Isekai Nonbiri Sozai Saishu Seikatsu - Chapter 132

The next morning, having replenished my energy at the inn, I returned to Ladeo Volcano once again.
When I spread out the map, various routes and information about monsters were marked from yesterday.
Instead of taking the main shortest route, using side paths would make the distance longer but would also make it easier to avoid contact with monsters.
Realizing this, I was able to identify several routes.
As long as I could navigate through the Magmares habitat, I should be able to transport the eggs by myself.
However, there was a significant obstacle to that.
“It’s Volkanos’s active time…”
The problem was how to navigate through the nest with the Volkanos nearby.
Ideally, I’d like to calmly take the eggs when it’s not around.
For now, to confirm if Volkanos is there, I ventured into the volcano.
Once I passed through, I kicked away monsters with Blizzard, froze magma, and quickly advanced along the shortest route, arriving at the nest in no time.
Climbing up the slope and peering stealthily into the nest, as expected, Volkanos was guarding it.
It was using its large body and long tail to conceal the eggs, trying to protect them from external threats.
It seemed to be relatively more alert because it recognized that one of its eggs had been taken by me.
Its eyes were scanning the surroundings, showing no signs of laxity.
With this level of high vigilance, there would likely be fewer opportunities for it to leave the nest carelessly. It might have hidden food somewhere, or it might even have stopped eating altogether to focus on guarding.
Such strong determination was palpable. A mother’s instinct is formidable in any world.
It’s quite challenging to not kill or injure the monster, but just steal the eggs and escape.
I observed for about two hours to see if there was any moment when Volkanos left the nest for meals or other activities, but there was no sign of that.
On the third hour, as it began to casually survey the surroundings, I decided to quietly leave the nest before it sensed my presence.
As a precaution, I returned to the cave and pondered alone.
“…This is bad. No openings.”
Yes, there were just no openings with the Volkanos guarding the nest.
It’s probably because my presence was visually confirmed yesterday. If I hadn’t been seen at that time, Volkanos and other monsters would have been less suspicious and cautious.
In that case, there might have been a chance to exploit that vulnerability.
However, due to my clear visibility, the wariness towards humans has skyrocketed.
There’s a method of waiting until the vigilance subsides, but if too much time passes, the eggs will mature and hatch. In that case, I’d need to find another nest for the next spawning, or find a different individual’s nest, but I haven’t heard of any nests in the vicinity.
Even if there were, if they were too far away, transportation would be impossible.
Ultimately, the best option would be the nest of Volkanos at the top.
“…It might be tough alone.”
There’s a method of luring out Volkanos and freezing only its legs with Blizzard, but I feel like such a half-baked method would be broken through with force, or I might be melted by its flames.
If I cast magic and someone else carries out the transportation, could that work?
The person who comes to mind as a reliable ally is Rosca, my acquaintance in this town. We’ve ventured together before into the Demio Mines, defeated monsters, and collected ores.
I know her abilities and can trust her.
However, she’s not a pure adventurer. She’s here in this town for training, not to be an adventurer.
Moreover, her training has been interrupted because of the distillation incident I inadvertently mentioned. It would be too much to ask her to help with a request on top of that.
I’m not sure about Drogan, but the newly appointed Baris seems busy with distillation too.
It’s a hassle, but should I recruit members at the adventurer’s guild in town? Since it’s a dangerous request, there might not be many people willing to accept it, but it seems like the best way to increase the chances of success.
With a change in strategy, I began to descend the mountain to return to Eld.
Then, I saw four figures ahead.
For a moment, I tensed up, thinking they might be Lizardmen, but they turned out to be humans, not monsters.
Thinking calmly, I realized they weren’t monsters since my detection skills didn’t react.
“Oh no! It’s Lizardmen!”
“Damn, of all times!”
They seemed to have made the same misunderstanding, as I heard such voices.
There are quite a few Lizardmen in this cave. In the dimly lit cavern, it’s a bit hard to tell if someone is a Lizardman or a human.
I made the same mistake at first.
Although I was laughing it off casually, if we continue to misunderstand each other, attacks might come our way.
“I’m not a Lizardman. I’m an adventurer!”
“A talking Lizardman! Damn! Is this the rumored superior individual!?”
Despite calling out to them, they had made an unexpected mistake!?
“….No.”
“Take a good look at the silhouette. Clearly it’s human, isn’t it?”
“Oh, oh? You’re right.”
“Really, Alex, don’t jump to conclusions like that. It’s making us nervous.”
However, the other three noticed that they were indeed human and gently scolded the boy who had misunderstood.
The cautious boys approached us.
In the dim light, their figures were revealed by the glow of the magma.
“Oh, you’re the students I saw at the tool shop yesterday.”
They made quite an impression on me, with their school uniforms and buying two items that cost an arm and a leg.
“Do you know us?”
“…The big brother nearby when we bought the water bottle.”
The elegant girl with long, golden hair and curls looked puzzled, but the girl with blue hair next to her explained.
It seems that this sleepy-eyed wizard girl remembered me being in that tool shop.
“I’m sorry, but I remembered seeing you buying some quite expensive items…”
“Hmm? Expensive items? But aren’t they usually priced like that?”
“If you buy them in a different town, you can get them for about half the price.”
At the very least, the spring water flask Lumia sold me was much cheaper than that.
If I hadn’t bought it in Eld, I could have gotten it cheaper at a shop in another town.
“W-What!? Th-That shopkeeper isn’t cheating us, right!?”
“No, it was our mistake for not researching the market value and being unprepared…”
The anger of the blonde young lady was calmed by the boy with glasses.
Since I became acquainted with the shopkeeper there, I’m glad they didn’t go to complain directly to him.
“Thank you for the valuable information. I’ve learned something new. Um, my name is Franryule Reilert.”
“I’m Nelnerat Agpedio. It’s long, so just call me Neln.”
“I’m Alex Walker!”
“I’m Gilles White.”
As if it were natural, everyone had a last name. I had expected as much from their upbringing; indeed, they all seemed like nobility.
Since they introduced themselves, I had no choice but to do the same.
“I’m Shuu, a B-rank adventurer.”
“B-rank!?”
“No way. Shuu-san, you’re an amazing adventurer!”
“…Sorry, but you don’t really look like one.”
“I get that a lot…”
I chuckled at Neln’s frank words.
No matter how you looked at it, I didn’t seem like a robust adventurer.
Since I specialized in collecting rather than hunting monsters, it was understandable to be seen that way.