Three days after Princess Yuriana’s meeting with Princess Marianne, we find ourselves at Marquis Frederica’s mansion once again.
The Grand Hunter’s Master has returned after notifying them of our acceptance of the request, but this time, Prim is the focus, not me.
After all, the Grand Hunter’s Master brought a letter addressed to Prim from Princess Manalies, the second princess.
Incidentally, starting today, the ladies are wearing the stylish outfits they recently purchased.
Prim is wearing short red flare pants, a white cropped camisole, and a short-sleeved pink summer cardigan.
Flam is wearing a long, navy blue flare skirt, a black and white striped shirt, and a straw hat.
Lydia is wearing a light blue tight skirt, a white shirt, and a black elbow-length summer jacket.
Rudia is wearing short gray flare pants similar to Prim’s, and a red polo shirt.
Rebecca is wearing a white dress with a blue sash.
Meena is at the Order’s Guild and not present, but she naturally also purchased stylish clothes.
However, for some reason, what Meena bought was a white sailor uniform, complete with a skirt.
As for why there are sailor uniforms at Helios Orb, it seems one of their guests was wearing one when they visited Helios Orb, and it was apparently made at the Crafter’s Guild.
“Thank you very much, Grand Hunter’s Master.”
“As for me, I cannot bear to see the promising hunter, His Highness Manalies, in such a dejected state. This is the least I can do.”
According to the Grand Hunter’s Master, Princess Manalies was overjoyed that Prim was safe and even tried to accompany her, but was stopped by His Majesty and Prince Reinhardt, the first prince.
Although she was greatly displeased, she understood the current situation of having no hunters in Feel, so she was grateful that she managed to persuade her associate, Raid, to specially dispatch them.
After all, currently in Feel, besides us from Wing Crest, there is only one B-rank Raid and two C-rank Raids.
“I heard about it, but Feel’s situation is quite bad. I’m sure you can earn, but it seems to be tough. Oh, I haven’t introduced myself yet. I am Faris, the leader of Holy Grave. I’m happy to meet an Ancient Human.”
“Is it that much? Even if you call me an Ancient, I don’t really feel like I am one.”
That Raid, Holy Grave, came to Feel along with the Grand Hunter’s Master. There are twelve people in the group, and five of them have evolved to High Class.
The person in front of me is the leader of Holy Grave, a G-rank Hunter, High Fairy Faris Leanbell.
She is even smaller than other Fairies, standing only about 120 centimeters tall, yet she carries a great axe made of Adamantine Steel as tall as herself, which makes me a bit worried just looking at her.
“I’ve explained beforehand, but not only is Faris quite skilled, but her husband Cliff is also a considerable talent. The rest of them are also seasoned veterans. They could probably hunt monsters of the Anomalous Goblin species by themselves.”
“Please stop that, Grand Hunter’s Master.”
This stout High Human is Faris’s husband, Cliff Leanbell.
He is nearly 180 centimeters tall and, as his appearance suggests, seems to be someone reliable.
There are also other members such as the High Human Martial Artist Burks, the High Elf Sarina who wields a spear, and the High Vampire Clarice who is an archer.
Incidentally, while Faris and Cliff prefer Adamantine Steel for their weapons, Burks, Sarina, and Clarice seem to use Magic Silver.
“Shall we go, then?”
“Ah, I’m sorry, but please.”
The reason we were called to Marquis Frederica’s mansion this time was for the letter to Prim and to introduce Holy Grave, so we had nothing to report.
After a brief greeting, we left Marquis Frederica’s mansion and headed straight for the Hunter’s Guild.
It’s not yet noon, so there’s still plenty of time to go hunting, and we wanted to greet old man Linus, who has officially been inaugurated as the Hunter’s Master.
Old man Linus probably wouldn’t expect Holy Grave to show up either.
“I never expected Holy Grave to come at this timing. It was indeed unexpected, but it’s a relief for us. After all, we could only rely on them for these requested assignments.”
Upon being led to the Hunter’s Guild’s Master Room, old man Linus’s first words were these.
I understand how he feels, and for us too, it’s helpful that the designated requests are being distributed.
Especially when urgent designated requests pile up, previously, since it was just me and Prim, we had to prioritize those urgent requests.
“Despite being in such a dire situation, I heard that these two completed all the requests without any trouble?”
“That’s also true. Especially when they finished the requests for Mylight in just two days, I was genuinely scared to hear the report.”
“…What kind of request was it?”
“An Evil Drake subjugation. Moreover, it was over 10 meters long, so it wouldn’t be strange if it was ranked one level higher than the usual G-I rank.”
Old man Linus casually spills the details of the request.
Stop invading other people’s privacy without permission.
“…Don’t tell me these two are monsters?”
“They are monsters. Otherwise, they wouldn’t be able to hunt Anomalous Species individually, would they?”
“It’s impossible. I couldn’t do it either.”
Ignoring the surprised Holy Grave, old man Linus and Faris continue their conversation.
Stop getting excited about other people’s privacy.
“We heard you mention an Ancient Human and a P-rank Winged Tribe, but they are truly too incredible.”
“Right? And both of them are still 17, aren’t they? Who knows how much further their levels will rise.”
“Perhaps reaching level 100 for the first time might not be a dream.”
Burks, Sarina, and Clarice are also speaking their minds freely.
Levels have become harder to raise recently, so I doubt that’s possible.
“It’s just gotten harder to raise, but it’s still possible, isn’t it? Yesterday you hunted a Murder Bee, and the day before that, a Goblin Prince.”
Stop revealing other people’s achievements.
As old man Linus says, yesterday we finally hunted the other expected Murder Bee, and the day before that, we hunted a Goblin Prince. This leaves only one Blue Lake Bull and two Orcs remaining for the Demon Crystals that have been used.
The anomalous species of the Blue Lake Bull, the Surging Buffalo, is unusual for an anomalous species in that it doesn’t actively attack people, making it less dangerous for fishermen.
Therefore, it’s being put off, but the problem lies with the Orcs.
We’ve hunted several rare species of Orcs, but we’ve never encountered an anomalous species.
Mylight is vast and difficult to navigate, so we already knew it wouldn’t be easy to find them, and we haven’t been there much. At this rate, I have no idea when we’ll be able to find them.
“Orcs, huh? The Mylight Mountains are vast and rugged, with dense forests, so finding them won’t be easy. Moreover, besides you Wing Crest members, there’s only one B-rank Raid and two C-rank Raids currently in Feel, so they’re not strong enough to head to Mylight.”
“Ah. For Mylight, we’d need at least S-rank, and ideally, several High Classes.”
That’s our sentiment as well.
If it were just me and Prim, perhaps, but bringing everyone along would make it difficult to ensure safety.
That’s why recently, even when we venture out, it’s only as far as the mining sites, at best.
Incidentally, this is our current license.
Yamato Hydrangea Mikami
17 years old
Lv. 65
Human Race – Ancient Human
Union: Wing Crest
Hunter’s Guild: Amister Kingdom – Feel
Hunter’s Rank: P
Primrose Hydrangea Mikami
17 years old
Lv. 61
Beast Race – High Foxy
Union: Wing Crest
Hunter’s Guild: Amister Kingdom – Feel
Hunter’s Rank: P
Meena
17 years old
Lv. 27
Human Race – Human
Union: Wing Crest
Order’s Guild: Amister Kingdom – Float
Order’s Rank: C
Hunter’s Guild: Amister Kingdom – Feel
Hunter’s Rank: C
Flam
18 years old
Lv. 23
Yokai Race – Undine
Union: Wing Crest
Hunter’s Guild: Amister Kingdom – Feel
Hunter’s Rank: C
Lydia Highwind
16 years old
Lv. 36
Dragon Race – Hydragonewt (Ice Dragon)
Union: Wing Crest
Hunter’s Guild: Valentia Dragon Kingdom – Dragunia
Hunter’s Rank: B
Rudia Highwind
16 years old
Lv. 36
Dragon Race – Hydragonewt (Fire Dragon)
Union: Wing Crest
Hunter’s Guild: Valentia Dragon Kingdom – Dragunia
Hunter’s Rank: B
Raus
13 years old
Lv. 29
Beast Race – Ulfy
Union: Wing Crest
Hunter’s Guild: Amister Kingdom – Feel
Hunter’s Rank: C
Rebecca
13 years old
Lv. 26
Yokai Race – Undine
Union: Wing Crest
Hunter’s Guild: Amister Kingdom – Feel
Hunter’s Rank: C
The distribution is quite unbalanced like this.
If we were to go to Mylight, it would be at least after Lydia and Rudia become S-rank.
Ah, Prim’s level rose from defeating the Murder Bee yesterday, so she has been promoted to P-rank.
“We understand that we need to investigate Mylight as well.”
“It can’t be helped. Depending on the situation, it might be the five of us and the two of you investigating. Of course, that would be after you return from the Royal Capital.”
The reason Faris and the others came to Feel is not only because there were no hunters, but also because we will be leaving Feel.
Escorting Princess Marianne, Saches, and Barbatos to the Royal Capital, seeing Princess Yuriana off, and reporting the alloy to the Grand Crafter’s Master are not tasks that can be completed in a day or two.
Furthermore, we have to pay our respects to Meena’s parents, and there’s talk of an audience with His Majesty, so it’s highly unlikely we’ll be able to return to Feel for several days, quite possibly a month.
Princess Manalies also understood this when she dispatched Holy Grave, so we are grateful for it.
“It’s impossible today, but I’ll head to Mylight soon. We have five High Classes, and the other members are close to level 40, so unless something extraordinary happens, we should be fine.”
While Helios Orb can overcome quantity with quality, there are indeed situations where quality cannot compensate.
Especially for wide-area searches, manpower is inevitably required.
Prim and I can search from the sky by riding Jade and Fluorite, but even so, there are blind spots, so it’s not foolproof.
“I appreciate it. But don’t push yourselves too hard, alright? If it’s an anomalous Orc species, it’s likely an Orc Prince or Princess, and they are G-I rank. There are even those that have evolved into Catastrophe Species.”
That’s the troublesome part.
The monsters whose Demon Crystals were used by Retisencia’s agents were three Glass Wolves, two Blue Lake Bulls, two Forest Bees, one Treant, three Goblins, two Orcs, and the Feather Drake, which was Saches’s familiar. Among them, the Glass Wolves and Goblins had evolved into the Catastrophe Species Black Fenrir and Goblin Queen, respectively.
Black Fenrir is a G-C rank, and Goblin Queen is an S-C rank Monster, but they are still Catastrophe Species, considered equivalent to two ranks higher.
In other words, a Black Fenrir is equivalent to an M-rank Monster, and even a Goblin Queen is equivalent to a P-rank Monster.
If the Orcs have evolved into Catastrophe Species, they would become P-C rank Monsters, which is equivalent to A-rank Monsters.
A-rank Monsters are few in number even at Helios Orb, and many have only a vague idea of their appearance, let alone their ecology, as direct encounters are rare.
If a subjugation party were to be formed, dozens of High Classes would be needed, and the question arises of how many of them would return alive. It is said that O-rank Monsters above that are impossible to subjugate.
“I understand. More importantly, if a King or Queen actually appears, we’ll flee immediately. We won’t stand a chance alone, but we should be able to escape.”
Even if the opponent is equivalent to A-rank, the rank is P-C, so escaping should be possible.
After all, it’s only “equivalent,” not actually a monster of that rank, and Orcs are humanoid, so their movements are predictable.
In fact, for Demi-human Catastrophe Species, they become Kings or Queens, and there are historical records of their subjugation, so I believe we could manage with a subjugation party.
However, what worries me is that if we keep setting up these flags, I feel like they might actually appear.
“Setting up flags” is a saying brought by a visitor, and it has become a proverb in Helios Orb that what is said becomes true.
All I can do is pray that such an unthinkable existence does not appear.
