GILF Hunter

Chapter 355 Hot Springs Paizuri Talk

After walking a considerable distance uphill, Ian arrived at the herb fields and looked around.

In the high-altitude garden shrouded in a thin mist, countless herbs were planted.

It was a place reached by ascending much further from the lodging, which was already located in a fairly high area. This was the site where the highest grade of herbs in the region were cultivated.

It seemed like a place completely unsuitable for plants to grow, but perhaps due to the mana of this region he had heard rumors about, the herbs planted here and there were growing well without any problems.

’The goods are this way.’

The merchant who guided Ian to this spot pointed to a box on one side. Herbs that had just been harvested were contained within the box.

Ian approached and checked the items in the box.

Every single item was of the highest quality.

It was a place he had traded with for a long time, and the trading partner was the Labyrinth Guild. No matter how unfamiliar the person who came was, they wouldn’t play tricks with the quality or embezzle the quantity.

Ian nodded after finishing the inspection.

’This will do.’

’Then we will send it to your lodging in two days as planned.’

The merchant closed the box Ian had checked and sealed it with a security strip.

At the same time, Tanya, who had followed Ian, noticed that the movement of the fairies had suddenly become active.

---

’...What’s wrong?’

Slightly away from Ian, Tanya asked the fairies who were flying around energetically. Ever since they arrived here, they all seemed excited for some reason.

A fairy that had disappeared for a moment brought a herb and held it out to Tanya.

’Wait... Wait a minute, you can’t just take something like this! It’s someone else’s field!’

Tanya, who had reflexively taken it, hid the herb in a flurry, whispering in a small voice. The fairies laughed seeing Tanya’s flustered state.

Was it because it was a place with a lot of mana? The fairies were much more energetic than usual.

While Tanya was trying to control the fairies, who were causing trouble and playing pranks much more frequently than usual, she felt a strange sensation.

At some point, the fairies began to disappear one by one.

’...Eh?’

By the time Tanya, belatedly sensing something wrong, raised her head and looked around, the fairies had already all vanished.

It was a clear anomaly.

The panicked Tanya tried to call Ian, but her voice wouldn’t come out properly. Tanya suddenly felt an immense dizziness.

’...Tanya?’

Likewise, by the time Ian sensed the strange atmosphere and looked back, Tanya had already disappeared.

Soon, Ian also lost consciousness as a dizzying sensation overwhelmed him.

* * *

Sometime after lunch. Rin muttered while rolling around on the sofa in the living room.

’What should I do this afternoon...?’

The hot spring lodging where they had been staying for several days already.

The facilities here were quite flashily and luxuriously decorated. She knew Ian had spent quite a bit of money on the lodging at the newly built base in Labyrinth, and it didn’t fall behind those facilities.

The meals were good. The beds were good. She had no complaints about the lodging itself.

However, there was a major problem that couldn’t be solved....

Rin raised her head from the sofa and asked Airi.

’Airi. What should we do?’

’Hieek!’

Airi had been sitting on the corner sofa, dazed and smirking while touching her lips, but she was startled by Rin’s sudden question.

The flustered Airi gauged Rin’s reaction and answered.

’H-hot springs...?’

’Again?’

’Then a nap?’

’....’

Life at a hot spring lodging with nothing to do.

It had already been several days with the same schedule.

Of course, that’s what a vacation is, but there really was nothing to do here.

The beach they went to during the last vacation at least had some places to play, but there weren’t many such things here.

Touring the few tourist spots in the city was all finished in a single day.

After that, it was an endless repetition of hot springs.

Sitting still in the lodging all day for hot springs. It was a routine that didn’t suit Rin’s temperament at all.

Just then, Lia, who came into the living room, looked inside and spoke.

’Airi. Shall we go to the hot spring?’

’Ah, okay.’

Airi, who was sitting, stood up hurriedly upon hearing Lia. Rin stared intently at the two of them.

It was the biggest mystery since coming here. She had tried so hard to get those two to become close, but then suddenly at some point, they were speaking comfortably to each other.

Rin watched the two with suspicious eyes.

Something likely happened on the first night, the night they passed out drunk.

Unfortunately, Rin had no memory of that time at all.

Whenever she tried to hear about what happened, both of them would gloss over their words with bright red faces.

It must have been something interesting. It was a regret that she couldn’t see it because she was sleeping off the alcohol.

’Are you going to the hot spring again?’

’It’s a place you come to do hot springs.’

’I think I’ve gone in at least 20 times already....’

Rin answered while lying on the sofa.

Apparently, for those two, staying still in the hot spring without even talking suited their temperaments.

’Ah, are you going to the hot spring? I want to go too.’

And Mika also jumped up upon hearing the word hot spring.

Mika was the same when it came to liking hot springs.

Was it because she was a mage? She really liked being in the hot spring. She had said something about the mana in the spring water being this or that, but it was something Rin didn’t understand at all.

Since the situation had been like this for the past few days, the only people Rin could play with were Tanya and Ian, but unfortunately, both were currently away.

’When is the Captain coming...?’

The lying Rin muttered with a sad face.

Ian was out with Tanya to check the place called the herb fields. He said the goods were prepared and he had to go check their condition.

She didn’t follow because it was work, but if she had known it would be like this, she should have at least followed him there.

Just as Rin was enduring the boredom, someone knocked on the door of the lodging with a loud noise.

’It’s an emergency! You’re the members of the Ian Mercenary Group, right?’

’Yes? Who are you?’

’I-I’m a staff member working at the herb farm above....’

Rin felt an intuition that sparked like lightning.

Something like this happened during the last vacation too. It was a sign of a major event occurring.

Rin, with her eyes sparkling, jumped up and replied.

’Yes! We are the Ian Mercenary Group! What’s the matter? Did a monster appear?’

’N-no, it’s not a monster, but it’s an emergency!’

The staff member spoke to Rin with a panicked face.

’Captain Ian and one of the members who was with him have gone missing!’

’...What?’

* * *

Ian slowly opened his eyes.

He was definitely outside, but where he opened his eyes was a dark space. At a glance, it looked like a cave.

Ian stayed lying down and just opened his eyes to look around, recalling his memories from before losing consciousness.

He was definitely at the herb farm before he passed out.

Tanya disappeared first, and Ian also felt a dizzying sensation before losing consciousness.

And the place he woke up was here. Inside a cave he didn’t recognize.

He had no memory of seeing anything pouncing on him, so perhaps he had fallen into something like a space-transfer trap.

’....’

While he was having such thoughts, a familiar voice reached Ian’s ears.

It was the sound of Tanya’s voice.

Tanya, who had disappeared first, seemingly woke up before Ian.

More than that, Tanya was talking with someone. It seemed someone else besides Ian and Tanya was in this cave.

Ian, slightly raising his head, looked in the direction where Tanya’s voice was coming from.

’Yes, so... um.’

Tanya was explaining something to the person in front of her with a troubled expression.

To be precise, it was something in the shape of a person.

A figure burning while emitting a subtle light. Something like white flames gathered to form the shape of a human. At a glance, it even looked like a person was on fire.

It was a cave where light didn’t enter, but thanks to the light emitted from that figure, he could see the surroundings, albeit faintly.

And fairies were flying around that burning female figure.

The appearance of the fairies, which were usually not clearly visible to Ian’s eyes, was quite distinct here.

’Perhaps, a spirit?’

Ian surmised after seeing the form that didn’t look human.

The spirit sat in front of Tanya, nodding while listening to the story Tanya was telling.

’I see.... That’s interesting. A lot of new things have been created outside.’

Ian eavesdropped on their conversation for a moment. It seemed Tanya was telling stories of the outside, and the spirit was asking questions about things it was curious about.

However, Tanya’s expression visible from a distance looked extremely troubled.

A fairy that flew to the side of the spirit whispered something.

The spirit tilted its head and asked Tanya with a curious face.

’Then, what is the purpose of the thing these children often call ’paizuri’? It’s not for the purpose of breeding.’

’Uh... that’s.’

Tanya, who had received another flustering question, hesitated with an awkward face before answering.

’I don’t really know either... I haven’t done it that much....’

’But listening to these children, they say you do it quite often?’

’N-not that often...!’

’By human standards, once every 2 or 3 nights seems enough to be called ’often’?’

Tanya, her face flushed red, was flustered, unable to properly answer the spirit’s question.

It seemed that as the fairies who usually followed Tanya told the spirit about the things they had experienced, the spirit was asking Tanya more about the things it found curious among them.

Eavesdropping for a while, it seemed quite troublesome stories were being exchanged.

Ian left the situation for Tanya to handle and quietly closed his eyes again.