36 – The Hunting Season
The day to leave the western branch tribe and return to Eldenore was approaching.
I felt a bit bitter as I was about to leave the village that had taken care of me.
Was the hunting season such an important event that I had to postpone the mana purification?
I asked Shiz as I loaded my luggage on the back of the malco-palm deer, Rudolph.
“So, what exactly is the hunting season?”
The hunting season begins when autumn arrives in the Stydia continent.
I knew that fact from hearing it, but I didn’t know anything about the details of the hunting season.
Why did the monsters flock in, and why did the mad dragon Hista roar?
Shiz opened her mouth with an expression of disbelief as she heard my question.
“Didn’t Pii tell you? It’s basic knowledge.”
“Last time I asked, he said, ‘Ask Shiz, the hunting leader!'”
I looked at Pii as I answered Shiz.
Pii was in Makia’s hand, scolding the deer.
[Adolf! I’m not food! Got it?]
“Didn’t you say this deer is Rudolph, not Adolf?”
[Yeah! Rudolph!]
He looked incredibly stupid.
“Sigh… I see.”
Shiz also seemed to have a similar impression of Pii as she let out a deep sigh.
She decided that it would be better to explain it herself.
She started to explain the hunting season as she checked her equipment.
“There are clear four seasons in the continent of Sudiya. They change every quarter in the order of spring, summer, autumn, and winter.”
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“Uh-huh. I know that from hearing it.”
“Among them, the most important season is autumn. In autumn, the monsters’ feeding activity becomes more active. We use monsters as our staple food, so we have to fill up our food storage in autumn to prepare for the harsh winter.”
“I see.”
“And the monsters caught in autumn have a lot of fat, so they are especially delicious. It’s better to move around a lot in autumn to eat delicious food.”
Clear four seasons and hunting season focused on autumn.
In short, the ‘hunting season’ of the continent of Sudiya seemed to have a similar perception to the ‘harvest season’ in Korea.
Except that instead of harvesting ripe yellow rice, they hunted plump monsters.
Perhaps the Histanias Empire, which had started agriculture, was doing both monster hunting and crop harvesting.
I nodded my head as I grasped the general meaning of the hunting season.
“But why do the monsters flock in autumn?”
But why autumn of all seasons?
Why do the monsters flock to the continent of Sudiya and feed in autumn?
When I asked about the ecology of the monsters, Shiz continued to explain in a casual tone.
“It’s because the monsters are also preparing for winter.”
“The monsters?”
“Yeah. The flying-type monsters gather strength to fly to warmer regions, and the land-type monsters accumulate nutrients to hibernate. This place, the continent of Sudiya, was just the optimal place for that.”
“I see.”
“The reason why the light dragon Hista roars when autumn approaches is also because of that. Hista, who is sensitive to his territory, roars to drive away the invading monsters.”
The ecosystem of this world was more intricate than I thought.
He nodded his head with a small admiration, and soon Pii and Makia, who had approached, joined the conversation.
[Are you ready?]
“Are you leaving now?”
It seemed that Rudolf’s training, led by Pii, was over.
He still hadn’t heard what the light dragon Hista was doing, but he didn’t care much since he would have plenty of opportunities to ask on the way back.
He nodded his head as he hugged Pii, who was handed over by Makia.
“Yeah. It’s a shame, but I have to go now.”
“Yes. I will take responsibility and manage Pii’s sap, so don’t worry. I will deliver it to Eldenore regularly.”
“Thank you. I’ll come back when the hunting season is over, so please take care of him until then.”
“It’s an honor.”
Pii’s sap was entrusted to Makia, the garrison commander of this village.
She promised to deliver it along with regular reports, so he thought he could continue the mana purification even after returning to Eldenore.
She was a lady who really impressed him with her reliable work and refreshing personality.
He promised to reunite with Makia and climbed on Rudolf’s back.
Then, Shiz tapped his butt and said.
“This time, you ride in front.”
“Hey, don’t touch me there. And why do I have to ride in front?”
“There’s a high chance of encountering monsters on the way back. It’s better for me, who has a long-range attack method, to ride in the back.”
“Your main weapon is a spear, too. Isn’t that the same as me in close range?”
“Stop talking nonsense and ride in front. And don’t drool on my head while sleeping. If you do that again, I’ll really kill you.”
Ah. So they found out about the drool I left last time.
I somehow managed to survive without dying.
“Fine. Spare me.”
I squirmed on the saddle and moved to the front seat.
Then I placed the deer horn helmet that was hanging on my back between my legs to make it easier for Sizu to sit.
Sizu, who confirmed that, lightly jumped to the back seat.
The elf’s characteristic grassy scent wafted from behind my back.
“Now. Then hug my waist tightly.”
“I don’t need to do that.”
“Hey! If you fall off, you’ll crack your head!”
“……”
Sizu stretched out his arm and grabbed my waist at my joke-laced shout.
Looking back, I saw that Pii was chuckling, so it seemed that Sizu’s expression was interesting.
I smiled lightly and grabbed Rudolf’s reins.
“Then let’s go!”
There was no hesitation in my action of holding the reins.
I honed my riding skills by riding Rudolf whenever I had time while staying in this village.
It wasn’t hard at all.
The animals followed me well, thanks to being recognized as a druid candidate.
“Please be careful!! Sister!!”
“It was an honor!! Candidate!!”
I moved Rudolf while receiving the farewell of the high elves.
I would visit this place again after the hunting season was over.
Pii’s main body had rooted itself, and the cheerful high elves gathered in the village.
I felt like looking back again and again, as if I had grown attached to this place.
[I’ll be back soon!]
Pii and I waved our hands and said a short goodbye.
As Rudolf started running, the voices of the high elves faded away.
The forest regained its tranquility in an instant.
* * *
The journey back to Eldenore was fast and comfortable.
Most of the monsters were cleared by Rudolf’s line, and the beasts we encountered avoided fighting and went away.
But as soon as we entered the border of Eldenore, the comfortable journey came to an end.
A fallen object from the branches of the World Tree. High elves who seemed to be dispatched from Eldenore. The flow of battle that was going very unfavorably.
It was because of that brutal scene that Siz jumped off Rudolf and shouted.
“Our subordinates are struggling! You join in too!”
I hastily prepared for battle on top of Rudolf.
I hid Pii safely in my chest armor, put on the deer horn helmet that I had hung on my back, and pulled out the chainsaw that was tied to my waist.
After finishing the preparation and jumping off Rudolf’s back, I saw that Siz had already joined the high elves and was listening to the situation.
“Siz noona!”
“Enough with the greetings, report the situation!”
“While patrolling, we found a wyvern that had crashed! We managed to capture it somehow, but it’s hunting season, so backup will be late!”
“Then we have to subdue it ourselves. Hey, druid candidate. It’s time to work.”
I nodded and looked ahead.
Between the fallen trees, a monster the size of a house was rampaging.
It was a draca, a wyvern, with two legs and huge wings.
– Kyaah―――!!
The beast was causing a commotion while surrounded by a dozen high elves.
There were traces of fire around and thick smoke rising, indicating that it had breathed fire before we arrived.
If we let it rampage any longer, the nearby forest would suffer serious damage.
As I tried to join the battle with my chainsaw, Siz summoned his weapon, a dark spear, and said.
“You help the others and draw its attention. I’ll cut off its breath from a distance.”
I looked at Siz with his spear and wondered.
He always insisted on staying at a range, even though his main weapon was a spear.
Was he planning to throw spears as much as he wanted, since he could summon them at will?
That seemed very inefficient for fighting a monster.
I raised my chainsaw and asked Siz.
“Will throwing spears work? Wouldn’t it be better to suppress its legs with me?”
Siz reacted as if he didn’t understand what I was saying.
Then, after a short thought, he opened his mouth as if he had realized something.
“Ah. I haven’t shown you this yet.”
Shiz spoke as she thrust her spear forward.
“My main weapon is different. And this is not a spear.”
Shiz finished her words and quietly recited a magic spell.
Wooden vines were summoned around her spear and began to create something.
The vines rapidly stretched out and installed a base on the ground, and firmly combined to form a sturdy body.
The completed weapon was definitely hard to call a spear.
“This is not a spear, but an arrow.”
An overwhelming size of a bow that lay horizontally.
Shiz, who summoned a huge siege weapon, 「Ballista」, entered a combat stance.