Life as an Adventurer with the Banished Marquis' Daughter - Chapter 21: The Exiled Marquis's Daughter Takes Responsibility, Part 1

Chapter 21: The Exiled Marquis’s Daughter Takes Responsibility, Part 1

When I said, “The mission was a failure,” Erika looked puzzled for a few moments, then for some reason, she lowered her head and began to blush. 

Her unexpected reaction left me bewildered; it was too cute.

“Um, well, yes, I realize I might have overdone it a bit.”

She said, glancing at me now and then.

“I know that in situations like this, it’s a lady’s etiquette to let the gentleman take the lead, but I got a bit carried away…”

Our eyes met.

“I’m sorry, I was having so much fun that I forgot to leave any for you.”

Erika bowed her head.

“No, that’s not what I meant by saying it was a failure.”

“Really?”

“Hunting monsters isn’t like noble hunting.”

Indeed, with her skills, taking down a hundred Bonbos would be no different from a noble’s leisurely deer hunt.

“It’s my fault for not explaining, but to be honest, I underestimated your abilities.”

I bowed my head.

“I didn’t expect you to be able to use so many spells so accurately and continuously against multiple moving targets. If I had known, I would have explained it beforehand. I’m truly sorry.”

Erika looked confused when I apologized. 

She still didn’t understand why the mission was a failure.

From her perspective, the target monsters were already reduced to ashes.

“Let me explain, Erika, about an adventurer’s job.”

I gestured for her to follow me and walked towards the spot where the Bonbos had been.

＊

A neat circle of scorched grass marked the area. Judging by the size, there had been two or three Bonbos here.

There were no corpses, just a small amount of ash. 

I honestly thought there would be more left, but the power of the spell was beyond my expectations.

It was clear how extraordinary Erika was, especially considering she could do this to multiple targets simultaneously. If the royal family and the great nobles wanted to keep her away from the academy, they should have just let her graduate early as a special case.

The academy’s goal was to train individuals to rival adventurers. 

With her skills at this level in just three years, no one would have complained about her early graduation.

As I marveled at the sheer power of the spell and its incredible precision, leaving the area outside the circle untouched, I thought about this.

“What do you see?”

Erika tilted her head at my question.

“Ashes.”

“That’s right, only ash.”

Even though she was called a genius, it was understandable that she didn’t know, having only lived as a noble. 

In fact, her battle skills would have been praised by nobles.

But as adventurers, it posed a problem.

“Do you remember what happens when a monster dies?”

“A core magic stone and magic stone fragments, and sometimes parts of the body don’t turn into fragments.”

Erika answered, puzzled by my question.

“That’s right, and we adventurers use those magic stones to prove we’ve completed the hunt.”

As I said this, Erika quickly understood.

“So… I see, that’s why the mission is considered a failure.”

“I’m sorry. I should have explained this from the beginning. It was my mistake.”

I apologized to Erika. This wasn’t about sparing her feelings; it was a fundamental duty of an adventurer.

Sharing information and understanding is essential for adventurers. 

I had neglected that, and if my mentor knew, I’d get a stern lecture.

“But the real issue isn’t that the mission failed.”

Our lives as adventurers were, to be blunt, just a cover, so failing a mission wasn’t a big deal for us. 

However, there were definitely people who would be troubled by this failure.

“The problem is that we can’t show the evidence of the monster we defeated to the client.”

The villagers who requested this job now faced an uncomfortable dilemma: should they believe the adventurers who claim to have completed the hunt without proof, or not?

If there had been a magic stone or two left, it might have been different, but everything was turned to ash. 

The power to reduce even Bonbos’ magic stones to ash in an instant was ridiculous.

Continuing to request help from the Adventurers’ Guild costs money, and even if they believe the hunt was successful, there would still be lingering doubts. 

After thinking for a while, Erika said,

“Let’s take responsibility.”

＊

Erika decided to take responsibility.

She said that since we failed, we had a duty to explain it.

I suggested we could explain it through the Adventurers’ Guild, but Erika insisted on explaining it to the villagers herself. It was just like her.

The village was located close to the grasslands where we hunted the Bonbos, so we used body enhancement to run there quickly. 

This wasn’t just any village; it was a village that supported Hecatai with its food supply.

The village was well-maintained and quite large.

Although there were no barrier devices, it was surrounded by fences and had scarecrow-like magical devices scattered everywhere to ward off monsters.

As we approached the village entrance, we deactivated our body enhancement. An elderly guard, who had been watching us warily with his spear ready, approached.

“We’re adventurers from Hecatai. We’re here about the request you submitted to the guild. Can you take us to the person in charge?”

I said, showing him our guild cards.

The man looked suspiciously at our guild cards, then at us, alternating between the two. It made sense; both of us were still rank 1 adventurers.

He probably wondered what two rank 1 adventurers were doing here.

Despite his suspicion, he believed our guild cards and allowed us into the village, directing us to the village chief’s house.

I wondered how this would turn out.