Right now, in front of Tatsumi, Jadokh and Miloulle’s eyes was a demonic monster.

It was probably twice the size of a cow. Although it wasn’t that big of a demonic monster,^[1] it was still categorized as a large sized one.

The monster was lying on a rock about 20 metres away from Tatsumi and the others; it could even be called elegant.

Spotted lynx. That was the name of the monster in front of them.

The entire body was light gray. And, as the name suggests, there were dark gray spots all over its body.

As for the appearance, it resembled the leopards on Earth. Even though the body was coloured gray, the shape of the pattern was similar.

However, when it came to size, it was bigger than leopards and even tigers. That huge mouth could snap the neck of a human in one bite, and the pointed claws were also like a knife.

Among the monsters that Tatsumi had confronted so far, the biggest one had been the giant snow lizard. But it can’t be compared to that at all.

And the most distinctive feature were the two shining golden eyes.

As soon as that golden gaze landed on him, Tatsumi felt something start to bubble up inside his body.

That was fear.

The unbelievable fear was something he had never felt before until now.

The inside of his body felt like it was being eaten up.

It felt like cold ice pillars had been thrust into his body.

It felt like something was about to overflow from his body.

It was both familiar and unfamiliar. Such an unprecedented sensation had gripped Tatsumi’s entire body.

Without realising, his teeth started chattering and his knees became weak. The only reason Tatsumi hadn’t yet escaped from this place was that his body had frozen up with fear.

This was…… this was a real demonic monster.

Despite having his body firmly tied by the chains of fear, there was still a part of his brain that was calmly thinking about the following things.

As living beings, the difference in their ranking was too much. Compared to the strong demonic monsters, a human being was such a weak creature.

“…… gulp ……”

Tatsumi glanced next to him with just a movement of his eyes and saw that Jadokh was also slightly trembling with a pale complexion.

Even a warrior such as him – if he could be called ‘him’ – couldn’t seem to hold back the fear at the sight of a demonic monster.

The trembling of the arms, that were clenching tightly to weapons, was definitely not because of excitement.

Then a pungent smell entered his nose.

“A…… Aaaaaa……”

Miloulle, unable to hold back the fear, had ended up falling to the ground. And a pungent smelling puddle surrounded her.

Apparently, she seemed to have peed herself due to fear.

However, Tatsumi had no intention of laughing. No, he can’t laugh. Because he too was trying hard not to pee himself.

The spirit of fear had possessed him to that extent.

When he suddenly gathered awareness, he noticed that the the fear that had been gripping him till now was neatly disappearing.

“Ah……”

Saying just that, Tatsumi looked around him restlessly. Then he finally realised that the monster that had been lying on the rock until then had disappeared.

“……… Did it run away……? No, did it fail to see us……?”

Tatsumi collapsed down as if his whole power had been sucked out from his body.

Tatsumi and the others were probably not even worthy of notice for the spotted lynx.

In this way, the first large demonic monster hunting of Tatsumi and the others ended in a beautiful failure.

“Tatsumi and you guys have been thoroughly finishing all the requests. So, this time, how about taking on a demonic monster of a large size?”

These were the words brought forward by the female owner of The Elf’s Resthouse, Eru. It had become really warm with the onset of the new year.

Wild animals had become visible even in the forest on the outskirts of the capital, and small shaped demonic monsters that fed on them could also be seen occasionally.

These small sized demonic monsters were suitable game for the demonic monster hunters.

Of course, Tatsumi and the others also went out to hunt these demonic monsters, and came back with quite a lot of spoils.

Tatsumi and the others’ equipment, that had been commercially available leather armour or weapons until then, had also been upgraded to more powerful ones after obtaining the raw materials from the demonic monsters.

Particularly, some of the armour that they wore was made using the leather of the aforementioned giant snow lizard. Although, it wasn’t very meaningful in terms of defense, but looking from Tatsumi, Jadokh and Miloulle’s view, who formed a team after that event, it could be said to be a memorable emblem.

One day, Eru called out to them.

It seemed that information had come about a large sized demonic monster seen in the forest outside the capital. And it was also confirmed that the demonic monster of that appearance was the one known as the spotted lynx.

“Actually, there’s a little tradition among the demonic monster hunters. If they are able to hunt the spotted lynx then that’s when they’re first recognised as full fledged hunters. Well, in other words, it’s like a rite of pa.s.sage or baptism.”

Eru explained that among the demonic monster hunters a.s.sembled in thisThe Elf’s Resthouse, the ones who were called experts had all gone through this test.

“Did Calsey also…do this challenge?”

Tatsumi asked his wife who was sitting next to him with a worried expression.

“Yes…I have also experienced this challenge before. No, if it’s a demonic monster hunter with certain skills, then anyone would have the experience.”

That is to say, it was a test for being recognised as a true hunter.

In this case, there was no reason for Tatsumi and the others to refuse.

“I think I want to try doing this challenge but…what do I do?”

“If Tatsumi has decided to do it, I will silently follow.”

“Huh, since you can be recognised as a full fledged hunter, I also want to try doing it.”

It seemed like his friends also wanted to do it.

“Husband…the spotted lynx hunting is a trial for becoming fully qualified hunters so…I cannot accompany you guys.”

Calcedonia told Tatsumi with an apologetic face.

This was a trial for Tatsumi and his friends, so it was only natural that Calcedonia, who had already cleared the trial, would not accompany them.

“Okay. Wait for us at home.”

“Yes, I will pray for your safety.”

After that, Tatsumi and the others purchased a few days’ rations from Eru, affirmed their equipment and left for the test – spotted lynx hunting – in high spirits.

After their backs disappeared beyond the doors of The Elf’s Resthouse, Calcedonia and Eru turned towards each other and let out a big sigh.

Then, one of the leaders of the demonic monster hunters, Lint, who seemed to have been looking at the series of interactions, approached them with a troubled face.

“Did Tatsumi and the others leave to hunt for the spotted lynx after just preparing their armour and rations?”

“Yes. That too with great enthusiasm. That’s because recently, they have had lots of success with hunting the small sized magical creatures.”

“Ah, anyone can have that phase at least once…but their style was a bit too good.”

As Eru and Lint said, Tatsumi and the others were doing a good job of hunting. On the contrary, the trio had never failed a hunt uptill today.

“Well, they’re doing a spotted lynx hunt because of this but…Holy Maiden> I feel sorry to say this but this time Tatsumi and the others’ hunt…will definitely fail.”

“Yes. I…also think that Husband and the others will come back with a failure.”

Calcedonia had a sad looking face. Lint gave a bitter smile after looking at that face.

“I understand your feelings, but be patient here. This is also a rule of demonic monster hunting. Besides, the spotted lynx doesn’t fight back unless it’s attacked, so they probably won’t be injured. Well, the way they are now, they won’t attack the spotted lynx.”

Because of what Lint said about the ‘rule of demonic monster hunting’, Calcedonia could not unnecessarily interfere in this hunt.

She was reluctant to send Tatsumi on the hunt while knowing he would fail.

However, this was also important for Tatsumi right now. Because she understood that, Calcedonia could not say anything to Tatsumi.

“Well, when your husband returns in low spirits, he will have his new wife to comfort him.”

Lint laughed heartily with a “gahahaha.” Apparently, it seemed like he wanted to dispel the depressing atmosphere.

“Should I also make something delicious for him?”

Tatsumi and the others would probably return after tomorrow at the least. It wasn’t that easy to find a demonic monster in a wide forest.

They had to search for the whereabouts of the monster, little by little, by following the footprints and leftover food, and even the droppings. Even though demonic monster hunting required skill, if you weren’t lucky it was a very time consuming task.

How can I cheer up Tatsumi when he comes home probably in low spirits? Calcedonia left The Elf’s Resthouse while thinking about this.

Jadokh stirred the crackling fire with the tip of a piece of firewood.

The flame flared up for a moment, spurred on by the fresh air, and scattered some sparks in the surrounding.

Tatsumi and Jadokh stared at the flames in silence.

Unexpectedly, Tatsumi lifted his face and gazed around his surroundings.

“……where’s Miloulle…?”

“Miloulle is at the nearby lake. Please try to understand.”

Tatsumi also thought of the same thing. She was probably cleaning her sullied body.

“…Will she be alright by herself?”

“To be honest, it’s not something to be praised about but…we don’t have a choice now.”

Before long, it was night.

Tatsumi started, “…A demonic monster… a real demonic monster, they’re so messed up…”

“Honestly, I was scared too. Until now, every time I’ve fought, I was able to conquer the fear. But……seeing that demonic monster made me feel the worst kind of fear in my life,” Jadokh replied.

Tatsumi and Jadokh, both with the same expressions, were talking to each other while staring at the dancing flames of the fire.

“…Eru said that we had to hunt that monster before we could be considered full-fledged hunters…”

“…From now on, we’ll have to be fighting even stronger monsters, won’t we…”

Today, Tatsumi and co. met with a spotted lynx. That monster that etched a violent fear into their hearts was only the entrance to the professional beast-hunter world. In other words, many more monsters stronger than the spotted lynx would appear.

Jadokh was saying that as they progressed on the path of being a beast-hunter, they’d have to fight things stronger than the spotted lynx.

But, honestly saying, any self-confidence they had before seeing the spotted lynx was completely gone.

Could we even continue being beast-hunters? Such thoughts were constantly in their heads.

In Tatsumi’s case, becoming a demonic beast-hunter was but one step in his plan. His dream for the future was to become an exorcist like Calcedonia.

However, there were devils that possessed things, like the one with the giant snow lizard. What if a devil possessed a demonic monster?

Could they even fight something as strong as that?

Tatsumi, keeping those thoughts to his heart, continued fixedly staring at the flames without saying a word.

[1] Note that a demonic monster is different from a demonic beast, which is what you’ve been seeing before.