Chapter 346: Chapter 250

Translator: “Hakou” Editor: “Weasalopes”

The spirit forest that spreads out in the northern part of the Ost continent.

In the sunlight filtering through the trees, a large magical beast was walking between the trees.

It was about fourteen meters tall, slightly smaller than a Heavy Lancer. If we were to look for something that has a similar appearance to it, it would be a goat.

It was a species known as the Capricorn.

(…It’s not here)

This young male thought with inexplicable anxiety. He is looking for his herd, but he can’t find them.

The spirit forest is vast. However, there are not many feeding grounds that can support a herd.

There are several places where poisonous plants grow, and animal paths that connect them. The fact that he couldn’t find them even after going through all of these places is quite strange.

(This is strange)

His goal was to compete and win against the current chief so that he can become the new chief.

『Nomad』

This term refers to young males who leave the herd and live alone. During this period, they gain experience and strength and eventually return to their herd to defeat the chief.

And this young Capricorn felt that he finally had the power he needed to do that.

(I guess I’ll look around one more time)

While thinking about this, he felt thirsty and went to the lake. Once he arrived on the shore of the lake, he bowed his head and began to drink.

After he satisfied his thirst and was about to raise his head, he saw a red light from the left corner of his eyes.

(Wha-!?)

The first thing he felt was a shock, as if he had been punched. Next, he felt an intense burning sensation on the left side of his face.

He reflexively turned his head, and what reflected in his right eye was the figure of a green giant. It was standing at a slight distance, holding a short branch in his hand.

(I got shot)

Realizing this, the young male Capricorn immediately ran into the forest, moving his legs as hard as he could to escape.

However, he was unable to see with his left eyes, probably because his left eyes had been destroyed.

(But… why?)

The Green Giant is a nasty opponent.

They show up where we are eating and drive us away. Then they bring in other humanoid creatures and prune us.

They are one of the few things that compete with us for food. However, they have never been violent.

(Something must have changed)

The chief had often talked about it. That the food supply is dwindling and it’s getting harder and harder to live here every year.

It must be the same for the green giants. So it’s no wonder that they’ve decided to eliminate their competitors in order to secure food.

(Don’t tell me!)

When he arrived at a certain thought, he felt a chill run down his spine.

『The fact that he couldn’t find his herd anywhere』

He felt there was a connection here.

Capricorns themselves aren’t that strong. And the green giants use dangerous magic.

It would not be impossible for them to kill the entire herd.

(…No, that can’t be the case)

As he ran while praying for the safety of his herd, he remembered the words of the Heavy Lancer he had met the other day.

『I’d like you to come to our place』

There is a better place to live than the spirit forest. That’s what it said.

He refused because he had his own goal, which was to “win against the chief,” but he didn’t know what his herd chose to do.

It is possible that they followed the Heavy Lancer and left this place.

(That has to be the case)

The young Capricorn, pushed back by his desire to believe so, continues to run.

His goal now was to get to the Heavy Lancers that he believed knew about the disappearance of his herd.

***

After watching the Capricorn flee, the elf Knight’s chest armor opens upward.

The one who emerged from inside was a young woman with long hair and a neat face. Her long, thin ears parted her hair in front and back.

「I’m sure it won’t come back after that」

She said as she made the Knight’s hand turn the wand around.

This green colored Knight is a C-class Knight. However, unlike the C-class Knight of the human race, it could use magic attacks to some extent.

However, only for the elves who have a lot of magic power.

「Add more manpower if you’re gonna increase the work, good grief」

She pouted her mouth as she spun her wand.

Her job is to keep large magical beasts away from the lake. This is a new task assigned to her by the High Elves who are worried about the deterioration of the drinking water quality.

「I hate this」

Despite her complaining, the work at the water intake tower was actually not that hectic. Because of that, she was allowed to take turns patrolling and spend her time as she likes until evening.

She herself made good use of this time and spent her life in abundance.

Now, however, she really had to go out on patrol.

「We should’ve just done this from the beginning. Without saying something like, “Don’t stain the spirit forest with the blood of demon beast”」

Feeling the worsening work conditions firsthand, she decided to improve the efficiency of her work on her own. That is what she is doing now, attacking the beast with magic.

Naturally, her superiors did not approve of it.

『The demon beast will just come back again if we just chase them away. And the bodies will be discovered as expected if I kill them』

Then, I will just have to engrave their bodies with pain.

「As I thought, discipline is important」

The female elf pilot brushed her hair in the gentle breeze and squinted her eyes comfortably.

***

The perspective returns to the young Capricorn.

As I ran to the other side of the lake, I finally spotted a herd of Heavy Lancers.

He lowers himself and walks up to the one that seems to be the chief, who sees him and comes forward.

『What do you want?』

The chief of the Heavy Lancer asked him with an arrogant attitude.

However, the young Capricorn couldn’t help but feel surprised by his appearance.

(He’s skinny)

It was not only the chief, but also all of the Heavy Lancers around him.

The Heavy Lancer who spoke to me the other day should’ve been bigger.

(Is it a different herd?)

While thinking about that, he asks him if he knows where his herd went.

The chief of the Heavy Lancers seemed to don’t understand what he meant and remained stern. He looked at him and told him about the Heavy Lancers he met the other day.

『…What nonsense』

The chief turned to the side and spat out such words. He explained that those Heavy Lancers also came to his herd and told him the same thing.

『A cowardly attempt to to sway and take control of my herd』

It seems the chief had decided so and drove them away with his horn.

『There’s no way a place that’s better than this forest exist out there』

He nodded his head, ostensibly in response to the chief’s words. However, the way his ribs was visible on his body made him less convincing.

『Leave!』

He must have guessed it somehow. The chief of the Heavy Lancers told him to go away unpleasantly.

The young Capricorn paused for a moment and then trotted away.

***

Eventually, the sun goes down and the forest is enveloped in darkness.

In the darkness, a Capricorn quietly approaches the lake. It was the young male who got his left face burnt by a fire arrow.

(If it’s night, the giant won’t be able to find me)

Having been attacked at the lake during the day, he waited until night.

However, the lights at the giant’s nest located on the other side of the lake didn’t stay on, so he couldn’t make a move until the date changed.

(What?)

The Capricorn begins to drink vigorously to quench his thirst. When he was in the middle of it, he noticed a pale blue light spreading in a circle off the coast.

As he hurriedly hid and watched, a huge turtle appeared from the center of the light, which appeared to be a magic circle.

(The guardian-sama)

There is no one in the spirit forest who doesn’t know him. It is a great spirit beast called the guardian of the lake.

(Those are… Heavy Lancers?)

As he watched them approaching the shore, he could see the figures of several horses on the guardian’s backs. They dismounted to the shore one by one.

Their not-so-skinny silhouettes could definitely be the Heavy Lancer that had called out to him the other day.

(So they’re actually the guardian’s messengers huh?)

His breathing became hard with surprise.

The credibility of the Heavy Lancer’s words had jumped dramatically.

(This means the talk that there’s a better place than this forest could be true)

He staggers through the trees and approaches them.

They must have noticed him. The turtle turned to look at him, and five Heavy Lancers stood between him and the turtle as they dismounted from the turtle’s shell.

But he was no longer wary of them.

『Please bring me to my herd』

He appealed to the turtle, but the response was slow. The turtle gave a dubious atmosphere.

The next few questions and answers revealed that the herd of Capricorns was not with them.

The guardian had not been able to find them either, and that was why they had come back.

『My herd is no longer in this forest』

The young Capricorn said so and nodded. Prompted by the turtle, he told them the reason.

The location of the herd is somewhat fixed. And since he himself can’t find them, there are only wandering young nomads here.

After listening, the guardian emits a strong hint of frustration.

『Why are you looking for us?』

The young Capricorn looks up at the turtle and asks with his remaining eyes straight ahead.

It was a question that he had been asking himself since the first time he was invited. What exactly does the guardian want from the Capricorns?

The turtle blinked slowly and then opened his mouth.

『There is something that we need you to eat』

However, the young male could not understand what he meant by that.

『Come with us, it will be faster if you see it for yourself』

After he finished speaking, the turtle pointed to his own back with his head.

The young Capricorn hesitated a bit before making up his mind.

(If it’s the guardian, it shouldn’t be anything bad)

He nodded and leapt onto the shell with a running start. Then, for some reason, the Heavy Lancers, let out a cry of surprise.

(What is it?)

He immediately found out the reason.

The Heavy Lancers were not able to ride as smoothly as he could.

(How dangerous)

Perhaps because they are afraid of slipping on their hooves, they walk like newborn babies. Even after he got on the shell, they seemed to be unsteady, and stepped back and forth, left and right.

(We’re good at mountain areas after all)

Even with one eye, this is no different from the plains. With a slight sense of superiority, he waited for the five animals to gather.

Then they departed. With the Heavy Lancers becoming even more unstable, he looked at the destination of the turtle.

When they reached some distance away from the shore, a magic circle spread out around them, and the scenery changed in an instant.

(This air… It’s full of rich magic power)

It’s like the spirit forest. Maybe even better.

And this scent. There is definitely an abundance of food in this forest.

While he was scurrying around, they arrived at the shore. After confirming that all of the passengers had landed, the turtle told him.

『I will call the master, wait for a moment』

The great spirit beast who is the guardian of the spirit lake. Who would have thought there would be someone higher than him.

The young Capricorn was astonished to learn of an existence he had never imagined.

A herd of Heavy Lancers were gathering around him.

***

The stage moved from the shore of the pond in the garden forest to the living room of the same building.

I was drinking a cup of strong coffee with Imosuke and Dangorou in front of me.

「You two don’t have to force yourselves and stay awake you know?」

It was too early in the morning to be called early morning, it was more like midnight. We had all woken up very early because we had missed Zaratan’s departure.

Going to the spirit forest without being noticed by the elves. To do so, there’s no choice but to depart in the middle of the night and return quickly early in the morning.

「You’re okay, you say?」

A bath towel spread out on the floor. On it is a 20 centimeter long fifth instar larva of a swallowtail butterfly and a 15 centimeter long dung beetle.

Both of them are spirit beasts, and they are also my familiars.

Right now, Imosuke is wearing an eye patch over his ocular crest, and Dangorou is checking the chestnut moths he has lined up. He says he is using this time to clean up the equipment of the 『Doom Squad』.

「Still, you’re strangely full of energy aren’t you two?」

It reminds me of last night’s meeting with my familiars. The main topic was the information of 『Capricorn’s habitat』 that I had brought back from the merchant guild.

I checked with Zaratan, but there was no water source nearby that he could teleport to.

「How about we try to search the spirit forest again?」

My proposal was accepted by the 20cm long turtle.

Neither Imosuke nor Dangorou had any objections, so the decision was made. And they departed immediately.

I sipped my coffee to blow away the drowsiness and brought my consciousness back to the present.

「Huh? We’ve increased the number of Heavy Lancers to five, so you was hoping they’d find them this time, you say?」

General Dangoro said to me while raising his head from his battle chestnut burr. Perhaps motivated by this, Imosuke also lifted the front half of his body.

「Where should you wear your eye patch, you say? Right… why don’t you try wearing it on the left?」

It’s probably not a good idea to reply “It’s fine which way”. So I just gave a suitable reply.

Imosuke, the head of my familiars, seemed to be focused on his eye patch. He asks me to switch it, so I tie it on his left side.

While watching Imosuke walk back and forth in front of the mirror, I take another sip of coffee.

「I don’t think I can wake up in time if I sleep again」

I’ve been told to come by the herbivore mechanic first thing in the morning today. I can’t be late.

As I was turning my shoulders and neck, a wave of thought came from the pond.

「…What, so they’re back already」

It was a wave that said “I’m back”. The source of the message was Zaratan.

I took the coffee cup to the table with mild surprise. However, from the atmosphere, it seemed that nothing bad had happened.

「Looks like they got something, let’s go there together」

I stood up with a caterpillar wearing an eye patch on my right shoulder and a brown chestnut burr on the palm of my hand.

Then, wearing my sandals, I went out into the garden forest.