Episode 51: “A Troublesome Matter”
“That was a simple light-attribute spell. If you have the funds to spare, I’d recommend purchasing dedicated anti-monster magic tools. Second best, disposing of the body by flowing it downriver after killing it.”
I see, the villagers said, taking notes.
(…Might as well ask, while we’re at it.)
Later that afternoon, she was due to hear Helena’s formal answer on whether the commission would go ahead.
If the request fell through, this might all turn out to have been wasted effort — but there was no harm in gathering information while she could.
“I’d like to ask about a boy named Adam’s father — would any of you happen to know him?”
“You mean Kevin? What’s this about, little miss?”
She explained about the magic doll shop, and the possibility of taking on Adam’s commission.
If the commission did go through, a magic doll wearing Kevin’s likeness would end up walking through the village and the fields — there’d be no way to keep it hidden regardless.
Hearing Fiine’s explanation, the villagers nodded, seemingly satisfied.
“As far as the field patrols go, Kevin did the same thing we do. Three-man teams carrying lights at night, checking the traps and burning what’s caught in the morning. And taking turns building the traps too.”
Looking more closely at the trap now, the mechanism was simple.
Bait was placed inside, and a sharp needle would pierce whatever triggered it.
“When you actually encounter a monster during patrol, how do you handle it?”
“Embarrassing to admit, but we just run. Better to sacrifice some crops than risk getting hurt fighting something that isn’t already caught in a trap.”
I see. A reasonable, practical decision.
“…Kevin, that guy, always wanted to look cool in front of Adam. Probably told him he was out there ‘subduing monsters’ or something like that.”
“Sounds about right.”
The villagers exchanged glances and laughed together, clearly fond of the memory.
It seemed Kevin had left a good impression on the people around him.
(In that case, there’s probably no real reason to specifically teach Adam any of this… but I guess the important part is learning it from his father, specifically.)
If all Adam wanted was information about the patrols and the traps, he wouldn’t have needed to rely on the magic doll shop at all — he could have simply asked another villager.
But he hadn’t done that.
To him, his father had been “someone everyone relied on,” and he’d wanted to become that himself, to support both the village and his family the same way.
(I don’t think I should overdo this the way I did with Conrad-san…)
What mattered for this commission was “what Adam learns through reuniting with his father” — not exaggerating his father’s strength for effect.
“…Um, could I ask one more thing?”
“Sure.”
“Besides big rats, are there other kinds of monsters that get caught often?”
“No other kind. The only thing that ever comes around our village is that rat-looking one.”
“…Just big rats? How many per day, roughly?”
“Some days nothing gets caught, but it’s usually two or three.”
“I see…”
This might actually be a somewhat troubling situation.
She’d assumed a variety of low-ranking monsters had been intermittently targeting the crops, but it seemed only big rats were attacking this particular field.
Two or three a day was a considerable number.
(Big rats breed rapidly and build their nests in forests near their feeding grounds. And every nest always has exactly one king rat…)
Something like a queen bee, in effect.
Unlike big rats, king rats were highly intelligent, and could use magic.
If a king rat ever attacked the village, the damage wouldn’t stop at crop losses.
If the big rats plaguing the fields kept being culled one by one like this, it was only a matter of time before the king rat itself showed up.
“Little miss? Something wrong?”
“…No.”
There was no point stirring up needless anxiety.
“Thank you for the information.”
Bowing her head, she turned on her heel and headed back to the inn.
Having learned something so troublesome, Fiine’s whole body felt heavy.