Balance exists among all things

"One point Hayata mentioned is crucial: 'coexisting' with nature. Or, to put it another way, everything we see, hear, and do is merely a part of nature."

Amos spoke calmly and slowly. "Children, as you come to understand nature more deeply-the skies, the land, the oceans, and the countless wondrous creatures living within them-you will gradually learn what 'reverence' means.

"This world is vast. For ordinary people whose horizons end at their town's fences and walls, nature's breadth and wonders are simply unimaginable."

Gordon could not help lifting his head to look east, toward the endless Schrade Mountains, home to countless powerful monsters and wyverns. He gained a little more understanding of the "reverence" Amos had spoken of.

"If you have time, you could spend a while at the Grand Library. Scholars from the Royal Wyverian Research Team have left copies of many books there, and quite a few mention a concept called the 'ecological chain.'"

"Ecological chain?"

Hayata looked somewhat lost.

But Gordon, who had spent years scrambling through forests and mountains, immediately caught a hint of its meaning in the combination of "ecology" and "chain."

"It is an incredibly complex, incredibly intricate natural system-at once incredibly fragile and incredibly resilient." Amos continued his measured explanation. At that moment, he looked less like a hunter and more like a scholar.

"Producers and consumers, predators and prey. Every living creature in this world, including us humans, is merely an insignificant link in this system.

"Gordon, earlier you said that humans and nature were in competition, correct?" Amos suddenly turned to Gordon.

Gordon hesitated for a moment, but ultimately nodded.

"You weren't wrong. Competition. In pursuit of our species' advancement, in pursuit of better lives, humans ought to compete. That is our nature as living beings.

"In recent years, a certain notion has spread among those nobles who hide in the heart of cities and may never step outside their walls in their entire lives. They claim that killing is cruel, that hunting should be forbidden, and that 'noble' humans should live safely within fortified cities and subsist on vegetables.

"If anyone ever preaches that notion to your faces, you can spit right in theirs. A species that abandons its competitive drive entirely cannot survive in this cruel world.

"But at the same time, you must also recognize the consequences of your actions during a hunt."

Gordon and Hayata nodded uncertainly. In truth, they still had not quite grasped what Amos was trying to tell them.

Hayata even asked, "Why do you say the ecological chain is both fragile and resilient?"

Realizing he had gone a little overboard with the lofty principles, Amos patted his crossed knees and continued, "Let me give you a simpler example.

"A forest fire sweeps through thousands of square kilometers of mountain woodland. Countless plants, animals, and even monsters burn to death. More than half the Schrade Mountains are reduced to a barren wasteland.

"What would that burned land look like ten or twenty years later?"

Having seen with his own eyes how hills blackened by wildfires turned green again, Gordon shrugged. "By the following spring, seeds buried deep underground would sprout.

"Within ten years, the forest cover would mostly recover, and countless creatures would migrate from every direction to this new home.

"After twenty years, aside from a lack of truly ancient, massive trees in the mountains, it would be no different from before the fire."

Amos nodded and smiled. "That is what I mean by resilient. Even a natural disaster can, at most, permanently alter a region's ecology. It cannot completely destroy it."

"Then why do you say the ecological chain is fragile?" Hayata pressed.

"Its resilience is on the large scale; its fragility is on the small scale." Amos looked at Gordon again. "Earlier, you asked why I didn't simply kill that King Shakalaka.

"Now, try to predict what would have happened afterward if I had killed him."

"What would have happened?" Gordon looked somewhat lost.

"Shakalaka are highly social creatures. At the King Shakalaka's summons, dozens of tribes would follow their customs and gather over the next half month to hold the Shakalaka Festival.

"If the King Shakalaka died now, they would have to choose a new king. The tribes would fall into conflict, and the Shakalaka Festival could neither begin nor end on schedule.

"What would happen if hundreds or thousands of Shakalaka gathered in a single area?"

Gordon swallowed. "To fill their bellies, they'd hunt frantically. They'd wipe out the small animals in that area, then expand their hunting grounds, frequently attacking passing caravans and even raiding human villages."

"Exactly." Amos folded his arms. "Though that is only one possibility. Of course, the Shakalaka might immediately choose a new king, and none of what you described would happen.

"If you had to fight because your own safety was otherwise at risk, then naturally, you should finish him off swiftly and decisively, without hesitation. Even if that choice had consequences later, no one could fault you for it.

"But since pursuing the King Shakalaka had nothing to do with our quest, offered no benefit, carried risks, and might even cause an ecological disaster on a broader scale, why should we do it?"

Gordon scratched the back of his head. He finally understood what Amos meant.

There was no reward for hunting the King Shakalaka, no need to carve materials from him, and the party had burdens like us tagging along. It might even trigger a disaster. Why go looking for trouble?

"In most people's eyes, the Hunter's Guild serves as a sort of intermediary. It accepts requests and assigns them to hunters, provides some support, and collects a commission fee or the like.

"But that is merely the surface. In reality, the Hunter's Guild shares intelligence and works closely with the Royal Wyverian Research Team, the Elder Dragon Observation Bureau, local municipal authorities, and other organizations.

"Every quest posted on a noticeboard has undergone strict review. Hunters need not worry about anything else; they can hunt their targets with confidence.

"This is also the main reason the guild discourages hunters from indiscriminately or excessively killing targets outside their quests. They need to preserve the balance of the local ecology as much as possible."

At that point, Amos paused briefly, patted Gordon's shoulder, and stroked Hayata's head.

"I don't expect you two youngsters to immediately commit this whole speech to memory. I only hope that when you bear your blades and enter the hunting grounds, you carry a measure of reverence for life and nature in your hearts.

"Balance exists among all things. We are hunters, not butchers." (This line seems rather fitting here?)

P.S. This book certainly isn't going to turn into an animal-protection story-don't worry.