Chapter 11
Translator: Kell Editor: Weasalopes
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Resolve
It was not long after Hikaru left town when the gatekeeper got worried . Six adventurers went past the gate as if in pursuit of him .
「Excuse me . Can you come with me for a bit? There’s something I want to check . It’ll only take fifteen minutes . 」
He was talking to the unit of guards stationed at the gate . They nodded right away and accompanied the gatekeeper . His hunch was right . After a bit of walking, he spotted six adventurers making a racket .
「Hey, he’s not here!」
「Where’d that brat go?!」
「He couldn’t just disappear in such a short time! Why the hell didn’t you keep your eyes on him?!」
「I could say the same to you!」
Sounds disturbing judging by their words . The gatekeeper warily approached them .
「What’s with all the ruckus? I heard what you said . Did you need anything from that kid that left town just now? Why didn’t you talk to him in town?」
「Wh-What?! Guards?!」
The adventurers went silent .
「Can you please come with me to the station?」
「Th-There’s no need for that . It’s really nothing . Right?!」
「Y-Yeah! Nothing wrong here . 」
「Come with me to the station . That’s an order . 」the gatekeeper repeated, with more force this time .
The adventurers shrank back . They were taken away, their heads hanging down low . A while later, while surrounded by brawny soldiers…
「What?! You wanted to teach him a lesson and put him in place because he gained the favor of a receptionist?! What the hell were you thinking?! For goodness sake, you’re grown men! This is exactly why women don’t give you the time of day!」
…they received a good talking-to . Incidentally, the soldiers informed the Adventurers Guild of the incident .
「Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat?!」
Jill now had one more reason to be worried .
Completely unaware of all the commotion, Hikaru wandered through the meadows .
「Red-horned Rabbits live near town . They’re an unusual bunch as there’s less and less of them as you go farther out . But then again, there are no ferocious monsters near town so it’s easier for them to breed . 」
That was what he got from the reference room earlier . They were detailed, providing information on their ecological distributions and habitat .
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「It did mention that they’re extremely difficult to kill… no, difficult to hunt . As to why…」
Hikaru spotted his target . It was behind some bushes, quite some distance away . A Red-horned Rabbit . Fairly big for a rabbit, it was about the size of a cardboard box for oranges . On its head was a deep-red horn . Apparently the longer the horns, the more valuable they were . But most of them would snap off over the course of their lives . In fact, the one Hikaru spotted had a broken horn .
「Hmm…」
It was less than a hundred meters away . Hikaru switched his class to that of a Civilian . There didn’t seem to be any change in its behavior . Next, he deactivated his Stealth .
Abruptly the Red-horned Rabbit raised its head, looking around restlessly .
「So it can notice me even when I’m this far . 」
Hikaru turned his Stealth back on and moved closer . The creature seemed to have forgotten its discomfort as it shoved its face back onto the ground . He drew nearer . Fifty meters . Thirty meters…
The Red-horned Rabbit raised its head once more, but this time, it looked straight at Hikaru’s direction and fled at a ridiculous speed .
「Literally ran like a scared rabbit…」he muttered .
「No, wait . So thirty meters is the limit of my Stealth . I was quite confident with my Skill too . It’s rough going against a monster that specializes in anti-Stealth . 」
Hikaru let out a low groan .
「Wait a sec . That rabbit looked towards my direction . So it knows where I am exactly . The only explanation for that is…」
It has either Life or Mana Detection .
「I have one point each on Life Obfuscation and Mana Obfuscation . So it has a means to pierce my Skills . I don’t know how powerful it is exactly, but… Whatever . Let’s try my class next . 」
It took fifteen minutes for him to find another Red-horned Rabbit . He’s already switched his class to Stealth God: Darkness Wanderer .
「…Seriously?」
He approached the creature through its blindspot, so it might’ve played a part . But still, he couldn’t believe what was happening . At his feet was a rabbit, about 60 centimeters in length, its face shoved onto the ground . Just by changing classes, he was able to get this close .
The creature he spotted this time still had its horn intact . According to the information he got from the reference room, Red-horned Rabbits with horns not yet broken were rare .
「Time to kill it I guess . 」he muttered, though the creature didn’t seem to hear it .
It was digging through the ground, chewing insects and worms .
「………」
Hikaru gripped his Dagger of Strength tightly . He was about to kill the creature . He left town, fully prepared to do so . And yet, the point of his blade was shaking . Hikaru heaved a sigh .
「This is stupid . I’ve already killed a man, and yet here I am, hesitating to kill an animal, feeling sorry for it . 」
But unlike the innocent Red-horned Rabbit, Morgstad deserved to die .
「………」
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He knew . It was like how meat sold at a supermarket wouldn’t bother him, but he might feel sorry for the animals if he went to a slaughterhouse . He understood his sentiment . He knew why he was hesitating . Pity .
「Man, I’m really stupid…」 he said, putting his hand together .
He knew it was pointless . There was no God in this world .
He then drew his dagger and in one motion, stabbed the creature’s back all the way to its heart . He felt no resistance as the blade took its life away . Must be the effect of the Assassination Skill .
Blood seeped into the earth . Feeling weak from his knees all the way down to his feet, Hikaru steeled himself . He let go of the dagger and put his hands together once more .
「I’m so stupid . 」 he muttered again .
It was all quick after killing the creature . He skillfully hung the corpse by the creek to drain the blood and cut its stomach open to remove the innards . Doing this would make it lighter and apparently make the meat tastier . The heart and its two kidneys could be sold at high prices though, so he left those . He then tossed the corpse into a plastic bag he’d bought for his daily necessities . After washing his hands with soap, he headed back to town . It was lunch time, but he didn’t have the appetite to eat his sandwich .
When Hikaru got to the gate, the gatekeeper tapped his shoulder and nodded for some reason .
「What?」
「Go to the Adventurers Guild . 」
「Okay…」
It sounds like something happened while I was gone . He headed toward the guild, which was his plan all along anyway .
「Hikaru-ku—」
When he returned, Jill and Gloria were both at the counter . Jill was about to dash towards Hikaru, but after casting a sidelong glance at Gloria, she stopped . She then returned to dealing with the adventurers like nothing happened .
「………」
She kept shooting glances at Hikaru, though . He understood what she was trying to say with those eyes . Over here . Come here . Don’t go over to Gloria . The eyes could speak a thousand words .
Hikaru smelled trouble, but going over to Gloria would only make Jill upset . Without much of a choice, he strode towards Jill . As always, adventurers were gathered around the two women in clusters, hitting on them .
Are these guys really adventurers? Don’t they have anything better to do? Although, following one’s basic instincts to find a suitable female partner and putting effort into it isn’t exactly wrong… or is it?
Hikaru waited for work to settle down a bit before slipping into the first row .
「I’m here to deliver—」
「You’ve come at the most opportune time, Adventurer Hikaru . I want to talk to you in the booth . 」
「What?」
「I want to talk to you in the booth . 」
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「I, uhh…」
「I want to talk to you in the booth . 」
After repeating it three times, Jill sauntered towards the booth .
「………」
Hikaru could feel the men’s icy glares drilling into him .
…Man, what a pain . I’d be in trouble if they remember my faces . I should buy a mask .
He entered the booth .
「I’m sorry!」Jill exclaimed before he could say anything else .
She bowed her head, both hands on the table . The adventurers wondered what was going on . These guys just have to react to Jill’s every action, don’t they? You too, Gloria . Stop looking here and focus on your work .
「…I’m sorry . I’m not sure I follow . 」
「You might’ve not noticed but you were actually tailed by adventurers . Six of them」
「What about it?」
「They’re, uh… my fans apparently . They seemed to think I was showing you too much favoritism so they wanted to harass you . 」
Harass? You mean beat me up .
「I knew . So?」
「What?」
「So they were following me . What about it?」
「You knew?」
「I did . Heck, it was too obvious . I think the levels of the adventurers here are a bit on the low side . 」
「Th-That’s not true! Zernenko is known for being skilled for his young age . He’s still only rank E, but people expect great things from him in the future . 」
What? That guy? If I recall correctly, he had 1 point on his Sword mastery . Is one point actually fairly strong?
「He has a class called One-handed Swordsman Technician: Technical Swordsman5 . 」
「Ah, I see . So he has a good job class . But it’s a five-character class, isn’t it?」
「Yes . He’s cut out to be a fighter . 」
「………」
So five-character classes can draw attention already . I shouldn’t tell anyone about my classes and the Soul Board .
「Hikaru-kun? What’s wrong?」
「Uh, nothing . 」
「Ah, I know! You’re scared! I understand . You’re scared because a skilled adventurer with a five-character class has his eyes on you . But rest assured! They received a warning from the guards about their unbecoming behavior and they’ll be under surveillance for a while!」
「I see . 」
He wasn’t actually the least bit scared, but he didn’t bother explaining that to Jill . I’ll just let her believe what she wants to believe .
On another note, Hikaru now understood the reason behind the gatekeeper’s amicable expression . The adventurers who followed Hikaru were clearly acting suspiciously, so the guards arrested them .
They weren’t really a threat to me, but they were certainly annoying .
Hikaru felt good knowing someone was worried about him and even protected him .
Should I give him a box of cakes? Going by Roland’s memories, they have that custom here as well .
「So there you have it . You don’t have to worry about anything . You’re being protected!」Jill said as she started patting Hikaru’s head out of the blue .
Hikaru’s thoughts froze . Wait, she’s patting my head?
「It’s very uncomfortable . I hate it . 」
「Whaaaat?! Why?! Are you the type who likes the same sex, and not the opposite? I know there are people like that . 」
「No . Don’t think that others will be delighted with whatever you do . Let me get this straight . Your attitude towards me will only elicit unnecessary misunderstandings . Those simple-minded adventurers will then be out to get me . 」
「Ah, I-I’m sorry . Next time I’ll give you head pats where no one could see us . 」
That’s not what I’m saying!
Hikaru wanted to tell her that, but he knew it’ll never get through to her head . My head hurts .
「Whatever . So are you done? Then I want you to assess the stuff I brought . 」
「Yes, of course . I’ll do it right awa— what?」
Jill stared blankly at him .
「I hunted down a Red-horned Rabbit . 」
「Y-You’re joking . That’s impossible . 」
「I’m not joking . Though I only got one . 」
Hikaru opened the bag he had by his foot and showed it to her . The smell of blood and animal drifted from within .
「…Hikaru-kun, you really are one lucky guy . 」Jill said, amazed .