Strange Grief Wants to Retire ~ The Weakest Hunter Dreams of a Hero ~ - Volume 3 - Chapter 2

Chapter Two: The Challenger and the Transcender

His swordsmanship had been almost magical.

Facing her had been a young man by all accounts, slightly older than Chloe yet still too young to be called a seasoned hunter. His frame had been small compared to other hunters, who were mostly blessed with notable stoutness; perhaps Chloe might even outgrow him in the future.

He wore a jet-black hooded coat despite being indoors, and behind that hood, a keen and silent gaze peered out like blades.

Yet his skill was eccentric to Chloe, who boasted swordsmanship rivaling that of adults. She couldn’t even land a blow.

Her opponent wielded a wooden sword, the kind a child might use for practice—weightless and bladeless, but Chloe, on the other hand, wielded a genuine sword, a sharp blade of exceptional quality. It should’ve sliced through any wooden sword effortlessly on the first strike with the inherent sharpness it boasted.

This was a test. Her opponent was a member of the infamous Grieving Souls, a party active on the front lines. Chloe didn’t harbor any illusions of winning in the first place, but still, his overwhelming strength shattered her sliver of confidence with a single strike.

His was a swordsmanship she’d never seen before. Or, more precisely, his every movement was reminiscent of a diverse array of familiar styles: his bodily balance, footwork, sword grip, and stance—a sense of déjà vu threaded through all of them. It encapsulated every school of swordsmanship Chloe had ever witnessed, including those she’d mastered. After exchanging a few strikes, Chloe realized: this was a chimera of swordsmanship, a fusion of various originally incompatible theories, so convoluted that its original school was nearly indistinguishable.

It was absurd; it was inefficient.

As if mocking all that common sense, the man poised his wooden sword at her eyes and shouted, “You’ve mastered but one school of swordsmanship. It’s only logical that I, who’ve pursued the path of twenty-three and am seeking more, should be stronger than you who have pursued one. The greatest Swordsman is one who learns and integrates various schools of swordsmanship from all ages and cultures... Right, Krai?!”

“Yeah, uh-huh...”

That was an absurd argument. Schools of swordsmanship were honed over long years. Every move and technique held meaning, and good swordsmanship wasn’t a matter of simply blending together techniques from various schools. Anyone attempting such a thing must surely be an exceptional fool. But in reality, when Chloe’s sword clashed against the wooden sword, it failed to cut through the wooden sword and lost the clash.

Chloe’s task was to demonstrate her strength. However, with each clash, her confidence faded. It was frightening. She was prepared to lose, but the fear of having all her efforts up until now denied was something entirely new.

The young man observed the trembling tip of her blade, yet he didn’t laugh.

“The strength of a Swordsman doesn’t lie in their sword; a truly exceptional Swordsman doesn’t choose their weapon. No matter the circumstance, a defeat always reveals your lack of training. Hence, it’s only logical that I, who hone my skills with a wooden sword through continuous and repetitive practice, am stronger than you who rely on such a sword. Right, Krai?!”

“Uh...yeah, yeah, uh-huh.”

Everyone would say there was no way his absurd theories were true. However, this man was dead serious, so dead serious and insistent that, before long, he’d come to be known as one of the capital’s top Swordsmen.

And Chloe thought to herself, We’re too different. The man before her was exceptional in every sense. It was only a matter of time before he wouldn’t just be referred to as one of the capital’s top Swordsmen but, rather, as the pinnacle of the art form. He’d undoubtedly earn a moniker. But then, what would the moniker he’d earn be?

“And strength is built through accumulation. Perhaps you think you’ve been defeated by me in every aspect, but that’s absolutely not the case! Let’s be grateful for the opportunity to clash swords today. I’ll learn from your sword today and become stronger than the me from yesterday! Gratitude empowers people, right, Krai?!”

“Well, those are nice words... But hey, Luke, have you forgotten that this was just a test?”

She was shocked. The next thing Chloe felt was an overwhelming sense of defeat. The man before her, who clearly outclassed her in strength, was not only refraining from finishing her in a single blow but was also seeking to learn from the match. She now understood: this wasn’t merely a task for Chloe, but to her opponent, this was a serious bout.

Without paying any attention to the words of his seemingly dumbfounded clan master, Luke Sykol focused solely on Chloe at that moment, his bladelike gaze flickering with flames of conviction.

“Don’t worry,” he shouted, “you’re strong. But I’m stronger than you, that’s all. Remember this well: my name is Luke—also known as Luke Sykol the Testament Blade!!!”

That had been Chloe’s first encounter with Luke Sykol of Grieving Souls.

And that had been how Chloe failed the entrance test for First Steps—a clan that was rumored to be especially keen on spotting talent—and, after much agonizing contemplation, made the decision to give up on the path of the hunter to become a receptionist overseeing the activities of Grieving Souls instead.

From that point onward, her interest had been piqued not only by the Swordsman with peculiar swordsmanship but also by the person whom he’d trusted so much that he’d turn to for confirmation with every sentence—the Thousand Tricks who’d failed Chloe Welter, whose talent had been widely recognized.

Later, when it’d been the time to pick a moniker for Luke, she’d suggested “Protean Sword” instead of “Testament Blade” like he’d hoped (by the way, no one else called him that other than himself) in a small act of revenge.

***

It was the day after the hellish feast, and I was in the clan master’s office listening to Eva’s report.

Usually, clans formed by treasure hunters were quite loose organizations; their origins were said to stem from hunters banding together for mutual assistance. Due to the minimal procedures and requirements needed to establish a clan, many existed in name only without any particular function. However, that didn’t mean clans were meaningless. For hunters involved in dangerous activities, the fact that they belonged to an organization itself had its meaning. After all, obstinate hunters weren’t likely to come together and form a proper organization.

On the other hand, First Steps was different. When I’d formed the clan, I’d hired professionals like Eva from various fields and left it all up to them.

While I was still filled with a desire to retire even now, back then, I’d been desperate to quit hunting. This had been around the time when we’d begun surpassing Level 5 treasure vaults and my own impediment had become unbearable.

Honestly, I’d never thought the clan would grow this large. To this day, I still couldn’t fully grasp what had made it work so well actually. Perhaps it’d been for the best that my incompetent self hadn’t done much.

While I’d perfunctorily nodded in agreement, the capable members of our staff had transformed First Steps into a top-class clan (if not top in scale) in the capital. We had a fresh and conspicuous clan house and provided amenities like food in the lounge, we also had services like item replenishing and agenting for Relic sales, and we even had our own dedicated training grounds. But among the things we had, one in particular stood out: our highly reliable information network.

I didn’t remember giving specific instructions for that nor know the details behind its operations, but First Steps had become a hub for freshly up-to-date information.

“He seems to be the real deal, this Level 7 Arnold Hail. It appears he earned his promotion by conquering the Thunder Dragon. His level certification was granted by the Explorers’ Association of Nebulanubes, the Land of Fogs. Though it’s a minor branch, so there might be some bias in that...”

Having a capable vice clan master is essential. I no longer knew who was leading whom, but I was totally fine with Eva taking charge. She could fatten her pockets with the membership fees as much as she wanted.

Please, just don’t leave before my ever-pending retirement.

“The real deal, huh... I’m in trouble.”

Eva’s words drew a deep sigh from me.

I’d considered the possibility of him faking a high level, but it seemed he wasn’t just for show.

Actually, thinking back now that my mind is clear, isn’t this Arnold the one Gark warned me about? I could’ve strategized better had I known that... My memory is just too unreliable.

“Oh, I forgot that Gark did warn me about him.”

“A warning, you say...?”

“Well, you see... I’m completely oblivious when it comes to things I’m not interested in...”

“...He’s a Level 7, you know?” chided Eva with her eyes wide open.

But whether he was a Level 7 or 8, my interest wasn’t piqued, and my attention tended to drift. Though, this might turn out to be more troublesome than I’d anticipated. Liz did make her move very promptly. Though it was pointless to assign blame, so I’d leave that aside for now.

The issue was that it’d been a complete surprise attack. It was hard to believe that an apparently Level 7 hunter would just take it without a problem. Arnold was probably boiling with anger right now. Had it been a defeat fair and square, it might’ve been easier for him to stomach, but this would likely just make him bitter.

I was a bit worried. Liz was undeniably strong, but as she was a Thief, her defensive capabilities were lacking. Despite the fact that she was combat-ready at all times, she probably wasn’t impervious. The possibility of her losing when caught off guard was very real.

Then, having considered all that, I let out a big yawn and rubbed my eyes. While my concerns were genuine, Liz was thousands of times stronger than me, and she was no stranger to picking fights with other powerful individuals either, so my nervousness just didn’t hold up.

“Thunder Dragons are incredibly powerful... If he’s earned his moniker by defeating one, he’s by no means weak.”

Dragons were synonymous with absolute strength among monsters. There were various different kinds of dragons, but be they Flying Dragons, Land Dragons, Sea Dragons, or Fire Dragons, they were all equally formidable foes.

And among them, Thunder Dragons were known to be especially troublesome for their ability to wield lightning at will. In fact, lightning was generally profusely overpowered across all aspects. Its speed made it extremely difficult to evade, its sound and shock could easily reap the consciousness of even physically enhanced hunters, and conductivity rendered it indefensible against using metallic armor. In fact, even among Magi, only those of exceptional talent possessed the skill to manipulate lightning. If it could control lightning, even a rabbit would become a formidable foe. Thus, a dragon that could control thunder would be a disaster.

I’d die from it.

As I crossed my arms and furrowed my brow, Eva asked with a hint of concern, “Have you ever fought one?”

I nodded gravely at Eva’s question and delved deep into my memories.

“All I can say is...that, yeah, Thunder Dragon teriyaki is really delicious when grilled with a sweet and savory sauce. That’s about it.”

“I see...”

“I’m starting to get hungry, actually...”

While I’d encountered one before, I’d only been hiding in the shadows as Liz and the rest of the party had fought. It’d definitely been stronger than me, for sure, but I didn’t know how the experience had been for Liz and the others. They shouldn’t have sustained any serious injuries from that though.

The only thing I remembered vividly was Sitri cooking the meat into a juicy and incredibly delicious dish after the dragon was defeated; perhaps that was also the power of Sitri’s special marinade. Sitri was truly a versatile all-rounder.

“Man, I’d love to have it again sometime...”

“W-Well...there’s no place that serves Thunder Dragon meat even in the capital. After all, all parts of a dragon are considered rare and valuable material, so using their meat for food is unheard of...”

“I know. Hmm...”

What should I do...?

For the time being, complaining to Gark was a given, but unless there was a significant reason not to, clashes between hunters were usually tolerated. I could already hear him saying “I warned you.” I’d kowtow as much as I could if that would solve the problem, but the other party probably wouldn’t just accept it.

I thought for a while, but, perhaps due to my empty stomach, I couldn’t concentrate. And after several minutes of contemplation, I decided to give up entirely. I was sure Liz would be fine even if she were to be caught off guard. She was used to that, and she had plenty of experience dealing with grudges and being targeted.

I could contact Gark and warn him to be cautious about it... But is that all I can do?

Suddenly, I noticed Eva there still silently waiting for my words, her keen lavender eyes peering at me.

She was meticulous, unlike me. I truly appreciate her unending dedication to supporting my incompetent self, though it wouldn’t hurt if she could relax a bit more.

I shrugged my shoulders and let out a long sigh.

“Ugh... It’s your fault that you brought up the topic of teriyaki; now I’m hungry, and I can’t concentrate.”

“?! No, I did not?!”

I’m just kidding. No need to raise your voice like that...

“It’d be best if it could end peacefully, but...well, let’s talk to Gark about it just in case. All right, maybe I should go get some teriyaki.”

“I’ll contact him on my end. And teriyaki...Thunder Dragon?” asked Eva cautiously.

I couldn’t help but smile a little at her reaction.

“Nah, let’s save that for another time. Thunder Dragon might be delicious, but chicken isn’t bad either.”

Didn’t she just say there wasn’t any place that served Thunder Dragon meat? Competent people certainly had an impeccable sense of humor too—that was something I should learn from her.

***

It’d been a long time since he’d suffered such a severe blow.

In Nebulanubes, the Land of Fogs, where they were based, there’d been no one who dared to oppose them for a long time.

Nebulanubes was a country with a limited population of treasure hunters, and particularly, it only had a handful of high-level hunters. Among them, Falling Fog, comprised Arnold Hail and his comrades who’d defeated the calamity of Thunder Dragon that had befallen the nation after a mortal fight, was recognized as the most powerful party of the land. Even the upper echelons of the Land of Fogs held great respect for his party, which was unrivaled both on paper and in practice.

The reason Arnold and his companions had chosen to leave this comfortable country behind was to pursue higher aspirations. With merely five treasure vaults in the vicinity of the Land of Fogs, the potential for advancement as a hunter there was limited. Conquering high-level treasure vaults required one to gradually increase the level of vaults they conquered and absorb mana material to foster strength. Yet, unfortunately, Nebulanubes had an overwhelming lack of battlegrounds.

But they were confident. There were only a handful of hunters certified as Level 7 in such a small nation. Arnold, specializing in combat, was surrounded by his other members who were also confident in their fighting skills. Moreover, with a larger team than the average party, they were unlikely to lose even in fights between hunters.

They were aware that Zebrudia was a large nation of hunters, far beyond the scope of comparison with Nebulanubes. Nonetheless, they had absolutely no intention of losing.

“Dammit, that bitch... She made me let my guard down for a surprise attack like that... I can’t let this slide.”

Eigh Lalia, the party’s vice leader and Arnold’s right-hand man, had managed to heal himself to a functional extent using expensive potions they’d stockpiled. His frustration brought forth a procession of heavy growls, the incident still lingering in his mind. He’d changed out of the armor he’d been equipping into simple cloth garments since the armor had sustained damage during the brawl at the tavern.

At his words, the rest of the party, part angry and part fearful, expressed their agreement.

Unlike the irate Eigh, Arnold’s state of mind was very much composed.

A surprise attack. Yes, that was a complete ambush. But you can’t be a Level 7 or higher if you’re easily overcome by surprise attacks—there’s no such thing as a “dirty trick” on the battlefield.

To begin with, while the attack on Arnold was a surprise one, Eigh had been defeated in an almost fair situation. That female hunter undoubtedly possessed the exceptional skill and combat abilities to easily defeat Eigh, who was just a step away from passing the Level 6 certification test.

Eigh, who certainly understood that, didn’t suppress his anger like Arnold did so he could purposefully show it to the other members. Having their leader taken down head-on affected the entire party’s morale, so it was his role as their vice leader to hold the party together in place of Arnold, their leader and icon.

Arnold hadn’t even taken a sip of alcohol yet, but that unhesitant, heavy blow had precisely delivered a concussion to his brain—a part of the body that was hard to train even for a hunter. And while his consciousness was hazy from that, it had all ended.

It’d been humiliating. But his will to fight was even stronger. For hunters, the strong was something to respect. And, to surpass the strong and demonstrate their best, Arnold and his party had come to this land.

The day after the tavern brawl, Falling Fog, stifling their anger and fighting spirit, visited the Explorers’ Association once again.

The sincere smile of the woman who’d attacked them out of the blue was etched into their minds. It was exactly because of their confidence in their own abilities that they understood their opponent wasn’t any ordinary person.

Fighting illusions and monsters was different from fighting with other humans. Yet, that woman was clearly accustomed to beating up people: her surprise attack had come flawlessly without hesitation, and the heavy blow had landed in the brief moment their consciousness had gone blank after being drenched in alcohol. No matter how deep the pool of hunters in the capital was, they found it hard to believe that hunters who could easily knock out an Arnold enhanced with mana material would be all over the city. This hunter was likely well-known within the capital.

They couldn’t let this slide. That scene in the tavern had been witnessed by too many hunters. If they were to back down from being handed a one-sided defeat in a surprise attack, the name “Falling Fog” would be tarnished. Arnold intended to make a name for himself in this holy land of hunters from now on. He couldn’t afford to be looked down upon.

“In a one-on-one fight...there’s no way Arnold would lose!”

It was one of their party members: Jaster, the youngest of them, had said forcefully with a flushed face. Though, a hint of fear could be discerned in his voice. Apparently, the hunter who’d beaten down Arnold hadn’t stopped even after he’d lost consciousness but instead had continued to strike while she’d laughed roaringly.

Jaster had joined the party after Arnold and his team had become a household name in Nebulanubes. Seeing his party overwhelmed by a single hunter was probably an experience enough to shatter all the confidence this young hunter, who’d always been a member of the top party, had built so far.

Arnold had always been adored for his physical prowess. While losing once wouldn’t severely dent the trust of the other members, these small cracks could potentially lead to fatal consequences someday.

They couldn’t afford to make archenemies.

They couldn’t afford to become helpless losers.

“Whoever she may be, we’ll settle it with her personally.”

The other members swallowed their breaths nervously at Arnold’s declaration.

The weight of his golden sword, borne on his back, was keenly felt. Forged from materials from the Thunder Dragon that had struck the Land of Fogs, the sword bore the power of lightning. It was also the root of Arnold’s moniker, “Crashing Lightning.”

He licked his lips. The wound on his head that should’ve been fully healed by the potions was dully throbbing in pain. The pain was but an illusion. Arnold knew this well. The phantom ache had but one desire: to rematch with the hunter who’d inflicted the wound; and it was at the moment of victory that this pain should subside.

“This is an opportunity. This woman—likely a renowned hunter in the capital—if we can defeat her head-on, it will earn us glory. This is a convenient stage for us to hone our dulled senses once again,” said Arnold.

“I see. If you put it that way, we might’ve been lucky,” said Eigh.

Eigh, who’d been wearing an irate expression until then, shivered and then broke into a deep smile.

What Arnold was seeking wasn’t a mere increase in level or superficial glory. It was strength that he sought. And to attain that, formidable foes were necessary. The tavern incident had been unexpected, perhaps even unfortunate, but it’d revealed the presence of powerful individuals in the capital, just as the rumors had suggested. With this knowledge in hand, all that remained for him to do was to dominate over and surpass them all.

As the party, led by the imposing Arnold, entered, the other hunters gathering around the counter eagerly moved out of the way. A space opened up before Chloe, the receptionist who’d previously attended to their party, and Arnold moved forward without a word.

While she’d worn her hair down in the past, Chloe had pigtails today for some reason. Seeing Arnold shrouded in a heavy atmosphere, she bore a naturally blossoming smile.

“Ah, I was waiting for you, Arnold. It was a disaster, wasn’t it?”

“What do you mean...?”

“I’ve received word from the tavern. Seems like it isn’t that serious?”

He was taken aback, and he stared in astonishment. The news of the incident at the tavern last night was already publicized—words traveled astonishingly fast.

And even more unexpectedly, Chloe joined her hands and said ruefully, “I understand your situation. We handle complaints here as well. After all, she was quite the ruffian—”

“?! What the...? Complaints?!”

“Well...yes. Aren’t you here to file a complaint against her for knocking you unconscious?”

Arnold was about to explode in fury, yet Chloe showed no hint of fear and regarded him with a curious expression.

To complain about being hit? He’d never even considered such a thing. It wasn’t the conduct of a hunter who valued their reputation to run complaining after losing a fight. More importantly, Arnold was a Level 7 hunter with a recognized moniker.

He felt his face contorting. He was being looked down on.

Altercating with the Explorers’ Association was a foolish act. But could he really remain silent when he’d been ridiculed to such an extent?

Before his anger could reach its peak, Eigh swiftly intervened and said, “Miss, it might be wise to refrain from mocking him any further. Arnold is forgiving, but there are limits. Miss, you seem to have dipped into martial arts before, but there’s surely no way you can win against a Level 7.”

In response to his low, menacing voice, Chloe lowered her eyes slightly and responded apologetically, “No... I’m just a mere employee. Besides, I’m not trying to belittle anyone. If you feel that way, I apologize for what I’ve said. But, you see, the truth is that the hunter your party clashed with is well-known in this capital. She’s a usual subject of complaints, you know.”

“We’ve come to ask for her name.”

A usual subject of complaints? Given her well-practiced ambush and the concussion-dealing blow, that wasn’t surprising.

She was certainly powerful. However, for Arnold, to be labeled a loser after just one battle was unacceptable to him.

A discomfited expression crossed Chloe’s face. She seemed to be debating whether or not to spill the name. But then, a low and sonorous voice sounded behind her.

“Her godlike speed leaves behind not even a shadow. She’s the Stifled Shadow, Liz Smart.”

“Uncl—Branch Manager!!!”

She turned around. The voice behind her belonged to a gigantic figure who was in no way inferior to Arnold in stature.

Fascination and a lingering trace of fear entered Eigh’s gaze, and Jaster stepped back as if overawed.

The man’s muscles bulged visibly even through his uniform, and countless deep scars crisscrossed his arms and legs. His face bore prominent tattoos, and his sharp eyes looked down on Arnold and his companions. He might be a bit older than Arnold, but his aura was palpably radiating an immense energy.

“That’s the name of that tomboy. You’re the Crashing Lightning, the Level 7 who came from Nebulanubes, right?”

The capital branch manager seemed to have been a top-tier hunter in the past. Arnold had heard rumors of him, but he seemed even more remarkable in person.

A smile spontaneously appeared on Arnold’s face. The Land of Fogs’s Explorers’ Association branch manager had been a rotund man resembling a pig. He’d been efficient as a leader but worthless as a warrior. Every time he’d met Arnold, he’d had a hint of awe in his eyes.

But what about this man standing before him? Arnold gripped the proffered hand and exerted a bit of pressure as a test, only to feel an even firmer grip in return. This man was strong, despite the fact that he should’ve already retired from the front lines.

This grip...!

“Oh, so you’re the branch manager? I’m Arnold Hail, a Level 7. I’ll be around for a while.”

“You’ve come a long way. Heard you’ve taken down a Thunder Dragon before? We welcome high-level hunters here,” said Gark, his words easing the tension among Arnold’s party members. Then, he added as if he had just remembered, “Though, that only applies to those who won’t cause too much trouble.” It was an insinuating remark. Twisting his thick lips into a wicked smile at the frowning Eigh, he continued, “Oh, don’t get me wrong. I’m not talking about you. We have quite a few troublemakers in the capital, you see.”

“Troublemakers?”

Treasure hunters squabbled regularly, and neither was it rare for some of them to even dabble in criminal activities. Arnold wondered how atrocious these individuals were that even the branch manager, who was well aware of these facts, referred to them as “troublemakers.”

Gark scratched his cheek and clicked his tongue loudly.

“Yeah, right. I’ve warned them, the gang who’d beaten you guys up in the tavern.”

I was startled by his comment.

“Sorry. They caught you off guard, right? Liz...is a Level 6, but she’s quite the nutcase who’d even bite at me, the branch manager. There’ve been plenty of victims of hers.”

Gark let out a wry laugh and shrugged before the wide-eyed Arnold.

Apologies were on his lips, but not a hint of it was reflected in his expression. No, it was even worse than that—Arnold felt a hint of condescension from him.

He was the bumpkin who’d caused the ruckus and ended up being beaten senseless in a one-sided fight by a woman of a lower level.

Could this man be biased against branches from smaller countries? Did Arnold really have the capabilities to get by in the capital?

While the staff of the Association should strive to maintain impartiality, their gazes remained unforgivingly stern. If you included Chloe’s reaction, having his strength doubted was immensely humiliating to Arnold.

Arnold and his party gritted their teeth and scowled, but Gark didn’t pay them any particular attention.

He continued, “My apologies. In fact, I’ve informed her ‘handler’ that the Crashing Lightning would be coming to town for the first time. But it looks like—um, how should I put it—he seems to have forgotten about it.”

“What?!”

“Yeah, well...what was it? He’s always been a bit absent-minded. Somehow or other, it seems like he can’t quite remember things he’s not interested in. Anyway, well, um, though you guys seem to have gotten beaten up pretty one-sidedly, it looks like you guys made quite a commotion too, didn’t you? Let’s just call it even this time.”

His words didn’t fully register in Arnold’s mind. First, the fact that the beast-like woman had a handler was shocking. But more importantly—this guy wasn’t interested in a Level 7 hunter?! Before his anger could hit him, Arnold felt a wave of disbelief wash over him. Not showing any interest in information about a powerful potential enemy was more than foolish.

What the heck was going through this guy’s mind?

As Arnold struggled to make sense of this mysterious mindset, Gark continued, “Oh, right. I just received a word of apology from her handler. You ready for this? He said, ‘She got a little bit excited hearing about a Level 7. I won’t let her strike again, so please forgive her.’ Well, I’d say you can take his word for it. He’s not the kind of guy to condone the ‘bullying of the weak.’ She’ll be a good girl, and I think she won’t try anything strange again.”

His voice was almost consoling.

For a moment, Arnold didn’t understand what Gark had said, and then a surge of blood rushed to his head. Arnold gnashed his teeth and barely managed to contain the nearly overflowing torrent of anger. A few drops of blood trickled down his overly tightly clenched fist; his nails had pierced through his skin. But even that dull pain wasn’t enough to quell Arnold’s anger. He couldn’t voice his frustration, because if he did, a string of insults would surely pour out. Anger wasn’t something to be let loose recklessly.

Eigh looked up at Gark in silence, but in his pupils, a fiery glint sparkled just like Arnold’s did.

The woman was said to be a Level 6, but she was undoubtedly a formidable presence. Her intense temperament, supported by her potent strength, had her unhesitatingly attack a hunter above her level.

That didn’t paint her in the light of the kind of person who’d bow down to someone else. What would it take to control such a beast like her? If she indeed was under another hunter’s command, the only answer was obvious: strength. More importantly, it must’ve been an overwhelming strength that could subdue such an unreasonable beast that would even defy the branch manager.

The root of his mysterious mindset, from what had been conveyed through Gark’s words, was none other than “arrogance.” He had an overwhelming confidence in his own strength; his arrogance was akin to a god looking down upon humans.

The target of their explosive anger shouldn’t be the Stifled Shadow; it ought to be her “handler.” They would make him pay the price for looking down on Nebulanubes’s warriors. An overwhelmingly Goliath he might be, but there was no way they could let this slide without a confrontation.

Whether he’d realized the thought going through their minds or not, Gark clapped his hands loudly and said, “Oh, that’s right. Apparently, that handler, the Thousand Tricks, has a favor to ask of you guys. He’s among the top five hunters in the capital, so it wouldn’t hurt to establish a connection with him.”

“A favor, you say?”

The Thousand Tricks—Arnold etched the name deeply into his consciousness.

With a laugh, Gark said to him, “He wants you guys to bring him a Thunder Dragon. Hearing about your victory over a Thunder Dragon has apparently made him crave its meat again. It seems like he hasn’t had any in a long while. Well, there’s no deadline for that, so just keep that in the back of your mind. Good luck, you Dragon Slayers.”

***

Arnold and his party left the hall with their shoulders squared.

Chloe waited until their figures had completely disappeared, and she asked her uncle, who was standing behind her in a daunting pose, “Um...Branch Manager, are you sure it’s okay to say that?”

“Huh? What do you mean? I was just passing along a message from Eva,” said Gark as he crossed his arms and twisted his lips into a smile.

Arnold might not have raised his voice, but the emotions in his heart were obvious. The intimidating aura he exuded was fitting for a high-level hunter like him.

Even someone like the Thousand Tricks might find it challenging to go up against a high-level hunter specialized in combat.

“Oh, no need to worry about that. If he hadn’t intended to start a fight, he wouldn’t possibly have said, ‘My bad for beating you up in a fight’ to a haughty high-level hunter in apology, right?”

“You do have a point...”

Apologizing to a hunter who was set on retaliating was just like adding fuel to the fire. It was also hard to imagine that this young man who’d resolved numerous incidents with his exceptional foresight would simply misjudge the character of his opponent. After all, this wasn’t the first time that the Thousand Tricks had picked a fight or found fault with hunters from abroad.

“Keeping hotheaded hunters in line is no doubt the job of a fellow hunter. It might not be a very commendable action, but it’s certainly appreciated. Krai probably enjoys doing that too, so help out when you can.”

“Roger.”

Gark waved his hand and left the hall.

Having watched him go, Chloe once again turned her black pupils towards the direction where Falling Fog had exited.

Being a treasure hunter...truly had its complexities.

***

On the third floor of First Steps’s clan house was a laboratory designated for Alchemists. It was a spacious laboratory that occupied about seventy percent of the floor. Spanning several rooms and equipped with state-of-the-art facilities and rare materials, it was likely the most expensive facility in the clan house.

Originally, Sitri was the only Alchemist in Footsteps. While there was one more of them now, the fact that almost an entire floor was dedicated to the relatively rare Alchemist class had been due to Sitri’s significant investment from her pocket money when the building had been constructed. It’d been an amount substantial enough to silence the ex-merchant Eva, who was known for her tightfistedness. Eva’s astonished expression then was still vividly etched into my memory.

While the name “Alchemist” might evoke a somewhat mysterious image, Sitri’s laboratory was as neat as her scrupulous personality: the room was decorated with white wallpaper and sparkling polished floors. The glass shelves were lined with intricate and bizarre instruments, and the bookshelves were filled with books written in languages I couldn’t even recognize. Nonetheless, every item of this Alchemistish collection in the room was well organized, and the lab wasn’t giving off any suspicious vibes.

At the sound of the door opening, one of the two figures standing in front of the central table—Sitri, dressed in a plain gray robe—turned towards me. Upon seeing my face, she clasped her hands together and beamed a smile.

“Welcome, Krai.”

“Were you busy?”

“No. I was just preparing some potions for sale. But I’m done with the preparations, so I’m free for now.”

On the table was a large, peculiar contraption resembling an hourglass. Unlike an hourglass, the upper half contained a paste-like substance instead of sand, and a pool of liquid accumulated in the lower compartment. It was likely a device for extracting components, but the purpose of most of Sitri’s instruments escaped my comprehension.

Sitri usually bought out the materials from the monsters defeated by Grieving Souls at a rate slightly higher than the market price, transformed them into even more expensive potions, and wholesaled them to various trade companies. Through this process, she’d amassed an immense fortune. While rewards from our adventures were generally shared equally, Sitri was the wealthiest thanks to that. According to Eva, who’d assisted in some of the transactions, the amount she earned was quite exceptional as individual earnings went.

“Talia, I’m sorry, but please put the rest of the potions in bottles and store them in the wooden crate.”

“Okay,” replied the other Alchemist of First Steps, Talia, who was pouring a pale green powderlike substance from a large glass container as she wiped the sweat from her forehead.

They seemed unusually busy. While potion-making was Sitri’s side business, producing too many of a potion could apparently lead to a collapse in its value. This was the first time I’d seen her making too many potions that she had to enlist help from others.

Talia removed a glass container from the lower part of an apparatus and carried it to another room.

Seeming to have sensed curiosity from my expression, Sitri explained to me, “I’ve been approached by those who’ve helped charge your Relics recently. They said they wanted to do some training on their own during their free time as well, so they were asking if I could spare them some potions.”

Seriously...? It’s not like that’s even training or anything. They were even literally foaming at their mouths and losing their consciousness. How are they not only not traumatized, but also looking forward to taking more of that potion of their own accord? Are they masochists or something?

“Of course, I’m charging them the minimal cost for the materials—this is splendid. Your zeal is coming through to them. I’m also glad that going out of my way to encourage them has been worthwhile.”

“Yeah, uh-huh.”

That had really looked more like provocation than encouragement, but I didn’t feel like pointing that out to Sitri with her sparkling eyes.

While I nodded half-mindedly, Sitri continued in an increasingly passionate tone, “So, I thought I’d make some slight improvements to the potions. It’s quite the rare opportunity to have hunters who’ve absorbed a large amount of mana material willing to become test subjects themselves. Until now, human subject research has been mostly on orphans in the decaying district. While it’s good that there are no repercussions, the health condition isn’t exactly great—”

“Yeah, uh-huh?”

“It would be a revolutionary breakthrough if we can establish a means for the über growth of mana through observing such a sizable sample group. We have Lucia, but her mentality is too robust, so she isn’t useful as data. If we can prove this method works with Magi who aren’t quite talented, it will surely change how Magi will go about training. This can benefit them greatly! Providing potions to everyone at a low cost now will bring tremendous benefits! What do you think, Krai?”

“Just don’t go overboard.”

Don’t go overboard, okay?

“I was thinking I could just give them the potions Lucia uses as is, but it turned out to be more complicated than that. It was too costly, and the impact on the mental state—”

“I came to return the money I owe you.”

“Huh?”

A dazed look appeared on Sitri’s face.

While I didn’t dislike seeing a jolly Sitri, explaining all this to Talia, her fellow Alchemist, would be more constructive.

I was here to return the money I got from her to cover the reconstruction of the tavern.

I usually covered the costs for celebrations. Since I was getting a share of their pay without working, it was only right for me to do so.

“No, it’s okay. It’s not our first time anyway. Just put it on your credit.”

“You’ve lent me so much; I don’t even remember how much I’ve borrowed...”

Although I’d been keeping track of every dime I borrowed, I hadn’t done the calculations, so I didn’t know the total amount. I’d been borrowing way too much. Relics were very expensive, and I didn’t have other sources of income since running the clan was all that I did. Sitri probably knew about my situation, but she never urged me.

She mentioned something along the lines of “owing her over a billion gild” at the tavern. Did I get her right...? That’s one with nine zeros after it, right?

Sitri placed her hand against her cheek and said with a somewhat bashful smile, “I’ve also borrowed a lot too, so just feel free to return it when you can.”

“I can only pay it off bit by bit.”

“Even if you pay me a million or two, it would just be a drop in the bucket. I’ll have you pay me back with your body eventually.”

“I’m quite spoiled, ain’t I?”

Normally, I should’ve been expelled from the party, but instead, I was being treated well. To be honest, I feel very ashamed.

I wonder what Eva would say if she learned of the amount of debt I owed...

Not knowing my inner thoughts, Sitri blushed.

“I’ll spoil you a lot. So in return, you spoil me a lot when the time is ripe, okay?”

Hmm? Does this make me a sugar baby? Does this mean I’ll be all set even if I retire?

As inept as I knew I was, I did have some common sense in me, I hope.

“I’ll pay you back.”

“How?”

“I’ll...borrow it from Lucia?”

“That isn’t going to change the fact that you’re in debt...”

“Actually, I’m thinking maybe I should open a confectionery café after I retire.”

“Ooh, that’s one roaring business. How many years do you intend to take to pay back the rest of the billion gild?” said Sitri with a grin.

I was sure she hadn’t meant to be sarcastic, but I’d heard a sardonic twist there nevertheless.

But the rest of it, hmm... I should probably brace myself for an upbraiding and consult Eva on this later.

By the way, I had no plan on liquidating my collection of Relics. Encounters with Relics were once-in-a-lifetime experiences. Among the Relics I’d collected over the years, there were even some that were nearly unobtainable. Though, I planned to donate them all to my party as shared assets when I retired. This would be my way of making amends for irresponsibly leaving the party.

Anyway, I was here to pay Sitri back the tab from the tavern last time.

She quietly accepted my payment and, without counting it, stored it in a pocket on her loose-fitting robe.

Then, as if suddenly realizing something, she said, “Oh, right. If it happens so that you absolutely can’t pay off your debt, I have three ways to help you clear it off.”

“I guess I should listen to the advice you have to offer. We’re ruling out you waiving all of it though.”

Despite everything, I was still mindful of my monetary ties.

Then, with a flushed face, Sitri said, “First option: take me as your wife. If you become my spouse, our assets will merge, and your debt will be canceled. I’ll even try my best to develop a liking for sweets. I’ll find a way to somehow silence my sister, and I won’t let her lay a finger on you.”

An amusing joke, indeed. Don’t get me wrong; it wasn’t like I absolutely hated the idea, but that wouldn’t work as a method for repaying debts.

“And the second option?”

“The second option is that you’ll become my husband. I’ll take in all your debt alongside you. I know everything about you, Krai. I’ll take care of everything from cooking to laundry, I’ll cover all the chores, and I’ll even tolerate your indulgence in the confectionery café. I’ll do my best to silence my sister.”

...Sitri’s sense of humor rivaled Eva’s, it seemed.

I’m not entirely sure, but I wonder, “How is the first option different from the second?”

Hiding my slightly peevish feelings, I nodded with feigned interest and asked, “That’s...quite the tempting proposition. And what about the third option?”

Without a moment’s delay, Sitri replied, “Snitch on me and turn me in to the authorities. Though I’d be rather lonely in prison then, so I’d be glad if you could also send my sister in to keep me company.”

Don’t say that with such a bright smile on your face. Looks like I’ll have to be more cautious to not borrow any more... But anyway, why would I even send her to prison? It’s not like she’s committed anything terrible.

I let out a sigh and decided to gloss over the conversation.

“By the way, do you remember the teriyaki Thunder Dragon you made for us quite a while ago? That was incredibly delicious.”

“Oh, that was made with some homemade seasoning. I think mixing that with chicken instead would probably suit your taste better. After all, dragon meat just doesn’t match up in flavor compared to that of livestock raised for meat. I remember the recipe; shall we make it tonight?” said Sitri, going along with the obvious change of topic.

Now, how should I come up with the money...? Speaking of which, the auction is approaching...

I felt like I’d taken advantage of Sitri’s kindness last year and gone on a buying spree for Relics. There wasn’t much time left until the auction this year.

I let out a heavy sigh and decided to go consult Eva, my go-to person when things got tough.

***

They were at the heart of the capital, within a room in a high-class inn tailored for treasure hunters.

Arnold cast a sweeping glance over his party members, and in a voice carrying an undertone of veiled intimidation, he confirmed with them, “So, you guys have gathered the rumors?”

“Yeah. It seems he’s a famous hunter around these parts—his name is even on the list we received when we first came.”

Eigh surveyed the faces of his party mates and began his explanation.

The Thousand Tricks—that was the moniker of the hunter who, according to Branch Manager Gark, was the owner of the Stifled Shadow. Whether in jest or earnest, he’d also commissioned them to slay a Thunder Dragon for the outrageous reason that “he wants to eat its meat.”

He’d been mocking them. While it was already enough for Arnold to antagonize him simply based on the fact that he was the leader of the party of the woman who’d assaulted them one-sidedly, it was too risky to engage without intelligence on him.

Among the achievements Arnold has accumulated, slaying a Thunder Dragon was the greatest of them all. The dragon that had once rampaged in the Land of Fogs truly possessed the power to level an entire nation to the ground. It’d stood as an absolute powerhouse, driving back group after group of high-level hunters, who’d attempted to challenge it. Every challenger failed—until Arnold and his party. It had been this great feat that had earned him both the Level 7 certification and his moniker.

The Thunder Dragon, colossal in size, had been armored with firm scales. With its lightning breath that’d been almost impossible to dodge, its long bladelike tail with edges sharper than most swords as its weapon, and its ability to soar through the sky, it had been considered a superior existence even among dragons.

Although it’d been Falling Fog who’d directly faced and slain the Thunder Dragon, the conquest drew upon the collaboration of countless hunters: It’d been these hunters who’d prepared the battlefield, searched for the opportune moment, ensured that the equipment and strategies were perfect, and set up the traps. It’d been a battle where the survival of the nation had been at stake. But even with all the meticulous preparation, the mortal combat had extended for several hours.

While the recommended level designated by the Explorers’ Association had been Level 7, Arnold, having faced the dragon, had considered the designation an underestimation of their opponent’s power. They had been fortunate enough to have succeeded in defeating it, but had there been one false move, his entire party would’ve been dead. Even now, equipped with powerful weapons crafted from materials from the dragon and having stared death in the face numerous times, that was still not a fight they could engage in casually. No matter what dire straits they found themselves in when exploring treasure vaults, recalling how much worse their encounter with the Thunder Dragon had been would give them strength to push through their troubles at hand.

After the battle, they’d dissected the remaining corpse for materials. The Land of Fogs had profited enormously from it, and a fitting amount of money had been awarded to all hunters who’d participated.

A dragon’s body was a treasure in its entirety. Its bones, scales, and the gemstones within its body—not to mention its blood and flesh—were all in high demand as potion ingredients.

The idea of consuming even a portion of these hard-earned materials for food was nothing short of madness. If a hunter were to go around and spread such nonsense, they would be met with barrages of derisive laughter, as was appropriate. However, if it was said by a high-level hunter, it would be a different story.

“When it comes to Zebrudia’s hunters, Rodin is the name people usually think of... But dammit, this one is a Level 8...!”

A Level 8 would be a super high-level hunter surpassing even Arnold, the Dragon Slayer. Such high-level hunters didn’t even exist in Nebulanubes—he was truly a mysterious adversary.

For treasure hunters, who enhance their abilities with the help of mana material, gaps between individuals’ power could grow very vast. The power of Arnold and an average hunter was as different as night and day, yet the same could be said of that of an even higher-level hunter and him.

There were only five treasure vaults in Nebulanubes. Although that was still better than the other neighboring countries, it paled in comparison to the Zebrudia capital, where treasure vaults of all levels were abundant in its vicinity. Numerous high-level treasure vaults that were capable of further enhancing Arnold and his party, who’d reached their growth limits in Nebulanubes, existed around these parts.

Arnold confidently knew that he was the strongest. The problem lay in the anxiety swirling within his party: they wondered if the name “Crashing Lightning” was good enough for this capital.

The strength of their party was as good as the strength of their solidarity. He was a strong leader whom everyone followed, and he needed to prove his strength and pride as a leader.

Gark’s seemingly ridiculing gaze was etched into his mind. Those eyes had clearly spoken of Gark’s conviction in the Thousand Tricks’s supremacy over the Crashing Lightning.

Originally, their plan had been to make their presence known to the hunters of the capital, sell items they’d obtained in Nebulanubes for high prices, and then leisurely crush the treasure vaults of this land one by one.

Yet, he couldn’t afford leisure like this.

The intelligence on the Thousand Tricks that Eigh and the rest of his party had gathered was unexpectedly ridiculous.

They said he was a man who could foresee the future.

They said he’d reached Level 8 without having made a single blunder.

They said he led an entire party of hunters with monikers, and that he’d defeated the legendary Rodin.

Everyone knew his name, but his true strength remained veiled in multiple layers of mystery. There were even members in his clan who’d said “Master is a god.”

With just a few casual inquiries, they’d already heard so much of his reputation—it was no wonder that he’d acted with such arrogance.

However, the more Arnold delved into the reports, the more he twisted his stern expression into a seemingly quizzical one.

Among the gathered intelligence, there was one particular aspect that felt off.

“So there are no rumors regarding his combat abilities, huh?”

“Yeah. Though there have been rumors of him sending a colossal golem flying with only his aura...”

“That’s some stupid bullshit.”

While hunters each had their own fields of expertise, “combat prowess” was the most emphasized field of all. Even hunters of classes less suited for direct combat could fight better than an ordinary person; that was what being a hunter meant. So if this Thousand Tricks was a Level 8, his power must be beyond human capabilities. Clearly, something was off with this gap in information.

People would normally be skeptical of such a lack of intelligence. But given the Thousand Tricks’s reputation, they’d surely overlook such a minor anomaly. But Arnold was different—the Crashing Lightning hadn’t reached Level 7 through sheer physical strength. His ability to render proper judgments was contingent on him having gathered relevant information, and his intuition as a hunter was telling him that there was more than meets the eye.

He frowned as he mentally pieced together the data. Having arrived at a conclusion, he smirked with a crooked grin—without a doubt, the Thousand Tricks was weak. Or rather, to be more precise, while he wasn’t exactly weak, he probably didn’t possess the combat abilities befitting a Level 8. In terms of profession, he was likely a Thief or Cleric, both noncombat classes. In either case, he was no match for Arnold, who specialized in combat. The absolute lack of intelligence on his combat abilities was probably the work of the Thousand Tricks actively concealing it.

“The ability to foresee the future, huh? Interesting...”

The claim of being able to foresee the future was either a charlatan’s trick or something attributed to legendary heroes.

Perhaps his absurd request to deliver a Thunder Dragon was a ploy to make Arnold hesitate. The more Arnold considered it, the more he saw through this shallow tactic. Perhaps even the words of the branch manager and the receptionist were all part of a bluff.

What nonsense. So this is how they’ll be ensnared in their own plotting.

Though they might deceive the hunters of the capital, they couldn’t deceive the Crashing Lightning.

“Rumors have it that the Stifled Shadow is a childhood friend of the Thousand Tricks.”

Eigh’s words dispelled Arnold’s remaining small doubt.

Normally, it was hard to imagine a warrior of her caliber yielding to a weakling, but it’d be a different story if they’d known each other for a long time.

Perhaps that, too, was another layer of deception.

Arnold glared at the imagined shadow of his would-be rival.

His opponent most likely wasn’t weak—but the Crashing Thunder would triumph.

Arnold was still relatively unknown in this capital, unlike the Thousand Tricks. Fame came with both advantages and disadvantages. In this capital, Arnold was a challenger now.

Though they’d suffered an early setback, there would be nothing better to cement his reputation in the capital than crushing the Thousand Tricks underfoot. Of course, this would surely be a bitter fight—the Stifled Shadow would stand in his way too—but defeating them would prove his absolute superiority.

Arnold’s shoulders shuddered with excitement as he broke into a deep smile. He’d made his decision.

“It has been a while since we’ve been the challengers. We shall have these old-timers educate us all about the levels of the capital.”

A party composed solely of moniker holders was indeed powerful, but their individual members might not necessarily be strong if isolated. Arnold wasn’t a knight who played fair and square; he was a hunter—he targeted any weaknesses available.

With fervor in his voice, one of the party mates shivered with fervor.

“So, what about their request for a Thunder Dragon?” he asked.

“We’ll let him bark all he wants. It’s not like we’ve officially accepted the commission. I’ll make anyone regret underestimating me.”

His golden eyes dimly gleamed in the face of his greatest foe since the Thunder Dragon.

An air of anticipation swept through their spacious room.

***

“How on earth did you come to this?”

Eva, flipping through my debt memos as she checked their content, let out a trembling voice quite out of character for her usually composed self.

Even I didn’t feel like reclining in my chair lazily like I usually did. Instead, I crossed my arms and feigned a thoughtful look.

Grieving Souls split its income evenly among its members. In the event that any of the party members desired certain items, like Relics or monster materials, we’d obtained during our adventures, we also had a rule that allowed the member to buy those items out at a price slightly below their market value. Well, given that we were all good buddies and not particularly materialistic, we’d been handling our earnings rather casually.

The reason that my debt had grown like this had mainly been due to the fact that I’d ended up buying out most of the Relics. With no money at all, each purchase had ended up adding to the debt I’d owed everyone. However, around the time Eliza had joined us as a new member, Sitri, who’d always seemed to be financially afloat, started taking over all my debt.

Now I was totally dependent on her. I’d been avoiding the problem until now, but the situation had become very awkward—perhaps.

“Well...there are just too many Relics I wanted...”

“This...is an amount that exceeds even what a top-notch hunter could easily earn, you know? I’d been wondering how you kept bringing in new Relics one after another; now I know...”

“Yeah, uh-huh... As they tackled progressively higher-level treasure vaults, the Relics they brought back also became more and more valuable. That’s how the debt kept growing and growing...”

It was almost strange that nobody had pointed this out to me until now. The amount was so immense that I could hardly get a real sense of it. This was mind-boggling.

Eva brushed her bangs up and pressed her hand against her forehead. Her expression appeared to be much more serious than the one on me, the culprit.

“I knew you’ve occasionally taken out some of the clan’s operational funds to buy Relics, but since it was always returned immediately, I didn’t think much about it...”

Yeah, right...Sitri covered those for me. Perhaps I don’t have any choice left but to marry her? I do like her, but I really can’t see myself getting married for such a motive.

“J-Just to confirm...you haven’t borrowed from other external entities, right?”

“Yeah, only from Sitri.”

Or rather, I’d borrowed from others in the past, but Sitri had taken care of all that for me.

Relics were my lifelines, and that was exactly why I’d not budged an inch on that—but maybe I should’ve thought a bit more before I’d acted.

Perhaps I don’t have any choice left but to marry her?

Eva’s seemingly contemplative expression lasted only a moment, and she immediately let out a deep sigh.

“Ugh... Well, I’m sure, with Grieving Souls, you’ll be able to do something about that in a year or two—as long as there isn’t any interest...”

I’m already swamped with the status quo; can I really continue being a hunter for another year or two?

“Can we somehow manage it with a confectionery café?”

“I have absolutely no idea what you’re talking about.”

“Okay, I’ve decided! Until the debt is paid...let’s consider not purchasing more Relics.”

Though I’d made the statement with firm resolution, a hint of skepticism escaped Eva’s eyes. Up until now, I’d been buying new Relics left and right and boasting about them; it was no wonder that she wasn’t taking my word for it. I’d have to prove it with my actions.

While I’m at it, I might as well display some enthusiasm.

“Also, yeah, maybe I should take up a side gig—well, maybe not going that far—or, yeah, maybe a part-time job?”

“Please don’t.”

“Well...how about something like fortune-telling? Don’t you think I can somehow make it work with just shots in the dark?”

“P-Please don’t!”

I was half joking, but Eva’s voice was desperate. She was even paler now than when she’d heard about my debt.

Well, to be fair, if the master of my clan tried to become a sham fortune teller, I supposed I’d desperately try to stop him too. Besides, there were genuine fortune tellers in the capital who boasted higher accuracy rates; I’d most likely end up having my fraud unmasked immediately.

“Or...maybe I can be a salesclerk somewhere in a store?”

“Please don’t.”

“How about a janitor or something along those lines? Like scouring the sewers? You know, those quests that the Association always posts? They seem to need more hands to work on that.”

The rewards for those quests were low, and since they could be completed by even nonhunters, apparently almost no one was willing to take up those quests.

“...Please don’t. Seriously, I’m begging you... Do you understand your position, Krai?”

“Hunters are free beings, and all work is noble. Even a Level 8 could clean sewers, don’t you think so?”

“I don’t. Liz, for instance, will most likely go ham if you do, so please don’t.”

That actually sounds like it could happen.

But that puts me in an awkward position... What should I do then? I have no special skills but only average abilities and a disproportionately high level. I’m stuck; there’s nothing I can do. Am I not more of a burden than just an ordinary incompetent?

I feel like I’m about to barf.

Do I have no choice but to leech off Liz, Sitri, Tino, Luke, and the others from my clan? Am I just a piece of trash?

“Instead of taking up a side gig, how about going on some solo explorations in treasure vaults? You’re a hunter after all.”

Seemed like Eva was telling me to “go die” too with that.

As I relaxed and put on a pathetic smile, Eva let out a long, defeated sigh.

“Come on, quit making that pathetic look! Fortunately, we do have some capital, and we should be able to grow that to a certain extent given time. Don’t do anything, okay? Just don’t put yourself in more debt than you already have. The number one killer of parties is financial trouble, you know?”

I mean...I haven’t really done anything, have I? Do I have no choice but to leech off Eva? There’s nothing wrong with borrowing from Sitri, right?

While I really appreciated her help, Eva had her own work to do too. Besides, I felt sorry for asking her to clean up after my financial mess—that’d make me too much of a failure.

By the way, while the number one killer of parties was indeed financial trouble, number two was romantic drama.

“Please carry yourself with confidence. You pulling yourself together makes things easier for me to handle.”

“Your standard for ‘pulling myself together’ is pretty low, yeah? Basically, you just mean ‘shut up and sit down,’ right?”

“...”

She turned her gaze away from me.

With all things considered, what did it mean to be a clan master?

A clan master’s morning started early, right before the sun rose directly overhead.

After waking up in my private room within the clan house, I would first take a light shower in the facilities that came with the building to squash my sleepiness.

Then, I got dressed. While my appearance remained consistent over the days thanks to the multiples of the same outfit that I owned, I equipped different sets and numbers of Relics each day. The Relics I equipped depended mostly on my mood. While I wore at least a Safety Ring every day, the majority of the rest were accessory Relics: rings, necklaces, and such were very handy as they didn’t hinder my movements and offered a wide range of effects.

Among hunters, accessory Relics were also popular, second only to weapon- and armor-type Relics, which directly contributed to combat strength. Although a lot of them also existed in my collection, I lacked the combat abilities to wield them effectively, and so I didn’t carry them around unless I had a good reason for it.

Instead, I carried chain-type Relics with me. They were handy for immobilizing foes, and they didn’t hinder my movements either. The best part was that I could use them too. Since they weren’t obvious weapons, they often allowed me to catch opponents off guard. They’d saved my ass more than a handful of times.

I took a quick glance around the room, and I noticed that several of my Relics were missing. I didn’t think much about it since Sitri had said she might use them in the development of a new mana restoration potion—it wasn’t like anyone would go out of their way to infiltrate into and steal from the headquarters of a major clan anyway.

With my outfit ready, I headed to the clan house’s lounge for breakfast. The lounge was open twenty-four hours, but since most people were busy during the day, it wasn’t crowded. I had a light breakfast of a sandwich and a cup of coffee, then I ascended the stairs exultantly back to my clan master’s office.

And there, as usual, I sat down on the unnecessarily grand clan master’s chair, and I let out a deep sigh.

There was nothing to do.

The spacious office desk before me was polished to a shine, and there was absolutely nothing on it.

To begin with, there wasn’t much work for me as the clan master. I had given almost all authority to Eva regarding the operations of Steps. Very rarely did anything have to come back to me. So when Eva had told me to just “shut up and sit down,” she really did mean it.

And since there was nothing to do for me, I took out a piece of downy cloth and began carefully polishing the Relics one by one as usual. Since Relic polishing was like a daily routine for me, they weren’t really anywhere near dirty, so I had them all cleaned in a flash.

Feeling a bit restless, I tried wandering aimlessly around the desk, flipping through a picture book about old Relics on the bookshelf, and even doing some exercises on the spot. Perhaps because now I knew the total amount of my debt, I felt oddly irritated.

Though, while doing all those things, I tried to come up with ways to repay the debt on my own, I couldn’t come up with anything. Most importantly, I didn’t really have anything I was good at. I had no knowledge, nor could I fight—I didn’t even know why I was still a hunter. The more I thought about it, the more I found it depressing, and so I promptly gave up on thinking.

In any case, even with a good level of abilities, repaying a debt in the billions was impossible.

For a change of mood, I went and opened the window behind my seat wide.

It was a nice day out there.

Sunrays poured into the room, and I subconsciously smiled against the backdrop of gentle breezes.

In front of the clan house was the main street. Looking down, I could see a lot of people bustling around today as well. There was a shimmering sea of human activity out there.

And in that mood, I began to ponder, Compared to the vastness of this world, what is a debt in the billions?

I was a complete failure, and I just wanted to dissolve into thin air like that.

And now that I’d finished my brief escape from reality, I closed the window and sat back down on the chair. Just as I let out a deep sigh, a rather loud knock unexpectedly sounded. Before I could reply, the door swung open.

“Master! Did you have something you need from me?!”

Entering the door was not Eva nor Sitri, but—counter to my expectations—Tino.

She was dressed in predominantly black attire as always, and her bare white legs peering out of her dress were dazzling. Perhaps she’d run here; her cheeks were slightly flushed.

It was rare for Tino to come to the off-limits clan master’s office without being summoned.

No... I don’t remember having summoned her, but did I really not? Could I really have called her?

My memory lapses were overly severe.

I put on a half-hearted smile as I frantically searched my memory and tried to muddle my way through this.

“Y-Yeah, uh-huh—”

“See! That’s what I thought! Master, um, it was a rare sight to see you smiling at me from the window, so I thought you might’ve something you needed from me!”

“Yeah? ...Y-Yeah, uh-huh...”

Tino looked down and fidgeted with her fingers as she spoke. Her expression was soft and lovestruck.

Somehow she’d spotted me in the clan master’s office from the streets.

I haven’t noticed at all...

That smile had been more of a smile at myself. Our gazes shouldn’t have met either. Wasn’t her loyalty a little bit too strong?

I rested my chin on my hand and didn’t even try to hide my lack of enthusiasm, but Tino’s expression remained unclouded.

“Siddy asked me to bring food for ‘Drink,’ and so I did—what perfect timing.”

“Huh? ‘Drink’? Like something for me to drink?”

“Huh? Siddy was so happy that you took it in...”

“Oh...yeah...”

She meant that chimera. “Drink” is such a terrible name... Let’s not bring that up again.

So now Tino runs erra—helps out with not only Liz’s but also Sitri’s requests? Tino seems to be much more hardworking than I am.

It felt embarrassing to discuss my debts with a junior, but maybe she might have some good ideas.

“Speaking of the thing I need from you, I need your advice on something. To be honest, I’ve been racking up an enormous amount of debt...”

I turned towards Tino, who seemed to somehow be in high spirits, and smiled at her genuinely this time.

“You tricked me again... Master, what do you think I am?”

“I’m not tricking you. Really.”

We continued our conversation as we descended the stairs in the clan house.

Tino’s voice was clearly sulky, and she said, “You raised my hopes only to dash them. As a matter of fact, I was hoping that, Master, you’d give me some chocolate or something.”

“I didn’t raise your hopes, nor did I dash them.”

On her face was an expression resembling that of a puppy whose treat had been taken away from it right in front of its eyes.

Somehow I felt like we’d had a similar conversation not too long ago. I couldn’t help but wonder what exactly Tino thought of me—perhaps I’d been giving her too many treats?

“Tino, you go through tough situations all the time, and yet you never seem to learn.”

“Th-That... I’m aware of that. It’s all because, Master, you’ve been thinking of me, right?”

“Yeah, uh-huh.”

I was taken aback momentarily, but then I nodded thoughtlessly at Tino’s words that had come as if clinging for an answer.

Surely I’d been thinking of Tino: I always wished from the bottom of my heart that she’d find happiness someday—but that just wasn’t yielding any results...

Liz and Sitri are always causing trouble for her; I should be kinder to her.

“You’re not with Liz today, huh?”

“Lizzy...said she’ll prove it next time that she can break through the golem’s armor she didn’t break last time, and so she grabbed Siddy along with her for a special training session. I think they should be at her master’s place now.”

I see... No wonder I don’t see both Liz and Sitri around. That leaves Tino here all alone.

Including the incident at the tavern, Liz’s treatment of Tino seemed a bit rough. Liz didn’t necessarily hate Tino, but she tended to be apathetic in her interactions given her personality.

Should I caution her about that?

“Do you want me to talk to them about that? They should treat you more kindly.”

“Wha—?”

Perhaps taken aback, Tino widened her eyes fully—she was too used to being bullied.

Upon hearing my words, she began darting glances all around with her cheeks slightly flushed, and she said bashfully, “Oh...thank you, Master. But it’s fine. It’s also Lizzy’s command that I’m here to assist you when she’s not around.”

Loyalty to the extreme, huh? I wonder what directives Liz has been feeding her. Well, she doesn’t seem to dislike it. I guess as long as she’s fine with it...

“A-Also, I personally really enjoy very much being with you too, Master...”

“Aw, thanks. Anyway, going back to the topic of the debt—”

She paled.

Honestly, if she were to say something like “Actually, I hated being with you,” I’d start losing faith in humanity.

Tino was shocked, and her eyes were teary.

I laid my hands on her head and gave her a headpat. This wasn’t something I’d do to a full-fledged hunter, but Tino was almost like another little sister to me.

She took a deep breath as if trying to calm herself, and then she said in a weak voice, “Master, I need money for replenishing supplies and maintaining my equipment too. Lizzy is already bleeding me dry as it is, and I’m already offering you all my Relics. Squeeze more out of me, and this well will run dry.”

“Yeah, uh-huh.”

I wasn’t planning on borrowing from Tino anyway.

“Ugh... I d-did say I’m here to assist you, but there’s a limit to that... H-How much do you need?”

“I’m not looking to borrow. After all, it’s up in the billions. That’s way too much for you.”

“B-Bil...lions...?”

Stunned, Tino began counting on her fingers, trying to visualize the number. Her expression was much like Eva’s when she’d heard of the amount.

I knew... Apparently, even for a spendthrift hunter like myself, billions in debt wasn’t a small amount.

With a dry chuckle, Tino said with a trembling voice, “O-Of course, I sh-should’ve known. Master, that’s really impressive of you to have borrowed such a considerable amount. As expected of a Level 8 who’s feared by all.”

This was the first time I’d ever been praised for just borrowing money.

Is she complimenting me? Is she making fun of me? ...Uh-huh, she has to be making fun of me.

There was no room for excuses. When it came to money, one should really only borrow as much as one could repay.

“Ha ha... It’s okay, it’s okay. After all, it’s Sitri who’s lending me all the money. Apparently, if things go south, she can just waive all that debt for me if we get married.”

“What?”

Tino leaked a startled noise that sounded more bewildered than that from when she’d heard of the debt amount just earlier.

I’m just kidding, just kidding.

Around the lounge, hunters who apparently owed Sitri money twisted their faces into stricken expressions as they fed “Drink.” Our eyes met, but I closed the door and pretended not to notice. Down the stairs, we continued to descend.

Though Drink had taken a liking to me (despite almost killing me), it seemed to be quite ferocious towards the other hunters. They had to hold it down with multiple people in order to feed it. To be honest, that looked more like they were training it than feeding it.

Remarkably, that stubborn Vault Investigation Bureau had let go of it without much resistance.

“Um...Master, are you sure that’s all right?”

“It’s fine. It’s not like anyone has died from it, right?”

Though the casualty rate might increase if I were to feed it. Needless to say, that’d be concerning for me. While I’d gotten my Relics charged, my Safety Rings weren’t unlimited.

I felt bad for the hunters tasked with feeding it, but that was the final compromise from my negotiations with Sitri, so there was nothing we could do about it other than bear with it.

Bringing Tino with me, I fled the clan house.

I didn’t really have plans to be outside, but I’d most likely be made to feed the chimera if I’d gone back—allow me to pass on that.

Fortunately, I had an entourage by the name of Tino with me now. Having her as my convoy was reassuring, and, more importantly, we shared a love for sweets.

Let’s make this a date to treat ourselves for the first time in a long while.

Seeing that Tino was still wary of the clan house, I proposed, “Since we’re out here, how about we go grab something sweet once in a while? My treat.”

Tino had never turned down an invitation like this before. And so I thought she’d be beaming this time too, but her response was unexpected.

“W-Well, that’s... I’m really, really glad you asked, but...um, Master...don’t you have debts to pay?”

That...was a very valid point, and I had absolutely no counterargument for it.

Tino’s expression was clouded with worry, appearing much graver than that of me, the one actually with the debt.

“Um...it pains me to say this, but...maybe you should cut back your expenses a bit...? Of course, I’ll do everything I can to assist with that too. Though that’s quite the amount you owe...”

“D-Don’t worry. You see, after all, it’s Sitri whom I’ve borrowed from...”

If it’d been just a random moneylender, I surely wouldn’t be as calm as I was now.

But, at my half-baked words, Tino responded in a blunt tone that was unusual for her, “That won’t do, Master! Marrying Siddy is the worst thing you can do to repay your debts.”

I...can’t really argue with that.

I remained speechless.

The tone in Tino’s voice shifted abruptly, and she said as her large black eyes welled up with tears, “A-Also, if Siddy and Master were to marry... I’m sure we wouldn’t be able to walk together like this again.”

“I’m sure that won’t be the case—”

“It will! Even if she might lend you to me for a bit, Siddy will definitely try to monopolize you!”

Her voice was frantic.

What exactly does she foresee? And what’s the point of monopolizing me?

Though, to begin with, I had never intended to marry for just the purpose of repaying debt.

Besides, before Tino would despise me for that, Lucia would never allow that to happen either way. My younger sister seemed to have set her sights on making her brother a true man.

Seeming much more motivated than I was, Tino mumbled with a more serious expression than ever, “I shall keep only the bare minimum, sell off the rest of the assets, and empty the savings. I’m sure if I work with Lizzy, I’ll surely be able to clear off the billions—huh?! D-Does that...does that mean if I clear the debt, half of Master would be m-mine...?”

“Tino?”

Unsettling words reached my ears, but unfortunately, I was the kind of person who could borrow from my family without so much as flinching. I meant, even now, despite shouldering a ten-digit debt, I was still brazenly walking under the sun as if nothing was wrong. See?

Meanwhile, Tino shook her head vigorously as if trying to shake off impure thoughts.

“N-No, no, that’s not going to happen. After all, everything of mine is Master’s, and I’m Master’s...”

You’re Master’s what?

I should scold Liz the next time I see her so that she doesn’t put ideas even weirder than this into Tino’s head.

“You don’t have to sell your belongings. There has to be a better solution...”

I can’t come up with anything right now, but there has to be something. Well, Eva will figure something out if worse comes to worst...

No, no, no, no, no, this won’t do. I need to stop relying on others as my first resort.

Then, Tino suddenly clapped her hands together.

“Th-That’s it! Master, we’re hunters. How about we go to a treasure vault and retrieve some Relics? Luckily the auction is coming soon, and I’m sure they will fetch high prices!”

She’d proposed the orthodox approach... That was Tino for you, so very unlike me. But of course, this was the first option I’d considered—and then rejected. If anything, I was almost baffled that she hadn’t brought that proposal up in the beginning.

Tino looked at me with sparkling eyes.

“Though it might seem like cheating and a bit unfair for other hunters, with your foresight, you surely know which treasure vault will give valuable Relics, right?”

What kind of superhuman was that? Relics appeared in treasure vaults randomly. While there existed clans who attempted to predict that statistically, I’d never heard of that working out properly. Naturally, this was beyond my capabilities, but for some reason, Tino seemed convinced that I could do it.

“Hmm, unfortunately, I’m busy and I can’t afford to go searching for Relics...”

And even though the auction was an event where one could make a fortune at a single stroke, making high billions was still challenging.

Though I’d been obliquely expressing my reluctance, Tino didn’t back down. I could see shades of her mentor in the way she pressed on with great optimism.

“Um...w-well then, Master, what about you give me instructions, and I can go and fetch them. Well...if the vault isn’t too dangerous, that is...”

“...”

Tino’s kindness was overwhelming, and unlike Liz’s and the others’, hers didn’t come with thorns. This pained my heart, and I felt a prick of conscience.

Fine, I get it; I know you’re a good girl already, so just let me be. Let me go to hell alone. That’s the only good I can do.

“All right, if you put it that way...I’ll go pick some up later just in case.”

“Great! I’m counting on you then!”

“Just that, even for me...um...yeah, at best, I’d put my accuracy at predicting Relics at around fifty percent—”

“Fifty percent?! W-Wow, as expected of Master...”

Sorry, that’s not going to happen.

What I’d meant to say was that any prediction could either hit, or it could miss. And this time, I didn’t intend to get it right.

I could just randomly send her to a low-level treasure vault, and she’d be satisfied when she found out that there weren’t any Relics in there. Or at least, she’d be understanding of the situation. After all, exploiting this junior of mine to repay my debt was a bad idea.

It might have been a bit late to realize, but karma had piled up against me.

I let out a small sigh and made a new suggestion to Tino.

“Well, let’s go grab something sweet as a precelebration. The accuracy of my Relic prediction might be fifty-fifty, but this will be absolutely perfect.”

It was the other party who’d noticed us first.

We were on a narrow path away from the main street, a shortcut to my favorite café lately. It was a path not wide enough for carriages and with very little foot traffic.

A familiar slender long-haired man—Lackey A—saw me and was startled.

“Huh? You’re—”

“Ah! Oh no... I’ve completely forgotten who you are...”

He was a man I absolutely didn’t want to encounter right now.

They were Arnold Hail and his party; they were invaders from the Nebulanubes, Land of Fogs.

I’d been shutting myself in until just now because I’d been thinking “No, let me stay in so I don’t have to cross paths with these guys,” and yet, here they were. This had completely slipped my mind.

And worse, even if I didn’t remember them, they seemed to know my face. They’d probably traced me from Liz.

It seemed like even the strong warning from Gark I’d requested through Eva, in anticipation of their retaliation, hadn’t made any difference either.

Why can’t anything go exactly as I wish? What a shame. I was about to enjoy a fun teatime with Tino...

“You forgot?!”

“You damn bastard...looking down on me just because you’re one level higher!”

No, that isn’t it... I’m just completely blanking out.

Arnold’s lackeys were clamoring, and, at their center, Arnold took a step forward. No matter how I put it, he was clearly not here for a friendly chat.

His body was no less buffed than Gark’s. On his back was his massive sword, and the gaze in his gold eyes, glinting with an almost inhuman light, were sharp. Even if compared to the rest of his party, his aura was overwhelmingly imposing. An average hunter who wasn’t used to this kind of thing would surely have frozen in his presence.

The reason I could still move without a hitch was thanks to my strong resistance to intimidation. I’d been thoroughly threatened by humans and demons alike, and my companions were also freaks. Because of that, I’d come to understand instinctively that even a deadly strike would be deflected by my Safety Rings.

Arnold spoke in a low, menacing voice, “Thousand Tricks...you sure have guts to come looking for us.”

Seemed like my worst prediction had come true: they were here for me, apparently. It went without saying that they were here for revenge; I’d expected it. And that’d been exactly why I’d asked Eva to get Gark to send them a warning to pin them in place. It’d been a common theme where people had chalked it up to me instead of Liz.

With the fierce hunter exuding his intimidating aura, the few people on the already sparsely populated street disappeared. As expected of the capital’s inhabitants. Their sense for disaster was top-notch.

But this was bad—very bad.

Even Tino wouldn’t have stood a chance against a Level 7 opponent. Even now, she’d been analyzing the enemy’s strength, and a grim expression was showing on her face.

“Don’t tell me you want to do it in a place like this...”

“Bring out your weapons, Thousand Tricks—no, actually, I won’t have you thinking that you could see the depth of our strength just like that.”

Arnold had been making a beeline for a fight without any negotiation or explanation. He was overly hotheaded. He wasn’t even wielding his sword.

It’d take time for guards to arrive in this narrow alley, and to begin with, it was uncertain whether the guards would even come at all.

“I’ve heard, Thousand Tricks. Apparently you’ve sent a golem flying with just your aura, haven’t you? Ha ha ha, if that’s true, why don’t you show us?”

He must’ve meant the Akasha golem. I’d already thoroughly explained that so many times to everyone around me.

“It was a misunderstanding! I didn’t send the golem flying; it flew off on its own!”

“Huh...?! Keep that bullshit to yourself! Where in the world would a golem just fly off on its own?!” shouted a lackey angrily as his face turned red.

Who would’ve thought? But it actually exists.

The opponent was a Level 7. They should be able to understand if I explained. I wasn’t good at persuasion, but I had no choice.

As I took a deep breath, Arnold and his party fell silent. Then, I said in a calm voice, trying my best not to provoke them, “Well, let’s calm down. I understand your anger. I do. Being beaten up in public out of nowhere is infuriating, and I get it. I can’t say I don’t understand why you’d all come for revenge against me like this. No matter whose fault it was, Liz has definitely gone too far. Yeah, I do think so too. Despite that, I’ll ask that you don’t hit me with all your might if you may...”

“...”

“But trying to gang up on me on such a narrow road like this doesn’t sound very smart to me. Can’t we settle this with an apology? I’ll bow my head in apology, and if needed, I’ll even kowtow to you if necessary. How about that?”

“...”

Despite my best efforts to concede, Arnold’s expression remained unfazed. I could tell from his expression that he’d never seen a Level 8 kowtow before. My kowtow cut right to people’s hearts.

I continued appealing to Arnold and his companions desperately.

“Look, you can tell, can’t you? I’m about to go on a date with Tino here. Any guy would understand what that means, right? I’m looking forward to it.”

“Aw, Master... Please don’t lower your head for my sake! You can wipe these guys out in a single blow if you want to!”

Tino’s voice trembled as she stared at Arnold with a stern look.

Please teach me how I can “want” them out of existence.

“Come on. Oh, yeah, unfortunately, I don’t have my weapons on me today. If we’re really going to do this, how about we pick another time? Mr. Arnold, it wouldn’t mean much to you either if you defeat me when I’m not giving it my all, right?”

“Master is god. Master is worried that he’d shatter your confidence if he beats you up while he’s not giving it his all. Seriously, I should’ve taught you more about this god—you come without realizing your place, you fools. At this rate, you won’t be defeating that pseudo-handsome dude, let alone Master here.”

“What...?!”

Somehow, even though I was trying to handle things peacefully, Tino was pouring fuel on the fire. And it seemed that the flames of provocation from Tino were spreading faster than I could put out.

I reached out my arm towards the slender limbs of Tino, who was standing in front of me. I restrained her as if hugging her and covered her mouth with my hand.

As her face blushed bright red and her body stiffened, I persuaded her in her ear in a soft voice, “Calm down, Tino. I want to settle this peacefully. Well, it’s true that I might be weaker than that ‘pseudo-handsome dude,’ but that doesn’t matter. He isn’t free right now.”

After all, that “pseudo-handsome dude”—Ark Rodin—was one of the top hunters in the capital. He was so strong that no one would come to mind immediately if you asked for a stronger hunter. Also, he wasn’t “pseudo”; he was genuinely handsome.

I waited for Tino to nod in agreement before releasing her.

Then I checked on Arnold and his party. Their expressions were completely twisted, and their anger was visibly unrestrained.

With upturned eyes that Tino often wore, I gingerly confirmed, “W-Well...so, would you please...?”

“Heh... In your dreams—”

It was no use. It was a complete failure. At this rate, there was no stopping this. Just as I’d thought, I was terrible at negotiations.

Before Arnold could rage, I said in a loud voice, “All right, I get it, I get it! But this place is way too narrow. If we’re going to do this, let’s do it on a bigger street!”

***

Dammit, what is this man thinking? pondered Arnold as he effortfully suppressed his boiling anger and watched the unsuspecting young man’s back.

This encounter had been unexpected. According to the intelligence they’d gathered, the Thousand Tricks almost never left his clan house, and so Arnold had thought he’d need to come up with a plan to encounter him. He had intended this trip as a reconnaissance only and wasn’t expecting to actually meet him in person.

Of course, if they actually crossed paths, that wouldn’t be a problem for Arnold. He was a hunter, and hunters never neglected their equipment.

On the contrary, it’d been the Thousand Tricks’s appearance that had seemed suspicious: not only had his casual attire appeared far from suitable for combat, but he also had no visible weapons on him. Of course, he could’ve concealed his weapons in various ways, so caution was warranted, but his every single move just seemed overly vulnerable.

Is he aiming to counter my attack? Is that why he’s intentionally showing his vulnerabilities? But his actions seem so blatant...

Even worse, this encounter probably didn’t happen by chance. Arnold would’ve thought otherwise had they met on the main street, but considering that this was a secluded byway where they’d met, it was more natural to consider this as the result of the Thousand Tricks’s foresight, as rumored.

Arnold didn’t know what to make of this. The Thousand Tricks had come taunting them in an ostentatious outfit, then begun claiming to not want a fight. And now, brushing that aside, he was recklessly suggesting that they continue at a more crowded main street. His intentions were alarmingly impossible to fathom—truly befitting the name “Thousand Tricks.”

We have the benefit of numbers.

Although the young lady accompanying the Thousand Tricks was fairly capable (or rather, she looked stronger than the Thousand Tricks himself no matter how he sliced it), she still couldn’t compare to Arnold or Eigh. A wider street would be more beneficial to Arnold’s side with their superiority in numbers.

Is this meant to be a handicap on himself? But why...?

Arnold was already almost certain of his victory.

The Thousand Tricks was such a weakling that had Eigh not learned of his appearances beforehand, they would surely have passed him by without noticing. His movements were the very definition of “amateur.” Since he was a Level 8, it was hard to imagine that what they could see on the surface was all there was to his strength, yet Arnold couldn’t envision losing to him.

This was a first for Arnold. He would’ve understood if his strength was so inconceivable that he couldn’t see the end of it—but there was simply too little to his strength.

“Arnold, let’s not let our guards down. That dude is trusted by the Association branch manager.”

“Yeah, I know.”

He clenched his teeth and glared fiercely at the back of his opponent’s head, but the Thousand Tricks’s behavior remained unchanged.

This was a strange situation indeed.

According to Arnold’s estimation, the Thousand Tricks’s strength was only comparable to a random person they could pull from the crowd, yet it was hard to believe that such a weakling could brush off intimidation calmly—this was all too incongruous.

Will I learn the essence of this discrepancy if I fight him?

The Thousand Tricks moved confidently, showing not a sign of fleeing, and true to his words, he came to a halt right in the middle of a bustling main street.

Street stalls lined the sides of the avenue, and an unusually large crowd, something rarely seen in the Land of Fogs, dotted the thoroughfare.

He must be mad.

Making a commotion in such a place would surely attract the attention of the guards. Not to mention, being defeated in such a place with all those witnesses would tarnish the name “Thousand Tricks.”

Krai Andrey turned around slowly. His every gesture didn’t seem motivated, but his gaze seemed to subtly whisper, “We can stop this if you’re scared.”

“Humph. Nonsense.”

There was no truth to this. Arnold had never once felt fear since becoming a hunter.

He wielded the great sword on his back, a unique weapon made from the materials of the Thunder Dragon they’d hunted. His party mates followed suit, assuming their stances with practiced movements.

Eigh inched closer and, with a taunting voice, said, “I’d like to see which of you two is stronger—you or Arnold. You’ve surely made us swallow the bitter pill this time. You’ll take us all on simultaneously as a Level 8, right?”

“Ugh...can I not? I don’t really want to...”

Krai’s attitude showed no sign of changing even now. Their frustration gradually grew as he restlessly looked around, seemingly distressed.

The man before their eyes was a Level 8, a hunter with a level higher than that of Arnold the Dragon Slayer. If he didn’t exhibit a suitable gravitas, their party’s civility—and consequently, Arnold’s—would be tarnished.

“I see... So you’re a fool who’s climbed up the ranks by leeching on your luck and the strength of your comrades. That tells me a lot about the manners of Grieving Souls.”

Upon hearing Arnold’s words, Krai raised his eyebrows, not in anger, but in surprise.

Their opponent was full of flaws, and he was looking down on them. This was going to be easier than child’s play.

Though, the moment Arnold stepped forward, the young lady next to the Thousand Tricks echoed his move and stood in his way.

“What? Get lost,” snapped Arnold.

The young lady wore black attire designed for mobility and a set of brown gloves for protecting her fists. The air around her was so tense that one could almost hear it crackle. Her pair of black eyes were sharp, and her pellucid pupils burned with flames of fighting spirit.

She was a Thief. Thieves generally weren’t specialized in combat, and they didn’t match up well one-on-one against heavyweight Swordsmen like Arnold. So unless her skills were significantly higher, she probably wouldn’t stand a chance. Although she was considerably strong for her age, she wasn’t strong enough to take on Arnold and his group as they were now.

She’s probably a Level 4 or 5 at best.

Yet, despite Arnold’s intimidation, the girl that the Thousand Tricks had called “Tino” earlier remained unfazed.

“I’m not. Grown up enough. To stand idly by. When I hear. People. Insulting. Master!”

Her chest rose and fell slowly with each of her breath, and her eyes burned with cold anger, but she wasn’t enraged. There was no tension in her stance, and she was in an ideal condition for combat.

Does she not understand the difference between our levels...? No, that isn’t the case...

She understood the difference and was still willing to challenge them.

The young lady before them was still quite young, but, without a doubt, she was an exceptional talent with the potential to become a top-tier hunter one day.

The disparity in their strengths was evident. But hunters who dared to stand up against the challenge—like her—were strong. Even though she might not be able to defeat Arnold, she at least had a slight chance of taking down Eigh or the other party members right now—however, that only applied in a one-on-one matchup.

His gaze slightly widening, Eigh warned her, “Hey, missy, you don’t stand a chance at winning. Your determination is admirable, but get your ass out of the way. We’re only aiming to defeat that man over there.”

It wasn’t like she’d insulted them before. They weren’t interested in extinguishing a young spark prematurely.

Tino didn’t respond to those words. Instead, she turned to the man behind her and inquired, “Master, please let me handle this! I’ll make sure they regret insulting you!”

Perhaps sensing the imminent fight, passersby emptied the area around them, and an empty space was formed.

The young lady’s words were incredibly dauntless and foolhardy in the face of a Level 7 opponent. Considering their classes’ compatibility, she wouldn’t stand a chance even if Arnold didn’t have a weapon. This was only going to be a one-sided battle.

Naturally, there was no way that the Thousand Tricks was oblivious to that fact. Surely he wouldn’t allow her to take up the challenge. After all, restraining reckless youngsters was the job of high-level hunters.

That was what Arnold and his party mates had believed.

Krai Andrey, smiling with his eyes wide open, said:

“Okay, yeah, go ahead. Take care though.”

“?!”

“What?”

The members of Falling Fog, even Arnold himself, were left speechless. Perhaps since this also came as a surprise to this Tino in front of them, a hint of confusion flashed across her pupils.

Unbelievable. This is absurd... What is he thinking?

Arnold had insulted not Tino but Krai. Her loyalty to Krai had driven her to stand in the way of Arnold. Her loyalty was genuine, but Tino lacked the capability to carry it out.

I would’ve stopped her. This isn’t even up for discussion; I’d just stop her.

Arnold would’ve stopped her. He would’ve intervened, thanked her for her kind words, and stepped forward himself. That was what a hero does. But what about this man before him?

The Thousand Tricks scuttled backwards and, of all things, crossed his arms and switched to audience mode.

...Unbelievable.

Looking around at his companions’ expressions, Arnold saw faces that all appeared to be dumbfounded by his actions.

Tino, her anger from a moment ago half dispersed, hesitatingly raised her voice and said, “Um...Master?”

“Right. I didn’t get a proper chance at White Wolf’s Den last time. Why don’t you show me the results of your training?”

“Y-Yes, Master. Please witness my valor,” replied Tino, unable to mask the shakiness in her voice.

She lifted her face and stared sternly at Arnold. Her pupils glistened slightly—probably not from anger.

“D-Don’t mock my Masterrrrrrrrrrrrrr!” bellowed Tino in desperation. Clenching her fist, she closed the distance between her and Arnold.

***

I didn’t really understand the situation, but this might be a dire one.

As I observed Tino battle Arnold’s party, I periodically shifted my gaze around to search for companions.

First Steps, as a clan, exhibited several peculiarities, including having numerous talented young members and being led by a beautiful vice clan master.

Noteworthy among these peculiarities was the sheer size of the clan. To put it simply, our clan vastly outnumbered any other.

Bringing Arnold to a more crowded area was a deliberate act to allow me to find such companions. While their party was large with eight people, First Steps had over a hundred. The quality of our hunters wasn’t low either; if I could get half of them to come, even a Level 7 opponent wouldn’t stand a chance against us.

Pathetically, when it came to the skill of seeking help from allies, no one in our clan could surpass me. The members of our clan were also accustomed to me seeking help from them.

“Hey, yo, Thousand Tricks! What’re you looking at?! Keep your eyes focused on the fight right here! This missy here is fighting for you, you know?!”

As I looked around, for some reason, the enemies started jeering at me.

It was Lackey A. He’d been standing next to Arnold just now.

“Oh, yeah. Sorry, sorry. My bad, A. You see, I’m busy too...”

I hastily shifted my gaze back to the battle. But honestly—how should I put it—the fight was so impressive that I couldn’t quite wrap my mind around it.

Tino and Arnold appeared to be evenly matched in battle. Tino fought barehanded, and Arnold had also discarded his sword to fight barehanded. It was simply a pure brawl.

While Arnold’s companions behind him were refraining from joining in, our overwhelming disadvantage remained unchanged. Though, it seemed they had no intention of reinforcing him.

Then, suddenly, Lackey A took a few steps backwards in shock.

“H-How do you know my name?!”

“Hmm...? Huh? ...Oh, so your name is really ‘A’? That’s a surprise...”

I wish I could get to meet the parent who’d named him.

Though I’d only spoken my honest thought, A’s face turned redder by the second.

“Master?! Master! Please watch me closely!!!” shouted Tino.

Tino and Arnold had different breadths and heights. Her bold defiance against the large Arnold reminded me of her master, Liz.

Meanwhile, Arnold wore a fierce expression.

Arnold retreated slightly to evade Tino’s roundhouse kick that came in a sharp turn. And as he did, with the palm of his hand, he caught an irregular, swift jab that struck with an audible sharp whirring gush of wind.

I wasn’t well-versed in martial arts, so I understood not a thing—but this was amazing.

I wonder, since when had Tino become strong enough to go head-to-head with a Level 7 opponent?

Then, at that moment, I spotted a familiar figure in the distance at the far end of the road.

It was Sven, a true warrior who also held the title of “Dragon Slayer.”

Luck is on my side!

Without much thought, I waved at him and smiled.

“What the fuck are you doing?!”

“Oh, sorry, I just saw a friend of mine over there—”

Arnold rolled his eyes. Enjoy life while you can, because you only have minutes left.

Arnold seemed already fully occupied with only Tino; if Sven joined us, we wouldn’t lose.

Yeah. Go for it, Sven.

Sven noticed me from afar with his specialized Archer’s vision. He exchanged glances with his companions around him, looked at my waving hand once again, nodded like he understood my gesture, and gave me a thumbs-up.

With that, he left with his companions and left me there jumping up and down, desperately trying to catch his attention.

Seriously?

“Haaa... Haaa... Mas...ter...please...be...more...serious!” said Tino, almost out of breath, without stopping her movements.

What do you mean? I’m very serious. I’m very seriously trying to do what I can... Dammit, Sven. I guess I can only rely on the pseudo-handsome dude, huh? ...But he still hasn’t come back from running errands for that nobleman.

Feeling somewhat tired, I sat down on a wooden crate nearby.

They seemed to be evenly matched. Maybe—just maybe—she’d somehow manage even without help. There was a chance that the guards might come here after all.

Tino’s attacks were swift. Her kicks and jabs comboed continuously like a flow, giving just a glimpse of the talent that Liz was recognized for. While not quite on par with Liz, she surged almost like the wind.

I guess I’ll focus on cheering then.

“Go, Tino, go with pride! You’re the world’s mightiest tide! In Tino we all confide!”

“Master! Please stop with the weir—”

“You can defeat him! With just a little bit more you can defeat Arnold! Come on, give it your all!”

“Huh?!”

At that moment, Arnold froze, and Tino’s kick and jab connected with his exposed body.

Somehow, my cheering seemed to have distracted him. She’d hit him squarely in a critical spot. But Arnold didn’t fall over. His body just swayed slightly, and, without showing any signs of pain nor discomfort, he glared back—not at Tino but at me.

“‘With just a little bit more...and she can defeat me’?!”

Huh? Wait a second... Could it be...that he’s been holding back?

Along with his stifled voice, he launched his beefy right arm in a thrust.

It was an incredibly powerful strike that could only be correctly described as dreadful. It was as though Tino’s jabs were a gentle breeze and Arnold’s were a fierce maelstrom.

Tino scurried backwards in a panic to avoid the strike from above, but she didn’t make it in time.

Immediately, she overlapped her hands to try to intercept the hit, but Arnold’s fist easily deflected her hands and greatly disrupted Tino’s stance.

Of course, Arnold wouldn’t miss such a window of opportunity.

“Maste—”

His golden eyes gleamed.

Arnold grabbed Tino’s shirt collar by hand and lifted her entire body up high.

Tino struggled to break free, but she was helplessly flung around, and, just like that, she was slammed onto the ground.

A thunderous crash.

Tino, having landed on her back, let out a small groan of pain.

Despite that, Arnold’s grip remained clenched on Tino’s neck.

He was strong—too strong. The situation had easily turned drastically in his favor in an instant.

It seemed I’d been the only one who’d thought they’d been evenly matched.

“Cut it out. With your. Disrespect. Thousand Tricks!” roared Arnold as he continued to pin Tino down on the ground.

At his thunderous bellow, even I furrowed my brows in reflex.

“How dared you perch up on your high horse like you’re a king!”

This is bad.

Arnold’s party was almost unscathed with eight of them, and we only had me alone, now that Tino was knocked out.

It could’ve been a different story if Sven had joined us; we might have been able to salvage the situation. This situation was very bad.

I had my Safety Rings with me, though I wondered if they could actually withstand Arnold’s fierce assault.

Either way, I wasn’t acting like I was a king or anything, but saying that Arnold—with veins bulging in his face—was mad would be an understatement.

My heart thumped heavily, but, feigning serenity, I stood up from the wooden crate.

I’ve made up my mind. They’re not going to forgive me now no matter how artful my kowtows are going to be anyway...

I didn’t want to use this if possible, but there was no other choice.

“I’m not acting like I’m a king or anything...but I guess I don’t have a choice.”

The silence was all-encompassing.

Perhaps not knowing what to expect from me, Arnold and his party mates didn’t seem to be approaching me.

I was the weakest hunter in this capital, but as the saying went, a cornered rat would bite even a cat. Most of my Relic collection was useless in combat, but I had something special reserved for moments like these.

I fished a pendant-type Relic around my neck out from under my shirt. On it was a five-pointed star made of gold with a crystal embedded in it. Inside the pellucid crystal, swirling like the night sky, was a deep blackness.

It was an Aspiration Manifest. This, alongside the Safety Rings, was my lifeline. Even during the dire situations at White Wolf’s Den, I hadn’t used this Relic.

It was a Relic that had originated as a tool once created by a technician who admired magic deeply. It was a Relic with a ludicrous ability that allowed me to stock release at will one spell with a colossal price of about a hundred times its usual mana cost. All my power stemmed from the riches amassed by Grieving Souls, and this could be considered the pinnacle of them all.

It contained a gravity magic spell, a spell that rivaled lightning magic in difficulty.

It’d been Lucia—the great sorcerer of Grieving Souls who boasted the strongest offensive capabilities, and who always recharged my Relics while grumbling about it—who had imbued it with the spell.

She was the manipulator of all phenomena, the poster child of sorcery. She was Lucia Rogier, the Avatar of Creation—my younger sister.

Perhaps because of its nature as a spell stock, this Relic had an extremely slow natural mana drain rate. And so, it’d become my trump card for times when Lucia was away from me for extended periods for whatever reasons.

I was told that I should only use it in life-threatening situations. Whether this was one or not, I couldn’t say for sure. But Tino was in trouble now, and if I didn’t use it now, when else should I? She’d been fighting for my sake, after all. Even if we somehow managed to get out of this situation unscathed without my help, I wouldn’t be able to forgive myself for not doing something for her.

Seemingly having sensed something uncanny in the change in my attitude, the lackeys dispersed and steadily surrounded me.

Yet I wasn’t worried.

Arnold, still pinning Tino flat to the ground, had somehow wielded his greatsword in one hand.

This was a magic my younger sister—my pride—had imbued.

I puffed up my chest and tried to look as cool as possible.

“Don’t worry. I won’t take your lives,” I assured.

Arnold’s lackeys readied their weapons, and Arnold abandoned Tino and boldly pressed closer.

Then, I quietly unleashed the magic sealed in the Relic.

***

Lucia had expended monumental effort to give me the ace up my sleeve.

“What?! Leader, what do you mean?”

“You want me to imbue it with a spell that ‘is nonlethal,’ ‘can subdue high-level hunters,’ ‘has a wide area of effect,’ and ‘doesn’t cause collateral damage’ all at the same time? You’re asking for too much.”

“As you know, Leader, gravity magic is already advanced enough on its own, and to make things worse, it’s an obscure magic. Do you understand? Its mana consumption increases drastically with the range, and on top of that, you’re not just trying to increase the firepower, you’re also trying to make it fit all the constraints. And particularly, constructing delicate spells like that will require an immense amount of mana—basically, magic as you’ve described is impossible, you know? Wait, no. I’ll have to look first into...”

“Sorry, but can you please get me some mana restoration potions from Siddy? Get all you can.”

“Here. Take this with you; it’s what you’ve requested—what? Of course not; what did you expect? Such a perfect spell doesn’t exist, of course! I invented it! I’ve examined all kinds of gravity magic and dissected their mechanisms—it would’ve been much simpler if you just needed it to kill your opponents, but since you insisted on all that... This is a totally pointless magic spell with a casting time of thirty minutes. And I’m completely out of mana—I don’t want to see your face for a while. Now, get out! I just pulled an all-nighter! ...What? You want me to recharge your other Relics?!”

***

The effort (of Lucia) had borne fruit. The battle quietly ended in an instant.

The lackeys who’d been surrounding me until just now were stuck to the ground without a chance to resist. The sound of armor colliding with the ground echoed, and weapons fell from their hands.

“Wh-What...was that...? Was that...magic?! This...magic...!”

Arnold was barely supporting himself on the greatsword he’d planted into the ground. He was on his knees, enduring the weight. His body trembled, and his head violently shook. Perhaps because he was exerting all his strength, his skin was tainted bright red.

I shuddered slightly at the scene, but it seemed he was too overwhelmed to take any offensive action.

I sat back down on the wooden crate and crossed my legs. Having released the magic contained within the pendant, I stored away the Relic that had lost its light.

And I said, “That was Tyrant’s Order, an original spell. I feel the strength is toned down a bit, but this was quite something, won’t you say?”

My sister, Lucia, had developed the spell over a sleepless night. Of course it had to be “quite something.”

Arnold’s eyes wandered over his party mates, and then, seeing the intact houses and perplexed citizens in the distance, his voice trembled.

“What...is this insanity...? I-Is this...gravity magic? No way! But...?”

“It’s a revolutionary spell. It doesn’t harm houses or other people at all. I might not be the best person to say this, but this is quite the spell, don’t you think?”

This was a spell created by my little sister, Lucia, through trial and error. Of course it had to be “quite the spell.”

Not a single crack marred the pavement.

The brilliance of this magic lay in its high power and precise targeting. Tyrant’s Order harmed not even a fly beyond its targets and, on top of that, boasted the power to completely immobilize a Level 7 hunter. This was the flawless nonlethal magic!

Of course, it wasn’t like I could use it or anything, so I couldn’t really boast myself...

“You...! You’re a Magus...?! Damn it!” roared Arnold.

Even with his roaring, he wasn’t scary or anything while still being on his knees.

As I stood there with a smug expression, a voice filled with anguish suddenly reached my ears.

“Mas...ter... Help...”

I looked to the side.

Tino lay flat on the ground. It seemed a considerable gravitational force was acting on her. Her voice was stuttering, and her limbs were flat against the ground, twitching spasmodically.

This was completely out of my expectations.

One of Arnold’s lackeys, subdued by the gravity, croaked in accusation, “E-Even...your...teammate...?! You...devil... Ugh...”

“Wait, wait! I’m sorry. I’m sorry.”

I hurriedly reached out to Tino, who was crying on the ground.

Actually, Tyrant’s Order determined its target based on the strength of the mana material absorbed. Both me, the user, and anything I touched were exempt from its targeting, but otherwise, it was indiscriminate as long as the target was a reasonably capable hunter. It also had quite an extensive range, so although there wasn’t anyone within eyeshot, there were probably several hunters out there who were being crushed by gravity right now.

I’m sorry. It doesn’t kill, so please forgive me.

Tino, freed from the gravity, staggered as she stood up. And as a small compensation, I offered my shoulder for her support.

Tino was in tatters, and she looked disheveled, but she didn’t have any noticeable injuries on her. Her intense coughing was probably due to the damage inflicted by Arnold. It might have been too late for her to recover from this; I should treat her to something sweet later.

Finally, I looked at Arnold, who was still somehow enduring on his knees. I offered a smile in response to his piercing gaze.

“Well, Arnold, have you calmed down?”

“D-Dammit. This...is ridiculous. Why is a Magus of your caliber—”

“I’m not a Magus though. Well, anyway.”

“Huh?!”

Now, here was the real conundrum: I’d merely restrained Arnold’s movements, and that was all.

As impressive as it was in terms of power, accuracy, and range, unfortunately, the gravity magic Lucia had imbued didn’t last very long. During that short window of time, I needed to somehow crush Arnold and his party’s fighting spirit.

Arnold, Eigh, and the rest of their party, despite being down on their hands and knees, hadn’t lost their fighting spirit at all. Every one of them looked up at me with eyes gleaming like ravenous beasts.

“Looks like they aren’t giving up yet.”

“They don’t know when to give up.” She coughed shakily. “They don’t understand the difference between your power and theirs—Master... Uh, thanks for the massage. My shoulders are fine now.”

“Well, well, you really did your best just now, so let me keep up with the massage for a bit longer.”

Without physical contact with me, gravity was going to take its toll on her. All I could do was operate the Relic and unleash the spell exactly as it was. Lucia might have been able to customize the spell on the spot to exclude individuals, but that was beyond me.

Perhaps because she’d decided to fawn on me, Tino lightly apologized and thanked me and came leaning on me.

Her dainty body was surprisingly light, so light that it was hard to imagine that she could’ve scuffled with Arnold. This might have come a bit late, but I started to feel a little queasy now—slamming a girl like her onto the ground didn’t seem like an appropriate course of action for a Level 7.

Despite my having forced various tasks onto Tino, it seemed like she hadn’t given up on me yet.

I sighed and, feeling fed up from the bottom of my heart, looked down at Arnold.

I’m not using honorifics with him anymore.

“Sorry, Arnold, but I have preparations to make for the auction and other stuff. I’m rather busy, and honestly, I don’t have time to deal with you guys. I’m sorry. Okay?”

“!”

Arnold growled with a demonic expression. Perhaps he’d bitten his tongue; a drop of blood dripped from his chin.

I didn’t have time to deal with them, and besides, I’d run out of Tyrant’s Orders, which I needed in order to deal with them. Even Lucia, who’d imbued it with the spell, wasn’t around either.

Dammit. If only Sven or Ark or even anyone else were here...

There, I came up with a great idea.

“Well, hmm...but, if you still insist on fighting me after suffering all this, then let’s set some prerequisites.”

“Prerequisites?!” repeated Arnold.

I wasn’t really in a position to set conditions, but it seemed like this could work somehow.

Putting on a very serious face, I looked at the members of Falling Fog, who were down on their limbs.

Boldly, I said, “I’m the master of First Steps. It’d be nonsensical to fight the boss right out of the gate. So if you would like to fight me, there should be stages you have to clear first. Got it? If you want to exchange blows with me, then I shall have you first defeat the key parties that form our clan: Obsidian Cross, Starlight, Ark Brave, and Knights of the Torch! Once you’ve accomplished that, then, sure, I shall consider fighting you fair and square too.”

And before Arnold and his crew, who were still stuck to the ground, could revive, I took Tino’s hand and fled the scene.

I was weak. But weak as I was, I was a Level 8. I’d been a hunter for five years now, and I’d come to understand hooligans’ personalities to some extent: they were strong and valiant, they cared naught about the inconvenience they caused to their surroundings, and most importantly, they loved challenging hardship.

We returned to the alley, and when Arnold and his lackeys were finally out of sight, Tino timidly asked me, “Um, M-Master... Are you sure that was a good idea?”

“It was. More importantly, are you all right?”

“Y-Yes, I’m fine, Master. B-But...I’m sorry that I didn’t live up to your expectations.”

“Oh, don’t stress yourself about it. It was just me misjudging the situation.”

You know, I can’t really tell the difference when people get stronger than a certain level...

I could still tell the difference in strength between Liz and Tino, but I couldn’t really tell when it came to opponents like we had this time, especially since they were of different classes.

It was so cunning of him to hold back like that to appear like he was losing!

Tino hesitated for a moment, then tightly pressed her lips together as if holding back tears.

Is she upset at her foolish Master?

All things considered, while Arnold might be the root of the evil, I was disappointed in Sven for abandoning his comrades. Well, he didn’t have an obligation to stick around, but I’d appreciate it if he’d not torment our Tino here.

“Don’t worry. Sven will be happy to fight.”

No matter how one sliced it, he’d left me, his clan master, there helpless on my own. I was sure he’d be fine with getting the short end of the stick, probably.

Our clan was super talented. Even if Arnold was a Level 7, there was no way he could reach me.

“Everyone in Ark Brave and Starlight is strong and bloodthirsty. If anything, they’d be glad for the opportunity to prove their strengths...probably.”

As I remarked thoughtlessly, Tino blinked her eyes repeatedly and said with a somewhat dejected expression, “But, Master... Isn’t the party you mentioned last, Knights of the Torch, on a long-term expedition? Aren’t they not in the capital...”

“Oh, was that so? I totally forgot about that!”

“Master...”

Tino gave me a bewildered look as I spoke monotonously.

An expedition? I had no idea. Well, if they want to fight me, good luck finding Knights of the Torch!

Knights of the Torch was a particularly peculiar party even among hunters. Emphasizing discipline, they were structured more like a military unit than a hunter party. They traveled the world and took on requests in various countries like mercenaries. They returned to the capital only a few times a year.

And that’ll be none of my concern. After all, I’ve only said I’ll “consider fighting them fair and square” even if they really do defeat all four of the parties! I didn’t say I’ll fight them! I just said I’ll consider it!

And if they really do defeat all four, they can just go and call themselves the strongest as they like.

We’d covered quite a distance now, and so I let go of the hand I’d been holding.

With animated gestures, I said, “I mean, I’m busy, and I don’t have time for them. Not to mention the auction is about to begin too!”

“Y-Yes...of course, Master. Is there something special about this auction?”

“Anyway. We were on the way to grab something sweet before we were interrupted, so why don’t we go grab some now?”

“?! Master...”

Tino seemed to be fine too, and indulging in something sweet was the way to go when it came to dealing with troubles like this.

Upon hearing my earnest words, Tino closed her eyes in silence and then looked at me as if she’d made up her mind.

“Master, I still can’t get over having exposed such an unsightly side of myself—I can’t go with you to get something sweet!”

Her expression twisted in anguish, her exposed shoulders and slender limbs all trembling.

I was dumbfounded as I looked at Tino as she radiated an aura of a damsel in distress. Seeing her like that, I couldn’t help but feel ashamed to have sent my junior out against a Level 7 hunter and, on top of that, not felt particularly guilty.

“You don’t have to feel bad about th—”

“No, Master! I— I— If I keep on relying on your kindness, I’ll become a useless person!”

Hi. Speaking to you right here is the “Master” who excessively relies on everyone’s kindness and is currently falling into uselessness in the present continuous tense.

“Master, please! Give me a chance! Give me a chance to redeem myself!”

Although we were already far away from the main street, there were still a good number of passersby. Their attention was now all focused on Tino’s loud voice.

“Hey, hey, hey, please keep your voice down...”

“Tell me the treasure vaults you desire, Master! Just watch, and I’ll bring back the Relics no matter what and repay your debt!” shouted Tino.

Tears appeared in the corners of her eyes, and her cheeks were flushed with excitement. Clearly, she wasn’t calm at all.

Is losing to Arnold right in front of me really this frustrating for her?

“All right, all right, I get it. Calm down!”

Her shout had made it sound as if I were burdened with a huge debt... Well, I was.

In response to my words, Tino’s fervor waned slightly.

Tino took a step closer, grabbed both of my hands, and with a deep blush on his face, she hesitantly said, “And, Master...if—by any chance—I manage to bring back the Relics as you expect...could you...um...r-reward me...?”

A reward...? Is there something in particular she wants?

Perhaps due to nervousness, Tino’s face had blushed red all the way up to the tip of her ears. I could feel her inner energy transmitted through our clasped hands.

Come to think of it, I had asked for her help on numerous occasions, but this was the first time she’d requested a reward. Considering her past contributions, I’d say there was nothing wrong with giving her a reward or two even if she hadn’t asked; though I had a feeling that Tino probably wouldn’t accept that.

After contemplating slightly while I looked at Tino’s face, I nodded gently.

***

She felt a fiery sensation within her body. A tremendous heat surged from her heart through her entire body and propagated explosive strength to her limbs.

“Stifled Shadow” was the name of a fighting technique invented long ago. It’d been a desperate last resort, first employed by a weak Thief whose offensive abilities had only been suitable for a supportive role in combat against phantoms.

It was an intense training of the body. The combination of mental focus and a unique breathing technique granted Thieves who mastered the technique a “speed” as though their very life was ablaze.

Speed was power, and the essence of this power transcended mere increases in evasion: fists propelled by a superior balance and an acceleration that outpaced even sound itself easily shattered phantoms and monsters—like a black tempest.

Within the expansive underground training grounds of the clan house, there was silence, save for the incessant echoes of limbs booming through the air and hard objects clanging on metal.

One of them was the Stifled Shadow.

On her was an outfit that hindered not an iota of her body’s movements and a pair of robust silvery boots covering half of her legs.

Opposite her across the arena was a black metal puppet designed to move only at its joints.

Enveloped in a fiery heat, Liz launched consecutive attacks in silence. She swept at her opponent’s feet, tripped it, and stomped on it. She lifted her opponent up and slammed it onto the ground with the heel of her palm. Smoke born from friction rose from the floor, but she didn’t stop.

Her relentless, flowing barrage of strikes would have long extinguished her opponent’s life had it been a living creature.

The metal puppet was unmistakably nothing but a mere puppet. It couldn’t be manipulated like a golem, nor was it sentient by any means—it was merely a lump of metal.

It wasn’t just a papier-mâché; it was filled with metal all the way to its core, and its exterior was coated with a special alloy, making it exceptionally heavy and unquestionably robust. Thanks to this coating, it boasted extremely high resistance to both magical and physical attacks, much like the golem once known as Akasha. While it lacked the mechanisms to move like Akasha, it was on par with it at least in terms of durability.

Her every strike carried an aura of lethality. She’d punched and kicked the puppet, repeatedly slamming it onto the floor and against the walls.

Slightly distanced from the battlefield, Sitri was observing her sister’s frenzy with a notebook in one hand.

“Liz, I told you this isn’t going to happen! Give up, will you? Its durability has been adjusted to be able to withstand your attacks.”

“Shut it. Siddy! I’m. Training. So shut up! And prepare the next one!”

“Oh, come on! I’m not free either!”

Sitri pouted, but Liz didn’t spare her a glance.

Akasha’s design philosophy was simple: it had been designed to surpass Grieving Souls and Grieving Souls alone.

After she had leveraged the magic syndicate Akashic Tower’s technological prowess, financial resources, and connections to the fullest extent, the colossal golem had been the brainchild of years of relentless research drawing upon extensive data. It had long surpassed the realm of ordinary golems.

It’d all began with mere curiosity, but over time, Sitri became deeply engrossed in the creation and refinement of Akasha.

It’d been a lovely time. Even now, Sitri still felt the thrill in her pounding heart back then when recalling the days of tireless research through trial and error.

Having been born from an obsession bordering on delusion, Akasha had far surpassed the state-of-the-art golem technology.

Matching the power of the one-trick ponies of Grieving Souls had been no easy feat. There’d been no shortcuts; Akasha had been the fruit accumulated from repetitive testing and continuous improvements.

As it’d been born for such a singular purpose, Akasha had been made with such high capability that it could be considered the natural enemy of Grieving Souls: it featured a shield strong enough to withstand Luke’s slashes, the ability to sustain combat like Ansem, known for his exceptional muscle strength and stamina, and a sophisticated information analysis capability when operated by a human operator. Additionally, it was equipped with a custom-made sword for long-range attacks.

What Sitri had invested in most had been the development of the golem’s body. For Akasha to qualify as a “foe” to Grieving Souls, it had to be made of metal that could at least withstand Lucia’s magic, which boasted an attack range that was almost impossible to evade, and Liz’s strikes, which were so fast that blocking with a shield would be futile. And that had been where Sitri had invested most of the resources, a decision she hadn’t compromised on despite exhortation from her mentor and those of even higher rank.

Her sister, Liz, possessed a genuine talent. She’d mastered a technique that was said to take years to learn, and now she was allowed to bear that name as her moniker. Her strikes were free from hesitation and fear and therefore exhibited a power exceeding what she was physically capable of.

Despite that, Liz remained undeniably human—her fists weren’t made to pummel metal lumps. As her training persisted, her clenched fists became bloodied, likely with a few broken bones beneath her battered skin.

With every gust of wind, blood dripped and stained the floor, yet her vigor and determination showed no signs of waning. She should’ve been in pain, but it was impossible to tell from her piercing gaze.

It was clear that her older sister was a first-rate warrior and hunter. To top it off, her prime years were yet to come. In fact, Liz’s physical abilities had greatly improved since Sitri had started developing Akasha’s body. Of course, Sitri had taken her sister’s growth into account. Regardless, Sitri wasn’t going to let her smash Akasha’s body, which had taken years to develop, simply because of that. Sitri had no intention of relinquishing her supremacy over Liz anytime soon.

Her former connections with Akashic Tower, which had been quite useful in many ways, were now no more.

“It’s so hard! This is just nasty! Dammit! I can punch through this piece of armor! I’m not even using my secret technique!”

“Thieves don’t really have such powerful techniques...”

And to begin with, there was something inherently amiss with trying to win against this golem in a one-on-one, unarmed combat.

Furrowing her brows in frustration, Sitri continued jotting down notes in her memo rapidly.

Liz’s intensive training had been an opportunity for Sitri to gather valuable data.

The Grievers had grown together through mutual rivalry. Considering the eventuality of Akasha’s armor being breached, Sitri couldn’t afford to be always complacent. She had to come up with the next plan—the strength of an Alchemist lay in “improvements.”

Then, Liz, who’d shown no sign of slowing down her movements, stopped abruptly. The puppet, which Liz had been tossing about, suddenly collapsed to the floor.

Breathing heavily, Liz looked at Sitri. Her eyes were bloodshot, her face burning red. She was still sweating, but her gait was still firm.

“Siddy, it’s broken. Get me the next one!”

Sighing deeply, Sitri turned towards the abandoned puppet.

There was no noticeable damage on the puppet. While Sitri’s prized alloy was stained with Liz’s blood, it’d remained largely intact. Though, upon closer inspection, cracks were visible in its right elbow joint. To facilitate mobility, its joints were inevitably more fragile than the areas around them.

The final product, Akasha, had mitigated this by adding multiple layers of protective armor that didn’t hinder movement, but there was only so much that could be done with this plaything.

“Can’t you somehow make it a bit better?”

“Stop complaining! It’s already incredibly difficult just to make enough of this metal.”

It’d been some time since the golem research at Akashic Tower had been dissolved. Hardly any materials remained, and it’d only been with Akashic Tower’s resources that she’d been able to pour so much effort into creating a golem.

Sitri took out a metal-repairing potion from her bag and carefully trickled it into the crack. Tendrils of smoke rose, and the crack that had existed just moments before vanished. The golem’s strength had decreased somewhat, but there was nothing she could’ve done about it.

Even if a joint is broken, it’s just a mere puppet after all. This shouldn’t have affected the training...

Not knowing Sitri’s inner thoughts, Liz shouted, “This won’t do for my training. Hey, fetch me that big pesky one! Right now!”

“I can’t do anything about that... You know how the Vault Investigation Bureau is full of rigid people...”

Sitri found the situation highly regrettable. The golem had been her masterpiece, a testament to their mutual rivalry. More important than its high specs, it bore memories.

Originally, she’d planned to take over it when she parted ways with Akashic Tower on good terms. However, given how everything had turned out, there wasn’t much she could do about the situation. She couldn’t stand the thought of her masterpiece being tampered with by incompetent Alchemists, but her moniker, “Ignoble,” was a hindrance when it came to dealing with government-affiliated organizations.

“If even Krai couldn’t do anything about it, there’s nothing I can do to change that, right?”

Precisely when Sitri spoke those resigned words with a sigh, Liz’s fury subsided.

“So, setting aside the futile topic, how much would it cost if you were to make another one? I can spare a bit too.”

Liz’s temper, which rose and fell dramatically, was one of her characteristics. She could be egotistical and quick to anger, but she wasn’t foolish.

Brushing her sweat-drenched bangs aside seemingly irritably, she exhaled a steamy breath.

“If I go on like this, won’t Krai Baby think I’m creating a tender point for him? You understand what I mean? This is a matter of pride! I can’t just let this slide!”

“I have the blueprints in my head—but I’m a bit short on cash right now, plus I’ve been providing potions at cost for another matter, so it might take some time...”

Sitri wasn’t a merchant. Most of her assets were tied up in valuable equipment and materials. Her stock of potions was plentiful, but they weren’t the kind that could be sold in large quantities all at once. Cashing them out would surely take time.

Recreating Akasha wasn’t out of the question for Sitri. With Noctus and the rest of the team gone, if Sitri didn’t resume the research, development on that golem would never start again. And that’d be deeply disappointing for Sitri, as its creator.

But at the same time, Sitri also felt that she’d reached her limits. While she’d reported to her mentor that Akasha had been created for security, it had really been made to be Grieving Souls’s training target; and yet, that goal was still to be fulfilled.

While Akasha was a remarkable creation considering modern golem technology, it was but a plaything when placed next to her current party members. It could hold its ground against someone with low attack power like her older sister, but even so, it wouldn’t be able to land the finishing blow. And if pitted against the attackers of the party, Luke and Lucia, they could’ve possibly pierced through its armor, which had already been designed with their future growth in mind.

Most importantly, Akasha had a fatal weakness: as an inorganic construct, it couldn’t grow by absorbing mana material like humans and monsters. It could only hope to become the strongest through constant upgrades informed by an accumulation of superb knowledge and technology. But there were limits to what an individual could achieve—after all, Sitri was a treasure hunter before a researcher.

Perhaps the golem should’ve been created using living material. Killiam was the pinnacle of her creations so far, though she, in her current state, should be able to create even more powerful magical creatures.

To keep up with the rapidly advancing Grieving Souls as their Alchemist, she had to constantly aim for greater heights. She refused to become a burden to her party because of her own inadequacies.

With that line of thought, her attention naturally turned towards the appealing materials that came from abroad. And there, Sitri recalled something that the Steps hunters had mentioned earlier.

“By the way, I heard Arnold tried assaulting Krai, and that T stood up against him.”

“Hmm? What’s this about? Krai Baby’s so exacting! Wouldn’t that be too much for Tino to win?”

Liz’s eyes widened at first, but then her voice took on a subtle shade of excitement.

That man was considerably powerful as a hunter, and absolutely any hunter should be able to identify that at a glance: he wasn’t just a country bumpkin.

Nevertheless, Liz was probably pleased mostly because she’d heard that her mentee, Tino, had earnestly stood up against this formidable opponent by her own will. Grieving Souls had always been facing daunting foes; it was delightful for Liz to see a glimpse of that spirit in her cute protégée little sister. Even if she ended up being defeated—being defeated was fine—despair was what made people grow.

“So, how did it go?”

“In the end, Tino got beaten up really bad, and Krai finished them up with gravity magic.”

“Oh, you mean that ‘Tyrant’s Order’ that Lucia has been complaining about? That spell was ridiculously wasteful but ridiculously powerful,” said Liz with admiration, immediately understanding his intentions.

Lucia Rogier was a diligent person. Not only had she shouldered the responsibility of charging the Relics, but she’d been mastering all sorts of magic to meet the often unreasonable demands placed on her since Krai had acquired the Aspiration Manifest. She’d delved into a wide array of spells, ranging from well-recognized ones to those that had faded into obscurity because they were practically useless. Her knowledge encompassed many spells that surpassed even the expertise of specialized researchers.

Moreover, when it came to original spells, the opponents would surely find themselves at a loss to grasp what had struck them. This was compounded by the fact that unleashing these spells through the Aspiration Manifest didn’t even require incantations.

The atmosphere for training had shifted.

Instructing Killiam, which stood nearby, to tidy up the golem doll, Sitri asked, “So what’ll you do, Liz? Maybe it’s better to crush Arnold and his party?”

The Crashing Lightning’s strength was the real deal. Had Grieving Souls assembled its entire party, the Crashing Lightning wouldn’t be a match, but as things currently were, there was a slim chance that this could be a variable that made the outcome unpredictable.

Sitri Smart was a worrier by nature.

However, in response to her younger sister’s words, Liz answered without much thought, “Hmm, can’t we just leave them be? I’m gonna kill them all if Krai Baby says so though. They’re the ones who’ve beaten T, right? Killing them before T gets her revenge won’t do her good, will it?”

“Jeez, Liz, don’t play the mentor card just because T did well in the fight!”

If Tino had hesitated and backed down instead of standing up against them, Liz would’ve killed Arnold and spanked her on the spot.

In response to the exasperated Sitri’s words, Liz smiled complacently and said, “Points for me! I’ll make sure to get praised this time.”

“It’s T who’s put in the effort, isn’t it...?! If anything, we should be praising T...”

“T’s achievements are my achievements! If you have a problem with that, why don’t you tell Krai Baby, who made T my apprentice?”

At her older sister’s teasing words that carried a touch of mockery, Sitri retorted with a huffy expression.

Krai’s Tyrant’s Order was a single-use trump card. He wouldn’t be able to use it the next time he got attacked.

Sitri knew this, but she wasn’t worried. Liz didn’t seem concerned either. If asked of them, they would give him their strengths, their bodies, and their souls. They would be a sympathetic ear for any worries he had; they would provide as much money as he needed. However, to offer without being requested would be an affront to his pride.

This was trust.

Sure, Arnold might be strong, and Krai might not be as powerful, but regardless of all that, Krai Andrey did not lose. Sitri, a childhood friend of his, knew this well.

This was Zebrudia, the capital, Krai Andrey’s playground.

The Crashing Lightning was surely about to learn of the quintessence of the Thousand Tricks.