Chapter 85

When I woke up in the morning, I felt great. I’m not sure why, but my body felt like it was moving smoother than usual.

“Good morning, Sir Ryu…”

In contrast, Alice had massive dark circles under her eyes. Her movements were awkward and stiff.

“Morning, Alice. What’s up with those dark circles?”

“Oh, these? It’s just a lack of sleep from sorting through the documents we seized yesterday… I’m incredibly sleepy because of it.”

“Are you going to be okay? You’re heading out to round up those nobles now, aren’t you?”

“I’ll be fine… Speed is the lifeblood of this job, so I’m used to pulling several all-nighters in a row.”

Coming from someone who looked like they were about to collapse, that didn’t sound convincing at all.

Is Light-Light truly a “black company”?

“At least drink some soup. It might help wake you up.”

“What are you saying…? if I drink that, I’ll just get even sleepier…”

“I can’t tell if you’re joking, but just go wash your face and wake yourself up.”

“Okaay…”

I can’t help but worry.

I wonder if I can scout Alice and bring her over to my side…

『Ryu…』

Ril, you’re making a very scary sound, but I have no intention of making her my wife, okay?

『…』

Thanks for understanding.

But you’ve got to be worried seeing her work until she’s that lightheaded.

Ril didn’t say anything, but I want her to understand. I wish people would pay a little more attention to those who aren’t in combat classes. Though, I know it’s not that simple.

Once Alice finished washing her face and looked slightly more human, we headed to the Guild for breakfast.

The fact that she was still swaying a bit concerned me, so I figured I’d give her some words of encouragement.

“Alice, when this job is over, why don’t we have a celebration?”

“A celebration?”

“Yeah. Didn’t you say you wanted to eat your fill of delicious meat? So, I’ll treat you to a feast next time.”

“Really!?”

Alice leaned in so fast she almost fell over; she was halfway across the table despite being in the middle of eating.

She must really have wanted that meat.

“Really, really. I’m not such a small-minded man that I’d tell a pointless lie like that.”

“It’s a promise! Also, can I invite my seniors!?”

“You can, but how many are coming?”

“Five people!”

“Got it. I’ll have it ready.”

“Is it tonight!? Or tomorrow!?”

“Ideally, tomorrow at lunch.”

“Understood! I’ll tell my seniors they can eat lots of meat for free!!”

I didn’t expect her to bite with this much excitement. She’s starving.

She’s hungrier than a ravenous monster.

“Then let’s hurry up and finish the work today. Tomorrow at noon, we’re having a yakiniku party.”

“Yakiniku… party…”

Sorry to interrupt your daydreaming, but that’s after the work is done.

Hello? Can you hear me?

No use. She’s not listening.

I was a bit uneasy, but she seemed wide awake now. So today, we went around capturing the corrupt nobles alongside the knights of this country.

However, the corrupt nobles didn’t go down without a fight; they tried to escape through the secret tunnels Alice mentioned. But that’s where a happy accident occurred.

It was the performance of Alice and her comrades.

Apparently, she had already spread the word about the yakiniku, and they were catching the fleeing nobles one after another.

I heard some nobles tried to escape using teleportation circles, but the team supposedly kicked them out of the circles and snatched them up before they could vanish.

A victory for the “Hungry Tactic.” No enemy could stand against the Intelligence Department with meat dangling in front of them.

By the way, the knights liberated the elves who were chained up in fancy rooms and the spirits kept in insect-like cages. They even erased the tattoo-like marks that served as proof of slavery.

The freed spirits and elves returned to their villages. Of course, I had Ril and Tiamat act as their guards.

The work finished that evening.

I quietly collected Ril and Tiamat when they returned. The elven village was back to normal, and the spirits returned somewhere deep within the Great Forest.

“Ryu, can’t we do the celebration tonight?”

“Don’t be reckless. I haven’t brought the meat yet. Just wait until tomorrow, and I’ll let you eat your fill.”

“Okaay.”

“By the way, I wanted to ask—would it be better to have a variety of meats? Or should I just focus on quantity?”

“Quantity, please.”

“Got it.”

I can’t really argue when she says it with such a serious face. So, quantity is the priority.

…Maybe I’ll go hunt a Giant Boar?

The day passed as I spent it planning the menu for tomorrow’s lunch.

The next day, I woke up early to start the preparations.

Giant Boars are located near the central-eastern part of the Great Forest, so it takes a bit of time to bring them back. If I didn’t head out to hunt soon, lunch would be over before I knew it.

Leaving a note in the room, I headed toward the eastern side of the Great Forest.

I arrived quickly and began searching for the boar.

Since I did a lot of training in this eastern area, I have a rough idea of where to look. The only problem is that it’s nearly autumn.

According to the old man, boars eat a massive amount of food during this season to prepare for hibernation. Because of that, the particularly frenzied ones can be a bit of a pain.

After walking just a short distance, I found traces of where a boar had been digging for food. If possible, I’d prefer a male—they’re delicious. The females are good too, but they usually have young with them this time of year, making them even more dangerous. I’d rather not hunt a mother with piglets.

Relying on scent and sound, I found one—it looked like a male.

Since luck was on my side, I hunted it immediately.

It let out a loud squeal as it went down, but forgive me; it’s so we can eat.

With that, I managed to secure the ingredients for the lunch party.

I made it back to the Dukedom just in time, shortly before noon.

I got some surprised looks since I was dragging a boar behind me, but once the old gatekeeper realized it was me, he just gave a nod of understanding—which I found slightly annoying for some reason.

I’d left a note saying to meet in front of the Guild; I wondered if they were already there.

“Sir Ryu, what on earth did you bring with you!?”

“Oh, you’re already here.”

Besides Alice, there were five other men and women standing there. They must be Alice’s comrades.

“What is that huge thing!?”

“Just something I hunted for lunch. Let’s hurry up and eat.”

“Wait, isn’t that a Giant Boar? That’s a high-class ingredient!”

“Eh, this thing is considered high-class? News to me.”

“Are we really allowed to eat this!?”

“I brought it specifically to be eaten. In fact, if you leave any leftovers, you’re getting a noogie.”

“We won’t leave a single bite!!”

“Alright then, step back a bit so I can butcher it.”

Alice obediently stepped away, but the other five were still frozen in shock, so she had to usher them back.

The boar was far too large to take inside the Guild, so I had no choice but to dismantle it outside.

I used my Claw to start butchering it for the first time in a while.

I carved the meat carefully so as not to damage the tusks, hide, or bones, since I planned to sell those.

It was quite a gruesome sight, and a few passersby held their hands over their mouths, but I could only offer a silent apology—it’s not like the thing fits through the Guild doors.

When I finished up quickly, for some reason, a round of applause broke out.

“That’s amazing, Sir Ryu. I didn’t know someone could butcher something so cleanly.”

“I’m sure the Guild’s dedicated dismantlers can do this much.”

“How are you able to dismantle it so perfectly?”

“Who knows? Probably because I’m a ‘Tamer’.”

It’s just my personal theory, but Tamers are a profession that deals with living creatures.
To know a creature—meaning their ecology, skeleton, and how their muscles move—is something I think a Tamer is best positioned to understand.

‘Healers’ mainly deal with humans, but if they had something to butcher, they could probably do something similar.

When I mentioned that to Alice,

“When you put it that way, it makes sense. Just knowing how an opponent can and can’t move is an advantage in itself.”

“Exactly. Now then, let’s eat.”

I decided to sell the leftover bones and hide to the Guild and get to grilling the meat immediately.