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Enthusiastically, I left the Hunter’s Guild and made my way towards the gate we entered Sannois from. I wanted to see if the mister at the gate is still there. One of the reasons I accepted this request is because the gate I’ll exit from is nearer to the guild. Though, another reason is that I wanted to be able to complete this request by myself. It’s my first job after all.

Since the gate can be seen directly ahead of our path, we reached the gate without getting lost. The soldiers guarding the gate are there as usual. The man, whose name I don’t know, is also keeping watch, but I decide not to greet him because I might distract him from his work. I assume I’ll probably get stopped again when I try to enter the town later.

While feeling somewhat down, I was approaching the gate when the mister noticed me and inquired, 「Have you become a Hunter?」 I simply replied, 「Thanks to you,」 and bowed my head.

Just doing that made me feel somewhat satisfied but now that I passed through the gate, I realized that it might have been a wrong move. Real talk, even if I get close with that mister, we’ll still leave this country in the end, so it’s not really a good thing.

Still, we’ll probably be staying here for at least a year, so getting a bit closer to the gatekeeper might not be that bad. It’s troublesome to be treated and acting like a child every time we leave the gate after all.

Today, under the pleasantly clear blue sky, I’ll be searching for herbs while having a nice stroll. I managed to get the sample after all, as well as the designated bag. Since I don’t intend to collect a large amount of herbs today, one bag is sufficient. Nonetheless, it appears the bag can store twice the necessary quantity to complete the request.

Since we departed from the guild, I have been curious about something, but as I had already anticipated and nothing eventful occurred upon leaving the town, it’s not a big concern. So, about the herbs, it seems like they grow in a well lit part of the grasslands and said grasslands was the place Ciel passed through on the way to Sannois.

Therefore, it appears that we must search for it across the expansive grasslands. It is understandable that only a few people would be willing to take this request, as there are also animals and small monsters lurking about. Furthermore, it’s not as though the herbs can be found as soon as one enters the grasslands. At worst, it may take an entire day of searching with no results.

『So how do we search for it then?』
『I’m thinking of using detection. Since it seems like the herbs have magic power in them, we might be able to find it quickly.』

That’s right, I’ve confirmed it after getting the sample and I am absolutely sure that the herbs contain magic power. After all, it’s effects are ridiculously strong.

At first, I just thought that the people of this world naturally healed quickly, but when Ciel got wounded, it still took quite a while for it to heal. As for the exact time, I don’t actually know. I don’t have a watch after all. So considering that, I tried asking for a sample and, while it wasn’t much, there really was some magic power. Its magic power was different from that of ours and the magic stone’s.

Concentrating, I tried searching for magical reactions that I usually ignored and I found a lot of reactions everywhere. But what’s interesting is that each of these reactions are somewhat different from each other. To test it out, I went to a nearby reaction and there I saw herbs that are completely different from the sample.

『It’s different.』
『But it did react, didn’t it?』
『I guess it can be used for something else. Still, it is different from the one requested.』
『What will you do, Ain?』
『Let’s gather a few of them and ask Celia about them. That person should be able to answer immediately but, well, it’ll probably get annoying if I ask.』
『That person?』
『The one that has been following us since we left. If I ask them, it’ll probably end up starting a sorcery discussion after all.』

To my words, Ciel made a seemingly convinced hum. While following the reactions, I was able to locate the required herbs. However, as there were not enough of them to meet the necessary quantity, I collected samples of the herbs that showed a positive detection during the search for more. As the sun was directly overhead and the designated bag was now full, I decided to end this for today.

『Since we still have some time, why don’t we gather some magic stones then?』
『But we’re being watched, is that really alright?』
『Then we’ll test out the magic circle. It is important to test it first after all. Besides, we’re already surprisingly close to the forest. If anything happens, we can still fight without revealing our trump card after all.』
『If that’s the case, let’s switch after entering the forest shall we?』
『Understood.』

◇

In this region, the creatures that dwell here include D-rank forest wolves, giant spiders, and E-rank goblins and kobolds. While there are also C-rank monsters present in deeper parts of the forest, they seldom venture into the shallower regions. Although we’ll definitely instant-kill any spiders we encounter, we have no intention of engaging in a full-scale hunt. Instead, using detection, I searched for E-rank monsters and informed Ciel of their whereabouts.

Ciel swiftly defeated the monsters using the Whirlwind Slash magic circle. While it is essentially a modified version of the Wind Blade spell, it proved to be highly effective against the E-rank monsters. Although its power may only be sufficient for superficial cuts on the skin of a cyclops, it is more than capable of dispatching D-rank monsters and those below in a single strike.

After hunting and harvesting the necessary magic stones and verification materials from the monsters, we proceed to burn the remaining parts. Although some of the monster parts could be sold as materials, their size limits our ability to carry them. Taking into account the space required for the magic stones and evidence parts, we can probably only bring along the equivalent of ten monsters’ worth of materials.

It seems like a waste that we have already reached our carrying capacity with just a single use of the whirlwind slash on a group of monsters. Despite completing our magic circle test run, the sun is still high up in the sky. Due to this, I considered returning home and resuming our search later. However, I suddenly detected multiple reactions in the area.

『It looks like some sort of party encountered a group of monsters.』
『Are they near us?』
『Let me check. There’s nothing near us, but the encounter is of four people and ten monsters.』

After I said so, we heard an energetic 「UuooH!」 from a slight distance. And after that, we began to hear the shrill sound of clashing metal.

『Would you mind if we look at the battle for a bit?』
『It’s fine, but will it be alright? We’re being watched, right?』

Checking it out is fine, but will it be alright to go as a hunter? That’s probably what Ciel meant to say. For me, I just wanted to see how a party fights even only for a bit, so it shouldn’t be a problem.

『If it’s not allowed then the person watching us would probably call us out.』
『I see. So I only need to sneakily watch over them, right?』
『Please do.』

As Ciel stealthily observes the area from behind a tree, we notice the group of young people I had previously spotted engaged in combat against a group of goblins. The party consists of four members, utilizing a longsword, a one-handed sword and shield, sorcery, and a bow respectively. I am uncertain whether their party composition is well balanced or not.

Still, since they’re having a hard time against goblins that only have worn out weapons on them, it seems like the party might not be that strong. There are two vanguards in the party but they can’t keep the ten goblins in check, so the party is slowly taking more and more damage.

On the other hand, the goblins aren’t just attacking blindly, they have some level of coordination as it looks like the relatively big goblin is giving out commands. It’s hard to judge who’s the real human here. That should be the so-called Goblin Leader. Although it’s not at the level of a D-rank, it’s said to be the E-rank’s strongest monster. For E-class hunters, maybe it’s a bit too difficult for only the four of them.

『It seems like this isn’t really a fight we can observe teamwork from, is it?』
『Look at it as a 3 vs 9 battle. The person with the longsword isn’t pulling his weight.』

As Ciel said, if I change my perspective, the one with the one-handed sword is using his shield to hold back the goblins while the ones at the rear are focused on attacking, so I can see that they are at least working as a group. However, it feels like that person alone isn’t enough to push nine goblins back. Considering that, if he is an E-ranker then the vanguard might be actually highly capable. If they only had one more vanguard, they could probably handle the fight a bit better.

So what is the remaining one doing then? He’s charging at the Goblin Leader. At first glance it might seem like they’re fighting toe-to-toe but since the Leader is giving out commands while fighting, it’s likely the stronger one here. If I just let them be, the hunters will lose.

Hmm, I just wanted to see if I can learn something from them but this ended up being a choice of whether we help them or leave them to die.

『As a hunter, just leaving might not be wrong but…』
『You want to help them, right Ain?』
『Do I really? I want to help them, but I am hesitant due to potential repercussions. While helping them is a simple task, the reaction of the person watching us is also a significant factor to consider.』

The one doing the helping is Ciel, though. I can imagine it going like: Help them → They’ll feel grateful → They’ll tag along; and I am uncertain if they are capable of offering proper compensation for our services. Still, maybe, just maybe, we could get something from the guild.

Also, seeing people die right in front of my eyes feels absolutely horrible.

The dilemma we face is that although we are not obligated to provide assistance, helping the group would only require a minimal amount of time and effort. If there was a risk of endangering Ciel’s life, I would prioritize our safety and opt to flee. However, even if the group were to be defeated and the goblins turn their attention towards us, we could easily dispatch them.

Another challenge is that Ciel seems to be indifferent to whether or not we offer assistance.

『I’d feel awful if they die right in front of us, so would you mind if we help them?』
『Sure, I wouldn’t mind it.』
『But about that, please make it appear as though sorcery was cast from the tree to our right and slightly behind us.』
『Fufu, Ain is a really mean person, you know?』

Giggling delightedly, Ciel began pouring magic power in one of our hidden magic circles. It’s not the whirlwind slash that we’ve been using up until now, but an ice arrow magic circle. Although she called me mean for this, Ciel herself is making this a pretty elaborate setup as well.

From the place I told her, ice arrows shot out and pierced the heads of five goblins. The hunters already defeated the other three goblins, so they should be able to manage with only the Goblin Leader left.

『Let’s run.』
『Where shall we go?』
『Please head to the gate we left from.』

After that short exchange, Ciel sprints off. And while we’re at it, I support her using Song Princess. The hunters were surprised by the arrow of ice that suddenly appeared and turned their heads to where it came from. I don’t know how the person they saw reacted to that but since it doesn’t seem like they’re following us, we should have tricked them good.

After leaving the forest and running halfway through the grasslands, I switched with Ciel. And after that, I walked back to the gate and saw that the mister was still on shift. As he saw me, he seemed relieved and waved his hand.

「Hey little miss. Looks like you’re back unscathed.」
「I only went to get herbs after all. If it’s just goblins, having them around or not doesn’t really make a difference.」
「Normally encountering a goblin is already problematic enough, though. Anyway, good work coming back.」

Unlike on our first day, we were allowed to enter without any issues, so I said my thanks as I entered the town. After walking through the straight path and entering the Hunter’s Guild, I see Carol staring over here as though she wants to have a word with me.

Hiya~! We’re surprisingly out of the guild quick this time and we’re back again by the end of the chap… orz

So for today’s chapter, Ain had a lot of fun, plain fun but fun nonetheless. A nice stroll in the nice beautiful weather (ignore the monsters, lol).

As for the hunters, lol. Ciel be savage, not only in actions but also in words. “It’s a 3v9, one’s not pulling his weight” Kek. Also AinCiel’s exchange be like:

Ain: This is a trap, a narrative trap, but I can’t leave them after knowing that they’ll probably die, so yeah, use sorcery and make sure that it’ll look like it’s from “that person” following us, m’kay?
Ciel: Lol, you’re such a bully.
Also Ciel: *Proceeds to make sure that they’ll identify the rescuer as *that person* by specifically using *ice arrows* even though Ain didn’t say anything about ice magic*
That person: WHy!? (Probably)

Well, it’s nice to see Ciel having the initiative even in just that way, lol.

Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Please feel free to comment. Stay clean, stay safe, and have a nice day~!