Episode 13

The next day, the detachment advanced across the Nordan Plains.

“Was this really all right? We have only one guide—and she’s a child.”

Detachment leader Simon asked Zeke. Searching for a specific monster across the wide Nordan Plains was grueling. That was why he had wanted to bring several villagers as witnesses to make the hunt even a little more efficient, but…

“Unnecessary. If it’s only guiding us, even a brat can do it. I have no need for the rest of you.”

Zeke cut the villagers off without mercy. His high-handed tone had been muted until now, so the soldiers were taken aback. Some villagers tried to argue, but the killing intent he radiated made them fall silent.

“Oh? So you’re trying to say, indirectly, that I’m in the way?”

“—! Perish the thought. —However, since she’s a civilian and a child, I can’t help but feel reluctant…”

“Shove her in the wagon. If even that gets in the way, send her back to the village. That’s what you assigned soldiers for, isn’t it?”

Atri’s role was strictly to guide them to the site; nothing more was expected. If the tide of battle turned, she should be withdrawn at once so they could focus on the fight.

Hiroto, for his part, did not want to divert resources to anything extra.

“In that case, Zeke-sama will be returning with her as well, yes?”

“Are you stupid? Why do you think I’m here? This isn’t a kid’s picnic.”

He could hardly say, “At your age, that would be normal.”

Simon would have preferred Zeke to withdraw as soon as possible, but Zeke himself seemed to have no such intention.

Among the soldiers, the talk had been that sooner or later on this expedition Zeke would give up and drop out.

There was the long ride in an unfamiliar wagon, camping without a warm bed, and simple meals made with limited ingredients.

All of it was far removed from daily aristocratic life, and harsh for someone raised in comfort.

But Zeke reached the village in question without a single complaint. A different kind of unease spread among the soldiers.

There were fifteen soldiers in the detachment for this expedition. At first there had been fewer than ten, but the number had risen on Fool’s orders. Hiroto still thought they should have increased it more.

Breeze Weasels either moved as a pack centered on a boss or as solitary males. From the prior reports and Atri’s eyewitness account, he concluded the damage had been done by a pack and built the strategy on that basis.

He remembered that a pack’s range, even at its widest, was around a hundred meters from its base. If the damage was from a pack, manpower tactics should handle it to some extent.

“You’ve prepared your gear properly?”

“Yes. Since we expect magic-heavy attacks, we’ll focus on defense at first and size them up.”

Like humans, monsters had limits to their mana. By forcing them to cast, they would pinpoint the pack’s size and hiding place. Once cornered and drained of mana, the monsters would inevitably switch to close combat. That was when the soldiers would strike all at once.

Even villagers had managed to take down a single one; trained soldiers should have no trouble.

The rest depended on how flexibly the detachment could respond to contingencies. It was, in short, a trial of their mettle.