Trouble

One month had passed since Allen's magic lesson, making it now December.

The first snow of the year had fallen the other day, with it soon being time for the snow clouds to truly gather in force.

Allen was on serving duty today, and it was now lunch. There were times when members of the Baron's family did not show up for breakfast or lunch, but everyone was present today, with the sole exception of Mihai, who was still living at Academy City.

"Thomas, you shouldn't eat so much."

When the second son reached out to the bread basket in the middle of the table and brought several slices back to his own plate, his mother admonished him.

Ever since Allen became a huntsman last December, he had gone out hunting two days every week with only a very small number of exceptions.

Now that it was winter, the only edible monsters readily available were horned rabbits. Even so, Allen still brought back around a hundred kilograms of meat per week. The Baron family's fare had been the picture perfect illustration of thrifty living a year ago; now, even the lowliest servant in the household was enjoying a remarkably improved diet.

A new problem that had cropped up—if it could be called that—due to this change was Thomas developing a huge appetite.

At the very least, the Baroness considered this a problem, and she had gone down to the kitchen multiple times to ask Dudley to make less food for Thomas.

Because of this, however, Thomas had started eating more bread during meals, and this was what had led to the earlier exchange. Although he did apologize, he made no move to return the slices of bread to the basket.

'I mean, he's eleven. He's going through a growth spurt—all boys eat like that at that age. He has sword practice in the afternoons, so I doubt there's any worry of him getting too chubby.'

Allen actually felt a little sorry for the dispirited Thomas. The family had hired a sword instructor who had started giving Thomas lessons this year.

The glimpses of them together in the garden that Allen caught every once in a while caused him to wonder if learning the sword was simply a part of the duties of being a noble, regardless of Talent.

"By the way, Allen, when will you be catching another white deer?" Thomas asked, interrupting Allen's thoughts.

"I am waiting for the snow to pile a little higher first, young master."

"Then I'm looking forward to it!"

After this exchange, lunch returned to normal. At least, for a short while.

CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!

The city bell began sounding incessantly, the sound reaching the mansion and showing no signs of letting up. Noon had been rung in just now, so there was no way this was the 3 pm bell.

"What is going on?!" Baron Granvelle roared, leaping to his feet, as the Baroness and Thomas looked around anxiously. Everyone else who heard the bell shared their sentiments.

"I shall go confirm," Sebas said, leaving the Baron's side and heading out of the dining hall.

Everyone else, including Allen, remained where they were, waiting for the butler's return. He came back around fifteen minutes later with a knight.

"There you are. So, what's happening?!" the Baron demanded.

"Master, a murdergalsh is approaching the city," the butler replied. The knight at his side, who was very out of breath, nodded vigorously.

'Did he say murdergalsh?!'

Allen recognized the name—it was the name of the monster that his younger brother, Mash, had been named after. He had been told that it was a Rank B monster that looked like a huge wolf.

"What?! Why did we not receive word of this sooner?! When will it arrive?!"

The knight got down on one knee before replying. To sum up what he said, a squad on patrol had first spotted the murdergalsh. It had been heading straight for Granvelle City, so the knights had attempted to attract its attention to draw it away elsewhere. However, despite multiple casualties, they had been unsuccessful. At this rate, the monster was expected to reach the city's south gate at around 3 pm. There were less than two hours left.

"What are your orders, Master?" Sebas asked.

"...Where's Zenof? Is he not back yet?"

"Master, both the Knight Captain and Vice-captain are currently out on a monster-slaying expedition. They will not be back until the day after."

The Baron knew full well that Zenof was not here, but he simply could not help but ask.

"In that case, issue an emergency quest with the Adventurer's Guild. Most monsters are dormant at this time of the year, so there should be many adventurers in town. We can only hope Silver Fang of the Gale is here too."

'Ah, that's the name of the only Rank A adventurer party based in Granvelle City, if I remember right.'

A group of adventurers operating together was called a party. Raven, Rita, and Milci were in a party together, with Raven being the leader.

According to what Allen had heard from him, the large majority of adventurers in Granvelle City were Rank C or lower, with there being only a handful of Rank B parties and a single Rank A one.

From December to when the snows melted in March, most adventurers would just hunker down behind city walls. Only those who were truly struggling to make ends meet would go outside during this time. Allen was pretty much the only person who continued to hunt with no regard for the weather.

"Understood, Master. What shall we do with the gate?"

Sebas had been asking Baron Granvelle for instructions on things one after the other while Allen had been occupied with recalling what Raven had told him about adventurers.

"Are you asking if we would close them?! How can we do that when there might be those heading to our city who do not yet know about the murdergalsh's approach?!"

"However, would that not also allow the monster to enter?"

"The gate must be kept open! Order the knights and adventurers to head for the south gate immediately and chase the monster away!"

"As you wish, Master."

Having received all the orders he needed, the butler hurried out of the dining hall with the knight. They now had to pass word on to the relevant chains of command.

'This...is my job, isn't it?'

Allen, who had stayed quiet until the butler was done, now approached the Baron. "My lord, may I have permission to join the fight?"

"What?"

Allen had sounded so matter-of-fact that the Baron was entirely taken aback. Cecil, however, immediately flared up.

"Huh?! What're you saying?! You heard them! It's a murdergalsh! Of course you can't join in!"

"Milady."

"Wh-What?!"

"Your father, Baron Granvelle, instated me as a huntsman. I consider it part of my duties to join this fight."

"Huh?!"

Cecil looked very surprised, but it was true that one of the duties of a huntsman was to save citizens of the realm who were being attacked by monsters outside a settlement. Allen had done so multiple times already over the past year.

Aside from culling monsters and bringing meat back, he had also headed over whenever Hawkins spotted anyone who was in trouble. If today had been one of Allen's hunting days, he would have already rushed out by now. It was because today was not a hunting day that he was asking the Baron for express permission.

Cecil had fallen silent, so Allen turned back to the Baron, pleading with his eyes.

"I...see," the Baron managed in a voice lower and heavier than usual. He had realized that Allen's argument was technically logical and irrefutable. "If you are fulfilling the duties that I have assigned you, then I have no reason now to stop you."

It looked like Cecil wanted to say something, but she swallowed her words back down.

"Thank you, my lord. I shall head over immediately. Due to the urgency of the situation, I will do so in my current attire."

"...Mm, prioritize evacuating the people rather than fighting the murdergalsh."

"Yes, my lord."

The moment Allen stepped out of the dining hall, he took off at a dash.

'There's no time. The city is in a panic right now, and it'd probably be hard to run through the crowds. I should leave from the north gate and circle around to the south gate.'

The Granvelle mansion was located in the northern part of the city. It was a much shorter distance simply taking the large avenue that ran in a straight line down the middle of the city.

However, Allen was worried that the city would be in a state of mayhem at the moment, especially in the center and south areas. As such, he determined that it would be faster to take the long way around.

'Please, MP, recover quickly.'

This situation had been entirely unexpected. On days when he did not plan on going hunting, Allen would convert all his MP into Skill XP. The last time he did this was three hours ago, meaning his tank was completely empty right now.

Allen passed through the north gate in his black servant uniform, then picked up the pace even more while running southward.

Slightly over two hours later, he finally reached the south gate, finding it choked with a whole line of people desperately trying to get in. Adventurers and knights were protectively stationed around the overflowing crowds.

A huge figure over five meters tall towered a slight distance away. There was something in its hands; when Allen took a better look, he realized it was a horse that had already lost half of its body. The monster was in the middle of eating the rest of it, chewing loudly.

'That's a murdergalsh?!'

Allen had heard the murdergalsh described as a large wolf, but what he was seeing could hardly be called such.

At the end of front legs that looked like human arms, it had large fingers that also looked especially humanlike. Worst of all, its face was a revolting cross between human and canine. Between its two hind legs was a slowly swishing tail; the lower half of its body was the only part that looked like a wolf.

Right beside where the murdergalsh was eating the horse was a carriage with broken wheels that had fallen over.

A trail of mangled horse and human corpses stretched into the distance from the direction that the murdergalsh had presumably come from, painting a literal road of blood. One only had to take a single look at this sight to understand why the word "murder" was part of this monster's name.

"Young man! What're you doing over there?! Hurry up and get inside the city!"

One of the knights had noticed Allen standing still and called out to him, but Allen ignored him and continued observing the murdergalsh.

In all likelihood, the horse that the monster was currently eating had been the one pulling the carriage, and the dead man on the ground a slight distance away had served as its coachman.

Suddenly, Allen noticed silhouettes moving within the carriage.

There were people still inside.