Extra Story: The Story of a Certain Group of Adventurers

Adventurers.

As the people who challenged and cleared out dungeons and the many

mysteries that lay within, theirs was a profession filled with romanticized

adventure. However, at the same time, they were also jacks and jills of all

trades, taking quests issued by the guild (protecting merchants, slaying

dangerous beasts, and more) in exchange for rewards. Now, here is

something about these adventurers. Among the newest urban legends

spreading in Parnam, the capital of Elfrieden, there is one known as...

"The Adventurer Who Wears a Kigurumi."

It was said that this adventurer wore a kigurumi, a sort of full-body

costume, that was 1.7 meters tall. His weapon was a naginata, slung over

his back. He had a roly-poly body, but was able to move quickly and was

apparently very talented. He formed no party, taking on dangerous beast

subjugation quests solo, but occasionally, if there was a party seeking

temporary members, he would join them for a dungeon crawl.

Incidentally, his name was registered with the guild as "Little

Musashibo."

◇ ◇ ◇

"Uh... So, you're the adventurer who's temporarily joining our party?" a

male warrior asked doubtfully.

A roly-poly kigurumi was standing in front of the quest board in the

guild. It stood before a party of four adventurers (party composition: one

male warrior, one male priest, one female thief, and one female mage).

In the kigurumi's hands was a naginata, on his back a wicker basket, his

face was covered with white silk (in fact, it was sewn on), and the acorn

eyes and bushy eyebrows that peered out from it were adorable.

Who was that? Was he a snowman? Was he a round-bottomed doll? No,

he was Little Musashibo!

"..." (Little Musashibo waved his arms around wildly, meaning, "That's

right.") "Oh, could it be that you're the kigurumi adventurer people have

been talking about lately...?" Dece asked. He was a male swordsman with

an attractive face that wouldn't have been out of place in a boy band.

"..." (Little Musashibo nodded.)

"A-Are you now...?" Dece's expression became a little strained.

Considering Little Musashibo's silly appearance, that reaction was only

to be expected. The rest of his comrades were bewildered, too.

"Oh, come on, I know we're short a person on the front line, but does

that really mean we need to bring in a guy like this?" demanded a beautiful

young girl whose defiant eyes left a strong impression. Her voice was full

of venom. This girl with a slightly punk sense of fashion was the female

thief, Iuno. The adventurers called thieves were, of course, not actual

robbers. It was a support role in the party that detected enemies and

disabled traps in the dungeon and could handle melee combat, as well.

The kindly-looking male priest, Febral, rebuked her. "W-Well, his outfit

may be ridiculous, but everything I've heard indicates he's a reliable

adventurer. I don't think there should be an issue. We aren't delving into a

dungeon today, and the difficulty for this is supposed to be beginner level

anyway."

His role as priest was also just what people called a healer. It didn't

indicate any sort of religious belief.

"Oh, sure, what's the harmmm? He's kinda cute, anywayyy!" This light

and airy beauty, the female mage Julia, started to playfully lean against

Little Musashibo, enjoying his softness. Little Musashibo acted a little

annoyed by this.

With a dry laugh at the scene, Dece extended his hand to Little

Musashibo. "Anyway, it'll be a pleasure to work with you today."

"..." (Little Musashibo shook his hand.)

"...Are you not able to talk?"

"..." (Little Musashibo nodded.)

Dece said nothing for a moment. Then he burst out, "Oh, come on, is

this really going to be all right?"

There was no one who could answer Iuno's doubts.

With Little Musashibo joining them, the party headed for an

underground passage in the capital.

Apparently, these tunnels had been originally created to let the royal

family escape in the event that an enemy attack reached the capital. Because

of that, in order to confound intruders, the passages had been built as a

complex maze with three levels.

On this occasion, the adventurers had received a quest calling for

"Exploration of the underground passages and investigation of creatures

living therein (and if possible, their removal)."

Because this country had been free of war and chaos since the time of

the former king, King Albert, the importance of these tunnels had

diminished and they were no longer being properly maintained. As a result,

giant rats and other such massive creatures had soon made their home in

them. With the situation inside the tunnels at this point, it wouldn't have

been out of place to call them a dungeon.

Now, here was the thing about those underground tunnels. Apparently

the recently-enthroned king wanted to repurpose them, and had posted this

quest with the guild for that reason. Until the underground passages were

safe and secure, any number of people were welcome to challenge it. The

reward paid would be dependent on the creatures hunted. It was a low risk,

low reward quest suited to beginners.

The adventuring party, now with the addition of Little Musashibo, was

progressing through those underground tunnels. In the cold, wet air, an

irritated Iuno poked Little Musashibo's head.

"Hey, don't let this guy stand in front! He's blocking my line of sight."

"Having a front-liner stay in the back would be pointless," Dece

snapped. "Deal with it."

With Dece telling her off, Iuno clicked her tongue in displeasure. That

was when it happened.

A giant snake appeared suddenly before the adventurers. The snake was

ten meters long and thick enough to wrap one's arms around. It raised its

head, hissing menacingly at the adventurers. Immediately, Dece and

Musashibo moved up.

"We'll handle the front line! Everyone else, support us from the rear!"

"..." (Little Musashibo gave a thumbs up.)

In the next moment, the giant snake struck. It went for Dece. From there

on, the snake ignored Little Musashibo for some reason, only trying to

attack Dece.

"Wait, why's it only going for me?!" Dece cried.

"?!" (Little Musashibo was confused.)

Allow me to explain. Because snakes search for their prey by detecting

their body heat, it could not detect anything from Little Musashibo, which

was just a kigurumi.

Dece took a tail slap from the giant snake and, while he did manage to

block it with his shield, was thrown off balance. Taking advantage of the

opening, the snake slithered between the two of them, attacking the three

people in back. The first to be targeted was Iuno, who had been acting as

support in the middle guard.

"Whoa, why's it ignoring that kigurumi and coming at me?! I— I can't

stand snaaaaakes!"

It seemed that the sudden snake attack had made Iuno's legs give out.

With her falling on her rump and unable to move, the snake opened its

mouth wide and came at Iuno. At that moment, just when she was sure she

was going to die...

Slash!

Just as the snake was about to sink its fangs into Iuno, Little Musashibo

used his naginata to cut it clean in two from behind. With a cut in the

middle severing its head from its tail, both halves of the snake continued to

thrash about for a while before eventually falling silent.

Little Musashibo swung his naginata to clean the blood from it.

Having regained her senses, Iuno shyly said to Little Musashibo, "ThThanks..."

"..." (Little Musashibo gave her a thumbs up and then patted Iuno on the

head.) When she saw Little Musashibo not boasting, but showing concern

for her instead, Iuno brought a hand to her chest. She must have been

terribly frightened, she thought, because her heart was racing for some

strange reason.

H-He's a weirdo... but he's not a bad guy, it seems.

Having reevaluated her opinion of the man (?), Iuno chased after the rest

of the party.

The party continued their exploration. When they entered the second

level, the attacks by giant creatures only became more intense. Now they

weren't only facing single enemies; some attacked in packs.

"..." (Little Musashibo cut down a swarm of giant bats with a whirlwind

attack.) "Oh, you're pretty good."

"..." (Little Musashibo gave Dece a thumbs up.)

"...Hm? Hey, pal..."

"..." (Little Musashibo tilted his head to the side, as if to say, "What?")

"There're a number of little bats hanging off your back, you know..." Dece

said.

"?!" (Little Musashibo flailed around.)

"Yeesh... Here, I'll get them for you," said Dece.

Allow me to explain. Little Musashibo had no sense of pain, and

therefore hadn't noticed he was getting bitten.

—A few minutes later.

Splish, splash.

"..." (Little Musashibo had fallen into a hole full of water and was

thrashing around.) Splish, splash.

"..." ("Hurry, help me," he appealed to the party members.)

The sight made Julia and Febral feel warm and fuzzy inside.

"He looks like he's playing around..." said Julia.

"He does," Febral agreed.

"Hey, let's hurry and help him!" Iuno said. "Come on, you too. Grab a

hold already."

Iuno reached out, pulling Little Musashibo up. Having been rescued,

Little Musashibo bowed to Iuno again and again.

"..." ("Thank you so much! I will never forget your kindness!" he was

saying.) "Y-You don't need to thank me," Iuno stammered. "I owed you for

before. It's only natural for comrades to help one another."

"..." ("You're willing to recognize me as a comrade?!" He was

overcome with emotion.) "Wh-Who cares! Come on, let's go already."

"..." ("Ah, wait for me!" He chased after Iuno.)

Little Musashibo's slow, easy footsteps faded into the distance. The

remaining members of the party were dumbfounded.

"Iuno... Was she just talking with that kigurumi?" Dece asked.

"That was what it looked like to me," Febral nodded. "The kigurumi

didn't say anything, though."

Julia giggled. "If she was, it may have been the power of love..."

""Love?!"" The two men's simultaneous response echoed through the

dark tunnel.

—A few more hours later, the adventurers finally reached the third level.

Perhaps it had been built to be spacious, because the ceilings looked to

be twenty meters high, and the paths were wide. This third level was the

lowest in these underground passages. Though there had been some little

mishaps along the way, their progress down here had been nothing if not

smooth.

"This is no challenge," Iuno said. "I can see why they said it was

beginner level."

"..." (Little Musashibo cocked his head to the side as if to say,

"Really?") "We're used to the monsters in dungeons, see," Iuno explained.

"No matter how ferocious they are, we're not going to lose to some

animals."

"..." (He looked at her as if to say, "You say that, but you were awful

scared of that snake...") "Th-That one doesn't count! Everyone has things

they're afraid of!" Iuno burst out.

"..." (He shrugged his shoulders as if saying, "Sure, sure, I get it.")

"Hey, if you've got something to say, say it!" she fumed. "If I got

serious..."

The rest of the party looked on dumbfounded as the two argued back

and forth in the underground tunnel. (Though Iuno was the only one

talking.) "Seriously, how is that conversation working?" Dece asked.

"I am inclined to start believing Julia's suggestion of 'love,'" Febral

said.

Then, it happened.

"Huh?! Everyone, be on your guard!" Iuno shouted.

The relaxed atmosphere was blown away, and everyone got into position

for battle. The way they could do this like flipping a switch was part of

what made adventurers so impressive.

Dece asked, "Iuno, how many are there?"

"One," she answered. "But it's unbelievably huge."

Thieves had sharp senses and could use the slightest sound or vibration

to judge the precise number and size of opponents in another location.

"How big're we talking here?" Dece asked.

"That giant snake was nothing in comparison," she replied.

"This is just an underground passage, right?" Julia asked. "Why is there

something so big here?"

Febral was the one to answer. "I've heard that, in underground spaces

like this, creatures can grow to sizes that would be unthinkable under

normal circumstances. Once they reach a certain size, they have no natural

predators and, because temperatures stay about the same here year-round,

rather than die, they just keep growing bigger."

"So, you're saying there's one up ahead that got big like that?" Dece

asked.

The moment those words left Dece's mouth, the air shook. It didn't take

a thief's skills to know that the massive whatever-it-was was almost upon

them.

"It's coming!" Iuno shouted.

The creature appeared. Its massive body nearly reached the ceiling,

which was already high for an underground tunnel. It had slimy skin, and,

unlike its mouth which looked like it could open big and wide, its eyes were

so small they didn't realize they were eyes at first.

""""A salamander!"""" the four shouted in unison.

Only one person (?), Little Musashibo, said, "..." ("A ridiculously huge

salamander?!"), having a different reaction from the rest.

Dece couldn't believe his eyes. "Oh, come on... Normally salamanders

are maybe two meters long, at most, you know?"

"..." ("This world's salamanders are usually the size of Komodo

dragons?!") Little Musashibo was surprised, but nobody was able to notice.

"This one looks like it's clearly more than ten meters long," Dece said.

"So they can grow to become this large..." Febral sounded impressed.

"However, it is an issue that it's a salamander. Their mucus is highly acidic.

It would be dangerous to attack with melee weapons, and it's resistant to

heat. On the other hand, if we can freeze it, this could be an easy fight..."

"We don't have anyone who can use ice magic," Dece said. "If flames

worked, Julia could've handled it with her magic, but... How about you, Mr.

Kigurumi?"

"..." ("Nuh uh." He shook his head.)

"Well, there's nothing else for it, then. ...Let's run," said Dece, the party

leader, calling for a retreat. "Our quest was to explore and investigate.

There's no need to overextend ourselves. If we just report that we found

that thing, the castle ought to be able to send out a subjugation team later."

"...I get what you're saying, but can we get away so easily?" Febral

asked.

As Febral pointed out, the salamander had the adventurers firmly in its

sights.

Dece ground his back teeth, bringing up his shield and moving forward.

"We'll have to get away. Febral and Julia are fastest, so they go first. Iuno

doesn't have a lot of gear, so she can go next. Mr. Kigurumi, can I count on

you to bring up the rear with me?"

"..." ("Okie-dokie!" He gave a thumbs-up.)

"Okay... Split!"

They all moved when Dece gave the order.

Febral and Julia ran back along the path they had come from, while

Dece and Little Musashibo stayed behind, keeping the salamander in check.

Iuno put her legs to good use, running around nimbly and confusing the

salamander. The salamander tried to go after the two that fled but, with

Dece and Little Musashibo blocking it and Iuno's movements leaving it

bewildered, it couldn't make much progress forward.

Eventually, it must have gotten impatient, because the salamander let out

a cry and swung its long tail. When it did, the mucus that had been attached

to its tail flew everywhere.

"Oh, shoot! Everyone, look out!" Dece shouted.

"Eek!" Julia screamed.

The highly acidic mucus rained down and struck the adventurers. It

stuck to Dece's shield, Iuno's breastplate, the back of Febral's vestments,

and Julia's long skirt, hissing and releasing an unpleasant smell as it

dissolved the cloth and metal.

"Salamander mucus will melt flesh, too! Strip off any equipment it got

on!" Febral shouted as he pulled off his top.

When they heard that, Dece dropped his shield and Julia stripped off her

skirt, continuing to run with her underwear showing.

"Hold on, it got my breastplate!" Iuno shouted.

"Well, hurry up and take it off! If you don't, forget your breasts, you'll

be showing your bare ribs instead!" Dece shouted.

"Urgh..."

With Dece shouting at her, Iuno stripped off her breastplate and shirt,

going topless. She did her best to cover herself with her right arm while

holding her short sword ready in her left, but she was turning bright red

from embarrassment.

"Iuno, just go already! Mr. Kigurumi, are you all right?"

Once Dece confirmed that Iuno had started running, he looked over to

Little Musashibo to find its face was covered in mucus.

"H-Hey! What're you doing?! Take off that kigurumi already!"

"..."

Despite Dece's worries, Little Musashibo shook his head back and forth.

On a closer look, while he did have mucus on him, there was no sign of any

melting.

"...Hold on, is your kigurumi acid resistant?" Dece asked.

"..." (Little Musashibo gave him a thumbs-up.)

Allow me to explain. For Little Musashibo's "skin," his well-paid

creator had used his wages liberally, having nothing else to spend them on,

and so it was made of special, high-quality, bladeproof, bulletproof, coldresistant, heat-resistant, acid-resistant fibers.

For a moment, Dece was struck dumb. "Ha ha ha...! Okay, in another ten

seconds, we'll run, too. Get ready... Three, two, one."

On the count of one, both of them turned on their heels and ran off. The

salamander gave chase. However, perhaps due to the size of its massive

body, it wasn't very fast.

Just as they were thinking We may be able to escape! ...the salamander

swung its tail once more. Because it did it while running this time, the

mucus splattered all over in random directions.

"Ugh!" Iuno howled.

"Iuno!" Dece shouted.

The mucus didn't hit Dece or Musashi, but unfortunately it did graze

Iuno's leg. Iuno crouched down, holding her leg tight. It looked like she

couldn't move through the extreme pain. At this rate, it was going to catch

up to them. That was when...

"...!" (Little Musashibo ran forward.)

"Uwah!" Iuno yelped.

...Little Musashibo lifted her up in his arms, throwing her into the

wicker basket on his back. Then, with Iuno still in the basket, Little

Musashibo ran off with slow, easy steps. Iuno poked her head out of the

basket, looking at Little Musashibo's face in profile as he ran.

"Uh, um... Thanks."

"..." (Little Musashibo gave her a thumbs-up.)

Then, just in the nick of time, Dece and Little Musashibo ran through a

narrow hole.

Having made the difficult escape from the salamander and returned to

the surface, the adventurers made their report to the guild. While they

hadn't succeeded in slaying the salamander, their sighting report was

deemed valid, and they were paid a hefty sum for it. It sounded like a

subjugation force would be dispatched to deal with that salamander soon.

Regardless, the quest was now complete.

With their reward in hand, the party set out to divide the spoils among

themselves. However, for whatever reason, Little Musashibo made no

attempt to take any for himself. Dece was at a loss for what to do.

"That's not fair, we owe you for saving Iuno! Please, take your reward,"

Dece pleaded.

"..." (Little Musashibo silently shook his head.)

"Are you really, really sure you don't want any?"

"..." (Little Musashibo nodded. Then he waved, "Goodbye.")

Little Musashibo walked away from the party with slow, easy footsteps.

Julia and Iuno, who had already changed into fresh clothes, watched that

man (?) go with bewildered looks on their faces.

"I wonder, what was that person (?) really?" Julia asked.

"Don't ask me," Iuno said. "Was that thing even a person?"

"I'll bet there was a little fairy insiiiide..." Julia teased.

"I doubt it," Iuno said. "But, if there was... I'm sure..."

I'm sure it was a good fairy, thought Iuno.

Little Musashibo departed, leaving behind only a mystery. Was the mage

right, and was he a fairy?

And thus, another urban legend was born in the capital.

◇ ◇ ◇

Within the large communal bath inside Parnam Castle...

In here there was the torso of a large-sized Little Musashibo soaking in a

tub, Souma who was washing the acid and mud off of it, and Liscia who

was watching him with a cold look in her eyes.

"...Is it just my imagination, or is it even bigger than when I saw it last

time?" she demanded.

"That was a prototype," he explained. "I used it as a model when I sent

out the job request to craftsmen in the castle town."

"Ah! Don't tell me the 'Kigurumi Adventurer' they're talking about all

over town is..."

"Yeah, it's probably this guy... Wait, Liscia? Why the scary look?"

"First the mannequin, now this! Are you trying to convince people that

Parnam is the demon capital?!" she shouted.

"Ow, that hurts...! Wait, whoa!"

When Liscia threw a bucket at him, Souma ended up diving, clothes still

on, into a cold water bath. While in the water, Souma thought back on

everything Little Musashibo had experienced today.

I never would have imagined there was a giant creature like that under

the capital. I'm glad we were able to find it before damage reports started

to come in, but I put Iuno and her friends in danger...

He had optimistically assumed that even novice adventurers ought to be

able to handle the wild animals living in there, so he had messed up and set

the difficulty level too low. It had nearly meant adventurers dying

needlessly on a quest that he himself had set. The reason he hadn't taken the

reward at the end was that he felt it was the least he could do after the

trouble he'd caused Iuno and the others.

...Though the biggest reason was that it would be wrong to accept the

reward for a quest he set himself.

Regardless, I really do have to reflect on what happened today.

Though...

"Uh, um... Thanks," Iuno had said.

When he recalled Iuno's face when she shyly said that as Little

Musashibo carried her, the corners of Souma's mouth naturally rose a little.

...The adventure itself was fun. I hope I'll get the chance to do it again.

That was what Souma thought as he sat there soaking in the dirty water.