The strategy was for me to join them in the alley they were heading towards and finish them off.
And as always until now, it worked perfectly.
"You''ve cleared out the petty criminals in Nahagu''s lower district in no time."
We''ve quite enjoyed this work for several weeks.
Obern was a magician capable of protecting himself, and with proper setup, he could look quite weak.
Then I step in and sh!
"But hadn''t these guys heard the rumors?"
The problem was that our reputation had gradually spread.
More precisely, my reputation hadn''t spread, but the reputation of Obern as a dangerous magician bounty hunter had.
Though disappointing, that couldn''t be helped.
"I''ll load them onto the cart."
We loaded them onto the prepared cart.
One had departed for the afterlife, and the remaining two would rot in prison for a very long time.
Be good when you get out, kids~
We returned to our regr tavern, the Lakeside House.
As we pushed the cart through the back door.
"Damn!"
The innkeeper cursed.
"Just when I thought it was slowing down, here theye again!"
The innkeeper escorts wanted criminals to the guards and takes amission fee.
Though he smiled happily at first,ter he became glum.
He said he couldn''t run his business properly because he had to escort wanted criminals to the guards, and he didn''t even have a proper holding cell in the inn.
"This will probably be thest time."
But when Oliver said this, the innkeeper''s eyes went wide.
"Really? Now that you mention it, I feel kind of sad."
"It''s time to y in deeper waters."
"Geez, why do you have to crawl into dangerous ces when you could livefortably here."
Though his words were rough, the innkeeper had quite an affectionate personality.
"Haha."
"Stop that meaninglessughing."
But we couldn''t tell him the detailed circumstances.
"Come in for now. I''ll give you each a beer."
The innkeeper called his employee to move the wanted criminals.
We sat at the counter.
Finally, time for settlement.
"This time you should be able to rise to B-ss."
The innkeeper said this while checking the wanted posters.
Those who give points to bounty hunters are people like innkeepers who escort wanted criminals.
You could call them the official association.
And finally, the time hade.
Oliver''s goal was for Obern to enter the sewers with B-ss or higher rank.
"Oh, the points are perfect. You''ve just made B-ss."
From B-ss, you receive a silver badge.
"Congrattions."
Just as the innkeeper pulled out the shining silver badge.
''Obern!''
''Yes!''
I''m not satisfied with B-ss.
Of course, I have ambitions to be an A-ss, and after entering the sewers, eventually an S-ss bounty hunter.
And we had a secret weapon left.
"Please include this in the point calction."
"...What''s this?"
What Obern handed over was an old earring.
It was proof of hunting Deshnan.
"Could it be..."
"Yes, proof of capturing the 1st-ss wanted criminal Deshnan."
"No way!"
Not all 1st-ss wanted criminals are the same.
Among them are some considered nearly impossible to hunt.
Therefore, just bringing items like their earrings or possessions is enough to acknowledge a sessful hunt.
The innkeeper pulled out an old booklet from the cab.
After dusting off the book, he flips through the pages.
It should be there. Since he''s been a 1st-ss wanted criminal for a very long time.
"Earring... earring... Here it is!"
It was written ''Zookeeper Deshnan, bring the earring after cutting off his ear'', and there was even an illustration of the earring.
"Please count these points too."
"Wait... We need to verify if this is genuine. I can only give the bounty after that. I don''t have that much money anyway."
After all, he was prey worth 500 silver coins.
I couldn''t hide my feeling of pride.
I had hunted Deshnan when I was just a little snake.
Is this enough of an answer now?
Hurry and promote us to A-ss.
"The points?"
"Ah, I can calcte the points right away."
I had actually calcted in advance.
We could be A-ss hunters with just 5 more points.
And the innkeeper finished his calction.
"With 95 points... wow, just 5 more points and you can promote straight to A-ss!"
"...What?"
Even Obern was surprised.
He too wanted to promote to A-ss.
But instead of having 5 points extra, we were short.
"Hmm? Look, I didn''t make a mistake in the calction."
Obern and I quickly examined the calction.
And we realized the problem.
"The eldest of those Yuzel brothers from earlier. There was a 10-point bonus for capturing him alive."
"Why..."
"There are bereaved family members who wanted to take revenge on him personally."
That''s where our calction went wrong!
How disappointing.
"Ahem."
Oliver cleared his throat.
"B-ss is sufficient."
Well, we were running out of criminals we could catch anyway.
Still feeling slightly disappointed, I gave one instruction to Obern.
"Can I see that booklet?"
"This?"
The dust-covered book the innkeeper pulled from the cab.
It was a book collecting wanted notices for 1st-ss and above criminals.
"I''m curious about the contents."
"Take a look, though there won''t be anyone you can catch."
A booklet collecting wanted notices from 1st-ss to special ss.
Of course, I wanted to check the special ss first.
I should have checked this earlier too.
First, I should look for that guy the Emperor wants to find.
I could find it quickly.
──────────────
[Oban VanKloss] (Special ss)
[Charges] Treason, 1st-ss murder, 1st-ss terrorism...
[Danger Level] ★★★★★★★★★☆
[Bounty] 1,000 gold coins
[Points] 495 points
[Notes] Extremely dangerous, master of summoning, numerous followers...
──────────────
Wow, amazing. Danger level of 9 stars and bounty of 1,000 gold coins.
But the points are a bit stingy. Seems like we couldn''t rise straight to S-ss even catching just this one.
Need to catch more small fry to rise up.
Experience more on My Virtual Library Empire
It''s a structure that encourages steady work rather than one big score.
Looking through, I found another familiar name.
──────────────
[Cherin Ferang] (Special ss)
[Charges] 1st-ss murder, multiple 1st-ss thefts...
[Danger Level] ★★★★★★★★☆☆
[Bounty] 700 gold coins
[Points] 380 points
──────────────
No way!
To think the grand master of the Ferang School dagger technique is listed here.
I''m deeply moved.
The danger level and bounty are a bit lower.
But the notes were worth looking at.
──────────────
[Notes] Skilled at escape. All who learned Ferang School dagger technique are wanted. Depending on their danger level and skill, bounties start from 100 silver coins, points from 50 and up...
What?
I nced at Oliver.
──────────────
Oliver avoided my gaze.
Good, from now on Oliver is lunch.
"You''re looking at unnecessary things. Stop looking."
Pelerian suddenly cut in.@@novelbin@@
I looked up something that suddenly came to mind.
Gasp! It''s really there!
──────────────
[Heaven Defier Pelerian] (Super Special ss)
[Charges] Special ss terrorism, special ss murder, wicked experimental activities...
[Danger Level] ★★★★★★★★★★+★★★
[Bounty] 5,000 gold coins, 100 gold coins for information
[Points] 1,000 points, 100 points for information
[Notes] Must report to the imperial family if discovered. Never approach alone.
──────────────
"Huhuhaha!"
To think a super special ss lunch existed around me...
Just as I was about to read more of the book because it was too interesting.
"Ah!"
The innkeeper suddenly started searching through the wanted notices.
"As it happens, there''s one easy small fry that just came in that could raise your points."
It was wee news.