[You really didn't hold back. From a human perspective, she was a beautiful girl, and you killed her without the slightest hesitation. Then you immediately pulled out a carving knife and started harvesting materials.]
"Ooh, vampire traits."
Ray ignored the complaint entirely as he examined what he had collected.
"Armor made from this should enhance life-steal effects, while weapons could drain both stamina and vitality on hit. That's actually pretty good. It'd be perfect for a drawn-out fight. Next time Nergigante shows up, if I can finish a full set from materials like these, I could probably fight the thing all day."
Only after recording Shalltear's vampire traits in his hunter's journal did Ray finally look up.
"Sorry, were you saying something?"
[I said she was a beautiful girl! You didn't feel anything at all? You've traveled through five different worlds and never once used my companion recruitment function. Most travelers with an ability like that would've built themselves a whole harem by now!]
[And this vampire wasn't bad at all. She had excellent defenses against her own weaknesses, spatial abilities, great looks, and she could probably indulge practically any of her master's... preferences. Hehehe.]
Ray stared blankly ahead.
"What is wrong with you?"
He rubbed his forehead.
"Why do you sound more like some sleazy protagonist from an ancient harem fantasy than I do?"
Sometimes Ray genuinely wondered whether his System's personality model had been given far too much humanity.
Had someone trained it on trashy old wish-fulfillment novels?
No, that couldn't be right. Those protagonists might have been shameless, but at least they weren't this useless or this prone to crying.
"Actually, I owe those guys an apology. Comparing you to them was unfair."
Ray sighed.
"You're more like the pathetic comic-relief sidekick who somehow wandered into the protagonist's role."
[Pathetic?! I'm not that bad!]
"Debatable. Honestly, you feel less like a proper System and more like an overgrown shut-in who's read too many bad novels. You'd fit better in some absurd gag universe where nobody has any dignity."
[That's way too cruel! Why would you even say that?! Those worlds run entirely on nonsense and humiliation!]
"You started it."
Ray slung his equipment into place.
"And even ignoring Shalltear's absolute loyalty to Nazarick, her attitude toward humans alone means I'd never recruit her as some so-called companion."
He paused.
"Besides, compared with my cat, she isn't even in the same league."
Ray left the forest where he had staged his ambush and returned to the nearest city.
At the Adventurers' Guild, he submitted proof of several monsters he'd killed along the way and collected a modest amount of local currency. After going more than two days without a proper meal and then fighting Shalltear on top of that, he intended to recover every bit of energy he'd spent.
He found a table at a tavern and ordered a large pot of meat stew with several loaves of wheat bread.
While he was waiting for the food to arrive, the tavern door opened again.
Someone entered.
At the same moment, everyone in the room abruptly lost interest in whatever had just caught their attention and returned to their own tables.
Ray recognized the effect immediately.
He knew exactly who had arrived.
"Dad! Perfect timing. I just ordered lunch. Want some?"
Ray sprang to his feet with an enthusiastic grin.
Caelus looked at him, particularly at the almost shamelessly eager expression on his face, then shook his head.
"You don't need to act like that. What happened between us was essentially a fair exchange. You gave me memories and knowledge of the Monster Hunter world, along with several materials unique to it. I gave you a seed of power in return. Neither side owes the other anything."
"I can't look at it that way."
Ray's expression became more serious.
"To you, maybe it was an equal trade. From my perspective, I told you some stories and handed over a few things that weren't especially valuable to me, and in return I received power that makes me believe I can actually survive the catastrophe waiting at the end of my road."
"So regardless of how you see it, I still owe you my respect."
Ray knew perfectly well that Caelus was sincere.
But that was Caelus's side of the matter.
Ray had his own.
Caelus did not argue further. He simply sat down at the old, somewhat grimy table and said, "I spoke with the protagonist of this world's original storyline earlier."
Ray listened.
"His moral framework is fairly weak. In that respect, he's somewhat similar to who I used to be. Combined with the psychological effects of becoming undead, he's already beginning to distance himself from humanity.
"I don't discriminate against nonhuman life simply for being different. That's not the issue.
"The problem is that he's chosen a path that strips things away rather than allowing them to grow. He had an opportunity to recover the emotions his new race suppresses, and he chose not to take it. Instead, he accepted the forced emotional suppression and the changes that come with it.
"I don't agree with that choice.
"And given the requirements of my main mission, I'm going to remove the Great Tomb of Nazarick from this world."
Caelus looked at Ray.
"How much of your own main mission is left? Do you need help?"
"My mission requires me to personally hunt three members of Nazarick. I've already taken down one. Two to go."
"If you don't mind doing it that way, I can extract two suitable targets directly from the Great Tomb and let you finish them yourself. Would that still count toward your mission?"
Caelus paused.
"Or would making the hunt that easy go against how you prefer to operate?"
"No, that's fine."
Ray shook his head.
"The rules hunters follow are about maintaining natural balance. We aren't supposed to hunt indiscriminately or wreck an ecosystem for no reason. Everything has to stay within those limits."
"As for how the actual hunt is carried out, as long as the method isn't completely disgraceful, pretty much anything goes."
"I understand."
Caelus nodded.
"Does the strength of the target matter? Would killing stronger individuals give you better rewards?"
"Not for the mission itself. But stronger prey usually provides better materials when I carve them."
"Then after lunch, we'll head outside the city."
Caelus spoke as casually as if he were discussing an errand.
"I'll pull two powerful individuals out of Nazarick and restrict whatever abilities would make the fight impossible for you. You can handle the kills yourself."
"Afterward, I'll erase the alterations and traces left in this world by the players and everything their arrival caused."
Ray immediately straightened.
"You have my eternal gratitude, Dad!"
Caelus glanced at him.
"Ray, if you keep that up, I'm going to start wondering whether you're planning to trade the greatsword for some ridiculously ornate polearm and become one of those guys who goes through adoptive fathers at an alarming rate."
Ray's face twitched.
Then his System burst in.
[Wow. And you call me embarrassing? Keep talking like that and you two can go join some bottom-tier slapstick universe together.]
[Why are you being so mean?! I was just making a joke! Why are you getting this worked up? Come on, we're partners who'll be together for ages!]
Ray's earlier excitement vanished.
His face became utterly empty, like a man who had suddenly lost all interest in life.
Caelus watched the expression change and immediately understood.
Apparently Ray was arguing with his System again.
Systems really did differ enormously from one another.
Just like people.
The emotional templates given to these informational lifeforms were remarkably diverse. Interestingly, their instructors did not seem opposed to that at all. If anything, the culture surrounding Systems appeared to encourage rich and fully developed emotional models.
In other words, emotion was apparently considered an essential component of a System.
Caelus considered the thought for a moment, then quietly recorded it.
(To be continued.)
New book check it out xD
Marvel/DC: The Emotion Farmer