Chapter 9

The night passed without incident. At one point, the brat got scared out of his wits by the distant howling of wolves. The adventurers on guard duty only turned their heads in the direction of the sound. They must have known from the distance and direction that it wouldn't come this way. I could tell that much too.

In the morning, I felt a bit of yesterday's fatigue lingering, mainly in my lower back and buttocks. I straightened my back and did some radio calisthenics to loosen up. For breakfast, I shredded the leftover meat from yesterday and stuffed it into bread. I could use some sauce.

The brat's bedhead was a mess. I wondered why he was holding his head, but one side of his hair was standing up.

"Ku, you, don't laugh!"

Sorry, I couldn't help it.

If he were a good person, I might have made some hot water to fix his hair, but he's just a brat, so I'll leave it alone.

However, every time the carriage jolted, his hair would wobble. His silky hair was waving around. Everyone turned their faces away because it was hard not to laugh. The brat seemed to be aware of it and was unusually quiet today. That's a good thing.

The carriage stopped for lunch and a break.

"Raito"

The leader of the adventurers, Hayer, called out to me. I think we've become somewhat friendly since yesterday's incident.

"Over there. Can you see that?"

I thought something was up, but it didn't seem urgent. He pointed to something casually. Looking in the direction he pointed, I saw a bird perched on a tree that stood out from the others.

"A bird?"

"Yeah. Can you hit it with your bow?"

He asked me to estimate the distance.

"From here, it's a bit difficult. My bow doesn't have the range. Is it a monster?"

With a homemade bow that a child can draw, aiming at a tree is tough.

The bird wasn't wary of us and was preening its feathers. I think I could hit it if I had the range.

"It's a monster. It's called a Rotcrow, and it's delicious."

He grinned. I see, he wants to eat it.

"Hmm"

We took a break for about an hour. Even if we could catch it, it would take time to clean and cook. We'd have to pluck the feathers.

"If it's for dinner, I can try."

"Great! I'm counting on you!"

Hayer gave the go-ahead.

By the way, the adventurers said it's okay to use informal language with each other, so I'm still getting used to it.

Well, since my bow can't reach, I'll try using earth magic.

The distance is about 200... 250 meters. To make it easier to aim, I pointed my index finger at the Rotcrow and formed a hand gun. The projectile is a hard stone bullet. I imagined a bullet... and aimed for the neck.

*Chun!*

It must have been faster than I thought, as I heard a high-pitched sound. I wasn't even aware of the speed, but I couldn't see the trajectory. That's a bit scary.

The Rotcrow fell backward. I confirmed this and ran into the forest. Of course, I remained vigilant. There might be someone who would try to take it.

Soon, I found the Rotcrow lying limp. When I picked it up, it was already dead. I had aimed for the neck, but it had been pierced through the belly along with the feathers. I bled it out on the spot and removed the intestines.

*Flap flap*

I looked up at the sound of wings and saw a sharp gaze staring at me. It was another Rotcrow, the same as the one I was holding. Maybe it was its mate. It let out a loud cry and lunged at me. I aimed my hand gun.

*Bang!*

Maybe I was in a hurry, but the fist-sized stone hit it. The bird was still flapping, so I cut off its head.

"Raito!"

Hayer ran over. He sighed in relief when he saw the two birds at my feet. He must have rushed over when he saw the additional Rotcrow.

"You didn't need to worry."

"No, thank you. I was a bit anxious. It would be great if you could carry them for me."

Two chicken-sized birds are heavy.

Hayer carried both of them for me.

"Still, that was a neat trick."

"But I haven't taken down anything bigger than this yet. I'm not much of an adventurer."

"No, no, you just became an adult, right? I think that's pretty impressive."

"Is it? But doesn't the party have a magic user?"

I know there's no one with a bow, but it can't be just front-line fighters.

"Magic? Lily can use it, but it probably won't leave any trace."

"Ah, I see."

So it's too powerful.

"Then, how do you prove the kill?"

From what I've heard, when you take on a hunting quest, you have to submit something like an ear or a fang as proof.

"Right. So, when Lily uses magic, she only goes after things that don't require body part proof, like a group of goblins or zombies. The magic stones remain, you know."

"I see."

Magic stones remain even if you hit them with magic. Hmm?

"Do Rotcrows have magic stones?"

"Yeah, they do. But they're small, so they don't fetch much."

I see. I have to be careful when cleaning them. Can you eat magic stones? No, they probably can't be digested. That's a dangerous thought.