Chapter 17

The reason Astram is called both a trade city and an adventurer city.

The reason it’s called a trade city is because Astram is located at a crucial crossroads in the center of the continent.

It’s literally a position that could be called the heart of the continent.

However, despite such a strategic location, the reason it remains a simple trade city and not the capital of the Kingdom of Eustia is due to the constant emergence of monsters in the surrounding areas.

No matter how often they are exterminated, the monsters sprout up like weeds, making it feel as if Astram itself is a city beloved by monsters.

Therefore, merchants traveling to and from Astram must hire reliable escorts when moving through the city, and the city itself needs military force beyond its standing army to respond to disturbances caused by the surrounding monsters.

But maintaining a standing army solely to prepare for monster attacks is a huge burden for both the merchants and the city of Astram, as the number of monsters does not follow a fixed pattern of increase and decrease.

And naturally, this led to the rise of adventurers, who handle irregular monster attacks, exterminations, and other tasks requiring force.

And that background is what brings us to the current situation of approaching the territory of the Shavel Tiger.

“To think the Shavel Tiger’s territory is this close to the city…”

“Yeah. In other cities, it’s unimaginable for monsters to settle so close, but in Astram, it’s not even unusual.”

“Does that mean periodic exterminations are meaningless? Or that there are even more dangerous monsters, leaving no room to spare troops?”

“Both. Even if we exterminate the Shavel Tiger, other monsters will soon take its place. The new monsters might even be more dangerous than the Shavel Tiger. So, it’s better to just control the Shavel Tiger’s population, as dangerous as they are, since they don’t venture outside their territory.”

“So, it’s better to leave a controllable monster than to let an uncontrollable one take its place.”

“You didn’t know that? You’re not from this city, are you?”

“That’s right. I came to this city to register as an adventurer. But someone is making it difficult for me to get my adventurer license.”

At my words, Karina sighed as if troubled.

“Sigh… Becoming an adventurer is no joke. You should go back to where you came from. If you don’t have money, I can even cover your travel expenses back home.”

“You’re persistent.”

At my words, Karina snapped back.

“That’s my line! Do you know how many young humans like you come to the Adventurer Guild every day dreaming of becoming adventurers? They all come inspired by the heroic tales of famous adventurers, but being an adventurer isn’t as romantic as you think. In fact, it’s far from romantic.”

“Are you worried about me?”

“Of course I am! I don’t know why you’re lying about your experience to become an adventurer, but give up and come back when you’re older. If you still feel the same then, I’ll accept you.”

Hmm. It’s hard to feel hostile when she says it like that.

My first impression of Karina at the Adventurer Guild was that she was an annoying person who wouldn’t give me my adventurer license, but after talking to her, it seems that’s not the case.

She wasn’t trying to hinder me out of malice but out of genuine concern for me.

What should I do?

“Miss Karina! That’s not it!”

At that moment, Mari, who had been silently listening to our conversation, intervened.

Surely, if she explains now, this misunderstanding can be cleared up.

Today, Mari seems as reliable as if she had an army behind her.

“What do you mean, ‘not it’?”

“Kurt isn’t a teenager. And Kurt didn’t lie, he really…!”

“You’re the same, Marisia!”

“Eh…! Me?”

“You’re 24 years old, yet you were completely fooled by someone younger than you and traveled with them. Well, I can understand being fooled if you don’t know how to read a Lizardman’s age. But now that it’s clear Kurt isn’t a teenager, you, as his sister, are blindly defending him.”

“Me, Kurt’s sister? Hehe… I’m his sister… Kurt’s sister…”

“Snap out of it, Mari.”

“Hehe. That’s not right, Kurt. Speaking informally to your sister.”

Damn it.

I can’t expect any help from this idiot.

There’s not a shred of reliability in her.

And I take back what I said about not being able to feel hostile towards Karina.

I’ll never forget this humiliation, even if my bones turn to dust.

It seems the only way to clear up this misunderstanding is to prove myself.

Just as the option of “resolving things with force” popped into my head.

“Wait a minute. This is…”

“A piece of torn clothing. If there’s no one else in this territory, it must belong to the herb gatherer.”

“Ah! Judging by the direction of the bloodstains, it seems they fled east! Let’s follow the trail!”

But Karina and I didn’t move at Mari’s words and instead spent a while examining the surroundings.

“What are you doing? This is urgent!”

“No. That’s not it.”

“Huh?”

“Clearly, the herb gatherer fled east, but they were caught by the Shavel Tiger halfway. The bushes are badly damaged over there, so it seems they were caught around there. So, what we should follow isn’t the herb gatherer’s trail but the Shavel Tiger’s.”

As I said that, I pointed to a spot where the bushes were roughly broken.

Karina nodded in agreement with my words.

“Right. What’s important isn’t the direction the herb gatherer fled but the direction the Shavel Tiger moved.”

“Probably west. The bushes are unnaturally broken in all directions, but only the west has a wider break. That means something caused the width to increase only when heading west.”

At my words, Karina’s eyes widened as if she realized something.

“I see. If they took the herb gatherer, the width would increase…”

Then she turned to me with a serious expression.

“Sorry. It seems you do have experience as a hunter. I misjudged you.”

“Oh. So, will you approve my adventurer registration?”

“That’s a separate issue. I apologize for doubting your experience, but you’re still too young to be an adventurer. Besides, while it’s true you have experience as a hunter, you might have lied about the length of your experience or your age.”

“No, I mean, I’m not as young as you think!”

And so, we bickered pointlessly as we headed towards the Shavel Tiger’s territory.

.

.

.

By the time the search was well underway, we had already passed the entrance to the Shavel Tiger’s territory.

Mari, feeling uneasy, quietly spoke to me.

“Kurt…”

“What? Didn’t we agree not to use honorifics?”

“I was wrong. Don’t be mad…”

“I’m not mad. Not at all. I’m completely calm.”

“Kurt…!”

“Sigh. Fine. What is it?”

“Do you think the herb gatherer is still alive?”

Mari asked hesitantly, glancing at Karina.

Of course, even if she spoke cautiously, there were only the three of us in this forest path, so Karina couldn’t help but hear.

Karina, who was leading us, glanced at us after hearing Mari’s words and continued walking in silence.

“Certainly, if an ordinary person without any combat ability encountered a Shavel Tiger alone in the forest, the chances of survival are slim.”

“T-then…”

“But this is the Shavel Tiger’s breeding season.”

As I said that, Karina chimed in.

“Right. During the breeding season, Shavel Tigers become several times more aggressive. What we’re doing now is more about handling a nuisance than rescuing the herb gatherer. If you become an adventurer, you’ll see scenes like this many times. Sometimes, it might even be your job. That’s why I’m trying to stop a young Lizardman like you from becoming an adventurer. You’re too young to step into that world.”

The mission’s goal wasn’t to recover the herb gatherer’s remains but to rescue them.

That means if the herb gatherer isn’t rescued alive, we won’t receive the proper mission reward.

But Karina had accepted this request knowing the herb gatherer was likely already dead, entering the Shavel Tiger’s territory not for the reward but to comfort the herb gatherer’s wife.

Doing something that doesn’t pay and isn’t cost-effective for the mission’s difficulty, all for someone else’s sake.

Her stubborn personality is a bit annoying, but it also shows her good nature.

However, there was one thing she got wrong.

“No. What I meant was the opposite.”

“What?”

“That the herb gatherer is already dead.”

“You think they’re still alive?”

“I can’t say for sure they’re alive, but I can’t say they’re definitely dead either. Because it’s the Shavel Tiger’s breeding season.”

“What do you mean?”

“During the breeding season, Shavel Tigers become several times more aggressive and irritable. But that only applies to targets they consider enemies or prey. If the Shavel Tiger that took the herb gatherer didn’t see them as prey but as a ‘gift,’ the story changes.”

“A ‘gift’…?”

“Right. During the breeding season, male Shavel Tigers try to win over females by offering valuable prey as gifts. The value of the gift depends on the rarity and freshness of the prey.”

At my words, Karina’s eyes widened.

“Then… Since ordinary people don’t approach the Shavel Tiger’s territory, humans are a very rare prey. And the fresher the prey, the better the evaluation, so the freshest prey would be…!”

“Alive.”

“Is that really true?!”

“Yes. At first, I was skeptical, but seeing the bloodstains at the initial attack site convinced me. The amount of blood spilled there was too little for a person to die from. It was as if they controlled their strength to avoid killing the prey.”

“The herb gatherer is still alive. That’s really fortunate!”

“Of course, we can’t be 100% sure. After mating, the male and female Shavel Tigers share the prey the male prepared.”

“Then we shouldn’t be wasting time! Let’s hurry!”

Encouraged by my words, Mari, unable to contain her excitement, sped ahead of Karina, and I followed her.

Really, running off without even knowing where the Shavel Tiger’s nest is.

.

.

.

After the excited Mari and Kurt ran ahead, Karina watched their retreating figures with trembling eyes.

She was surprised when Kurt accurately predicted the direction the herb gatherer had disappeared, and even more so when he skillfully tracked the Shavel Tiger’s trail in the forest and accurately understood its habits.

That demeanor wasn’t that of a teenage Lizardman but of a seasoned hunter with over a decade of experience.

‘Could it be… that I was really mistaken…?’

“Miss Karina! What are you doing? Hurry up!”

“Ah, right. I’m coming.”

But that thought was soon shattered by Mari’s urging voice, and Karina snapped out of it, leading the way to protect the two.