CH 95

Chapter 95

When Peaceful Times Cease To Exist : The Fairy And Great Beasts Of The Prairie, Part 6 — The Magical Beasts Of The Northern Prairie

Translated by KaiesV

Edited by KaiesV

Fenna pointed in the direction of… a large flock of chicken-like creatures. But it’s obviously bigger than the chickens that Alfiris and her group recognize. How much bigger, they ask, is about twice as big as a horse. There is what looks like chickeb behind them, but already they’re about the size of a human being. Moreover, they seemed to be in a temper, and their faces appeared to have blue streaks.

「What the hell is that…」

「It’s a giant chicken monster called Cuckudoo. By the way, they have a super belligerent personality.」

「What the hell they’re doing!」

「I promise I won’t tell you that.」

「I can tell from that blue streak that they’re belligerent…but for now, we’re going to run for it, right?」

Everyone nods at Miranda’s suggestion. That would be true, the number of cuckudoos is visibly increasing. There were probably a hundred of them already, but they were still gathering.

「By the way, those chickens… they’re not cute at all.」

「Lisa, do you understand?」

「I’m in relatively good shape right now. More importantly, those chickens are starting to move, right?」

「Let’s run then, everybody!」

「Fenna, you should’ve said that earlier!」

「I–I’m sorry!」

Which was quicker for Alfiris’ group and the group of chickens to make their move. A flock of chickens chases after Alfiris and the others as they run away with all their might, making strange noises. The distance between them gradually shrinks.

「「Kokee—!!」」

「Those chickens, aren’t they way too fast compare to their feets!?」

「Their eyes were bloodshot! That’s scary!」

「The fact that the chicken’s eyes are looking in different directions is even scarier!」

「Onee-sama, get some useful tools out of that bag quick!」

「I bet I’m not the only one who wishes I’d kept the contents of the bag tidy at times like this!」

「This isn’t a place to joke around!」

「Either way, there’s nothing that would stop a swarm like that!」

「I’ll stop them here!」

Fenna makes a magic sign with her hand.

【O ye wild spirits that dwell upon the earth! With your wrath, distort the earth, and swallow our enemies in its chasm!】

《Earth Shock》

Just as Fenna turned around and invoked her magic, the earth at the head of the chickens began to shake and the ground began to crack. The chickens are swallowed up in it, and the chickens come rushing in from behind without stopping. They trample their fellow birds, and the angry chickens begin to fight amongst themselves.

「Koke—!」

「Kokkokko—!」

「Kokekko—!!」

「They’re down!」

「What are you attempting to say there, Miranda?」

「Let’s get out while we still can!」

Alfiris and the others left the scene under the order of her. But that’s when the real work began.

Over the next few days, they were chased by a giant armadillo-like creature that rolled and chased them, almost caught by a plant that somehow bounced on the ground as it chased them, almost fed to a bird over 20 meters long, and finally chased around all night by a small bipedal dinosaur that looked cute at least. In other words, they have not slept a wink today. After more than eight escapes, they gradually run out of time to think about silly things, as if they might be able to strike a series of congenial blows soon.

And then——

「Watch out, Fenna!」

「Kyaaahh!!」

A large hole that suddenly forms in the ground. If it were a desert, it would be called quicksand. Alfiris quickly whips Fenna’s hand out of the hole.

「」

「」

「」

「」

Soon after Lisa shouted, there was a hole in the ground, but each of them had to jump off their horses, and it was impossible to save the horses and food and water. The horse struggled and was dragged into a hole in the grassy field, and finally, it gave a pained cry and disappeared.

「The horses…」

「」

「」

「」

Alfiris answers Nia’s question immediately. Alfilis is quick to make decisions at times like this. But this journey was tough with no sleep and no rest. Soon the group could no longer hide their fatigue. Fenna was the first to feel the physical strain.

「Alfie, shall we take a rest?」

「Let’s see… Euthy, do you know how far we are to the water?」

「I know where I’m from, it’s about a day’s sleepless night walking.」

「It’s far then.」

「By the time we get there, we’ll run out of food.」

「Hnnn. We need to consider salvaging it.」

「I’m going to go scout around for a bit, you guys take a break.」

「Please do.」

Alfiris and the others sit down to rest while Euthy goes scouting. No one said a word, but they all felt uneasy. As with water and food, it is impossible to escape once you encounter a prairie fiend when the only means of transportation is their own feet. In this situation, if they encounter a monster like a Giganotosaurus, they are sure to die.

「Now then, what are we going to do?」

「Lisa suggests pulling out. We won’t be able to move forward in this situation. It hasn’t been that long since we left the South.」

「But it’s already been six days since we left the South. Six days on horseback would take a month if we were to walk, if we were bad at it.」

「Still, it’s a lot better than going across the prairie with no food as it is, Nia?」

「That’s a cowardly way of thinking, it won’t make much difference. Then we’d better move on.」

「Rushing headlong into a boar is a noble idea, indeed, beastman!」

「What did you say!?」

「I think we’re even, right?」

「Both of you stop that!」

Lisa and Nia are silenced by Alfiris’ thunderous voice.

「We’re both tired and preoccupied. The first thing to do is to get to the watering hole. In the meantime, we might be able to secure some food, and we’ll conclude whether to pull out or proceed once we have the water. Until then, each of you should collect your own thoughts. Alright?」

「I know that…」

「…Very well.」

They were all quite stressed. This was true for Alfilis as well, but she was aware that as the leader she couldn’t be the first to uproot herself, and she was probably also very patient. But even she was just as anxious about the journey ahead. Personally, Alfiris was thinking of withdrawing from this place as well, but when she thought of the prairie, which had become even cloudier in the past few days, there was a great possibility that they wouldn’t make it back in time. Most importantly, large rocks are already beginning to be seen here and there around the area, and Alfiris believes that the central rocky area may be close.

Everyone rested leisurely, and Fenna, Lisa, and others were beginning to sleep lightly when Euthy came back in a hurry.

「All of you, run! Right now!」

「!」

The two who had been sleeping immediately jumped up, but it was already too late. It wasn’t that Euthy’s signal was late, or that Alfiris and her team were caught off guard. They were simply fast.

「That…」

「An equestrian tribe?」

As Miranda said, it wasn’t fiends or magical beasts that appeared to surround Alfiris and her group, but humans. Their faces were covered with a kind of robe, and they were equipped with bows and arrows on their backs and swords on their waists. They were astride horses at least one size larger than the kind Alfiris and her group handle, and they were looking at them with murderous eyes. There must be about 30 people. Looking at them, Euthy whispers to all of them.

「It’s one of the natives that live on this prairie. They have a stronghold in the forests of this prairie, but I don’t know the details. They are a unit that hunt fiends on expeditions. They are all masters of combat.」

「But I could manage about 30 people…」

「Don’t be ridiculous! If there were 10 of them, they’d target a Gigantosaurus, too. And if there are 30 of them, you can’t even take them on!」

「Then what should we do about this…?」

「Like I know. But they’re the ones who think they can eat any living thing that moves. If you get caught, you’re sure to end up in trouble.」

「Lisa doesn’t want to get caught in their clutches.」

「…I’ll take care of it.」

Alfiris steps forward.

「Alfie!」

「Don’t stop me, Miranda, this isn’t the time for this!」

「They’re coming!」

Alfiris begins to release her own spell seal at the same time they charge at her astride their horses. But the girls had a major miscalculation.

「F–Fast!?」

The distance between them was about 100 meters. Alfie thought it would take 10 seconds to close the distance with a horse, but in fact, he was able to close the distance to halfway in less than 3 seconds. On top of that, something flies into her eyes.

「!?」

It was a rope with stones on both sides. It could have been used simply as a stone throwing weapon, but with enough momentum it was enough to push Alfiris backward.

「Ahh!!」

The projectile weapon, which was heavier than expected, knocked Alfiris off balance, and she immediately tried to get up, but the enemy was already in front of her. The horseman jump from its horse and thrust its swords at the throat of Alfiris. The others are captured as well, unable to put up any resistance.

「W–What… uuhhh, uugghhh!」

They not only put everyone behind their backs, but they also gagged them, as if they had sensed that Alfiris was going to use magic. This leaves Alfiris with nothing to do.

The horsemen look at each other and nod to each other, perhaps satisfied that they have successfully captured their prey. As it is, they lightly lifted Alfiris and the others up and tried to put them on the horses.

The way they didn’t speak a word was terribly eerie, and Alfiris paled at the thought of what was about to happen to her.

「（Oh no, in a place like this… we have to figure out a way to get out of here, if they take us to their settlement! But I don’t know if I can take on 30 of these strong guys… If I don’t even have time to chant magic, we have a very slim chance of winning.）」

In fact, they moved so fast that the well-trained Alfiris didn’t even have time to react. They are not that big, but their arm strength is tremendous. They are carrying Alfiris, which should be quite heavy, lightly under its arm.

The man puts Alfilis on the horse and tries to jump on himself. But the man failed to mount his horse. Alfiris couldn’t see what was happening because the horse was being carried on its belly as a fulcrum, but she could see the ground turning red. Then everyone starts buzzing. Apparently, they can speak the same language as Alfiris and the others.

「It’s the Guardian!」

「The Guardian is here!」

Alfiris could not see what was happening, but Euthy came to her aid and whispered to her. Apparently, they had escaped the difficulty.

「I hope you’re okay, Alfie. I’ll untie you now!」

「Muh—, Uhh—.」

「Ah, but first the gag.」

「Nhn… Buha! What’s going on here, Euthy?」

「Guardian—— People outside call her『The Guide,』though. She’s here.」

「Her?」

When Alfiris, now free, looked up, she saw a girl with green hair blowing in the wind on a slightly higher hill, looking down at her on a horse.