NOVEL NEXT Chapter 7
**Episode 7: The Adventurer and the Samurai’s Circumstances**
“Can you stand?”
In stark contrast to the battle, the man approached with a calm demeanor. Franz tried to respond, but perhaps due to the impact of bumping his head, his tongue wouldn’t cooperate. For a while, he could only mumble nonsensically, eventually managing to speak.
“Right now, it seems a bit impossible, but if I rest a little, I might be able to… Anyway, thank you for saving me. You’ve saved my life.”
“…… No, don’t worry about it. I was satisfied to fight an interesting opponent.”
Something about that pause felt strange. Franz could sense a questioning look directed his way, though he hadn’t intended to say anything peculiar.
As he wondered about it, his companions, who had been frozen in place, hurried over. Barth was quite exhausted as well, with the similarly tall Mauri helping him by supporting his shoulder.
“Younger one, you’ve been saved. I thought you were done for!”
“We sincerely thank you! I don’t know how to express my gratitude!”
“You’re incredible, buddy! Took down a giant in one hit!”
While Barth and Pamela bowed their heads carefully, the affable Mauri was cheerily talking while playfully patting the man’s back. Franz internally felt uneasy at how easily Mauri could be so casual after such a fierce battle.
With everyone reunited, the group thanked the man again and introduced themselves, gathering around the injured Franz.
The man introduced himself as Cross. While “Cross” is a common name in this country, he mentioned it’s actually his surname.
In the Pharas Kingdom, having a surname is a privilege reserved exclusively for the royal family and nobles, so it’s not something common people are familiar with. Some surrounding countries have regions where everyone, regardless of status, uses surnames, so it wasn’t surprising, but given his rare features and presence, Franz deduced that Cross must be a traveler from abroad.
Cross also shared his given name, but it was so complex and difficult that no one could pronounce it correctly. His companions repeatedly asked him if they were saying it right, so with a somewhat skeptical look, he simply said, “Just calling me Cross is fine.”
“Pardon us, but we’re grateful you helped. Your sudden appearance was quite a surprise though. How long had you been watching?”
“Just before Franz got struck.”
“I have pretty good hearing, but I didn’t sense Cross at all!”
“I was too busy defending against the attack to notice anything else…?”
As they exchanged these comments, Franz gradually felt sensation returning to his legs. He wobbled a bit as he stood and tested his balance, then walked toward the giant’s corpse while his friends continued their cheerful conversations.
Though they hadn’t yet found the forest wolves they were originally seeking, their heavy injuries, the battered shields and armor, and the fact that two front-line members were hurt made camping in the Forest of Demons too dangerous. Even if they hurried back now, it’d be uncertain whether they’d catch the last carriage. Still, they hoped to at least reach the meadow beyond the forest before nightfall.
To prepare for a quick retreat, Franz immediately pulled out his knife and began cutting off the giant’s fingers. As he struggled against its impossibly tough skin, he suddenly realized Cross was standing behind him.
“Franz. What are you doing?”
Even faintly, Franz could sense an edge of anger in Cross’s tone. He realized his well-intentioned effort to help might’ve been misunderstood as stealing the kill.
“Ah, sorry. Since I was mostly useless in the fight, I thought I’d at least help with the recovery. Of course, you can take all the bounty for the kill, that’s no problem!”
Though Franz tried to clarify his lack of malice, Cross’s expression of confusion remained unchanged. The hand gripping the hilt of his sword was unnerving.
“What are you talking about? I’m asking why you’re trying to sever the corpse’s finger. What do you mean by ‘bounty’?”
“Ah, right… You’re not an adventurer, are you?”
Having forgotten momentarily due to the excitement of the battle, Franz realized Cross hadn’t seemed familiar with adventurers or their terminology. Mentioning the bounty for the kill would naturally have been unclear to him.
Deciding to abandon thoughts of catching the carriage, Franz sat down with his companions to explain.
Cross, it seemed, was indeed from another country. He had been traveling in a place called Nihon when he suddenly found himself standing in this forest.
Although the Forest of Demons spans several nations, the name “Nihon” was unfamiliar. This suggested that Cross had wandered here from a very distant land. Surprisingly, Cross hadn’t recognized the name “Pharas Kingdom” either, and when told they were at its westernmost frontier, he seemed genuinely shocked.
He’s certainly lost in an impressive way.
“Anyway, there aren’t any roads in sight. I was searching for human settlements. Would you mind showing me the way to the nearest town?”
“Of course! We’re heading back to town too, so let’s go together.”
“It’s not just that, Franz and Barth are in such a state! We should be the ones asking you!”
“It might not be enough repayment for saving our lives, but… ”
As they learned more about Nihon from Cross, another astonishing fact emerged: in that country, there were no monsters.
Everyone was so shocked that they unconsciously sat upright. Monsters are humanity’s eternal enemies, and their threat is universally acknowledged, no matter where you are.
“To think there’s a country like that…?”
“A world without monsters? I never imagined that… It sounds like a paradise.”
“If you lived in such a place, it’s only natural you wouldn’t know about adventurers.”
“But wait… you mean you fought the giant without knowing what it was?”
“That thing was a monster? I thought it was some kind of supernatural creature, given how you called it a ‘monster.’”
In Cross’s culture, desecrating the body of any fallen opponent, even enemies, is taboo. He seemed disturbed to see Franz treating the dead giant so casually, not realizing it was a procedure required by the Adventurer’s Guild for proof of kill.
“We need to submit monster parts to the Adventurer’s Guild to claim bounties. It’s kind of like bringing back heads or ears.”
“Hmm, I see… It’s similar to submitting proof then?”
“Depends on the monster, but for proof, sometimes it’s the right thumb of a giant, or the right ear of a goblin or forest wolf.”
“So, this bounty is a reward for eliminating a particular monster?”
“Not exactly a reward. We adventurers aren’t exactly serving the Adventurer’s Guild. Hmm… How do I explain it?”
“For instance, if a village’s fields are being ravaged by monsters and the villagers can’t handle it themselves, they pay a bounty to the Adventurer’s Guild to request monster extermination. We adventurers take on those requests and receive the bounty for hunting down the monsters. So, it’s more of a fee than a reward… Although, the Guild does take a commission from the original bounty as a service fee.”
“I see, that’s a bit different from serving as retainers. It sounds closer to being mercenaries or… what were you called again?”
“The ‘ninja’ term escapes me, but the concept is similar to mercenaries. The difference is that mercenaries fight other humans, while adventurers battle monsters. Plus, we also take on non-combat requests—gathering herbs, mining for minerals, searching for people, delivering letters, cleaning sewers, or even carrying groceries for elderly ladies. Mercenaries sometimes mock us by calling us ‘handymen,’ but compared to fighting wars, we have far less downtime.”
With his impressive three-strand beard bobbing as he laughed loudly, Barth added his thoughts.
“So, in a nutshell… you’re like a everything’s-possible shop. Not an easy job by the sound of it. So, did you come to the forest this time on a giant extermination request?”
“We came here to eliminate forest wolves. Meeting the giant was pure bad luck.”
“If it wasn’t for the job, then fighting the giant was just a waste of effort.”
“Not exactly… Even without official requests, the Adventurer’s Guild sometimes offers special bounties for slaying dangerous monsters. There’s no doubt this giant qualifies as ‘dangerous.’ I think it’ll fetch a decent amount of gold. Plus, I’ve heard that giant hide and magic stones can sell for high prices…”
Mauri gave the dead giant a complex look. His gaze fell on the right thumb that Franz had been struggling to sever, having barely managed halfway even with the knife used as a saw.
“How do you plan to peel off the monster’s skin when neither swords nor knives can cut through it? It’s a real shame, but there’s no choice but to give up on harvesting the materials.”
If only we had a knife made from magic silver, it would surely work. But poor Franz’s group didn’t own such expensive tools, of course. Cross’s sword, which had cleaved the giant, was likely a very costly piece. If it were made entirely of magic silver, it might require not just gold, but platinum coins. Franz certainly couldn’t bring himself to ask for help with skinning the creature.
As Franz and the others were feeling disappointed, Cross suddenly stood up and drew a beautifully crafted dagger from his pocket. He approached the dead giant and, with a smooth swing,
“──What?”
“Seriously!?”
“This is incredible…”
Upon closer inspection, the giant’s arm had been cleanly cut through.
“This small blade seems sufficient for peeling the hide, but I’m not confident in doing it properly. If you’d like, I could help as part of my payment for guidance to the town. I’d be happy to split the proceeds from selling the hide.”
“「「「「Please!!」」」」”
With beaming smiles, Franz and the others eagerly accepted his offer.
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