"You keep looking at my face… Is there something weird on it?" Kōya asked, tilting his head slightly.
His tone was flat as always, but the question made Nami jolt as if she'd been caught committing a crime.
"A-ah, i–it's nothing!" she squeaked, instinctively averting her gaze while her cheeks warmed to pink. "I was just… surprised that you ranked up so quickly, Kōya-kun."
Her eyes dropped to the pile of monster cores spread across her counter… there were about twenty of them, and all were glowing with their unique signatures.
Because she had been working at KCAC for so long, she could identify nearly all of them at a glance.
Fourteen were unmistakably Twigspire Broodminder cores… small crystals with sharp inner spirals, each holding the small echo of a buzzing sound.
Broodminders were the third tier within their monster family. Below them were the Younglings; above them were the Workers; and towering over both was the Queen.
Broodminders alone accounted for nearly 70% of newbie deaths in the Outer Zone. The fact that Kōya had killed one earlier was surprising. The fact that he had fourteen cores now?
Ridiculous.
'Impossible… He left in the morning with a single black crest line. He should've run at the first sign of a Broodminder, not… this at all.' Nami thought, blinking rapidly.
Five other cores were faintly glowing amber… Pine Squirrels.
Those ones were common and their meat was surprisingly delicious, often sold in middle-class restaurants around the city.
Their cores weren't worth much, but they were convenient to harvest.
And then… Her gaze landed on the final core.
A far larger one, pulsating with a soft golden hue. The shape was unmistakable, but her brain rejected the possibility.
Someone like Kōya, who had only ranked up today… someone who had annoyed her with his laziness and complete lack of fear…
No way he had actually…
She swallowed and pulled out the scanning device from her drawer. This machine was specifically for high-grade monster cores, which the branch rarely saw.
When she pressed the scanner to the glass surface, the device emitted a chime.
BEEP!
Her pupils shrank.
"K–Kōya-kun…" she whispered, looking up at him with trembling fingers still clutching the machine.
He raised an eyebrow. "Hm?"
"You killed a Stoneback Gnawler?" she asked, her voice cracking. When he nodded casually, she felt her soul lurch forward as if to strangle him.
"Yeah, what's the big deal?" he said with a shrug.
Nami grit her teeth. She had the sudden urge to throw her clipboard at his head.
What's the big deal?
Stonebacks were the executioners of the Iron Class.
They crushed one-liners casually, like stepping on an ant. Even two-liners struggled to wound them. Their backs were literal stone… and blades broke on them.
Their legs could smash a human torso into paste and their roars alone could stun animals.
And he was asking "What's the big deal?"
'Unbelievable… Did he prepare a thousand traps? Was he blessed by the gods? Or is he just a reckless baka?!'
She exhaled sharply. Insulting him would not help. Besides… he was alive regardless.
"Whatever…" she muttered through clenched teeth. "If Kōya-kun doesn't care, then neither will I."
"Before I calculate the payouts, did you bring the monster bodies for sale too?"
She hoped… prayed that he had. Especially the Pine Squirrels. A high-end restaurant had placed an order for tomorrow and KCAC needed fresh meat.
"I did. Do I drop them on the counter?"
Before Nami could answer, the receptionist at the next desk looked at him eagerly.
"I'll guide you, handsome-kun~! Follow me. I'll take you to the MCP."
"MCP?" Kōya echoed. "I get KCAC, but that one's new."
Nami raised a finger and explained with a little puff of pride.
"Here in KCAC, we call it the Shōtai Room, Kōya-kun. Short for Shōryaku Taishō Chamber… basically, the Monster Processing Chamber. Monster bodies go in, numbers come out. Like magic, ne?"
"I see."
He followed the other receptionist toward the left door. The sign on it read Employees Only, but when she touched it, the door slid open and a wave of icy wind washed over him.
Kōya stepped inside.
"Damn… This is like a giant fridge."
The room was large, metallic, and freezing with fog puffed out of their breaths.
Crates of processed monster materials were stacked neatly behind thick glass. At the back of the chamber, a woman in a white body suit and helmet sat behind a counter.
She turned when she heard footsteps.
"Welcome to… ah!"
She slapped her palm onto her helmet's mouthpiece. "A handsome man! Ehem… Welcome to the MCP. If you have monster bodies to submit, please place them inside the processing bowl."
The counter was long and built into it was a massive steel basin, deep enough to fit multiple monsters. Engravings of talismanic lines ran along its edges.
Kōya flicked his wrist.
THUD!
THUD!
THUD!
The Broodminder bodies fell in first. The Pine Squirrels followed.
Then the deflated Stoneback Gnawler corpse slid in and the woman's helmet twitched as if she made a face under it.
But she said nothing. Instead, she hit a glowing button.
The lines in the bowl ignited.
WHIRRRMM…
A deep hum sounded and light filled the basin. Numbers began appearing on her monitor. After a few seconds, the woman nodded.
"All processed. Costs, deductions, and tax calculations will be sent to the main desk. You may leave now."
Kōya and the receptionist exited the chamber. The cold vanished the moment the door closed.
Back at Nami's counter, she was already typing with impressive speed.
When she saw them return, she finished her calculations and flipped her screen toward Kōya.
"Alright… After tax and my helper cut for both the bodies and cores…"
She inhaled.
"The Twigspire Broodminders total 5,152 crowns. The Pine Squirrels total 465. And the Stoneback totals 2,949. So everything together comes to… 8,566 crowns, Kōya-kun. Do you have any questions?"
He nodded. "No questions."
She nodded and then a ping sounded on his phone. He pulled it out of his pocket, he had kept it stored until he was safely inside the city, and checked.
The deposit was already there.
"Thanks for the help," he said casually, lifting a hand in a lazy wave as he turned to leave.
But Nami shot to her feet so fast her chair nearly fell.
"W-w-wait!"
Every receptionist and even a few customers looked up at her.
Her cheeks burned, but she kept talking.
"Let's… go out."
She swallowed.
"T-to celebrate, you know? I know a place… somewhere nice."
The entire KCAC front desk froze.