After catching his breath, Hazuki sat up, wiping the sweat off his forehead. "Haa… damn, that was exhausting."
But there was no time to waste.
He gathered the scattered small horned rabbits, tied them together with some rope, and slung them over his shoulder like a makeshift bag.
Then, he turned to his biggest problem: the giant horned rabbit carcass.
"Alright, time to—" He grabbed its leg and pulled—
"GHHH!!!"
The damn thing wouldn't budge.
He tried again. "FUUUUCK! THIS THING IS HEAVY!!"
Hazuki gritted his teeth, glaring at the massive corpse. "How the hell am I supposed to bring this back to town!?"
His mind raced. Leaving it here was not an option. If he walked away, it would either—
Get eaten by monsters.
Get stolen by some other adventurer.
"No way!! THIS IS MINE!!!"
His arms shook as he planted his hands on the rabbit's side. Then— he started rolling it.
Yes. Rolling.
"HRRRRGGGHHHHH!!!"
With pure determination, Hazuki pushed and rolled the giant rabbit toward town, inch by inch.
His back screamed in protest.
His arms felt like noodles.
His legs felt like they were going to fall off.
But his soul burned with stubbornness. "I'M GONNA BE RICH, DAMN IT!!!"
Hazuki kept rolling the massive horned rabbit down the road, his entire body aching. Inside Hazuki's mind:
"Nearly there… nearly there…! Just keep pushing!"
"This is training! Yeah! Training! That's right!"
"A true adventurer needs stamina!!"
His legs wobbled, his arms burned, but he refused to stop.
Meanwhile…
A pair of town guards stood near the entrance of Yumia Town, casually chatting. One of them squinted into the distance. "…Hey, do you see that?"
The other guard followed his gaze. A figure was approaching—slowly, but definitely coming closer.
It was a man… pushing something huge.
As the figure got closer, the guards finally saw it clearly: a ragged, sweaty man rolling a MASSIVE horned rabbit down the road.
"Whoa."
They stared, speechless.
Hazuki, drenched in sweat, didn't even notice them. He just kept rolling forward, his teeth clenched in pure determination. "I… AM… NOT… LETTING… THIS… GO!!!"
After what felt like an eternity, Hazuki finally reached the town gate. With the last of his strength, he slumped down, leaning against the massive horned rabbit, panting like a dying man. "Haa… haaa… I… made it…"
One of the guards walked up, crossing his arms. "Nice loot."
Hazuki weakly raised a thumbs-up. "Y-yeah…"
The other guard tilted his head. "I wonder though… why'd you push it all the way here?"
Hazuki, still catching his breath, looked up, confused. "Huh? Isn't that how everyone brings their loot?"
For a moment, there was silence.
Then— the two guards BURST into laughter.
"BWAHAHAHAHA!! MAN, THIS GUY IS CRAZY!"
"YEAH! HE REALLY PUSHED IT ALL THE WAY!?"
Hazuki blinked. "Huh? What do you mean!?"
One of the guards wiped a tear from his eye. "You're an adventurer, right?"
"Yes? Why?"
The guard smirked. "Then why not just buy a Magic Bag?"
Hazuki froze. "…Magic Bag?"
The guard nodded. "Yeah, they sell them at the Adventurer's Guild or Magic Shops."
The other guard grinned. "Depending on the storage size, it lets you store stuff inside a magic space. Way easier than… this." He gestured at Hazuki's giant rabbit corpse.
"Of course," the first guard added, "the bigger the storage, the more expensive it is."
Hazuki stared blankly. "Ehhh!?"
The realization hit him like a truck.
He had rolled that damn rabbit for HOURS… FOR NOTHING.
One of the guards, still chuckling, walked off for a moment before returning with a wheelbarrow. "Here, crazy guy."
Hazuki froze.
Inside Hazuki's mind:
"Damn… even the guards in this town are calling me 'crazy guy' now!? It's not just in the capital anymore!? Damn it!!"
With a sigh, he reluctantly took the wheelbarrow. "Jeez… thank you."
The guard smirked. "Don't forget to bring it back once you're done."
The second guard coughed into his fist. "Ahem… and, well… I'm sure one or two ales for us wouldn't be a bad idea either."
Hazuki squinted at them.
Inside Hazuki's mind:
"Damn these guards… asking for a bribe…"
He sighed again. "Well… I don't mind."
"Okay, okay," he waved them off. "Let me sell this first."
With that, he loaded the giant rabbit onto the wheelbarrow and headed off to the guild, pushing his hard-earned loot—this time, with much less suffering.
Hazuki pushed open the guild door with his shoulder, struggling to keep the wheelbarrow steady. "Need some help here. Hold the door."
His voice wasn't too loud, but it was enough to catch attention.
The receptionist looked up—her eyes widening in shock. "It's… it's a Horned Rabbit King…"
Hazuki, still balancing the wheelbarrow, gritted his teeth. "Oi, the door."
For a moment, the entire guild stared at the massive rabbit corpse.
Then, slowly, a few adventurers stood up to help.
As they held the door open, Hazuki pushed the wheelbarrow inside, grumbling to himself.
Hazuki arrived at the counter, dumping several horned rabbit corpses onto the desk before handing over his Guild Card. "With these, my quest is done, right?"
The receptionist, still staring in disbelief, quickly snapped back to reality. "Y-Yes! R-Right away! Let me process it!"
She counted the rabbits carefully. Total: 13 horned rabbits × 50 copper = 6 silver 50 copper. Not bad.
While waiting, Hazuki glanced at the giant horned rabbit king behind him and pointed at it. "This thing… how much?"
The other receptionist looked at the massive corpse, then back at him. "We'll need to call the Guild Master first."
Hazuki blinked. "Huh? Can't you just process it?"
The receptionist shook her head. "Umm… we don't know the actual price. This thing needs an appraisal first."
Hazuki clicked his tongue. As the receptionist continued explaining the situation, the Assistant Guild Master walked out, overhearing their conversation.
"Huh? Why do you need the Guild Master for something like a Giant Horned Rabbit?" he asked, his bored expression showing disinterest. "Just call the appraiser, appraise the price, and negotiate with the adventurer."
The receptionist quickly straightened up. "Y-Yes, Deputy Guild Master!"
The Deputy Guild Master sighed, rubbing his temples. "Seriously, don't waste the Guild Master's or my time for some low-rank monster." He glanced at the massive rabbit corpse before snorting. "Just because it's a Horned Rabbit King or Queen doesn't mean it's worth making a big deal over. They're still low-rank monsters."
He turned away, waving a hand dismissively. "The Horned Rabbit species is Rank F, and their King is only Rank D at maximum." He shot one last look at the receptionist. "Now go back to work and leave us alone."
With that, he walked off, leaving the receptionist looking flustered.
Meanwhile, Hazuki squinted. "So I pushed this damn thing all the way here… just for it to be considered trash?"
The appraiser arrived, adjusting his monocle as he inspected the quality of the Giant Horned Rabbit. After a brief moment, he nodded. "Hmm… five silver coins."
Hazuki blinked. "Umm… okay."
The receptionist, now smiling, quickly processed the payment before handing Hazuki his earnings. "Here is your payment, and with this, your quest is officially complete."
She explained further as she counted the coins. "Normally, these rabbits only sell for 10 copper coins each. However, since the request for them came from a noble, he's willing to pay extra and buy every single one delivered."
She finished tallying up the total. "Your earnings are as follows:
Horned Rabbit Reward: 11 silver 50 copper
Quest Completion Bonus: 50 copper
Total: 12 silver coins."
Inside Hazuki's mind:
"EHHH!? These horned rabbits are only 10 copper each!?"
"Haaa… so I just got lucky that a noble was involved, huh?"
"Well, whatever. I still got 12 silver coins, so I won't complain."
"Maybe I should put some in the bank…"
Hazuki cleared his throat. "Err…"
The receptionist looked up. "Yes?"
"Can I deposit some of my earnings into my Adventurer Card?"
"Oh, of course! How much would you like to deposit?"
Hazuki thought for a moment. "10 silver coins. I'll keep 2 silver coins for my expenses."
The receptionist nodded and began processing the deposit.
( End of Chapter )