Chapter 8

He wanted to rush out immediately and verify the harvest with his own eyes, but Arndt strongly dissuaded him.

Rest should come first, he pleaded, begging him to please rest.

And so, with a consciousness that felt somewhat detached, he repeatedly fell asleep and woke up regardless of day or night while confined to his bed.

It was a strange feeling.

When he fell asleep, he felt both reassured and afraid, and when he woke up, it felt as if he had forgotten something.

Leandros and Arndt did not ask him about his injuries.

He didn't bother to mention it either.

What happened in that forest was hazy even in his own mind.

Was it something important? No, judging by the fact that he couldn't remember, it might not have been important.

He probably fell onto the undergrowth and miraculously survived.

Yes, that's right, isn't it? That could certainly have happened...

It was as if someone was whispering that in his ear.

And three days later.

"Hmm-hmm-hmm."

"You seem to be in a good mood, Your Grace."

"I'm finally getting out of the bedroom."

He was barely able to get up with Arndt's help.

Naturally, he had no intention of leaving the hunted Vormi as they were.

He wasn't comfortable sending only Arndt and Leandros either.

Arndt asked disapprovingly.

"Are you really going?"

"I think that's the seventh time I've heard that question."

"Your Grace can barely walk."

【Like a newborn foal. But Arndt did not voice this thought aloud. A wise servant knows to keep his tongue in check.】

That foal comparison was a bit much.

But Arndt seemed worried.

Only after wearing as many layers of clothes as possible and holding a branch that Arndt had found somewhere to serve as a walking stick did he leave the room.

Leandros was already waiting in the courtyard.

Standing firm like a sturdy rock, he exchanged glances with Arndt when he saw him.

Probably because he had clearly seen his trembling legs.

Pretending not to notice, he spoke cheerfully.

"The days are short, so we'd better hurry."

And so, with the help of the two, he barely made it into the forest.

The forest looked different by day than by night.

The sunlight streaming through the dense leaves was nothing short of beautiful.

Birds chirping somewhere added to the elegance.

And in the middle of such a forest.

Massive corpses, emitting a stench, were tangled together.

"Ugh..."

Arndt involuntarily let out a groan.

His expression suggested he had never seen anything so terrible.

Arndt's worried gaze brushed past him.

"Young Master, perhaps you should step back..."

"It's fine. The smell is terrible, though."

He was better than expected.

He had anticipated something like this to some extent.

The 7 days he was unconscious.

The 3 days he spent recuperating.

It would be strange if a corpse that had rotted for a total of 10 days smelled good.

"They're bigger than I thought. It feels like the harvest has increased."

Whether they had fought among themselves or not, their bodies were so mutilated that it was hard to recognize their form.

They looked like small, blackened hills.

Leandros spoke quietly.

"The situation seemed urgent, so I had no choice but to deal with the Vormi."

"With this level of skill, couldn't you have hunted them alone?"

"It was possible because they were fighting among themselves."

He probably meant that it's easy to take down an enemy that's off guard.

By the way, it's good that seeing the Vormi doesn't cause any mental impact, but what should we do with them?

"We can't take them far."

"You want to take them to the castle? Even sleeping Vormi would jump up. The smell is terrible."

"I suppose so."

Should they move to a different location?

While pondering, Leandros suggested.

"Then how about dismembering them in the forest and then taking them?"

"Not a bad idea. Where?"

"Perhaps it would be best to do it at a spot where the Vormi don't frequent."

Leandros pointed in one direction.

"If it's close to a stream, we can process them quickly."

"That area is dangerous because the watchtower collapsed. How about the opposite side? That also reaches a waterway, doesn't it?"

Arndt looked puzzled at the suggestion to change locations, but Leandros nodded.

"We'll do that."

"Can you do it alone? Go with Arndt."

"If you offer help."

After moving to the outskirts again, they split into two groups.

Arndt handed over the bundle he had asked him to prepare and went with Leandros to dismember the Vormi.

He remained alone on the safe outskirts.

Tearing open the bundle, he found dried meat inside.

It was a rugged-looking jerky, but his stomach was already clamoring for food.

'I already ate breakfast at the castle.'

Perhaps they were telling him to eat more to recover?

Apart from feeling bad and terrible, he had no clear memory of the accident he had suffered 10 days ago.

It felt like waking up from a nightmare.

But after that, numbers and text began to appear from Leandros and Arndt.

But to think it was a narrative style that might appear in a novel.

And it seemed only he could see it.

While pondering the meaning of those texts and numbers and eating the jerky, the bundle was soon empty.

As he was tidying up the lightened bundle, Arndt came running from a distance.

"Your Grace, quite some time has passed. Did you eat all of that?"

"Huh? Wasn't I supposed to eat it all?"

Come to think of it, how many did I usually eat?

Confused, he looked up at Arndt, who shook his head.

"No. We can eat when we return. More importantly, they're almost done, so I came to escort you."

"Did they get a lot?"

Before Arndt and Leandros left, he had asked them to prioritize collecting teeth and claws.

Arndt answered confidently.

"Yes. The teeth grew in two rows, even deep inside. It was truly a spine-chilling sight."

Wow. Then the yield of teeth would be doubled.

Arndt guided him to the dismemberment site.

A spot slightly away from where the Vormi were first discovered.

A small clearing where trees grew in a circle was sprouting fresh grass.

Of course, now the ground had turned dark and murky, probably due to the dismemberment of the Vormi.

Leandros was in the midst of tidying up the surroundings when he saw him and gave a nod.

"Is this the result of our efforts?"

There was a crate at his feet.

He could tell what was inside the box, which was about mid-shin height, without looking.

Leandros nodded.

"It's full. Please don't look inside."

The harvest exceeded his expectations.

Assuming a deal was made under good conditions, it seemed like they wouldn't have to worry about living expenses for almost a year.

"But, Your Grace, do you have a method to sell these?"

"Sell?"

"If you can't process them into other weapons, that is. Do you have a method in mind?"

Leandros had precisely articulated his concern.

The biggest problem now was 'how to sell them.'

Weapons crafted from demonic beast by-products are highly popular.

Naturally, the supply of such materials would always be in high demand.

By trading with merchants who distribute demonic beast by-products, they could earn a substantial sum.

That is, if they could process these as 'materials.'

Demonic beast by-products either had a hardness like diamond or possessed bizarre powers, requiring special treatment.

Such special treatment could only be done by experts with considerable skill, and such experts didn't easily meet with just anyone.

The problem was that there were no decent special treatment experts near the Hartmann territory.

From the beginning, this region wasn't specialized in demonic beast hunting.

Starting from the fact that the demonic beasts' habitat was deep in the mountain range. Who would climb up with weapons and food in tow when faced with rugged nature?

So it was inevitable that there would be no one with a profession related to demonic beasts here.

"No. Since we can't process or sell them ourselves, it's better to pass them on to someone else."

If one had to give up quickly, it was better to let go of attachments.

He gestured to the box filled with by-products.

"It would be best to go to the nearest town outside the castle and manor. How long would it take, Arndt?"

"It would take a day or two on foot. It would be faster if we had horses."

"Not bad."

Fortunately, it didn't seem to take a week.

This was good news for him.

Because he wanted to eat carbohydrates, not wild animal meat, as soon as possible.

Meat that wasn't from livestock and still had some gamey smell couldn't be eaten for long.

"We should prepare and go. Arndt, make sure those are cleaned thoroughly."

"Yes, I'll do as you command."

"Sir Leandros, please hunt a bit for food during the journey."

"As far as I know, there should be stored food. If it's just a day..."

Arndt interrupted Leandros's explanation.

He showed something to Leandros.

"This is the amount the Duke ate earlier."

"...Isn't this from the castle?"

"Yes, but."

No, why are you showing that now!

Arndt spoke briefly.

"Your Grace has just entered the recovery phase."

"..."

"He seems to need more nutritional supplements. Then, I leave it to you, Sir Leandros."

Unless Leandros was a fool, he would know that even a patient in recovery couldn't eat more than three adult men's portions.

But with each syllable Arndt emphasized, he just nodded.

Ah, how embarrassing.

In the end, Sir Leandros had to hunt in the safe hunting ground that evening.

* * *

As Leandros had assured, it didn't take long to reach the town.

It was a distance that could be reached by nightfall if they walked all day, but due to his condition, they couldn't do that.

In the end, they were only able to enter the town called Absinthe after spending a night on a hill overlooking it.

"It's bigger than I thought."

"Absinthe may not be a small city, but there's talk that it might soon fall under city jurisdiction."

"That much?"

"It's because many travelers pass through. It's also located on the route that must be taken to reach Londiaz in the west."

Londiaz, the largest port city representing the west.

To move from the east to the west without crossing the mountain range, one had to move through the plains.

When the Hartmann Ducal family was intact, it might have been different, but now it seemed that passing through Absinthe was the best option.

"Is there a merchant guild here too?"

"Merchants not belonging to the association would be rare."

Following Arndt's articulate explanation, Leandros spoke.

"In such a small town, there won't be places specializing in demonic beast trade. It would be best to visit the branch first."

"So there's a branch too."

Is it like some agricultural cooperative center of a town?

Trying to erase unnecessary thoughts, he headed in the direction Leandros was guiding.

The merchant guild's Absinthe branch was small and simple.

It was a small one-story building, and it was a bit disappointing as it was smaller than expected.

Well, it's a rural cooperative center, what did I expect?

Consoling himself like that, he entered the center and requested the sale of demonic beast by-products.

"How much do you think we'll get?"

"Well, I'm not sure about the exact market price, but I've heard that three or four teeth or claws are sometimes used when forging a sword."

"Then it's quite expensive, isn't it?"

How much would a sword with these cost?

I don't know well, but if we sell all of these, we should easily get twenty gold coins, right?

"Customer number 84, thank you for waiting. Would you come this way?"

"Ah, yes."

They, who had been waiting in the waiting room, were guided inside.

After passing through several narrow partitioned rooms, they finally entered a place where a genial middle-aged man stood up to greet us warmly.

"Thank you for waiting. I am Robs, in charge of miscellaneous purchases."

Miscellaneous purchases?

"Yes, hello."

"Did you say you brought demonic beast by-products?"

"Ah, yes. As you can see, we've taken care to ensure there's no damage to the products..."

"Yes, yes. But you see."

The man called Robs raised his hand to stop my words.

What's this?

His kind face took on a regretful expression.

"Unfortunately, the trade for demonic beast by-products has been completely blocked this time."

"The trade? How so?"

"That's how it is. What can we do? So the price has dropped compared to last month."

"So in the end, how much..."

He spread out all five fingers.

Well, that doesn't seem too bad.

"In gold or silver coins?"

"Copper."

"...What?"

"Five copper coins."

"Pardon?"

"Let's settle on five copper coins for two claws."

"Whaaaat??"

What kind of daylight robbery is this!