Pandora of Fantasy And Reality Chapter 25

Quest: Secret Medicine of Hope

They headed to the adventurer guild and chose a quest at the receptionist.

The quest they took was the ingredients gathering for Secret Medicine of Hope.

In the past it was an extremely effective healing item, but its  efficacy had degraded due to the update and liberation of the new  world――new capital.

Now it was a quest that almost nobody would take.

There was a rumor that the quest was a candidate to be modified or erased at the next large scale update.

The receptionist smiled at Nanako who took that quest.

「So you’re taking the quest of Secret Medicine of Hope. I look  forward to everyone’s result. Now, please head to the place of the  secret medicine’s maker.」

The four looked at each other, then they nodded and left the adventurer guild.

There was no hesitation in the four of them. They had already finished preparing their equipments and items.

Some players were watching their back.

「Oi, those guys took an unusual quest.」

「Hee……」

These players had good looks. Their hairstyle was set to look thorny.

They were intentionally wearing their clothes and equipments to look a  bit slovenly. It made them looked wild. But, there was ugliness oozing  from their handsome faces.

The quartet were grinning as they stared on the back of Ponsuke’s party.

「Hey, let’s make them our target this time.」

One of them said that. The other three agreed with him.

「Yeah.」

The four players were talking while watching their surrounding.

「Still, I’m wondering. The guys in this time slot, even their avatar has this stupid look on them.」

「Right on!」

These four usually played this game in different time slot.

「Let’s teach the reality to these stupid looking guys.」

「We’re so kiiind~」

The four cackled. The players around them were looking at them from afar. The quartet’s leader noticed that and yelled at them.

「What the hell are you looking at, huuuh!」

The players who were looking at them walked away. The four said some  insults while pointing at them, and then they began to cackle again.

.

.

.

At a stable.

Ponsuke couldn’t hide his bewilderment in front of the animal that was suitable for his huge body to ride on.

「……Hey, this」

He sought for sympathy from the others, but Mariela was frolicking with a horse that had spotted fur.

「Stop that, don’t lick me. I’ll ride on this one.」

Alfie was looking at a graceful black horse that seemed to be a thoroughbred. She immediately made her decision.

「This one is worthy of me. Now, let your back――ouch. Don’t bite on my hair!」

The horse bit on Alfie’s head.

A gentle looking white horse that was a size smaller than the others was snuggling on Nanako.

「Can I ride on you?」

The white horse nodded to Nanako’s question.

Nanako happily got on its back. And then the other two also got on their horse’s back.

Mariela looked toward Ponsuke.

「Come on Ponsuke, be quick. We need to go to three places today.」

Alfie fixed her hair.

「Good grief. We’ll barely finish in two days even by using horse.  But, it’s lucky that we were told about this horse renting place.」

Nanako also looked happy.

「All the mister orcs are really kind and considerate. They also gave me these cute shoes. I think it’s called high heel?」

Mariela threw something at Alfie when she heard that.

「Ouch!」

「You failure of a guardian! ……Nanako-chan, let me take a look at that  high heel later. Also, you must never wear it in front of those guys.  You understand, absolutely don’t okay?」

It seemed Nanako met with the orcs during the day when she was  playing alone with Alfie. Nanako nodded obediently in front of Mariela’s  serious look.

But, Ponsuke was――.

「Hey, listen to me! This is absolutely not a horse!」

――He was looking troubled in front of a donkey.

The NPC said that this was the only horse available for orc.

Nanako looked at the donkey for Ponsuke with a pure expression.

「It’s small and adorable. But, will it be alright if Ponsuke-san ride on it?」

Alfie was looking at Ponsuke with a cold gaze.

「This is a game so it’ll be fine. Still, an orc riding on a donkey is it? Well, this is……really typical for the dev.」

Mariela tilted her head to those words.

「Why do you say the donkey is typical for the dev?」

Alfie and others directed their horse out of the stable and toward the gate.

「There are places that saw donkey as the ride immortal hermit. But,  there are also places that consider donkey as symbol of stupidity. From  the game’s atmosphere, Pandora’s Box Garden has western style. At the  west donkey is considered as stupid. The perception there saw horse as  the ride of knight while donkey is the ride of commoner.」

Ponsuke watched the impudently acting donkey while listening to Alfie’s story.

(Sometimes Alfie is really knowledgeable about various things. Still, do I really have to ride this guy?)

Ponsuke looked down on the donkey.

The donkey spat on Ponsuke.

The spit hit his foot.

「I don’t think I’ll feel any fondness for you.」

The donkey bared its teeth in a smile as though to say, What a coincidence, me too.

However he also couldn’t just stand still forever. The other three  were going ahead, so Ponsuke forced himself to get on the donkey’s back.

Then he realized.

He felt an impact, as though electricity rushed through his body.

「……It’s easy to ride!?」

The huge orc riding on the back of a small donkey.

From a glance it looked like an uncool combination, but from the  perspective of the person himself the donkey felt very comfortable to  ride.

The donkey that had small hooves took a step forward powerfully.

And then the donkey turned around to look at Ponsuke with an expression that seemed to say Fufuhn before it chased after the back of the other three.

(This guy……is irritating.)

When they reached the gate, the players there caught sight of the orc  Ponsuke riding on the donkey. They became the center of attention.

「What’s that?」

「Eh, so pitiable. The horse is really pitiful.」

「No, that’s a donkey right? I saw it somewhere once. But, why is it with an orc?」

Ponsuke passed through the gate while gathering attention from the surrounding. The other three were waiting for him.

The three girls who were riding on magnificent horses looked back at Ponsuke and waved their hands.

「Hurry up!」

They didn’t say anything about him riding a donkey.

(Eeeee, aren’t you three being a bit cold?)

.

.

.

At first the four spurred their horse on the road toward a small village located at the frontier.

They went there in order to obtain flower of hope from an old man who was selling herbs.

It was the first time the four of them rode on horse, but the ride was a pleasant one thanks to the game support.

If this was reality, they wouldn’t be able to stay on the horse’s  back skillfully and also felt a lot of hurts on their butt, with their  inner thigh getting a lot of bruises.

However, it was nice and all that it was a pleasant ride, but Ponsuke looked at the donkey he was riding.

With its short legs, the donkey pulled apart from the three thoroughbred horses and ran alone on the head.

Even though Alfie and Mariela were already raising their hips and  spurred their horse to go faster, they still couldn’t catch up to the  donkey and looked frustrated.

「We can’t catch up at all with Ponsuke! Shit-! I should also ride a donkey!」

Alfie was vexed.

But, the way she was straddling a black horse with her red dress fluttering in the wind looked very picturesque.

Mariela was also the same.

「We’re already going full speed for some times here!」

Behind them Nanako was riding her white horse quite fast.

「You three, please don’t leave meee~!」

Ponsuke who was running ahead by himself couldn’t accept it.

「Why is a donkey this fast? Is it really an animal that can run so quick like this?」

He was bewildered by the speed that was completely unimaginable from  the donkey’s appearance. Then a monster leaped out in front of them.

It was a slime.

「Muh, an enemy!」

Ponsuke drew out his one-handed sword with his right hand. But, the  donkey kept running and stomped the slime. The slime burst into red  light.

「……So strong」

A neigh.

After the donkey showed off how amazing it was, it looked back at Ponsuke and grinned with its teeth bared.

「You got a bad personality.」

The donkey suddenly stopped after he said that to the proud donkey.

Ponsuke couldn’t kill the momentum and got thrown off from the donkey’s back. He fell forward and rolled on the ground.

「NUOOOOO!!」

Alfie and Mariela who caught up from behind looked at the fallen Ponsuke in exasperation.

「What are you doing?」

Alfie sighed. Ponsuke pointed at the donkey.

「You’re wrong, that donkey is――」

Mariela got down from her horse, and then her gaze turned toward a village.

「We’ve arrived. Wasn’t that why you stopped?」

When they looked at the donkey, it was eating grass near the road. It  then looked at Ponsuke and made a grinning face that looked down on  Ponsuke.

(……Devvv. Do you guys really need to go so far like this!!)

Displeasure toward the game developer bubbled up inside Ponsuke.

.

.

.

They went to get flower at the remote village, then went into the mountain to gather honey.

The day turned into night when they secured water from a lake.

They took out tent from their item box, tied the three horses and one donkey to a nearby tree, and gave them water and fodder.

The four of them sat around a bonfire and chatted. Alfie started first with a displeased look.

「Why are we eating sandwich again while camping at night? There  should be a lot of other options, like soup, or wilder menu like grilled  fish.」

The source of her displeasure was the food.

After all Mariela was the only one who could cook among them.

Furthermore the only food that she had become able to somehow make recently was only sandwich.

「There’s also hamburger you know?」

「That’s not it!」

Mariela took out hamburger. Nanako accepted and ate it. Ponsuke also did the same.

However Alfie was the only one who spread out her arms and began to talk passionately under the starry sky.

「Eating sandwich outdoor! I can accept that. But, right now is night!  I believe that there is more suitable cooking for this occasion!」

Ponsuke ate hamburger while replying immediately.

「I think you should only say that after becoming able to cook on your own.」

Alfie pointed at Ponsuke.

「Don’t crush my opinion with logical reasoning!」

Vein pulsed on Mariela’s temple. And then she snapped her finger and reached for her weapon.

「Shut up and eat before complaining! Or what, should I teach you a lesson here?」

Alfie also reached for her weapon.

「Just try it. I’m bringing spare weapons with me. I’ll teach you your place right here, which is below me!」

Both said that and held their weapon. They walked away from the bonfire and started fighting.

Damage from battle between players would become extremely small. It made it difficult to decide the victor.

The fighting wouldn’t end and it would only reduce their equipment’s endurance.

Nanako was smiling wryly as she watched the two.

「They’re really energetic. Also, they look like they’re having fun somehow.」

Ponsuke took out something that looked like water bottle from his  item box and poured the content into a cup. The cup became filled with  piping hot soup.

「Being energetic is a good thing. Though I hope they don’t keep fighting like that all the time.」

He handed the cup to Nanako and then poured another for himself.

The soup felt too hot on the tongue when Nanako drank it. She then blew on it first.

「I think that perhaps that’s their way of communicating with each  other. They’ll reconcile right away with each other even after fighting  like that.」

Seeing the two acting so candidly made Ponsuke thought that there was higher possibility of them being male at the inside.

(Well, at this point it won’t bother me even if they’re GIRL (Guy In Real Life).)

They were his friends who he was having fun together with. It didn’t matter even if they were GIRL.

That was what he was thinking while watching over them with a warm gaze.

「Ponsuke-san, why are you playing this game? It’s not like you’re  aiming to be a clearer, but it also doesn’t look like you’re simply  playing around.」

If he was just going to spend time leisurely in virtual world, it would be better to do it at the sight-seeing area.

Nanako felt curious about Ponsuke who went outside for adventure……but not thinking about clearing the game.

「No, I had seen how the clearers play but, I don’t think I’ll be able  to keep up with them. Besides, orc race is a joke race, so I also won’t  be able to join them. But you know……」

Ponsuke drank his soup and looked up to the sky.

「Now I’m thinking, that it might be fine to just enjoy this game in my own way.」

Nanako casted her gaze down a little when she heard that.

「……I, want to come here again.」

The preparation for her surgery was already in progress. After this Nanako would only be able to login again after her surgery.

Ponsuke didn’t know what to say to her, but he told her his honest feeling.

「It’ll be great if you can come again. Let’s meet again here.」

Tears gathered in Nanako’s eyes.

「……Yes.」

Ponsuke smiled while pouring soup into Nanako’s now empty cup. The  bonfire between them made crackling sound. And then the stars in the sky  twinkled.

Ponsuke opened his mouth to cheer up Nanako but――.

「Nanako-cha――OUCH!」

Pain ran through his head. An arrow magnificently hit his head and caused critical hit. Mariela apologized from afar.

「Sorry! Was there any arrow that flew over there?」

Nanako hurriedly used healing magic on Ponsuke.

「Ponsuke-san, are you alright!?」

Ponsuke lifted his face and said to Nanako.

「I’ll welcome you anytime here Nanako-chan. Even if we have more  people or even if those two leave, I’ll accept you as party member so  don’t……worry」

The critical hit’s effect put Ponsuke into a fainted state and his consciousness was receding.

「PONSUKE-SAAAAAAAN!!」

Prev Table of Content Next