The Princess And The Lord

Lory and Zhao Li Xin watched them silently, it seemed they had also forgotten their existence. Without being told Lory knew these people must be hunters and they were injured on their mission, but what surprised Lory was that this Diner turned out to be a safe station for the Hunters.

Hunter Safe Station is a place that provides a place to eat, rest as well as medicine and potions if needed. Places like this were usually listed in the World Guild association to help all hunters regardless of which guild they belonged to.

Lory explained this to Zhao Li Xin to add insight into the world of Hunters. Zhao Li Xin then understood why this place was located in the middle of nowhere where people rarely passed because the purpose of this place was to help hunters, so it was located not far from the hunting area. While Lory and Zhao were discussing, the shop owner was also having a serious discussion with the hunter who seemed to be the leader of the group.

"What happened?" asked the Diner owner.

The man shook his head weakly, "I don't know, this should be a normal hunt, this is a Cantrapera although the beast is known to be strong but we have dealt with this creature before, however, there's something wrong with this creature...I even lost Chad and Dale because of this..." His voice was choked with sadness and regret as he covered his face with his hands.

The dinner owner patted the anguish hunter's shoulder with heavy emotion "Don't think about it too much, we all know the risk of this job"

"That's the problem" the man lifted his head "This is not like Cantrapera I ever fought, this is...something else"

"What do you mean?" The Diner owner's expression became tense, his eyes formed a question. 

The man rubbed his hands together, at the same time his knees trembled with uncontrollable anxiety as fear gathered in his eyes as if waiting to explode at any moment.

"Firstly...the size of that beast is unlike any Cantrapera I know. This one is three times bigger and covered with vines or some kind of roots or something and worst of all, it can regenerate itself even when we cut it head." 

"You sure that a Cantrapera?" the dinner owner's eyes bug out.

"It was at first but when we thought we had killed the beast...it suddenly revived and changed into something else as if it was mutated..." the man's voice trembled as he remembered the incident.

The Diner Owner listened to the man's story with intense expression and his heart began to beat wildly. He didn't know what kind of creature could survive after having its head chopped off!

"Mutated into what?" the dinner owner stunned.

The petrified Hunter shakes his head "I don't know, its body was covered with vines and tree branches then the heads that we cut off before suddenly reattached with strange roots that grew from its head, after that the beast increased in size and it can heal itself too, no matter how much we try to hurt it, the beast cannot die!"

[You hear that wife] Zhao Li Xin darts his eyes at Lory.

Lory's face curls in utter disgust [Yes, they talk about a giant centipede...gosh, I hate bugs!] She shivered just at the thought.

Zhao Li Xn stared at Lory for a few seconds to make sure she wasn't joking before continuing again [Yeah, they were talking about a Beast that was covered in tree vines and was able to regenerate even when you cut off its head.....sound familiar?] he raised his eyebrows.

Lory cleared her throat awkwardly [It's like the strange Beast we encountered before right, should we investigate?] Lory asked a rhetorical question.

[Do you want me or you who asking them?] Zhao Li Xin asks casually.

Lory rolled her eyes [Me, your Harlandish is still not fluent] Lory flicked her hair then rose from her seat and walked towards the two men who were deep in conversation.

"Ehm, Can you tell me where did you find that beast?" she smiled kindly.

The conversation abruptly stopped, and a second later they simultaneously turned their head toward Lory in slow motion. As expected they had forgotten about the existence of other people in the Diner. For a long time, they stared at each other while Lory stood there awkwardly as they looked at her in surprise.

Luckily or embarrassingly Zhao Li Xin made loud coughs which broke the awkward silence, even so, Lory scoffed inwardly knowing her stubborn husband was still continuously drinking that vile soda drink!

"You are...a hunter?" The Restaurant owner sized her up and down with a slight of doubt flashing in his eyes which Lory already used to.

Lory showed her hunter ID card which luckily Madeline had updated long before Lory left. The diner owner checked the authenticity of Lory's Hunter ID card and then saw the word B displayed on the right end of the card which showed her level. After confirming the authenticity of Lory's card and her identity, he returned the hunter card to Lory, and finally, they put aside their suspicions.

However, they still had doubts about Lory's abilities. Unlike before, the requirements to become a hunter were quite strict, but after the Dark Age war ended, there was a shortage of hunters due to the decline of the human population.

Therefore, to meet the high demand from society, The World Guild Association lowered the standard requirements for becoming a hunter and increased the rewards as well in order tp attract new recruits.

"I met that creature inside an abandoned mining cave under Baldrone mountain, do you know that place?" said the hunter.

"No, can I check from the digital map?" Lory took out his cell phone and then checked the map from the phone.

The man nodded "Well of course" 

It didn't take long for Lory to find the location, since it was an abandoned mine it wasn't hard to find it. Lory slips her phone back into her pocket then turns her eyes at the Hunter.

"How did you get this assignment, anyway?" Lory asks.

The hunter shrugged "From my Guild's website, as usual" he frankly said then continued "I saw the reward was quite high so I thought it wouldn't be a problem..." he lowered his head in regret.

The Diner owner took a deep breath and then patted the hunter's shoulder "This is not your fault, it is your guild's fault for not providing clear information, this should be a task for level S hunters" he said angrily.

The hunter's shoulders drop weakly "We can only file a complaint with the Guild but we can't sue them. After all, everyone knows the hunter profession became riskier after the war and we have signed an agreement that the guild can only provide basic information and needs while risks beyond that will be borne by the hunter who takes on the task, that is also the reason why hunters are paid a lot compared to other professions" he said resignedly.

Due to the current lack of job opportunities, many people are desperately looking for work and the Hunter's profession pays very well, so many people choose to become hunters, but unfortunately, this job also comes with great risks and most guilds cannot calculate all the risks that may occur during the hunting.

Because of that many guilds make hunters sign agreements to relieve the guild from any responsibility if a disaster occurs to the hunter while carrying out their duties. This happened before the war and got worse after the war, Lory could only sympathize with them.

"Which guild are you from?" Lori asked again.

"The Black Crow guild" he answered.

Lory nodded "Okay!" she turned around and walked away, but the hunter suddenly stopped her.

"Wait!" he shouted.

Lory turned around with a questioning look.

The hunter looked sharply at Lory before he spoke with a warning tone, "Do you want to hunt that creature? I suggest you don't do that" The hunter was worried that this young girl was too confident in her abilities like any other young hunter "Even level A hunters like us are unable to face that creature and We had to lose both of our friends, so I hope you don't do anything stupid that will make you suffer the same fate as us, maybe even worse." Even though his words sounded harsh, Lory knew he was saying it for her own good, so Lory appreciated it.

"Don't worry, I'm just making a report for my friend who is also a hunter, I'm worried he will take this job and get hurt" Lory smiled sweetly as she explained.

The Diner owner and the Hunter sighed in relief after hearing Lory's explanation, thankfully this girl wasn't stupid, they thought.

Lory returned to her table where Zhao Li Xin was waiting for her, clearly with her sharp hearing she could hear the contents of their conversation. Lory then sat casually while supporting his chin. Zhao Li Xin tilted his head [So, what shall we do, my wife?]

The corner of Lory's eyes crinkle as she grins mischievously [Doing something stupid, of course, ~]

Zhao Li Xin chuckles at the expected answer, he takes the last sip of his drink and of course, he coughs again.

[.....]