## Chapter 12 – Hunting the Cockatrice
“Goddamn, there’s fuck all to take. Hey, Copson, anything over there?”
“Looks like nothing but trash.”
In the end, all we managed to scavenge from the nest were five cockatrice eggs, each bigger than an ostrich egg.
If these are all fertilized and hatchable, selling them to the arena would be a goddamn jackpot. The arena always buys young monsters or monster eggs for a high price. They raise them to fight in matches.
The arena itself is basically the most popular gambling den in the city, so the demand is always high.
It stung like hell that these weren’t mine. I’d rather they be unfertilized. Even then, cockatrice eggs can still be sold as magical ingredients.
“Just eggs, huh?”
“A pity, barbarian.”
Those high-ranking adventurers really rake in the dough. My guts are twisting with envy. I bust my ass all day and barely make 30 coppers. I could grind here for ten years and still not reach William’s level.
“Hup!”
William let out a strange grunt as he vigorously carved up the cockatrice’s corpse. Body parts from medium-sized monsters like these can fetch a decent price. Especially the beak and talons. And the neck bones and feathers are all useful, even in high demand.
Because there’s so much demand, they’re constantly used as magical ingredients or armor materials. You can use the feathers for arrow fletching alone, so there’s no part to waste. And since cockatrices aren’t common around here, we can definitely get a good price.
Copson and I butchered the baby cockatrices I killed. At least these are mine since I killed them myself. That’s the code and law of the adventurer world. William and Winia were the ones who killed the boss cockatrice, so they deserve all the rewards for that.
But I killed the two babies. So they’re mine. I can probably get 10 coppers just selling the beaks and talons. As a monstrous type, the material drops are on a whole different level compared to kobolds and shit.
Speaking of which, 10 coppers. It’s a decent income, but isn’t it ridiculously cheap for the emotional labor I’m putting up with for Winia?
“Hey, Darkie.”
Or maybe it’s a high price, even.
“What?”
“Sing me a song.”
“What? Why the fuck would I sing?”
“We’re done working, right? So, uh? We gotta sing and end it with a bang!”
I, an E-rank adventurer, had no value at all…
Winia suddenly had some idea and abruptly demanded I sing. Even as military hazing is gradually disappearing, this was an incredibly anachronistic thing to do. She casually forced me to endure hazing.
“And did you just swear? Did you just swear at me? Is our Darkie crazy?”
“Ugh! Ack! Stop!”
“Gonna sing? Or not?”
“Agh! Hey! Stop it!”
Winia suddenly came at me and started hitting me with her staff while laughing. I panicked and slipped and fell. Mud splattered on my face. Winia gleefully beat me again as I lay there.
“Kyahaha! What are you doing, Darkie!”
“Ugh! I’ll sing! I’ll sing! I’ll sing, so stop hitting me!”
The assault stopped only when I screamed.
Swallowing my hatred, I dusted myself off and stood up. An irresistible urge arose to deliver the hammer of justice to this bitch, but it was still impossible. I can never beat a mage. They shoot fireballs in one second, how can I win? You have to pick your battles even when ambushing.
Mages were a profession specialized in combat. With their intelligence, they were a fighting race no different from natural-born warriors. They were beings that you couldn’t even dare to mess with.
“Fucking hell… If I have to sing, I have to sing. Yes, I’ll do as you say.”
“What did you say?”
“Ahem!”
Singing, huh.
Come to think of it, I haven’t really sung anything since I got here.
There’s no karaoke here, and I don’t have the money, friends, or anything to be a drunken mess at a bar. And there’s nothing really exciting going on, so singing is out of the question.
Come to think of it, when was the last time I sang? I don’t even remember anymore.
I cleared my throat and prepared to sing.
“Alright, I’m gonna sing?”
“Hurry up and sing!”
Alright. I’ll belt one out for old time’s sake.
I sang with all my soul.
“Shall we go to Jongno? Shall we go to Myeongdong…! Or should we just leave for Cheongnyangni!”
Singing Seol Undo’s “Compass” made me miss home.
Ah, my beloved Hell Joseon. That scorching hellhole felt as warm and cozy as my mother’s womb.
I really loved this song, “Compass.” The fact that you could freely choose between Jongno, Myeongdong, and Cheongnyangni was just so great.
Sword and magic world, don’t make me laugh. This other world sucks. Home is always the best.
“…What the hell kind of fucked up song is that?”
And that was Winia’s impression of my soul-filled song. Rarely, there was genuine emotion mixed into her swearing.
You fucking psycho.
“It’s our tribal folk song.”
“What a fucked up tribe. How did our Darkie live in such a fucked up place? Is that why he grew up like this? That song really sucks ass.”
“Well, it is a pretty shitty place.”
Not as much as here, though.
Winia seemed sick of my singing and waved me away. It felt happier than anything, which really broke my heart. Even more than the harsh criticism of my song. You damn bitch.
“Pack everything up.”
William had already finished dismantling the cockatrice before I knew it. As instructed, I carefully packed the spoils into the large backpack I had brought. The severed head, bones, feathers, talons, etc. Even though Copson and I split the load, it quickly filled up.
“Honk honk.”
“Heavy.”
Now that we had packed everything, all that was left was to go back. We had successfully completed a D+ rank quest for the first time in a while, so there was nothing to worry about for the time being.
Should I have a drink when I get the money? Or should I buy some equipment? It would be really convenient to have gauntlets for hunting.
As we prepared to return, Copson and I argued over who would carry three of the eggs. Unfortunately, there were an awkward five eggs, so someone had to carry three. I didn’t want to lose out, so I tried to play rock-paper-scissors, but Winia dismissed it. She told me to carry them.
“Then let’s head back.”
At William’s words, we retraced our steps. We didn’t need to use tracking magic, so the pace was faster than when we came, but the backpack was so heavy that it was too painful. It was like a forced march with full gear. Stamina is important for everything.
If there was one thing I was a little disappointed about, it was the cockatrice meat. It seemed like it would taste like chicken, so I wanted to try it.
But well, I don’t have the skills for that.
Even if I took some of the meat, it would spoil quickly in this weather.
“Our Darkie needs to work on his stamina.”
“Wow, I should have done that a long time ago. This is really fucking hard.”
As I walked, sweating profusely, Winia had the audacity to put her staff on top of my luggage. And clinging to me, saying she was tired, was a kind of bonus.
“Hey, don’t do that.”
“What? Am I heavy, Darkie?”
Your boobs look heavy, though.
“No. You’re not heavy.”
“Right? I’m not heavy, right? I’m light, right, Darkie?”
“You’re so light that I can’t even feel your weight. What do you eat? Is it okay to be this light?”
“Darkie? Are you gonna keep lying?”
“Lying! I’ve never seen a woman as light as you in my life! Wow! A woman like a feather!”
“Darkie?”
“Huh? What?”
“A woman as light as you? So you’re comparing? How do you know the weight of other women?”
Winia suddenly made a very scary face and said that.
“Ah, no. It’s not like that. It’s just an idiom.”
“Hmm… Well, okay. I’ll let it go since you said I’m light.”
“Yay.”
Anyway, after that, Winia continued to inflict terrible physical and mental damage by tripping me, giggling, or spouting nonsense next to me. Only after enduring such pain did we arrive at the village.
My body and mind were already in tatters.
Please stop this torment. I seriously thought it would be a good idea to leave for another city. Even though I came to this other world, I don’t know much, so it would definitely be a good opportunity to broaden my horizons.
Getting away from Winia would also be a positive thing.
“Oh! Adventurers, you’re back!”
“Calm down.”
As we entered the entrance, the old man from before appeared and greeted us enthusiastically. I put down my backpack on the spot and took out the cockatrice’s head, the proof of subjugation.
“Here, this is it.”
“I can’t believe it! Oh my god! This is the one! This bastard is the very bird that destroyed our farm! Thank you, thank you so much! I can finally breathe a sigh of relief!”
The old man thanked us again enthusiastically and handed William a piece of paper. It was like a certificate that we had succeeded in the quest. If we take this to the Adventurer’s Guild, we can get the commission then.
The sun was setting, and it looked like it would be completely dark soon.
We quickly headed to the carriage. It would be completely dark by the time we returned to the city. The coachman was already waiting.
“Please leave right away.”
“Yes sir!”
As soon as I got on the carriage, I felt sleepy. If I just close my eyes for a bit, we’ll arrive. I think it’s okay to laze around at the inn all day tomorrow.
“You did well today. Are you going to sell the materials yourself? I’m thinking of processing them all at once at the guild. If you want, I can sell your share as well.”
“We didn’t really do anything, and we’d be grateful if you did.”
It’s not something that a high-level person like William should be doing, carrying around the materials piled up in the backpack to sell them himself. In that case, the guild would buy them all at once. The details of the quest are also specified, and since they know we’re going to subjugate the cockatrice, the guild will place orders with the blacksmith or general store in advance.
In that case, our job is just to move the luggage to the guild.
“Barbarian, it was a better job than I thought. Thanks for helping me earlier.”
“Yeah. Hey, if it wasn’t for me, you would have been bird food a long time ago, you bastard.”
The sight of him being surrounded and beaten by two baby birds was quite funny. Copson thanked me for that time.
“No, it wasn’t that much…”
“Yeah, you were rolling around like a pro.”
“Fuck.”
Still, well. He’s a trustworthy guy in his own way. I decided to suggest a party to him. Being an adventurer is a dogshit job that anyone can do, so half of them are just trolls, but Copson is a decent guy.
“Do you have a party or anything?”
“I haven’t been back here for long, so I don’t have one, but… why? Are you thinking of working with me?”
“Well, let’s work together sometimes if we get along. There are so many suckers these days. I partied with some crazy bastard last time and completely blew a really simple quest.”
“Hehe… Was that what the kids at the guild were whispering about? Did you know that there’s a barbarian distrust trend because of you?”
“My rumors have already spread that far?”
As I said, I didn’t have a very good reputation at the guild. Anyway, Copson laughed and said okay to my suggestion. It would definitely be good to go together when we do another quest.
While I was having a pleasant conversation with Copson, Winia interrupted.
“Darkie. You only gave me short answers when you talked to me, but you seem to be having a lot of fun talking to your friend? Can’t I have some fun too? Or do you hate me that much?”
“Huh? Yeah?”
“See, see. I like Darkie so much, but I feel betrayed. What should I do?”
I looked at Copson, and he had already noticed the atmosphere and pretended to be asleep with his eyes closed. What a heartless bastard. I guessed that I was screwed and decided to try to make Winia feel better as much as possible. Actually, I was too lazy, so I just said whatever came out of my mouth.
“Betrayal? There’s no such thing. You’re the only one for me. You’re my only true friend, Winia. Yes, of course.”
“Darkie. You really wanna die.”
“Yes. I’m sorry.”
The night was filled with pain. Fortunately, Winia was also sleepy, so from the middle, she made me kneel down and rested her head on my lap. That was okay, but she threatened to kill me if I moved, so I had to kneel until we arrived in the city. I felt like I was going to die every time the carriage rattled.
“My legs are going numb…”
Isn’t it too much that my life is already messed up, and now my legs are going numb? Why do the weak have to live in pain from the strong? I swear I’ll succeed, even if it’s just out of spite.
