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雄者たちの酒場 受注クエスト投票企画第六回
🕑 Added 2024-07-13 09:00:00 +0000 UTC机の上にはいくつもの『遺物』が並べられていた。
灰を固めたような真っ白な人形。
削りだしでありながら滑らかな表面の石像。
どうして形を保っているのか不思議なほど崩れかけの彫刻。
そのどれもが人間の姿――それも鍛え抜かれた肉体の男の像だ。神をかたどったものとは思えない。それらはどれも、男が壁や床に埋め込まれ、仰け反り、悶える姿を模していたからだ。
下半身だけをやけに強調した姿や、情けなくひっくり返ったままの姿、どれも目を覆いたくなるような有り様だ。
この遺物が出土し始めた当初は、悪趣味が過ぎるとだけ見做され一部の好事家で話題に昇った程度だった。さしたる額もつかず、ほとんどの人間は存在も知らなかった。まして冒険者たちにとっては、道端で見つけたとしても拾うことさえないガラクタだった。
風向きが変わったのはつい最近である。
この遺物が発見された土地で、新たな遺跡の入口が見つかった。
そして、そこに挑んでいった男たちが『この遺物と同じ姿となって発見される』という事例が多数報告されたのだ。
ここに至り、各種ギルドはこの遺物がただの悪趣味な像でないことを理解した。
これは古代からの警告であったのだ。
壁や床に潜み、人間を襲う魔物。生命力に長けた人間に襲いかかり強制的に共生関係を結び、そのまま生命力を奪う卑劣漢。
それはウォールミミックと名付けられ、すぐに討伐の対象となった。
なにせ姿が見えないのだ。
疲労で壁にもたれかかった瞬間に捕らえられる。
調査のために手を触れただけでも襲われる。
魔物の攻撃を避けて背中が当たってもアウトかもしれない。
そうして捕まった冒険者は、ウォールミミックにそのまま生気を吸われる。それならばまだいいほうで、悲鳴を聞きつけた小型魔物たちに群がられ好き放題されてしまうケースもあるのだという。
このような魔物がいては、遺跡の調査など不可能だ。
可能な限り詳細な生態を把握して、討伐せよと大規模な依頼が出回った。
「つまり、このクエストに失敗したら……こんな格好を晒しちまうってことか」
ベアセスは遺物を片手にボソリと呟いた。
遺物は風化によって表情などは口程度しか残っていないが、それでもその大きく開いた穴からは無様な喘ぎ声が聞こえてきそうだった。
ゴクリ。人知れずベアセスは生唾を飲み込んだ。前回の戦いでケイブワームによって開発されきった尻の穴が勝手に疼いてしまった。
「失敗、しなきゃいいわけだ」
ベアセスは遺物から目を離すと、ギルド所属の男たちの名簿に目を向けた。
存在さえ知っていれば対処の難しい魔物ではない。酒場の冒険者たちであれば誰にでも任せることができるだろう。
【ENG】
A number of "relics" were laid out on the desk.
A pure white doll that looked like it was made of hardened ashes.
A stone statue with a smooth surface despite being carved out of stone.
Sculptures so crumbling that one wonders why they have retained their shape.
Each of them is a human figure - a man with a well-trained body. It is hard to believe that they are in the image of God. They all resemble a man embedded in a wall or the floor, prostrating himself and writhing in agony.
Some show only the lower half of the body, while others show the body in a pitiful, overturned position.
When the artifacts were first unearthed, they were regarded as being in bad taste, and were only discussed by a few enthusiasts. It was not worth much, and most people did not even know it existed. For adventurers, even if they found them on the side of the road, they were junk they would not even pick them up.
It was only recently that the wind changed.
In the land where this relic was discovered, a new entrance to the ruins was found.
And there have been numerous reports of men who have ventured there only to be found with the same appearance as the relic.
The guilds now understood that this relic was not just a statue in bad taste.
It was an ancient warning.
Demons lurked in walls and floors and attacked humans. A scumbag that attacks a person with a high life force, forcing them into a symbiotic relationship, and then stealing their life force.
It was named the Wall Mimic, and soon became the target of a campaign to defeat it.
After all, it was invisible.
The moment he leans against the wall in exhaustion, he is captured.
Even the mere touch of a hand to investigate would result in an attack.
Even a back strike to avoid a monster's attack might be enough to get him out of the way.
Adventurers who were caught in this way were sucked alive by the wall mimic. If that is the case, it is still a good thing. In some cases, small demons that hear your screams will swarm you and do whatever they want to you.
With such demons, it is impossible to survey the ruins.
A large scale request was circulated to find out as much as possible about the detailed ecology of the demons and defeat them.
In other words, if I fail this quest, I'll be exposed to ...... this kind of outfit.
Bearceth muttered to himself as he held the relic in his hand.
The actuality that the actual relics have been so weathered that all that remains of their expressions is their mouths, but even so, you can almost hear their abject gasps coming from their large gaping holes.
Gulp. Bearceth swallowed hard. The hole in her ass, which had been fully developed by Cave Worm during the previous battle, was tingling on its own.
"So long as I don't screw this up."
Bearceth tore his eyes away from the relic and turned to the list of men who belonged to the guild.
It's not a difficult demon to deal with if you know it exists. Any of the adventurers in the tavern would be able to handle it.
