Volume 2 - CH 12.1

Chapter 2-12 : Ice Fang Bats IV (part 1)

We walked slowly to the deeper part of the cave because the floor was slippery, but it’s been two hours since we started walking, yet we haven’t reached the end of this cave.

Just how deep is this cave?

I wasn’t the only one who thought so. Iris-san suddenly stopped walking and talked to me with a fed-up look.

「Store Owner-dono, I think this is deep enough. Shall we start hunting the bats here?」(Iris)

「Umm… maybe you’re right. I’m curious about how deep this cave is, but let’s just start hunting here. I think the bats here will do. They are big after all.」(Sarasa)

Ice Fang Bats that were hanging on the ceiling in this area were about 30 cm tall.

There were even some of them that were more than 40 cm tall, but not many.

Their fangs should be cold enough to use as materials to make a freezer.

「Hoo… Even I can tell the difference between these bats and the ones near the entrance.」(Andre)

「Oh, right! Store Owner-dono, if I hunt all the bats in this area and sell their materials, will the money be enough to pay my debt?」(Iris)

「Hmm… I don’t think so. Well, it will decrease, but not much.」(Sarasa)

「Eehh….」(Iris)

「I knew it. Hahh… Iris’ life sure is expensive.」(Kate)

「Uhh… I’m sorry.」(Iris)

The potion I used to heal Iris-san was too expensive to give for free, so it can’t be helped.

「But Iris ojou-chan, you’re lucky that Sarasa-chan was willing to help you even though you couldn’t pay for the treatment right away.」(Andre)

「Moreover, you were just a stranger for Sarasa-chan back then.」(Gray)

「You should be grateful to her.」(Gil)

「Yeah, I know. Of course I know. If not for her, I wouldn’t be here… I’m sorry, Store Owner-dono.」(Iris)

「Don’t worry about it. Even an alchemist like me can’t afford the potion, so you don’t need to rush.」(Sarasa)

「Wait a minute… Even someone like you can’t afford it? Then, how did you make that potion? If that potion was ridiculously expensive, then the materials to make it were also expensive, right?」(Iris)

「Ah, actually, that potion was a farewell gift from my master. She gave me that in case I got seriously injured during work.」(Sarasa)

「Gu,ha!….. S, So… you used such a precious item for my sake…?」(Iris)

「Yeah, but you don’t have to worry about that. It’s cheap compared to your life.」(Sarasa)

Besides, I’ll get a lot of money once you pay your debt~

「Aaahh~! Store Owner-dono, please bless this mortal with your light!」(Iris)

「Huh? What do you think I am…?」(Sarasa)

「An angel!」(Iris)

「No, no. I’m just a normal human, okay?」(Sarasa)

「But I can see a pair of beautiful wings on your back! Store Owner-dono, I’ll do my best to pay my debt, so please give me your blessing!」(Iris)

「O, Okay, good luck. Anyway, try to hunt the bats here for starters.」(Sarasa)

「Leave it to me!….. Aa!………..Umm, Kate? Can you do it for me…?」(Iris)

「After you said ,”leave it to me” a second ago!? Hahh… Well, you’re a melee fighter, so it can’t be helped, huh. Alright, I’ll do my best in your stead.」(Kate)

「Ooh! As I expected from Kate! You’re truly my reliable partner!」(Iris)

「Yeah, yeah.」(Kate)

Saying that, Iris-san hugged Kate-san.

Kate-san smiled bitterly and turned her face toward me.

「Store Owner-san, I just have to shoot them down, right?」(Kate)

「Basically, yeah. But try to kill each bat in one shot. If you don’t kill them in one shot, the injured bat will start screaming and wake the other bats. Ah, also, try not to shoot their heads. It will be meaningless if the fangs get damaged.」(Sarasa)

「Hmm… That will be difficult…」(Kate)

「Now that I think about it carefully, killing them in one shot without aiming for their heads surely is difficult… Maybe using a large net is the best way if you can’t use magic.」(Sarasa)

「Sarasa-chan, what can we melee fighters do to help? We don’t have a net nor other useful things to catch the bats.」(Andre)

「Umm, Collectors always bring big bags and pockets, right? Can you collect the bats that Kate-san and I kill?」(Sarasa)

「Okay. Easy peasy.」(Andre)

「Alright, let’s get started then.」(Sarasa)

I used wind magic to shoot down the Ice Fang Bats, and then Andre-san and his friends would collect them.

Kate-san was also shooting them down with her bow, butー

「Aa!」(Kate)

After she shot down about five bats, she missed a shot.

Perhaps because it was a little dark here.

The half-dead Ice Fang Bat that Kate-san failed to kill, started screaming while flying randomly, waking up the other bats before it fell to the ground.

The other bats started flying and making a fuss, but they won’t collide with us thanks to my Air Wall.

「I’m sorry!」(Kate)

「it’s okay. Andre-san, this is your time to shine. You can now reach them with your sword, right?」(Sarasa)

「Ou! Guys, let’s go wild!」(Andre)

「Hell yeah!」(Gil)

While I was still shooting the bats with my wind magic, Andre-san, Gil-san, Gray-san, and Iris-san began to kill the bats that were flying around with their swords.

Kate-san was now collecting the dead bats.

It’s difficult to use a bow in this situation because the bats were flying randomly at high speed.

Besides, she might hit us with her arrow if she’s not careful.

After a while, most of the bats had flown toward the entrance, and many bats’ corpses were lying on the ground.

「Fiuh…. I think this is more than enough to make a freezer and a refrigerator. Let’s collect them and go home.」(Sarasa)

「Okay. I hope our bag is big enough to hold them all.」(Andre)

Each of our bags was half full with supplies. I wasn’t sure if we could bring all the bats, but when we finished collecting them, they all fit in our bags. Barely, though.

Now we have to walk for two hours on slippery ground with all these bags…

I have an artifact bag that I got from Master, but there’s no way I will use that fancy bag to store monster corpses.

Slippery ground in a cave is dangerous to walk on especially when it goes down, but fortunately, we managed to get out of the cave without anyone getting hurt.

When we stepped outside, we all took a deep breath at the same time.

Even though I used a potion to reduce my sense of smell, I could tell that this was the smell of fresh air.