Chapter 29

He poured a strong drink into a glass.

This is a kind of tradition that the guide does for new hunters first.

It has fallen out of practice, but it still exists in the form of the guide giving a knife to the new hunter first.

Elaida watched with interest as Kuranosu downed the distilled liquor in one go.

It was a local drink that the farmers around here drank, very strong.

Indeed, the dwarves would drink it without any trouble. The giants, being of the same race, would drink it too. The elves probably wouldn't, but the beastmen and humans varied.

They varied, but a new hunter who could drink it in one go and then say they would drink it in another form was a first. A new hunter might drink it out of respect for their seniors, but that was all.

And yet, he didn't seem like a conceited, unbearable type.

What was he? Without a guide, he wasn't from the village, and he didn't have any connections there.

His face was too different from the villagers.

A wanderer or a refugee? No, he didn't have that tragic air.

How old was he?

His age was hard to read. He must be over twenty, but it was hard to tell.

The antlers of a three-horned deer, a poorly understood round shield, and yet no proper armor. He wasn't a giant, so what era of hunter was he from?

That round shield, it was said, was because an ice warrior-type monster had appeared.

If it was true, he should have gone to investigate, but it seemed this new hunter was being eyed suspiciously by the branch manager and wasn't trusted.

If he took care of such a new hunter, he would surely get into trouble, but guiding was the duty of a senior hunter.

It could be said to be a hunter's obligation passed down through the generations. Everyone was taught by a guide when they were young.

Well, this guy didn't seem to be just a kid.

“So, are you going to take a job today?”

The sun was still far from being directly overhead.

“I can't today, can I do it tomorrow? This drink is quite effective on an empty stomach.”

Kuranosu's complexion was slightly off.

“Come on, that's a shame. ...But it must be tough for your species, right?”

When Kuranosu said, “Then don't make me drink it,” Elaida just laughed heartily.

“Well, then, let me explain first. Basically, I won't interfere with anything from taking a job to how you do it. I'm just here to protect your hunt. You can't take jobs outside your rank, except for personal requests and salted jobs.”

The rules of the guild seem to differ by country.

“Salted jobs are limited to two ranks below, apparently.”

“Sure, that's an unwritten rule, isn't it?”

“No, it seems to be explicitly stated in the guild rules. Just the other day. So the job I took was invalidated.”

“Guild rules vary slightly by country, but I've never heard of a job being invalidated.”

Elaida folded her arms, looking thoughtful.

When she folded her arms, the cleavage in her chest became even deeper.

“Well, what's done is done. More importantly,”

Elaida looked Kuranosu up and down.

“Is that all your gear?”

“Ah, yeah.”

“Are you going to hunt in that outfit? Or do you not have the money?”

“That's it. I plan to buy or have it made in the village.”

“Are you bringing it in?”

“Yeah, this—”

Just as Kuranosu was about to take off his backpack,

The swinging door was opened with a bang.

And the swinging door bounced back with a bang.

Something was bounced back with a pop.

The guild lobby was enveloped in a quiet silence.

This time the swinging door opened slowly.

There stood—

“Hey, an orc?”

No one knew who said it, but it was indeed an orc.

No, a pig beastman.

No, a race.

The eyes of the orc-like race sparkled.

“I received a message that someone had taken the job to gather Tramora grass, so I came!”

A pretty good voice, a baritone.

“Well, well, Baron Potapenko, to have you come all the way here—”

A stony-faced clerk. Despite his stony face, his hand movements were strangely smooth.

Baron is a title. Although the noble system has been abolished in this country, it was customary to use titles for the heads of former noble families.

“However, that message was due to a mistake by our new member. I am very sorry.”

The stony-faced clerk bowed deeply.

Baron Potapenko, who had been called, looked thoughtful.

From the surroundings,

“Hey, it's the pig baron.”

“Is it that pleasure-seeking noble?”

“I heard he ate through his inheritance.”

“Tramora grass, really? These days, spices are much better.”

Such faint whispers could be heard.

Although the noble class had long been abolished, no one would directly insult a former noble.

“Hmm, but why does it smell like Tramora grass?”

Baron Potapenko, sniffing with his nose.

Everyone in the lobby must have thought, “Are you a pig?”

Baron Potapenko ignored the clerk's explanations and sniffed even more.

Then, he saw Kuranosu, who had been looking away, and approached him with large strides.

He didn't even glance at the beautiful Elaida, who had been receiving lecherous looks since she returned from the branch manager's office.

“Do you have Tramora grass? You do, don't you? I don't understand the guild's situation, but could you please give it to me?”

Surprisingly humble.

Humble, but the way Baron Potapenko leaned over made Kuranosu feel intimidated, and he leaned back against the bar counter.

“Wait, are you the client for that salted job?”

“Indeed. I've been waiting for this day for a year.”

Kuranosu turned to Elaida.

“...Is this okay?”

“Well, it would be a personal request, but there's no problem. If you have the Tramora grass, that is.”

Kuranosu looked at Baron Potapenko, who was pressing him with a sparkling gaze, a plump face, and a soft, pudgy body that was truly like a well-bred pig, but somehow endearing and not hateful.

“Alright, calm down.”

When Kuranosu said that, Baron Potapenko exhaled through his nose and stopped on the spot, excited but like a dog told to wait.

Kuranosu took out three lumps of Tramora grass from his food backpack.

“This—”

—Snap

In the same way as someone else, Baron Potapenko took one lump from Kuranosu and ate it in one bite.

“Hey!”

—Chew, chew, chew.

Like a philosopher striving for the ultimate peak, Baron Potapenko savored it with a serious expression.

He chewed many times, many times.

And when he swallowed it with a sense of loss—

He shed a tear.

“This, this is the taste of my childhood, the taste of the Tramora grass I received from my grandfather as a child!”

It was a silly noble hobby, but everyone's eyes were naturally drawn to Baron Potapenko's every move.

“Thank you, thank you.”

“Ah, yeah. By the way, about the job fee—”

When Kuranosu said this to Baron Potapenko, who had approached to thank him, Baron Potapenko stopped.

His face visibly turned pale.

“Well, you see, with the food bill last month, I'm, well, short on cash, you know.”

Exposed to Kuranosu's stern gaze, Baron Potapenko shrank his large body.

“...I'll do anything. If you have a wish, just say it.”

And those were the words he squeezed out.

Kuranosu could only be exasperated. Elaida, standing next to him, was holding her stomach laughing.

“Anything, you say, but money is out of the question, right? So, even for a noble—”

“Ahem. I am still the head of the Potapenko family.”

It was a show of bravado. Being just a baron didn't give much power to the current nobles. Unless they were politicians or suppliers of magical items, barons were just titles.

Given that he was short on cash for food bills, he was probably a poor noble.

Kuranosu whispered in Baron Potapenko's ear.

Baron Potapenko was surprised and widened his eyes.

Kuranosu had thought he might get angry. If that didn't work, he was prepared to take an unsecured, unguaranteed loan. Honestly, Tramora grass could be found if you looked for it.

“You could do that, but, well, I see.”

Baron Potapenko was muttering to himself, looking down, but after a while, he looked at Kuranosu.

“...It's not that useful to a hunter, though?”

“Anything will do. It's just out of curiosity.”

“Hmm, but even if I'm a poor baron, it's a family treasure...”

Saying that, he glanced at the remaining Tramora grass on the bar counter.

“This is all I have, but is it okay?”

“N-no, but, well, it's fine. No, it's fine. —If you bring me something good in the future, how about that? You're a hunter, so you can do it, right?”

“...If that's fine, then it's fine.”

“—Good, good, that's fine. Then,”

Saying that, he looked around, then rushed to the guild counter and returned after a while, whispering something in Kuranosu's ear.

Then he made Kuranosu hold a piece of paper.

“It's a family treasure, so don't give it to anyone else.”

Kuranosu nodded and handed over the remaining Tramora grass.

“Indeed. My house is a little further in the direction of Tansku. Take care.”

Tansku is the central city of the Dorgan Parliament, the capital of Dorgan.

Baron Potapenko put the received Tramora grass in his cloth bag as if it were a fragile item and left with the elegant gestures of a noble, though his back still looked like an orc's.

After Baron Potapenko left like a typhoon, an odd silence remained.

Looking at the stony-faced clerk in the lobby, he seemed to have a bitter expression.

Kuranosu thought of something and laughed through his nose.

The clerk turned on his heel and returned to the guild reception, but there was a hint of frustration in his gait.

He probably had plans for the Tramora grass Kuranosu had, but since Kuranosu didn't sell it to the guild and made a direct deal, his plans fell through.

Right after this unobserved exchange between Kuranosu and the clerk, Elaida, who had been holding her stomach from laughing, spoke to Kuranosu.

“I didn't expect you to actually have Tramora grass. So, what did you get? Even if he's a noble, I doubt you tricked him.”

Kuranosu smiled and leaned close to Elaida's ear.

—One autonomous magic passed down in the Potapenko family.

He whispered softly.

Elaida looked surprised. Then she started to chuckle.

“Haha, so, it went well?”

Kuranosu nodded happily.

Whether he had gained or lost, he had no regrets at all. He understood what Elaida meant.

There was no guarantee that the autonomous magic Baron Potapenko gave Kuranosu was real. He hadn't tested it on the spot.

But, Kuranosu thought,

There was no guarantee that Kuranosu would bring good things to Baron Potapenko.

It wasn't a loss to give away Tramora grass, which could be gathered without much trouble.

Kuranosu and Baron Potapenko had made a deal without any guarantees.

Baron Potapenko had given Kuranosu an autonomous magic that he thought was unnecessary for himself to get Tramora grass. The autonomous magic was not lost.

Kuranosu had given away Tramora grass, which could be obtained at any time in the city, and received the original formula of an autonomous magic, not a time-limited magical item. Even if it was fake, it didn't matter.

The original formula was so rare that even nobles hadn't disclosed it outside of the basic theory, and it was a rare opportunity for a commoner to obtain it. It was worth the risk.

Why Baron Potapenko had made such a blank check with Kuranosu, a hunter he didn't know, was a mystery to Kuranosu.

He might just be a foodie, or he might be a fraudster who was laughing behind his back.

But Kuranosu didn't see him as the latter.

But he wasn't smart enough to pull off such a con.

If that was the case, he was willing to take the risk of being tricked.

Considering the unpleasant feeling of selling the Tramora grass to the guild, the deal with Baron Potapenko felt much better.

“So, what about the armor?”

Elaida changed the subject.

Whether the formula Kuranosu obtained was real or not was not her concern.

Whatever happened, it was all Kuranosu's responsibility.

Ah, that's right, Kuranosu started rummaging through his belongings.