Chapter 35 - Fox Extermination Again
The next day, the three of us were to go to the Northern Forest by the sewage treatment plant with Paul-san.
The forest closest to the town spreads out even further beyond the drainage facilities for the "business" near the communal cemetery.
The job in this forest is the fox extermination where we were forced into a humiliating retreat last time.
After receiving a lukewarm encouragement from Hans-san before departure, Beatrix and I set off feeling quite nervous.
Paul-san is wearing the fur jacket he wore during his hunter days. With several leather pouches hanging around his waist, carrying a bow, and a mountain knife on his back, he looks like a hunter through and through; it's hard to believe he's a technician.
Seeing him say excitedly that it's been a long time since he wore this outfit, he must really love hunting.
Beowulf is equipped in her Guard leather armor, while Beatrix and I are wearing hemp sacks dyed black-purple over our heads with hoods of the same color. Of course, we're equipped with neck guards too. Along with the embroidery on the back, we also put embroidery saying "Class of 175" on the left side of the head. This is the basic combat uniform of the Class of 175, commonly known as "Black-Purple."
As usual, it was unpopular with Hans-san, but we decided not to care.
On the way, we passed by the sewage treatment plant surrounded by high walls. It's Angelica-san's workplace.
From the outside, only the walls are visible, but I once went inside for a social studies field trip from the orphanage and heard an explanation.
Inside the walls, large deep holes were dug with the surroundings reinforced with hardened soil. Into those go the "business" sewage, soil, and straw. I heard that it's periodically mixed and turned into compost, which is sold to farmers throughout the Nakanohara area and serves as income for the town.
When I went inside, I was prepared for it to be quite smelly since it was for the "business." However, the technicians were releasing magic from a workshop on a distant hill, so it wasn't that bad.
It's said to be because someone like Paul-san who can use wind magic is always there to keep them upwind.
By the way, the highest average salary for town hall employees is apparently for the sewage treatment plant staff.
Angelica-san's job is apparently to come here twice a week to mix the soil, dig up the soil that has become compost, and then repair the holes.
After passing the treatment plant and entering the forest, the path became a game trail.
It's a domain where people do not live.
Since it's the first time in my life I've truly veered off a man-made path, my throat gets dry from tension even after just going in a little way.
The west side seems to be a mountainside, and Paul-san's kindness in telling us that we can replenish clean water in places was likely because he saw through mine and Beatrix's tension.
However, he told us to drink only a mouthful at a time and not to gulp it down. It makes the body heavy, and if you pee in the wild, the smell will give you away.
The body getting heavy is one thing, but I don't want to pee in the wild. There's supposedly a hut in the forest, so I want to hold out until then somehow.
Before leaving, we were instructed by Paul-san on drawing a map of the forest.
Apparently, you can't hunt unless you can grasp the interior of the forest in detail.
When I asked how to measure distance and direction, he said it's intuition. He said it's not something you can do in one go, so first try drawing it as you think, and you can correct it later.
The Guard also has one, but this is practice for the future.
So, Beatrix and I became the ones in charge of making the map.
Paul-san is in the lead, Beatrix and I are in the middle, and Beowulf is in the rear. In narrow places, I was to go second.
The game trail in the forest first extends west, toward the mountainside of the ridge.
Perhaps because it's not that far from the water purification plant, that direction to the left is quite bright, but the depths of the forest to the right are dim, with an atmosphere like something might jump out. Since I'm holding my shield in my left hand, I have no way to protect myself if attacked from the right.
Paul-san is walking while looking at his feet. He's walking while clearing spider webs with a short branch, but for someone who's only looking at his feet, he's quite accurate.
Looking back, Beowulf is walking while looking alternately forward and to the right. We decided to imitate her. Even though Paul-san is here, I couldn't settle down unless I was wary of the surroundings.
Contrary to our wariness, we reached the mountainside without incident, and the game trail turned north and continued along the mountainside into the depths of the forest.
There were flowers blooming along the way, but we passed them by without a second thought. After all, on the left side, trees are growing as if to cover our heads. Just thinking that something might pounce from overhead left me with no room to look slowly at my feet.
Suddenly, Paul-san raised his right hand and crouched on the spot.
It's the signal to stop.
Did he find something?
We all crouch at once. The tension rises instantly.
Paul-san put his hand to his ear and made a gesture of listening to a sound. It's the signal to listen.
As I strained my ears, I could hear the sound of water. It seems to be the first watering hole.
Wild animals come to watering holes to drink water. Monsters too.
Paul-san stared in the direction of the water sound for a while, but since nothing was there, he stood up and started walking.
As I followed behind him, before long, fresh water was falling down the cliff like a small waterfall.
Immediately, I mark the location of the watering hole on the map.
Paul-san is looking closely at the ground. He seems to be looking at animal tracks.
I could tell the difference between rabbits and normal foxes when he taught me, but when it came to field mice and squirrels, they were too small to tell.
There was one particularly large footprint. It's the target fox that has turned into a monster.
It's proof that it's using this watering hole.
"We'll follow these tracks."
He pointed into the forest, completely off the game trail.
We all wrap grass that Paul-san cut with his mountain knife around our bodies. It's called camouflage.
We tied tall grass into bundles with string and tied them to the joints of our bodies. Ankles, knees, waist, and elbows. On top of that, each of us wrapped vines around the nets we brought and wore them over our heads.
Paul-san told me to try crouching, so I tried crouching. The other three left me alone and watched from a short distance away.
When they came back, I asked what that was about.
"Not bad. You were completely a clump of grass. You looked like a black stone covered in grass. The problem is the face."
It's rude to say the face is a problem.
Well, I won't say I'm a beautiful girl. But it shouldn't be to the point of being a problem.
"The face stands out. Ideally, you'd wear green mottled clothes and paint your face the same way, but for now, this should be enough."
Ah, I see. I misunderstood.
It's certainly unnatural for a black stone to suddenly appear. Next time, I'll try dyeing the hemp sack green. As for the face... I don't want to paint it.
"[Mute]!"
Paul-san chanted the silencing magic.
With this, our sounds should no longer be heard.
We head into the forest following Paul-san, who is tracking the fox's footprints. Paul-san's walking speed is so fast it's hard to believe we're in a forest, so it's all I can do to keep up. He stops occasionally, so I thought I could rest, but he told me to draw the path we've walked on the map.
Since I don't even know where we are, I just ended up drawing a line from the watering hole, but he said that was fine.
While chasing Paul-san through the dark forest in that manner, Paul-san suddenly raised his right hand and crouched.
We all become clumps of grass at once.
Looking in the direction Paul-san was pointing, there were two or three squirrels. They were moving around and eating something they held in both hands. Apparently, they're eating mushrooms growing at the base of a tree. There might be a nesting hole nearby.
We wait for a while while watching the squirrels.
Beatrix and I alternately chanted and canceled magic spells.
It's to be able to release magic at any time. Paul-san and Beowulf are holding bows in their hands, but since the price drops if the pelt gets arrow wounds, we've decided to defeat them with magic.
It was around the time I was getting tired of waiting and my concentration was about to break.
Suddenly, a shadow flew from the air.
"Fire!"
I was the one who had the magic ready. Hearing Paul-san's signal, I release the magic.
"[Holy]!"
I release the magic aiming at the spot Paul-san had told me beforehand. In short, it's where the squirrels are; if it's a monster, it will be effective.
By the time the flying shadow landed on the ground, it was holding one squirrel in its mouth. Those that didn't become prey climbed the trees all at once. And by then, the magic I released burst with white light and pierced the fox.
The fox didn't even have time to scream; its body convulsed with a twitch, and it just lay limp on the ground. Beowulf drew her sword and ran out.
It's the target fox.
We were able to successfully take down one.
It was larger than the fox we exterminated on the way to the Water and Sewage Management Office before.
According to Paul-san, along the maintained roads where humans frequently come and go, sunlight enters the forest well. To that extent, monsters are also less likely to be affected by mana. Therefore, they don't grow that large.
"Setting aside the meat, the pelt should sell for a good price."
My mouth softened at Paul-san's words. The reward for fox extermination itself is cheap, but when the pelt sells, it becomes several times that amount of money.
Leaving that spot and finding a suitable place, we decided to hang the fox from a tree over a hole dug with earth magic and skin it.
Paul-san's [Tornado Wind] enveloped us. It seems to be to avoid spreading the smell of blood around.
Beside Beowulf, who was skinning the hide with a knife in one hand, Paul-san was giving various instructions. As expected, the skill seems different between the Guard and a hunter.
After finishing the skinning, we buried the corpse in the hole for burial and left the spot in search of the next prey.