Chapter 6

It was my fault that Kiichi lost.

While continuing to fly through the air, I reflected on it.

What if Kiichi had won?

First, we could have shown up Kasoku. We might have proven the adults' lack of training. Morale might have risen. The adults might have developed a sense of crisis after losing to a child. They might have started to take training seriously. And with improved training, they might have reduced the damage from wild animals.

If the damage from wild animals decreased, the crops that were lost unjustly might have decreased as well.

It would only be a return to zero. But those were crops that people should have been able to receive. Now, they continue to be unjustly taken away.

Such a bright prospect. It is no longer possible.

Because we lost. Because I caused us to lose.

If nothing changes, it will be just like before. The half-hearted training for the sake of alcohol, the utterly meaningless watch duty, the crops that continue to be stolen—nothing will change.

Of course, it might not have gone well even if we had won. Even if we had won, nothing might have changed.

But I have destroyed the chance for change. Even if I didn't know, it was still me.

The eastern watchtower came into view. Nearby, the houses and fields were visible. Low fences lined the area, and beyond them, a dark forest spread.

I must take responsibility. The unpleasant faces of the adults came to mind. I hate those faces. They take their alcohol and go home in high spirits, without thinking about their duties. I hate that. And more than anything, I hate myself for making Kiichi's efforts in vain.

I took up a position above the fence.

I spread my magic. It was already dark, but that didn't matter to me. It was difficult to see everything, but if I limited my view to the east side of the fence, it wasn't a problem.

I must take responsibility. I kept a watch on the forest while trying to rest as much as possible.

In the middle of the night, when the grass and trees were asleep and there was no moonlight, they came.

I had thought they might not come today, but fortunately or unfortunately, they did.

The culprit was a boar.

A large boar dug under the fence and made a hole. From that tunnel, a large boar and a slightly smaller one approached the field.

Was one on watch? Were they companions? It didn't matter to me now.

They started to dig in the field with their snouts, making small grunting sounds.

These were the ones.

They didn't just wander in. They clearly came to eat the crops. These were the ones.

They were the ones destroying the fields.

I glanced at the watchtower. From the slightly elevated wooden building, only snoring could be heard. Imagining them sleeping soundly, I felt a small anger, but I turned back.

Looking at the boars, I concentrated my magic.

First, I couldn't let anything happen to the field. I pushed the boars back to the fence. They struggled, but with telekinesis, it wasn't a problem.

Then I formed a blade of wind. Usually, I make it just big enough to wound the neck, but this time it was different. I made it larger and more aggressive, without hiding it. I wasn't going to eat them. I was killing them out of spite. Just to vent my frustration. The efficiency of magic, the edible parts, and the appearance didn't matter now.

A single invisible blade silently sliced the boars into pieces.

I looked at the blood-soaked ground and the chunks of meat scattered there.

I didn't need to do it this dramatically. But this was a warning. I had proven the existence of the boars. It couldn't be said that there was no threat. And the threat had been killed by some interference. It was a serious issue. Immediate action should be taken.

This situation, which I created with such thoughts, seemed to have attracted more attention than I expected. By dawn, a crowd had gathered around the bodies.

The first to discover them was, of course, the watchman. He woke up before dawn to the sound of birds and found the bodies.

His subsequent actions were somewhat amusing.

At first, he didn't know what they were and poked them with a spear. When he felt the squishy sensation under the fur, he shuddered and ran away screaming.

Responding to his cry, the farmers who had woken up to prepare for field work gathered, but the flustered watchman couldn't explain properly and was met with exasperation.

Many farmers gathered around the boars, which had been cut into four pieces.

It was only natural that Shium and Kiichi were among them.

"Um... this..."

"Yeah."

Shium examined the boar carcasses. He stroked the fur, turned them over, and checked the wounds, the amount of blood, and whether there were any other injuries.

"There are no other injuries besides the fatal ones, and there are no signs of being carried away. There are signs of struggling, but it seems more like thrashing around... They were restrained... not with a rope..."

"Magic, you think?"

Kiichi responded to Shium's mutter, probably remembering yesterday's match.

"Yeah. Probably magic. The struggling boars were restrained and cut with wind magic or something. All at once, too."

"Why do you say that?"

"These boars were entangled, and look, the wounds align to form one."

Shium lifted the boars to align them. The large carcasses no longer dripped blood, but the sight of the cut surfaces made Kiichi turn away for a moment.

"The ground is also messed up by the boars' hooves. It wouldn't look like this just from walking or running."

"Ah, I see."

It seemed that the classes for leaving the village had already started. This was more of a survival class than a battle, aimed at developing the ability to deduce the background from slight traces.

I was getting quite sleepy. I wanted to listen to the class, but I also wanted to sleep. I decided to sleep in the forest.

In the end, I fell asleep on the usual tree and slept until noon.

Staying up late is not good.

When I returned to the village, the atmosphere was different. It was tense.

Not everyone, but many farmers were armed. If it was training for watch duty, there were too many.

Looking from a slightly higher place, it seemed that the farmers were gathering in the training field.

I had a hunch, but it could be something else. I had to go and check.

I walked towards the training field, a little excited.

"Here's the plan: We're going on a mountain hunt!"

Shium shouted loudly. My guess seemed to be correct.

Apparently, the boars found this morning were clearly killed by magic, and no one in the village could use magic. Therefore, it must have been a magical entity that invaded the village and killed the boars. Since the bodies were not damaged, it didn't seem to be for food. The purpose was unknown, but the entity that killed the boars might attack people. There had been no human casualties so far, but it was necessary to identify and, if necessary, eliminate the entity before any harm was done.

For this purpose, they gathered those who could fight and organized a large-scale mountain hunt led by the hunters.

It seemed that killing the boars was not in vain. As intended, everyone started to take action.

Among those gathered was Kasoku, who looked more serious than usual, staring into the forest.

At the hunters' command, they started to move. They were divided by the areas they lived in. I decided to follow Kasoku. Incidentally, Shium seemed to be staying behind.

"Alright, let's go! We're in charge of the west side."

The leader was Den, a young hunter in his early thirties who gave a light and thin impression. I had seen him in the forest many times. He must be a good hunter, as I had never seen him return empty-handed.

"Let's spread out a bit and move forward. We'll try to be as quiet as possible, but this isn't a regular hunt. If anything happens, call out to someone nearby."

Den adjusted his short bow. They seemed to be spreading out at the entrance to the forest.

"Then, according to the plan, I'll go to the front. When the time comes or if I judge that it's too dangerous to go further, I'll signal with an arrow. Everyone, please gather in the direction of the sound and then return."

At that, one of the farmers stepped forward.

"Hey, I don't usually go into the forest, so what should I look out for...?"

"It's fine, just do your best."

Den cut off the farmer's words and said it with a good rhythm.

"Like I said, this isn't a regular hunt, so it's fine even if you don't find anything. Honestly, it's fine as long as you don't get hurt."

"But, what if it's a monster? Then what?"

"That's why it's fine. In the first place, it's fine even if you don't find anything. It's better if you don't find anything."

Den's face, which had been smiling, suddenly turned serious, and the faces of the lined-up adults showed confusion.

"Shium said the goal is to identify and eliminate the cause, but that's something the hunters who are familiar with the forest should do. Do you think people who can't move properly in the forest can fight a monster that can easily kill a boar?"

"Well, that's... "

"No, it's better not to encounter anything. My top priority for this mountain hunt is to drive the entity away."

Den's face returned to a smile, and the atmosphere suddenly relaxed.

"Go into the forest in large numbers and make it clear that we're looking for you, to make you cautious and drive you away from the village. If you don't run away, it's a problem, and if you don't run away, it's a problem if we find you. So, it's fine if we don't find anything. Just be careful not to get hurt."

"But, what if we do encounter something...?"

"Then, give up. It's probably dangerous."

No one could say anything to Den's deflated words.

The mountain hunt proceeded quietly.

Den, as he said, moved to the front, checking the front and keeping watch on the surroundings. His gaze swept across the rows of trees and to the ends of the spread-out formation, making him look like a capable hunter.

The farmers participating in the formation seemed unfamiliar with the forest, tripping over tree roots and struggling to cross thickets.

However, surprisingly, one farmer seemed familiar with the forest. It was Kasoku.

While not as smooth as Den, he moved silently through the forest, occasionally using a machete to cut grass and ensure visibility, and did not neglect to keep watch on the surroundings. It was a far cry from his usual drinking habits.

Den occasionally squatted and examined the ground. It seemed he was following the boar tracks. Kasoku approached him.

"Hey, those tracks, they're from boars, right? There's no sign of a struggle."

"It seems so. They passed through here calmly. They were even cleaning their tusks. ...It was probably that field where they were attacked."

Den, who had been looking at the tracks, turned to Kasoku.

"Where the boar was attacked by something. If it had been followed in the forest, there would be signs of it running alongside, but there aren't."

"Then, it wasn't from the forest."

"Yes, it came from the village to the forest. Or it was eating something in the field. ...It might have been watching the field."

Looking through me, who was frozen in shock, he stared at the village. Even though he shouldn't have been able to see me, it felt like he saw through everything.

"What do you think? Should we go back?"

"Let's continue a little longer. We might find something new."

"Alright."

Their conversation ended there, and soon the high sound of an arrow echoed through the forest.

In the end, they found nothing during the mountain hunt. The cause we were looking for was me. They might find animals or monsters, but they probably wouldn't find anything that could be the cause.

The groups that searched in different directions of the forest had similar results. The adults grumbled, but they shut up when Shium, who was waiting in the village, glared at them.

Nothing was found, but it seemed that the mountain hunt would be conducted regularly from now on.

In other words, I was the only one who gained something.

Among those returning, Kasoku was standing, staring at the forest. What was he doing?

Curious, I approached him just as Shium spoke to him.

"Good work."

"I didn't do anything."

Kasoku turned around, sighing. His face showed signs of fatigue.

"Ha ha, it's been a while since you went on a march, and you seemed to put in a lot of effort."

"Yeah... I'm tired. It's been years since I've been in the forest."

Kasoku kicked the ground and sighed again.

I was a little surprised. They seemed to know each other.

"...You seem to be taking yesterday's loss hard."

"Shut up. I won. You were the referee, right?"

"Yeah. But, you know, if there hadn't been any interference, you probably would have lost."

"..."

"Don't push yourself too hard. I'm glad you're trying, but don't overdo it."

Kasoku raised his hand in response and left. Watching his back, Shium seemed to relax and smile a little.

The next day, after finishing lunch and heading to the square, I heard an unfamiliar loud voice. Curious, I rushed to the square, where Kiichi was training hard.

I thought, 'Is it just the usual training?' but it was different. Something was different.

He looked more strained than usual. And Kiichi was the only trainee.

Confusion enveloped my mind, but I soon realized what was different.

Kasoku was instructing him, and quite strictly.

"Wha? ...Wha?"

I couldn't help but speak out. I was completely confused. Kasoku, who usually seemed lazy and only cared about alcohol, was now instructing like a drill sergeant I had heard about.

Shium was standing to the side, smiling but not stopping him.

"Alright, take a break. We'll start again as soon as you catch your breath."

"Wait, seriously, are you kidding me?"

Kiichi sat down, unusually out of breath. The spear he had been using for practice fell to the ground, seemingly out of strength.

I recalled the conversation from the day before. Between Shium and Kasoku.

That's right, during the mock battle with Kiichi, Kasoku had changed. Kiichi's actions had indeed changed Kasoku.

I thought I was the only one who had gained something. But it seemed I was wrong.

Even without my intervention, the situation had improved. This was probably a pleasant surprise.

Ignoring Kiichi, who was being drilled by Kasoku, I started running.

Even though I was doing something unnecessary and getting unnecessarily tired, I felt strangely good.