EP.15 Field Battle -1
EP.15 Field Battle -1
"I-I'm back...!!"
"Welcome back, husband."
After the endless acts with my two companions, I gathered up the two who had passed out and returned to the room.
The one who greeted me was the infuriating crow—one of the main culprits behind this whole incident.
But I was far too drained to press Yata on it, so I simply accepted her kindness.
The bedding was already laid out. Tia was sleeping soundly on one of them.
"You already put Tia to bed?"
"Yes, because a child needs a good, deep sleep."
"Mmhmm..."
Why did that sound to me like, “The child needs to fall asleep early so the adults can have more time to themselves!”?
Anyway, I laid the two Divine Beasts I'd brought back from the hot spring into their beds as well.
Both wore expressions of immense satisfaction. They were utterly exhausted, but since the result was good, it was a relief.
Still, from then on, I resolved to do it only in the bedroom. No exceptions.
Washing the unconscious pair, dressing them, and carrying them back on my back—the hardship had been no joke.
I was genuinely afraid my back might snap.
"You worked hard! Here, something to drink!"
"Thanks. But what's this now...?"
What Yata handed me was a clear liquid in a transparent flask.
At a glance, it looked like extremely suspicious water.
"It's a tonic."
"A tonic? Not some weird drug?"
"It's not weird, it's a genuinely nutrient-packed medicine. Don't worry, you can drink it."
"Mmm... Alright."
Up until now, Yata had often left things unsaid to put me in a tight spot.
But she had practically never made a false statement.
That was why I could set aside my suspicions and drink the medicine.
Gulp, gulp.
It was a bitter-tasting medicine, but without any resistance, the whole dose slid down my esophagus and into my body.
Then, miraculously, all the stamina I had lost just moments ago regenerated, and vitality surged back through my entire body.
"Ohh? What brand is this? The effect is killer!"
"It's lake water from this morning, you know?"
"Huh...?"
"You don't need to worry! I gathered it before she turned into a Bicorn. So there shouldn't be anything wrong with your body."
"Even so, isn't that water that had a Unicorn's body soaking in it?"
"Just think of it as broth. Broth made from steeping a Unicorn's body."
Isn't that a problem in its own right?
...Even so, I couldn't spit out what I'd already drunk.
And honestly, since my fatigue had completely vanished, I couldn't really complain.
I resolved that from now on, if something felt suspicious, I'd never drink it.
"You've had your medicine and returned to a healthy state, so get ready soon, husband."
"Ugh! Yata, you see, even if my body's recovered, my mental fatigue is still firmly present. So I'd like to do it tomorrow..."
"No, you have to do it today!"
Yata's tone was firm and resolute.
That single phrase carried sincerity. Did she want to do it that badly?
"Why?"
"Because if not today, we won't be able to deal with it."
"Huh? Deal with...? What?"
"Oh? Did I not explain it to you beforehand?"
"You didn't."
"Really? Ahaha! I'm so used to only looking at the future, I must have mistakenly thought I'd already told you!"
"Even so, that's too much. It's a problem if you mix up the future and the present."
"Sorry, sorry!"
"Anyway, so? What's this thing you say we have to deal with right now?"
"About that. This might sound sudden, but from now on, you and I have to head out for a field battle."
"A field battle...? Why a field battle all of a sudden?"
"Among the Divine Beasts near this village, aside from the Bicorn, there's one more Divine Beast living here. The problem is that, unlike the Bicorn, this one is incredibly violent. And its ability is also troublesome..."
"So you're saying we have to deal with that thing right now?"
"Right. If we leave it alone, something will happen in the future that will hold us back."
"In that case, wouldn't it be fine to do it after the sun comes up? Besides, the others are in no state to move right now anyway."
"That won't work. If not now, there will be no next opportunity."
Yata's stubborn insistence meant that this Divine Beast would become an exceptionally troublesome enemy in the future.
It looked like we had no choice but to deal with it.
Even so, Yata's unwavering determination raised several questions.
"If such an important enemy is waiting, why did you send me and the Divine Beasts to the hot spring?"
In a Divine Beast battle, the aid of other Divine Beasts was absolutely essential.
But Yata had made me render those two Divine Beasts unable to move, and had even put Tia to sleep.
I had to hear the reason she'd gone out of her way to do that.
"For this fight, you absolutely must not receive help from your other companion Divine Beasts."
"Why?"
"First, since we'll be fighting in the Forest of the Great Wilds, Kor's ability is out. And Tia is likewise excluded because she still can't perfectly control her own power."
"Then what about Miho?"
"That fox has a heavy tendency to overprotect you, husband. In your emergency situations, just like Tia, she'd end up using far too much power. So she's excluded for the same reason."
"Excessive power is the problem?"
"Yes, the Eastern Divine Beasts absolutely despise having their living grounds destroyed. So there are many among them who'll fly into a rage even if you knock down just a few trees."
"In other words, you're telling me to fight the Divine Beast while minimizing the destruction of nature?"
"Correct."
It was difficult. An incredibly difficult challenge.
Even fighting a Divine Beast without any conditions was a profoundly tricky problem.
But to fight a Divine Beast without destroying nature... indeed, that was...
"You're thinking it's impossible, right?"
"Yeah, no matter how I think about it, wouldn't it be impossible this time?"
"Then tell me the problems you see. I'll present you with the solutions."
Yata was a crow who could see the future. She must have considered every possibility and prepared for each one.
So there had to be a future where we win this upcoming night battle, and that was why she was acting so confident.
"First of all, our means of attack are too few. I haven't heard what kind of Divine Beast it is yet, but one way or another, human weapons don't work on Divine Beasts. If so, wouldn't you be the only one able to fight? That's far too dangerous."
"You're right about that. So, I've prepared a solution in advance! Would you open that closet over there?"
"The closet...?"
When I turned my head to look where Yata's finger was pointing, there was a sliding door—the closet where the inn stored its bedding.
As I quietly slid it open, a trunk bag on the top shelf caught my eye.
Was the solution Yata mentioned inside this bag?
I immediately took out the bag and opened it. Inside were wondrous silver protective gear and a single sword.
"This is the solution to the attack means problem?"
"Right, with that protective gear and that sword, even you, husband, will be able to fight a Divine Beast sufficiently."
"I thought human weapons didn't work on Divine Beasts."
"Generally, that's true. But, you see, this weapon and armor are special."
"These are?"
At a simple glance, they were just armaments emitting a silver sheen.
But the idea that these could deal meaningful damage to a Divine Beast, whose bodies were harder than steel, was hard to believe.
"Yes, that weapon is made from a special mineral that the fox and I combined our powers to materialize."
"What kind of special mineral are you talking about?"
"A rare mineral discovered among the countless possibilities of the far future: Fatallite. True to its name, it's a lethal mineral, a special mineral that can wound any creature."
"A mineral like that existed?"
"As you know, the Great Wilds has many unknown regions, and there's no telling what climatic changes the future will bring. This mineral is likewise a product of nature, born through countless possibilities."
"Then, is this mineral perhaps somewhere in this world right now?"
"No, an extremely small quantity will only be produced at least a thousand years from now. These armaments are the only Fatallite in existence in the world today."
"Wow..."
Now that I knew, it was an astonishing thing.
The only substance that could allow humans to stand against Divine Beasts. If it ever became widespread, a war between humans and Divine Beasts might not be far off.
But doing something like that would obviously bring chaos to the world, so it was also a substance I absolutely wanted to keep hidden.
Yata surely knew my feelings on this well, which was why she'd laid out all the facts and prepared a weapon like this.
"But why a sword, of all things? I don't know a damn thing about swordsmanship."
"If we made it into a gun, the ammunition would be limited, and more than anything, to hide the existence of Fatallite, we'd have to go around picking up shell casings."
"Ugh!! That's a little..."
Searching for shell casings in a forest in the dead of night... Just imagining it was so awful it made me shake my head.
It was no different from searching the desert for a scale; I'd sooner choose death.
"Right? So that's why we only made it into a sword and protective gear. The ones who made them were the followers of my Yata Church."
"The more I see, the more multi-talented your followers are..."
"Ahaha! Because they're my children, whom I'm so proud of!"
Watching Yata laugh heartily and praise her followers left me faintly envious.
Had I possessed leadership like Yata's, perhaps I would not have faced so much discrimination.
Such thoughts bloomed unbidden in my mind, and my chest felt tight.
Really... I was utterly pathetic and disgusted with myself for feeling jealous of a Companion Animal.
"I see."
"Don't worry! 'My children' also means 'your children,' husband! So you don't have to be gloomy."
"You all really do see right through my heart, every single time."
"Haha, I'm not called the prophecy crow for nothing. Well, anyway! Back to the main point: even if you don't know swordsmanship, it'll be fine. That weapon is not a simple sword."
"Then?"
"I'll explain that part later. I can't show it here. Instead, please look forward to it, okay? You're bound to be surprised, I'm sure!"
"Yeah, got it."
A weapon Yata had designed so carefully was bound to conceal some remarkable secret.
And I didn't doubt for a second that it would land a fatal, effective blow on the enemy.
That was how absolute my trust in Yata was.
"Now, the next problem. Even if the means of attack are solved, it's meaningless if I can't land a hit, right?"
"That's right."
"But there's a difference in physical ability between me and a Divine Beast from the start. No matter how fast I run at my top speed, I can't catch up to a Divine Beast. What's your countermeasure for that?"
"Of course, I've prepared one."
"Can you tell me?"
"It's simple. All we need is to get one helper to agree."
"At this hour? How?"
There was no way anyone would help us fight a Divine Beast in the middle of the night.
The only people who came to mind were the Yata Church followers who had sworn loyalty to her.
I couldn't imagine Yata, who thought of her followers as her own children, pushing them into a dangerous fight against a Divine Beast.
If so, who on earth could it be?
"You met them today too, didn't you, husband?"
"I met them...?"
"The incident at the lake. Don't you remember?"
"The lake... c-could it be?!"
"Just as you suspect. During this field battle, you'll be riding on that thing's back and fighting."
"No, wait, is that even logically possible?!"
"Before it was corrupted, it would've been impossible unless you were a virgin. But now that it's corrupted, it'll probably consider you riding it a reward, if anything."
"Th-that aside, I've never learned any horsemanship!!"
"It's fine. Just hit it whenever it gets too rough! Then it'll move smoothly for you!"
Yata raised a reassuring thumb and burst into laughter.
Her smile was openly laced with mockery, so a surge of anxiety started welling up inside me.
Even so, she wanted me to fight while riding a Divine Beast...? Worse, she expected me to ride that fucking pervert of a Bicorn?
"Haa...!!"
Tonight's battle in the dark of night...
It hadn't even started yet, but all I felt was unease already.