Chapter 64: Fort Polwyn (3)
“Why did you just swing your sword in the air? Was it because you knew where the monster was…?”
“Is that what you would rather have done?”
“Oh, no, not that… How did you do it, was it a sword technique or something else?”
Listening to Yakuna, she didn’t seem to have much knowledge about swordsmanship.
“Well, I guess it’s easier to say…….”
It would be a long story to explain this to Yakuna, who was not a cadet but a regular soldier so there was no need to elaborate.
“But now…”
I trailed off, turning to Yakuna, who was staring blankly at the Yeti while on top of me and Sierra’s eyes were narrowing as she watched us.
“Ah, ah… Ah…”
Yakuna suddenly realizes the pose we’ve been in and her tail twitches.
“…”
Yakuna wordlessly stands up with a flush on her cheeks.
I also stood up and sheathed my sword.
[I wonder how a yeti who is reputed to be so kind could be so full of rage don’t you, apprentice?]
Sierra’s voice echoed in my head as I continued to study the Yeti.
As she said, the Yeti is not an aggressive monster. They’re usually very docile and don’t run around unless they’ve been provoked.
‘Provocation.’
In the game, no one from the scouting party was killed in a Yeti attack.
Is this a coincidence or a deliberate attack?
[Boom…]
Soon after, the headless Yeti’s body twitches and falls to the ground.
Yakuna walked up to the Yeti’s torso and knelt down.
“It looked very angry…What’s wrong with a creature that would normally just stay in its lair…? He was just watching from a distance, waving to us from time to time…”
Yakuna said in a wistful voice as she petted the Yeti.
‘He must have been a very good boy…’
It seemed that I had killed a creature that might have been the mascot of this snowy mountain.
“I think we need to find out what happened, where is the Yeti’s lair?”
“Follow me.”
I followed Yakuna as we came to a small cave that was the lair of the Yeti.
‘Lich…’
The lair of the Yeti was a stone’s throw away from the frozen block of ice where the lich was frozen.
‘I think it’s pretty obvious who provoked the Yeti…’
It seems likely that the demon worshiper has been in the area, while pretending to scout the surroundings. But it’s still two days before he resurrects the lich, so I wonder if he wanted to get a closer look.
Soon, Yakuna and I entered the cave and only a chill emanated from the lair without its owner.
Yakuna took the lead and searched the cave.
“I don’t see anything out of the ordinary here…”
Yakuna muttered as he searched the cave and I asked.
“Do you think there are any things that might provoke a Yeti?”
“Umm…… that’s right! The last time I saw him, I was told not to run around near the Yeti, but I didn’t know why at the time…”
“I guess it’s because the Yeti might be provoked…”
“Perhaps…Let’s go back. I don’t think we’ll find anything more.”
True to her word, there was nothing out of the ordinary about the Yeti’s carcass or its lair.
“Alright.”
Yakuna and I made our way out of the cave.
‘Well, at least whoever did this didn’t do it on purpose.’
All sorts of thoughts raced through my head.
“…”
Something rather out of place on the snowy ground caught her eye.
[What is that? There’s something weird, let me borrow your arm for a second.]
Sierra spotted it too, and grabbed my wrist, pulling me along but Yakuna didn’t see it because she was walking ahead.
I was drawn by her hand and picked up a small black book.
I opened the book to see what was inside but it was filled with ‘unreadable’ characters.
‘1702494… 1315036464…?’
The only things I could read were letters that looked like numbers, but there was no way they were numbers.
I quickly slid the book toward Sierra and she was willing to pick it up.
[This is…… Why is this here?]
Sierra’s face turns serious as she reads the contents of the book.
It was understandable if she knew what it was about.
She looks at me, then continues.
[…It’s written in the language of demons. There’s no way a demon would have passed through these snowy mountains, but no matter who dropped it, this is not meant for human hands.]
I knew the owner of this book since there was only one person who would drop a book like this here.
‘Did he lose it here?’
The puzzle is put together as information from the game flows into my head.
The demon worshiper must have come to check on the lich under the guise of scouting but he probably didn’t realize there were yetis in the area.
He must have provoked the Yeti then dropped the book while running away.
I remembered the words he muttered in the game, during the scene where the demon worshiper resurrects the lich.
‘Unfortunately, he lost the book…It won’t be a full resurrection, but it will be enough…’
It seems very likely that this is the book he was referring to in that scene.
The snow would have fallen relentlessly, and by the time he realized he had lost the book, it would be too late.
The Lich I faced in the game was definitely an incomplete revival and because this was only the second boss, he was too strong and unbalanced.
Suddenly, I remembered the word “incomplete” attached to the reward for killing him.
If I used the book to bring him back to life, and I captured him, the reward would be “complete” instead of “incomplete,” or maybe the word would disappear altogether.
It sounded pretty tempting.
I closed the book and sniffed the air.
I didn’t recognize his scent, as it was not yet familiar. Maybe that’s the limitation of level 7 Superior Senses but it seemed certain that the book belonged to him.
In any case, I quickly tucked the book into my arms before Yakuna noticed as she Yakuna turned around just in time to speak.
“Zetto, what are you doing here?”
“…I was thinking about something for a while, I’ll be on my way.”
In response, Yakuna shrugs her shoulders once and walks down the path with her tail flicking once more.
[Are you going to take that book with you…? It could easily lead to a big misunderstanding…]
At Sierra’s question, I nodded as I followed behind Yakuna.
After confirming my intention, she clears her throat.
[Hmph… I can’t tell what’s going through the mind of my apprentice.]
I didn’t intend to hold this for long and I’ll take this to him just before he resurrects the lich.
‘Instead… the difficulty will increase dramatically.’
Still, the reward was too tempting.
***
When Yakuna and I returned to where the Yeti had been, we saw Kaen and the others.
They had heard the crashing of the trees and the roar of the Yeti and had rushed to the scene.
The demon worshiper in particular was bewildered, wondering how the hell we had defeated the Yeti.
This may have made him wary, but it didn’t matter.
I tried to talk to them, but they couldn’t give me any answers as to what had made the Yeti so angry. Even the demon worshiper was tight-lipped.
Regardless of what happened, it was decided that the Yeti’s corpse should be transported to Polwyn.
If we left it there, other monsters would be coming and going for a while, and it would be dangerous for scouting. Besides, the Yeti is a rare monster after all, so there are plenty of things to loot.
“Except for the meat,” Yakuna said, “which we will never be able to eat.”
Judging by the look on her face as she said it, she had tried yeti meat before.
The decision was made to move the carcass, and Yakuna stepped up to the plate and tied the Yeti to a rope to make it easier to move.
Kaen, Rooster, and Buckland would carry the torso, while I and Yakuna would carry the head.
Since we were small, we had to use our mana to strengthen our muscles to move the heavy Yeti.
Still, with the help of the rope, we managed to drag it across the ground and make our way back to the fortress.
It was early in the morning, so there were few people on the road, but a bearded man had spotted us and was approaching as if he had been waiting for us.
Rooster shouts out to him.
“Captain!”
He must be the leader of the first night patrol.
“I was worried about your first recon, so I was waiting for you…”
The leader walks over to us and stares at the Yeti.
“…What happened?”
He asks for an explanation, and Yakuna takes the lead in reporting what happened.
After Yakuna’s report, the captain nodded, and then spoke up.
“So that’s what happened… He’s such a nice, gentle guy, I didn’t think I’d have to hunt him down… You’re lucky no one got hurt.”
With that, he turns and walks over to me then puts a hand on my shoulder and opens his mouth.
“Cadet Zetto, I’ve heard of you and I was quite surprised when the academy wanted to put you on a night scouting party, but…I can’t believe you can wield a sword so well at your age. You saved Yakuna’s life. Thank you so much.”
I wonder if it was the instructors’ intention to put me in the night scouting group. It was probably Edward’s doing.
“I think I was just doing what I had to do as a scout, albeit temporarily.”
“Heh, heh, heh, you’ve got humility, but a thank you is a thank you, so I’d like to have you and these guys dismantle this thing, what do you think?”
“You mean us…?”
Buckland frowned at the captain’s suggestion.
“You want to meet a black blood, but since they’re sleeping, you should learn what you’re supposed to learn in advance.”
“Yeah…”
Buckland’s spirits dropped at the captain’s words.
“If you don’t need any parts after the dismantling, I’ll pay you for everything.”
Turning away from Buckland, the captain turns to me.
“Thank you for taking care of the complicated stuff for me.”
“Well, then, I suggest you get into your temporary quarters and get some rest. I hope you won’t have any trouble finding your way back… I hear you have special abilities…”
“Yes, I’m fine, and there’s Ms. Kaen next door.”
I smirked and scratched my head.
The scouting is over sooner than I thought, so I have some time to kill.
It’s still early in the morning, so maybe it’s time to take care of business with Kaen.
‘The timing is good, but…’
There’s only one problem: Kaen hasn’t been sleeping, and she looks so tired.
Well, unlike last time, it’s a simple task…so it shouldn’t take long.
I realized that it might be hard to find the time during peak hours if it wasn’t for an opportunity like this.
“…Ms. Kaen, let’s go back to your quarters and talk about it. It’s about information.”
After finishing my calculations, I walked up to Kaen and whispered in her ear.
At my words, Kaen’s tired face suddenly brightens and her eyes begin to sparkle. Then she whispers in my ear in a low voice.
“Hehe, I’ve been waiting for you to tell me something… I guess you finally need my body?”
I’m going to have to change that ridiculous password.
***
After parting ways with the chief and the rest of the group, Kaen and I went straight to our quarters, where we found ourselves in a quiet conversation.
“What…? Where are we going…?”
After listening to my explanation for a while, Kaen turned to me as if she had misheard me.
“…The brothel.”
“If it’s the brothel…, it must be the brothel I know…? I, Cadet Zetto…was it really something that required my ‘body’?!”
Kaen stammered, and backed away from me in a panic.
[I guess this is going to take some explaining to her too, huh?]
At the same time, Sierra’s voice rang in my head as she glared at me.
“So… that’s why you didn’t put your hands on me at the inn that day… was it because you have that kind of taste…?!”
I sighed and scratched my cheek at Kaen’s next words.
‘I had a feeling it was going to be like this…’