Chapter 12

Translator: Kell | Editor: Weasalopes

The Intimidating Unken

Apparently an expert would assess the value of the Red-horned Rabbit, not Jill . She rang a bell and an old man emerged from a room inside . His hair was long and white all over, with a bun on top . The rest he left hanging as they met with his mustache and beard, making his head look like a lump of white hair . About a hundred fifty centimeters tall, he was half a head shorter than Hikaru .

「A gnome…?」Hikaru muttered .

「He’s from a race called Man Gnomes . Don’t say anything about it, or he’ll get mad . 」Jill whispered .

Ugh, another pain in the neck .

「What do you want, Jill? I’m busy! We have a visitor from the royal capital coming soon . 」

「I know . But you’re the one who insisted on assessing Red-horned Rabbits . 」

「Hmm?」

Unken’s gaze rested on Hikaru for the first time .

「…Ohh . 」

He warily examined Hikaru’s whole body before turning around and heading back inside .

「If you go through this passageway, you’ll arrive at a separate building . That’s where the dissection is done . Just follow Unken-san . 」

With a tap on his shoulder, Jill returned to the counter . Adventurers who saw the intimate gesture seethed with bloodlust .

「…I just told her to stop doing that . 」

Feeling weary, Hikaru went after Unken .

The place where dissection was done looked like a huge garage . While only made of wood, expertly-placed beams secured the enormous structure . Dangling down from the naked beams were chains with hooks where large animals were hung for dissections .

「Take it out . 」

Hikaru placed the bag on a stone table . Unken took the Red-horned Rabbit from within and examined its insides .

「………」

In the meantime, Hikaru summoned Unken’s Soul Board . He was curious about the way he carried himself so warily earlier . And his hunch was right .

【Soul Board】Unken F . Balzack

Age: 211 Rank: 51

47

【Vitality】

. . 【Natural Recovery】2

. . 【Stamina】5

. . 【Immunity】

… . 【Magic Resistance】1

. . 【Perception】

… . 【Smell】1

… . 【Taste】2

【Magical Power】

. . 【Mana】6

【Physical Strength】

. . 【Strength】9

. . 【Weapon Mastery】

… . 【Short Sword】6

… . 【Bow】3

… . 【Throwing】4

… . 【Armor】2

【Agility】

. . 【Stealth】

… . 【Life Obfuscation】2

… . 【Mana Obfuscation】2

… . 【Imperceptibility】2

… . 【Group Obfuscation】1

【Dexterity】

. . 【Dexterity】3

. . 【Tool Mastery】

… . 【Pottery】2

【Willpower】

. . 【Mental Strength】3

【Intuition】

. . 【Instinct】4

. . 【Detection】

… . 【Life Detection】1

「What?」Hikaru blurted out .

「What do you mean “what”?」

「Uh, no, it’s nothing . 」

「………」

Unken eyed Hikaru suspiciously before turning his attention back to the Red-horned Rabbit .

Wait, wait, wait… This geezer’s unreal! He even has a Stealth-type Skill that I don’t . He only has one point on it, though . Hmm? Hold on a sec . Something’s not right with his remaining points .

Hikaru cautiously calculated . Unken had allocated a total of 74 points to his Skills . Add that to his remaining 47 points, you got a total of 121 points . His rank was outstanding, but his age of 211 was even more incredible . If one gained 1 point per year, then his remaining points were way off .

It must be one-third, then . 211 divided by 3 is around 70 . 70 plus his rank of 51 gives a total of 121 . The figures add up . Some species in this world have shorter lifespans while some have longer . So the timing of granting points is different for each species depending on the lifespans .

It felt like the wrong things were being balanced .

So Group Obfuscation… Unlocking it must require two points each on Life Obfuscation Mana Obfuscation, and Imperceptibility . This guy has almost the same Skillset as me . I wonder if he’s a Rogue-type .

Hikaru wanted to know how powerful Unken was . Unlike Hikaru who had poured his points into one Skill, maxing it out, the old man only had a few points for each . It felt like he was putting more points on Skills crucial for a Rogue-type character . If he knew how strong Unken was, he could use him as a point of reference to assess how strong he himself was .

「Laddie . 」

「Yes?」

「Is it fun to stare at me like that?」

Hikaru gave a start .

Right, he has 4 points on Instinct… I doubt he knows I’m checking his Soul Board, though .

「It’s just that I haven’t seen you in the guild before . 」

「…I suppose . 」

「What do you usually do?」

「That’s none of your business . 」

「Judging from Jill’s behavior, the Guildmaster perhaps?」

「…I’m just an assessor . 」

Either Hikaru did well in changing the subject, or Unken really disliked being probed over .

「Anyway, about the Red-horned Rabbit… You’ve never dissected before, haven’t you?」

「…No . 」

「The way you cut it is awful . What did you use?」

Hikaru took out his Dagger of Strength . Unken stared at it then heaved a sigh .

「…You fool . Don’t use a killing weapon for dissection . Use a proper tool for it . You cut its skin and flesh when you took out its internal organs . Here . The meat will taste awful if blood seeps into the flesh . 」

「You’re right . I see it . 」

「The way you cut open its belly is also horrible . You could’ve carried it without dissecting . Its value won’t drop if you returned in two or three hours…」he said, glancing at Hikaru . 「…is what I would say, but with those muscles of yours, I don’t think it’s possible . It’s too heavy for you to carry . 」

「Yeah, I’m aware of that . 」

「I’d tell you to form a party with others, but then you won’t be able to capitalize on your strengths . You look skilled in moving unnoticed . 」

「………」

「I must say, it’s quite strange . Red-horned Rabbits have extremely keen senses . You’re wearing Night Wolf gear, correct? Yet it should’ve still noticed you . 」

He sees through everything .

「…The rabbit ran and tripped over a tree stump . 」

「What?」

「That’s why I was able to kill it . 」

Hikaru gave him an ambiguous answer . A lie . I don’t think this world has the story about a rabbit that tripped over a tree stump and died .

「Hmm . So you’re saying you just got lucky?」

「Let’s say for the sake of argument, it wasn’t a case of pure luck . I don’t think it’s okay to probe around someone’s special skills . But I suppose the guildmaster would want to know, huh?」

「Are you trying to bait me?」

Damn, he got me . That’s a 211-year-old geezer for you . In his mind, Hikaru stuck out his tongue at the old man .

「So, about the rabbit . There’s a cut on its right hind leg so its value as meat is lower . What a waste . This is the most delicious part too . We can buy it for 7,000 gilans . 」

「Deal . 」

「…Oh, you don’t complain, huh?」

Hikaru knew he would get around this much . After all, a complete amateur dissected it .

「I can’t afford to waste my time here complaining . Money can’t buy me time . 」

「Why are you in such a rush?」

「I probably won’t be if I could live for 200 years like a Man Gnome . 」

「………」

Unken scowled at him once more . I probably said a little bit too much .

「Well, for a rabbit that tripped, its body is spotless . Don’t you want to know the price of its hide? 」

Unken was trying to get even . He’s already saw through Hikaru’s lies .

「They don’t fetch for much, do they?」

「Hmm, I suppose not . Around 500 gilans . I’ll add it to the overall cost . 」

「And?」

「And what?」

「The price of the horn . 」

Unken smiled for the first time . Actually it was more like the corner of his mouth turned up just a little bit .

「So you know about that . 」

「I read about it in the reference room . Red-horned rabbits with horns intact are rare and that the horn has medicinal effects . 」

「I thought you were simply an arrogant, despicable kid, but I guess not . You actually do your homework . Can you afford to waste your time studying, though?」

「I like studying . If you call a diligent kid arrogant, you’re also basically making light of the benefits acquired from the development of civilization . 」

「Do you hear yourself right now? You actually sound arrogant . Hahaha!」

Unken burst out laughing .

「If you don’t mind, I can teach you how to dissect in my free time . 」

「Well, that’s just exactly what I wanted . 」

「Come tomorrow evening . 」

「Sounds good to me . Thanks . 」

「All right . Bye . 」Unken said, raising his hand and tried to leave .

「Wait, hold on a sec! You haven’t assessed the horn yet . 」

「And here I thought I managed to trick you . 」

Damned geezer, Hikaru thought, his cheek twitching . Unken simply looked at the horn and groaned .

「A horn as splendid as this is rare . We don’t actually have current market values for it . I would have to contact the Alchemists Guild and the Doctors Guild first . You’ll know tomorrow evening . I’ll give you your overall payment, then . 」

「All right . Sheesh, I’d appreciate it if you didn’t try to play me . 」

「Says the kid who lied by bringing up an old story of a rabbit that tripped on a tree stump . 」

Hikaru wanted to know more about Unken from Jill, but as always, she was surrounded by adventurers . He wasn’t going to charge straight to her . As soon as Gloria noticed him, she started moving quickly, so Hikaru had to get out of there quick .

Hikaru was shocked that Unken knew about the story of the rabbit . It wasn’t as if the old man knew the exact details, but he was familiar with it . He asked the old man about it, but his only answer was “I think I heard it from the elders in my hometown” and apparently he was only a kid back then .

There’s a chance that someone was reincarnated to this world like me .

On the one hand, it was a surprising revelation . Yet, it also wasn’t . There was always the possibility . Hikaru was brought here by the genius Roland . He used a world-crossing spell; something like magic but not exactly magic either . He had the resources to do research about such a powerful spell which meant he had data about other worlds .

I suppose there’s really no need to find others like me .

Hikaru doubted they could use the Soul Board like him . After all, he only obtained the ability by chance after stealing a bag that contained light inside when he was in the heavenly realm . Even if they also got the same kind of bag, them having the same ability was unthinkable . Roland even said it manifested into one’s own personal magic spell or Skill .

「Now, then… What to do?」

He didn’t feel like going out of town again today . Eating his sandwich at a rest area by the main street, Hikaru pondered his next move . Besides him, there were housewives who were in the middle of shopping, standing and chatting with each other, an errand boy taking a nap, among others .

「I want to know more about this world . Roland’s knowledge is limited to things that are noble-related . But before that…」

He stuffed the last piece of his sandwich into his mouth and stood up .

「Let’s find a different inn . 」

Hikaru longed for an actual mattress .

While an inn with a master, a hostess, and a poster girl was enticing to him, Hikaru shut the idea out of his mind . He probably wasn’t going to say in town long . Building deep relationships with others would only make it harder to leave . It would dull his judgment . He’d already gotten quite deep in his relationship with Jill (although pretty-much one-sided), but there was nothing he could do about that since she worked at the Adventurers Guild .

So he wound up at a business hotel . A five-storey building, it looked like a matchbox . Every room was exactly the same, with only a bedroom . In this world, five stories was actually high class . Plus he had his own private room . Although shared, the hotel also had a steam room . It cost 1,000 gilans for a night; ten times the beginner adventurers’ inn he stayed at before .

「Are you really staying here, Sir?」

On the first floor’s reception desk was a woman wearing a uniform . She eyed Hikaru suspiciously – or rather, with great interest . Twitching on top of her head were cat ears . Her fluffy, light green hair hung gently and tied behind her back .

「1,000 gilans per night, right? For now, I’ll be staying for three nights . 」

Hikaru took out 3,000 gilans and handed it to her . Blinking relentlessly, the cat-eared girl took the money . Her ears twitched in rhythm with her blinks as well .

I’ve read a novel with a protagonist that was so obsessed with cat ears . How can he be so hung up on them? Had he not touched a cat before in his life?

「You must be rich, Sir . You’re also wearing nice clothes . 」

「Really? I’m glad you like it . 」

Dodorono would surely love to hear that as well .

「Yes! So, there are a few things to remember in this hotel . You have your own room and it’s soundproof as well . You may call for a woman, but she can’t stay for the night . Okay?」

「…What did you just say?」

「I’m sorry, Sir . Do you prefer calling for men?」

「No . 」

Seriously, first Jill, and now her . Where do they get that idea?

「Ah, do most guests stay here for that?」

「Yes . Isn’t that usually the case?」

「I’m sorry . I don’t really know what passes as “usual” around here (this world) . 」

「Guests call for me too, you know?」

「What?!」

For real?! You can call for the cat-eared receptionist?

His heartbeat started racing all of a sudden . It was hard to believe he was just questioning what was so good about cat ears a second ago .

I mean, I’m technically a boy . Yes . It’s a natural reaction .

「Though I turn them down . Ahaha!」

「…O-Of course . 」

「Are you getting flustered, Sir?」

「I’m not . 」

Hikaru calmed his heart down .

Indeed . It’s not right to pay money for it . Not at all . Plus, I want my first to have me as her first as well . It’s not because I don’t want my partner to find out I don’t have any experience . Yup, definitely not . I just prefer it that way .

「Ah, but…」

She leaned forward and whispered into his ears .

「I might gladly say yes if you called for me, Sir . 」

Hikaru almost handed her his whole wallet .

Money left: 1,830 (+7,500+α)