Kochugunshikan Boukensha ni Naru

Translator: SFBaka

Editor: Thors Stone

Its been ten days since the Adventurers Guild issued the request for thinning out the monster numbers within the sea of trees and assigned areas to different Clans.

Alan-sama, I feel like the number of monsters has already decreased to a great extent

Yeah, thats right. Ive been using scanning magic but it really seems that the monster numbers have thinned out a lot. It looks like we dont have to hunt monsters in our assigned area for a while.

Of course, theres a possibility of an influx of monsters coming over from the areas assigned to the other Clans, but since they probably also thinned the monster numbers in their areas, the numbers probably wont increase for a good while, and we didnt need the entire Clan to go out and hunt them anymore. We can just hunt them again once the numbers increase to a certain extent in the future.

Honestly, Id like for the guild to call off this request already. Ive been checking with the guild every day, but they keep on saying the same thing. Yosh! Ill definitely give them a piece of my mind today.

Ill accompany you, Alan-sama.

It looks like hell accompany me even though I was just heading over to complain to the guild. Walter really is such a good guy.

We didnt take on a mandatory quest though, so we really didnt have to hunt monsters constantly if we didnt feel like it since there was no quota, but it just wont feel right to skip on a job yknow. Since its already obvious that theres no danger of a stampede, Id like the guild to make a decision already.

We finished our hunt for the day and lined up outside the gates to wait for the mandatory inspection. The ones lined up were all adventurers and there didnt seem to be anyone who looked suspicious. They were probably all members of the Clans that took on the guilds request like us.

In our Clans case, I used the drones to scout ahead and pinpoint the location of the monsters, so we had a much easier time hunting monsters compared to those adventurers who went in practically blind.

After undergoing the inspection, I took all the magic stones and subjugation proofs the teams collected and headed to the Adventurers Guild with Walter.

When we entered the guild building, we found that the assessment was congested with people. We waited for fifteen minutes or so until the assessment for all the earlier adventurer parties was done.

Our total kills for the day consisted of 26 Gray Hounds, 5 Orcs, and 25 Goblins. Our earnings amounted to 29,600 Guineas.

We barely made a profit.

Yosh, lets go Walter!

Yes! Lets give em a good one!

We headed to the receptionists counter to offer a complaint.

Im Shining Stars Alan.

Ah! Its about the request, right? We just rescinded it earlier. We at the Adventurers Guild thank all you Clans for your cooperation. Thank you for doing such a fantastic job.

Ah, is that so.

And just when I resolved myself to give them a piece of my mind, they went and canceled the request. I and Walter headed back Home without saying anything.

Hey, if it isnt Alan-san!

A guy who looked like a merchant suddenly called out to us. I looked at the nametag displayed on top of the guys head and found that he was called Geld. I didnt have any recollection of him, but since Nanom had recorded his name on the database, he was probably one of the merchants who introduced themselves to us at the Commerce Guild.

Youre Geld-san, if I remember correctly.

Oh! To think you even remembered my name! Yes, thats right! Its me, Geld.

Its been a while.

To think I was able to meet you again today. Shall we go for a little drink? How about it? I know a good place with some delicious chilled ale. Your companion can come too of course. Ill treat you both.

Man, and I was just craving for some chilled ale. Perfect timing. When I exchanged gazes with Walter, it seems he left the decision to me. Well, it would be a shame not to accept his invitation, especially since he was treating.

Okay then. Well take you up on that offer.

There you go! The shop is just ahead.

The shop he led us to was a tidy-looking bar where a number of merchant-looking folks were hanging out. It was probably a bar that especially catered to merchants. Geld placed a large order of ale and snacks. The waitress immediately brought out the ale.

Ive always wanted to talk to you at length even just once, Alan-san. No, I understand. I promise I wont take up much of your time.

No, it would be nice to converse with a merchant like you from time to time.

Alan-san, did you know that Shining Star has become pretty famous around these parts?

Hee, is that so? Maybe its because we always wear our Clan badges, so the people find it easy to identify our members.

I showed Geld-san the Clan badge I put on near my left shoulder. I received reports from our Clan members of people thanking them for our bandit subjugation work from time to time.

No, no. Of course, youre all pretty famous in Gantz. But according to the rumors, youre also getting pretty well-known in the Kingdoms capital.

Hou, so our fame has even reached the royal capital, huh

Well, the rumors are mostly spread by merchants of course. By the way, is it true that youve managed to capture more than ten bandit groups?

Thats mostly right. Precisely speaking, we managed to capture eleven groups, with a total of 215 bandits, I guess.

Two hundred fifteen bandits! My word. Thats one impressive number! Truly, thank you very much for your work.

No, its a request from the Commerce Guild after all.

Since everyone is saying that the guild does some meaningful work from time to time after all, Guild Chief Silas is often in a good mood these days.

I see. So our activities ended up boosting the Commerce Guilds reputation as well. We did manage to earn a tidy profit, so it was a win-win.

I downed two tankards of ale while listening to various rumors and parted with Geld afterward.

We did it, Alan-sama!

Yeah, that was some good ale.

No, not that. I was referring to our fame in the royal capital.

Ah, so you were talking about that. I also think it would be nice if that was really the case. I hope it turns out to be true. Well, we dont know to what extent the rumors have spread, so we still cant confirm it though.

When you think about it, we did accomplish quite a feat, so Im sure the rumors have some element of truth to them.

I finally arrived back home while exchanging some small talk with Walter. Now then, its about time I took a bath. Afterward, lets have some dinner with everyone.

After dinner, I called out to Captain Dalshim.

Captain Dalshim, I want to conduct another meeting. Can you gather the rest of the sub-leaders at the Clan office again?

Understood. Alan-sama, um Im glad you still refer to me as captain, but the Clan already has a captain, so I think it isnt quite appropriate anymore.

Oh, right, sorry. Come to think of it, I have an idea regarding that. Lets talk about it later during the meeting.

Understood.

When my party members and all the sub-leaders gathered up, I began the meeting.

First, Ill tell you about the latest announcement. The Adventurers Guild has finally canceled the request for monster culling within the Great Demon Forest. As expected, they judged that there is no danger of a stampede. I would have liked them to have come to such a decision four or five days earlier though.

The number of monsters has clearly gone down by a lot, so its just proper.

Well, thats right. I have another announcement to make. It seems the rumors of our Shining Stars bandit subjugation activities have even reached the royal capital. However, Im still not sure to what extent the rumors have spread, so we still cant say for sure if we really have achieved some fame.

Ooh!

They are spreading good rumors about us, right?

That seems to be the case. I heard this particular piece of information from a merchant, and it seems the ones spreading such rumors are mostly merchants as well. Also, he gave us some info that there have been signs of another bandit group appearing around here. There havent been any victims so far, but its fairly suspicious that a group of fifteen or so people has camped out in the same spot for two nights without even hunting a single monster.

Of course, this info was captured using the drones. I watched a video recording of the group in question, and they certainly didnt look like adventurers. They even searched for some good ambush spots at one point, so I was pretty sure they were bandits. We probably need to head out again to capture them.

Please let the A Team handle it, Selena requested.

Understood. Ill leave them to you then. They should be located around here. You can prepare yourselves and depart tomorrow. Alright then. Fancy some Orc hunting, B Team? Lets attack an Orc settlement. Maybe we can even encounter a General Orc.

Ooh!

Since the bandits still havent secured a hideout, they probably dont have that much loot on them yet. Assaulting an Orc settlement might be more profitable if thats the case.

Lastly, lets talk about Captain Dalshim. If youre okay with it, would you like to serve as my adjutant?

I will be serving as your adjutant, Alan-sama!?

Only if you dont have any problems with it Can I count on you then?

Of course I accept! I will certainly not fail your expectations!

Thats good then! We all know how capable Dalshim is as a leader and commander. He is fit enough to take up a leadership position in any organization. I know you already understand this, but I want you to always consider Adjutant Dalshims opinion in matters relating to the Clan. Got it?

Everyone nodded their heads in agreement.

Im sorry though, but I have already decided to have Selena serve as my Vice-commander. Dalshim was a lot more experienced right now, so he was actually more suitable in a sense. However, Im glad Dalshim agreed to the position of adjutant.

Yosh. Well then, the A and B Teams will head out together at 7 in the morning tomorrow like usual. Be sure to make adequate preparations.

The moment I went back to my room, Iris contacted me. Maybe she waited until I was all alone before she called.

Captain, here is the regular report regarding the dragon.

The other day, I ordered Iris to find the wild dragon that appeared in the skies of Cecilio Kingdom, and she managed to find it within two hours. I compared its behavior to the footage of other dragons previously captured by the drones and found that there wasnt anything particularly alarming. It was just flying around without a particular destination in mind, it seems.

It didnt pose any harm even when it approached human settlements and cities, and seemed to have gotten bored after hovering around them from above for a short while. It hunted other monsters like Big Boars for food, and it hasnt attacked any humans until now. It should find it easy to bring down humans, but it didnt show any interest. Does it have an opinion against attacking certain creatures as a dragon or something? It seemed like quite an intelligent beast.

I displayed the current position of the dragon on the virtual HUD.

(Isnt it actually approaching Gantz?)

It seems so. However, there is no set pattern to this particular dragons movements. Its probably a coincidence.

( I see. Continue monitoring the subject for now.)

Understood.

The dragons movements certainly didnt indicate a particular pattern like Iris said. When you think its chosen a course to fly toward two or three days earlier, youd suddenly find it moving more than 150 kilometers away from it the next day. It felt like it was just flying around wherever it wanted to without a particular destination in mind. I cant help but worry about it.

Oh well. I was certainly curious about the dragon, but we have to depart early tomorrow. Lets just get some sleep.