An active hunter from Hokkaido was thrown into another world - Chapter 20

An active hunter from Hokkaido was thrown into another world

Chapter 20    Particularly when there are no events, it can be a premonition that something is about to happen.

The next morning, I woke up before the sun rose, and immediately continued from last night.

I want to eliminate all the pigeons before they wake up and become lively.

Since it’s a request from the lord, I have to do it carefully so as not to incur his displeasure later.

After it became brighter, I looked around on the roof, shot down a few, and it’s almost complete.

Some managed to escape, but well, they can fly, so it can’t be helped…

As a result, I caught thirty-one pigeons.

“Hey, good morning. Did you catch them?”

I squinted at the horseman who came over.

“I caught thirty-one. Do you want to confirm?”

“Nah, it’s fine. Take it back. Thanks for your hard work, you can go back now.”

…Wait, is that it?

“And… the reward?”

“Go home.”

…

The two of us walked back, trudging through the busy town in the early morning.

I stuffed everything into the magic bag, with Saran carrying the bag containing the pigeon carcasses.

Is there really nothing?

Normally, in a situation like this, the nobles would come and thank us, praise us, or at least give us some rewards. We would become acquainted with the nobility, gain their respect, or establish good relations with the lady of the house or the children, right?

Is there really nothing?

Seriously, is there really nothing?

“Is reality always like this?”

“Yeah, I guess so…”

“Are all nobles like that?”

“…Let’s not get involved with them in the future.”

“Yeah, let’s do that.”

We sat down in front of the guild’s door and waited for it to open.

With a thud, we placed the bag of pigeons on the purchase counter and glared at the old man in charge.

“We got rid of the pigeons, one large gold coin for each pigeon.”

“We’re not buying the pigeons…”

“Call the Guild Master.”

“Fine, I’ll do that.”

Then Bal-san arrived, with quite an interesting expression on his face.

“Oh, well, the stablemaster got scolded by the lord and was told to do something about it, but he didn’t want to do it himself, so he dumped it on you guys. It’s the lord’s mentality that it’s natural for the subjects to work for the lord’s sake without pay. Those guys, you know.”

“We are not residents of this territory.”

“I know, I know. I’ll treat you to breakfast. So please forgive me.”

I devoured it voraciously.

It would be good if Bal-san realized what happens when Saran eats seriously.

I haven’t slept much, you know.

I’ve been working non-stop, so how about taking a break today?

Saran and I wander around the inn district, both the front and back.

“Oh! There it is!”

A maid is drying futons. Feather futons!

I found the feather futon! It’s the inn with the feather futon that Saran and I promised.

I quickly negotiate with the inn there and secure a room so we can sleep during the day.

The Inns called Usagi-tei. Naming after animals seems to be a tradition in this town’s inns.

“So fluffy! And lightweight!”

Saran is bouncing around wildly on the king-sized bed.

“Yes, yes, we’re dirty. Let’s take a bath and clean up first, okay?”

“Yes!”

…When I turn on the faucet, hot water fills the bathtub.

It’s quite a technique. It means they have both running water and a boiler.

Although plumbing and faucets have been around since Roman times, having hot water is amazing.

Indeed, it’s an inn worth three gold coins.

I thoroughly enjoyed it.

“Was the pride of Usagi-tei the rabbit meat stew…?”

I missed out on it because I fell into a deep sleep.

I’d love to stay here again, but I don’t have the money. It’s such a waste, isn’t it?

What is this, traveling on a honeymoon while working? It’s quite something, isn’t it?

Now, when I went to the guild at noon, there was quite a commotion.

It seems the young hunters were attacked by goblins.

One person died, one seriously injured, and three barely made it back alive.

…Goblins, huh?

“We’re forming a subjugation squad! Volunteer, you guys!”

More than twenty hunters have gathered in front of the guild…

They’re all so young. Even when Bal-san shouts, no one raises their hand.

“Don’t be afraid! We can overcome them with numbers!”

…

“Saran, what are goblins?”

“Little demons. They’re smaller than Shin, carrying stone spears, usually found in groups of ten or twenty in caves or something. They have red skin, are naked, hairless, and repulsive. They have tiny horns on their heads. It’s dangerous when surrounded by a group of them.”

“Like monkeys, you mean?”

“What’s a monkey?”

“In other words, it’s like humans but smaller.”

“Exactly.”

“Is no one volunteering? Show the spirit of hunters!”

“But that’s a job for third or fourth-class adventurers!”

“Somebody got killed, you know…”

“It’s not our job!”

“Damn it… How heartless…”

Guild Master Bal-san notices us standing behind him and approaches.

“…Can I count on you guys?”

“Sure.”

Saran readily nods.

“Um, um, Saran-san?”

“Don’t worry, it’ll be fine. We can handle it now.”

“For now, I just want to see the situation. I’ll go. Come with me.”

If Bal-san is with us, then there’s no doubt…

“I understand.”

Things are getting scary… I wonder if we’ll be okay…

We bring out the guild’s horses.

Saran gets the largest horse in the guild, while Bal-san and I ride on a different horse together.

“You can’t ride a horse, huh…”

I cling onto Bal-san.

If I’m going to cling onto someone, it would be better to cling onto Saran, but it seems there’s no horse that can accommodate both Saran and me.

“These young ones these days are useless!”

Bal-san shouts while riding the horse.

“They’re all cowards!”

“Aren’t there any senior hunters?”

“They exist, but damn it! They’re always away and rarely come back!”

“What’s happening to the guild’s management?”

“We’re always broke! What’s wrong with that?”

…It’s heartbreaking.

Even in Japan, hunting associations and gun stores are always struggling financially.

It’s a declining industry, after all.

In the city, there are gun stores that make money because wealthy people like doctors and politicians enjoy clay shooting with guns that cost tens of millions of yen. But in rural areas, it’s a business that barely makes any profit. You can tell by the old buildings of gun stores.

We dash through the countryside.

“We’re getting close to the village… We need to do something quickly.”

We leave our horses in the care of a farmer and venture into the mountains.

Bal-san is wearing lightweight armor and wields a large sword.

Saran has a bow and a sword at her waist.

As for me, I have a shotgun. I discreetly reach into the magic bag hidden on Saran’s back and pull it out.

Anticipating such a situation, I switch to the spare barrel I had prepared.

It’s an 18-inch slug barrel, a short barrel without choke. It’s 8 inches (20 cm) shorter than a regular shotgun barrel, making it easier to handle. Since it’s a slug barrel, it has front and rear sights.

Instead of using slugs (※2), I load it with 9-pellet buckshot.

Since there’s no choke, it should spread wider compared to a regular shotgun barrel.

It’s like a sawed-off shotgun.

“Sawed-off” means cutting off with a hacksaw.

It means shortening the barrel. It’s an illegal method used by criminals, so it’s prohibited in any country. Even in America, shotguns with barrels shorter than 18 inches are banned.

Since we’re in a different world, it doesn’t matter here, but I didn’t want to go that far with my precious firearm. So, anticipating close-range combat, I purchased just the barrel.

And this cost me only one and a half gold coins. 15,000 yen! It’s cheap! Long live America!

The M870 is also a friend of the budget-conscious. Every part is affordable.

“…What’s that?”

Well, it’s no wonder Bal-san is surprised.

“It’s an enhanced version of what we used on the pigeons.”

“Do such things exist…? You never cease to amaze me.”

Saran and I put on camouflage jackets.

“Those clothes are amazing… It’s like a dazzle camouflage. The patterns are well done. Is it an elven specialty?”

“Well, something like that.”

I casually brush it off. Wearing the camouflage jungle hat as well, we are fully prepared.

In the order of Bal-san, Saran, and me, we step into the mountain’s animal trail.

Bal-san is truly a veteran. He walks effortlessly along the mountain path.

Saran does the same.

Meanwhile, I’m the only one struggling to keep up, panting heavily. After all, I’m an office worker at the town hall…

“Guide us to a place where we can overlook the goblin’s cave, preferably from a high vantage point.”

“That’s the plan, but it’s just reconnaissance, you know.”

“And Shin will take care of the rest.”

“Shin? they’re different from a pigeon, you know?”

Saran please don’t make plans without consulting us.

“Get down.”

Bal-san signals with his hand, and we advance in a low crawl.

Peeking out from the cover of the trees… there they are, down below.

About 200 meters away, perhaps. According to the 6x laser rangefinder, it’s 187 meters away. They have a bonfire in front of the cave, and they seem to be cooking something. There are about twelve of them…

They’re incredibly creepy.

Extremely creepy.

The proportions are off.

They look somewhat human, but their heads are small.

Because of that, they don’t even look like children. It’s eerie to see them shuffling around the fire, hunched over and walking with pointed stones tied to sticks.

One of them is unusually large, almost human-sized. Is that the leader?

This is the first time I’ve seen such unsettling creatures. It gives me a chilling sense of discomfort.

“Shin, are you okay?”

“Ah… Yeah.”

“So, do you have a plan? Any strategy?”

Bal-san asks me.

It seems that the rifle is about to come into play.

―――Author’s Note―――

※1. Front Sight and Rear Sight

The rear sight of military rifles is located behind the chamber and often has multiple round apertures called peep sights. On the other hand, the rear sight of hunting rifles is positioned on top of the barrel and only uses the conventional notch and post sight system, similar to handguns. Additionally, it is common nowadays to find rifles without front sights or rear sights, as they are designed with the assumption of using scopes from the beginning.

※2. Slug Ammunition

A large, single projectile that can be fired from a shotgun barrel. It is a powerful bullet used for taking down large game animals, even with a shotgun.

It has long been believed that “the bullet has diagonal grooves cut into it, which catch the wind and provide a stable trajectory.” However, due to the recent advancements in high-performance digital video cameras, it has been proven through slow-motion footage that bullets in flight do not rotate at all. This contradicts the previous belief. Slugs, like arrows, maintain a stable trajectory because their center of gravity is forward, and they do not spin. It is important to note that bullets do not fly straight due to rotation (“SLUG SPIN” can be searched for in videos to confirm this with your own eyes).

Currently, all ammunition manufacturers have removed the description stating “provides stable rotation due to wind pressure” from their advertising slogans for slug ammunition, as no manufacturer uses it as a selling point anymore.