A Good Partner
Pina figured she wouldn't have work for a while.
Alice's condition wasn't good, and she couldn't quite manage the worry she felt for her.
The image of Alice bringing the Ekriki down was still vivid in Pina's mind — soaked in blood, stripped of all reason. Whenever that memory surfaced, Pina would sometimes gag. For her, it had been a scene far too brutal and shocking.
But she told herself she wasn't the only one having a hard time. If just watching had felt like that, how was the person at the center of it holding up?
Pina believed Alice carried so many wounds inside that she'd needed to vent her rage that way. So even though money was tight, she didn't want to push Alice to go out on jobs right away. She intended to let Alice do as she pleased.
Alice was her employer, after all — and also someone she wanted to look after, someone who stirred her sympathy. If money ran short, she could always haul bricks or shift heavy materials for wages like before. Pina was used to that kind of hard, grueling work. Doing it again wouldn't bother her.
What would bother her was her family, hounding her to send money sooner. So she'd planned to take on other work for a while and rest for a few days — until an unexpected visitor arrived.
"Hi."
"Alice-nim…"
The unexpected visitor wasn't Alice. Alice was a guest she could welcome anytime. The woman trailing along beside her, though — that was another matter entirely.
She wore her hood pulled low, so Pina couldn't make out her face, but the swell of her chest and the delicate lines of her jaw and neck suggested she was a woman.
"And the person next to you is…"
"My new roommate."
A roommate, no less. Someone who'd stolen the place that should have been Pina's. Someone she couldn't bring herself to like.
Pina rolled her characteristically hollow eyes toward Alice's roommate. Her dark brown eyes met a pair of blue ones. Jewel-like eyes, Pina thought.
"Hello. My name is Fiore."
"…I'm Pina."
Pina answered a little sulkily. Had they already gotten close, that roommate of hers? She resented Alice for bringing her along to her lodgings. If Alice had come alone, they could have chatted happily. With Fiore, a stranger, there, everything felt unbearably awkward.
"So this is where you stay."
Alice said it while looking around the room. Pina felt a little embarrassed under that gaze. She knew she wasn't well-off, and she knew her family situation was difficult. That was exactly why she didn't want anyone to see it.
The place she stayed was a cramped single room, no better than a hunter's dormitory — stuffy and narrow. The shower facilities weren't great either, so when she needed to wash she had to go over to the Association district. Still, the innkeeper's kind nature was something of a silver lining. Running a small, shabby inn like this, he charged very little and wasn't a greedy man. Sometimes he even threw in extras as a service, like the pineberry wine she'd received today — and she was always truly grateful for that.
Pina was weak to people's kindness. Maybe that was why the innkeeper's kindness was also the reason she couldn't quite bring herself to leave this inn.
"Is it… not great?"
But if Alice really disliked a place like this… maybe she ought to move. That thought crossed her mind.
"No, it's cozy."
Alice said it while running her hand over a chair. Her gaze lingered on the glass of pineberry wine.
"Honestly, I was a little worried."
Alice smiled faintly.
"But I was worrying for nothing. This is a good place."
"…Right?"
Alice's words made Pina feel oddly happy.
"So what brings you here? Are you heading out on a commission right away?"
"No, um, well…"
Alice spun her eyes around, looking awkward. The way she fretted over how to put it was cute.
"…Can I tell her?"
Alice was checking with Fiore. Fiore glanced at Pina, then nodded.
"I'll explain."
Only then did Fiore remove her hood. Pina, who'd been tilting her head in confusion, not knowing what this was about, finally saw Fiore's face — and her eyes went wide.
Hair so beautiful it looked painted with gold. Jewel-like blue eyes. Her lips, flushed with color, were quite red. The moment she matched that face to the name Fiore, Pina clapped both hands over her gaping mouth.
"M-Master Hunter!"
"…That is the normal reaction, Alice. You truly didn't know me at all."
"…Sorry."
Alice turned her head, looking sheepish. Pina blinked at the sudden appearance of a Master Hunter. She'd never imagined that she, a mere gathering hunter, would come face-to-face with a Master Hunter this close.
Pina was a livelihood-focused gathering hunter, but even to someone like her, Master Hunters were distant, lofty figures. As much as monsters were terrifying, she envied those who rose to the rank of Master by hunting them without fear. These days she held Alice even more deeply in her heart than any Master Hunter, but still…
So Alice-nim was roommates with a Master Hunter? Should she be happy about that or not? Pina's mouth flapped open and closed.
"A-Alice-nim. Why is a Master Hunter… here?"
"Well…"
Alice's explanation followed. Fiore had come to Antico seeking a new light, and Alice intended to earn Fiore's recognition so she could explore Anomalies in the future. It was a very simple, clear story.
"So, is it tomorrow?"
"Yeah. But this time I'm only taking one weapon. Fiore's coming too. There's no danger at all."
Alice said it as if soothing Pina. It seemed to bring back the memory of last time. If Alice went berserk again, Fiore would be more than capable of stopping her.
"…But why are you bringing Miss Pina? Is she coming along as well?"
Thinking that, Pina suddenly felt how small she was. With a Master Hunter like Fiore at her side, what help could she possibly be? As Fiore said, she didn't understand why she was being brought along.
"Pina is the helper I hired. She gets me into peak condition for fighting monsters."
But Alice simply demolished that thought of Pina's. Fiore nodded.
"I understand. It's not unheard of. I occasionally hire supporters myself. You've found yourself a good partner."
"Yep."
Alice said it shortly, smiling. Pina stared blankly at Alice. Fiore's words didn't register. Alice's words circled in her mind. Alice had said that she, Pina, was someone she needed. That made her so happy.
Yes — she wasn't a money-making machine. Someone's warmth was this warm. A warmth she'd never felt from her parents.
"…Alice-nim, so what kind of commission is this one?"
"Capture. We need to capture Metakentos, a giant pincer insect."
"I see. Understood. I'll prepare all the basic supplies for a capture. I know exactly what's needed."
Pina said it with a bright smile. Since she'd been recognized, she'd work hard. So she wouldn't be a burden.
I trusted Pina. So I decided not to prepare anything myself.
…It absolutely wasn't because I was lazy. This was also a test from Fiore, to check Pina's capabilities. Fiore had said that if Pina claimed to be my supporter, she needed to show ability to match. I agreed with that.
What do you need to pack for a capture commission?
First, anesthetic. Though it's called anesthetic, it's closer to a paralyzing poison — made by processing materials harvested from monsters, you could say. The thing to watch out for is that the effective dose differs for every monster. Too much and the heart stops and they die; too little and they get even more agitated and thrash around, interfering with the hunt. So bringing exactly the right amount of anesthetic was the priority.
That amount was information you could check just by looking at a book. Monster Ecology. Apparently every hunter household has a copy. There was one Noah left behind at my lodgings too, but I never read it. Well, I hadn't had any capture jobs until now. And since I was going to kill them anyway, I wasn't interested.
Second was marking spray. Unlike other commissions, capture commissions have survey hunters following us at a bit of a distance. So we have to leave markers pointing the way so they don't take a wrong path — that way we can get back without incident. Even in the game, this was a pretty tedious task. You had to leave a mark whenever you changed direction.
Why bother capturing them? Couldn't you just kill them and be done with it?
Third was signal flares. When the anesthetic successfully took hold, you fire a flare to call the survey hunters waiting far away. I wondered how hunters would move such a huge monster. When enough humans get together, nothing's impossible, so they'd figure it out somehow… People in this world also had pretty high base specs.
And finally, paralysis mines were essential too. A monster's biological structure is distinctly different from us humans. They also use unrealistic power through the force contained in their Essence. But in some ways, they're the same as us. Pain hurts the same, and numbness feels the same. They fall to anesthetic poison, and if they step on a paralysis mine, they can't move.
Mines that only react to heavy pressure and cause paralysis with a momentary electric shock. These too were made from monster materials, like the anesthetic. The effect was brief, but it was enough time to inject the anesthetic and put the monster under. That said, using them too often built up resistance so they wouldn't get paralyzed anymore, so you had to be careful. Ideally, finishing it in one go was best.
I'd originally planned to buy these myself and hand them over to Pina. She was short on money, and she was working hard in all sorts of ways. Well, she'd handle it cleanly on her own.
There was only one thing left for me to do now. Focus on facing Metakentos.
Honestly, I'd planned to take a break from commissions for a while. That resolution lasted all of one day. I don't want to blame Fiore for this. It's just our fate — mine and ours. Still, I think this kind of life is enjoyable in its own way.
It's been a while since I used a tachi. I already knew what kind of feel I needed to fight with. The countless hours of practice were all burned into my head. But this time, I wanted to fight a little differently.
Until now, I'd stuck to the game's methods. I'd been turning a blind eye to reality — thinking this place was no different from a game, thinking that doing things the way I had in the game would be enough to handle anything. But this world isn't an ordinary game world. Everyone here is breathing, so maybe I too should throw off the idea that this is a game and move freely.
Either way, this place was a new reality for me. That was an undeniable truth. What had become of my original life — I didn't have the luxury of worrying about that.
Throw off the heavy worries and the framework, and swing my weapon. Like the woman I'd seen in my dream, let's feel freedom in the fight. Find myself existing within the urgency of combat.
With that thought, I was able to sleep a little more peacefully tonight.
And then, the sun of the hunt rises.