A brown golem groaned as it collapsed to its knees, shattering the earth beneath it. Even with its legs destroyed, it was taller than three fully grown trees. A relatively tiny figure by its kneecap kicked it, causing a series of cracks to travel up its stone thighs before breaking the golem’s limb completely. It groaned again as it fell forward, swinging its arm at its assailant. Before its hand reached halfway down to the ground, a block of ice formed on its shoulder, freezing its movements. With a shout, a girl with a massive shield leapt onto its hand and ran up its arm all the way to its head. She swung her shield and the metal weapon expanded to the size of a house before colliding against the golem’s head, breaking it into pieces. The golem’s body froze and shuddered before dissolving into a massive pile of gravel that rained down with the sound akin to a waterfall.

Alice’s shield shrank as she stood atop it, using it as a board to surf down the golem’s remains. “Golem subjugation, complete,” she said as she took out a notebook from her bag. She crossed out a line before nodding at the page. Nearly all the items on the list had been crossed out. “At the rate we’ve been going, we’ll reach Fairy Drive in two weeks or so.”

Vur and Stella stared at the golem’s remains. Stella tilted her head to one side while putting a finger on her lower lip and asked, “Dinner?”

Vur stroked his chin and hummed.

“You can’t eat rocks, Vur,” Tafel said and rolled her eyes. “We—”

“Actually, you can,” Alice said, cutting Tafel off by placing her notebook in front of the demon’s face. “It’s called rock stew. You add the rocks to the stew to impart flavor on everything else.” Alice nodded and pulled out the pot from Tafel’s massive bag. Though it had been flattened by Vur previously, Alice had hammered it back into shape with her shield.

“Rock stew.” Tafel frowned. “You’re not serious. Maybe you mean roc, like the bird?”

“No. It’s definitely rock, like not the bird,” Alice said as she poured water from a leather sack into the pot. She lit a fire underneath it and placed a handful of the golem’s remains inside. “You’ll see. A fairy companion of mine told me about this once.”

“…You trust fairies?” Tafel asked as Vur took a seat on the ground across from Alice.

“Not all of them,” Alice said, shaking her head as she dumped a few potatoes into the pot. “Just the one. I wonder where she’s been; it’s been a while since I’ve last heard from her.”

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Tafel made a face as her three companions stared at the pot. “There’s a city of sorts right there,” she said and pointed off into the distance. A wall could be seen peeking above the treetops. “Can we eat something civilized? Maybe a nice steak or a bowl of noodles. Or both?”

Vur tilted his head. “What happened to the spirit of adventure?”

Tafel sighed and closed her eyes while rubbing her forehead with her thumbs. Her horns glowed silver and wind circled around the party as a faint outline of a silver circle appeared around them. A light flashed and the party disappeared, leaving behind a burning fire and the remains of the golem. By the walls that Tafel had pointed at earlier, a pillar of light appeared next to a line of people. They stared at the light as it died down, revealing four figures.

Tafel cleared her throat as Vur, Alice, and Stella frowned at her. “Adventurers don’t eat rocks—we just don’t, okay? I’ll eat raw gryphons, wriggling worms, crying bird babies, but I’m not going to eat a rock.”

“Quit cutting the queue!” a voice shouted at them before Vur or Alice could reply.

Alice’s frown deepened. She stood up and dusted off her skirt before marching to the front of the line, approaching the guards at the gate. The guard gulped as Alice glared at him, reached into her pocket, and pulled out her identification card. “Alice Lowenherz, SSS-ranked adventurer.” She gestured at Vur, Tafel, and Stella. “Those are my companions.”

“You… you’re the berserk librarian?” the guard asked with wide eyes.

“Don’t call me that!” Alice said, stomping her foot. The guard fell over backwards as the ground shook.

“R-right! Ms. Lowenherz!” the guard’s partner said and saluted. “Welcome to Dupey’s capital. Have you come to take part in the bimonthly competition?”

“No,” Alice said. “We’re just passing through.”

“Of course,” the guard said and nodded twice. “For an SSS-ranked adventurer like you, the entrance fee is waived. Please enjoy your stay.”

Alice nodded and gestured at Vur and Tafel to follow her with her head. Tafel picked up her back before tugging on Vur’s arm, leaving the carriage and pot of rock stew that had teleported with them behind. “Bimonthly competition?” Tafel asked Alice as they stepped through the city gates.

“It’s Dupey’s idea,” Alice said and shrugged. “He’s one of the dwarf king’s most trusted aides—a general of sorts. He likes recruiting strong people for his army, and the competition is held to find soldiers worthy enough to serve him. He provides them armor and weapons along with a salary. Anyways, we actually have a commission to help someone win first place in the competition.”

“Didn’t you say we were just passing through?” Tafel asked, furrowing her brow.

Alice nodded. “Yes.”

“…And?”

“I lied. Is that an issue?” Alice rolled her eyes. “I’m not a dragon; spare me the lecture.”

Tafel pursed her lips. “You’re upset I didn’t let you finish making that nonsense stew, aren’t you?”

“Me? Upset? I’m never upset,” Alice said and snorted as she crossed her arms over her chest. Her footsteps left cracks in the road as she marched towards a building with a giant fork embedded in its wall. “Here’s the stupid civilized food place you wanted to eat at so much.”

“She does sound upset,” Vur said with a nod.

Stella nodded as well. “That’s three votes to one. Alice is upset.”

Alice sighed. “I hate all of you.”