A Girl Alone Gets No Respect

Ahead of winter's cold snap, massive herds of Water Sheep passed near town.

Hunt as many as possible. Stockpile pelts and meat for the coming cold.

That was the simple overview of this emergency joint quest, the sheep hunt.

Apparently it was a well-known annual event. Adventurers traveled from other towns just for this, and the gathering point outside the walls was packed.

Azu had been working solo since day one with minimal experience under her belt. She'd never seen this many adventurers in one place.

While she was gawking, a grizzled-looking man let out a short laugh.

"Looking around like that, girlie. First time at one of these?"

"Yes. There are so many people."

"Course there are. Setting top-rankers aside, it's good money for anyone up to mid-rank."

"I was hoping to take down at least a few, but it sounds like there's going to be competition."

Azu's words earned another chuckle from the man.

"Relax about that. Sure, there's enough people here for an emergency call, but nobody's above mid-rank at best, so…"

He shifted his gaze and motioned for Azu to look too.

Dust was rising from beyond the horizon.

A tide of blue fur blanketed the earth.

"Looks like the first wave just arrived. Nobody's hunting all of them. Stay safe, girlie."

With that, the man gathered his party and headed out.

Seeing the experienced adventurers charge in, Azu drew her sword. It had begun.

When the lead adventurers tried to slash at the flanks of the herd, the sheep bleated loudly, conjuring spheres of water above their heads and launching them at the attackers.

The seasoned hands deflected the water spheres and carved into the flock.

But the less experienced ones who didn't know about the magic took direct hits and went flying.

Just as Master had warned her. Azu dodged a water sphere and landed a clean hit with her sword.

Water Sheep. Monsters that used water magic.

More aggressive than they looked, and ravenous.

They passed near town because they'd eaten every blade of grass along their migration path.

Azu's improved strength was real, but cutting through the wool wasn't enough to finish one off.

A follow-up thrust did the job.

She had to haul each kill to where the officials were stationed. As a solo, she had no choice but to leave the front lines and carry each one herself.

If Master had seen that, he'd have been pulling his hair out over the wasted time.

It was a struggle, but Azu dragged her kills to the designated area.

She hurried back to find the first wave had passed and the second was coming.

Some adventurers were already down.

The water spheres packed more punch than expected, enough to break bones.

Some adventurers had apparently gotten in front of the herd and been trampled flat, looking like tattered rags.

Even from behind, the first wave's numbers hadn't shrunk much. So even with this many people, hunting them all was out of the question.

Azu charged in again and again. In the end, she managed to bring down six.

She saw the mid-rank adventurers pulling back and decided it was time for her too.

Dragging her sixth sheep toward the collection point, she spotted several adventurers closing in on her previous kills.

The officials said nothing.

"Back off. Those are mine."

Azu hadn't come here to play games. Results determined everything in her life. She had to bring back as much as possible.

"Hey now, girlie. You really take all these down yourself? Bet you swiped 'em off someone else."

The roughest of the bunch got in her face.

She looked at the officials. They weren't getting involved. Useless.

"I killed them and I carried them here. Let me say it one more time. These are my kills, not yours."

The sound of someone clicking their tongue.

They clearly weren't taking her seriously.

Azu felt her anger beginning to simmer.

A handful of ruffians who'd come in a group and couldn't even hunt properly. More thugs than adventurers. And now they wanted to steal someone else's work.

The kind of people Azu hated most.

Her hand moved to her sword.

The men saw this and, deciding intimidation wouldn't work, readied their own weapons.

Fighting between adventurers was technically forbidden, but not exactly rare.

Kill or be killed. Azu understood the fate of the weak all too well.

That was why she wouldn't yield. She moved to draw her sword, but someone stepped out from behind the ruffians and sent them sprawling with a punch.

While Azu stood stunned at the sudden turn of events, the ruffians, equally caught off guard, went down one after another.

The man who'd flattened them silenced their protests with a single glare. Completely different league.

The man dusted off his hands with exaggerated flair.

It was the veteran adventurer who'd spoken to Azu earlier.

"Pathetic lot. Can't even tell the girlie would've mopped the floor with them. Isn't that right, girlie?"

"Thank you so much. You really saved me."

"Don't mention it. Scum like that pop up every hunt. Saw what was happening and figured I'd lend a hand."

The man threw a look at the officials. They hastily looked away.

"Once things turn bloody, it gets messy. I'm sure you've got your reasons for going solo, but watch yourself."

"I will. Next time, I'll do the punching myself!"

"Ha! That's the spirit! You'll go far, girlie. See you around."

"Wait, please. Let me thank you properly… Here, have a drink on me."

Azu pressed one of her few silver coins into the man's hand.

Master had given her pocket money for emergencies.

The man tried to refuse, but something about the look on Azu's face changed his mind.

He turned away, waving the hand with the silver coin over his shoulder as he walked off.

Azu bowed deeply.

Master was supposed to come with a cart before evening to collect the sheep, so she'd guard her kills until then. The officials couldn't be relied on. In fact, they'd already left.

Step away, and they'd be stolen for sure. Self-reliance was the rule, but still, what a terrible system.

The herds were still migrating.

In the end, only the large-scale parties stuck around, hunting relentlessly.

That looked profitable, Azu thought.