#03 – The Way of Unfairness
A flash.
The silver light that was unleashed from the sheath, tore through the sky at the speed of lightning.
A slash attack that could barely be seen. It looked like it would be more than enough to cut through the man and kill him…but at a hair’s breadth, it stopped at his neck.
“…I surrender.”
Upon hearing these words, he withdrew his sword and sheathed it again.
“Thank you.”
“…Thank…you.”
The young man answered Yukito, and then he collapsed on the spot.
I looked down at him and sighed quietly.
Around us, there were several other men lying on the ground.
Of course, they were not dead. Some were unconscious, others weren’t. But none were wounded. Well, some might have a few bruises.
“Hey, good work.”
Came a voice from behind, and I caught the thing that was thrown at me.
It was a bottle of water.
“Do you need a towel too? Though, it looks like you didn’t break a sweat.”
Said the large, muscular man. His mouth had a scar, which twisted as he grinned.
He was one of the best A-Rank Hunters at the guild. Grafios.
“Yeah, thanks.”
I took the towel and wiped my forehead.
“Ahh, this should be a good medicine for the newcomers.”
“…You think so?”
They looked like a pile of corpses. But Grafios just laughed.
We were currently in the guild’s training grounds.
As for what I was doing—As per Mr. Grafios’s request, I was fighting them as part of their training.
“Every newcomer who joins the guild is overconfident. It seemed like they even underestimated you.”
“Hah…”
I didn’t really mind it though.
“About half of them are graduates of the military academy.”
“Are they really?”
“Aye. They tend to be an impulsive bunch. I think they assumed you would be no different from the instructor who taught them at the academy.”
Uh, I’m pretty sure the instructors there weren’t that soft either.
Mr. Daniel was my predecessor, and he was still in the military even now. The students had called him the Demon Sergeant…probably with affection?
It was because his work in the army was increasing that he pushed the job onto me. He only visited the academy occasionally now. But he had laughed and said, ‘there will be no problem with Yukito here.’
…But, it could be the exact opposite.
“If anything, they probably resented me for popping out of nowhere. It kind of looks like I bought my way in, while pushing out Daniel. As former students, they might hate that.”
“Really?”
In fact, there were some current students who thought that way.
And…I could not argue against them.
“Well, even if it’s true, they are just taking it out on you. The fact is, you are better. And so it can’t be helped.”
“…I don’t think that it’s that kind of problem.”
“No, it is. Right?”
Mr. Grafios glanced over to the new Hunters who lay on the ground.
“The world is filled with things that are unfair. Humans and monsters. They do not care about our situation or story at all. And those are the kind of creatures you have to continue to deal with.”
Neither they nor I had anything to say to that.
His words were completely true.
Death was, no, life itself was so unforeseeable, and unfair.
Just like how it was to be a Hunter.
They had to risk their lives when dealing with monsters and criminals. The army and police used them like disposable tools.
However, there was nothing that could be done about it. They had chosen this path on their own.
“You can swallow it or not. But you’re still the ones that will have to pay the price for it.”
“Ye…s…”
He sure was strict. I thought as I watched Mr. Grafios.
If he was too severe, it might mean even fewer people joining the Hunters. And there was already a serious lack of personnel.
I scratched my head and clicked my tongue.
“If something like this makes you quit, then good riddance. That’s the kind of job this is. And if that means that one day, the guild will not be able to stand, then it will be our time to leave.”
Many people thought of Hunters as purveyors of justice.
Because they prioritized saving lives above all else, even at the expense of their own.
But becoming a purveyor of justice was no easy task.
Resolve and sacrifice. Over and over. And only then, did they become that.
“It’s amazing. What Hunters are.”
“Oh? Then why don’t you join us? You’d be welcome, you know?”
“…I’ll pass on that.”
I would fail the exam for one.
In fact, I had been curious enough to look it up once. Almost none of it made any sense to me.
“Yukito, do you have a minute?”
“Huh?”
A young man with silver hair said as he poked his head out from behind the door of the training room… I looked at Mr. Sylt questioningly.
“There is a visitor here to see you.”
“Me? Why here?”
“Uhh.”
Mr. Grafios and I looked at each other, wondering who it could be.
Thanks for the chapter.
Thanks for the chapter.