"Icicle Javelin!"
"Air cutter!"
"Icicle Lance!"
Thud!
Span!
Sting!
"There was no missed kill."
"There are no signs of other monsters approaching."
"Understood. Now, I'll put it away."
And one after another, the prey disappeared.
It was a routine that had been repeated many times.
The men just stared blankly at it...
"Hey, can I ask you something?" (Thanos)
"Yes. What is it?" (Marcella)
"If you're so strong, why did you team up with us? Did you even need us? You guys were enough on your own, weren't you?" (Thanos)
"No, that may be the case if nothing happens, but you never know what's going to happen in this world.
What if multiple goblins suddenly attacked from behind a tree? What if a group of death monkeys attacked all at once from the top of the tree?
...And what if you happen to come across another party and they suddenly attack you as you pass them?
Even if you can use chantless magic, it still can't compare to the speed at which a swordsman can reflexively unsheathe his sword, so there's a chance that you'll be left behind in a close-range surprise attack or a saturation attack.
Even if the probability is one in a hundred, that means it happens once in a hundred times, right? And who knows whether it will be the 100th time, the 50th time, or the 1st time, right? Maybe it was this time.
But this time, by teaming up with you, we have further reduced that possibility.
If that reduces the probability of this incident to 1 in 100, then 100 times 100 is 1 in 10,000.
And we have a number of other safeguards in place that take that 1 in 10,000 to 1 in a million, or 1 in a hundred million.
...Don't you think that having come this far, your chances of surviving safely until you grow old and retire from being a hunter are significantly higher?
'For safety, no matter how much effort and money you put in, it's worth it, and it will definitely pay off.'
...These are the words of our precious friend. So, until we are reunited with her, we must act without losing anyone or suffering any serious injuries. As proof that we believe in the words of our precious friend..." (Marcella)
"……" (All IW)
Without a word to reply, the four members of "Immortal Wings" remained silent.
Those were words that were too persuasive, and too powerful, filled with feelings for a friend.... They were not words that could be argued against or interrupted.
"As promised, we will split the profits from the sale of our catch. Why not take advantage of this opportunity to make a killing and bring it all home with my large-capacity storage magic?" (Marcella)
"...Let's do it!" (Thanos)
"Ohhh!" (Other 3 IW members)
Yes, opportunities to make money like this didn't come around very often.
Upon hearing their leader's words, all his party members rose in spirited voices.
"……" (All IW)
The four members of Immortal Wings froze when they saw the already-assembled tent for the night, the food and cooking utensils, the bathtub and toilet (all fully protected).
And since they felt a little awkward about having the men just lied down in the grass while they stayed in our tents, the Wonder Trio decided to lend the men their spare tent.
This wasn't the first time they'd proposed a joint order that included guarding and sword-fighting lessons. They'd done it many times before, so the members of the Wonder Trio didn't have to worry about the men's reactions.
"Then, I would like to ask you to coach me in swordsmanship after dinner. I assume you would like me to provide you with a meal in return?" (Marcella)
The members of Immortal Wings nodded in agreement.
Although they would provide meals, Marcella and her party had no intention of letting them use their bathtubs and toilets. As expected, for a young girl, that seemed like a pretty high hurdle to overcome...
"No, don't force your way in! You are weak, you have no stamina, and your daggers are shorter than the short swords carried by ordinary swordsmen. After all, you are not swordsmen, you are magicians. What good is it to fight like swordsmen?! Swords should only be used for support, distraction, and to hook attacks!"
To their surprise, after some time of training, the members of the Immortal Wings began to give Marcella and her party some very accurate advice.
Perhaps it was because Marcella and her party realized that if they tried to fight seriously using only sword skills, they would die quickly, regardless of whether their opponent was a monster or a human...
Anyway, Wonder Trio was a magician after all, and the dagger was just an accessory. They immediately realized that and was unexpectedly competent in realizing that they must not let their sword skills become too confident.
"Don't try to fight honestly with a sword! Swing your sword around so that the enemy doesn't get close to you. Also, when you are suddenly attacked from close range, your body should reflexively draw your sword without thinking and block the enemy's attack, or you should be able to counterattack. After that attack, quickly put some distance between you and the enemy and switch to chanting-free magic combat!"
In order to teach them how to fight, the Immortal Wings had given them a certain amount of information about the cards in their hands.
In any case, this was a one-time thing, and there was no chance of them becoming enemies in the future. Also, Hunters would not reveal the personal information of people who had accepted requests together with them. If they did, the other party would think that "These people are scum who don't follow the Hunter rules or honor," and that word would spread in an instant, which would be suicidal.
Such "information about suspicious parties" was different from personal information, and there was no penalty for spreading it around... Because it was useful information for all Hunters.
For that reason, the Wonder Trio also taught them the ability to use chantless magic, along with "Large-capacity storage magic."
As expected, they didn't talk about the special functions of the item box, or the abnormally high output of emission type magic, but...
And of course, they hadn't taught them anything about magic in case the other party betrayed them and tried to sneak into Marcella's tent in the middle of the night... alarm magic, barrier magic, hot magic, and many others.
Perhaps because they always chose to approach young parties that seemed as sincere as possible or parties that included women, they had never encountered anything like that before, but of course, the three of them were not the type to neglect to prepare for such an eventuality.
At some point, they'd probably regret it.
...The people who attacked.
For this reason, the members of the Wonder Trio were able to receive unexpectedly accurate advice given their age and were able to get some excellent training.
After finishing their training and splitting up into their respective tents, Marcella and her party secretly set up a rattle.
A small platform was placed inside the entrance to the tent, with a vase placed on top of it.
Of course, there were warning spells set up, so even if a clapper was avoided, there was no way they could get close to the tent without being noticed by the others.
Of course, it's impossible to imitate the feat of keeping a barrier spell up for a long period of time like Mile, so it's important to be able to notice them getting close before they approached.
In addition, the period from the second bell at night (9:00 p.m.) to the first bell in the morning (6:00 a.m.) was divided into three-hour periods, and watchmen took turns staying awake during each period.
…When said "standing," it didn’t mean standing outside the tent, they were just awake in their bed.
They were also clutching their staff and dagger under the blanket, periodically casting searching spells.
It's not just the men they have to be wary of, but also nocturnal monsters and wild beasts, so it's only natural.
The men had said, "We'll take turns keeping the night watch, so you guys can sleep until morning," so the Wonder Trio didn't need to take the night watch as a joint party, in other words, there was no need for an overnight shift. However, even though they had chosen a party that seemed honest, Marcella and her party were neither stupid nor naive enough to trust someone they had just met for the first time.
"...This time, we won, right..." (Marcella)
The three of them crawled into bed and talked.
There was plenty of space between the tents rented to the men, so there was no need to worry about anyone hearing their whispered conversation.
"Yes, I think he probably registered as a Hunter as soon as he turned 10... No, he was a G-rank apprentice from before that, so he might have been a self-taught, right?" (Monica)
And then, Monica gave a word of agreement to Marcella.
"Self-taught." These were people who registered with the Hunter Guild as soon as they reached working age, and began training while earning money.
Many of them were orphans or children from the slums. Ordinary families rarely trained their children to be hunters at that age.
"If that’s the case, it’s easy to see why he’s so skilled at that age. Even among those who have worked their way up through the ranks, I think he ranks highly for his age." (Aureana)
Aureana seemed to agree.
"This time, let’s stay in this city for a while. It seems that they’re not planning anything strange, and if they continue to behave like a proper gentleman, I’d like to teach them close-quarters combat, and as a thank you, I’ll carry the whole prey for you and split the cost in half. That would be a good deal for everyone at ‘Immortal Wings’…" (Marcella)
"I agree!" (Monica)
"I agree. Since the chances of drawing a lucky party are not high, I think it would be a good idea to go with the Immortal Wings a few times and learn a lot from them." (Aureana)
Monica and Aureana also seemed to agree with Marcella's proposal.
"So, that's it…… Well then, I'm relying on you on your first night shift, Monica-san. We haven't decided yet whether the men are all truly gentlemen or not." (Marcella)
"Yes, leave it to me!" (Monica)
Then, leaving Monica behind, Marcella and Aureana soon began to sleep peacefully.
The ability to fall asleep easily was also one of the skills required of a hunter.
(I wonder if Adelle is camping out somewhere right now...) (Monica)
Three hours until shift change.
She couldn't just fall asleep in bed.
This caused Monica to reminisce about her time at school...