'Hey, hey, hey, Mr. "Black Gold". ......'

A brown-haired male hunter with beady eyes looks down at Sven.
He is a member of the party that was engaged in the search for the White Wolf's Lair by a different route than Sven.

The Footprints is one of the larger clans in the Imperial City, but not all of the hunters are members. Several members from outside the Footprints also participated in this mission.

Surrounding Sven, who had successfully retreated, were the party that had escaped after hearing the signal of the emergency.

Treasure hunters are rivals with each other.
The amount of resources that can be obtained in a given period of time is limited.
As a result, hunters often clash with each other in the Treasure House. Outside of the city, it is out of bounds, so if you have a grudge against someone, you may well be killed.

However, this request is an official investigation request from the government. If you don't know what's going to happen, you need to work together.

The signal of caution was a compromise.
We're on our own. If there's an emergency that's out of our control, we'll sound the alarm. That's it.

Nearly twenty hunters had gathered in a makeshift camp near the entrance to the White Wolf's Den. All of them had returned after receiving Sven's whistle.

There was a tense air in the air.

'What does that mean? You're saying that you heard the call and signaled an emergency even though nothing unusual happened?'

'Yes.'

Eyes of hostility. Eyes observing our situation. Even though the fully armed hunters were looking at him strangely, Sven's expression did not waver.
The hunters who had gathered there were buzzing at his words. The hunters who had accused him also frowned.

The Black Gold Cross is a famous party.
Some hunters laughed at the fact that all of the members had the ability to heal, and the stability of the party was considered cowardly, but the track record did not lie.
Above all, the fact that we had reached a high level without losing a single member was worthy of respect.

But that's not what this is about.
Since this was a joint investigation by parties of different factions and levels, they should have avoided doing anything that would confuse the situation.

The brown-haired hunter clicked his tongue and looked over at the other party members, confirming in a loud voice.

'...... Any of you find anything in here? Even that boss.'

Sven's brow furrowed slightly at the sound of this.
Sven is a midwayer in this investigation. Even though he was here at the request of the official search team, it wouldn't be fun from the standpoint of being the first to receive the request.

The leaders of the party who were gathered around him answered briefly.

'Not particularly.

'Nothing here either. We encountered a few phantoms, but we handled them without any problems.

'I heard that the ...... boss was killed by the Zekage. I don't think it'll happen again for a while.

The White Wolf's Lair is a medium-sized treasure house.
The path is complicated and there are many blind spots, but with this many people, it won't take long to fill in the entire map even if we proceed with our investigation with caution.

The boss, who is feared to be a powerful enemy, has already been defeated. Except for the fact that the cause of the anomaly has not been identified, this is one of the easier requests.
And the request the hunters received was to investigate the situation at the site, not to determine the cause.

The brown-haired hunter sniffs and glares at Sven.

Sven knew the man in front of him, the Hunter. He was not a good man, but he was a good man.
A hunter with nothing but problems would never be mobilized for an investigation like this.

No, even if Sven was in the position of the man in front of him, he would want to complain if he was whistled at for such a reason.

'...... apparently? You believe the word of a man who never came to the scene and is sitting on the street, rather than our judgment. Is that what you're saying?

It was an intimidating look.
He didn't draw his sword, but that was probably because there were other hunters gathered around him.
The newcomer, Henrik, gulped nervously and looked at Sven and the brown-haired hunter in turn.

Sven looked around slowly once, and cowered his shoulders.

'Yeah, I guess so.'

'......!

The brown-haired hunter's eyes widened, as if he hadn't expected the words. His face instantly turned red and his eyebrows twisted.
Sven sighed deeply as he stepped forward as if he was about to punch him.

'You're pathetic.

'? What the hell?

'Let me tell you first, ...... we gave you a whistle out of compassion.'

Looking at the smiling faces, Sven continued in an indifferent voice.
The howl of a wolf echoes from deep within the cave. Are they threatening the intruders who suddenly disappeared? The roar seemed to be a harbinger of something to come.

'The guys from Strange Grief won't ...... make that sound. Cry would say it's okay. Lizzie and Luke won't be interested, and Citri--he'd rather let you guys go first. But we're healers, after all. It's against the rules not to stop casualties that you know will occur.

Hunters are responsible for themselves. Helping each other in an emergency is unspoken, but we are not obligated to warn them until they complain.
But Sven did. In the first place, Sven had foreseen this development. That's why he remained calm even when people complained.

Leaning his back against a tree and stomping on the grassy ground, Sven continued.

'Many members of our clan will be here soon. It's not too late to reexamine. If you want to die, do it. We'll wait here.

'......'.

'Your high reward means nothing if you're dead. I'll give you the information for free. You're lucky.'

A certain amount of reward is promised for the investigation request, but an additional reward is given to those who obtain particularly powerful information.
The introduction of multiple hunters is also an aspect of competition.

A brown-haired hunter bites his lip.

The additional reward is not a negligible amount. But we've been investigating since before the arrival of the Black Gold, and so far we haven't gotten any solid information. It's unlikely that we'll get anything if we keep investigating.
But even so, if we stay here and a lot of Footprints' parties join us, the competition will become even higher.

A man is a hunter. He has more greed than most. And I don't see much risk in the current situation.



The other hunters are looking at each other in confusion. They're probably thinking the same thing.

Normally, this would be a warning that would be laughed off. However, the fact that they were dealing with a famous party in the Imperial Capital put a stop to that. In fact, the hunter in front of him was certainly behaving in a manner worthy of the name "Storm Strike".

Still, if only the Black Gold Cross had said that they would continue their search, the story would have been different.
But they have chosen to wait.

One of the hunters shouted, as if he couldn't stand the air.

'It's the wolves that come out here,...... not the slime,......! It's not a problem even if it is! I've got a mage in my party.

I'm not sure what to do. If you ask me that question, I'm sure I'll tell you zero.
Even if it's not zero, the probability is definitely close to zero. There's no need to assume that.

'--I'll never forget, a long time ago, when the Footprints clan had just been formed. There was a time when Cry ......, our clan master, wanted to go out of the city to see the flowers.

Sven suddenly started talking. The serious look on his face made everyone around him quiet.
The brown-haired hunter, who had been gritting his teeth and snarling until a moment ago, looks up.

Behind Sven's words, the expressions of the members of the "Black Gold Cross" were distorted in bitterness.
Only Henrik, the only one who had just joined, looked at the faces of his companions with curious eyes.

'If we all go together, there's no need to hire guards, and since we're outside, don't forget to bring weapons and stuff,' he said. ......

'? ...... what are you talking about?'

'The place is now a treasure house.

'?

'Some of the people here might remember, but the earthquake shifted the earth's veins just a little bit. It shifted and hit us just as we were heading for Hanami. Did you guys ever see the moment the treasure house was built? It was-- it was a sight to see. It was as if hell had appeared in this world. Well, you won't get a chance to see it.

No one said a word.
It was only natural for a hunter to get information about the Treasure House. The appearance of the treasure house was big news at the time.
Everyone must have an idea.

The brown-haired hunter, with a shocked expression on his face, asked in a broken voice.

Although it is located near the imperial capital, the environment is so poor that most hunters have not even been able to challenge the high level treasure hall.

'Is it really ...... that "Flower Garden"?'

A treasure house that has only recently appeared and has been certified as level 7 in just three years, it is called the worst treasure house in the vicinity of the Imperial Capital.
It recently became a hot topic after Ark conquered it, but how many hunters in the Imperial Capital are capable of challenging it now?

Without answering the voice, Sven looked up to the sky and said.

'I can see 'the future' in 'thousand changes'.

'...... such ...... nonsense.'

That's ridiculous.
There are so many kinds of treasures that it is impossible to keep track of them all, but they are all said to be imitations of civilizations that once existed.
There is nothing too unreasonable. Future vision is beyond the reach of man.

But most of the other treasures cannot be reproduced by modern civilization.
Who can completely deny their existence?

Sven smiled deeply at the puzzled hunters and said.

'It seems that he holds such a "treasure". It's just a rumor, though. He denies it, but ...... that's why I decided to retreat. Now, I've given you my reasons. If you still want to go on, do as you please.



§ § § §


A peaceful time was flowing in the Clan Master's office.
Perhaps it was because everyone had left for the treasure house, but the clan house, which was always relatively bustling, was somewhat quiet.

Sitting at the big, expensive desk for clan masters, I sipped the coffee Eva had made for me and flipped through the paper she had put together that listed the income and expenses for this request.

The data was very easy to read, as it was made by a former merchant. Even a layman like me could understand it, which is impressive.
The number of footprints and the number of people who went to the request this time. The amount that the clan deducts from the lump-sum reward from the Explorers' Association as an administrative cost.
Members whose certification level is expected to increase as a result of this request are marked.

While many other clans are sloppy in their management of their parties, Footprints of the Beginning takes a high membership fee, so the management is very detailed.
You can easily find out the movements of your hunters by checking the clan's documents.

Even so, I did not keep track of the movements of the hunters who belonged to .......

By the way, Eva seems to know everything about them, and she can give you an answer as soon as you ask.
The first thing I need to remember are the names and faces of the hunters I belong to. .......

To be honest, I can't give more than a 'wow' when I see it, but it's bad for Eva, so I just nod my head plausibly and go through the material. There are some things I don't understand, but I don't ask questions.

Then, a party name caught my eye.

'Huh? What's that? Could it be that the 'Black Gold Cross' is also going?

'? Yes. Didn't Kry send them there?

Eva's curious words finally reminded me that I had been using Sven and the others as pawns.

Perhaps Mr. Gark had asked him to do so when he went to deliver my message.

The Black and Gold Cross is an excellent party. It's not explosive, but it's very stable, and the leader is very strong. And of course, it has much more common sense than Lies.
It is one of the most popular parties in Footprints. With them, commanding the other side should be no problem.

I relax my body and lean back in my chair in a relaxed manner.
I put my feet up on the desk and Eva frowned at me as if to rebuke me. 'Well, well, there's no one here right now.

'I guess I was overpowered after all. ......'

'...... Isn't it good to have a little leeway once in a while?

'No, I've always got room. ......'

'............'

Ava is giving me the cold shoulder.

I can afford it. I think I do. But it doesn't always work out.
I'm not talented and I'm not lucky. It's always bad timing. No matter how I move, it doesn't work.


I'm still managing to run my clan, but I wonder if I'm cursed.

I feel like vomiting.

I take a sip of black coffee and frown at the bitterness.
I should have asked him to make me a café au lait. I'm screwed.

'Maybe I should quit being a hunter. ......'

'You're saying that again: ......'

Well, I guess I'll be okay this time.
I can't imagine that things won't go well with the Black Gold. It's not as good as Arc, but it's better, if not the best.

The only problem left is to keep ...... Liz in line.

He looked down at the underground training ground where Liz was supposed to be relieving her stress and sighed.

It's a good thing that you're not the only one who has a problem with this.
It would endanger the rest of the party, not to mention the footprints. I have to avoid that.

It's a job only I can do. I don't feel like doing it, but I have to. I can't get in trouble.

But yes, ...... she's motivated. She's not going to stop moving.

She crosses her arms and looks up at the ceiling blankly.

Hmmm,......, Liz is a rambunctious little thing.

In the event that you have any questions concerning where and how to use the internet, you can contact us at the following web site: ....... You'll be able to find a lot of people who are interested in this sort of thing.

I'm sure Liz wouldn't refuse my request.
It's hard not to move her, but it's easy to change her direction.

I'm--I'm brilliant today.

'Yes, you are.



'...... What did you see?'

'Huh? No. ...... nothing?'

'............I see.'

I got up and decided to start selecting the treasure hall.
I'm getting good at this.