Chapter 6
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 6
Chapter Title: Hunter
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He knew that his actions weren't normal.
But from the moment she saw the wound on his wrist and the scars on his body, Isabella's every nerve had become attuned to Adel's movements.
Whether he was eating or picking up minor injuries in the dungeon.
In the past, worrying about Adel—the hero who had been stronger than anyone—would have been a laughingstock. But he was no longer that hero 'Adel.'
He was now a dangerous being who got scarred up in mere B-rank dungeons.
So, without realizing it, she had developed the habit of tailing him.
Was it unavoidable...?
After all, he was a B-rank adventurer who could die in an instant if ambushed by a wandering knight.
...But today was different.
Deep into the night, in an empty forest, Adel was talking to himself.
Isabella slowly heightened her hearing, eavesdropping on his fragmented mutterings.
[I've never been this cornered—]
[Three days—want to die—]
[To die... of all times—]
".......Ah..."
No way.
It couldn't be.
The strongest person she knew, the one she had relied on.
Was on the verge of crumbling right before her eyes.
Before she knew it, Isabella was holding her breath, watching him.
A noose hanging from a tree.
He had been agonizing over his choice for hours.
And finally, as his hand began to move—
She could only rush toward him, not even bothering to hide her presence.
---
".....Beliar....miss?"
At my words, she tackled me with sudden force, knocking me flat.
I toppled backward, still awkwardly gripping the noose, and she kept pinning me down, repeating over and over that I shouldn't do it.
"No.... don't do it.... don't go.... sob...."
".....Ah, there's some misunderstanding—"
"I'm sorry.... I'm so sorry...."
".....Uh, that's...."
"....I was wrong.... I was wrong.... sob...."
"......Hm."
Something had gotten really tangled up here.
I patted Beliar's head for a moment to calm her down.
I'd thought she was stoic, but she was surprisingly emotional.
".....Hic.... don't.... don't do it...."
"....It's not like that. I was just trying to take down the noose."
"Are you.... okay?"
"........"
"......"
"......Hic."
Hm, what now.
She stayed still, face buried in my chest.
She must have finally understood the situation; the crying had stopped....
But her ears were turning red in real time.
"......Beliar, miss?"
"......."
She slowly turned her flushed face away, mumbling an excuse.
".....I misunderstood."
"Ah, the situation looked a bit.... like that, right? How long have you been watching?"
She flinched for a second, then averted her gaze and muttered softly.
"......J-just.... got here."
"......Oh, I see."
"....."
"......."
"....Ah, it's late. For tomorrow's raid, I should head back to the inn..."
".....Ah, uh? Y-yeah...."
To break the awkward atmosphere, I exaggerated my gestures and started down the path first.
---
"Uwaaaah.... so coooold!!! It's freezing!!!!"
"Elysia, you have fire magic, right? Can't you just use that?"
".....You trying to kill me?"
The northeastern reaches of the Empire.
This harsh environment hosted almost no monster habitats, making it one of the Empire's safest regions surprisingly enough.
But that very safety also meant it was the most dangerous.
If a powerful monster ever settled in such a safe zone, the lord would have to lead his private soldiers to deal with it personally...
But thanks to the clause barring margraves from owning knights, they had to post bounties and rely on adventurers instead.
"Ah, you've arrived. Thank you for coming."
"Duke, it's an honor to meet you."
The Northern Duke Hyde greeted raid leader Luke warmly with a handshake, then thanked each member of the raid party one by one.
Why couldn't margraves own knights? To prevent rebellion.
This world had already been unified by the Empire against all other races, so with no external threats, they banned margraves from having knights just to keep rebellions in check.
The beastkin autonomous zones had devolved into near-slave markets, and rising against an Empire that monopolized knights and mages was no easy feat.
Thus, the Empire had maintained its grand unified empire for centuries by suppressing minor rebellions.
In short, lords couldn't handle raid monsters when they appeared, but adventurers could profit from it.
A job where pay depended solely on skill, regardless of status or past.
The downside was risking your life, but for skilled professionals, there was no better gig.
"Alright, everyone, let's move out!!"
Luke shouted from up ahead, and the 23 raid members followed him along the path he indicated.
And finally, far off in the distance, a massive silhouette like a giant gorilla.
".....Tch, it crossed into our territory and it's pissed."
"......Whoa, Edward oppa. I've never seen a yeti before."
".....Me neither, actually."
Even I couldn't help feeling intimidated by the sight.
The Yeti.
An A-rank upper-tier monster that occasionally wandered over from the Empire's northern frontier—too frigid for humans, where surveys had long been abandoned.
B-rank and below were treated as dungeon monsters, and dungeons swarming with them were labeled A-rank. But raid monsters were marked differently.
An A-rank raid was simply multiple parties ganging up on A-rank monsters.
Priests like Karin began buffing the frontliners with [Cold Resistance].
Kuooooh—!!!
The yeti, roaring furiously from atop the snow-covered cliff, slowly descended with a guttural bellow.
"Frontline!! Form the defensive line first!!"
Thud—
A mini-avalanche kicked up on landing, but the party's tanks and mages pushed forward like snowplows, clearing and melting the snow.
We shifted to defensive formation immediately, but the yeti just stared at us blankly from its landing spot.
"......What? Why isn't it coming?"
"Did it break its legs trying to land cool?"
Laughter rippled through, and Luke barked at the frontliners to snap them back to attention.
"Yetis are intelligent. It doesn't know our tactics, so it's sizing us up."
As the distant yeti seemed to do something, it suddenly vanished into the blizzard.
".....Ugh, where'd it go?"
"Fur's white, blends right in. And all that hair... white too."
".....Focus!!"
That was when it happened.
Boom—!!
In an instant, three shieldbearers holding the front were blasted away by overwhelming mass.
---
".....This should go smoothly."
Raids were infamous for mishaps.
A-ranks had lower fatality rates, sure, but S-rank raids could wipe even 300-man parties honed to perfection in seconds.
But this raid was going too smoothly.
......Or rather, our gear was too good.
Overkill, even.
Boom—!!
"Snowballs packed with rocks are done!! Close in!!"
"Send a few to the mages too!!"
Beliar trading near 1v1s with Fire Dragon Flash was the highlight.
Frontliners including me closed in, but the yeti's hide was tougher than diamond.
To pierce it, we needed aura or mage attacks.
Luke's main party was oddly passive, so Beliar was the only one wielding aura.
Kieeeek—!!!!
The yeti swung its arm wildly, but Beliar sliced it like a sawblade up to its brow, stabbing her sword home.
She flipped gracefully in midair to the ground, dodging the follow-up and slashing its ankle.
The frontliners guarding the mages, myself included, just gawked.
'.....That swordsmanship. Feels familiar....'
That was when it hit.
"Now!! All frontliners, fall back from the yetis!!!"
"....Damn it!!"
"Hurry, move!!"
"....."
Even Beliar, who had been mincing the yeti into hamburger, pulled back at the call.
Mobility lost, it became a sitting duck target—
Kaboom—!!
The 6th-circle [Explosion] from the mass-casting mages detonated dead-on, dropping the yeti.
"Waaaaaaah—!!!!"
"No way, that knight.... ha ha. Which party is she from...."
"No deaths. A miracle...."
Then, a beaming man approached me.
Luke.
"Bro. That knight there.... any idea what she did before?"
....Truth be told, he'd hung back watching on purpose, which irked me, but I'd only tanked rotations without any big plays, so I flashed a business smile.
"No clue myself."
"Edward! Head back to the guild now?"
Karin and Elysia approached from afar, and as I opened my mouth—
Clang—!!
I spun, parrying Luke's strike.
I leaped back, scanning for the situation.
"......Guh.... kuh...."
".....Ely—"
Stab—
Urk—
Urk—
Elysia collapsed slowly, sword through her, blood pouring.
Karin....
Boom—!!!
"......What are you."
"......"
"....How.... did you deflect it? It was aura-infused."
Luke's friendly grin froze cold as he lunged with a flurry of strikes.