The reaction was just as they expected, or even more so.
…Well, maybe there's no other way.
Even if someone had a connection to an ancient dragon, it was usually thought of as merely "Having met somewhere" or "Knowing someone who has met an ancient dragon."
No, even that was quite rare.
First of all, ancient dragons normally never met humans, and even if they did meet, they simply gave the human an order or a request and then left. They almost never converse, and even if they did, they'd never remember the name of the other human.
Moreover, the unexpected remark, "Get on my back."
Such a story could only come from the Goddess's apostles or legendary heroes.
Moreover, he was speaking honorifics to humans. That was something that was unthinkable even when speaking to a hero.
Then, among the demons who were standing there speechless and stunned, a girl's voice was heard.
"...Are you leaving now?" (Girl)
As expected, the young girl, Sacred Maiden, had had many conversations with the ancient dragons and seemed to think that "Ancient dragons aren't particularly intelligent, nor are they particularly noble creatures," so she didn't seem too surprised.
And more than anything, she seemed to be sad that someone who had finally appeared, "Someone who would talk to me normally" or "someone with whom I could normally discuss what I had heard from the angel that no one else could understand," was going to leave.
"Yes. Just as you are working hard for the future of the demons, I must also work hard for the future of humanity, right?" (Mile)
"...I see...that's right..." (Girl)
The intelligent girl had no choice but to say that, as she was able to understand what Mile was saying.
"But if you ever get into real trouble, I'll help you, so contact me then, okay?" (Mile)
"……how?" (Girl)
With the huge distance separating them and the fact that they didn't know each other's exact location, it's impossible to contact them so easily. So, the girl, Sacred Maiden, thought that Mile's words were just polite words, lip service.
But…….
"If you tell Kragon-san, I think we'll be able to get in touch, you know?" (Mile)
"Eh?" (Girl)
"Kragon-san seems to come to this village regularly, and since he's currently investigating the ruins, he probably comes here quite often for other reasons as well. Besides, just like the beastfolks, I'm sure the demons probably have a way of contacting the ancient dragons as well... Kragon-san can contact us through the beastfolks, so you should be able to contact us when we're in the town where we're based. ...Isn't that great, Kragon-san?!" (Mile)
"IF THAT'S WHAT YOU WANT, THEN OF COURSE!" (Kragon)
"…………" (Girl)
The young girl, Sacred Maiden, opened her eyes wide when she realized that Mile's words, "I'll help you if you're really in trouble," were not just polite remarks or lip service, but were genuine.
And…….
"Oh, this is a thank you to Sacred Maiden-chan for teaching me so many things!" (Mile)
Bang!
"Whoa!" (Girl)
Three large wooden boxes suddenly appeared in front of her, causing the young girl, Sacred Maiden, to jump back in surprise.
"This box is oak, this is deer, and these are vegetables. For Sacred Maiden’s nutritional needs…
Communicating with angels takes a lot of energy, so if you don't eat properly, your health will be damaged.
Meat can also be frozen using magic and will last for quite a while, so please share it with all three of you and your family.
Ah, this is also for your parents..." (Mile)
With that said, Mile gave away three bottles of distilled liquor that she had bought as a bonus.
Being a race that excelled in magic, both parents would likely be able to use ice magic.
Well, even if her parents couldn't use it, there was no reason why Sacred Maiden, who had authority level 3 and was very sweet to Nanomachines, shouldn't be able to use ice magic.
The reason she said it this way was, of course, to prevent the villagers from taking it away later and saying, "This is a parting gift for the whole village."
If it was so clearly stated that "This is for Sacred Maiden's family," anyone with any sense of shame would not be able to take it away.
The three bottles of sake that were given as a bonus were a final expression of intent: "This is only for this family!"
The meat was in wooden boxes because it was prepared for donation to orphanages and the like.
Mile came up with this idea because if she magically froze a large block of meat, placed it in a wooden box, and wrapped it in straw or sawdust, it would last for a few days.
Even if there were a dozen hungry orphans, it would be impossible to eat the entire amount of orc meat in just two or three days...
"Eh……" (Girl)
At first, the girl couldn't properly register what was being said and looked stunned.
However, as Mile's words gradually sunk into her brain, the girl's expression began to relax.
"……thank you!" (Girl)
This should keep me full for a while.
The young girl, Sacred Maiden, was too young to worry about overeating and gaining weight.
One after another, the four members of the Crimson Vow climbed onto Kragon's back.
"Well then... full speed ahead, Kragon, take off!" (Mile)
And Mile never forgot the customary line.
Thus, leaving the smiling Sacred Maiden girl and the stunned demons behind, the Crimson Vow party set off on their journey home...
"No results. No abnormalities. Everyone is fine. We'll continue the mission." (On the letter)
"Don't mess with meeeeeeee!!" (Morena)
In a corner of the Royal Capital branch of the Hunter Guild, a girl was howling.
And in her hand she was clutching the letter she had just received from the receptionist.
...A letter with just one line written on it, without even the sender's name...
The girl was a very beautiful girl, her movements were refined, and although she was wearing standard hunter gear, there was no hiding her refinement.
However, the words that were just spoken were a complete contradiction to that appearance.
Well, that was probably the result of the girl learning "Somewhat rude and vulgar behavior" in order to become "Like a normal Hunter."
"Grrr, those guys..." (Morena)
Then, with her face contorted in anger, she walked with big, rude strides and sat down at an empty table in the food and beverage area.
The results of her study of rude and vulgar behavior were too much...
"Alcohol! Strong stuff, the whole bottle! And some snacks!" (Morena)
"Y-Yes..."
The waitress who came to take the order must have thought, "This isn't good..." when she saw the girl's face, because she went ahead and placed the order without saying anything.
Afterwards, the girl continued to gulp the strong distilled liquor while muttering to herself and swearing, and before she knew it, she had collapsed face down on the table.
As for alcohol, she would only lightly sip wine or sweet cocktails at parties, so she probably had never really drunk strong alcohol.
And the Hunters and Guild staff who saw this thought.
(...this is no good...) (Everyone's mind, x6)
Furthermore, the hidden guards who were secretly watching were also thinking the same thing.
(...this is no good...) (Hidden guards' mind, x6)
The girl thought her disguise and her ability to evade the guards were perfect.
However, in reality, it is obvious to the guild staff and hunters alike, and everyone was just "Pretending not to notice."
The guards were not going to be easily swayed by an amateur girl who had not even trained her body. The regular guards had purposely kept their distance for the time being, and the hidden guards were sticking around so that the person being guarded would not notice.
So, there was no danger to this girl if she fell asleep here, but if she was an ordinary girl, she probably wouldn't have escaped unscathed. She would probably have been "Taken home" by someone right away.
However, no matter how dangerous it might be, they couldn't just leave it like this.
So the hidden guard ordered one of the regular guards waiting outside the guild to make the contact and go to the right place...
After a while, six young women led by a slightly older woman appeared, picked up the girl, threw her into a carriage, and left. Finally, they gave a beautiful bow to the people in the guild...
And already, the guards were gone.
"Ahh, poor thing..." (Guild master)
Just to be sure, the Guild Master, who was pretending to be a normal Hunter and drinking at a table nearby the girl, muttered something, and the Hunters defended him by saying, "Well, the girls from Wonder Trio have their own circumstances...," but...
"That’s not true. The one who was in command of that corps of maids was a lady in charge of royal education. And the tutor has absolute authority when it comes to the education of Their Highnesses the Prince and Princess. To be specific, punishments like banning them from going out, reducing pocket money, increasing study time, confining them to the study room… and it seemed that they’re even allowed to use corporal punishment… So, you were smiling when they bowed to us for the last time just now, right? Normally, in a situation like that, you would bow with a blank expression, in the industry sense. But the fact that you were laughing..."
"So what?" (Guild master)
In response to the Hunter's reply, the Guild Master shrugged his shoulders.
"I suppressed the anger and humiliation that had ruined my reputation as an instructor, and thought about how I could make this girl reflect on her actions, and how I could crush her so that she would never try this again." (Guild master)
"Ahhh..." (Everyone, x6)
A professional in the field was humiliated by his own incompetent student.
And he went out of his way to collect it himself.
What that means was....
The hunters and guild staff quietly wiped away tears in their hearts at the fate of Morena after she woke up... no, of the fate of "Rookie Hunter, Moreen"...
Author's Note
Volume 7 of "I'll Survive on Potions!" is out today, February 2nd (Tuesday)!
Thank you very much! (^^)/
Even though I haven't finished writing this week's update yet, I ended up reading "A story about an aristocratic daughter eating junk food and saying 'It's delicious!'" (^^;)
Good luck to Marie, the daughter of an earl who graduated from an aristocratic technical high school! (^^)/