Chapter 67

### Introduction to the Monsters Around Regol

First, the hall-of-fame regular, the Crazy Boar.

In other words, a wild boar. The ones that become domesticated pigs.

Usually, they are managed by people in the livestock industry, but occasionally, a particularly aggressive one will break out of its pen or fence with unexpected strength and return to the wild. These are called Crazy Boars, and they are similar to the wild boars of my previous life.

I've never fought a wild boar in my previous life, so I can't say for sure, but I think they have about the same combat ability. However, the Crazy Boars here seem to have a much higher level of hostility towards humans, making them more troublesome in that sense.

Next, the forest assassin, the Charge Deer.

In other words, a deer. Unlike regular deer, the Charge Deer has antlers that extend straight out in the direction of a headbutt, and they use these antlers as weapons to charge at their targets. Unlike the deer in my previous life in Japan, they don't run away from humans out of fear.

The antlers are particularly dangerous, and they kill several people each year, even guild members. Considering their attack method and weight, it's almost like a cavalry charge. The only saving grace is that they don't usually move in large herds.

And the most troublesome of all... the Evil Fly.

The chances of encountering one of these are lower than the first two, but when you do, it's the worst possible scenario.

The Evil Fly is a large magical butterfly with a wingspan of up to 1 meter. The wings are silver but can appear black or purple depending on the angle of the light.

They feed on the nectar of large flowers in the Baroa Forest from spring to summer.

The Evil Fly doesn't use wind magic to create a scythe or attack with an air slash.

Instead, the scales it scatters contain a special poison, and that's what makes them troublesome when inhaled.

The effect is... delayed memory loss.

Depending on the amount inhaled, the person who inhales the scales will lose a certain period of memory a few seconds to a few dozen seconds later. It could be a few minutes or a few hours.

It might seem like a minor effect, but it can be fatal for humans.

"It was a case of friendly fire."

"The Evil Fly's scales were on their clothes. They were a new party... they were just unlucky."

That day, after finishing a small monster hunt, I was chatting with the butcher at the dissection site while waiting for my certificate.

That's when a young man and woman with severe injuries, a shaken man, and an experienced party who had accompanied them arrived.

"...The Evil Fly appeared. The small monster hunt in spring is almost over."

The butterfly monster has no particular parts to dissect. The only proof of its defeat is its soft compound eyes.

To a butcher, it's just a monster with distinctive compound eyes, but the Evil Fly's infamy is well-known in the city.

"Keep them restrained. The blood will flow. Stay calm."

"Don't worry, they won't die. You're lucky... as for the arm... it's uncertain if it will recover..."

The Evil Fly's scales erase a person's memory with a delay.

For example, if inhaled, one minute later, "the memory of the past hour will be erased."

It might not sound scary just from that description.

Just a bit of memory loss. That's all.

The Evil Fly itself has no combat power, and the memory loss is just a way to buy time to escape. It has no lethal power on its own.

So, the one who kills the person who inhaled the scales is not the monster.

It's the malice of the people nearby.

"No, that's not it. I didn't do it. Such a terrible thing...!"

"...No good. You were involved. I'll have to restrain you too. ...I don't know if you were lucky or not."

"Believe me! I don't remember anything...! It was the monster nearby!"

"...We'll have to investigate that."

The party that was victimized consisted of two men and one woman. What was the name of their party... "Friendship's"... no, I can't remember.

"The injured go this way, and you... wait at the station."

"Please, it wasn't me...!"

The newbies were sent to different places.

...A common scene when something happens with the Evil Fly. Still, they are lucky that no one died.

"The butterfly of malice, the Evil Fly. ...Every time I see a party turn on each other, I think it's ugly... but pitiful."

For a non-guild member like a butcher, it is. They probably don't have a strong sense of it. After all, even the people involved don't have clear memories.

The Evil Fly is a butterfly that exposes human malice.

It's a notorious creature, and any guild member knows about it.

That's why when people encounter this butterfly, it awakens the malice they have buried deep in their hearts.

Want to get rid of the nuisance in the party.

Want to steal someone's lover.

Want to assault a woman in the party.

Want someone's weapon.

Want money.

There are various reasons. The Evil Fly is a monster that forgives such malice.

The memory is erased after a certain period. In other words, injuries and murders are all forgotten. Some people use this to try to kill a "disliked" party member.

I'm a solo player, so it doesn't resonate with me. But... such incidents are depressingly common.

That's why, for many parties, it's just a part of life.

For potential villains, it's the perfect opportunity to get rid of a nuisance. That's the season when the Evil Fly, the monster, flies in the sky.

"Well, then."

"What is it, Mongrel? Are you leaving?"

"No, I'm going back to the Baroa Forest."

"...The Evil Fly?"

"Yeah. I'm going to hunt it down. Can you be a witness that I left at this time? The guild will organize a hunt anyway. I'll head there first and take care of any surviving butterflies. Since I'm alone, there's no risk."

"Sure, no problem..."

"Thanks. Please report to the guild. And pass the message to the other party."

I left the dissection site and immediately headed out the gate.

The Evil Fly is the worst monster. They have the power to amplify the slightest malice in anyone's heart and drive them to commit violent acts.

The strength of this power is such that even experienced guild members and parties can fall apart due to minor conflicts.

What is tested is the true bond within the party. And proving such a bond is not easy.

The solution is simple. Eradicate the root cause, the Evil Fly. That's all there is to it.

"Just a bug getting too cocky. I thought I thoroughly exterminated them last year, but they didn't go extinct."

I wrote on a thin piece of parchment in my pocket with ink.

"I left the East Gate at the fifth bell to kill the damn Evil Fly."

Taking notes is an effective way to counteract the memory loss if you accidentally inhale the scales. By recording your actions in detail, you can prepare for any memory loss and avoid confusion.

"I'm the best person to kill butterflies."

I am the strongest in this city when it comes to physical strength.

And even if I inhale the scales, I have the confidence not to kill anyone and not to be killed by anyone.

Let's go all out and exterminate them as long as no one sees.

I'll chop up the Evil Fly thoroughly.

"Ha!?"

When I realized it, I was standing at the forest exit. The sky was twilight. My body was covered in leaves and seeds, and there was silver powder on my sleeve.

When I realized it, everything was over.

The Evil Fly is always like this... there's nothing I can do about it. Inhaling the scales causes memory loss. I'm not an exception. Even a cloth mask doesn't work, so what can I do...

Still, I don't feel any sense of accomplishment, but I don't feel any sense of futility either, so it's even...

"I probably killed a decent number, but how many? Let's check the results..."

I took out the parchment note from my pocket and decided to check the results before I lost my memory.

"Number of Evil Flies killed: |||T"

"Gift used 1: It was efficient, sorry."

"...Hey, me... don't use the Gift in such a trivial place... The score is crazy..."

Killing 17 is impressive. Were there that many?

And it was efficient... they must have been clustered in one place. Just imagining it is a disturbing scene...

But I see. In such a situation, you have to eliminate them quickly to avoid continuously inhaling the scales and getting overwhelmed. So, you used the Gift and skills to finish them off quickly...

...Are you okay? Did you do any conflict? Do you have all your equipment?

...Hmm, no equipment lost. That's good!

"Stay safe!"

I clutched the compound eye of one butterfly in my pocket and headed back to Regol.

I'm hungry because of the time skip.