38 – Prey chases prey (3)
“Um, by any chance.”
As I left the village and entered the forest path, I opened my mouth.
Not only did I not like the atmosphere filled with silence, but I also did not want the ‘adventure’ I wanted to proceed in this way.
I was here to learn something.
I decided to go on an adventure to get to know the world and find a space where my mother could blend in with it.
But even at this moment when you open your mouth, if those cold eyes fall on you –
“…”
Mr. Luterrier pretends not to know me and continues to move forward.
The tail that had been drooping ever since we set off kept getting on my nerves.
“Mr. Luterrier!”
So, to break the mood, I stopped and stood in front of the group.
One side was cowering heavily, while the other side was standing calmly.
That stark difference was ruining the moment I had imagined.
I wanted to get angry at my mom for doing this right away, but I was afraid that if I did that, our relationship would become completely different.
“I received many warnings that the Chimera was a very dangerous opponent.
I think it would be very dangerous if you go without knowing anything.
Could you at least briefly explain?”
So, I tried to make eye contact with that shrunken face and force the conversation to continue –
“…”
The sight of her just looking at her mother without saying a word was really disappointing, and it made it impossible for her to calm down her anger.
I just wanted to naturally make her mother known by spreading her name as a wizard and getting along with her people.
As if my dream had nothing to do with it – constantly treating others coldly was the same as hindering me.
For whom did I have this dream?
With what kind of mindset did I try to go out into the world?
“Mr. Luterrier?”
“…Russell Wizard is asking, demon hunter.
Is there any problem?”
When I realized it, I was shaking while holding my teeth tightly.
Every time she saw her mother, who was now in the way, a part of her heart kept getting sore and painful.
Her nose was sore and her head hurt, as if she had a bad cold.
“That, that,
Chimera… Of the people – “
I was trying to say something, but
Mr. Luterrier was spitting out each word as if he was squeezing it out,
It was difficult to even understand those words properly.
There was no way she could speak properly with her trembling mouth,
I was so angry that there was no way I could focus on that.
Perhaps not yet aware of my feelings, his dark eyes were only focused on the golden-haired woman who was muttering her words.
“…Let’s go.”
In the end, I walked up to her side before she even finished explaining, and had her mother move aside.
His eyes widened when he finally saw my face, but it seemed like there was no reason for me to look at him with him anymore.
“I’m sorry. I don’t think I heard you correctly.
Is it okay if I ask you to explain again?”
Inaudible footsteps.
Even if I step on a tree branch, my hand doesn’t hold on for some reason.
When I slowly turned my head and looked, there was only one woman in black looking at me intently.
Tears seemed to be streaming down my face, but I struggled to turn my head and look at Mr. Luterrier.
I wanted to make a colleague.
I wanted to know what it felt like to be with people other than my mother.
That’s why I ignored my mom.
He moved his legs through the grass and waved his hand slightly to attract attention.
“I haven’t even said hello properly yet.
My name is Russell. She doesn’t have a last name.
Mr. Luterrier – “
“Gella, Gella Luterrier…”
And then I continued walking.
Inside the forest.
***
“When I was young… There was a time when demons attacked the village I was living in.”
After moving at a certain distance, Mr. Luterrier’s mouth slowly relaxed.
My mom was following, but she couldn’t get close to me.
Maybe it was because I kept staring at him, but it was a good thing anyway.
“My family is safe – but I should say that I started this job because of that experience.”
I guess the tension was somewhat relieved because there was Mr. Luterrier who told me stories in silence, just like when he first saw me.
Suin, a dog with stories of experiences that he almost missed because of his mother, seemed to be quite a chatterbox.
“I couldn’t forget the strong smell, so I was able to find it easily.
As a result, we often meet and fight,
As I organized the documents and weapons I obtained as loot, I came to know them better.
That’s why I became a demon hunter.”
Although his body language was still stiff, it was really nice to see him trying his best to explain.
I frowned every time I saw the look on his face and biting his lip from time to time.
“Well, but.
What is the relationship between you and Mr. Russell?
Then a question suddenly appeared.
Still glancing behind him, his sparkling blue eyes seem to be unable to contain his curiosity.
I am finally happy to see the tail slowly wagging –
“Lover, are you going to do this?”
My body instantly became stiff at the words that came out.
I nearly lost my footing, got caught by a rock, and rolled away along the slope.
“No, that’s not it – “
“Eek.”
The expression on his face was filled with doubt as he raised his eyebrows, as if he didn’t like the answer.
Enough to stop walking.
“Sniff, sniff.”
Then, as she walked around me and gently sniffed me, she wrinkled her face even more,
I saw Madame Tutuère – or her mother – standing quietly behind me.
“Umm…”
He kept her eyelids closed and held her mouth for a long time.
It was only for a moment that her face, which had been drooling for a while while wagging her tail back and forth, became distorted.
“…It’s burnt. It smells like fire somewhere.”
She turned her head in confusion, but it seemed like there was no fire anywhere.
She doubted that her mother was trying to shoot out her breath full of fire like she used to, but-
She was just standing behind her, staring at me intently.
“It doesn’t come from here.”
Do dogs that we only see in pictures move this way?
She came close to me and sniffed me, then slowly walked away and flicked her tail.
The sight of him searching the surroundings was interesting because it seemed like he was chasing prey –
“What are you doing? Follow me quickly!”
She must have regained her energy before I knew it, and she started waving her tail and beckoning me.
She was about to move to follow him closely, but suddenly felt a presence approaching from behind and looked away.
“Russell…”
He was crying like that while holding the end of my hand tightly.
It was a sudden appearance, but there was no intention to console him.
She showed this behavior several times, so I comforted her, but
Because the only thing that came back was always a growling look at others.
“Come with Mom, she’s chasing her Chimera now.”
I turned my body and moved towards the mountain,
Tick.
With a sound, the hand fell off.
I stopped for a moment, but didn’t look back.
I just ran forward eagerly and chased after the gently fluttering golden tail.
***
“It’s over there.”
Mr. Luterrier wags his tail even more, as if he is secretly happy that he has found the source of the smell.
It was very interesting to see that it had all the characteristics of a dog that I had only read about in books.
The face was clearly that of a human, but the tail and behavior were clearly that of a hunting dog with golden fur.
If it also has droopy ears, wouldn’t it really be the same?
“Wow, now I see wild dogs…”
Looking at the black bodies rolling around, reduced to charcoal,
She touches them with her knife, as if there are still embers left, and the faint sound of them burning can be heard.
“Did you do it all, wizard?”
“Yes. To be exact, I did it together with Madame Tutuère…”
She didn’t follow and just stood there blankly behind her, holding her outstretched hand to grab me.
It bothered me a little bit that she kept her posture as it was, but-
“I think it would be a good idea to go and talk about it.”
Soon she seemed to have regained some of her original state,
From Noble mtl dot com
I looked at Mr. Luterrier, who was speaking to me in the same voice he had when we first met.
She glanced at her eyes and pointed at her black-haired mother,
“No.”
As expected, I didn’t have the heart to go back and comfort her.
If I approach first, something like this will definitely happen again.
Thinking I have forgiven, I will try to push others away even more violently –
It was obvious that it would become even more of a mess.
Perhaps the problem is that I have been away from humans for too long.
“…I’m going to talk about it once I finish work.
I will apologize for my rudeness.”
I offered her an apology because her eyes looked very anxious as she looked towards her mother.
She obviously thought it would be more convenient to drop it like this.
“Well – hu. You really have nothing to hide?”
In fact, her face was getting darker as she lowered her voice and spoke to me like a whisper.
Her tail, which had been moving actively just a moment ago, was still attached to her body.
“What… Are you talking about?”
“Are you pretending not to know, or do you really not know?
You… You really have nothing to do with me?”
Relationship.
What kind of relationship are we talking about?
Could it be that they realized that he was not Madame Tutuère’s colleague, but the son of a dragon?
“…You seem very jealous.
Is it okay if I leave you alone?”
It looks like they weren’t caught, but it seemed like they misunderstood us as something different.
He gave me an awkward smile and waved his hand as he tried to gently take me away, and let out a long sigh –
“It’s not like that.
More than that, it’s a cave, right?”
I continued heading forward.
I could clearly feel that the burnt smell was getting thicker.
“That’s not the case? It can’t be…”
“No, we’re just good colleagues.
Sometimes I learn this and that.”
A question that is persistently asked as we approach the entrance.
I kept shaking my head at the words that reminded me of the unpleasant wriggling of the tail and the ‘pajamas’ that showed up to me at will.
I was finally able to see the cave with smoke rising before my eyes.
“Has the stone heated up? It’s hot…”
Skin becomes hot just by being near it.
Looking at the rising haze, I took a step back for a moment.
Mr. Luterrier’s face did not look very good as he retreated as if he could not bear the heat.
“If this is the case, it will be difficult to find something properly.
It smells like fire everywhere. “I don’t think it’s possible to go in.”
She lifted her nose and looked around her, then frowned and knelt down on her ground.
“Stay still.”
She looked at the black earth for a moment and circled one of her footprints with her finger.
Soon she tried to draw a large circle, including something next to it.
“Hoof? No, this is…”
There was something strange about her to say that she was taken at random.
Several hooves remained in one human footprint.
It looked messy, but there were several pieces left on the floor with the same pattern.
The circles are one to two, two to four, four to eight –
“To come out alive from that much heat…”
“Are these the chimera’s footprints?”
Apparently, it had come out of the cave and was heading somewhere.
The traces were definitely in place,
We were able to find out that it was alive and moving.
That moment when she raised her head to go back.
“…Russell.”
I don’t know where I left my shield, but I could see Madame Tutuère standing in front of me with empty hands.
There was no sign of going on an adventure.
She wasn’t calling me as her mother.
So, sighing, I tried to turn my head.
“It’s dangerous!!”
It was someone else’s hand that immediately grabbed me,
Before my eyes, the black-haired woman almost broke, collided with something, and quickly disappeared from sight.
“…Oh?”
The head belongs to a cut off wolf.
The hand holding the trembling thing was a huge arm made up of numerous arms covering each other.
As we saw, the legs were shaped like the legs of an animal were randomly attached, as if to support a leg that was too thin compared to its size.
It was bigger than my mother,
That’s why it crashed into Mom and went down that slope –
“Ah, ah – “
“Run, hurry!”
She couldn’t hold on to her mother’s body, which was rolling around.
I couldn’t chase them down right away.
Because before my eyes, an animal was running towards me, howling in a voice that was not an animal.
I moved my body frantically with the golden tail running wildly in front of me, pulling me.
We were being chased by the prey we were chasing.