The Mesugaki Saint's Chaotic Night Hunt
Estelle tilted her head slightly and asked, “Is that Saint someone you’re worried about?”
“People disappearing? Of course I am.”
“...Hehe♡ The Hero truly thinks that way.”
“Why, is there another problem now?”
“Too nosy?”
“No~♡ I just find you so impressive.”
“...What did I do?”
“You shouldn’t be concerned about a person disappearing, right? There are actually a ton of people who can’t do that simple thing.”
“...That’s not wrong.”
“Then we’re heading straight to the border?”
“Yes, that’s right. From Athens it’ll take about a week to reach the borderlands.”
“Earlier you said it would take a week to Poculum?”
“Is your head just decoration~♡ That’s obviously for carriage travel~♡ We’re walking to train you, the Hero, as well. We’ll have to hustle for two weeks until the regular report meeting~♡”
“...Yes.”
...Another miserable start.
The night air crackled with the soft crackle of a small fire, sending sparks dancing in every direction.
“...Saint.”
“Yes~♡”
“What the hell are we supposed to do with this?!”
“Shh~! The monsters are about to wake up~♡”
And the fire wasn’t ours. The one blazing brightly was tended by giants taller than me, still sprawled out asleep. Their size was only a little smaller than ogres but bigger than orcs.
These monsters were called Goliaths. Their skin was as tough as stone, their frames massive, middle-class monsters. Stronger than orcs, according to the Saint.
What surprised me most was how human-like they looked, even among giant-type monsters like orcs, trolls, or ogres. Aside from the grayish, rock-hard skin, they could easily pass for enormous people.
But since they looked like monsters, the Saint explained, they were definitely a threat that could cause serious harm to humans.
So what exactly were we doing?
“Well then, Hero♡ Now I’ll wake these monsters up. You take care of them, okay~♡”
Hunting monsters at night in the pitch black...?
I had asked why it had to be at night, but the Saint had answered that Goliaths had terrible night vision. This time we’d use their weakness for an ambush battle.
That sounded good to me, but there were four of them...
“Then I’ll be right back~♡”
The Saint walked over with silent, light steps and pulled something out.
Was that a bucket and a stick?
She lifted the stick high and brought the bucket down with a bone-crushing clang!
Clang! Bang! Clang! Clang-clang-clang! Clang!! Bang!!!
...Crazy woman.
Yes, the Saint had been using the bucket to create loud noise, not some drum. She hit so hard it was almost painful.
At first the Goliaths tried to ignore the racket and keep sleeping, but they finally roared and sat up.
“What insane bastard is making so much noise while everyone’s sleeping!?”
Forced to wake up.
“Ahaha♡ You finally woke up? So stupid♡”
The Saint laughed mockingly at the Goliaths. They looked at her with baffled eyes.
“...That noise. Was it you?”
“Do I have to ask to know? You’re such an idiot♡ Big dummy♡”
“...You crazy woman!”
She was always like that.
The Goliaths grabbed their huge double-headed axes and charged at the Saint, roaring.
The Saint giggled and ran.
...Just like mocking newbies.
She slipped away from their line of sight and vanished into the bushes. Now it was my turn.
The Goliaths scanned their surroundings, furious.
“Where did that crazy woman run off to!?”
Goliaths supposedly had terrible night vision. Now that we were away from the fire, if I stayed quiet, an ambush was possible.
I planted the sword diagonally and charged straight ahead. The sound of footsteps startled the Goliaths, and they looked around.
“It’s her!?”
“No! The footsteps are louder! Someone else!”
“I don’t know where they’re coming from! Let’s go back to the fire and...”
Slash!
“Gurk!”
“Mor-Dog!!!”
No matter how hard their skin was, the sword cut straight through. When fighting monsters, a sword was sharper than anything else.
“A sword! There’s a sword!”
The Goliaths, being smart, immediately realized the enemy was using a sword after seeing their comrade’s wound. That was better than ordinary orcs or trolls.
But knowing it didn’t help their night vision at all. They rushed back toward the fire.
“We’re not letting you go that easily.”
I kicked off the ground and charged again, slashing one Goliath’s ankle. Blood spurted, and the huge body toppled.
“Ghh! An-Ankle...!”
“Mor-Dog!!!”
...Wasn’t that their name earlier?
“Go back to the fire first! You’ll all die!”
“O-Okay!”
The remaining two Goliaths approached the fire. Now I’d have to take them both out.
Finish these two before dealing with those others.
I raised the sword and thrust it straight into the Goliath’s neck. It let out one final groan and went still.
...What now?
The Saint had said to use their weakness. But if I stayed near the fire, could I really exploit their night-vision flaw?
The fire was so bright...
“......Ah.”
I knew what to do.
Mor-Mor-G and Mor-Do-G were dead, and the last two Goliaths stood with axes at the ready, eyes wide and alert.
They had taken out two companions in seconds. Even near the firelight they didn’t dare relax.
“Mor-Mor-G! Where did the enemy go!?”
“I don’t know. No footsteps. Maybe they’re still or walking super quietly...”
“...Mor-Mor-G! Look behind you!”
Mor-Mor-G spun around. Right in front of his eyes was a pure-white, razor-sharp sword.
Thrust!
“Kyaaaah!”
Mor-Mor-G swung his axe wildly to the side, but the sword moved to the right, slicing off the edge of his eye and fleeing.
“Grrugh! Mor-Do-G! Where’s the enemy...”
“Mo-Mor-Mor-G... what...”
Mor-Do-G’s voice was strained. He had seen the enemy but couldn’t explain where it was.
“Tell me quickly!”
“...Can’t see it.”
“What!?”
“The enemy hid in the darkness!”
Mor-Mor-G checked his remaining eye. No enemy in sight. At least not in the light of the fire.
“...W-What the...?”
He realized he was being used. The opponent had come out of the darkness that the fire couldn’t reach, attacked, and fled back into the shadows.
Other species might have adapted, but Goliaths with their terrible night vision had no way to escape.
This situation was pure horror for them. A life-or-death game.
“...Mor-Do-G! Watch the darkness! It could jump out anytime!”
“A-Alright!”
Mor-Mor-G covered the blood flowing from his right eye and scanned with his remaining one. But even with his poor vision, nothing appeared in the darkness.
Rustle.
“There!”
“Mor-Do-G! Wait...”
Mor-Do-G charged out with his axe, but he had already stepped too close. The sword burst from the shadows and pierced his side.
“Mor-Do-G!!!”
Mor-Mor-G ran at the attacker in rage, but the man simply pulled the sword free and vanished back into the dark.
“...This... impossible...!”
None of them had even properly fought back. Three companions fell in quick succession. Mor-Mor-G stared into the thick darkness with terrified eyes.
Still, no solution came. Just fear growing little by little.
“......Run.”
Mor-Mor-G made the decision. Goliaths were big; their strides were wide. If he ran hard, it would be impossible for humans to catch him at normal speed.
But how to cross the darkness? This was a forest. No neatly paved trail. What lay ahead? Walking into it was insane.
“...Damn it... what now...”
Then he heard something slicing through the air. Mor-Mor-G swung his axe desperately and struck something solid.
“...A stone...?”
It was just a pebble. Mor-Mor-G stared at it for a long moment, then turned around. What he saw next was a brand-new, pure-white holy sword.
Puuk!!!
This time the sword cleanly pierced Mor-Mor-G’s head. Blood dripped down the shining blade. When he pulled it free, the last Goliath collapsed to the ground.
“...Whew.”
Abel wiped the sweat from his brow, raised the holy sword high, and swung it.
“It’s over, Saint!”
The cute sight made Estelle smile to herself as she approached Abel.
“Really~♡ You were so slow. I almost dozed off from boredom~♡ Still a scrub, I see♡”
“...Just what do I need to do to stop being a scrub?”
“Mmm~♡ You need to be able to defeat an ogre without blessings, okay~?”
Abel gave her a doubtful look. Estelle smiled at his pure reaction.
“Elfride the Hero can take down wyverns without blessings.”
“...Wyverns?”
Wyverns. Reptilian monsters that resembled dragons. Also called “fire lizards,” but unlike dragons they have no front legs and are much smaller.
Still, among upper-class monsters they ranked near the top in raw power.
After the Saint explained, Abel thought to himself.
“It’s probably not the same wyvern I know.”
“Then how much stronger is a wyvern than an ogre?”
“Ogres are average among upper-class monsters. Wyverns are the top. Does it give you a rough idea?”
“...It’s still hard to imagine.”
Abel’s answer made Estelle laugh.
“Let me explain it simply for our silly Hero~♡”
“...Yes.”
“It’d take about four ogres to match even one wyvern.”
Abel looked mildly surprised. The pure reaction made Estelle’s eyes sparkle.
“Aww, you’re so cute♥”
He was just like a kid who had just learned something. So adorable. Estelle stepped closer and whispered.
“Still, you’ve gone past X-meal level, Hero♡”