The adventurers and small monsters were in a melee behind them.
A few people broke away from the melee, calling out to stop them with hoarse voices, and were chasing after them.
“Haa, haa! I can’t run anymore…”
“Fei! You can still go.”
“Where would you find such a thing?”
McGillis was being carried on Phasis’s back.
This was during the brief moment the monsters attacked the money-grubbers (adventurers who brought misfortune upon themselves).
“I’m tired. Carry me.”
Phasis replied, “What is it?”
“My legs have turned to stone. So carry me.”
Thus, McGillis and the others proceeded deeper into the hunting ground.
“You again, you guys.”
“HIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII!”
“You can put me down now. ♪”
They encountered a large monster again.
Phasis despaired, realizing they were trapped between monsters.
His legs froze solid by the emergency exit sign.
McGillis hopped off Phasis’s back with a light movement.
“There are more interesting prey than us! ♪ Behind you? ♪”
“…………”
McGillis suggested that the monster (the large one) let them pass.
The monster decided that it was better to prey on those who could be caught certainly, rather than to expend effort on those who were agile.
It recreated hell with the sun at its zenith.
“Oh, hey—”
“Why are you letting them pass without a fight—”
“Become my prey.”
“WAAAAAGYAAAAAAAaaaaaaaaaah!”
The end of their arduous chase from the melee was the large monster’s club.
The adventurers took a wide detour, splitting off to return to town with McGillis and the others.
“Is it worth it—!! You should just die!”
The adventurers, fleeing back to town with their tails between their legs, shouted parting shots, brushing aside the bothersome small monsters as they rushed past.
If they stopped, the large club that invited death would strike them directly.
*WHOOSH!*
“GHYAAAH”
“Run! Don’t bother with those small guys (small monsters)!”
“Temporary retreat to town—!”
As the phrase “temporary retreat” implies,
the adventurers have not given up on McGillis and the others.
“I won’t let you escape. Become my prey.”
Even though it would be difficult for the large monster to see in the dark,
it hunted many adventurers by sensing their possessed magic power.
However, it was also dangerous to go too far from its territory.
Humans might be weak as individuals, but they were strong when challenged as a group.
Without pursuing further,
it returned to its lair.
McGillis pulled Phasis, who had stopped, along and walked.
They had shaken off the adventurers’ pursuit.
But more than that,
“I wanted to wipe my sweat…”
The room he had booked at the inn for a long period.
They had ended up camping on the second day.
A waste of money.
“Those money-grubbers! I won’t forgive them!”
“…You’re right. …Sigh.”
Next to him, Phasis shivered and built a campfire for the night’s warmth, constantly looking around nervously.
Sighs escaped him repeatedly at not being able to be separated from McGillis the monster. His breath was white. The night was getting cold.
He quickly gathered things that could be used as firewood.
“Ugh, it’s cold. I’m tired. Why do I have to do this all by myself…”
McGillis left to relieve himself. Phasis, finally able to vent his pent-up frustrations.
“…How far did he go?”
Whether it was a small or large one, it was too late.
“Did he get eaten by a monster…? Or is he planning to hunt tonight’s prey (medium-sized monster) using me as bait…!!”
Approaching the campfire,
he threw a burning branch and rags into the darkness. To secure visibility.
He prepared for a monster attack.
“…Ngh! …Hii!”
He suddenly felt uneasy. This was a hunting ground where monsters frequently appeared, a death zone.
Without McGillis, the combat power, it was impossible for him, a scout responsible for information gathering, to handle multiple opponents alone.
He heard the sound of wind. The sound of something light, like dry leaves, blowing nearby.
He reacted sensitively to any sound.
Drawing his weapon, he kept the campfire at his back.
Is it coming from the front, sides, or above!
Phasis saw the morning sun without a wink of sleep.
*THUMP.*
“Hii! From the ground! Waaaaaah!”
He fell on his backside seeing the bulging earth. He retreated slightly.
Maybe he could kill it now before a monster emerged?
He shuffled forward and attacked the bulging ground with the tip of his sword—but couldn’t.
“Phew. It’s morning, right? Hey, Fei? Put that blade away.”
“……Hah!”
To his surprise, it wasn’t a monster that emerged, but McGillis, who hadn’t returned from relieving himself.
This made Phasis retract his sword tip, pleading not to be killed.
The speed was incredible. Normally, with such sword strokes, he would have easily defeated small monsters.
*GURUGURUGURU.*
Whose stomach was growling?
They had missed two meals. Missing breakfast would mean missing the whole day.
“It’s time to eat. Let’s go hunt for food.”
“Yes! I’ll prepare right away.”
They extinguished the campfire and went to hunt a medium-sized monster for breakfast.
There was no explanation as to why McGillis had been hiding underground.
The atmosphere wasn’t conducive to asking. Being told would only make him more anxious. A life-threatening situation.
Phasis moved silently, following orders.
The two cornered a medium-sized monster.
“GYAAAA~~~N”
“We got it~~~~~~~♪”
“Oh, oh—…”
They hunted a tiger with brown and dark green stripes.
The materials were its fangs and claws. The rest would be used as firewood for the campfire.
They enjoyed the meat.
“The meat is firm and delicious. ♪ *Gulp*”
“*Munch munch*. Delicious…”
After finishing breakfast, the two desperately wanted to return to town.
“We’ll be waiting in front of the gate again. Isn’t there another way into town?”
“…No, there isn’t.”
“What was that just now? You’re hiding something, spit it out!”
“I—Please forgive meeeeeee—”
Phasis confessed everything.
He revealed the existence of the underground sewage system where the town’s garbage and wastewater were discarded.
“It smells awful, doesn’t it?”
“Yes, it’s all the town’s garbage. Your nose will definitely be blown away.”
“Mmmhmm”
McGillis discussed with him whether there was anything that could lure away the adventurers waiting at the other entrance, the gate.
