Chapter 83 – Great Mountain Range – 3
It was a tiger
No, it was something like a tiger.
As the color changed colorfully, it turned into the yellow and black tiger I know, but the color of its body changed to the same color as the forest where it protruded, and its sharp claws and huge teeth made it difficult to see it as a tiger that people usually think of.
Animals with magical powers, monsters.
Small and medium sized animals that normal magical power holders can deal with are classified as small monsters. When the size grows to the level of a large car, it is treated as a medium-sized vehicle. Of course, it’s not determined by size alone, but the magic power in the body is important.
“Whoaaaaagh!”
Hans screamed at the sudden attack and immediately ducked. That’s a pretty sharp decision. I don’t think 10 years of experience is nonsense. The problem was that even if he was lucky to avoid it at first, it would be impossible for Hans to deal with that monster.
“Please step back.”
“Well.”
Seeing Isabelle jump out, he immediately grabbed Hans by the scruff of his neck and backed away.
“Queeek!”
He backed away, dragging Hans with a groan like a frog. Isabelle and Chloe, who dyed their hair together with me, assuming that it is an adventure city, take out weapons from their luggage and start dealing with them skillfully.
“Oh oh.”
Even if it was Chloe, Isabelle’s movements were faster than expected. Even compared to the knights of the Franz family, there is no part that lags behind in the control of magical power. On the contrary, it seems to handle it more freely, although there are some rough parts.
“I will draw aggro.”
“Yeah. Then I will play from the side.”
Chloe and Isabelle immediately take their positions and move.
An old weapon used during Chloe’s days as the Black Knight. Holding a sword boasting a sturdy sword, aiming for the monster’s eyes and starting to attract attention, at the same time, Isabelle reduces the presence of magical power together and moves away from the monster’s field of vision and begins to measure her distance.
“What, what!”
Looking from the side, I saw Hans looking at the two with a pale face.
“Oh, are you okay?”
“Okay, it’s okay… Yes, no, it’s okay!”
Immediately, Hans lowered his head and shouted.
A sudden compliment?
“What, how about being a little more comfortable? Why are you suddenly talking up?”
“… No, no matter how you look at it, a woman who looks like a high-level adventurer with two people can’t be an ordinary person… Did you?”
“Oh, that’s right.”
I grinned at Hans’ words.
Don’t bother denying it.
– Kwaaaaang!
A tiger’s roar is heard.
At the beginning of the great mountain range, does he, who is at the top of the food hierarchy, deny that he is suffering like this? Chloe and Isabelle began to deal skillfully with the guy who didn’t run away and started to fight more.
“… Big, why the hell?”
As I was staring blankly at it, Hans opened his mouth again.
“Why?”
“Why did you hire me?”
Oh, that.
He smiled bitterly at Hans’ words.
“There is such a thing.”
There are several reasons.
The story has to go back a week.
* * *
“Leo.”
Chloe entered the office with a hard expression on her face.
Since Grace’s sister’s pregnancy, the castle and the entire city have been strengthened surveillance. I was also in the process of reaping my share of the castle’s security while waiting in the office for that matter.
“What’s the matter?”
Serious look.
Something happened again
I held back a sigh. Father alone would return soon, but he could not come back alone without face, and since he moved with the army, it was inevitable that he would be slow.
In the end, until his father comes, he has to continue to work as a deputy head of household.
He thought he could rest now.
“I got a call from Isabelle.”
“Isabelle?”
I’m surprised
It hasn’t been long since we met because of red blood and other business.
Did you have anything else to contact?
… Oh, that’s why.
“That the number of monster observations is low?”
“Yeah. There have been several reports about it. This is a report compiled by Isabelle.”
I received the report from Chloe.
Well.
“Estimated as a large-scale monster?”
Based on the information obtained from various adventurers and guild observers, he dispatched adventurers belonging to the guild to the site and started an investigation.
The reason the number of observed animals and monsters decreased is not because they ran away or hid, but because they were eaten.
“All that many animals were eaten?”
“Yeah. What was so unpredictable at first was that the extent of the disappearance was so extensive. Normally, at that range, the magic power of at least medium-sized, or large-sized monsters should be observed, but…”
“I couldn’t find any trace of such magic. You mean this? Then you should think of it as a covert type.”
Not all large-scale monsters walk around wielding powerful magical powers. There are people who are normally polite, and there are people who hide it inside their body and go around hiding.
It’s hard for a medium-sized class to be so neatly deceived, and it’s strange that someone so focused on stealth eats so extensively.
In other words…
“But in this case, the adventurers have to suffer too, right?”
But there is no such story in the report.
Of course, it’s common for adventurers to die in the Great Mountains, and there are many cases where they end up lost.
However, statistics are not for nothing, and if we find something suspicious, we investigate it in our own way.
The fact that there was no such story when I met Isabelle before was that I really didn’t find anything unusual about it. Therefore, you probably didn’t immediately assume that it was a large-scale monster.
“Yeah. The adventurer’s damage has not yet been found.”
“In other words, it is at least a medium-sized monster, but no matter how you look at it, it is presumed to be a large monster. Does the secret type have wisdom that hasn’t touched humans yet?”
“… Yeah.”
Ha.
I threw the report on the desk.
I seem to have a headache.
“A guild?”
“Since there is no conclusive evidence yet and there is no damage from the adventurers, there is no reason to control it. It’s fine if we give the order directly.”
“Done.”
It’s not that I’m specifically sacrificing them or anything like that, but I don’t feel the need to control them when there’s literally no damage yet.
In the first place, going to the Great Mountains always means risking your life, and all of that is your responsibility.
“Call Isabelle to see her. And…”
Hmm. It’s covert
I thought about it for a while.
“… Call the research director.”
* * *
“I have committed a mortal sin!”
-Dump!
A middle-aged man entered the office and knelt down on his knees.
… Boy, surprise
What?
I’m genuinely surprised. I looked at Chloe, wondering if she knew anything, but she was startled at him too, so her eyes were wide open.
Research Director Marlton Fawn.
A magical power holder with the surname Ponsi. He’s not the type to display genius like the guy I know who has the surname Ponsi, but as a mana holder with above average mana, he’s one of those people who show that not everyone becomes a knight even if he has magic.
Shall we say that it is a public corporation directly managed by a family that researches and manufactures various tools using magic stones? He is a member of the Franz studio and is one of the people who invented various items after listening to some clues I spilled when I first visited the studio.
The prototype camera he invented earlier was also his work.
“What is it, Malton? Did you even gulp the budget?”
“That, that…”
Marlton, who knelt at my words and bowed his head, lifted his head and looked at me.
“… I should have thanked you a little more thoroughly.”
Chloe immediately glared at him.
It’s not that she hates Marlton, but she tends to think I’m giving the lab more money than necessary. In fact, people in the field seem to think that way a little.
I just looked at Marton.
For a person who possesses magical powers and works in a castle, his hair is messy and his clothes are in a messy state. It really is the appearance of Jinseong Gongdol. He doesn’t seem like the type of person whose head is spinning to the point of embezzlement. Rather, it makes more sense to say that he was tricked and lost his budget, or that one of his men carried and bounced.
“Oh no! Can I embezzle!”
If you see him denying it with a surprised expression, it must be real. He doesn’t even have the guts to lie in front of me. Chloe looks on suspiciously, but even if her embezzlement happens, she won’t think he’ll take the lead himself.
“Yeah, but if only I had a little more time and budget…”
“Excuses are a sin… Oh Great.”
“I’m sorry!”
“Leo?”
Sensing that Chloe was looking at her strangely, he immediately turned away.
The line was so familiar that I said it without realizing it.
“The budget is generous, but you need more? No, that’s not it. What does it mean to commit a mortal sin?”
“Uh, that…”
Marlton glanced at me for a moment, probably feeling that something was wrong with my words, and then quietly tried to stand up.
“Director Marlton.”
“Ah yes.”
When Chloe called her name, he immediately knelt down.
“Explain the circumstances.”
“Ah, I see. Big! That… Aren’t you called for the project?”
“Project?”
What project?
What projects are you currently working on at the studio?
“… Uh, camera and walkie-talkie project. Didn’t you call because of the progress report?”
“… No.”
I’m not actually that person.
It’s called Gong Mille, Gong Mille, but we know that science doesn’t develop overnight.
“No, it hasn’t been long since I ordered that.”
A thief is a thief who wants results in less than half a year.
“Oh, oh oh… !”
Marton’s eyes twinkled.
No, it actually sparkled because of the tears in my eyes.
Wow A man staring at you with a twinkle in his eyes. I felt sick to my stomach.
“Damn it! Also, Leoric! I believed you!”
“…”
“Hey, hey! I believed! Long live Leoric!”
Cheer.
I looked at Marton, who immediately turned to Chloe’s gaze.
I know he’s quite old, but he acts like a child every once in a while.
