Chapter 51
Chapter 51
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 51
Chapter Title: What Do You Think Hunting Is?
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A bomb.
A weapon that destroys targets using the energy generated from the rapid explosion of substances like gunpowder.
It’s a simple yet highly efficient weapon, created long ago and still used to this day.
There might not be C4 or nuclear bombs in a medieval setting, but there should at least be conventional bombs—you know, the kind you light a fuse on and throw, like barrel bombs or spherical ones.
But ever since I was reincarnated, I haven't seen anything of the sort.
So I asked the Marquis if I could get some to use for this hunt.
-Um... I'm afraid we don't have any.
Not using such an efficient weapon. Are the people here in their right minds?
‘Then again, it would be stranger if they were just lying around.’
If such dangerous items were readily available, there'd be a lot more terrorists.
Besides, bombs are only effective against low-level monsters. The moment you go up a rank, you're more likely to kill your teammates than the monster.
In any case, since there were no bombs, we followed the soldier's lead and left the marquisate's territory.
The marquisate was close to a forest, yet just a short distance away lay a desolate desert.
"This is incredible..."
"Whoa..."
The moment they set foot in the desert, Luna and Yui gasped in awe.
The reason was that it changed from forest to desert in a single step.
It felt artificial, as if someone had drawn a boundary line between the forest and the desert.
Since this was a place that didn't appear in the novel, I found it quite fascinating myself.
How on earth did it end up like this?
"Everyone who sees it for the first time reacts that way."
Haha, the good-natured soldier said with a laugh, seeing our amazement.
Working in the marquisate, the soldier probably knew a thing or two about the territory's history.
"Why is it like this here?"
Yui asked the soldier, her eyes sparkling with childlike curiosity.
Her gaze was so pure, like that of a child who firmly believes Santa Claus will bring presents on Christmas Day.
Watching her, the soldier answered the question as if he were looking at his own niece.
"Haha, it seems the young lady is curious about this place's history?"
The disconnect of a soldier, who couldn't be older than thirty, treating Yui, who was well over fifty, like a child was surreal.
But Yui didn't seem to mind the treatment.
"Yes!"
"This is the place where a monster called the Volcanic Horned Dragon once rampaged."
"Whoa... just one monster did all this?"
"That's right. The monster is sealed now, but I wasn't even born before it was sealed, so I don't know the full details."
The S-rank monster, Tyrant—the Volcanic Horned Dragon.
I knew it well from the novel.
A monster that elves, with the help of the World Tree, and humans had barely managed to seal by working together.
It was described as looking like a giant turtle with a volcano on its back.
To have enough destructive power to turn a forest into a desert instantly.
Truly S-rank, as expected.
‘But the seal gets broken later on.’
Having read the novel, it didn't faze me much, but for the people of this world, it would be a literal cataclysm.
If the plot followed the original, I'd never have to see that monster, but with the intervention of two reincarnators, the story is already hopelessly tangled.
I had a feeling I might get dragged into it as well.
"Luna, how big is the bounty on an S-rank monster?"
"Is it even possible to hunt a monster that created a desert like this...?"
Of course. Monsters were made to be hunted. What's the point if you can't kill them?
In the main story, the Volcanic Horned Dragon is the only S-rank monster that gets hunted; the others are left alone.
Maybe they showed up in the side stories... but I was reincarnated before those were released.
"Well... if you could hunt one, you'd probably earn enough to live the rest of your life in leisure, wouldn't you?"
"Now that's a tempting thought."
I wanted to enjoy everything this world has to offer, then spend the rest of my days splurging money and living the carefree life of a bum.
For that kind of reward, hunting one S-rank monster doesn't sound too bad.
I was planning on hunting one eventually, anyway.
"We have arrived."
While I was chatting with Luna and following the soldier, he suddenly stopped and announced our arrival.
But there was nothing but desert. What did he mean we'd arrived?
"Where are the monsters?"
"Would you like to try this?"
The soldier handed me something that looked like... a spyglass.
"It's a magic tool that allows you to see things at a great distance."
He called it a magic tool, but it was just a spyglass, so I used it as I normally would.
Far in the distance, I could see a sunken crater.
At first glance, it resembled an antlion pit. Above it hung a massive hive, with a huge swarm of bees buzzing around.
‘So the Vespas were bees?’
Still, they weren't your typical, underwhelming bees. Each one was a meter long, with a tail like a mace tipped with a blunt spike, and their bodies were a sandy ochre, perfect for desert camouflage.
There looked to be dozens of them at a glance.
That was certainly too many for the soldiers, who were D-rank at best, to handle.
"Tch... a bomb would have been perfect for this."
A real shame.
No bombs when the monsters are all clustered together like that.
Watching the monsters explode like fireworks would've been a great show.
"What's your plan?"
"It's a bit anticlimactic, but I'll just deal with them."
It's a little boring just taking them out, but there's no need to make a grand plan for some fodder monsters, right?
There's that saying about a lion using its full strength to hunt a rabbit, but that's just because lions are stupid.
It's no different from saying a human should use their full strength to kill an ant.
Do we draw up plans and launch nuclear missiles to kill a passing ant?
It's the same principle.
Still, this is a bit dull.
"Yui. What do you think hunting is?"
"...Y-Yes? Hunting?"
"Yeah."
"Um... catching monsters and getting paid...?"
"Nope."
I drew a sword from my inventory.
‘Pesticide is usually enough for pests, but when that fails, you use fire to exterminate them.’
I doused the drawn sword in oil and set it ablaze.
With my sword aflame, I strolled toward the swarm. A loud *bzzzz*—the distinct sound of insect wings—filled the air.
The Vespas, recognizing me as an enemy, swarmed toward me.
" Bap doobie
Shab doobie doobie-doobie-doobie doobie-dooba~
doobap "
Each time I swung the sword one-handed, singing and keeping time with the beat, the bees were incinerated and torn to shreds.
‘Two gold coins for a hunt this easy?’
I'd thought fifty silver for an extermination quest was a rip-off, but now I see that wasn't entirely true.
They might have been C-rank, but only because of their sheer numbers. They were nothing compared to an Iron Golem or a King Slime.
"Making money is the easiest thing in the world~"
[Level Up! Please check your status!]
Leveling up was way too easy.
I gained three more levels after that.
***
Less than an hour had passed since Luke's departure.
Marquis Crown was tending to his duties as lord, an ice pack pressed to his face, when his butler entered the office. The Marquis couldn't help but be flustered by the news.
"He's returned...?"
"Yes. He is waiting in the reception hall."
Hah... He knew the man was competent, especially after receiving the order to lure him here, but he never imagined the job would be finished in under an hour.
‘Unexpected.’
He had intended to wear the man down, to let fatigue set in.
Hoo—.
Marquis Crown let out a sigh.
"Very well. I shall go see him now."
It was hard to believe, but his butler had nothing to gain from lying.
Marquis Crown placed his quill in its stand and rose from his chair.
He headed straight for the reception hall and opened the door.
"Yo, Marquis. Welcome."
The black-haired man raised a hand in greeting.
Whenever he met those red eyes, he couldn't help but shrink back.
"You're finished already...?"
"Yeah."
"May I see the proof?"
"Here."
He produced a Vespa's wing from thin air.
The wing, with its distinct insectoid shape, was unmistakably from a Vespa.
Pulling an object from thin air without a spatial artifact was strange, but he decided to overlook it for now, acknowledging there were many things in the world he didn't understand.
"Are you certain you exterminated them all?"
"If you don't believe me, ask the soldier who accompanied me. He watched the whole thing from a distance."
"...I see. Then, could you please present the request form?"
He had wondered if Luke had merely killed a few and brought back a wing, but it seemed that wasn't the case.
He was glad he'd brought the wax and seal, just in case.
Marquis Crown stamped his seal on the request form Luke produced.
"If you aren't in a hurry, why not stay the night? I will arrange for you to be accommodated at the finest inn in the territory."
"I'm not one to turn down a freebie."
As Luke accepted without a moment's hesitation, Marquis Crown felt things were proceeding smoothly.
"Understood. We will inform the inn."
After watching Luke leave the reception hall, Marquis Crown returned to his office.
And that evening.
In Marquis Crown's office, at an hour when it should have been empty, a single yellow light flickered.
It was a candle flame, wavering in a draft.
"You have come."
As he spoke, kneeling on one knee before the desk and bowing his head respectfully, a woman entered not through the door, but through the window.
"Well now~ It seems you've done your job properly, haven't you?"
The woman had what appeared to be demonic wings and a tail sprouting from her back.
Judging by her appearance, she was clearly not human.
A demon in appearance, she was Nightmare, the Dream Demon Lilith.
"Yes. I've had them all separated into different rooms."
"Heehee— good. I'll take care of the rest, so you may rest now~"
Her very voice held a captivating allure, capable of enchanting any man.
Marquis Crown suppressed the urge to look up at her and spoke.
"Ye-yes! Thank you!"
When Marquis Crown finally lifted his bowed head, the woman was already gone.
Immediately after, a thick, pink mist settled over the entire marquisate.
And so, the night in the territory deepened.