Episode 107

After his reincarnation, Karem thought he had adjusted well to things he had only seen and heard in his previous life but never truly experienced.

Of course, it was natural.

Starting with the two grand mages closest to him.

They were two people who constantly threw magic at each other, yet managed to leave the surroundings unharmed. They were the immortals of magic, revered by all mages of Europa.

There was also an elf necromancer, overflowing with sheer awkwardness, even without considering the two mages.

Besides them, the Mage’s Tower was now filled with a host of mages.

On top of that, there were the goblins, slimes, iceworms, hunter drakes, talking quasi-huge raven monsters, and various other monster trophies and byproducts he had seen in passing.

Even real mammoths, which made the previously mentioned monsters seem insignificant.

In fact, mammoths, which had long been extinct in his previous life, were now walking around on four legs in this world, making it harder not to adjust.

Of course, there were dwarves, elves, and dark elves.

The presence of these familiar races freely roaming the world also helped.

But Karem finally realized.

He still had a long way to go before fully adapting.

Eeeeeeeeeek—!!

“Watch out for their tusks and tails!”

“Damn it! It’s been quiet for years, and I thought it was about time they showed up!”

A giant monster the size of a bear wielding crude stone weapons.

The rescue team was fighting against the invasion of the Grizzly Beavers.

Karem was dumbfounded.

A grizzly bear, a giant bear, or a slightly larger beaver.

It was exactly what the name suggested: a Grizzly Beaver.

These creatures were fighting in ways that didn’t match their appearance at all: swinging stone weapons, biting with their teeth, lashing with their tails, and pushing with their bodies.

If you just considered that part, it was truly ridiculous.

Of course, if it weren’t for the blood, flesh, bones, and organs scattering everywhere.

It was clear whose they were.

It felt unreal, ridiculous, and at the same time, it reminded Karem of the cruel flash animations he had seen as a child.

The familiar smell of blood mixed in with Karem’s senses.

But the faint sweet smell that didn’t fit at all made it even worse.

In that situation, two people stood out more than the mages.

Gordon, and Iona.

“Damn it! Elder Iona! Please step back!”

Literally, like a flash from the east.

And another flash from the west.

Gordon, having joined the rescue team, immediately reversed the situation and counterattacked the monster swarm.

Every time the Swordmaster’s sword swung, evidence of life—the Grizzly Beaver’s head and flesh—was mercilessly scattered.

Gordon swung his longsword at an unseen speed, slaughtering the surrounding Grizzly Beavers and even helping others in danger.

There was nothing particularly special about it.

Gordon was just moving quickly.

Even with Karem’s culinary-focused eyes, he could tell.

In any case, he realized that what he had thought of as true skill was actually just a pretense, but he could understand it.

People could put on pretenses sometimes.

What Karem couldn’t understand, however, was the scene right beside him.

“Ahhhh! Nonsense! I’m not backing down!”

Smash, smash, smash, smash, smash!

Iona, in his thick body and armor made of ice, swung his hands and feet recklessly, pounding the Grizzly Beavers.

A wave of white coldness spread around him.

In large-scale battles, momentum was always important.

The sight of his unique figure inspired the rescue team to fight the Grizzly Beavers with renewed vigor.

But there were just too many of them.

For every one they killed, two more Grizzly Beavers emerged from the forest.

Even from Karem’s perspective, who knew little about military tactics except for siege and annihilation, it was clear that things would escalate if this continued.

Karem glanced at Catherine.

“Uh, it seems like it’s getting a little dangerous now—”

“If even you’re saying that, it definitely seems like we’re starting to lose ground.”

“Isn’t it about time you stepped in?”

“Surely, there’s no sign of them thinning out. In that case—”

Catherine gripped her staff and struck the stockade forcefully.

A sudden chill of winter air brushed past Karem’s nose, snapping him out of the stupor caused by the scent of blood and sweetness.

“Ugh, it’s cold!”

“Such an impatient child.”

“An impatient child should stay out of the way.”

“Yeah. It’ll be over soon.”

“No, don’t get involved.”

Someone leaned against the stockade in front of Catherine.

It was Sir Giant who had escaped through the window earlier.

“Not you again—”

“Wouldn’t it be better to conserve magic power?”

“Hey, shouldn’t we also be conserving the Swordmaster’s strength?”

“Limus!”

“Hey!”

“Where are you, Limus?”

“Hey! Don’t ignore me! Hey! Ugh!”

Ignored by the conversation, Catherine casually kicked Sir Giant’s shin.

Clang!

But it was Catherine who was hurt.

Moreover, the position was awkward, and the sound was very clear.

Grrrr!

“Oh my. Lady Athanitas.”

“Ouch, ouch!”

Ha ha ha ha! Sir Giant only laughed.

In the meantime, Limus hurriedly climbed up to the stockade and saluted.

“Squadron Leader Limus! Reporting for duty!”

“Where is the cavalry?”

“Except for those sent on reconnaissance, everyone else is preparing for the sortie!”

“Hmm, then we’ll need to stall. Alright! Shout the battle cry for victory!”

“Yes!”

Sir Giant swiftly leaped up to the stockade like a weasel, balancing precariously.

“Swordmaster. Fire!”

Boom—! Crack!

Sir Giant leaped.

As part of the stockade broke from the recoil, the shot was fired towards the Grizzly Beavers.

At some point, Sir Giant was holding a massive double-headed axe, one that seemed fit for someone of his size.

“Khahhhhhhhhhhh!!!!”

It was no surprise that all the Grizzly Beavers’ attention turned to him.

But it was already too late.

Crack—!

With unstoppable force, Sir Giant split a Grizzly Beaver in half.

The earth trembled from the recoil.

In essence, he was a human-shaped bomb.

Karem realized why the rescue team was functioning even without its leader, Sir Giant.

The two Swordmasters and the rescue team’s forces.

And the cavalry’s sortie.

Not long after, the Grizzly Beaver swarm retreated in defeat.

The battle didn’t take half a day to end.

The rescue team celebrated their victory and confirmed what they had suspected from the beginning—that Iona, the guard, and their benefactor Gordon and his mercenary group were indeed their goal.

The large-scale outbreak of the Grizzly Beavers.

But contrary to Karem’s thoughts, the native Islanders had a mixed reaction, half annoyance and half cheer, as though they had known this day would come.

And Karem realized the reason behind this in the midst of the commotion.

The Grizzly Beaver, like any beaver, is a monster that builds dams in rivers and lakes.

Naturally, to build their dams, they needed trees.

And of course, many of the people of Iceland made their living by logging.

In other words, the necessary resources and their activity range overlapped.

If they were people, there might have been room for compromise.

But the Grizzly Beaver, despite its beaver-like appearance, was very much a monster.

There was no room for negotiation with monsters.

Naturally, when damage occurs, adventurers hunt them down, and that’s the end of it.

That would have been the happy ending, but in Iceland, once every few years, the population of Grizzly Beavers exploded, leading to large-scale extermination requests.

The rescue team, upon arriving at Blackwood Village, achieved their goal of rescuing Iona.

After confirming the large-scale Grizzly Beaver outbreak, they contacted Alfred.

The rescue team quickly transitioned into a hunting party, coordinating with the Adventurers’ Guild.

As a result, Blackwood Village became even noisier than before.

“Wow, damn. The more I see this, the harder it is to adjust.”

“Still, their fur works well in the warm southern lands.”

“But the texture is so stiff!”

“That’s just something that can be fixed with tanning.”

While chatting casually with adventurers who were skinning and stripping the bones of the Grizzly Beavers, Karem took a close look at the creatures.

“It looks like they’re all just stripping the bones. Don’t they eat the meat?”

“Maybe in the fall, when their meat is fatty and rich. But in spring and summer, Grizzly Beaver meat tastes terrible. Even beasts and monsters won’t look at it unless they’re starving.”

“Ahhh…”

Grizzly Beaver meat isn’t tasty unless it’s fall.

Noted. And the verdict is…

“Hmm, looking at it up close, it’s actually not that cute.”

From a distance, it was, but seeing it up close in this giant version, it was more grotesque than cute.

The cute parts of beavers are their fluffy bodies and round eyes.

And their short little legs compared to their body and the tail that resembles a paddle.

But seeing them in this giant version, all the cute aspects faded away.

It didn’t feel cute at all, like a bear.

By the way, didn’t they say they have periodic mass outbreaks?

“It feels like a locust swarm.”

“Locust swarm? Not exactly wrong…”

At the sound of a familiar voice, Karem turned his head.

It was Gordon, the benefactor of the Felwinter family and the hero of this rescue team, who was surrounded by people, clearly exhausted, raising his hand.

“Little genius chef Karem! I never thought I’d meet such an esteemed person in a place like this! You’ve even grown taller since the last time I saw you!”

“Goodness, you’re embarrassing me.”

“I already knew about your excellent cooking skills. Ha! I’ve heard you’ve been quite active even in Colden!”

Well, I thought I was used to this kind of open praise.

Feeling embarrassed, Karem mumbled and changed the topic.

“By the way, is this sweet smell coming from the Grizzly Beavers?”

“Well, kind of. It makes it easy to notice their ambushes.”

“Ambush.”

It was a word that really didn’t fit with the idea of a beaver.

But thinking about it, it made sense.

Being pack monsters, it was natural that they knew how to use tactics.

And they had the brains to make crude weapons and use them.

Considering that very few monsters use tools…

Wait. These guys might actually be way more dangerous than I thought.

“Are you wondering where this is coming from?”

“Isn’t it coming from the Grizzly Beaver?”

“Just follow me for now.”

And where Karem followed Gordon to was a pile of dead Grizzly Beavers waiting to be processed.

Gordon kicked one of them over with his foot.

One of the dead Grizzly Beavers flipped over onto its back.

And then, a sudden shift.

A rich, alluring, and sweet fragrance became even stronger.

“Oh please! Oh my God, Gordon’s strange taste is—”

“Oh, no! It’s not what you’re thinking!”

“If you’re not talking about that, then what are you talking about?”

“No, that’s the cause. The cause! You asked me to tell you!”

Karem was confused.

For a moment, he hesitated, his eyes narrowing as he caught a glimpse of the disgusting sight.

Whether Karem cared or not, Gordon kept kicking the Grizzly Beaver as if telling Karem to take a sniff.

With each kick, the thick, pleasant scent rose into the air.

“What are you being so disgusted for? It’s just—”

“I know it’s that! Stop!”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah. What was it again? The scent of a male trying to attract a female? Or was it the other way around? Anyway, it’s like musk.”

There were murmurs about polygamy, dams, and other matters.

A scent that no modern person could ever forget.

Wait a minute.

He removed the hand blocking his view and, with a sharp gaze, stared at the monster’s exposed underbelly.

‘…This is the scent of vanilla.’

Damn, this changes everything.

Now that he thought about it, during the time when vanilla was as valuable as gold…

He recalled a questionable piece of information that beavers had once become an endangered species due to their fur and the search for cheaper alternatives and higher-quality pelts.

It was said that dried beaver musk smelled exactly like vanilla.

He wasn’t sure, but given the size of the Grizzly Beaver, the amount of musk it could produce would likely be immense.

Thinking back, even when eating seafood stew, the organs were eaten without hesitation.

With that thought, his repulsion faded away.

And above all, the strangely familiar scent.

Karem’s gaze shifted into something so intense that even Swordmaster Gordon flinched and took a step back.

“Whoa, what are you thinking? Didn’t your interest only lie in money and cooking?”

“I have enough money now.”

“That’s a strange thing to say. Anyway, why? Are you actually considering eating that?”

“……..”

“Ah, I was joking. You don’t actually want to, do you?”

Karem gave Gordon a meaningful stare.