With a thud, a small creature beyond the bushes fell, accompanied by a sound like “thud.”

Despite the dagger already leaving her hand, the sensation of the blade hitting something, neither hard nor soft, was vivid. The feeling of piercing through something not particularly tough or resistant wasn’t particularly pleasant.

She didn’t throw it with the intention of hitting. It was an instinctive action, worried that the purple-horned lizard might harm the earth fairies. After the dagger left her hand, she realized that the creature might not see the earth fairies in its eyes.

“Stella! You hit it! You caught the purple-horned lizard!”

Excited Esta rushed into the bushes, dragging the lizard’s tail as it whimpered. However, the lizard, much larger than her, didn’t budge easily.

“What are you doing? Hurry up and help! Stella caught her first prey!”

In the midst of the frightened Ark hesitating to approach, Othon walked confidently towards the lizard. Startled, Ark quickly ran towards him. Eventually, they both reached the spot where the purple-horned lizard was almost simultaneously.

“Pull it! Grip it tightly!”

“What if it’s not dead? The tail is scary and creepy!”

When Esta shouted loudly, Ark gathered his fist as if praying and whined. Othon, who had been looking at Ark with a disdainful expression, shouted in an annoyed voice.

“It’s definitely dead! So be quiet and pull it!”
The purple-horned lizard was as large as a hunting dog. Although Stella managed to hit it with her dagger, she absolutely did not want to touch the lizard’s corpse.

However, seeing the little ones whimpering, she couldn’t just stand there feeling frustrated. Unwillingly, she grabbed and dragged the lizard’s tail that the kids were holding.

Ugh, the sensation in her hand was so strange.

“Wow! It’s moving!”

“Stella, you’re strong!”

Receiving the enthusiastic cheers of the earth fairies, Stella completely pulled the purple-horned lizard out of the bushes. Only then did Stella realize that the dagger she threw accurately pierced the lizard’s neck.

“Oh my goodness…”

She had never hunted, let alone properly held a dagger since birth. But to hit it with one shot like this? Ark, who saw Stella staring at her own hand in a daze, laughed and said with a smirk.

“Stella is the noble wielder of the pickaxe, so she handles other pieces of iron well too.”

“What does that mean?”

Even though she already felt strange when she held the dagger, her palm tingling and goosebumps rising on her forearm the moment she held it.

While it wasn’t as pronounced as when holding the pickaxe, she could feel a much stronger grip strength than usual. After throwing the dagger, the feeling turned into a certainty, but she didn’t think it was because of the pickaxe.

“The steel used in the noble pickaxe is forged with the blessing of Terra, the goddess of the earth. It’s fundamentally different from what a blacksmith creates.”
Even mischievous Esta overflowed with sincere pride when talking about the goddess Terra.

“So?”

“While that pickaxe recognizes you as its owner, it means other pieces of iron will also obey you.”

It wasn’t entirely clear, but roughly it seemed like even pieces of iron would obey a strong being.

“Then, can I handle a sword really well?”

Stella asked with widened eyes, and Esta smiled slightly awkwardly at the question.

“Larger pieces of iron than the pickaxe won’t work.”

Come to think of it, the dagger and javelin were much smaller than the pickaxe’s steel.

Although it was regrettable that she couldn’t handle weapons like swords gracefully, being able to handle weapons that could be concealed on her body, like a dagger or javelin, felt remarkably impressive.

Stella’s confidence suddenly surged. It felt like she could do anything.

“Oh, Princess Stella. Were you here?”

The familiar yet not entirely welcoming voice quickly dampened the excited mood. Stella turned around awkwardly with a smile.

Sure enough, as expected, Princess Annette was standing with two other princesses from the Plant Zone.

As soon as Stella turned around, the princesses behind Annette giggled like a screen.

“Princess Stella really looks like a true hunter.”

“The clothes suit you very well.”

Ah, it’s because of the clothes.
The reason the princesses smirked and laughed was that, unlike them, Stella’s hunting attire was a ready-made outfit with a plain design, devoid of any decorations or fancy patterns.

When Stella first saw the hunting outfit that Mila had bought, she laughed for a long time. Not because she didn’t like it, but because it clearly looked like something Mila would choose.

Made of expensive and sturdy leather, the practical hunting outfit minimized unnecessary decorations, and Stella loved it.

“Thank you. Then.”

As Stella tried to leave, Esta urgently called out.

“Stella! You should take the lizard horns!”

Horns?

Come to think of it, the horns of the dead lizard were shining brightly in a violet color. They looked like uncut gemstone ore, sparkling like crystals.