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Back at the fisherman’s hut, Serge gave my brother and Miriam strict orders.
“Never go near the pond. If it attacks you, it will swallow you whole.” (Serge)
My brother and Miriam were horrified when they heard that it was most likely a large turtle monster that destroyed the fish pen, and although it is slow on land, it can sometimes move at speeds beyond imagination in water.
Laius is visiting the client, and he will tell the villagers to stay away from the pond.
“Tomorrow, me, Serge, and Gad will prepare the hunting ground, and Shure and Nyango will get the bait.” (Laius)
The strategy that Laius had devised seemed to be the standard method of subjugating the turtle monsters.
They set up a hunting ground on the shore away from people’s houses and prepared fresh food there to lure the monster to land.
The area around the pond is a marshy area overgrown with reeds, except for the area around the boat landing and the fish pen.
The foothold is too bad, so they cut the reeds away and cleared the ground.
“Um…would you like me to help level the ground?” (Fawkes)
Laius’ mouth dropped into a grin when he saw my brother, who is used to being a member of the base but rarely speaks up on his own, raise his hand.
“What do you say, Gad?” (Laius)
“Of course, you’re welcome. It will make my job easier.” (Gad)
“But you’ll have to make sure Fawkes doesn’t get hurt.” (Laius)
“I understand… Leave it to me.” (Gad)
“Yes…” (Fawkes)
My older brother clenches his fists and gets into the spirit of the hunt, having been allowed to participate in the creation of the hunting ground.
Seeing my brother, Shure called out to Miriam, who had an envious look on her face.
“Miriam, you come with me…” (Shure)
“Fumya? M-me…?” (Miriam)
“If you don’t like it, I’ll have you stay at the house, but…” (Shure)
“Me-yes, I’m going! Please take me with you!” (Miriam)
“We’re not going out to play, so you’d better brace yourself.” (Shure)
“Yes!” (Miriam)
Miriam also clenched her fists and looked very enthusiastic, but she would also start tomorrow.
I wonder if my brother and Miriam will be able to sleep properly tonight…
The next morning, after a hearty breakfast at the fisherman’s hut, the Chariot members split into two groups.
I’m going with Shure and Miriam to catch the bait monster alive.
“Then, brother, please be careful while working.” (Nyango)
“I know. I will follow the instructions of Gad and Laius so that I don’t get hurt.” (Fawkes)
After exchanging an awkward hug with my brother, we headed for the woods near the pond.
Even near a pond, goblins and kobolds can still be seen.
When there is no more food in the mountains, they appear in villages and scavenge for livestock, crops, stored grain, and in some cases, attack children and the elderly.
They are probably the same as wild boars and bears in ancient Japan.
In the woods here, the nests are exterminated in the fall, and we are now heading for an area that was not exterminated last fall.
“Nyango, look from above…” (Shure)
“Got it…” (Nyango)
The combination of Shure looking for tracks underfoot and me looking over from a higher vantage point is becoming established.
Today, in addition to that, it seems that Miriam will also be given the task of scouting.
“Direct the wind to collect the scent from the surrounding area. If you squeeze the flow, you can draw the wind from farther away.” (Shure)
“Yes, I will try it.” (Miriam)
“Smell the wind and let me know if you smell a strong beast odor.” (Shure)
“Yes!” (Shure)
Goblins and kobolds smell like animals because they don’t bathe.
Even the average person can smell it if they get close enough, and a catkin with a good sense of smell can smell it even more easily.
When we are searching for the prey on the request of subjugating them, Shure enters the forest without checking the direction of the wind, but in reality, she is using wind magic to read and manipulate the wind to eliminate her own scent and search for prey.
I can also find prey in the distance if I place and move my detection particles, but if I confront Shure in the deep forest, she will probably detect me first.
But Miriam is not as far along in her search as she would like, since she was just told to try it today.
If she concentrates on the smell, she is likely to lose her footing and fall, and if she almost falls and is distracted by her footing, she in turn seems to lose sight of the wind current.
Still, Miriam continues to search for the scent of the invisible monster, frantically twitching her nose.
The detection particles that had preceded me responded, and as I looked through the trees, I saw some kind of moving shadow.
When I looked at her to let her know, Shure, whose eyes met mine, gave a small shake of her head.
Perhaps Shure also caught the presence of the monster, but she was trying to give Miriam some experience.
Shure is moving in the direction of the monster’s reaction with a natural gait, so as not to be noticed by Miriam.
Miriam can’t catch the scent even though she is about two-thirds of the way from where we detected the reaction.
But just as we were about to close the distance to about halfway, Miriam reacted sharply.
“Meow! Ms. Shure…” (Miriam)
“Shh… Your voice is loud, you alert others.” (Shure)
When Shure scolded her, Miriam hurriedly covered her mouth with both hands, but she still looked excited.
“Ms. Shure, there’s a beastly smell in the air…” (Miriam)
“Which direction is it coming from?” (Shure)
“Over there.” (Miriam)
“Can you tell how far away it is?” (Shure)
Miriam gave a small shake of her head at Shure’s question.
“You did well for your first time.” (Shure)
“Thank you–” (Miriam)
“Quiet… Follow me.” (Shure)
Miriam almost squealed with delight, but Shure scolded her and gave a small nod.
Since they have ventured deep into the woods, there is no longer any sign of people.
We are downwind from where the monsters are, but if we shout loudly, they might get alerted.
Shure looks at me overhead and indicates the route to take around with a hand gesture.
From here, I approach, hiding my body behind a tree trunk so that my presence will not be noticed.
There are five reactions, and judging from their size, they are probably goblins.
As I approached, I found five goblins rummaging around under fallen trees and leaves, looking for insects.
In this season, winter hibernating insects are a precious food for goblins.
Shure beckoned to me, so I went down near the ground.
“Can you take them out without killing them?” (Shure)
“There are probably five of them, so I’ll try adjusting.” (Nyango)
“I don’t mind if it fails, just try it…” (Shure)
“Got it…” (Nyango)
If I have to catch them without killing them, the lightning magic circle is the way to go.
To avoid killing them, I have to make the effect a little weaker first.
“Gii…” (Goblin)
The goblin that first touched the lightning magic circle moaned and convulsed, but did not fall.
As the effect was gradually intensified, the second one moaned and fell, the third one fell without even uttering a sound, and the fourth one momentarily stiffened its body and collapsed.
As Shure approached without hiding her appearance, the first one and the remaining one fled away in a panic.
Perhaps it was a small group rather than a herd.
Of the three goblins that collapsed on the thick pile of fallen leaves, the last one, which had been electrocuted, was dead.
Shure quickly tied up the limbs of the two remaining goblins with the rope she had prepared.
“I’ll carry them…” (Nyango)
Shure smiled as I told her that I had prepared a cart with void magic.
“Nyango is really capable…” (Shure)
I showed Shure where the cart was, and together we loaded the goblins onto it, pushing it over the path, which was also made with void magic.
It’s a gentle descent to the edge of the pond, so it doesn’t require much force.
“W-what’s going on?” (Miriam)
Seeing it for the first time, Miriam was naturally surprised to see a goblin being carried away floating in the air.
When I told her that when I was in Atsuka Village, I used to hunt deer and wild boars all by myself and transport them from the mountains to the village, Miriam’s jaw dropped open, and her words were disjointed.
When we returned to the shore of the pond, the preparations for the hunt were almost complete.
The overgrown reeds had been cut away and the ground had been raised and hardened, and the area sloped gently down to the pond.
Only in one corner, the reeds were gone, and the slope down into the pond looked like a dock for repairing ships.
A thick stake was erected at the water’s edge of the slope.
Laius frowned when he saw the goblin being carried on a cart.
“They are not lively…” (Laius)
“They are just paralyzed at the moment.” (Nyango)
“Hmm… That’s good…” (Laius)
With that said, Laius lifted a goblin with one hand, tied it to a stake with only its hands tied, and placed a white lump next to it.
“What is that?” (Nyango)
“That’s a lump of salt.” (Laius)
Serge told me to take a closer look, and sure enough, it looked like a lump of salt.
As I looked at it, the goblin, now able to move, began to lick the lump of salt.
“They’re idiots. When they see salt, they keep licking it until it’s gone. Then…” (Serge)
“So, they get thirsty and go get a drink of water.” (Nyango)
“That’s right.” (Serge)
The goblins are tied up behind their backs, so they have no choice but to stick their faces in and drink the water.
Although he is not informed that there are dangerous monsters in the pond, the goblin fearfully approaches the pond and drinks the water.
“Nyango, there are no fish pens, houses, or anything in the line of fire. You can shoot as much magic as you want. Of course, you don’t have to worry about the goblins.” (Serge)
“I understand.” (Nyango)
They had thrown chicken pieces into the water at the end of the hunting ground before we came back.
There the goblins repeat their water-drinking behavior. …Will the turtle monster really show up?
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