Chapter 21: Platinum Feathers (Part one)

“I'm looking for 'platinum feathers.”

It refers to a material that attracts many women because it shimmers like polished sterling silver.

In addition, it’s basically only a cash item.

When it’s processed into equipment, it doesn’t have any special effects.

But the wolfman was astonished when he heard about it.

“When you say platinum feathers, do you mean the feathers that White Hawk rarely grows?”

“Ah, please don't say that too loud! For various reasons, I’m looking for it as secretly as possible!”

“I'm sorry....... But that feather isn’t something that can be obtained through hard work.”

The platinum feather is not a feather that every White hawk grows.

Monsters who are born with a lot of magic power ...... not necessarily meaning that they are unique monsters. If compared to other monsters or creatures, they are born with a large or small body, but platinum feathers are those that are rarely produced by such creatures.

“As you probably know, Hero-dono, you have to be really lucky to get one.”

The reason is that the platinum feather instantly turns into a normal feather as soon as the White Hawk with it is killed.

The reason is supposedly because the magic power is drained from the feather and it becomes a normal feather.

Also, even if it senses an enemy, it uses its magic power to escape, and thus becomes an ordinary feather in the same way.

So, as the werewolf muttered, it’s said that the method of obtaining platinum feathers is unknown.

...... Just in general.

(I've already conquered that point)

Ren knows how to obtain it.

First of all, the White Hawk must be in a full state of hunger, and furthermore, the White Hawk must be comatose without being awake.

Then, before it wakes up, the platinum feathers are borrowed while it’s still alive.

There’s no need to take its life.

(In the game era, I met White Hawk and also threw him food while I was still undetected. And then I fed him and put him in a coma.)

There are two ways to make him comatose, either by magic or by aiming at his head physically.

Also, the reason for not having a full stomach is that the magic in White hawk's body is more stable that way.

In addition to these assumptions, and due to the fact that White Hawks are basically hard-to-hunt monsters, there’s generally no known way to artificially obtain platinum feathers.

There’s no one who can find out how to obtain them.

For this reason, all of the items on the market were found by chance.

Perhaps they fell out by nature.　

“But why does Hero-dono want a platinum feather?”

“I want to use it as a gift. I looked for a place that already sold them, but alas, I couldn’t find one.”

“How about sending a letter to the merchants' association in the capital? I'm sure Hero-dono has plenty of money because of the steel-eating gargoyles, and I'm sure you can get them, even if they are a little expensive.”

"Haha ...... then it’s too late.”

After all, Licia's birthday is less than a month away.

It would take a long time to send a letter to the Imperial City, and that correspondence would take a long time to be able to buy it.

I can't regret the delay in taking action.

“A gift for the young lady?”

“---- something like that.”

To the werewolf, who smiled kindly, Ren replied shyly.

It may not be consistent to send a precious item like a platinum feather to someone who ...... initially you thought you should keep your distance from.

But strangely enough, the question never crossed Ren's mind.

I want her to be happy because I've gone to the trouble of giving it to her. And considering that it was a gift for the daughter of the lord who has been making efforts to restore the village, he didn’t want to send an inferior item.

The problem, however, was that the White Hawk didn’t appear very often.

I decided to look for it myself, but here comes the problem.

“You seem pretty sure of yourself. Do you have any leads?”’

“No, not at all.”

Ren replied blankly.

“I'd rather just start looking for a White hawk, so it's not all that difficult.”

“I see.... you're as active as ever.”

But---

“I don't know if you can get it, but I know where the White Hawk herd goes.”

The werewolf's mouth uttered the words he wanted more than anything else.

Hearing this, Ren leaned forward on the table.

“Ho! Is that true?”

“Yes... I'll show you on the map over there.”

He suggested going to the map by the bulletin board.

But Ren was eating.

The werewolf noticed this and said, "Later," but Ren couldn't stay and put the White hawk information first.

He rushed to the map posted on the wall, where he heard the story.

Apparently the pack would pass through the eastern forest before noon.

(I see. ......)

The location was another couple of hours back from the rift in the earth where we had visited the other day.

If I want to go there, I’ll have to leave Clausel earlier than usual to get there in time.

“I'd love to help with the hunt there, but I have to leave town for a while to take care of some requests myself. Soon after this.”

“The information you gave me is sufficient. But for a while?”

“Yes, that's right. Did you know that the Baldor Mountains are unusually cold?”

Ren nodded immediately.

“Baron Clausel has sent a request to the guild. We were asked by Baron Clausel to transport firewood and magical tools to the various villages.”

“I heard that it's going to be very cold this winter.”

“I’ve been an adventurer for a while myself, and I can tell you that this winter is going to be a tough one. Baron Clausel, who decided to move in the summer, is a fast worker after all.”

If the request is to prepare for that cold weather, I’d rather not ask for more help.

Ren thanked him once again and bowed to the werewolf.

(I’ll have to challenge myself from tomorrow.)

The werewolf is standing next to Ren, who is thinking about the future.

The man stared into Ren's eyes, probing for something behind them, and remained silent.

“I'm sorry. I have to go.”

“I'm sorry to have kept you waiting until just before your departure. Please be careful on the way.”

“Hahaha. I told you, I don’t really mind.”

---- Soon after he said this, he parted from Ren and left the guild.

He met up with his fellow adventurers and one of them checking the route for departure turned towards Clausel, as they were to leave in the evening.

"......The foolish kindness is even comical."

He muttered secretly, playing with the edges of his mouth.

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