The Chicken Keeper

"Ice Arrow (Mastery): Proficiency: 1/150"

When Ethan woke up and checked his proficiency panel, he couldn't help but fall into deep thought.

His Ice Arrow proficiency had jumped a tier. That had never happened before. It should have been something to celebrate, but it filled him with a faint sense of foreboding.

What had happened?

Even the Witch, whose rank was estimated to be Third-tier or higher, could only provide fifteen proficiency points.

Could he have awakened a new talent, "I Like to Cultivate in My Dreams"?

No, that was clearly impossible. His dream had nothing to do with practicing Ice Arrow. He had only dreamed that he was lying in a room full of Gold Lions, with everything in the room carved from gold. He'd grinned from ear to ear and rolled around recklessly atop the pile of Gold Lions.

Then, as you might expect, he bruised his lower back.

Right after that, someone knocked on the door.

In the dream, Ethan leaped off the pile of Gold Lions and eagerly headed for the door. It was the ultimate dream: to become rich enough to do as he pleased, never again having to watch his boss's mood before acting, then marry a kind and virtuous wife, just like in a fairy tale, and spend the rest of his life with her in a little house made of gold.

So what would his future wife be like?

Full of anticipation, Ethan opened the door.

Sunlight streamed into the room, freezing him with his arms spread wide. Two people in black suits and sunglasses stood before him.

"Heisenberg, you're being charged with twelve offenses, including tax evasion and smuggling dangerous magic scrolls. Come with us."

What a nightmare!

At the thought of magic scrolls, Ethan's unease grew stronger. A possibility suddenly occurred to him: Could he share the proficiency gains whenever someone used a magic scroll he'd drawn?

But for his Ice Arrow to jump an entire tier at once, he could hardly imagine what that Pure Love Noble Son had done with his Ice Arrow scroll.

Could that idiot have gone to a crowded big city and tested the power of a triple-combined Ice Arrow on the street, right in front of a crowd?

Looks like he'd have to keep a close eye on the Gryphon Daily for the next few days.

"Knock, knock, knock—"

Miss Chloe nudged his bedroom door open with her head and peeked inside. When Ethan looked over, she shook her wings and let out a soft, cooing sound through her nose. For some reason, he imagined a maid coming to tell him he had a visitor.

Huh?

Why had he imagined that?

Ethan stopped letting his mind wander, swung out of bed, and threw on some clothes. He washed up quickly in the bathroom, then headed to the living room. Ivy was already sitting on the sofa, waiting for him. She'd put on that heavy trench coat again and was wearing her gold-rimmed monocle as she leaned back and read a copy of A Glossary of Curses and Containment Terms.

Hearing his footsteps, she glanced up at him.

"I have to hand it to you. You managed to sleep until late at night. Have you eaten?"

"No."

"We'll eat on the way."

Ivy said it in a tone that left no room for argument. Ethan's heart gave a jolt. He turned to look out the window. It was so dark he couldn't see his hand in front of his face. He'd never imagined that, after all these years, even in another world, he still wouldn't escape the fate of working overtime. Still, he clung to a sliver of hope and asked, fighting to the bitter end, "Now?"

"The Gear City branch sent a letter. There's a difficult case in Brookwood Town. The banker Marshall is in trouble, and it may involve a Cursed Object. They want us to go take a look."

Marshall.

Ethan silently mulled over the vaguely familiar name. When he recalled Ivy's mention of the man being a banker, he remembered a potbellied, balding middle-aged man. At the guild's annual meeting, Marshall had given a speech on behalf of the Imperial Joint Reserve Bank.

It had all been official-sounding platitudes. Marshall hadn't left much of an impression on Ethan at the time. Only later had he heard from the hunters that the man was the branch manager in Brookwood Town, and that all kinds of business in the area had to go through his approval.

"The latest figures aren't looking good. Abnormal cases are up twenty percent compared to last year, and in border cities, they're up 44.6 percent. The rate of investigators going missing or dying is also rising year by year."

This was the briefing that had arrived with the assignment letter, which Ivy had specifically requested.

Just as she'd expected, ever since the Winter Witch incident, abnormal cases had sprung up everywhere like mushrooms after rain. The Containment Bureau had stepped up its investigations, but still couldn't stem the rising number of cases. By now, the bureau was facing a severe shortage of staff.

Or, more accurately, with the death rate so high, hardly anyone was willing to work on the front lines anymore. Many investigators even submitted their resignations on the spot if they found out they were being sent to the Empire's border.

Ivy guessed that was probably why the Gear City branch had been so excited to hear they were setting up a Base Station.

They hadn't expected anyone to volunteer to go to a border town or village these days.

Ivy put down her book and pointed at the coffee table. "Here. Our ID cards have arrived."

The stiff card stock gleamed, its edges made of mithril. It listed their investigator ranks and codenames—the mark of an Imperial civil servant.

Ivy's ID card was on top:

"Rose," B-Class Investigator.

Outstanding graduate of the Enlightenment Society. Awarded the title of Second-tier Scholar while enrolled. Station Master of the intelligence station in Brookwood Town on the Empire's border. The beautiful and resilient Rose of the Empire.

It was easy to see that the Containment Bureau thought highly of Ivy. Not only had they praised her lavishly on her ID card, they'd also immediately granted her the title of B-Class Investigator. That rank already put her in the middle tier of the bureau. Ethan thought that, given Ivy's background, if she wanted to stay at the Containment Bureau, she'd have no trouble being promoted to A-Class Investigator within a year.

That was the difference between people. The world was just unfair!

Next was Miss Chloe's ID information.

"Head Wolf," E-Class Investigator (CI-0651-a).

A mysterious creature born from CI-0651. Omnivorous and docile, yet possessing destructive power comparable to a werewolf. She could easily crush or peck through granite. A Cursed Object had awakened her intelligence, and she could understand human language to some extent. She might continue to grow and evolve.

"Oh, not bad, Miss Chloe. They think highly of you."

Ethan threaded a cord through Miss Chloe's ID card and hung it around her neck. Then he gently patted her head. Miss Chloe happily rubbed against his palm and gave a cheerful chirp.

Ethan's own hopes stirred.

Every word on those cards made him feel that he was one step closer to his career goals.

So what kind of evaluation would the Containment Bureau give him?

After all, he and Ivy had worked together to set up the Brookwood Town intelligence station.

His heart pounding, he picked up his own ID card.

"Chicken Keeper," E-Class Investigator.

A man who raised a chicken.

Ethan fell silent for a moment. He turned the ID card over several times, then finally confirmed that there really was only one line on it.

"Miss Rose."

His vision went dark. "Could there have been a printing mistake on this ID card?"

Compared to Rose and Head Wolf, he felt like he was just there to make up the numbers.

"No."

Ivy shook her head, extinguishing his last hope. "That's your ID card."