Time Attack
Adelaide plopped herself down right next to Peto.
She had obviously sat there to talk to me, but Peto flinched and squirmed as if he were suddenly alone in the world. Having someone as lofty as a princess drop into the seat beside him was bound to make anyone uncomfortable.
I asked Adelaide for the full story.
"So what's going on?"
"I made a wager with the general. Over who can take down a monster faster."
"…What kind of bet is that?"
I frowned at the sheer absurdity of it. Adelaide laid out the details. In short, it was a contest to see which side — the hunters or the royal army — could kill a monster and return first.
I listened, then shrugged.
"Easy enough."
"Catching a monster on the spot might be simple, but… are you all right?"
Adelaide looked at me with open unease.
"You don't know the terrain here, and you haven't finished adapting yet."
"Well, that's true…"
We had only just arrived, and my body still hadn't adjusted to the highlands. The geography, though, was no problem. One look at a map and a rough minimap sketched itself out in my head — after years of gaming, reading terrain came as naturally as reading a compass.
All that remained was finding a monster and dealing with it. As long as I managed my stamina, I figured we'd be fine.
"I'm fine."
The real issue was Pina. We hadn't even been here a full day, and throwing her into action already made me worry. I looked over at her.
"What about you? Think you'll be okay?"
"We don't have a choice, do we? I'll be fine."
Her answer was bright. I snorted a laugh, then frowned. Give them time and something was bound to fester.
"They're in an awful hurry."
"They're trying to stack the odds however they can."
Adelaide pressed a hand to her forehead and let out a long sigh. Then she glanced at me.
"If it looks like too much, say so. I'll find a way to buy you more time."
"Not at all. Let's just do it like this."
Dragging things out wouldn't help. Better to finish it clean and fast. I licked my lips, already turning over tomorrow's work in my mind.
Peto had been watching our faces. He spoke up quietly.
"Should I come with you?"
Having someone who'd spent so long in this place would have made things easier. I shook my head anyway.
"No. We're good."
If I was going to crush them, I was going to do it perfectly. That was how I saw it.
A Master Hunter stood at the summit of hunters who had achieved great things. They cut down high-grade monsters alone, drove them back, and handled with ease the work ordinary hunters found nearly impossible.
Alice was one of those Master Hunters — a hunter who had brought down a supreme-grade monster. The hunters of Lacrima could not help but pin their hopes on her arrival. Together with Adelaide, she was the key that might change everything.
The next day, hunters and soldiers alike looked on while General Gero droned through a tedious speech. Alice stifled a small yawn and chewed her bread, letting the words wash past one ear.
"Haaah…"
He was dressing up the whole affair with some kind of justification, but to Alice it was empty noise. General Gero's brow folded sharply.
That little—
He wanted nothing more than to draw his blade then and there, but with the princess watching, there was nothing he could do.
"Ahem."
The general composed himself and fixed both of them with a stern look. Royal Knight Evan, and Master Hunter Alice. Behind Evan stood ten soldiers — veterans who had faced any number of monsters on this ground. Behind Alice stood a single hunter, and even that one was a non-combat supporter.
Gero addressed Alice.
"Is that all the hunter side has?"
Alice answered with a nod. She didn't hesitate, and Gero asked nothing further. Even for a Master Hunter, the confidence seemed excessive. The royal army had eleven people; no matter what unexpected situation arose, they would manage. The hunters had only two. If either of them ran into real danger, they would be finished.
"Very well. Supplies are over there. Take what you need and go."
"Yes, sir!"
Evan and the ten soldiers answered in a shout and set off. Alice nodded half-heartedly, still chewing the bread left over from breakfast. She swallowed the cold lump of it and ambled after them. Behind her, Pina shoved hard at her back.
"Alice-nim, why are you so leisurely about this?!"
"Mmm, no need to rush yet."
Alice finished the last of the bread with deliberate care. Evan's eyes flashed as he watched her.
"Hunter. I owe you from last time."
Alice said nothing. She hadn't even realized he was talking to her. Evan bristled and clamped a gauntleted hand on her shoulder.
"Hey. Hunter."
"…What?"
Alice frowned at the sudden grab. Evan glared — though the helmet's visor hid it.
"Sitting around eating bread, looking down on us. Hunter, I won't go easy on you this time. I'm paying back that debt from before."
"…Ah. Right."
Alice brushed the whole speech aside. She genuinely had no idea why he was saying any of this — she didn't even remember who he was. Instead she snapped back, sharp and flat.
"If you've got time to talk, start walking. I'll give you a head start."
Give them a head start? Evan snorted. Who was giving whom a head start?
"Full of yourself, aren't you. Think I'm still the same as last time?"
"…Hmm."
So who are you supposed to be, exactly?
Alice blinked at him. Evan seemed to take it for agreement; his brow twitched.
"Do your best, butcher."
He swung the purple plume of his helmet and slung a supply pack over his shoulder.
"We move out!"
The royal army left first. Alice watched them go.
Looks like he's got some kind of grudge against me.
She shrugged.
"Shall we?"
"Yes."
Alice checked the supply pack. Thermal Powder, rations, and tools for starting a fire. They'd packed it reasonably well. Had someone tampered with it? She shot Gero a sidelong look. Their eyes met, and a faint smile touched his face.
Whatever. The fight was stacked in her favor either way.
A highland where the snow never melted. Alice dusted herself with Thermal Powder first, then set out. Winning this was something a hunter simply had to do. Eleven people, knights and soldiers combined — and they were still amateurs. The knight was the only one worth a second look, and even he fell short of a hunter when it came to monsters. Losing a bet like this would be an embarrassment, a joke at a hunter's expense.
Alice glanced at the map. Monsters tended to live and roam in fixed places. The ones dropped into this land of anomalies sought out terrain similar to their original habitats.
"We're heading for the cliffs."
"…The cliffs?"
"Yeah. A little farther, but."
If they found tracks or other signs along the way, so much the better. Alice had no intention of leaving it to chance, though. Both sides had to find a monster either way — and knowing the land already put her far ahead.
"If it gets hard, say so. We'll rest as often as we need."
"Yes!"
Rushing was out of the question. If altitude sickness hit, they would only slow down more. Pina and Alice walked on into the highlands without end. At first their tracks overlapped the royal army's; at some point the paths split completely, and the soldiers' footprints vanished.
Alice kept walking and kept calculating. Midway to the cliffs lay a conifer forest — one of the places monsters roamed. Judging by the direction the royal army had taken, they were almost certainly headed for the Frost Cave of the highlands. Not a bad choice on their part. Measured against the Lacrima Outpost, the distances were roughly the same. What mattered was how long it took to find and fight a monster — and that favored her side. This was a time attack, wasn't it?
She adjusted the scabbard at her hip. She would have preferred Disastro's greatsword, but without even the Blood Horn Sword, this was the best weapon she had.
What would the royal army do? In a cave, they might go after a Sabertooth. Sabertooths put up a real fight — she wasn't sure the royal army could handle one. Then again, they had looked so confident. They would manage somehow.
Alice set the useless worry aside.
Evan held his breath behind a rock.
The Frost Cave of the highlands. Inside, a monster moved with slow deliberation.
—KRrrrr….
A saber-toothed beast: the Sabertooth. Its hallmark was a pair of massive, blade-like fangs jutting from its mouth. From the lower jaw jutted flanges like sheaths, built to protect those fangs. Its ash-white coat, dappled with black spots, camouflaged it perfectly against the snow. Horn-like spikes rose along its head and spine, a clear warning that this was no easy prey.
The Sabertooth's yellow eyes swept the surroundings at leisure — hunting, or simply out for a stroll. Evan waved the soldiers back.
"When it turns its back, we go."
One of the soldiers spoke up.
"…Sir, is this really all right?"
"Is what all right?"
"We already knew it was here. It feels a little unfair."
The soldier wasn't wrong. Previous scouting had already confirmed a Sabertooth in the cave. Even setting that aside, the conditions were stacked against the hunters in more ways than one. Evan tilted his head at the complaint.
"This is a real fight. Is knowing more information a problem? You want fair and square, is that it?"
The soldier said nothing more. One more word and Evan looked ready to strike him. Evan wanted to win, no matter what. He wanted to pay back the humiliation from last time. That was all.
"…Winning is enough. Let's go."
Evan drew his longsword. The soldiers nodded reluctantly and readied their weapons and the hooks meant to pin the monster down.
"We take it fast and we go back."
Evan pushed the work hard — never knowing that haste so often turns a plan to ruin.