The next day at noon, Ardis went to Hatsuharu-tei to visit Greshet and his friends as promised.
　When they entered the inn, Greshet and his friends were already waiting for Aldis at a table.

I'm sorry about yesterday. You came all the way to visit us. ......

　As Aldis sits down, Greshe apologizes.

'I don't mind. For that matter, I'd like to talk to you about that matter we talked about yesterday?'

　Greshet asks Ardis, who immediately gets to the point.

'Gio has told me about you. He wants to hire us to help with the packing and collecting.

'Yeah, for some reason, I'm only able to do day trips for a while. The best way to make money in the vicinity is to hunt the Beast King, but the transportation and the stripping of the pelts is the main problem.

It's a horrible story about not being a bottleneck to beat.

　Ralph interrupted his words from the side, and beside him, Gio and Conia were nodding silently.
　Greshet asks while looking at such a companion with a sideways glance.

''I need to confirm something, if that's alright?''

Yeah.

'You said a while, but how long do you have in mind?'

'Seven to ten days, maybe. The longest would be fifteen days. I won't hold you longer than that. I'm sure Gio has told you about it, but I'll tell you about the reward, just in case.

　Saying that, Ardis also explained the rewards and the details of the request.
　The reward is five silver coins per person per day.
　Greshe and his team are in charge of dismantling prey, collecting and transporting materials, not including combat.
　Basically, Ardis will do the hunting, but he tells them to arm themselves so that they can defend themselves in case of emergency.

'As for us, we have no complaints. We would rather ask for five silver coins a day without a battle for months. Honestly, there's the matter of the dispatch. I was even thinking of accepting a request to avoid fighting for a while.

　In the end, Greshe and the others accepted the request with two replies.

　Since they have witnessed the strength of Ardis, they must have judged that there was little danger.
　I'm sure that if this was an opponent who didn't know the strength of Ardis and judged him by his appearance, the conversation would not have been able to come to an agreement.



　As soon as possible, Ardis and a total of five people, including Gresche and others, headed to the grassland.

''Hey, Ardis,''

What?

Isn't this a bit much?

　Greshet looks back at the cart he's pulling and says.

'I'll cut back tomorrow. We've got a lot of prey today.'

With that said, ......

　Greshet is not quite convinced.
　It's a good idea to have more than one cart for Aldis to borrow to leave town.

I know that Aldis has an extraordinary amount to hunt, but ......, one is indeed enough, right?

　One of the wagons borrowed in the city of Tria is being pulled by Greshet and the other by Ralph.
　I'm sure Greshet and his friends feel that one cart is more than enough to carry, but to take two of them out is indeed too much.

　However, the large number of prey does not affect Greshet and his team's reward.
　Even if the carts returned to the city empty, the amount of money that Grechet and his team would get would not change, even if the carts were wasted.
　When Aldis said this, Greshet and the others had no choice but to keep their mouths shut.

''Okay, we're here.

　Aldis's voice stopped the group in their tracks.
　They were in the middle of the grasslands about an hour west of Trier.
　The plain stretched out as far as the eye could see, and the Canobis Mountains beyond it.
　But if you look in the opposite direction, you can see the walls of Tria, a position that shows that we are not too far from the city.

'Nothing to see but ......, maybe the same as last time?'

　Gio asks, remembering what happened the day before yesterday.

'That's what I'm talking about. I'm going to get it out now, so make some room around there.

　When Aldis instructed them to clear a space, numerous objects rose up from the ground to it.
　The sight itself was less of a surprise to Greshe and the others, as it was the second time they had seen it. But as time went on, they would be shocked in a different way.

'How many of them are coming out ......?'

　Ralph's mumbling words, as if he were in a state of disgust, would be a common thought shared by all of Grechet and his friends.

　Countless beasts emerge from the ground.
　Not to mention beast kings, snatches, green knives, coyotes, fighting bulls, glass wolves, watchers, killer birds, and even dispersers in some places. Every imaginable predator of the prairie lay there.

　After freezing them to prevent them from decomposing, Aldis instructs everyone to melt them and use their magic to create a warm wind to dry them in a short time.

Then, will you get started?　Deal with the Beast King first. Snatch the fur and tailstones, coyote and glass wolf, and the bullfighting pelts, and the Watcher and Killer Bird, just pluck the shapely feathers. I'll take care of the disperser and the green knife.

'Oh, oh ....... .................. All right!　Let's get on with it guys!

　Greshet, who had been dumbfounded for a while in front of a pile of prey, came to himself and called out to his friends, "Ardis, what about the meat?

''Ardis, what do you do with the meat?''

　Gio is checking to see if they bring back the meat of the bullfighting and killer birds.

　Bullfighting bulls are large wild bulls over three meters long, while watchers and killer birds are large birds of prey that hunt their prey on the plains.
　All are wild and dangerous beasts, but they are not unpalatable as beef or poultry.
　Unlike domesticated chickens and cows, they are stringy and smelly, so they aren't very tasty, but if you take them back to town, you can make some money.

''No, I don't want it. It's just going to be a burden, isn't it?　You can just dump it somewhere else.

　It is considered taboo to leave raw meat near the road or in the middle of nowhere to attract carnivorous beasts and demons.
　However, this place is far from the roads and the city of Trier, and there are no people living in the vicinity.
　If left unchecked, the meat will be gone within a day and will become food for the beasts.

''Hey, hey, Ardis. Did you hunt all of these in one day yesterday?

　Conia asks, as if in disbelief.

I've been hunting all over the place without thinking about collecting materials. You can sprinkle some blood on them and they will come to you.

"Heh ......, I see. Well, that's great ....... I understand that you need two wagons, but ....... I wonder if we can finish working on this ...... today.

　The girl looked far away as the wind blew her reddish hair in the wind.

　It had been about seven hours, with a short lunch break.
　Wiping the sweat from her forehead, Aldis and the others finished loading the materials into the two carts.

　Most of them are furs such as Beast King and Glass Wolf. Other than that, heads such as dispersers and green knives are taking up space.
　In addition to the numerous prey that Aldis had hunted and hidden the day before, the carnivores that smelled blood and attacked him while he was working.
　Aldis had killed them all by himself, but the more he killed them, the more the amount of prey increased.

　Greshe and his colleagues are fed up, but they are desperately working, and when the sky in the west begins to turn red, they finally complete the collection and loading of everything.

I'm tired ....... This is the first time I've ever been this tired without fighting .......

　Conia says, sitting down on the grass with a flop.

Thank you. Don't worry, there won't be too many of them tomorrow. We'll hunt our prey and collect the materials on the spot as we go.

　Aldis laughs bitterly.

　In fact, this time it was hard because they had to deal with yesterday's day's worth of prey all at once.
　After tomorrow, perhaps one cart would be enough, and while Aldis was fighting, Greshe and the others would be practically a break.

'All right, let's pull up. I hope to be back in Trier before the night begins to spread.

　Under Aldis's direction, the group headed home, pulling the wagons toward the city of Tria.



　As declared, Aldis and the others arrived in Trier before night fell, and pulled the cart directly to the Chamber of Commerce.
　Naturally, the merchant association's buyer rolled his eyes at the sight of a cart full of furs and feathers.

　In the end, the amount of money raised that day exceeded 18 gold coins, including the reward for defeating dispersers and green knives.
　Even after paying the fees for the use of the cart and the rewards for Greshe and the others, there are still more than fifteen gold coins left. It's an amount of money that an average family settling in the city could live on for six months.

''I'm tired, but five silver coins in this is delicious!

'Ah. I wouldn't say seven days, I'd say ten days, or even twenty!

　Conia and Ralph look at each other and laugh.
　For a newbie mercenary, it can be said that earning five silver coins a day is a good achievement.

　The snatch and other things that Grechet and the others can safely hunt, there are no rewards for defeating them in the first place.
　The furs and tailstones that are bought as raw materials are worth only three coppers and one copper, respectively.
　Even if they were to roam the grasslands for a day, they could only earn four silver coins - one silver coin per person. Even if you were very lucky, that would be the maximum amount you could get.

　Moreover, when you are fighting, you can get injured, and your equipment can get damaged.
　If you consume the cure, you will have to spend more money to replenish it, and if you are badly injured, you won't be able to work for a while.

　Above all, the grasslands are home to powerful men such as the Disperser and the Beast King, whom a rookie mercenary would not be able to defeat even if he were to stand on his head.
　If they encountered absolute predators, there was no time to talk about how much money they could earn for a day.

　There was always the possibility that these mercenaries could lose their lives for tomorrow.
　Considering that, the risk to their lives is infinitesimally small, and five silver coins for collecting and carrying materials is an unbeatably good treatment.
　It's no wonder that the smiles never fade from the faces of the Conyers.

I'll be back tomorrow. Then do me a favor and use this for your dinner money.

　Aldis said, and flicked a single silver coin over with his finger.

'But don't drink too deeply,'

　I'll remember to nail it down, just in case.
　Aldis returned the kibisu as it was and turned to the stoplight pavilion, listening to the cheers of Grechet and the others from behind him.