Chapter 77

Yobi, who had heard the message from the storehouse person through Elaida, sat on the sand and gazed at the picture left by the storehouse person.

Dark clouds were moving away in the distance, and the moon was finally beginning to show itself from the tail of the clouds. A small boat without oars was floating on the midnight sea of Ankwaal. A woman in a worn-out white dress was sitting on the edge of the boat, looking up at the night sky. She had a delicate, sad, and beautiful profile. A small bat was fluttering towards the moon. The woman kept staring at the small bat.

"--- What was he thinking when he drew this picture?"

Yobi muttered to no one in particular. Elaida, who was sitting on the sand with her legs crossed, answered as if recalling the storehouse person's actions.

"I don't really understand what he was thinking. I might just accept that he drew a picture of a woman because he likes women."

"…Does the boat without oars mean there's no place to be?"

Elaida looked at her as if to say, "What are you talking about?"

"--- You can go anywhere, can't you? Are those arms just for show?"

Yobi, who had forgotten she could fly until she was bought by the storehouse person, hadn't immediately realized she could fly. Yobi stared at the storehouse person's picture again.

How long had she been doing that?

But the sun had not yet reached its zenith.

"Ah, sorry."

Elaida had waited until Yobi had sorted out her thoughts.

"Well, I was asked by Krand to train you. What do you think?"

"…I heard I'll be working in Kumecia. Won't I be a burden?"

Yobi's thoughts were still not in order.

But whether to pursue or not, she needed strength to live. To pay off her debts properly.

"--- As a bat-type beastman, you have high basic physical abilities and good reinforcement efficiency, as well as flexibility. Most importantly, you can fly. You can probably handle both day and night, and perhaps night is better. Your racial traits can probably be used on land and probably in water too. I've also taught you the basics of using dark spirits.

I've prepared everything, so it's up to Elaida to train you. If she does, you'll surpass me in no time.

That's what he said."

Elaida smiled.

"To go that far…"

"He's a good caretaker, even if he just leaves you behind."

"Well, even if it's a simultaneous occurrence of a king and a rampage, it's still in the early stages. First, we need to investigate, so it's perfect to use that for your training."

Yobi glanced at the picture and then looked straight at Elaida.

"Again, I am Yobi, an inexperienced one of the Nine Stars. Nice to meet you."

When Yobi bowed, Elaida replied.

"Don't be so stiff. I'm Elaida Bargain, nice to meet you."

After finishing her business at the Rattana Kingdom's association, Elaida immediately boarded a regular ship to the Kumecia Republic.

At this time, because Elaida was nearby, the Rwang family had no choice but to let Yobi go without attacking her. As a result, they had to target Zang, who had traveled north from the capital to the port on foot, but were purged just before they could attack him, by King Garuda.

Incidentally, immediately after the Rwang family was purged, the bird-type employee of the capital's association, who had obstructed Zang in various ways, was fired for leaking information to the Rwang family and was sent to perform servitude. This was said to be a warning by King Garuda and was a very severe punishment.

Yobi, who had arrived in the Kumecia Republic by ship, participated in the preliminary investigation that would take place until the hero arrived, and during that time, she was being drilled in the basics of being a hunter by Elaida. Chai Kaosai, a hybrid of a sea turtle-type beastman and a human, was introduced by Zang before he left, when Elaida asked if he knew any reliable hunters.

Elaida sighed in admiration.

Yobi, who was far more excellent and showed promise beyond expectations, and the sea turtle-type beastmen, including Chai, were able to obtain detailed information about the king and the stampede in the vicinity of Kumecia. Yobi, enveloped in darkness, suppressed her presence and flew silently through the forest, conducting her investigation without being detected by the monsters or even the king. She never rushed to achieve results.

Of course, she couldn't do this from the beginning. Elaida taught her the basics and gradually changed her opponents from nearby monsters. Yobi absorbed the lessons like a dry cloth absorbing water and, with a few experiences, her abilities as a scout began to show early signs of blossoming.

This ability as a scout might be the true power of bat-type beastmen.

Few people know of the settlements of bat-type beastmen.

And bat-type beastmen are rarely seen in Ankwaal. They are only seen in countries like the Rattana Kingdom where the slave system still exists, or in former slaves scattered throughout Ankwaal as a remnant of that system.

Why there are no bat-type beastmen who are not of the slave class.

It is probably because bat-type beastmen with official Gushuti enhance their innate abilities through training and remain hidden so as not to be discovered by other beastmen. Or perhaps there are no settlements of bat-type beastmen at all.

If the former is true, it would prove that bat-type beastmen have such excellent stealth and reconnaissance abilities that they cannot be detected even by the keen senses of other beastmen. Watching Yobi, Elaida felt that it might be the former.

Even Chai Kaosai, whom Zang said was trustworthy and well-connected, conducted investigations in the water and rivers with the agility of a pure sea turtle-type beastman.

His freedom in the water was slightly inferior to that of a pureblood, but Chai, with the diverse affinity of a human, compensated for this with spirit magic.

Moreover, he was good at handling lower-ranked hunters, even though they were of the same Gushuti, and skillfully controlled the impatient lower-ranked hunters to thoroughly investigate the vast sea, which was much larger than the land.

Most importantly, his character was good. He showed no concern for Yobi, a bat-type beastman, and showed no signs of being twisted despite being a half-breed.

In fact, he seemed to have a certain standing in the Gushuti, and he had naturally earned the respect of the pureblood sea turtle-type beastmen.

The unexpected results came when Yobi and Chai, along with others, conducted underwater investigations. Chai and his team ensured safety and mobility in the water while clearing the way, and Yobi used his racial traits to investigate every corner of the sea.

It was probably Zang's achievement to think of using a bat-type beastman, who can fly in the air, for underwater investigations.

For the time being, in terms of investigation alone, this team was quite excellent.

Because of this, Elaida was able to submit investigation reports that were by no means inferior to those of hunters investigating in other countries of the Ankwaal Islands Federation, such as the Rattana Kingdom and the Ilmeisi Republic.

Elaida, Yobi, and Chai were in the lobby of the Kumecia Republic's association today, as the hero was about to arrive and a meeting would be held immediately.

Elaida, being a celebrity, naturally attracted attention, and the table where the three of them sat was inevitably filled with curious, curious, contemptuous, and hostile gazes