I Reincarnated into a Single-celled Organism! - Chapter 187

“You… want to take me hunting?”

I was sitting in a room in the main estate. Seated across from me was Abigail and her close friend, Fate. I couldn’t help but compare the two. Abigail was beautiful and regal, with her hair tied up in a bun. Her chest was large and her body was curvaceous. As for Fate, she was also a beauty, but she had a much sultrier look, her auburn hair tied back in a ponytail. Of the two, Fate had a larger chest, but Abigail’s face was more to my liking. This wasn’t because Fate was less attractive but more because she typically wore a cold face.

It had been several days since Mara had evolved. She was now standing behind Abigail, serving the pair tea after they invited me to come sit with them. Pierre was also standing nearby, but he was no longer hovering over Mara’s shoulder, and Mara’s moves were far more practiced now, although I didn’t know if they came from experience or if her evolution had somehow placed them apart.

“It’s quite a bit more than a hunt,” Fate said coldly. “This is a once-in-a-lifetime expedition. The Lou family has planned this out with all due expense.”

“And you’re inviting me?”

“She was inviting me,” Abigail said before Fate could reply. “However, I am still bogged down here in Arcford, so I offered you an option to go and represent the Capala household.”

“Is this… like the missions board?”

“It’s similar,” Abigail spoke as Fate opened her mouth. “However, this is not the typical elimination or supply-gathering quest. Rather, this is some private information that the Lou family was able to discover.”

“That means you can’t go telling anyone about it. That includes that broken prince!” Fate cut in.

“Of course, my fiancé understands that any discussions we hold in private are for our ears only.” Abigail gave me a look.

“Of course,” I repeated, leaning back with my cup. “I’m just a bit confused about why you want to bring me.”

“We don’t want to bring you,” Fate quickly affirmed. “Rather, we’re offering you an opportunity. If you don’t want to take it, you don’t have to!”

“I never said that.” I coughed awkwardly. “Tell me again… it’s to Thunderstrike Mountain?”

Fate relaxed slightly. “Thunderbolt Peak. It’s the home of a powerful sagebeast at the level of a Prestiged.”

“Mmhmm…” I nodded, but when I noticed the two girls staring at me, my eyes widened. “I mean, oh, wow! A Prestiged? How could we hunt something so powerful?”

She frowned slightly. “We don’t. That’s why this is such a rare opportunity. Sage beasts are much stronger than the equivalent humans. Even Lord Nikola might not be able to kill a prestige sage beast in its home territory. As for the Lou family, the highest paragon that will come is champion. We’d have no chance.”

“Then, why are you planning this… expedition.”

“The Lou family recently acquired intel that the sage beast is near death. It’s dying from old age. Other monsters have already begun to conquer pieces of it’s territory, and he’s even suffered a few attacks. The last attack wounded him, which means his death could occur at any time,” Abigail explained.

“So, you want an expedition to… recover its body?”

“Its body is only part of the value. Sagebeasts like this tend to construct powerful lairs. They collect parts of other sagebeasts, mythic plants, and other items of extreme value,” Fate declared. “The Lou family doesn’t lack in courage and we don’t lack in strength, but we do lack in resources. If we even obtained a small fraction of the remains left by the sage beast, it would set our family up for generations.”

“Are you planning on working with other powerful families? Why us?”

“The Capala family once helped out the Lou family,” Fate responded, glancing at Abigail. “This is the only reason my father told me to tell you. Other than that, we intend to inform as few people as possible. Even my little sister isn’t aware of this. If other families learn about it, they will assuredly make a move as well. We must be there when the sagebeast dies, and we must flee before another comes in to take everything it left behind.”

“I guess I should say I’m honored.”

Fate snorted. “As you should be.”

I ignored her. “How many people are part of this expedition?”

“If you come with us? Ten. It will be you, me, my brother, Lot, and seven other members of the family. To be fair, we will divide any gains between the surviving members.”

“Surviving…” I frowned.

“Ahem.” Abigail coughed. “Instead of dividing things one to ten, the amount we get is directly proportional to the number of Lou members who survive.”

I blinked. “Aren’t you concerned that they might knock me off for a bigger cut?”

“The Lou family wouldn’t do that!” Fate snapped. “As for you doing the same to us, I wouldn’t even think about it. My uncle will be coming. He is not someone you can handle!”

“I believe you,” I responded, although didn’t really believe any of them to be a threat.

I wasn’t even worried about the sagebeasts, although being confident in surviving wasn’t the same as being confident in killing them. They could always run or use other tricks, and I wasn’t so confident in my skills that I knew I could prevent that. If I just made an animal run away and die somewhere I couldn’t find, it wouldn’t be any better than if I had never attacked them in the first place.

“So, what do you think, Spirit?” Abigail asked.

“I presume since you’re asking me, you’ve already decided this is worth it. What about my life? This sounds dangerous, and no one in the Lou family is going to be looking out for me.”

“I promised Abigail that you will come back alive,” Fate declared. “I’m so confident that I offered her two portions of the profits, if you were to die.”

I raised an eyebrow. “Is that it?”

Abigail’s cheeks flushed slightly. “Fate’s assurances were the reason I am confident, not the profits. I’d be more assured of the mission’s success if you came.”

Although she said that, Fate looked as if she didn’t believe it at all.

“I was also planning on heading to the farms this weekend. This trip sounds like it will take some time. When will it happen?”

“Tonight!” Fate declared.

“Tonight?” I made a face.

“The sage beast could die any time. The journey to Thunderbolt Peak is two days. We’d be leaving now if everyone didn’t need some preparation time.”

“Okay, so two days there, two days back. Let’s assume it takes two days there… although it could take weeks as you’re essentially waiting for the sage beast to die.” I lifted my fingers as I spoke. “That’s a long time to spend away…”

“Nothing sudden will happen in the next week without you.” Abigail rolled her eyes. “However, if you don’t want to do this. No one is forcing you.”

“No, I’ve decided I’ll go.”

Fate looked a bit surprised, but her cold demeanor quickly returned. “In that case, we will meet in the south gate at nightfall. I wasn’t so keen on it, but we’d attract too much attention during the day.”

“In that case, I’ll go get ready.”

I dismissed myself and left, although when I said I was getting ready, it was more like getting the mansion ready. I had very little confidence that the Capala household was as stable as they thought. Thankfully, I could keep a watch on things with sentinels. I also put up several other restrictions.

I changed my face and then went out to a store as well. I made sure to pick up a bunch of extra supplies just in case, using some of the money I had made from the alchemy exam. Once I finished storing it all in my Luminal Space, I headed back to the Capala household. After saying farewell to Mara, I made it clear I was leaving the Capala household while making it look like I was being as discreet about it as possible. After all, I wasn’t supposed to be skilled enough to just disappear from all prying eyes.

Once outside of the compound though, I made sure no one else saw me until I reached the southern gate. I didn’t want any disturbances getting in the way of my journey. When I arrived, there were already people waiting there. They were all wearing cloaks. As I approached, two of them pulled back their hoods. One was a man, older than me, with long blonde hair and a chiseled jaw. His hair was tied up in a ponytail. He had a sharp chin and narrow blue eyes. He was handsome, in a classic way. The other figure was Fate, her curvaceous body giving away her identity even if she hadn’t pulled back her hood.

“This is the one?” he asked.

“Yes, the Capala young lord.” Fate nodded.

“Stay quiet, keep close, don’t be trouble,” he gruffly told me. “Just being able to tag along is privilege enough for someone your level.”

I smiled back. “So I’ve heard.”