WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Asakusa
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ Monster Livestream Star ◈
Chapter 36: Lesser Troll (1)
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The guild receptionist smiled at the highly motivated Godric Party.
“You’re finally taking the C-rank promotion test. Good luck, everyone.”
Dozens of adventuring parties passed through the Adventurers’ Guild each day.
With so many people to meet, it would be easy to get confused, but Godric Party was not one the receptionist could easily forget.
They had something that made them more memorable than any other party.
They traveled with a Slime.
At first, the receptionist had assumed they were merely an eccentric party with strange ideas.
Working as a receptionist, one occasionally met truly odd people.
But Godric Party had exceeded the receptionist’s expectations in a very good way.
They had taken F-rank herb-gathering requests without complaint.
They did not throw fits, asking why they had to take such jobs when they wanted to look impressive.
Seugol complained from time to time, but only with words. He had never raised a serious protest.
Honestly, judging by their appearances alone, it would not have been strange to mistake them for a bandit gang, but Godric Party was remarkably diligent.
From the receptionist’s perspective, they were a hardworking party that could not help leaving a good impression.
The receptionist still could not guess what the Slime actually did for the party, though.
In any case, the receptionist sincerely hoped Godric Party would pass this promotion test.
“So, what kind of promotion test are we getting?”
After adventurers applied for a promotion test, the guild selected a request suited to the party’s level.
“This is the request you’ll be taking.”
Godric Party focused on the request form the receptionist held out.
“Subjugation of a Lesser Troll?”
A Lesser Troll.
It was a C-rank monster with weaker regenerative abilities than a B-rank Troll and a smaller body as well.
“Was there a Lesser Troll around here?”
“No. The area where a Lesser Troll has currently been reported is...”
The receptionist immediately pulled out a map and pointed to a location.
“Here.”
“That’s fifteen days by carriage.”
“Yes. But since this is a promotion test, the reward will be generous, so please don’t worry.”
“Why do we have to go so far?”
The receptionist answered Seugol’s question right away.
“Because it is a test. A promotion test. Especially for C-rank, we select requests to evaluate an adventurer’s abilities and learn things we do not yet know about them.”
“Then why did this request become our promotion test?”
“You have already proven your diligence. But all the requests you have taken so far could be resolved near the city, right?
“The guild wants to know whether you can handle requests that require long-distance travel as well. Even if a destination is far away, adventurers need the ability to safely complete the request and return.”
Godric Party could not think of any real argument against the receptionist’s words.
After all, even they knew they had only taken requests they could resolve nearby!
“Well, we should take a request like this once in a while! Right?”
“Yes, Boss!”
Seugol, Hawein, and Def’s vigorous shouts rang through the guild.
Boing!
As if answering too, the Slime bounced atop Def’s head.
+++
C-rank promotion test.
Having accepted the Lesser Troll subjugation request, Godric Party finished preparing for the long journey and boarded a carriage.
As the carriage went clatter-clatter, they passed the time maintaining their weapons or petting the Slime. Whenever the horses rested, they got down for a light meal.
Godric Party was also making do with the travel rations they had brought.
“Ugh, this is why I hate going far away.”
Seugol complained as he chewed the jerky he had brought along, crunch, crunch.
No one in the group said anything in response.
They all felt the same way.
Ever since wanted notices had been issued for them, Godric and the others had had a very unbalanced diet.
They could not enter villages and have proper meals.
There were restaurants even where black markets operated, but they could not stay long for fear someone might report them.
In the end, their only options were buying plenty of travel rations, gathering fruit in the forest, or hunting animals.
There had even been days when they could not find so much as a trace of an animal, leaving them to make do with rations and fruit.
If they had at least tasted good, there would have been nothing to complain about. But it was difficult to find professionally made jerky, such as the venison jerky made in the Elf Village, at a black market.
No, even if they could find it, it cost enough that they could not buy it in bulk.
Those experiences were why, even while working as adventurers, Godric Party had tried to avoid travel rations. They had only selected requests they could finish within a day and return from in time to eat at a restaurant.
“Here, Tongtong.”
Def took out a piece of jerky and handed it to the Slime.
‘Jerky!’
The Slime immediately absorbed the jerky Def gave it into its body and savored the taste.
It could not be called more nutritious or tastier than the jerky Nellin had given it.
‘It’s good!’
To the Slime, food eaten with someone else usually tasted good.
It could tell the difference, but it was not a picky eater.
Silently tearing into jerky was boring, so Seugol asked Hawein a question.
“Hawein, is there anywhere famous near the Lesser Troll?”
“Why?”
“We came all this way! What are we supposed to do, kill the Lesser Troll and immediately head back? If there’s somewhere famous, hey, we can at least sightsee!”
“Pfft, what’s gotten into you, Seugol?”
“Is it so funny that I’m saying something like this?”
“I, I’d like to sightsee too, if there’s anything to see. Tongtong likes looking around, too...”
‘Sightseeing!’
Boing!
“Well, sightseeing after the subjugation sounds nice. Hawein, do you know anywhere?”
When even Godric asked, Hawein fell silent for a moment to think.
“It’s questionable.”
“Questionable? What is?”
“The village asking us to subjugate the Lesser Troll does not have anything worth seeing. It is probably an ordinary village. Still, the city closest to that village is famous.”
“What city?”
“Upitel, the Holy City.”
“Ugh, isn’t that a nest of people who never stop lecturing you about what’s right?”
“Pfft, Seugol. You got lectured a lot by the village nun, didn’t you?”
“You got lectured by that old woman alongside me.”
“Anyway, the Holy City is famous for being beautiful.”
“Don’t change the subject!”
“Then why is it questionable, Hawein?”
In response to Def’s question, Hawein spread the fingers of his right hand.
“The Holy City is another five days by carriage from that village.”
Seugol had thought that, since they were taking a long-distance request anyway, they should see something worthwhile before heading back.
But the Holy City, the most interesting city around, was another five days away.
If it had been only one or two days away, they might have considered going somehow.
“That’s an awkward distance.”
Five days was too far to decide on immediately.
Should they go see the Holy City or not?
After discussing it for a few minutes, Godric Party came to a decision.
“Let’s kill the Lesser Troll first and think about it then.”
They would put it off for now.
+++
“Thank you for coming!”
As soon as they arrived in the village, an old man who appeared to be the village chief welcomed Godric Party.
“You must be tired after coming all this way. Please come inside first. I would at least like to serve you some tea!”
Under the pretext of welcoming them, he invited Godric Party into his house.
“But that Slime on your head...”
“It’s safe, so please don’t worry, Village Chief. It will never attack anyone.”
“Y, yes, I understand.”
While serving Godric Party tea, the village chief began pouring out his complaints.
How frightening it was to hear heavy thump, thump sounds whenever they hunted animals around the village.
How he could not sleep whenever he occasionally heard the spine-chilling cries of the Lesser Troll at night.
He went on and on about other things Godric Party was not particularly curious about.
They had asked the Holy City for help, but the Holy Knights capable of defeating a Lesser Troll were currently away on a mission and could not help.
They had also submitted a request to the guild, but no adventurer had been willing to take it.
Desperate, the village chief had begged the receptionist to tell him why, and the reason was absurd.
A Lesser Troll was still a Troll.
D-rank adventurers did not accept the request because it seemed beyond their ability, while C-rank adventurers did not accept it because the pay was not worth the trouble.
“I truly cannot express how grateful I am that you came! Fortunately, there has not been any damage yet, but we do not know when that vicious monster may attack the village!”
“I, I see.”
The village chief grabbed Godric’s hand and pumped it vigorously.
Seugol quietly spoke to Hawein.
“Isn’t this promotion test request just them dumping this job on us?”
“Pfft, we cannot refuse it if it is a promotion test.”
“Hehe, Tongtong! Let’s do our best!”
Boing!
‘Let’s do our best!’
+++
To recover from the exhaustion of their long trip, Godric Party spent a night in the village before heading into the mountains to find the Lesser Troll.
Guided by the village chief’s and villagers’ accounts, Godric Party headed toward where the Lesser Troll had been spotted.
And the one leading the party was...
Boing! Boing!
The Slime.
While hunting alongside the Slime, they had realized something.
The Slime was the best at finding monsters.
They did not know how it did so, but Godric Party did not bother worrying about such things.
Finding them was all that mattered.
The Slime had shown them all sorts of abilities by now, so they decided to think of it as just another one of the Slime’s talents.
Meanwhile...
‘It’s different from the forest! Water! Lots!’
The Slime was very excited by the new environment.
As it moved along with a boing, boing and used Perception, the Slime sensed its surroundings.
There were not dense, tightly packed trees like in the forest.
Several rivers flowed through the mountains, and a valley stream ran off to one side as well.
The Slime had never seen a place with this much water before, so the more it used Perception, the more new and exciting it felt.
Boing!
“Tongtong, be careful! The village chief said some of the currents here are strong!”
“Idiot! It just has to avoid falling into the water. Besides, the strong currents are over by that cliff!”
“B, but Tongtong jumps well, so it might fall in...”
“Pfft, it does not just jump well. It jumps high enough to make your eyes pop out.”
Even after hearing Def’s concern, the Slime happily continued onward, delighted by the unfamiliar environment.
Then...
‘...Found it!’
Perception detected a large-bodied monster.
It sensed a creature anyone would consider a Lesser Troll.
Boing! Boing!
As usual, the Slime stopped in place and bounced several times to signal that it had found a monster.
“Did you find it?”
Boing!
“Everyone, get ready!”
“Yes, Boss!”
At Godric’s signal, the group’s expressions grew serious.
“Tongtong, lead the way.”
Boing!
The Slime bounced ahead, guiding Godric Party.
After they kept moving for around three minutes...
Grrrr...
They found it.
A monster with blue skin, thick lips, and a massive body.
A Lesser Troll.
It was smaller than an ordinary Troll, but still larger than Def, the biggest member of Godric Party.
And upon seeing a Lesser Troll for the first time, Seugol spoke in disbelief.
“That’s lesser? Then just how ridiculously huge are Trolls?”
He had underestimated it because of the word “Lesser,” but the oppressive presence it gave off in person was on another level.
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