Praying Mantis (3)
Shuk! Shuk!
“Zeratul!”
The forest echoed with nothing but the sounds of Zeratul and flying arrows.
“Lev! I think it’s this way!”
“No, I hear it coming from over here too.”
But thanks to the way sound carried through the trees, we couldn’t pinpoint exactly where Zeratul and the arrows were colliding.
“Damn… what now?”
“…Since it’s come to this, the first thing is to identify the archer.”
“Identify…”
Right. With the aggro already locked onto Zeratul, we could safely hunt for the shooter.
“But… how do we even find him? We don’t have a single clue.”
“…Chasing someone who climbs trees would be pointless. We need to locate his base.”
“His base…”
Was there even any point in finding it?
“If Zeratul wasn’t the reason for the attack, then that guy is probably the culprit.”
“Then… all the food and supplies he’s stolen…”
“He must be stockpiling them somewhere.”
As our discussion converged on searching for the unknown creature’s lair, Momo cut in.
“What is it, Momo? Do you know something?”
It sounded completely useless.
“How can you even read my mind…”
“…”
“South Continent?”
Zeratul was from the South Continent too… maybe there was a connection?
“You’re assuming he’s from the South Continent just because he climbs trees? That’s incredibly simplistic.”
“Huh? That’s it?”
“Anyone can learn to climb trees with a little practice. Shooting arrows from the treetops is something literally anyone can do.”
“Really?”
“…”
We decided to focus our search on the more suspicious parts of the forest.
Shuk! Shuk!
“Zeratul!!!”
Even then, the arrow sounds and Zeratul’s… screams? Or was he just talking? Either way, Zeratul’s voice never stopped.
“Ugh… but even if we find his base, where would it even be…?”
“It could be up in the trees.”
“Ah! Like a bird’s nest?”
“Exactly. So I’ll search from above. I’m the more agile one, after all.”
With that, Lev climbed the tree like some kind of insect scurrying upward.
“Hmm… his climbing form really is kind of…”
Momo and I continued searching from the ground.
“But… even if we do find the base, what can we actually do about it?”
We had entered the forest to help Zeratul, yet we couldn’t even see him. And even if we located the base, I couldn’t think of any immediate way to assist.
“What if he brought a ton of them?”
“Yeah, but if that happens after Zeratul’s already dead, it doesn’t help us at all…”
So that was why Lev had suggested finding the base.
“…Momo, tell me everything you know about Zeratul.”
“You still know more than I do. Hurry.”
What I needed to know right now was…
“His basic specs, and any unique racial traits.”
“…Can he knock over the trees around here?”
Perfect. In that case…
“Zeratul!!! Knock down some nearby trees!!!”
“Zeratul??”
“Hurry!!! I’ll explain later!”
“Zer… Zeratul!”
The moment I gave the signal, the sounds of Zeratul smashing into trees began.
“…”
“It’s fine. I won’t get hit anyway.”
Shuk! Woong—
Just as I predicted, the arrow missed me completely. Soon after, a tree toppled in the distance.
“Zeratul!!! I’m coming, so just hold on a little longer!!!”
“Zeratul? Zeratul!”
“Since you can’t understand me anyway, stay quiet! Otherwise I might get hit by an arrow on my way there!”
“Zeratul!!!”
I could hear Zeratul’s furious voice at me using my own body as bait, but I ignored it and kept running. Was he angry that I was treating myself as bait, or angry that he suddenly had extra baggage? Given his personality, it was probably the former…
Since Zeratul didn’t know about my perfect dodge rate, he would stay put and wait for me.
‘As for Lev…’
He’d probably find the base on his own. Even after all my shouting, he hadn’t responded, so it seemed he was doing his own thing.
“Zeratul!!!”
After running for a while, I finally caught sight of Zeratul. He appeared to be using a fallen tree as a shield—several arrows were stuck in both the ground and the trunk.
“Zeratul!”
“Zeratul!!!”
Shuk!—
As I ran toward him happily, Zeratul threw his body into me, forcing me to the ground to dodge the incoming arrow.
“Zeratul!”
“I get it… I get it already, so stop shoving your head at me…”
Honestly, Zeratul’s head was a little overwhelming up close…
“Zeratul… step out for a second…”
“Zeratul…”
We stood up and scanned our surroundings.
“Hmm… no more arrows?”
“Zeratul! Zeratul!”
Zeratul kept ranting at me, clearly still angry.
“Okay, okay! I heard you!”
“Zeratul!”
“I have a plan too!”
“Zeratul!!!”
“Argh, this conversation isn’t going anywhere!”
Suddenly the forest trembled, and that unknown voice rang out again.
What the—? Why did that sound so irritated?
“Idiot? The one who hasn’t landed a single hit this whole time is the real idiot!”
I didn’t know the reason, but provoking him more couldn’t hurt.
“You call yourself an archer? Or are you not even an archer? From what I can tell, you suck at climbing trees too!”
“Zeratul! Zeratul!”
I had no idea what Zeratul was saying, but he chimed in from beside me.
“Zeratul… wait, can that guy actually understand you?”
“Zeratul!”
“…He can?”
I had only said it as a joke, but Zeratul’s response was completely unexpected.
“Not like how I guess from tone and body language, but he actually understands the words?”
“Zeratul!”
Zeratul nodded firmly once more.
“Then… do you know who he is?”
“Zeratul!”
He even knew the guy’s identity?
“What the hell have we been doing this whole time…”
“Zeratul?”
“Never mind…”
I sighed and decided to ask Zeratul yes-or-no questions about the shooter’s identity.
“Since I can’t understand your speech, I’ll ask questions that can be answered with yes or no.”
“Zeratul.”
“Same South Continent origin?”
“Zeratul.”
“Same Zeratulias race?”
“Zeratul!”
“Someone you know? From before you came here?”
“Zeratul!”
“Hmm… what else…”
“Zeratulias!!”
Shuk!—
While we were playing twenty questions, arrows started flying from behind me again.
Woong—
“Zer… Zeratul…?”
When I dodged using my Emergency Dodge Maneuver, Zeratul looked shocked.
Emergency Dodge Maneuver
“Huh? Oh, this? It’s my evasion skill. Pretty cool, right?”
“Zeratul…?”
Zeratul circled me with clear fascination, inspecting every angle.
Hmm… he looked like a hunter eyeing potential prey…
“Hey… Zeratul? It’s a bit much, so—”
Shuk!—
“Zeratul!”
The instant the arrow flew, Zeratul swatted it aside with lightning reflexes.
“Right. Let’s focus on that guy for now.”
“Zeratul!”
“Elf?”
“Zeratul!”
The moment the word left my mouth, Zeratul began nodding vigorously.
“Elves actually exist?”
Momo’s tone grew noticeably sharper the second I showed interest in elves.
“N-no, it’s just… fantasy always has elves, right…”
“I said it’s not like that!”
“Zeratul!”
Shuk!—
Even during that brief exchange with Momo, the arrows showed no sign of letting up.
“Damn it… why won’t those arrows run out…!”
“So that means…”
“We’re screwed.”
“Zeratul!”
Shuk! Shuk! Shuk!
Woong— Woong—
“This is actually insane…”
“Zeratul!”
“Huh? What?”
“Zeratul?”
“No, Zeratul, you said—”
Shuk!
Woong—
“Fuck! Stop shooting for one goddamn second!!!”
“Bullshit! Land a hit first, then talk!”
Shuk! Woong—
I kept dodging, Zeratul kept batting arrows away, and every shot was blocked—but we had zero way to strike back. A pathetic stalemate.
“This is ridiculous… what now?”
“Zeratul?”
Zeratul tilted his head.
“What, didn’t you have a plan?”
“Zeratul!”
“I thought if I just avoided getting hit, I could figure out some way to attack…”
“…Zeratul.”
“Don’t look at me like that…”
Momo had been muttering to herself for a while now.
“Momo, what’s the big deal? Is an elf fighting Zeratul really that serious?”
“Yes. It is a serious matter. It is no ordinary occurrence for the Great Warrior of the Jungle and the Forest Keeper to clash.”
At that moment, a clear, beautiful voice drifted from one side of the forest.
“E… e… el…”
“Guardian of the jungle. Wanderer of the wandering woods. I am Albe Machu.”
“It’s an elf!”
“Zeratul? Zeratul!”
The elf who had introduced herself as Albe Machu was the very picture of every fantasy illustration I had ever seen. Tall, golden hair, blue eyes, pointed ears, and…
“They’re not!”
Meanwhile, Albe Machu paid me no attention at all, her gaze fixed solely on Zeratul.
“To encounter a great warrior here… I am grateful for your assistance in our tribe’s affairs.”
“Zeratul! Zeratul!”
“Ah… I see…”
Albe Machu and Zeratul were exchanging friendly greetings.
But… why did she look so familiar?
“Hmm… have I seen her somewhere before…?”
“…”
“Zeratul…?”
The moment I spoke, everyone else’s faces twisted in unison.
“Huh? W-why…?”
“I knew humans were fascinated by our kind… but I did not expect it to be this blatant…”
“Zeratul…”
“N-no! It’s not like that!”
No, it really wasn’t!
“Misunderstanding! It’s a misunderstanding!”
“…”
“Zeratul…”
But no one listened to my desperate pleas.