Helios Orb Chronicle – Chapter 27

Side: Prim

We managed to calm down Fluorite and Jade, and left the ranch with a heavy heart.
Hearing their sad cries and seeing their lonely eyes stirred our hearts deeply. It was unbearable.
We had to do something about our home as soon as possible.

“Speaking of which, not just Jade, but Fluorite really is a pampered child, isn’t she?”
“It might be natural given what happened, but I get the feeling that’s just their original personality, you know?”
“Well, I don’t mind being pampered. So, to the Hunter’s Guild… wait, in this case, we should report to the client, right?”
“Normally, yes. And I think it’s fine to report to Count Bismarck and the Crafter’s Guild about the Feather Drake we were asked to hunt. Oh, speaking of which, did we hunt the Glass Boar?”

Though I had forgotten, the request from the Crafter’s Guild was to hunt as many Feather Drakes and Glass Boars as possible.
We had already informed Count Bismarck that the Feather Drake was a priority, and since it wasn’t an urgent need, it was fine even if the number was small. However, since Glass Boars are also a food source, the sooner the better.
Still, it’s not like people were starving to death immediately, and the Crafter’s Guild knows there are no Glass Boars in Mylight. So, perhaps we should deliver the Feather Drakes first.

“By the way, how many did you hunt?”

Mina’s question prompted us to sort out in our minds what and how much we had hunted.
Let’s see…

“Lake Bees, 14; Killer Bees, including the Queen, 53; Wood Wolves, 6; Forest Deer, 5; Orcs, 19; Grand Orcs, 8; Feather Drakes, 18; Winger Drakes, 7; and then Silent Bees and Evil Drakes.”

You remember them so well.
Or rather, you were checking with Questing.

Hunter Magic, Questing, is a magic that allows you to confirm the type, rank, number, and hunting location of monsters recorded on your Hunter’s License.
Since it’s recorded using the magic power of the individual and the defeated monster, it’s impossible to inflate the number of kills or falsify the hunting location. The Hunter’s Guild also always confirms it when reporting kills or selling them.
What’s convenient about Questing is that it can be checked not only individually but also on a raid basis.
It’s clear at a glance who killed what and how much, so there’s almost no possibility of disputes over shares.
Even so, some people still complain.

Wait, there were Silent Bees?
Where did I hunt them?

“Don’t you remember? They were with the Killer Bee Queen. They were about one size smaller than the Queen, so you might not have noticed.”

Ah, they were in the Killer Bee nest.
In that case, the Silent Bees we hunted must have evolved from the Killer Bees.
We decided to hunt them because we happened to come across a Killer Bee nest in our path, but we caught a bigger one than we expected.

Killer Bee nests yield high-quality honey, and it’s also used in alchemy, so the nests are bought at a considerable price.
We were aiming for the honey, so we’ll sell the nest, but we intend to secure the honey for sure.
By the way, Killer Bee nests are spherical, about 5 meters in diameter, so you can get a considerable amount of honey alone.

“You hunted more monsters than I thought… Or rather, I’m sure there was a hunting request for Silent Bees at the Hunter’s Guild, and we also checked with the Order’s Guild if they could handle them?”

Is that so?
But it’s quite a distance from Feel, so perhaps they were different individuals from the Silent Bees we hunted?

“Yamato, do you know?”
“I know there’s a hunting request for Silent Bees, but I don’t remember where. However, I don’t think a request for such a rare species would be issued in a place like that, so they’re probably near the mining site too?”
“Yes. There’s a forest near the third tunnel of the mining site, and they are believed to have evolved from the Forest Bees that inhabit there.”

The third tunnel of the mining site.
Come to think of it, there was indeed a forest nearby.
Since the mine was scheduled to reopen from today, it’s only natural that there would be a request to eliminate any danger, even if it’s just a little.

Huh?
Does this mean we won’t get a reward for these Silent Bees?
Was it all for nothing?

“It wasn’t for nothing. Besides, they were in the Killer Bee nest, so we would have had to hunt them anyway. And I heard that the third tunnel will be closed for a while due to the recent incident.”

Ah, that’s right, I remember now.

The Mylight mining site has three tunnels for mining Crystal Silver.
Centered around the first tunnel, there’s a second tunnel to the west and a third tunnel to the east.
However, the second tunnel had a cave-in and has been sealed.

This time, due to criminal slaves, only the first tunnel is to be reopened. However, the third tunnel is being sealed for investigation because Retisencia’s spies were engaged in illegal mining.
But if only the first tunnel is used, the amount of Crystal Silver that can be mined won’t be enough, so there was a plan to create a new tunnel.

If there are rare species near the mining site, the miners’ safety won’t be secured, and Magic Silver and Crystal Silver won’t be obtained stably, which would be a problem for us too.
We should go hunting, including the Forest Bees, sometime soon.

“If you two go, the Order’s Guild would be very grateful.”

The Order’s Guild has to handle the city’s guard and public order, and many people are currently mobilized in place of hunters, so they are extremely short-handed.

And it’s all the Hunter’s Master’s fault.
It looks like they’re disturbing Feel along with the hunters, and now there’s the possibility of Retisencia’s spies.
Yesterday, Count Bismarck’s Wyvern was borrowed by Marquis Frederica’s subordinate, who headed for the Royal Capital. There must be a huge commotion in the Royal Capital by now.

Since the Order’s Guild is reporting to the Provincial Governor, I’ll ask Linus where to report, but first, the report on the subjugation of the Evil Drake, then deliver the Feather Drake to Count Bismarck’s mansion, and finally, deliver the Feather Drake and order a Beast Carriage at the Crafter’s Guild. That seems like the safest plan.

“Yamato-san, Prim-san! Look at that!”

As I was thinking about such things, Mina called out softly.
They’re so agile.

“What… is that!”

Yamato is surprised, and so am I.
After all, the ones being troubled in front of the Hunter’s Guild were the Ulfy boy and the Undine sisters we met in Prada Village.
The older sister had blue-black short hair and a large bust, and the younger sister had the same blue-black hair, but semi-long, and a modest bust.

“It looks like they’re being troubled, or rather, they’re being forcibly taken away.”
“Normally, you’d consider who’s in the wrong, but since it’s them causing trouble, there’s no need for that.”
“Yeah. Prim, take care of Meena. I’m going to finish this quickly because it’s annoying.”

The ones bothering the children from Prada Village are a raid called Cerberus Fang, who troubled us at the Silver Ore Inn.
They are one of the largest in scale not only in Feel but also in Amister, with many affiliated hunters. However, they are cooperating with the raid guarding the Hunter’s Master, which means they are either idiots or scum.
In fact, they are beyond saving if they are bothering those children.

“I can’t help it. Make sure you don’t hurt those kids, okay?”
“Of course.”

Oh, Yamato is generating a Mirror Ring.
Since it’s a bracelet, it’s hard to notice, and it drastically increases the precision and power of Engraving Magic. He’s really planning to crush them.
Good.

Side: Yamato

“Hey, what are you doing to my acquaintances?”
“What did you say…? You’re…!”
“Weren’t you supposed to be in Mylight!?”

When I spoke up, the scumbags who were about to lay hands on the children from Prada Village opened their eyes wide in surprise.
It’s not a secret that Prim and I are going to Mylight, and we were talking normally as we walked through the Guild and the town, so it’s not strange that these guys knew about it.
What surprised them was that we, who were supposed to be in Mylight, had returned to Feel in just one day.

“Thanks to you, all our business there is finished.”

I replied with a hint of sarcasm, and some of them understood and showed distinctly unpleasant expressions.

“So, where were you planning to take my acquaintances?”

These guys’ pride as Cerberus Fang was hurt, but I don’t care.

If they had any pride as hunters, they would hunt monsters even without requests.
Of course, doing it for free is difficult, so they would sell the defeated monsters to the Hunter’s Guild.
Furthermore, if there’s a request, they’d get the reward for that too.

But these guys don’t hunt, bother the townspeople, and yet they complain like they’re entitled to something. They are beyond saving.
There’s no need to consider their pride.

“You… you say they’re your acquaintances?”
“That’s what I said. Since you’re surrounding just three people with such a large group and trying to take them somewhere, you must have a good reason, right?”

I glared at them, using Physicaling and Manarring.
Several of them seemed intimidated and lost their balance, but I had no intention of backing down.

“I see, as expected of a Level 57 G-rank. But, you see, these guys picked a fight with us. Look at this.”

The female leader shook her head.
In the direction she was pointing was a man, hunched over and holding his right arm.

“So, you’re saying these three people injured that man first, and this is retaliation?”
“That’s about right. We’re going to make them pay for his treatment, and then, regretting picking a fight with us, we’ll make them slaves.”

At this point, it was confirmed that the three had no fault.
Even if they got injured in a fight, it’s within their own responsibility as hunters.
If they became slaves every time, hunters would disappear quickly.
It might have been unexpected that the man got injured, but it’s still not entirely legal.

“I understand your point. So, let me ask, why do you say these three picked a fight? I’ve also had experience being troubled by Snake Bite, but isn’t the truth that you tried to scam new hunters and were defeated by them?”
“Even if that were the case, why are you getting involved?”
“I told you they’re acquaintances. Besides, if people became slaves for such a reason, hunters would disappear in no time. It’s different if it goes too far, but for a simple fight, the Order’s Guild wouldn’t get involved, and it’s completely your own responsibility. This should be within that scope.”
“I don’t care. Besides, these three are willing, so if you get involved, you’ll be the criminal.”
“That’s not true! We never agreed to become slaves!”

Just as I thought their logic was unsolvable, the older sister of the siblings, Flam, spoke up.
As expected, they were planning to make them illegal slaves.

“Is that so? And what are you going to do about his injury? He won’t be able to hunt for a while now, and he won’t be able to protect the town?”
“Th-that…”

This is a forbidden phrase.
Flam didn’t know the current situation in Feel, so she hesitated, but we knew that this statement meant nothing.

“Don’t make me laugh. You say you can’t hunt, but who are you to say that? Besides, since we didn’t agree to become slaves, you’re the ones who will be criminals.”
“You don’t need to worry about us. We have express orders from the Hunter’s Master. Now, hurry up and walk. And you, don’t make a move. Or this child’s cute face will be left with a scar that will never disappear.”

While pointing a sword at Flam, she tried to leave, signaling the end of the conversation, but I had no intention of allowing that.
I silently activated Niflheim, froze Cerberus Fang, knocked them unconscious, and freed the three.
I limited it to this extent because we were in town, but if it were elsewhere, I might have shattered them into pieces.

“Meena, you heard that, right? Who’s the criminal here?”
“It’s definitely Cerberus Fang. And it’s likely there are slave merchants cooperating with them, so we’ll catch them too.”

I’ve increased the Order’s Guild’s workload again, but I’ll bring them a treat later as an apology.

As expected, the Order’s Guild moved quickly since it was in front of the Hunter’s Guild.
Once the situation was explained, they immediately apprehended Cerberus Fang, interrogated them using slave magic tools, and began searching for the slave merchants that Meena had predicted.

Later, the slave merchants were caught, and it was discovered that they were sending illegal slaves obtained in Feel to Retisencia.
I wondered how they managed it with Green Fang and Black Fenrir around, but apparently, there’s an area east of the third mining tunnel where monsters don’t approach.
Of course, there’s a possibility of being attacked before reaching it, but it’s a rather large plaza and there’s also a cave, so it’s difficult to be seen.
We obtained the same information from those engaged in illegal mining in the third tunnel, so it seems to be Retisencia’s base of operations.
After being sent to Retisencia, they were bought by several slave merchants and sold from there. However, since the buyers are identified, they will be formally handed over to Retisencia in the King’s name.
The slave merchants were subjected to severe interrogation and then publicly executed in Feel.

As for me, having an enemy’s forward base nearby isn’t ideal, so I’ve decided to crush it in the near future.