GILF Hunter

Chapter 466: 466 The Holy Grail

The expedition marched through the streets for a while.

Naturally, crowds of people flocked to the streets to watch. Moreover, as rumors spread rapidly, the throng of people grew even larger.

The cause was at the center of the procession. It was because of the monster’s skull loaded onto a large wagon.

That massive object was crossing the streets on the wagon.

It was of such an immense size that it made one wonder how it could even be moved, but for the Labyrinth workers who had done the job of transporting giant monsters more times than they could count, it was surprisingly not a difficult task.

’What on earth is that?’

’What kind of monster is it?’

’I’ve never even seen anything similar... is it a variant?’

’Might it be an ancient monster that was said to be extinct? Just like that Legion Worm from last time.’

Citizens gathered in the streets and talked heatedly about the identity of that giant bone.

In fact, since it was just a simple bone with no effects, strictly speaking, it was a useless trophy except for this kind of ’show.’

But in the business of ’showing,’ there was no item better than this.

Bringing back flashy treasures as loot was good, too... but wouldn’t the head of such a giant monster be the most intuitive evidence to show people how fierce the battle there had been?

As much as the purpose of the Temple and Lucia, the co-manager of the expedition, lay in that very ’showing,’ this could be considered a sufficiently important trophy.

On the way back from the expedition, the knights had all clung to it and suffered greatly to move it without even a wagon inside the labyrinth... but looking at the people’s reactions, it seemed it wasn’t a wasted effort.

Thanks to it, the citizens could indirectly experience a bit of the fierce battle that took place inside the labyrinth.

’To think such a thing was inside the labyrinth....’

’Does that mean that monster could have attacked the city this time?’

Such stories began to circulate among the watching citizens.

Only the skull remained, but that alone was enough to imagine how gargantuan an enemy it had been.

Monster bones were very familiar objects to the residents of this city. Since it was an annual event for monster corpses and their byproducts to pass through the streets on wagons every year.

Thanks to that, the citizens here were all monster experts, with knowledge and an eye for identifying monsters more accurately than most merchants or contractors.

Even without the knights bothering to explain, the residents could roughly estimate the monster’s scale just by looking at those bones.

’What is to become of this city...?’

’There were no problems until now, but it seems to be getting more and more dangerous.’

’The labyrinth had been too quiet for a while.’

The residents trembled.

Indeed... wasn’t it a body massive enough to look inside from over the city walls?

Thinking about the existence of such a monster naturally made worry blossom.

’Don’t worry! The Lucia Expedition handled it!’

’There are no more monsters left!’

Between such people, several individuals accompanying the expedition procession were shouting to inform the public.

They were Lucia’s staff who had joined the return path.

’Hmm... still, it’s a relief they handled it first.’

’Do we not have to worry anymore? I wondered what all the fuss was about when they said they were going on a large-scale expedition to the labyrinth....’

That was it.

This was the first result of the ’Labyrinth Preemptive Strike’ plan, which Lucia had continuously argued the necessity of and boasted she would execute with personal funds if the budget wasn’t allocated.

The result was a massive success, enough to set the whole city ablaze with excitement.

Neither the Temple nor Ian particularly wanted to keep such bones, so this trophy naturally belonged to Lucia.

Lucia... placed it in front of the City Hall as if to brag.

’This crazy woman.’

The Mayor muttered while looking down at it through the window.

It wasn’t like bragging about a newly purchased carriage, but placing monster bones in front of the City Hall.

It was clearly set there for the city councilors, including himself as the Mayor, to see.

There was still some time left until the next election, but it was already a confident attitude as if flaunting victory.

...Of course, to say he had to wait and see, even in the Mayor’s eyes, this was a bit much. It was certain even without the next election.

He had been giving up on the next election from the start, but he still intended to strike her in the back if a clumsy opening appeared. Looking at this, it seemed the match was completely over before it even began.

Amidst the threat of monster invasion, it was clearly engraved in the citizens’ minds whom they could trust with the city’s safety.

’Whew.... Fine. I’ll stop talking.’

It was an election he would have lost nine times out of ten anyway, even in a head-on confrontation.

The Mayor felt that rather than fighting such a thing during the last invasion of this term, it was much better that it was caught now.

＊ ＊ ＊

In front of the Temple, Frenda carefully received the box.

’Will you really be okay with this?’

’I don’t need it.’

What Frenda was holding was the greatest trophy of this expedition.

The Holy Grail.

Since the contract stated that all trophies from inside the labyrinth belonged to the expedition, the ownership of this item lay with both the Temple and Ian’s side.

However, Ian handed over all shares of the Grail, saying he would donate it to the Temple.

Originally, distributing the shares of such a grand item was highly likely to become a very complicated issue.

From setting the price to who would actually hold it, how to pay the balance, and so on... .

There was a high risk of it flowing into a mudslinging fight if handled wrong, but Ian neatly transferred everything on the spot.

He was sincere about not particularly needing it.

This item was an artifact that only exerted its effect when placed in a Temple anyway. Even if Ian held onto it, in order to utilize it, he would eventually have no choice but to donate it to the Temple.

If he donated it to the Temple, he could receive various benefits through contribution points, so it wasn’t exactly handing it over for absolutely nothing.

But even so, this was a tremendous item. It would be fully understandable even if he showed personal greed, but Ian didn’t seem to have any of that.

If Ian said he wanted to keep this... she even thought about whether she should discard her conscience as a priest belonging to the Temple and hand it over to Ian while hiding the existence of this Grail.

Frenda... accepted the Grail box with a look of ’Just like that?’.

’T-then, I will report it to the Temple that way.’

’Yes. Now I shall head back as well. Everyone should rest since it’s all over.’

Ian left those words and was really about to just go back. Frenda unknowingly called Ian and caught his step for a moment.

’T-then. Um... see you, again next time.’

’Yes. Whenever there’s an opportunity....’

Ian replied without much thought.

Usually, the aftermath of such things is busier. Frenda, being in a position like a High Priest, would surely be frantically busy for a while.

In the first place, being a High Priest was closer to an administrative role than a field role... and her coming here was a temporary dispatch, so she would probably return soon. A High Priest wouldn’t be able to stay out in a place like this continuously.

Many things happened inside the labyrinth, but the knights who participated in the expedition were also people who would return soon. The commotion caused by a slight misunderstanding would also be settled soon.

They exchanged greetings like this, but it seemed unlikely they would see each other’s faces again.

It was probably just a common greeting without much meaning. Ian thought so as he left the Temple behind.

＊ ＊ ＊

And so... the long expedition ended.

Weeks passed in an instant.

Compared to the positions of the other two who planned the expedition, Ian, who was simply one mercenary group serving as a guide, didn’t have much to be busy about.

Of course, documents kept flying in from the guild.

- Information on the scheduled official A-rank promotion.

It was because it was Ian’s turn to receive the settlement for the Deep Floor expedition.

There was a conversation they had when they first gathered to discuss this matter. A story about the purpose of this expedition and the gains to be obtained from it.

Lucia had her own policy. Frenda had her record as a priest. And Ian’s purpose was the Deep Floor investigation itself.

In that sense, Ian’s purpose was actually achieved just by the success of the expedition.

But... since they couldn’t just brush it off with the single phrase ’Anyway, isn’t it a good thing for you too?’, something had to be done.

Official A-rank promotion.

That was the reward Lucia prepared.

Of course, it was impossible right now. There were still quite a few parts restricted by regulations to achieve official promotion immediately with a single letter of recommendation.

Therefore, Lucia promised to appoint the Ian Mercenary Group as A-rank using a special order when she was elected Mayor.

...If you only hear this part, it sounds like a considerable abuse of power, but such special promotions occurred surprisingly often.

Right after being elected, it was a constant occurrence for the winner to distribute positions as their first personnel orders to the people who helped with their election activities.

The city council rarely touched this either. Since they had to receive their own shares at this time, too. It was like a tacit custom shared by everyone.

The guild was also preparing in advance on paper so that it could be applied immediately once the seal was stamped. Since a new A-rank being added was no ordinary matter, they were preparing in advance from now.

Thanks to that, internally, he was virtually treated as A-rank.

Since the guild was preparing such things, rumors naturally spread. It wasn’t exactly top-secret information either.

Thanks to that, applications to join the mercenary group were pouring in like water.

An A-rank mercenary group was a giant group whose name everyone in this city knew, practically what could be called a major corporation.

Since rumors spread that they were moving up to A-rank, applications were flooding in from people applying with a ’just in case’ heart while they were still B-rank.

Some thought it was a worthwhile attempt since the likelihood of expanding personnel would be high upon reaching A-rank. Of course, Ian didn’t have any particular thoughts about expanding personnel.

’Leader?’

Katherine, the secretary, came in again with new documents.

’Um, there’s an applicant to join... I think you should take a look.’

’I have no thoughts about it right now. Put them on the waiting list.’

’I know that, but... the career history is a bit special. Why don’t you take a look...?’

’...?’

A career history special enough for her to pull it out separately to show him. Did a famous A-rank mercenary apply for a transfer?

Ian tilted his head while receiving it.

Holding the document, Ian discovered a strange word from the very first sentence.

’Former... Knight?’

Ian glanced over the resume and soon remembered who it was.

It was the youngest knight who had participated together during this expedition.

’Didn’t the Temple people return a long time ago? More importantly, why is a knight belonging to the Temple sending an application to a mercenary group...?’

’I heard he retired from the knighthood a few days ago.’

’So, why on earth would a retired knight become something like a mercenary? There are plenty of things for someone from a knightly background to do.’

’He said being a mercenary has been his dream since a long time ago....’

A knight’s dream being a mercenary, what kind of foolish talk was that?

Moreover, if one just held the title of former knight, there were overflowing jobs where one could live much more comfortably receiving larger amounts of money no matter which city they went to.

In the first place, a knight who intended to retire had no reason to participate in something like a labyrinth expedition.

It was a gathering of people who had thoughts of wanting to succeed even by using such extreme methods, and didn’t the expedition end in a grand success?

Now all that remained for everyone was to return to their original affiliation, the Temple, get promoted, and enjoy the rewards. There was absolutely no reason to suddenly retire and become something like a mercenary.

...Ian had a very ominous foreboding.

’...Tell the guild to completely refuse all membership applications for the time being.’

He felt like leaving the city for a while.