Chapter 118: Bounty Hunting (1)

Actually, I don’t know if you’ll remember, but we have received a bounty before.

When we caught the Head Collector, Cave.

That guy was a ‘Slaughter’ grade villain recorded on the international wanted list, and the bounty on his head was a whopping ten gold coins.

So, 10 gold.

On top of that, we even caught Ged, who was leaking the methods to break visions and received a Medal of Merit and with the added prize money from the medal, we received a total of 20 gold.

With this much money, you really didn’t have to worry about living expenses while attending the Academy.

The dormitory is supported by the imperial family, so it’s free, and the basic living expenses are at most for food or teaching materials and supplies needed for lectures.

The problem is the money used to upgrade equipment or buy artifacts, secret tomes, spirit herbs, and elixirs…… but honestly, that’s only possible for the well-off kids with strong backgrounds.

It’s common for cadets from ordinary commoner families to rip their pants trying to keep up with them, so a realistic option for them was hunting for prize money and bounties.

“But why do you suddenly want to earn money?”

“When I thought about it, I haven’t really done anything for you, senior.”

“What are you talking about? What do you mean you haven’t done anything?”

“Really? What have I done?”

Yuria looked straight at me and asked, and for a moment, I was at a loss for words.

‘Huh? Right. What has she done?’

I thought about it carefully.

What things has Yuria done for me?

But no matter how much I thought, I had unilaterally done so much for her that nothing immediately came to mind.

It couldn’t be helped; I invested in Yuria without expecting anything in return to make her my right-hand woman.

With the goal of raising her as a counter to Ivan.

As long as she grew up well, I had nothing more to ask for.

You know how a parent’s heart is, full just by watching their child eat?

It’s similar to that.

“Ah, right. You got a good grade on the mid-term evaluation, right? And you’ll get a high grade on the final evaluation soon. Then I’ll be first in the mentor evaluation and get merit points, right? So that’s something you’re doing for me. Isn’t it?”

“That’s something I promised to do for you originally and I don’t even know if I’ll get a good grade on the final evaluation yet. What if I mess up?”

“That’s true, but…… Ah. Besides that, you gave me this subspace ring, right? Yes, that’s right! Don’t you remember?”

“……I didn’t buy it for you. I received it from Mr. Hans and it’s not expensive either. Compared to what you’ve done for me, senior, it’s a drop in the ocean.”

“And there’s trust.”

“Trust……?”

“Yes!”

I nodded my head emphatically.

Yes.

Trust.

An absolute belief that she would never betray me in any situation.

And the certainty that she would always be on my side.

Yuria gave me those things and I thought they were more valuable, appreciated, and cherished than any equipment or artifact…….

“Ha. I really haven’t done anything, have I? Trust. Trust……”

Yuria mumbled weakly, staring into the air with glazed-over eyes.

“Alright. I get it now. I’ll work harder and buy you something good, senior.”

No.

It’s true…….

This is a situation where she’s just fishing for a specific answer.

“……What kind of gift are you going to give me?”

But even in this situation, whether it was a thief’s instinct or I had become a money-crazed fool, my mouth was impertinently asking what kind of gift she would give me.

“I haven’t decided yet. But, at least over 200 gold.”

“Hmm.”

In that moment, two incompatible emotions soared at the same time.

One was joy, the other was worry.

The joy was, of course, a materialistic joy about the possibility of 200 gold coming into my hands and the worry was a pure concern stemming from how hard it would be for Yuria to earn 200 gold.

……It’s true.

“So. I’ve decided to go bounty hunting.”

“Hmm. So that’s how it is.”

The next day.

I met with Section Chief Baron and told him what had happened yesterday.

After listening to the whole story and nodding, Section Chief Baron asked out of the blue.

“But where did Rachel go?”

“……Pardon?”

“No. Isn’t Rachel missing from the Academy’s three great beauties, Eureka?”

“So? Why are you suddenly bringing up Rachel?”

“Wasn’t it a love quadrangle including Rachel? With you, Gerard, at the center.”

“Ah. What kind of nonsense are you talking about? Did you even listen to what I said?”

At my whining, Section Chief Baron laughed heartily and patted my shoulder.

“It’s a joke, a joke. You little rascal.”

“Don’t lie. You were serious.”

“Hmm. Am I caught?”

“……Ah.”

“Huhu. Yes. The important thing isn’t who you end up with. Will you be alright? Bounty hunting. It won’t be an easy task, you know.”

I glared at Section Chief Baron for a moment, then relaxed my expression and patted my chest.

“Of course, I’ll be fine. Have you forgotten? Which villains I’ve caught.”

Excluding the ones I caught secretly like the necromancer of the cemetery and Narsi, I had officially caught at least two major villains.

Notably, the Head Collector Cave and the Holy Sabo.

There were other Dark Clerics and Galbart who was a cut above them in terms of skill, but when it came to infamy built on evil deeds, no villain could match those two.

This world divides villains into grades based on their cruelty and infamy, broadly in the order of World Public Enemy, Slaughter, Judgment and Special Watch.

Special Watch villains are those who have committed crimes like tax evasion, robbery, and assault, while Judgment is for rape, fraud, desertion, and murder.

From the Slaughter grade onwards, the grade is not assigned from the beginning.

It’s given to villains from the Judgment grade who commit another crime, continue to flee, or commit unspeakably vicious crimes like massacring a town.

Finally, World Public Enemy is for the leaders of large criminal organizations or those with great martial power, the villains above villains.

‘And among them are the Five Evils.’

Ah.

Since I prevented Carl’s rampage, which should have placed him among the Five Evils, it would still be the Four Evils now.

‘I wonder if he’s doing well?’

I thought of Carl, whom I had met during the Entrance Festival.

Since he had the potential to become a World Public Enemy, I thought he would be living well, serving as Karagas’s sheriff, but I was also worried because the ‘Blood’, a subordinate organization of the Darkness Council, was there.

‘If I can survive until the break, I should pay him a visit.’

Anyway, the bounty increased as you went up the ranks, and to earn 200 gold, you had to catch at least a Slaughter-grade villain.

“Have you decided on a target?”

At Baron’s question, I shook my head.

“Not yet. But since it’s our first time and we only have the weekend, I’m planning to pick a suitable target. The bounty will be small…… but this is all experience. In fact, this experience is the main goal. It’s not like I’m really trying to get an artifact from Yuria.”

“……”

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

“It’s nothing. Anyway, be careful. So you’ll be sleeping out?”

I looked at Section Chief Baron with an expression that said, ‘why are you asking something so obvious?’ and answered.

“Bounty hunting isn’t something you can finish in a day, you know? It’s a given that we’ll have to go out every weekend. And there might be cases where we have to sleep out in between. Why?”

“It’s nothing. Have a safe trip. I’ll pray for your good fortune.”

“Don’t pray.”

“Why?”

“Because now, whatever encouragement you give, I suspect your ulterior motives.”

“To doubt this teacher’s pure encouragement. I’m disappointed.”

Though he said that, Section Chief Baron just continued to flash that unreadable smile at me.

This wicked shipper.

Looking at him, it seems like he’s possessed by the ghost of a bachelor who died without getting married.

“Senior!”

Just then, Yuria waved from afar and ran over.

“Were you waiting?”

“Yeah. We were supposed to go to the Capital Defense Headquarters together after your class ended.”

“But I told you to wait in the dormitory. It’s so hot outside like this.”

“It’s fine, I was in the shade.”

“You must have been bored being alone.”

“……Ahem. I guess I’m invisible.”

Only then did Yuria notice Section Chief Baron next to me and blinked her eyes.

“Oh, Section Chief? When did you get here?”

“……”

I burst out laughing at Section Chief Baron’s dumbfounded expression.

It served him right.

***

We visited the Capital Defense Headquarters in Icata.

The Capital Defense Headquarters was an abbreviation for the Capital Defense Administration, and within it were the Public Security Headquarters, the Guards, the City Guard, and the Military Police.

For reference, the Academy Guards who protect the Academy belong to the elite Military Police.

“Woah.”

As expected of the general headquarters of the defense forces protecting the capital, the Capital Defense Headquarters was enormous.

The scale was different from the City Guard Office I saw in Roenberg; the grand buildings were all large and clean, and numerous people were coming and going.

Among them, we headed to the Public Security Headquarters.

Inside, City Guards in combat uniforms and headquarters staff were bustling about, and just as we were about to get lost like children in the chaos, we met a group of Military Police.

“Excuse me. But are you two perhaps from the Academy……”

When I nodded yes, he was extremely happy and grabbed Yuria’s hand.

“I’m a fan!”

“What is this……”

“I read the article in the Royal Dream and have wanted to meet you once! Really. You truly are the reincarnation of Admari as I’ve heard!”

Admari was the daughter of the main god, Max Obje, and the goddess of war and victory.

She was also famous for her beautiful looks, so it was a nickname often attached to beautiful women as a modifier.

“Hey. Hey, Yusborn. Who is it that you’re making such a fuss?”

At his colleague’s question, the military policeman called Yusborn shouted.

“Damn it. You don’t know? I’ve been telling you since last time! An amazing new cadet has entered the Academy! The youngest recipient of the Honorary Merit Medal, who also beat down the villains who invaded the Academy, and even resolved the recent zombie incident, the reincarnation of Admari!”

The filmography spewed from his mouth as if he had memorized it.

At that, Yuria looked at me in a fluster, but.

“Ah, no. That wasn’t me. It was Gerard-senior here……”

“Ooh! Is this him? I’m a fan too!”

And so, an impromptu fan meeting broke out at the Public Security Headquarters.

“Just one handshake!”

“Me too!”

“Ugh. Uwaaah! I’m not washing this hand today!”

“I-I’ll have my name on your back here……”

I moved away from them.

It wasn’t that I wanted to move away, but I was pushed and pushed by the crowd of people, and it naturally ended up like this.

Damn it.

I’m a total fifth wheel.

‘Well. Still.’

Seeing Yuria, who didn’t know what to do and was flustered but still listened to people’s requests one by one, a chuckle escaped my lips.

It was then.

Yuria, who was in the midst of the crowd, waved her arm toward me and shouted.

“Senior! Over here! This person said they’ll help!”

Fortunately, among Yuria’s fans was a headquarters employee who managed the wanted list, and with his help, we were able to receive a file with the wanted posters organized.

In an empty room, we opened the wanted file.

Rustle──

The classification ranged from Special Watch to World Public Enemy.

The grade and bounty increased as we went further back, and the entries detailed the villain’s name, grade, and criminal history.

In the very last entry, the bounty on the villain’s head was written in large, thick numbers.

“Who should we go for?”

I asked, but I already had someone in mind before coming, so I flipped through the file to find him.

“Hmm. Slaughter grade?”

“No. Let’s not be greedy since it’s our first time.”

“Why? The ones below that aren’t worth much money.”

“The ones with high bounties are not only strong, but they’re also quick-witted and smart, so they’re good at hiding. We don’t know how much time it will take.”

“Ah.”

“So it’s also a good method to lower our sights and hunt the ones that are easy to find. We’ll go for quantity over quality.”

“……I don’t mind if it takes a long time.”

She pouted her lips like that, showing her displeasure, but it was only for a moment.

Yuria did not oppose my opinion.

“Okay. But next time, let’s go for an expensive wanted criminal.”

“Alright.”

I rummaged through the wanted criminals of the Judgment grade, below Slaughter.

‘It must be around here somewhere…….’

Then, at some point, my hand, which had been flipping through the wanted posters without hesitation, came to a sudden stop.

“Huh? This person……”

Yuria’s eyes widened as she looked at the wanted poster.

In the photo on the wanted poster, a person with a familiar appearance was staring straight at us.

The entry written below.

Grade: Judgment

Criminal History: Robbery, arson, terror, murder and aiding and abetting, assault, etc. numerous

Name: Skull Mask

What.

……This is me?

At that moment.

“Let’s go for this person.”

When I turned my head, Yuria was looking at me with eyes sparkling with anticipation.

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