Chapter 8
Stew in the Dark
âIf I could just say one thing first, Master. I wasnât really trying to escape you know.â
âYeah yeah, sure.â
âMasters chains are certainly a little persistent, and itâs troublesome how they donât get fatigued. But for me it would be simple to break them.â
Tino says this with a serious face, ignoring the fact that she is wrapped up several times over in chains that could restrain a robust man.
âAnd yet I still havenât broken them. Since these are Masters important chains, Master might start hating me. Taking these extenuating circumstances into consideration, you could give me a bit of leeway donât you think?â
Tino asked with calculative upturned eyes, these mannerisms were learned from her teacher. A completely negative influence.
TheãDogs Chainãappear silver, but they are definitely not made from silver. Items created from Mana Material are strong regardless of what form they take.
If it can break, then break it... there are a lot of people around me that think like that, Tino also seems to be doing considerably unreasonable things.
Itâs something thatâs impossible without delving through many Shrines.
âTino, itâs not good to do unreasonable things. Thatâs the number one most important thing.
â......Master, thatâs you. You.â
âIf weâre talking about absurd, thatâs your teacher. Iâm nothing compared to that one.â
At the same time as I answered, theãDogs Chainãrestricting Tino lost its power and fell to the floor.
Relics are handy, but itâs not like theyâre limitless. Tino ran around more than expected trying to escape, and the mana acting as the power source finally cut out. To be able to run away this far from the chains that pursue at high speed, itâs amazing.
Tino speaks while rubbing her body where the chains had been binding against her.
âI am aware. Master thinks deeply about how close we can come to death in order for us to grow. When you hand over a request I am very aware of that, so please keep it within the realm of Spartan.â
â...ok?â
But thatâs not what I intended though?
Itâs a Level 3. Just a Level 3 shrine. It wouldnât be that difficult for Tino. I wouldnât give a request to someone if I thought they would get killed. The request contents is âbody retrievalâ.
Hunters are essentially responsible for themselves, but there are occasionally requests to help Hunters that have met with misfortune. Even when the other party are pros, in nearly every case itâs too late to help and they are already dead.
.
In the circumstance that theyâre dead, you simply confirm their death and the request is complete. Thatâs why that type of quest is called âbody retrievalâ. Since they are so rarely still alive, thereâs no reason not to go.
On top of that, Tino is also a level 4 hunter. Reluctantly I take another look over the request.
The Shrines designation is Level 3 -ãWhite Wolves Denã. In terms of how close it is to the Imperial Capital itâs mid-range, so itâs not very convenient. Itâs not a popular Shrine.
The whereabouts of the five people became unknown three days ago. Itâs cutting it close. If it had been one week, survival would be hopeless, but with three days itâs fifty-fifty.
The time limit is one week, and the reward is 300,000 gil. If it was an ordinary household, that much could support them for one month. But to a hunter it may as
well be garbage.
The hunter that accepts such garbage would be a complete volunteer, but in the first place it canât be helped since it is a Punishment game.
I donât understand the problem at all. But, I raised my head from the request, then nodded like I knew what I was talking about.
âYeah I get it. I understand what youâre trying to say.â â!!â
âYou donât want to go on your own, something like that right?â I get it. I truly know that feeling.
Even though the degree of difficulty is within your limits, a Shrine is still a danger zone. You never know what might happen.
Since sheâs always solo I figured she would be fine, but I didnât put enough thought into it.
I was only thinking in the case that the people would be dead already, but thinking rationally it actually is impossible to rescue five people alone.
A person only has two arms, how would they carry five injured people? âEh...? Well... Yes.â
When I had looked around the lounge, no one was there except Tino. I turned my eyes towards something promising.
Everyone seemed busy today but I thought of a good idea.
ãWhite Wolves Denã. I thought I had heard that name before.
Tino is Level 4 which seemed like enough already, so if we add a few more people at Level 3 then it will probably sufficient. Today I can look up happily.
Tino nervously begins to talk. âIf Master comes with me then-â n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
âItâs them. The other day at the member recruitment, there was someone that wanted to go to the White Wolves Den, you should take that person with you. She was called Ruda Iâm pretty sure.â
â...Eh?â
The left-over members? Greg-sama and that boy Gilbert should cover it.
Tino looks like she isnât used to being in a party, so this can be part of her lessons. How convenient.
As I was feeling smug after giving her advice, Tinoâs eye was twitching as she stared back at me.
§ § §
Tino Shade was born in the Imperial Capital of Zebrudia. Born and raised in the Capital. A slightly quiet, yet very active girl.
From old until now Treasure Hunter has always been an occupation of stardom. But because of the high risks, people with good sense tended to avoid it.
Zebrudia is full of hunters, and has several branches of the Explorers, but for that reason Tino didnât have thoughts of becoming a hunter.
People have befitting ways to live their lives. Wealth, fame, and power, Tino wasnât really drawn to them, and found the existence called Hunters frightening.
The impetus for Tinoâs sudden turnaround was, at that time, a party that materialised in the Capital like a comet.
A party with a stand out name like an unusual existence, a party more intense than any other.
An ominous name that made people keep their distance, and even if the empire itself was hostile they destroyed every obstacle in their path. In only a few years there was no unknown member in their party.
They were shining. Seen by an ordinary person, for a girl with no interest in hunters, they were an attractive radiant brilliance that she wanted to take in her hands.
Like a flash.
Like a shooting star.
Level 10 â the highest rank of treasure hunter only held by three people in the world. The strongest name boasted of as if the second coming of Exceed Sequence, was the leader of ãArch Braveã, âSilver Star Heavy Thunderâ Ark Rodin.
The founder of theãFirst Stepãthat became one of the most prominent clans. The one that held the reigns of the wilful members ofãStrange Griefã, and could boast of ingenious schemes that raised them to the top of the Imperial Capital â Cry Andoric.
A Golden Age.
Drawn to talent shining with the radiance of a burning star, gifted hunters appeared in succession, the Explorers Association named this era as such.
And Tino Shade, she held the belief that sooner or later this moment would be left behind in legend. So with her trusted teacher and master she became a hunter to engrave her name beside them.
And now, continuing the hopes and dreams of her younger self, that trusted âMasterâ was making her run his errands.
The Explorers Association Imperial Branch.
Without warning Tino appeared, at a table was a girl with a downcast expression, her eyes widened.
They were a hunter that was together with Master at the member recruitment. She had heard their information.
Their name was Ruda Runebeck. Wanting to find members that could help her capture theãWhite Wolves Denãshe came along to the Footprintâs recruitment.
Their role was probably thief. A hunter that detected traps and enemies, and opened locks. She was less outfitted, and was lower ranked than Tino who had been trained by a reliable (yet muscle brained) teacher.
But it was fine. This was for Master and her revered Onee-sama... no, well the wish of her revered Master. It couldnât be helped.
âW-what? What is it? Ah... yesterday, you were together with Cry-â
Rudas eyes went wide. From there Tino glanced across, then she decided to search for different party members.
Translator Notes
This chapter was short yet difficult. Sentences in Japanese can be so long.
-The title âStew in the Darkâ in Japanese is Yaminabe -a hot pot a group of people will eat together in the dark. My guess is that it most likely refers to how Cry is setting up Tino with other people and keeping her in the dark about it. Maybe I should have called it Plot in the Dark. A Hot P[l]ot even.
Something I donât really want to mention because itâs embarrassing is that after reading a little of
the next chapter I can confirm I messed up the series title name. Itâs something I figured might be the case, but at the beginning my guess was that Cryâs alias was also âstrange griefâ since it is fitting to his character and he is the partyâs leader.
But yeah the title should be âStrange Grief [I] want to retire [from it]â. (Probably)