Ch 66 -- The Guild Masterâs Requests
After I put the sacks full of gold coins into my Item Box we discussed the requests the Guild Master was wanting to offer to us.
"Well, weâve got two outstanding high-ranked subjugation requests weâd like to offer you. The first is to subjugate a Metal Lizard and the other is the subjugation of a herd of Bloody Horn Bulls."
OK, I understand what he means by Metal Lizard since we just sold one to the Adventurers Guild but what sort of monster is a Bloody Horn Bull? âHorns dripping with bloodâ doesnât sound particularly gentle or meek to me. Itâs called a âBullâ, does that mean itâs something like a cow? âBlood dripping cowâ... thatâs an ominous name to give to a monster.
"The first request is a Metal Lizard. Its territory is at the foot of Pasquale Mountain, about two days carriage ride from here. It was probably attracted by the minerals located there but weâve not been able to survey the area properly so weâre not sure." The Guild Master explained. "There are mines near this location but since the Lizard moved in theyâve been temporarily abandoned as the danger it poses is too great. The mine owners have requested the Metal Lizard subjugation. It is worth 238 gold coins." He shrugged. "I have been asking for this request to be dealt with for some time now. No Adventurers of suitable rank were available or theyâve been busy with other things. I even tried getting the reward increased but there still have been no takers."
A Metal Lizard shouldnât be a problem for us. Fer didnât have any difficulty dealing with the previous one after all. Fer is Da Man.
"The second request concerns a herd of Bloody Horn Bulls which have moved into the grasslands to the west of the city and settled down there. That area was a common monster hunting ground for lower-ranking Adventurers and losing access to it means a lot of them canât easily fulfil their own requests. Theyâve been pushing for the Guild to do something about the herd but our subjugation request still hasnât been accepted by anyone. The reward for hunting them is 324 gold coins."
According to the Guild master a Bloody Horn Bull is about the size of a wild cow with a temperament to match. As their name suggests they gore anyone who approaches the herd with their horns resulting in a bloodbath. A single Bloody Horn Bull is only a B-rank monster but it usually takes four parties of A and B rank Adventurers to subjugate a herd of them since they are very aggressive and act in unison. Truly, herds of other-world cows that stab people with their horns are scary!
"So can you accept these two requests?" the Guild Master finished. Well, he asked me but it wasnât really for me to decide.
"Hey Fer, you heard all that? What do you think, should we accept both of the requests?"
"Of course. I can do both of them easy." Yeah, I guessed youâd say that. I told the Guild Master weâd accept both requests.
"Wonderful. Iâm so pleased." he said.
"Bloody Horn Bull? That meat is delicious. Iâll go do that request right away." Fer interjected, drooling. It seemed Fer was keen to get started. So he reckons Bloody Horn Bull meat is delicious, is it? I guess if it looks like a cow then itâs probably something like beef. I hope so, Orc meat is really tasty and so is the Rock Bird but itâs been a while since I ate any beef.
"Ah, can I ask that you deal with the Metal Lizard first, please?" the Guild Master said.
"Huh..." Fer grumped. Hey, the Guild Master asked nicely.
"Letâs do the Metal Lizard request first like the Guild Master wants, hey?" I said. "The Bloody Horn Bull herd is living on the grasslands, theyâre not going anywhere in a hurry. Better to have some fun later." I teased.
"What sort of fun?" Fer asked, intrigued in spite of himself.
"Grilling Bloody Horn Bull steaks, that sort of fun. Interested?" Ferâs head came up.
"Oh, that... ohhh..." Ferâs drool was now puddling on the floor of the Guild Masterâs office.
"Thatâs right, you know I can grill meat just the way you like." Iâd have to restock on sauces and seasonings from the Net Super beforehand, of course.
"Fuuu, it sounds delicious..." Heh, Ferâs love of steak made him easy to manipulate.
"Ah, the Guild will purchase Bloody Horn Bulls, wonât you?" I asked.
"Of course we would." the Guild Master confirmed. "As we agreed the meat from any subjugation requests belongs to Fenrir-sama but Bloody Horn Bull meat is premium grade, very tasty and in great demand. The Guild would be happy to buy half of the meat from you at a good price if thatâs agreeable."
Half of the herd for the Guild, half for us, that sounds reasonable. I donât know how big the herd is but itâs got to be more than just a few individuals. Each oneâs pretty big too so keeping just half of them, thatâs a lot of meat.
"Right then." said Fer. "Letâs go and deal with that Metal Lizard."
"Hang on," I interrupted as Fer rose to his feet and turned towards the office door. "I know youâre in a hurry but if we head out now we wonât be back before midnight. The city gates will be closed and we wonât be able to get back in." Fer stopped and looked over his shoulder. "Letâs wait until tomorrow morning then weâre sure to be back before nightfall." I explained.
"Nuu, you think so?"
"Yeah I think so. Guild Master, is it OK if we delay subjugating the Metal Lizard until tomorrow?"
The Guild Master looked surprised. "I suppose itâs OK but will it only take you a day to do the job?"
"If itâs two days carriage ride to Pasquale Mountain then itâll only take Fer and me a few hours to get there. Subjugating the Metal Lizard shouldnât take very long... Hey Fer, how long does it take you to defeat a Metal Lizard?"
"Hmmph, I can deal with mere reptiles like that no problem."n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
"So- so thatâs how it is... Fenrir-sama treats an A-ranked monster like it was a common lizard." The Guild master was amazed. "That confidence simply demonstrates his overwhelming and unfathomable power yet again. Our King was wise to extend a hand of friendship to such a being."
Hey Guild Master you wouldnât say things like that so easily if you had to live with him all the time like I do.
"Right then, weâll head off and subjugate the Metal Lizard first thing in the morning."
"Thanks. Please return to the Guild as soon as youâve finished the request." the Guild Master said.
"If youâll excuse us..." We left his office and headed downstairs to the Guildâs warehouse. Fer would never forgive me if I forgot to collect the meat waiting for us there. Johan had it all ready and I packed an incredible amount of meat into my Item Box before we left the Guild.
"Hey Fer, weâve still got time, do you want to stop by Lambert-sanâs store?"
"Is it that merchantâs place?"
"Weâve got money now and Iâd like to replace Suiâs bag." I patted the cloth bag Sui was in.
"Itâs really dirty-looking." Fer acknowledged.
"Well the bag was second-hand to start with and Suiâs been living in it for weeks now. Itâs worn out and dirty so Iâve decided she deserves a new bag. Lambert-san told us his shop sells leather goods so weâll take Sui along to check out what heâs got and weâll buy her the one she finds most comfortable. Even if itâs expensive that wonât be a problem." Anything for Sui-chan, I wonât compromise. "Oh, Fer, if thereâs anything you want there just say the word."
"The only thing I want is delicious meals, nothing else matters to me." Fer is remarkably easy to please in some ways.
"So you wouldnât like a nice collar then?"
"Grrrr, Iâll bite you if you try and put a collar on me..."
"Donât worry, no way Iâd even consider doing something like that. Just kidding." Stop growling at me. Canât you take a joke?