Volume 6, Chapter 7 – Cleaning Up the Forest

“Onee-sama! There’s a swarm of pests over there!”

“I shall handle it.”

With those words, Shizuku-san leaped forward and annihilated the swarm in the blink of an eye.

“Onee-sama! There’s a group of Orcs over there!”

“I’ll go this time.”

Chris-san leaped out and, once again, wiped out the group in an instant.

Yes, we have come to the Western Forest for monster hunting, as there are concerns regarding a Monster Stampede.

Our targets are 500 Goblins, 100 Orcs, and 200 Forest Wolves.

Incidentally, despite my saying it wasn’t necessary, a single platoon from the Fifth Knight Order stationed in Calvara tagged along.

At first, they were quite spirited, shouting things like, “We shall protect Saint-sama with our lives!” but now…

“H-hey. Were we even necessary?”

“I’d heard rumors that Christina-sama was strong, but Shizuku-sama is seriously too strong, isn’t she?”

“No, no, the most terrifying one is Lumia-sama, who can pinpoint the exact location of monsters in this forest. Honestly, she’s putting all of us Scouts out of a job.”

…they are having conversations like this. It seems I’ve completely crushed their confidence.

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I’ve heard that other hunters, those with reputations for being rough-and-tumble, have also entered the forest to hunt monsters.

Apparently, the period just before a Monster Stampede is the prime earning season for hunters; the ideal strategy is to hunt as much as possible and then flee to another town just before the monsters actually attack.

Furthermore, the Hunter Guild manages the payment of subjugation rewards and the trade of materials, holding a monopoly on these operations based on authorization from the state and the feudal lord.

In exchange, hunters belonging to the guild are obligated to assist in town defense during emergencies.

However, true to their reputation as crude, ill-behaved derelicts, they reportedly flee the moment their own lives are in danger.

If a town gets wiped out by a Monster Stampede, there’s no evidence left behind, so they won’t be punished for running away. Even if they do get found out, they can just work as hunters in another town, so it doesn’t really hurt them.

But this town has been placed under high alert, and stagecoaches are no longer running.

Therefore, the hunters remaining are either those who were too slow to escape, or those betting that the town won’t be destroyed by the stampede, aiming to hunt a massive amount of prey.

Apparently, even a Goblin’s magic stone can be sold for silver coins, and when supply and demand are tight, even gold coins.

Forest Wolf and Orc pelts can sell for a decent price if they’re in good condition, and with Big Boars, not only the pelt but the meat can be sold as well.

For those who gamble their lives to live hand-to-mouth, a situation like this—where such prey are abundant just before a stampede—is probably not so bad.

By the way, counting the magic stones on hand, our subjugation count so far is 53 Goblins, 11 Orcs, and 9 Forest Wolves.

Certainly, if this were a single day’s earnings, it might be considered decent, but this is only possible because Lu-chan, the Elf, is with us.

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Normally, I imagine we wouldn’t even achieve a tenth of this.

“But it’s strange. For a forest that was supposed to be on the verge of a Monster Stampede, it seems quite calm.”

“Indeed. Considering the Goblin Stampede in Chi Tien, there should be a lot more monsters around…”

“You think so too?”

As we continued through the forest talking, Lu-chan suddenly stopped. It seemed she had found something.

“Hmm? Huh? Humans? Eh?”

Swish-swish-swish!

The moment Lu-chan muttered those words, a volley of arrows was launched at us all at once.

“Fiene-sama!”

“Barrier!”

The mass of arrows raining down on us were all blocked by my Barrier.

“Lumia, humans?”

“Yes, there are ten humans over there, and another ten over there! Ah, they’re running away!”

“I shall go!”

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Shizuku-san dove into the thicket on the right with blinding speed.

“Spirits of the forest, please support Shizuku-san!”

“I am grateful!”

Responding to Lu-chan’s call, the plants and trees along Shizuku-san’s path parted on their own, opening a way for her.

In an instant, Shizuku-san vanished from sight.

Then, Lu-chan drew her bow, took aim, and fired into the forest to the left.

“Gwah, guh, ugh…”

A man’s voice rang out from deep within the forest to our left, followed by a dull thud and a muffled groan.

Chris-san stood in front of me, shielding me.

Then, the captain of the accompanying platoon, seemingly having recovered from his freeze, issued orders.

“First squad, to the left thicket! Second squad, to the right thicket! The rest, secure the perimeter and protect Saint-sama!”

I mean, yeah, I appreciate it, but isn’t that a bit too late? I wonder if they’ve grown soft from too much peace.

“Um, Shizuku-san will probably handle the right side, so let’s go catch the one Lu-chan shot down.”

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As we pushed through the brush—though thanks to Lu-chan, the brush practically moved out of our way—we found a man lying on the ground, bleeding profusely.

Lu-chan’s arrow was embedded in his right shoulder, and there was a large wound in his abdomen as if he had been stabbed by something.

“Hmm? I wonder why this happened? Let’s treat him just in case.”

“I don’t know, but let’s restrain him first for safety. Hey.”

“Yes, sir!”

Two young knights worked together to bind the man’s hands behind his back. I cast Healing Magic on him.

The wound closed quickly, but he didn’t regain consciousness. Moreover, despite being healed with Healing Magic, his complexion remained quite poor.

“Ah, is this poison? Detoxify!”

I felt the spell take hold as the poison inside the man’s body was broken down.

“There, he should be fine now. Let’s regroup with Shizuku-san and head back.”

“Yes.”

When we returned to the original spot, Shizuku-san had already come back.

And around her lay an unfamiliar knight and the ten men of the second squad, who were supposed to have followed her into the right thicket, all sprawled out on the ground.