Reincarnated as a Sword Vol. 2 Page 2

  The Direwolf Plains where I woke up was one such Haunt. Looking back, ninety percent of the creatures living there must’ve been monsters. I ran into a lot of them, too. The Plains’ monster population density only hit me once I started running quests on ordinary fields.

  Still, I’d like to avoid going there if at all possible. We’d have to pass through the Withering Woods and I didn’t want to be within a mile of that accursed place. Having the mana-sapping forest next to the Plains made it all the more dangerous.

  Some adventurers had gone to investigate the Direwolf Plains right around the time Fran and I reached Alessa. They wanted to look into the territorial battles between the stronger monsters. In fact, the fights had been between me and the area bosses. They came back with reports of B-Rank monster sightings; I never saw the shadow of one when I was there.

  There were several ways that monsters could come about. One was through breeding, but sometimes they spawned from an excess of mana in the area. The monsters in the Plains must’ve been born out of the latter method. That meant the B-Rank monsters came about shortly after I left the Haunt.

  That was close!

  If they had spawned a little earlier I wouldn’t be here right now. I barely survived a fight with C-Rank monsters.

  There was a possibility that some A-Ranks might have spawned as well, so the research team was still carrying out their investigation. It would be too risky to wander the Plains, so I guessed they were watching from the safety of the Withering Woods. They had more guts than I did.

  But for an A-Rank to spawn…

  The Plains did feel like a strong monster could show up at any time. In fact, I found it odd that the monsters were overly weak when I encountered them. I got lucky.

  “Let’s just go to a dungeon.”

  I’ll take it into consideration.

  We got lucky in that last Daemon fight. If the thing had stayed calm and closed the distance between us we would’ve popped that Return Feather without a single word.

  Although I think we should hold back on fighting Daemons and other such Boss-level monsters and go for something easier.

  We’d need to do some research on Dungeons and Haunts, although we wouldn’t be able run either of them until Garrus had finished fixing Fran’s armor.

  There was a place called the Reference Room located on the second floor of the Adventurers Guild. It was open to all adventurers once you signed up to use its facilities.

  “Why, hello there. Is this your first time here?”

  “Yes.”

  “May I have your Adventurer Card?”

  The Reference Room was run by a small, old man. He was bald, though his bushy white beard stretched all the way to his chest, and his eyes were almost covered with his fluffy silver eyebrows. With his robe on, he was the very picture of a hermit.

  He looks very much at home in this place.

  “So you’re the Spellsword I’ve been hearing so much about.”

  “Am I?”

  “I believe so. People have been talking about you, girl. I could tell as soon as you walked in.”

  Gossip was inevitable with how Fran conducted herself. They didn’t seem to be bad rumors judging by the old man’s reaction to her.

  It sure is quiet here.

  It was difficult to imagine hard-brawling adventurers would come up here to read books. Not to say the place was completely deserted. There were some scouts and mages looking up quest information in their frontline comrades’ stead. Research came with the territory of being the smart one in an adventuring party.

  We got information on some dungeons after some reading.

  The closest dungeon to Alessa would be Ulmutt.

  Ulmutt was a dungeon town to the far south of Alessa. It was built on the bustling trade of items and materials you found in the dungeon. Still being part of Granzell, we wouldn’t have to go through the trouble of crossing any national borders to get there.

  The other one was the recently founded dungeon in Alessa. We asked the old man about it and he said that entrance to it was currently regulated.

  “Why?”

  “Because only the Core is left in that dungeon. You are aware that you can manage a dungeon once you kill its Dungeon Master, yes?”

  Donadrond had explained that to us before the raiding the Goblin Dungeon. If you could manipulate a Dungeon Core after killing its Dungeon Master, you could produce some items and monsters within said dungeon.

  “Alessa’s dungeon is one such dungeon. It is now set to produce various necessary materials. It’s like a mine that way. The Adventurers Guild maintains it and regulates entry.”

  I see. They’re monitoring it so adventurers couldn’t strip the dungeon beyond its means. That eliminated Alessa from our potential list of dungeons.

  Which left Ulmutt…

  Ulmutt sounds interesting, Fran said telepathically. I wanna go.

  Me too. Let’s look into it some more.

  All right.

  Where should we start?

  Ulmuttian delicacies.

  I think there’re more important things to look into.

  Like travel expenses and routes.

  True.

  I’m glad you agree.

  We should look into the specialties of the towns we might find on the way.

  Oh, right.

  After entertaining Fran’s wishes, I looked up the routes and rest stops for Ulmutt. There was both a land route and a sea route.

  If we went by land, we would be able to stop by various towns, eat delicious food and see beautiful scenery along the way. There would definitely be some fantastic sights, too. Going by sea would have us travel by boat. It would be a wonderful cruise. Warm sunlight would warm our faces as the fresh sea breeze cooled it. Dolphins—if this world had any— would playfully keep pace with our ship.

  Which one do you like, Fran?

  The land route is cheaper.

  Can’t argue with you there. By the way, have you ever been on a boat?

  Once, when I was a slave. They shoved all of us in the cargo hold.

  Oof. Sorry. Fran’s only memory of being on a ship wasn’t fond at all. That wouldn’t do!

  I-I see. How about we take the sea route then? It’ll be fun.

  Fun?

  Uh-huh. It feels great to be on a ship. You get to eat delicious seafood, too.

  …Fish?

  And shrimp and crab and a whole host of deliciousness.

  In that case we have to go by sea.

  Fran nodded as she wiped the line of drool that was creeping out of the edge of her lips. I knew food would convince her.

  With that, we set our eyes on getting to Ulmutt by sea.

  Two hours later, we were making our way to the outskirts of Alessa. We took on an herb gathering quest after looking up info on dungeons and magic. We planned to hunt down some monsters while we were at it.

  “Hey, off to another quest?”

  “Yeah.”

  Delt, one of the gatekeepers, called out to Fran. He was the same guard who greeted us on our first day in Alessa. We were on friendly terms with the guy, now that I thought about it. It wasn’t hard to imagine why. We went out practically every day, and Fran did stand out. Still, he never failed to send Fran off with a smile despite her coldness.

  I could see through her, though. Despite her seeming unfriendliness, Fran treated Delt better than the other guards. It was proof that she was warming up to him. He seemed to be aware of this too, and he gave Fran extra attention because of it.

  “You’re looking cute today, as always.”

  … You’re not a kiddy fiddler, are you, friend? I thought to myself suspiciously. I’d have to rethink our relationship if that were the case.

  “By the way, did you hear about Baron Allsand?”

  “Hm?” Fran tilted her head. I guess she’d already forgotten. I couldn’t blame her since she didn’t seem interested in the guy.

  It’s that noble who barged into the Guildmaster’
s office and started whining.

  “Oh. Little League Lieutenant.”

  Delt’s eyes bulged before he broke out laughing.

  “Hahaha! That’s right. Little League Lieutenant.”

  “What about him?”

  “I heard that he’s been looking for you. You be careful out there. One of his lackeys asked me if I’d seen you the other day.”

  How suspicious.

  “He’s an aristocrat so he can do whatever he wants in this city. To make matters worse, he has that skill that allows him to see through lies.”

  “I know.”

  He had that skill, to be precise. It was mine now.

  “It’s a very handy skill to have in the aristocracy. It allows him to figure out the weaknesses of his political enemies and blackmail them out of power. You know lying is like breathing to those folks.”

  Delt was my kind of man. He had an extreme prejudice towards aristocrats. Just hearing the word brought up images of stuck-up snobs who had nothing to be proud of except their lineage.

  “That’s why the baron’s family lets him do whatever he wants. If he causes any trouble, they snuff it out. You can see how that’d get to his head. I don’t know what he might do to ya.”

  Did she catch his attention when we met at the guild? Klimt was the one who talked him down but I guess Fran just happened to be there.

  “Thanks. I’ll be careful.”

  “Don’t mention it. I’ve been hearing some unsettling rumors lately.”

  “Rumors?”

  “Yeah. Baron Allsand has been acting crazier than usual as of late.”

  “How do you mean?”

  “He’d been acting weird so we thought he’d finally gone and lost his mind. Apparently he angered someone in the royal family. I don’t know the details, but it was so bad that his house is planning to disown him for it. It only went downhill from there. Now folks are saying that he’s been cursed or possessed or something.”

  So he might be stalking us? Now there was a scary thought. He might come after Fran once we left the gates. We’d have to stay on guard.

  “You stay safe out of there.”

  “I will.”

  As we walked down the highway looking for herbs, I took the chance to look at our status screens.

  You still have Contract in your status, Fran.

  “Yeah.”

  I first noticed it when I checked her stats after leaving the dungeon. I thought she was somehow enslaved again but that didn’t seem to be the case; her status then was Slave, after all. Now she was in a Contract, specifically, with me. How it came to be, I didn’t know. But at some point she entered into a contract with me.

  There were a lot of things about this steel body of mine that were mysteries to me. Nothing I did seemed to get rid of the Contract status. I tried putting physical distance between me and Fran, I asked her to unequip me. It didn’t work. If anything, I found out that I couldn’t get rid of the status no matter what. It didn’t seem to have any benefits or ill effects so I figured we might as well leave it alone for now. Fran didn’t seem to mind it, either.

  We carried on our quest for herbs when I sensed someone tailing us.

  Teacher.

  I know. Someone’s after us.

  There were two of them. One of them was a greenhorn. He didn’t even bother to conceal his presence. We broke from the highway to see what would happen. Our stalkers followed suit. Our suspicions confirmed, we tried to lose them in the forest but they dropped all pretenses and caught up to us.

  “Y-you there! Stop!”

  The angry shouting sounded familiar. I couldn’t believe he took the bait hook, line and sinker.

  “Is that… the Little League Lieutenant?”

  Probably… Baron August… Right?

  We turned around and paused, perplexed. One of them was a man who looked like a Fighter. Probably hired help. I’d never seen him before but he was definitely one of the Fighter classes.

  The one standing next to him confused us. I expected it to be Baron August but I couldn’t tell immediately by looking at him. It had only been a week since we last met and he had changed drastically. His cheeks were sunken, his eyes bloodshot. His hair was falling out and in tatters; it looked like he was balding. You could see the baron’s facial features under all that madness but only after looking at him for a few minutes. He looked like something out of a horror movie. I wasn’t sure if he was an undead or not.

  What happened to him? I didn’t like the guy but I couldn’t help but feel sorry for him after seeing him in such a state.

  “Y-y-you!!!”

  Oh boy, here he comes.

  “You’ll pay for the shame you brought me at the Guild!”

  He wasted no time with introductions and started yelling at us. I had a bad feeling about this seeing how messed up he looked.

  “And you are?”

  “Wh-what? A-are you saying you forgot who I am?!”

  “Never seen you in my life.”

  “R-really? N-no, you’re lying! Stop that!”

  “Seriously. You got the wrong person.”

  Fran didn’t want to get involved with him, either. Was her smokescreen going to work? No, he couldn’t be that stupid.

  “R-really? H-have we never met? N-no, it can’t be!”

  Or could he?

  “I’m serious. Anyway, I’ll be going now.”

  “Wait, what? She’s not… What?”

  Was it because of his madness? He was really buying her story. We might be able to get off without a hitch.

  “No! That sword! You’re the Beastman from the guild!”

  Sorry, Fran. I blew our cover.

  “I knew it! You were lying to me! You’re all liars, all of you!”

  You’re one to talk! Your lies almost got us thrown under the horse carriage!

  “N-now… g-give me that sword!”

  “No.”

  “Silence, you filthy animal! You dare talk back to a noble like me?! Give it here!”

  “Nope.”

  “D-do you know who I am?! I am the Baron August Allsand!”

  The baron screeched as he clutched his head with his right hand. He dug his nails into his scalp and began tearing out patches of hair. Blood trickled down his forehead. He looked like a psycho out of a horror movie. Soon he began tearing out his hair with both hands.

  “So?”

  Honestly, I didn’t want anything to do with him. We were either going to have to run or cut him down. As we discussed our options, the man next to him came forward.

  “Calm down, Lord August. I’ll take care of this.”

  “Urgh…”

  “I’ll just rough her up a little bit.”

  “Y-you’re right. D-do your job! Heheh.”

  He let out a disgusting giggle. He might have had a mental breakdown but that didn’t get rid of his rotten character.

  “You heard the baron. Hand over the magic sword.”

  “No.”

  “Heheheh. It’s in your best interest. Before you get hurt.”

  “Th-that’s right! Gyuran’s a top-notch mercenary!”

  “See? Now, hand it over.”

  “I said no.”

  “You shouldn’t talk back against your betters, you little shit. Don’t you know how much stronger I am compared to you?”

  How strong was Gyuran, exactly?

  I Identified him but he wasn’t anything impressive. He wasn’t weak, but he wasn’t strong either. If anything, he was slightly weaker than Fran. So much for “top-notch mercenary.”

  “Hm? You… Are you a Black Cat?”

  “…”

  “I’m a Blue Cat. Do you hate me? Well?”

  “Blue Cats…!”

  Fran shook with fury. I had never seen her so hostile before.

  Fran, what’s wrong?

  The Blue Cats are a race full of slavers, Fran replied telepathically. A lot of them deal in the black market.

  Like the ones who enslaved y
ou?

  Yeah.

  This man might be one of them. He certainly had the skills for it: Trade, Intimidate, Capture.

  Five hundred years ago, the Blue Cats betrayed the Black Cats into slavery. They’ve been our sworn enemy ever since.

  The Blue Cats fooled the Black Cats?

  They befriended us before selling us into slavery. They captured many Black Cats and sold us off. We brought this matter to the King of the Beastmen but Black Cats are among the weakest tribes. They wouldn’t listen to us.

  What a terrible story. I’ll have to remember the Blue Cat Slavers. Any enemy of Fran’s is an enemy of mine. This guy in front of us included.

  “You got quiet all of a sudden. Scared? Well, it’s too late. I’ll rough you up some to remind you how powerless you are! Don’t worry, I won’t leave any lasting scars. Wouldn’t want to damage the merchandise!”

  Well, he’s obviously involved in the slave trade.

  Yeah.

  “Let me hear you cry!”

  The man drew his sword from his hip. It was flowing with magical energy. It seemed quite strong.

  Name: Enchanted Phantom Augite Blade

  Attack: 650, MP: 200, Durability: 600

  Mana Conductivity: B

  Skills: Phantom Strike

  It wasn’t just his weapon, either. I could feel mana emanate from his entire body.

  Is all his gear enchanted?

  Yeah, seems like it.

  Should we take it?

  Can’t hurt to try. Get ready to use the Pocket Dimension.

  I had been wondering if the Pocket Dimension could store an opponent’s equipment mid-combat. It’d be insanely strong if it could.

  We had been experimenting with the Pocket Dimension’s capabilities. Did time really freeze for anything that was stored inside of it? What about temperature fluctuation? We figured out the answers to those specific questions early on when monster materials wouldn’t decompose and the food I cooked came out piping hot as if straight out of the oven. Time really stopped for anything that was stored within the Pocket Dimension.

  So I had been wanting to try this idea out for a while. We fought monsters most of the time which obviously had no equipment… But this encounter presented the perfect opportunity.

  “You wanna go, little girl?”