The Blood Knight’s Villains

My Villains Episode 115

29. Hunting Festival (3)

After the battle, the brown bears were skinned. The whole body was scorched and mangled, only the head was skinned, and the one killed by me and Utequai was skinned entirely.

With the help of the mercenaries, Utequai took off the skin himself, and even to me, an outsider, I was a master.

After cutting the flesh and hide with a dagger the size of a forearm and then pulling it with your hand, the fur would peel off nicely.

It only took 20 minutes to skin a bear, so I thought this was almost a skinning machine.

Meanwhile, just as Utequai detected traces of Troll, Ellen also noticed a suspicious current.

“…this will take a while.”

“I know. The sun will fall soon.”

Freckled Mira, who was taking a break after taking off her skin, and Boonie, who was far away, whispered in small whispers.

I quietly looked around.

It was long past noon, but the summer sun was still warming the ground. It was a shame because the bushes were covering the shade.

We were up on a low mountain range. On the left side, I could hear the strong sound of water, as if there was a valley, and on the right side, I could see a road winding along the ridge and a cliff. The slopes and trails rippled softly far beyond the cliffs.

The scenery of the distant river or gentle grass was beautiful, but enjoying it was another matter.

Thanks to that, when Ellen, who was sitting on the floor, opened her eyes, she felt welcome many times over.

“it’s over?”

“huh.”

Ellen, who gently flew up from her sitting position, opened her mouth as she sat on my arm.

“Mana is flowing in one direction.”

“…Um, is that a strange thing?”

“huh. Mana is a substance that constantly circulates and mixes. It is obviously strange that it only flows in one direction like this.”

“Then why are you doing that?”

Ellen pointed up the mountain range and to the peaks in the distance.

“Something is pushing mana. over there.”

“……At Graduil Mountain?”

“huh.”

So something strange is happening, but the source must be the place where the boss of the chapter is guarding?

Hmm, I don’t know what’s going on, but it’s not particularly ominous.

“And there is a herb garden nearby.”

“Can you tell me that?”

“On special occasions, yes.”

A gust of wind blew across his serious face. Ellen pointed towards the valley with a small smile on her face.

“It’s right down here. Let’s go.”

“okay. Because you have a lot of time.”

Following Ellen’s guidance, we were able to gather all sorts of herbs such as paramecium, nettle, silver peony, and gujeolcho.

Ellen said that although she was good at herbalism, she had hardly ever actually harvested herbs. However, it was thanks to a plant called ‘San Oreum Flower’ that made it so easy to find medicinal herbs in piles.

The Sanoreum flower with impressive white petals exuded a mysterious aura even to me, who had low magic power. At this level, Ellen must have been able to detect this flower from afar.

“I will have to experiment with a new recipe with this.”

“A new recipe?”

“Didn’t I tell you that among the potions you got the other day, there is a magic recovery potion?”

“Oh, you checked it in the lab, right? however?”

“It looked like Sanoreum flowers or similar herbs were used. I’m going to make a new potion using this and fireweed orange moss and elderberry petals. It might be possible to make a magic recovery potion without using monster horns or blood.”

“…well, I hope it goes well.”

He seemed a bit reluctant to work with mercenaries to pull out candles without getting a handful of dirt on his hands.

After digging the herbs, they returned to Longville.

Unfortunately or fortunately, I didn’t encounter a monster on the way back. I felt a bit suspicious, but it seemed like we ran away after spying on our numbers.

Bunny Genesa Cole had to part for a while at the gateway.

This is because pole hammers and long spears and bows for combat cannot be brought into the residence. They say that after grooming the weapon outside the fence, you have to leave it at the gate and come back in.

Utequai, on the other hand, cleaned his weapon by brushing his dolma hair several times on his pants, and then left it at the gate.

…Even though that’s a rare item, you’ll have to take good care of it. you know what you’ll do well

The next destination was the bulletin board.

The bulletin board was installed in an empty lot near the gateway. A steward and a scribe were sitting at the table, and a middle-aged sergeant with six soldiers was controlling the assembled mercenaries.

The sergeants and soldiers checked the achievements submitted by the mercenaries, and the scribes recorded them on parchment and bulletin boards, and the steward paid a bounty.

The result we gave was 21 pieces of right ear of Anupad, 2 body skins of a brown bear, and 1 piece of head skin. As for the score, Anupad scored 3 points per head and the Brown Bear 5 points per head, so a total of 78 points could be obtained.

“Wow, Sir Phoenix. You are amazing.”

A young scribe spoke friendly.

“Um, when did we see each other?”

“No, no. I just heard some rumors about Nari…

Rumors. I wonder what rumors you’ve heard.

“Randall, with over 20 men, only scored 470 points in one week. To get 78 points in one day with nine people is a really great achievement.”

“470 points…. How much of the hunting festival is left?”

“If the number of monsters is sufficiently reduced, the territory army will defeat the Anupad army blocking the road. If the road is cleared like that, the hunting system will end.”

“When is Yeongji-kun moving?”

“Isn’t the lord aware?”

oh that’s messy I have no choice but to hurry as much as possible.

“Unfortunately, it is not yet at the level of posting on the bulletin board. Since 5th place is 280 points, Sir Phoenix should be able to post his name on the bulletin board in no time.”

Next, I received a bounty, but I was a little surprised. In addition to the silver coins corresponding to the score, the brown bear skin was also paid quite generously.

The leather that Utequai peeled was almost unblemished, so he got the best price. Each page cost nine silver coins.

The total amount thus obtained was ninety-six pieces of silver. I received all of them right on the spot…

“I have a question.”

“What is it, Sir Phoenix?”

As the scribe’s eyes twinkled, I asked in a low voice.

“What is the total score of the mercenaries so far?”

“A total score? Why is the total score…

“I wonder how many of those monsters have been eliminated. If you look at the total score, you can roughly guess.”

“Oh wait.”

The scribe muttered as he looked over the parchment

.

“Let’s see, let’s see. Roughly, the average is about 120 points. Because I was 20 when I put my name on it.”

“2400 points?”

“Yes, that would be enough.”

If it is 2400 points, it is said that only the money spent on the bounty is 2400 silver coins.

Is this possible? Not in a rich city like South Harbor, but in a country estate like this, 2400 silver coins?

Are you planning to retrieve it through an inn, bar, brothel or something? No, the price in the neighborhood is too cheap for that.

After receiving the bounty, he immediately distributed it to the Amias gang.

“Now, it’s up to you.”

“…well, thank you.”

As I turned to look at the bulletin board, Amias and the freckle-faced mummy Steedman put their heads together. And it was a small cheer.

“Eh, four silver coins per person.”

“I want to change rooms first. Shared rooms suck.”

“What is the room? You should buy your chainmail first.”

“Chain armor is heavy…

to love it for four silver coins.

Well, on a daily basis, it’s a very decent wage.

If I had to compare it, it was because the veteran mercenary Grania’s weekly wage was five silver coins. If you earn four coins in one day, that’s great.

Well, no matter how much I think about it, the bounty is too generous… Ah, I don’t know. I don’t know.

Next, I looked at the bulletin board. Only 5 names were posted on the bulletin board.

Atilia?” Arcane hunters here?

The place I met her was at a mountain lodge, so I thought maybe she was heading to Longville, but…

It looks like she’s been hunting pretty hard enough to post her name on the bulletin board? Does that mean we’ll see each other in Longville in the future?

Well, what should I do if we meet again? Do I need to coax to get them into the company? Or should I just pass by?

I’ll have to think about this a bit.

“What do you think?”

“Huh?”

I turned around and saw Ellen staring at me.

“no. Shall we go back soon?”

“……okay.”

As I was about to return to the tavern, I saw a woman with a familiar face.

“uh? That Ellen.”

“Are you the baroness?”

What we found was the baroness walking along with her maid and soldiers.

She was talking to women who appeared to be serfs while holding a child in her arms.

“Looking at Beth’s garden, the kale has already grown beautifully.”

“Did you see that too? Oh, how can the wife of that family be so impatient?”

“You’re smart. When the rainy season comes, you must be busy with pisaari, right? It’s Kay, it’s okay to ruin it.”

“You are wise, ma’am. Outside work is a woman who is beaten by my daughter’s bitches and goes in and out of the mill!”

The ladies laughed out loud, and the baroness simply smiled.

It is a peaceful landscape. A peaceful scenery that makes you forget about the monsters swarming outside the fence for a while.

I watched them silently and told Ellen.

“Hold on Ellen.”

“why?”

“Let me say hello.”

“What greetings?”

“You owe me something. hurry.”

Ellen floated up in my mind. The eyes of the ladies gathered at the unusual daily life that appeared in the midst of peace.

Taking off my helmet, I approached and greeted the baroness.

“See you again, madam.”

“Sir Phoenix?”

The baroness looked surprised for a moment, then handed the baby in her arms to a woman.

When the ladies all withdrew, the baroness lifted up her skirt.

“nice to meet you. Yesterday… well, I couldn’t even say goodbye properly.” Suddenly, my eyes catch a scar on my lips and a slightly swollen cheek.

I tried to avert my eyes and smiled faintly.

“I understand, madam.”

“You are armed. Have you been outside?”

“yes. I am having a hard time because my husband asked for something.”

When I said it with a slight shudder, the baroness smiled lightly.

“I will apologize instead. Originally, he was a very gentle person, but after being a prisoner for a long time, he has not been able to relax.”

She said she married the baron right before the Thousand and One Days’ War. Then I wouldn’t have seen much of my husband’s soft side. a pitiful person

“You helped me in a difficult situation yesterday, but I was not in a hurry so I couldn’t properly express my gratitude. Thank you, madam.”

“Hmm, were you in trouble?”

“As a guest, he was arguing with the gatekeeper, so of course it was a difficult situation, right?”

The baroness covered her mouth and laughed quietly. what’s funny

Then I glanced at Ellen, who was floating behind me, and asked a question.

“Is the person behind you Miss Ellen?”

Ellen, who was blindly crossing her arms, was startled when she was pointed out and showed her respect.

“It is an honor to meet you, madam.”

“I am also honored to meet you. I heard you were called the ‘Fire Lady’? After hearing the rumors, I really wanted to see what kind of person he was. I wasn’t in a hurry yesterday, so I’m only talking today.”

Hearing the baroness’ sympathetic voice, Ellen put on a puzzled expression.

“The magicians of our estate are also very interested in Miss Ellen. He’s called Master Castrite, and he seems to be interested in hearing rumors that an excellent former battle mage is a young woman. He’s very interested in combat magic, but since he’s short, he’s afraid of fighting. But alchemy alone is very good.”

Ellen slightly frowned at the bombardment of chatter, but at the end, her ears pricked up.

“…alchemy?”

“yes. Of course, things like alchemy are boring stuff for a great battle mage like Miss Ellen, but in real life” “

it’s not boring.”

“Are you okay?”

“Alchemy is by no means trivial, madam.”

“…ah.”

When the baroness opened her eyes wide, Ellen spoke in a very polite manner.

“You said Master Castrite, right? I’d like to meet you, but if you won’t disrespect your wife, could you tell me something?”

“sure. The lady, no, Master Castlight will be very welcome.”

The baroness asked me, clapping her hands in silence.

“Oh my mind. Where are you staying right now?”

“I am staying at a place called the Golden Sword.”

“Oh, it’s the best bar in our estate. I will send you a letter soon.”

“Thank you, madam.”

“Oh, the sun is already setting. Sir Phoenix I enjoyed the conversation with Miss Ellen. May you both have a peaceful night.”

“Yes, I hope your wife has a peaceful night too.”

After greeting the baroness, the baroness led the party and left, making fun of their feet.

After all, you shouldn’t judge people by their faces. Contrary to his miserable appearance, he is a very lively person.

“Come to think of it, Ellen.”

” huh?”

“I’ve never seen you talk to another person for so long without any harm.”

“…what do you mean?”

“What do you mean? It’s just a little strange.”

At my answer, Ellen narrowed her brows.

“Sounds like I have a problem with my interpersonal relationships.”

“…just like a ghost.”

“This idiot-”

Leaving behind Ellen, who was trying to be mean, I quickly ran towards the tavern.

Of course, it was impossible to shake off Ellen by summoning the spirit of dance.