Chapter 226 : Spirit Beast Hunter (1)

I didn’t go alone.

Yuria was with me too.

Since the reason for the outing was a field trip and not an extracurricular activity, I could have gone alone, but I left the academy with Yuria.

Why?

Was I curious about her thoughts on Shadow?

No.

I had already checked that on the way back after solving Oliver’s request.

‘I don’t have much thought about it. I’m just trying not to pay attention to it.’

That was how Yuria answered Karina’s question.

Pretending not to know, I secretly eavesdropped from the side and almost died trying to hold back my laughter because it came out so suddenly.

Because that was such a Yuria-like way of thinking.

Anyway.

Despite that, there is actually no special reason why I ended up leaving the academy with Yuria.

Just because Yuria followed me.

‘Where are you going, senior?’

‘Huh? Ah. To Binhawk.’

‘Why?’

‘Just a field trip? There is a historic site next to it, you see? I’ve been curious about it for a while, and since there isn’t much time left in the vacation, I thought I’d go now.’

‘I’ll go with you too.’

I tried to refuse at first.

The field trip was bullshit, my main goal was to find the person presumed to be Yugen, so it was only natural.

But I don’t know what got into her, Yuria was persistently tagging along that day.

‘Why? Is there a reason I can’t go? You said you were going to see the ruins.’

……I had nothing to say.

Damn it.

If I knew this would happen, I shouldn’t have used the ruins as an excuse.

However, I couldn’t take back the words I had already spat out.

‘That is true, but I’ll be back quickly anyway and I want to go alo…….’

‘I won’t disturb you. I promise.’

‘…….’

Since Yuria, who usually obediently said she understood without talking back to my words, went as far as to say that, I couldn’t heartlessly cast her aside either.

Rather, that would look even stranger.

So eventually, I ended up taking Yuria along.

‘Well, surely nothing special will happen.’

And really, nothing special happened.

“…….”

It had already been 3 days since we arrived in Binhawk by taking an airship and a carriage.

To state the conclusion first, I could not find Yugen.

I searched through everything I could, from the person presumed to be Yugen to the traces he might have left, the secret codes used amongst Shadow members, or the Night Crow’s Nest.

Recalling the characteristics Evan mentioned, I chased after mercenaries who were skilled with swords but had ambiguous identities, and even tracked down guys wandering around while staking out at dawn.

But it was all a bust.

Let alone Yugen, I couldn’t find even a trace of a thief’s activity in Binhawk no matter how hard I looked.

‘In a way, it’s natural. Since this is a military city.’

Binhawk, one of the cities bordering the Naimus Empire, houses the Border Garrison and the Western Knights, also called the Red Knights.

The Western Knights might lag slightly behind the Central Knights in international status, but their individual skills were actually better.

In other words, it means this isn’t a place where villains or thieves can roam freely with peace of mind.

‘But that doesn’t mean Evan would lie to me.’

It was a frustrating situation where I couldn’t do this or that.

Yeah, well.

I never thought it would be easily solved in the first place.

The characteristics Evan told me were too vague and comprehensive, and the human named Yugen himself is a master of disguise.

‘It’s possible he stayed in Binhawk briefly and then left.’

It’s a shame I couldn’t even find a trace, though.

I think I’ve done enough at this point.

I came straight out of the inn room I was staying in and headed to the room next door.

A light knock, and the door opens, revealing Yuria’s face.

“Senior?”

“You weren’t asleep yet?”

“Yes. More importantly, what is the matter?

“I’m thinking of going back to the academy tomorrow.”

A question mark floated in Yuria’s eyes as she looked at me.

“Tomorrow? Then what about the ruins?”

I thought.

‘Right.’

I had put it off with this and that excuse to find Yugen as soon as we came to Binhawk, but I had forgotten about it.

I answer immediately.

As naturally as possible.

“Of course we have to go to the ruins too. Tomorrow.”

“Then are we going back late in the afternoon?”

“Yeah. Let’s wake up early and leave for the ruins. Just know that and get ready.”

“Yes.”

The next day.

As soon as the sun rose, we left the inn and entered the mountain next to Binhawk.

The ruins were the place where the Great Hero Aidan Frey defeated the named monster, Chimera, in the distant past.

That was why the name attached to it was the Grave of the Chimera.

Since it is a place where the Great Hero’s footsteps remain, it is a place of high historical value, but it had no research value beyond that.

It wasn’t a place where a particularly great secret was hidden, nor was there anything to see, and since it was the least popular among Aidan Frey’s ruins, visitors were rare.

Since I also came here using it as an excuse, I couldn’t possibly be active in sightseeing.

“Shall we get going?”

“Did you see everything?”

“The professor said that if I respect Aidan Frey I should visit at least once so I came, but there is nothing special.”

“Then let’s go.”

“Yeah. Be careful of the stones there coming down.”

While we were descending the mountain like that.

An incident found us completely unexpectedly.

“…….”

“What is it?”

“Sounds of battle.”

Yuria’s face stiffening.

“It’s this way.”

Not long after, she spurs her steps as if she heard it too.

When we arrived at the scene, the situation seemed to be already over.

Five men were flustered upon seeing us suddenly appear.

Then they looked at us with wary eyes, and behind them, I could see a quite large Cage and a single monster trapped inside it.

‘Were they in the middle of exterminating a monster?’

Capturing a monster is a bit strange, but I thought they might do so if there were circumstances.

What caught my interest more than that was something else.

‘It’s a monster I’m seeing for the first time.’

Its appearance is a wolf but it had a horn on its forehead, and its skin was not fur but similar to the scales of a reptile.

So at a glance, it also looks like a lizard, but the skull structure was that of a canine.

‘Peculiar. A mutant?’

Well, it’s not like I know every monster in the Play Hero worldview.

At that moment, one of the men asked roughly.

“…….Who are you? Do you have business with us or something?”

“Ah. We heard sounds of battle while passing by after seeing the ruins. But it looks like it’s over?”

I followed up with my introduction.

“I am Gerard from Frey Academy. This is Yuria.”

At the same time, a wave of agitation spread among them.

At the word Academy, the man who first opened his mouth exchanged glances with his group with flustered eyes.

‘What is it? Why is the reaction like this? Like people caught doing something shady.’

It was then.

Among them, a man with a good-natured impression walked forward.

Smiling broadly, he opened his mouth looking at me.

“Oh my. To think we would meet famous Academy cadets in a quiet place like this. It is an honor to meet you. I am called Mirgan.”

“Ah, yes.”

“We appreciate you coming to help, but as you can see, the job is finished. We will accept just the thought.”

“I see. However, what monster is that? It’s my first time seeing it.”

“Ah, haha. It seems it caused quite a bit of damage to the city while active in this vicinity, but we don’t know the exact name either. All we know is that it’s a very vicious bastard?”

Saying that, the man pointed upwards.

I could see a headless corpse hanging on a tree branch like laundry.

“Phew. He was a guy who was fun because he spoke funny even if he had no manners…… if I had it my way, I’d want to beat the monster bastard to death right here, but the client asked to capture it alive so we are doing this unavoidably.”

Grr…….

“Be quiet. Huh?”

He banged on the iron bars with his scabbard.

The monster did not shrink back and glared at him as if to kill him.

Hmm. The look in its eyes is murderous.

“Anyway, let’s greet each other properly when we meet next time. Since we still have finishing work left.”

After that, he went back to his group as if he had nothing more to say, and I also turned my body since I wasn’t particularly interested.

But I guess Yuria wasn’t.

“What are you doing?”

When I looked because she wasn’t following, she was standing still, staring intently at the monster trapped inside the iron bars.

“Why? Do you happen to know what that is?”

Yuria shook her head.

“No. But I know it’s not a monster.”

Huh?

Not a monster?

“Then what is it?”

“A Spirit Beast.”

I blinked my eyes.

Spirit Beast?

“……How do you know that?”

Yuria stammered.

“……Just, by feeling?”

“Feeling. Isn’t that answer too vague?”

“Anyway, it’s certain that it is a Spirit Beast.”

A Spirit Beast.

Simply put, that could be defined as a lifeform with a nature directly opposite to a monster.

It is so rare that it’s hard to meet one even once in a lifetime, and many things such as its habitat, characteristics, and type are veiled in mystery.

Even for me, the number of times I met a Spirit Beast while playing ‘Play Hero’ was a handful.

Since it’s so hard to see, would one conclude ‘It’s a mutant monster’ as soon as they saw that, rather than a Spirit Beast?

‘Well, those bastards saying it’s a monster also plays a part in the misunderstanding.’

Anyway, if Yuria’s claim is true, it meant those mercenaries were lying.

And I believed and trusted Yuria’s words more than mercenaries I hadn’t met for long.

The explanation of it being a feeling is a bit hard to understand but…… thinking about it again, there were suspicious parts too.

As I walked back towards the Cage like that, the man who introduced himself as Mirgan blocked my path.

“Is there some business left?”

Before I knew it, his voice was full of thorns.

“Ah. There is something I need to check.”

“Check what?”

“Is this really a monster?”

“……What do you mean by that all of a sudden?”

His face hardens coldly.

“Haha. It’s nothing else. If it’s a monster of that level, there’s no way there wouldn’t be talk in Binhawk. There should be a kill order or at least words circulating among the citizens, but I haven’t heard such talk while staying there.”

“……Did I ever say I received the request in Binhawk?”

“Ah, was it a different place? No wonder. The atmosphere was too good for a city that suffered monster damage.”

“If the misunderstanding is resolved, I wish you would just go…….”

“Still, since I have to verify it after all, please show me a copy of that request form.”

At that moment, a presence was heard from the side.

“You should have gone nicely when we gave you the chance!”

Another mercenary who approached before I noticed was drawing his sword and swinging it at me.

“…….”

I took one step back.

A blade grazing the tip of my nose by a paper-thin margin.

I pulled my fist as it was and thrust it to the side.

Thwack!

“Ugh!”

That was the start.

“Kill them!”

The guys who revealed their true colors each drew their weapons and attacked the two of us in earnest.

The killing intent contained in the attacks harbors clear intent and aims for the neck and heart.

“It is self-defense.”

Ten minutes later.

The mercenaries were all lying on the ground with their breath cut off.

“Are you okay?”

“Yes.”

Yuria was no different from the beginning except for her breathing being slightly disordered.

“They don’t seem like just mercenaries, what are these guys?”

While I was rummaging through their pockets, Yuria approached the Cage.

It seemed she intended to open the Cage and save the Spirit Beast.

She shook the heavy padlock.

“I think I can open it with this? I found it in that guy’s pocket.”

I handed the key to her.

“Thank you.”

Yuria, who bowed, picked the padlock with the key.

I stood next to her, watched, and asked.

“But isn’t it dangerous? Even if it’s a Spirit Beast, it is a beast, and since it was captured by humans just a moment ago, I wonder if it won’t be hostile to us too.”

“It’s okay. It is wary of us, but it doesn’t see us as enemies.”

A confident answer.

‘How on earth does she know that?’

I had to look at Yuria with eyes full of doubt.

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