Episode 119: The Hawks’ Road Home
“Isn’t that Dru-chan! Are you hunting too?”
“William, huh…”
It was William who called out to me in the forest on an autumn day.
The leader of the Strider Clan, “Guiding Hawk.”
“Guiding Hawk” is a hunting clan made up of former hunters like William.
They seem to be in full swing this season when the beasts are fattening up.
Looking behind William, I see Gido and Lutz… a father and son who are hunters belonging to “Guiding Hawk.” Along with these two, there’s Dominique, a rookie whom William seems to dote on (?).
“I heard you took down a huge bear, William-san?”
“Ah, you mean that red-headed one? It was a direct request from the Lord, so it was tough, but we managed somehow.”
William is carrying the Murder Bear.
So is Gido.
Lutz and Dominique are each holding three sheets of Forest Wolf hide.
“I heard from the gatekeeper that the cleanup after that huge bear is a real pain?”
“Yeah, yeah, because that big guy went on a rampage, the game in the forest has decreased… So now we’re reducing the number of carnivorous Magic Beasts to adjust the overall balance.”
Ah, I see.
Apparently, “Guiding Hawk” constantly receives requests from the town of Midford to adjust the population of Monsters and Beasts in the forest.
“That’s tough, especially during this profitable season…”
“No, that’s not a problem at all. The subjugation of that big guy wasn’t a request from the Midford magistrate, but a direct request from Count Missgancia. The reward was incredibly high!”
Ah, yes.
It’s Count Missgancia after all. That guy has money, and when he spends it, he really spends it…
So, he was scattering money like this to thwart the Romanesia Empire’s mysterious strategies…
“He gave us 50 million Lido… That’s enough to cover a year’s worth of clan operations! So, we distributed some to everyone… I heard Gido-chan’s family bought a pair of goats.”
“…hm.”
Gido.
A taciturn, large man with sun-tanned, dark skin.
He used to be employed by some noble as a forest keeper… managing the forest for hunting games, but his employer fell from grace, and he drifted to this town of Midford.
He has deep knowledge of hunting, can adjust the population by looking at the entire forest, and, as his appearance suggests, possesses tremendous strength. He’s also intelligent and can read, so he seems to play a vice-leader role in the clan.
His son, Lutz, is still young but a good hunter.
“Yo, Andrews! Were you hunting too?”
…As you can see, he’s an impudent brat.
“Hm.”
“Ouch! Don’t hit me, Dad! Andrews is always having a good time, so the gods will forgive me for looking down on him a little… Ouch! Stop it! I get it, I get it!”
While talking like that, we head towards the town.
It’s almost evening, we have to hurry or we’ll end up sleeping outside the gate.
“William, we don’t have much time.”
“Ah, that’s right. Are you coming to the Guild?”
“Yeah, after I take the game home.”
“Home… oh, right, you’re keeping a Mazoku, aren’t you? Unlike hunting dogs, isn’t it difficult to train a Mazoku?”
“She’s learned how to butcher Beasts, you know?”
“Really? Hmm… maybe we should try keeping one in the clan too…?”
While talking like that, we move along.
…By the way, Dominique has been staring intently at William’s profile with a smile on her face the whole time. And William is absolutely avoiding looking in that direction.
Did he get done in? Uncle William…?
Yes.
I go home first and ask Tristia to butcher the deer.
Meanwhile, I go to the Guild with William for a drink.
Gido and Lutz live outside the city walls in the first place, so they went straight home.
Dominique is… somehow… always next to William.
“Cheers!”
And… at the Guild.
There’s wax squeezed from large slugs called “Wax Slugs” that often appear in this area, so there’s quite a bit of light, and the tavern is reasonably bright at night.
There, we were drinking ale and talking about recent events…
“Ah, so you were involved in the Empire’s war.”
“So it seems. That’s why Count Missgancia made a direct request.”
“War, huh… wasn’t it over?”
“It’s over, but the schemes probably started moving now.”
“That’s a nuisance… Well, Monsters increase quickly, so the numbers will probably return to normal next year.”
“But the revenue will definitely decrease, right? Are you going to be okay?”
“Well, if that happens, we can just collect Medicinal Herbs and wild vegetables that the Beasts didn’t eat. The forest’s wealth is always there, it just takes a different form.”
“Hoh, as expected of a hunter. You say things that sound like you understand?”
“Haha, it’s just something my dad used to say. But I don’t want anyone who doesn’t understand that kind of thing to enter the forest.”
Hmm?
“Ah, you mean the rookies?”
“That’s right… We’re thorough about it, but others aren’t…”
“You mean the pattern where they try to save on food expenses and catch rabbits and badgers around there?”
“That’s it…! A fifth-rank Strider, mercilessly going after weak Beasts…”
“It’s tough, isn’t it, the management work? Do you have enough people?”
“Ah, the uncles are only managing the designated areas. Hunters in farming villages are looking after the forests near those villages, so they’re not managing all of Midford’s forests.”
“Hmm? Which areas are being managed?”
“The area around ‘Serak Forest’ and ‘Mount Neotem’ adjacent to the Promelos River?”
“Up to around ‘Gouge Rock’… and ‘Twin Birches’?”
“That’s roughly it, but if you’re looking at ‘Twin Birches,’ you inevitably have to look at the ‘Forest Graveyard’ too…”
“Ah, I see, that’s how it is. Well, there doesn’t seem to be much up to ‘Twin Birches,’ so the endpoint is practically the ‘Forest Graveyard.'”
“I guess so… Well, even if we tell the officials these nicknames for lands that only Striders know, they won’t understand. They’ll be held responsible if something happens.”
“Even so, if you crack down on those stupid fifth-rank kids who occasionally appear and turn them in, it’ll be proof that you’re doing your job, right?”
“That’s true… It’s supposed to be a sign that you’re doing your job when nothing happens, but it’s strange that we have to catch stupid kids to prove we’re doing our job…”
Like this, I chat idly with the old man.
This is fun in its own way.
Like having a male friend.