After finishing the test shot of 『Glowing Paralyze Arrow』, I decided to head into the forest together with Jered-kun.
To be honest, based on the test firing, it felt like nothing more than a disappointing skill art. I could not find any reason to use it.
Still, what I tested it on was a silent rice sack. If I tried it on an actual monster, it might be different. Maybe. Possibly.
「Shall we go then, Jered-kun」
「Yeah」
「Let’s wander around the forest and look for giant rats」
「Giant rats?」
「This kind of experiment really calls for giant rats」
「I do not really get it, but okay」
Jered-kun does not really get it, but giant rats are perfect for this sort of experiment. That is how I always do it.
This time too, Giant Rat-kun will have to serve as a guinea pig.
「Alright, to the forest—oh?」
Just as we left the training grounds and were about to head for the forest, I noticed someone approaching us.
「It’s rare for someone to come around here」
「Yeah. ……Huh? Wait, isn’t that your father, Alec?」
「Hm? Ah, you’re right. It’s Father」
Looking closer, the person approaching us was indeed Father.
「I wonder what he’s doing here? Did he come to train too?」
「That’s probably not it……」
Well, yeah. Father is a Sword Saint. There is no way he would be swinging a sword at rice sacks at this point…
But wait, what about a bow? Even if he would not train with a sword, practicing archery on rice sacks could be possible.
Maybe he came here thinking he would shoot a bow for the first time in a while……?
「Hey there, Alec, Jered-kun」
「Hey, Father」
「Hey」
Once Father came close enough to talk, the three of us exchanged brief greetings.
「Did you come to train, Father?」
「Huh? Train?」
「No? I mean, I kind of want to see you shoot a bow」
「A bow? What? Where did that come from?」
Judging by his reaction, it seems he did not come here to practice archery.
But now that the thought had crossed my mind, I really wanted to see Father shoot a bow.
Come to think of it, I have never actually seen Father use a bow.
How is he at it? Could it be that he is surprisingly bad?
Once I started thinking that way, I could not stop myself from wanting to see it.
「Right now, are you carrying a bow――or rather, do you even own one?」
「I don’t, but……」
「You don’t……」
Even though he is an elf, he does not even have a bow……
That’s impressive, Father. Just how devoted are you to the sword. As expected of a Sword Saint.
「There might be a bow I used long ago somewhere, but it’s been put away for ages」
「I see…… Then I’ll lend you mine this time, okay?」
「Uh……」
Father was still hesitant, but I more or less forced the bow into his hands.
「Jered-kun, you kind of want to see it too, right?」
「Huh? Well, I guess」
「So then, Father. Please」
「Eeh……」
◇
「It’s been a while, so I felt a bit nervous」
「I see……」
I forced Father to shoot a bow, but…… he was simply good at it.
There was no reason to be disappointed, but he was just plainly skilled. Far better than me.
……I was kind of hoping to see a more comical side of him.
「――That’s not the point, Alec」
「Hm?」
「Actually, I was looking for you because I had something to talk about」
「Oh? Really?」
So that was why he came all the way to the training grounds.
And yet, I ended up making him practice archery. I feel a bit bad about that.
「By the way, how did you know I was here?」
「Ah, I asked Laudette-san. She said you probably headed to the forest or the training grounds」
「I see」
「First I went to Jisrare-san’s place, then to Fleur-san’s, and after that I finally tracked you down at Laudette-san’s」
「Hmm……」
So this is how Father searches for me……
Well, he did find me in the end, so I won’t say anything……
「And I want both you and Jered-kun to hear this」
「Huh, me too?」
「Yeah. It’s something important for the two of you. Actually, it seems that lately――the miasma in the forest has been getting thicker」
「The miasma……?」
The forest’s miasma…… is getting thicker?
What is that supposed to mean. This feels like the start of a very serious event……?
「H-hey, Father…… When you say the forest’s miasma is getting thicker, does that mean――something is going to revive?」
「Revive?」
「Revive」
「What is?」
「Huh? I don’t know. Something that was sealed away?」
「I have no idea what you’re talking about, Alec……」
Huh? Is that not it?
Isn’t this one of those events where some incredible monster is about to revive, and that’s why the forest’s miasma is getting thicker?
「Anyway, it’ll probably get thicker for about a week, then go back to normal after another week」
「Eh……? That’s some very well scheduled miasma……」
「It’s actually fixed. About once every fifty years, the miasma gets thicker like this」
「I see……」
「Apparently it’s been like that for a very long time」
If Father says a very long time, then this must be something that has been happening since far back in history.
What kind of event is this? I kind of want to ask Deis-san about it. I wonder if she would tell me if I asked.
「Um, has the miasma already gotten thicker now? Honestly, I can’t tell at all……」
「It’s normal that you can’t notice it yet, Jered-kun. I can barely tell myself. Once it gets a bit thicker, you should be able to notice it」
「Huh, really? Then how did you know……?」
「Lisaberte-san noticed it. She’s very good at sensing things like that」
Oh, Ralina-mama. As expected. As expected of a shinobi. As expected of the ninja master.
「Right now, it’s still a minor change, so the forest isn’t affected, but once it gets thicker, monsters might increase, or evolved monsters might start appearing」
「Oh…… That’s……」
That’s some unpleasant information……
This really is starting to feel like a serious event.
「So for now, at the very least, don’t leave the village for the next two weeks」
「I see…… The miasma is getting thicker, so don’t go outside……」
From Father, the village chief, something like a photochemical smog warning has been issued.
Well, I don’t really know much about photochemical smog warnings either. But in my previous life, there were things like that, alarms telling you to stay indoors and all that――
「No, it’s fine to go outside. You just can’t leave the village」
「Ah, right. Sorry. I got it mixed up」
「Mixed up……? Well, anyway, that’s how it is, so please be careful, Alec and Jered-kun」
「Yeah……」
「Yes」
◇
Now that the photochemical smog warning had been issued, Father, the village chief, seemed busy and quickly went off somewhere, leaving us behind.
I almost thought, You’re just leaving us here? but well, this training ground is still inside the village, so it seems there is no problem.
「This is kind of scary, Jered-kun」
「Is it? More importantly, we can’t do a real combat test of 『Glowing Paralyze Arrow』 anymore」
「Huh? Ah, yeah, I guess that’s true」
At the very least, we can’t go into the forest for two weeks. That means we can’t run experiments on Giant Rat-kun during that time either.
Even so, Jered-kun doesn’t seem scared at all. A clearly serious event has started, yet he doesn’t look concerned in the slightest.
Personally, the photochemical smog warning worries me far more than 『Glowing Paralyze Arrow』 ever could.
「Are you okay?」
「Hmm. I’m still worried about the photochemical smog, I mean, the miasma」
「You worry too much, Alec. It’s fine. This has happened plenty of times before, right? There’s no problem」
「Well, maybe that’s true, but……」
「Nothing’s gonna happen. Worrying is a waste of time. Don’t think about it, don’t think about it. It’ll be totally fine. There’s no way we’ll run into anything dangerous」
「…………」
……Is it really fine?
I feel like Jered-kun just started raising a weird flag. Is this really okay……?
He’s saying the kind of thing that gets someone killed first in a horror movie. Is he really going to be okay……?
Maybe Jered-kun was just trying to cheer me up because I was scared.
But now, I’m honestly more worried about Jered-kun than anything else……
next chapter: Collecting Flag
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