The Disturbance In The Forest And Edgar’s Group

A late morning in the Royal Capital.

After opening the shop, I walked along the stone-paved street beside Liricia.

First stop was the Adventurer Guild—to take on the usual gathering requests.

The first floor of the guild was as quiet as ever.

The dungeon had been cleared, and there were no forest subjugation quests.

All that remained were requests to exterminate animals damaging farmland.

“Then I’ll go accept the request,”

“Yeah, I’m counting on you.”

Liricia’s white clerical robe swayed as she headed toward the counter.

I idly scanned the quest board.

—Rats, boars, wolves… hm?

Forest Wolves had started appearing?

They were D-rank, but they hunted in packs and coordinated well. A bit dangerous.

As I was looking at the board, I heard a clinking sound behind me.

When I turned around, Guildmaster Rubel was standing there with her arms crossed.

Her red twin-tails were dazzling even in the morning light.

“Morning, Rubel. Need something?”

“Yeah, good morning. There’s something I wanted to ask you, Alec.”

“What is it?”

“You’ve been taking forest requests every day. Have you noticed anything unusual in the forest?”

“No, not really. It’s been perfectly calm.”

“I see…”

Rubel narrowed her eyes suspiciously at me.

Not understanding, I asked,

“Is something wrong?”

“If there’s a cause, you’re the only one I can think of.”

“Oh? And why’s that?”

“The ecosystem of the southeastern forest is changing.”

“Ecosystem?”

The unfamiliar term made me tilt my head.

Rubel spread one hand, her bracelets clinking, and explained in detail.

“It seems the monster and magical beast populations that lived in the forest have completely disappeared. Because of that, the animals they used to prey on are exploding in number… I understand monsters near the forest edge dying due to herb gathering, but it’s strange for even the deeper areas to be wiped out.”

Rubel’s brow furrowed further as she stared at me. I could feel the pressure of a powerful being.

Cold sweat ran down my back.

—Obviously, it was because I was living in the mansion deep in the forest.

Feeling my cheek twitch, I tried to explain.

“Well, I do go pretty deep when gathering, so maybe I killed too many.”

“Hm. Fine. Let’s say that’s the case.”

She said it in a tone that clearly didn’t buy it at all.

Hand to her chin, she looked me up and down as if appraising me.

Wanting to change the subject, I nudged the conversation aside.

“So if this keeps up, is it bad?”

“If rats, rabbits, and boars increase, then wolves and bears that feed on them will also increase.”

“Blood Bears and Great Bears, huh. Those are strong—troublesome for average adventurers.”

“At worst, Giant Bears might start appearing. If that happens, with the current number of adventurers, dealing with it will be tough. And there’s more.”

“And?”

“I’ve heard reports of a White Boar.”

“White? There are white boars?”

“Yeah. They’re extremely rare. In pure places like sacred springs or areas called sanctuaries, white animals sometimes appear. They’re also called Holy Beasts… Are you really saying you know nothing, Alec?”

Her red hair flared like fire as she stepped closer.

From a distance so close our breaths nearly crossed, her sharp, upturned eyes glared into mine.

She was intensely beautiful.

Sweating nervously, I replied in a fluster.

“I-I don’t know… maybe I just gathered too many herbs, haha… ha…”

“Hm… fine. Let’s go with that. Sorry for bothering you.”

Saying it in a tone full of doubt, Rubel turned away, waved a hand behind her, and left.

I exhaled in relief once the storm had passed.

…No matter how I looked at it, this was totally my fault.

Maybe it hadn’t been a problem before because I’d been traveling around the kingdom hunting monsters.

I’d never stayed in one place for this long.

…So what now?

Should I just spend my time inside the dungeon room?

No way. I couldn’t give up the comfort of that house—and more than anything, I wanted to stay with Liricia.

I probably needed to practice suppressing my Holy Wave.

Just then, Liricia returned.

Watching Rubel’s retreating back, she tilted her head.

“What happened, Master?”

“They say monsters are disappearing from the forest and animals are increasing. Apparently Holy Beasts are appearing too.”

“Oh my! As expected of your ama—mmph!”

Liricia raised her voice to praise me, so I hurriedly covered her mouth.

Rubel, who was heading toward the guildmaster’s office behind the counter, glanced back.

I grabbed Liricia’s arm and pulled her out of the guild.

Walking along the main stone-paved road, Liricia lowered her brows apologetically.

“I’m so sorry, Master.”

“It’s fine. They haven’t found the mansion or Kou’s dungeon yet. But it does look like I should practice holding back my Holy Wave.”

“Yes… though Holy Beasts increasing might not be a bad thing.”

“Hm? How so?”

“If the kingdom or the church designates the area as a sanctuary, people’s access should be restricted.”

“I see. If we get the deepest part of the forest recognized as a sanctuary…”

It wasn’t a bad idea.

The problem was that I had no connections with either the kingdom or the church.

…I might have to ask Sophia to return to the church and do her best. She was smart, after all—and she was the one who noticed Marius’s false testimony.

“Alright. Let’s do our best to protect our home.”

“Yes! With your incredible Holy Wave, even more Holy Beasts should appear! —I’ll do my best too!”

“Then next, we need a detailed world map. We’ve got the stone, and Edgar will bring back the jewel.”

It turned out the Busts of the Evil God were far more numerous than expected, so we needed large maps for each town and region.

“Yes, let’s go to the bookstore.”

Liricia linked her arm with mine.

Feeling her soft warmth through the fabric, I headed for the bookstore.

Meanwhile—

A refreshing morning under clear sunlight.

In a shabby house on the outskirts of the Royal Capital, five children sat around a table eating breakfast.

They each helped themselves to leftovers from yesterday’s feast.

They were Edgar’s group.

Neither Edgar nor the princess was there.

The healer girl sighed as she sipped her stew.

“The captain already left, didn’t he… He could’ve at least said goodbye…”

“Well, he’s coming back soon, right?”

The swordsman boy Yuma replied casually while eating bread.

Seema, the explorer girl, asked,

“So what do we do today? Rats? Boars?”

Mok, the hunter boy, spoke while adjusting his glasses with an intelligent glint.

“I think we should take today off and rest.”

“We’re not fighting?”

“Backing off just because he’s gone would make the captain sad, wouldn’t it?”

“We can handle rats ourselves, right?”

“No. It’s precisely because the captain isn’t here that we need to prepare properly. Until now, even if we skimped on preparation, the captain’s versatility saved us. —But for a while, that won’t be the case. Going into a fight only to find our swords chipped, potions lacking, or food spoiled—those risks need to be eliminated as much as possible.”

At Mok’s words, the children nodded with trusting smiles.

“Got it. I’ll follow Mok.”

“Me too.”

“But what do we do? All go together?”

“Yuma and Keely, since you’re good with weapons, I want you to check and maintain everyone’s weapons and armor.”

“Roger.”

“Got it.”

“Seema and Chaana, check supplies, potions, and emergency rations. Test whether the equipment works, and buy what’s missing. For rations… five people—three days should be enough.”

“Understood.”

“Okay.”

The healthy-looking girl and the still-childish girl both nodded with serious smiles.

The swordsman boy tilted his head and asked,

“What about you, Mok?”

“I’ve got something I want to look into.”

“Alright. If you say so, we’ll leave it to you.”

“Then let’s all meet back here in the evening.”

“Roger~”

“Got it.”

“Sure thing.”

“Okaaay!”

With energetic replies, the children headed off to their respective tasks.

Mok holed up inside the Royal Library in the Royal Capital.

With his slender body and thin arms, he carried several thick books at once to the reading desk.

He was far weaker than one would expect of an adventurer.

Mok himself knew that well.

He couldn’t protect the party as an evasion tank like the swordsman Yuma, nor could he shatter tough enemies with a decisive blow like the warrior Keely.

He couldn’t snipe vital points with a powerful bow like Seema, nor could he sustain the party with overwhelming mana and healing like Chaana.

Because he was weak and unreliable, he tried to be useful in other ways.

Instead of obsessing over defeating enemies himself, he focused on harassing them and leading the party to victory.

When the captain wasn’t around, he watched the flow of the entire party, ran strategies, and issued instructions.

That was how Mok did his best.

Morning light streamed in through the small windows as he flipped through pages, glasses glinting.

He cross-referenced multiple books, then consulted yet more.

Quiet time passed.

And at last, Mok reached his answer.

After going through several dictionaries, he found the meaning of the word he had been searching for.

Behind his glasses, his eyes flew wide open.

“‘Keepsake sharing’… a rite where the belongings of the deceased are divided among family and friends to remember them. —That means… no way! Captain Edgar already—!”

He shot to his feet, chair clattering loudly.

Face tense with panic, Mok returned the books to their shelves and hurried out of the library.