"ZEEZEEZEEEZE..." (All 4)
"W-what was that? T-that..." (Reina)
Reina managed to escape from the group of horned rabbits and finally spoke out, still out of breath.
"What, no matter what you say, it's a bunch of horned rabbits..." (Mavis)
Mavis answer that.
"Before that, you have something to say to me and Mile-chan!" (Pauline)
Pauline was super hot.
"Sorry……" (Reina, Mavis)
And Reina and Mavis sincerely apologize.
Yes, the previous act was a train act... an act of capturing the hate of a large number of monsters and dragging them around.
Moreover, bringing it to a place where others were present was the worst possible act.
Furthermore, they drove off without warning, an acted that would have caused a crack in the relationship of trust in a normal party.
Because the opponent was a horned rabbit.
When the time comes, if everyone got serious, it didn't matter.
It's not a good idea to do it with such naivety.
What if the opponent was a group of ogres?
What if Mile was a normal C-rank hunter?
On Earth, there was a strict rule that you should never point a gun at a human except in combat, even if you knew the gun was unloaded.
In this world, mistakes could happen at any time. Even if the magazine was removed, there might still be bullets left in the gun's chamber. In that case, it wouldn't be surprising if it exploded at any time.
In the same way, no matter how your opponent was or how strong your friends were, there were things you could do in this world and things you could do wrong.
...And Pauline had no physical strength, slow, didn't have much melee combat ability, and was paper armored. If she were to be attacked by dozens of horned rabbits all at once, there was a possibility that she would not be able to completely annihilate them with her magic and would be attacked by several of them, sustaining fatal injuries.
It was no wonder she was really angry.
"Sorry. As a knight, this was an unexpected act..." (Mavis)
"Sorry……" (Reina)
"……"
Pauline didn't want to criticize Mavis and Reina any further, but she didn't feel like saying things like "That's enough" or "I forgive you," so she just remained silent.
"A-anyway, what the in the world happened!" (Mile)
Unusually, Mile had the wit to change the subject.
And Mavis clang to it, thinking it's a relief.
Among the members, Reina had the longest experience as a hunter and was proud of being in a leadership position, so it seemed like she hadn't recovered yet.
"Ah, ah, when I was chasing a horned rabbit who was slow to escape due to an injury or something… we were ambushed by a large number of horned rabbits…" (Mavis)
"Does that mean you were counterattacked?" (Mile)
"…………" (Mavis, Reina)
Crimson Vow regained its composure and resumed verification work.
"Why do goblins have swords and spears?"
"I guess they stole the weapons of the hunters they defeated and used them."
"I know that even if you don’t say it!"
"Why do orcs fight in groups of three?"
"Why are the ogres fighting in pairs! Are they Lotte, or okuchi no koibito[1]!!" (Mile)
And then, Crimson Vow returned to the city with a gaunt face, mentally exhausted as well as physically.
"…………" (All CV)
They entered the guild branch without a word, cashed in the prey they had hunted at the delivery counter, and silently headed to the inn.
Seeing this situation, the other hunters and guild employees did not call out to Crimson Vow either.
The Crimson Vow had dinner first and then held a party meeting in the room.
"What is it...?"
"That's impossible, that's impossible..."
"That's strange..."
"But I have to admit the fact..."
"The monsters are too smart!!" (All CV)
Yes, for some reason all the monsters were extremely smart.
A horned rabbit intentionally used a decoy that acted as if it was injured to ambush.
Goblins didn't use wooden sticks, but weapons stolen from humans.
Orcs and ogres used Lotte tactics of three people in groups (Three Man Cell) and two people in one group (Two Man Cell).
The reason humans were able to defeat monsters with excellent attack and defense power was because the monsters were stupid, lack tactics and coordination, and could only attack by brute force.
...If that meant acquiring wisdom, cooperating, and mastering tactics...
Moreover, if they were to steal human weapons and use them...
"Even if their body isn’t that different from the monsters of the Old Continent…"
"Ordinary hunters would have a hard time..."
"Well, if it's us, there won't be any problems as long as we don't let our guard down..."
"The hunters here below C rank..."
"The number of retirees, injuries, and deaths are increasing, and we are in dire straits."
The words of the guild master echoed in the four minds.
A decrease in hunters.
That meant that the monsters would not be thinned out enough, and what would happen as a result was...
A stampede incidence...
The problem wasn't easy.
If it were just a problem here, then Crimson Vow would just have to stay there for a while, hunt down the high-ranking monsters, and thin them out. Even if the number increased again in the future, they could take measures to slow the rate of increase, such as training new recruits or having the military send them on business trips.
But…….
What if smart monsters didn't exist only here?
What if all the monsters on this continent were intelligent?
What if they reproduced and spread all over the world?
"Dangerous..." (All CV)
It was supposed to be fun in a new place, but things were starting to look a bit doubtful.
Thinking so, the four of them fell silent...
Author's Note
It was supposed to be fun in a new place, but things were starting to look a bit doubtful.
...
Translator's Notes
[1] ロッテですか、お口の恋人ですかっっ. Literal Translation of お口の恋人 is "Mouth's lover". When searching this in Google, found something like "Lotte Koibito" and I still don't know what it means.