73 Monster hunters

"Once again the location was correct..."

Standing atop a pile of corpses, a woman glimpsed at the field littered with countless monster corpses.

'No matter how many times it's proven right, I still find it hard to believe...'

Traveling around with her group for the past few weeks, she visited the locations given to her one by one. What she realized after the first few days of her journey was unbelievable. 

'Monster breakouts... In all of them...'

It was shocking in itself how so many monsters could appear in such a short span of time, yet even more stunning was the fact that someone had foretold about them coming. 

"Boss, whatta we gonna do now?"

Rosalyn leaped down from her position. A smile emerged on her face once she landed in front of Alex.

"Well of course we need to get our prizes." 

Heading all the way back to the nearby town, Rosalyn walked up to the largest inn, each step taken with soaring confidence, back straight, shoulders arched, expression relaxed. The townsmen seeing her gaped and gasped, recording her image into their memories.

"So?"

Inside the inn waited a young man. As he watched Rosalyn walk up to her, his eyes lingered between the woman, her tattered clothes, and the blood painting her red head to toe. Such a wild appearance wasn't someone one would usually witness, so much for a nobleman like him.

"... Alright. We'll do as agreed."

And the impression left by her was way too immense.

"Deal!"

Taking out a bunch of papers, Rosalyn proceeded to finalize their agreement. Once she left the inn a few moments later, satisfaction was written all over her face.

"All done here as well!"

Rereading the contents of the contract one last time, she carefully put the papers in her luggage beside the many other similar ones. 

'We've gained so much...'

One simple calculation was enough to show how much they'd benefited from this short trip. They didn't just move around hunting monsters. In the locations given to them by that man, an opportunity always lay to be discovered. It took her a while to notice that she wasn't just sent to save these people. All sorts of people were bound to be found in every city, every village, every road, and some would be willing to offer anything in exchange for someone saving them from immediate death. Be it a merchant, a nobleman, or a traveler craftsman... There was a price all were willing to pay for their lives to be saved, some willingly, out of gratitude, and some by having a deal. 

And it wasn't just that.

Those whose lives were saved would never forget who it was to rescue them from the monsters. Was it the emperor? Was it his knights? Or was it someone else? 

Would they forget the fact that the one to eliminate all those monsters was the leader of the resistance, not the emperor or they not? People grow to expect the government to protect their lives, and once that one requirement isn't met, they tend to hold that memory inside of them for years and years and such a simple thing was exactly what the resistance sought. For people to remember them.

On top of all that benefit came the money they could gain from selling monster corpses that went directly into the army's budget. She was introduced to a young merchant who was willing to act as a broker for her to sell the monster corpses and the outcome was league above her expectations. It could help them boost their equipment and living conditions, truly a nice help. 

'We've archived so much in the past few weeks... Way more than our whole progress combined in the last year.'

And Rosalyn knew full well who she owned all this to.

'I'll have to keep that boy on my side, no matter what.'

She didn't care what his secret was if he was a prophet, a saint, or someone with a criminal record. If he could benefit them so much with merely a few words, she had to keep that man in the palm of her hand at all costs. 

. . . . . . . . . 

"Sooooo don't you know anyone named Asher?"

"Anyone named Asher?"

Using his palm to block the sun, Ian raised his head to look at the distance. Not long after, he spotted a fairly nice spot to camp out. Changing his course, he headed that way while conversing with Alaric.

"Yeah. That was a name mentioned in this notebook. Doesn't it remind you of any historical figures?"

"Why historical figures? Weren't they a group of adventurers?"

He remembered Alaric telling him they were some wanderers a few days ago, but now they'd turned into historical figures? 

"I know from experience that these kinds of notebooks found in a hidden spot belong to someone of high importance in the plot I mean in history."

"...What experience?"

"Novels."

"...."

'Why do I even hope to hold a logical conversation with this fool?'

Making his way toward the shady area he'd spotted, Ian contemplated the question. Historical figures with the names mentioned in the notebook...

"Well, there are many of them. Asher, you said? A few scientists from different subjects, some noblemen, a few of the high-ranking bishops and saints... Actually, the name is incredibly common among the followers of The Church of The Sun since it was also the name of the very first king, hmmm also there are some merchants-"

"Wait wait wait!"

Holding his arm up in front of Ian's face, Alaric stopped him from talking any further. With a stoic face and a frown never seen on his face, Alaric narrowed his eyes to two lines, staring at the horizon, deep in thought. 

"Then it must be him. The first king."

"...And why is that?"

Ian couldn't bear to look at that man's stupid face for another second. Scrunching up his face, he knelt down to gather wood for the fire. 

"Experience, Ian, experience. It's always the one with the highest position or the deepest influence who leaves behind a mysterious notebook for the future hero to find."

Crunch, the branch he just picked up crushed in his fist. Ian massaged the bridge of his nose, shaking his head. 

"And who is the hero? You? Me?"

"Hm..."

Alaric touched his chin.

'Is he actually contemplating? Does he have the bare requirements to perform that task?'

"I don't think so... But whatever, we are, I'm sure of that. It belongs to someone who's seen and traveled with that first king dude for a while, and my opinion won't change."

Ian finally reached a conclusion. This man's system didn't operate with the same logic that he knew. His mind worked using a messed-up reason that he probably could never understand.

"Okay. Alright. Whatever you say."

"Yeah, that's how it should be. By the way, by the first king, do you mean the first ruler of Asteriand? Why king though, isn't Asteriand an empire?"

"...."

-Alaric... 

 "...Y-yeah?"

Alaric took a step back upon seeing both of their reactions, perplexed. 

"Say, have you lost your memories?" 

"U-uh? I just forgot for a second..."

Forgetting for a second that the neighboring country used to be a kingdom until a decade ago? Ian wasn't buying that shit. 

"My lord."

Stepping between the two, Raven interrupted their conversation. He gestured with his chin at Ian and then glanced at Alaric. That was enough to secretly convey his intentions to Ian. 

"Young master, go gather some wood."

"Yeah? Okay..."

Shifting his gaze between the two, Alaric strolled to the woods, puffing his cheeks along the way. At the disappearing back pointed Ian as he wrapped his other arm around Raven's shoulder. 

"Look, when you want someone gone, just tell them to go. This isn't an army or a knight order."

There was no need to act all secretive, use hidden languages, and sing to each other. The group would stick together for a while, so it was best if everyone felt relaxed.

"Yeah, so what were you saying?"

For him to want to talk about it secretly, it must be something important.

"Someone is following us." As he said, he lowered his head, eyes lingering on any random location, face as casual as ever, "Since we left the village, that person has been tailing us."

"...I know." Ian didn't wait for the boy to get shocked, "Ignore it for now until we reach the boundaries."

He thought he was mistaken at first, but the more time passed, the more certain he got. Someone was tailing them, observing their every action and every move. The Aether revolving around the person was faint, making it hard for Ian to detect their precise location, but he was sure that there was one. One very skilled individual. One who could even detect Lior's almost nonexistent presence. 

"What if they are dangerous?"

"There were many opportunities for that person to attack us until now, but they ignored it. It appears to me that what they seek isn't our lives."

"Then?"

Ian shrugged his shoulders, letting go of Raven. Picking up the bunch of dry branches he'd gathered, the boy whirled on his heels, a smile plastered across his face. 

"Who knows?"

He didn't know either, as this was, once again, another event that he'd never experienced before.

'Exciting. So exciting.'

He couldn't wait to find out what that person thought by following them all along.