The Abnormal Hihis

"In other words, the one in the forest was the same kind of wanderer as Izaam-sama?"

After discussing various matters with Nenashi and the others, I returned alone to Darm-dono and told him the facts exactly as they were. I told him everything I had heard about their Race and circumstances, without a single lie.

"That's right, Darm-dono. He said he had absolutely no intention of attacking the village. The fact that he didn't fight back when attacked is the clearest proof of that."

"I see..."

"Even if we tell the villagers he isn't dangerous, they won't be convinced. But camping out is difficult, so..."

"You want to take them to Birdie Perch? Since this is a request from none other than Izaam-sama, I'll allow them to accompany us on the return journey as caravan leader."

I mentally struck a triumphant pose. My plan of honestly explaining the circumstances and persuading him, rather than covering everything up with clumsy lies, seemed to have succeeded.

This wasn't simply because he trusted me. Darm-dono was a businessman through and through, and he wouldn't be swayed by something like sympathy that offered no profit. That was why I had also honestly told him about Nenashi's Race and the Items it could provide.

Just as Wool could turn wool into Items and Shiitake could turn needles into Items, Nenashi also had something that could be made into an Item. It was the dissolving fluid in the bag. No monsters within the Birdians' range dropped dissolving fluid, so what Nenashi could provide was quite a rarity.

Though we had no idea how it could be used, it had ample potential to generate considerable profit. I predicted that Darm-dono would grant permission, since it might lead to a new business opportunity while also putting me in his debt.

That prediction seemed to have been correct, as he readily agreed with a smile. His smile was guileless, but behind it he was probably calculating money even faster than I was. How frightening, how frightening. Incidentally, Darm-dono had a Job that was highly valued in every city he visited, so I did not even need to persuade him.

"Thank you, Darm-dono."

"That's settled, Chief. I'll go with Izaam-sama to meet that wanderer face-to-face, but what will you do?"

"I-I... Well... I think I'll leave it to Darm-dono's judgment..."

"Understood. Then, if I determine that all is well, we can consider Izaam-sama's request complete."

As for the quest, the only way to determine whether everything was safe was to speak with Nenashi and the others ourselves. However, the chief, who was excessively afraid of Nenashi, was reluctant to enter the forest. He had conveniently left the matter entirely to Darm-dono. This should keep things from becoming complicated.

I later learned that the village watchman who had kept accosting me was the chief's son. Just as it had been for me, players visiting this village would probably all have to go through some kind of hassle before getting inside. It was likely to become a standard routine.

In any case, the matter was settled. They were a little eccentric, but I doubted those two would cause Darm-dono any trouble. I set out for the forest with Darm-dono and Cal.

◆◇◆◇◆◇

Phew, I'm beat.

"Exactly. Weren't these guys supposed to be nothing but weaklings?"

Jigorou and the others had gone out to patrol the outskirts of the Great Tengu's territory on Spirit Island, but they had been attacked by a pack of Hihis. They had repelled the attack, but their impression was that these Hihis were far from weak.

As reported, the Hihis excelled at teamwork and launched physical attacks with their superior abilities. However, their fighting style was far removed from what Jigorou and the others had imagined. They stopped at nothing to defeat their enemies, and among the pack were individuals with differently colored fur who used magic and magic-like Skills.

Some launched ranged magical attacks like Izaam, while others cloaked themselves in flames like Jigorou. Jigorou and the others had assumed they would use nothing but simple physical attacks, so they were caught off guard and forced to struggle more than expected. Even so, they pushed the Hihis back through their superior technique, inflicted considerable damage, and succeeded in driving them away.

"Big Brother Jigorou, should we chase them?"

"Don't, Sei-chan. If we pursue them too far, they'll probably ambush us."

"Nanako's right. Our priority here is to bring back materials and information."

While dismantling an upper-rank Hihi, or an individual that had undergone a special evolution, Genjurou made a calm decision. Although he was always eager to fight when someone like Izaam was around to rein him in, he was exercising restraint now, at least somewhat, because he was the leader and the eldest.

"They did put up more of a fight than expected, what with their killing intent cranked up to the max. One of them even blasted magic at me, allies and all."

"I dunno, it looked like they didn't care about their individual lives as long as they won. Just like my Summoned Beasts, for real."

The four of them were thoroughly fed up with the fierce fighting style of creatures that were supposedly timid and not naturally aggressive. It would have been more convincing if someone had said they were Summoned Beasts controlled by another's 【Summoning Arts】, just as Nanako suggested. They knew that was impossible, of course, because Items dropped when they used dismantling knives.

"So, what now? Are we heading back already?"

"Hmm... What should we do...?"

Genjurou was torn. Though he had immediately stopped Jigorou because pursuing them seemed unwise, deciding whether to turn back or press on from here was difficult. They had struggled and taken some damage, but it was manageable with various Potions. On the other hand, if they were attacked by another group of the same size, their supply of healing Items might prove inadequate.

It was a troublesome choice, but standing around doing nothing would only waste time. Thinking that, Genjurou hesitated for a moment before making his choice.

"We should complete one circuit of the patrol route."

"That's more like it!"

Jigorou cheered. He welcomed fighting a strong foe and was dissatisfied with turning back here. Genjurou himself still wanted to fight as well, and decided that if the enemies were this strong, there was no need for him to restrain himself.

The four of them and Sei's tamed monster continued patrolling the forest on Spirit Island. This forest, outside the Great Tengu's territory, was called the field 'Youma's Cursed Forest.' They gathered medicinal herbs and such that occasionally sprouted from the ground, while never letting down their guard.

"Even so, we haven't encountered anything besides Hihis."

"Now that you mention it, it is awfully quiet... I suppose it's because of those monkeys."

Nanako's offhand remark caught Jigorou's attention. He remembered what it had been like to fight in this forest while Izaam and the others were participating in the event. Back then, whether they were weak youkai or strong ones, they had all attacked the oni, Jigorou included.

Unlike then, today there had been a large-scale attack by Hihis, but nothing more. It was a major change, but Jigorou and Genjurou had assumed it was caused by the Hihis, just as the Great Tengu had said, and had not thought deeply about it.

Thus, they had overlooked one possibility. The Hihis were currently consumed day and night by territorial expansion and conflict. Consequently, it was possible that the forest bordering the tengus' territory had already become Hihi territory.

"Whoa!"

"Hm!"

"Ouch!?"

"Ow ow ow ow ow!?"

When Jigorou and the others appeared at the territorial boundary, the Hihis first tried to drive them out by force. Jigorou, a type of oni, and Sei, a closely related species, were one thing, but the remaining members were monsters the Hihis had never seen on this island. In the past, the timid Hihis would have watched from a distance as long as no one brazenly trespassed into their territory. Now, however, they had become extremely aggressive. Their individual strength had also increased, making them overconfident enough to believe they could defeat even unknown opponents.

However, in reality, they were forced to retreat after suffering heavy losses. Those who had been defeated were vanguard troops intended to attack the City of Spirits. There were still plenty of Hihis left, but losing these ones was a serious blow.

The hated intruders, Jigorou and the others, continued walking through the forest. However, this was a chance to eliminate a threatening enemy early. They knew that a frontal assault would not work, so they patiently waited for Jigorou and the others to reach an ambush point. Then, the moment arrived.

"Stones!?"

"This one's a chestnut burr."

"Gueh!? Light Armor!"

"Woof! Woof, woof!"

The Hihis that had been hiding in the treetops all launched their attack at once. They threw pebbles and chestnut burrs that they had gathered individually. Jigorou casually swatted them away with his gauntlets and horns, while Genjurou's hard exoskeleton was not pierced by attacks of this level in the first place.

However, Sei, who was less nimble than the small-bodied Nanako or Jigorou, could not deflect the various objects raining down like a storm. Sei's coarse hair kept him from suffering too badly, but Nanako would have lost a considerable amount of stamina if she had not reinforced her defense with Light Armor.

Sei's tamed monster, Phil, barked while using the 【Intimidation】 Skill, but it accomplished almost nothing. The Hihis flinched at first, but once they realized that the group had no way to attack them from below, they instead concentrated their attacks on those on the ground, hurling stones and other objects at them.

"Damn it! I'll do it!"

Sei, who had been taking the attacks without being able to fight back, leaped up in anger. He grabbed a nearby tree in midair and smoothly climbed up it.

The Hihis tried to swarm the fool who had climbed into their territory in the trees, but Sei was equally able to fight freely among the treetops. With his excellent physique and skillful staff technique, he swept them aside. Against another monkey-type monster, their advantage in terrain seemed to be of little use.

"Hahaha! Not bad, Sei!"

"We'll use our own methods, then."

"Take that! Payback!"

Sei's fierce fighting had made the attacks from above less frequent, giving the other three room to attack as well. Genjurou unleashed flying slashes through a martial technique and cut down the branches serving as the Hihis' footing. Jigorou and Sei's tamed monster attacked those who fell, while Nanako supported everyone with magic and kept the battle in their favor.

"ROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAR!!!!!"

Though the initial ambush had succeeded, this was no different from the first attack if things continued as they were. Just as the four of them were thinking that, something came charging from the depths of the forest while letting out a roar. Rather than pushing through the trees like the Hihis, it produced the sound of things snapping apart, making it painfully obvious that their opponent was enormous.

"Intruders, kill! Kill! Kill! Kiiiiiiiiill!!!"

"It's huge! Is it a gorilla!?"

What appeared was an ape monster several times the size of the Japanese-macaque-like Hihis. However, its size was not the only difference. Its upper arms were as long as its height and as thick as logs. It also had two tails, and the fact that it could use meaningful words alone made it obvious—even to a monkey—that it was far more powerful than an ordinary Hihi.

Apparently, they would have to deal with this monster somehow if they wanted to make it through this place. The four of them steeled themselves.