told you over and over that I’m an adult…! Why would my voice still not have broken when I’m twenty-one, you insane human!!”

“Aaaaaaagh!!”

The bolt that flew next struck me squarely in the back of the head.

At the pain like being punched, I clutched my head and kept running.

Honestly, there was one more reason I couldn’t really say aloud.

‘…What was it called, the other-race effect?’

A phenomenon where people had trouble distinguishing faces of races different from their own.

Frankly, marten beastkin and weasel beastkin looked more or less the same to me, so how was I supposed to know when I had only been in this world for a month?

Of course, the other-race effect and mistaking someone’s gender were separate issues….

‘…I’m the one who deserves to die, I guess.’

“I finally caught you, you clown bastard!!”

“Ghk!”

By the time I reached the top of the hill, I tripped over a stone, and Radi ran over in one bound and pinned me down by the nape.

“What kind of bastard doesn’t notice after I nursed you by your side for an entire week?!”

“N-no, but that was beyond my control! It was right after I received healing at the temple, and I had a high fever on top of recovery pain, so I was out of my mind too!!”

“Even then, there are things you can and cannot make mistakes! I thought you would have noticed by now, but you openly humiliated me in front of other people?!”

“I-I’m sorry for that… Ah, wait! Look over there!!”

Below the hill I frantically pointed at, a vast wetland spread out.

｢You have reached Mistmire Wetland, the midpoint of the First Layer of Medaollinum Dungeon!｣

｢A haven for countless aquatic creatures and a treasure trove of nature, this place is always covered in mist!｣

｢Be careful not to let your guard down and become crocodile food!｣

｢According to circulating rumors, sightings of a giant snake inside the wetland have been occurring one after another.｣

The wetland was so vast that the opposite side could not be seen.

As I lay there blankly, even forgetting to run away at the overwhelming scenery, the deep scent of soil unique to watersides and the green scent of aquatic plants came riding on the wind.

In the mire where water and land tangled together, frogs croaked loudly, and white birds flew over the hazy water mist.

Looking at the wide water surface reflecting the sunlight made me feel as if I were being drawn into a giant mirror.

But there was something else that surprised me.

‘…Why are there so many people?’

Crowds of people were filling the area around the wetland.

This was definitely a bottleneck, but it should not have been a place so crowded that it reached this point….

As I stared at the unusual number of adventurers, Radi sighed, rose, and spread out the map.

“…Let’s discuss this later. This wetland is much wider than what’s marked on the map. Swimming across is obviously impossible….”

“There are far more people than expected. Judging by the tents, it seems they’ve been stuck here… Let’s go ask what happened first.”

To reach the Second Layer, they absolutely had to pass through this wetland.

When Doran descended the ridge and caught an adventurer leisurely hanging out laundry to ask, he immediately learned why the crowd had gathered.

“The water level rose because of heavy rain?”

“Yeah. You know it hasn’t rained on the surface for a while, right? As a backlash, all the rain that poured down at once flowed into this place, and every side path was submerged. So everyone ended up stuck here.”

“Then what about rafts? Was no one making rafts and riding them across?”

“Of course people tried that too. But the bastards who came earlier swept up all the timber. Merchants have set up rental stalls, but at this point, it’s hard to get a proper raft even if you pay extra.”

“That cannot be….”

Radi frowned in difficulty.

The area around here was grassland, so they would have to walk a long way to obtain usable timber.

Realistically, there was no suitable means to bring logs from far away, so rather than go through all that trouble, people would simply wait until the water drained.

That was the situation unfolding before their eyes.

The guild members who heard the story also began stirring.

“The wetland flooded and blocked the path? This is bad… How much extra food do we have?”

“I don’t know… maybe about a week? If we make meals out of wild animals hunted nearby, I think we could hold out a bit longer.”

“…….”

As Doran fell into thought for a moment, Malton looked around and said,

“This was unexpected. What will you do, Doran? Will you wait until the flooded water level stabilizes again?”

“…No, that’ll take too long. Even if the water covering the side paths subsides, they’ll have turned into mud, so they won’t be in any state to cross right away.”

“Hmm… Then will you pay the merchants an expensive usage fee and cross by raft after all?”

“I’m not sure about that either….”

I thought it over and walked toward the water.

At the temporary dock made of piled stones and dirt, rafts the merchants were renting out were lined up one after another.

The problem, aside from the expensive rental fee, was that their quality was far too crude.

Because they had been thrown together hastily with insufficient timber, they looked ready to sink if they hit a few submerged rocks.

It would not be impossible to force ourselves to cross on one, but….

“…No. Crossing like this is too dangerous.”

“May I ask why?”

“Because monsters could appear in the wetland. Especially at a time like now, when the water level has flooded after heavy rain.”

“That is a valid opinion. Some creatures become more active in feeding after rainfall.”

“But we can’t just sit still and wait like this either.”

If this many adventurers stayed in one place, the surrounding monster population would be exhausted in no time.

If they failed at hunting and ate up all their emergency rations, in the worst case, they might have to return to the surface after accomplishing nothing.

For me, who had to reach the Second Layer, complete the Side Quest, and reach Level 30, that was a critical problem.

“…Then what are you going to do? The water’s already risen, and the rafts don’t look usable.”

“Who knows… First, I’ll have to negotiate with the merchants. Maybe ask them to build a new raft.”

I did not know if I could negotiate smoothly, but nothing would happen unless I tried.

After walking a little farther along the temporary dock, I saw merchants gathered in small clusters in front of a gaudy tent.

But before I could speak to them, the merchants turned this way and began murmuring.

‘What is it?’

The atmosphere was strange, so I quietly listened….

“Wait, those two over there… a tall human man and a short woman… gray hair and a beautiful appearance….”

“As the rumors said, the woman has three red markings on her cheek! Then they must be…!”

““……!””

Could rumors about us have already spread?

After exchanging glances with Radi, I clutched my backpack and prepared to bolt, but the merchants ran over as if competing to be first.

Soon, the merchants dropped to their knees on the ground and began sobbing.

“W-waaaaaaaaaah!!”

“Hmm?”

What was going on?