Volume 6, Chapter 34 – Hunter and Miasma

After retreating from the southern forest and returning to town, we gathered in the square where we had first assembled before departure to hold a memorial service for the victims.

The coffins containing the bodies were lined up before us, and Captain Lazare took charge of the ceremony.

“Salute the brave knights and hunters who have fallen!”

The knights saluted in unison, while we and the hunters observed a moment of silence.

“That is all!”

With that call, the moment of silence came to an end.

Now, it was my turn.

I stepped forward to the coffins and knelt.

“Brave Knight Lionel, Knight Tino, Knight Bartolo, and brave hunters Theo, Neiro, Tobia, Ugo, Zaira, Gaio, Marcio, and Ludo—your courage shall never be forgotten. May your souls find eternal peace.”

Then, I sent them off.

“Funeral Rite.”

A soft light gently enveloped the eleven bodies and then vanished.

Afterward, the knights’ coffins were taken by the Order, and the hunters’ coffins were taken by the Hunter Guild.

I was told that if they had surviving family members, the bodies would be returned to them. Otherwise, they’d be buried in the communal cemetery.

Rеαⅾ оn ΚαtReαdіnɡСаfе

Once the memorial service ended and we were dismissed, I overheard a conversation.

“Hey, no matter how you look at it, the concentration of monsters back there was insane.”

“It wasn’t like that yesterday.”

“It’s about time to call it quits.”

“Yeah. Maybe I’ll just take some escort requests.”

I see. It seems the hunters have begun preparing to flee.

“So the hunters really are running away,” I murmured absentmindedly.

It seemed my monologue had reached the ears of Dion-san, who was nearby.

“We’re staying. Greg and I became hunters specifically to protect this Airoll,” Dion-san said, clearly wanting to make it known that he was different.

“Is that so? That explains why you feel so different from the other hunters.”

“I suppose so. We might be an exception.”

As he spoke, Dion-san’s gaze grew distant.

“We’re from this town. We wanted to protect the place where we were born and raised, so at first, we aimed to become guards or knights.”

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“Then why did you become hunters?”

“Well, this town is right in the middle of the forest, right? That’s where the monsters are most dangerous. But guards don’t handle monster extermination in the forest, and if you’re a knight, there’s a chance you’ll be transferred to another town. That’s why we became hunters. My parents were completely against it, though.”

Dion-san gave a sheepish, awkward laugh.

“That explains why your atmosphere is different from the others. I think if more hunters were like you, Dion-san, the prejudice would disappear.”

When I said this, Dion-san looked conflicted.

“Well, yeah… but for some reason, I don’t know why, everyone’s personality just keeps getting worse and worse. I’ve seen hunters who used to donate to orphanages suddenly turn into greedy money-grubbers.”

Dion-san continued with a self-deprecating expression.

“The only exception is the Boar Specialists, so I wonder how long we can keep this up…”

“Boar Specialists?”

“Yeah, the guys who only hunt edible meat from things like Big Boars. For some reason, their personalities don’t really change.”

I see. Wait… but Chris-san did say that exposure to miasma makes one’s personality evil.

Could that be why?

“What kind of hunting do those Boar Specialists do?”

Reaⅾ оո КαtReaⅾinɡСafе

“Mostly, they kill them with traps, bleed them out, and then just shoulder the carcass and carry it back.”

“I see. So they don’t touch the magic stones?”

“That’s right. Even when we hunt Big Boars, we don’t butcher them. Even with that size, selling the magic stone only gets you pennies. It’s the same for other meat animals since their magic stones are small.”

I knew it. Given everything, there was no doubt.

“I see. I think the reason the hunters’ personalities keep changing is because they touch the magic stones while butchering and are exposed to miasma.”

“Eh?”

Dion-san froze. Greg-san beside him froze too.

“H-hey, Dion. The reason we haven’t gone crazy yet is…”

“Y-yeah. It’s thanks to Guy-san.”

I had no idea what they were talking about.

“What do you mean?”

“Ah, sorry. Guy-san was introduced to us by the Guild, and he’s the only one in our Party who does the butchering. He’s a veteran, but since he’s a Scout, he isn’t particularly strong, so we asked him to focus on support roles.”

“I see. So you left the butchering to Guy-san.”

Reаⅾ οո KatRеаdinɡСαfe

“Yes. Though we were thinking of consulting the Guild because the amount of materials we sold was slightly low… to think he’d been taking the miasma in our place…”

Dion-san looked deeply pained. He was likely distressed over Guy-san.

“I mean, look. Guy-san was like that from the start, wasn’t he?”

“But what if that was because of the miasma?”

“Ugh…”

Greg-san was left speechless too.

“Dion-san, from now on, please make sure not to touch the magic stones when butchering. And always purify them before touching. Holy Water is fine, or Purification Magic. Once we return to the Royal Capital, I will speak with His Majesty to see if we can arrange a way for the hunters to avoid touching the magic stones.”

“”S-Saint-sama!””

Dion-san and Greg-san gazed at me with looks of profound emotion.

However, the most important person, Guy-san, was already nowhere to be seen.

Later, when I told Captain Lazare and Alois-san about this, they mentioned that since the knights simply burn and bury the magic stones rather than collecting them, such problems rarely occur within the Order.

Furthermore, the town of Airoll agreed that if the hunters’ personalities returned to normal, the town stood to gain a great deal.

They promised to issue an official notice from the town to the Hunter Guild.