Chapter Text
"Be careful." "Yes, Mom." "And don't trust anyone!" "Don't worry, I won't, Mom!" "And-" "Mom! Seriously, don't worry so much, okay? Nothing is going to happen to me."
Yeah... hi. That naive kid right there? The one who clearly had no idea what he was actually getting himself into? That’s me, Manjiro Sano.
And remember how I confidently told my mom that nothing would happen to me? Well, right now, I am currently fighting a Giga, which is essentially a horrific, giant spider that lives underwater in swamps. If I kill it, I get a massive payday. If I die... well, then I don't really have to worry about my finances anymore, do I?
I’ve only been away from home for a year. If I hadn’t become a Huntsman, I’d probably be dead by now. You see, being a Huntsman earns you a lot more than most people think. Monsters are ranked in price tiers depending on their type and the danger they pose. The bigger and deadlier the beast, the higher the profit. Naturally, we hunt for the monsters that bring in the biggest bags of coin. We still kill the smaller, less dangerous ones, of course, but usually only if the big game has already been cleared out or if we're short on options.
With a final, heavy swing of my weapon, the massive beast collapsed into the murky swamp water.
I just killed a female Giga. It’s worth noting that the females always fetch a higher price because they are way more dangerous than the males. It's kind of like lions, the females do all the hunting and heavy lifting, while the males mostly just protect the pride and look pretty.
"Hey, Mikey! Nice kill!"
I wiped the swamp grime from my forehead and looked up. Walking toward me was Draken, one of my squad members and a very old friend of mine. We met by chance in a tavern a while back and decided to form a guild. It wasn't easy starting out, a lot of the recruits who applied to join us ended up ducking their heads and running away on their very first mission.
"Thanks, Ken-chin," I grinned, sheathing my weapon. "You weren't so bad out there yourself."
The Tokyo Manji Guild consists of ten members. We’ve managed to become relatively famous because we take on a ton of risky, high-stakes contracts and actually finish them. Heck, we even got a request from a prince once or whatever that noble guy was.
Right now, we were finally on our way back to the guild house. Baji and Chifuyu had made a killing on a flock of Risen Bats, and Draken and I obviously secured the bag with the Giga. As for the rest of our crew? They were escorting a carriage. On their way, they had saved a young woman, her two daughters, and her older son by killing off a pack of ambush goblins. Out of pure gratitude, the family offered us a ride through the dense forest, which is why we were reaching the outskirts of our village hours ahead of schedule.
Rustle... rustle.
The bushes at the edge of the path shook violently.
"Watch out!" Draken barked.
In a flash, we drew our weapons, falling into defensive stances. In this line of work, you never know what's about to leap out of the shadows to bite your head off.
Instead of a terrifying monster, however, a small, fluffy, white ball of feathers tumbled out of the brush and rolled right into the middle of the dirt path.
"Huh?..." I blinked, lowering my blade slightly.
"Um... Mikey? What is that thing?" Chifuyu asked, squinting at the fluffy mass.
"I don't know, Fuyu..." I glanced over my shoulder. "Baji, poke it with your sword."
"HAH?! Why the hell do I have to be the one to poke it?!" Baji snapped back.
But before Baji and I could get into a full-blown argument, the feathered ball suddenly popped open.
.
.
.
.
.
"HeeEeEH?!"
"T-That's a..."
"A super cute dragon!!" Emma and Hina squealed at the exact same time, their eyes practically turning into hearts.
"A dragon?" I repeated quietly.
I stepped closer, staring down at the tiny, completely motionless creature lying in the dirt.