Reborn As A Maid

Chapter 84: Chapter 84 - The White Hunter ( Part 2 )

The Frontier Road was never truly safe.

Not even in the bright afternoon sunshine.

The merchant caravan slowly moved through the valley enclosed with high cliffs.

Six carts.

Almost thirty merchants.

A few guards.

Kids were laughing sitting atop the goods, oblivious to the danger lying within the forest.

The leader of the caravan, a middle-aged merchant named Gareth, wiped sweat from his forehead.

"If we pass through this valley before sunset, we’ll reach Eastwind Town."

The guards nodded.

Everything was fine.

Until...

ROOOOOAR!!

The ground shook violently.

Birds started flying.

Second roar followed.

Third roar answered.

All the faces were no longer smiling.

The scout ran towards the caravan.

"P-Pack Leader!"

"Monsters!"

"An entire pack!"

"What kind?"

Scout’s face was pale.

"...Dire Wolves."

Before anyone could react...

Dozens of big wolves jumped out of the forest.

Their scarlet eyes burning with hunger.

Their black furs radiating mana.

Thirty...

Forty...

Almost fifty monsters surrounding the caravan.

Guards drew their swords instinctively.

Single glance was enough.

Everyone realized it.

There were too many.

The guard whispered.

"...We’re dead."

The mother quickly held her daughter in her arms.

Girl was trembling.

"M-Mom..."

"I’m scared."

Mother embraced her daughter despite trembling hands.

"It’s alright."

Although...

She didn’t believe those words anymore.

Alpha Wolf stepped forward.

It gave a thundering howl.

The pack attacked.

The ground shook from dozens of running paws.

The distance between the monsters and the merchants was getting smaller.

Fifty meters.

Forty.

Thirty.

Guards were ready for their last stand.

Then...

White breeze blew through the battle field.

Nobody knew where it came from.

Nobody heard steps of someone approaching.

Only...

A flash of white.

Silver-haired girl appeared between the caravan and the attacking wolves.

She wore white travel cloak.

One hand holding an ordinary-looking sword.

Her expression was peaceful.

The Alpha Wolf attacked first.

Its mouth was opened wide enough to bite the rocks.

Jennie slowly closed her eyes.

She breathed once.

"...Swordsmanship is not about going faster."

"It is about moving only when it’s necessary."

Her fingers squeezed the hilt of the blade.

Draw.

The sound was barely audible.

The silvery line crossed the battle field.

Jennie disappeared.

For merchants...

She just disappeared.

Wolves were running.

One beat of the heart.

Two.

Three.

Jennie reappeared several meters behind the pack.

Her sword returned to the scabbard with soft click.

Silence.

Wolves were standing motionless.

Confusing growling.

Then...

First one after another...

Thin crimson lines appeared on the bodies of every monster.

Alpha Wolf collapsed first.

Then other.

Then other.

In just a few seconds...

All Dire Wolves fell motionlessly onto the ground.

Without taking even a single step.

Without a waste of a single strike.

Every stroke was perfect.

Valley became silent.

Wind was blowing.

Jennie slowly turned to the shocked caravan.

She smiled gently.

"...Are you all alright?"

Nobody responded.

One merchant put down his sword.

Another was wiping his eyes.

Guard whispered.

"...Did anyone..."

"...see her move?"

Everybody shook their heads slowly.

The kid hiding behind her mother took one step forward.

She was staring at Jennie with wide, shining eyes.

"Miss..."

Jennie squatted so their eyes met.

"Yes?"

She was hesitating.

Then asked with absolute innocence.

"...Are you an angel?"

For a moment...

Jennie just blinked.

Then she laughed softly.

This laugh was sincere.

"No."

She shook her head.

"I’m just a hunter."

Girl smiled happily.

"I want to become a hunter like you someday."

Jennie gently touched her hair.

"Then become a protector of others."

"Strength comes after kindness."

Kid nodded with all her force.

"I will!"

Before the merchants thanked her...

Jennie turned around and left.

"Wait!"

Gareth rushed to catch her.

"Please!"

"At least accept our reward!"

Jennie stopped but didn’t turn around.

"I don’t need any reward."

"You saved our lives!"

She smiled slightly.

"Then..."

"Live happily."

"That’s enough."

With these words...

The mysterious swordswoman disappeared into the forest.

Merchants were standing in shock.

Only after she was completely gone...

One merchant spoke.

"...Who was she?"

Nobody knew.

A week later...

This story spread to the nearest town.

Every witness was describing her differently.

"The White Hunter."

"No..."

"The White Flash."

"I heard she was looking like a silver ghost."

"My cousin named her Wandering Saint."

"They say she wears white clothes."

"Hunter in White."

The stories were becoming bigger with each telling.

Some witnesses claimed that she was slaying hundreds of monsters.

Some said she was flying through the air.

Other witnesses claimed that she was spirit sent by gods.

There was only one detail which remained the same.

She didn’t accept any reward.

She didn’t stay.

She always disappeared before anyone could thank her.

Finally...

One name united every rumors.

The White Hunter.

Raven.

Weeks went by.

Hunter Guild branches on the frontier started exchanging reports.

In the Eastern Regional Hunter Headquarters, piles of papers were covering the big wooden table.

Guild official was frowning while sorting those documents.

"Another anonymous rescue?"

His assistant nodded.

"Same description."

"No reward accepted."

"No permanent party."

"No registered residence."

"No known family."

"Always disappears before witnesses could identify her."

Official opened another report.

Village protected from the monsters.

Signed.

Hunter name: Raven.

Next report.

Caravan rescued.

Signed.

Hunter name: Raven.

Another.

Ancient Crimson Fang Bear eliminated.

Signed.

Hunter name: Raven.

Bandit camp destroyed.

Hostages rescued.

Signed.

Hunter name: Raven.

Room became silent.

Guild Master slowly picked up these reports.

Thoughtful smile appeared on his weathered face.

"...Interesting."

He looked at the map of the continent hanging on the wall.

Each event was forming a path leading steadily to the north.

"A hunter without the desire for the fame..."

"No greed..."

"No ambition..."

"...Only results."

He carefully placed those reports in a separate folder.

On the cover he wrote single name.

RAVEN

"I’d like to meet this White Hunter someday."

Far away...

Jennie kept walking under the orange glow of the sunset.

The path in front of her was endless.

She didn’t know that the guilds all over the frontier have already started investigating the mysterious hunter named Raven.

She was just walking.

Step after step.

Eveing breeze carried smell of the wildflowers.

Jennie smiled gently while looking at the southern horizon.

Where the Kingdom of Seraiya was laying beyond countless mountains.

"I hope..."

Her voice was barely louder than the wind.

"...they are still smiling."

She adjusted her white cloak on her shoulders and continued to walk.

Behind her...

The legend was quietly born.

Not the legend about the Sword King Leonis.

Not about forgotten Jennie.

But about the traveler who appears whenever there is a hope.

More and more people all over the continent started to murmur single name.

The White Hunter... Raven.

On the following morning, the caravan reached Eastwind Town, all members having survived without any casualties.

When the massive wooden gates creaked open, the guards on duty instantly saw something unusual.

"...You’re back already?"

Captain Gareth got off his wagon tiredly.

"We are lucky to be alive."

The gate captain frowned.

"What happened?"

One of the guards quickly answered Gareth’s question.

"We were surrounded."

"Nearly fifty Dire Wolves."

The captain’s face hardened.

"It’s impossible."

"No caravan survives that."

Another merchant instantly interrupted.

"We didn’t."

"...She saved us."

"She?"

Everyone started talking at once.

"A girl in a white cloak!"

"She appeared out of nowhere!"

"I swear, she vanished after drawing her sword just once!"

"No, she was moving too fast for your eyes!"

"It was only one blow!"

"There were dozens of blows!"

The gate captain raised his hands.

"That’s enough!"

"One by one."

The merchants looked at each other.

And only then...

They understood that no one of them was able to describe what they had just seen.

An old trader scratched his beard.

"I saw everything that happened in that fight..."

"...still, I am sure, I have never seen her striking."

A veteran guard nodded.

"I have been fighting monsters for twenty years."

"I have never seen swordsmanship like that."

"It wasn’t fancy."

"There wasn’t a single wasted move."

"It was..."

He searched for the words.

"...it was beautiful."

Those around him fell silent.

Beautiful.

It was the perfect word to describe what had happened.

Jennie’s sword had not been fueled by anger.

Neither pride. freewёbnoνel.com

Everything she did was calm.

Exact.

It almost looked elegant.

As though she knew those steps for tens of thousands of times.

The gate captain quietly looked up to the northern road.

"A White Hunter..."

He muttered.

"I will remember that."

Several days later...

This story already was known much further than Eastwind Town.

In a noisy tavern full of hunters, people happily shared stories while drinking their beer.

"I heard she defeated fifty Dire Wolves."

Another hunter sneered.

"Fifty?"

"My cousin told me it was a hundred."

A dwarf blacksmith chuckled.

"By next week, she will be battling dragons."

Laughter echoed in the tavern.

But the only old hunter who was retiring at the corner remained silent.

He quietly sipped his tea.

"You children are laughing..."

"...because you’ve never met a real Master."

Everyone looked at him.

The old hunter continued.

"When I was younger..."

"I saw how the captain of the Royal Sword Corps defeated six bandits before we even saw him drawing his sword."

He put his cup down.

"If this White Hunter really defeated dozens of monsters with only one draw of her sword..." fɾeeweɓnѳveɭ.com

"...then her swordsmanship has already surpassed anything I’ve seen in my whole life."

Laughter instantly died out.

Not even the noisiest hunter stayed silent anymore.

One young adventurer whispered,

"...Who is she?"

The old hunter smiled.

"I don’t know."

"But if these stories are real..."

"...this continent has gained someone extraordinary."

Meanwhile, Jennie knew nothing about all this excitement.

She was walking on the riverside road, humming some songs.

She spent her morning fixing the fence of a farmer, whose field was trampled by wild boars.

Of course...

She refused any payment.

The farmer insisted to give her at least some fresh bread for her trip.

Jennie took only because to say no to that old man meant to make him sad.

Now she was sitting under the willow tree and splitting the hot loaf of bread in half.

She smiled.

"This smells wonderful."

Excalibur chuckled.

"You became very easily pleased."

Jennie laughed.

"I learned that simplicity makes people happy."

She looked at the clear river running along the road.

A thousand years ago...

Leonis celebrated his victories with grand feasts organized by the kings.

And now...

A loaf of fresh bread under the willow tree smelled even better.

She took another bite.

"...I think Dad would have liked this."

It made her smile.

Then...

Her smile grew soft.

"I wonder if he is still cooking breakfast every morning..."

The warm breeze answered to her instead.

Jennie closed her eyes.

"I hope..."

"...that everyone is alright."

She rose, wiped the crumbs of her cloak and continued her journey.

Without knowing it...

Somewhere high above the clouds...

A white feather was drifting freely through the sky.

The Goddess Miasa looked at the lonely girl who was walking along the endless road.

Soft smile came to her lips.

"You chose loneliness..."

"...so that others could keep their happiness."

Her eyes showed admiration.

"Leonis..."

"No..."

She gently corrected herself.

"Jennie."

"I hope this journey brings you the life which you haven’t been allowed to have."

And in some other unfortunate place, hidden under old ruins and buried under snow and darkness...

A pair of light blue eyes began to open.

Different from the vile eyes of the demon generals...

In fact, these eyes belonged to something older.

Something wild.

A loud growl reverberated in the frozen cave.

"...Leonis..."

The ancient creature slowly got up on its feet.

"...You are still alive."

The Divine Wolf rose again.