Chapter 71

As the rising sun and the lingering white moon faced each other, the early morning light illuminated the earthen walls surrounding Baltis, where the shadows of Zang, Shiro, and Azurona, hidden in Zang's hood, stretched out.

Zang suddenly felt the wind against his cheek was colder than a few days ago.

Although only a few days had passed since the calendar changed to the White Moon, the chill had increased, and the colors of the trees seemed to be changing.

Zang started walking toward the gate of Baltis.

Why Zang came to Baltis.

It was to fulfill a promise made in jest, a wish, a playful agreement with no guarantee of fulfillment, exchanged between a customer and a prostitute in bed.

The day after he bought the prostitute Estia, in the dim early morning before dawn.

When Zang was getting ready to leave and paid Estia, she said:

"…I have a favor to ask."

Estia then made a request of Zang.

To put it simply, if he would work as a hunter in North Baruk, she would reduce the price for one night by half.

She had asked several hunters before, but most of them did not fulfill their promises.

There was no guild in North Baruk, so all requests had to be negotiated directly.

However, while such requests were not illegal, they were frowned upon by the guild if made in an area where a guild was nearby, and they did not contribute to rank advancement, which is why many hunters avoided them.

Why did it come to this?

In short, it was because the Hunter's Guild did not take on jobs, but political and emotional issues were involved, and the guild was powerless to change the situation.

"I am from Baruk…"

Estia looked at Zang with her cat-like eyes.

Zang did not find it strange that this world was like this, but the Maronovans despised the vertical, elongated eyes of the Barukans, a remnant of the beastmen.

The animosity between the Barukans and the Maronovans ran deep.

Most of the citizens of Baruk, located in the middle of the northern and southern parts of the Mid Continent, were a mix of the northern white race and the southern beastmen, who had lived together for thousands of years. Although they did not inherit the physical abilities of the beastmen, many still had some characteristics, like Estia's cat-like eyes.

Historically, the two groups had a lot of issues, and over time, the Maronovans came to dislike them.

In the past, when only elves could use spirit magic, and beastmen could not use self-aware life magic or develop autonomous magic, they were long dominated by the northern countries, who believed it was their right to rule.

However, even after the beastmen learned to use spirit magic and self-aware life magic and broke free from domination, the northern white race still tended to look down on them.

The Maronovans were no exception, and they tended to look down on the Barukans, who retained beastmen characteristics. The Barukans, in turn, could not be friendly when they were looked down upon, especially in North Baruk, which had a long history of dealing with the Maronovans.

In such a relationship, it was not uncommon for Maronovan hunters to buy Estia out of curiosity, but they would not listen to her requests. There was no incentive for them as hunters or as Maronovans.

Occasionally, passing hunters would agree at first but never returned to Estia. They were only after the half-price and moved on to other places.

Still, Estia would ask if the customer was a hunter.

"Because it's the place where I was born and raised…"

She did not elaborate further.

That was why Zang came to Baltis.

While waiting for the ship, he could have stayed in the hideout and drawn pictures, but now he could not get his brush moving.

He had something he wanted to draw, but something was missing.

Was it his skill, technique, tools, or understanding? He had no idea.

In that case, it might not be bad to pass the time as a hunter.

To be honest, he did not want to get too close to Maronova.

He had explained the situation to Shiro and Azurona without reservation.

Azurona tilted her head, not quite understanding, but Shiro looked uninterested.

When Zang asked if Shiro would stay in the hideout, she huffed and turned away, hitting him with her long tail, but followed him.

After leaving Shiro and Azurona in the monster stable, Zang stepped into Baltis for the first time.

The streets were made of stone, like in Maronova, but the scale was incomparably smaller. Perhaps because it was early morning, the whole town seemed desolate and lacked vitality.

Zang searched for the tavern Estia had mentioned and entered it. It was just a tavern with no name.

The woman who ran the place was the daughter of the mayor of Baltis and acted as a mediator for hunters in this town without a guild.

"It's over for today."

The plump woman behind the counter, who was closing up, said lazily to Zang as he opened the door.

"If you're here because of Estia's recommendation, are you Rayle?"

Rayle looked at Zang suspiciously.

"…Are you a hunter? What's your star? You don't look like a Maronovan."

"Eight. I'm a wandering hunter."

"…I'd like to tell you to go home, but since it's Estia's recommendation… What's your party like?"

"Alone… or rather, one and two."

"…Well, it's better to be alone to avoid trouble. Eight stars, huh? Well, sit down."

"Sorry for coming so early."

"Really, I was just about to go to bed. Honestly…"

While muttering, she placed a glass in front of Zang, who had sat at the counter. The glass contained thinly sliced citrus fruit.

"Let me say this first. Don't expect a decent reward in North Baruk right now. Are you still willing to work as a hunter here?"

"Because I was asked."

"To be honest, it's just a prostitute's whims. What are you going to do with that?"

"To be honest, it's just a sightseeing trip to pass the time, but I don't think it's bad to fulfill a prostitute's wish."

Rayle looked at Zang with a puzzled expression.

Zang did not mention that he wanted to draw Estia. It would be pointless to say. To draw her, he needed to know her, and that was why he decided to fulfill her wish.

Perhaps unconsciously, he was thinking that a hunter should work in places where there were no other hunters, as embodied by Irida.

"…To be honest, an eight-star hunter is enough."

Rayle's tone implied that he was not needed and should go home.

Zang was a bit confused by the discrepancy with what Estia had said.

"…It seems you didn't know. Well, that girl hasn't been in this town for over ten years, so it's not strange that you didn't know. Really, it's not necessary anymore."

"…Have any come?"

Rayle frowned uncomfortably.

"Just to check. They left as soon as they found out the reward was low."

After thinking for a moment, Zang said:

"Are there any old requests? I don't mind the rank."

"…There are, but most of them are for high-level hunters."

"Can I see the list?"

"…"

"…I'm a wandering hunter. It won't hurt me if I die out here."

Sighing, Rayle took a bundle of papers from under the counter and handed them to Zang.

As Zang flipped through them, he pulled out a few.

"Hey, you."

"I'll take these. About the reward…"

"…I told you, the amount isn't decent."

Indeed, the rewards for the requests Zang had chosen were low compared to the difficulty.

"I understand. Is there a good blacksmith in this town?"

"There's no such thing."

Rayle muttered that no good hunters came around.

"Then, is there a leatherworker?"

"…There might be. He's retired now and makes daily items for the townspeople, but…"

Zang took out the pale black horse's hide, which he had rolled up, from his bag.

After he stopped selling it to the guild, Zang had a sudden idea to put the pale black horse's hide in his food backpack, and for some reason, it fit. Perhaps it was because there was still meat and fat on the inside, or because the hide was considered edible like chicken skin, but thanks to this, he was able to store the hide without much deterioration.

"…That's…"

Rayle's face twisted.

The pale black horse lived in the grasslands south of Baltis and was known as one of the most ferocious monsters in Baruk, alongside the green-maned flying dragon. It was a glutton that ate people, monsters, and even flying dragons, and the people of Baruk called it a black devil and never approached its territory.

It was a target for several high-level hunters working together, and certainly not something an eight-star hunter could handle.

"My companion is a high-level monster, and it's not stolen, so you can rest assured. If you want, you can check at the monster stable."

"…No, it's fine."

"I see. Then, I don't need the reward for these old requests. I want you to process this hide as I wish. If I can't complete the