After coming back, weâre taken to a place that feels like a conference room.
Apparently they were concerned because the people that left to go hunt the monster were taking too long to return, but they werenât planning on sending anyone else.
The guild employees were confused when they saw only nine people return, including people that werenât even a part of the hunting party, but after hearing Fredâs explanation, they dashed out of the room to go get the guildmaster.
âCan you explain it one more time?â
Asks a woman with sharp eyes who looks a little high strung, after entering the room.
Fred explains everything in turn. How the superior species was a shadow wolf, not a dark wolf, how the floor turned into a boss room and we couldnât escape until the shadow wolf was down, and everything else.
The guildmaster listens to Fred silently until heâs done, and grabs her head when heâs finished.
âSo how did you take down the shadow wolf?â
âWe were assisted by this party.â
âI havenât seen them beforeâŚâ
âThey only registered here a few days ago.â
The fact that Fred is answering all the questions makes this a lot easier.
ââŚSo how did you do it?â
Of course sheâs going to ask that. And this time Fred looks this way like heâs asking for help.
I donât need to hide this, so Iâll just tell her.
âI used a special weapon to finish it. But I canât do it again even if you ask me to hunt something like that one more time.â
âWhat do you mean?â
âItâs exactly what it sounds like. It was a disposable weapon that I could only use once, and it broke when I used it. This is what became of it.â
I take out whatâs left of the sword, the handle.
âWhat is this?â
âWhen I used the sword, the blade vanished. Donât ask me why, I donât know either. I bought this while traveling.â
âFrom a merchant? Or a blacksmith? Do you know that personâs name?â
âI bought it from a merchant⌠Called Miyafuji, I think.â
âI see. Tell us if you learn anything else. Also, can you let us have this?â
âI canât. This saved me, so I want to keep it.â
Someone who knows about this sort of thing might figure out where it came from. I want to avoid that if I can.
âI see. Then letâs talk about the reward. The payment willâŚâ
âYou can give the reward to Sora and his party.â
âHey! You canât do that, Fred.â
âCan you really feel proud accepting a reward after running from your hunting target?â
Fred says with a low tone of voice. Everyone except the guy that spoke awkwardly turns away.
Heâs about to continue talking, but someone else stops him, saying they already got money for expenses when they accepted the hunt. And since they were called on such short notice, apparently they received a good amount of money. Not per party either, per person.
I donât mind splitting the reward, but Fredâs not having it. He says we can just split what we get from the wolves. Although he doesnât feel right accepting that either, because without us they would have ran and left the wolves there.
I donât know if heâs just really serious or a nice person. I couldnât do that.
Weâre then taken to where they take monsters apart, and I hand over the wolves and the shadow wolf. The wolves are sold as they are, and we split the reward.
As for the shadow wolf, I keep the magic stone and ten kilograms of meat, but sell the rest. I get a hundred gold coins for it.
I guess it looks like I lost money hunting it. Even if I sold the magic stone, the total wouldnât reach two hundred gold coins.
âThanks for saving us.â
They all say, except one who is scowling at us right until the very end.
Iâm not sure what to do about that, but I guess Iâll mark him just in case.
After saying goodbye, we go to the guildâs reception desk to report on the other monsters we hunted, like the goblins. The shadow wolf earns Sera points too, so she ranks up from E all the way to C.
Not that Iâm complaining about that, but the way people rise in rank seems clunky.
Itâs all because the shadow wolf was hunted, and parts that prove monsters were hunted were delivered. But looking at just the results like that doesnât really prove someone is strong. How do they know people arenât delivering parts from monsters other people hunted? I guess in this particular case they have Fredâs testimony, butâŚ
In total, I got a hundred and thirty coins from this expedition to the dungeon. Itâs a nice profit, especially after I turn the medicinal herbs into potions. Not that I have a standard to base this on. Ah, but I could also sell food we harvested on the fifth floor in the merchant guild. Letâs see what Hikari has to say about that.
As soon as we leave the guild, I see Leila, and just as Iâm about to call out to her, she gets really mad.
She says we didnât come back when we said we would, and when she went to the guild, they told her a superior species was found on the fifth floor, so she was worried.
âLetâs talk more about this when we get home.â
We should tell them about this.
Weâre greeted by Taliyah when we get back, followed by Elsa and Alto.
I ask them to prepare a bath, and sit with Leila and the others in the guest room.
And then, I talk about what happened during this dungeon exploration. Leila looks really serious when I tell her about how the fifth floor turned into a boss room.
âSo thatâs what happened⌠I feel for the people who died, but Iâm happy for the ones who made it back, especially the four of you.â