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“And that’s why you came here?”

“Yes.” I answered straight forward.

“In the middle of the night?”

“Y-Yes.”

“Do you know what time it is?”

I shook my head.

“You know we’re closed, right?”

“I see that…”

“Sigh… come in.”

I follow behind Rachael as she leads me to the main dining hall of her restaurant.

I was really hungry when I left my room, I was hoping that at least one of the shops would be open, but who would’ve thought that not only were all the shops closed, but those that weren’t, were out of food.

Eventually though, wandering I ended up at her place before I knew it.

And no, I’m not shameless enough to barge in after they were closed, it is just that the lights were still on when I came, so I walked in only to see Rachael’s parent’s cleaning up and a tired and still bandaged Rachael sitting on one of the tables drinking some beverage. I don’t know what it was but it looked warm and the sweet smell also reached me.

She was really surprised to see me hence the questions.

Her parents were really surprised to see me too, but they immediately recognized me as their daughter’s friend.

After Rachael walked me in, her mother went to the kitchen and started re-heating the leftovers, thankfully there was still some left.

Still, I feel really guilty…

Growl…

But my stomach was more honest than I was.

They didn’t take long and very soon I was greeted with an aroma so enticing I felt like I was tasting the dish without it even seeing it.

“Brawler Stew, our other specialty.”

Brawler?

“We were donated quite a few of them as long as we were going to feed the people cleaning this side of town for no cost.”

So that’s it, no wonder this side of town already looks clean. With this quality of food waiting for me, even I would work hard.

“It smells delicious. Thank you very much!”

With a smile on her face she went back to what she was doing leaving only me and Rachael on the table.

Without waiting another second, I took a big piece of meat and bit in. This stew had to be one of the most delicious things I’ve ever eaten here. I didn’t know brawlers were this delicious.

“So you woke up just now?”

“Y-yeah, kind of.”

She didn’t actually look like she was angry so that was good.

I ate in silence for some time while she too was sipping on her cup, which I now know is filled with some kind of tea. I don’t know if tea is the same thing here as it was on earth, but I’d like to find out.

I was curious about something else too.

“What is going to happen to the town now?”

She looked confused by my question.

“I mean, it took a lot of damage and a few businesses were affected, so that’s why I was asking…”

She still looked confused with her arm rested on the table thinking deeply, but after a second she finally got it.

“Ah, I see what you mean. You probably don’t know but don’t worry, the town is going to be fine.”

She said with a smile.

“How?”

“You see, although a swarm is considered dangerous, which it is, it is also a very profitable event.”

I probably had a very confused expression on my face, so she continued.

“Think about it, a lot of volunteer requests mainly focus on what?”

“…Hunting?”

“Exactly.” She leaned forwards a little and continued.

“With this many monsters and beasts attacking the town all at once, although the damage was too much, the profits will be the same. The snow pikes and brawlers that attacked from the south, their blood helps create anaesthetics and Brawlers are known delicacies, and also can’t forget the clingers, they’re small and like to hunt unnoticed, but their claws are really sharp, so they’re used for both tools and a few pastes and pills. And all of this is only in the south gate.”

She looked really excited telling me all of this. Well her mother is a hunter, so she’ll have similar traits as well, I guess. I also listened intently while she was talking.

Although she said ‘only’, it probably helps with the fact that the size of this swarm was three times more than what is considered normal. I can only imagine the profit.

She also told me about the other gates and their monsters as well.

The west gate, where the Nagas attacked. Their skin is used in making armour and many other accessories.

Similarly the golems in the west are useful as fertilizers or something. Apparently when a golem is defeated it crumbles down to dust which can then be mixed into the soil.

Lastly comes the trolls on our side. The troll king that Rosalie defeated was very high levelled, so his blood and flesh would be used for making restorative medicine. While the queens and the other smaller trolls have very corrosive blood useful in making poisons and such so none of it is going to waste.

These people really know how to use monsters well…

That is to be expected though, there are monsters here, and they are treated as a part of nature. So they’ve learned to live with it as it was normal.

“Also, in about two weeks’ time, the Swarm Festival will begin.”

?

“Swarm festival is exactly what it sounds like. It happens after every swarm. And since a swarm doesn’t happen very often, the festival is waited upon even more.”

I guess that makes sense. Although a swarm is very dangerous, it can bring with it many benefits as well. And the people here choose to take it positively, I guess.

“So the preparations will start soon?”

I asked finishing up the stew.

“Yeah in about a week, after the forests have been cleaned up. We don’t want the other dangerous creatures coming over by the smell. So while we do like to avoid something like that, the hunting teams will likely patrol the area for this month.”

Yeah, the area around the town is the least dangerous and it must take a lot of effort in keeping it that way. The farther away you go from town the more dangerous it becomes.

“What actually happens during the festival? Are there like stalls or something?”

“Yeah, something like that. The monster parts would be set up on stalls by the union and the profits from selling them would be divided by contribution amongst the people who participated in the swarm. There will also be a big bonfire lit at the centre of the town in respect of those who fell during this fight.”

The festival becomes more interesting the more I hear about it. I guess it’s time I experience something good in this new world for a change.

I thanked Rachael and her family for the food and left with both satisfaction and a full belly.