They went deeper. It had been ten minutes ever since they stepped off the road. They navigated carefully, trying to not accidentally hit anything. A breeze blew through the forest, rustling the leaves. The sun shone brightly high above.

“It sure is hot,” William commented.

“It is almost midday, after all.”

“Yeah.” Lily nodded. She was the one in the lead, with William, once again, in the middle. Lily and Feodora passed through the forest with ease, but William, being in an entirely unfamiliar terrain, needed to put extra care into each and every step. In the end, despite Feodora being the leader, she was the one who needed to watch their backs.

Feodora stopped all of a sudden. Her ears twitched, turning to the left.

“Lily,” William whispered, bringing the girl to a stop.

“Something’s on,” Lily murmured, looking toward the direction Feodora’s ears faced.

“You notice it as well? Impressive,” William commented, but Lily pointed toward the fox ears above her head. “My ears are sharper than yours.”

“Let us go closer.” Feodora turned and began walking in that direction. William hoped she knew where she was heading, because he lost track of their location by now. This time, Lily took the middle position, leaving him in the back.

“What are you sensing?” Lily asked.

“A weird sound, with some weird vibrations in the air. Something is not right.”

“Same as me, then. The sound is very faint, though.”

“You’re that sensitive?”

“This is not as impressive as some other members of my army. Some of them could detect targets much farther, with an expense to their physical capabilities, however.”

Hearing Feodora’s story about her previous life rubbed him the wrong way. He couldn’t imagine her as a weapon or an item. Seeing her being treated like that hurts his heart. He regretted not being able to do anything for her.

Feodora extended her hand to the side and kneeled down. The other stopped and kneeled.

“Something is in front of us.”

“I see.”

William couldn’t actually see anything. Whatever this thing was, it certainly masked its presence well. That or maybe he wasn’t good enough just yet.

“It’s coming our way. Prepare for combat.”

After Feodora mentioned it, William finally noticed. It was as if there was a fan that disturbed the air, causing it to shake.

“... I cannot fight?”

“You can use water magic, no?”

“I don’t think it’s a good idea to rely on me creating little puddles.”

Even those little puddles took a tremendous amount of effort from him. There was no way he could use it in combat.

“If that is the case, then-” Feodora stopped. A loud thud echoed through the trees. It was the first thing William heard. The two girls tensed up, their ears straightening.

“It stinks.” Lily inhaled the air, grimacing. William thought he couldn’t smell anything, but not long after, a terrible smell floated into his nostrils. He covered his nose, but remembered that this could function as training. He steeled himself and let his nose open again.

Yuck!

A figure emerged from between the trees. A large, round monster, something similar to a red slime. Two large eyes occupied its side, with a pointed horn appearing from between the monster’s eyes.

The plants immediately surrounding it were drained of their color, slowly withering away.

“We need to stop it,” Lily murmured.

“What is that in the first place? A slime?”

“I do not know.” Feodora shook her head.

“No one ever described a monster like that. Slimes usually don’t have horns or eyes.”

“You don’t think it’s a demon, do you?”

“I am afraid I need to consider that possibility. I am going to take it on.”

“You serious, Feo?” Lily asked, worried. Feodora turned around, a determined look on her face. Lily let out a sigh. “Be careful.”

William and Lily then distanced themselves from Feodora, giving her space. He closed his eyes, trying to tear his mind’s attention away from the terrible smell. He reached out. He reached out again, searching for that wet feeling he felt yesterday. He still didn’t know what that thing was, but he knew it must have something to do with magic. He searched for it. He needed something more than puddles if he wished to help Feodora.

He felt something surrounding him. He opened his eyes, for a moment thinking that he gained the ability to use magic, only to see himself glow dark blue. Feodora and Lily emitted the same glow as him. Feodora turned her head, taking a quick look at them, before charging forward. She leaped across the ground, above the plants and roots covering the dirt.

“ROOO!?”

The slime reeled back. With a quick movement, Feodora brandished her sword in the air. She brought it down straight on the slime, striking it in a vertical strike.

“!”

Feodora’s sword struck through the creature, breaking its horn and slicing deep into its body. She pulled it out, her eyes widened. A good portion of the blade had turned red. Its texture was rough, a far cry from the smooth metal surface it previously was. Feodora tapped it onto the ground, half of the blade instantly shattering into pieces.

“... I should have given it some magic shield,” Feodora murmured, hopping back.

“This is bad,” Lily muttered.

The slime started moving closer. It was relatively slow, but it still posed a major threat.

Is it…

William stood up and aimed his hand straight toward the enemy.

Come on! Water, come forth!

A single drop of water flew from his right palm, landing on the slime’s bottom. It instantly evaporated, but not without creating a mark on the slime.

“William, you are a genius!” Feodora exclaimed. With a somewhat confident but slightly flat smile, Feodora extended her hand.

“We are lucky there is a river nearby!” Feodora said as a stream of water flew from both of her palms, hitting the monster. The slime writhed in pain as it was hit with a continuous flow of water.

“Alright!” Feodora’s left hand changed color from dark blue to light blue. Instead of a water stream, it started firing ice shards.

“ROOOO!” The monster let out a painful scream as its body shape twisted and turned. Feodora ignored its screams. She continued firing, drilling her magic ice deep into the beast. Its screams grew louder as it tried charging at her.

She didn’t flinch at the incoming threat. She stood there, her attacks intensifying. Eventually, it collapsed and disappeared, leaving nothing but a red pool of acid mix. Feodora let out a relieved sigh, wiping the sweat off her head.

“So… quest complete?” William asked from behind him.

“We need to tell the hunters about this. But, for now, there seems to be no more threat.”

“So should we head back?”

“Wait a moment.”

Feodora extended her hand, followed by a quick rain limited to the area immediately in front of them. She then brought her hands back and placed them in front of her chest. They turned from their dark blue glow to a brown glow, followed by dark green.

“That should do. Now, let us return.”

* ••

“Sir, I regret to inform you that the magic slime has been destroyed.” A demon kneeled in front of another demon, their body shaking. The other demon stared at them, their cold red eyes showing clear disappointment.

“Is that so?” They asked in a calm tone, their voice sounding so cold that it could drop the temperature.

“Umm, Yes! Sir!” The demon they talked to, a lower demon, trembled.

“That is only one of the weapons we have prepared to face the humans. I have entrusted you to the other weapon. What happened to that one?”

“The ballista… Sir?”

“Have I ever trusted you with something else?”

“That… it…” The demon’s eyes darted all over the place. “It had been damaged.”

“Oh? How come?” The higher demon raised an eyebrow.

“Someone shot something at it, Sir!”

“... You have three days to complete repairs and destroy that city. If not… let’s just say I won’t be so kind to you.”

“Yes, Sir! Thank you for your kindness!” The lower demon was clearly frightened. The higher demon’s lips twisted in delight. They stood up, spreading their bat-like red wings. They took a sword and faced it straight toward the lower demon’s head.

“Ehhh!” The lower demon shook.

“What are you doing here? Are you not interested in preserving your life?” The demon stabbed the sword to the ground.

“I shall depart at once!” The lower demon turned around and ran out.

“Hmph.” The higher demon smirked. They let out a chuckle.

“We’re not supposed to rely on that slime in the first place.” They pulled their sword out and returned it to the tube next to their seat.

“Such ridiculous humans. You can do evil things in your previous life, yet you’re a useless wimp here.” The demon looked back at the door where the lower demon had left.

“Things are going to get exciting.”

* ••

Upon arriving back in the town, the three immediately went to report the slime to the hunters. After that, they proceeded to the local adventurers' guild, bringing the same report, before heading back to Charles’ home.

“So there really is a monster!” Charles cried after he heard the news.

“Unfortunately, there is. It dispersed after we destroyed it, so we failed to bring back any evidence other than this shattered piece.” Feodora kneeled down, showing the damaged horn to Charles. None of them were sure what it was for.

“Woah.” Charles pulled out his hand, but Feodora quickly pulled the horn back.

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

“Please refrain from touching it.”

“I’m sorry.”

Feodora extended the horn back toward him. This time, Charles simply looked at it, not daring to do anything else.

Once Charles was satisfied, he took a step backward, while Feodora applied some kind of magic on it and stored it in her bag.

“Thanks a lot for completing the quest! Mister and Aunties!” Charles beamed. Feodora let out a thin smile as she looked at the child. She raised her hand and patted Charles’ head.

“Do not go to the forest on your own, okay? That is dangerous.”

“Okay!”

“And do not go near monsters. They can kill you. Stay close to your parents at all times.”

“I will!”

“Now then.” Feodora rose up and turned toward William.

“So, it’s done, huh…” Lily muttered, also looking at William. William replied with a nod.

“Let’s head back.”

“Okay.”

“Oh, Mister, Aunties, please wait a moment!” Charles said, running back into his room. His mother stood next to the doorway, close to the three.

“Thanks a lot for taking out the monster. I thought Charles was just seeing things,” she said, looking back at them.

“It’s our job, ma’am. However, I advise that you be careful going forward. The monster we face is something I never saw before. I’ve reported it to the local authorities,” Lily said. If a guild receptionist didn’t know anything about it, things didn’t look so good. What made it worse, was that the slime couldn’t be damaged with normal swords or weapons. Magic was uncommon, meaning not everyone could tackle it.

“Yeah, make sure to report anything out of the ordinary to the guild. Normal weapons don’t work against that monster. Don’t worry, though. Feo here took care of it.”

“I will. I’ll also tell my husband about this.”

“Mister, Aunties!” Charles ran back into the guest room, bringing a piece of paper with him.

“This is for you!” He brought the paper up, handing it over to Feodora. Feodora took the piece of paper and opened it, revealing a cute drawing inside. There were six people. Charles, his mother, and his father were on the left side of the drawing. On the center was a shield-like object, and on the right side were drawings that resembled Feodora, Lily, and William, all three using a sword fighting against a rendition of the monster. It looked a bit different from the one the three fought, but it was close enough.

“This is beautiful,” Feodora said, smiling as she held the picture. She showed it to William and Lily. “But only-” William was about to ask why the three of them were swordfighting, when only Feodora did anything, but Lily bumped his sides before he could get his voice out.

How do you know what I was going to say?

“Oh, Mister, Aunties, the quest paper?”

“The quest paper?”

William took it out from his bag, handing it over to Charles. Charles took it and ran toward the table, taking a pen from it, and drew on the stamp. The stamp lit up, signaling that the quest had been completed.

“Here!”

“Thank you.” William accepted the paper.

After some more light talk, the three headed out. Feodora turned off the shield surrounding the truck and boarded. The truck vibrated lightly as its engine was turned on.

“Goodbye!” Charles waved back.

“Stay safe everyone.” Feodora waved.

“See you later,” Lily said out the window as the truck left. William navigated the vehicle out of the town. A knight was kind enough to help guide them to the exit.

“Thank you.”

“Please stay safe. I hope to see you again.”

They parted ways with the knight, heading back toward Pakihana.

* ••

“Can I attach this?” Feodora held up the drawing Charles gave him.

“Sure… but where?”

“The cab is out of the question, isn’t it?”

“Yeah.”

The truck cabin didn’t have much empty space. A drawing would unfortunately either obstruct views or reduce space, as small as it was.

“Maybe the metal box?” William pointed backward. He then pointed downward.

“There’s a lever there to pull the backrest.”

Feodora reached down, using her hand to search for the lever.

“... Umm…” She was held behind by the seat belt.

“You can release it.”

“Won’t it be dangerous?” Lily asked, but William shook his head.

“I’m sure it will be fine. Besides, we may need to operate the railgun while moving someday.”

“Ah, right.”

“I will count this as training, then.” Feodora let go of the seatbelt and put down the drawing on the dashboard, Lily holding it in place for her. She then sank underneath the dashboard. She pulled the lever, and the backrest fell. She moved back up and opened the door. She crawled to the back through the door. Lily took the drawing and handed it over to her.

“Where should I attach this?” she asked.

“Anywhere, just make sure it didn’t obstruct the turret, the operator seat, or the shell dispenser.”

“Here?”

“I can’t see where.”

“I forgot about that.”

“Don’t worry. I’ll check it when we arrive.”

“Okay.” He heard some rustling coming from behind. Feodora then crawled back out of the door. She pulled the door closed and returned the backrest back up, before reaching out to the seatbelt and clicking it into place. It took quite an amount of effort to get in and out of the small connector, but Feodora’s little body, and her past training, presumably, helped her a little. William could see Lily also doing it, but he couldn’t see himself crawling in and out, at least not when the other two were in the cab with him.

In the distance, a large city came into view. Their current base for now, Pakihana. Once they arrived at the gate, a knight stopped them. William lowered his window as the knight stepped to the right side.

“Sir,” the knight called.

“Is there something I can help you with?” William asked, preparing his documents.

“Documents, please.”

It was expected, but It hadn’t been late yet, so he didn’t get why the knight would ask him for it. Still, he took them and handed them over.

The knights made a quick inspection of the documents, before returning them.

“Please follow me,” he said. He took his horse and guided the vehicle into the city. They navigated the cobblestone roads, arriving in front of a large building at the center of the city, not far from the adventurers’ guild. Feodora deployed her shield and the two followed the knight inside the building.

“Do you know him?” Feodora asked.

“No, I don’t. How about you?” he asked Lily.

“Just because I used to be a guild receptionist, doesn’t mean I know everyone even remotely related to the business.” She shrugged. They wondered what they were called for when the knight showed them to a room. They saw some familiar faces as they entered. Waiting on one of the sofas was the Pakihana Sheriff, Captain Daven, and sitting across him was a receptionist who first served them when they arrived, Arkancel. The two turned their heads toward them when they arrived.

“William, Feodora, and… who is the other one again?” Arkancel rose from her sofa when she saw their appearance.

“Lily. Thank you very much.”

“Lily, yes, Lily.”

“... Receptionist lady?”

“Just call me Arkancel.”

“Arkancel? I wasn’t expecting to see you here.”

“Hello, Lady Arkancel.”

“Just Arkancel is fine.”

“You three should sit here.” Captain Daven rose up from his seat, moving next to Arkancel. William and Feodora sat down across them. Lily, meanwhile, stayed standing.

“Something’s up, isn’t it?” She crossed her arms.

“Yes. Please sit down.”

Lily sat down next to Feodora, looking toward Arkancel across her.

“Why do I have the tiniest bit of inclination on what this is about…”

“Lily, you used to be a guild receptionist, right?” Arkancel asked, Lily nodded in response.

“Then maybe you found a similar situation before.”

“Maybe.”

“Please wait here for a moment.” The knight saluted and headed outside the room.

“What’s going on?” William asked.

“The head knight will tell you personally,” Captain Davin replied, taking a sip from the cup of tea in front of him.

“Alright.”

A while later, the knight returned with a different knight. They wore the same armor, but the metal section covering the other knight’s shoulders was colored red.

“I apologize for taking your time. My name is Commander Ama Wilowe. I’m the head of the Pakihana Knights.” The knight saluted. William, Feodora, and Lily stood up to return the salute. The four then sat down.

“Anyway, let me explain the situation. You are registered as the owner and operator of a magic carriage. The magic carriage in question is the one parked outside this building. It had a metal box on the rear with a weapon on top of it. Is that correct?”

“Correct.” William couldn’t think of any other vehicle that fits that description.

“I have received a message from the soldiers on the front line. They claimed that they caught a glimpse of a vehicle looking similar to your carriage in the front lines, on a road heading to a ledge.”

Was it those two knights? But they didn’t approach us.

“Not long after, you fired a magic attack that damaged the ballista the enemy used. The enemy managed to shoot one follow-up magic counterattack that destroyed the ledge. Parts of the ground fell above the remains of Haleo Berena, but there were no casualties. If it is indeed your vehicle, I would like to ask you a few questions.”

William glanced toward Feodora and Lily, and they nodded.

“Yes. We saw the ballista preparing to fire on the knights' encampment at Haleo Berena. We confirmed the ballista as operated by the enemy and fired, damaging it. We then escaped in time.” Feodora reaffirmed the story. Next to her, Lily nodded, adding, “We barely escaped.”

There were only a few meters between them and the part of the ledge that collapsed. Had they been just a few seconds late, they may have gone tumbling down along with the rest of the surface. Whether the truck would survive it or not, that was an entirely different question.

If this was the very same truck that he had driven back on Earth, the answer was obvious. No truck would be able to survive a fall that high. His truck did have the auto-repair feature, but he didn’t want to test how far it would go.

“While we did fail to spot you and stop the ballista, all of those are our failures, we are incredibly grateful for what you did. You saved countless lives.”

William scratched his head.

“We didn’t do that much.”

“Is that so? The report we received described your attack as ‘god descending to rescue humankind’.”

Well, a Goddess did help me.

“I wouldn’t take it that far. We just have a… powerful magic weapon, that’s all,” he replied, treading carefully, not wanting to give out too much information to the knights.

“For that, we knights would like to ask for your assistance.”

“Hmm?”

“Using telescopes, we confirmed that the demons had expedited their repairs on the ballista. It wouldn’t be long before they are ready to attack. We request your help in taking out that ballista. Rest assured, we have a handsome reward waiting for you.”

William looked at Feodora and Lily again.

“Can I have some time to speak with them?”

“Yes. Shall we leave the room?”

“I’ll knock when we’re done.”

“Alright. Please take your time.” The knight motioned to Captain Daven and Arkancel, and the three left William and his party members alone.

“What do you think?”

“I would like to say that I will follow you… but, that is not why you ask them to leave, is it?”

“Yeah. Is this even soundproof?” William took a look around the room. It was a normal room with two wide sofas and two single sofas, and a table in the middle of it. It had light green wallpaper and white tiles forming the floors, nothing special.

Lily stood up and knocked on the wall. “... It probably is? I’m not sure, though.”

“I am pretty sure it is, assuming we do not shout our words.”

“How do you know?”

“... I cannot provide concrete evidence. It is what you called a hunch, right?”

“That’s enough for us. Right, William?” Lily returned to the sofa, sitting back down.

“Don’t worry. I’ll trust you on this.”

“Thank you. So, is there any reason you felt hesitant on accepting this quest? You did say you wanted to destroy that ballista,” Feodora asked, returning the focus to the enemy they were about to face.

“Yes. Just imagine it, a battle between two overpowered weapons, two railguns clashing against each other.” William spread his hands, his mind marveling at the sight. Well, a ballista did loosely fit the term railgun, very very loosely.

“That’s what you’re taking out of this?” Lily gave him a glance, before letting out a sigh. “Is this how the people from your world act?”

“No, probably not.”

“So, is there another reason you did not like the idea of helping out?”

“It’s not dislike, per se. I just don’t want to be tied with the knights.”

His truck was a long-distance weapon, a railgun that could shoot at a target kilometers away. He had no other skill and couldn't wield any other weapon. If he fought with the knights, would he be involved or expected to help in other battles? His truck, acting as an artillery, could only shoot once every hour. For the rest of the time, he would be useless.

His original plans involved him acting as an adventurer, taking individual quests as he fought off the demons. Not different from the knights’ goal. But he preferred moving as an individual party, not tied to a larger organization like the knights.

“I mean, if they knew our potential, they wouldn’t want to let us go, right? I’m worried about that.”

Feodora stopped and pondered. “That made sense. I knew about several cases, where certain individuals are roped into our operations.”

Lily shook her head, however. “I don’t know what your past worlds are like, but here, adventurers, sheriffs, and knights are entirely different organizations. Just because you show your usefulness once, doesn’t mean they’ll chase you down like dogs. They’ll offer you to join, of course, but they won’t force you.”

“I see…” Hearing that gave him a sense of relief. If he wasn’t tied down to the responsibilities, and could come and go as he pleased, he wouldn’t mind. He was a truck driver, after all. Going around is part of his job, and he wanted to keep that freedom of choice, choosing which job to do, where to be, and having his own schedule.

I came to this world to kill demons and fire railguns, not mess with local politics.

“If that is the case, then I will follow you.”

“Thanks. How do we explain that, though?”

“Let me handle it.” Lily rose from her seat and knocked on the door. The other three came back into the room. Once they all sat down, Lily began her explanation.

“We are adventurers,” she started. “And by that, we would like to have full freedom in selecting our quests.”

“That part won’t change, though?” Arkancel asked, puzzled. William felt like he noticed the slight change in expression in Captain Davin and Commander Ama. It was the faintest of change, but he couldn’t shake off the sense of disappointment, somewhat.

“I know. I just want to make it clear that we don’t want to be tied down with a specific organization, which means we will be keeping our independence as adventurers,” Lily said.

“I understand. We will not force you to accept quests. As adventurers, your party will be free to accept what you want to accept. I swear upon my honor on that.” The commander put his right hand on his chest.

“Promise?” William asked, looking at his face, wondering how serious he was. The knight nodded.

“Promise. We can sign a contract if you are willing.”

“Well, that can wait,” William said, followed by a smile.

“We got a ballista to kill.”