I got off Hati when we reached the Adventurer's guild in Karelina, and we went in together.
Our return happened to overlap with the time that most adventurers would return to the guild, and the inside was packed with adventurers. So, we lined up for the counter.
{With this you should become that F-rank thing, no? So we should be able to head for the shore tomorrow, yes?} Hati asked telepathically.
{Even if I become an F-rank, I still plan to stay here a little longer.}
{Why?}
{I would like to increase my level and rank so that I can get information on what has happened to other heroes.}
{Then, we leave tomorrow or the day after?}
{Don't be in such a rush. The shore won't run away.}
{Mm, that is true... but I always feel so constrained in human towns, and the bedding at the inn is especially bad.}
{Ahh, that shed, huh?}
Hati was a little too big for the kennel at the inn. It was just about big enough for Hati to lie down and have a tiny bit of space left over. It probably felt all the more confined because, in our travels up until now, we'd been sleeping freely under the stars.
'I do feel a little sorry for him...ah!'
{Should I spread out your futons in the shed? It should be a little more comfortable then.}
{It should. Please do so.}
{Well, it shouldn't be that long, I think, so just bear with it for a while, please. I'll make some good food for you in return.}
{Understood. Do not forget the good food.}
'Yeah yeah. Whoops, it became my turn while I was busy having a conversation with Hati.'
I handed my guild card over to the receptionist.
"Goblin subjugation, was it? Do you have their right ears as proof?"
"Yes. Uhhh, here."
I handed over a bag full to bursting with goblin ears.
"Wha? No, this? Huh?"
'Sorry, it looks like you're flabbergasted, but this isn't all of it.' I continued to give her another three bags filled just as much as the first: a total of four bags, with a total of 427 goblin ears inside.
'Man, am I glad I bought extra bags. Hm? Is the receptionist okay? She's not saying a word.' The receptionist was peering into the four bags, aghast.
"Uhmm Are you alright?"
When I said that, the receptionist came to with a start, saying, "Please wait a minute," before hurrying off somewhere.
After a little while, the receptionist returned.
"The guildmaster would like to see you so please follow me. Your familiars too, please."
I nodded, sending Hati a telepathic message to follow along.
We entered the guildmaster's office on the second floor. It looked a bit larger than a normal room since it was the guildmaster's office, but Hati only barely fit.
"I am Willem, the guildmaster of the Adventurer's guild here in Karelina." Willem the guildmaster was white haired, with a stern looking face that had many wrinkles carved into it. From his face, he looked to be in his 60s, but he was tall, and his properly-trained build said to all that he was still active and healthy.
"I'm Hajime. Pleased to meet you."
'Was it a mistake to take out all those goblin ears at once? The guildmaster called me and everything, after all...'
"That familiar over there is a Fenrir, if I'm not mistaken." Rather than a question, it was more like he was stating his conclusion for confirmation. It really did seem like the guildmaster already knew, so it looked to me like there was no way to bluff him here.
"Yes. His name is Hati."
The guildmaster looked at Hati and whispered in awe, "To think I would lay my eyes on a legendary beast..."
'Yeah, any normal person would be really surprised and react like that if they looked at Hati knowing he was a Fenrir. Ah, if we're talking about familiars, I should probably introduce Groot too, just in case.'
"Uhmm, I do have another familiar other than Hati..." I took Groot out of my bag and held him up.
"This is Groot; it's a tree seedling. It seems Groot is special — unlike a regular tree seedling, it's really strong."
"A-A tree seedling is...?"
"Yes." I nodded emphatically in response to the guildmaster's question. It seemed like the guildmaster was regarding Groot like a regular tree seedling, but it wasn't. Groot was super strong.
"*Cough* W-Well, you have a Fenrir following you, after all. You probably have a few secrets to keep."
'Yes, you're correct about that.'
"Well then, let's move on to the reason why I called you all the way here. There was an urgent message from the royal palace. Put simply, it says, 'Please spend your time freely in our lands. We swear to never force you to do anything you do not wish. This point has been made thoroughly to the nobles in our country so there is no need to worry. However, if something happens, we would like to count on your help.'"
'Eh? Does that mean I'm free? Neither the country nor its nobles will come after me?'
"It seems like something the king of this country would think up. That guy's the type to throw away flowery words and get straight to the point. Didn't you guys want to be free from worrying about interference?"
"Yes, well that's..."
"That's why he judged it better to have you in this country free than to try and force you to do something and cause you to leave. Just having a legendary Fenrir here is enough of a threat by itself. And it goes without saying what happens if that Fenrir is someone's contracted familiar. So, like that, you are free to do as you wish, but we'll be counting on your help in case of an emergency."
Certainly. Even if he wasn't my familiar, if someone was wrecking Hati's home, he'd probably beat that enemy into the ground.
'Well, even if you say that he's my familiar, he was really just lured in by food. I think he'd probably listen if I asked for something that wasn't that big... Actually, he'd better listen with how much I've been feeding him.'
"Uhhh, well, honestly, I'm thankful for this, but... Hati, what about you?"
"There is no problem. If they will not be bothering us, then it is convenient for us as well."
"So he says."
"I see, that's good. We're very thankful that you'll stay in our country. Even if the Adventurer's guild is an organization that supersedes countries, ties are always stronger between guild branches from the same country. It's very reassuring to have you around as one of this country's Adventurer's. So, with that said, I do have something to ask of you..."
'It's kind of scary when you start behaving all formal like that...'
"Am I right in saying that you want to rank up, since you've brought in all those goblin ears at once?"
'Ahh, that... Yes. Well, the only reason there were that many is because we were made to charge into an entire settlement by ourselves thanks to a certain someone.'
"If that's the case I can raise your rank to C with my authority as a guildmaster."
"Huh? I'm G-ranked, and only wanted to get to F-rank because the short deadline for taking requests was inconvenient since I travel a lot. Is it really okay to just raise me to C-rank all of a sudden?"
'I only wanted to get from G- to F-rank, is C-rank even possible?'
"That is no problem with a guildmaster's power. More than that, it's a problem if the person that has a Fenrir as a familiar is only G-ranked."
I had only planned to be F-rank, but I'm C-rank now all of a sudden. If I remembered correctly, C-ranks could get away with not taking quests for half a year.
"There are several requests I'd like you to take though, in return for raising you to C-rank."
'Ahh, so it's that kind of conversation? If that's the case I don't really need the C-rank.'
"Uhhm, if that's the case I ref"
"Fine."
"Hati?"
"This will raise your rank or whatever it is you're trying to raise, no? If that is the case, why not?"
"Well, that is true but..."
"If this is about the request, if it is dangerous, I will help, so there is no problem."
"Sorry to interrupt, but the request is A- or S-ranked, so either way it would become a request for you."
The guildmaster said to Hati directly.
'Ahh, I see. It's like that. Thank god.'
"Well, that's how it is, Hati. How about it?"
"Hmph, I know not of your ranks, but there is nothing that I cannot do."
"So he says."
"Oh, that's good. To tell you the truth, high-ranked requests always sit around for way too long. Our supply of A- and S-ranked adventurers are limited, you see. Even so, we always manage to gather high-ranked adventurers in response to any urgent requests that pop up, but for ones that aren't so urgent..."
Well, certainly, when it comes to high-ranked adventurers, their numbers are limited; even if there are a surprising number of adventurers that just hang around everywhere there's no guarantee that there are any high-ranked ones nearby.
"So this will be another request, but in the course of your travels, if you could stop by Adventurer's guilds and take care of their high-ranked quests as much as possible, we would be very grateful."
'Well, we'll always eventually need to visit a guild because I'll need meat, but... it looks like the guildmaster'll raise our rank to C with his authority, but will a C-rank even be able to accept A- or S-ranked requests?'
"Would that be alright for a C-rank?"
"Ahh, that'll be no problem. Each guild in this country has been notified about you, and each request will be directly given to you by the guildmaster, so rank wouldn't even matter."
I see. "Hati, is that alright? No matter what, we'll be needing to visit Adventurer's guilds in the middle of our journey anyway whenever we need more meat."
"Of course it is alright. Being able to fight is convenient for me as well. If I do not move my body, I will grow dull."
{Groot will fight too—.} Groot, who had been listening quietly until now, jiggled and sent that message with telepathy.
'Ahh, yeah, yeah.' I calmed Groot down by petting it.
"Well, there you have it. It seems this is fine."
"Oh, ohhh, that's good. I'll hurry and tell the other guilds. Fights between adventurers are dealt with strictly in this country, so it should be fine, but just in case, I'll also tell them not to let the other adventurers get weird ideas in them and make fun of you."
'Ohh, that's nice. Just like a guildmaster, the man understands. It seems like almost all my problems all got solved at once.'
"So then, about the high-ranked requests I'll be asking you to take on: will you be able to take on some of the more urgent ones tomorrow?"
'Tomorrow, huh? I'll be visiting the guild because of all the meat I'm having butchered. Then again, the guildmaster has already been very accommodating, so I guess we should go ahead and do his requests first.
"Understood. I'll be coming back to the guild tomorrow to finish up a transaction, so we can talk more then."
I suddenly had a thought as I said that. It went like this: Since they already know all about Hati and are giving us such good treatment here, won't it be fine to unload all the monsters I've had sealed up in my Item Box until now (like the orc king, blue ogre, and such, and so on)?
"Um, would it be alright to add some more monsters to the sale?"
"Hm? Add? I don't mind, but what monsters?"
"Well, you see, I thought that if I brought them out then there'd be an uproar about it, so I didn't bother but since you, guildmaster, are already this understanding of my circumstances with Hati and all, I was thinking it might be fine..."
"Oh? That bad?"
"Yes, I actually have a chimera and an orthrus. As well as an orc king and some ogres."
"Wait a second. Did you just say, chimera and orthrus?" The guildmaster had a scary expression as he asked me that.
"Yes, I did..."
The guildmaster held his head in his hands, and had a face on that screamed, "Agghhh, he's done it now..."
'Huh? Was this really a mistake?'
"I need to confirm this so please follow me."
I followed the guildmaster while holding Groot and with Hati behind me, and we reached the storehouse that I would be visiting tomorrow.
"Hey, Johan, you free?" It's the old baldy from yesterday. So, his name was Johan.
"What's up, guildmaster? What are you doing here? Wait, you're from yesterday..."
"Johan, sorry but can you shut the front door and make sure nobody can get inside? Also, keep what you see here a secret."
He must have sensed something in the guildmaster's tone, as Johan hurried to go shut the door.
"Right, this should be fine. So then just take everything out for now."
Just as the guildmaster asked, I took out everything I was thinking of having him butcher and buy: the orthrus and chimera that I was thinking of sealing away forever, as well as four ogres and a blue ogre; and after that, an orc king, metal lizard, and lake shark; and lastly, the evolved goblins that were killed at the settlement earlier today — the king, three generals, two mages, and seven soldiers.
"This is all of it."
The guildmaster and old man Johan stood stock-still, mouths agape.
"U-Uhmm..."
"Ah, ahh, sorry... But still, this sure is a sight......"
'Sorry. I'd been saving up all this time and just let it all out.'
"Guildmaster, this is the first time I've even seen a chimera and an orthrus..." The revived old man, Johan, said, as if it were leaking out of his mouth.
'W-Whaaa? Even the seasoned adventurer-looking guild employee old man Johan hasn't seen these? It's way too late now but I really should have kept them in my Item Box.'
"I've seen a defeated orthrus just once, almost 40 years ago. If I remember correctly, three parties of only A- and S-ranked adventurers were only barely able to take it down."
'Three parties of only A- and S-ranked adventurers... Once again, I'm reminded of just how strong Hati is. Although the Fenrir himself is lying down yawning like it doesn't concern him.'
"As I thought, we really can't buy this chimera and orthrus. First of all, there's not enough money in this guild. Also, just the blue ogre, ogre king, metal lizard, and lake shark would make enough of an uproar. Buying up a chimera and orthrus is way too scary to even think about."
'Th-They refused to buy them. So I guess the chimera and orthrus really will be sealed away forever. Oh well.'
"Then, I'd like to sell everything else." The subjects of refusal, the chimera and orthrus, went into my Item Box once again.
"To think I would get to butcher a blue ogre with my own two hands..." Old man Johan said that so seriously that I listened in on his mumblings. Apparently, the blue ogre was special and several times stronger than a regular ogre, therefore rating an S-rank.
'Hati, so you just went and hunted something like that, huh? What a fearsome child.'
I also heard an explanation of the other monsters the guildmaster said would create an uproar.
The orc king itself was an A-rank monster, but when subjugating an orc king, it was said to be always surrounded by hundreds of other orcs. Taking that into consideration, the orc king was very close to being an S-rank.
The metal lizard was an A-rank monster, but because of its steel hide, physical attacks were not very effective on it at all, so the accepted method of killing one was to drop it down a hole and attack it with fire or water until it dies. However, doing that would take a hefty number of mages, so a metal lizard would basically never be seen in the market unless there was an emergency involving one.
Lake sharks were S-ranked, and it was said to be impossible to kill one since it swims so freely in the lakes it inhabits. The only time one would see a lake shark was if the lake dried up.
'It's all your fault Hati, since you only ever hunt stuff like this. Really, what an honestly fearsome child.'
"The goblin king, generals, mages, and soldiers are from today?" the guildmaster asked.
"Yes. There was a goblin settlement."
"So there really was one." Apparently, the number of goblins being sighted in the eastern forest recently had led to speculation that a settlement had popped up, so they were planning to post some investigation requests soon.
"Then I'll have to hand out a reward for destroying the settlement as well."
'Huh? There's a reward? I was only forcefully dragged there by Hati, but if there's a reward I might actually have been lucky.'
"Still, Fenrirs must really be strong if you guys managed to take down a settlement by yourselves. Well, he's strong enough to take down a chimera and orthrus, so that much is probably easy as pie."
Hearing the guildmaster's words, Groot, who had up until now been staying quiet in my arms, started quivering in protest.
{Aww... It wasn't just Uncle Hati! Groot also went pew pew and killed a lot!}
I replied while petting Groot, "That's right, Groot killed a lot. You're awesome, Groot."
"Hati killed all these goblins, but the normal ones were all defeated by Groot here, and I. Well, I only killed a small percentage of them."
"Ohh? It doesn't look that way, but that tree seedling must be just as strong as you say then."
'That's right, Groot is strong and cute. He's almighty.'
"Guildmaster, I was planning to hand over the monsters that guy left here tomorrow, so is it okay if I just take these and hand them over at the same time as well? I'll finish up this batch with super-speed and definitely make it in time for pick-up. Man, seeing all this really lights a fire in my tradesman's spirit." Old man Johan was suddenly bursting with motivation.
'I'm trusting you to butcher all this properly. Ah, and hand over all the edible meat, please.'
"That's how it is, so can you come back tomorrow? I'll prepare your C-rank guild card and pick out a high-ranked request as well."
"Understood. I'll come back tomorrow."
'So the problems from countries and nobles are all resolved, but now I have to worry about high-ranked requests, huh? Well, Hati will be the one doing them, though. I'll just let him do all the work this time, I guess.'
"Hey, I am hungry."
Yeah, yeah.
"You have not forgotten those words, have you?"
'Words?'
"You told me to endure it in exchange for good food."
'Ahh, right. I did make that promise for the while we would be in this town.'
"So you remember, yes? Hurry up with that good food."
'Sure sure, then I guess we'll just head back to the inn.'
◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇
'Now then, what to make? Well, it's not like I have anything but rockbird meat. Hrmm... I'd like something refreshing once in a while. There's only one dish I can think of when it comes to rockbird meat and refreshing food: Bang Bang Chicken.'
'But Hati might still complain if it's just that, so let's make another easy stir-fry as an extra. It'll be chicken and pepper stir-fry.'
I personally didn't hate peppers. I was actually pretty fond of their bitterness. Since both the dishes were for Hati, I'd be making them with extra meat.
'First, though, I need to do some shopping. Uhhh, tomatoes and cucumbers, and some peppers and paprika...' It didn't matter if the paprika was red or yellow, it was mostly there for color.
I also bought some other important things, as well as some premium beer as a celebration for some of my problems being resolved.
'Now then, let's start with the bang bang chicken.'
◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇
Boil the rockbird meat in hot water with some sake and salt. After that, while the boiled meat is resting, cut the tomato into circles and the cucumber into strips.
Shred the breast meat of the cooled rockbird by hand. Plate the food with the coined tomatoes at the bottom, the cucumber strips in the middle, and lots of shredded rockbird breast meat on top of that.
Lastly, pour a generous amount of sesame dressing on top and the dish is complete.
'Tare sauce would be too much effort so I made do with just the sesame dressing. That might be considered a sort of heresy, though. But sesame dressing is good, anyway.'
By the way, if spiciness is necessary, simply mix the sesame dressing with chili oil.
As for the chicken and pepper stir-fry, first put holes in the rockbird meat with a fork before cutting it into large bite-sized pieces. Baste the meat in sake and soy sauce and massage for a bit to help the flavor sink in.
Take the seeds out of the peppers and paprika, and cut these into about 1.5 centimeter corners (it's okay to eyeball this).
Cook the rockbird meat in an oiled pan until both sides are well browned before adding the peppers and paprika. Once the peppers and paprika have been heated to a certain extent, put in a giant squeeze of a tube of soy sauce flavored oyster spice.
This seasoning is an incredible treasure that works in both soups and stir-fries. The fact that it's in a tube also makes it easy and convenient to use. I've had it permanently stocked since it's been on sale.
Pile the finished chicken and pepper stir-fry on a plate aannd...
◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇
"It's done—!" 'Wait, you two were actually waiting right behind me?!'
"Muh, it is not just meat?"
"Just shut up and try it. It's good..."
"Let me see..." *Chomp*...... *Chomp-chomp-mgmg-mgmg*
'Nice, since he's scarfing it down like that that means he likes it.'
Groot was already chowing down while sending me a telepathic message: {Master, it's good!}
'*Sigh* Man, Groot is so cute...'
I treated the bang bang chicken and stir-fry as an appetizer for my premium beer. 'Gotta start off by wetting the throat with some beer.'
*Pshhf*
*Glug glug glug*
"Haaaahhh! Drinking like this once in a while sure is great." I took in a bit of the bang bang chicken.' Yeah, that's good.' The sesame seasoning was refreshing and delicious, as expected.
I took another gulp of beer. 'Yeeahhh, beer really hits the spot.'
Now, I tried another bite of the chicken and pepper stir-fry. The chicken (or rather, the rockbird) meat was great with the peppers and the crisp texture of the paprika. And the flavoring is spot-on, too. Being able to just splash in a pre-made blend of spices that were designed specifically to be tasty is so nice and convenient. My compliments to the Japanese food industry.
While I was thinking that, I took another draft of beer.
'Khaaahh! So satisfying.
Ah, I haven't steamed any rice. Well, bread'll do fine. Wait, does bang bang chicken work between bread? Let's see... *Chomp*'
"Ohhh, this works surprisingly well." I had expected the bread to get soggy from the tomato, but it's not that big a problem if you just eat it immediately. 'Yeah yeah, this works.'
I threw back more of my premium beer. *Glug* Just wonderful.
As soon as I found myself enjoying the chicken and pepper stir-fry and the bang bang chicken sandwich with my premium beer, a voice interrupted me without delay.
"More."
{Groot too!}
Sure, sure. I'd gotten quite used to this, so without any undue rush, I fried up more portions for Hati and Groot all while managing to enjoy my bang bang chicken sandwich, chicken and pepper stir-fry, and beer.
"How was it? Delicious, right?"
"It was fine."
'Hati can eat that much and still only call it "fine?" Wow.'
{Groot liked it!}
'I see I see, that's good. Groot really is honest and cute, huh?'
"Well, I'll be getting more meat tomorrow, so I can make you some steaks then."
"If you are grilling meat, then do the usual."
Right, right. Hati's favorite steak sauces, I get it.
Personally, I'd like to eat curry, but the smell might be too much while we're in town... It seemed that it would still be a while until I could eat curry.
While I was absorbed in my thoughts, Hati released a huge yawn. It looked like he was sleepy after eating.
"I'll spread your futons on the floor, then."
"Please."
Hati laid down on the futons after I spread them out in the small shed for him.
"Well then, we'll return to our room..."
Hati replied with a shake of his tail, as his eyes were already closed. He really was that sleepy, it seemed.
'Now then, let's go to sleep as well.'