"The Hunter failed the hunt?!"

When I explained what had happened this morning to Agarta, she became pale and questioned me in disbelief.

The Hunter had failed his hunt.

In my position of being pursued by the Hunter, hearing about another person called a "hunter" in this territory made me anxious, so I asked Agarta about it.

"No wonder it's been so cold since the morning!"

Agarta spoke while rubbing her arms rapidly with both hands.

"What does a hunter in this region do?"

"What do they do? Not much different from your Hunter. The only difference is, your guy is obsessed with revenge to the point of madness, killing Foreign Entities out of sheer hatred, while the hunters here kill them for more 'reasonable' reasons."

Reasonable reasons.

There probably isn't a more vague term than "reasonable."

Seeing how cold Agarta looked, I grabbed a blanket from the room and handed it to her, which visibly improved her complexion.

"Hunters exist in every territory. I don't know if it's something inevitable, but they all seem to share one thing in common: an extraordinary sense of smell."

Hunters in every territory?

When the Knight Order talked about the Hunter, I thought "Hunter" was just a moniker and something unique.

Come to think of it, the Hunter’s father also made his living as a hunter.

Did he inherit his father’s profession?

"This isn't the point right now! In the Garen Domain, it's a huge problem if a hunter fails their hunt!"

"Why?"

"Can't you tell from how cold it's gotten?!"

Sure, I understood that the cold was because the hunter had failed.

"No, I mean, what's the connection between the two?"

"In Londan, Her Highness manages the hearth herself, so it's not an issue, but in other territories, that's not the case. They have to hunt Foreign Entities and use their bodies as fuel to keep the fire burning. When a hunter fails their hunt, it means the hearth is about to go out!"

Only after hearing Agarta's explanation did I realize the gravity of the situation.

It wasn't just a big problem—it was a disaster waiting to happen!

Even in Londan, if the temperature dropped, many people would be in danger—people living in regular buildings, people lost and collapsed on the streets.

This territory wouldn't be any different, right?

With that thought in mind, I hurried outside the building.

"Tanton! Where are you going?!"

I heard Agarta calling out to me, but there was no time to waste.

I remembered the isolated fire deity that coexisted with Symtol.

It was almost laughable to compare it to the hearth fire, but in the end, they were both powered by Foreign Entities.

Which meant that the same method might work, to some extent.

I headed straight for the train we had arrived in with Agarta.

"Sir Tanton! Where are you going?"

The gatekeeper called out to me in a panic, but I couldn’t afford to be delayed.

Extinguishing a fire before it completely disappeared required quick action.

I jumped into the train like I was making a high leap and began searching frantically inside.

Fortunately, I found a large pile of coal.

It was about the size of three sacks of rice, and I thought it would be too heavy to lift. But my body, already strengthened by the power of the Foreign Entities, lifted it far more easily than I had expected.

Having found what I needed, it was time to take action.

I ran toward the gatekeepers.

"Please! Lead me to the hearth!"

"Uh, yes!"

Realizing what I intended to do after I mentioned the hearth, the gatekeeper immediately ran ahead.

I followed closely behind, running until we reached a structure that looked somewhat different from Londan’s hearth—more like a signal fire.

I was glad I acted quickly.

In front of the hearth, a man was grinding his teeth in frustration, and the fire was almost completely dead.

But it wasn’t too late yet—I could tell.

I approached the opening, which seemed meant for adding fuel to the fire.

"Hey, what are you doing?!"

The man who had been grinding his teeth tried to grab me, but the gatekeepers held him back.

He probably had a lot to say, but survival came first.

Realizing no one would stop me, I aligned the sack of coal with the opening and poured the contents inside.

Rumble.

The sound of coal rolling into the hearth echoed.

At first, nothing seemed to happen.

Then, whoosh.

The flames caught onto the coal, and the fire began to spread, gradually reviving the hearth’s warmth.

Soon, the flames surged to the top, burning brilliantly with a vibrant red hue.

Only then could I finally breathe a sigh of relief.

Phew.

This territory had almost faced destruction.

"...Who are you?"

The man who had tried to stop me earlier approached, his face filled with confusion. I thought he might be about to reprimand me, but there was no hostility in his tone. In fact, his eyes reflected a deep sense of relief.

"Don’t you know who this man is? This is the famous Sir Tanton from Londan!"

"...Sir Tanton."

So my name had even reached the hunters in this region.

He didn’t seem to be wondering, "Who’s that?"

"Thank you. Thanks to you, Garen was saved. I almost became a traitor."

When he suddenly knelt before me, I waved my hands quickly.

"Oh, no! We all help each other. Please, stand up."

How strange.

The contrast between this hunter’s humble behavior and the usual cold demeanor of hunters was striking.

It was surprising how the same profession could produce such different personalities.

"Tanton!"

Just as I was lost in these thoughts, I heard Agarta’s voice in the distance.

Agarta nimbly jumped to where I was standing, quickly scanning the surroundings as if to assess the situation.

First, her gaze landed on the hearth, and a smile spread across her face.

"Oh! Sir Tanton! You fixed it, didn’t you?!"

Next, her eyes fell on the sack of coal lying on the ground, and her face paled.

"Huh? Wait…."

Finally, when she saw the coal dust smeared around the hearth’s opening…

"Ahhh! Nooo!"

...Agarta let out a desperate wail of despair.

We returned to the lodging.

But the atmosphere wasn’t exactly bright.

That was because Agarta was sulking in the corner, her face burning with frustration, refusing to speak.

"Um, Agarta?"

"...Don’t talk to me, sniff."

Wow.

This was the first time I’d seen Agarta so downhearted.

She always managed to smile, even in the most desperate situations.

"But we did save the territory, right? Isn’t that…."

"Do you even know what that coal was before you say something like that?!"

Agarta finally burst out, her voice rising with frustration.

"The hearth doesn’t burn with regular coal! You have to put something related to Foreign Entities in it to make the flames strong! Do you understand now why the fire grew stronger after you added that coal?!"

"...Was that coal made from Foreign Entities?"

"It was coal mixed with the flesh of a Foreign Entity! Do you have any idea how expensive that is?! I spent a fortune to get my hands on it…."

Mid-sentence, Agarta seemed to recall just how much she had spent, and she grabbed her head with both hands, letting out a loud scream.

...Indeed, items made from Foreign Entity flesh were valuable, as they were only distributed through the Knight Order.

Weapons made from their flesh could only be found in the armory within the hearth.

Red energy swirled around Agarta’s head as she agonized.

Agony has a way of clouding a person’s mind.

It looked like I could help ease her suffering, so I ran my hand over the energy.

"What are you…? Oh."

Oh.

It worked immediately.

Just moments ago, she had looked ready to smash everything in sight, but now she was calm and composed. It was amusing to see the sudden change.

Perhaps I had gotten used to this subtle burning pain, as it no longer felt like suffering.

"Did you do that, Sir Tanton?"

"Yeah, sort of."

"Now you can even control someone’s anger? Really, you just keep surprising me."

She was saying that, but she looked much better than before.

"...Well, I suppose it was put to good use in the end. Still, Sir Tanton, you’ll have to compensate for everything."

"Ugh."

That expensive coal… and I was supposed to pay for it?

I didn’t have much money on me.

"...Should I repay you with my body?"

"Don’t say such nonsense! Do you think that’s even possible?!"

Judging from the way she snapped at me, she seemed to be feeling better.

Still, I hadn’t realized just how expensive it was.

I felt guilty, even though I kept making jokes about it.

As I wondered how I could make it up to her, there was a knock at the door.

"Yes?"

I quickly moved to open the door, and the gatekeepers from earlier stood there.

"Oh, it’s you…."

"Sir Tanton."

After hearing what they had to say, I couldn’t help but smile.

"The Duke of Garen requests your presence."

It seemed an opportunity to make amends with Agarta had presented itself.