2. Hunt and Cash-In

I arrived at the town.

Following the road in the opposite direction from Princess Helene, I ended up in a decent-sized town.

A Western-style town ringed by stone walls.

The walls looked like they had been built to fight something off.

As I came up to the main gate, armed soldiers stopped me.

There were two of them, in simple armor, with long spears.

「Stop! Where are you from?」

「Uh…」

「Answer me.」

The soldier put his spear in my face.

「Um… even if you ask where I came from…」

I hesitated. Even if I said Japan, they would not understand.

「Why aren’t you answering?」

「Those are strange clothes. Never seen the like.」

「Suspicious bastard.」

「Eeeeeeh?」

That was a stretch. Sure, I was in Uniqlo from head to toe, but still.

It was not that strange.

…Ah. Maybe it was.

Soldier or not, it was a long way from what the townsfolk in the crowd were wearing.

The first people I had met were a princess, a knight, and then the attackers.

The next people I met were these soldiers.

So I had not even noticed that my clothes were different from ordinary people’s.

Now what…

「No answer? Then you’re coming with us!」

「Wait. Look at that.」

One soldier reached for me. The other pulled him back.

The one who stopped him pointed at my waist.

I looked down. The folding fan Princess Helene had given me was there. I had stuffed it in a pocket, and the top half was sticking out.

「Ah. This?」

I took the fan out and opened it.

The royal crest came into view. It looked like the sort of thing that meant something.

「That’s the royal crest! And a fan, which means…」

「It’s Her Highness Helene’s. No — but she does not give those away. The rumor is the court magician begged for one after a battle merit, and she still refused him.」

「But…」

「No, but…」

The two of them started whispering.

If they were telling the truth, this thing was a much bigger deal than I had thought.

I stared at the fan.

I remembered the moment it had been handed over, and the person who had handed it over.

Princess Helene…

「Excuse us.」

「—Wh-what?」

I jumped at the soldier’s voice and snapped back.

「Would you allow us to test whether this is genuine?」

The fan had already taken most of the bark out of him.

「If it is real, it should hold royal magic.」

「Um… what am I supposed to do?」

「Pardon us.」

The soldier held a hand toward the crest and chanted something.

A faint light came off the crest, and the emblem rose up in three dimensions.

「M-my apologies!」

「Please, go ahead!」

That was enough for them to call it genuine.

Both soldiers looked even more rattled than before. They planted their spears and locked into a full stand-at-attention.

I went through the gate.

People near the entrance had watched the fuss. They were staring.

「That’s Her Highness Helene’s.」

「They say it’s the real thing.」

「Which means that man is close to Her Highness.」

「A new noble, perhaps.」

My hearing had improved too. I picked every word.

It felt pretty good.

Feeling good was fine. I still had things to think about.

Clothes, food, shelter.

The basics.

Clothes I could live with for now — I would have to buy new ones soon — but food and a roof were the immediate problem.

To fix those, I needed money.

In other words, I had to earn.

I was still turning that over when—

「Make way, make way!」

A group of four overtook me from behind. They were on a wagon, with a huge beast on the bed.

The beast was limp. It did not move. Alive or dead was anyone’s guess.

They stopped in front of a building and drove the whole wagon inside.

A while later they came back out.

「All right, we got paid! Let’s go drink!」

「It’s been ages. I’m going all night.」

And they were gone.

「Did they just cash that in?」

I wanted to know, so I went in.

The wagon and the beast were inside. Men were unloading. One man was giving orders.

I went up to him.

「Got a minute?」

「Hm. What. You here to hunt too?」

「…If I go kill one of those, you’ll buy it?」

He looked like the type who moved fast, so I went with that.

「Yeah. You hunt a mountain ox, we pay a proper price.」

「Mountain ox… is that wagyu?」

I looked at the beast.

You could squint and call it cattle. Long mane, sharp horns. Nasty.

Honestly, it did not look like a herbivore. It looked like a predator.

「You alone? I won’t dress it up. If you have no one with you, drop it. Even veterans want four or five. Greenhorns want about ten. This thing is dangerous.」

「That so?」

「Yeah. The meat is ridiculously good. Hunting it is not. That’s why we pay.」

「…For now, can you tell me where I find one?」

I asked for the place.

He kept telling me to take proper help, right to the end. I figured I would manage.

I left town on the map he gave me and came to a grassland nearby.

Mountains in the distance. Mountain ox were supposed to show up around here.

「Oh. That it?」

I saw it far off.

More precisely, I saw a group already hunting one.

Six people. Three up front, three in the rear.

「Prior guests… look for another?」

I started to peel off and find a different target, and then—

「Uwaaaaa!」

「They wiped us! Damn it, they got us!」

「Stop! Don’t just rush it!」

That did not sound like it was going well.

I stopped and squinted.

One by one, the mountain ox was putting them down.

The front line went. The ox reared and went for the rear.

The rear guard was already flinching.

「Tch.」

I clicked my tongue and ran.

A hundred meters in one go. I tackled the mountain ox.

It went flying. It got back up.

Sturdier than a person, then.

I followed. I stepped in and put a punch into the side of its head.

Nothing fancy. Just a punch I actually meant.

The ox spun through the air, hit, and did not get up.

I slung it over my shoulder — surprisingly light; the extra arm strength, probably — walked it back to town, and took it into the same shop.

「Did you do that alone?」

「Yeah. Piece of cake.」

「Impressive. Here.」

He stared, then hurried a cloth bag into my hands.

It was full of silver coins I had never seen. He had pulled bag and all in one grab, so this was probably the going rate.

「Hey. Hunt these for me regular. You keep bringing them in, I add ten percent.」

Not a bad offer.

「How regular?」

「One every two days. Every day if you can.」

「Got it. I’ll try.」

「I’m counting on you.」

I waved and left.

For now I had a job I understood. I also had cash.

「Next is…」

I looked up. Evening, already.

First, a place to stay tonight.