## Chapter 368 – The Troll’s Song
We woke up before dawn, quickly finished our preparations, and set out to track the troll. There were plenty of footprints, all heading towards the forest, so it wasn’t hard to figure out the direction.
The tracks were so obvious that even a three-year-old could follow them, no sweat.
It seems the rumor that trolls aren’t very bright is true.
“Adventurers! Please catch the troll!”
“We’re counting on you!”
“Good luck!”
Even with the troll appearing, the farmers couldn’t abandon their livelihoods and were busily working in the nearby fields.
“Heh heh heh, don’t worry.”
I waved at them.
I won’t forgive a troll that preys on good-hearted farmers.
I just hope that we don’t end up in a fight with the troll, only for it to escape and harm civilians.
We entered the forest.
“Considering it’s been attacking for days, it probably isn’t too far away,” Winia said, holding up her staff and skillfully examining the tracks to trace the troll’s path. Since it’s coming down to the village to hunt, it must be nearby.
“I guess so. It’ll need a nest nearby to come and go.”
I followed behind her, carrying a large backpack and scanning the surroundings. Claudia was trailing behind me.
It was morning, so the forest was shrouded in thick fog, making it feel a bit chilly.
Green plants grew densely between the large trees, and there were obvious signs of being trampled. Following them felt like the troll was kindly guiding us to its home.
We were moving along behind Winia when…
“Katt. Over there.”
Claudia, who was behind me, tapped my shoulder and pointed to the distance. I thought it was a troll and was about to throw down my bag and draw my sword when she grabbed my wrist.
“It’s not a troll. It looks like someone’s there? Could it be a monster?”
“Winia. There’s something there. Hold up.”
I called out to Winia and checked the direction Claudia was pointing.
It was hard to make out due to the thick fog and dense bushes, but I could tell something was moving over there.
“Sis, can you see what it is?”
“Not really, no.”
Anyway, it’s time for Investigation Kim Katt to deploy.
ㅡSwish.
I immediately put down my backpack, drew my sword, and approached it.
It’s probably a resident or a monster, but considering trolls are coming out of this forest, no one in their right mind would wander into the forest unless they were a complete moron.
Is it a robber or a vagrant?
Or a forest jogger?
Maybe a kid from the village came out to play.
Or it could be a monster.
“Heh, hehe.”
As I got closer, I saw a rather unexpected figure crouching down.
ㅡRummage, rummage.
It was the hunchback I saw yesterday.
He was digging around the base of a tree with his hands, making eerie chuckling sounds. He was so focused that he didn’t even notice us approaching.
“Isn’t that the hunchback from yesterday?”
What’s this guy doing?
He’s out in the forest where trolls appear, playing in the dirt early in the morning. He’s definitely not in his right mind. Only a true warrior or a madman would have this much nerve.
“I think so. Why is he here?”
“Whatever. Just chase him away, Katt. It’ll be a problem if he dies,” they said, as if it wasn’t a big deal.
“Yeah, I should.”
Well, he’s just going to end up dying here anyway. It’s better to just chase him away.
Like Winia said, it’ll be a problem if he dies here. The guild sent us to catch the troll, and if someone dies, it could hurt our careers.
Seriously, if there are trolls around, shouldn’t he stay home instead of crawling into the forest?
What a moron.
He’s dead.
“Hey, what are you doing here?”
“Huh? Wh-who… is it?”
I tapped him on the back with my foot and asked, and he finally noticed us and turned his head.
“Your mom.”
Looking at him up close, his face was quite grotesque.
His nose was flattened, and his skin was bumpy like a toad’s. One of his eyes was squinting, making him look even more unpleasant.
The village must be very kind to accept someone like him as a member.
“M-my mom, uh, isn’t here.”
“I know that, you little shit. More importantly, what are you doing?”
I could tell his parents weren’t around just by looking at him. I should at least find out what he was doing before chasing him away, so I asked. He showed me his dirt-covered hands and said, “Heh, hehe. I, I’m getting mushrooms. I’m getting mushrooms.”
“Getting mushrooms? Why?”
“M-mushrooms. I n-need a lot.”
“Y-you do? Y-you need a lot. Oh, for fuck’s sake.”
This guy’s speech is so frustrating.
“There are trolls here, you idiot. Get home before you die. Didn’t I tell you that yesterday?”
Just wandering into this dangerous area without fear is a crime.
“I need to get m-mushrooms.”
“Looks like you don’t understand words.”
I guess I’ll just have to beat him up a bit until he runs away.
If words don’t work, I’ll have to use violence.
It’s a hundred times better to get beaten up a few times than to die to a troll. I’m racking up good deeds today, Kim Katt.
I was about to put away my sword and kick him when he stared at Winia and Claudia and said, “Heh, hehehe. Pretty women.”
“What?”
Winia’s face immediately twisted at those words.
I was going to let it slide up until now.
“P-pretty women, b-big boobs. W-white skin, b-brown woman also has big boobs.”
“You little shit!”
ㅡThwack!
I couldn’t just ignore those words, so I immediately kicked him.
“Ugh!”
“You little shit, how dare you sexually harass my women?!”
The hunchback, who was crouching down, was hit directly in the back and slammed his face into the base of the tree. This should correct his scoliosis. No parents, and his speech is just like them.
“Oh yeah, you little shit. I’ll straighten out that fucked up back of yours today.”
“Hic… Ugh!”
I started beating the hunchback, who had his face buried in the ground. How dare he sexually harass my women? I have no choice but to beat him until he’s on the verge of death.
ㅡWhack!
ㅡPow!
“You bastard! Die! Just die!”
“Cough! Ugh! It, it hurts!! Stop it! It hurts a lot!”
Only I’m allowed to do that.
After about 30 seconds of unleashing my taekwondo, Winia and Claudia finally said to me, “Katt. He’s just an idiot. That’s enough.”
“Hehe, Katt. He’s an idiot, so just forgive him.”
Even though they said that, they seemed to like my impromptu assault show.
I helped the half-wrecked hunchback up. Unfortunately, the physical therapy didn’t work at all, and his back was still hunched.
“It hurts! D-don’t hit me!”
Judging by his terrified expression, he definitely won’t be coming near the forest again. I don’t have time to kindly take the guy, who doesn’t understand words, back to the village, so this should be enough.
“Go!!!!”
“Eeeeeek!!!!”
I pretended to hit him and scolded him, and the hunchback screamed and quickly ran back towards the village, moving his legs in a bizarre way.
“Hehehe.”
Good deed done.
It’s better to beat him up a bit than to have him die to a troll while playing in the dirt here.
“Hehe. That’s so funny.”
“Hehehe. I know, right?”
He may have been an idiot and a hunchback, but he gave our family a good laugh. After spending some time laughing, I noticed a sack lying on the ground.
“Is this that guy’s stuff?”
I picked it up and checked inside, and sure enough.
There were some plants and mushrooms inside.
It seems he woke up early in the morning to collect these things. Well, he’s obviously an idiot, so he probably doesn’t know about the trolls and just came out to do his job.
“Winia. What kind of mushroom is this?”
“This is a Birds’ Whisper mushroom. It grows near tree roots.”
That’s why he was digging around the base of the tree.
“Does it have any effects?”
“Well, if you crush it, it has a unique scent that can be used to mask strong odors.”
“So it’s like a deodorant.”
I put the sack back where it was. Just in case, he might come back to look for it. It would be a disaster if he got lost in the forest while looking for it.
If he can’t find it, I’ll come and find it for him.
We left the area and resumed our search.
We searched the area for footprints and signs of trampled plants. Then, we found places where the ground was dug up and connected them with a line to trace the troll’s path.
There were so many tracks that it wasn’t difficult to track.
But because there were so many, it took some time, and it was soon lunchtime.
“Ah, damn, I’m starving. What should we do? Should we go back to the village to eat? Or should we eat here?”
“Is that necessary? Let’s just eat here.”
“I don’t want to go back. Katt, go get some firewood.”
“Got it.”
I made a suitable spot and gathered firewood, and Winia started a fire. We heated up the jerky and dried rations we brought and ate our meal.
“Hehe, more importantly, Katt.”
Claudia, who was tearing off a piece of jerky, said with a smile.
“Hmm? What?”
“You got so angry when you heard him say that?”
“Ah. You mean when that idiot mentioned boobs? Of course I’m pissed, that bastard.”
Of course I’d be angry.
Just because he’s an idiot doesn’t mean his crime is forgiven. Intelligence is not an excuse. I was being merciful by letting him off that easily.
“I’m happy. I was actually turned on by that.”
“Hehehe, turned on? You’re such a violent woman.”
“Kyah.”
I touched Claudia’s ear, and she made a pleasant sound.
“But Winia.”
“What?”
“You should really change your clothes. Bad things will happen if you keep showing off your cleavage like that.”
Claudia covers her whole body with leather clothes and a jacket, and even wears a hood, but Winia’s taste in robes never changes, so she’s always showing off her upper chest.
“Are you worried, Katt?”
“Of course I’m worried. I want you to show it only to me.”
“Hehe. Really? But I don’t really care. I’m used to those looks.”
“No, you should cover up even more then.”
“There’s no need to worry about other people’s gazes, right? I just wear what I like. You like it too, don’t you, Katt?”
“Such a confident woman.”
We finished our meal and resumed our search. We came across a stream, and the footprints stopped there.
Does the trail end here?
“Should we cross it?”
Claudia said.
“No, I think we should search around here a bit more.”
Winia replied, as if she was planning to search around this area. Is it going to be difficult to find it today? If we can’t find it by today, it might be a bit troublesome in the afternoon.
The troll might come down to the village again.
If that happens, we won’t be able to sleep and will have to stay up all night guarding the village.
“Let’s move a bit faster, Katt.”
Winia seemed to be aware of this as well, as she quickened her pace. Well, it’s okay. If we search this area thoroughly and don’t find anything, then we can be sure that it’s nesting on the other side of the stream.
Thinking that, I searched diligently, but in the end, we couldn’t find the troll. We might have missed the troll, and it might have gone down to the village while we were here, so we decided to return to the village.
On the way back, we passed by the place where I beat up the hunchback earlier.
The sack was gone, as if he had come back.
“That idiot from earlier. He must have come back.”
“Did Katt not hit him hard enough?”
“I should have hit him a bit harder.”
Even after being beaten like that, he still came back to the forest. He’s definitely not in his right mind.
I hope he doesn’t do that tomorrow.
In the end, we just kept tracking today, and we couldn’t even see the shadow of the troll. When we returned around sunset, the villagers shouted from afar.
“D-did you catch the troll?!”
“They’re back!”
Thankfully, the troll didn’t attack.
Winia told them that we didn’t find the troll today, so they should go home quickly, lock their doors, and go to sleep.
“Katt, we’ll have to set up camp around here tonight. It might show up at night.”
“So it’s come to this.”
Our lodging is a bit far away, so we can’t respond immediately if the troll appears. The village is surrounded by a palisade, but the height isn’t consistent, so it doesn’t seem to be a perfect defense. It would be better to guard near the forest.
Since there have been attacks for several days, it wouldn’t be strange if it happened tonight.
It’s going to be a tough night.
