It Was a Tiger
It was a tiger. Or rather, something that resembled one. Its colors shifted in a kaleidoscope of hues before settling into the familiar yellow coat with black stripes, yet its body still blended seamlessly with the forest from which it had emerged. The razor-sharp claws and massive fangs made it clear this was no ordinary tiger. A creature infused with magic power—a monster.
Animals and monsters that possessed magic power were classified by size. Small- to medium-sized beasts that an average magic user could handle fell under small monsters. Anything reaching the scale of a large vehicle was considered medium. Of course, size alone did not determine the category; the amount of magic power within their bodies was the true measure.
“Aaaargh!”
Hans let out a scream at the sudden ambush and immediately ducked. It was a surprisingly quick decision. Ten years of experience clearly wasn’t just talk. The problem was that even if he had been lucky enough to dodge the first strike, there was no way he could handle this monster on his own.
“Step back.”
“Mm.”
Seeing Isabel leap forward, I grabbed Hans by the scruff of his neck and pulled him backward.
“Gueeeh!”
Dragging the man who sounded like a croaking frog, I retreated. As expected of an adventurer city, Isabel and Chloe—who had dyed their hair alongside me—immediately pulled weapons from our luggage and began engaging the creature with practiced ease.
“Whoa.”
Chloe was one thing, but Isabel’s movements were far faster than I had anticipated. Her control over magic power was on par with the knights of House Franz, and though there was a slight roughness to her technique, she seemed to wield it with even greater freedom.
“I’ll draw its aggro.”
“Understood. I’ll strike from the side, then.”
Chloe and Isabel quickly took their positions and moved. Chloe wielded the same sturdy sword she had used during her days as a knight, drawing the monster’s gaze by targeting its eyes. At the same time, Isabel suppressed her magic presence and slipped out of its line of sight, measuring the distance.
“W-what the—?!”
From the side, I saw Hans staring at the two women with a face drained of all color.
“Oh, you all right?”
“I-I’m fine… No, I mean, I’m perfectly fine, sir!”
Hans immediately bowed his head and shouted. Why the sudden formal speech?
“What’s with you? Just speak casually. Why are you using honorifics all of a sudden?”
“……No, it’s just… anyone who travels with two women who look like high-ranking adventurers can’t possibly be an ordinary person…… can they, sir?”
“Ah. You’ve got a point.”
I grinned at Hans’s words. No need to deny it.
—Kwaaaaaang!
A tiger’s roar echoed through the air. Perhaps it refused to accept being pushed back like this at the entrance of the Great Mountain Range, where it stood at the top of the food chain. Instead of fleeing, the beast began to fight back even more fiercely, and Chloe and Isabel responded with flawless coordination.
“……J-just why?”
While I watched the scene in a daze, Hans spoke up again from beside me.
“Why what?”
“Why did you hire me?”
Ah. That. I gave him a wry smile at the question.
“There’s a reason.”
Several, in fact. The story went back a week.
“Lord Leoric.”
Chloe entered the office with a stiff expression. Ever since Grace’s pregnancy, we had strengthened the surveillance system throughout the castle and the city. I had been stationed in the office myself, contributing to the castle’s security.
“What’s wrong?”
Her serious face told me something had happened again. I swallowed the sigh that threatened to escape. Father would return soon enough on his own, but he couldn’t very well come back alone without losing face, and traveling with the army was inevitably slow. In the end, I had to continue acting as acting lord until he arrived. Just when I thought I could finally rest…
“We received word from Isabel.”
“Isabel?”
That was unexpected. It hadn’t been long since we last met over Red Blood and other matters. Did she have another reason to contact us? …Ah. That must be it.
“The report about the unusually low monster sightings?”
“Yes. We’ve received multiple reports regarding that. This is the summary Isabel compiled.”
I accepted the report Chloe handed me. Hmm.
“Estimated to be a large-class monster?”
Based on information gathered from various adventurers and guild observers, the guild had dispatched its own members to investigate the site. The reason the observed animals and monsters were decreasing wasn’t because they had fled or hidden—it was because they had been eaten.
“All those animals were devoured?”
“Yes. We didn’t reach that conclusion at first because the affected area was simply too vast. For a range of that size, we should have detected at least medium-class, if not large-class, magic power signatures. However……”
“No traces of such magic power were found. Is that what you’re saying? Then we should consider it a stealth type.”
Not all large-class monsters rampaged about wielding immense magic power. Some remained docile most of the time, while others concealed their power within their bodies and moved in hiding. It would be difficult for a medium-class monster to deceive us so thoroughly, and if one specialized so heavily in stealth, it was strange that it could consume prey across such a wide area. In other words……
“But in cases like this, there should be casualties among the adventurers too, right?”
Yet the report made no mention of such incidents. Of course, adventurers dying in the Great Mountain Range was common, and many simply went missing. Still, statistics existed for a reason, and when something seemed suspicious, the guild conducted its own investigations. The fact that Isabel hadn’t mentioned anything when we met meant they truly hadn’t found anything unusual on that front. That was why they hadn’t immediately classified it as a large-class monster.
“Yes. No adventurer casualties have been reported yet.”
“So we’re looking at something at least medium-class, but everything points to it being large-class. It’s descended as far as the entrance of the Great Mountain Range, it has a strong appetite, it’s a stealth type, and it’s intelligent enough not to touch humans yet?”
“……Yes.”
Haah. I tossed the report onto the desk. A headache was coming on.
“What about the guild?”
“Without conclusive evidence and with no adventurer casualties, we lack the justification to impose control. We could issue direct orders, of course.”
“Forget it.”
It wasn’t as if I intended to use them as sacrifices, but there was no real need to restrict them when no harm had been done. Besides, entering the Great Mountain Range always meant risking one’s life, and that responsibility ultimately lay with the individual.
“Contact Isabel and tell her I want to meet. Also……”
Hmm. A stealth type. I pondered for a moment.
“……Summon the research director as well.”
“I have committed an unforgivable sin!”
—Thud!
A middle-aged man burst into the office and immediately dropped to his knees.
……Damn it, that startled me. What the hell? I was genuinely surprised. Wondering if he knew something, I glanced at Chloe, but she looked just as shocked, her eyes wide.
It was Malton, the director of the research lab. A magic user bearing the surname von. He wasn’t the type of genius like the other von I knew, but as a magic user with above-average power, he was one of those who proved that not everyone with magic became a knight. His family managed a public enterprise under the direct supervision of the Franz Workshop, researching and developing various tools using Magic Stones. He was one of the people who had invented several items after hearing the hints I dropped during my first visit to the workshop—a rather capable engineer. The prototype camera I had invented earlier was also his work.
“What’s wrong, Malton? Did you embezzle the budget or something?”
“W-well……”
At my words, Malton, who had been kneeling with his head bowed, slowly lifted his gaze and glanced at me nervously.
“……I knew I should have conducted a more thorough audit.”
Chloe immediately glared at him. She didn’t particularly dislike Malton, but she did think I was giving the research lab more budget than necessary. In truth, the people on the ground seemed to share that sentiment to some degree. Still, I looked at Malton. A magic user working in the castle, yet his hair was unkempt and his clothes were a mess. He truly embodied the image of a dedicated engineer. He didn’t seem like the type whose mind worked fast enough to embezzle funds. If anything, it made more sense that he had been tricked out of the budget or that one of his subordinates had run off with it.
“N-no, sir! I would never embezzle anything!”
The genuinely startled look on his face as he denied it suggested he was telling the truth. He wasn’t the kind of man who would lie to my face like that. Chloe stared at him suspiciously, but even she wouldn’t believe he could orchestrate an embezzlement himself.
“B-but if I had just a little more time and budget……”
“Making excuses is a sin…… Ah. Ahem.”
“I-I’m sorry!”
“Lord Leoric?”
Noticing Chloe’s strange look, I quickly changed the subject. The line had come out so naturally that I’d said it without thinking.
“We’re already giving you plenty of budget. You need more on top of that? No, that’s not the point. What do you mean by ‘unforgivable sin’?”
“Uh, well……”
Realizing something was off, Malton glanced at me before trying to stand up quietly.
“Director Malton.”
“Ah, yes.”
At Chloe’s call, he immediately dropped to his knees again.
“Explain the situation.”
“Ah, understood. Ahem! Well…… Did you summon me because of the project?”
“Project?”
What project? What was the workshop working on right now?
“……Ah, the camera and radio projects. I thought you called me for the progress report.”
“……No.”
I wasn’t actually that person. Even if I was pushing for “industrialization,” I knew science didn’t develop overnight.
“No, it hasn’t even been that long since I assigned those.”
Expecting results in less than half a year was downright greedy.
“O-oh……!”
Malton’s eyes sparkled. No, they were actually glistening with tears. Ugh. A grown man staring at me with sparkling eyes. It made my stomach turn.
“Damn it! As expected of Lord Leoric! I knew I could count on you!”
“……”
“A-ahem! I believed in you! Long live Lord Leoric!”
Chloe’s sharp gaze made Malton immediately correct himself. He was quite old, yet he occasionally acted like a child.