I am currently experiencing a terrible headache in the royal reception room at Amagi Castle.
It’s not a problem that Wing Crest, which should have left the royal capital three weeks ago for Valentia, has returned.
However, it is not just my head that aches, but my stomach as well, because I have been directly informed that all the hunters belonging to Wing Crest have evolved into High Class and have even conquered the most difficult Labyrinth in Valentia, Solpreza.
It is also a big problem that my sister Mana has formed a Dragon Resonance Contract with Lady Eos, a Hydragonian, and that Yamato is engaged to Lady Athena, the daughter of the Holy Dragon Gaia, but it feels insignificant compared to the aforementioned problem.
“So, the Duke’s family of Nizhheg, which owns Solpreza Labyrinth, was divested of their title, the Demon Crystals held by Duke Narlstadt were confiscated. And in reward, you brought back the Magic Stone of the Gold Dragoon, the guardian of Solpreza Labyrinth? And you will also be donating those Magic Stones, and the Magic Stones of the monsters defeated in Solpreza Labyrinth?”
“That’s the plan. It hasn’t been dismantled yet, so it will be after that.”
“I don’t know how many days it will take because of the quantity, but we plan to get help from the Hunter’s Guild in Float as well, so it should be about a few days.”
“And this is the list of monsters… Not only P-rank, but M-rank, and even A-rank are listed…”
“Moreover, the A-rank Gold Dragoon and Disaster Dragoon will dismantle them in Feel and even donate some materials for us…”
Following Mana and Yamato’s lines, my wife Maruka and Elis, who were looking at the monster list of Solpreza Labyrinth, let out big sighs.
Yes, the Gold Dragoon, the guardian of Solpreza Labyrinth, and the An Species Disaster Dragoon are not only giving us their Magic Stones, but are also offering to donate enough leather and bone for three people’s armor to be tailored.
Of course, it is a very welcome offer, but for monster materials, C-rank was standard, B-rank was high-quality, and S-rank was treated as rare.
Anything above that, like G-rank, becomes ultra-high class because they are rarely hunted.
O-rank monsters are said to be impossible to hunt, so the materials from A-rank monsters can be considered the highest grade.
Not only are they generously donating those materials, but they have also hunted enough for themselves to use abundantly, so it’s no wonder my head aches, and even my stomach.
“You two, Brother Rai and the others, also hunted with Holy Grave in Feel, didn’t you? I heard you destroyed a few Orc villages and even hunted an Earth Wolf and a Grandic Boar?”
“Where did you hear that?”
As Prim said, Eris, Maruka, and I went to Feel two weeks ago.
The reason was to bestow the finished Sky Knight armor, the Arc Order’s Coat, upon Rex Fallheight, the Order’s Master of Feel.
Rex, who commanded at the Alliance in Feel one month ago, continuously received the attacks of the Catastrophe Species Orc Queen head-on and succeeded in creating a large opening by using a broken shield, contributing greatly to its subjugation.
In honor of that achievement, he was granted the title of Sky Knight and promoted to A-rank Order.
The Arc Order’s Coat for Rex was newly tailored by my father, as the Order’s Guild was in the process of renewing all its equipment using an alloy called Jade Silver, which was devised by Yamato and developed by Ed.
Initially, we planned to use the leather of a Winger Drake, but since Yamato and the others hunted a Gryphon in the Ideal Mountain Range, the plan was changed to unexpectedly use Gryphon leather. It took a little longer than planned, but my father seemed to be enjoying himself.
In addition to the Arc Order’s Coat, the Crafter’s Guild has also tailored Platinum Order’s Coats for the Order’s Masters and Royal Orders, as well as common Order’s Coats, and all of them have been distributed. The feedback from the Orders has been excellent.
Feel received their Arc Order’s Coats and Platinum Order’s Coats the earliest, two weeks ago, so it was the last to be delivered.
When I bestowed it upon him, Rex received it with a wry smile. As expected, his relationship with Yamato and the others is longer than mine, so the change in materials was within his expectations.
Of course, he didn’t expect it to change to an M-rank monster like a Gryphon.
After that, we stayed in Feel for about a week, investigated the Mylight Mountains with Holy Grave and the Orders, discovered several Orc villages, and successfully annihilated them all.
We also encountered a few B-rank Earth Wolves and a G-rank Grandic Boar, but we managed to hunt them all without anyone suffering serious injuries.
This was about a week ago, so Prim and the others who have just arrived in Float wouldn’t know.
“I heard it from the Grand Order’s Master. There was a Demise Species in Mylight, so an investigation was necessary, so they went there.”
“And it seems that not only you, Big Brother, but also Sister Elis and Sister Maruka leveled up?”
“So, the information source is Grand Order’s Master Tolman. Besides bestowing the Arc Order’s Coat, there was also the excuse of assisting Feel, where there are few hunters. So, the hunting situation in Feel has reached Tolman and the Prime Minister’s ears, and since no one has been specifically told to keep quiet, I suppose it’s fine.”
I became level 53, Elis became level 40, and Maruka became level 48. However, it wasn’t just us who leveled up; the Orders and Holy Grave in Feel also did.
As I was able to become the G-rank Hunter I had always dreamed of, I can say that the trip to Feel was a satisfactory outcome for me.
“Although we leveled up, it’s nothing compared to everyone else?”
“When you say that, I have nothing to say in return.”
“I suppose so. After all, the members of Wing Crest, Mina, Flam, Raus, and Rebecca have evolved into High Class, and Prim has reached level 73, making it impossible to hide the fact that she is an Ancient Foxy. I had expected her to reach M-rank sooner or later, but I didn’t expect it to happen after returning from Valentia, so I’m troubled about how to proceed.”
“Even so, it’s a problem not to raise Prim’s rank, isn’t it? There will be a difference in rewards, and besides, there are countermeasures for that, so why not just think of it as the timing has advanced?”
“That’s the only way. Frankly, I didn’t want her to raise her rank until after the new year.” Amister starts snowing as early as the end of October, or by November at the latest. Therefore, even if Leona, the former prince of Retisencia and Balentia, were to make organized moves, they would be hindered by the snow. The amount of snowfall in Amister is quite heavy. Furthermore, there are monsters that become active as soon as it snows, which is even more troublesome.
However, it is currently the end of September, so it is not impossible to move the army. Of course, if we were to do so, they would not remain silent, but the Order’s Guild is skilled in winter marches, and with the new equipment renewed with Jade Silver, both Retisencia and the Anti-Beast King Organization would be at a disadvantage in snow warfare. However, if we are talking about the Anti-Beast King Organization, Retisencia would be easily defeated even without the advantage of terrain.
“Snow. I didn’t expect the experience in Solpreza Labyrinth to be useful this soon.”
“Well, yes. But it’s not as bad as there. It’s true that it snows in Amister until around March, and it’s normal for it to accumulate up to ankle-deep, but in January and February, it accumulates even more, and it’s not uncommon for it to reach past your knees, and even your waist.” In other countries, it doesn’t snow this much, and even in Torencia, known as the “Snow Country,” it only reaches below the knees, which shows how much snow accumulates. Torencia has snow year-round, and the amount of snowfall is not that high. On the other hand, Amister has four seasons. According to my guest, Great-grandmother Sayuri, it’s the same as the four seasons in her former world, but the amount of snowfall and accumulation are incomparable.
“Ah, well, it’s certainly different from where I lived. Snow falls where I lived, but it rarely accumulated.”
“Balentia is also like that. Traders increase because there are fewer monsters, but on the other hand, thieves also increase, which is troublesome.”
Thieves, huh. Balentia has many forests and places to hide, so in some regions, the damage from thieves is greater than from monsters. I recall that the Hydransia Duke’s Territory, where Prim was born and raised, was exactly such a place.
“It rarely snows in Valentia, so if it accumulates that much, I’ll have to think about how to fight.”
“Lydia is a Martial Artist, so it must be especially difficult in the snow, right?”
Conversely, almost no snow falls in Valentia. Therefore, it is understandable that Lydia and Ludia, who are from Valentia, are unaccustomed to fighting in the snow.
“There are no Labyrinths near Feel or Emosion, and even if there were, it’s not certain that there would be conveniently located snowfield or snowy mountain floors, so this will have to wait until it snows.”
“That’s right.”
Ludia sighs, but Lydia has a similar expression. Not only Ludia, a Martial Artist, but also Lydia, a Twin Swords user, will be slowed down by the snow, making it impossible to achieve maximum speed. So, even if they get used to it, we can only wait until the snow accumulates. It would be a different story if there were snowfield floors in the Labyrinth, but given the current issues with Retisencia and Valentia, we cannot spend too long in there either.
“Excuse me, Your Majesty. The Head Hunter’s Master, Head Butler’s Master, and Grand Crafter’s Master have arrived.”
Lalaina, the Prime Minister, informed me of the visitors. The Head Hunter’s Master and Grand Crafter’s Master have been summoned to purchase the monsters from Solpreza Labyrinth, and the Head Butler’s Master has been summoned regarding Maid Yuria, from Carol’s side. Yuria, a C-rank Butler, seems to have caught the eye of Yamato and the others, and will now officially contract with them. However, since she is a C-rank Butler, even with a formal contract, the term will remain three months, and she will need to renew the contract each time. Promotion to B-rank Butler will take at least about a year.
However, the difficult part is for the Head Hunter’s Master and the Grand Crafter’s Master. I have reviewed the list of monsters defeated by Yamato and the others in Solpreza Labyrinth and heard about the monsters scheduled for sale. However, many of them are monsters that are rarely brought to Float, or are even the first of their kind. In particular, Dragoons have not been seen since the Lesser Dragoon brought from the Gallia Labyrinth in the south several decades ago. It is certain that there will be a stir, so we will have to consider strengthening the security system in Float.
Since most of them are large monsters, I am scheduled to go to the Hunter’s Guild later, but I am also interested and have decided to accompany them. I rarely have the opportunity to see M-rank monsters, let alone P-rank monsters, so I am looking forward to it a little.
