Third Outer World Story Series: Pumpkin Sorcerer - Chapter 33

Translator: MadHatter Editor: MadHatter

“Oh, is that it?”

“Why would I…”

“Just give up. This time it’s inevitable.”

The curse that Rio’s mother had been suffering had been lifted three days ago. Since the curse cast on Rio’s mother was extremely potent, her health has not yet fully recovered, but she was well enough to allow a while longer to monitor the progress of her condition.

And until today, Pumpkin had learned the letters of this world, where the pronunciation and meaning were determined by strings of characters just like English, researched the approximate prices of things he wanted to buy, and earned some coins by taking on minor jobs at the Association, and even rose to rank D but that was enough explanation for now.

Now, the three of them, Pumpkin, Crave, a lizardman acquainted through the case of Rio’s mother, and Canad, a dwarf who has joined the party for various reasons, were in the forest near Kunukihappy.

Crave was a heavy warrior equipped with a metal sword, shield, and armor, and served as a tank. Canad was an attacker, a heavy warrior with a two-handed hammer, leather armor, and several appurtenances containing magic power that seemed to be of his own making.

“Even so, can we even negotiate with a bee?”

“We have to do it, whether we can or not.”

After saying this, Crave and Canad looked at the sacks they were carrying on their shoulders.

These bags were filled to the brim with tons of fruits and flowers that were dispersed across the area and had a delightful fragrance that would typically draw a wide variety of magical beasts that can pick up on this scent.

The magical monsters were merely observing, though, since Pumpkin has been releasing a certain amount of magic power.

Even so, should they approach their group, Pumpkin will just crush them before the two of his members would even realize what was going on.

“I mean, what happened to the originator of this whole thing?”

“The originator… Oh, Monokio, Karamuji, and Toririsu. For putting numerous adventurers and citizens at risk owing to their ignorance, they were all demoted. On top of that, they were compelled to take a basic training course.”

“Hmm. So that’s how it went down.”

“Our Association President is as lenient as ever. In any other town, they would have been expelled at best.”

“Well, it is true that he is lenient. But that’s one of the positive aspects of our president, isn’t it?”

Crave answered Pumpkin’s question, and Canad offered his opinion.

Truthfully, there were several things that Pumpkin was not convinced of, especially in light of the fact that Rio nearly died at the hands of the original culprit, but he figured it was not his place to meddle with the matter.

Moreover, even Kozo would not forgive him if he pulled off a similar technique again across the town.

“And now I guess we are in their territory soon. Pumpkin. Keep your absurd magic power in check.”

“Got it.”

“Whew. I can now breathe a lot easier.”

In line with Crave’s words, Pumpkin now reduced the amount of magic he was releasing from a level that would not incentivize anyone to approach him to a level that would motivate them to approach him—albeit cautiously.

Canad remarked that breathing was now easier, but it was superfluous to discuss whether being constantly assailed by magical beasts or being able to breathe a bit easier would be preferable.

“Well then, let’s recap the details of this request.”

They both nodded in agreement to Crave’s words.

“The request this time is from Kozo Anjin, the president of the Kunukihappy Adventurers’ Association. His request involves dealing with a scandal brought by a certain adventurer belonging to the Kunukihappy Adventurers’ Association… or should I say, re-establishing a cooperative relationship with the Hunting Bees.”

“Despite their name, Hunting Bees are relatively mild-mannered and amicable creatures by nature that will offer honey in exchange for fruits and flowers. On the other hand, if you destroy their hives, they could become hostile and become extremely deadly.”

“In other words, the fruits we brought this time are, for a less favorable term, like tribute or reparations?”

“Well, you could say that.”

As Pumpkin said these blunt words while advancing cautiously through the forest, Crave’s lizard face distorted into a wry smile.

If that’s the case, though, the worst that may happen is that I give them dewdrops that store my magical power, just like I did during the time with Rio.

The Hunting Bees were quite pleased to receive it.

“And on that note, it seems that this our group has been pooled together in the hope that we can survive even if things go south.”

“I knew it.”

Canad was the one who gave a bitter smile at Crave’s words this time.

But, well, I’m sure that with this lineup, whatever may happen, it won’t be a problem.

From what Pumpkin can tell, Crave and Canad had more magic power than the average person, and their outer skins were solid, meaning that even if the Hunting Bees attacked them in any way, it would probably be ineffective since they can strengthen their physical bodies.

As for Pumpkin, it goes without saying. In fact, if he wanted to, he could slaughter a Hunting Bee with his bare hands.

Though that wouldn’t be happening since there was no sense in doing so.

“Now, get down, both of you.”

“Okay.”

“Got it.”

At Crave’s words, Pumpkin hid behind a tree, and Canad used the bushes for concealment.

[[[Bububububu.]]]

A bunch of Hunting Bee’s then passed over them as they hid like that.

By the looks of them, they weren’t upset, but they were wary of the situation.

“Now, here’s the real challenge.”

“Hopefully, it’ll go well.”

“Well, if things turn out poorly, we’re just going to get the hell out of here.”

With that, they began to move in the direction from which the Hunting Bees had come from.