The receptionist picked it up, examining it with a serious expression.
“It’s real... Not a fake like a narwhal horn...”
Narwhals were marine creatures with long, straight “horns”...which were actually tusks. They also existed on Earth; in both worlds, their tusks were often passed off as a certain something...
“A unicorn horn...”
The receptionist’s voice came out louder than intended from the shock, loud enough to reach the hunters in the dining area. There was a clamor of chairs falling backward and tables getting jostled as hunters jolted into a half-standing position.
“A unicorn horn?!” they said in disbelief.
Their reaction was understandable; a unicorn horn was prized as an antidote or cure-all, and was something nobles, royals, and rich merchants were willing to pay fortunes for...though its effects were placebo level, and it wasn’t the magical panacea it was thought to be. That didn’t matter to sellers, though—if buyers wanted it and it was genuine, there was no shame in selling what was in demand, especially for something that was so hard to get. Unicorns had been overhunted for their horns, massively cutting down their already small numbers. They were no longer seen anywhere near human settlements, and getting one meant venturing into uncharted wilderness—in other words, monster dens that humans avoided for good reason.
The silence was thick in the air. The girl couldn’t have been older than fifteen or sixteen. Judging by her build and the way she carried herself, she had to be a complete amateur when it came to combat, and she was traveling solo. There was no way she could have even gotten near a unicorn’s habitat, let alone hunted one. That meant she had to have obtained it from another source, and if she had one, there were probably more. No one would enter an area like that and leave after hunting just one. Locations such as the Forest of Evil, Forest of No Return, Death’s Peaks, and Demon’s Gorge had other rare monsters, herbs, and ores too.
“We need to see the guild master. Karen, report to the guild master!”
“R-Right away!”
A young woman ran off at the receptionist’s order, probably to brief the guild master about what was happening. They couldn’t just bring Can in out of nowhere, after all.
There was a heavy silence again as the hunters and guild staff locked their eyes on Can.
“What?! A unicorn horn was turned in?!” the guild master shouted with a look of shock and stupefaction. “That job was requested by a hopeless noble who’d pay anything to cure his daughter’s illness! Sure, it’s a delivery job, so anyone could buy it instead of hunting it themselves, but anyone who got their hands on one would auction it off for a fortune or gift it to the king for a barony! Who in their right mind would bring it to the guild?”
The guild master was still reeling from the news the young staff member Karen had shouted after banging on his door and barging in without waiting for permission to enter.
“How in the world should I know?!” Karen asked. “Anyway, Loreia is bringing her now...with the horn!”
Karen had said her piece. Normally, she’d return to her post, but she shuffled into a corner and stood there silently for some reason. Clearly, she was dying to hear how this hunter had gotten a unicorn horn and planned to stay. Guild staff were extremely strict when it came to secrecy, so she wouldn’t leak anything she heard there. The guild master let it slide...or rather, his mind was racing too much to even pay her any notice. And before he could even process the shocking news, there was a knock at the door.
“Excuse me, but there’s something I’d like to report. I’ve brought a hunter with me,” a voice said at the door.
“C-Come in!”
As the guild master tried to regain composure and maintain an air of authority, Loreia, the receptionist, entered with a young girl who barely seemed to be an adult. Loreia glanced at Karen in the corner, but seeing that the guild master hadn’t dismissed her, proceeded with her report.
“The long-standing request from Earl Vorrel’s household—which is open to multiple takers, has no penalty for failure, and can be fulfilled by delivering the item after obtaining it—has been completed. An adult unicorn horn in pristine condition, top-grade.”
The guild master thought he was prepared, but he found himself speechless. The hunter girl pulled the horn from her bag again, gently placing it on the guild master’s desk. He stared at it wordlessly for what felt like forever, then grabbed a magnifying glass, inspecting the horn closely.
“Impossible...” he breathed, setting the glass down with a trembling hand. He looked at the hunter who had brought it in.
“Wait, aren’t you that rookie from the countryside...?”
“Yes, I’m Candida, C-rank. Like most hunters, I go by a nickname, Can. Pleased to meet you.”
Her polite speech, lack of accent, and likeable demeanor jogged the guild master’s memory, and he remembered the name and profile mentioned in a recent report. His face paled.
“The Ang...f-free priestess’s bodyguard...” His shock was obvious.
“Oh, yes. I accepted that job with another hunter,” Can replied. “But since the client ended up with two guards when she intended to hire one, we were told we could take other jobs occasionally...”
Taking on simple tasks on the side while working a job wasn’t exactly rare, but delivering a unicorn horn wasn’t something one did as a quick side gig. If she had hunted it herself, she would have had to trek to some absurdly remote and dangerous place. Even if she had purchased it, she still would have needed to go to some far-off land to shell out a fortune only filthy-rich high nobles could afford. And beyond the cost, a commoner couldn’t just walk right in and buy something like that. Such items were only available at exclusive high-end auctions and special shops where royals and high-ranking nobles got direct offers, or they were typically gifted to the king. There was no way a rookie hunter could get their hands on one.
But none of that mattered anymore. The disbelief and questions about a young female hunter having such an item had long since vanished, along with petty ambitions of prying info from her for personal gain. If she was connected with her, there was no need to wonder why this item was here. If the Goddess gave it to someone she cherished, there was no difference whether it was a giant gemstone or a unicorn horn. And this wasn’t some keepsake given to be treasured, but likely meant to be sold for charity. So, she must have ordered her guard to cash it in...
They must have accepted this job because unicorn horn requests typically didn’t have a deadline in most guild branches. Submitting it as a request fulfillment probably seemed more natural than just selling it outright...
A kid takes on such a request alone and delivers a unicorn horn days later... There’s nothing “natural” about it!
The guild master’s inner scream was one nearly every guild member would agree with.
“Uh, um, er...”
“It’s Can,” she said, figuring the guild master was struggling to recall her name. Forgetting a name he’d just heard was rude, but it would have been cruel to rebuke the rattled guild master in his current state of shock.
“Y-Yes, Miss...Can. I appreciate you completing this long-standing, high-difficulty request. Keep up the good work!” the guild master said shakily. “Oh, but your current guard duty for the free priestess comes first! Ha ha!”
“Oh, thank you. I’ll do my best...” she replied. She found the man’s strained, forced laugh a bit odd but didn’t think much of it.
I thought I was called in here because I was gonna get grilled. I guess they just wanted to encourage a newbie who pulled off a tough job. His stern face had me a bit on edge, but he’s surprisingly nice. Things should go smoothly moving forward...
Those were Can’s thoughts, but that wasn’t the case at all.
Loreia, the receptionist who’d escorted Can, and Karen, the junior staff member who’d reported to the guild master and stuck around to eavesdrop, stared in confusion. Normally, the hunter would have been questioned relentlessly about where and how she’d gotten the unicorn horn. Forcing a hunter to answer was against the rules, but exceptions applied if the guild master deemed it necessary. A grizzled veteran hunter might not have had a problem stonewalling them, but a fifteen- or sixteen-year-old kid, even one lucky enough to get a unicorn horn, should have cracked easily under a bit of pressure. So, the receptionists had expected the guild master to press her for answers.
A unicorn horn delivery was big news—a serious incident. The client, other nobles, royals, rich folks, and gold-hungry hunters would flood the guild and this girl with questions. Asking questions now was crucial to prevent chaos and to protect the girl. That was why Karen had stayed, so she could find out the details herself. The girl was bound to be targeted by influential people and other hunters. They would want to know if she had more unicorn horns or other rare materials, and would do whatever it took to make her talk or to force her to join their party.
As the guild branch that had processed the request, they had a duty to protect her from such threats...yet the guild master had abruptly changed his demeanor, even showing deference to her as if she were a royal inspector, acting oddly nervous and evasive. He showed no sign of asking the obvious questions, which was clearly odd. The staff members knew the capital’s guild branch leader wasn’t incompetent or corrupt, so they couldn’t help but wonder what was going on.
Their confusion was understandable, but it came down to who knew the top secret info from the royal palace and who didn’t. The ultra-sensitive and classified report the guild master had gotten was about the new Angel’s arrival and her stay in the kingdom. Meddling was strictly forbidden, and all subordinates and allies were to practice utmost caution to avoid harassing, provoking, harming, or displeasing the Angel. This secret was to be prioritized even over his own life. Having received such an order directly from His Majesty, the guild master couldn’t possibly question a person who was clearly acting on her instructions.
“I’ll be taking my leave now,” Can said, then exited the guild master’s office.
“Y-Yes, good work...” he mumbled.
Loreia and Karen gaped as she left the unicorn horn on the guild master’s desk and walked away.
“What are you staring at?! Loreia, handle the delivery and completion paperwork for the request! Use a private room—limit the spread of this information as much as possible! Go!” the guild master ordered.
“Y-Yes, sir!”
Loreia bolted, turning pale as she remembered shouting “unicorn horn” at the counter, causing a buzz among all of the hunters who had heard her.
“Karen, bring the most reliable, skilled party in the guild, immediately! Don’t explain, just tell them the guild master is calling. Go!”
“Yes, sir!”
Karen rushed after Loreia, realizing the guild master’s judgment hadn’t lapsed; there was clearly a reason for his odd behavior earlier.