The group heads towards the next village, seeing Stanley off.
We left the Centaur village behind and are now walking towards the Flower Harpy village that was recommended to us. As we head further north, the daytime temperature seems to be getting warmer.
Since the next destination is a bit far, we’ll likely have to camp out along the way.
After a while, we spotted a small river, so we decided to have lunch there. While eating the meat pies we bought, I happened to look at a tree growing by the river and saw an animal sitting still on a branch.
Its shape was different from the Kokese I had seen walking on the ground before, but it was equally unmoving. What was most distinctive was its tail, which was more than twice its body length, with a scythe-like curved claw at the tip. It was dangling from the tree into the water.
“Brother, what are you looking at? Oh, that? That’s a Hook Hanger, and they wait for fish like that.”
“I see.”
I nodded at Karubene’s words, who had sauntered over.
“When a fish comes, they hook it with their tail and pull it up, watch!”
Just then, a fish that had come into the shadow of the tree was caught at the very tip of its tail with a flick. Then, it reeled in the dangling tail and began to eat slowly.
“So it reels its own tail in?”
“That’s right. It’s too long to put much force into it. That’s why they drag it on the ground, it’s quite comical, isn’t it?”
Perhaps, like a sloth, they minimize muscle use except for the necessary parts to conserve energy.
“But it’s nice, isn’t it? I wish I could just sit and wait for fish all day and live a leisurely life like that.”
“What are you talking about? They fight every day over good fishing spots. They fight more fiercely than when competing for a mate.”
As expected, there are no such easy things. It is natural that their lives depend on securing good locations.
That night, we decided to spend the night in a cave that Nina had found. It was fortunate to be able to stay in a sheltered place since it started to rain.
As we put out the bonfire and everyone began to sleep, Piyo was studying with a magic reference book by the light of a lantern.
“How is it? Are you getting better than before?”
“Yes, but I fail more often than I succeed.”
Just then, Elana arrived.
“I’m sorry to interrupt your hard work, but you don’t seem to have much talent for magic. Even after touching the magic stone for such a long time, I don’t feel much magic from you. Don’t be discouraged, everyone has their strengths and weaknesses.”
With that, she smoothly walked deeper into the cave.
Piyo was silent for a moment, but then said, “I’ll keep trying,” and returned to his book. Elana probably meant well, but even if it were true, she should have been more considerate.
It was good that Piyo wasn’t the type to overthink things.
