In the middle of the night, we woke the boys and let ourselves get some sleep.
We welcomed the morning without incident, or so we thought, until the cries of the Misuzu woke us up. So loud! What is this all about!?
「Takato-san. It might be that the Misuzu have overflowed」
Overflowed? What does that mean?
「I do not know the cause, but I heard from Rondario-san that the Misuzu overflowed a few years ago as well」
「Come to think of it, we once got attacked by a huge flock of those birds called Kokora. Does that count as an overflow too?」
That was just last year, but it feels like ages ago.
「By a flock of Kokora!? How are you even alive!? Those are man-eating birds!」
Wait, seriously!? Ladarion never mentioned that!! If I had known, I would have run right away!
「Back then, the ogus were also targeting the Kokora, so they were probably distracted」
At least, that is what I think.
「No way. Even someone with a gold seal would run if they had to deal with Kokora and ogus at the same time」
Looks like we did something really dangerous back then. I should be thankful I am still alive……
「Well, the past is the past. What happens when the Misuzu overflow?」
「At this time of year, they show up in the fields to eat wheat and vegetables. Last time, Rondario-san said all the adventurers from every town were mobilized to hunt them」
「Is the harvest still going on?」
I figured they would be harvesting with all hands on deck.
「It will probably take about ten more days. They stagger the planting dates by crop type, so the harvest times do not overlap」
Oh, I see. I never even thought about that. But this is no time to be impressed.
「Miriel, tell Ladarion that the Misuzu might be overflowing. If it is Kainzel-san, he should be able to judge the situation properly」
「Understood!」
Once I saw Miriel return to Home, I grabbed the VHS-2.
「Ruka and Ryouna, stay here. Razul, Migis, Bobus. We are going to kill the bound goblins」
If the Misuzu have overflowed, we do not have time to transport goblins. We will kill them ourselves and collect the reward before they die from exhaustion.
I handed out LED lights and headed for the place where the goblins were bound.
I could hear Misuzu cries from all directions. Have they been moving all night?
When we reached the site, I had the three of them kill the goblins.
「Takato-san, we killed them all!」
「Good. You go back first. I will set some traps and then return」
Judging by the cries, this is not just a hundred or two. If we are unlucky, there might be a thousand. It is like the whole mountain is screaming.
「When Miriel gets back, tell her not to use guns. Sleeping magic is fine」
「Got it! Please do not push yourself!」
「I am not ashamed of running away. Even if people call me a coward, I will put my own life first」
If I am going to die trying to look cool, I would rather live and be laughed at.
Once the three were gone, I returned to Home. It looked like they had already finished reporting to Ladarion, because neither of them was there.
I grabbed the tablet from the central room and, at the entrance, bought one-hundred-thousand-yen worth of Chinese cabbage and cabbage. I also bought fifty-thousand-yen worth of deer crackers, though I had no idea if the Misuzu would even eat them.
I tossed everything into the dust chute and dumped it outside.
Once everything was out, I went outside as well. I was half buried under what I had dumped, but I did not care. I kicked the vegetables around, spreading them over a wide area.
I threw the deer crackers in all directions too, making sure the Misuzu would not gather in one spot.
「This should be good enough」
I do not know how effective it will be, but it should at least slow them down and keep them from spreading out too far. Or so I hope.
I returned to the campsite and scattered vegetables and deer crackers there as well.
「We are pulling back a bit」
I could hear deer cries very close by. No matter how weak they are, a herd is dangerous. With our numbers, there is no way we can handle them. Running is our only option.
After pulling back about a kilometer, I sent Pioneer Two back to Home, then used One to move Ruka and Ryouna even farther down.
「Scatter this around the area」
I bought feed corn and had the three of them spread it around.
「What is the point of scattering this stuff?」
「If letting them scatter means we have to mobilize every adventurer, then we should gather them in one place while they are still in the mountains. If we do that, once we have enough people, we can surround them」
No matter how many Misuzu we kill, it will not earn us a single yen. But if Koraus takes serious damage, all the effort we put into finally building a base will be wasted. I need Koraus as my backer, so I cannot just let this slide.
「And if we can stop them here, we buy time to gather people. Hold the line until our allies arrive!」
I bought even more feed corn and continued scattering it as we fell back toward Lasagna Village.
「Takato-san! Lights are approaching!」
I thought it might be Miriel, but it was Gorg and the others, their headlights shining.
「Takato, is it true the Misuzu have overflowed!?」
「These cries are proof enough. How much is the bounty? If there is one, look up animal control nets and buy them. Set them up all around. If it works, we can capture them alive. That will be food for the winter!」
This is not a crisis. I made sure the giants understood that this was a chance and got them fired up.
「A mountain of meat is coming our way! Hurry! Do not let this opportunity slip!」
I kept stoking the giants’ excitement.
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