Reincarnated Aristocrat Chapter 19: Trap

 

　The next day, Ritsu made a suggestion of trap making for Russell, who came to study.

 

“Yes. If you are the son of a hunter, you probably know some?” (Ritsu)

 

　When asked by Ritsu, Russell shook his head,

 

“I don’t know, and what is a trap?” (Russell)

 

　He said something surprising.

 

“Don’t you know a trap? Isn’t your father hunting by using traps other than with a bow and arrow?” (Ritsu)

“He does not use any” (Russell)

“If that’s true, that’s surprising. Well, I’m not very familiar with the world of hunters.” (Ritsu)

 

　If Greg doesn’t know any traps, then even if the trap that Russell made isn’t complicated, there’s a good chance he’ll accept it.

 

“What is a trap sensei?” (Russell)

“A trap is a device or method of catching a beast by enclosing or restraining. A famous example is a pitfall. A deep hole is dug in the ground, a thin wooden board is used to cover the hole, and soil and leaves are put on top of it. The soil and leaves make it look like a normal ground. But if you step on it, you’ll fall into a hole.” (Ritsu)

“Hey, the person who thought about it is really smart.” (Russell)

 

　Am I smart? I knew about the pitfalls before they knew it, so I didn’t really think about it. Certainly, the first human being to come up with a pitfall might be smart.

 

“But if you think about it, I don’t think it’s good to hunt that way, because it doesn’t make sense unless the prey happens to step through a hole.” (Russell)

 

　Russell murmured and puts his right index finger around his eyebrows. It’s a habit of his when thinking about something.

 

“If you put the bait on top of the pit, it will be easier to catch…” (Russell)

　“Well, but the pitfall is can only trap one animal in one trap… it’s hard to dig deep holes, so it’s faster to hunt with a bow… whether it’s easier to make or not you have to make sure you can catch a lot with one trap…” (Russell)

 

　Russell began to mutter.

　From one idea to the next, I will talk about my thoughts.

 

“Russell, draw a diagram of what you want to do when you’re done thinking. I’ll have some paper and writing utensils ready.” (Ars)

“Why do you have to draw pictures?” (Russell)

“Because it’s easier to understand if you have it in writing.” (Ars)

“That’s right. Okay, I’ll write when I’m done.” (Russell)

 

　Russell began to mutter again, thinking and fidgeting again.

　He is quite focused. When this happens, he often doesn’t notice when he’s talking out loud.

 

“Is it possible for Russell to make a trap?” (Ars)

“I don’t know, but it seems certain that he is trying to work hard and concentrate. Anyway, we can expect something out of this.” (Ritsu)

“Yes.” (Ars)

 

　There was nothing more I could do, so I was watching Russell, who was working hard.

 

　○

 

　I looked into the actual traps used in this world.

　Apparently, there is no habit of using traps to catch prey in Lamberk.

　Ritsu, who is not from Lamberk, thought that traps would be used for hunting, so traps may be used in other places.

　Ritsu also knows how to use traps, but does not know a lot of varieties of traps, so there is only a small pool of knowledge about traps.

　I also think about what kind of trap is good, but I can’t think of anything easily.

　In the first place, I’m not familiar with the ecology of the most commonly hunted animals in this world.

　So it’s quite difficult to make a trap.

　Since Russell has a good knowledge of animals as a hunter’s son, that’s okay.

　As the hours passed I have abandoned thinking of a trap.

　However, the lack of trapping in Lamberk means that if Russell came up with a good trap, instead of being just accepted by Greg, it would help improve the village’s food productivity.

　That would be two birds with one stone.

　I waited a bit, hoping for Russell to come up with a trap.

 

○

 

　A couple of days have passed.

 

“It’s done!” (Russell)

 

　Russell proudly showed us a piece of paper.

　Apparently the trap has been created.

 

“Okay, then, please show me the picture.”(Ritsu)

“Yup!” (Russell)

 

　Russell was unusually happy and showed the trap blueprint to Ritsu. He seems to be very happy it is completed.

　Ritsu closely looks at the figure.

　Of course, since it was the first figure he drew, there are many things that he can’t understand just by looking at it. Ritsu makes Russell explain in some places. I also looked at the diagram and heard the explanation.

　The trap that Russell thought was like this.

　First, the target prey is only a single creature. In the case of the trap that Russell thought of this time, the target is an animal called “Sue”, which often lives in the forest near the village.

　Sue looks like a small boar. The taste of meat is close to that of cow. It does not have the marbled texture of Japanese beef, but the taste of a lean beef like Aussie beef.

　Sue has a characteristic that it rushes to anything yellow, and this trap will be using it.

　First, prepare a wide fence. Place a cloth soaked with Sue’s favorite apple scent in the enclosure. The sue will wander around the trap.

　A modified door is attached to the enclosure.

　The outside is painted in yellow and similar to a pet door. When sue rushes into the door, it will be trapped inside.

　The structure will not open unless it is pulled from the inside. So the sue inside will not be able to get out.

　When I heard the explanation of the trap, I thought it was a valid trap.

　But Ritsu

 

“There’s a point to ponder. What about the durability of the door? If the door is made brittle, it will break. If it is too hard there is a possibility that the sue that rams its head against the door faints and blocks the entrance.” (Ritsu)

 

　He pointed out that he was concerned.

 

“Sue’s head is so hard that it doesn’t get stunned easily. You should use something hard for the door to prevent it from breaking.” (Russell)

 

　Russell immediately answered Ritsu’s question.

 

“Oh, how will you kill the sue you catch?”

“If you have a small number of sue in the enclosure, I think you can go in and kill them normally. Sue is very timid as long as you don’t wear yellow things, it rarely charges at people. I think it’s not so difficult to hunt if you’ve got rid of escape routes. If you have a lot inside, you have to attack with a bow from the outside.” (Russell)

“Hmmm” (Ritsu)

 

　Ritsu is pondering.

 

“Let’s make one. First, let’s make the enclosure narrow and make it a scale that can catch only a few. I think that it will not cost a lot since it’s small we don’t even have to report it to Raven-sama. If we get a good result, then let us ask Raven-sama to make a wider.” (Ritsu)

“Oh, let’s do that.” (Russell)

 

　However, when you think about a proper trap. This is amazing for a five-year-old to come up with.

　Certainly, it is the effect of his A rank weapons aptitude.

From one perspective, the trap is not a weapon, but it can be used as one.

　Anyway, it was decided to create the trap that Russell thought of.