* * *[ Hilde ]* * *
“This request is relatively simple. It’s from a small village called Lezbon or something, they want us to subjugate a beast that’s settled in the mountain behind their village.”
Amy, who had returned to the table, explained the content of the request she had brought back while eating the rye bread that came as breakfast, splitting it in half and putting a sausage inside.
Like a hot dog without sauce, you could say. She saw me eating like that a few times and started copying it, saying it looked convenient.
“Beast subjugation? That seems too simple. Isn’t that something a party of iron token adventurers should handle?”
Not even a monster, but the subjugation of a wild animal could be easily resolved at the iron token level.
It was close to a waste of manpower for us to take on such a job. The compensation wouldn’t be much either, so it would just be wasting time.
As the saying goes, the right person for the right job, it would be the correct and efficient decision to leave tasks that can be resolved at the iron token level to iron token adventurers.
“Well? If it were wolves or wild boars, you’d be right… but from what the receptionist said, it seems this might be the work of snow bears. And probably not just one.”
Amy shrugged and countered.
While ordinary beast subjugation could indeed be handled sufficiently at the iron token level, if multiple snow bears that had made their den were to appear, it could be dangerous for just four iron tokens.
“Hmm… if that’s the case, I guess there’s no choice.”
It was an answer I had to agree with. Just as there are differences in rank among people, there are clear hierarchies among wild animals too.
Giant black bears, classified as monsters with bodies reaching 5 meters, or snow bears, which are under 3 meters but no less ferocious, were incomparably more dangerous than other wild animals.
To the extent that if iron tokens recklessly charged in, they might end up having their entrails eaten while still alive.
* * *
Since it would take about a day by wagon to reach Lezbon, we prepared emergency camping equipment and four days’ worth of food and headed to the village by wagon.
“…About this wagon, doesn’t it seem like it’s become more inconvenient instead?”
When we acquired the wagon abandoned by the Rivilla merchant group, we thought we wouldn’t need to rent wagons each time in the future, saving money and making it more convenient to move around.
“Yeah. Maybe our thinking was short-sighted.”
…But when we actually tried it, there were unexpectedly many difficulties we hadn’t thought of.
First of all, the idea that we could save money was flawed from the start. What’s the point of saving on wagon fees? That much money was being drained constantly on horse care costs.
Since we couldn’t put the horses in something like an inventory and carry them around, we had to tie them up well in the inn’s stable when we returned to the city… and that all cost money.
Although the inn owner took care of the horse management itself, the feed costs and stable rental fees weren’t free.
Moreover, the problem wasn’t just the cost.
Wagons and drivers are like a set item relationship. But we only had the wagon, didn’t we? It’s like having a private car but no driver.
Therefore, to travel around in our wagon, we had to either hire a guide or porter who knew how to drive a wagon, or one of us had to take on the role of driver.
None of us had experience as wagon drivers. We managed somehow, but it would be hard to call it a comfortable ride even as a white lie.
Especially Kikel seemed to find it torturous just to sit in the driver’s seat due to his racial weakness to cold and his body size.
Well, although we complained about various things, we didn’t intend to get rid of this wagon.
It might be a bit more inconvenient than expected, but still, riding in a wagon, even if uncomfortable, was a hundred or thousand times better than just walking.
Rental wagons often only offered one-way trips depending on the driver’s circumstances, so while it was good when heading to the destination, returning to the city could be quite arduous.
Moreover, since it was our own wagon, we could use it as a shield or loot storage in emergencies, which was a small advantage in its own way.
* * *
“What brings city girls to such a backwater… Ah, could you be those adventurers?”
The village chief of Lezbon was an elderly woman with beautifully braided snow-white hair.
“Yes. I’m Hilde, a copper token adventurer from the Vespian guild.”
A grandmother as village chief, it was quite a fresh experience.
When you think of a village chief, don’t you usually imagine a middle-aged man or an elderly grandfather?
In reality, with one exception, it was mostly like that, so seeing an elderly woman as the village chief couldn’t help but seem quite interesting.
Of course, I had enough tact not to ask why a grandmother was serving as the village chief.
Her husband probably passed away first or something like that.
The humans of this world could live to around 100 years if they managed their health well, but in reality, most were buried in the graveyard between sixty and seventy.
A lifespan close to 100 years was a benefit limited to some wealthy people who could consume sufficient nutrition and thoroughly manage their health with dedicated priests.
For rural commoners, living beyond sixty was already considered a blessed life.
“Oh my. Thank you, thank you. Those terrible white bears, now they’re even coming down to the village openly and causing havoc. Last time they took Lily’s pig, and the day before yesterday, would you believe it, even a person…”
“I see. You must have been through a lot. Don’t worry. We’ll take care of everything.”
I comforted the village chief grandmother who was grasping my hand with her wrinkled hands and lamenting about the damage and suffering, then asked various details about the request content.
Were they really snow bears? If so, how many did there seem to be? Did they understand the clause in the request that said all items found in the beast’s lair would belong to us?
Things like that.
“They are indeed snow bears. The number is said to be at least four… but we’ll know for sure once we go there. What should we do, should we go up and finish it right away?”
After finishing the conversation with the village chief, I shared the information I had heard with my companions and asked for their opinions on how to handle this job.
Though asking for opinions was just about whether to deal with it right away since we’re here, or rest for a night and gather more detailed information before moving.
“No need to waste time, right? They say a unicorn’s horn should be pulled out in one go. It’s just going to be a few snow bears anyway, wouldn’t it be better to finish quickly and rest?”
Amy pointed towards the back mountain while saying what I assumed was a proverb unique to this world.
“Um… snow bears should be no problem. More importantly, Hilde, would you like to make a bet? Like, if I catch more, you’ll grant me one small wish…”
Friede also agreed with Amy’s assertion. No, beyond agreeing, she even subtly tried to make a bet with me.
“…A small wish?”
A bet with a condition that gave off a somewhat ominous feeling.
Granting a wish to someone who confessed they liked me. What kind of wish was she planning to ask for, saying such things?
“Friede, no matter how easy a job is, we should take it seriously…”
“…Ah, no. I’ll cancel it.”
I was about to refuse with an appropriate excuse, but before I could finish my admonition, Friede shook her head and immediately took back her words.
“Right… a bet wouldn’t work. Bear hunting is too advantageous for me. I’m sorry. A bet with a predetermined outcome isn’t really a bet.”
An apology saying she was sorry for making such a proposal when it was obvious she would win. It was a tone reminiscent of a friend who used to tease me about my rank in online games.
“No… let’s make an exception just this once.”
So, I reflexively accepted that bet.
How could a Korean possibly just swallow such words, especially when it’s not even about something else but saying you’re terrible at games?
Of course, this wasn’t a game but a real subjugation, but since the meaning itself was similar, it wasn’t particularly different to me.
“What? Um, well, making an exception just this once means…”
“Yeah. Let’s do it, that bet.”
I confirmed once again to Friede, who was blinking and asking back. That I would accept that bet just this once, as a special case. In an unmistakably firm tone.
“Y-Yes…!”
Friede nodded with a bright smile.
Amy, who was watching from the side, shook her head and sighed with a face that said ‘what a great thing you’re doing’.
“Kachak! Hilde, you shovel tooth! Again digging grave alone!”
As Kikel said, I did feel like I had dug my own grave… but well, it’s fine if I win, right? If I win, it’s all good.
Hmm, surely. There shouldn’t be any problem.
Because if I win, it’s all good.
* * *
Kikel also expressed that he thought it would be better to rest after fighting, so we immediately headed towards the mountain behind the village where the snow bears were said to have set up house.
It was a bigger mountain than I thought. If it were in Korea, it would be big enough for all the nearby schools to claim they receive its energy in their school songs.
“Sniff, sniff. There’s a stench. Look, there are footprints too. Easy to find.”
Kikel, who took the lead in our party, sniffed with his nose and tracked the traces left by the snow bears.
Small piles of droppings. Claw marks carved into trees. The beast’s characteristic stench and large footprints that had trampled all the weeds.
As befitting predators, they didn’t seem to care about hiding their traces, so finding the bears’ lair was surprisingly quick and easy.
“…Found end. There it is.”
Less than thirty minutes after entering the mountain, we finally discovered a large cave with its mouth wide open.
With white fur scattered around, it was clearly a snow bear’s den to anyone who saw it.