Chapter 31
Epilogue 001. The Manβs Situation
The sunlight was incredibly intense. On a summer day where just breathing made your head spin, the forest echoed with the sound of gunshots. Birds fluttered up into the sky with each shot.
“Hey, did you catch one? No? How many is that now?”
“This guy’s got some serious skills. Fast hands, too.”
“Of course heβs got to be diligent. Starting next month, there’s going to be another mouth to feed.”
Burly hunters laughed heartily, patting the shoulders of the man standing next to them. Although he was a head and a half taller than them, with broad, squared shoulders, it was hard to see him as one of their kind.
“β¦Ah.”
Despite his minimal responses, which could hardly be considered acknowledgments, the hunters didn’t show any displeasure. There was only one reason for this:
‘This guy’s too good.’
It was as if he had a supernatural talent for shooting.
KΓΆln, an isolated rural village on the outskirts, was not a place that welcomed outsiders easily. Being close to the forest and having little interaction with the outside world, the village survived on self-sufficient hunting. It was tough for non-natives to live there.
Then one day, this man appeared, looking entirely unsuitable for a hunter.
“Wouldn’t you take off that hat?”
The hat was blatantly obstructing his view, so how could he possibly shoot accurately? His face was completely hidden, with only fine blonde hair peeking out, and his clear, glassy blue eyes could be glimpsed between the strands.
And yet, he applied to join the hunters’ guild. Despite carrying a recommendation letter from the prestigious Elva Marquisate in the capital, this was a hunting ground where lives were at stake in the blink of an eye.
Sure, it might not be as dangerous as a battlefield with guerrilla forces, but it was still a place where people fought for survival daily. Having a strong build and a recommendation letter alone wouldn’tβ¦!
Bang, bang, bang!
You could survive, no doubt about it! There’s no room for prejudice here!
In this place, with little external interaction and the forest surrounding it, hunting in season was the only source of food. Prejudice was out of the question. During the off-season, it was hard enough to put food on the table each day, so no one had time for such nonsense.
Welcoming a talented individual when they appeared was the wise thing to do!
With three shots, he managed to catch five blue-feathered orioles, which even experienced hunters found hard to catch. Seeing this, everyone stood up and clapped like seals.
But how did he catch five birds with just three shots?
“When the shot rings close enough, the targets get stunned.”
If the bullet hits the water surface while spinning, the shock can kill or stun small animals like orioles. This way, the feathers remain intact, and the meat is still good to eat, achieving two goals with one shot.
By the way, although it can’t kill a person with the shockwave, it can render them deaf and disable their combat abilitiesβa useful tip, though not particularly pleasant to know. Since then, everyone kept an eye on the man.
It wasn’t just that he managed to shoot down the highly sensitive blue orioles as if they were mere targets or that he exuded a dangerous aura suggesting he had skinned many people before. Everyone wondered, who exactly was this man?
He never smiled or talked to anyone. He just silently reloaded his magazine and aimed at his targets to bring down his prey.
However, there was one moment in his daily routine when he would smile and turn to someone.
“Julie.”
It was when he saw his wife.
A heavily pregnant woman with curly red hair tied halfway up stood at a distance, holding a basket of sandwiches and waving at him.
‘How did he notice her?’
How did he know his wife had arrived without any sound?
Hunting grounds were dangerous, so no one approaches until the signal indicating the hunt was over. The only safe place to meet was the boundary marked by a yellow flag.
Yet, the man always found his wife without her making a sound.
If it was intuition, it made him a truly gifted hunter.
“I told you not to come.”
Bothered by the smell of gunpowder on his clothes, he rubbed his sleeves on his pants and approached the boundary, gently caressing his wife’s cheek.
Even such a small display of affection made the woman’s cheeks flush red, likely because they were newlyweds. Startled as if she wasn’t used to such gestures, she stepped back and held out the basket of sandwiches.
“Here, I thought you might be hungry!”
“…….”
“I’ll, I’ll go ahead!”
Then, she quickly turned around to leave, her heavily pregnant belly swaying precariously.
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