Hell Mode: Volume 1, page 30
“Welcome ba— What’s with that look on your face? Did something happen?”
When the man who had gone out to draw water for the family got home, his wife immediately noticed his weird demeanor. Including the baby the wife was still pregnant with, this was a four-member family of serfs.
“Rodin’s son asked me for something. I’ll be heading over to his place after breakfast.”
“Huh? Isn’t his son still really young? Why’re you going all the way over there for a kid?”
“Not sure, but it shouldn’t take long. I’ll be back soon to go buy our firewood.”
“Please do. Winter’s getting closer by the day.”
The man enjoyed a breakfast of the usual meager fare of steamed potatoes with his wife and child, then made his way over to Rodin’s house. The first thing he noticed when he got near was the smell of blood. When he reached the front gate, he gasped as he found himself face-to-face with a large albaheron that was being bled.
“It’s an albaheron,” the man murmured in shock. “Why’s there a monster carcass here?”
Before the man could gather his thoughts, however, Allen approached him. The boy thanked him for coming as promised. For some reason, the man found himself naturally adopting a respectful tone, even though he was speaking to a mere seven-year-old. Perhaps it was the bizarreness of the situation. Perhaps it was because he was sure that the boy possessed something different, something mysterious about him. After Rodan got seriously injured in last year’s great boar hunt, the man had seen Allen nonchalantly carrying heavy water buckets on multiple occasions. What was more, there were many eyewitness accounts of Allen easily shouldering loads of firewood that any normal adult would have struggled to lift.
As it turned out, Allen wanted the man to help butcher his albaherons. The reward for this task was two blocks of meat per bird, the equivalent of eight days’ worth of firewood. The man asked why there were albaherons to begin with, but Allen only said he had defeated them when they came down. That was obviously not the full story, but the man decided not to press the matter to avoid jeopardizing this opportunity for his own family’s sake.
This man was one of those who joined in on the butchering whenever great boars were brought back to the village. He was not directly part of the hunts like Rodin and Gerda were. Consequently, the amount of great boar meat that he received afterward was only a fraction of the hunters’ share. That had been fine so far, but his child was growing bigger and needed more nutrition. He had a second child on the way as well. His family needed more meat now than it ever had before.
“Have you ever butchered a bird before?”
“Nope, but I think I’ll manage if it’s just dressing the meat.”
“Really?! Can you teach me? My father showed me before, but he was too busy to do it properly.”
“Of course. You start by going—”
So the carving up of the first albaheron began, with the man explaining what he was doing and Allen listening attentively.
“So, you do this here?”
“That’s right. And for the wings, this is where you’d want to separate them.”
“Your explanation is even clearer than my father’s!”
The man thought Allen to be a very fast learner. Additionally, he came to a realization upon seeing the child at work.
“So, you’ve already overcome a Trial of the Gods. That’s incredible for someone of your age, Allen. And I guess this is the reason behind how you’re able to carry so much water?”
While he was butchering, Allen displayed a strength far beyond that of any child his age. The man realized the process of killing all the albaherons currently waiting to be processed had helped Allen overcome a Trial of the Gods.
“Hm? Pretty much, yes. But mister, you must have overcome one or two yourself, haven’t you? Even though I don’t remember seeing you at the hunts.”
Allen, in turn, had also noticed that the man was stronger than most others. The difference was so remarkable that it could only be explained by him having leveled up a few times.
“Mm, I don’t go hunting anymore.”
“‘Anymore’? So that means you’ve gone before? Why’d you stop?”
The conversation continued strong as the two continued their butchering work.
“Well...a friend of mine got hurt during my first hunt. So then my wife forbade me from ever going again.”
“I see. Well, it’s a lot safer now than before. If you’ve already overcome a Trial before, it’d be a waste to not try going again.”
“You think so?”
Because the man seemed interested, Allen described the current hunting experience to him. Currently, there was a system in place for those without experience to stand at the back and simply thrust at the boars using long spears. In order to stand on the frontlines, one would need approval from either Rodin or Gerda. And of course, if someone was fast on their feet, they could join Pekej and help pull targets toward the rest of the party.
“Butchers get three blocks of meat, right? Those who hold long spears get five, whereas those using short spears or in the pulling group each get ten.”
“Wow, that’s really different from how things were back in my day...”
The man’s heart was wavering. Actually, what he had said about a friend getting hurt was a lie. The truth was there were several founding serfs he knew who had died, with each successive hunt claiming more lives. Almost all of them had been newcomers with zero experience. Even serfs understood the concept that those who had yet to overcome Trials of the Gods died more easily. But Allen was now saying there was a safe and sure way to help such newcomers overcome their first few Trials.
After this, half a day passed. Because of how big albaherons were, the man only managed to butcher three of them. However, at six blocks of meat and half a liver, the reward he received from Allen was already more than what he normally received from helping butcher one great boar. He promptly returned home.
“What took so lo— Wait, what’s with all that?” His wife was about to express her displeasure at his delayed return when she noticed the tied-up blocks of meat in her husband’s hands.
“I got these from Rodin’s son.”
While eating lunch, the man shared everything that had happened this morning. Because the liver would go bad quickly, they were already eating it. This portion of the organ seemed nearly the size of a block of meat in and of itself. The man looked between his son, who was currently doing his best to eat the boiled liver despite it being hot, and his wife’s bulging stomach.
“What a strange child he is,” the man’s wife marveled. “How did he even manage to catch that many albaherons?”
“Well, I’m sure—” The man found himself holding his tongue. He was sure that the gods were involved in Allen’s life in some capacity, but such things were often best left unsaid.
“What’s the matter?”
“Honey...I’m thinking of taking up my spear again.”
“What?! Huh?! But what about the coming baby?!”
“I want to do it. For yours and the baby’s sake.”
The man looked straight into his wife’s eyes as he roughly tousled his son’s hair.
Krena Village After Allen’s Departure
It was a day not long after Allen had left Krena Village with Baron Granvelle. The year had not yet turned, and it was still deep in winter, with the temperature being so chilly that all the villagers struggled to get out of bed in the morning without the warmth of a lit fireplace. Right now, Deboji was in the middle of examining the goods that he would be selling to the traveling merchant who would be arriving today.
“Looks like business is great again this year, huh?” the merchant in question commented as he strode into the room, guided here by one of Deboji’s hired help.
“Ah, there you are. Well, it’s as you see. I have the villagers to thank for this.”
This merchant had been making the trip between faraway Granvelle City to this remote village for several years now. For a frontier village in the middle of nowhere, the presence of traveling merchants like him was of vital importance. This specific merchant visited once every few months, and today was one such day.
Ever since Deboji learned that his son, Pelomas, had the Talent of a Merchant, he had been making the boy sit in attendance whenever he did business, hoping that these experiences might come in handy for him one day when he grew up.
“Wow! Albaheron wings again this year! And these boxes are the feathers?”
“Yes they are.”
Albaherons, which flew high up in the sky above not only Krena Village but the entire Granvelle fiefdom, could only be caught in the rare moments they descended. Because of this, the merchant’s eyes had immediately shot to the pile of wings. He went straight over to examine their quality, rejoicing at seeing them for the third year in a row.
“Your village is producing more and more of them every year!” he exclaimed while thinking about where to sell the wings. “How do you even catch this many of them anyway? Right, what about the meat? Would you sell me the meat too?”
“I told you last year that the meat is not available. And since we’re on the topic...”
The meat was not available because it had not been collected as tax. Whenever Deboji thought back to the time the first albaheron had been caught, he could not help but think to himself, “He sure got me good.”
The child known as Allen had been aware of just how many albaherons he could catch. Deboji only found out at the end of that year. To his surprise, the amount of materials submitted as tax indicated that Allen had bagged more than ten albaherons. The rumor among the serfs about a young boy hunting a large number of albaherons never made it to Deboji’s ear until after the fact.
“‘Since we’re on the topic’...what?”
“This is the last batch of albaherons. There won’t be any more next year. So I’ll be charging you a premium for everything here today.”
“Huh?! What does that mean? But you’ve managed to produce them three years in a row. Come on, don’t pull my leg.”
However, the village chief confirmed that there would be no more albaheron wings next year. Consequently, he was pricing this year’s batch twenty percent higher than last year’s. As he was saying this, he sent Pelomas a look, indicating that his son should be paying attention.
It was Deboji’s obligation as village chief to wrangle out as much profit as possible. He was basically trading on behalf of the whole village, after all. Of course, sixty percent of whatever he negotiated would go to the feudal lord as tax. However, the higher the price he set, the greater the remaining forty percent would be. The more money that entered the village’s coffers, the more the village could be developed.
Allen had been gone a while now, but what he had achieved while here was great, and their effects were felt strongly even now. Deboji sincerely thought that those achievements had saved Krena Village.
“All right, all right. We’ve been trading partners for a long time now. I’ll take you at your word. So then, this here’s the register of what I’ve brought this time.”
Deboji accepted the parchment being proffered and scanned through it. “Hmm, can you bring more wine and fruit starting next time?”
“I mean, fruit I can do, but I can’t increase how much wine I sell you without His Lordship’s permission.”
The sale of wine was strictly regulated, as it negatively affected public order. Many feudal lords only allowed it to be traded on an as-needed basis in their realms. The amount that the village chief was indicating to the merchant definitely required express permission.
“Look at this,” Deboji said, holding out a piece of parchment. “A permit from His Lordship.”
“Whoa! Come on, you shoulda told me earlier! Thank you for the business!” the merchant exclaimed, looking even more delighted than when he saw the albaheron wings. Selling wine was a lucrative business. And now that Krena Village had a permit, he could sell them more—not just next time, but in all the years to come too.
After the feudal lord headed home from his visit, he had sent the permit to Krena Village through an envoy. When Deboji asked the envoy for the reason behind the permit, the man had told him it was requested by “someone named Allen” out of consideration for the villagers who put their lives on the line hunting great boars.
“Oh, and here’s the other permit we received. Next time you come, we’ll have leather products to sell. I hope you buy them at a good price.”
“Anoth— Leather? Ah, from great boars?”
“That’s right. His Lordship is sending us a leatherworker soon.”
This past year, the leatherworker in the neighboring village had been called over to make armor and shields for the great boar hunting party. However, that had been a short-term arrangement. When he finished, he had returned home.
To that end, the feudal lord had promised to dispatch a leatherworker from Granvelle City and have him open a shop in Krena Village. He would be expected to hire apprentices from among the village’s children and establish its leatherwork industry.
For a village, gaining a whole new industry was huge. Thanks to the second permit, instead of sending great boar hides straight to Granvelle City, Krena Village would be able to make a profit from manufactured leather products and turn in a portion of that profit as tax instead.
“Deboji, what did you do? C’mon, we go way back. You can tell me,” the merchant said teasingly as he continued staring at the permit in his hands. It gave permission for trading leather products made from twenty great boars each year. This was such a generous sanction that he could not help but jokingly ask if there had been foul play involved.
“Hey, don’t go smearing my good name. I told you already at the start.”
“Hm? What’d you tell me?”
“I have the villagers to thank for this. Although one’s left.”
“What’re you talking about?”
“Nah, I was just talking to myself.”
Deboji then began his negotiations with the merchant. In this way, Krena Village continued to prosper even after Allen’s departure.
Allen’s Departure and Krena’s Growth
On a certain day quite a while after Allen’s departure, Gerda found himself standing awkwardly, his two-meter-long boar-hunting spear in hand. He shot his wife, Mathilda, a quick look as if asking for help, but she simply sighed and shook her head.
The pink-haired girl before him shouted once again, “I want to join the boar hunt too!”
This was, of course, Krena, his daughter. Her voice carried loud and clear throughout this small house.
“No.”
“Why?! Allen got to go so many times!”
“As I told you, he was only observing.”
This was not the first time this exchange had taken place since Allen’s departure. However, whereas Krena had always eventually backed off—albeit reluctantly—before, she seemed resolute this time. She was standing in the doorway of the house, seemingly unwilling to budge until she got her “yes.”
During her parting match with Allen, Krena had realized she had not been able to see Allen’s sword at all. Conversely, Allen had seen her sword just fine, judging by how he had evaded and parried all her attacks with the slightest of movements. In fact, he had seemed so composed it was as if he could have won even if blindfolded. In other words, Allen had been going easy on her the entire time and allowing her to win.
Krena loved swinging her sword. She loved fighting strong opponents. When she realized that Allen had been holding back, an overwhelming urge to get faster and stronger seized her from within. This was why she wanted to participate in the great boar hunts at all costs. She had yet to overcome a single Trial of the Gods, and she knew that hunting monsters was the key to getting stronger. Allen had told her so.
“Definitely no,” Gerda repeated.
“Wh—?!”
Krena’s protest was cut short by Gerda’s bear hug.
“When you turn ten, I’ll let you hold a spear. Please be patient until then. Allen also promised he wouldn’t hold a spear until he turns ten. Can you also promise me the same thing?” Gerda asked, trying very hard to convey his earnestness to Krena through his hug.
After a short pause, Krena said, “Okay, I promise.” She had received Gerda’s feelings loud and clear, and there were tears welling up in her eyes. However, she desperately held them back. If Allen did not cry when leaving the village, she could not let herself cry either.
Gerda almost seemed to fling himself away as he grabbed his spear and headed out. After that, Krena spent the rest of the morning looking after Lily.
＊ ＊ ＊
In the afternoon, guests arrived.
“Hey, Krena! We’re here!”
“Dogora! Pelomas! Welcome!”
The two boys had come to play knight. They looked around as if looking for someone.
“Is Mash not coming today either?”
Ever since Allen had left, his younger brother, Mash, had stopped coming to these play knight sessions.
“Uh-uh, he didn’t come.”
Dogora sighed. “He’s so different from Allen, even though they’re brothers.”
“Let’s play knight at Mash’s house today!” Krena suddenly shouted, her grip tightening on her wooden sword.
“Hey, that’s a great idea. I hope he’s not still moping around.”
And with that, Krena, Dogora, and Pelomas all headed to Mash’s house. Lily, who was now four and therefore had permission to leave the house if accompanied, wanted to go along. So with Krena holding her sister’s hand, the group cut through the fields, traversing the raised footpaths.
As soon as they arrived, Krena immediately threw the front door open and shouted, “Mash, let’s play knight!”
Theresia looked up and smiled, immediately catching on. “Thank you for coming to play with Mash. That’s really sweet of you!” She understood that the group of children had come because Mash had stopped going to join the play knight sessions after Allen left.
