That’s my Master. He’s God, through and through! Tino thought, elated.
“Where the hell did you get all this?” Greg asked.
“Not telling,” Krai replied playfully.
Tino’s heart overflowed with emotions as she watched the hunter she worshipped remove chocolate bars from his leather pouch, handing them off to one person after another. Though the capital she hailed from was vast, and there were plenty of excellent hunters, Krai Andrey would always be her number one. He was so approachable, yet it was his heroism that drew Tino to him.
“Do you have anything that isn’t chocolate?” Gilbert huffed.
“Nope, but I’ve got plenty of it.”
Neither that nor Rhuda’s fed-up expression seemed to bother Krai in the slightest. Chocolate bars flowed from his little pouch like magic, easing the tension hanging over them.
Tino’s mentor—her “dear sister Lizzy”—was strong. As strong as a real-deal beast, but her master wasn’t just strong. He also had the incredible kindness to save her life at the eleventh hour, despite her failing to overcome the trial he’d given her.
Despite being in the heat of battle, he hadn’t bothered to defeat the phantoms. He would’ve been able to crush them in a moment, but he had instead dedicated that moment to reminding Tino of what was important: the mission she had entirely forgotten.
After that, he had wasted no time in tracking down the missing people with skills that would put Thieves to shame. The fact that they’d encountered no phantoms so far may have meant that he was aware of the path of least resistance, or perhaps the phantoms even feared him, like the ones in the boss chamber.
One also mustn’t forget that he knew just when to throw away his pride and play the fool to soften the mood. When people talked about the strongest young hunter, Ark’s name was typically the first to come up. But could Ark do this?
Krai excelled in every area. In Tino’s eyes, he was a level 10.
His habit of giving people trials based on his own aptitude was somewhat of a problem, but that was what they called tough love. When people truly couldn’t handle it, he would help them. It was hard to call it a flaw.
Greg turned toward her master. “What do we do now?”
“We get out of here, of course. We’ve accomplished our objective.”
To hunters, fighting and overcoming a powerful enemy was the greatest honor. But his response was unfaltering. Most likely, he was trying to be considerate of the rescue targets. Chocolate bars were nutritious indeed, but they couldn’t immediately heal the five who had met disaster.
Alternatively... perhaps the phantom that had defeated them wasn’t even strong enough for her master to consider it worth conquering?
Just watching him brought life back into her exhausted body. Tino didn’t want her idol to see her being so pathetic anymore, not after she had failed his trial already. She had been beyond overjoyed when he had come to save her, but she still wanted Krai to accept her. Even if she seemed like nothing more than dirt to a level 8 like him.
Just then, he happened to look her way. Her heart rate skyrocketed.
Her idol offered her a warm smile and said, “Well, Tino’s the one in charge today. So we follow her orders.”
“Huh? Oh, but compared to you, I...” Her true feelings leaked out.
Anyone other than Tino would surely pale in comparison to him. With his bountiful experience as a level 8, the peerless Thousand Tricks was able to discern problems in treasure vaults even from his perch in the capital. Not a single hunter in this vast empire could hope to best him.
As Tino shrank back, her master continued with the most serious look on his face, “This is valuable experience. When you need it, I’ll help you out.”
With that said, she couldn’t saddle him with all the hard work.
Occasionally sneaking glances at him, Tino thought to herself for a moment. Then, she said, “I agree with you, Master. We should prioritize exiting the treasure vault with the least amount of effort.”
“And you’ll guide us, right?”
She reflexively nodded.
As any decent hunter should, she had already memorized the map of this treasure vault. She knew their current location; there was no need to worry about getting lost. Krai may have been kind enough to help her find the rescue targets, but she couldn’t count on his kindness forever.
“Of course. I may not be able to evade all of the phantoms like you did, however.”
“Huh? Uh, yeah, totally. Let’s try to avoid as many as we can, though. It’s really important.”
“Yes, absolutely. I’m completely healed, so I should be able to run just fine now.”
“Wha—?! Oh, cool. Yeah, we were going pretty slow before, haha. But remember, we’ve got wounded people with us.”
Tino blushed in embarrassment. She was so self-conscious with his eyes on her, it had completely slipped her mind. Truly, she should be ashamed of herself.
The injured hunters all boasted pretty high levels, so they should have been able to run at least as fast as the rest of them had earlier. But now wasn’t the time to mention that, as that wasn’t what her master meant.
Tino just wanted to hide in a hole, but she took a deep breath and collected herself. Now wasn’t the time to fret over her own shame. She was never going to measure up to her master in many ways, so all she could do now was her best.
Fighting the desire to shrink back from his stern gaze, Tino declared, “Also... this may be an unnecessary concern with you present, Master, but I believe it would be best to ask Rudolph more about the wolf knight that attacked his party.”
The silver wolf knight raised its head slowly at the silent shadow that approached it.
There was a small vessel at its feet. Its smell was unfamiliar, but the wolf knight instinctively knew at first sniff that it was something to be wary of. However, as the being had been born with greater intelligence than the Silver Moons, it quickly realized that the item posed no danger and that it had been deceived. It resolved to crush the puny offender the next time they met.
The mysterious chain that had coiled around the wolf knight’s feet had since lost its tension and fallen to the floor. If such a tactic was used against it again, the wolf knight knew how to fight back. It wouldn’t pose a threat.
Hoisting its greatsword, which was as tall as its own body, it turned toward the intrusive shadow in a slow, seemingly perturbed manner. The crimson eye peeking out from behind its half-mask shone with greater enmity than before.
Two other wolves that had been lying in ambush—one with a bow and one with a club—looked over as well. At the end of their line of sight was a small figure, its entire face covered by a bone mask with a wide grin. Unlike their full-body plate armor, the figure wore light armor that seemed to emphasize its lithe build. Its knee-high boots glimmered with silver light.
While it wasn’t even one-third of the height of these wolf knights, its terrifying aura far surpassed theirs. In its hands was a mid-sized sword, drawn and held at the ready. Unlike the weapons held by the silver wolf knights, this sword was translucent.
Silent Air was its name. This Relic, with a shine that clearly differed from normal weapons, was swung casually by the figure. The wolf knights had no way of knowing that it had once been carried by a level 8 hunter, ejected on his wild journey through the den.
The White Wolf’s Den was the result of a curse by the Silver Moons, which had been trampled until the very end. Their grudge, their feeling of enmity, had a strong influence on the mana material collecting in the den. It was a mix of animosity and... admiration. Admiration for strength, for form, for intelligence. Animosity and admiration were two sides of the same coin.
The fact that the wolf knights stood on two legs and used tools was a direct result of that. This was likewise true for the human bones which covered the sides of their faces. Who, then, was this figure whose face was fully covered with bones?
Although it had failed to materialize the grudge to its full extent until now due to a lack of mana material, this treasure vault had finally grown to the point that it could fight off level 5 hunters.
As their bodies overflowed with hostility, the wolf knights howled. The figure, with its laughing skull mask, walked away with lackadaisical steps.
No Comments Yet
Post a new comment
Register or Login