“Ten copper coins!”
“This isn’t even enough to buy a mug of the cheapest ale!”
“Waaaaah!”
“Our quest to defeat the Demon King is already over!”
Heiter stared at the pathetically light coin pouch in his hands.
He looked as though he’d burned down to ash.
“I’ve never seen a king this stingy either.”
Even Yakumo couldn’t stop himself from complaining.
No matter how you looked at it, ten copper coins was absurdly little.
Back when Yakumo was still a beginner doing odd jobs around the village, he could earn several copper coins at a time.
If he accepted slightly dangerous commissions that required leaving the village to gather medicinal herbs and similar materials, the pay was even better.
“Well…”
“Every party that’s gone to defeat the Demon King has failed.”
Himmel patted Heiter’s shoulder reassuringly.
His words seemed partly like an explanation and partly an attempt to comfort everyone.
“Countless Heroes have already set out before us.”
“But most of them failed.”
“They never even reached the Demon King.”
“Many entire parties died halfway through their journeys.”
“Maybe His Majesty is trying to discourage us from leaving by doing this.”
“Everyone before you died.”
“Even if you leave now, nothing will change.”
“Take these ten copper coins as travel money, go home, and live a peaceful life.”
“I think that’s probably what the king was trying to tell us.”
When Himmel finished speaking, his confident smile returned.
“But a Hero’s journey was never supposed to be easy.”
“We can accept commissions along the way to earn traveling expenses.”
“We help people and receive money at the same time.”
“Isn’t that killing two birds with one stone?”
Himmel was remarkably optimistic.
“What’s done is done.”
“We leave.”
Eisen remained as concise as ever.
And so the party destined to eventually reach the Demon King set out…
With a grand royal subsidy of ten copper coins.
It wasn’t that they refused to rest in the capital for one night.
They simply didn’t have enough money to afford even a single room at an inn.
[Yakumo: This might be the poorest Hero Party I’ve ever seen. Ten copper coins as starting funds. Even an RPG would be embarrassed to pull something like this…]
[Eriri: Most RPGs start you with zero money.]
[Yakumo: Yeah, except the demons over here don’t drop gold coins.]
[Furina: Um…! Do you want me to send you some Mora? Gold should be accepted pretty much anywhere, shouldn’t it?]
[Shu: Indeed. I can provide you with some Pure Gold as well, Little Yakumo.]
[Eriri: H-Huh? Now it looks like I’m the only one making fun of him while he’s suffering…]
Maybe she shouldn’t have immediately started bickering with Yakumo.
Ten copper coins really was an absurdly miserable amount of starting money.
And if all they needed was gold…
She could probably get some too.
[Yakumo: Thanks, everyone, but it’s fine. I’ve managed to save a little private emergency fund.]
[Yakumo: Besides, like Himmel said, accepting commissions as we travel isn’t a bad way to do things.]
[Yakumo: Who knows? Maybe we’ll find some dungeons or ruins to explore and hunt for treasure.]
The group originally planned to search around the outskirts of the royal capital for commissions.
But compared to other regions, the area around the capital was far too peaceful.
Most available work consisted of mundane, time-consuming tasks such as cleaning sewers.
That wasn’t particularly suitable for a Hero Party that had already begun its journey.
Thus, on the very first day of their adventure, the party chose…
To camp in the wilderness!
“I didn’t expect we’d get to experience the rustic charm of camping on our very first day.”
Himmel returned carrying a bundle of firewood.
“Heiter, remember when we went camping as children?”
“Back then, I think all you did was panic and get in the way.”
“Did that really happen?”
“I don’t remember anything like that.”
“Hahahahaha!”
Heiter immediately tried to laugh his way out of the subject.
“Now for the important question.”
Yakumo watched Frieren ignite the firewood with magic while Eisen set up a pot over the flames.
“What exactly are we eating for dinner?”
“Uh…”
Heiter froze.
So did Himmel.
Right.
They hadn’t thought about ingredients at all.
They had simply walked straight out of the capital.
So…
What were they eating tonight?
And not just tonight.
What were they eating for breakfast tomorrow?
“Is this party actually going to be okay…?”
Even Frieren began wondering whether joining them had been the correct decision.
The first problem the Hero Party encountered after beginning its journey wasn’t a vicious enemy.
Nor was it some treacherous road.
It was…
Having no ingredients and therefore no dinner?!
“There’s a river nearby.”
In the end, the reliable Eisen offered a solution.
“I’m fairly good at fishing.”
“If we catch enough, we should all be able to eat.”
Fishing was probably one of the most common wilderness-survival options available whenever conditions permitted.
Eisen genuinely seemed to know what he was doing.
They didn’t have actual fishing rods with them.
But he could simply make some.
A tree branch.
A length of cord he somehow pulled from somewhere on his person.
Then he bent a needle into a hook using his bare hands.
And just like that…
A makeshift fishing rod was complete.
“Everyone take one.”
“Frieren, can you store these inside your suitcase afterward?”
Eisen asked.
“I can.”
“But once they’re inside, finding them again might be difficult.”
Frieren looked toward Yakumo.
“Yakumo probably has a more suitable spell for that, doesn’t he?”
“Yeah.”
“Something like that.”
Yakumo took the fishing rods and stored them in his inventory.
Apparently, the rods were categorized under Equipment.
That meant they couldn’t be stacked.
Perhaps because Eisen had made them, the system had judged them as weapons.
The group left Frieren behind to watch the fire.
The four men headed to the nearby river to fish.
[Yakumo: Seriously, can a fishing rod this crude actually catch anything? Pic.jpg]
[Shu: Hm? Are you going fishing? Would you like me to provide bait and something to chum the water with?]
The moment fishing came up, Shu seemed unusually enthusiastic.
[Yakumo: Please give me bait! I’m begging you! If we don’t put anything on these hooks, I’m genuinely afraid we’ll sit here until dark without catching a single fish.]
Yakumo had never gone fishing in his life.
Without bait, he was absolutely certain he’d come back empty-handed.
Fishing fanatics always loved to proclaim that an angler never returned empty-handed.
The problem was…
Anglers somehow managed to catch everything except actual fish.
Sure enough, the four of them sat there for half an hour.
Not a single fish bit.
Only Yakumo, using the bait Shu sent him, managed to catch two fish that seemed particularly lacking in survival instincts.
Another ten minutes passed before Eisen finally began getting results.
“Hm…”
“I didn’t expect someone here to be even better at fishing than I am.”
Eisen actually sounded surprised.