Chapter 33
Elemental spirits are pure and transparent beings.
While good and evil deeds usually have hidden facets, the principles governing elemental spirits' actions have no such hidden sides.
Because their actions lack ulterior motives, they don't lie, and as far as I know, they don't deceive by presenting plausible pretexts like humans do.
If the spirit dwelling in this land said it liked humans, there wouldn't be an ounce of falsehood in those words.
That's what makes this such a headache.
The hazy fog clouding my vision dissipated with a strong gust of wind, but that gust didn't leave. Instead, it turned into a raging storm, settling in my heart.
This is all based on the assumption that my guess is correct, but the tragedy that's persisted for hundreds of years was born from the disconnect between the elemental spirit and humans.
There's no malice from anyone.
I can't say no one's at fault, but no one can criticize them either.
At least, I don't have the right to.
"...Is something wrong?"
"Ah, it's nothing."
I shook my head, denying it offhandedly.
I'd intended to act as nonchalant as possible, but the sharper individuals seemed to notice something was off, which suddenly made things awkward.
Maybe I should've learned acting along with magic?
Since leaving the Hero's party, I've found myself thinking that more and more often.
"Do you hunt outside these totems?"
I changed the subject smoothly. The leader didn't seem intent on prying either, as he looked towards the inner part of the mountain and said:
"Sometimes we do, sometimes we don't. I didn't explain it fully earlier, but strictly speaking, not all magical beasts are rejected."
Weaker magical beasts that an average adult male could hunt are allowed inside.
Of course, this is because the Mountain God permits it. If it wanted to, it could probably prevent even the tiniest microorganism from entering.
The elemental spirit dwelling in this land has that much power.
I could sense that level of power from what you might call the spirit's main body, connected to the power bestowed on the totems.
"Is today's hunt inside?"
"No, we're planning to go outside. If we leave the outside unattended for too long, they multiply too much and need to be culled."
"I see... If it's alright with you, could we help with that task?"
It was a good opportunity to find out how many magical beasts were outside, and what level of beast would be rejected by the barrier.
Baron David seemed to be itching to swing his sword, having not done so for quite a while.
His face brightened at the mention of hunting.
The tedious month-long march must have left him secretly craving some bloodshed.
"We'd be grateful for the help, but... I'm not sure if we should ask guests to do this."
"We have things we want to learn too, so please don't hesitate to accept."
"...Usually, we shouldn't ask guests to do this kind of thing, but with you, there's no chance of injury."
The leader nodded, accepting without further reservation, and continued:
"Did the priestess tell you about the mountain's rules?"
"She did. But do we need to follow those rules even for the dangerous beasts we're culling?"
"If we eliminate all the predators, that'll cause its own set of problems..."
Finding the situation somewhat amusing even to himself, the leader wore a self-deprecating smile.
It's ironic, having to let potential future threats go with your own hands.
We passed beyond the totems and entered deep into the mountain. It wasn't long before we encountered a wolf-like magical beast.
With white scale-like protrusions growing on its black fur, it's a dangerous creature known as the Ash Wolf in the Demon Realm.
They never act alone, usually moving in packs, but strangely, this one was by itself.
Sometimes you find ones that have been driven out of their pack, but this one was severely injured, so something was clearly off.
"...Don't these creatures usually live in packs? It's odd to see one alone."
"You seem to know a lot about magical beasts. I heard there weren't many in the outside world."
"I've lived in the Demon Realm before, so I've encountered many magical beasts. I learned naturally through those experiences."
"...The Demon Realm? Does such a place really exist?"
"It's far, but it does. How much do you know about the Demon Realm...?"
"We've only heard from the elders that it's a place with terrifying monsters. Like the land below the mountain."
"Below the mountain..."
"You came from below, right? What do you think would happen if we went down there?"
I'm not sure what his intention was with that question, but it surely wouldn't end well.
In the past, elves were known as evil demons, and even now, their reputation isn't great due to the notoriety of the Demon King's army rampaging on the western front.
Even if these elves had nothing to do with that, who would actually listen?
"...You probably wouldn't receive a warm welcome. The Demon King's army would likely use you as cannon fodder on the front lines."
Not knowing what answer would be best, I spoke honestly.
It would be troublesome if I lied here and they ended up leading their people down the mountain.
The leader and his subordinates wore incredibly sad expressions and let out deep sighs.
As regret started to wash over me, wondering if I'd said something unnecessary—
"...I see. So there's nowhere to escape to. Maybe it's for the best. Our hearts—"
Boom!!
A sound like a massive hammer mercilessly striking the ground cut off the leader's words.
As everyone tensed up and held their breath amidst the enormous roar, our gazes naturally turned to the injured Ash Wolf we'd encountered earlier.
Why was it separated from its pack?
Why it appeared wounded—the reason was about to be revealed.
"I thought magical beasts had been gathering a lot recently, so this is why..."
"What do you mean?"
"A strong one must have appeared inside and taken over their territory. It won't be able to enter the Mountain God's barrier, so we should retreat quickly."
At the leader's command, the hunting group accepted and started preparing to leave, gathering their equipment.
"If we leave now, you won't be able to hunt for a while. Wouldn't it be better to just take it down?"
Not understanding their behavior, I voiced my opinion, knowing it might be rude.
While the hunting group looked at me as if to ask what the hell I was talking about, Baron David just shrugged his shoulders, as if used to this.
The hunting group seemed bewildered, but from my perspective, their reaction was the one that didn't make sense.
Why are they just leaving?
No matter how strong the magical beast is, it's something that could be taken down with about fifty knights...
...Oh right, normal people would run away in this situation.
Maybe because I'd seen this kind of thing so often in the Demon Realm, I tended to have a dulled sense of caution when it came to magical beasts.
Or maybe it's because of the Hero.
After targeting that bastard for so long, ordinary enemies just didn't seem like threats anymore.
"It's not that impressive of a magical beast, so I'll take it down myself. It won't take more than a few minutes, so please wait here."
"W-wait a moment...!!"
As the leader tried to stop me from taking flight, Baron David, who had been watching from the side, stepped in with a wry expression.
"...It's not my place to say this as a guard, but we'd only get in the way if we followed."
"...That's rich coming from someone who's supposed to be guarding. Does your master even know what he's going up against?"
"Who knows? His Excellency is a wise man, so maybe he does. Even if he doesn't, the result won't be much different."
Because he's simply in a different league.
Baron David sent me off with praise that made even me feel embarrassed.
I could still hear shouting from behind, but I didn't pay much attention to it.
What I eventually faced was a massive magical beast that made me wonder how we hadn't noticed it right under our noses.
Its appearance was similar to a monkey.
A giant monkey covered in crimson fur except for its face, about 15 meters tall?
Its enormous frame, which looked like it could easily pick up and throw a building, naturally exuding tremendous strength to match.
"A monkey, huh... I ate these often in the Demon Realm."
At first, I was reluctant, but I started eating them bit by bit while learning local Demon Realm cuisine.
I often ate them when we ran out of food, but of course, the Hero and his lovers rarely ate monkey meat if they could help it.
I suddenly remembered tricking those bastards into eating it by telling them it was different meat.
...What am I, a mother coaxing a picky child to eat?
I did too many things I shouldn't have under those jerks.
As I was briefly lost in one of the few pleasant memories, mana suddenly started gathering in the monkey beast's right arm.
"It can use magic too?"
"Ukyiiiek!!!"
With the discharge of mana in its right arm, the power imbued in its arm turned into a shockwave aimed at me, floating in the air.
There was a possibility it could be a curse that activates when blocked, so I deliberately dodged instead of blocking.
The shockwave flew straight up into the sky without any guidance, punching a huge hole in the gathered clouds before continuing upward without stopping.
It wasn't particularly high-level magic, but I hadn't expected it to use magic at all.
"I underestimated it."
Though it wouldn't notice, I secretly deployed a defensive spell as I approached the beast.
The monkey beast seemed quite upset that its attack had missed, furrowing its brow intensely.
As I approached right up to its face, it couldn't contain its anger anymore and swung at me with all its might.
But that hand never reached me.
The moment it touched the defensive magic I'd deployed in advance, the impact that would have hit my body was returned to its own body dozens of times the original force.
"Kyaaaak!!"
With the sound of its arm rupturing, the beast's limb turned into a sight too gruesome to look at.
Physical reflection magic is one of the things you must always consider when facing a mage, but a beast that's never faced a mage wouldn't know this.
The pain of having your arm pulverized like minced meat is an unimaginable, worst-case agony.
Even if magical beasts are more resistant to pain than humans, there's no way they could endure this level of suffering.
Having lost its arm, the monkey beast fell backward, writhing and shedding tears.
"Kyeeeeek!!"
I didn't want to cause unnecessary pain.
Aiming my hand at the beast's head, pure heat-transformed mana poured down on it.
That was the end.
Without any twists or exceptions, the monkey beast met its complete death.
Just before its soul scattered, I recovered it and stored it safely in the shadows.
I'm not sure if the elf village has such customs, but thinking I should gift them this if they eat monkey meat, I was about to lift the beast's corpse when—
My eyes met those of the hunting group's leader, who was staring up at me with a dazed expression from beneath the ground covered in the beast's blood.
Of course, his subordinates and Baron David, who had tried to stop them, were there too.
Meeting their eyes, I didn't know what to say, so I glanced at the monkey and said:
"...Do you eat monkey meat, by any chance?"
"W-what?"
...This is actually pretty tasty.