Chapter 46

Chapter 46: Strange Grief Wants to Retire ~ The Weakest Hunter’s Hero Dream Chapter 46 \n46 ウサギ Rabbits\n

Aah, I want to eat ice-cream.

My body shivered in the cool night air, and while escaping from reality I pulled on the collar of my cloak that was nothing more than a piece of clothing.

Well, I wasn’t exactly shivering because of the night breeze. The number one cause was Liz-chan, who had decided to suddenly change careers from treasure hunter to a regular hunter.

Tino was giving her very best leaping about the tops of the stone pillars, searching for something that didn’t exist. Liz who had instructed her, was single-mindedly making a pile of sand rabbit heads in front of me.

Liz was faster than any animal living in the area. And since she wasn’t hunting to eat, she never stopped moving.

I had only noticed one sand rabbit, but maybe because they supported the ecosystem, it turned out there were an amazing amount of them around here. When Liz caught one she would bring it in front of me, and then as if it was a matter of course, snapped it’s neck and add it to the pile.

The cute round eyes that shone in the darkness even after death were extremely eerie. I had averted my eyes, but I couldn’t ignore the sounds. That they didn’t let out a terrible cry was a small mercy.

Were these, to eat? They weren’t right? Stop, don’t bully the animals. Well no, they were technically classified as monsters, but they really looked like an animal.

I was a philanthropist. Naturally I hated violence, and I didn’t really like to exert myself. Subjugating monsters wasn’t a crime so I had no reason to stop Liz, but it was just too cruel.

Tino had said to please watch her. I couldn’t watch though. I couldn’t see anything. I breathed a deep sigh, and decided to give out some candid advice.

Ever since becoming a hunter I was always being saved. I owed a great debt to Liz and the others. But this was a different matter.

“Liz… isn’t it already fine over there?”

“Eh? Really?”

The sounds stopped. How many animals did she hunt, even with my face turned away there was still a strong smell of blood. Even if I was a little accustomed to it, it was a harsh smell that made me nauseous.

“…I’m a… philanthropist.”

I didn’t fail to notice it. The bonds between Liz and I weren’t so weak that I couldn’t overlook something of this degree. But I couldn’t completely stop some words from coming out. At my words Liz turned around and tilted her head while looking me in the eyes.

Those eyes were truly mystifeid.

“? You mean not to hunt the terminals, but the main unit?”\n

??? I had no idea what she was saying. Were they some hunter terms perhaps?

“But even with the terminals, it seems like the terminal side is unaware it’s being used, so I don’t really know where the main source is. Looks like they were really cautious. This type of thing is better suited to Lucia-chan or Syt.”

Liz put her finger on her lips and talked rapidly. I was desperate to comprehend her words, but I didn’t understand anything.

I didn’t understand anything from the first half, so for the time being I could just focus on the second half.

They were cautious? That’s because all the others were killed. Sand rabbits were also living creatures that grouped up, so they were going to be cautious. Well, after this it seemed like their caution was completely futile though.

So, Lucia and Sytry were knowledgable about rabbits huh… It was the first time I had heard of it, but Magi and Alchemists had a lot of strange knowledge. If those three made a serious effort together, let alone rabbits, nothing would be left remaining. You didn’t have to take hunting rabbits so seriously.

Yep. I had a feeling I understood about 80% of what she had said. The important thing was to stop Liz from her massacre. My eyes wandered in the total darkness, and I spoke while putting up a front.

“For now there’s no need to hunt rabbits anymore. To begin with, whether they’re cautious or not doesn’t matter.”

“Amazing Cry-chan. So cool! But I haven’t crushed the source yet, I think we need to make them regret ever thinking of moving against us. Don’t you think it’s shameful to be so hostile despite surviving while hiding away? We need to put our stake in the name of 『Strange Grief』 and crush them… Do they think we’re trash that won’t be able to find where they are? I don’t think it’s good to let them look down on us like this. We have to take them seriously and crush them underfoot. Wouldn’t Lucia-chan and Syt also say the same thing?”

Liz’s eyes were glittering. What I said really didn’t seem to have gotten across.

Wasn’t it a bit much to use all your power on rabbits? Your opponents are sand rabbits you know? It’s one thing for humans, but they’re sand rabbits you know? I don’t think it’s shameful to be looked down on by a sand rabbit. In the first place they live a modest life by the survival of the fittest without bothering anyone. They never even made any moves against us. Going all out was one of Liz’s charms, but I wish she would be more selective with her enemies.

And what did you think Lucia and Sytry would say? They wouldn’t agree. They didn’t really like such pointless things. They might keep Liz company if she strongly insisted, but I didn’t think they would go exterminate such harmless rabbits.

I thought seriously about Liz’s words, but the contents were so absurd that I grinned.

And it was there I realised my error.

Liz wrapped her hands around my back, and looked up at me in excitement.

That’s right. Liz was a bit thoughtless, but she wasn’t stupid. Violent but humorous. She was an important friend to me.

In this case, her words were probably – intended as a joke. Maybe she had been trying to make up for our lack of communication lately. It was unacceptable to make a mountain of sand rabbit corpses as a joke, but it wasn’t something worth scolding her over.

Today I was clear headed.\n“No honestly, something like a bunch of sand rabbits aren’t worth our attention. And you can’t find out where they are? The source? Their ruler? The king of rabbits will always be inside the burrow. You don’t even have to think about it.”

They might come out, but basically they should stay inside the burrow. But in the first place, whether a colony of rabbits had a king was doubtful…

At my high spirited return, Liz’s expression bloomed brightly.

“It’s because you only try to find everything with your eyes Liz. You need to think with your head.”

“Yes, although I’m thinking as well. …I see, inside the burrow, huh… There are many burrows in the area, it could be the perfect place for a cowardly rabbit owner…”

What do you mean owner? Sand rabbits don’t have owners.

“Yeah. That’s right. They aren’t worth caring about. Look at the brave figure of your disciple.”

I couldn’t see anything, but do your best. For some reason Liz raised a cruel warped smile, and I grabbed her shoulder and turned her towards the pillars. I’m not sure whether you’re serious, but please stop being so fixated on the rabbits.

Under the faint moonlight, there was something vaguely black. It was indistinct so I couldn’t make it out. Seeing it hop about the pillars gave it the feeling like it was some sort of yokai flying around.

“She’s become quite good… she’s already partly a thief.”

“Ohh, really? She still has some training to go through yet. She needs to grow fast so she can be my training opponent.”

I thought it was already plenty enough, but Liz was dissatisfied. Well, one of the reasons Liz took her as a disciple, was to raise her to be stronger than herself so she could be her sparring partner. So there was no helping it.

But I mean, wasn’t it a contradiction to raise someone stronger than yourself? How does that work?

While soothing Liz I really had the feeling I wanted to go eat ice-cream. By the time Tino finished her investigation, I had to come up with a reason to convince them why we came to this shrine.

“You see, I wanted to come to this shrine to observe Tino’s growth. At the White Wolves Den she might have caused you some trouble, but that was just bad luck.”

“Mmm, it’s ok if it’s Tino, but I want you to see my growth as well.”

While I still held her shoulder, Liz resolutely raised her head and looked up at me.

I couldn’t understand even if I saw it. I thought she had become strong enough already. Liz and the others were already beyond me. Honestly Tino was also a little much. If you want me to watch it’s fine, but I can’t give you any advice…\n\nLiz took my arms as if to calm me down, and squeezed them tightly. That was the only thing that allowed me regain some composure. And I was silent at the unexpected sight.

The source of the sounds and vibrations was from the central area of the pillars. A large black mass slowly rose in the space surrounded by columns. It’s height was about four meters, around the same as the pillars. At first glance it looked similar to the columns, but staring from a distance you could see that this pillar had 『limbs』.

Within the darkness, on it’s head, there looked to be the pattern of an inverted triangle shining red.

What is it?

Liz put her index finger on her lips and muttered with a serious expression.

“A golem. Metal armour. Leg boosters. Guns in both arms. Shield and longsword. No wings. A model designed for land combat? The crest is what Syt called 『Akasha』. ……Cry-chan’s aim was this hmm… yep it’s definitely strong.”

A golem? Aah, right. This was also a phantom that appeared. I pretended to know while listening to Liz’s combat analysis.

“Yeah, that’s right. It’s a big sand golem isn’t it.”

There was the White Wolves Den, but nowadays shrines seemed pretty dangerous. It may have been a boss, but wasn’t the degree of difficulty a little high compared to the level of the shrine?

Large was synonymous with strong. Dragons slaughtered countless hunters with their physique alone. Well, the sand golem in front of us wasn’t that big, but compared to Tino it was too large.

The huge sand golem turned our way and faced us. I couldn’t see the fine details, but from the silhouette I could tell it was a giant human shape holding a sword and shield like Liz had said. If I could, I would have run away at any moment. My feet wouldn’t move.

Liz had an unusually grim face.

“Yeah. I don’t think it’s possible with me or Tee. We aren’t actually suited to combat. Saying this was easy, as usual Cry-chan’s estimates are really harsh.”

“…Tino was the one that chose.”

Ah, I feel like throwing up.

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