CH 39

「 Indeed, I didn’t see a Tri-Horn during my investigation at that time, but chaos brewed in the depths of the Magical Woods! 」

Blonde enthusiastically continued on with his declamation, while Dean averted his eyes as he drank his beer.

It was only a brief glimpse, but it gave the impression that he’ll excitedly ask you a lot of things if you got involved with him. Plus, if you don’t agree, there will be no end to it, but if you do, it will be tiresome.

Even the few adventurers, who were standing by the request counter or scattered around the pub in two’s and three’s, seemed exasperated as they threw furtive glances towards Blonde and Dean.

Their table is situated right at the boundary between the pub and the guild reception room where the request board is located. Not sure if they were there because Blonde wanted everyone to hear him, or maybe that’s where he captured Dean, who probably came to do something here, and he made him sit right there and there to listen.

「 Chris, research teams are dispatched to the inner woods once every two years. It’s not bad if you managed to find Tri-Horns, but it’s not like there’s a request for that, and I won’t risk my neck just to go there.」

Dean sounded like all this stuff was tiresome. Maybe he‘s trying to make it clear to everyone that he already refused, but his voice was louder than usual despite not being into it.

Hm? Tri-Horns? Are they referring to monsters?

(……..)

I think something like that is ‘staying’ inside my 【 Storage 】 .

「 Tri-Horns are formidable enemies as they are, but they are the harbingers of Black Monsters’ appearance! They will get stronger with time and it will be too late then! 」

Blonde slammed his fist on the table.

Wait a sec, is this Blonde the one Dean mentioned the first time I came to this guild? It seemed that he had been away on a mission and was just about to return back then. In that case, then Blonde’s claims are correct.

I’ve spent a lot of time trying to survive on that island, then receiving instructions from the deities, and loafing around my home afterward. There’s a considerable gap from the time Sis started to become active.

And then there’s the Tri-Horns that I encountered during my magic practice session. I’m not sure how far into the woods they would have to go during their investigations, but I had been going there as frequently as I could.

Setting that aside, that means the monster was a super tough guy, huh. Thank goodness I didn’t sell it or have it processed. I considered making that lizard’s hide into an armour. My past self did a good job for not acting recklessly!

Well, simply put, I just shifted my focus on making DIY leather goods projects, though. The fox fur was already on the floor as my carpet, and it’s dyed so I doubt I’d get discovered, but the pants I’m wearing now are made from that lizard’s leather.

The texture of the monitor lizard’s hide was closer to the skin of cows and pigs rather than the scaled hides of the other reptiles. I can easily bend and stretch my knees while wearing the pants, and the leather was relatively easy to handle, too. The Bicorned’s hide wasn’t as flexible, so I made them into boots.

Wish I got some zippers instead of drawstrings, then maybe I could just zip along — er, anyway, now that I think about it, Bicorned and Tri-Horns Monitor Lizards mingled with each other, if my memory serves me right.

「 Jean-dono. 」

「 Oh. You just came back? 」

Ash was carrying a bear when she called out to me. Butler bowed behind her.

As expected, it’s better not to hire a carrier, right? It’s troublesome, after all.

「 Ohh! Bear Hunter-dono! 」

Blonde noticed Ash, so he called out to her. Hey, what’s with that Bear Hunt… er, yeah, she probably hunted bears all the time.

I should be more careful, too. Will hunting all types do the trick in this case? They’ll probably call me ‘Wolf Hunter’ if I hunted a lot of wolves, huh. That sounds a lot better than bears and rabbits.

「 You still look like an atrabilious hit man as always, but if it’s you, I’m sure that you will understand the gravity of this situation and the impact of investigation on it! 」

Blondie briskly strode towards Ash, then he started to urge her to agree with more drama and exaggerated gesticulations.

I unconsciously trained my eyes on Butler.

Does Ash know this Blonde?

Butler probably grasped my tacit question, because he slowly shook his head.

「 I’m just a novice here, and there is not enough information for me to decide on this. I will follow the Guild’s decision. 」

Ash answered.

Decision, what a pain… Ah, no, her reply was a perfect retort to a troublesome guy trying to hound her, but I don’t really trust the decision-making skills of this guild.

Apparently, Blonde was also Silver-ranked, the same as Dean. Ash diligently hunted bears everyday, but even if her ranking rose, it’s still probably Copper Her actual strength is most likely Iron, though. If it’s a one-on-one battle without factoring their hunting skills in, then her real ability shouldn’t be that far off from Dean.

So this Blonde isn’t just doing his investigation campaign randomly. Apparently, he’s calling out people who seemed to have the ability to join that investigation to the depths of the woods..

「 Saying such words that only a stickler would say………..Oh, pardon me, you who seem to be the embodiment of twilight, may I have the pleasure of knowing your name? 」

「 Twilight….? 」

I almost wanted to roll my eyes at him. Who’s that?

「 Mmm, that’s true, Jean-dono really resembles twilight. 」

Ash nodded in awe.

You’re talking about ME!?

「 It’s merely the hair and eye color, right. 」

Don’t go jazzing me up as you please.

Dean was shaking, trying to stifle his laughter on their table in the pub — mark my words, I’m gonna make you pay for that!!

「 Jean-dono, is it? I am Chris Eades, a Silver with three stars. 」

He then extended his frills, er, hand, I mean. I couldn’t help glancing at his sleeves.

「 Jean. Bronze, zero stars, registered but not active. 」

Not active, yet you’re hunting bears — I could feel gazes from all over the place boring on me.

「 Indeed! It will be a great loss to this world should you get so much as a scratch on your gorgeous face, so if you find yourself in a hard spot, be it against mere rabbits, just call on me and I, Chris, will be at your service! 」

This Blonde, or should I say Chris-san — he isn’t a bad guy, but he’s way off the mark, and he really seems to be a major pain in the neck.

Ash was squirming; it seemed like she wanted to say something. Butler was smiling silently.

「 Yeah. If I’m in a hard spot, then please take care of me? 」

I averted my gaze, then said that lifelessly.

What should I do with Dean? He’s all over the table now, laughing his head off.

The living conditions in this world are so harsh, yet why are the residents so strange? Is it just my imagination, or aren’t their personalities too strong?

The Dinosso family and the craftsmen are normal, so the adventurers are the weird guys?

______

ED note: I love how the translators are always working hard to expand “our”(the readers) vocabulary! Great Job Haruchin!

TL note: Aww thanks Marky! Did Chris sound highfalutin enough? XD