Volume 3, Chapter 27 – Jinsha’s Great Jungle

“Five Poison Wolves!”

“Leave it to me!”

Seeing Lu-chan nock an arrow, I hurriedly put up a Barrier to protect myself.

Thwack, yelp!

Thwack, grrr!

Clang!

Phew. As they say, better safe than sorry with a Barrier. Two shots hit, but one flew straight toward me from behind.

Her Friendly Fire rate is as abysmal as ever, but why does it always seem to fly my way?

However, the Poison Wolves seemed alerted by Lu-chan’s two shots and were keeping their distance. They appeared to be hiding behind rocks and trees, waiting for an opening.

“They’re quite clever monsters, aren’t they?”

“Wolf-type monsters are generally intelligent. The Silver Wolf that Fiene-sama tamed in the forest where we first met was also a fairly clever monster.”

“Hmm? What was that again?”

“Eh? You know, when we met in that forest…”

“Ah! Oh! That Mofumofu! I remember now. That Mofumofu was a monster? I had no idea!”

I gave a cute little “tehe” smile.

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“Fiene-sama, you really are… truly something.”

“Fiene-dono can tame monsters? If so, can you tame those Poison Wolves as well?”

“Hmm, I wonder if that’s possible? You have to look them in the eye and have a long, thorough discussion. Besides, since we’ve already attacked them, aren’t they probably angry?”

Though in truth, I just used Charm to get them to cooperate temporarily.

“Is that so. Then it cannot be helped.”

With that, Shizuku-san kept her sword ready, ever vigilant. Since these weren’t beasts shrouded in black haze, she was using her beloved sword, Kirinagi.

Chris-san had her usual Holy Sword.

“It looks like we’ll just be staring each other down if we stay like this, so let’s try a little provocation. Purification!”

Knowing it wouldn’t actually work, I fired Purification Magic at the Poison Wolf hiding behind the tree.

I felt a tiny bit of a reaction, but it wasn’t the clear feeling I get when I successfully purify a beast shrouded in black haze.

But the effect was more than enough.

Startled by my light of purification, the Poison Wolf panicked and leaped out from behind the tree.

Lu-chan seized the moment and shot it right through the head in one hit.

The Poison Wolf collapsed and stopped moving.

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“Lu-chan, nice!”

Lu-chan gave me a peace sign and a cheerful “Yay!”

So that gesture exists in this world too.

Seeing this, the two remaining unharmed Poison Wolves turned and fled.

The two Poison Wolves that Lu-chan had shot initially had been finished off by Chris-san and Shizuku-san before I even noticed.

“We’ve only been in the forest for a short while and we’re already being ambushed. Just as the townspeople said, this forest really seems to be teeming with monsters.”

“Indeed. I heard there are poison swamps as well; this entire area of the forest might be a Miasma Accumulation.”

“A Miasma Accumulation?”

“A place where miasma tends to gather. It is said that places with high miasma have more monsters and that poison occurs naturally.”

“The relationship between miasma and monsters is talked about in the White Moon Kingdom as well. Considering the request from Ingolvina-sama to Fiene-sama regarding the Maiden of Blossoming Grace, there may be a connection between poison and miasma.”

“I see. By the way, are these Poison Wolves worth any money?”

“Only the magic stones. The pelts don’t sell for much.”

“Then let’s just collect the magic stones.”

After purifying the three Poison Wolf corpses, we extracted the magic stones and buried the bodies in the soil.

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Then, to prevent them from becoming Zombies, we purified the area once more and set off.

After walking for about five minutes, we were attacked by a giant boar monster. It was far larger than the boars I’d seen at the Hunting Festival. Even from the front, it was several times my height. This was practically a giant boulder.

“Onee-sama! That’s a Big Boar! That monster is incredibly delicious! We absolutely have to eat it!”

Lu-chan spoke to me with incredible eagerness, practically interrupting herself.

“Is it okay to eat monster meat?”

“It’s fine as long as you don’t eat the organs!”

“Big Boars are hardly different from regular beasts. It is a feast.”

Shizuku-san was also fully intent on eating. Chris-san didn’t say anything, but I felt like her expression had softened.

“Well then, if we take it down, it’s steak tonight.”

“Yay!”

She was rejoicing innocently, but I wondered if we could actually defeat such a massive boar.

The Big Boar charged at us with its enormous bulk. Despite its size, its speed was terrifying!

“B-Barrier!”

My Barrier caught the Big Boar’s massive body.

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Along with a thunderous crash as it hit the Barrier, there was a dull, unpleasant crack .

The Big Boar collapsed on the spot and stopped moving.

Wait, did it die from that?

No, it was twitching. It seemed to be breathing.

“Um, er, what happened?”

“It likely broke its neck. I have defeated many monsters, but this is the first time I have seen one go down like this.”

“Eeeh…”

While we were talking, the Big Boar stopped moving entirely.

Afterward, the Big Boar was turned into cuts of meat and a pelt, all stored away in my Storage.

Nammu Nammu.

By the way, the Big Boar’s magic stone was smaller than my pinky nail despite its huge body.

Since it was apparently useless, I enchanted it with Purification Magic and tossed it away.

Well, it’s not harmful, so it should be fine. Probably.