Chapter 3: Huntsman

It was now the end of December. The week after saving Raven and his companions, Allen went hunting again. Afterward, he picked up the promised Rank E magic stones. Raven had gone out of his way to wait for Allen to hand the pouch over in person rather than leaving it with reception as originally agreed.

Allen was currently in line for a meal at the servants’ dining hall, deep in his thoughts, when Dudley suddenly talked to him.

“Something got ya down, lad?”

The head chef had started engaging Allen in conversation every once in a while as of late. The pensive look on Allen’s face had apparently caught his attention.

“Oh, no, I’m fine, sir.”

“Here, have this. Eat up.” A rather large piece of meat was added to Allen’s bowl of soup.

“Thank you, sir.”

Rickel, who had just been served, whirled back around. “Why does Allen get some and I don’t?! I want meat too!”

“Hah? An’ what’ve you done that makes ya think you deserve meat? Allen’s already brought back ten horned rabbits. What ’bout you?”

“Awww, c’mon!”

Allen had delivered a total of ten horned rabbits from the past two days he had gone hunting. Five rabbits per day was the quota that he had set for himself, figuring that was the limit of what a normal eight-year-old boy might be able to bag after a full day hunting outside. Plus, he could never have too many Rank E magic stones.

In reality, however, Sebas had been more than impressed with Allen bringing back five horned rabbits each time. After all, the number of monsters was not all that high in this world in the first place. Horned rabbits were also solitary, so hunting them was not very efficient. Due to this, being able to catch two or three a day was already considered a job well done.

The head chef was absolutely over the moon about the meat being brought back and happily butchered the beasts. This was the reason he had started speaking to Allen recently, and also why he gave the boy extra meat during meals.

“By the way, have ya heard? Young Master Mihai will be visiting home next spring.”

Hm? Mihai...is the oldest son, right? The one who went to study in Academy City?

“I’d not heard.”

“When he last left, I asked him to bring back some honey sold in the royal capital. You ever tried any? It’s so sweet like ya wouldn’t believe.”

“I’m afraid not. But now you’ve gotten me interested.”

“Hah, I was hoping you’d say that! If ya catch me a few big toads when they pop up next spring, I’ll secretly share some of the honey with ya!”

“Really?! I’ll do my best!”

Damn, how long has it been since I’ve had honey? Hmm, big toads, was it? Is it because they’re hibernating right now that they only appear in spring?

“What?! Mr. Dudley, what’re you saying to Allen?! Big toads are Rank D monsters! And Allen, don’t you take him seriously!” Rickel cried loudly, drawing the attention of other nearby servants.

After breakfast, Allen went upstairs to clean Cecil’s room as usual. When that was done, he then did the laundry. He did not have to stick to Cecil’s side at all waking hours of the day, so he had spare time every so often. He often spent that time proactively helping out other servants, be it with cleaning or other miscellaneous jobs.

He just so happened to be cleaning in the garden when Knight Captain Zenof arrived. He did not live in the Granvelle mansion, but his duties did require him to drop by often, including when he had to report to Baron Granvelle in person.

“Welcome, Sir.”

“Mm.”

Rickel had told Allen quite a bit about the chivalric order. The kingdom was not currently embroiled in any wars, and even if it were, the fiefdom of Granvelle was not on the border. As such, the knights mainly dismantled bandit rings and killed monsters that were causing trouble for the citizens. While adventurers could also handle problems with monsters, a variety of circumstances sometimes made it difficult for them to do so. And that was where the knights came in.

＊ ＊ ＊

Nighttime arrived, and it turned out Zenof was staying for dinner. It was not all that rare for the knight captain or vice-captain to do so. As always, Allen took part in serving the meal.

“It looks like you’ve gotten quite used to your work,” Zenof commented appreciatively.

“Thank you for your words, Sir.”

“You do your father proud. As I’m sure you’ve already heard, Krena Village has successfully finished hunting twenty great boars this year.”

“It is a relief to hear.”

Krena Village had met this year’s quota by the end of November. Thanks to the villagers squeezing in three hunts before the baron’s arrival, they had ended up quite ahead of schedule. Before Allen left, Rodin had told him that they now had the leeway to scale back and leave ten days between each of the remaining hunts.

“But why aren’t we getting any of the meat even though they hunted so many?” Thomas asked with a scowl. “Whenever winter comes, we’ve always had boar meat!”

Now that he’s mentioned it, it’s true I haven’t seen much meat here at the mansion. The great boars killed in October should have already arrived in town by now.

The meat from the great boars needed to be preserved first—a process that normally took around two months—before being transported to Granvelle City. Consequently, several metric tons of it should have arrived in town not too long ago. However, it had yet to appear in the dinner fare at the Granvelle mansion.

The baron chastised his son and told him to not make a fuss, leaving the boy visibly dejected. Baron Granvelle was a man who was rather strict with his children.

Back at Krena Village, the baron did explain during his audience that the reason he asked the hunting party to double the number of great boars was because of a royal decree. In other words, it was the king who wanted the meat. Did all of it get sent to the royal capital, then? On that super huge magic ship?

As Allen was in the middle of his thoughts, Thomas turned to the knight captain and asked with hopeful eyes, “Zenof, can you catch a deer for us this year?”

The knight shot the baron a look. The latter shook his head.

“I’m sorry, Young Master Thomas. Hunting for food is not part of our duties as knights.”

I mean, the knights did come to Krena Village to hunt great boars. I guess the baron means for this to be a teaching opportunity for Thomas.

“Aww, c’mon!” Thomas made his sullenness clear on his face.

“Thomas, that’s enough! The knights aren’t here to listen to your whim and fancy!”

Finally, Baron Granvelle lost his temper with his son’s complaints. Thomas flinched in fright, prompting the baroness to intervene.

“Darling, I’m sure Thomas knows better. Right, Thomas? But it is true that if we have no boar or deer, the coming New Year’s Greeting is going to be rather modest.”

The Greeting was a celebration hosted at the feudal lord’s mansion at the very start of each new year. It was normally supposed to be a grand affair.

“That’s just how this year is. There’s not much we can do about it.”

Both the baron and butler sighed bitterly. This prompted the baroness to also look down sadly. Thomas, after seeing everyone’s reactions, turned to Allen.

“Allen.”

“Yes, Young Master Thomas?”

“You’re good at hunting, right? Catch a deer for us.”

“Are you referring to a white deer?”

In this world, even barons and their families had to live quite frugally. Food was one of the very limited sources of enjoyment in this world. And thanks to Allen catching horned rabbits, the meals this family enjoyed had improved quite significantly. Of all people to make such contributions to their diet, it had been an eight-year-old boy with rare black hair and eyes. Naturally, Allen’s offerings had garnered him quite a lot of attention. By now, every single person in the mansion knew that his father was called “Boar Hunter Rodin” and had been lifted to commoner status in recognition of his contribution as the champion of his village. Everyone took Allen bringing back so many horned rabbits as him having inherited his hunting prowess from his champion father—hence Dudley’s coaxing him to catch big toads and now, Thomas’s demand for a white deer.

“That’s right! Hunt one for us!” Thomas had a carefree smile on his face as if he was making a perfectly normal request.

White deer were monsters that appeared only during wintertime. Because great boars provided more meat, Krena Village’s residents focused solely on them, shifting to hunting white deer only once boar season was over.

Hm, a white deer. It’s a Rank C monster, just like the great boar. My level’s gone up quite a bit these past few months. It might be interesting to give it a go.

“Understood, young master. I shall bring back a white deer.”

Everyone at the table had heard this exchange. However, they were all so astounded that in the end, no one thought to stop Allen.

＊ ＊ ＊

Three days later, it was New Year’s Day. It was another one of his days off, so Allen once again left the mansion early in the day, paying no mind to the snow accumulating on the ground. He was wearing straw-woven boots that he had borrowed the day before.

“You still going out today, lad? Be careful—the snow can get pretty thick some places. Hm? What’s with that?”

Allen, who had a large shovel tied to his back with rope, answered, “I thought I might need it today, so I borrowed it from the gardener.”

The shovel head was wider than thirty centimeters, so it did not fit inside Storage. The two ropes Allen used to secure it to his back had also been borrowed, this time from the stables. He had picked out seven thick and long ropes—the remaining five had gone into Storage.

After promising the guard to be careful, Allen passed through the gate and took off. Dozens of minutes of running through the snow later, he arrived at a spot with trees growing sparsely all around.

Should I hunt goblins in the morning? Hmm...on second thought, hunting the white deer will probably take some time. I should dedicate the entire day to hunting it, just in case. Come on out, Hawkins.

Six Bird E Summons appeared overhead.

I want you to look for a large deerlike monster with white fur. It’s called a white deer. It has antlers longer than two meters on its head, so you should be able to spot it easily. You may go ten kilometers away max, but the closer, the better.

The hawks scattered in all directions.

All right, time for me to get to work too. Moleys, come out and Dig for me.

Four Beast G Summons in the form of moles appeared. In response to Allen’s order, they worked together to push the snow back and dig one large hole.

Ever since learning the Summons had self-awareness, Allen had started making an effort to be much more precise when giving Hawkins instructions. Just now, in addition to the command to look for white deer, he had also told them to prioritize any adventurers in need of help they might find. He had even decided on signs with them, such as landing on a nearby tree branch and crying three times to signify an emergency.

Communication is always key when working with others.

The Summons had a will. In other words, they could very well refuse certain instructions.

But seriously, Summons that are self-aware and can stay out for thirty days without rest, huh? That’s pretty nuts if you think about it objectively.

Back when he had been living in Krena Village, Allen had figured out that regardless of rank, all his Summons could remain Summoned for thirty days straight. They could continue functioning at top performance the entire time, not needing sleep or food. And now, he knew that they could move about of their own will. The realm of possibility had been blown wide open.

When Allen came back from his thoughts, he realized three Hawkins had returned.

Okay, is anyone’s target within one kilometer?

None of the birds came down.

Two kilometers? Three kilometers? Four kilometers? Five kilometers?

Only when Allen reached five kilometers did one of the Bird E Summons react and slowly descend.

Well, five kilometers isn’t too bad.

Because Moleys did not have very high Intelligence, they would stop listening to instructions once Allen got more than fifty meters away. In other words, he had to stay here to continue commanding them to use their Ability. Because of this, he decided to prioritize finishing the hole first. He waited patiently, occasionally using his shovel to gather the displaced dirt into one pile.

It ended up taking quite a bit of time to get the hole as deep as he wanted. During that time, he sent out Hawkins periodically to keep an eye on the target. Thankfully, it did not stray too far beyond the five kilometer mark.

As soon as the hole was finished, Allen obscured it with snow, then set off in the direction of the closest white deer. Thanks to his straw boots, he made good progress even while running on snow. Under the guidance of Hawkins, he soon came upon a monster that was busy feeding on horned rabbit carcasses.

Oh! There it is.

The white deer was slightly smaller than a great boar, but after adding in its neck and head, it still measured roughly three and a half meters in length. Its antlers, which grew out parallel to the ground, were at least two meters long. This was a monster that Allen had seen before back at Krena Village. However, because its white fur served as effective camouflage and this species was not very populous, the village only managed to capture one per winter month, if any at all.

Because the target was Rank C, Allen had prepared four Insect G Summons. He Summoned all of them while hiding behind a tree himself.

Hoppers, use Provoke.

The four frogs obediently started leaping up and down a distance away from the white deer, rapidly flashing various colors.

“NEEIIIGHHHHH!”

The instant the monster noticed the Summons, it promptly charged toward them, plowing through the snow. The Provoke had worked. The split second before they got trampled, Allen reverted the Hoppers into card form and then re-Summoned them a slight distance away, having them use Provoke again right off the bat. By repeating this process, he steadily lured the monster toward the hole he had prepared.

Along the way, Allen found himself impressed by how effective Provoke was. Although he was moving from tree to tree, his black outfit was still conspicuous here in this world of white. Even so, the white deer was so blinded by rage that it did not glance at Allen even for a split second.

Eventually, hunter and prey both reached the place of reckoning. One last time, Allen repositioned the Hoppers and had them use Provoke.

“NEEIIIGHHHHH!”

The white deer continued rushing straight ahead. Then all of a sudden, it disappeared from Allen’s sight.

Hmm, does Intelligence go down when Provoked? To be honest, my pitfall was actually pretty obvious.

Allen looked down into the pit that the white deer had fallen into. It was ten meters deep and two meters wide, but because the deer’s antlers were four meters across, the beast ended up being suspended in midair. Its head was the only thing left visible above ground level.

Before the monster managed to collapse the hole with its struggling, Allen drew his short sword and clambered onto its neck from behind. It bellowed loudly and desperately tried to throw him off, but because its feet were not touching ground, it could not muster any significant strength. Allen gripped his weapon tightly, then reached around and drove it straight into the beast’s neck. He repeated this until blood jetted out, indicating that he had pierced the jugular. The inside of the hole gradually filled with blood, painting a vivid mark of red in stark contrast with the whiteness of the world around them.

When the white deer finally stopped moving, Allen called out his grimoire and looked at the log on its front cover.

<You have defeated 1 white deer. You have earned 2,500 XP.>

Allen dispelled the grimoire and used all his strength to lift his prey back onto the ground. He then dragged it over to a large tree nearby, tied three ropes to each of its hind legs, threw the other ends of the ropes over a firm branch, and hoisted the beast up so that it was now hanging upside down. Gravity did the rest, causing blood to flow profusely from the open wound.

I’ve gotta drain every last bit of blood to make it that much lighter for when I lug it home. Well then, while that’s going, I should get started with cleaning up.

All the displaced dirt from the ten-meter-deep hole went back in, filling it back up.

But damn the XP sure is crap.

Normally, Allen aimed to kill a hundred goblins each time he came out here, amounting to over 20,000 XP. In contrast, by the time the white deer was fully bled, it would already be time to head back. In short, he had spent the entire day and only had 2,500 XP to show for it.

But on the flip side, this one monster alone probably has more than five hundred kilograms of meat. Considering that meat is generally priced at one silver per kilo, that’s five gold in total. I’m gonna make sure I get my due from Sebas.

It would have to be quite a tidy sum to make the day worth his while in exchange for all the XP he could have earned instead. He still had to buy a new weapon and armor, among many other things.

It was already past 4 p.m. by the time the beast was fully drained. Allen slowly lowered the huge carcass back to the ground, then tied its legs flat against its torso so that they would not get in the way on the walk back. He also tied the bulky shovel in together with it for convenience’s sake.

During the wait, Allen had replaced all his Insect G cards with Beast E cards, bringing his Attack to over 300. He shouldered the white deer carcass and stood up with a heave.

Uh-oh, this is actually pretty heavy. I hope I don’t throw out my back. Okay, time to head back to Granvelle City.

Although the monster had already lost all its blood, it still weighed more than eight hundred kilos. Because of Allen’s short stature, the deer’s hind legs still ended up dragging in the snow. Its long neck drooped over his shoulder, similarly dragging its long antlers on the ground. However, he paid all of this no mind, forging ahead through the snow using sheer strength.

Oof, I sure hope I manage to get back before the sun sets.

Because Allen always ran back, he had no idea walking would take this long. He continued inching toward town as the setting sun stained the whiteness of the world madder red. When the city gate finally came into sight, he noticed there was a commotion going on.

“A white deer is coming!”

One of the guards seemed to be shouting at Allen. It was true that when viewed from the side, the white deer carcass completely obscured Allen’s figure. Consequently, it looked like the monster was slowly approaching with its head bowed.

The other guards milled about in a fluster. Allen could not see clearly, but he thought he spotted at least five of them. To curtail the possibility of being turned into an arrow pincushion, he shouted loudly while continuing to draw close.

“Good evening, Mr. Guard!”

“That voice... Is that you, lad?!”

“Yes, sir! May I go through please? I caught this white deer on the orders of House Granvelle.”

Allen continued plowing ahead. He felt someone approach, so he thrust out his crest from underneath the monster. That seemed to have done the trick, as he was allowed through with no further questioning in spite of what he was carrying.

On and on Allen went, now walking over the stone-paved streets of the city. Because the deer’s horns were too wide to pass through the back entrance, he circled around to the front of the mansion instead.

“Good evening!”

“I-Is that you, Allen?” The guard on gate duty was familiar enough with Allen to recognize him by his voice.

“Yes, sir. I’m sorry; the back entrance is too small to pass through. May I come in through the front?”

“R-Right, of course,” the guard replied in a slightly frightened voice.

All right, I gotta first report to Sebas, Allen thought as he continued making his way into the garden.

“AAAAAHHHHHHHHH!”

A lady-in-waiting who was looking out into the garden from a second-floor window screamed loudly. Her knees gave way and she pointed a trembling finger toward the window, prompting other servants to look out as well. The commotion grew larger and larger by the minute.

“A monster’s gotten onto the premise!”

“Gentlemen-in-waiting, grab your weapons! Someone, call the knights!”

Oh, that’s not good. They’re panicking.

Allen thought he would be able to explain the situation away, but the servants filing out of the mansion were starting to arm themselves. So, he dropped the white deer in a fluster so that they could see his figure clearly.

Boooooom.

The monster was so heavy that the moment it hit the ground, a tremor rumbled through the ground and blew snow away. Both those looking on from the second floor and those who had exited the mansion froze with shock, with some even falling on their rear ends. Most of them had never seen a monster up close in their life, and now a huge, white beast had seemingly walked into the grounds. The next thing they knew, however, it had transformed into Allen’s form. Their minds scrambled to comprehend what they were seeing.

Ugh, that was really heavy. I guess my level is still a bit too low to carry something like that by myself.

Sebas pushed through the crowd to confirm the situation for himself. “I-Is that you, Allen?”

“Yes, sir, it’s me. I’ve just returned. Young Master Thomas told me to hunt a white deer, so here it is.” To avoid being held responsible for the commotion, Allen immediately brought out Thomas’s name front and center to leave the impression that he was simply following orders.

The butler started when he recalled the exchange at dinner several nights ago. No one present had taken the conversation seriously, himself included. However, it was true that Allen had firmly declared that he would indeed bring a white deer back.

At almost sixty years of age, very little surprised Sebas anymore. However, ever since Allen came to the mansion, he felt as if the perception of normalcy that he had built up over his entire life was slowly but surely being eroded away. He struggled to remain upright despite feeling his common sense crumble internally.

“What is the commotion about?!” Baron Granvelle roared as he came outside. When he got a good view outside, however, his words died in his throat. “Th-That’s a...”

“The hell y’all just standin’ around for, eh?!” Dudley, the head chef, bellowed roughly while emerging from the first-floor kitchen. It was time for dinner, and yet no one had come to pick up the dishes. He had gotten tired of waiting and decided to come out himself. When he saw the beast on the ground, however, the look of irritation on his face immediately melted into one of delight. It was his first time seeing an entire white deer in person. He approached it all atremble. “A-A white deer!”

“Yes, Mr. Dudley,” Allen replied. “I’ve only been able to bleed it. I haven’t done anything else yet.”

“I see! So you’ve done the bare minimum! Good! Now we need to remove its organs.”

In the chef’s eyes, this terrifying beast was merely another ingredient for his cutting board. This situation did not faze him in the slightest.

“VANS! What’re ya just standin’ around for?! Get yer ass over here! The rest of y’all, keep preparin’ for dinner!”

Dudley called his assistant Vans over and ordered someone to fetch a large butchering saw and a magical tool to provide illumination. He intended on doing the butchering right here, handling the task personally while leaving the rest of the preparations for dinner to the other chefs and servants.

“I’ll help, Mr. Dudley. Since the white deer is heavy.”

“Oh? Ya sure?”

“Of course, sir.”

Allen’s offer was not purely out of the kindness of his heart—he still had to retrieve the monster’s magic stone. He had similarly taken out the magic stones from all the horned rabbits that he had handed over so far. He was willing to part with the meat, as this was a promise with Thomas, but the magic stone was his. In the middle of following Dudley’s instructions to raise this leg, support this part, keep that part open, and everything else, he surreptitiously took out the magic stone and threw it into Storage.

As the gardener watched his carefully tended garden ruined with blood and viscera in dismay, Baron Granvelle turned to Sebas. “What is the meaning of this? Why didn’t you look into Allen’s background?!”

“What?! Master, you were the one who told me there was no need to dig any further after we learned he has no Talent and very low stats! As you commanded, I did not investigate any further!”

“Have you gone senile?! Look at that! An eight-year-old boy just brought back a Rank C monster by himself! How could he be Talentless?! I want to know every last detail about him!”

“O-Of course, Master. When the very next envoy from Krena Village arriv—”

The baron’s hawklike eyes narrowed.

“My apologies, Master. I will dispatch a man to Krena Village tomorrow.”

Sending someone to Krena Village took ten days round trip and to do so now would cost much more than usual due to all the snow. As the one managing the mansion’s finances, Sebas very much preferred conducting the investigation on the side of normal communications between the mansion and the village. It would not be long before the next shipment of great boar meat was due; when it arrived, he could simply ask the villager who was accompanying the delivery. However, that was apparently not enough for Baron Granvelle.

Cecil watched her father and the butler exchanging heated words with an exasperated face from a window on the second floor. Dinner was the last thing on everyone’s minds now.

Thomas, the one who had been the cause of all this, dashed out of the mansion. “IT’S A DEEEEEER!” he whooped. He tried to touch the monster, but his assigned maidservant desperately held him back.

Noticing his approach, Allen walked over and bowed respectfully. “Young Master Thomas, I have brought back a white deer as you asked.”

“Thank you!”

This incident was what prompted the baron to launch a full-scale investigation into Allen’s past.

＊ ＊ ＊

Despite working late into the night, Dudley and Allen were forced to suspend their work after only managing to skin the beast and remove its organs due to the sheer size of the white deer. Thankfully, it was currently winter, and the cold helped prevent the meat from spoiling so easily. They were to continue the following day.

Dudley had requested that Sebas excuse Allen from attending Cecil for the day so he could focus solely on the butchering, making the case that the boy had a deft hand and was a quick learner. Well, it had been more like a declaration, but that was just the head chef’s way of asking for things.

“You really are good at this, Allen. You should stop bein’ Young Miss’s manservant and be a chef instead. Want me to speak to Sebas for ya?”

Dudley still referred to Sebas without his title despite being lower in rank.

“Th-Thank you, sir, but Young Lady Cecil has been good to me so far.”

“We talkin’ about the same Young Lady?”

Being Cecil’s manservant was not easy, but it did come with opportunities to go out into town, plus free time during her lessons. These were way better terms than working as a chef.

“That aside, lad, you really pick things up quick. Vans takes ages to learn even the smallest things.”

Ah, that’s probably due to Intelligence.

Allen had noticed himself picking things up much faster as of late, and this applied to his work as a server as well. Every time he leveled up, the feeling became all the more obvious. The ease with which he could now remember things was beyond comparison to his life as Kenichi. He could memorize anything now, and his body would naturally move the way he wanted. That said, this did not mean he was getting cleverer. Just as before, he had to think hard for ideas. It was not the same as becoming a brilliant genius.

Man, the white deer sure was heavy yesterday. I guess Summoner is a support class in the first place.

Due to being a Summoner, Allen’s Intelligence stat was ranked at “S”—presumably the highest possible ranking—but his Attack was only a paltry “C.” As someone who threw iron balls and used a sword during fights, instead of having such lopsided stats, he would have preferred having all his stats ranked at “A” instead.

Allen’s hand moved deftly and surely even when he was deep in thought. In the end, that day’s butchering also lasted until quite late in the evening. Once he returned indoors, he was told that Sebas wanted to see him in his room again.

I sure am getting summoned a lot lately, Allen thought as he knocked on the butler’s door. “Excuse me, sir. It’s me, Allen.”

“Come in.”

Allen walked in and was gestured toward the usual sofa.

“Sorry you had to work late yesterday even though it was your day off.”

Oh? I actually got an apology.

“It was no problem at all, sir.” After all, I hunted the white deer on my own volition, and I was helping out until late in the night because I wanted to get the magic stone. “May I ask why I was called today?”

“Before anything else, here you go.” Sebas placed a heavy-looking pouch on the table between him and Allen.

“What is this, sir?”

“A hundred silver.”

Huh? So I’m only getting a hundred silver for the white deer?

On top of having more than five hundred kilograms of edible meat, the beast’s fur had remained largely undamaged and therefore should have been able to fetch a rather sizable sum. In short, the beast was worth way more than a hundred silver.

“That’s your salary for the month.”

WHAT?! My salary is fifty silver, which means I’m technically only getting fifty silver for the deer?! I sure as hell ain’t doing that again! I pretty much just lost the entire off day! Talk about a crap deal!

A sigh naturally escaped Allen’s mouth as a look of disappointment painted his face.

“Allen, you have a habit of letting your emotions show on your face. Don’t misunderstand: that is your salary going forward.”

“I’m sorry, sir?”

“You’re diligent and take things seriously. However, that is not the reason we’re raising your salary.”

The full salary of a manservant was a hundred silver, but Allen could only receive half of the amount until he turned twelve. If this increase in salary was not a reward for his good work, then it could only mean...

“You want me to do something else for the extra fifty silver?”

“You do catch on quick. That’s correct. We want you to also be a huntsman.”

“What’s a huntsman, sir?”

The role of “gamekeeper” from medieval English aristocratic society came to Allen’s mind. Back then, the gamekeeper was in charge of rearing the game that his master would hunt as well as protecting the game population from being poached by the common people.

“You like hunting, do you not, Allen?”

Without missing a beat, Allen replied, “I love it, sir.”

“A huntsman is...”

According to Sebas’s explanation, in this world, a huntsman’s main duties were also twofold: hunting monsters to bring back their meat and protecting people who were being assaulted by monsters outside of the city. A higher-tiered noble, such as a count, might have several huntsmen in his service, but the Granvelle family had never had one before.

“That sounds amazing!” Allen could not help but raise his voice in delight. In other words, he was being asked to be a noble’s employed hunter.

“The other servants also strongly support this idea.”

“Huh?”

After a brief conflicted moment, Sebas revealed that over the past few days, more than half the servants had knocked on his door begging him to let Allen do more hunting. Even before he had brought home the white deer, the way he consistently brought back five horned rabbits every time he had a day off was more than enough of a testament to his skill as a hunter.

It was true that the staff’s meals improved a little in quality every time Allen came back with horned rabbits, but it was honestly only by a little. The more he was allowed to hunt, the more meat there would be to go around. Some people even went so far as to say that it would be much more beneficial for the household as a whole to redirect the time Allen spent looking after Cecil and doing odd jobs for her toward hunting instead. Sebas had found himself dogged by pretty much the same request again and again.

“And that is why we’re offering you this position. To be frank with you, part of this is also due to the state of this house’s budget. I confess I did not expect you to actually bring a white deer back, but it does help to illustrate my point.”

Naturally, it would cost much less paying Allen fifty silvers extra each month instead of buying whatever monster he brought back at full price every time. Case in point, a single white deer normally went for several gold. House Granvelle’s budget was extremely tight at the moment—this had been obvious from the moment it was mentioned that the coming New Year’s Greeting would have to be significantly scaled down.

“Thank you for the explanation, sir. I will be glad to take on the role of huntsman for fifty silver extra each month. Do I start tomorrow?”

Honestly, if I get to go out every day, I don’t even need the raise. As long as I bring five horned rabbits back, I can spend the rest of every day hunting goblins from morning to dusk! Oh no, I think I’m starting to drool.

Seeing Allen gleefully agree to the role, the butler said, “Just to make it clear, I’m asking you to ‘also’ be a huntsman.”

“By which you mean...?”

“Naturally, you will still continue serving Young Lady Cecil and serving at dinner. Your work as a huntsman is only for one day each week.”

“WHAT?!”

In other words, Allen’s one day of hunting each week had only become two days.

“Are you dissatisfied? We can always pretend this conversation never happened.”

“Wha—?! Please, no! I...I’ll be happy to do it.”

“Don’t be so down, Allen. You learn things and improve quickly. If you continue serving Young Lady Cecil, you just might become a gentleman-in-waiting one day. You would want to keep your options open, yes?”

The path of promotion for a manservant was gentleman-in-waiting. Sebas, who could tell that Allen would much rather abandon his duties as a manservant to go hunting every day, was reminding him to take a more levelheaded and balanced perspective.

“Ugh...”

“So then, what do you think? Will you be willing to take on huntsman duties one day each week?”

“Y-Yes, sir. Thank you very much for considering my future.”

Two months after beginning to serve at the Granvelle mansion, Allen ended up taking on three roles: manservant, server, and huntsman.