Chapter 924: The Forest, Nature, and Dragons
After getting cozy with Dianne at the hot springs, we took a nap until noon in the 「Sexroom」 we’d set up next to the secret hot spring to serve as a gazebo. It wasn’t a very long nap, but I felt refreshed. For lunch, I snacked on some hardtack and dried meat stored in the attic, which doubles as the 「Sexroom」’s storage area.
“Is that really all you’re going to eat?”
“I feel like I’ve gotten too used to fancy meals lately”
I tell Dianne. The truth is, I just suddenly felt like eating some trail rations. The dried meat is salty and the hardtack is tough to eat, but every now and then, I miss this taste. On a long journey, you really feel like this stuff gives you strength. Especially when I’m completely exhausted at the end of the day and nibble on this, I can feel the saltiness and dried nutrients turning into flesh and blood. ……Well, these days it’s just a luxury item, though. As I was enjoying my meal, Shario peered over and made a slightly puzzled face.
“……If you’d waited a little longer, I would’ve grilled some venison for you”
“Venison?”
“I bagged one the other day when I was in the area. It was strangely large, so it might’ve been a monster, but I figure you’re used to eating that sort of thing”
“Used……to it? I can’t really say I am……but I’ll eat it if you serve it”
I still haven’t reached the point where I can just dig in without a second thought if someone says, 「It’s monster meat! Go ahead, eat up!」. Though I’m confident I can keep my reaction more subdued than the average townsperson in Polka. Dianne also shows interest as she nibbles on the jerky with me.
“When you say big, how big is it?”
“I’ve already butchered it……right, I’ll go get the head”
Shario said that and vanished, returning a short while later.
“Here it is”
“It’s huge……”
I couldn’t see the whole thing from the window of the 「Sexoom」. Even though it was just a severed head. I’d been devouring it rudely in bed, but I couldn’t help but stand up and approach the window to confirm its imposing size.
“……Is it a flying dragon or something?”
“I think it’s just the horns that are big……no, even setting that aside, it’s huge. If the head is this big, it might have been about five meters tall when it was alive”
“If that isn’t a monster, then what is it……?”
I stood there dumbfounded alongside Dianne. Occasionally, giant animal-type monsters do attack Polka. But I’ve never seen one this ridiculously huge. Well, then again, wolves do grow to be as big as horses……I’ve heard that some moose easily exceed 2 meters in height, so if one of those turned into a monster, it could end up being this big……or could it?
“It wasn’t particularly strong, but if a human encountered this, it would be quite the ordeal. A mediocre sword wouldn’t even reach its torso”
“Shario getting all fired up and fighting back in his dragon form was kind of funny”
“……Shut up”
Shario looks a little embarrassed as Corti teases her. ……So that massive spectacle had quietly unfolded and ended right in our neighborhood without us even knowing it.
“Shario, lend me that head later. It might be a new species of monster”
“Are there even such things as new species of monsters?”
“Well, taxonomists in various countries have more or less compiled a list. Someone here in town must be keeping records of sightings at the Baron’s mansion”
Monsters not only spontaneously generate from the void, but various creatures can also mutate if exposed to stagnant qi for a long time. The patterns are countless. That’s why I hadn’t really cared about whether it was a new species or not, but come to think of it, since they usually have names, someone must have classified and named them, which means monsters we can call by name have been recorded in the past.
“If it is a new species, the flow of qi might have changed from before, and we’ll need to issue a warning about that danger zone”
“If it shows up, we’ll just eat it”
“We can’t keep doing that forever. Besides, we’re going to build another Kalwin town soon. This concerns them as well”
……It’s not like dragons will protect us forever. We can’t protect them forever. Here we go again.
Upon checking, that deer-like monster wasn’t a new species; it had been named the Gigant Deer. That said, it’s quite rare, and apparently even the Baron has never seen one in person. He told me, 「Since it’s an old record, I didn’t think it actually existed; I assumed there was some exaggeration」. ……Also, because it’s so enormous, no specific countermeasures have been prepared. He said that if the dragons and my female slave swordswomen were all absent, significant damage was expected. At that size, it could easily stick its head through a second-story window. Swords wouldn’t reach it, and if we were told to fight it head-on with Polka’s forces, I’d have no idea how to even begin. I let my mind wander as I looked at the illustration in the record. Taking it down with a crossbow……well, I could probably do that, but Lantz and Goto have already left the military, so I’ve had to part with them. Lure it into a tight space, stick iron bars out from all sides to pin it down……is there even a narrow enough spot to trap a monster this big……? Isn’t the forest the only option? For us Polka residents, it’s been a rule for generations not to venture deep into the forest (or rather, we figured if we did, we’d either get snatched up by elves or killed), so fighting using the forest like that is pretty tough. ……I’ve been thinking about all sorts of things, but in the end, I guess I just have to rely on brute force, using Goto and Jackie’s physiques and the Baron’s solo charge.
“Umm……come to think of it, maybe we should get Lantz and the others some proper crossbows”
“Building proper defensive facilities is also an option. Even if we can’t fully protect the whole town, just setting up a few combat outposts around the city center where we can lure these big guys in and trap them would make a big difference in terms of peace of mind”
Unlike me, who can only think on the fly and in terms of a weapons dealer, Dianne-san offers opinions befitting a tactician and architect. I wonder which approach is better. No, wait, it’s not like we have to choose one or the other.
“I’ll bring this up with the Baron”
“It’s a rare monster, and with the dragons around right now, there’s no need to rush……but you’re saying having a plan in place will be useful in the future, right?”
“Exactly”
Polka and the new Kalwin settlement. We need to prepare for both. We might also want to consider training civilian crossbowmen. They can be trained more quickly than regular archers, and they’re useful for hunting, too.
As the sun began to set, Emma gave me a ride, and I headed out with Dianne to the vicinity of the planned site for the new town. It was far enough from Polka that we couldn’t reach it on foot in a single day, but the small forest that had once stood there was now largely gapped out and, furthermore, had been set ablaze.
“A forest fire in this snow……!?”
“It wouldn’t burn like this under normal circumstances; they’re using magic to ignite it. ……They’re driving the forest creatures out”
“……Yeah, because they’ll just blow them away”
“That’s right. ……Losing the forest will leave many of them stranded anyway, but the elves suggested that needlessly killing them isn’t good”
Going out of their way to burn trees isn’t really the elves’ style……I might have thought that back when I didn’t understand them very well. But the elves are more grounded in reality and knowledgeable than I’d imagined. There’s this image of them being obsessed with the trees and viewing everything else as an enemy, but even that is just them choosing what to prioritize to protect their world in a broader sense. So, depending on the situation, they can make the choice to burn the trees to protect everything else. ……Well, if they couldn’t even make that choice, they probably wouldn’t have opposed this urban planning project in the first place and refused to budge.
“Do you think the creatures we’ve driven out will come back once the fire dies down?”
“They say they’ll layer animal-repelling magic with incense that emits a pungent odor. Apparently, strong-willed beasts might ignore it……but well, I suppose we can only call that bad luck”
“……Won’t the smell linger after we’ve blown them away?”
“We won’t know until we try, but even if it does, there’s magic to dispel it. No need to worry”
Even with all this care, from the beasts’ perspective, it’s still just a matter of having their homes taken away, and it’s already the snowy season. Many will likely end up dying out in the wild. It might be one way of thinking to dismiss it all as meaningless, but I don’t feel like pouring cold water on the elves’ efforts. Even if it’s to save many people, we are erasing the natural order that has persisted here for so long. We are wielding the power of the dragon. I remind myself to be fully aware of this, and to ensure we don’t become the kind of 「Evil」 that moves the world solely through 「Fear of power」, that we should leave behind as much understanding as possible. ……Though I doubt the animals or the trees of the forest will ever forgive us for it.
“If possible, I’d like them to stay. All of them”
“……I suppose so. After all, we are 『Creating』”
Enduring this tyranny, enduring the emergence of the city. ……Still, I hope there’s something here that will remain for the future. Though it’s incredibly arrogant for the side doing the crushing to wish for that. We don’t just want to take; we want to build. A new place of happiness for someone here. I want to make sure I don’t forget that.
A few days later, accompanied by a deafening roar, several 「Dragon Gems」 were dropped, reducing the area to a vast wasteland. The urban planning project moved on to a new phase.