It’s been two weeks since I was reunited with Mars and Lela, and I’ve been doing quests from the adventurer guild without any issues.
According to a receptionist, I should be two quests away from being promoted to C rank.
And it’s not just work either, my personal life is also going well.
My wallet is feeling nice and heavy after selling the meat and materials from the wyvern, to the point where I could not work for a year.
Will another one appear? If a hundred of them appeared at once, I could get rich in a second.
“What quest should I do today? I don’t know yet, but I have a feeling it will work out.”
But as I check the quests in the adventurer guild, Isolte speaks to me.
She says she has a request from the queen, and gives me a pink letter.
It does say the sender is the Queen of Merzelia, and it’s signed by her.
I read it, and see that it’s about escorting Iris as she purifies the land called Deep Remote Great Tomb.
“Did Iris receive a similar letter?”
“Yes, of course. One for you, one for Iris. And I received one telling me to tell you about it. I think you understand this, but you really should refrain from rejecting a request from the queen.”
“I don’t have a reason to, but why am I escorting Iris alone? It’s too few people anyway, but I’m a D rank adventurer. It’s clearly not enough.”
Normally, when a saintess goes out to purify a place, they set up multiple base camps that stay in contact.
All to protect the saintess. The treasure of a kingdom, and the only lifeline against the curse.
And yet, I’m the only escort this time.
Not to mention that she specifically said that Iris and Loyd would be the ones to do this request. It’s like she won’t allow anyone else to get involved.
“Sorry, I don’t know this either.
Sometimes, no one knows what the queen is thinking. If I were to guess, it’s because I sent her a letter saying you took down a wyvern by yourself, and she became very interested in you.”
That has to be it! Why did you have to tell her?
Is it because you were happy about the tasty wyvern meat I gave you?
That’s a problem. I only beat that wyvern because of the highest rank spell Lightning Storm. It’s not because I’m great or anything.
Anyone can do it if they cast Lightning Storm.
Honestly, I’ve never done this kind of work before. I’ve never even seen it being done.
That makes me a little nervous about protecting Iris.
“I understand your concerns, but don’t worry.
The queen rarely takes interest in other people other than when elegance is concerned, and you have the honor of being one of these few people. So be confident, and protect Miss Iris.”
If Isolte is that confident, I guess I’ll believe her.
Maybe it will help restore my honor.
But still, I got the queen’s attention just because I took out a wyvern? She really doesn’t know what’s going on in the world around her.
◇ ◇ ◇
Deep Remote Great Tomb is close enough to Minerva that we can travel here and back in the same day.
This is the biggest graveyard in the Southlight region, and there’s a big lake area near it. And a forest area, although not as big as the Great Vidd Forest.
The Deep Remote Great Tomb was a controlled area until recently, but about a week ago, High Orcs and Shadows were sighted, which are omens of a dangerous area.
The threat level jumps up when a place turns into an Area One, so iris was tasked with purifying it before it happens.
Right after arriving, we hop down the wagon, and look around us while walking through the graveyard.
“Magic energy mist is starting to hang in the air.”
There’s a phenomenon that’s like cracks appearing in the air, at the rate of about one every ten seconds.
A purple mist is in the air, so this is a pretty dangerous situation. This is proof that the curse is advancing, and it’s hard to say this is going in a good direction.
Part of this place has probably gone into Area One territory already.
“I’m sorry for getting you involved.”
Iris and I are the only ones here. Sephilia, the swordmaster Iris is so proud of, isn’t here with us.
“Don’t worry. Once you tasted the poison, you might as well keep eating.”
“I’m poison?”
“No Iris! That’s not what I meant.”
I rush to clarify, and Iris giggles.
“Fufu, I’m joking. Let’s make Merzelia pie together in the mansion when this is over.”
That’s kind of a death flag. I don’t intend to die though.
It’s still an Area Two, so we can manage. It should be way better than when I spent two weeks with no sleep or rest gathering materials in an Area Zero.
“Yes, let’s make a really sweet Merzelia pie.”
“Well then Mister Loyd, watch over me while I purify. I pray that you won’t need the divine protection of the Goddess of Order Emeraude.”
“Yes, leave it to me.”
Iris gets into position, and starts chanting to purify the land.
A gigantic magic circle appears around her that covers the whole Deep Remote Great Tomb.
I’ve never seen a saintess work before, so I have nothing to compare this to, but I feel it in my skin that something amazing is happening.
According to Iris, I have to be alert because monsters become temporarily more active while a land is being purified.
Sure enough, twenty Knight Kobolds and twenty Warrior Goblins appear from the forest. That’s a lot all of a sudden.
It surprises me a little, but once I calm down, I cast the high rank spell Ice Spears and blow them all away.
Then comes the second wave. This time it’s about forty High Orcs.
I don’t think shooting high rank magic alone will do it against this many High Orcs. I need to use a magic combo I put together.
And so, I activate Earth Clay, a combination of high rank water and earth magic.
The place where the High Orcs are turns into a swamp, sealing their movements.
And after checking that they can’t move, I immediately chant, activate a barrage of earth, water, fire, and wind magic, and they’re all taken down one after the other.
The monsters I heard were here like High Orcs and Shadows keep coming, but I deal with all of them using Earth Clay.
But then, suddenly, I feel a big magic energy reaction from the forest.
This output… Is this a No Life King!?
I kind of figured as much, but it really is becoming an Area One.
No Life Kings have a necromancer ability that lets them revive other monsters, making them very dangerous if they’re allowed to roam free.
I need to dispose of it quickly.
First, I fire the master rank spell Explosion twenty times.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
Air suddenly swells, creating a shock wave, and the wind even reaches me. The fire also touches the forest and eats away at it.
And as if to land the finishing blow, I fire the highest rank magic Royal Cyclone, which catches the fire and creates a great fire tornado.
It’s a hellish sight that erases the magic energy reaction of the No Life King.
I did it.
After checking that it’s gone, I make rain fall on the whole forest to extinguish the fire.
I’m pretty happy about how neatly I dealt with this, and nod deeply, but when I turn to Iris, she looks dumbfounded.
And after this, the purification ends without any issues.
I was a little surprised when the no Life King appeared, but it wasn’t really a big deal.
This is now an Area Three thanks to the purification, but this place being what it is, means they should probably check it once every six months.
“I finished it thanks to you, Mister Loyd. Thank you very much.”
Says Iris with a bow.
“I’m glad I could help.”
“Do you want to continue accompanying me as I fulfill requests? I would feel very safe with you by my side.”
“You can count on me any time.”
The reward is good too. And of course, I’m also paid by the kingdom. I make a hundred gold coins just for protecting Iris for an hour. You can’t beat that rate.
And I don’t even have to run around like when I was an exclusive mage.
Doing quests as a hobby and making big money from requests related to the saintess isn’t a bad life.
And since we’re done here, we go back to Minerva.
Join my patreon to support me and read ahead.
