NBAA Vol. 7 Chapter 6 Part 5
“But even though it’s night, the moonlight is beautiful and it’s surprisingly not that dark. Well, I have the ‘Night Vision’ skill though.”
“I have it too, that I do.”
“I have it too. It is one of the essential skills for mercenaries.”
“Me too. Bal forced me to learn it.”
While Reito, Hanzo, Shizune and Dain were talking about the “Night Vision” skill, Kotomin’s mouth pouted in dissatisfaction.
“I can’t see well… it’s not fair.”
“Even if you say it’s not fair…oh, come to think of it, Gon-chan has been very quiet since a while ago, did she fall asleep?”
“He’s awake.”
Gonzo, who was the only one in the rear cart, stood still on top of the cart, silently keeping an eye on his surroundings.
Shizune called out to him.
“You’re being too cautious. There’s nothing wrong with being vigilant, but if you’re like that all the time, it’s going to wear you down.”
“But…”
“It’s important to rely on other people when you have company. You need to get some rest. I’ll take over the watch for a while.”
Shizune said and moved to the top of the wolf carriage to check the surroundings.
Gonzo accepted her words and decided to rest while he could.
Shizune spoke to the people in the carriage as well.
“You too should sleep while you still can. I will keep on watch until dawn.”
“Are you sure?”
“I will go with you then, that I will. I can do without sleep for a few days, that I can.”
“Then, can you take over driving for a bit? I need some rest too…”
“Yes, that I do.”
Hanzo took over driving the wolf carriage, and Reito decided to rest with Dain, Kotomin, and Gonzo. But first, Reito made a communication with Airis.
『Alice.』
『That’s the name of the maid at Dalton Trading Company, isn’t it?』
『Ah, I made a mistake…Maybe it’s because you look similar.』
『Where is it! I mean, you don’t know much about my appearance, Mr. Reito!』
『Oh well, that reminds me… good night.』
『I’m sorry, is that all you communicated with me to say?!』
『I’m listening if you have something interesting to say.』
『Ah, in that case… no, I don’t have anything in particular.』
Airis was hesitant to say anything for a moment, but in the end she did not say anything. Reito asked a question, concerned about her reaction.
『You are just about to say something, aren’t you? Did something happen?』
『No, it’s nothing directly related to you, Mr. Reito, but… does it bother you?』
『When you say things like that, I get so anxious that I can’t sleep.』
『That’s right. Understood, then I’ll tell you. The Minotaur who lived in the Abyssal Forest was captured by humans. He is currently being transported to the nation of the Beast Tribe.』
『…That Minotaur?』
『If things continue like this, I’m afraid he’ll be used as a war slave. Well, this has nothing to do with Mr. Reito, but…』
『I see.』
Reito remembered the Minotaur he fought off in the Abyssal Forest. It was an enemy of Ullr’s parents. The other day, he was more surprised that he was still alive, even though he had inflicted considerable serious wounds in the battle—
~
—An hour after they started moving, Reito, who was sleeping, woke up unexpectedly when he heard a noise and noticed that the wolf carriage had stopped. Next to him was Kotomin, who had somehow fallen asleep with Suramin as a pillow.
“…gugugu.”
“I think this is the first time I’ve ever seen someone sleeping while really giggling or something.”
Furthermore, next to him was the figure of Hitomin sitting on top of Dain’s face as he lay there.
“Ugh… it hurts.”
“Purupuru.”
“I feel sorry for him, so please go away.”
Seeing Dain groaning in his sleep, Reito picked up Hitomin and moved the slime to another location.
After looking to the rear of the carriage and seeing Gonzo sleeping on the cart, Reito wondered why the wolf carriage had stopped and slipped outside.
“Oro? Reito-dono, are you awake, that you are?”
“That’s perfect. I was thinking of waking you up because this kid stopped suddenly and wouldn’t move.”
“*Whine*…”
Outside the wolf carriage were Shizune and Hanzo, and they were standing in front of Ullr, looking troubled. Apparently, the wolf carriage stopped because of Ullr’s sudden stop. When Ullr noticed Reito, he immediately rubbed up against him.
“Woof!”
“Whoa, what happened all of a sudden…do you feel something?”
“*Whine*…”
“He hasn’t been moving like this for a while now. At first I thought he sensed the presence of a monster, but there’s no reaction to my Detect Presence skill, that I thought.”
“I also used my ‘Far Sight’ and ‘Observing Eye’ skills to look around, but I didn’t see anything of interest. And yet he suddenly stopped and wouldn’t move any further.”
Reito listened to the two of them while patting Ullr’s head as Ullr rubbed up against him. And then he brought his face close to Ullr’s and asked.
“What’s wrong? What did you feel?”
“*Whiiine*~”
“Smell? Did you notice a strange smell?”
Reito informed them what Ullr had told him.
“I think he smelled something unpleasant up ahead.”
“Smell? What kind of smell does it have?”
“*Growwl*”
“It seems to be a rotten smell different from Decay Stone. Maybe it‘s from a dead monster.”
“Dead monster? That’s strange…I couldn’t see anything as far as I could see.”
“Ullr’s nose is special, so it may be a place far away that we can’t see with our eyes.”
The White Wolf species’ sense of smell was unique among wolf-type magical beasts, and if they concentrated, they could smell scents from several kilometers away.
“I wonder if the travelers are using Decay Stone to move around so that monsters can’t get to them?”
“I’m confident in my nose, but now that you mention it, I feel like there’s a strange smell floating on the wind, that I have.”
“Ullr is trained to withstand Decay Stone. I’ll go check it out in a bit.”
“Wait. Isn’t it dangerous to act alone? If you’re going to be a scout, wouldn’t Hanzo-san be better suited?”
“That is right, that it is. I want you to leave it to me, that I do.”
“Wait a minute.”
Hanzo was about to head out to search, but before she did, Reito decided to communicate with Airis and ask her about the identity of the smell that Ullr had sensed. She was the most reliable person in this kind of situation.
『Airis, are you awake?』
『I’m awake~ what’s wrong?』
『Ullr noticed a strange smell, tell me what it is.』
『Please wait a moment… Ugh, are you serious?』
『Oh, what’s going on?』
Airis made a voice that did not hide her discomfort. When Reito asked what kind of existence she had discovered, she answered in a troubled tone.
『Apparently, what’s waiting ahead is a Sandwurm.』
『Sandwurm…that big earthworm?』
Reito recalled the giant earthworm he encountered when he first met his cousin Nao. It was a monster that had a creepy appearance but was mild-mannered and could coexist with humans.
『As I mentioned before, when a Sandwurm is killed, it releases a large amount of pheromones from its corpse. Their companions will smell the pheromones and a large number of Sandwurms will emerge.』
『Now that I think about it, I think you said something like that…』
『And now, there is a Sandwurm killed in the direction where Mr. Reito is heading. The pheromones emanating from the carcass have attracted a large number of Sandwurms.』
『What?』
Airis’s unexpected response made Reito freeze.
『Why are there Sandwurms here…?』
『It’s not that uncommon in this wilderness. The Earth Dragon’s favorite food is Sandwurms. So people who want to pass through this wilderness safely use the carcasses of Sandwurms to summon other Sandwurms and rush through while the dragons are attracted to them.』
『I feel sorry for the Sandwurms…』
Reito pitied the giant earthworms killed by humans for their own convenience, but according to Airis, it was a very effective means of transportation. It was a logical strategy to lure the dragons to the Sandwurms that were attracted by the carcasses of their own kind, and escape the wilderness in the meantime.
『Or rather, does Earth Dragon like to eat Sandwurms? …Maybe it’s a mole?』
『No, it’s a proper dragon. Also, strictly speaking, Earth Dragons do not like Sandwurms as food. The Earth Dragon’s favorite food is nutritious soil and sand. And since Sandwurms nourish the soil, they like to move to places where they congregate.』
『Oh, so they don’t eat Sandwurms?』
『Sometimes they accidentally catch a Sandwurm when it’s biting into the sand, but they don’t really try to eat it because they like it.』
After listening to Airis’ story, Reito was relieved to hear that the Sandwurm would not be brutally killed by the Earth Dragon, but he also learned that he was caught up in a very bad situation. If they continued on their way, they might encounter not only a horde of Sandwurms but also an Earth Dragon. He needed to take a detour, but Reito couldn’t figure out how to convince the others.
『Telling everyone that there is a dead Sandwurm ahead after this…』
『It’s effective, but Mr. Reito will get a lot of questions about how you know that.』
『Right, how can I explain it?』
『Why don’t you just say that you’ve heard rumors of black marketers using Sandwurms to break through the Rudri Wilderness? Most women are physiologically unable to accept the appearance of a Sandwurm, so if you explain it well, they will accept your suggestion to detour.』
『I’ll do so…』
After communicating with Airis, Reito, who had grasped the situation, reluctantly told the others that a Sandwurm carcass existed ahead and that Ullr had smelled its pheromone odor. He also told them that he had heard stories of black marketers using Sandwurm carcasses to attract Earth Dragons, which would then take another route through the wilderness.
Shizune and Hanzo had a look of disgust when they heard his story.
“A lot of Sandwurms…and Earth Dragons are the worst.”
“I definitely don’t want to go to such a place, that I don’t!”
“Right. Well then, let’s take a detour.”
“Woof!!”
Ullr nodded in agreement with Reito’s words, and the wolf carriage immediately changed direction and moved through the wilderness.
Fortunately, while the Sandwurm carcass attracted the Earth Dragon, other areas were relatively safe, so they could move quickly without worrying about the noise.
As a result, thanks to Ullr’s efforts, they got out of the wilderness safely by the night’s end. Finally, Reito and his group entered the mountainous area where the Tower’s Great Labyrinth exists.
~