Kanna no Kanna

Episode 55

During that day, I visited a forest where I previously hunted hares. Since then he has traveled many times, so he has come to know the soldiers in the camp.

"Oh, Kanna. Are you hunting today?" "Yeah, I came to get the eggs of the birds," "Oh, that's a great fried egg. I'm not dissatisfied with my current job. I'm sometimes jealous of adventurers who can freely use beast ingredients. "" Hahahaha, can I go? "" I'm sorry, but I'm sorry but I only check the receipt of the request. That's why I wasn't allowed to pass through. "" No, of course.

He handed the order, which had been rolled up in his waist bag, to a soldier. The soldier who checks the contents is small and surprised when looking through. The request letter includes a seal issued by the guild, the contents of the request, and the rank of the adventurer.

"I was surprised. I just heard that she had just reached E the other day, but it's already ranked D." "Yeah, it's going up somehow."

He received the returned letter of war with a friendly laugh and said goodbye to the soldier once and entered the forest.

Red-bellied birds are monsters with a gray torso and red wings. The strength of the single unit is the lowest line of E rank. It is issued as a request of rank D because of its habitat.

The official name of this forest is a vast forest called "Yuri Forest". It is a relatively safe area on the surface of large forests where monsters of rank E appear, but the danger of monsters jumps toward the center. It is too dangerous for those who have no knowledge or ability to enter.

As a matter of fact, the birds themselves are often found on the surface of large forests. However, as an ingredient, it belongs to the "bad taste" category, and otherwise it is an unsuitable monster for processing and handling. Not so sought as to make a request.

However, when it comes to that “egg,” the evaluation has changed, and it has joined the ranks of high-end ingredients.

If you pick eggs, you will need to find a nest, but Benihana birds nest in areas where the D-rank monsters inhabit and go one step deeper from the forest surface. Therefore, the rank of this request is not the strength of the monster, but the difficulty of reaching the target egg.

"Either fried egg or egg fried"

For the yolk calculation of the egg that can't be caught in a raccoon ...? We seek new delicious ingredients, but aim at the depths of the forest without being careless.

That's right, the egg rice ... Speaking of which, I haven't eaten white rice recently. It is a serious problem because I am a venerable Japanese. And recently, the tongue has grown fat thanks to the monster ingredients, but I still miss the taste of white rice. You have to ask Chloe to see if there is any rice in Hinolesur. Because it resembles Japanese culture only, it probably has rice. Rather, if I don't put it, I think Hinoresul is a civilization separated from Japanese culture. There is no miso soup and no rice.

While thinking about something, it seems that he went one step deeper from the surface. The area where the D-rank monsters live-the second layer. The sharpness increased slightly. From here on, let's tighten my territory, which is unknown to me.

Proceed through the forest while paying attention to the surroundings. Red-tailed birds have the habit of nesting on certain types of trees. In other words, discovery is easy if you can even find that particular type of tree.

The tree where the red-bellied bird builds its nest is confirmed with Mr. Sinadi when receiving a request from the Beast Encyclopedia. There seems to be a characteristic of the trunk, and if you look at the real thing, you can easily judge it from other trees.

“……… this guy?”

About twenty minutes into the second tier.

A trunk that is more reddish and softer than other trees. There must be a tree I learned. Looking up, you will find a bird's nest made of tree branches gathered between trunks, about five meters above the ground.

The birds build their nests in this tree to protect them from other beasts that attack for eggs. The surface of this tree slips enough to make a sound when rubbed with a finger. Demon beasts can't climb up trees because of this slippery feeling. And even if you try to climb with your claws up, obstacles still remain. The redness of the trunk is the color of the sap, which oozes when it is dug to the depth of the first joint of the finger. The sap is a sap and emits an odor that monsters dislike. The slickness of the surface and the sap of the inner surface allow the birds to safely nest and lay eggs.

Of course, the natural security device that protects monsters is the same for humans. If you can put up with the hard smell, the slickness of the surface will be a major obstacle for people to climb. Adventurers need a way to climb the tree to pick eggs.

Climb to another tree and jump. Throw a stone and drop the nest. It seems that the usual way is to hook a rope on a branch and climb, but of course I take my own way.

"Relieved"

Stand at the root of the tree and squat down and put your hands on the ground. If you think lightly, your feet will instantly freeze, making a banging sound, and the ice column will extend to heaven with me on it. It's an ice-type elevator. When he reached the height of the nest, he found the desired egg safely.

Eggs are not thrown into hunting bags, but are stored in a special storage box provided by the guild. It looks like a plastic egg pack often found in supermarkets. Shock-absorbing cushions are laid around the hollows where the eggs are stored so that they will not break even when strenuous, and a wooden box is attached to the outside.

Six things are needed for this hunt. I found four eggs in the nest I just found, so secure only two of them. The reason for not taking all of it is that doing so may cause the bird to stop laying eggs again. Even guilds caution that nest eggs must not be attached.

I then go around some trees and get some eggs. As a result, a total of eight eggs were placed in the case. Of course, the last two are for myself to eat.

Close the case tightly and shake lightly to check if there is any sound inside. Throwed it in a hunting bag because it looks like there is no problem.

That's it, the guild will deliver the game and the request will be completed. According to a cafeteria employee, the egg-cooking of a red-bellied bird can be done in any cooking method in a short time. If so, you can eat eggs for late lunch or dinner.

The sun has passed midday, so should we have a late lunch? Or are you wondering whether to have a light lunch and enjoy dinner.

I was thinking about it, but that easy-going thought was scattered the next moment.

"…………Hmm?"

Signs of darkness, like sludge, entangle with the skin.

If the grass sways, a person familiar from behind will appear.

ー ー ー ー

A few moments behind an unfamiliar plosive from somewhere.

"Spherical gravels" penetrated my breastplate.

I was blown away by the shock and slid down the ground, hitting the root of a nearby tree.

--------------

Lukis Abern was very impatient.

About a month ago, he had great ambitions.

Although born as the second son of an aristocrat, it is unlikely that he will succeed to the duke. Most homes are the same, but the second and subsequent sons of the aristocracy are only reserve troops if the eldest son could not take over the house for some reason. If you are a second son but have a talent that greatly transcends your older brother, there is a possibility that you can get down, and even if you do not help, there are some who help your brother as an assistant, but not all.

However, Lukis was not sick, but his father and brother did not recognize the arrogant thinking that did not save the people and could not touch the management of the territory at all. At best, the extent to which one can gain power in a territory by wearing the power of a position on a shade is limited. The poor reputation of the territory eventually caught his father's eye, and he was given a certain amount of money and was driven out of the territory halfway through the exile (although to a certain extent, the average layman is a lot of money).

Fortunately, he had a genius with respect to Takeshi, so he chose the adventurer's path to build up his own talent alone. There were some troubles at the time of registration, but I managed to become an E-rank adventurer safely.

He thought his glory was about to begin.

However, it is.

I hired an escort just in case, at the very beginning of the E-rank request. I can't help stumble in such a place. You must not be noble to yourself.

A beautiful beast with black hair caught my eye. At the time of the registration test, she was accompanied by a late candidate. Black hair and wolf ears quickly revealed that she was a black wolf.

The Black Wolf tribe is a family of beastmen living in remote remote countries. It is said that he has physical ability that surpasses other beast races, and that he has loyalty to absolute obedience to the Lord. I have.

Eventually, he will be renowned as an adventurer. If you can have a Black Wolf subordinate, it will have a foil. As soon as the request was over, he offered a proposal to a Black Wolf woman to subordinate him.

However, the reply was equal to cursing and rejected. He bounced back his proposal, the second son of the Duke, with insults. Despite being a black wolf, he is too irreverent to the duke.

In addition, the woman who came late joins them together, and they are all ridiculed. My blood is too high on my head and my memory is ambiguous. The back of the head was hurt for some reason, but when I realized I was sleeping in a guild room.

The guild was extraterritorial, and the discretion was left to the guild master, although he wanted to punish the two bad guys who insulted him. The former S-rank adventurer is the top, and the dignity of the duke is hard to reach.

However, the Guild Master was a person who could understand. Taking into account his will as a member of the Duke family, he was able to set up an honorable duel.

It was a chance. By showing your power, you will let the Black Wolf approve of his power in the Lord's worth, and let another poor man know what the noble's bloodline is and what his power is. It is.

The opponent is an amateur who has just become E rank, and one C rank. On the other hand, this is two C rank escorts who have C equivalent ability. There is no reason to lose. We crush it from "Shiny and majestic front" and teach you about yourself.

Of course, it is necessary to show disparities not only in ability but also in terms of financial strength. Immediately after receiving the duel's consent, he goes to the town's armor shop and replaces the guards' equipment from iron to mithril alloy armor. As a matter of fact, when it comes to mithril alloy armor, he has not enough money and has "borrowed" from the financial industry. It is "big money" for one person, but "pocket money" if you have "duke's power".

Get ready and go to a duel.

--- I didn't want to recall from there.

The duel started, and the battle stalled only in the early stages. A man with poor hair, a gray-haired man, uses a sneaky hand to defeat one of the escorts. Repartition without this objection. "Driven by righteous indignation," he tries to defeat the white-haired man with his hands, but he laughs at him with abusive words, and once again carries his cowardly hand to defeat himself.

This should not have been the case. If they were able to demonstrate their full potential, they were civilians who would not hurt their teeth. Such results should be invalid. However, guild masters and A-rank adventurers who had been witnesses to the offer did not fight, and the stigma of defeat became an immovable title.

……… The story did not end there.

A few days after the duel. There are three facts waiting for him to recover from the shock of defeat.

One. An escort, who had been hired on a long-term contract, offered to break the contract. He said that following him further would severely damage his career as an adventurer. How rude to the second duke. He fired two escort adventurers on the spot, and ousted any penalty for contract without receiving "nothing."

two. This is a reminder from a financier who used to pay for the "Misril Alloy" armor prepared during the duel. Only at this time he regretted that he had done it. The former escorts wore mythril alloy armor when they were driven away. Although he had offered to return it, he shouted at his anger and turned away. Once this happens, they have ownership of the armor. He said he was leaving Draknir right away, and he couldn't get back later.

And the third.

He turned away the financier and sent a letter to his parents. The contents are replacement of two pieces of purchased Mithril alloy armor.

But two days later, it wasn't a seal of gold, but a "margin".

………… My head turned white.

Even if I read it over and over again, the content of "margin" was nothing else than "margin". Shortly before the reminder to renew, a letter describing what Riedial had done arrived at the duke, and the duke who read the contents was furious. He was tossed the moment he read the reminder that arrived.

As a result, you have only the original money at hand.

All you need is one hundred pieces of gold coins for two armor pieces.

On the other hand, he has twenty gold coins.

The day after the thought stopped, it wasn't the financier the other day, but the powerful giants who, in a sense, were doing more tougher things than adventurers. In fact, a letter arrived from the head of the duke to the financier he borrowed. "The second son is distracted and there is no reason to wipe his ass here."

The giant men are tortillas who stop using debt and collect it using any method. The financier asked them to collect the money. A hundred coins would definitely be a lot of money for lenders. It's not as friendly as it's free. Even worse, the opponent is no longer a Duke's man, but a disguised civilian. There is no reason to refrain.

For the first time, Ahlkiss realized he was on the cliff.

Defeating debt through legitimate transactions is a fine crime. If you do not repay the debt by the due date, you will be charged with a crime. Penalties for overthrowing debts include punishment for a fixed period of time, and repayment of the remaining debt by 20% over severe forced labor.

He struggled to pay off his debts.

The wages earned by forced labor are very low, and earning a single coin can take at least two months. It's scary to think of a hundred coins. On the way out of Draknir to flee, the garrison is on the lookout for those who are trying to escape debt, and the punishment will be even more severe if they are caught.

First, he withdrew from a hotel with three silver coins on the day and moved to a cheaper hotel with two copper coins. I was forced to shed tears in a situation where I couldn't waste money while putting a lot of stress on sudden changes in the environment as if it had just fallen from heaven to the ground. All the equipment was sold except for the two swords, and the debt was repaid. I was grateful that elaborate designs and expensive materials were used, and I was able to earn thirty gold coins.

The remaining debt is fifty gold coins.

Payment is due one month later.

Worked crazy.

Two silver coins in one case, such as E rank jobs. I can earn four. Debt repayment is a dream again if you do not manage the number. I received three requests a day.

Fortunately for Lukis, most E-rank requests were completed at the guild window. If they meet face-to-face with the commoners and the nobles of the Duke, they would be taken up by the thick-faced, shameless attitude they had ever seen, and in the worst case, they could temporarily freeze their adventurer qualifications.

His arrogant attitude was gradually eroded, imagining daily hard work and punishment for failing to repay debts.

Various regrets came in while receiving the request.

Why did you hire an escort to get an E-rank request? Why did the escort leave the penalty when he left and even gave him the armor? Why did you try to add a black wolf woman under your control?

The timeline is too messed up, and my regret emerges, and my anger rises with nowhere to go. However, he has no time to spread it and receives a request and earns money for debt repayment.

And managed to earn forty gold coins.

But the debt repayment was due tomorrow. The body and mind are almost at their limit, but they have to earn 10 gold coins.

The resulting two swords are too busy to care and are no longer shabby. The pawn shop declared that the two sold together were worth five gold coins. In other words, we have to manage five gold coins today.

Lukis went to the guild, with great impatience inside. However, with this one month experience, it can be judged that it is almost impossible to earn five gold coins in just one day and a little. There is not enough time.

If I noticed that, I would go to the D-rank bulletin board instead of the usual E-rank bulletin board.

I'm confused by a big impatience. Lukis immediately went to the E-rank bulletin board while time was regrettable.

I found it.

"Genkyou" who pushed himself into this situation.

The emotion that was smoldering in my chest was about to overflow. But I can't afford to spend time on grudges. I rushed to receive the rank E request. I had to move even though I knew that I was obviously short on time.

The destination is Yuri Forest. A hunting ground that has been visited many times in the past month. He was shown an acknowledgment of a request to slam a garrisoned soldier and rushed into the woods. However, if the impatience caused the impatience, there were many misses even if the prey was in front, and it was damaged more than necessary and it could not be delivered.

Go deep into the forest in search of prey. It seemed that he stepped deep into the surface from the surface. The requested item is an E-rank monster, so there is no use here.

At that time I tried to return to the surface.

By coincidence, I found that gray-haired man deep in the forest.

This time, I couldn't control the dim feeling that I had endured. Perhaps one of the factors was the lack of popularity.

Why? He died and succumbed to his gray hair. What do you intend to do? What do you want to do? He was just in his cellphone bag and touching his gun with his fingertips hiding inside.

This gun is a birthday gift sent by his father as a child. For some reason, I couldn't let it go. I thought that if I sold it out, I would really lose my connection with the Duke-father.

The heartbeat beats so painfully that it reaches the ears. Pull out the gun slowly with your shivering fingertips. I practiced shooting several times when I was at home. Do not remove this distance.

-Do you remove it?

What do you say you do not remove? What am I going to shoot?

The gray-haired man turned here. You should not see yourself hidden behind the bushes. Nevertheless, the man's line of sight glanced at one of his hidden positions.

ー ー ー ー bang!

When he noticed, Lukis jumped out of the shade and fired his gun.

A gray-haired man cuts a small hole in his breastplate and blows off with a shock.

Lukis finally returned to see a gray-haired man rolling on the ground with a noise.

At first, I couldn't swallow what I was doing.

However, evidence that a gun bullet was fired ... Reality began to seep into the brain in the eyes of a gray-haired man who had fallen down and could not move because of the burnt powder.

"Oh…………"

The gun spilled from my hand.

Aside from a mythril alloy, if the strength and thickness of a mass-produced iron breastplate are enough, the bullet of the gun easily penetrates and pierces the back.

In short, Lukis has now killed a person.

The teeth rattled and my shoulders shook as I rattled.

Until now, he has killed many monsters and earned money based on the materials obtained there. I have mentioned the exchange of lives to some extent.

But he has never had the experience of killing a person in his life. At this moment, he experienced "murder" for the first time in his life.

In my heart, I was prepared to say, "Which one?" However, he almost never lost himself and never thought he would murder impulsively.

However, it is.

Faster than he screams because he can't bear the weight of "murder".

"Oh, I was surprised."

--- A gray-haired man who pierced the armor of his chest rose and woke up as if nothing had happened.

Wait for a few seconds.

This time Lukis screamed from the bottom of his heart.