The Guild Master of Demon Hunters that the Empire is Obsessed With

41 – Farewell at Dawn (3)

“This is poisoned.”

Captain Vivian clasped his hand in surprise.

“How do you know…?”

“You can tell just by looking at it. If it was a dagger for self-defense, it wouldn’t have been lined so thickly to hide it. And it’s too thin for anything other than assassination. It looks more like a needle than a dagger.”

“I think so after hearing it. Secure this as evidence.”

At Captain Vivian’s command, the guards carefully picked up the daggers with gloved hands.

Looking at it, I was lost in thought.

I didn’t say it, but this guy is the ‘Espion’ of Hwangseong.

Assassinations, kidnappings, terrorism, and all sorts of messy secret agents.

The identity card as a merchant of the Auvignon Federation is fake.

From the shape and location of the calluses and the way the dagger is hidden, it is unmistakable.

That’s why I didn’t say anything to Captain Vivian.

No matter how much I possess after completing the first round, I can’t foresee what kind of political aftermath this will bring.

I got up and looked around.

From the direction of the griffin’s footprints and horseshoes, it was evident that he intended to enter the city along this road.

He must have found a griffin hovering in the air about 100 meters there, aiming at him, and sprinting to run away to the city, only to be hit from behind.

What the hell is Espion doing here at Schlesier?

I wonder if there is an assassination target in the city, considering that he even hid the dagger.

Then who?

The first thing that came to mind was me.

He is the real culprit behind the subjugation of the Great Demon, and knows all the truth.

At first, he let them go well, but did he send an assassin to block his mouth?

But at this point?

In the meantime, there hasn’t been anything that would attract the Empire’s attention, and I’ve been quietly working in the guild here.

Hmm…. There is one person that comes to mind….

As I turned to the city, Captain Vivian asked.

“By the way, Mr. Leonard, what is a mountain griffin? Is it different from a griffin?”

“It’s more irritating to deal with. It builds a nest on a cliff and doesn’t set foot on the ground except for catching game and entering the nest.”

“Is that so? Then why don’t we call for a crossbow? If we intercept the floating one…”

“The crossbow is slow, so I can’t catch it. Are there any wizards in the Border Guard?”

“There are no wizards. They are so precious…”

A look of shame appeared on Captain Vivian’s face.

Still, it seemed embarrassing not to be included in the formation of a wizard even though the name was the border guards of the principality.

“If you really need a mage, I’ll try to arrange it, but I can’t guarantee it.”

“No. It’s nice to have, but it doesn’t matter if you don’t. I’ll take care of this one.”

“Thank you, Mr. Leonard.”

“Then it’s a matter of request fee.”

Captain Vivien’s face darkened considerably as we started discussing the commission fee in earnest.

I’m not as good as Leana, but I’m also somewhat confident in bargaining.

On the other hand, since Captain Vivian is a soldier, he was a stranger to that kind of thing, so he kept swinging at me. In the end, I was able to meet the request fee with the amount I wanted.

“Then, please clean up here and return everyone. And don’t let people leave the city until I catch the griffin.”

“Okay. Everyone, collect the remains and go home. I will go with Leonard.”

“Yes…? The manager has to die too. Why are you following me?”

“Originally, it’s the border guard’s rule that a supervisor must be attached when a request is carried out. That’s why I followed it the other day in Elodie Village.”

“Well, I’m not saying it’s wrong, but why are you the chief? A mountain griffin is different from a wizard. If you don’t talk and do something wrong, you could really die. I’d rather send another garrison…”

Then Captain Vivian shook his head.

“It’s not just a penny or two, it’s a manager-level job.”

“Does the job title change depending on the amount? If that’s the case, it can’t be helped…”

Captain Vivian isn’t particularly helpful and he’s comfortable walking around alone in many ways.

However, when people who give money come out like that, can it be me?

Customer response is the basic of basics in the service industry.

“Then let’s go together. Instead, you should do what I tell you to do.”

“Don’t worry. I’m going to hunt monsters, but I have no intention of being stubborn against demon hunters.”

While the guards were collecting the corpse, he took a map out of his wrist pocket and opened it.

Judging from the footprints and the shape of the corpse, it is likely to be a mountain griffin.

I’ll have to check the size and other details.

In that case, a place worth nesting in… It’s about here.

You may find other evidence on the way there.

“I’m leaving.”

Captain Vivian and I ran down the road leading west.

* * * * *

We arrived at a lake after a long horseback ride.

Looking at the name on the map, it means Lark Mirowar, Mirror Lake.

The straight reflection of the sky on the surface of the water is like a mirror.

On the other side of the peaceful lake where fish splash, you can see a precipitous cliff.

Some of the tributaries of the Lumiere Mountains turn wide to the side and meet the lake, which is very steep and dizzyingly high.

On the surface of the cliff, grass and small grasses were growing between the stones, but I didn’t see anything that I could grab and climb.

“Are you here?”

“This is a likely place. I’ll hide my horse here and go on foot to search the area.”

The horse was well hidden in a wooded area.

If the griffin kills the horse, I have to return on foot.

“Use this.”

I took the net from my saddle bag and held it out to Captain Vivian.

It was a net that, at first glance, looked like a mop, with lots of mottled pieces of cloth attached to it.

“What is this?”

“It is a camouflage film that makes it difficult to find when looking down from the sky. If you don’t use this, you may die without knowing you are dying.”

To put it simply, it’s like a ghillie suit.

Gryphons have very good eyesight, but their intelligence is not very high, so they do not get noticed when they use this type of camouflage.

“The knife is fine. It’s useless.”

Captain Vivian, who uncomfortably drew his knife under the camouflage screen, shyly retrieved his knife.

We put on camouflage nets and only showed our faces like hoods, and we explored the lakeside in earnest.

“There’s something fishy here.”

After a while, Captain Vivian bent over and picked up something from him.

It was a gigantic gray feather that was almost an inch tall.

A suspicious looking feather. It belonged to a mountain griffin.

Judging by the length of the feathers and the thickness of the wick, it is clearly an adult.

The adult came all the way to the city and hunted humans.

It is certain that they built a nest and gave birth.

No matter how ferocious a monster is, it won’t come close to the city.

In reality as well as here, humans are the lords of all things.

Individuals are weak, but humans are capable of catching dragons if they are determined and form a group.

Nevertheless, if they came 10 minutes from the city, it can only be explained by instinctive motherly love or fatherly love for their offspring.

Gryphon chicks grow quickly in a short period of time, so the amount they eat is staggering.

“There seems to be a nest near here.”

“Really?”

When I squinted my eyes, I saw an exceptionally sharp rock and large tree branches clumped together on the cliff.

That’s the nest.

It’s daytime now and it’s time for the mountain griffins to go hunting.

Usually the male and female look after the young together, so one of them will be over there.

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In that case, we’d better kill them and wait for the guy who went outside to come back.

“Captain. Can you see the nest up there?”

“Oh, yes. There seems to be something jagged.”

“That’s the nest. I’m going up there from now on, so keep your word here.”

“You mean climbing a cliff?!”

“No. Of course we have to go back to the ridge.”

As I pointed to the slope leading to the cliff, Captain Vivian nodded with a determined expression.

“Then take the lead.”

“Will you follow me? You’re here?”

“No. I have to check it myself.”

It’s really quite FM.

“Are you going to be promoted to major this year?”

No answer.

As expected. I guess you jumped into a job where your life went back and forth like this because of your promotion.

Captain Vivien and I took a long loop around the lakeside and entered the ridge while wearing camouflage nets.

The ridge, which used to be rather gentle on the Waji Line, started to get steeper.

The more he did, the more the breathing of Captain Vivian, who followed behind him, became more and more rough.

This is why mountain griffins are annoying.

It is fortunate that the topography of the principality is calm. If it had been in another place, it would have been possible to ride the mountains for two days.

It would have been great if there had been a wizard.

Then you can sit on the shore of the lake and break the nest with magic or drop a flying creature.

Of course, if you want to use magic to drop a flying griffin, you have to be a very strong person, and if you are a person with that level of skill, you won’t even join the guild.

Even if you think about it like this, you shouldn’t even think about hiring a wizard in the end.

It is also painful to look up at a tree that cannot be climbed.

If Orléans wasn’t a madman, he could have coaxed me into living in the guild, but he’s someone I can’t get close to.

It’s unfortunate in many ways.

At that moment, I suddenly felt a strange vibration in my inner pocket.

It was the place where the farewell at dawn was put.