Chapter 9
Chapter 9: Harnessing the Power of the Wild!
After finishing off the delicious meal that Dahlia-san had prepared for us, we set out for our new mission around the forests of Shaltz.
Clear skies and fair winds.
If it wasn’t for the mission to hunt down some pests, this would be a perfect day for a picnic.
“This is my territory. I've got a pretty sharp nose and ears on me.”
Louise made a comically proud gesture by twitching her pointy white ears and high nose.
Thinking back at those huge craters she made back at the village I was suddenly filled with concern for the safety of this forest.
“It’s okay Eric-san. Her instincts are quite exceptional.”
Suzette muttered in a rather easy-going manner.
“Louise has remarkable senses when it comes to the matter of nature. I guess you could call it her own natural instinct?
“...Natural instinct huh?”
“Her origin is Elven race after all. They are a kind that lives with the forest and dies with the forest. But still, even among other elves, Louise’s sense of perception was quite extraordinary. Maybe it’s much easier for her to understand wild monsters that actually follow the laws of nature, rather than humans and demons who go against it.”
“Is that what you would call a feral child?”
“I guess you could say that.”
As Suzette said that, Louise’s tribal garb swayed with the wind.
“Looks like Louise’s going to tire herself out again. Anastasia, let’s back her up.”
“Understood!”
The silver ring on Nasha's left ring-finger shined against the sun.
I see.. so, Nahsa was a healing magician.
I’ve never seen her fighting before but if this was the case, then it made a lot of sense.
Melee range fighter with overpowering strength, mid ranged healing magician and a long range rear guard musketeer. Honestly speaking, they had the ideal form of structure for a typical combat party.
So why didn’t such a strong and well-balanced party take on any demon army subjugation quests?
When they could have become famous heroes of the battlefield in no time… !?
When they could have dealt a heavy blow to the demon army in no time…!?
Anywho, Nasha’s silver ring seemed quite exquisite.
There were 3 key factors that were considered the most important when it came to healing magicians; recovery rate, depth of recovery and the frequency. In other words,the importance of a healing magician on the battlefield was determined by; how fast can healing magic be used for those in need, what is the maximum extent of grievousness for a wound to receive complete recovery and how often can healing magic be used.
Well, none of those mattered to these party members though.
“All right, let's go! I've got a pretty good idea where the muscle wolves are."
“......What!? You found them already?
“Right now, they're in the middle of a hunt, and five or six of them are in a pack. Judging by the sound of their snuffling and the sounds of footsteps, also this bloody smell wafting through the air, it’s clear that they’ve just caught their prey. But they should still be on alert. Take care of your backs!”
After finishing what she wanted to say, Louise sprained off without looking back.
“Let’s hurry up and follow her. We’ll get lost in the forest if we lose track of her.”
“Eric-san, be careful of the monsters on the way!”
Suzette raised her huge gun up to her shoulder as she moved to Nasha’s side to safeguard her from the back.
She must be using magic to levitate such a huge mass atop her shoulder, but to keep it steady on her all time would require lots of mana.
〇〇〇
“Sniff… sniff…sniff…”
The muscle headed elf went on all fours, keeping her face close to the ground.
As I took a quick glance at those two swaying peaks peering underneath the greenish Elven tribal grab, Suzette’s gun point seemed to turn towards my direction.
Then when my eyes landed down on Suzette's chest, she promptly tilted her glasses up while loading a large amount of mana onto the muzzle.
I guess this is what you would call Silent but Deadly.
“Found it. They’ve moved a little further from before. And it looks like they were dragging the prey into their territory… There’s a pretty big forest glade up ahead. They must be feeding over there.”
Louise surveyed the area with a stern gaze.
I also started to sense some kind of a presence coming from the direction Louise seemed to be cautious about.
Louise crawled ahead, still on all fours.
“I’m going to rush in there. If we stir things up with the pack, the wolf boss ought to show up somewhere soon.”
“Understood. When the wolf boss shows up, you’ll switch targets and focus on him. We will keep the rest of the pack away from disrupting your fight.”
“That’s right. Once the leader is down, rest will scatter. I’ll be taking care of that big guy.”
Louise beamed as her canine teeth glistened under the sunlight.
I thought I had caught her drooling for a moment, it was as if she was craving for something.
“Looks like you’re really fired up this time, Louise-san. Okay then! You don’t have to worry about getting injured because I’m here to heal anytime! So please fight to your heart’s content!”
"Ooh, I'm counting on you, Nasha!”
“Don’t worry about her, Anastasia. She’s just excited because just wants to make up for the blunder from last time in front of Eric. So she wants to treat our newcomer with the highest quality meal this time.”
“Highest quality…meal…?”
I turned to see a red-faced Louise.
Suzette giggled while explaining.
“You see, the marbled meat of the wolf boss is considered a highest quality treat. It’s a dangerous creature that won its place in the pack through ferocious in-fighting. The burly wolves destructive power alone is nothing to scoff at but adding that to the dangers within the forest as well, they’ve become harder to deal with than even the demons. Usually not many people take up these missions to subjugate burly wolves but, we can rest easy since we have Louise here with us.”
“Suzette! Why do you have to go spilling all the beans like that!? Yeah! That’s exactly it! What’s wrong with it!?”
“No one said it was wrong. Or rather, I’m trying to follow your example by being sincere. I’m always impressed at the sincerity you hold under all that violence.”
Suzette calmly raised her red-rimmed glasses while Louise scratched her pointy elf ears in embarrassment.
Her face seemed a little flushed as well.
“I mean, I couldn’t treat you to a good meal last time, even though I promised. Plus, I was really happy that you went out of your way to join a weird party like this too. So this much is just …”
Louise twirled the tip of her pink ponytail around her finger.
Contrary to her usual frank and rowdy demeanor, this gesture seemed awfully girlish.
I couldn't help but smile seeing her usual shyness.
“Alright then, we’ll draw them away for you. And I’ll be expecting to eat something delicious when we get back.”
“Ooh. You’d better look forward to it, newbie!”
Louise shouted as she rushed towards the forest glade with a wide grin on her face.
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