Chapter 13
Disciple
The memories of the hunter called Tino Shade. Engraved upon the deepest reaches of memory.
After the end of several months of foundational training. The scene of the first training in hand to hand combat from her Teacher.
âYou ok? Tee-â
The teacher sweetly smiles.
Different to the totally exhausted Tino, who breathes roughly on the bare earth. Her Teacherâs face has not even a drop of sweat.
Glittery pink blonde hair tied behind her, pale pink irisâs and long eyelashes. Her skin is tanned by the sun but is smooth without a scar or blemish.
Looking at her appearance, any one would say she was pretty.
Next to Tino who already had a small bust, her chest is even more modest in comparison.
Red heart shaped metal earrings on her ears. Thin limbs with no excessive fat. Height thatâs shorter than Tino whoâs still growing. When they stood next to one another Tino was mistaken as the older one time and time again.
At the moment â they wouldnât.
âIf Cry-chan says that a crow is white â itâs white. Do you get what Iâm saying?â A sugary voice that explains child like logic echoes out at Tino.
An index finger points out. From that short figure is a feeling of power greater than any other Tino has encountered.
Itâs unbelievable that their ages are only a few years apart.
Earlier than anyone else, they had quickly rushed up the stairway to glory.
A group of monsters that easily captured Shrines that had defeated many other Hunters before them.
Others that were praised as excellent like Tino, were simply referred to as the second generation only trying to follow on.
Consequently, Tino had not boasted of her talent even once.
It was decided that Tino would study under one of them, a girl.
Extreme speed that didnât leave even a shadow behind. Therefore the given alias was ãSevered Shadowã.
The ãSevered Shadowã Liz Smart.
Like the wind, as if a shadow, running ahead more overwhelmingly than anyone else. Simultaneously a figure of admiration, and a subject of awe.
A smile is set on her face, but her eyes gleam as if the energy in her body is leaking out.
âThings like loyalty or admiration and the like, itâs not that stuff. What I want from Tee, itâs â ãabsolute obedienceã.â
If a quick tempered hunter heard that it would probably send them into a fit of rage.
But, Lizâs voice was extremely serious. âYou know Cry-chan see-â
After a short breath, words shoot from her lips. Her staring pupils nailing in place peering in.
âWhatever trivial thing it is, your opinion isnât needed.â
âNo matter if itâs a silly joke, if you receive an unreasonable order that you donât understand, even if your life will be endangered â I want you to faithfully follow his will without thinking about anything.â
âIf any enemies oppose Cry-chan, I want you to crush everyone down to the last. Even if the other is an important noble, or if itâs a Hunter with amazing ability. In this Zebrudia, no matter how great their power is boasted of, itâs irrelevant.â
âFor me, if thereâs a person that holds a rebellious spirit against us for even a second itâs something intolerable. Thatâs why â I made you my disciple. If Iâm here I can slaughter everyone, but when Iâm not thereâll be trouble donât you think?â
âTee is clever so, you get it right?â âHaah, haah -...Y-Yes. Onee-sama.â
Sometimes talented hunters are called monsters.
Tino didnât think that every Hunter called them that way.
But her Teacher was without a doubt, a monster those hunters would fear.
Her words were said in a joking manner, but there was a passion that wouldnât permit any resistance.
It was serious. There were no gaps to take advantage of, because she was hostile to any and everything in her vicinity.
If in this moment Tino showed animosity towards Cry, in the same manner as breaking apart a nearby flower, her Teacher would kill her.
Her height is less than Tinoâs, limbs more delicate. At a glimpse itâs like seeing an ordinary person.
But itâs only on the outside they are human.
It was something only noticed after the skill of the hunter Tino Shade had risen a little.
§
The abnormality was evident without even needing to search for it.
Within the densely grown forest. Cautiously walking on the road that narrowly joined up with the ãWhite Wolves Denã.
The formation was led by Tino, after her was Gilbert, then Greg, and finally Ruda cautiously acting in the role of rearguard.
For this impromptu party, there was no magi proficient in wide area destruction, or an effective healer in the event someone was seriously injured.
Greg and Gilbert took the vanguard. Greg was a warrior proficient in various weapons, while Gilbert wielded a large sword and was best at one on one battles.
The party balance was poor, but the other side was that there were two thieves that excelled in detecting enemies.
Ruda had a sense of crisis that had the cautious characteristics peculiar to solo
hunters. Even if there was poor visibility, an approaching hostile Phantom wouldnât be missed.
Even before being able to finally find their way to the Shrine, the forest had a strange atmosphere to it.
It was a peculiar air that was only recognisable because they were hunters that continually fought against monsters and Phantoms.
Each party member had a stiff facial expression.
Suddenly the sound of howling echoed out from nowhere. Greg checked the surroundings alertly, and spoke with a moan.
âStrange. ...Thereâs a pungent odor of danger. We still havenât even made it to the Shrine yet-â
âThatâs why you wrote a will.â
Tino answered narrowing her eyes at the various trees lined up. âWhat you said is true, itâs written, but...â
Hunters were often struck by bad premonitions. Because of the supply of Mana Material which the brain couldnât process, the Hunters senses were strengthened and their perception formed into intuition that rang alarm bells.
If they counted their lives as precious, when they felt a bad hunch they would immediately turn back. This was the most well known rule of Treasure Hunters.
But, in this case, that rule wouldnât apply.
Because they knew it would be like this long before, and they were here because they had already accepted it.
And, even though it was a temporary party, they had talked through it in advance. It was all talked about, except for whether it should be trusted or not.
Following cautiously from the back, Ruda blinked her eyes. âSo... Cry knew about this situation, and yet he still sent us?â
âIf weâre talking about additional things... this party formation probably isnât a coincidence.â
âHa? H-hey come on, something like thatâs-â
Two people specialised in detection and two in physical ability.
Certainly, when Master allocated the two members to Tino, he acted like it was coincidence. But to the eyes of Tino, who was all âMaster Masterâ, it was clearly a bluff.
Tino was a senior member of Footprints. Even before that, she had many interactions withãStrange Griefãwhich her Master was apart of.
Tinoâs life as a Hunter, was being given training similar to hell, saying that it was all a test.
It wasnât her first time receiving a request as a challenge from Cry. At first Tino thought it was unbelievable, but now she understood.
âMaster has read into the Shrines abnormalities and the events that occurred here, he collected the necessary people and assembled them as the members here.
Gilbert, the ability test given to you was no exception.â
After the ability test, Gilbert had become much more submissive. He opened his eyes widely.
Ruda interrupted in a panic.
âW-Wait!? The necessary people? No matter how you put it, me joining the Footprints member recruitment was just a coincidence. T-The main thing, if he was going to send the right people then there were many superior hunters to send in our place.â
âY-Yeah. In the first place, that was the first time I ever met Infinite Variety. Not believable, and it canât be believed.
Seeing the expressions on the faces of her party members, Tino let out a small sigh.
Still not even to the Shrine yet, but making enough noise that the likelihood of a monster or Phantom attacking was high.
Maybe that was something predictable, but Tino wanted to quickly finish up and return home.
Of course not as a corpse, but alive.
For that reason she needed to know this wasnât an accident.
âMaster is, â in the Imperial Capital whether itâs Hunters or Shrines, he has all encompassing knowledge. Even if itâs someone heâs never met, reading through their actions is simple for Master.â
Such things, not just Tino, everyone in Footprints knows it.
Mainly, Level 8 ranked Hunters donât come late to a member recruitment for no reason, then in that place fan the flames into an uproar, let it carry on until a pub is partially destroyed, or change the target of Gilbertâs anger on to Tino without reason.
That would just be moronic.
Thatâs all just acting. Even though it really doesnât look like acting, it was just because Tinoâs eyes werenât at the level of being able to see through the lies.
To Tinoâs few, irritated words, Gilbert held his tongue on anything further.
Managing that much was easy to accomplish. Thatâs because the Infinite Variety seen at the Training grounds certainly was strange.
The weight of the purgatory sword on his back was making him quite uneasy.
Among the magic used by Magi there were techniques that clad the user in water or fire, increasing power and range.
Weapon type Relics often held ãElement Bestowalã abilities, that had no need to
use a magic technique but demonstrated the same effect.
One of the abilities of the Purgatory sword was flame bestowal. The sword blade is decorated in a sweltering blaze, it is possible to cut and burn simultaneously, rapidly boosting offensive power.
In the Shrines so far, there had been no opponents that were a challenge. But what about this time?
Infinite Variety succeeded in operating the purgatory sword in a way that was outside of Gilbertâs belief. If that was the power of the purgatory sword, then he had only used a fraction of it before.
Gilbert had captured various Shrines up until now, but this time the vibe of the Shrine had a bad feeling that exceeded all of them.
Looking at the three uneasy people, Tino spoke in a light tone.
âDonât mind it. Master understands everything. He doesnât hand over hopeless requests. If we donât worry about dying, a capture is possible. No matter what happens we canât turn back. We have written our wills.â
âR-Right... thats true.â
The hunters theory was to escape in one shot, to what extent would they be willing to bet their lives on a body retrieval request?
His inner thoughts were that he had been dragged into something dangerous, but with his pride as a senior Greg gave a cramped smile.
In that moment, a shadow was cast on his field of vision. A shadow that concealed the sun.
Without delay Tino noticed something falling from the sky and thrust Greg out of the way.
A second after, a dull grey shine passed through where his head was a moment before.
A beat later Ruda and Gilbert distanced themselves, and took on a battle stance. Greg rolled after being thrust away and reflexively took a defensive posture.
His eyes caught onto the target. The shadow that crept up without a sound or smell.
Rudaâs eyes opened wide, the deep crimson beast crouched without moving, and she raised a husky voice.
â...Eh...this phantom, isnât it a wolf!?â
Facing the shining gold eyes, Gilbert stared back. He pointed the tip of the purgatory sword in its direction.
The crimson beastâs attack was evaded and it stood up in a motion that could be said to be slow.
-On two legs.
Wiry deep crimson fur, pointed canine like ears. At the rear a thick crimson tail grew, and itâs nose moved in small motions as if in understanding of the situation.
However, most of the animal was covered in blood red armour. The hands and wrists had protective guards, and it slowly swung its held weapon as if to keep them in check.
âThis guys... wearing armour!? Itâs different to what I was told!!â
âIt has a sword... Master... Master always goes further than my expectations doesnât he...â
The phantom appearing at theãWhite Wolves Denãwas supposed to be a huge wolf.
However the opponent that had appeared before their eyes, except for the colour and face, everything else from their assumptions was different.
As though to drown out the somewhat sad words from Tino, the wolf warrior let out a roar.
§ § §
âAh, I want to throw up. I want to quit being a Hunter already.â
A mumbling soliloquy spilled out, while I loitered in the vacant room of the Clan Master.
If Eva was here she would be looking at me with cold eyes.
Truly if Tino had properly told me the reason and refused, even I would have-. All that comes to mind are unproductive complaints.
Rescue targets that are unknown to even be dead or alive are far far less important than Lizâs pupil.
Since sheâs level 4 sheâll be aware of the Hunters theory. You should hurry and come back if itâs dangerous.
But every member of footprints is reckless. No matter what strong enemy comes out, they wonât make an easy retreat.
Tino has also been under this influence. Or rather the number one reckless member of ãStrange Griefã is her Master, so itâs likely her bad influence. Not good.
If Tino died from one of my orders, what would her Master Liz-chan do when sheâs quick tempered at the best of times?
âAh, itâs ok to use that boy Gilbert or Greg-sama as a shield if worst comes to worst...â
They would also be satisfied to be a sacrifice for Tino, surely.
There were so many suitable members to choose from. I should have at least chosen from other members of footprints.
That bastard Gark, properly give some prior caution â no, thatâs not it. Without a doubt the number one at fault was me. Excuses are pointless.
Iâm sorryyyy!!!
Itâll surely be ok. Tino also knows about the huge wolf around theãWhite Wolves Denã, and would have taken perfect countermeasures. Thatâs what I told myself but somehow I couldnât feel calm.
Outside it was totally dark. Inside the capital there are some streetlights, but outside they are not installed.
Monsters and beasts are active at night, so night marches are avoided by everyone. In the first place even if clan members from the lounge were dispatched they wouldnât catch up with Tino.
After all, without Ark Iâm useless.
In the middle of trying to escape from reality, I resolved myself for the worst and approached the bookcase on the wall of the Clan Masters room.
Books on clan management and the history of the Imperial Capital are lined up on a solid shelf. I placed my hand on the unnaturally affixed handle there and pulled it.
The shelf opened inward without a sound. Beyond, stairs heading downwards continued on.
Behind the concealed door is my private room. I ran down the stairs in a half jog. I fumbled in the darkness searching for a switch.
When the switch was pressed, soft lamp light illuminated a room twice as large as the clan masters room.
A room without windows. A large bed that could fit anyone. Bookshelves. A table. Desk. Couch. On the wall was a not well understood picture received as a gift, and a piece of paper on which three rules of clan policy were written.
But what was most noticeable over everything, was that the room was crowded with organised Relics.
Swords. Spears. Armour. Cloaks. Chains. Rings. Various forms and types.
Some that were purchased, and some that were handed over. And of course also ones gained from infiltrating Shrines.
This was our â the culmination of the work of the treasure hunters of ãStrange Griefã.
If we sold all these Relics at a reasonable price we would probably be able to play around for ten generations.
But we still havenât achieved our main objective.
While the nauseating feel of my stomach weighed on me, I decided to search for a Relic that could break through the current situation.
Translator Notes:
-Lizâs alias of Severed Shadow was a bit of a gamble from the context. It might be understood by people more familiar with reading Kanji though.