"Well... you sure look like an adventurer"

We were visiting Pitt when we received reports of prey coming into the territory. It was a threesome of adventurous men who came...

"Is there something you're not too comfortable with?

When I was in this threesome, I walked in and sang my nose without being alert.

"You've never raided outside the pit before. But how can these guys stay so peaceful?

"My Lord, Neither Ortolos nor Kimaira can hide themselves from the trees around here."

'So most of the raids were taking place on rocks north of here'

Oh... you know what? Those two heads have big figures...

"Then will I tell you that the nascent pit is not as sweet as it has ever been? We need to let Pitt know he's reborn, so at least one of us has to go home alive. I don't mind hunting until you two, but I need to hear a lot about it before I can absorb it '

"Oh, Alf, I'm sure there's a nest of rats?

He said, "No." I saw it with these eyes. "

"I guess that's why I'm worried. That must have been nice, huh?

"Heh, make sure of yourself and then say no... left ahead"

'Looks like we're gonna take a left at that corner. Are the ambush units ready?

"Yes."

We're all set.

"Wow!? What is it?"

"Shadow Oulu!? Why are you here?

The adventurer was attacked by two large black furrows. A monster called Shadow Oul, he dives into the shadows and hunts his prey, as his name suggests. Stealth abilities jump through and are high, causing enemies and prey not to perceive their presence. Excellent sight and hearing, basically nocturnal, but can lurk in the darkness of the mountain forest... like now.

It is such a powerful monster that even Ortolos and Kimyra are in danger if they are surprised. I'm not the one who can do this to a peaceful, bogged adventurer. The scream quickly turned to silence, slipping his hips and putting one immobile on his ass, the two shadow ouls each grabbed and carried away the body of one adventurer.

"Well, let's just say I hear a lot from these guys..."

The two are theodrum adventurers, as expected, and say they belong to the Adventurer Guild in the town of Nil.

"Nil?"

"In Theodoram, you'll be the nearest town here."

'A long time ago, when there was a mine in the land, it seemed to flourish...'

"It's a lonely country town now."

Those two - plus one who escaped and three others - came here, apparently with the intention of hunting a rat called Woocha.

"A fellow rat who digs holes in the ground and builds nests, he gathers on a family-by-family basis to build large nests"

... You had a similar animal on Earth. Woodchuck, aka the Grand Hog, is a fellow rat......

"The young beasts are so soft and delicious that they are well targeted by humans"

I wonder how the earth's woodchuck was......

From what I hear, after leaving one and blocking all the entrances and exits of Ucha's nest hole, they just burn fire in front of one open entrance and smoke (a lot) the nest with smoke, and dig the nest in anticipation of when the Ucha inside died out, and retrieve the body inside. The adult meat is stiff and unsavory, but the fur seems to be in considerable demand.

The method itself is not much different from the bee picking that we do in the Japanese countryside. Just the difference between the subject being an insect or an animal.

When the nest is large, the harvest is large, but mostly they can escape overlooking some of the entrances and exits, so they target smaller nests with about a family or two gathered together.

There were some informative gains, such as the situation in Theodoram and the state of Nil's town, but what I couldn't miss hearing was the following:

"We'll be hunting for fire soon... What do you mean?

"Heh, we all set fire to the mountains and hunt for the prey that has fled on the other side..."

Are you insane? This is neighboring territory.

"I told him it would be easier to open the forest if it burned down."

Who's gonna open it?

I leave the rest of the questioning to Davar because it's on my mind, and I'll instruct him to absorb it just as soon as he's done. It's unlikely to be used as a force of war with that level of skill. Rather, it would be more useful to have Woocha and Yakura as a family member.

"Theodoram is not a country from top to bottom."

'Have you not considered the possibility of becoming a problem?

"If Illustria were to detain Theodoram's adventurers, it would be willing to send troops in the name of rescue. I intend to strengthen effective control over the collapse."

"What will you do, My Lord?"

'It is decided. Let not one man come alive from the hunt for fire.'