Chapter 37
During the quiet lull at midday, request slips covered the large board.
Lyle yanked one free.
—A Horn Rabbit extermination request.
The most basic request—and the one that tripped up the most rookies.
The four of us headed to the counter.
"You're taking it as a group of four, then. Each rabbit counts as one person's quest completion, so keep that in mind. Also, if the meat or hide is damaged, you won't get the full reward."
The clerk stated this matter-of-factly, stamped the request slip, and handed it back.
After showing our registration tags to pass through the city gate, the four of us continued along the sunlit road.
A river flowed peacefully to the left of the road, while grasslands stretched out to the right.
Beyond them, a rugged mountain range blocked the way.
"How do you usually do it?"
When the city had grown small behind us, I asked.
"We have Kai act as bait and try to lure them onto the road, but they're so fast that my magic hardly ever hits—and..."
Elena furrowed her brow, and Lyle continued, pouting.
"Those damn things run straight into the grass as soon as you so much as wound them."
"What can you do, Noah?"
Lyle asked, turning to look at me.
"I fight with this staff. I can scout, too."
"Scouting! You're exactly the kind of member our party's been looking for!"
Lyle's eyes lit up as he eagerly grabbed my hand.
"Honestly, you sure know how to flatter someone."
Elena gave a wry smile at the sight.
"Let me give it a try."
I said, then swept a thin tendril of mana from side to side, extending it deep into the grassland.
—There.
Three Horn Rabbits had sensed my mana and were heading our way.
"Three coming!"
I called out as I assumed a battle stance.
Kai took the lead.
He braced his wooden shield and lowered his stance.
Lyle and Elena stood diagonally behind him.
Lyle held his one-handed sword low, leaning forward, ready to spring.
Elena gathered mana in her right hand, a faint white chill gathering at her fingertips.
I took another step back, positioning myself where I could keep an eye on everything.
The wind rustled the bushes.
—Rustle, rustle.
The next moment, three shadows burst through the grass.
Small monsters with sharp horns growing from their foreheads.
But their charges were faster and heavier than their appearance suggested.
They rushed straight at Kai.
A dull crash.
Their horns sank into his shield, making it shudder from the impact. Even so, Kai held his ground.
At the same time, the other two scattered to either side.
Lyle reacted to one of them.
His raised sword rang with a shrill clang, deflecting the horn's path.
The Horn Rabbit, its momentum checked, veered to the side.
One remained.
I stepped forward and swung my staff.
With a solid thud, the Horn Rabbit was slammed into the ground.
Elena unleashed her mana at the one Kai had stopped.
"—Ice Ball!"
A condensed mass of ice shot straight forward and struck the Horn Rabbit.
A sharp crack.
The monster was knocked back and rolled across the ground.
But the blow was shallow.
It was still moving.
I dashed forward at once.
I aimed for the moment it tried to get back up—
and brought my staff down.
With a dull thud, it stopped moving.
Lyle's fight was already nearing its end, too.
Before the Horn Rabbit he'd knocked away could recover, Lyle charged in.
One clean slash.
The blade cut deep into its back, then continued diagonally through.
Blood sprayed, and the monster crumpled.
"We did it!"
Lyle ran over, brimming with excitement.
"That was amazing, Noah! Three right off the bat! ...All right, let's keep hunting like this!"
"First, let's take care of the Horn Rabbits we killed. If the meat spoils, it'll affect the appraisal."
I said, carrying one of the fallen Horn Rabbits down to the river.
I cut its carotid artery with a knife, then submerged it in the cold, shallow water.
Kai and Lyle did the same.
"If you bleed them and keep them cold like this, they won't spoil as quickly."
"Wow, you really know your stuff."
Elena murmured in surprise.
"I did this back when I lived in my village."
I replied, remembering the Horn Rabbit we had roasted at our secret hideout.
Lisa suddenly came to mind.
I wondered if Lisa had become an adventurer by now, too.
—If she'd kept training, she would probably be quite a fighter by now.
By the time the meat had cooled thoroughly, the sun had begun to dip.
"If we get the full reward, it'll cover the inn. And three rabbits count as quest completions for three people. Shall we head back for today?"
"What about your share, Noah?"
Lyle tilted his head.
"It's my first day, so I'm fine. If we catch more tomorrow, you can count one toward my completion."
"Come to think of it, Noah, were you from a well-to-do family or something? The way you talk—and you can do math, too."
Elena asked with interest.
"No, I come from a remote village."
"Then let's head back for today."
Lyle said, pulling the Horn Rabbits out of the river.
Kai silently carried the other two.
"I can carry one, too."
"You're small, Noah. It's fine."
Kai replied with his usual expressionless face, then started walking.
At the city gate, all we had to do was show our registration tags and the request slip.
These wooden tags seemed to carry a decent amount of trust.
—Well, if we got into trouble and couldn't pay off our registration fees, we'd end up as slaves anyway.
We turned down a side street and made our way around to the back of the Guild.
The back gate stood wide open, leading to a broad stone-paved area where wagons could enter.
The building beyond had walls only waist-high, and monster materials were neatly piled inside. A large pulley hung from one of the thick ceiling beams.
As we carried the Horn Rabbits into the building, a clerk wearing a bloodstained apron came out.
"Hey, if it's small game you're having appraised, put it on that table."
Lyle and Kai set the Horn Rabbits on the indicated table, and the clerk quickly checked their condition.
"Well, you've bled them properly and kept them cold... These two will get the full price."
The clerk said as he jotted something down on a sheet of paper.
"This one has a big gash across its back, so I'll give you forty copper."
Lyle bit his lip, looking a little disappointed.
"Take this appraisal slip to the counter."
We took the paper he handed us and headed to the counter.
"That's one hundred and forty copper. After deducting the twenty-percent advance on your registration fee, that comes to eleven large copper coins and two copper coins. Whose quest completion should I record?"
The clerk at the counter asked.
"For Lyle, Elena, and Kai."
When I answered, the clerk efficiently wrote it in the ledger.
Once we had settled up, we left the Guild.
"All right, let's go to the inn. Let us cover your lodging."
Lyle said, then started down the alley.
Evening was drawing near, and long shadows stretched across the stone pavement.
"Here."
Lyle stopped in front of a two-story wooden building. Its walls were plaster, stained gray with grime.
"Four people."
Lyle said, paying three large copper coins each for four people at the counter.
The old woman took them, ladled thick, murky soup into wooden bowls, and served it with a slice of black bread.
After gulping down the gritty soup, which tasted of nothing but salt, I went straight upstairs.
"We got here early, so there's still room."
Lyle whispered, then stretched out on the straw covering the floor of the large room.
We huddled together and lay down, holding our weapons, then closed our eyes.