Day 1 of Ogre Hunting: After Subjugation
Once the Ogres had been defeated until there were no more survivors left, it was time to question the adventurers who had been involved in the incident.
They were all Green-ranked adventurers and had been approached by the Blue-ranked adventurers with this mission.
Some of the Blue-ranked adventurers, fearing that they couldn’t defeat the Ogres on their own, had used the Green-ranked adventurers as bait to trigger the train.
The Green-ranked adventurers seemed unaware that the train was against the Guild’s rules.
Truly, adventurers who don’t know the rules are…
“Mhm, we’ve finished dismantling and disposing of them.”
“But I recommend we get out of here as quickly as possible. The smell of blood has filled the area after the battle just now. Other monsters besides the Ogres will start gathering.”
When asked what kind of monsters would gather, it seemed that there were larger-than-usual insects like mosquitoes and leeches.
We had applied insect repellent beforehand, but with the strong scent of blood in the air, it didn’t seem to be effective anymore.
Keuko advised the Green-ranked adventurers to leave this place quickly, and we ourselves also left the area.
We preferred not to engage in battles with monsters that didn’t offer much reward.
Afterward, using our magic sensing abilities, we lured the Ogres to us and occasionally dealt with other monsters that approached, we concluded today’s hunt.
When we returned to the camp, many other adventurers had already returned.
However, their expressions were not particularly cheerful.
It seemed that they hadn’t been able to hunt as many monsters as they had thought… and then they learned that the other group had encountered a pack of High Ogres.
We had been assigned to the outskirts of the mountain, so we had been safe, but it seemed that the group investigating further into the mountain had a hard time.
Many had been injured, some had gotten separated and had not yet rejoined the rest of the adventurers.
Amidst this situation, a strategy meeting was held the next day.
The main topic was the exploration of the location where the High Ogres resided, and it seemed they had a fairly good idea of their whereabouts.
“Is it this cave here?”
“That’s the only one big enough for the High Ogres to live in, so it’s the top candidate. Even if it’s not here, their habitat should be nearby.”
“So, how are you planning to attack?”
“Huh? We wanted to leave that to the Wildcat Claws, but…”
“… We’re just here as Lady Lily’s escort. We can take care of the High Ogres we encounter by chance, but we won’t step into their habitat.”
“That’s not what we agreed upon!”
“Agreed upon? What are you talking about?”
“Our mission is to reduce the number of Ogres and locate the High Ogres’ habitat. The extermination of their habitat has been entrusted to the Wildcat Claws, as I heard!”
“Oh, is that so? Who told you that?”
“Of course, it was the Guild Master.”
Oh dear, that musclehead is making decisions on his own again.
What a mess.
“Those are instructions from the Guild Master! You don’t intend to oppose them, do you?”
“Hmm. Are you the Guild Master’s representative?”
“Huh?”
“If you are the Guild Master’s representative, I might consider obeying. However, if not, you will be punished for deceiving us using the Guild Master’s name. So, are you the authorized agent of the Guild Master or not?”
“Wait a minute… It’s written on the request form!”
Saying that, the other adventurer took out the request form and showed it.
I see, indeed, it is the responsibility of a Red-ranked adventurer to deal with higher-level creatures according to this.
“Hm. What about the request we received?”
Kewko also showed the request form we received.
There was no mention of how to handle the situation if higher-level creatures appeared.
Moreover, our request was issued earlier.
According to the Adventurers’ Guild’s regulations, in case of inconsistency in the same request, the contents of the request issued first take precedence.
In other words, we are not obligated to strike the habitat of High Ogres.
Furthermore, it’s worth mentioning that the Wildcat Claws is currently mine, and they are participating as an escort for a Copper-ranked merchant, so if my safety is at risk, they can abandon the request.
This is also mentioned in the special terms of this request.
“Now, we’ve confirmed the discrepancies in each other’s request. In this situation, what do you think is the best course of action?”
“Uh, well, if you’re a Red-ranked adventurer, you should defeat the High Ogres!”
“… That’s what he said, but Lady Lily?”
“I don’t want to go to the habitat of High Ogres. I don’t want to risk my life when there’s so little material to be gained.”
“What!?”
Here, the second condition written on our request form, which is the sharing of materials, comes into play.
This usually means giving up all the magic stones in exchange for materials, but this time it means something different.
Even if we defeat the High Ogres at the risk of our lives, we won’t get to keep those materials; they will be distributed among the other adventurers.
Even the Green-ranked adventurers who probably won’t be able to participate in the battle will get some leftovers, so we intend to decline this request.
So, what will they do?
“… Fine, we’ll defeat the High Ogres ourselves! But we won’t give you any of the spoils!”
“The one who can make that decision is the Guild Master, but oh well. We’ll have to question the Guild Master about why the contents of the request were changed without permission when we return to the Guild.”
The atmosphere became extremely tense, but the situation here concluded.
Now, each of us prepared for dinner.
In our case, we made a stew using rabbit meat we caught along the way.
We don’t intend to share it with others, so please don’t stare at it.