Yesterday was eventful, but I think Fluorite became more honest after being scolded by Prim, so I can rest easy for a while.
The test cuts of Meena’s lapis lazuli weapons also yielded excellent results.
They haven’t mastered them yet, but they seem to have grasped the knack, so they should get used to their new weapons after a few more days of hunting.
Thinking about such things, I opened my eyes in the bedroom of the beast carriage.
We’ve brought the beast carriage into the house room of the Magic Silver Inn where we’re staying from last night, and we’ve decided to sleep there.
The reason?
The bed here is wider and bigger, so we don’t have to feel cramped when we sleep.
Since Lydia and Ludia joined us last night, the Magic Silver Inn’s beds wouldn’t suffice.
Conversely, nearly half of the room in my bedroom in the beast carriage is taken up by the bed.
And that bed is so big it puts a king-size to shame, so there’s no problem even if all of us—Prim, Meena, Flam, Lydia, and Ludia—sleep together. There’s even plenty of space if Rika or Princess Yuriana were to join us.
Therefore, as I was able to have both Lydia and Ludia, two sisters, at the same time, I worked harder than usual.
Even if Lydia’s chest was smaller than Rika’s, even if Ludia, shyly, opened herself up boldly, even if Flam happily attacked everyone, even if Meena started to become more daring, and even if Prim was happy to be blamed by everyone, there was no option for me but to work hard.
…I apologize, I’ll confess honestly.
I was enjoying myself too.
Well, that aside, I am engaged to both Lydia and Ludia, and their parents’ homes are in Dragunia, the dragon capital of the Valentia Dragon Kingdom.
In that case, it’s only natural to visit their families to pay our respects.
Rika has to wait until her child inherits the family estate, and Princess Yuriana cannot marry until she comes of age. So, getting married to Meena and Flam at the Priests’ Guild in the Royal Capital, then going to Valentia and marrying Lydia and Ludia at their Priests’ Guild there seems like the best plan for both me and them.
However, since they are both still sixteen years old, we have to wait almost a year for the marriage.
Lydia mentioned yesterday that she’s arranged to send a letter to their family home in Dragunia, so it should reach them soon.
Lydia and Ludia’s father is the副団長 of the Valentia Royal Dragon Knight Corps, and their birth mother, along with another mother, are surprisingly Dragonians; they are apparently his battle companions.
Come to think of it, I haven’t seen a Dragonian yet.
They’re originally few in number and are a race consisting only of females. They basically live on a sacred mountain in Valentia, and when they marry, they go to their partner’s place. After their partner dies, they return to the sacred mountain.
Unlike other races, Dragonians reportedly have a lifespan of about 500 years.
They evolve into Hydragonians and Ancient Dragonians, but it’s said that even with evolution, their lifespan doesn’t extend due to their already long natural lifespan.
Furthermore, Dragonians are one of the two types of dragons that exist in the Helios Orb.
They can use the bestowed magic Dragon Transformation Magic, exclusive to Dragonians, and by transforming into a dragon, they can exhibit immense combat power.
It’s said that when in dragon form, depending on the level, they can overwhelmingly defeat even P-rank monsters one-on-one.
By the way, the other type of dragon is called a Dragoon, and they are apparently common in labyrinths and the like.
I thought it was a dragon knight, but in Helios Orb, it refers to a dragon. Dragon knights are apparently called Drag-Knights or Drag-Orders.
“So, what’s today’s plan?”
“Well, to get used to handling their weapons, I guess we’ll go hunting.”
“I agree.”
I thought for a moment after Ludia asked me about today’s plan during breakfast, and Prim agreed.
Since An and Catastrophe Species are no longer thought to be around, I don’t expect too much danger, but I can’t say for sure they’re gone, so I’ve put aside the idea of going to Mylight.
“I think that’s a good idea as well. Meena and Flam’s weapons, while flashy in appearance, are not very different from regular swords, shields, and bows. However, my, Ludia’s, Raus-kun’s, and Rebecca-chan’s weapons are a bit special.”
As Lydia said, Meena and Flam’s weapons, while fancy and luxurious in decoration, are otherwise not much different from ordinary ones.
But Lydia has a Sword Breaker, Raus has a shield with a blade, Rebecca uses a bow that can also be a spear, and Ludia has gauntlets that can extend blades and greaves with blades. It’s not something that can be mastered overnight.
Even if the test cuts were good, this is a different matter, so it’s better to hunt a little more.
“I agree with that too, but where are we going?”
“Veil Lake. Mylight is too far, and it’s probably in chaos after the recent Alliance, so I’d rather avoid it.”
After all, there were not only An and Catastrophe Species, but Demise Species as well.
The monster hierarchy has probably changed, so while it might be manageable for just Prim and me, bringing everyone along would be a bit tough.
“Well, since the Demise Species have been defeated, the ecosystem has surely changed.”
“But isn’t that nearly seven hours away from Feel by beast carriage? That’s too far, aren’t you overthinking it?”
Raus agreed, but Rebecca said I was overthinking it.
That’s true, but I don’t know how far the influence of the Demise Species extends, and I can’t predict how the Orcs in Mylight will act now that the Demise Species are gone. So, I think overthinking is appropriate.
“That’s true, but there’s also the matter of what the other Orcs are doing. If we have time, we’ll investigate, but since we’re going to the Royal Capital from tomorrow, we’ll have to leave that to Holy Grave.”
The Hunter’s Guild is aware of our going to the Royal Capital.
If anything, I think the Alliance would have preferred us to go after we returned from the Royal Capital, but leaving the Orc King and Orc Queen unchecked was too problematic, so in some cases, we might have had to change our travel dates to the Royal Capital.
Although it turned out that way, we were able to destroy the settlement along with the Demise Species Orc Emperor and Orc Empress that were there. So, while Mylight might be in chaos, it’s become a point of relief for Feel.
“Holy Grave will be in Feel while Yamato and the others are in the Royal Capital, right?”
“Precisely, until the end of the year. They’ve brought their Union members and families, but their base is in the Royal Capital, so we can’t push them too hard.”
However, the Grand Hunter’s Master is insisting that it was the Hunter’s Guild’s failure, so they will bring Holy Grave to the Royal Capital right after the new year and send them back, but for now, they’ll be in Feel.
“Until the end of the year, huh? Going to the Royal Capital is one thing, but returning by beast carriage means we’re not cutting it too close.”
“It probably depends on how long we’re tied up in the Royal Capital. We’re looking at a maximum of one month, but it could take longer depending on the situation.”
That’s right.
The public executions of Retisencia’s spies are scheduled to take place a few days after they’re brought to the Royal Capital.
They’ve already informed Retisencia’s Imperial King, but I heard the reply hasn’t come yet, so depending on the content, I might be called upon.
Oh, and the Crafter’s Guild has already decided to withdraw, and the Grand Crafter’s Master has notified all Crafter’s Guilds in Retisencia.
Only the dispatched staff are withdrawing, but naturally, they have families, so many hunters are being hired as guards. There are signs that the Trader’s Guild will follow suit, so requests for trader escorts might also be issued. It seems the Hunter’s Guild’s withdrawal is to be declared directly by the Grand Hunter’s Master to the Imperial King. He said he was going yesterday or the day before, so Retisencia might be in a panic right now, but Princess Marianne looked down on the Grand Hunter’s Master, so the Imperial King might be saying the same thing.
Moreover, the Demon Crystals that Retisencia relies on are, in my opinion, flawed.
Well, as Princess Marianne said, it might be manageable if contracted through familiar magic or summoning magic, but even that isn’t guaranteed.
Apparently, there’s magic in Craft Magic that forcibly cancels familiar and summoning contracts, and if the contracted master dies, the contract is also severed.
It seems there were familiars and summoned beasts that evolved into An, but if they evolved naturally, they can be re-contracted within blood relatives, so it’s not that dangerous.
However, I have a feeling that evolution through Demon Crystals might have some side effects.
“Yamato? What’s wrong?”
“Hmm? Oh, I was just thinking.”
“Hmm. Well, that’s fine. So, today we’re just hunting casually by the lake of Veil Lake, right?”
Although Retisencia and the Demon Crystals are concerns, there’s no point in thinking about them now, and it’s not something I should be thinking about.
What I need to think about now is today’s hunt.
After breakfast, we went to the ranch, hitched Jade to the beast carriage, and headed for the shores of Veil Lake.
Fluorite and Meena’s Battle-Horse, Breeze, are walking alongside each other, looking friendly.
The monsters that appear around here are Blue Lake Bulls, Lake Bees, Lake Rabbits, Goblins, Horn Rabbits, Glass Boas, and Glass Wolves, but I want to hunt Blue Lake Bulls.
With monsters of this level, there’s little worry of getting injured and no risk of carrying fatigue over to tomorrow.
Prim and I took on support roles, and we continued hunting for about five hours.
Everyone seemed to have grasped the knack of their new weapons, and they were defeating the monsters that appeared quite easily towards the end.
Lydia parried a Spiral Rabbit’s horn with her Drag-Breaker, then cut off its head with her Drag-Sword. Ludia was shredding a Blue Lake Bull with the blades on her legs and claws on her hands. Raus interfered with a Glass Boa’s charge using the blade of his Lapis Light Shield, then defeated it with his Lapis Light Sword. Rebecca was piercing a Green Wolf with an arrow while also impaling it with her Lapis Light Bow-Edge. Of course, Meena deflected a Hob Goblin’s attack with her Silverio Shield and cut it down with her Silverio Sword, and Flam took down a Lake Bee with an arrow shot from her Lapis Wing Bow. They seem to have gotten quite used to them.
As a result, everyone’s levels have also increased.
Yamato Hydrangea Mikami
17 years old
Lv. 71
Human Race, Ancient Human
Union: Wing Crest
Hunter’s Guild: Amister Kingdom, Feel
Hunter’s Rank: M
Primrose Hydrangea Mikami
17 years old
Lv. 67
Beast Race, Ancient Foxy
Union: Wing Crest
Hunter’s Guild: Amister Kingdom, Feel
Hunter’s Rank: P
Meena Fallhight
17 years old
Lv. 31
Human Race, Human
Union: Wing Crest
Order’s Guild: Affiliated with Amister Kingdom Feel Branch
Order’s Rank: B-C
Hunter’s Guild: Amister Kingdom, Feel
Hunter’s Rank: B-C
Flam
18 years old
Lv. 29
Yokai Race, Undine
Union: Wing Crest
Hunter’s Guild: Amister Kingdom, Feel
Hunter’s Rank: C
Lydia Highwind
16 years old
Lv. 37
Dragon Race, Dragonewt (Ice Dragon)
Union: Wing Crest
Hunter’s Guild: Valentia Dragon Kingdom, Dragunia
Hunter’s Rank: B
Ludia Highwind
16 years old
Lv. 37
Dragon Race, Dragonewt (Fire Dragon)
Union: Wing Crest
Hunter’s Guild: Valentia Dragon Kingdom, Dragunia
Hunter’s Rank: B
Raus
13 years old
Lv. 34
Beast Race, Ulfy
Union: Wing Crest
Hunter’s Guild: Amister Kingdom, Feel
Hunter’s Rank: B
Rebecca
13 years old
Lv. 31
Yokai Race, Undine
Union: Wing Crest
Hunter’s Guild: Amister Kingdom, Feel
Hunter’s Rank: B-C
Everyone except Flam can be promoted to B-rank, and Flam, being 29, should be promoted soon.
Especially Raus, while his swordsmanship may not match Lydia’s, he can still fight her almost as an equal, so he has become considerably stronger.
Lydia is at the same level as Ludia and is showing signs of reaching S-rank, so I feel she can evolve into High Class not too far in the future.
After returning from the Royal Capital, we might want to visit Mylight once.
