Chapter 110: Food Chain (2) |
Upon hearing Ellie would be joining us out of the blue, I asked for more details about the situation.
For non-combat specialists like Ellie, the supply of materials such as herbs and leather is crucial.
Normally, they would gather supplies themselves by exploring the relatively safe outskirts, but currently, even the outskirts are dangerous.
Therefore, it has changed to non-combat personnel participating when the combat teams go out for investigations or monster subjugation.
For Ellie, who collects a variety of herbs, it's a breather of sorts.
"Hello! I'm Ellie from the Herbology Department! Nice to meet you!"
The next day, I introduced Ellie to the team that would enter the forest together.
A bright and friendly greeting, coupled with her pretty looks, couldn't help but leave a good first impression.
"Nice to meet you. I'm Grace Aria del Berche of the Berche Duchy."
Grace and Lee Yeonju also greeted her in their own way. However, their gazes wavered slightly.
They tried their best to keep their eyes fixed on her face, but occasionally, their gaze would drop.
Ellie's ample assets aren't something easily overlooked. Regardless of gender, one can't help but stare.
"You're on the same team as Sivar, right? I'll do my best not to hold you back! But don't worry, I'm good at spotting herbs!"
Meanwhile, Ellie's bright personality helped lift the team's mood.
Grace seemed to like her cheerful nature, giving a satisfied smile.
Occasionally, her gaze would drift downward, but she tried her best to hold back like a proper noble.
"Miss Ellie, you seem quite knowledgeable about herbs. You appear to be a commoner, so may I ask where you're from?"
"You probably wouldn't know even if I told you. Have you heard of Batonto Village?"
"Hmm… I'm afraid I'm not too familiar with it due to my lack of knowledge."
"You can think of it as a very rural village."
As expected, women become friends quickly. I watched the two of them already chatting away.
Grace's high-handed atmosphere and sharp features make it difficult to approach her.
But thanks to Ellie's easygoing personality, they were able to strike up a conversation earlier than expected.
"Miss Grace, your eyes are really stunning. They're as pretty as a cat's."
"Excuse me? My eyes?"
"Yes. I think they're beautiful."
Moreover, she even complimented Grace's eyes. Grace touched her own eyes with a dumbfounded expression at the praise.
If anything, people would call them sharp, but never stunning or pretty.
However, Ellie seemed to like them. It's not a twisted aesthetic sense, but simply a matter of taste.
"Th-thank you. Miss Ellie, your eyes too…"
Grace paused mid-sentence and lowered her gaze. I could roughly guess where she was looking.
Then, she made an expression as if forcibly swallowing the words that had risen to her throat, barely managing to continue.
"…Your eyes are truly beautiful. I've never seen eyes that shine like gold before."
"Hehe. Thank you."
It's great to see them complimenting each other. I'm glad to have only good people around me.
Ellie then asked about Lee Yeonju's background. Naturally, Lee Yeonju revealed the name of her region, not the Hwan Empire.
Ellie didn't pay much attention to this part and moved on without much thought. Instead, she showed a different side.
"I apologize if this is rude upon our first meeting, but may I hug you?"
"Pardon…?"
Perhaps she found Lee Yeonju's small stature and cute appearance endearing. Ellie asked if she could hug her.
Lee Yeonju was taken aback by the unexpected question, and Ellie, realizing it was rude, smiled awkwardly.
"I guess I can't, can I? I'm sorry."
"It's… it's okay…! Here!"
Lee Yeonju spread her arms wide, flustered. It seemed like she wasn't just acting but was sincere.
Ellie, not missing this chance, gently hugged Lee Yeonju. Ellie was of average height, but Lee Yeonju fit snugly into her embrace due to her petite frame.
"Phew…"
Lee Yeonju let out a sigh at the soft and fluffy feeling, her expression as if all the worries in the world had vanished.
I knew that feeling too. Any remaining wariness must have completely melted away.
The two stayed in each other's arms for a while before slowly parting. Both had satisfied expressions.
"I hope it wasn't uncomfortable."
"It was… really comfortable…"
This is how she captures people one by one. She probably doesn't even realize it herself.
"Want a hug too, Sivar?"
"Sure."
Falling for it despite knowing is the breadth of Ellie's embrace. I immediately accepted her offer and gently leaned into her.
Although I couldn't bury my face in her chest while standing, just feeling the sensation was satisfying enough.
I'll have to ask her again later when we sit down to rest. It's been so long since I've felt this, and it put my heart at ease.
‘It would have been a bit awkward to ask Rize.'
Rize is, how should I put it… I hesitated to make such a request to her.
I'm not sure why. Maybe because of her title as a Saint, or for some other reason.
It's the same with others. There aren't many people I can comfortably act spoiled with like Ellie.
"Alright, that's enough for today. We should start heading into the forest now, so let's break it up."
"…"
I wanted to stay in her arms a bit longer. I obediently followed her words but couldn't hide my disappointed expression.
Ellie must have found me cute, as she laughed brightly and pinched my cheek. Why does everyone pinch my cheeks, including Kara?
"Attention, everyone! As mentioned yesterday, today's main focus will be scouting! Avoid going deeper into the forest without your guardian's instructions! The two students appointed as guardians yesterday will be given special compasses just in case!"
The entrance to the forest was crowded with students as if they were on a picnic. They wore personal clothes instead of uniforms.
Moreover, perhaps due to the information about monsters running rampant, everyone was carrying weapons. I was the same.
It felt strange to hold Ragnarok again after such a long time. I hadn't used it in a while.
"Ellie's here too? I heard there would be non-combat personnel here and there."
After receiving the special compass, Kara approached us. She didn't seem too surprised to see Ellie.
It seemed Kara's team also had a non-combat member. Or maybe she had already heard the news.
Ellie greeted Kara with her signature bright smile upon her approach.
"Hi, Kara unnie. How have you been?"
"It's only been a week. How did your midterms go?"
"I'm not sure. I wrote down everything, but the results aren't out yet. Non-combat departments focus more on theory, so it's a bit slower."
"Is that so? I'm sure you did well. We'll go on ahead first."
"Okay. Be careful."
Kara exchanged brief greetings and entered the forest with her team. I quietly watched her back.
I hadn't noticed until now, but Kara was quite tall. Taller than most male students.
Even now, standing alone, I could see just how tall she was.
"Where's Luna? Did she go ahead?"
"The first group went ahead, so I suppose so. We should head in too."
Unfortunately, we didn't see Luna. We'll probably run into her while exploring the forest.
I entrusted the special compass to Ellie. It's better for her to have such things.
‘Should I start by looking for traces of Porori?'
Porori, who had entered mating season. I don't know where that guy is or what he's doing now.
Normally, animals go crazy during mating season. Even prey would charge at predators.
Although Porori has evolved into a spiritual being, his beastly instincts probably haven't disappeared. Even humans aren't exempt from that.
‘I'm surprisingly calm.'
Despite living like a beast and entering civilization, my desires haven't stirred much. It's not like I'm completely impotent, though.
I diligently pitch a tent every morning and have plenty of interest. I just have strong self-control.
I don't know how far this patience will last, but I'll endure as much as possible. If it's not feasible, I'll handle it myself.
"Come to think of it, Miss Ellie. How did you and Mister Sivar become acquainted?"
"Luna and I were the first to discover Sivar. Have you heard of Monkeys? They're large monsters that look like gorillas."
"I know of them. They're monsters that even skilled knights have difficulty handling."
As I was looking around for any notable traces, Ellie and Grace started chatting behind me.
Grace must have been curious to see that Ellie and I seemed familiar with each other. It made sense, given how friendly we were from the start.
"Actually, I almost died because of a Monkey. I entered deep into the forest in search of high-quality herbs and nearly met with disaster."
"So at that time, Mister Sivar…"
"Yes. Just as the Monkey's hand was about to smash me, Sivar saved me. He was truly… like a prince from a fairy tale."
I was probably far from a prince at the time, wearing nothing but rags. Still, I'm glad she remembers it positively.
"Just thinking about that moment makes me shudder. I'm alive right now thanks to Sivar, so my life practically belongs to him."
"…To that extent? Entrusting your life to him?"
"Of course. This is what I was taught. If you owe someone your life, dedicate that life to them. My parents taught me that."
Isn't that too extreme? I was at a loss for words.
It's the same on Earth, but in this world, home education is crucial. Without things like the internet, society is very narrow.
The narrower the society, the easier it is to be influenced by strange ideas. There are quite a few people like Ellie who seem ordinary but hold extreme beliefs.
‘Ellie also considers violence as a means.'
It's okay to use violence against criminals. Ellie agreed with this and didn't deny it.
The person themselves is kind. It's just that there are many unavoidable aspects due to the times.
"I see. Then, should I also offer my chastity to Mister Sivar?"
"Pardon? What do you mean by that?"
"Actually… there was a recent incident where my chastity was nearly compromised. Fortunately, Mister Sivar helped me escape the crisis."
The problem was that Grace was no pushover either. She brought up the recent incident herself.
It must have been traumatic, but she disclosed it calmly, perhaps because it was a common topic(?). It was surprising even for me to hear.
"According to Miss Ellie's words, shouldn't I also offer my chastity to Mister Sivar?"
However, it seemed to be a kind of eye-level education. It was far from what I had expected.
But there was a part that even Grace didn't anticipate.
"Weren't you going to offer it?"
"Pardon?"
"From what you're saying, it sounds like you're ready to offer it anytime… am I wrong?"
Ellie seems perceptive yet not at the same time. It's probably due to her unique optimistic personality.
What's even more difficult is that it's not what you'd call a suggestive act. Ellie asked out of genuine curiosity.
"That… I can't say no, but… this, this requires both parties to be ready…!"
"Ready? Ready for what?"
"There, there are things like that! This isn't important right now, so let's move on!"
In the end, Grace raised the white flag. No matter how capable she was, this topic must have been tricky to explain.
"This is confusing…"
Lee Yeonju, who had been quietly following behind, muttered softly. She seemed to find the situation perplexing as well.
Amidst the confusing situation, I don't know how long we walked. As we collected herbs along the way, we discovered some traces.
"This is…"
"It's a Nol."
We found the corpse of a Nol that seemed to have died recently. A humanoid monster with a hyena head.
It's one of the monsters that can be found in forests, grasslands, mountain ranges, and so on. I also killed quite a few when I lived in the forest.
However, it's not a species that would live in the outskirts. It seemed to have been pushed to the outskirts after losing in competition.
‘But why is there only one?'
Nols, like other monsters, live in groups. It's a bit strange for there to be only one lying around.
As I tried to investigate further, I noticed something odd.
"Why are there burn marks only on the lower body?"
"You're right. It doesn't seem to have been burned by fire, though…"
Only the fur on the lower body was charred black. The other parts seemed relatively intact.
It seemed to have died from the shock of its lower body being severely burned.
‘But this… it's not burned by fire?'
The marks were closer to being struck by ‘lightning' than being burned by fire. I could differentiate it after being burned by lightning so often recently.
Then why was it electrocuted only on the lower body? I used a branch to thoroughly examine it.
And before long, I noticed ‘traces' mixed with bright red blood.
‘…This guy, could it be?'
It wasn't certain yet. I needed more detailed evidence.
After finding a few more traces, I realized one thing.
"Monsters that died cleanly and monsters with only their lower body burned… what could this mean?"
"I'm not sure. I don't really…"
He said his mating season hit hard.
Fortunately, he seemed to be targeting only the furry ones.
