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Hunting signifies the act of capturing prey for the purpose of obtaining byproducts.

However, for those with social influence, it was a bit different.

It was not about eating, selling, or indulging in luxury, but simply for enjoyment. Hunting was ultimately an additional element for interaction.

Chatting with companions, showcasing strength and skills, and drinking—this was the essence of a recreational sport.

And, like in any recreation, it was natural that for those having fun, there were others working for them.

While Alfred led his retainers and some attendants on a hunt, some attendants left behind at the encampment were exactly that.

A family’s servant pouring feed into the troughs of spare horses and Snowrunners.

Soldiers erecting barricades to escort wagons and carts, directed by knights who lost a lottery.

Artisans and apprentices checking spare horseshoes and preparing back-up arrows, and so on.

Bgrgrgrgrgrgr—

A sound that poked at their nerves echoed out.

Even though they weren’t hungry, humans instinctively searched for something to munch on when they found themselves bored.

Additionally, the wind that began to blow brought with it the savory scent of frying oil, heightened even further by a hint of humidity.

Typically, when such a delicious smell wafted through an encampment, one would prepare a gift or two to sneakily retrieve something or boldly ask for a bowl, face like a cast-iron plate.

However, they could only be disappointed, nibbling on dry jerky as there wasn’t even that available to them.

The reason? There’s no way for an attendant to casually approach the Chief Magic Consultant for a meal.

Unaware of such disappointments, Mary abruptly asked.

“Karem, isn’t it almost time to salvage something?”

“True. Let’s take a short break.”

The key factor in frying is temperature.

Of course, the temperature of the oil is essential, but the moisture content of the ingredients is just as important.

While moisture retains the flavor and juiciness of the ingredients, it’s also what undercuts the crispness of the batter.

This is why, generally, when frying something, it’s typical to do it twice when it comes to fried food.

This applies to French fries, and Seophone fries are no exception.

The reason for frying even crispier than usual had its own purpose.

Bgrgrgrgrgr—

Shaking off the oil from freshly fried Seophone fries, he quickly passed cool air to condense the surface.

Once he plated the lightly seasoned fries and thickly grated three types of cheese over them, they melted instantly in the heat of the next batch.

“Is that it?”

“No, the finishing touch is yet to come.”

Karem, hearing the mumble of “Huaryong-what?” with a solemn expression, scattered pre-fried bacon bits as the final touch.

Three ways to enjoy fries in the tastiest manner possible.

One of them—the cheese fries were complete.

“It’s done.”

Just as Mary lifted the Seophone fries at Catherine’s cue, long strands of melted cheese clung to the fries like spider silk.

Mary swiftly delivered the fry to Catherine’s mouth before the bacon bits could drop.

Oozing with cheesy grease, the fried fry, and the explosive smokiness of the bacon fat.

The savory richness of carbohydrates blended with the salty crunch of cheese and bacon.

The aggressive harmony of fat and salt made Catherine shudder involuntarily.

“I don’t know, it feels so relaxed.”

“Right?”

It had already been two days passing between the temporary encampment and this encampment.

While the violent fat danced in her mouth, the encampment felt relaxed.

“It’ll likely remain quiet until our lord returns and we head back to the temporary encampment.”

“Can we just stay like this?”

Karem briefly glanced at Mary, who discreetly offered up a large bowl of sauce.

The combination of rich mayonnaise and sour cream.

Pepper and herbs tamed the greasiness so that only the sourness and savoriness remained, transforming a trio into a quartet of flavors.

“Yeah. Unless something comes up that I have to intervene in.”

“That stuff gets sorted out below, right?”

Karem pointed outside the barricade of the already set-up encampment at Catherine’s words.

Grrr—

Whether they heard the noise of the encampment from afar, a draugr dressed in the tattered garb of a decayed Felwinter soldier dragged a rusty sword against the ground as it approached.

“It seems to be the corpse of a casualty we didn’t clean up from the last Ice Worm hunt.”

At Mary’s words, Catherine seemed slightly intrigued, her expression shifting to one of mild interest, but it soon turned indifferent again.

“Yeah. I mean, there are easy prey like horned rabbits around, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t any fools targeting such shabby encampments.”

“Usually, they’d be drawn in by the horned rabbits.”

With lower-grade monsters like horned rabbits charging in blindly, and soldiers and knights armed, along with a bored Grand Wizard waiting at the encampment.

Comparing the two, it was clear the former would be much easier prey.

If one was so old they couldn’t keep up with chasing after horned rabbits, they might aim for the latter.

As Karem speculated, a Hunter Drake poked its head out from afar in Antler Forest, glancing at the horned rabbits before retreating back into the woods.

“There are so many meals everywhere, so there definitely are a lot of monsters.”

Having traversed quite a distance from Drywood village, various monsters and beasts hunting the horned rabbits were evident both in the sky and on the ground.

Of course, the ones aiming to hunt such monsters weren’t just Alfred and his retainers, but quite a few more.

Predators targeting horned rabbits, people hunting both predators and horned rabbits, and the horned rabbits themselves, appearing again to graze calmly once their predator has distanced itself.

“Yet those rabbits seem to pop up from nowhere despite being hunted.”

Though it was said they could become pregnant with dozens at once, it felt like there were just too many.

“It’s all because of the Ice Worm.”

Though classified as monsters, horned rabbits shared similar behaviors with regular rabbits.

They grazed, burrowed, and gave birth to dozens of babies.

For such horned rabbits, the extensive underground tunnels, including Drywood, excavated by the Ice Worm, acted like a complete free paradise, a seven-star hotel.

While the deep places were hard for rabbits to access, this drawback was alleviated by the holes formed due to the Ice Worm’s hunting activities.

There were dozens of such holes in Antler Forest alone.

Expanding this range to the entire territory, there were probably hundreds.

Effectively an infinite wellspring of horned rabbits.

Normally, when numbers rise this much, a food shortage is bound to occur.

However, perhaps because of Iceland’s ever-hungry ecosystem, they seemed to sustain a bizarre equilibrium.

Instantly, predators and monsters were on the hunt.

“One might have to call it a marvel of nature.”

“I heard the Adventurer Guild is planning to establish a branch office here.”

“A branch office? In such a small village?”

As Karem spoke, he briefly considered the size of Drywood. It didn’t seem big enough for a guild branch.

However, the higher-ups at the Adventurer Guild thought otherwise.

Technically, it’s the higher-ups from Seophone Island.

The primary sources of income for the Adventurer Guild may differ from branch to branch, but there are three crucial and common ones.

Commission fees for request mediation.

Procurement and supply of materials.

All dependent on the number of adventurers belonging to that branch, and thus, a genuinely standard Adventurer Guild pays great attention to its own adventurers. If possible, they also keep tabs on other branches.

Thanks to that, one of the Adventurer Guild’s greatest concerns was to have as many skilled people as possible under their wing.

This meant the guild executives were always mindful of improving the abilities and survival rates of adventurers classified as below C rank.

It might sound strange to call low-tier adventurers skilled, but that’s not unusual at all.

Skilled individuals come in all shapes and forms.

Ignoring and mistreating foundational levels will lead to a bleak future.

The more competent low-tier adventurers there are, the greater the number of gems that could rise to higher ranks, and the consistent income of low-tier adventurers translates directly to the income of the Adventurer Guild.

Thus, when the Masters of the Iceland Adventurer Guild grasped the situation under Drywood and in the nearby underground, they all had the same thought.

This is a total goldmine.

Horned rabbits could be dealt with by even F rank adventurers if they just had the right supplies and stamina.

A whole underground dungeon populated only with such horned rabbits.

This habitat for horned rabbits was formed in the burrows dug by the Ice Worm, leaving no fear that it would suddenly disappear like a dungeon core collapsing.

Considering their breeding rate, one would even have to think about holding periodic mass extermination requests.

“A training ground for novice adventurers, a place to hone their skills while receiving basic education about dungeons, a savings tool for progressing low-tier adventurers aiming higher, and a steady income source for adventurers wishing to lay low.”

“With hundreds of entradas, even if you get lost, you’d return to the guild branch within three days.”

This was the so-called beginner’s hunting ground.

And unlike in games, in reality, especially in Iceland, it was incredibly rare for beginners to find safe ways to improve their skills, hence the Adventurer Guild was rushing to seize this opportunity.

More adventurers and hunters would likely gather, intrigued by the predation of predators and monsters drawn by the horned rabbits.

“Speaking of dungeons though…”

Karem licked the sauce from his fingers.

Honestly, it would be a lie to say he wasn’t interested. He did feel a twinge of regret as the tours to the catacombs fell through because of the demon tribe and Wales.

However, he didn’t have an interest strong enough to beg Catherine to accompany him. According to Catherine, it would still be an untouched pit.

“No treasures to be found, I guess.”

Above all, all there would be are just horned rabbits.

Karem had no particular interest in horned rabbits.

“Maybe there will be an opportunity to explore it later?”

Mary, by now, dipped a slightly cold cheese fry into the sauce.

“Probably after the guild branch is set up.”

“Oh, is that okay?”

“Are you really okay with this? No need to hide your true feelings. There’s no one here who doesn’t know you.”

“Yeah, but I doubt there will be treasures.”

“Let’s not throw away curiosity and adventurous spirit so hastily. Aren’t we at an age where we should cherish dreams?”

“You won’t forget my circumstances, will you?”

Thus, the only reason to be so persistent was simply this.

“Even if you say so, Mary won’t pass the opportunity to you. There’s probably nothing worth seeing.”

And as Karem predicted, Mary dramatically snapped her fingers in disappointment and clicked her tongue.

“It’s a pity you lack such dreams. So sad.”

“Catherine. Can’t you do something about this addiction to work?”

Though he half-heartedly asked, no answer came back.

Karem, wondering what was up, called for Catherine again.

“Catherine?”

“A giant horned rabbit? Not just one or two, huh?”

Suddenly talking about a giant rabbit, the serious look and raised eyebrow from the person speaking gave it an odd feeling.

“A giant horned rabbit, you say?”

“Over there. You can see it too, right?”

Karem and Mary faced one another with puzzled expressions.

“Eh… What is that again?”

“A giant horned rabbit?”

Standing there was a creature towering over 2 meters, resembling a gorilla, with ears as long as longswords.

Muscled hind legs bulged beneath its fur.

Its head, already looking like it could crush anything, appeared even more ferocious as it chewed on something resembling a giant worm with a thick, stubby paw.

As its size grew, its horn became proportionally longer and thicker. Still, due to its colossal size, the imbalance fueled an even greater sense of unease.

Catherine’s words were spot on.

A giant horned rabbit was indeed standing there.

“Whoa…”

“Why do you look so impressed?”

Karem felt awestruck.

 

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