Chapter 28
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 28
Chapter Title: The Hunter King
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“Harac Bar is planning a ‘war’ with Leighton Village?” Dane put a little extra emphasis on the word ‘war’ as he asked again.
“To be precise, it’s a war with the elves, but Leighton Village is the only passage to the continent. If they don’t open the stone walls, we’ll have no choice but to fight them too.”
The Lucas Hunting Party exchanged glances, sharing their bewilderment.
It had been a simple journey to obtain ore. None of them had imagined getting dragged into something this massive.
River asked,
“What’s the reason for starting a war?” Uralen stroked the rabbit’s foot dangling from her sword with her finger, lost in thought. She seemed to be pondering where to begin and how far to go.
She carefully chose her words before speaking. Her voice had grown much calmer.
“There are many reasons, but in the end, it was the roots that triggered it.”
“You mean the World Tree’s roots?”
“Yes. Harac Bar has been isolated for a long time. The monsters couldn’t leave because of the Root Path, keeping them trapped in the Tike Mountains. But lately, the monsters have been moving en masse. The kingdom is facing problems too.”
“It’s because the roots are weakening.”
“Yes. The Reformer faction claims it’s a sign that the time has come to head to the continent.” Dane thought to himself.
‘The World Tree’s roots are entangled in more complicated issues than I realized.’
The World Tree didn’t just block monsters—it was key to maintaining elven power. Its influence rippled across the world’s balance, so it was natural that its weakening would spark changes everywhere.
‘The problem is, what does any of that have to do with me?’ If war broke out as Uralen said, the root villages already dealing with one monster problem after another would fall easily.
And Foldtown, the nearest outpost city to Harac Bar, would become the dwarves’ top priority target.
‘Monster hunting will become a distant dream.’ Nothing good for Dane. He asked Uralen again.
“Is there some urgent reason they need to rush out?”
“Lately, earthquakes have been frequent inside the kingdom. The people’s anxiety is growing, and that’s part of it.”
“So instead of resolving it politically, they’re jumping straight to war?”
“My mother believes dialogue comes first, but the Reformer faction’s opposition is fierce. They say she’s showing weakness to humans and elves. That even in this situation, she’s bowing and scraping.”
Things were starting to make sense. In any case, getting Yadus Ore right now seemed impossible.
“So they sent you secretly to Leighton Village? To relay this situation?”
“If the worst happens, just open the stone walls and ensure safety.”
“That sounds like they don’t want to attack Leighton.”
Uralen nodded.
“Our relations with Leighton Village were never bad to begin with. My mother has maintained good ties with them. There was frequent contact.”
He’d gotten a sense of it from seeing the Yadus Ore food storage. Dane added,
“But the weakening roots made that impossible.”
“They knew those people were struggling with food shortages but couldn’t help. My mother doesn’t want to attack people who might collapse anyway.”
Leighton wouldn’t starve anymore, but the Lucas Hunting Party saw no need to explain. Instead, Dane gave her a suspicious look.
“It’s only natural you’d wonder why I’m telling you all this.”
Understanding Dane’s gaze, Uralen spoke first.
“Yeah. We might end up as enemies.”
“First... dwarves don’t lie. And I had to explain the situation to the ones who saved us. It was unavoidable. Also, to ask for other help.”
“We haven’t even started on compensation, but it feels like your requests keep piling up?”
“You can decide after hearing it. Of course, I have something to confirm first.” After making eye contact with each member of the Lucas Hunting Party, Uralen continued.
“Passing through Leighton, I planned to head to the continent and relay this to the ‘King of Hunters’ to seek his opinion. My mother believed humans could mediate between elves and dwarves.”
The Lucas Hunting Party tilted their heads.
“King of Hunters? Something like that exists?”
“Nope. Not that I know of.”
“Hmm, first I’ve heard of it.” Seeing their reactions, Uralen placed her sword on the table.
“That’s strange. You called me Tuparak upon seeing this rabbit’s foot, but you don’t know the King of Hunters? What’s going on?”
Now he understood. Why Uralen had that ornament.
Dane said,
“That rabbit’s foot was given to you by this ‘King of Hunters,’ right?”
“Yes. My mother received it. I was on my way to find him with it.”
“Just wandering the continent blindly to find the owner of a rabbit’s foot?”
“She said he had a physique more beautiful than any human’s. Anyone could see it was a king’s build. So I’d recognize him at a glance.”
The Lucas Hunting Party’s eyes met. They desperately held back laughter.
‘It’s not a king’s build—it’s his mug....’ For some reason, Pohen was the King of Hunters. But was it right to show the rabbit’s foot from Pohen here?
“Why did you think I was Tuparak? What’s your connection to the King of Hunters?” River and Bankers’ gazes waited for Dane’s judgment.
Dane needed time to think.
‘Does Pohen have the power to mediate a war? Even if they met him, I doubt it’d change much. Pretending to be Pohen by showing the rabbit’s foot... that’d be a stretch.’ Instead of answering, he shot up from his seat. Sudden, but River intuited the reason.
“Monster?”
“Be right back.”
“Put on pants.”
“Okay.”
Dane stepped out wearing spare leather underwear bought at Horhe Root Village market. Uralen’s group blinked in confusion, unsure what was happening.
Ballurator-like edible ones, he smacked their asses toward Leighton and chased them off. The worthless ones, he sent home or made sure they couldn’t return.
He sorted out monsters while organizing his thoughts on what to do.
‘Uralen’s group doesn’t need to go to Leighton specifically.’ Even if they asked for help finding Pohen, he had no intention of backtracking.
Their goal was Yadus Ore anyway—no time to waste. But.
‘In this situation, saying we came for Yadus Ore won’t fly. Looking ahead, the best is preventing war.’ Still, he couldn’t rashly promise to mediate with the elves. He wasn’t sure how far he could get involved.
Dane put off the decision. He returned empty-handed.
“There were a few, but I sent the Ballurators toward Leighton.”
“Good job. Guess the offensive is about to start.”
“Put on your cloak.”
“Okay.”
Hearing the Lucas Hunting Party’s casual exchange, the dwarves huddled and whispered.
“Sent Ballurators packing?”
“How do you handle mid-sized monsters like that?”
“You saw him fight earlier.”
“Oh, then it’s possible....” They quickly reached a conclusion among themselves and turned back to Dane. Uralen did the same. It meant he hadn’t answered her question yet.
Dane stared at her silently, then placed the rabbit’s foot from Pohen on the table.
Uralen’s group’s eyes went wide. They compared the two rabbit’s feet. Dane’s was unusually discolored, but they were a perfect left-right pair.
“How do you have this.... I didn’t think you were the king. Or are you... With that strength, that ability, maybe. But your build isn’t beautiful... What is it... Did it change as you grew? Ah, it’s been a long time... But you don’t look that old....” Confused, Uralen couldn’t string her words together. The quadruplets whispered in shocked expressions too.
“Did he steal it?”
“Did he eat the guy?”
“Well, he eats monsters. A human too...”
“Nothing he can’t eat.” The quadruplets’ faces darkened rapidly. River and Bankers wondered what decision Dane had made.
“We were heading to Harac Bar for Yadus Ore. The King of Hunters you’re talking about is our comrade Pohen. He gave us this foot and said to find Tuparak and he’d help.”
He was honest. Calling Pohen a comrade was deliberate.
“Well, Yadus is only in Harac Bar.”
“But getting ore isn’t easy.”
“Anyway, we misunderstood.”
“Lady Uralen! We were rash!”
These guys were persuaded too easily. They were at least free of heavy prejudice, but also gullible.
“I know what the princess wants. Help finding Pohen, right?”
“...Yes.”
“If it’s asking Pohen to mediate, then me holding this foot as his proxy isn’t so strange.”
“You mean...”
“Guide us to Harac Bar. I’ll claim my reward from the king directly.”
* * *
Under Uralen’s guidance, River wrote a dense letter detailing what to relay to Leighton Village.
“Will they accept the situation from just a letter?” Uralen looked worried.
“They’ll believe my word. And this guy too.” Dane gave a short whistle, and the Leighton goshawk, head buried in the corner sleeping, flew over with a shriek. He hadn’t expected to use it so soon.
“With a Leighton goshawk...”
“They’ll believe it.”
“A naked man has no pretenses.”
“Lady Uralen! This is great!”
“Thanks. It’s all thanks to you.” As Uralen’s group rejoiced, River and Bankers pulled Dane aside and whispered.
“There are guys in there who sent assassins to kill the princess. Isn’t chasing Yadus Ore too risky?”
“Must be his grand ambition to mediate the war. Dane could pull it off, haha.” Dane nodded.
“Both right. We’re this far—can’t give up on Yadus. So we go in. And I don’t know if I can mediate, but I don’t want to just ignore it. War means loss for us anyway.” He flashed an enigmatic smile.
* * *
The road to Harac Bar wasn’t smooth.
After tying the masked dwarves to the carriage roof and setting off, quite a few monsters threatened them. Ones heading on expeditions to Leighton.
Dane cleared the path relentlessly, while Uralen and the dwarves guarded the carriage.
‘Not bad.’
They’d seemed like immature kids from inside the carriage, but in reality, they were battle-hardened adults with thick beards.
Plus, as the princess and her escorts on a long journey, their skills were no joke.
They showed far superior coordinated attacks than the masked ones Dane had faced.
But in terms of awe, Uralen’s group outdid them. They watched Dane in astonishment.
One human displaying more might than dozens of dwarves combined was awe-inspiring.
Though not per the original plan, expectations bloomed on the return trip with Dane.
‘Even they won’t doubt we returned with the King of Hunters.’ Uralen thought.
As Dane harvested spare tongues and fat lumps from four Bekelztors, and the carriage piled with monster meat and parts, no more monsters appeared near the tunnel.
“We’re almost at Harac Bar.” At Uralen’s words, the Lucas Hunting Party freshened up and complimented each other’s neat appearance.
The tunnel grew progressively grander.
The intricate reliefs carved into walls and ceiling depicted Harac Bar’s history and the dwarves’ epic tales of valor.
And at the end of that path, countless dwarves awaited Dane’s group.
All heavily armed.
“A trap?”
River whispered softly beside Dane, hand to her waist.
“Doesn’t seem so. Let’s watch.” Dane replied in a low voice. Their attitude toward the princess would confirm it.
“Lady Uralen! Who are these companions?” A central dwarf stepped forward five or six paces. As the leader, his armor was exceptionally ornate.
Their overbearing treatment of the princess was clear.
Uralen glared sharply at him. Then commanded in a dignified voice.
“Guard Captain Beradruk, I’ve brought an economic delegation from the continent. Clear the path.” Just as she’d coordinated with Dane.