Bunny Princess, what are you doing?

—

*

The white-haired hunter.

Her white hair, tousled by the breeze of Antico, shimmered like silk, catching the light and sparkling faintly.

Her peach-colored eyes softened her appearance, yet her sharp gaze suggested she was not someone to be underestimated.

Her features were extraordinary, as if sculpted by an artist, naturally drawing the attention of those around her.

The heavy greatsword she carried, seemingly mismatched with her slender frame, was another striking oddity.

White hair and a greatsword.

Recently, this hunter had become a hot topic in Antico, making her presence known in the Association area.

Selene, an assistant in Antico, had heard the tales as well. Working closely with hunters, she was no stranger to the rumors that circulated among them.

A merciless monster slayer who emerged from the flood, relentless until her white hair was stained red with blood. It was even said she wielded an ancient greatsword technique, unspoken of by the Association—a master of the flowing style.

Selene found these rumors hard to swallow.

The white-haired hunter she knew was a woman who had only recently taken up the hunter’s mantle. She didn’t seem to fit that image. To Selene, she was a bit socially awkward but pure-hearted, someone who could genuinely rejoice in her new role as a hunter.

“Hello, Hunter.”

So, even now, as she faced the hunter, Selene couldn’t fully trust the rumors.

“Are you here to take on a request?”

“…I’m not here to take one.”

Alice shook her head at Selene’s question.

“Then what brings you here?”

“…To complete a request.”

“But I don’t recall you having any active requests?”

“Matillo’s request. I accepted it verbally.”

At Alice’s words, Selene touched her lips thoughtfully.

Yesterday, the blacksmith Matillo had indeed submitted a request.

He had even instructed her to pay the reward regardless of whether the white-haired hunter succeeded. After all, expecting a Rank 1 hunter to take down a Kakaari solo was a tall order. Was it even possible?

At the very least, a seasoned hunter who had felled Kakaari dozens of times might pull it off. That was Selene’s estimation.

If Alice had managed it, that meant she was at least on that level.

“The request was for a Kakaari, correct?”

“…Here.”

Alice shattered Selene’s expectations.

Inside her bundle were the byproducts of a Kakaari.

As an assistant accustomed to processing countless hunters’ request submissions and rewards, Selene couldn’t mistake them.

“…Did you do this alone? The request specified solo completion.”

“I can vouch for her.”

Backing her up was Noah.

A hunter with five years of experience, Noah wouldn’t lie about something like this. And what would be the point? A lie would only harm her in the end.

If it were a falsehood, that would be one thing, but the fact that it was true made it all the more astonishing.

Defeating a Kakaari alone on her first request.

This wasn’t the typical growth trajectory Selene knew for hunters. Normally, one would start with Pienos and gradually work up to Kakaari. But Alice had leapt ahead.

“…Alright.”

Perhaps the rumors weren’t entirely baseless after all.

To have already defeated a lower-tier monster solo marked her as a promising talent.

Most exceptional hunters distinguished themselves through such extraordinary feats. But had there ever been a rookie who stirred such a commotion from Rank 1?

Selene retrieved the reward.

The reward Matillo had left was simply money.

But for Alice, it meant more. She had earned Matillo’s trust and gained the reputation of defeating a Kakaari at Rank 1.

“Now, I’ll update your Hunter Card, so please hand it to me.”

“…Okay.”

—

【Hunter Card】

Name: Alice

Rank: 3

Hunted Monsters

- [Kakaari]

—

Alice wouldn’t stop here.

She would continue to expand her list of vanquished monsters, growing stronger with each step. Selene smiled as she gazed at Alice’s Hunter Card.

How far could Alice go? Perhaps a new Master would emerge.

Of course, it was just a pleasant daydream for now.

Alice was still a novice. It was too early to harbor such expectations. But in this peaceful era, the rise of a new Master would be an exciting tale in its own right.

Selene handed the Hunter Card back to Alice.

Alice glanced at it briefly before showing it to Noah.

“My rank went up.”

“Yeah. Kakaari is a tough monster for beginners. Since it was your first request and you did it solo, they gave you a lot of experience points.”

“It didn’t go up much.”

“Well, Kakaari is still a lower-tier monster.”

“Hmm.”

Alice spoke as if she were dissatisfied.

Selene, watching quietly, let out a soft chuckle.

—

Even though her rank had risen to 3, Noah explained that it was already a generous increase.

Normally, such a challenge would be tackled by a group, splitting the experience among them. But since Alice had done it alone, she received the full amount, which made sense.

Still, it felt a bit underwhelming. Spending an entire day searching for and defeating a monster, only to reach Rank 3.

Finding the Kakaari had been relatively quick this time. If she hadn’t stumbled upon its tracks that day, who knows how many days it might have taken.

Hunters endure such hardships for a mere sliver of rank progression.

Yet, in the hunter community, the honor of slaying monsters is unmatched, so perhaps it’s only natural. And for those in it for the money, there’s little choice.

Being a hunter is an extraordinarily high-risk profession.

Imagine packing up and setting out, only to spend days searching for a monster that never appears. Money, time, and stamina wasted—and a single injury could spell disaster.

In Alice’s case, she had traveled light for the Kakaari hunt, planning to sleep in trees, but typically, a hunter should carry a large backpack.

You find a safe zone, take short naps, eat meals, and track the monster—that’s the routine.

Compared to others, Alice had been incredibly lucky this time.

There’s no guarantee that luck would hold.

Perhaps it was beginner’s luck, given it was her first request.

“Alice, so what do you want to do now?”

With Matillo’s request complete, the next step was clear.

Take on more requests and hunt more monsters.

Then, use the materials from those monsters to upgrade her weapons and armor, aiming not for lower-tier creatures like now, but for higher-tier ones.

“Noah, you’re a high-ranking hunter, right?”

“…Well, I suppose so.”

“Then… can you come with me? I want to learn.”

For the future, she needed to get accustomed to party play.

She couldn’t always hunt monsters alone. Fighting was one thing, but the process leading up to the fight was grueling. If the battle itself took a day, reaching that point could take several more.

While searching for the Kakaari, Alice had realized her own strength wasn’t enough.

If she hadn’t been alone, even if it took longer, she could have managed her condition better while hunting the Kakaari.

Honestly, getting hit by its breath was due to exhaustion from the long march. With better pacing, she could have finished it without a scratch.

“Of course.”

“Am I not being a burden?”

“No. I’m lacking too….”

Truthfully, Alice wondered if it was fair to ask this of Noah, who was far higher in rank.

She likely had her own tasks to attend to.

But Noah smiled and assured her it was fine.

Alice had worried she might refuse.

After all, Noah was the person she knew best. She’d helped her a lot already.

Without realizing it, Alice had come to rely on her. She felt both grateful and guilty.

If it were mutually beneficial, that would be one thing, but it felt like she was just leeching off Noah, which left her uneasy.

“Excuse me.”

Lost in thought, Alice was interrupted by someone approaching her.

It was a man with brown hair and a friendly face.

“…Who are you?”

“Ah, hello. I’m a hunter too.”

“What do you want?”

She tried to sound polite, but her tone wouldn’t cooperate.

“Would you like to party with us? I’ve heard a lot about you, the white-haired hunter.”

“…Oh, about me?”

“Yeah. They say you fight really well.”

So the rumors were about her combat skills.

Probably just that she fought well without getting hit. Alice stared at the man quietly.

Their eyes met. He blinked, scratched his face, and looked away.

“…You really are beautiful. Just like the rumors.”

He said it absentmindedly, and honestly, it felt a bit strange.

Alice had once been a man herself. Being looked at like that by another man felt odd—not exactly pleasant.

“Anyway, we’re about to go on a request soon. If you’re interested, would you like to join us?”

“Sorry.”

“Alright? Well, okay.”

He gave up quickly.

No hard feelings, it seemed. He probably hadn’t expected her to agree when he asked.

Alice watched as he returned to his group.

His companions teased him, but he laughed it off.

He didn’t seem like a bad person.

“You could have gone with them.”

Noah said so too.

Even to Noah, he seemed decent.

Considering how curt Noah had been with Matillo, that said something.

…Though, to be fair, Matillo did come off as unpleasant without context.

He was only kind to certain people; otherwise, it was his own doing.

“There are three of them now. They probably need one more. Two guys and one girl, so if you joined, the gender balance wouldn’t be bad either….”

“Yeah, it’s fine.”

Noah calmly assessed the situation, but Alice shook her head.

“I already agreed to go with you, Noah.”

“…Oh, you.”

Noah placed her hand on Alice’s head.

“So, Alice, you want to learn how to party, right? Then let’s learn about partying from me. Later, you can try forming your own party.”

“Yeah, that sounds good.”

“Alright, since you’re the type who learns ten things when taught one, you’ll pick it up quickly, right?”

“Don’t worry.”

Alice nodded and puffed out her chest.

She was very confident about this too.

“Then… shall we start with Pienos again, slowly?”

“Huh?”

“Just because you defeated a Kakaari doesn’t mean you can jump straight to higher tiers. You have to take it step by step.”

Ah, no…!

The lower tiers are boring…!

“Don’t make that face.”

Noah grabbed Alice’s cheek, stretching it upward. Alice had no choice but to yield.

Alright, she’d do it to learn….

—

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