episode_0090

======[ Hilde ]======

“This request is relatively simple. It’s a commission from a small village, Lesborn or something, asking us to deal with some beasts that have settled in their backyard.”

Amy returned to the table and explained the details of the new request, slicing a loaf of oat bread for breakfast and stuffing it with sausages.

It’s like a hot dog without the sauce. After seeing me eat that way a few times, she started doing the same, saying it’s more convenient.

“Dealing with beasts? That seems too simple, almost too simple for a party of bronze-ranked adventurers, isn’t it?”

It’s not even a monster; dealing with wild animals should be easily handled at the bronze level.

For us to take on such a task would be a waste of manpower. It’s like wasting time for little reward.

As the saying goes, “Right person for the right job,” tasks that can be handled at the bronze level should be entrusted to bronze-level adventurers for proper and efficient judgment.

“Well, if it’s just wolves or wild boars, you might be right… But from what the receptionist said, it seems this might be the offspring of a snowfield bear. And not just one, it seems.”

Amy shrugged her shoulders as she countered.

Dealing with ordinary beasts could be easily handled even at the bronze level, but if several established snowfield bears were to emerge, it could potentially become dangerous even for bronze-ranked adventurers.

“Well… I guess there’s nothing we can do about it.”

It was an answer that I had no choice but to accept. Just as there are differences in status among people, there are also distinct hierarchical relationships among wild animals.

With a size of up to 5 meters, the giant black bear classified as a monster, and the snowfield bear, which is under 3 meters but no less ferocious, were beasts so dangerous that they couldn’t be compared to other wild animals.

If a bronze-ranked adventurer acted carelessly, they could end up having their insides eaten while still alive.

◆◆

It would take about a day by carriage to reach Lesborn, so we prepared emergency camping equipment and four days’ worth of rations before heading to the village by carriage.

“…Speaking of this carriage, doesn’t it feel even more uncomfortable now?”

The top of the Reville left the carriage behind until it was captured, thinking that it would be more convenient and money-saving not to rent a carriage one by one in the future.

“Yeah. Maybe we were short-sighted.”

…Upon closer inspection, there were unexpected difficulties.

First of all, the idea of saving money was a mistaken notion. What’s the point of saving carriage fees? Just as much money goes out for the care of the horses.

Since you can’t just put the horses in some kind of inventory and walk around, when you return to the city, you have to tie up the packhorses in the inn’s stable…and that all costs money.

The management of the horses is handled by the innkeeper, but the feed cost and stable rental were not free.

The problem wasn’t just the cost.

The carriage and the coachman are like a set item. But what we have is only the carriage. We have a private car, but no driver.

So, in order to travel with our carriage, we had to separately hire a guide or a groom who knows how to drive a carriage, or someone among us had to take care of the grooming.

No one had experience with grooming. It somehow worked out, but it was hard to call it pleasant driving just in words.

Especially Kikel, due to the characteristics of his frail race and physique, just sitting on the coach seat itself seemed like a hardship.

Well, we complained about this and that, but we didn’t think of getting rid of this carriage.

It’s a bit more inconvenient than expected, but still, even if it’s uncomfortable, riding in the carriage is a hundred times better than just walking.

Rental carriages often allow only one-way trips depending on the groom’s circumstances, so while it’s good when heading to the destination, it’s quite a hardship when returning to the city.

Moreover, since it’s our own carriage, it could be considered a small advantage that we can use it as a makeshift shield or loot storage.

◆◆

“Why would city ladies come to such a rural area… Oh, perhaps you are the adventurers?”

The village chief of Lesbon was a neatly braided elderly woman with snow-white hair.

“Yes. I am Hilde, an associate adventurer of the Vespean Guild.”

As a village chief, it was a rather unique experience. When you think of a village chief, you usually picture a middle-aged man or an elderly grandfather. In reality, except for one exception, it was generally like that, so it’s quite remarkable to see an elderly woman as the village chief. Of course, I didn’t ask why the grandmother was the village chief because I could tell. Maybe her husband passed away or something like that. People in this world could live to around a hundred if they managed their health well, but in reality, most ended up in the graveyard around their seventies or eighties. Living close to a hundred was a privilege limited to some wealthy people who could afford proper nutrition and dedicated care for their health. For rural commoners, living past seventy was already considered a blessed life. “Oh my. Thank you, thank you. Those dreadful white bears are openly coming down to the village causing havoc. Last time, they took Lily’s pig, and just the other day, well, they even…” “I see. You must have had a hard time. Don’t worry. We’ll take care of everything.” After comforting the village chief grandmother who lamented about the damage and suffering, I asked various details about the request. Are these snow bears real? If so, how many of them are there? Do you understand that everything found in their den will be our property according to the request terms? Well, things like that. “Yes, they’re snow bears. There should be at least four of them… we can only be sure after going there. What should we do? Should we go up there and finish it?” After finishing the conversation with the village chief, I shared the information with my colleagues and asked for their opinions on how to handle this matter. Asking for opinions was just a formality; it was more about whether to deal with it right away or take a day to rest and gather more detailed information before acting. “There’s no need to delay, is there? Unicorn horns need to be taken out quickly, and since it’ll probably end with just a few snow bears, wouldn’t it be better to finish it quickly and take a break?”

Amy always laid out what seemed to be a proverb unique to this world and gestured toward the back mountain.

“Um… Well, if it’s just hunting bears in the snow, it shouldn’t be a problem. Rather than that, Hilde, would you like to make a bet? If I catch more, I’ll grant you a small wish or something…”

Frida also agreed with Amy’s suggestion. No, she went so far as to even sneakily propose a bet to me.

“…A small wish?”

A bet with a condition that felt somewhat dubious.

Granting the wish of someone who confessed their love. What kind of wish was she trying to demand?

“Frida, no matter how easy it is, you should take your responsibilities seriously…”

“…Oh, no. I’ll cancel.”

She tried to refuse with a reasonable excuse, but before my advice was over, Frida immediately turned her head back.

“That’s right… It seems we can’t make a bet. Hunting bears is too advantageous for me. I’m sorry. A bet with a predetermined result isn’t really a bet.”

An apology for bringing up such a proposal when it was obvious she would win. It sounded like the tone of a friend who used to mock my online game rank.

“No… Let’s make an exception this time.”

So, I reflexively accepted the bet.

After all, how could I, as a Korean, just let it go when someone said I was terrible at games?

Of course, this wasn’t a game but rather a real challenge, but the meaning itself was similar, so there wasn’t much difference for me.

“Huh? Um, well, making an exception this time means…”

“Right. Let’s do it, that bet.”

I firmly confirmed again to Frida, who blinked her eyes. I would accept this bet as a special case. With an unequivocal tone.

“Yes, yes…!”

Frida smiled widely and nodded her head.

Watching from the side, Amy sighed and shook her head, saying, “You’re quite good at this,” with a face that seemed to say so.

“Kakakak! Hilde, you’re a digging tool! You’re digging your own grave again!”

It didn’t feel like I was digging my own grave, but… well, if I win, that’s the end of it. If I win, that’s it.

Hmm, it wasn’t a problem.

Since it’s a win, let’s stop.

◆◆

As Kikel also expressed the intention that it would be better to rest after the fight, we headed straight to the back mountain of the village where the snow bear was setting up its living quarters.

It was a bigger mountain than I had expected. If it were in Korea, all the nearby schools would have regular field trips there.

“Sniff, sniff. There’s a scent. Look, there are footprints too. It’s an easy find.”

Leading the party, Kikel sniffed at the traces left by the snow bear, tracking the marks with his nose.

Small piles of excrement. Claw marks carved into trees. The distinct scent and trampled weeds, right down to the large footprints typical of wild animals.

Since it seemed the creature made no effort to conceal its tracks like a true beast, finding the bear’s den was surprisingly quick and easy.

“…Found it. Over there.”

Not even thirty minutes into the mountains, we finally found a large cave with an open mouth, clearly the snow bear’s lair, as evidenced by the white fur scattered around nearby.