Episode 69: The Wintry Hunter
“Eh…? Eh? Eh…?”
“What? Didn’t you notice?”
I chuckle.
Even with his androgynous features, you can tell someone’s gender by their build, hands, and throat. I’m a doctor, after all, even if I’m a washed-up one.
“Dominique-chan…? That can’t be, right…? If so, I, as an uncle, might have to take responsibility for something…?!”
William-ojisan looks at Dominique with pleading eyes, utterly pathetic.
Dominique glances at him and laughs.
“Oh…? You’ll take ‘responsibility,’ will you? Leader…♡”
Ah…
Yes…
So that’s how it is, it seems.
Dominique caresses William’s chest with a seductive touch…
Her eyes narrow like a predator’s.
From what I gather… it seems this woman, Dominique, joined the Guiding Hawk with William in mind from the start…
“…I’m surprised. ‘Frozen Confection’… it’s a specialty of the north, isn’t it? I didn’t expect to find it in this city.”
Dominique clings to the now-useless William’s arm while eating the Ice Cream.
I gave her some since I had extra.
And, judging by how she doesn’t overreact after eating it, she seems to have had it before.
At least, she’s not a hick like Mirei…
Well, calling her a hick is a bit much.
In this world, even going to the next town is a grand adventure. People who have traveled between cities are a minority. The entire nation is full of hicks.
She’s the strange one here.
“Also, is this… a milk sorbet? It’s unique, but the texture is smooth… and the aroma is wonderful.”
Sorbet… ah! Sorbet, huh?
I see, Ice Cream doesn’t exist in this world yet.
Frozen Confection in this world refers to sorbet.
That makes sense. I think Ice Cream was invented after sorbet on Earth, too.
The difficulty of making it is also higher for Ice Cream.
…You might be wondering why I know how to make these kinds of dishes every time, but that’s because… thank goodness for video streaming!
Old guys with time and money tend to have weird hobbies and are multi-talented, right? That’s the idea.
I’ve also been researching various things using magic in this world. I just don’t bring my failures out in public, but I’ve had my share of them.
“So… what’s the deal with that old man over there? Did he sleep with you?”
“Fufufu… that’s the ultimate goal. I said ‘responsibility’ earlier, but that was an exaggeration… he just touched my waist and chest during training. And that was enough to get him this flustered… such a darling…♡”
She pokes.
Dominique pokes the pathetic old man’s cheek.
She’s like a black widow.
Even that makes the old man twitch! He’s a goner, seriously.
“Don’t tease him too much, okay? If you leave a virgin with a weird trauma, it’ll be scary later.”
“You’re right, fufufu…”
“So… how’s the Guiding Hawk doing? What’s the situation now?”
I pat the useless old man to get his attention.
“Ah, yes. Right now, we’re focusing on training the new recruits. The forest’s prey isn’t fat enough in the summer, so there’s no profit in hunting them.”
Ah, that’s right.
The hunting season is from autumn to winter when animals start fattening up for hibernation. During this period, the beasts are well-nourished, their fur is glossy, and they’re plump.
Conversely, from spring to summer, after they wake up from hibernation, they’re thin, and their fur is dry, so there’s little merit in hunting them.
On the other hand, Magic Beasts are slightly weaker during this period, so subjugation orders are issued for Magic Beasts that are difficult to hunt otherwise from spring to summer.
That said, subjugation orders are rarely issued around here.
That’s because the Blue Comet, who specialize in hunting big game, are around.
They apparently travel not only to Midford but also to other cities in Missgancia during this period.
Those guys I saw in the cold bath before were relaxing because they had returned from an expedition.
What? You’re saying they’re always like that? …Well, yeah, maybe.
“If you’re not working, do you have money?”
“For daily expenses, we hunt rabbits and boars around here and sell them to the butcher. When it comes to hunting, Murder Bears before winter are the best.”
“What? Don’t you hunt Griffons?”
“Are you kidding me! Never again, not those things!”
I and William laugh together.
“L, Leader? You’ve hunted a Griffon before?”
Dominique asks William, her seductive and cool expression from before crumbling.
Ah, well, it’s just a bit of a heroic tale.
Griffons are top-tier Greater Magic Beasts in this world. William, who hunted one, is known as a skilled hunter around here.
Sure, he can’t compete with the Blue Comet, who hunt large monsters one after another, in terms of martial prowess, but hunting a Griffon is a difficult feat even for the elite members of the Blue Comet.
“A, eh, ah…”
Ah! She’s starting to glitch again!
I guess I’ll have to tell the story…
“This old man acts like a slacker, but he’s a skilled hunter. About five years ago, he hunted a Griffon that appeared near the city.”
“A, and then?”
“The opponent was a Griffon, a hybrid of an eagle and a lion, and a Greater Magic Beast that controls the wind.”
“‘Greater Magic Beast’… that means a Magic Beast that uses magic, right?!”
“That’s right, Griffons use wind magic.”
Yeah, seriously.
Monsters, especially the high-ranking ones, actually chant spells and use magic.
Manticores, Griffons, Demons, Vampires, and probably Dragons, too, although I’ve never encountered one.
The spells chanted in a hoarse voice are incredibly scary. Well, it’s just the atmosphere that’s scary, but it’s easy for me to deal with.
In other words, defeating a Greater Magic Beast is equivalent to defeating a demigod Mage as a human.
And a Mage with the body of a bird and beast, at that.
“H, how did you defeat it?!”
“Well, as a first-rate hunter, head-on…”
“…It wasn’t anything cool like that. I was covered in mud, crying as I ran away, and somehow managed to do it. The Blue Comet would have done it much better.”
Oh, he’s back.
“So, what did you actually do?”
I was away from the city at that time, so I don’t know the details.
“I didn’t do anything special. I hid in the shadows of the night and the trees, covered myself in mud to mask my scent, and shot it when it was off guard. When it ran away, I followed the scent of blood and traces of magic, found it resting, and shot it again. I just repeated that for three days.”
Ah… I see.
So that’s how it was…
“B, but the magic? How did you deal with the Griffon’s magic?!”
Dominique asks.
It’s a natural question.
But that too…
“I didn’t get hit by any magic. After shooting it once, I ran away and hid. When it was resting, the Griffon didn’t use magic.”
That’s the answer.
In other words, the way to kill a Griffon is…
“I just harassed it for three days. It’s not cool, is it?”
…That’s what it is.
It’s easy to say, but to chase after a Greater Magic Beast that can tear your entire body apart with one mistake until it dies, and to win the battle of attrition… it can only be described as ‘first-rate.’
That’s why everyone respects this seemingly timid and frail old man.
“A, amazing, Leader!”
“I, is that so? Hehehe…”
The old man is embarrassed.
I guess I’ll praise him appropriately…
“You’re the best in Japan!”
“Huh? What?”