Achievement Report and Butchery Hall
When I pushed open the guild’s swinging door to report our achievement, there were plenty of adventurers gathered, probably because of the time of day. The tavern side was also lively, it being evening.
“Jo!”
Looking toward the voice, I saw Gene, Vee, and Eric waving from the tavern.
“You two took a request too?”
“Yeah. We were just about to report it.”
“What kind of request?”
Vee asked.
“Big Boar subjugation. And while we were at it, we also hunted a Giant Snake.”
“”“Wha—!?”””
“No way, that’s not the kind of thing you just do ‘while you’re at it.’ That’s a C-rank monster!”
“Ah, but it really was just ‘while we were at it.’”
“… By the way, how big was it?”
“We’re going to report now. Wanna come?”
“”“We’re coming!”””
We lined up at the reception counter to report. Soon it was our turn, and I presented the request form signed by the sweet potato farmers along with my guild card.
“Alright. That completes your report. Good work~”
“Um, Miss Lily? We also hunted a Giant Snake while we were at it…”
“What!? A Giant Snake? In Westwoods? … Wait, hold on… Let’s see… Ah, here it is. Could this be it?”
Lily pulled out a request form for the Giant Snake subjugation. Apparently, someone had gone to the Westwoods to gather wild vegetables and was attacked. They managed to escape unharmed, but the basket with the vegetables was swallowed. In that basket was a gold ring they had taken off so it wouldn’t get dirty with soil, and they desperately wanted it back.
“Ah, that might be it. We’ve got the subjugation parts.”
“But you left the body in the Westwoods, didn’t you? What should we do…”
“We have the body too.”
“What!? You do?”
“””Why!?”””
“Joan, why’d you bring something like that back? You could’ve just skinned it.”
“Vee! … I heard it’s delicious.”
“Seriously!? And why are you whispering?”
“So no one overhears and wastes a hunt.”
“Oh, to keep other adventurers from getting in danger?”
“No, Young Master Eric. If it gets overhunted, there’ll be less chance to eat it!”
“Jo…”
“”(Joan…)””
“... Joan…”
Everyone present was dumbfounded by Joan’s words.
“A-anyway, I’ve got the body. Want to check for the ring in the butchery hall?”
“Right. If we find the ring, we can mark it complete.”
““Yes!””
“Alright, let’s go to the butchery hall. I’ll also check the Big Boar’s horns there.”
“Okay.”
At the butchery hall, I took the subjugation parts out of storage.
“First, the Big Boar horns… here.” Thud.
“Those are some fine horns. You really are as extraordinary as ever, Young Lady.”
The one saying that was Gramps Pom, virtually, the master of the butchery hall. Turns out he’s an old friend of our family’s throwing-knife craftsman, Grandpa Tom. Back in the day, they’d even been in a party together for a while.
“Hehe. And here’s the Giant Snake’s head.” Thump.
“Whoa, that’s huge… You two really took this down?”
“Gene, Pearl was with us too.”
“Still, that’s amazing.”
“Oh, and here’s the body… Heave-ho… Vee, give me a hand.”
“Got it. Here we go—huh? …That’s huge.”
“Come on, keep at it. We’re not even halfway.”
“You’re kidding! Gene, Eric, help out.”
““O-okay.””
Like in the story of ‘The Giant Turnip,’ everyone pulled together to haul the Giant Snake out.
“””””...…”””””
Its girth was about 30cm in diameter, and its length around 10 meters. Everyone went silent.
“Gahaha! Well now, that’s quite a prize you’ve brought down.”
“Right? We all worked hard for it. Oh, Gramps Pom, I want to sell the hide as material, but keep the meat.”
“Don’t mind, but what’re you going to do with it?”
“Eat it.”
“What now? Giant Snake meat’s too fishy to be worth eating.”
“If you cook it right, it’s tasty. I’ll bring you some when I make it.”
“I’ll pass… but I’ll send it over after butchering.”
“Thanks! The meat’s all mine, though.”
“Hold on! Find the ring first.”
Lily explained the situation to Pom, and with the help of other idle butchers, they cut open the belly.
Belly-splitting… Kansai style, huh.
In the samurai culture of Kanto, belly-splitting made people think of seppuku, so they prefer back-splitting for good luck.
After thirty minutes of cutting, the desired gold ring was found safe and sound. That made this request complete too.
With two requests completed at once, Belle and I high-fived.
“Alright, I’ll return your plates. At this rate, you’ll be taking another promotion test soon. Honestly, you’re just ridiculous.”
Lily smiled wryly.
“Really? Miss Lily?”
“Yes. But don’t push yourself too hard, okay?”
“Yup. We’re not, so it’s fine.”
“Good. Then I’m glad.”
While Joan was all smiles, Gene and Vince were feeling pressured. At this rate, she’d catch up to them in no time—and maybe even surpass them. As an older brother and older cousin, their pride couldn’t allow that…
“Gene…”
“Yeah, we’ve gotta take more requests. This is bad…”
“How about taking some in the capital after classes?”
“Yeah. Let’s start next week.”
“Let’s do it!”
“Alright!”
Only Pearl overheard their conversation.
(Hehe. Joan will pass them in no time.)
What do you think about this chapter?
