kscans

Chapter 76 - A Chat While Camping (Part 1)

In this world of Forea, defeating a bandit didn't conveniently result in it being recorded on a guild card. It was customary, though not obligatory, for the subjugator to report it to the guild. A simple report couldn't be fact-checked, so even if the defeated party was a wanted criminal, you wouldn't receive any reward or bounty money. Capturing them alive and bringing them in or returning with the corpse solved the problem, but for those who found that troublesome, it was common to bring back the bandit's guild card. A person's criminal history, or more accurately, whether they had become a criminal, could be determined from the mysterious guild card, so many disposed of it the moment they turned to crime. However, since it was also their only form of identification, many would alter their cards and carry them around. The guild card also displayed the owner's life status, so bringing it back served as proof that the criminal owner had been defeated.

...Yuri had all of this explained to him at length by Kudol. He didn't need to bring back a severed head.

"...Well, if they don’t have a guild card, I hear that in the old days, people would cut off the right palm and bring that instead... but that’s rarely done now."

Yuri understood after the explanation. It wasn't as if he enjoyed the idea of carrying around something as bloody as a severed head. If a more peaceful substitute would suffice, that was all for the better.

"So... what do we do now? Search for their hideout and wipe them out?"

...His words, however, were not the least bit peaceful.

"No, the request we accepted was for escort, not subjugation. Fighting back against bandits who attack us is within the scope of the request, but deliberately going out to hunt them down is not. Well, it depends on the client's wishes."

Kudol glanced at the client, Adon, who silently shook his head. Annihilating the bandits was beyond their means, so it seemed they would press on.

"...Well, I don't think we need to worry much about a hideout or any remaining members."

Kudol stated this concisely, but seeing Yuri and the others’ questioning gazes, he gave a brief explanation. According to him...

"...Survivors of a bandit group that was recently subjugated... you think?"

"Probably. If they only just fled here, they wouldn’t have a proper hideout."

"So they made it this far sleeping on tree roots, and this was their first attempt to get back in business?"

"There were no reports of damages to the guild, either. So there’s little doubt."

It seemed that for their very first job back, they had the misfortune of drawing Yuri, the joker card. Condolences were in order.

Just as the atmosphere was about to turn awkward, Kudol changed the subject.

"More importantly, I’ve been wondering about this for a bit... Yuri’s... that thing?"

As he spoke, his gaze shifted to the weapon that had so skillfully dispatched the bandit. He decided to forget about the mentality of a twelve-year-old child or the memory of the violent act. What was the point of being considerate to someone who, standing before the corpse of a bandit he'd killed, started talking about dismantling and materials? More important than that was Yuri’s knife. Its shape was unfamiliar, and seeing how easily it had pierced the bandit’s heart, it seemed to be a rather fine weapon... though Yuri's skill likely played a part.

"Oh, this? I usually use it for dismantling, but it’s kind of like a knife I made with earth magic."

"Dismantling... you mean... of monsters, right?"

"Yes, that’s right."

With all the shocking events, he had forgotten, but monster hides and flesh were not supposed to be so easily cut. The answer, it seemed, was the knife in Yuri’s hand. Yuri had called it a knife, but how was this slender, double-edged blade a knife...?

"Oh, this shape is because it’s for dismantling, not for cooking. To neatly break down a monster's hide and meat, a slender blade like this is easier to insert into small gaps and maneuver. Especially when dislocating joints. It’s double-edged for the same reason."

Yuri explained, but... looking at its form alone, it was certainly a far cry from a typical kitchen knife. It could pass for a double-edged yanagiba, but it was closer to a "Fairbairn-Sykes fighting knife." A combat knife favored by special forces, with a slender design to make it easier to pierce the rib cage. Of course, Kudol and the others knew nothing of this, but they still felt it was better suited for combat, or more bluntly, for killing, than for preparing food. However, there was one decisive difference between it and those weapons and daggers...

"...That’s not iron, is it? Did you perhaps make it with earth magic?"

"Yes. I had no other way to get a blade."

"Even so... I don't think people normally dismantle monsters with a knife made of earth magic... Can I see it? And use Appraisal?"

"Go ahead, I don’t mind."

He had appraised it himself before and didn't recall anything strange. With that thought, Yuri answered without any hesitation or caution, but...