by Funa
The Crimson Vow didn’t know what other place Mile referred to, but because it was Mile who was saying so, they consented without much question.
“…Erk!”
It had only been a day since they entered the forest. They were very near the dig site, when suddenly, Dr. Clairia stopped in place. She covered her nose and mouth.
“What’s wrong? Oh no, elves have a sharper sense of smell than humans, don’t they? Everyone, change course immediately! This is ‘the forbidden place!’”
“I suspected something like this,” Reina said wearily. “When you had us take that early break so close to that pile of dung, and the beastmen chasing us ended up being much slower than expected…”
Pauline and Mavis nodded in agreement.
Even though they had already changed course quite a bit, the smell ranged so far that they had to detour even further. Mile had had in mind that the place might become something of a safe zone—somewhere no monsters or wild animals might wander into—but it had already become so toxic no one could possibly take refuge in it.
The beastmen would most likely detour around the opposite side of the area. Given the sensitivity of their noses, the team with the broken bones would probably take an even bigger detour than the girls. There was no sign of them passing through, such as broken branches, bent grass, or footprints. So they were very certain they would pass through on the other side.
Now a day and a half since leaving the capital—and a full day since entering the forest proper—the Crimson Vow and Dr. Clairia made it safely to the excavation site. There wasn’t a beastman in sight.
“We’ve been powering through for a day and a half with only a short break. Let’s take it easy and get some rest tonight,” Reina said.
With nothing pinged through Mile’s detection magic, they all nodded. It was already growing dark around them.
Mile picked a level patch of grass and pulled a tent from her inventory. Not a folded tent, but an already assembled one. It was an idea that had occurred to her two nights ago. Why waste time assembling and dissembling the tent when she could stash it fully assembled? So the morning before last, when they were packing to go, she put the tent away without folding it, when the others weren’t looking.
The sight stopped Dr. Clairia in her tracks. “Wh…?”
The other three paid it no mind, going about their tasks of staking the tent’s four corners and digging a drainage ditch around their camp site as though nothing had happened. Even if the weather deteriorated quickly, it was unlikely they would be rained on very hard, given the thick canopy, but it was better to be prepared. That was the secret to a long and healthy life.
“Wh-why wasn’t it folded up?!” Dr. Clairia demanded.
“Hm? I mean, it’s annoying to have to fold it down and pitch it every single time. It’s a waste of time, don’t you think?”
Dr. Clairia was dumbfounded.
Typically, the storage capacity of a mage’s storage magic was limited by weight and volume. No matter how light an object was, if it had a large volume then the storage space would reach capacity much quicker. If an object was compact but dense, storage would be pushed to its limits all the same. The limit was decided by a combination of these factors, not separately.
It was standard practice to store only objects that were as small and light as possible in storage. Even when within the limits, the more a mage stored, the more magical energy and mental stamina it took to maintain the magic.
And yet, this little girl had decided to skimp on the paltry amount of time it would take to fold and set up a tent—which would reduce its volume greatly—and simply stored it as is.
Just how much magical power did she have?! What intense levels of unconscious control went on in that tiny skull?!
Granted, the items she produced during their escape, such as fruit and vegetables that appeared to be fresh from the market and orc meat that appeared recently butchered, were already quite peculiar.
And there was the matter of the wooden weapons she had suddenly offered the group, the fact she could see in the dark, and her shining wood blocks. She also had the physical strength to ward off a dozen beastmen as though they were nothing…
Clairia’s elven intuition gave her the sense Mile was also an elf, just like her. Even if told otherwise, Clairia couldn’t help but feel she was unarguably elf-like.
Part of the reason the scholar had come along with the Crimson Vow was that she had a scholarly interest in finding out what the beastmen were up to and seeing for herself what they might excavate. However, since their escape, the professor had found herself inexorably drawn to the girl, transfixed by her mysterious appeal. Thus, she had taken on this dangerous job for the sole purpose of solving the mystery that was Mile.
It was against the hunter’s code to ask about the past and abilities of another hunter. Dr. Clairia was aware of this, so she restrained herself from asking directly.
However, it still concerned her. It bothered her. Oh, how it bothered her. She was about ready to burst!
“Aaaaaaarrrgh!!!”
“Wh-whatever is the matter, Doctor?!” Mile rushed over at Clairia’s sudden scream.
“N-nothing at all!”
She feigned serenity, glaring at Mile all the while.
Mile stretched a cord around the outside of the tent and then fastened pieces of metal and wood to each section in pairs of two. These were “alarm clappers.”
Until now, whenever they slept outdoors together, Mile had erected a barrier or used her surveillance magic. However, if she became negligent, or moved away from the others, then things could go south. Realizing this, Mile concocted an alarm system that would be effective even without her.
Plus, they had Dr. Clairia with them. She couldn’t use such alarming magic in front of the professor, Mile concluded.
Because they had had nothing to eat but preserved rations nibbled during their short breaks, dinner that evening was a proper meal with a number of peculiarly fresh ingredients from Mile’s inventory.
Dr. Clairia was concerned as to whether it was safe to cook so close to the beastpeople’s site, but Mile reassured her.
“I take care to draw in and contain smoke and scent particles with magic, so it should be fine. Look, this is what they look like all gathered up.”
“…”
Mile pointed towards a strange, blackish blob, as Clairia stared in awed silence.
“Time for tonight’s Japanese Folktale!”
Just as it always was on the days when they needed to sleep early.
“…And so, the thief, having felled the evil count, left the princess, the old man, and the faithful dog behind. Afterwards, a guard came rushing to the scene of the crime and said to the princess, ‘That rascal has stolen something inconceivable… Your underwear!’”
Pfft!
The other girls of the Crimson Vow listened gleefully, but Dr. Clairia sprayed the soup she had been sipping from her nose and mouth. Nostrils stinging terribly, she collapsed in a heap.
***
Because they had turned in early the night before, they awoke bright and early the next morning.
It was still not quite light when they roused. They ate a quick breakfast of dried foods, completed their morning preparations, stowed their blankets inside the tent, and then merrily went on their way.
“There’s a bit of a rise over there, so we should be able to see out over the whole dig…”
“Oh.”A quiet word from Mavis interrupted Mile’s proposal.
“What’s the matter?” Mile asked.
“M-my foot just broke through something…” Mavis replied, her face twitching.
Hearing this, Mile made a break for the small incline, quickly falling to a crouch and looking out over the dig site. As she did, she saw beastmen flooding from one of the huts, kicking up some sort of ruckus.
“It seems like they’ve got some kind of warning system set up, too…”
“I-I’m sorry! Thi
s is all my fault…” Mavis said apologetically.
However, it was not as though she’d intended to trip the wire. None of them had thought there would be an alarm, so it would probably just have been a matter of time.
Mile said as much, assuring Mavis not to worry, but over-earnest Mavis did not seem to be comforted.
But was that pit there the last time…?
Mile’s eyes fixed on a hole about seven or eight meters in diameter near the center of the dig site. She didn’t remember it. However, when she had observed the site before, it was evening and rather dark. Thinking she had probably overlooked it, she now paid it no mind. Now was not the time to be thinking about such things, after all.
“Let’s move! If we fight beastmen in terrain with low visibility or a lot of trees, we’ll be at a disadvantage!”
Just as Mile suggested, fighting in heavily wooded areas was a problem when your opponents were nimble beastmen, who were skilled in close-range combat. Using powerful fire magic would be difficult, too.
They wanted to leave their opponents relatively unscathed, and therefore hoped to avoid using fire magic. But if they found themselves outnumbered, it would be back on the table. As long as they didn’t kill the beastmen, they could be fixed back up with healing magic. They would just have to put up with the pain until they were healed.
Of course, if this went poorly, they would be “assaulting some beastfolk in the middle of scavenging.” To connect this to the previous incident and have the situation read as, “We went to reclaim the gear stolen by bandits and were attacked again, so we rightfully defended ourselves,” they had to ensure their attacks were only reactionary, should the situation come to blows.
Over and over, Mile pressed this upon them. Reina was exasperated at her insistence, but Dr. Clairia was deeply moved.
“I know you said we were relocating, but where?!”
Reina’s complaint was well founded. They were cutting straight through the forest. There were only trees behind them. Because they were still at something of an elevation, however, the trees were beginning to thin.
Even so, they could still easily be cornered. Even if they retreated at full speed, they would never move quicker than beastmen through the woods. Save for Mile.
If they kept up, they were sure to be attacked when they were exhausted and negligent. It would be safer to pick a preemptive fight somewhere that would be advantageous for them and then run once they had crushed their opponents.
Plus, if they just ran away like this, it would count as a “failed request” on their record.
“We’re going to keep up this way and run down the other side of this hill all the way to there. This is reconnaissance-in-force,” Mile said, pointing to the dig site.
Dr. Clairia interjected. “You know, Miss Mile. A reconnaissance-in-force maneuver typically involves slightly reckless action to seek out information about an enemy whose location you’re already aware of or making a move that they can’t ignore in order to stir them up and gauge their general disposition. At the very least, it doesn’t usually mean storming the enemy stronghold and gathering information after everyone has been defeated. Are you sure you aren’t thinking of a disruption-in-force?”
“I-I know that much! I watched a video about the ‘craft of war,’” Mile snapped back, perturbed.
“‘Vee-dee-oh’? ‘Orc raft?’”
Dr. Clairia clearly couldn’t follow her Terran terminology. Then again, even if she had used words from this world to explain it, such as “combat tactics” or “digital film record,” the point still wouldn’t have gotten across.
In any case, there was no time. There was no telling how soon they would end up surrounded, so they didn’t have the luxury of a leisurely debate.
“No use. I don’t think it’s a good plan, but since I can’t think of a better one, process of elimination means Mile’s plan is the best. Let’s just try to make sure non-combatants get a chance to escape unharmed.”
With Reina’s approval, their course of action was cemented.
“All right, let’s do it!”
“All right!!!” the other three cheered.
“…All right!” As always, Dr. Clairia was just one beat behind.
They rushed the enemy camp but without shout or battle cry.
Until they were discovered, they would remain in the shadows, forging forward in silence. Then they would lie in wait just before one of the open areas. Their scent would eventually give them away, but there was no sense in hastening the inevitable.
Naturally, the beastpeople must know where their alarm system had been triggered, so they could expect them to surround and approach, trying to block their escape route. They probably didn’t expect a small group to be coming their way, so when they got to where they expected the girls to be, only to find no one there, they would probably panic and start gaining on them.
For Mile and the others, this would mean they had been chased down by an attacking enemy, and driven into their camp, and not that they had infiltrated the camp of their own volition. By extension, any mayhem, injuries, or property and artifact damage would be because the beastmen came at them, absolving the party of even a modicum of blame.
Then, they could gather more information during the confusion or proceed once they had driven the beastmen away. There was a chance that whatever they were searching for might be destroyed or lost in the fray, but that wasn’t the girls’ problem. In fact, it might just be better if the item went “missing” during the battle.
“You’re always such an airhead, how is this the one area where you’ve got a bit of sense?!” Reina gave an exasperated shout as Mile explained the plan.
Several minutes later, just as planned, the beastmen had rushed to the point where they thought the intruders were. Seeing no one, nor any signs of them heading back, they were now proceeding back toward the dig site in order to surround the intruders from behind. Since they would likely be following their scents, it was only a matter of time before the girls were discovered.
And then, finally…
“There they are! Surround those intruders and capture them!” shouted one of the beastmen, pointing at the group.
“Oh no! The enemy has surrounded us and ordered our capture! We’d better run! I guess we’re being forced right into this open space!”
Mile stood up and began bolting directly towards the center of the dig site.
“Wah! While running away from the bandits attacking us, we ended up running right into some strange place! Is this the bandits’ secret hideout?!” she shouted in a loud and stilted voice.
There were now only ten beastpeople blocking the way ahead of them—all adult males. All of the women and youths had taken refuge in the huts, which, as far as Mile and company were concerned, was a favorable circumstance.
“Intruders shouldn’t be sayin’ such disrespectful things!”
“And bandits shouldn’t be acting so haughty!”
“Wh…”
As long as they didn’t know the truth of the matter, the men were as good as bandits. Even if that turned out to not be the case later, they were bandits for now and would be handled accordingly. Honestly, if this incident ended up being of international significance, they would be better off being considered as such.
“What?” Reina interjected. “Are you saying that’s wrong? Then what are you all doing here? And why did you capture those hunters and steal their things? Are you going to explain why you’re acting exactly like bandits?!”
“Er…”
The beastmen, lost for words, didn’t reply. Some of them looked like ones who had been present for the previous incident.
“Ugh, shut up! Oi, you lot, capture those girls already! …What’s wrong?”
For beastmen—who had a very strict respect for hierarchy—failure to obey a superior’s orders would normally be unthinkable. Mile thought it very suspicious the men didn’t act, until she looked more closely at them. Yes, they were very famili
ar…
“Oh! These men are the ones who attacked us!” At Mile’s shout, eight men twitched and stiffened.
“What?” the leader shouted. “Are you telling me these girls are the lady hunters you said you scared off? Didn’t you say there were just four… wait! Isn’t that one there one of the prisoners who escaped?! Were they hanging around here this whole time?! The humans still don’t know what’s going on, then! Wait!! Where are the other seventeen?!”
The girls were under no obligation to answer. The humans had made it back safely, and they could still take precautions to limit the beastpeople’s actions, even without new information.
“Damn it, say something! What are you all so afraid of?”
As the leader stared in wonder at his subordinates, who still failed to move, an inconceivable thought crossed his mind.
It was just the other day that his men had returned with their report of the girls.
When they had come seeking healing services, and he had asked why they had so many injuries, they said that in order to ward the intruders off without harming them, they had taken attacks from a mage. But…it couldn’t be…
Suspicion bubbled up in his heart, but he couldn’t press them in front of the enemy.
However, just in case, he would have to prepare himself. Because, soon, probably very soon… Gwah!
Fwooooosh…
“Gwah!”
“Guh-ha!”
A bizarre smell began drifting through the area.
The Crimson Vow’s faces contorted as well—just slightly after the beastmen’s.
“Th-this smell…”
“Hwahaha! Did you really think someone as brilliant as me was going to go along with your story?! The reserve forces I sent out to lie in wait have finally returned! Now, face our overwhelming battle prowess, and be… Huuuurk!”
Apparently, their “battle prowess” had been significantly lowered.
