Endurance Contest

And then, a “convincing-looking object” made from branches and other things placed on the ground was completed.

Depending on how one looked at it, it could perhaps be seen as something for making a campfire.

Well, it was certainly only a sort of “something” that would make any human who saw it say, “What is this?”

“…What is this?”

“Something campfire-like.”

Well, it seemed that even to a fairy, it was “What is this?”… but that was fine.

As Orphe followed Kikori while he hid in the shade of the trees, she called out, “Isn’t that a bit too much, no matter how you look at it?” but, well, that was far too natural a reaction.

“It’s fine like that. It kind of catches your interest, right?”

“Well, yes.”

“If it catches your interest, then…”

A single shadow raced across the sky. A wyvern found the “fake campfire” Kikori had assembled and let out a high-pitched “Kirurururu…”

At the same time, it began circling in place, and Kikori quietly began to move.

As wyverns gathered from the surroundings, Kikori and Orphe withdrew from the area, but after they had fully moved away, Orphe looked incredulous as she watched more and more wyverns gather.

“You’ve got to be kidding me… They’re falling for something like that.”

“It’s clearly an artificial trace. For opponents who aren’t familiar with human culture, that should be enough.”

“Now that you say it, maybe that’s true.”

“More importantly, there’s something we confirmed just now.”

Yes, the fact that they had learned that was more important than anything.

“Just now, the wyvern gathered its comrades. In other words, they’re forming a herd.”

“Well, yes?”

“Then I think it’s safe to assume that there’s a leader of the herd somewhere.”

Yes, just as the Goblin General had led the goblin herd.

The wyverns that had attacked the fairy forest, and were now here, were also being commanded by “something.”

The wyverns’ current response had confirmed that.

And that something probably was not among them.

Then where was it?

“I can roughly guess, but…”

“You’re going to attack?”

“No. It’s an endurance contest. There’s no need to deliberately let ourselves be lured in.”

Even if they attacked the place where the wyverns’ commander was, it was already clear that it would call its comrades, just like now.

In that case, attacking would instead be nothing but a bad move.

“An endurance contest? What are you planning to do?”

“It’s obvious. We’ll set up a bunch of things like the one just now and wear them out.”

Just as Kikori said, each time the wyverns found one of the “convincing-looking things” Kikori had set up, they called their comrades, but… gradually, the number of wyverns that came decreased, and their movements visibly became sloppy.

And after two days, the wyverns stopped calling their comrades… and began swooping down to stomp the objects flat.

But if that happened, then naturally.

“Giiiiiiiiii!?”

Yes, if that happened, then naturally, they became perfect targets for Kikori and Orphe, who had been waiting in the trees.

That was also, literally, the moment Kikori and the others won the endurance contest.

Several more days passed after that. The wyverns’ forms finally disappeared from the sky.