Chapter 32
Hamma swallowed hard before continuing.
“The more the hero stands against the demon king, the higher his danger level rises…? What does that mean?”
“This thing really has no limits.”
What kind of nonsense is this now?
Just then, Kaizen, who had been quiet, let out a low sigh.
For a brief moment, a look of realisation passed over his face.
“Why? Did something click for you?”
“The day I first found the Demon King’s Castle map, and the day I defeated Hirata. On both of those days, a strange urge wrapped around my entire body. Especially after killing Hirata…”
“You came to me saying you wanted to die.”
A sigh slipped out of my mouth as well.
Now it made sense why he randomly tore up the Demon King’s Castle map in the previous run.
And the same with the day he killed Hirata.
That day, the skull icon gauge filled up ridiculously fast.
Kaizen let out a hollow laugh. Then his expression hardened.
“So when it said ‘danger level increases’, it meant the curse’s effect gets stronger.”
“Yeah. Why does everything keep getting worse and worse…?”
Still, maybe it was better that we found out now rather than later.
Anyway, if I summed it all up, it went like this:
We had to remove each curse within 100 days.
And until all curses were lifted, we had to avoid confronting the Demon King as much as possible.
If it looked like something like that was going to happen, we could prepare anti-curse cooking in advance.
It’s complicated, but it’s not completely impossible.
I turned my gaze toward the village chief immediately.
“You heard that, right? He’s in a seriously dangerous condition right now. If we charge straight into Volcano Village and something goes wrong, the curse could get even stronger. And if we mess up, we’ll reset again. Hamma has to wait another 7 years. You’ll have to wait another 15. Are you really okay with that?”
“……”
The village chief’s face darkened.
He agonized for a long while.
“As the chief, I must avoid becoming the spark that causes conflict between villages…”
“15 years.”
“I can’t allow thievery under any circumstances…”
“15 years.”
His pupils shook violently. He looked torn between his beliefs and the forced reset.
After his lips trembled for a long moment, he finally lifted his head, as if he had made his decision.
“…Fine. We’ll follow your will, Romi. But please promise me you won’t create a dangerous situation.”
I saw that his eyes were different from before.
I chuckled lightly and answered.
“Don’t worry too much. If the Volcano Village people find out Kaizen is the hero, they won’t try to fight that easily.”
“…Is that so?”
“Yeah. So just prepare what we need to get to Volcano Village.”
“Prepare? What kind of…?”
I gave a wicked grin and formed a circle with my thumb and index finger.
“What else? Money, obviously.”
Two days later.
We finished all preparations for heading to Volcano Village.
In my hand was a steel axe with a nicely balanced weight and a sharply honed blade.
“So it was true that the best blacksmith in the village wanted this.”
“You thought I was lying? I may look like this, but I’m insanely good at making weapons.”
“Hey, even so, how does this quality make sense in just two days?”
“Hmph. Why are you praising me so much today?”
Trying to act unfazed, Hamma’s cheeks turned red.
I patted his rabbit ears as they swayed on both sides.
“You can be proud today. But if you’re this good, what level is the ‘best blacksmith’ anyway? I feel like I’ve never even seen his face.”
“Master Ray lives in Hanak Village. He’s obsessed with weapons, so all he does is hammer day and night. If we ever get the chance, I’ll introduce you!”
No wonder the villagers said there were 90 people, but only 89 ever showed up.
Just then, Kaizen walked over lazily.
Even in practical traveller’s clothes, his face still looked unreal. It almost felt like he had a halo behind him.
Fashion really is all about the face.
“When do we leave?”
“Soon. But where’s the weapon Hamma made for you?”
No matter how I looked, I couldn’t see any new weapon.
In his scabbard was still the old crude sword.
When I asked, Kaizen raised an eyebrow.
“…I didn’t receive anything like that.”
Hamma, standing beside us, coughed awkwardly.
“R–Romi niiiiim…”
Looks like he only made a weapon for me.
Kaizen realised it too and let out a dumbfounded sigh.
I patted his shoulder.
“Hang in there, Kaizen. When we get back from Volcano Village, we’ll ask the best blacksmith in Hanak to make you a weapon.”
“It’s fine. Any weapon will do.”
Of course. Kaizen.
A true master never blames his tools.
While I was admiring him internally, Kaizen swept a cynical gaze over Hamma.
…That look feels personal.
“And what exactly should I expect from that rabbit?”
“I–I just didn’t have enough time, okay?!”
“Don’t make excuses. Cowardly rabbit.”
Here we go again.
Do these two have some disease where they’ll die if they don’t argue once a day?
“Take back calling me a cowardly rabbit! Take it back!!”
Now that Kaizen had gotten a lot more comfortable, Hamma started swinging his tiny arms, trying to attack him.
Sadly, he couldn’t reach.
Kaizen held him back by pressing a single finger against his forehead and smirked.
“Uwaaaah!”
Cute little idiots.
Their standoff was honestly heartwarming.
But… what was that?
From far away, a young beastman came running toward us, completely out of breath.
“W–Wait!”
Being a rabbit, he ran over in an instant and held a wrapped cloth out to me.
Inside were cooking ingredients, preserved food, sleeping bags, and spare clothes.
My eyes widened.
“When did you prepare all of this?”
“We couldn’t let you leave empty-handed, haha. All the beastmen in the village pitched in.”
I was genuinely moved by their kindness.
I strapped the bundle onto Hamma’s back despite his whining.
My own backpack was full.
That was when the village chief, who had been running from the very back, finally reached me and held something out.
“Huff… huff… Romi… Please take this too.”
“Oh, this is…”
It was the leather pouch he’d given me in a previous run when we dealt with the orc tribe.
Seeing it again felt strangely nostalgic.
“…I put in enough so you won’t be short.”
When I peeked inside, it was filled with way more gold coins than I expected.
So the gold production really had increased.
I gave him a thumbs up.
“As expected of a village chief. I’ll handle things cleanly so nothing turns into a war. You just wait comfortably.”
“…Please travel safely.”
With the villagers seeing us off, we began our journey.
When there were no inns, we slept in the sleeping bags they’d prepared.
When we couldn’t hunt, we survived on preserved food.
After a full fifteen days of travel, we finally reached our destination.
“I–I can see the entrance to Volcano Village…!”
Hamma, filthy from all the outdoor sleeping, covered his mouth in awe.
Sweat beaded on his forehead.
At the village entrance, tall pillars stood on both sides.
On top of them, bright red flames blazed fiercely.
Even inside the small watchtower beyond the pillars, there was no sign of guards.
Thankfully, it looked empty.
“So that’s the unextinguishable flame at the entrance to Volcano Village…”
Hamma tilted his head in wonder.
It was my first time seeing it in real life too.
A flame that never goes out, whether it rains, snows, or storms.
It was fire bestowed by the fire spirit, the guardian deity of Volcano Village.
It feels totally different from seeing it in a game.
Was it because the fire spirit created it directly?
On screen, it just looked like a special flame.
But in reality, it felt sacred.
Volcano Village truly sat between volcanoes.
No one knew how a village could exist safely between constantly erupting volcanoes.
Hey, that’s just how the game was designed.
What I did know was this:
The village residents were resistant to heat, and thanks to fireproof items produced inside the village, they lived without major trouble.
Once we’re inside, I need to get Fireburst Fruit first.
If you crush it and apply the juice to your skin, you get powerful fire resistance.
While organising things in my head, Kaizen’s voice pulled me back.
“What’s the plan now?”
After glancing at the entrance, he asked casually.
I snapped out of it, turned to Kaizen and Hamma, and said firmly.
“We’re going to become thieves starting now. First, we sneak in without anyone noticing and steal the Essence of the Volcano and—”
That was when it happened.
“Who goes there?!”
