"Well… now we can finally have a quiet conversation."
Gravel spoke to Grook, who was sitting dazed, staring in bewilderment at the newly regrown arm.
"Hmm… a anthro resembling a frog. Is there a specific name for your tribe?"
Gravel asked, looking down at Grook.
"Grong, the Grong… Gwwwk."
Grook replied, looking up at Gravel.
"Alright. So, the three Grong were after the statue in the wagon?"
"Yes, yes. They told us to steal the statue… or destroy it. Gook."
Grook answered, unable to reveal that the true mission was to assassinate Diara, Gravel, and Iris.
"It doesn't really matter what you were after. What's important is that you were hired by someone…"
Gravel said with a smile.
"Now, do you think our Iris has shown enough skill to convince your employer to stop these pointless schemes?"
As Gravel praised Iris and turned to meet her gaze, Iris's cheeks flushed, and she lowered her head, squeezing her eyes shut.
"Of course… Grrooog. I'll make sure to convince them to stop. Please… please…"
Feeling the chilling killing intent emanating from Iris, who stood behind Gravel, Grook pressed his forehead to the ground. One wrong move, one careless word, could lead to his death.
"Hmm. If that's the case, there's value in letting you live. You don't seem much of a threat anyway. Make sure you deliver the message."
Gravel lightly patted Grook's back as he lay prostrate, signaling that he could stand.
"Thank you, merciful one. Thank you. I'll make sure to pass it on."
Grook stood immediately, gratitude in his voice. Looking at the bodies of Khearook and Logon, he thought he might one day regret not staying with them until the end. But at that moment, Grook felt only the exhilarating relief of escaping the sharp teeth that had been at his throat. The joy of his life being spared by the enemy's mercy overwhelmed him.
But that joy was fleeting. A shiver ran down his spine as he felt it again—the same ferocious killing intent he had sensed when he first encountered Iris in the stable.
"I know that you weren't after the wagon tonight, but someone inside the tavern. Of course, my lord knows this too, but it seems he's chosen to show you mercy and let you go, so I'll abide by his decision…"
Iris had crept up behind Grook and whispered softly. She continued in a low, menacing tone.
"I have an excellent memory. I won't forget the audacity of someone who dared to approach my lord with even the slightest hint of killing intent. As long as I live, this incident will remain etched in my mind."
Grook's body trembled at Iris's resolute words. The soft feminine voice carried a chilling malice and rage directed at an assassin who had targeted her lord, wrapping around Grook's entire being.
"Hiiik! Gwuuuuuk!"
The pain was worse than when Iris's sword had severed his arms moments ago. A soul-crushing fear and despair pressed down on his entire body from deep within his heart.
"Haha, Iris, I think our frog friend gets the point. Let's let him go."
"Yes, Lord Gravel."
As Iris turned to respond to Gravel, Grook seized the moment to flee, vanishing into the city's dark shadows.
"Well, then. I suppose I'll handle the cleanup."
Gravel said, looking at the bodies of Khearook and Logon on the ground.
'Normally, in stealth quests, if patrolling NPCs spot bodies, it reduces the success reward or even leads to quest failure, so this magic is useful… but to use it like this?'
Gravel extended both hands toward the bodies of Khearook and Logon, conjuring a magic circle.
A peculiar, dark purple triangular magic circle appeared, inscribed with strange runes. From within it emerged a gaping mouth filled with long, sharp teeth. Two Abyssal Maw creatures—purple-skinned, glowing with bright yellow light in front of their mouths—slithered out. Using their razor-sharp teeth, they voraciously tore into the Grong tribe bodies, devouring them piece by piece.
The two Abyssal Maws didn't stop. Using the small fins on their bellies, they dragged themselves along, hopping to consume even the smallest scattered bits of flesh. Only then did they dissolve into a slimy purple mist and vanish.
"The Abyssal Maws cleaned up nicely."
Gravel remarked, observing the spot where the Grong bodies had been, now spotless without a trace of blood.
"There's something shiny over here…"
Iris picked up some gems from the ground and showed them to Gravel on her palm.
'Loot!? Wait, no, did the Abyssal Maws selectively avoid eating the gems?'
Whether this was a manifestation of the Abyssal Maw's game mechanics or the gems simply weren't to their taste, Gravel couldn't tell. He lowered his head with interest, gazing at the gems glinting in the moonlight on Iris's palm.
"Hmm… perhaps we can consider this compensation for the late-night commotion. Let's take them to the merchant guild in the city tomorrow for appraisal. Good work, Iris."
And so, the day ended. The next morning, the open area in front of the tavern's stable was so clean that the tavern's landlady praised whoever had diligently swept it at dawn, as if nothing had happened.
*****
The cold air stung the chest with every breath in the early dawn hours. Beneath the trees, in the bushes, dark shadows gradually turned blue, revealing their forms.
Reave, Kein, and Gravel—soldiers escorting the statue alongside Diara—were there. The three men braved the chilly autumn dawn air, hiding in the bushes, a plan that had originated from a conversation between Reave and Kein the previous day.
Hailing from a small hunter's village in the eastern part of the Vanas Duchy, the two had often spoken about the black reindeer of the Norwan Mountains in the kingdom's northwest, even before arriving at Nordford. The hide of a Norwan black reindeer was said to fetch at least 500 gold coins—a well-known fact among hunters. As both soldiers and hunters, Reave and Kein had begun planning a hunt the moment they learned they'd be staying in Nordford.
They had arranged to take their rest day during the five-day period scheduled for the city's wall construction and go hunting. Gravel, with no particular reason, had joined them, saying, "I happened to have some free time, so please let me tag along. I won't be a bother."
"Brr… it's cold. The stone I warmed up before coming out has already gone cold. Kein, how about we switch spots? We've called twice, and nothing's shown up."
Reave said to Kein, rubbing a faintly warm stone between his palms.
"There's a patch of Wingle berries over there in the distance, so even if they didn't hear the call, they'll show up before sunrise. Let's wait a bit longer."
Kein replied, pointing to the opposite side of the steep, sloping ravine.
"By the way, is Gravel alright? It must be boring and cold waiting like this…"
"I'm fine. I've never hunted before, so just watching up close should be fun."
Gravel said with a smile, directed at the two.
"Yeah, adventurers don't usually hunt deer or reindeer."
"Can't compete with professional hunters."
"I saw venison being served in Froikton, but there weren't any hunting quests at the guild."
"Heh, that's obvious. People don't go to the adventurers' guild to commission deer meat or pelts."
Reave scratched his chin with his fingers as he spoke to Gravel.
"Oh? Look over there! A herd of gray-tail deer. They're in Norwan too…"
"Where? Where? Which way?"
Reave pointed to a herd of deer moving at the bottom of the opposite ravine. They had brown fur with gray and white spotted tails.
"What should we do? Should we grab those and head back early?"
"Idiot. Why would we come all this way just to catch gray-tails? Wait. My father said black reindeer have sharp noses. The gray-tails are eating Wingle berries, so the scent will spread."
Kein placed a hand on Reave's shoulder, calming his impatience.
The gray-tail deer were using their muzzles to rummage through low, lush bushes, eating the small red and purple berries.
"Tch. At this rate, they'll eat them all. Should we run over and scare them off?"
"Just wait. A little longer, and…"
"By the way, the venison dish I had in Froikton was delicious. Do you two know any hunter-specific recipes?"
Gravel interjected, trying to shift the topic before Reave's impatience and Kein's insistence on waiting escalated into an argument.
"Hmm… well, I don't really know how to cook… Simple camp food, sure, anyone can do that. As for hunter-specific recipes, it's mostly about eating a lot when it's fresh, without worrying about others. Just rub on some spices and salt and grill it over a fire. A lot of it…"
"Some liquor makes it even better."
"Ha… ha… that's…"
"Shhh! Look over there!"
Kein, who had been standing, suddenly crouched low, pressing a hand on each of their backs to push them down.
"What? What is it? Did a black reindeer show up… huh!?"
Reave, squinting across the ravine, widened his eyes. It was a black reindeer. Even from a distance, its dark black fur and multi-pronged antlers stretching toward the sky were unmistakable. It was several times larger than the gray-tail deer.
"From now on, keep your voices as low as possible."
Kein whispered, his eyes fixed on the distant black reindeer, breathing shallowly.
Wooo! Wooo!
The black reindeer's bellow echoed loudly through the surroundings. It thrust its antlers to intimidate the nearby gray-tail deer, claiming a spot with four or five Wingle berry bushes for itself. Only then did it let out a snorting pffrrt sound, calming its excitement.
"Phew. Let's let it eat a bit, then use a call to lure it over here. We heard the sound it made when it was threatening, so if we mimic it…"