======[ Hilde ]======
“This quest is relatively simple. It’s a request from a small village called Rezbon, asking us to hunt down a beast that has taken up residence in their back mountain.”
Amy returned to the table, explaining the request while splitting her rye bread in half and stuffing a sausage inside.
It’s like a hot dog without sauce. After seeing me eat like that a few times, she decided to try it, saying it was convenient.
“Hunting a beast? That seems too simple. Isn’t that something a low-tier adventurer party should handle?”
It’s not even a monster; hunting wild animals should be easily handled by the Iron Plate rank.
Getting involved in such matters felt like a waste of manpower. The reward probably wouldn’t be much, and it would just waste our time.
As the saying goes, “to each their own,” it would be more sensible and efficient to leave issues that could be resolved by Iron Plate adventurers to them.
“Well? If it’s just wolves or wild boars, that would be one thing… But according to the receptionist, it sounds like this is the work of snow bears. And it seems there’s more than one.”
Amy shrugged in rebuttal.
While a standard beast hunt could definitely be handled by Iron Plate, if there were multiple snow bears that had made a den, it could potentially be dangerous for just four Iron Plate rank adventurers.
“Hmm… In that case, I suppose we don’t have much choice.”
I could only agree with her answer. Just as there are hierarchies among people, there’s a certain hierarchy among wild animals.
Giant black bears classified as monsters that reach up to five meters tall, or snow bears that don’t exceed three meters but are equally ferocious, are beasts that can’t be compared to other wildlife in terms of danger.
If an Iron Plate adventurer rushed in without thinking, they could end up being ripped open alive.
◆◆
They said it would take about a day by carriage to reach Rezbon, so we packed emergency camping gear and enough food for four days, then headed to the village.
“…Doesn’t this carriage feel even more uncomfortable?”
When we “acquired” the carriage abandoned by the Rivilla trading company, we thought we wouldn’t need to rent one anymore, saving money and making movement easier.
“True. We might have underestimated things.”
…Looking back, it turned out there were many unexpected drawbacks.
First off, the very idea of saving money was misguided. What good does saving on carriage fare do when the cost of taking care of the horses eats up that savings?
We can’t just stick the horses in some inventory and let them sit there, either. When we return to the city, we have to tie them up nicely at the inn’s stables… and that costs money.
While the innkeeper would take care of the horses, the cost of feed and stable rental wasn’t free.
And the problem wasn’t just the costs.
The carriage and the coachman are like a set item. But all we have is a carriage, right? We have the vehicle but no driver.
So, to get around in our carriage, we needed to hire a guide or porter who could drive it, or one of us needed to take on the role of the coachman.
None of us had experience as a coachman. We managed somehow, but it couldn’t be called a pleasant ride.
Especially Kikel, who, due to his race’s weaknesses to cold and his physique, seemed to find being in the driver’s seat a great struggle.
Well, we complained about this and that, but we didn’t think about getting rid of the carriage.
It might be a bit inconvenient, but it’s still better than walking.
Rental carriages often can only go one way, depending on the needs of the coachman, which is great for heading to our destination but a hassle for returning to the city.
Plus, since it’s our own carriage, it could be used as a shield or loot storage in emergencies, which is a small plus.
◆◆
“What brings city girls to this village… Oh, are you perhaps the adventurers?”
The village chief of Rezbon was an elderly woman with her white hair neatly braided.
“Yes. I’m Hilde, an Iron Plate adventurer from the Vespians Guild.”
Having a grandmother as the village chief was rather refreshing.
When you think of a village chief, you usually imagine a middle-aged man or an old man, right?
In fact, aside from one exception, that was usually the case, so it was quite peculiar to see an elderly woman in such a role.
Of course, I had the sense not to ask why she was the chief.
Her husband must have passed away or something.
In this world, as long as humans take good care of themselves, they can live up to around a hundred, but mostly they end up in the grave around sixty to seventy.
Living close to a hundred is a privilege limited to some wealthy individuals who can ensure proper nutrition and have dedicated priests to manage their health.
For rural commoners, simply living past sixty would be considered a blessed life.
“Oh dear. Thank you. The terrible white bears have begun to come down to the village to wreak havoc. The last time, they took my pig, Lilienne, and just the other day, they even attacked a person…”
“I see. It must have been a lot of mental strain. Don’t worry. We will take care of everything.”
I comforted the old village chief, who held my hand with her wrinkled ones, expressing her pain and suffering, then asked her various details about the request.
Is it really snow bears? If so, how many do you think there are? Do you understand the clause that everything found in the cave belongs to us if we complete the request?
Just matters like that.
“Yes, they are snow bears. They say there are at least four of them… but I suppose we’ll only know for sure once we go there. What should we do, head up right away?”
After finishing the conversation with the chief, I shared the information I gathered with my companions, seeking their opinions on how to handle this job.
Even asking for opinions was just about whether we should take care of it right away or rest for a night to gather more detailed information first.
“There’s no need to drag this out, right? Unicorn horns should be pulled out swiftly! There shouldn’t even be that many snow bears, so wouldn’t it be better to finish quickly and rest afterwards?”
Amy threw out what seemed to be a local saying, pointing towards the back mountain.
“Um… if it’s just snow bears, I don’t think it’s an issue. By the way, Hilde, um, would you like to make a bet? Like, if I catch more, I’ll grant you a small wish…”
Friede also expressed her agreement with Amy’s proposal. No, she went even further and casually threw a bet onto the table.
“…A small wish?”
What an ominous condition for a bet. A wish from someone who has confessed their feelings for me. What in the world was she planning to wish for?
“Friede, no matter how easy the task, we should take this seriously…”
“…Oh, never mind. I’ll cancel it.”
I tried to refuse with a reasonable excuse, but before I could finish my advice, Friede shook her head and immediately took her words back.
“Right… I guess we can’t make a bet. Hunting bears would be too favorable to me. I’m sorry. A bet that has a predetermined outcome isn’t really a bet.”
Apologizing after suggesting something she was sure to win. That tone reminded me of a friend who used to tease me about my rank in online games.
“No… Let’s make an exception this time.”
Thus, I reflexively accepted the bet.
Seriously, how could I let a comment about my gaming skills go without a fight after becoming Korean?
Of course, this wasn’t a game, but the meaning was similar, so to me, it wasn’t all that different.
“What? Uh, um, saying this time is an exception means…”
I confirmed once more to a blinking Friede that we’d make this exception for the bet. In an undeniably firm tone.
“Yes, yes…!”
Friede nodded enthusiastically with a bright smile.
Meanwhile, Amy watched us with a face that said it was a foolish idea and sighed, shaking her head.
“Crack! Hilde, you’re digging your own grave again! You’re going to end up soloing!”
As Kikel said, it did feel like I was digging my own grave… but hey, if I win, that’s all that matters!
Well, it’s not like it was a problem.
Winning is all that counts!
◆◆
Kikel also expressed his intention to rest after the fight, so we headed straight to the mountain in the back of the village where the snow bears had made their den.
It was a much larger mountain than expected. If it were in Korea, all the nearby schools would be singing school songs tapping into the mountain’s energy.
“Sniff, sniff. Smell of beasts. Look, there are tracks too. Easy find.”
Kikel, leading the party, sniffed the air as he tracked the signs left by the snow bears.
Small piles of droppings. Claw marks etched into trees. The strong odor of beasts mixed with large footprints trampling down the underbrush.
It seemed the beast didn’t even think to hide its tracks, making the discovery of the bear’s lair surprisingly quick and easy.
“…Found it. Over there.”
Less than thirty minutes into the mountain, we finally found a large cave with its mouth wide open.
Fur scattered nearby clearly indicated this was the den of a snow bear.
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