There are several "satellite cities" in the vicinity of the kingdom of Pawnsonia.

They were so well organized that they were indifferent (...).

One of them, the Bandit Guild, is based in Pound's subterranean subdivision, which the administration doesn't have in its ledger.

Kelbeck was the person in charge of it (the master).

"Oh, shit. Should I have stayed at the foot for one night?"No, but that's why we're going to be a day late to get there... "

A red flame-like tattoo runs from the forehead to the right cheek, neck and body.

A tall, muscular body.

Lightweight Kelvec was now near the border between the Quinbrand Empire and the United States of Forrester.

Forestia has a sister and an alchemist, Katie.

Thanks to Hikaru, I was able to reconnect with Katie, but since we both have jobs, we live separately.

I could go to work and see Katie--that's how I got out of Pawnsonia.

I met Hikaru again on the way, but while I was hurrying to Forrester without seeing Hikaru's big job (discovery of gold), this man was quite a Cisco.

I rushed ahead and said, "Today is the time to stop crossing the mountain, sir.The result of ignoring the opinions of the townspeople at the foot of the mountain is that there are cursed and cannibal monsters in the mountains. "

—— First of all, it hurts when I lick the mountain.We need much more health than we need to get through the plains.

It's a word that came out of Kelbeck's own mouth, but it's a story of who licked the mountain.

"Whoa. There's lights out there. Lucky you."

Even my feet were dim, but I could see the lights of the house.

Off the mountain road and further down the narrow road, we arrived at home in a few minutes.

It's not your usual house.

It was a hut built to stick to a large tree, made of branches and skins of trees.

”... hi, hi, hi... isn't that yummy meat...”

From inside, a surprised old woman's voice can be heard.

Then, the sound of sharpening a knife called sharp, sharp, sharp.

"Hmm, I see..."

Outside the hut, Kelbeck crushed his hand against his chin.

Well, you're cooking now, aren't you?This is a good time.I was hungry. "

Quickly walk into the cabin.

Hello

”Hiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii

An old woman looks back at Kelbec who suddenly came in.

The clothes I was wearing were poor.

Bloody flesh and organs were rolling in there as she bowed.

The smell of fake blood was mixed with the smell of smoke coming out of the hole, which was chaotic.

"Hey, hey, what are you!" Are you a bandit!? "

The old woman who pointed a knife at me.

"Ahh!? I wonder if there are such handsome bandits!"

Kelbec, who argues inexplicably.

"That's fine!? You can come in on your own--"

Hah, as an old woman, looks back and sees the bloody flesh.

"...... I saw you, ahhhhhh ~ ~ ~ ~!"

The old woman's mouth hung up, and a stunning voice echoed from the bottom of the earth.

It's a voice that evokes so much fear that when a child hears it, he definitely cries and leaks.

And the old woman put up a knife.

Red blood dripped from the knife.

Querbec has

"Oh, I saw it!!!!!"

"Oh, what's the reaction?"

"You're making dinner, right? Let me have it too!"

Huh?

I stepped in without being scared by the old lady.

"Wow, you got Deke." Are you a deer? "

”Oh, oh, you... aren't you scared?”

What is it?

"I live alone in the mountains!"

I live in the groundwater, too.

"I'm slashing my flesh at night!"

"The lower processing is too bad. It's bloody, isn't it?"

The old lady was puffy.

Even in the city at the foot of the hill, they call it "cannibal baba."

"Haha... I can read it, you."

Kelbeck thrust his index finger at the old woman.

The old woman shrugs her body.

"You picked up a sliding dead deer, didn't you?That's why it's so messy. "

That way!

Isn't that right?

No, but!

"After all, it's a clam." I've been told that even this is a lot of deductive power to be a dick. "

"What are you proud of!?"

The old woman, hah, got weak.

"... there's a lot of blood left, but if you boil it down, simmer it, and put in the odor remover, it'll do anything."Help me, and I'll feed you. "

"Oh, I see, I see."

As Kelbeck touched the flesh with his arms around him,

"Wash your hands."There's spring water behind it. "

"Ah? It's a pain in the ass, it's okay."

"Wash your hands, wash, wash, wash, wash!"

Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey,

Even though he wasn't scared at all, Kelbeck headed to the back of the cabin.

"... what the hell is this guy?"

The old lady's dishes were crude and full-bodied, but they were delicious enough for Kelbec, who had been climbing the mountain.

If it was an old lady's meal alone, they would keep it half dried meat for a few days, but Kelbec ate it all.

"Hey, Baba, where are you going to sleep?"

"... there it is. But I'm the only one left."

"Good night."

"That's why I told you it was my place!?"

"~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

"It's me...!"

On the bed covered with dead grass, Kelbeck was already asleep.

Because of the large body, it is not very easy for two people to sleep together, but it is impossible.

The old woman sat down in a poor chair.

"It's ridiculous to be angry..."

I think so.

"... since when have I talked to someone so much..."

A hut with only the bare minimum for a person to live in.

The few "civilizations" on the shelf made me feel -- it was a comb.

It can be seen from the hair of a blurry old lady that this candy is not often used.

"... hmm"

The old lady leaned her back against the trunk of the peeling tree and fell asleep.

The noisy chirping of birds always wakes the old lady up.

"Nh... nh!?"

When she woke up, she found herself on the bed.

There's no Kelbeck, the big guy who was supposed to be there.

I don't think I was dreaming about it, but the dishes that Kelvec also used last night are probably still there.

"... so that means that the big guy has already started."Well, I guess so. "

I didn't look for each other's background, I didn't even know their names, but he seemed to be in a hurry.

You woke up before dawn and left.

”Well... I'm not hungry, so let's have breakfast”

Last night, because I ate meat, I still feel that there is meat in my stomach.

That's when the old lady crushed her.

"Oh? I see." Then I'll eat it by myself. "

It was Kelvec that came into the hut.

There are several birds in his hand.

"Oh, oh, you... why"

"Is this it? I can use silly magic."We can afford to take down the birds. "

That's not true. I tried to ask, "Why are you here?"

But the old lady was not energetic enough to say it.

I don't think I can have a conversation with him anyway.

Well then, let's light it up.

Kelbeck cooked meals for me.

The wings and the judgments were familiar, and the bird soup he had made was not hungry, so that the old lady would eat it unexpectedly.

It was a warm meal.

"Okay, it's time for me to go."Baba, you took care of me. "

”... I took care of you...”

Ahn?

A warm meal with someone, a conversation with someone.

The old woman tried to say that she had received more, but the words didn't come out well.

To express her emotions honestly, she was too far away from the crowd.

"Hurry up, you're lost."

That's what I said instead.

"I'm not lost. It was just nighttime."

"If you lick a mountain, it hurts you."

"... well, that's..."

He accepted so honestly that the old lady would never know why.

The Kelvec out of the hut stretches one by one.

The old lady never comes out to see you off.

Bye, Baba.

…………

I haven't heard back.

But Kelvec,

"If you eat all those birds, go to the city at the foot."Your son cared about you. "

!?

I threw my words and walked away.

”... nnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn

The old woman is upset by the word "son" that suddenly comes out of Kelbec's mouth.

I was going to go back to me and talk to Kelbeck, but by that time, he had already disappeared.

…………!!

The basket on the shelf was shiny as if someone had taken care of it.

I saw it last night, so it's clear who did it.

And there was a leather bag next to it —— there were gold coins in it.

In the leather bag, it says "accommodation and meals" in the note.

"That idiot...! What kind of mansion did you intend to stay in!?"

His voice trembled unexpectedly.

"--Are you alive, Mom!?"

And then after a while--

It was the man at the foot of the city who came into the mountains at a time when it was not yet noon.

The man who confirmed that the old woman in the cabin was safe,

"Oh, good, yesterday there was a man who said he was going into the mountains at a late hour. That's why I'm worried--"

"...... I'm going down the mountain"

"Eh, eh!? What's the matter, all of a sudden... I don't have enough money or food to feed my mom yet..."

"I have money."

"? --waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

The man with the gold coin in his hand rounds his eyes.

"Mom, I can't believe you're a bandit--"

Who are the bandits!

And the old woman rose up, and said,

I don't think there's such a beppin bandit here!

"I-I 'm sorry, but--"

"Ahahahahahahahahaha"

--huh?

The old woman who suddenly laughed, her son doesn't understand why.

"I have to get ready for grooming."The man felt like he was on his way somewhere.I might stop by here on my way back. "

The old woman took the candy that was on the shelf.

After passing it through the hair, the dirt falls off and the painful gray hair is cut.

But the feeling was pleasant.

It felt like I was getting dirty and being human again.

”Sure enough, it's a shame to be a dick... who the hell are you?”

With only one piece of gold, the old lady was tough enough.

Hmm, while singing a sloppy song, Kelbeck goes down the mountain road.

"Ahh, I think I gave it to you too much."Well, when you enter Forestia, you can borrow money from the "Bandit Guild" in the city. "

There was a reason why Kelbeck had left a lot of money behind.

First, the warnings we heard at the foot of the city.

--Today is not the day to cross the mountain, sir.There's a monster in the mountains, a cannibal who gets cursed when he sees it.

It's a strange thing to say, "If you see it, you'll be cursed."

There's not much point in being cursed if you eat it anyway.

In the first place, as far as the alchemist Kelbec knows, there is no such thing as "just looking at it and being cursed".There weren't any Medusa monsters in the world.

At that time, the person at that foot would have said, "I wanted him to stop climbing the mountain."

If you don't stop, at least say, "I don't want to let you near where the old lady is."

So who is that old lady?

Living in a shabby cabin in the mountains... if you're not a researcher, the answer is limited.

I threw it away to keep my mouth shut.

Or they kicked me out of town for some reason.

"... because the city at the foot was also poor."

It could have been both.

In any case, the man at the foot of the city who spoke to Kelbec —— perhaps the son of an old woman -- did not want Kelbec to be close to the old woman, who seemed to be in good shape and only a thug.

So I gave you a bullshit warning.

Kerbeck knows how lonely it is for his family to live apart.

"Most things are solved with money."Do it well, baba....... I owe you a living and a meal. It's too expensive, motherfucker. "

Kelbeck said that with money, the old woman could return to her feet.

Most of the trouble in this world can be solved with money.

It is even more so if it was caused by a loss of mouth.

"--Well, there's nothing I can do about it." Let's go! "

Querbec crosses the mountain.

Then he crossed the border and stepped into the territory of the Forrester Alliance.