Chapter 46

As they advanced through the forest, the monotonous scenery soon came to an end.

"Though it's off our path, we'll get some information there!"

"Yes!"

There was a town in sight.

The town, which seemed familiar, was bustling inside as they stepped into it.

Reshid approached a passerby.

"Hey, what was that light just now?"

"Huh, I don't know."

The passerby, surprised by the unfamiliar person, answered briefly and hurried away.

"…Am I that scary?"

"No."

A faint smile rose to his lips.

Perhaps he had never gathered information in a rural area.

"Just that, Reshid's face is unfamiliar. Besides, calling someone 'hey' is too casual."

"Is that so? Well, whatever."

Regaining his composure, Reshid caught another passerby.

But if he continued like this, they would just run away. I had to help.

"Hey, miss…"

"Miss! I have a question!"

Interrupting Reshid, I spoke to the woman.

The middle-aged woman stiffened when she saw Reshid but quickly turned to me with a worried look.

"Boy, what's the matter?"

"Um, didn't you see a really bright light just now?"

"Ah, yes, it was a bright light. It seemed to come from the direction of Nerg."

"Was the person who shot it in this town?"

After thinking for a moment, the woman replied.

"I haven't heard of anyone."

"Then…"

"Have you heard about the recent monster sightings?"

Reshid joined the conversation.

"No, I haven't heard anything like that."

"I see. Sorry to bother you."

Reshid flicked a copper coin with his finger. The woman, thinking something had flown at her, hastily caught it.

"What's this?"

"…Is it not enough?"

"It's a thank you. Please take it!"

I forced a smile and said to the woman, who took it with a puzzled look.

"Are you related to that person?"

"…We're colleagues."

The woman, who seemed to be concerned, left with a puzzled look.

"What do you think?"

As the woman walked away, I asked Reshid.

"If a large monster appeared and a Mountain Penetrator was used, there should have been a commotion."

"Yes, but she didn't know."

Reshid summarized.

"Definitely not here, and we won't get any information here either."

"It seems so."

I didn't expect much, but this town was a dead end.

We ran through the same monotonous forest again.

But something was odd.

This forest felt familiar.

The way the trees grew, the types of trees, and the feel of the soil were all familiar.

The town we had just visited also seemed familiar.

Why, I wondered, and then I realized.

Thinking about it, the border of Nerg's forest was the forest where I grew up.

"Huh!?"

And why didn't I realize it? This direction, could it be.

"The next village is in sight…"

Reshid muttered.

"We'll get some information there again!"

"…Yes…"

I couldn't help but answer in a low voice.

It couldn't be helped.

"Something seems to have disturbed the forest. Is this the right place?"

"It seems so."

This was the village where I grew up.

There was no noticeable damage in the village, but the surrounding trees were damaged.

It looked like small animals had been rampaging, and the blood from their extermination had soaked the trees.

The traces of blood splattered on the swords and the pools of blood in the grass indicated that a significant number of animals had been exterminated.

Reshid entered the village without hesitation.

I hesitated.

It had been less than a year since I was almost hunted in this village.

"Hey, what are you doing?"

Reshid noticed me stopping. I couldn't answer.

I took a step, but my stride was unconsciously small.

"No, I'm fine."

But I couldn't just stand here.

I needed a reason to enter. I had to think.

Only Frau had seen my face, and that was just once when she was five. She had probably forgotten.

I had always used the invisibility spell. No one knew what I looked like.

There was no way I would be recognized as the child from back then based on Frau's vague testimony.

The theory had some holes, but it gave me the courage.

I slapped my own cheek. I put on a determined face and started walking with large strides.

It was okay, my legs weren't shaking.

"Let's go to the square first. If something happened, we'll find out there."

I started walking towards the training square.

Reshid, taken aback, hesitated for a moment and then said, "Oh, okay," and walked alongside me.

When we reached the square, the situation was clear.

"…This is incredible…"

"…Yes…."

Not at the training square, but beyond the square, a large mountain was visible.

No, it wasn't a mountain.

It was a large monster's corpse.

"Is that a dragon…?"

"Is that a dragon?"

I couldn't help but ask Reshid. It was a big catch in a fantasy world, but it was the first time I had seen one in this world.

"Yes, a dragon, not a lesser dragon. A pure dragon. That's probably a fire dragon."

It was so large that only one side was visible, but it had a large, orange lizard-like shape.

Its belly was fat, and its scaly limbs and large wings lay weakly on the ground. Indeed, it was a dragon.

And about a quarter of its body, from the left shoulder to the center, was missing. It must have been the impact point of the Mountain Penetrator.

"Are you from the town?"

A voice called out behind us, filled with awe.

A familiar voice.

This carefree tone, this light manner, it could only be him.

"Ah, are you new here? Welcome to this nameless village!"

The person who greeted us with a smile was none other than Den-A, whom I would never forget.

"Ha, so it reached the capital. I'm sorry for the trouble."

Den-A bowed.

His unwavering smile was almost scary.

When Reshid explained the situation, Den-A readily provided an explanation.

"Recently, animals have been fleeing from the forest and coming into the village more often…"

According to him,

For the past two to three days, animals had been frequently entering the village. While it was common for boars and the like to enter the village, this time it was different.

They didn't seem to be seeking food, ignoring the fields. Many of them didn't stop in the village but continued on.

This continued until today, when a dragon from Nerg appeared. It seemed to be heading somewhere, knocking down trees and spewing fire as it approached the village. They had no choice but to kill it.

When the dragon appeared, the animals seemed to be stimulated and became more active. Boars and mountain dogs had also become aggressive, and they had been exterminating them until just now.

"Does that mean the animals were fleeing because of the dragon?"

I asked, trying not to show fear, and Den-A answered with interest.

"Yes, it seems the dragon might have started rampaging two to three days ago."

"Did you kill the dragon?"

I swallowed hard. Reshid also seemed slightly tense.

"Yes, it took a bit of effort, but it's good that there was no damage."

Den-A said it casually with a smile.

Reshid and I could only manage to nod in response.

"Ah, by the way, Mr. Shium… The villagers are having a feast with the boars and dogs they hunted today. Please join us."

"…I appreciate it, but we're in a hurry. We need to return to Iralin."

Reshid declined the invitation. Gustav had told us to return as soon as possible. It was natural. However,

Den-A seemed to have something else to do and left after a brief greeting.

Watching him go, Reshid stretched and relaxed his shoulders.

"The one who used the Mountain Penetrator was a fire dragon. Good, our mission is complete. Let's go back."

Reshid said, but there was still something to do.

"No, there's still more."

"What?"

Reshid frowned and asked, seemingly annoyed, but there was still something to investigate.

"Gustav's instructions were to find out where and who used the Mountain Penetrator, and if possible, to investigate the cause of the incident. We still don't know why the dragon went on a rampage."

"Fine, but that's just a 'if possible.'"

Reshid scratched his head. His hair was well-maintained, and no dandruff fell.

"The cause is 'if possible.' If we don't know, that's fine."

"We can't say we don't know without investigating."

If we said we didn't know, and Gustav asked what we investigated, we would be in trouble.

"Just say something, …damn…"

Reshid sighed. However, it seemed my persistence paid off.

"…Alright, we'll investigate the village and the forest. We'll split up and meet back when the sun is directly overhead. If we have no results, we'll go back. Got it?"

"Yes, that's fine."

Maybe Reshid was kind to children when there was no money involved.