GalaxyTL
* * *
“Sweeee-tkokok…Sweeee-tkokok…”
This distinctive call is the mating song of an insect called the Komo.
It is said that when the people of Teenidys hear this sound, they realize summer is ending.
By the way, the Komo’s appearance resembles a cricket, and if you use 【Desiccate】 on them, they don’t smell and are easy to eat.
“……………………”
In the quiet, nameless forest where the Komo’s call resounds, it was the early dawn of late summer when the sun had yet to show its face due to the large mountain called Zahan where I lived with my master, but it was gradually becoming brighter.
I was moving my body, tracing the patterns my master had taught me.
Then, I imagined my master’s movements and assumed he was standing there, practicing solo sparring.
It was the second morning since I was hired as a maid apprentice by the Baron.
Fortunately, there seemed to be no assassins targeting Sara and the others yesterday, and everyone spent the day peacefully.
…Although I have no complaints about the peace, if I just laze around, my skills will dull.
So I plan to keep up with my daily routines like the super-high-speed jogging (what I did in the mountains with my master) and this solo sparring practice in the forest.
The Baron has given me permission to do as I please until the sun comes out, so there’s no issue with my duties.
Well then, though.
While jogging is one thing, I could just as well do this solo sparring in the Baron’s garden.
The reason I’m doing it here in this forest…it’s actually the forest near the magic training grounds…is that there’s something I want to do here while training.
“Migyaaa! Migyaaa!”
“Mimi-gya! ……Migyaaa!”
“Migyaaa!”
See, didn’t you hear that?
An unusually high-pitched cry of a beast, different from a bird’s.
I heard it here and there during Sara’s magic training yesterday, and it caught my attention.
“…………”
I stop my training and concentrate in the direction of the cry.
<They haven’t made any warning calls, so they haven’t noticed us yet.>
I see.
From the number of cries, there’s probably a group of around 10 of them?
<That’s quite a few. They are monsters known to multiply easily…>
Hmm, but they shouldn’t be too strong, right?
If I launch an attack and it seems dangerous, I can just retreat back to the manor’s barrier. Let’s give it a try.
I dash silently toward the direction of the cries.
No, it would be more accurate to say I’m leaping from tree trunk to tree trunk to move around.
This forest has a lot of knee-high plants like ferns growing, and the ground is damp, making it difficult to run.
After moving for some dozens of seconds, what came into view was a group of dark green monsters.
Their body height was around my waist, and their appearance and way of walking resembled chickens, although they didn’t have feathers so their skin was smooth.
And from the top of their heads down to their tails, they had sharp spines lined up in a row.
Their face shape was lizard-like, but strangely, they had three bright red eyes: one on the left, right, and forehead.
That’s right, these monsters are called Forest Topopolocks.
They’re the delicious meat that was served during the dinner on the first day I was welcomed to the Baron’s household.
<By the way, since their claws are long, these are Forest Topopolocks. They’ve evolved those long claws for climbing trees.>
I don’t care about that, Extra!
What’s important is that since they’re basically omnivores, if they make their way to the villages of the Salar Barony, they’re sure to ravage the farms.
And with their aggressive and ferocious temperament, they’ll even attack humans.
And most importantly, their meat is incredibly delicious!!
Without slowing down my momentum from kicking off the tree trunk, I charge straight into the group of Topopolocks!
Then I activate 【Mantis】 with both hands.
The Topopolocks, unable to respond to the sudden attack, have their necks sliced one after another by my hand chops.
Four of them, those in my direct path, were taken care of.
Only after they dropped to the ground did the remaining Topopolocks finally notice the abnormality in their group.
But I won’t even give them a chance to panic!
Using 【Infinite Pebbles】, I swiftly bashed in the heads of the six survivors, and there, pest control complete!
……Huh?
“Migyaaa!!”
From behind me, the last Topopolock that had been hiding its presence leapt out for a sneak attack! An ambush!
<This is a Topopolock Assassin! A dangerous special individual that occasionally appears in medium-to-large groups!>
But alas, it’s merely the shallow cunning of a beast.
If you’re going to sneak attack while shouting like that, it defeats the purpose of an ambush, doesn’t it?
Without panic, I turn around, grab the Topopolock Assassin’s neck, and snap it.
This time, the pest control is truly complete, right?
<……Rather than shallow cunning, I’d say most people wouldn’t be able to react that quickly.>
Eh? No way.
My master could probably do at least this much before breakfast.
And you know, these Topopolocks really move in quite large groups, don’t they?
For there to be so many of them, and they’re delicious too, they’re such wonderful monsters!
<That’s exactly why they’re the bane of farmers, since they ravage farms in large numbers. While Forest Topopolocks usually live in the forests, they have a wide range of activity and can easily come all the way to human settlements.>
Guuuu……
Oh, my stomach is growling.
Come to think of it, I’ve been getting extremely hungry lately, or rather, a lot hungrier than usual.
According to Extra, it’s because the meat of the large snake I ate previously contained a large amount of magic power, causing my body to grow and require more nourishment than before.
My height hasn’t grown at all, but apparently, it’s a different kind of growth. I don’t really understand it.
Well, getting stronger is good, but being constantly hungry is a problem.
It seems this ravenous feeling will settle down after a little while, but…until then, I have to consume a massive amount of food.
So, that’s why.
Yep, the Baron’s breakfast and dinner alone are definitely not enough for me. Not enough food at all.
Yesterday, I was so dreadfully hungry that it was really tough.
Now then, lying before me are 11 portions of delicious meat.
I’ll leave about 3 as souvenirs for the Baron, and the remaining 8 will be…my snack.
The forest is gradually getting brighter.
My free time is about to end.
So I need to quickly stuff this snack into my belly and return to the manor.
Alright then, let’s dig in.
Crunch……Munch munch, munch munch……Crunch crunch……
For starters, I bite into the freshly killed Topopolock Assassin’s meat right in front of me.
I don’t have time for things like skinning or draining the blood.
Of course, I don’t have time to cook it either, so I quickly gulp down the raw meat as is.
……Yeah, I’m aware that I’m doing something beastly.
But you know, when I ate the snake meat, I realized that the current me can pretty much eat anything, raw or not, without any issues.
<Your digestive organs have been enhanced with 【Body Strengthening】 too. No ordinary bacteria or parasites can harm you now.>
Apparently.
On top of that, from my early childhood, I was constantly eating the utterly disgusting meat of hairless mole rats.
So I’ve built up a tolerance for things like unappetizing appearances, grotesqueness, or bitterness.
While pondering such things, I’ve finished the first one.
Guuuu……
Ah! It’s still not enough!
I reach out to the headless Forest Topopolock lying on the ground and tear into it with my mouth!
Crunch munch munch, crunching and swallowing the bones whole!
But I leave the innards.
……There, finished that one. Still not enough. Next!
Crunch crunch……Next!
Munch munch……Next!
……Next!……Next!……Next!……
By the time I had devoured all 8 Topopolocks, the sun had completely risen, and my free time was over.
Crap, I’m completely late.
By the way, despite eating such a massive amount of meat (including bones and skin), my stomach was only slightly bulging.
Even this bulge would soon deflate after a little time, leaving me looking like nothing had happened.
The digestive juices secreted by my enhanced digestive organs seem to be quite potent, dissolving anything in no time.
On top of that, in my case, a considerable portion of what I eat is apparently converted into magic power, so I don’t gain any weight, according to Extra.
What a fantasy body!
No need for dieting, it’s wonderful!
But in exchange, I’m tormented by such ravenous hunger that I don’t even hesitate to eat raw meat, so it has its pros and cons.
Right! I can’t space out anymore!
I need to hurry back to the manor and get to work, work~!
* * *
“Emi is! Emi is nowhere to be found!”
Upon waking up in the morning and realizing her favorite maid apprentice girl was missing from her room, Sara panicked.
Emi was the benefactor who had saved Sara and the others from the bandits.
……She was the one who had actually defeated the bandits.
Sara herself had been in a confused state and didn’t understand what was happening, but she heard that a few of the bandits had managed to escape.
It was possible that Emi had been kidnapped by the surviving bandits for revenge!
“I can’t find her anywhere inside the manor! …I’m going to search outside!”
“You mustn’t, milady!”
As Sara tried to dash out of the manor, a maid desperately tried to stop her.
While the inside of the manor was protected by a barrier, the outside was not.
There was a high possibility that Sara herself could be targeted by bandits.
It would be unacceptable for the person being guarded to venture into danger in search of her own guards.
Moreover, with the manor protected by a barrier, it was impossible for bandits to invade in the first place.
In other words, the possibility of Emi being attacked in her room was extremely low.
Her room hadn’t been in disarray either, making it clear that she had left of her own accord.
However, Lady Sara was quite simpleminded and not very good at calming down and thinking things through.
Emi is in danger!
Once she got that idea in her head, she couldn’t sit still.
And so, Sara caused an uproar, trying to go outside to search for Emi.
The maid tried to stop her.
The unnoticeable Mauve fretted beside them.
Alerted by Sara’s loud voice, the Baron, his wife, and the intimidating butler arrived.
The Salar Baronial Household was in complete chaos that morning.
“……What’s all this ruckus?”
However, this commotion was quickly resolved.
The cause of the uproar, the missing maid apprentice girl, suddenly returned from outside.
As usual, with an expressionless face that gave no hint of what she was thinking.
“Ah! Emi! You’re safe…!?”
Sara inadvertently fell silent after saying that much.
Instead of her maid uniform, Emi was wearing the tattered clothes she had on when they first met, with branches and leaves stuck in her hair, as if she had been running through the forest.
But more than anything, she was covered in blood.
((((((What happened!?))))))
That was the question that ran through the minds of everyone present except Emi herself.
Without showing any awareness of their bewilderment, Emi trotted over to the Baron and forcefully pushed something she was holding in both hands towards him.
“I hunted, so here.”
It was the decapitated corpses of three Forest Topopolocks.
“Sorry. Work, late. Will change. Right away.”
Leaving the stunned members of the Baron’s household behind, Emi headed straight for the well beside the manor.
In the now-quiet entrance of the manor, the sound of water splashing could be heard.
Emi was probably washing off the blood by bathing in the well.
Sara was dumbfounded.
This exceedingly carefree lady who usually didn’t care about most things was rendered motionless by the shock Emi had given her.
It wasn’t that she was surprised by Emi’s blood-covered appearance. To be precise.
Even when they first met, Emi had been covered in blood.
The girl who had boasted such divine beauty last night that Sara couldn’t fall asleep after getting into bed, amazed by her radiance within mere seconds of looking away this morning, had transformed into a horrifying, blood-drenched figure.
It was that drastic change, that extreme gap, that had left Sara in shock.
In the short life Sara had lived so far.
In the narrow circle of friends Sara had cultivated until now.
Emi’s existence was far too alien.
However, to Sara, that alienness wasn’t something to be scorned and rejected.
It was something to be accepted with a sense of curiosity.
One could even say this had become Sara’s very nature.
That attitude, that mentality, had gradually expanded Sara’s world little by little until now.
Anyway, in any case.
Upon seeing Emi’s blood-covered figure.
In stark contrast to the adults whose faces had twisted in horror.
Sara found herself taking an even greater liking to Emi.