Chapter 23

In the midst of cherry blossoms dancing in the wind, Misaki opened the old diary and read the words of promise written there.

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The one who spoke up was the staff member who had an unusual connection with Zangito since yesterday. He was of similar height to Zangito, with a slender build, wearing a light-colored shirt and navy trousers. If it weren't for the official expression that seemed permanently etched on his face, he would have been just another middle-aged staff member.

This man, compelled by his duties as an association staff member, stepped in to mediate between the two. Angering Zaur would be a big problem, and leaving the strange new recruit, who had connections with the captain of the "White Lance," unattended would also be troublesome. The staff member made a decision and took action.

The other staff members, who had been merely watching, silently cheered for him in their hearts.

By speaking up, the staff member was now under the gaze of both parties, breaking out in a cold sweat as he carried out his duties.

"Zaur-sama, which parts do you need?"

Zaur, seemingly losing his enthusiasm, had already let go of his short sword.

"...Feathers, beak, and eyes."

"What does Kuroto need?"

The staff member whispered into Zangito's ear.

(Zaur-sama is the son of a Dorgan councilor. If you find it troublesome, it might be better to take on the negotiation.)

Zangito, though reluctant, answered.

"Meat and a few long tail feathers."

The staff member clapped his hands dramatically.

"Oh, in that case, Kuroto could sell the feathers, beak, and eyes to Zaur-sama at a fair price."

The staff member's words drew the attention of the onlookers to Zangito.

"...That's fine. The association can handle the dissection."

With those words from Zangito, several sighs of relief were heard.

"Very well, I'll let it go for the association's sake."

Zaur also realized that causing a commotion at the association would be unwise. Most importantly, he didn't want to ruin his sister's wedding celebration.

With that, the staff member hurriedly went to ask a specialist to handle the dissection of the Azure Great Eagle.

Indeed, this staff member was the hero of the moment.

Zaur received the Azure Great Eagle's feathers, its bright blue beak, and eyes.

Zangito received three long, beautiful tail feathers, the entire body of meat, and 1,000 rods (approximately 100,000 yen) from Zaur.

"Kuroto, would you like to open an account with the association?"

The staff member asked before handing over the payment for the Azure Great Eagle to Zangito.

"An account in which city or country?"

"Anywhere the association is located. We also handle currency exchange within the association."

"In that case, please open one for me."

Zangito handed over his dog tag and the bundle of banknotes he had received from Maxim.

The staff member, startled by the bundle of banknotes, tried to maintain his composure as he accepted the dog tag and banknotes and proceeded with the formalities.

"27,000 rods have been deposited into your account."

Zangito took back his dog tag, shouldered his pack, and left the association with the meat and tail feathers in a burlap bag.

As soon as he stepped out, he looked exhausted.

Throughout his time at the association, Zangito had felt Zaur's unpleasant gaze on him.

Zangito felt a sense of relief.

Zangito went straight to the inn, put down his luggage in his room, and climbed into bed while it was still daylight.

He intended to leave before dawn the next morning and had already settled his room for the day. However, he had spoken to the innkeeper and arranged for a reservation-like status. The innkeeper, somewhat resigned, said that the inn was usually empty unless it was during the White Phantom hunting season, which made Zangito a bit worried about whether the inn would still be there when he returned.

In the dim light before dawn, Zangito quietly left the inn, careful not to wake the sleeping guests.

It was chilly outside, even with the burlap shirt, leather pants, and boots he had bought the day before.

Zangito shivered.

He then cast a slight enhancement spell over his entire body, shouldered his large pack, and set off towards the mountains.

Glancing at the association, which was still open, he decided to check for any new quests.

It was early, even before sunrise, and there were no new quests posted.

Zangito stared at the yellowed, salted quest and tore one off to take to the reception.

"Can I turn in the reward for this quest at any time?"

A sleepy, unfamiliar staff member blinked and looked at the quest.

"...If it's not a year or half a year, then about a month after accepting the quest... Are you taking this one?"

Zangito nodded and took out his dog tag, which surprised the staff member.

"Even for a rank-free quest, ten stars is quite a lot."

In cases where a quest had been unclaimed for several months, it could become a rank-free quest with the quest-giver's consent.

"According to the rules, it should be fine."

"Well, there's an unwritten rule that you can only take it down two ranks from the original, which in this case is four stars."

"Since it's been salted for a year, I think it's fine."

Zangito persisted.

"Troublesome... But, well, it's fine."

The staff member, nearing the end of his shift and feeling sleepy, let Zangito take the quest for the last reason.

After somehow accepting the salted quest, Zangito left the village.

He circled the village and looked up at the towering Aledoria Mountains. It felt like he had been away from home for a long time.

Are Akari and Yuki doing well?

Zangito suddenly became worried and hurried towards the forest at the base of the Aledoria Mountains.

Unfamiliar men silently followed him.

These men were Zaur's henchmen, mostly former hunters, but some were not hunters.

The Aledoria Mountains were divided into roughly three layers among hunters: the "Forest Zone" at the base of the mountains, the "Subalpine Zone" where the giant thorn spiders lived, and the "Alpine Zone" where the White Phantom resided.

Zangito reached the campsite at the boundary between the forest and the subalpine zones just as the sun was setting.

Moving with a large pack was not as easy as moving without one, but it was not much slower than a typical hunter's pace. In fact, the men secretly following Zangito were quite fatigued.

Moreover, Zangito was whistling as he moved through the forest.

The lack of hunter's common sense and the unfamiliar melody of the whistle irritated the men following Zangito, and by the time they reached the campsite, their eyes were glaring strangely.

The sun had already set, and only the flickering light of Zangito's materialized fire spirit illuminated the area.

Zangito deliberately extinguished the fire spirit.

The mountain was dominated by darkness, with only the faint light of the blue moon.

A whistling sound.

An arrow pierced the spot where Zangito had been standing.

More arrows followed in quick succession.

Zangito did not move.

After a while, the men emerged from the darkness, illuminated by the fire spirit.

Zangito's body collapsed.

Literally, it crumbled like a shadow in the light.

"Damn it, where did he go? It's just a ten-star quest, search for him!"

"How are we supposed to search in the middle of the night? Besides, the guys who chased Maxim were attacked by giant thorn spiders here the other day."

"Do spiders come this far? They only ambush."

"Settle down. No matter how many lives you have, moving in the night is dangerous. The same goes for him."

The man spat and finally gave up on the pursuit for the day, hoping the annoying new recruit would be eaten by spiders.

Zangito was not whistling out of lack of common sense.

He was communicating with Yuki.

Yuki, with senses far superior to a human's, had already detected Zangito and understood his intentions.

That night, after creating a decoy in the shadows, Zangito and Yuki met up and continued their journey through the dark, relying on Yuki's senses. Yuki could avoid the giant thorn spiders' webs, which were invisible to humans. Zangito could manage to get through with Yuki's help.

It took them twice as long as usual, but they finally broke through the subalpine zone just as the sky was beginning to lighten.

When they returned to the cave, Akari was already awake.

She seemed to be looking for Yuki.

Akari noticed Zangito, who was dressed in unfamiliar clothes, a moment later and bowed slightly.

"Good morning, Zangito. You must be tired."

"Yeah, here's a souvenir. Oh, and I registered with the association as Zangito, so call me that from now on. Fortunately, it doesn't sound out of place here."

Saying this, Zangito took out the tail feathers from his large pack and handed them over.

"Zangito, huh? Got it. They're really beautiful, are they from an Azure Great Eagle?"

"You know about it, as expected of a senior hunter."

"N-no, I've only seen it in flight a few times. This is the first time I've held one."

Suddenly feeling a gaze behind him, Zangito turned to see Yuki sitting with a displeased look, her tail swishing.

"Don't be mad, I have some for Yuki too."

Saying this, Zangito placed the long, azure tail feather on Yuki's head.

...Is that all? Yuki's eyes became increasingly displeased.

"Just kidding."

Zangito hurriedly took out several pieces of the Azure Great Eagle he had cut into blocks.

Yuki sniffed the offered meat and, ignoring the feather on her head, bit into the first block.

Being able to eat frozen meat, slightly melted, was a testament to her being a magical beast, or perhaps it felt like eating frozen salmon to humans.

"Did you hunt this?"

While secretly relieved that Yuki's mood had not been spoiled, Zangito was asked by Akari.

"Yeah, I was hunting Trabocks when it attacked me. Fortunately, I managed to turn the tables. Come to think of it, this is my first kill as a hunter, aside from Trabocks."

Akari's cheek twitched.

"Your first kill being an Azure Great Eagle, that's not just luck, no new hunter has that kind of skill."

"I had Yuki with me when I was here. Come to think of it, this might be the first time I've hunted properly on my own. Thinking about it, it's quite a nostalgic feeling..."

Zangito held his share of the tail feathers up to the rising sun.

The pure blue feathers glowed in the sunlight.

"Did you sell the other feathers? Your clothes look different, and you have a lot of luggage."

At Akari's words, Zangito looked away from the feathers with a serious expression.

"No, there was a troublesome person... "

And so, Zangito began to recount what happened after he descended the mountain.

Behind Zangito, Yuki, with a satisfied expression, bit into her second piece of meat, seemingly enjoying the bland, chewy texture.