Kuro no Maou

「――After that, Erina-san said this to me」

「What did she say?」

「That she would wait for me until I am qualified to get quests from the Guild Headquarters!」

「Don’t dramatize it! You were just being decently taken care of!」

「Nuuaaaa, don’ speak tat!!」[ET: The guy spoke in an informal tone]

The party of 4 students were chatting idly as though they were hiking, but during this time last year, they didn’t had any composure to even speak a word due to exhaustion by marching in Galahad Mountains.

They were still Rank 1, as an adventurer, no as a knight protecting Spada, but their strength had steadily increased.

「But, after clearing this quest we all will be able to move up to rank 2 finally」

「It’s truth we would move one step closer to our admired Miss Erina」

That’s right! The members looked at Eddie replying in high tension with lukewarm eyes.

The beautiful Elf receptionist, Erina, who had joined the Guild branch of Academy district, was a famous celebrity known by every students in Knight course who used the guild’s facilities.

No, it would be more suitable to say her an idol, she was the one single flower that had bloomed in the guild where only ruffian-like adventurers gathered and talked about bloodthirsty things.

That ever-loved-beautiful Elf girl, kindly and politely smiled and interacted with every person, even the people who were students, with this much there was no way she wouldn’t get popular.

That’s why, even his friends didn’t think that their idiot-high-spirited friends, Eddie, would be able to pass through the multiple rivals and shoot down Miss Erina’s heart.

「I will do it, before graduating, I will definitely become a man worthy of getting quests at the Guild Headquarters」

But, if he was going to improve his abilities by burning his young passion, it can be a good thing in itself.

Even if the words ‘First Love never bears fruit’ becomes a truth with an unchangeable reality with chances of being 100% correct.

「In fact, don’t let down your guard Eddie, even if they are dagger raptors, this time there seems to be a quite a big crowd of them」

The staff officer of the Party, a male magician student, warns to his somewhat unreliable leader, Eddie.

「Now that you say it, they sure are increasing recently」

「Be careful so that you don’t unintentionally jump in their nest」

Monster’s strength information is something that should always be confirmed at the time of taking a quest.

The monsters have been identified based on the area of habitation, but the breeding conditions and turf wars are constantly changing, moment-by-moment.

The information of knowing beforehand about the easy encounter with monsters helps a great deal in preparing, for a typical example, if poison insects monsters are released in large numbers then they would prepare a lot of antidote beforehand.

Hence, the current quest of subjugating 5 dagger raptors has the most danger, in this situation with their breeding expansion, no doubt it would’ve become large herd, and would be difficult to complete the quest if they attacked at once.

They themselves and others know that they have the ability to already become Rank 2, but still they shouldn’t let down their guards.

「――Oi」

At that moment, another knight member walking in the front along with Eddie stopped in his tracks.

Sensing the serious atmosphere coming from him, the other three suddenly take the battle stance.

「What happened?」

「Isn’t it smelling awfully burnt?」

Really? He tried to reply back, but a sudden gust of wind from the behind trees came and carried the unique smell of fire burns.

「Was there a battle nearby?」

「There is no sound coming means, it’s over right?」

In the surrounding with only dark green forest, the sounds of tree leaves rustling, insects crying and birds chirping can only be heard.

「It won’t become a forest fire, right?」

「No, in that case the smoke should have been present, there should be traces left of someone fighting」

That too, would be without a doubt a magician who uses fire, a guess they all had.

「There doesn’t seem to be any abnormality, let’s move」

On the leader’s decision, the members assented and moved into the dark green forest with even more vigilance than before.

.

.

.

In the end, there was an ‘abnormality’.

「W, What is this......」

After walking a bit, along with the smell of vegetations burnt, an offensive smell of something living thing burnt also came.

Due to the thick scent, they moved forward to see the situation,

「Awessomeeee......Raptors nest is completely roasted」

Spread across a wide range, the cruel scene of many sets of parent and child in the raptor’s nest were all burnt to death.

Originally, they too had come to take the lives of Raptors, so they didn’t had any resistance in killing after all this time.

But, being exposed to this overwhelming fire power, with no existence of anyone living other than the ground, this scene with earth being scorched could make them feel merciless cruelty.

Seeing more clearly, the traces of dented earth explains that many powerful fire offensive magics were used and they fell like a storm in the nest of Raptors.

「Just how much of a great magician can burn everything to cleanliness to this extent?」

「Fuck that, is this the work of an adventurer?」

The destruction and sweltering heat is as though Ifrit itself has appeared.

It’s more easier to convince the mind, saying a powerful monster did this.

That is because, if it was an adventurer, they could’ve used more smart way to finish the battle, at the very least they shouldn’t have used the AOE attack that would even burn the vegetation.

「No, but this is without a doubt the work of adventurer」

How can you tell? The magician asks Eddie, he points to the black burnt corpse of Raptor and explained.

「The claws on the right are clipped of, the proof of subjugation」

They look everywhere in the surrounding while being surprised, without any discrimination, the right claws didn’t exist on any of the raptor.

「Seriously, this is just too much」

「They have done this much, no doubt it’s a rank 4 adventurer」

「But, would a rank 4 adventurer aim at the nest of Dagger Raptors?」

「It can be they used an AOE attack on a whim, there are people there who no one can understand」

They calmed down on their reasoning that a high-ranked adventurer launched a powerful fire magic on whim.

The occupation of adventurer is different from that of knight, and there would be more than 50,000 of them who would have broken ethical values. So, it’s not that of a rare situation.

Then, thinking they saw something unusual, they left that place.

.

.

.

That day, student party led by Eddie, couldn’t meet any Dagger Raptor.

It wasn’t them who had bad luck,

「What the fuck......aren’t the dagger raptors all exterminated?」

Because the 5 nests of Dagger Raptors they found after walking the mountain the whole day were cleanly roasted.

No, the raptors weren’t the only ones who met the harsh reality of being burnt. The rank 1 monsters with wolf bodies, the Vindol were also in the same shape.

The rank 1 monsters, Dagger Raptors and Vindol, ruled the area, had their nests attacked and their numbers decreased.

Most probably the monsters who escaped the danger, ran towards the other areas while trembling in fear, they wouldn’t have time to attack other adventurers coming their way.

Thanks to that, today ended up meeting with minority of low ranked 2 times.

「Who is it that said that it was on a whim?」

「No, normally who would think that such strong magician would go after a rank 1 monsters, would someone?」

With having a scene they had gotten familiar with, in front of the fifth nest of raptors they started quarreling.

「What should we do, at this rate we can’t complete the quest」

「Certainly, we wouldn’t find them so easily」

「What if, crushing the hopes of beginners is becoming a fad in the guild?」

If a high-ranked adventurer became serious, the low-ranked quests would be finished easily.

Though the Guild keep out the quest for Raptor subjugation 24×7, but if there is no subjugation target what can be done?

If the extinction of monster in the area was confirmed, the quest would without a doubt, be cancelled.

Though, within half a year or so, the same monster or another new kind of monster would arrive from some other area, in the end the quest for subjugation would once again be put out.

But, there’s a problem if it occurred now, quests have something called as time limit.

「Calm down, tomorrow let’s move somewhere different, we would certainly get at least 5 Dagger Raptors」

「But, if this Ifrit Bastard moved in the direction we head to――」

「Stop it, don’t speak anymore than that」

Eddie stops the ominous comment of the other member.

「Anyhow, let’s call it day for now」

Along with the voice of affirmation, the group showed signs of fatigue though they hadn’t fought, and decided to leave the place.

While praying, ‘Please don’t make us fail the quest!’