The Hunt Begins

"Um, Alice-nim. Is it really okay for me to eat for free? You're treating me as a way of saying we should get along and work well together? Thank you so much. I'll work really hard. I may not look like it, but I've got good stamina. I've been working since I was little…"

"Oh, me? I'm Pina. I-is it okay if I call you Alice-nim? I'm not from around here, so I, um, don't have any friends. And with work, I never have the time… My family home is further inland in Pratova, not Antico. There aren't any monsters there—it's safe, good land. Where are you from, Alice-nim? Have you always lived in Antico?"

"Uh, um, maybe I talked too much… A-are you okay? Oh, good…"

I was never much of a talker, so I appreciated it when someone else took the lead. But Pina was something else—a little squirrel of a person, or maybe a hummingbird. Not in a bad way. She talked a lot, but she was cute for it. Watching her chatter away, I found myself wondering how she'd managed to get by until now. To pour all this out to someone whose face she barely knew…

I hadn't said a word, yet she'd talk herself out and then nervously check my reaction, which was somehow endearing. As quiet as I was, it was nice having someone noisy around. The atmosphere stayed lively without me having to move my mouth much.

Noah was like that too. Since I barely expressed myself or spoke, she was usually the one to start conversations and fill the silence. Even I knew I was a dull person to be around—exhausting for whoever stuck by me. I was grateful to Noah in more ways than one.

What worried me was whether this girl could actually pull her weight. I was glad she'd taken my request, but if she couldn't deliver the efficiency I needed, we couldn't work together. Of course, it was too early to tell. The people of this world had far better physical specs than where I'd come from. I was living proof. The power that came out of this slender body was nothing to scoff at. If my strength had matched my original body, I wouldn't have been able to walk carrying a greatsword and a pack, let alone fight monsters.

This girl was probably in the same category. She claimed she was confident in her stamina and strength, but you couldn't tell just by looking.

For the record, we still hadn't touched our food. A thick-cut Mudridon rib steak sat waiting to enter my mouth, and holding back was pure torture—because Pina showed no signs of winding down.

"So… what kind of work will I be doing?"

After all that rambling, Pina finally got to the point. Only then did I catch my breath and pick up my fork. I pressed down on the steak once. Juices welled up, still holding their heat.

"…Want to talk while we eat?"

"Ah, yes!"

Pina must have been hungry too—she dug in with abandon. There was no need to eat with quite that much enthusiasm, but I chewed my meat slowly, savoring it. A moment of pure joy in my mouth. Once she had food in her, Pina seemed to settle down a little. Watching her cheeks puffed full, I cut the thick steak in half.

"Listen while you eat."

"Mm, okay…"

"You don't have to answer."

I slowly laid out the main points. I wanted to use multiple weapons when hunting. That didn't mean I planned to haul a ridiculous number of them. Weapons were just tools for the hunt. Bringing weapons with overlapping roles was pure waste. Matching your loadout to the monster was the smartest approach, as far as I was concerned.

For example, against a monster with lots of aerial patterns, you'd bring a long-range weapon—a bow, a repeating crossbow, or a chain scythe—tear its wings to strip its mobility, then switch to something else once it spent more time on the ground. Monsters weren't human. They didn't get confused just because your attack style changed. Against people ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠that might matter, but against monsters, the priority was killing them as efficiently and quickly as possible so you saw fewer of their dangerous patterns.

I didn't need to bring a ton of weapons. At minimum two. At most… I'd figure that out when the time came. Beyond carrying weapons, what about entrusting her with the luggage? If she took the pack, I wouldn't tire out as easily. I could go all-out against monsters. But I also wondered if that would put too much of a burden on her.

"Leave it to me!"

And knowing my supporter was a kid like this only made me more doubtful. She didn't look reliable at all… I nodded quietly to myself. Right. Real combat was what mattered. Don't judge by appearances alone.

I'd test Pina tomorrow. Take down a simple Low-grade monster and I'd have a good measure of her. No rush—today, getting to know each other was enough.

"Advance payment first."

"H-huh…? I haven't done any work yet, have I?"

"It means I'm counting on you."

"I-is it really okay for me to take this…"

Pina was generally weak to kindness. She'd been terribly apologetic when I bought her a meal, and now she kept hesitating over the money until I urged her—then she took it with sparkling eyes looking up at me. I wasn't the type to indulge in luxuries anyway, and I barely spent money on anything that wasn't hunting-related. Spending a little on Pina wasn't a waste if it built trust.

We agreed to meet at the Association counter at nine the next morning and parted ways. Pina was a hunter like me, but she headed a different direction—she'd been kicked out of the hunter lodging for failing to pay the fees and was staying in a cheap inn room. Hunter lodging wasn't that expensive, so it was a shame she seemed so strapped for cash.

A little past noon, I returned to the lodging. Noah was nowhere to be found. Looking around the room, I found a scrap of paper on the table.

Just seven words. I folded the paper and set it in the corner of the desk.

Being alone in the lodging felt like a first. I was always either out with Noah or leaving her behind to go somewhere—she'd never left me behind before. Maybe it was the contrast after chatty Pina, but the quiet hit harder.

I looked out the window at Antico's sky. Still summer, Antico was showing ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠off a bright, clear expanse. Wind slipped in through the window. The curtains swayed, and my hair stirred. I gathered my hair back and tied it roughly. Noah had taught me how. With my nape bare, the heat eased.

I'd changed quite a bit in a month. From living in a cave to working as a proper hunter. Sometimes I sprawled on the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠bed to rest; sometimes the tension drained out of me and I slept deeply.

I looked at the mirror on the table. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠A white-haired woman stared back, her pale nape exposed. She wore a thoroughly dissatisfied expression. I squeezed my eyes shut, exhaled, and opened them again. This time, listless, languid eyes greeted me.

I'd become the character I'd loved, so honestly it wasn't bad. She was pretty, which gave me a certain self-satisfaction. People's stares were something I'd brought on myself. They weren't hostile—they were favorable—so if they got burdensome, I could just avoid them. But sometimes the whole situation just irritated me.

Right. Decision made. Tomorrow was a monster's memorial day. I'd fight monsters and wash this stifling feeling away.

The next day I got up early and prepared to head out. Noah hadn't been lounging either—she'd risen early herself, planning another trip to the training grounds. Seeing me handle weapons last time must have properly motivated her. I cheered her on silently.

I left earlier than scheduled. Arriving at the counter in the early morning, I checked the request board. After pondering what would make a suitably non-dangerous good request, I tore one free.

A thoroughly personal request. Of course, most requests outside official Association ones had that flavor. With a wrecked knee, would he end up retiring?

Galori. A bit harder than a Pienos, but still just another Low-grade monster in the same ballpark. Its distinctive feature was a broad, large beak with a throat pouch beneath—where it stockpiled rocks and spat them at enemies. A pelican, in a way, if a grotesquely twisted one. Not a difficult creature; easy enough to take down. But its occasional flying-and-spitting pattern meant you needed at least one ranged weapon.

The weapons I'd settled on for this fight were a bow and a greatsword. Something else could have replaced the greatsword, but since I was testing Pina, the deliberately heavy greatsword was better.

I left my bag at the counter and stopped by Matillo's workshop before Pina arrived.

"What, you already picked a supporter?"

"Yeah."

"Fine. What weapons do you need?"

"A bow and a greatsword. I'm hunting a Galori."

"Hmm, a Galori. Good."

Matillo handed me a bow, a greatsword, and a quiver full of arrows from the workshop storage. The greatsword's repairs were done, and the bow was the same one I'd handled at the training grounds last time.

"You know those don't have Essences in them, right? The only weapon in this workshop with an Essence is the staff."

"Yeah, that's fine."

No Essence wasn't a problem. A staff needed one, but a greatsword or bow still did their job without. The greatsword's true value was the powerful attacks that punched through every pattern. For the bow, the key was converting between short and long forms to match the situation.

"Just use them and bring them back. I won't charge you."

"What if the arrows break?"

"Arrow costs and repair fees are separate."

"……"

Petty old man.

Taking both weapons from Matillo, I returned to the Association district. At the entrance, I spotted Pina swiveling her head this way and that like a meerkat. She had a bag stuffed full of gear on her back, and she looked surprisingly unburdened. It might have been rude to think it, but she reminded me of an ant.

"…You okay with that?"

"The bag? Yes, I'm fine!"

Was she really? I blinked at the sight of her looking ready to collapse under the load—but her legs weren't trembling, so she wasn't lying. People in this world really were superhuman.

"I've done a lot of heavy lifting for money… this much is nothing!"

The way she said something so sad so casually made my chest ache.

"You'll need to carry these weapons too, right?"

"Yeah. Can you manage?"

"Yes, just a moment…"

Pina set the bag down, opened the top flap, and secured the greatsword, bow, and quiver to the inner straps before buckling the cover shut. The weapons stuck out long from the sides of the cover, but it looked fine for carrying.

"Hup—!"

She even got it onto her back with a practiced twist of her hips, then let out a breath. Standing straight without so much as a wobble. She looked oddly used to this kind of work.

"…Have you done something similar before?"

"Ah, when I was hauling supplies, I used to force myself to carry a lot at once. That's when I learned. I think I learned well, hehe."

"…Seems like it."

I wondered if I'd just found an incredible talent. Thanks to her, the burden on my body would drop dramatically. Carrying just the bag was one thing—hauling weapons on top of that was brutal. Pina seemed used to it.

Worried she might overheat, I pulled out the Cooling Powder I'd bought at the shop. Pssht—. Cold mist sprayed from the container. Pina stood in front of it with a blissful expression.

"S-so cool…! I've never used any because I was saving money…"

How thrifty was she? I dusted Cooling Powder over myself evenly, then tucked the container back in the bag. We'd walk cool for a while now. Sweating from exertion was inevitable, but this was better than nothing.

Unlike usual, today's request had a fixed location. The injured hunter must have really wanted that Galori that wrecked his knee caught—a helper had even given us a map with the spot marked. The location he'd marked wasn't far from Antico.

On the way there, Pina didn't complain once. She just worked quietly and steadily. I liked that about her. She might chatter like a hummingbird normally, but when it came to the job, she took it seriously. Maybe entering the hunting grounds made her focus—her life was on the line, after all. She also didn't tire easily. She barely showed fatigue, and only rested when her breathing got rough, so we made good time. My own condition stayed solid thanks to her. Far better than lugging a heavy greatsword myself.

I felt like I could truly tear the Galori apart when we found it. Right. I could now give monster hunting my absolute best.

Gukugugu…

We hid behind a tree at a distance and observed the creature. Galori. It walked through the brush, then stuffed a sizable rock whole into its mouth. That was its habit—eating the bugs stuck to rocks, then spitting the stones back out.

"There it i—"

"Quiet."

I put a finger to my lips before Pina could finish.

"Hand me the bow first," I said low enough the creature wouldn't hear.

Pina nodded and sat carefully without making a sound. She gently set the bag down, undid the buckles and straps on the cover, and passed me the bow. I set my bag down too. Taking the folded bow from Pina, I tucked it against my side and slung the quiver.

"When I call, can you give me the greatsword?"

"Uh… d-during the fight?"

"Throwing it is fine."

Pina swallowed hard. Was facing a monster that frightening? I bent my knees, trying to meet the eyes of Pina sitting by the bag. But she'd lowered her head, bangs hiding her eyes from view.

"Scared?"

"…Yes. I-I'm scared… of monsters…"

I brushed Pina's bangs up. Only then could I meet her brown eyes. They trembled now and then.

"Don't worry. Just watch carefully."

I said it flatly. I didn't say I'd protect her. It wasn't something I could say with confidence—or rather, there was no way I couldn't protect her against a mere Galori. It was so obvious it didn't need saying.

Right now I knew the enemy's position, and the enemy had no idea it was in danger. That was the merit of ranged weapons. If you approached well, you could always strike first.

I stood and swung the folded bow open wide. Then I pressed the bow's button, extending the limbs further.

I reached back for an arrow, nocked it on the string. Settled into stance and drew. Taut. Tauter still. Far enough to reach that distant target—the Galori. The limbs stretched to their limit. Power gathered at the arrow's tip.

I released the string. The arrow, loosed with everything I had, flew true. It punched through the brush, shattered branches, and streaked toward its mark.

KAAaaaak!!

A monster's roar rang out.

The hunt begins.