Chapter 206 - Fitorias Request

Naofumi: “Hmm…”

Fitoria, huh?

Looks like Melty’s just as optimistic as ever. I guess for now, I’ll ask the queen.

I grab hold of Firo’s ahoge like it’s a mic and try asking.

Naofumi: “You’re seeing this right? Isn’t there something that can be done?”

I wait for a response.

Before long, Firo starts nodding her head.

This ahoge of hers is just about as useful as a cellphone, huh?

It’d be nice if this world had some form of telecommunication, although I don’t know much about radios and the like myself.

Firo: “Well you see~… It’s not like there’s no way, but she said she wants your help for something first.”

Naofumi: “Of course she does. Tell her no thanks.”

Firo: “She says nevermind. Letting Firo power up from eating you would probably be easier anyway.”

Gu… What a cruel suggestion.

If Firo falls completely into heat… Make no mistake, I wouldn’t stand a chance.

Wait, could I just confront her about it directly?

It’s not like I’m out of ways to make her give up, but I really don’t want to have to resort to them…

After all’s said and done, I do appreciate how hard she’s trying.

…Come to think of it, couldn’t Fitoria be the ring leader behind this whole mess?

I started getting a little doubtful.

The fact that she has control over other monsters is suspicious on its own. Gaelion is a Dragon Emperor, so it’s not strange that he could slip through her effectiveness. But I do get the feeling that harem-loving dragon isn’t worth much to her.

But, I’m in a situation where I can’t really refuse, so I have no choice but to listen.

Naofumi: “I understand. What do I have to do?”

Firo: “Well you see. She says, recently, in master’s home country, a carriage was targeted by some bandits.”

Naofumi: “A carriage?”

Melty: “Ah, come to think of it, I’ve heard that story as well.”

Melty joined in the conversation.

I guess the fact that she knows must mean these bandits are pretty infamous.

Melty: “From what I understand, the bandits only appear at night. Apparently, some peddlers and the like end up getting challenged to a contest, with their carriages on the line.”

Rato: “Their cargo gets stolen, huh… that’s troublesome.”

Melty: “That’s not it. The victims’ cargo is returned later. It looks like the bandits are just after the carriages.”

Naofumi: “What!?”

What do you mean they’re just after the carriages?

Looks like there are some weird bandits around.

In the first place, I don’t get the point of using carriages at night.

I guess whoever’s doing this may not be human.

If that’s the case, this would have to mean that Fitoria can’t handle this on her own, huh?

Then I should commend her on asking me for help.

Melty: “I’ve heard that many nobles have had their carriages taken away from them by some weird bandits. Moreover, some beaten up carriages have been returning full of treasure. Enough to the point where traders are going out looking for the bandits.“

Naofumi: “Wait a second. What’s up with that!?”

If this is related to Fitoria’s request, then…

Naofumi: “Do Filorials have a trait of wanting to battle between carriages?”

Firo: “Yeah… She says they do.”

Jeez…

In short, she wants me to find a solution for some territorial dispute.

Although if they’re wild Filorials, it should be pretty easy.

Firo: “The loser has to hand over its carriage. And since it's mating season, Fitoria says that the loser won’t have its love recognized.”

Are they hermit crabs, or what?

Huh? So in other words, all we need to do is win.

Morever, Firo is good at racing.

If that’s the case, if I beat Firo in a race, she’d give up on me right?

Naofumi: “Alright Firo. Have a match with me. A race until the castle. Ready, go!”

As long as I make it outside of Gaelion’s area of magic jamming in time, I could win easily with Portal Shield.

Firo: “Master is going to be cheap, so no!”

Tch. She saw through it.

What’s really sad is that I really have to race with Firo eventually.

There’s no way I can beat her without Portal Shield.

Naofumi: “…So? What is Fitoria asking me to do?”

Firo: “Somehow, you know~. The Filorials in that area aren’t taking orders properly, so she wants you to go punish them.”

Hmm… It doesn’t sound too bad, but…

From Melty’s conversation, I feel like there’s something else.

Is there some other Filorial Queen trying to expand her territory?

I guess I’ll have to look into it myself.

Naofumi: “I understand. Tell me where. Just in case, let me take some people along that can fight.”

I’ll take along Firo, Rishia, Atlas, and…

Naofumi: “Melty, are you coming?”

Melty: “Somehow I have a bad feeling, but I’ll put up with it since it’s for Firo’s sake.”

Hmm… Female Knight is out of the question since she’s still occupied with Ren.

Who else…

Naofumi: “Is Rato coming?”

Rato: “What are you expecting from me?”

Naofumi: “I thought you’d come with us for the sake of research.”

Rato: “Just hearing about the situation is enough. I’m busy with managing the monsters here anyways.”

Well it’s a territorial dispute between Filorials, after all.

If finding out how to calm Firo down wasn’t in the deal, I probably wouldn’t have agreed anyways.

Whatever.

Naofumi: “How’s your research going?”

Rato: “Pretty well. If Gaelion would let me borrow his core, it’d go even better.”

His core, huh… If I remember right, he refused initially because he hadn’t gathered enough fragments.

I wonder what it’ll look like when it’s finished.

Aside from her, I guess there’s only Gaelion and Taniko who I could take along.

Well, actually thinking about it, there’s no limit to how many people I can bring since we’re not going for EXP in the first place.

What kind of challenge will we be facing? Just like hermit crabs, maybe one of carriages crashing into each other? I don’t have much of an idea.

Either way, Firo’s still in heat, so it’s probably better if we bring less people for less of a burden.

Taniko isn’t necessarily on bad terms with Firo, but Gaelion is…

Yeah, I guess that's enough people.

Naofumi: “Firo and Rishia, Atlas and Melty. You guys will be accompanying me this time around.”

Everyone: “Okay.”

After deciding that and making proper preparations, we set off.

…I feel like I’m overlooking something.

Wait, I didn’t even think about which way we’re heading.

Naofumi: “Was it around here?”

After that, Firo sometimes went back into heat, but for the most part, she was focused on pulling the carriage.

Soon enough, night was falling. We’ll be unable to travel soon.

You can already see the moon pretty clearly.

We’re currently in the mountain range of Melromarc.

Firo is trotting along the mountain path.

Melty: “Let’s see. It seems like this should be the area.”

Naofumi: “I really took up a request from a Filorial. Will I do anything, or what?”

Melty: “I’m think I’m a little jealous.”

Says the Filorial Manic in an attempt to console me.

Rishia: “Naofumi-san, are we going to punish the Filorial here?”

Naofumi: “Let’s see. Whether we’re crashing with other carriages or not, this’ll probably turn into a battle one way or another. That’s why I brought you guys along.”

Rishia: “Okay. I’ll do my best.”

Altas: “Let’s do our best, Rishia-san.”

Aside from Melty, this lot’s an honest bunch, so they cooperate very well.

Rishia was also raised pretty well, so as long as the job isn’t too difficult, it’s an easy win… I think.

Rishia: “…Nothing’s happening?”

Naofumi: “Yeah. It’s like we’re searching for bandits here, so it can’t be helped.”

Although they’re supposed to show up around here.

Will they not show up today?

Naofumi: “Don’t they have a hideout or something? Or rather, a nest since they’re Filorials.”

Firo: “Fitoria says she doesn’t know-“

What useless information.

In the first place, we’re looking for Filorials, right?

While thinking that, a torch-like object suddenly appears in the distance, and starts approaching amidst a cloud of dust.

It seems like they’re heading our way pretty quickly from across the mountain range.

It’s that thing where a torch being lit means you’re friendly, right?

We too left our lamp on in the carriage to lure them in the first place.

Now then, I wonder what kind of crooks they are.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

Wha-, What?

I look at the so-called bandits… and wrinkle my forehead deep in thought.

The cloud of dust clears up.

The ones pulling the carriage were three red, blue, and green feathered little girls. And in their cargo was….

“Long time no see, Father-in-law. Street Racer Motoyasu, at your service.”

With a flag tied to his spear… the so-called “street racing” Spear Hero had appeared.