Chapter 32

Sōji was watching.

Eirida, looking at it from behind, recalled Sōji’s indifferent words from before and smiled wryly.

At the very least, he’s not unsuited to be a Hunter, she thought.

At the general store, Sōji bought dozens of ink pots and leaf paper in notebook size, had holes punched at the edges on the spot, and used the string he bought to make something like a notebook.

The store had a small selection of leaf paper, parchment, rough paper, and a little white cloth, all covered in dust, but everything except the leaves was expensive.

The leaves were used for copies of requests and order forms, as well as the magical formulas written by Baron Potapenko.

Leaf paper is a single leaf of a magic tree that dries to a paper-like texture, but even at its largest, it only reaches the size of a notebook. It’s cheap and easy to mass-produce, but it doesn’t last long. After about two years, it starts to fall apart.

With proper treatment, the lifespan can be extended, but the cost would skyrocket, so it’s better to use more expensive, long-lasting paper from the start.

Here, it seems that quills and other dip pens are the norm, and the small brush Sōji made from the tail of a Tri-Horned Deer worked just fine.

He continued writing in the magic textbook until the lead of his mechanical pencil ran out and the ink of his ballpoint pen dried up. The brush was a side project.

In the mountains, he used a mixture of soot and water from burning wood or bones, but it was too thin, so he tried adding tree sap or pine resin and boiling it down, which made it usable as a substitute for ink.

Since he didn’t have any of the mixture on hand, he bought ink pots.

The selection, though not large, was surprisingly varied for a border town, and it seemed that this general store supplied paper and ink to the Association.

However, they weren’t treated rudely like at the Association; as long as they paid, they could buy what they needed.

The store owner laughed, calling it a border price, but he seemed pleased to have a customer buying paper and ink, and even gave a little extra.

Sōji then stared intently at the large tree where the Mist Starlings were.

He did this the whole time after returning from the general store.

He didn’t even use the notebook and brush.

As noon passed and evening approached, Sōji suddenly spoke.

“Is it okay to shake that tree? I have no intention of hurting the birds.”

Eirida was yawning.

“Hmm, as long as you don’t hurt or kill them, they won’t engage in abnormal breeding behavior.”

“Got it.”

And he stared at the tree again.

The next day, and the day after that, Sōji observed the Mist Starlings.

Eirida accompanied him, but with a drink in hand.

Sōji followed the Mist Starlings around the village, sometimes even outside it.

On the second and third nights, he gave the tree where the Mist Starlings slept a slight shake or shouted loudly.

Before long, Sōji’s strange behavior became the talk of the town.

And on the morning of the fourth day.

“Probably, it’ll work.”

Sōji muttered this as Eirida, who had been camping with him in a position where they could see the tree from a distance, looked at him in surprise.

“You’ve dragged me this far, so you must have a plan, right?”

Sōji grinned and drew a picture in the notebook to explain.

Eirida, impressed, said:

“You... why are you so good at drawing?”

Sōji looked surprised.

“Here?... It’s a hobby.”

“Hahaha, a Hunter who draws. The Association would be in a tizzy over such an un-Hunter-like person. Hahaha, what a laugh.”

She was still a little tipsy.

“Tch, drunkard. So, what do you think?”

“I’m not drunk from this amount of alcohol. But... it might just work.”

Eirida grinned.

Sōji went back to the Association to get the nets, while Eirida went to talk to the locals.

It was easier for Eirida to talk to them.

Sōji successfully borrowed the largest net from the Association and, carrying it, made his way back to the large tree at the edge of the village.

The operation was to take place at midnight, when the Mist Starlings were asleep.

The Mist Starlings never leave the village.

To be precise, all the Mist Starlings never leave the village at once. They split into groups to go to water sources, feeding grounds, or stay at their resting spots.

Therefore, it was impossible to capture them all at once with spirit magic outside the village.

They return to their nesting trees and sleep before nightfall.

It was also difficult to do so while adhering to the village, Association, and national rules.

But Sōji, who had lived in modern Japan, had a plan.

When Eirida, who had completed the tasks Sōji had asked her to do, returned, she smiled at Sōji.

It seemed there would be no problems.

And the day turned to night.

It was a moonless, pitch-black midnight.

Suddenly—

A high-pitched explosion that could rupture eardrums.

Followed by a blinding flash of light.

Without a moment’s delay, a net spread in the air, covering the tree.

Before they knew it, a ring of water had been sprinkled around the tree, which had frozen over.

Shadows wriggled and ran up and down the tree.

Then, Sōji and Eirida moved.

After dimming the light of the light spirits they had maintained, they gathered the ends of the net caught in the tree and tied them to the trunk, creating a hood-like structure.

They then asked the wind spirits to knock out the unconscious Mist Starlings and drop them into the sagging bottom part of the net. It didn’t take much force to kill the unconscious birds; they just cut their necks with a knife.

As they did this, the birds fell, and as soon as they hit the ground, which had been superficially frozen, they were finished off.

Meanwhile, the residents who had been evacuated for the day, accompanied by others, came to see what was happening.

However, their faces were still skeptical.

They had evacuated for the day at Eirida’s request, but they didn’t think the hated birds would be dealt with. The village chief had failed, the request fee was low, and there was no immediate danger to life, so the request had been left unattended for a long time.

In the presence of the villagers, Sōji and Eirida diligently finished off the birds.

It was easier to do it while they were unconscious.

“What are you doing?”

The branch chief pushed through the crowd of villagers. An elderly man with a beard was behind him.

They seemed to have been drawn by the explosion.

Sōji and Eirida, who didn’t seem to hear the branch chief, continued their work.

The branch chief, frowning, ran up and grabbed Sōji by the shoulder.

“Get out of the way, you’re in the way!”

It was a race against time. Sōji had no time to spare.

The branch chief, unexpectedly pushed away with great force, ran to Eirida.

“What’s going on here?”

Eirida, not as anxious as Sōji, but looking annoyed, said:

“Can’t you see? We don’t have time.”

And she returned to her work.

The branch chief, ignored by both, could only watch with a sour face.

As the sun began to rise, they finally finished off all the birds and collected the beaks, which were the proof of their kill.

Using shadows to confirm that no birds were left, they shook the tree a few more times and removed the net.

A bird took off.

Then another.

The branch chief grinned, while the elderly man behind him turned pale.

A whistling sound, and the first Mist Starling fell.

Then a thud, and the second Mist Starling fell.

Eirida, impressed, watched Sōji, who had thrown a boomerang.

Sōji was relieved that the boomerang had hit its mark.

“Then, could you explain what you did? It looks like you used second-level magic, or even first-level if it went wrong?”

Sōji and Eirida looked at each other, and Eirida spoke.

“Where did you see second-level magic used?”

The branch chief narrowed his eyes even more.

“That sound and light, the scale of it, it’s second-level, or first-level if it went wrong. A lot of people saw it, you can’t deny it.”

“That’s why I’m asking where it was used.”

“Where? That tree... what’s going on?”

Finally, the sun rose and shone on the large tree.

Indeed, the dead bodies of the Mist Starlings were piled up, but the area around the tree was only wet. There were no gouges, and no damage to the ground or the tree.

There were no signs of the use of second-level killing magic or first-level large-scale extermination magic.

“There’s nothing to explain. The tree isn’t damaged, and I didn’t use anything higher than third-level magic.”

“Then, how did you do it?”

The branch chief shouted.

Eirida shrugged and looked at Sōji.

Sōji grinned and answered.

“—It’s a secret.”

He wouldn’t reveal his methods for free, especially not to the branch chief.

The branch chief’s face turned red, and he tried to say something but couldn’t, losing his temper and eventually leaving the scene. The elderly man with the beard, smiling, followed the branch chief.

The villagers, who hadn’t understood the situation, realized what had happened when the Mist Starlings didn’t start making noise even as the sun rose.

One person cheered.

The cheer grew louder and louder.

Sōji’s method was simple.

He used spirit magic to create a flashbang, as it would be called in modern Japan.

He used wind spirits for the explosion and light spirits for the flash.

Eirida handled the net and the final blows with the wind spirits, but the rest was done by Sōji.

After performing the explosion, flash, water sprinkling, freezing, and shadow exploration, Sōji was almost out of magic power.

Why no one had used this method before, Eirida explained, had several reasons.

First, no one thought the Mist Starlings would be knocked out by such a method.

Second, no one had thought to use spirit magic to capture a magic beast that could be killed with a ten-star weapon without killing it. The use of spirit magic was mainly for high-lethality and daily life or work, and the intermediate use was not common.

Third, even if it was an extension of third-level magic, the explosion and flash were inefficient in terms of magic power and required a lot of it. To perform them almost simultaneously, spread the net, sprinkle water, freeze, and use shadow exploration, it would require a magic user who could cast multiple spells in parallel, like Sōji. The number of magic-savvy Hunters needed would be unknown, and the cost would be high. The cost-effectiveness wouldn’t be good.

“What are you doing? Are you going to eat them?”

Sōji, plucking the feathers of a Mist Starling, listened to Eirida.

“Are they tasty?”

“Not only are they not tasty, but they haven’t even been properly bled. Don’t bother.”

“Then I won’t eat them, but a little.”

Sōji stuffed the plucked feathers into a bag.

“I’ll be drinking from the evening, so don’t be late.”

“Are you going to drink again?”

“Do you want me to drag you there now?”

Eirida, hands on her hips, looked down at Sōji.

“I’m the guide, and this is a celebration for your first completed request. Of course, I’ll treat you. —Do you want some good alcohol?”

“Make sure you come,” she said, and left with a few villagers, probably heading to a bar.

Sōji sighed, but with a slight smile, continued plucking the feathers.

Sōji looked exhausted, thinking he shouldn’t have planned to make a feather pillow with the Mist Starling feathers.

It was a lot of work, and it seemed he could only make one slightly larger pillow, which made him even more tired.

He had only plucked the feathers while checking for survivors, but thinking he might as well do it all was a mistake.

Incidentally, there were no survivors.

He had just handed over the beaks of the Mist Starlings to the Association and completed the request.

Seeing the grimacing official, he felt a sense of relief, even wanting to tease him on the spot.

It was 520 birds, for 520 rods (about 52,000 yen).

Sōji, with a sigh, headed to the bar. There were few bars in the village.

Eirida was at the loudest one.

Sōji found the bar quickly.

“Hey, you made it.”

There were already empty bottles in front of Eirida, but she only looked a little tipsy.

The surrounding villagers were having a big party, and people tend to lose their inhibitions when someone else is paying.

Sōji sat across from Eirida and handed her half of the request money.

“Hmm? Oh, that. A guide only needs ten percent.”

“No, without Eirida, I couldn’t have done it. Please take it.”

“Hmm, that’s a hassle. Okay, I’ll use it for today’s drinks. Drink up.”

Eirida slid a glass of distilled alcohol to Sōji.

Sōji put the money on the table and took a sip.

“Such a stingy way to drink... but it’s a promise, I guess.”

Eirida, holding up the bottle of distilled alcohol, said.

Sōji raised his glass to match, and they clinked.

They both took a sip from the bottle and glass.

Eirida put the bottle down and whispered.

“You don’t need a guide anymore, do you?”