Preparation

The mountain was expectedly filled with poisonous creatures, like poison frogs, flies, bees-you name it. Even the trees became a poisonous species. Although they were pretty weak, they were disgusting and troublesome to deal with, exploding gunks of acid after some died. We were able to absorb the materials, but just being there was a terrible experience.

Disgusting.

While we're mostly immune to the poison, that doesn't mean we like it. Wolf was gagging almost the whole time with his sensitive nose. Poor Wolf.

We came back thirty minutes later. How we last with that stench in there for thirty minutes, I don't know. As we were getting back, I saw the village from afar, bustling with activity unlike earlier. It seems like the villagers are mostly cured. Well not cured, the disease is still there, but the people were saved. For the time being

When we arrived at the village, the villagers indeed look healthy for the most part, but they'll soon fall to the disease if they stay any longer.

We found Naofumi talking with what seems to be the doctor.

"-said that this plague came down from the winds of the mountain? Why would you think so.?

"You see, around a month ago, the Sword Hero came up the mountain, killing the dragon that has claimed the mountains as his territory.

So Ren did kill it a month ago. I knew he will kill, but why haven't I heard of it?

Most likely because we were hunting without any social interactions with anyone at all for the past month.

"Adventurers came up the mountain to watch the Sword Hero slay the dragon. Afterwards, the Sword Hero left the remains behind, letting them freely get the remains of the dragon."

"If we knew there was a dragon, we should've hunted it down before that sword brat!" Wolf snarled. It is indeed unfortunate, but in order to easily judge and tell the future, we must follow the canon path of the light novel.

Otherwise, our butterfly effect will make it hard to predict the future.

But still, dragons? Dragons are said to be powerful and rare, even in this world. Its remains are excellent materials for making equipment, and it is a rarity. Who wouldn't want the remains of a seemingly powerful dragon?

"And so?" Naofumi started to get impatient.

"So the adventurers and other people took most of its remains, almost all the way down to its bones. This brought in a lot of money into the village. The problem was when the dragon's remains started to rot. In their moments of triumph, they most likely forgot to remove the corpse. So when some of the adventurers went to see the body, they came back sick."

"If you know what the source of the problem, then why has it not been taken care of yet?"

"The mountains are filled with powerful creatures, even more so after the disease came down. Some even mutated, adjusting to the environment. It's quite disgusting, so more powerful and experienced adventurers can only go in there, and hope to come back out. The villagers are weaker than even normal adventurers, and so are unable to undertake such a challenge."

"Then why haven't you hired an adventurer to help you?"

"It was already too late...by the time we noticed, the whole ecology of the mountain range was thrown off balance. The air turning even more poisonous, the disease being stronger than ever-even normal adventurers would never make it out. But that doesn't matter, since they won't come at all. Everyone is afraid of the disease, and so no one comes by anymore..."

Naofumi sighed in exasperation, facepalming. Meanwhile, Wolf was still pouting off to the side, snarking.

"I wish I could have a taste of that dragon meat..."

"You can still eat it, it's just rotten."

Wolf eyes gleamed, his ears rising, but suddenly it drooped.

"Rotten meat is not good meat..."

I shook my head. Looking back at Naofumi, I could tell that he's cursing Ren for not cleaning up his own mess. As Ren is the youngest of the cardinal heroes, and as a teenager, he probably wouldn't have given a thought to the lingering effects of a rotting corpse. Since he was also thinking this was like a game, he probably wouldn't give a second thought to most real life consequences.

"So what should we do now, oh Beloved Saint?" The doctor asked Naofumi, not noticing his left eye twitched.

"...have you sent a quest or report of some kind to the Crown yet?"

"Yes, we are waiting for their response, as well as their medicine delivery."

"What about the heroes?"

"They are very busy, taking care of other problems. The Sword Hero had already been here, the Spear Hero having taken care of a famine, the Shield and Bow Hero missing; compared to the other villagers, we're probably not a priority."

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[Naofumi] POV

My eyes twitched again when he mentioned the heroes. The hell we're missing, we're right in front of you!

Anyways, Ren and Motoyasu. Thos two are seriously pissing me off. Why can't they be more like Kindr-Lamb? She doesn't cause a mess like this! They solved problems, only for the solved problems to be even more problematic. I'm pretty sure I'm not their nanny.

I looked to the side, where Kindred has popped up. Lamb was shaking her head at Wolf, who was sulking off to the side. They disappeared a bit after I healed the first patient in long house. They probably went out scouting the surroundings; I gotta ask them about the situation in a bit, but for now...

Buisness.

"Did you send money to the Crown yet?"

"Yes we have."

"So if you cancel it, will the money be returned?"

The doctor's eyes gleamed, looking straight at my eyes.

"Are you going to take care of it, dear Beloved Saint?"

Honestly, I don't care anymore if they call me a saint.. If a good reputation gives me more money and buisness opportunities, I'll take the nickname anyday.

"If the medicine will arrive at a much later time, I might as well take care of it. If I do succeed, I'll accept the payment."

"Yes sir, well the payment should take at least another twelve hours for it to arrive, at the very least.

"Alright, I'm going to take care of the dragon's remains. I will take the money you previously sent to the Crown as compensation."

"Yes sir."

The doctor left, leaving me with the chance to discuss the situation with Lamb, who was looking up the mountain covered in darkness.

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[Lamb] POV

"-so that is the situation huh?"

I've just finished telling Naofumi about the monsters and the environment.

"We shall accompany you on your mission., and will provide backup when needed."

"Oh, sure."

When I accepted Kindred's temporary stay with out travels, I didn't expect them to help us out as much, even now when I accepted a quest of sorts.

"We would like to see the dragon's remains as well, before you dispose of it."

He nodded, but then his face scrunched in confusion.

"Wait, we're both heroes, right? So, wouldn't our exp be nullified if we stay near one another?"

I looked down, stroked my braided hair, thinking.

'Hmm, that is a problem...'

While I was thinking, a notification suddenly popped in front of me.

[𝙃𝙚𝙧𝙤𝙚𝙨 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙖𝙗𝙡𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙜𝙖𝙞𝙣 𝙚𝙭𝙥𝙚𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙣𝙘𝙚 𝙥𝙤𝙞𝙣𝙩𝙨 𝙗𝙮 𝙗𝙚𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙞𝙣 𝙘𝙡𝙤𝙨𝙚 𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙭𝙞𝙢𝙞𝙩𝙮 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙚𝙖𝙘𝙝 𝙤𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧. 𝙃𝙤𝙬𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧, 𝙤𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙤𝙘𝙘𝙪𝙥𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙨 𝙘𝙖𝙣 𝙜𝙚𝙩 𝙚𝙭𝙥𝙚𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙣𝙘𝙚 𝙥𝙤𝙞𝙣𝙩𝙨 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙤𝙚𝙨.]

What do you mean other classes? Aren't they just normal-

A line thought suddenly appeared in my head. Could I...?

I opened my status-

===============================

Kindred (Lamb and Wolf)

-𝐎𝐜𝐜𝐮𝐩𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧: Hero of the Bow Level 39 / The Eternal Hunters ???

===============================

That's right! My other occupation, [The Eternal Hunters], can be swapped with [Hero of the Bow]. I once tried finding out what the other occupation can do, but nothing seemed to change. A thought for later, but for now...

"It is alright, send a party invitation," I said as I looked back up.

He looked at me with an eyebrow raised, before shrugging and sending a party invitation.

A notification appeared in front of me.

[𝙉𝙖𝙤𝙛𝙪𝙢𝙞 𝙬𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙞𝙣𝙫𝙞𝙩𝙚 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙩𝙤 𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙥𝙖𝙧𝙩𝙮. 𝘿𝙤 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙖𝙘𝙘𝙚𝙥𝙩?]

I mentally accepted, and a list of names and levels appeared on the the top left side of my vision, underneath the time for the Waves.

𝐍𝐚𝐨𝐟𝐮𝐦𝐢: 𝐋𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐥 𝟑𝟕

𝐑𝐚𝐩𝐡𝐭𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐚: 𝐋𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐥 𝟑𝟗

𝐅𝐢𝐥𝐨: 𝐋𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐥 𝟑𝟖

𝐊𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐫𝐞𝐝: 𝐋𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐥 𝟑𝟗

It was the same when I saw their names and levels above their heads, but this time it's just listed, with mine included. I saw a flicker of confusion appear in his eyes, but it disappeared a second later. Was he not able to see my name or level above my head? Strange.

"Alright, I'll call for Raphtalia and Filo, and in a few minutes we'll start ascending the mountain."

I nodded, with Woth gruffed in agreement.

With that being said, he left to go find the other two.