CH 117

Chapter 117 – Visit From a S-Rank

“C-Can I ask you something?” (Torakado)

“Huh? What is it, lassie?” (Stranger)

“T-Those are ears on your head, right…?” (Torakado)

“Hah? Isn’t that obvious? ….Oh, are there no garbels in this world?” (Stranger)

“….?!” (Torakado)

I had heard about them from Izu. She said that the races in their world were split into roughly three types. There were humans like me, which were called hurons over there, elfins, which were those close to the spirits and such, and garbels, which were a mixture of animal and human.

Yofel and Ior were obviously part of the elfin race, and they were commonly referred to as elves. But I never thought that I’d meet a beastman…Er, a garbel, right afterwards.

“Shiki, did you notice that he was a garbel?” (Torakado)

“No. This one thought he was human—or rather, a huron.” (Shiki)

Not much time had passed since I last met a new race, so I didn’t think I would encounter yet another one so soon.

“I see. So there are only hurons over here. What a strange world.” (Stranger)

That’s my line. There ought to be disputes over the clear division in species over there.

The fact that we were all the same species was, in some ways, a factor that curbed warfare. If there were such an obvious division of races on Earth, there would probably be more violent wars.

“….A-And you wouldn’t happen to have a tail, would you?” (Torakado)

“Of course I do…? Here, see?” (Stranger)

He turned around so his rear was facing us. There, growing out from his tailbone, was a fluffy tail that looked like a dog’s.

“I’m a wolf-type garbel. It may not look that way, but we’re a pretty strong race, you know?” (Stranger)

“…….Come to think of it, you haven’t told me your name. I’m Torakado Shiina.”

“Torakado Shiina? Ain’t that quite the unusual name?” (Stranger)

“Hey, Shiina… Is it alright to call you that? If this is another world, do you know how I can get back to my world?” (Ze’ev)

“Unfortunately, I don’t. I only know of the existence of your world.” (Torakado)

“…I see.” (Ze’ev)

Zeev’s shoulders slumped. I could tell he was worried, since his friends were in the middle of a war.

It was unfortunate, but it couldn’t be helped. Even if I knew how, I didn’t have an obligation to help him. Unless he had a lot of money, that is.

“Master!”

At that moment, Sol’s voice echoed in my mind.

“What’s the matter, Sol?” (Torakado)

At the moment, she should have been clearing dungeons with Yofel as usual. It was still far from time for us to regroup.

“Bad news! A desert has suddenly appeared in the middle of the city!” (Sol)

“Huh? A desert? …Was it dungeonized?” (Torakado)

“No! Yofel says it’s like the Red Desert. The sand is red!” (Sol)

“…Uhhh… Huh? Red? The sand is red? …It isn’t a dungeon?” (Torakado)

I was confused, unable to comprehend the meaning of what Sol was saying. Then, Shiki cut in and explained.

“Milady, the Red Desert is a desert from the world we came from. It’s widely considered not as a dungeon, but as a field.” (Shiki)

“Field? …Then why is such a place suddenly in the middle of the city?” (Torakado)

From the beginning until now, it was only buildings and other sites that had been dungeonized. Monsters would appear within, and the interior of buildings would be transformed. But this was the first time I was seeing the middle of the city being transformed.

If it’s not dungeonization, then what is going on?

“Master, a large number of monsters appeared in the desert!” (Sol)

It seemed that monsters that originally inhabited the desert were beginning to appear in succession. Moreover, the desert was gradually spreading, encroaching upon the surrounding city.

“―Master! Can you hear me, Master?!”

Before I could collect my thoughts, this time it was Izu who contacted me.

“Izu, is it something urgent?” (Torakado)

“Yes. A situation has arisen that I must promptly bring to Master’s attention.” (Izu)

Something troublesome was happening over there too. A monster uprising? No, that probably isn’t it. Did someone invade the island? Or did something happen to Ior?

All kinds of ideas rushed through my mind, but I decided to first hear Izu out for now.

“As a matter of fact, something unbelievable has appeared in the southern skies, far off from the island.” (Izu)

“The sky?” (Torakado)

“Yes. It’s unmistakably a Cloud Whale—a whale that can fly in the sky.” (Izu)

“A whale… that can fly in the sky?” (Torakado)

“Yes. It’s a S-Rank monster. It’s not from a dungeon, but it’s a monster that freely roams the skies in the other world.” (Izu)

It’s not from a dungeon? …What does that mean then?

Monsters usually emerged from dungeonized domains. Without dungeons, monsters shouldn’t be able to appear. As a result, I thought that monsters that could appear outside of dungeons wouldn’t appear in our world.

But now, my expectations had been betrayed, and monsters that existed out in the field, or the open world, were appearing.

Moreover, it was an S-Rank. The highest rank of monster, whose existence had never been confirmed in this world before this point.

What in the world is with this sudden situation? I encounter elves, followed by a beastman, and then a desert field appears in the middle of the city. And to top it all off, a S-Rank monster?

“….Izu, is the island safe? Is there any chance of being attacked by that S-Rank monster?” (Torakado)

“Worry not, Master. Although it’s a S-Rank monster, we’re lucky that it’s just Cloud Whale of all things. They are docile and don’t like to fight. If we don’t do anything to it, it’s a harmless creature that simply flies freely in the sky.” (Izu)

I see. That’s good and all, but…

“What if we have to go up against a S-Rank monster?” (Torakado)

“……..Then Master would have to come to terms with the fact that the island would probably be destroyed in an instant.” (Izu)

So they really were that strong. As expected of the highest rank of monster.

In fact, there was a huge gap in strength between A-Rank and S-Rank. Even though they were just a single monster, they could alter the world environment just by existing. They were similar to the Curseweaver that I had just heard about, but there were a good number of such S-Rank beings in the other world. It was honestly a wonder how that world hadn’t gone to ruin until now.

“S-Rank monsters have a clear sense of self. Most importantly, many of them make a point of not leaving their territories,” Shiki answered, perhaps sensing my doubts.

“Also, they have a good grasp of their own strength. They know what would happen to the world if they were to rampage about as they pleased. If the world was destroyed, they could even stand to lose the territories they reside in. Therefore, they only fight to protect their own territory. Rarely are they motivated by the desire to rule like humans.” (Shiki)

I see. So basically, they used their power to protect their own territories. If they tried to expand their domains without good reason, they ran the risk of butting heads with other S-Rank monsters.

If two S-Rank monsters clashed, it would probably be a battle completely surpassing imagination. The world might even collapse as a result.

That was why S-Rank monsters set up camp in a place where basically no one would disturb them.

Cloud Whales were apparently extremely rare, and they didn’t have territories of their own, simply flying endlessly in the sky. They never stopped, even on windy or rainy days. No one knew why they flew. Perhaps only the Cloud Whale itself knew.

“So the island is safe for now, huh?” (Torakado)

“Huh? What island?” (Ze’ev)

“Eh? Ah, it’s nothing.” (Torakado)

It seemed that I had unintentionally muttered to myself. I was worried that we might end up in an all-out battle against a S-Rank monster, but we seemed to have avoided that worst-case scenario.

“Anyway, why’d you go quiet all of a sudden? Your face looks pale too… You on your period or somethin’?” (Ze’ev)

“…You’re lucky you said that to me and not another woman. Any other woman would have beaten you up for saying that, you know?” (Torakado)

My goodness, what a tactless man. Even I wouldn’t have said something like that.

Anyway, what is happening? It seemed that new transformations were taking place in the world one after another.

I had to go check on that first. But I wasn’t sure if it was alright for me to just leave this man here.

“Well then, I’ll be going now.” (Torakado)

“Eh?” (Ze’ev)

“You said you didn’t know how to get back, right?” (Torakado)

“Y-Yeah.” (Ze’ev)

“Then you’ll have to look for a way on your own. You came here, after all. Then you should be able to find a way back too.” (Torakado)

“You’re a real optimistic one, aren’t you?” (Ze’ev)

“That might be one of the few things going for me.” (Torakado)

…I didn’t have the time to be worrying about this guy right now.

“Then, see you next time if we get the chance, Shiina-chan! Let’s go out on a date next time!” (Ze’ev)

With that, he left the bamboo grove, carrying his greatsword on his shoulder.

“Milady, was it alright to leave him like that?” (Shiki)

“It’ll weigh on my mind, but there are tons of other things I need to check on right now. For now, let’s meet up with Sol and Yofel and return to the island.” (Torakado)

After receiving the reward from our client, of course.

Once we had gotten the compensation from the client, I met up with Sol and Yofel and returned to Joysprout Island.