Chapter 12
Translator: Kell Editor: Weasalopes
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The Intimidating Unken
Apparently an expert would assess the value of the Red-horned Rabbit, not Jill . She rang a bell and an old man emerged from a room inside . His hair was long and white all over, with a bun on top . The rest he left hanging as they met with his mustache and beard, making his head look like a lump of white hair . About a hundred fifty centimeters tall, he was half a head shorter than Hikaru .
「A gnome…?」Hikaru muttered .
「He’s from a race called Man Gnomes . Don’t say anything about it, or he’ll get mad . 」Jill whispered .
Ugh, another pain in the neck .
「What do you want, Jill? I’m busy! We have a visitor from the royal capital coming soon . 」
「I know . But you’re the one who insisted on assessing Red-horned Rabbits . 」
「Hmm?」
Unken’s gaze rested on Hikaru for the first time .
「…Ohh . 」
He warily examined Hikaru’s whole body before turning around and heading back inside .
「If you go through this passageway, you’ll arrive at a separate building . That’s where the dissection is done . Just follow Unken-san . 」
With a tap on his shoulder, Jill returned to the counter . Adventurers who saw the intimate gesture seethed with bloodlust .
「…I just told her to stop doing that . 」
Feeling weary, Hikaru went after Unken .
The place where dissection was done looked like a huge garage . While only made of wood, expertly-placed beams secured the enormous structure . Dangling down from the naked beams were chains with hooks where large animals were hung for dissections .
「Take it out . 」
Hikaru placed the bag on a stone table . Unken took the Red-horned Rabbit from within and examined its insides .
「………」
In the meantime, Hikaru summoned Unken’s Soul Board . He was curious about the way he carried himself so warily earlier . And his hunch was right .
【Soul Board】Unken F . Balzack
Age: 211 Rank: 51
47
【Vitality】
. . 【Natural Recovery】2
. . 【Stamina】5
. . 【Immunity】
… . 【Magic Resistance】1
. . 【Perception】
… . 【Smell】1
… . 【Taste】2
【Magical Power】
. . 【Mana】6
【Physical Strength】
. . 【Strength】9
. . 【Weapon Mastery】
… . 【Short Sword】6
… . 【Bow】3
… . 【Throwing】4
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… . 【Armor】2
【Agility】
. . 【Stealth】
… . 【Life Obfuscation】2
… . 【Mana Obfuscation】2
… . 【Imperceptibility】2
… . 【Group Obfuscation】1
【Dexterity】
. . 【Dexterity】3
. . 【Tool Mastery】
… . 【Pottery】2
【Willpower】
. . 【Mental Strength】3
【Intuition】
. . 【Instinct】4
. . 【Detection】
… . 【Life Detection】1
「What?」Hikaru blurted out .
「What do you mean “what”?」
「Uh, no, it’s nothing . 」
「………」
Unken eyed Hikaru suspiciously before turning his attention back to the Red-horned Rabbit .
Wait, wait, wait… This geezer’s unreal! He even has a Stealth-type Skill that I don’t . He only has one point on it, though . Hmm? Hold on a sec . Something’s not right with his remaining points .
Hikaru cautiously calculated . Unken had allocated a total of 74 points to his Skills . Add that to his remaining 47 points, you got a total of 121 points . His rank was outstanding, but his age of 211 was even more incredible . If one gained 1 point per year, then his remaining points were way off .
It must be one-third, then . 211 divided by 3 is around 70 . 70 plus his rank of 51 gives a total of 121 . The figures add up . Some species in this world have shorter lifespans while some have longer . So the timing of granting points is different for each species depending on the lifespans .
It felt like the wrong things were being balanced .
So Group Obfuscation… Unlocking it must require two points each on Life Obfuscation Mana Obfuscation, and Imperceptibility . This guy has almost the same Skillset as me . I wonder if he’s a Rogue-type .
Hikaru wanted to know how powerful Unken was . Unlike Hikaru who had poured his points into one Skill, maxing it out, the old man only had a few points for each . It felt like he was putting more points on Skills crucial for a Rogue-type character . If he knew how strong Unken was, he could use him as a point of reference to assess how strong he himself was .
「Laddie . 」
「Yes?」
「Is it fun to stare at me like that?」
Hikaru gave a start .
Right, he has 4 points on Instinct… I doubt he knows I’m checking his Soul Board, though .
「It’s just that I haven’t seen you in the guild before . 」
「…I suppose . 」
「What do you usually do?」
「That’s none of your business . 」
「Judging from Jill’s behavior, the Guildmaster perhaps?」
「…I’m just an assessor . 」
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Either Hikaru did well in changing the subject, or Unken really disliked being probed over .
「Anyway, about the Red-horned Rabbit… You’ve never dissected before, haven’t you?」
「…No . 」
「The way you cut it is awful . What did you use?」
Hikaru took out his Dagger of Strength . Unken stared at it then heaved a sigh .
「…You fool . Don’t use a killing weapon for dissection . Use a proper tool for it . You cut its skin and flesh when you took out its internal organs . Here . The meat will taste awful if blood seeps into the flesh . 」
「You’re right . I see it . 」
「The way you cut open its belly is also horrible . You could’ve carried it without dissecting . Its value won’t drop if you returned in two or three hours…」he said, glancing at Hikaru . 「…is what I would say, but with those muscles of yours, I don’t think it’s possible . It’s too heavy for you to carry . 」
「Yeah, I’m aware of that . 」
「I’d tell you to form a party with others, but then you won’t be able to capitalize on your strengths . You look skilled in moving unnoticed . 」
「………」
「I must say, it’s quite strange . Red-horned Rabbits have extremely keen senses . You’re wearing Night Wolf gear, correct? Yet it should’ve still noticed you . 」
He sees through everything .
「…The rabbit ran and tripped over a tree stump . 」
「What?」
「That’s why I was able to kill it . 」
Hikaru gave him an ambiguous answer . A lie . I don’t think this world has the story about a rabbit that tripped over a tree stump and died .
「Hmm . So you’re saying you just got lucky?」
「Let’s say for the sake of argument, it wasn’t a case of pure luck . I don’t think it’s okay to probe around someone’s special skills . But I suppose the guildmaster would want to know, huh?」
「Are you trying to bait me?」
Damn, he got me . That’s a 211-year-old geezer for you . In his mind, Hikaru stuck out his tongue at the old man .
「So, about the rabbit . There’s a cut on its right hind leg so its value as meat is lower . What a waste . This is the most delicious part too . We can buy it for 7,000 gilans . 」
「Deal . 」
「…Oh, you don’t complain, huh?」
Hikaru knew he would get around this much . After all, a complete amateur dissected it .
「I can’t afford to waste my time here complaining . Money can’t buy me time . 」
「Why are you in such a rush?」
「I probably won’t be if I could live for 200 years like a Man Gnome . 」
「………」
Unken scowled at him once more . I probably said a little bit too much .
「Well, for a rabbit that tripped, its body is spotless . Don’t you want to know the price of its hide? 」
Unken was trying to get even . He’s already saw through Hikaru’s lies .
「They don’t fetch for much, do they?」
「Hmm, I suppose not . Around 500 gilans . I’ll add it to the overall cost . 」
「And?」
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「And what?」
「The price of the horn . 」
Unken smiled for the first time . Actually it was more like the corner of his mouth turned up just a little bit .
「So you know about that . 」
「I read about it in the reference room . Red-horned rabbits with horns intact are rare and that the horn has medicinal effects . 」
「I thought you were simply an arrogant, despicable kid, but I guess not . You actually do your homework . Can you afford to waste your time studying, though?」
「I like studying . If you call a diligent kid arrogant, you’re also basically making light of the benefits acquired from the development of civilization . 」
「Do you hear yourself right now? You actually sound arrogant . Hahaha!」
Unken burst out laughing .
「If you don’t mind, I can teach you how to dissect in my free time . 」
「Well, that’s just exactly what I wanted . 」
「Come tomorrow evening . 」
「Sounds good to me . Thanks . 」
「All right . Bye . 」Unken said, raising his hand and tried to leave .
「Wait, hold on a sec! You haven’t assessed the horn yet . 」
「And here I thought I managed to trick you . 」
Damned geezer, Hikaru thought, his cheek twitching . Unken simply looked at the horn and groaned .
「A horn as splendid as this is rare . We don’t actually have current market values for it . I would have to contact the Alchemists Guild and the Doctors Guild first . You’ll know tomorrow evening . I’ll give you your overall payment, then . 」
「All right . Sheesh, I’d appreciate it if you didn’t try to play me . 」
「Says the kid who lied by bringing up an old story of a rabbit that tripped on a tree stump . 」
Hikaru wanted to know more about Unken from Jill, but as always, she was surrounded by adventurers . He wasn’t going to charge straight to her . As soon as Gloria noticed him, she started moving quickly, so Hikaru had to get out of there quick .
Hikaru was shocked that Unken knew about the story of the rabbit . It wasn’t as if the old man knew the exact details, but he was familiar with it . He asked the old man about it, but his only answer was “I think I heard it from the elders in my hometown” and apparently he was only a kid back then .
There’s a chance that someone was reincarnated to this world like me .
On the one hand, it was a surprising revelation . Yet, it also wasn’t . There was always the possibility . Hikaru was brought here by the genius Roland . He used a world-crossing spell; something like magic but not exactly magic either . He had the resources to do research about such a powerful spell which meant he had data about other worlds .
I suppose there’s really no need to find others like me .
Hikaru doubted they could use the Soul Board like him . After all, he only obtained the ability by chance after stealing a bag that contained light inside when he was in the heavenly realm . Even if they also got the same kind of bag, them having the same ability was unthinkable . Roland even said it manifested into one’s own personal magic spell or Skill .
「Now, then… What to do?」
He didn’t feel like going out of town again today . Eating his sandwich at a rest area by the main street, Hikaru pondered his next move . Besides him, there were housewives who were in the middle of shopping, standing and chatting with each other, an errand boy taking a nap, among others .
「I want to know more about this world . Roland’s knowledge is limited to things that are noble-related . But before that…」
He stuffed the last piece of his sandwich into his mouth and stood up .
「Let’s find a different inn . 」
Hikaru longed for an actual mattress .
While an inn with a master, a hostess, and a poster girl was enticing to him, Hikaru shut the idea out of his mind . He probably wasn’t going to say in town long . Building deep relationships with others would only make it harder to leave . It would dull his judgment . He’d already gotten quite deep in his relationship with Jill (although pretty-much one-sided), but there was nothing he could do about that since she worked at the Adventurers Guild .
So he wound up at a business hotel . A five-storey building, it looked like a matchbox . Every room was exactly the same, with only a bedroom . In this world, five stories was actually high class . Plus he had his own private room . Although shared, the hotel also had a steam room . It cost 1,000 gilans for a night; ten times the beginner adventurers’ inn he stayed at before .
「Are you really staying here, Sir?」
On the first floor’s reception desk was a woman wearing a uniform . She eyed Hikaru suspiciously – or rather, with great interest . Twitching on top of her head were cat ears . Her fluffy, light green hair hung gently and tied behind her back .
「1,000 gilans per night, right? For now, I’ll be staying for three nights . 」
Hikaru took out 3,000 gilans and handed it to her . Blinking relentlessly, the cat-eared girl took the money . Her ears twitched in rhythm with her blinks as well .
I’ve read a novel with a protagonist that was so obsessed with cat ears . How can he be so hung up on them? Had he not touched a cat before in his life?
「You must be rich, Sir . You’re also wearing nice clothes . 」
「Really? I’m glad you like it . 」
Dodorono would surely love to hear that as well .
「Yes! So, there are a few things to remember in this hotel . You have your own room and it’s soundproof as well . You may call for a woman, but she can’t stay for the night . Okay?」
「…What did you just say?」
「I’m sorry, Sir . Do you prefer calling for men?」
「No . 」
Seriously, first Jill, and now her . Where do they get that idea?
「Ah, do most guests stay here for that?」
「Yes . Isn’t that usually the case?」
「I’m sorry . I don’t really know what passes as “usual” around here (this world) . 」
「Guests call for me too, you know?」
「What?!」
For real?! You can call for the cat-eared receptionist?
His heartbeat started racing all of a sudden . It was hard to believe he was just questioning what was so good about cat ears a second ago .
I mean, I’m technically a boy . Yes . It’s a natural reaction .
「Though I turn them down . Ahaha!」
「…O-Of course . 」
「Are you getting flustered, Sir?」
「I’m not . 」
Hikaru calmed his heart down .
Indeed . It’s not right to pay money for it . Not at all . Plus, I want my first to have me as her first as well . It’s not because I don’t want my partner to find out I don’t have any experience . Yup, definitely not . I just prefer it that way .
「Ah, but…」
She leaned forward and whispered into his ears .
「I might gladly say yes if you called for me, Sir . 」
Hikaru almost handed her his whole wallet .
Money left: 1,830 (+7,500+α)