Chapter 33 - The Quiet Forest
Kyle and I continued to walk through a forest that was quieter than usual.
We were hunting today as always, but for some reason, the forest was quiet today. The sounds of insects and the chirping of birds that could usually be heard from all over weren't audible at all.
There was a tense air drifting through the atmosphere, and a prickly feeling was being transmitted.
As I thought, the forest is strange today...
While walking through the forest with such thoughts, a faint sound of hitting the soil reached my ears.
"...Prey has come again."
Sensing the presence of something moving in the forest, I readied my bow.
"...It's from the west again."
Because I readied my bow toward the west, Kyle, who was beside me, also seemed to notice the opponent's presence, albeit a bit late. He readied his bow and notched an arrow with a fluid movement.
"I'll take the right side, so Kyle, I'm counting on you for the left."
"Understood."
After Kyle replied with few words, the bushes swayed deep in my vision, and two deer jumped straight out.
Whether they were surprised that humans were here, the deer showed a moment of hesitation, but we didn't miss that and released our strings.
A sharp sound cutting through the air rang out, and our arrows cleanly pierced the foreheads of the deer running toward us.
With a thud, the arrows struck home, and the prey sank their bodies into the ground.
After confirming there were no other living creatures, we slowly shouldered our bows again. Then we set about the task of bleeding the prey.
"Even so, there's a lot of prey today."
"Yes, even though not much time has passed since we entered the mountain, this is already the fourth deer. We'll have to go down to the village again."
Perhaps thinking of the labor of going down to the village, Kyle let out a sigh.
"It's a happy thing that there's plenty of prey, but when they come running from the west like this..."
The prey we had taken down just this afternoon consisted of four deer, three rabbits, two boars, and two birds. Even though only a few hours had passed since we entered the mountain, this number was a bit high.
If all of those animals had come running from the west as if frightened, there was only one thing to think of.
It meant a ferocious monster had appeared over there.
It's common for ferocious carnivores or monsters to move in search of food, causing herbivores or weak monsters to move as if escaping. I had experienced this many times during my adventurer days.
In times like this, it's better to take action such as cutting the hunt short without moving carelessly, or sending out a scout to gather information.
Master Lauren had been with us until a moment ago, but he had gone out to scout, suspicious of the prey escaping from the west. In the meantime, we were waiting without approaching the west side.
Even so, prey would come on its own, but since we couldn't carry back any more even if we hunted them, we'd just have to leave them.
While bleeding the deer and keeping a lookout on the surroundings, I heard footsteps from the west.
Then, a large shadow emerged steadily from the left side of my vision.
"...What. It's Master. I thought a bear had come out."
"You idiot. Is there a bear as handsome as this?"
While saying such usual friendly banter, Master Lauren came over here.
Certainly, if he suddenly came out from the shadow of a tree, one might think he was a bear.
Master Lauren, who had been wearing a cynical smile, turned serious as soon as he looked at us.
"Well, but what Kyle said isn't wrong."
"Does that mean..."
My words leaked out instinctively.
Whether he guessed from Master Lauren's words, Kyle also looked up at Master Lauren with a startled expression.
In response, Master Lauren nodded deeply and said,
"Yeah, I found claw marks and red fur that seem to be from a Red Bear on a tree to the west. I don't know if it's in search of food, but it probably came down from the north."
And then, he showed us a single red hair.
No mistake. That red, long hair must be from a Red Bear. I've seen them many times in the past, so there's no mistake.
No wonder the prey were coming in fear.
"...S-should we gather ourselves and other hunters to subjugate it?"
Kyle asked with a stiffer expression than usual. Cold sweat was on his forehead, and his voice was trembling.
No matter how mature he seemed, Kyle was still a twelve-year-old child. Even though he hunted in the mountains, the monsters he had hunted were at most small monsters with low danger levels like Goblins.
It was natural to be afraid of a large monster like a Red Bear.
A Red Bear wasn't a low-class monster like a Goblin or a Horned Rabbit that even villagers could deal with.
It was normal for deaths to occur even if a large number of hunters took it on, and it was common to request adventurers to subjugate it or ask the lord's soldiers to defeat it.
However, in an emergency, Nordende is quite far from both the adventurer's guild and the lord's mansion, so it would take time.
That's exactly why I chose this place, but...
"If it comes to that, we will, but for now, prioritizing the evacuation of the villagers comes first. It's not certain it will come down that far, but in the worst case, it might come near the flower field."
Hearing Master Lauren's words, which were more solemn than usual, Kyle looked relieved.
Seeing such a childish side, Master Lauren and I relaxed our cheeks as if to say it couldn't be helped.
Even if it came to a worst-case scenario, it's the role of adults to step forward first.
It's not a very far distance from here to the flower field. In the worst case, if it came down, villagers who came to the flower field without knowing anything might be attacked by the Red Bear. I didn't want such a thing to happen.
Flora frequently goes in and out of there, and it's my favorite place. I didn't want it to be ravaged by a monster.
It would be fine if the Red Bear went back north after being satisfied with food, but in case of emergency, I have to consider taking up my sword to subjugate it...
"For that reason, we're cutting today's hunt short and returning to the village. Tell everyone about this."
""Yes!""
Nodding at Master Lauren's voice, we hurriedly finished processing the prey. I actually wanted to do detailed processing like cooling them with water, but since there was no time this time, we decided to just do the bleeding and head down the mountain.
"I'll go to the center of the village and report to the Village Chief. Kyle, go to the south. Aldo, who's the fastest, hurry to the west. There might be people trying to enter the flower field."
"Understood!"
As soon as we went down the mountain, I decided to separate from Master Lauren and Kyle to spread the information.
It was appropriate for me, the fastest, to go to the most dangerous west side. For that reason, I had Master Lauren, who was strong, carry the deer that was our prey. He'd probably find someone close and leave it with them anyway, so it wasn't a problem.
The villagers on the east side were on the opposite side, so they rarely came to the west, and the judgment was that it could be handled if information spread from the center.
Being a village where people are closely connected, the speed of important information transmission is fast. Right now, it's important to separate and spread the information.
"Welcome back, Aldo-san! Huh? Where's the prey?"
"Sorry. I don't have much time today."
When I went down the mountain and started running to the west, several children came over as usual, but I couldn't attend to them because I didn't have time today.
"Ehh? How boring."
When they realized I couldn't play with them, the children went back to the fields with dissatisfied faces.
In the midst of that, I found an adult who wasn't a child and called out.
"Ah, excuse me, Doyle-san!"
"What's wrong, Aldo?"
Doyle came over with a curious expression after putting down his hoe.
"A monster from the northern mountains has come to the west. There's a possibility a monster might appear near the flower field, so I want you to tell everyone not to go toward the flower field for a while."
"...Is that true!? What kind of monster is it?"
At my words, Doyle-san also raised his voice in spite of himself.
"Judging from the claw marks and red fur, I think it's a Red Bear."
"...I-I see. I'll tell the people working in the fields around here!"
Hearing it was a Red Bear, Doyle-san hurriedly started running.
Master Lauren had been saying for a while that they were in the remote areas of the north. It seems the villagers also properly understood that. This kind of thing won't be accepted immediately unless it's said in advance. Master Lauren must have properly warned everyone in the village about the threat of monsters on a daily basis. As expected of him.
"Hey! Everyone, gather around for a moment!"
Ahead of my gaze, Doyle-san was shouting and gathering the villagers in this whole area.
"A monster?"
"It's a scary creature that attacks us..."
It looked like it would be okay here. Thinking that, I started running toward the flower field, where the greatest danger lay.