Chapter 26
Allen came home covered in cuts and bruises. Telesia checked that none of his wounds were serious and breathed a sigh of relief. He still had the Alba Heron slung over his back. He gently set it down in the earthen-floored entryway. With its wings folded, it was only a little larger than an adult. Their house wasn't very big, so its legs stuck out through the entrance.
“Allen, what happened?!”
“It came down from the sky, so I caught it, Mother.”
(I don't think I lied.)
“Allen's amazing!”
Krena beamed and praised him. She wasn't surprised by the Alba Heron.
“Mama, scary!”
Mash started crying at the sight of the Alba Heron and hid behind Telesia.
(Hmm, Mash is a timid one. Grow into a strong man, Mash. Anyway, this must weigh over twenty kilograms. Maybe ten kilograms of it is edible. Its feathers might be useful, too. And since it's a magic beast, does it have a magic stone? Heh heh, maybe I can sell some of this stuff.)
He began calculating the value of the Alba Heron's materials. Even a magic beast larger than an adult looked to him like nothing but food and materials.
A voice from the back asked what was going on. Rodan, resting in the back, had noticed the commotion. Telesia explained what had happened. “What?! No way!” Rodan poked his head out to get a look. Because of the difference in floor levels between the entryway and bedroom, the Alba Heron was hidden from view. Allen grabbed its head and showed it to him.
“Oh, it's an Alba Heron. You caught it, Allen? With nothing but stones and a wooden sword?”
“Huh? Yeah.”
Rodan's perspective was different from Telesia's and Krena's. He examined its crushed right eye and the many blows that had bent its neck, analyzing how Allen had defeated it—and whether he really could have.
He seemed to want a closer look. Rodan sat up and began dragging himself toward the entryway.
“Wha?! Father, you need to stay in bed!”
Allen hurriedly went from the entryway up into the living room.
“Hey, hey, what are you doing?”
It was Gerda, who had just arrived.
(Hm? Why is Gerda-san here now? He wasn't supposed to come today, and Krena wasn't supposed to come either. Could it be...)
Since the day Rodan woke up, Allen hadn't played with Krena because he'd been busy with farm work. He had told both Krena and Gerda that he couldn't play with Krena for now, since they had things to do at home. But after two or three days passed, Krena couldn't stand it any longer and came barging over to see Allen.
And over the past two or three days, whenever Gerda came home from the fields, Krena had been asking him to play with her more than usual. Playing with Krena was harder than farm work. Finally unable to take it anymore, he let her loose at Allen's house, then came over himself shortly afterward.
Allen stared at Gerda, but Gerda wouldn't meet his eyes. Apparently, he'd deliberately let Krena slip away.
“Papa, Allen caught it! He's amazing!”
Ignoring Allen's suspicions, Krena praised his accomplishment to Gerda, who had suddenly shown up. Gerda stared at the captured Alba Heron with an expression that said, “Seriously?” Then he looked at Rodan.
“Looks like it's real. Anyway, don't overdo it. Stay in bed. Rodan, mind if I take care of the rest?”
“Huh? Yeah. Sorry, could you handle it?”
(Hm? What's this? Is he going to teach me how to butcher it? That'd be a big help.)
“All right, Allen, let's go.”
“Huh? Where?”
“To the Village Chief's house. We have to hand over this Alba Heron.”
“Huh? Hand it over?”
(Seriously? Does that mean magic beasts belong to the Village Chief?)
Gerda told Allen to come along and went outside. Allen followed him as he took the Alba Heron outside.
“We need to drain its blood, or it won't be fit to eat.”
Gerda took a machete from the entryway, cut the bird's neck, and let the blood gush into the irrigation channel beside the house.
“So this belongs to the Village Chief?”
“That's right. Even if serfs catch a magic beast, it's all the lord's property. We have to hand over sixty percent, and what's left is ours.”
(Seriously? The sixty-percent tax rule applies to more than just crops? They collect taxes on magic beasts we catch on our own, too?)
Apparently, they let things slide if it was something like a horned rabbit, but not with a Rank D magic beast. They collected the tax in full. A horned rabbit was the lowest rank of magic beast, Rank E.
Allen was shocked.
“But the Village Chief is partly to blame for Rodan's injury this time. There's room to negotiate. This is Allen's first catch, after all. I'll negotiate hard for you.”
The Village Chief had forced five inexperienced commoners into the hunt, and Rodan had been badly injured as a result. Since the Village Chief had reason to feel responsible, they might be able to keep more of the catch than usual. Gerda was going to negotiate with him.
“I see. Then I'd like you to negotiate along these lines.”
Allen explained the terms he wanted Gerda to negotiate for. Gerda nodded as he listened, murmuring, “I see, I see.”
After the Alba Heron's blood had mostly drained, Gerda told Telesia that they were going to the Village Chief's house. He also said they'd be back before sunset.
Gerda slung the Alba Heron over his back and headed to the Village Chief's house with Allen. Since Krena's house was in the same direction, he brought her home, too.
“Hey, hey, can we play tomorrow?!”
Krena asked if they could play tomorrow.
(Hmm, we're done digging up potatoes, so I don't think anyone would mind if I played in the afternoon.)
Krena anxiously waited for his answer. For some reason, Gerda was just as anxious. Lately, playtime ended at four, but started at one or two. Now that Allen was six, he napped less and had more time to play.
“Sure, tomorrow should be fine. Come over.”
“Yay!”
Krena's face lit up with joy. Beside her, Gerda inexplicably breathed a sigh of relief. Raising a Sword Saint seemed to be hard work.
After seeing Krena home, they continued on to the Village Chief's house.
As they entered the residential district, people stared at the large Alba Heron they were carrying, but they continued straight toward the Village Chief's house.
“Is the Village Chief home?”
Gerda knocked on the door and asked the person who answered. The Village Chief was home, and they were told to come in. They entered with the Alba Heron still slung over Gerda's back.
“Oh! That's a fine Alba Heron. What happened?”
They set the Alba Heron down in the hall used for the banquet when the knights had visited. The Village Chief and what was probably one of his relatives came to meet them.
“Well, Rodan's boy happened to catch it when it came down. So I brought it over like this.”
Gerda explained what he'd discussed with Allen on the way to the Village Chief's house.
“I see, I see.”
“So, Rodan can't go hunting. I'll hand over all the bird's feathers, so we can keep the rest, right?”
“What?!”
The feathers on its body could be used to make pens and decorations. That was why they never threw away a bird's feathers, not just those of an Alba Heron.
“What? That should be enough.”
“Well, that might not be quite enough...”
Silence filled the hall. Gerda glared at the Village Chief, waiting for him to give in, but apparently the feathers alone weren't enough.
“Fine, then. I'll hand over its magic stone, too. How's that? Ahh, Rodan's family has four mouths to feed. I want to make sure they get some meat. Someone made an unreasonable demand, and now Rodan's badly injured and can't go hunting this year.”
“What?! The lord ordered us to deliver more meat. You understand that, don't you?”
(Hm? The lord wants more meat, so the Village Chief is trying to get more people who can hunt?)
“Yeah, sure. So how about it? I'm offering the feathers and the magic stone.”
“Y-Yes, well, Rodan has done a lot for us. That'll be fine.”
Gerda glanced at Allen. Offering the feathers and magic stone as tribute was Allen's plan. He had started negotiations with an obviously small concession, then made the Village Chief compromise.
“Thank you, Village Chief!”
Allen answered with a smile.
“Indeed, indeed. Grow up big and strong, like Rodan.”
“Then from now on, if we catch one, we only have to hand over the feathers and magic stone?”
“Huh? Well...”
This was what Allen had wanted to settle. He planned to catch more Alba Herons. Letting the serfs keep all the meat and organs, including the liver, was less than the usual sixty-percent tax. The Village Chief's expression grew troubled.
“What?! Come on, there's no reason it can't be the same next time. If you manage to catch another one, that is.”
Gerda joined in.
“Y-Yes, that's right. If you catch another one, it'll be the same.”
“Thank you! It's a lot of trouble to bring the meat over, though. Can we hand it over when the taxes are collected in December?”
He took the opportunity to settle how they would pay the tax, too. It was hard to bring an entire Alba Heron to the Village Chief's house like they had this time.
“Huh? Well, yes, that'll be fine, Rodan's boy.”
Though he'd initially balked, the Village Chief agreed at once, probably thinking there'd never be a next time.
They agreed that the cart for collecting the potatoes would come in early December, and Allen would hand over the feathers and magic stone then.
As dusk began to fall, the two hurried home, saying they should get back before dark. Along the way, Allen was repeatedly praised, with people saying, “He's Rodan's boy, all right.”