My Duke Won’t Die! - Chapter 3

“What?”

“You are right.”

The man seemed a little stunned at the sudden acceptance. But regardless of his reaction, Ella continued to speak.

“As you said, I can’t even take off a single piece of Idyl’s hide.”

You don’t take them because it’s annoying……isn’t it?

The hunters around them thought in unison something close to the truth, but Ella had a calm expression on her face.

The man who had argued with her suddenly approached at once and opened his mouth with a confused face.

“But if I want to hunt alone, I have to defeat you…….”

“It’s all bullshit. Is that something that needs someone else’s permission? You just have to go hunting alone. Who would stop you? Don’t you think so?”

“That…yes! No one can stop me!”

“That’s right! You just have to go into the forest. It’s a forest with no gatekeepers, so it’s okay if you just go in and hunt for a 1st-class or a 2nd-class monster. Who told you to beat me? Of course, it’s a joke! You are very naive.”

“Damn it, I should have known in advance that the old man was trying to make fun of me……!”

Those who came to monopolize the by-products were usually out of their minds.

It was a matter of course. He had a bad brain and was thinking of going into the woods alone.

This hunter she met today seems to be more stupid than the standard, and the desired reaction came out a little faster. It was good news in the daily life of Ella, who was depressed because she didn’t have a favorite to stan.

“Okay, Ella Lane, who can’t even take off one Idyl’s hide! Thanks for being honest!”

“You’re welcome!”

“Then I shall go!”

“Yes! Disappear forever!”

Not even listening to Ella’s last meaningful words, the man triumphantly snorted and headed towards the inn. It was to bring the necessary items for hunting.

It was when Ella, who had been satisfactorily looking at his back, turned away without any regrets.

“Lane!”

At some point, Moria’s urgent cry, who had been watching the whole situation, came over.

“What?”

“Y-You…! If that person goes to the Antain forest… he’s real monster porridge…!”

“Winnon.”

To Moria, who stuttered words in embarrassment, Ella calmly answered.

“It’s definitely bad to hit people with an axe, to make matters worse, he’s so stupid that I have no intention of stopping him from jumping into the fire. That’s too annoying. Besides, that face isn’t to my taste, so it’s not worth my time.”

“Why don’t you just hit him down with an axe?”

I think the result would be less brutal.

Moria was sincere, but Ella snorted and walked away without looking back.

After staring at her shameless back for a moment, Moria Winnon let out a deep sigh.

Any work related to Ella Lane used to produce devastating results in general. Of course, it wasn’t Ella that was destroyed, but her opponent’s life.

“Damn it!”

Moria, who was stamping his feet, eventually turned and ran toward the inn to persuade the man.

If he succeeds in convincing him, it would be the 6th person he rescued from Ella Lane’s demonic tactics, which urges the fools to go to the forest of monsters because no one is stopping them.

“Hey, hey! The idiot with the axe! Hold on!”

He didn’t know how he ended up being Ella’s caretaker, but Moria Winnon was sure of one fact while calling for the stupid man heading to the inn.

As long as Ella Lane’s flamboyant words and arrogance, on a tier of it’s own, exists, this won’t be an easy task.

That was how his fate was twisted.

***

She sold the claws of a first-class monster for a fair price, sent back a man who was arguing for a fight, and there was nothing to worry about because Moria Winnon would save that man’s life.

Around the time Ella arrived home, confident that it was a smooth day, an unexpected visitor was standing in front of the door.

“Lane. It’s been a while.”

It was the village chief, Rob Gleason.

To that, Ella replied without hiding her expression of annoyance.

“To say it’s been a long time it’s a stretch because Mr. Gleason’s crazy cuckoos come once a week.”

He wondered when he had ever flow a letter to Ella, and Rob grinned when he realized what she really meant.

“Ah, you mean those crazy young men.”

“When the hell are you going to break the rule that you have to beat me to go to the forest alone? Do I really have to kill someone to get rid of it?”

“You’re not going to kill anyone.”

“Annoying old man.”

“Crazy hunter.”

“…….”

Sigh, shall we just turn everything upside down?

It was when Ella was seriously contemplating while looking at Rob Gleason’s faded hair. Rob, who soon lost his smile, spoke words in a lower voice than before.

“Well, we’ll talk about that later, and I have an important favor to ask you.”

“What are you getting serious about? Just talk as usual. Why? Did any flying monsters appear at Baron Berkrum’s mansion again? Or are there some land monsters crawling into the town hall?”

Ella asked without much thought. This was because it wasn’t the first time she was asked to get rid of monsters that other hunters could not handle.

It was a usual request that she accepted without any problems, as long as there was nothing special and there was decent labor cost. And since entering this book, nothing has happened to Ella Lane.

But this time, from the moment she saw Rob’s face, Ella decided to get something more important than payment for her troubles.

“Well, enough with the explanation. It doesn’t matter. I’ll do it all, so get rid of that damn rules instead of giving me a working fee…….”

“This time, I have a different request.”

“What?”

“Ella Lane.”

“What’s wrong with you all of a sudden?”

When Ella, frowned on Rob’s unusual appearance and shakily asked, Rob, said.

“Please don’t hunt monsters.”

“…….”

It was such a ridiculous thing to say that Ella, who was rarely left speechless, had no words to give back.

* * *

Entering the house, Ella took out a half-full bottle of liquor from the cupboard. She then plucked the cork with her teeth and filled the old beer glass with strong liquor. It was as natural as flowing water because she drank so often.

“I heard it somewhere, but I don’t remember…”

With the glass of beer in her hand full of strong liquor, Ella frowned as she leaned against the table.

It felt like a strange deja vu was running through her head. It was all because of Rob Gleason, who had been making a lot of noise until just now.

Here’s the story Rob told me.

—Baron Berkrum was making a big fuss. He said that a great nobleman from the capital is coming with a Knights Order.

―A Capital Nobleman? Why?

―It is said that he is joining the border guards of the Naipol Canyon to study monsters.

―……Wasn’t the border guard disbanding soon because there were no volunteers?

―Yes. What kind of idiot would risk his life and apply to a place that subdues monsters while earning a salary the size of a rat? I’d rather be a hunter.

―I heard that most of the canyon’s monsters are first-class. Capital knights who have grown up preciously will die a hundred out of a hundred. 

―Yes, that’s exactly why.

―What?

―According to Baron Berkrum’s tip, these people are going to die. Well, they are not going because they want to. Isn’t that what conflicts between nobles are all about?

At that time, what came to mind was <The End of the Abyss>.

It was somehow the same story I read there.

No, I definitely read it.

It wasn’t the main story, but it was mentioned to the extent that I could vaguely remember it. A nobleman who fell for the Crown Prince’s clever scheme and went to the western border.

Rob said it was a quarrel between nobles, but in the end, even that was revealed as the Crown Prince’s schemes.

But who was the nobleman? What happened?

―Anyway, that nobleman will come here and pick up a skilled monster hunter to accompany him. They say it’s a guide, but you must always doubt what nobles say. It’s obviously meant to be used as a shield.

―Even so, who would go there? It’s certain death.

Hearing Ella’s mournful voice, Rob responded and nodded his head as if he knew it.

―I heard they are going to give a lot of money.

―Aha.

―Look at this. You are already going crazy just by hearing they will be giving money.

―What?

“Damn old man. Sitting on his high-handed chair looking at a pauper and saying such stuff.”

Ella, sitting at her little table, recalling the conversation had just had with Rob, clicked her tongue in the anger that had risen. However, it wasn’t really wrong, so she quickly gulped the strong drink in front of her, to soothe her heartbroken heart.

As Rob said, the monster hunter moved only to earn money. So, if you give her a lot of money, she had nothing to refuse.

If Rob had not come and offered to raise the cost of future quests by 50% and remove the annoying rule, she might have taken the initiative and headed to the border.

If it’s dangerous here or there anyway, it’s best to make a lot of money when you can.

―You are important in this town. There are a lot of people who know the law of destruction. But there are very few people who know how to find the law of destruction. I want you to stay in this town and take charge of the request. So I’m asking in advance. Never hunt in front of that noble.

“If you knew it was so precious, you should have paid for the request properly since the beginning. What are you talking about now?….”

It wasn’t even funny.

Unlike before, when Rob did his best to reduce the promised labor cost, now he didn’t hesitate to raise it by 50%.

Ella kicked her tongue in annoyance as she felt like an office worker who was faced with a very beggar-like situation. An office worker who said they were going to quit because the company is dirty and is offered a raise in salary instead.

Even the boss who added the bullshit, “Actually, you did a really good job” was very well done. The likeness was almost the same.

“There’s a reason why there’s a saying to do well when people around, you sly old man.”

After all, bosses are busy bashing everywhere.

Ella, who drank the rest of the liquor at once, stood up from her seat and started to polish her axe after a long time. A beginner wouldn’t be carrying a weapon stained with monster blood, it just showed how hard she worked.

In conclusion, she accepted Rob’s offer.

Rob Gleason was a bit annoying, but in some ways, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to meet the demands because she got used to the town and was given some pretty unconventional and not so bad conditions.

“Well, if there’s no favorite, it’s the same wasteland here and there, right?”

Still, if everywhere I go it’s a dog poop field that I have no choice but to roll in, it would be nice to have a diamond that can be held and cherished dearly.

This was Ella’s true heart, who gave up many things while transmigrating to a monster hunter who was forbidden from entering the capital.

In the midst of that, Ella held up the old mop with a sigh, recalling the small wish that still remains in her heart.

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