After they had gotten what they needed, Keisuke and Fumiko met up with Mahiro and the party of three went to the destination of their next quest.
“This is the house.” They stood in front of a one-story building in the Plain District of Fortuna. It was a fairly-made house of brick, with a roof of thatched straw.
“The woman said we'll find the spiders inside.” Mahiro confirmed.
According to the lady who put up the quest, her house was suddenly infested by giant spiders and she was forced to evacuate with haste. She was currently renting out a room in a nearby inn, waiting for someone to fix her pest problem. Mahiro figured they could handle this quest easily enough.
“J-just how big are these spiders…?” Fumiko asked.
The name “giant spiders” certainly implied that they were quite large, but how large could a spider get? “I’m not sure, but they can't be that big, right?” Keisuke reasoned.
“We won't know unless we head inside,” Mahiro said. “We can always run away if it gets dangerous. Are you guys ready?”
The two of them nodded. Keisuke had his longsword unsheathed. Mahiro was leading the charge, his own sword and shield in hand. He slowly opened the door to the house.
Upon entering, the air was stuffy. It was clear that the doors and windows hadn't been opened in a while. Thankfully, it wasn't too dark. They could see the inside of the house easily enough. There was a table and chair in the right corner of the house, a cooking pit in the middle, and a bed of fur on the far left. Other than that, it was empty.
“Be careful.” Mahiro cautioned as he stepped deeper inside the house.
There were signs of movement, however. The pots and quite a few other things had been scattered everywhere.
“I don't see anything,” Keisuke said. It was dreadfully quiet, too. Wouldn't they have heard something by now?
When Keisuke accidently kicked a pot, Fumiko squealed. “Hungh!”
“S-sorry,” he said. “I wasn't watching where I was going…”
“I-it's okay…”
“...Keisuke, look out!” Mahiro yelled.
There was movement in the shadows. It came from above them, sweeping down with great speed that if Mahiro hadn't shoved Keisuke aside, he would've been dropped on.
It was on the ceiling. That was why they couldn't see it. A large, black creature with eight legs and multiple eyes stood before them.
Keisuke took a nervous step backwards at the sight of the creature. "Is-Isn't that too big for a spider?"
“Too big” was putting it lightly. The spider that stood before them was the size of a dog—no, it was even bigger. At the very least, it was clearly no ordinary spider.
“Attack!” Mahiro charged at the spider and swung his sword at it. The creature was quite nimble. It jumped and slipped its way through Mahiro’s attacks, avoiding them almost seamlessly. “Get it! Quick!”
Keisuke charged forward, yelling. Before he could hit the spider, it leaped into the air and attached itself on the ceiling. It crawled across the room like a normal spider would, but the size of it made it even more disturbing.
The spider crossed over the room and stopped on the other side. “Fumiko!” Mahiro yelled out as the spider lunged at her.
“[Sacred Flame]!” When Fumiko said that, a burning light erupted from her and ignited the spider.
There was a screech of pain from the spider as it was sent reeling back by Fumiko’s sudden magical attack.
“Now’s our chance, Keisuke!” Mahiro shouted.
The two of them took advantage of the opportunity and rushed the spider, thrusting their swords into its body until it couldn’t move anymore. When it was done, the spider was dead and thick green blood coated Keisuke’s sword.
“Well done, Fumiko,” Keisuke said to her.
She seemed a bit rattled by what she’d done, but coping with it. Keisuke thought back to earlier when she said she was going to try and do her best.
“We should make sure the house is completely safe before we tell the lady,” Mahiro said. “It looks like those stairs lead to a cellar or something.”
Keisuke nodded. They’d managed to kill one spider without too much struggle. He was confident that they could take on a second one.
Mahiro led them down the stairs to the cellar. The air was thick and musty, and the entire room was covered with cobwebs. It looked like the spiders had been nesting here.
“Be careful,” Mahiro cautioned.
The cellar was quite small, so there wasn’t a lot of looking around needed. For the most part, it seemed like the room was empty. Except, Keisuke saw something on the wall of the cellar.
“Is that a hole…?” he murmured.
Mahiro noticed it as well. “I see. Maybe that’s where the spider came from?”
When Keisuke stepped closer to get a better look, he caught movement inside the hole. Before he knew it, he was being lunged on. A spider emerged from the dark of the hole and leapt on him.
“Argh!” Keisuke fell to the ground. He barely managed to get his hands up to cover himself. The spider kept nipping at his face.
Mahiro was quick to respond, shoving his sword in the spider’s back, killing it instantly.
“Th-thank you,” Keisuke breathed.
The two of them didn’t see the third spider in time. It sprung out of the hole with great speed and charged at one of them. It was Fumiko. The spider came at her so fast and unexpectedly, she could barely react in time.
“Ow!” Fumiko dropped her staff. It looked like the spider had just managed to bite her arm.
“Fumiko!” Keisuke quickly got up and attacked the spider. He stuck his sword into it and killed it.
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“Are you okay?” he asked Fumiko.
She nodded. “It doesn’t hurt too bad.”
Thankfully, the bite wasn’t too deep. It looked like she was going to be fine.
“Keisuke, help me move this shelf. We can cover the hole with this for now.”
Keisuke nodded and he and Mahiro worked together to move a bookshelf that was in the cellar over the hole. If the spiders were coming from there, that would hold them off for a while until the owner of the house could do something about the hole.
“I’d say we’re done here. We should return to the woman to let her know.”
They collected the corpses of one of the spiders and placed it in a sack they found in the house. They decided they would show the lady it as proof.
The party of three made their way to the Seventh Heaven Inn, where the quest giver was residing. On the way, Keisuke couldn’t help noticing that Fumiko kept scratching her arm.
“Hey, you okay?”
“Hm? Y-yes, it’s just…itchy.”
Was that really all it was? Keisuke wondered. It didn’t look like Fumiko was hurt, though. If it was just an itch then it would be fine.
They arrived at the inn and found the woman in her rented room.
“Oh, thank you! I can finally stop renting this place. Windal offered to let me stay for free until I got the spiders cleared out, but I couldn’t abuse that kindness.”
“There was a hole in the cellar. We think that might be where the spiders came from,” I told her.
“Oh, dear,” said the lady. “A hole, you say? I’ll have to get it covered at once. Thank you for your troubles, scouts. As agreed, fifteen silvers for your service. An extra five for even finding the source of this mess.”
The lady gave Mahiro twenty silver worth of coins. That was the most they’d ever made.
“Thank you!” Mahiro bowed, and Keisuke followed his lead.
That was when they heard a thud. When they looked, Fumiko had collapsed.
“Fumiko?!” Keisuke rushed to her side. She was on the floor, hyperventilating and sweating up a river. Her face had gone ghostly pale and she looked to be in quite a bit of pain.
“What’s wrong with Fumiko?” Mahiro asked. “Is she okay?”
“I-I don’t know. She didn’t seem okay after she was bitten…”
“Bitten?” the lady spoke up. “Was she bit by one of the spiders?”
Keisuke looked up. “Y-yes. She was.”
“And did you give her an antidote?”
Mahiro was just as lost as Keisuke was. “An antidote?”
“Oh, dear,” sighed the lady. “Most spiders are venomous. If you get bit, there’s a chance you may get poisoned. I thought you’d know this as scouts.”
“No, we didn’t know this!” Mahiro shouted.
Fumiko was poisoned. It made sense now.
“What do we do? Where can we get an antidote?” Keisuke asked.
“I don’t know. You can buy it or you can ask for help from someone. Either way, you won’t get any help here.”
“Right. We should go to the guild hall. Maybe Lucy or someone can help us,” Mahiro suggested.
Keisuke nodded. “R-right...!” He picked up Fumiko in his arms and decided it would be best to carry her.
“Let’s hurry,” said Mahiro, “we don’t know how long she’s got.”
“Hang in there, Fumiko,” Keisuke tried to assure her.
“Mm…”
Her face was burning up and it looked like she was getting worse by the second. They ran as fast as they could to the Recon Corps building and Mahiro burst open the doors once they arrived. “Help! We need help!” he shouted.
The hall was moderately packed. Scouts had come to either eat something or hand in or find a quest. Everyone stopped whatever they were doing to look at Mahiro.
“Hehhh? What’s this, now?” Lucy tilted her head to one side.
“Please, our friend got bitten by a spider and is poisoned. We don’t have an antidote and we don’t know where to buy one. Can anyone help us?”
The people in the hall all looked at one other. It seemed like they didn’t know what to make of the situation. Murmurs grew around them, but no one stepped up to help.
Suddenly, someone chuckled. “No antidote against spiders? What a rookie mistake.” The comment came from a lady seated at a table near them. Keisuke immediately recognised her as Makoto.
“W-we didn’t know…”
“Then you should do your research before taking a quest, no?” Makoto shut Keisuke down. “Everyone here knows that spiders are venomous. It’s idiotic not to bring an antidote or a spell that can nullify the poison.”
“We…” Mahiro looked down at the floor, at a loss for words. He didn’t know what to say. Makoto made a point, they didn’t do research.
But that didn’t matter now. “We get it, we’ll be more careful from now on,” Keisuke said. “So, can you help our friend? She’s getting worse.”
“At that rate she’s going to die,” Makoto said.
“D-die…? No…” Keisuke looked at Fumiko. Her breathing was getting shallower. “Do you have an antidote for us? Please!”
Makoto simply looked at him before scoffing. “We do not. We don’t plan on encountering any spiders, so we haven’t bought any antidotes. Sorry.”
Everyone else in the guild seemed to be the same, because none of them offered any help. They all pretended like they couldn't see them and simply went back to whatever it was they were doing.
“No way…” Keisuke murmured. “Lucy-chan! Can you help us?!”
Lucy shrugged. “The guild isn’t a store, you know? Lucy doesn’t sell antidotes, she’s afraid. You should just be more careful next time.”
Was nobody really going to help them? Keisuke didn’t know what to do. Were they really going to let Fumiko die here?
“What a hassle,” said a voice. Keisuke was suddenly approached by a short girl with twintails. He recognised her.
Nanako…was it? It was the girl from Ren’s party who’d healed his shoulder.
The girl sighed and shook her head, her hair swaying side to side. “Seriously, how careless can you get? Who fights spiders with no cure? Are you stupid?”
Keisuke bit his lip. “Sorry. Um…can you help us? Please.”
Nanako held his gaze for a moment, then rolled her eyes. “Just put her down, you imbecile.”
Keisuke gently laid Fumiko on the floor. Nanako crouched down and placed her hands over her. Her hands began to glow a dim white colour and washed over Fumiko’s body.
“[Lesser Restoration].” The light faded, and Fumiko’s breathing stilled. “She should be fine now. You should lay her down to get some rest. She should be fine tomorrow.”
“T-thank you…!” Keisuke bowed his head.
“...Right. Thank you.” Mahiro also bowed.
Nanako frowned. “What? You think I did this for free? This type of service costs money at a temple, you know? So, I expect compensation as well.”
Keisuke looked at Mahiro hesitantly. “H-how much do you want...?”
“Fifteen silver. Normally, this service costs about fifty, but I’m feeling generous because I’m in a good mood today.”
“Fifteen…?” Mahiro looked at the money they’d made today. That was about ninety-five percent of today’s profit. He looked at his hand, seeming to think about it.
“Mahiro…?”
“R-right…!” Seeming to come to his senses, Mahiro gave Nanako the money.
“Be more careful next time,” Nanako said, putting the coins in her pouch. “Next time, someone won't be here to help you. You can buy potions in many stores in the city, or you can go to one of Lucilla’s temples and get curative ailments, though that will cost more.”
“We’ll keep that in mind.” Mahiro bowed his head.
Keisuke picked up Fumiko. “I’ll carry her.”
And so, Keisuke carried Fumiko to the stable where he laid her down to rest.