The Perverted Old Geezer Entrusts the Future

“Sei! Haa!”

The Adventurers' Guild branch office newly built in Zamago Forest.

To be precise, it apparently wasn't officially running yet, but at any rate, this time the adventurer Abets had been hired to escort his clients, merchants coming here to trade.

And yet.

“How the hell! Did it! Come to this!”

Abets cursed as he swung his mace with the monstrous strength surging from his proud physique, crushing the Forest Topopolocks and Noshteruketch that attacked one after another!

“Hey! Don't, get careless!! ‘O water, become a sharp spear and run my foe through! 【Water Lance】!’”

“Chiwawawaaaa!!?”

An Assault Chiwanwan had leaped at Abets from his blind spot, fangs bared, and the one who drove it off with water magic was his partner, Ebicity!

She was a beauty with shimmering blue hair, and she and Abets went back a long way.

Covering each other in a fight was second nature to them.

“Sorry!”

“It's fine.”

The two stood back-to-back, glaring at the surrounding monsters.

Right now, the two were fighting near the collapsed south wall of the Zamago Forest base.

The two had just reached the base and happened to be taking a break right here.

And they had witnessed the moment the wall exploded.

Luckily, the blast itself hadn't caught them, but without the faintest idea what was going on, they had ended up dragged into a fight with the monsters trying to get into the base through the gaps in the fallen wall.

(......Not good; everyone's pretty worn out.)

Abets cast a quick glance at the other adventurers fighting around them and clicked his tongue.

Like Abets and his partner, the other adventurers were reacting in a panic to this sudden situation.

Naturally, they weren't fully prepared in terms of mindset or equipment.

On top of that, Zamago Forest had overwhelmingly more monsters than other lands.

The onslaught, with no end in sight, was steadily driving the adventurers to their limits, body and mind.

Of course, Abets was no exception.

“Chiwawawawaaaa!!”

“Damn......!?”

Another surprise attack by an Assault Chiwanwan.

His focus had slipped, and he was far too slow to react.

His partner was busy with the beetle monsters flying in from another direction, the Genocide Bunbuns.

This time...... he couldn't count on her to cover him.

Time, as Abets felt it, slowed to a crawl, and his life began to flash before his eyes.

He had left his hometown, started working as an adventurer, and met Ebicity.

Together, the two had cleared request after request and gone on adventure after adventure, until at last he had climbed all the way to rank 3.

So much had happened.

There had been hard times.

But though he had never said it aloud...... it was because Ebicity was there that he had come through every hardship.

And because she was there, it had always been fun.

(Ah......)

The Assault Chiwanwan leaped straight for his throat.

His body, wouldn't move.

Only his eyes could move, and they found his beloved partner.

She had seen the danger Abets was in, but she could do nothing, and her face filled with despair.

(I'm sorry.)

Last of all, Abets offered her that one silent apology, gripped through his clothes the ring in his pocket that in the end he had never given her, and readied himself to die......

But!!!

“‘O earth, become a wall and protect that one! 【Wall】!’”

Suddenly, an incantation rang out loud and clear, and in the very next instant!

In an instant, the earth at Abets's feet surged up, and an earthen wall was born to protect him!

“Chiwan!?”

The Assault Chiwanwan slammed into the suddenly created earthen wall!

With a pathetic cry from the impact, it broke its neck and died!

“Are you all right!? Abets!”

“Y, yeah, somehow. But, what is this......”

Hugged by his partner, who had run over with tears in her eyes, Abets blinked in bewilderment, with no idea what had happened.

“It must be the ‘Earth Sage’-sama! He's the one who saved you!”

“Th, the ‘Earth Sage’?”

“You don't know!? The former special-grade adventurer, Earthcell-sama the ‘Earth Sage’, is here! He's a legendary user of earth magic, so amazing that every mage has heard his name! Look, that has to be him!”

With that, Ebicity pointed at a small figure stepping out through the gap in the collapsed wall, to the outside of the base.

Through the dust, only a silhouette was visible, but you could make out a long, long mustache swaying in the wind.

The figure advanced slowly, as if taking stock of the situation, now and then firing earth bullets with magic to back up the adventurers.

“Young ones!!”

And finally, he came to a stop.

“Well done, holding out! Now that I am here, there's nothing to fear!!”

He declared it in a voice that was hoarse, yet powerful!

By then, the adventurers around them had already noticed him, and all at once every eye snapped toward the voice!

Standing there!

As the wind blew the dust clean away, the figure it revealed!

Wrapped in well-worn adventurer's garb!

Long mustache streaming in the wind!

Was an old fellow whose small body carried more magic power than any ordinary person's!

“Ohh......!”

“Is that......!?”

Hope lit up the faces of the adventurers who were exhausted and on the verge of giving up!

It wasn't just Ebicity; there were others who knew!

That Earthcell was at this base!

That the legendary earth mage, Earthcell the “Earth Sage”, was here!!

“Now, just one more push! I am going to repair the defensive wall now! Until then, hold out somehow, will you!?”

“““““OOOOOOOOOH!!!”””””

At Earthcell's appearance, the adventurers' hearts were fired up!

Each of them readied their weapons and charged at the monsters!

But, still.

Among those adventurers, only one.

There was one who couldn't move right away.

Abets.

He had just faced death and been saved by a hair.

So his legs had given out.

And that was exactly why, exactly because it was him.

He could calmly observe what was around him.

He noticed what the other adventurers, swept up in the moment, had missed: something about Earthcell that was...... um...... kind of, off.

He didn't know why, but.

Earthcell.

That old geezer.

......had panties on his head.

Once he noticed that, it was all over!

Even if he tried to focus on fighting the monsters, he couldn't help but be bothered by the panties on that old geezer's head!

Why's he wearing that thing!?

Is he messing around!?

Isn't he supposed to be some famous mage!?

Questions swirled in his head, and he couldn't concentrate!

In spite of himself, he kept glancing at the panties on the old geezer's head!

The old geezer noticed the state Abets was in, too.

Their eyes met.

At that, the old geezer broke off repairing the wall and came running over to Abets.

“Does this bother you?”

And with a straight face, he asked Abets that.

Pointing at the panties on his head.

“......Yeah, it, does bother me......”

Abets answered honestly, his face twitching.

“......I'm sorry, but this is my greatest treasure...... I cannot give it to you!!”

The perverted old geezer said it looking, for whatever reason, tremendously sorry.

“............”

No, I don't want it!!

Abets wanted to snap back in spite of himself, but he suppressed the urge at the last second.

This old geezer...... was apparently, as mages went, a legend.

It wouldn't do to be rude, he thought.

“But...... still! You have good eyes...... You, I can trust with this!”

With that, the perverted old geezer unhurriedly rummaged in his chest pocket and pulled something out.

Then, he placed it on Abets's palm and forced him to grip it.

“‘The Future’...... that is what I have named it!”

When Abets opened his hand.

What lay there.

Was panties.

“Farewell! I must hurry and repair the defensive wall! Goodbye, my fellow enthusiast!!”

Having pressed the panties on Abets, the perverted old geezer dashed off as if that was all he had come for, and went back to repairing the wall.

Abets stared blankly at the panties on his palm, despite being in the middle of a battle.

......And he noticed that beside him was his beloved partner, Ebicity.

Abets was more than a little confused.

A battle had started for no reason he understood.

His life had been saved.

And then, for no reason he understood, he had been entrusted with panties.

What should he do with these panties?

His brain wasn't working at all.

And toward his partner beside him.

For some reason, he let it slip.

“............Want them?”

The next moment, the sound of a slap rang out across the battlefield.

But, still!

Not one person paid any attention to that sound!

Because right after Ebicity hit Abets!

A tremendous impact, nothing like the zun, zun that had been booming on and off until then!

......came ringing from the east side of the base!!

By the way, the panties entrusted to Abets are the very pair Earthcell had on his head when he first came to Zamago Forest.