Volume 2 Chapter 24 The Darkness Of The Large-Scale Hunting Group
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
*Lana’s Perspective
I ended up staying behind with the remaining group after parting ways with Mr. Kent.
I wanted to go with them, but when they said it was to help Talia grow, I couldn’t insist on going along.
Ms. Manon, who stayed behind with me, seemed a bit sulky, but after Mr. Kent whispered something to her before departure, she suddenly became motivated, so I wonder if she received some promise of a reward.
Since Ms. Manon went outside to keep watch, I was the only one currently at the base.
Since I was bored, I decided to use the alchemy equipment set up inside the base wagon made by Ms. Miriallia to concoct stamina potions and healing potions.
That said, this base wagon is amazing.
Each wagon has space for 8 people to sleep in a shared manner, along with simple alchemy and cooking facilities, a food storage area, and what surprised me the most is that it even includes a setup for purified hot water showers if there is a water source, all pulled by 2 wagons connected together with 4 horses. I think it’s a wagon only a wealthy person like Ms. Miriallia could create.
With this wagon, there’s no doubt that camping would be quite comfortable.
For an ordinary novice hunter, I think this treatment would be unimaginable.
In fact, Ms. Manon, who was a free hunter until recently, was wide-eyed when she heard that they traveled to the hunting grounds in a dedicated wagon.
It seems that normally, if the hunting grounds are nearby, it’s common to walk there.
For distant hunting grounds, it seems that traveling by shared carriage is the basic approach.
In other words, having a dedicated carriage for the Hunting Group means it’s quite a large-scale Hunting Group, or so I’ve heard, and I was impressed.
’Crimson Bride’ is financially well-off, and more than anything, I’m grateful that I can spend more time with Mr. Kent.
I returned my wandering thoughts to the mixing task and began to grind the horn of a Horn Rabbit in a mortar.
Then, I added the honey from a Killer Bee to the ground horn and kneaded it well.
After kneading for a while, it became sticky and turned into a yellow syrupy consistency.
I then rolled it into small pill-like shapes, completing the stamina potion.
The stamina potion can restore a small amount of physical strength and reduce fatigue, so I plan to have Mr. Kent lick one when he returns from hunting.
After that, I was focused on making stamina potions, but suddenly I heard a voice from outside, so I wondered what was happening and stepped out of the carriage.
”Wait! You little brat! I’ve finally found you! Hey, you guys, hold her down!”
When I stepped outside, I saw several male Majin chasing a child in the plains.
Upon closer inspection, the child appeared to be a small girl.
”Wah, I’ve been found! Bea is in trouble!”
The girl was BeaBea, a Dream Demon who had come for the exam.
She was desperately trying to run this way, but she was surrounded and caught by the men who had anticipated her.
”I, I was careless. If I weren’t sick, I wouldn’t be outdone by the likes of you.”
”Shut up! You think you can embarrass our boss (the leader of the Hunting Group) and get away with it?”
Slap!
A man slapped the cheek of the small BeaBea, who was being held in a tight grip.
BeaBea glared back at the man and retorted.
”It’s that guy who touched my chest; it’s not my fault!”
As the man raised his hand again, I instinctively shouted to stop him.
”Please stop! Isn’t it shameful for multiple men to use violence against a small girl?”
I was surprised myself at how loudly and fiercely I was speaking this time.
The man who had raised his hand turned to look at me.
”Ah, little lady, this has nothing to do with you! Stay out of it!”
Then, another man spoke to me with a lewd gaze.
”Or maybe, little lady, you want to take this one’s (Beatrice’s) place and entertain our boss (the leader of the Hunting Group)? I bet he would be satisfied with someone like you.”
They were truly unpleasant people; since I was already Mr. Kent’s, I had no intention of being embraced by any other man at this point.
Even so, for someone like me who has no knowledge of martial arts, it would be difficult to retrieve BeaBea from 5 men.
At the very least, if Ms. Manon were here, it might have been manageable…
I firmly retorted to the man who was sending me lewd glances.
”I refuse! But let that girl go! She is already a member of our ‘Crimson Bride’ Hunting Group.”
I quickly lied, saying that BeaBea was a member of the Hunting Group.
”Wha, Silver Wolf hasn’t recognized her resignation yet. And are you really trying to poach her without any sense of honor?”
The man, who seemed to be a leader of the group, barked back at me.
I was trying to respond as calmly as possible.
”You haven’t recognized her resignation? According to the unified Hunting Group regulations created by the Hunter Guild, resignation can be done at the free will of the Hunting Group member… Is it alright if I report this matter to the Hunter Guild?”
I had been informed that the unified Hunting Group regulations were established by the Hunter Guild to ensure that hunters do not suffer disadvantages due to varying regulations among different Hunting Groups, and that any Hunting Group not adhering to these regulations would face various penalties and disadvantages.
”Tch, this is a hassle, then I’ll just kidnap you girl too.”
The leader-like man was urging the other men towards me.
Internally, I thought it had become a very bad situation and felt like I was about to panic, but I managed to keep a calm face.
”That person has nothing to do with this. Bea will quietly go along, so please let her go!”
Captured BeaBea was pleading with the leader-like man.
”Shut up! I could kill you since it would be a problem if you report to the Guild, but to keep up appearances, I’ll just confine you at our (Silver Wolf) hideout and take good care of you.”
The moment the two men, following orders, approached to grab my hand, 2 arrows flew in from the trees and struck the men’s hands.
”Gyaaa! Ouch!”
”My handdd!”
The two men who were hit by the arrows writhed in pain.
Then, a third arrow struck the shoulder of the man who was holding Beatrice.
”Gah! Who did that?!”
Freed Beatrice ran towards me.
”You saved me! LanLan is my lifesaver! Cough!”
When I hugged BeaBea, her body was quite hot.
It seemed she had caught a cold.
I quickly cast Healing Magic.
”Gathered magic element! Heal and cleanse the body, ‘Restore Health’!”
Beatrice, enveloped in the light of magic, looked bewildered.
”Th-this is amazing! The fatigue and heat in my body are gone. Thank you! With this, I can take them down!”
When BeaBea regained her strength, she took up her spear and stood in a position to protect me.
On the other hand, the men were wary of the sniper in the forest and did not approach, but when the sniper stopped, they surrounded us again.
”Damn it, I won’t forgive you! You guys, before the sniper comes, hurry up and kidnap those 2!”
The leader of the group was giving orders to the men surrounding us.
As the men slowly approached, a voice echoed from between the trees.
”Ah, I have good news for the men who are about to commit a crime-nya. The arrows from earlier were coated with poison for monsters, so if you don’t hurry to detoxify, you’ll be heading to the afterlife-nya. If you surrender, that Healer over there should be able to detoxify you-nya.”
The men, whose faces were not suited to the tense situation, suddenly changed color upon hearing Ms. Manon’s voice.
In particular, the 3 who had been hit by the arrows looked pale.
”D-Don’t lie! That can’t be true!”
”Are you starting to feel a throbbing pain in your wounds-nya? If that pain spreads, it will become irreversible-nya.”
”Ah, big bro! My wound is throbbing!”
”Me too!”
”I-I don’t want to die!”
The 3 who had been hit by the arrows began to panic due to Ms. Manon’s malicious lie.
But was I the only one who thought it was natural for the wounds to throb?
Feeling the unfavorable situation, the leader of the group began to prepare to escape.
”Y-You guys! If it comes to this, at least kidnap the Healer! If you do, we’ll get out of here!”
It seemed the men had set their sights solely on me.
This is bad, I don’t feel like I can escape at all.
But then, a gust of wind blew past towards the men who were slowly closing in.
Looking, I saw Ms. Miriallia knocking a man out with the hilt of her dagger.
”Ms. Miriallia!”
”I’ve heard most of the story from Manon. Thank you for saving Beatrice.”
Saying that, Ms. Miriallia continued to knock out the men one after another.
Her attacks were so fast that I couldn’t keep up with my eyes.
”Wow, MilMil is really strong!”
After taking down 4 men, Ms. Miriallia turned to me and asked about the last remaining leader.
”Kent, what should we do with this man? He was thinking of kidnapping your concubine Lana and having some fun with her. Should we kill him and bury him?”
Hearing Ms. Miriallia’s words, the leader began to tremble.
”If he really went that far, I would have Lina burn him to ashes without leaving a bone, but since it was an attempt, I’ll hold off for now. For now, tie him up and roll him away. Is Lana okay? And nice to meet you, Ms. Beatrice.”
When I turned around, Mr. Kent was running towards me.
”Mr. Kent… I’m glad… you came…”
I felt relieved when I saw Mr. Kent’s face.
”Who is this big brother?”
BeaBea asked me about Mr. Kent.
”This person is Ms. Miriallia’s fiancé and a sponsor of the Hunting Group, Mr. Kent.”
”N-Nice to meet you. My name is Beatrice. I took the ‘Crimson Bride’ exam the other day.”
”Ah, were you okay? I said I would help if you were in trouble, right? I heard that you’re having some issues with the leader of the Hunting Group.”
Mr. Kent had only done the behind-the-scenes interview, so today was supposed to be the first time they met in person.
”Indeed, I did kick that old man’s groin after he touched my chest, but there was something that had been bothering me before that, so I looked into ‘Silver Wolf.’ It seems they are recruiting young female hunters and confining them in a room commonly referred to as the ‘Spear Room’ to satisfy the sexual desires of the male executive members.”
”‘Silver Wolf’ is doing something like that? Isn’t that place quite a large, established group?”
Hearing BeaBea’s words, Ms. Miriallia had a skeptical expression.
Indeed, the Silver Wolf Hunting Group is one of the older groups in Abyss Vena and is well-known among citizens as a large Hunting Group.
”MilMil, it’s true. BeaBea also saw the ‘Spear Room.’ There were several men tormenting a girl. But when I went back, they weren’t doing it anymore.”
”Ah, that’s right, Silver Wolf often recruited new female hunters, didn’t they? They had things like ‘beginner-friendly’ written, and even girls who just graduated from training schools applied.”
Former Hunter Guild waitress Ms. Feria reinforced BeaBea’s story.
”Is it common for a Hunting Group to recruit beginners? We did, though.”
Mr. Kent was asking Ms. Feria.
”Usually, unless it’s a newly established Hunting Group, most places don’t recruit beginner Hunting Group members. Some won’t even interview unless you have a certain level of HR.”
”In that case, the story about Silver Wolf’s ‘Spear Room’ gains credibility.”
”That’s true. Despite Silver Wolf recruiting female hunters, during Hunting Group quests, it’s mostly men. It seems suspicious.”
From BeaBea’s bombshell statement, I feel like the situation is heading towards a dangerous direction.
”Mr. Kent, Ms. Miriallia. Wouldn’t it be bad to cause trouble with Silver Wolf? It might be better to just stick to the matter of BeaBea’s transfer this time…”
As I said that, Mr. Kent looked at me.
”Lana, if what Ms. Beatrice said is true, we need to free those girls as soon as possible; it’s the right thing to do.”
Mr. Kent was indeed a handsome man.
As I feared, Mr. Kent tends to be surprisingly stubborn when it comes to women.
Moreover, he is someone who can quite easily engage in dangerous activities, so I have no choice but to rely on Ms. Miriallia to stop him.
Thinking this, I looked at Ms. Miriallia, who was dragging the leader of the men she had tied up.
But it was already too late.
She seemed to be very motivated.
”Beatrice, I’m going to make this man talk. Come with me.”
Ms. Miriallia dragged the man toward the carriage, and BeaBea followed her.
”Sir Kent, are you really going to confront Silver Wolf?”
Ms. Annabella was asking Mr. Kent.
”I don’t intend to confront Silver Wolf. I just can’t be the kind of adult who hears a story and does nothing about it. I just want to help the girls. I need your strength for that.”
”Understood. I will follow Sir Kent’s orders.”
”Thank you, Annabella. Next time, let’s go buy that cream that makes your skin beautiful. I’ll get it for you as a reward for the quest.”
”That would be too generous.”
Hearing the exchange with Ms. Annabella, it seemed that Mr. Kent was determined to go through with it.
Normally, a regular person would never think of picking a fight with a large Hunting Group, but Mr. Kent truly is like a protagonist from a heroic tale.
That’s a part I think is wonderful, but it makes those who fall in love with him anxious.
I should also get information from Sebastian at my family home; he must have some kind of information.
I resolved to carefully proceed by cross-referencing the information Ms. Miriallia had gathered.
After that, Ms. Miriallia, who had extracted information from the man, suggested returning to the town, and I agreed.
This is an event involving the loli old lady Beatrice (26-year-old virgin).
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
Thanks for reading.
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