Chapter 140.1: Vol 15 Chapter 3: Aura's Hard Work Part 1

The Dark Elf Village in the Great Sea of Trees.

It was no different from the Elf Village.

For example, the race called the Wild Elves were once ordinary Elves. Shifting their sphere of living to the grassland produced changes not only in the form of the culture but also physically, to the extent that at present they had been recognized as a new species.

So the reason that physical or magical changes had not occurred in Dark Elves, was because on top of being the same race as Elves from the start, they were living in the same environment. There were also hardly any differences in culture, and their way of life was centered on the Elf Trees. Hence, the classes they gained were, just like with the Elves, mainly Ranger and Druid.

The differences were just skin color, forms of animal repellent, and other trivial customs at best.

In Dark Elf villages, they used an animal repellent that produced its avoidance effect by using scents. The Dark Elves were taught this precious bit of wisdom by the Treants and other inhabitants of the forest where they were living before moving to the Great Sea of Trees. Potent smelling herbs were planted around the village, created and spread around a special drug that repelled animals, and—although their powers had to be considerably divided between duration and area of effect—used Druidic magic.

This method was also effective in the Great Sea of Trees, and compared to other elf villages—excluding the Royal Capital— the Dark Elf villages were safe.

However, the Elves did not know of this method. If it were to spread, the avoidance effect produced by scents would drop. Magical beasts as well as other animals may seem stupid, but that was not so. On the contrary, if they learned that food was at the other end of that smell, the danger level would rise. For those reasons, then even if they were taken in by their kinfolk, they couldn't readily teach them this method.

However, on that day, the Dark Elves, believing in their own "safety", would learn they were on thin ice.

The violent roar could be heard from far away.

This was a regular occurrence in the Great Sea of Trees. Whether it be in the glow of sunrise or late at night, there were no days when the voices of the animals could not be heard.

Moreover, there were species that, despite being small in body, had howls that would surprise you. Hearing a single roar didn't mean that something was happening.

The howls were certainly frightening. There were various species of magical beasts that could put special powers into their roars. Those who heard them would become frightened, confused, lose the will to fight, and occasionally, there were some that could even cause exhaustion.

But if it were heard from a distance, then even that special ability wouldn't manifest. A single, distant roar had no connection to danger and should have been a very typical occurrence in the landscape.

However, that day, one dark elf man called for everyone to be on guard. The man's height wasn't outside of the average range for a dark elf. However, his long, slender and supple limbs, whose lively, yet efficient movements made you feel like there was a power hidden inside them, easily made the man appear bigger than his actual height.

His refreshing looks were well-proportioned and even within the village, he was very popular with the ladies.

There was no one among the Dark Elves living in the Great Sea of Trees who didn't know this man. A first-rate Ranger who had accumulated vast amounts of experience, bearing the ancient and honorable surname of House Blueberry—one of the 13 families of the beginning —that became the central figures during the Great Migration.

In his hands, the man—Blueberry Egnia—held a Dark Elf-style compound bow, of which there were only a handful even in this village.

It was a bow one would not be permitted to use unless they had earned an extremely good score at the Archery Tournament held in the season when the Becoa flowers bloomed—once every three years.

Obeying Egnia's call, the dark elves' soldiers assembled immediately. Although they were called soldiers, they were Rangers that had not gone out to hunt, not full-time soldiers.

The village where Engia lived was the largest Dark Elf village in the vicinity. And yet, there were only about 200 residents, and they had no leeway to put full-time warriors in place.

In front of his friends who had assembled with puzzled looks appearing on their faces, Egnia moved his ears slightly—while focusing on the distant sounds, he announced in a stiff voice,

"There's no other reason I deliberately had you all assemble. That roar just now. I have heard it once before. That is the roar of an adult, a fully matured one at that, 'Ursus."

Egnia sensed all those assembled immediately became tense.

It was obvious as to why. If you were a Dark Elf living in this forest, even if it were a child, there would be none who did not know the name of the one magical beast that should be feared the most—Ankyloursus.

In the area around this village, there were a number of species of monsters whose danger level was high, but the Ankyloursus was the one at the top of that list.

Maybe it would be possible if it were an 'ursus cub, but it wasn't an exaggeration to say that attacking an adult—a fully grown adult at that—meant death. It had armor that repelled even arrows, and physical strength that could easily bisect a Dark Elf. Furthermore, due to all of its physical abilities being high, running away from them was considerably difficult; it was a truly terrifying monster.

"...I certainly did hear some kind of roar, but did it really belong to an 'ursus? Are you sure you didn't mishear it?"

One dark elf woman asked doubtfully.

One of the 3 vice-masters of the hunt, and a skilled Ranger who held a composite bow just like Egnia's in her hands.

It seemed that even she couldn't tell just from that roar whether or not it was an 'ursus.

Moreover—a cute bird called the Howling Bird, for example, could imitate the roars of various species of monsters. And there were other animals in this forest with abilities similar to this.

With those kinds of animals inhabiting the forest, identifying the owner from a single, distant howl was extremely difficult. Her question was a reasonable one. However, Egnia was the greatest Ranger in this forest. He surpassed everyone not just in his skill with a bow, but also in the sharpness of his senses, and even in his ability to analyze the information those senses picked up. Her question was not out of any distrust of Egnia, it came from her more than half-wishing for this to "please be a mistake."

"It's very unfortunate, but there's no doubt. No matter how much time passes, it's impossible for me to forget that roar that makes your hair stand on end—that makes you feel the overwhelming difference in strength. Even now it's still stuck in my ears. It's not something that I could mishear."

The next to speak was the Master of the Hunt.

The pillars of authority in the village were the Master of the Hunt, the Council of Elders, the Chief Pharmacist, and the Rite Master. The Council of Elders was composed of three people, so altogether there were six people. Meaning he was one of them.

There wasn't a composite bow in his hands. His specialty, if anything, was trapping, but even if you took that out of the equation, his abilities were far behind those of Egnia. Be that as it may, as a Ranger there was no doubt that he was influential, and though he was younger than Egnia he had a cool and collected personality, a person with nothing to criticize as Master of the Hunt.

"A mature 'ursus howling...so we can confirm that something has entered its territory?"

In most cases, it would roar when fighting a strong enemy or a hostile member of its own kind. Otherwise, it was when it was announcing a victory, or declaring its territory. Or also, when it was breeding. However, whichever of those it was, it was highly likely that someone had entered the 'ursus' territory.

Because once an Ankyloursus established its territory— the territory expanded as its body grew—it would very rarely try to change it. And it was also very rare for it to go hunting outside of it.

Therefore, it was reasonable to think that someone had entered its territory.

"Haa... What a nuisance. I don't know just what monster went inside it, I hope that the careless fools who disturbed the peace end up as the 'ursus' prey."

The dark elves all around him agreed with the Master of the Hunt's complaint. Egnia gave a wry smile to those friends.

Given the Ankyloursus' disposition, as long as they didn't thoughtlessly provoke it, it was a well-known fact that it could become the neighborhood balancer, in a sense.

"I will agree with that opinion, but we don't know whether or not it's even entered the territory yet, yes? When I heard the 'ursus' roar before, it was when two of them were fighting. And the fight that time was being held outside of its territory.

"Um, excuse me, Egnia-san, I have a question... I hardly heard it at all, but since you mentioned it, I do think it's true that an 'ursus roared. But, its territory is fairly separated from here, right? So why did you call us all here?"

"Yes, I don't know if something happened to the 'ursus, but it's a fact that some situation is occurring that is making it roar. Maybe it's changing its territory, or maybe the ruler of that territory is changing. Or maybe something even more different is occurring. For example...that's right,"

After taking a breath, Egnia continued and said,

"Such as a powerful magical beast that is able to escape from the 'ursus even though it lost, and is heading this way. So, we should simultaneously put the village on guard for anything that could happen, and even if it's tomorrow, we head in the direction of the roar and get a glimpse of the state of the forest.

Everyone present agreed.

It would be problematic if they did not quickly sense changes in the forest and share information. It was extremely important to those who lived by receiving the blessings of the forest.

"—Today's hunt is canceled. Maybe it would be safer to stop anyone from going into the forest altogether, let alone for hunting. We still have food, right?"

"We're fine. We bagged some huge game lately. But even so, we should still tell the Rite Master what is going on right away, so we can have him start making fruit. We don't know how many days it'll take until we finish confirming if everything's safe, after all."

"After that...right. We should also talk to the Elders about that. We'll have the Elders devise a way to disseminate the information to everyone so that someone who doesn't know what's going on doesn't go into the forest."

Prompted by Egnia's call for attention, everyone exchanged opinions. Nobody said, "You're overthinking it." The forest brought blessings, but it also suddenly threw misfortune your way. Stacking precaution on top of precaution without overlooking the slightest ill omen was crucial to living in the Sea of Trees.

They should quickly make it known that there was a possibility the order of the forest was deteriorating.

"What should we do about the other villages? Should we contact them once we've gotten some grasp on the situation? Or should we quickly tell them that we're facing this kind of situation?

"I can sense that both of those are correct, but I also think they might be wrong...Why don't we leave just all the decisions about that up to the Elders?"

"Hey, just hold on a minute, we should consolidate our opinions. If we present it as the opinion from the majority, it'll come in handy in winning the argument when those hard-headed old farts start proposing we do something weird."

"...Calling them old farts is going too far, Ganen. Certainly, they can be inflexible at times, but in their own way, the Elders have abundant experience. We're just choosing a path that can be considered even safer by benefiting from their wisdom."

One of the Vice-Masters-of-the-Hunt—Plum Ganen—was rebuked by the Master-of-the-Hunt.

"Tha—"

Ganen, red-faced, tried to start loudly talking, but his mouth was covered by Egnia's hand.

"—That's about enough out of you. Considering what I called everyone together for, talk about what we need to do right now. You know well enough the threat an 'ursus poses, don't you?"

Knowing that Ganen had shut his mouth, Egnia removed his hand.

Egnia let out an internal sigh.

{We've confirmed that it's not unconditionally wrong to oppose the Elders, but I wish you would consider the time and place.}

"That's right. What we should be prioritizing is what we are going to do about vigilance in the village, so let's leave the talk about the old farts for later, okay? That's a lot of people after all, right?"

"If we're going to be on guard all day today, we should do it in three shifts. Thinking about tomorrow, even more so. "

They were more or less used to keeping watch all day long, and if they had magic that removed fatigue cast on them, it would have any effect on the next day's activities.

But if they were going on an investigation until they were close to the 'ursus' territory, they would want to avoid their senses growing even the slightest bit dull.

"You're right. That's—"

They heard a roar. With a tense expression on the faces of everyone present, they stared intensely in the direction it came from.

"Didn't that sound really close?"

One person put into words the unease they all harbored. Egnia nodded simply once in agreement.

"Just like Egnia said just a little while ago, isn't it chasing after something that went into its territory and then escaped?"

Ankyloursi had a tendency to stick to their prey. If an animal they regarded as their prey escaped, they would pursue it even outside of their territory. Chasing after it while roaring was a little different than the image they had in their minds, but it was more comprehensible than it being beaten and driven out of its territory.

"If that's the case then as long as the 'ursus catches its prey, that might even fill its belly, then this village might be safe...If there's fleeing prey, then do we lead it away from here and shoot it to death?"

"Stop it! That would just result in pointlessly provoking it further. First, there's a good chance the prey has the ability to run away from the 'ursus as much as it can. If the prey comes this way, we should at least drive it away."

"No, wait. It would be troublesome if the 'ursus came within the vicinity of the village. It would be a nuisance if it considered this place to be a feeding ground. We should have a few people go outside the village, and if the 'ursus or the prey look like they're heading this way, lead them in a different direction."

It was fine for various opinions to be flying past each other, but it wasn't as if they could spend too much time on it. He didn't really want to butt in, but he couldn't say such a thing. Egnia clapped his hand once and drew everyone's attention to him.

"Whatever the situation is, the fact remains that this is an abnormal state of affairs. We should get to work immediately. If the 'ursus returns to its territory, then fine. But if it doesn't...if it loses sight of prey even after leaving its territory—" Egnia looked out over everyone, "—and in addition to that, if it lets the prey get away in the vicinity of the village, it would make for a very long, awful day. "

The faces of everyone imaging just what would happen frowned.

"First, what is important is calling for the aid of everyone in the village, not just those of us here. The power of the Druids will become absolutely necessary. Then, the Chief Pharmacist probably has a poison that will even affect an 'ursus."

For beast-type magical beasts like the 'ursus, rather than trying to defeat them with physical attacks, magic that manipulated its mind was more effective. Even against an opponent that was protected by a thick hide, fat, and bulky muscles, it was possible to deal damage above that of bows and arrows by using magic—for example, it would be damaged just from touching the flames of the fire elementals that the Druids could summon—and other such methods.

They probably wouldn't win if they fought it directly, but if they used magic and other such methods, then even in the past they had somehow or other won against a magical beast that rivaled an 'ursus.

"But, gathering here just discussing things is only adding to our wasted time. We should seize the initiative, but—" Egnia looked at the Master-of-the-Hunt. "—could we leave it to you?"

"Haa—" The Master-of-the-Hunt reluctantly shook his head. "...I guess it can't be helped at this point. Alright, you lot. Starting from all the ones with outstanding skills on down, solidify the village's defenses. The other half goes around warning everyone in the village. Those that have finished warning people will next guard those unable to fight. Beniri, I leave the division of personnel to you. Next, Ganen goes to the Chief Pharmacist, and Ovei to the Rite Master, and tells them about this. I will go to the Council of Elders. Come on, MOVE! MOVE! MOVE!"

When Egnia tried to move out, the Master-Of-the-Hunt sent him a signal, so he ran over to him.

"I've been thinking this for a long time, but shouldn't you, the person with the most outstanding skills in the whole village, take the role of leader?"

"Wouldn't it just make everything more troublesome if we did that? My name, though it's also due to who my family is, is also somewhat known in the other villages." "It's not just somewhat," ignoring the Master-of-the-Hunt's words, Egnia continued. "If it comes to that, the conflict will spread to the other villages more than it already has."

"...Gah, my head hurts...Do you think things would change if the Elders pulled back a little, really just a tiny, little bit?"

"That's probably never going to happen. After all, what would probably happen is, if they pull back now, the more they'll want to pull back later. Even if all the Elders retired, the problem would just spread to other villages. We can also say that things will go better for us if the Elders are still being hard-headed about things."

"What can we do to solve this problem?"

"There's no way of solving this problem.

"Until the moment when there's a major failure at some point, right?"

The Master-of-the-Hunt went silent.

"I'm going to defend the village."

"Yeah, I'm counting on you, too."

Parting with the Master-of-the-Hunt, Egnia took up his position and while he continued his vigil in the direction of the roar, it seemed that information was rapidly spreading within the village. This wasn't just because Rangers were spreading the news, it was thanks to a well-developed system of information delivery they used on a daily basis, as a consequence of being a village with dangerous monsters living right next door.

After not even ten minutes had passed, the Rite Master had started producing food. The Chief Pharmacist had also already sent Egnia the potent poison and its antidote, just in case.

Time passed with them on alert for now.

They hadn't heard the 'ursus roar since then. The tension Rangers that had assembled because of that, began to recede. It was the same for Egnia; he relaxed his shoulders and massaged out the stiffness of the hands that held his bow.

Had the 'ursus caught its prey? Or it might have returned to its territory because its prey got away. At that time the Master-of-the-Hunt was standing next to him.

"...Just to be safe it's probably necessary for us to quickly go and investigate its territory. Can I count on you for that?"

"—I thought this would happen. Leave it to me."

He was already thinking about his movements when he entered its territory in his head.

Egnia stared intensely in the direction of its territory, as if he could perceive the figure of the 'ursus that should have been there in his line of sight, when he had a feeling that he had seen some large thing behind the trees of the forest.

"Chichii!"

Egnia vibrated his lips and made a sound that was like the cry of a bird. This was no mere sound. This was a special sound Egnia could emit through the mastery of his class, it would tell his friends that heard it to be on guard. By doing this, allies that heard this sound wouldn't be hit by a surprise attack and be unable to move.

The mood of starting to let their guard down instantly tensed back up.

While feeling everyone's attention was on him, Egnia pointed in the direction where he had just seen the shadow using his chin and without taking his eyes off it.

Please just let it be my imagination.

Please just let it be me mistaking it for something else.

Please just let it be a misunderstanding.

He had only caught sight of that shadow for just a moment. It just happened to be behind the shadow of many huge trees for just a single blink of the eye as far as his line of sight extended. It was more than possible that he had mistaken it for something else. However, as a Ranger who possessed high competency, Egnia's excellent vision easily betrayed even his own expectations.

"...It's the Ankyloursus..."

In spite of the volume of the words that someone had reflexively let slip—that voice was frighteningly and clearly audible to the ears of everyone there.

Yes. It was already obvious to anyone with eyes to see.

A huge shadow was sluggishly approaching them from between the trees.

What was there was the Destroyer of the Great Sea of Trees—the Ankyloursus.

However—

"He, hey, Blueberry-san. Isn't...that...thing...huge? Are 'ursi really that big?

A young Ranger swallowed his spit and asked.

Because it was at a distance and hidden by the trees, they couldn't definitively confirm what that body was. By comparing it with the surrounding trees they could get a rough approximation. It was far too big. No, it was too gigantic.

"...Sumomo. The 'ursus I saw before wasn't that big. It couldn't have gotten any bigger. Its growth rate is abnormally fast, an abnormal specimen...if we're unlucky, what we're dealing with here is..." Egnia said as if the words were being squeezed out of him. "...a Lord."

The air shivered with a chill.

Those deviating from the usual size, having different colored fur, or other peculiar changes, and possessing unique powers, were called abnormal specimens in this village. However, even among them there were those that soared above all others, tenaciously evolving, reigning as the pinnacle of their species, and occasionally possessing an enormous influence over an extensive area through their combat abilities. Therefore, such individuals were given the title of Lord.

In other words, if the one before their eyes were really that, it meant that it would be far stronger than the normal ones

Even an ordinary Ankyloursus was a worrisome opponent, but if the whole village fought together, they would probably be able to drive it back. However, if the magical beast before their eyes were indeed an 'ursus Lord, it was utterly unimaginable that there would be any survivors.

"Impossible! I've heard there's a Lord, but it should be much farther north!" one of the Rangers was excitedly talking, the spit flying from their mouth. However, they controlled the volume of their voice so as not to provoke the 'ursus. "What the hell happened to the Village of Aju?"

A village of the same dark elves—they had learned through hearsay that a Lord existed in the vicinity of the Village of Aju. Lords weren't something that appeared frequently. That being the case, they could consider this to be the same specimen as the Lord in the vicinity of the Village of Aju.

"—Were they all wiped out?"

If the Lord were to change its territory, or if it were starting to move in the direction of this village, someone from the Village of Aju should have come to warn them. But no one had come. Despite that, the Lord was right over there.

Silence dominated this place. If you just kept going in the direction from which they first heard the roar, there'd lie the Village of Aju.

{...The Village of Aju turned into a feeding ground, the 'ursus learned about the food called Dark Elves and relied on scents or something else to head this way.}

Nobody wanted to say it, but everyone had arrived at the same conclusion.

The color of despair mixed with the tense atmosphere.

Even if it had acquired a taste for Dark Elves at the Village of Aju, it shouldn't have known that fresh food was here.

There were many gourmets among the Ankyloursus. They were omnivorous, but they had particular foods they preferred to eat. If Dark Elves satisfied its discerning tastes, they had to abandon this village, and even if they did that, it didn't mean that it wouldn't pursue them. Therefore, they should lead it away and separate it from the village.

However, there was a problem.

"No, we can't declare that the Village of Aju was wiped-out," all eyes were on Egnia. "As I originally witnessed, there was an 'ursus building its territory in this vicinity. If the Lord came straight here from the Village of Aju, it would have entered that 'ursus' territory. It would be strange not to hear two roars if that happened. In other words...the 'ursus that originally marked out its territory in this vicinity, probably grew up and became a Lord."

There was still a chance that it was the Lord from the Village of Aju. If the Lord and the 'ursus that marked out its territory in this vicinity were different sexes, there probably wouldn't be a fight. It was also possible that if the two of them bumped into each other again one of the 'ursi—most likely the Lord—wouldn't roar.

However, whether or not the Village of Aju survived was, in these circumstances, not important. What they should be thinking about right now was, if there were no changing the fact that the Lord was heading for this village, what should they do, what would be the best move to make?

If that was the case—

"—Fighting the Lord is suicide. There is no other way than to summon elementals and flee while they're buying us some time."

"You think that's something we can just do?! There's no question we'll be attacked by that thing in the forest! More importantly, we can just give it all the stored meat and other food it wants, and let it fill its belly."

"That's right! 'ursi have a disposition similar to a bear's. They probably like honey, too! We'll smear it on the meat too and hand it—"

At that moment, a roar reverberated that seemed like it made the earth, the air, the forest, and the cores of their bodies tremble. It could no longer hide in the shadows of the trees.

The slowly walking Ankyloursus Lord was there.

The breaths of the dark elves became quick and shallow. The minds of everyone in that place went blank. Whatever ideas that had just a moment ago were blown away.

They could taste the difference in power with bodies, and they shriveled up. It wasn't as if that roar just now had a special effect that induced fear or other mental effects.

This was just simply, and fatally, their reaction because the dark elves understood the difference in their positions as living things. In other words, it meant that the difference in strength was so big and to such an extent, that the dark elves were merely powerless beings that would be trampled underfoot.

{—This is bad.}

Nearly all the dark elves were convinced of the tragedy befalling them and were under the control of resignation. However, it was still too early to accept that.

"—MOVE!!"

It was a shout to scold and rouse himself.

"Muh, muh, move, you say? And just what the hell can we do!"

"How the hell should I know!"

Egnia replied to the female dark elf's shrieking question with a few brief words that hung heavy in the air like a machete.

"Ho, how the hell should you know?"

"You're just lashing out..."

"You can cou—No! How is there any way that even I would understand or know anything about what to do in this kind of situation! Even so, we have to move! What can we do all huddled together like this! At least those ideas just now were—"

Was its objective to also make them terrified? The 'Ursus Lord's pace was surprisingly slow.

Its head was lowered trying to catch the scent of the Dark Elves from among the flowers that were planted around the village. For some reason, the word "plodding" suited that figure, and it gave an impression that it was truly miserable. Was it wounded? If not, was it sick or even being affected by some kind of poison? They jumped at those hopeful observations, but that was no doubt just a kind of escapism while they were descending into a sort of extreme situation.

{Do we shoot it? There's no need to think about provoking its wrath, not anymore. It's certain that it's coming this way. Then we should make the first move...bows can reach it. Besides, everyone has probably prepared themselves for the worst. If I can draw its attention, and then move so that I can separate it from the village...hold on? There is also a more alternative way to do it ...}

"...it's oil."

When Egnia muttered that, puzzled looks appeared on the Rangers around him for a moment, but they instantly grasped his intentions.

"That's it! We can douse it with oil and set it on fire using a fire elemental!

"It's got that huge body. It'll be difficult for it to avoid the oil!"

"We'll summon water elementals at the same time to make sure the flames don't spread!"

There wasn't much oil in the village. It's not as if it was difficult to come by. Because its uses were limited, it was one of the goods they didn't purposefully store.

Shouting, "I'll go," one of the dark elves ran off, heading for the center of the village. He probably intended to tell one of the Druids that should be in the storehouse. It would be bad if they were converting all their magic power into food, without knowing about the current state of affairs.

At that moment, the 'ursus Lord's roar made the air tremble. The same one from just before that made them feel the overwhelming difference in power, but dark elves right now had resolved themselves and would no longer be shaken.

"What is it doing?"

One of the dark elves shouted curiously. It wasn't just Egnia, all the Rangers there held the same question.

Because of the nature of Ankyloursi, it should have immediately charged them the moment they were seen, but there was no sign of that. It was as if it had no motivation— no, when it came to a Lord, it probably had more alternative objectives.

When they were examining the situation, this time the 'Ursus Lord stood up and roared.

Making oneself look big, and intimidating your opponent, was an action that wild beasts often did. However, what they didn't understand was, why wasn't it attacking?

Not being a mere beast, but a magical beast, the 'Ursus Lord was a fairly intelligent being. Even though it had visually confirmed that they were there and definitely weak, why was it threatening them, in spite of all that?

First, did those repeated roars just a short while ago have some sort of meaning?

"Hey, maybe this is just hunting practice for its young?"

If that was what that odd behavior was, it was possible and Egnia also mentally agreed with whoever's voice it was that said it.

The parent would bring the child along when it went on a hunt, the child would learn by observing the parent's hunt, and learn the skills for taking each type of prey. There were many examples where, if it didn't do this, and left the nest without acquiring any hunting skills, it would die right away. The 'ursus Lord's mysterious behavior might be it trying to teach its child, that was watching from somewhere, about the food known as Dark Elves.

"If that's what this is, then considering the future, shouldn't we hammer it into the cub that Dark Elves are a tough quarry that can hurt you? It'll be a real pain if we're remembered as mere food."

"Won't the Lord go berserk if we kill its cub?

"If it's a child it won't be tricked...by meat with honey poured over it. If this is hunting practice then it'll probably only eat live bait. But there's value in trying it, right?"

Suddenly, the 'Ursus Lord twitched its nose and started running in the direction of the dark elves.

That dejected appearance it had until a moment ago was already gone. Curiously, they couldn't feel a looming murderous intent. But, there was something different. Egnia threw his gaze behind the 'Ursus Lord for only an instant. He got a sense that it had the characteristic behavior of a beast that was being driven—

{—There's no way that could be the case. First, there shouldn't be any being that could drive an 'Ursus Lord.}

"What the hell... I don't understand what's going on here."

It wasn't just Egnia, many of his friends were also confused.

They couldn't read what actions the Ankyloursus Lord was going to take at all. It might have been a mistake to try and understand the magical beast that was the king of the forest, but this was the first foe their experience and intuition as Rangers had been useless against so far.

However, even with that confusing them, they crossed over one of the bridges and fell back. It was an undeniable fact that the 'Ursus Lord was running right at them. If they were even the slightest bit slow in taking action, they would become the 'Ursus Lord's prey.

The 'ursus Lord, who had now come to the base of the Elf Tree where no one remained, stood up.

It was gigantic.

A size that was more than enough to reach the height of the bridges.

And it swung one of its massive arms.

The attack violently shook the Elf Tree, and its trunk had been gouged out as if it had exploded.

The bridges connecting the trees bent, and the dark elves desperately clung to the sides so as not to be thrown off.

The outer circumference of an Elf Tree had been made especially strong. It was a specially made tree that had been raised by having its growth accelerated by using magic on it many times and giving it vast amounts of nourishment to grow big and thick. The giant tree that had the sturdiness to simply repel whatever monster charged it, had been reduced to this state in an instant. This was the proof, more than anything else, that the physical strength of the 'Ursus Lord far exceeded that of any other monster that had come to this village so far.

"You god-damned monster..."

"You could say it's just as powerful as we imagined it would be, but still...how dreadful it truly is..."

"—This isn't the time to be impressed. What are we going to do? What can we do that results in the fewest number of victims?"

From just a single blow, those who had lost the will to fight grumbled.

That was also unavoidable, after all, when witnessing firsthand a single blow that they themselves couldn't possibly match, where even just being grazed resulted in death.

Since a short while ago the 'Ursus Lord had been attacking the same Elf Tree as if it had lost its mind.

It was far too abnormal a behavior, but it didn't feel like it had lost control and gone mad because of magic. It was the kind of movement that made you think it held some kind of special grudge against Elf Trees. And sometimes it would pause and take a quick glance at Egnia and the other dark elves, before starting to attack the tree once more.

{It doesn't feel like this it's teaching a cub how to acquire food...does it ...}

There weren't any signs of a cub anywhere around the 'Ursus Lord.

Egnia glanced at the quiver hanging from his waist, and the arrows inside it.

{Did some dark elf attack it, just to mess with it? Is that why it holds a grudge against Elf Trees?}

The dark elves were the only ones who thought the Elf Tree itself didn't have any scent, but it wasn't necessarily true that monsters with an excellent sense of smell, like the Ankyloursus, didn't notice it. But if that were the case, then if they abandoned this village, they might be safe for the time being.

{No, I can't imagine things going that well. It would get hungry after it spends a certain amount of time raging... and it might come after us by tracking our scents. We should give it the honey-coated meat, and pray that's enough to satisfy it, after all. But, what worries me is that it sometimes peeks over at us...as if it seems to be observing us.}

The 'Ursus Lord really was throwing the occasional flickering glance towards them after all, and it attacked the Elf Tree each time it did.

"Could it be...that its objective is to keep us pinned down here?"

"So a different specimen is following it to the village from another direction?... Would it even need to do that kind of thing? An 'Ursus Lord?"

"It would be if its goal is to drive us out of the village, wouldn't it? Maybe there's another 'ursus waiting to ambush us at the place we escape to, or something."

"I've never heard of 'ursi hunting together...but if that's not what it is, then it doesn't make any sense, huh." Then we don't have any other choice but for everyone to flee in every direction? And if each person takes meat or some other food along with them, it'll probably quiet down while it's eating the food then?

"—Is that really our only choice?"

"Don't give me that look. It's not as if we're abandoning the village. It'll be fine for us to come back once the 'ursus is gone."

There were those who were being comforted, but they couldn't imagine things going that well.

That was because of the crunching sounds the 'Ursus Lord was making as it whittled away at the Elf Tree. Couldn't it be wanting to make this a part of its territory?

If that was the case, then there was no other way than for Egnia and the other dark elves to leave everything behind and abandon the village.

Through the effects of magic the growth of an Elf Tree was unbelievably fast. But even though it had grown this big so far, it couldn't be accomplished overnight. To the Dark Elves who lived together with the Elf Trees, losing one was the same as having everything stolen from them. How many sacrifices would they have to make if they weren't allowed to sponge off the other villages until they could once more raise a big Elf Tree?

"Okay. Let's leave the village while giving the honey-smeared meat to the 'ursus," everyone nodded in agreement with the Master-of-the-Hunt's words. "For the time being, Sumomo and Prune will prepare the honey-smeared meat. The others will remain here and draw the attention of the 'Ursus Lord so that it doesn't go into the village."

The two young Rangers ran off towards the center of the village.

The 'Ursus Lord, who had already torn one Elf Tree to pieces and moved on to the next, suddenly stopped swinging those claws.

Faster than Egnia and the others could even think, "What is it doing?" the 'Ursus Lord started moving.

In the direction of the center of the village.

"Stop!!"

Egnia immediately drew two arrows from his quiver and nocked them. At the edge of his vision, he saw that his friends were holding their bows, ready to fire.

He simultaneously activated a Skill and fired the two arrows.

Both arrows hit the 'Ursus Lord's huge body—and both were repelled.

The next moment, many arrows were flying toward it.

All the arrows that were sent flying hit the 'Ursus Lord's face or forelegs and were repelled, and if they hadn't hit, they pierced the ground or trees right in front of it.

It was not that they had missed. Even if it had started moving, its body was just so huge. It would be harder to miss.

The aim of those arrows that had been loosed was not to deal damage to it.

It was to draw their foe's attention and to buy some time.

However, the 'Ursus Lord didn't stop for even an instant. All it did was sneak a glance their way.

"What the hell!"

{—Our opponent sits at the top of the ecosystem, right? What the hell is going on that it completely ignores being attacked by lower-ranking beings like us? It doesn't view the weak as being weak? It's behaving as if it had some objective... has it attacked a Dark Elf village somewhere else before? Does it know that children and other weak people are in the center of the village? So it was trying to deduce its location by intimidating us? Perhaps it's because it learned this kind of hunting when it itself was weak, so rather than ignoring us, the 'Ursus Lord is aiming for the weaker targets!?}

It was precisely because this kind of hunt had succeeded in the past that it would do the same thing over again, so it made perfect sense. That would hold true even if it had become one of those beings that took pride in their own strength known as Lords.

If you considered that, then it repeatedly attacking the Elf Trees was probably to gather the ones who could fight around it, or some other such objective. When you thought about it that way, the contradictions in those odd behaviors vanished, and it all made sense.

And even that might be based on a successful experience on a previous hunt that went well. Be that as it may, at the point they had guessed that, there was only one thing Egnia and the others could do about it.

Not allowing the 'Ursus Lord to head towards the village center—where the children and the others should be.

"After it!"

The Master-of-the-Hunt didn't even have to say anything. Everyone jumped off the bridge and ran across the ground.

If you were to run across the bridges suspended from the Elf Trees, you would have to make small, but inevitable detours. It was extremely dangerous to run in a place where the 'Ursus Lord's paws could easily reach them, but they had no choice but to do it. On top of that—

—It was because, even if the 'Ursus Lord were to turn around and start attacking them, they would still be able to buy some time.

It seemed difficult for the large-bodied 'Ursus Lord to run through the rows of Elf Trees, and even if there was an overwhelming gap in their running abilities, it wouldn't have a lead over them—in running through the village. On the contrary, Egnia, who took pride in having the most outstanding physical abilities among the Dark Elves, succeeded in closing the distance between them.

He could hear screams coming from the direction they were headed.

It wasn't from someone being attacked.

It was because even the people in the center of the village had seen the figure of the 'Ursus Lord.

{Goddamnit!}

There was a place called the Plaza in the center of the village, but it wasn't on the ground. It was a place that looked like a wooden tray hanging in the air and was held in place by the bridges that extended from the trees.

When the 'Ursus Lord arrived at the Plaza, it rose up. When it spread those two thick, terrifying arms, it roared again.

It was louder than the ones from just a short while ago, it held more than enough force to make everyone in there freeze in place. The Plaza was separated from the ground for the time being, but the 'Ursus Lord's huge body could easily reach it.

The roar that made you feel the difference in status as a living being and that massive frame that terrified all who saw it. Those two together gave it a fighting power that left countless people—low-skilled, novice Rangers and children—petrified.

Egnia threw aside the Dark Elf-style compound bow and emptied both his hands.

These bows were the treasures of the Dark Elves. The materials used to make them were not from this forest, but were taken from the land where they once lived. There were few spare parts to repair them with, and they could never be made again. He would probably be reprimanded by the Elders for treating one so roughly. However, he didn't have the time to carefully store it away.

"UoOOO"

Egnia howled to raise his own morale and jumped on the 'Ursus Lord to try and draw its attention away from the crowd. When he clung to that huge body, he used the hard, rugged hide as a handhold to clamber up it as if he were running along its back.

"—GoO"

The 'Ursus Lord raged, twisting its body to try and brush Egnia off.

In an instant, his body stood out against the background, and it seemed like he would be pulled free and sent flying by centrifugal force, but he somehow managed to withstand it. He was able to reach the back of its head like that. The 'Ursus Lord's rage grew even more violent.

It was obvious as to why. Even a Dark Elf would probably act the same way if a bee was buzzing around their neck.

Egnia drew himself closer to the Lord's neck, as if he were stuck to it, and desperately endured it so he wouldn't fall off.

It was strange that it wasn't rolling on the ground, or scratching at him with those terrifying claws, but it was good luck for Egnia, and he should be thankful for it.

"What the hell are you doing! Run!"

He hadn't wanted to make a sound, but it couldn't be helped. In fact, the 'Ursus Lord's movements seemed to become more intense in response to his voice. Arrows came flying as if to hinder it. If it were someone with a skilled arm, then even in this situation Egnia would almost never be hit.

However, not even one of Egnia's shots had pierced one part of its hide. There was no sign that the arrows were wounding the 'Ursus Lord. If they couldn't even scratch it, then even arrows coated in poison wouldn't have any effect.

Egnia poured strength into both of his hands. There was no way he could let himself be separated from the 'Ursus Lord, right now.

What felt like an abnormally long amount of time passed, and the 'Ursus Lord's movement became just a tiny bit slower. Continuing to rage had probably worn it out somewhat. However, their opponent was a Lord. Its toughness shouldn't even be in the category of common sense. There was no doubt it would recover right away and go on a rampage once more.

Egnia's hands were numb. He probably wouldn't be able to withstand the next one.

This—was his final chance.

He reached out one hand to his waist and drew the dagger that was there.

And then, in one breath he lifted himself up until he was at the distance where he could reach the parts of the 'Ursus Lord that looked vulnerable—its eyes and nose. It had parts, such as the neck, that didn't have armor. However, there was thick meat under the dense fur in those places. He had no confidence that he could deal any damage to it with the dagger he held.

At that moment, Egnia's body gently floated up. The instant he had released one hand, the 'Ursus Lord violently shook its body. Even though at the best of times he had finally been able to cling to using the full command of his body's faculties, there was no way he would be able to endure it in his current posture with one hand not holding on.

His field of vision was spinning around in circles, and he could hear screams coming from somewhere.

{Shi—}

Once he realized what was happening, he immediately threw away his dagger and reached his hand out to his waist. What he took out was a small leather pouch.

He was slammed against the ground. The impact had pushed the air out of his lungs and, for an instant, he fell into respiratory failure.

However, while there was pain, the impatience boiling up within him was stronger than that.

Egnia, who was lying on the ground, locked eyes with the 'Ursus Lord right in front of him and was glaring at him.

He couldn't move.

His body was petrified by the pressure coming from the 'Ursus Lord before his eyes.

He knew it would all be over if he made a wrong move.

The breath expelled by the 'Ursus Lord reached him. That it had such an unduly pleasant scent was surpris—no, it wasn't at that level, it was more in the range of amazement.

Egnia felt like he was going to laugh.

There was nothing to think about nor hesitate over. He had already prepared himself for the worst.

{Bring it on. I'll let you eat my flesh together with this.}

Being eaten by the 'Ursus Lord was the worst thing that could happen. Because it would remember the taste of Dark Elf.

However, what if it didn't like the taste of Dark Elves?

He loosened the string around the mouth of the leather pouch he grasped tightly.

It was the poison that had been given to him beforehand. When he considered the size of the 'Ursus Lord, it was far too little.

However, even if it wouldn't be a deadly poison, it would be able to teach it the taste of that poison.

When it opened that big mouth and bit down on him, each of his arms would throw the poison-filled pouches into it.

It would be over if it attacked with its claws.

If he were bitten, it wouldn't end with just his arms.

Egnia had prepared himself for this.

No, he had decided a long time ago.

He lived, and died, for the sake of this village.

The reason he was stronger than the others was definitely all for this day.

{Now come and get it. The dark elves of this village are gross enough to make you want to throw up.}

The 'Ursus Lord looked away from him.

{—What the hell is it doing?}

The 'Ursus Lord, roaring once, swung its tail and arms. It then repeated those attacks on the surrounding Elf Trees as if it was venting its anger at something. It was almost as if it couldn't even see Egnia, but there was no way that could be possible. Because he sensed that they had actually exchanged glances.

"Egnia! Hurry!"

Unable to take in the situation, the confused Egnia suddenly noticed the voice of one of his Ranger friends.

He was prepared to be eaten, but it wasn't as if wanted to be eaten by choice.

But would they be able to escape? The 'Ursus Lord appeared to not have any interest in them, but he knew that it was flicking its gaze towards them. He wondered what it could be after.

{Is running away—the right answer?}

He didn't have a clue. Their opponent wasn't transmitting a shred of its intentions.

When Egnia had reached the heights of confusion, an arrow that suddenly came flying by, struck the Elf Tree right in front of the magical beast.

"Kooooooooon," the shrill sound that was enough to give you goosebumps, clearly resonated and spread out like a ripple. All of the dark elves—even the 'Ursus Lord stopped moving, all around them it fell completely silent, as if someone had thrown cold water over everything.

Within that silence, a lovely voice resounded.

"Uh...that's about enough out of you,"

The whole world sparkled.

The figure that suddenly appeared from behind Egnia was a dark elf child. However, they weren't a resident of this village. They looked like they could be either an extremely pretty boy, or girl. No, if you looked very closely it was a shockingly pretty girl. In spite of himself—

"Cu, cute,"

Egnia, let slip.

How could a girl possibly be so pretty? It was a beauty that far surpassed that of the morning dew when it changed to droplets of water and fell from the leaves, struck by the light of the dawn, and sparkled like jewels.

It was as if she appeared to be emitting a blinding light from within. This was probably the cause of the world seeming to sparkle just now.

Moreover, it was as if the glimmer of life was enveloped in a smell that came from her movements.

Egnia's nose was twitching in spite of itself.

If he could take even just a tiny bit of that scent into his lungs, it would be to have it fill his entire body through the blood circulating in it.

What is this fragrance? It was as if each and every one of his cells were dancing in joy.

In the hands of that girl of unmatched beauty—she was wearing gloves, so not being able to see those fingers was frustrating—

"How—"

—she was grasping a shockingly exquisite bow. That marvelous workmanship was definitely not just for display, it held more power than any other bow Egnia had ever seen, and his intuition as a Ranger was screaming at him.

But who cared about all that?

The unbalancedness of the girl having a bow that was out of proportion for that body became one of the factors that increased her cuteness again.

Everything about her was charming.

She was sparkling.

"Hey there, monster. Go on, get out of here. I'll never let you do more violence than you already have."

Cute.

Too cute.

Super cute.

He definitely should have heard it just a moment ago, but at that time that beautiful face had caught his attention, and he didn't remember hearing her voice. However, this time his brain was properly responding to her voice.

It repeated over and over again in his head like a refrain. And every time it did he was on the verge of breaking out in goosebumps.

With a snap, that girl of unmatched beauty thrust a finger at the 'Ursus Lord.

Why, he wondered, wouldn't she point that finger toward him?

It was frustrating.

It was regrettable.

He was sad that those beautiful eyes didn't perceive him.

"Gurururuu"

The 'Ursus Lord growled.

That wasn't a growl meant to intimidate prey. That was a growl out of fear.

The 'Ursus Lord was wary of that girl of unmatched beauty.

Naturally.

Whoever they may be, when a girl of unmatched beauty to this degree appeared right before their eyes, would shrivel up. They would think that perhaps she was a goddess.

Of course, there might be those who believed that magical beasts couldn't have that sort of aesthetic sense. However, that way of thinking was far too foolish.

Egnia strongly denied it.

He had grounds on which he could deny it.

Magical beasts that possessed mighty powers were beautiful. If so then, paradoxically, it wouldn't be at all strange if this girl of unmatched beauty possessed absolute power.

That's right. There wouldn't be anything strange about it.

The instant the 'Ursus Lord gave a sign that it was going to try to move—Egnia opened his eyes wide in surprise.

The girl of unmatched beauty already had an arrow nocked on her bow.

After the girl of unmatched beauty had revealed herself, Egnia hadn't taken his eyes off her for even an instant. Even a blink of the eyes would have been sacrilege, and he shouldn't have done it even once. Nevertheless, an arrow was nocked on her bow.

No, it wasn't strange.

She was a girl of unmatched beauty who looked like the world itself had created her. That being the case, there was no doubt that she was capable of that much.

Egnia had that conviction.

A flash of light raced past him—

"GwoOO!"

—The 'Ursus Lord screamed.

He didn't care where the arrow was headed. More importantly than that, he didn't want to take his eyes off that girl of unmatched beauty for even an instant.

"■,■■■!? ■■■■■■■■!?"

"■■■!"

"■■■■■■!?"

The mouths all around him were saying something.

It was annoying.

{Shut-up! I won't be able to hear that girl of unmatched beauty when she says something!}

From the point of view of Egnia, who was trying to make out the girl of unmatched beauty's voice, it was all just excessive noise.

The footsteps of the 'Ursus Lord were fading into the distance.

"■!?■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■!?"

{I said, shut up! How are you going to make up for it if I can't make out what this girl is saying because of you lot!}

"...you okay?"

The girl of unmatched beauty was talking to him.

To he, himself. Not to anybody else.

To he, himself!

Egnia was petrified from excitement, and couldn't get any words out. Unable to think, he didn't know what he should say. It had even gotten hard to breathe. Even so, taking this kind of attitude was absolutely disrespectful.

That notwithstanding, mustering up all the energy throughout his body, Egnia squeezed out the most suitable reply.

"Kew, yuu, t."

"...Hm?...Eh?...What was that?"

The girl of unmatched beauty looked at him doubtfully. That expression was also unthinkably lovely. No, he was certain that if it were her, then any expression at all would be cute.

"My, my apologies. It seems that Egnia is confused from his fear of the 'Ursus Lord."

"Hmmm."

That was all the girl of unmatched beauty said in a flat voice, in reply to the Master-of-the-Hunt's words. And there, Egnia, who had finally recovered a little bit of sanity, blushed at his own blunder.

"Yeash! 'ootin', thn'kee!"

"...? Oh, 'thanks for shooting that arrow,' is what you're saying, isn't it?"

The Rangers around them also probably remembered the first thing they should say to that girl of unmatched beauty. When they came down from the trees, scrambling to be the first one to speak, they lowered their heads to that girl of unmatched beauty and voiced their gratitude.

"Yeah. You're welcome."

No.

That wasn't right.

He wasn't thanking her for saving him. He had to thank her for appearing before him—here.

"Yeash!"

"...Are you sure you're really okay? Did you hit your head really hard when you got sent flying? Shouldn't you get yourself checked out by a Cleric?...or would it be a Druid here? That magical beast might have had some kind of special ability."

"You're right. It seems that Egnia hit his head pretty hard, so it would be better to carry him."

He was carried away on a stretcher made from two wooden poles and rope. He didn't have any pain from when he had been sent flying, but it was entirely plausible that the reason why he wasn't feeling any pain was just because of his excitement from seeing the girl of unmatched beauty. People were able to forget about their own pain and take action in extreme situations. That being the case, it would be reasonable that you wouldn't feel any pain if a girl of unmatched beauty were right in front of you.

To tell the truth, he wanted to accompany her. He wanted to breathe the same air as her right here. However, if he really were injured, the girl of unmatched beauty might be worried about him. Because she was this cute, it was common knowledge that even her heart was kind. So that was a situation that should be avoided.

As a result of his reason desperately persuading him that that was his own desire, Egnia decided to obediently be carried away.

While following the back view of the girl of unmatched beauty, who was talking with the Master-of-the-Hunt, Egnia thought.

{...What is this violent throbbing in my heart...could this be...Love!!}

Blueberry Egnia. At 254 years of age, it was his first love.