The adventure (such a romantic word…) had been going smoothly.
After the second day, we hadn’t faced any major trouble. There had been only a few monster attacks, and thankfully, no mutants appeared. It was almost too calm, the word ‘uneventful’ seemed fitting.
「To begin with, it’s not like you run into mutants that often.」
Berde-san said casually, while we marched on.
「I’ve only seen them three times in my life. The last time was that two-horned beast, the bicorn, the one you helped me with. That was actually the first time I’ve faced one directly.」
「Really? What about the other two times?」
「Spotted them from a distance, then hightailed it out of there. That’s what you’re supposed to do.」
Mutants are born when plants or animals are exposed to magic power crucible for a long time. They absorb tainted, murky magic power into their bodies, which warps their natural attributes, shortening their lifespan. They tend not to stray far from their territory, so the best strategy is to avoid them.
「We see them around our place quite a bit.」
「Hmm, about once a month? Though recently, it feels like they’re avoiding our area too.」
「You guys live in one hell deep of a place…」
Berde-san’s bearded face twisted into a grimace.
Schnei-san, who had just finished inspecting the brush ahead, asked without looking back.
「So, do you take them down every time you see them?」
「Yes. If they stay around, it causes all sorts of problems, and they always attack on sight. With our detection abilities, it’s hard to spot them before they notice us.」
「Kuuun…」
Chocola let out a sad whimper, his head drooping.
Your nose isn’t as sharp when it comes to mutants, is it?
「Those things mess up the magic power in the area. Even skilled mages can barely use their spells, and that includes communication crystals.」
「I see. Chocola’s nose is really sensitive to changes, isn’t it?」
「Bark!」
So that’s why it takes longer for him to pick up their presence.
Schnei-san gave a hand signal to Berde-san. Receiving it, Berde-san urged us forward. It meant there were no enemies.
「Well, there are all sorts of mutants. Some, like that bicorn, even lead packs. That time was completely unexpected… After surrounding us with its minions, it strolled up like it owned the place. Even Schnei didn’t sense it, and I misjudged the whole situation.」
The search party formed during that incident was led by Berde-san and Schnei-san, gathering some of the best fighters from Sidera.
Schnei-san had discovered that the target of the rescue mission was surrounded by a herd of bicorns. Based on that information, Berde-san decided that they could take on the bicorns and led the charge—however, during the battle, the mutant appeared and threw all their plans into chaos.
If they had known a mutant was present, even Berde-san would have retreated. That’s how dangerous they are.
「Our sense of danger must be out of sync with everyone else…」
「Well, this time we’re counting on your family’s strength when it comes to dealing with mutants. If you spot one, we’ll rely on you to take it down.」
「Understood.」
「Hmm,leave it to us.」
「Bark!」
The Hatano family’s cheerful response seemed a little out of place.
「Is it really something to be so casual about…?」
「Huh?」
Rick-san’s voice snapped me out of it.
Before I knew it, the entire group was giving us exasperated looks, and the air was thick with disbelief, all directed at us.
「It’s like being asked to go buy butter…」 Noemi-san muttered.
「Yeah… I’m still not used to it. Just talking about mutants makes me tense up.」 Noah added.
「Mutants once a month… That’s so far from my reality.」 Parker-san grumbled.
「Uh, well… um…」
「Kuuun?」
I could only stroke Chocola, feeling a bit guilty, trying to play it off.
That was the kind of conversation we had as we journeyed on.
On the tenth day since our departure, following Berde-san’s perfectly calculated itinerary, we finally reached our destination.
—But…
※※※
「What in the world…?」
Berde-san muttered in disbelief.
We had emerged from a dense forest into an open—no, clearly cleared—area.
A small settlement lay before us.
A river ran through its center, and it was surrounded by earthworks and wooden barricades. It was more like a cluster of houses than a village.
But—
「Half a year… no, maybe a year.」
Schnei-san murmured, crouching down to touch the decayed wooden spikes.
Yes, but…
The settlement was a ruin.
The earthworks were crumbling in places, the barricades no longer serving their purpose.
The houses were dilapidated, with some roofs collapsed and others entirely destroyed.
The ground was overgrown with weeds, and the fields had long been overtaken by wild plants.
Though the river still ran clear through the center, the medium-sized waterwheel installed there had long since stopped, and the water channels that once served the settlement had clearly fallen into disrepair.
「This is the Athenak settlement? Really?」
I could only stare in shock at the sight before me.
「No way… what happened here?」
「….Were we too late?」
The Ejetia twins voiced their confusion, their tones almost panicked.
「No, if Schnei says it’s been a year, then even if you’d come here the day you arrived in Sidera, you would have found the same scene.」
Noah said, running his hand along a crumbling pillar of one of the ruined homes.
「…But this wasn’t just due to old age. The central support beam is broken midway—this was caused by an external force.」
「So, there was an attack? By monsters or mutants?」
「Most likely. But… something is strange.」
Noah responded, deep in thought.
He walked over to another house and gestured for me to follow.
「Look, Sui. This one’s almost completely burned down. So it’s clear something or someone destroyed this place. But here’s what’s strange.」
「Strange? What do you mean?」
「There are no bodies.」
「Ah…」
His words clicked into place in my mind.
「Now that you mention it, the burnt-down house, the collapsed ones… none of them have… But could they be buried under the rubble?」
「We could dig around, but that’s not the issue. Think about it, Sui. If beasts had done this, they wouldn’t just stop at killing. They would have fed on the people.」
「That’s… true.」
The thought made me grimace. It was a reality far removed from the peaceful life I had known in Japan.
「At the very least, there should be bones scattered outside. Even in a forest crawling with beasts, it takes time for human remains to disappear without a trace. And this settlement… it had at least fifty people living here.」
「If there were fifty people here and they were wiped out by monsters… then, yes, this ruin is far too clean.」
「I agree with Noah.」
Berde-san said, nodding.
Schnei-san returned from exploring the village.
「It’s strange. I checked inside the houses that are still intact, but there are no bodies or even a trace of blood. What’s more curious is that almost all the metal goods are gone.」
「Metal goods…?」
「Things like pots and knives. In a forest like this, metal is valuable. The fact that they’re missing could mean the residents took them when they left.」
「So, they relocated? Abandoned the settlement and moved somewhere else?」
「Yeah.」
Schnei-san nodded.
「Of course, it’s possible they made clay pots and used obsidian for knives, but… even in a forest, I doubt they’d live that primitively.」
Noemi-san looked shocked at Schnei-san’s guess.
「No way… Athenak would abandon their settlement without informing Alfheim, the Elf Nation?」
「I’m not familiar with the customs of elves, but do they need to report a relocation?」
「Athenak used to have a settlement further north, in the surface regions. About twenty years ago, they relocated to this spot. At that time, they reported it.」
Rick-san explained.
「Twenty years ago… that’s around the time Sui’s parents began distributing the communication crystals, right?」
「Exactly. The clan leader reported the relocation during a visit to the castle to obtain one of the crystals. But after that, there’s been no further communication… Athenak has always been somewhat isolated from the rest of the Elf Nation, so no one thought much of it.」
「Before you two came to investigate, did the Elf Nation try to contact Athenak? With communication crystals, it should’ve been easy.」
「That… I’m not sure.」
「We weren’t given much information. We were just told to investigate…」
The twins admitted, exchanging uncomfortable glances.
「This smells fishy.」
Berde-san said, crossing his arms.
It certainly didn’t add up.
The village had been abandoned and ruined.
There were signs of an attack, yet there was no clear evidence of death.
And despite having communication crystals, the Elf Nation had sent Rick and Noemi without any real knowledge of what had happened here.
Something strange was going on—something we didn’t yet understand.
「Let’s gather some clues. Search the village thoroughly, see if there’s anything left. Rick-san, Noemi-san, can you contact the Elf Nation with the communication crystal?」
Everyone nodded in agreement.
—And then, it happened.
「Bark! Grrr…!」
Chocola suddenly bristled, growling in warning.
「…!」
Schnei-san snapped his head up at the same time.
Both of them were staring at the sky.
「Bark! Bark!」
「Everyone, prepare yourselves! Sui, set up a barrier… something’s coming from above!!」
It was a sudden assault.
A massive shadow, something inhuman, loomed over the village.
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