I Got Fired As an Adventurer, So I’m Starting Anew As an Alchemist! Frontier Exploration? Alright, Leave It to Me!

183. My Common Sense Didn’t Match With Others, Isn’t It?

The campfire crackled and blazed, while the sizzling sound and the savory aroma of meat cooking on the iron plate hit us straight in the gut.

“Just a little longer, please.”

Ryuuko, the maid, was skillfully grilling the armored bear meat.

“I wanted to get a chance to show off too, Raidoc!”

Jitaro muttered, glancing sideways at Camille and Marilyn.

It seemed he wanted to impress them, but alas, the group of armored bears had been wiped out in one hit by Raidoc’s ultimate move.

At this sight, Jurara, who had been frozen until now, finally rebooted.

“Th-this is way too strong!”

“Exactly. Those guys are just insane.”

“…No, Craft-dono, you’re no different, you know.”

“Pure coincidence.”

“…”

No one believed me. Sad.

I really don’t want to be lumped in with that overpowered guy.

“Master, the meat is ready. We’ll keep grilling, so everyone, please dig in.”

“Yay! Time to dig in!”

“It’s got a bit of a strong taste, but it’s delicious.”

“Folks from the settlement, have some too~!”

“Well, we appreciate it, but…”

“There’s more than enough, so don’t hold back.”

“If we eat something this fragrant, won’t it attract monsters?”

“We’re here, so no worries.”

“I didn’t know armored bear meat could taste this good.”

“Prepping it takes a bit of work. Otherwise, most people would just toss it.”

“And who exactly is this woman who knows all this?”

“‘A bit’ of work is an understatement.”

“Boo! I’ll learn this much and make it for you, Craft-sama!”

“Mind your tone!”

And so, not only us but also the workers from the settlement joined in for a barbecue party.

During the feast, though, the smell attracted numerous monster packs. Naturally, those were blasted away by Eva’s magic, shredded by Camille’s clones, or shot down by arrows from Jitaro and Solarl before they even got close. No big issues there.

“You guys are seriously overpowered.”

Jurara repeated the same line from earlier.

Ignoring him, I gazed at the pile of corpses.

“With this frequency of monster attacks, it’s no wonder the work isn’t progressing.”

“I hate to admit it, but can you think of a solution?”

“I’d love to say yes, but…”

Taking a step back from the still-eating men, Eva, one of the three sisters already enjoying dessert, tilted her head.

“The monsters we’ve seen so far all came from outside the marshlands, from the forest.”

“Right. After defeating the hydra, most of the marshland’s monsters fled. Only a few hydras remain.”

“Then why not surround the marshlands with walls?”

“We’re working on that, but it’s huge—like a small territory. According to Leafan, even without monster threats, it’ll take years to complete.”

“Building walls to keep monsters out, while monsters keep attacking… that’s a tough one.”

“If we had more lizardfolk, it might be a bit more feasible.”

“For now, we can defend the settlement, but when the marshlands are turned into fields, we won’t be able to protect it all.”

We groaned in frustration.

Raidoc waved his fork lazily, the grilled meat on it wobbling.

“Then we just lure them with the smell and take them all out at once.”

“Idiot. I keep telling you the marshlands are too big! Gathering only nearby monsters won’t help…”

I froze mid-motion.

Wait. If we use the smell to lure them, we could cover a large area. If we set it up surrounding the marshlands…

No, it’s still a problem. The size of the marshlands means we’d need dozens of setups. The lizardfolk alone couldn’t handle it, and even with a large number of adventurers, it’s unrealistic.

“Luring monsters itself is possible. Instead of barbecue, we could use an alchemical concoction with a stronger smell.”

“Hmm?”

When one person can’t solve it, it’s time to rely on everyone’s ideas.

“Gather them with the smell, then have adventurers and lizardfolk patrol to take them out.”

“Raidoc-sama, that’s impossible. The marshlands are too vast. Patrolling might work, but fighting monsters like those earlier while patrolling is unrealistic.”

Eva gently rebuked Raidoc’s reckless suggestion.

Yes, patrolling might work.

The issue is that gathering monsters creates more work to eliminate them. With large numbers, it would require the entire lizardfolk warrior force, which is impractical for dozens of locations.

“Couldn’t we just use traps?”

Jitaro chimed in as if it were the most obvious thing.

“Like bear traps hunters use?”

“Jitaro, if you know of traps that can kill monsters like armored bears, do tell.”

“Those? No way!”

“Thought so.”

While Eva dismissed the idea, the pieces in my head clicked into place.

What?

My instincts screamed, this will work.

But the answer wouldn’t come—a frustrating feeling like a bone stuck in my throat.

Think. You’re an alchemist, right?

Monsters from outside, as Eva noted.

Lure them with smell, like Raidoc suggested.

Trap them, as Jitaro said.

“Craft?”

I didn’t hear the voices around me. Lost in thought, I paced until I found myself near two settlers disposing of monster corpses in a large pit.

“If we don’t bury them fast, the smell will be awful.”

Villager A commented.

“Ugh, the ones from a few days ago reek terribly.”

“Man, just don’t fall in. You’d die—a social death. The smell wouldn’t leave for days.”

Click.

The sound of all the puzzle pieces locking into place echoed in my head.

“Yes! This is it! Thanks to you two!”

I shouted, grabbing the two settlers in a hug.

“Wha—what? I’m not into that, you know!”

“Whoa! Even if you saved my life, that’s too much!”

“Idiot! I’m not into that either! It’s thanks to you guys that I figured it out!”

Leaving the stunned pair behind, I turned to my companions.

“Alright, folks, it’s about to get busy!”

Everyone grinned knowingly.

…It would’ve been a cool ending, but Jitaro, exasperated, ruined it.

“Craft, keeping us in suspense like that isn’t cool anymore. So, what’s the plan?”

“Hey!”

Come on! Let me act cool for once!

Now I felt embarrassed about my dramatic turn.

“We’re making traps! Ones that instantly kill monsters in bulk!”

Jitaro’s eyes widened.

“Can we do that?”

“We will! Now help me!”

“Roger that!”

Man, this really doesn’t feel satisfying!