The Traveling Hero Won’t Let the Innkeeper’s Son Escape

Daniel, the son of a butcher dressed on top of the Buddha in cold gear, was right at the exit of the church.

"Come on, Noroma."

"Sorry."

Daniel's attitude towards Ruth has changed a lot since after the demon pruning. As always, I have a lot to say, but it still doesn't feel like I made a fool of Ruth like I did before, in an atmosphere where he gets out of his mouth, and after I think I said too much, he even made me apologize.

I guess the experience of riding horses together and fighting demons changed Ruth's presence in Daniel. In recent times, he has admitted Ruth's bow arm, and Daniel has invited him to hunt with him.

(You know, you feel like we could have been friends.)

Ruth said he was going to pick up the mountain trick this time, and he told me he was coming with him. He also said a lot of extra things like "I'm seeing if I can bury it in the snow" and "I think I might get set up myself," but in summary, Ruth seems worried. It's strange because all the twinkling looks on my eyes, but Daniel's crooked tenderness looks cute when I try to hang out with him as a friend.

"I need to go pick up the trick today. You said it first. It'll turn into snow in the evening."

"I know. I'm so sorry!

Daniel remained wrinkled between his eyebrows, but walked out as Ruth desperately apologized. In the direction, it's the mountain that goes with Ruth, apparently the anger doesn't calm down, but he's coming with me.

Ruth went after it while thanking Daniel for trying to get to you angry.

A few dozen minutes after climbing the mountain, Daniel's anger also calmed down when he reached the desired location, so that he would normally talk to me.

"How many tricks are there?

"Is there one big thing and two small things? I think we should look for the roots of the trees with the red strings on them."

"All three stink of trouble………."

"Yes, yes, I'm sorry. Thanks."

Ruth, who had grown accustomed to the treatment of Daniel, one word after another, was no longer concerned with stupidity either. I'm not complaining because ultimately Daniel is going to help me with Ruth.

The mountain, which is white stained on one side, is completely different from when Ruth did the trick, so if he hadn't bracketed the string, he wouldn't have been able to spot it until the snowmelt. The string was quite correct.

"Ah, there! … is it off?"

The first trick was off. Only the bait had been taken, but the animals had not been taken. Rarely do demons break every trick, but I guess a smart animal took only the bait because it never happened.

"That's off.... Well, it snowed and it wasn't a good time."

"............... maybe that's comforting?

"There's no way! Let's find the next one!

He was Daniel with Ruth's head on, but his face was bright red. Apparently, Ruth called out to make sure she didn't let herself down. Ruth searches again for a place to set up while nibbling at Daniel like that.

After a while I found a tree with two red strings bracketed around it. That's a sign of the bigger one's trap.

"It's a pretty big trick, so if it's working, no problem, but walk carefully....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

"What is this..."

When I approached him, the place that set the big trap was in an odd situation.

"It's shredded......?

There was a large pit where Ruth made it so that he could capture a large beast. But I saw the spear wreckage at the bottom of the hole, and there was only a little blood on it, but there was no prey inside, and then the ground was shredded as if it had been cut with a sphere. It feels odd that the cylinder of the pit has been forced to expand with an indelible circle.

"Weird demons hanging, even stunts used to escape or something?

"Is that what it feels like?

I didn't know why, but it must have failed because there was no prey. Ruth and the others decided to fill the hole with nearby snow and seal it first.

"The clouds are coming out…………"

"One more thing, let's hurry."

I saw a thick cloud over the mountains of the sky that was clear. Beneath that sky is just dim for snow. If what the village chief says is right, I'm sure it's a five-day blizzard of disconnection.

Ruth and the others hurried to find the last trick. Even if I can't find anything else, there's no obstacle, because if the animal was hung, it would freeze in five days, so it would be a waste.

"Ah, it's hanging!

When I found my last landmark and ran over, there was a large organism lying there that I didn't even think I would. But you know what?

"O, Ocal?

Animals/oculus similar to wolves and large dogs in previous life - although not as soft as boreal, the tight meat tasted very good when smoked, I felt similar to such prey, but I found it somewhat uncomfortable.

"Isn't this different? The oculus is usually gray. This guy's white, he's got good hairy hair, and he's too pretty to make it wild."

Daniel, who gives him the difference with the oculus while crouching and observing, was familiar with the animal because he was just the son of a butcher and a house with a horse rental.

It is true that the figure was very similar to the oculus, but the animal is white and fluffy with fur. There was also a nod to Daniel's words that it was beautiful for the wild.

Ruth tried to touch the animal directly when he made sure it didn't move.

"…… yet, warm. My heart is moving too... it looks like this kid is alive."

"It hasn't been long since you hung up. What do you do, you don't sound like you're an ogre, but do you want to kill him and take him home?

"Mm-hmm..."

If I were an oculus, I'd hold my breath without question and take it home, but for Daniel's wild, the word caught on that it's beautiful.

(If it's not wild, does it sometimes mean someone's possession?

Of course there are people in this world who keep animals. I was a little caught up in killing and bringing home animals that such individuals live with in attachment, even though they were trapped. Even though I'm used to killing animals in hunting, I just don't feel like eating them.

"Anyway, let's take the trap off"

"Well, that's right."

Take the trick that was entangled in that animal's leg with Daniel. I can relax my legs in a trap, but apparently it wasn't there before the amputation, and the blood is still warm to the toe of my leg, although it is flowing. This might make it possible to walk again at the recovered dawn.

"You won't wake up."

"Right. I mean, this guy's too skinny, isn't he eating decent rice...... wild when it comes to that? But..."

"Hmmm...... that, Daniel, looks like this kid has some weird marks here. You know?"

"Weird mark...... wow!

"Duh, what's wrong?"

When Ruth sees an artificial mark, found next to the animal's neck, like a writing on a circle smaller than the palm of his hand, Daniel gives a voice of surprise. And I say, "Ugh... I'm glad I didn't kill you," and I grab my chest.

"What is it, this mark? Does it make any sense?

"Really, I don't know you because it doesn't matter in Hashi village. It's a slave print, that."

"Draymon?"

Slavery is forbidden in the Wang capital, but it seems to be a common story on other continents, and some countries use subhumans and humans as slaves, not just animals. And Daniel says the text seems to be a mark for the owner to claim it belongs to him against his slave. Moreover, this mark is not only a sign of possession, but also seems to be readily apparent when slaves move away or die in the distance.

"My father used to tell me never to kill a creature with a slave mark on it."

"Why?"

"If you kill him, the owner will kill him. They charge me for my purchase, they give me a new slave, they make me kill an animal with a slave imprint on it on purpose, and they make me slave the one who kills it instead of the price."

"Frightened!

Ruth, scared to listen to Daniel, hastily painted the medicine he had on the leg part of the animal and wrapped it around a bandage.

The story says that if you die but some flesh remains, the location of the slave is rough but the owner will know, and it's hard to pretend not to know.

"…… What do we do, Ruth? If we keep this up, he's gonna die in five days of disconnection, right?

I certainly don't think I can stand the five days of a blizzard because of this injury and the fact that it doesn't seem nutritious enough. If you leave him alone, he will surely die.

"Ha…… The trap I set caused the injury, and I can't help it, so I'll take you home to see a doctor."

"Some hands throw it away from the trap… then it may not be easy to say that the trap is the cause."

"Whatever it is, it doesn't taste good."

"Well..."

Daniel doesn't seem to think it's a hassle either, but he just didn't tell me to throw it away. I'm gonna drop my shoulder. I'm gonna slap Ruth's back to cheer up.

"Ah... you're coming down. Ruth, I'm going home, [five days of disconnection] is coming soon."

Just like Daniel, Ruth looks up at the sky.

The sky, which was so bright, was at some point covered in thick clouds, from which white grains descended along with cold air.

(... I don't have a bad feeling about this...)

Ruth drove away his swirling anxiety in his chest with a deep breath, taking a hand to Daniel to carry the animal and hurrying back to Hashi village.