Extra Story: The Story of a Certain Group of Adventurers

Adventurers.

As the people who challenged and cleared out dungeons and the many mysteries that lay within, theirs was a profession filled with romanticized adventure. However, at the same time, they were also jacks and jills of all trades, taking quests issued by the guild (protecting merchants, slaying dangerous beasts, and more) in exchange for rewards. Now, here is something about these adventurers. Among the newest urban legends spreading in Parnam, the capital of Elfrieden, there is one known as...

“The Adventurer Who Wears a Kigurumi.”

It was said that this adventurer wore a kigurumi, a sort of full-body costume, that was 1.7 meters tall. His weapon was a naginata, slung over his back. He had a roly-poly body, but was able to move quickly and was apparently very talented. He formed no party, taking on dangerous beast subjugation quests solo, but occasionally, if there was a party seeking temporary members, he would join them for a dungeon crawl.

Incidentally, his name was registered with the guild as “Little Musashibo.”

◇　◇　◇

“Uh... So, you’re the adventurer who’s temporarily joining our party?” a male warrior asked doubtfully.

A roly-poly kigurumi was standing in front of the quest board in the guild. It stood before a party of four adventurers (party composition: one male warrior, one male priest, one female thief, and one female mage).

In the kigurumi’s hands was a naginata, on his back a wicker basket, his face was covered with white silk (in fact, it was sewn on), and the acorn eyes and bushy eyebrows that peered out from it were adorable.

Who was that? Was he a snowman? Was he a round-bottomed doll? No, he was Little Musashibo!

“...” (Little Musashibo waved his arms around wildly, meaning, “That’s right.”)

“Oh, could it be that you’re the kigurumi adventurer people have been talking about lately...?” Dece asked. He was a male swordsman with an attractive face that wouldn’t have been out of place in a boy band.

“...” (Little Musashibo nodded.)

“A-Are you now...?” Dece’s expression became a little strained.

Considering Little Musashibo’s silly appearance, that reaction was only to be expected. The rest of his comrades were bewildered, too.

“Oh, come on, I know we’re short a person on the front line, but does that really mean we need to bring in a guy like this?” demanded a beautiful young girl whose defiant eyes left a strong impression. Her voice was full of venom. This girl with a slightly punk sense of fashion was the female thief, Juno. The adventurers called thieves were, of course, not actual robbers. It was a support role in the party that detected enemies and disabled traps in the dungeon and could handle melee combat, as well.

The kindly-looking male priest, Febral, rebuked her. “W-Well, his outfit may be ridiculous, but everything I’ve heard indicates he’s a reliable adventurer. I don’t think there should be an issue. We aren’t delving into a dungeon today, and the difficulty for this is supposed to be beginner level anyway.”

His role as priest was also just what people called a healer. It didn’t indicate any sort of religious belief.

“Oh, sure, what’s the harmmm? He’s kinda cute, anywayyy!” This light and airy beauty, the female mage Julia, started to playfully lean against Little Musashibo, enjoying his softness. Little Musashibo acted a little annoyed by this.

With a dry laugh at the scene, Dece extended his hand to Little Musashibo. “Anyway, it’ll be a pleasure to work with you today.”

“...” (Little Musashibo shook his hand.)

“...Are you not able to talk?”

“...” (Little Musashibo nodded.)

Juno said nothing for a moment. Then she burst out, “Oh, come on, is this really going to be all right?”

There was no one who could answer Juno’s doubts.

With Little Musashibo joining them, the party headed for an underground passage in the capital.

Apparently, these tunnels had been originally created to let the royal family escape in the event that an enemy attack reached the capital. Because of that, in order to confound intruders, the passages had been built as a complex maze with three levels.

On this occasion, the adventurers had received a quest calling for “Exploration of the underground passages and investigation of creatures living therein (and if possible, their removal).”

Because this country had been free of war and chaos since the time of the former king, King Albert, the importance of these tunnels had diminished and they were no longer being properly maintained. As a result, giant rats and other such massive creatures had soon made their home in them. With the situation inside the tunnels at this point, it wouldn’t have been out of place to call them a dungeon.

Now, here was the thing about those underground tunnels. Apparently the recently-enthroned king wanted to repurpose them, and had posted this quest with the guild for that reason. Until the underground passages were safe and secure, any number of people were welcome to challenge it. The reward paid would be dependent on the creatures hunted. It was a low risk, low reward quest suited to beginners.

The adventuring party, now with the addition of Little Musashibo, was progressing through those underground tunnels. In the cold, wet air, an irritated Juno poked Little Musashibo’s head.

“Hey, don’t let this guy stand in front! He’s blocking my line of sight.”

“Having a front-liner stay in the back would be pointless,” Dece snapped. “Deal with it.”

With Dece telling her off, Juno clicked her tongue in displeasure. That was when it happened.

A giant snake appeared suddenly before the adventurers. The snake was ten meters long and thick enough to wrap one’s arms around. It raised its head, hissing menacingly at the adventurers. Immediately, Dece and Musashibo moved up.

“We’ll handle the front line! Everyone else, support us from the rear!”

“...” (Little Musashibo gave a thumbs up.)

In the next moment, the giant snake struck. It went for Dece. From there on, the snake ignored Little Musashibo for some reason, only trying to attack Dece.

“Wait, why’s it only going for me?!” Dece cried.

“?!” (Little Musashibo was confused.)

Allow me to explain. Because snakes search for their prey by detecting their body heat, it could not detect anything from Little Musashibo, which was just a kigurumi.

Dece took a tail slap from the giant snake and, while he did manage to block it with his shield, was thrown off balance. Taking advantage of the opening, the snake slithered between the two of them, attacking the three people in back. The first to be targeted was Juno, who had been acting as support in the middle guard.

“Whoa, why’s it ignoring that kigurumi and coming at me?! I— I can’t stand snaaaaakes!”

It seemed that the sudden snake attack had made Juno’s legs give out. With her falling on her rump and unable to move, the snake opened its mouth wide and came at Juno. At that moment, just when she was sure she was going to die...

Slash!

Just as the snake was about to sink its fangs into Juno, Little Musashibo used his naginata to cut it clean in two from behind. With a cut in the middle severing its head from its tail, both halves of the snake continued to thrash about for a while before eventually falling silent.

Little Musashibo swung his naginata to clean the blood from it.

Having regained her senses, Juno shyly said to Little Musashibo, “Th-Thanks...”

“...” (Little Musashibo gave her a thumbs up and then patted Juno on the head.)

When she saw Little Musashibo not boasting, but showing concern for her instead, Juno brought a hand to her chest. She must have been terribly frightened, she thought, because her heart was racing for some strange reason.

H-He’s a weirdo... but he’s not a bad guy, it seems.

Having reevaluated her opinion of the man (?), Juno chased after the rest of the party.

The party continued their exploration. When they entered the second level, the attacks by giant creatures only became more intense. Now they weren’t only facing single enemies; some attacked in packs.

“...” (Little Musashibo cut down a swarm of giant bats with a whirlwind attack.)

“Oh, you’re pretty good.”

“...” (Little Musashibo gave Dece a thumbs up.)

“...Hm? Hey, pal...”

“...” (Little Musashibo tilted his head to the side, as if to say, “What?”)

“There’re a number of little bats hanging off your back, you know...” Dece said.

“?!” (Little Musashibo flailed around.)

“Yeesh... Here, I’ll get them for you,” said Dece.

Allow me to explain. Little Musashibo had no sense of pain, and therefore hadn’t noticed he was getting bitten.

—A few minutes later.

Splish, splash.

“...” (Little Musashibo had fallen into a hole full of water and was thrashing around.)

Splish, splash.

“...” (“Hurry, help me,” he appealed to the party members.)

The sight made Julia and Febral feel warm and fuzzy inside.

“He looks like he’s playing around...” said Julia.

“He does,” Febral agreed.

“Hey, let’s hurry and help him!” Juno said. “Come on, you too. Grab a hold already.”

Juno reached out, pulling Little Musashibo up. Having been rescued, Little Musashibo bowed to Juno again and again.

“...” (“Thank you so much! I will never forget your kindness!” he was saying.)

“Y-You don’t need to thank me,” Juno stammered. “I owed you for before. It’s only natural for comrades to help one another.”

“...” (“You’re willing to recognize me as a comrade?!” He was overcome with emotion.)

“Wh-Who cares! Come on, let’s go already.”

“...” (“Ah, wait for me!” He chased after Juno.)

Little Musashibo’s slow, easy footsteps faded into the distance. The remaining members of the party were dumbfounded.

“Juno... Was she just talking with that kigurumi?” Dece asked.

“That was what it looked like to me,” Febral nodded. “The kigurumi didn’t say anything, though.”

Julia giggled. “If she was, it may have been the power of love...”

““Love?!”” The two men’s simultaneous response echoed through the dark tunnel.

—A few more hours later, the adventurers finally reached the third level.

Perhaps it had been built to be spacious, because the ceilings looked to be twenty meters high, and the paths were wide. This third level was the lowest in these underground passages. Though there had been some little mishaps along the way, their progress down here had been nothing if not smooth.

“This is no challenge,” Juno said. “I can see why they said it was beginner level.”

“...” (Little Musashibo cocked his head to the side as if to say, “Really?”)

“We’re used to the monsters in dungeons, see,” Juno explained. “No matter how ferocious they are, we’re not going to lose to some animals.”

“...” (He looked at her as if to say, “You say that, but you were awful scared of that snake...”)

“Th-That one doesn’t count! Everyone has things they’re afraid of!” Juno burst out.

“...” (He shrugged his shoulders as if saying, “Sure, sure, I get it.”)

“Hey, if you’ve got something to say, say it!” she fumed. “If I got serious...”

The rest of the party looked on dumbfounded as the two argued back and forth in the underground tunnel. (Though Juno was the only one talking.)

“Seriously, how is that conversation working?” Dece asked.

“I am inclined to start believing Julia’s suggestion of ‘love,’” Febral said.

Then, it happened.

“Huh?! Everyone, be on your guard!” Juno shouted.

The relaxed atmosphere was blown away, and everyone got into position for battle. The way they could do this like flipping a switch was part of what made adventurers so impressive.

Dece asked, “Juno, how many are there?”

“One,” she answered. “But it’s unbelievably huge.”

Thieves had sharp senses and could use the slightest sound or vibration to judge the precise number and size of opponents in another location.

“How big’re we talking here?” Dece asked.

“That giant snake was nothing in comparison,” she replied.

“This is just an underground passage, right?” Julia asked. “Why is there something so big here?”

Febral was the one to answer. “I’ve heard that, in underground spaces like this, creatures can grow to sizes that would be unthinkable under normal circumstances. Once they reach a certain size, they have no natural predators and, because temperatures stay about the same here year-round, rather than die, they just keep growing bigger.”

“So, you’re saying there’s one up ahead that got big like that?” Dece asked.

The moment those words left Dece’s mouth, the air shook. It didn’t take a thief’s skills to know that the massive whatever-it-was was almost upon them.

“It’s coming!” Juno shouted.

The creature appeared. Its massive body nearly reached the ceiling, which was already high for an underground tunnel. It had slimy skin, and, unlike its mouth which looked like it could open big and wide, its eyes were so small they didn’t realize they were eyes at first.

““““A salamander!”””” the four shouted in unison.

Only one person (?), Little Musashibo, said, “...” (“A ridiculously huge salamander?!”), having a different reaction from the rest.

Dece couldn’t believe his eyes. “Oh, come on... Normally salamanders are maybe two meters long, at most, you know?”

“...” (“This world’s salamanders are usually the size of Komodo dragons?!”) Little Musashibo was surprised, but nobody was able to notice.

“This one looks like it’s clearly more than ten meters long,” Dece said.

“So they can grow to become this large...” Febral sounded impressed. “However, it is an issue that it’s a salamander. Their mucus is highly acidic. It would be dangerous to attack with melee weapons, and it’s resistant to heat. On the other hand, if we can freeze it, this could be an easy fight...”

“We don’t have anyone who can use ice magic,” Dece said. “If flames worked, Julia could’ve handled it with her magic, but... How about you, Mr. Kigurumi?”

“...” (“Nuh uh.” He shook his head.)

“Well, there’s nothing else for it, then. ...Let’s run,” said Dece, the party leader, calling for a retreat. “Our quest was to explore and investigate. There’s no need to overextend ourselves. If we just report that we found that thing, the castle ought to be able to send out a subjugation team later.”

“...I get what you’re saying, but can we get away so easily?” Febral asked.

As Febral pointed out, the salamander had the adventurers firmly in its sights.

Dece ground his back teeth, bringing up his shield and moving forward. “We’ll have to get away. Febral and Julia are fastest, so they go first. Juno doesn’t have a lot of gear, so she can go next. Mr. Kigurumi, can I count on you to bring up the rear with me?”

“...” (“Okie-dokie!” He gave a thumbs-up.)

“Okay... Split!”

They all moved when Dece gave the order.

Febral and Julia ran back along the path they had come from, while Dece and Little Musashibo stayed behind, keeping the salamander in check. Juno put her legs to good use, running around nimbly and confusing the salamander. The salamander tried to go after the two that fled but, with Dece and Little Musashibo blocking it and Juno’s movements leaving it bewildered, it couldn’t make much progress forward.

Eventually, it must have gotten impatient, because the salamander let out a cry and swung its long tail. When it did, the mucus that had been attached to its tail flew everywhere.

“Oh, shoot! Everyone, look out!” Dece shouted.

“Eek!” Julia screamed.

The highly acidic mucus rained down and struck the adventurers. It stuck to Dece’s shield, Juno’s breastplate, the back of Febral’s vestments, and Julia’s long skirt, hissing and releasing an unpleasant smell as it dissolved the cloth and metal.

“Salamander mucus will melt flesh, too! Strip off any equipment it got on!” Febral shouted as he pulled off his top.

When they heard that, Dece dropped his shield and Julia stripped off her skirt, continuing to run with her underwear showing.

“Hold on, it got my breastplate!” Juno shouted.

“Well, hurry up and take it off! If you don’t, forget your breasts, you’ll be showing your bare ribs instead!” Dece shouted.

“Urgh...”

With Dece shouting at her, Juno stripped off her breastplate and shirt, going topless. She did her best to cover herself with her right arm while holding her short sword ready in her left, but she was turning bright red from embarrassment.

“Juno, just go already! Mr. Kigurumi, are you all right?”

Once Dece confirmed that Juno had started running, he looked over to Little Musashibo to find its face was covered in mucus.

“H-Hey! What’re you doing?! Take off that kigurumi already!”

“...”

Despite Dece’s worries, Little Musashibo shook his head back and forth. On a closer look, while he did have mucus on him, there was no sign of any melting.

“...Hold on, is your kigurumi acid resistant?” Dece asked.

“...” (Little Musashibo gave him a thumbs-up.)