Good One, Think Of My Tragedy

~Several hours earlier, near the adventure city of Agatra, in the northern plains region~

“Bumooooooooooooooooooo!!!”

Four legs raced across the plains.

Its hooves tore through the thickets and raced over the mud.

“Hah, hah! All right, good, good, this way, this way! Come chase me, you monster!”

Two legs bounded across the plains.

The soles of the synthetic-material combat boots he had obtained at a U.S. military surplus auction stamped down on the ground.

“Bumoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!”

“Eek?! Those tusks are huge! H-Hihihihihi, I’m dead if I mess this up. No, I’m dead even if I don’t!”

Chased by a boar monster the size of a large SUV, the man laughed.

The monster raged wildly, and its thick tusks, which looked like they could easily pierce a human body, drew closer, yet the man laughed.

His brain was warped. That warped thing changed fear into anger and danger into pleasure.

“Bumo! Momomo!”

“H-Hihihi, Lazaar!!”

The man who kept fleeing from the boar with a half-laugh, Tooyama Naruhito, called his companion’s name. This was the spot. Just as planned, Tooyama had lured the monster to the intended place.

“Yeah, that’s enough.”

A voice came from within the thicket. Hearing the familiar voice of his lizard friend, Tooyama’s smile deepened.

Thud.

“Bumo?!”

The boar’s stance broke. Darkness suddenly appeared, no, a shadow, spreading across the ground as a viscous swamp.

An application of Lazaar’s skill. The giant boar had fallen into a shadow pitfall.

“Stolu!”

“Dis.”

Tooyama Naruhito’s sword leaped out from the thicket on the opposite side from Lazaar. Its speed surpassed even monsters. It was simply, purely fast.

A light-blue wind appeared without having its feet caught in the shadow.

“Momomo?!?”

A dull blade tore open a deep cut through thick fur and powerful flesh.

The moment that wound was made, a crack ran through the great tusk on the giant boar’s snout.

No, the tusk broke completely from the base.

Even a mass-produced cast sword sold at the market became a weapon that could easily cut through even a monster’s tusk when handled by Stolu Pula.

“Sorry, monster. This isn’t a fight to the death. It’s a hunt, you know!”

Just as arranged.

Tooyama readied the spear he had prepared for this hunt. It was a simple spear made from wood and iron.

“Pigyueeee, bumoooooooooo!!”

The monster raged. That intelligent monster understood its own crisis. That was why it roared. Don’t come closer, don’t come closer, I’ll kill you.

“Hihi, you got scared, didn’t you?”

But that bluff had the opposite effect.

That man had neither fear nor hesitation.

The hunter attacked the prey whose legs had been caught by the shadow and whose tusk, flesh, and hide had been cut by the sword.

Thrust. Tooyama stabbed the boar’s eye with the spear. He did not stab too deeply, but he put his weight into it properly.

“Pigyueeeeeeee?! E……”

“There, Dis!”

Stolu targeted the monster’s limbs as it began struggling violently. The monster, whose leg tendons had been cut precisely, could no longer even walk.

Its stance collapsed, leaving its belly, chest, and the vital points of a living creature wide open.

“Heave-ho!”

Stab. This time, Tooyama’s spear pierced the center of the giant boar’s chest. This time, it went deep, gouging in.

“O-Ooooooooooo!!!”

“Pigyiiiiiiii?! Gyu, gyugyui?!”

He twisted the spearhead and widened the wound further. The sensation of scraping bone inside the flesh and tearing blood vessels traveled through the spear to Tooyama.

“Pi……gy.”

“Hi, hi.”

Ah, this was good…… The feeling of taking life, the clear sensation that the monster and he were living on equal terms, was there.

Tooyama Naruhito did not dislike that feeling.

Thud. The massive body whose heart had been pierced sank down. After it trembled several times in large spasms, it never moved again.

The grasses and flowers of the plains absorbed fresh blood once more. In this way, the activities of adventurers and monsters continued.

“All right, third one! I’m starting to get the hang of it.”

“Phew. From my side, it’s nerve-racking. I can’t stop worrying about when Naruhito will be pierced by that monster’s tusks.”

“Dis, Tooyama. You are slower on your feet than I am. Would I not be more suited to the decoy role than you?”

Just as arranged.

Using the information they had gotten from the Tower-Class Adventurer the other day, they had switched their hunting target to this boar monster starting today for the sake of the good-quality sausage recipe Tooyama wanted.

“Ah, well, that’s true, but Stolu, with your speed, you’d shake that monster off completely, right? The key to this hunt is how we can drive them into Lazaar’s shadow pitfall without them noticing……”

The boar monster was classified by the Adventurers’ Guild as a “third-rank monster, furred species, Giant Boar.” When Tooyama and Lazaar had been a two-man team, Tooyama had judged that they could not hunt it safely due to compatibility, so he had not included it among their hunting targets.

But now, things were different.

“This is a roundabout method, Dis. If it is only a Giant Boar, I can cut it down from the front, Dis.”

Flick.

The light-blue-haired girl knight shook off the blood clinging thickly to the cheap sword with a single swing.

Stolu Pula’s addition had instantly broadened the range of Tooyama and his companions’ tactics. Even without Sacraments or grave goods, she was a cheat knight whose feet were faster than monsters and whose physical strength was monster-like.

Tooyama served as decoy, Lazaar held the target in place, and Stolu acted as a mobile attacker. Just as Tooyama had arranged, without injuries or trouble, the hunt stayed a hunt, never became a fight to the death, and the adventurers won.

However, Stolu did not seem very fond of that method.

“Brute-forcing things with character stats isn’t my style, Stolu. Rather than smashing that speed and power of yours head-on into them, it’s more efficient to use them on a boar caught in a pitfall.”

“Mu, mumumumumu.”

At Tooyama, who sighed with a sound, Stolu puffed out her cheeks. But she likely could not find the words. All she could do was show through her attitude that she had complaints.

“Stolu, may I have a moment?”

“What is it, Dis, Lazaar?”

Lazaar beckoned Stolu over with small gestures. Stolu obediently ran over.

“In short, Naruhito does not want to make you play the decoy role. Though he treats you as part of our fighting strength, this is something like the stubbornness of a twisted person who also treats you as a child. Would you let him have his way?”

“What do you mean, Dis?”

“Our dragon slayer is worried about you.”

The Lizardonian smiled broadly. After his gaze smiled toward Stolu, it turned to Tooyama.

“Ah, hey! Lazaar, you bastard, what are you saying?”

“Diiis?”

“Ugh.”

Tooyama groaned without thinking at Stolu’s voice, which sounded like she was at the absolute peak of getting carried away.

“Weefhook. Mmm, fufufufu. To, o, ya, ma. What’s this, what’s this, Dis? Why are you making such an annoyed face? Hmmm, if you were worried, you should have just said that from the start. Mufufufufu.”

“Annoying. You’re getting carried away so obviously……”

“Mufufu. For an adult man, getting embarrassed like that means you have some cute sides too, don’t you, Dis? You can say it, you know? That you were worried about me, so you didn’t want me to be the decoy, hmm? Hmmm?”

With a smirking grin loosening her lips, Stolu somehow swung her light-blue ponytail back and forth as she poked at Tooyama.

“You damn brat……”

Stolu was obviously getting carried away. He could have just let it pass, but her face was far too irritating.

So Tooyama decided. Over the past few days of spending time with Stolu, he had noticed something.

“Hmmm? What’s wrong, Di—”

“That’s right, Stolu. I don’t want you doing anything too dangerous.”

“Di?!”

Tooyama, having taken the cheap provocation, brought his face close to Stolu’s.

“You’re strong. If we fought properly, neither I nor Lazaar could beat you. But you see, I have my pride too.”

“P-Pride? A-Also, y-you’re too close, Dis……”

Stolu’s ponytail no longer swayed.

She looked away from Tooyama as he closed in. Over and over, she began combing her light-blue hair with her hand.

“Pride. How could I make a woman act as a decoy? Much less a woman younger than me, right? Stolu Pula.”

“O-Okay, okay, I understand! I understand, Dis……! S-So move away a little…… I-I’m sweaty right now, so……”

Yes, this brat named Stolu Pula. It seemed she was good at getting aggressively involved with others on her own, but weak when someone got involved with her.

Tooyama stared straight at Stolu. Stolu’s light-blue eyes kept swimming around. Her white, soft cheeks rapidly turned red—

“T-Tooyama, y-you really are too close, so……”

Stolu squeezed her eyes shut.

“Puhi.”

“Huh?”

Stolu opened her eyes.

Tooyama Naruhito reached the limit of his patience.

“Bfu! H-Hihihi, aha! Hahahahaha!! Stolu-chaaaan? Your face is bright red, you know! Ahahahaha! When you tease people, you act like such a damn brat, but huh? Whaaat? You’re so weak when you’re the one being teased! Forget smelling sweaty, you smell kind of nice, like aroma oil, don’t you?”

Tooyama held his stomach and laughed. The sight of Stolu, who had been doing a damn-brat act until just now, trembling all over was extremely funny.

“……”

Around the moment Tooyama mentioned Stolu’s scent, her movements stopped.

That reaction was different from what Tooyama had expected. Normally, she would have started making a loud fuss, but—

“Huh? She stopped moving. Lazaar-kun, what’s this?”

“Haa……”

At Tooyama’s words, Lazaar pressed a hand to his brow and sighed.

“You idiot!!”

Smack!

It was a good sound. Stolu’s sharp kick struck Tooyama’s rear.

“Gyah?! Ow?! L-Lazaar! Lazaar, Lazaar, Lazaar! Did you see that just now?! This brat just hit me with an incredibly sharp kick?!”

“Naruhito, this time, you were in the wrong.”

Lazaar shook his head. It seemed he had no intention of helping.

“Dis! Dis! Dis!”

Smack, smack, smack!! Tooyama’s rear played crisp, dry sounds.

The First Knight, a little teary-eyed, continued her rhythmic kicks.

“Ow! That hurts! This girl is aiming exactly at the hole?!”

“Hmph! Niko-chan was right, Dis. Tooyama treats girls too roughly, Dis!”

After kicking him down thoroughly, Stolu puffed out her cheeks and turned away with a hmph.

Despite all those kicks, no pain remained, so it seemed she was holding back.

“……Girl?”

Tooyama, who had not learned much of a lesson, tilted his head at Stolu’s words.

“Naruhito, did you forget what you said to Stolu yourself just now?”

“Anyone who aims exactly at the hole when kicking someone’s ass isn’t in the girl category. That’s the damn-brat category. If I get hemorrhoids, I seriously won’t forgive you.”

“……It seems it was not enough yet, Dis.”

“Ah! Kidding, kidding, kidding! Lady Stolu, this humble one was mistaken.”

Only when Stolu began doing shadow kicks with sharp swishes did Tooyama finally start to panic.

“Kidding?”

“Uwah, what a pain. Her justice switch turned on.”

“Good grief. Truly, things are never boring with you, Naruhito, Stolu—”

A carefree moment between hunts.

A green carpet spread out, with low shrubs growing here and there nearby. There were also small streams and little ponds in places, likely nurturing diverse life.

This place was also close to the forest. If one strained one’s eyes, one could see a place deep in the plains where trees grew thickly.

So far, hunting in the plains region has been extremely smooth.

“Hm?”

That was how it should have been.

But it had already begun.

Lazaar suddenly stopped moving.

“Dis? What is wrong, Lazaar?”

“—Didn’t you hear something just now?”

Whoooooooooosh.

Only the sound of the wind.

As if the various plants of the plains were dancing in the wind.

The wind was blowing from ahead, from the direction of the forest.

It was the direction of the place where Tooyama and the others had previously hunted many second-rank monsters, Titanos Mares.

Only the sound of the wind. At least, that was all Tooyama could hear.

“No? Nothing. Right, Stolu?”

“Dis. I sense no monsters in the area either, Dis. We should drain the Giant Boar’s blood and load it onto the cart while we can, Dis.”

“—No, I can definitely hear it…… What is this? A song? No, crying……”

“H-Hey, Lazaar? What’s wrong with you? Are you, like, okay?”

Something was strange.

He had a bad feeling.

“It’s calling…… me. What a sad voice……”

“……Tooyama, Lazaar is acting strangely, Dis.”

Stolu also seemed to have sensed something dangerous, just like Tooyama. She issued a warning in a low voice.

“Yeah. Hey, Lazaar, calm down. What exactly are you—”

Tooyama reached his hand out to Lazaar.

Smack.

Tooyama’s words were cut off at the same time as a dry sound rang out.

“It’s calling……”

The absentminded Lazaar had slapped away the hand Tooyama held out.

As if swatting a fly. What Lazaar did was an unmistakable rejection.

“Ah……?”

“Lazaar?!”

Tooyama’s body stiffened. Stolu raised a scream-like voice.

“It’s calling me. That child is calling me…… That lonely child is calling me. What a sad song…… It is calling for a good one……”

Blink.

Lazaar’s eyes no longer had irises. With the whites of his eyes showing, he muttered something.

Unsteadily, he began walking somewhere.

“! Hey, Lazaar! What the hell suddenly happened to you?!”

Tooyama snapped back into motion. He once again placed his hand on the shoulder of Lazaar, who was heading somewhere, to stop him.

“Shadow Guidance.”

“Huh?”

“Dis?”

Splash.

Shadows pooled at the feet of the lizard man, the Shadow Fang. Both Tooyama and Stolu knew what that was.

Shadow Guidance. Lazaar’s talent, bestowed by a great being beyond this world, a familiar.

A concealment technique that covered his form and hid his existence and misdeeds. In the night city, it had been the curtain of shadow that had covered Stolu, Tooyama, and their companions together.

But this time, that curtain of shadow covered only Lazaar.

“……I’m coming now, so please don’t cry.”

Plop.

Lazaar sank into the shadow. Abruptly, he disappeared from before Tooyama and Stolu’s eyes.

Only Tooyama and Stolu were left behind.

“Huh?”

“Hah?”

““Haaaaaaaaah?!””

Apparently, when people fell into a situation they did not understand at all, they shouted if they had the energy.

Lazaar had disappeared somewhere.

“W-Wait, Laza—Lazaar?! Hey! Where did you go?!”

“Sh-Shadow, Tooyama, that was Lazaar’s skill……”

“I know that just from seeing it! No, wait. Calm down, calm down, calm down…… Stolu.”

Tooyama immediately switched gears. What mattered in an emergency was not panicking.

“W-What is it, Dis?! Tooyama, why did Lazaar…… disappear on his own……”

However, Stolu was still flustered, and it seemed she could not even hear Tooyama calling to her.

“Stolu Pula.”

“! Yes, Dis.”

Tooyama called her name in a low, firm voice.

Stolu stopped moving around in a panic and stood upright.

“Keep watch around us. With your senses, can you confirm whether there are any monsters nearby?”

“……There are none. Within the range of sight, inside the thickets, there are no monsters watching us now, Dis.”

“I see. Now let’s think. Where did Lazaar go?”

Use your head. Whether exploring or adventuring, it was the same: those who stopped thinking died first.

“……He was acting strangely, Dis. That was almost like……”

“Say it. Right now, I want any hint I can get in order to understand the situation.”

Tooyama urged Stolu to continue when she hesitated.

“……It resembled the expression made by a person under the influence of my former power and equipment. Under the influence of Justice or Hanging Sword, Dis……”

For an instant, Stolu looked at Tooyama, at the area around his neck, and lowered her head a little awkwardly.

“Justice…… That cheating power called a Sacrament, huh? Well, skills and stuff are like that too.”

Tooyama, who had already forgotten a fair bit of that subtle emotional baggage and everything that had happened in the past, remembered the power that had nearly killed him back then.

Sacraments, skills, and then magical formulas.

In this world, there were powers that Tooyama’s experience could not immediately deal with.

“It has been confirmed that some Sacraments strongly influence the minds of others, Dis. Lazaar’s face was not normal, Dis.”

“……I see. In that case, Lazaar, no, we are being attacked by someone right now. Then why was Lazaar the only one affected?”

“I do not know, Dis. If this was an influence caused by a Sacrament or skill, we have no way to understand it immediately.”

Stolu seemed to have already switched into combat mode. She was saying things that sounded smarter than usual.

That was a good trend. In the worst situation, Tooyama found positives one by one.

“Tooyama, your instructions. What do we do now?”

Stolu, Tooyama’s sword, entrusted her point to her master.

“We look for Lazaar.”

He said it without the slightest hesitation. An abnormal situation, insufficient information, and an unseen force.

Even so, for Tooyama, the option of abandoning Lazaar and retreating did not exist.

“Stolu, the hunt is canceled. Forget about the cart and the prey for now. We’re switching gears.”

“Weefhook, Inquisitor-dono.”

Their expressions changed.

Confusion and bewilderment still smoldered in their hearts, but they no longer showed on their faces.

They narrowed their focus to their objective and concentrated.

“Where do we begin, Dis, Tooyama?”

“Moving blindly won’t work. We look for Lazaar’s traces. Thinking is my job. Sensing is yours.”

“Understood, Dis.”

Calm down. Hurry without rushing.

Tooyama stared at this situation in which Lazaar had disappeared.

Ping.

That always accompanied Tooyama’s adventures.

The malicious power that informed him of fate, however, had begun to gradually change its nature through Tooyama Naruhito’s choices.

Ping.

An arrow appeared, pointing to the black stain left on the ground where Lazaar had disappeared.