Chapter 239: Butchering the Quilbear meat
Lys pushed open the door of the guild hall, the familiar smell of fresh ink and cut wood hitting him first. Midday light spilled in behind him and Selene, as they stepped inside. The front counter sat empty, no sign of Pell shuffling papers or calling out to new arrivals. Lys frowned and glanced at Selene. "He’s probably in the back. Let’s check."
Selene nodded, adjusting a stack of notes she brought with her from their library session under her arm. They moved past the main area, boots echoing on the floor, and followed the low sounds of people speaking and slicing sounds of meat coming from the rear room next to the training yard.
With a small streak of sweet falling down his cheek, Lys slid the heavy cloth cover aside and stepped through to see what was going on inside.
And just as he stepped in and saw the scene in front of him, he stopped dead in the doorway.
The large utilitarian space had turned into a makeshift butchery. Two men and three women were working over massive Quillbear carcasses laid out on sturdy tables and tarps. The beasts looked even bigger up close, their dark hides bristling with quills, bodies taking up most of the room. Blood and bits of fat covered the floor in slick patches. The air hung thick with the metallic tang of dried blood mixed with sweat and the sharp scent of fresh meat.
One butcher was driving a glowing cleaver down through thick bone with a clean crack. Another was peeling back a section of hide like it was nothing, the blade humming faintly with mana.
Seeing Lys was taken aback seeing the scene in front of him, Selene elbowed him in the side, her voice low. "Hey. Focus. We’re here to ask about the bows."
Lys blinked and shook his head a little. "Oh, Right."
He’d seen butchering before, sure. A couple times back on Earth at small shops, and only once here with wolves when he skinned pelts from them for coins.
But he never saw anything like this. Supermarket meat wrapped in plastic didn’t prepare a guy for watching veterans carve through monsters this size. Not to mention the raw scene of cutting meat in this large quantity like it was nothing, shocked Lys more than he thought.
Pell spotted them from across the room and grinned, wiping his hands on a rag. "What, kid? Never seen a proper butchering before? I thought you used to be a hunter?"
Lys scratched the back of his neck, feeling a bit exposed. "Well… I have seen butchering. It's just… not like this, I guess." He watched another worker preparing to slice through a Quillbear’s shoulder joint, the enchanted knife glowing as the guy was about to start.
He spoke, "Whoa…Cutting through that hide looks like it would take forever. Why aren’t they using a bigger knife?"
Pell chuckled and gestured to the nearest butcher. "What are you talking about? You talk like you’ve never seen anyone butcher before. We’ve got enchanted weapons for this, don’t you see? Each one is specialized for different parts of the body. A good tool makes short work of anything.”
Lys felt like his words got caught in his mouth. “Oh, I meant like using a bigger enchanted knife might make things easier, right? Considering how old they are.” he kept his voice a little low, so that the old men behind Pell, preparing to start their work, wouldn't get offended or anything by his words.
Pell looked at his face for a moment, before brushing him off. “Oh..you don’t have to worry about that. These guys are veterans at this. They know what they’re doing. Simple Quillbear butchering isn’t that hard for them."
One of the butchers looked up for a moment. He gave Lys a quick nod and a tired smile before going back to work. Lys nodded back, feeling like saying that while being in the same room as them, might not have been a good idea.
He then stood there a while longer, watching the process. The theory he’d read in the library played out right in front of him, the way the mana flowed through the blades, keeping edges sharp and cutting through bone without sticking. It felt satisfying seeing it in action, even though all he saw were glowing enchanted knives and some old dudes hacking at big chunks of meat flawlessly.
Pell set down his own tools and walked over, wiping sweat from his brow. "You need something else, kid? You’re still standing here like you’ve got questions."
Lys pulled his attention away from the carcasses. "Yeah. I was wondering if the guild has any enchanted bows I could take a look at. For research."
Pell paused, rubbing his chin as he thought it over. "Hmm… Not here, I’m afraid. Bows are more expensive than swords, and we don’t keep many in stock, as we don’t have many adventurers aspiring to be archers often. There’s a user in the neighboring village who might have some, but she’s out with the strike team right now, I think."
Lys nodded, mind already turning. Pell scratched his head and added, "Why not ask that girl from the council? What was her name again… oh, Sara. I bet she has a few in her shop."
Lys hesitated, thinking about Sara resting back at her home after everything that happened. "She’s resting right now. It wouldn’t feel right to ask Bertha to open the shop just for me while she’s tending to her, you know."
Pell gave a understanding grunt. "Yeah, Fair enough. Well, Get some rest yourselves too, kid. Things are tense enough without running around nonstop. Who knows when you might be summoned for something serious."
Lys and Selene thanked him and turned to leave, stepping back through the cloth overhead cover and heading toward the guild’s main exit.
The hall felt quieter than usual, most adventurers either out on tasks or resting up for whatever came next with the dungeon situation.
They had just reached the guild gate when Pell’s voice called out from behind them. "Oi.. Lys! Wait up a second."
Lys turned.
Pell jogged over, a rolled paper in his hand. He held it out. "Almost forgot. Get this to that Sara girl for me, when you can. It’s about those Quillbears from yesterday’s battle. She killed most of them, I heard. So obviously, the reward belongs to her. But with the numbers she took down, we don’t have enough coin on hand right now. And with the dungeon mess going on, things will be delayed anyway."
Lys took the paper, and looked at the official seal. "Mana contract Paper?"
"Yeah," Pell said. "Official work is official. Both sides will have to agree to handle the transaction properly once the dungeon situation settles. I just need her signature on it to lock it in, along with her blood signature."
Lys tucked the paper away carefully. "Oh.. Got it. I’ll make sure she gets it."
Pell clapped him on the shoulder once before heading back inside. "Good. Check in later if you need anything else."
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After that exchange, Lys and Selene stepped out into the open road. The midday sun felt bright after the dimmer guild hall, the half-empty street stretching ahead toward the village center. A light breeze carried the distant sounds of hammering from the walls and the low murmur of people going about their day around them, even though there weren't many people outside.
Selene glanced at the rolled paper in Lys’s hand as they started walking.
"She’s going to get a big reward, huh? Considering how much Quillbear she killed." she said quietly, almost to herself.
Lys nodded, thoughts drifting to Sara resting at home, and somehow knowing subconsciously that seeing this Paper in his hand, Sara might not be that happy for some reason. Still, he kept walking, the rolled paper in hand. "Yeah. She earned it. Let’s get this back to her, before going home," he said to Selene.
The road felt a little lighter under their feet now, but the tension in the air hadn’t gone anywhere.
Both of them knew, it was only a matter of time before something goes off, and things won’t be this peaceful when it does. But both Lys and Selene tried their best to calm themselves, to enjoy this peaceful moment till they last.