Prodigious Hunter

It was now the end of December. The week after saving Raven and his companions, Allen went hunting again.

Afterward, he picked up the promised Rank E magic stones. Raven had gone out of his way to wait for Allen to hand the pouch over in person rather than leaving it with reception as originally agreed.

Allen was currently in line for a meal at the servants' dining hall, deep in his thoughts, when Dudley suddenly talked to him.

"Something got ya down, lad?"

The head chef had started engaging Allen in conversation every once in a while as of late. The pensive look on Allen's face had apparently caught his attention.

"Oh, no, I'm fine, sir."

"Here, have this. Eat up." A rather large piece of meat was added to Allen's bowl of soup.

"Thank you, sir."

Rickel, who had just been served, whirled back around. "Why does Allen get some and I don't?! I want meat too!"

"Hah? An' what've you done that makes ya think you deserve meat? Allen's already brought back ten horned rabbits. What 'bout you?"

"Awww, c'mon!"

Allen had delivered a total of ten horned rabbits from the past two days he had gone hunting. Five rabbits per day was the quota that he had set for himself, figuring that was the limit of what a normal eight-year-old boy might be able to bag after a full day hunting outside. Plus, he could never have too many Rank E magic stones.

In reality, however, Sebas had been more than impressed with Allen bringing back five horned rabbits each time. After all, the number of monsters was not all that high in this world in the first place. Horned rabbits were also solitary, so hunting them was not very efficient. Due to this, being able to catch two or three a day was already considered a job well done.

The head chef was absolutely over the moon about the meat being brought back and happily butchered the beasts. This was the reason he had started speaking to Allen recently, and also why he gave the boy extra meat during meals.

"By the way, have ya heard? Young Master Mihai will be visiting home next spring."

'Hm? Mihai...is the oldest son, right? The one who went to study in Academy City?'

"I'd not heard."

"When he last left, I asked him to bring back some honey sold in the royal capital. You ever tried any? It's so sweet like ya wouldn't believe."

"I'm afraid not. But now you've gotten me interested."

"Hah, I was hoping you'd say that! If ya catch me a few big toads when they pop up next spring, I'll secretly share some of the honey with ya!"

"Really?! I'll do my best!"

'Damn, how long has it been since I've had honey? Hmm, big toads, was it? Is it because they're hibernating right now that they only appear in spring?'

"What?! Mr. Dudley, what're you saying to Allen?! Big toads are Rank D monsters! And Allen, don't you take him seriously!" Rickel cried loudly, drawing the attention of other nearby servants.

After breakfast, Allen went upstairs to clean Cecil's room as usual. When that was done, he then did the laundry. He did not have to stick to Cecil's side at all waking hours of the day, so he had spare time every so often. He often spent that time proactively helping out other servants, be it with cleaning or other miscellaneous jobs.

He just so happened to be cleaning in the garden when Knight Captain Zenof arrived. He did not live in the Granvelle mansion, but his duties did require him to drop by often, including when he had to report to Baron Granvelle in person.

"Welcome, Sir."

"Mm."

Rickel had told Allen quite a bit about the chivalric order. The kingdom was not currently embroiled in any wars, and even if it were, the fiefdom of Granvelle was not on the border. As such, the knights mainly dismantled bandit rings and killed monsters that were causing trouble for the citizens.

While adventurers could also handle problems with monsters, a variety of circumstances sometimes made it difficult for them to do so. And that was where the knights came in.

***

Nighttime arrived, and it turned out Zenof was staying for dinner. It was not all that rare for the knight captain or vice-captain to do so. As always, Allen took part in serving the meal.

"It looks like you've gotten quite used to your work," Zenof commented appreciatively.

"Thank you for your words, Sir."

"You do your father proud. As I'm sure you've already heard, Krena Village has successfully finished hunting twenty great boars this year."

"It's a relief to hear."

Krena Village had met this year's quota by the end of November. Thanks to the villagers squeezing in three hunts before the Baron's arrival, they had ended up quite ahead of schedule. Before Allen left, Rodin had told him that they now had the leeway to scale back and leave ten days between each of the remaining hunts.

"But why aren't we getting any of the meat even though they hunted so many?" Thomas asked with a scowl. "Whenever winter comes, we've always had boar meat!"

'Now that he's mentioned it, it's true I haven't seen much meat here at the mansion. The great boars killed in October should have already arrived in town by now.'

The meat from the great boars needed to be preserved first—a process that normally took around two months—before being transported to Granvelle City. Consequently, several metric tons of it should have arrived in town not too long ago. However, it had yet to appear in the dinner fare at the Granvelle mansion.

The Baron chastised his son and told him to not make a fuss, leaving the boy visibly dejected. Baron Granvelle was a man who was rather strict with his children.

'Back at Krena Village, the Baron did explain during his audience that the reason he asked the hunting party to double the number of great boars was because of a royal decree. In other words, it was the king who wanted the meat. Did all of it get sent to the royal capital, then? On that super huge magic ship?'

As Allen was in the middle of his thoughts, Thomas turned to the Knight Captain and asked with hopeful eyes, "Mr. Zenof, can you catch a deer for us this year?"

The knight shot the Baron a look. The latter shook his head.

"I'm sorry, Young Master Thomas. Hunting for food is not part of our duties as knights."

'I mean, the knights did come to Krena Village to hunt great boars. I guess the Baron means for this to be a teaching opportunity for Thomas.'

"Aww, c'mon!" Thomas made his sullenness clear on his face.

"Thomas, that's enough! The knights aren't here to listen to your whim and fancy!"

Finally, Baron Granvelle lost his temper with his son's complaints. Thomas flinched in fright, prompting the Baroness to intervene.

"Darling, I'm sure Thomas knows better. Right, Thomas? But it is true that if we have no boar or deer, the coming New Year's Greeting is going to be rather modest."

The Greeting was a celebration hosted at the Feudal Lord's mansion at the very start of each new year. It was normally supposed to be a grand affair.

"That's just how this year is. There's not much we can do about it."

Both the Baron and butler sighed bitterly. This prompted the Baroness to also look down sadly. Thomas, after seeing everyone's reactions, turned to Allen.

"Allen."

"Yes, Young Master Thomas?"

"You're good at hunting, right? Catch a deer for us."

"Are you referring to a white deer?"

In this world, even Barons and their families had to live quite frugally. Food was one of the very limited sources of enjoyment in this world. And thanks to Allen catching horned rabbits, the meals this family enjoyed had improved quite significantly. Of all people to make such contributions to their diet, it had been an eight-year-old boy with rare black hair and eyes.

Naturally, Allen's offerings had garnered him quite a lot of attention. By now, every single person in the mansion knew that his father was called "Boar Hunter Rodin" and had been lifted to commoner status in recognition of his contribution as the champion of his village.

Everyone took Allen bringing back so many horned rabbits as him having inherited his hunting prowess from his champion father—hence Dudley's coaxing him to catch big toads and now, Thomas's demand for a white deer.

"That's right! Hunt one for us!" Thomas had a carefree smile on his face as if he was making a perfectly normal request.

White deer were monsters that appeared only during wintertime. Because great boars provided more meat, Krena Village's residents focused solely on them, shifting to hunting white deer only once boar season was over.

'Hm, a white deer. It's a Rank C monster, just like the great boar. My level's gone up quite a bit these past few months. It might be interesting to give it a go.'

"Understood, young master. I shall bring back a white deer."

Everyone at the table had heard this exchange. However, they were all so stunned after listening to the exchange that in the end, no one thought of stopping Allen.