"Huh? Ark's not here? Why?"
"He got called away by some nobles over the 'White Marble Garden' he cleared the other day… Apparently he won't be back for a while."
"Ah, bad timing."
Eva answered without looking up from her documents.
Ark's "Holy Spirit's Children" was a Party that drew attention even in the Imperial Capital.
Their leader was a gentle-mannered pretty boy with an unusual degree of tolerance for a Hunter — and on top of that, absurdly strong. Noble families who were always looking for a way to build connections had been eager to summon him for ages.
Especially now that he'd just cleared a high-difficulty Treasure Hall. It was only natural they'd come calling.
Maybe the fact that he'd still been around this morning was the real stroke of luck.
But the timing was terrible. I'd figured Ark was taking the commission, so I'd grabbed any old job without much thought.
Ark was an overachiever, but being perpetually busy was the one flaw in the gem.
"Well, this is a problem. What do I do about this punishment game?"
"Couldn't you go, Kurai?"
Are you telling me to die?
There were always some people who underestimated Treasure Halls. Hunters and non-Hunters alike were guilty of it, but having seen high-difficulty Treasure Halls up close, I could say with confidence: their awareness was way too soft.
Only Level 1 certified Treasure Halls were safe enough for ordinary people to enter. Anything beyond that was a living nightmare. Non-Hunters going in meant a high probability of death. That was the world we lived in.
Besides, I'd pretty much retired from the front lines already.
"I haven't been in one for ages, so I've gotten pretty weak, you know?"
"You've been slacking off too much, is what you mean."
Hunters were strong. Different dimension entirely.
One of the key reasons was the accumulation of power — the accumulation of Mana Material.
Treasure Halls were brimming with dense concentrations of Mana Material.
Hunters who cleared them were constantly exposed to high concentrations of Mana Material, and by absorbing it, they gained power that transcended what a normal human could achieve.
Thanks to this system, the more high-difficulty Treasure Halls a Hunter frequented, the more that power grew — but the Mana Material absorbed into one's body didn't stay there forever.
There was individual variation, but if you stayed in a low-density city like I had for so long, the accumulated power drained away in no time, and you reverted to being an ordinary person.
That was why Hunters who kept running Treasure Halls were often stronger than regular military.
I'd been weak and talentless to begin with, and now that I'd pulled back from the front lines, I was even weaker than before.
A Level 3 Treasure Hall wasn't that big a deal for the members of this Clan, but for someone like me — barely a step above an ordinary person — it was completely out of the question.
And, of course, I had zero motivation.
If it were up to me, I'd have rejected this commission by any means necessary. Don't underestimate the weakest member of the Footprints.
I turned on my heel, humming a tune. Right — even without Ark, I had the Footprints.
"Well, whatever. I'll just hang out in the lounge and pick out some bored-looking person to dump it on."
"…You really shouldn't push urgent commissions onto other people."
Eva furrowed her brows and shot me an accusatory look, but I firmly believed in putting the right person in the right place.
§ The second floor of the Clan headquarters had a lounge.
It was a spacious area with tall, vaulted ceilings and large windows that let in generous beams of sunlight.
Big tables, one for each registered Party, lined the space, and a bar counter ran along the wall.
It doubled as a meeting room, and since the bar counter served free simple meals and drinks, it had become a gathering spot where idle members always seemed to congregate.
Since the money had been collected from members anyway and I couldn't exactly pocket it, I'd had Eva manage it with the intent of spending every last coin.
Now it was one of our Clan's selling points. You never knew what would end up working out.
I swept my gaze across my proudly built lounge — and frowned.
"…That's weird. There's nobody here."
"Mastaa! Good morning! You're going bare-faced again today… What happened to that 'mask' of yours?"
"It broke."
It was broad daylight and Tinno was the only one here. Where had everyone else gone?
Tinno, who'd been sitting by herself with a book open — poor thing — came trotting over.
She should've been the one who'd half-destroyed the bar last night, but there wasn't a trace of worry on her face.
"Mastaa, I think your real face is much better than wearing a weird mask like that."
"If someone told me I looked better with a mask on, I'd never recover."
Just a week ago, I'd been hiding my real face at all times with a special Treasure Weapon.
The "Changing Human Face" — a flesh mask that let you alter your appearance at will.
Some Hunters desperately wanted to show their faces, but I was the exact opposite type.
But that Treasure Weapon was gone now. Broken.
And there was no replacement. Treasure Weapons were items born from nature, the rare ones were incredibly hard to find, and they were absurdly expensive.
On top of that, this particular Treasure Weapon — which concealed the wearer's identity from anyone below a certain perception threshold — violated several Imperial laws. Short of the extraordinary luck of stumbling across one inside a Treasure Hall, it was unobtainable.
At this point, all I could do was stay indoors as much as possible. I felt like throwing up.
Tinno glanced around nervously, giving off the vibe of an eager puppy as she asked in a small voice.
"Mastaa… Where's Big Sister?"
"Liz and the others are at a Treasure Hall. A Level 8 'Castle.' They were fired up about finally pushing all the way to the back and bringing something back. They probably won't return for a while."
What terrible timing. If even one of them had stayed behind, I could've dumped the punishment game on them.
And I couldn't exactly wait for them to come back.
My words made Tinno blink a few times with a puzzled expression, but she quickly broke into a smile and held out her palm.
"Oh, by the way, Mastaa. I got this."
"…Ngh…"
Tinno waved her left hand around as if showing it off. Nestled on her finger was a familiar Treasure Weapon ring.
I couldn't help but let out a strange yelp.
I was genuinely surprised. Tinno Shade had certainly achieved remarkable growth, but she was still very much a work in progress. There had been plenty of far more powerful monsters in that place.
I'd seen her ambush and finish off the boy Gilbert and snatch the ring, but Tinno wasn't strong enough to have held onto it afterward.
Yet judging by the results… that must've been what happened. My once-adorable little junior had apparently grown into a proper monster in the time I wasn't looking.
"I don't care about that fake handsome guy's Party, but there's no way I can let such an unspeakable wretch keep Mastaa's ring."
"No, it was just a Finger Shot, honestly."
The Finger Shot was a Treasure Weapon that let you fire magic bullets.
Among ring-type Treasure Weapons, it was one of the most commonly found — and therefore one of the least valuable.
That big sword the boy Gilbert had been brandishing was probably worth more.
Tinno looked so happy she could burst, almost to the point of making me feel bad for giving it away.
"The real value lies where you can't see it. That fake handsome guy said it was an interesting little event, too."
"That's Ark. Always Ark."
"Mastaa… Is this really for me?"
"I don't lie. It's yours, yours. I feel bad it's so cheap, but there you go."
"Yay!"
Even within the broad category of Treasure Weapons, performance and price varied wildly. There were very few Hunters who actually used a Finger Shot.
Tinno hadn't seemed to use one before either, but seeing her spin around in circles with a little squeal of delight, she clearly didn't mind. What a cheap date. I was getting teary.
…Well, Tinno was the only one here, so Tinno would have to do.
The Treasure Hall's certified level was 3, and Tinno was Level 4, so she should be fine.
"Tinno, are you free right now?"
"Huh…?"
Tinno froze mid-step, her eyes widening slightly.
She was a Hunter who primarily operated Solo. Her schedule was flexible.
Being a Hunter didn't mean you had nothing to do outside of hunts.
To always perform at your best, you needed constant training. And to clear a Treasure Hall with reasonable safety, advance intelligence gathering was essential.
The Clan could provide some support, but slack off and you'd die, so most Hunters were pretty busy. Solo Hunters needed even more meticulous preparation, making it doubly so.
Yet despite all that, Tinno gave me a smile so full and bright it was almost unlike her.
"I'm free! Probably the freest moment of my life! That's why I was waiting for you, Mastaa!"
If her master heard that, she'd probably be the first to cook up an excruciating curriculum. And yet, she really had that much free time…
I didn't hesitate. I shoved the punishment game Gaark had handed me straight onto Tinno.
"Perfect timing — the Association sent over a job. I think I'll hand it off to you."
"…What?"
Tinno looked like she'd been hit by a pea shooter. Her expression went completely blank.
§ "Mastaa, I am currently experiencing the greatest shock of my life. My maiden heart has been torn to shreds. I never imagined you'd be the kind of person who'd do something so cruel. I've been deceived."
"I didn't deceive you, didn't deceive you."
"Built up, then torn down."
"Didn't build you up, didn't tear you down."
Tinno hadn't even done anything yet, but her motivation was already gone. Her eyes were half-dead.
She pressed her cheek flat against the table and glared at me with undisguised resentment.
Still in that position, with no effort to hide her total lack of enthusiasm, Tinno declared openly: "I'll be honest — I was planning to go get ice cream or something with you, Mastaa."
Tinno had a weakness for sweets. I was sure someone would exploit that trait someday.
"Your master told me not to let you eat too many sweets."
"…That's a trap. Big Sister just doesn't want you going on dates while she's away."
Dates? She was actually saying dates. The master was the master, and the apprentice was the apprentice.
Maybe it had been a mistake to drag her around as a bodyguard for a while back in the day.
I'd known this junior since she first became a Hunter, and in terms of how easy she was to work with, she ranked just after my friends and Ark.
Her cute appearance was a bonus too. Asking favors of someone intimidating was mentally taxing.
I shoved the file into Tinno's drooping hands, pressing it insistently.
"Come ooon, Tinn-o? Fun fun work, right? Lucky youuu~"
"Mastaa, do you take me for some kind of convenient woman?"
"Looks like someone's corrupted our pure little Tinno."
Who'd been whispering weird ideas in her ear.
"It's you, Mastaa. You."
Tinno slumped over but started reading the file through half-dead eyes.
After a long silence, she muttered under her breath.
"This is the most dogshit commission in recorded history, Mastaa."
"Yeah, pretty much."
"The reward, the time commitment, the scope, the Treasure Hall difficulty — there's not a single redeeming feature anywhere. Who'd actually take this?"
"Yeah, pretty much."
"…This is a punishment game, isn't it?"
"Yep, sure is."
"…"
That was how it ended up on my desk. That bastard Gaark had used me as a dumping ground.
If I hadn't had a junior I could smooth-talk into things, I would've flat-out refused. Jobs like this — undesirable ones that nobody wanted — always trickled down to whoever had the least power. That was true across all eras, everywhere in the world.
Tinno squirmed in place and made an excuse with an expression of pure disgust.
"Mastaa, I'm only Level 4. I'm still green. I'd love to help you, truly, but I'd really rather decline this time… Five-person rescue on my own? That's impossible."
"…"
"…Actually, I just remembered I have something to do."
Tinno shot upright with startling energy. In the blink of an eye she'd already wheeled around and was sprinting off.
As expected of a Thief. I was still processing when she'd vanished from the lounge entirely.
The sad little scrap of paper that was the commission form was all that remained on the table.
What an breathtaking escape.
Wait a second — she'd taken the ring too, hadn't she? She'd grabbed it and fled.
She'd probably been put through brutal training by Liz and had developed an instinct for running away.
Hmm, thinking about it that way, I actually felt a certain kinship.
I silently unclipped the roughly two-meter length of chain from my belt and set it on the desk.
The slender silver chain writhed on its own without being touched, clinking and rattling like a living thing.
This was a beast. A chain, yes, but a "faithful beast."
A toothless hound that knew no fatigue, needed no food, and swore loyalty to its master alone.
And so its name was — the "Dog Chain."
Once, in a time so ancient that almost no records remained, there had apparently been a clan that used chains.
Forged with special arts, these chains writhed without a single hand touching them, each possessed of strange and wondrous powers that sustained the clan's way of life.
Now it was nothing but legend, but the fact that "chain-type" Treasure Weapons were so common among those that appeared in Treasure Halls was probably a remnant of that long-extinct civilization.
The chain rose from the desk, momentarily taking the shape of a small dog.
At my nod, it dissolved that form and slithered out of the lounge like a snake.