The day started early for Raiz, the manager of the Monsters’ Delivery, and a few of his subordinates.

Some fought to get the privilege of waking up their master, some couldn’t stand the cold and waited until their body was warm enough, and some laid an egg.

Between those monsters, one in particular was flying to get his food.

A shadow casted from above covered the crawling preys in the Forest of Monsters east of Dekuch.
Sensing its arrival, they all froze while gazing up at the sky that should’ve been clear, and tried to hide.

It was obvious that their attempt to survive was pointless.

With eyes sharper than a hawk, the flying monster observed them from the sky, thinking about which one would have become its meal. Watching their futile act was like watching ingredients on a plate asking to be feasted on.

It decided, and the huge shadow swooped down on its forthcoming meal.

The chosen one was still unaware of being the target until the flying monster filled its field of vision.

It was already too late to run.
Maybe if it escaped at full speed, it would have lived a few seconds more.
Still, its fate was already sealed the moment the predator set its eyes on it.
Because such is the fate of a dragon’s preys.

After it enveloped the prey with its fangs, the dragon flew back in the sky, leaving behind only the eaten remains of its meal.

◆

"Good morning~!"

A high-pitched voice of a girl echoed in the hut of Monsters’ Delivery, that also served as the office and residence of the guild"s members.
No, more than a girl’s voice, that was the voice of a full-fledged woman.
Its owner looked like a little girl with big wings replacing her arms, eagle-like legs from her knees down, and a feathered tail sprouting from the lower part of her back.

She was Harpy, a bird-monster.

Harpies can fly thanks to their extremely light body. Also, their pet.i.te and flat shape makes them aerodynamic. Both their behavior and voice were generally childish, maybe because their undeveloped body affected even their mind.

"Hey, good morning."

Hearing her from close range, Raiz rubbed his sleepy eyes and slowly got up.
His ears were ringing slightly, but he thought that it was going to cease soon.

"Yawn…"

As he let out a big yawn, he changed his clothes.

Lamia washed them the day before.

Kelpie, the horse of water, filled the bathtub with crystal-clear water, and Lamia used her tail like a washboard to clean them.
Salamander then used Dragon’s scales to iron the clothes, and to not damage them, one of Treant’s leaves was placed on the garments.
After all the clothes were ironed, Treant’s smell, that resembled sandalwood’s, remained on them.

Thus, we can state that Raiz wore clothes treated with top-notch tools.

Thanks to that fragrant smell, the risk of being targeted by monsters living in forests lessened, and at the same time, treants were more inclined to help whoever smelled like them.

"Shall we ask c.o.c.katrice for one of her eggs for breakfast?"

Lamia, Raiz"s aide, helped him with household ch.o.r.es, but since she had reptile traits, the morning cold was her greatest weakness.
To make breakfast, Dryad took her place and prepared one of the best and healthiest drinks in the world, extracted from the purest morning dew.

When Raiz stepped outside, the ground shook like an earthquake was setting the earth in motion.
He remained composed since he was familiar with that situation.

"I’m back, Master."

It was Dragon.

Each morning, he flew to the near forest, and after hunting for his breakfast he made sure to return with some meat for the other monsters.
His great efforts played an important role in replenishing the guild’s food stock, and the raw materials collected by its preys could be sold to the citizens of Dekuch, proving them that they were also thinning out the number of monsters in the forest.

That was Monsters’ Delivery’s main source of income.

"Master, monsters’ offspring is rising in the forest. I think that they might soon come out in search of food."

Dragon had to thin out the number of monsters, but he wouldn’t do something as useless as hunting the younger ones, simply because it was a huge pain.
Humans wouldn"t bother to pick up each and every grain of rice that fell on the ground, after all.

"Okay. I’ll report it to the Guild Master."

"Mh."

Without saying another word, he returned to the nearby hill where he usually stayed.

The younger monsters watched him with sparkling eyes.
Dragon was a hero for them.

◆

"Aaah…"

But that hero let out a sigh as he wore a melancholic expression.

"I also want to help the guild…"

His anguish was as big as his strength and size.