Chapter 268

There’s a saying: “Even if you get bitten by a tiger, you’ll survive if you keep your wits about you.”

It means that even if you find yourself in a really messed-up situation, you can still make it out alive if you stay sharp. It requires some serious improvisation skills.

But the one who got bitten isn’t me; it’s Luna. She got caught by a bird instead of a tiger, but hey, she got caught nonetheless.

I could probably turn the tables and take down whatever attacked me, but with Luna? I’m not so sure if she could handle it, even as the protagonist.

“Now that’s just hilarious.”

A chuckle escaped me. I warned her to be careful, and yet here she is, getting herself into trouble.

The circumstances surrounding this mishap were pretty ridiculous too. A flying monster was buzzing around above us, and I distinctly told her to watch out!

As is typical for flying creatures, its vision was top-notch, so the moment she wandered off alone, she became an easy target.

“Was it really that hard to stay within the area?”

But despite my warnings, Luna got so caught up in foraging for herbs that she lost track of everything else. Being in the woods, she found rare herbs lying everywhere.

As luck would have it, I had stepped away for a moment, so our timings got crossed. And that’s how Luna got nabbed.

“Since there are flying monsters around, it’s bound to happen soon.”

Back when I was dominating the Chaos Forest, there were no flying monsters. Now, it seems they’re popping up quite often.

This is related to the Academy’s collapse. Flying monsters play a significant role during events.

But anyway, moving on—what’s really important is that Luna got kidnapped. First things first, I need to locate the monster’s nest.

Given their nature, flying monsters are most likely to be living in high-altitude areas. And there aren’t many raised spots in the forest.

The real issue is not knowing how long it’ll take to get there. Being in the woods has really messed up my sense of direction and space.

All I can do is pray that Luna is okay or somehow manages to escape. I let out a deep sigh.

“Is she really the protagonist?”

From all the chaos she gets dragged into, it sure seems like she is. Plus, she does have that special protagonist ability, doesn’t she?

Her talent is absurdly outstanding—so much so that even Rod was surprised and seriously considered teaching her.

But what’s the point? She’s an absolute mess and she only went and caused herself more trouble.

With another sigh, I started making my way toward the spot where the flying monster had headed.

“Crrr…!”

“?”

As I was trudging along, feeling really annoyed, I suddenly heard the growl of a beast.

There were so many presences around that I had been ignoring, but the sound made it clear I had stumbled upon a threat. I turned to look.

When I turned, I found a tiger glaring intensely at me. Yes, a tiger.

It was massive, with fangs that jutted out like spears.

“Is that a saber-toothed tiger? They really came from far away.”

It’s one of the Eastern Empire’s monsters. Not super rare, but certainly not common.

I knew that those fangs are often used for medicine, but that’s not really my concern right now.

I need to find Luna, so I can’t afford to play around with a saber-toothed tiger. I waved my hand dismissively to ignore it.

“Shoo, shoo.”

“Growl…!!”

Even as I tried to signal that I didn’t want to fight, the saber-toothed tiger remained threatening.

Instead of being angry, it was more like it was puzzled. Usually, beasts ignore you unless they’re hungry.

And since their instincts are so sharp, most of the time they don’t bother unless they feel truly threatened.

“Is there a cub around here or something?”

Nope, none behind the saber-toothed tiger. There was no sign of any others.

I found myself staring into the tiger’s eyes, feeling an inexplicable hatred radiating from it.

Why on earth does it hate me? This hate was something I could hardly put into words.

“RAWR!!”

With a fearsome display of its teeth, the saber-toothed tiger lunged at me. In a single leap, the gap between us closed in an instant.

I managed to dodge just by spinning away. But I didn’t consider that my backpack might get caught.

*Riiiiip!*

The backpack tore, spilling emergency rations all over the ground. With all those muscles, the tiger’s meat wouldn’t be very tender.

Time was of the essence, so I figured it’d be better to deal with this quickly and head back. I tossed my backpack aside and grabbed my axe.

*WHACK!*

Without wasting a moment, I buried the axe into the tiger’s flank. More than half the blade sank in.

The saber-toothed tiger thrashed in pain, twisting its body as it swiped at me with its sharp claws.

Most beast-type monsters have pretty straightforward attacks like this. So dodging is usually easy.

*Thank you for turning your face!*

Of course, I didn’t dodge. I took the hit directly on my body.

Sure, my clothes got a little torn, but there wasn’t any choice if I wanted a quick resolution. At least my counterattack had to be solid.

*THWACK!!*

The axe struck right between the tiger’s eyes. It sank deep into its brain and I could see its body shuddering.

Usually, it would have fought back, but it was clear its brain had turned to mush.

Eventually, the saber-toothed tiger glanced at me with a look of resentment before it collapsed.

*THUD!*

With its massive size, the ground shook as it fell. Hungry beasts would handle the carcass eventually.

I pulled the axe free from its face and wiped the blood off. It didn’t make sense to me at all.

“What did I do wrong? There weren’t even any saber-toothed tigers back when I was alive.”

When I was living in the forest, saber-toothed tigers were nowhere to be found. They showed up after Porori and I came out.

If I saw a saber-toothed tiger, I would have thought, “Oh, I must’ve killed its parent.” But that’s not it.

Lost in this confusion about the reason, I took whatever I could get from the saber-toothed tiger.

Its fangs can sell for a good price, so just grabbing those would be enough.

*WHACK! WHACK!*

Maybe they’re just tough. I had to chop it twice to cleanly cut it off.

Right as I was finishing up my preparations, I noticed something strange nearby.

*Eeek!*

“…?”

*Eek! Eek!*

It was a raccoon. Not joking, a raccoon stood right in front of me.

Seeing a raccoon in the woods isn’t too strange, but this little guy was… well.

It was standing upright with its hands clasped as if begging for something.

With eyes sparkling like it genuinely wanted something. Still, cuter than Porori.

*Eek!*

The raccoon pointed at the emergency food scattered on the ground. It seemed to be asking for that.

Sorry, but I can’t give you my emergency rations. Even if my backpack is torn, I can still use it as a makeshift pouch.

*Eeek…*

When I shook my head, the raccoon looked gloomy. It was oddly adorable.

It seemed to have intelligence on par with humans. Just look at it bowing down the moment it realized I was strong.

“Had it been Porori…”

Porori is all brawn while this little guy seems to be all brains. I pushed those pointless thoughts aside and walked towards the saber-toothed tiger.

Since it was so clever, maybe it would reward me well if I gave it something decent. Nutritious and good for stamina too.

*SWISH! SWISH!*

I used my spare dagger to slice through the saber-toothed tiger’s chest. Blood splattered onto my face, but I didn’t care.

Back in the day, I would have done everything by hand, but now I’ve grown civilized. Even the insides looked intact.

I pulled out the heart and liver from the chest I had split open. Among the entrails, these were particularly nutritious.

“Here.”

“… …”

I held out the bright red heart and liver. My hands were already drenched in blood.

The raccoon glanced between the intestines and my face, then extended its hands out. And then it turned its head away.

A silent refusal. It was a bit odd and also amusing to see the raccoon use that gesture.

“Aren’t you going to eat? This is really good stuff.”

*Eek. King.*

“Just give it a try. You need to survive too.”

I felt like I was forgetting something, but maybe it was just my imagination.

“Hey. Try it. Try it.”

“… …”

The look on the raccoon’s face was quite the sight.

“It’s starting to get chilly soon. You can last longer with this.”

*Keen…*

In the end, it fell for my words.

******

Meanwhile, Luna, who had been kidnapped by a gigantic bird. When it snatched her away, she thought she was going to die.

Her face was caught in its claws, but whether it was because it was gentle or just weak, she wasn’t hurt.

Still, the very act of flying in the sky terrified her. She worried it might drop her at any moment.

Fortunately, that fear was unfounded. Instead, the monster moved Luna to its nest.

*Caw! Caw! Caw!*

*Chirp! Chirp! Caw!*

“… …”

Once she was tossed into the nest, she found herself facing baby birds the size of a person.

And all of them were yellow. The yellow birds were chirping vigorously at her.

At first, she drew her sword in a defensive stance, but that didn’t last long.

“But where am I?”

The mother bird was already long gone. Luna headed toward the edge of the nest instead of toward the branches.

*Yikes!*

As she looked below, she was left speechless. The view revealed a sheer cliff that felt endless.

Below the cliff, a forest spread wide, but descending hastily would be risky. What should she do?

“If I go down there and get caught by the mother, that’ll really be a headache.”

More than anything, she was puzzled about why the mother bird had spared her. Luna crossed her arms and pondered.

But her worry didn’t last long.

*Caw! Caw!*

*Chirp! Chirp!*

“Huh?”

The baby birds’ calls seemed strange. Luna turned her head to look back.

The baby birds were all distinctly yellow. At first, she thought they were just big chicks.

But amongst them, there was something… peculiar. I repeat, peculiar.

It wasn’t a baby bird at all; it was something completely covered in yellow. Luna blinked in disbelief at the sight.

“What… what is that?”

Did such monsters even exist? She had never seen anything completely covered in yellow fur before.

Unknowingly, Luna readied her sword as a standoff began. The reactions of the baby birds changed once that creature appeared.

It was then that she felt its gaze on her.

“… …A person?”

“Huh?”

“A person… is that you?”

It spoke like a person. Although the language was different, she couldn’t quite understand.

As Luna stared, surprised, the figure presumed to be a person knelt down.

“O great Gaia! You haven’t forsaken me! You’ve even sent someone to rescue me!!”

“… …”

I caught the mention of Gaia. Thanks to it kneeling, it dawned on her that it was indeed a person.

As it burst into tears and suddenly lifted its head, she caught a glimpse of madness in its eyes shining through its hair.

“Where have you come from? Did Father Alexander send you?”

“Uh… Do you speak the common tongue?”

“Oh, yes! Of course! Are you here to rescue me?”

To which Luna replied, “No, I got captured too, you know?”

“… …”

You could almost hear the sound of hope shattering.

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