Book 6: Chapter 14.1
Book 6: Chapter 14.1
Stability of the Border Territory
Although the Elder Hobbits shouted “Do not forgive the evil deeds of the goddess!!”,
「E-Eek!!」
「Don’t scream! Be quiet…」
「G-God save us.」
「Don’t pray to that bitch goddess!」
They were trembling in fear.
Five days after I arrived at the village, when I was flying around to check the surrounding geography (literally “flying around” because I was flying with magic) ——far around the horizon, something shook the ground with each of its steps.
I immediately reported it, and the Elder Hobbit’s scout unit confirmed it.
As a result, that “something” turned out to be the giant turtle, Lost Jewel.
「Hide! It should ignore us!」
The Elder Hobbits could do nothing against a giant, and evacuated into village buildings and just trembled in fear until Lost Jewel disappeared beyond the horizon.
The night after the turtle left,
「Fuu… that turtle didn’t even notice us!」
「That’s right!」
「Let’s have a banquet tonight!」
「Ooooooooo!!」
Since the threat had passed, they released stockpiled drinks and merrily celebrated. The stockpile of this village was not very large. If they tried to live on the stockpile alone, it would only last for a month at most.
I thought that their way of life seemed like walking on a tightrope while standing in front of the warehouse where the stockpile was stored.
Crime in a small settlement is unlikely. As such, the door was not locked.
The moonlight shone in, clearly illuminating what was inside.
Japanese millet-like grains in baskets and dried meat were piled up. Fruits seemed to be abundant, as they were made into dried fruits. And there were also jars of fruit wine.
「What are you doing?」
「——Ah, Janja.」
Janja called out to me unexpectedly. I used to call her “Janja-san” as she was older than me, but she insisted on addressing her without “-san”.
「No… I was just wondering if it’s okay to release so much stockpile.」
「It’s okay. The giants do not appear that often. Not even once a year.」
It may not happen once every year, but even that once depends on the whims of the giants.
「——Reiji, stop worrying!」
「AH!」
As I was lost in thought, Janja stretched her hands and massaged my eyebrows with her thumbs. Her hands smelled fruity.
「This will elevate everyone’s mood and they can go back to work tomorrow. So don’t worry too much.」
「I see……」
It certainly seemed like that. There is a constant threat of foreign enemies. So, whenever you overcome that threat, you should celebrate with joy and not drag out the fearful feeling. If you were afraid of every little thing, you would spend the whole year with a gloomy look.
That may be Elder Hobbit’s secret to life.
「I understand.」
「Hmmhm. Only an honest child is granted the Elder Hobbit’s blessing. Its power is much stronger than the goddess.」
「I-Is that so?」
I find that hard to believe. The goddess is a transcendent.
「You don’t believe it!? Even Janja survived the encounter with the black blood-stained monster because of the blessing!」she said.
…That terrifying monster was me.
「I believe you. Definitely. More importantly, I wanted to ask you something.」
「Hmm?」
「Can I participate in the hunting starting tomorrow?」
I was still anxious about the food situation.
「Hunting? Reiji, hunting is dangerous.」
「I know.」
「Hmm. Then Janja will accompany you too. But let Janja know if it gets too scary, okay?」
「Okay.」
…I already had permission to walk around in the forest alone, though. Well, whatever. For now, let’s eliminate monsters that may pose a threat and also stock up on food supply.
**
Evening the next day.
「——Today’s hunting results are as follows.」
Many Elder Hobbits stood stunned after hearing the results, including the Elder.
I defeated a large snake, which looked like a mega-sized python, by cutting off its head with magic. There was also another large wild boar similar to one I defeated the other day, so I subjugated it as well.
In addition, there was a flock of about 50 wild dogs. I killed about half of them, and doused the rest thoroughly in Elder Hobbit scent. They wouldn’t think of attacking the Elder Hobbits anymore.
Besides that, I caught a lot of deer and other small animals. The hunting teams who accompanied the hunt were astonished at the beginning, but the astonishment gradually faded and they became desensitized. At the end, they called over the other hunting teams to carry the spoils.
「Elder, I’ll clear away the threats in the surroundings tomorrow as well.」I said.
「T-Thank you…」
There is no need to hide my abilities in front of allies who are hostile towards the goddess. I decided to work for the Elder Hobbits—until I could find a way to return to the city.
The situation changed half a month later.
「Danger!」
A person from the night scout unit returned loudly early in the morning.
「There is a huge silhouette in the sky! I have never seen such a gigantic bird!」
**
* Kruvan Holy Kingdom – Border Territory *
A large group of monsters were slain in the grasslands, accompanied by a war cry.
The victors were the Border Earl Mule Army.
A large number of monsters appeared after the “World Union”. It was no exception even at the Border Territory.
However, the Border Earl Mule Army is one of the strongest in the Holy Kingdom, and the monsters that appeared around the towns were instantly slain, and even in the remote areas of the territory, the monsters were slain in less than a month.