Volume 4 Chapter 18 Preparation For Infiltration
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
You’re right, Matthew. Since the last major monster invasion, things have been quiet, and we haven’t seen any large groups of monsters around the Abyss Vena area.
Yeah, it’s been a while. We still see small groups now and then, but nothing that feels threatening. Not like before.
”Looks like they’re all running low on funds, folks.”
”Yeah, that’s why this might turn into a fierce competition. But thankfully, it’s mostly veterans here, so we should avoid any infighting.”
”Yeah, getting ambushed from behind is no fun, haha.”
”I only called out to the top 3, you know.”
”Makes sense. Mixing in some middle-grounders might cause chaos. Sir Arbalest probably wants to keep it tight with veterans to ensure a smooth operation. Well, I’m gonna go talk to Beatrice before we set off. See ya.”
”I’ve got some treats for Bea.”
Matthew and Thelma started walking towards Beatrice’s location.
After a while, as they were seeing them off, a voice called out from behind.
”Kent, long time no see. How’s that fool of an apprentice doing? I heard you got Carly pregnant?”
I turned to see Soumei, the ‘Hand of Glory’, standing there, twirling his newly grown hair.
”Yeah, Mr. Soumei. It’s been a while. I might have overworked myself a bit, and well, you know…”
”So, what did you do to get Carly pregnant, Kent? Drugs? Miriallia’s Mental Magic?”
Soumei, unaware of my ability, couldn’t figure out how Carly could be pregnant with my child.
Assuming it was some kind of mind control through drugs or magic, I said,
”Mr. Soumei, don’t make assumptions. Carly is happy about this, I assure you.”
”I see… Carly’s dislike of Majin Clan was over the top, I just thought it was strange… If you find it uncomfortable, forgive me…”
”No, that’s absurd. I owe Mr. Soumei a favor for taking Carly under his wing, so I’m not thinking ill of it.”
Soumei sighed, his face contorted in frustration as he ran his fingers through his long hair.
”By the way, are you also after the bounty, Mr. Soumei?”
”Yeah, that’s quite a tempting sum. Ten large gold coins is no small amount… My hunting group has a lot of magicians, and they’re expensive to maintain. You can tell just by looking at Carly, right? Magicians are always broke. But I never expected our workload to decrease so drastically after that huge monster invasion.”
Soumei let out another sigh.
”Didn’t you sell the monster materials you got when you got caught in the crossfire of Milly and Carly’s fight? You must have made a pretty penny from that.”
”I tried to invest in a new recruit to replace Carly, but the money just melted away.”
It seemed Soumei had taken on an apprentice to fill Carly’s shoes.
But his investment seemed to have gone down the drain.
”Well then, how about I provide some side jobs? Just know that you’ll need to acquire the Magic Bullet Creation Skill… If you’re up for making bullets, send us. We’re still short on magicians, after all.”
”You want me to make bullets for you…?”
”I’ll buy them at 3 silver coins per thousand bullets. It’ll be a nice way to pass the time. With [Magic Bullet Creation I], you can make 2 hundred bullets a day.”
Soumei appeared to ponder my suggestion.
I’d be happy to outsource some of the work, even with a little markup, as I always want a good stockpile of ammunition.
”Will Kent prepare the casings and bullets? Do we just need to infuse our magic into them?”
”Yes, we’ll prepare the cartridges and warheads ourselves. Mr. Soumei only needs to supply Skill and magical power.”
Soumei was still deep in thought, perhaps surprisingly eager to take on the challenge.
He must be thinking that with a regular income, he could stabilize the Administration of the Hunting Group.
”So, how about a thousand bullets for 4 silver coins? The Estfort Army is expected to rely mainly on firearms, so I’d like as much ammunition as possible,” I added, trying to seal the deal.
”Alright, I’ll send a few at a time after the subjugation. Please let them learn the [Magic Bullet Creation I] Skill. You’ll pay 4 silver coins for a thousand bullets.”
”Okay, I’ll get ready for the newcomers.”
”Yeah, please. With this, my financial situation might improve a little… We’re taking the closed bounty this time. Kent, what about you?”
Soumei was more than ready to go for the closed bounty.
”We prioritize safety, so we’ll just hunt the remaining monsters inside without pushing ourselves.”
”I see, the rivals are Matthew’s ‘Silver Wolf’ party and Hendric’s ‘Golden Apostles’ party.”
Hendric, the flashy armor-clad charmer, approached Soumei with his deputy in tow.
”Hey, Sou-Sou, Kent, long time no see. Good to see you’ve become a Lord. And you’ve been making a lot of money, haven’t you? Just the monsters you subjugated at the Eastern Garrison… or was it Estfort? That’s a substantial number, not to mention the Queen Ant you hunted in the underground, I hear.”
The flamboyant Hendric addressed me.
This flashy armor-clad guy is one of the top-ranked adventurers in Abyss Vena, on par with Milly.
He’s a one-handed sword user, with a wild and unpredictable style that bewilders opponents, and he can also employ brute force to pierce through tough enemies.
He is a one-handed sword user, but he seems to be illusional about his opponent with his stupid sword sculptures that seem to have eaten a man, but he is also a man who can also use powerful techniques such as piercing his hard opponent with powerful stabs.
”This is Mr. Hendric. Even though I’m making money, I’ll lose to ‘Golden Apostles’. I heard that you’ve already hunted three A-class and eight B-class horses this year.”
”It’s just a bunch of weaklings here. But I heard that this crack of time and space is large enough for big monsters to come through, so I rushed over. Matthew, Soumei, and even Lady Miriallia are joining, so I gotta give it my all!”
”Mr. Hendric is also aiming for it, isn’t he?”
”Of course. This is practically a chance to determine the greatest party in Abyss Vena, right? And as the strongest man in Abyss Vena, I can’t not participate.”
Hendric seemed to enjoy being the center of attention.
Personally, I wouldn’t want to be friends with someone with such a mindset.
By the way, I heard he couldn’t join because he was out on a different quest for the beast monster battle.
He’s the type of guy who doesn’t like it when someone with less skill than him acts like a hero in beast monster subjugation, and I’ve heard rumors that he doesn’t like that.
”This time, we’re just here to support. We’ll take our time and make sure we don’t miss anything, so rest assured.”
”You say that, but you’re just aiming for an easy win again, aren’t you, Kent? If you do that a second time, big brother will get mad.”
The playful face was smiling, but his eyes weren’t.
Apparently, he didn’t like that the attention in Abyss Vena was on me.
”It’s fine, I’ll stay out of your way and hunt quietly at the edge.”
”If you do that, I’d be grateful. If you accidentally jump into my hunting spot, I’ll slash you along with the monster.”
Hendric said it as a joke, but I felt he wouldn’t hesitate to slash me along with the monster if I stepped into his hunting spot.
He was that kind of dangerous guy.
”Sir Hendric, Sir Kent is Lord Noble…”
”I know! I’m just giving Kent a warning!”
”Thank you for the warning.”
The vice-captain bowed his head, but I didn’t really care.
The aide bowed his head, but I didn’t really care.
The fact that he was able to recognize him as such was a great help in thinking about how he will deal with ‘Golden Apostles’ in the future.
Hendric left with his lieutenant.
After that, all the parties were all set and the departure ceremony began.
I was assigned to take over this ceremony as my father-in-law’s substitute.
”Now, one of Abyss Vena’s best Monster Hunters, who gathered. The military has finally secured the surrounding area, and now it’s finally possible to conquer Crack of Time and Space. Margrave Heido will award ten large gold coins to the closed party. The prize money will be exchanged for the power core (nuclear), so please do not neglect to collect it.”
The surrounding hunters are excited.
”So let’s start defeating!”
When I sent the signal, the gates of the field position opened, and many hunters started running towards the crack of time and space.
”Kent, shall we go? Shall we set up next to the carriage and set up a base near the crack of time and space? The recovery team and the recovery escort team work to rescue the injured near the entrance. Let’s do it”
”Yeah, there will probably be a lot of people injured, so I’ll ask Lana to help those injured.”
”I understand. So, let’s pay the highest possible cost. We have to earn money from the branch hospital. I wonder if we should sell one silver coin per Beginner-level recovery medicine.”
The price of the recovery medicine offered by Lana is twice as much as usual.
Well, since this time they are skilled hunters, I don’t think there will be much to prepare in advance, so I don’t think anyone will buy it at that price, but if the strategy continues for a long time, I think there will be some people who will buy it.”
”Well, you can sell it. Don’t sell it too cunningly. It’s going to cause trouble”
”Yes, I’ll be careful when selling”
”Please do so”
So we got on the hunting carriage and set out to conquer crack of time and space.
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
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