Chapter 49

The next morning, Kurando entrusted Yuki-Shiro to the monster stable.

As Yuki-Shiro entered the stable with a resigned air, she immediately took on an air of ownership, yet without any arrogance, settling calmly in a corner of the stable.

The other monsters became restless the moment Yuki-Shiro entered. Seeing this, the gatekeeper smiled wryly at Kurando, but there was nothing Kurando could do.

Kurando decided to head into town quickly and passed through the gate.

Suddenly, a stronger scent of the sea, carried by a gentle breeze, swept past Kurando.

"Where are you going?"

Right after entering the town, Eirida, who had spent the night drinking with Yuki-Shiro, asked Kurando.

"Where? To the dock."

Osrolon was a bustling town, incomparably more vibrant than Salehad.

The town was lined with red triangular roofs made of stone, and the entire area was shaped like a gentle fan.

As soon as you entered through the gate, you could see the sailboats.

The streets were lined with paths, and porters carrying wooden boxes, merchants, and a mix of people were bustling about, and you could hear enthusiastic voices from somewhere.

"By the way, I haven't told you this, but usually, the guild would inform you... Well, it can't be helped. Listen, basically, hunters should go to the guild as soon as they arrive in town. The same goes when leaving town. It's not a rule, but an unwritten one, so it's good to remember. Well, it's just an unwritten rule, though."

Kurando made a very troubled face.

Seeing his face, Eirida judged that there was no particular problem.

In fact, Kurando had no objections. He had thought he would have to go eventually, but he had been putting it off because it was troublesome.

"You don't have any sense of being a hunter, do you? Anyway, let's go."

Saying that, Eirida grabbed Kurando by the collar and dragged him toward the guild.

It was a testament to his strength as a giant to drag Kurando, who was carrying a considerable amount of luggage, with one hand.

"Your previous location was Salehad Village, right? Starting from Salehad Village... Please wait a moment."

Dragged by Eirida, Kurando was at the guild's reception.

The staff processed the tag more efficiently than in Salehad. In Salehad, the processing was very slow, but only when it was Kurando's turn.

The guild in Osrolon was completely different from Salehad.

It had stone walls, a spacious lobby with a high ceiling, and a café instead of a bar.

It was not particularly early in the morning, but there was a fair amount of traffic in the guild's lobby, including not only those who looked like typical hunters but also merchants and ordinary people.

"Salehad was a backwater, huh."

Eirida chuckled beside him.

"Don't compare this place to Salehad. This place is special too. Osrolon is the largest port in Elrodrana, with a lot of people and goods coming and going, and there's a sense of it being the country's gateway. Well, even if it's not the front line, it can't be denied that Salehad is a remote backwater."

The front line referred to areas where the habitats of monsters were being developed.

In the absence of any information, they had to protect the newly established village while hunting dangerous monsters. Most of it was a national policy, but even 200 years after the discovery of spirit magic, the front lines had only advanced a little, indicating that this world was vast and harsh.

"Thank you for waiting. Your provisional registration has been converted to a full registration, and your rank is now 'Nine Stars.' Congratulations. You're almost at 'Eight Stars.' Here is a message from Lady Ophelia."

Kurando received the tag and a folded leaf of paper from the staff.

The text was brief. After confirming that no one was behind him, Kurando quickly read it.

[Using the additional information on the tag to convey a message.

Your hunting records have been recorded in conjunction with the request forms. Since this is not a special rule, I can only convert your provisional registration to a full registration and raise your rank by one, for which I apologize.

Therefore, I have set it as 'just before Eight Stars.'

In reality, your records were good enough to be 'Eight Stars,' and this is not a special treatment but rather due to the guild's inefficiency, which I regret.

By the way, the higher your rank, the easier it is to pass through immigration and to stay in the town, so I recommend you aim to raise your rank.

I pray that the blessings of the goddess may come to you.]

Kurando pondered for a moment before turning to the staff.

"Is there anything in here that matches the request? If so, give me a copy of the request form. Ah, a list is fine. You can charge me for the extra leaf of paper."

Saying that, he placed one of the bags he had been carrying at his feet on the counter and handed over the tag he had just received.

"Please, wait a moment."

The staff, clearly taken aback, took the bag from the counter with a bit of a fluster.

When they lifted it, it was much heavier than expected, and the staff's face contorted even more.

"What's that? Well, I can guess the contents, but..."

"Monsters' fangs, claws, beaks, skins, and herbs and flowers I hunted on the way from Salehad to here. There was even a gallstone-like thing."

"Concerning the hunting on the way from Salehad, and a gallstone?"

"Yeah, it's a small, dull silver lump. It's tiny, like this."

Saying that, Kurando showed the size of the gallstone with his thumbnail.

"...It's a Life Essence Stone."

Eirida, seeing Kurando's blank expression, could only sigh.

"Yeah, okay. You probably don't know, so I'll explain. A Life Essence Stone is a shell-like thing that can be obtained from monsters, but not all of them have it. Even powerful monsters usually have it, but it's not guaranteed. So, it wouldn't be strange to find one in a Trabock, though I've never heard of one coming from a Trabock."

"Hmm."

"Hmm? Listen, Life Essence Stones are used to create high-end magical items like spirit orbs that can hold spirits and autonomous magic. Even a thumbnail-sized one would bring in a decent amount of money."

A spirit orb is a device that can carry a spirit by inviting it inside and regularly supplying it with magic power. It was the same device that was embedded in the staff that held the thunder spirit when the parent monster made a mistake.

While it shares some properties with the rare weapons left behind by monsters, it can carry many more spirits.

"Will it cover the fare?"

"Depending on the negotiation, it should. It should be enough for a round trip."

Kurando finally looked pleased.

"Fare... Being around you makes me wonder what kind of hunter I've been meeting."

The hunters Eirida knew were bold, fond of alcohol, and a bit particular about the amount of money from their prey.

"Here is a list of copies of the request forms. What would you like to do?"

Kurando scanned the list given by the staff.

There were probably some requests that had been on hold, and the gaze of a middle-aged man, who seemed to be in charge, was piercingly fixed on Kurando from the back.

Requests being on hold are not just because they are difficult. Sometimes the reward and difficulty are not balanced, or they require a lot of effort and time, leading to them being on hold.

Of course, the guild informs the requester before accepting the request, but the requester has various reasons, and sometimes they have to submit a request knowing it will be on hold.

Therefore, the materials Kurando had collected were a chance to resolve the guild's negative evaluation of the on-hold requests, and the man in charge was probably desperate.

Eirida peeked at the copies Kurando had.

"...If you only look at the prey, you've surpassed 'Seven Stars' and are in the realm of 'Six Stars.'"

"Well, I had Yuki-Shiro with me."

"Yuki-Shiro will be treated as your hunting beast, so it's fine to count it as your achievement. There are hunters who control monsters, you know."

"---Excuse me, do you have a hunting beast?"

The staff, reacting to the name Yuki-Shiro, asked.

"Yeah, I do. Is there a problem?"

"No, it's currently voluntary, but we do register hunting beasts. It helps prevent trouble and serves as proof of ownership."

"---If the hunting beast is a rare species, won't some idiot who learns about it from the guild's information come and demand it, especially if they're nobles?"

There was the case of Zaur.

"Basically, information doesn't leak from the guild. However, the central government can view the information but is prohibited from taking aggressive actions against hunters, as is the guild. If someone were to target a hunter's hunting beast, the guild registration would serve as evidence and they would be punished."

It's a formality, but it's better than nothing. It's like registering a bicycle for security.

However, there was no need to register in this country. If he registered Yuki-Shiro as a hunting beast in this country and encountered trouble before going to the desert, it would be a problem.

"I'll think about it. ---Just follow the list. Put all the money in my account for now."

"Understood. I'll accept the request. What about the remaining parts that don't match the request?"

"Ah, the guild can buy them---"

"Wait. Can I see them?"

Eirida stopped Kurando, who was about to sell them casually.

The middle-aged man in charge looked visibly disappointed.

Eirida glanced at the tray of monster parts handed over by the staff.

"Figures. Well, there's no request for a Life Essence Stone, of course."

Looking at the Life Essence Stone, which glowed dully, Eirida said.

"Selling it to the guild won't get you cheated, but if I'm here, it's pointless."

Eirida held up the Life Essence Stone so that the disappointed middle-aged man in charge could see it.

Seeing this, the man looked even more disappointed.

The middle-aged man's thinning hair was probably due to his many dealings with people like Eirida.

"You can sell the rest to the guild."

Kurando nodded at Eirida's words.

If he stayed in this town for a few days, there was a possibility of getting a request, but it was too troublesome to keep coming back, so he handed the tray to the staff.

"Then, you will be promoted to 'Eight Stars.' Congratulations. The reward of 12,500 Rods has been deposited into your account as requested."

"How much is in there now?"

"---It's 32,500 Rods."

After a brief bow, Kurando left the reception.

In 90 days, it amounted to 1.25 million yen. Considering the rank of the requests, this was about right.

His savings were the result of this earnings, the remaining reward from Maxim, and the earnings from Salehad, minus the cost of food and equipment bought in Salehad. The requests he took on outside of working with Eirida were not significant, so his savings did not increase.

"'Eight Stars'... The first wall is 'Seven Stars.'"

"Wall?"

"Yeah, most hunters reach 'Eight Stars.' But from 'Seven Stars,' you're treated as a mid-level hunter, and you can buy second-level magic and exclusive guild magical items. Immigration checks also become easier. However, some people become hunters to aim for these benefits, so there's a weeding out process at 'Seven Stars.' It's the boundary between ordinary people and professional hunters."

"Hmm, so there's an exam for the weeding out?"

"Yeah, you have to complete a certain number of requests, and the final exam includes skinning and herb collection methods, monster knowledge, memorizing guild rules, and interviews. Most importantly, you have to lead at least one hunter to 'Nine Stars.' The guild narrows down the requests to some extent, but if you fail to lead a hunter, it's a problem. In places where people have more leeway, a guild examiner or a mentor's mentor might be assigned."

Kurando was starting to feel daunted.

He was even seriously considering whether he could register Yuki-Shiro as a hunter.

"What's with that lazy face? Anyway, let's go sell this Life Essence Stone."

Kurando stopped his aimless daydreaming and followed Eirida.

"---How much would the guild pay for it?"

Eirida grinned.

"About 20,000 Rods for this size."

Just a thumbnail-sized piece was worth more than his 90-day earnings.

"Ha ha ha, if you can have that look in your eyes, you're definitely a hunter."

Eirida detected a faint glimmer of desire in Kurando's eyes.

"I'm not a completely desireless person."

"I know. You've been looking at my chest pretty steadily."

"If you don't want me to look, don't show it."

"It's not like it's going to shrink or anything. I don't mind. Ha ha ha."

Kurando clicked his tongue.

"Alright, alright. Eirida, you're so attractive, I can't take my eyes off you. Is that good enough? Let's go sell it."

"Really, you're a man who doesn't get jokes."

Eirida laughed and started walking.

A merchant Eirida knew bought the Life Essence Stone for 30,000 Rods.

It turned out that a magical item manufacturer suddenly needed Life Essence Stones, and it was a timely offer.

"I thought it would be around 25,000 Rods."

Leaving the white mansion-like store, Eirida handed Kurando 30,000 Rods.

Kurando then handed 5,000 Rods to Eirida.

"Hmm, you're surprisingly understanding."

But she didn't accept it.

"If it wasn't me, you'd be right."

"Please take it. The 10,000 Rods profit should be split. That's how hunters do it, right?"

"---You're starting to sound like one."

Hunters, regardless of their role, split the rewards equally when hunting together. This was to prevent trouble, and there were rank restrictions for forming parties.

Eirida had split the rewards equally with Kurando in Salehad, despite the rank difference.

So, Kurando did the same.

The 20,000 Rods from the guild would have been Kurando's, and the extra 10,000 Rods was the profit, which he split equally.

Eirida looked at Kurando for a while before taking it with two fingers.

"Next is the ship."

"Your company is helpful, but is it okay?"

"This country ends at Salehad. The next destination is undecided, so I'm just passing the time. It's also profitable this way."

Saying that, she shook the 5,000 Rods between her fingers.

There was only one ship to the Sauran continent, where the desert was located.

It had just arrived in Osrolon and was about to return.

Ordinary citizens rarely had the luxury to travel long distances for tourism.

While short distances were manageable, long-distance fares were expensive, and only hunters, pilgrims, merchants, and recently, wealthy citizens studying abroad, used the ships. Apart from luxury liners for the wealthy, there were no ships that specialized in transporting people.

"One person, 10,000 Rods. It seems Yuki-Shiro also costs 10,000 Rods. Is that expensive?"

Kurando, who had negotiated with a dark-skinned sailor, asked Eirida, who was standing beside him.

"Well, it's reasonable. I've heard stories about people being thrown overboard in their sleep because they were stingy with the fare, but... I was more surprised that you can speak Sauran."

Kurando thanked the sailor, asked about the departure time, and parted ways.

"Tomorrow morning. ---Well, a bit."

"What do you mean by a bit? Your pronunciation is almost the same as the sailor's."

"Probably, it will be understood wherever I go. I had plenty of time to study."

He couldn't say that he had received multilingual translation abilities when he came from Japan.

"---Well, it's fine."

Eirida