Chapter 151 – Effect

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A fortress in the valley.

That was my first thought when I arrived in Nindor village. The gate was made with wood and stone, and was something you might expect from a castle.
The gate was closed shut, as if to reject any visitors.

“Who are you? What business do you have here?”

Came a voice as I rode close to the gate.

“This is Nindor village, isn’t it? I’m an Adventurer. I accepted the request to hunt the ogres.”

“Oh! I see! Someone finally came! I’ll open the gates now, so stand back.”

And then the head disappeared. Yes, finally arrived. As for the man on top of the gate, he had not been armed. He looked like an ordinary villager.
A moment later, there were the sounds of creaking wood as the gates opened.

“Sorry to keep you waiting. I’ll guide you to the chief’s house in a minute.”

The man said as he closed and locked the gate again. It was a sturdy gate that was reinforced with iron. It seemed quite excessive for a normal village.

“This is an impressive gate.”
“There used to be an iron mine here. But it dried up a long time ago, and only crumbled tunnels remain. But the facilities that are maintained can still be used.”

As we walked down the path to the village, he explained to me why there was a road here.

Inside the walls, there were vast fields and fruit trees. I could see from a distance that they were harvesting something.

“This is a surprisingly large village. Are there a lot of people?”
“No. The young ones all leave for the cities. It is just a lot of land.”

The man laughed sadly.

As we got closer to the settlement area, I saw that there was yet another wall made of wood and stone. Here, there were watchtowers and even armed guards. This was more like an ordinary village in size.

In the settlement, children ran around playfully. So it wasn’t like the place was dead. Still, visitors must be rare, as they gave me odd looks.

I then left Mulze in a stable and we headed to the chief’s house.

“Mr. Gidobu. An Adventurer has finally come from Derosly to hunt the ogres!”

The gatekeeper said as he opened the door. And then there were footsteps, and then a man who appeared to be in his forties stepped out. However, his face darkened when he saw me.

“I am chief Gidobu. Um…excuse me, but are you alone?”

Ah, of course. I had forgotten, as it had been a while since I had this reaction. Not only was I solo and C-Rank, I had a prosthetic leg. They would not trust me immediately.

“I am Ajifu, C-Rank. A party would not have come with that price.”
“It was all the village could afford…”
“I’m sure it was.”

We both sighed at the same time, and then chuckled.

“Well, you can say that we are both lacking in some ways. And so you must help me.”
“The village will do what it can to aid you. Ask us anything.”

What a relief. He didn’t tell me to deal with it all by myself because I was getting paid.

“I need to know information about the ogres. And a guide to show me the way. Preferably someone who can use a bow.”
“Everyone in the village knows their way around the valley. But an archer… We have no one good enough to face an ogre. But if you don’t mind…”
“No, that is fine.”

They wouldn’t have hired me if they had an archer who was that good. As long as they were better than me.

“Then we will have Metto and Urzon guide you. They are both hunters, and the best archers in the village.”
“Thank you.”

Even if their arrows wouldn’t do much, it was better than having them use swords and spears and getting injured. I wanted them to stay far enough that they could run away. But also be able to keep the ogre in check.

This may be my adventure, but this was different.

At the end of the day, lives were at stake. I was not going to die because I was being stubborn. I would use what I could.

The man at the gate then left. He had probably gone to call them.

“By the way, why wasn’t that man armed?”
“His role is to alert the village if something is wrong. There is no point in guarding the outer wall.”

What a lonely place old mining towns were. I suppose this was a rare place that continued to exist like this.
A short while later, the man returned with two others.
One was thin and of medium height. The other was short but muscular.

“What? I hear that an Adventurer has finally arrived, but it’s just one man. Can he really defeat an ogre?”
“It’s because the chief was being stingy. I knew it was too low.”

They immediately started complaining as they came in. It was understandable. These were the kinds of monsters that could cause the military to act when they appeared.

“I wasn’t being stingy. We could not raise more money if we tried. And they’ve been here for half a year now. We cannot wait any longer!”

The chief said angrily.

“I’m surprised that there wasn’t more damage, if they’ve been here that long.”
“Well, the valley is a little far from the village. And we have made sure that no one goes close to it now. It would have been fine if they just left us, but…”
“They showed no signs of leaving.”
“Yes.”

Hmm. I folded my arms. If there was a reason that the ogres were staying there, I wanted to know. It might not give me an edge, but knowing the enemy was the basics of combat.

“Monsters and beasts have always gathered near that valley. It is a good hunting ground.”
“Is there something that attracts them to it?”
“Salt. They come to lick the salt.”

Perhaps the ogres wanted the salt as well. But even if they didn’t, having prey come to you was a good enough reason to stay there.

This village sure was unlucky. That was what I thought until the chief continued.

“There is hot water that contains salt. That is how the village made its salt previously. But we still have plenty in stock, and…”
“Chief!”

I hit the table and stood up. The others all looked at me with surprise.

“What did you just say?”
“Huh!? Uh, about making salt from the hot water?”
“Yes”

I pointed at the chief.

“How many degrees is it?”
“Degrees?”
“How hot is it?”

Oops. There were no thermometers here, so he wouldn’t know.

“It is quite hot. You would get burned if you touched it.”
“And how much flows out?”
“Just a small stream.”

A hotspring! There is no doubt about it. And I loved hotsprings.

Since coming to this world, I had done my best to adhere to their customs. I wanted to enjoy this world as it was.

But baths were a different matter.

Here, it was something only nobles did regularly. Commoners mostly used a public steam bath. And villages rarely had such facilities.
However, I had built a bathtub in my house in Ruyana and Nanaze village. As it used a lot of firewood, I could not bathe everyday, but I still bathed more than what was usual here.

But while I had to use a wheelbarrow to carry the water, and gather firewood, I didn’t mind. Though, it was only possible because the village was close to the forest.

Regardless, I could not stay silent after hearing about a hot spring. From what I was hearing, it was just a small stream, but that would not stop me.
If it contained salt, what effect would that have? Would it be alright for wounds? I had Heal, so my only injury was the leg. But my body was used badly every day. And so I desperately wanted to soak in some hot water.

“Are you trying to use the water to defeat the ogres? It is hot, but there isn’t enough of it.”

As I was deep in thought, they mistook my silence for me thinking of a plan. Indeed, if I wanted to soak in a hot spring, then I needed to get rid of the ogres first.

“Chief, to be frank, I’m not getting paid enough. So, after I defeat the ogres, I want an additional reward.”

The chief grimaced visibly.

“But the villagers can’t afford…”
“Don’t worry. I’m not talking about money.”

Indeed, a little hot water was not enough to be useful against ogres. But even a little hot water had the effect of…

“If I am successful, I want to make a bath with that hot water. And so I’ll need some people to help me.”

It did not sound like it would be as easy as digging a hole and jumping into it. We might need water to adjust the temperature. Or we might have to dig trenches to draw out the water.

But when I asked this seriously, the others looked at me like I was mad.

“I know there are people who use hot ground water to bathe… Well, I don’t mind, since we will go to get the salt anyway…”
“Thank you!”

I shook the chief’s hand forcefully. He looked quite startled.

The effect that a little hot water had on me…was to make me enthusiastic. I was eager now.

Wait for me, you ogres. For my adventure…and for the hotspring! You will be prey for Mine Breaker!

Next Chapter

Ossan Boukensha no Jimichi na Isekai Tabi