Side: Prim
“Th-This is Black Fenrir…!”
“A giant beast of darkness with ebony fangs and claws… To think a monster like this was lurking near Feel…”
“And it had two Green Fangs under its command… It’s a miracle that Feel, Emosion, and even Prada Village are safe…”
As the three provincial governors who heard Rex’s account had rushed to the Hunter’s Guild without delay, we moved to the appraisal room.
The governors flew at us with furious expressions the moment they saw us, but when Yamato took out the corpses of Black Fenrir, Green Fang, Wind Wolf, Green Wolf, and Glass Wolf from storage, their faces were painted with terror.
Catastrophe Species are rarely seen, so it’s no wonder they reacted like this even to the corpses.
The names, from top to bottom, are Marchioness Frederica Amatista, a Dark Elf with neatly cut short silver hair, around 20 years old.
Viscount Archlight Diamante, a Human with a slender build, who seems to be in his 30s.
Countess Sofia Trumarina of Arderi, with long brown hair. She is the oldest, likely over 40. But her tail is fluffy and looks like it would feel nice to touch.
Oh, Marchioness Frederica and Countess Sofia are women. Provincial governors are usually three nobles, but it seems to be one each from Marquis, Count, and Viscount.
“There are nine Wind Wolf corpses, and if you add the Green Wolves and Glass Wolves, it’s over 100… To eliminate such a massive pack with just two people…”
“Indeed… Even with the full might of our Order’s Guild, I don’t know if we could win against a pack of this size…”
Echoing Linus’s words, the female Order member was Rosemary Trihight, the sub-Order’s Master of the Order’s Guild. She is short for an Ogre, perhaps only slightly taller than Meena, and is said to be Rex, the Order’s Master’s lover.
We didn’t defeat all the Glass Wolves at once, but they attacked us multiple times between Emosion and Feel, so this is the final count.
“As the Order’s Master said, this is an emergency. We need to contact the Royal Capital immediately.”
“But Marchioness Frederica, the Wyvern I owned was killed, and the Wyvern owned by the Hunter’s Guild is currently being used by the Hunter’s Master. That leaves us with no choice but to travel by land?”
Viscount Archlight owned a Wyvern? But being killed means he couldn’t use it, which is inconvenient. It’s highly likely the culprit is the Hunter’s Master, but Viscount Archlight would have figured that out and would be investigating.
“There’s no other way. After all, they gave us an excuse to not let us use the Hunter’s Guild’s Wyvern. Now that Viscount Archlight’s Wyvern is gone, we have no choice but to wait for someone to come to Feel by Wyvern, or head to report by land. Traveling by air is too risky.”
“Then the escort will have to be dispatched from the Order’s Guild.”
Countess Sofia is indirectly saying she can’t trust the Hunters, but what have the Hunters in Feel been doing? To be hated this much is quite something.
“I am truly sorry about that.”
“It’s not Linus-dono’s fault. The Hunter’s Master provoked this situation, so I believe all responsibility lies with him. That said, His Majesty will likely send a letter of protest to the Hunter’s Guild Headquarters in Alegria.”
“That is only natural. After all, they did something that broke our trust.”
So, the provincial governors and Linus suspect the Hunter’s Master killed Viscount Archlight’s Wyvern. Well, it’s to be expected. It’s no exaggeration to say that they intentionally created a situation where not just Feel, but Emosion and Prada Village could have been destroyed. This could easily be considered treason.
“And another thing I apologize for. These two just registered as Hunters earlier, and I’ve assigned them inspectors. I understand Feel’s situation and know these two would make excellent escorts, but I must report this to headquarters, and more importantly, if that man isn’t removed, this situation could happen again.”
“That cannot be helped. If something were to happen to Linus-dono now, there’s a risk that the Hunter’s Master could not be apprehended. While it’s unlikely for an S-rank Hunter like Linus-dono, the Hunter’s Master is also S-rank.”
“Furthermore, the Hunter’s Master and several of the escort Hunters should have evolved to High Class. If they lay a hand on us, Amister itself becomes their enemy, but Linus-dono, dispatched from the Alegria Headquarters, is not under those restrictions.”
Ah, I see. Linus is from the Duchy of Alegria, so he’s not directly connected to Amister. This means they might target Linus if they corner him.
“But it’s fine to give them requests, isn’t it?”
“Of course, but if we are to give an overnight request, we must guarantee the safety of Madam Apricot here. Is that correct?”
“Yes. I originally hired Yamato to guard Mother, and that’s still ongoing. I didn’t intend to ask for that much, but since Feel’s situation is unexpectedly bad, I thought we’d have to rely on the Order’s Guild for Mother’s safety once we accepted the request.”
The guard I requested from Yamato was supposed to end upon arriving in Feel and completing my Hunter Registration.
However, I never expected Feel to end up like this, so Yamato offered to extend the request himself.
To be precise, it wasn’t a request but a favor, and both Mother and I were extremely grateful.
“I see, I understand the reason. In that case, we will welcome you as guests of the Marquis Amatista family.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes. While I do have a ulterior motive of making connections with G-rank Hunters, you are the mother of the hero who saved Feel, so you are an important person to us as well. Isn’t that right, Count Sofia, Viscount Archlight?”
“Of course. Our Diamante viscount family will cooperate with the Marquis Amatista family regarding the safety of Madam Apricot.”
“The Turmarina count family is the same. Furthermore, if anything were to happen to Lady Apricot, a tragedy greater than this incident may occur.”
The provincial governor’s offer is greatly appreciated by both Mother and me.
However, if I accept it too easily, it might lead to war with Valentia.
That’s precisely why I can’t accept it.
“Your offer is very kind, but we…”
“We are aware of your circumstances, Duchess Hydransia.”
“W-were you aware?”
“Not just me, but Count Sofia and Viscount Archlight are also aware.”
I thought my heart would stop.
I never imagined the provincial governor knew about the Duke Hydransia family.
“The current situation in Valentia is something we cannot overlook either. That’s why our Diamante viscount family, which possesses Wyverns, has investigated the situation in Valentia on several occasions. And recently, we received information that Duke Hydransia was executed and his wife and daughter went missing. We didn’t know where they were headed, but it’s well-known that the daughter is close with our country’s Second Princess. Therefore, we expected the two of you to come to Amister.”
“So, you all figured out that Prim was a Fox Winged Tribe member just based on that, and that the two of you were from the Duke Hydransia family?”
Yamato is surprised, but I had expected to be discovered sooner or later.
There are two Fox Winged Tribe members, including myself, but the other one has yellow fur, so it’s easy to tell us apart.
However, being discovered this early was a bit beyond my expectations.
“It’s not just that. We had assumed you would be heading to the Royal Capital. Moreover, given Feel’s current situation, we thought it highly unlikely you would come here.”
That’s true.
We had no information about Black Fenrir, but there were rumors about Green Fang, and more importantly, the Order’s Master himself had confirmed it.
Yet, the Hunter’s Master suppressed that information. Normally, anyone hearing such rumors wouldn’t consider coming to Feel.
However, we thought we could defeat them, though not absolutely, and it was convenient for losing our pursuers, so we couldn’t think of any other option besides Feel.
In reality, not only did the Hunter’s Master suppress the information, but Black Fenrir was also present.
“However, if we accept you, it will become an international issue with Valentia. That’s why we intended to live quietly in Feel for a while…”
“We understand your feelings, but you are also the mother of this Lady Primrose. As Lady Primrose is a Fox Winged Tribe member and a G-rank Hunter, it is highly likely that you will be caught up in some trouble given Feel’s current situation. And that trouble could potentially jeopardize not only Feel but also the very existence of Amister.”
“Moreover, the tyranny of Valentia has reached even Amister. Depending on the situation, His Majesty may mobilize the Order’s Guild.”
“In other words, Amister also benefits from accepting you two because you can provide information, and we would be making connections with G-rank Hunters like us, so the benefits are sufficient?”
“That’s right. Also, considering the matter with the Princess, we won’t treat you unfairly.”
If it were just a favor, I probably wouldn’t have believed it.
But it’s true that information is beneficial, and if you consider making connections with two G-rank Hunters, it’s not a bad deal.
“Understood. In that case, we will accept your hospitality, Marquis Frederica, Count Sofia, Viscount Archlight.”
“Please leave it to us.”
I’m glad the three provincial governors are reasonable people.
“Lord Linus, what is the current rank of Yamato and Lady Primrose?”
“Kamina, please.”
“Yes. Green Wolf and Glass Wolf have elimination requests, with the completion condition being the elimination of three of each. You two hunted 113 Glass Wolves and 26 Green Wolves, but since the condition is three of the same species, the completion count is treated as a total of 65 times. Regarding Black Fenrir, Green Fang, and Wind Wolf, although there are no elimination requests for them, it is treated the same as completing urgent requests based on past cases. Having completed this many requests and defeated Anomaly Species and Catastrophe Species, we believe you are not lacking in skill or experience. Therefore, the Hunter’s Guild can judge you as fully qualified for G-rank.”
“Therefore, with my authority as Sub-Hunter’s Master, the rank of you two will be promoted from the G-T rank to the G rank, effective immediately.”
“Are you serious? I thought if I were to be promoted, it would be to G-B or G-S at most. Yamato looks surprised too. I understand how you feel.”
“W-wait a minute, old man!”
“Who are you calling old man! I’m only 35!”
“That’s plenty old! That’s not what I meant!”
I agree with Yamato. 35 is younger than I thought, but to us, he’s still an old man.
“We just registered! Your rank is supposed to start at T-rank, and you’re supposed to climb to a rank based on your level by hunting monsters and completing quests, right? You’re supposed to advance gradually, not all at once! Is it okay to do something like this, an exception?!”
“It’s fine. There have been precedents for this.”
“N-no… I heard that you can’t advance to G-rank or higher without investigating the hunter’s personality or something like that, right?! We just registered, so why are we being promoted?!”
Come to think of it, that’s right. It’s a rule to prevent idiots from reaching high ranks, but it’s usually judged based on past behavior. Moreover, such idiots can at best reach S-rank even if they try hard, so I had completely forgotten about it.
“It’s not a problem because I’ve judged it to be so. This is also within my inspector’s authority.”
“…”
Yamato was silenced. I’m happy about that, but I wish he wouldn’t use his inspector’s authority so easily.
“If that’s the case, it’s a great help to us. We can issue designated quests with peace of mind.”
Viscount Archlight looks genuinely relieved, but what does he mean? And the other two provincial governors look convinced too. This makes me feel very uneasy.
“Designated quests? Of course, it’s your prerogative to issue them, so there’s no problem, but has something happened?”
“Yes. I only received a report about this myself a short while ago, so I doubt Linus-dono is aware of it yet, but one of my subordinates has confirmed an Anomaly other than the Green Fang.”
“What!?”
“What did you say!?”
Wait a minute! Another Anomaly!? I’ve never heard of multiple Anomalies being confirmed in such a short period!
“…And what species is it?”
“It’s an Evil Drake. It’s located in the northern part of the Mylight Mountains. It’s quite a distance from here, but according to my subordinate’s report, it was of considerable size.”
“An Evil… Drake, you say?”
I was speechless. What kind of thing is being born! This makes the Green Fang seem cute in comparison!
“Hey Prim, what’s an Evil Drake?”
I felt a flicker of irritation but realized it was understandable that our guest Yamato wouldn’t know.
“There are Feather Drakes, a type of sub-dragon, that inhabit the Mylight Mountains. The Evil Drake is an Anomaly of the Feather Drake. Its rank is the same as the Black Fenrir, but even as a subspecies, it’s still a dragon, so it might be more troublesome than the Black Fenrir.”
“A subspecies of dragon? That would indeed be troublesome. In that case, considerable preparation would be necessary.”
“That’s right. At the very least, we’ll have to buy a weapon made of Magic Silver, or we might not be able to scratch it at all.”
The spear I’m holding is an Iron Spear I bought from Zack. Yamato only has an Iron Sword, also from Zack. Yamato can generate a Multi Edge, so he might be okay, but I probably can’t. I might be able to manage if I use Mana Ring, Fire Arms, or Extreme Flame Wing, but my weapon probably wouldn’t hold up. That’s why a Magic Silver weapon is absolutely necessary.
A long spear? After defeating the Green Fang with Extreme Flame Wing, the tip of my spear crumbled and fell apart.
“Indeed, a weapon is necessary. But fortunately, or perhaps unfortunately, if the location is the northern part of Mylight, it’s still a considerable distance from Feel.”
“Yes. We’ll need to investigate in detail, but it’s not an immediate emergency.”
From what I’ve heard, we’ll need to detour around Veil Lake to reach the sighting point. Plus, they seem to think that if we’re there, we can intercept it even if Feel is attacked. Of course, I intend to do just that, but it would be best to defeat it as quickly as possible.
“That may be true, but considering the possibility that these two might be away from Feel for an extended period, wouldn’t it be better to defeat it sooner?”
“Yes, that is certainly true, as Marquis Frederica says. However, considering the current situation, it will be difficult for a while. Wouldn’t you say so, Linus-dono?”
“I have no excuse, but that is correct. The quests at the Hunter’s Guild are severely backlogged, and now that the Black Fenrir and Green Fang have been dealt with, the Traders will also start moving.”
Everyone present nodded in agreement with the explanations from Viscount Archlight and Linus.
“Hey, old man. What do you mean the quests are backlogged?”
Yamato opens his mouth, not because he doesn’t understand, but seemingly to confirm.
“I already explained it, but the hunters currently in Feel aren’t going out to hunt at all. How many quests were completed in the last half-month or so?”
“Eight cases. And that’s only for exterminating Goblins and Glass Wolves, encountering them by chance, so overall, it’s practically meaningless.”
Eight requests completed in half a month? That’s simply inexcusable.
Even if the Hunter’s Master allows it, there has to be a limit.
“Is this what you call a backlog? If I may say so, this feels like a problem that strikes at the very foundation of the Hunter’s Guild?”
“I know that. That’s why not just me and Kamina, but other staff members of a considerable level are also taking on requests.”
“We are also asking the Orders, who are registered hunters, to prioritize high-priority requests to somehow weather this situation.”
Linus and Kamina replied apologetically to Yamato’s outburst.
Indeed, Amister requires even the Royal Family to register with a guild, so it’s not strange for Orders to be registered hunters, but since the Orders are the Amister Knights, they are public servants, which means they have limited room to maneuver.
From what I’ve heard, the Order’s Guild seems to be suffering the most.
Of course, the provincial governors and the people of Feel, as well as many Hunter’s Guild staff, are likely inconvenienced.
“So, you want me and Prim to take on the extermination of the Evil Drake, but as a prerequisite, there are too many minor requests, and you want us to prioritize those?”
“That’s how it is. Fortunately, you’ve exterminated a large number of Wolf Species, so I think we’re safe there, but there are still quite a few Goblins and Orcs, so we want to reduce their numbers even by a little.”
“Specifically, the Goblins infesting the mine. Surveying is necessary for the safety of the miners, and we need to clear them out to resume operations, so the priority is high.”
Goblins in the mine? That’s pretty dangerous.
The mine in the Mylight Mountains is located south of Feel. About half a month ago, it was attacked by Goblins. Most of the criminal slaves working as miners were casualties, and the supervisor was also seriously injured.
So, naturally, the Hunter’s Guild has issued requests for the extermination of Goblins nesting in the mine.
However, only hunters from Feel accepted the requests, and not a single one returned alive.
“None returned alive? Could it be that An species of Goblin have appeared?”
“We cannot deny that possibility. However, after the day of that request, the attitude of hunters changed drastically. Therefore, we suspect the involvement of the Hunter’s Master.”
“What do you mean?”
Wait a minute, if all the hunters from Feel died, and then the hunters’ attitudes changed, does that mean the hunters from Feel might have been killed by the hoodlums currently here?
“It’s just a possibility. However, it was after that that the Hunter’s Master began condoning the problematic behavior of hunters, so I don’t think it’s entirely unrelated.”
Right.
Or rather, if you think about it normally, it’s obviously related.
Of course, there’s also the possibility that rare or An species of Goblins have appeared, leading to the annihilation of the hunters from Feel.
Well, regardless of the outcome, the Hunter’s Master will be held responsible.
“So, you want us to exterminate the Goblins in the mine and investigate and exterminate the Evil Drake in Mylight?”
“And also procure Monsters for food. The Order’s Guild is also working on that, but there’s also the issue of public safety, so we’d appreciate it if you could handle it quickly.”
Food, huh.
There are plenty of Glass Wolves and Green Wolves, but wolf meat isn’t particularly tasty.
In fact, Monsters that are not originally meant for consumption aren’t tasty even if they evolve, so it’s safe to assume that the meat of Green Fang and Black Fenrir is also inedible.
That means all the Monsters we’ve hunted are unsuitable for consumption, so we’ll have to hunt some appropriate ones.
I wonder what kind of Monsters would be safe around here?
“In Feel, we often eat Glass Boars, Horn Rabbits, and Blue Lake Bulls. Although, I don’t know about the current situation with Glass Boars and Horn Rabbits.”
Right.
Aren’t they just food for the Wolf Species?
Even if Monsters reproduce quickly and their numbers increase easily, this situation is a bit extreme.
That leaves the Blue Lake Bull, but I recall they are Monsters that live in lakes and can move freely underwater, right?
“Another troublesome one. So the priority would be securing food, clearing the mine, and then exterminating the Evil Drake, right?”
As Yamato says, it’s troublesome.
Securing food is related to ensuring the safety of the roads, so I don’t mind hunting Monsters, but the road and the lake are far apart even though they seem close, so just traveling is quite a hassle.
On top of that, the mine is about an hour away, and investigating the Evil Drake could take who knows how many days.
Asking just two people to do all this is, under normal circumstances, an impossible task.
“I’m sorry. But in return, we’ll generously compensate you.”
Marquis Frederica gives me an apologetic look, but the Marquises have also had a hard time, and they are offering good compensation, so I guess we have no choice but to do it.
“Securing food is like a permanent request from the Hunter’s Guild, but the urgency is high right now… Let’s see, for about a month, we’ll add about 20% of the purchase price as a reward.”
“That would be the safest option. Regarding the liberation of the Mylight mine, we don’t know the exact number of goblins there, but we know for sure there are over thirty. Also, your weapons were likely rendered unusable from fighting Black Fenrir and Green Fang, so it would be best to provide you with three spare weapons each.”
Marquis Frederica and Count Sofia proposed rewards, and I had no objections to the ingredients.
I was also grateful and relieved that they would provide weapons in advance for the liberation of the Mylight mine.
In fact, my long spear had crumbled from the tip after the fight with Green Fang, and Yamato’s iron sword was so chipped it was unusable.
“Then, how about the reward for defeating the Evil Drake being a custom-made weapon crafted by the most renowned blacksmith in Feel?”
However, what I was most happy about was Viscount Archlight’s proposed reward.
For designated requests, a minimum amount is set based on the rank, so the proposed reward is an additional one.
The minimum reward for a G-rank is 100,000 El, so that alone wouldn’t be enough, and it would cause problems if we accepted it too readily.
Well, I’m not that knowledgeable myself, as this is my first request as a Hunter, but my father used to say things like that.
The reason Viscount Archlight’s proposal was the most welcome was that while evolving to High Class increases magic power, it also places a greater burden on weapons and armor.
Monsters also have ranks called Monster Rank.
These ranks are named after minerals, similar to the Guild’s classification. Monsters are numerous and further subdivided into higher species and abnormal species.
Normal species are N, higher species are U, rare species are R, abnormal species are I, catastrophe species are C, and demise species are A.
Taking Green Fang and Black Fenrir as examples, Glass Wolf is I-N, Green Wolf is C-U, Wind Wolf is B-R, Green Fang is S-I, and Black Fenrir is G-C rank.
Higher species are considered slightly tougher than normal species, and rare species considerably tougher. However, abnormal species are treated as at least one rank higher, and catastrophe species as two ranks higher. Therefore, Green Fang is G-rank, and Black Fenrir is M-rank or higher.
Oh, demise species are an exception and are all O-rank, so they are excluded.
Abnormal and catastrophe species, which are treated as superior beings at least one rank higher, naturally possess greater magic power.
Consequently, their magic stones are often larger and more beautiful. However, this magic power also flows through the monster’s body, and weapons that frequently come into direct contact with monsters can be corroded by this magic, often disintegrating before the battle even ends.
Even if they don’t disintegrate, they often become unusable after battle due to magic-induced fatigue.
Therefore, Hunters and Orders always carry multiple spare weapons.
It’s also possible for weapons to become damaged by one’s own magic power.
Custom-made weapons are forged and adjusted to match the wielder’s magic power, making them more user-friendly than regular store-bought items and offering some mitigation against magic fatigue.
Therefore, I’ve heard that when Hunters and Orders evolve to High Class, it’s common for them to contract exclusively with blacksmiths.
If a Feel’s top blacksmith is forging that custom-made weapon, its performance would be significantly better than mass-produced store-bought items, not just one or two levels, but much more.
In a sense, it’s the most satisfying reward.
“That would be greatly appreciated. We originally intended to look for a blacksmith who could make weapons to our liking when we came to Feel. If it’s the best blacksmith in Feel, I have no complaints.”
“I agree.”
“That would be a great help. It’s probably past closing time. I’ll introduce you to that blacksmith tomorrow.”
It was indeed time for dinner, and if the Hunters weren’t working, there would be no point in keeping the shop open.
“Viscount Archlight, may I have a moment?”
Rex-san interjected.
Rex-san, Rosemary-san, and Meena, being Orders, hadn’t said much.
Orders do hunt monsters, and the subordinates who came with them were thoroughly investigating the corpses of Black Fenrir and Green Fang, and they were also confirming those details.
“What is it?”
“Yes. Regarding that blacksmith, is it Master Albert without a doubt?”
“Of course. Master Albert is undoubtedly the top blacksmith in Amister.”
“If that’s the case, I will guide you there afterwards. I am personally on good terms with the Albert Workshop, and the lover of his grandchild is also a friend of my sister’s.”
Come to think of it, Meena said she would introduce me to a shop she knew, and it was about that workshop.
I wonder if the person, who is the friend of the lover of the workshop owner’s grandchild, also works at the workshop?
“Is that so? In that case, I apologize for the trouble, but I’ll ask you to guide us. The sooner we handle this, the better.”
“Understood.”
It seems we’ll be heading to the Albert Workshop after this.
Mother will be going with Marquis Frederica, and I wonder what I and Yamato should do.
It’s certain that if we also impose on the Marquis Frederica household, various problems will arise, and I want to avoid that at all costs.
Perhaps I’ll ask Meena later for recommendations for an inn.
