She too wore the hunting armor and helmet and the bow and arrows issued to the participants of this Game.
"Perytons aren't only ferocious, they like to gather in a flock. If it were up to us only, it wouldn't have gone so well. To be able to bring down these many game with much ease, our female regulars are definitely something!"
They smiled in response to her cheers. At this point, Asuka suddenly asked:
"I heard that these Perytons are edible?"
"Of course! The meat of Perytons is quite similar to venison and is very delicious! Grilled, pickled or even processed into jerkies, they would taste great! These Perytons will definitely be served for tonight's opening ceremony in various delicious cuisines!" Carol gesticulated happily but suddenly gazed towards the horizon where the sun was setting.
"Also…… During the battle with the huge dragon, half of the ingredients that we had originally prepared for the Harvest Festival were mostly destroyed or had turned bad. If we can't make use of all the game that all the various Communities caught or harvested to welcome everyone, it would be very disappointing. The results of this hunting event will surely lead to the success of the Harvest Festival……Hehe, I will let the guests have a taste of our very tasty dishes!"
Carol did a thumbs up, seemingly excited and happy.
Hearing Carol's words, Yō used her lips to bite her finger as she started to imagine the feast awaiting her arrival during the opening ceremony.
"Oh right…..If I remember correctly, tonight's opening ceremony is a buffet."
"Yep that's right, but Kasukabe-san, drooling is a little unsightly….."
Only then did Yō return to her senses and rub the trail from the corner of her mouth. An old fellow, sitting on the horse pull cart for transporting the Perytons, gave a wry smile as he watched them having fun. He's the Cat Elder, Garol Gundark. Garol shouted to them:
"Hey, the game has been loaded! Hop on!"
"Yes!" The trio answered in high spirits as they boarded the horse drawn cart.
However in the next moment--------the loud roars of beasts in their death throes came from a close distance within the forest.
"……Oh? Seems like someone caught a big one?"
Garol said heartily as he cracked the whip to hurry the horses.
Leaving the forest behind, they joined the trail of people down the road that led from the plateau to the game collection point. The horse driven cart jerked violently as it travelled on the uneven road that was seldom used and in disrepair. Even so, Asuka greatly enjoyed herself to the point of even laughing in joy for it was her first experience sitting on a horse cart.
"This kind of 'old gen' transport tool has it's own charm and feels interesting."[10]
"Nn. Want one of these for [No Name]?"
Seeing Yō's nod in agreement, Garol's eyes lit up with a sparkle.
"If you require one, you can find us [Six Scars] to negotiate the trade anytime! We will even provide a friendship price and other special offers! Even now, we are also providing rental services for 'Hippocamp' drawn carts!"
"Rea…Really? That sounds great too."
Noticing how quickly the conversation became one about trade, Asuka couldn't help but give a wry smile. However, the thought of riding a horse cart on the water surface, wasn't a bad idea. If the upcoming Gift Game "Rider of Hippocamp" is interesting enough, having everyone together to sightsee would be quite a plan too.
"…..Will Kuro Usagi enjoy it? What do you think, Kasukabe-san?"
"I think it's not a bad idea. Let's classify it under Plan V and record it down."
"Nn!" Meeting each other's eyes, they nodded.
Puzzled, Garol tilted his head.
"Did something happen to Kuro Usagi-san?
"Oh, actually------"
Before Asuka could finish her words, the whole cart was tossed from the ground following a large explosion sound.
The goods were also airborne before violently crashing back onto the cart, and they were tossed up again twice more.
The suddenness of the situation had caused Asuka and Garol to jump up and clutch the back of their heads in pain as they had knocked it on the cart when their heads jerked backwards.
"Ouch…..! What…. What were those tremors?!"
"Yep, What was it? It felt like some huge object dropping on the ground."
Yō, the only one who managed to be in a prepared stance for battle peeked outside from the slits in the cart. But before she could make a confirmation of her observation, the driver of the horse cart, Garol, had started cheering.
"Oh, Oh Oooh! That's really amazing! It seems like the champion of the hunting event will not going to be us!"
"------What?" Asuka and Yō looked at each other.
Unable to ignore those words, they jumped out of the cart and went to see with their own eyes.
The sight that met their eyes was a mountain of carcasses, thirty over Perytons and twelve other man-eating eudemons, lying in the middle of the plateau having been struck down by a single strike.
"….. So you guys also joined."
The voice of a calm and composed woman travelled to Asuka and Yō's ears.
Both of them looked towards the source of the voice that was from a vantage point. That silhouette outlined against the light belonged to the mask knight Faceless.
Asuka looked up at her with a face of displeasure.
"Those are my thoughts exactly, Masked Knight-sama. I had thought that you wouldn't participate in this kind of barbaric Games."
"Nn, I did think of that……but it is part of my job to play along."
Saying that, Faceless lightly sighed. From her look, it would seem that she wasn't really willing in this matter.
Her reaction caused Asuka to be taken aback. Ever since the first day they met, Asuka had witnessed many impressive skills executed by this person and felt the transcendental airs exuded from her. Never did she expect to see this side of Faceless
Asuka's eyes continued to measure up Faceless, causing her to tilt her head in puzzlement.
" ….. Is there a matter?"
" No…. nothing."
Asuka frantically denied and turned her gaze elsewhere. But a seed of curiosity had already taken root in her.
Under that pure white armor and icy cold metal mask------ what kind of face is she hiding?
Garol was the first to break the awkward atmosphere as he remarked regretfully:
"Oh my~ That's quite impressive! That amount of game is at least five times of ours?"
"……Five times?"
Faceless once again cocked her head in astonishment to look towards the horse cart that belonged to Asuka and the others. And following that gaze, she gave a soft sigh and a displeased expression after she judged the amount of game that was held within.
Her reaction would really infuriate those who saw it. Asuka stepped forward to retort.
"Hey, wait! Upon seeing the result of other team's hard work, that kind of reaction, isn't it a wee bit too impolite?"
"…. Excuse me if I offended you. I actually thought that you guys would have caught more game than this."
Asuka and Yō were at an utter loss of words.
Faceless took out a Gift Card that stored all the game in a flash and started sprinting towards the other side of the hill.
Before disappearing over the hill, she had turned to look back once more….. but she had only done so to give a tired sigh.