Chapter 6 - Return To The City
"What will you do to the bodies?"
Oh! Angela is much calmer than I thought after seeing dead bodies. Not like Kayla who's still shocked.
"Take their Hunter Card. It's the card we got when we registered. It will be used as proof that they are dead to show it to the guild. We might be rewarded. If they have no one to give their wealth to, we can take part of their money from the bank since that's where their money are stored. You can register someone's name in your card so they can use it or take the money. It's just precaution since being a hunter means you will be close to death at all time."
Most of my money I got in my previous life, are from corpse collection works. Before I got my Aura, I was too weak to even fight a goblins. Whenever I found a monster, I just used Blobby as a bait and I would run away shamelessly. I only did real hunter job few months before I died.
"You mean if they don't register their relatives before they died, the money will be going to the one who found their cards. We only take parts of it but where do the other part go?"
"For the guild emergency fund, I guess."
"What kind of emergency would the guild have?"
"For example, in case of monsters Stampede that will attack the city. They used the money to keep hunters in the city to protect civilians."
"I see."
I explained to Angela and Kayla who's listening despite still being in shock. Then I looked for the corpse's Hunter Card. There's two of them, and the one that Kayla said to be their leader wasn't here.
"Kayla, the one who got stabbed from the back isn't here. Where do you think his corpse is?"
"Eh? I don't remember. I just keep running away after the goblins appear."
"What a shame. If we have his card then we could get more money."
Kayla doesn't seem to be lying just because she doesn't want to see another corpse. She's truly doesn't remember because she was panicking. I guess this is it. Now we only need to return to the city.
"Let's go back now. If we find another body, let's check for their cards."
On the way back we found the body of the man who tried to assault Kayla. But he no longer has his Hunter Card.
"Seems like other hunters have found his body first. At least now we know everyone in his party are all dead. You can rest easy now, Kayla. At least at the moment, there's no one targeting you."
"…I don't feel happy at all."
"That's good as well. Now you know the risk of being a hunter. If you're happy seeing a corpse, I would be worried."
"I thought you are happy with being richer?" Angela interjected.
"I am happy to get more money. But seeing a corpse is a different matter. I would act tough when I see one. After all I need to be calm when I see a corpse. I need to know what's killing him, how he died, and to remain vigilant at the surrounding to make sure the one who killed him isn't nearby. If I got panicked and freeze, that's an opportunity for the killer to kill me."
"You really knows a lot. It's as if you have experienced many things despite us having the same age."
"Haha! I only know what I know. If I know something important, shouldn't I explained it to those who doesn't know?"
We left the body as it is. Soon he will be eaten by carnivorous beast so we don't need to bury or burn the body. A perfect ending for an evil man.
There were few monsters on the way home but I let Angela take care of them all. And then we found another boar as well. Since our mission is over, we can bring back its meat for food.
After entering the city, I told Kayla to get changed first. There's no way I can let her walk around with blanket wrapped around her body like a pervert. And Blobby is also can't stay with her forever since she's mine.
I waited for Kayla and Angela who accompanying her at the guild. When they enter the guild with proper clothes, I walked to the receptionist to report about our mission and about Kayla's team.
"Is that so? Then I will write that down. Congratulations on your first time clearing a request!"
"Thank you."
The receptionist congratulate us for finishing our job. As for the matter of Kayla, it was already a common occurrence to newbie. They only give us our share of money and leave it at that.
"That's all for today. I'll go home now. See you tomorrow on school… maybe?"
"Why maybe?"
"I spent my time on school sleeping. Maybe I'll go check the library from time to time, but I only spend a little time at school."
Since I have already learned all necessary knowledge for introductory school, there's no longer any need for me to learn in class. But there's a library at school so I think I will learn more stuff I never knew before. Maybe I'll find the history of those Evil God Cult. Or maybe there's a chance, despite it's an extremely low chance, I can learn more about Aura.
I can learn what I need to get stronger from Victoria. But the erased history of Aura user, she doesn't know much other than Aura users being massacred by Evil God. And it's just her assumption that Evil God is the one who killed her.
And the reason I will go to the library is because of Aura ability. At first, the name 'Aura' I called my power is based on a fairy tale book I read in the past life. And now when Victoria explained to me, in the past, it was also called Aura as well. That's why I thought that maybe there's hidden meaning in a fairy tale. Maybe there's a history about the past Aura user in the fairy tale book. That's why I will use my free time to go to the library.
"Let's do another quest again tomorrow."
"I'll pass."
"Why?!"
"Thanks to today's mission and the body we found, I have no lack of money at the moment. Tomorrow I will go to the library. There's something I want to look for."
"Is that so? Then I'll do that as well."
Why is Angela wanted to go with me that badly? Must be because she's a rookie hunter and wanted me to guide her some more since she's still lacking in knowledge and experience. It will be a pain to explain to her about what I'm looking for so I will have to refuse her.
"No need to accompany me. Why don't you use the time tomorrow to practice your magic? You can still hunt monsters without taking any requests. Then let's meet up at the guild the day after tomorrow for our next quest."
"Okay."
I guess now we are formally a party. Having the future Elemental Master as my teammate, I hope she will be much stronger than in my past life when we encounter the Evil God Cult.
"Umm… Can I enter your party as well?"
Hmm? Kayla seems interested in joining us. I don't remember about her, but I have heard that there are several students from school who died on the day they registered as hunter. Maybe she's one of them since I never saw her in school in my past life. I'm sure because I will remember if a beauty like her is in the same school. I guess I changed her fate when I rescued her from the goblins.
"You sure? I know that you're afraid of men because of what happened today, but are you okay with having me as your teammate?"
"Yes, I'm sure. Angela told me a little bit about how she got stronger in one day because of your guidance. I also want to be stronger."
Her eyes shows her determination. I like that. I don't think that she's a member of Evil God Cult. Since their attacks is on the time we attended school, I don't think any students is related to the cult. Maybe if their parents are a member, but for Kayla whom almost died today, I don't think she's a member. If she is, they would at least taught her several things. But seeing how amateurish her actions today, I'm sure of it.
"Then let's get along from now on."
"Yes. Then since we are all from villages outside the city, let's get into a carriage together. The last carriage for today will leave soon."
"No. I'm not going with a carriage. I'll go home on foot."
"What?! Even if you ride a horse, you can only reach the nearest village after one hour of ride! Why are you going on foot?"
"For training purpose. If I run now, I can reach home jut on the time for dinner. I'm pretty fast, you know? You two as well. Don't need to copy my extreme training, but you still need to exercise so you can have the strength and stamina for much a harder mission. But since I can see your exhaustion, just go home and rest well. Oh, if you see me tomorrow, don't greet me if I'm sleeping. I usually spent my time at school sleeping. Goodbye!"
And I left them as I run home. In just one day, I got to be friend with the future Elemental Master, and a healing mage. With this, I hope I can change the future.