Chapter 77.1 \nProbably because of the upcoming Zebrudia Auction, the Explorer Association was more crowded than usual.\n
The Auction is a big event. During the period of one week, the Imperial Capital will be more crowded with tourists and merchants from other countries.
For Hunters who usually look for Relics and are based in the Imperial Capital, it is a great opportunity to sell Relics which are usually not sold for much and maybe they will get lucky and sell it for a high price. It is also an opportunity to bid off valuable Relics which are auctioned to greatly improve your strength.
In front of the request board there is a crowd of people twice as big than usual. For the upcoming day, Hunters who are usually looking for information on Shrines to find Relics, come to receive request that can help them increase their funds as much as possible. Tino is also mixed in all those giant Hunters, while stretching as tall as possible, she is staring at the request board hanging on the wall.
The Auction schedule is approaching and there isnât almost any good request left. Requests to subjugate monsters in the vicinity have all been taken and all that remains are troublesome requests that wonât end by the time the Auction starts. All the Hunters are looking at the area of the Explorer Associationâs staff with a murderous aura. With bloodshot eyes, they are observing if there arenât any new requests coming up.
All the Hunters here are third-rate, is what Tino thinks. The Auctionâs date is fixed in advance. Whether to gather Relic or raising funds, First-Class Hunters have already done it a long time ago and are laughing at the Hunters next to the request board.
Tino is not interested in the Auction. She doesnât have much greed and she doesnât waste money. So why am I looking the board as the same as those under-prepared Hunters? When Tino couldnât raise her tension to their level, someone suddenly called from behind her.
âHey, Tino. This, is this all right?â
ââŠâ
She looks back, the one who called out to her was a Thief who had previously formed a party with her to go to the ăWhite Wolves Denă, Ruda Runebeck.
As always, she had smooth brown hair and big breasts as if they were asserting themselves. It seems Ruda recently leveled up her Level to 4. Since we formed a Party that day, we talked to each other when we met. As we are both Thieves, we get along well. She has also accompanied us when I was training with Shisho1. Tino rarely visit the Explorer Assoc. so we didnât have a lot of occasion to meet each other. It can be said that we are more than acquaintances and less than friends.
Ruda smiles at Tino who is staring at her silently.
âAs usual, you look fine⊠Are you doing fine in your training?â
â⊠Onee-sama is going to speed run multiple Shrines⊠So, I was left behind because I am too slow.â
â⊠She, she is as usualâŠâ\n
The magazine sticking out in front of Tino is the gossip magazine that summarized things related to Treasure Hunters.
Usually there are articles on Hunters who found a strange Relic or strange Shrine with special features from another country. Most recently, there was an article with dubious critic about the abnormalities in the ăWhite Wolves Denă. It is a magazine that sometimes publishes information that may or may not interest Hunters.
The page that was opened at had information about a piece of Relic which will be put up for the auction.
Normally, Tino doesnât read magazines. This is because the necessary information can be collected by Footstep without any lack or deficiency. She receives the magazine and gaze at what was written.
A certain prestigious Hunter want to buy the strongest Relic and in order to do that he is collecting money regardless of what can happen to him. Of course, not only other Hunters but a certain noble is also aiming for the same Relic. It seems that the Relic is a Relic that a Level 7 Hunter from another country obtained it after facing a life and death situation and brought it here. Apparently, the noble is in a friendly relationship with Ark Rodin. Some firms are also starting to move to try to get it. Everyone knows about it, so it will probably be the centerpiece of this auction.
âThis, this is about Cry, right?â
Until where is this true or false? It also contains speculation about the power of the Relic and the expected bidding price. If you are a Hunter and succeed to get it, you will surely level up.
In the first place, it is a gossip magazine with little credibility, but all those stupidities caused Tinoâs eyebrow to curve.
ââŠâŠ It is wrongâŠâ
ââŠâŠ Eh?â
âIn the first place, Master⊠couldnât get people to lend him moneyâŠâ
â!?â
Tino only followed him along until halfway but from what she knows, Master was denied by everyone who he requested to lend money. Transferring money between Treasure Hunters wonât be done without any good reason so it was unavoidable but Tino couldnât say anything at all to the shattering line she red.
The magazine says that Cry is collecting billions of Gils but where did number really come from? When Tino inclines her head Rudaâs eyes start blinking.\nâEh? Is it possible that it isnât about CryâŠ?â
ââŠâŠâ
There isnât any mistake. In this Imperial Capital, there isnât another Clan Master and High-Level Hunter collecting Relics. Even though he is just blazingly sitting in the Imperial Capital, he is also a person who is in the center of various topics.
After confirming the contents of the magazine, Tino breath a heavy sigh and return the magazine to Ruda.
There was an article that poke fun at the certain High-Level Hunter written in the magazine. According to the article, he is a Hunter who is heartlessly stealing gold to obtain the Relic. He is fully exerting his power as a Clan Master. He uses a woman in his party to give him money, and many other things, the content is so far-fetched that I canât help but think that they donât care about their life and are some kind of daredevil.
I give up the crowded request board and go to a table placed in the meeting area. Ruda is following me and sits in front of me in a casual manner.
How can I explain this� Ruda is a human resource that Cry gathered for Tino. Although it was for a short amount of time, it also concerns her, and she expressly went and talked to me because she is worried about Master so I can be rude to her. Some would say that it is too pitiful to be dancing in his palm for something like this. Tino is very compassionate.
Tino is hesitating for a few seconds and straightforwardly says in a clear tone.
â⊠Master is already in the process of getting the Relic he wants. And about the debt⊠It is going to be fine, so you donât need to worry about it.â
ââŠEh? Is⊠That so?â
Ruda is surprise and her eyes become round. Masterâs collection of Relic is, as far as Tino knows the best in the Imperial Capital. It is mostly a rumor for the other Hunters but in fact, Tino has once follow her Shisho to Masterâs private room and there was many Relics lined up and being displayed. The number of those were, more than a hundred. From Relics that you can find relatively often to the ones that I have never heard of. If it is variety then it is probably a collection that exceeds even Shop specialize in Relics in the Imperial Capital.
The price of a Relic depends on the supply and the demand but if it were to turn into money, it would cost a few billions.
A Treasure Hunter is a person who desire treasure. Tinoâs master is a man who fits that description more than anyone.
His debt is⊠Definitely not a problem.\n\nHowever, this timeâs Relic is probably different. I hear that the Relicâs popularity was the worst, so it was destroyed by Onee-sama. Tino herself didnât really like it much, anyway he was uselessly changing his face. The other people also didnât make a good face when he was saying âWith this I am the real Infinite Variety, you know2â. Even Sitry Onee-sama smiles was clouding over so it can be said that it was considerable bad. Of course, it was. Even if the inside doesnât change⊠Who would be please that the face of the person you adore would be ever-changing?
Master is amazing but there were some things that Tino couldnât understand because it is too amazing.
âWell, if there isnât any problem, it is good then. I, and also everyone thought⊠Well, look, it has become such an amazing rumor, right? I thought he would be fine, but he was still someone I knew soâŠâ
What they said about nobles and companies moving is probably true. Leaving aside Gossip magazine, there are other Hunters who are talking about it. It is also true that the price of the Relic will jump up. There were several similar cases in past Zebrudia Auction. What started is a clash of titans. The only Hunters who can stand up against business companies and nobles are Top-Class Hunters.
But why are you all, worried about Master, like this? He looks a little unreliable, but it is of course all a bluff, even though there is his Level 8 Certification Level that guarantees his ability.
It is really hard to understand for Tino who knows him.
âBy the way what was Tino doing? The request board seems to be very crowded because of the auctionâŠâ
â⊠I, I canât even practice, so I thought I would make a little bit of money and help Master.â
Tino closes her eyes and answer with a voice that is almost disappearing.
§ă§ă§
Thanks for reading! So we see Tinoâs point of view in all that! As always, she is looking at Cry with over reverence! She doesnât understand the plan, but she knows it is awesome xD She really is the mascot of Footprint, so innocent. Tchao Ă plus!
1. I used to translate as teacher but it is more master than teacher but I translate master as master so I could be confusing, so I am putting Shisho from now on. Shisho definition is right in the middle of Teacher and Master. When Tino says Shisho it means Liz.
2. Cryâs Alias is translated as Infinite Variety but in the literal meaning of his Alias is something like Thousands changing or ever-changing. So, him changing his face as much as he wants makes him the ever changing.