My Pet Is a Holy Maiden - 72
The Truth of the Trial
"I see…a spotted wildcat…"
Now that he had heard Tatsumi's tale, Morganeich gave him another careful look.
"So you've come to the point of being able to challenge such beasts… You've improved quite a lot."
"Uh, no, um… I still have a long ways to go compared to you…"
Indeed, in the past year, Tatsumi had trained long and hard. But even so, his current abilities were no match for the Free Knight in front of him. While Tatsumi had grown a lot in the past year, it was not as if Morganeich had been playing in the meantime.
"Speaking of which, did you also fight against the spotted wild cat?"
"Aye. I've fought that monster before."
"And… Did you defeat that monster on your first attempt?"
"My first attempt was a failure much like yours… Actually, the same could be said for others as well. Many monster hunters have gone against that monster, and I believe most were defeated on their first battle."
It was long ago when he was just starting to be accepted as a full-fledged hunter by those around him. Morganeich had accepted this task much like Tatsumi.
He had gone with Calcedonia, his partner at the time. High-spirited, they challenged the spotted wildcat, and just like Tatsumi, they were completely powerless against it.
And much like Tatsumi, both Morganeich and Calcedonia had been overwhelmed with disappointment by this.
"But, we challenged it again after that… And we won."
Morganeich said quietly. But an unwavering confidence could be felt from the words.
"Ho- how… How did you achieve victory over the monster!?"
Tatsumi could not help but lean forward as he asked this. Morganeich just looked back at him, he was trying to hold back a burst of laughter.
Morganeich could well understand what Tatsumi was feeling right now. He too had searched for this answer and been troubled over it after the first defeat.
Surely the veterans around him at the time had looked at him with the same emotion as he looked at Tatsumi now.
And thinking of this had almost brought on a fit of laughter. Of course, it was not laughter aimed at Tatsumi, but at his past self.
"Don't be rash, Tatsumi. The thing is, there is a tradition of sorts between us monster hunters."
Morganeich then told him that this tradition meant that veteran monster hunters were to not voluntarily help or give advice to those that took on the task of the spotted wildcat.
It was not necessarily a set rule, but it had at some point become accepted among all monster hunters.
"The hunting of the spotted wildcat is to determine whether you can stand on your own two feet, after all. Don't you think it would be odd if everyone around you was giving you advice?"
"That, that is true…"
Tatsumi agreed, but there was visible disappointment all over his face.
He had thought that he could reach some sort of breakthrough by hearing of the time Morganeich defeated the spotted wildcat.
The act of 'searching for something' in this world Tatsumi was currently in was not easy.
While things could be easily searched for with the use of the internet in modern Japan, there were much fewer options to 'search' for something in this world.
Tatsumi opened the door to the bedroom. And once the two had entered… He slowly closed the door.
For instance, because all documents in this world were written by hand, they were expensive and valuable items that normal civilians would not have easy access to.
As far as places that stored such documents, there was only the royal palace and temples or the libraries of wealthy families.
To this point, Tatsumi himself was an acolyte, and so had access to the libraries of the Savaiv Temple, and there were abundant tomes being stored there.
However, drawing information that concerned the spotted wild cat from Savaiv Temple's huge library was bound to be tiresome work.
On top of that, there was even the possibility that there was no such information on the spotted wild cat in Savaiv Temple's library at all.
In terms of other options, aside from collecting information through documents; there was really only 'to ask someone'.
In this case, there were people who had succeeded in the past in hunting the spotted wildcat, -such as Morganeich who was right in front of him- and if he could hear about the monster’s appearance and movements at the time, he might be able to use that information when he next went up against the spotted wildcat.
However, like Morganeich had said, veteran monster hunters were not to pass on any advice. So he ultimately had no choice but to dig out the information that may or may not exist, from the huge pile of documents stored within Savaiv Temple.
Tatsumi's face drooped without him realizing it. Morganeich continued to stare at him with a mischievous grin.
At this point, Tatsumi suddenly realized that something was odd.
He could understand this tradition of 'veterans not helping or giving unnecessary advice' that Morganeich spoke of.
However, could the majority of monster hunters really achieve this task of the spotted wild cat while still honoring this tradition?
To be sure, there were absolute madmen who hunted the spotted wildcat on their first attempt. But according to what he had heard, the majority of monster hunters failed on their first attempt.
If that was so.
If that was so, perhaps this trial was more than simply hunting the spotted wildcat.
Tatsumi started to think that there was some kind of hidden purpose behind the trial.
He stared back at Morganeich, suspiciously. Morganeich stared back at him with the most entertained expression.
Tatsumi was convinced that his reasoning was right, Morganeich’s behavior indicated as much.
And at the same time, he remembered something. Something that Morganeich has said a moment ago.
"Morga, there's something I want to confirm…"
"Ah. What is that?"
"You said it yourself a moment ago. That 'concerning the spotted wild cat, other monster hunters were not to voluntarily cooperate or give advice.' In other words, does that mean it is allowed if it's not voluntarily…?"
So, one would say nothing if not asked, but they would answer if questioned. Was that not his meaning? That was the conclusion Tatsumi had landed on.
"Oh? Did I say such a thing?"
Morganeich played dumb through his words, but his eyes were smiling kindly.
Yes. That was the answer.
That was Morganeich's silent answer to Tatsumi.
“Since it seems that you have realized it now, I will tell you. The trial of the spotted wildcat is not just about the hunting of the beast.”
Now that Tatsumi had realized it's true nature, Morganeich began to explain about the trial anew.
"What is important about this trial, is whether you can properly gather all the information about the spotted wild cat in advance."