Chapter 26
Episode 26. Monster Hunt (3)
“Whoa, I almost didn’t recognize you! How did you change so much?”
Lytton let out a boisterous, hearty laugh.
Elric let out a series of hollow chuckles in response.
“You, on the other hand, haven’t changed a bit. You’ve only gotten bigger.”
“Oh? Since when did you start talking like that?”
“Good grief, man…”
Reconnecting with someone from the good old days was a pleasant experience, no matter how many times it happened.
It was even more so when that person was a close friend.
“Let’s head inside first. You’ve had a long journey.”
“Right, right. Ah, I haven’t greeted the Lady yet! I am Lytton, a knight of Gideon! A long time ago, I used to be this Captain’s right-hand man!”
“It is a pleasure to meet you.”
Tiria responded with her usual slight bow.
Once inside the manor, Elric, swept up in the joy of the reunion, momentarily forgot his original purpose and began catching up on old times.
“I heard you became a knight, but I didn’t realize it was in the neighboring territory. Why didn’t you do it here in Wibin?”
“Wibin doesn’t hire more knights. Gideon still maintains a knight order, mostly to keep up appearances. Ah, I’m not badmouthing Wibin, you know?”
“Don’t worry about it. I don’t mind things like that.”
“Glad to hear it.”
The conversation stretched on for quite a while.
After covering how they had spent the last ten years, the whereabouts of other friends, and the recent Harvest Festival, the talk naturally shifted toward reminiscing about the past.
The memories of those days felt as vivid as if they had happened yesterday, and the smile never left Elric’s face.
It was only a moment later that the conversation was interrupted.
“Lord, I apologize for breaking the mood, but perhaps we should begin discussing the matter at hand.”
“Ah, forgive me. I got a bit carried away.”
“Not at all.”
It was Tiria’s intervention.
Though it was a shame to stop, it was the right timing; if they continued like this, the conversation might have lasted all night.
Lytton also laughed and agreed with Tiria.
“Right, I am technically here on dispatch. You mentioned a monster hunt? My Lady, could I hear more details about that?”
“It is nothing complicated. A monster from the mountain behind the village came down and caused a disturbance. Based on our investigation, it is likely a Caliso Wolf. However, the Lord felt it would be safer to have at least one knight present.”
“Hmm, I can certainly be of help if it’s a monster. I’ve hunted them a few times in Gideon.”
Elric listened to their conversation with an awkward smile.
They should be preparing for a Blade Wolf, not a Caliso Wolf, but he felt Tiria’s watchful eye and couldn’t explain how exactly he knew that.
He figured he could just give Lytton a quiet heads-up later.
With that thought, Elric observed Lytton closely.
‘He’s well-trained.’
Lytton’s mana was very stable.
Then again, he had always been known for his sheer physical resilience since they were children, so rigorous training wouldn’t have been much of an issue for him.
At this level, he was a combatant capable of a head-on confrontation even if a Blade Wolf appeared.
If Lytton deflected the claws with his sword while Elric pierced the beast with his matchlock gun, it should be enough.
“…I see. The forces on this side are three hunters with matchlocks and one guide. Not bad. It’s excessively safe for just hunting a wolf.”
Lytton chuckled, making a lighthearted remark.
“Let’s head out immediately. Captain, we can finish the rest of our talk then!”
It happened just as he stood up.
Lytton, who had been glancing toward the window, tilted his head with a confused “Eh?” and looked flustered.
Elric followed his gaze out the window.
“What’s wrong… Hmm.”
Elric’s brow furrowed.
“It’s snowing.”
White flakes began to flutter down toward the ground.
Judging by the size of the flakes, it was the kind of snow that would accumulate.
Moving out immediately presented some problems.
If the roads froze, it would be difficult for carriages or horses to move, and more importantly, getting soaked by the falling snow could cause body temperatures to drop.
Lytton would be fine since he was a knight who could manipulate mana, but the others might be affected.
That said, they couldn’t just leave the monster be.
In the end, they reached a single conclusion.
“Well, let’s move as soon as the snow stops.”
It was Lytton’s suggestion.
“It’s not entirely bad. Accumulating snow means the monster’s tracks will be more clearly defined. It’ll be much easier to track its movement or find its habitat.”
“When do you think it will stop?”
“Probably by the afternoon?”
Elric and Tiria agreed, seeing as it wouldn’t take too long.
Not much time had passed after lunch when the three of them finished their preparations to depart.
Lytton asked.
“But are you really coming along?”
“Hmm? Is there a problem?”
“Why do you think there isn’t?”
Lytton’s gaze dropped to Elric’s knee.
Elric gave an embarrassed laugh.
True, it was understandable to worry about someone who couldn’t even walk properly without a cane going on a mountain hike.
But from Elric’s perspective, it was almost laughable.
“I may look like this, but I’m a man who spent ten years traveling the continent. I won’t collapse from an injury like this.”
“Well, if you say so, I can’t stop you… but you have to stay right behind me if a monster shows up, okay?”
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
In truth, Elric wanted to leave Tiria behind, but it felt absurd for a man with a crippled leg to tell her to stay out of it because it was dangerous.
Above all, her resolve to accompany them was firm, making it difficult to say anything else.
Elric stole a glance at her.
‘Hmm, she’s unusually quiet today.’
Now that the distraction of talking with Lytton had passed, he began to notice things one by one.
Was she actually nervous?
For some reason, her expression seemed stiffer than usual.
At that moment.
“Let us depart.”
At Tiria’s word, the carriage began to move.
It took another hour to reach the village.
Upon arrival, they were met by the hunters who had arrived the day before, the guide, and the village head.
“My, my Lord and Lady, are you coming as well?”
The village head spoke in shock, but he had no way to stop the lord and his wife.
The most he could do was bow his head with a reluctant look after hearing Elric’s response.
Which was fine by Elric.
“Do not worry; just stay here and reassure the villagers.”
Elric gave a bright smile and spoke to the hunters.
“Now, it seems everyone is ready, so let’s head out.”
“Yes, sir!”
And so, the mountain hike began.
Though it was called the mountain behind the village, it was part of a massive mountain range, and the path where the monster was presumed to have descended was a main trail occasionally used by local herb gatherers.
Elric carefully observed the hunters and Lytton as they climbed, surveying the surroundings.
It was to find an opening to mention the Blade Wolf.
‘Signs should start appearing soon.’
There was a better way than simply saying, ‘These are signs of a Blade Wolf.’
Surely, rather than identifying the species through the way the wooden fences were cut or how the village was ransacked, it would be much easier to point out the remaining traces nearby and let them realize the monster’s identity for themselves.
Elric had no intention of stepping to the forefront yet.
“Found it!”
One of the hunters shouted.
Elric checked the spot.
‘Hmm, it’s ambiguous.’
His eyes narrowed.
What the hunter had found was a footprint.
While it was larger than a typical Caliso Wolf’s, it didn’t bear the unique characteristics of a Blade Wolf.
“The footprint is quite large.”
That was all he could say.
However, the reaction was as expected.
“It’s certainly big enough to tear up a village. It’s a massive one.”
“Yes, it looks like a very robust adult specimen.”
As expected, footprints alone weren’t enough.
Elric let out a sigh.
“Let’s keep moving.”
He hoped they could find more definitive evidence.
The silver lining was that they still had some time.
Monsters usually nested past the fifth valley, and since they were only at the first, they didn’t have to worry about a surprise attack yet.
Above all, no monster presence was caught in the mana net Elric had spread out.
‘It’s fine.’
Judging thus, they walked for a while and were climbing well into the second valley.
Lytton’s face twisted into a grimace.
“…This is driving me crazy.”
As he said, it was a frustrating situation.
“The sky was clear, so why is this damn snow suddenly falling again?”
Dark clouds had suddenly gathered, and thick snow began to pile up once more.
Elric was also taken aback.
Until now, the walking hadn’t been too difficult, but if it piled up any more, it would clearly place a significant restriction on their movement.
Moreover, there was an even bigger problem.
“My Lady, are you alright?”
“……Yes.”
Tiria’s complexion was poor.
Only then did Elric truly realize something was wrong with her.
He had thought her face was flushed just from the cold, but that wasn’t it.
When he took off his glove and placed his hand on her forehead, he felt a fever.
“You have a cold.”
Elric’s expression hardened completely.
Tiria’s gaze dropped to the ground.
“……It is nothing.”
“Nothing? How could you not say anything when you’re in this state?”
“…….”
Tiria remained silent.
The others also looked troubled.
“Captain, what do you want to do? Should we head back down?”
No, they had already come too far to turn back now.
By the time they reached the village to warm her up, her fever would have spiked, and she would collapse.
They needed to take action as quickly as possible.
Elric’s thoughts raced until they reached a certain point and stopped.
“……Lytton, let’s go there.”
“Huh?”
“The cabin. There’s a cabin here in the second valley.”
Lytton’s eyes widened at his words.
“……Ah! The place where you used to learn swordsmanship from that bandit!”
“He was a knight.”
“Whatever!”
Lytton’s face brightened instantly.
“Right! If we go there, we can get out of the snow and warm the Lady up! Let’s go, quickly!”
“My Lady, can you walk a little further?”
Tiria nodded.
Elric gripped her shoulder firmly and said.
“Please, just bear with it a little longer.”
“……Yes.”
Elric immediately began to support her, quickening their pace.
Fortunately, Lytton seemed to remember the cabin as well, as he led the way without hesitation.
Crunch, crunch—
The sound of treading on snow echoed all around.
In the midst of it, Tiria stole a look at Elric.
His face was filled with worry.
‘I didn’t think the fever would get this bad…’
Tiria inwardly scolded herself for her complacency.
But even if she had known beforehand, would she have stayed behind? She shook her head.
It was because of her worry.
This mountain range in this season—memories came flooding back whenever she was here with Elric.
Amidst the dizzying heat, the blurry scenery of the snow-covered mountain began to be overlaid by a scene from her memories.
‘You run first!’
A brown-haired boy was shouting, blood streaming down his neck.
His expression was frantic.
Behind him was a black monster with glowing yellow eyes.
‘Hurry!!!’
As that cry felt as though it were echoing vividly inside her head,
Thud—
Tiria lost consciousness and collapsed.
“My Lady!!!”
Elric’s startled voice was the last thing she remembered.
