The battle had ended quickly, and as I went about collecting the horn rabbits, I noticed Alan staring at me.
"What is it?"
"Nah, I just felt like your swordsmanship got better somehow... I don't know if it's okay to ask, but what level is your [Swordsmanship] skill anyway?"
"It's Level 3."
I answered Alan's question honestly without hiding anything.
Hearing that number, Alan's eyes went wide with surprise.
"Your skill level is already that high?! Man, you've really got a knack for the sword, Erik. Look at me, my [Swordsmanship] and [Shield Technique] are both still Level 1..."
"...Come to think of it, you have [Shield Technique], don't you, Alan? How do you use it?"
"Hm? How? I mean, I just use my shield normally like this... Don't you have [Shield Technique] too, Erik? You're carrying a shield, after all."
"I don't have [Shield Technique]. I only carry a shield for safety; I don't actually possess the skill."
I glanced down at my shield as I spoke.
"...Now that you mention it, your shield movements don't really seem all that refined. Still, it's impressive that you manage to block monster attacks at all."
"I just do my best to track them with my eyes. I can manage against things up to goblins, but if we run into anything stronger, I doubt my shield work would hold up."
"Hmm... Then want me to ask my bro to teach you [Shield Technique], Erik? He's trained his [Shield Technique] up to Level 8, so I'm sure he could show you the ropes."
I paused for a moment to consider Alan's offer.
"If that could actually happen, I'd really appreciate it, but do you think he'd agree to teach me?"
"My bro's taken a liking to you too, so I bet he will. I'll ask him when I get home today."
Just as Alan said that, we finished packing the horn rabbits into our bag.
With that, we had completed our quota for the request.
Next, we began hunting to improve our party's coordination.
"...Erik-kun, do you have a moment?"
"What is it, Leticia-san?"
After about three hours of hunting, Leticia-san walked over and called out to me while we were taking a break.
"It seems Garm spotted a pack of wolves deeper in the grasslands."
"...How many?"
"We haven't grasped their full numbers, but there are definitely at least thirty."
Hearing Leticia-san's words, I sprang into action immediately.
Though we had only just sat down to rest, I called out to Alan and Philia right away.
"Dangerous monsters have appeared deeper in the grasslands. We're heading back to the royal capital at once."
At my command, Alan and the others moved without a second thought.
Our opponents were a pack of wolves.
We had to escape now while we still had the distance.
Without wasting a moment, we took off running at full speed back toward the royal capital.
Alan, Garm, and I carried the baggage so Philia and Leticia-san could move as lightly and swiftly as possible.
"W-What's the matter with you kids?!"
"Did something happen?"
When we reached the city gates, the guards stationed there called out to us, alarmed by our frantic entrance.
"This boy spotted a pack of wolves deeper in the eastern grasslands, so we came back to report it."
"A pack of wolves? How many?"
"We don't know the exact count, but there are at least thirty from what we could confirm."
The moment we told them, several of the soldiers sprinted off to spread the word.
Meanwhile, we hurried over to the Adventurer's Guild.
"What happened?"
We burst into the building and rushed straight to Reina-san's counter.
Seeing our flustered state, Reina-san immediately knew something was wrong.
"We spotted a pack of wolves deeper in the eastern grasslands. There are at least thirty of them, but the total number is unknown."
"A pack of wolves? Is everyone all right, Erik-kun?"
"None of us were harmed. Thanks to Garm detecting them from a distance, we were able to retreat right away."
"Oh, thank goodness."
With a sigh of relief, Reina-san led us back to the Guildmaster's office.
Once inside, she relayed our report to Ryan-san.
"A pack of wolves? I've never heard of them appearing in the grasslands at this time of year."
"Neither have I. However, a dungeon formed this year, so that might be the cause."
"...Let's issue a request right away. We owe you kids our thanks. You did well bringing back such valuable information."
Ryan-san offered us his gratitude.
Afterward, we returned to the reception counter to settle our requests.
Since we had completed the primary quest earlier, we safely received our 30 copper coins.
Next, we processed the materials from the extra monsters we had hunted for the Permanent Request.
Our haul for the day came out to 14 horn rabbits and 8 slimes.
We cashed them in alongside the leftover materials we couldn't exchange last time.
◇
Horn rabbits: 15
Slimes: 10
◇
Since every single horn rabbit had been hunted cleanly and remained in pristine condition, a bonus was added to the payout.
In total, we received 75 copper coins.
And just like always, we divided the earnings evenly five ways.