“Demon Hunting Guild”
“Is this the place?”
And so, I arrived at the Demon Hunting Guild. Instead of a sign with swords and shields, there was a sign with a depiction of a quadrupedal monster with a cross mark. Presumably, this was to clearly indicate that this guild specialized in monster hunting.
As I slowly pushed open the swinging doors reminiscent of a Western movie, I found the interior to be more modern than I had expected. While adventurer guilds usually had a fantasy-like wooden construction, the demon realm’s guilds seemed closer in appearance to administrative offices.
“Hey, kid.”
“What brings you here?”
“Got a request? I can’t believe such a small fry is here to register.”
“Hahaha, you said it.”
As soon as I stepped inside, I was greeted with these remarks. Looking at myself objectively, I couldn’t help but agree that my appearance might indeed elicit such reactions. Rather than arguing, I decided not to get involved since it seemed troublesome.
I headed towards the nearest reception counter. The receptionist who attended to me gave me a strange sense of déjà vu, prompting me to ask involuntarily.
“Sorry, but could you tell me your name?”
“Huh?”
The receptionist had green hair tied in a ponytail and orange eyes. What stood out the most were the two large fruits and glasses she wore, which reminded me of a certain individual.
In this world, there was a peculiar rule: the names of those working at adventurer guilds tended to be similar. Upon closer inspection, the situation varied – some were distant relatives, others were mere look-alikes, and some names were similar in name alone. It seemed like some non-human entities were at work, orchestrating these uncanny coincidences.
And now, the woman before me bore a striking resemblance to these individuals. It would be odd not to inquire about her name.
“…I’m Marianne.”
“Adding a dash, huh… Does that mean you fit the pattern?” TLN: Previously there was already someone named Marian (which is similar in Japanese (マリアン)). But Marianne’s name is like this: マーリアン. In this case, the difference will be Marianne’s has a dash (ー) and Marian doesn’t.
“Uh, what are you talking about?”
Marianne wore a perplexed expression. Well, that’s to be expected. Suddenly being asked about your name and hearing about dashes might make anyone suspicious. It was no exaggeration to call me a suspicious character.
However, there was something I needed to confirm, so I apologized to her and decided to involve her a little longer in this verification process.
“Sorry about that. You look like someone I know. I thought you might be familiar with them, but it seems I was mistaken.”
“I see. By the way, do you have any business with the Demon Hunting Guild?”
“Before that, could you please tell me if there’s a receptionist with ‘Kol’ in their name, and a disassembly supervisor with ‘Rud’ in their name?”
“Well, there is…”
“May I have their names?”
“…”
Once again, her gaze pierced into me. However, this was something that had to be confirmed upon arriving in a new place. It was the duty of those who had noticed. Yes, it was a duty.
I explained a similar situation to before, and managed to get the names of the two individuals. The receptionist named “Kol” was called Makol, and it appeared she was Marianne’s junior. As for the name of the dismantling supervisor…
“It’s Pageld.”
“Huh?”
“It’s Pageld.”
“…”
The moment I heard that name, a rush of emotions overwhelmed me, and I closed my eyes. I could hear Marianne’s voice, but I was lost in thought for a while. After this exchange, I finally explained my purpose for coming to the Demon Hunting Guild.
“I want to register as a guild member.”
“Um, excuse me, but could I ask your age?”
“I’m twelve.”
Upon hearing my age, laughter echoed from within the guild. The source of this laughter was members of the Demon Hunting Guild who had overheard my conversation with Marianne. They were often referred to as “demon hunters,” a term that indicated their rough nature, similar to adventurers in the human world.
Their speech and attitudes were often brash, as their values were deeply rooted in the survival of the fittest, a mindset prevalent among demons. In their view, the weak had no right to complain, regardless of what was done to them. They likely assumed that a weakling had come to the Demon Hunting Guild trying to overreach due to my age.
“Did you hear that? Twelve?”
“Still sucking on your mama’s boobs, ain’t you?”
“What? I’m still sucking, though?”
“Hey, that’s a problem!?”
There were some odd behaviors among the demon hunters along the way, but I can generally understand that I am not welcomed. Perhaps that’s just the way it is.
Demon hunters, in essence, make monster hunting their livelihood, so they naturally become skilled in handling rough tasks. As the monsters in the demon realm are more powerful than those in the human world, the members are even more focused on prowess rather than adventurers who handle miscellaneous tasks.
Even from the guild’s perspective, it’s meaningless to have individuals without skills belonging and dying easily. It’s not very appealing from an external standpoint either. Therefore, the Demon Hunting Guild only allows individuals with a certain level of strength to become members.
It’s precisely because of such a background that those who are currently berating me have developed an elitist attitude like ‘I am a chosen special existence.’ As a result, they’ve become a group of misunderstanding idiots who exhibit a grand demeanor despite not having much actual power.
“Marianne. I have a few questions. Answer them properly.”
“Huh? Oh, sure.”
“Question one: To join the Demon Hunting Guild, a certain level of strength is required, but there is no age restriction, correct?”
“Yes, as long as you have the strength, even a baby could join.”
“Alright, onto the next question.”
In this manner, I extracted the necessary conditions to join the Demon Hunting Guild from Marianne. Especially regarding the required strength for the guild, it seemed that being able to single-handedly defeat monsters equivalent to C-rank was generally acceptable. I still wanted to say something to those demon hunters who continue to insult me. Could they handle soloing an SS-rank monster?
“I see. Now for the final question. Does this place engage in buying monsters?”
“Yes, of course. You could even say that’s our main business.”
“Alright, then please buy this from me. It’s the corpse of the Ogre King I defeated.”
Saying so, I took out the Ogre King’s corpse from my storage and placed it on the guild floor. The individuals who were berating me until a moment ago suddenly fall silent and start to stir.
“Hey, that’s the Ogre King, isn’t it?”
“Could it be real?”
“No doubt about it. That’s definitely the Ogre King.”
“But… there’s no evidence that kid did it!”
Certainly, possessing the corpse of the Ogre King and claiming to have defeated it are not directly linked. There’s still a possibility that someone else defeated it and I ended up with its corpse.
However, now that there was physical evidence right in front of them, its deterrent effect was enormous. It seemed that the voices berating me had decreased compared to before.
“Is this enough as evidence that I did it?”
“Unfortunately, yes… But, the purchase of monsters is possible. Could I take this for appraisal?”
“I don’t mind. Also, I have the horde of goblins led by the Ogre and Goblin King. Should I take them to the dismantling area?”
“Uhm, yes, that might be best.”
Saying this, Marianne led me to the dismantling area, looking a bit bewildered. I followed silently behind her. While there were no longer any demon hunters berating me among those left behind, I paid no attention to such matters and headed toward the dismantling area.
At the dismantling area, there were several dismantling staff members. They were currently working on the monsters hunted by the demon hunters. One of them notices us and approached. I couldn’t help but shout due to recognizing their figure.
“You’re bald, aren’t you?!”
“I’m not bald! Everyone keeps saying ‘bald, bald, bald’ when they look at me! I keep telling them I shave it! …And hey, I don’t even know you. Who are you?”
“Hageld-san, please, cut it out.”
“My name isn’t Hageld. It’s Pageld! P-a-g-e-l-d.”
“They’re pretty similar, aren’t they? Anyway, Mr. Pageld, it’s time to work.”
Annoyed by Pageld’s antics, Marianne tosses a casual remark at him, declaring that it was time to work. Despite sensing a hint of coldness in her attitude towards Pageld, and even though I felt some strange understanding toward the treatment of a young woman toward an old man, I followed the designated area and began laying out the monster carcasses.
Normally, with my skill “Separate Dismantling・Improved,” I could flawlessly dismantle the monsters without a scratch. However, I figured that if I did that, people might suspect that I didn’t defeat them myself but rather obtained the materials from somewhere else. So, I decided to let the dismantling staff handle it for the first time.
Ignoring Marianne, who gazed in awe at the truly vast number of monster carcasses, Pageld, who seemed accustomed to this, started sorting the monsters by rank and distributing them to the staff based on their dismantling skill level. This display of seasoned craftsmanship exuded an air of a skilled artisan, making me secretly impressed that he was not just some bald old guy who was aged.
“Huh?!”
“What’s wrong?”
“I told you, I’m not bald! I’m just shaving it!”
“…I didn’t say anything.”
“Really? I thought I saw it on your face.”
What in the world? Is he able to see through my thoughts? Is that another aspect of his seasoned skills? Something like “The ‘Do I Think I’m Bald or Not’ Reading Technique”? What a useless skill to have; anyone doesn’t need that.
Anyway, after handing the monster carcasses to Pageld, I returned to the reception counter. As if waiting for me, a demon hunter approached and addressed me.
“Demon Hunting Guild”
“Is this the place?”
And so, I arrived at the Demon Hunting Guild. Instead of a sign with swords and shields, there was a sign with a depiction of a quadrupedal monster with a cross mark. Presumably, this was to clearly indicate that this guild specialized in monster hunting.
As I slowly pushed open the swinging doors reminiscent of a Western movie, I found the interior to be more modern than I had expected. While adventurer guilds usually had a fantasy-like wooden construction, the demon realm’s guilds seemed closer in appearance to administrative offices.
“Hey, kid.”
“What brings you here?”
“Got a request? I can’t believe such a small fry is here to register.”
“Hahaha, you said it.”
As soon as I stepped inside, I was greeted with these remarks. Looking at myself objectively, I couldn’t help but agree that my appearance might indeed elicit such reactions. Rather than arguing, I decided not to get involved since it seemed troublesome.
I headed towards the nearest reception counter. The receptionist who attended to me gave me a strange sense of déjà vu, prompting me to ask involuntarily.
“Sorry, but could you tell me your name?”
“Huh?”
The receptionist had green hair tied in a ponytail and orange eyes. What stood out the most were the two large fruits and glasses she wore, which reminded me of a certain individual.
In this world, there was a peculiar rule: the names of those working at adventurer guilds tended to be similar. Upon closer inspection, the situation varied – some were distant relatives, others were mere look-alikes, and some names were similar in name alone. It seemed like some non-human entities were at work, orchestrating these uncanny coincidences.
And now, the woman before me bore a striking resemblance to these individuals. It would be odd not to inquire about her name.
“…I’m Marianne.”
“Adding a dash, huh… Does that mean you fit the pattern?” TLN: Previously there was already someone named Marian (which is similar in Japanese (マリアン)). But Marianne’s name is like this: マーリアン. In this case, the difference will be Marianne’s has a dash (ー) and Marian doesn’t.
“Uh, what are you talking about?”
Marianne wore a perplexed expression. Well, that’s to be expected. Suddenly being asked about your name and hearing about dashes might make anyone suspicious. It was no exaggeration to call me a suspicious character.
However, there was something I needed to confirm, so I apologized to her and decided to involve her a little longer in this verification process.
“Sorry about that. You look like someone I know. I thought you might be familiar with them, but it seems I was mistaken.”
“I see. By the way, do you have any business with the Demon Hunting Guild?”
“Before that, could you please tell me if there’s a receptionist with ‘Kol’ in their name, and a disassembly supervisor with ‘Rud’ in their name?”
“Well, there is…”
“May I have their names?”
“…”
Once again, her gaze pierced into me. However, this was something that had to be confirmed upon arriving in a new place. It was the duty of those who had noticed. Yes, it was a duty.
I explained a similar situation to before, and managed to get the names of the two individuals. The receptionist named “Kol” was called Makol, and it appeared she was Marianne’s junior. As for the name of the dismantling supervisor…
“It’s Pageld.”
“Huh?”
“It’s Pageld.”
“…”
The moment I heard that name, a rush of emotions overwhelmed me, and I closed my eyes. I could hear Marianne’s voice, but I was lost in thought for a while. After this exchange, I finally explained my purpose for coming to the Demon Hunting Guild.
“I want to register as a guild member.”
“Um, excuse me, but could I ask your age?”
“I’m twelve.”
Upon hearing my age, laughter echoed from within the guild. The source of this laughter was members of the Demon Hunting Guild who had overheard my conversation with Marianne. They were often referred to as “demon hunters,” a term that indicated their rough nature, similar to adventurers in the human world.
Their speech and attitudes were often brash, as their values were deeply rooted in the survival of the fittest, a mindset prevalent among demons. In their view, the weak had no right to complain, regardless of what was done to them. They likely assumed that a weakling had come to the Demon Hunting Guild trying to overreach due to my age.
“Did you hear that? Twelve?”
“Still sucking on your mama’s boobs, ain’t you?”
“What? I’m still sucking, though?”
“Hey, that’s a problem!?”
There were some odd behaviors among the demon hunters along the way, but I can generally understand that I am not welcomed. Perhaps that’s just the way it is.
Demon hunters, in essence, make monster hunting their livelihood, so they naturally become skilled in handling rough tasks. As the monsters in the demon realm are more powerful than those in the human world, the members are even more focused on prowess rather than adventurers who handle miscellaneous tasks.
Even from the guild’s perspective, it’s meaningless to have individuals without skills belonging and dying easily. It’s not very appealing from an external standpoint either. Therefore, the Demon Hunting Guild only allows individuals with a certain level of strength to become members.
It’s precisely because of such a background that those who are currently berating me have developed an elitist attitude like ‘I am a chosen special existence.’ As a result, they’ve become a group of misunderstanding idiots who exhibit a grand demeanor despite not having much actual power.
“Marianne. I have a few questions. Answer them properly.”
“Huh? Oh, sure.”
“Question one: To join the Demon Hunting Guild, a certain level of strength is required, but there is no age restriction, correct?”
“Yes, as long as you have the strength, even a baby could join.”
“Alright, onto the next question.”
In this manner, I extracted the necessary conditions to join the Demon Hunting Guild from Marianne. Especially regarding the required strength for the guild, it seemed that being able to single-handedly defeat monsters equivalent to C-rank was generally acceptable. I still wanted to say something to those demon hunters who continue to insult me. Could they handle soloing an SS-rank monster?
“I see. Now for the final question. Does this place engage in buying monsters?”
“Yes, of course. You could even say that’s our main business.”
“Alright, then please buy this from me. It’s the corpse of the Ogre King I defeated.”
Saying so, I took out the Ogre King’s corpse from my storage and placed it on the guild floor. The individuals who were berating me until a moment ago suddenly fall silent and start to stir.
“Hey, that’s the Ogre King, isn’t it?”
“Could it be real?”
“No doubt about it. That’s definitely the Ogre King.”
“But… there’s no evidence that kid did it!”
Certainly, possessing the corpse of the Ogre King and claiming to have defeated it are not directly linked. There’s still a possibility that someone else defeated it and I ended up with its corpse.
However, now that there was physical evidence right in front of them, its deterrent effect was enormous. It seemed that the voices berating me had decreased compared to before.
“Is this enough as evidence that I did it?”
“Unfortunately, yes… But, the purchase of monsters is possible. Could I take this for appraisal?”
“I don’t mind. Also, I have the horde of goblins led by the Ogre and Goblin King. Should I take them to the dismantling area?”
“Uhm, yes, that might be best.”
Saying this, Marianne led me to the dismantling area, looking a bit bewildered. I followed silently behind her. While there were no longer any demon hunters berating me among those left behind, I paid no attention to such matters and headed toward the dismantling area.
At the dismantling area, there were several dismantling staff members. They were currently working on the monsters hunted by the demon hunters. One of them notices us and approached. I couldn’t help but shout due to recognizing their figure.
“You’re bald, aren’t you?!”
“I’m not bald! Everyone keeps saying ‘bald, bald, bald’ when they look at me! I keep telling them I shave it! …And hey, I don’t even know you. Who are you?”
“Hageld-san, please, cut it out.”
“My name isn’t Hageld. It’s Pageld! P-a-g-e-l-d.”
“They’re pretty similar, aren’t they? Anyway, Mr. Pageld, it’s time to work.”
Annoyed by Pageld’s antics, Marianne tosses a casual remark at him, declaring that it was time to work. Despite sensing a hint of coldness in her attitude towards Pageld, and even though I felt some strange understanding toward the treatment of a young woman toward an old man, I followed the designated area and began laying out the monster carcasses.
Normally, with my skill “Separate Dismantling・Improved,” I could flawlessly dismantle the monsters without a scratch. However, I figured that if I did that, people might suspect that I didn’t defeat them myself but rather obtained the materials from somewhere else. So, I decided to let the dismantling staff handle it for the first time.
Ignoring Marianne, who gazed in awe at the truly vast number of monster carcasses, Pageld, who seemed accustomed to this, started sorting the monsters by rank and distributing them to the staff based on their dismantling skill level. This display of seasoned craftsmanship exuded an air of a skilled artisan, making me secretly impressed that he was not just some bald old guy who was aged.
“Huh?!”
“What’s wrong?”
“I told you, I’m not bald! I’m just shaving it!”
“…I didn’t say anything.”
“Really? I thought I saw it on your face.”
What in the world? Is he able to see through my thoughts? Is that another aspect of his seasoned skills? Something like “The ‘Do I Think I’m Bald or Not’ Reading Technique”? What a useless skill to have; anyone doesn’t need that.
Anyway, after handing the monster carcasses to Pageld, I returned to the reception counter. As if waiting for me, a demon hunter approached and addressed me.
