Belota Mountains (1)
After she showed me her hand, Ar began answering with short replies. Maybe it was because she was a fox beastperson. Her behavior really did resemble a fox. What she was doing now was a lot like a fox that had been wounded by humans, fled in panic, and then been rescued by me. She had received treatment, but she was still wary of humans—the same kind that had hurt her. That left her confused. The hatred and resentment still lingered, so she couldn’t easily open her heart. For now she was only at the stage of cautiously eating food and drinking water while watching me. Still, there was no need to rush. I had to take it slow. No matter how much I wanted to get closer, I couldn’t just reach out and stroke her head or touch her tail. That’s how wild animals are. And if they’ve been hurt, it’s even more true.
The long carriage ride gave me plenty of time to think. After several days of travel my body had grown so stiff that I had to stretch every time the carriage stopped. Having endured that endless journey, Ar and I finally reached our destination.
Hapim. A village in the northeast of the Empire, near the border with the Roderick Kingdom. We had several reasons for coming here, but the biggest one was money. The Roderick Kingdom was famous for its magic tools and paid high prices for magic beast corpses. This was the best place to earn coin.
The only problem was that we weren’t the only ones with that idea. Still, it didn’t matter. The Belota Mountains were vast. A colossal range stretching across the northern borders of both the Empire and the Roderick Kingdom, the Belota Mountains were home to everything from unranked small beasts to grade 8 and 9 monsters. Of course, to encounter anything above grade 8 you had to venture deep into the range. I had no intention of doing that.
Thanks to all the magic beast hunters, Hapim was bustling. Not as crowded as Pades, the imperial capital, but still full of people. Ar was visibly tense.
“Don’t worry. No one knows what you are. They won’t say anything.”
I tried to reassure her, but it didn’t seem to help. We weren’t close enough for a few words to make a difference yet.
Since we would need to camp in the mountains, we bought supplies. While moving between shops, Ar’s gaze suddenly locked onto something. I followed her eyes and saw two large bear beastpeople. Slave restraints glinted around their necks. A man led them, followed by roughly ten human men—professional magic beast hunters, different from ordinary mercenaries. Mercenaries took contracts to exterminate beasts. Hunters killed them for profit by selling the corpses. The money was good, but so was the risk. Entire parties vanishing without a trace was common. Though the same could be said for mercenaries.
Ar couldn’t tear her eyes away. Sympathy for her own kind? Her expression was complicated.
“Let’s go.”
She finally moved, but her gaze kept drifting back toward the beastpeople.
“They probably won’t be treated badly. Don’t worry too much.”
Only then did her eyes turn to me. I couldn’t read what she was thinking. I wished she would just tell me.
It was getting late, so we took a room at an inn. Throughout the journey she had seemed to open up a little, but after seeing those beastpeople she had gone silent again. This was exactly why I had wanted a male beastperson. It really wasn’t easy.
The innkeeper’s stare was sharp when we asked for a room. It was because of Ar. She still looked like a girl who hadn’t reached adulthood. I felt the stares too, but I deliberately asked for a single room as if nothing was unusual. There was no reason to care about other people’s opinions. The world was full of men far worse than me.
“So we only have one bed tonight. Sleep here even if it’s uncomfortable. Don’t even suggest sleeping on the floor.”
Ar’s expression hardened noticeably. She had already stopped answering after what happened earlier in the day. I didn’t say anything more. If nothing happened tonight, she would understand my intentions. I wanted to treat her with care, but I didn’t have to accommodate her every wish.
We went to sleep. Ar tossed and turned all night, waking me repeatedly. Maybe I should have let her take the floor. At this rate I wasn’t sure I’d be in any condition tomorrow. Still, changing my mind now would only make things stranger, so I tried to fall asleep again. For tomorrow.
The next morning the fatigue had faded, but my body still felt a little stiff as we headed into the Belota Mountains. Ar looked about the same. Still, she didn’t seem unable to hunt. That was good enough.
The outer edges of the range weren’t very dangerous. There were unranked beasts, but even woodcutters with axes could handle them. They were basically on the level of ordinary mountain animals—just far more repulsive.
A little deeper in, grade 1 beasts began to appear. The first we saw were Tikis. Blue-skinned, childlike creatures. Their appearance was hideous and their behavior even worse. Dozens of them would roam together and attack humans without hesitation. We found five. They looked like they were out hunting. Each carried a crude club; one even held an axe. It must have been stolen from a human woodcutter. Woodcutters usually didn’t come this far. Had these Tikis ventured out, or had some woodsman made a fatal mistake?
“Ar.”
I kept my voice low. She looked at me with her usual blunt expression.
“I bought you to hunt magic beasts. So when we’re in front of them, you need to speak your mind clearly. Understand?”
“...Yes.”
“Five Tikis. Can you handle them alone?”
“Yes.”
The first answer sounded slightly reluctant. The second did not. It carried the clear meaning of You think I can’t handle five measly Tikis?
“Good. Go on, then. I’ll watch.”
Ar studied the Tikis walking along the forest path. Only then did I truly feel that she was a beastperson. I had seen countless beastpeople fight, but they had almost all been male, so it had been hard to picture her in that role. But she was a beastperson too. The moment she received a hunting order, her focus sharpened. She looked like a perfect blend of hunter and predator. Both her hands transformed into fox-like forepaws, sharp claws glinting at the tips.
She kicked off the ground and shot behind the Tikis in an instant, moving against the wind and into their blind spots without making a sound.
Kyaaak!
One Tiki noticed her too late and screamed. At the same moment Ar’s claws ripped its face apart. It died instantly. The remaining four panicked, but only for a moment. Every swing of her arm claimed another life. Five magic beasts lay dead in seconds. Ar let out a small sigh as if it were nothing, then scanned the surroundings. No more Tikis. At this level, even a larger group probably wouldn’t be a problem. Struggling against grade 1 beasts would have been ridiculous anyway.
“Well done.”
When I praised her, Ar reverted her hands with the same blunt expression. Blood from the Tikis stained her fingers. Her face creased slightly. I offered her a handkerchief. She paused, staring at it, then took it and wiped her hands. Instead of returning it, she slipped it into her pants pocket.
“Grade 1 doesn’t even feel like a warm-up. Let’s keep going. Today’s priority is seeing how far we can get.”
We pushed deeper. Past lunchtime we encountered a grade 2 beast—a Rude. It resembled a deer, but its horns were viciously shaped. Getting stabbed by them wouldn’t end with simple pain. Yet Ar hunted it without trouble and even shattered its horns. Those weren’t horns that should break so easily. It seemed I had underestimated her quite a bit.
We continued. Grade 2 beasts appeared more frequently, but Ar simply swung her arm with indifference. Every one we found became a corpse. She wiped her hands on the handkerchief as though it were routine.
So this was why everyone wanted beastpeople. They couldn’t be compared to humans.
Ar could handle grade 3 beasts alone as well, though not with the instant kills she managed on the lower grades. She won without difficulty, but two or more at once would probably take time. I had a rough gauge of her strength now. She seemed roughly equal to grade 4, perhaps with a slight edge. Or maybe it depended on the species. I couldn’t be certain.
That question was answered soon enough. We found a grade 4 beast feasting on a grade 3 one—a Kakaroo. Smaller than a wolf but extremely fast, the kind of monster that gave human hunters serious trouble. Taking one down normally required exhausting effort.
Ar glanced at me. I nodded. She charged immediately.
She was fast—nearly as fast as the Kakaroo. Their fight didn’t end quickly. They traded blows, dodges, bites, and counters. Every strike was potentially fatal, yet both avoided them all. Their movements were so quick it was hard to follow with the naked eye. I couldn’t look away even for a second.
I had seen enough.
Now it was time to confirm what I really wanted to know.
“Berserker.”
I cast the spell on Ar. In that instant she became a streak of light.
Kyaeng!
The Kakaroo’s agonized scream cut off as Ar’s hand punched straight through its skull. I hadn’t even seen the movement. Impressive. The result was exactly what I had hoped for. Taking down a grade 4 beast in a single blow felt deeply satisfying. There was nothing better than having my theory proven right.
Now… it was time to check the other thing. I needed to see whether Ar would turn on me or not.