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“Wendeliiiin! Let’s go out and have some fun───!”
“Huh? Why?”
“I mean, it’s a rare vacation with the convenient excuse of being on a Friendship Deepening Delegation. We should use that time to go out to play.”
“I was planning to do so as well, but Peter, you’re sure proactive about this…”
“Being the emperor usually keeps me busy all the time, so I cannot afford to miss the few, scarce chances I’m given.”
“I know, I know…ah, before that…”
“What’s up?”
“I’ll bring Doushi and Burkhart-san along.”
“Hahaha, those two sure won’t let such a golden opportunity slip past them.”
The next morning I was suddenly woken up by Peter after having gotten a good night of sleep at the lodging house. He told me to put on some clothes quickly so we could go out and have some fun… as to be expected of the man who became emperor by stealing a march on Therese… it looks like he plans to use every second of his precious break to play around.
Mark and his friends, currently wearing casual clothes, were following him too. Since they were the playmates and guards of the commoner prince who had been messing in the capital before the civil war, all of them had been entrusted with important offices. Given the huge disparity with their life before Peter became emperor, I can fully understand their wish to simply release his stress sometimes.
I mean, if you keep working all the time, you’ll eventually go nuts from all the stress.
“Everyone is on the same page for this! We can leave the friendship between our countries to His Highness Wald and the young nobles! They just want to make themselves known and build connections anyway, so they can spend all their effort on that!”
“Leaving aside those eager, young nobles, a margrave, who’s already quite famous, would only incur resentment if he worked too hard on building connections and friendships. It’s obvious that enjoying our rare break is a lot better.”
Since they told me in advance to pick them up no matter what, since they want to go out to play as well, I used Teleport to get Doushi and Burkhart-san. Doushi isn’t young and and Burkhart-san is neither young nor a noble, so they purely joined up with Peter and I to have fun.
I guess that’s the hip, wild duo for you. They stay true to their desires.
“Long time no see, Doushi.”
“It is a pleasure to see you healthy and full of energy, Your Majesty!”
“I’m very busy, but I somehow hang on. Now then, let’s grab breakfast first somewhere.”
“In that case, leaving the capital would be an option! After all, we would draw too much attention in the city!”
“There’s literally no point in going around and visiting the empire’s tourist attractions at this point anyway. In short, we should forget the usual customs and just enjoy ourselves, right?”
“Doushi, Burkhart-san, you really get it.”
I also agree with their opinion. Our group of ten-odd dudes left the capital and headed for a nearby monster domain.
Certainly, our disposition as adventurers is strong. So we don’t really need to go out of our way to go on a sightseeing tour.
After everyone changed into their adventurer gear for the first time in a while, we set up a camp on a flat plot near a forest full of monsters and started to prepare breakfast with the ingredients we took out of our magic bags.
There seem to be barely any people around here. The people who didn’t join the breakfast preparations went into the forest to hunt, gather edible ingredients, or fish in a nearby river.
It looks like I can forget my regular life for a bit and simply have fun. A camping rally with just guys is fun every once in a while, too.
“I feel sorry for inviting Your Majesty to a place like this, even though it is an important phase for Emela-dono.”
“Burkhart-dono, my Emela is a broad-minded woman. Besides, we trust each other, too. I won’t increase the number of wives each time there’s some sort of event, like Wendelin.”
“Honestly speaking, this gathering doesn’t have a sliver of sex appeal anyway.”
Not to mention Peter, but even Mark…or rather, everyone present here was married, so it was easy to declare that it’d be unnecessary to suspect any cheating during our outing. Then again, only men were participating, so it’d be impossible for me to increase the number of my wives. There are no flags or whatever to be found here!
“Rather, it appears like you’ll be approached by women and grow your harem much more than me, Peter.”
“Wendelin, there exist methods to skilfully dodge such things. It’s just that you don’t have any talent in that regard.”
“I guess so.”
Having said that, any more wives would be…
Given that the iron plate we had installed on a stone stove had heated up enough, I grilled the bacon I had prepared on it. When talking about breakfast, crispy bacon is a must-have.
“Did you start to raise pigs in the Baumeister Margraviate?”
“The establishment of new industries is part of a lord’s duty after all.”
“It definitely looks like he’s only indulging in his hobbies, but those parts make it obvious that you’re taking your work as noble seriously, Wendelin. I think it’s something that can serve as an example for others.”
The bacon was gradually becoming crisp. Next, I used the oil that had seeped out of the bacon to make sunny-side-fried fowl eggs. Those eggs are delicious, and paired with bacon, they’re a perfect combination.
“Your Majesty, I caught us some fish.”
“I found raspberries, so let’s use them for a dessert.”
“I got us edible wild plants.”
Peter’s friends and retainers had made their living as adventurers in the past. All of them gathered ingredients in an experienced manner, which we then used for our breakfast.
“As might be expected, baking bread will be impossible, but I bought some from the bakery I often frequented before becoming emperor. The crisp bacon, fried eggs, and wild plants will be garnished with Wendelin’s miso soup. We’re going to grill the fish as well, and everyone gets half a fish. The raspberries will be our dessert. This sort of breakfast is nice every once in a while, isn’t it? Then again, it’s not that different from the breakfast I usually eat, I suppose.”
True. Just because they’re royals or nobility, it’s not like all of them eat delicacies and steaks all day long. I think the difference is whether they use extravagant plates for similar menus.
“Still, at least I can eat warm meals every day.”
“I suppose that’s because Emela-san is with you. You’re a lucky guy.”
“Yes, I’m lucky in that regard. When a past emperor was asked by a retainer which sort of meal he liked the most, he answered that nothing could beat food made with love.”
Kings and emperors are always in danger of being poisoned, so they can’t eat anything without a poison test first, even if it was prepared by a trusted chef. We could observe the same with His Highness Wald the other day.
In Peter’s case, Emela can check for poison with her magic, so his freedom regarding meals is relatively high, he explained.
“But, isn’t it weird? Couldn’t the emperors until now just use magicians to check for poison like Peter is doing?”
There should be plenty of excellent magicians in the empire. Scanning food for poison isn’t that complicated either, so the previous generations of emperors should have simply used that method.
“Doesn’t that depend on the level of trust? In the case of the Empire, magicians believe that they belong to the government. Their relationship with the emperor as a person is weak. It’s not a close relationship like the Kingdom’s Royal Head Wizard. In my case, I’ve known Emela for quite a long time, and now she’s my wife.”
“I see.”
Peter can eat warm food for every meal because he trusts Emela’s Detection.
“What about now?”
“If someone here were to poison me, they could have done so beforehand, no? Besides, even if Emela isn’t here, Wendelin is.”
It looks like he trusts me quite a bit, despite my being a foreign noble.
“In the first place, Wendelin would never mix poison into food he prepared, considering his personality.”
“True. It’d be a waste to do that.”
“Right?”
I believe it’s wrong to use food for such things.
“Peter, if you have an affair in the future, Emela might add laxatives to your meals, you know?”
“I’d prefer to be spared from that. Anyway, the bacon looks good and crispy. Sunny-side-up eggs are more delicious when the yolk is somewhat soft. Anyway, let’s dig in.”
While chewing on the bread Peter had provided, we ate the bacon, eggs, and grilled fish, enjoying a slightly late breakfast.
“Margrave-sama, stuff like this sure is nice, isn’t it?”
“You think so as well, Burkhart-san?”
“Eating with my wife and daughter is great too, but eating out here in the wild really reminds me of my time as an active adventurer.”
“Everyone, we have come a long way.”
“””””””””Eehhh….?”””””””””
I think Doushi is still doing whatever he likes, though…
Everyone besides him thinks so. But not voicing it might be proof that we all have become adults.
“For food to taste so wonderful by just eating it outside while still fresh is a nice experience. So, what are we going to do after this?”
“It’s not like we have to do anything in particular, right? I think it’ll be alright to do whatever you like while using this camp as a base. Isn’t that the purpose of a break?”
“Oohh! As expected of Margrave Baumeister-dono.”
It earned me Mark’s admiration, but since it’s one of our rare vacations, we should really just do whatever we feel like. Cramming your vacation with lots of plans is one of the worst tendencies of recent times. After all, you can’t call it a vacation anymore if you have one event after another lined up in a tight schedule.
“Do whatever you like!”
“”””””””””YEAHHH!!!””””””””””
Upon my signal, everyone began to enjoy the break in their own way.
“Haah…this is freedom.”
“Burkhart-dono, this wine is outstanding!”
“Right? It’s a rather unknown brand. And that’s why it’s rather cheap, despite being so great.”
“Okay, then I shall also open a wine I discovered some time ago!”
“Sure. What are we going to do about the snacks?”
“Someone is going to bring them sooner or later, so let us wait until then while drinking!”
“Oh, that’s a great idea too.”
Burkhart-san and Doushi contributed the wine they obtained beforehand and started a drinking bout.
“It’s sword practice for you, Mark?”
“Yes. Lately, I’ve been busy, so I couldn’t find any time to train.”
“You sure love swordsmanship, Mark…so, Wendelin, what’s going on with that boiling pot?”
“I’ve been boiling monster intestines with miso over a long period of time. They become more delicious the longer they cook.”
“I see. You do love this sort of stuff, Wendelin.”
While fishing at a nearby river, I was making a miso-monster-entrails stew in a big pot. It’d be a side dish for lunch and snake for our wine drinkers.
The intestines of monsters will stink if you don’t prepare them thoroughly before cooking. After silently doing that plain work, I cast my fishing line while the entrails were boiling in the pot. I could feel how my daily stress dissipated.
“Maybe I should angle as well?”
Peter sat down next to me and cast a fishing line, spending his time relaxing.
“Having this sort of free time is extremely luxurious.”
“Yeah…”
I continued fishing while occasionally checking the pot, but suddenly I noticed several people approaching from the monster domain.
“It’s odd, isn’t it? This area isn’t really frequented much by adventurers…”
As might be expected of Mark, he apparently noticed the adventurers, stopped his sword training, and came to us. Since it’d be a problem if it were people who hold malicious intent towards Peter, he ran over right away. He cannot use magic, yet his ability to sense people is quite advanced.
“Huh? It’s rare for adventurers to camp in this area.”
Four adventurers stepped out of the monster domain while one of them made a comment like that.
————- End of Part 1 ————-
They looked like they were fairly skilled and experienced. Apparently wanting to ask something, they were heading our way. It was just my initial impression, but they didn’t seem like they had been hunting monsters at all. Their equipment and clothes looked all clean and spotless. And that was somewhat strange, to say the least.
“Are they possibly planning to search for monsters at night and thus taking a break right now?”
“At night?”
“What, you guys never searched for 『Golden Kabutomushi』 and 『Golden Kuwagata』?” 1
“We’re adventurers, but currently we’re taking a break from the job.”
“I see…”
“Would it possibly be inconvenient to be asked about those 『Golden Kabutomushi』 and 『Golden Kuwagata』 or something?”
“No. They’re listed as 『Urgent Requests』 on the bulletin board of the adventurer guild’s headquarters in the capital. Don’t most adventurers know about this?”
An urgent request, huh…? Also, Golden Kabutomushi and Golden Kuwagata…going by those names, they should be the same beetles I know, just in gold, I guess?
Did some noble kid beg their father to get them those beetles while crying, resulting in that noble quickly putting up the request with the guild?
“Still monsters such as golden kabutomushi and golden kuwagata exist as well, eh?”
Regular rhinoceros and stag beetles existed in this world as well. Children would collect them to raise and pit against each other. Some people even made good money selling unusual rhinoceros and stag beetles they collected in local forests to city children. I spotted such sales many times in the royal capital, too.
But, no matter how fantasy-like this world might be, I never heard anyone talking about Golden Kabutomushi or Golden Kuwagata…
“Rhinoceros beetles and stag beetles, who shine golden, do exist. They’re highly sought after among collectors. They are rarely spotted in the north rather than in the capital, but catching them seems quite a challenge. We haven’t even spotted them so far. Earl Ryeshower, a famous insect collector, apparently wants them no matter the costs. Since he’s promising a hefty reward, everyone has been running around to find them.”
“After all, he’s paying ten million cents per beetle for either.”
“Huh!?”
A mere bug…ah, no…I guess I should call it a monster…
Still, ten million cents per specimen is quite amazing. It’d be around a billion Yen.
“It means it’s just that hard to find. In reality, a big number of adventurers have been scanning this area for a few days now, but no one has spotted even the slightest trace of either beetle.”
“Isn’t it fine to just wrap it up here and hunt for monsters normally?”
“Makes sense. We have no eyewitness reports to work with either.”
The veteran adventurers seemed to be in the process of giving up on looking for the beetles. But that made sense. Rather than going for a billion Yen with a very low probability of success, it was a lot wiser to earn money by steadily hunting monsters.
“Besides, Earl Ryeshower has already put up that urgent request many times, hasn’t he? The reward is continuing to go up, but that’s just because not one of those beetles has been caught so far. Anyway, we’re going back to hunting monsters.”
The veteran adventurers apparently gave up on the beetles and made up their mind to return to their usual hunting style. Once they wrapped up the conversation, they went back into the forest.
“Golden Kabutomushi and Golden Kuwagata, eh…?”
It was the same with that pink hippopotamus, but I don’t get the way they attach names to monsters in this world. Golden Kabutomushi contains mushi in its name, while Golden Kuwagata doesn’t. I can’t see any naming convention in this. 2
“A bug and at the same time a monster with a value of ten million cents per individual, huh…? Ten million does sound enticing…”
“Huh? What are you talking about as this country’s emperor?”
Isn’t he in a position where he can easily borrow this sort of money?
“You really don’t get it, do you, Wendelin? Even though the imperial family is said to possess the biggest fortune in this country, the money I can freely use myself is quite limited.”
“I know as much, but still…”
The king of the Helmut Kingdom actually only gets some pocket money to freely spend as well. That’s likely because it’d be a huge problem if the nation’s finances took a nosedive because the king wastes money, but it sure is a very pragmatic approach. Though it’s very much appreciated by me, since it significantly lowers the probability of the Kingdom’s financial affairs going haywire.
The amount of money I have at hand for immediate use…I don’t really waste money, so I can’t quite think of a way to spend it, even though I sit on a fairly large amount.
“Wendelin, you’re also an excellent magician, so you probably can earn that much money by hunting ten flying dragons somewhere, but I cannot use magic. Emela is pregnant with my child, so I must be careful not to waste money either. Accordingly, this is an unforeseen avenue to obtain some special income.”
“You’re going to charge your retainer Earl Ryeshower for the golden kabutomushi and golden kuwagata? I’m sure he’s going to be quite surprised.”
Just when he’d finally see his wish fulfilled, the one making it come true would be the emperor of his own country. And on top of that, the very same emperor would demand payment from him.
“Do you mind stuff like that, Wendelin? Naturally, I’ll have someone go there as my representative, so it’s going to be fine. Anyway, it’s a chance to secure ten million cents for the secret savings I can use as I like.”
“That’s definitely enticing then, yeah.”
Unexpectedly, Mark joined our conversation at that point after having diligently practiced his swordsmanship all this time up until then. Moreover…
“Your Majesty, if you are going to hunt in the monster domain, we have obtained some interesting information.”
“It’s about a treasure of ten million cents per target.”
Peter’s friends, who just then exited the forest, had apparently heard about the beetles from other adventurers. Now they were urging them to participate in the hunt, since it’d become a good source of income.
“If it’s this much, it’s going to be handy for when we’re playing around while incognito. You can hardly find a better term than money of liberty for it.”
“Given that we have some free time right now, it’s a great opportunity, so let’s search for those monsters together.”
“That’s a great idea. Wendelin, Burkhart-dono, Doushi, do you have any problems with that?”
“It’s not that I’m against it or anything…”
I’m not fond of the idea either though…no, although our targets are golden, they’re still rhinoceros and stag beetles. It clearly reminds me of my childhood in my previous life.
Whenever I went back to my parents’ home during summer vacation, I’d strive to be a beetle hunter for a limited amount of time. After plastering self-made bait on the trees in the forest where the beetles lived, I’d always catch big amounts of them at night. Bringing those back, I’d share them with my friends, which would earn me quite a bit of gratitude from them.
Thinking back on this now, this time might have been the only period when a plain and ordinary guy like me shone until I was reincarnated in this world.
For some reason, I suddenly remembered it all.
“I’d like to ask one thing: how are the adventurers looking for those Golden Kabutomushi and Golden Kuwagata?”
“They climb the trees and look for them or kick the trees and wait for them to fall down.”
“At this time, right now?”
“Yes.”
Peter’s friends answered me. Still, you could only call them unskilled if they employed such a method to collect rhinoceros and stag beetles. From my point of view, who was called Professor Rhinoceros during his childhood, they’d never catch any Golden Kabutomushi or Golden Kuwagata with these methods.
“In the first place, rhinoceros and stag beetles are nocturnal, aren’t they?”
“Oohh! You sure are knowledgeable, aren’t you, Burkhart-san?”
“Margrave-sama, I also caught beetles and had them fight each other together with other kids in my childhood. The kid with the champion beetle was always highly respected back home. I’ve come up with various ways to catch them so that I’d be able to catch as many beetles as possible to obtain the strongest rhinoceros and stag beetles. If I remember correctly, you can catch a bunch of them at night, yeah.”
“Indeed.”
This world is full of nature, so I can imagine that it’s possible to catch rhinoceros and stag beetles during the day as well. But everyone is looking for Golden Kabutomushi and Golden Kuwagata. Given that they’re already hard to find, I think the chance of finding any during the day will be even lower.
“We’ll lay out the bait in the evening and check things out at night. This is the most efficient method to catch rhinoceros and stag beetles.”
“You truly know a lot about this, Margrave Baumeister!”
“Please leave it to me.”
As a matter of fact, I occasionally caught rhinoceros beetles in the forest behind the mansion of the Knight Baumeister family until I turned twelve in this world. Back then, I played by having those beetles fight each other and predicting which would win. Remembering it now, I cannot help but wonder just what I’ve been doing by myself, but that turned out to be a truly great way to kill some time.
Rhinoceros and stag beetles weren’t rare in the Baumeister Knightdom. Besides, I recall that many of the bugs of this world are quite magnificent and imposing. In addition, it was nice that I could catch both normal rhinoceros and stag beetles during the day. But it’s my first time hearing about golden rhinoceros and stag beetles. Do they only exist in the imperial domain?
“So in short, we lay out food and collect them at night?”
“I think that method has the biggest chance for success.”
“Isn’t it dangerous to move around in a monster domain at night?” Peter asked.
“Who knows?”
But, thus far, I have never seen any special changes in monster domains, like stronger monsters appearing at night or the monster encounter rate increasing at night. Of course, many nocturnal monsters exist as well, but that doesn’t mean they’re stronger than the monsters appearing during the day.
The biggest reasons it’s dangerous to enter a monster domain at night are poor visibility due to darkness and the increased risk of a surprise attack from monsters with good night vision.
“If it’s Doushi, Burkhart-san, and I, we’ll never suffer a surprise attack by monsters because of our Detect and Light. If we exterminate the monster in that area in advance, we’ll be able to safely search for the Golden Kabutomushi and Golden Kuwagata afterward.”
“This sounds very fun!”
“Certainly, it might be more efficient than using the methods of the other adventurers during the day. Very well! We are going on a Golden Kabutomushi and Golden Kuwagata hunt tonight!”
“Sure brings me back to my childhood. Somehow this could become a lot of fun.”
“I am going to participate as well!”
“If I can get ten million cents for my secret savings, I’ll take a somewhat bigger trip during my next incognito break.”
“Oh, that’s an awesome idea.”
It’s probably because there are only dudes here, but all of us quickly agreed on searching for those beetles.
Those weren’t regular rhinoceros and stag beetles, but golden monsters with a price tag of ten million cents on their heads. While thinking that this money-driven thinking was the only thing that identified us as adults here, we prepared everything to start our operation deep in the night.
＊ ＊ ＊
———— End of Part 2 ————
“So, what are we going to do, Margrave-sama?!”
“Let me ask you something first. How did you collect rhinoceros and stag beetles in your youth?”
“I used a knife to carve plenty of cuts into the trunk of a tree that seemed like it’d have lots of sap the day before. When I came back the next day, rhinoceros and stag beetles had gathered for the sap. That’s it basically.”
“Margrave Baumeister, I, too, happened to catch rhinoceros and stag beetles in my childhood.”
“Oh? How did you catch them?”
“I kicked the trees with all my power! But, since caterpillars and other bugs also dropped down, I had to be very attentive!”
“(I feel bad for the trees…)”
In the evening, we were in an area deep inside the monster domain, plastered with trees resembling sawtooth oaks. Given the location, a great number of monsters had appeared, but all of them were eradicated by Burkhart-san and Doushi, so it was quiet right now.
The monsters still lurking in the vicinity apparently stayed clear of us. Very likely scared of the two guys who had annihilated the monsters in the area within a short span of time.
The rhinoceros and stag beetles of this world were drawn to the sap of trees similar to sawtooth oaks, just like the ones on Earth. But, since sweet things were expensive in this world, sugared water and honey weren’t used to lure in the beetles as I had done in my previous life. Everyone would cut the trees to call the beetles through the sap.
Upon closer inspection, I saw that many trees were already carved. We succeeded in finding several normal rhinoceros and stag beetles…having said that, they were close to twice as big as the Earth beetles…but we were aiming for Golden Kabutomushi and Golden Kuwagata.
It looked like it’d be too challenging to just rely on tree sap.
“I’m going to lay these out.”
“What are these, Wendelin?”
“Food that will draw rhinoceros and stag beetles,” I answered Peter while showing the bait I had prepared myself.
Ordinary people tended to misunderstand that rhinoceros and stag beetles would only approach sweet stuff. Of course, they did like those, but on top of that, rhinoceros beetles were strongly attracted by the scent of sap sugar that had been fermented by the germs and yeast of the tree’s bark.
Capitalizing on that trait, I had crafted plenty of special fodder. I wrapped the fodder up in thin cloth and hung it from trees.
“This is a banana that had been collected in the Demon Forest. Usually, you’d mix it well with distilled liquor and small amounts of sugar, before letting it ferment by letting it rest in the sun all day long, but since we didn’t have the time today, I fermented it through magic.”
It was a famous rhinoceros trap that I knew from my previous life.
The plan was to smear the finished fermented banana on tree trunks and catch the Golden Kabutomushi and Golden Kuwagata, which would be drawn to the powerful smell of fermentation, in one big haul.
“You used booze for this…? Why waste it on the likes of bugs?”
“I expected you to say just that, Burkhart-san, but the target has a bounty of ten million cents per specimen. If you shy away from taking some money into your hands, you won’t be able to catch what you could have otherwise caught.”
“I guess it’s just as you say, Margrave-sama. It sure looks like going with just sap doesn’t cut it.”
At this point, many adventurers had climbed the trees and searched for the beetles. Others tried to make them drop by kicking the trees or tried to lure them in through sap. But all of them had failed.
If we didn’t try another method, it’d remain impossible to obtain Golden Kabutomushi and Golden Kuwagata.
“If it doesn’t work, we just have to use another method.”
“As expected of you, Margrave Baumeister-dono.”
Mark was deeply impressed by my strategy, but I’d like him to wait with the laudation until we actually catch the beetles in question.
“Okay, let’s split up and apply the fermented banana on the trees.”
“””””””””Roger!”””””””””
Thanks to splitting the work, we managed to lay out the bait before the sun completely sank. All that was left now was to reap the fruits at night.
“I think we should take an early dinner and get a little nap.”
“That’s a great idea. Let’s rest up for tonight.”
All of us were adventurers to begin with. If it were for the sake of catching targets, working at night was no big deal at all. In preparation for our night mission, we quickly prepared dinner, wolfed it down, and took a nap.
It had been a while since some of us were last active as adventurers, but our bodies apparently remembered the drill. All of us woke up at night, and after getting ready in no time, we entered the dark forest.
“It’d be great if they gathered around the bait as planned.”
“That’s a matter of luck, so we’ll see.”
The probability was higher than climbing or kicking trees during the day, but there existed no absolutes. Still, catching rhinoceros beetles with a group of guys was kinda fun.
Since I wasn’t troubled for money, I wouldn’t mind even if we didn’t catch any as long as we had fun, but if possible, I’d like to see those Golden Kabutomushi and Golden Kuwagata with my own two eyes. Out of pure curiosity.
“Let’s start with the first spot. Burkhart-san, can you detect any monsters?”
“Doushi and I killed them quite flashily earlier, so they’re too scared to enter this area at the moment, I think. It feels like they’re simply watching us from a distance.”
“That is indeed quite convenient for us!”
At once, I illuminated the fermented banana on a tree trunk with Light and checked the result. Thereupon, I spotted around a dozen rhinoceros beetles crowding the spot.
Since they were black, they had to be normal rhinoceros beetles…no, since they were twice as big as the ones on Earth, these might sell for quite a bit if this were Earth…
Thinking something along the lines, I felt like I might be suited for being a merchant.
“Hoh, it’s incredibly effective, that banana and booze bait.”
“True. It’s rare to get so many of them with one attempt.”
Unfortunately, none of our targets were among the beetles, but Peter’s retainers still put them all into insect cages.
“I think those will make nice gifts for the children.”
It was an era where many people in Japan were unmarried, but in this world, almost everyone was married, and the families had many kids. Big rhinoceros beetles should be great gifts for the children.
“Margrave Baumeister, are you not going to take back some as well?”
“My children are still babies, so they won’t know what to do with them.”
Besides, some of my wives might be bad with bugs. Let’s bring back some after making sure of that part first. But I’m in no hurry since I can catch normal rhinoceros and stag beetles everywhere.
“That makes sense! Our targets are Golden Kabutomushi and Golden Kuwagata!”
Does Doushi also want to fill up his secret savings? Though somehow I get the impression he has full control over his own wallet.
“I am simply curious! I want to see rhinoceros and stag beetles that glow golden!”
Pure curiosity, huh? As a matter of fact, it’s the same for me as well.
“We have put up the bait in several places, so maybe one of them attracted the golden beetles. Let’s hurry.”
Prompted by Peter, we kept checking one tree after the other.
“There are plenty of ordinary rhinoceros, stag, and scarabaeid beetles.”
The fermented banana bait was exceptionally effective. We managed to secure more than enough as a gift for the children, but unfortunately, we didn’t spot a single golden beetle.
“I guess the reward of ten million cents per beetle isn’t just for show.”
Mark was definitely right on that one. If it were possible to catch them so easily, it would be crazy to pay a prize of ten million cents per beetle.
“The difficulty is much greater than expected. The next tree is going to be the last with lure.”
I had jotted down the spots on a map so I wouldn’t forget about them. If the next one was a dud as well, we’d go home with only ordinary rhinoceros and stag beetles tonight.
“This is the last chance, huh? Margrave-sama went out of his way to prepare good bait for us, so I pray we can get at least one golden beetle.”
“Actually, I would like to see those golden Kabutomushi and Golden Kuwagata.”
“I’m so nervous.”
“I hope we will find one!”
Not only I, but Burkhart-san, Peter, Mark, and Doushi were all tense as we walked towards the last tree with bait. And as we got closer, we could see how the tree was faintly shining.
“Burkhart-san! Does this possibly mean…?”
“Margrave-sama, everyone, be quiet. Given that they’re called Golden Kabutomushi and Golden Kuwagata, they might be shining.”
“Let’s approach the tree very carefully.”
“Without making a sound.”
“Very quiet!”
We all had experience as adventurers, so we erased our footsteps and drew closer to the tree. And soon we spotted a rhinoceros beetle, which was glowing golden, and a stag beetle, likewise glowing golden, licking the fermented banana on the trunk.
“Given that they’re called golden, I expected them to be yellow, but…”
“They’re genuinely shining in golden colors.”
“I can imagine that someone would be willing to pay ten million cents for one of these.”
“Those are rare monsters, so I think it’s a valid price, but…”
“Yeah, they are too big.”
They were glowing as if they had been gilded. Their length was no different from Doushi’s height, and thus, we were slightly perplexed about what to do next.
“Regardless of whether they’re bugs or not, they’re still monsters, so I expected them to be bigger than ordinary rhinoceros and stag beetles. But, this goes beyond my expectations.”
“No kidding…,” I agreed with Burkhart-san’s remark.
Catching such big beetles…monsters…not killing, but catching. I wonder how we should go about this.
“Turning such bit bugs into samples, huh…?”
“I feel like they’d be more suited to being stuffed than used as bug samples. So, how are we going to defeat these?”
“We can’t kill them if they’re going to be used as specimens.”
“Really?”
“If we damage their shell or if the legs come off, their value will plummet,” I started to explain to Mark.
Assuming it was an insect that died naturally, we could soak it in warm water at 50-60°C and mold it after softening the joints, but there was no way we could wait for the golden bugs we finally found to die naturally.
“And given that it’d be a problem if their bodies got damaged because they fervently resisted us, we have to cleverly catch them while alive.”
“Capturing them alive, you say?”
“Wendelin, you sure know a lot about the world of bug preservation.”
“It’s knowledge I obtained from a book.”
In reality, I had caught many beetles in my previous life and presented them to my school as a research project after turning them into specimens. It was easy to obtain rhinoceros and stag beetles, as well as other insects, at my parents’ home, so creating specimens was no issue. Thanks to that, I knew a bit about insect sampling, but above all, these were my first Golden Kabutomushi and Golden Kuwagata.
I must move this toward capturing them alive. Maybe the client wants to breed them, too.
“Can’t we somehow handle it with magic?”
“With magic? How?”
You could catch most of the animal-shaped monsters with sleeping magic, but I didn’t know whether that would work on insects.
“In the worst case, they might notice us and escape if we cast magic, right?”
Having said that, it’d be difficult to capture monsters the size of Doushi unhurt.
“Huh? This might actually be quite a challenge, no?”
“Margave Baumeister, we can strike their vitals like we did during the time when we caught the big crabs!”
“That’s an option, I suppose…”
Stabbing the vitals of the beetles with thin ice needles…”
“Okay, but where are their vital spots?”
“I will give it a try! Please assist me if I fail, Margrave Baumeister!”
“Doushi, we should talk this over a bit more…”
Without listening to my advice, Doushi created slender ice needles and tried to stab the beetles between their eyes, just like I had done during the crab hunt. Moreover, he targeted both of them simultaneously.
“That Doushi is surprisingly skilled with his usage of magic, isn’t he?”
Peter praised Doushi, but it was the first time for Burkhart-san and me to learn that Doushi had learned the Ice Needle spell at some point.
“I will take them down with one strike!”
———– End of Part 3 ———–
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Translation Notes:
- Kabutomushi is a rhinoceros beetle, and Kuwagata is a stag beetle, but since the author introduces them as this world’s names and because their names matter further down below, I’ll use the Japanese names
- mushi (虫) means insect/bug. Kabutomushi literally means helmet insect. Then again, if you recall how samurai helmets look, it makes sense to use the same term on Rhinoceros beetles. Kuwagatamushi (クワガタムシ) is the proper JP term for stag beetle, with kuwagata being its abbreviation.
