Once we reunited with Flam, Raus, and Rebecca, we promised them dinner and entered the Hunter’s Guild.
We had two matters to attend to, but one was for reporting the subjugation of an Evil Drake and handing over its corpse. That couldn’t be handled without the Provincial Governor.
However, the other matter shouldn’t take too long, and old man Linus should be able to handle anything.
“You returned quite early, was there some kind of problem?”
Even old man Linus didn’t seem to expect that we had already finished hunting.
Rightfully so.
“I’ll discuss that with the Provincial Governor later, but we did hunt an Evil Drake.”
“…Excuse me, could you say that again? My hearing seems to be a bit off.”
“I said we hunted an Evil Drake. We also have a Feather Drake from a request, and a few Winger Drakes as well, so we’ll be heading to the Crafter’s Guild later.”
“…”
He was speechless.
“Already defeated them? That’s too fast!”
Just as I thought that, the door to old man’s room suddenly burst open dramatically. Marquis Frederica seemed to have arrived in a hurry, her breathing ragged.
“Please don’t startle me like that. I thought something terrible had happened.”
“…That’s my line. And besides, how were you able to return so quickly?”
Marquis Frederica’s question was natural. We too would likely have taken another day or two if we hadn’t been able to form a familiar contract with Jade and Fluorite.
“I’ll explain in detail later, but we were able to form a familiar contract with a Hippogriff, which allowed us to return in such a short time.”
At this explanation, old man Linus buried his head in his hands, and Marquis Frederica collapsed to her knees as if her strength had drained away.
“I haven’t even heard the report yet, and I’m already exhausted…”
“I agree. I’ve never felt this scared of hearing a report before…”
“Same here…”
Putting old man Linus aside, Marquis Frederica is only 19, how can she look so tired?
“I understand exactly how you two feel! Defeating an Anomaly in the Mylight Mountains in just two days and returning is unheard of. And you accomplished it all by yourselves, so anyone would be like this.”
It felt like she was subtly calling us non-human, but both Marquis Frederica and old man Linus nodded vigorously at Meena’s opinion.
How rude.
“Putting that aside, I have something I want to ask Linus first.”
“Me? Is it about the… Hippogriff?”
“I’ll include that in the report, this is about something else. Actually…”
Prim opened her mouth and explained the commotion that had occurred earlier in front of the guild. Naturally, old man Linus scowled, and Marquis Frederica looked displeased.
“We’ll leave those individuals to the Order’s Guild, but if further crimes are uncovered, their leader, the woman, could face the death penalty.”
“It depends on the charges, of course. But you’re not asking for a reduction in their sentence, are you?”
Naturally.
There’s no reason why we should ask for their sentences to be reduced; it makes no sense at all.
“No, what we want to ask about and request is about the Trader’s Guild.”
“I see, so it’s escorting them to Prada Village. I don’t have any problem with that, but what’s the benefit for you to lend a hand?”
“There is one. The Hunters currently in Feel are all enemies to us, but those people are not. I don’t think it’s a bad deal for Feel either.”
“That’s certainly true. The current lack of ordinary Hunters is not ideal for us either. Yesterday, I sent my subordinates to the Royal Capital, and at the same time, we are requesting the Head Hunter’s Master to dispatch Hunters. It won’t be easily dismissed as it’s in the joint name of Lord Linus and the Provincial Governor, but still, there’s no guarantee. So, if someone can become a Hunter in this territory, it would be for the best.”
The Royal Family’s directly managed territory is around the Mylight Mountains, and the human settlements within it are only Feel and Prada Village.
From Prada Village, Emosion is also an option. However, Emosion is a city ruled by Duke Turkis, and it is also the capital of the ducal territory. Although Flam and the others have brought the necessary funds, it would not look good for the villages in the directly managed territory to make massive purchases in a city of a ducal territory. It seems that Flam and others came to Feel for reasons like these.
Ah, the Head Hunter’s Master is the Hunter’s Master at the headquarters of the Hunter’s Guild in Amister, located in the Royal Capital. He oversees all the Hunters in Amister. Above him is the Grand Hunter’s Master of the general headquarters.
“I appreciate you considering Feel, but if that’s the case, the reward will be the same as what’s posted on the request board, won’t it? It will be significantly cheaper compared to G-rank rewards, but is that acceptable?”
“We don’t mind.”
“It’s not like we’re doing it for the reward.”
“Honestly, I wish the current Hunters could learn from you.”
While a higher reward would be preferable, I have no intention of making them overexert themselves. Demanding requests and snatching exorbitant rewards would be considered malicious Hunter behavior.
No, I might have done something similar to Count Bismarck.
“Alright then, I’ll take this proposal to the Trader’s Guild later. They are well aware of the current situation with Hunters, and since they also know about you, they will surely welcome you.”
Merchants often say that information is life. While it won’t be settled today or tomorrow due to preparations for goods, we should also make our preparations. At that moment, there was a knock on the door, the door opened, and Kamina appeared.
“Excuse me. Count Sofia, Count Bismarck, and Viscount Archlight have arrived.”
“Understood. Please escort them to the Tenth Appraisal Room.”
“Understood.”
Count Bismarck is here too. Well, he’s not unrelated to this matter, and there’s also the matter of delivering the Feather Drake. It would be more convenient for us if he came, but is it okay to just summon nobles so casually?
I didn’t summon them, so I don’t need to worry about that.
With that, we proceeded to the appraisal room.
Side: Prim
The Hunter’s Guild has ten appraisal rooms. The first through fifth appraisal rooms are not that large.
Not that large, but they are wide enough to appraise twenty Goblins at once. The sixth to eighth rooms are twice that size, and the ninth is perhaps double that again. And the tenth appraisal room is incredibly spacious; it could fit several Evil Drakes.
The first to eighth appraisal rooms are housed within a three-story building, but the ninth and tenth appraisal rooms, due to their size, are located underground. The reason we were led to the tenth appraisal room is that the number of monsters we hunted was too high compared to ordinary Hunters, making it likely that it wouldn’t fit. It was also where we would hand over the Feather Drake requested by Count Bismarck, so it was convenient for us.
Like all appraisal rooms, they are facilities of the Hunter’s Guild. If there were any attempts at theft, the perpetrator would be immediately caught, their license revoked, and handed over to the country’s knight order or, in Amister’s case, the Order’s Guild.
Gathered in that tenth appraisal room were myself, Yamato, Meena, Rex, Rosemary, Linus, Kamina, Marquis Frederica, Count Sofia, Count Bismarck, and Viscount Archlight – a total of eleven people.
There were a few appraisal staff and some from the Order for investigation, but they wouldn’t participate in the discussion, so I’m excluding them for now.
The first item we presented was the Feather Drake, also requested by Count Bismarck. He wanted three, so we produced three, but we could provide a few more if needed. One Winger Drake would also be fine.
“I never imagined you would fulfill the request so quickly… And to have a Winger Drake as well, I don’t know what to say…”
“We also have a request from the Crafter’s Guild. If you don’t need them, they will be sent there.”
“It’s always best if we can obtain them, but the Winger Drake and Feather Drake have different feather colors. The Miko’s attire is unified with the cerulean blue of the Feather Drake’s feathers, so it would actually be helpful if you could provide about three more of those.”
I see. It gives a sense of luxury, but the different color prevents a unified look. That makes sense. And providing three additional Feather Drakes is no problem.
“Thank you. I will add a reward of 400,000 El for the additional three. With this many available, we can tailor outfits for everyone, which is a great help to me.”
Actually, I’m a little curious about the Miko’s robes made from the hide of Feather Drakes. Yamato’s family lives in a shrine-like facility called a “Jinja” and has lived there for generations. I was curious and asked Yamato to show me the Miko’s attire from his world using an engraving tool. To my surprise, it was very similar, almost identical, to the Miko’s attire of the Bascion faith. I believe some guest was involved in this, but that’s precisely why I’m curious about the Miko’s robes made from Feather Drake hides. The harvest festival is in October, so if I have time, I’d like to go.
“So that’s a total of six. Will you hand them over here?”
“Ah. I’ve brought a storage bag, so six or so won’t be a problem.”
I see. If he has a storage bag, carrying them won’t be an issue.
A storage bag is a magic tool imbued with “Storing,” and it is a very expensive magic tool costing several platinum coins at its highest. The capacity varies for each storage bag, but it can hold at least two Feather Drakes. However, I don’t think Count Bismarck’s storage bag can only hold that much, so it must be a quite high-ranked bag.
There are also magic tools imbued with “Mirroring,” which are called mirror bags. A mirror bag is just a simple item that expands the capacity of a bag several times, but it costs at most two gold coins and can be bought for a few magic silver coins at its cheapest, making it extremely popular.
“Then, Count Bismarck’s request will be completed. We will present you with the reward later.”
Kamina wrote something on the request form, and it glowed just as it did when we accepted the request. All that’s left is for us to receive the reward and sign, and the effect of the contract magic will disappear.
“I never even imagined it would be possible to obtain these so quickly. But with this, we can safely welcome this year’s harvest festival. I am truly grateful.”
Count Bismarck is wearing a very pleasant smile. It’s understandable, given they were on the verge of canceling the harvest festival, but it’s undeniable that this was a considerable expense.
“Well then, next, we’ll take on the Evil Drake.”
I feel bad for Count Bismarck, but this is the real prize for us. We’ve made sure to secure its head, so I believe the investigation will proceed without any issues.
“As reported by Viscount Archlight’s subordinates, it is indeed an Evil Drake. Moreover, it is much larger than we anticipated…”
“Yes. It is said to have ravaged an Orc settlement, but even so, I never imagined it would be this large…”
Evil Drakes have been hunted several times before, but all individuals were around 5 meters in length. However, this individual exceeds 10 meters, which clearly indicates it is an anomaly.
“Its neck is deeply gashed. In fact, it looks like it was almost a single strike. An Evil Drake of this immense size is unprecedented. It wouldn’t be strange even to consider it one rank higher, but they truly are astonishing.”
Linus sounds exasperated, but we didn’t fight it head-on, of course. Well, we won’t disclose our methods as it would reveal our hand, and the Hunter’s Guild won’t ask, but it will likely be revealed eventually. That’s a problem for another time.
“Alright Gram, begin the investigation. If our prediction is correct…”
“Understood. Ah, found it. It’s a contract mark.”
“So it is a familiar after all. This means that not only were they hoarding information, but they didn’t just let the Hunters from Feel die, they intentionally killed them.”
So it was a familiar after all. The timing of its appearance was too convenient; I was curious. That’s why I aimed for the neck, to avoid damaging the head, and it turned out to be the right move.
Familiars and summoned beasts have contract marks as proof. When the contractor channels magic power, the contract mark becomes visible. Its location is fixed on the forehead, so anyone can see it at a glance. Without the contractor’s magic power, it’s impossible to tell if it’s a familiar, but there are rare cases where familiars or summoned beasts harm people. In such cases, the familiar or summoned beast is disposed of, and the contractor receives appropriate punishment. However, if it’s impossible to determine whose familiar or summoned beast it is, responsibility cannot be assigned.
To prevent this, familiar magic has a spell called “Contracting,” which allows one to investigate who the contract is with. This spell not only reveals the species and individual names of the familiar or summoned beast but also allows one to view a portion of the contractor’s library. Even though it’s only a portion, it provides the same information as a Hunter’s License, making mistaken identity impossible.
Using that Contracting spell, Gram confirmed the following information.
Species Name: Evil Drake
Feather Drake → Winger Drake
Individual Name: Nick
Contractor: Saches Trennel
Age: 33
Level: 47
Race: High Human
Hunter’s Guild: Hunter’s Master, Amister Kingdom Feel Branch
Hunter Rank: S
Just as I expected, this confirms it’s the Hunter’s Master’s familiar.
“Now that it’s confirmed that this Evil Drake is the familiar of the Hunter’s Master… no, Saches Trennel, we can infer many things. For example, the reason the Ratisensia operatives were able to operate freely despite the presence of Black Fenrir and Green Fang might have been that they had the Evil Drake as an escort.”
That possibility is high. Another line of reasoning is that they used it as escort to prevent monster attacks when smuggling illegal slaves out of Feel.
“It’s more than just possible; it’s likely the truth. Lord Linus, what punishment does the Hunter’s Guild intend to impose on that man?”
“This is indeed a betrayal of the Hunter’s Guild. We will strip him of all authority, expel him, and hand over his person to Amister. I can guarantee this as the Sub-Hunter’s Master.”
Crimes such as inciting national unrest, inviting foreign intervention, breach of contract, and countless others. The death penalty is certain, and depending on the situation, it could even escalate into a war with Ratisensia. However, judging by the Provincial Governor, they don’t seem to fear war, and more importantly, the Hunter’s Guild won’t stand idly by, so the possibility of war might be surprisingly low.
“That is reassuring. We will report the subsequent actions to the Royal Capital, but first, let’s move to apprehend him.”
“Indeed. However, what about the Hunters? We also need to question the Hunters, but surely the Order’s Guild doesn’t have enough staff?”
Rex, addressed by Count Sofia, nodded apologetically. However, this is unavoidable.
“For now, why don’t we think about it after we’ve apprehended them? We’ll help with the apprehension.”
“We’ve also been subjected to unpleasant experiences by them multiple times.”
It started right after we registered as Hunters. Honestly, it’s bothersome, so if there’s a just cause, we’ll gladly help. That way, Meena and Flam can also be safe, and we can go to Prada Village with peace of mind. It’s not a problem that can be resolved immediately, but it’s also not a problem that can be delayed indefinitely. A decision will likely be made tomorrow or the day after. We would prefer it to be decided before we leave for Prada Village.
