Ah, that's right — I needed to get it charged.
As I was polishing the Dog Chain, thinking that Tinno and the others must have arrived at the Treasure Hall by now, I suddenly remembered that the mana in the chain had run dry.
Not all Treasure Weapons obtained from a Treasure Hall could be used unconditionally.
Treasure Weapons ran on mana — the same power that mages consumed when casting magic. The more powerful the Treasure Weapon, the vaster the amount of mana that needed to be stored in it beforehand.
This was one reason Treasure Hunters didn't carry too many Treasure Weapons on them.
Charging a Treasure Weapon with mana was simple enough, and all living beings possessed mana, but there was a vast individual difference in quantity. Even a proper mage whose mana capacity directly translated to combat strength would run completely dry after charging just a few Treasure Weapons.
In my case, sadly, my mana capacity was below that of an ordinary person, so I'd always left all the charging to friends and clan members.
This was one of the reasons I'd given up being a Hunter. Seriously, couldn't I have at least gotten one redeeming quality?
Orange sunlight poured in through the floor-to-ceiling windows, bathing the entire spacious lounge in a warm glow.
At several of the lined-up tables, familiar faces from Beginning Footprint were lounging about.
Nobody had been here a moment ago, but they must have returned after finishing today's work. Each of them was chatting away, looking thoroughly relaxed.
I barged right in without reading the room.
When you needed multiple charges, you had to pick your party carefully, but this time the only thing that ran dry was a single chain, so anywhere would do.
The leader — a man with needle-like black hair and an unshaven beard — looked at me and broke into a hearty grin. He seemed to be in a fine mood.
"Oh, Master. Yesterday was rough, huh?"
"Nothing out of the ordinary. Sorry, but could I trouble you for a Treasure Weapon charge?"
"Hmm. How many do you need?"
"Just the one chain, so one person should do it."
"That shouldn't be a problem, then."
He cheerfully agreed, and I handed the Dog Chain over to one of the mages in his party.
The mage was a woman, but she didn't seem bothered by the request either.
I was filled with guilt, but Treasure Weapons drained their mana even if left unused — it simply faded over time.
I asked them to do this fairly often, so everyone was used to it.
Mana recovered naturally over time, but the depletion took a real toll.
Before heading to a Treasure Hall, there was always the chance something could go wrong, so sometimes I'd get turned down — but my position as Clan Master must still carry some weight.
This was all thanks to Eva working tirelessly on clan management and smoothing over every last one of the members' complaints. I really couldn't hold a candle to her.
The Dog Chain began to glow faintly as mana flowed into it.
During the wait, the leader casually struck up small talk.
"Oh, by the way, Master. Did you hear? Apparently a Stray showed up on the northern highway. Small-scale, but a whole merchant caravan got wiped out."
Imperial Capital Zebuldia was a major city.
The highways leading to it were far more well-maintained than those of other cities, and monsters in the vicinity were regularly culled — but occasionally, someone unlucky still got attacked.
The highways around the capital were invariably fitted with monster wards. Since monsters rarely came near them, those rare individuals — monsters or Phantoms — that did appear were called "Strays" and feared accordingly.
They were notoriously difficult to predict. On top of that, such individuals were usually far more powerful than average.
This area had developed quite a bit, but it still wasn't safe to walk outside without an escort.
I'd never dream of going outside without one myself, but being a merchant must be tough in its own way.
"That's unsettling. A monster? A Phantom? On a highway, it'd be a Phantom."
North of the capital lay a forest rich in resources.
It was unlikely that monsters, who thrived in that environment, would leave it just to attack a caravan on the highway.
The leader looked up at me and gave a small nod.
"Yeah. The Knight Order's putting out a warning and recruiting for an extermination squad. Sounds like a decently big one. The caravan had three Level 3 guards, apparently."
"There were Hunters there and it still got wiped out? That's rough."
Phantoms were unaffected by highway monster wards.
Made of Mana Material, Phantoms generally didn't stray from the Treasure Hall where they spawned — but around the capital, with so many Treasure Halls in the area, something like this happened every few months or so.
Well, it wasn't anything worth worrying about.
Three Level 3 guards being taken out meant it was a fairly powerful Phantom, but Phantoms — which had no physical body — couldn't survive long in areas with thin Mana Material concentrations.
It would take time for it to dissipate naturally, but it would weaken before long, so if the Imperial Knights were already on the move, it would be exterminated quickly.
Well, none of that had anything to do with me. Even a powerful Phantom wouldn't make it inside the capital.
While I was waiting for the chain to be charged with a carefree expression, the leader spoke.
"Apparently, a Hunter who happened to pass nearby testified that it was a wolf Phantom. The guards probably let their guard down — to get taken out on an open highway like that—"
"Huh... wait, what?"
A wolf? A wolf? A wolf?
That word — one I'd only just heard for the first time recently — made me furrow my brow.
The northern highway of the capital.
White Wolf's Den, where I'd sent Tinno, existed in the forest just beside it.
The shape and type of Phantoms were largely determined by each Treasure Hall. Hearing "wolf type" and making that association was only natural.
Oblivious to my reaction, the leader continued talking with relish.
"Probably an evolution triggered by a Treasure Hall that wasn't culled enough. Can't be helped with so many Treasure Halls around. Good deal for Hunters, though."
"W-well, the northern capital has tons of Treasure Halls, after all. There are several in the forest too, and if the Phantom is a wolf, then surely—"
"Almost certainly White Wolf's Den."
The leader picked up where I trailed off and named the place. As expected of a Hunter belonging to Beginning Footprint — he had intel on the nearby Treasure Halls memorized.
Despite the certainty in his words, I kept my smile intact. My stomach was churning.
"Y-yes, White Wolf's Den! And the only other possibility—"
"Hmm? Around there, are there any other places where wolf Phantoms appear? It's an unpopular Treasure Hall with a low Treasure Weapon drop rate, so it fits the bill, doesn't it?"
...You've got to be kidding me.
I felt my expression tighten.
The mage who'd been charging the Dog Chain was watching the change in my face with a puzzled look.
"If it's spilled out this far, White Wolf's Den must be overflowing with Phantoms by now. The Explorer's Guild should be issuing warnings too. They might even put out a government extermination commission. It's a money-making opportunity."
Phantoms left no corpses, so they were generally unprofitable. But once they spilled out far enough to disrupt supply chains, that was a different story.
Depending on the scale, the government would commission the Explorer's Guild for extermination at considerable sums — and that wasn't uncommon.
...But still, there was a chance this was all a mistake, and even if the assessment was correct, Tinno and the others were heading in as a four-person party.
The young Gilbert had Treasure Weapons, so they'd manage somehow.
"Leader, those wolves over there are pretty tough, so don't go dying carelessly, alright?" one of the party members teased the serious-looking leader. Every word of it stabbed into my heart.
Strong? They're strong? I'd never been there, but were they really that strong?
Well, they were decently strong, right? Level 3, so yeah, pretty strong. Decently strong. It's fine. Tinno's strong too.
...Just in case, though, maybe I should glance at the commission sheet. No particular reason.
I pulled a folded commission sheet from my pocket with a smile and spread it on the table.
The leader read it and his eyes went wide in surprise.
He read the commission sheet from top to bottom, then nodded emphatically with understanding, and a look of admiration crossed his face.
"What the heck, Master. You're terrible. Pretending you didn't know when you'd already made arrangements?"
"Mm-hmm... yeah. I, uh... sent Tinno."
"?! Tinno — the Level 4—so... I see. As always, you're brutal..."
The leader's expression, which had been jovial moments ago, twisted in an instant. The other members maintained their smiles but quietly leaned back a bit.
It was always like this. I had bad luck. Bad timing.
It wasn't on purpose. It really wasn't. When was the merchant caravan even attacked? There was no way I'd have known about that kind of information.
I'm not a monster. If I'd known, I wouldn't have sent Tinno. Hell, if I'd known, I would've taken a different commission instead.
The young man who looked like a Thief, who'd been staring intently at the commission sheet, muttered under his breath.
"It's a Level 3 Treasure Hall, sure, but sending a Level 4 solo girl into a commission where a Level 5 Hunter went missing..."
"W-well, it's a learning experience too... Level 5?"
"...Huh? No, look, right here..."
When I asked about the unconfirmed information, the mage girl who seemed to have finished charging the Dog Chain placed the chain on the table and pointed to a section of the commission sheet.
It was where the names of the Hunters listed as rescue targets were written — a part I'd skimmed over without a second thought.
But to her, something else had caught her eye.
"This person, Rudolf Davou — he's a Level 5 Hunter, right? Well-known in the Explorer's Guild, the guy who carries that impressive spear. You didn't happen to—"
"Idiot. There's no way the Master, who has all the Hunter and Treasure Hall intel for the entire capital, wouldn't know something that basic. Ahaha, I'm sorry — our Ina is being rude—"
The leader apologized with a strained smile. The mage girl called Ina quickly bowed her head in apology.
I, too, kept my dry smile and gestured that it was fine, I wasn't bothered in the slightest.
Me — the guy who wasn't even sure all the names and faces of his own clan members matched up — supposedly had all the information?
Who the hell was spreading weird rumors about me? There were too many candidates to narrow it down.
I didn't know a thing about outside Hunters. Lately, the only time I went to the Explorer's Guild was when I was getting chewed out.
What, were you all supposed to have comprehensive Hunter intelligence? How many Hunters did you think there were total?
Okay, okay, okay. Calm down.
Tinno was reliable enough, and of course, if I'd known a Level 5 Hunter was missing, I wouldn't have sent Tinno — but it wasn't time to panic yet.
...Come to think of it, when I showed him the commission, Tinno said something like "I'm still only Level 4, you know."
That bastard Gaark, dumping that insane commission on me. What was I supposed to do if something happened to my cute junior?
I took a deep breath and steadied my pounding heart.
At the very least, I had to maintain a semblance of dignity as Clan Master on the surface.
Being removed from the Clan Master position would be no problem at all — in fact, I'd welcome it — but this wasn't one of those situations.
"Th-this is a learning experience too. It's fine. I sent three external Hunters with Tinno."
The young Gilbert was at least showing willingness to follow Tinno.
Having Luda and Gregg there was better than nothing, surely.
But my words didn't get the reaction the leader had expected.
His cheeks — raised in that token smile — twitched visibly.
"I-I see..."
"To think... on top of an already difficult mission... he'd pile on shackles—"
"So this is the one — the famous 'Mourning Specter' who made that his top party—"
From these competent Hunters — these monsters in their own right — I was receiving gazes filled with something I'd never expected: reverence laced with fear.
Famous!? Famous for what?
I flattened my expression, which had been about to crumble from sheer embarrassment.
The leader, who'd been cheerfully smiling just moments ago, half-stood with a clatter of his chair. His expression was dead serious, as though facing a Monster.
I picked up the fully charged Dog Chain from the table and clipped it back onto my belt with a click — my usual spot.
I cleared my throat and put on my best hard-boiled act.
"Sorry, but I've got some errands to run. I'll take my leave here. Thanks for the charge."
"N-no, no. I should be the one apologizing — boring you with idle chatter—"
His casual tone had shifted to formal language, I noticed.
Meanwhile, the parties at the other tables had started stealing glances our way.
This was bad. If this kept up, I was going to become the scumbag Clan Master who'd forced an outrageous commission onto Tinno.
I wasn't. It wasn't on purpose.
I spun on my heel. Having no particular destination in mind, I hurried toward the Clan Master's office.
Ark, the one person I could rely on in times like this, wasn't here. Neither was anyone from the Mourning Specter.
Normally, commissions should be thoroughly prepared for in advance, but this had been a rescue commission, so I'd sent them out in a hurry. Tinno and the others must have arrived at the Treasure Hall by now.
There was no time. I told myself to stop panicking.
"O-okay, it's fine, it's fine. The Purgatory Sword... I have the Purgatory Sword!"
Come to think of it — the Purgatory Sword.
I'd used up all my mana during that test run, but young Gilbert had charged it before heading to the Treasure Hall, right?