("What"s going on?")
While getting ready to carve, Zeeg stopped his hand upon hearing the shout and instead reached for his Buster Blade"s grip.
He has heard rumors that there are hunters who steal materials from monsters hunted by other hunters- Could this be one of them?
The person that entered the cave, however, didn"t seem to be a thief.
Dressed in a white hooded robe, it gave the impression of a priest. An unknown symbol was embroidered on the robe"s chest.
It"s a sword inside a red circle, with a diagonal line crossing through it. Zeeg couldn"t quite make out its meaning.
Next to Zeeg, Elemria groaned in annoyance, showing hostility towards the approaching person.
This side of her wasn"t seen even while fighting the Rathalos.
Fradio"s bowgun has already been drawn, the man himself a.s.suming a shooting stance.
Gannon, too, is readily on guard. Even though his lance wasn"t drawn, he held his shield tightly, ready to jump in front of Elmeria if something were to happen.
("Is that person... dangerous?")
Zeeg didn"t feel any hostility from that person, but kept his hand on his sword"s grip just to be safe.
The robed person approached, stopping at a short distance in front of the party, and removed her hood.
The girl has blonde hair, slightly lighter in tone compared to Elmeria"s. It was beautifully glossy, like water reflecting the sunlight.
Judging from her looks, Zeeg guessed that she"s a little older than him.
Befitting her elegant voice, her face was pretty, and her features without flaw.
Her skin as white as the clouds, and her blue eyes as clear as the summer sky.
Her firm stance showed great determination.
"...You again?"
Elmeria spoke up in a sarcastic tone, her voice echoing around the cave.
"You"re not alone, right? Just bring the others out, will you?"
With that said, a group of 30 people entered the cave and gathered behind the girl.
They differ in physique, age, and gender, but all of them were dressed in robes similar to the girl, with hoods obscuring their faces.
Zeeg gripped his sword"s handle tightly- they"re hiding something behind their backs.
Hunters are strictly forbidden from pointing their weapons at other people, but the case of self-defense is an exception.
Even if they"re not trained to fight against humans, their physical strength alone allows them to easily defeat anyone not as well-trained as the knights of the kingdom.
"Opposing the hunt!"
One person spoke up, raising up the previously hidden object.
Acting in reflex, Zeeg almost rushed ahead to attack, but fortunately was able to stop himself in time.
That is because what that person raised wasn"t a weapon.
It looked like some kind of announcement sign, made by nailing a wooden board to a pole.
A message was painted on it:
[STOP KILLING WILD MONSTERS!!]
Everyone else except the girl in front followed suit.
Each of them raised their signs- most were wooden like the first one, and a few were cloth banners.
[HUNTERS ARE DESTROYING NATURE!]
[STOP THESE BARBARIC ACTS!]
[DEMONS!]
[HUNTERS ARE DEVILS!]
[HUNTERS LIVE IN A PRIMITIVE CULTURE!]
Every sign and banner were raised in unison, each containing messages of protest directed at hunters.
The people began shouting their messages, making the silent cave as loud as a market.
With all that noise, Zeeg felt the urge to cover his ears.
("Wh...what"s up with these people...?")
Having only ever been met with grat.i.tude for completing his quests, this is the first time that Zeeg sees hunters being met with hostility for doing their job.
The mob seem to be gaining momentum as their shouts get louder. If this keeps up, Zeeg fears that those people would grab random things to throw at them.
The cave"s floor was littered with small rocks as a result of mining.
Even if the rocks are not capable of inflicting heavy injuries, one could get some sc.r.a.pes if they got hit in the right spots.
And even if there are no wounds, that doesn"t mean it"s not painful.
("...Dammit! I was in such a good mood, too!")
More than anything, Zeeg was mad at their interruption in his moment of triumph.
Even if all he did was just set a barrel, it counts as a contribution to the Rathalos hunt!
With all those people barging in, it totally ruined his moment.
And more importantly-
"Hey! What"s that supposed to mean!?"
With his right hand still gripping his sword"s handle, Zeeg pointed at one of the signs.
"We live in a primitive culture!? Don"t mess with us! Do you think we just swing our weapons mindlessly!? If we don"t constantly improve ourselves and make new strategies, we won"t be able to win against the wyverns!"
There was a brief moment of silence, and then-
"That"s exactly why you people are primitive!"
"Don"t say that thinking up ways to kill wyverns is good use of your knowledge!"
"You"re inhuman! Do you really think it"s good to kill those intelligent beasts!?"
"They have families too, you know!"
"Demons!"
"Barbarians!"
"You people are the real monsters!"
Those people shouted in rage, causing Zeeg to take a few steps back in reflex.
An incredible amount of pressure can be felt from beneath their hoods.
Then, the girl in front, who has been keeping silent the whole time, raised her hand up, and the mob instantly calmed down.
She glanced at Zeeg, smiling in the corner of her mouth, before turning back to Elmeria.
"It"s been a while, Elmeria Franport. I"ve been wanting to see you."
"But I don"t want to."
Elmeria gave a cold response, and the girl laughed softly.
"Please don"t say that- Ah, is the boy your new member?"
"Member? No, we"re just taking care of him for a while."
"Is that so? But he is a hunter, am I correct?"
Elmeria did not affirm nor deny her words- The fact that she didn"t deny it made Zeeg feel a little proud of himself.
The girl nodded once, and a.s.sumed an imposing stance.
"...So, have you thought about what we discussed?"
"About what?"
"About you retiring as a hunter, of course."
The girl said with a straight face, as if it"s something trivial.
For hunters, however, asking them to retire early is like telling them to go die.
Zeeg has seen people who said that get punched in the face so hard that their teeth broke.
Even children know that it should never be said to a hunter.
Zeeg could see Elmeria clench her fist, thinking to himself whether or not he"ll be able to stop her.
With her incredible physical strength and Rathalos Vambraces, a punch could easily kill a normal person.
However, Elmeria then unclenched her fist, the let out an arrogant snort.
"You sure you want to say that? I could punch your perfect nose out of shape right here and now, you know?"
"That would be nothing compared to the suffering the Rathalos had to go through. If you want to hit me, go ahead. But I will never give up until I finally stop you from hunting wyverns."
"What you do is up to you, but don"t expect that kind of success from me. I"ll hunt any monster as long as there"s a contract."
"And why is that?"
Elmeria hunched her shoulders and turned to Zeeg.
"Zeeg, give her an answer. You"re a hunter too, right?"
"Eh- me...?"
Zeeg got the responsibility thrown his way, and the mysterious girl turned to him for an answer.
"Um... Well... It"s because we"re hunters... I guess?"
"That is not acceptable as an answer."
"That"s right! That"s right!"
The mob raised their voice in support of their leader, fl.u.s.tering Zeeg.
Since his childhood, Zeeg was never the kind to think philosophically.
He tried to think of another reason, but all the noise is preventing him from thinking straight, to the point that he wanted to attack them just to have them shut up.
However, he got some unexpected support.
"Really? I don"t think there"s any better answer than that though?"
It was Elmeria.
"People may say that it"s for money, fame, friendship, or some other reason, but they"re either just raising excuses to hide their embarra.s.sment, or haven"t become a true hunter yet. Hunters are hunters. We just can"t change the way we live. Retiring when you"ve had enough is one thing, but we definitely won"t stop just because you asked us to."
"Even if that means stepping over other lives? Of the monsters that you mercilessly killed?"
"Of course, all living things in this world always put their own lives above all else. You eat meat and vegetables too, don"t you? You wouldn"t be standing here in front of us if you didn"t. Admiring them because they"re from the nature, not killing them because they"re intelligent... that"s just you being arrogant."
"You stand by your words, even if it means a species will go extinct?"
Elmeria hunched her shoulders again.
"Hunters don"t do that, you know? Just think about it. Our lives depend on the existence monsters. If there are no monsters, hunters will also cease to exist. Because of that, requests are thoroughly reviewed by each guild so that the hunt wouldn"t disrupt the ecosystem."
"Lies! Didn"t third princess recently request the hunters to kidnap an infant Rathalos!?"
"Isn"t that because the Rathalos"s numbers growing too high, causing them to move to other regions and disrupting the ecosystem there?"
"Then what about the stealing of the wyverns" eggs!?"
A woman shouted out.
"Just because they want to eat something unusual... Do you even consider the wyverns" feelings!?"
"Of course we don"t."
Elmeria put her hands on her hips and gave an honest answer.
"If we"re considerate about the feelings of the things we hunt, we wouldn"t be hunters in the first place... Now, let me ask you. Do you even consider the feelings of the meat and fish you eat? The grief those creatures must have felt before they end up on your plates? If you do, then how could you continue eating them? Isn"t that even crueler than us?"
The woman fell silent, her face red with embarra.s.sment.
Seeing that, Elmeria let out another arrogant snort.
"You people are just fooling yourselves that your actions protect the wyverns. Putting select lives over others. We hunters don"t bother with that stuff. That monster is no exception."
Elmeria turned around and pointed at the Rathalos"s lifeless body.
"Today, we won. But in the event that we lost, we would end up as its food. And don"t even think about calling us cowards for using explosives! Than thing can breathe fire and has poisoned talons. In terms of power, we"re nothing compared to it."
"But the monster got its powers from the nature!"
A young boy spoke up, his face obscured by his robe"s hood.
Elmeria let out a sigh and continued speaking.
"Our armor and weapons are also made from natural components. We humans may not have sharp fangs or claws, but we are blessed with the gift of wisdom. What"s wrong with using what we have? Saying what you said means you consider humans to be superior to other living things... Please consider changing that mindset."
Not able to think of a retort, tears welled up in the boy"s eyes.
"Let us stop here for today."
Feeling that there is no point in arguing any further, the girl raised her hand to stop her followers. At least that"s what Zeeg thought.
"It is as you said."
The robed girl smiled softly.
"We think humans are special. And as you said, we have wisdom as natural weapons. But weapons have practical uses outside of battles. Of course, the same could be said for the Rathalos"s poisoned talons. In other words, our wisdom is not used exclusively for conflict. Moreover, I wouldn"t say that our existence is natural. But as unnatural as we are, I believe that we have the right to live, and that we should not interfere with nature, or at least keep it to a minimum... Do you not agree that this is the right path?
"By that, you mean the thing you people have been doing? Domestication and agriculture?"
The girl nodded firmly.
"That way, we can live with minimum interferences to the nature. If we need meat, we can raise Aptonoths. It we need grains, we can plant them. There is no need to hunt. Is that not the rightful role in this world for us humans?"
"And for that, you want us to change our way of life?"
"I believe that there are other ways for you to live."
"You say that because you"re not a hunter. No matter how much we discuss this, I don"t think we will ever come to an understanding."
"...It is sad that you choose to give up before even trying."
"But that"s the truth. And what about you? You don"t understand how great it is to be a hunter, right?"
The two girls stared calmly at each other for a moment.
"That may be true."
The other girl spoke up.
"However, I don"t think the Hunter"s Guild operates thoroughly as you said. Judging from the increasing number of fire wyvern hunts as of late, it doesn"t seem like the guild is concerned about their extinction at all."
"...? What do you mean?"
"If you"re interested, please do some investigation in your own time. The words from my mouth won"t be credible to you, after all. We will be investigating this matter as well. Depending on the result, the guild may be subject to prosecution. Please remember that the existence of the Hunter"s Guild is not officially approved by the kingdom. Naturally, all hunters under the guild"s employment will be charged as well."
"You"re worrying too much. If the guild ceases to exist, the kingdom will be in trouble as well."
"...That may be true."
With that said, the girl walked away, her followers opening a path for her. Her steps were firm and elegant, as if she"s not walking in a wyvern"s nest.
"Good grief..."
As the tension lifted, Fradio holstered his Tankmage, and Gannon also put away his shield.
"Hey... Who are those people?"
Hearing Zeeg"s question, Fradio blinked in confusion.
"You don"t know them?"
"Nope."
"You really are a country boy, hmm?"
"That doesn"t matter!"
Seeing Zeeg like that, Fradio laughed lightly.
"Hehehe... Forgive me. Those people belong to the wyvern conservation organization "Love Wyvern". Their general belief is that humans should not hunt monsters, and that they want to protect the wyverns from extinction. They hold their activities in hunting grounds like today, and sometimes in the streets or at the capital."
"What about the person in front? She seemed to be a leader of sorts."
"Narumi Wimberly."
Elmeria answered in Fradio"s stead.
"She"s been the face of that organization since 10 years ago. She might not look that dangerous, but she"s actually a persistent activist. There are rumors that she was the one who started domesticating Aptonoths, in order to prove that humans can live without having to hunt. Words can only do so much in persuasion, after all. Again, it"s just a rumor I heard."
"It"s strange that the young lady decided to have a lengthy conversation with her this time. You drove them away instantly last time, after all."
"I did? Well, that doesn"t matter anymore. Isn"t it about time we get back to work?"
Elmeria took out her carving knife and approached the Rathalos.
Thrusting the knife between the wyvern"s broken sh.e.l.ls, she started to carve away like a fishmonger filleting seafood.
"Please observe closely."
Fradio whispered to Zeeg.
"With her skills, the young lady could turn the Rahalos into a pile of raw materials within minutes."
"Whoa..."
As Fradio said, she"s great at this. It was like she knew how to cut out each part just by muscle memory.
With Gannon helping her, the process goes twice as quickly.
"You"re not helping them, Fradio?"
Zeeg turned to ask the man standing next to him.
"I"m a Gypceros specialist, you see. If this was a Gypceros, I wouldn"t even let anyone touch it, but for a Rathalos, I"ll pa.s.s..."
Fradio said, shaking his head.
As for Zeeg, he wanted to help, but understood that he would get in their way.
The mob from before also wasted them quite a lot of time.
If the materials are not harvested promptly, the wyvern"s corpse will start to rot, and the decomposing smell will attract Velocipreys.
The process of carving large monsters is like a race against time.
Moreover, it"s a Rathalos. All of their materials are rare and precious, so Zeeg wouldn"t want to risk breaking any of them.
"By the way, the young lady seems to be interested in you quite a bit."
Fradio snickered while watching the carving process.
"What makes you think that?"
"Why do you think the young lady dragged on her conversation with Narumi Wimberly for so long?"
"...Who knows?"
"The young lady was trying to teach you the spirit of a hunter, and about our standing in this world. But she"s too embarra.s.sed to speak about if face-to-face, so she used that conversation to teach you by example instead."
The reason was so far-fetched that Zeeg almost laughed.
"Now, that"s impossible."
"You don"t believe me? You see, the young lady has gone through the exact same conversation once before, so the only reason that I could think of for her to repeat it was to teach you. Well... to be honest, I was quite surprised by your performance today. Even if the wyvern was stuck in a pitfall trap, I"ve never seen anyone brave enough to get that close to a Rathalos in their first encounter. Most people would be scared to death even from a distance, you see. This isn"t about skills, but the power of your heart. However-"
Reaching this point, Fradio narrowed his eyes.
"-Please don"t forget that there is a difference between bravery and recklessness. Bravery can save your comrades" lives. On the other hand, an equal amount of recklessness can end their lives just as well."
"...Yeah."
Nodding firmly, Zeeg took those words to heart.
Then, he turned back to observe the carving.
With all of the scales removed from the Rathalos"s back, Elmeria carefully cut off the wyvern"s muscles until its spine was exposed.
Gannon took out a thin bag and placed it on his knee, before nodding to Elmeria once.
Elmeria nodded once in response, and then plunged the knife into the wyvern"s spine.
("Wah!")
As the knife dug into the bone, a flame lashed out, burning away the Rathalos"s muscles.
Not stopping her hand, Elmeria pushed in deeper, then pulled out a section of the spine. A flame was ignited at the piece"s core.
She pa.s.sed it to Gannon and carried on carving, repeating the same process for the other sections of its spine.
After she was done, Gannon swiftly inserted all of them in the bag, sealing the mouth and pulling a string at its bottom. The bag tightened on the bones as air gets expelled.
"What"s that?"
"It"s a special vacuum bag designed for carrying Fire Wyvern Marrows. You see, the marrows ignite on air contact, so a vacuum bag is needed to transport it."
"Hm... So that"s it..."
Elmeria caught her breath and wiped the blood off her knife before putting it away.
The Rathalos still has scales left on its body, but she gathered what she collected and walked away.
"Why"re you stopping?"
Hearing Zeeg"s question, Elmeria tilted her head in confusion.
"Stop what?"
"Isn"t there a lot more to harvest?"
"Ah, we"ve taken enough."
Elmeria said as she crammed the Rathalos Scales into her bag.
"Enough... You"re letting them go to waste!?"
"Of course not."
Elmeria knocked heavily on Zeeg"s breastplate.
"We have to give back to nature as well! Velocipreys will come eat the meat, temporarily reducing the number of Aptonoths being hunted. The scales can be used by insects to build nests and reproduce. And as its flesh and bones decompose, it will feed the earth with minerals, enabling plants and mushrooms to grow. With the cycle of nature uninterrupted, a new wyvern will eventually make its nest here. It"s a hunter"s common sense, you know."
Zeeg hadn"t thought about it up until now.
"...I never knew that."
Mumbling to himself, he was given a pat on the shoulder from Fradio.
"That can"t be helped. You never needed to know these things before, after all. While hunting alone, you wouldn"t possibly be able to carry all of the spoils, so they will be returned to the nature regardless."
"But it"s an important thing to know."
Elmeria said as she picked up her luggage.
"For hunters, that is."
She exited the cave, with Gannon following her, until he caught up and a.s.sumed the lead position.
"We should go too. Our quest is complete."
"Right."
As he walked out the cave, Zeeg turned around to look at the Rathalos again, thinking about what Elmeria said.
However, he couldn"t quite grasp the true meaning of those words just yet.
"By the way, what do you think?"
Suddenly, Fradio raised his head and asked a question.
Currently, the party is on their return trip.
The carriage was filled with Rathalos materials, mainly scales and marrows.
Supplies and disa.s.sembled tent parts were packed inside wooden boxes.
Zeeg and the others spent most of their trip in silence.
The man held the Tankmage in his arms, stroking the parts covered with Gypceros hides with love and care.
It has been two days since the Rathalos hunt, and the party has come quite far away from the hunting grounds.
Everyone is still fully armed however, because anything could happen while travelling.
Before the trip, they washed themselves at the base camp to get rid of the wyvern droppings" smell from their bodies, and their equipment were thoroughly cleaned and polished to prevent rust.
The city is just a few hours away.
However, the flame that was ignited in Zeeg"s heart has not calmed down.
When he tried to get some sleep, images of the Rathalos would appear in his eyes, causing him to shiver in anxiety.
As a result, he haven"t gotten a good night"s sleep since departing from the base camp.
But this was not due to fear; it was his blood boiling with excitement.
From this experience, he feels that he now understands the hunters" admiration for wyverns.
Of course, he has always wanted to fight a Rathalos since the day he chose to pursue the hunter"s path.
However, that was just a childish dream, like a boy wanting to be a knight or a girl wanting to be a princess.
When he finally got to see the real thing, he was totally enchanted by its strength and magnificence, and was filled with pride for having taken part in defeating it.
His feelings are still nothing compared to Fradio"s pa.s.sion for the Gypceros, however.
"Think about what?"
As Zeeg asked back, the man"s eyes under the Gypceros cap turned to him.
"About the increasing number of fire wyvern hunts. Those people must have been keeping track of the Rathalos population quite thoroughly. If it"s true that they were being hunted to the point of near-extinction, it might be a problem."
"That"s impossible."
Elmeria spoke up, her eyes still closed.
"The Hunter"s Guild is very careful when it comes to this kind of thing. If not, there won"t be any hunters who would join them- Isn"t that right, Gannon?"
Gannon nodded firmly in agreement to the girl"s words.
"That may be true, but please remember that there are also hunters not employed by the guilds. Some are based in their villages like Zeeg used to be, and some just travel all over the place. The travelling types are skilled, but many of them have problematic mindsets and disagree with the guild"s rules. Generally, they became drifters after their licenses got revoked."
"You"re saying that those people have been poaching Rathalos?"
Fradio nodded.
Elmeria open her eyes and turned to Gannon.
"What do you think?"
"...It is possible."
"Hmm... Well, I guess it"s best that we notify the guild about this. If the drifters really are hunting Rathalos in a large scale, we would be in trouble too. How annoying..."
Elmeria pouted. Even though she speaks like an adult, her mannerisms are much closer to people of her age.
And she"s actually pretty cute- Zeeg instantly stopped his thoughts as that sentence popped up in his mind.
Now, that"s impossible. Not with all the verbal abuse.
In an attempt to hide his confused feelings, he asked a question.
"But if it"s true, where did all those hunting requests even come from?"
"...How am I supposed to know?"
And what he received was just an apathetic answer.
("...There you go. Not cute at all.")
With that, Zeeg decided that he just imagined his previous thought.
However, he still feels somewhat conflicted about it, but all he could do was sit in silence with his back against a large barrel.
The atmosphere inside the carriage suddenly became heavy.
Seeming to enjoy it, Fradio let out a laugh.
"Ah... It sure is nice to be young..."
"What"s up with that?"
"Yeah, what"s that supposed to mean, Fradio?"
"Now now, don"t mind me. And Mr. Gannon, could you please not glare at me like that? ...More importantly, the Guild Knights could be making a move in response to this problem."
"Guild Knights?"
Distracted by new information, Zeeg completely forgot the irritation he felt in his mind.
Elmeria open her mouth to answer, but in the end didn"t say anything. Seeing that, Fradio did the explanation in her stead.
"You don"t know them? They are an organization under the Hunter"s Guild. On the surface, their job is to approve requests for the guild and to negotiate with the n.o.bles who own the hunting grounds. The truth is... they take care of the guild"s dirty work."
"Dirty work?"
"You really like to ask questions, huh?"
Elmeria let out a sigh in boredom, and in response Zeeg clicked his tongue in annoyance.
"It"s not my fault that I don"t know this kind of thing, you know. The village chief never taught me about this, and I got signed up for this quest right after getting my license."
"What, you"re saying that we"re causing you trouble? I should be the one saying that."
"I never said that! I was just telling you that I never had the time to learn these things!"
Zeeg and Elmeria stood up.
"Now now. Stop it, you two."
Fradio put his Tankmage down and raised his hands to stop the two.
"It"ll be better for him if he knows it. If he kept quiet and pretended to know, it could cause problems down the line, after all. Especially if he got targeted by the manipulating types. Ah, yes... it"s like a Gypceors faking its death. Just when you thought the battle was won, but as you approach it-"
"...Fradio."
Fradio"s Gypceros story was stopped abruptly by Gannon"s heavy voice.
The man stopped his rant, but not before narrowing his eyes under the mask to show his dissatisfaction.
"Forgive me."
Fradio bowed his head once before turning back to Zeeg.
"-Back to the main point. By dirty work, I mean a.s.sa.s.sinations. In other words, the Guild Knights are hunters who hunt humans. There are quite a lot of rumors about them."
"They hunt humans!?"
Zeeg"s eyes opened wide.
Hunters take pride in the fact that despite their incredible strength, they never point their weapons at humans.
There may be some who have short fuses, but even they wouldn"t pick up their weapons if the other person doesn"t do so first.
Even then, most cases of weapons being drawn would be just for intimidation.
"Can we even call them hunters at this point?"
"Of course, normal hunters wouldn"t want to count the Guild Knights as one of their own. But it is a fact that those people are employed by the Hunter"s Guild. It was said that they would step in when there are issues between different guilds. They are also tasked with getting rid of people with disruptive behavior and hunters who dishonor the guild"s name."
"Keep your greed in check, alright? I wouldn"t want you to do something problematic."
Elmeria spoke in a sarcastic tone.
"Of course I won"t!"
"If that"s the case, good. I wouldn"t want to wake up in the morning, walk to the plaza, and see your corpse fill the dried-up fountain with blood. That would totally ruin my day."
"Hehehe... Something like that has happened before, yes."
Zeeg was startled by Fradio"s words. At first, he thought Elmeria was just joking.
"For real!?"
"Yes. I think it was about half a year ago? You see, hunters do have some clearance to hunt monsters not in their requests, but that person took it too far. He was skilled enough to hunt a Rathalos by himself, but he was so full of himself that he stole wyvern eggs from the nest as well. He shouldn"t have done that..."
"Eh? W...wait a second. If it"s stealing eggs, I"ve done it too, you know?"
"Was it out of your quest objective?"
With Fradio glaring at him, Zeeg shook his head.
"It was requested, of course! Now, don"t look at me like that..."
"Hehehe... I"m sorry. If it was requested, then there"s no problem. Before the quest was approved, the guild has to check the monster population and the number of laid eggs first. Moreover, the Guild Knights wouldn"t make a move if you stole them just once or twice. But for that person, I heard that he did it on a regular basis."
"You have to be careful too, alright?"
Still standing up with her arms crossed, Elmeria pointed at Zeeg.
"Now, don"t misunderstand. I don"t think you"re the kind of person who likes to steal. But rookies like you tend to unknowingly get involved in those kind of things. I"m just giving a warning."
"What do you mean?"
"The set of "Commandments" that hunters are obligated to follow-"
Fradio spoke up in Elmeria"s stead.
"-Is not something that"s written of a piece of paper and stuck to a bulletin board. It"s something that you learn naturally while taking on requests and going out on hunts with your party. Because it"s not taught in a conventional way, novice hunters are p.r.o.ne to being manipulated into accepting requests not approved by the guild. So no matter how good the reward is, don"t accept requests outside gathering halls- or if someone invited you, be wary of joining them."
Zeeg took those words to heart.
Even though he doesn"t know who the Guild Knights really are, he wouldn"t want to be killed by them. If something is going to kill him, he"d rather have it be a wyvern- no, an elder dragon, elusive creatures that exist somewhere in this world. Of course, winning against them is still a hundred times better, and right now, he doesn"t plan on dying that easily.
"...We have arrived."
The carriage stopped immediately after Gannon"s statement.
The vehicle shook slightly as it was lifted up.
After about 10 minutes docked on the transporter bridge"s gondola, the group arrived at the city.
The guild"s coachman moved his carriage down, and the gondola went down the mountain as a bell was rung at the bottom.
This means there is another group of customers- either merchants or returning hunters, waiting to get up.
Elmeria stood up and did some stretching, with the red and black armor on her arms and legs making her look like a miniature Rathalos.
"Alright, let"s report to Becky and get some rest. I"ve been wanting to take a break for a while now... Hunting two wyverns in a row is more tiring than I thought."
"Two in a row... Then at that time, you just got back from a wyvern hunt!?"
Zeeg thought back to when he first saw Elmeria"s party.
He thought they just got back from a gathering quest, since they didn"t seem to be tired at all.
"Yeah. Just a Cephadrome though, so it wasn"t that difficult. But we did waste quite a lot of time because I was stingy about using Sonic Bombs. Gannon?"
"...Yes."
Carrying the bag containing Fire Wyvern Marrows on his back, Gannon nodded.
Cephadromes are fish-like wyverns that live in the desert. They have fins instead of wings.
In exchange for the lack of ability to fly, these monsters can swim freely in the sand. With that, they are cla.s.sified as Piscine Wyverns.
In terms of size, they are slightly smaller than a Rathalos.
Their fins contain paralyzing toxins, which they use effectively for hunting prey by immobilizing the target before dragging it down under the sand.
There is also a smaller variant called Cephalos, which is quite popular because their livers are considered a delicacy.
Those two monsters hunt by tracking the sound of their prey moving on the sand.
They have a great sense of hearing, but it"s also their weakness.
By using Sonic Bombs, one can force the monsters to jump out of the sand due to the abnormally high-pitched sound.
Regrettably, Zeeg hasn"t been to the desert yet, so he has never seen the real thing.
"You"ll get to hunt it one of these days, so stock up on Sonic Bombs while you can. When you"re used to it, you can drag them out by directly attacking their dorsal fins or using small barrel bombs as well."
"Yeah, I"ll remember to do that!"
Even though Zeeg was annoyed at the girl"s sarcastic tone, all he could do was pick up his luggage.
However, with him being just a spectator for this quest and the unused supply items already returned, there isn"t that much for him to carry.
After everyone got down, the carriage immediately took off in the direction of the guest houses.
Entering the gathering hall, there aren"t a lot of customers since it is still early in the day.
Even so, quite a few are getting drunk already.
Most of them are hunters who just got back from their quests, drinking to recharge their energy for the next job.
There are also some who come to drink just because they like it.
Back at Zeeg"s village, there was a hunter who hunts just to drink.
Completing each request, he would spend all his reward money on alcohol.
As Zeeg"s group walked in, everyone in the hall turned to look.
Even though he knew that most of them weren"t looking at himself, it still felt good.
As for the ones that did look at him, they were jealous that a kid got to team up with the veterans.
"Ah, welcome back!"
As the group reached the counter, Becky welcomed them with a smile.
"Looks like the quest went well. Mr. Rookie is also safe. That"s a relief."
"...Thank you."
Zeeg bowed his head slightly to show his thanks. And then-
"What"re you saying, Becky? Of course he"s safe! He was only watching, after all."
Hearing that, Becky has a disappointed look on her face.
Zeeg slammed his hand on the counter.
"I wasn"t just watching, you know!?"
"Hmm? Then, what did you do?"
"The bomb! I rushed in bravely to place the finishing Large Barrel Bomb at the Rathalos"s neck!"
Hearing him say that, Elmeria looked on with pity and shrugged.
"Bravely? If it"s just placing a barrel next to a Rathalos that"s stuck in a Pitfall Trap, anyone can do that. If they"re hunters, that is."
"What the-!"
"Now now, stop it, you two."
Fradio popped up between the two. With the Gypceros Cap filling the gap between them, all Elmeria and Zeeg could do was exchange dark looks with each other.
"Didn"t Zeeg do well in his task? I think we should at least accept that."
"That"s right!"
Zeeg proudly raised his chest, with Elmeria looking on in dissatisfaction.
"But it"s still not something that you can boast about, you know."
"Yeah!"
This time, Zeeg was the one who hunched his shoulders, while Elmeria puffed up with pride.
For some reason, Gannon looked at those two with a serious face, while Becky was giggling at their exchange.
"Well then, do you have the requested material?"
"...It is here."
Still with a rigid expression, Gannon placed the vacuum bag on the counter.
Becky touched the bag from above and nodded.
"Fire Wyvern Marrow confirmed- Thank you for your hard work."
Before picking up the bag, Becky bowed once.
Everyone in Elmeria"s group stoop up straight and bowed their heads. Zeeg, observing that they were paying their last respects to the fire wyvern, did the same.
The bag was carefully put away in a box behind the counter.
Then, Becky took out a pile of doc.u.ments from the drawer and placed one sheet on the countertop.
Elmeria read through it and signed her name.
"Alright, you"re all set."
Becky put away the doc.u.ment and then asked the group-
"Would you like something to eat? We just got a new batch of Bullfango meat, so we made white sauce from Special Mushrooms to go with the steak. Interested?"
Elmeria turned to ask Gannon"s opinion. The large man nodded in response and ordered the menu for himself and Fradio.
"What about you, Zeeg?"
"I..."
Zeeg was too embarra.s.sed to inquire the menu"s price.
With most of his reward money being deducted for the chair repairs and Elmeria"s lesson fees, he wouldn"t want to eat anything expensive right now.
Even so, he hesitated to decline the invitation, since he doesn"t want to admit that he"s broke right now, especially in front of Becky and Elmeria.
"All four of us will have it, then."
Elmeria raised four fingers as she made the order, then turned to Zeeg before he could say anything.
"Celebrating after a successful hunt is also important, you know. By the way, the cost for your steak will also be deducted from your reward money."
Zeeg looked on in confusion as he noticed that Elmeria was looking right through him, with her cheeks becoming slightly red.
He was then given a pat on his shoulder from Fradio, who was staring at him from under his mask.
"That"s right, Zeeg. It is also a hunter"s duty to celebrate a job well done. Doing so deepens our bonds, improving cooperation during hunts. Please keep in mind that if you ignore this part, there might not be a next hunt with your party."
"...Yeah."
Zeeg nodded and rested his elbow on the counter.
Understanding that Elmeria has actually been looking out for him, he thanked the girl in his mind.
Even though he knew that it must be said verbally to have any meaning, he"s too embarra.s.sed to do so right now.
"Alright, four Bullfango Steaks with Special Mushroom Sauce coming right up! Thanks for your patronage~!"
After saying that, Becky turned around and shouted the order to the kitchen, and a deep voice replied in acknowledgement.
"While you guys wait for the steak, want some beer?"
"Right... Let"s see..."
Elmeria turned to Zeeg.
"Do you drink?"
"Eh!? Of course I do!? I"ll have you know that I was quite a heavy drinker back at my village!"
"Hmm... We"ll have four beers then."
"Coming right up~!"
Becky turned around and took four mugs from the shelf.
Knocking the barrel stopper off with a mug"s rim, she let the alcohol flow into the other mugs, filling them to the brim with thick foam.
"Thanks for waiting."
She then turned around again and placed the mugs on the countertop, not caring about the slight spill.
One of them was placed in front of Zeeg. He looked at it for a while before grabbing its handle.
In truth, Zeeg has never drank beer before back at his village, but pretended that he did so that he wouldn"t get made fun of by Elmeria again.
From now on, it"s going to be a whole new world for the boy.
"Alright then..."
Elmeria lifted her mug up and looked at everyone.
"To our successful Rathalos hunt! Cheers!"
"...Cheers."
"Cheers!"
"Ch...cheers!"
Four mugs clinked together in a toast, with a third of the golden liquid in Zeeg"s spilling all over his face.
Every other table in the hall also toasted in unison, as if they had a part in this.
With the other tables starting to place more orders, Becky separated from Zeeg"s group.
It became so busy that if a hunter were to come in looking for a quest now, they wouldn"t be able to get any information.
Elmeria chugged down her beer in one go. Even though she was slower than Gannon, she didn"t even stop to breathe.
As for Fradio, he drank his beer without opening his mask by using a straw he got from Becky before she separated from the group.
Looks like he doesn"t plan on revealing his face anytime soon.
Thinking he"s finally ready, Zeeg took a sip.
("It"s bitter...")
That was his first impression. He thought to himself that people who actually likes this thing might have something wrong with their tongues, like the ones who think carrot is delicious.
But if he said it out loud, he would be called a kid by Elmeria again.
Zeeg knew that even if he just got to know her for only a few days.
As Becky came back, Elmeria ordered a refill for herself and Gannon.
Luckily for Zeeg, she didn"t ask if he would like a refill, so the boy kept quiet.
With her mug refilled, Elmeria spoke up to Becky.
"Oh yeah, we met her as well."
"Her?"
"Narumi Wimberly."
While saying that, Elmeria made a bitter face, as if she had something even more bitter than beer inside her mouth.
"While we were going to carve the Rathalos, she popped up with her followers and started the usual rant before leaving."
"Protesting against killing wyverns, right?"
"Yeah. She said that human"s wisdom should be used for better things... Something like that."
At this point, the finished steaks came out of the kitchen in metal plates, served before the four party members.
The Special Mushroom sauce made a sizzling sound as it boiled due to the meat"s heat, sending off a wonderful smell.
Glad that the food was finally here, Zeeg put down his beer mug and started to cut up his steak with a knife and fork.
Elmeria, on the other hand, didn"t start eating immediately.
After chugging down her beer, she leaned on the counter and whispered to Becky.
"By the way, that girl also said something strange."
"Something strange?"
Becky also lowered her voice, turning the idle chatter into a serious conversation.
With her thumb, Elmeria wiped the beer foam off her mouth and continued.
"Yeah. She said that the number of wyverns- of Rathalos being hunted has been abnormally high lately. At first I thought she was exaggerating like usual, but she went so far as to say that they might be in danger of extinction."
"...I have a bad feeling about this news. Thanks for telling me."
"No problem."
Finally, Elmeria put down her mug and started cutting up her steak, stuffing the meat in her cheeks as if she forgot the serious conversation earlier.
Noticing that Zeeg has been looking at her the whole time, she smiled at the boy without wiping the sauce off her lips.
"Guild Master?"
From a door in the back corner of the kitchen, Becky entered a dimly lit room, calling out in the direction of a flickering light.
"I heard."
The small figure of an elderly man appeared with the tobacco smoke from his pipe- The owner of this gathering hall, and also master of the Hunter"s Guild of this city.
"The story had my curiosity as well. It"s unlikely that the wandering hunters all felt like hunting the Rathalos at the same time. We"ll have to investigate- Can I leave it to you?"
"Of course. I"ll contact my colleagues immediately."
"Hm. Then I entrust you with this task... Sorry that you had to do all the dirty work."
The old man blew out a ring of smoke.
"Not at all."
Becky let out a cold smile, showing a completely different personality from when she was behind the counter. A speck of candle light reflected on her eyes as she silently walked out of the dark room, her footsteps not causing even a single sound.