Chapter 174: That Is Not What Luck Explains
The bombshell Walfred had just dropped.
Elma blinked her wide eyes.
As if chewing over what she’d actually heard. Then she tilted her head and asked again.
"What did you just say?"
"I said I’m Walfred."
"But you’re a frost attribute. Hunter Walfred is supposed to be fire or light..."
"That’s just people running their mouths on the Community."
Walfred answered flatly.
Because that was the truth of it.
Elma, however, gave a small snort of laughter.
"Please don’t joke around."
"Not joking."
"Come on. You expect me to believe a frost attribute took down the Frost Spirit King?"
She sighed.
Then she frowned and said,
"There has never been a single case of anyone killing a boss that shares their own attribute. You of all people should know that, so why would you lie about..."
Her eyebrows went up, like she was genuinely annoyed.
As if to say enough with the teasing.
So Walfred took off his necklace and handed it to her, to show her proof she couldn’t argue with.
"Check it yourself if you don’t believe me."
"What is this even supposed to... Huh!"
The moment she grumbled and took the necklace, Elma sucked in a sharp breath.
Because the item details told her it was the Necklace of the Frost Spirit King.
"Th-this is...!"
Her eyes went wider than words could describe.
Her face went past surprise and straight into shock.
She stood frozen like a statue for a long moment, then looked at Walfred with a trembling gaze.
"You really, y-you actually..."
"That’s right."
Walfred nodded.
Elma still looked at him with disbelief on her face. Unlike before, though, the expression was half disbelief and half sheer confusion.
"How does anyone kill a Boss Monster of their own attribute...?"
"I got lucky."
"No! That is not the kind of thing luck alone explains!"
"I said I got lucky."
You catching my meaning yet?
Walfred looked at her as if that were the question he was really asking.
There was a silent pressure behind those coldly settled eyes. Realizing he had no intention of answering, Elma promptly shut her mouth.
Then she turned to Gordon.
"Did you know about this?"
"I did. So did every other hunter here."
"Y-you’re serious...?"
She looked around at the others.
As if asking whether that could possibly be true. One by one, the Coral Cave hunters nodded.
"Yes, well, I mean..."
"He cut through hundreds of monsters alone and killed a Kraken like he was toying with it."
"When someone’s that strong, honestly the attribute stops mattering. It just made sense to us."
Now that she heard it laid out, it did add up.
She’d witnessed his abnormal strength up close herself. And on top of that, he was extraordinary enough to have tamed a young Frost Dragon.
It was only the attribute that had kept her from ever considering he might be Walfred.
’A frost attribute, of all things...’
In a world frozen over, it was the one attribute nobody welcomed.
And yet a frost attribute hunter had brought down the Frost Spirit King, the S-rank Boss Monster who stood at the pinnacle of that very attribute.
Alone, no less.
In that case...
"Do you think you could take down the White Whale too...?"
"Probably, yeah."
Meeting her careful question, Walfred nodded.
He had [Ice Shatter], the special skill granted through Elsa’s [Blessing of the Frost Dragon].
"R-really?!"
Hope flooded Elma’s eyes at his confirmation. She closed the distance in a single stride and grabbed his hand.
"Hunter Walfred!"
"What?"
"I’m asking you formally. Please, join us in the operation to take down the White Whale!"
She bowed her head as she pleaded.
Walfred looked at her without saying anything.
The truth was, he’d already made up his mind to go after the White Whale. Everything pointed to the thing being after Elsa.
’That said...’
Bluntly put, he had no intention of doing anyone favors for free. As Elma herself had said, he was the crucial piece of firepower in this operation.
So he was going to get something out of it.
"And what’s in this for me?"
"...Sorry?"
"I’m asking what I get out of it."
At his blunt demand, Elma’s expression went blank, as if the question had caught her completely off guard. It lasted only a second, and then she answered with an awkward smile.
"Would what I offered a moment ago not cover it? I believe I said I’d do anything you wanted..."
"That’s a separate matter."
"Separate how?"
"That was the payment for bringing Hunter Walfred here. Helping you kill the White Whale is a completely different job with nothing to do with it."
There was no dishonesty in his argument.
Elma had in fact said exactly that.
She seemed to catch up to it a beat late, wincing at her own wording.
"I, I did say that, but..."
What she’d meant had obviously assumed cooperation in the hunt. She just hadn’t spelled that condition out.
While she was still swallowing her dismay, Walfred held up two fingers.
"Twice."
"What?"
"Grant me two of my requests and I’ll help you kill the White Whale."
The price had doubled in an instant.
For a moment Elma felt her head go light, but she quickly recovered her composure. Then she nodded, her face resolute.
"...Understood."
She had no idea what he’d ask for, but if the hunt failed, none of it would matter anyway.
Besides, granting one wish or two amounted to much the same thing.
"What is it you want?"
The words had barely left her mouth before Walfred pointed at her finger.
"That ring."
The Gate Ring.
The ring that linked one gate to another.
He’d wanted it from the moment he first laid eyes on it, so he asked for it without hesitation. Elma answered without a moment’s thought.
"Yes. If it means we can kill the White Whale, I’ll hand it over right this second."
She pulled the ring off immediately and gave it to him.
Brisk, clean decisiveness.
Taking the ring, Walfred grinned, clearly liking her attitude. Elma faced him and spoke again.
"And the second thing you want..."
"I’ll save that for later."
Nothing came to mind at the moment.