Chapter 25: ~Da.
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 25: ~Da.
Every move from the start had been bait.
We had searched diligently during the day, but there was no way a nocturnal tiger would show itself then.
So, the Young Lady and I used our heads.
We intentionally set up camp right in the middle of the field and built a large fire, cooking soup and sausages so the scent would drift far and wide. We wanted the tigers to approach us, drawn by either the smell or the light.
The fishing was a success, but these creatures were acting far too bold.
To think they’d split up and ambush us from the front and back—they actually understood teamwork.
But we were a party too, weren’t we?
[Roar!]
The Young Lady kicked the pot of soup toward the large tiger and raised her shield to block its strike. Despite the heavy impact, she didn’t give much ground. Her physical strength was truly impressive; the Dakuren bloodline was no joke.
I swung my fist with all my might, slamming it down onto the crown of the head of the first small tiger rushing toward the Young Lady’s back.
[Yelp…!]
The tiger couldn’t even finish its dog-like death cry before it was slammed into the ground, its legs twitching.
Oops, it’s been a while, so I messed up my power control.
I felt the dull sensation of its skull shattering with ease.
Instant death.
Its four legs stretched out and spasmed; its head was completely trashed.
The other small one following behind was so shocked by its sibling’s fate that it tumbled over itself trying to scramble away.
[ROOOOOAR!!]
As expected, they were her cubs.
Realizing her offspring had been struck down, the mother let out a furious howl.
It was the kind of sound that made your hair stand on end. If nothing else, a tiger’s roar is powerful enough to affect even monsters.
The problem was that for us, it was merely seasoning to heighten the excitement of the hunt.
“Finished one already?”
“Yes. Maybe because it’s young, but the bones felt like biscuits.”
“Haha! Don’t get careless just because you caught a cub. That mother looks as big as a carriage.”
“Unfortunately, I can’t see behind me right now.”
No matter how much of a wild beast it is, you’ll be taken down in an instant if you underestimate it. On the battlefield, there is no distinction between the weak and the strong. There is only the boundary between the one who seizes the chance to kill and the one who doesn’t.
Blood slowly trickled from the crushed tiger’s eyes, nose, and mouth.
Ah, the scent of blood.
It’s a stimulant far thicker and more delicious than any cigarette.
The scent was faint because I ended it too cleanly, but it felt like I could almost grasp the tail end of the days when I was with you.
The Young Lady and I stood back-to-back.
“It’s teamwork from here on. What’s the plan?”
“The Tank defends, and the Supporter handles offense and assistance.”
“We have to catch them without damaging them too much. The pelts are worth quite a bit of money, you know?”
“Are you really discussing money with a Supporter?”
“Hehe, was that too much?”
It was pleasant.
The composure we maintained in front of an enemy was one thing, but I truly loved the fact that I had a comrade I could chat with so casually.
[Grrrr…!]
The two tigers circled us, looking for an opening.
The inexperienced small one flinched as if it wanted to attack occasionally, but the mother stopped it each time with a short bark.
By the way, she’s quite large.
Did she absorb demonic energy somewhere and turn into a monster? Even the cub, though relatively smaller, was about the size of an adult tiger from other regions.
“Are the wild beasts in the Hus region usually larger than elsewhere?”
“No, they’re normal. These ones are just mutants.”
“I hope they’re just simple mutants.”
“Well, a bigger pelt is a good thing, so let’s look on the bright side.”
“Haha!”
Perhaps she didn’t like our mockery, as the mother tiger began charging toward the Young Lady.
She kicked off the ground at full speed, but the way her front paws flailed was almost comical. Of course, an ordinary person would have wet themselves the moment they faced that distorted visage.
“Here she comes!”
[Roar!]
The Young Lady calmly raised her shield.
“Wait?”
But instead of colliding, the mother tiger leaped high over our heads to the opposite side. At the same time, the small one lunged at the Young Lady’s flank.
“Young Lady, the small one!”
I spun our back-to-back stance, positioning the Young Lady directly in front of the cub. The creature, blocked by the shield, tried to snap at her with its jaws, but—
“Not so fast!”
Boldly, the Young Lady raised her shield even higher, adding the tiger’s own weight to it, and thrust her sword into its belly.
[Screeeech—!]
This time, letting out a shrill, cat-like shriek, the last cub collapsed to the ground.
Its belly was torn open, spilling blood and entrails.
The thick scent of blood filled the air even more.
Compared to the blood of Demons or monsters, it fell far short, but for a fleeting, momentary flash, it was enough to make us one.
[ROOOOOAR—!!!]
Having lost all her cubs, the mother immediately twisted her body and tried to strike at the Young Lady’s head.
The Young Lady, who was shaking the blood off her sword, quickly raised her shield, but the tiger was so massive that her front paw could easily reach the small body behind the shield.
In the first place, because I had made her turn toward the cub, the attack was coming from the Young Lady’s side.
“Ugh…!”
If left alone, that massive swinging paw would smash the Young Lady along with her shield.
“I don’t think so.”
Now.
This was the moment I mentioned, where we become one.
The fleeting instant where you open your eyes after a long time and we look at the same place.
The corners of my mouth pulled back like a hound’s.
My tongue flicked out, tracing my canines.
“Ah, Alto! If you do that…!”
I hid the Young Lady behind my back again as we stood back-to-back. Then, I whispered quietly, very quietly, to the mother who had lost her children.
“Do you want to die?”
At the flash of my red eyes, the mother tiger forgot her grief and rage, freezing mid-motion.
The primal fear of an overwhelmingly powerful existence made her forget anger, hunger, and even the instinct for survival.
As she began to topple over, unable to overcome her own momentum, I leaped onto her and began to strangle her neck with both arms.
“Alto, what’s wrong!”
“I’m in the middle of a probing battle with her, so don’t look back! Keep your eyes forward!”
“Got it!”
It pained me to deceive the innocent Young Lady, but I continued to apply pressure to the throat.
[Gurgle…!]
The neck was too thick for my arms to fully wrap around, but I tightened my grip on what I could reach and snapped it to the far right. The mother tiger died instantly.
“Phew! It’s over!”
“Eh? When? Really? It really is?!”
Wow, that was close.
I had woken you up with a scent of blood no larger than a spoonful of soup.
You can go back to sleep now.
Why did I wake you?
Well, our instincts are warning us.
A threat on a national scale is being aimed at us.
Let’s coordinate again soon, Bloodhound.
It was fun for a change. Even if it was a bland hunt.
“You should have asked me for help!”
“The final struggle before death is always the most dangerous. If the Young Lady were to get even a single scratch… Young Lady?!”
I hurried over to her.
“What? What is it?”
“There’s a wound on your face…!”
It seemed the cub’s claws had grazed her cheek while it was scrambling against her shield earlier.
A very thin line had been drawn, and though it wasn’t even bleeding and had already begun to scab, I quickly rummaged through my pockets.
“Just a moment. I have a medicine that works well on wounds.”
I paused as I pulled out the saved ointment.
This high-grade medicine, which cost 150,000 Dalk per bottle and was purchased from a specialized wilderness trader, was something I had almost exclusively used on Mirei.
When I opened the cap, I saw only a little bit of the medicine left.
“……”
Without a word, I tossed that bottle away and pulled out a brand-new one. No matter how expensive it was, I couldn’t apply something used on Mirei to the Young Lady.
That would be an insult.
“Sss…!”
“Does it sting?”
“A little.”
“I’m sorry.”
“No, it’s fine.”
Applying too much or too little is never good. Everything must be done in moderation to achieve the optimal effect.
“There, all done.”
“Thank you. You’re very kind.”
The Young Lady started to raise her hand as if she wanted to scratch the treated area, then stopped.
“Excluding my mother and the maids, you’re the first person to apply medicine to me, Alto.”
“Pardon?!”
“My father and brother aren’t very good at controlling their strength, and Count Dakuus said he shouldn’t touch me.”
That old man has some strange germaphobia.
“It’ll be hard to evaluate our teamwork today.”
“Why is that?”
“Alto did everything.”
The Young Lady walked over to the tiger she had gutted.
“You killed the first one, and you killed the big one too. I didn’t do anything.”
“I was only able to find the opening to kill them because we were in sync. Doing your part without dragging each other down is exactly what good teamwork means.”
“Is that how it works?”
“Of course. Besides, I may be a Supporter, but I’m Hero rank, you know?”
Even without borrowing the Bloodhound’s strength, this kind of support was something I had always done since my time in Mirei’s party.
To build their confidence, I would create openings for them to land effective hits on monsters without it being obvious, and conversely, I would make the enemy’s attacks predictable to help them improve their skills.
That’s the natural role of a Supporter.
A position that assists to improve the party’s overall strength.
“I want to reach Hero rank soon too. Then I’ll be able to get closer to my father and brother, right?”
The Young Lady held out her hand to me.
“Help me. I believe it’s possible if I’m with Alto.”
“Of course.”
I had already made up my mind.
“Thank you.”
It was a heartwarming moment, but I wasn’t sure how to wrap it up.
The Young Lady seemed to feel the same way, as she awkwardly picked up a knife while standing before the tiger’s entrails.
“Shall I… teach you how to skin it?”
‘Hey, Alto! I’ll teach you how to skin! Follow me!’
Once again, I saw Janks overlapping with the Young Lady.
I already knew through him that teaching what they knew and trying to do activities together was the Dakuren family’s unique way of trying to get close to someone.
“I’m not very good at it, would that be alright?”
“Of course! I’ll teach you; it’s not hard.”
Our work, which began somewhat clumsily, continued until the sun rose and the sky turned blue.