The next day.
"Take care out there!"
Miyabi saw me off as I headed toward the city's north gate. I strolled along, observing the bustle of the city, but sharpened my focus as I neared the gate.
I was stopped at the checkpoint, which was only to be expected. However, after showing my guild card to prove I was an E-Rank adventurer, I was allowed through without any issues. From there, I made my way to a colony near the reported sightings to gather medicinal herbs.
I was equipped with a bow and a knife today. I also had a spear ready inside my Item Box, but I didn't plan on using it. Apparently, spears and greatswords were the most effective weapons for hunting Smash Boars. However, since I intended to make any encounter look like a total coincidence, I deliberately chose weapons that weren't specifically geared toward hunting them. My guild card listed my specialty as the bow, so being too well-prepared for a Smash Boar would likely arouse suspicion.
I continued my herb gathering, but the Smash Boar was nowhere to be found.
Since it was a monster, it wouldn't just stay in one place like a plant, but this was the first time I'd had such trouble finding a specific target. I was even using Detection Magic, but I couldn't find the boar—or any other monsters, for that matter. As Miyabi had mentioned, monsters really were a rarity in this area.
I kept searching for herbs while keeping an eye out for the boar, and eventually, I collected the required amount. The deadline wasn't until the day after tomorrow, so I didn't strictly need to finish in one day, but I knew the herbs were in high demand due to the travel restrictions. The guild would buy up any surplus I brought in, so there was no harm in gathering more. Just as that thought crossed my mind, a faint sound reached my ears.
"—uaah!"
Was that a person? It sounded distant. Or maybe I was just imagining things?
"——Help me——"
I heard it again. It wasn't my imagination; this time I clearly heard a cry for help.
I readied my bow and cautiously moved toward the voice while masking my presence. Soon, I spotted two adventurers being chased by a monster that looked like a Smash Boar.
To be honest, it looked more like a giant pig than a boar. It had tusks, but they were small and didn't look particularly sharp. However, its physical size was imposing—easily as large as a cow.
No, this wasn't the time for comparisons.
I notched an arrow, timed the movement, and released. The arrow threaded through the trees and pierced the Smash Boar’s right eye as it charged forward, its massive body pushing through the underbrush. A scream echoed through the woods as the creature thrashed in pain.
At that moment, the two fleeing adventurers stopped and looked back. What were they doing?!
"Don't stop! Keep running!" I shouted.
The two spotted me and stood there, flustered. I tried to call out again, but the situation had already changed. The Smash Boar had noticed me and was glaring in my direction with its remaining left eye.
This wasn't how I had planned for things to go, but I had to deal with it. I slung my bow over my back and focused, circulating Qigong through my body as I faced the beast.
The Smash Boar was a thick-set creature with small, dull tusks protruding from its lower jaw. While the tusks weren't venomous, a frontal charge from a beast of that size was incredibly dangerous. It was even bigger than I had first thought—about 1.5 times the size of the cows I remembered from Earth—and it was covered in layers of dense meat. Its skin was covered in shallow wounds, likely from those two adventurers, but it didn't look like they had even reached the muscle.
Attacking the torso would be a waste of time. I had to aim for the head, where the meat was thinner.
"Buooooooo!"
The Smash Boar let out a roar and charged. The trees seemed to be hindering it, because its speed was slow enough for me to read easily. I stepped to the right to dodge, and the boar, unable to stop its momentum, crashed into a tree behind me. It knocked the tree flat before turning back to charge again.
I timed my move and stepped to the left this time. As we passed each other, I drove a Qigong-enhanced Palm Strike into its right temple.
"Pigiii!!?"
It let out a high-pitched squeal and stumbled to a halt. The strike had clearly been effective; I could tell from the impact that the flesh there was thin. Next!
The Smash Boar swung its head, trying to slam its tusks into me. I stepped back to bait the miss, then delivered a sharp kick to its exposed left temple.
"Pi, gii..."
That hit harder than the first. The boar's right front leg buckled, and it fell to one knee. I didn't give it a chance to recover. I knocked its jaw upward, grabbed its tusks for leverage, and drove a solid elbow into the side of its head.
There was a sickening thud as bone shattered. The Smash Boar’s legs trembled for a moment before it collapsed entirely.
That was relatively easy. Was it dead? It certainly seemed so.
"U-Um!"
"Thank you for saving us!"
"Ah... you're welcome. Are you two alright?"
While confirming that the boar had stopped breathing, I turned to the two adventurers. I hadn't noticed from a distance because of the armor, but one of them was a woman.
"Yes, thanks to you," the man said.
"But one of our friends is injured back there," the woman added. "I know we haven't even thanked you properly, but please, let us go to her."
If there was someone injured, I should probably help.
"Of course. If you don't mind, I'll go with you. I can use Healing Magic."
"Really!?"
"Thank you! Please, this way!"
"Ah, wait. I can't leave this Smash Boar here unattended..."
"I'm sorry, but who are you exactly...?"
"Forgive me. My name is Ryoma Takebayashi."
"Ryoma-kun, then. Please, stay here. We'll go and bring her back to you."
"Watch out, though. There are some malicious adventurers in this area," the man warned.
With that, they hurried off. Malicious adventurers? That sounded like a classic setup for trouble. I expected someone to jump out from the bushes right then and there.
I stayed on guard, but I didn't sense anyone nearby. For now, I decided to take care of the bloodletting. I just had to leave it to the Bloody Slimes. I also summoned my Heal Slimes... oh, it was already finished? The Bloody Slimes really were efficient.
I waited for a while, but the so-called malicious adventurers never appeared. Eventually, the two returned, carrying a female swordswoman on their backs.
"Over here! I'll start the treatment!"
She looked like she had taken a direct hit from a charge. Her shoulder and leg were fractured, and she was covered in abrasions. She was sweating from the pain, but fortunately, her ribs and internal organs seemed to have escaped the worst of it. It would take a few days to be sure about internal damage, but these were wounds I could fix.
"High Heal. High Heal. High Heal. High Heal..."
"...Thank... you..."
I cast High Heal repeatedly. Slowly, her groaning stopped and her complexion improved. In a very short time, she was well enough to speak.
"Thank you so much!"
"I owe you my life," the swordswoman said.
"You're very welcome. However, your stamina is still depleted, so please take it easy."
After another round of introductions, I learned that the swordswoman was named Philly. The two I had seen earlier were Ken and Rulie.
"I'll be fine," Philly insisted. "It's all thanks to you and your slimes."
"You've done so much for us, but we don't have much to give you in return," Rulie said.
"Take this for now," Ken added, holding out a small bag of coins. "It's not enough, but we'll pay the rest once we're back in the city."
I didn't really need the money, and since they were E-Rank adventurers, they probably couldn't spare much anyway. But I decided to take what was in the bag to settle the matter.
"I'll accept this, but please, don't worry about the rest. Instead, could you tell me more about those malicious adventurers you mentioned?"
"Is that all you want?" Rulie asked.
"It doesn't seem like a fair trade, but... alright," Philly said. "The three of us usually work together, but there were two others with us today."
Apparently, they had met a pair of C-Rank adventurers from another town at a tavern. The C-Ranks had asked them to act as guides for a Smash Boar hunt. In exchange, the higher-ranked adventurers promised to coach them and give them a small share of the reward.
"We checked their guild cards and they were definitely C-Rank," Ken explained. "There were no marks on their cards for misconduct, so we thought it would be safe."
"The pay seemed reasonable, too," Rulie added.
"But those cowards... they used the 'experience' excuse to make us do the fighting, and as soon as things got dangerous, they used us as decoys and ran. I got knocked flying and couldn't move... I remember Ken and Rulie trying to lure the boar away to protect me. You know the rest."
"I see."
So they were either tricked or the C-Ranks were simply incompetent. Either way, they sounded like terrible people. I didn't think Ken and his party were lying; nobody would risk their lives like that just to tell a story.
"Are you really sure this is enough? About the money..."
"It's fine. I was the one who offered to help. Consider it a complimentary service."
"But..."
"Rulie," Philly interrupted. "I know how you feel, but it's rude to keep pushing. Let's accept his kindness."
As Philly talked her down, an idea struck me.
"Actually, if you'd like to help, could you assist me in carrying this Smash Boar back to the city? Also, since I killed it without an official request, I'd appreciate it if you could testify to the guild that I only did it because we encountered it by chance."
The boar was lighter now that it had been bled, and with my physical enhancement magic and Qigong, I could lift it. However, my body was still small, so I would end up dragging it on the ground if I went alone. Plus, I needed witnesses to justify the kill.
"If that's all you need, of course!"
"Let us help!"
"Thank you."
With their assistance, we managed to haul the beast back to the city. The gatekeeper was stunned, but since the Smash Boar had been such a major concern, he let us through after a quick explanation.
The walk to Pioro's shop drew a lot of attention, but we made it there without incident.
"Whoa!?"
"What is that!?"
"Excuse me, coming through. Sorry, excuse me."
The customers in front of the shop were in an uproar when they saw what we were carrying. One of the clerks came out to see what the fuss was about, followed quickly by Pioro and his family.
"Ryoma-han!? What's this massive thing!?"
"Ah, hello Miyabi. It's a Smash Boar."
"I can see that! I'm askin' why there's a Smash Boar here! I told ya it was dangerous! Didja go and fight it anyway!?"
Miyabi was fuming, but Pioro calmed her down while Ken and the others explained the situation.
"It's our fault he had to fight it," Ken said.
"If he hadn't stepped in, we would've been killed," Rulie added.
"Please, don't be angry with him!" Philly pleaded.
"Ugh..." Miyabi let out a long sigh. "If ya were savin' people, I guess I can't stay mad..."
"From what they're sayin', it don't sound like Ryoma did anythin' reckless," Pioro noted.
"I'm sorry for worrying you," I said.
"Ya really should be! Honestly... well, I'll let it slide this once. Dad, ya better butcher that quick before the meat spoils."
"Right! Can't stand around talkin'. Let's get it inside!"
Following Pioro's lead, we moved the Smash Boar into the butcher shop's processing area.
"Should we get started then?" one of the butchers asked.
"Wait a moment!"
Just as they were about to begin, Kurana stepped into the room. Apparently, someone from the Adventurer Guild had arrived.
"Business? Can't it wait a bit?" Pioro asked. "We're right in the middle of somethin'."
"They want to inspect the boar," Kurana explained. "Since it's the one that's been causing trouble in the north, they need to verify it's actually been killed."
I had mentioned at the gate that I was selling it to the Saionji Company, so word must have traveled fast.
Soon, the male clerk I had met yesterday entered the shop. Pioro went to greet him.
"Welcome."
"Sorry to interrupt your work. I just need to confirm the kill and then I'll be out of your way."
The clerk walked a circle around the Smash Boar, inspecting it closely before nodding with a look of relief.
"This is definitely the Smash Boar. Thank you for your cooperation. We can finally lift the travel restrictions on the north gate."
The clerk then turned to us and bowed.
"Thank you very much for taking this beast down. We can finally start clearing the backlog of requests in the north."
As the clerk was preparing to leave, Ken and the others hurriedly explained what had happened with the C-Rank party.
"I see... In that case, I'll need the three of you to come to the guild to give a formal statement about those two. Takebayashi-sama, please come to the guild whenever you have time with the subjugation proof. We'll have your reward ready."
"Thank you very much," I replied.
The clerk left with Ken's party, who thanked me one last time before they departed.
Once I returned to the processing area, the employees were standing by with their tools.
"Sorry for the wait. Let's start the butchering!" Pioro shouted.
"Yes, sir!" the staff replied in unison.
"Ryoma, ya don't mind sellin' all this meat to us, right?" Pioro asked.
"Not at all. I don't know anyone else to sell to. But could I keep a small portion for myself? You can have the rest."
"That's an easy deal. Right, boys?"
The butchers all cheered their agreement. But as they started working, murmurs of confusion began to spread.
"What's wrong?" Pioro asked.
"This boar... there isn't a single drop of blood in it," one butcher said.
"What? Is it clotted? Even then, a little should come out."
"No, sir. It's completely dry."
Pioro inspected the meat himself, looking puzzled.
Ah, right. I had the Bloody Slimes handle the bloodletting.
"I'm sorry, that's because I drained it," I admitted.
Every head in the room turned toward me.
"I didn't see any wounds that would allow that," Pioro said. "And even if ya did, it wouldn't be this clean."
"I used a special method. Have any of you heard of a creature called a Bloody Slime?"
One of the employees spoke up. "Wait, is that the slime that drinks blood? I remember hearin' about them when I was a kid."
"That's the one."
"There's really a slime that does that?" Pioro asked. "And ya had it drain the boar?"
"Yes, I always do that with my prey. Especially with a beast this size—I wanted to make it as light as possible to carry. The meat is perfectly safe, but is there a problem with the purchase?"
"I've already appraised it, and there's no problem at all," Pioro said, shaking his head. "In fact, the quality is much better than usual. I almost want that slime for myself."
I talked with Pioro in more detail about the Bloody Slimes. I declined his interest for now, explaining that I only had one and that they could be dangerous if they weren't under the control of a contracted tamer.
However, if my Bloody Slimes multiplied in the future and Pioro hired a trustworthy tamer, I wouldn't mind letting him have some. It would be a good way to show the world the value of slimes, and I knew Pioro's shop would treat them well. Besides, Bloody Slimes weren't as rare as Cleaners or Scavengers; they could be found in the wild if you knew where to look. There wasn't much point in hoarding them.
By the time we finished talking, the butchering was done. I received my share of the meat, one Medium Gold Coin for the sale, and the boar's tusks as proof of the kill.
It had been a long, tiring day. I decided to wait until tomorrow morning to deliver the medicinal herbs to the guild.