In truth, there was no special way to find Valencia.
This was strictly her ho ground, and finding her when she was determined to hide using ‘Complete Transformation’ was practically impossible.
Therefore, we decided to first wait for her to co to us on her own.
Here, in the hunters' lodging where she had apparently been staying all this ti.
“…If this was the plan, shouldn’t we have just caught her earlier?”
“Hm?”
As we were squatting side-by-side in the shadow under the eaves, Eliya suddenly asked.
“You knew, didn’t you, Hero? That the black and white striped cat was the person we’re looking for, ‘Valencia’.”
Swoosh—
Jerry, too, turned his head to look at , as if agreeing with Eliya’s words.
And I didn't even need to be the one to answer.
Tom imdiately refuted Eliya’s statent.
“…We probably would have lost her.”
“What? There are four of us and only one of her.”
Nod—
Despite her question, Tom nodded his head firmly.
“…Even back when I was assigned to protect the Princess, if she was determined to run away, I could never catch up. I always had to chase her until the Princess, having had her fun, reluctantly allowed herself to be caught.”
“……”
“For your reference, at the ti, I had the fastest feet among the Beastkin.”
Eliya tilted her head, still not seeming to understand Tom's explanation.
“Even though you were the fastest among the Beastkin, you couldn’t catch her? Is that princess person really that fast?”
“…Rather than being simply fast, she has an exceptional talent for concealnt, for hiding her presence. I was faster, but as the one chasing, she would perfectly erase her tracks, which gave a lot of trouble. It was to the point where even if I saw her right in front of , I’d get confused whether she went into the left alley or the right one.”
“……”
“And back then, the Princess was still in her youth. So now, finding her is practically impossible.”
“……”
“If we had tried to chase her by force earlier, we wouldn’t have even gotten close and would have only left a bad first impression.”
Tom’s explanation perfectly matched my own thoughts.
Of course, from a combat perspective, we could have interfered to prevent her from escaping freely, but that would have been no different from picking a fight.
We hadn't co here to fight but to persuade her, so forcibly capturing her on the spot would have undoubtedly been the worst of all possible choices.
“…That said, I don’t think just waiting like this is the right answer either.”
Jerry, who had been listening silently, once again hit the nail on the head.
He had a point.
If she was the type to co to us on her own accord just because we were waiting pitifully, there would have been no need for us to co looking for her in the first place.
The very fact that a person who had spent her youth receiving all sorts of royal treatnt was now living and enduring the discomforts of a shabby, rural outskirts of a kingdom was proof of her will to escape from the secular world.
Even if she didn't know the exact reason we had co, a person like her would have likely guessed our general purpose the mont she saw Tom and Jerry.
That was why she had left imdiately, and that was why the probability of her returning on her own was extrely low.
“I guess you’re right.”
“…Do you have a way?”
At my low murmur, Tom looked at and asked.
From my use of the word ‘guess’, he seed to have realized that I had anticipated this situation to so extent.
However, this thod wasn't a sure thing either.
It was a thod that could only be used if the conditions were right.
“This is a thod we can use if we assu that the Man-eating Beast and Valencia are definitely related.”
“……”
“According to the Village Chief, the Man-eating Beast appeared when the rumors beca rampant, right?”
Nod—
“That’s right. He said that whenever a Villain appeared in the village, that person would disappear without fail.”
“We find a Villain. That way, we summon the Man-eating Beast first. Then after that, whether Valencia shows up, or we find out Valencia’s location through the Man-eating Beast, there should be so way forward.”
A brief silence followed my words.
“…Uh. So you’re saying we find the Man-eating Beast first?”
Nod—
“That’s right.”
“……”
Then, Eliya cautiously threw out a question.
“How?”
“Sohow.”
“……”
Eliya’s expression crumpled in an instant, and a shriek burst out.
“What kind of plan is that?! You irresponsible man!”
“……”
“A Villain isn’t so rock rolling around on the ground. How are we supposed to suddenly find soone like that?”
It seed she had expected so concrete, rational thod from my claim of having a plan.
But where would I find sothing like that?
It might have been different if it was sothing I had experienced pre-regression.
But in this case, it was my first ti encountering this situation too.
I had so ideas for what to do after finding the Man-eating Beast, but until then, even I had no brilliant solution.
Judging from experience, in situations like this, it was better to use your body than to rack your brain.
And.
Swoosh—
Tom was the first to get up from his spot.
“…Don’t tell you’re actually going to look for one right now?”
Eliya asked, watching Tom stand up.
And Tom’s reply was.
“…Is there an alternative?”
“…No.”
Quite resolute.
In the end, Eliya got up from her spot with no other choice.
Jerry looked up at the glaring sun beating down and let out a sigh.
* * *
Murmur, murmur—
“…How.”
Contrary to Eliya’s grumbling worries.
Whether by chance or by fate, we were able to find a Villain quite quickly.
As we left the lodging and headed toward the village center, the main square was already in an uproar due to the untily appearance of a Villain.
In the middle of the square stood a pig-like man with a bundle of luggage slung over his shoulder, looking sowhat out of place.
The villagers were gathered in small groups, talking to each other about the man.
“…What’s going on?”
“Oh. You’re here.”
Among them was a familiar face, ‘Tan’, so I asked him for a brief summary of the situation.
“It’s nothing much, just that an outsider suddenly said he wants to stay in our village, and it seems that man is a rather famous criminal in other regions.”
“……”
The word criminal didn’t seem to fit the pig-like, shabby-looking man.
But we understood after Tan’s subsequent explanation.
“It seems he works as a Peddler and also a slave broker. They say he’s a man who goes from village to village, taking orphans and selling them off.”
“…A creature worse than a dog.”
After Tom’s low mutter, Eliya asked as if she didn't understand.
“…I don’t get it. Why on earth would he walk in here on his own two feet? If it were , I’d go anywhere else but here.”
It was a valid question.
By now, the Man-eating Beast of Aileen Village was so infamous that there was no one in the kingdom who didn't know about it.
Especially a ‘Peddler’, who travels from village to village and hears many rumors, would surely know that this village had a ‘Man-eating Beast that hunts Villains’.
It was natural not to understand why he would walk in here on his own accord.
In the first place, the reason Eliya had refuted my claim of ‘finding a Villain’ was due to the common-sense thought that no Villain would be foolish enough to wander into such a region.
But that, too, was sowhat resolved by Tan’s continued explanation.
“I’ve never seen a person like that either, so I looked into it a bit. It seems that while working as a Peddler, he caused great harm to a certain criminal organization. It looks like he was chased all the way here by the Human Hunters they hired.”
“…Ah.”
“He must have thought the Human Hunters wouldn’t follow him here. And in reality, that’s true.”
Sure enough.
No sooner had Tan finished his explanation than the pig-like Peddler shouted loudly.
“To the one who protects for a month, I will give two gold… no, one gold!! Is there anyone here who knows how to handle a weapon!”
“……”
“I-I’ll give you two gold!!”
It seed that simply entering the village wasn't enough to put him at ease.
Well, anyway.
Swoosh—
For us, who were looking for a Villain, it was like a gift.
* * *
“Khahat. That’s right. I knew there would be people like you.”
“……”
“You’re the Beast Hunters who ca to hunt the Man-eating Beast?”
In the end, we decided to stay at the lodging with the pig-like Peddler.
The Village Chief seed quite reluctant about a Peddler using the lodging, but after hearing from that I had a plan, Tan persuaded him, and it was settled.
“You’re going through a lot. As I said, I’ll be in your care. This is very reassuring.”
The Peddler, who had been bursting into laughter with satisfaction, suddenly glanced at us and spoke cautiously as he sized us up.
“Erm.”
His eyes were greedy.
“I apologize, but when I said two gold earlier, I was a bit hasty and misspoke. I had to leave in a hurry and left everything behind, so I only have one gold on right now, so perhaps…”
“It’s fine. We don’t need paynt.”
“Right, so one gold… what?”
He, who had been nodding silently at my words, asked back with wide eyes.
“You don’t need paynt?”
Nod—
The corners of his mouth split into a grin he couldn't hold back.
“Well, why… This is the first ti in my life I’ve seen soone refuse money.”
Why, you ask?
It’s because we have no intention of protecting you, so we won’t accept paynt.
“Well, whatever. Don’t go back on your word later. You’re the one who said it. I’ll assu there’s no paynt.”
Nod—
When I nodded, not just the corners of his mouth, but the corners of his eyes tilted up.
“More importantly.”
“……?”
At the sudden change of topic, his expression froze.
“Are you not afraid of the village’s Man-eating Beast?”
At the question that followed, a hearty laugh erupted.
Hahahaha!
“You believe that stuff?”
“……”
“So you guys only know how to use your bodies, but you’re more naive than I thought.”
There wasn't a hint of doubt on his face.
“Well, I’m not denying the Man-eating Beast. People have gone missing, so of course, there must be sothing that takes people, whether it’s a Man-eating Beast or sothing else.”
“……”
“But where in the world would you find so absurd Man-eating Beast that only preys on Villains? It’s just an excuse the villagers make up to chase away people they don’t like.”
I had thought so from the start.
…He seed to be an even more unsightly human than I thought.
“I don’t know how long it’s been, but if you’ve co up empty a few tis in this village, you should know, shouldn’t you? Dozens of Beast Hunters have co and gone before you.”
“……”
“It’s all a lie. The reason I hired you wasn’t for so absurd Man-eating Beast, but to protect from those wicked people who disapprove of .”
Heh heh!
“In the first place, do good people even exist? It’s human nature to live with a dark corner hidden in one’s heart. Don’t waste your energy trying to catch a beast, you all should…”
Though thoughts are free, I just couldn't stand those unpleasant words he spat out, judging people by his own low standards.
And just as I, unable to bear it any longer, was about to say a word.
『Grrrrrr—』
…From outside, a cry that sounded like a clap of thunder rang out.
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