The next morning, I woke up early.
The ceiling was different.
I remembered that I had stayed at the village chiefâs house.
As I got up, I heard a sound coming from the room next door.
The elder had apparently already woken up.
ãGood morning.ã
ãDid I wake you up?ã
ãThat wasnât the case.ã
ãIn that case, Iâm making breakfast, though it will be a simple affair, so please wait a moment.ã
I spaced out while waiting, until breakfast was served.
There was bread, vegetables, and...sunny-side up eggs?
ãPlease have some, it would be great if it suits your tastes.ã
ãUmm, whatâs this?ã
I pointed to the fried eggs.
ãThese are clucker eggs. Kaiâs father went into the forest first thing this morning, saying that he wanted to let Yuna-san eat it.ã
ãUmm, thank you very much for that.ã
After I thanked him, I used a knife to slice the loaf of bread, sandwiched the vegetables and eggs in between, and ate it.
ãDelicious.ã
ãIâm happy that you think so. Kaiâs father will also be happy to hear that.ã
Since I was nearly done with breakfast, I decided that I might as well follow up and try asking about the eggs.
ãCan clucker eggs be obtained in this village?ã
ãThatâs right. There are cluckers in the forest, so if you go first thing in the morning, you can obtain some freshly laid ones.ã
ãWhat kind of birds are they?ã
ãNormal birds make their nests high up in the trees, but since they arenât able to fly very high, they make their nests in thickets of grass on the ground instead. Other than that, cluckers can run away very quickly.ã
Chicken?
ãSince they were caught just this morning, I think I still have some cluckers and eggs left. Do you want to bring them home?ã
ãIs it okay?ã
ãOf course! You are our villageâs benefactor. Itâs not something that we arenât able to afford, so we donât mind at all.ã
Eggs and pseudo-chicken get!
After I finished having breakfast, I started preparing to head back.
ãAre you returning today?ã
ãYes, because itâs also necessary to report to the guild.ã
When I left the village chiefâs house, Kai came over to me.
ãBig sis, are you going back?ã
ãItâs because the Guild Master and the group of adventurers are both heading here, not to mention that if I donât submit a report, itâll become troublesome.ã
Before I started to return to town, I received about ten eggs and three cluckers from Kaiâs father.
This subjugation might be the one that Iâm the happiest about.
Itâs a bit far, but letâs come again.
As the villagers all expressed their gratitude, I departed from the village.
I summoned Swaying Bear and we started running in the direction of the town.
Around noon, while we were running towards town, a person appeared in front of me, coming closer.
By any chance, was it the Guild Master?
Swaying Bear slowed down its speed.
ãIs it Yuna?ã
The Guild Master noticed me and pulled up his horse.
ãWhat are you doing here? Donât tell me, the village was annihilated?ã
ãIf itâs about the Black Viper, I already defeated it.ã
ã......haa, my bad, could you say that again?ã
ãI already defeated the Black Viper.ã
ãThatâs a joke, right?ã
It was a pain, so I took the Black Viper out from the Bear Box.
The Black Viper, which exceeded 10 meters in length, appeared in front of the Guild Master.
ãDid you really defeat this alone? Thereâs no wounds on the body though.ã
ãI drove fire magic into its mouth and burned it to death, to avoid damaging its body.ã
ãFrom inside its mouth, to do that so easily...ã
He gazed at the Black Viper.
Was he going to check inside of its mouth?
ãCertainly, you did well to attack it from inside. Normally, youâd be crushed by its jaws, so you wouldnât be able to reach all the way inside.ã
I didnât want to tell him that the mini-flame bears were the ones who walked deep inside of its body.
ãFor now, I understand. If thereâs no point in going to the village, Iâll return to town.ã
Swaying Bear and the horse began running.
ãSorry but, compared to your summoned beast, my horse canât run that fast. Can you keep pace with me? I want to hear what happened.ã
I explained what occurred at the village to the Guild Master.
ãYou, donât do such an absurd thing!ã
After taking frequent breaks, we finally returned to town.
Along the way, we ran into a guild staff member who was on his way out.
ãGuild Master!ã
ãWhatâs wrong?ã
ãWhat about Guild Master, why are you here? What about the Black Viper you went to defeat?ã
ãIf itâs the Black Viper, this girl defeated it by herself.ã
ãDefeated it alone, you say...ã
The guild staff member gave me a once over.
ãSo then, why are you over here?ã
ãYes, One-Eyed Rush, who we were supposed to ask to take on the Black Viper subjugation request, was injured and just came back. As a result, I was searching for other adventurers, but there arenât any others who can defeat the Black Viper. For the time being, I left the search to Helen and was on my way to let you know that the adventurers would be behind schedule, but...ã
The guild staff member looked in my direction again.
Hey, why are you looking at me?
ãI understand. For now, letâs go back to town, you as well.ã
Our party that was now composed of three people moved towards the town.
From leaving the village to returning to town took us around two days.
There was no reason to rush, so to relieve the burden on the horses, we slowed down our pace.
We had just entered the guild like that when we were discovered by Helen.
At that moment, she burst into tears.
ãYuna-san, Guild Master...why are you here...could it be...ã
ãHelen, itâs all right.ã
ãEh?ã
ãThe Black Viper was defeated.ã
ãReally? Thank goodness. I couldnât get a hold of any adventurers higher than rank C, so I was in quite a bind. As expected of the Guild Master.ã
ãIt wasnât me who defeated it. Yuna did it by herself.ã
ãHaaa...ã
ãI felt the same way, but itâs the truth.ã
ãYuna-san, youâre really amazing.ã
ãSo then, Yuna, itâs already late today. Sorry, but could you come by tomorrow? The report for this incident has to be written down, and thereâs also the matter about the Black Viperâs materials.ã
ãWhat time?ã
ãThe earlier the better, but you must also be tired, right? Iâll let you decide the time.ã
ãUnderstood.ã
I postponed the visit to the adventurerâs guild until later.