CH 13

The noon of the next day, Ardis headed to visit Gresch and the others at First Summer Inn just as promised. Entering the inn, Gresch and the party had already seated and was waiting for Ardis’s arrival.

「Sorry for what happened yesterday. Even though you came to visit……」

Ardis took a seat beside them, and Gresch raised his voice.

「Please don’t mind it too much. More importantly, should we continue what we left off yesterday? 」

Ardis asked Gresch so to get into the topic immediately.

「I heard about it from Jio. It’s a task about carrying and dismantling preys, right? 」

「Yeah, I got something so I can’t take requests that get too late for a while. So, I went for the Beast King so I can earn easily, but carrying the spoils and skinning it is problematic. 」

「It’s scary that you talk as if it doesn’t sweat you to hunt it. 」

Ralph who cut into the conversation was backed by Jio and Konia who were nodding repeatedly. Gresch who side-glanced at his comrades raised a question.

「I want to confirm something, you mind? 」

「Go ahead. 」

「You said, for a while, but how long is it going to be? 」

「I guess it’s about seven to ten days. At most, fifteen. Then I won’t have any matter after that. I think Jio have told you this but, let’s talk about the compensation first. 」

Ardis who said so explained the contents and the rewards of the request. It’s five silvers per person per day. Gresch and the others just need to dismantle the preys, pack, and transport it, combat is excluded. The hunting will be mainly done by Ardis, but everyone is cautioned to equip properly just in case.

「I don’t think we have anything to complain. Rather than that, I think that five silvers a day without participating in combat is too good of a deal. To be honest, there was that matter with the Despair. So, I’ve been thinking to avoid combat requests for a while. 」

In the end, Gresch and the party accepted the request without hesitation.

They probably thought that since Ardis would be there, the danger will probably be little to none. This request, probably for someone that doesn’t know Ardis’s strength, it would be an impossible decision to come to.

Soon after that, including Ardis, five people headed out to the grasslands.

「Say, Ardis. 」

「What is it? 」

「As expected, isn’t this too much? 」

Gresch looked back at the cart he was pulling.

「I’m sure it will decrease from tomorrow onwards. It’s just today that we have so many. 」

「Even if you say that……」

Gresch had a face that expressed he’s not convinced. It’s because that when Ardis set out before, he never had even a single cart with him after all.

「Well that’s, I knew that Ardis’s hunting speed is abnormal but……, as expected, isn’t a full cart more than enough? 」

Gresch was pulling one of the carts that was borrowed from Thoria, another one was pulled by Ralph. From Gresch’s party’s perspective, even a single cart is enough, but to have two carts to carry all the spoils is just too much.

But even so, the amount of spoils Ardis have indirectly affect how much compensation they can possibly get. Even if the cart returned back to the town empty, wasting the cart renting fee, the compensation that Gresch’s party get doesn’t change. After being pointed out by Ardis, they had no choice but to shut their mouth.

「Alright, we’re here. 」

Ardis’s footstep stopped at that moment. Where they are right now is in the middle of the plains about an hour due west of Thoria. The plains spread out entirely in view, and the Canobis Mountain range is visible here. But looking back, the walls of Thoria are still in view, so it isn’t really far out from Thoria actually.

「There isn’t anything in sight……, is it the same forward? 」

Recalling the day before yesterday, Jio asked.

「Well, that’s right. Let’s take it out now, so just make some space there. 」

After following Ardis’s instructions to clear out space, numerous items started piling on the ground. Seeing that sight twice, Gresch and his party wasn’t as impressed as before. But as time goes on, they had no choice but to be surprised again in another way.

「How much more are there……」

The words that Ralph murmured, they were probably what everyone there would’ve felt.

The countless beasts that started piling the ground.

Not mentioning the Beast King, there were even Snatches, Green Knives, Coyotes, Fighting Bulls, Grass Wolves, Watchers, and Killer Birds in view. Even the infamous Despair that had literally caused them despair before was there. It is as if every single carnivorous species of the plains had appeared before them.

Since every single one of them were froze to prevent rotting, they were put out to defrost quickly by blowing warm air with magic on them is Ardis’s instruction to everyone.

「Then, shall we start immediately? Alright, prioritize the Beast Kings first. Collect the Snatch’s fur and the tail stone. The skin for the Coyotes, Grass Wolves, and Fighting Bulls. As for the Watchers and Killer Birds, just take the wings that are still in good conditions. I will handle the Despairs and the Green Knives. 」

「Y-yeah……. ……………Alright! Let’s get on it, everyone! 」

Gresch who seemed to be stunned for a while at the astronomical number of bodies regained himself and cheered his comrades.

「Ardis, what about the meat? 」

Jio asked while pointing towards the Fighting bull and the Killer Bird.

A Fighting Bull is a three-meter-long super huge wild bull, it’s a fierce carnivore that usually hunts on the Watchers and Killer Birds. Both are threatening in the wilderness by themselves, but it’s not as if they’re not beef and bird meat.

They are stiffer and have a stronger smell than their domestic counterpart, and not as delicious, but it should fetch some money in the town.

「Don’t need. It’s gonna be a baggage, right? Better if you throw it somewhere out there. 」

Because it would be attracting wild beasts and demonic beings, it’s a taboo to throw away raw meat around human settlements or the highway. But here is a place far away from Thoria and the highway, and no one lives near here. If left behind, the raw meat would probably reduce to nothing within a single day.

「Ne― ne―, Ardis. All of this, you hunted yesterday? 」

Konia asked with a feeling of disbelieving.

「I just hunted as much as I could to gather the materials. And if I were to handle it on the spot, the others would’ve come running. 」

「Heh……Really. Well……it’s amazing. Now I know why there’s two carts worth but……. This all, can it even be finished today……」

While her scarlet hair danced in the air, the girl had a distant gaze.

About seven hours with a short lunch break in between. While wiping away the sweat on their forehead, Ardis and the others kept at the two carts worth of spoils.

Most of the dismantled materials were the fur of the Beast King, Grass Wolves and the likes. Other than that, a part of their head from Despair and Green Knives are also dismantled.

Because of the enormous amount of prey that Ardis got the day before yesterday, the smell of blood stacked up and there were even wild carnivores attacking while they were working.

Of course, all of them were taken care by Ardis, but the more that got taken care of, the more work they had to do.

Gresch and the others were working at it desperately while panting hard, when the red have dyed the western skies, the dismantling and loading of the dismantled materials is done somehow.

「T-too tired……. To be so tired even though I didn’t engage in combat……」

Konia who sat on the grassy ground complained listlessly.

「Good work. Don’t worry, there wouldn’t be this much tomorrow. I will dismantle them as I hunt. 」

Ardis smiled wryly as he consoled her.

In reality, it was hard this time because they had to dismantle the spoils of an entire day of hunting. From tomorrow, a single cart would probably be enough after all, and while Ardis hunted, Gresch and the others can take a break.

「Alright, let’s pull out. We should return to Thoria before the sun completely sets. 」

As Ardis instructed, the cart started to be pulled on the returning path.

Exactly like what he said, Ardis and the others arrived back in Thoria before night completely falls, they pulled the cart to the merchant firm. Needless to say, seeing the carts full of fur and feathers, the buying representative at the merchant association gaped.

In the end, it turned out to be a grand total of eighteen gold coins that day after including the bounty for Despair and Green Knives. Even after deducting the cart rental fees, there’re fifteen gold coins left. It’s an amount enough for a regular household to live on half a year in the town.

「It’s tiring, but the five silvers feel much more rewarding! 」

「Yeah. Not just seven days, I’m fine even if it’s ten or twenty! 」

Konia and Ralph met eyes and smiled widely. For a new mercenary, five silvers a day can be said accomplished.

The Snatches that Gresch and the others can hunt easily, there were no subjugation rewards for those in the first place. Only the fur or their tail stones worth something, each of them go for about one to three coppers.

Even if you run around the plains for the entire day, four silvers――or one silver per person――is the ideal situation. That’s probably the limit even if you are blessed by lady luck.

On top of that, you might get injured in combat, even your equipment might get damaged. And the medicine that must be replenished have a big price tag, if you get injured badly, you can’t accept requests for quite a while.

Above all, there are creatures like Despairs and Beast Kings that a new mercenary can’t hope to match at all. If you come to meet an absolute predator like those, it wouldn’t matter how much can you earn a day.

The beings known as mercenaries, losing their lives the next day isn’t uncommon. Contrary to that, a job that has little to no danger to one’s life, a job that can earn you five silvers just by carrying and dismantling the materials is an unimaginable good deal. It can’t be helped that Konia and the others never stopped smiling.

「Well, I will be depending on you guys tomorrow as well. This, use it for your dinner. 」

Ardis said so, before flicking a silver coin towards them.

「But don’t drink too much alright. 」

Just in case, Ardis nailed that word in so that they will remember it. Ardis turned around and started walking out from the Perch Inn, and the cheers from Gresch and the others resounded from behind.