Side Story: Everyday Life of Tamer Elsa (1)
My morning begins with the Cole the Rockwolf waking me up.
Cole is the name of the leader of the Rockwolf pack that I tamed under the guidance of Senior Lily.
The other kids didn’t want names—or rather, they disliked being named—so I haven’t given them any.
But I can distinguish each one somehow.
It’s strange, considering the guards who borrow them can hardly tell them apart.
“Now, let’s do our best at hunting today.”
(Yeah. Let’s bring the ones on duty today from the clan.)
“Okay. Let’s go, Cole.”
Since I live with my parents, I don’t have to pay rent.
However, I have to pay the rent for the Tamers’ Guild’s courtyard, where the Rockwolf pack lives.
It’s relatively cheap compared to the area, but it’s still a significant amount for me.
I have to work every day to cover the expenses, including their food.
The Rockwolves taken for hunting seem to have a predetermined order, rotating every day.
This is to prevent some Rockwolves from becoming stronger while others remain weak.
When they were in the wild, they also divided responsibilities between guarding the pack and going hunting.
This was a nature unknown to the Tamers’ Guild, and when I shared this information, I received a substantial amount as an information fee.
Initially, I intended to use it for the Rockwolves, but Cole rejected it, so I allocated it to my equipment.
As a result, my gear has become quite high quality.
The main equipment includes a slightly longer spear than Senior Lily’s and a shield that can completely hide me.
After trying various things in the Adventurers’ Guild thanks to their training and rental equipment, this combination proved to be the most comfortable for me.
The sub-weapon I chose was a mace that I can swing with all my might.
I gave up on swords because I couldn’t handle the blade well.
It was easier with the mace, swinging it with all my strength to deal damage.
I can handle knives because I can cook, though.
I also have a saddle and several charge lances strapped to Cole’s back.
Since Cole can carry me and run, I needed a spear long enough to attack while I’m riding.
However, charge lances are prone to breaking due to the force, and it’s still too early for me to buy a non-breakable type.
It’s more cost-effective to carry several at all times in anticipation of breakage.
Although it might be expensive in the long run, I hardly get the chance to use charge lances now.
Today, after joining the Rockwolves on duty and having a casual breakfast, I went to the Adventurers’ Guild, but as expected, there weren’t any lucrative requests.
I’ve just become a Black-rank Adventurer, and most of the requests assigned to Black-rankers are not very important.
There are some, for example, rescuing a village suffering from goblin attacks or exterminating an excessive number of slimes.
Goblin extermination can sometimes involve walking for days to reach a village, and slime extermination may require defeating over a hundred of them.
Considering the time and equipment wear, none of these jobs are very profitable.
Still, it’s better to take these just for the Guild’s evaluation rather than the rewards, than just doing permanent requests, so they tend to be competitive.
Now, what should I do today…
“Ah, Elsa!”
“Hm? Oh, Ulla, Shellche. It’s been a week?”
The ones calling out to me were Ulla and Shellche, a pair of Black-ranker seniors who were actually younger than me in age.
They seem to have formed a party and do various things together.
As Black-rank Adventurers, they have money and use good equipment.
Being a pair of young girls, they sometimes get approached by men with ulterior motives.
I, too, as a Tamer with powerful familiars, have encountered people trying to forcefully recruit me.
“That’s about right. We went on an expedition to a distant village.”
“Expedition? Goblin extermination?”
“In reality, it was goblins and hobgoblins. It was a bit tough.”
“Yeah, it was. But with an increase in the reward, it turned out to be a lucrative job in the end.”
Hobgoblins, huh… they’re troublesome.
Their intelligence is worse than goblins, but their stamina makes them quite persistent.
I’ve only fought them once, but with the amount offered for permanent requests, I wouldn’t want to deal with them.
“Are you two here just for the completion report?”
“That was the plan, but… if you are okay with it, would you like to go hunting together?”
“Together? Aren’t you tired?”
“We are tired… but honestly, we want to earn more.”
“Becoming a Black-ranker doesn’t get much appreciation from the Guild, but how about hunting Angry Chickens? With you around, we could catch a lot, and our income would increase.”
Ulla is quite straightforward.
Still, a high-income hunt works well for me too.
Today, I think I’ll go Angry Chicken hunting with Ulla and Shellche duo!