episode_0064

November, which approaches the Northern Territory, is the month that signals the beginning of bitterly cold weather that causes the land to hide under snow and water to submerge under ice.

November is the month that prepares animals and monsters for a long hibernation by accumulating fat and informs everyone to stock up on food to eat during the harsh cold season.

November is a month that warns that if you fail to prepare, it will not be a momentary hibernation but an eternal sleep, and if you are slow to prepare, you will experience a terrible survival rather than a comfortable life.

A full-fledged cold wave begins, the ground covered in thick snowdrops gradually loses its five colors, and the flowing rivers gradually freeze from the outskirts.

A month where crunchy snow and crunchy thin ice coexist.

Therefore, it was the last hunting season for all creatures with survival instincts, and a fierce struggle was taking place in the food chain in the snowy mountains, snow fields, and snow glaciers.

and.

Just as predators are desperate to catch and eat their prey, humans who stand at the top of the predators are also armed with their own weapons and travel everywhere in search of prey.

For my guests, for my life.

A strange rumor was circulating among them.

A rumor that those who witnessed it must speak passionately about, while those who did not witness it directly dismiss it as nonsense.

That’s right.

“No, a noble master goes out to hunt monsters himself?”

“That’s not the end. They even eat the monsters they hunt?”

It was a rumor about a hunter wandering around the western part of the Northern Territory.

There is a rumor that a noble master, accompanied by an old porter carrying a white flag representing a count’s family, and two young women, hunts and eats monsters himself.

The rumor, which was spreading like a ghost story, was being heated up and down by hunters, and the debate about its authenticity was also being heated up.

“Yekki, you guy. They say that the White Leaf Ents eat people, but.”

“Puhaha-! This is the funniest nonsense I’ve ever heard in my 50 years of life!”

“You are an innocent friend. Do you believe that? Just by looking at it, it looks like some coward is impersonating a nobleman to avoid being attacked.”

Most people dismissed it as a rumor rather than a rumor.

Of course, it would be nonsense for a noble boy who grew up to eat only precious things to eat monster carcasses, but what was even more nonsense was that he hunted food ‘himself’.

A noble boy who was born with the idea that it was ingrained in him from his childhood that it was okay to hire the lower class to do bad and dangerous work, risking his life to hunt monsters himself?

This is a rumor that even a newborn baby passing by will stop walking and snort, saying, ‘This is the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard in my life.’

Is that why?

Like a light hot air balloon flying far away, the rumor spread far and wide with wings, and the rumor that started near the Great Siege of Winterfell spread throughout the western part of the Northern Territory in just six months.

And the rumor had spread to remote mountain villages.

“Did you hear that?”

“What?”

“Why is it there? I’m talking about a blood demon who roams rough terrain and eats monster corpses alive.”

Hunters who used to ‘cook’ monster corpses and eat them have suddenly become barbarians who eat them raw.

The nobleman who hunts monsters has even acquired the cool(?) nickname of ‘Blood Devil’.

Human instinct is like that.

A primal instinct that craves greater stimulation.

I fleshed out the rumors that I heard from my instincts and cooked them with fire to suit my taste, and eventually I reached this point.

The man who was drinking his drink snorted.

“Do you believe that nonsense too?”

“Uh-huh, you too. It’s not nonsense? You know the gel catcher next door?”

“That foolish man who insisted on using a gunpowder gun rather than a bow while hunting in a snowy mountain?”

“Yes! That foolish gelvid. Well, didn’t he see someone eating a raw red longer leg with bright red eyes last night?”

“What? Eh, a. You must have seen something wrong.”

A man who was talking as if he had made a great discovery, and a man sitting across from him, drinking and listening intently.

Slode, a small village located in the mountains, is an area where only herbivorous monsters inhabit the area, so the village’s crime prevention team has survived for generations without any major danger simply by protecting the fence.

In a village of only about 100 people, even the smallest rumors were bound to cause a stir, and at the moment rumors about the Blood Demon were rising from all over the taverns.

Squeak!

The door of the tavern opened roughly.

The wind blowing outside blows into the bar.

The lively atmosphere cooled down with the cold wind that blew in.

The eyes of the village residents are all focused.

A quiet pub.

Four humans wearing deep hoods entered there.

It would be no exaggeration to say that his entire body was covered in snow, as he had been walking through the snow for quite some time.

It is a village of only 100 residents.

Even though he may have been wearing a deep hood, it was possible to tell right away whether he was a villager or not just by looking at his small actions and reactions, his physique and his steps, and the four strangers who came in at the moment when the rumor that he was a blood demon was rising was enough to create an eerie silence. did.

“… … .”

Jerk, jerk.

The man in front started walking toward the counter, and three people followed suit.

With every step, the snow piled up on my shoulders falls to the floor.

Just as the steady rain is unpleasant, the snow falling in handfuls is somehow ominous.

The four hooded men are walking somewhere with everyone’s attention.

gulp.

The gloomy energy they give off makes even elderly people who have experienced prenatal care swallow their saliva and become nervous.

yet.

As they gathered around the tavern’s fireplace, the residents joked that they were nervous for no reason.

This is why the sight of four people huddled together in a small fireplace, basking in the fire, was truly insignificant.

“Ugh… . I think I’m going to buy it now.”

“… This, this… warmth… … .”

“Huhhh… Wealth and fire are the greatest discoveries in human history… … .”

Daldaldaldaldaldal.

**

We each rented a room at a pub in town, and as soon as we unpacked our belongings, we gathered at the restaurant.

It was cold, but the skin on my stomach was drying out because I hadn’t had a proper meal since yesterday.

“Give me something warm, anything.”

“Me too.”

“Me too.”

“I also ask you a favor.”

A lot has happened in 6 months.

The Gourmet Expedition, which departed from the Great Siege, arrived at the Duchy of Langren in a month, and recruited a monster chef there, but unfortunately, they had to leave after meeting their fateful partner at a stopover fifteen days ago.

The good news is that Ariel, who has been the chef’s assistant for several months, has improved considerably in her skills.

Although her skills were far below those of a professional chef, Ariel was still making great progress compared to the time when she was making clubs out of meat.

And the reason Ariel, who had only agreed to accompany me to the Duchy of Langren, was now sitting across from me and gulping down a bowl of soup was because she had a new dream.

as soon as.

《The novel I always read, I want to try it too!》

My dream is to publish my first work as a writer.

And the main character of the first work was ‘Elden Rapellion’, and Ariel, who has been with him ever since, because he wanted to watch Elden’s journey and growth from a bastard Confucius to a great monster hunter and weave it into a story.

Rachel and Old Man Rendler had no problem saying anything.

In addition, as a result of training and hunting monsters at random for 6 months, I now have the skills to hunt beginner to intermediate level monsters, and I don’t know why, but I have even acquired the embarrassing nickname ‘Blood Demon Prince’.

“And Confucius, are you the famous Blood Demon Confucius?”

“… I don’t know. Something like that.”

“Please sign here… !”

Blood demon.

Because of his terrifying tinnitus that made him crave blood, it became increasingly difficult to find a monster chef, and because of his tinnitus, he became unintentionally famous.

There are many people who are scared and many children who burst into tears, but a nobleman who hunts monsters suddenly becomes a star among hunters.

Of course, ridiculous ghost stories like eating monsters alive were a bit absurd.

Ssuk suk.

Anyway, we continued eating amidst the gazes of those who handed us autographs and those who smiled at us, and when our stomachs were full, we took a map out of our pockets and spread it out on the table.

It was a gourmet map attached to the monster cuisine restaurant book that Ariel found in the Grand Duke’s library.

“Hmm, I think we’ve gone all the way to the west by now, right?”

Numerous circles are displayed in the western part of the Northern Territory.

As if taking a picture of a landmark, I marked all the places I visited, and before I knew it, there was no more place to circle in the western area.

“Hmm. It seems so. Confucius.”

“Wow, have you already covered the western region? Is it fast?”

It was fast.

I never thought I would cover this vast area in just 6 months.

The reason I was able to cover the area quickly, which I thought would take a year at the earliest, was probably because the western area had a low level of monsters overall, there were a lot of herbivorous monsters, and my rapid growth gave me a good foundation.

Of course, the biggest part was that the crew followed suit.

And I officially joined the [Monster Hunting Association].

This was to sufficiently cover travel expenses.

It was okay to hunt and eat monsters, but selling the by-products was only possible for those who had joined the association.

Above all, wouldn’t it be a waste of resources to just throw away the leftover ingredients?

anyway.

“Now it’s time to go to the eastern area.”

Perhaps the full-fledged monster hunting gastronomic journey will begin from the eastern region.

Because it is a place where mid-level to upper-middle level monsters appear.

While the western area would be focused on exploring delicious restaurants, the eastern area would be focused on monster hunting.

“Then shall we start from here?”

I pointed at one place with my finger.

Located at the beginning of the eastern region, the Marquis of Eris was famous for its man-eating plant monsters [Spicy Dark Nepenthes Stems] and [Stir-Fried Dark Nepenthes Seeds].

Before a full-scale monster hunting gourmet trip, it would have been a good idea to head to a large territory to invite a new monster chef.

And the fastest way to get to the Marquis of Eris was through the Grand Duchy of Winterfell, which was like my second home.

“Oh. So, I guess you’ll go through the Grand Duke of Winterfell?”

what.

Anyway, that wouldn’t be a bad thing either.

In any case, if you wanted to travel in a short period of time, it was better to pass through, and above all, this mountain village, Sroad, was located on the right-hand side of the northwest, so it was close to the Grand Duke of Winterfell, the center of the Northern Territory.

Therefore, I lowered my head as I scooped up the last remaining stew with a spoon.

Prince of Winterfell.

What happened there when I returned after 6 months?

Thinking like this.