I have managed to check a lot of things from my bucket list of things that I want to achieve as soon as I retired from adventuring.
Farming? Done
Building a house? Almost done, the carpenter have finally finished the frame for the flooring, walls, and roofing.
For now there is one thing that I want to also do because I miss the taste of meat, and that is hunting.
To hunt is to take the life of another animal, only taking what you need is what considered ethical for hunters. Hunters by definition are people that would hunt their game in order to provide food for their group or for themselves.
It is just funny to think that there are some people who are against this, as if the did not know that hunting for food played quite the development for our civilization.
Having another means to provide food to you or to others is what is important, because hunting questions "why not just eat the stuff that you grow in your lands?".
[.....] I crouched down and slowly tread over the tall grass, stalking something in the distance.
At my hands, a bow and arrow in place of a sword. In short, I am on a hunt for a meal.
Farming can provide people a lot of food, but it is not always the case. A lot of bad stuff can happen such as famine which are caused by a lot of factors. Pestilence, diseases, drought and etc..
Hence, people back then who could hunt did so and they survived those calamities. The only problem is that hunting takes patience as well as distance you have to cover in order to find or stalk something....for example a monster.
*Grunt*
Just ahead of me in the bushes, I could see bristles of hair moving. The sound and squeak they emitted tells me that they are boars, huge huge boars. It also smells like a barn.
I looked at the mass of one of them and surmised that the biggest individual can probably feed an entire village. That is....
If I can take it down without me being ganged by them.
The city where I have been from rarely had boars in it's vicinity since they usually avoid the human populace, but that is not the case for the countryside.
Huge monsters with tusks the length of spears, a body the size of a small horse drawn cart. One could see why many villagers are hesitant of trying to shoo this away.
Boars would raid the fields of farmers in search for something tasty to eat like roots, low hanging fruits, or just grains. Their huge build suggests they eat a lot too, and so is the loss for the farmers.
And so while the boars are busy with their foraging activities, I put one arrow at my bow and aimed it.
As an adventurer that mainly focuses on sword,it is hard to use a bow especially if you are not used to it. The one I have is a recurved hunting bow, and and the draw is quite heavy.
I aimed my bow at the biggest boar and fired an arrow to its heart.
*FWIP!*
The shot whizzed as an arrow pierced the air before hitting the boar in it's intended target.
[Gyiiiii!!!?????!!!!] (??)
The bow that I used was the parting gift from the archer of our party. It is an elven bow, just a low quality one but it can do more than that.
It is a fine piece of equipment shown with it's intricate carvings around the bow showing the craftsman's skills.
Anyway enough of the weapon stuff...
Is it cruel? Yes, just a bit. But it is needed because people have to eat, and the farmers will continue to suffer if the boar populace would not be slowly culled over time.
The boar did not struggled too much and it fell to the ground, it's group however scampered to the east to escape. The great forest is in the east, and it is where these monsters usually would hide because of the thick foliage around there.
I could still see Bert's house from here.
[Haaah. With this, I have secured some meat for myself.] I also meant to give some to my neighbors as thanks for taking care of me during my first few days.
Dragging the beast back, however, was another matter entirely.
[…This thing is heavier than I thought.]
Even with my strength, hauling a full-grown boar through uneven terrain was like dragging a stubborn boulder that squealed and moved once.
I really wanted to use the magic bag for this, but I don't wanna expose that I am once an S rank adventurer.
S rank adventurers after all are provided their own magic bag that had a massive storage space with the guild seal to show their ownership and mine has that. I do not want past identity be exposed and be under the attention of troublesome people.
[Haist] I dug my own grave on this one.
Well, that means I will just have to inconveniently carry this one for now.
By the time I reached the edge of the village near Bert's farm, I was sweating more than when I fought monsters in dungeons.
I could see the old couple slowly come to view, they're probably curious about what I am carrying.
The old couple sure had perfect timing. Hilda stood there with a basket filled with herbs and spices grown at their lot, and Bert had harvested fresh vegetables.
Then Manna.....well....she's there?
[Boar.] I could only say one word as my breath tries to catch up.
[Sonny, you didn't… go and pick a fight with the entire herd, did you?] (Bert)
[No, just this one. The rest ran back into the forest.]
Bert whistled low, impressed with the boar's impressive size.
[Hoh… that's a fine catch. Haven't had fresh boar meat in years.]
Right beside him, Manna appeared out of nowhere again—like some kind of nosy spirit summoned by the words "free food."
[Wait, you actually hunted that thing? Alone? With that tiny bow?] (Manna)
[Tiny bow?] Oh right. ..
With my height, this weapon looks tiny but in the original owner's hand it was probably just right.
She squatted by the boar, poking its hide with a stick.
[It's huge… we could make so much jerky out of this!] (Manna)
[Or stew.] (Hilda)
[Or roast!] (Bert)
I sighed.
[Or maybe I was planning to share it equally among neighbors, not host a feast right away.]
[Ohhh, come on! Don't be stingy, you owe us a celebration for helping you with your field.] (Manna)
[I don't owe you anything. You didn't even help—you just stood around criticizing me]
She grinned smugly. [Exactly. That takes effort too.]
I rubbed my temples. This brat is going to be the death of me. Still… as I looked at the three of them bickering over how to cook the boar, I felt a faint warmth in my chest.
I wasn't just farming, or hunting, or building a house. I was becoming part of this place—this village, these people.
[Alright, fine. We'll roast some of it tonight. But the rest, I'll be preserving for later.]
[Wooo!] (Manna)
[Hoh-hoh, finally some proper meat!] (Bert)
[My kitchen is ready whenever you are.] (Hilda)
And just like that, my first hunt ended not with silence or solitude, but with the promise of a noisy dinner.
Well… what a good way to start my hunting life.