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72. Engagement – Aboandone

After returning to the castle, Leo washed away the sweat and dust from his body and, upon asking the butler, went back to see Baron Agatha again.

Baron Berger Agatha was having a quiet conversation with his wife in the living room (a space with a terrace).

As Leo took a seat, the baron asked, “You arrived early today. How was the duel?”

“It was a great experience. In particular, the gentleman named Brian is truly an amazing knight,” Leo replied.

At his words, Baron Agatha beamed with pride.

“He is indeed a gracious knight. He would receive even better treatment elsewhere…”

There seemed to be some backstory between Brian and the baron, but that was not Leo’s concern.

He threw a bait to lead the conversation in the direction he wanted.

“Thank you so much for giving me the opportunity to face such a remarkable knight. I feel so guilty for intruding like this…”

“Guilty? No way! Your joy is our joy as guests.”

“Exactly! Just your visit has brought life to this empty castle.”

The baron and his wife eased their worries.

However, Leo had something to ask. He pretended to be a guest burdened by their kindness.

“Thank you. I will never forget this favor. But I want to repay it somehow. Is there any small way I could assist you?”

“Oh, dear… In such a remote mountain fortress, what kind of work would there be? I can’t very well ask a guest to help with chores, so please consider our position.”

Good, it was time for Leo to get to the point.

“If that’s the case, then I understand. By the way, is there a monster around here?”

“A monster?”

Though his father encouraged him to go on a quest, Leo found that sparring with knights yielded little benefit for him.

He just wanted to quickly get to Lutetia.

However, since he was with Lena, he needed to maintain a certain appearance, meaning he would have to stay here for at least two to three weeks. He didn’t want to waste that time.

Baron Agatha stroked his wrinkled neck and replied, “Well… I have heard there’s one nearby, but it’s said to be harmless unless approached, so we’ve left it alone.”

“May I ask what kind of monster it is?”

“The hunter told me… Oh dear, it resembled some kind of animal, but I forgot the name. What was it? Haha, I’m sorry. I really can’t recall. It was said to be an omnivore.”

“Did you hear anything about what it looks like?”

“Oh, I remember this part! I heard it has the body of a pig and the head of a duck.”

‘Migas!’

Leo cheered inwardly.

Migas is a type of omnivorous animal that travels in packs in the forest, and it was often hunted in the childhood friend scenario to earn money from his father’s recognition.

‘This will be easy to catch.’

Migas was not an aggressive animal. It would run away upon seeing humans and rummaged through the ground with its beak searching for moss, mushrooms, and small fruits, maintaining a size comparable to a bucket.

Of course, as a monster, it had grown significantly larger, but since it was originally a ‘Migas’, it wouldn’t be as strong as the ‘Old Phantom Fox’.

Leo exuded confidence.

“So it’s a Migas. If that’s the case, I can definitely catch it. Will you not give me the chance to repay you?”

“Oh dear, I didn’t mean to ask you to catch it. I’ve heard that catching a monster is very difficult. I wouldn’t want to place such a burden on you.”

As the baron hesitated, Leo explained about the Migas, convincing him it would be easy to catch.

He also emphasized his experience hunting the Old Phantom Fox monster.

“My goodness. It turns out you’re quite the warrior! I’ve heard that in the Austin Kingdom, catching monsters is considered a great honor. Truly impressive!”

Baron Agatha’s wife seemed very impressed by Leo’s tale.

“Honey, giving our guest an opportunity to bring honor is undoubtedly a worthwhile thing to do.”

Baron Agatha laughed as if he had no choice and ultimately agreed.

“Very well. Is there anything you require? If there’s any way we can assist, we will.”

Leo quickly accepted the favor. He requested to borrow two knights and a hunter as a guide, and the baron readily agreed.

Baron Agatha’s wife poured warm water into her husband’s empty teacup and asked, “I sincerely hope you bring home honor. So you’ll be going hunting with four of you?”

“No? No, I plan to go alone.”

The baroness tilted her head slightly, holding the long Punita leaf parallel over her teacup as if to brew tea.

“Are you not taking your fiancée with you?”

“…You knew. Yes, I will be going alone. Can you keep this a secret until I leave? I don’t want to put Lena in danger.”

“Oh no, I worry that your fiancée might feel left out. But it’s understandable, given the risk involved. You wouldn’t want to endanger a lovely lady. Hoho.”

“……”

I can catch one more monster. ─ But the excitement in my heart quickly settled down.

Leo made a few more requests of the baron before hastily heading outside.

It felt bitter.

As he walked down the corridor, he found himself unconsciously approaching a window overlooking the training grounds in search of Lena.

Lena was still on the training grounds.

It seemed all the other knights had returned, but she was practicing something, lifting her sword, swinging it, and lifting it again in repetition.

From afar, she looked small and scrappy as she moved and appeared cute, but standing alone on the training grounds, she looked lonely.

He shouldn’t have done this.

Why did I even look at the training grounds?

Feeling even more distracted, Leo left the window and disappeared inside.

*

[Achievement: Monster Hunting – ‘2’, a faint mana resides in the body.]

A few days later, Leo woke up early in the morning and carefully stepped outside so as not to wake Lena.

Then he, along with the two knights and the hunter, set out together to hunt, and they returned to the castle after a week. The four returned four days later than originally planned.

They nearly died.

The monster turned Migas, ‘Aboandone’, was much larger than expected.

It was a mistake to assume that since Migas was a smaller animal, Aboandone would be smaller than the Old Phantom Fox.

When they entered the forest and came across Aboandone, it was a monster twice the size of the Old Phantom Fox, and its duck head, adorned with a beak the size of a door, was a deep ash gray while its neck thickened steadily, attached to a pig’s body.

Using the valley generously like a bathtub, every time it dunked its beak to gulp water, Leo noticed the water level in the valley dropping.

The four stayed at the hunter’s lodge and constructed snares.

It was impossible to make a thick snare that wouldn’t break easily with just the rope available in the lodge, so while the knights did laborious tasks unusual for them, the hunter went back to the castle to buy ropes.

The three large snares Leo wanted were completed in four days. He set them up hanging on trees and attached logs to the snares.

Normally, snares are tied down to trees, but Leo didn’t do that. If the snare was secured to a tree, Aboandone would simply break it with brute strength.

In contrast, hanging logs would drag along but wouldn’t break since they weren’t tied down.

With the traps set, the hunt began.

Unlike ordinary Migas, Aboandone did not run away upon seeing humans. It squawked loudly, warning them to stay back.

That warning only came once. When the arrogant apes (humans) didn’t clear out quickly, it charged with its enormous beak swung wide.

The tree that was struck by the beak broke with a crack, and the ground trembled under Aboandone’s heavy footsteps.

Leo volunteered himself as bait.

He threw a spear to catch its attention and dashed up the hillside.

Aboandone took the bait and chased after him. Given its shorter front legs compared to its back ones, Aboandone had a habit of trying to run upwards when fleeing.

After much struggle, Leo was able to lead it to the trap.

– Quack quack quack!!

The wide snare strung between two trees caught Aboandone by the neck. Logs attached to the snare hung on its body.

Aboandone thrashed its beak on the ground angrily.

Leo’s plan had worked.

The pig-bodied creature, walking on four legs, had no arms, and the beak on its head wasn’t meant for biting anything.

Trapped by a collar around its neck and shoulders, Aboandone could only spin around helplessly against the surrounding monkeys (humans).

Of course, just because its actions were restricted didn’t mean they had it easy.

Aboandone’s thick hide wouldn’t suffer grave damage from a knife, and it continued to wield its colossal beak without pause.

The fight was nothing but ugly.

The brutal clash, which lasted for half a day, turned the quiet forest into a noisy slaughterhouse.

People sweated profusely, and the wounded monster gushed blood everywhere.

– Quack! Quack! Quack! Quack!

When Aboandone desperately howled and attempted its last stand, that was truly dangerous.

Its eyes burned bright blue, and it rolled over its battered body in a frenzy.

Aboandone’s final weapon was not its beak. It was its massive bulk, which served as its greatest weapon.

The knights, the hunter, and Leo dodged this enormous rolling beast by flinging themselves this way and that.

Fortunately, Aboandone’s rampage didn’t last long. In the end, it lost strength and collapsed, panting heavily, giving Leo the perfect opportunity to rush in and stab it underneath its jaw.

[Achievement: Monster Hunting – ‘2’, a faint mana resides in the body.]

Though Leo had help from others, whether it was because he had ended its life himself or because of his high contribution to the hunt, the achievement count increased.

Back at the lodge, the four raised their glasses in celebration.

Leaving the body disposal to the hunter, Leo returned to the castle with the knights.

Though they returned in a ragged state after hunting, the three stood proudly before the baron and his wife.

“Wow! Is this the feather of a monster? My goodness… It’s huge! Amazing!”

Baroness Agnes Agatha exclaimed as she looked at the trophy Leo brought back.

The trophy was a feather pulled from Aboandone’s head.

Usually, one would bring back teeth or other such trophies, but Aboandone had no teeth, only a beak that was too large to take.

“We would like to present this trophy to the noble lady of Bidolinin Castle,” Leo and the two knights said in unison, saluting.

The baroness laughed gleefully.

“I never imagined there would be such an event in my lifetime. Dear, may I accept this gift?”

“Of course. Please accept the heart of our knights and our guest.”

Baron Agatha smiled brightly as he urged his wife along. The baroness gracefully thanked them and accepted the feather.

“I will never forget the bravery of the honorable knights. May your swords continue to be used for glory… Hohoho, it feels so strange, it’s been such a long time since…”

The baroness seemed rejuvenated and expressed her gratitude multiple times.

In her joy, she prepared an extravagant dinner.

Delicious dishes filled the table and an abundant supply of fine wine made those invited smile.

Except for one person.

Lena seemed deep in thought, trying hard to keep a gloomy expression hidden while pressing her lips together.

Forcing a smile, pretending to eat a lot, she discreetly drank more than her share of wine.

When the lengthy dinner came to an end, she silently followed Leo into their room. Standing by the door for a moment, Lena waited to see if Leo might say something to her…

Leo was busy taking off his gear.

Leo rummaged through his belongings.

Leo changed into comfortable attire.

Leo… lay down on the bed.

He never once glanced her way, and Lena felt her breath tighten.

Holding back tears about to spill, she took off her clothes. She wasn’t stripping down to sleep; she was throwing off everything she wore.

Leaving only her undergarments, Lena, not the type to carelessly expose her body, simply couldn’t hold back any longer.

Using the influence of the alcohol, Lena stripped off her clothes and climbed onto the bed, kneeling and shaking Leo’s shoulder.

His closed eyes did not easily open.

Lena whimpered and whispered, “Leo… Leo… Leo… Please…”

Love me.

Lena’s left breast sank deeply, as her broken ribs from the Old Phantom Fox could not find their place again.

Perhaps they would never find their place again.