The Monster Extermination Hunt (Part 2)
“It was easier than I expected to get the approval.”
“His Majesty the Saintess smiled when she heard about Duke Sylvester’s recommendation,”
“I owe it all to Her Highness the merciful Duke Sylvester.”
“But discontent is pouring out from the other candidate factions. They’re calling it a loophole.”
“Her Highness acknowledged it, yet someone insists it’s a loophole? I understand the frustration, but arguing about it now would only ruffle her feathers.”
“That’s how desperate everyone is.”
I faced Fred, the Grand Bishop, in a hotel in the Holy Land of Everhill—one that wasn’t even my own fiefdom—and he looked at me with genuine surprise. He bowed deeply.
“To be honest, I thought Duke Lucas’s recommendation had almost no chance of being accepted. What kind of spell did you cast on Her Highness?”
“A great sense of timing, a well-chosen word or two, and the ability to read someone’s mood,”
“Sometimes it looks like you have quite a bit of self-love.”
“Haha, just joking. Maybe this unexpected move is what earned the praise. Or perhaps the Saintess saw real value in Ibril and was genuinely pleased.”
“Ah, I see. That makes sense.”
Right now, Ibril is registered as a mercenary in Jord Kingdom together with the members I assigned her, after her broadcast appearance with me.
During the Saintess and Saint competitions, cameras follow every candidate.
The situation is broadcast live online, and each candidate has their own channel, so viewership instantly translates to the number of supporters.
[Current Competition Channel Viewership]
1.21% Grace High-Elven
1.16% Lloyd High-Elven
1.12% Ibril Barnet
0.81% Judy Esther
Ibril ranked third, but she was pulling away from the rest with Grace and Lloyd in fierce competition.
“I was doubtful whether the first broadcast would have any real effect, but Ibril-nim’s name recognition has surpassed my expectations.”
“Exactly. Most viewers are ordinary people, and that’s who we targeted. But broadcasting among elves must be tough.”
“Elves just have an unbeatable allure. They’ve always been like that, yet it’s not a huge influence. They don’t vote for the Saintess or Saint by popularity.”
Watching Ibril’s broadcast with Fred, the Grand Bishop, I nodded and forced a bitter smile.
Elves are truly game-breaking existences.
Not only beautiful, but blessed with abilities that put most others to shame.
Becoming a Saintess was always going to be an insurmountable mountain for her.
‘Keep fighting, Ibril.’
I cheered her on in my heart and changed the subject.
“I only came here today because I had a separate matter to discuss.”
Fred, the Grand Bishop, tilted his head curiously at the mention of something important in the Holy Land beyond Ibril.
“Rather than explain with words, it’s better to show you,”
I said, pulling a pure-white glass rod-like object from my spatial pocket and handing it over.
“W-what is this?!”
Fred examined it from every angle, eyes widening in shock.
“It’s orichalcum, right? No, this isn’t just a lump of orichalcum. The faint holy power radiating from inside it… could it be?”
Since I knew exactly what he was thinking, I simply nodded.
“Yes, it is a relic. Estimated to be from around 20,000 years ago.”
This relic had been an unexpected windfall from the last territorial war.
[Celestial Sword Hilt (?) / Relic]
- The hilt of a sword used by the ancient Celestial race.
- When infused with magic or holy power, it condenses, strengthens, and releases energy, similar to an aura blade enhanced by force.
- Currently, part of the internal holy magic circuit is damaged and non-functional.
- If high-level technicians in Everhill can repair it.
- Material: Orichalcum (350g), Holy Bloodstone (32g)
The Carmine Baron’s family, which held the relic, had simply treated it as a high-value orichalcum lump. But with my cheat monocle, I knew its true worth.
“I-if this is true, it could bring an incredible promotional effect to Ibril…”
Fred was already calculating how to turn this relic into a benefit for Ibril.
But I couldn’t do that.
“This relic has a chance of being restored if an excellent technician is found.”
“You mean we might actually revive an ancient relic?”
“Yes, the possibility is quite high. Inside it is a holy magic circuit from the mythical age, but only part of it is destroyed; the rest remains intact.”
“Ooh!”
Anyone with a brain would realize why I had brought it out now.
“What I want from you, Your Grace, is to secure a top-tier technician, correct?”
“Exactly.”
“Of course I’ll find one. This is a tremendous discovery.”
I returned the relic to my spatial pocket and asked, “Is it necessary to hand the relic over to the church?”
“No, there’s no need. Royal and imperial families across countries hold at least one relic each. But if we’re thinking of promotional effect for Ibril, donating it would be best. However, donating a working mythical-age relic just to generate hype would be an overstep.”
His refusal to automatically demand a donation made him far more trustworthy.
With that in mind, I felt much more at ease.
“Even without donating, there are plenty of ways to enjoy the relic’s promotional effect.”
“That makes sense.”
In truth, I hadn’t even considered donation, but I wondered whether he saw me as too kind a person.
“Will you be staying at this hotel for a while?”
“Yes, that’s the plan.”
“Understood. Then I’ll bring the best technician I can find.”
“Thank you very much.”
Fred stood up without wasting time on small talk.
So many people were working behind the scenes to make Ibril the next Saintess.
To ensure their efforts weren’t in vain, I would use every means at my disposal.
Thus, my gaze turned back to the broadcast showing Ibril, who was still wavering among the mercenaries.
* * *
Although technology had advanced to the point where giant mechs ruled the skies, Rondel was still home to countless monsters threatening human survival.
Powerful nations including Brigham had poured enormous funds, manpower, and time into extermination campaigns.
Yet no matter how many they killed, more always appeared. After decades of endless fighting, the great archmage and Grand Duke Manuel Lucas proposed one possible hypothesis.
‘A Extinction Prevention System.’
In other words, the creator’s laws that sustained the world of Rondel included a system to prevent the extinction of life.
Creatures were creatures, whether monsters or humans. Given the strong influence of the gods in Rondel, it was a perfectly plausible idea.
From the Earthlings who had lived through mass extinction, it was truly magnificent. But from the viewpoint of those of Rondel, it was simply an infuriating rule that hindered progress.
Even with advanced technology and overwhelming military power thanks to monsters, people still had to build walls for safety.
To a Rondelite, monsters were more than just pests—they were a virus that ate the world.
‘Monster extermination isn’t always the best solution.’
Yet not everyone wanted the monsters gone. They didn’t know how the food chain would collapse, and monsters had yielded some amazingly diverse resources.
Especially to mercenaries who lived off monster hunting, extermination threatened their very existence.
That was why, when the monster extermination plan failed, the mercenaries cheered in unison.
Ultimately, it proved that in a fantasy world, monsters and mercenaries were inseparable partners in a symbiotic relationship.
“This is the life, folks. Rare visitors.”
Mercenaries who hunted monsters earned big money, but the daily life-and-death fights meant they were far from high society.
That was why the sudden appearance of a new party consisting of knights, mages, and Saintess candidates left the guild reception staff cold.
Ibril, who had visited the mercenary guild in Jord Kingdom, shrank her shoulders under the hostile stares from every direction.
“Don’t worry. While the cameras are rolling, no one will dare cause trouble. And as long as you’re not insane, no one who wants to provoke the Sepia Church and the Reinhardt Empire protecting our party is going to show up.”
The one who reassured her was Allen Lopez, the party leader and a former knight who had recently discovered his talent as a mage thanks to Adrian and begun studying magic again.
He was a proper master-class sword mage—Master Aura User and Master 3-Circle Mage.
The other three members were also hybrids who could wield both magic and swords, making this party a rare high-level force in the mercenary world.
“I-is that true?”
“Of course. Relax and do your best as a saintess candidate and mercenary.”
“Thank you, Sir Lopez.”
The half-pay knight of the Otis Count’s family no longer existed.
After meeting Adrian, he had begun a second life, only recently realizing his true talent and regaining full confidence.
And as the leader of the Talented People’s Hall that gathered talents from the Lawrence Duchy, he had become skilled at dealing with people.
“I apologize for the wait. Here are your mercenary badges.”
And then, a short while later.
The receptionist, the guild’s face, approached with a tense expression and handed them out.
[C-Rank Mercenary Badge]
Name: Ibril Barnet
Age: 15
Occupation: Cleric
Ibril stared at the badge she had always assumed she would never receive, her face filled with disbelief.
“Regulations require me to assign C-rank. Please don’t be displeased; I’m sorry.”
“Displeased? Not at all. Thank you for the consideration.”
Even a commoner like Ibril knew about mercenaries.
They were ranked from F to S—seven steps. C-rank alone was enough to earn more than most office workers.
But here she was, a C-rank, handed a C-rank badge.
Even though mercenary work was unstable and life-threatening, there were countless people who would die to get C-rank, let alone C-rank.
To mercenaries, C-rank was the symbol of success, the position every newcomer dreamed of.
“What the hell?! What did I do to earn C-rank?!”
Many mercenaries felt insulted by this.
They were out there risking their lives, yet flashy people with cameras showed up and handed out C-rank badges like it was nothing.
Ibril’s shoulders shrank again.
But that didn’t last long.
With firm resolve, Ibril walked straight up to the mercenary who had cursed at her.
Lopez and the rest of her party were stunned. So were the broadcast cameramen.
“W-what?”
A noble Saintess candidate actually approaching?
The mercenary clamped his mouth shut, as if to say, “When did I say that?”
No matter how rough he was, the world was a hierarchy society; there was nothing he could do.
“Are you injured?”
And then came Ibril’s next action, leaving everyone even more shocked.
She placed her hand on the mercenary’s broken arm and cast holy magic.
“Eh?”
The mercenary who had been cursed at received healing, his face frozen in confusion. The entire guild fell deathly silent.
“From now on, be careful.”
“Th-thank you.”
Even though she looked grown up, Ibril was still only fifteen.
The beautiful, perfectly made-up girl fled to her group with a shy smile, and the cursed mercenary, for some reason, placed his healed hand on his own chest.
Ibril’s holy magic didn’t end there. She had approached anyone injured before the monster extermination mission without fear and used it on them.
“Ibril-nim.”
“Thank you.”
Soon, the mercenary guild was filled with men who had fallen for her beauty, youth, and purity.
And day after day, one after another…
“Ibril! Ibril! Ibril!”
“Ibril! Ibril! Ibril!”
Every time Ibril appeared at the guild, mercenaries chanting her name sprang up.
“W-why?!”
The Jord Kingdom mercenary guild had become a cult.