The D-rank adventurer Weed’s Party was currently facing a difficult situation.
It was something that wouldn’t happen to an ordinary party, but was quite common for Weed’s Party.
“Hey, Weed. You again?”
In response to a companion’s voice from behind, Weed turned around and replied.
“Shut up. You didn’t know either, did you?”
“That’s true, but still.”
When Weed retorted, his companion stopped complaining.
“Come on, it can’t be helped. Besides, it’s always like this, isn’t it?”
“Indeed.”
Weed’s Party consisted of two men and two women.
The two women intervened as mediators, resigned to the situation.
If one word could describe the current state of Weed’s Party, it would be “lost.”
Acquaintances often poked fun at them, asking, “Are you guys really alright?” but there was nothing they could do about it.
Weed, feeling a sense of crisis about continuing as an adventurer, had tried to improve their situation, but there were no signs of improvement.
Furthermore, it was also a problem that the other party members had given up from the start and weren’t thinking of doing anything about it themselves. Ultimately, Weed’s Party’s lost habit (?) was an issue for the entire party.
Weed’s Party, with such a habit, had gotten lost many times during their adventures before. Perhaps the reason the companions didn’t take it too seriously was that they had somehow managed to return to places where they could see the road while wandering, so things hadn’t escalated into anything serious.
***
About three hours after realizing they were lost.
Weed’s Party had already resigned themselves to their fate and decided to take a break. They were more scared of being attacked by monsters while tired than of wasting needless energy. This was one of the useless pieces of wisdom gained from their repeated experiences of getting lost.
Then, something unexpected happened before Weed and the others. A girl appeared, parting the waist-high overgrown grass.
“H-hey, why are you here?”
Weed and the others were currently on one of the floors of the Tower. There shouldn’t be any houses in such a remote place, and a girl shouldn’t appear here. However, the floor they were on was not supposed to have monsters that changed in form. Therefore, they couldn’t figure out what kind of being the girl before them was.
Whether or not she understood their thoughts, the girl tilted her head and asked, “Excuse me. Are you big brothers lost?”
“Guh!? N-no, we’re looking for prey…”
“Oh? Then you don’t need guidance?”
“Yes, we’re lost.”
Weed’s pride, which had flared up for just a moment in front of a child, collapsed easily.
Following the girl walking ahead, Weed and the others started talking in hushed voices so as not to be overheard.
“H-hey. Could this be…?”
“No, that’s impossible. Because it’s us, right?”
“That’s right. It’s impossible.”
Although Weed and the others had an extremely low self-evaluation, they weren’t actually that bad. After all, despite being in their early twenties, they had managed to reach D-rank. Except for getting lost, they possessed skills above the average.
More importantly, as the girl guided them, Weed and the others remembered a certain rumor. This rumor, of course, was about the Fox Inn. It was said that if you followed a child who appeared out of nowhere, you would find a single inn standing alone. Even though the surroundings were supposed to be a dangerous area where monsters appeared, nothing approached it, creating a mysterious zone. The rumor wasn’t just about the absence of monsters; the delicious meals and hot springs offered there were also much talked about.
When the rumor about the Fox Inn first emerged, opinions varied from skeptical to believing, but it quickly spread among the adventurers active in Amamiya Tower. Consequently, many people expressed their desire to stay there, but only a very small number actually managed to do so. There were many discussions about who could stay and who couldn’t, but the answer remained unknown. There were no commonalities discovered based on age, strength, or gender, making it impossible to discern the selection criteria. Some even offered to pay a large sum of money to stay at the rumored inn, but a guiding child never appeared before them. Countless adventurers wished to stay at the Fox Inn, and those who managed to stay gained a kind of status. This further increased the number of people who wanted to stay at the inn, yet the number of reported stays remained very small.
Weed and the others followed the girl with the thought of, “Could it really be us?” They couldn’t believe they were heading to the Fox Inn, the subject of so much rumor. However, when the scenery suddenly changed and a building appeared before their eyes, they finally understood that it was indeed the Fox Inn.
“Wh-what…!”
“No way, us…?”
“You’ve got to be kidding me?”
“I can’t believe it.”
Seeing Weed and the others exclaim their astonishment, the girl tilted her head and asked, “Aren’t you staying?”
“We are! No, we will be staying!”
Weed blurted out hastily, and the girl tilted her head curiously.
***
Weed’s Party stayed one night at the Fox Inn, guided by the girl. The next morning, one of the members muttered, “Ahhh, I was so satisfied. I wish I could stay another night.”
“Me too~”
The two women nodded in agreement. Coincidentally, Weed, who was half-listening to their conversation, completely agreed. The meals served and the well-maintained open-air baths were more wonderful than any inn they had stayed at before. The fact that they offered such hospitality without exorbitant prices was also a major plus.
Fully satisfied, Weed’s Party headed to the inn counter, where they found a peculiar item placed by itself. “…Huh? What is this?” It was a small ceramic bottle, shaped similarly to the holy water sold at the temple. As Weed tilted his head, the woman standing at the counter smiled and said, “This is our recommended new product, which was just placed here the other day.” The woman began to explain the product’s contents, but Weed and the others were stunned into silence upon hearing it.
“Wait a minute. A perfume that keeps monsters completely away!?”
“And the effect is up to intermediate level?”
“What is that!?”
“Something like that…!”
Saying this, they stared intently at the bottle. “Um, by the way, how much is it?” When Weed, intrigued, asked about the price, the woman at the counter stated a surprisingly low price for its effect. Upon hearing the price, Weed immediately decided to purchase that perfume, “Fox Repellent Perfume.” Looking back later, he thought he might have been swayed by the inn’s atmosphere and service, but at that moment, Weed wasn’t thinking of anything of the sort. Even though it was cheap for its effect, it was still a considerable purchase for Weed’s Party. However, none of his companions who saw it objected.
Guided by the girl just as they had been upon arrival, they were led to a road they recognized. Rejoicing that they could now return to town, Weed and the others next realized that the girl had already disappeared. Hurriedly searching the surroundings, they were ultimately unable to find her. However, one companion mentioned seeing a fox in the vicinity, which would be unusual, though the others hadn’t seen it, so it was possible it was a mistake. Thus concludes Weed’s Party’s experience at the Fox Inn. One more thing, however. After returning to town, Weed’s Party naturally continued their adventurer activities, but curiously, they found themselves getting lost much less often than before. Whether this was thanks to their stay at the Fox Inn, no one knew.
I was supposed to write about the Fox Repellent Perfume, but it ended up with just a brief mention at the end. Well, well, it’s fine, right? Whether their terrible sense of direction improved due to the Fox Inn is something no one knows.
