"Just so you know, Mastaa, I could have escaped, you know."
"Mm-hmm, sure could."
"Your Dog Chain is admittedly persistent and tireless, which makes it a pain, but breaking it would've been easy for me."
Even while wound up in chains strong enough to fully restrain a burly man, Tinno spoke with a perfectly straight face.
"The reason I didn't break them is that if I damaged your precious chain, Mastaa, you'd end up hating me. I think there's room for leniency in that regard — what do you think?"
The coy, upturned gaze Tinno used when asking was identical to her master's. The bad influence was total.
The Dog Chain was silver in color, but it was by no means made of actual silver. The substance was Mana Material, and such material was remarkably durable regardless of what form it took.
To be able to claim she could break it… There were plenty of monsters like that around me, but it seemed Tinno was pushing herself pretty hard too.
Without infiltrating the Treasure Hall, that trick would be impossible.
"Tinno, you shouldn't push yourself too hard. Your life is the most important thing."
"…………Mastaa, that applies to you. To *you*."
"The one who's been working you to the bone is your own master, isn't it? I only throw easy jobs your way."
At the same moment I answered, the Dog Chain restraining Tinno lost its grip and clattered to the floor.
Treasure Weapons were convenient, but they couldn't be used without limit. Tinno had probably dodged and run around even more than expected, draining the power source — mana.
To keep evading chains that pursued at that speed was seriously impressive.
Tinno rubbed her body where the chains had squeezed her and spoke.
"I know that. I'm fully aware you've been giving us jobs calibrated right up to our death limits, thinking about our growth and all, but could you ease up on the Spartan approach?"
"…Hm?"
I had no idea what she was talking about.
It was Level 3. A Level 3 Treasure Hall. Not much of a challenge for Tinno. I'd never send a junior on a job where they'd actually die.
The job description was literally "Bone Collecting."
Hunters operated on self-responsibility, but occasionally there were rescue missions for Hunters who had ventured into a Treasure Hall and gone missing. Those people were pros too, so if they weren't coming back, in most cases they were already dead.
If they were confirmed dead, that counted as job completion. That was why this category of jobs was called "Bone Collecting."
In extremely rare cases someone might still be alive, so you couldn't refuse to go.
But Tinno was a Level 4 Hunter. I reluctantly looked the job sheet over once more.
The Treasure Hall's certified level was 3 — White Wolf's Den. Among the Treasure Halls near the Imperial Capital, it was mid-tier and not particularly lucrative. An unpopular location.
Five people had gone missing three days ago. Quite close to the present. If it had been a week ago, survival would be hopeless, but three days meant it was roughly a fifty-fifty shot.
The deadline was one week at most, with a reward of three hundred thousand Gill. Enough for an average family to live on for a month, but for a Hunter it was worthless.
When the reward was garbage, no ordinary Hunter would take it — it was a completely voluntary job. But since it was essentially a penalty game, there was no helping that.
I had no idea what I'd done wrong. Still, I lifted my face from the job sheet and nodded with deliberate gravity.
"Mm-hmm. I can definitely see what you're getting at, Tinno."
"!!"
"You don't want to go alone — is that right?"
I understood. I really did understand that feeling.
Even if the difficulty was one she could handle, a Treasure Hall was still a dangerous zone. Anything could happen.
I usually went solo, and I'd assumed this time would be fine too — my thinking had been too shallow.
Wait, no, I'd been assuming death from the start, but thinking about it calmly, rescuing five people solo was basically impossible.
I only had two arms, and up to five injured people — how was I supposed to carry them all?
"Huh…? Well… yes."
Tinno glanced around the empty lounge, then turned eyes full of expectation toward me.
It was true that everyone was busy today and no one else was around, but I had a good idea.
White Wolf's Den. The name rang a bell from somewhere.
Tinno was Level 4, and if there were a few more people at Level 3 or above, the fighting strength would be more than sufficient. I was on my game today.
Tinno gingerly broached the subject.
"If Mastaa comes along with me—"
"Oh, right. There was a Hunter who came by recruiting members recently and wanted to go to White Wolf's Den. Invite that person and take them along. Luda, I think her name was?"
"…Excuse me?"
The remaining members? Wouldn't Gregg and Gilbert be enough?
Tinno wasn't used to party work, so this would be good experience. Perfect, really.
I was quite pleased with my own resourcefulness, but Tinno was staring at me with a strained expression.
§ § § Tinno Shade was born in Imperial Capital Zebuldia.
Born and raised in the capital, she was a quiet girl who was a little athletic.
Treasure Hunting had always been a glamorous profession, but due to its high risk, sensible adults tended to steer clear of it.
Imperial Capital Zebuldia was overflowing with Hunters, and the Explorer's Guild had numerous branches there — but precisely because of that, Tinno had never once considered becoming a Hunter.
Every person had their own way of living. Wealth, fame, and power held little appeal for Tinno, and Hunters themselves were something she found intimidating.
What turned Tinno's life around was a certain Party that had appeared in the capital like a comet back in those days.
A Party that existed like a foreign body among the flashy namesakes, fiercer than any other.
Shunned because of its ominous name, sometimes even opposed by the Empire itself, it had smashed through every obstacle and in just a few short years become known by everyone.
It was radiant. Its members possessed an intensity of brilliance that would captivate ordinary people — and even a girl with no interest in Hunters.
Like a flash of light.
Like a shooting star.
The young hero said to be the second coming of the legendary Level 10 — one of only three in the entire world — the supreme Treasure Hunter bearing the title of the strongest, the 'Exceed Sequence,' leading the Holy Spirit's Children — Ark Rodan of Silver Star Ten Thousand Thunders.
The mastermind behind Beginning Footprint, which had risen to become one of the foremost Clans. Klye Andrich, who had seized the reins of the formidable members of Mourning Specter and driven them to the top tier of the capital through sheer strategic brilliance.
The Golden Age.
An era when talented Hunters appeared one after another, drawn like moths to talent that shone like brilliant stars — that was what the Explorer's Guild called this time.
And Tinno Shade had become a Hunter with the conviction that this very moment would one day be recorded in legend, determined to carve her name into history alongside the master she trusted and the Master she revered.
And yet now, the promising newcomer Tinno was being used as an errand runner by that very same trusted Mastaa.
The Explorer's Guild's Imperial Capital branch.
Upon seeing Tinno appear out of nowhere, the female Hunter sitting at one of the tables with a gloomy expression opened her eyes wide.
It was the Hunter who'd been with the Master at the recruiting event. Word had reached her.
Her name was Luda Lunder. A Level 3 Hunter who had come to the Footprint recruitment hall seeking members for a White Wolf's Den raid.
Her role was presumably a Thief — a Hunter specializing in trap detection, scouting, and lockpicking. Her skill set overlapped heavily with Tinno's, and on top of that, she was inferior to Tinno, who had been properly (if brutally) trained by a real master.
But it was fine. This was a request from her master, whom she admired — or rather, from the Master whom *that* master admired even more. Can't be helped.
"W-what? What is it? Oh… yesterday, you were with Klye—"
Luda's eyes went wide. Tinno looked away and set about searching for the other members she'd been told about.