Chapter 169

Ricus thought of his gentle little sister.

Surely, no human could fail to stockpile anything in Forlang.

As proof, hadn’t that ever-so-kind Senia suddenly declared a branch family from the Edelweiss Count household?

“But she’s still just a young noble.”

Ricus himself had been operating as a spy for the Eastern Empire since far younger than Senia.

Naturally, with all sorts of experiences under his belt, he surpassed her.

And sure enough, Senia had made a fatal mistake.

“Senia trusts people way too much.”

Spouting words that Senia—Shin Yuri—would have utterly dismissed, Ricus rummaged through her room.

Of course, Shin Yuri carried all important documents in her newly expanded inventory as an A-rank commemorative gift, leaving Ricus with nothing worthwhile.

But with no knowledge of inventories, Ricus was confident.

“No matter how well you hide your documents, it’s all the same.”

His spying career wasn’t just a year or two.

Nobles had set places to stash their papers—that’s how it worked!

His eyes gleamed as he pulled out a document binder Shin Yuri had lazily tucked between books because she couldn’t be bothered to sort it properly.

“As expected, hidden in a spot like this.”

[1st Quarter Gate Management Records]

Management records would surely detail gate management methods, right?

Moreover, the magic tower, imperial family, and temple—all bizarrely fixated on Edelweiss territory—would have records of whatever compensation they received for lending troops, without omission!

Indeed, Senia just wasn’t versed in noble intrigues, so her guard was down.

–Flutter!

Ricus flipped through the pages rapidly. All the while, he thought of Viscount Forlang.

‘Even mobilizing the info guild turned up nothing on that kid! Go yourself and fetch intel on Edelweiss territory.’

‘How they block gates, where they source supplies—any info at all, just bring it!’

His father, Viscount Forlang, had surely said as much, but Ricus couldn’t help but be puzzled.

“Just how incompetent was the info guild they used that they found nothing?”

With that, he closed the 1st quarter gate management records binder.

“……Nothing much here.”

But it was too soon to be disappointed.

As if there’d only be this one set of documents?

He rummaged through Senia’s room with practiced skill, muffling his presence completely.

He might suck with a sword, but infiltration was a heavenly talent.

–Rustle, rustle.

The only sound in the room was paper flipping.

There had to be documents exchanged with the magic tower, temple, or imperial family somewhere.

Otherwise, how could they maintain such frequent contact!

That alone would reveal the tangled relations between Edelweiss and those three powers—how they’d grown so intimate!

His eyes shone as he flipped the pages.

Then he froze.

“Oh, right.”

Almost forgot something crucial.

With Senia gone and security lax, now was the time to send a letter.

He pulled paper from his bosom and rolled it into a peculiar flute shape.

–Whooosh!

Cracking the window open slightly, he blew into it.

The flute emitted a strange sound like whistling wind.

A secret method to summon messenger birds.

“……”

While waiting for the birds, he swiftly penned letters.

Using magic ink, naturally.

One to Kinna in the Eastern Empire, the other to his fool of a father, Viscount Forlang—who thought Ricus an idiot.

Oblivious to their acorn-height-measuring stupidity contest, he mocked Viscount Forlang as he wrote.

[Edelweiss territory’s method for handling red gates: three knights and……]

Finished, he grinned.

Territories that had faced red gates were rare even in Carman.

It would be priceless intel for the Eastern Empire, naturally.

This would sufficiently prove his value to Kinna.

–Peep!

Carefully entering through the window, he tied the magic-ink letters to the ankles of two birds.

Watching them vanish toward the Eastern Empire and Forlang respectively, he silently closed the window.

Find evidence before Senia returned!

“……”

But even after sending the letters, no matter how long he searched Senia’s room, nothing noteworthy turned up.

And by then, Shin Yuri was blocking Seo Yeri’s attacks while commenting,

“He’s probably thinking ‘now’s my chance’ and fumbling around in my room right about now, huh?”

Spot on.

Most unfortunately, the intel Ricus craved existed only in Shin Yuri’s inventory and chat window.

Training dragged on until night.

Yet she still couldn’t create a macro.

“Didn’t expect it to be easy, but……”

Considering Now the Monster’s Flying at Me, Is That the Problem? (C) had been born in a desperate pinch, it wasn’t likely to come easily.

But blocking ice crystals isn’t easy, you know? Can’t it just pop out already?

–Crack! Shatter!

Of course, after blocking countless ice crystals, she wasn’t oblivious to why no macro emerged.

The skills she needed right now were Afterimage, Parry, and Deflection.

She had to craft a defensive swordsmanship macro versatile enough for various situations, centered on those three.

With hardly any defense skills to her name, unfamiliarity was secondary; combining multiple skills naturally tangled her sword paths.

“Hmm.”

Parry had such a big motion—maybe focus on Deflection?

But wouldn’t that reduce damage mitigation?

Even dealers racked their brains full-tilt for skills; she confirmed it firsthand and grew quieter.

“……”

Seo Yeri Hunter, sensing her focus, silently hurled ice without a word.

–Shatter!

Of course, the ice never flew at the same angle twice.

Zone out for a second, and her nape would prickle.

Turn around, and without fail, a sharp ice crystal hurtled toward her back.

“!”

–Crunch!

Batting it away, she reorganized her thoughts.

Even launching ice crystals along such varied trajectories was labor.

Seo Yeri Hunter was truly pitching in with care. She had to match that effort.

–Shatter!

Sword met ice crystal once more.

“Ah.”

Should’ve deflected. Clashing head-on with an S-rank skill left her hand tingling.

Thrusting her sword again, she bit her lip.

Ricus that jerk, Viscount Forlang too.

The people of this world kept gunning for her.

Forlang’s side made sense—if she thrived, it’d shame their house.

But had they deemed her a tough nut, they’d never have bothered regardless.

–Crunch!

Crushing a downward-falling ice shard underfoot, she narrowed her eyes.

The reason they kept targeting her boiled down to one thing.

She was weak.

The incessant prodding was whatever.

But she didn’t want the hunter team fretting over it.

Above all, the guest mansion dungeon had driven it home.

‘Treat this dungeon as a breather……’

‘Eh, you worked hard last dungeon, so system’s saying rest~’

In RP or special dungeons, stats or skills sometimes came with restrictions.

Like her in this one.

She and the other three hunters never fussed much over the debuffed one.

Not like they were slacking— the rest could cover harder.

……Yeah, that’s how it’d been.

She figured it’d be the same this time.

But assuming it’d go like always was complacent.

‘If only I’d been a bit stronger.’

That regret dated back ten years already.

Ten years on, with three powerhouses around—had she forgotten?

The reason she needed strength.

The simple fact that she had to grow strong to protect her people.

That to safeguard her happiness, she must ceaselessly power up.

The instant that plain, irrefutable truth crystallized.

Designated opponents?

Her eyes sparkled for a moment.

Could she pick them freely?

But the next instant, her eyes widened.

[Reward: S-rank Awakening]

“……!”

My hesitation made Seo Yeri Hunter shriek.

“Kyaaak!”

She’d been aiming an ice crystal right at her forehead.

–Clang!

Slipping her sword between the ice crystal—now inches away—and her brow was no great feat.

“Why block so late! I nearly fell over in shock!”

Seo Yeri Hunter nagged, her relief bleeding through a sigh.

“Zoning out mid-training? Does that even happen?”

In response to Seo Yeri Hunter, she raised a hand.

“It does.”

“Whaaat?”

As Seo Yeri Hunter planted hands on hips, she grinned.

“Just got an S-rank awakening hidden quest.”

“Ah.”

Seo Yeri Hunter’s eyes went wide. She promptly flashed a thumbs-up.

“Can’t be helped then.”

Worth startling over, right? Worth pausing for?

She eyed the system window.

So, who were the designated opponents?

If it meant pick who to crush, it’d show a list.

Hunter Association first…… Ah, outside the dungeon, no dice?

Then, the system window obligingly highlighted the targets.

And perhaps they were the most obvious ones imaginable.

Gazing at the system window before her, she typed.

Precisely: thoroughly eliminate those threatening her safety.

Ensuring no further harm to the hunter team.

She glared coldly at the name Forlang in the system window.