h.e.l.lo, Mabbo"s here.
You may not know me, but I"ve been a translator of Shinka no Mi since, I don"t know, last June? Anyway, I know this is sudden, but we decided to revive OreMegane from its grave. I"m fully aware I can"t translate as good as the previous translator (all hail Tenshi-sama and her thighs!) could, but I"ll try my best to improve the translation"s quality.
I suggested this project myself and I hope to pull this through. My Engrish is the worst, so I rely on the great Editor-sama of our group to correct my errors. I"m anxious my translation is incorrect, but there is always Mr. TLC to check it for me. Every day I learn and improve. However, to err is only human. That is why I make a to keep everything in order. Do help us maintain it. It"s filled with Spoilers though, so brace yourself.
Well then.
Megane-kun, Receiving a Designated Request
The messenger from the castle never arrived. Instead, I just went on a two-day hunting trip and exchanged the spoils for gold in the Hunter"s Guild.
The sun setting soon, I set off towards the Hunter"s Guild under a sky half dyed in darkness.
Today is the third day after I met Laila, and it"s already evening.
If Sister were to return, today is the day I would have met her. However—
「She has yet to return.」
Despite knowing Laila for two days, it seems that Horun has yet to return to the capital.
The old man at the weapons store had certainly said, 「At the very least it will be three days. 」.
So she is either taking it very slowly or something had happened on her mission which has forced her to be late.
To be frank, there have been times when things didn"t go as planned and she didn"t even go on her journey.
The messenger from the Castle did not come either. Therefore I have nothing to do, and so her lateness doesn"t really inconvenience me.
「Understood. I will wait for her.」
「Huh? Are you leaving already?」
Pretending not to hear Laila"s voice, I hurriedly left the Adventurer"s Guild.
The Adventurer"s Guild has a lot of people, and it is really bustling with activity.
It really is a no-brainer to get away from Laila and co and those troublesome, drunk, narrow-hearted adventurers before I get too close to them.
It is almost nighttime. As such, it seems like this is when all the adventurers start returning from their work.
The guild is packed with people, the tables, as well as the counter, are overflowing. Also, it seems that Laila"s friends have arrived at the table as well. Thus, I can"t really stay for long in this situation.
I bought dinner and hurriedly went back to my lodgings.
The lodging where I stayed in does not serve meals and is narrow. It felt as though its only purpose was to stay the night. However, it unexpectedly has a bathtub, so I was happy about it. Let"s return quickly back to the village.
Resting my body at night, I await my orders from the day before till now.
I brought my hunting equipment with me, and after confirming that no one is going to turn up, I would head to the Hunter"s Guild in the afternoon.
「――Ahh E..e… Megane-kun。There is a request for you.」
She tried calling my name and failed.
The receptionist girl in the Hunter"s Guild, who certainly was unable to remember my name, called me out by my facial features.
She does not feel motivated today as well. She seems to be a young girl with an att.i.tude that is totally lacking ambition and youth. It can"t probably be said that she wants to work peacefully.
From now on, I hope that you do not remember my name.
By the way, my name is Eil from Albat Village. It is fine to forget them.
「A request？」
The value of spoils is changing.
To put it simply, if there is a shortage of a certain spoils/trophy, it will be sold at a high price. Likewise, the price will drop if there is an excess supply.
The reason I pop by the Hunter"s Guild is to determine the prices of the spoils for today. Since I have gotten used to the forest, I believe it will be fine even if I venture slightly deeper into the forest.
One must consider the efficiency of earning money when it comes to hunting and battle…. That"s what my Master said.
As for me, I clearly understood the example of using the minimal amount of effort to hunt large games.
「Recently, there are rumors that a young hunter has come to hunt birds. As such, someone has requested to hunt a certain bird.」
Hu~n
「Is it fine to just hunt them?」
「Of course, it is fine to bring them here as per usual. If it is Megane-kun, even if it is only 1 bird, the remuneration will be greater than exchanging it normally with money. 」
Haa, I see.
「What should I hunt？」
「Ankuru Bird」
Ankuru Bird. Aka, the night bird. It is a small nocturnal bird. The meat tastes bad so it is not meant for consumption. However, the feathers fluttering in the darkness is really beautiful and it is used as a decoration for lucky charms
「……Night huh」
What should I do now?
During the time where I do not have my 「Megane」, I have poor eyesight, so I am not particularly good at night hunting.
I was with my Master at that time, and we are able to pursue and corner large animals. However, if it is a small bird, I have a little doubt in my heart. I have seen that bird before, but I have not tried aiming at it even once.
With this new ability 「Megane」, will my vision in the dark become clear?
….I guess there is no harm trying it out
「I"ll give a try. However, don"t hope too much for it.」
「That is fine. While it is a request, it is but a commission for delivery of goods. If you are able to bring in Ankuru bird, it will be sufficient.」
I see. If that"s the case, let"s trying hunting it.
I"ll have to wait until nightfall, it"s a nocturnal bird after all. For today, I"ll head to the hunting spot leisurely.
The distance I usually cover with running, today I took it with a walk.
It was the location close to the forest and the river.
There is no clear path into the forest. Therefore, one must set this own hunting spot and move off from there and explore the nearby terrain.
Thus, in my opinion, this is the entrance to the forest.
From the looks of the ground, this area is deserted. Just fits my preference.
I took my time coming here, so the sun is already setting.
On the way here, I have also foraged some edible wild herbs and captured some fishes in the river. With my jerky as well as my bread, I have an early dinner. Although meat is good,
With that, it is time for exploration.
I make a round checking on the bushes with berries that wild birds like to feed on, along with nests and holes drilled on the trees. I learned all the things around here by myself in the past few days.
Ankuru birds live deep within the woods.
They"re active and hunt for food in the evening where their enemies, animals and monsters, are scarce. Their staple food should be insects and berries.
Their vigilance is sharp, so they"ll perceive you as soon as you get too close to them. I"d like to aim at a medium distance.
If my memory serves me justice, Shishou said that they can be lured in.
I tied up berries on a casually hidden branch on the trees as the bait, whereas the line of fire is clear, then I returned to the riverside.
I can confirm that there"s nothing weird. There are some aimable birds fluttering around today too, but I"m afraid the blood stench might drive my prey away, so I have to abandon them for today.
All that is left is to wait until nightfall.
Speaking conclusively, the results of Megane is more evident in the night.
「As I thought, I can see.」
I thought… I was delusional, but it turns out I can see more clearly in the night…
Despite it being very dark due to the huge thicket of trees, it pales in comparison to the darkness of the night. If I were to carry sources of light, the animals will be able to notice me. Therefore, I can only get used to the darkness.
Shishou"s night vision is remarkable too, but even he prefers the spot with fewer trees. I bet he wanted to get even a speck more starlight to look around.
However, for me …. Yup. I can see just fine.
The dense forest is really dark that I could only faintly see the things before me. Probably only people whose eyes already used to the darkness that can see.
The problem is, yeah, that.
Even when I am in the midst of the dark forest, I was able to see the creatures glowing in red.
If I concentrated my awareness in the direction the presence I detected, I could see through the trees and thickets. The location, situation, and posture of the animal are also clearly visible.
Surely, aside to my influence, there"s no way the animals are just glowing in red only in this specific time and occasion, and considering they can"t be seen when I take off my 「Megane」, it"s definitely due to it.
…..It is an absurd ability that I felt that relying on it too much will bring more harm than good to me.
This is seriously groundbreaking.
Despite the relatively unknown nature of 「Abilities of Megane 」, this incident alone will result in huge significance as well as value to 「Megane」. Let"s keep it as a secret.
Nevertheless, isn"t this what you"d call 「Night Vision」?
…………
Ah, that"s right.
I already knew I could 「change the color of the lens」to begin with.
Right, I could darken it and make it 「Night time」. Thereby allowing me to stare into the Sun with it. The sun was really blazing, though.
Then, what about the other way around?
「For example, if I were to wish for it to be 『Daytime』――Ah, it did change.」
The lens is evolving, I can"t say it thus it seems.
The forest that previously could only be seen faintly with my dim field of vision is reasonably visible by now.
Un.
This is super convenient for me. I"ll keep it as an absolute secret.