Chapter 28

Zangyo was at the association.

Since it was likely to be late at night by the time he arrived at the village, he camped outside and entered the village early in the morning.

“What do you mean the request is invalid? What’s going on?”

It was the same staff member as before. Today, he was as expressionless as ever.

“The rules for accepting requests were clarified by the Dorgan Council before Mr. Kurodo accepted the request. According to the new rules, requests that have been on hold can only be accepted by hunters two ranks below the appropriate rank. The clarification of the association rules was made before the request was accepted, so the request is invalid. Would you like to compare the copy of the acceptance form you submitted with the date and time the association rules were added?”

The staff member explained smoothly, as if he were the superior.

“Since the lack of communication was due to the mistake of our new staff member, no penalty for rule violation will be imposed, and it will not be considered a failed request, so please rest assured—”

In the end, he tried to make it sound like a favor.

“—Ah, I understand. That’s enough.”

Zangyo, thoroughly exasperated, cut off the staff member’s speech.

“Is that so? Then, what would you like to do with the Tramora grass you have? After we confirm it, we can buy it—”

“—No, it’s fine. I’ll take it back and eat it myself. It’s ridiculous.”

“Eat it yourself, sir?”

At this point, the staff member finally showed a hint of unease.

“Can I confirm that?”

“I won’t sell it since the request is invalid. There’s no need to show it, then.”

“I see.”

“More importantly, I have something to talk about.”

The staff member frowned.

“No matter how much you protest—”

“—No, it’s different. It’s pointless anyway, right? It’s an order from the country. …It’s about a monster-related matter.”

The staff member’s face suddenly became serious.

“Could you tell me what it’s about first?”

Following the staff member’s hushed voice, Zangyo also spoke in a low tone about the ice warrior-type monster from a few days ago.

“…I understand. I’ll contact the branch manager, so please wait a moment.”

With that, the staff member hurriedly disappeared into the back.

“Hey, a ten-star hunter did a four-star on-hold request, and it was for Tramora grass. You’ve got some nerve, you know.”

A bald, muscular man who had been waiting in line behind Zangyo suddenly cut in front of him.

Zangyo recognized the face, and the man seemed to realize something as well.

“Hey, you’re that wimpy new hunter from the other day, aren’t you?”

The man’s deep voice drew the attention of the other two ruffian hunters.

“Tramora grass? Hey, show us. If it’s real, that is.”

“It’s not fake, right? If you have it, you can show it.”

Zangyo looked displeased.

“I’m going to eat it myself, so don’t worry about it.”

When Zangyo said this, the three men who had confronted him burst into loud, crude laughter.

“Hahaha, eating it yourself? Are you an idiot? Only nobles would eat something like that.”

“You should sell it. It’s worth 1000 rodo per piece? Think about how much spice you could get in the capital.”

“Seriously, you don’t know about spices? Where are you from, hahaha.”

Zangyo felt a bit happy to learn that there were spices in the capital, but he also felt a bit disappointed for having to deal with such crude faces.

“Hey, are you listening?”

Ruffian Hunter A poked Zangyo’s shoulder.

“Mr. Kurodo, please come this way.”

The staff member’s voice interrupted. Zangyo, seeing this as a good opportunity, started to walk towards the back.

“Hold it.”

Ruffian Hunter B grabbed Zangyo’s shoulder.

Zangyo slowly grabbed the arm of Ruffian Hunter B.

“Ah, you’re going to fight?”

The bald, muscular man and Ruffian Hunter A tensed up.

“G-g-get off!”

Zangyo didn’t seem to do anything, but Ruffian Hunter B screamed.

“Seniors, the staff member is calling us. Is it okay to go?”

The other two, seeing their companion’s unusual pain, remained silent.

With that, Zangyo released his arm and walked towards the back.

He no longer felt any fear from the ruffians.

“Hey, that guy, he used his nails.”

“There was no sign of magic.”

“He’s exaggerating, show us.”

The bald, muscular man roughly grabbed the arm of the second ruffian hunter.

“…Hey, did a wolf bite you or something?”

There were five finger marks that had broken the skin and left bruises on the arm.

Zangyo flexed his fingers, feeling satisfied that his human experiment had been worthwhile, despite the unpleasantness.

Basically, Zangyo’s teacher was a martial arts book he had read in Japan and Yuki.

Without an opponent, it was difficult to practice grappling and aikido-style martial arts. Striking techniques could be practiced alone, but timing and defense were hard to develop without an opponent. Sports techniques required a lot of natural talent to be effective in the wild.

Therefore, Zangyo decided to specialize in one point and turn it into a weapon, refining a single strike. There was no one to tell him if this was right or wrong, so it couldn’t be helped.

The rest was based on the concept of using reflexes and physical abilities to grapple with Yuki.

Once, he tried a low kick on Yuki and almost got a bite, so he thought he wasn’t completely wrong.

The staff member, who had been walking in front, knocked on the door.

They were let in, and Zangyo stood in front of a large desk.

Sitting at the desk with his arms crossed was an older man of the human race, dressed in clearly well-tailored clothes.

“Hmm, it seems you’ve caused quite a few problems. And now, a monster has appeared. Well, with the recommendation of the captain of the ‘White Lance,’ you probably think you won’t be expelled, right?”

Without introducing himself, the branch manager narrowed his eyes.

“Don’t take me for granted.”

An unpleasant gaze swept over Zangyo.

Exposed to this gaze, Zangyo began to feel indifferent, wondering if there were any normal people in this association.

“Alright, I’ll listen to your report, then.”

“Sure. I’m Kurodo.”

“I know. I’ve heard a lot of complaints.”

Saying this, the branch manager started to talk at length without listening to Zangyo’s report.

To summarize his long and roundabout speech:

His actions were on the edge of the association’s rules.

He intentionally hunted prey that didn’t match his rank.

He caused trouble for the Zauru despite being a provisional ten-star.

He coerced and took on an on-hold request.

He went on a request without a guide.

Zangyo tried to argue that most of these were baseless, but the branch manager, who only knew Kurodo as a new hunter recommended by Maxim, had no reason to believe him.

The association and other hunters saw Zangyo as a nobody, at best a refugee or a wanderer, and at worst a nobody picked up by a famous person.

The branch manager had no reason to doubt the words of the locals and influential council members.

“Hmm, well, I’ll listen to your report, then.”

Zangyo explained the situation in a resigned manner. He had considered the possibility of this happening, but actually experiencing it made him lose his motivation to speak.

“Hmph, so you, a ten-star, took down an ice warrior-type monster alone. And this shield is the proof?”

Since he couldn’t mention Akari or Yuki, it had to be this way. Zangyo felt no guilt about it.

Regarding Akari and Yuki, it was their own fault for not being able to be mentioned, and it was inevitable due to their different positions.

The branch manager glanced at the worn-out small round shield.

“It looks like something you could find anywhere. If you’re going to lie, at least make it a decent one. You want to get out of your provisional status, raise your rank, and receive the benefits of being a hunter, but it won’t be that easy.”

His face was smug, as if to say, “You can’t fool me.”

“Alright, that’s enough. Get out. Try to raise your rank… Oh, but you don’t have a guide. Thanks to some glory-seeking hero, the number of hunters has decreased. Without a guide, you can’t take on requests.”

Zangyo thought being a hunter was no longer important and was about to leave the room.

—Knock knock

“It’s fine. --What are you doing, get out quickly.”

The door opened with a creak.

A female giant stepped through the door.

“I’m a four-star, Elaida Bargain. I’ll be taking care of you from today.”

She had brown skin, a sharp and handsome face with a hint of allure, and wavy red hair that looked like a lion’s mane but was just casually styled. Her chest was large, her abs were defined, and her lower body was muscular and curvy. She wore simple black leather gear that exposed a lot of skin, showing the cleavage and part of her buttocks.

She wasn’t young, but she wasn’t old either. The appearance of giants made it hard to tell their age, like Greek sculptures.

In short, she was the female version of Maxim.

“Oh, thank you, the number of hunters has decreased quite a bit.”

The branch manager smiled at Elaida and waved his hand to dismiss Zangyo.

“Ah, branch manager.”

“Hmm, what is it?”

“I’ll take care of that new hunter.”

She was offering to be his guide.

“Well, you still need to travel to a few more countries to become a three-star. I can’t have you waste your time. Excellent hunters are treasures of the country, no, the world. Talented people need to be nurtured.”

“It’s no trouble to guide a new hunter. Leave it to me. Alright, it’s settled.”

Clapping her hands, Elaida closed the matter and left the room.

“Come on, let’s go.”

Zangyo followed her, somewhat reluctantly.

He caught a glimpse of the branch manager’s resentful face.

Serves him right.

Zangyo left the branch manager’s office with a clear conscience.

Elaida sat heavily at a bar counter near the entrance and said, “I heard about you, but—”

“I’m Elaida Bargain, a four-star, and as you can see, I’m a giant. It’s a hassle to be formal during hunts, so just call me Elaida.”

“Kurodo, a provisional ten-star, human. Call me whatever you like.”

Elaida took a sip from a wooden cup of alcohol given by the bartender.

Due to her size, the cup looked unusually small.

Elaida asked for more alcohol and had the bartender pour it for her.

She silently handed it to Zangyo.

Zangyo took it with a sigh.

The wooden cup felt smooth and was of normal size.

After glancing at Elaida, Zangyo drank it in one gulp like she did.

It burned his throat like a shot of vodka, but with a slight aftertaste.

“Let’s make this the last of the strong drinks. I don’t want to drink bad alcohol.”

Elaida laughed. When she laughed, she looked ferocious like a wild animal, which was quite intimidating.

“So, you’ll drink good alcohol, then.”

She seemed to understand that he wasn’t talking about the taste of the alcohol.

Elaida deepened her smile meaningfully.

“Sure, as long as it’s moderate.”

He wasn’t particularly good at drinking.

Whether he was strong or weak didn’t matter.

Whether the alcohol was expensive or cheap didn’t matter either.

It was about whether it was good or bad.