Volume 3 - CH 26

Chapter 3-26 : Aiming For The Volcano Ⅱ

「So, Store Owner-dono, do you know where the Salamanders are?」(Iris)

「I don’t know exactly where they are but I know a place where we may find them.」(Sarasa)

Before leaving, I did an investigation to gather information about this volcano.

No, it wasn’t an investigation though. I just asked Master and Leonora-san if they knew anything about this volcano.

As a result, Master sent me a map showing the topography of this area. It seemed like she got the map from her acquaintance. Thanks to this map and the information I got from her, I know where we have to go.

Unlike Master, Leonora-san didn’t have any information about this volcano at all but she sent me artifacts that can help me subdue Salamanders along with a message saying, “Good luck!”. By the way, she asked Daruna-san, Lorea-chan’s father, who visited South Strugg a few days ago, to bring me all those things.

If we successfully complete this mission, perhaps I will share some Salamander materials with them as gratitude.

「So we are heading to that place now?」(Iris)

「Yup. But that place is way hotter than this area since it’s near the crater, so… Adelbert-san, Katerina-san, please don’t push yourself too hard. You two are not wearing Heatproof Coats like us.」(Sarasa)

It will become hotter and hotter the further we climb.

I warned Adelbert-san but he shook his head. He looked confident that he would be able to withstand the heat.

「Sarasa-dono, I may be old but I still train my body every day, so you don’t need to worry about me.」(Adelbert)

Umm… Heat is not something you can withstand with a trained body though…

But he looks as stubborn as Iris, so convincing him may be a waste of time.

When I turned my gaze to Katerina-san, she smiled awkwardly and then nodded to me. Looks like she will stop him if it’s getting too dangerous.

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The temperature was extremely high, but thanks to the Heatproof Coats and the Cooling Hats, we were able to proceed smoothly.

Sometimes we encountered Lava Lizards but normally they won’t attack unless they see us as a threat, so most of them ignored us.

Katerina-san, who had heard that Kate-san brilliantly hunted Lava Lizards the last time we were here, was eager to hunt them too but we stopped her.

Iris-san convinced her by saying, “We will hunt them if we still have room in our bags after we hunt the Salamanders.” However, I don’t think we will have room in our bags because they will definitely be packed with Salamander materials.

Well, if I manage to kill them, of course. Honestly, I’m still not sure if I can defeat a Salamander or not since I’ve never fought them.

「Store Owner-dono, it’s getting hotter now. Are we getting closer to the destination?」(Iris)

We don’t feel the heat because we are wearing Heatproof Coats, so Iris-san shouldn’t be able to tell that the temperature is rising.

She probably could tell from Adelbert-san’s expression.

Katerina-san looked like she was having a hard time as well but not as bad as Adelbert-san. She wasn’t sure if she should stop Adelbert-san or not.

If they were not wearing Cooling Hats, they would have passed out long ago.

Actually, I have a disposable artifact that can reduce the heat for a short amount of time but I planned to use it when we return while carrying the heavy Salamander materials.

There’s no point in using it now.

「I think we are close, but… Adelbert-san, Katerina-san, I think you should stop following us here.」(Sarasa)

「But…!」(Adelbert)

「Adelbert-sama, Sarasa-san is right. We shouldn’t go any further. We may die from the heat.」(Katerina)

Adelbert-san looked down when Katerina-san tried to convince him.

「Adelbert-san please understand. Besides, there’s something I want you to do.」(Sarasa)

「…What is it?」(Adelbert)

「I want you to go down with Katerina-san and look for a place where we can set up a camp.」(Sarasa)

I don’t think we can go back to the forest after the battle, so we have no choice but to camp on this volcano. However, at least I want to sleep in a place where the ground is not hot.

Even though my Floating Tent can float and has an air conditioning function, we can’t just set it up in an extremely hot place like this area. Therefore, I want Adelbert-san and Katerina-san to go down and find a good place.

「Hmm… Looks like I have to stop being stubborn here. Alright, you can leave it to us.」(Adelbert)

Now that I entrusted him with something, he gave up and nodded to me.

He then turned to Iris-san with a strict face and put his hands on her shoulders.

「Iris, help Sarasa-dono as much as you can, will you? And be careful!」(Adelbert)

「Of course, Father! Don’t worry about me!」(Iris)

Seeing those two, Katerina-san turned to Kate-san and encouraged her with a smile mixed with a slightly worried expression.

「Kate-chan, don’t push yourself too hard, okay? Good luck!」(Katerina)

「Okay! Thank you, Mama!」(Kate)

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「This cave is the nearest one but… Unfortunately, there’s no sign that a Salamander lives here…」(Sarasa)

Based on the map and the information I got from Master, there are three caves in this volcano where Salamanders are likely to live.

If they were to live on the surface, I could just use my sensing magic to find their locations, but unfortunately, they normally live deep inside caves, so it’s not easy to find them.

「It’s not going as smoothly as we thought, huh…」(Iris)

「Why are you complaining already? We still have two places to check.」(Kate)

「But this one is the closest to the bottom, right? Thinking that we will have to carry heavy luggage later, it would be best if this cave was the one we were looking for.」(Iris)

Kate-san shrugged and sighed in response to Iris-san’s words.

「I see your point but there’s nothing we can do about it.」(Kate)

「Fortunately, based on the information I got, it’s almost certain that there’s at least a Salamander in this volcano, so let’s keep going!」(Sarasa)