There's no point in thinking about it forever.
Mile and her group were hunters, not researchers.
They received a request and carried it out.
As long as it was not a criminal act or a violation of the Hunters Guild rules, and did not cause harm to themselves, the client, or other humans or intelligent lifeforms, and the client had not lied, harbored ill will towards the Hunter, concealed important information, or engaged in other "Dehavior that damages the mutual trust between them."
And…….
"No wolf-type characters appear!"
Yes, this wasn't a regular request for materials.
It's certainly nice to be able to hunt animal prey that wasn't a monster, but unless you defeat the wolf that was the subject of the request, the request would not be completed...in other words, the request would be considered a failure.
"Mile, do it!" (Reina)
Finally, Reina gave a forbidden order.
…Yes, it was command to Mile to use search magic.
This didn't mean that Crimson Vow relied entirely on Mile's abilities.
This time, they simply decided that the requested mission would fail if they did not rely on Mile's abilities.
If Mile wasn't there.
If Mile was a normal hunter.
...This request was impossible.
In other words, they gave up and said, "It's impossible to clear without Mile's abilities."
For Reina, this was tantamount to admitting defeat, and although she felt it was disappointing, she prioritized completing the party's mission over her own pride and stubbornness... and helping the villagers in need.
This was a choice that Reina would never have made back when she was still performing solo.
No, if she were solo, she would never have accepted such an unreasonable request in the first place...
So, from now on, instead of "Doing a duty as a Hunter and a party member," she would act as "A familiar angel and her merry companions."
...Although very unwillingly...
"Yes, yes sir!" (Mile)
And then, Mile emitted search magic.
It's not like a radar screen (PPI scope type) where a bar of light spins 360 degrees, but more like a sonar, with a circle spreading out with the mile at the center.
...In reality, it's not sound but nanomachines that fly all around, bring back the information and transmit it by sending a video signal directly to Mile's visual nerves...
In this respect, the Wonder Trio, who created their own search magic after seeing Mile's exploration magic, and Mavis, who invented her own close-range all-around spatial information grasping magic "Maevis Ring Barrier", were far more talented in terms of magical sense, or the ability to invent and develop new magic.
...Mile, who should have had an overwhelming advantage thanks to his knowledge of modern Earth, was completely humiliated.
Well, anyway, that's how Mile began to emit, or radiate, or basically scatter detection waves... a huge amount of nanomachines... all around.
Up until now, wolves had hunted a variety of animals and monsters, so it's possible to distinguish them.
It would be difficult to distinguish it from a wild dog, but there's no way it could be mistaken for a fox, raccoon dog, or kobold.
And…….
"A wolf-like creature is rapidly approaching... Judging from the size of the echo, it's an adult!" (Mile)
"Prepare to intercept! If we have time, we'll use flat attacks, hot attacks, and restraint!" (Reina)
"Roger that!" (Other 3)
In response to Mile's report, Reina gave instructions, and the three of them responded.
At this point, they were not on such good terms that they had to clarify who the orders were being given to.
A flat strike was a strike with the flat part of the sword. It might break a bone, but it was a method of attack aimed at capturing an enemy alive.
Hot was, as you might already know, hot magic. Restraint was, as you would expect, a bind type of magic.
...Come to think of it, Reina didn't have any attack methods that were suitable for capturing someone alive. Her fire and ice attacks were all just aimed at burning or piercing the opponent.
If it's a human, it's not that difficult to injure them without killing them, but it's difficult to know how much strength you need when it came to wild animals or monsters. If you didn't go easy on them, they'd jump on you without flinching, and you'd get hit in the neck.
...Well, they couldn't imagine Reina would make such a poor move...
It was an instantaneous death. (Not killed.)
Perhaps feeling it would be a shame to make the creature suffer needlessly, Mavis and Pauline refrained from using physical fracture-shattering magic or hot magic, which would be very harsh on the keen-nosed werewolf-type creatures, and instead left it to Mile to use bind-type magic.
And a wolf rolled on the ground.
Because it barked so loudly, its mouth had been restrained to stop it from barking.
"...So, what are you going to do with it now that you've captured it alive?" (Pauline)
"…………" (Reina)
Reina remained silent in response to Pauline's question.
"Reina, you didn't think about it at all..." (Mavis)
"Uh, shut up! The story of the village chiefs seemed suspicious, so I thought it might be a bad idea to trust them and subjugate them!" (Reina)
Reina answered Mavis.
They hunted other monsters and animals without any hesitation, so why was this wolf given such special treatment?
"...Well, there was only one, so we had plenty of room, and it didn't look like it was trying to attack us, so I didn't sense any murderous intent or anything...
And even though we were all women and half of us didn't smell like iron, I still didn't think one would attack four people head-on.
In the first place, wolves hunt in packs, so when they find prey, it's normal for them to let the pack know and hunt together, right? It's unnatural for one wolf to attack alone." (Reina)
"Hmm, that's true..." (Mavis)
"So you managed to capture it without killing it. As expected of Reina!" (Pauline)
"That's it!" (Reina)
Mavis and Pauline seem convinced by Mile's explanation (follow-up), while Reina has a proud look on her face, her nose twitching.
And…….
"...So, what are you going to do with it now that you've captured it alive?" (Pauline)
"…………" (Reina)
Pauline's question was repeated again, and Reina fell silent.
Although they managed to capture it, they were unable to interrogate it...
Although the wolf was lying on the ground bound by binding magic, it seemed that it wasn't going to be killed, so without struggling, it just stared at it with its round, pitiful eyes.
…Apparently, this guy wasn't a monster, but a normal wolf.
There were monsters in the wolf category... ferocious ones that came from another world long ago and attack livestock and humans alike... and ones that are classified as "animals" that were originally in this world... ferocious ones that attack livestock and humans alike... but there's not much difference between them.
It was generally said that dark wolves were monsters and steppenwolves were animals, but scholars did not seem to agree on which forest wolves they are, and the intermediate species that result from their crossbreeding had settled into packs, making it impossible to understand anything else.
Author's Note
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