雄者たちの酒場　受注クエスト投票企画第一回 (Pixiv Fanbox)

酒場にはそれぞれの『味』というものがある。

港近くであれば遠方からの旅人の多い騒がしい酒場に。王都周辺であればギルドによる管理が行き届いた酒場に。そして、ダンジョンや魔物が多い場所には腕利きが多く集まる酒場に。

この「怒りのザクロ亭」は、ちょうどそれらの条件すべてを満たした、いわゆる腕に覚えのある屈強な男が集まる酒場である。逞しい腕や胸板の男たちが、それぞれ困難な冒険を求めて登録し、酒を飲み、腕を競いあう男の社交場だ。

そして、そんな男たちが集まれば、彼らに相応しい難易度の依頼が集まってくるのも自然の摂理だ。

「今回の厄介事は、コイツらか……」

ギルドマスターにして店主のベアセスは、壁の張り紙を睨みつけながら呟いた。

厄介事とベアセスが呼ぶだけあって、その依頼書に書かれている内容は他の酒場では登録も断られるようなものだった。名誉にはならず、報奨金も見合わず、それでいて先行きが不透明。このまま張り出しても、大抵の場合は無視されて、徐々に報奨金が積み上げられ、腕に覚えのある冒険者を待つことになる依頼だ。――普通ならば。

だが、この酒場にくるような男は、そんな困難をこそ乗り越えたい者や、報酬が多めでありさえすればばどんな旅にも挑む男ばかりだ。

そんな血気盛んな男たちだからこそ、このまま張り出す訳にはいかない。

こういった依頼は一度吟味し、真に任せられる男にのみ紹介する。

この怒りのザクロ亭が、高い依頼成功率と人気を誇るのは実のところこの「紹介制」と、その信頼に応えられる一部の大ベテランによるところが大きい。

「さて、どうしたもんかねえ」

ベアセスは顎をしゃくり、今回の依頼を任せる雄者を考えた。

今酒場にいるのは―――

そしてこの依頼は―――

依頼【ガ＝インの森　薬草採取】予想難易度：★★★★

『件の森に自生する【インシデア草】の採取をお願いします。

かつては魔物の報告もあまりない森だったのですが、過去数回に渡り依頼の失敗が続き、現在在庫が枯渇しつつあります。可能であれば調査や報告もお願いします』

「ただの薬草採取が複数回失敗するってのは普通じゃねえな。

依頼失敗の冒険者の腕前からしても、ただの野盗が根城を作った程度の厄介事じゃあなさそうだ。

植物系の魔物が大繁殖しているのか――それともはぐれ魔道士がダンジョン化でもしやがったか。

植物系は基本的にたいした強さじゃねえことが多い分、油断を生みがちだが……中には厄介な食精タイプの魔物もいると聞く。想定しといたほうが良さそうだな。まあ精力に関しちゃ有り余ってる輩だらけだからな、下手しなけりゃあ勝って戻ってくるだろう」

依頼【スライム洞窟　調査任務】難易度：★★★★★

『スライムが大量に生息する洞窟の調査任務です。洞窟の特殊な構造でスライムが大量発生しており、非常に危険なクエストであると想定されます。討伐から帰らない冒険者の救助、増えたスライムの討伐が目的です』

「スライム討伐に対して、わざわざこの難易度か。こりゃ文面以上に犠牲者や失敗数が積もってやがるタイプだな。

うちにわざわざ回ってきたってことは魔法も利かねえようなスライムだろう。

救助任務ってことは、解決まで急がせた方がいいな。

うちにあるスライム除けの油や、あの体にやたら張り付く法衣も在庫はあったはずだ、……しかし１セットだけが、コイツでなんとか足りるか？」

「酒場にいる冒険者のなかで、このクラスを任せられるような野郎は――

・聖騎士オスリック

・魔術師レオ

・鍛冶師ヴェルデン

この三人か。とりあえずどちらか一件の依頼を、この３人の誰か一人に任せてみるとするか」

投票期間：２０２３年９月３日２３時５９分（日本時間）まで

※この先の展開は支援者の方々の投票により決定します！

冒険者たちに受けさせたい依頼、依頼に向かわせたいキャラクターに投票して、みなさんで物語を作り上げていきましょう。

【ENG】

Each tavern has its own "flavor".

If it is near a port, it will be a noisy tavern with many travelers from far away. If it is near the royal city, it will be a tavern well managed by the guilds. And in places where there are many dungeons and demons, it will be a tavern where many skillful people gather.

The "Red Pomegranate Tavern" meets all of these conditions, and is a place where strong men of skill gather. It is a men's social gathering place where men with strong arms and chest plates register, drink, and compete with each other in their quest for difficult adventures.

And when men like that gather, it is only natural that they will receive requests of a level of difficulty appropriate for them.

"This time, the trouble is with these guys. ......"

Bearceth, the guild master and owner of the store, muttered to himself as he stared at the sign on the wall.

The contents of the request form were such that other bars would refuse to even register them. It was not honorable, the reward was not worth it, and the future was uncertain. Even if you put it out there as is, it is a request that is usually ignored, and the bounty gradually builds up, waiting for an adventurer with skill. --usually.

But the kind of men who come to this tavern are those who want to overcome such difficulties and are willing to take on any journey as long as the rewards are generous.

Because they are such men with such high bloodlust, we can't just leave them out on the street.

We examine these requests once and only refer them to men we can truly trust.

The reason why the Red Pomegranate Bar boasts a high success rate and popularity is due in large part to this "referral system" and a few veterans who can live up to that trust.

"Now, what's going on?"

Bearceth's jaw dropped as he thought about who he could entrust with this request.

Who is in the bar now?

And this request...

Request [Ga-in Forest, collecting medicinal herbs] Difficulty: ★★★★

I would like to ask you to collect [Incidea herb] that grows wild in the forest in question.

It used to be a forest where there were few reports of demons, but due to several failed requests in the past, the stock is now depleting. If possible, please investigate and report back to us.

"It's not normal for a mere herb collection to fail multiple times.

Judging from the skill of the adventurers who failed the request, it seems to be more than just the work of a brigand.

Either there is a large population of plant-based demons, or a stray mage has turned the place into a dungeon.

Plant-type demons tend to catch people off guard because they are not very strong, but I hear that some of them are troublesome spirit-eating demons.

The most important thing to keep in mind is that you should be prepared.

I'm not sure how much I'm going to be able to do with this.

If they are not bad, they will come back victorious."

Request [Slime Cave Investigation Mission] Difficulty: ★★★★★

This is a survey mission for a cave inhabited by a large number of slime. The special structure of the cave causes a large amount of slime, and it is assumed to be a very dangerous quest. The objective is to rescue adventurers who have not returned from the slime and to defeat the increased number of slimes.

"What is this difficulty level all the way up against defeating the slime. This is the type of slime that has more victims and failures than the text says.

The fact that it came all the way to our house means that it's probably a slime that's hard to work magic on.

If it's a rescue mission, we'd better hurry them up until it's solved.

I'm sure we had our stock of slime repellent oil and those body-sticking vestments in stock, ...... but only one set, will this be enough?"

If I were to entrust this class to any of the adventurers in the bar, it would be these three," he said. For the time being, let's entrust one of these three with one of the requests.

Saint knight Osric

Wizaed Leo

Blacksmith Verden

Voting period: Until 23:59 on September 3, 2023 (Japan time)

★The future of the project will be decided by the votes of our supporters!

Vote for the requests you want your adventurers to take on, the characters you want them to face, and let's make up the story together.

背景素材利用：アキ二号機様【https://www.pixiv.net/users/61071305】