We Are Hunters
Pina drew a deep, shuddering breath.
The moment she saw her father's face somewhere she never expected, the world went black before her eyes.
Investment? So this was what he meant by investment?
She'd thought the man who couldn't hold down a proper job had simply been scammed—but this was far worse.
The October autumn wind swept through Pina's hair, which looked ready to burst at any second. It calmed her a little, but nothing about the situation had changed.
Her father was laughing and shouting with his friends over beer and meat.
What could possibly be so enjoyable that they'd do this out here in the floodlands instead of Antico?
She never thought she'd find herself wishing this place were just a tavern.
The people at that table were laughing, but the scene before her eyes was anything but happy. It looked like a grotesque, sorrowful painting dashed off by some unknown artist.
Pina hung her head and let out a breath.
"…Pina."
Alice murmured softly.
The voice barely reached Pina's ears. She shrank into herself. Her ghillie suit dragged along the ground, crumpling in disarray.
Why was there nothing but tragedy like this?
Her father was the kind of man with no work ethic, who hated hard labor and was always scheming for easy money. That was why everything he touched turned into gambling and games of chance. Under the pretense of investment he got scammed, and he was always losing money at gambling dens. If it had only been his own money, that would have been one thing—but he was the kind of person who did it with money the whole family needed to survive.
Around the age of sixteen, Pina had been all but driven from home into becoming a hunter, and now at seventeen she was still at it. And yet nothing in her life had changed. Even when she brought money home, the environment stayed the same. Life never improved. Every moment was a tragedy.
From a young age, before she could even learn anything, the girl had watched her impoverished family. As if they never considered the household situation, four younger siblings had come along. Still, the girl always tried to stay strong. As the eldest daughter, looking dejected wouldn't set a good example for her siblings.
Because of that, at sixteen the girl faced reality. She abandoned her dreams, let go of her own life, and submitted to fate. Not a single thing in it had been her own choice. She lived a life of pure sacrifice for others.
Worn down and broken by every kind of labor, the girl who had always sparkled somehow ended up living a life no different from a roadside rock. In the midst of always painful, difficult work, she sometimes thought about giving up.
But then she met someone new, and joy took hold. That person approached, sprinkling fragrance over her flavorless life, and made Pina's existence vivid.
Someone completely opposite to Pina.
Unlike herself—a rock left by the roadside—this was a light everyone noticed.
Alice was that light. A brilliant person who could make even Pina, who gave off no light of her own, feel as though she too shone.
Thanks to Alice, she had thought a little air had finally entered this life of hers.
Seventeen years on, Pina was finally tasting an even deeper end.
Among the poachers they had come to catch was Pina's father.
The Association was extremely wary of poachers. To those who controlled everything related to monsters and hunters under the Association's name, poachers were essentially targets for elimination. Punishment upon discovery; removal when unavoidable. The methods for dealing with poachers were ruthlessly cold. That was how thoroughly the Association intimidated people against poaching.
Those who understood that properly chose to become hunters instead—but even so, there were people who still poached.
People really were strange creatures. Even knowing they could die, they committed acts as if they themselves would never be the ones to die. It was just like gambling. They jumped into the game with the confidence they'd never lose money, then made excuses about bad luck while turning away from reality. And the moment they got their hands on money again, they jumped back in. Whether they enjoyed the thrill or were confident they could hit it big, she didn't know.
"…"
As a hunter, the father she faced was a target for punishment.
Her father knew his daughter was a hunter—so why on earth would he become a poacher? Was he confident they'd never run into each other? She no longer expected anything from that man, but still…
The repeating crossbow on her back felt heavy.
"H-he's not a poacher, right?"
"…Pina."
"I mean, when I was little he told me to become a hunter. And since money was still short, he must be trying to become a hunter himself. I told him last time. If he was going to keep living so wastefully, he should at least become a hunter. Or try anything he could do with that money. I hoped he'd try running a business, but he said investment, and then…"
"Pina—"
Alice caught hold of her.
Beneath the ghillie suit, peach-pink eyes looked at Pina with calm steadiness.
Those eyes spoke.
Why are you doing this? Don't look away! Think. Why is your father here?
From Alice's eyes, Pina recognized reality.
And she saw a vision of the future. It clung stubbornly inside her head and would not leave.
There was no way her father was a hunter. If he had become one, he would have said so beforehand. He would have asked her advice.
Had what he called "investment" actually been buying poaching equipment? Was that why he couldn't tell her the truth?
Pina steadied her breathing.
In Pina's mind, until today she had been drawing closer to the place she had once dreamed of. A life that was, in its small way, happy and free of pain. That was what she had thought—but at some point it had stood far off, watching her. In the end, everything had drifted away like this.
—…Don't tense up too much. You're a hunter too. We're just doing our job.
—Hunter… Right. I'm a hunter too. We uphold the hunters' code.
Pina repeated her conversation with Alice inwardly.
Pina stood up.
Right there, she stripped off her ghillie suit. Her expression was composed. But her hollow eyes remained the same.
Pina rubbed her face, dry-washing it, then brought the repeating crossbow from her back around to the front.
"Pina…"
I grabbed her leg.
Pina looked down at me and smiled strangely.
"I'm fine. I want to try talking to him."
There was nothing I could know. I couldn't even guess what Pina was thinking. But because that father of hers was over there, I respected her wishes.
Pina took the first step.
"…A hunter?!"
Pina's footsteps put them on alert. She gripped her repeating crossbow tightly and stepped forward.
I followed behind her. Then I hid behind a tree and quietly watched the situation unfold.
This story was Pina's to finish.
Pina revealed herself without hesitation. And her eyes met her father's.
"…Pina!"
"Father, keep your voice down."
"W-what, it was you, Pina."
"So your daughter really is a hunter."
"That was a close one, seriously."
"…Father, why are you here?"
"Ah, Pina! After hearing what you said, Daddy did some thinking. The nobles in the city buy monster hides for high prices, don't they? So I made a little investment. I've already made this much!"
"Y-you know I'm a hunter. Poachers and hunters are…"
"Right, so I was hoping for a little help from you. I heard you don't go hunting, so I figured it was pointless—but isn't that a repeating crossbow in your hands? So you do hunt after all. Lately you've been helping someone, so I thought you were just a half-baked hunter, but I guess not."
"Half-baked?"
"Yeah, what is a hunter? Isn't it a get-rich-quick job? I expected that, but I never thought you'd just be doing odd jobs. That's why I'm risking my life doing this work!"
"That… haah…"
"Now stop nagging Daddy all the time. Daddy's working now too, see? Yeah, and with you being a hunter, even better. They say when you poach together with a hunter, you almost never get caught. Since things turned out this way…"
"Please, just come to your senses."
"…What?"
"That's illegal. You men—I'm a hunter. Do you think people become hunters because poaching is hard and they hate it? If you get caught, you die. There are rules. And do you even know what happens when you indiscriminately kill Low-grade monsters like that?"
"As long as we make money, why are you talking like that? You told me—go out and make some money, you said. Always complaining just because I'm resting at home since it's hard—what, you think I do nothing? Do I have to take this from my own daughter in front of my friends?"
"That's not what I'm talking about right now."
"Yeah, poaching? Sure it's dangerous—but as long as you don't leave evidence, right? Evidence. As long as you don't get caught. And I'm saying I'll make money even that way…"
"You think there's no evidence just because you're doing it like this? You've already been caught—by me. The Association knows everything. That poachers have been roaming Antico lately. I came here to catch them. I came to catch you, Father."
"This bitch, talking nice so I was being patient, but now you're really…"
"…That's enough."
"Hey, seems like you've forgotten since you've been away from home—I'm your father, huh? You're gonna act like this even out here? Does it feel good to disrespect your old man this much? Being a hunter make you special? Your mother this, my daughter that—why is everyone so desperate to destroy me? Want to throw me in prison? Just because I bring money home, is that all? I'm the head of the household. I'm your father!"
In the floodlands, raising your voice could agitate monsters roaming nearby and put you in danger. So speaking quietly was common sense—but Pina's father was the kind of person who lacked even that basic sense.
How frustrated must Pina be. She probably never wanted to show me this side of things.
Honestly, I didn't want to listen anymore.
"Pina."
"…A-Alice-nim."
I couldn't hold back any longer and stepped forward.
Pina turned her head. She seemed not to want me to see her face. The glimpse I caught of her was a mess. The hand gripping the repeating crossbow trembled, and tears welled in her eyes. She must have bitten her lip while listening, because it was swollen and raw.
"…Pina, what do you want to do?"
Pina hesitated to answer. Then she finally opened her mouth.
"We're… hunters…"
"Yeah."
"We can't just leave something like this alone."
Pina said quietly. Her eyes, sharp and cold, turned toward the poachers.
I nodded. I understood her meaning perfectly.
"Who the hell are you? You a hunter too?"
"Wait, that girl…"
"Hey, Net! That girl—she's that hunter from the rumors. This is getting serious…"
"…Shit."
They were starting to prepare for what came next. Whether it was preparation to resist or to surrender was obvious without looking.
"…You people are poachers, aren't you?"
I fixed them with a cold stare as I took the sword and shield I'd bound to my back into my hands.
"You gonna come quietly, or…"
In the dream, she had killed the poachers who resisted to the end. If she had done it, I could too. Because she was me.
My heart had already tipped. Killing people was certainly not a pleasant thing. But my heart was truly calm. Not for a single moment while listening to that conversation had I gotten excited or fluttered with fear.
After seeing Pina's face, my heart had only grown calmer. It was a different feeling from looking at monsters.
This was my anger.
"Die right here."
Please—just go ahead and resist.