An active hunter from Hokkaido was thrown into another world

Chapter 36 Eat the hydra

Descending the cliff and pushing through the bushes, I step forward, and everyone applauds.

“Wow, that was amazing! Piece of cake!”

“I owe you one, Shin. You were incredible!”

“To be honest, I thought you were just enjoying yourself, but if it’s like this, I’d rely on you anytime.”

“Agreed!”

Thank you very much.

I’m really grateful that I didn’t have to confront it directly. Because the Hydra in front of us is incredibly intimidating…

“You all fought against this kind of thing. That’s way more impressive. I would be too scared to handle it.”

“Hahaha, Shin, you’re definitely not cut out to be a Hunter.”

Now, everyone begins to skin the Hydra. They set up ropes to pull and make incisions with knives on the belly. We’re doing it at the shallow part of the river, so the blood flows away, and we can work cleanly.

Everyone is skilled and professional at this.

I’m holding the shotgun, keeping an eye on our surroundings. Wolves or other creatures might approach us.

Saran is using my knife to help with the work.

“Such a waste of meat…”

“I wish we could take it back with us.”

Hmm, I see. It sells for a good price.

Quietly, I purchase a large plastic garbage bag from my Magic Bag.

“Um, everyone, please put the meat in this.”

“What is this? I’ve never seen such a flimsy bag before.”

“It’s see-through…”

“And then, put it in, tie the mouth like this…”

Saran puts a handful of meat into the plastic bag and ties the mouth.

“Wow, this bag doesn’t let the blood soak through. It’s surprisingly sturdy despite being so thin…”

“But even if we do this, it might still spoil on the way back. Each person can only carry so much.”

“In my magic bag, I can fit as much as we want. We can take it back to town without it going bad.”

Saran puts the longer plastic bag into my yellow bag.

There it goes.

Yes, this bag has no bottom.

“An extradimensional bag… So, that’s what you call it here. Everyone is surprised.”

I teach them how to use it, and we all start putting the meat into it.

“You need to cut the meat into smaller pieces; otherwise, it won’t fit.”

“Oh, I’m sorry!”

We need to make the bag’s opening narrower so that it fits.

During the dissection, a pack of wolves gathered around, but we managed to drive them away safely with the shotgun and Saran and Lant’s arrows after taking down a few.

After skinning the Hydra and rinsing the skin in the river, we carefully removed the remaining meat with knives, spending until evening to clean it thoroughly before returning to the base camp.

What a big catch, indeed.

We all grilled the Hydra meat and celebrated joyfully.

It’s delicious.

I’ve never had such tasty meat before.

I see, this will surely sell for a good price.

“The Hydra, they’ve got the Hydra!!”

The entire Saaplast Guild is in an uproar.

Saran and Bartil brought the rolled-up skin from the carriage. It looks like a long carpet.

“To the warehouse! Take it to the warehouse!”

Guildmaster Bal and the staff members, everyone came and made a fuss.

“Hunters, you can’t do this! No entry!”

They shooed away other curious hunters and began the assessment.

Unfurling the rolled-up skin, it stretches over 20 meters in length.

I can’t believe it was this massive. It’s quite astonishing.

“…It’s a single piece of skin from the four heads that weren’t cut. It’ll fetch an incredible price.”

“It just shed its skin, so it’s shiny and in perfect condition…”

Yes, there are a few holes here and there.

Merchants from the guild have also gathered, and we’re all discussing the worth of this find.

“Three thousand gold coins! Can’t go any higher than that.”

…

Everyone is left speechless.

“…Well, can’t complain.”

“That settles it, then.”

“Yes.”

Finally, everyone reaches an agreement.

Since there are five members from the Ballistes and two of us, we’ll split it into 400 coins per person.

After deducting the guild’s commission, this is the final price. It’s quite a significant sum.

“Now, what about the meat?”

“The meat too?!”

“We’ll need payment for that as well.”

Except for Bal and the guild master, everyone else is asked to leave the warehouse, and we start taking out the meat from the Magic Bags.

“An Interdimensional Bag… You had something like that?”

“And this bag… How is it even made? It’s so thin, yet the blood doesn’t seep through… I’ve never seen anything like it.”

The guild master seems more amazed by the vinyl bags than anything else.

“Keep this confidential, I implore you.”

“Yeah, if news like this gets out, it will cause a huge uproar. It’s not just the magical tools, but even being in possession of such noble items could get us into trouble with the country…”

Shuffling sounds…

“Enough! I said enough! We can’t possibly buy all of this!!”

The guild masters cry out in despair.

There’s still twice as much as this to go…

“It’s excellent meat. You could say it was just caught today. This is the first time we’ve received Hydra meat… A rare delicacy that only active hunters can taste. We can easily sell this much at once… Roughly speaking, how about 50 gold coins per bag?”

“I’m fine with that.”

The members of Ballistes nod in agreement.

They receive a payment of 1,000 gold coins for the meat and split it amongst ourselves.

“It was quite an effort. As expected from Ballistes and Tanu… Raccoon Head. Starting today, Raccoon Head is promoted to Rank 2. Come to the office.”

Everyone goes to the office, and they get their ranks officially stamped.

“Congratulations!”

“Congratulations on the rank up!”

It’s heartwarming to see everyone celebrating together.

“I’m sorry, but this is as much as we can purchase from you. We have limits on our available cash. Of course, we’ll make a fortune with this later, but it’s unfortunate.”

The guild master of the Merchant Guild apologizes.

Well, this profit is way beyond what we deserve.

The Ballistes members also understand.

“If the meat doesn’t spoil, you can try going to Topurus. They might buy it from you.”

I see. Let’s follow Bal-san’s advice then.

After that, we returned to Ballistes home and had a blast. Elfang and other hunter teams also gathered, and we all grilled and ate Hydra meat until we were full.

Oh, it’s incredible.

A single steak is worth about one gold coin.

Well, there’s plenty of it, so it’s a special celebration, no need to be stingy.

The next day, when we come down from the attic, everyone is sprawled out, cut and napping.

…I feel so exasperated thinking about cleaning all this up.

“Alright, we’re back!,” I cheerfully announce, shooing away the hunters from the Brick Street. I ask them about breakfast plans.

“Don’t need it.”

“Not interested…”

“I’m already full.”

“Taking a break today.”

“I agree.”

Indeed, I expected those responses.

With the help of Saran, we tidy up the mess, wash the dishes, and boil some tea in a pot to share with everyone.

“Phew… This tea is delicious.”

“Thanks a lot.”

Now, it’s time to discuss the remaining meat.

“What should we do with the rest of the meat?” I ask, and Bartil surprises us by saying, “I don’t need it. I’ll give it to you guys.”

It’s a little surprising.

“There’s still more than half of it left.”

Everyone nods in agreement.

“After you guys went to sleep last night, we had a discussion among ourselves. We’ve already made enough profit. It’s the best earnings we’ve ever had. As for the meat, there’s no way we could have taken it all back from the beginning without it rotting. So, it’s all yours,” Bartil explains.

“Besides, you guys are going back to the Elf village, right?” says the flamboyant.

This surprises me again. I had been racking my brain, trying to figure out how to decline their offer, thinking they would definitely ask us to join their team.

“You came here to earn money for your village, right? We get it. You can either sell it here or take it back as a souvenir.”

Bartil smiles and continues, “We’ve also reached a turning point of sorts.”

The bow-wielding Lant lets out a sigh.

“In truth, Ballistes was originally a six-member party. When we advanced to Rank 2 and took down the Hydra, one of our members fell in battle…”

I can feel the weight of his words.

“He was a good guy. It was tough. We took on the Hydra too many times, not making much money, and facing various failures. It’s a bitter memory for us. But with your help, we managed to defeat the Hydra without any casualties, and I felt like… Ah, it’s over now. I felt that way.”

He takes a sip from his cup.

“We won’t be hunting Hydras anymore. We won’t quit being hunters, but we don’t need to aim any higher. Watching you guys made me realize that living within our limits, hunting pigeons, that’s happiness,” Bartil expresses.

“Thank you so much for everything,” I say.

“It’s us who should be thanking you. You helped us, and we made money together. No complaints here. Of course, it would be great if you joined our team, but we couldn’t bring ourselves to say that. Ahaha!” he chuckles.

They may not say it outright, but it’s clear they’d be thrilled if we joined them.

“You guys are amazing. If you ever come back to this town, give me a shout. Let’s do something together again,” Bartil says.

“Yes, definitely,” we reply.

After expressing our gratitude multiple times, we take our leave from Bartil’s home.

The next morning, as Guild Master Bal suggests, we head to the Hunter’s Guild.

“While you guys were out hunting, Falus showed up uninvited,” Bal informs us.

“Falus? Who’s that?” I ask.

“He’s the son of the Duke of Hawksburg. He came about four of his entourage,” Bal explains.

Ah, I see.

“What kind of person is he?” I inquire further.

“He’s about the same height as me, around thirty years old. As a noble, he’s handsome. Has a bit of a playboy look, you know? Dressed in flashy blue clothing, flaunting his noble status. His silver hair is his pride and joy, a rarity in this country due to his maternal lineage. He lets it flow down to his shoulders and slicks it all back. Quite the unfortunate pretty boy,” Bal elaborates.

“What was Falus’s business with the Guild?” I ask.

“He demanded to gather all the hunters! Said they were all involved in the kidnapping case!” Bal replies.

“But it was their own people who were behind the kidnapping, right?” I point out.

“Exactly. So I told him that we only prevented the kidnapping from happening. If he wants to know the details, he should ask the Lord,” Bal explains.

“And then?”

“They asked about the culprits, so I told them they were buried in the graveyard and that they should ask the church for more details. We acted clueless and said we have no knowledge about the criminals we’ve defeated. There are so many criminals being buried every day, how are we supposed to know, right?” Bal explains with a laugh.

“Hmm…”

“He kept insisting that we gather the hunters involved. Like we would disclose such information to outsiders. I told him we could never reveal that, as it might lead to retaliation from the kidnapping gang,” Bal continues.

“Hahaha!”

“He got furious and asked, ‘Who do you think I am?’ So I replied, ‘Who are you?’ The people with him were desperately trying to calm him down. I challenged him to reveal himself if he could,” Bal recounts.

“Wow…”

“He had a pale face and demanded to see the girl. When I asked which girl, he said it was the one who was almost kidnapped!” Bal says, mocking the man’s reaction.

“But he pretty much confessed, didn’t he?”

“Exactly. How did he know that a girl was almost kidnapped? It might have been a child, or wealthy elderly person. But he specifically said ‘girl.’ How did he know? I only referred to him as a citizen,” Bal remarks.

Bal’s expression darkens.

“There’s no way he can meet her. He’s the one who wants to claim the kidnappers’ bodies, find the hunters who defeated them, and look for the almost-kidnapped girl. What’s he playing at? He sure seems like the leader of the kidnapping gang. Who does he think he is? When I asked if he was an idiot, he went berserk and even kicked the counter here,” Bal says, pointing at the damaged area.

“Wait, so there’s a hole there now?”

“Anyway, all the hunters present surrounded him and threatened to restrain him as a suspect in the kidnapping gang if he kept causing trouble. Then, his entourage dragged him away from the scene,” Bal concludes.

“That sounds terrible.”

“Absolutely…”

“What a fool.”

“Hmm… What a character.”

“And that’s how it is. If they try to mess with us, they’ll have to reveal their names. If they can’t do that, they can’t touch us. Though dealing with family names can be tricky, we can also use it to our advantage. So, this matter is now closed,” Bal explains.

“He’s an utterly hopeless fool… If it were me, I might have tried something like claiming to be an investigator from the authorities tracking down the kidnapping gang,” I suggest.

“You’re smart. He might come up with that later,” Bal chuckles.

“Well, if he were the culprit, they’re all six feet under, so it’s over,” I add.

“True,” Bal nods in agreement.

“Yes, yes,” Bal nods.

“Anyway, thank you for your response and the information,” I express my gratitude.

“Gratitude can be repaid with Hydra’s meat. That’s enough for my wife and four children. Yeah, ah, no, that’s about it. It’s enough, really!” Bal says, as he brings the meat to the counter and starts dividing it. Ahahaha!

“If you find it too troublesome, you can go back to the Elf village. It’s a shame, though,” Bal offers.

“Yes, that’s what we’ll do,” I agree, nodding, and Bar gives a slight nod, looking a bit reluctant.

“…We’re truly indebted to you. That Hydra’s skin will also make a good profit for the guild, and you helped us take care of the leftover work on the farms.”

“Ahahaha! If that’s enough for you,” Bal laughs. “Having you around keeps things from getting dull. Come back whenever you want. I’ll be waiting.”

“Yes, we’ll definitely do that. Thank you again,” I express my gratitude one more time before we take our leave.

As we stroll through the city, I can’t help but feel a deep sense of nostalgia.

“Oh, Raccoon Head!”

I turn around as someone calls out to me, and there he is, the young merchant, Bassoon -san!